Riley Adams's Blog, page 122

The Impact of Free Promos

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I had to answer a questionnaire for self-publishers recently and several of the questions stumped me.  I have a feeling that this isn’t a good thing.

One of the questions was ‘How many books have you sold (not given away)?’  I had absolutely no idea.  And this information is not exactly as easy to come by as you might think.  There is no way on your KDP dashboard to find lifetime sales.

I also had no idea how many books, total, I’d given away.

Another question was ‘What is your strongest selling title?  How many units have you sold?’

Hmm.

In my defense…I have been very busy writing several series.  My self-published books number six which, although not a huge number, certainly adds a bunch of lines and some complexity to each month’s KDP excel sheet.

Sadly, I did not take the excellent advice of writer Jack Welling and have one or both of my teenage children work on this stuff.  Somehow my clerical needs always seem to coincide with massive projects on their end.

My printer is upstairs and my laptop was with me at the kitchen table.  I pulled up all of the KDP reports from 2011 to 2015.  Then I started clicking ‘print.’

I failed to notice that some of my monthly KDP reports were 12 pages long because of the number of books and the countries that the books are selling in.

I also failed to notice that I had not set up the reports to print in ‘landscape’ and not ‘portrait.’

My son, who was actually working on a computer in the room where the printer was, found me after a while.  “Mom, what are you doing?”  He indicated that he had just noticed some of the pages that were printing only had a few words on them.

Sigh.

Some findings from my Amazon reports (doesn’t include other retailers):

My foreign sales became strong after price matching freebies ran.  Somehow, clearly, those free books gained me visibility on Amazon’s international sites.  I did set it up for the international prices to be based on the US prices.

I’ve given away 429,944 free units.

Looking at the months where I had a lot of downloads of a free title, in general the sales of the same/other titles increased.  But sometimes, the sales the following month declined and then dramatically bumped up the next month. I’ve never seen sales decline more than one month following a free promo.

So, I conclude that free promos tend to give me visibility in international markets as well as here at home. That bump in income may not show up the following month, but two months later.  I think that, for me and my genre and with the number of titles I have, free is a good strategy for me for visibility in a crowded marketplace. I recently read a thought-provoking post from Jane Friedman: “The Strategic Use of Book Giveaways and How They Can Increase Earnings Potential.”  In it, Jane says, “Giveaways (or freebies) are popular for good reason; they’re a classic, frictionless way to make people aware of your work.”

Strategies for the free books?

I was interviewed on Tuesday by Camille Fabre-Pergola and Phin Lambert at Vook and they asked me if I had a strategy for which titles were free.  It was a good question and it made me realize how undeliberate I can be when I’m running a free book promo.  Since my books don’t really have continuing subplots, I haven’t found it strictly necessary to make the first book in the series free.  In fact, I can’t make the first book in the series free, because it was traditionally published by Midnight Ink (and that ebook is actually currently priced over $8, I believe).

So I choose my free title a bit differently, since I have no control over the pricing of that first book and the books don’t have a continuing story arc.  Usually I take a look at the Amazon ranking and reviews of all the titles.  If there’s a title that could really benefit from a boost in either rank or number of reviews, I pick that one.  I make the book free on Smashwords and then Amazon (usually very quickly…24 hours?) price matches.

Things I’m going to start tracking better (some related to free promotions, some for other data):

Sales per title (unless/until Amazon does a better job helping us collect it on the dashboard). I still don’t know my strongest title or the number of units because I completely ran out of time.  I think this will be something I give the 13 year old to do on a rainy day when she has little homework.

Monthly sales totals.

Monthly downloads totals.

And to keep up with it better, I’m going to print out those reports each month.  Then I won’t have such a huge chore. Somehow, it’s easier for me to add the stuff up when it’s on paper.

Have you tried these types of promotions?  How did it work for you?  Any revelations of your own from your sales and downloads reports?

Tweetable:

Potential benefits of free book promos: http://bit.ly/1BDBrhZ via @elizabethscraig   (Click to Tweet)

Image: from Death to the Stock Photo

The post The Impact of Free Promos appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Thoughts on Being a Hybrid Writer

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig  

What’s it like being a hybrid writer (someone who both publishes traditionally and self-publishes)?

Today I’m at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group  listing pros and cons of being a hybrid writer and tips for making it work.  Hope you’ll pop over and join me.

The post Thoughts on Being a Hybrid Writer appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Randomizing Revision

by Leslie Budewitz, @LeslieBudewitz 

I take a methodical approach to revision. As I work on the draft, I start a list of “Revision Notes”—facts to check, inconsistencies to iron out, name changes to clean up. When the draft is complete I print it out and punch it into a fat, three-ring binder. I make an outline, adding to the Revision Notes as I go, with some comments organized by chapter and some by topic. (“Jen or Jenn?;” “Deepen Pepper’s doubts about investigating;” “Kristen lecture Pepper about getting involved with Tag twice? Earlier is better.”)

