Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 73
August 2, 2018
3 Hacks to Publish Your Book on a Shoestring Budget
by Emmanuel Nataf, @EmmanuelNataf
81% of Americans want to write a book in their lifetimes. However, a much smaller percentage actually goes on to publish a book. So what’s stopping them? You’ll hear that it usually comes down to two familiar resources:
Time
Cash
Time is the factor that everyone already talks about. But what about that second obstacle: money? The problem is that publishing a book can be expensive. Traditional publishers spend a ton of money to edit, design, market, and promote books. If you’re self-publishing, you’d need to take on those responsibilities yourself — which means that you’d need to take the cash straight out of your own pocket.
Luckily, there is a way to publish a book on a shoestring budget. Here are my three favorite tips for the self-publishers who want to get your book out there and save money at the same time.
Take advantage of book review blogs
When you see a book that’s got a summary that interests you, what do you do next?
Chances are, you’ll scroll down to read the reviews. Then you’ll decide to buy a book based on the number of four- and five-stars you see.
That’s why reviews are so important — and the good news is that you don’t necessarily need to pay for one these days because book review bloggers exist on the Internet.
Who exactly are they? It’s all in the name: they’re bloggers who read and review books — for fun! It’s a win-win for both parties: these bloggers get to read more books, while you get a free book review under your belt. You might need to spend some time researching the right book review blogs for you, but in general it’s a clear (and free) opportunity for you to gain the reviews that your book will badly need.
Best practices:
Do read the guidelines for submission. Every book review blog will tell you what format of book they prefer (.mobi, .epub, or a print book, for instance) and the best way to request a review (whether it’s through email or an online form). Follow these instructions to a T. It shows respect to the blogger and ups your chances to get a review out of them.
Do start planning your book review campaign a couple of months in advance. You’ll want your review to be in place by the time you release your book, so it follows that you need to give bloggers time to read and write up the review for your book. Track and record everything on a spreadsheet.
Don’t pester bloggers and ask repeatedly if they’ve received your request for a review. They’ve got the final say in whether or not they decide to read your book. Again: respect the blogger. They’re doing you a favor for free.
Download and use free apps
Ever wish that publishing a book was as simple as picking a title out of a book title generator?
Traditionally-published books go through a rigorous process before they come out on the market: they need to first go through a cycle of developmental edits, copy edits, and proofreads. Then the book cover needs to be designed and the text must be typeset onto the pages.
Each of the above stages is overseen by a publishing professional. There’s no real replacement for the experience of a professional, of course. That said, technology’s advanced enough that some apps can get close — and the best news is that plenty of them are free for you to use.
Here are a few ways that you can save through free apps:
To save money on a proofreader, use: Grammarly. This nifty app markets itself as a writing assistant, but it’s best as a substitute for a proofreader: it catches tiny spelling and grammar mistakes in your writing, which makes the end product that much more polished.
To save money on a copy editor, use: Hemingway. Like its namesake, Hemingway exists to further clear and concise writing. It’s capable of pointing out chunks of text where your writing gets dense and indecipherable. As a virtual (and free) copy editor, it’s pretty useful.
To save money on a typesetter, use: Reedsy Book Editor. This is a free tool that can typeset your book in a professional manner. It aims to simplify the typesetting (which is a complex art) for all authors.
A word of caution: the one area that can’t easily be replaced by an app is that of the cover design. Like it or not, readers do judge books by their covers — so it’s in your best interest to create a really first-rate book cover. For this, I strongly recommend aspiring to find a professional book designer. You may be able to put some stock images together in Paint or GIMP, but chances are that it won’t come close to a professionally designed cover.
Create the book yourself!
Why do you need to research print-on-demand services when you can make a book yourself?
This tip is for those of you on an extreme shoestring budget. If you make the book yourself, it’ll merely cut you back some printing paper and Elmer’s glue: not too shabby, especially when you consider the beautiful product you’ll end up producing.
So what’s involved? Basically, a book is composed of booklets that are called folios. These folios are made up of eight signatures, which is simply a sheet of paper with text printed on both sides. The most complicated part of this procedure is making sure that you print and assemble each signature in the right order, but this post on making a book in five steps will guide you through any tricky waters.
Follow the steps in the post — and voilà! You’ll emerge with a book that would be a perfect memento or a nice gift for someone special.
Best practices:
Do get your materials ready ahead of time. In a nutshell, you’ll need printing paper, glue, a glue gun, some thin fabric, a stapler, a metal ruler, and cardboard.
Do choose the right kind of paper. This is more important than you might think! Paper that’s too thin or thick will adversely affect a person’s reading experience. Look for paper stock that’s uncoated and 70 or 80 grams per square meter if you’re aiming to re-create a professional book.
Don’t go this route of making your own book if your goal is to do a big print run. Though it’s cheap, the time you’ll need to invest in making thousands of books yourself probably won’t be worth it.
Emmanuel Nataf is the founder and CEO of Reedsy, a marketplace that connects authors and publishers with the world’s best editors, designers and marketers. Emmanuel dedicates most of his time to building Reedsy’s product and is interested in how technology can transform cultural industries. You can find him on Twitter.
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July 29, 2018
Asking for and Delivering Endorsements
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
The word ‘blurb,’ which is what publishers used to mean ‘endorsement’ has gradually changed in meaning to ‘book description,’ so I’ll use ‘endorsement’ to be clearer. Regardless what you call it, endorsements have been a source of chagrin for authors for ages. It’s tough asking for them and it can be tough to deliver them. But the general feeling is that they’re good for visibility. Do they help? Who knows? They definitely don’t seem to hurt.
I’ve written endorsements for a long while. I learned not to feel awkward about them when a bestseller in my genre told me in an email that she felt terribly inept blurbing and that she never really knew what to say. That’s when I knew that everyone has that feeling.
For the writer giving the endorsement
Know when it’s due.This is also key to deciding whether to take on the endorsement.
Know your limits. Take an honest look at your calendar. Are you facing deadlines (either self-imposed or publisher-imposed)? Are you already committed to endorsing other books? Do you have a vacation or holiday approaching?
Be honest if it’s not your thing. It likely is someone else’s. I’ve turned down requests before because I knew I wasn’t the best person for the job…why would a SF/F reader think the endorsement of a cozy mystery author is worth anything?
Be pithy. This is not the time to go on and on. Short and sweet usually works best.
Alliteration and assonance can help with punch.
Give variations on the theme. A short and long blurb can help. Usually I’ll give permission to mix and match elements from several options or to cut the endorsement to just a word or two, if needed.
Be sure to designate how you’d like to be attributed. This is probably not the time to be modest. If you’re a bestseller, go ahead and include that…it can only help the writer who needs the blurb.
Pay it forward. Most of us received endorsements as new authors. It’s good to return the favor.
For the writer asking for the endorsement:
Give a due date. Be specific in what you need. Is this a review or an endorsement? Is it going on the cover? On Amazon’s editorial review section? On your website? All of the above?
Give the book’s genre, word count, and offer the text in different formats. Let the endorsing writer know exactly what they’re in for and allow them to read it in Kindle, epub, or PDF formats, if possible.
Provide background on the project, yourself, and why you thought of the writer to endorse. Although not strictly necessary, it’s nice. You don’t have to have read the endorsing writer’s books, but it’s nice to let them know why you thought of them. And I like to know a little about who’s asking for the blurb…are they just starting out? Trying to reinvent themselves? Just went indie?
Make sure you know how the endorsing writer wants it attributed/credited. Maybe they’re wanting to promote their latest book or a particular series.
Bonus tip: For me, I like to know what marketing direction a writer is trying to go in. Are they playing up the romance in the cozy mystery? Billing it as a humorous cozy? Trying for edgy? This can help with the direction my blurb goes in.
