Riley Adams's Blog, page 139

Ask Questions to Find Your Story

 by C. S. Lakin, @CSLakin

I ask a lot of questions in my line of work as a professional manuscript critiquer and copyeditor. Sure, I also give a lot of suggestions and fix badly constructed sentences. But it’s the questions that get to the heart of the story. Asking authors questions helps them get thinking about what they’re writing and why.

So much important information seems to be missing in so many novels—especially first novels by aspiring authors. Novel writing is tricky; there are countless essential components that all need to mesh cohesively. To me, the key to reaching that goal is to ask a lot of questions.

Questions Create Story

Starting a novel is asking a question. What if . . .? What would someone do if . . .? What if the world was like this and this happened . . .? Then those initial questions lead to more questions, which shape and bring life to characters and story. Questions are the key.

Thousands of hours of critiquing and editing has led me to notice that there are some questions I seem to ask a lot. Which tells me there are some general gaps that many writers have in common in their novel-constructing process. I thought I’d share these questions, because maybe they’ll help you as you work on your novel.

1) Where is this scene taking place? I shouldn’t have to ask this, right? The writer is thinking, Isn’t it obvious? I know where this scene is taking place.

It may surprise you to know that readers can’t read your mind. The biggest problem I see in novel scenes is the lack of sufficient information to help the reader “get” where a scene is taking place. Just a hint of setting, shown from the character’s point of view, can do wonders. And what’s usually missing is not just the locale but the smells and sounds, a sense of the time of day and year, and exactly where in the world it is.

2) How much time has passed? So many scenes dive into dialog or action without clueing the reader in on how much time has passed since the last scene. Scenes needs to flow and string together in cohesive time. It’s important to know if five minutes or five months has passed, and it only takes a few words to make that clear. Don’t leave your reader in confusion—that’s a bad thing.

3) What is your character feeling right now? This is a biggie. It alternates with “How does your character react to this?” So many times I read bits of action or dialog that should produce a reaction from the POV character, but the scene just zooms ahead with said dialog or action without an indication of what the character is feeling or thinking. For every important moment, your character needs to react. First viscerally, then emotionally, physically, and finally intellectually. If you get hit by a car, you aren’t going to first think logically about what happened and what you need to do next. First, you scream or your body slams against the sidewalk and pain streaks through your back. Keep this adage in mind: for every action, there should be an appropriate, immediate reaction. That’s how you reveal character.

4) What is the point of this scene? This is a scary question. Not for me—for the author. Because if there’s no point to a scene, it shouldn’t be in your novel. Really. Every scene has to have a point—to reveal character or plot. And it should have a “high moment” that the scene builds to.

5) What is your protagonist’s goal for the book? If she doesn’t have a goal, you don’t really have a story. The reader wants to know your premise as soon as possible, and that involves your main character having a need to get something or somewhere, do something or find something. That goal should drive the story and be the underlayment for all your scenes. That goal is the glue that holds a novel together. It may not be a huge goal, and in the end, your character may fail to reach that goal—you’re the writer; you decide. But have a goal.

I actually ask a whole lot more questions than these. And many are just as important to crafting a powerful novel. I’ve found when writing my own novels that if I just keep asking questions—the right ones—I’ll find just the right answers for that story.

If you can get in the habit of continually asking questions as you delve into your novel, you may find it will lead you to the heart of your story.

 C. S. Lakin is a multipublished novelist and writing coach. She works full-time as a copyeditor and critiques about two hundred manuscripts a year. She teaches writing workshops and gives instruction on her award-winning blog Live Write Thrive. Her new book—Say What? The Fiction Writer’s Handy Guide to Grammar, Punctuation, and Word Usage—is designed to help writers get a painless grasp on grammar. You can buy it in print here or as an ebook here.

 Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

 

The post Ask Questions to Find Your Story 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 engine(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.

Again, still struggling with downloading my scheduled tweets so my apologies for any repeats, missed links, etc.  Hoping HootSuite can fix this issue soon.

Have a great week!

Books Become Decoration As E-Readers Take Over  http://ow.ly/toVn1 @NewYorkObserver

10 Pro Tips for Writers Using Social Media:  http://ow.ly/toWfr @mattpetronzio

What If the Writers Don’t Listen to Editorial Direction? http://ow.ly/tnKtd @ErinMFeldman

Backmatter: Are You Making the Most of Your Digital Shelf Space? http://ow.ly/tnKtP @courtneymilan

Traditional Publishers Forming Communities:  http://ow.ly/toTfp @marygkeeley

10 Reasons Why Living the Writer’s Life Will Drive you to Drink:  http://ow.ly/toVW9  @DanaLeipold

Is Outlining for Hacks? http://ow.ly/toT7h @mythicscribes

How many characters should a novel have? http://ow.ly/tnKb2 @standoutbooks

GoodReads Strategies to Increase Sales: http://ow.ly/tnJH0 @christinenolfi

Marginalia: The Meaning in the Margins:  http://ow.ly/toSdk @fullstopmag

How to Organize Writing Ideas Using Binders:  http://ow.ly/tnJSd @theWritingHabit

Is the literary world elitist? – Salon.com http://ow.ly/toXQL@magiciansbook

A Newbie’s Guide to Self-Publishing: http://ow.ly/toSqY @JulieMusil

An eye-opening publishing report–and a call for writers to organize:  http://ow.ly/tB2qK @HughHowey @Porter_Anderson

How to Become a Frighteningly Good Writer:  http://ow.ly/toWkz @DavGit

Overcoming Object Love: How to Write Female Leads Who Are People: http://ow.ly/toX3j @_RobbieBlair_

5 Big Screenwriting Mistakes, 5 Big Fixes:  http://ow.ly/toVyu @Scriptshadow

5 Suggestions to Create an Opening That Works:  http://ow.ly/tnKev @lesliemillernow

Ebooks, Paper Books, or Both: Finding the Solution that is Right for You | Wise Ink’: http://ow.ly/tl8aX

Why You Should Throw a Wrench In Your Editing Routine http://ow.ly/tj1YI @michaeldlukas

The Best Quotes From Oscar Wilde on Writing and Creativity: http://ow.ly/tl6QC @hubspot

The best fiction featuring real writers:  http://ow.ly/tl923 @guardianbooks

Best Bookstores In The World 2014:  http://ow.ly/tl7v7 @businessinsider

How to create value with a new thing (book apps):  http://ow.ly/tl8A4 @fakebaldur

Ask The Agent: How to Perfect Your Pitch & The Low-Down on Agency Assistant Salaries:  | LitReactor http://ow.ly/tl77g @breeogden

4 Questions Every Book Proposal Must Answer (to Interest an Editor!): http://ow.ly/tl9d6 @PubSmartCon

The 6 Commandments of Starting the Editing Process:  http://ow.ly/tl6Z5 @Bpoelle @rahdieh

Amazon’s 100 books you need to read to live a literary life: http://ow.ly/tj1lB @cbcbooks

The Value of ARCs:  http://ow.ly/tl8PV @alexbracken

6 Quick Tricks to Help You Tighten Up Your Writing: http://ow.ly/tl72e @livewritethrive @ADDerWORLD

Let This Periodic Table Of Storytelling Destroy Your Writer’s Block:  http://ow.ly/tl7j6 @Gizmodo

6 Steps to Effective Writing:  http://ow.ly/tl6Ol @SAlexM23

Writer’s Block, Deconstructed:  http://ow.ly/tl9hl @lesliemillernow

A Tiny Scrap of Paper Offers a Glimpse Into Jane Austen’s Inspiration: http://ow.ly/tl8Fn @RachelNuwer @SmithsonianMag

What is story filler and how much is necessary? http://ow.ly/tl6AN @standoutbooks

4 Questions to Ask About Each Draft: http://ow.ly/tj26H @LizColeyBooks

7 Top eBook Blog Tour Sites:  http://ow.ly/tj1dZ @gpstberg

Writing Space + Writing Routine = Progress:  http://ow.ly/tq2fA @jeannevb @scriptmag

How to Create a Navigational Table of Contents in Your Ebook : http://ow.ly/tq2jQ @lisaSmason

5 Ways To Fall In Love With Your Character: http://ow.ly/tq2n1 @writermya

Supplementing Your Publisher’s Efforts: What You Can Do to Support Your Book http://ow.ly/tq2r8 @ElisabethWeed @writerunboxed

Passive Marketing (Discoverability):  http://ow.ly/tq2vi @kristinerusch

Nonfiction: What You Should Know About Traditional Publishing Deals: http://ow.ly/tq2EN @NonfictionAssoc

The Inciting Incident vs The Call To Adventure:  http://ow.ly/tq2NC @woodwardkaren

How To Help An Author (Beyond Buying the Book):  http://ow.ly/tq2ZP @jenmalonewrites