Then I start the read-throughs, which I sometimes call drafts even though I’m working from the same physical copy. Each read-through involves a different layer of the ms. In the plot draft, I fix the holes I’ve identified in the outline and others that jump out at me as I work. In the character draft, I make sure the protagonist drives the action (I write in first person) and that every secondary character pops. In the scene draft, I sharpen the goals, motivation, and conflicts, and make each transition clear, so the reader never wonders about time or place. I look to make sure I’ve kept it cozy, that I’ve never lost track of the dog, and that I’ve given my protagonist all the trouble she can handle—and then some.

But the final step may be the most important, because it introduces a key element to my otherwise orderly process: randomization. That’s the “Repetitive Word draft.” Like every writer, I’ve got my pet words: still, only, really, turn, smile, perfect. Every book seems to develop its own overused vocabulary. This stage eliminates unconscious echoes, and helps me sharpen my characters’ observations and introduce more variety and vibrance. In my latest ms., second in my Spice Shop Mysteries, my protagonist Pepper seemed to adore everything she didn’t find odd; she laughed too much, and overused the word figure, in a variety of contexts. Chili and chile went on the list because I continually mistyped them, as did Viaduct, a proper noun when referring to the elevated highway running along the Seattle waterfront. In my Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, I tend to repeat fresh and local. (Worthy concepts; overused words.) After I read a blog post on describing characters’ voices, I got a little carried away with that aspect of craft, so voice and tone went on the list.

But even more than making sure I don’t turn head into a synonym for walk three times on the same page, this process helps me catch (spot, nab) repetitive structure. I use the Find function, jumping from one instance of the target word to the next. I may land on two consecutive pages or skip several chapters. By taking context out of the picture, I can see what I’ve actually written—not what I think I’ve written. I’m not reading chronologically, so it’s easier to recognize repetitive thoughts or phrases and unnecessary sentences. An overused phrase often indicates a clause or sentence that can be eliminated. Sometimes it’s a filtering phrase—“I thought…”, “… caught my attention,” “I felt…”—that creates a distance between narrator and reader. Deleting it allows me to go a touch deeper into my protagonist’s POV.

Some overuses are easy to overlook because words like could, with, and though are so ordinary, so necessary. Do I really replace a good chunk of them? Yes and no. The eye scans over many of these words, and often, they are exactly the right word. But the real importance of the exercise is to show me where I’ve been tentative instead of bold, made a phrase conditional, pulled punches in my dialogue.

An example of a word that shows up too often in the same way—at least for me; your linguistic quirks may vary—is with. I tend to toss it into descriptions far too often. For example, my protagonist, Pepper Reece, describes a chef who comes into her shop this way: “Tamara vibrated with intensity, her presence boosting everyone around her to a higher frequency.” And only seven lines later, Pepper thinks of her this way: “Thin and wiry—from hard work, not workouts—her features too intense to call pretty. But she buzzed with an irresistible energy.” It’s a common sentence structure, but not one for every page.

These searches show us our weak spots.

Because of the random factor, I sometimes notice unnecessary words or phrases apart from those I’m searching for. And though I’ve already deleted dozens of throat-clearing phrases and eliminated thoughts or phrases that belonged in earlier drafts but don’t relate to action in the current version, I still find those stragglers, artifacts of previous thoughts that no longer fit. Out they go. They’re easier to spot when you’re not reading for substance. As a bonus, you may spot missing words or punctuation errors, too, because when the eye sees out of context, it doesn’t make the automatic corrections that trip us up.

For a 75,000 word ms., the process may take me two days. It can be tedious. But I can eliminate several hundred words without eliminating action. And the real payoff is a stronger, tighter manuscript.

Leslie Budewitz is the national best-selling author of DEATH AL DENTE, first in the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries set in northwest Montana, and winner of the 2013 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, and the sequel, CRIME RIB (2014). ASSAULT & PEPPER, first in her Spice Shop Mysteries will debut in March 2015 from Berkley Prime Crime. Pepper Reece, owner of the Seattle Spice Shop, thinks she can handle any kind of salty customer—until a murderer ends up in the mix…

Also a lawyer, Leslie won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction for BOOKS, CROOKS & COUNSELORS: HOW TO WRITE ACCURATELY ABOUT CRIMINAL LAW & COURTROOM PROCEDURE (Quill Driver Books), making her the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction.

Leslie blogs for writers on using the law accurately in their fiction. Visit her blog. http://www.LeslieBudewitz.com/blog

Find her on Facebook  http://www.Facebook.com/LeslieBudewit...

or on Twitter http://www.Twitter.com/LeslieBudewitz

The post Randomizing Revision 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.

