Discovering the Marketing and Promotion of an Author

After the publication of my first poetry book in 2016, I became very discouraged when I didn’t make a sale, or seem to be able to give away my poetry for free.  I stopped writing poetry for a long period of time.  Last month, April 2018, I somehow got motivated to write poetry more.  I didn’t write a poem everyday, yet the month of April was still full of poetry.

Submitting Poems for Publication

I discovered many new things about the publication and marketing of poetry.  Back in March, I had checked out a couple of copies of “Writer’s Digest” and discovered a few publications that would pay poets for their poems if they were accepted.  I made it a goal to write poems that I was proud of and submit them for publication.  I succeeded in this goal and sent out two poems, one each to the publications “Contrary” and “Poetry Magazine.”  I probably won’t know until November if they’ve been accepted, and I don’t have much hope they will be, but I am proud I attempted to at least.  I know there still is a chance. 

I also joined the Goodreads “Poetry!” Group and entered a poem for the May contest.  I was not a finalist, so I will share it now:

If I Saw the Perfect Me

Another Past, an Alternate Dimension.

-Blink- She has everything I ever wanted.

Eyes of Ebony, Shimmering Hair in Shades of Gold,

and Skin like Tanned Cream.

If only I had fallen in Her Footsteps.

Walk softly with pitter pattering feet.

Our destinies tied together.

She thrums to the heartbeat of Her Love.

Eyes everchanging as the Ocean,

Eyebrows: dark drawing perfect curves to Gentle Face.

He is mine here, this dimension, something we share.

My love vibrates to my soul.

For a moment, I stop regretting being Her.

Rubbing dull brown eyes, I see She’s found a Purpose,

while I write resumés that blow away

to crumbling and quitting, never finding purchase,

while I stand precariously, Her Feet Perfected Toenails,

Rooted with Joy.

I hold glittering Fool’s Gold while Hers Sparkling Pure is Solid.

She bites it with Pristine White Teeth, doesn’t distort. 

Biting mine with stained teeth and too small lips, melts to glop.

Her green with Luck, me green with Envy.

I wonder if the Money God is really evil,

or if it’s just a matter of success.

-Blink- We both see an Empty Soul, green with decaying,

wearing poverty as pride. Her eyes also ebony,

but no life there, orbs glinting of malevolence.

Us Others release our benevolent breath,

taking comfort of Our happy dispositions.

Looking at Another’s problems through a looking glass of speculation,

I come to the realization:

It doesn’t matter how magnificent Her life is,

mine could be as the Other; much worse.

Reviews of Poetry

In March or April, I also became an Author on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15863356.Natasha_Gruss).  I’m not sure how I discovered I could do this.  I joined some review groups on Goodreads this April and exchanged reviews of poetry books.  I reviewed and got reviewed by four poets.  I didn’t review them, but I also read more poetry books that were listed for free on Amazon and twitter, just to celebrate poetry month.  I submitted my book, “Un-Clenched Emotion” to be reviewed on other websites as well.

Twitter

I discovered twitter by tweeting my blog posts and promoting my poetry book (@natasha_gruss).  Tweeting, liking, and retweeting things gained me a lot of twitter followers.  If other authors, or poets, (or just interesting people,) followed me, I followed them back.  I did tweet one old haiku of mine, and someone used it as inspiration to make a haiku page on their website.  On twitter, I found a book on marketing and used that for poetry month.

Amazon, KDP Select, and Giveaways

For Marketing, I really examined the Amazon page of my book.  Doing this, I learned that authors were allowed to give away their kindle books for free every 90 days.  I thought I had unsuccessfully done this one time, and that I couldn’t do it again.  I was happy I was wrong.  When I discovered I could give away my poetry book away for free again, I decided I would do that in celebration of poetry month.  To do this, I also figured out how to fix the kindle version of my book. (The formatting didn’t come out right the first time).  It felt good, trying to get my poetry book out there.  I didn’t know when I did my free promotion before that I could find out if I gave away any books.  This time I discovered KDP select makes a marketing graph of how many books were sold or given away.  I was happy six people took advantage of my giveaway.  Amazon’s Author Page (https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01LZE8CKO) also graphs sales rank and author’s rank.  It only ranks sales, not giveaways, so my free book promotion didn’t affect rankings at all.

