Beth Greenslade's Blog, page 47

Getting Over Your Shyness As Writer

One of the aspects of writing that many of us struggle with is self-promotion. Writers are notoriously tortured souls, many of whom find it challenging to muster enough self-belief to send their book off to a publisher or agent, let alone begin the endless and tireless journey of self-promotion.

Naturally, it is good to be a little modest, or at least not to go around thinking you are the next [insert bestselling author name here]. This will ensure that you are somewhat prepared for the grueling and often disheartening writing process and publishing a book. However, if you are too shy about your talents, if you are unwilling to share your work, talk about your writing or do any self-promotion, you'll be doing yourself an even more enormous disservice. 

You know you need to promote your work to get it in front of readers, agents, and publishers interested in backing you. You know that you need to do this in a way that isn't apologetic or self-deprecating. You know that if you don't believe in your work and can't tell others why it's worth reading, it's going to be hard to get anyone interested in doing so.

Having zero confidence will impede the writing and publishing process. If you are crippled by fear and self-doubt, it will be challenging to write your book. You'll stop and start; you'll delete perfectly good passages, you'll get yourself so caught up in trying to perfect it that you'll never finish. You'll also present your story in a way that won't excite or inspire potential readers to invest their time in it. 

However, tooting one's own horn is something that most of us aren't too comfortable with. Trying to get people to part with their hard-earned cash for something you have created may feel overwhelming and wrong somehow. 

If you don't promote your work, you could miss out on so many opportunities that could see you realize your goals and achieve your dreams. If you are too shy, you will only harm yourself.

So what can you do to try to tackle shyness as a writer? Here are some things to try.

Talk about your work without bragging

There are ways to discuss your work without sounding arrogant and cocksure. Focus on what you like about your story, and learn to present your idea engagingly and positively, stating your experience, any success you've had, why you are passionate about your work and why you think readers would like it. You can do all this unapologetically and without sounding like you think you are the most excellent writer in the world.

Be confident and clear

Practice talking about your work when you are alone. Think about how to confidently and concisely sum up your idea - it will mean when people ask you about it, you have a pre-prepared answer, and you'll feel less like shriveling up and stumbling or just trying to change the subject. The more prepared you are to talk about your work, the more confident you'll feel about it.

Take credit for good work and use this to spur you on

When you get a positive review or positive feedback from a reader in any form, learn to accept it and take it on board. You can also share this with others without sounding like you are bragging - you should be proud of your achievements and success; there is nothing wrong with that.

Be honest about your talent and what you hope to achieve

It's also important to be real without yourself. If you want to write a novel and be a successful writer, you need to be prepared to put in so much work and expect to take several knocks in your confidence. If you are real with the work it takes to be a writer and the setbacks all of us face; you won't let these make you feel like a failure or stop you from achieving your goals.

Set realistic goals

If you achieve your goals, you'll feel more confident in your writing ability. So make sure you set frequent, realistic goals to help you build self-belief and keep celebrating each success you make. 

By following the above, you can build your writing confidence, overcome shyness, and learn how to promote your work in a comfortable way. 

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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Researching Techniques To Aid Your Writing

If you want your writing to be authentic and engaging, you really need to do your research.

Research can help all sorts of writing, from memoirs to blogs to articles to entire works of fiction. All the best writers know that honing and refining your research skills can help ensure that you create a more engaging, accurate, and believable piece of work.

So what are some top tips to help brush up on your researching skills and make this part of the writing process more productive and enjoyable?

Here are some useful tips.

Try target internet searching

When it comes to researching, you need to take a broader approach at first. Study a wide spectrum of websites related to your topic before you start to narrow down and focus on the heart of your subject matter. Reading as much as you can will give you a much better overacting understanding of what the topic is about and what people are saying about it online.

Use lots of different sources

When scrolling through web pages and reading books gets a little too intense of overwhelming, why not switch up your media sources? Watching a DVD on the topics, for example, can be a fun and engaging way to soak up more information.

If you aren’t sure, make sure!

