Riley Adams's Blog, page 135

Thoughts on Reader Reviews

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve learned not to talk to my family about reviews.  I’ve seen them flinch in the past when I’ve mentioned some of the negative things said about my books. I realize that they haven’t developed that ability to be detached about it yet.  To them, a negative review is as hurtful as if someone publicly said something negative about me.

For me, it’s not like that.  Not unless, maybe, it’s been a bad, bad day and the review is the final straw. Or if I’ve lost a reader.  That’s probably the single most hurtful thing I can read from a reviewer—something along the lines of: “I’ve read all her other books but after this one I won’t be buying any more.”  That does have the power to really mess up my afternoon…if I let it.

My most-reviewed book has 578 reviews.  I haven’t read all of them, but enough to get a snapshot or big picture of what the readers thought.  And, in general, I do find reader reviews to be helpful.

Reviews give me a picture of my readers.  I can frequently tell their age (readers often state it on the reviews), their education level, and where they’re from.  It’s easy market research.

Reviews give me direction.  Readers talk about what they like and don’t like in my books.  If enough of them talk about an aspect they don’t like…you can bet that I’m going to be making adjustments to my general game plan in the next book.  As a commercial writer, I’m writing for them, after all.

Customer reviews can offer valuable insight to other readers–and can give us more visibility on Amazon.   I’m one of those people who spends a lot of time researching even minor purchases.  We broke our filtered water pitcher here and needed to replace it. I wanted a full picture of what I would be buying.  So I looked at Consumer Reports (which was reviewing the pitcher in terms of filtration ability, flow rate, and clogging), but then I expressly clicked over to Amazon to see what customers would say.  I wanted both types of reviews—the critical review done in a lab under special conditions, and the customer reviewer saying, “This thing wouldn’t fit in my fridge.”

As a reader, though, I don’t read customer reviews before buying a book on Amazon…I’d rather read a book blogger’s review or a Publishers Weekly review (if there is one).  That’s mainly because customer reviews have a scary number of spoilers in them.

So we have different types of reviews in the publishing world right now.  We have critical reviews from trained journalists and well-read and practiced book bloggers…and then we have reader reviews.

Journalist Porter Anderson explained the difference between these reviews beautifully in his Writing on the Ether post last year for Jane Friedman’s blog, “Let’s Review Criticism.”  Porter states:

Actual criticism never seeks to tell users what to do. Instead it takes the work at hand and analyzes it in terms of what its creator(s) intended to do. What did this author mean to achieve? Did he or she achieve it?—how? how not? how well? The user of criticism is then left to decide whether the analysis makes the work worth looking into. And he or she then decides whether the work is “good” or otherwise. Criticism asks you to think for yourself, not be told to “read this” or “don’t read that.”

But are most readers reading book blogger reviews or reviews in publications like Kirkus or PW?  Or are they paying more attention to reader reviews?  Judging from what I’ve seen in my own books’ reviews, readers chat with each other in the reviews.  Some reviews get comments.  Readers certainly seem to be reading them and discussing them. So they’re important.

Reader reviews also seem to figure into Amazon’s mysterious algorithm that determines visibility on the retailer’s site.  The more reviews you have, the better.

And, this is something most every writer already knows….I never respond to reviews. Not glowing reviews, not mediocre reviews, not scathing reviews.  Not even reviews that seem unfair or incorrect.  I disengage…the reviews are written by readers for readers.  They’re not written for me.

What are your thoughts about reader reviews?  Are they helpful or hurtful? Are you able to find something constructive out of even some of the worst ones?

The post Thoughts on Reader Reviews appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

My Mistakes and Procrastinated Bits

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

The last time I ran a post on mistakes I’d made, it helped illuminate areas I’d fallen behind on so that I could stick them on my calendar as to-dos.  I’m hoping that will be the same today, too (some things can’t really be fixed, but can serve as a warning to others).

Here we go:

Not making sure I’m updating all the pages in my website.  Embarrassingly, a reader emailed me on this.  She wanted to see immediately, on my site’s home page, when I had an upcoming release.  She’s right—that’s really the point of the site.  I had the information on my books page, but the welcome page is a bit better.  Plus, I hadn’t updated that page often, thinking I’d left it as a static generic welcome.  Not so…it listed “recent releases” from a year ago. 

Not setting up PayPal/e-commerce/a way to sell ebooks on my site. And I’m still not there yet.  I keep hearing this is an easy/smart thing to do on our website (see Savvy Writers’ post, “How to Sell Your Books From Your Own Website.”)

Not setting up Amazon Affiliate links.  It’s kind of silly that I haven’t, considering that I always have links to my books here and others’ books.  Problogger Darren Rowse has a post explaining the benefits: “The Ultimate Guide to Making Money with the Amazon Affiliate Program.”

Being slow to send newsletters (see last post—I’m working on this).

Wasting valuable time figuring out how to do something when I’d have been better served paying someone to take care of it.  I am somewhat technical in that I know enough to be dangerous with nearly everything.  This encourages me to keep tinkering with things that I really have no business working on.  That time would be better spent writing.  For me, it’s much better to hire someone to help with website design, book formatting, etc.

Not saying no enough.  I’m not the only one in this boat, am I?  I’m getting better—I can say no in email and on the phone.  It’s the in-person bit that I still struggle with.

Being slow to host my blog on my website. As Thomas Umstattd explains in his post “7 Secrets for Amazing Author Websites”for AuthorMedia: “(Websites with integrated blogs) get more traffic because blogs posts are more likely to be shared on social networks than static content. Blogs also boost your rankings on Google. Each blog post is a chance to get Google points to rank high in searches. Think of it as a lottery ticket. The more blog posts you write the bigger chance you have of hitting it big.” At least I’m here now.

Not making my content work harder for me earlier.  I’ve mentioned this before.  But instead of focusing 100% on creating new content, we should remember that the content we’ve already got can go on sale in different formats: print and audio, for instance.  I’d just offered digital ebooks of my self-published books for a long while…and now I receive regular income by publishing my content in other formats.

Setting up separate Twitter and Facebook and Goodreads identities for my pseudonym.  I’m not sure how much time I thought I had, but this was a clear miscalculation. Not only that, I really just needed to promote everything through my actual name.

Where I’ve done better:

Reserving my name on various social media whenever the Next Big Thing comes out. Even if I have no plan at the time to engage on the platform.

Knowing my strengths and weaknesses and saying no to projects and editors/publishers when I’m asked to do something I’m not great at.

Keeping to a schedule.

Not rushing my self-publishing.

Doing things I don’t enjoy but know to be good for visibility…like the occasional giveaway on Goodreads.

So there we have it.  Hope that listing some of my missteps might help others avoid them. What kinds of things have you learned as a writer? Things you’ve done right? Things you haven’t?  What have you procrastinated on?

Image: MorgueFile: jdurham

The post My Mistakes and Procrastinated Bits appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Newsletters as Promo

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I was very late to hop on the newsletter bandwagon.  I’ve finally started sending them.  Of course, before I start anything, I have to try to find out as much as possible about best practices…because, sadly, I’m neurotic that way.  So I spent several days researching best practices and the various newsletter services before sending my first newsletter.  The newsletter itself took a fraction of the time to create.

I heard over and over that successful newsletters have one thing in common—it’s all about what we could do for the reader instead of what the reader could do for us.

I somehow feel remarkably apologetic when I do send out newsletters.  I have to remind myself that these readers signed up—on purpose.  Without even being asked. With no contest or giveaway if they signed up. They just clicked on the link and entered their address.

Ultimately, that’s what you need—readers who sign up for your newsletter because they’re interested in learning about new releases, etc.  These folks don’t need a hard sell because they already want your books.

Here’s what I learned from my research and from my short experience with newsletters:

Mention your newsletter in your site’s sidebar or in your email tagline.  I use MailChimp, which is free (at least, it’s free for the number of subscribers that I have—as long as you have 2,000 or fewer subscribers, you’re good) and they have a plug-in that you add if you’re a WordPress user. It makes adding a newsletter signup to your site very simple.  Writer Molly Greene has a nice overview of MailChimp in her post, “How To Use MailChimp – From Sign-Up To ‘Send!’”

