Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 63

7 Thoughts About Collaborating Successfully on a Novel

By Dan Brotzel, @brotzel_fiction

I met my two collaborators, Martin and Alex, at my local writing group. By coincidence, it turned out that we all lived in the same road.

As we got to know each other, I decided to share an idea. It had struck me that a writer’s group is itself quite a promising set-up for a story: all those fragile egos, all those different personalities hungry for publication, all the different sorts of writers and writing — from epic verse to steampunk, in our case.

Originally I’d thought the idea might make an interesting short story, but over time — and as my friendship with Alex and Martin grew — I started to think how much more fun it would be if we wrote something longer, together.

So I put the idea to them, and they ran with it. After a few meetings in our local pub, we had thrashed out a set of characters —  we would each run 2 or 3 — and a broad structure. We knew it was to be a novel in emails, building to some sort of explosive climax, and that was enough to get us started. And so, Kitten on a Fatberg — now to be published by Unbound — was launched.

Part of the fun of the project was the element of blind collaboration. We set up a dedicated email account for the book, and each of us began firing off messages, in character. So every few days you’d go into the inbox to read an email from one of your co-author’s characters, which talked about some terrible thing that your own character had just done at the last group meeting.

You would then fire something back from your character attempting to explain or justify their behaviour — and taking great pleasure in dropping someone else’s character in it, and so on. There are 8 main characters in the book, which means lots of scope for feuds, alliances and even romances in various combinations.

Over time, the direction of the story became clearer, and we starting meeting to shape the narrative to its conclusion in a more conscious way.

The whole thing took about two years. The experience was hard work, complicated at times, but always great fun.

Here are a few things I learned along the way about how to collaborate successfully on a long-haul writing project such as a novel…

Don’t rush in



Spend time kicking the idea round, working out the structure, stress-testing the plot. Make sure that all of you are equally bought into the idea, otherwise enthusiasm may fade over time. Novels are marathons, not sprints — you need to be sure you’re excited enough to commit for duration.

Look hard at your partners (and at yourself)



In the past I’ve tried to collaborate on projects many times, always unsuccessfully. I can see now that I was looking for someone to nag me into completing a book, to provide the sort of  follow-through and self-discipline I obviously couldn’t find in myself. But it was only when I reached a point where I was able to complete projects on my own that I was able to successfully collaborate with someone else. So long hard at your potential partners — and at yourself. Are they completer-finishers or are they flakes? And what about you??

Find a MO that works for all

Almost as important as the big idea is coming up with a way of working that accommodates the schedules and demands that every collaborator has to juggle. It’s common for collaborators to write alternate chapters, or to run different PoVs. If the novel is plotted out at the start, you could get on with chapters ahead of each other. It’s also common for writers to edit each other’s chapters.

Factor in flexibility

In our case, the email structure meant that characters didn’t have to post in a particular order or by a particular time, so we were never sitting round waiting for someone else to finish a section before we could carry on. If you had some free time to write, you could always pick a different character and write another email. This fluidity massively facilitated things for a writing threesome. Our next shared novel — about a harmless UFO cult with only a handful of members left — will make use of a web forum structure (posts + threads), which offers similar flexibility.

Stage regular check-ins

Crucial to our process were the regular pub meetings we held, where we would chat away about our characters like they were absent friends, sense-check the direction of the narrative and try to work out what kind of book we were actually writing. Initially we had thought we were writing a sort of dark murder-mystery, but as the characters continued to let themselves down in all sorts of ridiculous ways, we realised that we were heading inevitably towards something much more like farce. These regular check-ins are also vital to make sure that everyone is happy with the process, and to keep morale and motivation topped up.

Leave the ego at the door

Writing can feel like a furiously solitary activity. But when you collaborate, you become a we and not an I. As in a marriage, no one wins unless you all do. So you have to let go of thinking about who wrote what, or who’s doing the most work, or whether you agree with someone else’s edits of your work. Your co-authors are your first best readers, and what they think of your words are more important

Have fun

If you discover along the way that collaboration isn’t for you, it’s obviously better to let your partners know sooner rather than later, so they can find a different way or not waste unnecessary time on a project that’s likely to fail. On the other hand, most of the other points above happen quite organically if you enjoy the process, you admire your fellow collaborators, and there’s a shared will to make the thing work. Why do it otherwise?

As a reader of this blog, you can pre-order Kitten on a Fatberg for a 10% discount — simply enter promo code KITTEN10

Dan Brotzel’s first collection of short stories, Hotel du Jack, is due out in early 2020. He won the Riptide short story competition 2018, and was Asda Christmas Cracker gag champion, 2004.

Martin Jenkins is a freelance writer, researcher and editor. His publications include an experimental novel A New Science of Navigation.

Alex Woolf has written over 100 books for young people and old, both fiction and non-fiction, published by the likes of OUP, Ladybird, Heinemann and Watts.

Thinking about collaborative writing? @brotzel_fiction has 7 tips:
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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 50,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

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

What to do when a celebrity writes your book: @sandrabeckwith
Why Does It Matter Who Wrote Nancy Drew, Anyway? by Radha Vatsal @CrimeReads
The Submission Merry-Go-Round and How to Navigate it: @PennyWilson123 @womenonwriting

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

The Albertine Prize Readers’ Vote on Translations Is Underway: @Porter_Anderson @GaelFaye
Why Spend the Money to Attend Writers Conferences? @ZoeMMcCarthy
‘Author-Driven’ German-Norwegian Literature Festival in Oslo This Week: @HannahSJohnson @pubperspectives
Sharjah Is Announced London Book Fair’s Market Focus 2020: by @Porter_Anderson @SharjahBookAuth @BritishCouncil @AhmedAlamriSHJ @jacksthomas @Bodour @HugoSetzer @IntPublishers
Nicole Brossard Given Canada’s Lifetime Griffin Award for Poetry: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Kalimat Foundation Signs Accessibility Deal, Expands Books for Refugees: @Porter_Anderson @Bodour @KalimatFnd @UNESCO @SharjahWBC

