Rob Bignell's Blog, page 282

Writing Inspiration: Research your topic

Is there a part of your story that involves something you���ve never experienced? A stagecoach robbery? A firefight during war? A refugee camp? Read a book about the topic, using the research to inform your writing.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Detroit, Michigan, or a small town like Carefree, Arizona, I can provide that second eye.

 

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What exactly is an ���author platform���?

One of the most heard phrases mentioned when marketing a self-published book is author platform. Despite how commonly it���s heard, there���s a lot of confusion about what exactly is an author platform.

At its most basic, an author platform is a system you create to ensure that your book sells.

Of course, self-publishing gurus encourage different systems, believing some work better than others. And different systems are needed based on the kind of book you write; after all, some of what works to promote a nonfiction book may not work for a novel.

A system, by definition, consists of several parts and steps. Likewise, an author platform also has separate parts and steps.

Perhaps the most element of the author platform is an online presence ��� such as a website or a blog ��� that serves as a base to promote your books. This site usually tells a little about you the author, a bunch about your books, and includes links to where the books can be purchased.

Another common element of author platforms is social media, which most often includes Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest or Tumblr or Instagram, and possibly others. Because potential readers obtain information about books in different ways, usually an author should use at least three of these social media sites.

A third working part of an author platform often is non-social media outreach efforts, such as sending press releases to the media, writing articles for publications (both paper and electronic), book signings, public presentations, advertising, and so on.

In theory, the system works like this: You publish a book. A web page (at an online vendor, your website, or your blog) exists for people to purchase your book. Social media is utilized to point people who don���t know about you or your books to that web page where they can purchase the titles. Non-social media outreach efforts achieve the same purpose as social media but often have the added benefit of allowing the potential reader to directly purchase the book from you (such as at a book signing).

Which social media and non-social media outreach efforts work best for you depend upon a number of complex factors. Foremost among them is the type of book you write. A nonfiction book about the history of a specific locale is more likely to garner media attention than a novel, so a press release is a sound strategy in one case but not the other. Another factor is the quality of your outreach effort. A poorly written tweet, for example, won���t net you a sale. A third factor is the amount of effort you put into it. A sound strategy that is well-planned and executed can net you a surprising number of sales, whereas a half-hearted effort just wastes your time.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Tampa, Florida, or a small town like Deadhorse, Alaska, I can provide that second eye.

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Editing client publishes first treasure hunt thriller

A recent editing client of mine from New Zealand has published his first book. Benjamin Kuttner���s ���The Orlov Diamond��� tells the story of student Jonathan Lloyd, who discovers his lecturer, Simon Ladbrook, was once a legendary treasure hunter. Ladbrook introduces Lloyd to the Discovery & Exploration Club, a secret stock exchange open only to billionaires and men of action who mount expeditions to uncover lost treasures. Helped by a beautiful Russian translator, both men follow clues into secret tunnels deep beneath the Kremlin in an effort to find the stolen Orlov diamond. The hunt leads them on a deadly game of cat and mouse through the wilds of the Caucusus Montains and down the canals of St Petersburg. The book is available for purchase online.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Austin, Texas, or a small town like Bald Knob, Arkansas, I can provide that second eye.

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Write around them: resting my case on lay vs. lie

There appear to be a set of language rules that to most people simply sound wrong when you use the right word. Who and whom is chief among them, as few people, despite the efforts of their seventh grade language arts teacher, know when to use which one. Lay and lie and their various forms are another pair of such words.

For the record, lay/laid/laying means to set down (I laid my exhausted child in her bed.). It always requires an object or something that can be set down. Lie/lain/lying and the past tense lay means to recline, as in I had lain on the beach for several hours. It can���t take an object.

The use of the archaic-sounding lain and the confusing use of lay as a past tense version of lie demonstrates that, as is the case with all languages, the rules speakers and writers use regarding these words are evolving. Indeed, most people will tell you that lay down is correct (All I want to do at the end of the day is lay down.) when it technically isn���t.

Because using lay/lie correctly often sounds wrong and because there are grammar police out there who will flag you for not using the words correctly, the simple solution for authors is to write around the problem.

Simply put, use set or place rather than lay/laid/laying and recline for lie/lain/lying. Or even better, as set, place and recline are dull verbs, why not rewrite the sentence so that more exciting action occurs in it?

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from an urban area like California's Inland Empire or a rural area like Loving County, Texas, I can provide that second eye.

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Writing Inspiration: Get out and socialize

Talk with other writers. Writing need not lead to isolation. Writers groups, beta readers, even editors, can talk with you about writing and will understand all the inner tension you���re experiencing. Consider attending a writing workshop or taking a class about your book���s topic.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Houston, Texas, or a small town like Chicken, Alaska, I can provide that second eye.

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Describe setting from characters��� perspectives

Novice writers often possess a good understanding of how to write a great description of a story���s setting and of how to present evocative details. Indeed, the ability to create beautiful imagery through words often is a skill that encouraged many aspiring writers to aspire to write a book in the first place.

Unfortunately, sometimes novice writers present great descriptions that don���t really advance the story. The use of such wording, while pretty and emotive in its own right, actually can slow the story and feel superfluous.

Usually the cause for this is the writer showing off his or her talent at penning great descriptions. But to make those appeals to sight, sound, smell, touch and taste truly great, the author ought to ensure they relate to the character in some way. Rather than simply be a lush description of any city or any street or any waiting room that any person could experience, they ought to be details that the story���s viewpoint character experiences.

