Riley Adams's Blog, page 95

January 5, 2017

Resolutions of a Self-Publisher

by David Wogahn, @wogahn

Self-publishing is a humbling experience. When I started, I was in fear of my work being ripped off, good friends didn’t review my book, blog readers and subscribers didn’t flock to my website, I was (still am!) frazzled by all the social media and marketing options. On top of that, Amazon takes a huge slice of my sales.

Who among us have not had these thoughts? Heck, I admit to still having them. It’s not productive.

To begin this New Year, I’ve written down 5 resolutions to help me stay on track. At least one is easier than the others—in fact I have little choice. But keeping them all in mind will make for a healthier, and more productive mindset for 2017. I hope they help you too.

* * * * *

Think: Reciprocity.

How often have I uttered the phrase, “I write blog posts but no one reads them. Why should I bother?”

Or I show up at my local writer meetup and wonder why no one buys my hot-off-the-POD-press book.

The next time I ask myself one of these questions, or a variation—why no one follows me, likes my posts, joins my mailing list—I will ask myself: “how do you help others?” Did I buy that new author’s memoire (even though I probably won’t read it)? Have I sought out authors like me and like/read/retweet/join them in their journey? Or do I whine?

I will contribute to the success of my fellow self-publishers.

Go deep, and narrow.

I love shiny new objects just like the next person. I was one of the earliest members on LinkedIn. I signed up for Ello even though I never use it. I’ve answered a bunch of questions on Quora.

In the meantime, I admit to being a laggard in my use of Facebook. And I’m on what you might call a yo-yo diet with Twitter, six years of on again, off again engagement.

I will participate only where I can make a meaningful contribution until I am the master of my domain!

Have gratitude for self-distribution.

Ugh, Amazon Advantage takes 55% of my sale and charges me $99 a year for the privilege of selling. IngramSpark charges me a fortune to print and mail just one book. KDP charges me a fee to deliver eBooks to buyers.

In the fall of 2014 I had the privilege of hearing the Godfather of self-publishing speak—the late Dan Poynter. I remember cringing when he said “Amazon is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to self-publishers.” I was momentarily stunned until I realized what a world this would be without some company—any company—that can provide access to more than half the book shoppers in America. Think of that world. We’d be trying to sell our books to thousands of stores, each with percentage market shares too small to safely justify our investment.

I will acknowledge distribution is critical to my success and be grateful that someone has helped level the playing field so I can get a turn at bat.

Get an A on homework.

I often think of how to price my book when I’m staring at the KDP input screen. I follow anyone that follows me without taking time to research those I should proactively follow. I write the back cover of my book when the designer says she needs it before she can finish the cover.

Worst of all, I write the book I know, a book in my comfort zone, instead of investing the time to research the book readers want to read. And then I complain when it doesn’t sell like I expect.

And why do I do these things? Because I’m too lazy to do the research. Or maybe I don’t want to know the answer. As Steven Pressfield says, Do the Work.

I will do the work.

There is no difference between expression and copyright.

I know how hard I work on my writing. Or when one time, after spending more than an hour creating a custom graphic for my blog, I discovered it’s use—without attribution—on another self-publisher’s website.

And yet… I didn’t think twice about downloading “Gin and Juice” from Napster, and I rationalized downloading 1984 because I already owned the paperback.

I must remind myself that copyright does not require registration or labeling. If I can find an image/song/text online, it is protected—no registration or label required. I can rationalize all I want, but aren’t I too in the business of idea expression?

I will treat the intellectual proper of others the way I would like them to treat mine. (See #1, Reciprocity.)

David Wogahn is the author of Register Your Book: The Essential Guide to ISBNs, Barcodes, Copyright and LCCNs, the Lynda.com course Distributing and Marketing eBooks, and the president of AuthorImprints.com, a professional self-publishing services company that helps authors publish books and metadata.

Author @wogahn with 5 Resolutions to Stay on Track for 2017:
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Published on January 05, 2017 21:02

January 1, 2017

Focusing for Better Productivity

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Just a year or two ago, I had so much that I was trying to multi-task that I got easily overwhelmed.

What’s more, I felt really scattered. There were so many different things to work on that I’d work a bit on one thing (maybe adding my books to a publishing platform) and then start working a few minutes later on something else that seemed equally important and pressing (maybe the book that I needed to finish).

The biggest problem was the very fact that everything seemed equally pressing. This feeling that I needed to really scurry to get things done spurred the multitasking. I felt as if everything were an emergency. I considered all of my tasks equally important…personal and professional. And if I thought of something that needed to be done (buy a birthday present for a friend whose birthday was in a week), then I felt as if I immediately wanted to check the task off my list.

A couple of things got me to reevaluate how I was handling my priorizing of tasks.

The first was an article I read in Time Magazine by Eric Barker: “The Morning Routine Experts Recommend for Peak Productivity.”

Barker listed five ways to maintain productivity: stop reacting, decide the 3 things that matter today, use your ‘magic hours’ for the top 3 important things, have a starting ritual, and ‘positive procrastination.’

What resonated most with me were the “deciding what three things matter today” and the “magic hours for the 3 most important things.”

My usual method was just to hop in. Write, schedule updates on Twitter, answer emails, go grocery shopping, and not really prioritze.

I liked the idea of finishing the day and feeling like the day was a successful one. Now, I ask myself: what three things out of my to-do list will make me feel most successful for accomplishing them? And I try to make the goals/tasks realistic.

Our ‘magic hours’ are simply when we’re most productive. For me, it’s the morning, but many people are more productive in the afternoons or evenings.

It’s easy to list our top three things on a piece of paper each day. Or, we can modify what we’re doing slightly.

I modified my list when I came across the free app : 135 List. There we can list one big thing to knock out, 3 things of medium importance, and 5 minor tasks. This helped me sort everything out, from writing, to promo tasks, to dusting, to cooking supper.

I try to set up my list the night before so that I don’t start wildly multitasking first thing. It’s sort of like an outline for my day.

I’ve found that, since I started using the app last January, I’ve felt a lot more focused and less-stressed.

Do you take time to prioritize your to-do list? Any tips? When are your ‘magic hours?’

Prioritizing our to-do list can help us focus:
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Published on January 01, 2017 21:01

December 31, 2016

Twitterific Writing Links

Bluebird with beak open

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 39,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Happy New Year! Today I’ve got the top tweets from last year at the top of the post and then the rest of the tweets since my last Twitterific afterward. Oddly, some of the top tweets didn’t want to hyperlink…they were most uncooperative. :( If you’re interested in those links, you could copy-paste them into your browser, and they’ll pull up. Sorry about the hassle. Hope you all have a great 2017!

Top Tweets 2016

Turn Off the Static So You Can Hear the Tiny Whisper: http://ow.ly/wcj3306CD2b @virginiafranken #TopTweets2016

6 Keys to Write a YA Novel That Connects With Teen Readers: http://ow.ly/Xo80306y0ZK by Eleanna Sbokou @write_practice #TopTweets2016

Is It Really Possible To Do It All? http://ow.ly/drrJ306K4cJ @KaraIsaac #TopTweets2016

Once Taboo, Gay Characters Are Taking Over YA Fiction: http://ow.ly/rbTw306ONaA @broadly @mitchsunderland #TopTweets2016

Why Most Amazon Reader Reviews are Worthless: http://ow.ly/VEnY306OMMs @PeterRivaAuthor #TopTweets2016

11 Examples of Facebook Ads That Actually Work (And Why): http://ow.ly/83An306OM5O @soph_bern #TopTweets2016

7 Details You Need to Think About When Writing Historical Fiction: http://ow.ly/dHrX306K1DH @WarrenAdler #TopTweets2016

Building a Chapter for Emotional Impact: http://ow.ly/pcgr306N5Pz @kcraftwriter #TopTweets2016

12 stages of the Hero’s Journey With 2 Examples: http://ow.ly/OKtw306N5rD @DavidKThorpe #TopTweets2016

Mind Mapping for Authors: http://ow.ly/YDao306pBOM by Chris Fox #TopTweets2016

Mentor a Writer: Lessons from Biking: ow.ly/wFss30603p1 @FictionNotes #TopTweets2016

