Riley Adams's Blog, page 87

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 40,000 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.

I’m still on a blog break (except for my Twitterific roundups. Hope everyone is doing well. I’ll be back with my usual blogging schedule on Monday, July 31.  :)

Business / Miscellaneous

Change is Good: The Case for Book-to-Film Adaptations: by Lydia Cornett @SignatureReads

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

Where to find ideas: @AllieLarkin @WriterUnboxed
Writing Inspiration: Do You Really Need It to Write? @joebunting
‘War of the Roses’ author on coping with rejection (video): @WarrenAdler
The Complex Power of Mapping the World of Your Novel: @barbaraoneal

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

Toes in the Sand: 6 All-time Classic Beach Reads: by Rita D. Jacobs @SignatureReads
10 Works of Literary Horror to Read: @knownemily

Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation

How to Keep Writing When You Want to Quit: @aliventures
Keep yourself accountable – find a writing buddy: @businessinrhyme

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

Writer’s Block? Consider a Template: @KarenJordan

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly

Tips for slow writers for writing more quickly: @ChrysFey

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

When All of Your Family Heirlooms are Stories: @ginasorell
Keeping a positive mindset while writing: comic via @inkyelbows
3 Ways to Stop Self-Sabotaging Your Writing: @cslakin
How to Annotate the World: A Proposal for Literary Geo-Tagging: by Adam Bonislawski @lithub
What 1 Writer Has Learned So Far: @rickischultz
5 Things All Writers Should Know When Writing a Second Novel: @jessicastrawser
4 Ways to Make Journal-Writing Part of Your Everyday Life: @paperblanks

Genres / Fantasy

Writing diverse urban fantasy: @Brianna_daSilva

Genres / Humor

Tips for writing humor: @SDonovanAuthor

Genres / Mystery

Crime fiction: murders that appear complex but have simple solutions: @mkinberg
Crime Writing: The Queen of Poisons and The Marsh Test: @DPLyleMD

Genres / Non-Fiction

Changes In The Publishing Industry And Launching Non-Fiction Books: @danblank

Genres / Picture Books

Picture Book Writing Style: @kid_lit

Genres / Science Fiction

The Science in Your Science Fiction: Time Travel: @MelanieMarttila @diymfa

Genres / Young Adult

On Writing Young Characters: @CeciliaGalante5 @AmitaTrasi @lithub

Promo / Ads

Tips for Amazon Ads: @Bookgal
Rejected By BookBub? Look In The Mirror And Change Your Marketing Ways: @EbooksAndKids @DigiBookWorld
Can Facebook Ads Really Boost Your Author Platform? @EmilyWenstrom

Promo / Blogging

Why Blogging is Important for Writers: @ShelleyWidhalm

Promo / Book Reviews

Tips for approaching book bloggers: @Bookgal
The Value of Book Reviews for Indie Authors: @ChantiReviews @IngramSpark
The Myth Of Reviews: @nlowell
Sell Sheets: How to Pitch Your Book to Reviewers: @juicetom

Promo / Connecting with Readers

7 Ways to Turn Readers into Buying Fans: @clarewhitmell

Promo / Libraries

Libraries and Self-Published Authors: @TEdunWrites

Promo / Miscellaneous

7 Top Book Marketing Takeaways from BookExpo 2017: @BookBub @DianaUrban
How Indie Presses and Authors Can Collaborate on Marketing Campaigns: @MeghanRFarrell
How to Use Infographics to Successfully Promote Your Book: @thecreativepenn

Promo / Newsletters

Setting Up and Building an Email List: @sabsky
Building a Mailing List through Reader Magnets: @MarcyKennedy
Bookfunnel vs Instafreebie: @NovelDes_Studio @instafreebie

Promo / Platforms

Define Your Target Audience: Branding/Discoverability: @KristineRusch
10 Things You Should Know About Having A Persona: @gabino_iglesias

Promo / Social Media Tips

Twitter Marketing: How to Boost Engagement and Connect to Influencers: @bookgal @bookworks

Promo / Websites

13 Timesaving WordPress Plugins: @petersonsar @smartbloggerhq
Insider’s Guide: Essential Author Website Component Checklist: @nocargr

Publishing / Miscellaneous

What’s the Best Time To Publish Your Book? @SpatzSteven @BookBaby
Should you write a dedication in your book? @rxena77
Audiobooks: How to get your book recorded as an audiobook: @CSPerryess @annerallen
Reviewing Peer Review: ‘The Integrity of Published Academic Work’: @porter_anderson @martin_eve
The World of a Literary Scout–and International Rights: @parulmac

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Publishing’s ‘brutal pattern’: the int’l industry, blockbusters, price, competition: @porter_anderson
Creative Europe’s New UK Report: In the Shadow of Brexit: @porter_anderson @ChristophJski
Wattpad Opens Partnership With France’s Hachette Romans: @porter_anderson @AshleighGardner
Freedom to Publish: Author @koraycaliskan Under House Arrest in Turkey: @porter_anderson @pubperspectives
Rights Interest Rising: Indonesian Publishers on International Trade: @porter_anderson

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing

When Changing Your Approach Results in Getting the Call: by Rebecca Hunter @HarlequinSYTYCW
Traditional Publishing: How Fiction Writers Nab Book Deals and Get Published: @kristen_kieffer

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

How to Write a Query Letter to a Magazine: by Georgina Roy
How to Immediately Improve Your Query Letter’s Effectiveness: @janefriedman

Publishing / Process / Book Design

Creating a stand-out book cover: @LouiseHarnby

Publishing / Process / Legalities

How to Use Lyrics in Your Writing Without Risk: @HelenSedwick
The Legal Side of Anthologies: @SusanSpann

Publishing / Process / Translation

Man Booker International 2018 Judges: Prize Honors Translator, Author: @porter_anderson @pubperspectives

Writing Craft / Beginnings

Nail Your Opening Line With Tips From The Great Masters: @valleygrrl

Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists

Villains & Villainesses: Architects of Story: @carablack
5 Characteristics of an Epic Villain: by Antonio del Drago @mythicscribes

