Riley Adams's Blog, page 110
December 5, 2015
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.
The Risks of Offering a Freebie: http://ow.ly/Vvx0q @jamigold
How to Trust Your Writing: 3 Tips from Renowned Novelists: http://ow.ly/V6Xeh @MandyCorine
10 Lessons from #TenThingsNotToSayToAWriter http://ow.ly/Vvx6V @Andrea_Dunlop
4 Tips for People Who Want to Write for Children: http://ow.ly/V6Wng by Sue Bradford Edwards
4 Critical Edits to Make to Your Book’s Description Copy: http://ow.ly/V6Xpo @dianaurban
7 Ways Author Websites Irritate Readers: http://ow.ly/V6YfE @authormedia
Why Agents and Editors Often Stop Reading: http://ow.ly/V9GdN @PaulaSMunier
7 Tips to Make the Most of Working with a Cover Designer: http://ow.ly/V9GJt @MarcyKennedy
The Power of a Fiction Writer’s Pen: http://ow.ly/V9F8E @THahnBurkett
Ebook Conversion Tools: http://ow.ly/V9GVo @dkudler
How to Write Multiple Antagonists: http://ow.ly/V9Fy1 @KMWeiland
The Writer and The Market Should Be Friends: http://ow.ly/V9Gsz @jamesscottbell
Scrivener Fundamentals: http://ow.ly/V9FZm @Gwen_Hernandez
3 Simple Tricks to Create a Character Different From You: http://ow.ly/V9FKK @RidethePen
Using Grammar to Strengthen Our Voice: http://ow.ly/V9Frl @julie_glover
How A Pantser Outlines: http://ow.ly/V9FV9 @mollygreene
When An Author Dies: Estate Planning With @KathrynGoldman: http://ow.ly/V9Hlv @thecreativepenn
Signing Away Your Rights: Arbitration Clauses in Book Contracts: http://ow.ly/V9H49 @victoriastrauss
Tips for author newsletters that will be opened: http://ow.ly/Ve27c @johnkrone_com
10 Tools to Keep Writers Out of the Doctor’s Office: http://ow.ly/Ve2MZ @colleen_m_story
7 Rules to be Successful as an Author: http://ow.ly/Ve3br @JudithBriles
How to Optimize Your Amazon Search Keywords: http://ow.ly/Ve2Lx from Fix My Story
The problem with writer negativity: http://ow.ly/Ve3fW @rachellegardner
What to Avoid in Your Cover Copy: http://ow.ly/Ve3jf @ceciliaedits
Boosting Sales For a Book: http://ow.ly/Vtlf4
8 Obstacles to Completing Your First Novel: http://ow.ly/V6XvX @mrJRPatterson @thePenleak
Zero Draft Thirty: The Despair of the Blank Page : http://ow.ly/V6XMm @gointothestory
Writers Discuss Prologue, Recaps, and Backstories: http://ow.ly/V6XWL @SKathAnthony
Publishing an E-Book: Resources for Authors: http://ow.ly/V6Wid @JaneFriedman
Tackling New Writing Challenges: http://ow.ly/V6Ww7 @MarinThomas @womenwriters
5 Writing Secrets From Ian Fleming: http://ow.ly/V6WIG @AnthonyEhlers
Deliberate Practice and the Writer: http://ow.ly/V6Y4a by Kathleen Moulton
Do You Know Your Genre? http://ow.ly/V6X6d @patverducci
Is it time to drop the #selfpublishing tag? http://ow.ly/VsfQQ @DebbieYoungBN
Meals and other ordinary events as tension-filled backdrops in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/VqjFb @mkinberg
The Crave app for “new readers”: http://ow.ly/VqjcB @Porter_Anderson @CraveRomanceApp @JudithCurr
Good Writers, Bad Books: A NaNoWriMo Debrief: http://ow.ly/Vq7xJ @RFaithEditorial
How to Write 10,000 Words in a Day: http://ow.ly/V4LIV @infobarrel @writerology
5 Ways To Keep Up Your NaNoWriMo Momentum All Year: http://ow.ly/V4M1A @sydney_writer
The Ugly Work of Writing: http://ow.ly/V4LAb @artofstoriesAB
31 Women Writers On The Advice They’d Give Their Younger Selves: http://ow.ly/V4Lu8 @myfakeyelashes
The Business Model of Literary Journals (or Lack Thereof): http://ow.ly/V4MFT @JaneFriedman
Writing Effective Queries: http://ow.ly/V4Lof @Janet_Reid
Charater sheets: http://ow.ly/V4Mv3 from That French Helper
What We Can Learn By Reading 1 Star Reviews of Our Favorite Books: http://ow.ly/V4MXZ @AmberSkyeF
Elevator Pitches: http://ow.ly/V4LDQ @wendylawton
The 1st Act: How to Write Beginnings: http://ow.ly/V4Lhz @sim_ted
4 Painless Steps To Making The Most Of Networking: http://ow.ly/V4Mpl @kj_bags
Amazon’s New Storywriter App for Screenwriters: http://ow.ly/V0Z90 by Writer’s Circle
6 Tips for Finding a Cover Artist: http://ow.ly/V0XLb @jamigold
4 tips for struggling writers: http://ow.ly/V0XWE @readjennymartin
5 Lessons for Indie Authors: http://ow.ly/V0XRY @WriteOnTrack_L
Black Speculative Fiction is Protest Work: http://ow.ly/V0XvQ @TroyLWiggins
The Risks of Offering a Freebie: http://ow.ly/V0YfH @jamigold
How To Twitter: Tips For Newbies: http://ow.ly/V0XOe @mollygreene
5 Tips for Writing a Book Sequel That is Superior to the First: http://ow.ly/V0Y3t by Georgina Roy
Setting the Stage: Hook Readers From Page One: http://ow.ly/V0XxC @stefaniegaither
10 Lessons from #TenThingsNotToSayToAWriter http://ow.ly/V0ZDd @Andrea_Dunlop
Tips for Writing Better Characters: http://ow.ly/V0Yce @PBRWriter
4 Puzzle Pieces to Hook Your Readers: http://ow.ly/V0XB7 @jeancogdell
After #NaNoWriMo: A Writer’s Checklist: http://ow.ly/VjvBv @amyfstuart
Lab coats, uniforms, and name badges in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/VfQUT @mkinberg
The Time It Takes: http://ow.ly/UXPeg @deanwesleysmith
When Setting Trumps Character: http://ow.ly/UXPM7 @TobiasCarroll
Is There Enough Death In Your Stories? http://ow.ly/UXOCf @DBlakeAuthor
How TV And Movies Can Make You A Better Writer: http://ow.ly/UXOsl @DBlakeAuthor
How Professional Readers Read for Pleasure: http://ow.ly/UXPA7 @thelithub @JessicaAFerri
What Book Tours Are Like in the 21st Century: http://ow.ly/UXPqo @NoahCharney @theatlantic
3 Ways to Write Good Beginnings: http://ow.ly/UXP2w @Magic_Violinist
The Negative Character Arc: Devolving Into A Killer: http://ow.ly/UXORf @DBlakeAuthor
Translation For Indie Authors: http://ow.ly/UXPlG @thecreativepenn
Writing to Market: http://ow.ly/UXO3l @kristinerusch
4 Common Dialogue-Writing Mistakes: http://ow.ly/UXOnH @RidethePen
6 Ideas for Getting Your Book More International Exposure: http://ow.ly/UXPja @DianaUrban
Christmas Indie Author Event Idea: http://ow.ly/Vg02r @LornaSixsmith
Book Critique ABCs: a How-To for Authors: http://ow.ly/UW4PM @West1Jess
7 Mistakes Authors Make with Email Lists: http://ow.ly/UW4WO @Creativindie
Every job in publishing depends on authors: http://ow.ly/VfQwg @Porter_Anderson @RebecSmart
