New iPhone App Helps Writers

Learn to Pitch Their Books

Overview: Just as it takes an entirely different set of skills for an artist to talk about their paintings as it does to paint the paintings, it’s an entirely different set of skills to talk effectively about a book, as to write one. This workshop, which writers can do on their phone, teaches a three-step formula for pitching that works for any book by award-winning author and speaker Linda Rohrbough.

Allentown, PA – Saturday, April 26, 2011 – Everyone thinks writers are born with a talent to talk to others about their work. But for most, writing a book is like sorting paper in a wind tunnel. To boil the experience down to a few comprehendible sentences is nearly overwhelming. Award-winning author Linda Rohrbough has help with a methodology to help writers do this task with fiction or non-fiction that is a plug-and-chug formula anyone can use. She’s been teaching her “Pitch Your Book” workshop to writer’s groups all over the country and now it’s available in a step-by-step, interactive manner on the iPhone.

Rohrbough says, “Pitching is a lifelong skill for a writer. There will never be a time when a writer doesn’t have to talk to someone they don’t know about one of their books. At first, it’s agents and editors, but later it’s readers, bookstore owners, and maybe even the media. But what new writers don’t know is the pros figure how to do this before they start a book.”

“Part of the rub is writers are afraid when it comes to talking about their work. Their hearts start beating fast, their palms get sweaty, and they forget their own names. I’ve done this. So one of the things I have to do is teach writers how to manage their own fears. If I don’t, I find myself with a group of people who cannot hear what I have to say, much less implement the simple formula I’ve come up with.”

Part of the beauty of doing her workshop as an App is Rohrbough can also appeal to people with different learning styles, just as she does in person. “I have yet to hear someone say, ‘I don’t remember’ or ‘I didn’t understand’ after they completed one of my workshops. Everything I do is designed to imprint in their minds, no matter how they learn, my simple and useful techniques. No wasted motion. And I’m doing the same in my App,” she said.

The basic portion of the App is about an hour in length divided into ten short sections, that can be done a little at a time or all at once. There are also flash cards and multiple choice questions to reinforce key concepts.

“Writers see many examples of how this is done, learn how to plug their own work into the formula, and then use my steps to talk about their own book in an effective and attention-getting way,” Rohrbough added.

“Pitch Your Book” became available from Study By App in the Apple iTunes store April 23^th for $3.99.

Rohrbough available for interviews. Contact Robin Nolan at McDavid Public Relations robin@mcdavidpr.com or call 919-745-9333.

The Prophetess One

I'm pleased to announce an exciting new novel from a fantastic writing coach, Linda Rohrbough!

The Prophetess One: At Risk

by Linda Rohrbough

www.LindaRohrbough.com

"This is fast-paced, thrilling, edge-of-the-seat reading. The Prophetess One: At Risk had me flipping the pages and holding my breath."  - Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestseller

It’s a very different kind of war.

Why would God choose a pregnant computer programmer to fight it?

All Anna McClintock wants is a peaceful stretch of beach she can walk to with her new husband, Jack, and her soon-to-be-born child. Jack is finishing his engineering degree this semester and the two plan to leave his Kansas home to build their new lives together.

But when Anna finds herself in jail for the murder of a preschool child she tried to save, she realizes she is alone, except for God. She has to rely on new-found spiritual gifts as well as her wits and skills in order to save herself, her unborn son, and her marriage.

And she has another decision to make. This one affects the entire nation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Real events form the background for The Prophetess One: At Risk

Award-winning author Linda Rohrbough put her journalist skills to work when she saw strange events after her husband’s nephew, Daniel Rohrbough, was a casualty in the Columbine shooting. For example, as family at the Columbine memorial service, she noted General Colin Powell was on the platform in full military dress between musicians Amy Grant and Phil Driscoll. But he was never mentioned or introduced, and he never spoke.

She discovered the shooters bragged theirs would be the first of many such events and they low-level formatted the hard disk drives of their computers so no record of their Internet activity could be uncovered. And the officials investigating Columbine looked unsuccessfully for months for third-party involvement in the year-long planning of the shooting.

As she investigated other shootings, she uncovered much more information that led her to believe this sort of thing could be prevented on a grass roots level. The theme of the book is men are important in the lives of children.

Analyzing the Classics with Lorilyn Roberts

Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

Review

by Lorilyn Roberts

          What makes Pride and Prejudice work? Why is it a classic? Why would anyone want to read this book today, almost two hundred years after it was written – in almost archaic English? I was glad I read it on my Kindle so I could use the dictionary function to enlighten myself on unfamiliar words.

          I was impressed with one quality about this book which I have seen in only a few other books I have read:  I felt like I “knew” the main character intimately, as well as several of the supporting cast. Ms. Austen’s ability to develop unique characters was impressive, and there were quite a few, though each one was entertainingly different.