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

7 Character Development Keys: @gointothestory
How to Take Advantage of Your 4 Most Important Characters: @kmweiland

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

5 Tips For Writing An Emotional Scene: @MichelleGriep

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

Fixing Flat Plots: @KMWeiland
Is your Narrative Treating Readers like Idiots? @p2p_editor
One Simple Trick to Avoid an Opening Page Infodump: @jamigold

Writing Craft / Dialogue

The Random Dialogue Exercise: @jamesscottbell
Subterfuge in Dialogue: @beccapuglisi

Writing Craft / Drafts

From Idea to Novel: @ClareLangleyH
What Should You Focus On While First Drafting? @ava_jae
The Writing Process…It Ain’t No Unicorn Hug: @KristenLambTX

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

Using Groundhog Day as a Tool for Learning Screenwriting: @CockeyedCaravan
Fictional characters – a lesson from Seinfeld: @roz_morris

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Reader Wonder: How To Get It: @Janice_Hardy
5 Things Learned From Story Expert John Yorke: @LivSFB
Narrative Structure: What It Is and How To Use It: @I_am_Mr_Pants

Writing Craft / Pacing

Writing an Action Story: 8 Tips for Faster Pace: @nownovel

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining

Your 3-Step Plan for Outlining A Novel: @beccapuglisi

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

How to Write Contemporary Fiction: Don’t Imitate Tolstoy: @annerallen

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

19 Academic Writing Search Engines: via Fix Your Writing Habits

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

3 Sentences That Lack a Word to Achieve Parallel Structure: @writing_tips

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

Writing Groups for Beginners: @jasonbougger

Writing Tools / Resources

Writing Study Guide Worksheet: @EvaDeverell

Uncategorized

5 Ways to Improve Your Verbal Imagery: by Dawn Field @DIYMFA

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

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

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 40,000 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.

A couple of notes today:   First off, thanks to Feedspot for naming my blog one of the Top 50 Mystery Blogs.

Also:  I’m taking a summertime blog break for a couple of weeks. No regular blog posts from me until July 31st, but I’ll be back here next week on the 23rd (and again on the 30th) with my Twitterific roundups. Then I’ll be back starting the 31st with blog posts on confirming newsletter subscribers, evaluating a series, reviewing a writing year in progress, and thoughts on teaser chapters.   Hope you have a great couple of weeks!

Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels

10 Things 1 Author Did Right As a Debut Novelist: @manzanitafire
How to Write a Book: @woodwardkaren

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

Music as a companion while writing: @Gwen_Womack @Roz_Morris
6 Websites with Great Writing Prompts: @ToddBrison
What a Week of Pro Tennis Taught About Writing: @barbarajoss
How Taking a New Path in Writing Can Fire Up Your Muse: @LizandLisa

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

‘Reading My Namesake’: on Titus Groan: @tituschalk @FantasyFaction
These Hand-Drawn Maps Helped Create ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Books: @slaskow
5 Sci-Fi Stories for Crime Writers: @NikKorpon

Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation

How Would Your Writing Change If You Were Fearless? @Bang2write

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly

Long Break from Writing? Getting Back in Shape Quickly: @NickThacker
Staging a Book Blitz: @barbaraoneal @WriterUnboxed
Ways Writers Can Hack through Distractions: @CSLakin

Creativity and Inspiration / Success

John Grisham’s Do’s and Don’ts for Writing Popular Fiction: @JohnGrisham @nytimesbooks
10 Ways to Make Readers Happy: @kayelleallen
5 Lessons Learned Between Books 7 & 8: @mollygreene
How to make money writing fiction: 11 tips: @JeffCars0n @LouiseHarnby

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

Writing Life Humor: Why You Should Always Proofread your Email One More Time: @inkyelbows
Only Writing Is Writing, Right? Wrong! @RosanneBane
Yes, You Can Learn To Write Better Fiction: @jamesscottbell
Clearing Hurdles with Writing and LIfe: @FinishedPages
Will working in publishing help a career as a novelist? @Janet_Reid
Stealing Time to Write: @SiouxR
Get that Creative Euphoria Without Alcohol or Drugs: @colleen_m_story
Why Don’t Some Writers Take Time Off? (And Why You Should): @Jenn_Mattern

Genres / Horror

Christopher Lee Reads Four Classic Horror Stories by Edgar Allan Poe (1979) @openculture

Genres / Mystery

First dates as elements in crime fiction: @mkinberg

Genres / Non-Fiction

The Ultimate Guide to Writing and Publishing a Nonfiction Book: @writingtipsoasi

Genres / Picture Books

10 Tips For Creating Your First Children’s Picture Book: @Michael_Gallant

Genres / Poetry

Why All Poems Are Political: @KathleenOssip @ElectricLit
On Sound and Rhythm: Teaching Poetry to Youth: by Jack Collum @PoetryFound

Genres / Romance

How to Write Romance Beats: @gwenhayes @lornafaith
Creating a Swoonworthy Beta Hero: by Elizabeth Harmon @RomanceUniv

Genres / Screenwriting

Title vs. Character Names: by Joel Haber @scriptmag
The best time in a script to handle a character’s backstory: @GoIntoTheStory
Great Scene: “Good Will Hunting” : @GoIntoTheStory

Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting

A Few Thoughts on Writing Better Book Titles: @aprildavila
A Book description issue: @snbradywriter

Promo / Book Reviews

Why do readers send authors their bad reviews? @Danoosha @GuardianBooks

Promo / Box Sets

How 2 Authors Created a Box Set to Boost Ebook Sales 350%: @MariCarr @BookBub

Promo / Miscellaneous

Planning Your Book Promotion Before You Publish: @JKSlitpublicity @IngramSpark

Promo / Platforms

Brand Identity (Branding/Discoverability): @KristineRusch
How to Create and Market your Author Platform For Free: @BadRedheadMedia

Promo / Social Media Tips

2 reasons to use your official author name on Twitter: @Roz_Morris

Publishing / Miscellaneous

Self-Publishing Professional: How To Sell Your Services: @angee
CreateSpace vs KDP Print: @SassyZenGirl
Platforms: @Draft2Digital Challenges ACX; Hungary’s PublishDrive at Google: @porter_anderson
Can You Make A Living as a Freelance Writer? @AGHackney

