Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 160
February 12, 2013
Author Copies
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
This is a post that I hesitate even writing because this is one of many areas that’s rapidly changing in the industry. But it’s still a relevant topic at this point. I’ll look back years from now and go, “Oh, yeah. There were still author copies in 2013….”
One reason for this change is that many writers are self-publishing these days and are using a print-on-demand service like Lightning Source or CreateSpace to create books when they need them….if they want print copies of their books at all. Many more are electing to go digital only. (One of my resolutions this year is to put my self-pubbed books in print, however. I’ve had several emails from readers, scolding me about it.)
And…if you are traditionally published, the number of author copies you get probably varies wildly. And I hear the copies are diminishing as publishers tighten their belts. I’ve definitely got more author copies from one of my series than I have with another.
Regardless—many of us do have either print or digital copies of our books that are intended to help us promote our books in some way...whether we've purchased them ourselves, or whether they were given to us by our publisher.
Working with Penguin, I’ve gotten ARCs—Advance Reader Copies—of the first books in my series. They’re not really pretty…they don’t have the finished cover on it, just a basic brown cover that has the book’s title and my name (or my pen name), and Penguin’s imprint on the front.
ARCs I am eager to give away. I don’t give them to readers, because they’re fairly hideous, but they’ll go to reviewers (book bloggers, print reviewers at smaller newspapers or magazines, etc.)
Then there are author copies. I always get these from Penguin, as opposed to the ARCs. A box arrives by UPS or FedX before the book actually hits the shelves.
So….what do you do with author copies? That’s where it gets interesting.
I tend to want to hoard my author copies. In fact, if a reviewer contacts me after the book’s release, I’ll email Penguin’s publicist to send them a copy. Because, really…those books are part of my pay. When I run out, I have to buy more like everybody else (yes, usually at a discount. Although I don’t buy as many as I used to.)
Anyway, I do spend some thought about what to do with these copies. I know that hoarding them in a closet doesn’t exactly help me out. I have no idea why I like to know they’re there…I’m really not a packrat in any other way.
I read a post by fellow mystery writer Jeff Cohen on the Hey, There’s a Dead Guy in the Living Room blog. His post on the subject was “Do I Ask You to Work for Free?”
Jeff has run into some problems with readers asking for free books. He explained, pretty clearly, the reasons why he feels he can’t give away his author copies. Financial considerations were a big reason.
For what it’s worth, here are some good things I think I’ve done with my author copies, if others are looking for ideas.
Goodreads giveaway. See this post. I got the results emailed to me from Goodreads yesterday, and if you’re curious about the results, I did see that 876 people had entered the giveaway. So I did get some eyeballs over to see that I had a new release and a bit of exposure. I didn’t advertise or promote the giveaway, aside from a mention here. I’m giving away three of my author copies for that giveaway.
Charity baskets. These have been at a variety of different functions through the years—most recently, a large quilt show in Texas contacted me about giving away a signed copy of one of my books for their auction of a basket of similar items. Feeling that was a way to possibly loop in new readers (I have a quilting mystery series), I participated in that event and similar ones throughout the years.
Blog giveways on book blogger sites. Given away to a blog commenter of the book blogger’s, and promoted on usually both of our Facebook sites. These seem to go well and I’m frequently amazed at the number of comments and Facebook shares. It might be genre-specific….cozy fans are fairly dedicated.
Other promo-related giveaways. Places like WriterSpace where you participate in live online chats and then participants at the chats are randomly selected for winners of a giveaway.
Books as thank-yous. I’ve given signed copies to folks who have helped me research, acted as beta readers, and offered other forms of support.
And yes, sometimes I do give books to people close to me. I wouldn’t dream of jeopardizing a close relationship over books…although, sure, I wish it were more generally known that the best way you can help authors is to buy a copy of their book (print or digital.)
What do you do with your author copies? How do you handle distributing copies you’ve purchased for promo?
This is a post that I hesitate even writing because this is one of many areas that’s rapidly changing in the industry. But it’s still a relevant topic at this point. I’ll look back years from now and go, “Oh, yeah. There were still author copies in 2013….”One reason for this change is that many writers are self-publishing these days and are using a print-on-demand service like Lightning Source or CreateSpace to create books when they need them….if they want print copies of their books at all. Many more are electing to go digital only. (One of my resolutions this year is to put my self-pubbed books in print, however. I’ve had several emails from readers, scolding me about it.)
And…if you are traditionally published, the number of author copies you get probably varies wildly. And I hear the copies are diminishing as publishers tighten their belts. I’ve definitely got more author copies from one of my series than I have with another.
Regardless—many of us do have either print or digital copies of our books that are intended to help us promote our books in some way...whether we've purchased them ourselves, or whether they were given to us by our publisher.
Working with Penguin, I’ve gotten ARCs—Advance Reader Copies—of the first books in my series. They’re not really pretty…they don’t have the finished cover on it, just a basic brown cover that has the book’s title and my name (or my pen name), and Penguin’s imprint on the front.
ARCs I am eager to give away. I don’t give them to readers, because they’re fairly hideous, but they’ll go to reviewers (book bloggers, print reviewers at smaller newspapers or magazines, etc.)
Then there are author copies. I always get these from Penguin, as opposed to the ARCs. A box arrives by UPS or FedX before the book actually hits the shelves.
So….what do you do with author copies? That’s where it gets interesting.
I tend to want to hoard my author copies. In fact, if a reviewer contacts me after the book’s release, I’ll email Penguin’s publicist to send them a copy. Because, really…those books are part of my pay. When I run out, I have to buy more like everybody else (yes, usually at a discount. Although I don’t buy as many as I used to.)
Anyway, I do spend some thought about what to do with these copies. I know that hoarding them in a closet doesn’t exactly help me out. I have no idea why I like to know they’re there…I’m really not a packrat in any other way.
I read a post by fellow mystery writer Jeff Cohen on the Hey, There’s a Dead Guy in the Living Room blog. His post on the subject was “Do I Ask You to Work for Free?”
Jeff has run into some problems with readers asking for free books. He explained, pretty clearly, the reasons why he feels he can’t give away his author copies. Financial considerations were a big reason.
For what it’s worth, here are some good things I think I’ve done with my author copies, if others are looking for ideas.
Goodreads giveaway. See this post. I got the results emailed to me from Goodreads yesterday, and if you’re curious about the results, I did see that 876 people had entered the giveaway. So I did get some eyeballs over to see that I had a new release and a bit of exposure. I didn’t advertise or promote the giveaway, aside from a mention here. I’m giving away three of my author copies for that giveaway.
Charity baskets. These have been at a variety of different functions through the years—most recently, a large quilt show in Texas contacted me about giving away a signed copy of one of my books for their auction of a basket of similar items. Feeling that was a way to possibly loop in new readers (I have a quilting mystery series), I participated in that event and similar ones throughout the years.
Blog giveways on book blogger sites. Given away to a blog commenter of the book blogger’s, and promoted on usually both of our Facebook sites. These seem to go well and I’m frequently amazed at the number of comments and Facebook shares. It might be genre-specific….cozy fans are fairly dedicated.
Other promo-related giveaways. Places like WriterSpace where you participate in live online chats and then participants at the chats are randomly selected for winners of a giveaway.
Books as thank-yous. I’ve given signed copies to folks who have helped me research, acted as beta readers, and offered other forms of support.
And yes, sometimes I do give books to people close to me. I wouldn’t dream of jeopardizing a close relationship over books…although, sure, I wish it were more generally known that the best way you can help authors is to buy a copy of their book (print or digital.)
What do you do with your author copies? How do you handle distributing copies you’ve purchased for promo?
February 10, 2013
What About the Needs of the Reader?
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Although I’ve enjoyed the amazing benefits of being a writer during this digital publishing revolution, I’ve frequently felt frustrated, too.
I do enjoy bookstores. I also enjoy writing for my publishers (working with good editors is a rarely mentioned benefit of traditional publishing…if you’re lucky enough to get one.) And I worry that bookstores and publishers are frequently making poor business decisions—or forgetting the reader in the process of doing business.
I remember several years ago wondering what on earth Barnes and Noble was thinking. I like the store. I don’t mind buying books there. So why were they running so few promotions (or promotions only for specific blockbuster titles?) Why did they require an annual membership (of, as I recall, about $20 a year) to receive coupons? No wonder readers were flocking to Amazon for print and digital book purchases. They didn’t have to drive across town to pay a higher price for the same book. The stores lose customers. Losing customers means that stores will need to close. If stores close, the big publishers won’t have the shelf space that they depend on to connect readers with books and to showcase them.
So the bookstores are tied to a more expensive product. Industry analyst and insider Mike Shatzkin in his post More thoughts about the future of bookstores, triggered by Barnes & Noble’s own predictions for itself states that Publisher Lunch creator Michael Cader:
This is an instance where a reader need—competitive pricing—is being ignored…and jeopardizing both bookstore and publisher.
Another recent instance where the needs of the readers are discounted particularly irritated me. To be fair, the site is Publishing Perspectives , not Reader Perspectives. It’s supposed to look at issues from a publisher’s point of view. But looking at things from a publisher point of view can be illuminating—when they don’t consider reader needs in their conversation.
The article was 5 Academic Publishing Trends to Watch in 2013 by George Lossius, CEO of Publishing Technology.
The issue was further discussed in a follow-up post on Publisher Perspectives, What is Delaying Widespread Adoption of Digital Textbooks?
Of course, the benefits that were listed in the article pertained to publishers.
And admittedly, I don’t know the industry the commenters on the post were in. I’d imagine at least some of them are working with a publishing house. The comments were all focused on the inability of kids to flip back and forth with a digital textbook, with the cost of the digital books and the value received, and the fact that the students end up with a non-interactive PDF instead of a real transmedia tool.
As a parent, I know the main reasons why kids want digital textbooks. I know this because I drive kids around half the day, 5 days a week. What they bring up in carpool is the fact that the schools don’t have the money (as they did in the past) for the students to keep one copy of a textbook at home for homework and one copy for classroom use. Lugging a tremendous textbook back and forth (times 4 for their core classes) isn’t a lot of fun. There isn’t even room in their huge backpacks for all the books, so they carry one book in their arms and the rest on their backs.
Point number two that kids bring up is that when they inevitably forget their book in their locker, they’re stuck. They can’t do homework because they don’t have their book. If there was an online version, they’d have complete accessibility—on their home desktop, a homework laptop….heck, even on their phone.
