Riley Adams's Blog, page 90
May 6, 2017
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.
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 see the character and location name generators!
And…I have a new release! Cooking is Murder, Myrtle Clover #11, released yesterday.
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
How to Rescue a Book in Danger of Dying: @jennienash
4 Creativity Lessons We Can Learn from David Bowie’s Rich Artistic Career: @businessinrhyme
How to Use a Writer’s Intuition to Strike Creative Gold: @colleen_m_story
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
10 Transgressive Fairy Tales for Grown-Ups: @knownemily
A Brief Review of Walls in Literature: @cakesthebrain @The_Millions
10 Times Real Authors Appeared in Science Fiction & Fantasy Books: @jeffreysomers @BNBuzz
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Stop Apologizing for the Delayed Response in Your Emails: @melissadahl
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / When to write
How to Create a Morning Writing Habit (video): @ingridsundberg
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
What To Do When Darkness Keeps You From Writing: @10MinNovelists
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
3 Surefire Ways to Validate Your Book Idea So It Will Sell: @DaveChesson
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
7 Useful Tips For Establishing A Writing Routine: @ClaireABradshaw
The Distracted Writer: @CamilleDiMaio @WomenWriters
Sleep deprivation and creativity: @CSLakin
What makes you a real writer? @Ava_Jae
9 Imaginary Gizmos For Writers Someone Needs To Hurry Up And Invent: @helpfulsnowman
5 Book-Themed Subscription Boxes: @RachelCarterYA @BookTrib
Genres / Fantasy
You Are Not George RR Martin: how to get published in the grimdark era of fantasy: @EdMcDonaldTFK
6 Tips for World Building in Your Fantasy: @Amberinblunderl @WritersDigest
Genres / Horror
How Resident Evil 7 Can Make You a Better Horror Writer: @GiveMeYourTeeth
Genres / Memoir
6 Points To Consider When Writing A Memoir: @thecreativepenn
Genres / Mystery
Writing a Murder Mystery: The Conflict Character: @woodwardkaren
Writing Small Town Cops: Do You Have Barney-Fife-itis? @LeeLofland
Your Character is Ambushed While in a Vehicle: Now What? @meconnick
Genres / Non-Fiction
5 Things Nonfiction Authors Can Get Sued For: by Brad Frazer @JaneFriedman
Genres / Poetry
Committing Prufrock: Poetry Memorization Tips & Memories: @SandraHeskaKing @tspoetry
Genres / Romance
3 Ways to Show That Your Character Is In Love: @BrynDonovan
Genres / Screenwriting
Screenwriting: Why ‘The Circle’ Struggles: @DatingCharacter
7 Ways Reality Would Ruin Famous Movie Scenes: @jmmcnabagain @cracked
Great Scene: “A Few Good Men”: @GoIntoTheStory
Genres / Short Stories
8 Reasons to Avoid the Novel and Focus on Short Stories: @brandontietz
Tips for Ending a Short Story: by Sara Kopeczky
Genres / Young Adult
New Crop of YA Novels Explores Race and Police Brutality: @xanalter @nytimes
Promo / Ads
Advertising For Authors: @pbackwriter @thecreativepenn
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
8 Book Description A/B Tests: by Ellie Redding @BookBub
Promo / Book Reviews
3 Amazon reader review myths: @sandrabeckwith
Promo / Miscellaneous
Author Marketing Plans: Why Yours Should Be Unique: @karinabilich
Promo / Platforms
Helpful Hacks to Build a Strong Online Brand: @JennyHansenCA
Promo / Podcasts
Podcasts for Writers, SFF, & More: @AuthorSAT
Promo / Social Media Tips
4 Basic Twitter Tips for Writers: @margmizu
How to Use Twitter to Drive More Traffic to Your Blog: by Andrew Pickering @SMExaminer
Promo / Websites
7 Ways to Speed Up Your Author Website: @karinabilich
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Tips for turning your books into audiobooks:
Industry Notes: Sisters in Crime’s Intl Competition; Fodor’s Ingram Distribution: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / News / Data
‘Screen fatigue’ to blame for slide in e-reading? A ‘data challenged’ report: @Porter_Anderson @stevelotinga
Publishing / News / International Publishing
The IPA’s @michielams in China: ‘We Continue To Push the Literacy Agenda’ @Porter_Anderson
Industry Notes: Bulgaria’s ‘People’s Choice’ Winners;Book Curation and Recommendation Site: @Porter_Anderson
European Commission Makes Amazon Antitrust Commitments Official: @Porter_Anderson @vestager
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing
How to Land an Agent for a Self-Published Book: @JaneFriedman
What NOT To Do When Submitting to An Agent: @tessaemilyhall
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
Top 10 Reasons Why Your Submission May Be Rejected by an Agent: @BookEndsJessica
What an Editor at a Publishing House Looks For: 6 Myths & Truths: @parulmac @WriterUnboxed
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections
Dealing with rejection: by Michael Alvear @RomanceUniv
Publishing / Process / Formatting
How to Format a Book: 10 Tips Your Editor Wants You To Know: @batwood @thewritelife
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Tips for getting a Book Started: @aimiekrunyan
5 Story Openers to Avoid: @MissConstance21
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
5 Character Types That Make Great Antagonistic Forces: @10MinNovelists
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Character Development Through Music: @alisongmyers
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
What Does Your Protagonist Want? (And Why Can’t He Have It?) @LisaEBetz
How To Give Your Hero Some Personality: by Hannah Collins @standoutbooks
Characters Who Drive a Story: @JamiGold
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
The Most Common Entry-Level Mistake in the Writing Game: @storyfix @JaneFriedman
Writing Craft / Conflict
Tension vs. Conflict (Hint: They aren’t the Same Thing): @SeptCFawkes
Writing Craft / Dialogue
The Dos and Don’ts of Dialogue Tags: @HelenaFairfax
Writing Craft / Diversity
How To Write Better Diverse Characters: @Bang2write
Writing Craft / Drafts
Writing more effortlessly: @angee
Lit. fiction writer Ron Rash’s process: by Allison Futterman @TheWriterMag
Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story
7 Tips On How To Deal With Backstory: @patverducci
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
3 Reasons for Writers to Watch Hacksaw Ridge @SiouxR
Between Classes: 6 Novels About Young Women in College: @BerryFLW
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Is A Creative Writing Degree Worth Your Time (And Money)? by Hannah Collins @standoutbooks
How Long Should Your Book Be? 272 #1 Bestsellers Were Analyzed to Find Out: @bookinaboxco
Become a more intuitive writer: @RoseannaMWhite
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining
5 Steps to Building an Outline: @cgriffinauthor
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
3 Ways to Add Depth to a Novel: @JodyHedlund
What Does It Mean to Move the Plot? @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
Medical Info for Writers: Injury Profiles: Sprained Ankle: @scriptmedic
Unconventional Research Sites for Writers: @WordDreams
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
5 Types of Conditionals: @writing_tips
To Capitalize or Not to Capitalize? @paperblanks
Writing Craft / Revision
The Emotional Roller Coaster Of Revisions: @FreshInkEdit
Surviving the Dank and Lonely Editing Cave: @LindseyMF @WomenWriters
Revision: Steps to Tame Your Novel: @emma_darwin
Are You Creating Complexity or Chaos in Your Writing? @ShannaSwendson
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
16 Questions About Body Language & Appearance For Your Character: @10MinNovelists
Storytelling Through Costume: The Woman in White: @gaileyfrey @tordotcom
The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
April 30, 2017
Remember the Little Things During Revision
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I read a lot of blog posts about revision and most of them are focusing on the big things: arc, character development, conflict, etc.