For the future, I tried to figure out how to help my rankings and studied print book giveaways.  Everyone said Amazon’s print book giveaways weren’t worth it, but Goodreads was.  I bought 6 print books of “Un-Clenched Emotion” (https://www.amazon.com/Clenched-Emotion-Collection-Poems/dp/1537725327/) which I hope to give away in the future.  I also wondered if doing a giveaway of an item, like a coffee pot, would help my Amazon Author ranking, if people were required to follow me as an Amazon Author.  What do you think?  If you could follow me for the chance to win a coffee pot, Edgar Allen Poe mug, dragon stapler, or tea basket; would you do it?  Which thing would you want?

I am proud of all I did in April to celebrate poetry and learn about the marketing of it.  There is still much more work to do.  There are many more discoveries I made on marketing and blogging, but too much to write in one post.  I may write about them in the future.

How to Write Reviews and the Importance of Them

The Importance of Reviews

Authors love to get good reviews.  Reviews of an Authors work should be honest.  If you don’t like something and review it, it might A: encourage the author to improve their work B: make the author realize they might want to take up something other than writing.  A review of a book lets readers know whether they might want to buy a book or not.  Personally, I look at reviews on Amazon if I’m considering a book or not and they are highly influential.  I might find out if the book is a stand alone or not.  I prefer stand alone books.  If there are a slew of one-star reviews, I know not to waste my time with a book.  That being said, some Indie authors (self-published) may not have many reviews and need to get some. 

Working with Goodreads 

I barely have any reviews on my poetry book, but recently I learned how to get some.  I became an author on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/) and joined some groups.  Goodreads is not just for authors, it is also for readers; in fact, it’s more for readers than authors.  That being said, being a Goodreads author has been very beneficial to me.  I belong to two reviewing groups, One is “Authors Needing Reviews” at: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/53280-authors-needing-reviews ; and the other is “Genre Specific Review Groups” at: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/100482-genre-specific-review-groups .  I have done 2 reviews for the Authors group and have gotten 2 in return.  I have agreed to do 2 more for the Genre Group and will get another 2 in return.  Unfortunately, it’s undetermined how many will make it on Amazon, and how many will have to simply stay on the Goodreads site.  Amazon has rules where you must have spent at least $50 to write a review.  They also might not let you review a product if a product is for sale in a different country.  One of the reviews I did was for a lady in the UK and I’m in the USA so it wouldn’t let me post on Amazon.  One review was for another lady in the US and it let me review her book (I spend a lot on Amazon).

How to Do Reviews

If you’ve decided to do reviews, which I recommend, and need to know how to do them, the first thing you should do is read reviews.  Find the ones you like and use them as a guideline to write your own.  There are all kinds of books that need reviewing: fiction books, non-fiction books, and poetry books. Non-fiction and poetry reviews are different from fiction book reviews.  In non-fiction and poetry reviews, you don’t have to worry about spoilers like you do in fiction reviews.  Telling what these books are about, in detail, is desired.  In a fiction book review, you have to leave out some details to avoid spoiling the book.  In all book reviews, talking about the mood an author portrays is a good idea.  Saying what you like about a book is a good idea too.  Reading an explanation of how to do reviews might not be the best style of learning, so I’ll give you links to the reviews that were listed above.  One poetry book review I did was “Unconditional” by T.Renee, and is on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/UNCONDITIONAL-Just-Me-Scattered-Thoughts/dp/1634927761/  under the review title “A Collection of Poems Worth Reading.”  It should be noted that coming up with a title for your review is important, informing interested parties what you will be talking about.  I also posted this same review to her Goodreads page.  The other review I did was for “Moon Petals” by Jessica Ginting, which can’t be found on Amazon, but can be on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38469438-moon-petals without a title, but under Natasha Gruss.  Looking at the other reviews for these books is a good idea too.  The reviews that I have received for my poetry book “Un-Clenched Emotion” can be found on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Clenched-Emotion-Collection-Poems/dp/1537725327/ and on my Goodreads Author Page at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32282264-un-clenched-emotion These are examples of Poetry Reviews.

