Riley Adams's Blog, page 122

Tax Time Revelations

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I had my tax appointment with my accountant on February 2nd.  This is really not “my thing,” but I feel a lot better now that I’ve got a CPA helping me.  Although, as I walked into her office on the 2nd, I said, “You know, taxes really make me anxious” and I promptly dropped all my receipts and papers on the floor.  Apparently in an attempt to show, not tell.

But after all the trouble and the figure-finding and the paper shuffling, I found that I actually had some pretty interesting data.  Here’s what I found out about tax year 2014:

Breakdown of earnings

So the above chart just sort of shows earnings by publisher/retailer.

The chart above shows earnings by different Amazon regions.

Notes:

Earnings from my traditionally-published titles (2 sources/publishers) reflect 9 published books.

Self-pub earnings (everything else) reflect 6 published books.

The Apple percentage is artificially low because it reflects 1 book (I used Smashwords to distribute the others)

The Kobo percentage is artificially low because it reflects 1 book (again, I used Smashwords to distribute the other titles)

Takeaways:

The first thing I noticed was how low the Nook profits were. I mean…barely much over the CreateSpace or the ACX (audiobooks).  Wow.

You’d think that a takeaway of mine should be that the trad published books brought in a lot less despite the higher number of titles.  But this doesn’t come as a shock to me. :)  Still, it’s pretty amazing seeing it on the graph.   Here it is shown a different way:

 

It felt as if I didn’t make as much last year.  I even told my accountant at the beginning of our appointment that I didn’t make as much last year.  She told me I was wrong…I made a bit more in 2014 than in 2013.  7.1% more.  Why didn’t it feel that way?  I think the earnings still slowed…I had 3 more titles published in 2014.  So it seems as though the earnings should have been higher.

Also, I think the fact that I put 50% of my earnings away for taxes (which really made me unhappy) made me feel as if I just didn’t have as much income.  As self-employed people in the US, we’re employer and employee.  Although putting that money away was a smart move.

What I did right last year (tax-wise)

As I’ve mentioned before, 2014 was the first year that I had a dedicated separate account for income and expenses related to my writing career. My accountant strongly urged me to create this account since the Internal Revenue Service here in the States doesn’t like seeing business income and household expenses mixed together.  This worked really well. I was able to get a sense of my actual earnings a lot easier by reviewing the year’s deposits…even before the slew of 1099 forms arrived in my mailbox.

I put 50% aside for taxes.

I paid estimated quarterly taxes.  This also helped avoid that huge tax bill I got in 2013.

What I think I’ll change for 2015 (tax-wise)

I need to divide my earnings up by publisher/retailer before seeing my accountant next year. I originally just turned in some lump figure of income.  I’d also like to track my income quarterly to get a better picture of what I’m looking at as I’m going through the year.

I handed all my book production costs this year to my accountant as “production costs.”  But in 2013, we’d divided them into editor fees, cover design, formatting, etc. I think I need to keep those divided up next year.

I need to remember that I need to get the 1099s for Smashwords, Apple, and Kobo downloaded off those sites.  I’d forgotten that was a download.

I need to make my appointment with my accountant next year in mid-February.  I got a flurry of 1099s in the mail earlier this week and I had to keep updating her.

So, that’s what I came up with.  Did you make any interesting observations regarding your sales or earnings last year?  Do taxes stress you out like they do me?

The post Tax Time Revelations appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Why We Still Need Our Books in Print

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Sometimes I get surprised reactions both from non-writers and writers that I’m self-publishing in print as well as in ebook format.

I know some think print is dying out.  From my observations, there aren’t nearly as many people purchasing in print as they are digitally.  After working with my accountant on my taxes last week, it was very clear on the 1099-MISCs that my print sales for self-publishing were a tiny fraction of my ebook sales.

Would I turn this money down, though?  Of course not.  And the initial investment in print formatting and cover design has long paid for itself.  It did take me a very long time to branch into print and I’m sorry I waited as long as I did.

Reasons we should self-publish in print as well as a digital format:

Goodreads giveaways.  (Click the link and scroll down for information from Goodreads on this part of the author program.  And a post I ran in 2013 gives information on setting up a giveaway there.) I’m not wild about Goodreads as an author, but their giveaway program has been a nice way for me to get reviews for new releases and provide more visibility for books.  Only printed books are eligible for giveaways at this time.

Signings. I’ve been to conferences before where we’ve given out slips of paper with download codes for digital purchases…it’s just not the same.  I’ve also been very frustrated with myself when I’ve gone to events and didn’t have any books with me. I try to remember now to always have some in stock at the house.

For readers to purchase as gifts. Although some readers don’t mind giving or receiving ebooks, some prefer to wrap up a physical book.

There are some people, likely fewer every day, who prefer not to read ebooks.

The price of your ebook will look like a steal next to the print price on Amazon.

Steps to publish your book in print (the non-self-service way):

If you have an ebook out and don’t have your book in print format, you’d ask your ebook designer to format your book for print.  They’ll add a spine (you’ll want to give them your exact page count) and a back cover (you’ll want to either write back cover copy or else use what you’ve got as the book description on Amazon).  They’ll want your headshot and short bio for the cover. You’ll need to tell them the dimensions of the book (the different possible dimensions are on CreateSpace or Lightning Source).   This is not as time-consuming nor as expensive as you think.

Choose a company to print the books.  You’ll likely want to go through either Amazon’s CreateSpace or Lightning Source.  Here is a post that can provide you with some additional information: Giacomo Giammatteo’s post, “Watchdog: Ingram Spark vs CreateSpace for Self-publishing Print Books” for the ALLI Self-publishing Advice blog.

Upload it to the service you’ve chosen.  They walk you through it on the printing site.  You proof it and then approve it and it goes up for sale.

If you’re published, are your books in print?  What made you decide to go that route? Are you glad you did?  Any questions from anyone who hasn’t yet published in print?

 

The post Why We Still Need Our Books in Print appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

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.