This is a post to remind writers about the little things.
As time has gone on and I’ve written more books, I’ve been much better about catching the small-but-important stuff–now, as I’m writing it in the first draft.
But it used to be something that my editors had to point out to me.
What are the little things? For me, they’re like tiny little plot holes. And frequently, they’re involved with a subplot instead of the main plot (for me, solving the murder mystery).
For example. Say you have a subplot involving a minor aggravation for your protagonist–something to make her feel tense and add to the general stresses she’s experiencing. Her lawnmower is broken and her yard is a disaster and she’s supposed to host a dinner party (where someone ends up dead).
The dinner party happens (with guests hiking through the underbrush to the front door). There’s a mysterious death. The sleuth investigates.
But at some point, her yard man comes by and heroically mows the yard.
The sleuth needs to interview her next door neighbor to get details on the deadly dinner party from a guest’s perspective.
If the next door neighbor makes no comment about the yard or if the sleuth doesn’t apologize about the terrible state the yard had previously been in…it just doesn’t add up.
These kinds of tiny plot holes are easy to create. If you’re like me, you can get very single-minded in terms of the main plot and want to focus exclusively on it.
Sometimes, to help juggle the bits and pieces, I keep a list of things that are happening in the background or off-stage in my story. And yes, these are random bits of story, but not mentioning them again can leave a reader with that ‘something isn’t tied up feeling.’ My list can include everything from ‘Puddin said she’d take up PT exercises’ to ‘Elaine’s new hobby is restoration’ to ‘the yard was a horrible mess and now looks a ton better.’ It can be helpful to make note of these things as you write them.
Do you ever have trouble remembering tiny bits of subplots? How do you manage them?
Photo credit: phatcontroller via VisualHunt / CC BY-NC
The post Remember the Little Things During Revision appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
Expanding into Audio
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
When I was a traditionally-published author, I remember my frustration that I didn’t hold any audiobook rights.
My publisher held them, but never exploited them. And I regularly had readers asking if they could listen to my books.
When ACX first opened to independent authors, I jumped at the chance to have my self-published novels in audio format. The main thing that I was worried about was the cost. I was delighted to discover that I could choose an option where my only cost was to have my cover adapted into a square for audio. That’s the royalty-share option (more on that, below).
Since then, most of my self-published books are in audio. I get a nice amount of income each month–comparable to my US print sales each month.
Last year was a good year for audiobooks for traditional publishers, too. The Association of American Publishers reported that downloaded audio revenue was up 29.2%.
Even serialized reading platform Wattpad is getting into the audiobook game, partnering with Hachette to produce 50 audiobooks of their stories for a summer release.
There are a few questions you should ask yourself before diving into audiobooks.
Do you want to go through ACX (which distributes your audiobook to Audible, Amazon and iTunes) or someone else?
Do you want to try narrating your own book, or are you looking for a professional?
How long is your book (longer books will take longer to produce and a narrator would cost more if you paid upfront).
Will you pay your narrator upfront or choose a royalty share option?
If you’re leery about ACX (more on their rights grab and pricing control below), there are other options. Author’s Republic is becoming an increasingly popular choice. To learn more about what they offer, read this piece by Meaghan Sansom from Author’s Republic, guest posting on the blog for the Alliance of Independent Authors and this post on the same blog by writer Katherine Hayton with more details. I’ve also heard that some authors use CD Baby/Alliance CD . Mark Williams from the International Indie Author Facebook Group has mentioned considering opportunities in translation for foreign sales of audiobooks (ACX has this capability, as does Ubook (Mark states they operate out of Brazil and offer audiobooks in Portuguese and Spanish).
I’ve found the ACX process easy. You search for your book and claim it on their site. You verify you have the audio rights. Then you submit your book for auditions (you’ll provide a page or two for the auditioning narrators). ACX will ask you to choose the type of voice you’re looking for. You’ll state if you’re looking for a royalty share arrangement or will pay upfront. If you’re looking for a royalty share, it’s important to know that the risk is on the narrator’s end…it’s a huge time investment for them to narrate. If your book is less of a risk (is successful, is part of a successful series), that’s good to state in your pitch in the ‘additional comments’ section. ACX will notify you via email when you’ve received auditions. You’ll listen and choose a narrator. The contract is a standard electronic version that ACX creates (you fill in certain stipulations: payment arrangements (by the hour or royalty share), deadlines for completion, etc. All business is conducted through ACX’s message system/portal. The narrators function as producers–they edit and upload the audiobook for review.
ACX does hold onto our rights for seven years and they do control pricing. Those are the downsides. With my royalty share agreements, I split my royalties 50-50 with my narrator. But if I hadn’t chosen the royalty-share, I wouldn’t have any audiobooks at all…and now I receive regular income from ACX.
More information on getting on ACX in this post of mine from 2013 (the only thing that’s really changed is the stipend program–that’s either completely suspended or greatly reduced).
Have you considered releasing your books as audiobooks? Are you an audiobook listener? If your books are in audio format, what are your thoughts so far?
Turning Your Books Into Audiobooks:
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Photo via Visualhunt.com
The post Expanding into Audio appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
April 29, 2017
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.
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 see the character and location name generators!