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

6 Ways For Writers To Stay Motivated: @bridgetmcnulty @Writers_Write
Practicing Creative Closure and Coming to Peace With What Is: @CreativeKatrina

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Quotes

150+ Writing Quotes to Help You Through Every Stage of Writing: @ReedsyHQ

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

Five Fictional Books Inside of Real Books: by K Chess @tordotcom
The Library 100: Top 100 Novels of All Time Found in Libraries Around the World: @OCLC
Police Sketches of Literary Characters Based on Their Book Descriptions: @laptop_lasane @mental_floss
Amazon Crossing Rolls Out Its 2019 World Book Day Translation Offer: 9 Free Translated Books: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The Greatest Settings in Gothic Fiction: @TheCraigRussell @CrimeReads
On the Archetypes of the Captivity Narrative: @AimeeParkison @lithub
The 50 Best One-Star Amazon Reviews of Wuthering Heights: @knownemily @lithub
5 Books for the Fantasy Naturalist: @MelanieRMeadors @tordotcom

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

6 Neuroscience Hacks to Beat Writer’s Block: @Astrohaus
7 Ways to Crush Writer’s Block: @TheLeighShulman

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

“5 Lessons I Learned at My First Writing Residency”: by Lisa Rowan @thewritelife
Crick in Your Neck? Tips and Stretches to Combat the Writing Life: @AnnieNeugebauer @LitReactor
Quit Trying to Write: @laurabenedict @killzoneauthors
Resources for Organizing a Writing Process: @writingandsuch
Virginia Woolf’s Depression Shouldn’t Define Her: @maggiegeewriter @lithub
There Will Be Typos. (Trust Me On This.) @joannaslan
Louisa May Alcott’s Letter of Advice to a Young Writer: @knownemily @lithub
From No-Where to Now-Here: Intuition’s Role in a Writer’s Life: @despresmich @WomenWriters
3 Reasons ‘Write Drunk, Edit Sober’ Is Terrible Advice For Writers: @Bang2write
How Gabriel García Márquez Began to Write: @parisreview
Tips for Writing When You Have Children: @aliventures @WritetoDone
Where Should a Writer Begin? @NeelyKneely3628 @EdieMelson
Have You Forgotten to Have Fun Writing? @JulesLynn7
Ursula K. Le Guin on the Sacredness of Public Libraries: @brainpicker
Why reading aloud is a vital bridge to literacy: @MichaelRosenYes @GuardianBooks

Genres / Fantasy

8 Tips for Creating a Compelling Magic System: @_HannahHeath

Genres / Historical

Tips for Complex Historical Research: @almakatsu @WriterUnboxed

Genres / Horror

The Five Habits of Highly Effective Horror Fiction Podcasts: @LukeofKondor @LitReactor

Genres / Memoir

How to Write a Memoir: 14 Tips for Writing Memoir that Sells: @annerallen

Genres / Miscellaneous

What do Middle Schoolers WANT to Read? An Interview with a School Counselor: @PalmerCounselor @MidGradeMafia

Genres / Mystery

Tips for Brainstorming Clues for a Mystery:

Genres / Non-Fiction

5 Proven Steps for Starting a Nonfiction Book Project: @NinaAmir

Promo / Book Reviews

Writing: How to Deal with Negative Reviews: @DebbieYoungBN @IndieAuthorALLI
How to Deal with Bad Reviews: by T.W.M. Ashford @pbackwriter

Promo / Miscellaneous

Your Author Media Calendar for Pitching Seasonal Events: by Chris Well @BookWorksNYC
Book Marketing Tips Introverts Will Love: @Bookgal @BwkrSelfPublish
How to Create Your Own Marketing Team: @RachelleGardner
How to Sell More Books with Amazon Pre-Order Strategies: @Bookgal @IndieReader
How to Set Up Local Book Links for your Ebooks: @HelpingWriters @IndieAuthorALLI

Promo / Social Media Tips

Social Media: Making It Fun: @JamiGold
Author Platform: Using Facebook: @wvancamp

Publishing / Miscellaneous

An Author’s Guide to Narrating Your Audiobook: by Gordon Rothman @IndieAuthorALLI
Louise Dean, Founder of The Novelry, Opens Another Avenue to Publication: @TheIWSG @thenovelry

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Wattpad in Asia: Singapore’s Mediacorp Signs on at APOS; Manila’s Pasion-Flores on the Anvil Deal: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
IPA Leaders Tour Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Hoda Barakat Is Second Woman To Win International Prize for Arabic Fiction: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Sharjah Becomes UNESCO’s World Book Capital With a ‘Scherezade’ Stage Premiere: @Porter_Anderson @Bodour
Shiekh Zayed Winner Hussain Al Mutawaa on Children and the Habit of Reading: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing

Understanding the Differences Between Your Publicity and Marketing Teams at a Publisher: @nedadallal @penguinrandom

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

An Accidental Simultaneous Submission to Two Agents at the Same Agency: @Janet_Reid
The Importance of Following Directions When You Submit Work: @MegDowell

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections

Charting the Rejection Progression: by Rejectomancy

Publishing / Process / Book Design

Fun with Fonts — Getting Ebook Typefaces Right: by David Kudler @JFbookman

Publishing / Process / Legalities

3 Misconceptions About Copyright (and how to protect yourself): @KelsieEngen



3 Factors for Choosing an On-Brand Pen Name: @DaveChesson @BookWorksNYC

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

The Essence of Character Driven Storytelling: @GoIntoTheStory
Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Nanny: @AngelaAckerman

