Beth Greenslade's Blog, page 128

Are You Writing A Series? Avoid These Common Mistakes

Writing a fiction series is an exciting venture for any writer to undertake. However, it is not a straightforward task and to get it right requires a great deal of foresight and careful planning. Perhaps even more so than a single novel, writing a fiction series requires you to research and plan your stories, as well as remember every detail about characters, their actions and the histories to keep your stories consistent.

It is no wonder that is is easy to make mistakes when writing a fiction series. Here are 5 of the most common ones to avoid.

You are inconsistent

When a character in a previous novel is broken hearted and swears never to be involved in another relationship again, but then in the next one falls head over heels quite quickly and never mentions or thinks about their ex or unrequited love ever again, readers will pick up on this. It is so easy to get lost in each story that you forget details of previous ones that contradict what is currently happening. Knowing your characters inside out is crucial when it comes to writing a fiction series, as well as keeping a record of everything they say and do. Having an eagle eye when it comes to editing will help pull out anything that doesn’t fit well with your characters due to their actions in previous books. However, the best way to avoid this is by planning your series in advance. If you have all your stories plotted from the outset, then you are far less likely to fall into this trap.

2. You change the premise of the story

Whatever you establish in the first book of the series has to stick throughout. If a ghost character can only be seen by people with a ‘gift’ in book one, they can’t suddenly be seen by everyone they reveal themselves to in book two. Sometimes authors can write themselves into a corner where their story just won’t work if they don’t change something already previously established. This is why careful and thorough plotting is absolutely crucial in or order to make your series work.

3. You can’t keep up with the technical details

Every writer wants to build an exciting and unique world as the setting for their stories. This is true in every book, though particularly so in science fiction or fantasy books. Not only remembering but also keeping up with the evolving details of the world you create can be tricky. This is also true of more practical things such as street and house names, business names, or even details such as your characters age can change from book to book if you don’t pay attention. Again these are things readers will pick up on so it is all about being thorough and continuously checking and cross checking your story that will make all the difference – and your readers will appreciate it too.

4. You have problems with continuity

Writing a fiction series requires you to ensure that your story flows from one book to the next. If you aren’t careful, you can find that your characters celebrate Christmas twice in 6 months or that summer turns to winter with no autumn. Creating a timeline to refer to can be helpful with this. Note significant events that take place throughout your stories, and you’ll be far less likely to make continuity errors.

5. You forget to resolve particular threads of your story

Your last book left your readers on a cliffhanger waiting to find out what the ending to the story of a particular character is. When they get to the next one that story is all but forgotten or simply resolved with no specific explanation. Remember to end and explain everything that happens, leaving too many unanswered questions will make your readers feel short-changed, and they’ll be so much less likely to buy your next book.

Writing a fiction series is all about being thorough and consistent. If you can do this, you’ll keep your readers from losing interest and be far more able to craft an engaging, engrossing set of novels.

The post Are You Writing A Series? Avoid These Common Mistakes appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Write A Blog Post That Will Get You Noticed

Writing a blog can be very helpful to an author. It can raise your profile, increase your readership and even get you a following of loyal fans who will be sure to buy your next book.

Of course, many authors find the idea of writing a blog nerve-wracking, tiresome or just plain annoying. They do it under duress because they are passionate about marketing their work and want to see it reach as many fans as possible. However when their blog hardly seems to get any attention it can be difficult to see the point of keeping it up.

So why are some bloggers so successful, and others don’t do so well? And just how do you write blogs that will get you noticed?

Make it short and sweet

Most people read things online for pleasure when they have only a short amount of time to spare – on their commute or lunch break for example. If you write a blog post that is thousands and thousands of words, they will just dismiss it, even if it looks fascinating. Make your posts easy to read and keep them at a reasonable length say, 500-1000 words. Break up paragraphs, use headings and make lists – these all help direct the reader and allow them to skim read more easily.

