Riley Adams's Blog, page 91
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:
Click To Tweet
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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Photo credit: Tomek Nacho via Visual Hunt / CC BY-ND
The post Confidence is Key to Eliminating Writer’s Block appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
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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Photo via VisualHunt.com
The post Responding to Reviews and Comments appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
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…
The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
Click To Tweet
The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
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
The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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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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Photo credit: PuzzleMonkey! via Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-SA
The post Unpleasant Characters in Mysteries appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
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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The post Why Did I Get a ‘No’? – The Do’s and Don’ts of Query Letter Writing appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
April 8, 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!
Subscribe for free to writing tips delivered to your inbox.
Business / Miscellaneous
How to Start Your Own Publishing Company: @erikaliodice
Business Musings: Process: @KristineRusch
Is Writing Your Side Hustle? 4 Steps to Take Before Going Full Time @nfallontaylor
3 Author Behaviors Which Will Kill Your Career: @angee
How to Save for Retirement When You’re a Freelance Writer: by Mandy Gardner @hopeclark
Success with Audiobooks: What You Need to Know: @audiovoices #IndieAuthorFringe
Find And Serve Your Niche For Long Term Success: @chrisbrogan @thecreativepenn
Why 1 Writer Stopped Chasing the Bestseller Lists: @marieforce
Business / Taxes
Tax Tips for Writers: @LisaLondon3
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Schedule Your Time in 4 Simple Steps: @JanalynVoigt
Accountability for our progress (video): @ScholarlyFox
Tracking your writing time: @RIngermanson
If you don’t write when you don’t have time, you won’t write when you do have time: @McgannKellie
Quick Fixes to Spend More Time Writing: @cksyme
The Major Danger of Confusing Projects and Goals: @MichaelHyatt
6 Practical Ways To Plug Time Leaks For More Writing Time: @10MinNovelists
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / When to write
How to Wake Up Early and Be Productive: @Ava_Jae
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
Does Your Writing Need a Literary Palate Cleanser? @Janice_Hardy
3 reasons for writer’s block: @jasonbougger
How a Thank You Note Got 1 Writer Through Writer’s Block: @juliepens @WritersDigest
5 Secrets for Overcoming Fear and Anxiety as Writers: @shahw1 @TheIWSG
Elements of Plot Structure: Fire Up Your Stalled Novel: @WritetoDone
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
10 Film Scores to Listen to While Writing: @GiveMeYourTeeth @LitReactor
7 tips to get our writing done: @beprolifiko
6 Elements to Becoming a More Productive Writer: @Mad_Hat_Writer
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Teaching Writing: On the Pitfalls of Hiding Out: @LannyBall
What Stress Can Do For You: @sowulwords @DIYMFA
3 Self-Care Tips For Writers: @rsmollisonread
5 Ways Ernest Hemingway Had It Easier: @BobEckstein @WhereWritersWin
5 Lit-Friendly Cities You Can Expatriate To: @chris_shultz81 @LitReactor
Readers Report Hearing Characters’ Voices: by Jackson Frons @ElectricLit
Cartoonist @amykurzweil On Drawing Inherited Trauma: by Julia Purcell
Who Is the Best Fake Novelist on TV? @ElectricLit
Writing to Survive: A Father on the Death of His Young Son: by Stéphane Gerson @lithub
How to Write Without Approval: Reasons to Keep Writing When it’s Tough: @AGHackney
Where to Find Opportunities to Teach to Supplement Your Writing Income: @ericmaisel @JaneFriedman
Simplicity: The Value of Quiet: @emi1y_morgan
How to Be Taken Seriously as a Writer: @KateMColby
How to Write When the Going Gets Tough: @missriki @LitReactor
8 Highly Unusual Writing Residencies: @knownemily
How to Survive a Creative Writing Workshop: @wickerkat @LitReactor
What’s with writers and late blooming? @DebraEve
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Spaces
4 Keys to Create Space to Write: @lornafaith
Genres / Fantasy
Why Fantasy Writers Should Embrace Their Heritage: by Andrew Falconer @mythcreants
How to Write Urban Fantasy – 6 Magical Tips: @writeturninfo
Using Mythic Elements in Your Stories: by Anne Marie Gazzolo @mythicscribes
Genres / Historical
