Riley Adams's Blog, page 102

Images in Posts and an Amazon Anomaly

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A note today on what I’ve been working on images in our social media posts and a question for trad-pub to self-pub authors regarding Amazon.

First, the relatively new importance of images on our posts.  Any posts.

I’ve heard for a while that images are vital for visibility.  That can mean getting a really solid book cover design to make your book more salable, but it also means that blog posts and other social media posts get more visibility with a good image attached.

Although I was aware of this for years, I had one big thing  standing in my way…my horrid design skills.  Fortunately, that is no longer a problem.  My design ‘skills’ are just as horrid as ever, but I’ve got free design help through Canva and DesignFeed  . Now I can fake it better.

One of Twitter’s updates appeared to focus on images in its feed–automatic grabs of images on some posts (I’m assuming posts that have the appropriate image size for this type of automatic sharing).  I share a lot on Twitter, but I never deliberately attach photos through TwitPic or whatever the app is…images just upload themselves, which saves me a lot of bother.

I’ve noticed over the last few months that it’s true that posts with images are shared more and get more impressions than Twitter posts with text only.  Even articles I’ve shared that related to poetry, which never used to get shares now get lots of retweets and clicks.  The only thing that’s changed is the fact that Twitter is lifting images to accompany the article.

Second, an oddity with Amazon. 

Visibility on this retailer is vital to our sales.  I realized when writing a post that my most-recently published book’s Kindle edition (which is my first self-published follow-up to the rest of Penguin’s 5 book series) was not included in the series list with the rest of the books.  To a reader browsing for Kindle books, it would appear that the series had only 5 books in it.  You can see that on this page.

The print copy of the book was listed with the rest of the Penguin-published books in the series, as you can see here. 

Clearly, I wanted to fix this.  I asked Amazon, through my Author Central account, to give me a phone call.  I was on the phone with a helpful representative for nearly an hour while she tried to figure out why the digital edition wasn’t linking to the series list.  She ultimately believed that KDP might be behind in linking new releases to existing series so she transferred me to that department and they opened a ticket.

Several days later, I was told via email from an Amazon KDP rep:

The thing is that in order to display the correct information of a series page on the Amazon website, you need to publish the book under the same account, otherwise the information wouldn't be displayed on a correct way on the website.

Also we are unable to set a series page for the same reason, so in order to be able to correct this situation you need to publish all the books under the same account and in this way we will be able to set the series page for your books.

Keep in mind that in case that you will need to unpublish the titles we will be able to link the information of the previous books to the new ones, so you won;t loose the information related to the titles as the reviews that they already have available on the website.

I hope that this will clarify your inquiry and also that this will help you to create the correct information to your series.

Obviously, this did not clarify my inquiry.  I wrote back saying that this was a traditionally-published series through Penguin that I had taken to self-pub.  Surely I could have my self-pubbed books linked to the rest of the series, regardless of whose account it was through.

I received this back:

I understand your concern regarding adding the book to Series

I've checked with our Technical team

I am sorry to inform that currently we're unable to add the books in the Series, if the books are published through different account because of account security reasons

You need to publish all the books under the same account and in this way we will be able to set the series page for your books.

You can ask the Penguin-Random House to unpublish the book and publish the book through your KDP account, if you would like to set the Series page

Thanks for your comments about creating a Series page for the books published through different accounts. I've passed on the information to our Business team.

We'll consider your input as we plan further improvements.

Feedback like yours helps us continue to improve our author and publisher experience.

Thanks for your understanding and co-operation

Thanks again for your interest in Amazon KDP.

Again, I wrote back and explained that I didn’t think Penguin would take kindly to my asking to have their titles unpublished and republished to my own name and my own KDP account.  The whole idea made my head spin…the response I’d get from Penguin…wow! And I asked them why my print self-published book was linked to the rest of the series and the digital version couldn’t be.

I received this back:

Hello Elizabeth,

I apologize for the inconvenience this issue may have caused.

Kindly note, Create Space and Kindle Direct Publishing has different policies, as per our policy it is not allowed to add a book in a series which is published through different account. Our technical team add a book in a series only when all the books are published under the same account.

However, what I can do for you right now is, I'll take your concern as feature request and communicate the same to our business team for consideration as we plan future improvements.

I'm unable to promise a timeframe at this time, however, we are still evolving and feedback like yours motivate us to dive deep and unearth ways and means which helps us in making publishing on KDP a happy experience.

Please be sure to check our forums periodically for updates:

https://kdp.amazon.com/community

Thanks for your understanding and support. We look forward to providing continued support to you.

Admittedly, this is only one way to find my books through Amazon.  My other books in the series are also linked through my name and show up in the ‘also-boughts’ (“customers who bought this, also bought…”).

But on a retail site where visibility is everything, I sure would like to get that Kindle book listed with the rest of the books in the series.

Has anyone else encountered this issue with Amazon?   Or, going back to my other topic today, are you ‘image-conscious’ on your blog?

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Why Free is Still a Smart Marketing Strategy for Fiction Writers

by Jason Kong, @storyrally

If you’re wondering whether not charging for selected stories is benefiting your promotional campaign, you’re not alone.

With all the free writing flooding the internet, it’s harder to stand out. Even if someone downloads your free eBook, your fiction is competing with all the other stories on that person’s digital reader.

Given the ubiquity of free, it’s reasonable to question whether the market is saturated, thus reducing the effectiveness. I, on the other hand, believe free still works.

Let’s take a closer look on why that is.

How fiction authors hook new readers

Many marketing options revolves around elevating interest. Some simple examples: a compelling description of your story or an attractive book cover.

Positive word-of-mouth is particularly effective in this respect. That’s why online book reviews are so useful. Or how a recommendation from a friend gets you to check out a novel you’ve never heard of before.

But one of the most powerful forms of marketing is allowing people to try the product themselves, and letting them draw their own conclusions. If they’re happy with the sample, they’ll be more inclined towards other offerings under the same brand.

And that’s the true value of sharing some of your fiction writing for free. It allows you to accelerate the process of connecting your stories with the readers that want them.

Because people believe their own experiences above all.

If free is such a smart idea, then why doesn’t it work better?

The reason could be your implementation of the tactic. For example:

Instead of asking for a review or plugging your other stories in your free eBook, why not incentivize readers to sign up for your email newsletter? Keeping in touch and building trust over time is a great way to grow a loyal readership.
Instead of just waiting for people to find your free story, why not target the kind of readers that would enjoy it? Using Facebook Ads, for instance, gives you the ability to specify characteristics of the recipients that see your advertising.

Over to you

Have you found free to be an effective marketing strategy in promoting your fiction writing? Why or why not?

Jason Kong is the founder of Storyrally, a free email-based subscription that helps fiction writers with their online marketing. Sign up now and receive the guide “How to Use Testimonials to Hook New Readers.”

