Riley Adams's Blog, page 81

December 16, 2017

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 43,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.

Happy Holidays to all who celebrate. I will be taking a blog break until I return two weeks from today for an especially long Twitterific that will include my top shared links for 2017.

Business / Miscellaneous

6 Tips to Survive a Writing Disaster:

3 Reasons Your Book Might Not Be Selling: @AuthorMelindaC @IndiesUnlimited

How to Build a Business Around a Book: @JimKukral @thecreativepenn

How to work with difficult editors: @pubcoach

The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
Click To Tweet

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Published on December 16, 2017 21:02

December 14, 2017

Creating ‘Best of 2017 Tweets’ Posts

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I posted on this last year, but I thought it was worth another mention. If you’re on Twitter, it’s pretty easy to find your best-performing tweets of the year and retweet them (I like to add a hashtag like ‘TopTweets2017′).

There are a few good things about doing this. For one, you can revisit content that’s proven popular for your followers on Twitter. For another, if you share other authors’ posts, it gives you the opportunity to highlight their content again, providing networking, along with goodwill. It can also be nice to stay active on social media during the holidays without being constantly online…simply schedule your top tweets using a service like Hootsuite or Buffer.

To find which posts were most popular for 2017, left-click your profile picture. A drop-down box appears.

Click on Analytics

Click ‘View all tweet activity’ (here you can also see your top follower and other information).

Click ‘top tweets’

Click the drop-down arrow next to ‘last 28 days’ and choose your date range

instagram_177f06a28e-compressor

The tweets will pop up

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Twitter also allows you to export tweets, but I found this somewhat less useful because it downloaded all of the tweets, when I only wanted the most popular tweets.

Before sharing any links, makes sure that the links are still good. Sometimes bloggers shut down their blogs or change websites.

Do you use Twitter analytics? Are you using Twitter as part of your social media platform (lots of writers and industry folks there–not so sure about readers).

How to create 'best of 2017' tweets with Twitter analytics:
Click To Tweet

Photo by Joshua Earle via Visual Hunt

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Published on December 14, 2017 21:02

December 10, 2017

Sleep Better with a Shutdown Routine

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I am a horrible sleeper, and I always have been. One of my earliest memories is of watching a backlit, analog clock for hours and hours waiting for the little hand to get to seven and the big hand to twelve (my parents didn’t want me running around the house before then). I must have been three.

One of the reasons I sleep poorly is that my mind is spinning with things that need to get done. I’m frequently so busy during the day that my brain doesn’t have time to process upcoming tasks until I’m finally lying down.

I’ve realized for a while that I sleep better if I review my calendar before going to bed (making sure that I won’t wake up in the middle of the night wondering if my dental appointment was for the morning or the next day). I also sleep better if I do a brain dump of upcoming tasks: everything from errands to housework to writing to promo. Then I organize those tasks into a to-do list (more on my to-do lists in this post).

I hadn’t thought of a name for this process, but author assistant Mel Jolly recently referred to it in her newsletter as a ‘shutdown routine.’

What I especially like about Mel’s approach is that she has instituted a sort of ‘office hours’ setup at her house. She’s not always available nor always working on something. I’ve found that one of the troubles of being a working writer is that I might still be playing around with something at nine o’clock at night.

Mel states:

(You need) something to tell your brain that it’s time to rest now and that there’s no need to keep thinking about work. You’re on top of everything, even if things didn’t get done, they’re on the list. You’ve checked your calendar and you know what’s coming up next.

I like the thought of the last check of email, the last look at the calendar. I like feeling that I’m on top of everything and that I can pick up where I leave off the next day.

As an additional part of my shutdown routine, I shift anything that didn’t get finished that day to the next day’s to-do list. That way I make sure that nothing falls through the cracks.