Diagnosing Problem Stories http://ow.ly/tq39l @janice_hardy

Writing Female Characters & Archetypes:  http://ow.ly/tq3d1 @dannymanus. @scriptmag

When Famous Author Promos Backfire:  http://ow.ly/tq3jW @PegBrantley @LJSellers

Tips for increasing Twitter engagement: http://ow.ly/tq3ql @davgit

6 mindsets you have to dominate to become a freelancer: http://ow.ly/tq3xq @kotyneelis

The Biggest, Most Beloved Screenplays With the Simplest Mistakes http://ow.ly/tq3L6 @Eat_Sleep_TV @rejectnation

When starting with self-pub isn’t satisfying:  http://ow.ly/tq40G @HughHowey

Scam-Spotting 101 | Indies Unlimited http://ow.ly/tq4au

Write Your Novels Faster: Quickly Editing and Proofing Your Novel:   http://ow.ly/tresh @gpstberg

People-Powered Publishing Is Changing All the Rules http://ow.ly/trcoz @amymaeelliott @mashable

How to Cope If You Physically Can’t Write:  http://ow.ly/trcz0 @zoeyclark

Why Gut Feelings Are a Writer’s Secret Weapon: http://ow.ly/trcJc @KMWeiland

Tips for those struggling with New Year resolutions:  http://ow.ly/trdFG @HeatherGKelly

7 Ways to Create a Killer Opening Line For Your Novel:  http://ow.ly/trdIq @BrianKlems @writersdigest

An exercise for finding your voice http://ow.ly/trdOQ @rfwriters

Book Marketing: How 4 Authors Are Finding Success With Social Media http://ow.ly/trdVQ @AndyMeekTN

Key Elements to Writing an Effective Synopsis http://ow.ly/trdXw @JordanDane

5 Tools for Building Conflict in Your Novel:  http://ow.ly/tre5U @jamesscottbell @writersdigest

Fusing Action and Reaction Scenes Together:  http://ow.ly/trebj

Writing a full novel after having sold it on proposal:  http://ow.ly/tregZ  @jennablack

Tying Your Plot Together:  http://ow.ly/treAM @mythcreants

25 Lies About Publishing:  http://ow.ly/trePw @DelilahSDawson

Do You Own Your Copyrights? http://ow.ly/treRB @susanspann

4 Things to Remember Before Crowdfunding Your Book:  http://ow.ly/trf4w @publisherswkly

10 Ways to Get Writing: http://ow.ly/trf7c @HazelGaynor @womenwriters

11 Ways To Become an Early Riser (and Work in Time to Write):  http://ow.ly/trf9O @MissJonesAndI

When to Hire a Professional:  http://ow.ly/tstz9 @SpunkonaStick

How 1 single mom writer is responding to reader demands to write faster:  http://ow.ly/tthsO @authorcassialeo

Why Novellas are Hot and How to Write One:  http://ow.ly/ttgYm by Pul Fahey for @annerallen

How to build a fictional world:  http://ow.ly/ttgeW @TED_ED @KateMessner

How to Get Reviews for Self-Published Books:  http://ow.ly/tthaD @jfbookman

Writing Reality: Using Synaesthetic Imagery:  http://ow.ly/ttjjP  @Raishimi

What 1 writer has learned in the 2 years since his book deal:  http://ow.ly/ttgEq @saskatoonauthor

Why self-publishing is the best choice for non-fiction books: http://ow.ly/ttfIw @amyshojai

Romance Novels Sweep Readers Off Their Feet With Predictability :  http://ow.ly/ttinB @NPR

3 Goals for Every Character: http://ow.ly/ttfTI @mooderino

Manage Your Expectations, Indie Authors:  http://ow.ly/ttfZz @RachelintheOC

8 Character Archetypes of the Hero’s Journey: http://ow.ly/tti13 @mythcreants

Writer Beware:  PublishAmerica Is Now America Star Books:  http://ow.ly/tthfQ @victoriastrauss

Got no writing ideas? Here’s 11 reasons why:  http://ow.ly/ttiPb @mikestiles

Being a writer is hard–whether you choose trad pub or self-pub:  http://ow.ly/tthKN @jimchines

Infographic shows the most common problems in screenplays:  http://ow.ly/ttg4Z @io9

Is that really a publishing offer?  http://ow.ly/ttfMQ @nailyournovel

Nonfiction Submission Tips:  http://ow.ly/ttgz3 @ChuckSambuchino

The Literary Elitism Question | Issues on the #Ether http://ow.ly/tvzrN  @EleanorCatton @Porter_Anderson @magiciansbook

How to Wreck Your Book Club in 9 Easy Steps:  http://ow.ly/tvHLl @PasteMagazine

How to Make Turning Points Drive Arcs and Themes: http://ow.ly/tvHSe @jamigold

Planning to Exhibit at a Book Fair? 15 Tips:  http://ow.ly/tvIgh @111publishing

1 Writer Reports on Spending A Week Getting Up At 5AM:  http://ow.ly/tvIua @sarasaradee @xoJanedotcom

Some readers experiencing issues with Amazon’s review system: http://ow.ly/tvIPq @Brit_Blaise

4 Ways to Become a Better Writer, Even If You’re Short on Time”  http://ow.ly/tvJld @thewritelife

7 Steps to a Successful Signing:  http://ow.ly/tvJwd @amiekaufman

5 Ways We Neglect Our Own Creativity–And How to Bring It Back:  http://ow.ly/tvJVp @janeporter00 @FastCompany

Be sure to keep characters in character:  http://ow.ly/tvKm9 @SEvanTownsend

Making Romance Epic – 5 Tips for Writers http://ow.ly/tvKGF @mythicscribes

Traditional vs. independent publishing: production & sales timelines http://ow.ly/tvKSS @chrisrobley

Tips For A Long Term Writing Career And Writing Historical Fiction With Colin Falconer: http://ow.ly/tvKYm @colin_falconer

Use What You’ve Got—Learning to Write in Bits & Pieces of Time:  http://ow.ly/tvLhp @EdieMelson

How To Market Your Book On A Shoestring:  http://ow.ly/tvLEJ

The Value of Clocking In Time and Words: http://ow.ly/tvLIH @jodyhedlund

Avoiding Bad Punctuation Breaks in eBooks:  http://ow.ly/tvM5n @ePUBSecrets

How Independent Publishers Do More With Less:  http://ow.ly/tvMen @PublishersWkly

Readers don’t need retail/publisher silos and DRM:  http://ow.ly/tvNrO @naypinya

A range of reactions to the @AuthorEarnings report from @HughHowey: http://ow.ly/tCNVS @Porter_Anderson

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

Genre-Blending—Adding Elements of Another Genre to Our Story

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Last year, I received a contract extension for my Southern Quilting mysteries—Penguin wanted two more books. So I knew that the series would last through 2015 and then would be up for consideration again.  I started writing the book that’s coming out this August, Shear Trouble.

I was about to work on subplots for the story when I got an email from a reader in South America. She’s what many writers call a “True Fan.” True Fans have been defined by former Wired editor Kevin Kelly as:

“A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.”

It’s said that you only need 1000 True Fans to be a long-term success.  So when True Fans write me (and frequently, they’re the only ones who write me), I pay attention.  She said some nice things about my books, being extremely specific about the elements she liked.  And then she stated that “it feels that it’s time for Beatrice to start dating Wyatt.”

Beatrice is my sleuth, my protagonist in the Southern Quilting mysteries and her friend is Wyatt.  I have been moving their relationship along very slowly.  I don’t consider myself particularly adept at writing romance and I’d originally thought of their story as a subplot that was somewhat incidental to the mysteries.  But my editor keeps reminding me that, as writer Jeff Cohen put it, the “The crime is the bait; it’s what Alfred Hitchcock called “the MacGuffin,” something the people in your book are desperate about but the reader should find secondary. Your characters are first.”

This was the first of a couple of messages I received from readers regarding Beatrice and Wyatt.

So…I needed a subplot.  My readers wanted a romance.  I set about figuring out how to make it work and making sure that it would work so that it would be the best thing for the story. I’d uncovered some interesting posts in the past on genre-blending.

Writer Nicola Morgan had three questions to ask when considering genre-blending:

1. Are the lovers of one genre likely to want to read the other genre at the same time?

2. Is it possible that many lovers of one really don’t like the other? Enough to be put off?

3. And, if so, are the dissenters likely to scupper the chances of your cross-genre book by simply not buying it?

Mystery and romance are commonly mixed together—in everything from police procedurals to cozy mysteries, so no problem there. And readers were clearly asking…actually asking, yes…for this subplot to proceed.

Writer’s Digest also had a helpful article by writer Michelle Richmond: “How to Write and Sell a Cross-Genre Novel.”  Her three points:

“Recognize your primary genre—and use it as your compass.

Draw on your strengths as a writer, regardless of genre.