7 Tips for Avoiding Book Marketing Trends That No Longer Work: http://ow.ly/neex305CDRM @Bookgal #wkb71 @WritersDigest #TopTweets2016

Writing Tricks That Work: Transcribe Screenplays: ow.ly/aV0y305LMmI @GoIntoTheStory #TopTweets2016

Slang, Jargon, Insider Lingo: 11 Ways to Make Dialogue Authentic: ow.ly/5a2h305Ud4K @RuthHarrisBooks #TopTweets2016

17 Questions for Writers to Ask Themselves While Reading: ow.ly/gKq5305rC0l @Writers_Write #TopTweets2016

5 Tips on Writing & Illustrating Children’s Books: ow.ly/Il0J305OeaL @inkyelbows #TopTweets2016

Mentally Ill Women Belong In Your Stories, Too: ow.ly/d6KJ306gcSB @gaileyfrey @tordotcom #TopTweets2016

5 Things Learned About a Writing Career While Running A Half-Marathon: ow.ly/i0sX305FxNQ @TeeMonster @ChuckWendig #TopTweets2016

Elements of a Good Story: ow.ly/xwWY3063fsc @CockeyedCaravan #TopTweets2016

Vampires: Origins, Evolution, and Role in Fantasy Fiction: ow.ly/Cghq3063f2G by Leo Elijah Cristea #TopTweets2016

The Importance of Fiction: ow.ly/prfM305CzcE @KristineRusch #TopTweets2016

The Structure of a Murder Mystery: ow.ly/QIc23067D2Z @woodwardkaren #TopTweets2016

4 Easy Ways to Market Your Book: ow.ly/CAyc30604zX @Bookgal #TopTweets2016

20 Reasons Why You Should Read Literary Magazines: ow.ly/3XdD3066yiX @nickripatrazone @The_Millions #TopTweets2016

Writing Sad Scenes: Why to Avoid Tears: ow.ly/iykX305CE7q @ryancaseybooks #TopTweets2016

Elizabeth S. Craig on Series Challenges, Writer’s Block, Tips for Goal-Setting: http://ow.ly/KLyQ307ysta @reethu_ravi #wkb44

How to Write When Life Turns Upside Down: ow.ly/Mh6O305vAHG @RuthanneReid #TopTweets2016

How to Write about Something You Know Nothing About: ow.ly/4SKm305xRrq @marthamconway @WomenWriters #TopTweets2016

On #NaNoWriMo and Finding Time: http://ow.ly/x7gO305kkXF @Ava_Jae #TopTweets2016

8 Ways To Salvage Your Yearly Writing Goals: http://ow.ly/8Hyv305cWP6 @missriki #TopTweets2016

Increase #NaNoWriMo Success With Word Sprints: http://ow.ly/5cqg305k6um @WritersEdit @KyraThomsen #TopTweets2016

5 Things To Do Before #NaNoWriMo: http://ow.ly/Szvu305klMS @KMHodgeAuthor @WomenWriters #TopTweets2016

4 Writing Myths and Why They Suck the Ink out of Writers: http://ow.ly/KuHY3058XlC by Eric Roberts @ProWritingAid #TopTweets2016

Should You Go KDP Exclusive Or Go Wide? http://ow.ly/JDfH305rjSH @pippadacosta @susankayequinn @IndieAuthorALLI #TopTweets2016

7 reliable grammar resources for writers: http://ow.ly/TcoW3056g8A @nownovel #TopTweets2016

Pitch Your Novel Perfectly: http://ow.ly/xI0H3051fWm @SusanSpann #TopTweets2016

15 Story Beats to Keep Your #NaNoWriMo Novel on Track: http://ow.ly/iGWm305k6Sc @HeatherJacksonW #TopTweets2016

#NaNoWriMo Prep: Using Positive Reinforcement And Rewards: http://ow.ly/8hK4305k79A @KhaosFoxe #TopTweets2016

5 Types of #NaNoWriMo Participants and the Tools You Need: http://ow.ly/tXWK305kkZD @Magic_Violinist #TopTweets2016

3 ways sentences turn: http://ow.ly/BQBu305hM8X @kseniaanske #TopTweets2016

Fear of success is more debilitating than fear of failure: http://ow.ly/UWQy305aSSb @annerallen #TopTweets2016

Paul Beatty: 1st American to Win Man Booker Prize: http://ow.ly/mAsw305CSGI @ManBookerPrize @Porter_Anderson #TopTweets2016

How To Write 50,000 Words In A Month With @grantfaulkner http://ow.ly/pcaT305kmav @thecreativepenn #TopTweets2016

Writing To Find The Hero In Ourselves: http://ow.ly/u7de304G4QU @cpbhaven #TopTweets2016

3 Ways To Use The Setting To Steer Your Story’s Plot: http://ow.ly/WOCE305euao @AngelaAckerman #TopTweets2016

Stephen King’s 20 Tips for Becoming a Frighteningly Good Writer: http://ow.ly/ehMs305j8kn @GlenLong #TopTweets2016

10 Creativity Catalysts to Win #NaNoWriMo: http://ow.ly/rgiF305kokY @joebunting #TopTweets2016

Plan Your #NaNoWriMo Novel In 15-Minute Sessions: http://ow.ly/RW6A305kkR9 @Write_Tomorrow #TopTweets2016

UK’s Man Booker Prize Shortlist of 6 Books: http://ow.ly/wa43304dnCY @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives #TopTweets2016

Using Twitter to Make Powerful Connections: http://ow.ly/ybgY3043Ona @dkparsonswriter for @JaneFriedman #TopTweets2016

24 Most Controversial Books of All Time: http://ow.ly/Uoei303zmgh by Nicholas Politan @ElectricLit #TopTweets2016

Ethics of Writing About Your Kids: http://ow.ly/XuDS3043LXG @HitlessWonder @heatherklanier @AmyMonticello #TopTweets2016

Authors using ‘trigger warnings’ to indicate disturbing content: http://ow.ly/CNSy3047IwN @Porter_Anderson @writerunboxed #TopTweets2016

Why Can’t Irish Writers Escape the Sea? http://ow.ly/dk4C303DGkS @Creative_Career #TopTweets2016

After publishing an acclaimed novel, writer ‘promptly went broke’: http://ow.ly/Bo7V304lOpX @merritttierce @marieclaire #TopTweets2016

Writing Authentic Settings And Keeping A Series Fresh: http://ow.ly/1Phq304EIAb @tobywneal @thecreativepenn #TopTweets2016

Dos and Don’ts of Writing About the Disabled: http://ow.ly/dKl8303wecB @nicolaz @lithub #TopTweets2016

How to Write a First Draft: http://ow.ly/hThX304fp6L @hodgeswriter #TopTweets2016

Starting a Writing Business: http://ow.ly/KRKR303zm9t @Rachel_Aaron #TopTweets2016

Writing About People Who Don’t Look Like You: Empathy as Craft: http://ow.ly/gBbo303AIN5 @brandonrambles #TopTweets2016

3 Ways to Hack Your Environment to Help You Create: http://ow.ly/vQq4303Ng3i @fosslien @molliewest #TopTweets2016

Plotting Film Noir: http://ow.ly/nRFM3040N0g @KieronMoore #TopTweets2016

Is too much pre-writing immobilizing you? http://ow.ly/oa9i304Jh8G #TopTweets2016

47 Tips Writers Need When Their Creativity Goes AWOL: http://ow.ly/VyTb304kUN5 @LauraJTong @writetodone #TopTweets2016

The pantsing vs plotting debate: http://ow.ly/sZJN303EDcr @AkileshAyyar @The_Millions #TopTweets2016

One question to make your novel sell: does it turn? http://ow.ly/VpPE304kVwd @kseniaanske #TopTweets2016

Dialogue and Subtext: The Spoken and the Unspoken: http://ow.ly/AmMV303N8Su by Joni Fisher @WomenWriters #TopTweets2016

9 Lessons Learned About Writing From Walking 100km In A Weekend: http://ow.ly/pn13303oikM @thecreativepenn #TopTweets2016