Characters and Character Relationships:  http://ow.ly/Ii8xz  @DavidBCoe

How to Edit: The CP Trade (video): http://ow.ly/Ii8xB @ava_jae

Sexiest Literary Villains:  http://ow.ly/Ii8xD by Emily Temple @flavorwire

Polarization of Authors?  http://ow.ly/Ii8xG by Kristin Nelson

11 Tips for Writing an Effective Email Newsletter  http://ow.ly/Ii8xJ @danasitar       

Is there an ideal age to write a masterpiece? – infographic: http://ow.ly/Ii8xN @guardianbooks

How Do You Handle Negativity from Others? http://ow.ly/Ii8xR @jamigold

Do Agents Still Hold the Gatekeeper Key to Getting Published? http://ow.ly/Ii8xT @jodyhedlund

Finding the Right Critique Partners:  http://ow.ly/Ii6wN @sjaejones

Thinking through a place to write:  http://ow.ly/Ii8xV @writingforward

How to Query Multiple Books:  http://ow.ly/Ii8y0 @bookendsjessica

Agent answers query question: agent is quitting but wants to keep writer’s book:  http://ow.ly/Ii8y4 @Janet_Reid

3 Reasons to Bundle the Early Books in Your Series:  http://ow.ly/Imq6s @goblinwriter

Confused Words: Imply vs. Infer http://ow.ly/Imq6w @writing_tips

7 Things to Do Now to be Ready When Writing Inspiration Strikes:  http://ow.ly/Imq6B @ediemelson

The Strategic Use of Book Giveaways:  http://ow.ly/Imq6K @Janefriedman

6 Tips for Author Crowdfunding:  http://ow.ly/Imq6R @robinrwrites

Stop Aspiring:  http://ow.ly/Imq70 @Eric_Haywood

Acronym vs. Initialism:  http://ow.ly/IgUOr @writing_tips

Readers Do Not Owe Writers Anything:  http://ow.ly/IgUOq @givemeyourteeth

Unintuitive Findings About Weak Words And Their Use In Strong Writing:  http://ow.ly/IgUOo @woodwardkaren

Thoughts on Referrals to Agents:  http://ow.ly/IgUOl @bookendsjessica

Screenwriting: Nail The Subtext:  http://ow.ly/IgUOj @medkno

5 Tricks to Keep a Modern Reader Interested :  http://ow.ly/IgUOi @rogerdcolby

17 Famous Writers on Their Favorite YA Books | TIME http://ow.ly/IgUOh @DPD_

5 Things to Know About Award Nominations:  http://ow.ly/IgUOg @nancyfulda

Punctuating interruptions in dialogue:  http://ow.ly/IgUOe from Writeworld

Subscription Services for Self-Published Authors:  http://ow.ly/IgUOd  @EricaVerrillo

How to Sizzle up your Fiction with Compelling Characters:  http://ow.ly/IgUO9 @RuthHarrisBooks

Compilation of Zombie Apocalypse Posts: http://ow.ly/IgUO8 from Ghost

Do You Get the Same Experience From Audiobooks and Print?  http://ow.ly/Idj0V @nicholebernier

7 Ways Social Media is Like Driving a Car:  http://ow.ly/Idj0R @EdieMelson

Character Motivation:  http://ow.ly/Idj0L @HeatherJacksonW

21 Fast Hacks to Fuel Your Story With Suspense:  http://ow.ly/Idj0B @ESimsAuthor

Punctuation Review: En Dashes:  http://ow.ly/Idj0y @writing_tips

How 1 Writer Became a Morning Person:  http://ow.ly/Idj0r @ava_jae

Employing character denial (especially for female romantic leads) can be tricky in our books: http://ow.ly/Idj0p @kid_lit

How the Year 2015 Is Depicted in Science Fiction:  http://ow.ly/Idj0i @motherboard @beckyferreira

4 Elements of a Successful Author Attitude:  http://ow.ly/Idj0e @ninaamir

Should Authors and Publishers Spy on Readers? http://ow.ly/Idj09 @arhomberg

5 Tips for Creating Metaphors: http://ow.ly/IdiZZ by Livia Nelson

How to be a Kindle Kids’ Book Creator:  http://ow.ly/Idj01 and http://ow.ly/Idj02 by Claudia Cangilla McAdam

Stockings as a weapon in crime fiction:  http://ow.ly/IktPq @mkinberg

A Step-by-Step Guide to Conducting the Research Interview:  http://ow.ly/I9FyK @THahnBurkett

Advice for entering screenwriting competitions:  http://ow.ly/I9FyE @screenandscripts

Why You Don’t Need a Literary Agent (but You Might Want One):  http://ow.ly/I9Fyw @agentsavant

Working with a cover designer: how to make it easier for you and your designer:  http://ow.ly/IvO8W @silas_payton

How to turn a short story into a novel:  http://ow.ly/I9yxC @Roz_Morris

The winter of our discontent with the ISBN:  http://ow.ly/IvGU8  @Porter_Anderson @DavidGaughran @janesteen

3 Ways To Be In Control While Still Working a Day Job:  http://ow.ly/I9Fyp @iamtomnorman

Why We Need to Track Every Accomplishment:  http://ow.ly/I9Fyh @JeffSandersTV

Finding and Honing In On Your Story http://ow.ly/I9Fy8 @kiersi

Architecture tips and links for writers:  http://ow.ly/I9Fy2 from Writeworld

Jumpstart Your Imagination:  http://ow.ly/I9FxW by Christina Hamlett

The Self-Publishing Sky is Not Falling:  http://ow.ly/I9FxR @jamesscottbell

Top 3 Reasons Why Fiction Manuscripts Get Rejected:  http://ow.ly/I9FxJ from M.J. Moores @passivevoiceblg

Writing with an Accent: Info for Writers:  http://ow.ly/I9FxD @schmeterpitz

The trouble with categorizing people in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/ItiZx @mkinberg

Mind Mapping Your Book:  http://ow.ly/I54dR @trainingauthors

5 Great Tips for the Writing Life from Edna Ferber:  http://ow.ly/I54dM @ladieswhowrite

Writing from the Perspective of Marginalized Characters:  http://ow.ly/I54dJ @wendyluwrites

10 Reasons to keep a writing journal:  http://ow.ly/I54dE  @everywriter

Items that may need to go to a publisher with the finished manuscript:  http://ow.ly/I54dC  @wendylawton

How to know if you have too many characters:  http://ow.ly/I54dA from Fix Your Writing Habits

Self-Promotion for Horrible People:  http://ow.ly/I54dw  @SamSykesSwears

The 3 Most Effective Types of Inner Conflict:  http://ow.ly/I54du @writers_write

How to outline a short story for beginners:  http://ow.ly/I4K57 @writers_write

A Story Structure In Three Acts: Act Two:  http://ow.ly/I54dt @woodwardkaren

What not to do when querying agents:  http://ow.ly/I54dn @C_Herringshaw

A place to find a critique group or partner:  http://ow.ly/I4XTj @Janice_Hardy

Physical limitations and vulnerabilities in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/Iktm4 @mkinberg

