Zara Altair's Blog, page 14

Discovery Process on a Research Trip

Plan for No Plan My day job is ghostwriting. My current project is a thriller. The culmination of the story takes place at Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. 
Pictures, Google Maps, and other resources cannot replace the experience of being on site. 
The author had personal reasons for visiting over and above the story. She wanted to connect with relatives she had never met. I had several plot points I wanted to clarify.a place to hide the story's MacGuffinthe best place for the killer to attack the protagonistthe setting for the denouement where the evil mastermind is overcome by the protagonist Discovery Process We arrived in the evening with no set plans other than to walk all of the archeological site of Chichen Itza. Tired and hungry we met for dinner on the terrace of our hotel and spa. The evening air was warm, musicians played guitars, our dinner was delicious. The author went to the front desk to ask if they knew any tour guides who were in her related family. The host pointed to the musicians and said that one.
A few minutes later Jaime Uh Mar Rufo joined us at our table and the rest of the trip was filled with excursions.

The following morning we were up before sunrise to watch the sun come up over the Warrior Temple and the Chac-mool stone statue that held the head of the sacrificial ball team captain. While Jaime explained the mathematics of the Kukulkan Pyramid I was searching for the spot where the MacGuffin could hide in plain sight.
We continued our walk around the main site, learned about the incredible competitive ball games between competing communities, learned to recognize repeated symbols like the serpent, the jaguar, the eagle, and the monkey. I found the place to hide the MacGuffin. And, as we were leaving we saw the guards for the archeological site clustered in one place, making it much easier for my characters to sneak in at night.
We returned to the hotel for breakfast and invited Jaime to join us. He was a non-stop source of Mayan lore. At home he and members of his family speak Mayan, not Spanish.
After breakfast we continued our tour to the old city. For the first hour, no one else was with us while we spent time at the oldest building, Akab Dzib, the house of mysterious writing. Exploring the plants and trees and the nearby sink hole I found the site where the protagonist confronts the evil antagonist and wins. Two down, one to go. 
Hot and tired, we walked back and encountered the thousands of tourists that arrive each day streaming in to the archeological site. Along the trail back to the hotel, among the trees, I found the right spot for the hired killer to attack the protagonist and her group of friends.
The Extra Added Bonus Jaime teaching us to count with Mayan symbols. This piece of obsidian is either zero or twenty depending on whether the curved side is up or down. You'll learn more from your on site visits if you are friendly and happy. Ask questions and pay attention to answers so you can ask more questions. In another article on research I talk about the mind set for being open to learning from people you meet.
Being open to what people have to share leads to deepening your knwledge. It's the biggest benefit to doing on-site research. Because of our interest in natural healing and local plants, Jaime invited us to his home the following day to meet with his mother-in-law who is a local healer. He translated for us since she spoke no Spanish or English, only Mayan.
#wsite-video-container-460897851584099535{ background: url(//www.weebly.comhttp://www.zaraaltair.c... } #video-iframe-460897851584099535{ background: url(//cdn2.editmysite.com/images/util/video... } #wsite-video-container-460897851584099535, #video-iframe-460897851584099535{ background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position:center; } @media only screen and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and ( min-device-pixel-ratio: 2), only screen and ( min-resolution: 192dpi), only screen and ( min-resolution: 2dppx) { #video-iframe-460897851584099535{ background: url(//cdn2.editmysite.com/images/util/video... background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position:center; background-size: 70px 70px; } } The neighbors were celebrating a Hesme (Mayan baby blessing) with a party afterward and we were invited. Everyone was friendly, open, and welcoming.  I met and talked with the community wise man (Jaime translating). 
Stay Open to Experience Our research trip was a brief two days on site but I gathered so much material for the story. Things I never would have thought of without being there. Staying open and communicating clearly are two skills every author needs for the surprise discoveries an on site research trip provides.Plan ahead for basicsBe prepared for anythingStay open to offers from localsTake notesTake picturesOnce you are home write your scene descriptions using the material you gather on your on-site research adventure.

Zara Altair
Zara Altair writes mysteries set in ancient Italy. Argolicus thinks he has retired, but he and his tutor, Nikolaos are drawn into puzzles, politics, and murder.
She consults with a select group of writers as The Story Bodyguard.