Newsletters with interesting or useful content are opened and read more frequently.  Consider using a rule of thumb like the popular 80/20 rule…80% useful/helpful content and 20% marketing.  Or consider using even less marketing, if you can.

Offer an easy way to unsubscribe/opt out.

Use a short, explanatory subject line and start out the newsletter with a short teaser of what the newsletter includes (and what value the content has for our readers).

We shouldn’t send newsletters too often or too infrequently.  Most newsletters seem to be sent quarterly unless there’s something special, like a release, to announce.

Understand our readers and what they like.  Who are they and what interests them? How can we provide that?

Offer extras and giveaways and other special content that only newsletter subscribers receive: exclusive excerpts, short stories with our characters, coupons for book discounts, other freebies.

We should never add someone to our newsletter mailing list… they should add themselves. Our list should only go out to subscribers.

Provide a means for readers to learn more about our books and to contact us online.

Do you send out newsletters?  Any tips regarding interesting content?  What’s your experience been like?

 

The post Newsletters as Promo appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search alengine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

An Agent’s Role in Shaping an Author’s Career and the Second Book:  http://ow.ly/vOEIT  @ElisabethWeed @writerunboxed

Are Your Stakes High Enough?  http://ow.ly/vOCeB  @janice_hardy

Why a Writing Routine Matters and How to Start One:  http://ow.ly/vMsYi  @stacyennis

5 qualities important to successful self-publishing:  http://ow.ly/vMoOt  @ninaamir

10 Moments in the Writer’s Life:  http://ow.ly/vMsbx  @rchazzchute

The Pros & Cons of Small Presses:  http://ow.ly/vMnAB  @ibelieveinstory

Promo No-Nos for Authors: http://ow.ly/vMnqC  @kgmccullough

Is Norway Paradise for Publishers?  http://ow.ly/vMo73  @pubperspectives @DennisAbrams2

How to write a novel if you’ve never done it before:  http://ow.ly/vMsgr  @janelebak

How to Find and Choose a Literary Agent:  http://ow.ly/vMoxu   @WritingForward

15 Ways To Improve KDP � Progress Report:  http://ow.ly/vISQ0  @DavidGaughran

Amazon’s Fan Fiction Kindle Worlds Offers Access to Writers:  http://ow.ly/w0GiL @ZimblerMiller

People are up to twice as creative when they’re walking, study reveals: http://ow.ly/watW9  @MailOnline

5 Ways To Impress A Literary Assistant (Or At Least Not Irritate Them):  http://ow.ly/vY42z @salrowb

All Character, No Plot:  http://ow.ly/vY3W7 @mooderino

Podcasts for Writers:  http://ow.ly/vY3ID  @jocelynk414

Do You Know Your Novel’s Theme?  http://ow.ly/vY4Il @janice_hardy

Why Spec Scripts Fail: Failure To Do Your Homework:  http://ow.ly/vY4xA @stewartfarquhar @scriptmag

What Makes a Good Writer?  http://ow.ly/vY5iS

In Defense Of ‘Difficult’ Books http://ow.ly/vY4nM @huffpost

Plotting With Yes or No Questions:  http://ow.ly/vY6tE @Janice_Hardy

Nonfiction Dialogue:  http://ow.ly/vY4hS @eb_bartels

Author Myths:  http://ow.ly/vY5cK @BlakeBooks

A Simple Hyphenation Rule:  http://ow.ly/vY6qW @CSLakin

Balancing the Business Side of Writing: http://ow.ly/vY6oC @Kathy_Collins

One writer defends being a no-niche blogger: http://ow.ly/vY5l1 @KimUlmanis

Free the Writers! (From Each Other): http://ow.ly/vY6zA @Porter_Anderson @writerunboxed

Hooking Boys on Books:  http://ow.ly/w9xE4

Publishing with a Small Press:  http://ow.ly/vY49V @courtneymauk

5 Warning Signs Your Story Needs Revision:  http://ow.ly/vY4jM @kristenlambtx

10 Best Selling Self-Published Authors: http://ow.ly/vWTJH @TheRichest_Com

How to Become a Freelance Writer in 900 Simple Steps: The Existential Crisis: http://ow.ly/vWUhk @writerscramp1

How to Create a Print Book http://ow.ly/w4bKF @JulieMusil

Rules for mystery writing? There are no rules.  http://ow.ly/w8P0u @JungleReds

How to Make an Audio Book:  http://ow.ly/vWTrx @HazelGaynor

Giving Fans a Good Series Finale:  http://ow.ly/vWTTE @julie_glover

In Defense Of Low-Stakes Storytelling:  http://ow.ly/vWTHi @io9

Self-Published Authors Don’t Need a New Term:  http://ow.ly/vWTXr @brooke_warner

Crowdfunding a Debut Novel – One Writer’s Story:  http://ow.ly/vWUga @nickdaws

Romance Roundtable: – Writing Sex Scenes:  http://ow.ly/vWTFq @EliseCyr

How to Write a Great Antagonist: http://ow.ly/vWTnv @ava_jae

7 Ways to Quickly Write Books (That Don’t Suck):  http://ow.ly/vWTy3

How to Start Your Novel:  http://ow.ly/vWUiV @ChuckSambuchino

‘Game of Thrones’ Author George R.R. Martin: The Rolling Stone Interview:  http://ow.ly/w7FzB @rollingstone

The genre debate: We don’t think of Dickens as a historical novelist:  http://ow.ly/vWTti @guardianbooks

Writers admire star indie authors and follow their craft and promo advice. Do we read their books?  http://ow.ly/w7tMq @Porter_Anderson

Should Editors be Writers?  http://ow.ly/vWTPA @noveleditor

Decline in male readers alarms authors:  http://ow.ly/vVLv0 @guardianbooks @The_Real_McNab

Creating Stunning Character Arcs: The First Half of the Second Act:  http://ow.ly/vVMFp @KMWeiland

10 Things 1 Author Would Like To Say To Young Writers: http://ow.ly/vVLHO @ChuckWendig (lang.)

Mandatory Solitude: Writers:  http://ow.ly/vVB7H @booksthatmatter

Action Too Early in a Book: http://ow.ly/vVLrv @beccapuglisi

A Tip for Avoiding Plot Holes:  http://ow.ly/w4J1J

5 Quotes On Books and Writing From the Old Masters: http://ow.ly/vVzia @johannthors @bookriot

Paulo Coelho: Ignore the Web’s anonymous; they’re miserable:  http://ow.ly/vVxVs @ChrisMatyszczyk

The Best Apps for Any Kind of Writing:  http://ow.ly/vVxx7 @kingthor

When an author should self-publish and how that might change:  http://ow.ly/vVyAZ @MikeShatzkin

Embrace the Tech We Authors Need to Succeed:  http://ow.ly/vVzp3 @Jason_Matthews @JFBookman

Screenplay Review – Demolition:  http://ow.ly/vVA1K @scriptshadow

3 ways to keep your book sales up as eBook sales slow down: http://ow.ly/vVy3i @Bookbaby

Using A Crowd To Create Tension In Your Story: http://ow.ly/w4ONt @SharlaWrites

How Agatha Christie Hooked Readers:  http://ow.ly/vVytT @woodwardkaren

The Bad Writing Advice that Kills Your Success:  http://ow.ly/vVy8a @menwithpens

Writing lessons learned from WOOL:  http://ow.ly/w4bCI @JulieMusil

6 different travel writer personalities: http://ow.ly/vVyKH @MatadorNetwork

Starting Your Novel: The First Choice You Need to Make:  http://ow.ly/w4Oo4 @lesliemillernow

Indie Bookstores’ Great Business Practices:  http://ow.ly/vVxK4 @flavorwire @imjasondiamond

Does publishing’s gender gap affect boys’ reading habits? Chat at #EtherIssue 11 a.m. ET/4 p.m London (now) @Porter_Anderson @scribblestreet

James Patterson On How To Write An Unputdownable Story:  http://ow.ly/vVyex @joeberkowitz

