Riley Adams's Blog, page 104

Difficult Books

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I was so happy at finishing my most recent book on Thursday that my sigh of relief might have been heard miles away.

This book was the sixth book in a series and my 20th book altogether (not counting the box sets). But this book was a reminder to me that sometimes it doesn’t get easier as we go. Or, really, that each book is just different.

It was the hardest book to write (aside from Hickory Smoked Homicide in 2011…a book I nearly deleted in frustration several weeks before deadline).  And it was the book I’ve run behind the worst on.  I’m releasing it a month later than planned. It needed a lot of extra time to make it a really solid mystery. I’m happy with it now, but there were many things that made the writing of this book complex:

Writing something different.  I’ve never tried writing a cold case before and it was trickier than I thought.  Incorporating the past in a meaningful and interesting way (while using an amateur sleuth, though she is a gifted amateur) made it a real challenge.

Writing independently after writing this series for Penguin-Random House.  This was the first book in the series since I got the rights to my characters back.  I’ve wanted to make sure that the transition for readers was fairly seamless–I didn’t want them to even know or notice that I was publishing the books myself.  I wanted the story to be just as good, the editing just as careful. The one big change is the cover, which had to be different since the previous designs were copyrighted by Penguin.

Writing totally solo where before the series work had been collaborative.  My editor for this series always worked really well with me–bouncing ideas, easily seeing what the story needed more of.  It’s been weird working on this book without her input. I’ve tried to look at the book through her eyes and think about the kinds of things that she would point out.

Writing something personally affecting.  I’ve decided that, in the future, it’s probably not the best idea to base any of my characters on living people or pets.   It wasn’t very easy writing the dog into the book as a living character when my corgi passed away around about chapter two.

But…what’s good about difficult books?  They help me realize I can make it through the toughest projects and craft a good book at the end, despite the hurdles and the days of mediocre writing.  It took longer to clean the book up this time, but I felt amazing when I finished the book yesterday.

Do you remember your writing experience specific to particular books?  Were there some that caused you more trouble than others?

As a separate note, I’ve heard from many writers who’ve subscribed to my blog posts that they’ve had problems receiving posts this year.  I switched to a new plugin and have had some issues…issues I hope are straightened out now!  Welcome back to the email subscription, if you’ve been out of the loop for a while…and my apologies for the problem!

On writing difficult books:
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Writing Longhand

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

One of the ways I motivate myself to the treadmill every other day  is to listen to podcasts while I walk.  These range from strictly writing-related podcasts to shows like Freakonomics, which frequently give interesting insights on different topics.

When I saw an episode titled “Who Needs Handwriting?” on Freakonomics (by Stephen J. Dubner, produced by Alison Hockenberry), I immediately downloaded it to listen.  This is a topic that can get rather heated, from what I’ve observed among parents.  My kids were never taught cursive handwriting … and my daughter was never taught to type.  Since I considered typing  a necessity,  I taught her the home keys and had her practice at home.  She’s very speedy by this point. But I never considered teaching her cursive. In fact, I haven’t used cursive myself since elementary school.

But I do like to print sometimes.  I’ve always found, when I write something down in a meeting or while in school, I never had to review my notes later.  Writing in longhand set the information in my memory for good.

The Frekonomics show included an interview with Pam Mueller who has a Ph.D in social psychology at Princeton.  She conducted a study with professor Daniel Oppenheimer at Princeton and UCLA where students would view a TED talk and take either handwritten notes or notes on a computer.  Mueller states: “What we found was that for factual questions, there was no difference between laptop and longhand note-takers — they did equally well. However, for conceptual questions, the longhand note-takers did significantly better, about a half a standard deviation better.”

Or, as the host Stephen Dubner put it: “Now, why would that be? Mueller’s argument is that because handwriting is slower, you’re forced to decide as you go what’s worth writing down. And this gets your brain engaged in processing the information as you go.”

This would explain why I rarely have to glance over handwritten notes after a meeting. It might also explain why, when I get stuck on a manuscript or when I’m brainstorming or outlining, most of the time I write on paper.  Maybe subconsciously I realized that I’m more thoughtful on paper.

I’ve trained myself to write mainly on computer because, with the deadlines I’ve had, there’s no time to transcribe 250 or more pages of longhand into a Word program.  In fact, I try to limit myself, even when I’m stuck…if I have to write in a notebook to get through a creative block, I limit myself to five or six handwritten pages. Otherwise, it’s too hard for me to catch up. Plus, my already-awful penmanship gets worse the longer I write.

Writing on a computer also works better for me because I type much faster than it’s possible for me to write longhand.

On the other hand, pen and paper are more portable and I can squeeze more writing in on the go when I have a notebook on me.  It’s also a lot less distracting writing in a notebook than it is on a laptop (no social media siren song in a composition notebook).

For me, each approach has benefits.  In the Freakonomics show, however, it emphasized that there are many different opinions on writing longhand versus writing on computers–and different people found longhand more or less useful than others.

I’m curious to hear from you.  Do you write in longhand on a project? If so, when do you use it?  In the brainstorming phase? During revisions?

Could writing longhand be a good technique for some writers?
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Image: MorgueFile: Snowbear

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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

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.

5 Steps to Get Started Writing Today:  http://ow.ly/4nhjRm @charityscraig

Evoking Emotions in Readers:   http://ow.ly/4mPSjW @JamiGold

Forum Highlights ‘Challenges in publishers grappling with consumer data’:   http://ow.ly/4nhkGm @Porter_Anderson @DouglasMcCabe               

When to Start a Sequel:  http://ow.ly/4mPSnb @Janice_Hardy

Writing Believable Action Scenes:  http://ow.ly/4mPSpF @NakedEditor

The Duplicity of A Character’s Desire:  http://ow.ly/4mQEBb @MichelleHoover_

Methods to Avoid Authorship Problems:  http://ow.ly/4mQFfM @theindiepubmag @roserose_sc

Facing the Edits: 7 Steps to a Happy Revision:  http://ow.ly/4mQFds @j_s_brown

The BISAC Subject Heading List:  http://ow.ly/4mQEHQ by Lynellen Perry

What It’s Like to Score a Kindle Scout Book Deal:  http://ow.ly/4mQFzw @KenBrosky

On Horror, Disability, and Loving Both at Once:  http://ow.ly/4mQFLH @FosterOfTheWeek

Ways to end a horror story:  http://ow.ly/4mQFB2 @RayneHall

What Does Self-Pub Cost?  http://ow.ly/4nhl1M @Porter_Anderson @ReedsyHQ @EmmanuelNataf

3 Cinematic Techniques for Your Scene Opening:  http://ow.ly/4mQFtS @CSLakin

5 Great Folk Horror Novels:  http://ow.ly/4mQFDZ @northerain

Why Fiction Authors Benefit from Indie Publishing: http://ow.ly/4mQJu4 @writerswrite01

How You Make Something Good in Creative Work:  http://ow.ly/4mNUCz @ursulaleguin  @brainpicker