Do you ask for endorsements? Give them? What tips have I missed?
Tips for Asking for and Delivering Endorsements:
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July 28, 2018
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 45,000 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.
Hope you had a good last couple of weeks! Here is an extended Twitterific. :)
Tweets Ending July 20th :
Business / Miscellaneous
Make the Most of Your Local Bookstore Relationship: @AgnewRobin
Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting
5 Ways Writers Can Be Accountable: @WGTWrite @DIYMFA
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
11 Compelling Reasons Every Author Should Read: @JanalynVoigt
How Reading Better Can Help You Write Better: @rsmonterusso @StoryGrid
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
How writers can become better at self-management: @pubcoach
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
5 Sacrifices You Have to Make to be a Successful Writer: @colleen_m_story
10 Harsh Truths About Writing: @Bang2write
Summer Struggles for Parent-Writers: @aimiekrunyan
The World is Full of Rejections: Find the One That’s Right For You: @AjaMaybe @lithub
Try Something New as a Writer: @thewarriormuse @TheIWSG
Tips for a Leading a Writers Workshop: Preparation: @ZoeMMcCarthy
How to Take a One-Day Creative Retreat: @DanBlank
12 Tips for Newly Published Writers: @dihofmeyr
Genres / Historical
What’s the difference between historical fiction and creative nonfiction? by Brandi Reissenweber @TheWriterMag
Genres / Miscellaneous
How To Write About Commonplace Experiences In Creative Nonfiction: @kayladeanwrites @DIYMFA
Genres / Mystery
Perfectionism as an Element in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Tips for Writing a Mystery: by Joslyn Chase @write_practice
Four Things Learned While Writing Crime Fiction: @KlikaZack @ReedsyHQ
Crime Writing: 12 Facts About Interrogation: @LeeLofland
Genres / Non-Fiction
Write a Nonfiction Book People Want to Read: @TCKPublishing
Genres / Screenwriting
Screenwriting: Free Online Writer Resources: @GoIntoTheStory
Promo / Blogging
How To Start Blogging: A Guide For Authors: @VeryGoodCopy @BadRedheadMedia
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
10 Literary Techniques to use in Your Copywriting: @KristinaAuthor
About Page 101: Making Them Care: by Michael Pick @postaday
Promo / Miscellaneous
Hate Book Marketing? 4 Tips To Help You Change Your Mindset and Sell More Books: @SmartAuthors @thecreativepenn
Promo / Newsletters
6 Welcome Email Examples (and How to Write Yours): @ashleyhockney @teachable
Promo / Social Media Tips
How to Create a Social Media Schedule That Is Truly Effective: @DeniseWakeman
Social Media for Authors: Quick Tips to Get It Right: @KimberleyGrabas
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Authors Guild Demands Police Organization Cease Pressure on School About Reading List: @mariraz @Porter_Anderson
The Vocabulary of Publishing: By Richard Charkin @pubperspectives
5 Routes into Writing for Games: @gavininglis @scottishbktrust
Rights Roundup: Six Countries, Several Themes, Lots of Sales: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Interview: Two Lions’ Kelsey Skea on Rights, Series, Strategies, and Cadence: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Bespoke Books for Indie Authors: @creativepumpkin @IndieAuthorALLI
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Segovia Programming Opens International Hay Festival Season: ‘Global Crises’: @Porter_Anderson
The International Publishers Association at WIPO’s Standing Committee at Copyright: Drawing a Line: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishing / Process / Book Design
The Principles of Design: Font Pairing: by Kjell Reigstad @postaday
Writing Craft / Arc
Writing Tip & Task: Plotting a strong story arc: by Catherine Johnson @cbcreative
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Build Character Empathy in Your First Few Pages: @beccapuglisi
Looking Back: A Retrospective Narrative That Appeals to the Senses: @peterselgin @JaneFriedman
8 Tips for Writing a Solid Opening Line: @_HannahHeath
Real Life Diagnostics: Would You Keep Reading This Opening Scene? By Maria D’Marco
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
The Importance of Character Growth: @PhilAthans
5 Moral Dilemmas That Make Characters and Stories Even Better: from The Writers Society
How To Avoid Writing A Redshirt Character: by Robert Wood @standoutbooks
Writing Craft / Conflict
3 Types of Conflict to Improve Your Story: @TheRyanLanz
Writing Craft / Dialogue
How to Improve Your Dialogue: by Bucket Siler
Writing Craft / Endings
What is a Denouement? And How to Use It: @ReedsyHQ
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
What Writers Can Learn From the Roleplaying Concept of “Flavor”: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Using Charles Dickens’s Methodology for Book Writing: @JoEberhardt
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Four Ways to Plan Showing Vs. Telling in Your Novel: @AndreaWriterlea
Making a Story Relatable: @marisadlsantos @WriterUnboxed
Five Tips for Creating an Engaging Space Battle: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Writers: Your Skills May Need Time to Catch Up to Your Vision: by Bucket Silar
The Wellspring of Emotion and Belief in Readers: @p2p_editor
Writing Craft / Pacing
Tips for Better Pacing: from Ellie Writes Stories
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming
Book Title Generator: @ReedsyHQ
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Four Pillars Linking Character to Plot: @realjeffseymour
Plot Your Novel: Favorite Novel Writing Tools: @angee
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
Know Grammar Rules to Break Them Better: @aliciarasley
7 Errors Grammar Checkers Miss: @IndieAuthorALLI @ProWritingAid
Writing Craft / Revision
Getting, Accepting, and Incorporating Feedback on Your Writing: by C.K. Bush @NinaAmir
Writing Craft / Scenes / Conflict
Writing a Character: Conflict Balance: @Lindasclare
Writing Craft / Series
“Why I No Longer Write Trilogies”: by Chris Fox
Writing Craft / Subtext
3 Ways To Ramp Up Setting And Description With Subtext: @LisaHallWilson
Writing Craft / Tension
Creating Tension in Your Fiction: @richardgthomas3 @LitReactor
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
500+ Ways to Describe Fire: A Word List for Writers: @KathySteinemann
Descriptive verb list: 30 words to replace dull actions: @nownovel
Declutter Your Prose: Three Phrases to Avoid in Your Posts: @cherilucas
How to Avoid Clichés (Like the Plague): @weems503
Writing Tools / Apps
How to Open a Quick Reference Window in Scrivener in One Step: @aprildavila
Writing Tools / Thesauri
Occupation Thesaurus: Restaurant Server (Waiter/Waitress): @AngelaAckerman
Tweets ending July 28th:
Business / Miscellaneous
Co-Writing: Why You Should Try it: @Julie_Glover
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Stationery Packing List for a Writer’s Conference: @Inkwellmonster
Is That Convention or Festival a Good Fit For Authors? @SpunkOnAStick
The 2018 Man Booker Prize for Fiction Longlist Is Announced in London: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Five Things Learned from Attending a Writer’s Conference: @MeredithSchorr @WomenWriters
Cyprus: Kevin Jared Hosein Named Global Winner of Commonwealth Short Story Prize: @Porter_Anderson @cwwriters @kevinjhosein
Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction Goes to CE Tobisman for ‘Proof’: @CETobisman_ @Porter_Anderson
Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels
Why Your First Novel Isn’t Crap: @LisaLisax31
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
Boost Your Creativity Mindset Naturally: @ChrysFey @AngelaAckerman
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
9 Things I Learned From Reading 45 Books At Once: @Gabino_Iglesias
Literary Classics Retold As Two-Panel Comics: @WrongHands1 @lithub
5 Books Set on Fantastical Islands: by Simon Sylvester @tordotcom
Five Books About Magical Apocalypses: @pengshepherd @tordotcom
9 Toxic Friendships in Literature: @NotoriousTIB @ElectricLit
Tips for Reading Longer Classical Novels: @VivGroskop @GuardianBooks
Be An Active Reader: How to Retain More of What You Read: @KarenBanes
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
Think Small to Avoid Writer’s Block: @anne_staw @LiveWriteThrive
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Ways to Be A Good Writer Mom: @TheKTDaxon
Writer Worries: How Do I Know If My Writing Is Good? @BrynDonovan
What It Means to Be a Writing Teacher in the Age of School Shootings: @elisejuska @ElectricLit