Train stations, markets, and other crowded places in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/VfP1u @mkinberg
How To Get Your Books Into Global Markets: http://ow.ly/UW4Qo @JenMinkman
Tips for Creating Media Kits: http://ow.ly/UW4UX @srjohannes
Brainstorming the Hero Before You Start Writing: http://ow.ly/UW4OZ @angelaackerman
Bad writing habits: backing off on the money shot: http://ow.ly/UW4Sm @SPressfield
The Query, the Synopsis, and the First Page: Tips: http://ow.ly/UW4Oi @mara_fortune
What is Good Writing? http://ow.ly/UW4Nx @nownovel
10 Techniques for Getting Tension on Every Page: http://ow.ly/UW4Mv @jodyhedlund
Plot Your Novel With Mini Arcs: http://ow.ly/UW4Uf @Janice_Hardy
Crafting a Compelling Novel Concept: http://ow.ly/UW4KW @storyfix
Should you write under a pseudonym? Pros, cons and practicalities in a digital world: http://ow.ly/Vf5TF @Roz_Morris
Publishing a Sequel: 8 Book Marketing Tips You Need to Know: http://ow.ly/UV3GB @dianaurban
Character Development: The Interaction Chart: http://ow.ly/UV3sT @HeatherJacksonW
7 Ways Your Characters Can Screw up Their Decisions: http://ow.ly/UV3BA @Janice_Hardy
What Neil Gaiman Does When He Doesn’t Know What To Write: http://ow.ly/UV3fK @r_buxton
Trad-Pubbed Writers: What Not to Share Online: http://ow.ly/UV3Iq @wendylawton
Building a Great First Chapter: http://ow.ly/UV3Ps @bethrevis
The top writing links from the week on Twitterific:
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The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
December 3, 2015
Boosting Sales For a Book
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Writers sometimes ask me, usually anxiously, what they can do to help boost sales. Inevitably, they have only one book published.
I know when I was just traditionally-published I had that underlying feeling that I should be doing more for my book. That I was leaning too much on Penguin and they weren’t, actually, even doing all that much for sales.
As a self-published author, I think this feeling is magnified. After all, we’re 100% responsible for sales.
And I hate that anyone giving advice about sales sounds like a broken record, but…I think the standard advice is sound.
Things we can do to try and improve sales:
Write and publish more and better books.
If sales is the primary focus of our writing (and that’s nothing to be ashamed of), then are we writing in a commercially successful genre? Should we consider a change?
Can our first book be extended into a series? Series are generally more popular with readers than standalones…and they can be easier to quickly write (setting and characters are already in place).
If our standalone seems solid and has enjoyed a positive response from readers, but just doesn’t seem to be able to get traction, we should consider a free promo first. We do this by listing our book as free on a site like Smashwords or Draft2Digital and then allowing Amazon to price match it. This only costs us lost sales and can lead to more visibility and reviews.
If, again, the book seems solid and reviews are good, we could look at doing a cover change. Since this costs money, this, to me, is something of a last resort.
Evaluate our web presence for our title. But be careful here because this can be a huge time suck. We should at least have a basic website. Nearly as important is our book’s listing on Amazon. Have we got blurbs or reviews that we can list on the Editorial Reviews section of our book page? Is our book’s description well-written? Is our Author Central page completed? What keywords have we listed for our title? Is the book listed in the correct category?
These are the best suggestions I’ve got. But the most important, to me, is writing more books and evaluating where we should go from here. If we spend too much time and energy on the one book then we’re never going to get book two out there.
Any other suggestions for help with slow sales?
Tips for boosting sales for our book:
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Image: MorgueFile: veggiegretz
The post Boosting Sales For a Book appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
November 29, 2015
Tracking Our Recurring Storylines
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
One of the things I forgot to mention in my “Time Savers for Writers” post was storyline-tracking for series writers. This is different from a series bible. My series bible has lists that include detailed character descriptions (down to birthdays, favorite foods, aversion to cats, and addresses) and setting information. This is more of tracking recurring motifs/elements/conventions in our stories. Our own tropes for our books.
I almost hesitate to mention this because tropes are sort of an odd area for series writers. But I’ve been surprised to find how much readers care about them. I’ve accidentally—and occasionally purposefully—left out recurring storylines/conventions/gags from stories. And I’ve gotten dinged in reader reviews and sometimes via direct emails from readers for doing so.
And these are for books that function as standalones in my series. For writers who have series arcs…I can only imagine you’re tracking those to pieces. This is just for the types of story elements that pop up in each book in a series.
I made a list of all the bits and pieces that I include in each series and was amazed at the number of items. There were seventeen elements for just one series. The list includes everything from my protagonist suffering epicurean disasters of epic proportions, to the hypochondriac sidekick, to the slothful housekeeper whose back is conveniently thrown when faced with challenging cleaning, to the garden gnomes that my sleuth pulls out into her front yard when she’s angry with her son.
I never really felt comfortable with my homegrown tropes. Part of me felt, maybe, that I was leaning on these recurring elements as a crutch. It’s so easy to include them. I tried to be fresh and original in each book.
The problem is that readers don’t necessarily want us to be fresh and original with each book. There’s a comfort, maybe, in the series trope. Almost an inside joke?
