Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 159

LibraryThing and Goodreads: Meeting Readers, Book Giveaways and Finding Reviewers

  by F.C Malby  (@fcmalby)




Book reviews can create the difference between floundering sales and a book which is regularly making its way into the hands of new readers. Promoting your book doesn’t need to be a painful process and book reviews and connections with readers are vital to the success of your book, especially in the early days.

I’ll share my experiences of both LibraryThing and Goodreads so that you have a better idea of where to go before your book is released, and how to set up a giveaway and garner some honest reviews.

 





Goodreads

Stats: Launched in 2007, Goodreads claims to be the largest site for readers and book recommendations in the world, with more than 14,000,000 members who have added more than 460,000,000 books to their shelves.

I signed up as a Goodreads Author which gives you a different profile to readers, allowing you to:

·         Add a picture and bio, listing your influences and genre (this is important for finding readers in your niche).

·         Share your favourite books with readers.

·         Add your blog feed into your profile (this has helped to build my blog platform).

·         Publicise book signings, speaking engagements and other events.

·         Share book extracts and quotes (some authors say that adding quotes has helped to boost their sales).

·         Write a quiz about your book, add it to specific listopia lists and post a book trailer video.

·         Lead a Q&A discussion for readers and join in with forum chat.

In the months running up to my book release I spent some time exploring the site and getting to know readers through forums before I set up a book giveaway.  Find readers in your genre and you will have more success with your books. It is important not to just sit on Goodreads as a disconnected author but to get involved, upload books you have enjoyed and review them, add friends, join in with discussions and be present. You can set the email alerts to send as much or as little information as you like to your email account and you can always check all activity on your Goodreads account and reply to messages.

A month before my book was due to be released I entered it into a giveaway (it has to be pre-prelease). This is set for a certain period of time with a fixed number of hard copies to give away (Goodreads won’t accept eBook files as giveaways) and when it closes they email a list of addresses of the winners. While readers sign up for the giveaway, if they like the book they will also add your book onto their shelf to read later. I set up the giveaway for 3 weeks and 1,500 readers signed up for the giveaway. While these figures are higher than the average of 800 sign-ups there was no significant boost to sales at the time and just two reviews (one from a winner).

Nearly 500 people added the book to their shelves marked as ‘to read.’ This is a longer term strategy which works as part of the giveaway and for this I am grateful. It is difficult to gauge how sales are impacted as book buying is spread out over time. Readers have also taken a book quiz which I set up. You can also set up listopia lists with books which are similar to yours, add book quotes and join in with forum discussions. The readers and authors I have met on Goodreads have been friendly and informative, some also connecting via facebook or twitter.

Goodreads works in the same way as Amazon by recommending books by other authors which are similar to those a member’s list, which means that when readers add books which Goodreads deems to be similar to your title, it may then be recommended as a book to read. This is a really helpful marketing tool.

 






LibraryThing –

Stats: Launched in 2005, LibraryThing has more than 1,600,000 members with over 78,900,000 books catalogued. Nearly 2,000,000 reviews of more than 664,000 works have been written by members.

Once I had become familiar with Goodreads, I explored LibraryThing. I entered a member giveaway after the book was released at the end of December 2012, but they also have early review giveaways. The option of a giveaway before or after your release date makes this more flexible.

You can giveaway either hard copies or eBook files, which allows you to give away many more copies using .mobi and .epub files. Most authors offer eBook files only and enter 25, 50, 75 or 100 copies into a giveaway, stating that they will be giving away eBook files only. This made more sense to me so I set up a giveaway for 50 copies but I noticed that books are listed in order of the number of copies to give away and then put into date order, so if you want to be nearer the top of the list, it might be better to release 100 copies, although remember that you will need to send these all out.

I set the giveaway for 2 weeks and 45 people signed up in 3 days. If more people sign up than the allotted number to giveaway then LibraryThing will pick winners at random, as with Goodreads. When the giveaway closes, LibraryThing also emails you with a list of winners with their email addresses, which is much quicker and cheaper method of distribution. 

I had read that there was less interaction between authors with readers on LibraryThing but I have had some good chats with readers, and reviews on various sites (including Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble and LibraryThing) from the giveaway with some really encouraging emails from readers with lots of feedback. Although there were less sign ups than on Goodreads, the requests build up quite quickly and I had more reviews and emails. Several people have connected with me through other social media sites and I noticed a jump in sales following the giveaway. I have really enjoyed the experience and would recommend exploring this site if you haven’t yet joined. It’s important to remember that you can’t demand reviews, you can only offer your books with a review request. Be courteous and join in with the communities on each site. They are both full of interesting readers, authors, groups and forum discussions.




OVERALL:



Goodreads



Giveaway: hard copies only.



More limited in giving away hard copies, factoring in the cost of purchase and postage.



Readers add your book to their to-read list through a giveaway.



Reviews generally only on Goodreads.



The option to create Listopia lists, quizzes and add book quotes widens the number of pages where your book will be listed on the site.




LibraryThing



Giveaway: hard copies or .mobi/.epub files.



Option of either format gives you the freedom to list many more giveaway copies.



Your book is added to lists organically but it takes time.



Reviews can be requested for any site.



Zeitgeist page – fascinating insight into book/reader stats. (incl. most reviewed books and top languages of translated books).




Author Bio



F.C. Malby is the author of ‘Take Me to the Castle,’ set in Prague during the Velvet Revolution. She is a novelist, a photographer and a teacher, and has taught English in the Czech Republic, the Philippines and London.  You can find her blog and website at fcmalby.com, or connect on twitter @fcmalby, or on her facebook author page.





Take Me to the Castle is currently free to download this week until 1 March.  View the book trailer.



 





 



 

Ten Steps to Blogging Success

Guest post by Molly Greene, @mollygreene





It’s true for
nearly every author: Attracting readers to your website is the main reason you
blog. After all, your books are your business, and according to a 2012 report
by marketing and web analytics specialist HubSpot, businesses that post new
blog content even once or twice a month get much more traffic than those that
don’t blog at all. Per HubSpot, “an average company will see a 45% growth in
traffic when total blog articles increase from 11-20 to 21-50, and a 59% increase
when total blog articles reach 100 to 200.”



Blogging gets
results. Every post forges another path to your website. So if you’ve wondered
how and why to begin – or if you’re stalled somewhere in the process and need guidance,
here are the basic steps.







1.       Set
up a website. Choose
free Wordpress.com, free Blogger.com, even inexpensive Squarespace. With a
little research into what each platform offers, you can choose the right one
for you. If you already have a free site and you’re considering a move to self-hosted
Wordpress.org, pre-planning will allow for a seamless transition.







2.      Determine
topic categories. Who
are you writing for? Who is your ideal reader? Choose a handful of topic
categories based on the answer. Also, keep in mind that every work of fiction
contains plot elements an author can explore on their blog. So pinpoint the
themes in your books, determine how they overlap real world topics you are
passionate about, and write your posts around this common ground.







3.      Establish
a posting schedule.
Don’t be overly concerned about frequency at first, simply post as many times a
month as you can comfortably handle without going insane. Focus on quality before
quantity, and discipline yourself to post according to a pre-determined
schedule. Consistency is key.







4.      Write
great content. This may
be the biggest challenge: The goal is to share good, evergreen content that
offers value to your ideal reader. Make them laugh, make them cry, make them
think, educate them. Whichever applies, strive to write posts that hit the mark
every time.







5.      Interact
on social media. One of
the most effective methods to draw website traffic is sharing content across
social media accounts. Establish, build, and grow a following on pertinent social media platforms such as Facebook,
Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. You’ll be tempted to follow and
market to authors because they are so supportive, but be sure to seek out
readers, too. You want readers. Readers, readers, readers.







6.      Bring
traffic to your site. Continue
to grow more traffic through consistent sharing and interacting on your social
media accounts plus the application of SEO principles, guest posting, optimizing
your website, hosting guests, and other methods.