When it comes to writing, speculation can be dangerous, If you aren’t sure of the fact of something or whether what you are writing about makes sense, it’s always advisable to set aside time to do some research and make sure that you are accurate. Readers will appreciate the effort if you do and will also be the first to berate you if you get things wrong.

Talk to the experts

If you can get in touch with a seasoned expert to talk you through information and answer any questions, this can be the ideal way to learn more, and their enthusiasm and passion should rub off and you and even give you new ideas or angles too.

Use directories

Directories can be a wealth of information and use when it comes to carrying out research, so make sure you don’t forget about them. Sources such as telephone directories are full of sources for so many different professions. This is another excellent way to discover people who you can bounce ideas off or confirm facts and pieces of information of which you are uncertain.

Ask other writers

Other writers are also a great source of knowledge and research. If you can gather a network of writers together, the chances are that one might have had to research a similar topic themselves and point you towards some great resources or just let you pick their brains. Networking, in general, can be a great way to meet interesting people and by gathering contacts at every opportunity you have a better chance of already being connected to a person who could help you with your research at a future date, rather having to seek them out while trying to write.

Organizing your information

One of the most important parts of researching is organizing the information you have gathered. Be prepared to be incredibly stringent with how you do this. Index all your work so you can reuse it in the future and sort your research into categories with a way to cross-reference certain pieces of information when necessary. Make sure that you keep all your research up to date by going through it regularly and culling anything that’s no longer relevant, or outdated.

Researching is an essential part of writing, but it can be fun and exciting too. By staying organized and planning meticulously, you can ensure your research is thorough and useful, and your writing will be all the better for it.

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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How To Know Your Readers Better

Every writer knows that the better you understand your audience, the easier it will be to connect with them. So how can you work towards understanding your audience better? Here are some helpful tips:

Do lots of research before you start

Research is key to discovering who your target demographic is, and the more study you do, the more precise an idea you will have. You can use lots of tools to conduct audience research such as American FactFinder, which uses census information to aid your research, unveiling important details on specific demographics.

Remember not to assume you know your target audience before you start researching; you may find that what you thought was the ideal demographic for your piece is actually quite different, so keep an open mind.

Look to your competitors

Your competition is there for a reason, and instead of letting them get in your way, use them to your advantage. Look at the kinds of content they are putting out and whose interest they are trying to capture. Observe the frequency, the tone of voice, and the feedback they are getting and use all of this to inform you own piece.

Create a target customer persona

Customer personas can be very helpful as they will give you focus and clarity when it comes to writing your piece. If you can conceptualize your target reader in this way, you’ll find it much easier to speak to them directly and will have a higher chance of writing something that interests them and resonates with them too.

Ask your current customers

Your loyal and even not so loyal customers are also a great source of information, so use them. Send out surveys or questionnaires, set up market research panels, or just ask them in person. If you can understand what they like and dislike about your service, products, and brand, you can share your future communications to better appeal to them.

Use social listening

Social listening is another powerful tool at our disposal, which can greatly assist content creation. Find out what customers are saying about you and your competitors. Find out what matters to them and what kinds of questions they are asking. Use this to write pieces that will answer those questions, reassure their doubts, and speak to them directly about things they hold dear.

By following the above, you can get to know your audience better and create content that is far more likely to resonate with them and inspire them to act. So the next time you are writing a piece of content to be that a landing page, blog post, social media post or anything else, use the above to help you understand who you are writing for, and see what a difference it makes.

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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How To Test Your Story Idea

If you have got an idea for a new story, how do you test it to see whether it has legs? When it comes to writing, our only limitations are our imaginations. However, this does not automatically mean that every idea we have is a good one. So how do you find out if the idea that came to you the other day in a rush of excitement and adrenaline is actually worth pursuing? Let’s explore how to build your story ideas so you can be sure that they will sustain a full story. 

Flesh it out

The test is a simple one. You need to be able to add depth to your story. If you get stuck and a racking you brains at this stage, the warning flags should appear. If however, you find it easy to get more of a sense of your characters and how the story will flow, you might be onto something good.

