Riley Adams's Blog, page 98
October 9, 2016
Publishing is All Business…or is It?
Publishing is all business. You have to deal with business plans or proposals, contracts, negotiations, promotion, platform, a publishing company—someone else’s or your own, marketability, taxes, and, of course, sales and royalties.
But it’s not all business.
Take, for instance, the act of writing, which is creative by nature. Writing involves ideation, character or content development, plot, structure, and imagination. It also requires problem solving abilities, which rely on creativity.
Publishing requires a unique blend of business and creativity.
Business Takeover
For many years, I’ve stressed the cold, hard business side of becoming an author. After all, tackling these tasks are necessary if you want to produce books that sell.
However, it’s easy to end up felling as if the business side of publishing has taken over your writing life. Believe me, I understand! You end up not writing. Instead, you spend your days on social networks, sending emails, fussing with your website, blogging, and finding ways to promote and build platform.
It’s frustrating, right?
As I wrote and spoke about the business side of a writer’s life, I never forgot the warm, soft (even fuzzy) side or becoming an author. After all, like you, that’s what I want to do—write. And the creative side drives the business side of publishing. Without book ideas and manuscripts, publishers—traditional or indie—have nothing to publish.
We writers are creatives, but sometimes we struggle to put words on paper. Or we just can’t come up with a new idea or the right idea. Can you relate?
Access and Enhance Your Creativity
Since writing provides the foundation for authorship and publishing, let’s take a closer look at creativity. If you can’t access your creativity at will, it’s hard to write. When you sit down to write—and have the time to write, it’s imperative to get the ideas and words out of your head and onto paper.
Many writers find themselves just staring at the cursor on the blank screen, though. They wait for the light bulb to turn on.
If that’s you, the following seven exercises have been proven to help access creativity.
Write at Less-than-Prime Time: If you are a morning person, write at night. If you are a night person, write in the morning.
Write Sleepy: Try writing when you are drowsy or tired. If that exercise only produces gibberish, then use your sleepy time to brainstorm or solve problems. Your mind accesses creativity differently when you are tired, which is why ideas pop into your mind when you put your head on the pillow at night
Write Horizontal: Instead of sitting at your desk to write, take your laptop and recline or lie down. Then try writing. (Don’t do this when tired…)
Write Vertical: Standing up is good for you, plus, it can bring energy and creativity to your writing.
Get Out of the Box: People who sit outside a box rather than inside access their creativity more effectively. If you don’t usually sit in a box (brown or cubicle), sit somewhere different. Go to a coffee shop, on your porch, or to another room. Sit on the floor with your back against the door to your office.
Find Your Song: Music helps stir the creative juices—if it is the right music. Some people like upbeat music, other like something softer. However, Mozart has been proven to tap into your creative abilities as well as your ability to focus. Find a melody that helps you write.
Lose Your Mind: Do something mindless. When you aren’t focused on your problem or task, new ideas bubble forth. That’s why you get ideas in the shower.
Develop Clarity and Focus
Many aspiring and published authors struggle to write because they lack clarity and focus. First, they aren’t clear about their goals, where their story is going or even what successful authorship would look like—or entail. Sound like you?
Second, they struggle to focus. They have the Shiny-Object Syndrome (SOS) or unsupportive habits that allow their attention to wander. Know what I mean?
To help you develop clarity and focus, try these strategies:
Create a vision—of success, your book or your career. The vision provides clarity on what you want to create. Write or draw your vision. Or create a vision board, a collage of pictures that provide a visual representation of your book, career, or writing routine. Read your vision or look at your vision board daily.
Develop goals—for yourself, your book, and your career. Goals are intentions backed up with deadlines, the means to measure progress, and action items. They keep you accountable. If you don’t have clearly written out goals, develop them now!
Manage your attention—during writing periods. In our distraction overloaded world, you must manage your attention in the time you have to write. If you are easily distracted, you won’t be productive even if you have great ideas.
Make writing your religion—approach the task ritually. If you are religious about writing, you do it without fail. Create rituals to that you perform consistently before writing. This creates a vortex of creativity you can access at each writing session. Performing the ritual will help you tap into your creative flow.
Business is Creative, Too
Keep this in mind: Business is creative. Let me explain.
Many indie authors and traditionally published wannabes balk at the idea of business planning. A business plan for a book, called a proposal if you go the traditional publishing route, helps you develop an idea that possesses a higher likelihood of selling. It’s a marketable idea.
Go through the business-planning process prior to writing a fiction or nonfiction book.
What? Plan first and write later?
Yes.
If you, like many writers—especially novelists, prefer to start writing immediately upon getting an idea…don’t. (Okay. Jot down some notes or a paragraph or two so you don’t forget the idea, but then stop!) You may think you have a good idea, but it might not be one that sells once published.
Do the work entailed to produce a business plan—in particular, conduct a market and competitive analysis. This ensures your idea is marketable and you don’t waste time and energy on a manuscript that won’t sell—to readers or a publisher.
As you do this, put your creativity to use.
If you know your market—your ideal reader— and you know what other similar books have been published, you can hone your idea. Ideate. Problem solve. Revise your idea until the light bulb becomes a beacon—to readers and publishers. Develop a better idea—the best idea possible, one that targets the need and interests of your readers and is unique and necessary in the bookstore category where it will be sold.
Developing a book promotion plan, another business-related task, takes creativity, too. It may seem like drudgery, as can platform building, but you can find new, interesting and creative ways to let people know about your work.
For instance, you can create:
Visual images
Quote cards
Videos
Photos
Contests
Courses
These creative outlets solve the problem of “How do I promote myself or my book?” And they utilize your creativity, which makes them more fun.
Creativity: The Foundation of Business
Whether you spend your day on writing-related or business-related tasks, creativity helps you get the work done. Creativity is inherent in the writing process as well as in the business aspects of publishing.
When it’s all said and done, creativity is the foundation of business. Specifically, the publishing business is based on the creativity of writers like you. A book starts with a unique idea and then is turned into a book.
Do you find the both parts of the publishing process—writing and business—creative?
About the Author
Nina Amir is an Amazon bestselling author of such books as How to Blog a Book, The Author Training Manual and the recently released Creative Visualization for Writers (October 2016). She is known as the Inspiration to Creation Coach because she helps writers, bloggers and other creative people combine their passion and purpose so they move from idea to inspired action and Achieve More Inspired Results. This helps them positively and meaningfully impact the world—with their words or other creations.
Nina is a hybrid author who has self-published 17 books and had as many as nine books on Amazon Top 100 lists and six on the same bestseller list (Authorship) at the same time.
As an Author Coach, Nina supports writers on the journey to successful authorship. Some of her clients have sold 300,000+ copies of their books, landed deals with major publishing houses and created thriving businesses around their books. She is the creator of a proprietary Author Training curriculum for writers and other coaches.
She is an international speaker and award-winning journalist and blogger as well as the founder of National Nonfiction Writing Month www.writenonfictioninnovember.com and the Nonfiction Writers’ University www.nonfictionwritersuniversity.com.
Nina also is one of 300 elite Certified High Performance Coaches working around the world.