The Malleable Author Bio

Your Author Bio and ReadersYour author bios are an important part of your book marketing package. Your bio is your introduction to the world as an author. Think of it as a news story not a memoir. The main point of your author bio is to get new readers for your books.

Your bio will be read by a number of different audiences.

Individual buyers and potential buyers
Journalists - editors, freelancers, reporters
Bloggers - like photographs
Reviewers
Retailers - both online and brick and mortar
Event planners - speaking circuit
Anyone who wants to promote you or your book - LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.

Each of those audiences is looking for information in a different way. Having a set of author bios is the best way to address the needs of those varying readers.
​Author Bios not One BioEvery author needs four biographies of different lengths.

The two-line bio - The size of a tweet or a bit longer. Who you are and genre.
Biotemplates illustrates two examples of short bios that reflect the tone and style of the author.

Norman Langford grew up spying on the neighbours and taking notes in a little black book. No surprise that he ended up writing spy novels!
Dr. Laura Smith has been writing on gender studies for over 20 years. Her research interests include mothering, gender roles and media representation of women.

2. Short: 50 word bio - Used for guest blogging, at the end of your own blog posts, or a press release for a new book. Who you are, your genre, and a title or two.
3. Medium: 100 word bio - Contributor pages in a print publications, social media profiles, etc. Who you are, your genre, a title or two, and a pertinent to your writing fact.
4. Long: 400-600 word bio - About me on your website.  This is your opportunity to illustrate the theme of your writing as well as list your all your books and literary achievements and awards.
Author David Amerland uses a theme based bio on his website written to intrigue readers with his line of books.
You can augment the about me biography with videos based on your protagonist. Crime writer Adrian McKinty mixes the favorite drink of his character, Sean Duffy.
If you plan on speaking either before large groups on on radio or television the best bio length is a 250-300 speaker introduction. Put in the basics and a few intriguing details (why people would want to hear your speak) but not as much detail as the Long bio. This length also works for your publisher author pages like Amazon, Nook, iBooks and the like.
The Malleable Bio - Change the Bio to Meet the AudienceI was chatting recently with award winning thriller writer Laurence O’Bryan about various places writers use their biography. I told him I have what I call my Malleable Bio. It’s the one I use most frequently which is the short 50-word bio.

Your bio is a marketing tool. In all marketing the buyer comes first. Using the base biography you can tweak it to the audience. For example, if you are guest blogging, take a look at the blog’s author’s readers. The target message for general book readers will be much more generic than for a thriller or romance oriented audience. You can add just a couple of words to zero in on that blog’s reader audience. The same goes for a bio for journals or newspapers in a press release. Or an audience for a speaking engagement.

As long as you have the base bio written, a few minutes and a few words will help your bio hit home with readers.
The Instant Marketing Tool​Modern literary criticism is based solely on the work itself without any details about the author. But readers love to know about you, the author. Give them a taste of your talent and personality. They don’t have to like you as a person, but they do need to be intrigued.

Wherever you are in your author journey, your author bios help you connect with your readers. If you don’t know where to start, read several bios by authors in your genre to get an idea of how to represent yourself. If you write in pen names in several categories, you need to create a set of bios for each of your names.

If your book is not released yet, now is the time to create your bios.
Get all your bios written. You can go back and tweak later. The main idea is to have those bios ready when someone asks.
Zara Altair
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Zara Altair writes mysteries set in ancient Italy. Argolicus thinks he has retired, but he and his tutor, Nikolaos are drawn into puzzles, politics, and murder.

The Murder Challenge in Argolicus Mysteries

​Image credit bbc.co.uk The Dual Laws The Argolicus Mysteries are set in early Sixth Century Italy. At that time the country was governed by two sets of laws. Native Italians (Romans) inherited a set a laws from the Roman Empire which had collapsed the century before. The Ostrogoths under King Theodoric held to their ancient tribal customs.
The Roman Rule Neither of these sets of laws held murder as a crime as we understand it. For the Italians, murder was a family matter and was settled usually without any sort of judicial finding by the family. Because murder was not a crime there was no legal recourse. The family could not call on what we would call a police force to investigate. The family was responsible for discovering who had committed the murder,

The extent of the investigation was mainly based on the family’s wealth. If they could afford to hire individuals outside of the family, they had that much more help in solving the murder. Poor families were left to their own devices and often murders went unsolved.

