Angela Ackerman's Blog: Writers Helping Writers, page 105

And…Action! Applying TV Lessons to Chapter Hooks

[image error]We’ve probably all heard the advice to end our scenes and chapters on a hook. At the end of every scene or chapter, readers might put down our book and decide against picking it up again, so it’s important to know how we can keep readers interested. Hooks can ensure readers desperately want to stick around to see what happens next.

In that post I linked to above, I shared how we can make the last sentence of every scene stronger. Today, I want to build on those ideas and see what we can learn for our writing by looking at how TV shows build hooks into the end of every act.

How Is TV Writing like Novel Writing?

Just as readers might put down a book at the end of every scene, every commercial break in a TV show can prompt viewers to change the channel. So TV writers structure their stories into acts, one between each commercial break.

TV acts are different from novel acts, which are usually a simple beginning, middle, and end three-act structure. TV-style acts are closer to how we write scenes. (In fact, ad-free shows often still feel like they should have commercial breaks because of this structure.)

Whether for TV or written stories, hooks are an opportunity to make our readers sit up and take notice. While not every scene should end with a “dun dun dun” twist, we should make sure we have enough hooks throughout our story to strengthen the narrative drive, increase the pace, and keep readers engaged.

[image error]What Hooks Do TV Acts Use?

Let’s take a look at the types of hooks found in TV shows—some that are commonly used in novels and some that aren’t—and see if they give us ideas for our stories:

Appearance of Imminent Failure: Hooks that leave the characters facing an immediate threat of failure: knocked unconscious, notification of another serial killer victim, etc.

These are one of the most dramatic types of hooks, so we want to save them for when our story deserves it—such as the major beats, especially the Black Moment or Climax—or else our writing can veer too close to melodrama.
Reveal that Changes Perception: Hooks that change everything the characters (or audience) thought they knew: mistaken identity, surprise answer, etc.

These are also very dramatic hooks that we don’t want to overdo. They’re especially good to use when we want to drastically change the direction of our story.
Vow to Move Forward: Hooks that show the moment after the “imminent failure” sense of doom or the “reveal that changes everything,” when characters throw caution to the wind because they have no other choice: ignoring orders, taking a risk, etc.

These hooks are great to use when we think showing characters bonding or making sacrifices will be more emotionally resonant to readers than the “dun dun dun” of the moment before.
Reminder of Stakes: Hooks that focus on the consequences lying in wait for the characters: someone needs rescuing or they’ll die, find the bad guy or be attacked, etc.

The “ticking clock” aspect of these hooks helps escalate the stakes and increase the pace with less of a risk of melodrama (usually).
Jump to Another Point of View: Hooks that are the literary equivalent of zooming out to show the killer stalking the characters.

Transitioning to another point of view wouldn’t help us end a scene, but this style of hook can be used like a cliffhanger at the end of a chapter, with just a snippet after the end of the main scene.
Hint of an Epiphany: Hooks that show a character’s had an epiphany but doesn’t yet show what they’ve discovered: answer to the mystery, figured out their feelings, etc.

These hooks are good when a story question is about to be answered, but we want to drag it out through one more chapter break. These are typically a no-more-than-once-a-story type of hook, however, as they can feel “cheap.”

For each of those different hook categories, we can also change up the style, depending on our focus, such as:

Emotional: the hook leaves them reeling, distraught, worried, determined, etc.
Countdown: the hook escalates the tension, worry, dread, etc.
Opposites: the hook plays out opposite from expected—can also be played for humor: a vow of “I won’t do X,” and jump to them doing X, etc.
Bling: the hook is written in a flashy (often fragment and punctuation-heavy) style: “She wouldn’t let it happen. Not. A. Chance.”

While TV writing is different from novel writing, we might be able to find inspiration for our stories from the TV side. Next time you watch a TV show, pay attention to how each act ends and see if it helps you with ideas. *smile*

Do you have any questions about hooks—or have other TV-style hooks to share?

[image error]After muttering writing advice in tongues, Jami decided to put her talent for making up stuff to good use. Fueled by chocolate, she creates writing resources and writes award-winning paranormal romance stories where normal need not apply. Just ask her family—and zombie cat.

Find out more about Jami here, hang out with her on social media, or visit her website and Goodreads profile.

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Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Referee + Emotion Thesaurus Kindle Deal

Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your story, they might be trying to get that job or are already working in the field. Whatever the situation, as with any defining aspect for your character, you’ll need to do the proper research to be able to write that career knowledgeably.

Enter the Occupation Thesaurus. Here, you’ll find important background information on a variety of career options for your character. In addition to the basics, we’ll also be covering related info that relates to character arc and story planning, such as sources of conflict (internal and external) and how the job might impact basic human needs, thereby affecting the character’s goals. It’s our hope that this thesaurus will share some of your research burden while also giving you ideas about your character’s occupation that you might not have considered before.

[image error]Occupation: Referee

Overview: Referees oversee sporting events to ensure the rules are being followed, good sportsmanship is upheld, and the players are kept safe. Officials are needed at various levels, from professional sports to college to high school and intramurals. Those refereeing intramural sports and community games for kids may be relatively untrained—high school or college students with knowledge of the particular sport—making this a viable job option not only for adults but for young people as well.