For more information, visit www.ninaamir.com or check out her books at www.booksbyninaamir.com.
www.ninaamir.com
www.writenonfictionnow.com
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October 8, 2016
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 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
5 years, 6 books, 7 lessons: http://ow.ly/bYp1304BXN8 @lisajanicecohen @WriterUnboxed
10 Tips for Writing Through Family Stress: http://ow.ly/929h304BZIw @bclaypolewhite
Limited vs. Omniscient Third Person POV: http://ow.ly/zTsg304BZwy @p2p_editor
Deconstruct Your Favorite Book: http://ow.ly/fb4h304CczC @JohnnyBTruant
Adapt to Change and Become More Productive: http://ow.ly/y9aX304DKEA @jmunroemartin
5 Writing Apps to Help You Revise Your Manuscript: http://ow.ly/6qAj304DM6U @WhynottEdit @DIYMFA
Mary Shelley’s Shadow: 12 Macabre Quotes From Female Authors: http://ow.ly/5AnV304DLtY @TomBlunt @SignatureReads
Discovering Your Novel’s Hook: http://ow.ly/RNqa304DKAQ @Janice_Hardy
How Long Should Your Series Be? http://ow.ly/tzAp304DLLf @Rachel_Aaron
How to Write Your Fastest Story Ever: http://ow.ly/77nF304DLBZ @EvaDeverell
United Arab Emirates: Toward a ‘National Culture of Reading’: http://ow.ly/yJ3M304UPSG @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives”
Helpful services and platforms for the indie writer: http://ow.ly/pWVH304CcMz @KristineRusch
Facebook and Author Marketing: http://ow.ly/uQhr304CcIm @timgrahl
The Unacknowledged Obstacle of Literary Sleepiness: http://ow.ly/bHlZ304BYbl @jrc2666
3 Ways to Write a Cast of Supporting Characters Without Confusing the Reader: http://ow.ly/wxXb304CemT @mharoldpage
How to Promote Your Latest Work With a Blog: http://ow.ly/hZNo304BZk7 by Matt Banner @mythicscribes
How Many Hours to Write a Novel? http://ow.ly/DhfV304CdRp @jenniferlellis
The More Books You Write, the Harder it Gets (The Secret to Mastery): http://ow.ly/dNq8304CcE8 @GoinsWriter
Twitter Fishing for Agents: http://ow.ly/Dc6t304CeyW @RobinRWrites
Writing the Crime Scene: Guns: http://ow.ly/b03R304CXDQ @repokempt
Editing for the first time? 5 Thoughts To Help You Make Sense Of It: http://ow.ly/KXkr304CfG8 @StephMorrill @GoTeenWriters
3 Enemies of Productivity for Writers: http://ow.ly/bDwo304Yvo8 @lornafaith
7 Tactics To Grip A Reader At The End Of A Chapter: http://ow.ly/faow304Cfvu @sacha_black
10 Steps to Nail Your Story: http://ow.ly/EtLR304CfoC @diannmills
40 Types Of Content That Will Make Blogging Easier: http://ow.ly/AJbs304CeZd @Writers_Write
The Princess Bride: A Frame Narrative Worth Studying: http://ow.ly/7dzT304CeE7 @RobinRWrites
Against Borrowing Books: http://ow.ly/MWcw304BYyH @jrc2666
Depicting Sexual Predators As Villains In Fiction Is Tricky: http://ow.ly/xuBa304z0cs @LynnPNeary @NPR
Tips for Surviving a Manuscript Read-Through: http://ow.ly/JXWH304yGDe @writeabook
Are new writers too ambitious with their stories? Insights from ‘The Bestseller Code’: http://ow.ly/aOlE304Xd93
10 Things Authors Need to Stop Doing on Social Media: http://ow.ly/m8At304Ghty @Dana_Kaye
Publisher Beata Stasińska on 3 areas of concern for the Polish book market: http://ow.ly/cuPH304UOJy @Porter_Anderson
On Traditional Publishing If You Don’t Live in the US: http://ow.ly/7GOw304yKI3 @Ava_Jae
10 Dickensian Character Names Deciphered: http://ow.ly/v48c304yZ5K by Bryan Kozlowski @lithub
Permission to Begin. Courage to Continue. Forgiveness to Try Again. http://ow.ly/XlhH304yGNC @DanBlank @WriterUnboxed
Australia’s Jefferis Award Shortlist, Hachette’s Scored Audiobooks from @Booktrack http://ow.ly/jxst304UOkx @Porter_Anderson
3 Reading Tips for Writers: http://ow.ly/p35X304yGcp @RMFWriters @LiesaMalik
How to Create a Newsletter: http://ow.ly/Bfjt304yNYY @ChrysFey
How to Negotiate: The Tip No One Tells Writers: http://ow.ly/WPPV304yKMJ @jkwak
Creating Mood In A Scene Using Light and Shadow: http://ow.ly/afxt304yNT9 @AngelaAckerman
Crisp Up Your Writing: Revision Tools for Wordsmithing: http://ow.ly/KoEj304yGwZ @writeabook
Indie Authors, Libraries and Discoverability: http://ow.ly/n4Qr304V1Qp @Victoria_Noe @IndieAuthorDay
Indie Author Day is Oct. 8: http://ow.ly/S9aA304V2Yn (Join me at the Statesville Library branch) @IredellLibrary @IndieAuthorDay #AuthorDay16
What 1 Writer Learned on a Debut Book Tour From the Books He Read Along the Way: http://ow.ly/Gxk4304yKyW @alexlockwood @The_Millions
Essential Industry Newsletter for Authors: @HotSheetPub http://ow.ly/UWhR304UQck 30-day free trial: @Porter_Anderson @JaneFriedman
How many indie books were published in 2015 with ISBNs? @Bowker Cites at Least 625,327: http://ow.ly/5z8Z304UO57 @Porter_Anderson
Editing for Musicality by Olivia Farnsworth: http://ow.ly/LFuc304yL2m @GoTeenWriters
Creative and simple ways to grow your list: http://ow.ly/LDmT304yXRA @MailerLite
A perfect storm: Margaret Atwood on rewriting Shakespeare’s Tempest: http://ow.ly/RCxB304yYHi @MargaretAtwood @GuardianBooks
Using Dialogue to Build Conflict: http://ow.ly/uyTC304yGsY @Eileenwriter @WomenWriters
How to Use Inner Dialogue: http://ow.ly/lMHm304yLjp @ProWritingAid
7 Sick Literary Hook-ups: http://ow.ly/BIdr304yLrb @jsbreukelaar @LitReactor
50 Romance Plot Ideas: http://ow.ly/DqH8304wPVB @BrynDonovan
In Defense of Slow, Thoughtful Writing: http://ow.ly/oqKt304wQ2b @SRaffelock
What Firefly teaches about series writing: http://ow.ly/WcHi304Som0 @rxena77
Great Books Result from Characters’ Bad Decisions: http://ow.ly/lSh2304wPMe @TobiasCarroll
Novel structure: from word to sentence to beat to scene to act: http://ow.ly/HfoF304wQ6K @kseniaanske
How to Write a Short Story with Clarity and Economy: http://ow.ly/V1ng304wPBy by Patrick Ryan @SignatureReads
Writing with Personality for Introverts: http://ow.ly/H5Nf304wQ55 @AnitaFreshFaith
5 Reasons Your Plot Stalled: http://ow.ly/T6Ph304wQ83 @Janice_Hardy
20 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Target Audience: http://ow.ly/9eAM304uWWv @AuthorAshleeM
Backstory: When Is It Necessary? http://ow.ly/atKF304uYm6 @JamiGold
Finessing Backstory: http://ow.ly/B9ys304uYr2 @MargieLawson
Amazon Book Reviews What’s “Allowed” and “Not Allowed”: http://ow.ly/jLnD304uYGO @selfpubreview
How to Write a Science Fiction Novel Series: 6 Tips: http://ow.ly/kkQF304uWIC @svartjagr
Tackling Amazon’s Top Reviewer List: http://ow.ly/aF1D304uYMf @WtTrainWOInjury
The Inciting Incident Plunges Your Character Into His Journey: http://ow.ly/uD97304uY4H @ZoeMMcCarthy
Repetition in writing: http://ow.ly/ixtz304N3qv @p2p_editor
A Storyteller’s Swiss Army Knife? The Setting: http://ow.ly/uetA304uYhm @AngelaAckerman
16 Things Writers Should Know About Quoting From Letters: http://ow.ly/sn09304uWdV @RightsofWriters
Marketing a Book: 7 Essential Rules to Build the Buzz Online: http://ow.ly/TRId304uV8v @CathyPresland
Does FB Sell Books? Do Writers Need a Facebook Fan Page? http://ow.ly/RxFD304uqtu @KristenLambTX
5 Practical Tips for World Building: http://ow.ly/nYUT304uYa7 @AlexBledsoe
Revealing the Interiority of Characters: http://ow.ly/Jq4C304uXWu by John Thornton Williams @ElectricLit
Can I Be Liable for Publishing Mistaken Information? http://ow.ly/SOX0304uWAc @RightsofWriters
Strangeness, truth in nonfiction, and the space between real and unreal: http://ow.ly/VDLj304uXEo @JDaugherty1081 @ElectricLit
5 Tips for Writing Scary Stories: http://ow.ly/TxSL304uYyl @RossAuthor
10 Self-Editing Mistakes and How To Avoid Them: http://ow.ly/trs6304uUQX @CathyPresland
PEN America on Banning Books in the USA and ‘Soft Censorship’: http://ow.ly/Xu3E304N3gb @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Building suspense in a mystery when the crime or victim has been established at the start: http://ow.ly/8WJ6304N30j @mkinberg
Quick Writing Can Still Result in Quality Writing: http://ow.ly/z2P8304MZWM @rxena77
A 6 Step Guide to Creating a Book Fair: http://ow.ly/S4HI304N7qA @DemiStevens19 @TheIWSG
BISG at 40: Past and Future: http://ow.ly/hMPy304N19K @Porter_Anderson @brianoleary
What Not to Write: http://ow.ly/IpNp304shoo @wendypmiller
