Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 45

November 29, 2020

What Happens After NaNoWriMo?

by Hank Quense, @hanque99

Once your NaNoWriMo project is completed, it’s time to start thinking about what to do with the manuscript you just finished writing.

Of course, the first thing you have to do is revise it (right?). And keep revising it until it’s a polished gem. Once those revisions are completed, it becomes decision time: what happens now? There are several possibilities here.

File it and forget it.
Try for an agent and/or a traditional publisher.
Sign up with a service company
Self-publish it.

Let’s explore each of these options.

File it and forget it:

What? After all that hard work and sweat during an entire month? You have to believe in yourself! You have to believe your manuscript is great and that someone (even lots of someones) wants to read it. I recommend you don’t stick it in your sock drawer and forget about it. Try one of the other choices listed. You can have a successful published book!

Try for an agent and/or a traditional publisher:

This is popular option and many writers try this as their first choice. This route can take a long time, possibly years. Some of the big publishers now accept submissions without an agent and that simplifies matters if the publisher is a match for your manuscript. Indie publishers offer a slightly different path. Most of these smaller publishers don’t relay on agents so it’s easier to get in touch with them. Generally, the smaller indie publishers are more open to new authors and have much shorter intervals

The big advantage with this option is the publisher does all the work and incurs all the expenses involved with producing the book.

Sign up with a service company:

These service companies seem to be a growth industry. They’re popping up all over the landscape and they have some controversy surrounding them. Their basic method of operation is you pay them to produce and publish the book. That is the exact opposite of the previous option. The cost to the author isn’t pin money either, its thousands of dollars. Granted for that money, the service company does a lot of work. It comes up with a cover, edits the manuscript, formats the book and attends to all the other details involved in the publishing process.

My concern about the service companies is this: vanity presses do the same thing. So why are service companies different from vanity press publishers? I haven’t heard a satisfactory answer to this question and until I do, I won’t be a service company fan. I guess if you have the money to spend on this option, it’s something to consider although I’m more than a bit leery of the whole concept of services companies.

Before you decide to use a service company, make sure you read all the fine print on all the web pages and especially on any contracts. If you have a question, don’t sign until the question is answered to your satisfaction. Don’t accept any fancy double-talk.

Self-publish it:

This option is increasingly popular with authors, both newbies and established.

An inexperienced author who considers self-publishing her book will often take to the internet to the research the process. That’s when problems set in. There is a lot of great information available on the web. Unfortunately, there is also a lot of mis-information and other material that is simply wrong. The issue for the newbie author is figuring out which information is accurate and which isn’t.

An example of wrong information is the advice to take your unrevised and unedited manuscript and upload it Kindle. This produces the kind of book that gives self-publishing a bad reputation. It also indicates a complete lack of understanding on what self-publishing is all about. In a nutshell, self-publishing means that the author is the publisher and as such must do all the work a publisher would do if the author sold the book to the publisher. Here is a short list of the work involved in self-publishing the book: getting a unique cover, having the manuscript professionally edited, designing the layout and formatting the book. This last item is especially important in the case of ebooks because what you see on your computer screen is most likely not ebook compliant. Ebooks must be formatted in accordance with the Epub3 Standard and word processor default settings assume you will print the material. Hence, these settings aren’t complaint with the Epub3 Standard.

Another nasty situation that can arise is with the scam artists that cruise the internet searching for new and/or inexperienced authors. The scammers will make attractive offers that do nothing except drain your wallet.

One solution to this information conundrum is to get a mentor: an experienced self-published author who can offer advice on a number of issues that will pop up during the publish process along with the decisions that have to be made. Another solution is to ignore most of the internet information and read a good book on the subject.

===============

For NaNoWriMo (and other first time authors) my Self-publishing Starter Kit offers a way to rapidly gain an understanding of what self-publishing entails. The Starter Kit is a bundle of four videos. The videos cover an overview of self-publishing, a first step in marketing the book, ebook formatting and scams an author can run into. You can learn more about the Self-publishing Starter Kit at: https://www.writersarc.com/self-publi...

Hank Quense writes satirical fantasy and sci-fi. Early in his writing career,

he was strongly influenced by two authors: Douglas Adams and his

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. Happily, Hank

has never quite recovered from those experiences.

He lives with his wife in northern New Jersey, a mere 20 miles from

Manhattan, the center of the galaxy (according to those who live in

Manhattan). They have two daughters and five grandchildren all of whom

live nearby.

Choices for Writers After NaNoWriMo by @hanque99 :
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Published on November 29, 2020 21:02

November 28, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 57,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers. While you're there, check out the Writer's Digest award-winning Hiveword novel organizer.

Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.