A few more words.  I have agreed to do more reviews for the Goodreads Groups I mentioned above.  Right now, I’m scheduled for 5, so I will not have much time.  I also need to mention a free marketing book that I got over twitter: “The Self-Publishing Tools of Trade Every Author Must Know” by Lama Jabr, which has a lot of links for authors to market their books.  It could have had more information about why each marketing step is important and how too, but the links allowed it so I didn’t have to use search engines for things like finding places that do free reviews, and places I could advertise my free book.  It was all there in one place.  There are many more beneficial links in Jabr’s book, so if you’re an author, I recommend it.  The links for free book sites that I placed on this blog all came from Jabr’s book.  There’s a non-fiction book review example for you!  I hope this helps you want to support authors and review a book. 

Poetry Relating to Music and Using Music to Write Freestyle Poems

How Poetry Relates to Music

Recently I joined twitter.  Somehow, I attracted a lot of followers (I have no idea how).  Many of the followers are musicians.  I am excited about this because music and poetry go hand in hand.  All kinds of music, from songs in every genre (i.e. Pop, Rock, Country, Heavy Metal, etc.,) to the music you make yourself on instruments like flutes and guitars and things is related to poetry.  Some people might say that popular genre music lyrics are not poetry, but I vehemently disagree.  A friend of mine once gave me hand written lyrics of “Name” by Goo Goo Dolls.  I hung it on my wall in my bedroom.  When people came over they often asked if I wrote that poem.  I was constantly replying “Nope, that’s a song they play on the radio.” Poetry relates to music in other ways. Obviously, many songs rhyme just like many poems do.  There is often a chorus in a song, and that can be used in a poem with a stanza that repeats over and over.

How to Write a Poem Freestyle with Music

In a previous blog post (https://authornatashagruss.blogspot.com/2018/04/how-to-start-writing-poetry-freestyle.html) I have written about writing poetry Freestyle.  One of the ways to write a poem freestyle that I didn’t mention that you could do is to listen to music to be inspired and then write a poem about that.  I didn’t mention it because I didn’t want anyone coming up with a poem that could be said to be plagiarized.  To avoid this, refrain from copying the exact words of the song you hear in your poem.  Another sure-fire way to avoid plagiarism is to listen solely to instrumental music, or play music on an instrument yourself.  To put writing poetry freestyle in practice I did a musical exercise in my poetry class.  I took some empty glass bottles and had everyone blow over the bottles to make instrumental music and then had them write a poem about it.  It was really fun, and a lot of great poems came out of it.

Celebrate music in poetry by reading or writing a poem with a chorus in it, or by writing a poem after listening to music, either in a popular genre or instrumentally.  Who knows, you might write lyrics you can sell to a musician for use in their work.

P.S. If you want to follow me on twitter you can go to https://twitter.com/natasha_gruss or follow @natasha_gruss.

How to Write From Experience and Autism Awareness

If you have taken a writing course, or workshop, you might have been told to write what you know.  I was told that once, and I took it a little too literally.  I love fantasy and science fiction, and wondered how I could write about an imaginary planet when it's not something I know.  You don't have to have experienced something first hand for you to know something about it.  I've read enough mythology and facts on space for those subjects to be something I know.  I haven't written any prose yet, I've been busy working on my poetry.  For poetry, writing from your life's experience is a good idea.  An imaginary characters' experience works too.