It’s not all about the apps. The kids don’t miss what they’ve never had. It’s not the fancy stuff that the books could do. It’s more basic than that.
For adult readers, it’s more basic, too. It’s convenience. It’s price. It’s finding yourself in a full doctor’s office waiting room and pulling out your phone to read your book. Sheer convenience is a huge reason why ebooks are so popular. People are busy. It’s quick and easy to download a book and it’s readily accessible.
DRM and retailer-specific formatting is another area where publishers aren’t considering their average reader. The average reader would like to share their book among various devices in their home—on a iPad and a Kindle. They’re not wanting to pirate their digital copy or share it with all 300 of their Facebook friends.
As Cory Doctorow put it in The Guardian 's article, Why the death of DRM would be good news for readers, writers and publishers:
This DRM policy may hurt the publishers more than the readers. As writer Charlie Stross put it in his post What Amazon's ebook strategy means:
I’d love it if bookstores and major publishers could survive and thrive, despite all the industry changes and challenges. I think they may have to change their focus to do it, however. And they need to adjust their mindset quickly.
So now I’ve aired some of my frustrations with the current state of affairs for bookstores and publishers. :) What are some of yours? DRM? The slow pace of publishers to respond to change? Ideas for how they can learn to adapt? What’s your prognosis for the future (I think we’ll agree it’s going to be a bright one for writers, at any rate.)
Image: Morgue File: chrisof4
Although I’ve enjoyed the amazing benefits of being a writer during this digital publishing revolution, I’ve frequently felt frustrated, too.I do enjoy bookstores. I also enjoy writing for my publishers (working with good editors is a rarely mentioned benefit of traditional publishing…if you’re lucky enough to get one.) And I worry that bookstores and publishers are frequently making poor business decisions—or forgetting the reader in the process of doing business.
I remember several years ago wondering what on earth Barnes and Noble was thinking. I like the store. I don’t mind buying books there. So why were they running so few promotions (or promotions only for specific blockbuster titles?) Why did they require an annual membership (of, as I recall, about $20 a year) to receive coupons? No wonder readers were flocking to Amazon for print and digital book purchases. They didn’t have to drive across town to pay a higher price for the same book. The stores lose customers. Losing customers means that stores will need to close. If stores close, the big publishers won’t have the shelf space that they depend on to connect readers with books and to showcase them.
So the bookstores are tied to a more expensive product. Industry analyst and insider Mike Shatzkin in his post More thoughts about the future of bookstores, triggered by Barnes & Noble’s own predictions for itself states that Publisher Lunch creator Michael Cader:
….has also made the point that the physical stores are being made the last line of defense for book pricing. It is a virtual certainty that if a book has three different prices: print in the store, print online, and ebook, the printed book in the store will cost the most. This is not a formula to assure bookstore survival.
This is an instance where a reader need—competitive pricing—is being ignored…and jeopardizing both bookstore and publisher.
Another recent instance where the needs of the readers are discounted particularly irritated me. To be fair, the site is Publishing Perspectives , not Reader Perspectives. It’s supposed to look at issues from a publisher’s point of view. But looking at things from a publisher point of view can be illuminating—when they don’t consider reader needs in their conversation.
The article was 5 Academic Publishing Trends to Watch in 2013 by George Lossius, CEO of Publishing Technology.
Publishers are fully aware of the benefits of e-textbooks; the ability to easily refresh out-of-date content, functionality that allows books to be dissected, more interactive content, metrics that can measure the usefulness and popularity of resources, and of course pricing. All of this technology is available yet end user adoption levels are relatively low. Is it merely a question of students having the right technology at their fingertips and institutions buying into this method of working, which is surely just a matter of time? Or is there a wider issue preventing adoption?
The issue was further discussed in a follow-up post on Publisher Perspectives, What is Delaying Widespread Adoption of Digital Textbooks?
Of course, the benefits that were listed in the article pertained to publishers.
And admittedly, I don’t know the industry the commenters on the post were in. I’d imagine at least some of them are working with a publishing house. The comments were all focused on the inability of kids to flip back and forth with a digital textbook, with the cost of the digital books and the value received, and the fact that the students end up with a non-interactive PDF instead of a real transmedia tool.
As a parent, I know the main reasons why kids want digital textbooks. I know this because I drive kids around half the day, 5 days a week. What they bring up in carpool is the fact that the schools don’t have the money (as they did in the past) for the students to keep one copy of a textbook at home for homework and one copy for classroom use. Lugging a tremendous textbook back and forth (times 4 for their core classes) isn’t a lot of fun. There isn’t even room in their huge backpacks for all the books, so they carry one book in their arms and the rest on their backs.
Point number two that kids bring up is that when they inevitably forget their book in their locker, they’re stuck. They can’t do homework because they don’t have their book. If there was an online version, they’d have complete accessibility—on their home desktop, a homework laptop….heck, even on their phone.
It’s not all about the apps. The kids don’t miss what they’ve never had. It’s not the fancy stuff that the books could do. It’s more basic than that.
For adult readers, it’s more basic, too. It’s convenience. It’s price. It’s finding yourself in a full doctor’s office waiting room and pulling out your phone to read your book. Sheer convenience is a huge reason why ebooks are so popular. People are busy. It’s quick and easy to download a book and it’s readily accessible.
DRM and retailer-specific formatting is another area where publishers aren’t considering their average reader. The average reader would like to share their book among various devices in their home—on a iPad and a Kindle. They’re not wanting to pirate their digital copy or share it with all 300 of their Facebook friends.
As Cory Doctorow put it in The Guardian 's article, Why the death of DRM would be good news for readers, writers and publishers:
(Dedicated readers) are the customers who amass large libraries from lots of suppliers, and who value their books as long-term assets that they expect to access until they die. They may have the chance to change their ebook reading platform every year or two (the most common platform being a mobile phone, and many people get a new phone with each contract renewal). They want to be sure that their books travel with them. When their books don't, they'll be alienated, frustrated and will likely seek out unauthorised ways to get books in future. No one wants to be punished for their honesty.
This DRM policy may hurt the publishers more than the readers. As writer Charlie Stross put it in his post What Amazon's ebook strategy means:
By foolishly insisting on DRM, and then selling to Amazon on a wholesale basis, the publishers handed Amazon a monopoly on their customers—and thereby empowered a predatory monopsony.
I’d love it if bookstores and major publishers could survive and thrive, despite all the industry changes and challenges. I think they may have to change their focus to do it, however. And they need to adjust their mindset quickly.
So now I’ve aired some of my frustrations with the current state of affairs for bookstores and publishers. :) What are some of yours? DRM? The slow pace of publishers to respond to change? Ideas for how they can learn to adapt? What’s your prognosis for the future (I think we’ll agree it’s going to be a bright one for writers, at any rate.)
Image: Morgue File: chrisof4
February 9, 2013
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.
A free directory of cover designers, formatters,
freelance editors, and more: http://bit.ly/nolbXq
Kindle Select - What Works, and What Doesn't: http://bit.ly/1170Okj
@magdalenaball
State Of Self-Publishing And 5 Things To Get Sorted For
2013: http://bit.ly/YBy6fD @thecreativepenn
How to Use Your Kindle to Edit Your Self-Pubbed Book: http://bit.ly/1171UN0
@LauraPepWu
So You've Got an Agent... Now What? http://bit.ly/YBysTo
@writerashley
100 Common-Sense Ways to Write Better: http://bit.ly/1172mL5
Self-Publishing: For Genre Writers Only? http://bit.ly/YByEC8
@selfpubreview
Publishing with Createspace: http://bit.ly/1179rLI
Writing 20 minutes a day, 365 Days A Year. Are You In? http://bit.ly/1179M12
@write_despite
Achieving your goals on autopilot: http://bit.ly/YBCefu
@JordanMcCollum
5 Errors in Treating Quotations: http://bit.ly/117alYP
@writing_tips
The worst publisher of all time: http://bit.ly/117aVFM
@salon
The Importance of Being Edited: http://bit.ly/YBCJWV
@selfpubreview
How Many Rounds of Edits Should I Go Though, and What
Should I Focus on? http://bit.ly/117bfEx @AmericanEditing
Estate planning: fearless inventories: http://bit.ly/YBCYRV
@kristinerusch
The state of bookstores now and reinventing them for the
future: http://bit.ly/XTSfGW @Porter_Anderson @richfahle @eoinpurcell
The difference between audience and market: http://bit.ly/117bHCD
10 Works of Literary Fantasy to Jump Start Your
Imagination: http://bit.ly/YBDj6Y @flavorwire
A S.M.A.R.T. Goal Refresher (or Primer): http://bit.ly/117c8wT