7.      Use
a call to action. The
primary goal of every author’s website is to sell books, but few accomplish
this directly through blog-driven sales. Instead, we rely on the second most
important goal for a website, readers who sign up to receive regular updates. A
great email list can be the most effective method for an author to actually
sell books. Use a really good call to action on your blog to encourage visitors
to subscribe.







8.     Repurpose
content. Try to find
three channels to re-use every word you write. Ideas: rework some of your blog content
into ebooks that you can sell or give away in contests or as a subscriber
incentive. Rewrite posts and share them on syndication sites. Rewrite the guest
posts you share with other bloggers and use them in ebooks and/or on your own
site.







9.      Use
email to launch products.
Use your email list to announce new ebooks and novels as you launch them. Then
use your email list to learn more about your readers (polls, surveys) and to
remind them about your work in a way that adds value, such as through freebies,
contests, giveaways, and whatever creative methods you can think up.







10.  Continue
to learn the craft. Never
stop educating yourself about blogging best practices, SEO principles and how
to implement them, website enhancements, and third party vendors that will help
you automate, streamline and improve your blogging experience.





Molly
Greene is an author, blogger, and blogging coach with a preference for reading,
writing, remodeling, and rural life. Her nonfiction titles include Blog
It! The author’s guide to
building a successful online brand, and the self-awareness guide, Someone
Worth Becoming (July 2013).
Molly is working on a second novel, Rapunzel ; her fiction debut, Mark of the Loon , is available
at major online retailers . Meanwhile, she blogs about self-publishing
topics and her crazy, ever-changing world at Molly-Greene.com .
Visit and subscribe! Follow & Friend
Molly on Twitter • Goodreads • Facebook • Google+



 



 

Why I Write Cozy Mysteries—Guest Post by Chrystle Fiedler

by Chrystle Fiedler, @ChrystleFiedler

Reality is overrated. At least I think so. Instead, I find comfort escaping into the world of a cozy mystery. Before I wrote cozy mysteries, I read them, Agatha Christie’s tales of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes and Dashiell Hammett and watched them; Midsomer Murders, Inspector Morse, and Murder, She Wrote which I’ve recently rediscovered on Hallmark TV.



Whether it’s in these pages or by watching these shows, I escape, like you do, to the coziness of quaint country villages, dappled country lanes, inviting stores on the high street, and of course, lovely rose covered cottages; inside, a cup of tea waiting.



Of course, the world of the cozy is in stark contrast to the murderous crimes committed there that shatter the peace and serenity. But we also know the detective will figure out the puzzle, catch the killer and put things back in their proper place. That’s incredibly satisfying to me as a writer as well, to have the power to put things back into balance.





My natural remedies mysteries are also set in a classic cozy setting, in this case, a real, idyllic fishing village on the East End of Long Island in NY called Greenport. When I was growing up the area was somewhat depressed but within the past two decades, Greenport has come into its own as a tourist destination with upscale eateries and boutiques, sandwiched between Mom and Pop hardware stores, diners and retro stores. Forbes magazine has even named Greenport one of the prettiest villages in the U.S.



I’ve always had an interest in natural medicine so I made my cozy protagonist, Willow McQuade, a naturopathic doctor who takes over a health food store – Nature’s Way Market & Café - after her Aunt Claire meets an untimely end. The store is located in a lovely 3 story yellow Victorian house across with a water view. Inside, it’s cozy too, with a homey feel, yummy cooking smells and the scent of essential oils, herbs and flower essences.



To complete my cozy universe, I gave Willow, a hunky ex-cop love interest named Jackson Spade, an adorable rescued dog and two rescued cats, loyal friends and workers and the spirit of her Aunt Claire to guide her.



Writing the natural remedies mysteries also gives me a wonderful chance to share what I’ve learned about natural cures with readers. It’s amazing what you can find in your kitchen and garden that can soothe and heal you. That’s a cozy feeling too.



In Scent to Kill, my latest natural remedies mystery cozy, I focus on the practice of aromatherapy, the use of essential oils to improve health and well-being. As I’m writing I can smell the lavender, jasmine and roses.



Whether I am writing my cozies, reading or watching them, I experience the same comfortable, homey, and safe feeling, knowing that no matter what happens, that all will be well in the end. Where else can you get that guarantee? Cozy mysteries are one of the best antidotes to reality I’ve found. How about you?


******




For a chance to win a copy of Scent to Kill: A Natural Remedies Mystery just leave a comment.



Here’s the scoop on Scent to Kill: A Natural Remedies Mystery:



“Scent to Kill is a well-crafted mystery…Devotees of natural medicine and aromatherapy will enjoy the tips that appear at the beginning of each chapter and scattered throughout the text.” Publisher’s Weekly



Willow McQuade, naturopathic doctor, along with her hunky ex-cop boyfriend Jackson Spade, attend a party for a psychic TV show that is filming on Long Island’s idyllic East End. However, Willow is much more interested in visiting the estate’s lavender farm, seeking inspiration for the new aromatherapy workshops she'll be holding at her store, Nature’s Way Market & Café.



Before the party is over, Roger Bixby one of the producers is dead and the police suspect murder. Roger was working on the show, MJ’s Mind, with Carly Bixby, his ex-wife and the new girlfriend of Willow's ex from L.A., TV writer/producer Simon Lewis.



After Willow leaves the party, she gets a frantic text from Simon asking for her help. Since Simon had a fight with Roger earlier in the evening, and because of his death is now the primary shareholder in Galaxy films, Willow's ex becomes the prime suspect. Simon begs her to crack the case and clear him of the murder. MJ McClellan, the psychic and star of the show also asks Willow for help. She hires Willow to provide natural remedies, including aromatherapy, massage, acupuncture and yoga to soothe the agitated crew of her show.



To find the killer, Willow has to deal with ghosts in a haunted mansion, a truly dysfunctional family, death threats and “accidents,” while trying to untangle a homicide identical to one committed during prohibition. Thankfully, Jackson has been hired to provide security and is there to watch her back and help Willow solve this spooky mystery.





Chrystle Fiedler is the author of SCENT TO KILL, (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster) the second in the NATURAL REMEDIES MYSTERY series, DEATH DROPS: A Natural Remedies Mystery, the non-fiction title THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO NATURAL REMEDIES (Alpha, 2009), co-author of BEAT SUGAR ADDICTION NOW! (Fairwinds Press, 2010), currently in its fourth printing, the BEAT SUGAR ADDICTION NOW!COOKBOOK (Fairwinds Press, 2012) and THE COUNTRY ALMANAC OF HOME REMEDIES (Fairwinds, 2011). Chrystle’s magazine articles featuring natural remedies have appeared in many national publications including Natural Health, Vegetarian Times, Better Homes & Gardens and Remedy. Visit www.chrystlefiedler.com .

The Butler Did It?

 Guest post by K.B. Owen, @kbowenwriter



I absolutely love mysteries, and if you’re here at Elizabeth’s site, you probably do, too.  Have you ever wondered, though, about some of the conventions in mystery genres?  Take the phrase "The Butler Did It" - how did that come to be such a cliched reference in mystery stories?






Did the butler - or another servant in the household of a wealthy murder victim - really "do it"?  Ever?  And in enough mystery novels to deserve the cliche?  Any of you mystery readers remember a time when the butler committed the murder in a novel?



Me neither.



So I started my search (after all, there are a lot of novels out there I'm not familiar with; no one can read them all) for stories with the butler as the culprit.  Guess what?  There is only one famous mystery novel I could find that uses the butler (more about this below).  Even if there are more examples that I've overlooked, they seem too obscure for internet search engines, and less likely to be in our collective consciousness.

So, do we have a trope/cliche that doesn't deserve the name?



Origin:



Most mystery aficionados agree that Golden Age mystery novelist Mary Roberts Rinehart, author of over a dozen mystery novels in the "had-I-but-known" female-centric flashback style, was the author who started (and ended) the trope.  While none of her books ever contained the words "the butler did it," one of her wildly-popular mystery novels (SPOILER ALERT), The Door (1930) has the butler as the murderer.  It was written in a hurry (for the specifics behind this, check out this great post), but still sold very well, as she was a household name by that point.