Use a Memory for Writing Poetry

A good way to write a poem from experience is to go through your memories and try to describe it.  Of course, this works for good memoirs too since that's what they are.  You don't have to write your memory word for word, and in poetry you probably shouldn't.  Think of the feelings you get from those memories, wonder if that memory makes you think of a color, and try to come up with a phrase (that only has to make sense to you) that describes that memory.  This will help you come up with similes (comparing items using the word like and as) and metaphors (comparing items not using the word like and as) in your poems.  You can also choose to write about a subject matter that is close to you.

Experience with the Subject of Autism

It's April now, which means it's Poetry Month.  It is also Autism Awareness Month.  Poetry and Autism are both subjects I know about.  I have decided to write a poem using my experience with Autism to celebrate both poetry and autism awareness.  I don't plan on trying to publish it, so I will write it here for everyone to read as an example of how to write from experience. It is as follows:

Relating to a Mystery

Understanding an Echo (they called it Autism,)

Sweet parrot mimicking in human flesh.

She gazed at the river and spoke in metaphor.

Could it be possible? Did they lie?

Hidden talents hidden in flapping wings like hands.

Each song sung verbatim with feeling.

She feels it all distinctly, everything.

They are not emotionless.

Lumped together in the image of different.

Rainbow Puzzle Pieces try to celebrate the many feathers

of parrots flocking.

Comprehension can’t be communicated,

I’m not talking about her, but about me.

Is blue really accurate?

Relate, relate, relate,

Unsuccessful, it is pointless.

There are unanswered questions that swirl

and never finish until we expire.

I read stories, she watches stories

So that we might illuminate our curious minds.

When we hear a lion roar, we imitate.

My head’s full of useless feathers.

The mimicking parrot is full of brilliance.

It’s me who wants you to understand.

Expression needs training,

This encompasses humanity as well as parrots.

Will you feel compassion?

It’s everything we need.

Her, You, Me, Us.

In the end, that’s all I’m trying to express.

I could describe how all of this relates to autism, me, and my daughter (who has autism,) but this post is already kind of long.  If you would like to know more. please write a comment and I'll try to answer. 

Free Poetry Book “Un-Clenched Emotion” Last Five Days of April 2018, How to Get Kindle App, and Getting Free Books

It’s April – Poetry Month.  In honor of this month I have decided to offer my poetry book “Un-Clenched Emotion” for free on the Kindle.  It will be free for five days, from Thursday April 26^th 2018 to Monday April 30^th 2018. (There’s a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in there as well).  You can get “Un-Clenched Emotion” at http://www.amazon.com/Clenched-Emotion-Natasha-Gruss-ebook/dp/B01LZNVH4Y/  Normally this poetry book is priced at $2.99 on Amazon.  Unless you have Kindle Unlimited, in which case it is always free.

No Kindle? Get the App for Free 

I want to stress that you don’t need a Kindle to get this, just a smart phone or tablet with the Kindle App, or you can even download it on your computer if you don’t want to use those devices.  The Kindle App is free to download. You can get it on the Google Play Store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?hl=en&id=com.amazon.kindle or for your Apple Device at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id302584613 and if you decide to go the computer route you can get it at https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/fd/kcp and choose the “Download for PC and Mac” button.

  

Getting Free Books- Not Just “Un-Clenched Emotion”