Make it funny

If you can write an amusing opening paragraph, this will draw your readers in and make them interested in what you have got to so. Be sarcastic, and witty, point out something funny to them. If you can do the same with your headline this will get their attention so make puns and tell jokes – you can do it, you’re a writer after all! Inject some personality in there, and you’ll have your readers hooked.

Ask interesting questions

People love to be challenged and stimulated by the things they read. If you can ask interesting and thought-provoking questions, this will engage your audience from the outset. Asking questions engages your reader in a conversation, and by reading your article they will be looking for answers or at least interesting ideas on the matter presented to them – so make sure you give them what they are looking for.

Share something personal

If your author blog is all about you, then make it juicy. Fans will want to know snippets about your exciting and fascinating life, so you need to write posts that let them in. If you keep them at a distance, your posts will appear cold and dull. Share your embarrassing stories, tell them what you agonise over, reveal your quirks – you’ll come across as much more human this way and your readers will respond to that.

Tease them

Keep your readers wanting more my teasing them. This may be with little snippets of your book or hinting at something you are working on without revealing it completely. You can even try withholding information within the blog itself, so hint that there is something your readers must find out at the beginning, but don’t reveal it until the end – this way they’ll keep reading right the way through.

Keep it simple and be positive

No one wants to hear you whining about how painful and terrible your life is (unless you can do it hilariously of course). Make your blogs positive and inspirational but keep them simple and direct – don’t try to sound overly intellectual or you’ll give the impression that you are rather pretentious and that never goes down well.

Writing an author blog may seem like a bit of a chore, but if you follow these tips and keep at it, you should see your readership grow, and there is nothing more satisfying to a writer than that.

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post How To Write A Blog Post That Will Get You Noticed appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Write A Blog Post That Will Get Your Noticed

Writing a blog can be very helpful to an author. It can raise your profile, increase your readership and even get you a following of loyal fans who will be sure to buy your next book.

Of course, many authors find the idea of writing a blog nerve-wracking, tiresome or just plain annoying. They do it under duress because they are passionate about marketing their work and want to see it reach as many fans as possible. However when their blog hardly seems to get any attention it can be difficult to see the point of keeping it up.

So why are some bloggers so successful, and others don’t do so well? And just how do you write blogs that will get you noticed?

Make it short and sweet

Most people read things online for pleasure when they have only a short amount of time to spare – on their commute or lunch break for example. If you write a blog post that is thousands and thousands of words, they will just dismiss it, even if it looks fascinating. Make your posts easy to read and keep them at a reasonable length say, 500-1000 words. Break up paragraphs, use headings and make lists – these all help direct the reader and allow them to skim read more easily.

Make it funny

If you can write an amusing opening paragraph, this will draw your readers in and make them interested in what you have got to so. Be sarcastic, and witty, point out something funny to them. If you can do the same with your headline this will get their attention so make puns and tell jokes – you can do it, you’re a writer after all! Inject some personality in there, and you’ll have your readers hooked.

Ask interesting questions

People love to be challenged and stimulated by the things they read. If you can ask interesting and thought-provoking questions, this will engage your audience from the outset. Asking questions engages your reader in a conversation, and by reading your article they will be looking for answers or at least interesting ideas on the matter presented to them – so make sure you give them what they are looking for.

Share something personal

If your author blog is all about you, then make it juicy. Fans will want to know snippets about your exciting and fascinating life, so you need to write posts that let them in. If you keep them at a distance, your posts will appear cold and dull. Share your embarrassing stories, tell them what you agonise over, reveal your quirks – you’ll come across as much more human this way and your readers will respond to that.

Tease them

Keep your readers wanting more my teasing them. This may be with little snippets of your book or hinting at something you are working on without revealing it completely. You can even try withholding information within the blog itself, so hint that there is something your readers must find out at the beginning, but don’t reveal it until the end – this way they’ll keep reading right the way through.