Do you have a shutdown routine? How’s your sleeping? :)

[bctt tweet=”Use a shutdown routine for a better sleep habit: ” username=”elizabethscraig”

Photo via VisualHunt

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Published on December 10, 2017 21:02

December 9, 2017

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Business / Miscellaneous

Stealing Intellectual Property (Contracts/Dealbreakers): @KristineRusch

Hiring a Virtual Assistant: @ChloeAdlerWrite

5 Year-End Questions for Writers: @JL_Campbell @TheIWSG

How to protect your writing from a computer emergency: @trionaguidry @TheWriterMag

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

At FutureBook 2017: More Volume in Audiobooks, Impact in EdTech: @rogertagholm @mtamblyn

The Industry is Too Snobbish’: ‘Most Memorable Moments’ of the FutureBook Conference: http://ow.ly/ZmMp30h61aD @Porter_Anderson @thejeffnorton @ElizaFilby #wkb84

Creativity and Inspiration / Careers in Writing and Day Jobs

8 Side Hustle Ideas That Could Make You a Better Writer: @abbigailekriebs

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

Coping with Reading Guilt in 7 Easy Steps: @NicolaAlter

5 Books With Really Unreliable Narrators: by Gordon Connelly @scottishbktrust

9 Terrifying Books That Aren’t Shelved as Horror: by Stubby the Rocket @tordotcom

“My Life as a Berenstain Bear”: @tajjaisen @ElectricLit

Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation

5 Reasons Jigsaw is the Perfect Writing Mentor: @christophpaul_

12 Tips to Get Unstuck and Finish Writing Your Book: @lornafaith

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

Tips for Better To-Do Lists:

3 Tips To Help You Carve Out Better Writing Time: @rsmollisonread

6 Tools to Get You Writing: @JoelDCanfield

Tips for Making Writing a Habit:

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / When to write

Waking Up Early to Write: @jamieraintree

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

How to Overcome Writer’s Block: A Surprising Solution: @JerryBJenkins

Creativity and Inspiration / Success

5 Things Indie Authors Need to Consider Before Giving Up: @Bookgal

“5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Selling My First Book”: @KnightoftheLion

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

Writing While Under The Influence of Depression: @markoneill @thecreativepenn

16 Fun Gifts for Writers: by Kelly Gurnett @thewritelife

10 Gift Ideas for the Reader or Writer in Your Life: by Rachel Fogle De Souza @BookTrib

30+ Gifts for Writers: @JFarrisKnight @WritersDigest

7 Gift Ideas for Writers: @10MinNovelists

Everything You Need to Know about Listening to Music While Writing: @ChadRAllen

Dealing with Conflict on Social Media: @emilyhughes @penguinrandom

Christmas gifts for writers: @KMWeiland

Gifts for authors and writers: 25 hand-picked ideas: @sandrabeckwith

The Ultimate Gift Guide for Writers — 2017 Edition: @JamiGold

Holiday Gifts for Writers: @AngelaAckerman

“Paradoxes of the writing temperament– quiet people who are expressive; private people who want to draw you into a deep experience”: http://ow.ly/F6Lm30gZBZ8 @Roz_Morris @janedavisauthor #wkb31

Genres / Fantasy

5 Mythical Monsters From the Edges of the Map: by Joe M. McDermott @tordotcom

What Fantasy Authors Can Learn from Marvel Studios: @NicolaAlter

Designing Your Fantasy Empire: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants

Genres / Horror

Hardwired for Fear: Why We Love to be Scared: @shanedkeene

5 Horror Subgenres That Would Work in a Superhero Film: @benedictseal

Genres / Middle-Grade

“How I Discovered Writing Middle Grade Isn’t Scary”: @amycourage7

Genres / Miscellaneous

How to Write and Sell a Graphic Novel (When You Meant to Write a Novel): By Nate Evans