I started thinking about all the recurring storylines and conventions that I loved in various book series and television. I expected Hercule Poirot to be insulted when someone called him French. M.C. Beaton’s Hamish MacBeth would always desperately try to escape promotion and credit his successes to other policemen. I knew to expect elaborate scheming when watching I Love Lucy and Ricky’s unintelligible English. Jerry would always have a ridiculous reason for breaking up a relationship in Seinfeld. In some ways, if there had been a break with series tropes in these shows, it wouldn’t have made sense or been faithful to the series. What if an I Love Lucy episode showed Lucy performing in one of Ricky’s shows with no machinations behind the performance whatsoever? How bizarre would that be?
I’ve found listing these recurring subjects/gags/motifs very helpful. For one, they help me determine important elements in the stories. And if I’m considering taking my series characters on a road trip (like I did in Quilt Trip or in a book I’m planning on for next year for Myrtle), the list helps me incorporate elements as best I can while the characters are on the road.
I think there can be a danger in pandering too much to our homegrown tropes. One danger is straying too far from the main plot or in bloating a book to include all the recurring bits. Elizabeth George is one of my favorite writers, but I do see that she sometimes bloats a book to stuff in all the fun elements surrounding various secondary characters. There does need to be a balance there.
As a reader or TV viewer, what do you think of recurring elements in a book or show? Do you see a pattern in yours? How many do you include in each book?
Using and tracking recurring elements in our books:
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November 28, 2015
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.
This week I’ve got a special deal for my blog readers, offered from Bibliocrunch. They’ve just launched their Author Academy and my blog readers have the chance to win 5 course passes (valued at $119 each):
Using Beats in Writing: http://ow.ly/UV1sS @writerstarr
3 Tools to Help Part Time Writers Work Smarter: http://ow.ly/UV3Rp @fictionnotes
5 Ways to Build a Flimsy Villain: http://ow.ly/UV3Nz @pmillhouse
On the Hidden Life of Marginalia: http://ow.ly/UV3bh @BelaborThePoint
@ParisReview’s Lorin Stein on the Power of Ambiguity in Fiction: http://ow.ly/UV34T @joefassler
Write a Better Author Bio: http://ow.ly/UV3Dd @bryancohenbooks
21 Things 1 Writer Wishes She’d Known Before Becoming a Writer: http://ow.ly/UV3i2 @robin_black
When Writers Face “What’s the Point?”: http://ow.ly/UV16d @deanwesleysmith”
How to Write Can’t-Look-Away Chapter Breaks: http://ow.ly/UV1rc @KMWeiland
4 Things You Can Do If You Don’t Want to Market Your Book: http://ow.ly/UV1aY @Bookgal
1-Star Reviews of Classic Novels: http://ow.ly/UV1Ib @thelincoln @Electriclit
Writing Violence that Feels Real: http://ow.ly/UV1CJ by Mike Buckley
21 Ways a Reader Might Find Your Author Website: http://ow.ly/UV1jQ @chrisrobley
How to Lose Fans and Alienate Followers: http://ow.ly/UV1ow @ereleases
Neil Gaiman On Storytelling In The Age Of The Internet And Other Oddities: http://ow.ly/UV2VT @yrbff @ohkayewhatever
5 Ways To Get Your First Draft Material Out Of Your Head And Onto The Page: http://ow.ly/UV1u6 @thecreativepenn
Nonfiction: Better Book Titles: http://ow.ly/UV1eO @AuthorSecrets
How A Pantser Outlines: http://ow.ly/UV1FP @mollygreene
#FutureChat: 11a/ET/4p/GMT (now): Ask Industry Experts Your Publishing Questions: http://ow.ly/V9jnp @Porter_Anderson
What Works and What Doesn’t: ‘Repo Man’ : http://ow.ly/UT1iF @chris_shultz81
Arranging space and time to honor our writing: http://ow.ly/UT35g @lwlindquist @tspoetry
Creating Quirky Characters: http://ow.ly/UT29t by Robert and Darrin McGraw
When You Need to Completely Reboot your Book or Screenplay: http://ow.ly/UT1Qi @patverducci
11 Things To Do In Your Writing Group: http://ow.ly/UT2HN @JillWilliamson
Writing Habits We Should Forget About : http://ow.ly/UT1pi @LindaUKmasters
Writing in Preschool: http://ow.ly/UT2jk @Betsy_writes
10 social media myths authors should avoid: http://ow.ly/UT2Pi @cksyme
3 Ways To Use Pacing In Dialogue: http://ow.ly/UT1TR @AnthonyEhlers
5 Things Every Screenwriter Should Know About Action Writing: http://ow.ly/UT1yg @screencrafting
Lessons From Beyond the Comfort Zone: http://ow.ly/UT2EE @OrlyKonigLopez
5 Tips for Reading Poetry Aloud: http://ow.ly/UT3vF @TaniaRunyan @tspoetry
178 Ways to Describe Women’s Clothing: http://ow.ly/UPTAz @worddreams
5 Times Screenwriters Conveniently Put Characters to Sleep: http://ow.ly/V0YVm @BartLBishop
Gluttony: A Thanksgiving Reading List: http://ow.ly/V4NAa @thelithub
7 Times We Need to Wear a Mask to be a Better Writer: http://ow.ly/UQdpp @colleen_m_story
Synonyms for 95 Commonly Used Words: http://ow.ly/UPTfs @writers_write
Why A Writer’s Back Hurts and How to Fix It: http://ow.ly/UQdxs @colleen_m_story
Writing Steampunk: Plots, Characters, Settings & More: http://ow.ly/UPThF by Jay Lake