Music For Writers: The Colorist Kaija Saariaho’s ‘Instants’ Of Love:  http://ow.ly/Ikrf1 @Porter_Anderson

5 Commandments of Storytelling:  http://ow.ly/I3ylI by Shawn Coyne

The Writing Business: Making Goals:  http://ow.ly/I3ylH  @kristaphillips

The Finances of Publishing:  http://ow.ly/I3ylG @PavartiKTyler

How to Write Better Stories and Finally Win Out :  http://ow.ly/I3ylC @yeomanis

Basic Elements of Flash Fiction:  http://ow.ly/I3ylA  @prasanga1

A Story Structure In 3 Acts:  http://ow.ly/I3yly @woodwardkaren

Finding the Hero:  http://ow.ly/I3ylx @JessicaMarkwel1 @womenwriters

Does ‘Writing Community’ Really Foster Writing? Or Community?  http://ow.ly/IkmTM @Porter_Anderson

The 2 Best Reasons to Fail as a Writer:  http://ow.ly/I3ylu @MudpieWriting

‘Churning It Out’ :  http://ow.ly/I3yls  @KristineRusch

Branding 101: What’s Your Story?  http://ow.ly/I3ylq @jamigold

3 Kinds of Micro Fiction: The Drabble, 55 Fiction and The Twabble:  http://ow.ly/I3ylp @woodwardkaren

6 Things Every Writer Needs to Succeed: http://ow.ly/I3yln @mlswift1

Video and arcade games in crime fiction:  http://ow.ly/IkrHV @mkinberg

Writers: Sit Without Back Pain:  http://ow.ly/I3ylz on Blood-Red Pencil

How To Make Blogging Work As An Author:  http://ow.ly/IfjP3 @annerallen @reedsyhq

Foreknowledge is not foreshadowing:  http://ow.ly/HWcHm @lindasclare

Goal Setting:  http://ow.ly/HWcHj  @CMKaufman

Beyond Beautiful: The Significance of an Objective Critique:  http://ow.ly/HWcHh @brevitymag @KDStechschulte

Capturing the Vile Voice of a Villain:  http://ow.ly/HWcHd @raynehall

Write Like a Cow: On Taking Craft Cues from Your Subject:  http://ow.ly/HWcH6 by Nancy Geyer  @brevitymag

9 Ways Writing Short Stories Can Pay Off for Writers:  http://ow.ly/HWaYc @annerallen

The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Yanking Readers Out of a Story

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I can be a pretty annoying person to watch television or movies with.  Maybe most writers are.  Plot holes and plot devices trip me up in bad stories and I’m too analytical of what works in good stories. This may be why I don’t get a lot of invitations to hang out and watch TV with members of my family.

Regardless of my general unpopularity as a movie-watching companion, my husband and I were watching the movie Lucy on Amazon Prime last weekend.  It was, actually, a good film and one of the few genres that overlap enough so that my husband and I can both enjoy it.  But there was one part (okay, probably three parts, actually. But I won’t give spoilers) where my husband said, “But why are they doing that?  That wouldn’t happen—there would be cops all over the place.”  And I said, maybe a bit impatiently, “Because it has to happen.  For the story.”  And I quickly explained why.

Once I pointed out the strings and the puppet master, we were both watching the movie from a different perspective.

It’s those types of moments when I’m reading a book or watching TV or movies that I try to avoid as a writer. 

Here are some things that jerk me out of a story as a reader that I try to avoid as a writer:

Author intrusion: fitting in a sermon on one topic or another…sometimes political, sometimes not.

The need for too much suspension of disbelief.  Author John Scalzi calls this “the flying snowman.”

Head-hopping POVs.  Confusion can really pull us out of a story.

Too many narrators.  See confusion, above.

Plot devices. Deus ex machina.

Smart characters, foolish choices.  Characters investigating dark basements alone and unarmed when there are monsters in the neighborhood.

Breaking the fourth wall in the story.

Boring passages with no direct impact on the plot.  Melville’s chapters on harpoons.

Unnatural dialogue.

Sometimes too many filtering words. Maybe only other writers will notice this.  Deep POV can help a reader feel as if they’re in the characters’ skin.

Pace-slowing detail for objects, settings, or characters that don’t help create or reinforce the story world.

Research presented in unnatural ways in the narrative.

These are some of mine…and different ones annoy me/pull me out of a story to different degrees.  Do any of these bother you?  What would make it on your list?  And…how are you when watching TV and movies with others?

Image: Death to the Stock Photo

The post Yanking Readers Out of a Story appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Reader Privacy vs. Data Collection and Other Thoughts

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’m not sure what the grocery shopping is like internationally, but here your data gets tracked if you use loyalty cards.  And loyalty cards get you special discounts with the grocer so many of us grudgingly use them.

After checking out, sometimes a small printer at the register prints out coupons that the computer inside thinks you will use.  Maybe the coupons are for a similar, competing, item to something you’ve purchased. Maybe it’s for some of the same products you’ve just bought, as a thank-you or to hook you to purchase more the next time you’re there.  And then there are puzzling coupons—like the one for an antacid that printed out for me on Saturday.  We don’t purchase antacids there. So…was the computer making a judgment regarding the spicy contents of my grocery cart?

This ties into something I’ve been reading a good deal about lately—data collection.  Although readers may be dismayed at the idea of any potential data collection by retailers or publishers, it’s definitely already happening.  Amazon makes recommendations based on our purchasing histories, for example.  If we haven’t unchecked various sharing mechanisms in our Kindles, whenever we highlight a passage, that is public, too.

There was a recent article on Digital Book World by Andrew Rhomberg, “Should Authors and Publishers Spy on Readers?” It mentioned a software application that can be implanted into digital books via EPUB3 to track reader behavior—if the reader reviewed the book, mentioned it on social media, etc.  Rhomberg, who is the founder and CEO of startup Jellybooks, calls it “…akin to a Google Analytics for ebooks.”

My husband is in computer security and absolutely loathes the way consumers are being mined for data (obviously, valuable data to these companies and with no compensation to the consumers…and, in my husband’s opinion, at a tremendous cost to personal privacy.)  I do see where he is coming from.  But—in some ways, data would certainly help. The article mentioned knowing when a reader stopped reading a book.  Sure—that could be useful to a writer, moving forward.

