Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 104

Promotions on the Ground

by Danika Stone, @Danika_Stone

 

If you’re an author, you’ve no doubt heard the term “Street Team”. It’s one of those phrases that gains popularity in an instant and is thrown around with the wink-wink, nudge-nudge sense that you should know what it means.

But what if you don’t?

What if this is your first book launch, and you’ve never had to publicize a book before? What if you’re struggling to find your way through the first round of edits – never mind promotions! If that’s you, then here’s your answer: a five-point summary of street teams, and how having one can help YOU sell your book faster and more effectively than you ever thought you could.

They are the author’s “feet on the street” – or in this case – the internet.

A street team is composed of online bloggers / reviewers / social media people who assist in the online launch of a book during the first crucial weeks. Every author needs a voice online if they want their books to be found and your street team creates it.

The usual expectation is that the relationship has benefits for everyone involved. Authors generally include swag, publicity, and connections to their street team members, and in return, these bloggers keep the author’s book in the public eye.

Build your Network:

Having connections to bloggers and reviewers is key, but even if you have a relatively small number of online followers, you can still find a street team. You just need to ask. Find bloggers and ask them. Post to Goodreads and Facebook. Show what you’re offering. When I was creating the street team for Edge of Wild, I posted in all these places. I also listed what the street team members would get in return for their participation and within a few days I had an enthusiastic street team ready to spread the word!

Giveaways give back.

Since my promotions budget was relatively small, I capped my street team at ten people. The costs are not just for the giveaways and your books. It’s also time. You will be writing plenty of posts, as well as organizing.

Some things you might include in your giveaway are…

A signed first edition copy of your book.
A digital ARC.
Bookmarks, postcards and stationary.
Bookbags, clothing items, other swag.
Pens, paperweights, keychains.

Basically whatever fit YOUR book..

Keep your costs reasonable.

If you’re self-publishing, your biggest asset is the book itself. Print a few galleys before the release! Beyond that, most of the items can be made or purchased.

Do not pay for a thousand pens with your book’s name on it. (You’ll regret it.) Go small and special.  In my case, I designed and produced my own bookbags and tee-shirts. I also bought a few items from Michael’s, laminated bookmarks at Staples and printed postcards from Moo.

For the love of all that’s good, STAY ORGANIZED.

Nothing will destroy your street team faster than lack of planning. And since the author is in charge, you need to stay organized whether that’s your natural approach to writing or not.

When Edge of Wild’s street team had a full roster, I put together a Google folder to keep everyone’s tasks straight, and then mailed out a “Welcome to the Street Team” email. I encouraged the group to develop their own projects for their blogs. Some wanted guest posts, others reviews, and a few opted for other items. All of these were laid out in the google docs. Organized. Clear. They were all ready to go long before they were needed.

In the end, a street team’s effectiveness is as much about how you make the bloggers feel as much as what you do. A little bit of planning and patience goes a long way. Your street team is your voice, so make it strong.

Danika Stone is an author, artist, and educator who discovered a passion for writing fiction while in the throes of her Masters thesis. A self-declared bibliophile, Danika now writes novels for both adults (Edge of Wild, The Intaglio Series and Ctrl Z) and teens (All the Feels). When not writing, Danika can be found hiking in the Rockies, planning grand adventures, and spending far too much time online. She lives with her husband, three sons, and a houseful of imaginary characters in a windy corner of Alberta, Canada.

Ms. Stone is represented by Morty Mint of Mint Literary Agency.

Websites:  http://www.danikastone.com/ and http://www.authordkstone.com/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Danika_Stone

Blog: http://danikastone.tumblr.com/

Book Release #1: Edge of Wild, Stonehouse, May 1, 2016:

Book Release #2: All the Feels, Macmillan, June 7, 2016

5 Tips for Street Teams by @Danika_Stone:
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Pros and Cons of Changing Genres

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

About a year ago, I wrote and released a book in a completely different genre than I’ve ever written before. The dystopian novel was something I called ‘cozy zombie’–zombie lit without the gore.  The book was what’s known as an ‘attack novel.’  The concept had bugged me for years and I finally broke down and wrote the book.

A year later, I’ve found that the experience of changing genres had its pros and cons. 

Pros

Not only was it fun writing something completely different, it was challenging, too. I felt that I grew a lot, as a writer, while working on the book.

I’ve been able to connect with a completely different type of reader by publishing a zombie book.  Not only that, but I’ve had different opportunities pop up. BookTrack, the company that matches soundtracks with books (the soundtracks adjust to the reader’s pace) offered to produce the booktrack and put my book up on their platform.  Apparently, they need more of this type of content (no offers to produce my cozy mysteries, ha! I guess they know their audience).

Cons

I felt that I couldn’t possibly write the book under my real name because I’m so tied to my branding as a mystery writer.   I didn’t want to confuse my readers and field a lot of emails in the process.  I decided on a compromise–I used Liz Craig, since my name has a million nicknames. Amazon Author Central happily still connected the name to my profile and even sent out new release emails to my readers when the book came out.  So why is this a con?  I didn’t still feel I could really promote under a different name—I just didn’t have the time. Liz Craig has no online presence that’s not tied to my own website.  Would Liz have done better on her own?  Maybe.  But her alter ego is just a little pressed.

When Booktrack contacted me about promoting the upcoming Booktrack release, they knew I had a pretty big online footprint.  But I had to explain to them that it wasn’t for zombie fiction.  My newsletter list, my followers on social media…they were all mystery readers.  It’s like starting over.

Something else to consider, although it wasn’t a problem for me–does your freelance design, editing, and formatting team handle your new genre? For design, this might particularly prove a challenge.

Would I write another genre again?  For sure.  I’ve no doubt that I’m going to branch out again in either a mystery subgenre or a different genre.  That book of mine had to be written because the story wouldn’t let me go. But, with any luck, the next time I do something like this I’ll have more time to interact as the pen name.

Have you considered writing other genres?

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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

And Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers out there!  