@lifehack
Should You Write That Potentially Controversial Scene? http://bit.ly/YBDsYf
@roniloren
5 Plot Devices That Hurt Your Writing: http://bit.ly/117cvr6
@litreactor
The First 15 Minutes Project: Max Fischer in Rushmore: http://bit.ly/YBDHm6
@cockeyed_caravan
How @ChuckWendig writes a novel: http://bit.ly/117cV0S
@woodwardkaren
The Trifecta of Storytelling Power: http://bit.ly/1179vLu
@storyfix
Writing - Imagery and Your Story: http://bit.ly/117dc3P
@karencv
Understanding Your Agent: http://bit.ly/YBDYW4
@rachellegardner
5 Trade Publishing Trends to Watch For in 2013: http://bit.ly/YBE9km
@publishingtech
10 Tips to Get Blog Tours and Guest Posts Right: http://bit.ly/117dNCG
@LyndaRYoung
F. Scott Fitzgerald on the Secret of Great Writing: http://bit.ly/YBEhQA
@brainpicker
What Makes a Strong Author's Visit—a Teacher's
Perspective: http://bit.ly/WwDhKr @angelaackerman
Rewriting your script: themes: http://bit.ly/14rOnD7
@gointothestory
What Writing Step Are You Afraid Of? http://bit.ly/WwTzTx
@jamigold
15 Common Twitter Questions Authors Ask: http://bit.ly/14rOq1R
@authormedia
The zero clutter method for the disorganized writer: http://zenhabits.net/zero/ @leobabauta
An Agent on "Do I REALLY Need an Agent?": http://bit.ly/14rOChz
@literaticat
An editor on eliminating "that" in your story: http://bit.ly/WwUeo0
@theresastevens
Writing a Believable Male Character: http://bit.ly/WwUnba
@ABoredAuthor
Writing Characters That Stand Out To Readers: http://bit.ly/WwUAes
@angelaackerman
The Art of Ideas: How To Overcome Writer's Block: http://bit.ly/14rOPS4
Forcing Readers To Like Characters: http://bit.ly/WwUR0T
@mooderino
YA Needs to Be Better-Written Than Adult Fiction, Not
Worse: http://bit.ly/14rOVJb @GeoffreyCubbage
All Things in Moderation-Even Writing Advice: http://bit.ly/SqDajk
@writeangleblog
Freelance Writing Rates – How To Determine & Set Your
Fee: http://bit.ly/Yl1dQj @FreelanceCrunch
Push Your Character into Interesting: http://bit.ly/WCscru
@howtowriteshop
Agent and Editor Insights: Publisher Negotiations: http://bit.ly/WCskaA
@wherewriterswin
9 tips for an awful 1st draft: http://bit.ly/WF6v7b
@lisacron
Book Contract: What's Negotiable and What's Not: http://bit.ly/WCssH0
@brianklems
How (Not) to Write Like a Master: http://bit.ly/WF6Gzn
@ava_jae
When should you stop revising? http://bit.ly/WCsBud
@janice_hardy
Writing is about being brave, taking risks: http://bit.ly/WCsHBW
@rllafevers
What 1 writer told his intern about being a writer: http://bit.ly/WF6Wyq
@tobiasbuckell
Keeping out the intruder words: http://bit.ly/WFg1Hk
@BryanThomasS
The First 15 Minutes Project: Juno McGuff in Juno: http://bit.ly/WCEpMX
@cockeyed_caravan
5 surprises about self-pub: http://bit.ly/WCF7d7
@jennienash
5 Erroneously Constructed "Not Only . . . But
Also" Sentences: http://bit.ly/WFgMAn @writing_tips
The 3 basic routes to getting published: http://bit.ly/WCFqod
@brianklems
Do Writers Need an Agent in the New Publishing Paradigm? http://bit.ly/WCFunS
@kristenlambtx
When Writers Don't Deliver: http://bit.ly/WCFT9U
@tessgerritsen
All about book blurbs: http://bit.ly/WCG0Cp
@robertleebrewer
Plot--Conflict and Desires: http://bit.ly/11e3x13
@novelrocket
What to do during and after the first edit: http://bit.ly/XuzcEQ
@americanediting
What do tradpubs do…and can you do it? http://bit.ly/XuztaU
@bufocalvin
The wrong goodbye of Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/11e4qH1
The Unreliable Narrator in Romance Novels: http://bit.ly/XuAjEs
@meganf
When You Have Editorial Differences: http://bit.ly/10RUmT1
@behlerpublish
Why we've now got a "New Adult" genre: http://bit.ly/Y0tiw2
@jamigold
UK Speaker Scam Targets Writers: http://bit.ly/XuB7cx
@victoriastrauss
Why Writers Should Guest Post: http://bit.ly/XuBcNx
@diymfa
10 things 1 writer has learned about self-pubbing: http://bit.ly/11e5Gdc
@turndog_million
Rewriting Your Script: Structure: http://bit.ly/XuBrYJ
@gointothestory
Writing Horror: Facing the Inevitable: http://bit.ly/XuBCn8
@yahighway
Adding Tension to Hook the Reader: http://bit.ly/11e5XN3
@janice_hardy
Physical Attributes Entry: Skin: http://bit.ly/11e5Wca
@angelaackerman
The allure of the first novel: http://bit.ly/11e637s
@guardianbooks
Writing for reluctant readers: http://bit.ly/TqIxQb
@charmaineclancy
The fine art of lying (for crime writers and others): http://bit.ly/XxrbPG
@TeriTerryWrites
How to find the right title for your book: http://bit.ly/TqIUu3
@dirtywhitecandy
Using Public Domain Characters In Your Stories: http://bit.ly/XxrutJ
@woodwardkaren
Restrictive clauses and commas: http://bit.ly/TqJ5pd
@aliciarasley
5 Quick Tips For Better Dialogue In Fiction: http://bit.ly/XxrR7H
@thecreativepenn
Structuring Your Story's Scenes: Variations on the Scene:
http://bit.ly/TqJx6V @kmweiland
The Number One Mistake New Writers Make: http://bit.ly/TqJFTM
@annerallen
Why Some Novels Say "A Novel" on the Cover, and
If Yours Should Too: http://bit.ly/XxseiA @AnnieNeugebauer
Genre & Marketing: http://bit.ly/TqKGLC
@SHalvatzis
Publishing and Marketing Your Crap: http://bit.ly/XxsSg0
@jamesscottbell
Numbers in Fiction: http://bit.ly/TqKQTl @thenoveleditor
Co-Authoring with Kids: http://bit.ly/Xxt8eI
@Nimpentoad
Complete list of Paris Review author interviews: http://bit.ly/YyWuhJ
@parisreview
Methods of being edited: http://bit.ly/YbtZmw
@StinaLL
Plotting by Personality: http://bit.ly/WgYmaF
@margmcalister
Resolve to Tweet Better in 2013: http://bit.ly/YMFDIo
@NinaBadzin
Formatting, The iTunes Way: http://bit.ly/WgZ33G
@susankayequinn
Find Someone Who Is a Stakeholder in Your Writing
Life,Find a Few Someones. http://bit.ly/YMGp8c @glimmertrain @Kate_Gale
Creative Intersections: Plot and Character Development: http://bit.ly/Wh1CD9
@DavidBCoe
Write Faster and Get Organized with Scrivener: http://bit.ly/YMGusG
Are chapters even necessary with the advent of digital
publishing? http://bit.ly/Wh1XWd @lilylefevre
Marketing Strategies: Questions to Ask Yourself: http://bit.ly/YMGBV9
@fictionnotes
5 Things 1 Writer Learned in Her 1st Year of
Self-Publishing: http://bit.ly/Wh2jfA @livewritethrive
How to Engage Your Reader: http://bit.ly/YMGGYS
@turndog_million
A closer look at Bookish: http://bit.ly/YfQg0p
@Porter_Anderson @laurahazardowen @chadwpost
How to use subplots: http://bit.ly/Wh2K9F @margmcalister
How To Write Sex Scenes When You're a Prude: http://bit.ly/YMGOrn
@MishaCrews
7 tips for great sentences: http://bit.ly/14KoS0X
A situation is not a plot: http://bit.ly/WKBOgS
@Kid_Lit
Writing Your Tragedy: http://bit.ly/14KplQO
@janelebak
Navigating the Guest Post Process: http://bit.ly/WKC6UV
@diymfa
Declutter your novel: http://bit.ly/WKCxi0
Write a Story Ending That Will Satisfy Readers: http://bit.ly/14KqGah
@MargMcAlister
Rewriting Your Script: Pace: http://bit.ly/14KtLqR
@gointothestory
5 Common Synopsis Mistakes: http://bit.ly/WKEGdz
@writersrelief
Taking the Scary out of Scrivener: http://bit.ly/14Ku2dm
@Gwen_Hernandez
Other Types of YA Writing You Might Be Interested In
Doing: http://bit.ly/14Kx7dx @davey_beauchamp
Tips for writing dialogue: http://bit.ly/WKH301
@wickerkat
An author explains why he doesn't give away his author
copies: http://bit.ly/14KxDYU @JeffCohenwriter
3 tips for streamlining dialogue: http://bit.ly/14KxXa5
@LaurelGarver
8 things to do when you're stuck: http://bit.ly/WKHGqs
@JordanMcCollum
Industry changes: there is no midlist: http://bit.ly/YPckF2
@Porter_Anderson
Watch out for ING. It may be weaken-ing your story. http://bit.ly/VEyucl
@juliettewade
5 Tips To Optimize Your Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/11Ie0fU
@mollygreene
How To Publish A Book 101: http://bit.ly/VEyARb
@thecreativepenn
20 Great Writers on the Art of Revision: http://bit.ly/11IeDWF
@flavorwire
Sympathetic Characters: Danger: http://bit.ly/VEyMzZ
@mooderino
4 Ways to Pre-Write Your Scenes: http://bit.ly/11IeRgr
@janice_hardy
F. Scott Fitzgerald On The Price Of Being A Great Writer:
http://bit.ly/11If0ke @woodwardkaren
5 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers: http://bit.ly/VEyRUe
@writing_tips
How to Research a Novel: 7 Tips: http://bit.ly/VEyU2t
@thomaswyoung
Why Publishers Need to Think More Like Silicon Valley: http://bit.ly/VEz0XO
@EdNawotka
Tips from Downton--what we writers can learn from Downton
Abbey: http://bit.ly/11IfS8d @junglereds
You CAN tell an eBook by its cover: http://bit.ly/VEz8Xg
Successors in Fantasy – Handing Over the Reins: http://bit.ly/11IgfQo
@fantasyfaction
Why "Genre" is Poison: http://bit.ly/VEzm0w
@davidbryher
Separate writing and rewriting: http://bit.ly/11Ih0c9
@Lindasclare
How to Surprise Your Reader in a Downton Abbey World: http://bit.ly/YPcM6i
@write_practice
9 Tips for Writing Effective Web Copy: http://bit.ly/11KHY2P
@authormedia
Giving characters distinguishing phrases to help readers
tell them apart: http://bit.ly/VEryfo @mkinberg
Finally, an industry-related conference for writers:
Author (R)evolution Day http://bit.ly/WRWhDy @Porter_Anderson @doctorow @robeagar
February 7, 2013
Goodreads for Writers
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve talked about Goodreads a little bit here before. It hasn’t been a huge part of my online platform, but after reading a few posts in January about how important Goodreads is becoming for authors, I decided to try to become a little more involved there.
As I’ve mentioned before, Goodreads can be scary for writers. Actually….Goodreads stresses me out. The reviewers are tough and you’ll find the average ratings a bit lower than you’ll see on Amazon (which, actually, probably reflects a more genuine review system and reviews that are more on-the-mark.) Just be prepared and steel yourself.
I’d set up my Goodreads account in 2007 and basically forgot about it once I did. I felt like it was enough to have a presence there….like I have a presence on LinkedIn. So I set up my blog to feed over to Goodreads, I listed all my books over there (which wasn’t particularly intuitive, I didn’t think), then I left it. I didn’t really want to review books, didn’t really want to share what I was reading, and I felt awkward interacting as a reader there because I’m a writer—it’s sort of like crashing a party.