Necessary Training: A high-school diploma or equivalent is required to ref in most official capacities. Specific training is also necessary and might be offered through a college or sports organization. Certain registrations and certifications often have to be met as well. Candidates tend to start out at the lower level—overseeing high school or minor league sporting events, for instance, before moving upward.

Useful Skills, Talents, or Abilities: Enhanced hearing, exceptional memory, multitasking, predicting the weather, swift-footedness

Helpful Character Traits:

POSITIVE: Alert, calm, cooperative, decisive, disciplined, honest, honorable, just, objective, observant, professional, responsible

NEGATIVE: Confrontational, humorless, perfectionist

Sources of Friction: Being injured on the job, making a mistake that determines the outcome of a game, being threatened or stalked by an angry fan, working the field with an incompetent referee, difficulty remembering certain rules or consequences, not staying up-to-date on new rules and regulations, personal bias that leads to prejudicial decisions, losing one’s cool with a perturbed player, difficult work hours that make it hard to develop romantic relationship, frequent travel taking one away from family, getting used to calling the shots at work and struggling to turn that off at home, a diagnosis of chronic illness or pain that makes it difficult to work, loving one’s job but struggling financially, being unable to move upward and reach one’s preferred level, lacking discipline and losing the physical fitness necessary to do the job well

People They Might Interact With: players, coaches, other referees, facilities personnel (groundskeepers, maintenance people, stadium managers, janitorial staff), parents (at the lower levels)

How This Occupation Might Impact One’s Basic Needs:

Self-Actualization: This need might take a hit for a referee who is unable to coach their desired sport or at the level they would like.
Esteem and Recognition: Refs are typically pursuing a passion, which makes the job worthwhile despite the lower compensation. But those for whom financial status is important may struggle with their esteem when they compare themselves with others.
Love and Belonging: Refs work evenings and weekends, and many of them travel to do so. This kind of schedule can put a strain on one’s closest relationships, making it difficult to find love and belonging.
Safety and Security: Referees get hit in contact sports all the time, making it a career where injuries are more likely to happen. If an incident makes it impossible for the referee to work and provide for himself and his family, this need may become compromised.
Physiological Needs: Sports fans are some of the most passionate people out there. If one of them believes that the official threw a game or was the cause of their team’s loss and comes after him or her, their very life could be endangered.

Common Work-Related Settings: Airplane, airport, community center, dorm room, fitness center, gymnasium, hotel room, sporting event stands

Twisting the Fictional Stereotype: 

This career is definitely male-centric; while women are making their way slowly into the field, they’re very rare. A female ref could provide the twist you’re looking for.
Refs also tend to be straight-laced and by-the-book. One who was flamboyant, mischievous, or overly nervous would stand out.
Instead of falling back on the traditionally popular sports for your ref, consider one with less visibility, such as rugby, lacrosse, roller derby, or wrestling.

Visit the other Occupations in our collection HERE.

PSST! Are you a Canadian Writer?

If so, Amazon has a kindle deal on right now where you can scoop up The Emotion Thesaurus for $3.99. Go Canada!

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Five Ways To Maintain Book Buzz While Writing and Managing Post-Pub Life

All writers know it’s a challenge to keep our book in the spotlight after the rush of a book launch has passed. Author Lizbeth Meredith passes on 5 suggestions to focus on as you work on your next book.

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For ninety days following my memoir’s release, I had the fierce support of my PR team. They had pumped me full of positivity, put me front and center on big book lists, nominated me for awards, and made it seem that despite the near million books released that year, mine was the only one that mattered.

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 And then it ended. I felt like a toddler thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool.

But I’m a dog-paddler. I’ve always needed a life-preserver.

Like most writers, I have a day job and other commitments. My struggle was not unique.

How would I maintain the buzz about my book?  How do we writers learn to become our own marketing maestros after the launch is over?

At first, I froze. But through trial and error, I found a system that’s fit neatly into my life. Here are five tips to help you grow your audience after your book has launched.

1) Actively engage in social media.

I interact on two social media channels (Twitter and Facebook) and post at least four times a week about my writing life. On Twitter, I also try to retweet other authors’ work and often they return the favor, introducing my work to new readers. As I build relationships, I may be asked to do blog interviews by them.

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On my Facebook author page, I post events, accomplishments, and writing tools and resources. Now and then, I’ll share a picture of a character in my book or something else of interest to my specific readers. Membership in a few private author Facebook groups has resulted in new friendships, support, and a fountain of ideas and advice.  We Love Memoirs and Women Writers, Women’s Books have been a good fit for me.

To find the right groups for you and your genre, do a few keyword searches, and make a point of engaging with the group rather than simply boasting about your work or posting your blogs. You can do some of that, but it shouldn’t be the only reason why you join a group.

2) Join HARO (Help a Reporter Out).

This free subscription sends 3 emails a day out from journalists looking for sources on all topics, including subjects which tie into your book. You could be that source!

[image error]It may take a while to find the right gig to pitch, but keep trying. It will come. It took a year before I’d mastered pitching to source opportunities. Now, I skim their emails on work breaks, looking for topics related to my book like domestic violence or post-traumatic stress disorder. I later expanded my searches and answered requests for sources on women over 50 with a side hustle and single parenting advice, topics covered in my upcoming books. Some of the places I’ve been mentioned are Reader’s Digest and Tonic (Canada), Deseret News, Mamapedia, and Thriveworks. Often, my full name is mentioned in the article with a link to my book or author website. And each time I’m a source, I post the interview link to social media and add it to my website’s news link and about page.