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Content in Digital Times (from the #PubTechConnect Conference); @Porter_Anderson
10 Empowering Writers’ Retreats for Women: @ElenTurner
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
3 Ways Non-Fiction Helps Creativity: @chicklitgurrl
“How I Kept Writing After My Muse Died”: @khsavage
Top 10 Underrated Soundtracks for Creative Inspiration: @TjadenSylvester
6 Writing Tips to Learn From Theater: @Magic_Violinist
7 Big Reasons to Finish Writing Your Novel: @lornafaith
5 Ways to Make Writing Prompts Work For You: @StoryADayMay @DIYMFA
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
How to use Active Reading to Become a Better Writer: by Jed Herne @ProWritingAid
How to use Active Reading to Become a Better Writer: by Jed Herne @ProWritingAid
50 Shades Of Shakespeare: How The Bard Used Food As Racy Code: by Anne Bramley @NPR
Why you should read books you hate: @pubcoach @PamelaPaulNYT
These Books Were Once Considered “Classics” But Are Now Largely Forgotten: @PassiveVoiceBlg @maddy_efff
Industry Notes:Europeana Opens ‘Literary Tour’;Trio in UK Opens Literary Events Consultancy: @Porter_Anderson
Creativity and Inspiration / Perfectionism
Chasing Perfection as a Writer: @p2p_editor
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
4 Ways Writers Can Be Productive When Their Energy Sags: @CSLakin
Can Twitter Help You Finish Your Book? @LindaKSienkwicz
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
4 Top Tips to Overcome Your Fear of Writing: @BadRedheadMedia
6 Ways to Transition Out of Writer’s Block: @KathrynR47
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
10 Crafty Ways to Hit 1,000 Words Per Hour: by Linda Formichelli @smartbloggerhq
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
The Health Risks Of Being A Writer: @RobinStorey1
Are You Writing The Wrong Thing? Life and Focus for Writers: @katekrake
Why You Need Guts To Write The Good Stuff: @Bang2write
How to Develop Relationships with Other Writers: @WriteOnOnline
How to Keep Writing When Others Stomp on Your Dreams: @colleen_m_story
Writing About Suffering: @KatMGraves
5 Reasons Fellow Writers Are Essential to Your Writing Life: @jessicastrawser @WritersDigest
3 sobering facts about being a writer: @jasonbougger
How To Take A Compliment: @dawnafinch
5 Scientifically Verified Reasons You’ll Hate Yourself if You Stop Writing: @ChadRAllen
6 Tips to Help Writers Function at Their Peak: @CSLakin
Questions Readers Most Frequently Ask Writers: @SeptCFawkes
Keep a Positivity Journal: @WriteNowCoach
Librarians of the 21st Century: Worst Story Time Ever? (Or Best?) @guybrarian @lithub
Quick Decisive Moves That Will Help You Get Organized: @10MinNovelists
Genres / Fantasy
Is Winter In Fantasy Always Evil? @NicolaAlter
5 Underused Settings in Spec Fic: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Five Redundant Characters in Spec Fic: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Genres / Horror
Why Are We Acting Like Smart, Socially Conscious Horror is Something New? @FreddyInSpace
7 Dracula Adaptations That Totally Change the Story: by Nathaniel Brehmer @WickedHorrorTV
Genres / Literary Fiction
‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Interpreted by Italian Illustrators: @balbusso_twins @porter_anderson
Genres / Memoir
How to Write Your Memoir with Fun, Easy Lists: @cdetler
Genres / Mystery
A Murder-Scene Checklist: @LeeLofland
The Structure of a Murder Mystery in 5 Acts: @woodwardkaren
How Murder Mysteries Differ from Other Kinds of Stories: @woodwardkaren
Sounds as clues and red herrings in crime fiction: @mkinberg
5 Comics Every Crime Writer Needs To Read: @repokempt @LitReactor
Familial estrangement as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Non-Fiction
Epistolary Lit: 8 Nonfiction Books Written in the Form of Letters: @TobiasCarroll
Genres / Poetry
37 Common Poetry Terms: @robertleebrewer
Genres / Romance
Planning the Perfect Love Triangle: @Roz_Morris
61 favorite romantic quote from literature: @Astrohaus
Genres / Screenwriting
Screenwriting: Documentary Writing: by Alan Goforth @CreativeScreen
Genres / Short Stories
What’s Important in Writing Short Stories: @ZoeMMcCarthy
Genres / Young Adult
16 YA Authors Discuss Being Autistic, Dealing with Guilt, and More: @ABoredAuthor
Promo / Back matter
Your Author Bio: Does it Help Sales or Stop them Dead? @annerallen
Promo / Blogging
Filtering out spammers who want to guest blog for us: @pokercubster
Blogging tips from @thecreativepenn : @TheWriterMag
Promo / Book Reviews
Why Getting Great Reviews Is Your Job: @FrugalBookPromo @TheIWSG
Responding to Reviews and Comments:
Promo / Book Signings and Launch parties
Book Tour Tips: @theladygreer @WriterUnboxed
Promo / Connecting with Readers
How to Attract New Readers with the Author Playlist Strategy: @BuildYourBrandA
Promo / Miscellaneous
Top 5 SWAG Picks for Every Author: @K8Tilton
How to Setup Amazon Author Central and Your Author Page: @ValBreitEditor
5 Creative Ways to Market Your New Book: by Cassie Phillips @WhereWritersWin
Amazon Keywords to Increase Sales and Pull in New Readers: @Bookgal
6 Ways to Market Your Book: @lornafaith
Promo / Platforms
Author Platform Success Plan: @loishoffmanDE
4 Must-Haves for Your Author Platform: @BuildYourBrandA
Promo / Social Media Tips
From Fun to Serious: Using Pinterest Differently: @CaballoFrances
3 Unconventional Ways To Use Social Media To Effectively Find Your Readers: @thecreativepenn
Promo / Speaking
Create an Awesome Marketing Plan: Media and Speaking: @Melissa_Tagg @NovelRocket
Promo / Video
3 Ways to Create a Video Studio on Any Budget: by Peter Gartland @SMExaminer
Promo / Websites
9 Things Authors Need On Their Landing Pages: @KarenDimmick
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Submitting Book Excerpts to Small Publications: A Success Story: @writeabook
Debating Academic Books and Digital Dynamics: @MarkPiesing
The Deep Space of Digital Reading:why we shouldn’t worry about leaving print behind: @poissel
Zines: Dead Or Alive? @helpfulsnowman
Publishing fights for readers’ attentions: ‘Is consumer service the strategy?’: @Porter_Anderson @wischenbart
Indie Bookstore Day : 7 stores to enjoy: @My_poetic_side
5 Tips for Successful Audiobooks: @RichardRieman
Publishing / News / Data
‘From data-charged business to a library centered on a community’s needs: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Industry Notes: New £20,000 ‘Kindle Storyteller’ Award; BookCon Announces Panels: @Porter_Anderson
International Publishers Association Issues Freedom to Publish Manifesto: @Porter_Anderson @IntPublishers
Warsaw Book Fair Welcomes This Year’s Guest of Honor: Germany: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
‘How Can We Make Schools More Digital?’ Digital Education in Germany: @Porter_Anderson @benjuschkin
Arabic Literature: Kalimat’s First Decade of Publishing in the UAE: @Porter_Anderson @Bodour
Saudi Author Mohammaed Hasan Alwan Wins 2017 Intl Prize for Arabic Fiction @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
‘Writing and art…bring(s) us together’: Interview with Award Winner Mohammed Hasan Alwan: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing
‘Fake News’ In Self-Publishing: @JFbookman
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
Submitting to Literary Agents Who Have Already Rejected Your Work: @Kid_Lit
Making Lemonade Out of 100 Query Rejections: @bethhararwrites
8 Troubleshooting Tips For Writers Struggling to Find a Literary Agent: @sarahannjuckes