I saw an infographic that Goodreads put out about their 2012 and the amount of growth the site had seen. I’d also heard authors on several of the email loops that I’m on talk about successful giveaways they’d hosted on the site. They boast that 40,000 people enter giveaways on their site daily and that the giveaways increase awareness of our books.
I’d never checked into the giveaways program at Goodreads because I assumed that the process would be time-consuming and require a lot of oversight on my part.
Instead—it’s easy. It took me about three minutes to fill out the form for the giveaway. The longest part of the process was just me remembering what my username and password were.
A note: Goodreads requires that these be physical books, not ebooks. I’m wondering if they’ll change that rule before long.
The next screen looks like this:
Then you save it:
Goodreads randomly selects winners and after your giveaway end date, they send you the winners and their addresses. If you don’t send the books, you’ll end up on some sort of Goodreads blacklist. Authors can’t store the winners’ info for mailing lists, etc.
Goodreads recommends that authors give ten copies away…but I didn’t. I’m keeping it at three and will see how it goes.
They also recommend doing two giveaways of the same title: one several months before the sale date and one that runs for a month when the book launches. I honestly didn’t see the value in that, however. If someone thinks they might win a copy of my book, why would they purchase it? I’ve set my giveaway to last for a week.
The Goodreads giveaway is free, although they (naturally) encourage writers to buy ads to promote the giveaway. I didn’t buy an ad. The only cost is the physical copies of the books (mine were author copies), and the cost of postage (I kept the giveaway restricted to residents of the United States.)
More general information on Goodreads:
The Goodreads author program tutorial is here: http://www.goodreads.com/author/how_to
Agent Rachelle Gardner posted tips for writers in her post How Authors Can Effectively Use Goodreads .
Are you on Goodreads? Do you interact as a reader or writer or both? Have you ever listed a giveaway? How did it go?
I’ve talked about Goodreads a little bit here before. It hasn’t been a huge part of my online platform, but after reading a few posts in January about how important Goodreads is becoming for authors, I decided to try to become a little more involved there.As I’ve mentioned before, Goodreads can be scary for writers. Actually….Goodreads stresses me out. The reviewers are tough and you’ll find the average ratings a bit lower than you’ll see on Amazon (which, actually, probably reflects a more genuine review system and reviews that are more on-the-mark.) Just be prepared and steel yourself.
I’d set up my Goodreads account in 2007 and basically forgot about it once I did. I felt like it was enough to have a presence there….like I have a presence on LinkedIn. So I set up my blog to feed over to Goodreads, I listed all my books over there (which wasn’t particularly intuitive, I didn’t think), then I left it. I didn’t really want to review books, didn’t really want to share what I was reading, and I felt awkward interacting as a reader there because I’m a writer—it’s sort of like crashing a party.
I saw an infographic that Goodreads put out about their 2012 and the amount of growth the site had seen. I’d also heard authors on several of the email loops that I’m on talk about successful giveaways they’d hosted on the site. They boast that 40,000 people enter giveaways on their site daily and that the giveaways increase awareness of our books.
I’d never checked into the giveaways program at Goodreads because I assumed that the process would be time-consuming and require a lot of oversight on my part.
Instead—it’s easy. It took me about three minutes to fill out the form for the giveaway. The longest part of the process was just me remembering what my username and password were.
A note: Goodreads requires that these be physical books, not ebooks. I’m wondering if they’ll change that rule before long.
The next screen looks like this:
Then you save it:
Goodreads randomly selects winners and after your giveaway end date, they send you the winners and their addresses. If you don’t send the books, you’ll end up on some sort of Goodreads blacklist. Authors can’t store the winners’ info for mailing lists, etc.
Goodreads recommends that authors give ten copies away…but I didn’t. I’m keeping it at three and will see how it goes.
They also recommend doing two giveaways of the same title: one several months before the sale date and one that runs for a month when the book launches. I honestly didn’t see the value in that, however. If someone thinks they might win a copy of my book, why would they purchase it? I’ve set my giveaway to last for a week.
The Goodreads giveaway is free, although they (naturally) encourage writers to buy ads to promote the giveaway. I didn’t buy an ad. The only cost is the physical copies of the books (mine were author copies), and the cost of postage (I kept the giveaway restricted to residents of the United States.)
More general information on Goodreads:
The Goodreads author program tutorial is here: http://www.goodreads.com/author/how_to
Agent Rachelle Gardner posted tips for writers in her post How Authors Can Effectively Use Goodreads .
Are you on Goodreads? Do you interact as a reader or writer or both? Have you ever listed a giveaway? How did it go?
February 6, 2013
Character Development—Distinguishing Secondary Characters from Each Other
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I belong to a group that gathers several times a year. The group is filled with moms like me.
During these gatherings, everyone works very hard to be very pleasant. They’re friendly and seem to work very hard to fit in with the other moms there.
Unfortunately, for someone like me (and my horrid memory), this makes it very difficult to remember who’s who. I decided to keep a secret notebook that I refer to before going to the next event. After each event, I sit in the car, list all the names I remember, and jot down descriptive notes after each name. I do like to remember names and use them when I'm speaking with someone, so I have to work hard at it.
My husband came across my notebook and glanced through it. “You are so dead if this ever comes to light,” he chortled.
That’s because I had to resort to describing their various physical traits to tell them apart. They all act so mom-like that I couldn’t find any other distinguishing characteristics. If they had jobs, they didn’t mention them. I certainly never mentioned my writing, so who knows? Maybe they had secret notebooks mentioning a tall woman with long, straight hair who didn't talk much. We never seem to get below that superficial small talk to show who we really were.
Obviously, this isn’t what we want in our stories. We want our characters’ personalities to be different enough so we don’t need the physical crutch as much. Or, we might still need the crutch, but not as much.
Other ways of making our characters stand out from each other:
Diction. Word choice is one way to help a character stand out in dialogue. Mystery writer Margot Kinberg had a great post on character catch-phrases in her post, She’s Got a Way of Talkin’ . It also could be how they say what they say. Some characters might be very precise. Some characters might be impatient with others and the impatience comes through.
Mannerisms. Biting nails, slouching, fond of hand gestures, etc.
Quirks.
Hobbies, interests, jobs.
Gifts/skills.
Their motives. What do they want? What’s important to them? How does this impact the story?
And yes, a distinguishing physical trait. Looks do play into distinctive characters. Dimples, moustache, bald head.
You can show a character’s distinguishing characteristics through his actions, his reactions to events, through dialogue (either by what he’s saying or by what others are saying about him), by his manner…and even by his name.
What are your favorite ways to help readers tell your characters apart?
Image: MorgueFile by ManicMorFF
Knot What it Seams, book two of the Southern quilting mysteries, released Tuesday, February 5.
Available in mass-market paperback and digital versions.
I belong to a group that gathers several times a year. The group is filled with moms like me.During these gatherings, everyone works very hard to be very pleasant. They’re friendly and seem to work very hard to fit in with the other moms there.
Unfortunately, for someone like me (and my horrid memory), this makes it very difficult to remember who’s who. I decided to keep a secret notebook that I refer to before going to the next event. After each event, I sit in the car, list all the names I remember, and jot down descriptive notes after each name. I do like to remember names and use them when I'm speaking with someone, so I have to work hard at it.
My husband came across my notebook and glanced through it. “You are so dead if this ever comes to light,” he chortled.
That’s because I had to resort to describing their various physical traits to tell them apart. They all act so mom-like that I couldn’t find any other distinguishing characteristics. If they had jobs, they didn’t mention them. I certainly never mentioned my writing, so who knows? Maybe they had secret notebooks mentioning a tall woman with long, straight hair who didn't talk much. We never seem to get below that superficial small talk to show who we really were.
Obviously, this isn’t what we want in our stories. We want our characters’ personalities to be different enough so we don’t need the physical crutch as much. Or, we might still need the crutch, but not as much.
Other ways of making our characters stand out from each other:
Diction. Word choice is one way to help a character stand out in dialogue. Mystery writer Margot Kinberg had a great post on character catch-phrases in her post, She’s Got a Way of Talkin’ . It also could be how they say what they say. Some characters might be very precise. Some characters might be impatient with others and the impatience comes through.
Mannerisms. Biting nails, slouching, fond of hand gestures, etc.
Quirks.
Hobbies, interests, jobs.
Gifts/skills.
Their motives. What do they want? What’s important to them? How does this impact the story?
And yes, a distinguishing physical trait. Looks do play into distinctive characters. Dimples, moustache, bald head.
You can show a character’s distinguishing characteristics through his actions, his reactions to events, through dialogue (either by what he’s saying or by what others are saying about him), by his manner…and even by his name.
What are your favorite ways to help readers tell your characters apart?
Image: MorgueFile by ManicMorFFKnot What it Seams, book two of the Southern quilting mysteries, released Tuesday, February 5.
Available in mass-market paperback and digital versions.
February 4, 2013
Ed Koch: Last Word Character Development exercise
Guest post by
Khanh Ho, @LAMysteryWriter
Ed Koch (1924-2013) died the other day. And
as with all great men, almost immediately, there have arisen tributes. One of the most moving tributes was a video
interview, originally shot in 2007: The Last Word . Why?
Because you got to see the old man, grappling with the imminence of sure
death, sum up his career. He talked
about his goals and achievements, failures and successes, enmities and deep,
abiding friendships. “I want to be remembered as being a proud Jew who loved
the people of New York and did his best to make their lives better.”
There
is something in us that craves the Huckleberry Finn moment—that voyeuristic
moment when you can watch your own funeral:
the eulogy, weeping, chest beating.
It’s probably the best episode in Huck
Finn and it really is the instance when Huck becomes closest to an
author: manipulative, all-seeing—the
young barefoot boy sits in the balcony above everybody and gawks at the
spectacle he has contrived. Ed Koch’s
video, whether he intended it to or not, is a moving tribute video…because it
feels as if it were planned with full knowledge that this would be the mayor
making his own eulogy.
At
the end of life, when you’re forced to sum everything up, you have to be
blunt. Ed Koch is quite straightforward;
he spells out all his beefs. Rudy
Giuliani was a mean-spirited person who was terrible to be around with. Mario Cuomo, the mayor always despised for
the ugly gay-baiting campaign slogan:
“Vote for Cuomo, not the Homo.”
Few of us can be so straightforward.
We are taught, in fact, that to be straightforward is socially undesirable. It can make you appear crude. So we censor ourselves. And we often censor our characters.