3 Simple Tips on the ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ Mantra: http://ow.ly/UQdba @BernadetteMung
The Fatal Flaw in Weak Descriptions: http://ow.ly/UQdCB @CSLakin @writerstarr @lindasclare
3 Reasons Why YA Matters: http://ow.ly/UQdeJ @kirsticall
Plot Archetypes and Power Plays: Where Does Your Story Fit? http://ow.ly/UPTrt @DIYMFA
100 Words for Facial Expressions: http://ow.ly/UPTwy @writing_tips
A Point of View Cheat Sheet: http://ow.ly/UPTtc @DIYMFA
3 Ways to Avoid Dumbing Down When Writing Middle Grade: http://ow.ly/UPTmg by Luke Reynolds
Readbug Wants To Be Spotify For Indie Magazines: http://ow.ly/V4jWc @riptari @TechCrunch
Romance finally breaks The Post’s ‘No Self-Published Books’ rule: http://ow.ly/V4kcB @washingtonpost @RonCharles
Custom-Redacted School Texts Make a Worrying Trend: http://ow.ly/V4jDO by Maren Williams @CBLDF
Online communities in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/UW3jY @mkinberg
Is It Safe? When to Tell People About What You’re Writing: http://ow.ly/UNga4 @drewchial
9 Practical Tricks for Writing Your 1st Novel: http://ow.ly/UNdHg @janellison
When Dark Emotions Threaten Your Writing: http://ow.ly/UNhhN @jan_ohara
What 1 Agent Has Learned in Her Last 4 years: http://ow.ly/UNdPx @agentshea @WriterUnboxed
The 5 Most Common Mistakes In Pitching: http://ow.ly/UNdXI @JoeyTuccio
The Power of Narrative Writing: http://ow.ly/UNdUL @writingforward
6 Writing Tips If You Have A Day Job by Kenneth Walden: http://ow.ly/UNg63 @bang2write
Accessorize Your Characters: Paint a Picture with Fewer Words: http://ow.ly/UNgIB @MelissaPearlG
The Art of Subtlety: http://ow.ly/UNhcT @KatieClarkBooks
5 Male Secondary Characters Who Teach The Protagonist: http://ow.ly/UNg4d @bang2write
For Beginners: How to Choose a Point of View: http://ow.ly/UNgOr @katstilesauthor
A New History of the Horror Story: From Homer to Lovecraft: http://ow.ly/UNhmW @asap_jonathon @flavorwire
The Ultimate Guide To Getting Published In A Literary Magazine: http://ow.ly/UNdMs @thelincoln
Publishing news for #authors (30 day free trial): http://ow.ly/V0VqW @HotSheetPub @JaneFriedman @Porter_Anderson
Showing Through Your Characters’ Senses: http://ow.ly/UKAd7 @CSLakin
How to Write Funny Dialogue: http://ow.ly/UKAmC @KMWeiland
4 Tips to Writing a Death Scene That Won’t Kill Your Readership: http://ow.ly/UKzw9 @sarajohannagoff
#1 Reason 1 Agent Passes Even If The Writing Is Good: http://ow.ly/V0Tvs @AgentKristinNLA
Writing more than 10 books in a series and staying fresh: http://ow.ly/V10nO @tobywneal @passivevoiceblg
The endless learning process for writers: http://ow.ly/V0Tip @GillianDoyle @Porter_Anderson
5 Moral Dilemmas That Make Characters (& Stories) Better: http://ow.ly/UKAgh @BrianKlems
Do your characters sigh too much? http://ow.ly/UKATV @calebpirtle
Writers on the pain of hindsight in publishing: http://ow.ly/UKAsI @Huma_Qureshi
6 Simple Ways To Boost Your Confidence As A Writer: http://ow.ly/UKzlN by Natalie Ong Lih Tyng
Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Get Un-Comfortable: http://ow.ly/UKAor @gointothestory
11 Things You Need to Know When Writing a Memoir: http://ow.ly/UKA4B by Lisa Lepki
When Someone Is Publishing Your Idea: http://ow.ly/UKADw @Kid_Lit
Positivity and Protagonists: http://ow.ly/UKAaC @DonMaass
12 Techniques for Emotionally Connecting with Your Readers: http://ow.ly/UKzUq @AriaGlazki
Unstick Your NaNoWriMo Novel: http://ow.ly/UXOev @BillFerris
Disappearing Amazon Reviews: The Facts Behind Amazon’s Review Purges http://ow.ly/UXPad @annerallen
Free PDF with 101 Killer Tips for #crime #thriller #writers: http://dyingwords.net/dead-write-b-s-guide-writing-deadly-crime-fiction/#sthash.cKaCxQd9.dpbs @GarryRodgers1
Powerful story beginnings in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/UW3dr @mkinberg
When Are You Ready to Publish? http://ow.ly/UHdxs @AmiecusCuriae
5 Dualities That Can Replace Good and Evil: http://ow.ly/UHd98 by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Why Character Actions/Reactions Are Important: http://ow.ly/UGneA @AJHumpage
5 Ways to Hide Your Villain In Plain Sight: http://ow.ly/UGnjE @ink_and_quills
5 Horror Cliches Waiting to Be Broken: http://ow.ly/UGnly by Oren Ashkenazi
How to Write an Author Bio: http://ow.ly/UGnnd @Beth_Barany
The Ultimate Story Checklist: Blazing Saddles: http://ow.ly/UGnbB @cockeyedcaravan
How to edit quality pulp-speed writing: http://ow.ly/UHdfT @tobywneal
How to create a book marketing plan that works: http://ow.ly/UHdoR @bookgal
Tight writing is good writing: http://ow.ly/UGnqY @SueColetta1
7 Things To Do After Finishing Your Book: http://ow.ly/UHd0R @concertpat
Mistakes New Authors Make: http://ow.ly/UGns0 @BillFerris
Crime fiction: when police consult experts: http://ow.ly/UW3aZ @mkinberg
Business Musings: Translations: http://ow.ly/UqERB @kristinerusch
How to “Fix” Unlikable Characters: http://ow.ly/UqDYU @RuthanneReid
4 Lies Writers Believe: http://ow.ly/Uqywt @joebunting
Top writing links from the past week on Twitterific:
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November 21, 2015
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.