Business / Miscellaneous

ALLi Downgrades Amazon ACX/Audible's Rating to “Caution”: @IndieAuthorALLI
Why editors and proofreaders should be using audio: @LouiseHarnby
The Ultimate Guide to Leveling Up Your Author Business: @IndieAuthorALLI

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Translation's 2020 Shortlist: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Craig Brown's ‘The Beatles in Time' Wins the Baillie Gifford Prize: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The Costa Book Awards Announce their 2020 Shortlists: @Porter_Anderson @CostaBookAwards @pubperspectives

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

How Star Wars Led to an Amazing Creative Shift (Podcast): @SteveSansweet @DanBlank
Letter Writing as a Powerful Prompt: @Book_Arch @JaneFriedman
Five Field Trips For Your Senses: @10minnovelist

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

From Cozy to Cold-Blooded: Famous Authors as Sleuths: @avonlea79 @DIYMFA
Five Badass Vampires From Literature and Pop Culture: @rahdieh @tordotcom
The Worst Holidays in Literature: @carrievmullins @ElectricLit

Creativity and Inspiration / Success

What are Successful Authors Doing? (And how can you be more like them?) @ferol @WrittenWordM

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

Constraints and Creativity for Writers: @writingforward
As a Writer, Always Have A Question: @PeggySueWells @EdieMelson
Living With Anxiety: by Alison Levy @WomenWriters
7 Tips to Deal with Writer Woes: @SarahSallyHamer @EdieMelson
Five Tips to Feel Better About Writing Angst: @HowellWave @StoryEmpire
9 Top Tips To Become An Organized Writer: @AntonyJohnston @Bang2write
Advice For Writers: @AneMulligan @SouthrnWritrMag
Is anyone listening? @DanBlank
The Importance of Choosing What’s Enough in Our Lives: @bethvogt @EdieMelson
A Writer's Gratitude Journal: @PaulaSMunier @CareerAuthors
Surviving Your Editorial Letter: @HankPRyan @CareerAuthors
Mental Models For Writers And The Empowered Indie Author: @thecreativepenn @MichaelLaRonn
Why Things Haven’t Been Working Out For Your Writing: @Bang2write
Author Interview with L.N. Mayer: The Dark Side of Imagination: @Howard_Lovy @IndieAuthorALLI
Why emotional white space is part of good writing: @gooddirt
The Holidays Are Here: How to Take Care of Yourself: @cinapelayo @LitReactor
From a 25+ Year Career in Education to Her First Book, with Valerie Bolling: @valerie_bolling @DanBlank
David Grossman calls on writers to bear witness to pandemic: @alisonflood @GuardianBooks
48 literary social media accounts you should be following: @RasheedaSaka @lithub

Genres / Dystopian

Dystopia as Clickbait: Science Fiction, Doomscrolling, and Reviving the Idea of the Future: by Christopher Brown @tordotcom

Genres / Horror

Too Young for Horror? @helpfulsnowman @LitReactor

Genres / Memoir

2 Methods for Structuring Your Memoir: @GuerillaMemoir @JaneFriedman

Genres / Miscellaneous

Book Marketing Tips from 10 Travel Writers: @BirdsOAFpress

Genres / Mystery

Crime Fiction: Sending Signals to Readers that Something Bad is About to Happen: @MargotKinberg
The Con: Portraits of Grifters and Scam Artists in Book, Film, and Real Life: @lisaunger @CrimeReads

Genres / Science Fiction

How the new diversity is transforming science fiction’s future: @TashaRobinson @Polygon

Genres / Young Adult

People With Chronic Illness Are Missing From YA Fiction: @pennyjoelson @diversebooks

Promo / Miscellaneous

Knowing Your Readers Is Key to Book Marketing for Self Published Authors: @Bookgal
+127 of Best Free and Paid Book Promotion Sites and Submission Tools: @DaveChesson
Marketing Your Book is Like Flirting, Dating and Getting Engaged: @WatersAuthor @10minnovelist

Promo / Social Media Tips

Online Etiquette for Writers: @EdieMelson @SouthrnWritrMag
Should You Hire a Social Media Assistant? by Barbara Linn Probst @JaneFriedman
Effective Social Media for Your Best Book Marketing Campaign: @Bookgal

Publishing / Miscellaneous

Tips for Judging a Writing Contest: Questions to Ask and Ways to Stay Organized: @TheIWSG
IPA Elects Bodour and Pansa: Its First Female Leadership Team: @Porter_Anderson @Bodour @karinepansa @IntPublishers @pubperspectives
Germany's Bertelsmann/PRH To Buy Simon & Schuster for US$2.175 Billion: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
How to Get a Book Deal in 2020: 6 Steps for Success: @ReedsyHQ
International Authors' Organizations Not Satisfied in #Audiblegate Dispute: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / News / Amazon