11 Ways to Network with Other Authors: @DonnaGalanti
How a Notebook Makes 1 Writer More Productive: @patrickrhone
5 Delusions Standing in the Way of Your Writing Success: @colleen_m_story
Giving Your Writing A Proper Place in Time and Space: @Beth_Barany
14 Famous Writers on Whether or Not to Have Kids: @knownemily @lithub
Imposter Syndrome: @victoria_grif7
3 Ways Writing Is Like Yoga: @SueBEdwards @womenonwriting
How Cooking Frees My Mind to Think About Writing: @Jenna_Blum @lithub
Battling Your Inner Critic or Making Friends with It–What Keeps You Writing the Most? @writeabook
5 TED Talks for Writers: @TCKPublishing @TEDTalks
Surviving a Winter in the Rockies in the Name of Writing: @KarenJamestown @lithub
How to Love the Work You Do: @SMExaminer @joelcomm
Rhythms of Writing and Reading: @katmagendie @WriterUnboxed
Genres / Dystopian
Discover the Plot of Your Post-Apocalyptic Novel With a Handy Chart: by Jess Zimmerman and Halimah Marcus @ElectricLit
Genres / Memoir
Why Illness Memoirs Are So Important to Chronically Sick People: @ShoshanaSays @ElectricLit
Genres / Miscellaneous
12 Rules for Writing a Biographical Novel: @sallykoslow @CareerAuthors
Genres / Mystery
The appeal of the exotic as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Poetry
Prepping Poetry for Self-Publication: by Kallie Falandays @WritersDigest
Genres / Romance
52 Romance Story Ideas with Built-in Conflict: @EvaDeverell
Genres / Screenwriting
Screenwriting Tips And Writing Diverse Characters with Selina Ukwuoma: @thecreativepenn
Screenwriting: Starting at the Ending: @GoIntoTheStory
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
The ‘Imperfect’ Author Bio: @WritetoDone
How to Name Your Crime Novel: @CrimeReads
Promo / Connecting with Readers
7 Tips to Build an Audience for Your Writing: by Bucket Siler
Promo / Images
7 Ways To Market Your Book With Visual Storytelling: @RacheleBakerDVM @thecreativepenn
Promo / Miscellaneous
What to Look for in a Book Publicist—Plus Tips for Going It Alone: @tanyahall @JaneFriedman
Ways to Promote Without Being on Social Media: @TCKPublishing
Writing, Publishing And Marketing Non-Fiction. Facebook Live With Joanna Penn: @thecreativepenn
Promo / Platforms
How To Strategically Build A Brand Experience: @Charli_Mills @BadRedheadMedia
Promo / Speaking
Why Authors Should Be Speaking on Their Books … Their Expertise: @mybookshepherd
Promo / Websites
SEO for Authors: @DaveChesson @JFbookman
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Editing: The Cozy Mystery Publishing Process: @Ellen__Jacobson
An Agent on How Book Royalties Work: @RachelleGardner
Publisher Perilous Worlds Created To Advance Sci-Fi and Fantasy Brands With Books: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Standing Out From the Crowd: Tips from a Literary Magazine Editor: by Ashley Moore @A_WritersStudio
Damsels Rescuing Princes in Distress: @Porter_Anderson @TOKYOPOP @MangaNatalia
How To Update Your Book Without Losing Your Reviews: @JFbookman
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Interview: Jade Robertson on Entering the Arabic Market: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
UK’s Growing Book Exports Could be in Danger after Brexit: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
PublishDrive Announces Partnership with Chinese Retailer Dangdang: @Porter_Anderson @publishdrive
Man Booker International Prize Jurors Named; Submissions Open: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Scrivener How-To: Using Snapshots: @Gwen_Hernandez
Germany’s De Gruyter Buys Düsseldorf Uni Press; S&S Distributes Skyhorse: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Innovations in STEM and gender equality are featured as social topics in this year’s Hay Festival Querétaro: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Annual Publisher Survey Puts 2017 Estimated US Revenue at $26.2 Billion: @Porter_Anderson @AmericanPublish
Sweden’s IKEA Wembley and the UK’s Man Booker Prize Create Reading Rooms: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Retail Pressures: Ukraine’s Open-Air Bookselling Marketplaces Appear Headed for Closure: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Canadian Publishers Issue Statement on Access Copyright Counterclaim to Lawsuit: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Timely International Publication Credited as Part of Romania’s Stronger Market: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Beijing International Book Fair 2018 Anticipates Participation From 93 Countries: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing
A Timeline for Releasing and Marketing a Self-Published Book: by Henry Quense
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Pitches
3 Things to Know Before You Pitch in an Online Pitch Event: @rosiesrambles
Publishing / Process / Book Design
Why are middle-aged women invisible on book covers? @alisonflood @GuardianBooks
Publishing / Process / Formatting
6 Keys for Book Page Layout: @TCKPublishing
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Crafting a Strong Beginning: @JulieEshbaugh
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
4 Ways to Write a Better Antagonist: @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Model: @AngelaAckerman
Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion
Writing Emotional Meaning: @Kid_Lit
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
How Theme and False Theme Affect Your Protagonist: @SeptCFawkes
Giving Your Hero Sympathetic Problems: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Tips for Avoiding Mary Sue Characters: from @DN_Bryn
Writing Craft / Diversity
Diversity: Subtle Indicators of Native Americans: from Writing With Color
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
A Case Study on Revenge as a Literary Theme: @saral_writer @DIYMFA
Use Theme to Determine Subplots, Supporting Characters, and Tension: @amandarhill32
5 Ways to Inject Theme into Your Story (Without Being Obvious): via Ink and Grace Editing @DIYMFA
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Write Better Sports Fiction With These Tips: @FredBobJohn
Writing Prose: 5 Steps to Better Style: @nownovel
The most intriguing characteristics of a novel: @Peter_Rey_
5 Moral Dilemmas That Make Characters and Stories Even Better: From Fix Your Writing Habits
Storyteller’s Rulebook: Humanize the Inhuman (Examples from “Beloved”): @CockeyedCaravan
The Writer’s Spice Cabinet: @jamesscottbell
The Reason to Tell a Story Inside a Box: @DonMaass
9 Character Types to Include in Your Story: @KristinaAuthor
Narrative Voices: Person and Tense: @RachFarrimond
The 8 Keys To A Good Heist Story: @helpfulsnowman
Writing Craft / Pacing
How Can I Write a Tight Story That Takes Place Over Years? by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Writing Craft / POV
Writing in First Person: @TheMerryWriter
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming
How to Pick a Character’s Name: @AndreaWriterlea @TheIWSG
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
How to Write a Novel Using The Three-Act Structure: @ReedsyHQ
The Triangle Structure for Writers: @SarahSallyHamer @EdieMelson
20 Basic Plots: from The Writer’s Handbook
The Story Comes First: Where to Start with Story Structure: @usbergo @unboundworlds
Writing Craft / Revision
7 Steps To Take Before Submitting Your Manuscript To An Editor: @InvisibleEditor @Nicholas_Rossis
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
Get Good Feedback on Your Writing — Asking the Right Person the Right Questions: by Nils Ödlund @mythcreants
9 factors to consider when considering critique partners: @raimeygallant
Writing Craft / Scenes
How to Write Strong Scenes: 4 Key Questions to Evaluate Your Scene: @WritersDigest
Writing Craft / Series
How to Write a Book Series Without Messing Things Up: @Jffelkins
Writing Craft / Synopses
Writing the Dreaded Novel Synopsis? These 2 Simple Hacks Will Help: @annerallen
Writing Craft / Voice
Discovering Your Unique Writing Voice: @writingthrulife
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
600+ Ways to Describe Necks: A Word List for Writers: @KathySteinemann
Are These Filter Words Weakening Your Story? from The Writers Society
Writing Tools / Apps
Grammarly Review 2018: @DaveChesson
Writing Tools / Resources
How to Create a Character Profile: the Ultimate Guide (with Template): @ReedsyHQ
For Writers Visiting Schools: Directing A Short Story Workshop for Kids: @hanque99
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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July 14, 2018
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 45,000 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.