Screenwriting: Does the hero have fun to exemplify the concept’s appeal?  http://ow.ly/4mNTW2 @CockeyedCaravan

How to Give a Critique:  http://ow.ly/4mNUS4 @AnnetteLyon

How to Write a Short Story (That’s Actually Short) http://ow.ly/4mNVAr @ink_and_quills

5 Stages: Overcoming Writer Perfectionism:  http://ow.ly/4mNUI0 from Blonde Write More

Being Intentional With Our Free Time:  http://ow.ly/4neFJU

2 Tips For Finding Story Question:  http://ow.ly/4mNUYf by Carrie Lynn Lewis  @IndiePlotTwist

The cost of a good plot:  http://ow.ly/4neAZT @p2p_editor

Finding your story’s theme:  http://ow.ly/4mNUpJ @SPressfield

Women Detectives in Fact and Fiction:  http://ow.ly/4neAJc @Erika_Janik @thelithub

22 Tips For Self-Editing:  http://ow.ly/4mNViW @GarryRodgers1

Tips for introverts for being more comfortable at conferences:  http://ow.ly/4mNVpt @gigirosenberg

The Magic of Fantasy: Love the Unreal:  http://ow.ly/4mNVNn by Sheila Wisz Ellayn

The Metrics of Writing:  http://ow.ly/4mNVY4  by John Wong

Outlining Your Novel: Brainstorming Your Premise:  http://ow.ly/4mNWa7 @ScholarlyFox

Really Going There as a Writer:  http://ow.ly/4mNUjZ @AnnieNeugebauer

Asking Bloggers to Review Your Book:  http://ow.ly/4mNVaV @DanielleLHanna @IndiePlotTwist

Because A Lady Asks Me: On Poetry & Money: http://ow.ly/4mNWyu by Jennifer Moxley  @PoetryFound

By the halfway mark, are character decisions driving plot instead of external plot complications?  http://ow.ly/4mNU8p @CockeyedCaravan

10 Musicians Who Could Be Novelists:  http://ow.ly/4ndD4a @likaluca @thelithub

How Sylvia Plath’s Rare Honors Thesis Helped 1 Writer Understand His Divided Self: http://ow.ly/4nbLI5 @nathansmithr

On the Heartbreaking Difficulty of Getting Rid of Books:  http://ow.ly/4nbLHU @summerbrennan @thelithub

Imposter Syndrome and the Writing Community: http://ow.ly/4mMw5j @jules_chronicle

Countdown Deals and KDP Select Free Promos: http://ow.ly/4mMvwZ @ChrisDMcMullen

Creating Tension: Raise the Stakes:  http://ow.ly/4mMw9B @ShanDitty

6 Ways to Make Your Villain Likable:  http://ow.ly/4mMvXY @mythcreants  by Chris Winkle

How To Market Your Book Using Content Marketing in 5 Steps:  http://ow.ly/4mMvuq by Ricci Wolman

How to Avoid Middle Slumps: Maintaining Tension in Your Story:  http://ow.ly/4mMw1W @writeabook

Creating Emotional Connections With Readers:  http://ow.ly/4mMw6G @AngelaAckerman

7 Public Speaking Tips:  http://ow.ly/4mMvLG  @playthepartbook

Want a Page-Turner? You Need Deep POV:  http://ow.ly/4mMwgL @MarcyKennedy

5 Video Editing Apps To Improve Your Content Marketing:  http://ow.ly/4mMvJx @kikolani

How to Submit to Literary Journals:  http://ow.ly/4mMwcs @ChelseaLHenshey

How Writers Can Deconstruct to Nail Genre:  http://ow.ly/4mMw0p @CSLakin

Secrets of the Book Designer: The Many Ways a Cover is Rejected:  http://ow.ly/4naKRM @erikinternet @thelithub

Writing About History: Truth or Dare: http://ow.ly/4mL9FR @NatachaTormey

Wellness for writers: tips for physical and mental strength: http://ow.ly/4mMvgh @JTTwissel

Manage Your Energy So You Can Write: http://ow.ly/4mMve0 @annkroeker

7 Must-Have Features for Great Author Website Design:  http://ow.ly/4mMuXy @ferol

Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) for KDP Select:  http://ow.ly/4mMv4R  @ChrisDMcMullen

How to Tap Into Writing Mode Anywhere:  http://ow.ly/4mL9H1 @ejwenstrom

What’s in Your Bag of Tricks? http://ow.ly/4mL9J6  @kristanhoffman

The Fool’s Journey:  http://ow.ly/4mL9KQ @EvaDeverell

5 Words Writers Should Stop Using Immediately:  http://ow.ly/4mL9xF @Chris_Kokoski

Finding Poetry In Computer Code:  http://ow.ly/4mL9Pr @adearinthewoods

Knowing Your Character Inside and Out:  http://ow.ly/4mL9AI @Lgood67334

Author Readings And Why You Should Go To One:  http://ow.ly/4mL9QH @helpfulsnowman

On Publishing in India: ‘21,000 Retailers Sell Books Here’:  http://ow.ly/4n6t2t @DennisAbrams2

15 Tips On Close Reading: http://ow.ly/4mINW2 @SCarverAuthor

5 Tips To Sustain You While Querying:  http://ow.ly/4mIV5n @kcraftwriter

Worldbuilding About, Through, and With Autism:  http://ow.ly/4mIOFF  @xasymptote

The night Mark Twain brought Huck Finn alive: http://ow.ly/4n3EEf by Richard Zacks @Salon

Keeping a Journal Makes You a Better Writer:  http://ow.ly/4mIOjx @WritingForward

New Imprints for Romance Novels in Denmark:  http://ow.ly/4n6sLa @MarieBilde @pubperspectives

Dealing with the Editorial Report:  http://ow.ly/4mIRdg by Juliet Marillier

How to Write a Poem in 10 Easy Steps:  http://ow.ly/4n6nw6 by Skila Brown

How to blend a parallel, allegorical fantasy plot into your novel: http://ow.ly/4n6sBI @Roz_Morris

Merchandising Rights In Publishing Deals:  http://ow.ly/4mIV6I @SusanSpann

Grand Finales: Tips for Writing Great Endings: http://ow.ly/4mIOtx by Alan Rinzler

Are pre-orders always right for authors? My interview with @SteveCampbellFL: http://ow.ly/4n6rqe

Top 10 books written about books:  http://ow.ly/4n3EtE @GuardianBooks @jonathancoe

Make Your Novel More Relevant:  http://ow.ly/4mIOcy @DonMaass

Make Strong Writing Stellar: http://ow.ly/4mL9qT @MargieLawson

10 Types of Prewriting:  http://ow.ly/4mL9tE  @JillWilliamson

Are You a Writer or a Storyteller? http://ow.ly/4mL9il @McgannKellie

Writing Lessons from Gone With The Wind:  http://ow.ly/4mL9nZ @kimberlydbrock

Checking Out Books Under Al-Qaida’s Nose: Timbuktu’s ‘Badass Librarians’:  http://ow.ly/4n3EkX @nprbooks