How Audible-ACX Returns Policy Penalizes Authors: @victoriastrauss

Publishing / News / Data

NPD: One in Four Books Is Purchased in the USA During the Holidays: @Porter_Anderson @npdgroup @pubperspectives

Publishing / News / International Publishing

France's Intermarché Offers Bookstores Its E-Commerce Network: @jaroslawadamows @pubperspectives
Surveying the Coronavirus' Impact on the International Book Business: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives @IntPublishers

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

Effective comps in your query: @Janet_Reid

Publishing / Process / Formatting

How to format a manuscript: @NathanBransford

Publishing / Process / Legalities

Fictional characters quoting real people: @Janet_Reid

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Writing Predictable/Unpredictable Characters: @Lindasclare
Writing Older Characters: @evmysterywriter @killzoneauthors
A Character-Creating Exercise That Will Make Your Story Stand Out: by Natalie Gertsenberger @NaNoWriMo

Writing Craft / Conflict

When Writing About Concealed Weapons: from How to Fight Write

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Looking For Your Story’s Heart? Try To Write Its Headline: by PJ Parrish @killzoneauthors
The Secret to Organic Storytelling: by Arielle Haughee @FloridaWriters1
8 Types of Characters to Include in Your Story: @JerryBJenkins
5 Ways Paragraphing Supports Story: @kcraftwriter @writerunboxed
The Right Way to Write an Autistic Character: @fodderfigure @ElectricLit
Five Tips for Writing About Family Dynamics: by Erin Tyler @DIYMFA
Vivid Verbs: Where to Find Them: @mindofkyleam @ProWritingAid
Story Structure: 7 Narrative Structures All Writers Should Know: @ReedsyHQ

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming

The Parts of Naming Your Main Character: @mike54martin @KevinPThornton

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

A Complete Guide To Antecedents: by Krystal N. Craiker @ProWritingAid

Writing Craft / Revision

Editing Fiction: When to DIY and When to Outsource: @alexa_whitewolf @writingcookbook

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

Critiquing a friend’s book… how do you tell them it doesn’t work? @Roz_Morris

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

Setting of a Story: What Is It? And How to Write It: @ReedsyHQ

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

Evocative Words Generate Emotion: by Ann Gordon @RMFWriters

Writing Craft / World-Building

Hard Or Soft Worldbuilding: Which Is Right For You? by Oliver Fox @Writers_Write

Writing Tools / Apps

How to Get Rid of Repeats in Your Manuscript with ProWritingAid: @ProWritingAid

Writing Tools / Resources

A Free Writing Course from @RL_Stine :
Should a Fiction Writer Use a Thesaurus? @jamesscottbell @killzoneauthors

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Published on November 28, 2020 21:07

November 21, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving. I'm going to take this week off from blogging and will be back here a week from today with another Twitterific.

The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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Published on November 21, 2020 21:06

November 15, 2020

Maintaining Writing Motivation…Even in COVID Times

by Connie B. Dowell, @ConnieBDowell

Here we are, month one billion (or at least it feels that way) into the COVID-19 pandemic. With recent hopeful news about a possible vaccine, there may finally be some light at the end of the tunnel, but even in the best-case scenario, it will be months before it’s widely distributed. We’re heading into a long winter. So, it’s no surprise if you’re feeling a less than enthusiastic about writing, about books, about life.

But for writers, the show—well, the story—must go on. Even if you don’t’ have hard deadlines forcing your hand, not making space for your creativity is only going to compound your stress. How do we cast aside the stress, worry, exhaustion, and additional tasks the pandemic has thrust upon us so we can live in our written worlds?

Adjust Expectations

Nobody likes not meeting their goals. Why not make those goals a little smaller? Move a deadline if you can. Write shorter daily to-do lists. Less progress isn’t a failure. It’s still progress in the face of a very weird year! And some writing is way better than none. Celebrate the writing you can do. It doesn’t matter what could have been done in different circumstances. You’re doing the best you can in the world you have right now.

Tune out the World and Sprint Away

Getting started with a writing session is the hardest part, especially when you’re worried about rising COVID numbers, possible shutdowns, lack of childcare, and trying to make it all work. But if you’ve got some precious writing time, don’t waste it! That’s where sprinting can help. Put on some relaxing music if you can, set a timer for a short amount of time (even 10 minutes will do!) and force yourself to write until the timer dings. Try programs like Write or Die to give you more incentives to keep typing (or consequences when you stop). You might find yourself not wanting to leave your story world when the time is up.

Take Time to Chill

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the need to produce words while somehow balancing everything around us, but if you don’t take time to just be, you’ll burn out fast. Rest and relax, maybe with a cup of tea and a good book, maybe with a glass of wine and some Netflix. Schedule this time in if you must. You need to fill the creative well somehow.

