Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 74
June 28, 2018
Filling the Creative Well
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I was stumped a couple of months ago by a question from a very sharp writer in a high school creative writing class. He asked me what I do on those days when I didn’t feel inspired to write. I had to babble out some answer about what I hear that other writers do on days when they don’t feel inspired to write. The truth is that I’m rarely inspired when I write…I just do it and fix anything that sounds ‘off’ later.
But I know what I wished I’d answered. Because I do always make a point of filling my creative well. I may not feel inspired when I write, but I sure as heck don’t want to feel burned out when I write. I’ve written through burnout several times over the past ten years and it didn’t feel good. Forcing the words out isn’t fun and the end product will need work.
For me, the answer is two-fold. It’s surrounding myself with other people’s creativity and giving myself quiet, empty time to think or just be.
Filling the well with others’ creativity:
Reading. I’ve really ramped up my reading this year and have read 25 books so far this year. The main reason I increased my reading was because of a bout of burnout in 2017. I’ve kept a TBR (to be read) list on Goodreads (a private account, since I didn’t want it to be a promo-related thing) and that has helped me to keep my reading eclectic. I’ve read nonfiction, lit fic, YA, biographies, and mysteries.
Television. Except I suppose it’s not really TV. We’re pretty much unplugged here and I’m creating watchlists from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc. There again, I’ve been careful to curate what I’m watching and have made it as eclectic as possible. In particular, I’ve branched out to watch a lot of foreign shows, which has been fun.
Podcasts. I do listen to industry podcasts, but for filling my well I’m focusing more on fiction/audio drama. I started out with Limetown and then started searching for others. It keeps me engaged while I’m doing rote housework or cooking (sometimes too engaged and I mess things up!) To get you started, here are a few articles with ideas for shows to listen to: 11 Fiction Podcasts Worth a Listen (by Amanda Hess, NY Times), 10 Audio Drama Podcasts to Get You Hooked on Fiction (by Wil Williams), and 10 Fiction Podcasts You Should Totally Get Sucked Into Right Now (by LeeAnn Whittemore.
Music. I’m one of those who can’t listen to music when I write (unless it’s non-lyrical jazz or classical or new age…but sometimes that’s even distracting), but I enjoy listening to it during non-writing times. I listen to various stations on Amazon Prime music (my kids are trying to pull me more in a Spotify direction, but I’m not there yet), and then add songs to playlists when they really appeal to me. The stations are nice because I get to pick a general direction I want to go in with the music but it still allows for some musical serendipity.
Filling the well with quiet time:
This is the hardest for me, but possibly the thing that gives me the most back in terms of later creativity.
Walking. This is the best way for me to be quiet and not be restless. Sometimes I’ll take my corgi, Finn, along and sometimes I’ll go by myself. While I walk, I’ll usually get ideas for my current story and future stories, which I’ll make sure to record on my phone. It’s amazing how restorative a walk can be.
How do you fill your creative well? Have you ever experienced burnout?
Filling Your Creative Well:
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June 25, 2018
Tips for Using Goodreads
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve written a few times recently about using Goodreads to better advantage. If you’ve missed anything (making better use of giveaways and using Goodreads widgets on your website and Facebook page to find new readers), then pop over to The IWSG where I have a guest post today.
Photo on Visual hunt
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June 23, 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 planning my editorial calendar for August and September. Is there anything like you’d like to see covered on my blog? Any publishing-related questions (trade or self-pub?) Here’s a one-question anonymous form to give me some ideas.
Simple Tax Preparation Tips For Canadian Authorpreneurs: @lornafaith @LStewartTheBard
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Cundill History Prize 2018 Jurors: Five Historians on History Books: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The €100,000 International Dublin Prize Highlights Ireland’s Independent Tramp Press: @Porter_Anderson @TrampPress
BookExpo and BookCon Announce Preliminary 2018 Attendance Figures: @Porter_Anderson @BookExpoAmerica
Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels
You CAN Write a Publishable First Novel: 10 Do’s and Don’ts: @annerallen
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
Radical Noir: 26 Activist Crime Novels: @mollsotov89 @CrimeReads
Five Books About Fandom: @brittashipsit @tordotcom
50 Pulp Cover Treatments of Classic Works of Literature: @knownemily @lithub
Five Mystery Series with Awesome Detectives: @emdevenport @tordotcom
5 Books Set On Extreme Worlds: @mjohnstonauthor
Should You Read While You Write? @theladygreer
Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation
The importance of growth mindset to writers: @SloanTamar
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
How writing scholars write: productivity tips: @beprolifiko
How to Make Writing a Habit: @SloanTamar
Writing and the Creative Life: Routine or Ritual? @GoIntoTheStory
How to Write a Book While Working Full-Time: @Jffelkins @write_practice
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
Fear of Writing: @SnowflakeGuy
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Do you suffer from imposter syndrome? @pubcoach
Think Your Writing Is Brilliant One Day and Horrible the Next? Here’s Why: @ThereseWalsh @WriterUnboxed
Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone : @davidfarland
Three Types of Writers Have Trouble Finishing Things. Which One Are You? @losapala
Why Do You Write? @christinadelay
Combating Release Day Stress:
5 Ways Your Health Can Affect Your Writing: by Jeanette Smith @DIYMFA
Writers Write, But Not At the Expense of Their Own Well-Being: @JoEberhardt
Genres / Fantasy
Fantasy Writing: Certainty: @PhilAthans
Genres / Historical
7 Tips for Time Travel: How to Write a Historical Novel: @EditingWizard
Genres / Literary Fiction
Nine of the Most Violent Works of Literary Fiction: @knownemily @lithub
Genres / Mystery
What Is a Traditional Mystery? @eMysteries @CrimeReads