It costs you nothing, but in order to use the Kindle App you do need an Amazon account. You can get it at https://www.amazon.com/  (but you do not need Prime or Kindle Unlimited).  There are many books listed on Amazon costing 0.00 that you can get at no charge at various times, and sometimes the are always free, (not just Un-Clenched Emotion being free from 4/26/18-4/30/18).  The Kindle App and Amazon account are free, but you do need to add a debit or credit card on Amazon to use it.  Even so, free books truly do cost nothing.  It may be annoying sorting through books on Amazon to see which one’s are free, but you can get e-mailed lists that will tell you which ones are available, (they’re not just poetry books either).  I belong to a few lists, one of which is Bookbub which you can sign up for at https://www.bookbub.com/welcome and I belong to Early Bird Books which you can get at https://earlybirdbooks.com/.  There are so many ways to get free books, I should do a blog post about it later.  I have added links to my whole webpage, so if you're looking for multiple ways to get books you should check out my links section.  Click the following to see the whole blog: https://authornatashagruss.blogspot.com/  I follow some authors by e-mail (goddessfuri@yahoo.com is my email,) and they often list books for no charge, and not always their own.  I follow authors and free book sites on twitter too.  You may also be able to go to your local library and “check-out” digital books.  Ask your librarian how to do this.  If you do pay for Amazon Prime (which I do), they offer a free book once a month as well.  There are many ways to get electronic books that cost nothing.  I encourage you to check it out.

Why I Haven't Promoted Before 

I haven’t done much advertising for the Kindle Version of “Un-Clenched Emotion,” yet I feel that the offer of a free book is a great one.  The reason I haven’t promoted this is because the formatting in the Vertical View didn’t come out right- but now I did it, I fixed it!  Now the book comes out great in both Vertical and Horizatal View, plus I fixed some errors.  I am so happy about being able to fix it!  When "Un-Clenched Emotion,"  wasn't coming out right, it didn't destroy the poetry, it was still okay, but now it's polished! Please read it!

Share and Perhaps Review Please

There is no requirement to get this book free on the last days of April 2018.  I just want people to be able to read my poetry.  It would be awesome if you wrote a review, or at least give it however many stars you feel it is worth.  If you have Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com), you can post a review on there as well if you want to support me. Despite the picture above of the man clicking five stars, I am all for your honest pick of stars.  If you don't want to review the book, I'm happy with just a click of stars.  If you want to write a review, it doesn't have to be much, just something like "I thought it was great.  I recommend this book." Please share this blog post.  There are buttons for Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and more at the bottom of this post.  Press one before or during the last five days of April (and if you’re doing twitter, adding hashtags (#) would be great.  For example: #poetry #freepoetry #freebook)! Thank you.

How to Start Writing Poetry Freestyle

It’s April, that means it’s poetry month.  In honor of that I have decided to write about poetry in general and how to write poetry in my blog.  I have taught poetry workshops and helped people write a poem, fresh on the spot.  When I write poetry, I can usually write it all from one sitting off the top of my head.  This is hard for many people to do.  I will proceed to tell you how I get started writing my poetry and what I tell people they should do when writing theirs.

Writing a Poem is an Act of Bravery

The first thing I like to explain to people is that people who write poetry are brave. You may feel like you don’t fit in the “brave” category yourself but just put your pencil (or pen) to the paper and start writing. (Or start typing on the computer if that’s what you prefer).  Write what you are thinking about in the moment, no matter how silly or embarrassing you think it might be.   Any ideas, subjects, words, formats, etc., are acceptable. This is called freewriting.  Some people may need prompts to do this and some may not.  (I do this with and without prompts.)   Some prompts are:  

• ·         Looking at the place you are and writing down poetic descriptions
• ·         Listening to everything you hear and writing how that makes you                                    feel
• ·         Thinking of a memory and describing that memory

If you feel you are not brave, that’s okay, simply writing things down is an act of bravery. It doesn’t matter if what you write comes out written poorly, the fact is you did it and you should be proud of that accomplishment.  You have dared to create something new.

What if Don’t Like My Poem

Often, you may not like what you wrote, but someone else will.  There are countless examples of musical artists that hated the songs they came up with.  Their songs went on to hit the top of the charts even though the musicians hated that song.  REM hated “Shiny Happy People,” but many of us know and love that song today.  Poetry is like that, you may hate it, but someone else may like it, so be brave to write anything down that comes to mind.  You don’t have to write a poem in one sitting and be done with it either.  (My poems are usually written out and complete the first time, which is unusual and if you encounter a writing teacher, they will usually tell you that you must rewrite).  If you want to, you can use your poem as a rough draft and rewrite it to something else you like more.  If you still don’t like it, which is often the case, you can use the poem you wrote as inspiration to write another poem.  A completely new one.  If you like the original, feel free to keep it!