A Subgenre of One’s Own: by Shawn Coyne @SPressfield

Genres / Non-Fiction

Nonfiction: 9 Steps to Help You Write a Good First Draft in a Month: @NinaAmir

Genres / Romance

Romantic Conflict 101: @jillkemerer

Genres / Screenwriting

Screenwriting: Great Scene: “Saving Private Ryan”: @GoIntoTheStory

Addressing the passage of time in a script: @GoIntoTheStory

Genres / Short Stories

Transforming a Short Story Into a Novel: @marybracht @WritersDigest

Promo / Blogging

10 rock-solid reasons why every indie needs an author blog: @SmartAuthors

Promo / Book Reviews

Book Review Sites To Help You Get Into Libraries and Stores: @NewShelvesBooks

Promo / Miscellaneous

3 Essential Questions for Every Author: @JudithBriles

Promo / Newsletters

Author Newsletters: How to Avoid Spam Filters: @GlennJMiller

Promo / Social Media Tips

Goodreads Quick Start Guide for Indie Authors: @CaballoFrances

Promo / Speaking

Prepare to Present with Confidence: @DonnaGalanti @WriterUnboxed

Promo / Video

Using Patreon and YouTube to Grow a Writing a Career: Case Study: @JaneFriedman @jayonaboat

Publishing / Miscellaneous

How to turn a literature and creative-writing teaching background into an editorial business: @LouiseHarnby

“16 Things I Would Tell My Younger Writing Self”: @AnitaFreshFaith

Barnes & Noble Wants to Clear ‘Tchotchke’ Clutter, Sell More Books: @PassiveVoiceBlg @JeffreyT1

Approving and Paying for Your Audio Book: @AngelaQuarles

3 Reasons Why You Might Not Want a Hybrid Publisher: @LizbethMeredith @JaneFriedman

Publishing: LGBTI-Friendly Workplaces and Content: @michielams@Porter_Anderson

Publishing in Political Times: An Anthology in Sexual Assault and a ‘Negro Motorist’ Guide: http://ow.ly/pgT730h1XKI @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives #wkb88

Publishing / News / Data

New World Literacy Report: Boys Lagging Girls by 18-Points: @Porter_Anderson @UNESCO

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Scotland Creates Its Own Book-Giving Tradition with #ScotBookFlood; Open Road Update @Porter_Anderson

Russia’s Clever Publishing Adds North American Market through Quarto: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

HarperCollins India and Hindi Pulp Fiction: @Porter_Anderson @SurenderMPathak @pubperspectives

Irish Author Sally Rooney Wins the UK’s Sunday Times/PFD Prize: @Porter_Anderson @sallyrooney

European Publishers Slam ‘Unwarranted Delay’ in VAT Reform for Books: http://ow.ly/1jUu30h30iA @Porter_Anderson @FEP_EU @pubperspectives

Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing

Indie publishing the 2017 way – video chat with sci-fi author Nick Cook: @Roz_Morris @CloudRiders

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing

3 Ways to Survive Waiting in Publishing: @LovettRomance @DIYMFA

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Pitches

An Elevator Pitch for the 8-Second Attention Span: @Bookgal @BookWorksNYC

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

The Conflicting Advice You’ll Receive on Query Letters: @JaneFriedman

Publishing / Process / Formatting

Print Ready Files from InDesign or MS Word: @IndieKidsBooks

Writing Craft / Beginnings

5 Tips to Start Your Book or Film With a Bang: @patverducci

First-Page Critique: Setting and Character: @AlpertMark

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

5 Tips for Creating Complex Characters: @_HannahHeath

How to Choose Character Fears: @Je55ieMullin5 @YAtopia_blog

Help With Character Creation: @MarchMcCarron

Bringing Dead Characters to Life: @Kid_Lit

Understanding your character’s lens: @AnneGBrown @WriterUnboxed

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

Show, Don’t Tell? Sometimes Telling is Important: @NovelEditor

Writing Craft / Diversity

When It Comes to Inclusivity in Publishing, Editors Also Play a Role: by Jennifer Baker @ElectricLit