How Far Back in Time Could You Go and Still Understand English? http://ow.ly/4n1WTw @scholarlykitchn

How Disaster Movies Creep Into 1 Writer’s Writing: http://ow.ly/4n1X24  @WomenWriters  @SamTongeWriter

How to be a Better and Happier Writer:  http://ow.ly/4n1X6N @MahinWriter

3 reasons why you should show your work:  http://ow.ly/4n1X8Y @austinkleon

On worrying about the scarcity of new ideas: comic from @inkyelbows: http://ow.ly/4n1XeZ

The Literary Spy Novel: 5 Recommendations:  http://ow.ly/4n1XmY @paulvidich @ElectricLit               

13 Ways Writers are Mistaken for Serial Killers:  http://ow.ly/4n1XzP @KristenLambTX

How Indie Authors Can Grow their Following on Twitter:  http://ow.ly/4n1XxB by @jessicadavis @theindiepubmag

How to Promote Your Book Without Being Annoying:  http://ow.ly/4n1Xq0 @egabbert

Friends as Enemies:  http://ow.ly/4n1Yr5 @beccapuglisi

Choosing Your Words Carefully: http://ow.ly/4n1YpR by Ursula Bloom @WomenWriters

First Draft Writing: 7 Tips for Easier Drafting:  http://ow.ly/4n1XlL @nownovel

Everything You Need to Know About 3rd-Person POV:  http://ow.ly/4n1YrP @KMWeiland

Done is Better Than Perfect When It Comes to First Drafts:  http://ow.ly/4n1Yar @hwrightwriter

Group Blogging: Humanize Your Blog to Drive Engagement:  http://ow.ly/4n1Xto @kikolani

An agent on novels with shorter than usual word count:  http://ow.ly/4n1Yg7 @Janet_Reid

A common problem with dialogue:  http://ow.ly/4n1Yul @storyfix

US-Based Copyright Clearance Center Buys UK’s Ixxus:  http://ow.ly/4nuD3r @Porter_Anderson @steveodart

Writing Building Blocks: Paragraph Breaks & Voice: http://ow.ly/4n1YkG @JamiGold

. @ThatKevinSmith on Screenwriting: http://ow.ly/4n3zTA and http://ow.ly/4n3zWj   @steveryfle

4 Types of Character Flaws:  http://ow.ly/4n3zyy @AngelaAckerman

Lessons From @jamesscottbell  : Characters That Jump Off The Page:  http://ow.ly/4n3zAi @AngelaAckerman

Poets: Use Your Skills to Nab Freelance Writing Jobs:  http://ow.ly/4n3zvR @Carolynesutra

Subsidiary Rights:  http://ow.ly/4n3zrY @SusanSpann

6 Books on Writing Science Fiction Compared:  http://ow.ly/4n1WQy by Chris Winkle @mythcreants

Harvard Book Store Partners with Canada’s Shelfie:  http://ow.ly/4nuCRH @Porter_Anderson @getshelfie

The Anatomy of a Print-Only Deal:  http://ow.ly/4nuyg5 @KatyRegnery

Success: –what exactly is it? http://ow.ly/4n1exn @dianapfrancis

Using Close-Ups in Your Scenes to Get Personal:  http://ow.ly/4n1ess @CSLakin

Writing fight scenes: knocking someone out without serious injury: http://ow.ly/4n1eyl from How to Fight Write

Writing Time And Place:  http://ow.ly/4n1etn @AnthonyEhlers

Making Money: Anthologies:  http://ow.ly/4n1evS @johnhartness

A Modern Literary Glossary: Definitions for Our Ever-Changing Reading World: http://ow.ly/4n1emg by Jacob Lambert

10 Russian Literary Heroines to Know:  http://ow.ly/4nsa1N @gmerades @thelithub

5 Ways to Use LinkedIn Publisher for Business:  http://ow.ly/4n1eea @LinkedInExpert

Creating Promotional Copy That Works: Tag Lines http://ow.ly/4n1eci @MarcyKennedy

Your Basic Author Media Kit:  http://ow.ly/4n1e8r @Sarah_Nicolas

How Any Author Can Update Their Book Data on BookBub: http://ow.ly/4n1e5a @DianaUrban

How to Write Better using our Multiple Intelligences: http://ow.ly/4mYFgM  @hunteremkay

7  Ways To Finish Your Story:  http://ow.ly/4mYCrt @Yeomanis

Writing Lessons From The Masters:  http://ow.ly/4mYCoY @jamesscottbell

Goodreads Introduces Kindle Ebook Giveaways Beta Program (U.S.): http://ow.ly/4nshbb @goodreads @suzanneskyvara

Spam, Spam, Spam Spam: Inkitt and the Grand Novel Contest:  http://ow.ly/4nsbJn @victoriastrauss

The Winners of the Best Translated Book Awards (BTBA):  http://ow.ly/4nsbxk @The_Millions

Engineering a Fiction Series:  http://ow.ly/4mYCuZ @ashkrafton

The book proposal: better late than lousy: http://ow.ly/4mYCiM @dglm

What Kind of Day Job Should a Writer Have?  http://ow.ly/4n1bLj @dana_cann @thelithub

An agent on having more than one agent:  http://ow.ly/4mYCfE @Janet_Reid

Love is Boring and Hard to Write About, And Yet…  http://ow.ly/4ns9OW @lydia_millet @thelithub

Using Preorders to Boost New Release Book Sales:  http://ow.ly/4mYAcc @melissafmiller

How to Attract Media Coverage for Your Book Launch:  http://ow.ly/4mYAgk @LisaLondon3

Creating Easy Branded Images for Your Blog and Social Media:  http://ow.ly/4mYzua @kikimojo

Revisiting your book marketing strategies:  http://ow.ly/4nq7tf  by Deborah Nam-Krane

How to Find Great Content Your Readers Will Love:  http://ow.ly/4mYzxU @CaballoFrances

11 Tips to help you build your online community:  http://ow.ly/4mYA6E @catmichaelsBook for @annerallen

5 reasons listening to audiobooks can improve our writing:  http://ow.ly/4mYAB6 @JasonMHough

A New Platform for Serialized Work: Tapas Media: http://ow.ly/4mYArR @JaneFriedman

Querying: when you realize the error AFTER you hit send:  http://ow.ly/4mYAmH @Janet_Reid

Build an Audience for Your Novel by Figuring Out Who Your Audience Is:  http://ow.ly/4mYzUO  @FauziaBurke

Share your talent instead of wasting it:  http://ow.ly/4mYAv2 @juliemusil

Posing like a man in author photos:  http://ow.ly/4mYzGT @AFilipacchi @nytimes

10 Things Authors Get Wrong When Writing About the Military:  http://ow.ly/4npgw9  @benjaminsobieck

3 Steps to Reinvigorating Your Writing:  http://ow.ly/4npgpJ @chicklitgurrl

Tap the Psychology of Conflict:  http://ow.ly/4mQN1t @JanalynVoigt

Crime Writers: 20 Survival Tips for Real and Fictional Officers:  http://ow.ly/4mV0wp @LeeLofland

Dialogue Words: 100 Alternatives: http://ow.ly/4mUXuG @nownovel

Launching Your Book (Without Losing Your Mind):  http://ow.ly/4mV0HV @GailZMartin

Colombian Cyclists: Bringing books and readers together: http://ow.ly/4nmCr6 @lagunalibros @adamcritchley @pubperspectives