Even before the publication of The Door, however, Golden Age critics were poised to decry the use of a “mere” servant as a murderer.  S.S. Van Dine's "20 rules for writing mystery stories" (1928) lists it as No-No #11:



A servant must not be chosen by the author as the culprit. This is begging a noble question. It is a too easy solution. The culprit must be a decidedly worth-while person — one that wouldn't ordinarily come under suspicion.



Notice the phrase "a decidedly worth-while person."  In the remnants of the still class-rigid nineteen-twenties (containing echoes of its Victorian antecedents), servants weren't considered good material for a chief antagonist in an intellectual whodunnit.  



Why?  Well, in terms of both perception and reality, working-class servants didn't have the same education (and therefore, it was assumed, the intellect) as their employers, so the ability to outwit their “betters” was considered an absurd notion.  They were considered rather shady characters, of weaker moral fiber.



Of course, that doesn’t mean that servants didn’t make terrific suspects in mystery novels.  "Country-house" mysteries have long been rife with corrupt cooks, spying footmen, pregnant parlor maids, and so on.  And there’s a very good reason why they were a natural target of suspicion.    



We need to step back into the 19th century (where the modern detective/mystery genre originated); here, the Victorians were looking at a brave new world of domestic service. 



The 19th Century Servant Class:



Before the Industrial Revolution really got going mid-century, a servant and a servant’s parents could have worked their entire lives in their employer’s household, seeing the older generation of their employer’s family decline and pass away, and young heirs grow up and take over.  Such service would have been a source of pride and loyalty.  What servants wouldn’t have affection for the new heir, when he’s remembered as the mischievous boy who put a frog in the governess’s knitting basket?  They’ve known him all his life.



But then the economy exploded with a wealth of job opportunities in factories, railroads and mercantilism.  As people left for jobs elsewhere, servants were harder to come by and stayed on for a shorter time.  The concept of the “born and bred”  faithful servant was becoming an anachronism. 



Still, upper-class (and even middle-class) Victorian households needed domestics.  They were an inescapable fact of life: they fetched the water, stoked the fires, cooked the meals, did the laundry, and provided a barrier to the inconveniences of the outside world.  To some degree, they inhabited separate spaces: separate stairs, entrances, and rooms to which they were relegated whenever possible.  Despite this separation, their duties made them ever-present in the family spaces.



 So convenience had its price, namely, in lack of privacy.  Servants knew everything, saw everything - the family's petty quarrels, the little personal embarrassments of day-to-day living - all while being treated as second-class citizens and paid a pittance.  Servants were the outsiders, with only the fragile loyalty gained from the employer's purse. 



No wonder Victorian families were nervous.



The Butler as Villain:



So why waste all that great potential by not making the butler the culprit?  He’s an elevated-enough servant, right?  Was it just to adhere to the “Golden Age” mystery convention of avoiding the obvious solution at all costs (sometimes at the cost of a coherent plot line)?  Or because he wasn’t deemed smart enough to be an arch-villain? 



Ah, but what if you did make him smart enough?



Maybe that’s the problem.  Perhaps such a cunning adversary might lend the servant class a power that no middle/upper-class reader of the time would have been comfortable with.  A criminal who could match wits with the master of the house, and the detective.  Someone who – gasp – "almost" gets away with it.  Just a theory.



I wonder: do we have any social/class limitations like that today, or is everyone fair game to be the criminal nowadays?  What do you think?  Elizabeth and I would love you to share your thoughts!



Elizabeth, thank you so much for hosting me today.  I had a blast!



~Kathy





 K.B. Owen taught college English for nearly two decades at universities in Connecticut and Washington, DC, and holds a doctorate in 19th century British literature. A mystery lover since she can remember, she drew upon her teaching experiences in creating her amateur sleuth, Professor Concordia Wells. Unlike the fictional Miss Wells, K.B. did not have to conduct lectures in a bustle and full skirts. No doubt many people are thankful about that.



She now resides in Virginia with her husband and three sons. She recently finished the second book in the series, and is busily planning Concordia’s next adventure. Check out her website for more historical mystery fun: kbowenmysteries.com







An unseemly lesson…in murder.


The year is 1896, and Professor Concordia Wells has her hands full: teaching classes, acting as live-in chaperone to a cottage of lively female students, and directing the student play, Macbeth.



But mystery and murder are not confined to the stage. Malicious pranks, arson, money troubles, and the apparent suicide of a college official create turmoil at the women’s college. For Concordia, it becomes personal when a family member dies of a mysterious illness, and her best friend is attacked and left for dead.



With her friend still in danger and her beloved school facing certain ruin, Concordia knows that she must act. But uncovering secrets is a dangerous business, and there are some who do not appreciate the unseemly inquiries and bold actions of the young lady professor. Can she discover the ones responsible…before she becomes the next target?



Absorbing in its memorable characters, non-stop plot twists, and depiction of life in a late-nineteenth century women’s college, Dangerous and Unseemly is a suspenseful and engaging contribution to the cozy historical mystery genre. Fans of Harriet Vane and Maisie Dobbs will find in Concordia Wells a new heroine to fall in love with.


Available at:

Amazon

Scribd






How about a little mystery fun...and a prize! Each stop in K.B. Owen's book launch tour has a mystery question to answer. When you have them all, unscramble the answers to which ROOM, WEAPON, and SUSPECT, and email Kathy at kbowenwriter(at)gmail(dot)com. She'll announce the winner (chosen from the correct entries) at Karen McFarland's blog ( http://www.karenmcfarland.com ), the last stop of the tour. What do you win? A free ebook copy of Dangerous and Unseemly, and a $25 gift card of your choice to either Starbucks, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble! If you run into a few stumpers - no problem! Check out her Mystery Quizzes page http://kbowenmysteries.com/ mystery-quizzes/ for links to the answers. If you've joined us in the middle of the tour, the complete list of Book Tour hosts can be found at kbowenmysteries.com . Good luck!




One of the following is NOT a rule of Golden Age detective fiction, as famously listed by literary critic Ronald Knox (in a preface to a 1929 collection of detective stories). Which is it?

A) No more than one secret room or passage is allowable

B) The butler should not be the culprit

C) No Chinaman must figure in the story

D) Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we are duly prepared for them



 

Twitterific

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig



Twitterific is a compilation of all the writing links I shared the previous week.

 

The links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 19,000 free articles on writing-related topics. It's the search engine for writers.



Sign up for our free newsletter for monthly writing tips and interviews with top contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook.



Mike Fleming is working with author and writing coach James Scott Bell to offer an online, interactive, writing program to help make your next novel great. It's called "Knockout Novel" and you can learn more about it at KnockoutNovel.com. Plus, all the data is stored in your Hiveword account for easy access.

 

The Most Annoying Horror Movie Cliches: http://bit.ly/U082bg @HorrorMovies



Fleshing Out Your Protagonist: Creating An Awesome Character: http://bit.ly/U0b4w8 @woodwardkaren



Dear Lack of Follow-Through: A Letter to 1 Writer's Anti-Muse: http://bit.ly/Y1v4wx @robdyoung



How Can We Avoid Cookie-Cutter Writing? http://bit.ly/Y1veE5 @jodyhedlund



3 Ways Cause and Effect Can Build Your Story: http://bit.ly/U0bS45 @4YALit



How much internalized self-awareness does a character need? http://bit.ly/Y1vvXq @juliettewade



1 writer reflects on her 2-year self-pub anniversary: http://bit.ly/U0ciaS @goblinwriter



Writing Residency Programs: Is this what your writing needs now? http://bit.ly/Y1was5 @2KoP



Advice for Understanding the New Age in Publishing and Promotion: http://bit.ly/U0cZkl



Use Lists to Provide Engaging Posts That are Easy to Write and Read: http://bit.ly/U0d3ka @ninaamir



Want to Write Early? The Most Successful Techniques for Rising Earlier: http://bit.ly/Y1xYBo @LeoBabauta