Work in New Ways and Ask for Help

Longing for your peaceful Saturday morning writing sessions? You know, back when the kids were doing sports and you could sit for a few hours at your organized desk with your tea in your special mug, listening to your writing playlist? Those days may be gone, but writing doesn’t have to be. Instead of trying to cling to old routines, learn to work in new ways.

Can you try writing sprints to sneak in words during small stretches of quiet time? Can you try dictation while you watch the kids run around in the yard? It might take some time to learn how to work in these new ways, without your old writing rituals, but doing a little bit every day will help you build that muscle. And those little bits of writing do add up. Remember that some is better, more satisfying, more motivating, than none.

But adapting may also mean reaching out to others for help or hiring it out. Maybe you order a little more takeout. Maybe you ask a spouse to help around the house more and give you more time, and you should be prepared to do the same for them when they need it. A supported writer is a more motivated writer at the best of times. That’s even more true now.

Remember the Joy

You started writing for a reason. Don’t forget the sheer joy of letting your words bring the worlds in your head to life! It’s easy to get bogged down with stress or with challenges in the writing itself. But take time—I’d say at least once a week—to play with your writing. Try a writing prompt, the silliest one you can find, and just make words for the joy of it. We writers make ideas, plans, whole worlds, and imaginary people in our heads and then transfer them from our minds to the minds of our readers. Our words live and breathe in our shared imagination. That’s a miracle.

And it’s that joy that gets all of us, writers and readers, through the tough times. The world needs your words. Please, go out and write them.

Connie B. Dowell writes historical and modern cozy mystery and nonfiction while her two preschoolers climb all over her. She loves helping other writers through her podcast, editing services, consulting, and courses. When not working, she knits, paints, plays violin badly, and binge watches Midsomer Murders. Find out more and get in touch at https://bookechoes.com

You can grab a free copy of Writing Without Childcare at https://bookechoes.com/writingwithoutchildcare

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Published on November 15, 2020 21:01

November 14, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

New Stuff:

For those writers who would love to learn to write a Hallmark Christmas movie, my writer friend H.R. D'Costa is offering a special course outlining how to do it. It's $57 and you can find out more information here.

Business / Miscellaneous

What Is Developmental Editing? @victoria_grif7
Is Your Book Ready for an Editor? @ReedsyHQ
Self-publishing News: What Will a Vaccine Mean for Publishing? @agnieszkasshoes @IndieAuthorALLI

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

UK-Born Lucy Moffatt Wins Norway's 2020 NORLA Translator's Award: @Porter_Anderson @LucyTranslator @pubperspectives
The UAE's Physical Sharjah International Book Fair Hosts 1,024 Exhibitors: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
5 Reasons to Review Old Conference Notes: @Julie_Glover
PEN America Names First Recipients of L'Engle-Rahman Prize: @Porter_Anderson @PENamerica @pubperspectives
Canadian Campus-Based Publishers Observe University Press Week: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Conexión Alemania-España Frankfurt: Guest of Honor Spain and Germany: @Porter_Anderson
Frankfurter Buchmesse Announces Restructuring and Streamlining: @Porter_Anderson @Book_Fair @pubperspectives

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

300+ Story Ideas: @GoIntoTheStory
Cataloging Your Influences:
Resources for Writers in Need of Inspiration: @mike54martin
Train Your Writing Muse: @Lindasclare

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

Seances as an Element in Crime Fiction: @MargotKinberg
Mysteries that Feature Teamwork: @MargotKinberg
Self-deprecating Humor as an Element in Crime Fiction: @MargotKinberg

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

Make Progress on Goals in Only 5 Minutes: @MichaelHyatt

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer's Block

15 of the most common causes of writer's block – and how to cure them: by Dana Shavin @TheWriterMag

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

Fear and Self-Doubt for Writers: @MichaelLaRonn
Can You Be a Full-Time Writer on a Chromebook? by Tom Meitner @ProWritingAid
Return to the Five Ws of Writing: @tickledpinktam @EdieMelson
Refilling the Writer’s Well: @dreamstobecome @FloridaWriters1
Remembering Our “Why”: by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto @womenonwriting
Sustaining Hope–An Artist’s Specialty: @VaughnRoycroft @WriterUnboxed
Arrogance vs. Confidence, Self-deprecation vs. Humility: @SeptCFawkes
Literary puzzle solved for just third time in almost 100 years: @alisonflood @GuardianBooks
11 Ways to Ignite Your Writing Passion: @diannmills @EdieMelson
Don’t Fall Prey to The Dark Side of Good Writing Habits: @ShannaSwendson
Five More Things You Could Be Saying To Yourself That Will Guarantee Failure: @10minnovelist
You can stay in the house where F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald lived for $72 a night: @cesegal @lithub