3) Publish essays on diverse topics in a variety of places.  

Conventional wisdom is to write essays about themes in your published book to introduce the right sort of readers to your writing and draw them to your website. And while my memoir is a work I’m proud of, my life now has more dimension than being a survivor of domestic violence and international child abduction, so while I tackle those topics, I also craft essays about writing, publishing, and parenting adult kids. Each time one’s been published, I’m contacted by new readers and sometimes see a spike in my sales. And how do I celebrate this? By mentioning it on social media and adding it to my website, of course!

4) Blog.

I began blogging years before my book was published. Because I have a busy day job, I am only able to post about twice a month, and one of those posts is often an author interview that will fit my reader’s interests. Knowing my target audience–people who enjoy stories about an underdog that prevails–helps me decide who in my author peer group I ought to host.

Interviews are great for the author, nice for the reader, and will draw new readers to my own work as my guests will publicize the post through their own social media channels. Doing this successfully also landed me my own interview through HARO about attracting guest bloggers to my website.

5) Listen to podcasts for continuing education.

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The year before my book released my publisher, She Writes Press, insisted their authors participate in monthly author calls about every aspect of publishing. This was very helpful. I’ve continued to swap ideas with author friends on private Facebook groups post-publication, and rely on the podcasts for help with writing techniques, changes in the publishing world, and opportunities for creative marketing. Here are a few of the excellent ones I follow:

The Author Biz
The Creative Penn
The Taylor Stevens Show
Smarty Pants Book Marketing Podcast

And when it’s a particularly valuable podcast, I pass on that link to others.

My memoir will turn two soon and my efforts have paid off. Sales have remained steady and the promotion process has opened doors for new opportunities for writing and speaking events.

In today’s flooded market, getting attention for your book is more challenging than ever. I hope these tips help you as they have helped me, allowing time to both grow my platform and work toward my next book’s release.

[image error]What tricks have you learned to keep the buzz alive about your book(s)?

Lizbeth Meredith‘s memoir, Pieces of Me: Rescuing My Kidnapped Daughters, has won the silver medal for memoir in the 2018 Reader’s Favorites Book Award and is now available as an audiobook. Her work has appeared in Feminine Collective, Author’s Publish, and in Jane Friedman’s blog. You can find her at her website, on Twitter (@LizbethMeredith,) and on Facebook.

[image error]Pieces of Me: Rescuing My Kidnapped Daughters recounts the author’s two year struggle to bring home her internationally abducted daughters from Greece to Alaska. It’s the story of a 29 year-old woman whose life was marked by domestic violence and childhood kidnapping who faced a $100,000 problem on a $10 an hour budget.

More than simply a missing children’s story, Pieces of Me is also the story of the generous community in Anchorage, Alaska and a growing support system in Greece who joined Lizbeth’s efforts to make the impossible a reality.

For further help with marketing, we recommend:

Build Book Buzz (an excellent site full of marketing tips)

How Authors Can Find Their Ideal Reading Audience  (Jane Friedman’s blog)

How to Find and Reach Influencers to Help Promote Your Book  (Jane Friedman’s blog)

Need Online Exposure? Asking Bloggers For Help (Writers Helping Writers)

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Where’s Your Edge?

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Some of my most enjoyable teaching experiences were with my friends Donald Maass and Christopher Vogler doing Story Masters, a four-day immersion in the craft of fiction.

For my day of instruction, I started off showing a clip from the amusing Albert Brooks film, The Muse. It’s the story of a middle-aged screenwriter facing a career crisis (which, in Hollywood, is almost redundant). Early on, Brooks is having lunch with a studio honcho who is about fifteen years his junior. Brooks has submitted an action script and wants feedback. The exchange goes like this:

[image error] Honcho: Let me put this in a form that’s not insulting, because I tend to be too direct. All my friends tell me that. The script’s no good.

Brooks: That’s the form that’s not insulting? What would the insulting form be?

Honcho: What’s wrong with the script … is you. You’ve lost your edge.

*Insert Brooks’ practically trademarked existential-angst expression*

Honcho: Oh, and the studio needs you to vacate your office so Brian De Palma can have it.

Brooks: You can’t give Brian De Palma my office!.

Honcho: It’s not really your office. We’re all just using space here. I’m where Lucille Ball used to be.

Brooks: Too bad you’re not where she is now.

In short, the lunch does not go well.

After the clip, I told the class part of the reason they were at Story Masters was to avoid ever being subjected to a conversation like that. How? By finding and keeping their edge. Which every writer has, by the way. The challenge is to dig it out and give if form on the page.

Just what is the edge? It’s you. It’s what sets you apart from every other writer. You are a unique human being, a package of singular experiences, passions, joys … not to mention DNA. The trick to this edge business is marrying your distinctiveness with craft mastery and an overall strategy for your novel.

Yeah, that’s all.

I then showed the students a quote from a former acquisitions editor at Penguin, Marian Lizzi. She was writing about the things that cause a house to say no to a manuscript. One of these is that the book is not “remarkable/surprising/unputdownable enough”:

This one is the most difficult to articulate – and yet in many ways it’s the most important hurdle to clear. Does the proposal get people excited? Will sales reps and buyers be eager to read it – and then eager to talk it up themselves? As my first boss used to warn us green editorial assistants two decades ago, the type of submission that’s the toughest to spot – and the most essential to avoid — is the one that is “skillful, competent, literate, and ultimately forgettable.” 