Keep it simple and be positive

No one wants to hear you whining about how painful and terrible your life is (unless you can do it hilariously of course). Make your blogs positive and inspirational but keep them simple and direct – don’t try to sound overly intellectual or you’ll give the impression that you are rather pretentious and that never goes down well.

Writing an author blog may seem like a bit of a chore, but if you follow these tips and keep at it, you should see your readership grow, and there is nothing more satisfying to a writer than that.

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post How To Write A Blog Post That Will Get Your Noticed appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Write Faster (And Better Too)

All writers constantly want to improve. Even the great ones. No matter how successful you become there is always the fear that your next book will be a flop, or just won’t match up to something you have written before. The good news is that writing is a skill. It is something everyone can learn how to do, and, if we work at it, we can all learn how to improve our writing, and become more prolific too.

But is this easier said than done? Is it just through continuously toiling away at our computer screens that we will learn to improve/ Of course, if you continue to practice your writing your writing should consequently get better at it, and it will become more natural to do. However, there are also specific things you can do to help you too.

Get into the right mindset

Writers can often be their own worst enemies. They are so critical of their own work it can cripple them – now I’m not saying I have ever been the kind of writer that gets halfway through my novel and suddenly throws it in the fire in a fit of hopeless rage. (Plus I write on my laptop so that would be one expensive hissy fit). However not believing in yourself and your abilities can make writing difficult. If you labour over every sentence, every word, you’ll slow yourself down and end up making it even harder to produce a finished piece.

Change your mindset, and you will reap the benefits. When people ask you what you do, tell them your a writer, first and foremost. Tell yourself that you are good, that you are improving each and every day, and that you have the ability to achieve your dreams. Write these down if it helps and read them every day before you start to write, or say them out loud in from of the mirror. Choose beliefs that are manageable. Telling yourself you will be a multi-million-pound bestseller by the end of the year might end up doing the reverse if you don’t achieve your goal. But little by little, slowly but surely you’ll get there, so keep telling yourself that, and you’ll see it happen.

Be realistic

Managing your own expectations is important. Most writers are actually pretty bad when they first start out. Be it article writing or fiction writing there is still a lot to learn. No one expects you to be an instantly successful and lucrative writer, so don’t put that kind of pressure on yourself either otherwise, you are just setting yourself up for a fall. Spend time thinking about what you want to write about, do research, take the time to practice writing exercises. Some writers can pump out articles on any topic in 30 minutes or can write a new chapter of their novel in an hour. But they have planned what they are going to write and practised (often for many years) to get to that point. Set yourself targets and goals by all means, but make them realistic, then push yourself a little further each time and you’ll soon be achieving what you want.

You will improve as long as you keep writing

Many writers believe that some people are born with the ability to write, and others just simply don’t have what it takes. Writing is something that can be learned. Believe that and then you will understand that it is about practising your writing, exploring different avenues, doing your research and experimenting with different techniques that makes you able to improve. Whenever we learn something new we have days where we struggle and days where we just ‘get it.’ Don’t give up when you hit hurdles, just work through them – because if you do you’ll eventually overcome these obstacles and move forwards.

Don’t aim for perfection

So your idea for your new book sounds a bit like something that has been written before, or your angle on an article has been covered already. That doesn’t mean you should abandon it altogether. You have a unique and interesting way of looking at the world, and your voice counts. You might need to rework your original plan or plot, but that’s okay. If you try to be completely unique and perfect each and every time you write, you’ll end up coming up against ‘blocks’ and end up feeling frustrated and disheartened. Most ideas have already occurred, most stories have already been told – but you are unique and the way you see things can make all the difference. Be okay with being bad. Just get the words out first of all, and you can go back and perfect it later.

Be organised, do your research and edit ruthlessly

Writing fast and well has a whole lot to do with staying organised. If you plan your writing, take the time to organise your ideas and be prepared to edit like you have never edited before then you will end up with a piece of writing to be proud of.