How to Write Teen Girl Characters:  http://ow.ly/4mUYG0 @missnoraz  @thelithub

Protagonists: Superman Syndrome:  http://ow.ly/4nmqU3 @p2p_editor

AP Will No Longer Capitalize ‘Internet’ and ‘Web’: http://ow.ly/4nmvC0 @APStylebook @GrammarGirl

The new fiction of solitude:  http://ow.ly/4mUXMy by Nicholas Dames @TheAtlantic

Outlining With Scrivener:  http://ow.ly/4mUXls @Figures

The importance of theme, or, the Controlling Idea:  http://ow.ly/4mUXwl by Shawn Coyne

5 Ways Perfectionism Attacks Your Creativity:  http://ow.ly/4mV00h @emily_tjaden

7 things to avoid when you write for children:  http://ow.ly/4mUZCp @MiaJouBotha

4 Famous Writers Whose Prose Was Crap:  http://ow.ly/4mUYeS @cathinnorway

8 Time-Tested Personality Traits of the Best Poets and Writers:  http://ow.ly/4mUXXA by Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen

Writing Head Trauma: Can A Blow To the Head Cause Unconsciousness and Amnesia?  http://ow.ly/4nml8m  @DPLyleMD

Inner Conflict in Fiction:  http://ow.ly/4mQMXy @JanalynVoigt

Why Literature Needs Psychology:  http://ow.ly/4nkJVq @jenniferrenu @thelithub

Why You Should Write on Medium:  http://ow.ly/4nkRRL @joshspilker

International Identifiers: All About ISNI With Laura Dawson:  http://ow.ly/4nhlfG @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

How a CharacterÂ’’s Choice of Clothing Benefits the Story:  http://ow.ly/4mTgh6 from It’s a Writer Thing

The Serious Lack of Diversity in Book Publishing:  http://ow.ly/4mTgIM @ilanaslightly  @broadly

16 Books About Madness:  http://ow.ly/4mTe4N @chris_shultz81

How 1 Author Writes History: http://ow.ly/4mTgwZ @nealbascomb  @thelithub

Crime writers: anatomy of an evidence room:  http://ow.ly/4mTdVW @LeslieBudewitz

9 Myths of Being a Published Author:  http://ow.ly/4mTdK2 @bclaypolewhite

Copywriting: A Critical Skill for Every Writer:  http://ow.ly/4mTdZA @terrywhalin

How Billy Joel Taught 1 Writer To Write: http://ow.ly/4nkJ0X @bwoodauthor @thelithub

6 Tips for Better Loglines:  http://ow.ly/4mTgne @dougeboch

The benefit of being a hybrid author:  http://ow.ly/4mTecl @michellecox33

7 Tips for Better Pitches:  http://ow.ly/4mTdGW @dougeboch

7 Ways To Overcome Destructive Self-Criticism: http://ow.ly/4mTdTX @colleen_m_story

The Speechwriter’s Checklist:  http://ow.ly/4mTdPx @Writers_Write

Talking Heads (Top 10 Dialogue Writing Mistakes):  http://ow.ly/4mQMU4 @JanalynVoigt

When characters make plans, how should you reveal them to your readers?  http://ow.ly/4nifl3 @lkblackburne

Types of Conflict in Literature:  http://ow.ly/4mQMOD @JanalynVoigt

5 Mistakes Self Published Authors Make in 2016:  http://ow.ly/4mQJNy @LPOBryan

9 Ways to Stunt Our Writing Growth:  http://ow.ly/4niac9 @EdieMelson

Is Your Use of Social Media Marketing Efficient?  http://ow.ly/4mQJHy @wendygarfinkle

The links I shared last week:  http://ow.ly/4niI6y .All the links I’ve ever shared (30K+, free and searchable): writerskb.com

Crime Writers: Eyewitness Testimony: Test Your Observation Skills:  http://ow.ly/4ni940 @SueColetta1

5 Common Writing Fears and How to Overcome Them:  http://ow.ly/4mQJBo @JanalynVoigt

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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Difficult Books

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I was so happy at finishing my most recent book on Thursday that my sigh of relief might have been heard miles away.

This book was the sixth book in a series and my 20th book altogether (not counting the box sets). But this book was a reminder to me that sometimes it doesn’t get easier as we go. Or, really, that each book is just different.

It was the hardest book to write (aside from Hickory Smoked Homicide in 2011…a book I nearly deleted in frustration several weeks before deadline).  And it was the book I’ve run behind the worst on.  I’m releasing it a month later than planned. It needed a lot of extra time to make it a really solid mystery. I’m happy with it now, but there were many things that made the writing of this book complex:

Writing something different.  I’ve never tried writing a cold case before and it was trickier than I thought.  Incorporating the past in a meaningful and interesting way (while using an amateur sleuth, though she is a gifted amateur) made it a real challenge.

Writing independently after writing this series for Penguin-Random House.  This was the first book in the series since I got the rights to my characters back.  I’ve wanted to make sure that the transition for readers was fairly seamless–I didn’t want them to even know or notice that I was publishing the books myself.  I wanted the story to be just as good, the editing just as careful. The one big change is the cover, which had to be different since the previous designs were copyrighted by Penguin.

Writing totally solo where before the series work had been collaborative.  My editor for this series always worked really well with me–bouncing ideas, easily seeing what the story needed more of.  It’s been weird working on this book without her input. I’ve tried to look at the book through her eyes and think about the kinds of things that she would point out.

Writing something personally affecting.  I’ve decided that, in the future, it’s probably not the best idea to base any of my characters on living people or pets.   It wasn’t very easy writing the dog into the book as a living character when my corgi passed away around about chapter two.

But…what’s good about difficult books?  They help me realize I can make it through the toughest projects and craft a good book at the end, despite the hurdles and the days of mediocre writing.  It took longer to clean the book up this time, but I felt amazing when I finished the book yesterday.

Do you remember your writing experience specific to particular books?  Were there some that caused you more trouble than others?

As a separate note, I’ve heard from many writers who’ve subscribed to my blog posts that they’ve had problems receiving posts this year.  I switched to a new plugin and have had some issues…issues I hope are straightened out now!  Welcome back to the email subscription, if you’ve been out of the loop for a while…and my apologies for the problem!

On writing difficult books:
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Writing Longhand

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

One of the ways I motivate myself to the treadmill every other day  is to listen to podcasts while I walk.  These range from strictly writing-related podcasts to shows like Freakonomics, which frequently give interesting insights on different topics.

When I saw an episode titled “Who Needs Handwriting?” on Freakonomics (by Stephen J. Dubner, produced by Alison Hockenberry), I immediately downloaded it to listen.  This is a topic that can get rather heated, from what I’ve observed among parents.  My kids were never taught cursive handwriting … and my daughter was never taught to type.  Since I considered typing  a necessity,  I taught her the home keys and had her practice at home.  She’s very speedy by this point. But I never considered teaching her cursive. In fact, I haven’t used cursive myself since elementary school.