The Writing Process: Get Sh*t Done:  http://ow.ly/vVz81 @rebeccatdickson

How Not to Begin Your Novel (by Julia A. Weber):  http://ow.ly/w3zAb

How to Cross ‘the Line’ and Take Your Novel to the Next Level:  http://ow.ly/vVxAM @Janice_Hardy

Diversity Is Not Enough: Race, Power, Publishing:  http://ow.ly/vVxOU @djolder

10 Must-Dos for Writers:  http://ow.ly/vVzIj @stevelaubeagent

Fictitious Dishes: Elegant and Imaginative Photographs of Meals from Famous Literature:  http://ow.ly/vVxZj @brainpicker

Parts of Story: Scenes: http://ow.ly/vQvFS @woodwardkaren

The power of the short story : 5 reasons we should write them (and read them): http://ow.ly/w3zG0 @IBMartyn

Literary vs. Genre Fiction:  http://ow.ly/vQvC1 @jamigold

The Case for Made-Up Words:  http://ow.ly/vQvZ9 @Sarah_Skilton

Game: How to be a writer:  http://ow.ly/vQwCJ @CartoonKahuna @gaufre @Joypress @paperhaus

Writing is tough–support from others is vital to continuing:  http://ow.ly/vQv9y @marymontanye

Is the lack of reading by boys due to gender imbalance in the industry?  http://ow.ly/w3inT @scribblestreet @Porter_Anderson

What Film Teaches Writers about Editing:  http://ow.ly/vQvpf @BTMargins

How writing fiction helps us confront the uncertainties of life:  http://ow.ly/vQxty @vgrefer

5 Tips for Writing Quickly and Effectively:  http://ow.ly/vQwm8 @workawesome

How Writers Can Work with Game Developers: http://ow.ly/vQw87 @MarkPiesing

Getting Down to Writing: Dealing With Common Issues Preventing it:  http://ow.ly/vQvNe

Finding that Masterpiece Within:  http://ow.ly/vQwQP @DLKoontz

All Character, No Plot:  http://ow.ly/vQv38 @mooderino

Should You Fire Your Literary Agent? 10 Signs It’s Time To Say Good-bye: http://ow.ly/vQxyK @writersrelief

Hate-Reading:  http://ow.ly/vQwhu @SadieStein @ParisReview

The novice’s guide to writing:  http://ow.ly/vQx9R @JFGibsonWriter

Purging Your Writing Fear:  http://ow.ly/vQvxU @beccapuglisi

A writing resource for information on improving your craft–the WKB:  http://ow.ly/vOoiG @DarlaGDenton

A tip for writing strong characters: http://ow.ly/vOEfH @scriptquack

Do Negative Thoughts Give You Writer’s Block? 5 Ways To Cut Loose:  http://ow.ly/vOCaK @writetodone

8 Steps to an Agent, a Publisher, and a 2-Book Deal :  http://ow.ly/vOCmn @DonnaGalanti

Signing A Contract for an Unfinished Manuscript:  http://ow.ly/vODSB @LiteraryMinded

4 Common Attributes of Successful Writers:  http://ow.ly/vOCD0 @NatRusso

4 Kinds of Editors (and Agents) You’ll Meet In Publishing Heaven: http://ow.ly/vODeI @literaryeric

10 Rules of Fiction Writing as Culled by The Guardian:  http://ow.ly/vOE1J @ManRepeller

How to Get More Views on YouTube (video):  http://ow.ly/vODFK @bookgal

Journalists are the least well-read people?  http://ow.ly/vOCOm @guardianbooks

The 10 Worst Pieces of Writing Advice You Will Ever Hear:  http://ow.ly/vODMX @manzanitafire

A character conflict generator:  http://ow.ly/vZFQw @daretoeatapeach

Making it as a Travel Writer:  http://ow.ly/vODqZ @alexleviton

The Translator as Agent:  http://ow.ly/vODC7 @oliviasnaije

7 Reasons Most Authors Fail:  http://ow.ly/vOEAE @SeanPlatt

Good locations for murders in crime fiction:  http://ow.ly/vZ0GZ @mkinberg

Some self-pubbed writers still limiting themselves to printed books:  http://ow.ly/vOCsF @ScottTheWriter

8 Writing Strategies for People Who Say They Can’t Write: http://ow.ly/w0Hb1 @CatClifford

The genre debate: ‘Literary fiction’ is just clever marketing: http://ow.ly/w0H8S @elizedmondson

Follow Through with Your Action:  http://ow.ly/wbLNt @write_hook

Crafting an Ending that Sings:  http://ow.ly/w0GOU @stdennard

Writing Characters that Sell:  http://ow.ly/w0GAE @shalvatzis

How to Write a Novel Synopsis: 5 Tips:  http://ow.ly/w0GfH @ChuckSambuchino

Author Website Checklist: 31 Items to Get Right:  http://ow.ly/w0FSD @fictionnotes

How Traveling Can Inspire You to Write Creatively:  http://ow.ly/w0GaX @write_practice

7 essentials for writing a good novel: http://ow.ly/ @roz_morris

Making Good Characters Rationally Self Destructive: http://ow.ly/w0GrB @bookviewcafe

6 Ways to Enjoy the Editing Process (Seriously):  http://ow.ly/w0GDd @Write_Tomorrow

6 Defining Characteristics of Strong Female Protagonists:  http://ow.ly/w0GvZ @writers_write

How to Write a Novel as a Collaborative Team:  http://ow.ly/w0G79 @AdriennedeWolfe

The Yellow Light Reversion Clause:  http://ow.ly/w0Gdn @HughHowey

How to Write a Great Science Fiction Novel in 7 Easy Steps:  http://ow.ly/w0H1q @io9

10 Great Movies About Writing:  http://ow.ly/w1ywO @ericblairlives

An Editor’s Skill Set: Feedback:  http://ow.ly/w1yVu @changeitupedit

3 reasons hybrid publishing isn’t for everyone:  http://ow.ly/w1yHw @JanetKGrant

Why the German market is important for self-published authors: http://ow.ly/w1ypG @EviChantzi

Making a Good Script Great:  http://ow.ly/w1z5H @scriptmag

How Repetition Weakens a Story, and What You Can Do: http://ow.ly/w1zGn @annbauerwriter

An Agent with 6 Reasons You Need A Literary Agent: http://ow.ly/w1yPM @carlywatters

15 Places to Promote Your Book for Free:  http://ow.ly/w1zh6 @galleycat

For kids’ book author Mo Willems, childhood is an awful time:  http://ow.ly/w1z28 @CBSSunday

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

Hooking Boys on Books

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

This post is written by both Elizabeth the Mom and Elizabeth the Author.  Although the subject of encouraging boys to read is one that’s been important to me for seventeen years, it recently came to the forefront of online debates with the publishing of a report by UK writer Jonathan Emmett.  The report’s findings were covered by industry reporter Porter Anderson in his Publishing Perspectives story on April 22, “What if Boys Can’t Find the Right (Reading) Stuff?”  The report focuses on the gender gap in both reading ability and interest in books, and looks for possible causes.

What I wanted to cover today was primarily ways that we can hook boys (early) on books and reading. Early action is best since it’s too hard to play catch-up after boys have had years of poor reading experiences…and have moved on to gaming, television, and other mediums that get it and target boys. 

It’s important to preface this post with a note that not every boy is interested in boy-targeted books.  And that some girls will be interested in boy-targeted content.  And our end goal is just to have options to foster engaged readers.  It’s called job security for writers.

As another note—ordinarily we think of our girls being shortchanged, as they have so often in the past.  Here is an instance where our boys could be shortchanged…and in an area where we should try for some balance.  As Emmett put it on Twitter: “…we need to offer a menu that caters to wider tastes.”

Potential Factors:

I think that the controversy stirred up by the report, Cool not Cute, was caused by news agencies in the UK focusing on the fact that Emmett mentions gender imbalance in publishing as one contributing factor of boys having difficulty finding engaging books. (Imbalance in publisher acquisitions, reviewing—Porter Anderson shares Emmett’s chart showing gender balance of UK children’s book reviewing, library acquisitions, classrooms, and the fact that most children’s books are purchased for kids by women.)   This is, clearly, a loaded subject.

