Riley Adams's Blog, page 156

Audio Books for Self-Published Authors--ACX

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

 

As I mentioned in Wednesday's post, I recently decided to spend time exploring audio options for my self-published books.  The only audio rights I hold, actually, are for self-published books.  Neil Gaiman wrote an interesting post on this problem: "Audiobooks--A Cautionary Tale." As he put it:

I think what I want to say mostly is, if you are an author, Get
Involved in Your Audiobooks Early. Get your agent involved and
interested. Talk about them at contract stage. Find out if you're
selling the rights, and if you are selling them then find out what
control you have or whether you are going to be consulted or not about
who the narrator is and how the audiobook is done.

  Let's say that you do have rights to some titles--whether they're self-published or traditionally-published.  How do you start the ball rolling for getting your books into audio?



Right now, the buzz is all about ACX.  This is because ACX is becoming a huge player and is really the self-pub option for audio.  You need a cover (presumably you have one, since you already have either an ebook or a printed book), your text, the rights to your property, and a plan on how you want to pay the narrator.  ACX distributes your audiobook to Audible.com, Amazon.com, and iTunes.  The top retailers for audio, obviously.



You can decide if you want an exclusive arrangement with ACX or not.  I did. More on exclusive vs. non-exclusive:

Royalties start higher if you choose distribution exclusively through
ACX, which today gets your audiobook listed on Audible.com, Amazon.com,
and iTunes—the three main retailers of audiobooks in the world. If you
choose non-exclusive distribution, you can sell your audiobook wherever
else you’d like, and you will be paid the base escalator royalty rate,
which starts at 25 percent and grows to 90 percent as you sell more
units. At least fifty dollars in royalties must be accrued before
Audible cuts a check.
 

 If you want a royalty-share arrangement with a narrator, you must have an exclusive arrangement with ACX. 



Royalty share is one option.  It's a 50/50 split plan for the seven year ACX contract.  So ACX takes half the earnings, then you and the narrator would both take 25%.  Or, you can opt to pay narrators upfront, keeping all the royalties as your own (after, obviously, ACX takes its cut.)  More on your options here: (via ACX's site).



The reason royalty share may be appealing is because of the cost of narration, otherwise.  I believe that $1200 would be a fair estimate for many projects (at $200 a production hour for a six-hour audio project).  However, if you post that you're looking for a royalty-share agreement, you may be limiting the field of narrators--they're having to take a big leap of faith that their substantial investment of time will be worth it in the end.  If, obviously, you've already got a successful ebook or two on Amazon, that's going to help your project look more appealing.



The narrators are all screened by ACX for quality.  The narrators have their own studios and produce the recording--recording, editing, producing (in most cases), and even uploading the finished file to the platform.



Listing your book is easy.  Here's how (I'm using Pretty is as Pretty Dies here as an example since my self-pubbed titles are already uploaded...but I don't hold the audio rights, so it's for illustration only.) :)





You tell it which books are yours.  They automatically pulled most of mine up (the magic of "the internets" I guess), but they missed one of my titles.  I filled an ISBN in the slot and it came right up.





You decide how you want to handle the process.  Do you want to record your own books?  Or hire a narrator?  I did not want to record my own books.  And if you do...be aware of the time investment.  I hear it's huge.







Here's your contract. 





Basic stuff here.  Your book description (I lifted mine off of Amazon), copyright info...the information you have already at your fingertips.







Now here's where you need to put your thinking cap on.  Not so much for the general book type info, but for the narrator's voice...that's huge.  I ran into this part and my brain exploded.  The gender and age isn't so hard (mine was a natural for elderly and female), but the style...just prepare yourself.  Here's a sampling of the style options, since I couldn't get a screenshot of the drop-down menu:

announcer, articulate, brooding, deadpan, engaging, enthusiastic, female narrating a male part, feminine, flirtatious, frightened, girlish, hip, host-interviewer, husky, hysterical, informed, ingenue, inspirational, intimidating, male narrating a female part, masculine, mature, nasal, perky, raspy, refined, snarky, sheeping, soothing, storyteller, sultry, upper-class...well, you get the idea.  I'm not putting them all in here, but spend some time thinking about this before you get to this point in the process.



Here you need to know a couple of things.  For the additional comments...it's really a pitch.  We're trying to pitch the project, tell a little about our platform and how we plan to get the word out about the audio version (important...especially with royalty share), and perhaps give some extra insight into what we're looking for in a narration.



Audition script...you're putting in a bit from the book for the narrators to read.  ACX advises an action scene.  I ignored their advice and put in the first couple of pages of chapter one.  The form will cut you off after a certain number of words.



After this, you hold tight and wait.  You receive notification via email from ACX that you have auditions to listen to.  I've learned that the appropriate etiquette is to keep the narrators apprised as to your process....especially if it's taking a while.  They're waiting for our response, after all.  I think it's akin to our submitting a manuscript to critique partners and then waiting for feedback...they'd like to know where we are in the process. 



If your ebook has a lot of reviews/strong sales, then ask ACX (I emailed) if they'll attach a stipend for the narrators for reading your book.  Apparently, ACX considers it in their best interest, financially, for them to get successful ebooks into audio as soon as possible...and aren't above creating an incentive for that to happen.  I had two of mine get stipends attached.  The other is newish and they passed. Here's what you need to know about stipends.  And I have no idea why the site asked for producers to log in....I logged in as a "rights holder" and emailed and they responded right back.





How do we make our book more appealing for narrators?  For that, I researched narrator sites.  This is what I came up with:



"My 10 Reasons For Accepting Royalty Share on ACX" by Robin Jester Anter.  A tip from Robin: " I want to see that the author takes their career seriously by establishing a brand and actively marketing themselves."



"7 Reasons Why Your Book is not Getting Auditions on ACX" by Jeffrey Kafer.  Tips from Jeffrey include: making sure you have a good cover (basically, that you have a salable product), having a shorter book (or at least not a saga), and making sure you appear easy to work with.



A few things that struck me as very different from the regular-ebook-self-pub process: 



1. We don't produce or upload to the platform.  The narrators are (usually) the producers.  They edit the audio and upload it for review to ACX.  



2. We don't set the price for our audiobooks.  That's set by the retailer.  Here's what ACX has to say about that:

Each retailer of your audiobook independently prices your product and
determines such price in their sole discretion. While not always the
case, the regular price on Audible.com for the product is generally
priced based on its length, as follows:



Under 3 hours: under $10

3 – 5 hours: $10 - $20

5–10 hours: $15 - $25

10–20 hours: $20 - $30

Over 20 hours: $25 - $35

To be clear, although the above represents general guidelines as
retailer of audiobooks sold on Audible.com, Audible retains the sole
discretion to set the price of the audiobooks it sells.

3. Really, after we pick the narrator, our part is mostly over.  And a note about picking the narrator out of a collection of auditions: this means we have to make some rejections.  The only reason I bring this up is because I know this is tough on the writer's artistic soul.  :)  Unfortunately, the nature of this project is that someone has to be chosen and others won't.  This may be uncomfortable for you.  It's uncomfortable for me because I'm a writer--I'm not an agent, I'm not an editor, I'm not a publisher.  I'm not used to being in the position of rejecting others.  But this is just part of the process.  I'm trying to put my discomfort aside and handle this task as professionally as I can.



 How long will the process of narrating and producing take?  I'm expecting it to take several months.  The narrators may need to take on some projects that pay at the front-end and I completely understand that.  They're taking a leap of faith that they'll end up profiting on my projects with the royalty-share arrangement.  