But I do like to print sometimes.  I’ve always found, when I write something down in a meeting or while in school, I never had to review my notes later.  Writing in longhand set the information in my memory for good.

The Frekonomics show included an interview with Pam Mueller who has a Ph.D in social psychology at Princeton.  She conducted a study with professor Daniel Oppenheimer at Princeton and UCLA where students would view a TED talk and take either handwritten notes or notes on a computer.  Mueller states: “What we found was that for factual questions, there was no difference between laptop and longhand note-takers — they did equally well. However, for conceptual questions, the longhand note-takers did significantly better, about a half a standard deviation better.”

Or, as the host Stephen Dubner put it: “Now, why would that be? Mueller’s argument is that because handwriting is slower, you’re forced to decide as you go what’s worth writing down. And this gets your brain engaged in processing the information as you go.”

This would explain why I rarely have to glance over handwritten notes after a meeting. It might also explain why, when I get stuck on a manuscript or when I’m brainstorming or outlining, most of the time I write on paper.  Maybe subconsciously I realized that I’m more thoughtful on paper.

I’ve trained myself to write mainly on computer because, with the deadlines I’ve had, there’s no time to transcribe 250 or more pages of longhand into a Word program.  In fact, I try to limit myself, even when I’m stuck…if I have to write in a notebook to get through a creative block, I limit myself to five or six handwritten pages. Otherwise, it’s too hard for me to catch up. Plus, my already-awful penmanship gets worse the longer I write.

Writing on a computer also works better for me because I type much faster than it’s possible for me to write longhand.

On the other hand, pen and paper are more portable and I can squeeze more writing in on the go when I have a notebook on me.  It’s also a lot less distracting writing in a notebook than it is on a laptop (no social media siren song in a composition notebook).

For me, each approach has benefits.  In the Freakonomics show, however, it emphasized that there are many different opinions on writing longhand versus writing on computers–and different people found longhand more or less useful than others.

I’m curious to hear from you.  Do you write in longhand on a project? If so, when do you use it?  In the brainstorming phase? During revisions?

Could writing longhand be a good technique for some writers?
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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

5 Steps to Get Started Writing Today:  http://ow.ly/4nhjRm @charityscraig

Evoking Emotions in Readers:   http://ow.ly/4mPSjW @JamiGold

Forum Highlights ‘Challenges in publishers grappling with consumer data’:   http://ow.ly/4nhkGm @Porter_Anderson @DouglasMcCabe               

When to Start a Sequel:  http://ow.ly/4mPSnb @Janice_Hardy

Writing Believable Action Scenes:  http://ow.ly/4mPSpF @NakedEditor

The Duplicity of A Character’s Desire:  http://ow.ly/4mQEBb @MichelleHoover_

Methods to Avoid Authorship Problems:  http://ow.ly/4mQFfM @theindiepubmag @roserose_sc

Facing the Edits: 7 Steps to a Happy Revision:  http://ow.ly/4mQFds @j_s_brown

The BISAC Subject Heading List:  http://ow.ly/4mQEHQ by Lynellen Perry

What It’s Like to Score a Kindle Scout Book Deal:  http://ow.ly/4mQFzw @KenBrosky

On Horror, Disability, and Loving Both at Once:  http://ow.ly/4mQFLH @FosterOfTheWeek

Ways to end a horror story:  http://ow.ly/4mQFB2 @RayneHall

What Does Self-Pub Cost?  http://ow.ly/4nhl1M @Porter_Anderson @ReedsyHQ @EmmanuelNataf

3 Cinematic Techniques for Your Scene Opening:  http://ow.ly/4mQFtS @CSLakin

5 Great Folk Horror Novels:  http://ow.ly/4mQFDZ @northerain

Why Fiction Authors Benefit from Indie Publishing: http://ow.ly/4mQJu4 @writerswrite01

How You Make Something Good in Creative Work:  http://ow.ly/4mNUCz @ursulaleguin  @brainpicker

Screenwriting: Does the hero have fun to exemplify the concept’s appeal?  http://ow.ly/4mNTW2 @CockeyedCaravan

How to Give a Critique:  http://ow.ly/4mNUS4 @AnnetteLyon

How to Write a Short Story (That’s Actually Short) http://ow.ly/4mNVAr @ink_and_quills

5 Stages: Overcoming Writer Perfectionism:  http://ow.ly/4mNUI0 from Blonde Write More

Being Intentional With Our Free Time:  http://ow.ly/4neFJU

2 Tips For Finding Story Question:  http://ow.ly/4mNUYf by Carrie Lynn Lewis  @IndiePlotTwist

The cost of a good plot:  http://ow.ly/4neAZT @p2p_editor

Finding your story’s theme:  http://ow.ly/4mNUpJ @SPressfield

Women Detectives in Fact and Fiction:  http://ow.ly/4neAJc @Erika_Janik @thelithub

22 Tips For Self-Editing:  http://ow.ly/4mNViW @GarryRodgers1

Tips for introverts for being more comfortable at conferences:  http://ow.ly/4mNVpt @gigirosenberg

The Magic of Fantasy: Love the Unreal:  http://ow.ly/4mNVNn by Sheila Wisz Ellayn

The Metrics of Writing:  http://ow.ly/4mNVY4  by John Wong

Outlining Your Novel: Brainstorming Your Premise:  http://ow.ly/4mNWa7 @ScholarlyFox

Really Going There as a Writer:  http://ow.ly/4mNUjZ @AnnieNeugebauer

Asking Bloggers to Review Your Book:  http://ow.ly/4mNVaV @DanielleLHanna @IndiePlotTwist

Because A Lady Asks Me: On Poetry & Money: http://ow.ly/4mNWyu by Jennifer Moxley  @PoetryFound

By the halfway mark, are character decisions driving plot instead of external plot complications?  http://ow.ly/4mNU8p @CockeyedCaravan

10 Musicians Who Could Be Novelists:  http://ow.ly/4ndD4a @likaluca @thelithub

How Sylvia Plath’s Rare Honors Thesis Helped 1 Writer Understand His Divided Self: http://ow.ly/4nbLI5 @nathansmithr

On the Heartbreaking Difficulty of Getting Rid of Books:  http://ow.ly/4nbLHU @summerbrennan @thelithub

Imposter Syndrome and the Writing Community: http://ow.ly/4mMw5j @jules_chronicle