5 Common Plotting Mistakes to Avoid: http://ow.ly/TKpH304sh5v @Janice_Hardy
Is your writing a hobby, an art, a business, a vocation, a profession? http://ow.ly/f2e5304sgw8 @Roz_Morris
What Writers Need to Know About Library Systems: http://ow.ly/YWy2304sfv3 @WriterLibrarian
The Power of Myth in Fiction: http://ow.ly/91LU304sfk4 @sarahrcallender
How To Write a Novel (When You Think You’ve Forgotten How): http://ow.ly/jQFt304sfcD @cathryanhoward
Not Doing All the Things We Want to Do: http://ow.ly/VKwu304sf1Q @zen_habits
The History and Present of Banning Books in America: http://ow.ly/kkoX304sfO9 @ingredient_x
3 Writing Goals to Set: http://ow.ly/VJML304seRn @Magic_Violinist
On the House of Mirth and the Literature of Income Inequality: http://ow.ly/rnfd304sfHD @MsShade @lithub
Building a Closet Office in 5 Steps: http://ow.ly/JUzg304seCF @Wix
Want to Make Revisions Easier? Create an Editorial Map: http://ow.ly/JmgX304sfoU @Janice_Hardy
A Writer Looks Back at His First Novel: http://ow.ly/N3cD304nJPN @leverus @lithub
Writing Scenes for Your Story’s Goals: http://ow.ly/YRpv304nD6s @Lindasclare
Perfecting First Person POV: http://ow.ly/VMlv304nDDe @AJHumpage
How Reading Screenplays Will Improve Your Writing: http://ow.ly/naks304oTAn @ScriptReaderPro
5 Common Plotting Mistakes to Avoid: http://ow.ly/L7iP304oTJp @Janice_Hardy
19 Examples for Describing People: http://ow.ly/NItD304oSVR @WordDreams
When to let that manuscript go: http://ow.ly/7tnw304oTDL @staceyleeauthor
Find the time to write, overcome your fears and finish your book: http://ow.ly/ycS1304oT3W @SukhiJutla
10 Effective Ways to Deal With an Inner Critic: http://ow.ly/8H2E304oT9z @10MinNovelists
20 Key Scenes for Writers of Romance Novels: http://ow.ly/DxAI304oSSP @CSLakin
How To Write Short Stories That Sell: http://ow.ly/X3aU304oSOq @AlanBaxter @thecreativepenn
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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October 6, 2016
Creating Bestsellers
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Family and friends will sometimes lightly tell me they’re sure that I’m going to pen a bestseller. I respond, just as lightly, that I don’t write those types of books. I’m writing genre fiction to appeal specifically to readers of my subgenre. Any bestseller status is in the confines of that subgenre.
Bestsellers, obviously, appeal to a broader audience. I’m not sure if I’ll ever even try to write something meant to be that commercially successful. But that’s not to say I’m not interested in hearing how to get there.
I received a free copy of The Bestseller Code as a thank you from St. Martin’s publicist for promoting a contest on Twitter.
At the time, the buzz over the book hadn’t yet revved up as it has now. There have been discussions sparked (and perhaps a bit of controversy) over the algorithms the authors Jodie Archer and Matthew L. Jockers ran to find common threads in today’s blockbusters, regardless of genre.
From the book description:
“The Bestseller Code” offers a new theory for why Fifty Shades of Grey sold so well. It sheds light on the current craze for dark heroines. It reveals which themes tend to sell best. And all with fascinating supporting data taken from a five-year study of twenty thousand novels.”
Generally, I do enjoy reading publishing-related data if it’s easy to understand. I liked the way the data was presented to readers as a narrative.
This is not a how-to book. If you’re looking for a formula to follow for commercial success? The book doesn’t lay that out for you.
That’s not to say that The Bestseller Code doesn’t have interesting insights. I tend to mark up non-fiction books with a pen. I found that most of my marking-up occurred in chapter two. One topic covered in those pages was theme.
The authors found that themes were very simple for bestsellers. Archer and Jockers used John Grisham and Danielle Steel as examples. Grisham’s theme is the legal system and Steel’s involve ‘domestic life’ or ‘time spent inside the home.’
As a side note, this was a different way for me to view theme. As an English major, I tend to think of themes as something like ‘coming of age,’ or ‘man against nature,’ or ‘lost love.’ I’m usually thinking about a lesson of sorts. The ‘legal system’ or ‘domestic life’ themes seemed more of what I think of as hooks. The authors labeled them themes or ‘signature topics.’
According to authors Archer and Jockers, “The authors are known for their signature topic and fans expect them to deliver it.” Grisham and Steel spend 1/3 of all the paragraphs of all their books on these themes and the other 2/3 to “introduce the tangential topics that make each new book seem a little different.”
This made me wonder if new authors were overthinking it and trying to accomplish too much. The authors tended to agree that they may. They spoke to an agent and a writer and stated:
“Both told us that they had, through a series of painful rejections from publishing houses, come to the theory that new writers start out too ambitious. They said such writers tend to favor telling a complex situation from all angles…writers are observers, and it is natural for them to want to share all that they have observed…”
The authors go on to state that no only does the ‘signature theme’ factor make books popular with readers, it also helps with author branding.
The book definitely gave me food for thought and a closer look at what makes a bestseller tick.
What kind of themes do your books focus on? How simple are your story motifs (and even, the plots themselves)? What do you think about data as a way to tweak our books to make them appeal more widely to readers and publishers?
And a note: if you’re in the Charlotte, NC area, join me from 12–3:30 tomorrow, Oct. 8, at the Statesville Library in Iredell County for the inaugural Indie Author Day event!
Are new writers too ambitious with their stories? Insights from 'The Bestseller Code':
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October 2, 2016
Quick Writing Can Still Result in Quality Writing:
by Roland Yeomans, @rxena77
Isn’t Elizabeth brave and gracious to let me borrow her blog for the day? Give her a hand by commenting at the end of this post, will you?
“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” – Oscar Wilde
Let me tell you of some sensational reading that I am asking you NOT to read. Yes, this is my first stop on my DON’T BUY MY BOOK Blog Tour!
I mean, if you buy it, you’ll just encourage me.
You know how many thousands of Indie Books are published EVERY month?
As Midnight, my kitten, says, “More than the grains of litter in my box, and most smell as bad, too!”
That is the fault of those writers who do not hold themselves to the fire of doing their best with every sentence.
We can write good novels faster than we think we can. The past has shown it.
“If you’re going to doubt something, doubt your own limits.” -Don Ward
We can do more than we think we can.
James Horner was given TWO WEEKS to compose the soundtrack to ALIENS.
Two freaking weeks. Yet, he wrote music that is so stirring that it is still used in movie trailers to this day.
Sam Watterson wrote and drew CALVIN & HOBBES daily for 10 years straight, setting the comic strip world on its ear with his originality.
Think of the creativity involved to craft a world that still holds our hearts and minds 21 years later.
In 1943, Steinbeck served as a World War II war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune and worked with the Office of Strategic Services (predecessor of the CIA).
During the war, Steinbeck accompanied the commando raids of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.’s Beach Jumpers program, which launched small-unit diversion operations against German-held islands in the Mediterranean – all the while writing daily dispatches.
At one point, he accompanied Fairbanks on an invasion of an island off the coast of Italy and helped capture Italian and German prisoners, using a Tommy Gun.