Becoming a better, faster writer isn’t going to happen overnight. But if you are willing to put the time in, and to believe in yourself then you will see a consistent improvement in your work, and you’ll be able to track your progress to see how much you have learnt and grown. If you can do that then you are certainly on the road to success!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post How To Write Faster (And Better Too) appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Find Your Passion As A Writer

We always talk about trying to find your writing voice, but what about finding your passion as a writer? If you can honestly find what you love to write about, then you will find the writing process so much easier. Suddenly what used to be many laborious hours hunched over your keyboard suddenly becomes a time where you feel inspired, excited and interested in everything you are doing.

As writers, there will always be times where you end up writing about subjects you don’t enjoy. This could be as a freelance writer where you just can’t resist taking that well-paid job even though the assignment is not something you are particularly interested in, or it could be as a novelist where you get to a part in your book that you don’t feel is working. Working like this can feel like drawing blood from a stone. You write one sentence, pause, spend the next half-hour struggling through your notes and then begin again. However, the times where you actually love what you write the words just seem to flow from your brain to the page, time flies and you become so much more prolific and productive in what you do.

But how so you find your passion as a writer? If you feel excited about what you are writing, the words don’t only flow easier, but feel so much more natural, and whether your writing is to educate or to entertain, your reader will feel it too.

So, how do you find this incredible mindset where your work becomes truly joyful?

Know yourself

There is the person that you are and the person that you want to be. Knowing the difference is imperative when it comes to writing. You might want to be an individual who wants to write hard-hitting journalism, or imagine yourself as a best-selling detective fiction writer, but if you don’t have the skills and knowledge to be accomplished at this, how can you truly succeed? There is nothing wrong with trying to learn and master new things, but to truly find what you are passionate about you must explore what makes your heart sing, your pulse race, and puts a smile on your face. Think about what you love to do, your hobbies, skills, values and interests, the kind of books that you read yourself. When you know these things, explore them deeper. You might find a niche that you have expertise in or just a particular genre that you completely understand. You might surprise yourself during the process – we have all had many interests and passions in our lives, but the ones that have stuck with you are ones that will continue to be there throughout your writing career.

Get rid of the obstacles

Often this journey of self-discovery can make you realise things about yourself that you hadn’t tapped into before. Don’t let fear close those doors before they are fully open. It may be that you realise you are fixated on a particular point in your life, and it may be painful or frightening to explore that more. However, this should not be ignored, and writing about it can not only produce authentic and exciting work but can be incredibly cathartic too.

Change your mindset

Open your mind to new ways of thinking, scrutinising what it is that you love, as well as what turns you off. This will help you have more of those ‘eureka’ moments where you know exactly what it is you have to do, or more importantly, what it is you have to write about to tap into those passions. Opening your mind to new experiences and possibilities can also help you discover passions that you never knew existed before, and that can be very exciting indeed. They can take you to new places in your writing journey that you never thought possible.

Make a plan

Once you have discovered what you are genuinely excited about as a writer, you need to harness it. Don’t let your new found passion fizzle out. Tap into it by creating an action plan of what to do next. Write everything down that you could write about or explore further about your passions. Create boards, lists spreadsheets – whatever works for you. Before you even begin to write figure out how you can practically apply this new knowledge and turn it into a fantastic piece of writing.

Finding your passion as a writer can be exhilarating, exciting and nerve-wracking. But once you do not only will you be a better writer, you’ll connect with your audience on a deeper level, and love what you do even more. So what are you waiting for? Find out what you actually love to write about and see how much better it can be!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post How To Find Your Passion As A Writer appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Believe In Yourself And Become A Successful Writer

Writers often struggle with having confidence in their abilities. No one wants to come across as arrogant after all! We spend our lives reading other people’s work – people who have achieved what we dream to achieve, and it is hard not to compare ourselves and feel disheartened.