3 Ways To Add the Sizzle to Fiction That’s Fizzled:  http://ow.ly/4mIR6X @KristenLambTX

The Pulp Fiction Dime Novel Is Making a Comeback:  http://ow.ly/4mINOU by Parker Richards

5 Tips to Help You Write What You Know:  http://ow.ly/4mIOnC @HeidiAngell

Tips for Writing a Query That Gets Read:  http://ow.ly/4mITkI by Jeanne Kisacky

An agent on pitching stories:  http://ow.ly/4mITcf @marielamba

How To Write Irresistible Prose:  http://ow.ly/10Erhn @Chris_Kokoski

In Praise of Remixing Shakespeare:  http://ow.ly/4n3Ebs by Andrew Hartley @unccharlotte @thelithub

Pre-Orders: Are they Always A Good Idea? http://ow.ly/4n3phT  @SteveCampbellFL

How much does it cost to self-publish a book? @ReedsyHQ shares its data: pic.twitter.com/iDxezOZ3KB http://goo.gl/IiGPGT

3 Tips To Improve Your Writing Routine:  http://ow.ly/10Erjn @rsmollisonread

Do You Know Where Your ISBNs Are? (Free Logbook Download): http://ow.ly/4mIV8O @JFbookman

3 Scrivener Tips to Become a Master Outliner:  http://ow.ly/4mHEfB @jslauthor

Using Google calendar to simplify life and set goals:  http://ow.ly/4n3ov9

7 Ways to Jumpstart an Author Platform:  http://ow.ly/10ErAI @EmilyWenstrom

11 Reasons Indie Authors Need Social Media (And How to Get It Right):  http://ow.ly/10Es9f @CaballoFrances

How To Maximize Goodreads Giveaways: http://ow.ly/10ErUd @Bookgal

3 Most Important Elements of Chapter One:  http://ow.ly/10ErYg @EmilyWenstrom

Tech Tip for Writers: The 3-Click Rule:  http://ow.ly/10ErWw @WordDreams

Last week’s links:  http://ow.ly/4n2aXg . All the links I’ve ever shared (35K+, free and searchable): writerskb.com @Hiveword

Q&A with Literary Agent Juliet Pickering of the Blake Friedmann Agency:  http://ow.ly/10Dz5m @MMFinck

DIY Memoir:  http://ow.ly/10DySV @cbramkamp

Create a Compelling Character Arc:  http://ow.ly/10DD6X @KathyEdens1

Best Character for Telling Your Story, Basic Action, Weakness and Choice: http://ow.ly/10Es04 @mileconnors

Why writers should be on LinkedIn:  http://ow.ly/10Erwo @LisaJJackson

A short exercise to get you started thinking about your author brand:  http://ow.ly/10EsdL @standoutbooks

4 Reasons to Be Intentional With Your Free Time:  http://ow.ly/10Ermf @emily_tjaden

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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Being Intentional With Our Free Time

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve had a very tough time finding time to just relax the past few years.

Part of the problem is that, when I’m not busy with mothering, driving my daughter to various activities, and managing the household, I’m writing, working on my website, figuring out marketing techniques…basically filling any available time up completely.

Part of the problem is that now I have a hard time relaxing in general.  I’m very restless during quieter times and I have that overwhelming feeling that I should be working on something.  Frequently I’ll jump up after five minutes or so and unload the dishwasher.  That kind of thing.

I even wrote a character with this trait:  Beatrice in the Southern Quilting mysteries.  She can’t relax and can’t seem to make her retirement restful.

I read an article by Emily Tjaden called “4 Reasons to Be Intentional With Your Free Time.”  When I curate links on Twitter, sometimes there’s an article that I’ll put to the side–I’ll drag the tab off to the side–and read it again later.  This was one of those articles.  Because, although I think I subconsciously realized most of the things that she was saying in her post, it resonated with me because I now realized this was something I could be mindful about and possibly help mitigate.

Tjaden says in her post that we can burn through our free time by randomly checking our emails and social media and news stories.  I’m certainly guilty as charged.

But I’ll take that even a step further. Frequently I want something to read or watch that will keep me completely engrossed and tame my restlessness.  But then I blow through my free time trying to remember that book title or that old movie that should be available on Netflix. Sometimes I blow it catching up on emails or aimlessly scrolling through social media.

I’ve made a couple of adjustments in my approach in the last week and it’s worked really well for me.  I feel as if I’m maximizing my free time.

Now I’m maintaining a TBR list of what I most want to read.  My library allows me to add a book to a “read later” list, which is a nice feature.  And, yes, sometimes I’ll go ahead and purchase a book as I hear about it and have it ready and loaded on my Kindle.
I’m also maintaining a list of online movies and documentaries that I’d like to view.  I research sites that review and recommend movies and add the films to my “watchlist.” Even PBS allows me to do this now…a new feature on their site.

This way, when I’m ready to take a break and genuinely recharge,  I can quickly pull up a book I’m eager to read or a video I’m excited to watch.   After doing this the last week, the results have been really amazing.  I don’t have that stressed out feeling after my “downtime,” and I really feel more rested and ready to move back into my work.  I actually feel recharged, which hasn’t happened for a while.

How do you manage your free time?  Do you ever find yourself too keyed up to relax?

Being intentional with free time can help us be more relaxed:
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Image: MorgueFile: PippaLou

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Google Calendar to Simplify Life and Set Goals

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve become something of a Google calendar fanatic.  I’ve completely outsourced my memory to it and have it open much of the day on my laptop and phone.

I used to love having a printed calendar, but disliked having to carry it with me for those frequent times that I needed to check it when I was away from the house.  Printed calendars meant that I usually still had to keep the bits of paper clutter associated with the calendar entry (the slip that listed all the food allergies on the soccer team when I’m in charge of snacks, etc.)

With Google calendar, I either copy-paste the detailed information for the appointment or task and add it to the “notes” section of the entry, or I transcribe the details/contact info on the paper. Then I toss the piece of paper away.  Having all of the information in one place saves me a lot of time and throwing away paper helps keep my house from getting cluttered.

The ability to have the calendar with me at all times (since I always have my phone with me), has really helped me to minimize conflicts and keep on task each day.

Google calendar (free app) helps me keep track of everything: events, appointments, chores, my grocery list, weekly menus, and family and friend birthdays.

There are also some helpful writing-related applications for the app:

I add a mini-outline each day on the calendar so I know what I’m planning on writing that day (and can grab a few extra minutes to write when I’m out of the house and having to unexpectedly wait on something or someone).   Just jotting a line or two down can give me enough direction so that I know what I’m writing next.

I put the editorial calendar for this blog on my Google calendar.