How to Write Dialogue in a Narrative Paragraph: http://ow.ly/jK3H302rXjD @ProWritingAid #TopTweets2016

The Geek Writer: Using Technology to Self-Publish Your Novel: http://ow.ly/8idE3031KAb @ProWritingAid #TopTweets2016

How did children’Â’s lit evolve from prim morality tales to Captain Underpants? http://ow.ly/JjAE303dyTU @xwaldie @Slate #TopTweets2016

Tips for better query letters: http://ow.ly/myG8303FLys @Michelle4Laughs @TheIWSG #TopTweets2016

The 5 Most Common Mistakes Writers Make When Seeking Book Reviews: http://ow.ly/BEWQ303qAUZ @CSLakin #TopTweets2016

Aaron Sorkin On How To Write A Gripping Monologue: http://ow.ly/Rfgi303b4W5 @woodwardkaren #TopTweets2016

Worldbuilding Tips from the UK Editor of The Martian: http://ow.ly/J3Wg303qALu @mjcr @ReedsyHQ #TopTweets2016

5 Emerging Women Authors Intimately Explore Place: http://ow.ly/quzp303a0wc @KristenRadtke @ElectricLit #TopTweets2016

How to Find and Reach Influencers to Promote Your Book: http://ow.ly/DhvX302UWUH @AngelaAckerman #TopTweets2016

Let Go of Perfectionism: http://ow.ly/M3zR303b4PD @woodwardkaren #TopTweets2016

The Difference Between Beta Readers and ARC Readers: http://ow.ly/qJ4V302QWlP @MelissaFlicks @BadRedheadMedia #TopTweets2016

10 Steps to a Successful Book Launch: http://ow.ly/QfoX302ZB46 @msheatherwebb #TopTweets2016

10 Steps to an Unputdownable Book: http://ow.ly/GDxh302ZsHj @nownovel #TopTweets2016

Creativity has its seasons: http://ow.ly/nm3K303aV6u @austinkleon #TopTweets2016

6 Tips For Getting More Traffic on your Author Blog: http://ow.ly/IPJv302tcwA @annerallen #TopTweets2016

How to Plot If You Hate Plotting: http://ow.ly/ciga303l4C2 @brianawrites #TopTweets2016

When Is Your Writing Done? http://ow.ly/LKeK303jxa1 @Lindasclare #TopTweets2016

How to Get the Story Out of Your Head and Onto the Page: http://ow.ly/ROGB302y5wg @jennienash #TopTweets2016

Burn after Reading: On Writerly Self-Immolation: http://ow.ly/Yr2S302Xfpu @nickripatrazone @The_Millions #TopTweets2016

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Potato Leek Asparagus Soup #recipe @LucyBurdette http://bit.ly/29mk5dt @CleoCoyle #TopTweets2016

8 steps to finding a writing routine that works for you: http://ow.ly/Hx1E301dhek @word_smiths @Write_Track #TopTweets2016

Paris Bookstore Offers Print-on-Demand: http://ow.ly/e4EJ301Fxfq @pressfuturist @pubperspectives #TopTweets2016

Helpful editing tools: http://ow.ly/6Waq301nRk7 @nancylin90 #TopTweets2016

What Getting Published At 16 Teaches About Becoming a Writer: http://ow.ly/FWW0302iAsM @BannerCatherine @lithub #TopTweets2016

5 Reasons You Should Still Pursue a Traditional Book Contract: http://ow.ly/iuzt301tA0Y @tinaannforkner @WomenWriters #TopTweets2016

Reading habits and the Classics with Bestselling Author @KMWeiland : http://ow.ly/13bP301ZyHh @thewritingtrain #TopTweets2016

Why Calvin and Hobbes is Great Literature: http://ow.ly/yX2Q302lHKg @GabbyBellot @lithub #TopTweets2016

How Horror Author @peterstraubnyc Crafts His Opening Chapters: http://ow.ly/QqrV301Yzii by Tina L. Jens @BlackGateDotCom #TopTweets2016

Artists: how to graciously say no to anyone and free up creative time: http://ow.ly/yAyg301B0hb @austinkleon #TopTweets2016

How to turn your Word doc into a finished book in fewer than 10 min: http://ow.ly/8PfO302HNfy @ReedsyHQ @RicardoFayet #TopTweets2016

Elizabeth S Craig ‏@elizabethscraig 26 Dec 2016

5 Reasons You Should Still Pursue a Traditional Book Contract: http://ow.ly/iuzt301tA0Y @tinaannforkner @WomenWriters

5 Obstacles Every Writer Must Face and How to Overcome Them: http://ow.ly/AGYN301QVkJ @ChadRAllen #TopTweets2016

8 Classic Openings and Why They Work: http://ow.ly/S9hi302kB6r @robvlock #TopTweets2016

How to Choose, Develop, & Research a Setting: http://ow.ly/oKsy302qwB8 @tessaemilyhall #TopTweets2016

Flip Your Characters To Twist A Plot: http://ow.ly/HHqg300wknI @Writers_Write #TopTweets2016

10 ways to get more writing done: http://ow.ly/diEJ300tBIc @Creativindie #TopTweets2016

Auditioning an editor: http://ow.ly/XSZe300VSpC @ColeHeartedGirl @RWANYC #TopTweets2016

10 Ways to Win with WordPress: http://ow.ly/i5es300p69o @jonreed @publishingtalk #TopTweets2016

7 Ways to Make Your Historical Novel Come Alive: http://ow.ly/9vHL301feOo by Alison Love @WritersDigest #TopTweets2016

Using Minor Characters to Explore Theme: http://ow.ly/GbKY300WqRe @dougeboch #TopTweets2016

How To Find The End: http://ow.ly/Iqgd301aSdR @HazelGaynor @WomenWriters #TopTweets2016

What Makes a Book Successful? A Case Study of 4 Bestselling Books: http://ow.ly/QLNp300HbCO @sabsky #TopTweets2016

How to write science fiction: http://ow.ly/is6F300p5YQ @MDeAbaitua @publishingtalk #TopTweets2016

‘The Last Book My Father Read’: After Decades of Hard Work, a Retirement in Books: http://ow.ly/BKO8301piKM by Patrick Ryan #TopTweets2016

How a writer wrote 29 stories in 29 days: http://ow.ly/s4YX301dgNM @sophiegood @Write_Track #TopTweets2016

The Next Novel You Read May Have Been Chosen by a Computer: http://ow.ly/WbwZ300SAgL @chelsebaum @ElectricLit #TopTweets2016

Is ‘Confessional Poetry’ still a relevant term? http://ow.ly/EHaM301fe78 @desi_writers @MominaMela #Toptweets2016

Why You Should Take Your Book Publishing Contract to a Lawyer: http://ow.ly/hrqG300Q8UE @monicamclark #TopTweets2016

Troubled Waters: Causeways of Shingle, Sand, and Ice in Horror: http://ow.ly/cny33012CEi @ThisIsHorror by V.H. Leslie #TopTweets2016

George Orwell’s Personal Guide on the Motivation to Write: http://ow.ly/2o8x301aRYr @katekrake #TopTweets2016

Mentoring Women Writers: http://ow.ly/gWvt300Nimi @mandajjennings @WomenWriters #TopTweets2016

How to Create a Successful Protagonist: http://ow.ly/3bij301aTkR @josephrbates #TopTweets2016

Winning the World’s Largest Online Writing Contest: http://ow.ly/RmSV300Hy3G @ReedsyHQ @oakenthoughts #TopTweets2016

12 Ways Not to Write a Mystery Novel: http://ow.ly/ChGo3060tpq by Jacqueline Diamond for @annerallen #TopTweets2016

The @nytimes is doing a series on writing spaces called ‘A Writer’s Room’: http://ow.ly/SxKa300EbvO #TopTweets2016

Maintaining Passion for a Story: http://ow.ly/4njCoB @stdennard #TopTweets2016

Interview with @mark_haddon on banned books, hate speech and childhood memories: http://ow.ly/Pnf830084sI @danpjsheehan #TopTweets2016

Simple Tricks to Unstick Your Plot: Where Is Everyone? http://ow.ly/4nmv05 @stdennard #TopTweets2016