Happy Thanksgiving to my blog readers in the States! I’m taking the rest of the week off to spend time with family. See you again next Sunday. :)
Use Cadence in Your Writing: http://ow.ly/UE2Zs @MargieLawson
Writing About Love: Ditch the Cliches & Turn Up the Heat: http://ow.ly/UE3gG @kristenlambtx
Rick Riordan cheers end of book covers that ‘whitewash’ his black hero: http://ow.ly/UV3Zh @alisonflood @guardianbooks Working on Spec: http://ow.ly/UE39g @passivevoiceblg
5 part video series on the craft of story editing: http://ow.ly/UV42G from Shawn Coyne and @SPressfield
Landlords and landladies in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/UE3d3 @mkinberg
Description, Details, and Delivering Information: http://ow.ly/UE3aU @catrambo
Revealing a Character’s Past Without Falling Into Backstory: http://ow.ly/UE34V @Janice_Hardy
Love Letter to a Sloppy First Draft: http://ow.ly/UqEdM @jaelmchenry
15 Authors Running Fantastic Book Promotions on Instagram: http://ow.ly/UqEO2 @DianaUrban
Publishing a Sequel: 8 Book Marketing Tips to Know: http://ow.ly/UqEte @dianaurban
5 Ways to Fix Too-Perfect Characters http://ow.ly/UqEj0 @janice_hardy
How to Learn Fiction-Writing Techniques With Less Pain & Frustration: http://ow.ly/UqE6a @jodyhedlund
On The Dark Matter Of The Publishing Industry: http://ow.ly/UV4yP @lenepp @TechCrunch
Crime Writing: What Happens Inside an Autopsy Suite: http://ow.ly/UV3wm @SueColetta1
Great Scene: “American Beauty”: http://ow.ly/UE2Yv @gointothestory
10 Traits of the Mentor Character Archetype: Hagrid + Haymitch: http://ow.ly/UE36u @betternovelproj
5 Ideas for Promoting Your Ebook Price Promo on Social Media: http://ow.ly/UE35J @dianaurban
Starting a Scene: 2 Important Questions: http://ow.ly/UE37D @SeptCFawkes
Understanding Anthology Copyrights: http://ow.ly/UE30S @susanspann
Suspense: To Be Exciting,You Need To Be A Little Dull: http://ow.ly/UE32Z by PJ Parrish
Writing: Just Do It: http://ow.ly/UU2UB @Porter_Anderson
#FutureChat 11 a/ET–now: Which #BookTech player is your favorite? http://ow.ly/UT5Ir @Porter_Anderson
5 Ways to Optimize Your Author Content for SEO: http://ow.ly/UBvDh @DigitalSearch
Move Your Writing Career Forward: http://ow.ly/UBwu2 @AmySueNathan
What sort of spirit are you bringing to your fiction? http://ow.ly/UBwxd @DonMaass
Set Your Writing Goals: http://ow.ly/UBw7e @robertleebrewer
5 Things an Acquisitions Editor Sees from Your Proposal: http://ow.ly/UBvVp @NinaAmir
Create a Time Management Plan: http://ow.ly/UBw3t @RobertLeeBrewer
How To Create a Memorable Setting in your Book or Screenplay: http://ow.ly/UBwJz @patverducci
Questions For Writers Who Want To Make A Difference: http://ow.ly/UBwbh @ozzywood
Inside One Stop For Writers: The Idea Generator: http://ow.ly/UBvYO @angelaackerman
How to Market Yourself as an Author Before You Have a Book to Sell: http://ow.ly/UBwlA @chucksambuchino
The Upside and the Downside of the “Best Writing Tip Ever”: http://ow.ly/UBvLQ @storyfix
How to Get Your Book Published: http://ow.ly/UBvRo @JaneFriedman
A look at the usefulness of service staff in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/UQeaA @mkinberg
Anticipating Story Length: http://ow.ly/UyBpS from Anita Howitt
5 Fantasy Books with Awe-Inspiring Settings: http://ow.ly/UyBJI @mattkressel
3 Things About Screenplay Structure: http://ow.ly/UyBIm @gointothestory
4 Query Resources: http://ow.ly/UyBP9 @MelindaFriesen
Navigating the Waters of Rejection: http://ow.ly/UyByS @mrsmetaphor @womenwriters
Plotting a Great Ghost Story: http://ow.ly/UyBH7 @artofstoriesAB
Concealing Your Awesomes (Fantasy Worldbuilding): http://ow.ly/UyBmU @AuthorCoH
From Query to Book Deal: http://ow.ly/UyBv2 @carlywatters @womenwriters
Planning Types and Tools: http://ow.ly/UyBFF @artofstoriesAB
5 Plot Tools To Unstick Our Story: http://ow.ly/UyBDa @MandyCorine
Re-Write Your Life: Tips for Keeping a Journal: http://ow.ly/UyBS0 @sowulwords @DIYMFA
A Case Study on Art as a Literary Theme: http://ow.ly/UyBTD @SaraL_Writer @DIYMFA
Common Plot Fails (and How We Can Fix Them): http://ow.ly/U7ID8 @Rachel_Aaron
5 Twitter Mistakes Writers Make and How to Avoid Them: http://ow.ly/U7HVV @AnnieNeugebauer
‘Why’ is the magic question for storytellers: http://ow.ly/U7JeW @Roz_Morris
Including awards in a query: http://ow.ly/U7I6G @Janet_Reid
How to Get an Indie Book Translated and Reach the Growing Globile” Market: http://ow.ly/U7Iyc @MarkWilliamsInt”
5 Reasons Supporting Other Writers is Important: http://ow.ly/U7I2N @MartinaABoone
On Querying and Subbing Simultaneously: http://ow.ly/U7I9x @MissDahlELama
40 Ideas for Writers to Post on Social Media: http://ow.ly/U7HRX @GaryJMcLaren
Defeating the Self-Doubt Slump: http://ow.ly/U7IHa @JordanHolman_
Equality in publishing: gender is not the only agenda: http://ow.ly/U7Jnn @Roz_Morris
On Content Marketing: http://ow.ly/U7IsR @rachellegardner
The Power of What’s Left Unsaid When Crafting Dialogue: http://ow.ly/UtO5T by Bonnie Randall
American English, British English, Canadian English:… which to use for your book? http://ow.ly/UtQ4L @Roz_Morris
The Back-up Antagonist: http://ow.ly/UtP69 @robinrwrites
The beliefs that drive our protagonist and antagonist: http://ow.ly/UtOst @joeberhardt
Business Musings: Talking To Writers: http://ow.ly/UtOeL @kristinerusch
Openings: Intrigue Versus Engagement: http://ow.ly/UtOSF @DonMaass
How to Write a Short Story from Start to Finish: http://ow.ly/UtO2b @joebunting
Revising without Tears: the Master Scene Profile: http://ow.ly/UtOyA @RchelFunkHeller
How to Create a Powerful Antagonist: The Epic Villain Breakdown: http://ow.ly/UtOXT @ShesNovel
How to Be a Prolific Writer: http://ow.ly/UtOOY @jamesscottbell
How to Start a Blog: A Step-by-Step Guide for Writers: http://ow.ly/UtObd @Susan_Shain
Emotional Wound Entry for Writers: A Home Invasion: http://ow.ly/UqDDk @angelaackerman
How 1 Writer Writes 50k(-ish) Every Month: http://ow.ly/UqylG @ChuckWendig {lang}
Public Speaking for Writers: http://ow.ly/UHeeC
Writing Outside Your Comfort Zone: http://ow.ly/UE3Up @wendyluwrites @DIYMFA
Flash Fiction Exercises for #NaNoWriMo: http://ow.ly/UE3P4 @_AliciaAudrey @DIYMFA
Follow these steps after #NaNoWriMo: http://ow.ly/UE4ag @RachelLKent
On Writing Badly and Redefining Failure: http://ow.ly/UE40K @beccapuglisi
#NaNoWriMo Tips: http://ow.ly/UE3L5 @EmilyFRussell
5 Tips to Recover from #NaNoWriMo Mistakes: http://ow.ly/UE3J1 @MichelleLim24
#NaNoWriMo & the Inner Editor: http://ow.ly/UE3Ya from Ticklish Pear
#NaNoWriMo: What to do When You Hit the Wall: http://ow.ly/UE46I @Ingrid Sundberg
How to Rock Your Post- #NaNoWriMo Revisions: http://ow.ly/UE3SL @DIYMFA
Writing A Novel: #NaNoWrimo And You: http://ow.ly/UE42p @angee
How To Turn On Your Creativity Faucet (And Keep It Flowing): http://ow.ly/UE3Rq @sowulwords
3 Ways To Pump Up Your Word Count: http://ow.ly/UE3MD @beccaquibbles
What’’s Your Author Self-Esteem? http://ow.ly/UndW6 @jamigold
#Nanowrimo: Act II: questions and prompts: http://ow.ly/UE25K @AlexSokoloff
How to write well in a language that isn’t your mother tongue: http://ow.ly/Uneut @Roz_Morris
What to pack for a writer’s conference: http://ow.ly/UndwK @angiedicken
5 Easy SEO Techniques for Writers: http://ow.ly/UndT4 @JennyHansenCA
Tips for our next conference: http://ow.ly/Unc87 @WittySwearWords
7 Rules for Writing Historical Fiction: http://ow.ly/Une22 by Elizabeth Crook
Unnecessary Discourse, Talking Heads, and the British Butler Syndrome: http://ow.ly/UndIC @ChristyDistler
Top writing links from the past week on Twitterific:
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November 19, 2015
Book Pages
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I decided to make a couple of changes to my website, mainly regarding my Books page. I realized that, in the last couple of years since the site was set up, I’ve written quite a few more books (six? Seven?) I had all of my titles on one page, by series. But at the NINC conference I attended in October (still trying to implement what I learned there), Jane Friedman recommended a separate page for each title. A lot of Jane’s tips are in her post “The Basic Components of an Author Website.” The page of books that I had created was ungainly, cluttered, and disorganized. Having a separate book page for each title definitely made sense to me.