 

Why Free is Still a Smart Marketing Strategy for Fiction Writers ( from @storyrally ):
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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

How a writer wrote 29 stories in 29 days:  http://ow.ly/s4YX301dgNM @sophiegood @Write_Track

Crime Writers: Can a DNA Sample Reveal Age? http://ow.ly/xvGl300Q9M3 @DPLyleMD

Hook Your Reader: 3 Tips for Novelists:  http://ow.ly/hXpF300SzUg @womenonwriting @WriteToSell

Offline strategies for building your email list:  http://ow.ly/rH9T300SArL @cksyme

3 Email List Building Essentials: http://ow.ly/bpvt300SAnY  @cksyme

How to Be Inspired to Write Every Day: 10 Ideas:  http://ow.ly/GapR300SA2K @nownovel

8 women-focused road trip books (and the need for more):   http://ow.ly/9TGz301ifd4 @BernadetMurphy @thelithub

8 Ideas For Getting More BookBub Followers:  http://ow.ly/J1mQ300SA0w @DianaUrban

Delusions of a Published Author:  http://ow.ly/1P1Y300SABv @MartinaABoone

The Next Novel You Read May Have Been Chosen by a Computer:  http://ow.ly/WbwZ300SAgL @chelsebaum @ElectricLit

How to Launch a Book: http://ow.ly/nZw2300SAjx @JAHuss

7 Point Story Structure:  Game of Thrones Case Study:  http://ow.ly/kR3g300SA5l @kylieday0

3 Simple Ways to Boost Creativity:  http://ow.ly/M3W4300SAFQ @cathysbaker

Self-Myths in Character Building:  http://ow.ly/3Xvy300SAx2 @ramonadef

5 Amazing Literary Worlds Created by Women Writers:  http://ow.ly/8QI7300SAXx @RealCharlaine  @tordotcom

“I’m A Writer And A Father, Not One In Spite Of The Other”: http://ow.ly/u05l300F3T4 @Rumaan

Radically Different Fictions of Fatherhood:  http://ow.ly/yGYR3015mzy @elusivecorporal @NewRepublic

Why Hardcover is the New Vinyl:  http://ow.ly/Ur7Y300T7cH @yahdonisrael @thelithub

The Hero Embodies the Theme:  http://ow.ly/AMhS300TNo9 @SPressfield

You need a business model to make it as an artist: http://ow.ly/xC51300TNz5 @jccabel

How to Work Alone:  http://ow.ly/cWpP300TNHJ @PaulJun_

Anthologies: Benefits to Writers and Tips for Inclusion:  http://ow.ly/ypkR301b2gx @AlexJCavanaugh for @annerallen

Backstory, Info Dumps, Preaching, and Repetition:  http://ow.ly/nwm5301nR4f @AlyciaMorales

How to develop better ‘to do’ lists: http://ow.ly/O9EI301mcBo @pubcoach

3 Reasons Why Novels Fail:  http://ow.ly/2Gqt301dgAL @p2p_editor

15 Scheduling Apps to Save You Time: http://ow.ly/W9RL301cg1r @CaballoFrances

9+ Ways to Earn an Income as a Writer:  http://ow.ly/rzdm301md8j @tessaemilyhall

Publishing Industry Myths and Legends:  http://ow.ly/Qe7T300QafI @MissConstance21 @DIYMFA

What Works & What Doesn’t: ‘Showgirls’:  http://ow.ly/GIOV300Qaup @chris_shultz81

How to Create Social Media Videos on a Budget: http://ow.ly/Jesi300Q9HA by Matt Perl @SMExaminer

Why you should just say thanks:  http://ow.ly/3oxv300Q9zv @pubcoach

10 Dialogue Errors to Avoid: http://ow.ly/fbmQ300Q9VZ @Writers_Write

3 Cases of Semicolon Overkill: http://ow.ly/3Bdc300Q9q9 @writing_tips

10 Plugins Writers Need For Their WordPress Website: http://ow.ly/1Te7300QaqW @WilsonTheWriter  @LitReactor

5 Marketing Tips for Introverts:  http://ow.ly/Moi9300QajU by Amy Bearce @DIYMFA

How Writing Helps 1 Writer With The Empty Nest:  http://ow.ly/MQuU300Q9tn @KairaRouda  @WomenWriters

Making the Most of a Story Critique:  http://ow.ly/TSsY300Qa0c @TalValante

The Power and Pain of Procrastination:  http://ow.ly/3hzD300Qa5p by Sarah Tipton @YAtopia_blog

The Horrors and Pleasures of Translating Ulysses:  http://ow.ly/jZ5p301lftf  @ladymodernist @thelithub

5 Writing Sheds You’ll Want To Build For Yourself: http://ow.ly/yVcn300Q8aW @adearinthewoods  @LitReactor

A Cozy Mystery Author on Influences and What Makes a Solid Mystery: http://ow.ly/tmTr301lpJq @thewritingtrain

How Non-Euclidean Geometry Turned 1 Writer Into a Rebel:  http://ow.ly/kEme300Q8sJ @DIYMFA

The Dark Side of Longform Journalism: On Waiting for the Bad to Happen:  http://ow.ly/LXar301lppZ by Luke Mogelson @thelithub

The Man in the Macintosh: One of Literature’s Great Mysteries:  http://ow.ly/hXv7301lfmQ @ThePhthailer @thelithub

Feedback: Why You Need It, Especially When Writing for Diverse Audiences:  http://ow.ly/WAVH300PSVg @QuillShift

The push for short story writers to pen a novel:  http://ow.ly/STxC300Nw4p @ambernoelle @ElectricLit

The 90-10 Rule for Marketing and Writing, and How To Love It:  http://ow.ly/xNmd300NvXk @AuthorSAT

Font Styles in MS Word:  http://ow.ly/Y70X300NvLc @NovelEditor

The uneasy relationship between money, media, and creative freedom:  http://ow.ly/F6Qq300NvCk @nevalalee

Cross-Media Storytelling Projects from Poland:  http://ow.ly/MvAh301hpzA @BeyondTheBook @biedalak @pubperspectives

Margins and Font for Print Books:  http://ow.ly/uqH3300NitY @NovelEditor

A Writer Comes to Terms With Her Mental Health:  http://ow.ly/9gjo301jOTQ @ShadowChaosFox

10 Essential Spanish-Language Books:  http://ow.ly/JJb7301ceg6  @ds_paris  @PublishersWkly

Writing the Anti-Hero: Interview with @lshiltonauthor:  http://ow.ly/38Kl300Q8nE @diymfa

Why You Should Take Your Book Publishing Contract to a Lawyer:  http://ow.ly/hrqG300Q8UE @monicamclark

6 Game Development Lessons For Writers:  http://ow.ly/pOle300Q8f0 @helpfulsnowman  @LitReactor

5 Reactions to Expect after Telling People You Write Books:  http://ow.ly/3BZN300Q8Q6 @Je55ieMullin5

On Writing and the Permission to Succeed:  http://ow.ly/xdB9301iPTY @ElissaAltman

Publishing: Sneaky Money Grabs (Contracts/Dealbreakers): http://ow.ly/RQKa301ifvD @KristineRusch

The Truth Behind An Author’s Instagram:  http://ow.ly/j6aX300NiAW @AuthorSAT

5 In-Demand Writing Careers for People Who Don’t Want to Be Authors:  http://ow.ly/uwBu300Niae @jesslaw

The Best in Surf Lit:  http://ow.ly/Pext301if29 @DwyerMurphy @thelithub

The Worst Thing A Reader Ever Said To One Writer:  http://ow.ly/uR5Y300Ni5d @AuthorSAT

The Hot Sheet: industry newsletter for authors (30 day free trial): from @Porter_Anderson & @JaneFriedman: http://ow.ly/DIld301hoVW