I'm new to this, so I'm hoping I'm relating all of this information clearly.  Let me know if you have any additions, questions, corrections, or thoughts here. 

Make Your Content Work Harder for You

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig







Image: MorgueFile: Gracey


I’ve been pretty
single-minded with my plans to expand the self-published side of my book
income.  My focus has been on
writing more books.  Keep writing, keep
doing what I’m doing with my brand and platform.  Volume and consistency.



I continued reading
articles like this one by Dean Wesley Smith (Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing: You Can’t Make Money Writing Fiction)—encouraging self-published authors to
completely exhaust all available formats/platforms for our content. 

As Dean put it:
Every story we write, every novel we write, is a magic pie full of copyright.

We can sell parts of it to one publisher, other parts to another publisher, some parts to overseas markets, other parts to audio, or eBooks, or game companies, or Hollywood, or web publishers, and on and on and on. One professional writer I knew sold over 100 different gaming rights to different places on one novel. He had a very sharp knife cutting that magic pie.




Still, limited by the clock as always, I made
a mental note and kept doing what I was doing. I wanted to spend more time considering my options, but....there’s never a good
time to figure out our writing career. 
Life doesn’t ever really slow down.



Recently, however,  readers started really…well, I’d like to
say encouraging me since badgering me sounds rude, to explore
other formats for my work.  I’d received
random and scattered emails since the ebooks released, asking about print versions.  I’d always been able to gently respond that I’d
get around to print at some undetermined future date.



Then I received a particularly
direct email in January.  Actually, it
was an exasperated one.  The reader had
no intention of buying a reader just to read my books although she’d enjoyed
the print versions of my other series.  I told the reader
that I’d put print versions of my Myrtle books on my New Year’s resolution
list.  I’m sure she thought she’d
believe it when she saw it, but I did put a monthly reminder on my calendar at
that point.  Last week I set the process
in motion.  No, I still didn’t have the
time to figure out print formatting (both text and cover), so I’m paying
someone (Dean Fetzer at GunBoss Books) to take care of this detail-oriented task for me so that I can sell the books through
CreateSpace.  I tend to have a do-it-myself attitude toward self-publishing, but I've found that subcontracting designers and formatters makes a huge difference--and that my time is worth money.  Here (and it will seem like I'm contradicting myself later), you need to be careful to pay upfront for services.  We shouldn't have our royalties garnished forever for these types of one-time, basis tasks...there are folks who are eager to take advantage of us that way.



Audio was another
format that I kept hearing I should explore. 
I’m on a couple of writer email loops and they all were enthusiastic
about audio--and the surprising amount of income it generated.  But the usual lack-of-time,
coupled with my concerns over a costly investment, held me back.
 The reason I
suddenly decided to spend time researching audio is that I heard the magic
phrase “royalty share.” The author (or “rights holder” as far as ACX is concerned)
can split royalties 50-50 with the narrator with no money upfront.  Now, as I mentioned above, royalty sharing can be a scary thing…you
want to make sure you know what you’re in for. 
This particular agreement (with ACX) can be renegotiated after seven
years—so there’s a sunset clause built in. 
As a self-published author, we need to be very careful about not
signing away the rights to our content for an indefinite period of time.  In this instance...I know I wouldn't get my books into an audio format without a royalty share agreement since I considered the financial investment fairly prohibitive.  The reason for the expense is that audio books take many hours of narration, editing, and production.




But an initial investment of $0?  I’m pretty sure I can handle that.  I’ll report more on Friday about my experiences
so far with ACX (although it’s early days still.)



I’m always irritated
with myself for dragging my feet with these things, but at least I’ve gotten
the ball rolling.  Because it’s true—we don’t
only need to create more content, we
need to figure out how to make our content do more for us. (Yeah, there’s foreign rights, too…and I’m dragging my feet
again on that one.)



If you’re
self-published, have you explored all the options and formats available for
you?  If it's something you're interested in, have you set yourself a deadline for working on the project or learning about the process?

How To Write While Cleaning Your House

Guest Post by Julie Duffy, @ storyadaymay






The sad
truth is that the role of 'writer' does not come with staff. Even full-time
professional writers, for the most part, are not issued with a full-time
assistant. Most writers still have to shop for food, clean the bathrooms and
tidy up after ourselves.




But never
again should your domestic chores become a reason not to write. WU brings you
the Essential Guide to Writing While Cleaning Your House.




(Brain)storming
The Castle




As any of
you who have ever taken a shower will know, our best ideas are often
accompanied by the sounds of running water and the smell of soap. Surely it
might work just as well if you are scrubbing the shower rather than yourself?




So turn
off the TV, mute the radio (or set it to soundtracks or classical, or your
writing music of choice) and start thinking about your characters while you
scrub.




How
To Write While Doing Something Else




Now,
granted, you're probably not going to do a lot of actual typing or writing while
you're wrestling sheets off the bed, or scrubbing under the u-bend. But there
are ways of working when you're not at your desk.




You can
plan scenes, dream up plot points or even carry a voice recorder with you to
capture ideas and passages of prose (this works rather better well when there
is no-one else in your house at the time who'll pop their head in and say,
"What? Were you talking to me?")




Link
Your Scenes To Certain Jobs




Breaking
down a big job into smaller tasks stops you becoming overwhelmed and happily,
this works for cleaning and storytelling. You have a list of scenes to write
and you have a list of rooms to clean. Make these two things work for you, by
assigning different scenes to different rooms.




When
choosing what to work on in each room, consider the setting. Use the different
rooms to enhance your writing:




*Cleaning the kitchen? Work on a sensual
scene, maybe a dinner or a scene where your hero and heroine trap, skin, gut
and cook a small defenseless creature. Mmmm, carnal! 

*Kid's bedroom? Think about your teenage
character's next big scene while you're fording the sea of discarded clothes in
your own child's room to reclaim your best earrings from the heap of gewgaws
beside her bed.

*Your bedroom? The ideal opportunity to
work on the big romantic, er, climax. Or not...

*Folding laundry? Perfect! This
repetitive, mechanical task is ideal for letting your mind take a flight of
fancy. Plan your big turning points now. Run through a critical piece of
dialogue. Audition daring new ideas in the safety of a fluffy, fragrant
folding-spree.

*Bathroom? Definitely time to work on
your villain!




Mine
Your Own Emotions




Everything
we write is colored by our own experiences and the little details are often the
ones that bring our characters to life for a reader.So pay attention as you
bend and stretch and scrub and fold, to how you are moving.




What do
you do when your back aches? Would your character move the same way?




How do
you feel when faced with a mountain of unwashed dishes --- again? That's how
your hero feels at the 'all is lost' point just before the climax.




Are you
disgusted by the bathroom floor? Great! Notice what you do, how your facial
muscles contort, and how your stomach feels, then use it all when your heroine
encounters the villain at his most dastardly.




Live
To Write




We all
like to imagine how life would be if we had Neil Gaiman's writing gazebo in the
woods and a fleet of assistants to shop and fetch and clean for us. But in the
meantime, lets turn our formidable creative powers to the task of turning
household chores into the raw material of great writing.




If we can
do that, surely there's no creative problem that can defeat us!







 
Julie Duffy is a writer and the host of StoryADay May, a creativity challenge and community at StoryADay.org . She is also the author of the StoryADay Guide To Breaking Writers' Block

Twitterific

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 19,000 free articles on writing related topics. It's the search
engine for writers.




