Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 75
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
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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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.
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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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Photo credit: ToniVC on Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-ND
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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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