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Russia’s 10 Favorite Children’s Books of 2016: @DennisAbrams2 @pubperspectives
Startups: The Spanish Bookstage Rights Platform Closes This Month: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
IPA Condemns Verona Mayor’s Books Censorship Agenda: @Porter_Anderson @michielams
Canada’s $75,000 Cundill Prize Names Jurors: Record Submissions: @Porter_Anderson
‘An Examination of Convergence of Digital Tech. and the Cultural Context’: @porter_anderson @axflowers
Audience Engagement: New Report on European Book Fairs: @porter_anderson @aldusnet
Unicorn Acquires Chambers Retrospective; IPR License Signs Lang, ICE: @porter_anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

An Agent’s Advice: The Big 5 No-nos to Querying a Literary Agent: @Mark_Gottlieb

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections

Writing Contests: Why You Only Got an Honorable Mention: 4 Reasons: @davidfarland

Publishing / Process / Legalities

The Truth Behind Popular Copyright Myths: @SusanSpann
Book Disclaimers Don’t Have to be Boring: @HelenSedwick
Digital Piracy & Illegal Downloads: Author Options: @HelenSedwick @BookWorksNYC

Publishing / Process / Services to Avoid

How to Tell if You’ve Received a Genuine Publishing Offer: @Belinda_Pollard
The Vanity Press Trap: How to Avoid & Recoup the Damage: @carlaking

Publishing / Process / Translation

Daniel Hahn on Translation, Awards, and Dodging Oblivion: @porter_anderson @danielhahn02

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Creating Your Character – A Checklist: @SKathAnthony @WritersAfterDrk

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

10 Ways To Show Your Character’s Emotions: @AngelaAckerman
Characters Are Affected by Events: @NovelEditor

Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists

Developing a series hero: @jamesscottbell

Writing Craft / Dialogue

Writing Wow Dialogue: @Lindasclare

Writing Craft / Diversity

How Do Literary Agents Approach Diversity? @sangeeta_editor @ericsmithrocks @JaneFriedman

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

8 Reasons Your Critiques of Marvel Are Wrong: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

How to Calculate Your Book’s Length Before Writing: @KMWeiland
What if the hero was the heroine? Turning Your Story Upside Down: @RachelHauck
Using the Rule of Three in a Major Scene: @PTBradley1 @NovelRocket
Yes, Your Novel Has a Message: @theladygreer

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining

10 outline techniques for writers: by 1000 Story Ideas

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

12 Easy Steps to Break Down Your Story: @patverducci
The Blueprint for Writing a Novel from the First Five Pages to the End: @MartinaABoone

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

Are sympathy and empathy the same? @pokercubster

Writing Craft / Revision

10 Tips for (Re)Writing a Novel: @Jolina_Joy

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

Want To Grow As A Writer? Transform Your Critique Group: @michael_hauge

Writing Craft / Scenes

8 Steps to a Perfect Scene: @CSLakin
Does This Scene Deserve a Place in Your Story? 2 Ways to Find Out: @KMWeiland

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

4 Reasons You Should Outline Your Settings: @KMWeiland

Writing Craft / Special Needs

How to Treat Mentally Ill Characters When Writing a Novel: @SonjaYoerg

Writing Craft / Synopses

Tips for a Better Synopsis: By Suzanne Purvis

Writing Craft / Transitions

Creating Effective Transitions: @woodwardkaren

Writing Craft / World-Building

Where to Begin Worldbuilding: @authorvotey @TheIWSG
Money and Economics for SF/F Writers: @DanKoboldt

Writing Tools / Apps

7 Tools for Creativity: @JFbookman

Writing Tools / Resources

Want to support yourself with your writing? A worksheet to create a plan: @EvaDeverell

Writing Tools / Thesauri

Character Motivation Thesaurus: Escaping Homelessness: @beccapuglisi

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

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

10 Best Things About Writing Cozy Mysteries

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I like reading many different kinds of books. Everything from biographies to literary fiction and classic literature interests me.

But for writing, I’ve been sticking with cozy mysteries. There are a few reasons for that.  For one, I’m pretty well branded as a cozy mystery writer and that’s what readers are looking for and expecting from me. For another, it takes a whole lot more effort and research for me to switch to another genre (although I’ve done that…once.)

The biggest reason, though, is that writing cozy mysteries is so much fun.

Here are the 10 best things about writing cozy mysteries:

The sleuths: Tired of the clichéd alcoholic police detective? No worries. The cozy sleuth is a gifted amateur who shouldn’t be weighed down with addictions.

The sidekicks: Sidekicks in cozies are everything the sleuth isn’t. This affords some great opportunities for insight and even some conflict for the sleuth.

The closed setting:  Cozies are frequently set in closed settings–small towns or small sections of bigger towns (a barbeque restaurant in Memphis).  The suspects all know each other and the victim and are limited in number.

The reader age range: Because these books are G-rated, I’ve had some readers say that they’ve read them with their grandchildren.

The lack of research:  You want to get forensic and ballistic research right. It has to be believable and it takes time to make sure that it works.  In a cozy, the mystery is set up like a puzzle. There is very little, if any, research required.

The tidying up: The process of restoring order to the story world is incredibly satisfying.

The humor:  The light humor in cozies provides a nice relief to the seriousness of murder.  This is usually provided with situational humor.

The subplots:  The subplots are fun to write and show a different dimension to the characters. You can have subplots that arc over the course of the series or that wrap up with each book.   You can even have subplots that tie into the main murder plot in interesting twists.

The small-town motives:  Motives never involve international intrigue or organized crime. Instead, they could focus on something as small (and relatable) as feuds with neighbors. The process of writing the motives is very cathartic.

The readers:  Cozy readers love the mysteries.  They love the almost interactive process of solving the mystery with the sleuth. And they’re incredibly responsive–they answer email newsletters, they comment on Facebook, and they send emails. They also give great clues as to what they like…and don’t like (which can be even more helpful)…about your series.

Those are my favorite things about writing cozies.  How about you? What makes your genre satisfying to write?  Want to give cozies a go?  ;)

Photo via Visual hunt

The post 10 Best Things About Writing Cozy Mysteries appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Keeping Organized as a Writer

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Being a writer can involve a lot of clutter.