Could we get that data, though, just as well in an upfront way? From a reader review?  From our beta readers before even publishing the book (surely a more useful, proactive approach)?  And isn’t it extremely intrusive to get this information from an unknowing audience…although just as intrusive as data collection from Facebook and other sites?  From the computer that decided that I needed an antacid to go with the food in my grocery cart? Although…I know about the data collection at the grocery store–if I choose to, I can avoid shopping there. I gave the store tacit consent to the process by applying for a loyalty card.  This other type of data collection is invisible to readers and without their consent.  Maybe we wouldn’t be so data-hungry if Amazon would just throw us a sop in regards to purchasing data. What do you think?

Other thoughts, odds and ends:

Wattpad: I’m still enjoying the community here. What’s more, I’ve had readers mention that they’re purchasing my other books (which is the only way I’d know this information).  One big thing…it doesn’t pay to be shy on this site.  Having our story featured is key to reads on the platform.  We don’t have to wait to have Wattpad consider our stories for their featured section.  Contact those content specialists if your story fits their requirements (strong plot, minimal spelling/grammatical errors, appealing cover, etc.)  For more information on Wattpad’s requirements and for their contact info, visit their help center.

ACX:  This audiobook platform for self-publishers remains an excellent, passive income producer for me. I use the royalty share feature so that I sustain no upfront costs. I think it does help get good-quality narrators if we can secure a stipend for the narrators from ACX. The stipends work like advances for the narrators. For this reason, I’ve learned to launch the audiobooks a bit later than the other formats in order to show sales history and reviews to ACX before contacting them about possible narrator stipends.  For more information about stipends, visit this help page.

Print copies: Remember to keep some of our self-published books on hand. The author cost to me on CreateSpace is something like $3.50, which is hardly a huge investment. No need for closets-full of books, but maybe at least five of each title if we have a lot of titles. I was caught red-faced at a recent library event when I didn’t have any Myrtle Clover books with me.  All I had were lots of Penguin books.

I think these are enough random musings from me this week. :)  What are some of yours?  Anything you find surprising or interesting that you’ve come across? Anything working for you, promo-wise, lately?

Image: Death to the Stock Photo

The post Reader Privacy vs. Data Collection and Other Thoughts appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

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.

Body Language:  http://ow.ly/HSRr3  @WritingForward

Diversity in Arts & Culture: Webcast: http://ow.ly/Idk2M from 3/p-9/p EST (now) @SphinxCon @RichHomberg

What Makes an Author Bundle Successful? http://ow.ly/Ifjj8 @ReedsyHQ @Roz_Morris  

12 Tips to Help Prevent Reader Boredom: http://ow.ly/HSRr6 @kathytemean

How Do You Stay Organized?  http://ow.ly/HSRr8 @jamigold    

How to Edit: The Second Draft (video):  http://ow.ly/HSRra @ava_jae

Legal pitfalls: A Writer’s Web Presence: http://ow.ly/HSRrc @chrisschiller

The 4 Best Reasons to Start Journaling Today:  http://ow.ly/HSRmJ @epbure

Cliffhangers – Good Idea or Not?  http://ow.ly/HSRre @jenniferlellis

Dig. pub Canelo rejects unneeded disruption, market overestimation, and tech jargon: http://ow.ly/I9rV7 @michaelbhaskar @Porter_Anderson

Indie Writers and Proofing a Proof :  http://ow.ly/HUb0z @stapilus

Diversity in Arts & Culture: Webcast: http://ow.ly/IdkVV from 9/a-6/p EST (now) @SphinxCon @RichHomberg

How 1 Writer Edits as She Goes:  http://ow.ly/HUb0A from Paperback Writer

The Season of Kindle Unlimited Discontent :  http://ow.ly/HUb0B @martinthewriter

Stirring Higher Emotions:  http://ow.ly/HUb0D  @DonMaass

5 things we don’t want on our book cover: http://ow.ly/HUb0E @lansi26

On Being On Submission:  http://ow.ly/HUb0F @ava_jae

Imposter syndrome:  http://ow.ly/HUb0H  @K8Tilton

An agent on introducing characters in a query:  http://ow.ly/HUb0J @Janet_Reid

Why 1 Writer Sometimes Writes Negative Reviews:  http://ow.ly/HUb0Q @novelpublicity

5 Steps to Making and Keeping a Writing Resolution in 2015: http://ow.ly/HUb0U @Write_Tomorrow

Think Like a Publisher:  http://ow.ly/HUb0W @HelenSedwick

A Quick Guide to Beta Reader Etiquette:  http://ow.ly/HUb0Z @KMWeiland

How to use the Amazon search box to better sell your book: http://ow.ly/HWcGC @rxena77

Diversity in Arts & Culture: Webcast: http://ow.ly/IdkVV from 9/a-12/p EST (now) @SphinxCon @RichHomberg

Writing in the Age of Distraction:  http://ow.ly/HWcGE @doctorow

Personality Traits: Building a Balanced Character:  http://ow.ly/HWcGI @angelaackerman

5 Creative Ways To Make Our Story More Powerful:  http://ow.ly/HWcGN @writers_write

UK English or US English when submitting a Query Letter? http://ow.ly/HWcGS @glencstrathy

Explosives Info for Writers: http://ow.ly/HWcH0 @johngilstrap

Resources for language creation:  http://ow.ly/HSRr2 from WriteWorld

The Undeniable Importance of Paper — For Writers and for Readers: http://ow.ly/HSRlk @MartinaABoone

#FutureChat Friday: @AuthorEarnings’ winter report: http://ow.ly/Ic3FU  4pGMT / 11aET (now)  @Porter_Anderson

Benefits of Writing Fiction in a Serialized Form: http://ow.ly/HSRr0 @CDugmoreWrites

A Pantser’s Plotting Plan:  http://ow.ly/HSRqY @LaurieTomlinson

What’s the future of the ISBN?  AuthorEarnings’ winter report:  http://ow.ly/IcXc5 @Porter_Anderson @HughHowey

15 Ways to Find Writing Inspiration in 2015 http://ow.ly/HSRqW @jodyhedlund

If Writers Don’t #CreditWriters, Who Will?  http://ow.ly/I8UXT @Porter_Anderson @thoughtcatalog

