The Joys & Trials of Writing:

by ALEXANDRA MCCLAIN
Local freelance writer, Liltera Williams, continues her “WriterGrind” as she prepares to release her first collection of poems titled “Amateur Thoughts: A Personal Collection of iWrite Poetry & LRW Quotes,” to be released on December 12th. The book will be available for purchase online at iwrite4oru.com. As part of a package deal, the book will also include a spoken-word album, “Amateur Thoughts: Spoken.” It includes 12 poems from the book as well as a live-your-dream intro anthem.
The book is broken into several sections that include poems, iWrite stanzas and LRW quotes. The poetry section includes 30 pieces that are a reflection of Williams’s own life-experiences thus far. The iWrite stanzas section is a mixture of emotional messages, ranging from dreams to failure, while the LRW quotes section is intended to be the most inspiring, with short blurbs of life lessons Williams created to motivate others in following their own dreams.
Some of Williams’s favorite pieces from the collection include “Confessions of A Writer”, “Writer Itch”, and “Amateur Thoughts: Discovered.” “‘Confessions of a Writer’ is a defensive piece that I wrote to let people know that writing is a real career,” Williams explained. “‘Writer Itch’ talks about being bothered by the urge to write when you may not feel like it, and ‘Amateur Thoughts: Discovered’ is the opening poem that finds me reliving my childhood and talking about the negativity that made me want to escape my surroundings.”
The preparation for this book wasn’t a walk in the park by any means. Williams took time to put her best efforts into creating something she could be proud of and that her audience could appreciate. She described the publishing process as ‘very stressful’.
“I attended three writers’ conferences this year to learn all about the process of publishing,” said Williams. “I had to make a tough decision between traditional publishing and self-publishing.”
One of the challenges Williams faced was making sure she could keep control over her own product and brand. Williams is very hands-on and personal when it comes to marketing herself and what she does. Her Facebook page is usually filled with status updates about her latest projects and writing endeavors.
Williams understands the importance of motivation and persistence in achieving your dreams and goals. When it came to publishing her book, it’s something she took to heart. Publishing was a journey that required Williams to be conscious of even the most tedious things.
“After completing the edits and setting the margins in a Word document, I had to make sure the poems ended on the correct pages and insert blank pages where necessary. I then had to convert the file to a PDF to meet the printing company’s specific upload requirements,” she said.
“I also had to forward the file conversion information over to my designer, so that she could size the cover properly within the margins of the provided template for the actual size of the book. It took us 3 weeks to get it just right.”
Williams knows that words can be inspiring so her book is a way of giving that inspiration to others. “My ultimate goal is to inspire everyone to live your dream,” she says.
Once the book has been released, Williams plans to travel as often as possible to promote the book as well as iWrite4orU writing, proofreading and editing services. Williams is also in the editing process of finishing her first novel, “Dearly Beloved S.I.S.T.A.S”, which is scheduled to be released in the Summer of 2013.