Ninja News Overload! And a Humble Thanks.

Overload definitely describes last week. You guys are awesome!

Today I have the honor of a guest post at Lucy’s site, Moonlight Gleam. She is a real sweet person, bubbling with energy. If you can, please pay her a visit.You even get to hear from Byron!

Want some real Ninja secrets? Want to know how many hours I devote to blogging? If you missed my short interview at Laura B. Writer’s SITE on Saturday, then you need to check it out.

Tuesday the video for CassaFire will be posted at You Gotta Read Videos. This site pits twenty videos against one another in competition. I’ll let you know when voting opens. I’ll try not to grovel, but no promises…

Someone told me on Friday I needed to move this higher (it’s at the bottom of my blog) so I thought I’d just post it here. My publisher is giving away five copies of CassaFire on Goodreads…

Goodreads Book Giveaway

CassaFire

by Alex J. Cavanaugh

Giveaway ends January 20, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Yes, this Ninja really is everywhere…

Now on to the news!

Cassie Mae at Reading, Writing, and Lovin’ It! is hosting “Is it Getting Hot in Here? Blogfest” on Valentine’s Day. If you’re feeling hot and bothered, this might be for you!.

First edition of the Vine Leaves Literary Journal went live on Friday! Jessica Bell has put SO much work into this project, so check it out.

Karen at Coming Down the Mountain kicks off the Big Blog Tour for Celery Tree today! She has worked on this project for a year now and is so excited!

Cate Masters began a new site called TBR, “Meet the authors who’ll make your list grow.”

I was nominated for a Top Writing Blogs Award from eCollege Finder, an education resource representing accredited online institutions. Really! Must have me confused with another Alex…

Sean McLachlan at Civil War Horror had a new book, “The Night the Nazis Came to Dinner, and Other Dark Tales," and it’s priced at 99 cents.

And it’s time for the Amazon Novel Breakthrough Award contest! Head on over to Michael’s site, In Time, for full details.

Finally, I’d like to offer a most humble thank you. Last week was utterly amazing and it was all because of you guys. For these wonderful things, I give my thanks:

* For your response to last Monday’s post. (I worried about that one.)

* For helping all four of my blogger buddies reach a thousand followers.

* For your incredible posts for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. There were some really heartfelt posts and many of you rallied to offer encouragement. I think I managed to visit everyone on the list, but if I missed you, please forgive me.

* For your appreciate of the IWSG. I started it for YOU.

* For your enthusiasm for the A to Z Challenge. It really is an amazing event.

* For the sheer amount of comments you made! I’m still blown away…

* For the kind words, encouragement, and friendship

For all of that, this Ninja says thank you. I am here to serve. And sometimes amuse!

Don’t forget to visit Moonlight Gleam today and Laura B. Writer if you missed Saturday’s post.

Whew! Ready for a blogfest? Participating in the Amazon Novel Breakthrough Award contest? How about the A to Z Challenge? Feeling thankful as well? Are you exhausted just from reading all of this?

Awesome Stuff and the Big Announcement!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the Insecure Writer’s Support Group!There were some awesome posts, including this funny one from Mark and a touching and inspirational one from Youngblood. I’ve tried to visit as many as possible and I’ve also cleaned up the list a bit, eliminating those who aren’t participating.

I also had a very funny surprise visual review of CassaStar from Jesse at Not Worth Mentioning. Thanks dude, it was hilarious!

Saturday, January 7, I have a guest post with Laura B. Writer. She is a marketing consultant who critiques writer/author blogs during the week and conducts interviews on the weekends. So stop by and say hey on Saturday!

But today’s main event it the April 2012 A to Z Challenge!

First – what is the Challenge?

This amazing month long blogfest was created by Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out. If you subtract Sundays from April, you then have 26 days--one day for each letter of the alphabet. (This year April 1 is on a Sunday, so we will start on that day.) Using this premise, you start beginning April 1 with a topic themed on the letter A, then on April 2 another topic with the letter B, and so on until you finish on April 30 with the letter Z. This will be the third annual A to Z Challenge!

The purpose of the Challenge is to blog almost daily following the alphabet – and to make friends. Yes, many gain blog followers, but as those who’ve participated in the past will tell you, the real treasure lies in making new friends.

I was a last-minute entry to the first A to Z Challenge. I think Lee is still laughing at the comment I made when I decided to do it. There were about a hundred of us and I was randomly selecting entertainment stuff that began with the corresponding letter. (For Q, I posted about Q-Bert and the movie "Q" – lame!) But I made some great friends in the process, including the wonderful Yvonne Lewis and Ella.

Last year, Lee enlisted the help of several co-hosts and I was honored to be among those bloggers. Were we blown away when almost thirteen hundred participants signed up! (And for those of you who were overwhelmed last year, we have a plan for this year.) I had a theme this time and featured two blogger buddies each day whose blogs corresponded with the letter. It was an awesome month and I made a ton of new friends.

Now we are gearing up for the April 2012 A to Z Challenge and signups begin January 30. But today’s big announcement is the introduction of this year’s hosts:

Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out
Alex J. Cavanaugh
Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs
Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report
Matthew McNish at The QQQE
Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie
Tina Downey at Life is Good
DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude
Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse
Elizabeth Mueller
Damyanti Biswas at AmlokiBlogs
Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small

We are armed and ready!

To keep up with other announcement regarding the Challenge, please follow the A to Z Challenge Blog.

This is one of the most amazing challenge you will undertake and one of the most rewarding – join us!

Are you planning to participate? Were you a part of last year’s event? Did you make some new friends? What awesome things happened to you as a result of the Challenge? This Ninja would like to know…
And if you have a second, scroll to the bottom of my blog - I completely forgot my publisher was doing this!