Writing freestyle is one way to start writing a poem. If you don’t like something you have written, try and try again.  Feel good that you were brave enough to do it, no matter how you did it.  You have created. 

Celebrating the Little Things

Reflecting on happiness is good for the soul.  It’s hard to do when you are sad, but there are many stories and poems reflecting the emotion of happiness.  Some of my poems do just that.

Happiness in Un-Clenched Emotion

In my book, Un-Clenched Emotion I have organized my poems into three sections.  Because enjoying the little things in life is so important, I labeled the first section of my poems, (you guessed it,): Enjoying.  When down in the dumps, look to read uplifting things.  You may have trouble finding joy being celebrated, but you will see by my book that it is possible to find authors shining light instead of darkness in the world of literature.

Selling My Book

I am happy to announce that I have recently found things to celebrate in my world of writing.  I felt really good when I randomly received money in my bank account from KDP, which meant I sold a copy of Un-Clenched Emotion.  Who I sold it to, I don’t know.  I do know that I recently convinced my boyfriend to buy a copy of my book.  Like he usually does, he found a way to bring me pleasure by asking if I would sign his copy.  Blushing under his praise, I did just that.  Perhaps I only sold one random stranger and my boyfriend my book, but I will always look for the little things to bring me good spirits.  Little things like selling one copy of my book.

Love That I Shared

It’s not just my boyfriend and a random stranger that has received and read Un-Clenched Emotion.  When my best friend was in jail she requested a copy of it to pass the time.  I gladly gave it to her.  She has told me that once she got out of jail she left the book behind, or “donated” it.  I don’t mind that my book went to the occupants of a jail, it actually makes me very happy.  My friend told me that she felt my poetry was very good and deserved to be shared.  I have shared my writing in the world at large as well with the creation of this blog.  After leaving it for months, I was ecstatic to come back to it and find that I had 102 page views.  I have no idea how I got those views.  Was it because I figured out that I needed to click a box on BlogSpot in order to make it searchable?  Was it because I put labels and descriptions on my blog?  Was it because I shared on Facebook that I published a poetry book and a friend shared my post?  Because another friend shared my post on Twitter?  I may never know, but sharing my blog with 102 people is something to celebrate.

Happiness can be in the little things.  In my case I found happiness by being proud that I put a section on “Enjoying” in Un-Clenched Emotion, by selling my book, and by sharing my book and blog with others.  I hope that you can find ways to reflect on happiness too.

The Benefits of Reading Poetry

Sometimes people are interested in poetry and sometimes they’re not. The interest or lack of interest can be found in both the reading and writing aspect.  It’s a shame more people aren’t interested in poetry.  Following are some of the benefits to both reading and writing poems.

Reading poetry allows people to relax and learn new things.  It can help with recognizing emotions within one’s self and make the readers notice emotions in others better.  Sometimes reading poetry makes people feel smarter, allowing them to get correct answers on quiz shows like Jeopardy.  Sometimes new words are found, and that also helps to better the mind.  After looking at some poems, one may find that they describe things better when in normal conversation.  If people want to learn many new things, they may go a step further and read about the author.  This can help with learning some historical facts that were previously unknown to the reader.  Another benefit of reading poetry is that it can be therapeutic since it allows one to concentrate which can be a form of meditation.  With so many benefits of reading poetry, I’m not sure why people don’t necessarily like doing it, I find it wonderful.  I highly recommend reading about different subjects so that at least new things can be learned.