And I don’t even print things out. I’ve trained myself by this time to work as well on the computer as I used to on paper (that way I don’t have the time-consuming process of transferring notes or manuscript text to the computer later).  But there’s a lot of computer clutter.

I’ve found if I can keep my files organized, it helps me to write a lot faster. That’s because I can quickly access the information I need and keep writing my story without getting distracted by something else on my computer (hello, internet).

Here’s my (current) method, using Word.  I’ve gone through a bunch of different iterations and I’d be interested in hearing how you’ve set your own files up.

First off, the important stuff: the story bibles. For series writers, these are like gold. I may not immediately remember what type of car a character in book two drove…but I guarantee that some reader remembers (probably because they were binge-reading and book two is very fresh in their minds).  In these story bibles, I track eye color, past jobs, the street my character lives on, etc.  I have a folder for each series and individual documents inside those folders for each character. I also have documents for recurring settings (as broad as the town and the town names/proximity of nearby towns and as insular as the living room of the protagonist).

Next, the story itself. I want every scrap of information related to the story in the same folder.  I have a folder for each book.  Inside that folder are documents: the back cover copy, the outline, a list of things to fix/check on in later drafts, and the manuscript.

Finally, I’ve got a folder of information that helps me publish the story.   ISBNs for all the books are in one document. I’ve also got a document for metadata to ensure that I’m listing my book/series information consistently for better search engine optimization. I’ve got my headshot and bio handy and the back matter for my books (list of books, common acknowledgments, where to find me online, a pitch for my newsletter) in the same folder.

Backing up these files is essential. I back up to both a USB that I keep on my keychain and to the cloud.

For a look at how other writers stay organized, see Melissa Donovan’s post “Writing Tips for Getting and Staying Organized” and Elizabeth Covart’s post on keeping writing ideas and research organized by using Evernote. 

How do you organize your writing-related files? What else do you organize to help make your writing and publishing process smoother?

Tips for organizing writing-related files:
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Photo via Visual hunt

The post Keeping Organized as a Writer appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 40,000 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. 

Business / Miscellaneous

Saving Your Work–Ways to Keep Your Writing Safe Today: @writeabook

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

The #1 Tip For Introverts Attending a Writing Conference: @writingrefinery @DIYMFA

Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting

Summer Bucket Lists For Writers: @10MinNovelists

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

Ignite Your Imagination: 12 Books on Creativity: by Jessica Mizzi @SignatureReads

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

Horror in Translation: 8 Chilling Reads From Around the World: @Rcordas @tordotcom
“10 Things About Writing I (Re)Learned From Graphic Novels”: @Gabino_Iglesias
It’s All in the Rigging: 9 of the Best Boats in Fantasy: @fran_wilde @tordotcom

Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation

The Drive to Survive as a Writer: @christinadelay
Confidence and the Writer: @ByCatherineEgan

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

The Secret Schedules of Great Authors: @AndreaWriterlea
Are Your Writing Habits Beach Ready? Writing in the Summer: @SueBEdwards

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

Writer’s Block and You: On Causes and How to Write On: @HistoireLolita
Regaining confidence as a writer: @_FYWH

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly

Tracking Time: Analyzing Your Work Week For Maximum Productivity: @JillWilliamson
2 Ways to Beat Writing Procrastination and Finish Your WIP: @numawokcreative

Creativity and Inspiration / Success

6 Fantasies Standing Between You and Writing Success: @RuthHarrisBooks

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

18 Quotes for the Writing Life: @ErinMFeldman
How Do You Know When Your Writing Career Is Over? @edsikov
“Poultry?” No, Poetry. On Moving From Verse to Memoir: by Chris Forhan @lithub
10 Things Authors Would Like to Say to Their Worst Critics: by Raymond Esposito @WritersAfterDrk
8 unintended consequences of becoming a writer: @tmAlexander
Overcoming Negativity Bias: @e_foster3
4 Ways to Beat Frustration in Your Writing Career: @DanBlank

Genres / Fantasy

Publishing Urban Fantasy For 11 Months – Lessons Learned: @KhaosFoxe

Genres / Horror

Ghost story writing: a reading list: @huntershea1

Genres / Mystery

The M.I.C.E. Quotient and Mystery Stories: @woodwardkaren
Crime Writing: Collusion Illegal? Well, it Depends … : @LeeLofland
Writing a Murder Mystery: The First Victim: @woodwardkaren
Underdogs as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg

Genres / Poetry

The Ultimate Guide to Writing Poetry for Beginners: @writingtipsoasi
Top 10 Dip Into Poetry Lines: @lwlindquist @tspoetry

Genres / Science Fiction

Horses in Space: Evolving the Equinoid Alien: @dancinghorse @tordotcom

Genres / Screenwriting

Top 5 Screenwriting Mistakes Writers Make: @Bang2write

Genres / Young Adult

Writing teen dialogue: @SH_Marr_Writes

Promo / Platforms

Your Writing Platform: Letting Readers Know the (Sort of) Real You: @barbaraoneal
Creating an author tagline: @mybookshepherd

Promo / Social Media Tips

5 Twitter Chats for 5 Different Writers: @bronniesway @DIYMFA
5 Steps to Kick Your Marketing FOMO to the Curb: @cksyme @JaneFriedman

Promo / Speaking

3 Steps to Crafting Your Public Persona For An Author Speaking Engagement: @Dana_Kaye @DigiBookWorld

Promo / Websites

5 Good reasons to Secure Your Site: @AnneKnol1

Publishing / Miscellaneous

Alternative to ACX for Your Audio-Book: @111publishing
5 Tips for Applying to Writing Fellowships and Residencies: @decorcione
How good is my audio-book narration? And how do I minimize risk? @LouiseHarnby
The Millions : Why Literary Journals Don’t Pay: by M.R. Branwen @The_Millions
How New Writers Can Build an Impressive Writing Resume with Zero Experience: @tessaemilyhall

