Jami Gold's Blog: Jami Gold, Paranormal Author, page 59

Picking Editors: What Kind Do We Need?

Whether we follow the traditional publishing path or the self-publishing path, if we want our writing to be the best it can be, we need our work edited. No matter how good we are at self-editing, we can’t catch every unclear meaning or typo in our own work.

Maybe we missed explaining a character’s motivation, or maybe we’re missing a “the” somewhere in our work. Outside eyes can help us see our writing the way a reader would see it.

But there are different kinds of editors, and we might not...

Are You Drowning in To-Do Lists?

We probably all have to-do lists rolling out behind us like Santa Claus’s naughty-or-nice list. I know I have writing lists, editing lists, publishing lists, promotion lists, blogging lists, email lists, family lists, calendar lists, personal lists, etc.

That list of lists makes me sound super organized, right? As though I always know what I should be working on and what my priorities should be. Ha! That would assume I have time to check things off the list.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m no...

Ask Jami: Can We Use Beat Sheets with Multiple POVs?

Every once in a while, the questions I receive from writers focus on similar issues. Lately, I’ve been getting emails about how to structure complicated stories.

Many elements can make a story complex. Our story might have several subplots, a large cast, a plot filled with double-crosses and questionable loyalties, an unreliable narrator who misleads readers, etc.

But one element that can make story structure complicated is also very common: a story with multiple major characters with their...

Self-Publishing: Prioritizing Fast, Cheap, and Good

I just finished up a huge revision and my brain is mush. Thank you to Kathryn, Susan, Jennifer, and Mary for filling in with guest posts while I was deep into not showering or sleeping. *smile*

However, that mushy brain means that I’m in no shape to write one of my epic posts. So today I’m sharing a rerun that’s still very relevant.

Since this post originally ran two years ago, I’ve published a short story and will be releasing three novels this year. Once I decided to indie publish, I had t...

How to Be a Better Hooker (in Writing!) — Guest: Mary Buckham

We have the perfect attention-getting cover, and readers are clicking to read more. We have a great back-cover blurb, and readers are buying our story. We’re good to go, right?

Not quite. We want readers who start our story not be able to put it down. We want them to get to the end of our book and love our storytelling so much that they can’t wait to buy the next one.

In short…

Our intriguing cover turns a browser into a shopper. Our interesting blurb turns a shopper into a reader. Our comp...

Marketing 101: Creating a Strategy — Guest: Jennifer Fusco

We’re probably all familiar with the idea that the “author world” isn’t just about writing anymore. We need to engage with readers on social media, think about branding, come up with marketing plans, etc.

Even if we’re traditionally published, we often have to “fill in the blanks” for promoting our work, as publishers don’t do nearly as much as they used to—or as much as they say they will.

Whether we want to push our publishers to live up to their promises, hire a marketing team to help us,...

Should We Only “Write What We Know”? — Guest: S.P. Sipal

One truism in writing that’s often repeated is “write what you know.” The idea behind the advice is that our writing will be easier, more authentic, more knowledgeable, etc. if we’re intimately familiar with what we’re talking about.

And that’s a good point. But from another point of view, the advice can be downright harmful—at least for fiction writing.

That advice can make students or young writers freeze when writing fiction. They might look at their life, with their limited experiences,...

Want to Start a Writing-Related Company? — Guest: Kathryn Goldman

Last summer, one of the workshops I attended at the RWA National Conference was So Your Books Have Taken Off…Now What?presented by Marie Force. While it might seem silly to go to a workshop about managing publishing success before I’d even published, Marie’s tips covered every aspect of our publishing journey.

Marie Force has sold over 3 million books, so she has a team of employees helping her manage her success. However, much of her advice was focused on getting authors to think of themsel...

Want to Start a Writing-Related Company?

Last summer, one of the workshops I attended at the RWA National Conference was So Your Books Have Taken Off…Now What?presented by Marie Force. While it might seem silly to go to a workshop about managing publishing success before I’d even published, Marie’s tips covered every aspect of our publishing journey.

Marie Force has sold over 3 million books, so she has a team of employees helping her manage her success. However, much of her advice was focused on getting authors to think of themsel...

Using Examples to Learn Beat Sheets

Many writers struggle with knowing how to make their plot tight and their story flow. One technique for drafting or editing our stories into shape is using story beats.

Story beats (or turning points) are events or points in the story that direct the narrative to a new direction. They give our story a structure that can make it easier to outline in advance, to use as guidelines when writing by the seat of our pants, or to revise and edit a finished draft.

I have a whole collection of beat sh...