Enemies of the Art: Approval Addiction: http://bit.ly/U0ebnR @kristenlamb



How 1 novelist went from nothing to published on Amazon in 2 years: http://bit.ly/Y1ygrZ @criticalmargins



Reflections On Diversity and Fantastic Literature: http://bit.ly/U0erTS @adribbleofink



An agent answers: "What do you expect of your clients? What do you do for your clients" http://bit.ly/Y1yAqI @MacGregorLit



Character names that should be banned forever: http://bit.ly/U0eOxE @io9



Anatomy of a First Chapter: Make Your Beginning Count: http://bit.ly/Y1z28o @btmargins



Why the Internet is a Trap - and how this writer deals with it: http://bit.ly/U0f7IU @juliettewade



An editorial assistant on posting our fiction online: http://bit.ly/U0gPtH @sjaejones



How to write for role-playing games: http://bit.ly/Y1AQ1a @jammer0501



Pinterest for Novelists: Inspiration, Book Design and Book Trailers: http://bit.ly/U0h884 @LaurHarrington



Listservs and Forums for Book Marketing: http://bit.ly/Y1AW94 @fictionnotes



Show, Don't Tell: http://bit.ly/U0hZFE @americanediting



Revision: Add More "I Understand You" Moments: http://bit.ly/Y1BGLf @cockeyedcaravan



How to Avoid the Self-Published Look: http://bit.ly/U0ieR5 @GuyKawasaki @digibookworld



Cut the Flab—Make Every Word Count: http://bit.ly/Y1BQSN @noveleditor



The Creative Professionals' Guide to Drafting a Resume: http://bit.ly/U0ioYR @kristenfischer



An example of a poignant turning point: http://bit.ly/Y1C24F @kcraftwriter



Cover Art - So Where's The Problem? http://bit.ly/U0iHmi @jimchines



When Erotica Crosses the Line: http://bit.ly/Y1CD6h @smexys_sidekick



Diary of a Brainstorming Weekend: http://bit.ly/U0jnbk @AdriennGiordano



5 Examples of the Need for Multiple Hyphenation: http://bit.ly/Y1D4gW @writing_tips



Ray Bradbury On How To Keep And Feed A Muse: http://bit.ly/U0jxiR @woodwardkaren



5 Ways to Keep Up Marketing Motivation: http://bit.ly/YjA52n @duolit



Character Development: Morals & Ideology: http://bit.ly/Xm18gt @ava_jae



Character Introductions and Voice: http://bit.ly/Xm1nId @Julie_Gray



Writing mixed emotions in a character: http://bit.ly/YjAlOO @aliciarasley



How to Optimize Your Amazon Book Page to Sell More Books: http://bit.ly/Xm1xzj @bubblecow



Effective buying is hard for bookstores--this becomes an increasingly important reality for publishers: http://bit.ly/YjAq58 @MikeShatzkin



How to Get Rid of Writer's Block: http://bit.ly/Xm1LGJ @kimberlykincaid



3 Steps to Creating Believable Character Emotions: http://bit.ly/YjAAJN @marcykennedy



In the Quagmire of the First Draft: http://bit.ly/Xm1W4S @TaliaVance



Beware the Under-Cooked Story Concept: http://bit.ly/YjAH7X @storyfix



7 Tips for Great Book Club Visits: http://bit.ly/Xm27Nr @blurbisaverb



Library Skills for Writers: http://bit.ly/YjARw8 @karencv



Avoiding the Convenient Plot Point: http://bit.ly/Xm2h7B @davidbcoe



How to keep rich worldbuilding from bogging down your story: http://bit.ly/YjAVvR @juliettewade



25 Hard Truths About Writing And Publishing: http://bit.ly/Xm2t6S @chuckwendig {lang}



Script To Screen: "Rebel Without A Cause": http://bit.ly/YjBs0Q @gointothestory



Who sees each tweet? A helpful Twitter tip: http://bit.ly/Xm3BYj @alexisgrant



5 Ways to Write When You're Not Really Writing: http://bit.ly/YjBCFr @MidgeRaymond



Where to end your story: http://bit.ly/XBZKUZ @rxena77



8 ways to help your favorite author: http://bit.ly/XBZUMg @rachellegardner



Connecting Secondary Elements: http://bit.ly/WEtnrj @kid_lit



7 Libraries of Photographs You Can Use For Free: http://bit.ly/XC02eE @jonathangunson



6 Reasons Being a Pirate is Like Being a Writer: http://bit.ly/XC12zy



Give Stories Added Depth With a 'Ghost Plot': http://bit.ly/WEtYZS @yeomanis



Writing, Illustrating And Marketing Books For Kids: http://bit.ly/XC1k9t @thecreativepenn



Outlining in Reverse: http://nyti.ms/WEubwk @nytimes



3 indie bookstores file suit against Amazon and Big Six publishers for DRM: http://bit.ly/15yh4Qo  @Porter_Anderson @laurahazardowen





Revising--set up more payoffs: http://bit.ly/XC1EFo @cockeyedcaravan



Explaining editorial revisions: http://bit.ly/WEuqY6 @kristinerusch



The Magic Of Stephen King: A Sympathetic Character Is Dealt A Crushing Blow They Eventually Overcome: http://bit.ly/XC1PAu @woodwardkaren



The Power of a Reader's Word of Mouth: http://bit.ly/X4B6Lu @jodyhedlund



9 Modern Tools Every Writer Should Use: http://bit.ly/V2CjYW @robdyoungwrites



Writing YA: On gendered and group-based insults and the characters that use them: http://bit.ly/V2CCml @wordforteens



4 things that warms one editor up to a query: http://bit.ly/X5pXtU



Twitter parties as promo: http://bit.ly/UaKhNZ @amandaluedeke



Bookstore Boss: http://bit.ly/X5q6NW @btmargins @BostonBkCritic



The eBook Path to Riches: Possibly Steeper Than Assumed: http://bit.ly/UaM4Cv @scalzi



"Pseudonyms Are Stupid" : http://bit.ly/X5rosu @darkcargo



6 Christian Literary Agent Blogs: http://bit.ly/UaMuJf @authormedia



Sympathetic Characters: Outcasts: http://bit.ly/UaMCZ5 @mooderino



6 reasons 1 reader stops reading a book: http://bit.ly/X5rEYu @annastanisz



Working through self-doubt: http://bit.ly/UaMRTS @adamisrael



Launching A Book Is Like Sending A Child To Play In Traffic: http://bit.ly/X5rRLf @catinitaly



How to Accept Your Procrastination (And Still Get Stuff Done): http://bit.ly/UaNeOx



Early business decisions for new self-publishers: http://bit.ly/X5zfX2 @deanwesleysmith



Kurt Vonnegut's "Shape of Stories" (Infographic): http://bit.ly/UbgIeV @MarkCN



Thinking like a publisher: expected costs: http://bit.ly/X5KIpo @deanwesleysmith



The value of failure: http://bit.ly/Ubh0Tc @woodwardkaren



An Easy Fix for a Tighter Point of View: http://bit.ly/VSHj2f @janice_hardy



Should writers "just" write? http://bit.ly/VUR8az @danblank



Why You Should Judge a Book By Its Cover: http://bit.ly/VSHyuh @nickthacker



Romance in Writing: Don't Force It: http://bit.ly/VURkH5 @ava_jae



Overcoming Stage Fright: http://bit.ly/VSHKtl



The power of screenwriters: http://bit.ly/VURD4w @gointothestory



The joys of being lowbrow: http://bit.ly/VSHPNF @junglereds @GMMalliet



Screenwriting: Now You Can Revise: Use the Final Draft Tools: http://bit.ly/VUS133 @cockeyedcaravan



Ideas for wowing editors and agents: http://bit.ly/VUSfqW



How Four Writers Find the Time to Write: http://bit.ly/XbPBND @Julie_Gray



When an idea strikes, act. http://bit.ly/XG99wW @tannerc



Theater Settings in Romance Novels: http://bit.ly/XbPT7d @rszalley



Your Goodreads Reviews Don't Just Stay on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/XG9r6J @readingape