There may be another angle here—money.  This ties in a bit with publishers choosing books that they feel may appeal to female buyers. Money is usually at the base of many decisions made by publishers…understandable, since publishing is a business (something that’s frequently forgotten).  But I wonder if there might be something of a vicious cycle going on there—publishers/editors aren’t choosing content targeted at boys because they haven’t historically been strong sellers.  But are they slow sellers because there’s not enough out there targeted to boys…and we’re losing them to other media?

But I’m less interested in the root cause of the problem and more interested in how to go about fixing it.  And hooking both boys (who appear to be becoming disengaged) and girls on reading.

My background:

I’ve got a seventeen year old boy who has a preference for boy-targeted books (and also content that appeals to both genders—Hunger Games, Divergent).  It has been tough finding him books and he’s an avid reader who can knock out a couple of books a week.

I’ve got a twelve-year old girl with a preference for girl-targeted books (and also content that appeal to both genders…see above).  She’s an engaged reader—an avid one when she has latched onto a good series.  Since she’s 4 ½ years younger than her brother, I had high hopes of just handing over his (extensive) library to her.  No way.  She has her own personal tastes and good for her.   It has been much, much easier finding books that she enjoys.

My experience:

The hardest part of the process, I think, was picture books and early readers/first readers (books with a maximum of about 1500 words) for my son.  We rarely got books for him in the new release section of the picture book area…we relied heavily on classics—Dr. Seuss, Curious George, Thomas the Tank. Because of the rate we were reading, we went through books quickly and read them over and over.  I had a tough time finding him exciting early chapter books.  I talked to librarians, I quizzed other parents, I pored over websites and book blogs.

When my son was in first grade, I started spending multiple hours a week researching books.  My solution to the problem was to quickly advance his reading level (spending many more hours with him—reading to him and listening to him read) so he could have more choices.  I could afford to make the time and had the passion for encouraging reading for both my children—but what happens to children when parents can’t make the time?

What we can do:

What the industry can do:  I think the best thing the industry can do is to be aware of the problem.  As gatekeepers, open up the playing field to content that target both genders and provide a wider variety of books to appeal (early) to children with many different interests.

What writers can do: Although the market for books for the very young and young reader (picture books, some early readers/early chapter books) are still very tied to traditional publishing…self-publishing has really widened the field in terms of selection for middle grade and teenage boys. Perhaps it can do the same with early reading. There are no gatekeepers there but readers.  Writers who are looking for a niche that hopefully has the potential for tremendous growth (assuming we can hook boys on books)—and a field that’s wide open compared to other, more competitive markets—should consider boy-targeted material.  Visibility equals success in this business, and this would be a way to stand apart from the pack.

There are interesting ideas for writers in this study , which provides a bit of market research for anyone interested in writing boy-targeted picture books…or picture books for girls who also enjoy these elements. There will most definitely be boys who are not interested in the elements listed below.  But those readers can find ample material on the shelves that exclude it.  The point here is that these are components that are found in other media that have the ability to hook boys…and are scarce in many picture books:

Combat and violence (clearly, this would need to be age appropriate…and may even include cartoon violence that so many of us related to in other media… Bugs Bunny, for instance).

Technology

Peril and threat

Irredeemable villainy

Male protagonist

Rude humor

Cut out the Cute

For further explanation of these elements (and for space considerations for this post), check out Cool Not Cute.

What parents can do:

Find periodicals in a variety of different subjects:  We started with “Ranger Rick.”  Then we checked out other periodicals from the library to see what he liked—even magazines like “Popular Science” and “Popular Mechanics.” I also had the newspaper open on the breakfast table…there would always be at least one story in the paper that would be interesting to a kid, even if it was in the sports section.  And the funnies have always been popular.

Make light reading available. Garfield, Peanuts and other comic books on the table at breakfast and afterschool snack time. Graphic novels of classics were good intros to the classics: Moby Dick, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Beowulf.

Avoid being critical of reading choices our child makes at the school library.

Find elementary reading material with a lot of books in the series—like Magic Treehouse, which appeals to both girl and boy readers.

 Experimenting with genres on sites like Amazon or at the library. Experimenting with both digital and print, classics and contemporary, literary and graphic novels. I looked at it as throwing spaghetti at a wall…I wanted to see what stuck.

Choose audiobooks to accompany a hard copy of the book …an exciting title and a grade level ahead.

Consider ebooks if some covers are marketed to girl readers…if boys don’t see the cover marketing, they frequently do still enjoy the book.  Which goes to show again how important cover art can be in terms of promo.

Work with children to improve reading skills.  There are more options for boys as they get older.  My son and I read together and separately. He used audiobooks and followed along during long car rides and commutes to increase proficiency.  Then, finally, we had the good stuff that he longed to read: Tolkien, Lewis. I threw some Treasure Island and Black Stallion at him. He also read The Secret Garden—a “quiet” book, but which a strong and charismatic supporting boy character.  And I put contemporary writers like Brian Jacques in front of him: his Redwall series resonated with him in elementary school. And Rick Riordan.  Harry Potter was a Godsend.

  Our library had a great blog (still does) for boy readers: Boys Rule! Boys Read!  There are many blogs out there.  Here are some: The Book Zone (For Boys),  Boys Read,  Guys Read , and Guys Lit Wire.

If you find a book or series that appeals to your child, plug it into Amazon, even if you get it at the library. Then you use their algorithm to find similar books. You can also search Goodreads’ lists (Goodreads is a bit scary if you’re a writer, better if you’re going in as a reader/parent of a reader), and sites like What Should I Read Next.

Accommodate reading. Help your child set aside time for reading.  Make it a priority.

Understand that tastes change.  One year talking animals might work well, another year it might be zombies. Make different material available and take notice if reading starts slacking off.

Understand that younger kids need our help to access good books.  Maybe older ones, too.  A targeted search in the genre that most interests your child and choosing a book that’s well reviewed by young people increases your chances that it will be a good match.

Read in front of your children. By modeling reading for our kids (especially dads for boys), our children can see the enjoyment and value we place on reading.

My hope is that this post will help some parents find ways to introduce and hook their boys (girls too) on books or help them think of their own ways to do so.  I’m also hoping to draw attention to the importance of a variety of content for both girls and boys and ensure books (or some embodiment of them in one format or another) stay relevant to the next generation.

So…lots of material and information here.  What’s your own experience as a parent, of either gender? What are your thoughts on the material available for today’s boys?  Tips for hooking young readers early?  Read Porter Anderson’s article or Jonathan Emmett’s report?  Thoughts on them?

Image: MorgueFile: mzacha

The post Hooking Boys on Books appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

A Tip for Avoiding Plot Holes

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

As I’ve mentioned before, I have a love-hate relationship with outlining.  For me and the speed with which I’m writing, it’s become a necessary evil. But I dislike it.

I dislike it enough to happily deviate from my outline whenever I feel like it.  And frequently, the story is better when I do.

The only thing is that my outlines don’t have any plot holes in them (at least, they haven’t so far) and my deviations do. 

I deviated way off course on Monday and killed a character that wasn’t the intended victim in my outline (the outline, sadly, that was approved by my editor at Penguin.  I’m hoping this deviation will be okay.)  I felt as if the choice of victim was better and opened up more possibilities.

But then, as I wrote, I realized I’d written myself into a whole slew of plot holes.  Plot holes, if you’re new to this, are spots in your story that just don’t add up.  Sometimes they’re in there as a plot contrivance by the author, sometimes they’re just accidental.

When I realized the sheer volume of plot holes I was unearthing, I made sure to ask myself questions as I went along.  Actually, I only asked myself one question: why.  That’s how I got out of all the messes I made (well, so far.  I’m sure I will create more because I’ve come up with this deviation on page 207 and I’m sure it’s created some issues earlier in the book).

So here’s how it went for me (and there shouldn’t be any major spoilers here…but if you’re a reader, this book comes out next year and so….)

The victim’s death looks like suicide, but it’s treated like murder by the police.  Why?

The victim went on a walk that morning, but I’d said earlier that it was pouring down rain.  Why did he go on the walk?

The victim fell off a cliff in a remote area and there were no witnesses. Why did the police know to look for him there?