These words are more important now than ever. We all know about the “tsunami of content” competing for attention and repeat business, even though so much of it is (how do I put this in a form that’s not insulting?) no good.

However, a lot of it is good. Over the last nearly quarter-century of teaching the craft, I’ve seen the level of competent fiction rise significantly. With all of the teaching and critique-grouping and editor/agent-paneling and craft books and blogs out there, anyone with a minimal amount of talent—and a whole lot of grit—can learn to write competent fiction.

Which means we have to be more than good to stand out from the morass. The edge is critical to getting us there.

An old preacher once told his ministerial students that a sermon is no good unless it makes the congregation sad, mad, or glad. There is much truth in that. So try this exercise:

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Write down three things that make you sad, three that make you mad, and three that make you glad. (Note: just for variety, try skipping anything political this time around!)

Next, take each of these nine items and write one page about why you feel this way. Go deep. Use your life experiences, how you were raised, what you’ve observed, specific scenes from your past. You never have to show these pages to anyone, so rant and rave and cry all you want. Hot tears forge sharp edges.

You now have nine pages of emotional information, unique to you.

When you develop your main characters, give them a set of sad, mad, and glad responses. They don’t have to overlap yours, but certainly may. Now create backstory to justify each feeling, keeping at it until you feel it too.

Your edge will emerge. Follow it, put it in the sinew of your characters and the tension of your scenes. If you do that, there will be no need for an uncomfortable lunch.

You can finish your book instead.

What are some of the things you do to push your writing past the merely competent?

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Jim is the author of the #1 bestseller for writers, Plot & Structure, and numerous thrillers, including, Romeo’s Rules, Try Dying and Don’t Leave Me. His popular books on fiction craft can be found here. His thrillers have been called “heart-whamming” (Publishers Weekly) and can be browsed here. Find out more about Jim on our Resident Writing Coach page, and connect with him online.

Twitter

 

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Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Recruiter

Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your story, they might be trying to get that job or are already working in the field. Whatever the situation, as with any defining aspect for your character, you’ll need to do the proper research to be able to write that career knowledgeably.

Enter the Occupation Thesaurus. Here, you’ll find important background information on a variety of career options for your character. In addition to the basics, we’ll also be covering related info that relates to character arc and story planning, such as sources of conflict (internal and external) and how the job might impact basic human needs, thereby affecting the character’s goals. It’s our hope that this thesaurus will share some of your research burden while also giving you ideas about your character’s occupation that you might not have considered before.

[image error]Occupation: Recruiter

Overview: A recruiter is a human resource specialist who seeks out, vets, and interviews potential job candidates for the management to consider for a specific position before referring them onward. They may be a recruiter within their own company (an internal recruiter) who looks to fill positions that come up, or they may be hired as a third party by a firm, tasked to look for potential matches for a particular job placement (an external recruiter). These individuals tend to be well-connected and tech-savvy, using Linked In, social media and special databases they have access to when they search for potential job candidates. If one is found they then will reach out to see if the person is interested in the position (regardless if they are currently employed or not). This type of recruiter is also known as a headhunter.

People might recruit for a business, a big project (like a new condo or office building high rise build), do executive searches for a CEO, CIO or another high-level executive position, recruit athletes for a sports agency or university, seek enlistees for the military, or many other areas.

People looking for work may also seek out a headhunter in hopes of finding employment quicker. They do not pay for this service as the headhunter will be paid by the business they are contracted to should there be a suitable match.

Necessary Training: To become a recruiter most require a bachelor’s degree in human resources or business administration. There may be certification programs that one must finish prior to being hired as a recruiter.

Recruiters must be extremely detail-oriented, observant, and learn the art of influence. Because recruiters can succeed or fail on reputation, being honest and building trust with their business clients and prospective candidates is key. They should be determined to find the best match possible every time, not just fill positions with whomever has a passing fit. Depending on their resources, they may invest time and money “wooing” a particular client to secure a contract with that company.

Paying attention to the little things, and being an expert in the ability to perform well in an interview room, a recruiter will use their skills to help a candidate. For example, should they know what a prospective employer is passionate about aside from work, they may, upon discovering a candidate has the same interest, suggest this might be beneficial to bring up during the meeting as a way to form a bond in the interview room. However, this must be done authentically and in the right situation, not as a way to encourage an employer to overlook the faults and shortcomings of a mediocre match.

Useful Skills, Talents, or Abilities: A knack for languages, a knack for making money, charm, empathy, enhanced hearing, ESP (clairvoyance), exceptional memory, gaining the trust of others, good listening skills, haggling, hospitality, making people laugh, multitasking, promotion, reading people, writing

Helpful Character Traits:

POSITIVE: Adaptable, ambitious, analytical, charming, confident, cooperative, courteous, diplomatic, discreet, easygoing, efficient, extroverted, friendly, honest, honorable, hospitable, industrious, intelligent, loyal, observant, organized, patient, perceptive, persuasive, proactive, professional, resourceful