Sign up for our free newsletter for monthly writing tips and interviews with top
contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook.




Mike Fleming worked with author and writing coach James
Scott Bell to offer an online, interactive, writing program to help make your
next novel great. It's called "Knockout Novel" and you can learn more
about it at Knockout Novel.com. Plus, all the data is stored in your Hiveword account
for easy access.  The program is due to launch tomorrow...Monday, April 8. 




A tip for avoiding info dumping: http://bit.ly/Yrsp2k
@DonMcNair1 




Industry reaction to Amazon's acquisition of Goodreads: http://bit.ly/10jCcGK @Porter_Anderson @ThadMcIlroy @leslieNYT @robspillman




Self-publishing is the future — and great for writers: http://bit.ly/ZaqJWJ
@salon @hughhowey




Authors in the B&N-S&S Crossfire: http://bit.ly/13OMq7e
@Porter_Anderson @Bookgirl96 @MJRose




Twitter tips for new users: http://bit.ly/Zftxst
@Victoria_Writes @williamblackmon




Sorry, Your Buddies Won’t Buy Your Book: http://bit.ly/Z5419b
@talkingwriting @dcbiddle




A free directory of cover
designers, formatters, freelance editors, and more: http://bit.ly/nolbXq

Use a Mood Board to Boost
Your Writing: http://bit.ly/X4KMvp @DIYMFA

Why writers should be on
Pinterest: http://bit.ly/168V0eE @DIYMFA

Breaking into International
Markets: http://bit.ly/108rC2T

Starting A Story In The
Middle: http://bit.ly/11DNJEA @mooderino

How to Revise for a
Stronger Theme: http://bit.ly/11EkMF3
@jamigold

Science Fiction Romance – A
Niche Before Its Time? http://bit.ly/14qDTqD
@amazingstories0

Author As Innovator: The
Future of Publishing is Story, Not Technology: http://bit.ly/11Ell1E
@danblank

Subtitling for
screenwriters: http://bit.ly/11EB4xx

Blogging a book--your
content plan: http://bit.ly/14qP3vm
@ninaamir

A writer reports on her
experience with an independent press: http://bit.ly/11EBp3q
@Wordstrumpet @PatrickRwrites

Screenwriting: examples of
voice-over narration and flashbacks that.. just don't work: http://bit.ly/YRihvi @gointothestory

Just Kill Someone Already
(Upping the Stakes): http://bit.ly/YcAQi2

Gifting Your Professional
Network w/ Amazon eBooks: http://bit.ly/YcB7Bp

Why Critiquing Others Helps
You: http://bit.ly/YcEsjV @ava_jae

Writing Description in Your
Novel: http://bit.ly/YcEzvQ @jeanoram

Did Agatha Christie Have a
Formula for Success? http://bit.ly/YRruUv
@KMWeiland @becke_martin

Creative Writing Prompts:
Dig Deep into Character: http://bit.ly/YcEMiM
@howtowriteshop

4 Techniques To Mix Fantasy
With Realism: http://bit.ly/YcENTV
@write_practice

Tips for organizing a book
club: http://bit.ly/YcEWqs

Compromising with our
internal editor: http://bit.ly/YRrPGF
@YAHighway

How to Begin a Short Story:
http://bit.ly/YRrWSK @amazingstories0
@Sales_Source

Plot, Story and Tension: http://bit.ly/YcFw7E @woodwardkaren

Strong Active Verbs: Your
Writing's Backbone: http://bit.ly/YRs8Bm
@lindasclare

The writer's guide to
kissing: http://bit.ly/YcFQ6j
@CuriosityQuills

How Live Readings Can Help
Your Writing: http://bit.ly/YRsiZo
@LaNovakAuthor

Introduction to Online
Advertising for Authors: http://bit.ly/YcFZXa

The Trouble with In Medias
Res: http://bit.ly/YdoBlc @kristenlambtx

For the writer who means to
journal--5 online journaling tools: http://bit.ly/Ydpv17
@lifehackorg

Why Taking a Risk at a
Writer's Conference Is a Good Thing: http://bit.ly/Ydsc2A

How @JaneFriedman Got a
6-Figure Twitter Following (and Why It Doesn't Matter): http://bit.ly/WWjMNy

Prepositional confusion: http://bit.ly/ZVcKaC @aliciarasley

How to Write a Killer
Scene: http://bit.ly/ZEioka @jeanoram

5 Ways to Write More
Effectively: http://bit.ly/ZVcVT3 @fcmalby

Hiring an illustrator for
your novel: http://bit.ly/YErv51 @kenebake

How do you promote your
self-published book? http://bit.ly/11NK9nK
@pattyjansen

How to get a great cover
design – when you don't know what it should be: http://bit.ly/YErTQP
@dirtywhitecandy

Is original writing always
better? http://bit.ly/11NKqap @BufoCalvin

Use a Timeline to Develop
Your Story: http://bit.ly/YEskLb
@luannschindler

What it takes to hit the
top of your genre chart at Amazon: http://bit.ly/11NLvPt
@Bob_Mayer

13 Questions to Ask
Yourself about Your Opening Chapter: http://bit.ly/11NLElZ
@annerallen

Structuring Your Story's
Scenes: Frequently Asked Questions: http://bit.ly/YEtpmf
@kmweiland

Tips for an inexpensive
book launch party: http://bit.ly/11NM5Nc
@aishahmacgill

What 1 writer learned from
creating a book trailer: http://bit.ly/YEtYfA
@danasitar

How 1 writer doubled her
daily word count: http://bit.ly/11NMLlI
@IndiaDrummond

How to Edit Your Novel With
Efficiency: http://bit.ly/YEuLx4 @jeanoram

10 cover design tips for
print covers: http://bit.ly/YEv7Uo

Tips for writing cover
copy: http://bit.ly/11NNIdR @JMNeyGrimm

2 Proven Ways To Write With
Confidence: http://bit.ly/10hVkmb

Tips for getting your book
reviewed: http://bit.ly/13BRY4Y
@MariaZannini

From spark to story: How
books get started: http://bit.ly/10hVvhb

5 Reasons Traditional
Authors Are Going Indie: http://bit.ly/13BS9NM
@wiseink

10 Best Chrome Extensions
for Authors: http://bit.ly/13BSiAF
@AuthorMedia

Don't publish crap: http://bit.ly/10hVREG @annerooney

A closer look at Noir: http://bit.ly/13BSBLV @ApexBookCompany

You didn't
"trend" … and other subtle Twitter confusions: http://bit.ly/10hWmOZ @sarah_nicolas

How writing is like
gardening: http://bit.ly/10hWAWq @danabate

5 Rules of Writing
Flashbacks: http://bit.ly/13BThB2
@melissadonovan

5 Reasons to Write A Short
Story: http://bit.ly/10hWMF1

8 Ways to Edit Suspense
& Pace into Your Finished Manuscript: http://bit.ly/13BTsfF
@JordanDane

Binge reading and
publishing: http://bit.ly/10hWUnZ
@kristinerusch

How to Get the Most Out of
a Writing Class: http://bit.ly/YyrgW4
@michelledseaton

Developing
Scenes--revisiting the plot arc: http://bit.ly/11og5Ta
@DeeWhiteauthor

The Imitation Game: The
Sincerest Form of…. Becoming a Better Writer: http://bit.ly/ZsHOen
@WyattGBessing