For my own devices, I didn’t want the victim’s wife to be a suspect.  But why don’t the police suspect her when spouses are the usual suspects?

Once I came up with all the answers, I’ll be able to go back in and fill in the holes.

Sometimes I don’t catch them all, and this is another reason why editors are so valuable—both for traditionally published and self-published writers.

How do you spot your plot holes?  Are you an outline deviator, too?

Image: MorgueFile: Gracey

The post A Tip for Avoiding Plot Holes appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Keeping Motivated By Focusing on Today

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

By now in North Carolina, we usually have average daily temperatures in the lower 70s and sunshine more often than not.

It’s been a very strange winter and spring in the US.

We did have a spate of spring-like weather last week for a short time.  Since I’ve been feeling a little daylight deprived, I decided to go outside and do some gardening.  Actually, it was more like “yard work” since “gardening” to me denotes doing something light and airy with flowers.  This was work where I somehow ended up getting filthy and had to mop and vacuum my floor later because I’d tracked in. 

It was wonderful to be outside, though.  I pulled weeds in two large beds, laid newspaper down in the beds for a weed barrier, then put some pine needles on top.  Filled my birdfeeders, then used my shovel on some spots where weeds were trying to invade the bushes.

I looked back on what I’d done and thought: “This looks amazing.  So much better than it did before I started working.”

Then I made the tremendous mistake of plopping down in a chair on my patio and studying the bushes on the far side of the yard.  There was some sort of mysterious vine that seemed intent on taking over the bushes—and the vine stretched from one end of the fence to the other.  Where on earth had it come from? Did it have something to do with the odd weather we’d been having?  It wasn’t honeysuckle, it wasn’t poison ivy (the two leafy offenders I usually see in my yard)—it was some sort of alien vine form.

Suddenly, the hour or so of work that I’d done in the yard was completely forgotten.  The success and accomplishment I’d felt in the yard was gone.  I  decided I’d just been kidding myself—there was so much more work to do. That I’d never be done.

And it occurred to me that I’d felt this way before.  Many times, actually.  It’s the way I feel when I allow myself to think too much beyond each day’s writing session.

I’ve  blogged on the danger of getting ahead of ourselves (hubris) when our writing is going really well.  But this is really a more pervasive problem for writers, I think—the danger of not resting on our laurels for just one day without worrying about all the pages and all the revisions to come.  That sense of total overwhelm that we get if we do think about it.

I’ve found, with my writing, that things go so much better for me and I stay much more motivated if I take my goals one day at a time.   It’s been a busy week here—my kids have been off for spring break (back at school today).  It’s been Easter and we’ve spent time with family and I cooked an Easter dinner.  I took my son over break to visit more colleges.  And I’ve met my goals…but I haven’t exceeded them as I’d liked to have done.

Every day, though, I start fresh.  I’m not trying to catch up…just like I don’t need to think I wipe out all the weeds in one fell swoop in my yard.  I just focus on that day’s goals.

And, when I’m done, I try hard not to think ahead to all the future days’ goals stretching ahead of me…all the planting and weeding still to be done.  I allow myself to feel as if I’ve done a good job for that day.  Who cares if I end up having to edit out that day’s work, later?  I’ve done the same for my garden when plants haven’t worked out the way I hoped.  My yard was the better for it, too.  No, for that day, all writing is good because I’ve done it—I’ve filled up my pages and set aside time for it.  I’ll worry about the revising later.

How do you stay focused on your writing task at hand and not get overwhelmed by the work to come?

Image: MorgueFile: Gracey

The post Keeping Motivated By Focusing on Today appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search alengine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

And a happy Easter to all who celebrate.

It’s Only A First Draft:  http://ow.ly/vHDHn @slynberg

For Soon To Be Published Authors: http://ow.ly/vHsIs @RLLaFevers @writerunboxed

Do Big Publishers Make Sense Anymore?  http://ow.ly/vHEdm @wherewriterswin    

Tips for avoiding Stupid Character Syndrome: http://ow.ly/vHECR @janice_hardy

5 Free Amazon Services That Will Help You Sell More Books:  http://ow.ly/vHEvR @pjrvs

5 Reasons Reporters Make Good Writers… Most of the Time ­ http://ow.ly/vISuc @write_practice

11 Stories You Can Start Telling By Dinnertime:  http://ow.ly/vISFh @SeanPlatt

A writer on reading her bad reviews: http://ow.ly/vISZY @sarahbessey

So You Need A Celebrity Book. Who Ya Gonna Call? Ghostwriters.  http://ow.ly/vISh6 @gabrieman @npr

ISBN: Every Novel Needs One:  http://ow.ly/vISrw @wvancamp

Can Your Small Press Book Get a New Life with a Big Publisher? | DearEditor.com http://ow.ly/vISo6

5 Bizarre Scenes You Wouldn’t Expect in Classic Books:  http://ow.ly/vIT9C @LaurenSarner

Query 101: Research, Research and More Research:  http://ow.ly/vITaH

Best Hashtags for Authors to Use:  http://ow.ly/vMpsy

How to choose & work with a cover illustrator of self-published books:  http://ow.ly/vMlrs @IndieAuthorALLi

6 Ways for Writers to Overcome Perfectionist Tendencies:  http://ow.ly/vMkPG @jeffgoins

Why “Balance” in Fiction Rarely Means a 50/50 Split: http://ow.ly/vMoiF @vgrefer

‘I’m in Love With a Writer’: A Survival Guide:  http://ow.ly/vMsxG @AKellyAnderson

Why You Want An Agent Who Reads:  http://ow.ly/vMsqu @carlywatters

The 10 Commandments of Social Media Etiquette for Writers:  http://ow.ly/vMl9x @annerallen

7 Suggestions for Crafting Sound Scenes: http://ow.ly/vMrjR @AuthorMaureen

15 Ways To Improve KDP – Progress Report:  http://ow.ly/vISQ0 @DavidGaughran

Word of Mouth and Blurbs for Indie Authors:  http://ow.ly/vHE56 @stapilus @BookWorksNYC

Publishers Are Warming to Fan Fiction, But Can It Go Mainstream? http://ow.ly/vHDcl @Wired @RaeBeta

Screenwriting: The Catch-22 Agent Problem:  http://ow.ly/vHDwO @scriptshadow

2 Ways To Revise Your Novel (And When To Use Them): http://ow.ly/vHssD @fictionnotes

When and why is violence necessary in a good piece of fiction? http://ow.ly/vHCTd @seanhtaylor

Writing picture books: Tips from the top:  http://ow.ly/vHCdA @childbkauthor

Will Printed Books Disappear? Stephen King Has His Say: http://ow.ly/vHD7a @jonathangunson

The Complete Guide to Query Letters:  http://ow.ly/vHCZ4 @Janefriedman

Writers, stand up for yourselves: http://ow.ly/vHzvH @kristinerusch

On Email and the New Age of Biography:  http://ow.ly/vHCxU @nnimhaoileoin

Can we make our own luck in publishing? http://ow.ly/vVMlS @Porter_Anderson @writerunboxed

A Brief History of Choose Your Own Adventure:  http://ow.ly/vHzqX @mental_floss

Creating Characters Readers Care About:  http://ow.ly/vDudq @JulieEshbaugh

Should Authors Have to “Market Themselves”?  http://ow.ly/vDu5t @kristenlambtx

Motivating Your Inner Writer:  http://ow.ly/vDu02 @mooderino

Creativity is about facing fears:  http://ow.ly/vDu7Z @tannerc

Quit Your Day Job—Become a Freelance Writer:  http://ow.ly/vDurj @livewritethrive

How Book Advances Work:  http://ow.ly/vDu2V @writersdigest

Post-Apocalyptic Clichés to Avoid:  http://ow.ly/vDuht

Resources for finding an agent:  http://ow.ly/vDtXW

It’s Not Just a Book; It’s a Business: Do You Need to Incorporate? http://ow.ly/vovWu @HelenSedwick

How Writing a Novel is Like Running a Marathon (and 1 example how it really isn’t): http://ow.ly/vovry @matthews_mark