5 Ways to Take Your Readers Back in Time: Historical Research:  http://ow.ly/HQDK0  @tessaarlen

Gag Orders, And Other Rules To Get The Most From Critique Groups:  http://ow.ly/HQDJZ @kathrynelilley

Character Care in LOTR vs The Hobbit movies:  http://ow.ly/HQDJW  @pepperbasham

Do You Have Too Much Dialogue? http://ow.ly/HQDJR @Janice_Hardy

4 Approaches for the First Chapter of Your Novel: http://ow.ly/HQDJP  @JeffGerke

Serve me up a Side of Description; Hold the Chunks:  http://ow.ly/HQDJL @WriteDivas @shay_goodman

How to Outline Your Novel With A Bulletin Board:  http://ow.ly/HQDJH and http://ow.ly/HQDJI @DarlaGDenton

Do Free Books Give Away Authors’ Value?  http://ow.ly/I8UIL @Porter_Anderson @Roz_Morris @agnieszkasshoes

35 Idea Generators for Writing a Romance Novel:  http://ow.ly/HQDJD @DarlaGDenton

Ways to Stretch Your Writing Muscles in 2015 http://ow.ly/HQDJC @writerdiaries

4 Ways to Write More in 2015 http://ow.ly/HQDJy @EmilyWenstrom

The Art of Business & The Business of Art: —Breaking Rules to Reveal Our Audience:  http://ow.ly/HQCU3 @kristenlambtx

9 Famous Authors’Â’ Favorite Workday Snacks:  http://ow.ly/HQDJE @DaleAdrienne  @mental_floss

Picking a Level of Description:  http://ow.ly/HKOo1 @Kid_Lit

Top 7 Ways Authors Are Using Instagram:  http://ow.ly/HKOnY @adrienneerin

Becoming a Better Writer in 2015:  http://ow.ly/HKOnW @barbaraoneal

Successful Authors Think Beyond the Book: http://ow.ly/HKOnT @ninaamir

Writing Patterns Into Fiction: Scene and Sequel:  http://ow.ly/HKOnQ @angelaackerman

Platform Building for Authors [30-Minute Video Interview] :  http://ow.ly/HKOnN @Janefriedman

Transition horror for children:  http://ow.ly/HKOnK @bjcolangelo

What kind of conflicts are possible in your story? http://ow.ly/HKOnH @nownovel

Fannish Resources on the Web:  http://ow.ly/HKOnD @AmazingStories0

New Ways of Publishing Translations:  http://ow.ly/HKOnz @RebeccasBooks

10 Inspiring Thoughts on Writing from Eudora Welty:  http://ow.ly/HKOnx @ladieswhowrite

Top 10 Writing Tips of 2014: : http://ow.ly/HKOnw @HeatherJacksonW

Rising competition in ebooks as apps and other media outlets crowd into the field:  http://ow.ly/I1OCT @Porter_Anderson @TheFutureBook

Should You Avoid Topical Issues in Your Writing? http://ow.ly/I1O0e @PAShortt @janice_hardy

10 hero’s journey questions to ask about our novel:  http://ow.ly/HJ1xV by Heather Dyer

Why now is a good time to read in translation:  http://ow.ly/HJ1xT @npbooks

Why Writers Procrastinate – from April Davis at  Writer’s Edit http://ow.ly/HJ1xO

Breaking Writing Rules—: Rebels With a Cause or Rebels Without a Clue?  http://ow.ly/HJ1xM @kristenlambtx

Do you know who owns your book cover? http://ow.ly/HJ1xG  @HelenSedwick

A free Microsoft program to create book trailers:  http://ow.ly/HJ1xC  @JennyHansenCA

5 Ways One Novelist Utilized the Master Outline:  http://ow.ly/HJ1xy @AshleyRCarlson1

How to Transition to Your Story’s Climax with a Gatekeeper:  http://ow.ly/HJ1xq @BetterNovelProj

My Characters Got Knocked Out – The Annoyingly Convenient Plot Device:  http://ow.ly/HJ1xl from Not So Classically Trained

Tips for keeping your writing resolutions:  http://ow.ly/HGEVp @nickimporter @TheWriterMag

Why We Write, Why We Stop, and How We Can Possibly Restart and Keep Going: http://ow.ly/HJ0QK @JCBaggott

The Death of the Artist— and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur:  http://ow.ly/HJ1xw by William Deresiewicz

The ‘NPR Grammar Hall Of Shame':  http://ow.ly/HEth1  @MarkMemmottNPR

How to Not Set Yourself up for Failure with New Year’s Resolutions http://ow.ly/HEtgW @jeffgoins

Never say ‘men don’t read':  http://ow.ly/HZkiJ  #GuysDoRead  @Porter_Anderson @ThoughtCatalog

Digital Library Trends for 2015:  http://ow.ly/HEtgT @Goodereader

Don’t Argue with the Anti-Hero :  http://ow.ly/HEtgR @BetterNovelProj

Working With a Cover Designer: Time-Saving Techniques:  http://ow.ly/HWlk6

How E-Books Have Changed the Print Marketplace:  http://ow.ly/HEtgN @Janefriedman

What 2015 is giving us in the public domain – and what it isn’t:  http://ow.ly/HEtgG by Paul St John Mackintosh

6 Simple Ways to Write a Physical Description:  http://ow.ly/HEtgE @BetterNovelProj

Readability Is a Myth:  http://ow.ly/HEtgC @hoodedu @theatlantic

10 Resolutions for a Saner Internet—and Life:  http://ow.ly/HEtgz @Janefriedman

7 Roles of the Healer Character Archetype:  http://ow.ly/HEtgx @BetterNovelProj

Is It Really Time to Start Revising or Are You Just Bored with Your Book? http://ow.ly/HEq8q @writeabook

Why quitting is perfectly okay. :  http://ow.ly/HEtgv  @sarahkpeck

Common ING Mistakes: http://ow.ly/HVTq1 @authorterryo

Insecure Writers, Here’s Your Support Group:  http://ow.ly/HVT8H @AlexJCavanaugh @RicardoFayet

Music For Writers: Playful Andrew Norman:  http://ow.ly/HSQ0x @Porter_Anderson @ThoughtCatalog

1 Writer’s 10 Biggest Mistakes as a Self-Published Author:  http://ow.ly/HAgJf @novelpublicity

Indie Publishing – We Live in Exciting Times:  http://ow.ly/HAgJa @camillelaguire

Why Does Your Story Happen?  http://ow.ly/HAgJ6 @NJFarmScribe

Special Needs in Strange Worlds: on Writing Disabilities:  http://ow.ly/HAgJ0 @matociquala

10 Can’t Miss, Surefire Secrets Of Torturing Fictional People:  http://ow.ly/HAfQU @io9

On Time Transitions and Flow:  http://ow.ly/HAgIW

The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Regaining Confidence in a Project

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I hope that I’m not just accentuating the positive on my blog. Writing rarely comes super-easy to me.  It’s always a fight to stay focused and meet my daily goals.  I worry over every single project.  I absolutely love the writing and feel incredibly fortunate about being able to do this for a living…unless it’s a day when I’m not loving it.