Genres / Fantasy

Depicting Historical Cultures With Problematic Behavior: by Fay Onyx @mythcreants
For the Love of Pretend Maps: @PhilAthans

Genres / Historical

Tips for Historical Writers: @SueColetta1 @annerallen

Genres / Horror

8 Women Business Owners in Horror: @SadieHartmann @LitReactor

Genres / Mystery

Crafting the Master Detective: by Victoria R. Girmonde @StoryGrid
How to Write Suspects in a Mystery Novel: by Michelle Schusterman
Adding Suspense to a Mystery With Macabre Interest in the Crime: @MargotKinberg
Locked Room Murder Mysteries: Tips for Writers: by Kevin G. Chapman @BooksThatThrill

Genres / Screenwriting

Great Scene: “This is Spinal Tap”: @GoIntoTheStory
Screenwriting: The Ultimate Story Checklist: “The Farewell”: @CockeyedCaravan
Storyteller’s Rulebook: Specificity is Universal: @CockeyedCaravan

Promo / Miscellaneous

Marketing from Reader Feedback: @KarenHWhiting @EdieMelson
How to Market a Self Published Book Without Wasting So Much Time: @Bookgal

Promo / Social Media Tips

How to Manage Instagram From Your Computer: @jenns_trends
Social Media for Writers: Practical Tips and Tricks: by J.D. Edwin @write_practice

Promo / Speaking

Public Speaking in a Virtual World: What do I wear online? @gigirosenberg
How to Hone Your Virtual Speaking Skills: @nedadallal @PRHDigital

Publishing / Miscellaneous

Audiobook Narration, Production And Marketing Tips: @AuthorSecrets @thecreativepenn
Graphic novels are overlooked by book prizes, but that's starting to change: @BethBDaley @ConversationUS
Why There Aren’t More Jointly Authored Novels: by Christine Ro @BookTrib
Rights Roundup: Summer Dreams in November: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / News / Data

NPD Books: US October Sales up 7.1 Percent Over 2019: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Vintage Español Joins PRH Grupo Editorial USA To Create PRH Español: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Germany's Knowledge Unlatched Partners with European Investment Bank: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

Is there a “best time” to query? @kate_mckean

Publishing / Process / Book Design

How to Make a 3D Mockup of Your Book for Free: by Bucket Siler

Publishing / Process / Formatting

Reflowable vs. Fixed-Layout Ebooks: by David Kudler @JFbookman

Writing Craft / Beginnings

WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at Finding the Right Opening Scene: by Maria D'Marco

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Use a Character’s Career to Support Your Story’s Theme: @beccapuglisi @annerallen
How to use hopes and dreams to make a character come alive: @NathanBransford

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

Body Language Cheat Sheet for Writers: from The Information Dump

Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists

Make Your Hero Choose: @riverbendsagas @EdieMelson

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

Resources for Writers: Don't Stop the Story to Introduce Each Character: @JodieRennerEd

Writing Craft / Diversity

3 Quick Tips On Writing Diverse Characters: @Bang2write

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

Writers can learn from comic books: by Josh Langston
Tumbleweed, Gunslingers, and Suspense: 5 Films that are Both Westerns and Thrillers: by Jill Hand and @BrandonBarrows @BooksThatThrill

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Epistolary Storytelling: from How to Fight Write
Managing your Cast: by Dave King @WriterUnboxed
Holding Back Story Info Doesn’t Always Create Suspense: @ZoeMMcCarthy
Road, Neighborhood, Sky: A Three-Layered Approach to Writing a Novel: by Barbara Linn Probst @WriterUnboxed

Writing Craft / POV

Close Encounters – The Narrative Point of View: @katie_khan @thenovelry

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

Grammatical Expletives: @LouiseHarnby
A No-Stress Guide to Using Italics: by Dana Isaacson @CareerAuthors

Writing Craft / Revision

When you fear your book has a major flaw, how to diagnose what’s really wrong @Roz_Morris
The Beginning Writer’s Guide To Finishing A Novel: 6 Questions To Ask When Editing: @StephMorrill @GoTeenWriters
Ten Editing Tricks that Will Make Your Writing Better: @Gabino_Iglesias @LitReactor

Writing Craft / Scenes

Book Scenes: Four Key Things To Establish: @KMAllan_writer
First sentence in the scene — Starting the experience: from Edittorrent

Writing Craft / Scenes / Conflict

Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Lacking an Important Resource: @beccapuglisi

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

Fictionalizing your hometown: @laurpuckett @TheWriterMag
Make Your Setting Realistic: @JoanHallWrites @StoryEmpire

Writing Tools / Apps

How to Use ProWritingAid's Thesaurus Check: @ProWritingAid

Writing Tools / Resources

Hallmark Christmas Movie Starter Kit for Writers (Course): @scribesworld

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Published on November 14, 2020 21:06

November 8, 2020

Inspiration from the Past

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Most writers know the most dreaded question readers have for us: where do your ideas come from?