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

When Friends Fight in Fiction: @cyallowitz

Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists

Nasty, Menacing, Murderous: Protagonists We Love…and Why: @DonMaass

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

First Things First: Does Your Manuscript Defy Physics? @HankPRyan @CareerAuthors
Three Ways Writers Tell, Not Show (And How You Can Fix Them): @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Diversity

How To Authentically Write Diversity: @bharatkrishnan9 @thecreativepenn

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Writing from a young perspective: @Sara__Holland
More Than a Happy Ending: What Makes a Story Uplifting? @JamiGold
Writing for Audiences Affected by Cancer: @amaranise @WritersDigest
How to Use the Uncanny in Your Writing: by Bunny @mythcreants
How to Create Compelling Story Action: by TD Storm

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

How to Plot A Novel In One Hour: @BrynDonovan

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

Comma Usage Tips: by L.S. Lane

Writing Craft / Revision

When Your Query Reveals a Story-Level Problem: @manzanitafire @JaneFriedman
10 Top Tips for Revising and Self-Editing Your Novel or Creative Non-Fiction: @emma_darwin
How To Be An Expert Typo Hunter: @KMAllan_writer

Writing Craft / Subtext

Subtext for Writers: Images, Metaphors, and Genre: @SarahSallyHamer @EdieMelson

Writing Craft / Synopses

Taming the Synopsis: 4 Steps for Perfecting One-Page and Long-Form Synopses: @joanpaq @WritersDigest

Writing Craft / Tropes

The Practical Guide to Using Character Archetypes in Your Novel: @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

5 Overused Words in Fiction: @KelsieEngen

Writing Craft / World-Building

7 Tips on Fantasy Novel Worldbuilding: by Michelle Kenny @CBGBooks

Writing Tools / Resources

40 Days of Worksheets: @ramonadef

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Brainstorming Clues for a Mystery

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

For me, brainstorming clues for my mysteries has always been one of the toughest parts of writing a mystery.  Mystery readers are incredibly savvy and they’re very good at picking out clues and drawing conclusions.  To keep them from solving the mystery too early, the clues need to be pretty good…and you’ll need to distract from them, too.

But how do you brainstorm these clues?

One trick that I use is to start at the end and write a confession by the killer.  The killer explains how he did it and why he thought he was getting away with it.  When the killer is confessing, you also have your sleuth explaining how she figured out he was the perp.  This scene doesn’t even have to go into your book, but it sure can help to figure out what clues the killer left behind.

Some good questions for your killer to answer: how did he/she do it? What made them worried later? Did they leave anything behind?  Who did they try to implicate? What do they know about the crime that no one else knows? Did they absently mess up their own alibi at some point in the investigation?

I don’t always work backwards in this way, but it can really help when I’m outlining a book.

As I mentioned earlier, the next step is to deflect attention from your clues by introducing a red herring that seems much more important.  You could also use some other form of distraction: an argument between two suspects, for instance. Or even the discovery of another body.  :)

If you’re a writer, how do you come up with clues for your mystery?  As a reader, are you good at picking up on them (I love it when I’m surprised at the murderer when reading!)?

Tips for Brainstorming Clues for a Mystery:
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There Will Be Typos. (Trust Me On This.)

By Joanna Campbell Slan, @joannaslan ‏

New Release 

March 18 marked the birthday (aka, release date) of my newest book, Second Chance at Faith: Book #4 in the Second Chance Series. There will be typos. Groan. I’m sure of it.

I’m fortunate enough to have several terrific proofreaders who read over my work before it’s available to the public. No matter how many pairs of eyes view the document, I’m always amazed at the different mistakes each person catches.

Nowhere on the Map

For example, one of my readers pointed out that there is no such place as Gibsontown, Florida. It’s actually Gibsonton.

Men, Man, Woman, Huh?

Another proofreader noticed that I kept writing Highwayman when I meant Highwaymen. I can’t explain that. I think it’s because the title is already confusing because there are 25 men and one woman. That’s my best excuse. So are they Highwaymenandwoman? Or Highwaypeople? Discerning readers will want to know.

Birds of a Feather

Another reader noticed that “snowy white egrets” should actually be Snowy Egrets. That’s their name. So, I knew they were snowy. I knew they were egrets. I didn’t know their proper name was Snowy Egrets. All this time, I thought people were being descriptive when they were being accurate. Sigh.

Sven Again?

Someone pointed out that I’d named a character “Sven” in another book, and I’m using the name again. Oh, golly. I’ve never known anyone named Sven. Ever. Somehow, Sven’s the only Scandinavian name that comes to mind when I write. Go figure. Here’s another odd factoid: My sister had our DNA tested and I’m…wait for it…Scandinavian. I had no idea. (My mother was adopted, so all this came as news.)

Actually, I Learned I Lean On That Word. Hard.

I ran the document through Grammarly, a writing program, and the computer brain behind Grammarly pointed out my repeated use of “actually.” Which I actually hadn’t noticed until Grammarly highlighted it. Actually, I did notice it, but I actually like that word. A lot.

Do Not Taunt Me With Tautology

I also learned, via Grammarly, about tautologies. A new word for me, but one I’ll never forget. Here are a few examples: In my opinion, I think…  OR  He sat down and took a seat.

Take a Pass at This

Over the years, I’ve learned to edit in passes. Each time I reread my work, I look for specific problems. Many of these my proofreaders missing. One is the MIA character. If a character shows up at the start of a scene (or is expected to show up), I need to explain where that character is/was/disappeared to during the scene. Another specific problem is physical placement. If a character sits down at the start of a scene, that same character cannot also later sit down. Unless he/she topples to the floor. All this might seem pretty silly and easy to track, but when you have five or six characters interacting, you need to keep an eye on all of them. If you don’t, they could be turning cartwheels in the streets.