Tweet Not Your Query,
Author: http://bit.ly/14BHVwu
@BloomsburyPress

Studies in flashback:
"Once Upon a Time in the West": http://bit.ly/ZsJsfT
@gointothestory

Will Write for Food: The
Digital Freelance Journalist Dilemma: http://bit.ly/14BKkqW
@10000words

All about the ampersand: http://bit.ly/ZsJyUR @sixrevisions

How to book a writer's
conference: http://bit.ly/14BKyhE
@wherewriterswin

Enemies of the Art–Having a
Thin Skin: http://bit.ly/ZsJHI0
@kristenlambtx

To Drama or Not to Drama: http://bit.ly/14BKG0K @Julie_Gray

The Business of
Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs: http://bit.ly/ZsJKU2 @gointothestory

Avoid Flowery Language and
Kill Your Darlings: http://bit.ly/14BKOxk
@americanediting

What Facebook's New Feed
Will Mean For Authors: http://bit.ly/14BKQoU
@authormedia

When Visibility Doesn't
Lead To Book Sales: http://bit.ly/ZsJTHh
@davidgaughran

Best Practices for Putting
Together Your Digital Book: http://bit.ly/14BL7If
@bibliocrunch @PaulSalvette

10 Dirty Fighting Tricks to
Spice Up Your Fight Scenes: http://bit.ly/ZsK0CD
@ajackwriting

The Story Milestones… and
Beat Sheet: http://bit.ly/14BLgLZ @storyfix

The Perfectly Balanced
Story: http://bit.ly/ZsK4lU @mooderino

5 Top Legal Issues for
Authors and Self-Publishers: http://bit.ly/174ZeVP
@JFBookman @Saving4Someday

Tips from a ghostwriter for
getting more clients: http://bit.ly/XO7jYd
@byRozMorris

Calling Your Manuscript
Finished (For Now): http://bit.ly/174ZrID
@rachellegardner

Facebook: Should We Use a
Profile or a Page? http://bit.ly/174Zy7g
@jamigold @LisaHallWilson

LGBTQ characters in SFF: http://bit.ly/XO7HGg @tordotcom @karinacooper

Setting: Using Instant
Recognition: http://bit.ly/174ZOTF

Naming schemes for fantasy
writing: http://bit.ly/XO7VNA @MorganKeyes

Improve your Dialogue by
Studying Plays: http://bit.ly/174ZXX7

Thoughts on epic fantasy: http://bit.ly/XO82sB

Crime fiction author
@Brad_Parks on introducing a sexual relationship to his popular series: http://bit.ly/1750jgl @JungleReds

How bookstore windows can
drive book sales--and fuel a digital campaign: http://bit.ly/XO8uqA
@pubperspectives

Weapons, Fighting, and
Battles in Worldbuilding: http://bit.ly/1750uZa
@juliettewade

An agent on the future of
publishing: http://bit.ly/XO8yXo
@rachellegardner

How to Build an Online
Audience: http://bit.ly/1750zfA
@manon_eileen

The importance of a sense
of play to our writing: http://bit.ly/XO8MxT
@RLLaFevers

Ebook Boxed Set Tips and
How Tos: http://bit.ly/1750V5R
@ddscottromcom

How to Get the Most Out of
a Writing Class: http://bit.ly/YyrgW4
@michelledseaton

How Busy People Can Find
More Time for Reading: http://bit.ly/11CFadq
@jodyhedlund

What Worries Publishers
Most? http://bit.ly/107HX7S @bmorrissey

5 areas you need to learn
to write better copy: http://bit.ly/10ryNVf
@ntaylor1981

Clearing the clutter from
our sentences: http://bit.ly/13JT5zB

The Art of Collaborating
and its Rewards (or Tribulations): http://bit.ly/10rAv8Z
@mariesetiawan

Plotting? Keep digging
deeper and "imagine beyond what is safe": http://bit.ly/10rAPEM @noveleditor

5 Things Children Teach Us
About Writing: http://bit.ly/ZKsICX
@KMWeiland

Plotting - the Mamma Mia
lessons: http://bit.ly/13JUshH
@dirtywhitecandy

Why no deal is better than
a bad deal: http://bit.ly/10rBeHf
@ajackwriting

Not so freely free:
Amazon's 20K/80% vision: http://bit.ly/13JUypI
@bufocalvin

Language and fantasy: http://bit.ly/10rBp5B @VioletteMalan

Why Not to Register
Copyright for Unpublished Work: http://bit.ly/13JURkb
@victoriastrauss

Pitch vs. query: http://bit.ly/10rBExj @atrueblood5

How to style profanity in
your prose: http://bit.ly/13JV5rE#
@PRDaily

Physical Attribute Entry:
Hair: http://bit.ly/10rBHcC @beccapuglisi

Overcoming Challenges To
Write And Publish A Book: http://bit.ly/13JVmuE
@thecreativepenn @IwinBook

Adjusting the Picture for
Clarity: http://bit.ly/10rBRka @novelrocket

Writing for Middle Grade: http://bit.ly/13JVz0Q @ToniKerr_Writer

10 Ideas for using QR Codes
to Promote Your Book: http://bit.ly/10rC4Uo

3 sites to find a critique
partner: http://bit.ly/13JVZ7A
@ThereDraftAgain

How to Know if a Contest is
Right For You: http://bit.ly/10rCiep
@CupidsLC @MissDahlELama

Grammar 'errors' you don't
need to worry about: http://bit.ly/13JWAGb
@passivevoiceblg

Manuscript formatting and
prep screencasts: http://bit.ly/10rCrOY
@andrewkarre

Book Promotion — What's
Working at Amazon in 2013? http://bit.ly/10xREOD
@goblinwriter

How To Find Out Everything
You Need To Know About Self-Publishing: http://bit.ly/YTAo82
@cathryanhoward

Great Scene: "The
Exorcist": http://bit.ly/10xTPSc
@gointothestory

Using Plot to Reveal
Character Transformation: http://bit.ly/YTDh8Y
@mythicscribes

Don't Make Writing About
Yourself: http://bit.ly/10xTXBe
@write_practice

Creating an Evocative Mood
in a Memoir: http://bit.ly/YTDs46
@janice_hardy

5 beliefs about Twitter: http://bit.ly/10xUaEp @AnnieNeugebauer.

Trimming costs in case book
sales drop off: http://bit.ly/YTEpt7

6 Makeover Tips: How to
Bring a Book Back from the Doldrums: http://bit.ly/10xURgT
@markcoker

The Benefits of Running a
Goodreads Ad: http://bit.ly/YTIcXe @jeanoram

How Game of Thrones
Improved a Literary Author's Writing: http://bit.ly/10zP7lz
@magdalenaball

8 pics and videos that
describe what DRM is about: http://bit.ly/11ot4Cp
@namenick

Enjoying Spring

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig



MorgueFile--Destinycole






Well, technically, spring hasn't completely decided if it's sprung in the southern United States.  But my children have spring break from school this week, so I'm going to take a short break from blogging until Sunday. 



Is it spring where you are?  Hope you're enjoying it!

Don't Be An Information Dumper! Guest Post by Don McNair

by Don McNair, @DonMcNair1

 



You
have two choices. Write in the "here and now" or dump information. I'll
tell you right now that editors and agents want you to write in the "here
and now."