Attitudes about Police in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Poetry
UK National Poetry Day and BBC Local Radio Commissions 12 New Works on the Topic of Change: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Genres / Romance
3 Reasons 1 Writer has a Passion to Write Romance: @lornafaith
Genres / Screenwriting
Writing TV And Film Adaptations: David Nicholls with @thecreativepenn
Genres / Short Stories
Short Fiction is In! All About Novellas, Novelettes, Short Stories, Flash: @MaraPurl @annerallen
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
Fast Track Guide To Fixing Your Book Description: @LPOBryan
Promo / Book Reviews
Better strategies when seeking reviews: @Naked_Determina
Want More Reviews? Treat Book Bloggers with Respect. @annerallen
Promo / Connecting with Readers
Reader avatars: @EAWwrites @BadRedheadMedia
Promo / Metadata
Use Amazon’s Categories for Max Sales: @Bookgal
Promo / Miscellaneous
7 Self-Publishing Marketing Strategies: @Bookgal
5 Crazy Book Stunts You May Or May Not Want To Try: @EmmanuelNataf @ReedsyHQ
Want Publishing Success? Be a Great Writer and Clever Marketer: @EvatopiaLit @BadRedheadMedia
Promo / Platforms
Using marketing research to set up your author platform: @raimeygallant
Why Do Writers Need a Platform? What IS a Platform? @KristenLambTX
Promo / Social Media Tips
Thirteen Myths About Social Media for Writers: @CaballoFrances @BadRedheadMedia
Promo / Video
10 Things You Can Do on Your Author YouTube Channel: @ChrysFey @NatalieIAguirre
How to turn YouTube subtitles into blog posts and transcripts: @LouiseHarnby
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Aldus’ New Translation Grant Finder and The OED announces more than 900 new ‘words, senses, and subentries’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
How to check book sales and royalties with Draft2Digital: @Draft2Digital
The Perks and Perils of Being a Ghostwriter: @cathyyardley @WriterUnboxed
Going Wide or Amazon Exclusive? A Look at Both: @Ellen__Jacobson
A Look at Trad. Publishing vs. Self-Publishing and Why 1 Author Went Indie: @Ellen__Jacobson
VIDA Count 2017 Appraises Top US Literary Publications for Women’s Representation Amid ‘Abuse and Bigotry’: @Porter_Anderson @VIDA_lit
Data Indicates 32-Percent Rise in US Political Books, Year to Date: @Porter_Anderson @npdgroup
Audio Publishers Association Reports a 22.7-Percent Jump in Revenue for 2017 @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishing / News / Data
“New insights into the US market, previously not visible to researchers, are coming to light now”: @Porter_Anderson via Kristen McLean @npdgroup
Publishing / News / International Publishing
“German-language users spend an average 10 million minutes on @wattpad daily. That may soon pay off for both the platform in Toronto and for Munich’s Bavaria Fiction, in a new partnership”: @Porter_Anderson
In Norwich, the National Centre for Writing Formally Opens at Dragon Hall This Week: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Apollo 11 and Woodstock: Australia’s Murray Books Opens Rights Sales at IPR License: @Porter_Anderson
Rights Roundup: Responsibility in Relationships, and Bugs in Your Backyard: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Frankfurter Buchmesse Wildcard Winners: Reisedepeschen and UNSILO: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Process / Book Design
Cover Design: Evaluating Options and Tips for Designing Your Own: @Ellen__Jacobson
Writing Craft / Chapter Endings
17 Perfect Ways to End a Chapter: @HankPRyan
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
How to Create a Character Profile That Actually Works (with Template): @ReedsyHQ
Who Are You: Characters That Stand Out To Readers: @AngelaAckerman @WriteNowCoach
5 Exercises to Help You Develop Your Characters: @writingthrulife
Character Agency for Beginners: by Nils Ödlund @mythicscribes
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
Is The Age Of The Antihero In Fiction Finally Here? @AnthonyEhlers
How To Make An Unlikable Protagonist Work For Your Story: by Rebecca Langley @standoutbooks
Writing Craft / Drafts
7 Methods for Writing Your First Draft: by Ross Raisin @lithub
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
How to Focus on Your Writing: Ray Bradbury’s Tips: @weems503 @write_practice
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Writing By Design: Using Color Theory: @DIYMFA
Tips for a Writing Style Makeover: @AnneJanzer
The Triangle of Structure for Writers: @SarahSallyHamer @EdieMelson
10 Cliffhangers That Make Readers Turn The Page: @Writers_Write
Spring Cleaning Your Writing: @Wordstrumpet
5 Promises You Make to the Reader: @ShanDitty
How Can Readers Know Information Unless I Tell Them? Information and Explanation Overkill: @ZoeMMcCarthy
Six Underdeveloped Love Interests: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Writing Craft / POV
Pros and Cons of Different POVs: @writingandsuch
Most Common Writing Mistakes: POV Problems: @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
Realistic Knife Fighting: @DanKoboldt
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Beats
Iron Man Beat Sheet: @CDavidMilles
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
Revive a Verb for Conciseness: @writing_tips
One space between each sentence, they said. Science just proved them wrong. @aviselk @washingtonpost
Writing Craft / Revision
Reading Your Story Out Loud in the Revision Period: @NickPWilford @TheIWSG
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
Beta Readers: Asking for Feedback and Processing Evaluations: @Ellen__Jacobson
Writing Craft / Scenes
Write in Scenes: @Lindasclare
A Tip for Getting Through Hard-to-Write Scenes: @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Series
How to Write a Rewarding Series Arc: @nownovel
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
Making the Most of Your Setting: @MindyObenhaus
Writing Craft / Tension
How to Raise the Stakes: @writingrefinery @DIYMFA
Writing Tools / Apps
A List of eBook Market Analytic Tools: @thDigitalReader
Apps to Make Your Writing Conference Experience Better: @EdieMelson
Writing Tools / Resources
400+ Opinion Adjectives: A Word List for Writers: @KathySteinemann
Writing Tools / Thesauri
Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Clergy: @beccapuglisi
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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June 21, 2018
Combating Release Day Stress, Part 2
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
As I mentioned Monday in the first part of this post, I hadn’t really considered how stressful a book launch could be until I read a blog post on the subject. It made me start thinking about how I feel on book release days.