At The NY Society Library: …books Burr and Hamilton borrowed (and    TWITTER    Elizabeth S Craig

Mary Poppins and the Art of Sweetening with Scene:  http://ow.ly/jKzE300KuMJ @HitlessWonder  @brevitymag

What sets a writer apart from the crowd? http://ow.ly/5p9Z300KxZK @CalebPirtle

Criticism of Popular Reading in Malaysia:  http://ow.ly/ou3t301hp79 @DennisAbrams2 @pubperspectives

Leaving town to escape the heat: a plot device in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/UyCD301hoFr @mkinberg

Writing and the Permission to Succeed: The Intersection of Art and Shame: http://ow.ly/59xA300M9Zd @poormansfeast

Create an Effective Writing Routine: http://ow.ly/c1dJ300Nixs  @jonathanballcom

Mentoring Women Writers:  http://ow.ly/gWvt300Nimi @mandajjennings @WomenWriters

A Conference’s Focus on Publishing Rights:  http://ow.ly/zoYu301hpij @Porter_Anderson @WeAreIngenta @pubperspectives

Giving your writing style more impact:  http://ow.ly/N2Al300Nicf @RayneHall

How can you sell books if you don’t know your market?  http://ow.ly/K4hm300NiqQ @CalebPirtle

Staying Focused Enough to Write:  http://ow.ly/8gmq300Ni2M @Janice_Hardy

How to Create a Monthly Social Media Calendar:  http://ow.ly/WUcz300NifL  @AngelinaMLo

How Helvetica Conquered The World With Its Cool, Comforting Logic: http://ow.ly/9Krt301cfH5 @PassiveVoiceBlg @FastCoDesign

Nothing Works Until It Works: On Writerly Discomfort:  http://ow.ly/7n6h300KuTG @csferguson @The_Millions

Writing as a Small Sturdy Boat:  http://ow.ly/970F300KuA6 @OneReidReading

Stop. Using. Periods. Period.  http://ow.ly/hGqq301fdCf @_jeffguo @washingtonpost

Is Your Author Website Mobile Friendly? http://ow.ly/N79P300Kus5 @SukhiJutla

10 Things to Learn before You Self-Publish Your Book: http://ow.ly/66eu300Kuml @K_Pashley

How To Create a Daily Writing Habit and Stick To It:  http://ow.ly/8Hqw300Kuvi @SukhiJutla

Reading vs watching and The Night Manager:  http://ow.ly/oL9S301b9GB @Roz_Morris

The Abuses of Public Domain Fiction:  http://ow.ly/AnoO300KtLb by William Patrick Maynard @BlackGateDotCom

To Do: Prioritize My Writing:  http://ow.ly/hqsA300KuCW by Amy A. Whitcomb @brevitymag

How Copywriting Can Help Our Fiction:  http://ow.ly/B7Yl300Ky1N @KateMColby

What Writers May Not Know about the “Required” 3-Act Structure:  http://ow.ly/1D68300KtFj @CSLakin

No Genre Ever Dies: On Loren D. Estleman and the Pulp Tradition:  http://ow.ly/k5Xt300KuXA @The_Millions  by Bill Morris

Why Keywords Are So Important: http://ow.ly/NkBV300IzC2 @kadaxis

Pre-requisites of a professional-level story:  http://ow.ly/KFGA300Izvw @storyfix

10 (Practically) Cringe-less Self-Promotion Ideas for Authors:  http://ow.ly/B89x300Izeb @daisygal

Crime writing: pushing victims off of cliffs:  http://ow.ly/TEuW301cgaD @mkinberg

Writers: Get The Right Kind Of Feedback: http://ow.ly/PThI300Izb3 @mollygreene

Editing for People Who Hate Editing:  http://ow.ly/wIbu300Iz6P @Rachel_Aaron

Crowdfunding Usually Doesn’t Work for Writers: But It Can: http://ow.ly/2sT2300IyXq @bethanyjcarlson

How To Turn Your Rules for Failure Into Success:  http://ow.ly/HXiE300IyRH @BadRedheadMedia

Tips for Writing Realistic Crime Scenes from Captain (Ret.)  @JBroadmeadow  http://ow.ly/9UUv301dyv1 @SueColetta1

Why I (usually) will not lower my speaking fees”:  http://ow.ly/3vdg300IyLn @nicolamorgan”

Power Your Scenes With the 5 Senses: http://ow.ly/YUIm301cqEe  @AngelaAckerman

7 Tools to Make an Author a Periscope Rock Star: http://ow.ly/UHxB300Hyxs @Sharon_Jenkins @bkmkting

Filter out those Filter Words:  http://ow.ly/zs8V301ceQv  @Alicia_Dean_ @TheIWSG

Live coverage of Rights & Content in the Digital Age: 9aET / 1pGMT Monday (now): #pprights16 http://ow.ly/wEj9301aKLu @Porter_Anderson

The art of handselling books:  http://ow.ly/R9RI300Hyjn @sandrabeckwith

Almost Six Figures. @thecreativepenn ‘s  Breakdown Of One Year Of Book Sales By Format, Vendor, Genre, And Country: http://ow.ly/zy3A301cbpw

Podcasts for writers:  http://ow.ly/SQ6v300IzlV @K8Tilton

The Non-Compete Clause (Contracts/Dealbreakers):  http://ow.ly/PV8k300Iywn @KristineRusch

3 Quick Tips to Avoid Dumb Mistakes with Writing Contests:  http://ow.ly/DSQj300Iyqp @janetlaneauthor @RMFWriters

Tips For Evaluating a Traditional Publishing House:  http://ow.ly/9U8V300Iyjh @SusanSpann @RMFWriters

Social Media Scams: 7 Scams Writers Should Know About:  http://ow.ly/ViCB301aSW9 @annerallen

One Major Pitfall of Writing Strong Characters: http://ow.ly/KimC300HbtN @KMWeiland

Top 10 Book Cover Design Tips For Self-Publishers:  http://ow.ly/VLRg300Hbur @jckunzjr

Are your email marketing tactics putting readers off? A plea for ethical email etiquette: http://ow.ly/kJPC301aSSQ @Roz_Morris

Expressing characters’ thoughts: http://ow.ly/EqIX301aSFM @RMNSediting

When (and How) to Tell Your Editor No:  http://ow.ly/N9dt300Hbpz by Jessica West @K8Tilton

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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Mysteries as a Reader and a Writer

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

What makes a solid mystery?   What is it about murder mysteries that draws readers to the genre? How good are mystery writers at picking out the killer as readers?

Today, I hope you’ll join me at Benjamin Thomas’s excellent blog, The Writing Train, where I discuss these questions and others…including why Scooby Doo could be counted as one of my major influences.   :)

Hope you have a great weekend.

 

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Let’s Get Sensory: Powering Scenes Using The 5 Senses

by Angela Ackerman, @AngelaAckerman

There isn’t a writer alive who doesn’t believe description is important. We know that the key to pulling readers into our fictional world lies in how well we can describe each scene, giving it color and texture, and infusing it with emotion and substance. And one of the very best ways to achieve this is to use sensory detail: the sights, smells, tastes, textures, and sounds that our POV character or narrator experiences.