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

5 Things Learned From Dead Writers: @thewritertype @Bang2write

Writing Craft / Literary Devices

How Literary Themes Are Presented in a Book Series: @SaraL_Writer

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

10 Reasons You Should Be Writing 10-Minute Plays: by Ross Brown @scriptmag

How to Write Foreigners in Dialogues: @Melfka

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

The Midpoint Reversal: @Janice_Hardy

The Act Two Disaster: @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

5 Examples of Repetition and Redundancy: @writing_tips

Writing Craft / Revision

5 Gripping Ways to Revive Your Story’s Messy Middle: @DavidHSafford

5 Marie Kondo Practices For Your Revisions: @jjbrinkmeyer

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

When To Share Your Writing With Others: @JillWilliamson @GoTeenWriters

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

Authentic historical detail enriches your fiction by triggering memories: @RuthHarrisBooks

A Look at Masterful Character Description: @LiveWriteThrive

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

Squash These Wordy Phrases: @ZoeMMcCarthy

Writing Craft / World-Building

Worldbuilding for SF and other fiction, reimagined for roleplayers: @Roz_Morris @fictoplasm

Creating a Fictional Religion: by J. W. Barlament @mythicscribes

Writing Tools / Apps

4 Ways to Make Notes in Scrivener: @Gwen_Hernandez @WriterUnboxed

Writing Tools / Resources

Writing Tools To Help You Plan Your Book: @AuthAccelerator @AngelaAckerman

The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
Click To Tweet

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Published on December 09, 2017 21:02

December 7, 2017

Tips for Making Writing a Habit

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

One of the hardest things about writing is the sitting down and doing it. Usually, once you start, it gets a little easier from there.

Building a habit of writing is one way to be more productive. When writing becomes a natural part of your day, it makes the process that much easier.

At this point, writing has become almost like muscle memory to me. The stories are all different, but the process is the same. I may not feel an ounce of inspiration when I sit down at my computer, but soon I’m getting caught up in my story again.

Tips

Write at the same time and at the same place. The writing space doesn’t really matter, as long as you’re comfortable and the set-up is somewhat ergonomic. The idea is simply to send a message to your brain that it’s time to write.

Set up a ritual of sorts surrounding the writing, so that writing naturally comes next. Basically, you’re setting up cues similar to the assigned writing spot above. For me, it’s getting dressed, going downstairs, letting the dog out and feeding the dog, and sitting down to write.

Have a good idea of what you’re going to write that day…either by noting where you left off the day before and what you want to accomplish next, or by thinking it over while you’re going through the motions of your pre-writing ritual.

Know what helps you be more productive. Do you write better when it’s completely silent? If you’re fitting in writing on your lunch break then, can you get away from the office? Sit on your car? Or, if you’re someone who needs to write with background sound, make sure to have music available.

Know when you’re most productive during the day. If it’s first thing in the morning, do as much as you can the night before to smooth the way for your early morning writing session. If it’s at lunch or at night, do the same way–the idea is to remove impediments to your writing.

Keep your goals simple and easily reached. (Set S.M.A.R.T. goals.) I’ve found it more important to have a habit than to have a tremendous daily word count. Slow and steady wins the race.

Possible issues: The only problems I’ve had with writing habits is being flexible when my plan for the day goes unexpectedly out the window. Now, I’ve gotten better at hitting a reset button and making sure I hit my writing goal later that day (even if it’s an unusual time for me to write).

Do you have an established writing habit? What are some of your tips for creating a maintaining one?

Tips for Creating a Writing Habit
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Photo via Visualhunt (Olu Eletu)

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Published on December 07, 2017 21:02

December 3, 2017

Tips for Better To-Do Lists

Shows to-do list in the background. List states Elizabeth Spann Craig.

