Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 77

Developing a Bad Idea into a Better One

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I work on story subplots two different ways.  Sometimes I write them in as I go, including them in the text.  Sometimes I write them out separately on a different document and weave them in after I’ve finished the mystery.

This time I’d written in the subplot as I went.  But, after finishing the book and reading back through it, I was unhappy with the subplot.  It seemed too much of a contrivance to me. Plus, it meant that I was adding in another recurring character when my series already had quite a few.

But there were parts of the subplot that I liked. I was pleased with the way it developed a character in the story.   I decided to rework it instead of scrapping it completely.

Here are my tips for reconstructing a story element.  There are other approaches, but this was the way I was able to do it without making my head spin too much:

First off, remove (cut) the offending storyline completely.  I searched for the character’s name, but you could also reread the draft and cut as you went.

Next, save the cuttings. Paste them into a separate, saved document.

Then reimagine the storyline.  Can the character/subplot serve the story in another capacity?

Additional considerations: can you connect this story element in a meaningful way to the main plot?  Can it be used to develop a recurring character?  Bonus points, if you can.  I found a way for the character to impact two separate subplots.

Open a fresh document and save it.  Mine was “Subplot Text.”   Write out the reimagined storyline, using any bits and pieces from the cut storyline as possible to save time (for instance, I could use the character’s description and some of her dialogue).

Reread your draft.  Weave in the storyline as you go, pacing it throughout the story for better impact.

Is it a pain?  It is.  I haven’t done this in a while (I usually don’t have any major revisions because I’ve gotten very used to my pattern for writing), and it took some time.  But I’m pleased with the finished project and I know that I haven’t created a problem for myself with future books.

If you’re not sure exactly what doesn’t work in your story or need more help staying organized with your revisions, I’m linking to some articles that might help.

The Art of Revising: Macro Revision by R.L. LaFevers

Want to Make Revisions Easier? Create an Editorial Map by Janice Hardy

How to Stay Organized During a Revision by Janice Hardy 

Decisions: What and How to Revise by Darcy Pattison

Do you ever rework bad ideas into better ones?  How do you go about replacing storylines that don’t work?

Tips for revising story elements that don't exactly work:
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Translation Alternatives to Babelcube

 

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Last year I started branching out into translation.  At the time, the main platform I found to support royalty-sharing translation (no upfront costs to the author…the author and translator share the royalties for the project) was Babelcube.  Babelcube has definitely been around the longest, but there are some problems with the platform.  In particular, I wasn’t happy with their distribution/ sales channels and the exclusivity in their terms of service (my Spanish translator, Alfredo Moyano, was interested in creating an audio version of Dyeing Shame in Spanish and the ToS didn’t allow us to pursue it, although Babelcube doesn’t have its own audio platform).  More about my thoughts on Babelcube in this post. 

I knew the terms of service going in, and wasn’t happy from the start…but I couldn’t find any other options.  Another translator I’m working with proposed a collaboration where I would act as publisher and distribute the book and pay the translator after receiving royalties.  However, I wasn’t very comfortable with that.  I was fine with handling the distribution (we would have gone very wide, since that’s what I’m accustomed to), but I didn’t want to be in charge of distributing funds.  For one, it was going to be a timesuck to take screenshots of earnings on all the platforms. For another, I had concerns about the tax implications.  Plus, I wondered what kind of a mess I’d be leaving for heirs if I were to be hit by a train tomorrow.

I bugged people on forums and in groups asking if blockchain had gotten to the point where translators and I could easily divide up earnings automatically.  From the lack of response I got to this question, I came to the understanding that either the tech isn’t there yet, or that writers weren’t aware of it, if it was.

This leads me to the alternatives that I’ve finally discovered.  One of them, TraduzioneLibri ( TekTime), was pointed out to me by Mark Williams, who runs the always-helpful Facebook group International Indie Authors (you must ask permission to join).  It’s an Italian company, but now has an English-facing site.  The distribution is much better than Babelcube’s (and does include audio) and so are its terms of service.  I’m now in the process of hopping over there from Babelcube with my Spanish translator.  More on their agreements/ToS here.

Additionally, there’s a cool collaboration feature on the site BundleRabbit.  Although most writers might be familiar with BundleRabbit as a way of bunding books into ‘box sets,’ they have a collaboration portal for writers interested in co-authoring (or, in my case, working with a translator).  My German translator,  Theresia Fink, first mentioned it to me, and I read more about it on Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s excellent site.  The ToS for BundleRabbit is here.   I’m used to reading these service agreements at this point, but for some reason, I stumbled through this one and needed clarification.  I asked for through the site’s contact form and got an almost immediate response from the site’s creator, himself.  Chuck Heintzelman wrote: “BundleRabbit only has the right to publish the assets you upload to the sales channels (Amazon, Kobo, CreateSpace, …) you specify. You control this…You are 100% free to publish any project you publish on BundleRabbit any where, in any form.”

I’m excited that there are more viable options for royalty-sharing in translation.  I’ll update you more after I’ve had some books published on these sites.

Have you checked into translation for your books?