His daily dispatches are works of art. Read ONCE THERE WAS A WAR and discover this for yourself.
THE GRAPES OF WRATH? He wrote that in FIVE months shortly after the death of his brother-in-law,
and it was a time in his life when he was plagued by doubts about the prospect of war and worries over the sale of his house in California.
So I write two original books a year? They both can still be quality. And you can write multiple quality books a year, too.
My Quality Book for Year’s End is a mix of surprising true historical facts inter-mixed with Steampunk intrigue, betrayal, love, revenge, and death-traps straight out of GAMES OF THRONES.
Doubt me? There is a chapter in it entitled, RED WEDDING, which occurs in the catacombs beneath the infamous Rouen Cathedral,
Involving Sidhe, the werewolves of France, and the deadly Worms of the Earth.
Oh, did I mention that there are dragons at the beginning and, of course, at the end in a dizzying, wild fight above the Eiffel Tower with the Sire of All Germanic Dragons and his coven.
And this is a story of a honeymoon!
But when the new husband is Samuel McCord, undead Texas Ranger, and his bride is the immortal alien Empress, Meilori Shinseen, what else can you expect?
Well, you can expect:
An insane Abraham Lincoln, 11 year old Nicola Tesla, Captain Nemo, Mark Twain at the start of his fabulous career, a vampire Benjamin Franklin, the mysterious Swan Maiden, the cursed Lucanus (the still alive St. Luke), the Sidhe High Queen, Oyggia …
Clashes of Vampire Kingdoms, intrigues of Louis Napoleon, deadly tours of the Louvre with its hidden chambers, and so much more.
What are you waiting for? Buy my book!
Yes, I know the name to this blog tour is DON’T BUY MY BOOK. Haven’t you heard of Reverse Psychology?
***
Roland Yeomans was born in Detroit, Michigan. But his last memories of that city are hub-caps and kneecaps since, at the age of seven, he followed the free food when his parents moved to Lafayette, Louisiana. The hitch-hiking after their speeding car from state to state was a real adventure. Once in Louisiana, Roland learned strange new ways of pronouncing David and Richard when they were last names. And it was not a pleasant sight when he pronounced Comeaux for the first time.
He has a Bachelor’s degree in English Education and a Master’s degree in Psychology. He has been a teacher, counselor, book store owner, and even a pirate since he once worked at a tax preparation firm.
So far he has written thirty-four books. You can find Roland at his web page: www.rolandyeomans.blogspot.com or at his private table in Meilori’s. The web page is safer to visit. But if you insist on visiting Meilori’s, bring a friend who runs slower than you.
Quick writing can still result in quality writing (by @rxena77 ):
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October 1, 2016
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 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
One question to make your novel sell: does it turn? http://ow.ly/VpPE304kVwd @kseniaanske
Your Online Writing Portfolio: Must-Haves and More: http://ow.ly/DeYV304kRvj @MerylWilliams
47 Tips Writers Need When Their Creativity Goes AWOL: http://ow.ly/VyTb304kUN5 @LauraJTong
5 Questions to Test Your Story Concept: http://ow.ly/DPEl304kVsH @GoIntoTheStory
In Praise of the Micro Landscape: http://ow.ly/MBOa304kR1B @angpalm @lithub
The Most Neglected Resource for Reviews: YouTube: http://ow.ly/78AA304kR8P @AndyPeloquin
How to Get the Most Out of Your Sequel Scenes: http://ow.ly/RUt9304kR6h @KMWeiland
Braiding Your Book: http://ow.ly/ygJS304kUz0 by Laurie Schnebly Campbell
Craft Your First Story With This Creative Writing Reference Chart: http://ow.ly/CaAT304kVkv @LordRavenscraft
Why the doppelgänger motif is so popular: http://ow.ly/SMSX304lTJm @alanglynnbooks @lithub
What Do We Mean When We Say Women’s Fiction? http://ow.ly/tjRy304lTXM @lithub @lizkay09
The Novelist ( @rabihalameddine ) Whose Twitter Feed Is a Work of Art: http://ow.ly/xHfr304JxOB @JonathanBlitzer @NewYorker
13 Things Learned From Completing Draft Two of a Novel: http://ow.ly/x7yV304nE7f @sacha_black
Does This Third-Person POV Suspense Opening Work? http://ow.ly/FS1V304nDf7 @Janice_Hardy
3 Problems with Parenthesis: http://ow.ly/kwfp304nEgq @writing_tips
4 E’s of an Effective Critique Group: http://ow.ly/4ZIJ304nEcm @lisajlickel
5 Blog Post Mistakes: http://ow.ly/kknR304nDn1 @allisonmaruska
The Ultimate Blogging Checklist: http://ow.ly/5XEf304nE3A @Writers_Write
On the Irresistible Pull of Tidal Metaphors: http://ow.ly/bNbz304nCZ3 by Hugh Aldersey-Williams @lithub
Is “Show Don’t Tell” a Universal Truth or Colonial Relic? http://ow.ly/AM0j304nCGK @poddar_namrata @lithub
7 Key Elements To Include In Your First Chapter: http://ow.ly/7fO9304nDSm @ClaireABradshaw @WritersEdit
Ratchet Up Your Novel’s Tension: http://ow.ly/Bn57304nDIy @KelsieEngen
Perfecting First Person POV: http://ow.ly/VMlv304nDDe @AJHumpage
Writing Scenes for Your Story’s Goals: http://ow.ly/YRpv304nD6s @Lindasclare
A Writer Looks Back at His First Novel: http://ow.ly/N3cD304nJPN @leverus @lithub
Creating Mood In A Scene Using Light and Shadow: http://ow.ly/GmMT304oTse @angelaackerman
Is too much pre-writing immobilizing you? http://ow.ly/oa9i304Jh8G
How to Guest Blog Successfully: An Interview with Sara Pence: http://ow.ly/UBtA304jHoF @LisaTener
Should a writer have children? http://ow.ly/wpt6304kV4L @nevalalee
Working With Cover and Interior Designers: http://ow.ly/qgZp304kRjJ @JFbookman
New Amazon Guidelines Work to Curb Review Fraud: http://ow.ly/6txa304Ghco @LorcaDamon @Goodereader
12 Book Marketing Tactics: http://ow.ly/MgX1304jGVn @Rachel_Aaron
Covers Can Make or Break a Book: http://ow.ly/OKRh304jGOW @DarrenDBeyer
The Only 5 Ingredients You Need for Story Subtext: http://ow.ly/I5z1304jGtY @KMWeiland
Using Dialogue to Build Conflict: http://ow.ly/Zvcw304jGr9 @Eileenwriter @WomenWriters
Query Letters: The Extras: http://ow.ly/uJGH304jGvU @AnnieNeugebauer @WriterUnboxed
5 Rules For Success At Crowd Funding: http://ow.ly/uubk304jGFV @111publishing
The Power of Pods: Ask Your Friends to Lead a Mini-Brigade on Your Behalf: http://ow.ly/lDSD304jGSt @RobertTWilder
How to Avoid Book Publishing Blunders: http://ow.ly/DFYA304jGAU @mybookshepherd
Goodreads for Authors: http://ow.ly/e9zQ304jGNA @CaballoFrances
A Key to Using Twitter That Most Authors Overlook: http://ow.ly/qONl304jGI2 @losapala
Pitch Your Novel Perfectly: 6 Tips: http://ow.ly/ldc2304jGxF @SusanSpann
Hunting Down Story Holes Using a Novel Journal: http://ow.ly/GwGi304jGvi @AngelaAckerman
The Lost Art of Custom-Illustrating Your Favorite Books: http://ow.ly/SxWL304iKL1 @lithub @Amy_Stewart
Agatha Christie on how her lack of education and boredom led her to write: http://ow.ly/qzZ8304iKJQ @austinkleon
Why Is the Basic Marble Notebook Still So Popular? http://ow.ly/Jnsy304iKI9 @UpperEastRob
The 3 Biggest Obstacles for INFP Writers: http://ow.ly/FoO4304jHje @losapala
Does ‘The Bestseller Code’ Divulge its Secrets? http://ow.ly/zDnn304EIT4 @ThadMcIlroy
A Leader in Canadian Writing Takes Stock of Self-Pub: http://ow.ly/RR04304EJ9l @CarlaJDouglas @pubperspectives @MerilynSimonds