 



Unpublished
writers often present information dumps in their first chapters. How do you
recognize one? Generally, your characters don't do, they think.
They think as they drive a car. As they sit in their office. As they ride an
elevator. Nothing of interest happens in real time. If your critique partner
tells you your story actually starts on page seven, she's saying that the first
six pages are an information dump. Those six pages generally include
information you think the reader needs to understand your characters.

 



Your
novel would be much more interesting if you showed instead of told.
In fact, editors who read past your manuscript's first paragraph stop reading
when they see this problem. Unfortunately, many writers hearing the
"show-don't-tell" advice don't really understand what it means.



 



Use narrative summaries sparingly



When
writers tell instead of show, they're generally writing from the author's
POV and not the characters'. While the technique called "narrative
summary" does have its place in a novel, it should be used sparingly.

 



Here's
a before-and-after example. The first version, written in the author's POV, is
a narrative summary:



 



But the site itself had been inhabited for much longer. The
previous day she and Mike had jogged along an old path which edged the Knob,
and she spotted the stark, vertical rock chimney of a burned-out cabin. It
jutted from a weathered rock foundation that was now covered with thick vines
and forest debris. The cabin had been built near the Knob's edge, which
plummeted almost two thousand feet to the valley floor.  She realized
that, when the one-room cabin was built, its owner had probably cleared trees
away to open the valley up for a spectacular view.  



 



Notice
the author is telling about the discovery, just as one tells ghost stories
around a family campfire. He is summarizing what happened yesterday. There is
no action. There was action yesterday, but that doesn't count as action today.

 



I
wrote that passage years ago. I thought it was fine writing until an old
writing pro pointed out the problem. I read it again, and—by gosh, she was
right. Following is the passage as I rewrote it to put the scene into a
character's POV and show the action, instead of leaving it in the
author's POV and tell about it:



 



Mike stepped aside and she saw a clearing. Grass, kept at
bay in the deep woods they'd passed through, covered an area the size of an
average yard.

 



She frowned. "This is it?"

 



"Yep. The original cabin site. See if you can find
it."

 



She saw nothing but the woods and grass. Blue sky appeared
over a huge, waist-high stone outcropping at her left. She stepped to it and
peered over.

 



"Why, we're right at the bluff's edge!"

 



"That's right. Jump off that rock, and you'll fall
almost two thousand feet."

 



And then she saw the vertical stone chimney. She'd
overlooked it before, since it resembled the surrounding tall trees. She walked
tentatively toward it. As her eyes adjusted she saw the stone foundation of a
long-gone, one-room cabin. Its chimney rose from one corner, its hearth opening
toward the center. Slanting rays filtering through the treetops brought the
chimney and foundation to life.

 



She turned to Mike. "Look at that - it's just like a
shrine. Why, I feel like I've just stepped out of a time machine."



 



The
lesson? Write in real time. Don't tell what happened in the past, but show
it as part of the action now.



 



Bad, better, and best



As
you write fiction, think of the information you present as being at one of
three levels: Bad, better, and best. Then upgrade that information as best you
can.

 



The
"bad" level has information told from the author's POV, as in the
first example above. The revealed events happened in the past. There is no
action today. There is little or no dialogue. Here's an example:



 



After she ate her sandwich, Mary left the dance without
answering Brad's questions about the Pekingese.



 



See?
No action, no dialogue. The author is telling us about something that happened
in to someone else. A scene or chapter written at this level could have a bored
editor flinging a submitted manuscript across the room.

 



The
"better" information level—and it's not really much better—at least
presents thoughts from the POV of a live human being. Here's an example:



 



Jane started her Mazda and pulled into the traffic. That
Mary, she thought with disgust. She ate her sandwich and simply left the dance.
She should have at least answered Brad's questions about the Pekingese.



 



Here
at least we have human involvement. Although the information Jane's thinking is
still dead and has no action, we do see Jane. In small, well-placed doses,
using such internal dialogue is an acceptable way to pass information.
Unfortunately, some authors use this approach for pages and pages, and the only
live action we have is the heroine doing the equivalent of driving that
car.  It's easy to see why so many manuscripts are rejected.

 



Okay,
we've discussed the "bad" and the (not much) "better" ways
to present information. Let's look at the "best."

 



When
you start a new book, there's certain information you want to reveal. Rather
than have the author tell us about it or have a character think about it, have
the heroine confide the information to a sidekick in real time, perhaps like
this:



 



Jane sat her Margarita on the bar and turned to Amy, who
stared at her pocket mirror as she adjusted her hair. "Did you see
that?"

 



Amy looked up. "See what?"

 



"Mary. She just ate her sandwich and left."

 



Amy glanced at the lit ballroom exit, past entwined couples
dancing cheek to cheek on the dimly-lit dance floor. "Wow. Well, did she
answer Brad's questions about the Pekinese before she left?"

 



"I don't think so . . ."  

 



Jane frowned and retrieved her drink. She brought it to her
lips and tasted the bitter salt, looked about, and paused. Standing by a small
table with its flickering candle was Brad, staring at the entrance.

 



"She should have, you know?" Jane sipped again,
and set her drink down. 

 

 "After all, Brad was kind enough to have the
Pekingese fixed."



 



I'll
admit I got carried away with that last example, but I did so with purpose.
Didn't you feel like you were there, watching this scene play out? Didn't you
catch the action—Alice primping, Jane sipping and tasting, dancers dancing, and
perhaps even Brad staring? Didn't you believe this is happening now and that
you are on hand to watch the scene unfold? This give-and-take is important. It
keeps the reader engaged. If you write in this mode she'll continue to read
your novel.



 





Don
McNair, an editor and writer for more than forty years, has written six novels
and four non-fiction books.  His latest,
titled “Editor-Proof Your Writing: 21 Steps to the Clear Prose Publishers and
Agents Crave (Quill Driver Books),” helps writers self-edit their work.  Learn more at his website, http://DonMcNair.com .



 



 

Twitterific

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 19,000 free articles on writing related topics. It's the search
engine for writers.



Sign up for our free newsletter for monthly writing tips and interviews with top
contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook.



Mike Fleming is working with author and writing coach
James Scott Bell to offer an online, interactive, writing program to help make
your next novel great. It's called "Knockout Novel" and you can learn
more about it at Knockout Novel.com. Plus, all the data is stored in your Hiveword account
for easy access.  The program is due to launch in early-April.



Happy Easter to all
who celebrate!