One exception to involving public officials was if the murder had a direct impact on the public good. However, the determination of the direct impact was decided by ruling officials.
The Ostrogoth Rule The ruling Ostrogoths valued human life according to position and station. If someone was murdered, the family was responsible for accusing the murderer. If the murderer was identified he had to pay a fine (wergild) to the family of the deceased. The tribal leader made the final decision. His throne was often a wooden chair covered by a bearskin. Underneath the bearskin was a human hide to remind him of his power over life and death. Once the wergild was paid, the matter was settled.
Argolicus and the Law Argolicus has the skills a family would need to find a murderer--patience, an analytical mind, and a willingness to listen. Because of the challenge to Italians with obtaining what they feel are right consequences, he also helps them make decisions about what to do once the murderer is identified.

As a writer, I need to guide the character through the discovery process and finding a solution with what to do once the murderer is identified.

Zara Altair 


​Zara Altair writes mysteries set in ancient Italy. Argolicus thinks he has retired, but he and his tutor, Nikolaos are drawn into puzzles, politics, and murder.

The Writing Magic of Brainstorming Scenes First

Brainstorm First, Organize Later​Writers want a story that is unlike any other. Brainstorming your scenes is a creative way to capture the essence of your story. The ideas go straight from your head into story scenes. Use old-fashioned 3x5 cards, tools like Scrivener, or just list them out in a document. Keep adding scenes until you have all the scenes of your story. 
You can move them around as you add scenes, but don't focus on this too much. The concept is to write down as many scenes as you can that will be part of your story.
The key to this process is that it is a brainstorming exercise. No judgment. If a scene comes to mind, add it to the list. You'll organize them later.
​Structure TimeAfter you have written your scenes, it's time to structure your story. It doesn't matter if you use The Hero's Journey, Save The Cat beats, or any one of a number of story structure devices. Different structures work best for different writers. 
Get your basic plot points. Here is novelist Kristen Kieffer's basic list.
• Exposition. The necessary character, setting, and background details readers need to understand the context of your novel. (Note: exposition is *not* the beginning of a novel, though most often exposition is revealed during the first few chapters in order to set the scene).
• Call-To-Action. The moment when the hero is called to leave the ordinary world to take part in an otherworldly adventure. Usually found in fantasy and science fiction novels.
• Rising Action. The series of events leading up to the climax of the story. 
• Crises. Peaks in tension or conflict that occur throughout the rising action of the novel.
• Climax. The most intense crisis found in the narrative, though not necessarily the final crisis.
• Falling Action. The series of events after the climax of the story where questions are answered and any remaining crises occur and are resolved.

• Resolution. The final moments of a novel where any remaining threads of tension are resolved and a new reality is established.

What matters is that you choose your structure so you can start adding scenes.

Place Your Scenes in the Structure FormatNow you can place your scenes in story order, according to your chosen plot structure. Use a cork board, software, or a document to order your scenes. Story Structure: The Container for Your ScenesAt this stage two things can happen:You find you have scenes missing to complete the full story structureScenes on your list don't seem to fit in the story structure​Now it's time to refine your structure. If important scenes are missing you can add them to complete the full cycle of your plot.
Take a look at those scenes that don't fit in the story structure. If you don't find a place for the scenes to move the story forward, it's time to let them go. Video TutorialSlideshow of BasicsRewards of Brainstorming and StructureWith the scenes in line with the structure, it's time to start writing.
The immense benefit of brainstorming the scenes is that you already know what happens. You don't have to stall wondering what comes next. You've already envisioned the scene.
You'll find that you can focus on writing, and that the writing will go swiftly. 
The process also eliminates spending hours of writing only to find your story has led to a dead end or you've boxed yourself in. The scene process, saves hours of rewrite time from writing "freeform."
You won't get lost. You can write the scenes in any order as your mood strikes, but in the end you'll complete your story without false starts or material that bogs down the story. Because you write more quickly, you'll save time creating your entire story. 
​
​Zara Altair
Author

Zara Altair writes mysteries set in ancient Italy. Argolicus thinks he has retired, but he and his tutor, Nikolaos are drawn into puzzles, politics, and murder.
She consults with a select group of writers as The Story Bodyguard.

Scene Editing to Grab Reader Attention

Indie authors are feeling a big push to produce as much as possible in the shortest time. Get those books up! Sell more!