Facebook for Writers:  http://ow.ly/vDlsL @rsquaredd

5 Dual-POV Writing Tips:  http://ow.ly/vos49 @ava_jae

Grammar expose–—using ‘they’ for third-person singular: http://ow.ly/vDm9L @victoriamixon

The difference between blogs and newsletters: http://ow.ly/vDm0T @jim_devitt

29 Networking Tips for Live Events:  http://ow.ly/vouBd @trainingauthors

Fail Up: On Creative Resilience:  http://ow.ly/vovGa @JordanRosenfeld

How to Buy a Top Spot on the New York Times Bestseller List: http://ow.ly/vDlO1 @pubperspectives

39 Synonyms for Run: http://ow.ly/vDl3O @writers_write

The Secret to Surviving Non-Writing Days:  http://ow.ly/vDljH @JessBaverstock

Does Facebook Marketing Work?  http://ow.ly/vosBz @SketchStone

Beat Sheets: For Plotters, Pantsers, and Technophobes: http://ow.ly/vB6M2 @jamigold

Is There Such A Thing As A Book That Belongs To Only One Genre? by Peter Higgins http://ow.ly/vDkZl

WordPress: Simple, but Effective Author Websites:  http://ow.ly/vB6JN @fictionnotes

Critical Plot Elements -The End of the Middle:  http://ow.ly/vB68P @Aimeelsalter

Tips for better plotting:  http://ow.ly/vB6qb @johnhornor

Are You Ignoring This Simple Platform-Building Tool? How to Comment on a Blog: http://ow.ly/vB4gl @annerallen

Plot: Five Key Moments:  http://ow.ly/vB31I @TheScriptLab

Kill or Cure: Medicine and Healing in SF/F:  http://ow.ly/vB395  @SteffHumm

Tips for Outlining Your Story:  http://ow.ly/vB42D @SHalvatzis

10 Ways To Up Your Word Count:  http://ow.ly/vB3XN @Figures

Tips on Recording Your Short Stories:  http://ow.ly/vB4cM @NathanielTower

Literary Agents are Still a Good Idea . . . Sometimes:  http://ow.ly/vB3wh @fictorians

First know how to write, before worrying what to write:  http://ow.ly/vB3HF @VeronicaSicoe

Top 10 Central Themes in Film:  http://ow.ly/vB34l @thescriptlab

The Writer’s 8 Tools of Pitching:  http://ow.ly/vB5xu @carlywatters

Why do we like hateful characters? http://ow.ly/vB5qJ @KenLevine

Live conversation on #EtherIssue: the current status of publisher-author relations (11 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. BST–)–Now.

5 writing tools:  http://ow.ly/vB4kG @dottotech

How to Use Foreign Languages (Real or Imaginary) in Your Novel:  http://ow.ly/vB5sU @JulietteWade

The Pit: Where Creatives Fall Into Despair:  http://ow.ly/vB4y8 @joulee

The Art of Lyrical Lying: http://ow.ly/vB3dE @billycoffey @SouthrnWritrMag

Author’s Earnings: Mid-list Print Sales: http://ow.ly/vB5hb @author_sullivan

5 fanfic writing techniques that will help make you a better storyteller: http://ow.ly/vzkJ2 @BothersomeWords

Ad Copy Writing Techniques:  http://ow.ly/vzm94 @StephenHise

Why Should Writers Work With Literary Journals? | Foreword Literary:  http://ow.ly/vzjv0 @BookaliciousPam

Weak Writing: http://ow.ly/vznxn @beccapuglisi

8 ways to know if you have a good agent:  http://ow.ly/vznry @nathanbransford @passivevoiceblg

Tips for writing historical fiction:  http://ow.ly/vzkkj @guardianbooks

Indie Author Facebook Tips: http://ow.ly/vzjgh @AuthorAngelaS

Are publishers and authors still miles apart? Or narrowing the gap? http://ow.ly/vPgJ0  @Porter_Anderson @ornaross

Does Your Cover Need a Reboot?  http://ow.ly/vzk7D @dvberkom @jenblood

5 Keys to Surviving A Successful Revision:  http://ow.ly/vzm46 @ALeighWilliams

Agent Interview with @brandibowles: What Makes Her Accept or Reject Manuscripts:  http://ow.ly/vzmoX @NataliaSylv

How to Write Fast:  http://ow.ly/vzkqM @seanplatt

Generating Suspense Through Conflict:  http://ow.ly/vzlSE @woodwardkaren

Use Zodiac signs to build stronger romantic characters:  http://ow.ly/vOnWc @DarlaGDenton

3 Areas That Suffer in Quantity-Driven Writing:  http://ow.ly/vzknS @jodyhedlund

Tips for character driven writing (and a link to the Proust questionnaire for char. development): http://ow.ly/vzl9Q @NicoleEvelina

5 Insights from Bestselling Authors:  http://ow.ly/vzjRi @jamigold

Epilogues and When to Use One in a Novel: http://ow.ly/vzlE8 @billybuc

Looking for an editor? Check them out very carefully: http://ow.ly/vzlpH @JodieRennerEd

What It Really Means to Be A Serious Woman Writer: http://ow.ly/vyfdB @nataliasylv

Screenwriting tips: 5 ways to write distinctive dialogue:  http://ow.ly/vyd6S @Sofluid

Agent Interview with Sharon Bowers:  http://ow.ly/vyfmy @LoriRaderDay

Screenwriting Tips: How to Approach Genre as You Begin Your Script:  http://ow.ly/vydwG @nofilmschool

A successful writer shares her top tips on self-publishing:  http://ow.ly/vydh4 @CathRyanHoward

Scriptwriting–Christopher Nolan on Memento:  http://ow.ly/vyeFB @LaFamiliaFilm

Freelance Writing–Using Social Media to Land New Writing Gigs: http://ow.ly/vMw1a @ShawndraRussell

5 things every historical romance novel should/shouldn’t have: http://ow.ly/vydKs @ViolettaRand

Editors: How Much (Or How Little) Should You “Rewrite”? http://ow.ly/vye4P @rsguthrie

How Long Should Your Nonfiction Manuscript Be? http://ow.ly/vydDt @nonfictionassoc

Dropping the F-Bomb in YA Lit:  http://ow.ly/vyefy @HeatherJacksonW  @tweetonsisters

The 10 best books about self publishing – a reading list http://ow.ly/vydS0 @standoutbooks

More Than Enough White Children’s Books? http://ow.ly/vyf7T @EBONYMag

Is character sympathy important?  http://ow.ly/vyemN @JordanMcCollum

The Author’s Promise – two things every writer should do:  http://ow.ly/vyf0p @Writers_Write

See Your Book Idea Through the Lens of a Publishing Professional: http://ow.ly/vydYM @ninaamir @thecreativepenn

Writing: How to get it done:  http://ow.ly/vyevg @rchazzchute

Choosing Writing:  http://ow.ly/vydr8

Literary genre: haven or prison? http://ow.ly/vwXnd @ScottTheWriter

10 Ways Pre-Published Writers Can Start Establishing Their Careers Now: http://ow.ly/vwXyf @SarahAllenBooks for @annerallen

Managing File Sizes for Ebooks:  http://ow.ly/vwUUq @JWManus

On ISBNs:  http://ow.ly/vwV2j @stevelaubeagent

The Elephant in the Room: Are You Ignoring Your Story Revision Instincts?  http://ow.ly/vx2Dy @AlythiaBrown

All the links I shared last week: http://ow.ly/vJYwr . All the links I’ve ever shared (searchable): writerskb.com .

The Great E-book Pricing Question:  http://ow.ly/vwWt2 @DavidGaughran

5 Tips for Running a Writers’ Circle:  http://ow.ly/vwUdk @standoutbooks

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

Freelance Writing–Using Social Media to Land New Writing Gigs

By Shawndra Russell,  @ ShawndraRussell

Social media opens up a world of opportunity for us writers. You can create a private Notice-Me List on Twitter filled with publications you want to write for and editors you want to work with, so you can be sure to interact with them frequently. You can show off your work in numerous ways, like pinning published pieces to a dedicated Pinterest board and uploading samples to your Linkedin page. You can list your skills and experience on your Facebook About page.

