Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Feb 9, 2012, 9:26 pm
I'll ask this question today:  If you are writing for a living and enjoying the process will it ever becomes a job?  Would you feel that by making money you won't suffer from others who complain you don't have a true job?  (On a personal note:  if someone complains to me about writi...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Feb 7, 2012, 1:48 pm
The Roman Empire, at its height, was one of the largest Empires of its time, if not the largest. It ruled most of Europe, and this lead to many phrases like "all roads led to Rome." Before that time the Greek Empire was the largest, but they didn't have a direct link to Transylvania. The Roman Empi...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Feb 7, 2012, 1:41 pm
Are you very excited about writing?  Not that anyone here would suggest that people are not, but the question can be better suited for people who are just beginning the writing process.  I will not suggest to you to ever stop writing but here are a few thoughts of mine about writing. If...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Feb 6, 2012, 5:03 pm
I was asked this question, and it seemed to light a fire in me. And since I have talked about being specific and making sure you have goals, I set one for myself and my co-authors.  The question: Can you publish and sell 1,000,000 books? We will find out.  Which books? ...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Feb 6, 2012, 4:07 pm
The one million book challenge officially kicks off today. This challenge is simple: I intend to sell 1,000,000 books in seven years.  I am very excited that In Search of The Lost Ones is included in this list. You can find more information on Things About Transylvania One Million Book...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Feb 5, 2012, 10:05 pm
This is a map which shows the three principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia. Shown as it was about 1600, this would become the area which was called Greater Romania after 1919. In 1600, this land was united under Michael the Brave. This is the Kingdom of Hungary w...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Feb 5, 2012, 12:52 am
On Monday, we will be making an announcement that will be dealing with Living a Life of Writing.  This will be a very large, long term event, and we will be telling you more on a new page on Living a Life of Writing. This is a challenge that Jane and myself have decided to take on, and ...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Feb 5, 2012, 12:48 am
Be prepared... on Monday there will be a big announcement on a new page on Things about Transylvania. To help you try to find out what this is about, try to look at the pictures below. Let the Challenge begin Monday. Are you ready for this new challenge?  Will it change Things about T...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Feb 3, 2012, 5:36 pm
Vlad Tepes II was the father of Vlad Tepes III (also known as Vlad the Impaler). Tepes II was a prince of Wallachia twice, and while holding the throne of Wallachia for the second time, he was killed by allies of Johann Hunyadi. There was a long history between the two and it came to an end w...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Feb 3, 2012, 5:28 pm
It is all about selling a book, and this leads to a lot of writers simply assuming that they do not have to continue to market a book after it has been published.  Marketing is a long-term process and one which is not to be taken lightly. Money is an objective here, and the truth is that...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Feb 1, 2012, 10:53 pm
I wonder about the issue of money.  I think that most writers want to have a successful writing career and sell some books.  In fact many writers mention money as a "thing," a byproduct of their writing. Writers are very general when it comes to money, and we shouldn't be.  I would li...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Feb 1, 2012, 10:20 pm
This is a photograph of Queen Elizabeth of Romania. She was born Elizabeth of Wied and married Carol of Romania, a German Prince. When it became clear that they would have no more children -- their only daughter died in childhood -- they groomed another family member to became ruler of Romania. Que...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 31, 2012, 1:26 am
The history of Dracula all began with the writings of many people.  The writers were spread out from Russia to Wallachia (a part of what is now Romania) and some were German people living in Transylvania.  The Germans wrote back to the German princedoms about one man:  His name was Vlad Tepes I...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 30, 2012, 7:22 pm
I think the hardest part about being a writer is getting back to writing, especially if you have just published a book. I am thinking of joining a writing class. A creative writing course will improve not only my writing but my focus. I think that will make my editor feel better -- or worse. I a...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 28, 2012, 12:40 am
The question seems to always come up, when you have published anything, a blog or a online article or even a book (or three) people inevitably ask, do you make money? Well in sense, yes I make money with my writing, but I am usually not asked how much.  I think most people do not see wri...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 28, 2012, 12:34 am
In Transylvania there was a woman who became far more deadly than Vlad Tepes. She was married to a minor prince and as such kept her maiden name-- Bathory. However she was part of a greater clan, the Bathory clan which ruled within Transylvania. This was a powerful clan for many years. Yet, it was...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 26, 2012, 10:07 pm