Writing Authentic Settings And Keeping A Series Fresh: http://ow.ly/1Phq304EIAb @tobywneal @thecreativepenn
14 Quotes From Censored Authors: http://ow.ly/20AC304DKj8 @SignatureReads @TomBlunt
Writing Groups 101: http://ow.ly/KLKc304iL83 by A. Howitt @mythicscribes
3 UK Book Market Challenges (Including: ‘Too Many Titles in a Small Space’): http://ow.ly/tW82304z3Ua @Porter_Anderson @JasonCoopr
What Is Lost in a Nation That’s Reading Less Literature? http://ow.ly/QBUY304iKVo @derekberes
Writers: Listen To Miss Frizzle: http://ow.ly/M08c304iL3F @mikemartinez72
The Importance of Storytelling in Turbulent Times: http://ow.ly/aoNQ304iKTK @VaughnRoycroft
Ursula K. Le Guin: How I Started Writing: http://ow.ly/t1So304iKOH @ursulaleguin @parisreview
How to Chose Your Next Read When You’re Sick: http://ow.ly/dmRz304iLgU @wutheringreads @BookRiot
Write What Your Family Knows: http://ow.ly/vj7y304iL9F @AuthorJuliaDay
This is How Literary Fiction Teaches Us to Be Human http://ow.ly/vzM5304iKQp @SignatureReads @TomBlunt
Beware of attention residue when you’re writing: http://ow.ly/7OW9304iL6N @pubcoach
7 Variations on the Epistolary Novel: http://ow.ly/1ei8304BYTk @jrc2666
From Passive Voice To Active Voice: How To Spot It and How To Change It: http://ow.ly/qu21304i5jd @MiaJouBotha
Change as an element in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/hlZ5304z2B8 @mkinberg
Margins Be Damned: 4 Books with Inventive Formats: http://ow.ly/u8wD304i54v by Molly Livingston @SignatureReads
Making a Series Bible Using Excel: http://ow.ly/u6BM304z1YP @HeidiHormel @TheIWSG
How to Start a Blog in 2016: http://ow.ly/7Qhh304BByG @BlastYourBlog
A Quick Tip for Finding Repeated (and Weak) Words: http://ow.ly/7XhB304i5c9 @Janice_Hardy
Authors: Here’s All You Need to Grow Your Email List: http://ow.ly/Pow3304i5ao @EmilyWenstrom
Writing the Crime Scene: Dead Bodies: http://ow.ly/Dmry304fp0E @repokempt
Latest Ukrainian Ban of Russian Book Imports Under Consideration: http://ow.ly/hvIF304z3nq by Eugene Gerden @pubperspectives
3 Ways Essential Oils Make It Easier To Be Creative: http://ow.ly/28t1304i5mu @colleen_m_story
Becoming a Writer in Your 40s, 50s, and Beyond: http://ow.ly/IJBF304jHha @losapala
10 suggestions to overcoming writing obstacles: http://ow.ly/OfWw304i5Ia by Jill Roman Lord
A Pop-Up Strategy: The Autoresponder Series: http://ow.ly/6BnC304i5E5 @JaneFriedman
The 5 Most Common Mistakes Writers Make When Seeking Book Reviews: http://ow.ly/KDWu304i5pt @CSLakin
The Balance Between Hooking Readers and Setting up the Story: http://ow.ly/VRXI304i5eM @Janice_Hardy
5 Fictional Vegetarians Who Defy Stereotypes: http://ow.ly/351s304i5wG @kwistent @lithub
The Great Gatsby as a Crime Novel: http://ow.ly/57lj304z2ua @mkinberg
20 Book-Title Hacks for Any Genre: http://ow.ly/VN3g304AMeX @DavidHSafford
5 things 1 writer didn’t expect when she released her first novel: http://ow.ly/YXhz304ALJw @Roz_Morris
Balancing the main story and character subplots: http://ow.ly/Vwu2304z39w @mike54martin
5 Ways to Have an Awful Book Cover: http://ow.ly/jdSQ304cv8J @AuthorKSBrooks
A 6-Step Guide to Creating a Book Fair: http://ow.ly/STMX304z1JN @DemiStevens19 @TheIWSG
Want to Sell More Books? Give Consumers What They Want: http://ow.ly/jLmw304cu5N @KristenLambTX
A new species of poetry: The making of Lyrical Ballads: http://ow.ly/25c2304fowJ by Jonathan Kerr @WordsworthTrust
5 Ways to Be a More Mindful Writer: http://ow.ly/wXB9304foh2 @deborahsosin
How to Write a First Draft: http://ow.ly/hThX304fp6L @hodgeswriter
The Secret To Overcoming Perfectionism In Your Writing: http://ow.ly/dWul304fopn @patverducci
What Does Silence Mean in the Age of Digital Noise? http://ow.ly/xw1g304fo72 by Laurence Scott @lithub
A Quick Lesson in the Writing Process: http://ow.ly/lBNk304fpd5 @JerryBJenkins
A Writer’s Guide to Hacking the Reader’s Brain (in 5 Steps): http://ow.ly/viob304fnJO @LisaCron @SignatureReads
Why Do Creative People Burn Out? http://ow.ly/idK7304fnXA @MegDowell
Athens Named World Book Capital as 118-Year-Old Bookstore Closes: http://ow.ly/4OUU304z3vz @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Thoughts on trigger warnings: http://ow.ly/yigd304fosy by Colleen Hoover @PassiveVoiceBlg
10 Books Featuring Subversive Women: http://ow.ly/FG6T304fpiM @Ginsburgmelissa
7 Lies We Tell Ourselves About Finding Time To Write: http://ow.ly/Dw0V3049YYW @colleen_m_story
Boost Book Marketing with These 5 Apps: http://ow.ly/PA2L304cu34 @CaballoFrances
4 Ways to Use Video to Promote Your Blog Posts: http://ow.ly/Sd5M304cuwT @Soffi_Propp @SMExaminer
How Secretive Are You About Your Writing Projects? http://ow.ly/3NHV304cuKd @annkroeker
How to Be a Writer: 10 Tips: http://ow.ly/rOZF304cuNL by Rebecca Solnit @lithub
What If You Couldn’t Write? http://ow.ly/dAST304cuiT @KBullockAuthor
7 Different Ways Fantasy Has Used Language as Magic: http://ow.ly/qsi7304cuU9 by Bailey Miller @tordotcom
Why book covers should reflect our author brand: http://ow.ly/PVD5304cu8y @authordesigner @IndieAuthorALLI
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
September 29, 2016
Pre-Writing
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
In the past month, I’ve had three writers reach out to me. They were all writing mysteries for the first time.
They asked me about outlining with arcs and three-act sequences and character development sheets. Two writers reported feeling extremely overwhelmed and frustrated to the point of being immobilized.
I suggested that they might be overthinking it, at least when writing traditional mysteries. That’s because mysteries provide their own structure–a very familiar structure that avid mystery readers both know by heart and expect to encounter.
In fact, when we deviate from this structure or pattern, readers usually let us know about it.
I explained my own, very simple process:
I start out by writing the back cover copy. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, it gives me a global view of my story and its set-up. For another…I already have a cover for the book a year before I write it (I like working ahead with my cover designer). So there’s a print cover with copy all ready to go.
Then there’s a simple outline. Nothing fancy.
Here’s the structure for a cozy mystery (if you fill in the blanks with your own characters, victims, suspects, it becomes a very basic outline):
Introduction of all characters–best to start out with sleuth so that reader knows who to identify with right away.
Either a scene showing interaction of future victim and future suspects or introduction of a body.
Set up for sleuth’s involvement (if an amateur) and then interviewing of suspects. Suspects provide alibis, red herrings, lies, and truths.
Another body at the book’s halfway mark (most of the time).
More interviews to follow up on alibis, clues, and to gather information following any second murder. Give suspects opportunity to refute evidence pointing to them from the previous murder.
Moment of danger for sleuth or moment of increased tension if dealing (hostage situation, etc.) indicating story climax.
Sleuth discusses case and clues that helped him/her solve the mystery.