NEGATIVE: obsessive, perfectionist, workaholic

Sources of Friction: a prospective job candidate that lies about their qualifications (and only discovering this after they have been placed with a company), a job candidate who has an impressive resume but does sub par work (or is lazy, entitled, or is high maintenance in some way, etc.), being asked to loosen one’s standards or fast track sourcing in order to gain the fee (perhaps because the recruitment firm is struggling financially), placing a candidate with a company only to discover later discovering some unethical meddling was involved to encourage the candidate to switch companies, one’s reputation being damaged because other recruiters working within the same company are lazy or unethical with their placements

People They Might Interact With: CEOs, CIOs, COOs and other executives at different companies, prospective candidates being interviewed, social media managers, technology specialists, delivery people, other recruiters

How This Occupation Might Impact One’s Basic Needs:

Esteem and Recognition: constantly placing others in industries that constitute one’s “dream job” might cause a recruiter character to question their own path and make them feel like they settled in their career, leading to lower self-worth


Safety and Security: If a character becomes embroiled in an ethics review due to poor hiring practices in their recruitment firm, this could cause them to lose their job or struggle to move to another firm because their reputation is stained, regardless if they were involved or not

Common Work-Related Settings: boardroom

Twisting the Fictional Stereotype: Recruiters in fiction can be portrayed as not being ethical or being willing to do anything to secure a commission, but in an industry where reputation is everything, mistreating clients or letting them down by providing candidates who look good on paper but who are not great fits for the job will only hurt the recruiter’s practice. A recruiter who is good at what they do will take the time to really get to know a clients needs and strive to bring them exactly what they need, time after time.

Visit the other Occupations in our collection HERE.

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Distribution: Should You Go Wide or Narrow?

How should I distribute my books? Do I stick with one marketplace and possibly limit my options, or do I diversify and risk spreading myself too thin? These are questions every author struggles with. Dave Chesson is here to discuss the pros and cons of both options.

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One of the most controversial ongoing debates in the writer world is the decision of whether to go wide or narrow. Going wide refers to placing one’s books in multiple stores, while staying narrow means focusing on a single platform. Some authors are passionate advocates of one stance or the other.

Personally, I believe either approach can work, if carried out in the right way. Today, I’d like to share with you the main arguments for staying narrow, the pros of going wide, and how to make the right decision for your situation. It’s a decision with important consequences for your book sales, so please approach it with care.

Arguments For Focusing On A Single Market

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By choosing to place your books for sale in one marketplace only, you can enjoy the following benefits:

Access to exclusive programs, such as Kindle Unlimited, that you can’t access if you choose to go wide
You save time. A single market means only one set of sales reports to check, one place to monitor your book’s rankings, and one in-marketplace author platform to maintain.
Only one set of competitors to monitor
You can focus all efforts on getting reviews at the time of launch in a single place

If you’re an English language author, you might consider Amazon for your choice of single platform. According to an Author Earnings report from February of 2017, Amazon accounts for more than 80% of English-language ebook purchases, Apple another 10%, Kobo 2%, and Nook 3%. Amazon also has the advantage of being in the physical ereader space itself.

Perhaps the main reason for focusing on a single market is the opportunity to master it rather than simply dabbling in it. As Chandler Bolt said while sharing his thoughts on writing a book:

“But you can’t simply publish your book and expect people to find it. Instead, you need to dedicate some time to mastering the publishing and marketing processes. This is the only way to make sure that your book makes its way into the hands of the people who will benefit from reading your words.”

Seeing as the publishing and marketing process described above differs for every book marketplace out there, going wide increases the learning curve you will experience. Being able to learn the ins and outs of a single market is one of the best arguments for staying narrow.

Arguments For Going Wide

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Now that we’ve looked at the reasons you may wish to focus on a single market, let’s consider the other perspective and examine the arguments for going wide. By placing your books for sale in more than one online marketplace, you benefit from

Diversifying your risk. Sometimes, authors find their accounts are banned from particular marketplaces. By having your books in multiple locations, you protect against suddenly losing all your revenue if something happened to your account.
Protecting your stability. If you leave yourself at the mercy of a single marketplace, you are powerless if they change their royalty rates or other terms. Diversifying your marketplaces protects against fluctuation due to changing terms. (As an example of how payment rates can fluctuate over time, check out this excellent post at Rogerpacker.com—particularly that first graphic.) By limiting your book to an exclusive program, you have to be prepared to experience this type of change.
Accessing a greater number of potential readers. Some people will only use one marketplace or another, so limiting yourself to a single market ensures there are some readers you will never reach.
Discovering which marketplaces work best. Some of your books will naturally do better from in different places a different times. By offering your books on multiple platforms, you give yourself the freedom to invest more of your time and attention into the marketplace which is performing best at any given time.

Be aware that going wide requires you to invest more of your time and to juggle more balls at once than staying narrow. However, this can be mitigated by using the Draft2Digital or Smashwords distribution services, both of which handle the hassle of going wide in exchange for a percentage of your royalties.

Author David Kudler presents his experience and those of his fellow authors after going wide in the following quantified way:

“Most “wide” indie and self-publishers report that sales on Amazon represent 60%–85% of their ebook revenue. Myself, last year, I earned 62% of my ebook royalties through Kindle sales. In my most Amazon-slanted years I’ve earned about 80% of my ebook income from Jeff Bezos’s company.”

How To Make The Right Decision

There’s no single right answer when it comes to choosing whether or not to go wide. However, answering the following questions will help you find the right decision for your present situation.

