Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 80
February 1, 2018
The Benefit of Small Goals
by Elizabeth Spann Craig, @elizabethscraig
I read an interesting article recently, “What Setting Small Goals is Costing You,” from author and publisher Michael Hyatt. I think it interested me because it had such a radically-different point of view from mine. But it was onethat gave me food for thought.
In it, he said:
“Setting small, unchallenging goals is one of the five blunders I cover. I call it “sailing too close to shore.” We tend to set small goals because we’re unaware of our own inherent fear of loss. We don’t want to risk much. But there’s a direct correlation between low risk and low achievement. The greatest achievements are waiting on the other side of discomfort.”
He gave a couple of pretty compelling examples to support his position.
I could see where he was coming from. But for me, it’s totally the opposite.
For me, slow and steady wins the race. I’ve had 25 books published, but this has been over nine years. I set small goals that I can easily achieve. These small goals have made it possible for me to build a daily habit of writing and have helped to keep me motivated over the long-haul.
When I was first starting out and seriously writing, I purposefully set my writing goal as low as I could. I had a toddler in the house and a kindergartener. I set a goal of writing for 5-15 minutes a day. In less than a year, I had a book.
Knowing that I could accomplish my goals under challenging circumstances gave me confidence in my ability to push through, just like finishing a project (as opposed to stalling out or starting a completely different manuscript) gave me confidence in following through and trusting my ability to deliver.
But back to Michael Hyatt’s point of view. He does make some good points. For me, though, I think I’ll incorporate them differently. It is important to stretch oneself. But I’d rather that be a weekly extra goal instead of a daily challenging goal. Since I nearly always hit my daily goal, maybe that is an indication that I need to re-evaluate how much I’m expecting of myself.
But let’s face it. Some days just stink from start to finish. The kids are sick, the dog needs to go to the vet, you thought there was chicken in the freezer, but there wasn’t. I think on days like those, it’s best to still hit our usual goal, maintain our habit, and not feel disappointed in our performance.
What kinds of goals do you set? Do you stretch yourself or set small, attainable goals?
The benefits of small, attainable goals:
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January 28, 2018
Rep Days for Writers
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I read an interesting article by writer Victoria Griffin called “Writing Gains are Made on Rep Days.”
Griffin explains rep days for weightlifters:
“For lifters, rep days mean loading light weights on the bar and repping it out until you’re entirely sick of whatever exercise you’re doing…For example, hip contact is important to a good snatch. I’ll spend days doing nothing but hip contact drills until I’m black and blue. It’s not fun, and it’s not glamorous. But guess what? Next time I do snatches, my form is better and I lift heavier weight.”
She then makes the writing analogy:
“For writerly folk, rep days may be big word count days. Or they may be those days when we just don’t want to do it. For whatever reason, we don’t feel like writing, but we sit down and do it anyway. Writing on those days strengthens our writing “muscles” so that on the days we do feel like writing, when the words are flowing, we’re able to write more and better than we would have otherwise.”
I liked what Griffin was saying. I agree with her that there is a sort of ‘writing muscle’ that atrophies when we don’t work it out enough. It’s always harder to jump back into a story after taking a long break…the characters aren’t as familiar to us, we have to get reacquainted with the story world, and it’s easier to make continuity errors.
I’ll take it a step farther and say that it gives a tremendous boost to our overall confidence as writers to write on those days when we have to push ourselves through it. I know that most days out of the week, I’m not feeling inspired as I sit down to write. As I go, I get more into my story and into the flow of writing. I show up. I’m not one of those who says writers have to write every single day, but it sure helps if you can write for most of them.
Writer Teresa Frohock put this well in her post “Writing When You’re Uninspired“:
“By forcing myself to write, even when I don’t feel like it, I build on the self-discipline that I will need to get me through those deadlines when I must write.”
If we know we can tackle our project on the toughest days, it can give us the motivation to power through most days. Also, having a string of successful days of working in a row can help us to build confidence in our ability to keep making progress on a story. Writer Karen Woodward’s post, “How to Write Everyday: Jerry Seinfeld and the Chain Method,” explains how we can gain motivation by marking off writing days on our calendar.
While I don’t feel like it’s necessary to write every day (I’ll miss a day several days out of the month, if not more), I do feel it can help to write most days–and that there’s a special benefit to pushing forward with our writing on some of the more challenging days, if possible.
What if you have gone a while without writing, but you want to pick it up again? Read this helpful article by Daphne Gray-Grant, “How to Get Back Into Writing After a Break.”