A Rose By Any Other Name is Rosa

Yet another pass I make is the name change edit. I’ve been known to completely change a character’s name in the middle of a book. This time I swapped “Papo” for “Papa.” Fortunately, I caught that one.

Redundancy Again?

The big bombshell fell on my house when an advance reader said, “This book has a lot of redundant passages.”

Really? I wondered. Could that be true?

I sat down with the book and read it in one gulp. Bless that reader’s sharp eyes. She was right. For some unknown and perhaps unknowable reason, I repeated a certain explanation of events. Not once. Or twice. I did it three or four times. Thanks to that smart reader’s comment, I cut 3,000 words and three characters who had no business wandering around the pages of my book.

After the Fact, Sigh

Sadly, I cut all that deadwood AFTER the proofreaders saw the book. So, I am sure there will be mistakes. But given the choice between a great, fast-reading story with typos and a fat, loggy book that’s typo-free, I choose the former. Maybe someday I’ll learn to write a book, turn it over to the proofreader, and quit tinkering with it. But not this month!

 

Joanna’s most recent book (that nearly killed her) is Second Chance at Faith: Book #4 in the Second Chance Series. Read it here.  Commiserate with Joanna by going here.

And check out this summer-themed cozy mystery box set from Joanna and 13 other best-selling cozy mystery authors.

 

Writer @JoannaSlan On Why Her Latest Book is Sure to Have Typos:
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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 50,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

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.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

Business / Miscellaneous

A public librarian explains why some titles don’t make the cut: by Linda May @PublishersWkly
Tips for Writing an Editorial Letter or Critique Letter: @SeptCFawkes
“The Top 5 Writing Decisions I’ve Made So Far”: @nillunasser

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

The UK’s Wolfson History Prize Announces its 2019 Shortlist: @Porter_Anderson @margarettelinc1 @pubperspectives
International Publishers Association Names Its 2019 Prix Voltaire Shortlist: @Porter_Anderson @IntPublishers @KristennEinars1 @Aparsapour @NBPublishers @TekinYayinevi @MoeTheeras2001 @Nogaambooks @indpuballiance
Canada’s Guest of Honor Organizers Gear Up for Literary Programming: @Porter_Anderson @Book_Fair
Words Without Borders April: To Read ‘Within a Tradition’: @Porter_Anderson @wwborders
6 Gadgets to Take to Your Next Book Event: @ChrysFey

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

A History of the American Public Library: @arielabergriger @CityLab
7 Thrillers About Losing Our Grip on Reality: @harriet_tyce @CrimeReads

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

The Five-Minute Writing Session (And How It Can Up Your Writing Game): by Deya Bhattacharya
Overcome Distractions and Write: @WriteNowCoach @CareerAuthors
5 Productivity Hacks to Help You Juggle Multiple Projects: @thewildwong @emiliewapnick

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

Decision Fatigue. Procrastination. Writer’s Block. Is There a Link? @RuthHarrisBooks @annerallen

Creativity and Inspiration / Success

Write Lots to Find Success: by Jason Brick
Why Writers Must Know Their Strengths (Podcast): @cksyme

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

10 Steps to Assess Writing Advice: @PatHatt24 @TheIWSG
“Training my Brain for Deep Work: Two and a Half Years In”: @RoniLoren
The Secrets to Turning A Lemon into a Book: @OrlyKonig
Should You Tell Your Friend They’re Bad at Writing? @MegDowell
Five Reasons Author Tribes Will Make you a Better Writer: @DoctorJAuthor @BadRedheadMedia
After You Put Down the Pen: @wendypmiller

Genres / Humor

Humor Writing: 5 Side-Splitting Ways to Infuse Humor Into Your Writing: by Joslyn Chase @write_practice

Genres / Memoir

6 Tips to Write a Mesmerizing Memoir: @MerrylHammond @NonfictionAssoc

Genres / Screenwriting

Great Scene: “Psycho”: @GoIntoTheStory

Promo / Blogging

How to Guest Write for Blogs: A Guide for Authors, Publishers, and More: by Francis Bogan @BookBub
How to Write for a Blog: 10 Tips for Writing Web Content that Gets Noticed: @annerallen
5 Signs Your Blog Sucks … And How to Fix It: @NathanielTower
Tips for More Interesting Blog Posts: @Eileenwriter @WomenWriters

Promo / Book Signings and Launch parties

Planning Your Own Book Launch: @SophieMasson1 @WriterUnboxed

Promo / Miscellaneous

The Importance of Bragging to Writers: by Jason Brick

Promo / Newsletters

Newsletters for the Reluctant Author:

Promo / Social Media Tips

Instagram Account Lagging? Start Using Instagram Stories: @CaballoFrances

Promo / Video

5 Tips for Making Videos: @SueBEdwards @womenonwriting

Promo / Websites

Do You Write Books in a Series? You Need a Series Page: @Martinthewriter @IndiesUnlimited

Publishing / Miscellaneous

Sony Pictures Television Partners With Wattpad on Original Programming: @wattpad @SonyPictures @SPTV @AronIsHere by @Porter_Anderson
Reflections on Publishing Association Work: by Richard Charkin

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Audio: Sweden’s subscription model faces its biggest challenge yet as Bonnier and Storytel go to war: @TNPS10
Industry Notes: Wolff Translator’s Shortlist; Cundill Submission Deadline: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Wattpad and the Philippines’ Anvil Publishing Announce New Imprint: @Porter_Anderson @wattpad @AshleighGardner
Tunisia’s Int’l Book Fair sets new attendance record at halfway point. But is digital the next big step for Tunisian publishing? @TNPS10
European Union Copyright Directive Gets Final Green Light @Porter_Anderson @JessicaSaenger @pubperspectives
Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival: ‘Making Reading a Lifelong Habit’: @Porter_Anderson @SharjahBookAuth @ExpoCentreShj @Kalimat @Bodour @UNESCO @SharjahWBC
S&S To Launch Tiller Press; Transatlantic Agency Lands Legend Press: @Porter_Anderson

Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing

The 9 Best Self Publishing Companies of 2019: @DaveChesson

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

3 Things Never to Say to Agents and Editors: by Bob Hostetler @stevelaubeagent

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections

Famous Writers who Overcame Rejection: @themaltesetiger

Publishing / Process / Legalities

A Primer on Estate Planning as a Writer: by Leonard D. DuBoff and Sarah J. Tugman @JaneFriedman

Writing Craft / Beginnings

You Get One Page to Hook a Reader. Yes, Really. @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists

Writing Heroes And Villains: @sacha_black @thecreativepenn
What Type of Violent Offender Is Your Villain? by Bonnie Randall

Writing Craft / Characters / Arc

Does Every Lead Character Need An Arc? @jamesscottbell

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Mail Carrier: @beccapuglisi
Flipping Positive Character Traits on Their Head: from Let’s Talk About Stories
Use Writing Prompts to Dig into Character Development: @FinishedPages @womenonwriting

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

How to Write Emotion: An Experimental Study: @KMWeiland

Writing Craft / Dialogue

Dialogue Tags and Action Tags: @Diana_Hurwitz

Writing Craft / Drafts

Is My Book Ready For An Editor? How To Know For Sure: by Robert Wood @standoutbooks

Writing Craft / Endings

Making the Ending Matter: @JoEberhardt

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

Learning to Write from TV: The Umbrella Academy Edition: @AuthorSAT

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Tips On Writing Chapters: from Let’s Write Some Novels
How to Write Relationships Your Readers Can Get Behind: from Let’s Write Some Novels
How Long Should A Sentence Be? @jamesscottbell @killzoneauthors
Isn’t Every Narrator an Unreliable Narrator? @cdhermelin @drewsof @lithub

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

Crime Writing: Arsenic: An Historical and Modern Poison: @DPLyleMD

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

“To Be” or Not “To Be”: What Exactly IS Passive Voice? from Let’s Write Some Novels
12 Most Popular Grammar Questions and Answers on https://t.co/82bF0q6NkF: @robertleebrewer @WritersDigest
10 Misplaced Modifier Examples: @writing_tips
Semi-Colons: Are You Using Them Correctly? @KathyEdens1 @ProWritingAid

Writing Craft / Revision

Tips for Tackling Edits and Revisions:

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

Selecting and Working With Beta Readers: @LSHawker_Author @WritersDigest

Writing Craft / Scenes / Conflict

Six Common Mistakes in Fight Scenes, and How to Avoid Them: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

Places Are Important Too: Bring Your Book to Life: @LoriAnnFreeland
How do you Write Good Character Description? 5 Techniques: @nownovel

Writing Craft / World-Building

World Building: Why Writers Need to be Sneaky Building Fictional Worlds: by William L. Hahn @annerallen
How to Build a World For Your Novel: @KathyEdens1 @ProWritingAid

Writing Tools / Apps

8 Great Networking Apps for Writers: by Jason Brick @TCKPublishing
How to Use Scrivener’s Scratchpad: @StoryEmpire

Writing Tools / Books

The 15 Best Books on Writing: A Reading List for Novelists: @ReedsyHQ

 

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Tips for Tackling Edits and Revisions

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

When I finish writing a book, I follow a particular routine to get it into shape for publication.  In case my process helps anyone else, I thought I’d share it here.

First off, I read the story through once and make small changes as I go.  Small changes are typos as well as things like changing the age of a character or fixing an inconsistency.  I note on a separate document (Things to Fix) larger changes that I’d like to make. In a recent book, these larger changes included:  adding more scenes for a character, adding another suspect interview, following up on dialogue a character threw out in chapter two, and taking advantage of setting more.

Adding or Subtracting Scenes:  This is the easiest type of revision work. As I go through, I make notes on possible changes. Then I usually write those changes in a separate doc (if they’re additional scenes or) and weave them in.  It’s important to read the book through a few times to make sure that the additions and subtractions don’t mess up the timeline or create any other problems.

That’s followed by running the whole thing through editing software (I use ProWritingAid, shown below) and then submitting it to beta readers and my editor.

Changes Requested by a Beta Reader or Editor: When I get feedback or editorial comments from an editor… I think about them.  Are they right for the story? I give myself a little time to wrap my head around the changes that are being requested.  I know when I receive an email with a long list of ideas for revisions, it’s almost impossible to absorb it all right away. I always sleep on it and tackle it the next day. My initial reaction to the requested edits, which I keep to myself? It’s usually a very unprofessional, “Oh no. No, no. Please, no.” :)

The next day, I copy the email into Word and use track changes to brainstorm ways of incorporating the changes (if I make them).  I also do this for smaller changes, with a simple ‘fixed’:

After I’m done noting how I’d manage the more complex revisions, I review them.  What seems necessary? What improves the story? What seems like a lot of hassle for very little payoff?  Is there another way to make those changes without the hassle?

For the bigger changes, I write the scenes in a separate doc in order and then weave them into the story as I read the book through again.  Plus, I try to give myself a large block of time to do this: maybe 4 or 5 hours.  That way, inconsistencies and timeline issues seem to jump off the page better for me (others recommend letting the book sit for a while and coming back to it, but this doesn’t work well for my schedule…I usually release a book a month after I finish drafting it).

Then I read the book through again another time or two.

A note on organizing all this.  Now I do it all digitally. I didn’t in the past, but I had a tough time keeping all the bits together.  Now I have a folder for my book and put everything related to that book in the folder.  And back it up religiously.