Here are some exercises to try. 

Write a single page about your protagonist

Write a full page describing who your main character is. The central character in your novel should be someone you feel strongly connected to and can visualize easily, so writing a page exploring who they are should be no problem. 

Sum up the central idea

Every story needs a solid idea at its core. See if you can get to grips with yours in just a few sentences. 

Write the opening few paragraphs

You should be excited to start your story, so test out the idea by writing the opening to see if you feel as though you can start to build your fictional world and the characters that inhabit it. 

Plot out the story points

You should also be able to map out your story in its entirety. This doesn’t have to be an in-depth plot outline for now, but at least you should be able to see where it is going and how your character’s journey progresses

If you are able to do the above and are left feeling exciting, confident, and desperate to get started, it looks like you have a story idea worth pursuing. If however, you found the process laborious, frustrating, and difficult, you might find that you are wasting your time. At this early stage if the ideas aren’t flowing and you aren’t excited, you’ll find it an even tougher challenge to write an entire novel. Writing a book takes a mammoth amount of time and effort so you need to be fully engaged from the outset, otherwise its unlikely you’ll ever get to the end. 

Your plot should be full of action and conflict, a clear goal, and revolving around an arresting cast of characters. Once you’ve got this established you are ready to write. So the next time you are deliberating over whether to pursue a story idea, use the above to test it and you’ll soon discover whether it’s one you should invest more time in. 

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post How To Test Your Story Idea appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Smart Ways To Find A Small Independent Publisher

We all know how competitive the book publishing industry is, and if you are trying to find someone to take on your book, researching publishers that might be a good fit can be stressful and exhausting. 

Writers have already put a mammoth effort into writing and editing their work, then being rejected time and time can be disheartening. But with most publishers only investing in a few books a year, the competition is fierce, and even talented writers find that they can't get their foot in the door.

However, one of the best ways to increase your chances is to look for smaller publishers, who might be newer to the industry or more niche and willing to take risks that more prominent publishers aren't. 

Finding small presses can be a complicated process. However, taking time to research them and discover ones looking for work in your genre and are still actively publishing can open up your options and get your work in front of people who might be more willing to take a chance on it.

So how can you discover these small independent publishers? Here are some tried and tested ways. 

Check out review venues that focus on small-press publications

If an upcoming book from a small press is getting reviews, it means that the publisher will be actively publishing. Not only that, but they are also clearly good at getting those books they take on in front of prominent reviewers. Both these things are crucial in terms of shortlisting small-press options for your book. Take a look at Foreword Reviews who are committed to reviewing books by small presses across lots of genres - their quarterly magazine is worth subscribing to. Alternatively, browse the Book Reviews section on their site. Other places worth looking are Small Press Picks, the Independent Book Review, and Magnify - the newsletter form Melissa Duclos.

Find out about awards specifically for small-press books

Do some research to discover awards aimed at small-press books and then look at the winners and their publishers to direct you to new publishing opportunities. If publishers are sending their books out for award consideration, they are actively publishing and promoting their author's works. The Firecracker Awards from the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP) is a good starting point. You should also check out the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year awards.

3. Look through bestseller lists and lists of the latest book releases from book distributors that focus on small-press publications.

The are several distributors that focus solely on offerings from small presses. If you check out their latest releases and their most successful novels, you can find out which small-press is active and successful and then research them further to see if your book would be a good fit for their list. 

Other places to check out include:

The Independent Publishers Group, particularly their New & Notable page as well as the Recent Reviews page. 

The Publishers Group West News page.

Consortium's top 12 bestsellers of the week, and their Bookslinger blog which includes details of upcoming awards and recognition for recent titles.

By choosing small-press, you might reduce your competition and find a specialist publisher who is searching for precisely the kind of story you've written. Take your time, do your research, and this could be a great way to find the right publisher for you!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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How Do Publishers Choose Their Books?