5 Reasons To Outline Your Novel – before you write a word:  http://ow.ly/J3hMd @writers_write

What Your First 250 is Telling Your Readers:  http://ow.ly/J3hMf @ava_jae

Copyright Basics: http://ow.ly/JrrU7  @LeslieBudewitz

5 Ways To Sell More Books On Amazon:  http://ow.ly/J3hMg @selfpubreview

How to Send Review Copies of Your Book to Potential Reviewers: http://ow.ly/J3hMh @miralsattar   

Where to send ARCs:  http://ow.ly/J3hMj @MarcyKate @WriteAngleBlog

How Susan Orlean Writes With Evernote:  http://ow.ly/J3hMk @susanorlean

4 Ways to Make Readers Instantly Loathe Your Character Descriptions:  http://ow.ly/J3hMm @KMWeiland

7 Writer Friendship Truths as told by a Cartoonist:  http://ow.ly/J4UEl @wayneepollard

Revising Your NaNoWriMo Mess-terpiece :  http://ow.ly/J4VEs by Heather Fenton

Trying too painfully, achingly hard to write The Great American Novel: http://ow.ly/J4VEt by Paul St John Mackintosh

The ‘Chekhov’s Gun’ Guide to Foreshadowing: http://ow.ly/J4VEv @BetterNovelProj

Reading the First American Novel, Published 226 Years Ago:  http://ow.ly/J4VEz @DanPiepenbring @ParisReview

How to Approach Authors in the Wild:  http://ow.ly/J4VEB @DelilahSDawson

How Much Information is Safe to Share Online? http://ow.ly/J4VEC @EdieMelson

10 Tips for YA Romance:  http://ow.ly/J4VEI @BetterNovelProj

5 Easy Tips to Fix a Boring Online Bio:  http://ow.ly/J4VEJ @JudyLeeDunn

Series or Stand-alone? http://ow.ly/J9TVV @SkylarkLit

How Not to Write a Logline:  http://ow.ly/J9TVZ by Angela Bourassa @scriptmag

Anti-villain motivations besides ‘tragic past':  http://ow.ly/J9TW0 from The Right Writing

Why Email Newsletters?  http://ow.ly/J9TW2 @DanBlank @writerunboxed

How to Prepare for a Pitch Contest:  http://ow.ly/J9TW3 @ava_jae

From the Writer’s Perspective: How to Get In on the SEO Scene:  http://ow.ly/J9TW7 @freelancewj

25 Things You Should Know About Antagonists:  http://ow.ly/J3hMa {lang.} @ChuckWendig

Show, Don’t Tell: Revealing True Emotion In Dialogue:  http://ow.ly/J3hM9 @angelaackerman

Women in publishing on today’s #FutureChat (4pGMT / 11aET / 8aPT) (now): http://ow.ly/Jo1Od  @Porter_Anderson

Tension & Pacing in Your Fiction:  http://ow.ly/Jo0OX from Jack Smith

When picture books are ‘overly didactic':  http://ow.ly/J3hM8 @literat

Grammar Rules: Capitalization:  http://ow.ly/J3hM6 @writingforward

Writers’ cliches that make you tear your hair out:  http://ow.ly/J3hM5 @alisonflood

The One-Page Synopsis | http://ow.ly/J27hX  @nancyjcohen

Author Lessons from the Shark Tank:  http://ow.ly/J27hT @wherewriterswin

Finding and Honing In On Your Story:  http://ow.ly/J27hR @kiersi

Google Docs vs. Scrivener for Writing:  http://ow.ly/J27hP @jamietr

Ambient and white sound for writing:  http://ow.ly/J27hN from Paperback Writer

7 Deadly Sins of Worldbuilding http://ow.ly/J27hL @charliejane

4 Danger Signs To Search For, Before Sending Off Your Novel:  http://ow.ly/J27hJ @charliejane

19 Tips from Famous Writers:  http://ow.ly/JkZCv @esporter

(Impossibly Condensed) Checklists for Beginning a Novel:  http://ow.ly/J27hG @randysusanmeyer

Confusion around the term ‘hybrid’ in publishing: http://ow.ly/JjB3M @Porter_Anderson @BennettColes

How to Deal With Writing Distractions:  http://ow.ly/J27hE @QuipsAndTips

Online tools for writers: http://ow.ly/J27hz @sherice

The Late Blooming Novel:  http://ow.ly/JjAST @janice_hardy @AlexJCavanaugh

12 Book Marketing Tips from 12 Industry Experts:  http://ow.ly/J26xR @booklaunchdemon

Who discovers the body in crime fiction?  A chart:  http://ow.ly/JjA1d  @mkinberg