Emotion factors heavily in sensory description because the mindset of the POV character influences what they notice (which also determines what details the reader is privy to). A character sitting by a river to enjoy a happy, reflective moment after graduating university may be drawn to clusters of green shoots along the muddy bank that slant in the direction of the sun.  She might note the sharp, clean scent of pine needles and how each breath makes her feel renewed. The give of moss, the gentle breeze, and the sound of the water chuckling across stones…all of these details may lull her (and the reader) into a sleepy state of satisfied bliss.

However, a character dropping behind an uprooted tree along the riverbank to hide from her enemies would focus on different details: the poke and scrape of wood against her back and arms as she presses tight against the fan of roots. The cold river water seeping into her shoes as they sink in the mud which reeks of decay. The snap of branches, the shouts of her pursuers, the squeezing rush of her own shuddering breaths.

As writers, we can do so much with sensory detail, adding tension and painting each scene with emotion and mood. Choosing the right sensory description not only helps readers feel like they are drawing breath alongside the protagonist, it also triggers their emotional memories. A well-placed sensory detail will cause a past moment to surface, a time when the reader felt the same sensations and emotions as the character. This powerful “shared experience” is what we want to strive for as we describe, because it lays the groundwork for empathy.

A big struggle for writers is thinking beyond what is seen, and working in other sensory details: sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. Usually these take a bit more thought, but they make the experience so much more memorable and vivid for readers. Here’s a checklist you might find helpful, listing how each sense can elevate the scene. Feel free to pin it on pinterest, share it on social media, or print it out to have on hand as you write.

Multisensory details are important, but don’t feel that you have to use all five in every scene. We want to achieve a layering effect that creates an experience, but it needs to always fit with the action and mood of the scene. For example, in the throes of deep emotion or high action, the POV character’s attention will not always be on the world around them to the same degree, so we should only include details that can be worked in naturally.

For more tips on filtering in multisensory description that adds to (rather than pulls away from) a scene, check out The Urban Setting Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to City Spaces.

Rock The Vault

If you’d like to take a crack at busting open the Writers Helping Writers prize vault, stop in! Becca and I are celebrating all week and giving away some phenomenal prizes as we welcome two new books into our Thesaurus family.

Angela Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus: a Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, as well as four others including the newly minted Urban Setting and Rural Setting Thesaurus duo.  Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors and psychologists around the world. Angela is also the co-founder of the popular site, Writers Helping Writers, as well as One Stop For Writers, an innovative online library built to help writers elevate their storytelling.

Power Your Scenes With the 5 Senses by @AngelaAckerman
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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

3 tips for newsletters:  http://ow.ly/pG4w300Bv6P @austinkleon

What makes bad writing bad?  http://ow.ly/T2Se300F2g4 @GuardianBooks  @tobylitt

6 Cases: How to Write Infrequent Phrases:  http://ow.ly/Nk5F300F2CJ @ZoeMMcCarthy

Top 10 fictional houses with personality: http://ow.ly/UcIW300EZlu @TomEaston @GuardianBooks

Knife or Gun: Which is Better in Close Quarters? http://ow.ly/qoEd3016GCD @benjaminsobieck @JChaseNovelist

Infusing Emotion into Every Scene and Chapter: http://ow.ly/En5L300F2A6 @JordanDane               

11 Exercises That’ll Make Book Lovers Excited To Work Out:  http://ow.ly/OPHc300EYIQ  @FarrahPenn @PBlackk

10 Popular Baby Names Invented by Authors:  http://ow.ly/V46j300EYBJ @CharlotteAhlin @bustle

Can text in different colors help you tackle the most difficult books? http://ow.ly/dga6300F21s @timchester @mashable

The Hard Truth About Being a Professional Writer: http://ow.ly/n8OP300F2cn @KristenLambTX

5 Things a Writer Learned Writing Her 1st Book: http://ow.ly/rE6N300F2Gy @KatWithSword

Tips for Increasing Conflict: http://ow.ly/9Mw6300F2ul @Eileenwriter

11 Writing And Drawing Tips From Brilliant Graphic Novelists | Bustle http://ow.ly/yc3N300F3l4

On Superheroes and the Myths of American Power:  http://ow.ly/LuSr300F3DY @sallyrooney @thelithub

A Publisher on 2 Maddening Things Reviewers Say:  http://ow.ly/8qKE300Hbo9 by Agatho

Using The Audiobook Service ACX: http://ow.ly/88m7300Hc1E @RamiUngarWriter

Types of Christian fiction:  http://ow.ly/qQAV300Hbw1  @IolaGoulton

Music rights and streaming give insight into publishing’s subscription model:  ahttp://ow.ly/2dYd3019aDj @AudiamMusic  @erinlcox

When (and How) to Tell Your Editor No:  http://ow.ly/N9dt300Hbpz by Jessica West @K8Tilton

How to Write a Winning Book Proposal:  http://ow.ly/xeG7300p6eG @sarahsuch @publishingtalk

Uganda’s Newest Publishing House:  http://ow.ly/vkKx3019apr @DennisAbrams2 @pubperspectives @nyanaKakoma

Crime Writers: Shoot to Kill or to Wound? Here’s the Answer: http://ow.ly/NBve300Bvhy @LeeLofland

Observations and tips on taking a trad-published series to self-pub: http://ow.ly/7A4F3018QGj

A Crowd-Driven Publisher: http://ow.ly/bZI33019a0e @erinlcox @adamgomolin  @pubperspectives

Master plots: vengeance: http://ow.ly/VHD6300BvDP @HeatherJacksonW

Crime Writing: Can a Government Database Match a Gun to a Person? http://ow.ly/wJCN3016GgN @benjaminsobieck

Car trouble as a catalyst in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/OKra3017zQe @mkinberg

10 Ways to Win with WordPress:  http://ow.ly/i5es300p69o @jonreed @publishingtalk

Awesome Story Stakes with Bill and Ted:  http://ow.ly/7sZ8300Bvon @dougeboch

3 Cases of Missing Commas:  http://ow.ly/ngei300BvxM @writing_tips

Indie Author Marketing: 5 Essentials For Profits:  http://ow.ly/xJhE300BvrG @angee

11 email mistakes: http://ow.ly/1MUN300BvQe @pubcoach

Writing Scary Scenes: 6 Tips:  http://ow.ly/JkmB300BvKV @RayneHall

Master plots: out of the bottle: http://ow.ly/8G6F300BvH5 @RobinRWrites

How To Share Your Protagonist’s Deepest Feelings With Readers:  http://ow.ly/9jwC300BvAR @AngelaAckerman

On Screenwriting: 8 Things to Know Before Signing a Writing Contract:  http://ow.ly/GeYt300Bvkb @dougeboch

Indie Publishing is the New B-Movies. Here’s Why That’s A Good Thing: http://ow.ly/SpHy300yZmL @Adam_Cesare

10 Books to Read for Pride Month:  http://ow.ly/LSSY3015mP7 by Cassidy Foust @thelithub

Actually, All Writers Steal:  http://ow.ly/i7AB300yZHR @RufiThorpe @thelithub

Crime writers: shotguns aren’t idiot-proof: http://ow.ly/Wfsm3016G7F @benjaminsobieck

6 Questions Writers Must Answer When Writing Urban Fantasy/Paranormal:  http://ow.ly/6vuz300z09B @mishellbaker

Script Analysis: “The Silence of the Lambs”: Scene By Scene Breakdown:  http://ow.ly/BZ27300z10E @GoIntoTheStory