I’m taking a summer blog break for a couple of weeks. No regular blog posts from me until July 29th, when I’ll return with an especially long Twitterific. Then I’ll be back with posts on writing book endorsements, fixing a short manuscript, and using CafePress for book merchandise. Have a great couple of weeks!
Business / Miscellaneous
A Former Agent Turned Editor on the Types of Editing and Questions to Ask: @Kid_Lit @TheIWSG
4 Networking Strategies for Authors Who Hate Networking: @DeannaCabinian
How Much Do Writers Earn? Authors and ALCS Present Talking Points to Publishers: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
How to Get Your Audience to Tell You What to Write: @ChadRAllen
Compromise or opportunity? How does your editing garden grow? @LouiseHarnby
Determining Your Book Publishing Goals: @JeriWB
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Michael Ondaatje’s ‘The English Patient’ Named ‘Golden Man Booker’ Prize Winner: @Porter_Anderson @ManBookerPrize @pubperspectives
Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels
Idea To Realisation; How To Write A Novel: @TheMerryWriter
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
6 Unexpected Activities to Inspire Your Writing: @EditingWizard
7 Websites to Fuel Your Creativity: by Karen Krumpak @WritersDigest
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
Five Unforgettable Prisons in Science Fiction and Fantasy: @cjwhite
The Serial Box App’s First ‘Micro Monday’ Tiny Tale Arrives Today (for iOS): @Porter_Anderson @LydiaShamah
How to Find Time to Read During Your Busy Days: @KarenBanes
A Reality Show for Books? Yes, Please! @librarylore @DIYMFA
8 Road Trip Novels for People Who Want to Travel Without Leaving the House: by Brianne Alphonso @ElectricLit
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
“Setting Yourself Up to Succeed: My Plan to Write a Book this Summer”: @JillWilliamson
How to Write Effectively While You Are Traveling: by Cal Bailey @Nicholas_Rossis
6 Steps to Achieving Zen-Like Writer Efficiency: @DaveChesson @annerallen
Finding Time to Write: @Melfka
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / When to write
Why you should resist the writing rituals of famous authors: @pubcoach
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
How to Write a Book When You’ve Got Writer’s Block: @DavidHSafford
What’s Really Happening When You Think You Are Lazy: by Johannah Bogart @LiveWriteThrive
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Finding Second Life in Cast-Off Words: @juliecardalt @WriterUnboxed
7 Reminders To Cope With Non-Writers Who Just Don’t Get It: @Bang2write
10 Realities of Being an Artist: @VictoriaGHowell
Stress and Writers: @RosanneBane
“Learning to Write Characters Who Make Me Feel Less Alone”: @jeansvaljeans @lithub
Your Writing Sweet Spot: @jamesscottbell @killzoneauthors
8 Ways to Increase your Writing Prowess: @SarahCyWrites
Overcoming Perfectionism:
Genres / Fantasy
Video Series to Help Fantasy Writers with Worldbuilding and Writing Fantasy: @Weifarer @SchmidtJesper
Genres / Mystery
Crime fiction subgenres: Where does your novel fit? @LouiseHarnby
Crime Writing: So, You’ve Committed a Federal Offense: How Much Time Will You Serve? @LeeLofland
Crime Fiction: Treating the Law as Something Flexible: @mkinberg
Genres / Non-Fiction
Writing Non-Fiction: Building Your Author Platform Through Publication: @ericsmithrocks
Genres / Picture Books
The Biggest Mistake You’ll Ever Make as a Children’s Author: by Anthony D. Fredericks @hopeclark
Genres / Poetry
How young writers are leading a poetry comeback: @JenHijaz @NewsHour
Genres / Short Stories
How to Write Successful Flash Fiction: @daciaauthor
Promo / Connecting with Readers
How To Create An Effective Reader Avatar: @SmartAuthors
Promo / Miscellaneous
12 Book Marketing Mistakes Every Author Needs to Ban: @ReedsyHQ
Solving the Book Publicity Mystery: @KillerNashville @marissadecuir
Quick Tips: 3 Rules to Writing an Effective Reader Magnet (Video): by Chris Fox
22 Tips for Breaking Bread with Journalists: @PublicityHound @JFbookman
How Not to Market a Book: @writingcookbook
How To Get Your Book Into Schools And Double Your Income With Volume Sales: by Dave Hendrickson @thecreativepenn
Authors Joining Together For Marketing Help: @Margo_L_Dill
Promo / Newsletters
Grow Your Author Email List with These 7 Tech Essentials: @carlaking @BookWorksNYC
Promo / Platforms
A Tool to Help You Design Your Own Logo: @Nicholas_Rossis
Promo / Social Media Tips
Use GoodReads to Avoid the Mistakes that Other Authors Make: @aprildavila
Don’t make these 3 book launch mistakes on social media: @sandrabeckwith
Five Tips to Polish Your Presence on Pinterest: @IolaGoulton
Promo / Websites
Author Website Security: 4 Key Steps in Less Than 1 Hour: @nocargr @BookWorksNYC
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Easy Ways to Sell Signed Copies of Your Novel Online: @jkcheney
Kindle Countdown Deals Explained: @WrittenWordM
How Many Words Should Your Book Be? The Answer by Genre (by Caleb Kaiser @ReedsyHQ ):
Before You Start Freelancing: ‘5 Things I Wish I’d Known’: @victoria_grif7
Publishers Association Says the Best of Film, TV, and Theater Begins With a Book: @Porter_Anderson @PublishersAssoc
An Indie-Author’s Guide to Organizing a Book for Publication: @WriteandCover
Cengage Unlimited Signs the University of the Southwest to Its New Subscription Model: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Industry Notes: Princeton Press Opens Audio Division; PRH Ireland Supports Fighting Words: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
6 Questions for Jessica Sänger About the Digital Single Market’s Copyright Directive: @JessicaSaenger @Porter_Anderson
Russia’s Oldest Publisher of Scientific Literature May Face Bankruptcy: @Porter_Anderson
IBPA Board Votes Against a Collective Exhibit at BookExpo 2019: ‘The Best Decision for Now’: @Porter_Anderson
Three Points of Digital Impact on the Book Market: @Porter_Anderson @sensocercasi
Sweden’s ‘New Academy’ Librarian-Curated Nominations List Is Open for Votes: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing
5 One Stop Shop Self-Publishing Services for Print & Ebooks: @carlaking @BookWorksNYC
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections
How to Deal With Vague Rejection Letters: @WriteToSell
Publishing / Process / Book Design
Ten Tips for Laying Out Back Cover Text Like a Pro: @WriteandCover
Publishing / Process / Translation
At the National Book Foundation’s Translation Panel: ‘The Most Diverse Reading Experience’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
How Shame And Vulnerability Make Your Characters Compelling: by Paige Duke @standoutbooks
Character Actions: Should There Be a Reason Why? @AndreaWriterlea
Occupation Thesaurus: Makeup Artist: @beccapuglisi
Create Better Characters in Six Easy Steps: @LMacNaughton @RMFWriters
Is Your Character Really in Love? @SloanTamar
Purpose: The Missing Link Between Characters’ Motives, and Depth: @sharonbially @WriterUnboxed
Tips to Avoid Projecting Yourself Onto Characters: from Just a Writing Aid
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
Seven Ways to Motivate a Reluctant Protagonist: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Drafts
Seven Steps to a Solid Second Draft: @writingthrulife
Writing Craft / Hooks
How to Hook Readers and Reel Them into Your Scenes: @LiveWriteThrive