I like adding goals to the calendar using the new goals feature.  Google recently released a new goals feature for its calendar.  You can schedule in your writing goals or reading goals, or even personal goals for exercise, etc.  You add the goal, tell Google how often and what the best general time of day is to complete it,  and Google schedules it into available time on your calendar.  When the goal reminder pops up, you can defer it or mark it as completed .  Google learns what times work better for you when you defer, edit, or complete goals.

Using the calendar as a crutch to outsource my memory and important tasks also helps me feel less stressed out and more creative. Whenever I read about helpful plugins on WordPress or a smart way to optimize my Amazon book pages, I used to feel that I needed to drop what I was doing and work on the task while it was fresh on my mind.  Not only did this put me behind, it also stressed me out because I wasn’t finishing one task before beginning another.  Now I’m scheduling these types of tasks in the future on my calendar and adding the links to the helpful articles in the notes section.

A few tips: 

Print out the month view of the Google calendar and put it somewhere accessible if it’s too hard to quickly see potential event conflicts on the app (sometimes I have to look at a print out to really absorb what my week looks like).

Save time by sharing calendars with someone else.  You can make a lot of different calendars on the Google calendar app and choose which ones you share out.  So if I make a calendar that only has my daughter’s soccer schedule on it, then I can choose to share that one with her so that she knows/can be responsible for her schedule, too.

As a reminder–if you rely heavily on this or the Apple  iCal, remember to back up the calendar.  Can you imagine losing all that data? It would be as if I’d suffered complete memory loss all in one fell swoop.

What’s one of your favorite tools to stay organized and keep up with goals?

Using Google calendar to simplify life and set goals:
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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

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 Novelists Can Benefit from Using Cinematic Scene Structure:  http://ow.ly/10Dwyp @CSLakin

“Mothers are perfect only in fiction”:  http://ow.ly/10Dz8w @Tracy_Chevalier

The True Story Behind the Legendary “Lost Ending” of The Shining: http://ow.ly/10DCNh @steveajohnson

Fixing Episodic Plots:  http://ow.ly/10DwOV @NovelEditor

Writers from @NewYorker  Remember Prince:  http://ow.ly/4n1bWd @huahsu @emilynussbaum @asarahlarson @amandapetrusich

Defining horror:  http://ow.ly/10DCWs  @orringrey      

Crafting Your Character’s Fatal Flaw:  http://ow.ly/10DD39 @SeptCFawkes

4 Worst Book-To-Movie Adaptations:  http://ow.ly/10DD1I @NatePhilbrick

5 Tactics to Master Killer Short Story Endings:  http://ow.ly/10DyQl @sacha_black

Create a Compelling Character Arc:  http://ow.ly/10DD6X @KathyEdens1

DIY Memoir:  http://ow.ly/10DySV @cbramkamp

Q&A with Literary Agent Juliet Pickering of the Blake Friedmann Agency:  http://ow.ly/10Dz5m @MMFinck

Want to Raise Your Brand Awareness? Put One of These on Your Blog:  http://ow.ly/10DzDP @jesslaw

How To Socialize At Conferences:  http://ow.ly/10Dzmy @PiperBayard

How to Create a Style Sheet for Your Manuscript: http://ow.ly/10DKTr @RachelleGardner

Why 1 Writer Used Untranslated Chinese in Her Novel: http://ow.ly/10AOoL @esmewang

On Poetry & Money: http://ow.ly/10AO5q @poetrynews by  Jennifer Moxley

The Introvert Entrepreneur:  http://ow.ly/10DwTv @introvertcoach  @thecreativepenn

Trying Out Science Fiction: A Guide for Fantasy Purists:  http://ow.ly/10Dz3a @NicolaAlter

1st Books After Forty: Michael Morse And @Robinschaer In Conversation:  http://ow.ly/10DDea

Should You Write Every Day? http://ow.ly/10DzBb @stephmorrill

Bringing Arabic lit to the world:  http://ow.ly/4n0jdF @Bodour @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

When Copyright Protections Weaken: Canada’s Warning to Australia:  http://ow.ly/4n0jjo @Porter_Anderson

LinkedIn Tip for Writers:  http://ow.ly/4mYI6Z

Crime fiction: when the killer is horrified by his crime: http://ow.ly/4mYG67 @mkinberg

Writing Resources: A Closer Look at Storybird:  http://ow.ly/4mYFRW @ChrysFey

Why a Writer Went on the World’s Longest Book Tour: http://ow.ly/10zbEw  @jennymilchman  @womenwriters

From book to screen: author’s dream or nightmare? http://ow.ly/10zbAt  @AnnMNoser

Things Your Writing Teacher Never Told You: Serial POV: In its Myriad Forms:  http://ow.ly/10zd05 by Tina L. Jens @BlackGateDotCom

Into the Deep End with Podcasting:  http://ow.ly/10zdn8 @Philip_Overby

Can Everyone Write a YA Novel?  http://ow.ly/10zdLs @100waystowrite

How to Plot a Story Without Using a Formula: http://ow.ly/10zddP @book_arch

The Parallels Between Being an Artist and Being a Parent: http://ow.ly/10zduN @brainpicker

When New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work:  http://ow.ly/10zdz7 by Mary Jo Guglielmo

7 tips for giving a powerful public reading:  http://ow.ly/10zdDH @gigirosenberg

Emotional Wound Thesaurus: Being Publicly Humiliated:  http://ow.ly/10zdOW @AngelaAckerman

Why You Should Write For Yourself Not The Market:  http://ow.ly/10zdhW @kj_bags

Authors with wordbuilding advice:  http://ow.ly/10zdHm  @ChrisAndrewsAU

Get More Reads on Wattpad: Top Tips From Writers:  http://ow.ly/4mXl3h @stopprocras

6 Ways to Write Efficiently for Writers with Day Jobs:  http://ow.ly/10zaA0 @AuthorSAT

Writer Resource: The Emotion Thesaurus:  http://ow.ly/10zaov @pamelameyers  @AngelaAckerman

How Cervantes and Shakespeare wrote the modern literary rule book http://ow.ly/10xSUA by @SalmanRushdie

Moving Beyond “Crazy Rich Asians” In The Stories We Tell About China:  http://ow.ly/4mXltE  estherxlwang  @BuzzFeed

Why Do Cats Love Bookstores?  http://ow.ly/10xQZc @CommunityBkstr @imjasondiamond @kingsbooks

The @washingtonpost asked 10 poets for poems. 10 designers animated them for Ntl. Poetry Month:  http://ow.ly/4mXk4P

If Jane Eyre Released Today Would It Be Marketed As Genre?  http://ow.ly/4mXjQe @LyndsayFaye @thelithub

5 Spring Cleaning Must-Dos For Authors:  http://ow.ly/10wpIg @WhereWritersWin

Behind the Scenes of a Bestselling Launch:  http://ow.ly/10wpmD @DanBlank

Emotional Wound Thesaurus: Financial Ruin Due To A Spouse’s Irresponsibility:  http://ow.ly/10wqgF @AngelaAckerman

Writing a Novel in 7 Days:  3 Myths Shattered:  http://ow.ly/10wpSW @DeanWesleySmith