When you send your book off to publishers, you should feel confident that you have done everything you can to give it the best chance of success. You will have undoubtedly slaved for months crafting your story, editing, and polishing it to perfection. You will have spent time researching the list of publishers and agents that are the best fit for your work, and you will have made sure you created a compelling query letter and perfected your pitch.

However, will taking the time to understand what it takes for a publisher to take a chance on a new author's novel give added insight? Will it give you an edge that can help ensure you deliver your work to them in a way that grabs their attention?

Every time a publisher takes on a new book, it's like setting up a new start-up business. It's a gamble, an investment, and a risk. The publisher is betting that the book will earn them more than it costs them to market, create a cover, print copies, and so on, and to make sure they receive a profit, they have to be pretty confident that the book will sell. 

Publishers ask two primary questions to decide whether any book is worth the risk, and if so, what they should do about it: how much should we invest, and how much will we profit?

To answer these questions, the publisher has lots of formulas and projections that they apply to any given publication. They have to use educated guesswork based on past experiences, and insights into trends and historical figures and forecasts. They consider how much it will cost to print the book, how many copies are likely to sell, how many will be returned, the advance paid to the author, the list price, the print costs, and the marketing budget.

Some numbers can be worked out through data analysis; others are considered estimates, but lots are just guesses based on what little information is available. 

The truth is, a lot of the decision-making process comes down to having a good gut instinct. Lots of books fail, and it is the practice of the industry to read a manuscript and get a 'feeling' that it will be well received. 

While a profit and loss spreadsheet may help to indicate whether a book will make money, they can be wildly inaccurate. Without a crystal ball, publishers can't see whether any particular novel will suddenly take off

For the majority of novels, most sales will be made within 90 days. Some continue to sell steadily over time, but for many, that's it—three months to make an impression. 

When taking into consideration the expenses that publishers must undertake to get a book out there, think editor, copyeditor, proofreader, cover designer, and more, it's no wonder that they only bother to publish a few titles each year. 

Book publishers often accept that some of their decisions will be wrong and that they may lose their books. They hold out for that one novel whose sales far outstrip the predictions to keep their business profitable. A single massive success means that some bad bets don't really matter. 

Lots of authors who sign publishing deals are given an advance, and the reality is that that's all the money they ever see. If their book sales don't cover the advance given, they never receive any royalties. Independent presses are now offering much smaller advances to publishers hoping that the sales might exceed expectations, and both the author and publishing house make a good profit because of it. 

Therefore, the best thing writers can do is take the time to research what individual publishers and editors list as their interests and look at the books they have publisher before. This will give them the best insight into whether their novel is likely to appeal, and if it does, it just might be the one they take a chance on. 

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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How To Create A Successful Author Newsletter

When it comes to writing a successful book, marketing it to the right people is half the battle. Some fantastic books have barely seen the light of day because they couldn't find the right publisher, and the author had no marketing plan in place to help make sure that the book found it's way to willing readers.

Having an author website is a useful platform to showcase your work; however, if you want to start gathering fans, you need to do more. Creating an author newsletter is a fantastic way to reach out to potential new readers, notify them of new releases, book tours, and more.

For many authors, however, writing a newsletter can feel laborious and challenging. While they are passionate about writing their stories, when it comes to crafting an engaging newsletter, they don't know where to start.

Regular contact with readers helps keep you at the forefront of their minds. This means that people are far more likely to think of you when considering a new book to read - so it's essential to make sure that you make an effort. However, getting this right is crucial. Most people are overwhelmed with junk email and don't have time to read through everything they receive. 

So how can you ensure that you craft a newsletter that is welcomed by the recipients? 

Decide on frequency

First, it is vital to decide on the frequency with which you will send it out and be consistent with this. Ensure that you are committed to sending your newsletter out regularly before you begin and make it frequently enough that readers won't forget who you are in between. 

Keep them short and sweet

Newsletters don't need to be very long. In fact, most people appreciate a short, concise, and to the point email. If you overwhelm your readers with content, they'll be less likely to bother in the first place.