16 Things All Historical Fiction Writers Need to Know: @IGLAbooks
Genres / Horror
Pieces of a horror writer: @pederson_lucas @jimbomcleod
Genres / Literary Fiction
5 Pieces of Bad Advice Literary Fiction Writers Get About Publishing: @MikeSahno @annerallen
Genres / Mystery
The 3 Mistakes Thriller Writers Most Often Make: @HesterAuthor @SignatureReads
Activism as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Plotting a Mystery: Work Backwards from the Climax: @CockeyedCaravan
How to Plot a Mystery: Set Up the Villain Fake-Out: @CockeyedCaravan
Writing the Crime Scene: Poison: @repokempt
Cosmetic surgery as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Non-Fiction
How To Use Story In Your Non-Fiction Author Business: @MelissaAddey
How to use ebooks to build your non-fiction niche: @jayartale #IndieAuthorFringe
Genres / Poetry
Speculative Poetry: Science Fiction and Fantasy in Verse: by Randi Anderson @WritersDigest
Genres / Romance
The Triangle of Romantic Suspense: @Allison_Brennan
5 Ways to Write Romance With Respect: @angelajames
4 Reasons Romance Novels Are an Important Form of Literature: @JodyHedlund
10 reasons readers fall hard for Christian Grey: @ACRoseAuthor @RWANYC
Promo / Ads
How 1 Writer Sold 100x More of Her Book Series: @GlynnisCampbell
Promo / Blogging
The guest blogging audience most novelists don’t know about: @sandrabeckwith
Tips for writers who want to stop blogging: @karinabilich
How Blogging and Other Content Marketing Helps Writers Get Noticed: @lornafaith
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
What the Heck is Copywriting Anyway? @bryancohenbooks @TheIWSG
How Great Book Descriptions Can Help Sell More Books: @Bookgal
7 Tips for Writing a Book Description: @WritersAfterDrk
Promo / Book Reviews
7 Ways To Deal With That Dreaded Bad Review: @PhreyPress
Promo / Connecting with Readers
5 Ways to Show Your Readers You’re Their Perfect Match: @EmilyWenstrom
Promo / Crowdfunding
How Patreon Works for Writers: @crazyauthorgirl
Promo / Miscellaneous
Why Book Clubs are the New Book Tour: @nmeierwrites @WomenWriters
Promo / Newsletters
20 Actionable Email Marketing Tips for Bloggers: by Pawan Kumar @WritetoDone
Promo / Platforms
How To Build Your Own Online Platform: @Bang2write
Promo / Pricing
10 Factors to Consider When Using Your Book as a Freemium: @bookmarketing @Bowker
Promo / Social Media Tips
Getting the Most out of a Twitter Pitch Event: @SpunkOnAStick
Using Instagram Stories to Build Reader Engagement: @tinytashhxo @penguinusa
Stop Focusing on Follower Count: 5 Things to Do Instead: @Andrea_Dunlop @JaneFriedman
3 Unconventional Ways To Use Social Media To Effectively Find Your Readers: @DanBlank @thecreativepenn
Promo / Websites
7 Vital Website Ingredients for Authors And Editors: @Belinda_Pollard
Set Up A Pro Author Website In An Hour Using WordPress: @PaulTeagueUK @IndieAuthorALLI
Sharing Your Purpose on an About Page for Your Website: @MarshaIngrao
Is Your Website Missing these Key Elements? @WriteNowCoach
Publishing / Miscellaneous
“Hire a professional indexer. The author… is the worst person for the job.” @Porter_Anderson @indexers
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Entertainment CEO to publishers: ‘learning from Angry Birds’: @Porter_Anderson @LauraNevanlinna
Wimpy Kid author finds success in Italy: @Porter_Anderson @wimpykid
Cambridge Editing Services: Editing in English as a Second Language: @emilykmarchant @Porter_Anderson
European book publishing: total market value of $38.4–$42.7 billion: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishers Weekly and Frankfurt Book Fair Open Nominations for 2017’s PW Star Watch: @Porter_Anderson
Russian Retailer LitRes Announces New Ebook Format: @Porter_Anderson
The Baileys Women’s Prize Shortlist: @BaileysPrize @Porter_Anderson
Global Book Fair Report 2017: ‘Propelling Rights Deals’: @Porter_Anderson @IntPublishers
Canadian Retail: Kobo Acquires Shelfie Technology: @Porter_Anderson @HudPeter
Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Is Acquiring Spain’s Ediciones B @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing
Does Self-Publishing Make Sense for Scholarly Writers? @Porter_Anderson @DanielBerze
4 Surprising Things About Self-Publishing an Academic Book: @joshgans @ReedsyHQ
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing
When is Your Manuscript Submission-Ready? @Ava_Jae
Is It Time, Dear Writer, To Ditch Your Literary Agent? @ChuckWendig
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections
Manuscript Rejection Feedback: 3 Critiques to Heed (and 2 to Ignore): @Carocour @WritersDigest
5 Mistakes Writers Make Dealing With Rejection: by Michael Alvear @Bang2write
Publishing / Process / Distribution
An Alternative Solution for Book Distribution: @StreetLib : by Marco Croella and @davidpenny_
Publishing / Process / Legalities
How To Protect Your Creative Work: @KathrynGoldman @thecreativepenn
Why and how to copyright our books:
Publishing / Process / Services to Avoid
How to Identify & Avoid Some Common “Bad” Publishing Deals: @SusanSpann @RMFWriters
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Character Introductions: Introduction through surprise: @GoIntoTheStory
Flog a Pro: would you pay to turn the first page of this bestseller? @RayRhamey
Starting a Novel With Aftermath: @Kid_Lit
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
Is Your Antagonist A Match For Your Hero? @Writers_Write
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
The Structure of Character: @woodwardkaren
Discovering a Characters’ Secrets: @AuthorSAT
Creating Characters—7 Habits of Seriously Messed Up People: @KristenLambTX
Tips for Making Your Characters Talk: @jessicarpatch for @DaniPettrey
Writing Craft / Characters / Supporting Characters
The Importance of the Adversarial Ally: by Jeanne Cavelos @WriterUnboxed
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
Why Readers Quit #1: Nothing Happens: @DavidHSafford
Writing Craft / Dialogue
Check Your Character’s Dialect: @NovelEditor
8 Ways to Bungle Dialogue: @10MinNovelists
How to Correctly Punctuate Dialogue for Novels: @WritersAfterDrk
Writing Craft / Drafts
How to Compose the Perfect First Draft: @annkroeker
Writing Craft / Endings
The Finish Line for Your Novel and Tips for Wrapping it Up: @p2p_editor
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
The 1000 Day MFA: @shauntagrimes
How Audiobooks Can Improve Your Writing: @RichardRieman @RMFWriters
7 of the Great Platonic Loves in Literature: @carrievasios @ElectricLit
The Quiet Call to Action in Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time: @charlottejv @SignatureReads
6 of the Most Fabulous Food Writers of All Time: @rosmance
8 TV Shows That Will Make You a Better Novelist: by Andrew Lowe @ReedsyHQ
12 of the Sweet Valley High Books’ Most Ridiculous Plotlines: @erincmccarthy
How to Escape in 9 Books: by Cara Hoffman @ElectricLit
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
5 Cases of Unfulfilled Foreshadowing: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Your Quick And Easy Guide To Theme, Allegory And Symbolism: by Hannah Collins @standoutbooks
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
15 Ways to Earn Your Audience as a Writer: @ChuckWendig
14 Tips On How To Create Your Own Urban Legend: @woodwardkaren
Could a character be a paramedic if he were disabled? @scriptmedic
Putting Your Writing Through Its Paces: @ProWritingAid
Writing Craft / Pacing
4 reasons to use a time jump in your story: @Chris_Kokoski
Writing Craft / POV
Choosing a POV for your novel: @patverducci
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Story Structure’s Purpose for Readers: @JamiGold
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
BS Medical Tropes That Need to Die: Stealing Ambulances (With a Patient Still Inside): @scriptmedic
How to Do Your Own Medical Research: @scriptmedic
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
When Do I Spell Out Numbers? @BrianKlems @WritersDigest
Why We Love To Hate Grammarians: @helpfulsnowman @LitReactor
A refresher on verbs: @HopeTDougherty
Hyphenation: When Nouns Become Adjectives: @ProWritingAid
3 Cases of Dangling Modifiers: @writing_tips
Writing Craft / Revision
Tips for Surviving the Editing Journey: @SukhiJutla
How To Edit Description: @JillWilliamson
8 Ways to Troubleshoot a Scene-and 5 Ways Make It Fabulous: @KMWeiland
A Writer’s Guide To Ruthlessly Killing Your Darlings: @10MinNovelists
7 Reasons to Read Your Manuscript Out Loud: @10MinNovelists
6 Things Learned Rewriting an Old WIP: @KelsieEngen
Writing Craft / Scenes
10 Questions To Ask Before Writing An Interesting Scene: @10MinNovelists
Writing Craft / Series
Pros, Cons, and Tips for Writing a Novel Series: @AuthorDeb Raney
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
Including Background Scenery: by Wendy Thomas @CSLakin
Writing Craft / Tropes
Things Your Writing Teacher Never Told You: Researching the Tropes: by Tina L. Jens @BlackGateDotCom
Writing Craft / World-Building
Society in Story: by Aaron Miles @FantasyFaction
Writing Tools / Apps
The Fuss-Free Beginner’s Guide To Scrivener: @ClaireABradshaw
Comparing Dropbox and Google Drive: @MarshaIngrao
Writing Tools / Miscellaneous
Writing Doubts (Writer Worksheet): @EvaDeverell
From My Blog:
How Flash Fiction Can Make You a Better Writer (and Where to Find It)
Reading More in 2017 – By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig In 2016, I worked in more reading than I had in …
The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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April 6, 2017
Subscribe to Writing Tips Via Email
by Mike Fleming, @Hiveword
In my previous post about changes to the Writer’s Knowledge Base (WKB) I mentioned that a future feature would be the possibility of receiving emails brimming with writing links on a daily or weekly basis. Well, that future is now!