I decided to have drop-down menus from my books tab with each series dropping out (I know my terminology is awful, sorry—no formal education in tech, just a degree in messing around). I designed a page for each series with a series description and the books listed in order. From the series page tab, tabs for each individual book from that series dropped out from that menu. Here’s a screenshot:
On WordPress, there is a handy menu page where you can stagger menus and menus within menus (sub-items, they’re apparently called) to see the organization or structure of your site. Dashboard-Appearance-Menus. I created pages for each book, found the page I’d created in the column to the left of the menu structure, selected it via the check box, and clicked “add to menu.” It usually added it to the bottom of the menu and then I dragged and dropped it where I wanted it to go. More help from WordPress is here and here. There is also a YouTube video that may help.
Now for the tough part. Actually creating the book pages. I had 19 books to do and not a lot of time. So…I did decide to do some investigating into software to make the process easier for me. If you don’t have a lot of books, you could easily handle this.
I looked for a plug-in that would help me out on WordPress. I found MyBookTable and started reading the reviews to see if it would be a good resource. I was familiar with AuthorMedia because I’ve frequently shared their blog posts. Reading the reviews for the plug-in, I found that some people were unhappy because, to use our own affiliate links, we must pay for the plug-in. But when I checked on the price (with some trepidation, since these were some strong complaints), I found that the upgraded version was $49. For me, this was a no-brainer. I will write the $49 off on my taxes. I suspect, if AuthorMedia puts the fact that an upgrade of $49 is needed to input affiliate links on the plug-in page, the fact that there are no surprises will take away any complaints. A closer look at pricing here. I didn’t do the developer upgrade, since I’ve only got the one site.
So I plugged in the different values for list price, sale price, publication year, a sample chapter (I didn’t have time to put all of them in, but that’s on my list of things to do), blurb, and links to my books on various retailers. They returned a nice-looking page (an example here) with buy links. And I had to do no design wrangling whatsoever.
One cool thing I could do with this plug-in was on my series pages. With one click of the “insert shortcode” button (at the top of my page next to “add media” on WordPress), I could insert all the books for that series and their buy buttons. You can see it in action on my Myrtle Clover series page.
I also added a printable list of my books for readers on all my series pages.
I have links to print copies of my books as well as any audio versions.
There are still some additional things I want to do farther down the road, but this was a good start.
Have you taken a look at your book page lately? What kinds of things do you list on it?
Setting up book pages on our website:
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November 15, 2015
Public Speaking for Writers
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
By this point, I’ve made my peace with public speaking. I’m even able to look forward to it with a small sense of anticipation—that I’ll get an opportunity to share information.
I think that my main issues remaining with public speaking are that I don’t enjoy:
Talking about myself
Talking about my books
And I know this seems bizarre…after all, isn’t that the whole point of public speaking as a writer?
But the truth is, I’m rarely asked to talk about myself or my books. I’m usually invited by writers’ groups or conferences or schools. When I am asked to talk about myself, I frequently fudge a little and talk instead on the writing life. Because I’d always rather talk about writing than about me.
One thing I’ve learned is that things frequently are a lot easier if I have some sort of a prop with me. That’s because my memory is so awful and I can get so easily distracted that I can lose my place. PowerPoints with images and little text on the slides can really help me out. I don’t use text on them because reading what someone is talking about is incredibly boring. But a slide with an image that fits into my lecture works really well. I use free design program Canva to make my presentations and they usually look really professional when I’m done with them (even though my design skills totally stink).
I also have learned that I’m too high energy to sit and talk. Well, I can sit and talk if I’m on a panel, but I always wave my hands around a lot if I do. Better if I can move around a little. I purchased a device that wirelessly advances the slides on the PowerPoint and even lets me know when I’m running out of time (you can set a timer on the pointer and it vibrates in your hand to let you know when the timer goes off). You basically just plug a receiver into the USB drive of your laptop and it talks to the device somehow. Nice range of 100 feet. I doubt I’ll walk that far (someone should yank my leash if I start to).
Just in case there’s a big technology fail when I’m speaking (it happened in October) I do have a note card with one line of each point that I’m planning on touching on. That way I can keep talking while someone works on the tech.
If I’m speaking to a group of readers, I’ll actually write interview questions to myself on a note card so my prompts to myself sound a bit more natural and I’m not simply reading off my notes. Why did I start writing mysteries? Do I have a favorite series? I make a list of the usual things I’m asked by readers both online/via email and in person when I’m speaking. That way I’m more confident that I’m touching on things they’re interested in hearing. I do still leave room at the end for any remaining questions.
I practice a lot. I likely overpractice. I give my speech to myself, to the mirror, to my teenage children, to my husband, to my Toastmasters club (this is a good way to get feedback on your speaking, by the way—I do recommend Toastmasters). I also record my talk on my smartphone and listen to it as I’m driving around. I don’t like being unprepared.
My biggest failing is that I’m a very fast talker. I usually have a lot (too much?) information that I want to impart and I race through it. I know I’m going fast, but it’s hard to slow me down. The only times I do speak slower is when I have a much older audience—frequently at library talks. If I’m worried I can’t be heard, I speak slower and enunciate better. I have a strong voice, so my volume isn’t usually a problem.