If
you’re having trouble developing a character, this exercise will get you
going: Spend a minute and watch the
video—it’s a half hour but worth it.
Then, start off with this basic question addressed to your
character. What do you want to be remembered
for? Koch could reel these things off in
a list: 1) Getting the city out of bankruptcy 2) Giving back spirit to the people of New
York 3)
Taking politics out of the selection of judges. “I’m the sort of person who will never get
ulcers. Why? Because I say exactly what I think. I’m the sort of person who
might give other people ulcers.”
So, here’s your task. Get your character to answer the eulogy
question. Make it the entryway to the
beginning of a short paragraph long monologue.
And get them to channel their inner-Koch to lay it all out in crude,
straightforward, no-holds-barred language.
Get them to own up to their beefs and failures, fears and tribulations. So what if your character is quiet, reserved
and prissy and they would never talk like this. Inside all characters is a voice that knows
what it’s about—an inner Koch. This will
easily jumpstart you into a deeper understanding of your character and, if you
do this write, it will deliver a bonus:
it will get you a plot.
Khanh Ho spent
many years living in a small town in rural Iowa, teaching Creative Writing at
Grinnell College—a small liberal arts college, nestled in a windswept prairie
whose distinguishing feature is the presence of a Super Walmart. But then he had
a light bulb epiphany: he’ll never produce writing if he persists in teaching
it. So, now he is happily pounding away at the keyboard, knocking out not only
his first mystery novel but, also, the first mystery novel featuring the first
Vietnamese American detective. Why? Because, yes, he’ll be the first; yes, it’ll
be a power trip; and yes, because he can! Follow him on his great adventure at
www.losangelesmystery.com
Image: by Camera Operator: PH3 PATRICK J. CASHIN (ID:DN-ST-88-09107 / Service Depicted: Navy) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
*********
Note from Elizabeth: Thanks so much for a great guest post and writing exercise today, Khanh! I appreciate it.
I would be remiss if I didn't add a postscript here (am sure my publisher would think I was being remiss..ha!) that I have a release today. Book two of Southern quilting mysteries: Knot What it Seams is available today. If you know anyone who enjoys traditional cozies, please consider letting them know. I'm featured in an interview with Examiner.com's Terry Ambrose here, talking about the book. Thanks!
Khanh Ho, @LAMysteryWriter
Ed Koch (1924-2013) died the other day. And
as with all great men, almost immediately, there have arisen tributes. One of the most moving tributes was a video
interview, originally shot in 2007: The Last Word . Why?
Because you got to see the old man, grappling with the imminence of sure
death, sum up his career. He talked
about his goals and achievements, failures and successes, enmities and deep,
abiding friendships. “I want to be remembered as being a proud Jew who loved
the people of New York and did his best to make their lives better.”
There
is something in us that craves the Huckleberry Finn moment—that voyeuristic
moment when you can watch your own funeral:
the eulogy, weeping, chest beating.
It’s probably the best episode in Huck
Finn and it really is the instance when Huck becomes closest to an
author: manipulative, all-seeing—the
young barefoot boy sits in the balcony above everybody and gawks at the
spectacle he has contrived. Ed Koch’s
video, whether he intended it to or not, is a moving tribute video…because it
feels as if it were planned with full knowledge that this would be the mayor
making his own eulogy.
At
the end of life, when you’re forced to sum everything up, you have to be
blunt. Ed Koch is quite straightforward;
he spells out all his beefs. Rudy
Giuliani was a mean-spirited person who was terrible to be around with. Mario Cuomo, the mayor always despised for
the ugly gay-baiting campaign slogan:
“Vote for Cuomo, not the Homo.”
Few of us can be so straightforward.
We are taught, in fact, that to be straightforward is socially undesirable. It can make you appear crude. So we censor ourselves. And we often censor our characters.
If
you’re having trouble developing a character, this exercise will get you
going: Spend a minute and watch the
video—it’s a half hour but worth it.
Then, start off with this basic question addressed to your
character. What do you want to be remembered
for? Koch could reel these things off in
a list: 1) Getting the city out of bankruptcy 2) Giving back spirit to the people of New
York 3)
Taking politics out of the selection of judges. “I’m the sort of person who will never get
ulcers. Why? Because I say exactly what I think. I’m the sort of person who
might give other people ulcers.”
So, here’s your task. Get your character to answer the eulogy
question. Make it the entryway to the
beginning of a short paragraph long monologue.
And get them to channel their inner-Koch to lay it all out in crude,
straightforward, no-holds-barred language.
Get them to own up to their beefs and failures, fears and tribulations. So what if your character is quiet, reserved
and prissy and they would never talk like this. Inside all characters is a voice that knows
what it’s about—an inner Koch. This will
easily jumpstart you into a deeper understanding of your character and, if you
do this write, it will deliver a bonus:
it will get you a plot.
Khanh Ho spent
many years living in a small town in rural Iowa, teaching Creative Writing at
Grinnell College—a small liberal arts college, nestled in a windswept prairie
whose distinguishing feature is the presence of a Super Walmart. But then he had
a light bulb epiphany: he’ll never produce writing if he persists in teaching
it. So, now he is happily pounding away at the keyboard, knocking out not only
his first mystery novel but, also, the first mystery novel featuring the first
Vietnamese American detective. Why? Because, yes, he’ll be the first; yes, it’ll
be a power trip; and yes, because he can! Follow him on his great adventure at
www.losangelesmystery.com
Image: by Camera Operator: PH3 PATRICK J. CASHIN (ID:DN-ST-88-09107 / Service Depicted: Navy) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
*********Note from Elizabeth: Thanks so much for a great guest post and writing exercise today, Khanh! I appreciate it.
I would be remiss if I didn't add a postscript here (am sure my publisher would think I was being remiss..ha!) that I have a release today. Book two of Southern quilting mysteries: Knot What it Seams is available today. If you know anyone who enjoys traditional cozies, please consider letting them know. I'm featured in an interview with Examiner.com's Terry Ambrose here, talking about the book. Thanks!
February 3, 2013
Filling a Need and Finding Your Niche—by L. Diane Wolfe
Guest post by L. Diane Wolfe, @SpunkOnAStick
Many of us have seen ads or commercials for some really odd products. I’m sure you remember Big Mouth Billy Bass, the mounted fish who sang. If you were like me, you watched those commercials in morbid fascination, wondering who on earth would want something that cheesy in their home. Ironically, that singing bass found a niche and became a best-seller and an icon.
Today in the book industry, we have the equivalent of the singing bass in the Fifty Shades of Grey series. Some of us look at those books with the same morbid fascination, wondering who would want to read poorly-written, trashy porn for women. And yet, the books found their niche and have sold millions.
Most of us will never find that large of a niche. (And many of us don’t want to find that kind of a niche!) But we want to be sure our writing fits a niche and fills a need. It’s easier to do that before we pour years into a single writing project, too.
Imagine having an idea for a product. You spend months, maybe years perfecting your product, which you call the Widget. Once done, you show it to everyone. You’re asked, “What does it do?” You give a vague description, but you’re not really sure. Then someone asks, “Who would want it?” That’s when you realize you have no idea who would want your Widget, either. In the excitement of creating, you forgot about your target market.
Now, often you’ll hear “Don’t worry about the market - just write what you love.” And to a degree, you should write according to your passion. If you don’t, it will show in the poor quality of your story or work. The market is always changing, so writing for trends is difficult and risky. But if you can identify a need and a niche for yourself, your goal should be to use your writing strengths to fill that niche.
As the author of both genres, I will admit non-fiction writers (not counting poetry) have an advantage over fiction writers in this area. They are writing with an audience in mind, one who is seeking information on a subject, location, or moment in history. Of course, even they might only have a vague idea of the real need for their book or the niche it might fill.
There are a couple questions you can ask yourself when trying to find your niche:
1 - What is my genre?
The Book Industry Systems Advisory Committee lists all genres and sub-genres on their website - http://www.bisg.org/ Go through the lists and determine which genre(s) best describe your story or book idea. You want your book to be unique, but without an established genre, you won’t know which publishers or agents to query, nor will book sellers or libraries know where to place your book.
2 - What is the market like for the genre?
Again, don’t write for the market only, but be aware of trends. What is growing right now? What has potential to grow? What is oversaturated? Will you stand out or be lost in the crowd? If writing non-fiction, do you have the expertise to compete?
3 - Who is your target audience?
Create a detailed reader profile. What is your audience’s age, gender, and interests? Where does your target reader shop? What magazines and websites do they read? What are their needs?
4 - What are your book’s benefits?
Will your book amuse people or help them escape their everyday lives? Will it enrich them? Will it expand their knowledge? Will it better their lives? Place yourself in your reader’s shoes - what will your book do for them?
5 - Does your book fill a need?
Does your book provide new information people are seeking? Is your book tied to a specific event or location? Is your story part of a new or growing trend? This last question is easier to answer if you have answered the first four in depth.
You don’t want to be a machine churning out pieces just to satisfy the masses, nor do you want to be the writer who pours his or her soul into a project that has no market. But it is possible to line up your passions and writing strengths with an audience eager to buy. Find your niche and fill it!
***********
L. Diane Wolfe Professional Speaker & Author
Known as “Spunk On A Stick,” Wolfe is a member of the National Speakers Association and the author of numerous books. Her latest title, “ How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now ,” covers her publishing seminars in depth and provides an overview of the entire process from idea to market. “Overcoming Obstacles With SPUNK! The Keys to Leadership & Goal-Setting”, ties her goal-setting and leadership seminars together into one complete, enthusiastic package. Her YA series, The Circle of Friends, features morally grounded, positive stories. Wolfe travels extensively for media interviews and speaking engagements, maintains a dozen websites & blogs, and assists writers through her author services. http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
HOW TO PUBLISH AND PROMOTE YOUR BOOK NOW!
BY L. DIANE WOLFE Publishing and promoting made simple!
Have you always dreamed of publishing a book but didn’t know where to begin? This book walks you through the steps of identifying markets, budgeting, building an online presence, and generating publicity. Get the whole story on:
· Traditional publishing
· Self-publishing
· Print and e-book setup, formatting, and distribution
· Finding your target audience
· Generating reviews and media interest
· Networking and developing an online presence
· Promotional materials and appearances
Uncover your ideal publishing path and numerous marketing options before you begin. Writing is your dream. Give it the best chance for success!