Publishing / Process / Book Design
Make the Most of Your Book Back Cover With These Tips: @NewShelvesBooks
From brief to book: A guide to book illustration for beginners: @CreativeBloq
Publishing / Process / Translation
Translation as Activism: by Jennifer-Naomi Hofmann @lithub
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Create Mystery, Not Confusion, in the Opening: @jamesscottbell
Use Powerful Hooks To Snag a Reader: @jenniferprobst
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Creating a Dynamic Character for your Novel or Short Story : @ReedsyHQ
Character Motivations vs Morals: @AuthorSAT
What Fiction Writers Can Learn From Hamilton’s Character Flaws: by Rachel Randall @WritersDigest
How To Write An Awesome Lone Wolf Character: @Bang2write
Using Conflict to Form Character: @scriptmag
Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion
Emotion vs Feeling: @DavidCorbett_CA
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
12 Traits for a Lovable Hero: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
9 Simple Tips for Writing With Clarity: @monicamclark
6 Bad Habits You Can Write Without: @paulaahicks
Why Readers Quit: No Flaw: @DavidHSafford
Writing Craft / Diversity
What a Sensitivity Reader Is (and Isn’t) and How to Hire One: @NataliaSylv
Creating Diversity from Generic White Script: @WritingwColor
Writing Craft / Drafts
You Know More than You Think, So Trust the Process: @LDoyleOwens @WomenWriters
9 tips to fast drafting a novel: @RachelHauck
Writing Craft / Endings
Why Closure is Important in Cliffhangers: @millie_ho
Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story
Rules for Flashbacks: @CockeyedCaravan
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
In Praise of the Bossy Big Sisters in Fiction: @erikawynn @lithub
Before Arrival: appreciating Story Of Your Life by Ted Chiang: @Roz_Morris
The Primal and Mythical Allure of Beauty and the Beast: @mariamtatar @SignatureReads
Top 10 novels on rural America: by Emily Ruskovich @GuardianBooks
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
Writing More Meaningful Symbolism: @millie_ho
Why You Should Be Able to State Your Story’s Theme in One Sentence: @KathyEdens1
The Expansion of a Theme: @Scott_Thought
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
The Writer’s Guide to Time Travel: @amabaie
How to Get Violence Right in Your Fiction: @FredBobJohn @JaneFriedman
Tips for Engaging the Reader: @AJHumpage
What’s So Bad About the Advice, “Write What You Know”? @10MinNovelists
6 Secrets To Writing A Thrilling Argument: @standoutbooks
1 Writer’s Writing Process: From Idea to Published Book: @ElizabethHeiter @WomenWriters
8 Ways to Become an Even Better Writer: @alioop7
Co-Writing a Novel: @JasonMHough
Compound Bows vs. Crossbows: Which is Better for Fiction Writing? @benjaminsobieck
Top 10 Rules Writers Love To Hate: @Bang2write
Teaching Writing: Shaking Up Personal Narrative: @rdgtchr13
Is There Such A Thing As A Good MacGuffin? @standoutbooks
The 6 Best Things About Mother/Daughter Bonds in Writing: @kathyhpbooks
Writing Short or Going Long? @Lindasclare
How to Land a Column Writing Gig: by Gayla Grace @hopeclark
Prologues and Epilogues – Is There a Point to Them? @HelenaFairfax
Writing Craft / Pacing
Learn How to Pace Your Story in 8 Steps: @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / POV
Storyteller’s Rulebook: Breaking Limited POV? Do It Early, Often Enough, and Briefly: @CockeyedCaravan
Omniscient 3rd Person: “Folksy Narrator/ Storyteller” by Tina L. Jens @BlackGateDotCom
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming
Storyteller’s Rulebook: Name as Few Characters as Possible: @CockeyedCaravan
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Writing a Story or Novel Based on One Emotion: @wickerkat
Creating a Strong Moral Premise for Our Story: @JamiGold
3 Tips For Creating Better Plots: @angee
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
3 Cases of Superfluous Semicolons: @writing_tips
7 Types of Punctuation Errors: @writing_tips
Writing Craft / Revision
10 Writing Fillers To Cut Right Now: @Bang2write
Purple Prose: What It Is and How to Exterminate It: @woodwardkaren
Quality Control—After the Editor @francessbrown @womenonwriting
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
A Writing Group that Works: @judyfogarty
Writing Craft / Series
Creating an Irresistible Series: @Haven4Writers
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
Writing Character Descriptions That Work: @aliventures
How description works in our stories: @PBRWriter
Storytelling Through Costume: The Badass Black Tank Top: @gaileyfrey
Writing Craft / World-Building
Five Worldbuilding Mistakes Even Enthusiasts Make: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Writing Tools / Apps
Google Docs for Novel Writing: @WilliamKing9
Writing Tools / Miscellaneous
Low-tech Tools for Writers: @BillFerris
Writing Tools / Thesauri
Character Motivation Thesaurus Entry: Pursuing Justice For Oneself or Others: @beccapuglisi
Uncategorized
RT @Hiveword: Track *anything* in the Hiveword Plus novel organizer with custom types and fields. #writing #amwriti…
How to End Books in a Series: @p2p_editor
The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
April 27, 2017
Confidence is Key to Eliminating Writer’s Block
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @Elizabethscraig
When I hit rough patches (and I do nearly every book), I keep going without feeling blocked. That’s because I’ve done it before. Every couple of books I seem to hit a major issue. It becomes less of an issue because I realize I can power through it. Whether I fix the issue then or fix it in the draft, I know it will be fixed. I know that the story will end up turning out fine.
This is true in other arts, as well. I saw an interesting video that Open Culture posted online. It depicts legendary B.B. King, with the confidence of a lifetime of performing, changing out a broken guitar string in the middle of a performance at the Live Aid concert in the mid-eighties. Without missing a beat, he fixed his broken string in front of a crowd of 80,000 people.
At the same time I was watching the video, I was in the middle of reading actor Bryan Cranston’s autobiography, A Life in Parts. He echoed what I’d noticed with the B.B. King performance (p. 133) about the importance of confidence as a professional artist:
“This whole business is a confidence game. If you believe it, they’ll believe it. If you don’t believe it, neither will they. Today, when I’m in the position as a director to hire actors, I don’t feel entirely comfortable hiring someone who doesn’t emit confidence. If an actor comes in, and I feel flop sweat and need from them, there is almost no chance I will hire them. Not because they are untalented, but because they haven’t yet come to the place where they trust themselves, so how can I trust they’ll be able to do the job with a sense of ease? Confidence is king.”
What if you don’t have confidence through experience? What if you’re not yet at the point, as Cranston says, that you trust yourself?
The obvious answer is to continue writing. But I think that other things can help, too.
Keep reading and see how other writers succeed and fail (especially in your genre).
Note your successes each day to make your progress easier to track.
Finish what you start writing. This helps build confidence that you can at least finish a book, even if it requires major revision.