There are a few things that I do to help launches go more smoothly. Monday, I explained how doing tasks in advance of release day and keeping a checklist help me to make launches less-stressful.
There are a few other ways I try to make launch day easier for me. Some tips:
Don’t allow social media to run in the background. Appoint times to check in on social media platforms or email. I’ve found that when I have a tab open to Facebook or Instagram, the notifications really give me an underlying anxious or frantic feeling and they pull me away from what I’m doing. Even nice messages and congratulations have that effect. Instead, I’ll make a point of checking in at appointed times during the day and then close those tabs.
Set times to check sales numbers on Amazon. Checking book ranking on Amazon can be stressful. Again, setting times to take a look at sales is better than trying to track them during the day.
Work on the next project. This may seem counterintuitive, and it’s not to say that we don’t deserve a break. But I am always working on the next project on release day and the days to follow. I think it helps not only keep me on track but helps me to have a sense of perspective about the launched book and its importance. Probably not an approach for everyone, but one to consider.
Celebrate your success. This is something I have to practically force myself to do, but I always feel better afterward. This could be any small reward…anything to mark the occasion and acknowledge your hard work.
Most importantly, take care of yourself. Exercise the morning of the release. Be sure to stretch, eat well, and drink plenty of water. I’ve found that it’s surprisingly easy to end up extremely run-down by simply sitting all day.
Further reading on reducing writing-related stress:
Desk Fitness: a Series of 11 Simple Stretches by Melanie Brooks
Social Media is Eating Your Brain by James Scott Bell
Do you have any tips that I’ve left out? How do you feel on launch day?
More Tips for Reducing Release Day Stress:
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June 17, 2018
Combating Release Day Stress Part One
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I read an interesting article lately that really made me think. It was by Sweta Vikram and was titled, “How Mindfulness Can Help You Enjoy Your Book Release Day.” In it, Vikram offered suggestions for better launch days.
I’m horrible at mindfulness, although I’ve definitely given it a go. I’ve set timers and reminders for myself. My mind always swims off to something I should be doing. Clearly, I need to work harder at making it work.
But Vikram gives other tips for making a release day better. I especially liked her reminders to continue building relationships with family and friends, to be grateful (she specifically mentions trad pub here, but it is the same for self-pub…we have a lot of folks to acknowledge on our road to publication), and to pay it forward.
All of these are excellent ideas. The biggest thing that I got from the article was this…release days frequently aren’t fun. This probably sounds odd to anyone who hasn’t yet published, but it’s the truth. I was extremely stressed out on launch days for my books with Penguin RH (there were decided promo expectations there) and am still stressed during my self-pub releases (where I’m the sole person responsible for everything going right…or everything going wrong, as the case may be).
This is a problem for many of us. I have several releases in a year. Some writers have a good deal more.
Keeping the article in mind, I have come up with additional suggestions for combating release day stress. I’ll cover the first couple today and the rest on Friday.
Do as much in advance as possible. This is a tip that I’ve used for nearly every aspect of my life for the last twenty years or so. It works for avoiding vacation stress, for the (enjoyable) disruption of holidays, and for busy mornings herding young children off to school.
In terms of a book release, this means that we should:
Load our books onto each retail/distribution platform prior to the release day. We can either set up the book as a preorder and do all the set-up work before the release, or we can simply have all the metadata and files loaded and wait for the launch to hit publish.
Create our reader newsletter announcing the release before release day and either schedule its release on launch day or hit publish that day.
Schedule a social media announcement (through a program like HootSuite or Buffer).
Set up a giveaway if that’s part of our marketing plan. Or set up a previous book in the series to price for free. If you’re doing a blog tour, make sure the posts are written ahead of time.
Keep a checklist handy.
There’s a lot to remember for release day. I found that I frequently forgot things if I had to rely on my memory. I use this checklist (and I’ve added a couple of things to it…like ordering print copies for myself and updating my list of books in print).
Otherwise, I will forget to make sure the print edition and ebook are connected on my product page. Or that I’ll forget to make sure they are linked to my Author Central page.
These are just a couple of things that I do to make sure everything goes smoothly (and are less stressful) on launch day. I’ll cover the rest on Friday.
Do you find releases stressful? How do you reduce the stress of launches?
Tips for Reducing Release Day Stress:
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June 16, 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.
New Stuff:
There’s a new platform especially designed for writers wanting complete privacy with their pseudonym: Scrivinor (not to be confused with the writing app). Founder Dwight Jurling says, “Pen names in Scrivinor are not connected to real-world identities unless writers choose them to be.” He also states: “Scrivinor is an option for writers to self-publish for free, with no obligation.” A nice non-pen name related extra is the ability to collect groups of articles into books. Check out Scrivinor here.
