The Long Game
Book Review: Walking with the Sage & Short Story: Granny's Storytelling Ways
Headline: The Long Game
The book I’m reviewing today speaks to people who’ve planned a career path and succeeded, and now feel a need to move on.
I’ve never had a career path.
In high school, we took the Kuder preference test and it said I would be happy being a lawyer, actress, or drill press operator, among other things. It’s true. I believe a drill press was one of the industrial machines we used back stage at College of Marin while I was a work-study theater techie. I enjoyed tending bin on a grape picker one season; investigating child abuse allegations let me protect children and help families that were under stress - challenging, worthwhile, and satisfying work until a change in supervisors made it unsafe; I enjoyed working with behaviorally challenged teens as a teacher, though my best administrators always moved on - so I did too. And there’s my own farming and house renovation and all the other things I’ve done along the way.
For the last year or so, I’ve been working with a group of writer friends focused on the business of writing, especially planning marketing. Several of them have planned and done formal launches and ad campaigns. Joan Griffin’s Force of Nature is really selling well. I’ve been self-publishing nearly twenty years - much longer than most of them. My writing has consistently gotten praise from noteworthy sources, but I’ve never had the sustained focus on marketing that leads to best sellers.
When I splurged on an ad for All for One - Love, War, & Ghosts in Publisher’s Weekly I got two requests for review copies. One led to a nice quote from the editor of The Strand Magazine and being listed on their Reading Guide. The other resulted in a positive review from Vietnam Veterans of America. However, despite hours of effort, I have not created a clear marketing plan to push this title, at least not one I’ll follow. Instead, I end up feeling overwhelmed with to-dos and chide myself for lack of follow-through. Realistically, that’s a career-builder style, not mine.
What I do have is stamina for the long game. Rather than one big push, I’ll keep chipping away at marketing all of my books, and screenplays, and short stories. I’ll do a little here, a little there, keep writing this newsletter regularly, and otherwise go with the flow.
I have All for One competing for Kindle Book Awards and their Reader’s Choice. I entered Running Away** - School Edition in the BookLife Prize. All for One and Tough Times are both in the Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. I’ve also polished and submitted the screenplay of All for One - Love, War, & Ghosts and a short script from one of my stories to Austin and BlueCat. Some of these provide quotable reviews to all entrants. Hopefully I’ll be able to add to my list of Award-Winning Writing.
All of that may help me onto some podcasts that will improve sales, but I’m not going to drive myself nuts planning or setting quotas. Instead, I’m developing a habit of listening to podcasts while I drive or work out at the gym. When I find one that seems it might be a good fit, I’ll follow it long enough to be able to pitch myself as a guest.
I’ll keep in mind, marketing is not my main goal. Despite the time spent making plans I didn’t follow this year I polished the book and script of All for One - Love, War, & Ghosts, and recorded the audio book. All versions are now published. I completed the first draft of a romance novella for a contest and wrote a few short story stories for Furious Fiction or this newsletter. From time to time I’ve worked on other books I have in process. That is my main goal.
I write.
AI News
ChatGPT won’t imitate Stephen King’s writing for you, but it may help you capture a similar feeling? Tech article about this new distinction.
Writing Opportunities
If you write optimistic speculative fiction about our future, check out Tractor Beam, a quarterly speculative and science fiction publication dedicated to radical visions of hopeful futures on Earth. They pay well, too.
Chicken Soup is looking for stories for Count Your Blessings (deadline extended to September 15), and Humorous Stories (deadline October 15). Other topics are listed there with deadlines further out. All submissions need to be true and no AI should be used - not even Grammarly. Check their specific guidelines. They pay $250 and 10 free copies after publication of a book with your story in it. If your story is chosen, they’ll have you sign a contract that specifies they get non-exclusive rights to publish, reprint, or use the story in other ways.
List verse - pays for lists. Ten items minimum per list - if they like it, they pay $100. Your list should be at least one or two paragraphs per entry. Any topic and link to reputable sources (see Section 7 of their author guide for more details) so we can verify the facts of what you’re saying.
Education: Conferences and Webinars
Elk Grove Writers Guild is holding a half day seminar on Oct. 24, 2026. There is a fee of $60, but if you are within an easy commute, it may be worth it. Check it out.
Free Advertising
Each month, BookLife runs the Indie Spotlight feature, a thematic roundup of self-published books both online and in print in Publishers Weekly magazine and BookLife. Industry professionals, media professionals, and librarians read these magazines. There is no charge, but the competition is enormous. Fiction or nonfiction, adult or children’s, secular or religious, written or graphic - all types of books will be considered IF the subject matter matches the month’s topic.
In August, they’re accepting picture books and other illustrated titles, including graphic novels.
Email your submission info to booklifeeditor@booklife.com with the subject line “Indie Spotlight: Picture Books.” Provide all the info listed in these directions.
The have other free promotions, too, also with stiff competition. Scroll down for First Lines and Behind the Story.
Awards, Etc.
The early deadline for Writer’s Digest Self-Published eBook Awards is August 14. The early entry fee is $100, additional entries $85. Every Entrant gets a written commentary that can be quoted for marketing. There’s a grand prize of $5000 and $1000 for first in each category - plus several more perks for each. Honorable mentions get $50 off a Writer’s Digest Shop purchase and they’re published in the magazine too, not just the top winners. All books self-published or revised and republished between 2021 and 2026 are eligible.
Call to Action - Get your indie book reviewed!
If you’d like me to consider reviewing your indie/small press book, details are explained in this website blog.
Free Reading
Writers: Let me know when you’re doing a free or reduced price promotion and I’ll post it here! Readers: Enjoy and post reviews!
Those with Kindle Unlimited may read these books for free:
Tom Huggler’s The Woman She Left Behind - reviewed here January 13.
Geri Krotow’s A Midsummer Murder - reviewed here January 27.
Angela Page Conti’s Enrico G - I haven’t read this yet…
Joan Griffin’s Force of Nature - reviewed on my website blog
Free with an audible membership:
Sheri McGuinn’s All for One - Love, War, & Ghosts
Deborah Derrickson Kossman’s Lost, Found, Kept - A Memoir - reviewed here June 23
Book Review:
Walking with the Sage - A Story of Leaving Everything to Find More by Kathy Robinson
This was a quick read, well written and presented.
The author provides a parable about finding holistic wellness when the path to success dutifully followed no longer feels right. As someone who has lived a very different life, walking away from poor fits multiple times and reinventing myself, this book did not speak to me. However, for those who do feel stuck in a career or lifestyle that is no longer satisfying, this story may be a useful guide to making changes.
A member of my business of writing group handed me a copy at the end of our last meeting and asked me to pass it on if it wasn’t right for me. The author is a friend of hers and had given her a few copies to share. Mine ended up with the Antelope/North Highlands free books - after I read it. If you’re unhappy in your life, check it out.
Fiction: Granny’s Storytelling Ways
I do enjoy writing short stories. You can listen here or read here.
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Don’t forget to vote!
Please vote for All for One - Love, War, & Ghosts in the Kindle 2026 Reader’s Choice Awards, Mystery/Thriller category. You can only vote for one book in each category. Scroll down and you’ll see the cover, probably the original:
The cover color’s been updated, but may still display this way for the vote.
If you haven’t read it yet, voting is open until October.
The audio book has been released.
Here’s the new sample clip from InAudio:
Other ways to support my work:
Buy my books.
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Talk about them.
Post reviews.
You can read a sample of each at these links:
Thanks.
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©Sheri McGuinn
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