Have you developed confidence in your writing ability?
Self-confidence is key to beating writer's block:
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April 23, 2017
Responding to Reviews and Comments
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
One of the most awkward things about being a writer is handling reviews and reader comments.
The rule of thumb is to never reply or comment on reviews: good, bad, or indifferent. In many cases, this is my own personal policy (I list exceptions below). Reviews are for other potential readers, not usually intended for the author. Responding to reviews is a special kind of author intrusion. And authors, especially responding to a poor review, can come across as argumentative.
But a recent post by Crystal Otto on the Women on Writing blog made me reconsider my policy, at least in terms of book bloggers.
In the post, she states: “Feedback is so important. The best way to say thank you to an author is to leave a review. As authors we can encourage this behavior by in-turn thanking the reviewer. I often receive a thank you or a ‘like’ on Amazon after reviewing a book or product. Do you make this a common practice in your writing life?” (Emphasis hers.)
She wrote a thoughtful post with many good points. I try to practice gratitude both professionally and personally, but her article was an excellent reminder.
Customer Reviews on Retail Sites
My policy for customer reviews on retail sites is usually to leave them completely alone unless the reviewer is asking for a comment from me (in which case I carefully consider my options).
I collect especially-day-brightening reviews in my Evernote folder for tough writing days. And I learn from the critical ones.
Book Blogger Reviews
In the past, if I’ve had a book blogger ping me online about a review they’d written, I’d thank them on social media and share it on my Facebook page.
If I wasn’t pinged, I usually a) didn’t know about it (unfortunately, Google alerts pick up a lot on me because I’m active on Twitter and I don’t have time to comb through it all) or b) didn’t feel comfortable responding if I did happen across it. Again, I feel as if blog reviews are from book bloggers to readers and not to me. But I’d share the post on social media and thank the reviewer (just not on their blog).
Crystal Otto’s post is making me reconsider this policy, though. If I leave a comment, I’ll keep it to a standard “thanks so much for reading and reviewing my book,” whether it’s a good review or a bad one.
Reader Comments on Reading Platforms Like Wattpad
Sometimes the comments in Wattpad are almost like marginalia…they seem intended for the reader by the reader. They’re personal notes.
Sometimes the comments seem directed to other readers.
But the comments that are directed to me, I always respond to: Wattpad is an interactive writing and reading community.
Comments on Social Media
Goodreads: Unless it’s an Ask the Author, I leave it completely alone. This is not a community that handles author intrusion well.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. : These are the places to be chatty with readers. Just very carefully chatty. It’s easy for comments to be misunderstood online, even with the use of emojis. And things we write online are forever. I frequently ask myself if a comment is something I’d be happy with my future grandchildren or great-grandchildren reading. Because it’s there for the long haul.
Emails
The only time I’m 100% comfortable responding to readers is through email. I’ve carefully responded to readers who have written me to both criticize and praise my writing (sometimes in the same email). I’ve given estimates as to when I should finish my next book (and remind them it’s easy to sign up for Amazon’s author updates and/or my newsletter for future updates).
For me, this has been the safest approach to handling reviews and reader comments. But I’m curious to hear from you. How do you handle reviews and comments on retailers, book blogs, and social media?
Responding to reviews, comments, and more:
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April 22, 2017
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.
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 see the character and location name generators!
Business / Miscellaneous
What Authors Can Learn From the Music Business: @davekusek @thecreativepenn
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
How to Use Pinterest for Writing Ideas and Inspiration: @WritingForward
3 Ways Non-Fiction Helps Creativity: @chicklitgurrl
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
How to use Active Reading to Become a Better Writer: by Jed Herne @ProWritingAid
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
7 Crazy Things to Do When You Need 30 Minutes to Write: @colleen_m_story
4 Ways Writers Can Be Productive When Their Energy Sags: @CSLakin
Can Twitter Help You Finish Your Book? @LindaKSienkwicz
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
4 Top Tips to Overcome Your Fear of Writing: @BadRedheadMedia
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
7 ways to stop editing while you write: @pubcoach
10 Crafty Ways to Hit 1,000 Words Per Hour: by Linda Formichelli @smartbloggerhq
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
8 must-see movies for creative late bloomers: @DebraEve
Do Some People Lack the Talent to be Authors? @KristenLambTX
5 Obnoxious Questions People Ask Writers: @saraheboucher
The Health Risks Of Being A Writer: @RobinStorey1
Are You Writing The Wrong Thing? Life and Focus for Writers: @katekrake
Why You Need Guts To Write The Good Stuff: @Bang2write
Genres / Fantasy
Is Winter In Fantasy Always Evil? @NicolaAlter
Genres / Horror
Why Are We Acting Like Smart, Socially Conscious Horror is Something New? @FreddyInSpace
Genres / Non-Fiction
How To Write Creative Nonfiction: @woodwardkaren
Genres / Poetry
Poetry as emo, emo as poetry: by Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib @AltPress
Genres / Romance
Planning the Perfect Love Triangle: @Roz_Morris
61 favorite romantic quote from literature: @Astrohaus
Genres / Screenwriting
Screenwriting: Great Scene: “Psycho”: @GoIntoTheStory
Genres / Young Adult
16 YA Authors Discuss Being Autistic, Dealing with Guilt, and More: @ABoredAuthor
Promo / Blogging
Filtering out spammers who want to guest blog for us: @pokercubster
Blogging tips from @thecreativepenn : @TheWriterMag
Promo / Book Reviews
Author Struggles: Gaining Reviews: @JamiGold
Promo / Book Signings and Launch parties
Book Tour Tips: @theladygreer @WriterUnboxed
Promo / Connecting with Readers
How to Attract New Readers with the Author Playlist Strategy: @BuildYourBrandA
Promo / Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding the Written Word: @ErinnaMettler @inkylinks
Promo / Miscellaneous
Top 5 SWAG Picks for Every Author: @K8Tilton
How to Setup Amazon Author Central and Your Author Page: @ValBreitEditor
5 Creative Ways to Market Your New Book: by Cassie Phillips @WhereWritersWin
Promo / Platforms
Branding 101: Keeping Our Sanity while Building a Brand: @JamiGold
Author Platform Success Plan: @loishoffmanDE
4 Must-Haves for Your Author Platform: @BuildYourBrandA
Promo / Social Media Tips
From Fun to Serious: Using Pinterest Differently: @CaballoFrances
Promo / Speaking
Create an Awesome Marketing Plan: Media and Speaking: @Melissa_Tagg @NovelRocket
Publishing / Miscellaneous
8 Lessons Bookstores Could Learn From Comic Book Stores: @helpfulsnowman
Remember Chutes and Ladders? Book Publishing is Just Like the Game: @EJWenstrom