My current self-published project has been interrupted a lot more than any other project I’ve ever worked on. Some of the interruptions were personal…like Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Some were professional—my agent asked me to write up a couple of outlines for proposed projects.  Then I got global edits in for a traditional project that publishes this summer.  Then I got copyedits for the project a few days ago.

Because I had an outline, I was able to pick right up where I left off with the self-published project each time, but a few days ago, I felt…I don’t know.  It was an odd combination of insecurity about the project, a longing for the story to be really strong despite all the delays, and some loss of interest in the manuscript, related to the other couple of issues.

One thing that’s not been an option for me in the last six years or so is completely ditching a project.  When I was working on books in my early twenties, I was mostly practicing with voice and trying on various genres.  I started two books that I clearly remember, but I might have started another one, too.  It’s different now.  For one, I have confidence that I can fix any mess I’ve made in a first draft.  For another, I’m usually running right on top of a deadline and there isn’t the luxury of time.

Although I wouldn’t give up on the project, I still needed to deal with the weird resistance to/loss of faith in it.

I reread the manuscript.  This is something that I never do.  I never, never read the story while I’m writing it.  But in this particular case, I was already feeling so apprehensive about it that I decided I couldn’t possible lose more faith. When I read the manuscript, I realized it was just as good as the other books.  Parts were even better than the other books.  The problem areas could be easily fixed in later drafts.  All was well.

I read clips of positive emails and reader reviews.  This was not the time to go gallivanting around Goodreads (a menacing dark alley for writer egos, in my opinion).  I do keep a small folder on my computer in case I need some sort of shot in the arm. Like the words of readers who want the next release and really don’t care if I’m hitting a wall or not.

I reminded myself that I never consider myself behind and never try to “catch up.”  (Well, unless it’s a traditionally published project and I’m a lot closer to deadline than I should be.)  Each day is a blank slate …I meet that day’s goals and don’t let any missed goals cloud my mind.   I am not behind.

Have you ever lost faith in a story?  How did you keep going?

Image: “Wired1″ from Death to the Stock Photo

The post Regaining Confidence in a Project appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Working With a Cover Designer: Time-Saving Techniques

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I have a cover conference (via email) this week with my current cover designer, Karri Klawiter.  I’ve been told by cover designers in the past that they like working with me because I both know exactly what I’m looking for (or can quickly identify what I’m looking for when I get samples) and that I supply most/all of the information they need on their end immediately.

I’ve got sort of a template email that I use with designers to help speed along and clarify the process on both ends.  Below is the initial email I sent for the last, published, project of mine (fall release). 

*****

Cover Formats: 

As for the last project you did for me, I’m looking for a:

1) print cover:  I’d like the book to retail for $10.99 US and 6.99 UK.  Dimensions: 5.06” x 7.81 on white pages for CreateSpace. The ISBN for the print edition will be: 978-0-9895180-5-5  or ISBN-13: 978-0-9895180-5-5 .  As yet I don’t have an exact page count, but it should be right around 200-215 pages.  Tagline to go over the back cover copy: At Greener Pastures Retirement Home, leisure time can prove perilous… 

My bio for the back of the printed book (author photo is attached):

Elizabeth writes the Southern Quilting mysteries for Penguin/NAL, the Memphis Barbeque mysteries for Penguin/Berkley, and the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink and independently.  She blogs at  ElizabethSpannCraig.com/blog  , which was named by Writer’s Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers for 2010-2013. 

Back cover copy: 

When psychic (and hubcap retailer) Wanda Alewine pays a late-night visit to Myrtle Clover, she urges the octogenarian sleuth to head straight to Greener Pastures Retirement Home. But Wanda doesn’t want Myrtle to consider the home’s dubious amenities–she wants Myrtle to prevent a murder seen in a vision.

Reluctant Myrtle investigates with sidekick Miles, who seems a lot more interested in Greener Pastures than she is. As the duo digs, they uncover more than just Sudoku and Scrabble—they discover a sinister undercurrent… with murder as its outcome.

2) An ebook cover (will run on Nook, Kindle, Smashwords), and  3) an audiobook cover for ACX.

What I’m looking for is really exactly what you did for the “Body at Book Club” cover…illustrated/vector drawing approach for the cover.

So, it’ll be “Death Pays a Visit”–A Myrtle Clover Mystery by Elizabeth Spann Craig (all title and byline elements like you had them last time).

Ideas for the cover. 

I was thinking maybe a backdrop of a stone or brick wall with ivy on it.  In the foreground, a bistro-style table with an upset glass, formerly full of red wine?  Or maybe a broken flower pot either on the ground or the table (don’t know if that would require a window on the backdrop’s wall).  I’m attaching some photos that sort of show where I was going with the idea, if that can help give you a starting place.  I guess if we could sort of keep it simple and not too busy, but have it look like a mystery cover.

Please feel free to jump in if you think of other potential options.  The idea is a tranquil scene with some dangerous sorts of elements thrown in.

****** (end email)

Additionally:

I sometimes attach covers of other books in my genre that I especially like.

I ask to be put on my designer’s calendar again for the next available slot.

I remind my designer that I will need to contact her once the formatting is done with the exact page number so that she can tweak the spine to get it exact for the print copies for CreateSpace.

So, general takeaways:

We can work with a designer on a book even when we haven’t yet started the book.

We need to know what formats we want the book in…print? Ebook?  Both?

We need to know what type of cover we’re looking for. Photo manipulation?  Vector illustration?

We need to be familiar with what types of covers various designer can do (some don’t do illustration) and what information they require.  These requirements will usually be specified on their site.