By doing so, the writer gives the reader a better understanding of the viewpoint character���s motivations and perceptions of the world. The reader then can better grasp the viewpoint character���s mood and can better identify with that character.

For example, anyone visiting a beach can feel the sand between their toes, hear the screech of seagulls, and feel the warm water as the waves crash against their ankles. But writers always should ask how their viewpoint character would perceive the beach. Maybe that character finds sand between the toes scratchy, thinks the seagulls are dive bombing her, and considers the water too cold for her liking. Now the reader is experiencing the beach in the way the viewpoint character does, and we have a better sense of the latter���s personality and intentions.

Such writing does require a bit more effort on the part of the author. But the result often is a better story that the reader can better appreciate ��� and that always brings many rewards to the writer.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from an urban area like California's Orange County or a rural area like Loving County, Texas, I can provide that second eye.

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Five Great Quotations about Novel Writing

���The things that the novel does not say are necessarily more numerous than those it does say and only a special halo around what is written can give the illusion that you are reading also what is not written.��� - Italo Calvino

���I used to feel for years and years and years that I was very remiss not to have written a novel and I would question people who wrote novels and try to find out how they did it and how they had got past page 30. Then, with the approach of old age, I began to just think: ���Well, lucky I can do anything at all.������ - Alice Munro

���When well told, a story captured the subtle movement of change. If a novel was a map of a country, a story was the bright silver pin that marked the crossroads.��� - Ann Patchett

���Expansion. That is the idea the novelist must cling to. Not completion. Not rounding off, but opening out.��� - E.M. Forster

���A novel is never anything but a philosophy expressed in images. And in a good novel the philosophy has disappeared into the images.��� - Albert Camus

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Washington, D.C., or a small town like Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Writing Inspiration: Walk for creativity

Sometimes the best way to get the brain moving on a story idea is by getting the blood flowing in the rest of your body. If stuck, go for a walk, a jog, or a bicycle ride. As doing so, carry a pen and notebook and jot down thoughts that come to you about the story idea. You���ll likely find that the increased oxygen and new environment helps you brainstorm and work through a problem.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, or a small town like Boring, Oregon, I can provide that second eye.

 

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Public presentations offer several benefits

Many book authors are happy to simply do what they enjoy most, which is write. You also have to promote your published books, though, and a time-honored way of doing so is by making presentations, such as signings and readings, at bookstores or other businesses that might carry your titles.

Such presentations offer a number of benefits to you, including:
��� Getting your name out there ��� The bookstore or retail shop likely will promote you via their website/newsletter/social media and probably will place your book in a special spot with some poster noting that you���ll be there at a certain date/time. You also can use the event to market yourself by sending press releases to the local newspaper.
��� Placing your book in stores ��� One way to get your titles on a bookstore shelf is to make an appearance there. The store manager will want to have copies of your book on hand before the appearance and will want to keep a few after for those who missed the event. If you make a lot of sales at the presentation, that increases the chance that a store will want to stock your titles.
��� Meeting the public and your readers ��� There���s nothing more gratifying and inspiring than meeting others who���ve enjoyed your book or who are interested in what you���ve written about. Sell a few books at a presentation, and you���ll meet the next day of writing with new vigor.
��� Making connections ��� If you run a business that your book supports (for example, you���re a hairdresser and have written a book about how to ensure a successful visit to the hair salon), you���ll likely meet readers who might become patrons of your service or will buy products you sell. You may meet other people who can benefit your business through cooperative efforts or services.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Seattle, Washington, or a small town like Uncertain, Texas, I can provide that second eye.

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Know parts of an ebook when creating one

When creating an ebook, thinking about its basic parts can be very useful. While some elements of an ebook are the same as that of a paper books, others do differ. Knowing those differences can save you time when creating an ebook and allows you to create a better book by utilizing the format���s advantages.

The cover is the first screen of an ebook, and usually a thumbnail of it is how readers will locate the book on their ereaders and tables. An ebook cover needs only to be what is the front cover of a paper book; no spine or back cover is necessary.

Next, ebooks contain the front matter. As with paper books, this generally consists of the half title page, title page, table of contents, acknowledgements and dedication. Each should start at the top of a new screen. The table of contents won���t contain page numbers but hyperlinks to where that chapter starts in the ebook.

The main text follows. This is the core and the bulk of the book, consisting of the foreword, preface, introduction, all chapters and the accompanying sidebars, photographs, breakout boxes, charts and tables that appear in those chapters. Generally, the foreword, preface, introduction and each chapter should start at the top of a new screen.

Back material rounds out the book. It includes the appendix, footnotes, bibliography, author���s bio, requests for reviews, and adverts for other books, products and services the author offers. Each of these should start at the top of a new screen. Ebooks rarely include indexes.

An element found only in ebooks are hyperlinks. Think of an ebook as a web page. You can send people to other spots in the books, to other web pages, to slide shows, to videos, and so on. Hyperlinks add a level of interactivity that paper books lack and are a chief reason readers select ebooks over their paper counterparts.

Need an editor? Having your book, business document or academic paper proofread or edited before submitting it can prove invaluable. In an economic climate where you face heavy competition, your writing needs a second eye to give you the edge. Whether you come from a big city like Boston, Massachusetts, or a small town like Boston, Georgia, I can provide that second eye.

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