4 elements to plot twists:  http://ow.ly/10wpxe @donnalhsmith

How to Embrace Imperfection as a Writer:  http://ow.ly/10wpMk @powellwriter

Business Musings: Contract Basics (Contracts/Dealbreakers) : http://ow.ly/10wqrU @KristineRusch

Extroverting for Introverts:  http://ow.ly/10wqnM @AllieLarkin

What to know about Peter Balakian, the new Pulitzer Prize-winning poet:  http://ow.ly/4mUZbu @RonCharles

Crime Writers: Detectives v. Patrol: Point Your Tale In the Right Direction:  http://ow.ly/4mV12J @LeeLofland

The Hot Sheet: industry newsletter for authors (30 day free trial): from @Porter_Anderson & @JaneFriedman: http://ow.ly/4mUMbD

How to Outline Your Novel: The 3-Act Structure:  http://ow.ly/10wq2Q by Chris Fox

Indie Author Survival Guide:  Fear and the Creative Worker:  http://ow.ly/10wqki @susankayequinn

Don’t give away your power:  http://ow.ly/10woEO @PBRWriter

Avast! Piracy and the Self-Publisher:  http://ow.ly/10wqxc @dkudler

How to Grow Author Mailing Lists with @MailChimp  and Bookfunnel http://ow.ly/10wqAD @authordesigner

The Getting Things Done (GTD) System for Writers: http://ow.ly/10wpZP @aliventures

Building Blocks of a Novel: Paragraphs: http://ow.ly/10v6O0 @JulieEshbaugh

Plotting: The Flow of Your Story: http://ow.ly/10v6Fb @HoustonHavens

Pinning KidLit to the Mat:  http://ow.ly/10v6WL @mdilloway

World Building: Insider vs. Outsider:  http://ow.ly/10v760 @Ava_Jae

How to Run a Successful Kickstarter Campaign:  http://ow.ly/10v6zx @wickerkat

Pantsers vs Plotters:  http://ow.ly/10v6RZ @CosDrift

UK’s Waterstones: ‘25 Percent More Expensive Than Amazon’: http://ow.ly/4mQNIj @Porter_Anderson

36 Ways to Describe Buildings: –Neighborhoods:  http://ow.ly/10v6JL @WordDreams

The Perks of Getting Lost at the London Book Fair:  http://ow.ly/4mSuNA @martabausells @thelithub

30 Poets You Should Be Reading: http://ow.ly/4mPOOT

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Remote Work (After 5 Years of Experience):  http://ow.ly/10tsEd @hackinglife7

A Lesson in Fear from the Appalachian Trail:  http://ow.ly/10tswj @doug_walsh75

Selling Ebooks Directly:  http://ow.ly/10trVr @jimchines

The Hypnotic Secrets of Point of View:  http://ow.ly/10ts84 @Chris_Kokoski

‘Free Saudi Liberals’ Creator @Raif_Badawi Receives IPA Award: http://ow.ly/4mQNvl @porter_anderson

A comic on self-doubt during the creative process:  http://ow.ly/4mQG1f @inkyelbows

Working Bad Jobs Makes You a Better Writer:  http://ow.ly/10v6cc @GiveMeYourTeeth

Writing and the Creative Life: The Tactile Experience of Writing:  http://ow.ly/10v69m @GoIntoTheStory

How to Publish Posts that Search Engines Will Love:  http://ow.ly/10v6in by Chris Smith

Shakespeare’s ‘Original Pronunciation’ and the Fight for the Bard’s Wordplay:  http://ow.ly/10v642 @megangarber @TheAtlantic

Plot Twists: Expanding Your World:  http://ow.ly/10v61O @artofstoriesAB

Teach the Aspiring Author Through Editing:  http://ow.ly/10v6Ls @CarolAnneMalone

6 Wrong Ways to Write About Horses:  http://ow.ly/10tsaW @VickiLWeavil

4 Tips for Developing Compelling Characters:  http://ow.ly/4mPcxm from Australian College of Journalism by Marianne Stenger

Top 50 Websites for Indie Authors:  http://ow.ly/10r2YL @Bookgal

Poetry Podcasts Are Back:  http://ow.ly/4mPOpC @HartCrane @JayOhEssEe

The 12 Steps to Self-Publishing:  http://ow.ly/10r37I @liz_lazarus  @WomenWriters

65 Online Writing Tools For Writers, Bloggers & Authors: http://ow.ly/10tss5 @joshspilker

What can the meat packing scandal of 1906 teach us about writing? http://ow.ly/4mPc6E @p2p_editor

When to email an agent or editor:  http://ow.ly/10r2sX @JaneLebak

AmazonCrossing in Translation Expansion:  http://ow.ly/4mOaTB @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

2016 Smashwords Survey Reveals Insight into the Habits of Bestselling Authors:  http://ow.ly/4mPdHv @markcoker

Promote a New Release by Marketing the Entire Book Series:  http://ow.ly/10trPk @DianaUrban  @MeggJensen

Creating Tension: Put Dialogue to Work:  http://ow.ly/10trTx @ShanDitty

How To Sell More Books on iBooks:  http://ow.ly/10trNg @thecreativepenn

London Book Fair: Comparing the UK and UK  Book Markets:   http://ow.ly/4mOaBg

Domestic help in crime fiction:  http://ow.ly/4mO9N1 @mkinberg

5 Lessons From One Author’s 1st Book Deal:  http://ow.ly/10tsCf @realkaranbajaj

Ebook pricing:  http://ow.ly/10r2zW @BookBaby

The Key to Creating a Wholly Believable Character: http://ow.ly/10trUI @CSLakin

6 Things to Consider Before Starting a Small Press:  http://ow.ly/10trRO @RoseannaMWhite @goteenwriters

10-Point Plan To Move Your Business Into The Social Media Arena:  http://ow.ly/10tszm @MiaJouBotha

Is a False Belief Holding Back Your Writing Career?  http://ow.ly/4mMwpM @annerallen

Parallelism: Keep Your Verb Tenses Consistent:  http://ow.ly/10pdlw @epbure

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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LinkedIn Tip for Writers

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Lately I’ve been spending time brushing up my LinkedIn profile.  I wrote about my progress in March.  One thing I like about this platform is that I don’t have to spend much time there.  I can keep elements current and then basically leave the profile alone.

I’ve searched for tips that help optimize my page, since I’ve always been somewhat at a loss on LinkedIn.  It’s not exactly a social site, but it’s not exactly a place where we upload a static resume and leave it alone.

I recently read an article by Alex Campbell on PC World: “The one LinkedIn profile tip everyone should know: Use Work Samples to show off your achievements.” The author seemed to have freelance writers in mind.  But I wondered if I could adapt the tip to make it work for published books instead of articles.

Campbell explained that linking to work samples would not only give evidence of authority but would also make the page more visually appealing and interesting. That’s because it would populate our LinkedIn profile with images (most articles these days, obviously, have images at the top).