We need to know what, legally, we can do with the images designers create.  The post “Do You Know Who Owns Your Book Cover” from attorney Helen Sedwick on the Book Designer site may be helpful.

We will want our print cover’s spine to be tweaked if we don’t have the final page count yet. See what the process for doing that is and whether there is any additional cost involved (or delay, time-wise).

I find it better (with my limited design experience) to give a starting point for the cover design and general element ideas and then let the experts work their magic.  I’m sure to emphasize that I’m open to ideas and design elements. Then I can offer suggestions for the sample(s) I get back.

On cover design day, I make it a point to be as accessible as I can that day to make the process of emailing back and forth go faster.  I don’t schedule appointments that day and I either check email frequently or I turn on notification sounds on my phone for the day.

And I pay promptly, too, which is important. PayPal is usually the method by which designers and other self-publishing professionals request payment.

How do you help the design process go smoothly?

The post Working With a Cover Designer: Time-Saving Techniques appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

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.

Thoughts on Using Dialect :  http://ow.ly/Hw6KS by Jim Harrington

10 Tasks of the First Chapter http://ow.ly/Hw6KT @Diana_Hurwitz

3 Steps to Better Book Marketing:  http://ow.ly/Hw6KU @DigiBookWorld and Rich Bellis               

Wrapping Up Last Year: What Didn’t Work?  http://ow.ly/Hw6KY @jamigold

Can ebooks steamroll print?  http://ow.ly/HSPo7 @Porter_Anderson @TheFutureBook

Tackling Multiple Genres and Multiple Pen Names:  http://ow.ly/HAgIG  @MerryFarmer20

Author Greg Egan on 30 Years of Writing Hard Science Fiction:  http://ow.ly/HAgII @sfsignal

Short on writing time? Try the 250, 500 or 1000 Words A Day Challenge:  http://ow.ly/HAg02 @inkyelbows

Camera Angles in Fiction Writing:  http://ow.ly/HAgIK @lindasclare

Writing Through Difficult Times :  http://ow.ly/HAgIM by Diane Fraser @womenwriters

Why Superhero Books Are So Hard To Get Right:  http://ow.ly/HAgIT  @BrandSanderson

The 5 Steps to Become A Full-Time Writer:  http://ow.ly/Hw6KP @jimwoodswrites

The Literary Traditions of Self-Publishing:  http://ow.ly/Hw6KN  @ladieswhowrite

Ideas for Writing Creative Nonfiction:  http://ow.ly/Hw6KJ  @WritingForward

Freelancers: 17  Posts on Story Ideas, Article Writing, Interviews, and Editors:  http://ow.ly/Hw6ju @ticewrites

52 Ideas for Writers for 2015:  http://ow.ly/Hw6KH  @brooke_warner

How Art Journaling Can Improve Your Writing:  http://ow.ly/Hw6nb @AnneGreenawalt

2014 TED Presentations from Writers:  http://ow.ly/Hw6KE @galleycat and Maryann Yin

Ways to be a More Productive Writer:  http://ow.ly/Hw6KD @Janice_Hardy

The Place Of Adjectives In Prose:  http://ow.ly/Hp713  @RebeccaLuElla

How 1 writer outlines using a 6-stage plot structure:  http://ow.ly/Hp711 from Nova Zero Writing

7 Strategies and 110 Tools to Help Indie Authors Find Readers and Reviewers: http://ow.ly/Hp710  @sabsky

The Power of Visual Storytelling:  http://ow.ly/Hp70X @BrennerMichael

6 Simple Questions Writers Ask While Plotting: http://ow.ly/Hp70V @MartinaABoone

50 Articles on Writing to Help You in 2015: http://ow.ly/Hp6U2 @writersdigest @brianklems

10 Flashbacks That Changed Our Favorite Stories:  http://ow.ly/Hp70T @io9

A Former-Trad Pubbed Children’s Writer on 18 Months of Indie Publishing:  http://ow.ly/Hp70R @fictionnotes

Collective Nouns: Singular or Plural? http://ow.ly/Hp70P @writing_tips

The Difference Between Your Story’s Theme and Its Message:  http://ow.ly/Hp70L @KMWeiland

Painting Characters into Corners – SFWA http://ow.ly/Hp70I  @NancyFulda

Start At The Beginning, Not Before:  http://ow.ly/HmvS9 by  Jim Harrington

Villains Killing Themselves to Keep the Hero Sympathetic: http://ow.ly/HmvS3 @CantrellJason

If the premise seems too simple, can we still make it a good story? http://ow.ly/HmvRZ by JC Ironwave

The Emotional Side of a Book Release http://ow.ly/HmvRW @kcrosswriting

Strengthen Your Storytelling with POV:  http://ow.ly/HmvRS @SueColetta1

8 Tips for Writing a Blurb:  http://ow.ly/HmvRP @RuthHarrisBooks

Biological Weapons 101 with Dr. Judith Lucci:  http://ow.ly/HmvRO

Rediscover the Joy in Writing:  http://ow.ly/HmvRN by Sue Bradford Edwards

3 things every writer needs to stay in the game:  http://ow.ly/HmvRK @writers_write

How To Manage A Complex Story:  http://ow.ly/HmvRI @Scriptshadow

16 Thoughts for Authors/Publishing for 2015- aka Winners Don’’t Quit:  http://ow.ly/HmvS6 @bob_mayer

Visibility With Your Amazon Author Page (Video):  http://ow.ly/HmvRE  @writeonepub

Tips for Quickly Getting Reviewed:  http://ow.ly/Hjnhs @ChatEbooks

Help for Goodreads Authors (PDF):  http://ow.ly/Hjnhm @author_sullivan

2 low-cost book marketing tactics:  http://ow.ly/Hjnhg @Belinda_Pollard

Query Question: previous work http://ow.ly/Hjnhc @Janet_Reid

Dos and dont’s of adding more description:  http://ow.ly/Hjnh9 from The Right Writing

Make Your Own Indie Author Fair:  http://ow.ly/Hjnh5  @L1bCat

The Making of a Novel: Behind the Scenes:  http://ow.ly/Hjnh1 @kcrosswriting

5 Reasons to Start a Blog Today :  http://ow.ly/HjkEZ  @finallywriting

How To Self Publish On Kindle:  http://ow.ly/HjngV @writeonepub

The ‘back matter’ our books should contain:  http://ow.ly/HjngQ @DeborahJay2

Be Realistic About Your Writing Resolutions:  http://ow.ly/HjngN @writers_write

How to Write Titles that Sell:  http://ow.ly/HjngF @shalvatzis

Music For Writers: The Sheer Sensuous Pleasure Of Sound:  John Luther Adams:   http://ow.ly/HyLVn @Porter_Anderson