Countdown Deals and KDP Select Free Promos: http://ow.ly/4mMvwZ @ChrisDMcMullen

Creating Tension: Raise the Stakes:  http://ow.ly/4mMw9B @ShanDitty

6 Ways to Make Your Villain Likable:  http://ow.ly/4mMvXY @mythcreants  by Chris Winkle

How To Market Your Book Using Content Marketing in 5 Steps:  http://ow.ly/4mMvuq by Ricci Wolman

How to Avoid Middle Slumps: Maintaining Tension in Your Story:  http://ow.ly/4mMw1W @writeabook

Creating Emotional Connections With Readers:  http://ow.ly/4mMw6G @AngelaAckerman

7 Public Speaking Tips:  http://ow.ly/4mMvLG  @playthepartbook

Want a Page-Turner? You Need Deep POV:  http://ow.ly/4mMwgL @MarcyKennedy

5 Video Editing Apps To Improve Your Content Marketing:  http://ow.ly/4mMvJx @kikolani

How to Submit to Literary Journals:  http://ow.ly/4mMwcs @ChelseaLHenshey

How Writers Can Deconstruct to Nail Genre:  http://ow.ly/4mMw0p @CSLakin

Secrets of the Book Designer: The Many Ways a Cover is Rejected:  http://ow.ly/4naKRM @erikinternet @thelithub

Writing About History: Truth or Dare: http://ow.ly/4mL9FR @NatachaTormey

Wellness for writers: tips for physical and mental strength: http://ow.ly/4mMvgh @JTTwissel

Manage Your Energy So You Can Write: http://ow.ly/4mMve0 @annkroeker

7 Must-Have Features for Great Author Website Design:  http://ow.ly/4mMuXy @ferol

Amazon Marketing Services (AMS) for KDP Select:  http://ow.ly/4mMv4R  @ChrisDMcMullen

How to Tap Into Writing Mode Anywhere:  http://ow.ly/4mL9H1 @ejwenstrom

What’s in Your Bag of Tricks? http://ow.ly/4mL9J6  @kristanhoffman

The Fool’s Journey:  http://ow.ly/4mL9KQ @EvaDeverell

5 Words Writers Should Stop Using Immediately:  http://ow.ly/4mL9xF @Chris_Kokoski

Finding Poetry In Computer Code:  http://ow.ly/4mL9Pr @adearinthewoods

Knowing Your Character Inside and Out:  http://ow.ly/4mL9AI @Lgood67334

Author Readings And Why You Should Go To One:  http://ow.ly/4mL9QH @helpfulsnowman

On Publishing in India: ‘21,000 Retailers Sell Books Here’:  http://ow.ly/4n6t2t @DennisAbrams2

15 Tips On Close Reading: http://ow.ly/4mINW2 @SCarverAuthor

5 Tips To Sustain You While Querying:  http://ow.ly/4mIV5n @kcraftwriter

Worldbuilding About, Through, and With Autism:  http://ow.ly/4mIOFF  @xasymptote

The night Mark Twain brought Huck Finn alive: http://ow.ly/4n3EEf by Richard Zacks @Salon

Keeping a Journal Makes You a Better Writer:  http://ow.ly/4mIOjx @WritingForward

New Imprints for Romance Novels in Denmark:  http://ow.ly/4n6sLa @MarieBilde @pubperspectives

Dealing with the Editorial Report:  http://ow.ly/4mIRdg by Juliet Marillier

How to Write a Poem in 10 Easy Steps:  http://ow.ly/4n6nw6 by Skila Brown

How to blend a parallel, allegorical fantasy plot into your novel: http://ow.ly/4n6sBI @Roz_Morris

Merchandising Rights In Publishing Deals:  http://ow.ly/4mIV6I @SusanSpann

Grand Finales: Tips for Writing Great Endings: http://ow.ly/4mIOtx by Alan Rinzler

Are pre-orders always right for authors? My interview with @SteveCampbellFL: http://ow.ly/4n6rqe

Top 10 books written about books:  http://ow.ly/4n3EtE @GuardianBooks @jonathancoe

Make Your Novel More Relevant:  http://ow.ly/4mIOcy @DonMaass

Make Strong Writing Stellar: http://ow.ly/4mL9qT @MargieLawson

10 Types of Prewriting:  http://ow.ly/4mL9tE  @JillWilliamson

Are You a Writer or a Storyteller? http://ow.ly/4mL9il @McgannKellie

Writing Lessons from Gone With The Wind:  http://ow.ly/4mL9nZ @kimberlydbrock

Checking Out Books Under Al-Qaida’s Nose: Timbuktu’s ‘Badass Librarians’:  http://ow.ly/4n3EkX @nprbooks

3 Ways To Add the Sizzle to Fiction That’s Fizzled:  http://ow.ly/4mIR6X @KristenLambTX

The Pulp Fiction Dime Novel Is Making a Comeback:  http://ow.ly/4mINOU by Parker Richards

5 Tips to Help You Write What You Know:  http://ow.ly/4mIOnC @HeidiAngell

Tips for Writing a Query That Gets Read:  http://ow.ly/4mITkI by Jeanne Kisacky

An agent on pitching stories:  http://ow.ly/4mITcf @marielamba

How To Write Irresistible Prose:  http://ow.ly/10Erhn @Chris_Kokoski

In Praise of Remixing Shakespeare:  http://ow.ly/4n3Ebs by Andrew Hartley @unccharlotte @thelithub

Pre-Orders: Are they Always A Good Idea? http://ow.ly/4n3phT  @SteveCampbellFL

How much does it cost to self-publish a book? @ReedsyHQ shares its data: pic.twitter.com/iDxezOZ3KB http://goo.gl/IiGPGT

3 Tips To Improve Your Writing Routine:  http://ow.ly/10Erjn @rsmollisonread

Do You Know Where Your ISBNs Are? (Free Logbook Download): http://ow.ly/4mIV8O @JFbookman

3 Scrivener Tips to Become a Master Outliner:  http://ow.ly/4mHEfB @jslauthor

Using Google calendar to simplify life and set goals:  http://ow.ly/4n3ov9

7 Ways to Jumpstart an Author Platform:  http://ow.ly/10ErAI @EmilyWenstrom

11 Reasons Indie Authors Need Social Media (And How to Get It Right):  http://ow.ly/10Es9f @CaballoFrances

How To Maximize Goodreads Giveaways: http://ow.ly/10ErUd @Bookgal

3 Most Important Elements of Chapter One:  http://ow.ly/10ErYg @EmilyWenstrom

Tech Tip for Writers: The 3-Click Rule:  http://ow.ly/10ErWw @WordDreams

Last week’s links:  http://ow.ly/4n2aXg . All the links I’ve ever shared (35K+, free and searchable): writerskb.com @Hiveword

Q&A with Literary Agent Juliet Pickering of the Blake Friedmann Agency:  http://ow.ly/10Dz5m @MMFinck

DIY Memoir:  http://ow.ly/10DySV @cbramkamp

Create a Compelling Character Arc:  http://ow.ly/10DD6X @KathyEdens1

Best Character for Telling Your Story, Basic Action, Weakness and Choice: http://ow.ly/10Es04 @mileconnors

Why writers should be on LinkedIn:  http://ow.ly/10Erwo @LisaJJackson

A short exercise to get you started thinking about your author brand:  http://ow.ly/10EsdL @standoutbooks

4 Reasons to Be Intentional With Your Free Time:  http://ow.ly/10Ermf @emily_tjaden

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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Being Intentional With Our Free Time

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve had a very tough time finding time to just relax the past few years.