As are probably well aware, every day Elizabeth tweets links to great articles on writing. Every Sunday you can get the week’s worth of links via her Twitterific blog post. You can also search for these articles or browse them by category on the WKB. And now, you can also have them delivered right to your inbox on a daily or weekly basis.
To get these emails you’ll need a free Hiveword account so that the system can remember your settings. If you are not familiar with Hiveword it hosts the WKB but also has other tools for writers such as a novel organizer and name generators. Once you are signed in, click the Writer’s Knowledge Base logo and then click Categorized Emails. Or, save a few steps and just click here when you are signed in.
You are now presented with a page for selecting your desired delivery frequency and the article categories that interest you. Here’s a screenshot:
(Note: There are many more categories to choose from than the screenshot shows. You can see all of them here.)
Click Save once you’ve chosen a frequency and any number of categories. If you chose Daily delivery you will get an email every day with the article links from the previous 24 hours that match your category selection. It’ll show up in your inbox around 1200 GMT (that’s 8am Eastern time in the United States).
If you chose weekly delivery then you will get your email every Monday around 1200 GMT. As you might expect, the article window is the previous week.
I’d like to point out that your category selections will determine how many links you receive in an email or if you even receive an email at all on a given day. It’s really up to you as to how many links you receive. Elizabeth can tweet as many 20 articles a day but not every category gets covered each day so you can see how your number of links can vary. If you’re getting too many links to handle, simply dial back your category selection to put more of a laser focus on what you need at the moment. You can always change your categories at any time or even turn off delivery.
There ya go! Relatively short and sweet. I hope you like this capability and would love to hear your thoughts on it.
Mike Fleming runs Hiveword which is a suite of online writing tools. The flagship product, Hiveword, is a free novel organizer.
Integrated within Hiveword is the Writer’s Knowledge Base and Knockout Novel which is a paid add-on from acclaimed writing coach James Scott Bell.
Free writing tips delivered to your email inbox via @hiveword and @elizabethscraig
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April 2, 2017
Copyrighting Our Books
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
When I was first signing a book contract in 2008, I remember that the industry generally scoffed on writers worried about copyright issues. Some writers wondered if they should register a copyright on their manuscripts before submitting them to agents and publishers. There was even a line of thinking that authors could simply mail their manuscripts to themselves to acquire a ‘poor man’s copyright’ through the postal service.
Acquiring a copyright to send work to a reputable agent or publisher was indeed probably overkill. But the problem now is more insidious: there are cases where retailers like Amazon have challenged writers to prove a book’s content is theirs after receiving challenges from unscrupulous writers.
I’d been meaning to copyright my books for some time, but it became a higher priority after the copyright challenges became news. And I hopped right over to the US Copyright site after reading a post on Joanna Penn’s blog: an interview with attorney Kathryn Goldman. I recommend you read or listen to the entire post.
One of the things Kathryn Goldman brought up in the interview is that the US Copyright is a better deal than one in the UK, for instance. It’s $35 for a copyright in the US for the life of the copyright (a one-time fee). In the UK, it’s £65 for 5 years. According to Goldman, “if you have a registration in the United States and your country is a signatory to the Berne Convention, then you’re entitled to the protections that that country offers based on the U.S. registration.” That’s important information for international writers.
I found the copyright registration process easy, if not intuitive. I’ll go one step further: the US Copyright site reminds me of early websites in the late 1990s. It’s not a modern site, y’all. But once I got the hang of it, I zipped through quickly. I registered 11 books in probably 45 minutes time (and for a total cost of $385).
Since the site isn’t intuitive, I thought I’d walk you through my process on it. I’m a novelist without a coauthor for those who don’t regularly follow my blog.