Setting Effective Writing Goals:  http://ow.ly/HgwnI @VictorASalinas

10 Story Decisions Scifi And Fantasy Writers Ended Up Regretting:  http://ow.ly/HgwnG @io9

7 ways to indicate a character’s race: http://ow.ly/HgwnB from Writing With Color

10 Social Media Rules for Authors in the New Year:  http://ow.ly/Hgwnu @ediemelson

Tips for introducing a character:  http://ow.ly/Hgwnm from The Writing Cafe

How publishers did everything wrong fighting Amazon over e-books: http://ow.ly/Hgwnj @SFGate and Thomas Lee

Build suspense with a ticking clock:  http://ow.ly/Hgwnh @raynehall

What Can You Do When You’ve Been Fictionalized? http://ow.ly/Hgwne @MHuneven @parisreview

6 Tips for Writing Fiction Based on True Events: http://ow.ly/Hgwnc @lorieanngrover

16 Rules of Blog Writing and Layout:  http://ow.ly/Hgwn5  @SueAnneDunlevie

New World of Publishing: Failure Must Be An Option:  http://ow.ly/Hgwn2 @deanwesleysmith

The Indie Author’s’ Review Dilemma http://ow.ly/Hgwn8 By Dario Ciriello

Mistakes to avoid in Short Story Writing :  http://ow.ly/HeEII  @AnneLParrish @womenwriters

Pulling Back the Curtains: Interior Book Design:  http://ow.ly/Hez8B @swoonreads

Write Books You Love. Think Global. Consider Multiple Streams Of Income:  http://ow.ly/HeES6 @thecreativepenn

Results of this year’s Digital Book World author survey:  http://ow.ly/HyuIt @Porter_Anderson @TheFutureBook

The Appeal of ‘Good Guy’ Heroes In Sci-Fi Romance:  http://ow.ly/HeES4 @ThGalaxyExpress

The 100 Best Websites for Writers in 2015:  http://ow.ly/HA0fx  @thewritelife

Whose vs. Which for Inanimate Objects:  http://ow.ly/HeERZ @epbure

5 Mistakes to Avoid to Be a Successful Author:  http://ow.ly/HeERW @ninaamir

Promo–does investing more time and money deliver better returns?  http://ow.ly/HytLo @Porter_Anderson

Write a novel in 6 months  (Week 2: 3 Acts and 8 Sequences):  http://ow.ly/HeERT @shauntagrimes

How to Write Dynamic Dialogue:  http://ow.ly/HeERQ  @shay_goodman

Help writing deaf and hard of hearing characters:  http://ow.ly/HeERN from RP Helper

Character Tropes: The Best Friend:  http://ow.ly/HeERK  @swoonreads

10 Common Fiction Problems and How to Fix Them:  http://ow.ly/HyMjj  by Jack Smith

The Murder of The Mystery Genre (And Its Rebirth):  http://ow.ly/HyKh0 @camillelaguire

How to Format a Manuscript:  http://ow.ly/HeERI @brianklems

Ethical Reviewing for Authors:  http://ow.ly/HysnG @SpunkOnAStick

Shape Your Story: Summon the Primary Teacher in Yourself:  http://ow.ly/HeERF @WritersRumpus

Gun Safeties for Writers:  http://ow.ly/Hao9e @p_morwood

Breaking In As An Illustrator:  http://ow.ly/Hao9b @kid_lit

25  Tips on Plotting from Top Authors and Editors:  http://ow.ly/Hao98 @writingeekery

Your Publisher Is Not Your New Best Friend: http://ow.ly/Hao96 @JanetKGrant

Fictionalizing Real People:  http://ow.ly/Hao93  @rookiemag

How to Write: A Year in Advice: http://ow.ly/Hao90 @joefassler @theatlantic

‘Print books are more like decorations': A #FutureChat recap: http://ow.ly/HSPx7 @Porter_Anderson

The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Working from Home as a Writer—Some Truths

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Working from home is something that sounds amazing for many people.  Who wouldn’t want to work from home, right?  No commute.  No dry cleaning bills.  No annoying coworkers.  No gasoline budget, parking decks, or lunches packed.

The truth is that working from home is great.  Sometimes.  And sometimes it’s not as great.  Take this blog post, for example.  It should have been written yesterday (at the latest) and scheduled to post right after midnight this morning.  But it’s been a crazy last couple of weeks because my children have been frequently at home due to teacher workdays, a national holiday, and an odd midterm exam schedule.

Sometimes unusual weeks like these will knock me right off my game.  Maybe I can meet my writing goals (I have), but supper for the family ends up being canned soup and a grilled cheese sandwich.  Maybe I’ll meet some goals and not others. 

But I can’t blame the children for all of my issues.  Sometimes working from home is difficult and there is no one here but myself, two cats, and a dog.  There are no excuses for poor performance then, but it happens.

These are some truths I’ve found about working from home:

Sometimes home isn’t the best place to work because it’s distracting.

Sometimes home isn’t the best place to work because the sameness of it isn’t inspiring.

If home isn’t the best place to work today, for any reason at all, realize that fact quickly and pack up our stuff for the coffeehouse/library.

Timers are helpful for any social media time while working at home.

Friends and family might need parameters.  I would be on an interminable coffee break if I didn’t have clear working hours.

Write the absolute minimum we feel we must meet that day for our goal…first.  Sometimes this is easier before anyone else gets up.

If we have young children at home, consider using a timer to show them when we’re available. Be very explicit about what we need from them.

Occasionally we must have nice clothes for various writerly functions. Or even weddings and funerals.  We should also sometimes update the nice clothes that we do have.

Sometimes setbacks to our writing schedule aren’t really setbacks—they just need to be thought through.  The mother in my middle school carpool who drives in the afternoons isn’t available to drive for the next few weeks because of a family emergency.  That means I’m driving mornings and afternoons.  I’m looking at the afternoon carpool line as an opportunity to work on one of the books I’m writing.

How is your writing going?  When do you fit it in with your family time or your other obligations?  Tips for working from home?

The post Working from Home as a Writer—Some Truths appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.