Creative Writing Prompts: Shapeshifters, Real and Metaphorical: http://bit.ly/XbQaad @howtowriteshop



Maximizing Facebook–What We Can Learn From Puppy Dog Eyes and LOL Cats: http://bit.ly/XGa0O3 @kristenlambtx



Songwriting--how do you sell your songs? You *don't* sell your songs: http://bit.ly/XbScHt @usasongs



How much does an author's appearance matter? http://bit.ly/XGcewS @passivevoiceblg



5 Things Every Writer Should Know About Working With Independent Editors: http://bit.ly/12ReEg1 @BryanThomasS



5 Reasons Why We Fail at Our Writing Goals: http://bit.ly/XDt8Zc @jeanoram



10 Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Query Letter: http://bit.ly/12ReV2m @brianklems



What digital magazines can learn from ebook publishers: http://bit.ly/12Rf3in @laurahazardowen



Do You Like A Little Contradiction In Your Characters? http://bit.ly/XDttuQ @marcykennedy



Every Character Has A Story: http://bit.ly/12Rfc5C @bookviewcafe



Great Character: John McClane ("Die Hard"): http://bit.ly/XDtzTv @gointothestory



Facing fear as a writer: http://bit.ly/XDtEGK @joebunting



Secret or separate? Discreet and Discrete: http://bit.ly/12Rfl9a @LaurelGarver



50 Synonyms for "Villain": http://bit.ly/XDtKxS @writing_tips



Goal setting mistakes to avoid: http://bit.ly/XDtMpG @jwhite



Mystery, Magic, and the Aha! of the Reveal: http://bit.ly/12RfHfT @luciesmoker



1 writer's outlining process: http://bit.ly/VwpciL @daycathy



What Color is Your Writing World? http://bit.ly/VwpCWz



How to Change Telling into Showing: http://bit.ly/YgJV4p @jessicabell



First Person uncertainty: http://bit.ly/Vwq2fB @aliciarasley



Physical Attributes Entry: Lips: http://bit.ly/YgK3ku @angelaackerman



The Importance of Foreshadowing: http://bit.ly/VwqESk @sally_apokedak



5 ways to give a great author interview: http://bit.ly/YgKjzZ @chrisrobley



Split screen in Scrivener: http://bit.ly/VwrcYm @Gwen_Hernandez



6 Things Writers Can Learn From Television: http://bit.ly/YgKueq @woodwardkaren



Writing the Military: 5 Biggest Mistakes: http://bit.ly/VwrDSC @JosephZieja



Options for Reactions in a Sequel: http://bit.ly/YgKJGz @KMWeiland



How to Start a Book Club *Inside* a Book: http://bit.ly/Vws4Mt @wherewriterswin



When Writers Get Dumped: http://bit.ly/YgLdMD @jamesscottbell



Why 1 writer has returned to printing her self-pub books: http://bit.ly/VwtkiF @thecreativepenn



6 Ways to Evoke Emotion in Poetry and Prose: http://bit.ly/YgLj75 @AJWagoner



Description tips: http://bit.ly/VwtIhl @cockeyedcaravan



7 Tips for creating a PowerPoint Presentation: http://bit.ly/YgLsrf @nicolebasaraba



Setting – The First, Most Crucial Choice for your Career AND your Character: http://bit.ly/VwxsiJ @BlytheGifford



Top 10 Things You May Not Know About the Newbery Award: http://bit.ly/YgNbga



Why Should Writers Use Google+? http://bit.ly/Vwyb3q @gharness



The Publisher's Anxiety at the Electronic Book: http://bit.ly/W4b4In @thatjeffgomez



Setting up a co-authoring partnership: http://bit.ly/15nRu0v @ParanormYA



5 Reasons to Set Your Novel in a Famous Place: http://bit.ly/W4bmPd @ChuckSambuchino



Stuck or blocked? How to keep writing anyway: http://bit.ly/15nRFJc @dirtywhitecandy



A writer's guide to Gimp--installation: http://bit.ly/W5THH8  and fundamental techniques: http://bit.ly/W5TK5N  @ClarissaDraper



Revamping bookstores--ideas/challenges from the #FutureFoyles workshop: http://bit.ly/VtrQ6p @Porter_Anderson @philipdsjones @miriamkate



Writers and ego--the violent shifts from over-confident to too insecure: http://bit.ly/Vtve1d @hartjohnson



3 Minutes to Better Scrivener Chapter Headings: http://bit.ly/VtVzMB @genelempp



50% of Amazon sales are planned purchaes, not results of browsing.Discoverability implications: http://bit.ly/15xUYh5 @Suw @Porter_Anderson

Visual Methods of Writing

Guest post by Robert Ferrigno



My life experiences prior to writing shaped my writing style and method, although I doubt anyone outside my cerebral cortex could have predicted it. Having earned degrees in Philosophy, Film-Making and Creative Writing, I intended to be a college professor, but things didn't work out. I call this "my close call."



While studying film-making, I learned to visualize the story, to see it vividly spool out in my mind before I spent the money on filmstock. Today, video is virtually free, so I might not have learned this technique if I was in school today, which would be too bad, because I use it every day, in writing all my books, including my latest novel, The Girl Who Cried Wolf .



It Is All In the Matter of How You Edit a Book



As an author, I love to see a story unravel before my eyes, played out in a way that the reader will enjoy—moving them freely from one page to the next. I can actually do a lot of the editing in my head, playing out a scene from one point of view and then trying it again from another character's perspective. It saves time keyboarding if I can do a lot of the heavy lifting lying in bed seeing the book move forward and backward.



Once I have the basic plot, I physically storyboard my novels. I have a huge corkboard on my wall with every chapter eventually blocked out on a 3x5 card. This allows me to create a visual of the scenes and passages that follow one another to better determine how they work best. Over the course of writing a book, I’ll be moving chapters around because I see a different play of events. For example: Do you want to have an action scene followed by a love scene? What chapter works best when the main character is in a cliffhanger the chapter before? How long before the antagonist and protagonist meet?



Filmmaking Techniques



Mastering fiction. This is the job, the calling, the rollercoaster ride. It's hard, and no one ever really masters the form, which is one of the things that makes it so compelling to read and write. One of the best ways to bring a book to life is through characters that are more than marionettes, but real, in some ways more real than people we encounter in the rest of our lives.



Filmmaking plays into how I write my books in a way that many novelists would not typically think of—I see myself and my books very visually. I hear dialogue in my head and rehearse the dialogue in my head as if I were an actor. I am often walking around the house talking to myself in different voices and wearing different outfits.



The backstory of a great novel is always the imagination and thought that went into developing a story that has the ability to grab the attention of your audience. With the ability to bring my characters to life, I can see what they look like and how they are perceived in my head, but it is up to whoever has my book in their hands to do the same.



Writers Should Be Hyper-Aware of Their Surroundings



One thing that I have learned throughout the course of my life as an author is that the world is trying to help you. If you are out in the world, even in the most mundane of settings, you will encounter others. There are always power dynamics when people get together. Be aware of how they are dressed and how they talk, who touches whom, who makes eye contact and who doesn't. Each choice people make gives you an insight into their personalities. Check the shoes they are wearing, that’s what good detectives do, because shoes are an insight into character. I always want to know what my characters have for breakfast, even if they never have breakfast in the book, because that gives me insight into whom they are: oatmeal? Scrambled eggs? Black coffee? It matters. In The Girl Who Cried Wolf , the main character has breakfast with a cop who is helping him find his kidnapped girlfriend. The things the characters order, the way they eat, the way they handle their utensils, the banter over the food, who cleans their plate and who pushes it aside, all reveals who they are to the reader, and makes the scene more real. Which is the whole point.



Fiction vs. Reality



Visualizing a story allows it to come to life before your eyes—be it in your mind or in your living room as you are dressed as a character. It is my belief that the relationship between fiction and reality involves not only the author but the reader who will transform the author’s words and thoughts through their own personal experiences. It is the audience that truly makes the character live.



Robert Ferrigno is the author of The Girl Who Cried Wolf,  Heart of the Assassin, The Wake Up, Flinch, and other thrillers.  You can find out more about him at his website and purchase his books, including his latest release, here.