The effect of digital publishing on literary fiction: http://bit.ly/YcF0X8
@Porter_Anderson



Crime fiction--when secrets create problems: http://bit.ly/11Cvyz7
@mkinberg



Agents--changing attitudes and changing their business
model? http://bit.ly/XM0ztT
@Porter_Anderson
@DocSyntax @Melissa_Foster










The importance of continuing education for writers: http://bit.ly/YckLc0
@Allison_Brennan







Agent-Assisted Self-Publishing and the Amazon White Glove
Program: http://bit.ly/XMGtQk @Melissa_Foster @JaneFriedman



 

Templates for self-published books that can be used with
Microsoft Word-created manuscripts:  http://bit.ly/YcsBm7 @JFBookman







Bowker's latest pub. data and a look at the importance of
bookstores to publishers: http://bit.ly/YRNYot @Porter_Anderson @DouglasMcCabe







A free directory of cover designers,
formatters, freelance editors, and more: http://bit.ly/nolbXq



The Search Engine for Writers: http://hiveword.com/wkb/search



15 Questions to Help you Decide Your Next
Writing Project: http://bit.ly/WTJIu1
@fictionnotes



Agents share what they like to see in
book openings: http://bit.ly/WTK4RA
@MartinaABoone



3 Ways to Ground Readers in Your World: http://bit.ly/ZY7H7Z @Janice_hardy



How flipping elements of a flipped idea
results in new ideas: http://bit.ly/WTKnvG
@creativesomething



Freelancers: The Magic of Double-Whammy
Headlines: And How To Use Their Enormous Power: http://bit.ly/ZY8cyV



3 Types of "Not Only . . . But
Also" Errors: http://bit.ly/WTKGXg
@writing_tips



Transitioning from fanfic to original
work: http://bit.ly/ZY8xBE @JordanMcCollum



6 Historical Forensic Detectives Who
Deserve Their Own TV Shows: http://bit.ly/WTKQxS
@io9



3 ways back into the author marketing
game: http://bit.ly/162U2jY



To Be a Writer, You Only Need to Do Two
Things: http://bit.ly/11oeZHc
@write_practice



Infinitives: To split or not to split: http://bit.ly/162U77j @aliciarasley



3 Dimensions of Character – A Review of
Larry Brooks' Character Development Technique: http://bit.ly/11ofd17
@Fictorians



1 writer's crazy three years since
"the call": http://bit.ly/162UdMj
@tawnafenske



Understanding Screenwriting: Zero Dark
Thirty, This is 40, Margin Call, & More: http://bit.ly/11ofBwu
@slant



Should Independent Authors Have Their
Books Translated into Foreign Languages? http://bit.ly/ZaMaK5
@goblinwriter



How to Write a Novel as a Collaborative
Team: http://bit.ly/ZKuO5O @adriennedewolfe



5 Unconventional Fantasy Relationships: http://bit.ly/ZHGCEB @rajanyk



Classic Characters Whose Flaws Make Them
Great: http://bit.ly/16dAp9N @BenClayborne



Should Writers Pay to Use Duotrope? http://bit.ly/162Uu1y @writeitsideways



Author Photos Step-By-Step:The
Comprehensive Guide: http://bit.ly/162UE9f
@CharleeVale



Keep the "Cheesiness" Out of
Your Author Website: http://bit.ly/162USgJ
@KerryLonsdale



Authors and Domain Names: Claiming Rights
to Names and Titles: http://bit.ly/11oh4CR
@SheilaJLevine



Killing the "Pay First, Read
Later" E-bookselling Model: http://bit.ly/WWjiaa
@pubperspectives



How Much Can an Editor Edit a Writer's
Work? http://bit.ly/107KvnO @BrianKlems



Scrivener for plotters: http://bit.ly/107KArB @Gwen_Hernandez



How @JaneFriedman Got a 6-Figure Twitter
Following (and Why It Doesn't Matter): http://bit.ly/WWjMNy



Types of act-outs for screenwriters and
other writers: http://bit.ly/107L2Gu
@lillazuck



Filling the creative well with a rest
break: http://bit.ly/WWkWbI



Do You Have a Purpose? The Absurd in
Literature: http://bit.ly/107LQuT
@write_practice



Editors and Their Roles: http://bit.ly/WWlsGI @amazingstories0



Author Solutions: One Racket To Rule Them
All: http://bit.ly/107M7hf @EmilySuess



5 Blogging Tips for Indie Authors: http://bit.ly/WWlO09



In defense of love triangles: www.publishingcrawl.com/2013/02/19/in-defense-of-love-triangles-interests/
@erin_bowman



Dialect in Dialogue: A Little Goes a Long
Way: http://bit.ly/107MqZr @PamelotH



How to Know When to Quit Pursuing
Publication: http://bit.ly/WWmbYt
@jodyhedlund



1 writer advises writers to pick a genre
and stick with it: http://bit.ly/107MFUq
@jimrubart



Defining your characters' dreams: http://bit.ly/WWmB11



Leaving Room for Inspiration/Creativity
Within an Outline: http://bit.ly/WWmVNl
@martinaaboone @AnnaCollomore



5 Essential Qualities of Irresistible
Product Descriptions: http://bit.ly/WWnC9f
@KathrynAragon @buddhapuss



The Five Best Questions To Ask A Panel of
Writers: http://bit.ly/107NBIt @CarrieCuinn



How Writing a Short Story Differs From
Writing a Novel: http://bit.ly/WWouLf
@susanjmorris



What Makes An Idea Worthwhile? http://bit.ly/107Od0O @mooderino



5 Facebook Marketing Tips for Authors: http://bit.ly/W85NTf @goblinwriter



An agent explains when to revise your
manuscript and when to keep submitting: http://bit.ly/16EYbvK
@carlywatters



Build Your Writing Community: In-Person
Events: http://bit.ly/XzjJmN @DIYMFA



Build Your Community--Writing Classes and
Workshops: http://bit.ly/X4KggX @DIYMFA



Build Your Online Writing Community: http://bit.ly/XzjWpZ @DIYMFA



Q&A With An Editor: The Acquisitions
Process: http://bit.ly/X4Krso @DIYMFA



The Author-Editor Relationship: http://bit.ly/Xzk2Ov @DIYMFA



Being Your Own Muse: http://bit.ly/X4KAMB @DIYMFA



What Writers Can Learn from Children's
Books: http://bit.ly/Xzk7Si @DIYMFA



Making Your Writing Real: http://bit.ly/WTJROh @NaAlleyBlog



Using Flow Charts to Plot: http://bit.ly/XzkxrU @jillkemerer



Introducing Your Novel: Why the First Few
Pages are the Most Important: http://bit.ly/X4LmJi
@americanediting



What fiction trends are coming and going?
http://bit.ly/XzkD2I @MacGregorLit



Nail a Better Concept To Empower Your
Story: http://bit.ly/X4Lt7O @storyfix



5 Answers to Questions About Direct
Address: http://bit.ly/XzkFYl @writing_tips



Never again hate self-promo: http://bit.ly/X4LyZ3 @rachellegardner



Worst exposition ever? http://bit.ly/XzkOuI @gointothestory



How do we discover what we want to read? http://bit.ly/XzkQ5Z @byrozmorris



Getting to know readers: the new
accessibility: http://bit.ly/X4LOHw
@tobywneal



5 Tips to Effective Dialogue: http://bit.ly/XzkXON @MaloneEditorial



10 Steps To Write And Publish Your
Non-Fiction Book: http://bit.ly/X4M21x
@thecreativepenn



Developing Scenes--revisiting the plot
arc: http://bit.ly/11og5Ta @DeeWhiteauthor



Think Like a Publisher: Sales Plans: http://bit.ly/107N5Kt @deanwesleysmith



When is it overwritten? http://bit.ly/X4MnRT @juliettewade



Respect Yourself and Take Back Control of
Your Calendar: http://bit.ly/XzliAY
@reallifee