Create characters that defy genre conventions.”

So I knew my strengths as a writer and I knew what I was experienced at writing.  I was interested in branching out a little and didn’t mind trying something new as long as it didn’t mean I was going to fall on my face while doing it or ruin a mystery.

That’s when I decided to, yes, have the characters start functioning as a couple—but also use that relationship as a way to build tension and conflict and even humor into my story.  That’s what I’m better at writing. That’s what I was more confident I could pull off.

I wrote in the subplot and turned the manuscript over to my editor.  I’m curious to see if she thinks what I wrote worked—I did end up feeling good about it and how the storyline meshed with the mystery.  Ultimately, it will be up to the readers to decide if I hit all the right notes.

I honestly think that most books do genre-blend…at least to a small degree.  What elements of other genres have you added to your books?  How did you integrate them seamlessly into your story?

 

The post Genre-Blending—Adding Elements of Another Genre to Our Story appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Choosing Our Mystery’s Murderer

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Mystery writers that I’ve met tend to fall into a couple of different groups—writers who have picked their killer before they start writing their story (or early in their draft) and those who decide by the end of the book who the killer will be.

I’m a fan of picking my murderer at the end of the book.  The only problem is the fact that I’ve (fairly recently) started outlining. When I outline, I lay out the murderer…but I leave it open to change.  For my Penguin books, however, the outline goes to my editor so that she has an opportunity to weigh in.  I’ve changed the killer a couple of times for my editor and once I dramatically changed a character’s personality and manner in order to keep the character as the murderer.

My editor and I agree that we want the murderer to be a surprise to as many readers as possible.  Although some readers always seem to guess the killer’s identity.

My considerations when choosing the murderer:

Will the readers guess this killer easily?

Does this choice make sense?  Is the motive believable enough?

Are there enough clues pointing to this choice to keep the mystery fair?

Does this character play a big enough role in the book to make the mystery fair?

Even if the answers to one or more of these questions is no, I might venture ahead with my plan—but I’d make revisions to make it work. I can ramp up the motive or add an additional motive.  I can tweak the character’s personality to make it seem as though he has a quick temper or is especially sensitive to criticism, or is overprotective of family members. I can add clues and distract from those clues. And I can add scenes to make the character play a larger, more vital role in the story.

I’ve usually already included one surprise earlier in the book—I murder the most likely suspect halfway through the book.  Out of my 4 or 5 suspects, one ends up dying and another will be the murderer. I throw out red herrings to suggest other suspects as the murderer and work to make the red herrings fair instead of frustrating. I have the sleuth recognize them as false leads before going on too long.

Another (large) red herring can be made by misstating the true motive in the case.  Maybe your sleuth has been focused on financial gain but the real motive is revenge. Or a crime of passion.  Or misplaced self-defense.  This can be a useful way to distract attention from your murderer.

Reasons I’ve changed a murderer for my editor:

I changed the murderer once because my editor felt the killer (the victim’s husband) was the most-likely choice. Sadly, in real life most people are killed by those closest to them.

I’ve changed a murderer once because my editor felt the character was too unlikeable…and that readers would guess she was the killer because they wanted her to be the killer.

It might sound difficult to have to change the killer (especially in a completed draft, which I’ve done on several occasions), but it isn’t.  After all, all the suspects have equal motive, means, and opportunity…I just shift elements around so that the red herrings become clues. And, for that to happen, I need to drop the clues more carefully than I did the red herrings. So I might have a distraction occur in the scene right after placing the clue—maybe there’s an argument between two other characters. Maybe the sleuth immediately discovers a red herring that she thinks is much more important than the real clue she just stumbled across.  Maybe there’s even another dead body.  At any rate, switching the killer is a pretty easy fix.

If you write mysteries, have you ever changed the murderer’s identity?  How do you select the killer for your books?

Image: MorgueFile: Pippalou

The post Choosing Our Mystery’s Murderer appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

When to Hire a Professional

by L. Diane Wolfe, @SpunkonaStick

Self-publishing has become a very attractive venture for writers these days. It’s now much easier to send a book out into the world without the help of a publisher.

When you self-publish a book, you take on a whole new role – business owner. All of the duties and responsibilities of a publishing house now fall on your shoulders. Some of these things an author can do with the proper skills and training. Often time is a big factor, and when you are a one person band, there’s only so much you can do.

It’s important to know when to hire a professional. It can make the difference between a shoddy book and a great book. Because it doesn’t matter how great you are as a writer – if everything else is second rate, no one will buy your book.

There are a few areas where you need to weigh the pros and cons – do you do it yourself or hire a professional:

1 – Editing

The one area where self-published authors need to seek outside assistance is editing. No matter how good a writer, you are too close to your work to properly edit it. Critique partners can find most of the major mistakes, especially when it comes to the storyline, pacing, and continuity. But a professional editor is a must if you want your work polished and shined. There are several levels of editing, from basic line edits to full revisions, and each writer will need to decide the extent of the edit needed.

2 – Formatting

This one comes down to time, money, and the willingness to learn. Basic ebook formatting for sites such as Amazon is not difficult to learn, especially with so many tutorials online. Smashwords also has a great style guide for their site, although it’s easy to mess up their strict formatting requirements. With ebooks, you have to decide if you have the time to learn to do it right or if it would be simpler to hire someone to format for you so you can focus on writing and promotions.

Formatting for print is trickier, and it’s easy for a self-published author to just do it in Word. But if you want to add a lot of flair to your book, including images, and you want the text properly justified, etc., you’ll need a program like InDesign. Again, there is a sharp learning curve, and the program isn’t cheap. If you’re looking for more than just a basic style print book, you may want to hire a formatter.

3 – Cover Art & Design

Most writers realize that while they are great writers, they are not great graphic designers. If you have training in this area and are really good with Photoshop, you can design your own cover art. What you have to remember is that your cover will be competing with millions of covers – it has to look professional and catch reader’s eyes. And if you want print books, will you be able to create the entire wrap-around design? Professional illustrators and book cover designers aren’t cheap, but they can create a cover that will sell books and compete with the big publishers.

4 – Book Trailers

There are some great tutorials online. Making a book trailer can be very low cost. It can also look low budget if you cut too many corners. As with the book cover, if you are comfortable using the program and are willing to put some effort into it and purchase the images and music from reputable places, then it’s definitely something you can do on your own. But if you couldn’t splice together two scenes to save your life, you might want to hire out. A cheap trailer is not better than none at all.

5 – Promotional Materials

This includes bookmarks, flyers, postcards, brochures, etc. All authors should have bookmarks, even if their book is ebook only. And the nicer the bookmark, the more likely people will be to save it. If you can properly lay one out in PhotoShop, front and back, and with all the information, then do it. Otherwise, find a graphics designer. That bookmark represents you and your book. And it’s even more important that a business card looks professional. You want to make a good impression.

6 – Book Tours

Book tours can be set up through a tour company or you can set up your own. If you are connected online and willing to search even farther to find the best sites, then setting up your own makes sense. Online, it always works best if you have a relationship with someone. If you aren’t connected and are pressed for time, you may want to hire someone to set up a tour for you.

Always ask for references or to see samples of someone’s work before hiring. Make sure you understand the terms, the cost, the timeframe, and that you are both on the same page.

And if you’re doing it yourself, make sure you have the time and tools to do it right!

L. Diane Wolfe

Professional Speaker & Author

Known as “Spunk On A Stick,” Wolfe is a member of the National Speakers Association. She conducts seminars on book publishing, promoting, leadership, and goal-setting. Print and ebook formatting, along with author consultation, are services she offers on her website. She is the author of seven books, including How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now and a NA/YA series, The Circle of Friends. Wolfe travels extensively for media interviews and speaking engagements, maintains numerous websites & blogs, and contributes to several other sites and newsletters.

www.spunkonastick.net - website

http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com - blog

https://twitter.com/SpunkOnAStick - Twitter

https://www.facebook.com/l.diane.wolfe - Facebook

The post When to Hire a Professional 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 engine(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.

I’m hoping that there is no overlap or repetition in this particular edition of Twitterific. I’m having technical issues, unfortunately, and had to switch from SocialOomph to HootSuite for tweet scheduling. And now I’ve apparently broken HootSuite!  The downloading of my archived tweets didn’t work (I have a ticket started with them), so this is my best attempt to reconstruct last week’s activity.

Have a great week!

