You may plan a day that could find you in the garden (that’s me), a picnic in the park with a concert; BBQ and hanging out with family and friends (ditto here), maybe catching up with a book that has beckon to you (I have a few of those–on my table top is The Seventh Sense; maybe a movie day binge … who knows, for most, it’s a “day off”. While you settle back with your choice, do take some time and remember …  give thanks and honor the men and women who have died for our country. Over 1.1 million have given their lives since the American Revolution—a staggering number!

For me, my weekend started with flying our flag Friday AM a few days ago; clearing the rest of the snow off the deck from the not-so-delightful dumping of 8 inches of snow earlier in the week and officially planting veggies in the lower garden; spending four hours with two authors getting them back on track, let’s face it—refocusing and recommitting is critical to author success; planning for next weekend’s AuthorYOU Saturday meeting; finishing planting flower pots; getting my favorite peach ice tea … and today, the official Memorial, I sip to our soldiers and deep dive into finishing the editing on a book to return to a client.

Here are two thoughts I would love to draw your attention to.

ONE … The first is on how to share books & eBooks with soldiers overseas—Memorial Day should be every day—please keep that in mind:    https://createthegood.org/toolkit/send-books-us-troops  

TWO … the second is from one of America’s most prolific authors, Stephen King with sage advice for all writers:

• Read, read, read. “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.”
• Don’t worry about making other people happy. “If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway.”
• Write one word at a time. “Whether it’s a vignette of a single page or an epic trilogy like ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ the work is always accomplished one word at a time.”
• You have three months. “The first draft of a book—even a long one—should take no more than three months, the length of a season.”

Be with your friends and family and honor those who have made that possible.

 Judith Briles is a book publishing expert and coach. She empowers authors and is the Founder of Author U, a membership organization created for the serious author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the 80s. Judith is the author of 37 books including How to Create a $1,000,000 Speech, How to Avoid 101 Book Publishing Blunders, Bloopers & Boo-Boos. Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms (ForeWord IndieFab Book of the Year), Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers, The CrowdFunding Guide for Authors & Writers and a speaker at publishing conferences. Book #37 is published next week: When God Says NO-Revealing the YYES When Adversity and Loss Are Present. Get your copy.

Each summer, she holds Judith Briles Book Publishing Unplugged, a two-day intensive limited to a small group of authors who want to be seriously successful. In 2019, the dates are June 21-22.  Join Judith live on Thursdays at 6 p.m. EST for Author U – Your Guide to Book Publishing on the Toginet Network at bit.ly/PublishingShow .

Follow @AuthorUYOU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorYOU and Judith Briles – TheBookShepherd on Facebook. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact Judith at Judith@Briles.com.