Publishing / News / International Publishing

A successful YA YouTube vlog is picked up by a Canadian press: @Porter_Anderson @llyonstweets
China’s Copyright Industry Shows Growth, Exports in Creative Products: @Porter_Anderson
Rights Update: Italy’s Piergiorgio Nicolazzini for Righetto, Gungui, Mosca: @Porter_Anderson
International Publishers Association Announces Prix Voltaire Shortlist: @Porter_Anderson
Hers and His Software: The Klopoteks’ Publishing System, Growing: @pubperspectives @Porter_Anderson
Two UK Acquisitions: Curtis Brown and Victor Ltd., Ingram and NBNi @Porter_Anderson
Rights Update: Lina Bengtsdotter’s Debut Book Sells to 10 Territories: @Porter_Anderson @BonnierRights
Sudanese Author Wins 2017 Caine Prize for African Writing: @DennisAbrams2 @CainePrize
From India: A Call for Short Fiction Entries on Delhi: @Porter_Anderson @SEffectBook
At Frankfurt’s ‘The Markets’: Haemin Sunim and the Pace of Publishing: @haeminsunim @Porter_Anderson

Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing

“Trying” to Self-Publish: @hopeclark

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Pitches

How Pitching a Novel is Like Being in the Secret Service: @JJHensleyauthor
In-Person Pitching: The Thrill of Victory and Agony of Defeat: @jenklepper @WomenWriters

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

Bookscan for the indie writer: @Janet_Reid

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections

Rejection Doesn’t Stop: @Ava_Jae @theverbs

Publishing / Process / Distribution

Aggregation without Aggravation: @pronoun and @publishdrive



How to Choose and Set Up a Pen Name: @HelenSedwick @JaneFriedman

Writing Craft / Beginnings

Fixing the first page: @Ava_Jae

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

5 Ways to Use Myers-Briggs for Characters: @KMWeiland

Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists

How To Give Your Hero Some Personality: by Hannah Collins
Hero Personality Profiles: The Archive @CockeyedCaravan

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

General writing misconceptions: @CockeyedCaravan
Why Head-Hopping Hurts Your Writing And How To Avoid It: by Paige Duke @standoutbooks

Writing Craft / Conflict

Are Your Conflicts Significant? @SeptCFawkes

Writing Craft / Diversity

Writing Black Characters Dealing with the Culture of Poverty: @evans_writer

Writing Craft / Drafts

5 Ways to Get Your Draft Written: @victoria_grif7

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

That Magic Technique: Dark City’s Influence on Modern Sci-Fi: by Leigh Butler @tordotcom

Writing Craft / Literary Devices

How to Use Similes and Metaphors: @AJHumpage
When Imagery in Description Is Useful, and When It’s Overkill: @Kid_Lit

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Writing Cinematically: 10 Movie Techniques to Apply to Your Novel: @AuthorDebRaney @stevelaubeagent
Food and Fiction: @JennyCrusie
Why Writing Rules Don’t Work but Writing Guidelines Do: @RuthHarrisBooks @annerallen

Writing Craft / Plot Holes

How to Fix Any Plot Hole Like a Pro: @ink_and_quills

Writing Craft / POV

Point of View: Third-Person Limited: @HelloTheFuture @theverbs

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

Plot Twists That Defy Genre Expectations: @NicolaAlter
4 Lessons on Plotting: @millie_ho
3 Whimsical Reasons to Daydream Your Story: @RuthanneReid

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

The Writer’s Guide to Anaphylaxis: @scriptmedic

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

Wrestling Run-On Sentences Into Shape: @KathyEdens1 @ProWritingAid
Faulty Parallelism: Parallelism With a Rebel: @ZoeMMcCarthy

Writing Craft / Revision

How to Make a Manuscript (More) Perfect: @KatieClarkBooks @tessaemilyhall
Trimming Tricks of the Trade: @GoIntoTheStory

Writing Craft / Scenes

4 Ways to Make a Scene Matter: @AndreaWriterlea

Writing Craft / Series

Settings and Series (video): @JAHuss

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

Worksheet to help writers with description: @EvaDeverell

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

Do you use too many sticky words? @pubcoach
Purple Prose: Why It’s So Terribly Fun: by Raymond Esposito @WritersAfterDrk

Writing Craft / World-Building

World Building: How much does it take to bring characters and places alive? @emma_darwin

Writing Tools / Resources

Yale’s Free Online Course on Lit Theory, Covering Structuralism, Deconstruction, More: @openculture @Yale

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Keeping Motivated

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I lurk in a lot of Facebook groups and while there are always writers who are pumped up about writing and promoting (yes, really, there are those writers!) I notice that there are just as many who seem frustrated or discouraged: either with their writing progress or with their lack of sales.

Sometimes they’ll be at least making steady sales and then will get completely undone by a terrible review.

Sometimes they say that they don’t really have family support for writing or feel as though they have to make a ton of sales to justify their writing.

Sometimes their life has turned upside down with medical issues for themselves or for people close to them. Or it’s turned upside down for other reasons.

In these circumstances, it’s really tough to keep going.  There’s a lot to be discouraged about and sometimes it’s hard to be creative or motivated when faced with a lot of discouragement.

For these times, I think it’s good to evaluate what keeps you going. What is driving you to write?  For most of us, it’s definitely not the money.  So what is it?

Some writers might really appreciate a good customer review on Amazon.  Or a question from a reader on Facebook, asking when the next book is coming out.  The feeling when you get a great idea for a book you’re working on.  Or the feeling of ‘having written’ that day.

Some people will say that it’s most important for the motivation to come from within.  That we write to please ourselves and not other people.

It’s probably true.  But I know that my whole life, anytime I’ve ever written anything, I’ve wanted desperately to share it.  I don’t even know that I cared if people liked it–but I wanted to share it.  I was that kid shoving stories into the hands of grown-ups visiting my parent’s house.  I wanted people to read my stuff.  Of course I’d still write if I was going to be the only audience…but I don’t think I’d be as happy.  This is how I know I’ll always publish.

So this is my tip for when you feel like you’re about ready to throw in the towel: make your writing life very, very basic.

Set the bar low in terms of your goals: 5-10 minutes a day.

Cut way back or eliminate your promo activity.  Automate whatever you continue doing (sharing other writers’ blog posts, etc.)

Don’t worry about platforms, blogging multiple times a week or anything else besides opening up that manuscript and working on it a few minutes a day.

Realize that many other writers are in the same boat. Take a look at the IWSG for writers.  It stands for Insecure Writers Support Group, and it hosts encouraging and informative blog posts and newsletters, as well as monthly blog hops where writers share insights into their own roadblocks and encouragement.