Isaac Asimov Predicts in 1964 What World Will Look Like in 2014: http://ow.ly/tb2zr @dancolman @openculture

Freewriting for Inspiration:  http://ow.ly/tb3cy @WritingForward

3 Vital Keys to Success as a Writer:  http://ow.ly/tb2Yd @writetodone

A Printable 4-Week Calendar to Use Seinfeld’s Productivity Plan http://ow.ly/tb3Nr

Creating suspense with better word choice:  http://ow.ly/tb30T @RayneHall

Pub Hub: When Your First Agent Doesn’t Work Out http://ow.ly/tb3aw

How to write culinary memoirs  | Examiner.com http://ow.ly/tb3Ez

Structuring Our Lives for More Writing Time: http://ow.ly/tnvkm @PStoltey  @SpunkOnAStick

List of Works — a Motivation Tool for Writers:  http://ow.ly/tb3I3 @MidgeRaymond

3 Years of Self-Publishing, 2 Years of Writing Full Time, and Lessons from 2013:  http://ow.ly/tb3pF @goblinwriter

7 Ways to Keep Your Idea Generation Skills Fresh This Winter | The Renegade Writer http://ow.ly/tb37Q

Hatch a Stronger Story Idea in 2014: 3 Ways to Discover Exciting New Ideas:  http://ow.ly/tb3Ar @storyfix

Ignore rules. Write what you want to write and write it well:  http://ow.ly/tb2Ut  @ann_leckie

5 Futures for Libraries:  http://ow.ly/tb2KP @JohnCFarrier @neatorama

Freewriting for Inspiration:  http://ow.ly/tb3cy @WritingForward

10 Scientific Non-Fiction Books to Fire Up Your Imagination:  http://ow.ly/tb3vY @cloudy_vision

Feedback you can ignore:  http://ow.ly/tb3hw @rfwriters

Script Development for the Beginner Writer-Director – Script Magazine http://ow.ly/tb3kK @kim_garland @scriptmag

Troublesome First Draft:  http://ow.ly/t9GNp @CathyMBuchanan

Author Interview on Smashwords: A Cool Marketing Tool http://ow.ly/t9Mh8 @claudenougat

How Old Is Too Old for a Main Character? http://ow.ly/t9LDs @Huffpost @hollyrob1

Screenwriting: Speed Dating The First 5 Pages: http://ow.ly/t9L8R @medkno

Publishing: Between Revolution and Revolt:  http://ow.ly/t6CCq   @HughHowey @Porter_Anderson @rebecsmart

The Best Writers Workshops in the US:  http://ow.ly/t9GjG @MastersReview

12 Tips for Your Professional Amazon Author Page: http://ow.ly/t9M2a @111publishing

The Dirty, Messy Part of a Writer’s Life | Goins, Writer http://ow.ly/t9M7n @jeffgoins

Your Author Platform: Building the Plane While Flying It:  http://ow.ly/t9JFl @karendodd

Divorcing the Draft:  http://ow.ly/t9GyK @JeriWB

If You Don’t Enjoy Marketing, You’re Doing It Wrong:  http://ow.ly/t9Mmt @DavidGaughran

An author-illustrator team’s troubles with Tor: http://ow.ly/t9KlN

5 Lies We Tell Ourselves That Keep Us from Becoming Great Writers http://ow.ly/t9KWO @thewritelife

10 Foundational Writing Practices:  http://ow.ly/t9JM2 @Wordstrumpet

What Do You Do When Writing is No Longer Fun? http://ow.ly/t9MEU @janice_hardy @PubCrawlBlog

Tool for  SF/F Writers: Stellarium:  http://ow.ly/t9Liw @sfwa

The Ultimate Guide to Proof-reading and Editing:  http://ow.ly/t9GTM @DannyIny

‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Movie Gets Writers and Director | /Film http://ow.ly/t6YEX

The Goal of Writing http://ow.ly/t6YMc @woodwardkaren

Vanity Publishing aka Subsidy Publishers:  http://ow.ly/t723F @111publishing

5 Tips for Editors on Working With Writers:  http://ow.ly/t6ZY1 @bluepencil2

Book Trailers: 4 Tips to Turn Them Into a Successful Marketing Tool: http://ow.ly/t71VP @claudenougat

How to Weave Backstory Into Your Novel http://ow.ly/t71pu @monicamclark

Indie for Indies: Authors and Bookstores Working Together Towards Success: http://ow.ly/t70RM @MunroeChristine @PubSmartCon

Self-Publishing Is Not The Minor Leagues:  http://ow.ly/t6Zuj @chuckwendig

7 Self-Publishing Resources That Have Helped 1 Writer the Most:  http://ow.ly/t6Zj4 @batwood

Best Advice from Amazon on Marketing Your Book http://ow.ly/t6YR6 @claudenougat

2  Questions to Ask for Stronger Character Goals and Motivations http://ow.ly/t6YWK @Janice_Hardy

Pitching Your Ideas http://ow.ly/t6UwY

What Do You Do When Writing is No Longer Fun? http://ow.ly/t6YmQ @janice_hardy

The Scenic Detour to Being a Novelist:  http://ow.ly/t72ar @Kathleen_George @womenwriters

10 Lessons In Non-Fiction Writing:  http://ow.ly/t6YeC @thecreativepenn

How to Write an Effective Press Release:  http://ow.ly/t71yE @DeeWhiteAuthor

The 5 Differences Between Professional and Amateur Novelists: http://ow.ly/t71PZ @CharlesFinch

Augmented Reality Books? New ‘Wearable Book’ Feeds You Its Characters’ Emotions As You Read:  http://ow.ly/t6Yvc @isciencetimes

10 Mistakes Freelance Writers Make and How to Fix Them | wiredPRworks http://ow.ly/tc8TX

What are Indie authors’ essential tasks? – Venture Galleries http://ow.ly/tc8Ti @stephenwoodfin

5 Elements That Make Editors Look Twice at a Manuscript: http://ow.ly/tc8IX @Head_HandPress

Serialization: Pros And Cons http://ow.ly/tc9AE @Woodwardkaren

Is Fantasy Fiction Too Safe? http://ow.ly/tc8TM @Philip_Overby @mythicscribes

Is Christian Fiction Dying?  http://ow.ly/tc9Au @stevelaubeagent

4 Ways to Survive the Copy Edit Gauntlet:  http://ow.ly/tc9zB @ArielLawhon @writerunboxed

Doorways To Mass Readership Of Your Books:  http://ow.ly/tc9b6 @jonathangunson

3 Types of Writers: Need-Tos, Want-Tos, and Have-Tos: http://ow.ly/tc9A0 @KMWeiland

Ebook Pricing: What You Think Your Book Is Worth vs. The Point at Which It Will Make the Most Money: http://ow.ly/tc93Q @goblinwriter

Publish a book while querying it?  http://ow.ly/tc94e @janet_reid

Don’t fall for your own blog posts–tips for better blogging:  http://ow.ly/tc94c @DarinLHammond

5 Ways Authors Met Each Other Before Twitter http://ow.ly/tc8P7 @@clarkaycock

The 10 Best Movies Based on Unfilmable Books:  http://ow.ly/tc8Sq @AtkinsonZero

Are Ebook Subscription Services Worth It? http://ow.ly/tc8Tp

Ebook Boxed Sets: Good Idea or No? http://ow.ly/tc8KS @LJSellers

Creating a Professional Look for Ebooks:  http://ow.ly/tc940 @JWManus

Writing About Reading in the Writer’s Notebook: http://ow.ly/tc9Am @raisealithuman

How Self-Published Authors May Track Readers on Social Media: http://ow.ly/tc95V @conniebrentford

Intense and Marketable Novels? A Simple How-to – by Jennifer Slattery http://ow.ly/tdDs9 @Jenslattery

Exorcise these filler words from your writing http://ow.ly/tdCz3 @michellerafter

Applying Symbols and Symbolism to Screenplays: http://ow.ly/tdCHD @scriptmag

A rejection letter to avoid: http://ow.ly/tdD8z @harryonthebrink

5 Ways to Engage Your Readers on Facebook:  http://ow.ly/tdDJk @BookCountry

WinePress Publishing: Scandal-Plagued Self-Pub Service Closes Its Doors:  http://ow.ly/tdDl4 @victoriastrauss

Edith Wharton: 7 Facts Outside Fiction:  http://ow.ly/tdDxK @InterestingLit

How NOT To Write a Bestselling Thriller:  http://ow.ly/tdDEY @JohnDolanAuthor

What Is Copywriting and Why Should Indie Authors Care?  http://ow.ly/tdCkk @tscopywriter

Productivity: It’s not a mystery. http://ow.ly/tdBOO @WrittenWeb

Things Publishers say (and should say):  http://ow.ly/tdBZi @paulbogaard

8 Ways For Screenwriters To Get Collaborating:  http://ow.ly/tdDuo @bang2write

The Terrible Writing Truth:  http://ow.ly/tdDPP @NickiSalcedo

8 Tips to Get Your Manuscript to the Finish Line:  http://ow.ly/tdC9N @MillerMystery

Creating And Writing Believable Villains: A Tasty Recipe http://ow.ly/tdCgR

How To Use Wattpad As An Author:  http://ow.ly/tdCtz @AshleighGardner @thecreativepenn