This is what works for me, but I’m always interested in hearing what works well for other writers (sometimes I tweak what I’m doing).  How do you handle small edits and larger revisions?

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Newsletters for the Reluctant Author

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve mentioned here before that I was slow to start sending out a newsletter. What really made me finally commit to sending them (in 2013) was that readers were getting irritated.  They wanted me to send out a newsletter to let them know when I had a new release.  I had been a published author since 2009, so I was 4 years late to the party.

So I finally followed through.  I realized that, for the readers who wanted to sign up for my newsletter, they expected me to notify them of releases.  That’s how I started out and how I still handle my newsletters today.

I use MailChimp which is free for up to 2,000 subscribers.  I do have more than that, so I have to pay to send out my newsletters. Since I only send out newsletters when I have a release, I send out only 3 or 4 emails a year and decided to choose the pay-as-you-go plan (they also have a monthly plan).  More on costs here. 

Most of the writers I know send out newsletters a lot more frequently than I do and it works out really well for them.  But I can’t seem to be persuaded to change what I’m doing.  I feel as if I have a sort of pact with my readers now…that they’ll only hear from me in their email inbox when I have a book out.   Besides, there are only so many hours in the day.  I don’t want to be coming up with newsletters on a monthly or (God forbid) weekly basis.

What’s more, I can’t handle merely announcing the release in the newsletter because it just feels spammy to me.  I tried to think of all the value-added things that I could to make the newsletter less like advertising and more useful and personal.

My extras: 

Easy recipes (recipes are frequently in the backs of cozy mysteries).

Notes on books I’ve recently read and enjoyed (these aren’t promo tradeoffs with other authors but books I’ve come across myself).

Pictures of my pets (because corgis and cats are adorable) and a quick update on my own life.

Elements  that I was specifically asked to include in my newsletters by readers:

The price for the book in different formats and buy-links to the most popular retailers (Amazon for ebook and print, Nook, Kobo,  Apple).   I also have a link for international readers that takes them to links for their home country (using free UBLs from Draft2Digital).

A full list of all my books, hyperlinked with buy-links.

Where they can find my audiobooks and which titles are available (not all of my books are in audio since it’s a time consuming process).

Upcoming releases (what I’m working on now) and when to expect them (here I tend to be a little vague since the release will be months away).

My email address.

Creating a similar newsletter is pretty easy.  Announce your releases.  Think about what your readers are interested in and provide it.  And make it easy on yourself, too.  Set up a template on MailChimp or whatever your newsletter distributor is,  and then adjust it depending on the release.

To see an example of my newsletter, click here. 

Do you send out newsletters?  What sorts of things do you include in yours?

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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 50,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

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.

New Stuff:

Cozy Mystery Bundle for Charity:  If you love clean, fun mysteries, pre-order this 14-book set for 99¢ and help countless animals. Last year they raised nearly $7,000. This year features all-new stories and 3 new charities. All of the pre-order funds are going to charity.

Click here to pre-order.

Visit our website here: www.summersnoops.com

Business / Miscellaneous

The author–editor relationship: From getting in touch to making a booking: @LouiseHarnby
Society of Authors Calls on UK Government to Fight Online Book Piracy: @Porter_Anderson @malorieblackman @Soc_of_Authors
Using Ghostwriters: Authors vs. Author Mills: @shilohwalker @JamiGold
The Editor’s 6 Core Questions: @valerie_francis @StoryGrid
Thinking of Taking a Creative Writing Course? Thoughts on Choosing One: @Roz_Morris

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

The UK’s CrimeFest Awards Shortlists Include Clinton, Patterson, King: @Porter_Anderson @CrimeFest
The Commonwealth Short Story Prize Names 2019 International Shortlists: @Porter_Anderson
Five Women Authors, Six Women Translators Are on Man Booker International’s Shortlist: @Porter_Anderson
Oscar’s Book Prize Announces Its 2019 Shortlist for Kids Under 5: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Writer @hanque99 With a Resource for School Visits:
The UK’s Young Writer Prize Opens for Submissions and Remixes Its Sponsors: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

Boost Your Creativity: How to Jump-Start Your Brain: @readstevenjames @WritersDigest

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

Top 10 books about women and the sea: @charlotteruncie @GuardianBooks
Four SFF Novels with Something Very Specific in Common: @jamesdnicoll @tordotcom
Five Genre-Bending Young Adult Books: @AstridScholte @tordotcom
5 New Nonfiction Books to Inspire a Long Journey: by Victoria Sanderson @DIYMFA
The Best Bookstores in All 50 States: @mental_floss

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

Writing: How to Find More Time to Write: @LouiseTondeur @IndieAuthorALLI
Scheduling for Writing Success: @ShannaSwendson

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

Baby Come Back…To Your Library: @LitReactor @helpfulsnowman
How to Be a Writer in Five Steps: by Ellen Birkett Morris @brevitymag
On Running, Prescriptive Teaching, and the Language of First Drafts: @themoneyiowe @CleaverMagazine
Balancing Parts of a Writing Career: @aprildavila
Business Musings: Keeping Priorities Straight as a Writer: @KristineRusch
How I Work: A Typical Day of Writing, Promo, and Business:
Why Copying Other Successful Authors Won’t Make You Successful: @colleen_m_story @TheIWSG
“The Strange Things I’ve Found inside Books”: by Jane Stern @parisreview
18 Famous Writers & Their Weird & Wonderful Work Habits: by Laura Tong @WritetoDone
On Writing with a Typewriter: by Toby Juffre Goode @CleaverMagazine
Appreciating the ‘powerful good’ of the public library: @Kristen_Arnett @NewsHour
Do You Ever Feel Like You’re Not Making Any Progress … At All? @MegDowell
Best Reader, Worse Enemy: @foster_rudy_ @CleaverMagazine
National Library Week: 9 fascinating facts about librarians: by Sam Romano @CNN
Creativity: 3 Ways To Cultivate Discipline In Your Writing Life: by Nathan Wade @thecreativepenn
How long should a writing session be? @pubcoach
5 Reasons a Writer Should Move to Cleveland: by Grace Roberson @lithub
11 pieces of book writing advice you need to know: @TheLeighShulman
Writing and the Creative Life: Boundaries of Space, Boundaries of Time: @GoIntoTheStory
6 Tips to Help You Prep for Your Writing Project: @deadmazquerade @NaNoWriMo