For some people, like me, writing poetry is also relaxing.  For others, it can be stressful.  However, writing poetry has many of the same benefits of reading poetry.  When coming up with ideas, new things often present themselves to writers.  New words are thought up and discovered.  Writing about emotions really helps authors know emotions in others.  Reading about authors can help the creator of a poem not only enhance their learning, but allow the aspiring poet to come up with new inspiration.  There are some other added benefits to writing poetry that people may not necessarily get if they are only reading it. Writing is definitely a creative outlet.  Completing a poem can be an ego boost once the person writing it realizes their creativity has helped them make a new creation.  Creating something worthwhile makes a person feel proud of themselves.  If a poem is written in a certain style, skills other than writing may be used.  The most obvious one is coming up with a rhyme scheme.  Other skills may be used as well though, for example; math skills.  Syllables, lines, and stanza may need to be counted.  Especially if something like a sonnet or haiku is being written.  There are obviously many benefits to writing poetry.

For some, writing comes hard, and it is not relaxing to them.  It causes stress, which is counterproductive.  If this is the case, there is no shame in avoiding writing.  Reading poetry is relatively simple though, so there really is no excuse to avoid reading it.  Both writing and reading poems can allow people to find relaxation and learn many new skills like learning new words and new information.  Poetry is clearly beneficial.

The Title of Un-Clenched Emotion or Unclenched Emotion

When I wrote my poetry book I thought of the perfect title: "Unclenched Emotion."  Something funny happened when I went into Word.  It said unclenched was a misspelled word.  Because of this I thought unclenched wasn't a word, much to my dismay.  So I changed it to un-clenched emotion.  I wasn't giving up on my title even though I thought the word didn't exist.  It's a sad thing I changed it with the dash, because that makes it harder to find.

To my humiliation, when I posted on boards on Create Space, where I published my book, that unclenched wasn't a word, I faced some correction.  It is a word.  I had to have other authors telling me so.  That's really embarrassing for someone who studied English, but we all have our faults.  What does unclenched mean?  In the most basic sense it means to open from a clenched position.  Like unclenching your teeth.  Or it can mean to relax.  It just goes to show you that you should not rely on spell check.  It's not just Word that has unclenched as misspelled, it's doing it here on blogspot too.  (Funny note, blogspot is also underlined in red).  I have all kinds of red underling a word that has a definition and is spelled correctly.  Confusing!

So why did I choose "Un-Clenched Emotion" for my title?  I wanted something that described emotion uninhibited.  I wanted to describe hidden emotions opening up.  I wanted to describe emotion as a positive state, and relaxed is that.  My poetry is full of emotion and I was (and will be in the future) writing about my feeling.  Sometimes writing about feelings that I'm guessing others feel.  I think in great writer should put their feelings into their words, unabashed.  They should be "open" about it instead of "clenched"  I was in my book so  ultimately, I think I have a great title.  I just wish I published without the dash!

The Cover Photo of Un-Clenched Emotion

I wanted to talk a little about the cover that's on my book, "Un-Clenched Emotion".  I believe it is awesome, and friends and family have told me that it is beautiful, so I know it's not just me.  It's a picture of the sun, and it is reflected in the ocean on a beach.

I thought maybe my book price as $5.50 might be high, for a little over 20 poems.  However, I think the photo on the cover is worth much more than that, even without the poetry.  I'm not a photographer in any way, but some of my family members are, and some friends too.  Their photos sale for $50 dollars and up.  I always thought I took good pictures, but I don't have a professional camera and I wouldn't know how to start to sell a photo for such a price.  I still think I'm good with a digital or phone camera though.  If I was selling this picture, I would not be ashamed to accept a reasonable amount of money for that breathtaking scenery.  Compared to $50, $5.50 is quite a deal!

The picture on the cover of "Un-Clenched Emotion" was taken in SeaSide Oregon. I was simply on vacation with my family and happened to be at the beach.  I was captivated by the scenery.  I wanted to hold onto if forever, so I did the next best thing and took a photo.  It's too bad I couldn't bottle the scent or record the sounds of the ocean.  It was such a great feeling to be in SeaSide  I had no plans for that photo except personal enjoyment.  The double sun, in the water, and in the sky really speaks of natures beauty.  It's a reflection of it self, and that is poetic all on it's own.  The picture puts you in a serene sort of mind, perfect for when your reading poetry.