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Published on December 03, 2017 21:02

December 2, 2017

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Business / Miscellaneous

Writing To Market – What It Means & Some Considerations: @KhaosFoxe

Digital Science Releases Scholarly Publishing Blockchain Report: @Porter_Anderson

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

The 85K Writing Challenge for 2018: @Julie_Valerie

A closer look at the upcoming FutureBook conference in London: @Porter_Anderson

5 Ingredients for an Awesome School Visit: @PM_Freestone @scottishbktrust

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

Boost Your Creative Mojo (podcast): @grantfaulkner @DIYMFA

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

Writers Learn from Reading / IWSG Book Club: @TheIWSG @ChrysFey

368 “best books of 2017” lists: @largeheartedboy

Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation

Thinking about the rewards of writing can be motivation for continuing to write: @SloanTamar

Reducing the Noise of Hesitation: @MattBPerk

Never Give Up (Or Why New Writers Feel A Little Nuts): @10MinNovelists

Don’t wait for your Muse. Avoid precious rituals. Get into the daily habit of doing the work. @inkyelbows

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

On Maximizing Creativity: By Bonnie Randall

6 Simple Tips to Create Daily Writing Habits: @hodgeswriter

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly

The importance of tracking our writing: @pubcoach

Creating the Right Mindset to Be Productive: @JRoseBooks

Unplugging for Productivity: @Julie_Klassen

Creativity and Inspiration / Success

The 3 Secrets to Addictive Fiction: @VictoriaMixon @WritetoDone

Three Fiction Essentials to Keep Readers Reading: @Lindasclare

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

The Definitive Way to Organize Your Books: An Illustrated Guide: @tomgauld @lithub

25 Gift Ideas For The Writer In Your Life: @thecreativepenn

3 Tips to Help You Understand Your Writing Fear: @patverducci @SPressfield

Why Journaling is a Powerful Way to Transform Your Life: @writingthrulife

5 Ways Writers Can Survive A Quake: @kcraftwriter

What Are You Wearing? Why Writers Should Care: @colleen_m_story

4 ways to build mental toughness for writing: @pubcoach

Writing Through Fear and Anxiety: @BJoycePatterson @DIYMFA

6 Famous Writers Injured While Writing: @knownemily @lithub

How to Spend a Literary Long Weekend in Boston: @baburoset

Vanquishing the Killer Critic: @barbaraoneal @WriterUnboxed

Genres / Fantasy

History for Fantasy Writers: How Old Was Old? by E.L. Skip Knox

Worlds Within Worlds: Qi and Fantasy: @DeadmanMu @FantasyFaction

Genres / Horror

A beginner’s guide to writing horror novels: @bethanyrscott @beprolifiko

7 Beloved Authors Who Occasionally Dabbled in Horror: @EmmanuelNataf

Genres / Miscellaneous

Illuminating the Edge of Dark Contemporary Fiction: @KairaRouda

Tips for Writing and Self-Publishing Cross Genre Fiction: @CasiaSchreyer @lornafaith

Genres / Mystery

Crime Writing: From Hot Breath to Big Toes: More Cop Terminology: @LeeLofland

Parents’ secrets from their children as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg

Crime fiction authors who took risks with their genre: @mkinberg

Crime Writing: More Cop Terminology: @LeeLofland

Genres / Picture Books

Self-Publishing a Picture Book: @KarenCV @FrugalBookPromo

Genres / Screenwriting

Screenwriting: “La La Land”: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown: @GoIntoTheStory

Screenwriting: 5 Ways To Stand Out In The Script Pile: @Bang2write

Promo / Blogging

Using and Understanding Google Analytics for Beginners: @HelloMorganTimm

Promo / Miscellaneous

Journaling a Book as a Reader ‘Extra’:

8 Ways For Authors to Waste Their Money: @thDigitalReader

5 Simple Amazon Sales Tips for Indie Authors: @Bookgal

Why You Need an Author Tagline and 3 Tips for Creating One: @laina_turner

The Angsty Relationship Between Writing and Sales: @andilit

How to run a successful book preorder campaign: @DianaUrban

Promo / Platforms

10 Tips for Building Your Platform With Less Pain: @MargotStarbuck

Promo / Social Media Tips

How to Create Screencasts With Your Smartphone: @Tabitha_Carro @SMExaminer

Promo / Speaking

5 Tips for Engaging Your Audience: @Julie_Glover

Promo / Websites

Are You Hiding at Your Author Website? @JanalynVoigt

Publishing / Miscellaneous

A Contest Judge Reveals How to Win Writing Contests: by Alice Sudlow @write_practice

Publishing / News / Amazon

Amazon’s new imprint for short-form work: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / News / International Publishing

‘New Influencers’: Social Media Specialists and Canadian Publishing: @lukaesque @pubperspectives

European Booksellers Cheer Talks Moving Ebooks Out of Geo-Blocking: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

In China: Bookselling Trends and OpenBook’s Bestseller Lists for October: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Shanghai Children’s Book Fair Sees Gains Amid Concerns About Imports: @Porter_Anderson

Canadian Copyright Challenge: Québec’s Copibec Class Action Update: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Renuka Chatterjee on International Fiction Series at Speaking Tiger Books: @Porter_Anderson

Italian Publishers Welcome Tax Credit for Libraries After # IoLeggoPerché Project: http://ow.ly/bJCu30gROZS @ Porter_Anderson @ pubperspectives # wkb64

Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing

An Introduction to Self-Publishing Fiction: @kristen_kieffer

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing

9 Little Known Facts about Getting Published: @ChadRAllen

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Pitches

5 Ways to Perfect Your Pitch: @Editor_Amanda @DIYMFA

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

Should You Revise & Resubmit? @AuthorSAT

Querying weird books: @Janet_Reid

Publishing / Process / Distribution

In-Depth Comparison of Ebook Distribution Platforms: Maximize Reach and Profit: @ReedsyHQ

Publishing / Process / Translation

The UAE’s Rewayat Imprint: Translations For, and From, the Arab World: @Porter_Anderson @Bodour

Writing Craft / Beginnings

Is Your Inciting Incident Strong Enough? First Page Critique: @JordanDane

The Pros and Cons of Using a Prologue and When to Write One: @MegLaTorre @writersdigest

Flog a Pro: would you pay to turn the first page of this bestseller? @RayRhamey

The Opening Scene: @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Unhelpful thinking styles: which one does your character use? @SloanTamar

How to Create a Character Based on Internet Comments Sections: @weems503

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

How to Evoke Emotions as a Writer: by Paul Bates @RomanceUniv

Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists

Heroes Can Be Smart, But Not Even-Keeled: @CockeyedCaravan

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

The Mundane Doesn’t Belong in Your Story: @Margo_L_Dill

6 Novels With Weak Throughlines: by Oren Ashkenazi

Managing Large Casts of Characters: @plotlinehotline

Too many characters (podcast): @mythcreants

“3 Mistakes I Made: Series Writing, Not Understanding My Genre, and Expecting to be an Exception”: http://ow.ly/jGzH30gFvHq @ StephMorrill # wkb11

Writing Craft / Dialogue

Why Effective Dialogue Often Ignores Writing “Rules”: @KathySteinemann

Writing Craft / Diversity

How To Avoid Stereotypes When Writing Diverse Characters: @Bang2write

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

What ‘Twin Peaks’ Can Teach Us About Writing—And Experiencing—Trauma: @DorothyBendel @ElectricLit

6 Lessons Writers Can Learn from Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’: @JFarrisKnight @writersdigest

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

On the Dangers of Romanticizing Gentrification in Your Novel: @TobiasCarroll

5 Tips for Organizing Subplots: @KMWeiland

How to Practice Storytelling: 2 Essential Skills: @lori_puma @StoryGrid

Writing Conflict: The Nature of Dehumanization: from How to Fight Write

Detaching yourself from your character: from How to Fight Write

The Act Two Choice: @Janice_Hardy

‘Bad Sex In Fiction’ Award Goes To Novelist Who Compared Skin To Stained Bathtub”: @camilareads @nprbooks