The Best Characters Are Broken: http://bit.ly/X4Mvkb @fcmalby



Pros and Cons of Indie Publishing: http://bit.ly/XzlmRx



The First Step to a Quality Book: http://bit.ly/X4MLQj @JeFishman



Is Scrivener Right For You? http://bit.ly/ZW3jGu @NMusch



What Makes Good Horror? http://bit.ly/YyoTCK @craigdilouie



Journaling for writers: http://bit.ly/ZNb42D @getpulled



6 self-editing tips: http://bit.ly/YypdkS @adriennedewolfe



Focusing your fiction: http://bit.ly/ZNbwho @JordanMcCollum



How your characters might be betraying
readers: http://bit.ly/YyphkG @kmweiland



Winning Battles for Writers: National
Writers Union: http://bit.ly/ZNbSEQ



Many memorable characters are broken
ones: http://bit.ly/ZNbZQQ



Stuck? Five Ways to Write Forward: http://bit.ly/Yypww0



2 Dialogue Tips from Studying SitComs:
Just Spit it Out: http://bit.ly/ZNccmU
@fictionnotes



7 Ways To Improve Your Outlines: http://bit.ly/YypCE0 @goodinaroom



6 Ways To Get Rid Of Infodumps At The
Beginning Of A Story: http://bit.ly/YyqR6g
@woodwardkaren



One key to handling exposition: http://bit.ly/ZNebYr @gointothestory



Write first thing in the morning? Are you
crazy? http://bit.ly/YyqXuG @JennaAvery



Writing for trends: http://bit.ly/ZNctXa @TaliaVance



"Sorry, the short story boom is
bogus": http://bit.ly/ZNeDWN @salon



How to Get the Most Out of a Writing
Class: http://bit.ly/YyrgW4 @michelledseaton



Famous Authors' Fan Letters to Other
Authors: http://bit.ly/ZNfdDN @flavorpill
@theatlantic



8 Tips From @ChuckWendig On How To Read
Like A Writer: http://bit.ly/YyryMR
@woodwardkaren



10 Books that Changed America: http://bit.ly/ZNg1sn @listverse



The Dangers of Reading About Writers: http://bit.ly/Yys6SZ @PeterDamien



A look at the award-winning movie
Lincoln...from a screenwriter's perspective: http://bit.ly/ZNglHE
@cockeyedcaravan



3 Things to Do When You Have to Start
Writing (That Aren't "Start Writing"): http://bit.ly/YysikW
@GeoffreyCubbage



Immaturity in Writing: http://bit.ly/Yysv7M @bluemaven



10 tips for creating great plots: http://bit.ly/107t6dR @plotwhisperer



Point Of View: Enhancing Your Narrative
Voice: http://huff.to/11CdtRZ



Self-editing tips: http://bit.ly/11CdHbJ



Journaling for the Chronic Journal
Abandoner: http://bit.ly/107tjgW @roniloren



For a long writing career, fight for
yourself: http://bit.ly/11Ce1ah
@kristinerusch



Why Being a Ghostwriter isn't as
Soul-Sucking as You Think: http://bit.ly/107tyZs
@BeingTheWriter



How To Be Creative When Your Brain
Doesn't Want To Play: http://bit.ly/107wTrx
@RebootAuthentic



Some thoughts on Authority and
Credibility: http://bit.ly/107wYva
@VeronicaSicoe



Rules of writing fan fiction: http://bit.ly/11ClkPe @charmaineclancy



What 1 writer has learned from her cat: http://bit.ly/11ClmXv @JordanDane



How Busy People Can Find More Time for
Reading: http://bit.ly/11CFadq @jodyhedlund



Worldbuilding--Making the Most of
Holidays in Your World: http://bit.ly/11CFjxi
@juliettewade



Make the Reader Weep or Laugh: http://bit.ly/107HUJj @fictionnotes



What Worries Publishers Most? http://bit.ly/107HX7S @bmorrissey



Facing Failure: The Art of Eating Live
Frogs: http://bit.ly/107Ihnb @jeffgoins



11 Ways to Solve Your Writing
Procrastination Problem: http://bit.ly/107Ik2e



The Future of Publishing for Authors and
Professional Writers: http://bit.ly/107Io28
@wherewriterswin



Blogging Help: 7 Tools For Success: http://bit.ly/11CGEnT @heidicohen



The Basics of DIY E-Book Publishing: http://bit.ly/11CGJYA @writersdigest



How to Get In Touch With Your Characters
(Especially When You Have Writer's Block): http://bit.ly/107IuXt
@write_practice



Flog a Pro: Safe Haven by Nicholas
Sparks: http://bit.ly/11CH4e7 @RayRhamey



10 Important Questions You Should Ask A
Website Company Before Buying A New Website: http://bit.ly/107IHdf
@authormedia



5 Reasons Agents Don't Explain their
Rejections: http://bit.ly/11CHilq
@rachellegardner



A trad. published author tries
self-pubbing. Her one regret: http://bit.ly/11DJdpR
@annvosspeterson



Dialogue Involving Multiple Characters: http://bit.ly/11DJAAG



The Benefits of Talking Through Your
Scenes: http://bit.ly/108ounA @Janice_Hardy



Snip Skimming in the Bud: How to be
Eloquent and Snappy: http://bit.ly/11DJTeK



Judging Young Fiction By Their Covers: http://bit.ly/108oSTb



How To Make A Professional Standard Print
Book Interior: http://bit.ly/108p0lC
@JFBookman @thecreativepenn



A look at the new hybrids in creative
nonfiction: http://bit.ly/11DKywV



5 "Not This . . . But That"
Parallelism Problems: http://bit.ly/108p84s
@writing_tips



Memoir Writing Tips: How To Get Your
Story On The Page: http://bit.ly/11DKLAd
@thewritermama



Discoverability not a problem for
readers...1 reader bribed a librarian to put books in her hold queue: http://bit.ly/108pGau @kimthedork



Guy Kawasaki's 10 Social Media Tips for
Authors: http://to.pbs.org/11DLNMv
@mediatwit



The Business of Screenwriting: Everything
you wanted to know about specs: http://bit.ly/108q5K1
@gointothestory



When it's time to stop blogging: http://bit.ly/11DLYYe @yeomanis



Writing with an "authentic"
voice: http://bit.ly/108r8JZ
@TheHeraldRyanG



Down to Earth Structure: http://bit.ly/11DNkSM @Julie_Gray



Platonic Male-Female Relationships in
Fiction (a.k.a. "The Glue"): http://bit.ly/108rqAz
@fictiorians



Story Structure Provides A Framework For
Meaning: http://bit.ly/11DNwkP
@woodwardkaren

How Ebook Sales Affect Traditional Sales

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig





The series that I'm self-publishing had its start as a traditionally published product.



"Pretty is as Pretty Dies" was published by Midnight Ink in 2009.  The book earned out, but apparently wasn't considered a huge financial success by Midnight Ink, who indicated to me in 2010 that they'd rather not publish a sequel. I've never had hard feelings--publishing is a business. They need to make good business decisions or else they won't stay afloat. I was definitely disappointed, since I loved the characters, but I was too busy to be crushed.  I was already, at that point, working on the Memphis Barbeque series and was hearing that I might be considered for a second series with Penguin.



In both 2010 and 2011, I continued hearing from readers, asking when the next Myrtle Clover book was coming out.  I was buried in work at the time with the other series, but I hated telling them there wouldn't be more books in the series.  I did tell a couple of readers that...then I started telling them that I was considering putting more Myrtles out, myself.  My agent offered to shop the series to Penguin and St. Martin's, but I really didn't want to go that route because I knew it would take forever and the first book had come out in 2009. 



After dragging my feet for a while, I decided to take the leap into self-publishing.  It took a while.  During that time, I kept hearing of the success other authors were having with self-publishing and was kicking myself for not getting my rights back and finding the time to find editors, artists, and formatters.  Finally, I just gave myself a deadline.  I wrote to the publisher, asking for the rights to my characters back.  They returned them.  Then I put a team together and starting releasing Myrtles--the book that Midnight Ink had turned down, a revamped version of the very first book in the series, and a new book. 