Photo credit: miez! on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-SA

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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 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


How To Analyze Your Competition And Create Your Own Author Success: @DaveChesson


Editorial Encroachment: @KristineRusch


The Differences between Copyediting and Book Coaching: @AndreaWriterlea


Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous


“James Patterson and his first president-collaborator Bill Clinton are to speak at BookCon in June”: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


London Book Fair’s Quantum Keynote: Tom Goodwin, ‘Digital Darwinist,’ on Surviving: @Porter_Anderson @tomfgoodwin


Internet-Generation Readers: “IPA president @michielams said reading is crucial, as are new digital storytelling tools”: @Porter_Anderson


Rights Roundup: Titles That May Rock the Rights Center at London Book Fair: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting


Building Rigor into Your Writing Process: @BJoycePatterson @DIYMFA

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration


3 Stages to Creative Reciprocity: @itsnickyblue


Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers


10 Fictional Characters That Are Definitely Having a Worse Day Than You: @Keith_Rice1


So You Want to Read Gothic Space Opera: Here’s Where to Start: by Matt Staggs @unboundworlds


Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing


How to Schedule Time for an Imaginative Process, Rather Than an Exact Task: @StefanieFlaxman @copyblogger


How to End Writing Interruptions: @TheJohnSoares


10 Ways to Increase Your Writing Productivity: @AnitaFreshFaith


Multitasking is Killing Your Writing: @weems503 @write_practice


Flicking the Switch: Activate Writer Mode: by Christine Hennebury @10MinNovelists


Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly


6 Tips On How To Be Prolific: @ericbeetner @LitReactor


Creativity and Inspiration / Success


Is Your Definition of Success Hurting Your Writing Progress? @heididupree @colleen_m_story


Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life


5 Ways to Perk up Your Writers’ Group: @SamBoyceEditor @scottishbktrust


5 Big Lies That Stopped 1 Writer from Publishing Her First Book: by Jennifer Smith @savilleneuve


Love Your Writing: a Writer’s Self-care: @Melfka @10MinNovelists


Genres / Memoir


How To Fast Draft Your Memoir: @RachaelHerron @thecreativepenn


Genres / Miscellaneous


How To Choose Your Writing Genre: by William Grigsby @WritetoDone


Genres / Mystery


Business partnerships as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg


Detectives Who Get Into the Business Because of Their Parents in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg


Genres / Romance


Fat shaming in romance: @Kris_Bock @RomanceUniv


Genres / Science Fiction


Research: How to Write About Biomedical Researchers: @DanKoboldt


Research: Writing Microbes in Outer Space: @coachhays64 @DanKoboldt


Genres / Short Stories


How to Publish a Short Story: Write Your First and Second Drafts: @sarahstypos @write_practice


Promo / Miscellaneous


5 Ways How Indie Authors Avoid Inadvertently Sabotaging Their Best Marketing Options: @Naked_Determina


50 Book Marketing Ideas Every Author Needs to Know: @ReedsyHQ


12 Book Marketing Mistakes Every Author Needs to Ban in 2018: @ReedsyHQ @RicardoFayet


How to Create Pre-Launch Buzz: @BadRedheadMedia


How Marketing Actually Works: @DanBlank


Promo / Newsletters


One Important Element for Your Newsletter:


Promo / Social Media Tips


Authors: Don’t Put All Your Eggs in the Facebook Basket: @Bookgal


Plan Your Next Book Giveaway with Rafflecopter: @TCKPublishing


3 Ways Authors Can Gain Visibility Using Twitter: @kathleengage @NinaAmir


Promo / Speaking


How to Build Authority and Grow Your Audience by Speaking at Events: @HelloMorganTimm @teachable


Promo / Websites


Want More Readers? Fix these Five Website Mistakes: @StoriesWithGill @annerallen


Where to Sell Books at Your Author Website: @JanalynVoigt


Publishing / Miscellaneous


The Opportunity of Kindle Scout: @wmussell


Is There a Writing Mulligan in Your Midst? @JudithBriles @JFbookman


Your Guide to Audiobook Production and Distribution: @ricwol


Collaboration: 10 Tips to Make it Work: @maryannwrites


Publishing / News / Data


A joint study with data from 35 markets sheds light on worldwide publishing and the book industry: @Porter_Anderson @WIPO @IntPublishers


Publishing / News / International Publishing


Publishing Perspectives Spring 2018 Magazine With Publishing News and Market Data (Free Download): @HannahSJohnson @pubperspectives


Industry Notes: Frankfurt Has Two Wild Cards This Year; PW Star Watch Welcomes Canada: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Wattpad Studios Formalizes Asian Expansion: @Porter_Anderson @wattpad


Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing


Knowing when it’s time to submit your story and where to start: @tessaemilyhall


Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying


How to Submit a Book Proposal to Publishers in 3 Steps: @ReedsyHQ


Publishing / Process / Book Design


3 Signs Your Book Cover Design Misses The Mark: @lieshapetrovich @thewritelife


Publishing / Process / Contracts


When to Say No to a Contract: @PCzajak @WritersRumpus


Publishing / Process / Formatting


How To Format Your Ebook And Print Book with Vellum: @thecreativepenn


Writing Craft / Beginnings


8 Keys To Opening Your Story The Right Way: @StephMorrill


How to Make the Best Use of “Routine” Events in Your Fiction: @peterselgin @JaneFriedman