Be specific and honest 

When encouraging people to sign up for your newsletter, tell them truthfully how often they'll receive it and what they'll get. If you lure them in with false promises, you'll find that they will just unsubscribe, and you'll have lost that valuable contact. 

Put in your passion and be creative

If you are passionate and enthusiastic, this will become infectious. You are a writer, so use your newsletter to be creative, funny, artistic, and imaginative. The intent is to ensure that your author's name and work remain known to your readers, but it's essential to do this by positive association. Keep things interesting, share quality content, try to be witty, and your recipients will look forward to your newsletter and find it a pleasure to read. 

Share the things you love, the places you've been, the best stuff you've seen. Provide valuable content or insights or your area of expertise. Give readers a sneak peek of your behind the scenes project work, let them know of upcoming news and events, share your blog, and also give them snippets of your writing to enjoy. 

Pay attention to formatting

Make sure that your newsletter is visually impressive too. You can add images, videos, and break up content with subheadings to help readers make sense of the material and find what interests them with ease. 

Sending email newsletters can be a creative way to communicate content and news to potential readers. Your only limit is your imagination. By carefully planning and investing creative energy into your newsletter, you can build your readership and with it your email list, which will become ever more valuable over time.

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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Developing Your Story Idea

When you first come up with a new idea for your book, it can feel exhilarating, your mind might be rushing and full of possibilities, and you'll be itching to get started.

However, before you rush into writing your novel, it's a good idea to develop your story idea to ensure that it is workable, makes sense, and has legs.

You might find that your initial idea soon dries up, you might find that it takes you in a completely different direction to what you had expected.

Without developing your story idea first, you might end up halfway through your novel and then running out of steam, or realizing that actually it has nowhere left to go. Needless to say, this can feel like a massive waste of time.

Suzanne Collins says the Hunger Games' inspiration came to her while channel surfing between reality TV and war coverage. This gave her the idea to combine the two, and her protagonist Katniss Everdeen was born.

Lightning struck for J.K.Rowling while on a train between Manchester and London King's Cross in 1990, and she came up with the idea for Harry Potter.

So how can you unearth great ideas?

First, you need to recognize them. Lots of stories start with just one little gem or a spar, with a memory or a picture that flashes into your mind. It might be a problem or fear, or a memory of being gloriously happy and carefree. You need to search inside for the most powerful feelings that you have, as well as the memories that make you react strongly - use these to fuel ideas and inspiration for your next book.

You know and idea if worth exploring further when it comes to you again and again. If it keeps appearing and starts to grow, you need to pay attention and spend some time exploring it. Lots of ideas fade and lose steam, but the ones that won't stop bugging you, are the ones you need to examine in more detail.

Writing your ideas down is the most natural and most obvious place to start. Once you have your initial idea, you need to write it down without judgment. Start by free writing and just putting down anything that comes to you. It doesn't matter about spelling, it doesn't matter if it's nonsense - let it pour out of you, and you can start to make sense later.

Once you have done this, you can separate your notes into groups related to characters, the plot, settings, and dialogue. Search for common themes and build upon these. You can then start to shape your characters, think about who they are, what they want, and what might get in the way of that. You can develop a timeline, and start to create a world that you will draw your readers into.

From here, you can start to plot your story outline. A good outline is important as it will ensure that you have a robust story and know where it's going. This means when you start to write, you will always know what's coming next and will be much less likely to suffer from the dreaded writer's block!

Developing your story idea before you get started is so important. So next time inspiration strikes, make sure you take your time to slowly but surely build your idea, and only once you have been able to flesh it out into a comprehensive and detailed plot outline should you begin to write.

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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Creating Memorable Character Names

Your character names are so important, and they need to be memorable to stick in your reader's minds and help differentiate one character from the next.

Naming characters can be quite tough. It would help if you found the right balance between making them memorable, but not so outrageous or silly that it puts your readers off or seems unbelievable.

Here are some of the most famous characters from celebrated novels that are particularly memorable - we are sure you will recognize some of them!