Writing as a Worthwhile Struggle

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig



My dirty secret is likely shared by many writers.  Writing isn’t always fun for me.



Yes, I’m completely driven to do it.  I’m driven to read craft posts and reference books on writing, and to read gobs of fiction in order to tear apart what others are doing well and analyze what makes their stories work.



But I don’t always like it.  It can be a total and complete joy…and a chore, all at the same time.



I’m now writing my twelfth book.  And this book has been a struggle, let me tell you.  It’s simply not wanted to cooperate. 



Problems that I’m aware of as I write the first draft:  the discovery of the body isn’t soon enough.  Myrtle’s character is off.  I’m puzzling at the purpose of a couple of scenes.  The pace is off…I’m nearly half-way through the book and I haven’t gotten my suspects interviewed.  Heck, I might not even have enough suspects for this book.



Yesterday, I stopped abruptly while writing a scene, wrote “blah, blah, blah” and skipped ahead to the next scene.  I’m guessing I’ll be trashing that scene later. Later….because I finish my first draft before edits.  So I’ll just grimly steam ahead.



One day last week, I struggled through my pages and finished my daily goal with relief.  Then I checked my emails and saw a note from a librarian in Ontario, praising one of my books.  She said that I wrote my characters with “tenderness.”



And I needed that shot in the arm, believe me.   That’s the kind of thing that helps sustain a writer through all the days when they wonder if they’re in the right business.



We learn from our struggles.  We learn from the rotten first drafts and the plots that didn’t cooperate and the characters that act as if they’ve had a personality-changing stroke. 



Because the more we write, the more we know.  I know that just because I’ve written books that practically wrote themselves (Finger Lickin’ Dead, Body in the Backyard), I’ve had books that I nearly deleted mere weeks before deadline (Hickory Smoked Homicide…which ended up being one of my stronger books once I figured out what direction I needed the story to go in.)  It’s not always  this linear path for improvement, either.  Each consecutive book isn’t necessarily easier to write.  But with our experience comes knowledge on how to handle story setbacks.  It’s also easier to diagnose and fix problems.



My advice is not to give up on your troublesome draft.  Finish it.  Pick back up with the next scene you feel confident writing.  If that’s the end scene, who cares?  Write the scenes backwards.  Just finish the book—fix it during your second draft.  Each book, easy to write or challenging to write, is such a valuable learning experience. 



Every time I read a motivational post on a blog, I appreciate the sentiment behind it and appreciate the support that the community offers…but I still realize that writing is still a tough slog.  It’s not just  a mind over matter thing.  It’s skill and tenacity and really just utter pigheadedness on the part of the writer to plow ahead despite all the obstacles.  We take the insights gleaned from our struggles with us when we write the next book.



Image:  MorgueFile: kumarnm

Five Ways to Handle Stuff and Other Nonsense

A guest
post by John Yeoman, @yeomanis




Can a story be perfect? If any novel approaches
that condition, it must be The Franchise Affair (1948) by Josephine Tey.
I’ve just read it with spellbound wonder.



But then, many of Tey’s novels would be Booker candidates today. That’s odd,
because she breaks so many story-writing rules. For example, her novels are
full of ‘stuff’ - long-winded descriptions of setting. The Singing Sands,
unfinished at her death, wanders all over the Scottish Highlands without much
happening. Yet Tey writes so well, the reader enjoys the scenery and stays with
the story.



Lesser writers - which include most of us - can’t risk that kind of digression.
Setting kills. Get to the point. Tell the tale. Still, how do we convey all the
‘stuff’ that’s vital to our story? Those details of context that our reader has
to know?



Here are five easy ways:



1. The naive stranger



A favourite device is to have a stranger ask a naive question. “‘Sir, why is
the village school built next to a jail?’ Old Tom smiled. ‘It’s a long story,’
he began...”



Only, don’t make the story too long!



2. The helpful gossip



Whenever that great rival to Sherlock Holmes, Dr Thorndyke, was presented with
a village mystery he - and his foil, Jervis - would dine in the local pub.
Inevitably, a garrulous maid or landlord would volunteer a vital clue.



Postal workers, shopkeepers, doctors, priests and other community insiders are
great volunteers of background ‘stuff’. (But avoid prurient old ladies who lurk
behind curtains. The world has room for only one Miss Marple.)



3. The ‘official’ tour guide



If somebody is playing host, they can plausibly entertain their guests with
anecdotal histories. A tree on a hill, a book upon a shelf, any object that
draws attention to itself can provoke a story.



‘My grandfather carried this with him at the Somme...’



A tourist brochure, newspaper clipping or public poster can also disclose
'stuff' in a casual way, without disrupting the narrative. ‘Official’
information appears to come to the reader unmediated by interpretation, so it
has a high truth value.



This can usefully mislead the reader - say, in a mystery story - where the
official information, accepted by everyone, turns out to be wrong.



I have just had great fun writing an historical mystery tale (soon to be on
Kindle, Amazon permitting). It proves, indisputably, that Queen Elizabeth I of
England was not a red head. The records are wrong.



4. The chance remark



The amateur way to add setting is to drop in a big slab of retrospection:



‘I remember when my mother dandled me on her knee and told me the terrible
story of the Forbidden Wood...’



A little bit of dandling goes a long way. It may provide a welcome comfort
break between peaks of drama but too much puts the reader to sleep. Instead,
let the background details unfold in dialogue, by way of chance remarks.



“‘You don’t want to go there,’ the garage attendant said as he checked my oil.
‘They never did find her body.’”



Further remarks can develop that back story - and any small event whatever can
cue a chance remark.



For example, an old-timer notices builders excavating a field. He complains to
a friend, in a casual remark, that the idiots seem to be taking no precautions
to protect the archeological relics. Their ensuing dialogue can disclose,
casually, some key event that had occurred in that field four centuries
earlier.



Dialogue has energy. It breaks up the paragraphs. And it’s more powerful than a
sleepy ramble down memory lane: ‘He gazed upon the field and his mind drifted
back four hundred years...’



Of course, retrospection can also bring energy to a story, provided it’s
dramatic and brief. Like dialogue, it's a wily way to weave action into
information.



‘Sally ran to me across the Netherfield, heedless of all danger. My heart
lurched. Farmers had not dared to plow that accursed place, sacred to the
devil, since the Black Death came to Ashwell in 1348.’



5. Break it up with action



If granny really must dump the whole history of the family on the reader, break
it up. Add conflict or action. Perhaps an exasperating child keeps changing the
subject. Or a pet cat gets tangled in her knitting.



While granny copes with the distractions, the reader will stay with the story -
if only to see the wretched child or cat get their comeuppance.



When I wanted my 16th century heroine to reveal her scandalous past, to her
husband-to-be, I had her pose in front of a portrait painter. At her every
juicy revelation, the painter dropped his brush. The distraction broke up her
monologue.



Of course, it messed up the carpet too. I hoped that the reader had as much fun
as I did, listening to the painter's curses as the paint spread.



‘Stuff’ doesn’t have to be nonsense. We need ‘stuff’ to create a context. What
the reader doesn’t need is a lot of digressive details that are unrelated to
the plot and that they’ll never remember anyway.



As Emily Dickinson wrote (in a different context): to ‘tell all the Truth you
need to tell it slant’.










Dr John Yeoman, PhD Creative Writing, judges the
Writers’ Village story competition and is a tutor in creative writing at a UK
university. He has been a successful commercial author for 42 years. A wealth
of further ideas for writing fiction that sells can be found in his free
14-part story course at:



http://www.writers-village.org/seminars



 



Biography



Dr John Yeoman has 42 years experience as a
commercial author, newspaper editor and one-time chairman of a major PR
consultancy. He has published eight books of humour, some of them intended to
be humorous.

 

Image: Flickr: Kalavinka

Twitterific

by Elizabeth S. Craig,
@elizabethscraig





Twitterific is a compilation of all the writing links I
shared the previous week.