Why rural lives and literature are in crisis: http://ow.ly/uxaE3002jKn @thelithub by Matthew Neill Null #TopTweets2016

Small Talk & Escape Plans: A Holiday Survival Guide for Introverts: http://ow.ly/aDCD307qs9I by Lindsay Hood @livequiet #wkb31

.@SalmanRushdie on Poetry, Being a Reader, and Going to the Movies: http://ow.ly/oZ54300mmGE @holdengraber @thelithub #TopTweets2016

6 Ways To Tell the Difference Between a Supportive and Toxic Writer: http://ow.ly/DELn3009Xh7 @DCampoamor @WritersDigest #TopTweets2016

The Point When Everything Changes: http://ow.ly/4nmuN4 @stdennard #TopTweets2016

Writing: When It’s Not Like a Movie: http://ow.ly/kSGJ300d3F0 @joeberhardt #TopTweets2016

Battling Tired Tropes: Hate-at-First-Sight Love Stories: http://ow.ly/4njCr2 @stdennard #TopTweets2016

5 reasons listening to audiobooks can improve our writing: http://ow.ly/4mYAB6 @JasonMHough #TopTweets2016

15 Ways to Boost Your Social Media Marketing in Under an Hour: http://ow.ly/jrgd3002abG @Ashread_ @buffer #TopTweets2016

Productivity of pulp writers: http://ow.ly/Zc7P300evox @DeanWesleySmith #TopTweets2016

3 Steps to Reinvigorating Your Writing: http://ow.ly/4npgpJ @chicklitgurrl #TopTweets2016

5 Comparisons Not To Make For Your Book: http://ow.ly/4n6nId @ChuckSambuchino #TopTweets2016

Stephen King: What We Can’t Say Enough: http://ow.ly/4ns9oE @JonathanJanz #TopTweets2016

The Literary Spy Novel: 5 Recommendations: http://ow.ly/4n1XmY @paulvidich @ElectricLit #TopTweets2016

How to Turn an Idea into a Story: http://ow.ly/4nuClk @DelilahSDawson #TopTweets2016

Building Blocks of a Novel: Paragraphs: http://ow.ly/10v6O0 @JulieEshbaugh #TopTweets2016

How to Write a Novella: http://ow.ly/10iU7m @EvaDeverell #TopTweets2016

Plot Don’t Preach: The Art of Picture Book Writing: http://ow.ly/ZM6mj by Sue Bradford Edwards @womenonwriting

10 Tips to Pitch Your Book to Review Bloggers: http://ow.ly/10pcVn @missriki #TopTweets2016

How Targeting Genre Can Make a Difference in Your Writing Career: http://ow.ly/103Xau @CSLakin #TopTweets2016

Breaking down the 98 Bookbub tips: http://ow.ly/103XgI @zackheim #TopTweets2016

On Not Writing: An Illustrated Guide to Anxieties: http://ow.ly/ZM5EJ by Ingrid Rojas Contreras @ElectricLit #TopTweets2016

Top 50 Websites for Indie Authors: http://ow.ly/10r2YL @Bookgal #TopTweets2016

Imposter Syndrome and the Writing Community: http://ow.ly/4mMw5j @jules_chronicle for @ava_jae #TopTweets2016

Give Your Latest Book a Boost With Home Page Branding: http://ow.ly/10e4Ms @cksyme #TopTweets2016

15 Steps to Self-Pub and Record an Audiobook for $85: http://ow.ly/103WAi @Miles_Anthony #TopTweets2016

6 Ways to Make Your Villain Likable: http://ow.ly/4mMvXY @mythcreants by Chris Winkle #TopTweets2016

How much does it cost to self-publish a book? @ReedsyHQ shares its data: http://goo.gl/IiGPGT #TopTweets2016

Writing About History: Truth or Dare: http://ow.ly/4mL9FR @NatachaTormey @womenwriters #TopTweets2016

7 Must-Have Features for Great Author Website Design: http://ow.ly/4mMuXy @ferol #TopTweets2016

5 Tips To Sustain You While Querying: http://ow.ly/4mIV5n @kcraftwriter #TopTweets2016

3 Common Qualities for Science Fiction Lovers: http://ow.ly/10iUnv @PeevishPenman #TopTweets2016

How Romance Writers Woo Readers Through Facebook: http://ow.ly/ZZujo @rcutlerSpark @bookworksnyc #TopTweets2016

3 Top Tips For Delivering A Sensational Speech: http://ow.ly/10nzb0 @Writers_Write #TopTweets2016

The Logistics of World Building: Algebra for Fantasy Writers: http://ow.ly/ZBfub @brianstaveley @tordotcom #TopTweets2016

6 Illustrations That Show What It’s Like in an Introvert’s Head: http://ow.ly/ZzsT4 @fosslien @molliewest @livequiet #TopTweets2016

The High School English Teacher Who Changed My Life: 12 Writers Reflect: http://ow.ly/ZibhA @nickripatrazone @lithub #TopTweets2016

The Diversity of Today’s Cutting Edge Sci-Fi: http://ow.ly/Zx1X5 @soniagracelm @fantasyfaction #TopTweets2016

Terrible Writing Advice From Famous Writers: http://ow.ly/Zx0JN by Danielle Dutton @lithub #TopTweets2016

6 Lessons from ‘Still Writing’ by Dani Shapiro: http://ow.ly/Zx1In @karenmarston #TopTweets2016

How to run a Kindle Scout campaign: http://ow.ly/Z7dvk @CindyRMarsch @indieauthoralli #TopTweets2016

Surviving Writer Envy: http://ow.ly/YIyHq @msheatherwebb @writerunboxed #TopTweets2016

The Things We Do to Promote the Books We Write: http://ow.ly/Zi4Ys @summerbrennan @lithub #TopTweets2016

How To Overcome Distraction And Finish Your Book: http://ow.ly/ZtmBC @standoutbooks #TopTweets2016

An app for writing faster (that suggests we’re writing all wrong): http://ow.ly/Zi4BZ @Jacob_Brogan @FutureTenseNow #TopTweets2016

“Everything I Need to Know about Dialogue, I Learned from Aaron Sorkin”: http://ow.ly/Yyo2K by Dave King @writerunboxed #TopTweets2016

The ominous ordinary: horror writers finding scares in the everyday: http://ow.ly/ZfrBb @damiengwalter @guardianbooks #TopTweets2016

5 Valuable Writing Tips from Madeleine L’Engle: http://ow.ly/Zx09q @ladieswhowrite #TopTweets2016

How to Pitch Your Book to Review Bloggers and Not Get Ignored: http://ow.ly/Zl4Qw @missriki @lithub #TopTweets2016

Class, Imperialism, and The Man in the Yellow Hat: http://ow.ly/Z84rz @SheenaKFallon @electriclit #TopTweets2016

Tips for Writing through the Holidays: http://ow.ly/KB1T307mUsn @aimiekrunyan #wkb31

3 Common Qualities for Science Fiction Lovers: http://ow.ly/Zi3EU @PeevishPenman #TopTweets2016

17 characters who found a fresh start in the apocalypse: http://ow.ly/Ztngl @TheAVClub #TopTweets2016

Ways Writers Can Vanish from the Literary World: http://ow.ly/ZoGVa @poetrynews @cindyskylar #TopTweets2016

10 Great Vanishings in Literature: A Reading List: http://ow.ly/ZfrTE @IdraNovey @electriclit #TopTweets2016

Building a Relationship with Readers: http://ow.ly/XT264 @ronvitale #TopTweets2016

Amazon Search URL Anatomy: ISBN, Ref, and Keywords: http://ow.ly/YfABK @DaveChesson #TopTweets2016

Trailer parks in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/YQrxg @mkinberg #TopTweets2016

16 Self-publishing Predictions: http://ow.ly/XIJ0C @DebbieYoungBN #TopTweets2016

The Unlikely Character That Will Take Over Your Story: http://ow.ly/Y2DnJ @Chris_Kokoski #TopTweets2016

Why Successful Writers Need To Do More Than Write: http://ow.ly/XMUum @bwilliamsbooks #TopTweets2016