There are several areas on our profile where we can add these work samples/images: Summary, Experience, and Education.  Alex Campbell recommended that we definitely include samples in our Summary section, since it was near the top of the page and would be eye-catching.

I tried a few different things, but because of the way the LinkedIn page is set up, images didn’t attach. For instance, I tried uploading a sample chapter from My Documents, but it didn’t allow me to upload a cover separately.  I was just getting a text box thing on there.

I finally hit gold when I tried linking to a Kindle Preview link.  As a bonus, I could add in my Amazon Affiliate ID to create the link.  If you’re unfamiliar with Kindle Preview, it’s easy to set up.  I detail how to do that in this January post.  Basically, it’s a matter of clicking on the “embed” link under the “buy now/give as a gift” box on your book page on Amazon, and then copy-pasting the link (or adding in your ID code and copy-pasting the link, if you’re an Affiliate).

I pasted the URL in the box on the LinkedIn page.  Right underneath, it gives us the opportunity to add a title and description, which I did. I hit “add to profile,” and held my breath.  It worked!  It added a nice visual to the page and clicking the visual takes  readers to Amazon’s sample.  Readers can preview without having to log into Amazon.

I thought adding all of my books was, well, probably impossible  or at least would make it too crammed on the page. It might be nice, for those of us who write more than one series, for us to divide our the Experience section into series somehow and add the covers (or some of them) for each individual series.  For instance, I divided my two series with Penguin by imprint (“employers”)  and added covers for each.  My self-published series goes under Midnight Ink, since the series started with them.

This is one of those things that really only takes a few minutes, but makes a nice difference, visually.

Any other LinkedIn tips?

A LinkedIn tip for writers:
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An Update on a Pre-order Experiment

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Last year, I decided to try listing a book as a  pre-order. That’s to say, I decided to try out a pre-order for my self-published series.  My trad-published books had long been offered for pre-ordering, but that wasn’t anything I had any control over.

I remember, years ago, on the trad-published email loops I was on, authors were concerned about pre-ordering. Specifically, they were concerned that the books would ship early, retailers would put them out early, customers would purchase early, and then the pre-orders wouldn’t count toward the title’s release day. This would mess up their chances with the New York Times list, either extended or short.

I was never very worried about the list.  I don’t know anyone who finds their books that way, so to me it seemed like more of an ego thing or maybe a bragging rights thing.

But what I am worried about is confused readers.  And what I can tell you is that my pre-order for a future Myrtle book has resulted in some confused readers.

A bit of important backstory here: I did not put the book up as a pre-order on Amazon.  There are a couple of reasons why I didn’t.  Reason #1: The pre-order sales dilute the sales ranking on release day. In other words, Amazon doesn’t just allow those sales numbers to accumulate and mark them all toward release day, making the book more visible to customers when it’s available.  Instead, they mark each sale toward the ranking that day for the title.  Amazon, naturally, tries to spin this: “ Also, pre-orders will contribute toward sales rank and other Kindle Store merchandising even before your book is released, which can help more readers discover your book.”

This didn’t really appeal to me, although I did read with interest Lindsay Buroker’s piece on why she did put a pre-order up on Amazon for her 5th book in the series (one compelling reason was that it helped her show up in the ‘also-boughts’ section of recommended reads. )  Yes, this is my 10th book in the Myrtle series, so putting it up as a pre-order would make some sense–more so than it would with a book one. But then, there’s an extremely important Reason #2: Amazon doesn’t have ‘asset-less pre-orders’ (as of the writing of this post). In other words, you’ve got to put a manuscript up there. As of right now, not only do I not have a manuscript to put up, I don’t even have a fully-fleshed out outline for the book.  I know some folks put up a rough draft or perhaps their grocery list or whatever, but this, again, makes me leery.  The final version, according to Amazon, must be uploaded ten days before publication: “Your final version must be uploaded and republished at least 10 days before the release date you set, with the last day for upload starting at midnight, U.S. Eastern time. For example, if you were releasing a book on September 20, you would need to upload and republish it by 11:59 PM Eastern time on September 9 (4:59 AM UTC the following day).”

First, the good stuff.  I’ve gotten the word out that there is an upcoming Myrtle Clover book this summer.  Readers have emailed me about it, they recognize the cover, they know it’s on the way.  That awareness of the book is there.

But, unfortunately:   This awareness has not translated into sales.  Maybe this is unique to my readers, but they seem to want to buy it when they can read it.  Also, most of my readers are Amazon customers (as is apparent from my sales). The fact that it’s not available on this channel is really cutting into potential sales.

Also unfortunately: The fact that it’s not available on Amazon means that I’m getting a good number of emails.  I’ve gotten several that were complaint letters.  I’ve gotten several that expressed confusion.  I’ve even gotten one from a concierge on a cruise ship (they have those?) who was completely exasperated by her futile efforts to get this future release for her passenger.

What if I promoted the pre-order, as recommended as a best practice by Mark Coker and others?  That resulted in an uptick of confused emails.

An additional concern:  I’m also a bit worried that some readers, having seen the cover for the upcoming book for such a long time, will think it’s an older title that they’ve already purchased.  If they’re newsletter subscribers, I can fix that by announcing the release in August.  If they’re not?  They may stay confused.

Would I do this again?  No.  Not the same way I’ve handled it, at any rate.  I’d either make it a very short pre-order period with a rough draft uploaded on Amazon (still unlikely because I’m not sure the diluted sales figures are worth it, even considering the also-boughts) or else I’d scrap it altogether.  But a long pre-order period (this one stretches from October 2015 to the final August 2016 release… a tactic endorsed by Smashwords’ Mark Coker here, slide 264)?  I won’t do it again.

But is the same true for you? Not necessarily.  If you decide to pursue pre-orders, there are some excellent resources available. One is Andrew Lowe’s post on the ALLi blog: “How to Set-Up Pre-orders for Self-Published eBooks.”  One on promoting pre-orders is from Ruth Ann Nordin in “Promoting a Pre-order.”  And, if you’re interested in pursuing pre-orders on Amazon, Penny Sansevieri’s post, “The Best Way for Authors to Use Amazon’s Pre-order Feature” will help.

Have you tried pre-orders?  How did it work for you?

An update on a pre-order experiment:
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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

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.