At the same time your readers expect a great story rich in detail and emotional tugs. Sometimes when we rush to get the story done, those rich details get left behind as we follow the story outline or what comes next in our head.
Scene EssentialsIs it a proactive or reactive scene?Who is the main point-of-view character?How do they feel, what emotions are running through the POV character?Have you covered at least three of the five senses?What’s the setting? Have you given the reader a feel for the surroundings?Is the pacing balanced? Dialogue, Action, Narrative.
Next, Consider where your scene is in the overall story. Then, examine the elements of the scene and how it fits in the overall story line. If it doesn’t move the story forward, don’t spend more time editing or adding to the scene. Cut the scene.
Slow Down For Details Read through the scene so you can address all the scene elements. Once you have added what you think is appropriate, the last step is to check for balance within the scene.

If the story is moving slowly, add dialogue to speed it up.Use narrative of dialogue or a combination of the two to add character background. Be certain to refrain from information dump. Add a piece or two at a time.If the scene is mostly dialogue intersperse some action or narrative, or both.Use dialogue to get a character out of his or her head.If the scene is top heavy in one scene element--narrative, dialogue, action--balance it out by adding the other two elements A Better Story Equals More Sales Your readers may not know why a scene bothers them or slows them down or makes them stop reading, but the effect of missing details can lose readers. Taking the time to go through scene by scene will enliven your story and keep readers turning the pages.

Zara Altair

First Page Essentials

Hook Your Reader Now Image attribution ​eflon
The first page of your book is that first impression that doesn't get a second chance. Whether your reader is a bookstore browser or an agent, the first page is the introduction to the story.
Key elements of that introduction tell the reader about the story.Tone - dark, humorous, romantic, historical, etc. The reader is drawn to your writing voice.Character - Who is in your story? What are they like? Setting - Ground the reader in time and place. Characters, and stories, don't float in space. Immediacy - Don't dither. Get your reader into the story. Save long descriptions and narrative telling for later, if at all. Plunge them in. The adage for scenes--late in, early out--is primary on the first page. ​This is nothing new. Homer knew how to get attention right away. 
Homer Knew ​

​RAGE: Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage, Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks Incalculable pain, pitched countless souls Of heroes into Hades’ dark, And left their bodies to rot as feasts For dogs and birds, as Zeus’ will was done. Begin with the clash between Agamemnon-- The Greek warlord--and godlike Achilles. Which of the immortals set these two At each other’s throats? Apollo Zeus’ son and Leto’s, offended By the warlord. Agamemnon had dishonored Chryses, Apollo’s priest, so the god Struck the Greek camp with plague, And the soldiers were dying of it.

That's just the first 15 lines of the Illiad. The reader knows the theme: RAGE. Achilles is the character. Bodies rotting. Gods. War. Emotion. 
​Modern readers may want a different style, but the elements are the same.

Immediacy If you think immediacy  your first page will draw the reader to keep reading. Get your character in action. Give them something to say. Without being heavy handed or long-winded, show (yes, don't tell) your reader where they are and when. Give your character an obstacle that shows the reader how they react. 
Save physical details, long setting description, and thoughtful passages for later. Your goal in the first page is to get the reader into the story as quickly as possible.
Give your reader a taste of your story.
Here's the first passage in The Roman Heir. Do you think it meets first page criteria? Leave a comment.

“You see,” Boethius said, leaning toward Argolicus in a confidential manner, “Rome is a closed community. When someone like you whose family lineage is not from one of the great families of Rome and as a newcomer attempts to take on a centuries-old Roman position, you set yourself up for strife. You are wise to retire, go back to your provincial Bruttia and live as local nobility.”
Argolicus watched from the palatial villa on top of the Caelian Hill gentle snowflakes fall on the city and the forum below. He stood on a balcony where Boethius had led him just minutes before. Behind them loomed a grand study filled with manuscripts and books. Boethius carefully peeled an apple, the skin curling off onto the floor at his feet.  Argolicus knew everything Boethius was saying and they echoed his reasons for leaving. He also knew Boethius, so he waited for him to get to the point.
“The same talents that make you a good judge,” Boethius continued, “hamper your political power. You read people, you consider all possibilities, you listen carefully to all sides, you weigh outcomes. In politics you must make a decision, move quickly, ignore repercussions, and strike.” ​

Check Out Your Favorite Authors Select five of your favorite reads and examine the first page. Identify the elements that brought you into the story...and kept you there.
Here are a couple of mine. The text is copyrighted so go to the Amazon page and Look Inside.
Adrian McKinty - A Cold, Cold Ground 
​Amory Towles - A Gentleman in Moscow

You may find yourself editing the first page more than once. The best touchstone for your first page is that it brings your reader into the story. 