Part of the problem is that, when I’m not busy with mothering, driving my daughter to various activities, and managing the household, I’m writing, working on my website, figuring out marketing techniques…basically filling any available time up completely.

Part of the problem is that now I have a hard time relaxing in general.  I’m very restless during quieter times and I have that overwhelming feeling that I should be working on something.  Frequently I’ll jump up after five minutes or so and unload the dishwasher.  That kind of thing.

I even wrote a character with this trait:  Beatrice in the Southern Quilting mysteries.  She can’t relax and can’t seem to make her retirement restful.

I read an article by Emily Tjaden called “4 Reasons to Be Intentional With Your Free Time.”  When I curate links on Twitter, sometimes there’s an article that I’ll put to the side–I’ll drag the tab off to the side–and read it again later.  This was one of those articles.  Because, although I think I subconsciously realized most of the things that she was saying in her post, it resonated with me because I now realized this was something I could be mindful about and possibly help mitigate.

Tjaden says in her post that we can burn through our free time by randomly checking our emails and social media and news stories.  I’m certainly guilty as charged.

But I’ll take that even a step further. Frequently I want something to read or watch that will keep me completely engrossed and tame my restlessness.  But then I blow through my free time trying to remember that book title or that old movie that should be available on Netflix. Sometimes I blow it catching up on emails or aimlessly scrolling through social media.

I’ve made a couple of adjustments in my approach in the last week and it’s worked really well for me.  I feel as if I’m maximizing my free time.

Now I’m maintaining a TBR list of what I most want to read.  My library allows me to add a book to a “read later” list, which is a nice feature.  And, yes, sometimes I’ll go ahead and purchase a book as I hear about it and have it ready and loaded on my Kindle.
I’m also maintaining a list of online movies and documentaries that I’d like to view.  I research sites that review and recommend movies and add the films to my “watchlist.” Even PBS allows me to do this now…a new feature on their site.

This way, when I’m ready to take a break and genuinely recharge,  I can quickly pull up a book I’m eager to read or a video I’m excited to watch.   After doing this the last week, the results have been really amazing.  I don’t have that stressed out feeling after my “downtime,” and I really feel more rested and ready to move back into my work.  I actually feel recharged, which hasn’t happened for a while.

How do you manage your free time?  Do you ever find yourself too keyed up to relax?

Being intentional with free time can help us be more relaxed:
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Image: MorgueFile: PippaLou

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Google Calendar to Simplify Life and Set Goals

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve become something of a Google calendar fanatic.  I’ve completely outsourced my memory to it and have it open much of the day on my laptop and phone.

I used to love having a printed calendar, but disliked having to carry it with me for those frequent times that I needed to check it when I was away from the house.  Printed calendars meant that I usually still had to keep the bits of paper clutter associated with the calendar entry (the slip that listed all the food allergies on the soccer team when I’m in charge of snacks, etc.)

With Google calendar, I either copy-paste the detailed information for the appointment or task and add it to the “notes” section of the entry, or I transcribe the details/contact info on the paper. Then I toss the piece of paper away.  Having all of the information in one place saves me a lot of time and throwing away paper helps keep my house from getting cluttered.

The ability to have the calendar with me at all times (since I always have my phone with me), has really helped me to minimize conflicts and keep on task each day.

Google calendar (free app) helps me keep track of everything: events, appointments, chores, my grocery list, weekly menus, and family and friend birthdays.

There are also some helpful writing-related applications for the app:

I add a mini-outline each day on the calendar so I know what I’m planning on writing that day (and can grab a few extra minutes to write when I’m out of the house and having to unexpectedly wait on something or someone).   Just jotting a line or two down can give me enough direction so that I know what I’m writing next.

I put the editorial calendar for this blog on my Google calendar.

I like adding goals to the calendar using the new goals feature.  Google recently released a new goals feature for its calendar.  You can schedule in your writing goals or reading goals, or even personal goals for exercise, etc.  You add the goal, tell Google how often and what the best general time of day is to complete it,  and Google schedules it into available time on your calendar.  When the goal reminder pops up, you can defer it or mark it as completed .  Google learns what times work better for you when you defer, edit, or complete goals.

Using the calendar as a crutch to outsource my memory and important tasks also helps me feel less stressed out and more creative. Whenever I read about helpful plugins on WordPress or a smart way to optimize my Amazon book pages, I used to feel that I needed to drop what I was doing and work on the task while it was fresh on my mind.  Not only did this put me behind, it also stressed me out because I wasn’t finishing one task before beginning another.  Now I’m scheduling these types of tasks in the future on my calendar and adding the links to the helpful articles in the notes section.

A few tips: 

Print out the month view of the Google calendar and put it somewhere accessible if it’s too hard to quickly see potential event conflicts on the app (sometimes I have to look at a print out to really absorb what my week looks like).

Save time by sharing calendars with someone else.  You can make a lot of different calendars on the Google calendar app and choose which ones you share out.  So if I make a calendar that only has my daughter’s soccer schedule on it, then I can choose to share that one with her so that she knows/can be responsible for her schedule, too.

As a reminder–if you rely heavily on this or the Apple  iCal, remember to back up the calendar.  Can you imagine losing all that data? It would be as if I’d suffered complete memory loss all in one fell swoop.

What’s one of your favorite tools to stay organized and keep up with goals?