Sherlock Holmes
Jay Gatsby
Atticus Finch
Jane Eyre
Katniss Everdeen
Harry Potter
Frodo Baggins

What is it about these particular names that make them stand out? Let's explore.

Make it unique

Ordinary, common names are easy to forget. If your book is littered with characters all called names we've heard lots of times before, it can be difficult for your readers to remember who is saying what! Of course, you can use everyday names, but if you do, perhaps try to pair them with a unique last name to help make it more memorable for your readers.

Make it easy to pronounce

Don't make your readers work too hard. If your name is difficult to pronounce, it will be difficult to read and slow your readers down every time they try. Make sure that you keep it simple and easy to understand so your readers can read it without effort.

Give it meaning

Some of the best character's names have meaning that helps reveal a little about the personality behind it. Take the famous Star Wars villain, Darth Vader meaning dark (Darth) and the Dutch word for father (Vader).

Frodo Baggins from Lord of the Rings is another classic example coming from the Old English fróda, which means "wise by experience."

Make it suitable

To pick your character's names, you need to consider the type of novel you are writing. If it's a romance, thing of softer, prettier names or ones with sex appeal or names that conjure images of a brooding, handsome stranger. If you are writing teen fiction, choose names that younger readers would think were exciting or unusual, and if you are writing a horror novel, you can choose gothic or names that sound evil or scary to help set the theme. Revealing a bit of their personality works well. Take these examples:

In The Green Mile, Stephen King names a rather pathetic character Percy Wetmore.

Genre plays a part, but so does the character themselves - ethnicity, family names, and the period that the novel is set will all influence what you choose.

Where to search for character names

If you lack inspiration, why not check out books in your genre at the library or local bookstore? You could also try baby name lists or online character name generators to help.

Make sure you take your time with the naming process. It might take a while to land the perfect character name for your story, but when you do, you'll know!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Character Empathy – Why Is It Important And How To Do It

If you want your protagonist to resonate with your readers, you need to make them care. Creating empathy for your main character isn't always easy, but it is critical to your book's success.

So how do you make that happen? Here are some helpful tips:

Give your character valuable traits

If you want your readers to like your protagonist, you must bestow them with traits that we, as a society, generally view as positive and covetable. Bravery, loyalty, generosity, kindness, humor, and forgiveness are all traits that we admire in others. If your protagonist displays these, we will warm to them quickly. Make sure you do this first before allowing the character to make a poor decision or choice that negatively impacts others.

Give your character skills

Making your character good at something is another way to help your readers empathize with them. Show readers their passions and their aptitude for certain things; this could be being particularly good at their job or having a hobby that they excel at.

Have your character treated unfairly

One fantastic way to increase character empathy is to create a situation where they are mistreated. Perhaps they are accused of something they didn't do? Maybe they are blamed without cause or oppressed by another character. This will make your readers feel protective of them, or outraged - they'll feel bad for your character and therefore empathize with them more.

Make your character's goal a noble one

Every good storyteller knows that characters need to have a goal that they are working towards. Make this goal something that is universally understood, and it will help reader's like them more and feel as though they share an understanding of the world.

Put them in a dangerous situation

If your character is suddenly thrust into danger, your reader will start rooting for them to come through it unscathed. You could also create a scenario where something terrible happens to them, and they are grieving or trying to overcome the loss. We've all experienced bad things in our lives, and your character going through them will help readers resonate with them more.

Make them unique and exciting

Your character needs to have some unique traits and be a little quirky or do things that are a bit off the wall to get your reader's attention. Make sure that you hold your reader's attention by allowing your protagonist to act unusually.

Make them face their fears, overcome obstacles and make changes

We all go through life having to face setbacks and overcome challenges; we all have things we'd like to change about ourselves to be better. By giving your character similar struggles, you'll create great empathy among your readers and ensure they care about what happens to them as the story unfolds.

By using the above techniques, you can encourage readers to engage and empathize with your characters. So the next time you are working on character development, use the above to guide you. Good luck!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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