What is the initial time investment I will need to spend getting set up on a single platform? How does this compare to getting set up on all the platforms I’m potentially interested in?
How much time will it take each week to monitor and maintain all the marketplaces I’m interested in? How does this compare with my available time?
What are the royalty rates offered by each market? What proportion of my sales would I expect to achieve from each market?
Are there any exclusive programs, such as Kindle Unlimited, I lose access to by going wide? How much money would I expect to make from these programs vs. the extra money of going wide?
What are other authors in my network currently doing? What kind of results are they getting?

Ultimately, you must decide if the extra revenue generated by going wide would outweigh the extra time and energy you’d need to invest.

Some authors suggest the method of going narrow with some titles and wide with others. You might find the answer changes at different points in your author career. You may wish to test one way vs. the other by keeping one book narrow and another wide. See the differences in performance and use these to inform your wider decision.

Key Takeaways

Thanks for checking out my thoughts on whether to go narrow or wide. Here are my three takeaways:

Staying narrow can allow you to focus, achieve mastery, and save time.
Going wide can give you extra revenue in exchange for extra effort.
There’s no single right answer, and you must weigh the pros and cons.

If you’ve got an experience of going wide or staying narrow, I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

 

Dave Chesson runs Kindlepreneur.com where he provides tools and information for authors, such as his book title generators and recent review of Grammarly. His free time is spent immersing himself in nerd and indie author culture.

The post Distribution: Should You Go Wide or Narrow? appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Locksmith

Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your story, they might be trying to get that job or are already working in the field. Whatever the situation, as with any defining aspect for your character, you’ll need to do the proper research to be able to write that career knowledgeably.

Enter the Occupation Thesaurus. Here, you’ll find important background information on a variety of career options for your character. In addition to the basics, we’ll also be covering related info that relates to character arc and story planning, such as sources of conflict (internal and external) and how the job might impact basic human needs, thereby affecting the character’s goals. It’s our hope that this thesaurus will share some of your research burden while also giving you ideas about your character’s occupation that you might not have considered before.

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Occupation: Locksmith

Overview: A person in this field will be responsible for most any job involving locks: installing and changing locks at residences, helping people get into locked cars and buildings, opening locked devices such as briefcases or security boxes, installing and opening safes, copying keys, etc. A locksmith might work on his own or be employed by someone else.

Necessary Training: A person can become a locksmith by completing an apprenticeship or training at a vocational school. Because this field involves people’s security, locksmiths are typically required to be licensed, bonded, and insured.

Useful Skills, Talents, or Abilities: Mechanically inclined

Helpful Character Traits:

POSITIVE: Calm, centered, courteous, discreet, efficient, honorable, industrious, patient, persistent, professional, responsible

Sources of Friction: A lock one can’t pick, having to work within a short timeline, a client’s home or business being burgled just after one installed the locks, accidentally letting one’s licensing or certification lapse, misplacing the keys to a client’s lock, finding something disturbing in a customer’s safe or home, being low on the totem pole at work and being assigned all the crappy jobs, not being able to find a client’s address, having an accident that creates a mess of supplies in the back of one’s van, misplacing tools that must be paid for out of one’s paycheck, not making enough money to make ends meet, failing to acquire a high-level certification (such as safe-cracking), being sexually assaulted or harassed by a client, damaging a client’s property while trying to complete a job

People They Might Interact With: Other locksmiths, customers, a dispatcher, one’s boss (a manager or the business owner), administrative personnel, vendors

How This Occupation Might Impact One’s Basic Needs:

Self-Actualization: Picking locks can pay the bills, but someone who would rather be doing something else—maybe something creative or more mentally stimulating—may find this need impacted.
Esteem and Recognition: While it’s an honest living, being a locksmith doesn’t pay a lot. Someone who cares about what people think or frequently compares himself to others may find his esteem taking a hit.
Safety and Security: Any time a person is required to enter a stranger’s home, there’s a risk to their safety.
Physiological Needs: Because of this job’s pay scale, locksmiths may find themselves unable to support a family on their salary. Add an expensive accident or illness, and the character’s physiological needs may be threatened.

Common Work-Related Settings: Antiques shop, backyard, bank, bar, casino, cheap motel, church, convenience store, country road, diner, dorm room, factory, fast food restaurant, fire station, fitness center, garage, gas station, grocery store, hair salon, hardware store, hospital (interior), jewelry store, limousine, liquor store, mansion, mechanic’s shop, motor home, movie theater, nightclub, nursing home, parking garage, parking lot, pawn shop, pub, shopping mall, small town street, taxi, trade show, trailer park, used car dealership

Twisting the Fictional Stereotype: This is another career field dominated largely by men. Make your locksmith a woman and you’ll add a hint of freshness to the scenario. Because of the security aspects of this career, it can also be one that could easily propel your character into conflict. Consider how the client (a mafia don or criminal) or the contents of the locked device (drugs, guns, trafficking victims, etc.) might change the course of the protagonist’s life.

Visit the other Occupations in our collection HERE.

The post Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Locksmith appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Powerful Scenes: Using One Stop for Writers’ Informal Scene Map

A while back I profiled some of the custom brainstorming tools at our sister-site, One Stop for Writers, which help take the mystery (and misery) out of story structure. One that I left off that post was our Informal Scene Map. It specifically helps writers who struggle with the classic terminology of story structure, so let me tell you today why this tool is special.