Pesky Adverbs or No? http://ow.ly/tdCWA @FrugalBookPromo

Marketing And Readers (Discoverability): http://ow.ly/tdCZn @kristinerusch

What Makes a Romance? 7 tips.  http://ow.ly/tg8Dd @sdwriter

Indie vs. Legacy: What Does The War Mean For You? http://ow.ly/tg90F @ashkrafton

How to Get Reviews by Loaning Your Kindle Books http://ow.ly/tg9nx @ashlorenzana

The Thin Line Between Selling Your Book and Sabotaging it | Wise Ink:  http://ow.ly/tg9sL

6 Pieces of Bad Advice for Writers to Ignore http://ow.ly/tg9vc @annerallen

Herman Melville’s Daily Routine and Thoughts on the Writing Life:  http://ow.ly/tg9zD @brainpicker

Why 10,000 hours of writing won’t make you a good writer:  http://ow.ly/tg9Jr @JanetKGrant

5 Brutal Truths About Book Marketing: http://ow.ly/tg9NT @rebeccatdickson

The real value of TBR lists (that you hardly ever get to): http://ow.ly/tg9QU @rchazzchute

Three Goals for Every Character:  http://ow.ly/tg9St @mooderino

Scrivener: The Essential Writing Tool For Any Scribbler:  http://ow.ly/tg9Wk @artyyah

Backlist Blogging—Why Blogging Is Like Book Publishing: http://ow.ly/tga9i @JFBookman

18 TV shows that will teach you how to write:  http://ow.ly/tgaft @PopMythology

Create Believable Characters — Using Method Writing:  http://ow.ly/tgaxp @WriteToSell

Amazon and Netflix gained prominence by clearly understanding digital’s promise:  http://ow.ly/tgbLS @PandoDaily

How Is Self-Publishing Maturing?  http://ow.ly/tgePd  @ChuckWendig @thecreativepenn @Porter_Anderson

One agent is working with her client to advocate for industry change: http://ow.ly/tlH45  @HughHowey @Porter_Anderson

Grammar is a tool: http://ow.ly/tgeof @livewritethrive

5 ways to stay sane as a writer:  http://ow.ly/tgeGe @LisetteBrodey

Is There a Right Age to Read a Book?  http://ow.ly/sYSNQ @tordotcom

Not Reading Indie Books Yet? You’re Missing Out:  http://ow.ly/sYRNk @RachelintheOC

Top Tips to Make Best Use of A Blog Tour:  http://ow.ly/sZa7w @cupgrease

Want to turn your book into an app? Here’s how to do it:  http://ow.ly/sZ9FR @LauraPepWu

It’s Not Just One Book. Your Rights And How To Exploit Them: http://ow.ly/sZ91I @thecreativepenn

Novels stimulate the brain, even after you stop reading | Arts and Culture | ADN.com http://ow.ly/sZ8ak

How to Feel Confident Sharing Your Creative Work In Public http://ow.ly/sYSUa @LeRegalla

Adverbs and Adjectives are Not Your Friends http://ow.ly/sYSqN @rsguthrie

In Britain and especially abroad, ebooks are booming:  http://ow.ly/sYSun @guardianbooks

How 1 writer submits short stories:  http://ow.ly/sZ6VQ @jamietr

The Secret To Succeeding As A Writer: Having A Criterion For Success http://ow.ly/sYSeW @woodwardkaren

Henry Miller’s 11 Commandments of Writing & Daily Creative Routine: http://ow.ly/sZ79y @brainpicker

Cleaning Up Your Manuscript Can Save You Money http://ow.ly/sZ9wU @CKmacleodwriter

Getting an ISBN for Your Ebook (for Canadian Authors) http://ow.ly/sZ9qz @CarlaJDouglas

16 Classical Music Compositions To Inspire Us:  http://ow.ly/sZ6Jq @CSAlexMorris

6 Keys to Sticking to Your Resolutions | The Indie Chicks http://ow.ly/sYSYR @Xtal_Rose

How To Make Life Easy For Librarians So Your Book Gets In Libraries http://ow.ly/sZ9hZ @uriel1998

“The ethics of publishing”–the need for responsible behavior from both publishers and self-publishers: http://bit.ly/1ec5uLm @fakebaldur @Porter_Anderson

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

Interesting Marketing by Amazon

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Amazon has been in the news recently because of growing pains (shipping issues regarding timely delivery) and other problems it’s experiencing…most notably their possible plans to spike the price for Amazon Prime in response to low 4th quarter profits.

But I’ve been noticing other things—marketing related—that I’ve found very interesting.  And it’s made me wonder if it’s possible to adapt some of our own promo activities.  One program that Amazon has launched that I was late discovering (I had a friend inform me of it) is the Kindle First program.  Basically, Amazon Prime customers can sign up for a monthly email that allows them to choose one of four books for a free download to their Kindle.  The cool thing is that these books aren’t yet released. They won’t launch until the following month.

My friend was amazed by this.  These were all releases from large publishers with the potential for big sales.  Why give them away for free each month?

To me, the answer was easy—to get reviews.  Books with more reviews get higher visibility on Amazon, resulting in more sales.  So, if a book launches and it’s already got 200 or 300 reviews or more on launch day…that can be a terrific sales tool.

How can we replicate something like that on our end, as self-publishers?  Well, to get early reviews, we do have some options.  We can delay a release for the purpose of garnering these reviews, order print copies of our new book, and hold a Goodreads giveaway.  We can hope those folks will write reviews (I’ve had mixed success with this for my Penguin ARCs).  Or we can connect with readers who have enjoyed our books previously and offer them an advance reader copy for a fair review.  These readers should disclose that they received the books for free in the hopes of a review.  The point is that this would be done in advance of the release.

I’m buying lots of books from Amazon.  I don’t mean to.  And as I’ve mentioned before, I’m thrifty.  But I get emails for Kindle Daily Deals and I buy on average 3 books a week.  I’ve always got a book to read.  I read quickly and then move on to the next one.  We can’t replicate the Kindle Daily Deal (or we’ll annoy readers to death if we announce a book special each day), but we might be able to do something with Amazon’s “Promotional Credit” program.

Basically, I purchased the latest Louise Penny book on January 25 and, immediately following the purchase, I received an email with the subject “Your Amazon.com Promotional Credit‏.”  The email stated: “Get a Popular Kindle Book for $0.99.

Purchase a qualifying mystery & thriller book for Kindle and get a credit to purchase a popular book for $0.99. Kindle books can be read on any Kindle device or with our free Kindle reading apps.”

A link directed me to a page that stated:

“If you received an email from Amazon.com with a link to this offer, you have qualified for a credit to purchase the Kindle books shown below for $0.99. The credit has already been applied to your account. Only the Kindle books below are eligible for this promotion – you can use your credit to purchase up to four of them for $0.99 each. To purchase a book, click on it, then click the “Buy” button. Please note that the price shown will not change to $0.99, but your code will be applied to your purchase automatically, reducing the purchase price of the item to $0.99. You may use your code toward multiple eligible book purchases (up to 4 in total). To make another purchase, simply come back to this page and select another Kindle book….Complete your order before this promotion expires at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) on January 31, 2014.”

When I purchased the book, I had no idea it was part of a promotion.  Did I buy a $.99 book from Amazon after getting this email?  Yes, I did.  Again, I’m assuming this is Amazon and either authors or publishers collaborating to get readers of a particular genre introduced to a new author in that genre. And then buy more books at a regular price later.

So, here’s where I wonder if we could somehow set up cross-promotions with other authors in our genre.  Ours would have to be different, since we can’t send emails to readers after their purchases like a retailer can. I know everyone’s back matter in their ebooks is precious space (readers get upset if they think they have 2% of a book left to read, but then find it’s all acknowledgments and teaser chapters and promo).  But what if we offered a discount coupon code for our book in the back of a friend’s book?  Then, obviously, we’d have to either link to our own website or give an email address. We’d fulfill the coupon by sending  digital file ourselves, or we’d need to link to a retailer like Smashwords, which does have a way to promote using coupon codes.

I’ve been hooked by Amazon’s “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” feature for years now.  It’s because the books listed are similar in some ways to a book I’ve just bought (in anticipation of a good read).  Apparently, this is called an “Application Programmable Interface,” or API.  No, there’s no way we can do that.  But what if there were an author, again, who wrote books very similar to ours?  In my case, regional humorous mysteries.  Couldn’t we trade out a “suggested reads” promo with each other?

And finally, there’s the Kindle Countdown Deals, which have had a bit of buzz online lately.  We can’t replicate this, but we can sign up to be part of it. The problem is that your book must be enrolled in KDP Select to do it.  I haven’t chosen to be part of KDP Select because of the exclusivity involved. I’m at the point where I’m making decent income from other retailers now and would rather not rock the boat.  This program does have merit, though.  You get a cool countdown clock on the book’s listing, along with a clearly reduced list price.  And you receive royalties on the regular price. It’s worth mulling over.