​Zara Altair

A Roman Tutor in the Time of the Ostrogoths

Nikolaos and Argolicus The tutor, Nikolaos, plays a main role in the Argolicus Mysteries. He sees the world from a different and more worldly perspective than Argolicus, often noticing things the cerebral Argolicus misses. 
His role is traditional and at the same time unusual for the period. Argolicus is a high-standing Roman citizen but he is not part or elite Roman society. He grew up in the country of southern Italy and was rich with land. Although his family was well off, they were isolated from the elite far away in Rome. Children in this situation received their education from tutors who had a favored status within the household.
Tutor Function Tutors were usually slaves, often from Greece, who were able to instill a Classical education in Greek and Latin. Argolicus was fortunate because his teacher educated him in geography, philosophy, literature, mythology, and geometry as well. These subjects were considered at the time the basis, along with rhetoric, for training as an orator or Senator. ​
Nikolaos is unique in that he teaches classical Greek athletics as well. Roman culture looked down on athletics as something only soldiers learned. This training gets Argolicus out of some scrapes that other Romans might not know. On the other hand, Argolicus is not armed, because under the rule of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric, Romans (Italians) were forbidden by law to carry arms in public. Tutor Role After Childhood Tutors were treated almost family members, even as slaves, and often stayed with their protege long after he reached adulthood. Most, like Nikolaos, served as secretary in the same way Cicero's Tiro centuries before. Nikolaos takes copious notes at meetings and serves as a second pair of eyes observing what goes on while Argolicus is engaged in conversation.
History and Fiction Although Argolicus was a real person mentioned several times in Cassiodorus' Variae, the details of his personal life. are unknown. His tutor, Nikolaos, is a fictional character who has encouraged a love of literature and a rational mind in his pupil and lifelong friend.
Because, in the stories, Argolicus grew up with Cassiodorus I can easily imagine a scene like that in the illustration here of the two boys studying together with their tutors. 
​Zara Altair

3 Shortcuts to Learning Story

Read to Write Reading is the inspiration for many writers to begin their own, writing career. For me it was reading and meeting an author when I was five. That's what I want to do, was my childhood thought. Creating stories seemed like such a magical way to live a life. 
As an adult, the hard truth hit that having a story idea and creating a story is a path fraught with pitfalls. When I  read my first short stories now, I am embarrassed at how they lacked story. Yep, those old tropes like a beginning, middle, and end, not to mention character revelation, action, description, and a story line that engages the reader.
Yes, there were scenes that even today can bring me to tears, but the story just did not hang together. What's a writer to do? Learn story. The best and most lasting way to learn story is to go into other stories.  For fiction writers, there are three excellent ways to experience story.Read booksListen to booksWatch films However many posts (like this one, alas), software and online tools you gather they won't help you as much as diving into other stories. Focus On Good Writers In and Out of Your Genre Reading books from the perspective of a writer is much different than as a reader. Once you begin the journey of writing you begin to notice things that an average reader does not.The beginning - the first sentence, the hook, and the setupCharacter arcs - not just the protagonist, but every characterDescription - all five senses and what you need to fill in as the readerThe all-important Middle - how does the author keep your attention? What are the tension elements?The antagonist - how is the antagonist developedPoint of view and why the author chose 1st person or 3rdTone - is it even throughout? Does it match the genre?The ending Yes, every element.
As you keep reading, you begin to start comparing your writing--in a good way. Would you use that plot device? Would your character have that flaw?
As you continue reading with a critical eye, you begin to see how writers, even major writers, have flaws. This is where it drags. I don't believe that character would naturally perform that action or say those words.
​The more you read, the better you understand story.  Audiobooks and the Moments in Time I used to have a book in different rooms--the bedroom, the kitchen, the living room. Now that I listen to audiobooks, I usually have one reading book in the bedroom and listen to audio books on my mobile device. 
​Applications like audible allow you to listen to books with some very dynamic readers. As you listen to the story, you can bookmark a passage with annotations like fight scene, forest description, interior monolog, deep point of view, etc. These bookmarks help later when you are constructing a certain passage in your story.
Because audio books are on a mobile device you can listen while cooking, gardening, walking the dog, driving and many other activities of daily life that would keep you from sitting down with a book. 
​I've increased my fiction "reading" since I started using audio books several years ago. The Basics of Story: Movies Screenwriters struggle with story basics like how to keep the middle from sagging the same way novelists do. Because films are a collaborative project scripts are the skeleton for the story that allows for interpretation from directors, actors, set designers, lighting engineers, etc. But, story basics are key to a good film.
Unlike a novel which may take hours or days to read from beginning to end, a movie is two hours or less of time. And you can spend this time with friends and family as a diversion from your solitary writing time.
Those two hours are filled with sparks for ideas: plot twists, supporting character arcs, subplots, character reveals, and the crucial elements of story getting from the beginning to the end.
​The same is true for film as well as books, watch in your genre and outside of your genre to see how story is constructed. ​Books, Audio Books, Film ​As writers, we can always improve our craft. Learning from other writers builds an accumulation of skill points that cannot be matched. Balance your writing time by learning from others.