Genres / Horror

The Terror of Seeing Yourself in An Other: 10 Body Doubles in Horror: @beansproutbea@BDisgusting

Genres / Non-Fiction

5 Keys to Writing a Successful Self-Help Book: A Writer’s Checklist: @TCKPublishing

Promo / Blogging

Should All Authors Blog? @RachelleGardner

Promo / Metadata

An Easier Way to Upload Book Metadata to Distribution Platforms: @JoVanEvery @IndieAuthorALLI

Promo / Miscellaneous

Building an Author Platform Without a Smartphone: by Mallory McDuff @CleaverMagazine
7 Myths of Using Press Releases to Promote Your Books: @PublicityHound @JFbookman
Where Writers Get Stuck: Marketing: @allisonmaruska

Publishing / Miscellaneous

How to Fight the Commoditization of Books: @PublishersWkly @markcoker
Secondhand books: the murky world of literary plagiarism: @alisonflood @GuardianBooks

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Turkey’s ITEF Welcomes Fellows; ALTA Translation Award Portals Closing: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Kalimat Foundation Donates 2,000 Children’s and YA Arabic Books to Italian Libraries: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Libreka Partners With OverDrive, Bookwire Builds Audiobook Service: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Icelandic Books to Film: Joni Sighvatsson in Hollywood Buys Bragadottir’s ‘Blood Ties’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
APA and Bookrepublic’s New Survey of International Audiobook Markets: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
China Bestsellers for March: On Stage and in the Public Domain: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

Finding an agent for Both Fiction and Nonfiction: @Janet_Reid
Should you keep querying after a request for a full? @Janet_Reid

Publishing / Process / Book Design

How To Use Your Book Cover To Sell More Books: @ADStarrling @thecreativepenn
How to create image grids for your ebooks: @BirdsOAFpress

Publishing / Process / Services to Avoid

Is This Publisher Legit? How To Make Your Decision: @justpublishing

Writing Craft / Beginnings

An editor critiques a book’s opening: @msheatherwebb @WriterUnboxed

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Ways To Fit Character Development Into Your Story: @writingandsuch
Character Type: Companion: @GoIntoTheStory
What Keeps Your Characters up at Night? by Jeanne Kisacky @WriterUnboxed

Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists

How to Write the Point of View of an Alpha Male: @CindyFazzi @WomenWriters
5 Tips for Introducing Your Main Character: @_HannahHeath

Writing Craft / Diversity

Writing Diversity in Fiction: @punkjoanofarc @CleaverMagazine

Writing Craft / Drafts

Drafting those many drafts: The 10 revision phases: @JessicaStilling @TheWriterMag

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

Storytelling Tips from the Writer of Blade Runner: by Hampton Fancher @lithub

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

What Fairy Tale Settings Can Teach Us About Fiction Writing: by Dana Kroos @CleaverMagazine
Showing and Telling: Seven Ways to Help Your Writing Breathe: by Billy Dean @CleaverMagazine
Using Detachment to Create Powerful Fiction: @foster_rudy_ @CleaverMagazine
Don’t Let Your Reader Get Disengaged: @KarenCV
On Timeline Issues: by Dana Isaacson @CareerAuthors

Writing Craft / POV

Third-Person Limited: Analyzing Fiction’s Most Flexible Point of View: @PeterMountford @WritersDigest

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining

How to Outline Your Novel with the Hero’s Journey: @savannahgilbo

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

Writing Characters with ADHD: @AuthorJShulkin @DanKoboldt

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

What’s a Double Negative? 5 Ways to Use Them Correctly: @GrammarGirl

Writing Craft / Revision

Using Your Kindle For Editing: @BE_Sanderson
When to Stop Polishing a Manuscript: @davidfarland

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

5 Stages of Grief For Writers When Dealing with Negative Feedback: @fcheung217 @CleaverMagazine
Beta Readers: Who, When, Why, and So What? by Barbara Linn Probst @JaneFriedman

Writing Craft / Series

Tips for Writing a Series: @AmandaJoyCabot

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

One Common Way Writers Weaken Their Descriptions: @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Synopses

Synopsis Do’s And Don’ts: @KMAllan_writer

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

Choosing the Right Words for the Scene: Subtle Changes Can Make a Difference: @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / World-Building

Guide To Political World Building: @writingandsuch

Writing Tools / Apps

How to Improve Your Editing With Scrivener’s Linguistic Focus: @kristen_kieffer

The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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A Resource for School Visits

by Hank Quense, @hanque99 

What can be more satisfying for an author than showing kids how to create a short story?  That’s what I’ve been doing for the last several years in schools and libraries. I think it’s a lot of fun. And now I’ve expanded that experience into a new book called Fiction Writing Workshop for Kids.

By way of background, a few years ago the Valley Middle School in Oakland, NJ asked if I would visit the school and talk to their seventh graders.  On visits like this, authors usually talk about their books and read scenes from them.  I hate reading scenes!  I find it boring and I’m sure I bore the audience with my monotonous voice.  Instead of torturing the kids this way, I decided to show them how I go about creating a short story.  The slide talk worked like this: I gave them the overall story idea, one that they would want to write.  After that, I used a handout with a series of text boxes with questions to have the kids come up with ideas on characters, setting and plot.  Finally, I broke the story up into six scenes and showed the kids how to use the text box ideas to write each scene.  The talk was wildly successful.