Using Google calendar to simplify life and set goals:
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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

How Novelists Can Benefit from Using Cinematic Scene Structure:  http://ow.ly/10Dwyp @CSLakin

“Mothers are perfect only in fiction”:  http://ow.ly/10Dz8w @Tracy_Chevalier

The True Story Behind the Legendary “Lost Ending” of The Shining: http://ow.ly/10DCNh @steveajohnson

Fixing Episodic Plots:  http://ow.ly/10DwOV @NovelEditor

Writers from @NewYorker  Remember Prince:  http://ow.ly/4n1bWd @huahsu @emilynussbaum @asarahlarson @amandapetrusich

Defining horror:  http://ow.ly/10DCWs  @orringrey      

Crafting Your Character’s Fatal Flaw:  http://ow.ly/10DD39 @SeptCFawkes

4 Worst Book-To-Movie Adaptations:  http://ow.ly/10DD1I @NatePhilbrick

5 Tactics to Master Killer Short Story Endings:  http://ow.ly/10DyQl @sacha_black

Create a Compelling Character Arc:  http://ow.ly/10DD6X @KathyEdens1

DIY Memoir:  http://ow.ly/10DySV @cbramkamp

Q&A with Literary Agent Juliet Pickering of the Blake Friedmann Agency:  http://ow.ly/10Dz5m @MMFinck

Want to Raise Your Brand Awareness? Put One of These on Your Blog:  http://ow.ly/10DzDP @jesslaw

How To Socialize At Conferences:  http://ow.ly/10Dzmy @PiperBayard

How to Create a Style Sheet for Your Manuscript: http://ow.ly/10DKTr @RachelleGardner

Why 1 Writer Used Untranslated Chinese in Her Novel: http://ow.ly/10AOoL @esmewang

On Poetry & Money: http://ow.ly/10AO5q @poetrynews by  Jennifer Moxley

The Introvert Entrepreneur:  http://ow.ly/10DwTv @introvertcoach  @thecreativepenn

Trying Out Science Fiction: A Guide for Fantasy Purists:  http://ow.ly/10Dz3a @NicolaAlter

1st Books After Forty: Michael Morse And @Robinschaer In Conversation:  http://ow.ly/10DDea

Should You Write Every Day? http://ow.ly/10DzBb @stephmorrill

Bringing Arabic lit to the world:  http://ow.ly/4n0jdF @Bodour @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

When Copyright Protections Weaken: Canada’s Warning to Australia:  http://ow.ly/4n0jjo @Porter_Anderson

LinkedIn Tip for Writers:  http://ow.ly/4mYI6Z

Crime fiction: when the killer is horrified by his crime: http://ow.ly/4mYG67 @mkinberg

Writing Resources: A Closer Look at Storybird:  http://ow.ly/4mYFRW @ChrysFey

Why a Writer Went on the World’s Longest Book Tour: http://ow.ly/10zbEw  @jennymilchman  @womenwriters

From book to screen: author’s dream or nightmare? http://ow.ly/10zbAt  @AnnMNoser

Things Your Writing Teacher Never Told You: Serial POV: In its Myriad Forms:  http://ow.ly/10zd05 by Tina L. Jens @BlackGateDotCom

Into the Deep End with Podcasting:  http://ow.ly/10zdn8 @Philip_Overby

Can Everyone Write a YA Novel?  http://ow.ly/10zdLs @100waystowrite

How to Plot a Story Without Using a Formula: http://ow.ly/10zddP @book_arch

The Parallels Between Being an Artist and Being a Parent: http://ow.ly/10zduN @brainpicker

When New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work:  http://ow.ly/10zdz7 by Mary Jo Guglielmo

7 tips for giving a powerful public reading:  http://ow.ly/10zdDH @gigirosenberg

Emotional Wound Thesaurus: Being Publicly Humiliated:  http://ow.ly/10zdOW @AngelaAckerman

Why You Should Write For Yourself Not The Market:  http://ow.ly/10zdhW @kj_bags

Authors with wordbuilding advice:  http://ow.ly/10zdHm  @ChrisAndrewsAU

Get More Reads on Wattpad: Top Tips From Writers:  http://ow.ly/4mXl3h @stopprocras

6 Ways to Write Efficiently for Writers with Day Jobs:  http://ow.ly/10zaA0 @AuthorSAT

Writer Resource: The Emotion Thesaurus:  http://ow.ly/10zaov @pamelameyers  @AngelaAckerman

How Cervantes and Shakespeare wrote the modern literary rule book http://ow.ly/10xSUA by @SalmanRushdie

Moving Beyond “Crazy Rich Asians” In The Stories We Tell About China:  http://ow.ly/4mXltE  estherxlwang  @BuzzFeed

Why Do Cats Love Bookstores?  http://ow.ly/10xQZc @CommunityBkstr @imjasondiamond @kingsbooks

The @washingtonpost asked 10 poets for poems. 10 designers animated them for Ntl. Poetry Month:  http://ow.ly/4mXk4P

If Jane Eyre Released Today Would It Be Marketed As Genre?  http://ow.ly/4mXjQe @LyndsayFaye @thelithub

5 Spring Cleaning Must-Dos For Authors:  http://ow.ly/10wpIg @WhereWritersWin

Behind the Scenes of a Bestselling Launch:  http://ow.ly/10wpmD @DanBlank

Emotional Wound Thesaurus: Financial Ruin Due To A Spouse’s Irresponsibility:  http://ow.ly/10wqgF @AngelaAckerman

Writing a Novel in 7 Days:  3 Myths Shattered:  http://ow.ly/10wpSW @DeanWesleySmith

4 elements to plot twists:  http://ow.ly/10wpxe @donnalhsmith

How to Embrace Imperfection as a Writer:  http://ow.ly/10wpMk @powellwriter

Business Musings: Contract Basics (Contracts/Dealbreakers) : http://ow.ly/10wqrU @KristineRusch

Extroverting for Introverts:  http://ow.ly/10wqnM @AllieLarkin

What to know about Peter Balakian, the new Pulitzer Prize-winning poet:  http://ow.ly/4mUZbu @RonCharles

Crime Writers: Detectives v. Patrol: Point Your Tale In the Right Direction:  http://ow.ly/4mV12J @LeeLofland

The Hot Sheet: industry newsletter for authors (30 day free trial): from @Porter_Anderson & @JaneFriedman: http://ow.ly/4mUMbD

How to Outline Your Novel: The 3-Act Structure:  http://ow.ly/10wq2Q by Chris Fox

Indie Author Survival Guide:  Fear and the Creative Worker:  http://ow.ly/10wqki @susankayequinn

Don’t give away your power:  http://ow.ly/10woEO @PBRWriter

Avast! Piracy and the Self-Publisher:  http://ow.ly/10wqxc @dkudler

How to Grow Author Mailing Lists with @MailChimp  and Bookfunnel http://ow.ly/10wqAD @authordesigner

The Getting Things Done (GTD) System for Writers: http://ow.ly/10wpZP @aliventures

Building Blocks of a Novel: Paragraphs: http://ow.ly/10v6O0 @JulieEshbaugh

Plotting: The Flow of Your Story: http://ow.ly/10v6Fb @HoustonHavens

Pinning KidLit to the Mat:  http://ow.ly/10v6WL @mdilloway

World Building: Insider vs. Outsider:  http://ow.ly/10v760 @Ava_Jae

How to Run a Successful Kickstarter Campaign:  http://ow.ly/10v6zx @wickerkat

Pantsers vs Plotters:  http://ow.ly/10v6RZ @CosDrift

UK’s Waterstones: ‘25 Percent More Expensive Than Amazon’: http://ow.ly/4mQNIj @Porter_Anderson