Why So Many People Write at Starbucks: http://ow.ly/YcEvA @Larry_Kahaner #TopTweets2016

3 Reasons Your Books Aren’t Getting Amazon Reviews: http://ow.ly/XXVXV @nmeunier #TopTweets2016

7 Tips for Using Hands-On Research to Enrich Your Writing: http://ow.ly/Y3uaY @DelilahSDawson #TopTweets2016

Indies get a free book formatting tool from @ReedsyHQ: http://ow.ly/YnttM @Porter_Anderson #TopTweets2016

How a Writer Turned Her Blog Into A Book : http://ow.ly/Xjh7U @hungrywriting @womenwriters #TopTweets2016

Beware the “Writing Rules Police”: http://ow.ly/2QyX305UgmJ @annerallen #TopTweets2016

Should Educators Be Writers? http://ow.ly/YreWX @MrsSokolowski #TopTweets2016

Why authors shouldn’t worry about selfpub book launch sales: http://ow.ly/Y2CZ2 @JohnDoppler @IndieAuthorALLI

7 Steps to Jumpstart Kobo eBook Sales: http://ow.ly/YkLjG @Miles_Anthony #TopTweets2016

A Room of One’s Own: the Place in One’s Head: http://ow.ly/XIIWU @jaqhazell @womenwriters #TopTweets2016

5 tips to protect ourselves from copyright infringement violations: http://ow.ly/Yfy5r @pokercubster #TopTweets2016

How to market YA fiction (and get more book reviews): http://ow.ly/YrebN @Creativindie #TopTweets2016

How to Write a Fight Scene in 11 Steps: http://ow.ly/Yt0Of @betternovelproj #TopTweets2016

Awards Notes: Frankfurt’s Best Adaptation and the Arabic Fiction Award: http://ow.ly/oXb4307ihQb @Porter_Anderson #wkb64

Accidental Outdated Slang in YA: http://ow.ly/WyMtz @HeatherJacksonW #TopTweets2016

“10 Misconceptions a College Education Taught Me about Writing”: http://ow.ly/ti9H305Ufgd @annerallen #TopTweets2016

6 Quick Tips for Author Marketing: http://ow.ly/Wp4jY @kayelleallen #TopTweets2016

A Novel Performance: 30 Days In Seattles Central Library: http://ow.ly/WlR5j by Gabriela Denise Frank #TopTweets2016

Writing Characters with Mental Health Issues: http://ow.ly/WR4FZ @oliviavetrano #TopTweets2016

Be Realistic About Your Writing Resolutions: 5 Tips: http://ow.ly/WxmGN @writers_write #TopTweets2016

Crime fiction: when a character finds a body in his home: http://ow.ly/iZnS307iqX9 @mkinberg #wkb44

George RR Martin: when writers just can’t finish their books: http://ow.ly/XgpEj @guardianbooks @michelledean #TopTweets2016

Talking Taboo: Writing About Sensitive Topics: http://ow.ly/X9K25 from The Daily Post #TopTweets2016

A History of Punctuation for the Internet Age: http://ow.ly/WKgDM @AdrienneRaphel @NewYorker #TopTweets2016

How to Write a Novel Worthy of Publishing: http://ow.ly/WH1Tu @MCristianoWrite #TopTweets2016

7 Lessons from 1 Writer’s 1st Year as a Published Author: http://ow.ly/WirkF @MelindaFriesen #TopTweets2016

17 Christmas gifts for writers: http://ow.ly/QEdX307it6S @pubcoach #wkb31

5 Marketing Models for Self-Publishing Success: http://ow.ly/XH3Fn @JaneFriedman #TopTweets2016

5 Writing Apps to Help You Finish that Book: http://ow.ly/X3bmG @DIYMFA #TopTweets2016

How to Know Your Characters More Intimately: http://ow.ly/Wg8HG @BenSchmitt5 #TopTweets2016

Can Better Writing Make Climate Change Less Polarizing? http://ow.ly/S0y0307ihe3 @MarkPiesing @pubperspectives #wkb89

WordPress: 5 Themes for Writers and Readers: http://ow.ly/X9L54 by Cheri Lucas Rowlands #TopTweets2016

Creativity and Inspiration / Miscellaneous

5 Benefits of Using a Typewriter on Your First Draft @GiveMeYourTeeth

Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting

5 Ways to Turn Inspiration into Results @katekrake

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

3 Ways In Which Music Can Inspire Writing @rsmollisonread

Reading while writing @nevalalee

15 Inspiring, Unique Settings to Write @cathysbaker

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly

How to Create a Progress Bar @JMNeyGrimm

Use Skeleton Outlines to Write Faster @Jenn_Mattern

Creativity and Inspiration / Success

9 Nighttime Routines of the Mega-Successful @Inc

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

Avoid These Regrets on the Writing Journey @EdieMelson

10 Experienced Writers on the Power of Gratitude @colleen_m_story

9 Questions Writers Hate to be Asked @LitReactor

How Writers Can Walk the Tightrope of Work and Life @BadRedheadMedia

5 Ways to Nurture Your Creativity During Christmas @SusanMayWarren

Your Found-in-Fiction Cautionary Holiday Travel Guide @Keith_Rice1

7 Packing Tips to Lighten the Writer’s Voyage @PatPDonovan

Focus On Lessons Learned Not Tasks Complete @katekrake

17 Christmas gifts for writers @pubcoach

Small Talk & Escape Plans @livequiet

Genres / Fantasy

The appeal of monsters in fiction @FaithBoughan

Genres / Mystery

Cozy Mystery Writing @woodwardkaren

Crime fiction @mkinberg

Elizabeth S. Craig on Series Challenges, Writer’s Block, Tips for Goal-Setting @reethu_ravi

Genres / Screenwriting

Mid Point Pit Stop [Because Your Screenplay Is Too Long] @ozzywood

Genres / Young Adult

Top 5 Tips For Writing Compelling Young Adult Fiction: by Jessica Clausen

Promo / Miscellaneous

Pointers for Writing Book Discussion Questions @ZoeMMcCarthy

How to Conduct a Year-End Review for Your Writing @Kristen_E_Pope

How to Double up or Triple up on Your Book Promotion @Naked_Determina

Promo / Ads

11 Examples of Facebook Ads That Actually Work (And Why) @soph_bern

Promo / Blogging

Eight Tips For Sustainable Blogging @postaday

Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting

4 Hot Tips To Writing A Sell Sheet’s Calls-To-Action @jckunzjr

Promo / Book Reviews

Why Most Amazon Reader Reviews are Worthless @PeterRivaAuthor

How to print advance reader copy (ARC) books using @IngramSpark @Wogahn

Promo / Newsletters

Newsletters @clarewhitmell

Cleaning up a newsletter subscriber list @JamiGold

Publishing / Miscellaneous

A Book Production Checklist for Indie Authors @carlaking

Create A Great Book Dedication In 4 Easy Steps @jckunzjr

The Future Of Books @thecreativepenn

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Comparing European Book Fairs @Porter_Anderson

Modest Growth in Italy’s Publishing Sector @pubperspectives

Awards Notes @Porter_Anderson

Publishing / Process / Contracts

Negotiating Editorial Control in Publishing Contracts @MattKnightBooks

Publishing / Process / Legalities

US Publishers Tell Trump @Porter_Anderson

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

30+ Words To Watch Out For As You Write @LizaWiemer

Building a Chapter for Emotional Impact @kcraftwriter

How to Hook the Reader: by J.U. Scribe

Can Better Writing Make Climate Change Less Polarizing? @MarkPiesing @pubperspectives