Submitting Book Excerpts to Small Publications: A Success Story: @writeabook
Debating Academic Books and Digital Dynamics: @MarkPiesing
The Deep Space of Digital Reading:why we shouldn’t worry about leaving print behind: @poissel
Publishing / News / Data
How Thought Catalog Uses Social Media Data To Drive Book Publishing: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishing / News / International Publishing
“VA Tech partners with the UK’s Overleaf on authoring tools for the univ.: @Porter_Anderson @virginia_tech
Germany and Self-Publishing Today: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Industry Notes: New £20,000 ‘Kindle Storyteller’ Award; BookCon Announces Panels: @Porter_Anderson
International Publishers Association Issues Freedom to Publish Manifesto: @Porter_Anderson @IntPublishers
Publishing / Process / Book Design
Make the Most of Your Book Back Cover With These Tips: @NewShelvesBooks
Publishing / Process / Translation
Translation as Activism: by Jennifer-Naomi Hofmann @lithub
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Real Life Diagnostics: Does This YA Fantasy Opening Work? @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Creating a Dynamic Character for your Novel or Short Story : @ReedsyHQ
Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion
Producing an Emotional Response in Readers: Inner Mode, Outer Mode, and Other Mode: @DonMaass @JaneFriedman
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
12 Traits for a Lovable Hero: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Characters / Supporting Characters
5 Tips to Writing Secondary Characters That Pop: @CSLakin
Writing Craft / Diversity
What a Sensitivity Reader Is (and Isn’t) and How to Hire One: @NataliaSylv
Creating Diversity from Generic White Script: @WritingwColor
Writing Craft / Drafts
You Know More than You Think, So Trust the Process: @LDoyleOwens @WomenWriters
Writing Craft / Endings
Why Closure is Important in Cliffhangers: @millie_ho
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
“Literature rapidly increases our learning”: @farnamstreet
In Praise of the Bossy Big Sisters in Fiction: @erikawynn @lithub
Before Arrival: appreciating Story Of Your Life by Ted Chiang: @Roz_Morris
The Primal and Mythical Allure of Beauty and the Beast: @mariamtatar @SignatureReads
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
Writing More Meaningful Symbolism: @millie_ho
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
5 Ways Bad Reviews Can Help You to Become a Better Writer: @lisajordan @NovelRocket
The Novel That Isn’t a Novel—Do You Really Have a Story? @KristenLambTX
Directing Reader Attention: @Kid_Lit
What Rodeo Teaches About Writing: @kidell
The Extreme Discomfort of Reaching the Middle of Your Books: @rsmollisonread
How to Get Violence Right in Your Fiction: @FredBobJohn @JaneFriedman
Tips for Engaging the Reader: @AJHumpage
What’s So Bad About the Advice, “Write What You Know”? @10MinNovelists
6 Secrets To Writing A Thrilling Argument: @standoutbooks
Writing Craft / Pacing
Learn How to Pace Your Story in 8 Steps: @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming
Storyteller’s Rulebook: Name as Few Characters as Possible: @CockeyedCaravan
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining
5 Steps to Building an Outline for Writing a Novel: @cgriffinauthor
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
How to Make Every Story Idea the Best It Can Be: @Storygeeks
Writing a Story or Novel Based on One Emotion: @wickerkat
Writing Craft / Revision
How to know if you have a good editor: @NathanBransford
10 Writing Fillers To Cut Right Now: @Bang2write
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
How to Tell if Criticism is Valid (And What to do About Valid Criticism): @agnonia @WritersDigest
Writing Craft / Scenes
All about writing scenes: @TMRadcliffe
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
Writing Character Descriptions That Work: @aliventures
How description works in our stories: @PBRWriter
Writing Tools / Apps
Scrivener vs Word: @DaveChesson
Uncategorized
RT @Hiveword: Track *anything* in the Hiveword Plus novel organizer with custom types and fields. #writing #amwriti…
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April 15, 2017
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.
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 see the character and location name generators!
Happy Easter to all who observe it. I’m going to be taking the next week off to spend some time with family and catch up on some writing. See you next Sunday!
Business / Miscellaneous
Get a better author photo without spending a fortune: @sandrabeckwith
“A writer needs 3 things to protect her work”: @KristineRusch
Freelancing: when good assignments go bad: @DanaShavin
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
3 Sources for Writers In Search of Ideas: @AustinDetails
Why You Must Write The Book You Want To Read: @SukhiJutla
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
Book recommendation podcasts for writers wanting to read more: @RoniLoren
9 Crappy eReader Features We Don’t Need: @helpfulsnowman
6 Couples in Literature Who Should Just Break Up Already: @missriki
10 Spanish-Language Authors You Need to Check Out: @Gabino_Iglesias
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
5 Sneaky Ways to Steal Time to Write: @weems503
4 Simple, Realistic Ways You Can Make Time to Write: @balanceless
8 Things Learned From Writing In 10-Minute Increments: @10MinNovelists
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
How To Combat Abrupt Writer’s Apathy: @faulknercreek
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Writer Wellness: Home Office Modifications and More: @JeriWB @colleen_m_story
The Long-Term Results of a Faithful Writing Life: @annkroeker
Don’t Stop Writing: @RuthanneReid
Embrace Your Boundaries: @DanBlank
Arts in the Parks: Current Residency Programs Across the National Park System: @My_poetic_side
Other Jobs Writers Take: @FinishedPages
The Hardest Thing About Writing a Book: @jaltucher
On Writing and Failure: @ecmyers
The Writer As Public Figure vs. The Writer Who Actually Writes: @Ramqvist
Minimalism For Writers: An Experiment: @besscozby @DIYMFA
7 Ways Our Writing Enriches Us: @kcraftwriter
3 Tricks for Writing Even When You’re Sick: @jeffelk
Writers and Alcohol: Busting the Myth of Booze and the Muse @AGHackney
A Writer’s Process: Longhand or Keyboard? by Linda Wilson
Genres / Fantasy
Five Books About Trolls: @TheFiveClaws @tordotcom
Genres / Historical
Trigger Warnings in Historical Fiction: @jrrabb
Genres / Horror
Horror in the Headlines: Using the News for Novel Ideas: @BookCurious @HorrorWriters
Genres / Mystery
How to Plot a Mystery: Set Up the Hero Fake-Out: @CockeyedCaravan
Plotting a Mystery: Figuring Out What Went Wrong: @CockeyedCaravan
Tips for writing unpleasant characters in mysteries:
Genres / Poetry
11 poetry writing tips: @monthlywriting
Genres / Short Stories
4 Short Lessons on Short Stories: @jessicastrawser @WritersDigest
Is Writing Flash Fiction for You? @ZoeMMcCarthy
8 Things Learned From 8 Years of Running a Literary Magazine: @NathanielTower
Gain publishing creds and storytelling skills by writing short stories: @JeremyJmenefee
Promo / Back matter
Back Matter in Your Book: @MJBowersock @IndiesUnlimited
Promo / Blogging
Stop Reading Blogs about Blogging and Write Your Blog: @AGHackney
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
Copywriting for Authors: @copyhackers @thecreativepenn
Promo / Book Reviews
Remembering to say thank you: @iamagemcrystal
Promo / Connecting with Readers