Do you write on the tough days? What keeps you motivated, as a writer?
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January 27, 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 43,000 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 spotlighting an upcoming conference for mystery writers (wish I could make it, but I have a conflict). SleuthFest 2018 will take place in Boca Raton, Florida, on March 1-4 at the Embassy Suites. It’s an intensive four-day conference featuring writing workshops, social events, and pitch sessions. The conference includes four tracks of workshops, presentations, and panels on the craft of writing, business, traditional and self-publishing, marketing, and forensics. In addition, top literary agents and editors will be available to hear pitches from aspiring writers, offer troubleshooting sessions, and manuscript critiques. Speakers include Andrew Gross, Hallie Ephron, and Hank Phillippi Ryan. To Register: www.sleuthfest.com.
Business / Miscellaneous
Reverse Engineer Your Editorial Calendar: @annkroeker
Image and Backup Your Computer: @WordDreams
Business / Taxes
6 Ways Writers Can Prepare for Tax Season: by Kristen Pope @thewritelife
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Censorship in the Arab World: Debating Its Impact at a Conference in Tunisia: @Porter_Anderson
On Piracy and the Myth of ‘Free Content’ : @Porter_Anderson @JoseBorghino
Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels
A Book Launch Plan for First-Time Authors Without an Online Presence: @JaneFriedman
Top 5 Tips Launch Your First Book: @JAHuss
Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting
What Setting Small Goals Is Costing You: @MichaelHyatt
8 common mistakes to avoid when setting your 2018 goals: @beprolifiko
5 rules for setting a writing goal you’ll stick to: @beprolifiko
2 Questions Every Writer Should Ask (Instead of Writing Resolutions): @weems503 @write_practice
3 Steps to Complete Your Writing Goals in the New Year: @hodgeswriter
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
3 Rules For Creating Art That Matters: @StephMorrill
Ways to write every day even when your muse is off shopping: @SurfCityJames
3 Common Writing Problems and How to Solve Them: @kikimojo
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
10 Books on Technology Run Amok: @KEITH_RICE1 @SignatureReads
The Favorite Literary Work of Every Country Visualized on a World Map: @tedmills @openculture by BackForward24
7 Curiouser and Curiouser Retellings of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: @tordotcom @nataliezutter
Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation
What’s on Your Writer’s ‘I Did It List’ for 2017? @LisaRomeo
3 Creativity Tips To Help You To Write A Book: @angee
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
3 Ways Writers can Overcome Procrastination: @lornafaith
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
Roz Morris, Self-publishing Success Story: @Roz_Morris @IndieAuthorALLI
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Literary Holidays You Should Add To Your Calendar: by Natalee Cruz @ElectricLit
The 8 Best Writing Retreats That Won’t Break the Bank: @smbucklin @ElectricLit
On Quitting: @KristineRusch
“What Does Your Husband Think of Your Novel?” @jamiequatro @parisreview
18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently: @GoIntoTheStory
5 Things About Being a Writer:
Writers: Your Number One Enemy Is Your Ego: @victorialandis1
What to Give Yourself This Year: @KAMcCleary @WriterUnboxed
Genres / Horror
How to build suspense in a story: @Peter_Rey_
Genres / Memoir
Writing a Memoir vs. Novelizing Your Life: @JoanLJackson @WritersDigest
Genres / Miscellaneous
10 Tips for Writing Christian Fantasy: @_HannahHeath
Genres / Mystery
Behind-the-scene influencers as elements in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Non-Fiction
A Few Reasons to Self-Publish Your Nonfiction Book: @WritersCoach
Genres / Romance
The 3 Golden Rules Of Writing An Amazing Romance: by Paige Duke @standoutbooks
Genres / Short Stories
What Does It Take for a Short Story to Go Viral? @ElectricLit
Promo / Blogging
How to deliver your blog posts automatically via MailChimp: @LouiseHarnby
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
Why Even New Writers Need to Prepare an Author Bio: @annerallen
How to Pick a Best-selling Title for Your Book: @BryanJCollins
Promo / Miscellaneous
Presenting Your Book Cover (in a Media Kit): @BuildYourBrandA
Top 5 Tips for Hosting a Giveaway: @BlairBabylon
Tip sheets and advice for creating them: @Bookgal