However, having confidence in yourself as a writer and actually believing that you can make it too, is the only way you will ever achieve any success. There is a difference between being your own biggest supporter, for rooting for yourself, for picking yourself for your team and being over-confident, arrogant and blind to your own shortcomings and flaws. While you might have days where it is hard to believe you will ever get anywhere, if you do choose to, you will be more likely to succeed. Here are just some of the things that writers with self-belief are more likely to do:

Ask people’s advice

If you believe in your writing, you will be more willing to share it, and if you can share it with others you will be able to receive useful feedback that will help you improve your writing and make it even better!

Accept criticism better

If you do receive constructive criticism, you won’t just fall apart or react badly. You’ll be able to see it for what it is – constructive. You’ll have the confidence to know when to take on board what someone else has said and when to ‘agree to disagree’. Remember not everyone will have the same opinions about your work.

Have enough confidence to send their work to publishers

If you believe in yourself, then you will bite the bullet and do something about it. Feeling positive about the idea of getting published is important. Sending your book to publishers and agents can be nerve-racking, but if you don’t do it, you’ll never know!

Be better equipped to manage rejection

Authors who believe in themselves know that every writer at some point in their career will get rejected, and just because they do, it doesn’t mark the end of their careers! Being rejected is all part and parcel of being a writer – those that succeed simply pick themselves up, brush themselves off and try again.

Have the confidence to self-publish

Self-publishing is a huge industry, and many authors have made great success selling their books and making a name for themselves this way. To self-publish your book, you need the self-belief that you can do it, and could potentially end up on your way to a lucrative and rewarding career.

Never give up

Believing in yourself means never giving up on your dream! So many writers only find success after years of trying – if you truly believe you have what it takes to make it you’ll keep persevering, and will, therefore, be so much more likely to make it happen.

So are you ready to start believing in yourself? We think it is time that you did! If you do, you never know what could happen!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post Believe In Yourself And Become A Successful Writer appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Famous Writers Writing Habits – Could They Make You A Better Writer?

There are loads of pieces of advice out there about how to become a better writer. But perhaps the most sounds advice comes from other authors. Ones who have been there and done that and have proven that they can forge a successful writing career for themselves.

Some of it may sound a little unorthodox, but hey, if the likes of Ernest Hemingway and James Joyce are preaching it, surely it is worth paying attention to?

So could these habits of famous writers be the key to your own success? Let’s take a look.

Stephen King has strong opinions about how one should go about writing. He certainly doesn’t think that dragging it out is the way to write a successful book. In fact, King claims to write ten pages each and every day, which is perhaps why he is one of the most prolific writers out there. His world famous books are also proof of his success – but could you write ten pages a day? It would certainly feel like an incredible achievement – perhaps it’s time to set those alarms even earlier?! If you want to know more about Stephen Kings writing habits his book, ‘On Writing’ reveals a lot.

Ernest Hemingway, however, had rather different (and more manageable) ideas. He claims to aim to write 500 words a day each and every day. He advised writing in the morning in a calm and quiet place. Indeed, for writers just starting out this seems more doable – perhaps start with Hemingway and aim for King – we are sure you’ll get there eventually!

Philip Roth is one of the most celebrated writers of our time, so perhaps we can learn a thing or two from him? He claims to walk half a mile for every page he writes – while we are not sure if this could be distracting, but at least you would get fit at the same time!

Perfectionists will appreciate the work of the great James Joyce. Joyce is said to have taken painstaking care with each and every sentence that he wrote. Instead of aiming to get to a particular word count or write a certain number of words, he instead prided himself on quality over quantity – it certainly seemed to work for him!

Joyce Carol Oates has some solid advice for us too. Write in the morning before you do anything else. She also believes that if you are in ‘zone’ just keep going and has been known to write for hours on end and eventually only breakfasting at 2 or 3 pm! (We are not sure we could last that long without a food break!).