Writing Craft / Arc

12 stages of the Hero’s Journey With 2 Examples @DavidKThorpe

Writing Craft / Beginnings

Your First Act is not a plot device @MikhaeylaK

Writing Craft / Characters / Arc

Questions to Help You Come Up with Archetypes and Character Arcs @CSLakin

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

5 Tips for Writing Appealing Characters @WritersDigest

Writing Craft / Conflict

Use Conflict to Propel Your Story Forward @ml_keller

Writing Craft / Diversity

Diversity is the Point at Swedish Children’s Book Publisher @Porter_Anderson

Once Taboo, Gay Characters Are Taking Over YA Fiction @mitchsunderland

Writing Craft / Literary Devices

How to Uncover the Magic of Metaphor @LHowardWrites

Writing Craft / POV

Heat Up Point of View for Greater Reader Empathy @jamesscottbell

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining

An Outline for Pantsers @WritersDigest

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

Need a Book Editor? 4 Factors to Help You Find the Perfect Fit @outsideeye

6 Ways To Organize Beta Reader Feedback @sacha_black

Uncategorized

What I’ve Learned in 2016 – by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig 2016 felt like a very busy year for me, alt…

Twitterific Writing Links – by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig A weekly roundup of the best writing links …

How to Write a Novel Worthy of Publishing @MCristianoWrite #TopTweets2016

“10 Misconceptions a College Education Taught Me about Writing” @annerallen #TopTweets2016

Beware the “Writing Rules Police” @annerallen #TopTweets2016

Why So Many People Write at Starbucks @Larry_Kahaner #TopTweets2016

Top 50 Websites for Indie Authors @Bookgal #TopTweets2016

12 Ways Not to Write a Mystery Novel @annerallen #TopTweets2016

The Next Novel You Read May Have Been Chosen by a Computer @ElectricLit #TopTweets2016

Find 6 years of top writing-related links on the free search engine for writers: https://t.co/tjn3OfwnLH

The top writing links of last week (and last year) are on this week's Twitterific:
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Published on December 31, 2016 21:01

December 17, 2016

Twitterific Writing Links

Bluebird with beak open

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

Happy Holidays! I will be taking a blog break until I return two weeks from today for an especially long Twitterific that will include my top shared links for 2016. :)

Conferences and Events / NaNoWriMo

Editing Your NaNoWriMo Novel @_theverbs

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

Creativity Prompts for Writers, Journalers, Artists and Speakers @WritingReader

Ways for Caregivers To Support Children’s Writing Lives @MelanieMeehan1

Nurturing Our Notebook Work @rdgtchr13

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

Accomplish More with a 3-Item To Do List @joshua_becker

10 Tricky Things You May Have To Do To Achieve Your Goals @10MinNovelists

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / When to write

Why we were wrong about writing habits (but right about writing routines) @Write_Track

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

Don’t Be a Scaredy-Cat Writer @EdieMelson

Writer’s Block @JennyBravoBooks

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly

How to trigger your writing routine @Eva_Bec

Beat Overwhelm @SukhiJutla

How to Make the Most of Writing Sprints (video) @Ava_Jae

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

For the French Gift Recipients on Your Holiday List @Porter_Anderson

The Writing Retreat From Hell @lesleykinzel

16 Ways to De-Stress This Holiday Season @emi1y_morgan

Beyond the Notebook @WriterUnboxed

30-Day Challenge For A Better 2017 @cksyme

The ‘Cannon’ of Literature @grantdraws

Choose Your Own Memoir @grantdraws

How to Keep Stress from Destroying Your Creativity @colleen_m_story

Is It Really Possible To Do It All? @KaraIsaac

Genres / Miscellaneous

Adapting Novels Into Comic Books @mythicscribes

Pros and Cons of Writing Cross Genre @paisleypiranhas

Genres / Horror

When Horror Isn’t Scary Enough @nataliezutter

Genres / Memoir

How to Write a Collage-Style Memoir @Tarn_Wilson

Genres / Non-Fiction

9 Women Writers Breaking New Nonfiction Territory @bustle

Genres / Romance

Should You Force Romance into Your Story? @Tamela_Murray

Genres / Science Fiction

19 Positive Approaches to Religion in SF and Fantasy @tordotcom

Genres / Screenwriting

The 2-Act Structure [Because You Write The Rules] @ozzywood

The Hero’s Journey vs. Superhero Stories @GoIntoTheStory

Create Your Pitch @CreativeScreen

An Introvert’s Guide to Film Festival Networking @scriptmag

Promo / Miscellaneous

Increase Book Visibility with Meta Tags in Your Book Metadata @IngramSpark

10 Tips Learned about Getting Book Endorsements @hopeclark

An Overview of Mason Canyon Book Tours @cluculzwriter

12 Surprises Found Marketing a Debut Novel @WordDreams

Launching Your Book @IndiesUnlimited

Promo / Book Reviews

7 Book Reviewer Complaints @IndiesUnlimited

Death of the hatchet job book review @NewStatesman

Promo / Social Media Tips

Simplify Social Media Promo @cksyme

How to create ‘best of 2016’ tweets with Twitter analytics:

Gaining more followers on Twitter @RMFWriters

Harnessing the power of YouTube for books @thebookseller

How to Sell More Books with Less Social Media @DigiBookWorld

Promo / Speaking

Public Speaking for Writers @AliciaOltuski

Publishing / Miscellaneous

Preparing for the Writing Battle @NovelRocket

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections

A writer hits a milestone of 100 rejections @brevitymag

Publishing / Process / Book Design

Book Layout Basics @IngramSpark

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

How to Write Unexpected Story Events @KMWeiland

Writing Personal Essays With Help From @nytimes @NYTimesLearning

How-To Techniques to Establish Pace @ProWritingAid

Book Title Generator for the Holidays @annerallen

A Key to Great Writing: Make Every Word Count: by Stephen Wilbers

Backstory: How Much is Too Much? by Jaiden M. Pierson

Rhythm and Pacing of Writing @jennienash

Writing Craft / Arc

The Man In A Hole Arc: by Shawn Coyne

Writing Craft / Beginnings

Your Novel’s First Scene @JaneFriedman

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

5 Quick Tips For Crafting Believable Characters: by Amanda Fink

Writing Craft / Conflict

Understanding Inner Conflict @michael_hauge

Writing Craft / Drafts

9 Ways You Succeed When Your First Draft Fails @theladygreer

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

6 Keys to Writing Stories That Will Scare Readers @crisfreese

Writing Craft / Literary Devices

Irony Wakes Up Your Reader With the Unexpected @ZoeMMcCarthy

Heavy-Handed Imagery and Theme @Kid_Lit

Playing With Personification: by Bonnie Randall

Writing Craft / POV

Are Filter Words Weakening Your Story? @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining

How to Write a Scene Outline You Can Use @KMWeiland

7 Details You Need to Think About When Writing Historical Fiction @WarrenAdler

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

The Key Event and the Difference From Your First Plot Point @standoutbooks

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

Commonly Confused Words of the Month: “I Could Care Less” by Chris Saylor

3 Cases of Unnecessary Punctuation @writing_tips

3 Sentences That Lack Just One Word to Be Correct @writing_tips

6 Ways To Shorten Your Sentences And Improve Your Writing @MiaJouBotha

Writing Craft / Revision

What is Developmental Editing and Does Your Story Need it? @katiemccoach

Turn Off the Static So You Can Hear the Tiny Whisper @virginiafranken

Revision Checklist @MartinaABoone

Writing Craft / Tension

High Stakes? ‘Death. Always Death’ – An Interview with @jamesscottbell @TheIWSG

Writing Craft / World-Building

World-Building Resources @jackalediting

Uncategorized

Twitterific Writing Links – by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig A weekly roundup of the best writing links …

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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Published on December 17, 2016 21:02

December 15, 2016

What I’ve Learned in 2016

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

2016 felt like a very busy year for me, although my production slowed down slightly. I wrote and published two books and am sitting on a finished third until after the holidays. Usually I’d be halfway through a 4th book by now.

I think the reason it felt so busy was because of all the promo-related and distribution-related things that I learned and all the various platforms I tweaked. I sat down and tried to compile all the different things that I’d read about, studied, and implemented and came up with a list to show myself that I’d been even busier than I’d thought.

Here’s a roundup of some of the things I learned in 2016:

I learned how to find more newsletter subscribers. I participated in more group-related promo for my genre and was part of several massive giveaways with fellow cozy mystery authors. Readers entered by signing up for newsletter lists. My newsletter list grew very quickly in 2016 because of this (from a free to a paid list) and my open rate remained nearly the same.