I think what appeals to me here are the fact that these are fairly easy, fairly non-confrontational means of getting our books into the hands of readers who may appreciate them.  And no, I’ll likely never get around to this stuff because I’ve not done any promo lately and am slammed with the books and the social media and business aspects as it is.  But it interests me.  Have y’all done any promo like this?  Seen it done effectively?  What do you think of some of the promo methods that Amazon had been employing lately?

 

 

The post Interesting Marketing by Amazon appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Self-Publishing Mistakes

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Tax time is making me a bit reflective this year.  Maybe I didn’t have the time to reflect on Dec. 31st/Jan. 1 since I had a January 1 deadline…at any rate, I’m doing it now.

Tax time also always makes me think of ways I could improve.  It’s great that I’m selling books—but I’ve missed opportunities along the way.

I thought I’d share my mistakes here in case you might find yourself in the same boat with some of these things.  And mistakes are just opportunities to learn, after all.

Self-publishing mistakes I’ve made:

Waiting too long to venture into other formats.  This is a big one, seeing the income I’ve made since July that I could have been making prior to that.  Obviously, there can be some cost involved into moving into print (cover design and formatting, if you don’t do those things yourself) but audiobooks can be free.  I’m a cautious person and basically waited until readers literally wrote me and asked me to put these books in audio and print format. I wish I’d moved earlier on this.

Not reserving my cover designer/formatter in advance.  I’ve had to delay several releases because my cover designer or formatter was booked.  Good contract labor gets booked up fast in self-pub.  Ask early. Now I’m getting my covers done before I finish writing my books.

Giving readers a firm release date for my self-pubbed book too far in advance. Oh, this has bitten me several times now. When it comes to production, stuff happens.  Sometimes people get sick, sometimes they have family emergencies.  Sometimes they’re booked (see above).  Sometimes they have internet issues.  I have learned to add a week or so onto an estimated release date. Because readers will get in touch if the book isn’t out…ha!  And it has an unprofessional feel to it when you miss a deadline you’ve made with a reader.

Not monitoring sales.  Bad idea.  If I’m having a slow month (a year ago, this was the case), then I can run a sale…play with pricing.  If I don’t know I’m having a slow month, then I just get the sad little check 60 days later.

Not monitoring income/profits. Putting all our earnings in the same account as other income.  This is also bad.  If we’re making good income, we need to be thinking ahead: estimated tax payments in advance of tax time, money into our 401K/IRA, maybe have more withheld from our day job or our spouse’s day job.  It’s no fun to pay a ton of taxes unexpectedly.  And I’ve been informed that it’s very ill-advised to put your writing business income into your joint account/regular household account…it just doesn’t look great to the IRS, apparently. So maybe open a free regular checking account or credit union account that you only use for writing-related deposits. You can always transfer funds into your regular account afterward.  And you can use your writing checking account to write checks for supplies, pay contract labor, etc.

Not outlining the next book in the series when finishing one.  With the kind of gaps in self-publishing production that I’ve got to deal with as a hybrid writer (deadlines with the traditional publisher come first), this was a problem I’m now addressing.  It takes far too long for me to get my head back into a series after working on a book in a different series.

Not having a newsletter.  Readers had signed up for years for a newsletter that I didn’t ever send out.  That wasn’t smart.  I finally corrected this last year.  If they are going to our website and taking the time to fill out the registration form for our newsletter…we should send the thing out to them.

Not doing Goodreads giveaways for the self-pubbed books.   This promo thing worked out well for my traditionally published books.  Why didn’t I do it for my CreateSpace Myrtle Clover books?  Still haven’t done this, but need to fix that soon.  It simply means ordering however many CreateSpace books I need for the giveaway and then getting it listed on Goodreads.

No website extras for readers.  I’ve heard reader chatter about other writers’ websites and some of the extras they’ve seen on them.  Hmm.  I just haven’t gotten around to that yet. I did do a preview chapter for one of my books on the website.  It would probably be helpful if I did it for the upcoming book.  This is a static form of promo—you stick it up on your website once and then you’re done. Much easier than some of the social media networking we’re encouraged to do. And the one chapter I put up had readers interested, judging from feedback I received from them.

Not ramping up my self-pubbed content earlier.  I seemed to view my first self-pubbed book in 2011 as a one-off.

Not venturing into self-pub until late in 2011.  Yeah.  Should have been early 2010.  I had a book ready to go.

Not asking for my rights back (or confirming that I did hold those rights) earlier.  The reason I didn’t venture into self-pub earlier (as I mention above) is because I wasn’t sure how to get my rights back to the series or the characters.  The first book was traditionally published, but I wanted to self-publish others for the series.  I got my rights back in a short email exchange with the publisher…took about 10 minutes for me to pen the email and took the publisher about 10 minutes back.  Definitely should have explored that earlier.

There’s always room for improvement…I think last year was also the first time when I realized that this really is a small business I’m running.  I have contract labor.  I have legal and professional help.  I’ve got research and development for books.  There are areas that I’m not good at and I’m either working to learn more/do better with those or subcontract out for the things I really can’t do.

So these are the things I’d advise to keep an eye on for any writers interested in self-publishing.  What tips have you got?

 

The post Self-Publishing Mistakes appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Resources for the Do-It-Yourselfer

by Julie Musil, @JulieMusil

My hubby and I are die-hard do-it-yourselfers. The home we live in now sits on what used to be nothing but acres of wide open dirt and scrub oak. We brought utilities here. We built the house ourselves. Heck, I even helped paint the exterior of our house while carrying my 9-month-old son in a baby backpack. Yes, we’re crazy like that.

Call me psychotic, but I have a hard time paying someone to do what I can do myself.

When I decided to indie publish my novel, I took the same approach. Aside from hiring a freelance editor (A Little Red, Inc.) and cover designer (J. Allen Fielder), I did the whole project myself. In my opinion, editing and cover design are tasks for the pros. Some would say the same about painting the exterior of a house, but we won’t worry about that now :)

I scoured the Internet and blogs for resources. Here are some of my faves:


Indie Author Survival Guide, by Susan Kaye Quinn: Susan’s blog is a treasure trove of information, so definitely stop there first if you’re considering indie. Susan’s post about Making the Leap is what gave me the final push I needed to get my book out there. Indie Survival Guide drills deep into the nitty gritty details of what you need to do to indie publish. Formatting, paying formatters to avoid headaches, which markets to upload to and why, etc. Plus, this book is inspirational. Seriously, start with Susan.
Self Publishing Attack, by James Scott Bell: I’m a huge fangirl of Bell’s craft book, Plot & Structure. I admire his no-nonsense, regular-guy style. In Self Publishing Attack, Bell teaches indie authors how to put out a professional product, and how to treat your new venture as a business.
From Pages ’09 to Kindle Format in Minutes, by Garrick Staggs: I could’ve paid someone to format my book, but I was determined to learn how to do it myself. Sort of the “teach a man how to fish” thing. Most formatting help is geared toward Word, but I use Apple Pages. Staggs’ book helped with the language barrier. And get this—when I encountered a sticky formatting issue, I emailed the author directly (he gives his email at the end of the book for this purpose). He emailed me back and helped me work through the issue. More proof that writers are some of the most generous people I know.
Smashwords Style Guide: A great place to start if you’re formatting your own book. It’s full of useful advice on how to format a clean document. I used many of the tips in this guide until I came to a Pages roadblock. Then I picked up with the Pages to Kindle book.
Building Your Book for Kindle: Additional details on specifics such as uploading your book, previewing your book, and uploading a changed manuscript.
Forums: With every problem I encountered, someone else had already posted about it in a forum. I read the responses and was good to go. For KDP forums (Amazon), click here. CreateSpace forums (print) can be found here. 
Wordpreneur Peeps: 107 Successful Indie Publishers (including Elizabeth!): If you think indie publishing can be overwhelming, or that you don’t have what it takes, I know how you feel. This book features Regular Joe writers, people just like you and me, who jumped into indie publishing. Totally inspiring.


Time is precious. Money is precious. We must use both wisely. Will this psychotic do-it-yourselfer ever pay someone to do all the work for me? I won’t rule it out. Will I ever hire a painter to paint the exterior of my home? Well, my 9-month-old son is now 16. We can paint side by side, don’t you think?

Are you a do-it-yourselfer? Have you indie published? Did you do the work yourself or did you sub it out? Please share your favorite resources in the comments!

Julie Musil writes Young Adult novels from her rural home in Southern California,

where she lives with her husband and three sons. She’s an obsessive reader who loves stories that grab the heart and won’t let go. Her novel The Boy Who Loved Fire is available now. For more information, or to stop by and say Hi, please visit Julie on her blog , on Twitter , and on Facebook .
 