Vladimir Nabokov who is the author of celebrated works such as Lolita, Pale Fire and Ada wrote his first drafts on index cards. He preferred to write all the scenes down this way, look at them and re-arrange them as he saw fit. Apparently, Ada was first written on over 2,000  of such cards.

So, do any of these writing methods appeals to you? Writers have many weird and wonderful writing habits, what are yours?

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post Famous Writers Writing Habits – Could They Make You A Better Writer? appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Why You Should Write Every Single Day

There is lots of conflicting advice about how often writers should write, and truth be told there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. For many writers there the main problem is time, their busy day to day lives get in the way. Lots of writers write as an aside to their full-time jobs, and juggle running a household, looking after children, keeping up with other hobbies and having a social life too. Even for writers who have more time to spare they constantly feel guilty about not doing it enough, having to put other tasks first, or just indulging in a bit of good old fashioned procrastinating.

The good thing about committing to writing every day is that you aren’t asking yourself to write a lot. You are asking yourself to find a spare twenty minutes that you can dedicate to doing something you love.

Often writers feel the need to compare themselves to others, those who claim to spend hours each day crafting their wonderful stories, those who wake up in the middle of the night and find themselves still at the kitchen table come sunrise just pouring their creative hearts out because they simply can’t stop. It can make other writers, you know, the usual ones that are just trying to make it work, feel somewhat dreadful. Well writing every day can help.

This applies in particular if you are just getting started. If you block 5 hours out over the weekend to write you are putting all that pressure and focus on one specific moment. If you spend the first hour of that writing your first sentence and then deleting it, you’ll end up feel stressed and annoyed with yourself for not having produced more. It also means you wait a whole week, every week to come back to your work. It takes time to get those creative cogs turning once more, and the longer you leave it in between writing sessions, the harder it gets to start them up and get them running smoothly once more.

Repetition is what is key here. If you build your writing up, little and often you will spend so much less time fighting through the bit where you stare at your computer screen. You won’t struggle to remember what you were on about last time, be tempted to re-read everything you have written previously just to get you back on track, and generally spend most of your time resisting doing any writing at all.

Think about it, what sounds more manageable, a 20-30 minute writing session each day, or a 5-hour slug each week? If you make your writing sessions short, you are so much more likely to stick to them. Finding excuses to miss something that takes up 5 hours of your time is much easier than something which only takes 30 minutes.

Writing for 30 minutes a day also gives yo more room for trial and error. You can test out new ideas, experiment with new styles, and learn how to be okay with failure. If your writing session doesn’t go that well one day and you don’t like anything you have written you haven’t wasted much time – just start the next day afresh, and you may well feel much more creative and ready to tackle any obstacles head on!

Jack Cheng says that doing something for 30 minutes each day is enough to form a new habit. Once a habit is formed it will become a natural and integrated part of your life – and isn’t that what we are all aiming for our writing to be?

Being stuck in a cycle of struggling and feeling guilty about our writing only makes it so much harder to do it, and writing should be something we love – it can be a challenge sure, but why make lives more difficult for ourselves?

So don’t let yourself suffer from writing burnout or become stuck in a negative cycle. Start writing every day, don’t wait until tomorrow, do it now ! If you stick to it you will suddenly find those creative juices flowing, and writing turn into a joy once more!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

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Don’t Let Your Ego Get In The Way Of Your Writing

Writers egos are funny old things – in one sense they are incredibly tiny. We tend to be full of self-doubt, always questioning whether we are simply fools for thinking we can make a career out of our creativity, constantly comparing ourselves to others and telling ourselves we are not, and never will be good enough.

On the other hand, our egos are massive and uncontrollable. We are in love with our writing; it is the most precious and incredible thing to us. If someone dares to reject us, it is crushing (so often we don’t let ourselves ever be in that vulnerable position). If someone offers us constructive criticism or dares to suggest ‘tweaks’ we are filled with an uncontrollable rage and loathing towards them – they obviously just don’t GET our story. More fool them.

The problem is these two extremes can be very dangerous to a writer.