I found that I can keep my income relatively stable, even though individual book sales are down, by producing more books, in more formats, available at more retailers.

I realized that Facebook needs my attention from time to time. I’ve had three profiles there (actually, two profiles and a page) since 2010. This year I deleted one of the profiles that I could no longer keep up with. I also created a timeline for my page, sent readers there to sign up for my newsletter, uploaded videos, and made sure my call to action button was updated. This post explains how.

I found that I could get more visibility on LinkedIn by making a few tweaks (and found that I didn’t realize all the different things we could do on LinkedIn). I uploaded videos and blog posts, added ‘speaker’ to my LinkedIn “headline,” and tried Slideshare. (Here are a couple of posts that explain the hows and whys: here and here .

I learned how to be more effective with Facebook ads. Ispent some time learning how best to create them and set a small budget for advertising. I found that I did get more newsletter signups through the ads.

I discovered that long pre-order periods may not work well for my audience (or, actually, for me either).

I learned that I could find out a lot more about my followers and readers with Twitter analytics and Goodreads book stats.

I learned that Wattpad readers will miss me if I don’t continue posting material there. And that I enjoy the support that I get from my young readers there more than I realized.

I realized international publishing doesn’t just mean publishing through CreateSpace and Kindle ebooks. It means distributing ebooks and print with a variety of companies…IngramSpark, PublishDrive, and StreetLib.

I found that sometimes it’s easier to have a company like InstaFreebie or BookFunnel take care of distributing our free books for newsletter and review giveaways. If readers aren’t sure how to load the ebooks on their readers, these 3rd party players give them support.

I discovered there are good ways to make our books more visible on Google (with structured data markup).

I learned that metadata is effective in making our books discoverable and that I save time when I track it.

I realized Amazon’s’ Look Inside’ preview is a nice addition to a book page on our website or on LinkedIn.

I learned readers have good suggestions. A’ Coming Soon’ page on our website helps readers remember what’s on its way to launch.

And a nice link to add to the Coming Soon page (along with other pages on our site) is a link to our Amazon Author Central page with instructions to follow us there. I just put a simple: ” Follow me on Amazon for release updates” up.

I’m thinking a lot of us had a 2016 like this. What are some things that you learned?

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Published on December 15, 2016 21:02

December 11, 2016

Twitter Analytics for ‘Best of 2016’ Tweets

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

If you’re like me, you’re in the middle of a very busy time of year. I’m trying to wrap up a project (definitely not releasing it in December…January is better, sales-wise) in the midst of shopping, decorating, and driving my daughter to her own events.

Besides all that, I’m still trying to keep up my online presence. One of the ways I make this easier around the holidays is to schedule my ‘top tweets of 2016’. The past couple of years I’ve used a very convoluted method of discovering and then scheduling these ‘best of’ tweets. But with Twitter analytics, I’ve found a better way.

First off, Twitter analytics is a very interesting tool, if you haven’t already been using it. Journalist and Publishing Perspectives Editor-in-Chief Porter Anderson explains why in his post “How to Use Twitter Analytics to Boost Your Social Media Marketing.” Even if you don’t want to schedule year-end tweets, if you’re not familiar with Twitter analytics, you should probably take a look. It’s interesting , at any rate, to see who your most influential follower is.

Here’s how to use it to learn your most popular tweets of the year:

If you left-click your profile picture, a drop-down box appears.

Click on Analytics

Click ‘View all tweet activity’

Click ‘top tweets’

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

instagram_177f06a28e-compressor

The tweets will pop up

instagram_9fe06e4285-compressor

You can also export tweets, but I found this less useful because I couldn’t get it to only download my top tweets. Instead, it downloaded all my tweets (and if you follow me on Twitter, you know that’s a lot of tweets). There was a lot of useful data in the spreadsheet, but it wasn’t what I was looking for right then. I just copy-pasted the tweets (individually), instead of exporting them.

Depending on what you’re looking for, you could tweet your highest performing tweet each month, all your top performing tweets for the month, etc.

I’d recommend making sure that there aren’t any dead links in your top tweets. I had quite a few since some bloggers had changed switched from Blogger to WordPress.

You can schedule tweets in advance by using a tool like Hootsuite (the application that I use). I added a hashtag to mine: #TopTweets2016.

Now I can keep up on Twitter while enjoying Christmas with family.

Have you taken a look at Twitter analytics? Do you schedule social media? What other tips do you have for making the holidays easier?

How to create 'best of 2016' tweets with Twitter analytics:
Click To Tweet

Photo credit: tonynetone via VisualHunt.com / CC BY

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Published on December 11, 2016 21:02

December 10, 2016

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

Business / Miscellaneous

6 Essentials for Co-authoring a Book @MelindaFriesen

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

4 Great Essays From Jodi Picoult on Writing @WritersDigest

Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation

4 Things Real Authors Have That Amateurs Don’t @JeffGoins

3 Tips for Making Rewards Work @KelsieEngen

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

Create a writing routine (without shortening your life expectancy) @TheWriterMag

Is busy-ness getting in the way of work? @pubcoach

Elimination @SukhiJutla

2 tips for balancing writing and marketing time @Roz_Morris

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

How to Be a Better Writer @ErinMFeldman

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly

15 Quick Tips to Increase Productivity @KarenBanes

Crystallize Your Novel @jamesscottbell

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

Gifts for Writers @JaneFriedman

4 Ways to Write for Your True North @KCambronAuthor

100+ Sci-Fi/Fantasy Authors share personal stories about depression, PTSD @GailZMartin

Why Writers Feel Depressed and How to Deal @colleen_m_story

3 Simple Ways to Win the Argument With Your Inner Critic @losapala

Too Many Demands? Find Balance @JamiGold

How to get more interested in what you’re writing @pubcoach

12 Days of Christmas for Creative Minds @cathysbaker

Why Writers Need Challenges @NinaAmir

Writing with the Knowledge of Time @WriterUnboxed

20 Christmas Gifts for Writers @joebunting

How to Survive the Holidays When You’re a Writer @FinishedPages

Christmas Gift Ideas For The Talented Writer In Your Life @AngelaAckerman

8 Horror Films About Writers @The_Millions

Tips for Writing through the Holidays: by Aimie Runyan

Learning to Exercise Self-Care Through the Local Library @_ImAnAdult

Genres / Fantasy

Horses Are Not Machines: On Writing the Steeds of Fantasy Fiction: by Rosalind Moran

Genres / Horror

Well-Written Horror Films @chris_shultz81

Genres / Mystery

Police Call Signs @ChrysFey

‘Armchair Detecting’ as an element in crime fiction @mkinburg

Mysteries and Undercurrents – Withholding Info from the Reader @SeptCFawkes

Crime Fiction @mkinberg

Genres / Poetry

11 Gifts for the Poet in Your Life [infographic] @My_poetic_side

Genres / Romance

5 Mistakes When Writing Romance @CSLakin

6 Scenes Any Love Story Must Have @woodwardkaren

The Love Story and its 3 Subgenres @SPressfield

Genres / Science Fiction

The failure of the oracles (insights on science fiction) @nevalalee

Women @WomenWriters

4 Fictional Economies That Don’t Make Sense @mythcreants

Genres / Screenwriting

Great Scene @GoIntoTheStory

Script To Screen @GoIntoTheStory

Genres / Young Adult

6 Keys to Write a YA Novel That Connects With Teen Readers @write_practice

Promo / Miscellaneous

3 Reasons Authors Need An Online Press Room: by W. Terry Whalin

Promo / Blogging

Blogging @problogger

Promo / Social Media Tips

How to Use Twitter Analytics to Boost Your Social Media Marketing @IngramSpark

How to Use Social Media for Your Book Launch? 9 Tips @CaballoFrances

Promo / Speaking

Tips for public speaking:

6 Tips for Authors to Create Engaging Library Programs @andrawatkins

Promo / Websites

Your writing platform starts with your website @annkroeker

The 5 Best WordPress Plugins For Your New Blog @KarenBanes

Publishing / Miscellaneous

18 Things You Need to Know About Publishing a Book @OrnaRoss

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Nigerian Publisher on efforts to get books to readers through intl. partnerships @Porter_Anderson