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
6 Ways Salman Rushdie Can Improve Your Writing: by Rebecca Langley @standoutbooks
How Tolkien created Middle-earth: @say_shannon @GuardianBooks
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
What is a Motif in Literature? A Guide for Authors: @ReedsyHQ
How to Develop the Theme of Your Story: @JerryBJenkins
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
The Contract with Your Reader: @SueBEdwards
Writing Rules and When to Break Them: @kikimojo
Don’t Be Afraid of the Static Character: by Just a Writing Aid
How the Truth Your Character Believes Defines Your Theme: @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / POV
Strong First Person Narrative: Engaging Narrators: @nownovel
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining
Outlining Your Future Book in 30 Minutes: @LesleyVos
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
5 Ways to Structure (and Plot) Your Novel: @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Revision
Revising Your Book, and Getting It Right (Podcast): @kimmerym @DIYMFA
3 Phases of Editing for Writers: @WendyLeeDavies1 @jemifraser
The editing and revision process for self-publishers: @LisaPoisso
Spellcheck Cannot Save You! Don’t ‘Ghost’ Your Editor: @GramrgednAngel @BookWorksNYC
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
The Power of Sharing Writing, Even in Draft Form: @LisaTener
Writing Craft / Synopses
Writing a Synopsis an Editor Will Read: @KayKeppler
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
Word by word, a world: @JennRHubbard
Writing Tools / Apps
Best Proofreading Software of 2018: Grammarly vs Hemingway vs ProWritingAid: @kayoung @DaveChesson
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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July 12, 2018
Overcoming Perfectionism
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Anyone who regularly reads this blog knows that I’m not a perfectionist. There are too many typos for that to be the case.
There was a time, however, when I was a perfectionist. I wasn’t nearly as productive as I am now, and I was extremely adverse to hearing editorial suggestions from editors or even well-meaning beta readers. The problem was that I wanted to fix my story’s problems myself … and even catch the errors myself.
I’m Type A now, but I’m not a perfectionist. Usually I’ll do a task, any task, and figure it’s good enough. It’s just that I’m very compulsive about doing the tasks. Laundry is done every day (the folding isn’t pretty), writing is done every day (sometimes it’s not pretty, either). But I’m extremely productive because I don’t feel the need to deliver something perfect to my editor.
As I mentioned, I wasn’t always this way. As a student, I was actually more like two different students rolled into one. I was the English student who did very well, but felt pressure to be doing well, too (mostly internal pressure). To me, hearing ‘do your best’ meant that a completed English assignment needed to be pretty extraordinary. That’s what having even a modicum of talent does to you.
In math class, I was a horrendous student. Despite tutors and hours and hours spent studying, I couldn’t grasp or apply concepts that I learned. Hearing ‘do your best’ in that class was actually very comforting. It meant that it was understood that I might do (very) poorly on the test, but at least I had given it my all…which is all anyone can expect.
As a reformed perfectionist, this is my simple message for today: take ‘do the best you can’ the comforting, encouraging way when you’re writing. Take ‘do the best you can’ the pushy, driven way when you’re revising your finished story, (if you take it at all).
For further reading on overcoming perfectionism:
17 Signs Perfectionism is Killing Your Writing Dreams by Mandy Wallace
5 Tricks to Sneak Past Perfectionism by Michelle Russell
Perfectionism is Murdering Your Muse by Veronica Sicoe
Do you struggle with perfectionism? What’s helped you?
Overcoming Perfectionism:
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July 8, 2018
How Many Words Should My Book Be?
by Caleb Kaiser, @ReedsyHQ
Word count is one of those things you don’t think about when you start writing the first page of your novel. It’s only after your book is completed, when you’re shopping around for agents or thinking of self-publishing, that you think, “Is my book the right length for selling?”
At Reedsy, we’ve connected thousands of authors with editors, proofreaders, designers, and marketers, and as a result, have access to a lot of data on books—particularly, book length.
Below we’ve broken down our insights on how long different genres of books should be.
1. Writing For Middle Grade Or YA Audiences? Keep It Brief
The average young adult manuscript clocks in at between 50,000 and 75,000 words, while the average middle grade manuscript is much shorter, at 20,000-55,000 words.
While these numbers can be a bit skewed by the fantasy genre—which across the board tends to run longer—the trend is clear. If you’re writing for a younger audience, keep your novel shorter. Think about how many books you were assigned in school at that age, and how long the average one was.
2. If You’re Writing Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Shoot Longer
Sci-fi and fantasy are two genres were books, on average, go far longer than normal. The average sci-fi and fantasy books run between 100,000 and 115,000 words—which means that most other genres of books have a maximum length of sci-fi/fantasy’s minimum length.
When you think about it, this makes intuitive sense. Sci-fi and fantasy are both genres where intense world-building is more common, and with the exception of romance, there is probably not a genre where fans become more loyal to the authors they love—and therefore, more willing to read longer works.
3. For Anything Else, You’ve Got An Easy Sweet Spot
For all other genres of writing, a manuscript clocking in between 80,000 and 100,000 words should be perfect length-wise. Really, it’s remarkable how many different genres fall into this neatly:
Commercial and literary novels: 80,000 – 100,000 words.
Romance: 80,000 – 100,000 words.
Mystery: 75,000 – 100,000 words.
Thriller: 90,000 – 100,000 words.
Memoir: 80,000 – 90,000 words.
The one big exception to this is westerns, which are traditionally shorter (between 45,000 and 75,000 words) and fall into series.
Exceptions To The Rule
Now of course, if you’re writing a phenomenal manuscript that happens to go over these averages (or fall under them), no one is going to refuse to read your book because of its length. Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix clocked in at 257,045 words, and was still an international bestseller.
However, understand that when you do deviate from these norms, you’re asking agents and readers to take a risk on you. There’s a reason the first Harry Potter novel clocked in at 76,944 words—no one was willing to take a risk yet.
If you have a classic on your hands, don’t fret the word count. In general, however, try to fall between these averages if you want a commercially viable book.
Caleb Kaiser runs outreach at Reedsy, a marketplace connecting authors and publishers with top talent in the publishing world.
What’s the word count of your books? How long are the books you usually choose to read?