The Ebook as Annuity:  http://ow.ly/J27ht @markcoker

How ‘Into the Woods’ Got it Wrong (And Why You Should Too) : http://ow.ly/IXVLE @epbure

6 Things Your Website Should Tell Book Reviewers About You (and Your Book): http://ow.ly/IXVLt @bookgal

The author photo: where to use them, tips for getting one done:  http://ow.ly/IXVLn @MyBookShepherd

Freelancers: 3 Tip-Offs That Your Dream Writing Job Will Really be a Nightmare:  http://ow.ly/IXVLk @ticewrites

How Much Does It Cost to Self-Publish a Book? 4 Authors Share Their Numbers:  http://ow.ly/IXVLj @thewritelife @hopeclark @thecreativepenn

Storium: Collaborative Storytelling:  http://ow.ly/IXVLe @woodwardkaren

Finding a Plot Structure:  http://ow.ly/IXVLb  @KayKeppler

3 Truths about Being a Poet as Told by a Cartoonist:  http://ow.ly/IXEIU @wayneepollard

Fantasy Sub-Categories: http://ow.ly/IXVL4  @dreamoforgonon

A trend toward older characters in crime fiction? http://ow.ly/IXVL1 @mkinberg

Reaching Readers through Wattpad and Blog Tours:  http://ow.ly/JfDwF @CheleCooke @RicardoFayet  @ReedsyHQ

How Being Specific Helps You Show And Not Tell:  http://ow.ly/IXVKV @MiaJouBotha

The Cheater’s Guide to Building Your Author Platform:  http://ow.ly/IXVLy @SueDetweiler

How to Query: Research (video):  http://ow.ly/IRFf2 @ava_jae

Weaving Social Narratives Beyond the Page: Transmedia:  http://ow.ly/IRFf1 @hackettkate

Tips for writing endings:  http://ow.ly/IRFeX @charliejane

How to Utilize Tension More Effectively:  http://ow.ly/IRFeT @jodyhedlund

How to Place Turning Points on a Beat Sheet:  http://ow.ly/IRFeQ @jamigold

French Readers are Just as E-Trashy as Everyone Else http://ow.ly/IRFeN @EdNawotka

How many rejections (is the wrong question):  http://ow.ly/IRFeK from agent @Janet_Reid

7 Things You Learn When Your Book Is Published:  http://ow.ly/IRFeJ @MartinaABoone

Rewrite an Old Manuscript or Let it Die? http://ow.ly/JboBi @LyndaRYoung

Finding Your Writing Process – A Procrastinator’s Journey:  http://ow.ly/IRFeG @dannymanus

How to Break Up with your Novel:  http://ow.ly/IRDIL @marthamconway @womenwriters

Make Editing Easier: Simple Tips to Make Your 1st Draft Better: http://ow.ly/JbjPw @silas_payton

How to Write A Plausible Character: – 3 Key Tips:  http://ow.ly/IRFeP @AnneLParrish

Why Your Writer’s Bio is Valuable Real Estate:  http://ow.ly/IRFeH @EdieMelson

Music For Writers: The Pettersson Legacy Of Fire And Ice:  http://ow.ly/J4U1D @Porter_Anderson @ThoughtCatalog

10 Rules For Making Better Fantasy Maps:  http://ow.ly/INHZY @io9  @LaurenDavis

What Are We Rewarding In Children’s Literature? (#GuysDoRead) http://ow.ly/J7Euc @Porter_Anderson @scribblestreet

Bisexuality in SF:  http://ow.ly/INHZT @ceciliatan

3 Tips to “Show, Don’t Tell” Emotions and Moods:  http://ow.ly/INHZH @joebunting

Picking a Juicy Secret to Jazz Up Your Character:  http://ow.ly/INHZD  @writingeekery

A Case Study on Trust as a Literary Theme:  http://ow.ly/INHZA @DIYMFA @SaraL_Writer

‘Are there too many literary agencies?’  http://ow.ly/J7DKs @Porter_Anderson @JonnyGeller

The Only Rule About Backstory That Matters:  http://ow.ly/INHZv @KMWeiland

Understanding Phrasal Verbs – 2 word verbs with ‘get’:  http://ow.ly/INHZt @writers_write

Worldbuilding: Creating Fictional Cultures:  http://ow.ly/INHZk @authorjsmorin

A Kindle Book Marketing Tip:  http://ow.ly/INHZe @angee

Improve Your Twitter Messaging and Control:  http://ow.ly/J7xr3 @jimhbs

One Author’s Debut Year: Indie Income versus Expenses:  http://ow.ly/INHZP @JessiGage

One Indie Author’’s Debut Year Income:  http://ow.ly/INHZK @JessiGage @passivevoiceblg