I guess none of us enjoy getting that question because it's hard to give a basic answer to the basic question. Where do our ideas come from? Everywhere. Fragments of conversations, traits from people we know, news stories we read online, past experiences.

But a similar question and one I'm much more enthusiastic about answering is what books and authors have influenced you?

One thing I've noticed, though, is that my answer has changed over the years and I was curious if yours had.

I've always (and correctly) mentioned mystery writers M.C. Beaton, Agatha Christie, and the writers who were Carolyn Keene as influences who made me want to write mysteries. Plus, their traditional approaches (finding clues, chasing red herrings, speaking with suspects) created a story structure I follow when writing my own stories.

Lately, however, I've paid a lot more attention to other aspects of my mysteries, especially the friendships. I've realized how much my writing owes to Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad are Friends, Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, and even Anna Sewell's Black Beauty. These are all friendship stories. Friends who get along, friends who quarrel, friends who learn how to continue friendships even in tough times. This was something that hadn't even occurred to me until the last few years and once it did, I was amazed how much these childhood books had influenced my writing.

Writer Christopher Shultz wrote an interesting post, “Cataloging Your Influences.” He took it a step further by doing an exercise where he went down each letter of the alphabet and considered an influence starting with that letter. He found it useful because:

“…knowing where I came from gives me a keener sense of my own “voice”—that all-too-important thing every writer is supposed to find. Neil Gaiman sums up the relationship between influences and voice-finding perfectly in his “Make Good Art” speech:”

The urge, starting out, is to copy. And that's not a bad thing. Most of us only find our own voices after we've sounded like a lot of other people.

This resonated with me. Plus, I think it helped me understand exactly what flavors my writing and, maybe, gave me ideas for improving it.

I love to hear what other writers' influences are…I know often they're not books but music, films, or other media. What are some of your influences? Has your answer to this question changed over the years, as mine has?

Influences: Inspiration from the Past:
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Published on November 08, 2020 21:02

November 7, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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Published on November 07, 2020 21:06

November 1, 2020

Finding Your Genre

by Jessica Thompson, @jessicathauthor

As an author in a very specific subgenre – culinary cozy mysteries – people always ask me how I got into this genre. How did I get started in this? How did I find this niche? Is this even a thing? Yes, I’ve gotten a lot of puzzled eyebrows when I mention my genre.

As for me, picking the subgenre was the easy part. You could even say that it chose me. I like to think that it was my inspiration to start writing seriously. When I discovered mysteries with recipes, the heavens parted, rays showered my face, and a choir of angels sang. Maybe not exactly, but it was clear and automatic. I love mysteries and I love cooking. It was natural and fitting.

So, what if you don’t have a heavenly genre-bestowing experience? What if you like to write several genres? What if you don’t know what genre your story is? What if you are blending genres?

Is it even important? Short answer, yes. Whether you have already written a story or if you are just starting out and looking for a place in this big ol’ crazy writing world, I say find a subgenre.

You don’t have to commit to one genre forever, but I would say that you should for each story. Each genre has an underlying set of rules that you will need to follow (or maybe play with) if you want to meet expectations and have satisfied readers.

Every story has elements of more that one genre, but start by deciding what the point of your story is. Assuming you agree that your main character needs to experience some sort of growth, what kind of growth does your character experience? What is the main conflict in your story? What are the main plot points?

As an example, we can look at my story, “A Caterer’s Guide to Love and Murder.” Obviously from the title, there’s food, there’s mystery, and there’s love. I touch on many versions of love, like friendship, newlywed love, motherly love, and versions of romantic love, but that’s not the point because that is not the main conflict. Love is the lesson my character learns, and the love and the mystery are woven together, but the main storyline is the murder. The whodunnit. The mystery.

In terms of “Save the Cat Writes a Novel” by Jessica Brody, the mystery is my ‘A’ story and the love is my ‘B’ story. The mystery is the inciting incident, the conflict, and the midpoint. The mystery is not the ‘theme,’ but it is just about everything else. The mystery is the t-shirt and the love is the graphic on the shirt. And the food is probably what color the shirt is.

So, having trouble picking which is the main genre for your story? Ask yourself these questions.

What is the catalyst, or event that gets the story rolling?

What question is the reader left asking after the catalyst?

Describe your plot in one sentence. Which parts of the story made the cut?

What is the main conflict in your story?

What are the main plot points of your story?