Recently I have had friendly debates with more than a few people about the nature of blogs.  Many people look to blogs as a means for making money -- and there is nothing wrong with that -- but I hear the same comment time and again -- to make money, you need attract traffic. My usual re...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 26, 2012, 9:57 pm
... is somewhat like a blog on Transylvania, it needs traffic -- attention from readers -- to survive and to thrive.  ... 13; The same hold true for blogs: they need traffic to survive in this environment, and many thanks ... , thanks to her and the readers here, has increased traffic.  I hope...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 25, 2012, 10:32 pm
I recently did a quick search on the book website Amazon.com and what I found was very interesting to me.  I wouldn't like to keep you in suspense about my search terms, so I will give this to you:  Transylvania and Dracula. I narrowed the search down to history books and found 33 results. ...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 25, 2012, 10:25 pm
Most writers want to publish their books and want to make money with their books.  After all, it is not like you want to do all of that work and then have a book that does not sell well, or worst still one which sits on shelves and collects dust. It is easy to write a book, anyone can wr...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 23, 2012, 11:10 pm
This is a question that I find partly fun and partly interesting:  many people ask me, where is Transylvania, Romania.  I sometimes wish I could show maps and pictures to the person I'm talking to, but the short answer is that it is in Eastern Europe. Just like Transylvania has many smaller ...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 23, 2012, 10:25 pm
We writers are funny creatures.  I am not against self-publishing.  In fact I believe that for many books, self-publishing is a great idea.  I say this with one caveat: editors are a must.  I think we writers like to think we can do it all, but we can't. I am pleased with my book sale...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 22, 2012, 12:33 am
What most people think of as Transylvania -- the larger province or principality -- is actually made up of several parts. Most people forget that there are other areas nearby which are not a part of Transylvania. The Banat is one of them. This distinction is important to people who live in t...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 21, 2012, 2:33 pm
Why would you write non-fiction vs. writing fiction?  I was asked this by a few people, and I think I'll give the long answer here.  Keep in mind that in either case you are writing something which potentially can be of benefit to you. I didn't think too much about the reasons behind my...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 19, 2012, 7:06 pm
The Saxons of Transylvania have an entirely different name for Transylvania: it is called Siebenbürgen. This means, roughly translated, 'seven castles'.  The main city of the Saxons Hermannstadt, is best known by its Romanian name: Sibiu. Up until 1941, primarily German speakers lived there,...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 19, 2012, 6:52 pm
I was reading several books, mostly about writing and publishing, and one in particular struck me as being very wise. Most of you should read Aiming At Amazon when you get the chance.  For me, there was one point in it that make me really think. Should you publish a book or an e-book?  ...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 17, 2012, 7:06 pm
In the last post, I wrote about the name Transylvania, and the fact that many people know the area by that name.  Sometimes, however, it can be spelled differently: Transilvania.  However, if you go to Transylvania, Romania, you will hear some very different names for the same place. B...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 17, 2012, 6:53 pm
We've all heard of them. If you are a published author you've definitely heard of them - the dreaded "promotional tools".  There are a wide range of them available, and I had to think hard about which ones I should use and what I should use them for.  Promotion happens before and after you have pu...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 16, 2012, 1:55 am
There are many ways to spell the word Transylvania.  After all, its roots are in the Latin language, but it still has a different meaning that what most think. No, it has nothing to do with castles or Dracula, but rather with nature.  Roughly, Transylvania means "land beyo...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 16, 2012, 1:13 am
Which is better?  I think we want to see success in all our writing, and the question becomes:  What should we do? Should we write another book that will build on the last book, or promote the book that we have just published? For me the answer is simple:  Do both. 1) You h...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 13, 2012, 10:18 pm
Wow what a year it has been! Yes, I finally published my first book, and looking back, it was a full year of work.  I went through several edits -- and editors -- until I found the right path to follow.  This process lasted from January 2011, until nearly the end of October 2011. Don't...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 12, 2012, 8:58 pm
Below I have photos of several of the castles of Transylvania. I've also included a map showing where Brasov and Bran Castle are located in Transylvania. These places, and places like them, are part of the reason why the tourism industry is doing well in the city of Brasov and other areas. It is par...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 12, 2012, 1:10 am
A prince of Wallachia needs a throne. The problem with this particular prince was that his father was in exile. The next problem, that this prince faced was that the principality of Wallachia was under the control of a larger Empire. This Empire was ruled by a man who lived far away from Wallachia (...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 12, 2012, 12:56 am