Avoid bad book beginnings: @jamesscottbell


Pro Analysis: A First Page Critique: @PBRWriter


Writing Craft / Characters / Development


How to Craft Wounded Characters: @MarchMcCarron


The True Test of Character: @KAMcCleary


Writing a Believable Character: @Lindasclare


Want Memorable Characters? Focus on the Little Things: @AngelaAckerman


Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists


8 Tips to Keep Audiences Engaged When Your Story Stars an Unlikeable Hero: @scribesworld


Give Your Hero a Hard Time: @jimdempsey @WriterUnboxed


Writing Craft / Diversity


Stereotypes & Tropes to Avoid: from Writing with Color


Writing Craft / Hooks


Developing your Opening Hook: @nownovel


The Editor’s Clinic: A Look at your Hook: by Dave King @WriterUnboxed


Writing Craft / Literary Devices


Foreshadowing examples: How to tease plot developments: @nownovel


Writing Craft / Miscellaneous


The Oral Tradition of Storytelling: Curing the Contemporary Culture Crisis: @AGHackney


They Put Your Book Down, but Don’t Take it Personally: @msheatherwebb @WriterUnboxed


How to Hide Exposition Through Action: @jehunter5811 @LitReactor


Writing Craft / POV


6 Tips for Describing a First Person Point-of-View Character: @LauraDiSilverio @CareerAuthors


How to Write Fiction from Multiple Viewpoints and How a Head-Hopping Point of View Hurts Your Book: @TCKPublishing


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting


A Handy Tip for Crafting a Seamless Plot: @Janice_Hardy


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research


Is your next story research light or intensive? @raimeygallant


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Beats


Beat and Scene Index Cards Written By @emilyvgordon and @kumailn for The Big Sick: @savethecat


Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar


3 Examples of How Missing Words Cause Confusion: @writing_tips


Writing Craft / Series


Writing a Trilogy: Essential Tips for Crafting a Three-Part Series: @DanKoboldt


Writing Craft / Settings and Description


Mapping Your Story’s Setting: @SaraL_Writer


Writing Craft / Tropes


Why You Should Avoid Bigoted Heroes Who Learn Better: by Chris Winkle


Writing Craft / Word Crafting


3 Ways to Expand Your Vocabulary: @the_writing_pal


60 Words for Types of Restaurants: @writing_tips


Writing Craft / World-Building


Discovering People Groups and Backstory: @ShanDitty


Uncategorized


History for Fantasy Writers: Medieval Childhood: by E.L. Skip Knox @mythicscribes

 

The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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One Important Element for Your Newsletter

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A while back (far enough back that I can’t remember the source), I read an article that suggested writers should include their backlist titles in their author newsletter.

This surprised me.  I think of my newsletter as valuable real estate.  Did I really want to clutter it up with a list of 25 books?  I also figured that most of the readers who signed up for my newsletter were focused on hearing about new releases…that they’d likely read most/all of the other books.

But the argument in this blog post I read was fairly convincing.  For the newsletter that went out for my last release, I included (at the bottom of the newsletter) a full backlist of my three series, with each title linked to the specific book’s page on my website (which has complete ordering information for a variety of different retailers and formats).

To my surprise, when I read my newsletter stats, I saw that, aside from the link for the new release, the most clicks were for various books in the backlist…in particular, the first book in the Myrtle Clover series.

Since I write under several names, it occurred to me that maybe some of my readers weren’t even aware that I had other series.

Maybe some readers were clicking on book one to give it as a gift to a friend or family member to start them on a series that they enjoy.

Maybe some readers simply couldn’t remember if they’d read a particular book or not.

At any rate, it was something that took very little effort on my end (I just copy-pasted my back matter from a document I keep for that purpose) and it resulted in a nice bump in sales for my backlist.

As an extra step, you can link to a printable list of your backlist in PDF form (with ISBNs) for those readers who like to order from bookstores.

For more ideas on elements for your author newsletter, read “50 Ideas for Author Newsletter Content” by Zoe McCarthy.

Have you ever included a book list in your newsletter?   What else have you included in your newsletter that has received a good response from readers?

One important element for your newsletter:
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How To Develop Creative Receptivity

by Nicky Blue, @itsnickyblue ‏

‘The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of subconscious from which it rises.’ — Sigmund Freud

When I lapse in dedicating time to developing creativity in my life, I end up becoming very driven by reactive thinking. What I mean by this is, my thinking process seems to get governed by existing ideas, prejudices and familiar anecdotes. It feels as though I am mainly operating at the level of the conscious mind. An assumption arises that ‘I’ am in control of the creative process. I have these ideas in my head, which I manically splurge onto a page. This can be productive in getting things done but I find it can produce quite mediocre work. Aspiration for creativity is that it taps into something much deeper. When I give time to my developing my creative process, I realise this is very possible.

There are of course, days when creativity flows through me and there seem to be no limits to my productivity. I kid myself life will always be like this. Then one fateful morning, I wake up and sit in front of the computer and nothing, diddly squat. It feels as if I don’t have a creative bone in my body. It took many cycles of this to admit to myself an obvious truth. The creative process takes work, dedication and time. It is an investment I have to make in order reap the rewards later down the line.