Authors M.K Tod, Heather Burch, and Patricia Sands announce their 4th annual reader survey. The survey is designed to discover “reader preferences, habits, and attitudes.” You can take the survey here and share this link with others: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/68HL6F2
Business / Miscellaneous
Plot a Publishing Plan – Step One: @plotwhisperer
A Niche Market Book Can Be a Plus: @SaveYourLifeMe @BookWorksNYC
After Your Death, the Royalties Keep Coming, But Where Do They Go? : by Jane Marlow @WomenWriters
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
The UK’s Society of Authors Releases Its Shortlists for the Authors’ Awards Slate: 2018 @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
BookExpo and New York Rights Fair Extend Their Partnership, Polling Attendees: @Porter_Anderson @BookExpoAmerica
The 10th PEN Pinter Award 2018 Goes to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: @Porter_Anderson
The Rebecca Swift Foundation’s New Women Poet’s Prize Opens for Submissions: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
8 Novelists Who Should be Getting Paid to Write Reality TV: @LucasWMann @ElectricLit
Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation
On Finding Motivation to Finish Your WIP (video): @Ava_Jae
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
The Gift of Writing Regularly: @Lgood67334 @WomenWriters
How to Write a Book This Year: 10 Tips: @Belinda_Pollard
Just Set a Start Date: @MegDowell
5 Things Learned By Writing Every Day For A Year: @DanBlank
5 Benefits of Writing Every Day: @lucy_m_benton @DIYMFA
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
Overcoming Resistance as Writers: @JoelDCanfield
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
Top 5 Secrets For Successful Writers: by Niraj Kapur @Bang2write
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
How to Fight Isolation When You Work From Home: by Michelle Woo @lifehacker
Writing Rituals That Work: @Wordstrumpet
How One Late-Blooming Author Turned a Publishing Fiasco into Hilarious Fiction: @annerallen @DebraEve
Write What You (Don’t) Know: Graduate School, Research, and Writing a Novel: by Nishant Batsha @The_Millions
Being a Confident Writer: Tips: @WritetoDone
9 Quotes About The Library As A Temple: @TomBlunt @SignatureReads
How to Keep the Naysayers from Getting You Down: @colleen_m_story
Genres / Dystopian
Tips for Writing Zombie Apocalypse: @WordDreams
Genres / Fantasy
History for Fantasy Writers: Pirates: by E.L. Skip Knox @mythicscribes
Genres / Mystery
5 Lessons Studying Sleight-of-Hand Can Teach You About Writing Suspense: @michael_kardos @WritersDigest
Common Mistakes in Crime Fiction: Are You Murdering Your Cop Stories? @LeeLofland
Recurring Antagonists in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Exposés as elements in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Non-Fiction
5 Surprising Tips for a Nonfiction Book Deal: @LisaTener @LiveWriteThrive
Genres / Poetry
The Poetry World Cup: @My_poetic_side
Genres / Romance
Writing Sensual Romance 101: by Miranda Shepard
Do Romance Authors Receive Worse Treatment from Publishers Than Anyone Else? @PassiveVoiceBlg
Promo / Miscellaneous
Six Rules of Author Self-Promotion: @JMJauthor
10 Great Places to Promote Your Book Online: @ChrysFey @TheIWSG
“5 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Published My First Book”: @CaballoFrances
10 Marketing Techniques That Annoy Potential Readers: @NathanBransford
Marketing Beyond Your Book Launch: @AnitaFreshFaith
The key to book marketing: do what you’re best at: @NathanBransford
Promo / Newsletters
Just Use MailChimp: @GlennJMiller
Promo / Platforms
Branding Tips to Help Build Your Writing Career: @JaneFriedman @NinaAmir
Promo / Social Media Tips
10 Ways Authors Can Grow a Facebook Group: @CaballoFrances
Adding a Goodreads Widget to Your Facebook Page:
Build Your Author Platform with Facebook Groups: @loishoffmanDE
9 Ways To Network And Get Yourself Noticed on Twitter: by Kate Peers @ProWritingAid
Promo / Websites
Website Analytics for Indie Authors: Understanding Your Traffic: @nocargr @BookWorksNYC
Publishing / Miscellaneous
How to Become a Bestseller with Money, Luck, or Work (Mostly Work): @cdetler @JaneFriedman
How To Produce A Premium Journal: @JFbookman @thecreativepenn
How To Write An Acknowledgment Your Readers Will Love: by Paige Duke @standoutbooks
Reading in Virtual Reality: The Good And Not-So-Good: @AnAnteaterMaybe @BookRiot
The Acknowledgment Dilemma: @MortonSGray @WomenWriters
17 Secrets of Audiobook Narrators: @micheledebczak @mental_floss
Publishing / News / Amazon
Both Text and Audio Sold Together in Amazon Original Stories Collections: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Deadlines: A Call for Papers in Germany, for Translation Fund Applications in Scotland: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Covering the International Books Industry: A Discussion of Trends and Challenges: @Porter_Anderson @FabricePiault @BeyondTheBook
Aleida and Jan Assmann To Receive the 2018 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Audiobooks in the Headlines: Wooing Guys in the UK, Winning Over Publishers in Canada: @Porter_Anderson @BookNet_Canada
World Industry Organizations Condemn Bangladeshi Publisher Shahzahan Bachchu’s Murder:
Industry Notes: Garréta, Ramadan Are Albertine Prize 2018 Winners; Guest Curators Are Named at Cheltenham: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Pitches
How and Why to Pitch Agents at Pitching Events: @jeannevb @WritersDigest
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
What It Takes: How Acquisitions Editors Think: @StoryGrid
Dear Editor: How Do I Write a Query Letter? @BookWorksBetty @BookWorksNYC
16 Query Tips From Agents: @WordDreams