How Many Words Should Your Book Be? The Answer by Genre (by Caleb Kaiser @ReedsyHQ ):
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July 7, 2018
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 45,000 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
10 ways a book editor can help besides editing: @LisaPoisso
10 Questions to Ask an Editor Before Hiring One: by Bucket Siler
How to Develop Multiple Income Streams as a Writer: @JeffGoins
Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting
Behind Every Successful Story Is a SMART Goal: @scribesworld
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
Louise Penny on Surviving Childhood Fears with Charlotte’s Web: @WillSch
How to read poetry like a professor: @jhnevins @GuardianBooks
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
3 Mindset Shifts To Help You Have A (Realistically) Productive Summer: @StephMorrill
3 Ways to Move Forward Fast With Your Writing – Even if You’re Overwhelmed and Exhausted: @Eclecticwaters @Frank_McKinley
5 Ways Writers Can Procrastinate in a Productive Way: @colleen_m_story
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
5 Productivity Tips: Avoid Distractions And Write More: @angee
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
The Winning Edge That Moves Any Writer to Center Stage: @Frank_McKinley
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
10 Travel Tips for Better Fiction: @doug_walsh75
Fit to Write: Health and Exercise Tips for Creative Types: @thewriterink
Sophomore Slump? 6 Novels that Disprove an Old Cliché: by Kevin Powers @lithub
What can a writing mentorship teach you? @DeannaCabinian @yainterrobang
How Do I Accept My Illness and My Inability to Write? by Rick Moody @lithub
Advocacy and Authors: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
3 Ways to Rediscover the Joy of Writing: @weems503
5 Benefits Of Volunteering For A Literary Magazine: by Manuela Williams @DIYMFA
How to Grow as a Writer: 5 Logical Steps: @KMWeiland
The Talent Myth: by Rose Andrews @mythicscribes
Thinking on your feet: writing and exercise: @Roz_Morris
Who Will Buy Your Book? Validation isn’t the Point: @t_mcallister @The_Millions
Genres / Humor
Tips for Humorous Writing: @nownovel
Genres / Middle-Grade
The ingredients of a universally appealing early fiction series: @csoundar
Genres / Mystery
Crime Fiction: A Long Tradition of Nurses Saving Lives and Solving Mysteries: by Christine Trent @CrimeReads
Crime Fiction: Using Characters Readers Relate To: @mkinberg
Playing with sentence length in crime fiction. Is it time to trim the fat? @LouiseHarnby
12 Cover Artists Every Vintage Crime Lover Should Know: @RapSheetmag @CrimeReads
Atmospheric Places for Murder Scenes in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Non-Fiction
Graphic nonfiction books are on the rise: by Melissa Hart @TheWriterMag
Genres / Romance
Epilogues in Romance Novels: @AnnaCampbelloz @RomanceUniv
Tips for Writing Historical Romance Novels: by Georgina Roy @writingtipsoasi
Genres / Screenwriting
Have You Wondered Why Your Screenplay Was Rejected? by Mark Sevi @CreativeScreen
Genres / Young Adult
Tips for Writing a Young Adult Novel: @Magic_Violinist
Promo / Blogging
5 Ways an Author Blog Could Kill Your Writing (and What to Do Instead): by P.S. Hoffman @WritersDigest
The 5 Best Ways To Support Your Blog’s Story Arc: @Writers_Write
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
Tips for an Author Bio: @LynseyMay @scottishbktrust
Promo / Book Signings and Launch parties
Easy Dos and Don’ts of a Successful Book Signing: @TheKTDaxon
Promo / Connecting with Readers
What Promotional Items Do Authors Really Need? @HankPRyan
Promo / Images
25 Creative Ways Authors Use Images for Social Media Marketing: @DianaUrban @BookBub
Promo / Miscellaneous
Essential Marketing Tactics For Children’s Authors: @AngelaAckerman
The 13 Pre-Order Strategies That Increase Book Sales: @Bookgal
How to Become an Author Expert and Strut Your Stuff: @PublicityHound
Joint Book Promotions: Making Them More Successful: @jjtoner_YA @IndieAuthorALLI
How to Brand Your Series: @damselwriter
Promo / Podcasts
Simple Ways Authors Can Benefit from Podcasting: @suzkelman
How To Monetize A Creative Podcast: @thecreativepenn
Promo / Social Media Tips
How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Event: by Niki Lancaster @SMExaminer
Publishing / Miscellaneous
YA Novels Prompt Police Objections to Summer Reading List in South Carolina: @Porter_Anderson @angiecthomas @KielyBrendan @JasonReynolds83
IngramSpark is Celebrating its 5th Birthday With a Code for Free Title Upload for July: @IngramSpark
“The creator the ‘CSI’ television franchise and his wife plan to publish a new series of teen-told tales as graphic novels”: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Sara Sargent of HarperCollins Children’s Books on Working With @Wattpad to Source Content: @Porter_Anderson @Sara_Sargent
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Bookoli and Australia’s Hinkler Books Open a Brand in England’s West Country: @Porter_Anderson @jstyring
Industry Notes: https://t.co/nxDJdVFNKB Gets $2 Million Mellon Grant; Marrakesh Treaty Passes in Senate: @Porter_Anderson @hypothes_is
Times Literary Supplement Opens New Digital Archive with Exact Editions: @Porter_Anderson
Pictures From Madrid: Spain’s Casa del Lector Intensive Focus on Reading: @Porter_Anderson @4LUISGONZALEZ
France’s Biennial ‘Festival America’ Takes a Canadian Focus to the UK This Year: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Founded in the 19th century Berlin’s Ullstein Buchverlage Publisher: ‘Building Our Literary Reputation’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Federation of European Publishers ‘Notes With Regret’ Parliament’s Copyright Directive Rejection: @Porter_Anderson @FEP_EU
Golden Man Booker Prize Celebrations Open With Buckingham Palace Reception: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
Agent Spotlight Interview with Literary Agent @eerie_o and Query Critique Giveaway: @NatalieIAguirre
More details on @TheIWSG July 19 Twitter Pitch to Agents and Publishers:
Publishing / Process / Book Design
How To Create A Compelling Book Cover: @Tim_Hawken @thecreativepenn
Publishing / Process / Services to Avoid
Authors Beware: New Writing Scams Landing in Your Inbox: @annerallen
Writing Craft / Arc
Arc in Your Writing: @Wordstrumpet
Writing Craft / Beginnings
You Control the Action – Make It Flow Without Distractions – First Page Critique: @JordanDane
When Your Opening Has an Excess of Nested Scenes: @peterselgin @JaneFriedman
How Much Really Needs to Be in Your Novel’s Opening Sentence? @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
A list of character flaws: Bunch of RP Memes
Does Your Story’s Sidekick Serve a Purpose? @kristen_kieffer
How to Add Depth to a Character: @EditingWizard
Make Your Characters More Interesting With Lies: @helpfulsnowman
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
Three Movies With the Wrong Main Character: by Mira Singer @mythcreants
Straying from the Party Line: Showing Some Compassion in “Beloved”: @CockeyedCaravan
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
All Is Lost: 3 Keys to the Perfect Act II Ending: @scribesworld
Character Details to Hide from Your Readers: by Kris Noel
Sagging Middles: @davidfarland
26 Ways to Write “Instantly Likable” Characters: https://t.co/YDwIPEOlUQ and by P.S. Hoffman
The Story Grid Translated Into Common Writing Terms: @StoryGrid @lori_puma
Capturing an Unhappy Relationship: A Writer’s Roadmap: @SloanTamar
Writing Your Character’s Inner World: @Lindasclare
Warrior Women, #MeToo, and One Writer’s Evolving Sensibilities: @VaughnRoycroft @WriterUnboxed
The Destructive Power of The Lie Your Character Believes: @AngelaAckerman
Signpost Scenes — The Argument Against Transformation: @A_K_Perry @DIYMFA
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Plot and Your Story – Four Formats: @KarenCV
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make With Mental Health: @Bang2write
Knocking People Out: Easier In Fiction Than In Real Life: @NicolaAlter @FantasyFaction
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
10 Ways to Render Sentences More Concise: @writing_tips
When to Capitalize Articles (Such as “the”) in Publication Names: @GrammarGirl
The 10 Websites to Improve Your Grammar: @ProWritingAid
Writing Craft / Revision
Finding Your Revision Groove – and Staying Sane: @AnneJanzer
How to Edit a Novel Without Feeling Overwhelmed: @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Series
Five Tips for Writing a Compelling Book Series: @KJWatersAuthor @BadRedheadMedia
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
Writing Descriptions that Wow: @Lindasclare
Writing Tools / Apps
Use the new Scrivener Project History function to track your writing habits: @aprildavila
Easy, Free Tool for Tracking Habits:
Writing Tools / Miscellaneous
Style-sheets for Indie Authors: @DebbieYoungBN
The Best Beta Reader Checklist: @stacitroilo
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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July 5, 2018
Easy, Free Tool for Tracking Habits
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve always kept a journal…well, since first grade, anyway. I look back on those childhood diaries and wonder who that person was. My adult journaling has been a lot more erratic than my childhood and teen journaling and the days usually fly by without my taking the time to make notes on them.