To combat the fact that I might lose people I’m speaking to, I set up a protected page on my website for each talk, give everyone in the audience the link and password, and let them know that the text of my speech with all links and more in-depth information is available on my site. This usually elicits a sigh of relief at the fact that they don’t have to worry about taking notes. And it makes me feel as if I’m offering more value for them—which makes me even more relaxed and confident.
I’m always, always early. To feel prepared, I need to know how the room is set up and if my technology works. I also like to greet people coming in and get a feel for the audience—it can also help with any jitters.
Have you done much public speaking? How do you prepare for it? Any tips?
Tips for public speaking for writers:
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Image: MorgueFile: DodgertonSkillhause
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November 14, 2015
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 to Get Blurbs for Our Book and Use Them In Our Marketing: http://ow.ly/UcsFP @DianaUrban
A Book-Signing Cheat Sheet: http://ow.ly/Ucsd4 by Bonnie Randall What risks are you taking with your writing? http://ow.ly/Uctfu @lindasclare
Does a Newsletter Scare You? 5 Ways to Rock It: http://ow.ly/Uct2P @C_Herronauthor
Hooking Your Reader in 3 Easy Steps: http://ow.ly/Ucsyf @sally_apokedak
The 5 Basic Elements of an Author Website: http://ow.ly/UcsYw @CaballoFrances
Writing is a Juggling Act: http://ow.ly/UcsTQ @KAMcCleary
The One Thing Every Protagonist Must Have: http://ow.ly/UcsQl @jamesscottbell
Word Count: How Many Words In a Novel? http://ow.ly/UcsO0 @joebunting
Overcoming the 10 Biggest Obstacles to Creating : http://ow.ly/Ue8Ss @zen_habits
Tips for Writing Better Characters: http://ow.ly/Ue9j9 @PBRWriter
Got a question for agents? Ask Live: #AuthorDay http://ow.ly/UzrP0 @Porter_Anderson @RCaskie1 @MariliaSavvides @albionieye
Guest books in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/UE1YO @mkinberg
The struggle to title a book: http://ow.ly/Ue94z @AnneGBrown
Digging into Research: Consider the Source: http://ow.ly/Ue9aQ @jamigold
5 Simple Ways To Describe Characters: http://ow.ly/Ue9gq @writers_write
The Powerful Nutrition of Poetry: http://ow.ly/Ue9di @barbaraoneal
19 Easy Rules To Write Something Every Day: http://ow.ly/Ue9tD @perpetua @buzzfeed
BiblioBoard, Pressbooks partner on library-based self-publishing: http://ow.ly/UE1KX @Porter_Anderson @libraryself_e
We Interrupt This Manuscript… http://ow.ly/Ue8Xq @KBullockAuthor
43 Words to Cut From Our Writing Immediately http://ow.ly/Ue98b @DianaUrban
Why Every Story Needs Its Own Pit of Snakes: http://ow.ly/Ue9m9 @drewchial
5 Ways To Get Rid Of Inertia In Your Life: http://ow.ly/Ue90r @KristinNador
How to Use Writing as a Remedy: http://ow.ly/Ue9r7 @drewchial
Book Cover Colors Matter: http://ow.ly/UhetD @AuthorLentz
Story Alchemy: Lessons from Breaking Bad: http://ow.ly/UhdZ7 @ThereseWalsh
Overcome Your Inner Critic: http://ow.ly/Uhge0 @jimdempsey
ISBN, Book Design, Copyright: http://ow.ly/Uhep5 @JFBookman
Database of book bloggers organized by genre: http://ow.ly/UhfOe
5 Low-Cost or No-Cost Book Promo Tips: http://ow.ly/UhfDB @maggiemarr
How to Make Your Hero’s Self-Sacrifice Even More Heartbreaking: http://ow.ly/UcsBs @KMWeiland
What’s Your Distribution Plan? http://ow.ly/Ucstd @JamiGold
Don’t Write a Damsel-in-Distress OR a Modern Super-Woman: http://ow.ly/UcsJ1 @fictionnotes
Stop Putting off Writing Now: http://ow.ly/Uw5D6 @nownovel #NaNoWriMo
#NaNoWriMo Pep Talk: – Hitting the Wall: http://ow.ly/Uw5wt @jimchines
#NaNoWriMo hacks: http://ow.ly/Uw75p from Not So Classically Trained Writer
A writer answers writing a publishing related questions: http://ow.ly/UxByt @Rachel_Aaron
Don’t Count Yourself Out Yet! (A #NaNoWriMo Pep Talk): http://ow.ly/Uw70n @brianawrites
Writing Under Pressure: #NaNoWriMo: http://ow.ly/Uw6Sp @KeithCronin
#NaNoWriMo Triage Center: http://ow.ly/Uw5Gp @angelaackerman
#Nanowrimo: Inciting Incident – Call to Adventure: http://ow.ly/Uw7aE @AlexSokoloff
10 Tips for Tired Writers: http://ow.ly/Uw5eH @besscozby #NaNoWriMo
Surviving #NaNoWriMo: http://ow.ly/Uw5Rc @DeeWhiteauthor
Stepping Up to #NaNoWriMo: http://ow.ly/Uw6Xc @CindyDevoted
Top 10 #Nanowrimo Emergency Prompts For The Overwhelmed: http://ow.ly/Uw5Lv @10minnovelist
4 #NaNoWriMo Principles for the Rest of Us: http://ow.ly/Uw5tk @EmilyWenstrom
What #NaNoWriMo Teaches About Daily Goals: http://ow.ly/Uw5ki @CarlaYoung @MOMeo
The importance of trying to see what’s coming down the road in publishing: http://ow.ly/U7IST @HughHowey
Tips To Tighten Our Writing: http://ow.ly/UrhXD @SueColetta1
Quick Fix: Dialogue Dos and Don’ts: http://ow.ly/U5sOc @lindasclare
4 Critical Edits to Make to Your Book’s Description Copy: http://ow.ly/U5sGA @DianaUrban
39 Examples of Author Facebook Cover Photo Designs: http://ow.ly/U5sJ7 @DianaUrban
4 Common Short Story Mistakes: http://ow.ly/U5sEb @EmilyWenstrom
6 ways Wattpad can train you for success: http://ow.ly/U5sKk @standoutbooks
How To Get Readers To Read Your Entire Series: http://ow.ly/U5sCR @JodyHedlund
How to Balance Showing Versus Telling: http://ow.ly/U5sDf @jodyhedlund
Turning a Standalone into a Series: http://ow.ly/U5sAt @ChristinaFarley
Writing fantasy fiction: how to make the magic work: http://ow.ly/U5sL6 @standoutbooks
25 Story Starters for Writing Fiction: http://ow.ly/U5sFi @WritingForward
Tips for Brewing Up a Bracing Hot Manuscript: http://ow.ly/U5sBi by PJ Parrish
Difficult Books: http://ow.ly/U5sy4 @jodimeadows
Why Are Some Writers Late Bloomers? http://ow.ly/UrJ6T and http://ow.ly/UrJ9F @DebraEve
Things to Check Before You Submit: http://ow.ly/TSfCg @Janice_Hardy
Thriller Structure In TV: Scorpion: http://ow.ly/UrhU4 @SueColetta1
Can You Promote a Book without Making Yourself Miserable? http://ow.ly/UrJpk @EdCyzewski @JaneFriedman
NaNoWriMo, Or How 1 Writer Cheated Her Way to Finishing Her Novel: http://ow.ly/Urov5 @j_s_brown @DebutanteBall
Gender Bias: Are You Aware Of Yours? http://ow.ly/UrIMB @Porter_Anderson @CathyReadsBooks