Buy Links for The Boy Who Loved Fire

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Apple

Kobo

Smashwords

Print

The post Resources for the Do-It-Yourselfer 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 engine(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.

Have a great week!

Using Amazon KDP’s New Cover Creator http://t.co/wqrhRrB0xN @nickdaws

7 Essential Questions of Plot— Do You Ask Them?  http://t.co/MauI0e3OXf @JennyHansenCA

Getting Physical: Ways to Make Your Characters Come Alive:  http://t.co/6qkI5L9NoX @RMFWriters

7 Lessons Learned from Half a Year of Writing Every Day:  http://t.co/grXieJRZwJ @jamietr

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Super Bowl Recipe for a Crowd! http://t.co/pBTaQ30I8M @CleoCoyle

Writer of a Certain Age:  http://t.co/ENbgBQUySV @fay_weldon @NYTimes       

How to Write: A Year in Advice from Franzen, King, Hosseini, and More: http://t.co/FLrngrtL4p @JoeFassler @TheAtlantic

Top Social Media Mistakes Authors Make:  http://t.co/R1jrZCk2y6 @ediemelson

4 Things You Must Know About Reaching Your Writing Goals: http://t.co/APL0yz3bVw @carol_brill @womenwriters

3 Ways Authors Write in Excess (And How To Cut Back): http://t.co/D8pDM0ZfX7 @vgrefer

10 Ways to Introduce Conflict in Dialogue:  http://t.co/CjDObGaPOa @amandaonwriting  @writers_write    Why are there so many trilogies?  http://t.co/PP877igURk @jdiddyesquire @tordotcom

The importance of being able to focus solely on our writing: http://t.co/iCKsi4GbMz @flawritersconf @joannetlewis

7 Key Trends Of 2014 That Independent Filmmakers & Screenwriters Embrace: http://t.co/OXlZLGtcnp @raindance

The Magnificence of Middle Grade:  http://t.co/NZY0hqY71F @kellybarnhill

Will tracking reader data make for better books? http://t.co/lpQO7lPiCN  @nytimesbits @DavidStreitfeld

Using Story Beats To Increase Writing Speed:  http://t.co/D0vKtZpJhU @DavidGaughran

A look at happy story endings http://t.co/ZWXWMqez5o @jamigold

Best of Both Worlds: Hybrid Authors Up Close:  http://t.co/WPueUR1Twq @chuckwendig

How to Use Profanity And Other Raw Talk In Your Fiction:  http://t.co/fIRKWRd4r2 @ESimsAuthor @writersdigest

My Tax Time Income Revelations and…Is Writing is the Career We Can’t Retire From?  http://t.co/2MLGL8kstQ

10 Tricks For Writing Great Fight Scenes:  http://t.co/KkJk4VRNUx @raynehall

Crime fiction–instances where sleuths have passed the torch to the next generation: http://t.co/4GCZ7BrQif @mkinberg

Remember to back up blogs, too:  http://t.co/ZfwmbX1Dz9 @womenonwriting

Keeping it Real – Female Protagonists in YA Lit http://t.co/Zjh3ZPwxQz @JennWalkup

Crafting an Effective Beginning: Opening Image or Paragraph: http://t.co/442tsEI7zo @camillelaguire

3 Steps to Reading Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger: http://t.co/03LtP0dRJf @PeterDamien

Why Evil Overlords Need to be Competent http://t.co/jAKp8HfcVL @mharoldpage

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Potato Casserole Revisited http://t.co/RbKOoAtUto @CleoCoyle

Audio Books First – A New Publishing Movement:  http://t.co/3WrmGEsBnw @Goodereader

10 Reasons Our Hero Needs Flaws http://t.co/1Hm750ZFlu @angelaackerman

Publishing: Between Revolution and Revolt:  http://t.co/v3qQUxphJt  @HughHowey @Porter_Anderson @rebecsmart

How 1 writer sold his book through serialization: http://t.co/4qxjnm2sbv @rchazzchute

What makes a book a classic?  http://t.co/A56KCZfWT8 @magiciansbook @salon

How to Write a Novel Based on Your Life Story–10 Tips:  http://t.co/zHpC9SJGqj @helenahalme

What it Takes to Be an Author http://t.co/Y2QfacUNCM @KristenEckstein

A Characterization Case Study: Jean Valjean and Javert from “Les Misérables”:  http://t.co/T79fnGaRyY @vgrefer

The most prolific author you’ve never heard of:  http://t.co/ffiiTHIOuc @melvillehouse

5 Ways to Use Dramatic Irony in Your Writing http://t.co/KsQzNEsboc @JulieEshbaugh

How Can Bookstores Survive? | Savvy Writers & e-Books online:  http://t.co/jgZI2wDzaw

Connecting Subplots with Each Other and the Main Story Arc: http://t.co/1cv4BpfGVl @vgrefer

A free directory of cover designers, formatters, freelance editors, and more: http://t.co/E2upLeKgPR

How 1 Famous Author Tricks Herself Into Writing Wonderful Stories http://t.co/ir9tdaIdaQ @thewritelife

Why 1 Writer No Longer Uses Profanity in His Books: http://t.co/GXi2N2t2gu @rchazzchute

An Important Tool to Make You a More Productive Writer: http://t.co/yJsw2NS4KD @DIYMFA

Evaluating Whether You’re Really Ready to Self-Publish http://t.co/HMC96qE50X @JordanMcCollum

Guidelines of Good Online Behavior: http://t.co/5P9uBbSTYR @EdieMelson

But Can’t I Send My Best Pages? http://t.co/knb3N5eAnD @ava_jae

7 Things You Can Do to Promote Your Book As Soon As You Finish the First Draft: http://t.co/lwl9C7rXk7 @sandrabeckwith

Does digital publishing mean the death of the author? http://t.co/J5XvHqbUVf @guardianbooks @richardlea

Are You Creating Your Own Personal Cliches? http://t.co/LzgPW0yl8t @KMWeiland

How To Turn Real Life Into Bestselling Fiction:  http://t.co/sNfbuESSoA @RuthHarrisBooks @RomanceUniv

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: The ‘Lucy Burdette’ Daiquiri, Courtesy of @SusanMacNeal http://t.co/RJYkmRC9CJ @CleoCoyle

What Works, What Doesn’t In Book Marketing:  http://t.co/1vt8iOp5t0 @badredheadmedia

6 Degrees of Agent Evolution |  http://t.co/M2itUdGmKT @digibookworld

Horror–Screenwriting: How Found Footage was Murdered : http://t.co/MYRnosRWec @yomyomf

The Great Free Book Debate: Authors Weigh In:  http://t.co/fclbaqc0KX @libraryoferana @mythicscribes

How a love of tabletop D&D helps video game designers tell their stories: http://t.co/CaVHJceMv0 @ColinCampbellx @Polygon

Small presses growing translated fiction’s readership: http://t.co/ggiKbprzwu @badaude @guardianbooks

3 Questions Your Professional Writing Bio Must Answer http://t.co/sJH1CtGRzh @writersrelief

Myth: to be good, writing must be hard | http://t.co/1u3BCch2Pn @deanwesleysmith

Leaving a Literary Legacy: Who Will Watch Over Your Work? http://t.co/NfKBUWFIId @annbauerwriter

5 Things Readers Want from Novelists on Social Media: http://t.co/tpeLtwBTvh @kcraftwriter

Tips for writing better endings:  http://t.co/4Jv7MbzqTY @io9

How to Use Coincidence in Stories:  http://t.co/2kNSWgGoyy @shalvatzis

Tips for new writers on getting started writing a book:  http://t.co/VrQ1wgT3A5

Crime Fiction: A Modern-Day Look at ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’:  http://t.co/pKsyMwp5nV @kbowenwriter

Guide to Targeting an Audience http://t.co/D2ynOvjMvQ @mariamurnane

An agent on authors who worry their ideas will be stolen:  http://t.co/tfv8bNNel7 @Janet_Reid

Questions to answer when creating a mythology for your world:  http://t.co/gEM5iCjsp1 @rfwriters

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Maple Cheese Scones http://t.co/T3DJcyd397 @CleoCoyle

Tools for Writing More http://t.co/Nd8VsB1R72 @SusanKayeQuinn

Creating Fully Developed Characters–writers weigh in:  http://t.co/aIswHDEexB @WriterDiaries

How to Sell More of Your Fiction Without Selling Your Soul:  http://t.co/pjeTG1z3V5 @storyrally

Writers Unplugged: Going Underground, for Productivity’s Sake http://t.co/RBvUcQ3fZK @GlimmerGuy    5 SF Convention Misconceptions: http://t.co/Syx9JmDIQj @petersnede