While I was releasing the books, I ran sales on the self-pubbed items, frequently making one of the books free by making it free on Smashwords, then indicating to Amazon that the price was lower there.  Sales of the other books increased, I got a large number of reviews on a couple of the titles, and began getting more visibility with the Amazon algorithm.



I noticed that sales were also increasing for the traditionally-published, "Pretty is as Pretty Dies."  It was, after all, in the same series and introduced a main and recurring character in the series.  The sales seemed to be mainly Kindle sales and placed the book in the 25,000--35,000 Amazon bestsellers rank for many weeks...pretty good for Midnight Ink and pretty good for a 3 1/2 year old book. The book was garnering new reviews and interest...the book was enjoying a second life.



Then last September, I received an email from Midnight Ink.  I was curious, since I knew the sales for the book were suddenly strong.   Sadly, the email stated:



"As you likely know, sales of the book have slowed considerably to the point where we have decided to designate the book as out-of-print. This means we will be returning available rights to you and discarding the remaining inventory.



Prior to discarding the inventory, we are offering you the opportunity to purchase as many copies as you would like for 80% off of the original retail price plus freight. Please contact our customer service department at {redacted}to order your books. This is a one-time offer and your order must be placed by Friday, September 14, 2012. Any remaining inventory be shredded and recycled on Monday September 17, 2012. If you miss the deadline, you will be unable to purchase any copies of your book.



Midnight Ink hereby returns all international and domestic rights to you to the above named title with the following exceptions:



Ebook

English large print rights (domestic and international)

Note that this rights return does NOT include rights to the covers, interior or exterior artwork. Nor does it include typography or electronic files."



No, I didn't buy any books at 80% off.  :)  What on earth would I have done with them--stacked them up in a closet?  And the book is selling really well as an ebook...that seems to be the format that readers want the book in. It was just a pity I didn't have the ebook rights to that book back. 



It was a little sad that my books were shredded and recycled.  :)



What's my takeaway from this?  One takeaway is that Midnight Ink did me a tremendous favor by refusing a second book--I've certainly done well on my own and who knows when I'd have taken the self-publishing leap without an unsold book handy?  Another lesson is that ebooks are a lot more popular than print (I can't really draw another conclusion with the data I've got--few wanted the print version and the ebook version is selling briskly.) Another is that we don't have to let publishers decide when our series are over (as long as we can get the rights to the characters back.) I've also learned that it helps to have a series if you're self-publishing...the individual book sales build off each other. I haven't noticed as much of an effect on the sales of my other traditionally-published books in other series.  And I've learned that--now, anyway--offering books for free means increased visibility and sales for related books.



Do you prefer series, as a reader? Have you tried self-publishing?  Run any deeply discounted sales? Taken a discontinued series and re-started it, yourself?

Creative Exploration

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig





Image: MorgueFile: Bang

I recently read two posts that I found very interesting.  Most interesting to me was the different positions they took (unknowingly...the posts and authors weren't connected in any way) on the same issue--creative exploration.



One of the blogs is Original Impulse.  The blogger is Cynthia Morris, who describes herself as a creative coach for others...I think of her as a writer, since that's how I know her online.  She's a novelist and essayist and a proponent of having fun creatively, exploring creativity, and--as her site mentions--having a "creative adventure."



I think I've watched with interest especially because she does things that I don't do...she takes risks where I'm cautious.  She does things on a bigger scale than I--she travels to France to sketch and recharge her creative batteries where I might go to a local coffee shop.

 

And she recently decided to forego her regular blogging and focus on writing...to focus on painting.  She explains the hows and whys in her post "Getting Real, Getting Vulnerable, Getting Visual."



Which I find really inspiring.  I do. I never want to feel boxed-in, creatively.  Of course, I'd have to adapt what she's doing to suit my own life.  My visual-artistic talent is sub-zero on any scale and I've got two kids who still depend on me a lot, so travel is pretty much out of the question. But...it's just another reminder of those stories that are asking to be written.  Some time soon I'm going to shift focus to them (and no, they're not traditional mysteries.)



The other post, which took a strikingly different view, was by experienced writer James L. Rubart in his post "You Can Only Write in One Genre. Period. End of Story."  And, as he mentions in his first paragraph, the post title pretty much sums up his feelings on the subject...the remainder of the post he explains his position on the topic.



My post isn't a tale of a good approach and a bad approach or what to do or what not to do.  James Rubart has some very good points in his piece and he's looking out for readers and writers, too...which I appreciate.  Yes, readers can get confused when we branch out into different genres.  We've carefully built up reader loyalty, then we're pulling the rug out from under them.  Worst case scenario, they feel tricked.



This, honestly, is one of the real joys of self-publishing.  As I read through the comments, I kept looking for someone to bring that point up.  Finally, near the middle of the (long) list of comments, I found someone--James Scott Bell, as a matter of fact.  As James stated:

Branding has been an essential element here, due to readership building,
store ordering and shelf space. All that's been turned around in the
digital age. I reflected on that
a bit ago. Traditional publishers are starting to catch on, albeit
slowly, to the idea that (to paraphrase the old Wonder Bread
commercials) a writer can build strong readers 12 ways. 

There are many ways to address this problem and none of them involve short-changing ourselves creatively.  For one, we don't have to face a roadblock from an agent or publisher if we want to explore a different genre--we can publish the book ourselves.



For another...if we really don't want a dedicated reader to accidentally purchase a book in a different genre, we could use a pseudonym.  Yes, it means building up another brand. But it's worth it.  And...it's easy enough these days to link the two names together on sites like Goodreads and Amazon.  Our websites could also list the books with a disclaimer: it's a different genre than they're used to reading from us.



Creative freedom and freedom of expression is incredibly important for us to thrive and continue producing...and producing quality content.  We need to find the balance between satisfying our own creative impulses and making it a satisfying experience for our readers.



Have you considered writing other genres?  Or...even exploring other artistic formats?

When to Start or Stop a Series

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig




I'm a real fan of writing series.  That's probably obvious, since I write three of them.  It gives me more opportunity to fully-develop my characters and give them growth throughout the series.  In addition...it's honestly a lot easier to write series.  You put a setting in place, and recurring characters in place--which makes subsequent books easier to write.

As a reader, I like series, too.  I feel more invested in the protagonist and recurring characters if I know I'll be spending several books with them.  I'll even soak in the setting and descriptions a bit more, since I know they'll be needed lately (as I've mentioned before, I frequently will gloss over any descriptions when reading.)

Elements that make for a good series:

A strong protagonist.  This character shouldn't take a back seat in the story--he should make things happen instead of having things happen *to* him.  There should be room for character growth there, too, and change.

Either a big conflict (for linked series where the plot continues from book to book) or solid new conflicts for each non-linked book in a series.  Some subplots work well in series, too..romantic subplots are frequently popular with writers of all genres. 

An interesting setting.  And one that's interesting for the writer to write, too.

Elements that also make for good standalones...strong supporting characters, believable conflict, good pace, etc.


When to call a series quits:

When your publisher says it's finished.  :)  (These days you should see if you can get the rights to those characters back and continue the series yourself.)

When your characters start becoming static and your ideas are drying up.

When you find you're recycling plots.

When readers lose interest.



Do you prefer writing and reading standalones or series better? 



Image: MorgueFile: beglib