[image error]As we all know, unless it’s transitional, scenes in our story should do a few core things: push the story forward, show the character pursing an objective which will help them get closer to their goal, reveal deeper layers of the protagonist and possibly others, and show the cost of failure (stakes).

These elements can sometimes feel like a lot to juggle. It can be especially confusing for anyone who isn’t versed in traditional story structure terminology (Outer Motivation, Inner Motivation, Inner Conflict, External Conflict, etc.) or they prefer to not use those terms. (And that’s fine! All writers have their own processes and as long as the story is well-written and compelling, how a person approaches structure doesn’t matter.)

At One Stop, we wanted to offer these writers a way to outline their story scene by scene in a way that sidelines confusion by keeping story structure simple.

Story Maps looks to planning the overall character and plot arc of a story, creating a road map for the novel. The Informal Scene Map tackles micro level (scene) structure, helping to chart the steps along the path to that goal.

Here’s a screenshot of a story I’m outlining:

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Each scene tile I’ve created can be moved and reordered, so if I want to rearrange the order of scenes to see what will change if events happen in a different way, I can. This makes story-boarding and experimenting with my plot really easy.

The other great thing is that as you’re writing your scene outline there’s step-by-step instruction on each element, and an example, so it’s easy to see how everything fits together to create the bones of a powerful scene.

Once you’ve finished outlining all your scenes, you can save it onsite with the rest of your story plans, export it to your computer or to a program like Scrivener, or turn the map into a PDF.

Honestly? Creating a scene outline for a novel couldn’t be easier. And for someone like me who always used to struggle with structure, it’s a big help!

Here’s what this tool suggests writers include in their scenes:

A Primary Emotion: Your main character may feel many emotions in a scene, but one will be at the top of the pile. Making note of this primary feeling during the planning stage will help remind you of it when you write the scene later. (And, if you are using our scene map tool, the emotion you choose is hyperlinked to the matching entry within the Emotion Thesaurus!)

The POV Character’s Emotional State: When you think about this primary emotional state, it can be helpful to make notes of what is causing the character to feel this way. This ensures that when you are writing the scene you’ll be sure to give the stimulus enough description so that the character’s emotional reaction is logical and understood by readers. You might also want to note any point-of-view thoughts, body language, actions, visceral sensations, tells, or dialogue that will also show (rather than tell) this primary emotion.

[image error]Crisis, Challenge, or Opportunity: A character meandering along without purpose makes for boring reading. Not only that, if the current story events aren’t pushing the character closer to their overall goal, why is the scene even there?

Scenes should pack a punch, presenting the protagonist with a crisis of some kind that forces them to react, a challenge that may threaten to derail their progress and send them farther from their goal, and/or an opportunity to help them get exactly what they need to further their mission.

The Goal, and What’s at Stake: Just like the overall story goal your character is fighting toward throughout the novel, your character should have a specific goal in a scene. It might be to secure help of some kind, uncover critical information, deal with complications that are interfering with their pursuit of the main goal, to gain skills or knowledge eye will need, a way to mitigate fallout from an earlier action or choice…or something else that will help them win.

Paired with a scene goal should be a clear communication to readers about what is at stake. If the character fails to achieve the scene goal, what happens? How will things be worse? What negative consequence will come about? Stakes show the reader that this character has skin in the game, and makes it believable that they are willing to face pain, hardship, or worse to achieve their goal.

Flaws and Fears, or Skills and Strengths: As a character fights to achieve something specific in a scene, whether they succeed or fail is up to the author. Failure pushes them farther from the goal, makes it harder to win, and eventually becomes the catalyst for their realization that to win, they must embrace a new way of doing things (even though they are afraid of change). And, if the character succeeds in the scene, there’s a reason for it: their talents, skills, behaviors and thought processes were on point.

Identifying what will lead to success now will help you see how their strengths factor into the outcome when writing the scene. And if they fail, then you can show how fears and flaws (dysfunctional behaviors, negative attitudes, biases, etc. that are part of their “old way” of doing things) tripped them up. This leads to two important story outcomes: painful fallout (stakes) which will make the uphill battle even more difficult, and an ephiphany where the character eventually will how their pattern of failure is due to their own flawed thinking and behavior, which will trigger the desire to change.

Scene Notes: Finally, we encourage writers to add as many notes as they wish to each scene to plan which characters will be involved, the location of this scene, time of day, weather, and anything else, like symbolism to include or backstory hints to drop in.

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The nice thing about this tool is that it works for plotters and pantsers. Writers can leave some elements blank depending on what each scene needs, and only plan as many scenes as they feel they need to write the story.

Anyway,I really enjoy this tool so I hope you found this look at Informal Scene Maps helpful! If you want to find out more about it or any of our other tools and features, pop over to One Stop for Writers and register for free.

Happy writing,

Angela

The post Powerful Scenes: Using One Stop for Writers’ Informal Scene Map appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

The Art of “Skipping Around,” or Writing Out of Sequence

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When other writers ask me if I’m a plotter or a pantser, I usually tell them, “I’m a little of both, but I’m also skip around.” By “skipping around,” I mean that I work on whatever scene I’m picturing clearest, even if it’s at the end and I haven’t begun Chapter One yet.