These platforms give you a lot of means to reach new decision makers who are looking for solid writers. Being active on social media also makes others willing to hire you or accept a guest post because they will have more confidence that you will actively share the piece, which obviously promotes both you and the outlet.

Last year, I was contacted out of the blue by an editor of a new outlet called Society South, who had first discovered me on Pinterest. She liked what she read and my interests and offered me a steady gig writing travel pieces. One of the best aspects of Pinterest is that you can spend a few hours building it out even if you’re starting from scratch, and then you can just go back and pin new published pieces periodically. It’s not the time suck that Facebook and Twitter can be, but the full picture Pinterest gives of your personality along with a board dedicated to your portfolio can lead to unexpected opportunities. Plus, you can comment, like, and repin pins from outlets you want to write for to get on their radar.

This year, I was recommended to the folks behind the new Georgia CEO partially due to my active social media presence. Your goal should be to show editors that they can trust you’ll not just turn in a great piece of writing (that goes without saying, right?), but that you’re also an asset because you will help get the word out about your piece.

And having a robust Linkedin profile has led to numerous headhunters and businesses reaching out to offer me full-time jobs, editorial positions and other writing-related opportunities. Having people seek me out instead of always being the one hustling for new gigs—although I still do plenty of that!—has really helped boost my bottom line.

Another benefit of taking your social media presence seriously as a writer is that if you decide to one day tackle that book, share your advice, or create an online course, you’ll already have a solid network that can help you spread the word about your new venture or, better yet, become customers.

Lastly, consider adding social media services to your list of writing services. You don’t need to have an MBA or marketing degree to provide content for businesses. Coming at social media from a writer’s perspective means you’ll provide useful, well-written content, which will lead to more engagement from their target audiences. Plus, tapping into providing social media services as another revenue source can be very lucrative, since so many small and medium businesses are overwhelmed by social media. While they might not be advertising that they are hiring a social media manager/content creator, a quick glance at their Facebook and Twitter profiles can tell you if they are in desperate need of your writing skills.

How can you up your social media game to attract new clients?

Shawndra is a writer and social media educator for businesses, professionals and college students with the intent of stopping outdated me! me! me! marketing. Her latest works are How to Become a Freelance Writer in 30 Days and 51 Ways to Help Your Social Media Manager Crush It! Read about her services and projects at shawndrarussell.com.

 

Note from Elizabeth:  Thanks for the post, Shawndra–I’ve had quite a few emails from writers asking  how to get started with freelancing…an area I  haven’t explored yet, myself.

In addition, wanted to let everyone know that my next post will be Sunday, since I’m taking a little time off this week for writing and spending time with my kids who have the week off.  See you on Sunday.

 

 

The post Freelance Writing–Using Social Media to Land New Writing Gigs appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Twitterific Writing Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search alengine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

3 Deadly Traps for a Writer:  http://ow.ly/vqpld @jonathangunson @RogerDColby

Writers: Fire Your Guru:  http://ow.ly/vqkxv @rchazzchute

How to Stop Procrastinating and Just Write: http://ow.ly/vqknz @screencrafting

5 Famous Authors and Their Strange Writing Rituals: http://ow.ly/vqptA @saostroff

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

How to Fill a “Hole” on the Bookstore Shelf:  http://ow.ly/vqoEQ @ninaamir

The Ins and Outs of ISBNs:  http://ow.ly/vqop9 @MarcyKennedy

How To Free Up Brain Space And Be A Better Writer:  http://ow.ly/vqoJy @writersrelief

Dysfunctional fathers in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/vGlPN @mkinberg

5 Reasons Agents Don’t Explain their Rejections:  http://ow.ly/vqppT @rachellegardner

Tips for Avoiding Clichéd Characters: http://ow.ly/vqoWp @beccapuglisi

5 Ways to Grow Your Novel:  http://ow.ly/vqp4d @janice_hardy

The importance of writing retreats: http://ow.ly/vDlI1 @WriteToSell

10 Tips for Manuscript Preparation http://ow.ly/vospb @daveBricker

Psychology and Storycraft: Does Your Character Have a Borderline Personality Disorder? http://ow.ly/vDl6D @SkyeFairwin

Writing a Strong Book Description:  http://ow.ly/vos9b @sabsky

How to convert your book file into ePub format:  | Gordon Burgett’s Blog http://ow.ly/vDlRb

Humor and Critique: Don’t Go Bonkers Writing Funny Stuff: http://ow.ly/votAO @ConnieBDowell

The importance of likeable protagonists: http://ow.ly/votGO @CSLakin

The Author Monthly Planner: A Freebie to Organize Your Writing and Marketing Life:  http://ow.ly/votSZ @duolit

5 Ways To Sell More Books On Amazon.com:  http://ow.ly/vDlbC @writeonepub

Facebook for Writers: Gripes, Tips: http://ow.ly/voutH @rsquaredd

Scriptwriting: Straying From the Party Line: How I Met Your Mother http://ow.ly/vDleq @cockeyedcaravan

Stet: An Editor’Â’s Rant:  http://ow.ly/vos05 @pubsmartcon

6 Ways To Get More Book Reviews:  http://ow.ly/vouGr @bkmkting

10 Tips for Avoiding Defamation: http://ow.ly/vosSQ @HelenSedwick

Tips for Print Formatting–hyphenation: http://ow.ly/vDqVO @authorterryo

The Differences: Substantive Editing, Copy Editing & Proofreading:  http://ow.ly/vov8R @writeonepub

What Raiders of the Lost Ark Taught 1 Writer About Storytelling:  http://ow.ly/vnMzA @Savage_Woman

6 Ways You Can Know Your Characters Better: http://ow.ly/vnMJV @carlywatters

The Amateur’s Guide to a Professional Book Package: http://ow.ly/vnMFS @DIYMFA

A Kirkus editor works to clarify their policy on paid indie reviews: http://ow.ly/vnNBm @IndiesUnlimited @KSchechner

What If Literary Agents Don’Â’t Want Your Novel? http://ow.ly/vnMvZ @EmilyWenstrom

19 Things Women Writers Are Sick Of Hearing: http://ow.ly/vnMnD @theferocity @IsaacFitzgerald

The Author/Agent Conversations: Why the ‘Iceberg Theory’ Is Key to World-building http://ow.ly/vnLR8 @navahw @leeykelly

6 Tips for Promoting Books with an Excerpt:  http://ow.ly/vnO8p @AdriennedeWolfe

Drafting Your Novel: Expanding from Within: | Jack Smith:  http://ow.ly/vAWxC

8 Reasons Every Book Needs a Business Plan to Achieve Success: http://ow.ly/vnM9h @ninaamir

Publish or self-publish? Advice for the 2014 writer:  http://ow.ly/vnN8d @Roz_Morris

How To Complete Every Writing Project You Start: Become a Completion Addict: http://ow.ly/vnMf3 @JessBaverstock

Are publishers any closer to digital innovation?  Live chat: #EtherIssue with @Porter_Anderson  at 11 a.m. ET, 4 p.m. BST (Now)

Customize your own rules for revision:  http://ow.ly/vnMUr @TheWriterMag

Why Creative Geniuses Often Keep a Messy Desk:  http://ow.ly/vnN2x

Marketing for You, the Indie Writer:  http://ow.ly/vAVWW  @SeeleyJamesAuth

Cover Layout for Beginners:  http://ow.ly/vnMt9 @cedarlili

Increasing Visibility on Amazon:  http://ow.ly/vnNry

Social Media Book Promotion—–How much is too much? http://ow.ly/vnMR8 @kathyide

How to Handle Rejection: http://ow.ly/vhu6x @WritersEdit

Scrivener Cheat Sheet:  http://ow.ly/vkC2X @ckmacleodwriter

The Publishing Business Plan – 7 Essential Elements: http://ow.ly/vkBcp @ninaamir

Write, Yes. Publish? Maybe. | Richard Levesque: http://ow.ly/vkBKa

Why You Should Get Back to Basics in Your Writing’  http://ow.ly/vkI7T @Janice_Hardy

Marketing Your Self-Published Ebook: A Writer Shares Her Biggest Mistakes:  http://ow.ly/vkABs @HalonaBlack

