by Holly Lisle on October 2, 2008 · 19 comments
in Big Courses, CRITICAL SKILLS SERIES, Cadence Drake Novels, Create A Character Clinic, Create A Plot Clinic, How To Find Your Writing Discipline, How To Think Sideways, Hunting the Corrigan's Blood, NONFICTION, Page-Turning Scenes, Personal, Slightly Loony, Thinking Sideways, WB1--Language Clinic, WB2--Culture Clinic, Worldbuilding Clinic, Writing Life
Yeah, my birthday is almost here, and I decided this year to celebrate by giving presents to other people. And not just on my actual birthday, either. I’m giving away presents every day next week, plus a couple of presents starting today.
So what are your presents?
- Day One (that’s today): Any two of my e-courses from the HollyShop, up to and including Page-Turning Scenes (but not the the writer’s block course.) I can’t give away other folks’ stuff, of course, so this is limited to just what I’ve written.
–Minimum value $15.95, max value $31.95–
Day Two (Friday 3): Any three of my e-courses from the HollyShop, up to and including Page-Turning Scenes (but not the the writer’s block course.)
–Minimum value $25.90, max value $41.90–
- Day Three (Saturday 4): Any four of my e-courses from the HollyShop, up to and including Page-Turning Scenes, OR the the writer’s block course.
–Minimum value $35.85, max value $59.95–
- Day Four (Sunday 5): Any five of my e-courses from the HollyShop, up to and including Page-Turning Scenes, OR the the writer’s block course.
–Minimum value $45.80, max value $61.80–
- Day Five (Monday 6): Any five of my e-courses from the HollyShop, up to and including Page-Turning Scenes, AND the the writer’s block course.
–Minimum value $105.70, max value $121.75–
- Day Six (Tuesday 7): All of my e-courses from the HollyShop.
–Value $151.64–
- Day Seven (Wednesday 8): Full scholarship to How To Think Sideways.
–Min value $282 (6-month course), max value $300 ($12-month course)—
- Day Eight (Thursday 9): Full scholarship to How To Think Sideways, and ANY two e-courses from the HollyShop.
–Min value $297.95, max value $376.95–
Day Nine (Friday 10): Full scholarship to How To Think Sideways, and any four courses from the HollyShop.
–Min value 307.90$, max value $386.85–
- Day Ten (Saturday 11): Full scholarship to How To Think Sideways, and ALL of my HollyShop courses.
–Value 451.64–
Total value of my birthday presents?
Absolute lowest value—$1720.33
Absolute highest value—$1987.43
But it’s more than that, really.
- Because today five people will win. ($79.95 minimum, $159.75 max in presents)
-
Friday four people will win. ($103.60 minimum, $167.80 max in presents)
- Saturday three people will win. ($107.55 minimum, $179.85 max in presents)
- Sunday, two people will win. ($91.60 minimum, $123.60 max in presents)
- Monday, two people will win. ($211.40 minimum, $243.50 max in presents)
- Tuesday, two people will win. ($303.28 in presents)
AND…
- Wednesday two people will win. ($564 minimum, $600 max in presents)
So the minimum total in presents I’m giving away for my birthday is…
$2518.87
And the maximum total in presents I’m giving away for my birthday is…
$2993.22
But that’s not all. EVERYONE who enters will receive one gift on Monday, October 13th.
The total value of my birthday bash giveaway including those gifts should be well over $5000. Could be a lot more. I’ll let you know once the confetti settles. :D
Who can enter?
Anyone but my immediate family.
And…
You could win twice, if you enter early. Here’s how:
Anyone who wins an e-book gift cannot win any further e-book presents, but will be re-entered for one of the full scholarships.
What if you win and you’re already a student in the Think Sideways course? Then I’ll refund the tuition you’ve paid to this point, and you are in free for the rest of the course.