Conference advises ‘putting disruptive technology to work’ @TheFutureBook

European Book Publishing 2015 Statistics @Porter_Anderson

Teaming Up @Porter_Anderson

Publishing / Options / Hybrid Publishing

5 Hybrid Authors @IndieReader

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing

What To Expect From An Agent @Kid_Lit

3 Things Your Traditional Publisher Is Unlikely to Do @JaneFriedman

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

3 Ways to an Acquisitions Editor’s Heart @ChadRAllen

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections

Advice Received from Rejection Letters @jasonbougger

Publishing / Process / Translation

Competition Celebrates German Children’s Book Translators @pubperspectives

Diversity in Translation @wischenbart

Harry Potter and the translator’s nightmare @PassiveVoiceBlg

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Generic Settings Won’t Do @AngelaAckerman

Finding the Perfect Novel Title @Lindasclare

Writing road trips @p2p_editor

Are you a word hoarder? @raimeygallant

Bestseller Book Title Checklist (Fiction) @Chris_Kokoski

How to Reveal Setting in Your Book or Screenplay @patverducci

Awful Titles Famous Authors Almost Gave Their Novels @ClaireEFallon

5 Visualization Techniques to Help Your Writing Craft @AngelaAckerman

When It’s OK to Listen to Your Inner Editor @SaraL_Writer

Writing Craft / Beginnings

The importance of the opening and examples of better ones @JacksBlackPen

How to Spark Your Story With an Inciting Incident @hodgeswriter

Beginnings @WritersDigest

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

2 Rules of Thumb for Character Creation @woodwardkaren

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

Creepy Clowns and Haunted Hotels – Unspooling Why Our Characters Get Scared: By Bonnie Randall

Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists

How to Craft an Active Protagonist @kylieday0

7 Traits of a Great Protagonist @ceciliaedits

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

Stupid Writing Rules @annerallen

Anachronisms and Other Ways to Make Readers Snicker @AnnetteLyon

Writing Craft / Humor

4 Ways to Use Humor in Your Fiction @CSLakin

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

“Friends” @crisfreese

16 Famous Writers on The Book They’re Most Thankful For @BuzzFeed

Writing Craft / Mood

Writing Creepy Scenes @RayneHall

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

Story Structure @woodwardkaren

The Hero’s Journey as Explained by Puppets @FafaGroundhog

Mind Mapping for Authors: by Chris Fox

Writing Basics @Janice_Hardy

Write Your Query FIRST for a Better Novel @WomenWriters

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

5 Tips for Researching a Novel @MeredithMcP

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Concept

How to Attract a Readership Based on Concept Alone @JaneFriedman

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

Using Whom in Fiction @MarcyKennedy

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

4 Ways to Deal With Criticism @jkwak

All You Need To Know About Sensitivity Reads @justinaireland

Writing Craft / Scenes

Layering 10-20-30 Scenes in Your Novel @CSLakin

Writing Craft / Series

Tips on Starting a Series: by Linda Wilson

Taking Series Characters on the Road:

When & How Should Series End? by Kassandra Lamb @JamiGold

Writing Craft / Transitions

Scene transitions can sabotage characters @p2p_editor

Writing Tools / Apps

3 Apps for Your Writing Toolbox @pokercubster

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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Published on December 10, 2016 21:02

December 8, 2016

Taking Series Characters on the Road

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve now written several books in two different series where I took my series characters on the road.

There were a few different reasons I wanted to do this. For one, I feel like it can be a good way to keep a series fresh for both readers and the writer. For one book, I particularly wanted to write a ‘manor house’ style mystery where the setting is confined to one, isolated spot (with a murderer in the group). For another book, I thought it would be an interesting hook to set the story at a place my protagonist despises: Greener Pastures Retirement Home.

My editor for the manor house story was leery about the idea. She said that readers tend to like their characters to stay in the same setting. I agree–that’s usually what I like as a reader, too. But I managed with that story to take many of the story characters with me (making it as believable as I could).

With the retirement home mystery, the setting wasn’t far from the characters’ usual home base. This allowed regular interaction between the main characters and some of the recurring ones.

But this time for my last Myrtle Clover book, I decided to try something different. Reader reviews were mixed on the series road trips. I did a good deal of planning for Crusing for Murder and the reviews have been much better. Readers have actually particularly mentioned in reviews that they enjoyed the change of scenery and pace (this is also book 10 in the series, so maybe they were ready for a change).

Differences this time:

I started and ended the book with the characters at home visiting with recurring characters who aren’t going on the road trip.

I had the recurring, non-trip characters ‘check in’ with my sleuth while she was gone. Myrtle checked her emails and even had some written messages (mysterious ones) left in her luggage by a friend.

I kept as many series tropes as I possibly could. Myrtle and Miles are insomniacs so I used it on the ship to help them run into various suspects. Myrtle puts out garden gnomes to irritate her son when he annoys her and I found a way to work that in.

I kept the location moving. Previously, I’d centered my “road trip stories” on a single location: an isolated house cut off by a storm, and a retirement home. Putting my characters on a cruise meant that I could keep the setting more entertaining for readers who might be disappointed not to have the story located in the characters’ hometown.

Have you taken your series characters on a road trip? How did you make that process easier on your readers? Do you like it when your favorite show or book series takes characters on the road?

Tips for taking your series characters on a road trip:
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Photo credit: EJP Photo via Visualhunt / CC BY-NC-SA

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Published on December 08, 2016 21:02

December 4, 2016

Public Speaking Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

There are some writers I know who were born to be public speakers. They do a great job with audience engagement and can captivate a room.

Then there are the rest of us. :)

As I’ve said before, I’ve definitely made my peace with public speaking by this time and have grown to enjoy it. It’s has taken me years to finally embrace it (I’ll give a shout-out to Toastmasters, which provided a lot of help).

Here are some tips that I’ve learned along the way

Know your audience in advance. I’ve learned that this is essential. Sometimes, for example, I’m speaking to beginner writers. Sometimes I’m speaking to writers who know a good deal about writing and promo. If I mess up and make my speech too complex or too easy to understand, I’m going to lose audience interest and look unprepared. Usually the event organizer has some idea about who is going to be attending. And, obviously, it’s also important to know if you’re speaking to writers or to readers.

Get Q&A questions in advance to spur others later. If you’re speaking to a group, club, or organization, ask the event organizer to get some early questions. Or you could pass out index cards to the audience before the event.

When preparing the speech, focus on value for the audience. Once you know who the audience is, you can prepare a talk that will keep their interest with information that they find useful. This, to me, is half the battle of giving a good speech.

Arrive early. Arriving early helps for a variety of reasons. It helps us in case something has gone wrong (sometimes there are technology issues) and it helps us because we can greet audience members as they come in (which helps allay nervousness).

Ask the audience a question as a warm-up. When I speak to groups of readers, I’ll poll the audience by asking for a show of hands to a general question (for me, it’s usually ‘How many of you grew up reading mysteries?’). Not only is their answer interesting to me, but it usually functions as a great warm-up and gives me a little information about my audience.

Continue gauging audience interest. If audience members start looking bored, sleepy, or restless, I’ll change direction and try something else.

Move. Instead of standing behind the podium, it can be helpful to move around to engage the audience better. Although I think too much movement looks a little too restless.

If using a powerpoint, visuals are key. Reduce text. Create visuals using free tools like VisualHunt and Canva to make your slides. It’s generally said that slides with too much text are overwhelming.

Pause for laughter. If people are laughing, it’s best to wait instead of trying to talk over them and cutting the moment short.

Consider adding more value by making your notes and links accessible to audience members on a password-protected page on your website. This tip is more useful when speaking to writers’ groups and conferences.

If you’re ready to do more public speaking, create a ‘speaking’ page on your website and include ‘speaker’ in your LinkedIn headline. If no one knows you’re available to speak, you’re likely not going to get many invitations.

Do you do much public speaking? What tips can you add?

Tips for public speaking:
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Photo credit: bionicteaching via Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC

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Published on December 04, 2016 21:01