As the plot progressed, Ms. Austen used the story to enable a gradual change and maturity in the protagonist, Elizabeth. The antagonist, Mr. Darcy, did a complete turnabout in nature, which was unexpected, leading to a surprise ending. Almost all of the characters evolved, and those who didn’t—i.e., the mother, the youngest daughter who eloped—their inability to change was part of their flawed nature. Their failures created tension and added flavor to the plot. I have seen many of the personalities in Pride and Prejudice in my own life. I could relate to the dysfunctional mother, the submissive father, the complacent Mary, the beautiful Jane, the prideful Lady Catherine, the prejudicial sisters, and the nosy neighbors that gossiped—and still care about them anyway. 

What makes a great book? A key ingredient is creating characters we will remember long after the book is finished—people we love and villains we hate. Perhaps it’s a protagonist who stands for something beyond the pages of the book; or noble characters who demand an audience, representing archetypes within ourselves and others. Perhaps we meet someone in a story we wish to emulate. We become that hero or heroine, or worse yet, even the bad guy we despise. We fall in love and out of love, but we are never the same having met the unique characters within the pages of a great classic.

Books I would compare Pride and Prejudice to that have characters like that are The Exodus, Gone With the Wind, and Great Expectations. I remember those books like I read them yesterday, and two of them I read over thirty-five years ago

I saw much of myself in Elizabeth—outspoken, determined, moral, and loyal. In the end, she and the protagonist married, and each overcame significant flaws to make that possible. I couldn’t be sure until the end that it would happen. There was nothing wasted; every scene followed a natural progression, leading to the next event.

I will think about this book for a while, picking apart different aspects of the characters and story as I work out how to write my own fiction. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to study the art of character in a fictional book.

Find Lorilyn:

Children of Dreams

The Donkey and the King

http://lorilynroberts.com/

http://lorilynroberts.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/llwroberts

http://john316mn.blogspot.com

http://on.fb.me/fL67wf

Dare to Dream by PeggySue Wells

Are You Stuck?

By PeggySue Wells

What’s holding you back from pursuing your dreams?         

Interviewing people for my books, talking with them at events, or interacting through one-on-one life coaching, I’ve found that many yearn to take their lives to the next level. To move the ‘someday’ list into the today category.

How can you make that happen? Can you make it happen?

My husband of over 20 years decided to leave. My seven children and I were devastated. Where was God? What do I do now? There were days I couldn’t get out of bed because of the weight of despair. Trying to cope and parent, the turning point came when I applied five simple steps that took me forward. These steps and the checkpoints that kept, and still keep me on track are given in my speaking events and my new book, Rediscovering Your Happily Ever After.

Slight modifications can produce boundless results. These simple acts I could incorporate by noon. Each one was a shift in my outlook and a simple attitude adjustment that is reaping a lifetime of benefits for me and my loved ones. Surprisingly, these steps helped me look more beautiful—inside and out. Even my posture improved.

If you could do anything, no matter how zany, unrealistic, or expensive, what would that be? What desire burns in your heart? What do you yearn to do and be?

Are you at a crossroad? Slight changes can make it easy for you and me to tweak our course and aim for a more satisfying today.

What are you resisting? A crisis can destroy us or it can make us stronger. Deeper. The turning point comes in how we face the crisis.

What are your excuses? Our excuses usually illuminate what we are supposed to do but are too scared to pursue and achieve. The only person who believes an excuse is the one serving it up. No one else is buying the bologna we are selling any more than we believe the excuses others dish out to us. An excuse is nothing more than a well-crafted lie that no one believes except the person making it.

How we keep our word, our commitments, reveals if we are people of integrity. Keeping my word to myself is as important as keeping my word to others.

Our lives are to be spent. Not to be saved. How we invest our life is one of the most important decisions we make. Are you living full out? Each of us decides how we will invest our time. Today is an opportune moment to invest your life in pursuits that will outlive you.

Go ahead. Dare to dream. Dream big. Then take the next step to make your dream reality. Invest the first five minutes and celebrate the progress. No excuses.

We all need an extra large scoop of hope, no matter where we are on our life’s journey. Whether you are stymied at a life-changing crossroad or eager to create an energetic tomorrow, you can affect the outcome of your life. Today.

PeggySue Wells is a dynamic and interactive speaker specializing in enabling others to reach for and achieve their dreams. She is the author of a dozen books including the What to Do series and Rediscovering Your Happily Ever After. Contact her at www.PeggySueWells.com.

This article is provided free of charge by the author through Kathy Carlton Willis Communications. You are welcome to place this article on your site or in your publication as long as 1) it’s used in its entirety, 2) the full bio is also used, and 3) you previously request permission through KCWC at russ@kathycarltonwillis.com. All other standard copyrights apply.