If your story is part of a series (or will be), what do all the stories have in common?

If your character growth is the main plot, what do they learn? If your character growth is NOT the main point of the story (the way mine is not,) then just ignore this question.

If you have not started writing, you have a different struggle. How to pick a genre to dive into?

What do you like?

What do you know about?

What do you have to offer that few others in the writing community can?

I hesitated to take myself seriously as a writer before I found my genre because I thought the huge pool of writers was too competitive and intimidating.

Shrink that pool! Find the sub-sub-sub-genre that fits your interest. Or create one! I heard that chick-lit didn’t really exist before “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, and everyday there are new bridges and combinations of genres. Just be smart and do a lot of research before creating a new genre, because that’s risky!

Still having trouble finding your niche? Here are some questions to consider.

What are one or two hobbies you are good at (or just enjoy?)

What are some occupations you have had in past lives?

Do you enjoy plot-driven or character-driven stories?

How does your brain work? Do you need the prescribed borders of an established genre or would you thrive in the open landscape of uncharted genre territory?

What type of reader are you planning to appeal to? (You can pick this either before or after genre. I picked after as determined by my genre, but you could do it in reverse.)

How much research are you willing and ready to do?

What type of research would interest you? History, science, occupational, setting, etc.

After asking yourself these questions, hopefully you are hearing some angels singing. If not, write down your answers (as short as possible) and ask someone else to look at your answers. You can schedule an appointment with someone in your local writers organization, run those answers by your critique group, or use this chance to reach out personally to that online acquaintance.

If you truly straddle two genres or subgenres, I think you can use both. I would say two should be your max, especially if you're a beginner, because you will now have to follow the rules of both genres! Yikes!

Intimidating as your chosen task may be, don’t fret! Your task will now be less intimidating if you have chosen a genre. You’ve found a groove. You’ve picked a lane to help you reach your destination. It doesn’t mean that your tires will be trapped in a rut, it just means that there are now some lovely dashed lines on the road.

Good luck!

Have a burning question? Contact Jessica on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter as @jessicathauthor

Find her cozy mystery with recipes, “A Caterer's Guide to Love and Murder” on Amazon now.

When Jessica discovered mystery novels with recipes, she knew she had found her niche. Jessica is an avid home chef and is active in her local writing community, including being a member of the Writers’ League of Texas. She received a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from Brigham Young University but has always enjoyed writing and reading mysteries. Jessica is originally from California, but now has adopted the Austin, Texas lifestyle with her husband and two children.

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Published on November 01, 2020 21:02

October 31, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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Published on October 31, 2020 21:06

October 25, 2020

How to Set Up Successful Amazon Ad Campaigns

by Dave Chesson, @DaveChesson

There are a lot of ways to market a book, but using Amazon ads is at the top of the list for authors looking for more sales. Starting out with Amazon ads can be pretty intimidating, so, today, we’ll look at how you can set up successful Amazon ad campaigns that will help you convert readers into buyers.

Step 1: Select Your Amazon Ad Campaign Type

To start your Amazon ads, simply navigate over to your Amazon Ad account by clicking here. Hit the button “Create Campaign” to start your new Amazon ad campaign.

Once there, it’s time to choose your ad type. There are two main types.

Sponsored Product Ads. These are ads that rely on keywords. So, you enter your keywords, and Amazon shows your ad to readers who type those keywords into the search bar in the Kindle Store. Very useful for reaching your target market.
Lockscreen Ads. Based on the interests of shoppers, these ads commonly appear on Kindle and Fire Tablet lock screens. They’re often pretty expensive to use, and they don’t have return that’s as good as Sponsored Product Ads, so I usually suggest new authors veer away from them.

Select Sponsored Product Ads here!

Step 2: Select Your Budget, Targeting and Book

Congrats! You’ve taken the first step toward setting up a great Amazon Ad Campaign. Now comes the real work.

In order to create your campaign, you need to:

Create a campaign name. This is more of an organizational tool that no one will see. Name it something that will stand out to you and make sense. I often use an acronym for the book, what my budget is, and the date I set it up.
Create a portfolio. This helps you organize your ads into portfolios for a certain book. You can create one or opt not to do this if it feels like too much clerical work.
Select a start date. I usually suggest selecting a start date and no end date because I prefer to keep these campaigns running and monitor them for the best results.
Select your budget. You can start your ad with as little as $5 per day. All you have to do is monitor your ads carefully to ensure that you’re never spending too much money. Accidents in budgeting do happen, so be sure you’ve got the right number entered here.
Select your targeting type. There are two types of targeting: Manual and Automatic. Manual targeting involves choosing your keywords–select this one!
Select your bidding type. For this, it’s wise to select “Dynamic bids – down only” as it will ensure that you never overbid on a particular keyword. Basically, you bid a certain amount of money for your keyword to show in the store. Amazon then shows it to potential customers who have searched that phrase.