Are there other components in the story? Of course. But this is the basic structure of a mystery, just as other genres have their own skeletons.
Other things I like to know before starting my mystery:
Potential motives, first and second murder weapon, possible subplots (just brainstorming…nothing finite).
The killer’s identity? Not really. I have an idea who I think may be a good killer, but I frequently change my mind 3/4 of the way through the first draft. It’s always good to be flexible.
Going back to character sheet question. A writer asked me how much pre-writing I did with my characters before jumping in. My answer is…except for the sleuth and sidekick? Very little. Here is a copy-paste excerpt from a pre-writing doc for one of my mysteries:
Victim: Celeste: A sickly older woman: sickly of mind and spirit and body. She loves to manipulate people and her favorite people to manipulate are
Her niece: Eugenia She was from a poor family who farmed her out to victim. She is subservient and at victim’s beck and call. She keeps her tied to her with financial incentives, but she is very pushy and overwhelms his life so that there is no time for anything else (a real life). A thin, mousy-looking woman of around thirty wearing glasses too large for her face
Her daughter: Maisy. Same as above. Perhaps she has a shipboard romance that actually seems to be blossoming into something else and the romantic interest lives very close to her. The mother is determined to end it as she likes to stomp out all attempts at happiness. Plump. Very blonde hair and rather too much makeup. Eyes are hard. Enjoys flirting with Guy.
Her son: Terrell Same idea. She forced him into a career that he hated (financed his medical school) because she liked the prestige of it all.
Ghost of a husband? Randolph. Some kind of male companion? But he thinks he’s going to benefit from her death and he’s wrong. Miles’s age. Gambles. Drinks too much. Dignified air clashes with his drunkenness. Well-dressed. Hair too long for his age.
Bettina A friend of the victim? But some friend! Perhaps the friend found out that victim Celeste had been the cause of her breakup, or financial issues, or losing her job, etc. Celeste just likes control over all kinds of situations and people and enjoys wielding power. An attractive old woman who wore a lot of gold jewelry and bright clothing and a lot of mascara.
This is what I work with when I’m starting out. It’s thin, isn’t it? Really just a cast of characters. But it’s all I need to get started. The characters develop a bit as I write (their character tends to come out in their dialogue) and then I layer in more development after the first draft is finished.
Here’s the question. Is your pre-writing helping you write your story? Or is it overwhelming you and causing you to freeze up and avoid your story? Some writers absolutely rely on pre-writing to tell their story. It can shorten the amount of time they spend on their manuscript. If you’re not one of those writers, don’t feel as if you’re doing it all wrong to start your story with a minimum of information. I write all my books that way.
How much pre-writing do you do?
Are you immobilized by too much pre-writing?
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Photo credit: Mark van Laere via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND
The post Pre-Writing appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
September 25, 2016
The Story Always Comes First
by Mike Martin, @mike54martin 
In some ways it’s easy to write a series. You already have a frame in which to sketch your story. Usually, that means you have a general location or part of the country and you have a cadre of characters that accompany the main character on his or her journey. There’s a familiarity, a comfort in that. It makes both the writer, and hopefully the readers, want to come right in, sit in that nice, comfy chair and slide into the story.
I always have that feeling when I start a new Sgt. Windflower Mystery. Like I’m home. Then I start writing and all the characters come streaming into my head at once. It’s exhilarating and frightening at the same time as my brain tries to process both the story that is starting to unfold, and all of the voices of the characters who are asking for my attention. Sometimes it feels like the old woman in the shoe. So many characters, I really don’t know what to do. And mostly I just feel stressed and crazy.
That’s when I usually go for a walk. I need the exercise, but more importantly it clears my head so that I can see where all the pieces, and not just the dead bodies fit. The most important thing about a mystery, or any fiction writing, is the story, the plot. The walk helps quiet down the chorus in my head so I can at least keep the story straight. Once that is clear, at least to me, I can allow the character development to continue. But I’m still not running the show. The characters ‘speak’ to me and I try and fit them into the story at the appropriate time and place. It doesn’t always work, but that’s rule number one. The story comes first and the characters have to shut up long enough so that I can set the scene for them to work their magic.
The second rule I have set for myself when writing this series is to take notes about the characters and what roles they may have played in previous parts of the series. As someone who runs and writes from the seat of my pants when it comes to putting the story together, there is no way that I can remember who did what to whom without a cheat sheet. If I don’t, and I have to admit that it has happened, and more than once, some friendly, but firm reader will point out that inconsistency. Luckily for me, I have great beta readers who gladly point out my mistakes, almost always, before they get to print.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the characters in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series. They allow me to not just write a crime solving mystery story, but to have depth of emotion and feeling that makes it human, and I hope more interesting. I know that my readers feel the same way because they tell me that they get worried about Shelia and Windflower when I let him stray too far from his kind and open heart. Just to be clear again, I don’t steer Windflower, I just help point him in the right direction. More than a few of them have also threatened me with much verbal abuse if I ever decided to kill any of the main characters off.
I tell them it’s a murder mystery and someone has to die. They just shrug and tell me to find someone else to murder. That’s the final rule when it comes to characters versus plot. Your characters can stumble, fall, make mistakes, fall in and out of love, but they can never die. Or else one of your readers will decide to write a book with you as their first victim.
***
Mike Martin is the author of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series which is set in small communities in Newfoundland on the eastern tip of Canada. The latest book is A Long Ways from Home. It is available now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes . Find him on Facebook.
Balancing the main story and character subplots from @mike54martin :
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The post The Story Always Comes First appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
September 24, 2016
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 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
10 Incorrect Assumptions About Writers: http://ow.ly/HOuA30467eP @NatePhilbrick
Writing across cultural boundaries in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/ifeH304jG1W @mkinberg
5 Tips to Maximize Your Facebook Posts: http://ow.ly/oN6H304679W @Bookgal
One Fantasy Writer’s Secret Weapon: Archery Lessons: http://ow.ly/LKb730467h4 @SaraL_Writer @benjaminsobieck
How Charles Dickens Influenced Modern Self-Publishing: http://ow.ly/Y3cE30467mE @KelsieEngen
Writing Compelling Chapter Endings: http://ow.ly/5Dbc304679u @ceciliaedits
The Business of Screenwriting: studio execs don’t think like you: http://ow.ly/3uOk3046746 @GoIntoTheStory
Crime Writers: The Advantages of Compact Handguns Versus Full-Sized Models: http://ow.ly/iNCq30467kA @benjaminsobieck
What is Hybrid Publishing? 4 Things Writers Should Know: http://ow.ly/Jb91304679U @brooke_warner
Daniel Fernandez: Protecting the Essence of Publishing: http://ow.ly/yJKc304sNDy @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Instagram Stories:Engage With Readers: http://ow.ly/qzjS3047ozP @MartineEllis
8 Characteristics of Successful Social Media: http://ow.ly/sY493047nPy @cksyme
Messy brain? 7 ways to tidy up your thinking: http://ow.ly/Qc893047owP @jccabel
Writing Romance: Why Perfect Men Make Boring Heroes: http://ow.ly/AhZ03047o7R @katiemccoach