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections
Rejected? Top 5 Tips What To Do About It: @Bang2write
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Pro Analysis: Your First Page: @PBRWriter
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Keep your Characters Consistent: @jimdempsey
Creating a Character: Tips: @themaltesetiger
How To Make Sure Every Character Counts In Your Story: @ShanDitty
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
The Dilemma of Too Many Characters in Your Novel: @diannmills
How to Dump Info without Info-Dumping: @SeptCFawkes
Writing Craft / Dialogue
3 Different Types of Dialogue: @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / Diversity
Using Folklore Respectively with Balanced Perspective: from Writing With Color
Writing Craft / Endings
Don’t Write Bad Endings: @jenniferlellis
Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story
Tips for Writing Back Story: @Lindasclare
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
How (And Why) You Should Write An Ensemble Cast: @standoutbooks
What is an Unreliable Narrator? @ReedsyHQ
Writing with Emotion: @PBRWriter @RomanceUniv
Five tips for writing good prose: @Roz_Morris
Cause and Effect Story: Maximizing the Power of Cause and Effect in Your Writing: by Joslyn Chase @write_practice
Women Were Better Represented in Victorian Novels Than Modern Ones: @KatEschner @SmithsonianMag
5 Writing Tips for Punching up Fight Scenes: @JChaseNovelist
Writing Craft / POV
Don’t Lose Your Head Over Point-of-View: @jamesscottbell
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
What is a plot point? Find and Plan Clear Story Events: @nownovel
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
Overcome Your Fear of the Semicolon: @TheresaStevens @RomanceUniv
Writing Craft / Revision
Editing Poetry: Some Revisions on Editing by Nick Twemlow: @PoetryFound
The 5 Stages of Editing Grief: @Julie_Glover
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
Conveying the Senses of Place to Our Readers: @hopeclark @EdieMelson
Writing Craft / Voice
How to Refine the ‘Voice’ of Your Book: Free Webinar: Wednesday 13 June • 12 pm LA • 3 pm New York • 8 pm London: @DIYMFA @ReedsyHQ
Writing Tools / Apps
How to Create Scrivener Templates (and Why You Should): @the_writing_pal
Writing Tools / Resources
15 (Mostly) Free Tools to DIY Your Self-Published Book: @MandyCorine
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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June 14, 2018
Overcoming Resistance
by Joel D. Canfield, @JoelDCanfield
To begin, tell me a little bit about yourself. How many of these have you experienced in your writing life during the past two years? I’ll include checkboxes so you can keep track.
Never finding the time to write Making the time but not writing Dreaming of writing but never getting started Starting but never finishing Starting but never finishing that one particular piece Thinking you can do it without help Thinking you’re beyond help A love/hate relationship with your writing Focusing on unhelpful negative feedback and ignoring positive feedback Focusing on positive feedback and ignoring helpful negative feedback Wanting to write deep but writing shallow Writing for others instead of yourself Writing for money but not treating it like a business Reading about writing instead of writing Seeking out feedback before you’re ready Seeking out the wrong level of feedback Ongoing health challenges like Unexplained fatigue (physical or mental) Mysterious illness (a neverending or recurring cold or flu) Injuries (constant little accidents) Addiction of any kind (substance, activities, self-destructive habits)
How many did you check? (Put the number right here) Is it more than zero? I’ll bet it is. If so, you’re facing Resistance. I’ve written nearly 20 books and 200 songs in the past 11 years. I checked 17 boxes. SEVENTEEN. I’m facing Resistance. You’re facing Resistance.
Resistance? What’s That?
According to bestselling author Steven Pressfield in his groundbreaking work The War of Art Resistance is the mental and emotional pushback we feel when we dare greatly by being creative. It is our unconscious mind protecting us from what it thinks is the danger of emotional vulnerability. It shows up in all the ways in that checklist above, and more.Resistance is a bully. It will stand in your way and stop your writing. It will knock you down and hurt you, emotionally, even physically. Resistance strikes nonfiction and fiction authors alike. (Memoirists, are you listening?) Writing a nonfiction book is still a creative endeavor and will expose you to the same fears. It will stop you from writing using the tools you checked off in that list above.
It’s Not Just You & I
“I was ashamed. I have spent a good many years since—too many, I think—being ashamed about what I write. I think I was forty before I realized that almost every writer of fiction and poetry who as ever published a line has been accused by someone of wasting his or her God-given talent.” “. . . in my heart I stayed ashamed. I kept hearing Miss Hisler asking why I wanted to waste my talent, why I wanted to waste my time, why I wanted to write junk.”
Who was this loser? Stephen King. Stephen 350 million books sold King. This is a quote from his On Writing which, although not precisely instructional, is the most inspiring book I’ve read when it comes to staying the course as a writer. This is the quote that gave me my writing life back. (I’ll tell you that story someday if you like.) Our inborn desire to have our work respected can lead to problems if we put what others believe about our “God-given talent” ahead of what we choose to write. It’s one of many ways Resistance twists natural feelings into quicksand.
What’s a Writer to Do?