After selecting your bid strategy, we move on to selecting your ad format and your book, as seen below.

Custom text ads allow you to write up a short section of text or a blurb for the book you select. Standard ads allow you to select a book without having to add any ad copy. It might be easier to start out with Standard ads, but you can test which one works better for you by creating another campaign later.

Once you’ve selected the ebook you want to advertise, scroll down to choose between ‘Keyword targeting’ and ‘Product targeting.’ Keyword targeting is what we’ll be doing today, so select that to proceed!

Step 3: Get Your Keywords!

There’s a reason I created the software Publisher Rocket to help authors automatically find keywords for their ads and for their book. First, because I love keyword research, and second, because manually finding keywords is time consuming and can be a pain in the neck.

However, it’s an important part of setting up Amazon ads, so let’s look at how you can find your keywords easily.

Write down a list of seed keywords for your book. These are all the keywords that suit your market. So, if you’re writing a Tom Clancy style thriller, it could be things like ‘military thriller” or “action-packed spy novel” for example.
Use your seed keywords and head over to Amazon with your browser in incognito mode. Set the category in the search bar’s dropdown to ‘Kindle Store’ then type in the seed keyword followed by an ‘a.’ Note down which search comes up.
Repeat this process for all the letters of the alphabet and write down the phrases that appear.

Or you can use Publisher Rocket and get quick results like these:

Step 4: Insert Your Keywords

Now, it’s time to enter your keywords by using your keyword list and selecting ‘enter list’ in the options. You can use three keyword match types: Broad, Phrase, and Exact. I suggest using one match type per campaign.

Select ‘Broad’ here to start.

Before you input any keywords, make sure to change the ‘Suggested Bid’ dropdown to ‘Custom Bid.’ Amazon’s ‘Suggested Bid’ is $0.75! That’s more than you need to pay for clicks. $0.25 to $0.30 is a great bid price for most genres and you won’t break the bid.

Input your keywords in list form, then hit ‘Add keywords.’

After you’ve done that, scroll down and hit the Negative Keyword Targeting dropdown. Here is where you’ll input keywords that you don’t want your advertisements to appear for — like ‘free’ or ‘steamy’ depending on your genre.

Input those, then scroll down, and hit the ‘Launch Campaign’ button. You’re all done! Your campaign will soon be live and start generating impressions, clicks, and, hopefully, sales.

Step 5: Monitor Your Ads

Monitoring your ads is the most important part of setting up successful Amazon ad campaigns. You need to know that the money you're spending every day is netting a positive result and increasing your book’s visibility and sales.

How do you tell?

You can use Average Cost of Sales to gauge how well you’re doing, but if you’re in KDP Select, things become a little more complicated. Your best bet is to check how much money your book is making per day in your KDP dashboard and compare that to how much money you’re spending a day on your Amazon ads.

You might run into several issues with your ads. A few are:

No impressions. If you have no impressions, try increasing the bids of your keywords. Amazon is likely not showing your ad because you’re not bidding competitively enough.
Plenty of impressions, but no clicks. In this case, either your keywords are not right for your book or your cover isn’t drawing in customers. Take a closer look at your target market and genre. Just because a keyword is popular, doesn’t mean it’s a good fit for your book. For an over-the-top example, a keyword like “historical romance” won’t sell your sci-fi horror novel. And an off-market cover can also turn genre readers away.
Lots of impressions and clicks, but no sales. In this case, you’re targeting the right customers, they like your cover, but when they get to your sales page, they lose interest in purchasing. Several things could be an issue here: you could have a blurb that’s not catchy enough, your ‘look inside’ might not be enticing enough, or you don’t have enough reviews. Luckily, all of these issues are ones you can remedy. Rewrite your blurb, spruce up your book, and get more reviews through services like BookSprout or by using your ARC team.

If you’d like more information on how to set up Amazon ads and find keywords, I highly suggest you check out my Amazon Ads course. It’s one hundred percent free!

Final Thoughts

By creating Amazon ad campaigns that draw attention from the right readers, you’ll set your book up for success. With an ad budget of as little as $5 a day, you can make a difference in your book’s trajectory. Just be sure your book is right for its market first.

Cheers!

Dave Chesson is the creator of Kindlepreneur.com, a website devoted to teaching advanced book Marketing which even Amazon KDP acknowledge as one of the best by telling users to “Gain insight from Kindlepreneur on how you can optimize marketing for your books.” Having worked with such authors as Orson Scott Card, Ted Dekker and more, his tactics help both Fiction and Nonfiction authors of all levels get their books discovered by the right readers.

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Published on October 25, 2020 21:01

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