5 Comics Writers Who’ve Received Rejection Letters Will Understand:  http://ow.ly/INHZ9  @wayneepollard

Perceived differences between ‘us’ and ‘them':  http://ow.ly/J4TOe @Porter_Anderson

How to Rethink Creative Opportunities:  http://ow.ly/ILtDU  @CreativeKatrina

Mental Illness In Fiction: Getting It Right:  http://ow.ly/ILyXQ @DanKoboldt

Balancing World Building and Pacing:  http://ow.ly/ILyXM @janice_hardy

5 Key Elements for Successful Short Stories http://ow.ly/ILwXo @EmilyWenstrom

Scenes: The Skeleton of a Novel:  http://ow.ly/ILyXI @fictionnotes

7 Tips For Authors Who Want to Evolve into Book Publishers: http://ow.ly/ILyXD @JFBookman

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

Tension & Pacing in Your Fiction

Guest Post by Jack Smith

Fiction depends on tension.  Tension—a felt response to conflict—must be heightened as well as diminished in a literary work.  Where this is accomplished depends on the nature of the plot and the character arc.  While tension is created by practically every story element, pacing is largely a result of style and narrative technique.  The pacing of a work affects the tension but also creates mood and tone.   In every fictional work you write, you must decide on both tension and pacing.  While much of this may be a matter of intuition and feel, you can also plan out matters of tension and pacing as you write and revise your work.   This amounts to a six-stage process.

I. Decide on the nature of the tension in your story or novel. Basically there are three major types of fictional works according to tension.

A. The five-stage plot structure, where tension must be gradually (though not continuously) increased to the story’s crisis and climax, followed by falling action and denouement.

B. The epiphany story where tension gradually builds toward a final, rather sudden, clarifying vision, on the part of the protagonist.

C. The story where tension builds at times, is released, or partly released, but does not build toward a climax at the end—but rather closes with the protagonist’s psychological distillation of several bumps along the way, no one bump necessarily involving more tension than the others.



II. As you rework and rethink your story or novel, decide how and where you might increase the tension and decrease it.

A. Consider your protagonist. What is likely to produce tension in this character? What is likely to relieve it?

B. What will be the main events that carry out your character’s overall trajectory? How are these tension-producing events?

C. What events will produce a reduction of tension? How are these events needed to develop your character’s overall trajectory?

III. Now work/rework your manuscript to make sure scenes create tension where needed, or decrease tension where needed.

A. In scenes that increase tension, depend on action and dialogue that emphasize conflict—conflict central to advancing the plot.

B. In scenes meant to relieve tension, depend on action and dialogue that decrease conflict, suggesting temporary resolution, compromises reached, hope for the future, and the like—all such scenes advancing the plot.

IV. Now work/rework your story or novel manuscript to make sure that expository sections of character thought and reflection represent increases in tension and times when this tension subsides.

A. Characters naturally respond to the external tensions in their lives. In your protagonist’s various thoughts and reflections, build this tension by exploring it for its possible negative, and even dire, effects of various kinds.

B. In sections where the tension subsides, provide moments of character reflection where feelings of relief occur, or even feelings of hope, At other times, find ways to have your protagonist think about other things besides the central tensions in his/her life, the ones that are driving the plot.

V. Make sure the pacing—whether in scene or narrative prose—contributes to the desired tension. Be sure the mood and tone created by the pacing is right for your work.

A. When the prose is smooth, fluid, easy-flowing, there is little tension—or apparent tension, at least.

B. When the prose is rapid-paced, the tension tends to increase, suggesting a positive feeling (e.g. excitement) or a negative one (e.g. worry or fear).

C. Decide on the right pacing for your story or novel, going through it scene by scene, and prose section by prose section. Which pacing creates the desired tension? Reduces the tension, as needed? Which pacing creates the right mood and tone?

VI. The narrative technique also creates pacing, and it too affects mood and tone.



A. If a story or novel is fragmented, with short, clipped sections, or white spaces that cause the reader to make “leaps,” this will suggest disorientation.

B. If a story or novel is traditionally narrated, with narrative bridges between sections, this may suggest a measure of coherence in the protagonist’s world (though such coherence can certainly be called into question by events and character reflection).

C. Decide on the right narrative technique for your work. Does it help create the right pacing—contributing to the desired tensions in the work? Does it create the right mood and tone?

Every literary work, short story or novel, must include tension—a felt response to conflict. A work without tension is almost unthinkable if it’s about life at all. But tension itself isn’t enough. You must handle the tension so that it builds, releases, builds, and also contributes to the advancement of the plot and overall character arc. You must also handle the pacing well, choosing the pacing that will contribute to the tensions in the work and help create the right mood and tone. Finally, you must choose the right narrative technique.