‘Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness: ecstasy.’ — Rollo May.

A lotus will not produce flowers without the right amount of light, water and nutrients. Similarly, we need the right conditions for our creativity to bloom. Where I wanted to focus my attention, is the place that lies at the basis of all artistic endeavours, creative receptivity. I spent a long time experimenting with different creative exercises and spiritual techniques. After a while it became apparent to me there were some common themes to building creative receptivity. I have grouped these themes into three stages:

1.Calm Your Mind: Another way of putting this could be, get out of the way. This taps into what we know about spiritual practice. In most spiritual traditions, wisdom insight and inspiration arise from the basis of a calm mind. Whether that is prayer or meditation, Tai Chi or affirmation. Whatever our practice, if we can learn to quiet the everyday chatter of the mind, we can start to access something deeper. For me it is meditation, I have been practising for around 20 years. I go on meditation retreats every year and find it a great way to process what’s going on for me. I find 20 minutes in the morning a great way to build calm and spaciousness. I don’t always do it but I certainly notice the difference when I do. I love this quote by Jascha Heifetz.

‘If I don’t practice one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days, the public knows it.’

See your practice as a gift to yourself. It’s so easy to stop doing a spiritual or creative practice if the results are not immediate or obvious. Remind yourself how wisdom and inspiration can slowly and subtly pervade your life. You just need to show up and be open to the process.

‘You need not leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You need not even listen, simply wait, just learn to become quiet, and still, and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice; it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.’ — Franz Kafka

This then can become self-propelling process, the more we invite creativity into our lives, the more we can start to tune into a state of presence. This, in turn, inspires further creativity. It is quite common for artists to find themselves in highly absorbed states when working. The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, describes these states ‘Flow’ and identifies artistic pursuit as one way to attain it.

‘Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.’ (1)

2.Set Your Intention: Ask yourself for what you want. I don’t mean a Rolls Royce! I mean a missing piece of a story you are writing or a key component to how you need to restructure your business. When I first started doing this I must admit, it felt a little strange. But guess what? The questions always seem to get answered. Now it feels like the most natural process in my life. The unconscious is always working in the background. Studies in the fields of both neuroscience and psychology are constantly refining and illuminating how this process works. (2) Depending on your spiritual and philosophical beliefs you may have to go out on a limb to start with here. But if you try it with an open mind, you’ll be amazed by the results.

‘Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.’ —Thomas Edison

3.Trust and Determination: last but not least we need to trust in the process. There is nothing like doubt to muddy the water. I’m not saying you should blind faith in what you do but rather be open and stick with a practice for at least six months. Set a date in your diary and try not to judge results until then. Make a determination to always do your practice. Just like you wouldn’t want to let a friend down for a meeting, don’t let yourself down. The more we can train this psycho-physical organism to a routine the easier it becomes. Research suggests we can form new habits in around 66 days at which point we are not struggling to continue with that activity.(3)

The more I develop these three aspects of my emotional and spiritual life, the more I am rewarded with creative inspiration. I wish the same perseverance and the same rewards for you. Above all, never give up! I have this poem by the Dalai Lama on my wall. It has provided inspiration to me for many years.

Never Give Up

No matter what is going on

Never give up

Develop the heart

Too much energy in your country

Is spent developing the mind

Instead of the heart

Be compassionate

Not just to your friends

But to everyone

Be compassionate

Work for peace

In your heart and in the world

Work for peace

And I say again

Never give up

No matter what is going on around you

Never give up

 I’m Nicky, I am from Brighton in England. I grew up fascinated by books like Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected and t.v. shows like The Twilight Zone. For years I played and wrote songs in an alternative rock band before going back to university and studying English Literature and Philosophy. I now have a passion for writing fantasy and dark comedy fiction. I love stories that dig beneath the surface of everyday life and play in the shadow worlds that we all have.

 

 

3 Stages to Creative Receptivity (via @itsnickyblue ):
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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 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.    Happy Easter and Passover to all who celebrate!

New Stuff:

 

Thanks to Win Kelly Charles (@WinKellyCharles ) for our podcast interview on the Ask Win show! (Also on iTunes.)

 

Business / Miscellaneous


Just Say No to These 5 Freelance Writing Jobs: @newleafwriter @thewritelife


3 Truths About the Mindset of a Successful Authorpreneur: @lornafaith


How to Set and Reach Your Goals to Make a Living as a Writer: @lornafaith @jeffcarson


Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous


Quiz yourself on writing conferences: @AmandaJoyCabot


Key Rights Offers on Deck: Amazon Publishing Highlights Titles at Bologna and London Book Fairs: @Porter_Anderson


Top writing conferences for writers of color and LGBTQ writers: @MelissaMHart @TheWriterMag


The Rathbones Folio Prize Shortlist Is Announced, as ‘Evolved’ Booker Debate Flares Again: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels


Tips for Young Writers: @the_writing_pal

Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting


Tips for better goal-setting: @bookmarketing @BwkrSelfPublish


3 Ways to Rock Your New Year’s Resolutions: @KelsieEngen


Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers


Is Spoiler-Free Pressure Ruining In-Depth Discussions About Books? @AuthorSAT


Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation


4 Lies That Are Keeping You From Writing a Book: @DavidHSafford @write_practice


Creativity and Inspiration / Success


3 Qualities of a Successful Author: @WriteToSell


Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life


If you want to write, write! And other infuriating advice: by Naomi Shafer


7 Tips to Manage Writing-Related Stress: @colleen_m_story


8 Ways to Find Author Mentors and Learn From Them: @lornafaith


5 Lessons To Combat Book Two Blues: @HouseRowena


25 Legendary Literary Feuds, Ranked: @knownemily @lithub


Genres / Fantasy


Creating Better Magic Systems (Blog Series): @davidfarland


The Dos and Don’ts of Fiction Inspired by Your RPG Campaign: @caitlynpaxson @tordotcom


Six Tips to Make Your Fantasy Setting More Immersive: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants


Genres / Memoir


Exploring difficult scenes when writing a memoir: @BettyHafner @WomenWriters


Genres / Miscellaneous


Should You Write Time-slip? @writerashley


10 assumptions about writing radio drama: @foolisholly @scottishbktrust


What It’s Like to Be a Female Author Who Writes Transgressive Fiction: @losapala


Genres / Romance


How Medieval Storytellers Shape Our Understanding of Romance: by Marilyn Yalom @lithub


Writing Romance for the Skeptic: by Elizabeth Wong


Genres / Short Stories


On the Very Contemporary Art of Flash Fiction: by John Dufresne @lithub


Promo / Ads


How Authors Can Build An Indie Empire—How You Advertise Matters: @TraciTyneHilton on @EdieMelson


Promo / Blogging


How to Turn Your Blog into a Book: @drsanford77


5 Creative Blog Post Ideas for Authors: by Jo Golden @BookBub


How to Write A Blog Post When You Have Zero Time or Ideas: @_HannahHeath


Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting


Better Book Descriptions in 3 Easy Steps: @SueColetta1


Promo / Book Reviews


How To Get Book Reviews (in 5 Smart Steps): @ReedsyHQ


How to Get Book Reviews on Amazon: @WrittenWordM


Promo / Connecting with Readers


Assemble Your Street Team: How to Mobilize Your Fan Army to Promote Your Books: @TCKPublishing


Promo / Miscellaneous


Guide to book marketing (7 parts): by Nicholas Erik


11 Pitfalls Every Indie Author Must Avoid: @Bookgal @IndieReader


5 Ways to Sell More Books: @Bookgal


Promo / Platforms


Tips for Establishing an Author Platform: @TheIWSG


Promo / Pricing


Is 99¢ too cheap a price for your book? by Dana Isaacson @CareerAuthors


Promo / Social Media Tips


The Cure for Social Media Overwhelm: @DanBlank


Promo / Websites


Using https://t.co/BwfcNJUA3t for books (with examples): @HollowLandsBook


Publishing / Miscellaneous


Kindle Scout: A Guide for Authors: @WrittenWordM


Publishing / News / International Publishing


Four Festival Neue Literatur Writers on Belonging and Displacement: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Istanbul Festival Names 2018 Fellows; Beijing Announces Children’s Book Fair: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


February 2018 Bestseller Lists from China Include Classics from Jules Verne, Helen Keller, Charlotte Bronte: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Booknet Canada and Rakuten Kobo Award 2018 Ebook Coding Prize: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Norway’s Big Translation Rights Year: ‘An Increasing International Appeal’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


‘Best Children’s Publishers of the Year’ Announced at Bologna Book Fair: @Porter_Anderson


At Bologna: The Very Latest ‘Wimpy Kid’ License: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Frankfurter Buchmesse Issues Global Illustration Award Call for Entries: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


‘Canada Reads’ Chooses Its Winner, as PBS Announces Its Own Books Show: @Porter_Anderson @meredithvieira


Publishing / Process / Book Design


How To Find And Work With A Book Cover Designer: @thecreativepenn


3 Ways to Get Book Covers on a Shoestring Budget: @jkcheney


Publishing / Process / Formatting


Use MS Word Styles to Format Your Manuscript: @JFbookman





Tips for better pen names: @Janet_Reid


Writing Craft / Beginnings


How Works of Fiction Can Be Boiled Down to Two Types of Plots: @peterselgin @JaneFriedman


Flog a Pro: would you pay to turn the first page of this bestseller? @RayRhamey @WriterUnboxed


Writing Craft / Characters / Development


The Power of Big Boss Troublemaker Characters: @KristenLambTX


50 Character Archetypes: from Ellie Writes Stories


Show Your Characters’ Wounds: @ZoeMMcCarthy


Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Personal Assistant: @AngelaAckerman