The tiny, quivering, nervous ego can slowly destroy our confidence. That inner critic, the little voice that says we can’t possibly write anything good and mocks us for trying isn’t going to get us anywhere. We need to boost ourselves, believe in ourselves and never give up on our dreams. Without having some form of self-belief and an ego, we will be too afraid to write anything. Even the slightest knockback could send us scattering for the hills never to emerge again, so we don’t send our work to publishers, we don’t even let our mums look at it! A tiny ego can be just as destructive as a huge one.

The massive ego is equally concerning. We simply cannot understand why we are not a famous, rich and hugely popular author! We read other well-known books and scoff at their lack of originality; we stand aghast each and every time we get a rejection – how could that publisher not recognise our talent? How could they not see how brilliant and unique we are? So what if we didn’t submit our manuscript how they asked for it, we wanted to do it our way because surely, more than anyone else,  know how best to represent our own work?

So how do we find a balance?

Stop making it all about you. The key to controlling your ego is letting it have less of a say. Stop caring about yourself and care about your writing instead. If you do this, you will be able to take negative feedback and learn to either dismiss it because it isn’t helpful, or use it to make your writing better because it is. You’ll be more willing to revise and reshape your work to fit in with other people’s needs and expectations, and you’ll be able to celebrate your peer’s success rather than turn into a wailing green-eyed monster.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel nervous when submitting your writing, and it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t believe in yourself – visualising yourself as a bestselling author is great! Being nervous shows that you care. However, without keeping your ego in check you could end up damaging your writing career, so next time you feel it is getting out of control, take a step back and remember what it is all about – the writing. If you do that, you’ll find the process so much more enjoyable and produce better work too!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post Don’t Let Your Ego Get In The Way Of Your Writing appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Become An Excellent Networker And Discover Opportunities For Your Book

Writing conferences can be invaluable to writers, but of course, this is only true if you make the most of them! Writing conferences are a great opportunity to meet other writers, to share your work, to talk to agents and publishers about what they are looking for and to make an impression on them too!

Many writers understandably find the whole schmoozing, networking side of things rather tedious. However, if it means the difference between getting published and not getting published then most of them find ways to put up with it!

If you do decide to attend a writing conference, then it is a good idea to make the most of it. Here are several ways to do just that:

Practice your pitch

Hopefully, you will have plenty of opportunities to meet with potential publishers and agents so make sure your pitch is slick and well rehearsed. If they start asking you about your book and you can’t describe it succinctly or tell them why you think it would be a good fit on their list, they’ll lose interest pretty quickly.

Get there early

The early bird catches the worm! If you get there early, you can pick the best spot to stand for mingling. People tend to congregate near the entrance or near refreshments! Loiter there, and you should find it easy to join in and strike up conversations.

Make an effort

Don’t expect people to come up to you; you may well need to make the first move. If you do strike up, a conversation, make sure you have plenty of questions in the bank to ask the other person. Your primary aim might be to talk about your book, but if that’s all you do and don’t bother expressing an interest in them it will leave them feeling cold.

Be friendly

Of course, you want to come across as a smart and professional person, but people are far more likely to warm to you and want to stay and chat with you if you relax, smile and be yourself. If you can charm agents and publishers and make them laugh they are more likely to believe that your writing will be charming, persuasive and interesting too.

Make notes

Conferences are excellent for making contacts, but when you get home with a pocketful of business cards, and you can’t remember who said what if can be stressful. Make (subtle) notes as you go so when you get home you can remember exactly what you talked about with who, and then you can follow up on any interesting conversations you have had. It’s actually a good idea to make sure you follow up with every person you connected with, even if you don’t think it will go anywhere. Taking chances is what it is all about, and even if that person can’t help you, they might know someone who can!

Being an excellent networker doesn’t have to be hard work. By simply being open and friendly and organised you can make some valuable connections, discover great opportunities for your book, and dare we say, even have fun too!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

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