Jack Smith is author of the novel Hog to Hog, which won the George Garrett FictionPrize (Texas Review Press. 2008), and is also the author of Write and Revise for Publication: A 6-Month Plan for Crafting an Exceptional Novel and Other Works of Fiction, published earlier this year by Writer’s Digest. His novel ICON  was published in June 2014 by Serving House Book

Over the years, Smith’s short stories have appeared in North American Review, Night Train, Texas Review, and Southern Review, to name a few. He has also written some 20 articles for Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market, as well as a dozen or so pieces for The Writer. He has published reviews in numerous literary journals, including Ploughshares, Georgia Review, Missouri Review, Prairie Schooner, American Review, Mid-American Review, and the Iowa Review.

The post Tension & Pacing in Your Fiction appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Writers–It Doesn’t Pay to be Shy

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Not all writers are introverts, of course.  I’m one of the more introverted ones.  My introversion can veer into shyness around readers…I’m not a shy person otherwise.  

There are definitely things I’m more comfortable doing than others.  I hate readings and signings.  But I don’t mind signing stock in bookstores or (now), telling people that I’m a writer. And there are things I don’t enjoy doing that I now just suck up and do.

Even introverted writers should consider:

Wattpad.  This online publishing platform is a good way to get our work in front of a younger/different audience. Yes, we’ll need to interact with readers there.

Newsletters.  It took me years to get to the point where I’d “bother” a reader with a newsletter. I’ve only been sending them for a little over a year.  Even though readers signed up completely voluntarily to be on my newsletter list.  Each time I send them, my numbers on Amazon get better.

Events. I’m very, very picky about the events I’ll do and send more nos than yesses to invitations. But the ones I do usually have good turnouts and I do sell books and meet readers. After I’m done, I realize I’ve enjoyed them.

Signing stock.  Easy.  I go into bookstores, show my driver’s license or show the staff that the author photo looks like me, and sign the books.  They put a sticker on the front that states autographed copy.  I never see a reader this way.

Goodreads giveaways (no human interaction here! Perfect for the shy writer!)

Telling friends and acquaintances you’re a writer.  This can be done fairly painlessly by putting a link to your books or your site as the signature on your emails.

Landing a guest spot for a blog tour or a place as a regular blogger on a group blog.  If you want a guest blogging opportunity or to be a member of a group blog, you need to reach out to bloggers. This was something I didn’t understand when I started blogging six years ago.  I thought the appropriate etiquette was to wait to be invited.  It’s not.  Although there are best practices when it comes to requesting guest posts. I’ll cover that in a later post.

Asking for help:

Reaching out to primary sources for research.  It can be a lot speedier than searching up very specific bits of information online.  Police officers have been happy to help me when I’ve called their departments. And I don’t think they thought I was a budding criminal (most of the time).

Asking for blurbs/endorsements.  If you’re starting out, you probably need them.  Authors will tell you if they don’t have the time and most bigger name authors expect to be asked.

Times you should put your foot down and not even consider being shy or at all reticent:

A bad contract is much, much worse than no contract at all. Don’t sign your rights away to your content.  Here are some posts that may help you understand your contract: Susan Spann’s “How Bad Can One Page Be? The Hidden Dangers in Short-Form Contracts,”  Victoria Strauss’s “Publishing Industry Terms and Contracts: Some Resources, and Some Advice,” David P. Vandagriff’s (Passive Guy’s) “How to Read a Book Contract – Agents and the Law.”

Not all agents are good agents. Not all publishers are good publishers. Just because these folks say something is so, doesn’t make it so. Places to research agents and publishers are the Preditors and Editors listing and Victoria Strauss’s Writer Beware.

Sometimes professional editors’ “corrections” need to be corrected. Stet is a useful word to know.  For one trad-published series (I no longer work with this editor), an editor corrected an entire couple of pages to first person.  The book was written in third.

These are just a few examples of times it pays to be outgoing as a writer.  Can you think of anything I’ve overlooked?

The post Writers–It Doesn’t Pay to be Shy 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.