So what do you do when you can't write online?  I hope you don't get all upset or look for excuses not to write. I read that a fellow blogger has this problem when she's writing in a different place -- or at a different time.  I think she is correct.  The more you write the more comfor...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 9, 2012, 5:28 pm
This is the Saxon's shield that they had while they lived in Transylvania. This of course has meaning to them and it is still seen and used by the descendants of these Saxons.  One of the cities that is represented by the seven castles is Sighisoara. It is one of the seven castle...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 9, 2012, 5:12 pm
This is something that most people can have a lovely discussion about: you've published your book, and now you have to make a few choices. Some of them are easy - and getting a book published does have its easy points.  Making money is also on your mind-- or rather profits on that book., and then a...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 8, 2012, 4:30 pm
I am almost tempted, after I finish writing and publishing my book about Transylvania and the Saxons, to expand my writing to Transylvania and Romania.  There is a lot of information I can get for that.  I am not sure, however, when another book about Transylvania will be published soo...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 7, 2012, 1:17 pm
So you've published that book?  Great. I think you've done a great job, but now it's on to the second one, after all, you've told people until you are blue in the face that you have a book out.  So let the sales begin.  You have a goal (I'd like to sell 100 e-books in 3 months) and you've got an ...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 5, 2012, 5:33 pm
I know... it's hard.  It's the whole New Year's thing... The work when everyone else is ready to play or has time off from their day jobs thing.  They want to have fun, and they might even think you are being a party-pooper for "working" on your project or your book.  You have deadlines -- they a...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 5, 2012, 5:06 pm
This place certainly has a lot going for it. It has a documented existence since 1191, and for hundreds of years, it was the heart of the Transylvanian Saxons cultural life. It was also the place where many of the Saxons were educated. Up until 1941, there were more Germans who lived there than eit...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Jan 3, 2012, 12:38 pm
This is a true statement for most writers: once you have published your book, no matter where you publish it or how much fanfare you get from it, you will need to publish another one, and it must be as well written (if not better than) the last one. I am not suggesting that you have to pu...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Jan 1, 2012, 10:34 pm
These two men influenced the people of Romania, and also the people of Transylvania. In many ways, they came out of the Second World War with two very different reputations. Joesph Stalin ruled the USSR with an Iron fist, and he killed millions of people either directly or indirectly. H...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Dec 31, 2011, 9:26 pm
Just a Nte to wish you all a Happy New Year! Make This year your year to have that work in progress published.  All the best.  Happy Writing and love what you do. Make 2012 the best year- finish what you begin and publish that book. ...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Dec 29, 2011, 1:59 pm
Biertan and its population were small in comparison with other cities in the area of Transylvania.  At the same time it too has its share of famous people who lived there.  Since the city was populated mostly by Transylvanian Saxons, this is a historically important city to them. The most fa...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Dec 27, 2011, 6:48 pm
I am so excited that the book on Transylvania is doing well. I have even received a review for the book. It is available both in paperback and on Kindle. I think that this book will help people know about the area and where Transylvania is. I know most people know that Dracula lives there... ...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Nov 2, 2011, 11:58 pm
Nicole was kind enough to award Living a Life of Writing the Versatile Blog Award.  Thanks! So as part of that here are seven things you might not know about Jane or Rebecca: 1) Jane is an editor, and Rebecca is a writer.  However they only recently began to work jointly on t...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Nov 2, 2011, 12:08 am
I think more than a few writers feel this need:  Just get that book published. After all we write and write and than we hop that it will be published.  I think we'd like to say no one will notice a couple of errors, but really our readers are smart and if we want...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Oct 29, 2011, 1:30 pm
I think most of us can agree that going on a tour of a new place is exciting.  Where would you go and what would you do?  Where in Transylvania would you find the most interesting places? Of course I would love to see Alba Iulia but also other cities, one of them being Brasov.  I think that...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Living a Life of Writing - Oct 29, 2011, 1:20 pm
I think at this point I want to make a bit of a definition.  I talk about writing and publishing but there is something very different about someone who writes and someone who publishes.  Now, it doesn't mean anyone. Frankly anyone can write.  All one has to do is look at their email b...
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Rebecca E. posted an article on Things about Transylvania - Oct 27, 2011, 4:21 pm
If you are thinking of visiting Transylvania in the next little while, where would you visit?  There are hundreds of cities and small towns and villages that anyone can go and see.  Of course, if you are there at the end of October, you will probably want to go and visit Bran Ca...
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