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by Monday for my "You Can't Reach a Thousand Followers by Being a Jerk" post and followed my four blogger buddies! I’m happy to report that Matthew and Jesse both went over a thousand and Roland and Nicole are REALLY close! (And you guys boggled my mind with a record-setting two hundred plus comments – whoa!)

I've also been updating my Awesome Authors page. If you are one of my regular blogger buddies and you have a book out NOW, please make sure I've included it in the list.

And I’ll announce the winner of my giveaway! But first, today's insecurity…

Eventually, every author gets zapped. Doesn’t matter how good or bad your book, eventually you’ll have to face negative reviews. Nothing erodes away at confidence like a downer review:


“Its average. Nothing remarkable, nothing to write home about. The story is so flat and basic.”

“Totally a rip off of Star Wars.”

“This formulaic space opera aspires to be a bildungsroman for its petulant hero, but it confuses the archetypal with the clichéd.”

Yes, those are real comments and reviews about CassaStar. Enough to give any author a complex, isn’t it?

How do you handle it? Here are a couple things I keep in mind:

A reader who doesn’t write probably doesn’t understand how difficult it is to write a book. We need to give them the best of course, but even crap takes effort.

Maybe they are just negative people who feel it's their duty to complain and point out faults in others.

Writers who don’t have a published book yet haven’t experienced a bad review themselves. They might not understand how much a poor or average review hurts.

Writing is a form of art, and our book won't appeal to everyone.

Maybe it’s not that person’s style of read.

The reviewer doesn’t have a stake in the book.

Maybe that person was having a really bad day.

Perhaps there is just enough constructive criticism from which to learn and make the next book better.

Finally, there are always the really great reviews we can go back and reread:

“…calls to mind the youthful focus of Robert Heinlein’s early military sf, as well as the excitement of space opera epitomized by the many Star Wars novels. Fast-paced military action and a youthful protagonist make this a good choice for both young adult and adult fans of space wars.” - Library Journal

Yeah, I think I’ll live!

So, if you're an unpublished writer, be prepared. Less than stellar reviews will happen. Remember, it's just one person's opinion. If you believe in your work and it's the best you can do, then that's all that matters.

Or just remember Bill Murray’s chant from Meatballs: “It just doesn’t matter! It just doesn’t matter!”

And now, drum roll please… The winner of a copy of CassaStar, review copy of CassaFire, and other cool stuff is…

Carol Kilgore at Under the Tiki Hut!

Congratulations! Email me your address and I’ll forward it to my publisher.

Thanks to all who entered – the amount of entries blew me away!

What’s your insecurity today? Have you received a negative review? How did you handle it? Did you make a voodoo doll of the reviewer? Someone should sell those - he’d make a fortune!I'll take the bildungsroman one please.

You Can't Reach 1000 Followers by Being a Jerk

Happy New Year and I have a special feature today!

I know The Social Network told us we can't reach a million friends without making a few enemies. While that may be true, in the blogging world, you won't reach thousand followers by being a jerk.

All right, what do you need to be then?

You need to be an encourager. You need to congratulate those who are succeeding and support those who are struggling.

You need to give back to the community. You cannot take without giving.

You must be positive. No one wants to be around someone who is negative.

You must be consistent. You cannot be sweet and endearing in one forum while being rude elsewhere. When things don't go your way, you must maintain an even temperament.

You must be genuine. Your reasons for blogging cannot be self-serving. You are here because you genuinely want to connect with others. You are not here just to promote your product, book, site, or service.

You respect others and do not steal their joy. You don't bash another’s work, beliefs, or efforts.

You are humble. You realize you did not get here by yourself, but through the support and belief of others, and by grace.

You speak ill of no one. You understand karma and good will towards men.

You have earned the admiration of many. You understand that with much power comes much responsibility. And you are mature and wise enough to act appropriately.

And why am I telling you all of this? Because four of my blogging buddies are about to hit that milestone, and each more than qualifies:

Matthew at the QQQE
Matthew is the epitome of giving back. His site is dedicated to helping others improve their query letters. Matthew also participates in and creates blogfests designed to help others. Even on his down days, Matthew is still uplifting and genuine. He sees the bigger picture, which includes his impact on the future of many writers. Matthew does not take his responsibility lightly he is a true friend to many.

Copyboy at Not Worth Mentioning
His real name is Jesse, and his site is not for the faint of heart. There is some crude humor and no sacred cows. Or urinals. Or bizarre Amazon products. However, his comments are always positive, genuine, and thoughtful. Jesse really does care about his fellow bloggers, and it shows. He even designed a site called Bloggerdise that links products, authors, and bloggers together. Don't let his edgy humor fool you – Jesse has a heart of gold.

Nicole at Where Fantasy and Love Takes Flight
This fantasy author is about his down to earth as you can get. She has the wisdom of maturity with the sweetness of innocence wrapped in one package. Nicole is always sharing and giving to others. Right now she even has a Christmas Critique Giveaway, something she generously offers every year. Everything about her reflects peace, stability, and a place of refuge.

Roland at Writing in the Crosshairs
Roland is a writer who resides on a level far deeper than most of us will ever reach. He could easily be one of those authors who is haughty and aloof. Instead, every post is a gift of inspiration. He strives to give what he has learned to others. He is currently giving away all profit from the sale of his books to the Salvation Army, an organization that helped him when he was a child. Roland possesses a truly giving spirit.

These four friends of mine are amazing. They are all so close to a thousand followers, they can taste it. If you do not follow these bloggers, I’d highly recommend you get to know them. You just might learn some things about being a genuine person.

Do you follow these bloggers? Do you know anyone else who fits this description? Who? Tell the world – and be sure to tell them.

(And remember Wednesday is the Insecure Writer’s Support Group posting and the announcement of my giveaway winner.)