How to write about food:  http://ow.ly/61eL300p62u by Andrew Webb @publishingtalk

10 tips to learn from a creative writing lecturer:  http://ow.ly/tRq3300p5w1 @JuliaBell @publishingtalk

Ebooks in Mexico: slowed sales growth:  http://ow.ly/WyLC3014jCX @adamcritchley @pubperspectives

18 Speaking Tips to Rivet Your Audience:  http://ow.ly/6GLu300p1Nl @ZoeMMcCarthy

Developing Themes In Your Stories: The Inciting Incident: http://ow.ly/Mp2j300z02e  @SaraL_Writer

4 Lessons learned from super niche marketing:  http://ow.ly/ji3t300yZjf  @MarsDorian

How to Discover and Protect Your Most Creative Time for Writing: http://ow.ly/6HmF300yZwl @jkwak

Bloodline: A Study in Creating Conflict & Tension in Fiction: http://ow.ly/h8pw300z19g @crisfreese

How to Use Distraction to Your Advantage:  http://ow.ly/Alvl300yZUM @Psych_Writer

Big Publishing is Not as Big Anymore: http://ow.ly/ofrt300yZa8 @asap_jonathon @flavorwire

The Latest from @authorearnings : More Data, More Profitable Authors: http://ow.ly/lEik3014jzU @Porter_Anderson

Why You Should Ask Your Doctor If He Reads Fiction:  http://ow.ly/SZb2300BwsI @colleen_m_story

Why do mysteries trump romances in the UK? http://ow.ly/RoQQ3014jtI @pressfuturist @pubperspectives

Creating Your Author Brand:  http://ow.ly/d5a2300wkuE @carlaking  @BookBaby

4 Times an African Writer Rewrote a Western Classic and Nailed It:  http://ow.ly/XwCO3012Dzy @brittlepaper

Finding the Courage to Write About Abuse: http://ow.ly/NQcb300wkiY @KarenLeeAuthor  @WomenWriters

Neil Gaiman on His Favorite Horror Movie:  http://ow.ly/4DuI3012B7U @neilhimself @thelithub

Top 3 self-publishing mistakes and how to avoid them:  http://ow.ly/9yRK300p50Y @iamselfpub @publishingtalk

High Stakes: 6 Examples of Drug War Fiction Done Right:  http://ow.ly/zloG30104ua @adammaid @SignatureReads

5 of the Best Apps for Writers:  http://ow.ly/mDAQ300p2gh @katekrake @writeturninfo

3 Components That Help You Create a Strong Story: http://ow.ly/ASPi300p1Jh @ZoeMMcCarthy

How Hemingway’s Bad Behavior Inspired a Generation:  http://ow.ly/qoM93012Bcu  @lesleymmblume @thelithub

14 Things All Writers Have Said (And What They Actually Meant): http://ow.ly/schl300EXsz @CharlotteAhlin @bustle

Camp NaNoWriMo: Write a giveaway to build your mailing list:  http://ow.ly/cajM3011Kpv @NaNoWriMo @jayartale

How to Find a Niche Audience:  http://ow.ly/4Dt7300wk7n @Philip_Overby  @mythicscribes

What Is Your Potential? http://ow.ly/hxJc300wkyM @DanBlank  @WriterUnboxed

Flip Your Characters To Twist A Plot:  http://ow.ly/HHqg300wknI @Writers_Write

Tips to Crafting a Successful Novel Series: http://ow.ly/MNku300wkrp @CSLakin

Know Your Novel’s Premise: http://ow.ly/kDJY300vzex @Lindasclare

Kinship plots: http://ow.ly/idQw300wi3E @robinrwrites

Fixing coincidences in our novel:  http://ow.ly/rXPv3011KeI @p2p_editor

In Search of Obscure Words for Even Rarer Feelings:  http://ow.ly/433330100nx by Tiffany Watt Smith @thelithub

How to create an on-trend book cover in 5 steps:  http://ow.ly/a18k300p4W7 by Sarah Juckes @publishingtalk

Teaching Shakespeare in a Maximum Security Prison:  http://ow.ly/Ulji30100Xt @MikitaBrottman @thelithub

The Most Poetic Cities in the World:  http://ow.ly/YeJy3010uaM @My_poetic_side

Character Development: Psychological Personality Types:  http://ow.ly/8i4o300p2c9 @katekrake @writeturninfo

5 Techniques to Add Suspense to Your Story in Any Genre: http://ow.ly/PUZr300p1Fa @ZoeMMcCarthy

How to Quit Bad Scenes:  http://ow.ly/qvDb30104jA @RufiThorpe @SignatureReads

How To Stay Motivated For A Project When It’s Not New Anymore: http://ow.ly/qb7r300p1kt @misfitalexa

When My Authentic is Your Exotic: http://ow.ly/11BX300wivE  @SoniahKamal @thelithub

Designing Your Author Brand:  http://ow.ly/IPEa300whXS @Rachel_Aaron

Metamorphosis plots:  http://ow.ly/1oDD300wi97 @RobinRWrites

Become an Intuitive Writer: http://ow.ly/VjPP300whUz @JanalynVoigt

To the Unpublished Writer: You’re Doing Okay. http://ow.ly/ZJq0300wi0I @SeptCFawkes

Cluttered Writing Life: Causes & Cures: http://ow.ly/oO7K300whS9 @JanalynVoigt

Why Authors Should Use Instagram:  http://ow.ly/2Fq3300wisy @LizandLisa

Make a Living as a Writer: A Simple Strategy That Works:  http://ow.ly/d85x300XowC  @hopeclark

How to Survive Co-writing:  http://ow.ly/QYlw300tOYB by dnuenighoff

6 Ways to Create Conflict and Get Your Protagonist in Trouble:  http://ow.ly/1K9V300tPni @RuthanneReid

3 Strategies to Creating a Better (Fictional) World:  http://ow.ly/yS23300tPjW @Rachel_Aaron

How To Turn Your Setting Into An Obstacle Course: http://ow.ly/VzaD300tPgw @AngelaAckerman

Are You Planning Your Writing Career €¦ or Winging It? http://ow.ly/GoJg300tP8K @aliventures

Passive Voice and How to Make It Active:   http://ow.ly/Nhxa300tOPZ @ProWritingAid

13 Things Writers Are Tired of Hearing:  http://ow.ly/X9Lo300EXgk @CharlotteAhlin @bustle

Tennis featured in crime fiction:  http://ow.ly/cQ45300Xo9P @mkinberg

The Danger of Responding to Reviews: http://ow.ly/y1vF300XV8Z

Twitter Fiction: What Is It? How to Write It. And Why You’d Ever Want To Try. http://ow.ly/3pn1300p25a @katekrake @writeturninfo

10 Fixes to Edit Unclear and Wordy Sentences: http://ow.ly/WEcy300p1B2 @ZoeMMcCarthy

Insecure Writer’s Support Group: What it Offers Writers:  http://ow.ly/3rCL300XmpB @TheIWSG

German Ebook Sales Up, Revenue Down: Have sales plateaued in Germany? http://ow.ly/byJL300XnWl by Ingrid Süßmann @pubperspectives