36 Ways to Describe Buildings: –Neighborhoods:  http://ow.ly/10v6JL @WordDreams

The Perks of Getting Lost at the London Book Fair:  http://ow.ly/4mSuNA @martabausells @thelithub

30 Poets You Should Be Reading: http://ow.ly/4mPOOT

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Remote Work (After 5 Years of Experience):  http://ow.ly/10tsEd @hackinglife7

A Lesson in Fear from the Appalachian Trail:  http://ow.ly/10tswj @doug_walsh75

Selling Ebooks Directly:  http://ow.ly/10trVr @jimchines

The Hypnotic Secrets of Point of View:  http://ow.ly/10ts84 @Chris_Kokoski

‘Free Saudi Liberals’ Creator @Raif_Badawi Receives IPA Award: http://ow.ly/4mQNvl @porter_anderson

A comic on self-doubt during the creative process:  http://ow.ly/4mQG1f @inkyelbows

Working Bad Jobs Makes You a Better Writer:  http://ow.ly/10v6cc @GiveMeYourTeeth

Writing and the Creative Life: The Tactile Experience of Writing:  http://ow.ly/10v69m @GoIntoTheStory

How to Publish Posts that Search Engines Will Love:  http://ow.ly/10v6in by Chris Smith

Shakespeare’s ‘Original Pronunciation’ and the Fight for the Bard’s Wordplay:  http://ow.ly/10v642 @megangarber @TheAtlantic

Plot Twists: Expanding Your World:  http://ow.ly/10v61O @artofstoriesAB

Teach the Aspiring Author Through Editing:  http://ow.ly/10v6Ls @CarolAnneMalone

6 Wrong Ways to Write About Horses:  http://ow.ly/10tsaW @VickiLWeavil

4 Tips for Developing Compelling Characters:  http://ow.ly/4mPcxm from Australian College of Journalism by Marianne Stenger

Top 50 Websites for Indie Authors:  http://ow.ly/10r2YL @Bookgal

Poetry Podcasts Are Back:  http://ow.ly/4mPOpC @HartCrane @JayOhEssEe

The 12 Steps to Self-Publishing:  http://ow.ly/10r37I @liz_lazarus  @WomenWriters

65 Online Writing Tools For Writers, Bloggers & Authors: http://ow.ly/10tss5 @joshspilker

What can the meat packing scandal of 1906 teach us about writing? http://ow.ly/4mPc6E @p2p_editor

When to email an agent or editor:  http://ow.ly/10r2sX @JaneLebak

AmazonCrossing in Translation Expansion:  http://ow.ly/4mOaTB @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

2016 Smashwords Survey Reveals Insight into the Habits of Bestselling Authors:  http://ow.ly/4mPdHv @markcoker

Promote a New Release by Marketing the Entire Book Series:  http://ow.ly/10trPk @DianaUrban  @MeggJensen

Creating Tension: Put Dialogue to Work:  http://ow.ly/10trTx @ShanDitty

How To Sell More Books on iBooks:  http://ow.ly/10trNg @thecreativepenn

London Book Fair: Comparing the UK and UK  Book Markets:   http://ow.ly/4mOaBg

Domestic help in crime fiction:  http://ow.ly/4mO9N1 @mkinberg

5 Lessons From One Author’s 1st Book Deal:  http://ow.ly/10tsCf @realkaranbajaj

Ebook pricing:  http://ow.ly/10r2zW @BookBaby

The Key to Creating a Wholly Believable Character: http://ow.ly/10trUI @CSLakin

6 Things to Consider Before Starting a Small Press:  http://ow.ly/10trRO @RoseannaMWhite @goteenwriters

10-Point Plan To Move Your Business Into The Social Media Arena:  http://ow.ly/10tszm @MiaJouBotha

Is a False Belief Holding Back Your Writing Career?  http://ow.ly/4mMwpM @annerallen

Parallelism: Keep Your Verb Tenses Consistent:  http://ow.ly/10pdlw @epbure

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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LinkedIn Tip for Writers

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Lately I’ve been spending time brushing up my LinkedIn profile.  I wrote about my progress in March.  One thing I like about this platform is that I don’t have to spend much time there.  I can keep elements current and then basically leave the profile alone.

I’ve searched for tips that help optimize my page, since I’ve always been somewhat at a loss on LinkedIn.  It’s not exactly a social site, but it’s not exactly a place where we upload a static resume and leave it alone.

I recently read an article by Alex Campbell on PC World: “The one LinkedIn profile tip everyone should know: Use Work Samples to show off your achievements.” The author seemed to have freelance writers in mind.  But I wondered if I could adapt the tip to make it work for published books instead of articles.

Campbell explained that linking to work samples would not only give evidence of authority but would also make the page more visually appealing and interesting. That’s because it would populate our LinkedIn profile with images (most articles these days, obviously, have images at the top).

There are several areas on our profile where we can add these work samples/images: Summary, Experience, and Education.  Alex Campbell recommended that we definitely include samples in our Summary section, since it was near the top of the page and would be eye-catching.

I tried a few different things, but because of the way the LinkedIn page is set up, images didn’t attach. For instance, I tried uploading a sample chapter from My Documents, but it didn’t allow me to upload a cover separately.  I was just getting a text box thing on there.

I finally hit gold when I tried linking to a Kindle Preview link.  As a bonus, I could add in my Amazon Affiliate ID to create the link.  If you’re unfamiliar with Kindle Preview, it’s easy to set up.  I detail how to do that in this January post.  Basically, it’s a matter of clicking on the “embed” link under the “buy now/give as a gift” box on your book page on Amazon, and then copy-pasting the link (or adding in your ID code and copy-pasting the link, if you’re an Affiliate).

I pasted the URL in the box on the LinkedIn page.  Right underneath, it gives us the opportunity to add a title and description, which I did. I hit “add to profile,” and held my breath.  It worked!  It added a nice visual to the page and clicking the visual takes  readers to Amazon’s sample.  Readers can preview without having to log into Amazon.

I thought adding all of my books was, well, probably impossible  or at least would make it too crammed on the page. It might be nice, for those of us who write more than one series, for us to divide our the Experience section into series somehow and add the covers (or some of them) for each individual series.  For instance, I divided my two series with Penguin by imprint (“employers”)  and added covers for each.  My self-published series goes under Midnight Ink, since the series started with them.

This is one of those things that really only takes a few minutes, but makes a nice difference, visually.

Any other LinkedIn tips?

A LinkedIn tip for writers:
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