You cannot defeat Resistance once and be done with it. It’s part of our mental and emotional makeup. What you can do is make it irrelevant. Note that I don’t say “ignore it” because you can’t ignore a bully. But if you defuse them, do things to take away their power, they are no longer a threat. Like the bully at school (or, frankly, in the office) they still show up every day. But we don’t have to keep giving them our lunch money. Being a writer is hard. You don’t have to do this alone. Too many writers face the emotional struggle to write without proper support. After years of writing about it, I’ve created a forum to help writers and artists deal with writer’s Resistance. It’s not going to be a collective moan-fest or chat-fest. It’s a guided learning environment, a community of writers making a safe place for some “you’re not alone” emotional support. It will also cover practical and actionable tools and processes to get you writing and keep you writing. Membership is $5 per month or only $25 for the whole year.
Questions? Comments? Shout ’em out below and I’ll answer every one.
Joel D Canfield has written 18 books, nearly 200 songs, and a million words in blog posts over the past 20 years. When he’s not writing novels and songs he helps authors get their books out of the ‘someday’ box by showing them how to start writing and keep writing. Access the secret file about his work at http://SomedayBox.com/ and see how he can help you.
Writer @JoelDCanfield with a community to help writers beat resistance:
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June 10, 2018
Goodreads Widget For Facebook
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Last Monday I talked a little bit about Goodreads widgets on our website can help us offer some social proof to readers and maybe help drum up interest in our books. Today, I thought I’d cover another of the Goodreads widgets, this one for our Facebook page.
Adding a tab to our Facebook page is pretty straightforward. I chose to add an author tab, since I have a lot of books, but you could also choose to add a book tab if you’d rather. You can also add a group tab (instructions for that at the bottom of this page).
Here are the directions, straight from the Goodreads Help page:
To add an author or book tab:
1. Create a Facebook Page if you don’t already have one.
2. Visit your author dashboard.
3. Scroll down to the “Facebook Page Tab” section.
4. Click the green “Add the Goodreads app” link in this section.
5. A pop-up will appear. Choose your page from the drop-down menu and hit “Okay.”
6. Navigate to your Facebook fan page. You should now see a Goodreads icon on the “About” bar (under the “Like” button). Click on this to visit your page tab.
The tab will default to showing an “Author” page, which will show all of your author information, details, and books. If you’d like to switch this to a dedicated book page instead, just go back to Facebook. Click on the page tab and scroll the whole way down. At the bottom right, you’ll see a link that says “Edit your Goodreads tab settings.” Click this to choose what type of tab you’d like to set up.
You’ll want to tinker with the default settings to make sure you’re highlighting your better reviews on the site. Although I find bad reviews very helpful in making sure readers know that the title isn’t only reviewed by friends and family, I don’t think they’re very helpful as advertising.
It ends up looking like this:
Once I’d added the Goodreads tab to the page, I realized that not only was I not happy having the tab at the bottom of the list of tabs, the whole tab column was way too cluttered.
To Reorder Tabs on a Facebook Page:
Go to your Page and click Settings
Click Edit Page in the left column
Click and drag a tab to reorder it
Remove Tabs and Sections
Keep in mind that you can only remove the following tabs and sections: Events, Groups, Notes, Services, Shop, Jobs, Offers and Reviews.
To remove a tab or section:
Go to your Page and click Settings
Click Edit Page in the left column
Click Settings next to the tab you want to remove
Click to select Off
Click Save
After that, it looked much better (unfortunately, Facebook doesn’t allow you to remove some tabs, but I removed what I could):
And that’s pretty much it! Just another way to try to set our Facebook page apart and perhaps generate some interest in our books.
Have you integrated the Goodreads widget in your Facebook page? What other promo activities have you been working on?
Adding a Goodreads Widget to Your Facebook Page:
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June 9, 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
Why You Need to Test Market Your Book Idea…and How to Do It: @WriteNowCoach
What’s in an Author Name? @MarieMyungOkLee @The_Millions
Good Advice, Bad Advice: Writing through the “Shoulds”: @msheatherwebb @WriterUnboxed
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
10 Best Packing Tips For Authors: @gailcarriger
Hay Festival 2018 Sets a Record, Selling 18,000 More Tickets Than in 2017: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
University of Warwick’s Peter Marshall Wins £40,000 Wolfson History Prize: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Cheltenham Literary Festival 2018 Announces Elements of Its Educational Program: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Kamila Shamsie Wins £30,000 Women’s Prize for Fiction: @Porter_Anderson @kamilashamsie
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
Increase Writing Quality by Both Filling and Stilling Your Mind: @annkroeker
The 7 Habits Of Highly Creative People: @constantmusings
How Designing Covers for My Books Helps 1 Author Write Them: by Johan Harstad @lithub
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Quotes
Quotes for Writers: 35 International Authors’ Writing Advice: @nownovel
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
The Novel Within the Novel: 8 Meta Stories With Thrillers Inside: @sarabooks @CrimeReads
Five Essential Books About Plagues and Pandemics: @claudiagray @tordotcom
Ten Excellent SFF ‘Ships: @riss4x @tordotcom
Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation
How To Keep Writing When That Critical Inner Voice Won’t Shut Up: @LisaCron @AngelaAckerman
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
3 Words to Help You Find Time to Write: @BetJett @EdieMelson
15 minute writing challenge (video): @EvaDeverell
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Mindfulness and Memory: by Pamela Moore @livequiet
Writing And The Fear Of Judgment: @thecreativepenn
How to Make an Honest Living as a Writer: @savilleneuve
Supporting Disability Amongst Writers: @nick45wood @sfwa
Writing on the Go: by Janet Lane @RMFWriters
What to Write When You’re Not Writing: @gargimehraa @sfwa
52 Things Writers Fear (but shouldn’t): @katekrake
Genres / Fantasy
Creating Believable Fantasy Characters: @StevieRaeCausey