If reviews were the problem, consider avoiding reading them (I do find negative reviews helpful, but they don’t bother me as much…if you’re more sensitive to them, there are many, many writers I know who make it a point never to read their reviews). I also recommend keeping a Word doc or Evernote file full of any positive feedback you’ve received: emails, customer reviews, book bloggers, etc. Then you can look through them if you feel discouraged later.

Never try to catch up if you miss a day or two.  Just jump right back in and pick up where you left off.

Take care of yourself by keeping to a regular schedule of sleeping and eating and other forms of self-care.

See if, after these steps, you remember why you wanted to write in the first place.

If all goes well, gradually increase your social media presence again.

Because, when sales or reviews or life gets you down, the best thing to do is go back to basics…and focus on your writing.  Rediscover what made you become a writer to begin with.

For other thoughts on staying motivated, read Susan Dennard’s post “How I Stay Motivated During the Tough Times” and Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen’s post “6 Tips for Staying Motivated to Write from Successful Writers.”

Any other tips that I’ve missed about staying motivated as a writer?  How do you stay motivated?

Tips for Staying Motivated as a Writer:
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Art in the Everyday

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I was looking for a movie to watch and stumbled across “Paterson” on Amazon Prime Video (free to Prime customers).

The description of the movie reads:

Every day, Paterson adheres to a simple routine: he drives his daily route, he writes poetry into a notebook; he stops in a bar and drinks exactly one beer; he goes home to his wife, Laura. By contrast, Laura’s world is ever changing. New dreams come to her almost daily. The film quietly observes the triumphs and defeats of daily life, along with the poetry evident in its smallest details.

It was, I think, the quietest movie I’ve ever watched. Because of its R rating, I kept expecting some sort of horribly violent or upsetting incident to take the film in another direction.  But there was nothing violent or especially upsetting (except, well, maybe for writers. I won’t give any spoilers here).  I discovered later that the R rating was because of language, although I didn’t even remember or notice bad language–a sign that it must have been slipped in very naturally.

Although I’m not a poet (at least not a good one), I loved the way that poetry was woven into the everyday (repetitive, routine, and rather boring lives) of the main characters.  I’m a subscriber to Poet.Org’s Poem-A-Day newsletter, which sends me a poem to read each day (frequently accompanied by the poet’s thoughts on the poem and a bit of bio).  As critic Kate Taylor wrote for The Globe and Mail: “Everyone, it appears, is capable of art.” And: “…The sameness of it all only serves to underline that the creative act belongs to all of us every day.”

As someone who creates (almost) every day, the movie resonated with me in a way that was maybe unintended: as a catalyst to get out of my own head and into the world a little more–a world that can provide unexpected inspiration for artists of all kinds.

One thing that I’ve always loved about the writing life is the way that it allows me to look at life through a lens: that it allows me a certain distance from the world.  And being observant helps feed my writing.

But I could use some help by expanding my observations and finding art in the everyday in settings other than my house.

On my list for finding art in the everyday (which I probably used to do a lot more than I have lately…and now may be a good time to replenish the creative well):

Get out of the house. This is a big one.  As my children have gotten older (my younger child is about to be able to drive on her own now), I’ve had to go out less. Maybe now I should choose to go out more. That could just be a library or a coffeehouse.

Sit where I can observe people.  And, usually, this involves a bit of listening in. People can be fascinating, and so can their dialogue.

Be prepared to list observations, note characters and traits.  I’ve gotten pretty good at surreptitious photography, too, for my character files.

Take a walk.  Sometimes inspiration or the poetry in the everyday doesn’t have to come from other people. It might come from the world around us, especially if we take the time to observe it closely.

Read more to experience more.  Reading is another way of experiencing the world and seeing how others find art in the everyday.  Reading more is something that I’ve challenged myself to do in 2017. So far, it’s worked out well.

Read different kinds of books.  Another challenge.  It gives me much more of a range of ‘experiences.’

Do you find inspiration in the art of the everyday? Get out of the house much?  Have you seen the film “Paterson?”

Seeking Out Art in the Everyday:
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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 40,000 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. 

Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels

A Beginner’s Guide to Writing a Novel: by Georgina Roy @writingtipsoasi
5 Suggestions for People Thinking about Writing a Book: @DaniPettrey

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

Would you pay to turn the first page of this bestseller? @RayRhamey @WriterUnboxed
How to Generate a Story Idea: @CockeyedCaravan
Mine Your Relationships for Writing Material: @FinishedPages
Background Noise: The Netflix Category Every Writer Desperately Needs: @GiveMeYourTeeth

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

6 Space Operas That Explore the Comedic Side of the Cosmos: @TetsuoKaneda
Beyond Everything, Everything: Best Teen Romance Novels: @Keith_Rice1
What Reading Picture Books Can Teach You About Writing Novels: @MEBond_writer
An Incomplete Guide to Literary References in Twin Peaks: @knownemily
‘A Crash Course in YA Taught Me How To Write’: @katherine_heiny @lithub

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

Get in the Habit of Making Time to Write: @CSLakin
Survival Pack or How to Keep Writing No Matter What: @jmunroemartin

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

Writing Exercise #12: Working Backward: @ShanDitty @GoTeenWriters
Filling Up That Uninspired Empty Feeling: @10MinNovelists
5 Ways to Keep Your Writing Moving Forward: @terrywhalin

Creativity and Inspiration / Success

Top 10 Commandments For Successful Writers: @Bang2write

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

The ergonomics of writing: by Dorothy Grant
The Writing Workshop That Runs Itself: @bendolnickbooks@lithub
When Your Hometown is the Last Place to Accept Who You Are: @KaitGetsLit
Everyday chaos. Just another day in the genesis of a book: @Roz_Morris
What’s your writing psychology? @beprolifiko
Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming: @neilhimself
6 Cheap(er) Cities Where It’s Great to be a Freelance Writer: @ElenTurner
If You’re Successful, Lots of People Ask for Your Help. Who Deserves It? @JaneFriedman

Genres / Fantasy

5 Rules for Keeping Fantasy Fiction Realistic: @AuthorCFeehan

Genres / Memoir

How to Write a Memoir: @p2p_editor

Genres / Mystery

Seaside settings in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Outlining a Murder Mystery: @woodwardkaren
Crime Writing: 6 Mind-Blowing Forensic Advancements: @SueColetta1
White collar crime in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Diaries and memoirs in crime fiction: @mkinberg