Will I refund you for e-books you win but already own? No. Therein lies a madness of paperwork I will not even consider. HOWEVER… I’ll be very happy to send any prizes you win (INCLUDING a full scholarship if you want to be that generous) to someone you choose. If you win and this is an issue for you, contact me.
So…
Follow me on Twitter. Here’s my page: http://twitter.com/hollylisle
It’s free, it’s easy, and I’m already discovering that Twitter is a lot of fun.
If you’re already following me, you’re already entered. If you’re already a Twitter member, go to my page and click Follow and you’re entered. If you’re not already a member, it’s free and it only takes a minute to join. Then return to my page click Follow. The Follow button is right under my picture on the top left corner.
I’ll print off the complete list of my Twitter followers every day, and do a random drawing from those pages, PLUS the pages from every day’s pages before. Yes, this means that if you start following me today, you’ll get one new entry in the drawing every single day. Yes, this will improve your chances of winning, at least a little. I have no way of figuring odds. I have no idea how many people will enter. Today, right this minute, you’re odds would be about 5:32. I expect they’ll get a bit steeper over the next few days.
I’ll announce the winners at around noon my time every day. On Twitter. :D (Except today, when I’ll announce at around two, because I am SO behind schedule.)
And I’ll do a final listing of everyone who won here after it’s all over. Probably on Tuesday the 14th. Finally, EVERYONE who’s following me on Twitter will get a link to one gift on that day.
So. Does that count as a cool way to celebrate a birthday?
Have you had success with one of my courses? If you have, I really want to hear about it. Please tell me below.
by Holly Lisle on February 26, 2008 · 14 comments
in Administrivia, CRITICAL SKILLS SERIES, Create A Character Clinic, Create A Plot Clinic, How To Find Your Writing Discipline, NONFICTION, WB1--Language Clinic, WB2--Culture Clinic, WB3--World Clinic, Worldbuilding Clinic
If you’re on the Writers’ Updates newsletter and you have questions about or need help with the February Sucks sale, you can ask or post here. I’ll be checking the blog all day. And all day tomorrow. And by putting everything here, some questions might be answered that folks participating while I’m asleep might need.
If you’re not getting the newsletter, it’s not too late to join. Still about twenty minutes left on the countdown before things actually start.
Added.
Typing in the live countdown by hand. Four minutes left.
10:21
Gone In Seven Minutes
The Hawkspars and All the Talyn Hardcovers plus the Talyn ARC were actually gone in seven minutes.
Lots of stuff left. I’m doing a mad cut and paste just to keep people up with the book they got. Thank yous will go out when things slow down.
Holly
Last 13 Books
I can’t believe it, but I’m already out of all the books but the last thirteen, which are one-offs. I got caught up on the notifying folks of which book they got (check your PayPal email if you haven’t heard from me yet), but I haven’t had time to send out thank yous. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to breathe.
Corrected Hawkspars
Uploaded the correct versions of the Hawkspar First Draft Manuscript and the Hawkspar Revised Manuscript. Very sorry about the error. Weather here is unreal, but for now, power is still on.
Power Went Off, Came Back On
We’re through the first line of storms, but there’s another even bigger one behind in. Keep your fingers crossed that the hamster stays healthy.
Have Lost Internet Twice
And the next line of storms is almost to us. I’ve been answering e-mails in the meantime, but I’m not holding my breath on us having either internet OR power when the next storms come over.
If you tried to use your coupon earlier and it didn’t work, you can go ahead and order now. It’s fixed.
I apologize. I thoroughly tested the thing before I took it live; I don’t know what I managed to screw up afterward.
by Holly Lisle on September 27, 2007 · 1 comment
in Administrivia, Books, Cadence Drake Novels, Create A Character Clinic, Create A Plot Clinic, Hunting the Corrigan's Blood, NONFICTION, WB1--Language Clinic, WB2--Culture Clinic, Worldbuilding Clinic
Yesterday through the 30th, everything in the e-book shop is 10% off, to celebrate the fact that we’re up and running again.