6 Characteristics of a Great Fantasy Writer: by Jessica Wood @mythicscribes
9 Fantasy Duos Bound By Fate: @nataliezutter @tordotcom
Genres / Horror
Mariana Enriquez on Political Violence and Writing Horror: @raviddice @lithub
Reverse-mullet pedagogy: valuing horror fiction in the classroom: @MathiasClasen @OUPAcademic
Genres / Memoir
How to Deal with Memory and Emotions When Writing a Memoir: @writeabook
9 Tips For Using Fiction Techniques When Writing Memoir: @Michael_Editor @thecreativepenn
Genres / Miscellaneous
Why Are There So Few Female Horses in Speculative Fiction? @dancinghorse
Genres / Mystery
A look at privacy vs. police procedures as elements in crime fiction through the years: @mkinberg
How to Create a Mystery Detective Readers Love: @ZaraAltair @ProWritingAid
Different sets of standards for the wealthy as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Crime Writing: Want to Make Your Scenes Come Alive? Here’s a Cop’s-Eye View: @LeeLofland @killzoneauthors
Genres / Non-Fiction
How To Write About Family in Creative Nonfiction: @kayladeanwrites @DIYMFA
Genres / Picture Books
Essential Marketing Tactics For Children’s Authors: @DaveChesson @AngelaAckerman
Genres / Science Fiction
The Science in Your Science Fiction: Future Space Travel: @MelanieMarttila @DIYMFA
Genres / Short Stories
How Themes Are Presented in Short Stories: @SaraL_Writer @DIYMFA
Promo / Connecting with Readers
Know Your Audience and Story Age Distinctions: by Just a Writing Aid
Promo / Crowdfunding
1 Writer’s Experience Crowdfunding: @DiannaLGunn
Promo / Miscellaneous
Why Authors Need to Create Book Trailers: by Jonathan Vars
Create a Marketing Plan That Works For You—Free Template Download: @tessaemilyhall
How to Market a Book: 5 Strategies One Writer Used to Win Readers’ Choice: @_KimWriteEdit_
5 Ways to Build Your Local Market: @Bookgal @IndieReader
Promo / Social Media Tips
30 Minutes a Day is All It Takes to Automate Your Social Media Activity, But I Don’t Recommend it: @thDigitalReader
3 Things You’re Probably Not Doing on Goodreads But Should (via @ChrysFey ):
Promo / Websites
Learn link building, or how to get others to link back to your website: @CherylProWriter
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Audiobook Royalties: To Share or Not Share? @annacastl @joelfroomkin @IndieAuthorALLI
Storytel in Spain: When Entering the Audiobook Market Means Making New Serials: @Porter_Anderson
Wattys Open for Nominations With New Diversity-Driven Category: @Porter_Anderson @wattpad
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Industry Notes: Asian Festival of Children’s Content; Macmillan, Binc Open Diversity Scholarships: @Porter_Anderson
Freedom to Publish Advocacy: Authors Guild Wins ‘CockyGate’ Court Ruling: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
As the World Cup Approaches, PEN Authors Press Moscow for Oleg Sentsov’s Release: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Industry Notes: ‘The Great American Read’ Gets Videos; America’s Big Read Gets Grants: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Authors Guild Opens Regional Chapters, Amazon Complaint Resolution: @Porter_Anderson @mariraz
Friday Photos: Kinokuniya Opens Its First Bookstore in Cambodia: @Porter_Anderson
Book Aid International Cites Good Results in Zambia From Its ‘Study Hub’ Pilot: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing
A Checklist Before A Writer Hits Send On a Submission: @KatyKauffman28 on @EdieMelson
Birth of a small press – ‘I knew so many talented authors being turned away’: @Roz_Morris @ForestAvePress
Movements, movers and shakers: publishers and authors as literary citizens: @Roz_Morris @ForestAvePress
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
5 Reasons Querying Is Good for You: @TopdjianC
Publishing / Process / Author Assistants
7 Reasons You Need To Hire an Author Assistant Right Now: @TheRuralVA @BadRedheadMedia
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
What to do When Your Antagonist Isn’t a Villain: @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
No, Your Female Characters Don’t Just Need More Dialogue: @Bang2write
Even More Show Don’t Tell: @RuthanneReid
Writing Craft / Drafts
Finishing Your First Draft Like a Pro: @TheMerryWriter
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
3 Theater Techniques to Make Your Story Jump Off the Page: by Joslyn Chase @write_practice
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
2 foreshadowing techniques to reduce new information overload: @raimeygallant
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Tone, Style, and Voice in Writing: Practical Definitions: @AnneJanzer
How (And Why) You Should Write An Ensemble Cast: by Robert Wood @standoutbooks
How Ideas Become Stories: by Aaron Miles @FantasyFaction
Different Ways Characters Can Show Love: From Just a Writing Aid
Exploring Activism and Politics in Fiction: @sadowsky_nina @WritersDigest
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming
Tips for naming characters: @Peter_Rey_
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Theft by Finding: @CEMcKenzie1 @WriterUnboxed
The 3 Questions That Will Solve Every “Plot Problem” You’ll Ever Have: by Steven James @WritersDigest
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
Research Is Writing. Stop Berating Yourself: @NatRusso
How to Show and not Tell Intelligence: @SloanTamar
3 Research Hacks for Your Novel: @DaveChesson @JerryBJenkins
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
Seven sentences you should stop writing: @pubcoach
How to Use Adjectives Wisely and Judiciously: @peterselgin @JaneFriedman
Writing Craft / Revision
Finding Your Revision Groove – and Staying Sane: @AnneJanzer
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
Leveling Up as a Writer with Peer Critique: @DanKoboldt @WritersDigest
Writing Craft / Scenes
How To Craft High Impact Scenes For Your Stories: @StephMorrill
Writing Craft / Scenes / Conflict
Where Does Your Novel’s Conflict Come From? @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Tension
How to Raise the Stakes With Your Characters: @KathyEdens1
Writing Craft / World-Building
World Building: The World Itself: by Dana Nuenighoff @WritersRumpus
Writing Tools / Apps
Productivity Tools for Writers: @writingthrulife
How Scapple Helps Authors Plan Books: @Jeff_Shear @IndieAuthorALLI
Writing Tools / Resources
Useful Writing Tools: @KarenBanes
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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June 7, 2018
3 Things You’re Probably Not Doing on Goodreads that You Should
Are you on Goodreads? Your answer should be yes. Whether you’re a reader, a writer waiting to published, or an author. Goodreads is an important place to be. As an author, you want to have an author profile and book pages. As a reader, you can post reviews. As a writer, you can join the community and build up your connections through Goodreads before you’re published.