8 Ways Creative Types Can Increase Focus And Productivity:  http://ow.ly/10nz2d  @colleen_m_story

How to Develop the Discipline of a Professional Writer:  http://ow.ly/10nyV6 by Brian DeLeonard

Setting as Character:  http://ow.ly/10nzjO @judithkeim

3 Top Tips For Delivering A Sensational Speech:  http://ow.ly/10nzb0 @Writers_Write

How to Take Charge of Your Novel’s Symbolism:  http://ow.ly/10nyZc @BetterNovelProj

10 Tips to Pitch Your Book to Review Bloggers:  http://ow.ly/10pcVn @missriki

The Pros and Cons of Offering Preorders:  http://ow.ly/10pdbu @ceciliaedits

Hero Archetypes:  http://ow.ly/10pdzl @kylieday0

How not to talk about African fiction:  http://ow.ly/10pdL6 @brittlepaper

Emotional Wounds Thesaurus: Being Raised by Overprotective Parents: http://ow.ly/10pe02 @beccapuglisi

Write What You Love and Still Sell:  http://ow.ly/10pe6T  @Rachel_Aaron

15 Instagram Book Marketing Ideas from Publishers:  http://ow.ly/10pecT @DianaUrban

How to Title Your WIP (video):  http://ow.ly/10pdph @Ava_Jae

The easy way to launch a book (with a list):  http://ow.ly/10pel5 @Creativindie

Adding Humor to Our Writing Using The Rule of 3: http://ow.ly/10pcI7  @cyleyoung

Why you shouldn’t pull all-nighters:  http://ow.ly/10pdGC @pubcoach

How to Rock Out on Goodreads: http://ow.ly/10pcR0 @Bookgal

The Most Dangerous Writing App Lives Up To Its Name: http://ow.ly/10nyDi @helpfulsnowman

Why Traditional Publishing Takes So Long:  http://ow.ly/10lHUm @sjaejones

Learning from Failed Movies:  http://ow.ly/10nyGv @dougeboch

Creating a Supporting Cast of Characters:  http://ow.ly/10nyjJ @AJHumpage

Sell More Books in More Formats in More Territories:  http://ow.ly/4mJzYO #IAF16  @Thecreativepenn @pbackwriters @tobymundy

The Future of Publishing: 7 things an Author Must Know: http://ow.ly/4mJzpE @JaneFriedman @IndieAuthorALLI #IAF16

The Trouble With Reactive Protagonists:  http://ow.ly/10lH8E @Janice_Hardy

Reader-based: on Virginia Woolf and writing a novel readers will read:  http://ow.ly/4mJxDf  @lynnsstrong  @CatapultStory

The Basic Author Platform:  http://ow.ly/4mJrEk

Tropes in Literature: ‘This is My Story’ Openings:  http://ow.ly/10lHGz by Melinda Brasher

4 Reasons Most Authors Fail at Book Marketing:  http://ow.ly/10nymU @RachelintheOC

9 Reasons To Index-Card Your Manuscript:  http://ow.ly/10nyoR @NatePhilbrick

What Works & What Doesn’t: ‘Citizen Kane’:  http://ow.ly/10nyuI @chris_shultz81

How to Write a Novella: 6 Essential Tips:  http://ow.ly/10nyzs @nownovel

5 Questions New Writers Ask:  http://ow.ly/10nytc @monicamclark

Elements that give crime fictions series longevity: http://ow.ly/4mIWBt @mkinberg

Translation as Activism:  http://ow.ly/4mIWah @OliviaSnaije @pubperspectives

10 Ways To Write a Self-Rejecting Query to a Blogger, Agent or Publisher:  http://ow.ly/4mITqP @annerallen

Tricks for writing fast-paced action scenes:  http://ow.ly/10lHoY @RayneHall

How To Write Like J.K. Rowling:  http://ow.ly/10lHgY @Chris_Kokoski

An Author Shares her Top 10 Items For a 2016 Marketing Plan:  http://ow.ly/4mHDNV @mollygreene

7 Vibrant Publishing Markets:  http://ow.ly/10EOP3 @erinlcox @pubperspectives

The Pathetic Fallacy Made Flesh: Edgar Allan Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher”:  http://ow.ly/10lI0t  @r_emrys @AnneMPillsworth

Stairway to (copyright) Heaven:  http://ow.ly/10EsGI @PassiveVoiceBlg @VolokhConspirac by David Post

How Writers Can Create Continuity in Showing the Passing of Time:  http://ow.ly/10iU4M @CSLakin

Life Problems Only Writers Understand:  http://ow.ly/10iUND @DianeDeMasi

A look at the success of @OpenRoadMedia and @JaneORIM in maximizing backlists:  http://ow.ly/10ENRg  @chgreig @Porter_Anderson

3 Common Qualities for Science Fiction Lovers:  http://ow.ly/10iUnv @PeevishPenman

Kobo Expands Kobo Writing Life Services:  http://ow.ly/10EsyN @DigiBookWorld @KoboWritingLife

Post apocalyptic or Post-apocalyptic or Postapocalyptic?  http://ow.ly/10iUzh @PeevishPenman

A site that helps children’s lit and YA writers find agents:  http://ow.ly/10EuMe @LyndaRYoung

The Writing Lessons of Hamilton:  http://ow.ly/10lHRc  @theladygreer

Supernaturally Dysfunctional Towns:  http://ow.ly/10lI7d @tvdotcom

Settings and the Romantic Novel:  http://ow.ly/10lHvP  @Ella_Carey @romanceuniv

Tropes In Literature: Mr. Exposition and Captain Obvious:  http://ow.ly/10lHMW by Melinda Brasher

Initials in Author Names:  http://ow.ly/10lIby @DebbieYoungBN

Sourcing and using photos for self-pubbed books:  http://ow.ly/10lIe4 @writerjeangill

10 Great Teens In Contemporary Fiction: A Reading List http://ow.ly/10lHcR @JonLeeWriter

A blog dedicated to writing and resources centered on racial & ethnic diversity:  http://ow.ly/10DICJ

Imperative character questions:   http://ow.ly/10DzJJ @wendypmiller

“On Prescribing Poems for the Sick, the Dying, the Grief Stricken”:  http://ow.ly/10iV1D

@ronnabloom @thelithub

How to write several narrators and make them sound distinct:  http://ow.ly/10DwZd @Roz_Morris

How to Attend Online Author Conference Indie Author Fringe this Friday:  http://ow.ly/10DwBA  @IndieAuthorALLI

10 Questions About The Authority Figures That Can Beef Up Your Conflict:  http://ow.ly/10iUhg @10minnovelist

The Self-Hating Book Critic:  http://ow.ly/10iV92 @thebookslut @coppernickel

5 Steps to Great Cover Art:  http://ow.ly/10iUeP @jayonaboat

How to Write a Novella:  http://ow.ly/10iU7m @EvaDeverell

1 Key Question for Worldbuilding: http://ow.ly/10iU1E @HeatherJacksonW

How to Declutter Your Writing Ideas and Finish More Projects:  http://ow.ly/10iUJa @danasitar

192 Publications That  Pay Freelance Writers:  http://ow.ly/10iUGa @marisoldahl

Working For Exposure:  http://ow.ly/10g2ZP @jimchines

Writing a Novel Within a Novel:  http://ow.ly/10g2Lu by  Yona Zeldis McDonough

Writing YA: Reflecting the Emotional Age of the Reader: http://ow.ly/10g1J8 @MJDougherty33

Spring Ahead: Poets’ Close Relationship to the Season:  http://ow.ly/10zfBz @Poetrywithc @PoetryFound

Why Your Story is Getting Rejected: Language: http://ow.ly/10g2Sl @ChelseaLHenshey

102 Indispensable Works of Literary Criticism:  http://ow.ly/10g2hY @jrc2666 @thelithub

After self-pubbing: book promo:  http://ow.ly/10g37D @Bookgal

Tips for drafting a plot:  http://ow.ly/10g33C by Kathy Edens

Common Sense Marketing:  http://ow.ly/10g2yC  @PBRWriter

The right way to torture our characters:  http://ow.ly/10g2Vw  @Brianna_daSilva

A Panster’s Guide to Planning:  http://ow.ly/10e4Wg @tmtysinger

Another way to monetize ebooks:  http://ow.ly/10z9bT  @jwikert

Can’t get to #LBF16 ? Follow @Porter_Anderson for the play-by-play on this important conference.