Available February 5, 2012 for $4.99 at
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Amazon Kindle
Many of us have seen ads or commercials for some really odd products. I’m sure you remember Big Mouth Billy Bass, the mounted fish who sang. If you were like me, you watched those commercials in morbid fascination, wondering who on earth would want something that cheesy in their home. Ironically, that singing bass found a niche and became a best-seller and an icon.Today in the book industry, we have the equivalent of the singing bass in the Fifty Shades of Grey series. Some of us look at those books with the same morbid fascination, wondering who would want to read poorly-written, trashy porn for women. And yet, the books found their niche and have sold millions.
Most of us will never find that large of a niche. (And many of us don’t want to find that kind of a niche!) But we want to be sure our writing fits a niche and fills a need. It’s easier to do that before we pour years into a single writing project, too.
Imagine having an idea for a product. You spend months, maybe years perfecting your product, which you call the Widget. Once done, you show it to everyone. You’re asked, “What does it do?” You give a vague description, but you’re not really sure. Then someone asks, “Who would want it?” That’s when you realize you have no idea who would want your Widget, either. In the excitement of creating, you forgot about your target market.
Now, often you’ll hear “Don’t worry about the market - just write what you love.” And to a degree, you should write according to your passion. If you don’t, it will show in the poor quality of your story or work. The market is always changing, so writing for trends is difficult and risky. But if you can identify a need and a niche for yourself, your goal should be to use your writing strengths to fill that niche.
As the author of both genres, I will admit non-fiction writers (not counting poetry) have an advantage over fiction writers in this area. They are writing with an audience in mind, one who is seeking information on a subject, location, or moment in history. Of course, even they might only have a vague idea of the real need for their book or the niche it might fill.
There are a couple questions you can ask yourself when trying to find your niche:
1 - What is my genre?
The Book Industry Systems Advisory Committee lists all genres and sub-genres on their website - http://www.bisg.org/ Go through the lists and determine which genre(s) best describe your story or book idea. You want your book to be unique, but without an established genre, you won’t know which publishers or agents to query, nor will book sellers or libraries know where to place your book.
2 - What is the market like for the genre?
Again, don’t write for the market only, but be aware of trends. What is growing right now? What has potential to grow? What is oversaturated? Will you stand out or be lost in the crowd? If writing non-fiction, do you have the expertise to compete?
3 - Who is your target audience?
Create a detailed reader profile. What is your audience’s age, gender, and interests? Where does your target reader shop? What magazines and websites do they read? What are their needs?
4 - What are your book’s benefits?
Will your book amuse people or help them escape their everyday lives? Will it enrich them? Will it expand their knowledge? Will it better their lives? Place yourself in your reader’s shoes - what will your book do for them?
5 - Does your book fill a need?
Does your book provide new information people are seeking? Is your book tied to a specific event or location? Is your story part of a new or growing trend? This last question is easier to answer if you have answered the first four in depth.
You don’t want to be a machine churning out pieces just to satisfy the masses, nor do you want to be the writer who pours his or her soul into a project that has no market. But it is possible to line up your passions and writing strengths with an audience eager to buy. Find your niche and fill it!
***********
L. Diane Wolfe Professional Speaker & AuthorKnown as “Spunk On A Stick,” Wolfe is a member of the National Speakers Association and the author of numerous books. Her latest title, “ How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now ,” covers her publishing seminars in depth and provides an overview of the entire process from idea to market. “Overcoming Obstacles With SPUNK! The Keys to Leadership & Goal-Setting”, ties her goal-setting and leadership seminars together into one complete, enthusiastic package. Her YA series, The Circle of Friends, features morally grounded, positive stories. Wolfe travels extensively for media interviews and speaking engagements, maintains a dozen websites & blogs, and assists writers through her author services. http://www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
HOW TO PUBLISH AND PROMOTE YOUR BOOK NOW!
BY L. DIANE WOLFE Publishing and promoting made simple!
Have you always dreamed of publishing a book but didn’t know where to begin? This book walks you through the steps of identifying markets, budgeting, building an online presence, and generating publicity. Get the whole story on:
· Traditional publishing
· Self-publishing
· Print and e-book setup, formatting, and distribution
· Finding your target audience
· Generating reviews and media interest
· Networking and developing an online presence
· Promotional materials and appearances
Uncover your ideal publishing path and numerous marketing options before you begin. Writing is your dream. Give it the best chance for success!
Available February 5, 2012 for $4.99 at
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Amazon Kindle
February 2, 2013
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’sKnowledge 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.
Try “My WKB”--a way for you to list and sort articles,
view your read articles, and see your search history. Read more about it here: http://bit.ly/S9thqS.
The free My WKB page is here: http://bit.ly/PV8Ueb. And check out Hiveword to
help you organize your story.
23 Top Tips to Make Your Blog
Posts More Conversational: http://bit.ly/YfTB5m
@writingh
Jumping Jacks for Writers: http://bit.ly/UFON4I @fictionnotes
Have You Recently Checked Your
Book’s Amazon Page? http://bit.ly/14nQmZl
@ZimblerMiller
Deciding which details to
include and which to leave out when writing crime fiction: http://bit.ly/YyPWzF @mkinberg
How to Slash Your Word Count by
20-50%: http://bit.ly/14pct2s
@JodieRennerEd
Abuse of trust as an element in
crime fiction: http://bit.ly/WvBdlV
@mkinberg
Instances when 1 pantster will
use outlines: http://bit.ly/14ry35B
@hartjohnson
How Not To Get an Agent or
Publisher (experiment with transmedia): http://bit.ly/Ww7OrI
@Porter_Anderson @ChrisRickaby2
Story inspiration from
Hitchcock: http://bit.ly/YfTSFt @junglereds
Building an Author Platform by
Proxy: http://bit.ly/YfUtHf @kristinba
How To Format A Word Document
For Uploading To Amazon: http://bit.ly/UFQ4sA
@woodwardkaren
Don't Just Start the Great
American Novel... Finish It. http://bit.ly/YfUBGw
@novelrocket
The Silver Linings Playbook
Beat Sheet: http://bit.ly/UFQlM5
Writers Shape & Share
Exercise Goals on Facebook: http://bit.ly/YfUM4R
@thewritermama
Researching writers: Top 10
Ways to Speed Up and Beef Up Your Google Searches: http://bit.ly/UFQGym @WhitsonGordon
"Can the Romantic Comedy
be saved?" http://bit.ly/YfUURV
@gointothestory
Will Gutenberg laugh last? http://bit.ly/Sqq2uO
How To Promote Yourself: http://bit.ly/WzyRAj @Derek_Haines
How To Format A Manuscript
Header Using MS Word: http://bit.ly/WzzsC2
@woodwardkaren
How to Create Infographics and
Ideas for Using Them: http://bit.ly/Sqr6Pb
10 Topics Writers Should Talk
About When Promoting Their Book Online: http://bit.ly/WzAjCF
@bubblecow
Don't Make Your Book Launch
Like a Trip to the Dentist: http://bit.ly/Sqrkpn
@danblank
Merging reality and fantasty: http://bit.ly/WzAz4L @ewillett
How to Write Your Story's
Midpoint: http://bit.ly/SqrVaH @sHalvatzis
When Will YA Sci-Fi Finally
Arrive? http://bit.ly/SqsjpF @AlexScarrow
All Things in Moderation-Even
Writing Advice: http://bit.ly/SqDajk
@writeangleblog
Options for Disasters in a
Scene: http://bit.ly/WzMm33 @kmweiland
Online Book Reviews: Games
People Play: http://bit.ly/WzMsHQ
@annerallen
Writing for Reluctant Readers: http://bit.ly/SqDyi0 @charmaineclancy
6 Winning Ideas for
Self-Publishers Straight from "Downton Abbey": http://bit.ly/WzRLXQ @jfbookman
Publishing is Seriously
Nostalgic About Comics, But Why? http://bit.ly/SqICTw
@pubperspectives
Who dies in your story? http://bit.ly/WzS4Sv @juliettewade
Negative self-talk and trying
to get published: http://bit.ly/WzSh87
@rachellegardner
Fantasy--Book Covers: Should
You Sell Sex? http://bit.ly/WzSTKV
@BlackGateDotCom
7 No-Pressure Techniques To
Keep The Pressure On Your Writing: http://bit.ly/13ZWqYx
@KristinNador
11 Tips on Naming Your
Characters: http://bit.ly/13ZWHej
@RobDYoungWrites
The Finishing Touches on Your
Story: http://bit.ly/Wp96TF @JaelMchenry
Newsletters & Mailing Lists
for Indie Authors: http://bit.ly/13ZX0Wk
Vision for writers: http://bit.ly/13ZX60b @fictionnotes
Writing across the media: http://bit.ly/VUIcCX @tordotcom
Writer's Digest's @RobertLeeBrewer 's List of Best Blogs for Writers to Read 2013: http://bit.ly/WFSKoF
"Platform" Doesn't
Have to Be a Four-Letter Word: http://bit.ly/10pWHVN
@AuthorTedFox
TED Presentations from Writers:
http://bit.ly/10qjmBh @galleycat
Self-publishing isn't as easy as it seems--and success can be elusive: http://bit.ly/Yl2lU6 @Porter_Anderson @eadingas @GuyKawasaki
The New World of Publishing:
How To Keep Production Going All Year: http://bit.ly/ZY2DnY