I started at the Copyright site (the first page isn’t so bad, but just wait) and chose ‘literary works’. If you want the definition, they list it as “a wide variety of works such as fiction, nonfiction, poetry, textbooks, reference works, directories, catalogs, advertising copy, compilations of information, computer programs and databases.”
You’ll need to create a user name and login.
Choose ‘register a new claim’ in the left sidebar.
Answer yes or no…for me, they were all yes. If you had a coauthor or were part of an anthology, your answers would be different. And I did register each work separately–I didn’t attempt to register an entire series under one copyright because my understanding from writer forums is that that wouldn’t work.
A pop up box pops up and you indicate you’ve read it and your book is eligible (give it a look-over to make sure it is).
Type of work: literary work
Check the box below.
Note: Keep hitting ‘continue’ at the top of the page or else you might accidently click ‘change application’ at the bottom of the page. As I mentioned earlier…the site is not intuitive.
Type in your title.
Mark if the book has already been published (mine all had…this is not a problem).
Indicate the nation of first publication, the year you wrote it, and the date it was published. Note: they want the month, date, and year (look it up on Amazon if you don’t remember). If you don’t put it in the MM/DD/YYYY format, it will kick you back to the previous screen with no explanation whatsoever. It took me a while to figure out what I was doing wrong.
List your author information: name, citizenship, and what part of the book you were responsible for (for me, this was limited to text. I didn’t design my own cover). There’s a spot for pen names here, too.
Add your address (we’re the claimant).
Limit your claim if it applies (it didn’t for me).
Provide contact information for anyone who wants permission to use your work (the ‘add me’ tab at the top is a shortcut and will fill in the information you listed previously).
Add your info in case the copyright office needs to contact you with questions (or use the wonderful ‘add me’ tab).
Add your name and info for the copyright certificate to be mailed to.
I skipped paying for special handling, but if you’re being challenged on your copyright of your work, this is an option to expedite matters. They claimed the process could take as long as 10 months…I certainly hope it doesn’t. I’m hoping it’s like the passport office…they always say it will take longer than it actually does.
Check the box and add your name to ‘sign’ the document.
Review your submission and then add it to the cart.
To repeat the process and add more books, click ‘add more services’. Otherwise, you can check out.
You can pay via bank draft or credit card.
Here’s the pain in the neck part for anyone who has printed versions of their books…you must mail them a hard copy (I sent them published books I had on hand).
If your books are only available in digital format or if the books are unpublished, you can submit files electronically. Here is the full list of requirements for sending a digital file:
“When is an electronic copy acceptable?
An electronic copy of the work being registered may be uploaded directly into eCO if it is within one of the following categories:
• Unpublished work
• Work published only electronically
• Published work for which the deposit requirement is identifying material
• Published work for which there are special agreements requiring a hard-copy deposit to be sent separately to the Library of Congress
For works where a hard-copy is required, you can still submit an application and payment by eCO and send copies of your work to the Copyright Office by the U.S. Postal Service or express courier.”
But don’t send them an epub or mobi file! They take:
.doc (Microsoft Word Document)
.docx (Microsoft Word Open XML Document)
.htm, .html (HyperText Markup Language)
.pdf (Portable Document Format)
.rtf (Rich Text Document)
.txt (Text File)
.wpd (WordPerfect Document)
.wps (Microsoft Works Word Processor Document)
As I mentioned, I had to send them printed books…my books didn’t meet any of the requirements for electronic submission. Before my next book comes out, you better believe I’m submitting it digitally.
At the bottom of the page, there’s a section for printing shipping slips. I clicked it and then clicked on the link they provided after they’d prepared the slips. We’re supposed to put one slip with each book (I attached them with rubber bands to the books) and then mail them to the address at the bottom of the slips.
We can check on the progress of our registration claim on their homepage in the ‘open cases’ link to the left.
Is it convoluted? Yes. Is it a pain? Most definitely.
But it’s not particularly expensive, especially considering the cost of everything else book-related.
Have you registered the copyright for your books?
I also wanted to let my blog readers know about a special offer (and I’m an affiliate for it). It’s called The Writer’s Bundle. The Write Life, a website for writers, is offering a deal this week only (starting today at 6 a.m. ET): a package they call The Writer’s Bundle.They’ve bundled together 10 ebooks, courses and tools on freelancing, novel writing, self-publishing, marketing, editing and more. Purchased separately, they’d cost nearly $1,700. But for the next four days, The Write Live is offering the entire package for just $99. Click here for more information or to download the bundle.
How and why to copyright our books:
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Photo credit: The Library of Congress via Visualhunt / No known copyright restrictions
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