 

The links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base
search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which
has over 19,000 free articles on writing-related topics. It's the search engine
for writers.



Sign up for our free newsletter for monthly writing tips and interviews with top
contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook.



Mike Fleming is working with author and writing coach
James Scott Bell to offer an online, interactive, writing program to help make
your next novel great. It's called "Knockout Novel" and you can learn
more about it at KnockoutNovel.com. Plus, all the data is stored in your Hiveword account for
easy access.



Writing Tips from George R.R. Martin: http://bit.ly/XaEEOt
@AderynWood



Publishers: don't try to compete with Amazon--“Go Where
the People Already Are”: http://bit.ly/XD5sEm @Porter_Anderson @4fifty1



The late-19th century and crime fiction: http://bit.ly/12QSZV7
@mkinberg



A free directory of cover designers,
formatters, freelance editors, and more: http://bit.ly/nolbXq



Independent writers' groups: http://bit.ly/YPcXPa @selfpubreview



Passion in Your Characters Equals Passion
in Your Readers: http://bit.ly/11KIJsE
@4YALit



Want Agents to Read Your Novel? Do This
First: http://bit.ly/YPd8Km @writeitsideways



What novelists should blog about: http://bit.ly/11KJuls @jodyhedlund



The language of world building: http://bit.ly/YPdocb @p2p_editor



Using a short story to kick off a novel
release: http://bit.ly/11KKTZd
@turndog_million



Writing lessons learned from "What
Happened to Goodbye": http://bit.ly/YPdQXW
@juliemusil



Quick marketing tips: http://bit.ly/11KNhiS @melissabreau



Give Yourself A Creative Retreat: http://bit.ly/YPeJzz @susankayequinn



Creating a Sub-Genre by Accident:
Georgette Heyer's The Corinthian: http://bit.ly/XSOuBP
@tordotcom



How much money does a publisher invest in
marketing a book? http://bit.ly/YPxlQa
@MacGregorLit



3 Ways To Find Readers For Your Books On
Twitter: http://bit.ly/YPAnDQ
@jonathangunson



25 pieces of advice for aspiring writers:
http://bit.ly/XSQkm0 @ajackwriting



Too Many Rules, Too Little Romance: http://bit.ly/YPAxeG @redrobinreader



Rejection will happen--build up your
defenses early: http://bit.ly/YPAFdU
@Marie_Lu



Where to Go for Magic: http://bit.ly/TFwej5 @jennymilchman



Choosing Cover Art for Your Indie Book: http://bit.ly/XTTkyt @goblinwriter



Why Computers Can't Write Novels…Yet: http://bit.ly/XTTw0K @vwishna



Have we planned for success? http://bit.ly/TFxq60 @behlerpublish



Forcing Readers To Like Characters:
Recognition: http://bit.ly/XTTDcH @mooderino



6 Ways Metaphors Are Hurting Your Novel: http://bit.ly/XTTLZN @MarcyKennedy



Personal Finance Tips For Writers: http://bit.ly/TG1GO9 @krissybrady



Tips for writing an outline: http://bit.ly/XUd98V @SophieMasson1



Worldbuilding--showing morality without
an infodump: http://bit.ly/TGxsKT



Linking Verbs Refresher: http://bit.ly/XUdpoC @pyrosama



Billy Wilder: "The Art of
Screenwriting": http://bit.ly/TGyqa4
@gointothestory



When should you break writing rules? http://bit.ly/XUdxUU @TiffanyReisz



Platforms for an easy author website: http://bit.ly/XUdBUO @BookMarketer



There is no publishing industry: http://bit.ly/YCUr8L @WilliamOckhamTx



The Most Powerful Social Media Tool for
Building an Author Platform: http://bit.ly/TJAhe9
@kristenlambTX



Script To Screen: "Amadeus": http://bit.ly/YCUEbS @gointothestory



Keep your inner editor awake: http://bit.ly/TJAEFD @behlerpublish



How to Use Visuals as a Creative Writing
Prompt: http://bit.ly/YCULV3 @howtowriteshop



The Most Annoying Type of Story Conflict:
http://bit.ly/TJAVsh @kmweiland



Tips for Dealing with Book Reviewers: http://bit.ly/YDy8zR @TheMadReviewer



Adhesive in conflict: http://bit.ly/TKyYf5 @LaurelGarver



Rewriting Your Script: Revision Outline: http://bit.ly/TKz3PW @gointothestory



How Not to Ask For a Book Review: http://bit.ly/TKAbTJ @erikwecks



Business advice roundup for
writers--accounting, marketing, branding: http://bit.ly/YDDUBx
@kristinerusch



Revision--When It's Finally Time to Fine
Tune: http://bit.ly/TKIpuX @cockeyed_caravan



Decoding Query Rejections: http://bit.ly/YDEe3b @rachellegardner



Free alternatives to duotrope: http://bit.ly/TKIZc4



Tips for distinctive character voices: http://bit.ly/YDFfbk @authorterryo



Writing Contemporary Horror: http://bit.ly/TKKmHN @MikeSkunkApe



7 Ways to Outsmart Writer's Block: http://bit.ly/YDFsLM @robdyoungwrites



Tips for better scenes: http://bit.ly/TKKMhm @Lindasclare



Top 8 Literary Misquotes: http://bit.ly/YDFEuC @readingape



Top 10 books featuring flashbacks: http://bit.ly/V1CrW4 @lenoreva



What 1 Writer Learned About Shark Agents,
Writer Candy and Momentum: http://bit.ly/W05nNa
@2bwriters



Worldbuilding: Complexity in the
Political Landscapes: http://bit.ly/V1CNvF



Description and Setting: http://bit.ly/W05LLP @kalayna



Rewriting Your Script: Polish: http://bit.ly/V1D0Pw @gointothestory



A List of Digital Self-Pub Resources: http://bit.ly/ @authopublisher



7 Ways Your Characters Can Screw up Their
Decisions: http://bit.ly/V1Di9b
@janice_hardy



Faking confidence as writers: http://bit.ly/W06pc9 @jamigold



3 Ways to Make Your Own Luck: http://bit.ly/V1DyFe @robertleebrewer



5 Tips for Writing and Marketing YA: http://bit.ly/W06NaE @thecreativepenn
@NatalieWright_



3 Simple Ways To Engage On Your Author
Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/V1DXHu
@authormedia



The Pride and Prejudice Beat Sheet: http://bit.ly/W07bGf



Famous First Lines Reveal How to Start a
Novel: http://bit.ly/V1E9GX @writersdigest



Plot vs. story: http://bit.ly/V1EhpK @Anna_Elliott



5 Elements of Story Structure: http://bit.ly/W07Nvi @kmweiland



Cut Ten More Pages Out: http://bit.ly/V1EEkh @cockeyed_caravan



How Plotting Can Build A Better Story: http://bit.ly/11v1oye @woodwardkaren



Is Traditional Publishing the Raging Bull
of Industry? http://bit.ly/YfRV69
@jamesscottbell



The Evolution of Sexuality, Homosexuality
and Gender in SFF: http://bit.ly/11v1LsC
@Leo_Cristea



10 Ways John Milton's Paradise Lost Is
Like a Bad Comic Book: http://bit.ly/YfSaOT
@io9



What 1 writer would change about her
writing journey: http://bit.ly/YfSo8v
@GinaConroy



Writing about death: http://bit.ly/WzyuZy @curiosityquills



Physical Attribute Thesaurus: Eyebrows: http://bit.ly/W54vqF @angelaackerman



6 Tips to Crafting a Better Author Bio: http://bit.ly/WzyMQh @WhereWritersWin

 

Bowker Intro’s 1-Stop ISBN Ebook Conversion Service: http://bit.ly/15fpSL0 @Porter_Anderson



Live a Story. Then Write It Well. http://bit.ly/W54VNJ @KellenGorbett



Rewriting Your Script: Final Edit: http://bit.ly/WzyTvb @gointothestory



Clarifying Point of View: http://bit.ly/W556bP @americanediting



How to find the right title for your
book: http://bit.ly/TqIUu3 @dirtywhitecandy



Writing Your Tragedy: http://bit.ly/14KplQO @janelebak



5 Blogging Rules Authors Can Ignore…and 5
We Can't: http://bit.ly/14KifLm @annerallen



Dean Koontz And 5 Things Every Genre
Story Needs: http://bit.ly/VN4mvr
@woodwardkaren