If you are a first time writer, developmental editing can help you strengthen your story structure. Check out my content editing service on Reedsy.
​Zara Altair

The Geni.us of Going Global

[image error] Invite Global Readers to Get Your Books Geni.us creates links that send someone to the Amazon store nearest them. If you have a reader in the U.K., and they click the link, they will be taken to Amazon.uk not the U.S. store. The same for Japan, or Germany, or India, etc. 

For example, people in 21 different countries have clicked my link to The Used Virgin.

Just grab the amazon link to your ebook and geni.us will create a unique url link for your book. Advanced features offer A/B testing or just identifying links for Twitter, Facebook, or your website.

Any way that you can make it easier for a reader to get your book is a great convenience for readers all over the world. 

Watch the tutorial to see how the link works.

Geni.us provides data on each link so you can track countries and clicks for each book. Although my book is written in English, it has appeal for people interested in Italy. Readers have clicked the geni.us link and received the book straight from Amazon.it.

Features just for authors Geni.us has recently upgraded. One of the new features is just for authors. You can link to your books and your author page. 

If you are interested in broadening your readership, a link that goes to the readers nearest country makes it super convenient. 

​Zara Altair

Cool Tools for Indie Authors at Pronoun

Tools you can usePronoun is an ebook publishing site for independent authors. Aside from creating an .epub file for your book, Pronoun has a number of useful toolssales reportsreview reportscategory picker comparisonscover comparisonadd previously published books and receive notificationsConvenience Means More Writing TimeMarketing is a major component of an indie author's time. Most of use would prefer to be writing. Any tool that facilitates the marketing side means more time for writing.
Pronoun's  free book formatter is easy to use. If you've ever spent hours on Scrivener or Jutoh trying to get everything to coordinate correctly, the free formatter does all the heavy lifting. 
The category suggestions is a great tool for refining the categories specific to your book. Based on keywords the tool offers several categories.
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​ The cover comparison is my favorite tool. Once you upload your cover image to Pronoun you can visually compare it to other covers in your categories. For each category the tool shows your cover side by side with other covers in the category. You can compare to traditionally published covers in your genre and to independently published covers. 
Each time you click more covers the software brings up new covers in the category for comparison. Does your cover stand out?Does it meet the tropes of your genre/category?Is it cluttered, too dark?Is it cluttered or hard to read?Does it feel like the other covers in your genre so readers know right away without reading one word the feeling they'll get reading your book?Your cover is your primary, number one marketing tool. It's the first way new readers discover your book with online publishers. This tool will help you visualize how it compare with other cover in your genre/category currently on the market.
Many Ways to Ebook Publishing KnowledgeHere's a complete list of the tools you can use on Pronoun:
Publishing Notifications
Conversion Notifications
Category Suggestions
Top 100 List Notifications
Sales Updates
Review Notifications
Amazon Rank Updates
Account and Product Updates
Trending Books
Onboarding Emails
Book Page Visits

You can add previously published ebooks to your personal library. You'll receive notices like sales and reviews on these books as well.

I have no relationship with Pronoun other than using it. I'm sharing the information because the tools help you keep track of data all in one place.

​Zara Altair
Need help getting your manuscript crisp? Get in touch now for content editing. zara@zaraaltair.com