Some indie bookstores found new ways to improve online print sales:  http://ow.ly/10z8R3 @Judith2dogs @PublishersWkly

Free, downloadable magazine on worldwide rights opportunities: http://ow.ly/10zwTF @hannahsjohnson @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Do Artists Still Find Inspiration in Literature?  http://ow.ly/10g2cR by Catherine Talese @VOLTAshow

How to Use Life Experience to Write Better:  http://ow.ly/10e4GB by Reagan Colbert

The Unfunny Plight of Women in Comics:  http://ow.ly/10zeDU @OliviaSnaije @pubperspectives

5 Books with Snarky Magicians: http://ow.ly/10e4O8 @DanKoboldt

9 Free Tools That Can Help Build Buzz for a Book:  http://ow.ly/10e4Nk @DianaUrban

Showing vs. Telling: Character Emotion:  http://ow.ly/10e4WO @ceciliaedits

Welcome Spring with a @StoryTellers10 Cozy Mystery Giveaway. Enter to win 35+ great books: http://bit.ly/CozySpring

Picking a Category to Write In:  http://ow.ly/10e50p @Kid_Lit

Give Your Latest Book a Boost With Home Page Branding:  http://ow.ly/10e4Ms  @cksyme

Writing in two categories and querying agents:  http://ow.ly/10e4Zv @Janet_Reid

At Home in Deaf Culture: Storytelling in an Un-Writable Language:  http://ow.ly/10xSqV @NovicSara

The What, Why, and How of Author Platforms:  http://ow.ly/10e4Yg @JasonGracia

7 Steps to a Happy Revision:  http://ow.ly/10cWso @j_s_brown

A publisher with tips for submissions and queries: http://ow.ly/10w9FQ @SpunkOnAStick

Resources for Writers: Ink Pageant:  http://ow.ly/10wnqI @AlexJCavanaugh

Lies & Secrets: The Lifeblood of Great Fiction:  http://ow.ly/10cWmg @KristenLambTX

6 Well-Meant (but Bad) Pieces of Writing Jargon:  http://ow.ly/10e4Xc @HistoireLolita

Will Work For Hire Hurt my Novel? http://ow.ly/10e51v @Janet_Reid

Public Speaking Hacks for Writers:  http://ow.ly/10e4Py @Chris_Kokoski

Confessions of a Reluctant Memoirist:  http://ow.ly/10e4IX @LucasWMann @thelithub

Revision method: rewriting:  http://ow.ly/10e4HR from The Character Comma

What Does Your Genre’s Theme Promise to Readers? http://ow.ly/10cWiU @JamiGold

Publishers’ Rights Corner at Frankfurt Book Fair:  http://ow.ly/10sDAr @Porter_Anderson

Music for Writers: David Harrington: “There Is No Such Thing As Easy Music”:  http://ow.ly/10vsmu @kronosquartet @porter_anderson

5 Twitter Tips for Publishers and Writers:  http://ow.ly/10vshP  @Porter_Anderson @IngramSpark

Crime fiction: when sleuths don’t work well with others: http://ow.ly/10u7eb @mkinberg

9 Ways to Improve Your Poetry:  http://ow.ly/10cW9o from Citysqwirl

6 Ways To Spring Clean Your Writing:  http://ow.ly/10cWt9 @adearinthewoods

How to Write a Great (and Not Schmaltzy) Love Scene:  http://ow.ly/10cWow @JRHwords

Why stories need themes:  http://ow.ly/10cWeT @thisgirlclimbs

The popularity of books on the ‘female lived experience’:  http://ow.ly/10cVYJ @wrightallison

Writing Fan Fiction Can Prepare Us for Becoming an Author:  http://ow.ly/10cWqm  @AshleyHearn

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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The Basic Author Platform

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve made a lot of marketing and social media mistakes, especially when I was just starting out.

And since the author who inspired this post is just starting out…I’m not going to reveal his identity.  I did love his debut novel–there were parts that made me laugh out loud, which is unusual for me, as a reader.

I decided I’d give him a little publicity, if I could.  He was already getting great reviews on Amazon, so I thought I’d find him online, find a worthy blog post, and send out a tweet or two.

You probably know where this is going.

So…I started out at Amazon, which has (somewhat sadly) become a hub of author info.  And…yep, his author page wasn’t filled out.  So he wasn’t on Amazon Author Central.  The publisher (his is a trad-published book) did a good job with everything else on the book page, but he wasn’t there.

I turned to Google and the author did come up.  He was miraculously on Twitter but his avatar was his book cover.  I know most of y’all know this—branding ourselves to our book cover is a bad idea.  We want readers to remember our face. Because, hopefully and with any luck, our face will change slower than our most recent book cover.

The author had no content online that  I could tweet.

And…his website, lovely though it was?  It was one page.  With the cover of the book, the (starred) Library Journal review, and links to  the novel.

It’s so easy to find ourselves in a similar situation, starting out.

If you’ve got a book or if you’re in that stage where you’re getting ready to release a book, there are a few marketing basics that I think everyone should set up.

The absolute bare minimum:

An Amazon Author Central profile

A website (even a free one) with your name as the site name.  On that website, there should be a buy-link to your books at every retailer, a bio, and (important!) a way of contacting you.

Still bare minimum, but taking it a step farther:

Reserve your name on all the popular social media platforms, even if you don’t plan on having an immediate presence there. You may need those profiles later on.  Make sure those social media platforms are in your name, not your book’s name.

Create a newsletter signup for your readers on your site.  MailChimp is free for up to 2,000 subscribers.  Link to this on your website, any social media, and your email signature. Even if you’re not ready to send anything out, you should still be collecting names and addresses from readers who want to sign up .

Add a tagline/signature to your emails.

Have a picture of yourself if you plan on writing more than one book.  That way you’re centering your branding on yourself instead of your books.  The covers will change, your face…well, it will change too. But hopefully slower than your covers will.

Again, just to reiterate…it’s so easy to get caught up and overwhelmed with all the information on book marketing.  Maybe that overwhelming amount of information makes it easy to freeze up and procrastinate starting on an author platform.  But a little effort goes a long way.

What do you think are the basic elements for an author platform?

Basic elements of an author platform:
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