Connecting With Readers Through Personal Interests: by A. Howitt @mythicscribes
Promo / Miscellaneous
Using Tricks of the Librarian Trade to Market a Book: @ElliottMelodee @ReedsyHQ
Promo / Newsletters
Is Your Author Mailing List Effective? 5 Ways To Find Out: @clarewhitmell
How to Get Going with MailChimp and Email Marketing: @CaballoFrances
Promo / Social Media Tips
The Biggest Mistake Authors Make on Their Facebook Profile: @cksyme
Promo / Websites
Authors Need A Website: 4 Free Alternatives: @justpublishing
Publishing / Miscellaneous
What Fiction Trends Say About Us: @msheatherwebb
Why Novellas are Making a Comeback: @aliventures
The Unglamorous Ordeal of Recording Your Own Audiobook: @JohnFreemanGill @lithub
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Frankfurt Book Fair Opens Advance Sales of Weekend Tickets: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
A Singapore Publisher on Championing Good Literature: @Porter_Anderson
The UK’s Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer Competition Opens to Trade Authors and Indies: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing
Self-Publishing: Our work has to be competitive, but we don’t: @Laura_VAB @RMFWriters
Publishing / Process / Book Design
Complete Guide to Book Cover Sizes and Why it Matters: @maifosz @publishdrive
Will a pen name maintain your privacy? An agent explains: @Janet_Reid
Writing Craft / Characters / Arc
All great stories involve inner demons: @KristenLambTX
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Lesser-Known Character Archetypes: @beccapuglisi
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
Why ‘Less Is More’ in Your Story: @patverducci
7 vexing habits guaranteed to wreck your writing: @pubcoach
Writing Craft / Dialogue
Breaking Writing Rules Right: “Only Use ‘Said”: @SeptCFawkes
Writing Craft / Endings
8 1/2 Tips for How to Write Opening and Closing Lines Readers Will Love to Quote: @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / Hooks
Why Readers Quit: No Physical Goal: @DavidHSafford
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
Film Adaptations of Wuthering Heights and How They Change Understanding of the Original Text: by Craig Hubert
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
5 Theme Examples: How to Develop Story Themes: @nownovel
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Why You Need To Write With Authenticity And How To Do It: by Paige Duke @standoutbooks
How to Write a Fight Scene Readers Will Love: @Stepha_OBrien
Know What You Write (Not Write What You Know): by Tim Gautreaux @lithub
A Storycrafting Checklist: @SusanMayWarren
How to Manipulate a Protagonist’s Likability Using Narrative Distance: by Jes Gonzalez @WritersDigest
Writer Struggles: Killing Nice Characters: @RobinRWrites
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Plotting for Pantsters: @LisaCron
Freeze Frame: Creating a Stronger Scene: @bethvogt
10 Simple Tips For Writing Clever Plot Twists: @ClaireABradshaw
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
Metaphorical Usage and Scare Quotes: @writing_tips
Writing Craft / Revision
Edits Are The Time To Get Specific: @StephMorrill
Writing Craft / Tension
What Does It Mean To “Raise the Stakes”? @JamiGold @AngelaAckerman
Why Your Story Needs High Stakes: @AJHumpage
Writing Craft / Voice
Writing Craft: Balancing Rules and Voice: @JamiGold
Writing Tools / Apps
How to Use Trello to Storyboard Your Novel: @KathyEdens1 @ProWritingAid
Uncategorized
Agent Mark Gottlieb with @Trident_Media offers tips for better queries:
Death & Taxes: 9 Quotes From Authors Who Feel Your Tax-Day Pain: @TomBlunt @SignatureReads
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April 13, 2017
Unpleasant Characters in Mysteries
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Unpleasant characters are tough for any genre. But for mysteries, they present special challenges.
My editors from Penguin would often bring up concerns they had with unpleasant characters in my manuscripts.
My feeling is that unpleasant characters are incredibly useful in mysteries. They provide motive. They provide realism. They can even provide humor.
Although I find these characters helpful, I do recognize the pitfalls. Unpleasant characters are tricky for mysteries (and, likely, for most genres).
The unpleasant protagonist/sleuth:
If you’re telling your story from the point of view of the sleuth, the readers see the story world through his or her eyes. Readers frequently express a desire to identify in some way with protagonists.
So this is the trickiest of all to write. I’m constantly questioning how far to go with the unpleasant edge for my main characters. After all, these are people that I want readers to want to spend time with.
But I remain drawn to characters who are cranky, impatient, or easily irritated. The challenge is to make them appealing at the same time.
Save the Cat has gotten both praise and criticism (from some corners for being formulamatic). I think that they get at least one big thing right. We need the reader to root for our protagonist. We need them to want the crime solved or the world saved or whatever goal our protagonist is working toward. It’s good to give something that makes readers pull for and like our character. A sense of humor definitely helps. Or kindness under the crustiness. Or a soft spot for children and animals.
Once our protagonist is accepted by readers, it gets easier in later books…as long as we don’t step over the line or make the unpleasantness excessive. To me, it should just a natural (and often comedic) part of a multifaceted character.
The unpleasant victim:
For me, it’s certainly easier to write the mystery if the victim is unpleasant. Who wouldn’t want to kill him? But then you have to ask: why should the reader care who killed the victim? Maybe it seems as though the character’s death was good riddance.
In this case, it helps to either have a victim who seems good and is later revealed to be unpleasant (via interviews with suspects or eyewitnesses), or to focus on the process of unraveling the puzzle instead of the tragedy of the crime. I ordinarily choose to focus on the process. Solving mysteries is what the sleuth does…and it doesn’t matter if the victim was a Sunday school teacher or a blackmailer. With any luck, the reader gets caught up with the interactive sleuthing a mystery provides and puts less importance on the victim.
The unpleasant suspect:
This was usually the most troubling area of all to my editors, although I find the unpleasant protagonist more challenging to write.
My editors’ main concern was that readers would want the unpleasant suspect to be the killer. Then, if I wrote the unpleasant character to be the killer, the reader wouldn’t be surprised at the outcome (because it was what they wanted/believed to be true).
I changed a murderer once for this reason, but lately I’ve taken a step back from that approach. I’ll either add more unpleasant qualities for the other suspects, or else I’ll smooth some of the rough edges off of the killer. For me, the surprise ending is one of the most important elements of a mystery and I’ll sacrifice a lot for a satisfying conclusion.
You can also write unpleasant and unlikeable recurring characters to act as foils for the main character. This can be a great way to set up subplot conflict and tension for your sleuth. I do this with the Erma Sherman character in my Myrtle Clover series. Erma is a disaster…and lives next door to my sleuth. She’ll do anything to avoid her.
Do you write unpleasant characters? How do you make them appealing for readers?