Besides the Valley Middle School, I’ve given this talk in other schools and libraries and I’ve expanded the concept to include two more story ideas.

While I love doing this, my talks are geographically limited.  To remove this limitation, I used these three talks as the basis for the ebook called Fiction Writing Workshop for Kids..  Using the advanced technical capabilities of ebooks, the book has graphics as well as audio and video clips embedded into it.  The videos show the text boxes and coach the kids on how to develop ideas  for the basic story elements: characters, setting and plot.  Each story has a final video clip showing the kids which text boxes to use in each scene.                          

Finally, there is a set of blank worksheets the kids can use to develop stories on their own.

The suggested audience for the ebook is 4th to 7th graders.

This is not an ordinary ebook: it’s interactive and that presents some problems. Not all e-readers can open the epub and mobi versions of this book.  Apple computers and IOS devices can open the epub version if they have the free iBook app installed.  Some Nooks also can open it. You can open the epub on a PC computer if the computer has Adobe Digital Edition app installed.  You can download this free app here: https://www.adobe.com/solutions/ebook/digital-editions.html

The mobi edition will only work on the more recent Kindle Fire tablets.

Other Kindle tablets will not be able to deal with the audio and video clips.

The ebook is available on iBooks at https://apple.co/2CJYDjN

and Kindle at https://amzn.to/2RnU5Yo.

Getting a book published is always a great feeling, but this one felt not just great, but also fulfilling.

Have you made any school visits? How did your talks go? 

Besides writing novels, Hank lectures on fiction writing, publishing and book marketing. He is most proud of his talk showing grammar school kids how to create a short story. He used these lectures to create an advanced ebook with embedded videos to coach the students on how to create characters, plots and setting. The target audience is 4th to 7th graders.

Writer @hanque99 on a resource for school visits:
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How I Work

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’m a fan of a series that Lifehacker is running: “How I Work.”  In it, various people in different industries describe how they got where they are, what a typical day looks like, and tips/hacks for how they handle their workload.

Every time I go through my blog feed reader, I always stop to read posts where writers describe what a typical day looks like for them.  It fascinates me, although I don’t think I ever adopt what they’re doing, because I know what works for me.

I thought I’d do my own version, edited for space (theirs has lots of helpful details). Keeping their series in mind, here’s my take on it. After writing it out, mine looks a bit repetitive, long, and not as interesting! I think that’s because I’m doing this all day long and not part of a day like some are.

A workday in March: 

Got up( 4:45)  put workout clothes on, came downstairs, took dog out and fed him, fixed coffee and sat down in front of laptop.

Worked on Edit to Death (1st draft) until reached word goal.

Worked on Checked Out (edits) for 30 minutes

Scheduled several time-sensitive tweets relating to publishing news for the day.

Shared my blog post on Facebook and scheduled a Twitter share.

Quickly checked emails and found that there was a problem with Babelcube’s paperback edition to Amazon (actually 2 separate German translations).  Marked on my list to address it later that day.

Had breakfast with my daughter before she headed to the high school.

Went to the gym for a 25 minute workout.

Came back. Responded to comments.

Saw my husband off to work.

Emailed my cover designer about another Babelcube project that is ready to publish: an Italian edition. Asked her if she could squeeze in an altered cover for the translation.

Responded to emails and used my canned response feature for a few requests regarding the blog. 

Took another look at the Babelcube issue that I was informed of first thing in the morning.  Was told the metadata didn’t match the cover.  But…it did.  Took me a while to proof it because it was in German, but everything matched.  I found the contact info for Babelcube support and wrote them an email for more information.

Worked more on edits.  This is a first read-through, so I was mainly making minor adjustments to word choice and fixing typos. I noted any big issues that I wanted to change in a separate document.

Wrote a bit longer on the first draft.  Made notes about where I wanted to pick up the next day.

Scheduled tweets for a day that was a couple of weeks in the future (these are the writing-related links that show up on my blog on Sundays).

Ran errands for the better part of an hour.

Ate lunch.

Wrote two blog posts.  Found images and hyperlinked links in both posts.

Mailed a book that a reader won in a giveaway.

Cleaned the house and did laundry for 45 minutes.

Responded to blog comments again.

Responded to emails.

Prepared supper. 

Made another quick sweep around the house to clean up so that I wouldn’t wake up to any mess.

Checked my calendar and made notes on my to-do list so that I knew what the next day looked like.

My workspace:  I have learned my lesson about the dangers of sitting. I move between a chair in the den with good back support and my kitchen counter.  I don’t really need a special place to write in.

Keeping track of all I need to do:  The day before I make sure to check my Google calendar and then transcribe it to a Notepad (Microsoft) list of things to do that day.  I have one saved Notepad text file for every day of the week and update it as I go.

Favorite shortcut or hack:   I write straight through a first draft without even pausing to put in chapter breaks. I never fix anything as I go, although I carefully note on a separate document any major issues that I’ll want to change after I finish the first draft.

How I recharge and take breaks:  I take lots of micro-breaks during the day to keep myself motivated. Most of what I did on the day above was done in short periods of time with a timer.  I love to recharge by reading a good book or watching a good show. On the day in question, the show was a documentary called “California Typewriter”.

What I’m currently reading:   An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good

Best advice I’ve ever received:  Each day is a clean slate.  Don’t worry about the day before but pick up where you are and try to meet your goals.  Or, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “Finish and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

That’s my rendition of the Lifehacker series.   Does your writing day have a lot of the same elements?  What’s your favorite shortcut or hack?  Best advice received?

Writer Elizabeth Craig: 'How I Work':
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