I’ve used online journals before, but the sites ended up going under (I did retrieve my entries before they did).
I’d heard about the free app Daylio (for Apple and Android) a while back, but because it was mostly billed as a mood tracker, I didn’t really take a closer look at it. My moods are fairly even (and since I’ve been using Daylio, Daylio has backed this up). But I think this could be incredibly useful to anyone who is trying to track moods because you can report all the activities you participated in on the excellent/good/bad day and see patterns. Maybe you have an especially good day when you fit in exercise and writing, or you have an especially bad day when you didn’t get enough sleep, etc.
I didn’t realize that the app is more than just mood tracking. And I didn’t realize that it is practically word-free, using icons for activities and moods. There’s an optional spot to add notes about your day, but nothing suggesting that it’s an important part of the daily tracking.
Like everyone else, I try to maintain some balance in my life, as busy as it is. To keep from burning out, I try and make room for exercise, rest, reading, eating well, and relaxing with family. I’m using the app to do this and click on each activity that I’ve been able to accomplish at the end of each day.
Writing is a habit for me (I still track it on the app, but unless I’ve gotten pretty sick, it’s on there).
For anyone who is trying to build up a writing habit (or any other good habit), this would be an incredibly easy way to do it. You can set the app to remind you when you haven’t made an entry for the day. And it’s very encouraging to see a string of successes.
For those of you who are into data and statistics, you can get some nice charts to see your progress (from the Daylio website):
You can customize your activities on the app to make it more useful.
And I liked the app’s privacy policy.
For further reading and ideas on how others use Daylio, read this post by Michael Stoppa.
Do you journal? Use Daylio? Are you into tracking? What helpful apps do you use?
A Free App for Tracking Habits:
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July 1, 2018
Balancing Writing and Business
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Sometimes dealing with both creative work and the business end can be overwhelming. On any given day, I’m brainstorming plots, researching a new promo approach, and reading articles about the publishing industry. It’s a lot to juggle.
The part that probably takes up the most time and energy for me is learning something new. And I’m always learning something new. I’m branching into hardcover, I’m reading about new translation platforms, I’m trying a new app, I’m using a new aggregator, I’m reading up on Amazon ads. There’s rarely a time that I’m not figuring something out.
I’ve discovered a few things that work for me in regards to both balancing the writing and business sides and making myself feel less-frantic in the process.
Write first. There is so much to learn and apply with the business end of things that it’s easy to get wrapped up in it and lose out on writing time. By hitting your writing goals first, you know you’re staying on track. It has always reminded me a little of housework. If I tackle a large project at home, like clearing out a closet, if I haven’t done my regular housework (loading the dishwasher, making beds, putting away clutter), then despite how much progress I made with the closet, I’m still feeling frustrated and behind. By writing first, you know that anything else we accomplish that day is above and beyond.
Don’t try to multitask it. I love using the Pomodoro method for my writing and at one point was interspersing the writing with research or business in 20-minute sessions. But I found that this wasn’t good for either the creative work or the business work.
Set a time limit. I usually set a timer for myself when I’m working on business-related stuff or learning something new. Otherwise, one link tends to lead to another and soon I’m lost in a rabbit hole of new information. I can eat up hours that way if I’m not careful (and usually I don’t have hours to spend).
Keep notes. I’ve learned that even though I’ve spent hours figuring out how to do something on my website or how to make the best ad, etc, this does not guarantee that I’ll remember how to do it the next time around. There are tons of ways to keep notes on this stuff: use an old-fashioned notebook, create a folder in Word, or use OneNote (OneNote is my current method for organizing my notes and works really well. Plus, it’s free).
How do you handle the balance between the writing life and business? Any tips I’ve missed?
Tips for balancing writing and business:
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June 30, 2018
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 45,000 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
Turn Your Core Values Into The Heart Of Your Author Business: @ThornCoyle @thecreativepenn
Ways to Make More Money with Your Book (podcast): @DaveChesson
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Kamila Shamsie Joins Susan Hill in Judging Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award: @Porter_Anderson @kamilashamsie
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
Your Novel’s Soundtrack: @writersstation @WriterUnboxed
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
5 Books About Learning to Communicate with Alien Species: @marthawells1 @tordotcom
The 8 Best Curses In Literature: by Julia Fine @ElectricLit
When Poets Write Novels: 10 of the Best: @CaoilinnHughes @GrantaMag
Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation
5 Reasons to Join a Twitter Writing Sprint: @WGTWrite @DIYMFA
On Motivation: Significance: @PhilAthans
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
3 Writing Techniques to Quash Procrastination: @LynseyMay @scottishbktrust
You love writing: should you, could you, commit to it? @emma_darwin
Focus on writing: 4 simple exercises to strengthen attention and reduce distractibility: by Rebekah Barnett @amishijha @TEDTalks
How to Use a Timer to be More Productive: @WriteOnOnline
Is Technology Clouding Your Mind? @rxena77
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
500 Days of Not Writing and How to Start Again: @JoelDCanfield @RosanneBane
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
How to Train Yourself to Write Faster: by The Literary Architect
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
Pixar Writer-Director’s TED Talk: “Clues to a Great Story”: @andrewstanton @GoIntoTheStory
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
What Does It Mean to Be a Disabled Writer? by Alex Lu @Keah_Maria @esmewang @ElectricLit
What I wish I’d known at school: two instructions for making a creative life: @Roz_Morris
Heinlein’s 5 Simple Rules for Writers: @lornafaith
The Angsty Writer: by Juliet Marillier @WriterUnboxed
3 Ways Writers Can Find Inspiration to Fill Their Creative Well: @lornafaith
Picking a Story and Sticking With It: from Lizard is Writing
“How Pregnancy Taught Me to Say No to Everything and Write Novels Instead”: @wolfwidge @ElectricLit
8 Tips on Avoiding Burnout: @RachVD @IndieReader
Why Writers Need Community and Writing Groups: @kikimojo
Don’t Write Every Day: 9 Ways to Rest and Rejuvenate: @beth_wangler @_HannahHeath
5 Lies Writers Believe That Are Holding Them Back: @KMWeiland
How Your Writing Actually Improves With Age: by Jane Sandwood @Draft2Digital
Genres / Historical
Researching Your Historical Novel: by James Hall @CurtisBrown
Genres / Horror
Why Do Horror Stories Resonate So Deeply Right Now? @TobiasCarroll @lithub
Horror is Not a Dirty Word: @BobPastorella @ThisIsHorror
Genres / Humor