Yes, I write my first drafts out of sequence. With my current manuscript, the first scene I wrote appears one-third of the way through the story. Then I wrote the first chapter shortly afterward, followed by the climax scene a few weeks later. Now I’m in the process of “filling in the blanks” between the story’s middle and the climax. I even skip around when drafting my blog posts, including this one.

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Parole Officer

Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your story, they might be trying to get that job or are already working in the field. Whatever the situation, as with any defining aspect for your character, you’ll need to do the proper research to be able to write that career knowledgeably.

Enter the Occupation Thesaurus. Here, you’ll find important background information on a variety of career options for your character. In addition to the basics, we’ll also be covering related info that relates to character arc and story planning, such as sources of conflict (internal and external) and how the job might impact basic human needs, thereby affecting the character’s goals. It’s our hope that this thesaurus will share some of your research burden while also giving you ideas about your character’s occupation that you might not have considered before.

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Occupation: Parole Officer

Overview: A parole officer monitors offenders after a release from prison after serving part of their sentence but are still on probation, ensuring they have registered with the local police, have undergone drug testing, reports to an officer at appointed times and follows all restrictions and conditions of their parole. Parole officers explain all the conditions of parole, the rules clients must follow, and will also make sure offenders are enrolled in rehabilitation and job training programs as determined by the court. (A Parole officer is slightly different than a Probation officer, who monitors those who have been sentenced to serve probation rather than a jail sentence.)

Parole officers handle a large caseload and keep detailed records of of each client (where they live, friends and family contacts, employment records, and the parolee’s progress). They will make planned visits to the home of the Parolee, talk to family members, neighbors, coworkers, employers, and if applicable, will use community associations and religious groups the offender may be affiliated with to check on the offender’s behavior and ensure they are following all conditions of their parole. Ultimately they decide if an offender is rehabilitated and integrating back into society appropriately or if they need to be returned to jail.

A parole officer’s work is challenging as they are required to work a variety of hours (some in an office setting, some in the field, often in higher crime locations) and talk to people who are resistant to working with anyone in the justice system.

Necessary Training: Generally characters in this field have a bachelor’s degree and have completed a program in criminal justice, social work, and/or psychology.  They may be required to take a state-sponsored training program, and a certification test.  Often they are required to be certified to use a firearm, must pass background checks, and be trained to perform drug tests. Parole officers should be astute at understanding body language and behavior and be excellent communicators.

Useful Skills, Talents, or Abilities: A knack for languages, blending in, empathy, enhanced hearing, enhanced sense of smell, ESP (clairvoyance), exceptional memory, gaining the trust of others, making people laugh, mentalism, multitasking, photographic memory, reading people, self-defense, sharpshooting, strategic thinking, writing

Helpful Character Traits:

POSITIVE: Adaptable, alert, analytical, cautious, confident, courageous, diplomatic, disciplined, discreet, efficient, honest, honorable, just, meticulous, observant, organized, persistent, persuasive, proactive, professional, responsible, sensible, supportive, tolerant

NEGATIVE: controlling, inflexible, stubborn, suspicious

Sources of Friction: working with volatile clients (who probably should not have been released), safety concerns for clients who traded information on others in exchanged for a lessened sentence, traveling to high crime neighborhoods and the dangers they pose (muggings, car theft, retribution attacks), burning out because of the job stress and high case load, false accusations from vengeful clients who have been returned to prison on the officer’s recommendation, a client discovering one’s personal details (home phone, address, the school where one’s kids go) and trying to use it to intimidate or as blackmail to look the other way, being unable to monitor all clients as much as they should due to an impossibly high caseload, economic shifts and government cutbacks that reduce the programs and services available to help offenders succeed out in the world, problems at home due to long hours and job stress

People They Might Interact With: criminals, community and religious groups, police officers, undercover detectives, psychologists, family, friends, co-workers, and employers of the client, people within the justice system (for approvals, reporting, tracking down information about a case)

How This Occupation Might Impact One’s Basic Needs:

Self-Actualization: A character who once was on a dark path but had a mentor early in life that helped them change their course may be drawn to this profession out of a desire to do the same for others. But if they started seeing their clients consistently returning to this dark path, the character may question their own abilities and suffer a crisis of faith.


Esteem and Recognition: A character may struggle in this profession because they will largely be looked down upon by a segment of society–often people they are working to help but who don’t appreciate having Big Brother watching, judging, and ultimately, choosing whether one may remain free of not.
Love and Belonging: The long, sometimes irregular hours and job stress could lead to relationship problems or even a broken marriage.


Safety and Security: Having to do home visits and check-ins will place this character in harms way due to the higher crime locations they must go to, and they may need to engage with other criminals to fully monitor the client.


Physiological Needs: Death threats or a violent altercation with the criminal world could place the character in mortal jeopardy, especially in the case where a client is well-connected with people who do not fear the law and are willing to do anything to get their hooks into the client once more.

Common Work-Related Settings:  Alley, backyard, big city street, cheap motel, coffeehouse, community center, construction site, convenience store, courtroom, diner, emergency room, empty lot, fast food restaurant, homeless shelter, hospital (interior), hospital room, hotel room, living room, mechanic’s shop, office cubicle, park, parking garage, parking lot, police station, prison cell, rec center, run-down apartment, salvage yard, shopping mall, subway train, taxi, therapist’s office, trailer park, train station, truck stop, used car dealership

Visit the other Occupations in our collection HERE.

The post Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Parole Officer appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.