6 Ways to Rebalance Your Being to Enhance Your Creativity:  http://ow.ly/IHAus @WriterJoMalby

8 Query Tips No One Tells Writers:  http://ow.ly/IHAut @carlywatters

Conquer Drowsiness with 10 5-Minute Easy Exercises:  http://ow.ly/IHAux @colleen_m_story

Unnecessary words and phrases to cut:  http://ow.ly/IHAuy @writers_write

How Does Money Taint Art?  http://ow.ly/IHzOO  @ArtistThink               

How to Face Criticism in Creativity  http://ow.ly/IHAuA @ArtistThink

Power of the Space Between Creative Bursts:  http://ow.ly/IHAuB @CreativeKatrina

How Realistic Is Science Fiction Linguistics? http://ow.ly/IHAuC @slate @dsbigham

Are You Making These Mistakes That Lead to Carpal Tunnel? http://ow.ly/IHAuD @colleen_m_story

10 Things Every New Creator of SF Should Know:  http://ow.ly/IHAuF  @charliejane

The Myth of the Overnight Success and What Those Stories Have in Common:  http://ow.ly/IHAuH @carlywatters

Waiting for Someone Else to Validate your Creativity?  http://ow.ly/IHAuI @CreativeKatrina

Top 10 Ways To Love Your Reader:  http://ow.ly/J1AgV @10minnovelist

Components of book proposals:  http://ow.ly/ILyWS @behlerpublish

Early stages of character creation:  http://ow.ly/ILyX2 @kayedacus

Handy Tricks for Using Word:  http://ow.ly/ILyXd  @Savage_Woman

How to Tell if Back Story is Sabotaging Your Novel:  http://ow.ly/ILyXn @Roz_Morris

Make sure your theme isn’t a cliché:  http://ow.ly/ILyXq @nownovel

How To Use Scrivener to Plan a Book:  http://ow.ly/ILyXx @Natasha_Lester

Love Your Reader, Love Your Art, Love Yourself:  http://ow.ly/J1Akk  @AnnaKSnow @10minnovelist

5 Laws of the Fiction Reader http://ow.ly/IFyfo @jamesscottbell

Coming Up with Your Story’s Premise:  http://ow.ly/IFyfl  @KillerNashville @JadenTerrell

Trad published authors–pay attention to your backlist: http://ow.ly/IFyfk @kristinerusch

Crime Writers: Are You Writing What You THINK You Know? http://ow.ly/IFyfj @LeeLofland

How To Create A Killer Opening For Your Science Fiction Short Story:  http://ow.ly/IFxQw @charliejane

Agents should ‘join forces to build the next generation of talent':  http://ow.ly/IFyfg @JonnyGeller @TheBookseller

Should You Self-Publish? 5 Questions to Ask Yourself:  http://ow.ly/IFyff  @ClaireCookwrite

Symbolism for cover design:  http://ow.ly/IFyfd @cjgmanlapas

What the Incredible Hulk Can Teach Us about Emotion in Fiction:  http://ow.ly/IFyfb @HDemchick

How To Get Stuff Done When You Don’t Want To:  http://ow.ly/IFyfa @AllisonStadd @99u

Creating Compelling Characters Readers Can’t Forget:  http://ow.ly/IFyf9 @RuthHarrisBooks

The Definition and Criteria of Concept:  http://ow.ly/IFyf8 @storyfix

5 Ways to Make Your Character Stand Out:  http://ow.ly/IB3Zk by Chris Winkle @Mythcreants

5 Classic Women Authors on Writing and Money:  http://ow.ly/IB3Zg @ladieswhowrite

3 Act Story Structure: Act Three:  http://ow.ly/IB3Ze @woodwardkaren

Tricks of the Trade 1: The Plant:  http://ow.ly/IB3Zb @mooderino

The Sum of the Parts: Writing a Synopsis:  http://ow.ly/IB1KS @Janice_Hardy

What not to say to authors (and what to say instead): http://ow.ly/IB3Z7 @holly_bourneYA

Jobs That Leave You Time to Write:  http://ow.ly/IB3Z5 @stevegillman

The Why & How of Foreshadowing:  http://ow.ly/IB3Z2 by Chris Winkle @Mythcreants

Queries are never wastes of agents’ time:  http://ow.ly/IB3YU @Janet_Reid

Help for writing a child’s emotional state:  http://ow.ly/IB3YR from Writeworld

Marketing, Social Media & Book Signings: —Why None of These Directly Impact Book Sales:  http://ow.ly/IB3YZ @kristenlambtx

What the “Sorting Hat” Teaches Us About the Hero’s First Obstacle:  http://ow.ly/IB1mE @BetterNovelProj

Why Your Brain Needs More Downtime:  http://ow.ly/Ix8qK @sciam  @ferrisjabr

How limiting creative choices enhances creativity:  http://ow.ly/Ix8qG  @onewildword

Rejection letters and writer reactions:  http://ow.ly/Ix8qF from Teresa Nielsen Hayden

The 5 Best Things an Artist Can Do:  http://ow.ly/Ix4Gt @garrettrauthor

Remember Why Readers Seek You Out Online:  http://ow.ly/Ix8qE @RachelLKent

10 page-to-screen successes:  http://ow.ly/Ix8qB by  Meredith Quinn for @thewritermag