Revision--Building a Theme Tree: http://bit.ly/14Kio1l @CockeyedCaravan



The Anatomy of a Kindle Bestseller: http://bit.ly/14KiCFu @thecreativepenn



Subtle vs. obscure exposition: http://bit.ly/14KiGoM @aliciarasley



Research tips for writers: http://bit.ly/14KiKos @dirtywhitecandy



The Three Building Blocks of the Sequel: http://bit.ly/VN4DP3 @KMWeiland



5 best ebook infographics of 2012: http://bit.ly/VN4Kdo @ebookfriendly



How to Write Powerful Endings: http://bit.ly/14KiXIl @SHalvatzis



Avoiding Infodumps While Maintaining a
Child's Voice: http://bit.ly/14Kj2Mg
@janice_hardy



For Crime Writers: Assault Rifles,
Assault Weapons and the Deliberate Imprecision of Language http://bit.ly/VN4P0z

One of 2012's most popular authors doesn't have much online
presence: http://bit.ly/X5n5NK @Porter_Anderson
@FauziaBurke



3 ways for aspiring authors to change
their thinking today: http://bit.ly/14Kjfit
@rachellegardner



The Importance of Storytelling: Walking
Dead is Not About Zombies: http://bit.ly/14KjoSZ
@mythicscribes



Writing the Non-Western Fantasy Setting: http://bit.ly/VN5bUQ @MiriamForster



For crime writers: DNA Testing Methods: http://bit.ly/14KjzOi @DPLyleMD



Proper publishers don't need propaganda: http://bit.ly/VN5hvY @dirtywhitecandy



3 Ways to Compress Your Story Like Les
Misérables: http://bit.ly/14KjCtu
@write_practice



Why You Need to Embrace the Conflict in
Your Story: http://bit.ly/14KjXfB
@joebunting



Building Character: The Importance Of
Imperfection: http://bit.ly/VN5C1v
@woodwardkaren



7 Tips to Get Your Novel Started: http://bit.ly/Y1hJ7h @Buddhapuss



4 Benefits of Listening to Your
Characters: http://bit.ly/151WmIv
@LyndaRYoung



Tips for Writing an Author Bio: http://bit.ly/Y1hPfc @rachellegardner



How Much Can You Really Tell From a
Query? http://bit.ly/Y1i5e0 @janice_hardy



3 tips for bouncing between books: http://bit.ly/151WLe3 @tawnafenske



Keeping Your Promise to the Reader: http://bit.ly/Y1ii0Y @Diana_Hurwitz



How To Stay On Track With Writing &
Blogging: http://bit.ly/151WZ4S
@VeronicaSicoe



7 Surprising Things About Blogging: http://bit.ly/Y1inlp @victoriamixon



How Plateauing Occurs: Pace vs.
Potential: http://bit.ly/151X9Jv



Make Your Characters Real Characters: http://bit.ly/Y1iFse @JudgeHopkins
@SouthrnWritrMag



Shrunken Manuscript – 6 Ways to See Your
Manuscript: http://bit.ly/151XsUA
@fictionnotes



4 Benefits of Writing by Hand: http://bit.ly/Y1iSM5 @mentalfloss



5 Academic Publishing Trends to Watch in
2013: http://bit.ly/151XETL
@pubperspectives



5 lessons 1 self-pubbed author has
learned: http://bit.ly/Y1j2TE @ayalarachelle



Teaching writer's instinct: http://bit.ly/151XNXc @janice_hardy



Even Smart Characters Make Dumb Mistakes:
http://bit.ly/Y1otlu @authormagazine
@p2p_editor



31 Simple Ways for Writers to Maximize
Efficiency in a Home Office: http://bit.ly/U06r5f
@lifehackorg



Ask The Agent: When Should You Stop
Querying? http://bit.ly/Y1pRVj @breeogden



Walking in your character's shoes:
Writing with authenticity: http://bit.ly/U06AWp



Sympathetic Characters: Noble Souls: http://bit.ly/Y1pZEh @mooderino



Writers beware: Sitting is the smoking of
our generation: http://bit.ly/U06KwV
@gointothestory



Writers and Depression: http://bit.ly/Y1qiPB @litreactor



Pulling the Curtain Back from the Stigma
of Self-Publishing: http://bit.ly/U07a6p
@melissadonovan



How to Increase Concentration – The 5 Key
Steps: http://bit.ly/Y1qC0M @JWhite



Creating Sympathetic Characters: http://bit.ly/U07lyB @Lindasclare



How to customize your Twitter profile: http://bit.ly/Y1qZIE



Building Heat in Love Scenes — An Erotic
Romance Writer Explains How: http://bit.ly/U07K49
@taralain

Self-Publishing as Slush Pile? Not So Fast: http://bit.ly/X4Vg8m @Porter_Anderson @RachelleGardner



11 Preposterously Manly Fantasy Series: http://bit.ly/Y1rlPx @io9



Author Email Marketing: 7 Rookie Mistakes
to Avoid: http://bit.ly/Y1rCSp



Tips for avoiding the dreaded label
"purple prose": http://bit.ly/U08eap
@LaurelGarver



The Shocking Truth About Multi-Tasking: http://bit.ly/Y1rNx5 @duolit



Why Short Fiction?: The benefits to a
writing career: http://bit.ly/U0adM1
@AmazingStories0



Why Films and Novels Routinely Depict
Society and its Citizens as Fools: http://bit.ly/Y1twTg
@DavidBrin1



7 things 1 writer has learned so far: http://bit.ly/U0aNt5 @GMMalliet



Getting the Most Out of a Conference: http://bit.ly/Y1ubDY @kid_lit

Decluttering for Writers (and Other Writerly Chores)

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig



It’s usually around this time of year that I decide that I’ve got to do some decluttering. I think that’s because it’s tax time and I’m rounding up documents and receipts.



The desk is a must-tackle because not only does it have most of the stuff I need for the tax return, it’s also full of a hodgepodge of writing-related papers that need to be sorted.



After that’s done, I usually start in with the computer.  It’s got to be done.  Usually my computer to-do list looks like this:



Back up.  Especially if I haven’t lately.  (I do back up my writing every day, but am not as great about backing up photos, etc.)



The blog.  What’s in my sidebar that doesn’t need to be there?  Are all the pages on my blog updated?  (No, they’re not, and I haven’t gotten to this item on my list yet, as is obvious!)  Back up the blog…it’s important.  I’ve known several people who have lost their blogs.



Google Reader.  I subscribe to 2,290 blogs, but sometimes I’ll need to unsubscribe to feeds.  The blogger might have moved to another blog or another provider.  The best way to clean up your Google Reader is to click on “trends” on the left hand column, and then click the tab that says “inactive.”  I click “top 40,” since I subscribe to so many.  Then I click the trashcan icon to clear out the blogs that haven’t been updated in ages.



My bio.  Yes, I’ve had two releases since the thing was last updated.  I updated it.



My website.  I do try to update my website monthly, but it also needed more updating (the new releases strike again.)



Email deleting and setting up filters and folders to organize incoming mail.  We all  get gobs and gobs of emails.  I set up folders for specific types of emails (“family,” “store ads/coupons,” “publisher,”) and set up filters for the emails to go directly into the folders. I unsubscribe to newsletters that no longer interest me.  I block and delete junk mail.



Change passwords.  Another important chore.  Getting hacked is no fun…no one wants to send spam or viruses to all their contacts.  I always stay pretty current with this chore.



Word files.  Delete old drafts of WIPs, create folders and add documents pertaining to a particular WIP to one folder.



Do you stay up-t0-date with this kind of stuff?  Or do you need to set up a special time to tackle it (like I usually do.)  What other kinds of writerly things do you organize?



Image: Morgue File:  earl53