7 Key Ways to Reveal Your Character’s Wound: @SloanTamar


Writing Craft / Diversity


6 Tips for Writing Genderqueer and Nonbinary Characters: @Young_E_H @scottishbktrust


Writing Craft / Endings


How to End a Story: @themaltesetiger


Writing Craft / Literary Devices


Theme Made Simple: @TSQWriting


How to Use Foreshadowing Like a Master Storyteller: @Magic_Violinist


Using Poetic Devices: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants


Developing a Theme: @themaltesetiger


Writing Craft / Miscellaneous


Writing Child Characters: @Kid_Lit


8 Elements of Tradecraft: Is Your Writing Plumb, Level, and Square? by Gordon Long @IndiesUnlimited


Writing Craft: Master List of Copy Editing Skills: @JamiGold


Creating Big Moments in Your Small Story: @patverducci


Writing Advice From Readers: @bethhararwrites


Self-Defense: The Predator is Exploiting You: from How to Fight Write


Writing Craft / POV


When to Use 3rd Person vs 1st Person: @HookedOnNoir


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting


Tips to Keep Your Readers Reading: @CindyDevoted


Pros and Cons of Pre-Plotting a Novel before Writing: @plotwhisperer


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research


6 Ways to Enhance the Shooting Skills of Your Protagonists: @LeeLofland


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Beats


Night of the Living Dead Beat Sheet: @DonRoff @savethecat


Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar


3 Examples of Problems with Parallel Structure: @writing_tips


3 Types of Compound-Word Errors: @writing_tips


Writing Craft / Scenes


5 Essentials for Every Scene: @rsmonterusso @DIYMFA


Writing Craft / Settings and Description


Describing Characters: @AlisonPotoma @WritersRumpus


Writing Craft / Synopses


How to Write a Synopsis—Without Turning Homicidal: @SarahSallyHamer


Writing Craft / Word Crafting


The fictional sentence: @nevalalee


Writing Craft / World-Building


Want To Invent A Fictional Language? Here’s How To Do It: by Robert Wood @standoutbooks


Writing Tools / Resources


27 Handy Keyboard Shortcuts Every Writer Should Know: @TCKPublishing

The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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Other Things to Back Up (Besides Our Writing)

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

It’s now time for my regularly scheduled reminder to back up your work.

This time I’ll make my post a little different by urging you to back up other files, too.  Although we’d likely be hardest hit by losing our manuscripts, there are other important writing-related things, too.

I’ll start with our newsletter subscriber list since I know folks who have inadvertently deleted portions of theirs (and, in one case, the entire list).  I use MailChimp and it’s fairly easy to back up.  In fact, you can back up all of your account data (including templates, campaigns, subscriber lists, campaign reports, etc.) in one fell swoop. Step by step guidance can be found here. 

If you’re like me and rely on your Google calendar for everything, you’ll want to back it up, too.   My calendar has everything from guest posts scheduled on my blog to cover design meetings to podcasts.  Backup Google calendar means exporting the calendar (then I usually will copy it to an external device of some kind, too).   Instructions can be found here. 

Book-related files are also important things to back up.  You may think that  backing up your current work in progress should be the main focus.  But there are many other types of book files that you’ll want to keep track of:

Cover files.   I back up my ebook, print, and audio book covers several different places.

Published book files.  You never know when a new retailer or format will come along.  It wouldn’t be fun to lose these old files.

Back matter.  To speed up the publishing process, I keep my back matter (including list of published books, where to find me online, etc.) in a document that I can update and quickly copy and past into the back of the next book.

List of ISBNs.  I keep track of all of the ISBNs for my different books (in all the different formats).  It would be time consuming to recreate.

Last, but certainly not least, our current manuscript.  If you don’t create backups because it’s a pain, think of other, easier ways to save your data.  Email yourself a copy, copy to a small thumb drive that you carry on a keychain,  use a cloud service like Carbonite.

What kinds of files do you back up? How often do you do it?  Is it automated or manual?

Writing-related files we should back up:
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Photo credit: Dolinski on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND

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Establishing an Author Platform–Even Before You Publish

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

There has been a lot written about the importance of establishing an author platform.  But what’s the best way to go about this without stretching ourselves too thin?

I have some ideas for getting started with an author platform (even before you publish your first book) over at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group.   Hope you’ll  pop over.

The post Establishing an Author Platform–Even Before You Publish appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

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


7 Business Models for Indie Authors: Which One Is Right For You? @OrnaRoss @IndieAuthorALLI


Tips for Writing with Another Author: @msheatherwebb


Invest in your business: @HollowLandsBook


Writing a book for easy money – a myth examined: @Roz_Morris


Business / Taxes


Tax tips for writers: @Dmacmeans @RomanceUniv


Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous


Milan’s Tempo di Libri 2018: Crowds Up, Rights Center Growing: @Porter_Anderson @2SeasAgency


4 Top Finalist Contenders for the 2018 Audie Awards from the Audio Publishers Association: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Wellcome Book Prize’s 2018 Shortlist: Five of Six Titles Are by Women @Porter_Anderson @wellcomebkprize


Republic of Consciousness Independent Publisher Award Goes to Influx Press and Author Eley Williams: @Porter_Anderson @Influxpress @PrizeRofc


Rewarding Content in the Industry: The ‘Nibbies’ Shortlist 42 Titles for Books of the Year: @Porter_Anderson @_JimField @renireni


Booksellers Without Borders Names 12 Book Fair Scholarship Winners: @Porter_Anderson @skylightbooks

Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels


What 1 writer learned from writing his first book: by Nils Ödlund @mythicscribes


Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration


Copying is how we learn: @austinkleon


5 Reasons Why Your Writer’s Intuition is Failing You: @colleen_m_story


5 Ways To Help Inspire Your Writing: @lornafaith


Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Quotes


Judy Blume’s Advice for Aspiring Writers: @knownemily @lithub


Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers


So You Want to Read English Gothic Literature: Here’s Where to Start: by Matt Staggs @unboundworlds


7 of the Most Evil Older Sisters in Fiction: by Natalee Cruz @ElectricLit


The 10 Most Famous Bookstores in the World: @knownemily


4 Ways for Writers to Become Better Readers: @KMWeiland


Crime Fiction: The Joys and Sorrows of Finishing a Series: @CrimeReads @gasagasagirl @prospkbks


Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation


5 Keys To Help You Finish Your Novel: @lornafaith


Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing


5 Tips For Writing on a Tight Deadline: @MissyTippens


Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life


5 Reasons Why a Writer Should Move to Orange County: @poddar_namrata @lithub


The 12 Steps for Struggling Writers: @christophpaul_ @LitReactor


9 Things to Consider Before Giving Up on Your Book: @Bookgal @IndieReader


7 Stories Stephen King Refuses to Publish: by Jake Rossen @mentalfloss


Why Your Friend with a Creative Job Isn’t the Village Idiot: @StefanieFlaxman @copyblogger


What Should I Do If I’m Ashamed of My Published Work? @egabbert @ElectricLit


What’s Your Ideal Writing Life? @LifesizeLD @WritersDigest


Become a Better Writer by Avoiding These Childish Tendencies: @MeganNSharma


5 Writers, 7 Questions, No Wrong Answers: @TeddyWayne1999 @lithub


Genres / Fantasy


Tips on creating creatures/animals for an alien/fantasy race: from Just a Writing Aid


Genres / Historical


Writing Tragedy in Historical Fiction: @SusanMeissner @SignatureReads


Genres / Miscellaneous


The Autobiographical Novel: @BarryFoxWriter @LiveWriteThrive


Genres / Mystery


Checklist for Writing Your Thriller: @HankPRyan


Crime fiction: when sleuths have to go back to the drawing board: @mkinberg


Crime fiction: when sleuths are pressured not to investigate: @mkinberg


Crime Writing: Simplified Guide to Toxicology: via@WritersDetctive


Ranking Shakespeare’s Plays as Crime Fiction: @DwyerMurphy @CrimeReads


Security guards as elements in crime fiction: @mkinberg


Genres / Picture Books


Creating Picture Books: Resources, including free picture book templates, from @inkyelbows:


Genres / Romance


Romance writers look for ways their work can make a statement: @jaimealyse @BuzzFeedNews


Genres / Science Fiction


How Netflix is Changing Science Fiction (Beyond Big Marketing Gimmicks): @AlasdairStuart @tordotcom


The Science in Your Science Fiction: Conventional Space Travel: @MelanieMarttila @DIYMFA


Promo / Ads


How to Lower Your Facebook Ad Costs and Get Better Results: by Amanda Bond @SMExaminer


Promo / Blogging


What Are SEO Stop Words And How Do You Stop Using Them? by Lisa Brown @justpublishing


Promo / Book Reviews


The Essential First Step for New Authors: Book Reviews, Not Sales: @Wogahn @JaneFriedman


How to Build a Review Team (Podcast): @cksyme @KrystalShannan


Promo / Connecting with Readers


Helping International Readers Find Your Book:


Considering Your Audience:


Promo / Miscellaneous


Five Marketing Tools for Authors Who Hate Marketing: @writersstation


Seven Ways to Market Your Self-Published Novel: @aliventures


Promo / Social Media Tips


Is FB marking your links to your books as Spam? Here is what you can do: @Naked_Determina


What Kurt Vonnegut Can Teach Us About Coping with the Internet: @jayasax


Promo / Video


5 Ways to Sell More Books with YouTube Marketing: @Bookgal


Promo / Websites


Is Your Author Website’s About Page Drop-Dead Boring? @JanalynVoigt


Publishing / Miscellaneous


American Publishers, Libraries Cheer Marrakesh Treaty’s US Congressional Introduction: @Porter_Anderson


Freelance Writing: Tracking Your Goals for Success: @rcarrington2004 @hopeclark


Is Offset Printing the Future for Indie Authors? @JFbookman


Publishing / News / International Publishing


A Children’s Publisher Changes Names; Estonian Literature Stages a Festival: @Porter_Anderson @davehenderson25