25 Simple Ways To Recycle Your Blog Posts: http://ow.ly/AIKv3047paL @Writers_Write
The Inciting Incident and “the Call”: http://ow.ly/QYMH3047p26 @SPressfield”
10 Giant Translated Novels: ‘a workout for your biceps and your mind’: http://ow.ly/ZOm3304lVes @ScottEsposito @lithub
How to Take Charge of Your Novel’s Symbolism: http://ow.ly/S4wj3047nKR @BetterNovelProj
Write a Fight Scene: Hero Fends Off an Attack to Protect Friend: http://ow.ly/Xzy33047nFi @BetterNovelProj
Understanding Ebook Rights: http://ow.ly/SDlt3047nAm @SusanSpann
How to Prep for a Writer’s Conference: http://ow.ly/Pd0o3047ohw @katiemccoach
6 Ways to Say Yes to Your Writing Career: http://ow.ly/aDVG3047oU0 @jesslaw
How to Layer Scenes in a Romance Novel: http://ow.ly/rYKE3047qsK @CSLakin
How Do We Fix the MFA? http://ow.ly/bmzb3047IXZ @kctrommer @lithub
How To Write An Amazing Synopsis: http://ow.ly/2a3S3049VfO @standoutbooks
5 Steps to Write Characters that Change: http://ow.ly/yUkl3049W5k @jeffelk
How to Write From the Opposite Gender’s Point Of View: http://ow.ly/JA6F3049VIx @ALeeMartinez
Writers: Why You Need to Get Out into the World: http://ow.ly/7MLD3049WcP @emily_tjaden
What Makes Your Protagonist Heroic? http://ow.ly/nWx63049Vjq @Janice_Hardy
17 Films You Didn’t Know Were Adapted From Books: http://ow.ly/peAF3049Z8h by Nicholas Politan @ElectricLit
How to Catch Typos in Your Own Work: http://ow.ly/aJ0Z3049Vx3 @RMNSediting
10 Tips For Writing Well: http://ow.ly/4T1I3049Z3d @MargotStarbuck
5 Story Opening Clichés That Need to Die: http://ow.ly/PJyJ3049YU0 @GiveMeYourTeeth
Editing Novel Drafts like a Pro: 8 Tips: http://ow.ly/RBSK3049W8M @nownovel
Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure: http://ow.ly/Yy9V3049VnO @Janice_Hardy
7 Lies We Tell Ourselves About Finding Time To Write: http://ow.ly/Dw0V3049YYW @colleen_m_story
Twitter Chats for Writers: How to Get Started by @MelissaFlicks: http://ow.ly/gr5v304cueq @BadRedheadMedia
6 Tips to Grow Your Readership and Manage Your Content: http://ow.ly/JEM6304cun5 by Deborah Lyn Stanley
One Writer Worries He Might Be a Fraud: http://ow.ly/hCXP304cvFn @TeddyWayne1999 @lithub
Authors offer their top writing tips: http://ow.ly/a2ax304cvmp @Wintersonworld @PhilipHensher @AmitChaudhuri
Elements in successful horror stories: http://ow.ly/zvgg304s5Sh @parttimescribe
Is your writing a hobby, an art, a business, a vocation, a profession? http://ow.ly/Met2304sgyd @Roz_Morris
Author Newsletter Tips: http://ow.ly/VLcQ30467pv @RMFWriters by Stephanie Connolly-Reisner
What to Put Into Your Story So a Great Pitch Comes Out: http://ow.ly/A8uZ304676j @ZoeMMcCarthy
8 Story Pitch Pet Peeves: http://ow.ly/hKGw304676x @TJMoss11 @WritersDigest
Present tense, future perfect in SF: http://ow.ly/B8Yo30467lt @nevalalee
How to Legally Use Quotations in Your Book: http://ow.ly/6lBk3043Ng9 @HelenSedwick
8 Tips to Combine Research and Family for a Great Working Vacation: http://ow.ly/pmd03043NOS @ErikaElyLewis
Cramming in Characters: Overloads & Overwhelms Readers: http://ow.ly/9QNM3043MyR @ZoeMMcCarthy
In Praise of Slow Writing: http://ow.ly/cqKe3043O68 @stevelaubeagent
The Hot Sheet: industry newsletter for authors (30 day free trial) from @Porter_Anderson & @JaneFriedman: http://ow.ly/HiMN304qJBi
Pros & Cons: Referencing the Real World in Our Story: http://ow.ly/VbhM3043MpP @JamiGold
On the Ethics of Writing About Your Children: http://ow.ly/XuDS3043LXG @HitlessWonder @heatherklanier @AmyMonticello @lithub
Download: Publishing Perspectives’ Free Fall 2016 Magazine for news and market snapshots: http://ow.ly/p7PJ304jG5N @pubperspectives
Using Twitter to Make Powerful Connections: http://ow.ly/ybgY3043Ona @dkparsonswriter
4 Ways to Add Depth to Our Stories: http://ow.ly/g4p43043NZf @KassandraLamb
Why Discoverability Should Be Publishers’ Biggest Priority: http://ow.ly/GYrL3043MQq @ABreinholst
Resources for Finding Critique Partners: http://ow.ly/xPj83043Nxj @MartinaABoone
What X-Men Can Teach About Storytelling: http://ow.ly/e7Ul3043Np8 @willvanstonejr
How Well Are Publishers Connect with Their Readers? http://ow.ly/HV6d3043MUd @jwikert
Why You Can’t Ignore Pinterest: http://ow.ly/BMyi3040MTu @MandyCorine
St. Martin’s Offering a Chance for 1 Writer to Receive a Detailed Manuscript Analysis (Sweepstake): http://ow.ly/MTq0304otyF @StMartinsPress
Critique groups: 6 ways they can hurt your writing: http://ow.ly/W128304jFB4 @annerallen
No Agreement Yet: Germany’s Publishing Copyright Controversy: http://ow.ly/BTbf304jFLR @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Context and story structure: http://ow.ly/WWVj3040Nbc @storyfix
Plotting Film Noir: http://ow.ly/nRFM3040N0g @KieronMoore
Cultivating True Fans Through Patreon: http://ow.ly/2nEx3040MWy @johnhartness
The Power of Instagram: Marketing Tips for Indie Authors: http://ow.ly/Z3ps3040MhN @Bookgal
3 Simple Steps Toward a More Sustainable Writing Life: http://ow.ly/iknp3040Lah @reallucyflint
When Your Book Doesn’t Sell: http://ow.ly/xHXm3040NdO @LovettRomance @DIYMFA
3 Bookish Solutions to Everyday Problems: http://ow.ly/BHfh3040NiC @zoeidadickinson @BookRiot
Traditional Publishing: Short Stories and Poetry: http://ow.ly/h35g3040Mma @SeptCFawkes
5 Ways to Spark Energy and Excitement for Your WiP: http://ow.ly/sUg03040LfW @reallucyflint
Query Agents For 6 + Months Before Promoting Your Self-Pub Book: http://ow.ly/w9qA3040LtX @sharonbially
Publishing contracts: the Force Majeure clause: http://ow.ly/lP7C3040LqI @bookishchick
8 Experiments in Motivation: http://ow.ly/p6BF303Ys7x @zen_habits
Tips From A Brit For Fictional British Characters: http://ow.ly/Slvr303YsFO @selfpubreview
Publisher Releases a Backlist book on Wattpad to Find a New Audience: http://ow.ly/4M8h304l7hr @CarlaJDouglas @pubperspectives
Writing Tips: Carry a Notebook: http://ow.ly/25jS303Yscc @WritingForward
How to Automate Writing and Editing Tasks: http://ow.ly/q28x303Ysrj @CKmacleodwriter
Groupthink as an element in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/wM5V304jFSZ @mkinberg
After publishing an acclaimed novel, writer ‘promptly went broke’: http://ow.ly/Bo7V304lOpX @merritttierce @marieclaire
Using foreshadowing: 3 things to consider: http://ow.ly/5uRo304l6H0 @Janice_Hardy
Blogging Etiquette: http://ow.ly/GUor304l6rb @SpunkOnAStick @DancingLemurPre
Senior Editor Recommends: ‘Make Diversity a Priority’: http://ow.ly/Cx0z304jFF0 @Porter_Anderson @andrewasalways
Paths to publishing for Christian fiction writers: http://ow.ly/jQTC303YsVj @IolaGoulton
Book pricing: the value of our time vs. realities of the book market: http://ow.ly/4pOS304lb9I @BE_Sanderson
Finishing That Endless Manuscript: http://ow.ly/2JM4303VO9T @Philip_Overby
4 Tips and 4 Tools for Tightening Your Prose: http://ow.ly/YEHy303YsBi @CKmacleodwriter
Adapt to Change and Become More Productive: http://ow.ly/1dDM303Ys9f @jmunroemartin
Most Common Writing Mistakes: No Contractions in Dialogue: http://ow.ly/9pRC303Yt4T @KMWeiland
What do I send to my email list? http://ow.ly/RJbE303Yth0 @timgrahl
Avoid This Story Structure mistake: http://ow.ly/r1uc303YsYX @KMWeiland
How to Write a Story Without an Outline: http://ow.ly/8ZNv303Ysfq @vrcraftauthor
How the Cover of Your Self-published Book Influences Your Brand: http://ow.ly/1bva303VNlp @IndieAuthorALLI @authordesigner
Selling Books on Social Media: 4 Steps to Less Wasted Time: http://ow.ly/dqyD304jFzy @cksyme for @annerallen
Agatha Christie as a crime fiction innovator: http://ow.ly/oYKt304jFWV @mkinberg
Is the tone of your prose in tune with your novel? A simple exercise: http://ow.ly/Gh4Q304jFxZ @Roz_Morris
How To Write An E-Book And Publish It On Amazon KDP: http://ow.ly/Gwwy303VMWY @DevinSchedule
Develop the Story Idea for your Novel: http://ow.ly/YHoC304ig1L @lornafaith
The links I shared last week: http://ow.ly/om0G304jE1H . All the links (30K+, free and searchable) I’ve ever shared: writerskb.com
Crime writers: getting away with murder: http://ow.ly/FVU8303VMHx @GarryRodgers1
Not Sure of the Lingo? 57 Social Media Words to Learn: http://ow.ly/cdKV303VN7x @CaballoFrances
5 tips to overcome self-doubt: http://ow.ly/hgrK303VNHD @AGYoung_author
A motto to stay focused on writing: http://ow.ly/oYRE303VMnB @JoEberhardt
4 things learned by being a pantster: http://ow.ly/REA9303VMw8 @lauralzimm
A Self Publishing Timeline for the Holidays: http://ow.ly/nXCH303VN0Z @SpatzSteven @BookBaby
The top writing links of the week are on Twitterific:
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September 22, 2016
Preparing for a Cover Design Meeting
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
There’s a lot to think about and remember for so many different aspects of book production and book release. I recently shared my checklist for releasing a book. Today I thought I’d list the different elements I pull together before meeting with my book designer.