5 Free Online Resources All Writers Need To Be Using:  http://ow.ly/S3zQ300p1h7 @misfitalexa

5 Ways to Steal 30 Minutes of Reading Time:  http://ow.ly/M2jE300tOsx @DanaLeipold @DIYMFA

How to write sex scenes without cliché or embarrassment:  http://ow.ly/CZSc300p4RH @mitziszereto @publishingtalk

#MusicForWriters: Composer Lewis Pesacov: A 5,000-Year Love Story’s Moment In Eternity:  http://ow.ly/6dLd300W6j4 @Porter_Anderson

Fallow Fields: An Argument for Letting Your Creativity Rest:  http://ow.ly/efFz300tBEp@kristanhoffman

Against Clichés Against Clichés: A Manifesto:  http://ow.ly/ci24300tBt4 by Helen Betya Rubinstein @The_Millions

How To Make A Book Trailer: http://ow.ly/gN5P300rvWE @AngelikaAuthor @womenwriters

Auditioning an editor:  http://ow.ly/XSZe300VSpC  @ColeHeartedGirl @RWANYC

Could We Just Lose the Adverb?  http://ow.ly/wmrx300rvPq @xlorentzen @nymag @vulture

The Importance of Your Author Photo:  http://ow.ly/1q1Q300W5GV @Porter_Anderson @IngramSpark

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From Trad-Pub to Self-Pub–Tips and Observations

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

This is the second time I’ve gotten the rights to my characters back from a publisher and taken a trad-published series to self-pub.  The last time I did this was five years ago.

There were some big differences between this time and last time.  The first time I’d had only one book released in the series before taking it to self-pub.  This time the series had five books in it.

This latest series had a nice following but I found that many of my readers for the Penguin series  seemed unaware of my self-published series.  They would email me asking when the next Southern Quilting Mystery was coming out and I would tell them…and then ask if they knew about my Myrtle Clover series.  Many times they didn’t.

One reason they didn’t is because Penguin didn’t want any non-Penguin books included in my author bio.  I can understand this.  So not only were my self-published books not included in my bio, the original trad-published book in the series (from Midnight Ink) wasn’t, either.

So that’s officially my favorite thing about taking this series to self-pub. I loved, loved, loved being able to advertise my self-pubbed series in the back of the book.  I’m hoping for some real crossover from my audience.

And now for the curiosities from this release.   Print sales have been very strong…I’ve ranked as high as in the top 15,000–18,000 for printed books on Amazon.  It’s also selling well through IngramSpark, which tells me that bookstores are ordering it for customers.

The oddest thing about that to me is that the book clearly isn’t competitively priced in print–it’s running at $10.99, which I think is pretty high.  But when you’re doing POD (print on demand) with CreateSpace and Ingram, that’s the kind of price you have to set to make a profit.

So…why are the readers buying it?  I suspect that’s because these readers always did buy this series in print.  They went to the bookstore and purchased them there.  They want the print edition.

But the book was in mass market paperback size as trad-pub…you just can’t get that in POD.  Are they going to ultimately be upset that this book isn’t exactly the same size as the other books in the series?  I think it would bother me when I looked at the bookshelf.

The ebook sales have been even stronger than the print.  I suspect this is because I set the ebook price at $4.99.  Other releases in the series are at $7.99.  I’m undercutting my other books and the releases of trad-published cozy writers. I had one reader email me in confusion … why was the new release less expensive than the older ones?  Regardless, it’s worked well as a sales strategy.

Takeaways from this and general tips for moving a series to self-pub: 

First off…don’t be afraid to ask for your character rights back for your trad-published series.  This is a lucrative decision.

Secondly, price wisely when you’re releasing the book to gain visibility in a crowded field.  The POD version isn’t going to be priced reasonably, but some readers won’t mind.

Use this opportunity to promote your other series, particularly any self-published series or books from other publishers that you weren’t allowed to promote previously.

Try to make sure the quality of the writing and production (design, editing, etc.) are as good as you can make them. Readers will hold the book to the same standard of the trad-published books.

Ensure Amazon adds your newest book to their list of the books in the series.  They haven’t for me (I just realized it) and that’s something I’ve got to immediately try to fix by contacting Amazon.

Now that you have your rights back, you can fully exploit them.  Consider an audiobook format of the book in the hopes of gaining new readers for the older books…especially if each book in the series reads like a standalone without a continuing arc.  You can even explore translation rights.

Look into putting your book up on IngramSpark so that bookstores are more likely to stock them or order them for customers (bookstores aren’t keen about buying from Amazon, for obvious reasons).  Many of our trad-published readers may be accustomed to buying from a bookstore and we want to get those sales.

Although I had a good experience with this series at Penguin, I feel so much more relaxed now that I’m in control of every aspect of its promo and production.

Now over to you.  Any other trad-pub to self-pub converts out there?  Any self-pubbed writers experimenting with IngramSpark?  What do your print sales look like as a percentage of your digital?

Observations and tips on taking a trad-published series to self-pub:
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The Danger of Responding to Reviews

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Last week I read a Washington Post article about doctors who were angered by bad Yelp reviews from patients.  They fired back at these patients, revealing confidential information in the process. (“Doctors Fire Back at Bad Yelp Reviews–and Reveal Patients’ Information Online” by Charles Ornstein.)

The crux of this particular piece was that doctors who responded angrily to the patients were violating patient privacy.  But to me, it was just another reminder of the inherent danger of responding to reviews.  Any reviews.

It’s very difficult for me to imagine a time where an author comes out looking good after responding to reviews.

This doesn’t mean that I’m not itching to respond to some of my reviews.   I’ve received plenty of reviews that were downright irritating.  My most-reviewed book, Dyeing Shame, has 684 reviews.  684 mixed reviews.

Many times I wished I could argue in my own defense.  For example, I’d love to explain that Amazon’s shipping issues don’t actually reflect on my book’s content or quality.

But there wasn’t a single instance in which I felt my response wouldn’t sound argumentative, thin-skinned, condescending, or downright priggish. Or even arrogant, like some of the defensive doctors in the Washington Post story.

Commenting on good reviews?  For me, that’s also a bad idea, although I didn’t think so when I was first published.  Now I consider it author intrusion of a different sort.  Most reviews are intended by readers for readers.  They’re hardly ever directed at me.

The one time in my memory that I’ve responded to comments was very recent.  It was for my trad-published book, Pretty is as Pretty Dies.  The publisher suddenly updated the digital file and, in the process, omitted chapter seventeen and included two chapter sixteens.  As you can imagine, readers were dinging me over this.  I was baffled because this book has been live since 2010.  I immediately contacted the publisher to correct it.  Then I set to apologizing to the readers who complained…offering to email them the missing chapter immediately from my own draft from over six years ago.   This is the only time I felt it was appropriate for me to respond…not to defend myself, but to apologize and offer a fix.

Reviews do have their place.  Glowing reader reviews can be an important part of our editorial review section on our book’s page on Amazon and other retailers.  We can tally our best reviews to make marketing statements: “100+ 5-star reviews!”  We can learn from our bad reviews, if they have something valuable to impart to us.

And, for me anyway,  practice the challenging art of patience while remaining silent.

Have you had any reviews you’ve been itching to respond to?  Do you read your reviews at all?  Have there been times in which you did respond to reviews or felt you needed to?  How did that go?  What’s your own policy on responding to reviews?