6 Sub-Plots That Add Style To Your Story:  http://ow.ly/Ix8qz @writers_write

Ingredients for a tough character:  http://ow.ly/Ix8qx @VickyThinks

Tips to Include Family in Your Writing Life:  http://ow.ly/Ix8qu @BDBrady007

What do names tell us about characters?  http://ow.ly/Ix8qs by FCETIER

How E-Books Have Changed the Print Marketplace:  http://ow.ly/Ix8qp @Janefriedman

Writing science…a few tips:  http://ow.ly/Ix8qn from Captain Shellhead

Writing Tips: Write What You Know:  http://ow.ly/It3SR @writingforward

30 Tips For Writing a Book in 30 Days: http://ow.ly/It3SN @JessicaStrawser

Tips for Your Author Website: http://ow.ly/It3SK  by Kiffer Brown for @wherewriterswin

9 traits of a good agent and 3 contract issues to watch out for:  http://ow.ly/IQn2I @Porter_Anderson @MirabilisDave @AgentKristinNLA

How To Grow Your Fiction Email List Subscribers:  http://ow.ly/It3SI @thecreativepenn

How to Use Needs and Goals to Appeal to Readers:  http://ow.ly/It3SD @jamigold

Would you turn this bestselling author’s first page? http://ow.ly/It3SA @RayRhamey

40 Questions to Ask When You Get the call from an Agent:  http://ow.ly/It3Sy @MartinaABoone

Most authors break through in middle-age:  http://ow.ly/It3Sv @alice_emily @telegraph

Creating Character Names: A Great Time Saver All Writers Should Use:  http://ow.ly/INuuC  @silas_payton

Switch from passive to active voice:  http://ow.ly/It3Ss  @sharilopatin

An Author Assistant Answers Writers’ Questions:  http://ow.ly/IOCZe @K8Tilton

5 Ways Marketing Can Revive Your Series:  http://ow.ly/It3Sq @srjohannes

Productivity Tip: Learn how to say no:  http://ow.ly/It3Sn @inkyelbows

5 Tips for Writing Twist Endings:  http://ow.ly/It3Sj @DinoLaserbeam

Music For Writers: Self-Pubbing Cellist Kate Dillingham:  http://ow.ly/IJixy @KateDillingham1 @Porter_Anderson

Resources to improve your grammar:  http://ow.ly/IrKoC from Reference for Writers

Synonyms for walk:  http://ow.ly/IrKoA from Green Haven

The Three Writing Mindsets:  http://ow.ly/IrKox  @berkun

11 Secrets to Writing Effective Character Description:  http://ow.ly/IrKov by Rachel Scheller for @writersdigest

Underground Fantasy: Tunnels and Secret Passageways:  http://ow.ly/IrKor @SteffHumm

5 Top Author Platforms and 4 Takeaways from Them:  http://ow.ly/ILAQv @EmilyWenstrom @DIYMFA

How clearing clutter helped one writer: http://ow.ly/IrKoo  by Elizabeth King Humphrey

Are ebooks really here forever?”  http://ow.ly/IJhP6 @Porter_Anderson @TheBookseller”

Commonly Confused: Comparatives and Superlatives:  http://ow.ly/IrKok @Savage_Woman

Some pace-slowing and barrier-creating words to consider dropping in our novels:  http://ow.ly/IrKoj @raynehall

The home life of cops and PIs in crime fiction. How much to include? http://ow.ly/IJg62 @mkinberg

5 self-publishing truths few authors talk about:  http://ow.ly/IrKog @HearnDylan

On writing musicals:  http://ow.ly/IrKod from Writeworld

3 Tips for Dealing With Criticism:  http://ow.ly/IrKoc  @AllisonStadd

Working with Small Publishers – 12 Pros and Cons http://ow.ly/IJdcZ @alexjcavanaugh @taratylertalks

12 tips for 2015 for illustrators:  http://ow.ly/IrKoa by Kathy Temean

Publishing Hindsight: Self-Pub and POD Companies:  http://ow.ly/IJcJa @SpunkOnAStick @LoniTownsend

5 Trade Publishing Predictions for 2015:  http://ow.ly/Imq7y @Personanondata

23 Words For Book Lovers That Really Should Exist http://ow.ly/Imq7t @soalexgoes @buzzfeed

Querying a self-pubbed book…put yourself in an editor’s shoes:  http://ow.ly/Imq7l @behlerpublish

Crossing Over: From Poetry To Prose:  http://ow.ly/Imlgl by Robert Thomas for @BTMargins

Why the Best Characters for Your Story are Weirdos:  http://ow.ly/Imq7c @epbure

Unleash Your Creativity: 7 Methods Inspired by Eastern Wisdom: http://ow.ly/IHzqN @WriterJoMalby

Writing diversity–tips for describing noses: http://ow.ly/Imq76 from Mod Colette

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

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.