Publishing / Process / Book Design


When You Have to Kill the Perfect Book Cover: @woodsarawood @lithub


Publishing / Process / Formatting


How to Format a Textbook or Workbook for Kindle: @ChrisDMcMullen


Publishing / Process / Services to Avoid


5 Signs You Shouldn’t Submit Your Work to a Publication: @NathanielTower


Writing Craft / Beginnings


How an Editor Knows Your Book Isn’t Ready After the First Chapter: @MegLaTorre


First Page Critique: @ClareLangleyH @killzoneauthors


Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists


Writing Engaging Antagonists: @DN_Bryn


Writing Craft / Characters / Development


Another way to think about character flaws: from Just a Writing Aid


Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Architect: @beccapuglisi


6 Tips for Writing Characters Who Captivate Readers: @Roz_Morris @IngramSpark


Archetypal Characters in Storytelling: @WritingForward


Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion


How To Write Emotion And Depth Of Character: @beccapuglisi @thecreativepenn


Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists


3 Questions You Need to Answer About Your Main Character Before You Start Your Novel: @StephMorrill


10 ways to create a dynamic heroine: @diannmills @KillerNashville


Writing Craft / Common Mistakes


Top Ten Peeves of creative writing teachers: By Melodie Campbell @annerallen


Writing Craft / Dialogue


Writing Dialogue Between Multiple Characters: @nownovel


Writing Craft / Diversity


Writing with Color: Description Guide: Words for Skin Tone: from Tropes are Tools


Writing Craft / Drafts


5 Ways to Get Your Draft Written: @victoria_grif7


Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story


Writing Back Story: @Lindasclare


Writing Craft / Hooks


How to Write an Effective Hook: by Mark Gottlieb @WriterUnboxed


Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film


Lessons about Writing from Bad Movies: @AlexJCavanaugh @TheIWSG


Writing Craft / Miscellaneous


Stuff That Takes Readers Out of a Story: @jamesscottbell @killzoneauthors


3 Writing “Rules” 1 Writer Breaks: @Julie_Glover


Using Mythology to Improve Your Writing: by Doug Lewars


10 Quotes Illustrating the Power of the Dream Sequence: @TomBlunt @SignatureReads


How to Write Introspection Well: Show “Just Enough”: @SeptCFawkes


How To Write a Fight Scene: 6 Hard-Hitting Rules for Violence in Fiction: @TCKPublishing


How to Write a Prologue for Your Novel (with Examples): @JerryBJenkins


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining


A Novelist’s Dilemma: Outlining vs. Writing On the Fly: @bendolnickbooks @SignatureReads


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting


How to Develop Story Ideas Into Amazing Stories: @weems503


Five Novels With Strong Throughlines: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants


How to Create Binge-Worthy Content That Keeps People Engaged (podcast): @kikimojo


Handling multiple subplots: from Just a Writing Aid


Tips for subplots: @Wordstrumpet


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research


Dealing with a Tricky Technique: Research Hills to Die On: @AusmaZehanat


Writing Craft / Revision


Why You Should Make Time To Write While Editing/Revising: @AuthorSAT


Tips on Self Editing: @annkroeker


Writing Craft / Series


Why Writing In a Series Will Make You More Money: @thecreativepenn


Series Writing 101: Resources for planning and writing a series: @LisaPoisso


Writing Craft / Settings and Description


Three Ways The Setting Can Steer Your Story’s Plot: @AngelaAckerman


Writing Craft / Tropes


On Star Wars and Mary Sues: by Tropes are Tools


Writing Tools / Miscellaneous


1 Writer’s Favorite Tools: @Julie_Klassen

The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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Considering Your Audience

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig 

When I was a kid, there was one part of Cinderella that baffled me.

The clock struck midnight and Cinderella, in a panic, cries out that it’s late and that she must leave.

The handsome prince responds, “But it’s not late; it’s only midnight.”

Only midnight.  To a four or five year old me, this pulled me right out of the story.  I’d never even witnessed midnight.  To someone who turned in at eight o’clock, this seemed like an outlandish thing for the handsome prince to have said.

I frequently read on blogs that considering our readers is very important.  But how do we know who our audience is?  And what does it mean to keep them in mind as we’re writing?

Who is your audience?

At first, I’d consider other books in your genre.  What part of the reader segment is the writer or publisher pursuing?  The cover can be a good clue.  Does the cover show an action scene?  A romantic scene?  What are the ages of the characters on the cover, if there are people depicted there?  In terms of the content,  you could ask the same questions.  What’s the focus and pace of the story?  How much profanity is used?

If you can’t tell from the cover and content of books similar to yours, take a look at the authors’ followers online.

It’s also helpful to ask yourself who your ideal reader is. Who are you specifically writing for?

And, as you take notes on books that are similar to yours, it’s good to have a grasp on the genre and subgenre that you’re writing in.

Connecting with readers

It’s important to have ways for readers to contact you.  Of course you want to have your email address available for them, but it’s also helpful to have some sort of means for them to connect with you online.  You don’t have to be on all the social media platforms (in fact, being on all of them is probably a bad idea….it’s just nearly impossible to keep up with), but there needs to be one at least for them to follow you on. As you write more books and have more followers on social media, you can actually see who your reader is…their ages and gender.

Writing for your audience

Once you know who your reader is, it gets a lot easier to write for them.  That’s because readers will have certain expectations for the types of books that you write.  If you aren’t sure of those expectations, just read more books in your genre.

For further reading, see  Angela Quarles’ post at Fiction University, “Finding Your Audience” and Dan Blank’s post at Writer Unboxed, “Do You Know Who Your Reader Is? No, Really: Do You?”

What do you know about your audience?  How do you keep them in mind as you write?

Considering Our Audience, as Writers:
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Photo credit: TEDxAmsterdamED on VisualHunt / CC BY

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