Genres / Science Fiction

5 Speculative Fiction Novels to Learn From: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants

Genres / Screenwriting

I Love Dick Co-Creator @Sarah_Gubbins : Collaboration,Spontaneity, Overcoming Self-Censor: @deepspacenine
10 Unpredictable Ingredients that Turn Books into Successful Movies: @Bang2write

Promo / Ads

Amazon Ads For Authors: Two Case Studies Showing They Work: @ReedsyHQ

Promo / Blogging

Blogging Leads to Many Career Paths: @annerallen

Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting

Writing Better Book Titles: @aprildavila

Promo / Book Signings and Launch parties

9 Handy Tips For Planning A Successful Book Launch: @ClaireABradshaw

Promo / Crowdfunding

Setting up Your Book’s Kickstarter Campaign: @NForristal

Promo / Miscellaneous

Sell More Books with Less Marketing: @CaballoFrances
The Secret Promo Power of Obscure Media Outlets: @sharonbially @WriterUnboxed
What’s in it for Your Readers When you Spam Them? Nothing. How to Do Better Now: @BadRedheadMedia
New to Book Publicity? Go Local First: @PublicityHound

Promo / Platforms

Author Platform Worksheets: @EvaDeverell

Promo / Social Media Tips

Expand your audience exponentially with smart Goodreads marketing: by Kate Sullivan @sandrabeckwith
Aerio for Selling And Promoting Your Favorite Books: @WhereWritersWin
Preparing your Goodreads marketing timeline: @cincindypat

Publishing / Miscellaneous

Subsidiary rights: @111publishing
21 Magazines That Pay for Travel Writing: @EricaVerrillo
Open Road Maps Big Newsletter Numbers, New Marketing for Publishers: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The Art And Business of Bookbinding: @lisa_van_pelt @thecreativepenn

Publishing / News / Amazon

Amazon Has A Fake Book Problem: @DavidGaughran

Publishing / News / International Publishing

New Life for Italy’s Baldini & Castoldi: La Nave di Teseo’s Latest Acquisition: @Porter_Anderson
South Korea’s Ridibooks Raises $20 Million; Quarto Distributes Zest Books: @Porter_Anderson @ZestBooks
A UK Comics Publisher Sees ‘Lots of Opportunities’: @Porter_Anderson
UNESCO Names Sharjah World Book Capital 2019: @Porter_Anderson @IrinaBokova
‘Booksellers are alarmed about geo-blocking and its potential effects on ebook sales’: @Porter_Anderson
Acquisitions: Germany’s MVB Buys Pubnet and PubEasy: @Porter_Anderson @rschild

Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing

Memorable Author Screw-Ups: @crazyauthorgirl
5 Tips When Self-Publishing Your Book: @LisaKayePresley

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing

The Brutal Truth about Earning Out: @batwood

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

The Perfect Cover Letter: Advice From a Lit Mag Editor: @2elizabeths @JaneFriedman

Publishing / Process / Book Design

Parts of a Book: The Basic Anatomy of Book Design: @JuiceTom
How a Cartoonist-for-Hire Can Get Your Book’s Point Across: @cartoonistfakes @reedsyhq
9 Simple Steps to Create a Book Cover Using Canva: @lornafaith

Publishing / Process / Formatting

A Step-by-Step Guide to Formatting Your Print Book for CreateSpace: by Michelle Campbell-Scott @JuiceTom

Writing Craft / Beginnings

Real Life Diagnostics: Does This Opening Scene Foreshadow Danger? @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists

The Villain Doesn’t Think He’s the Villain: @SPressfield

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

42 Character Development Questions: by Johannes Cena
Writing Tips: Creating Believable Characters: @grace_writelife @thecreativepenn
5 Steps to Better Character Development: @JeremyJmenefee
The Craft of Character Development: @aimiekrunyan

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

When Readers Don’t Believe Our Writing: @JamiGold
How to write badly: when fiction turns into friction: @Peter_Rey_

Writing Craft / Diversity

Macmillan Partners With Binc on Bookselling Diversity Scholarships: @Porter_Anderson
How to write better LGBT characters: @daisy_and_me

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

Podcast: @JohnGrisham’s book tour (and his conversations with other authors): https://t.co/tBMkxSQerN ,

Writing Craft / Literary Devices

A Guide to Dramatic, Situational and Verbal Irony: @ReedsyHQ

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

The Importance of an Origin Scene: @LisaCron
Writing the Truth: @Lindasclare
Tracking Time in Your Novel: @PBRWriter
5 Reasons To Draw Your Story World Map: @NatePhilbrick
Writing Short for Novel Writers: @Lindasclare
3 Tips For Writing Great Chapters: @theladygreer

Writing Craft / Pacing

Writing Story Dominoes: @Lindasclare

Writing Craft / POV

5 Reasons to Consider Using an Omniscient Narrator: @CSLakin
Choosing the Right Narrative Tense/POV: @MikalebRoehrig

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining

How to Outline When Starting a Story: @SeptCFawkes

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

One novelist’s research journey: @clairecameron @amyshearn
Google Maps: The Best Writing Tool that No One Knows About: @CamilleDiMaio @WriterUnboxed
3 Common Weapons Mistakes Writers Make – And How to Fix Them: @benjaminsobieck

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

Two Little Words Used Incorrectly: Affect and Effect: @cathychall

Writing Craft / Revision

What Does a Copy Editor Do? And Do I Need An Editor? @BrynDonovan
Clear Step-By-Step Guide to Editing for Self-Publishers: @rachel5bartee @WhereWritersWin
What Is Stylistic and Substantive Editing? @words_cindy
The Rewriting Process: by Liam J. Cross
What It’s Actually Like to Work With a Book Editor: @batwood
5 Ways to Spot the Wrong Proofreader: @ProofreadJulia

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

Make Setting Meaningful: @KayKeppler
How Much Description Is Too Much? @HookedOnNoir
How Much Character Description Does Your Story Need? @hodgeswriter

Writing Craft / Voice

Finding Your Writing Voice by Taking Risks on the Page: @LisaTener

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

Filter words and phrases to avoid: @KathySteinemann @annerallen
Strengthen Your Verbs and Your Writing: @le_sterling

The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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Back Up Your Work

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Every so often, I run a variation of the same post.  It’s a public service announcement to back up your work.

