My Two Big Writing Projects for 2012

by Ali | Jan 24, 2012 | Old post | 22 comments

Back at the start of January, I asked you about your writing goals for 2012 – and I promised that I’d talk about mine.

Last week, I was able to reveal one of my two big projects for the year: Writers’ Huddle, a community and teaching site for writers. It’s not solely a writing project – there’s audio and video content involved too – but the joys and challenges of those are definitely going to give me some extra blogging material…

Announcing: My Book Deal!

And this week, I’m really excited to be able to tell you about my other big project: I’m writing a book for Wiley’s For Dummies series, provisionally titled Publishing e-Books for Dummies.

You’ve probably come across the For Dummies books in a local bookshop or library in the past: they’re large, square-ish books with distinctive black and yellow jackets:

(This is the excellent “Online Community Management for Dummies” by Deb Ng.)

I’m sure you can appreciate how very happy I was to sign a contract with a publisher (and how proud my mum is ;-)).

The book is scheduled to come out in September, so I’ve got tight deadlines for drafting the different sections: if I’m slow to respond to emails or if all goes quiet on Aliventures for a while, I’m probably typing away furiously.

And switching back to project #1 …

The Writers’ Huddle forums are already buzzing with activity, and there’s a lovely sense of community and fun there. If you’d like to join, you’ve got until January 31st – but the sooner you come on board, the sooner you can benefit from the mini-courses, the free ebook, and the interaction in the forums with me and with other writers.

Just click here to read all the details about Writers’ Huddle.

22 Comments

Archan Mehta on January 24, 2012 at 4:38 pm

Ali,

Once upon a time, I gazed into my crystal ball like a gypsy and read what it contained. Magically, the crystal ball told me that Ali will write a book one day and get it published too. What I witnessed that day has come true and more success awaits you. It is just a matter of time now before other events start to occur in your life. We always knew you had it in you and you could do it. You have a support system in us. So, reach for the stars. And shine.
Cheerio.
- Ali on January 24, 2012 at 6:49 pm
  
  Thank you, Archie! I appreciate all your support and encouragement 🙂 And yep, I’m hoping this’ll be a stepping stone to even bigger things (though it’s pretty exciting in itself!)
Lee Miller on January 24, 2012 at 4:48 pm

How wonderful, Ali. Both these projects are such a fit for you heart to share writing with the world. Keep on cranking your awesomeness. Lee 😉
Lee Miller’s last blog post ..Cease Striving
- Ali on January 24, 2012 at 6:50 pm
  
  Thanks Lee! 🙂 And hey, it’s a Tuesday, so I’ve been cranking the awesomeness all day. 😉
Bill Polm on January 24, 2012 at 5:20 pm

Yes, Writers’ Huddle is buzzing. Lots of pleasant and helpful back and forth, kind of like walking into a room where there’s a party going on and everyone’s glad to meet you.

I’ve gotten some really helpful feedback on my About page already, and I only put it up yesterday! It re-confirmed to me how instructive it is to have other writers read your words and then tell you their reactions.

I hope can find enough time for that 2nd novel too!
Bill Polm’s last blog post ..Are you Asking Enough Questions about your Scenes?
- Ali on January 24, 2012 at 6:52 pm
  
  Yeah, I feel like I should post *my* About page for critique…
  
  Thanks for helping turn the Huddle into a community, Bill; it’s been lovely to see the interaction from you and other members there. Can’t believe we’ve gone over 150 posts in less than a week!
Milo on January 24, 2012 at 5:47 pm

Congratulations Ali! You’re great at writing clear and useful advice so it will no doubt be a very handy book to have!
Milo’s last blog post ..Reflections on a Frosty Day
- Ali on January 24, 2012 at 6:53 pm
  
  Thanks Milo! 🙂
Sarah Arrow on January 24, 2012 at 6:09 pm

Yay! Well done Ali, your hard work has paid off. I am thrilled for you.
Sarah Arrow’s last blog post ..Money: 10 top thoughts, tips and attitudes
- Ali on January 24, 2012 at 6:53 pm
  
  Thanks Sarah! Yes, it’s lovely when things start coming together 🙂
GoingLikeSixty on January 24, 2012 at 8:53 pm

Hi,
Sorry that my first comment isn’t favorable, but that’s life, right? I read your blog to get something for *me* This post IMHO is a lost opportunity to reach out and explain why I need to read your book. I’m glad your mother is proud, but that doesn’t pay the bills, right?
- Ali on January 25, 2012 at 11:06 am
  
  Thanks for the feedback! Since the book isn’t out yet, telling you why you should read it wouldn’t benefit you much…
  
  A lot of readers have asked me what I’m up to, and I wanted to share the news. As you can see, most people are excited for me. 🙂
Jessica Williams on January 24, 2012 at 10:41 pm

That is so awesome Ali!!! Cheers to you and congratulations!
Jessica Williams’s last blog post ..TechSpiration: Life Lessons from One Tree Hill
- Ali on January 25, 2012 at 11:07 am
  
  Thanks Jessica! 🙂
Carole Lyden on January 24, 2012 at 10:50 pm

Bring on the champagne, french naturally, where’s my glass? Many congratulations, you deserve it for all your hard work. I reading word press for dummies at the moment!
Carole Lyden’s last blog post ..Violence against women is on the increase
- Ali on January 25, 2012 at 11:08 am
  
  Cheers, Carole! 😀 I’ve been reading Online Communities for Dummies (the one I snagged a pic of for the post) — although I’m really not the core target audience, I still found it very useful.
Alison Elliot on January 25, 2012 at 1:41 am

I’m inspired by your 2 projects Ali. Can’t wait to see what manifest for all of “us” via all of you!!
Alison Elliot’s last blog post ..Clearing Entities, Implants and Psychic Attack from the Human Energy Field
- Ali on January 25, 2012 at 11:18 am
  
  Thanks Alison! And good luck with all your own writing. 🙂
Zac | Turning Point Motivation on January 25, 2012 at 3:38 pm

Congrats Ali!

I love the ‘For Dummies’ series. I own a few, and will definitely look out for your book. When do you think it will be available?
Zac | Turning Point Motivation’s last blog post ..The Day I Almost Drowned In Barbados, Please Learn From My Lesson: Have Respect For The Power Of The Ocean
- Ali on January 25, 2012 at 6:35 pm
  
  Thanks Zac! I should’ve been a bit clearer in the post — I’ve only just started work on the book (I’ve written the table of contents and one chapter ;-)) so it’s not going to be out for a while yet. It’s scheduled for September, so hopefully everything will stay on track for then. 🙂
Deborah Savadra on January 27, 2012 at 10:06 pm

I will definitely put a note on my calendar for September (is that right?) to look for this book, because I think by then, I’ll be needing it. Congratulations on the book deal!
Deborah Savadra’s last blog post ..Weekly Roundup: Tips for redlining documents, tweaking Word Options, saving emails as pdfs, and fixing line spacing
- Ali on January 28, 2012 at 6:40 am
  
  Thanks Deborah! Yeh, September is the scheduled publication month … once I have a firm date, I’ll be letting everyone know, but that might be a little while yet. 🙂