@deanwesleysmith
Bringing the Past Into the
Future in Your Story: http://bit.ly/Wp9K3q
@Kid_Lit
A writing exercise to help
readers get a 1st impression of your character: http://bit.ly/Wp9TnA
@AimeeLSalter
Series of Events or Plot? http://bit.ly/13ZXPOZ @behlerpublish
9 Tricks to Make Your Dialogue
More Organic: http://bit.ly/Wpa2Hv
@robdyoungwrites
5 Things Bad Radio Guests Do
(And 7 Ways to Rock on Radio): http://bit.ly/13ZY1Ob
@MrMediaTraining
Tips for writing book
beginnings: http://bit.ly/WpahT9
Set Reachable Goals by
Establishing Boundaries: http://bit.ly/13ZYC2q
@lydia_sharp
Point of View and
Worldbuilding: http://bit.ly/WpaGVs
@davidbcoe
5 tips for starting a novel: http://bit.ly/13ZYLmq @writersdigest
A 50 item questionnaire to find
the meat of your character: http://bit.ly/13ZYVu5
@robdyoungwrites
Global Talk Radio: How to Waste
Money and Fail to Influence People: http://bit.ly/WpaXrA
@victoriastrauss
Character development: 6
Reasons Why Batman is Both Perfect and Boring: http://bit.ly/TkWdxl
@io9
Lessons about Indie Publishing
from a former Executive Editor: http://bit.ly/10u7qc6
@shewritesdotcom
5 Verbose Sentences Made
Shorter: http://bit.ly/TkWvEn @writing_tips
Getting Things Done: The Art of
Workflow Management: http://bit.ly/TkWJLM
@mollygreene
Why Kindle Fire might be a
success for Amazon after all: http://bit.ly/WvXCQp @Porter_Anderson @KevinCTofel
Why Do Most Writers Start with
Novels? http://bit.ly/10u88Gn @jasonboog
Self-Publishing - the
"easy way" to get published? http://bit.ly/TkXdBu
@LanaPenrose
Inspired openings: http://bit.ly/TkXnZL @kayhoneyman @4YALit
*Should* libraries be quiet? http://bit.ly/TkY456 @passivevoiceblg @wsj
Writer's Jealousy: Make it Work
for You: http://bit.ly/10u9NM7 @lindasclare
The Starburst Method: The
Hero's Journey: http://bit.ly/10uac18
@woodwardkaren
Adding Complexity to Your
Characters: http://bit.ly/TkYGrC
@AmericanEditing
Screenwriting--How To Avoid
Being Seen As A Rookie And Break Into The Ranks Of The Pros: http://bit.ly/10uaBAA @goodinaroom
Ask The Agent: A Look At
Graphic Novel Submissions: http://bit.ly/TkZ0Xk
@breeogden
Writer's Voice: http://bit.ly/W0O1Au @fictionnotes
Why we've now got a "New
Adult" genre: http://bit.ly/Y0tiw2
@jamigold
Adapting Your Novel For
Hollywood: http://bit.ly/W0P5Es @John_Marlow
Male. Female. Or Otherwise: http://bit.ly/W0Qg6X @Mazarkis_W
Worldbuilding: Alien
Perspectives and Communication: http://bit.ly/W0QElN
@marshallmaresca
The Business of Screenwriting:
The art of stacking projects: http://bit.ly/W0RgYB
@gointothestory
The First 15 Minutes Project:
Cady Heron in Mean Girls: http://bit.ly/Y0uKPh
@cockeyed_caravan
Writers and back pain: http://bit.ly/W0REXe @RitaHancockMD
How to avoid clichéd writing: http://bit.ly/W0RXkL @howtowriteshop
Commodity Publishing,
Self-Publishing, and The Future of Fiction: http://bit.ly/W34R1Q
@Janefriedman
Lessons From a Failed Residency
Workshop: http://bit.ly/XD6W1M
@PatrickRwrites
Using Short Stories to Drive
Sales: http://bit.ly/W35b0n @talliroland
Why You Should E-publish; Why
You Shouldn't: http://huff.to/XD7epb
@LAMysteryWriter
The UK’s Rock-Bottom Ebook
Pricing: http://bit.ly/118u1LG @Porter_Anderson @authornick @joshfarrington
Formatting For A Clean
Manuscript: http://bit.ly/W35KaB
Your Author Business Plan:
Compare, Contrast And Conquer: http://bit.ly/V0chRL
@susanspann
Great scene: Citizen Kane: http://bit.ly/10wbOwU @gointothestory
Finding your tactical plan for
writing this year: http://bit.ly/10wFEkV
@livewritethrive
Why Every Author Should Be On
Goodreads In 2013 [Infographic]: http://bit.ly/13CTjoq
@jonathangunson
Walking away from a project can
open new doors: http://bit.ly/10RSMAs
@v_rossibooks @4YALit
Organic writing--quick and
dirty 1st drafts make for better books: http://bit.ly/10RUams
@robdyoungwrites
When You Have Editorial
Differences: http://bit.ly/10RUmT1
@behlerpublish
How To Use Pinterest To Improve
Your Writing: http://bit.ly/Y3eugj @fcmalby
The Starburst Method: The
Hero's Journey: http://bit.ly/10RUBxp
@woodwardkaren
Emotional experiences in books:
http://bit.ly/10RV3vB @aliciarasley
Why It Might Be Time to Dump
Your Editorial Calendar: http://bit.ly/Y3eNaN
@pushingsocial
Rewriting: A Clean Read: http://bit.ly/Y3eSeK @gointothestory
Search or Discovery? How Do
People Find Your Book? http://bit.ly/10RVsOD
Q&A with a ghostwriting
expert: http://bit.ly/Y3f5yE @MichelleRafter
10 Ways for an ADD Writer to be
OOH! SHINY!…Productive: http://bit.ly/10RVIwT
@kristenlambtx
Show, Don't Tell—But How? http://bit.ly/WZMsBl @livewritethrive
How to Cope With All The Stages
of Fan Letdown: http://bit.ly/W6KcLe @io9
Author interviews (podcasts): http://bit.ly/W6KpxQ @thelitshow
Writing Basics: Dialogue: http://bit.ly/W6KzW3 @jaquiradiaz
The First 15 Minutes Project:
Peter Parker in Spider-Man: http://bit.ly/WZNg95
@cockeyed_caravan
Generating Buzz Through Book
Reviews: http://bit.ly/WZO0ep @RitaHancockMD
Don't Feed Your Discontent: http://bit.ly/W6LaqR @rachellegardner
How important are maps to
fantasy books? http://bit.ly/W6LqG8
@scottmarlowe
5 Reasons It's Hard to Market
Indie Fiction and What to Do About It: http://bit.ly/WZOHnX
@AyalaRachelle
Pacing and Narrative Structure:
How The Hobbit and Django Unchained Screwed Up: http://bit.ly/W6MmdD
@KgElfland2ndCuz
Thoughts On Selling Out: http://bit.ly/WZQ3iP @Scalzi
The difference between a
successful writer in the past and a successful writer now: http://bit.ly/14nQGXV @SPressfield
Smashwords: All Function and No
Form: http://bit.ly/TJfvwA @scottmarlowe
Use This Subplot to Bring Depth
to Your Story: http://bit.ly/YyW0Z3
@KMWeiland
Indie Life - Self-Imposed
Deadlines: http://bit.ly/Ybstk9
@susankayequinn
And the year's most scathing
book reviews are...:http://bit.ly/YyWdvr @prachigu @salon
Can authors cash in on
crowd-sourced funding sites? http://natpo.st/YbsGno
@itsmarkmedley
2 Myths of Publishing and a New
Story for Authors: http://bit.ly/YyWnmm
@JeffreyDavis108
Complete list of Paris Review
author interviews: http://bit.ly/YyWuhJ
@parisreview
3 Vs of Fiction: Vulnerability:
http://bit.ly/YyWAWP @fictionnotes
5 Ways Dystopian Fiction May
Surprise You: http://bit.ly/YyWIFO
@KarenDuvall
Finding the Right Writing
Seminar: http://bit.ly/YyWPRC @Fictorians
A blog with daily screenwriting
tips (useful for novelists, as well): http://bit.ly/YyWWfU
Chris Guillebeau's 1,000 words
standard: http://bit.ly/YbtBEq
@CriticalMargins
How to Think of Blog Post
Ideas: http://bit.ly/YbtE36 @ava_jae
Researching a setting: http://bit.ly/YyX3IA @triciagoyer
What to Do When Your Creative
Writing Hits a Brick Wall: http://bit.ly/YbtOro
@melissadonovan
Query Strategy-Narrow Focus vs
Scattergun? http://bit.ly/YyXen8 @FaeRowen
Methods of being edited: http://bit.ly/YbtZmw @StinaLL
The Formula for Writing a Book
Trailer Script: http://bit.ly/YyXq5Y
@beth_barany
An Easy Fix for a Tighter Point
of View: http://bit.ly/YbZ21n @janice_hardy
The importance of metadata: http://bit.ly/YbZj4z
Rejections: Land of
Opportunity: http://bit.ly/YBfOuT
@Lindasclare
Script To Screen:
"Philadelphia": http://bit.ly/116cGmB
@gointothestory
How Switching Tasks Maximizes
Creative Thinking: http://bit.ly/YBfZGy
@Psych_Writer
Why Manuscripts Are Rejected: http://bit.ly/116d6JN @WhereWritersWin
The 5 Best Big Buzz Books: http://bit.ly/YBg6Sy @homebtwnpages
3 No-nonsense Strategies for
Profitable Part-time Blogging: http://bit.ly/116dFmR
@problogger
5 Ways to Come Up With Great
Story Ideas: http://bit.ly/YBgi4e
@BrianKlems
Scent, Sound, Words and Memory:
http://bit.ly/116eeNr @NicholeBernier
Rewriting Your Script:
Characters: http://bit.ly/116exrE
@gotintothestory
Writers--behavior to avoid: http://bit.ly/YBgxft @philjourdan
Standalones, Trilogies, and
Series: http://bit.ly/10ho03J
@Suzanne_Johnson
All Things in Moderation-Even
Writing Advice: http://bit.ly/SqDajk
@writeangleblog
Are grammatical errors killing
your blog traffic? http://bit.ly/YBxMxq
Weaving Our Real Life Experiences into Our Stories
by Rick Gangraw, @RickGangraw
When my kids were little, I used to write stories with each of them as a main character and they enjoyed hearing about their own custom-made adventures. As the kids grew older, the stories got more complex and now that they are all adults, what used to be little short stories are now novels. The kids liked to hear scary and suspenseful stories for some reason, so my chosen genre appears to be Mystery and Suspense.
I’ve always enjoyed a good mystery and when I was younger, I read all kinds of books, from The Hardy Boys to Sherlock Holmes to Edgar Allen Poe to Agatha Christie. A few years ago, I decided to write a mystery and since I enjoy the beauty of Upper Michigan’s scenery so much, that area became my setting. Winter up there is so different from Florida so I selected that time of year, and coming up with the types of murders I would write about was easy – the UP has ice-covered lakes in the winter and putting someone into the lake so people could see their frozen faces looking up through the ice intrigued me (not that I would ever consider doing that myself, but it seemed like a good way to have a character do it).
I based some of my characters on people I know, specifically Paul and Lisa (me and my wife) and expanded on some of our adventures together. My wife loves chocolate, so I had to put something in about that. I’m the opposite of a handyman and I have a difficult time following my wife’s train of thought sometimes, so I wanted to include a little about those items as well. The wildlife in the UP is awesome, so I added some scenes in with wolves and a story about a beaver (both of which are true), and one about a moose (which I wish was true, but hasn’t really happened to us yet).