The danger of responding to reviews:
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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

The Secret of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë : http://ow.ly/Qpzb300rvhY @JudithShulevitz @TheAtlantic

Do Overused Words Lose Their Meaning?  http://ow.ly/4kUg300rvqw @asap_jonathon @flavorwire

3 Marketing Fallacies That Writers Should Be Wary Of:  http://ow.ly/afs1300rvyB @DanBlank

Instagram is changing the way we buy and sell books:  http://ow.ly/7OvA300rvDp @jopiazza @dailydot

The Ultimate Guide To Using Trello As A Writer:  http://ow.ly/to13300oXW7 @misfitalexa

5 Easy Techniques to Bulk Up a Paper-Thin Character:  http://ow.ly/3O38300p1xd @ZoeMMcCarthy               

The Bug Sheet: An Editing Process Your Writing Will Thank You For http://ow.ly/96Vx300p20s @katekrake @writeturninfo”

How to crowdfund your book:  http://ow.ly/PpBR300p5kk  @BenGalley @publishingtalk

Reading the Literary City:  http://ow.ly/jNix300rdLg @TobiasCarroll

Ebook Conversion Online:  http://ow.ly/fPyP300rvaY @dkudler

Which Social Media Channel Sells The Most Books? http://ow.ly/83eK300rv8E  @BadRedheadMedia

Check Your Scribd Sales for a Pleasant Surprise:  http://ow.ly/ho4M300rv5Q @Jason_Matthews

We Need More First-Hand Books About Urban Poverty: http://ow.ly/34AW300rdCY @RealLiveCritic @thelithub

Editing and Editors: A Writer’s Guide:  http://ow.ly/96ZF300UIRR @RuthHarrisBooks

How to build an effective content strategy:  http://ow.ly/Hdi6300p4A0 @publishingtalk @jonreed

Think Twice About Hosting a Telesummit or Accepting an Invitation to Speak:  http://ow.ly/S3sl300Tz0J @taragentile

Basing Characters on Real People Without Getting into Trouble:  http://ow.ly/dwrE300p1Vd @katekrake @writeturninfo

5 Cases: How to Write Infrequent Phrases:  http://ow.ly/edtP300p1oe @ZoeMMcCarthy

4 Ways Camp NaNoWriMo (Upcoming in July) Will Improve Your Writing:  http://ow.ly/vwI0300oXRJ @misfitalexa

Don’t Hate the Query Letter: Master It:  http://ow.ly/6V4Z300rv32 @AnnieNeugebauer

3 Steps to Parlaying Random Encounters Into Book Sales (Without Being Pushy):  http://ow.ly/XXGJ300ruZe  @NicoleCDFauthor

Evaluating Our Website’s SEO:  http://ow.ly/Ra3I300Tf8q

It’s Time to Ditch Discoverability:  http://ow.ly/SQgo300ruV3 @jamesscottbell

Secrets of the Book Designer: “Sometimes I Don’t Read the Whole Book”:  http://ow.ly/swCg300SNHf @thelithub by Oliver Munday

26 Obvious Signs You’re a Writer:  http://ow.ly/uCD8300tBfn @jesslaw

“The Boxcar Children” and the Spirit of Capitalism:  http://ow.ly/FDXg300SNsh @jiatolentino @NewYorker

Authors on Twitter: 43 Stunning Header Image Examples:  http://ow.ly/GHEw300tB87 @DianaUrban

3 Writing Tips We Can Learn from Beyoncé:  http://ow.ly/7VCF300tB1B @monicamclark

George R. R. Martin and what an author owes his readers: http://ow.ly/TIae300T6Qe @austinkleon

Starting an Email Newsletter:  http://ow.ly/fkwc300ruSP @kikimojo @JaneFriedman

Building Your Professional Author Website: WordPress vs Squarespace:  http://ow.ly/gnJu300ruKF @wingmanwebworks @JaneFriedman

The Suicide Memoir: a Brief Look at a Dark Genre:  http://ow.ly/eRX7300rdtl by Candace Opper

How to write science fiction:  http://ow.ly/is6F300p5YQ @MDeAbaitua @publishingtalk

6 ways to overcome procrastination and beat writers’ block http://ow.ly/qhK1300p4LM @Eva_Bec @publishingtalk

The Rule of 3 (And How it Helps Our Writing):  http://ow.ly/RU8a300oTIp @Janice_Hardy

5 Cases: How to Write Infrequent Phrases: http://ow.ly/RrAm300oUw7  @ZoeMMcCarthy

Sweden’s Successful Subscription Service: http://ow.ly/WXqL300RuEE @storytel @MarieBilde @pubperspectives

Write a Book Without Losing Your Mind: 10 Tips: http://ow.ly/SLbw300oUbS @jenny_blake

101 Writing Tips To Improve Your Writing Today:  http://ow.ly/4UAh300oUnZ @BryanJCollins

Multilingual Wordsmiths: @lydia_davis  and Translationese:  http://ow.ly/Sg6l300oV3V

Actually, Criticism Is Literature:  http://ow.ly/QrRl300RusK @jrc2666 @thelithub

How to Define Your Creativity and Be a Better Writer:  http://ow.ly/hoPV300oUCP  @katekrake  @writeturninfo

Writing Dialogue, And How It Relates To Plot And Character:  http://ow.ly/NWsB300oU1S @ChuckWendig

Treating Your Setting as a Character:  http://ow.ly/NLjq300PT26 @QuillShift

5 Ways Handwriting Will Make You A Better Writer: http://ow.ly/maoa300oUkY @misfitalexa

Are You Taking Time to Breathe and Be? http://ow.ly/yVDn300mvAY @JanalynVoigt

Remove hedging words from your manuscript: http://ow.ly/sJdx300oU8m @JerryBJenkins  @CSLakin

Using Alternative Media Formats in Your Novel (such as comics) http://ow.ly/48UR300oUY0 @LauraWMcCaffrey @MartinaABoone

5 ways to boost your creativity:  http://ow.ly/8PQR300oUAb @pubcoach

8 Tips for How to Write Child Characters:  http://ow.ly/s6s8300oTRo @KMWeiland

6 Ways To Self-Edit & Polish Your Prose:  http://ow.ly/nDsl300oUga @KristenLambTX

Nielsen Stages a First Romance Book Summit at RWA:  http://ow.ly/GbzW300FKbd @Porter_Anderson @Nielsen

A Snapshot of The Philippines as a Reading Nation:  http://ow.ly/XAPH300OhVr @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

The Hot Sheet: industry newsletter for authors (30 day free trial): from @Porter_Anderson & @JaneFriedman: http://ow.ly/mmQv300OivO

Crime Writers: Crime Scenes: Writing and Processing:  Chat with @CalebPirtle and @SueColetta1  @ 3pm EDT Wednesdays #ACrimeChat

5 Ways To Renew Faith In Your Work And Yourself: http://ow.ly/tzJi300BwlA @colleen_m_story

BookBub and Goodreads: Worldwide Expansion, Ads,Deals to Increase Discoverability:  http://ow.ly/eRuH300Oh8l @Porter_Anderson @suzanneskyvara

How Science Fiction Redefines Who We Are, and What We’re Becoming: http://ow.ly/exO0300mn5D @SteveToutonghi @thelithub

Real Housewives of Jane Austen: How ‘The Bachelor’ and ‘Kardashians’ Emulate Austen’s Work:  http://ow.ly/qjug300Nxbl @sophieGG @TheAtlantic