Out of all the social media platforms out there, I love Goodreads the most. More than Facebook. More than Twitter, which I really don’t care for at all. There’s always something to do on Goodreads, whether you’re participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge, adding to your to-read list, or sharing what you’re reading.
But you can do so much more than that.
If you don’t think Goodreads is a great place to promote because you don’t have many friends there or much traffic, then you need to hop on more often and send requests. I built up my number of friends by hunting down everyone I knew on Google + and my blogging network. Then I checked out who my friends had befriended, looking for familiar names. After that, I sent requests to people in groups I joined. No, not everyone, but those who appeared to share my interests in books/authors.
Also, make sure your pages are updated and you link to your Goodreads page everywhere. This is a place were readers hang out and post reviews, so make sure to have a presence here.
Now, I am going to share my three favorite things to do on Goodreads as an author.
3 Things You’re Probably Not Doing on Goodreads that You Should:
Events
Not many authors take advantage of Goodreads Events, probably because it’s not a place where the event would unfold like a Facebook Event, but rather more of an announcement, an invite.
Whenever you have a book release or put an eBook on sale, create an event to share it with all of your Goodreads friends.
On your profile page, scroll down to “Upcoming Event” and click “add an event.” Pick a date for when the event will start and when it will end. For a book release, pick the day your book will have its World-Wide Release. Then you can set the end date for one or two weeks after the release date. Choose an event name and event type. Usually, for the “event type” I select “other.” Fill in the necessary information. If it’s online, you don’t need to put in an address. For the “description,” write a message to your Goodreads friends. Make it personal, explain what your event is, and what they can do. For example, If it’s for a sale, share the links for where your eBook can be purchased. Keep the check mark in the box to list your event publicly so others may find it. And also let anyone send an invite to your event. More invites could mean more sales! Then, when you’re all done, click “save” and invite ALL of your Goodreads friends.
You can even do this for a blog tour. Set the event for the first day of your tour. And in the description, you can share the blog links and dates for every stop you’ll be making.
Link to Your Books in Your Profile’s Bio
At the top of your bio, say you are the author of XYZ and link to your book(s). To link to your books, you’ll need the Goodreads code for your book’s page. You can get this a few ways, but an easy way is to go to your inbox, click “compose,” and then click “add book/author.” A box will pop up. In the search bar, type in your book’s title and select your book. A code will appear in the message box looking like this:
Copy and paste that code into your bio. When you do, it’ll look like this:
Author of Hurricane Crimes
When you save the changes, your profile’s bio will generate your linked titles. With those linked titles right at the top of profile, readers can click on them right away. Do this for your most important books.
Join Goodreads Groups
There are many groups for writers, authors, and readers.
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a book club on Goodreads that I run. This book club is for writers to read/learn about the writing craft. Every two months, we swap back and forth between writing books and fiction books that demonstrate how to do certain aspects of storytelling.
There are also groups for authors to promote their books, get reviews, or to find critique partners. Do a search on the Goodreads Group’s page https://www.goodreads.com/group for the type of group you are looking for. You can connect with other readers and writers in these group as well as promote and ask for reviewers. Make sure to follow their rules, though. Each group has a specific set of rules, especially for authors, so follow them or risk being deleted from the group. And don’t just post to promote either. If they have discussions, join them. Share what you know, share your thoughts, be an active group member.
You can even create your own group for fans of your books. Admittedly, this would be better for those of us with a lot of readers, but it’s definitely something you can consider. Everyone and their mother has a Facebook group for readers. Be different and create a group within a platform designed for readers, instead.
Goodreads is a neat place to be, not just to promote but to find like-minded individuals who share your passion for reading and your love of books. And, of course, you can connect to many authors in your field, too.
Go there, participate, and have fun!
QUESTION: What else should writers/authors do on Goodreads?
Be sure to enter my giveaway at the bottom of the post!
For more information like this check out:
Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication by Chrys Fey
BIO: Chrys Fey is the author of Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication. Catch the sparks you need to write, edit, publish, and market your book! From writing your novel to prepping for publication and beyond, you’ll find sparks on every page, including 100 bonus marketing tips. Fey is an editor for Dancing Lemur Press and runs the Insecure Writer’s Support Group’s Goodreads book club. She is also the author of the Disaster Crimes series. Visit her blog, Write with Fey, for more tips. @ChrysFey www.ChrysFey.com
3 Things You're Probably Not Doing on Goodreads But Should (via @ChrysFey ):
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