5 tips for a good narrative essay:  http://t.co/8wLVhjZhWR @busyguru

5 Lies That Keep Us from Becoming Great Writers:  http://t.co/o5UPf3OQMc @JoelRunyon

3 Things Authors Should Do Before Attending a Book Fair or Writers Conference: http://t.co/VyMQeaNZfO @Coach2Publish

Write First. Edit Later:  http://t.co/TdVcEwgn6s @ErinMFeldman

Contract Basics: Subsidiary Rights http://t.co/dheznen44o @AriaGlazki

5 Tips for World Building in Speculative Flash Fiction:  http://t.co/B5XcWMuGy2 @EDFsChronicles

Write What You DonÂ’t Know: http://t.co/HIdAHZtZuQ @litreactor

The Future of Publishing–Profit-Sharing Authors?:  http://t.co/ruXYSTaDZ0 @IanKEllard @Porter_Anderson

5 Screenwriters That Ended Up Hating Their Own Movies http://t.co/ty21sEOU78 @WritingLeeman

12 Resolutions for a Writer:  http://t.co/O6iqDCxkjX @LitRejections

Querying a book that already has interest from a publisher http://t.co/8KfSArBQ5i @Janet_Reid

12 Tips to Inspire Your Writing http://t.co/nRuWUKBJ3f @BlaskovicWriter

Why 1 Writer Has Failed To Write a Word in 2014: http://t.co/3M7efFM5Tp  @aaronmritchey @RMFWriters    How Journalism Created a Writer:  http://t.co/N3Vnfgnlw7 @johnweeast

What’s hard about self-pub? Authors weigh in:  http://t.co/jZO35j1hvb @thecreativepenn @Porter_Anderson @ByRozMorris @MirabilisDave

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Frito Shepherd’s Pie and Super Bowl Boulevard from Cleo Coyle #glutenfree recipe http://t.co/xumBQsyx1I @CleoCoyle

The 15 Best Twitter Lists for Writers http://t.co/Fn7Y6yWvRK @thewritelife

How Art Can Save Your Soul | fcmalby http://t.co/GbnScMllCB @FCMalby

13 Secrets for Sizzling Dialogue http://t.co/2flwghiH61 @RayneHall

Tips for Holding a Writing Workshop http://t.co/hfQVbr92pb @emilyjeanroche

Plotting v. Pantsing: Is One Superior Over the Other? http://t.co/GObOo1Us2V @jeanniecampbell

Persistence, And The Long Con Of Being A Successful Writer « terribleminds: chuck wendig http://t.co/KnHTPy2Bwl @KameronHurley

A Self-Pub Journey: Sales and Marketing Break Down http://t.co/icitqGxiXT @Aimeelsalter

8 Ways to Handle Rejection. http://t.co/PGf9GOK3Jt @WritersBistro

Authors deserve better :  http://t.co/MS0lTtPGSV @barryeisler

A Prediction on Book Visibility in 2014 | Savvy Writers & e-Books online http://t.co/YrdAjsWmky @JAKonrath

Stress less and daydream more: a writer’s resolution http://t.co/Z7Nzcfiaja @jodimeadows

How Much Do Writers Earn? Less Than You Think:  http://t.co/P7myVB9l7y @pubperspectives

Narrative Setting: How To Build A World http://t.co/xBJKXV8oQm @woodwardkaren

1 Writer’s Process for Approaching Large Revisions:  http://t.co/xb9OboeMQw

Understanding Patterns of Change in Fiction and Memoir: http://t.co/wphruFMr4O @writeabook {corr’d link}

6 Of The Best Pieces of Advice From Successful Writers: http://t.co/gHUPajrQQ5 @BelleBethCooper

JA Konrath responds to industry expert Mike Shatzkin’s recent analysis on the future of publishing:  http://t.co/jgWPZI6M64 @MikeShatzkin

Realistic fictional settings in crime fiction: http://t.co/fxhsGqZGLQ @mkinberg

Why Don’t More People Buy Your Book? http://t.co/X3Syb3LLa1 @LyndaRYoung

The Art of Writing Copy http://t.co/IpxOoUdFDP @sjaejones

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Orange Chicken http://t.co/LYOBPnO0Ey @CleoCoyle

A writer’s concerns about using 99 Designs: http://t.co/wNqKwzmP1T @lkblackburne

9 Keys to Creating an Effective Writing Accountability Group http://t.co/XkRRl875FQ @bigstatebiglife

Hard truths about self-publishing:  http://t.co/zaPA3KBQyB @NazareaAndrews

Why authors and trad pub don’t reveal authors’ earnings http://t.co/N1TtVbDLwM @LexiRevellian

NA Alley: 5 Tips for Writing Love Scenes http://t.co/6iBM0d0aW2

Twitter Rewards Spamming Indie Authors with Trending Terms http://t.co/mgbucVrlB3 @Goodereadermike @Goodereader

10 Writing Tips From Ernest Hemingway:  http://t.co/s3EtGSsSaw @boyinthehat

How to get your indie-book in book stores:  http://t.co/zHDYeCnDSZ @tamzwrite

Can men write good heroines?  http://t.co/yzEmZ7dKYw @SamanthaEllis27 @guardianbooks

Another Twist on Marketing your Book http://t.co/Xx36foo9xM @CarsonCanada

3 tips for writing watertight fantasy, science fiction and time travel stories: http://t.co/Ls3vwIrMC4 @nailyournovel

S Africans slow to adopt e-books:  http://t.co/Gmobbnz1DH @techcentral

All the links I shared last week: http://t.co/lKuTGh1jo6 . All the links I’ve ever shared (searchable): http://t.co/tjn3OfwnLH .

Writing Filters to Use: The Finer Details Filters:  http://t.co/7HTZnZyxFd @Awesome_Dawn

How to Decide Which Story to Write First:  http://t.co/n0xbkau3kC @cantrelljason

50 Attributes of a Great Copywriter: http://t.co/duVpiLaRkl @jeffbullas

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Steamed Comfort Eggs from Ovidia Yu http://t.co/ZhyuwLpPsY @CleoCoyle

The Formative Event Technique Raises Your Story’s Stakes: http://t.co/XSQu9DKJUE @marilynhorowitz

On Becoming a (Self) Publisher: (Lessons Learned):  http://t.co/elceTiIugI @NickRuffilo @pubperspectives

Yes, Shakespeare used flashbacks and multiple storylines: http://t.co/1LYrIak8ya @AronsonLinda

Roadblocks and Why 1 Writer Prefers Blogging to Writing Her Book: http://t.co/AV925M9ICD

Make Your Story Richer with In-depth Knowledge of Your Characters: http://ow.ly/sXQhv @ReeseRyanWrites

7 Things 1 Writer Has Given Up To Write and Read More:  http://ow.ly/sXQ0U @jamietr

Why 1 Writer Won’t Read ‘How To’ Screenwriting Articles Anymore: http://ow.ly/sXPS4 @clivefrayne @scriptmag

Reviewing Your Year’s Writing Goals Encourages Your Creative Spirit http://ow.ly/sXQsF @writeabook

To Outline or Not to Outline? A New Way of Looking at the Debate: http://ow.ly/sXQbZ @jessicastrawser @writersdigest

Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing: Killing a Career | http://ow.ly/sXQ6k @deanwesleysmith

The Top 5 Things 1 Writer Learned from an Editor:  http://ow.ly/sXQlp @DonnaGalanti

10 Things 1 Writer Has Learned 4 Months After Publishing Her 1st Novel http://ow.ly/sXPKy @womenonwriting

A Writer Considers the Future of Self-Pub:  http://ow.ly/sXQ9H @BlakeBooks

How to Set Up Google Authorship (and Why You Really Should) http://ow.ly/sXQ4o @nickdaws

6 Ways Micro-Publishing Strengthens Your Career:  http://ow.ly/sXQA3 @writermama

45 ways to avoid using the word ‘very’:  http://ow.ly/sXQDl @writers_write

5 Mistakes Killing Self-Published Authors:  http://ow.ly/sXQdS @kristenlambtx

It’s Not Just One Book. Your Rights And How To Exploit Them: http://ow.ly/sZ91I @thecreativepenn

How To Make Life Easy For Librarians So Your Book Gets In Libraries http://ow.ly/sZ9hZ @uriel1998

Cleaning Up Your Manuscript Can Save You Money http://ow.ly/sZ9wU @CKmacleodwriter

How to Feel Confident Sharing Your Creative Work In Public http://ow.ly/sYSUa @LeRegalla

The Secret To Succeeding As A Writer: Having A Criterion For Success http://ow.ly/sYSeW @woodwardkaren

Top Tips to Make Best Use of A Blog Tour:  http://ow.ly/sZa7w @cupgrease

Is There a Right Age to Read a Book?  http://ow.ly/sYSNQ @tordotcom

In Britain and especially abroad, ebooks are booming:  http://ow.ly/sYSun @guardianbooks

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