Are You Being Taken Advantage of as a Writer? http://ow.ly/h40g300mnJb @Janice_Hardy

Horror most profound: The many layers to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic ‘The Birds’: http://ow.ly/SnMF300mo7T @GChintamani @firstpost

5 Tips for Sparking Creativity Through Writing Pro-Bono Work http://ow.ly/BpEC300mnWQ @thevolcanodiary

Media Kits for Writers: A Beginner’s Guide: http://ow.ly/umiG300moAT @allindiewriters

Place Matters in Lit Fic: http://ow.ly/2Iin300mnln @pshares  by  Bryan Washington

10 Tips for Guest Blogging: http://ow.ly/I6lv300mvm5 @annerallen

Time Management for Writers:  http://ow.ly/QOf9300mnTy  @katemoretti1

The unstoppable wave of ‘girl’-titled books: http://ow.ly/stOR300mndm @robinwasserman  @thelithub

Are Books on the Writing Craft Worth it?  http://ow.ly/r9Hb300muXB @Lindasclare

Creating Easy Branded Images for Your Blog and Social Media: http://ow.ly/trRu300mmVN @kikimojo @JaneFriedman

What Modern Horror Filmmakers Can Learn From The Twilight Zone”:  http://ow.ly/AwVV300mokQ @brendanmorrow  @BDisgusting”

Middle Eastern Writers Find Refuge in the Dystopian Novel:  http://ow.ly/qlvn300Lz4o @xanalter @nytimes

Why shorter is better for writing: http://ow.ly/sQnJ300LyT3 @p2p_editor

When No One Shows Up To Your Reading:  http://ow.ly/sXM5300LyHV @TheNormanNation @thelithub

INscribe Introduces INdemand for Publishers: A ‘Faster, Easier Path Into Print?’   http://ow.ly/7Hs8300FK57 @Porter_Anderson

Why Write in Poetic Form?  http://ow.ly/sQ54300hbGw @hinxminx @PoetryFound

27 Blogging Tips To Grow Your Business:  http://ow.ly/9KgO300jQs7 @Writers_Write

Why pictures matter in picture books:  http://ow.ly/1gv1300jQng by Claudia Cangilla McAdam

Why Are All the Cartoon Mothers Dead?  http://ow.ly/WUl8300jRp2 by Sarah Boxer @TheAtlantic

4 Tips to Keep Your Writing Momentum:  http://ow.ly/I4jO300jRgF @soniaroth

Head-Hopper POV: An Example and Correction:  http://ow.ly/wEct300jQDb by Tina L. Jens

How the Best Commencement Speech of All Time Was Bad for Literature:  http://ow.ly/zXX8300jQhh by Emily Harnett @thelithub

How to Build an Author Business: http://ow.ly/paSj300jQv8 @HelenSedwick  @thecreativepenn

Telling a Story Within a Story:  http://ow.ly/H3cM300jR47 by Anne Marie Gazzolo

Building an Author Website on WordPress: How to Start Smart:  http://ow.ly/ffpM300jQ4P @JaneFriedman

Focusing on Small Details:  http://ow.ly/Fe2c300jR9F @AJHumpage

How to Build an Audience for Your Novel:  http://ow.ly/m7jF300jRdX @FauziaBurke

How to Write Powerful Flashbacks: http://ow.ly/oQoN300hauk by Marry McAleavey

Plot Obstacles: Too Easy, Too Difficult, or Just Right?  http://ow.ly/wd3q300ha6X @JamiGold

The ethics of novelizing autobiography: http://ow.ly/CCL3300ham9 @diski

How to Launch a Book on Facebook:  http://ow.ly/iYzo300Hyfi @amebuckley @IndieAuthorALLI

3 Things We Can Learn From Marvel’s Civil War:  http://ow.ly/tqC3300ha8W @tamsinsilver

Avoid this plotting pitfall when writing drafts at speed:  http://ow.ly/2t4o300F3bO @Roz_Morris

What Makes an Essay American?  http://ow.ly/V0qU300haE0  @vcunningham @newyorker

Book Plot vs. Character Arc and How To Reconcile the Two:  http://ow.ly/Gi6H300evX2 @monicaleonelle

How plot grips us, from Dickens to Game of Thrones:  http://ow.ly/qgSO300hbPp by John Mullan @GuardianBooks

Don’t Accidentally Give Your Characters a Time Out:  http://ow.ly/Scyw300ha4c @LisaCron

How to Write Characters Who Don’t Sound Like You:  http://ow.ly/jQnn300haxY @Janice_Hardy

Royalty Clauses in Publishing Deals: How (& How Much) Authors Get Paid:  http://ow.ly/1kjJ300haAf @SusanSpann

How to get a great book contract in 5 steps:  http://ow.ly/rLeq300hacA by Ron Van Cleave

Reading Proust on a Cell Phone: http://ow.ly/2kuW300hbwH by Sarah Boxer @TheAtlantic

Do Print Books Have a Future in Tomorrow’s Classroom? http://ow.ly/lmbp300Eebd @nealgoff @bookbusinessmag

Books’ Prices and Writing’s Value: Careful What We Asked For? http://ow.ly/FFnK300HycH @Porter_Anderson @WriterUnboxed

Winning the World’s Largest Online Writing Contest:  http://ow.ly/RmSV300Hy3G @ReedsyHQ @oakenthoughts

How to Deal With an Unending Shift in Priorities:  http://ow.ly/INL8300ew3y @monicaleonelle

Beat Writer’s Block with Grimms’ Fairy Tales:  http://ow.ly/ok6l300evOW @Jffelkins

Tips For Writing Emotion With @cjlyonswriter  http://ow.ly/UR8A300evIx @thecreativepenn

The @nytimes is doing a series on writing spaces called ‘A Writer’s Room’: http://ow.ly/SxKa300EbvO

Smarter Storytelling Framework:  http://ow.ly/Flwr300evBO @monicaleonelle

Productivity of pulp writers: http://ow.ly/Zc7P300evox @DeanWesleySmith

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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Evaluating Our Website’s SEO

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve recently become very interested in how my site, books, and bio show up in Google searches.  This interest in search engine optimization, or SEO, has led me to make some changes on my site.

I read about a free tool called the SEO Site Checkup tool in Jane Friedman’s Electric Speed newsletter (click here for the archives to see if her newsletter might work for you).  I typed in my website name, clicked ‘checkup,’ and it delivered a list of issues that I should resolve to improve my SEO.

The way it was set up was very informative.  It provides passed checks (what I’m doing right and why it’s right,  failed checks, and warnings.  Each area that my site performed poorly on had a red, clickable box with ‘how to fix’ on it. I learned both from what I was (accidentally, I’m sure) doing right and what I was doing wrong from the fix it offered.

I read a lot of articles on the importance of search engines being able to find our books, our sites, and our bios. But frequently, the articles don’t outline ways to improve what we’re doing.  Even increasing the image size to optimize it for Google (and so that the post will stand out when being shared on social media) helped the SEO…and that was a minor, easy tweak.  Other tips involved creating a favicon for the site (icon representing the site in a bookmark or browser tab).  Others might get tips to make their site easier to read on mobile devices, etc.

It only takes about a minute for the site to check your SEO (and it’s free to check a single site):  SEO Site Checkup tool .  How does yours fare?

Evaluating our website's SEO:
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