Onboarding for Authors: http://ow.ly/TSfj4 from Fix My Story
The Complete Guide to Twitter Polls: http://ow.ly/TSfFp @Ashread_
How To Create Excerpt Books For Promotional Gifts: http://ow.ly/UrhIG @SueColetta1
Making Critical Character Traits Part of Your Plot: http://ow.ly/TSfvD @Janice_Hardy
How to Survive Large-Scale Revisions: http://ow.ly/TSfAn @ava_jae
Where The Crying Happens: http://ow.ly/TSfxU @cathryanhoward
The book blogger phenomenon: http://ow.ly/UqHz5 @Porter_Anderson @ZozeeBo
Writing Your Author Bio: 10 Examples. http://ow.ly/TSfIl @DianaUrban
How To Turn A Facebook Group Into Fan Central: http://ow.ly/TSfgs @cksyme
Why We Should Start Promoting Amazon Associate Links Now: http://ow.ly/TSf1D @nickdaws
Getting started with our author newsletter: http://ow.ly/UplN4
2 Ways to Tell You’re Beginning Your Story Too Soon: http://ow.ly/TSfsd @KMWeiland
On revision: http://ow.ly/TRzGc @LucienneDiver
YA Literary Tropes: ‘I Have to Take Care of My Parent(s)’ : http://ow.ly/TRzc5 @TaraKehoe1
Zen and the Art of Overcoming Writer’s Block: http://ow.ly/TRzOi @geoffhughes01
5 Tips For When Your Characters Are Stuck In The Mud: http://ow.ly/TRzny @coolvstar650
11 Ways You May Be Spooking Your Readers on Social Media: http://ow.ly/TRyTy @CaballoFrances
What Your Editor Expects From You: http://ow.ly/TRzxF @Jen_328 @writedivas
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November 12, 2015
Time Savers for Writers
By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Frequently I find that I need the same information over and over again for a wide variety of different tasks. I might be signing up to have my book considered for translation, or pitching BookBub, or submitting my book to a library for consideration. I spent a lot of time looking the same information up online over and over again.
I finally realized that I would save myself a good deal of time if I compiled these things into a document that I could easily put my hands on…and do it for all of my books.
Amazon Affiliate links for all books in digital and print form. I’m an Amazon Affiliate, which means that when a reader clicks on one of my tracking links to get to my books on Amazon, I get a small commission based on what they buy when they’re on the site. It’s a passive way to make a little money. For a while, I was plugging in my book’s links into the Amazon Affiliate link generator, copying the link, and putting it wherever I needed to list it (Wattpad, Facebook, etc.)
Now I’ve got a document on my computer with each book’s print and ebook Amazon Affiliate link. I can just pull up the document and copy-paste it. It’s especially a time saver when I need to list all of my books (like in the backs of my Kindle ebooks).
ISBNs and their corresponding books, if we use ISBNs. Same principle, here. Sometimes libraries and other sites will ask me for ISBN numbers and I was having to look them up on either retailer sites or on Bowker’s site. This has saved me a good deal of time lately.
Bios. I need different types of bios for different types of things. Sometimes I’ll guest blog on a site that needs a short bio. Sometimes I need a micro bio (for sites like Twitter). Sometimes I need something long if I’m speaking at a library and they want something to put in their program.
Keywords for series. When I’m uploading a book, I can quickly pull up the keywords that I used for the other books in the series. Keywords are something that need to be tweaked later, but at least when I’m uploading the book, I’ve got good keywords to start out with.
Lecture notes: libraries, writers’ groups, schools. I tend to talk about similar things when I’m asked to speak at libraries, schools, and conferences. By saving my notes and PDFs of my PowerPoints, I make life a lot easier for myself when I’m asked to speak.
Tax info: write-offs, subscriptions, ads, supplies, cover design/formatting, website hosting costs, domain costs, literary agent fees, tools like Feedly Pro, Hootsuite, home office costs, postage costs, mileage, conferences.
Book descriptions. There are many times when I’m submitting my book for something (most recently AmazonCrossings) and they ask for my book description. I’ve found it helps to have all of my descriptions in one play.
Book covers. I used to file my covers in the folder with the rest of the book documents (drafts, formatted epubs, mobi files, etc.), which does make sense. But it also makes sense to have these covers in a folder together when I need them (and I tend to need them a lot for creating ads, uploading my information to sites, etc.)
How-tos. I use my own instructions for things that I’ve figured out to refer to later: MailChimp giveaways, SoundCloud, box set formatting, etc. It takes so long, sometimes, for me to figure out something that I want to avoid the time suck of figuring it out again…and just make a cheat sheet for myself.
Speaking of cheat sheets: I also keep cheat sheets of my book plots, characters, etc. This has saved me a few times when book clubs have asked me to speak on a book that I wrote years ago.
Book bible: I’ll go ahead and list this here because it’s a time saver, in a way, too. Whenever I give a detail about a character’s past or their likes or dislikes, etc., I list it in a book bible to refer to whenever I’m writing a new book in a series. This is a good way to avoid continuity errors in later books in our series (and readers do catch them!)
Back matter: I’ve already mentioned above that I keep a list of my books that are hyperlinked to Amazon Affiliate links in a document. But I also keep other back matter: my bio, a call to action to sign up for my author newsletter, etc. in a document. This helps me remember the different elements I like to include in this important section of my book.
These are some of the things that I keep track of to help me save a minute here and there (especially when I was feeling scattered). Do you do this too? What types of things do you keep track of and document?
Keeping records and organizing docs can save writers time:
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Image: MorgueFile: Dianne Hope
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