Is Kindle Countdown the new Free? http://ow.ly/vkCvx @mlouisalocke

Hit the Ebook Bestseller Lists with Preorders – A Guide to Preorder Strategy: http://ow.ly/vkIH1 @markcoker

9 Ways to Grow in Writing Skills: http://ow.ly/vkIpV @jodyhedlund

4 Tips to Using Facebook Events to Their Maximum Potential:  http://ow.ly/vkAAW @trainingauthors

Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing: Self Publishing is Easy : http://ow.ly/vkAAt @deanwesleysmith

Publishers need to think outside the box when it comes to digital:  http://ow.ly/vywEd @HughHowey @Porter_Anderson @DigitalDanHouse

Writing a Strong Book Description:  http://ow.ly/vkBsQ @sabsky

How to Market Your Books to a Worldwide Audience:  http://ow.ly/vkABF @CaballoFrances

The 10 Worst Things You Can Say to a Writer During a Book Launch: http://ow.ly/vkHXt @hollyrob1

Is e-publishing changing the length of a book?  http://ow.ly/vkBXo @IBMartyn

Not Selling Books? Did you do the Math? http://ow.ly/vkCnQ @daveBricker

Freewriting tips and benefits: http://ow.ly/vvwJ0 @mishy1727

Prepare your book for its KDP Select free promotion days:  http://ow.ly/vkCc4 @zackheim

The Bullies Win: Authors Abandoning Publishing Over Online Behaviors:  http://ow.ly/vzmWO @Goodereader

The Bullies Win: Authors Abandoning Publishing Over Online Behaviors:  http://ow.ly/vzmWO @Goodereader

The Bullies Win: Authors Abandoning Publishing Over Online Behaviors:  http://ow.ly/vzmWO @Goodereader

Clichés and Stereotypes to Avoid When Writing Transsexual Characters:  http://ow.ly/vhtpF @calpernia

Writing Process–Developing a Story Idea:  http://ow.ly/vvq9A

10 Commandments for Fiction Writers:  http://ow.ly/vhug4 @NathanielTower

The Creative Benefits of Taking a Break:  http://ow.ly/vht96 @CherylRWrites

The 10 best fictional evil children:  http://ow.ly/vdrcB @guardianbooks

Ask Not What Your Readers Can Do For YouÂ…  http://ow.ly/vhukO @jscottsavage @writersdigest

Different types of horror writing:  http://ow.ly/vdqHl @PubHub_blog

The Organized Pantser:  http://ow.ly/vht5r @joyafields

Tips for Print Formatting:  http://ow.ly/vvrLJ @authorterryo

10 Pinterest Tips for Writers:  http://ow.ly/vhtjt @CaballoFrances

5 Ways to Kill The Descriptions in Your Science Fiction Novel:  http://ow.ly/vhtYk

YAtopia: What to Look for in a Critique Partner:  http://ow.ly/vdr1B

Embracing Our Creative Abilities and Inspirations as Gifts: http://ow.ly/vhtUj @DouglasEby

The Dreaded Sagging Story Middle:  http://ow.ly/vhtnl @tinagabrielle

3 Free Apps for Making an Impressive Book Trailer:  http://ow.ly/vht1e @thewritelife

Different types of bestsellers: http://ow.ly/vdqih @cjlyonswriter  @pubsmartcon

MFA vs NYC vs DIY:  http://ow.ly/vhsTn @jaelmchenry @writerunboxed

Throwing a release celebration instead of a book launch party: http://ow.ly/vvqQt @jaxjacoby @jemifraser

Tightening Your Novel With a Preposition Patrol:  http://ow.ly/vdqNj @Janice_Hardy

The Science of Rejection: With Literary Agent Jeff Kleinman: http://ow.ly/vdq7l @pubsmartcon

All the links I shared last week: http://ow.ly/vvq3l . All the links I’ve ever shared (searchable): writerskb.com

Getting Started Again: Writers’ Tips for When You’re Stuck: http://ow.ly/vdqsY @writeabook

Tips for better blog commenting: http://ow.ly/vvwqp @SpunkOnAStick

Telephone records as clues in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/vvpzn @mkinberg

The importance of secondary characters:  http://ow.ly/vdr7i @PBRWriter

Character Type: Visionary:  http://ow.ly/vdozT @gointothestory

The Skill List Project: Rewriting:  http://ow.ly/vdnXc @jamesagard

4 Essential Tips for First-Time Con-Goers http://ow.ly/vdnG3 @VoiceoverJoe

Indie Publisher: The New Publishing Entrepreneur:  http://ow.ly/vdoZH @ninaamir

Why Writers Need Metrics, Too:  http://ow.ly/vdniP @GeorgeAnders

Prestigious Reviews and How to Get Them: http://ow.ly/vqozr @111publishing

What Is Your Definition Of Success? How Do You Measure It? http://ow.ly/vdoiM  @thecreativepenn

Understanding Character Wounds: A List Of Common Themes:  http://ow.ly/vdoxe  @angelaackerman

A Comic Book Writer On How To Power Up Your Creative Business: http://ow.ly/vqpdl @kellysue @EvieN

12 Inspirational Writing Tips From History’s Greatest Authors:  http://ow.ly/vqotf @hubspot

Presenting to School Students: Top Tips: http://ow.ly/vqoO3 @writerunboxed

9 Ways to Grow in Writing Skills:  http://ow.ly/vqkky @jodyhedlund

1 Writer’s Too-Pratical Maybe-Blunt Advice To Writers:  http://ow.ly/vqold @nataliewhipple

Juxtaposing characters: http://ow.ly/vGnIw @JL_Campbell

eBooks Should be More Expensive, and Other Ideas:  http://ow.ly/vsTzu @thDigitalReader

5 Ways To Improve A Perfect Story:  http://ow.ly/vsTxP @Yeomanis

21 Things 1 Writer Wishes She’d Known Before She Started Writing:  http://ow.ly/vsTit @robin_black

Six Mistakes New Authors Make When Dealing with Agents:  http://ow.ly/vsTQ9

The Arts and Crafts of Writing Fiction http://ow.ly/vsTFe @VaughnRoycroft @writerunboxed

5 Steps for Editing a Novel from the Inside Out: http://ow.ly/vsTsw @JFBookman

The Real Cost of Services: http://ow.ly/vsTmy @ilona_andrews

How not to ask Authors for Favors: http://ow.ly/vsTY3 @Jkagawa

Indie Author Challenge: Getting Books Into Stores: http://ow.ly/vsTTo @Brandilyn

Nonfiction: 10 Reasons to Create a Business Plan for Your Book Before You Write a Word http://ow.ly/vsTLa @ninaamir

Why some people make money writing and others never will:  http://ow.ly/vsTux @menwithpens

1 writer’s take on conventions:  http://ow.ly/vsCy9 @trpthroughmymnd

Why We Need Writing Buddies:  http://ow.ly/vsU59 @diymfa

Scrivener Review: Is it the best book writing software? http://ow.ly/vsTN2 @standoutbooks

Are We Entering a Golden Age of the Second Novel? http://ow.ly/vsU3p @The_Millions

Public Domain True or False: http://ow.ly/vGxOc @HelenSedwick

Writers You Want to Punch in the Face(book): http://tinyurl.com/qes2mck @rebeccamakkai @pshares

15 favorite books about libraries and librarians:  http://ow.ly/vwVhi @bookpage

How to Be a Publishing Authority in One Step: http://ow.ly/vwXsb @JanetKGrant

Nonfiction: 3 Things Successful Self-Pubs Do Well:  http://ow.ly/vwUxW @CarlaJDouglas

Getting Your Book Out There: Distribution Options for Indie Authors | Wise Ink’s Blog:  http://ow.ly/vx2rq

5 Plotting Mistakes New Writers Make (and How to Avoid Them):  http://ow.ly/vwVH7 @DonnaCookAuthor

An Editor’s List of Novel Shortcomings:  http://ow.ly/vwUKq @jamesscottbell

Getting Rejections? Tips for What To Fix:  http://ow.ly/vx2il @inkstainsclaire @writing_ie

5 Tips for Running a WritersÂ’ Circle:  http://ow.ly/vwUdk @standoutbooks

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