I have heard so many horror stories from writers about lost work that I truly believe their stories account for the white hairs I have cropping up.

The most harrowing tale is from long ago.  Hemingway lost months of work because his wife, who was bringing the stories (and, sadly, also the carbon copies) to him in Switzerland. She left the overnight bag unattended to get water before the train pulled out. When she returned, the bag, and his work, were gone.  More about this episode here on the Hemingway Project site (including a recorded interview with his wife, Hadley, on the subject).

I back up each day.  I write on a laptop and the laptop takes a lot of abuse.  This summer, especially, I’ve been writing away from home…and I’m a very clumsy person.  The laptop has been dropped several times lately and spilled on once.

How should you back up your work?  I don’t think writers should overthink it.  It needs to be easy enough to make it something that you actually do.  You could even email yourself a copy of the document. You could upload it to Google docs.  Save it to a flash drive that you keep on your keyring.  The point is just to do it.

There are programs that will automatically backup your work, too: CrashPlan and Carbonite are two of them.

If you’re not sure what method works best for you, Sarah Mitroff has a nice overview in her post for CNet (which also mentions the importance of backing up your work to more than one place.)

How often do you back up your work?  What methods do you use?

A PSA: Back Up Your Work:
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Help Handling Requests

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I was reading through my Feedly RSS feeds (I work and curate links about a month behind in the feed reader) and I came across a post by writer Steven Pressfield. It was one of those articles where I scheduled a share, but then saved the post to read more closely again later.  It was called “Clueless Asks” and as soon as I read the title, I knew what it was going to be about. Because I get a lot of these asks, myself. In the post, Steven Pressfield explains that time ‘is the single most valuable commodity you own.’

Funnily enough, I was on another blog and they mentioned a post from industry expert Jane Friedman (and I’m laughing as I write ‘industry expert’ because that’s something she addressed in her post, as well). She wrote in response to “Clueless Asks” a post titled “If You’re Successful, People Ask for Help. But Who Deserves It?” She writes: “Today, even before I open my email, my blood pressure spikes thinking of all the requests, problems, and complaints I’m likely to find.” It’s a great post and mentions how she’s compromised in some instances to respect her time while still responding to requests.

These are different from opportunities.  I’m good at saying no to speaking at far-flung events where I will have to spend money for gasoline or a plane ticket and a hotel without getting compensation.  These other requests are, as Jane Friedman and Steven Pressfield put it, ‘asks.’  And they’re from people I don’t know.

I’m adding on to their excellent posts because I know writers (and several of them are regulars here) who are in the same boat.  They want to help people who ask them for help. They’re overwhelmed with emails and requests. What can they do?

Just a  quick note that this article is not directed at my readers or online friends who reach out.  I never mind emailing and reaching out to either of those groups because they know me…either through my books/characters, my blog, etc.  This is more how I handle asks from people I’ve never heard of who reach out.

 Prioritize the strangers you help. These are examples of the requests I’m most likely to help with: 

 

Writers who really need help, have tried to figure things out, and seem stuck.

Emails from students .

Emails asking about very specific promo-related or writing-related elements.

Writing-related, industry-related help (beta-testing, etc.) that might lead to networking opportunities for me.  This is, honestly, more of a quid pro quo for me.  Maybe it doesn’t belong in the list, but there are a lot of these things that pop up.

Consider politely rejecting some. I’m much more likely to give a polite rejection to: 

Emails that appear to be form letters.

Very vague emails from people I don’t know who don’t appear to have done any research.  (“How do you get published?”)

Content marketers. And I don’t mean the super-professional ones…I mean the ones that want to write you a guest post about vacuum cleaners.  Those types of marketers are like biting flies. If you don’t respond, they’ll keep biting at you and filling your inbox.  I highly recommend using a canned response, if you’re on gmail. It’s sort of like getting a form rejection (which makes me shudder a little…I remember getting those. But hey…persistent content marketers.)  Here’s how to create a canned response in gmail and outlook.

Factors that impact my ability to help:

Mainly just the craziness level of my life at the time.  It literally hurts me to reject a request…I get stomach aches and headaches.  But when I’ve got a book that I’ve got to get to my freelance editor on deadline (and that is a deadline in self-publishing…if your editor is open, you hurry to make sure you’re ready to send it), a child that has a lot going on (that I need to drive to, help with…I’m about to ‘graduate’ from this task when she turns 16),  family emergencies (some of those are going around), then something has got to give.

Many times I want to take part in the group giveaway, test the cool new software for writers, or help someone make sense of self-publishing.  But I also know that I don’t do anything halfway and my helping will eat up a lot of my time.

What I struggle with is that the reason I’m doing well with my writing today is because so many others have helped me along the way when I’ve asked questions or needed help.

Tools to make your helping easier:

Canned responses. I mentioned this above. I have them for advertising requests, requests to ‘update’ old posts with backlinks to fresh content, for general questions on mystery writing, and how to start out with self-publishing.

For instance,  I may send out this response to a content marketer looking to guest blog:

Thank you for your interest in writing for my blog.  Unfortunately, I only take guest posts occasionally and then only from bloggers I know well.
 
Thanks for reaching out and best wishes,


Elizabeth 

Cornerstone content that you’ve created–a blog post you can refer to.  I have written a series on cozy mystery writing, for instance, and several on how to reach an international audience. I can easily direct writers to these posts.

Cornerstone content written by others.  I’ve sent sooo many writers to Jane Friedman’s ‘start here’ series (for example: “How to Get Your Book Published” and “How to Self-Publish.”)

Like so many things in life, it’s best to do things to please yourself instead of others. It pleases me to help, even if my advice or help goes unrecognized.  Besides, it helps me feel I’ve paid back the writers (some of them no longer with us) who helped me get started out by giving me information and advice.  They paid it forward and I’m trying to do the same, as much as I can.

How do you handle requests?  Do you receive lots of emails, too?

Photo credit: Earthworm via Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-SA

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