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

Developing Your Plot: @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

Article Research: A Savvy Librarian’s Top Tips: @TiceWrites by Maia Veres

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

5 Stages of Grief for Writers When Dealing with Negative Feedback: @fcheung217 @CleaverMagazine

Writing Craft / Scenes

4 Key Ways to Launch a Scene: @Jordanrosenfeld @JaneFriedman

3 Questions to Ask Every Scene: @AndreaWriterlea

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

Writing Vivid Descriptions: @isekhmet

Writing Craft / Tension

Suspense Writing: 5 Hacks to Improve Your Story: @aleshahomans

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

Don’t Detail Every Movement Your Story Characters Make: @ZoeMMcCarthy

Writing Craft / World-Building

5 Tips for Creating Believable Fictional Languages: @KMWeiland

Writing Tools / Apps

Creatine and Using Scrivener Collections: @aprildavila

9 Manuscript Editing Software Programs Reviewed: by Carla King @BookBaby

What macros do for editors and proofreaders: by Paul Beverley @LouiseHarnby

Writing Tools / Miscellaneous

How to Build a Chapter–A Template to Try for Any Genre: @writeabook

Writing Tools / Resources

27 Great Websites for Writers: @EricaVerrillo

Writing Tools / Thesauri

Character Occupation Thesaurus Entry: E.R. Physician: @AngelaAckerman

The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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Published on December 02, 2017 21:02

November 30, 2017

Why You Need an Author Tagline

by Laina Turner, @laina_turner

I went to a writers conference years ago, and a panelist was talking about marketing. He said, many great writers never enjoy the chance to earn a living as an author because no one knows how great their books are. They think if they write an amazing book people will buy it, so they don’t put time and effort into marketing.

While writing a good book is a huge part of selling it books won’t sell if the reader doesn’t know it exists. You have to promote what you write.

It’s the business side of authoring.

There are plenty of readers for everyone, but there’s no denying it’s stiff competition. You must make a good first impression and hook potential readers in the split second you have their attention. There are many ways to do that, but today we’re going to talk about the author tagline.

You’re familiar with taglines; you see them all the time. These 2 popped into my head the minute I thought memorable tagline:

Verizon Mobile – Can you hear me now?
Timex – It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a person on the planet who didn’t recognize these taglines and immediately know the company they represented. You can also easily surmise that Verizon touts a strong cell signal and Timex a hardy timepiece. Their marketing departments have done a bang-up job.

Emotion and understanding are what you want to convey with your author tagline. You want the reader to know what you and your books are all about when they land on your website, Amazon page, or social media accounts.

You might think it’s not possible to create such a compelling tagline without the marketing budget of Verizon or Timex. Banish that thought because it IS possible.

An indie author whom I love and feel does a great job with her tagline is Heather Wardell. Her tagline is Women’s Fiction with Depth, Humor, and Heart. That line tells the prospective reader right off that these are fun loving books with a message.

You understand the WHY of developing your author tagline. Now you need to do it. Easier said than done my friend but here are some tips.

3 Tips for Developing Your Author tagline

Brainstorm words describing you/your writing, how you want your readers to feel when reading your books, or even how you feel while writing them. Brainstorm adjectives that describe the mood your book sets. Think of words that contain emotion and will evoke emotion. Don’t think about how these words connect. Just write them down.
Ask your current readers, editors, friends to give you words that describe you/your writing. It’s a great way to compare/contrast your thoughts with others. Remember this isn’t all about you. It’s about your readers and their perception of you and your books.

This could be a fun contest idea to build reader engagement. A way to not only get the information you’re seeking but get your readers bought into you and create excitement around your author brand. I promise you your readers will LOVE being part of the process.