The brainstorming portion:
For a first book in a series or the first time working with a designer, it’s helpful to reference/link to covers that appeal to you or that you feel represent your genre well.
I like to provide general element ideas to help the designer get started. For instance, where is the cover set? Are there any people or animals on the cover? What mood are you trying to set?
Printed books:
Designers will need to know your page dimensions.
If the book isn’t done yet (mine are usually not even started when I get the covers done), make sure to tell your designer you’ll need to check back in with the final page count (including all front matter and back matter) to ensure that the spine is the correct width.
You’ll want your bio and author photo for the back of the printed cover.
What’s your book’s price?
Be prepared with your back cover copy.
Other considerations:
Do you need an audiobook cover?
Do you need promotional extras like Facebook and Twitter cover images or bookmarks?
Payment:
I almost always pay for all book production services through PayPal after the cover is complete. It makes tax preparation easy to go through my PayPal statements at the end of each year.
Finally:
Because good designers book up quickly, I always go ahead set the next appointment with my designer, Karri Klawiter. Having a date on the calendar helps me to come up with a concrete concept for another project before our meeting.
Any other tips for keeping organized before a cover design meeting?
Preparing for a Cover Design Meeting:
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September 18, 2016
Keep Your Readers Hooked by Dropping the Right Clues
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy
Foreshadowing might seem like a technique that applies mostly to mystery writers, but all stories rely on the classic “what might happen next?” question. Even in a romance, there are secrets to be revealed and histories to uncover, and where that information is learned affects a novel’s pacing. It’s the need to know that draws readers in and keeps them reading. Drop the right clues at the right time and readers will be glued to the pages.
Well-crafted foreshadowing puts those readers in the right mindset long before they reach a scene, and makes them anticipate that scene. Secrets unfold in surprising, yet inevitable ways, and readers feel as though the clues were there all along if only they’d seen them—because they were.
Too much too soon and there’s nothing left to learn (and no reason to read). Too little for too long risks frustrating readers, because they never learn anything new.
No matter what type of mystery your novel uses, look at where your clues and foreshadows appear. If you’re unsure how these elements should unfold, consider:
When and where you want readers to start suspecting the truth: Establishing patterns is a useful foreshadowing technique. Tension builds when readers are expecting something and waiting eagerly for it to happen.
Don’t forget the value of the Rule of Three here:
The first time someone sees something, they merely see it.
The second time, they notice it, because it stands out now.
The third time, they’re looking for it because you’ve established a pattern to anticipate.
For example, if you want to foreshadow a misunderstanding that has dire consequences, you might have the protagonist misunderstand something minor in the first few chapters. Later on, she might get something else wrong due to distraction. Now you’ve established a pattern that the protagonist doesn’t always listen and misunderstands what she hears. Readers will be looking closely at all her assumptions from then on to see if she’s missing something important. When the big moment occurs, tensions will be higher because readers won’t know if she’s right this time, or if she’s missed something yet again.
Or you might drop hints about an item to be used later. When the protagonist arrives at a quaint bed and breakfast for a yoga retreat, she is surprised to see a shotgun hanging above the fireplace and makes a comment. The next guest to arrive notices the gun and makes a joke about it. When the third guest arrives, readers expect the gun will come up again. And that will make them wonder when, where, and how that gun will be used in the story.
Or, you can be more subtle about it and tap into a reader’s subconscious. Say you want to foreshadow that blue means bad. You might have the protagonist get into an accident with a blue car early on. Then she has a run in with an office rival who knocks blue ink all over her. You might toss in her snagging her new blue skirt and tearing it right before she goes into an important meeting. After that three-step setup, readers will be looking for blue things and anticipating the problems they might cause.
These types of hints can happen over the course of one scene or the whole novel. It’s the creak in the night, followed by the thump, followed by the guy in the ski mask jumping out at you.
When and where you want the protagonist to start figuring it out: Readers often spot details long before characters do, but if the clues are too obvious, then the characters look dumb if they haven’t figured them out as well. Check to make sure you have a good balance between reader hints and character hints. If your protagonist needs to know something by page 45, make sure you’ve left enough clues so the realization feels plausible.
One mystery-writer’s trick is to hide important clues in the middle of the paragraph. Readers don’t pay as much attention to what’s in the middle of a paragraph, but they do focus on the beginning and end of that same paragraph. So they see it, but it often doesn’t jump out at them.
Beware of foreshadowing too much. If you’re dropping clues every chapter, readers will figure out the secret long before they get to the reveal.
Adding suggestive and evocative details: There have been a slew of movies, TV shows, and Vegas acts that have the protagonist—usually some type of con man—setting up a mark (the victim) to think or respond a certain way. They use subliminal clues to suggest what they want the mark to think or say. Drop enough clues with the numbers three and six in front of someone, then ask them to pick a number between ten and forty, and you’ll get a lot of thirty-sixes.
To put ideas in readers’ heads, plant a few suggestive clues. Don’t explain or draw attention to any of them, but if you want readers to think “blue means bad,” then put in something blue whenever something bad happens. Associate blue with bad in their minds, so by the time your protagonist reaches why blue is bad, readers will already feel apprehensive.
Foreshadowing is a handy way to raise tensions, and a well-planned story puzzle leaves lots of clues that readers can look back on and see that the answers were there the whole time.
Do you plan your foreshadowing or does it happen naturally?
Win a 10-Page Critique From Janice Hardy
Three Books. Three Months. Three Chances to Win.
To celebrate the release of my newest writing books, I’m going on a three-month blog tour–and each month, one lucky winner will receive a 10-page critique from me.
It’s easy to enter. Simply visit leave a comment and enter the drawing via Rafflecopter. At the end of each month, I’ll randomly choose a winner.
Looking for tips on revising your novel? Check out my new book Revising Your Novel:
First Draft to Finished Draft , a series of self-guided workshops that help you revise your manuscript into a finished novel. Still working on your idea? Then try my just-released Planning Your Novel Workbook .
Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of The Healing Wars trilogy and the Foundations of Fiction series, including Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, a self-guided workshop for planning or revising a novel, the companion Planning Your Novel Workbook, Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft and the upcoming Understanding Show, Don’t Tell (And Really Getting It). She’s also the founder of the writing site, Fiction University. For more advice and helpful writing tips, visit her at www.fiction-university.com or @Janice_Hardy.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound
*Excerpted from Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft
3 things to consider when using foreshadowing (from @Janice_Hardy):
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