Prejudice is an unacceptable evil, so I included some examples of it and character reactions to prejudice. I decided to make a couple of the characters experience something different when this evil was present in certain situations, making them go through some scary moments. Although these scenes are nothing like feeling real prejudice, it’s just a tiny hint of how terrible it really is to anyone who has experienced it.
Native American culture fascinates me, so I created a character who is Ojibwa and he became one of my favorite characters in the story. He shares his wisdom with those around him and his gentleness comes out, even though he’s a very likely suspect who might be taking his revenge against those prejudiced people who have wronged him all his life. Years ago, one of my wife’s cousins had a wolf for a pet in Minnesota and my kids were fascinated with her. So in my story, the Ojibwa character raises a wolf that also becomes part of the story.
Initially, I ended the novel differently, but decided to change it before it was published to the way the book ends now. I added the epilogue, so compare it with and without the epilogue to see which ending you prefer. I hope you like the way it turned out.
Rick Gangraw lives with his wife and children on the East coast of Florida, and wishes he could spend more time at his family's cabin on a lake in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He has traveled to over twenty-six different countries and has visited almost all fifty states in the US. When he's not dabbling in fiction, he enjoys sports, hiking, kayaking, camping, and researching his family history.
"Secrets in the Ice" won a 2011 Royal Palm Literary Award for Unpublished Mystery and was recently published by White Feather Press in paperback and Kindle (October 12, 2012, ISBN 978-1618080431). Rick’s website and author pages are below:
http://www.RickGangraw.com
Amazon (www.amazon.com/Rick-Gangraw), Facebook(www.Facebook.com/Rick.Gangraw.Author),
Twitter (@RickGangraw)
When my kids were little, I used to write stories with each of them as a main character and they enjoyed hearing about their own custom-made adventures. As the kids grew older, the stories got more complex and now that they are all adults, what used to be little short stories are now novels. The kids liked to hear scary and suspenseful stories for some reason, so my chosen genre appears to be Mystery and Suspense. I’ve always enjoyed a good mystery and when I was younger, I read all kinds of books, from The Hardy Boys to Sherlock Holmes to Edgar Allen Poe to Agatha Christie. A few years ago, I decided to write a mystery and since I enjoy the beauty of Upper Michigan’s scenery so much, that area became my setting. Winter up there is so different from Florida so I selected that time of year, and coming up with the types of murders I would write about was easy – the UP has ice-covered lakes in the winter and putting someone into the lake so people could see their frozen faces looking up through the ice intrigued me (not that I would ever consider doing that myself, but it seemed like a good way to have a character do it).
I based some of my characters on people I know, specifically Paul and Lisa (me and my wife) and expanded on some of our adventures together. My wife loves chocolate, so I had to put something in about that. I’m the opposite of a handyman and I have a difficult time following my wife’s train of thought sometimes, so I wanted to include a little about those items as well. The wildlife in the UP is awesome, so I added some scenes in with wolves and a story about a beaver (both of which are true), and one about a moose (which I wish was true, but hasn’t really happened to us yet).
Prejudice is an unacceptable evil, so I included some examples of it and character reactions to prejudice. I decided to make a couple of the characters experience something different when this evil was present in certain situations, making them go through some scary moments. Although these scenes are nothing like feeling real prejudice, it’s just a tiny hint of how terrible it really is to anyone who has experienced it.
Native American culture fascinates me, so I created a character who is Ojibwa and he became one of my favorite characters in the story. He shares his wisdom with those around him and his gentleness comes out, even though he’s a very likely suspect who might be taking his revenge against those prejudiced people who have wronged him all his life. Years ago, one of my wife’s cousins had a wolf for a pet in Minnesota and my kids were fascinated with her. So in my story, the Ojibwa character raises a wolf that also becomes part of the story.
Initially, I ended the novel differently, but decided to change it before it was published to the way the book ends now. I added the epilogue, so compare it with and without the epilogue to see which ending you prefer. I hope you like the way it turned out.
Rick Gangraw lives with his wife and children on the East coast of Florida, and wishes he could spend more time at his family's cabin on a lake in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He has traveled to over twenty-six different countries and has visited almost all fifty states in the US. When he's not dabbling in fiction, he enjoys sports, hiking, kayaking, camping, and researching his family history.
"Secrets in the Ice" won a 2011 Royal Palm Literary Award for Unpublished Mystery and was recently published by White Feather Press in paperback and Kindle (October 12, 2012, ISBN 978-1618080431). Rick’s website and author pages are below:
http://www.RickGangraw.com
Amazon (www.amazon.com/Rick-Gangraw), Facebook(www.Facebook.com/Rick.Gangraw.Author),
Twitter (@RickGangraw)
January 31, 2013
More Thoughts on Free
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve done a better job lately keeping up with sales figures for my books.
I know this is one thing that many self-published authors advise against. Kristine Rusch stated:
She has a good point and many other good points in her post Year-End Numbers.
But I find it hard to resist. For one thing, I was burned by a rotten month early in 2012. I didn’t pay attention and I made only about a quarter of the income that I ordinarily receive in a month’s time from Amazon for my self-published books.
For me, lagging sales numbers mean that I need to run a sale of some sort (because I don’t advertise and I’m not really into self-promo.)
When I saw that my December sales weren’t off to a great start, (and I had a newish book that released in October), I decided to put one of my ebooks up for free. I didn’t advertise it in any way. It wasn’t featured on any daily deals sites. I didn’t tweet it, I didn’t mention it here, I didn’t put it on Facebook.
I have the same concerns that most of y’all do about putting a book up for free. Free books frequently equal awful books. Making books free devalues books and the book selling market. Making books free hurts because you invested lots of time and thought into the book.
But I will say this…if you’re looking for a bump in sales, you’ve got a good book, and you have other books available for sale (particularly in a series), then you might find a good deal of success with this tactic. It does seem to move books.
I took the usual route of making the book, Dyeing Shame, free on Smashwords. After some time (probably 4 or 5 days), Amazon price-matched it. And the book was downloaded over 85,000 times in December. (Yes, it briefly reached number one on the free charts.)
I really can’t explain why it rose so high on the charts. It might have had something to do with the fact that the book had some decent reviews previously (and real reviews….good and bad and lukewarm.) It might have to do with the fact that my name isn’t too obscure on Amazon and is connected to traditionally published books (but…this somehow seems less-likely to me.)
Sales did start to increase for the other two self-published books in the series. I ended up the month with a decent-enough 1,089 books sold for the month.
What I’ve noticed for January, though, is that sales have continued and are stronger from last month. I’ve kept the book free (why not?) and so far I’ve had 1272 sales for the month (as of this moment) and over 25,500 more downloads of the freebie.
The takeaway from this experiment (the experiment of keeping something free for longer) is that the impact of the free book on the other books in the series may be stronger the following month (although it doesn’t seem to be terrible for the first month, either.)
I’d remarked to my husband that I was seeing good sales as the result of the free promotion and he frowned. “You’ve got a book listed for free? Is it a weaker book?”
I explained that it was actually a stronger book. It was supposed to tempt readers into buying the other books.
“You’re giving a good book away for free?”
And I know there’s not a lot of logic in that for many people in the business world. My husband wasn’t really onboard with the whole idea. But…it does seem to work.
Will it always work? Is this always the best course? Is this something I’ll continue doing? This industry is changing so quickly that I really couldn’t say. What’s a good approach today isn’t always a good approach tomorrow.
Have you ever run a free book promo? Would you? If you have, did you have any success with it?
Image: Flickr: Poornomore
I’ve done a better job lately keeping up with sales figures for my books.I know this is one thing that many self-published authors advise against. Kristine Rusch stated:
Resolve to stop watching the sales figures in 2013. You won’t be able to tell from month to month how the year is going.
She has a good point and many other good points in her post Year-End Numbers.
But I find it hard to resist. For one thing, I was burned by a rotten month early in 2012. I didn’t pay attention and I made only about a quarter of the income that I ordinarily receive in a month’s time from Amazon for my self-published books.
For me, lagging sales numbers mean that I need to run a sale of some sort (because I don’t advertise and I’m not really into self-promo.)
When I saw that my December sales weren’t off to a great start, (and I had a newish book that released in October), I decided to put one of my ebooks up for free. I didn’t advertise it in any way. It wasn’t featured on any daily deals sites. I didn’t tweet it, I didn’t mention it here, I didn’t put it on Facebook.
I have the same concerns that most of y’all do about putting a book up for free. Free books frequently equal awful books. Making books free devalues books and the book selling market. Making books free hurts because you invested lots of time and thought into the book.
But I will say this…if you’re looking for a bump in sales, you’ve got a good book, and you have other books available for sale (particularly in a series), then you might find a good deal of success with this tactic. It does seem to move books.
I took the usual route of making the book, Dyeing Shame, free on Smashwords. After some time (probably 4 or 5 days), Amazon price-matched it. And the book was downloaded over 85,000 times in December. (Yes, it briefly reached number one on the free charts.)
I really can’t explain why it rose so high on the charts. It might have had something to do with the fact that the book had some decent reviews previously (and real reviews….good and bad and lukewarm.) It might have to do with the fact that my name isn’t too obscure on Amazon and is connected to traditionally published books (but…this somehow seems less-likely to me.)
Sales did start to increase for the other two self-published books in the series. I ended up the month with a decent-enough 1,089 books sold for the month.
What I’ve noticed for January, though, is that sales have continued and are stronger from last month. I’ve kept the book free (why not?) and so far I’ve had 1272 sales for the month (as of this moment) and over 25,500 more downloads of the freebie.
The takeaway from this experiment (the experiment of keeping something free for longer) is that the impact of the free book on the other books in the series may be stronger the following month (although it doesn’t seem to be terrible for the first month, either.)
I’d remarked to my husband that I was seeing good sales as the result of the free promotion and he frowned. “You’ve got a book listed for free? Is it a weaker book?”
I explained that it was actually a stronger book. It was supposed to tempt readers into buying the other books.
“You’re giving a good book away for free?”
And I know there’s not a lot of logic in that for many people in the business world. My husband wasn’t really onboard with the whole idea. But…it does seem to work.
Will it always work? Is this always the best course? Is this something I’ll continue doing? This industry is changing so quickly that I really couldn’t say. What’s a good approach today isn’t always a good approach tomorrow.
Have you ever run a free book promo? Would you? If you have, did you have any success with it?
Image: Flickr: Poornomore