Writing unpleasant characters in mysteries:
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April 9, 2017
Why Did I Get a ‘No’? – The Do’s and Don’ts of Query Letter Writing
by Mark Gottlieb, @Trident_Media
As a literary agent in major trade publishing at the Trident Media Group literary agency, I often have to explain the elements of a good query letter to new clients. This article is intended as a description of what goes into a good query letter, for new authors unfamiliar with what literary agents and editors are looking for in a query letter intended the book-publishing world. For a writer who might be currently querying literary agents, or even contemplating that process, this might be interesting reading. Considering the high rejection rate in the book publishing industry for writers trying to become debut authors, this article will hopefully be enlightening for the countless writers who are experiencing rejection due to a poorly-constructed query letter.
A lot of authors dread writing query letters. I know many authors who can write a novel in a matter of months, but who could endlessly spend years toiling over writing a query letter. My advice to authors along the querying process is to really nail the writing of that query letter. A query letter that reads well is usually a good indication to the literary agent that the manuscript will similarly read well, inclining the literary agent to request a manuscript. Often the query letter can go on to become the publisher’s jacket copy, were the publisher to acquire the manuscript via the literary agent.
The Do’s
A good query letter is: upfront in one-two sentences what the book is about in hook or elevator pitch fashion (should mention the title, lend a sense of genre, and contain one-three competitive/comparative titles that were bestsellers or award-winners, published within the last few years). If the author has pre-publication blurbs, those can appear before those first two sentences.
Next is a couple of body paragraphs detailing some of the plot details without too many spoilers and in that space the literary merits of the manuscript can be mentioned. The last paragraph is usually reserved for a short author bio, mentioning relevant writing experience/credentials, and a link to an author site or social media page(s) can be included there.
The Trident Media Group literary agency prefers to be queried by authors via our website at http://www.tridentmediagroup.com
An extremely well written query letter will stand out. Bonus points for a query letter that carries a lot of author credentials, such as awards, nominations, bestseller status, writer group/workshop participation, successful publications in literary magazines/anthologies, and especially advance praise from other authors of note.
Personally, I find that the best time to query literary agents is the Spring or Summer as things start to slow down in publishing during that season. A bad time would be the Fall as everyone is just getting back from their summer vacations and settling in. A lot of professors on sabbatical and summer break are getting back in the Fall and flooding us with queries.
Only if the query letter is strong will a literary agent usually go on to request sample pages or a full manuscript, unless their policy on their site is for an author to include a sample with the query.
Reading the submission policies of the literary agency on their website is important. For instance, many sites ask that an author query only one literary agent at a time at a given literary agency. Some literary agents pass stuff along to another agent if it isn’t for them, but only when it is good. Usually when it is a pass, it is a pass on behalf of the entire agency. If an author wants to query us again, we ask that they wait 30 days. That will afford them time to revise their manuscript.
Not including the word count and genre in a query letter is not a red flag since upon receiving the manuscript; the agent can determine the page length and word count. Upon receiving the query, they can determine the genre. It helps to know these two things, though. A manuscript should not exceed 120,000 words.
Writers often toil over number of named characters in a query letter. Only the primary characters should be mentioned, or just the protagonist and antagonist. Getting stuck on the title of the book, as well as the character names, is something I often see authors getting stuck on before they even get to write their query letters. As this is often changed so authors shouldn’t dwell on it.
A well-written query letter will usually result in my request for a manuscript to read and consider. Seeing good writing in a query letter is more often than not a good indication that the manuscript will also be well written. That is why I always tell authors to think of their query letter as their storefront, since it’s everyone’s first impression of a book. Again, oftentimes, the copy from the query letter will find its way into an agent’s pitch or onto the jacket copy of a publisher’s book, so the query letter is an essential starting place.
The Don’ts
I would caution authors against too much personalization in a query letter since literary agents in our industry have their egos stroked enough. I don’t need authors to say, “I really like your work,” or, “My book is a good fit for you because it’s like XYZ book you represented.” Literary agents already know writers are approaching other agents as well. I for one am not one for idle chatter and small talk when it comes to chitchat in a query letter.
When agents request manuscripts, authors should be wary about requests for an exclusive, meaning that author won’t send the manuscript to other literary agents. The literary agent could sit on their hands for months. I don’t ask for exclusives. If there’s a project that interests me, I try and read it in two or three days or at least within a week. If I take a manuscript home and stay up all night reading it and call the author the next day, it shows I’m competitive. I care about this project and wanted to get ahead of everyone else.
Submit to agents who are building their lists. Writers who submit to a Chairman, CEO, Executive President, or VP of a literary agency are going to find that the higher-ups only take on a new author if he or she is a New York Times bestseller or major award-winner. Even if said senior executive publishing agent likes a query, they are going to pass it on to someone else more junior in the publishing agency. It’s better to take the time to research the book agents and figure out for yourself who would be best for your manuscript.
Apart from the act of querying, there are many mistakes that I’ve seen in query letters, but I will name just a few that would absolutely deter me from requesting the manuscript from an author:
-Submitting queries for novellas, short story collections, poetry or textbooks will usually turn a literary agent off, as most literary agents do not represent such things. Publishers tend not to buy from literary agents in those areas in the first place.
-Word count is also very important. Traditional book length is 80-120K, and commercial fiction tends to be in the 80-90K-word range. Going outside of normal book-length will not produce good results for an author querying a literary agent for a shot at going into major trade publishing.
-Writing within struggling genres such as cozy mysteries, erotica, or urban fantasy is also another way to turn a literary agent off in the querying process. We tend to be weary of that at Trident Media Group.
One of the biggest mistakes I have seen in query letters is an author that writes to me about what sounds like an amazing manuscript, but when I requested, the author tells me that the manuscript is either in idea state only or not fully-written. That doesn’t help me at all as fiction can really only be evaluated on a full manuscript.
The other common mistake I see is that authors tend to write excessively long query letters where they have a tendency to include the entire synopsis and sometimes even the first chapter or so of a manuscript. I can see how this sort of mistake might happen, as authors by their nature are storytellers, but the query letter should be concise and fit on one page.
A typo or a misplaced comma will not shoot down the entire query letter, but it is still considered poor form.
Beginning in book publishing means much more than just having written an amazing manuscript. This article ought to have helped most any writer new to book publishing navigate some of the pitfalls of our quirky industry.
Mark Gottlieb attended Emerson College and was President of its Publishing Club, establishing the Wilde Press. After graduating with a degree in writing, literature & publishing, he began his career with Penguin’s VP. Mark’s first position at Publishers Marketplace’s #1-ranked literary agency, Trident Media Group, was in foreign rights. Mark was EA to Trident’s Chairman and ran the Audio Department. Mark is currently working with his own client list, helping to manage and grow author careers with the unique resources available to Trident. He has ranked #1 among Literary Agents on publishersmarketplace.com in Overall Deals and other categories.
Agent Mark Gottlieb with @Trident_Media offers tips for better queries:
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