When you get your long, long list of words, start looking for commonalities. Organize your list based on those commonalities. Then go one step further and see what other words with the same meaning aren’t on the list.

Taglines should be short and to the point. They need to be easy to remember and catchy. Simple to say to someone on the street, put in a meme on Instagram, on the back of your book cover, or on your website. All while embodying what you, your books, and your author brand is all about.

Don’t

Spend hours researching what others have done. You’ll undoubtedly find some of your favorite words taken and then get frustrated and upset for no reason. Remember there are plenty of readers for all of us.
Don’t think your tagline is set in stone. Much like your writing evolves so will your author brand. You may need to try out a few before you find one that fits.

Marketing yourself and your books are a constant. If your goal as an author is to make a living at your craft, then you want to embrace all aspects of the business. Spend time on the necessary steps to ensure your success. Marketing has to be as important to you as writing your next novel is.

As I said earlier, it’s the business side of authoring.

Do you already have an author tagline? I’d love to hear it. Drop it in the comments.

Laina Turner is the author of the Presley Thurman mystery series, the Trixie Pristine mysteries, and several stand-alone fiction and non-fiction titles. When Laina’s not writing cozy mysteries, she’s helping other authors reach their dreams at Writing Warriors Collective.

She’s a lifelong learner, coffee drinker, loves yoga and her family.

You can connect with her in the following places:

Website www.lainaturner.com/books
Amazon page https://www.amazon.com/Laina-Turner/e/B00494IOUQ
Pinterest 3500 followers https://www.pinterest.com/lainaturner/boards
Facebook fanpage 1500 https://www.facebook.com/LainaTurner
Instagram 2000 https://www.instagram.com/?hl=en
Twitter 15,000 https://twitter.com/laina_turner
Writing Warriors Collective https://www.facebook.com/groups/writingwarriorscollective/

Why you should have an author tagline and 3 tips for creating one (by @laina_turner ):
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Published on November 30, 2017 21:01

November 26, 2017

Journaling a Book as a Reader ‘Extra’

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’d been hearing that author notes could be a nice website ‘extra’ for readers or newsletter subscribers, or serve as promo copy on the product page for Amazon.

I’d experimented a little in my newsletters and on Amazon, but decided to take things a little farther this time. I decided to try journaling a book while I wrote it. I posted the journal on Google Docs, shared it so that anyone with the link could view it, and mentioned the journal on my website.

At first, I was a little worried. Writers’ lives aren’t the most interesting and was the writing process really going to draw readers in? Especially mine? I’m very routine-driven. Writing at 5 a.m. isn’t maybe the most fascinating thing in the world.

But then I became a little more observant about what was going on around me while I was writing. How was I managing distractions? How focused was I on the story? When and where was I getting my ideas? And I found that there were stories around the story.

I don’t give any major spoilers, just hint at some of what’s going on in the story that I’m writing. That can naturally lead into the genesis of the characters and how I feel about them. Who or what helped to inspire their creation. The origination of the supposedly fictional settings (that have a lot in common with real locations).

We can add images from the web, personal photos, links, and other things to make the journal more visually interesting.

I decided to pin the link to my journal at the top of my Facebook page. From there, it generated a lot of interest and readers reached. My post read: “What goes through a writer’s mind while working on a book? It can be surprising. Follow along as I write the next Myrtle Clover mystery, A Body in the Trunk.”

It’s also nice to post it on Facebook because readers can comment there. I disabled comments for the document on Google Docs, because I had the feeling it would turn into a real mess….comments are really intended for edits between project partners and are inline there. I’d say that the lack of ability to host comments is the only real problem I see with putting the journal on Google Docs. You could, of course, set up a similar journaling project on your blog—each entry could engender comments.

Do you use author notes? Journal books? What ‘extras’ do you include for readers?

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Published on November 26, 2017 21:01