I didn't write any poems solely about the sun in my book, but I definitely mentioned it once or twice.  I did write a poem entitled "The Sea" which makes the beach a perfect representative of what's in the book.  This poem also mentions the sun in it.  This is in the Enjoyment part of the book.  I placed it there because I love the ocean and find it enjoyable.  I do mention the sun later on in the book in the philosophizing part entitled "Seeking".  In this poem, the sun is more of a metaphor, but the imagery still helps me justify putting a photo of the sun on the front of the book.

I haven't made any book sales that I know of,  (Not until I simply see money in my account will I know if I did).  I'm not sure if anyone accepted my free kindle book either. (I will never know unless someone posts a review).  Perhaps reading poetry isn't that popular.  But even if you don't like poetry, you could still buy the book simply for the beauty of the cover!  I understand if you don't want to get the kindle copy for that, but the kindle price is $2.99 so you're not paying "extra" for the cover. https://www.amazon.com/Un-Clenched-Emotion-Natasha-Gruss-ebook/dp/B01LZNVH4Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494455180&sr  I'm proud of my poems, and I'm proud of my creation.  I think everything about it is beautiful and everyone who has seen the book has told me it is too.  I just wish I was better at getting it out to the public!

Discouragement to Encouragement From "The Princess Bride"

The free book promotion is over.  I'm a little discouraged about publishing this poetry book, because as far as I know it's not getting out there.  I have no way of knowing if anyone choose to take care of this opportunity to get "Un-Clenched Emotion" or not.  The only way I have of knowing is if someone posts a review, and no one has.  It's disheartening that no one has paid money for the book except for me.  Not even my parents. they were hoping I would buy it for them and they don't have a kindle.  I'm still glad I published this book though.

I just finished reading "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman,  Yes, I read it, I didn't just watch the movie, though I have in the past and is one of my favorites.  That's why I got the book.  Anyway, I read a funny, encouraging passage on the poet Browning.  It goes like this:

"Did you know that Robert Browning's first book of poems didn't sell one copy?  True.  Even his mother didn't buy it at her local bookstore.  Have you ever heard anything more humiliating? How would you like to have been Browning and it's your first book and you have these secret hopes that now, now , you'll be somebody.  Established, Important.  And you give it a week before you ask the publisher how things are going, because you don't want to seem pushy or anything.  And then maybe you drop by, and it was probably all very English and understandable in those days, and you're Browning and you chitchat around a bit, before you drop the biggie: "Oh, by the way, any notions yet on how my poems might be doing?'  And then his editor who has been dreading this moment, probably says, "Well, you know how it is with poetry these days; nothing's taking off like it used to, requires a bit of time for the word to get around.' And then finally, somebody had to say it. 'None, Bob, Sorry, Bob, no, we haven't yet had one authenticated sale.  We thought for a bit that Hatchards had a potential buyer down by Piccadilly, but it didn't quite work out,  Sorry, Bob; of course we'll keep you posted in the event of a breakthrough." (Goldman, p. 227-228)

This of course, probably isn't true.  Part of the delight of The Princess Bride is it's funny b,s.  It got me thinking though.  Did Browning not sell his first book of poems? (According to Wikipedia he couldn't get a publisher at 12 so destroyed the book, but that's at twelve years old and who's published a book that young?.)  Knowing that this has happened to a famous poet (even if it happened fictitiously) gives me encouragement.  Sure no one has bought my book yet (that I know of)  But they may in the future,  And it may not be until I'm dead, but that's okay.  I just want people to get enjoyment out of my work, whatever the date may be.  I hope this inspires other struggling authors as well.  Some day you may be famous no matter how far you've gotten in your writing by now!