In honor of the fever. I’m already tired of this. Drinking fluids, resting.
The sale is my sense of humor, such as it is when I’m sick, anyway. It runs through Monday so the folks who surf from work aren’t left out.
ALL CLINICS $2 OFF!
Sale Runs From Saturday July 28 through Monday July 30th.
I’ve put all three Clinic books on sale from today through Friday, each one $2.00 off.
Why? For karma. I’m struggling on the Ruby Key revisions, and the last time I put books on sale, the bad karma cleared. The line-for-scene is crawling, and most of the cards so far are red or orange. Not good. My stress level is rising, my confidence is falling.
I’d had some serious, bad stuff going on for a while the last time I put books on sale (also for karma), and everything got better. It may be New-Agey, it may seem crackpot. No matter. It worked last time, so I’m trying it again.
ADDED LATER:
Also put Hunting the Corrigan’s Blood on sale for a flat $3.00 (57% off). It’s not a clinic, but….
Anyway, I hope the discounts are a good thing for some of you, and provide good content and a useful service.
by Holly Lisle on February 21, 2007 · 6 comments
in Books, C: The Secret Project, NONFICTION, ON SPEC, SFTD Screenplay, Snippets and Stories, The Ruby Key, WB2--Culture Clinic, WB3--World Clinic, Writing Life, YA
I’m almost done with the first draft of The Ruby Key. Due to the fact that I left out a lot of important and exciting things in the middle portion of the story (because I write very, very tight in first draft and almost always have to expand in revision) I’m going to end up wrapping the first draft at around 55K, and then going back and adding in. The story might go a bit longer than that, but my editor, Lisa, assured me that organic writing and running long was okay with her, so long as I didn’t go over 100K. Since I’m pretty sure I can do what I need in 65K, I think I’m good to go on this one.
But that’s not all I’ve been doing. C—The Secret Project is
back in my life. I cannot leave it alone, which tells me that I shouldn’t try. I’ll give you the first two paragraphs; maybe those will tell you why this story is still eating at me after years of playing with it. (Maybe not. If not, then I concede the possibility of insane obsession. Otherwise, I’m holding out for sane obsession.)
Down the red clay road, dirt bone-dry and hard beneath her feet, with dust kicking up behind the heels of her cowboy boots, Kay strode with purpose. Blood on her palms, tears on her face. In her pocket, two wedding rings, a silver pin, an old harmonica. In her right hand, a shovel.
She’d left her purse in the car she’d abandoned a mile back. All her ID was in it: credit cards, driver’s license, birth certificate, a load of things she was leaving behind. This was the last shot, last time, last gasp, last hope. And how much hope was it really, hoping to be reborn but being ready to die, too, if that was the way things went?
I’m slowly putting together the paperback workbook version of Worldbuilding 2: Culture Clinic.
And I’m outlining WB3: Build-A-World Clinic.
Add in homeschooling the kidlet, and I’ve been a shadow of my former self online. But beneath the silence, a lot is going on.
Oh. And the business-related stress that had be tied up in knots for a couple of weeks? Resolved, all good, and there is a reason you want the very best agent you can get—and a reason I am grateful every day to have the best agent there is: You the writer are one lone, insignificant flyspeck in the universe of megacorp publishing—the industry that eats its young—and when you’re making deals with the giants, you want a master duellist negotiating for you.
ADDED LATER: Forgot the Sympathy for the Devil screenplay. Doing that for the film school kid, who’s finished film school, is casting for her second short, and to whom I promised a screenplay. I figure one from one of her favorites of my books would be good. At the moment, I’m notecarding that, which means lots of words but no visible progress.
Wednesdays suck in general. Today, mine is worse than usual, so I decided to do something good to offset all the bad karma.
There’s a one-day-only Hump Day sale on my writing books—15% off on any of them that you buy. Buy one or all three and get the discount.