The Basics of Writing for Comedy: @EditingWizard
Genres / Memoir
How to Tell Your Family That You’re Writing a Memoir: by Neal Thompson @lithub
Genres / Mystery
Barbeques and Picnics as Elements in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Literature’s Great Con Artists: @TheLincoln @CrimeReads
The Focus on Psychology as a Source of Tension in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Non-Fiction
How to Write a Self Help Book: @DavidHSafford
Genres / Science Fiction
New or Obscure Speculative Fiction Subgenres: @JEPurrazzi
Promo / Blogging
3 Must-Have Posts To Brand Your Blog: @Writers_Write
Why It’s Important To Check Your Blog Stats and How To Do So: @sugarbeatbc @BadRedheadMedia
Important Reasons Authors Need to Think About Blogging: @kikimojo @BadRedheadMedia
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
4 steps to writing your Amazon book blurb: @DeborahJay2
Promo / Miscellaneous
6 Reasons to Relaunch Your Book: @Bookgal @JaneFriedman
How to promote your writing without social media: @pubcoach
Book Swag from a Bookseller’s Perspective: by Meghan Dietsche Goel @PublishersWkly
Introverts: You Can Do Book Marketing: @FictionNotes
Promo / Platforms
Branding & The Brain: How Social Media Changes but Humans Never Will: @KristenLambTX
Promo / Social Media Tips
Goodreads Giveaways and Review Widgets for Writers: @TheIWSG
Promo / Speaking
6 tips to help you speak in public with confidence: @simonraybould
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Literary Magazines: How to Find the Right Home for Your Work: @2elizabeths @DIYMFA
Publishing / News / Data
How Reader Analytics Can Support Publishers’ Decisions: @Porter_Anderson @ContecMXOficial
How Much Do Writers Earn in the UK? Report Offers New Input: @Porter_Anderson @ALCS_UK @StephenLotinga
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Publishers Cheer Settlement of Copibec-Laval Lawsuit in Québec: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Finnish Digital Media Fund Backs Development of Book Series for Television: @Porter_Anderson @iprvc
Industry Notes: UK’s ‘Golden Man Booker’ Voting Is Closing; AudioFile’s Whitten on the Audies: @Porter_Anderson
Kids Can Press Will Distribute New Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada: @Porter_Anderson @llyonstweets
China Bestsellers May 2018: Popular Philosophy and Faith in Love: @Porter_Anderson
Commonwealth Prize Announces Short Story Winners From Samoa, Trinidad, UK, India, and Nigeria: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
A Developing Snapshot of a Market: Buchmesse’s Editors’ Trip to Germany: @Porter_Anderson
Independent Publishers in a Shifting German Marketplace: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing
How to Self-Publish a Book: @ReedsyHQ
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing
What It Really Takes to Get Your First Book Published: 5 Critical Factors: @manzanitafire @LitReactor
12 Ways to Increase Chances of Publication in Today’s Industry: @tessaemilyhall
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Pitches
Tips for Better Pitches: by Laurie Schnebly Campbell @RomanceUniv
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
Writing a Book Proposal: @JillWilliamson
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections
5 Types of Rejection that Drive Every Writer Nuts: @NathanielTower
Publishing / Process / Book Design
Four Innovative Ways to Craft a Better Book Cover: @KJWatersAuthor @BadRedheadMedia
Pros and Cons to Having a Pen Name: @ChrysFey @SpunkOnAStick
Pen Name Generator Inspired by Iconic Pseudonyms : @InvaluableLive
Publishing / Process / Translation
Twitter Traffic: ‘Words Without Borders’ Is 15 and Translators are Tweeting It Up: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Where to Begin: The Search for the Inciting Incident: @peterselgin @JaneFriedman
8 Types Of Opening Scenes That Could Work For Your Book: @Writers_Write
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
Writing Great Villains: @evans_writer @RMFWriters
Save the Cat!® Podcast: Can Your Antagonist Switch Sides? @NaomiBeaty @savethecat
Writing Craft / Characters / Arc
Creating Character Arcs with the DCAST Method: by Bucket Siler
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
The 5 Cornerstones of Characterization: @Michael_Editor
Why and How to Use Character Webs: from Lady Redshield Writes
Creating Compelling Engaging Characters Readers Love or Hate: @ProWritingAid
Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion
Primary and Secondary Emotions Can Unlock Your Characters: by Rebecca Langley @standoutbooks
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
Give Your Hero a Hard Time: @jimdempsey
Your Protagonist’s “I Want” Song: @kcraftwriter @WriterUnboxed
Writing a Main Character: Definitions, Tips and Examples: @nownovel
Writing Craft / Devices / Repetition
Literary devices: repetition in books: @Peter_Rey_
Writing Craft / Drafts
5 Reasons Your First Draft Hates You: @florencefornow
Writing Craft / Endings
How to Write Exceptional Endings: @SeptCFawkes
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
What Mister Rogers Can Teach Us About Storytelling: @Repino1 @tordotcom
“Hidden Figures” and the Performance Story Model: @StoryGrid
Writing Lessons from Movies: A Quiet Place: @VictoriaGHowell
The Wisdom of the Goosebumps Books: 8 Lessons: by Mattia Ravasi @The_Millions
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
How to Decide Between Plain Prose and Beautiful Prose: @KMWeiland
Chekhov’s Gun and How to Use It: @ReedsyHQ
Write Better Scenes with the Rule of Three: @Lindasclare
The External Story Versus The Internal Story: @LoriWilde
On Writing the Personal Essay (Podcast): @watershipdowd @DIYMFA
The Do’s and Don’ts of Crafting Your Story’s Love Interest: @kristen_kieffer
Platonic Protagonists: Can Heroes and Heroines Just Be Friends? @NicolaAlter
Choosing the Right Details in Our Story: @beccapuglisi
Let Readers Find the Unseen: @p2p_editor
Making Your Characters’ Actions Count: @Julie_Glover
How To Challenge Stigma In Your Writing: @Bang2write
Unlock Your MICE Quotient: @yeahwrite_
Thinking with a Child’s Brain: @KAMcCleary @WriterUnboxed
The Author’s Guide To Melodrama (And What It Can Do For You): @FredBobJohn
Concise writing in fiction: @Peter_Rey_
Why Your Writing Should Invite Readers In: @BJoycePatterson @DIYMFA
13 Solid Pieces Of Writing Advice: @helpfulsnowman @LitReactor
Writing Craft / Plot Holes
A Panster’s Guide to the Dreaded Dead End: @VirginiaHeath_ @RomanceUniv
Writing Craft / POV
How to Choose the Right Point of View for Your Story: by Bucket Siler
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Plotting Your Novel Conceptually: @Janice_Hardy
8 Signs You Might Be Over-Plotting Your Novel: @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Concept
6 Creative Ways to Strengthen Your Story Idea: by Joslyn Chase @write_practice
Writing Craft / Revision
The 7 Types of Editing Your Book Needs: @TheRyanLanz
Writing Craft / Scenes
How to Decide What Goes in Your Scene: @davidfarland
Writing Craft / Series
For the writers writing sequels: @jodimeadows
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
Help Creating a Setting: from Writing Exercises UK
How to Use Sounds to Affect the Character and Intrigue the Reader: @ZoeMMcCarthy
Writing Realistic Forests: @DanKoboldt
Writing Craft / Synopses
Writing a Killer Synopsis: @TheMerryWriter
Writing Craft / Tension
How to Use the 12 Stages of Intimacy to Build Tension in Your Novel: @JennyHansenCA
Writing Tools / Books
10 Books About Writing Fiction: by Bucket Siler
Writing Tools / Resources
Iterative Outlining, Writing Tools and Resources, More: @scribesworld
Story generators: from Writing Exercises UK
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