3 Steps to Increase your Discoverability: by Bryan Oettel @CareerAuthors
How to Tame the Social Media Beast: @cksyme @annerallen
Promo / Social Media Tips
YouTube Boosts the ISNI Identifier: Creators Standing Out From the Crowd: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Miscellaneous
How Indie Presses Are Elevating the Publishing World: @jbakernyc @RMoralesKearns @lcheuk @ForestAvePress
Does Your Book Pass the “LOOK INSIDE!” Test? @annerallen
Google Play’s Introduction of Audiobooks Amplifies the Format’s Growth: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Forward Prizes for Poetry Open 2018 Submissions, Announce Jury: @Porter_Anderson
Macmillan’s ‘Fire and Fury’: Now More Than 30 Foreign Rights Deals, ‘Fuego y Furia’ on the Way: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Industry Notes: A UNESCO Honor Today in Havana and a Francophone Bookshop in Bucharest: @Porter_Anderson @UNESCO
Children’s Books: International Issues, Trends, and Rights Sales: @Porter_Anderson
In Second Full Week, Macmillan’s ‘Fire and Fury’ Sales Roar to a Bonfire: @Porter_Anderson
Specsavers Bestseller Awards Honor Paula Hawkins, Philip Pullman, Many More: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing
10 Cons Of Self-Publishing: @jckunzjr
10 More Cons Of Self-Publishing: @jckunzjr
Everything You Need To Know About Ebook Publishing Platforms: @TheIWSG @ReedsyHQ
Self-Publishing a Series that Started in Trad-Pub: @joannaslan
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
An interview with Agent Molly O’Neill: @molly_oneill @NatalieIAguirre
Publishing / Process / Legalities
Why Mickey Mouse’s 1998 copyright extension probably won’t happen again: @PassiveVoiceBlg @binarybits
Writing Craft / Beginnings
10 Tasks of the First Chapter: @Diana_Hurwitz
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
The Villain is Not Always a Person: @SPressfield
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Developing Character Motivation: @LMacNaughton
Five Things Your Characters Need: @WritingForward
How to Lend Each Character Their Unique Voice: @RidethePen
New Novelist: 3 Tips For Creating Great Fictional Characters: @angee
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
Motivating the Reluctant Protagonist: @DavidCorbett_CA @WriterUnboxed
Is Your Protagonist Multidimensional? @KarenCV
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
5 Top Writing Mistakes to Avoid: @AJHumpage
Writing Craft / Conflict
Power Up Your Story with Character Four-Point Opposition: @Michael_Finberg
Writing Craft / Dialogue
Bring Your Dialogue to Life: @kcraftwriter
Writing Craft / Diversity
Five Signs Your Story Is Transphobic: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
Read Like a Writer: Structure: Born to Run Memoir: @writingthrulife
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
Do You Dare To Eat A Peach? Finding the Perfect Metaphor: By PJ Parrish @killzoneauthors
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
The 5 Commandments of Storytelling: @StoryGrid
One Moment That Reveals Everything You Need To Know About A Character: @kathrynelilley @killzoneauthors
Episodic vs. Epic: Go Bigger with Your Writing: @JamiGold
Here’s How To Vary Your Sentence Structure: by Rebecca Langley @standoutbooks
4 Tips on Writing Action Scenes: @Janice_Hardy
Five Insufficient Reasons for Including Bigotry in Your Story: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
5 Tips for Better Sex Scenes: by Lilia Moon @JAHuss
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
When We Try to Sort Writers Into ‘Plotter’ or ‘Pantser’: @Ada_Palmer @tordotcom
Dual Timeline Novels: More Than a Flashback: @cottagelovebook @RomanceUniv
Discover Your Story’s Emotional Core with Story Grid: @AnneHawley @StoryGrid
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
Does someone in your life abuse apostrophes? A handy flowchart to share: by Leigh Anderson @lifehacker
3 Types of Erroneous Use of Dashes: @writing_tips
Writing Craft / Revision
Top 10 Things To Do When You’ve Written A Hot Mess: @10MinNovelists
4 Writing Issues You are Probably Missing When You Self-Edit: @ElleWSilver
Fine-Tuning Sentence Structure: @PStoltey
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
The Power of a Writing Group for Publishing Success: @sharonbially
Writing Craft / Scenes
A Scene Template For New Writers: @jamesscottbell
Writing Craft / Series
Series? Standalone? Companion Novels? (video): @Ava_Jae
Six Tips for Sequels: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Tension
A Writing Exercise to Help You Raise the Stakes for Your Characters: @Margo_L_Dill @womenonwriting
Writing Craft / Voice
New Ways to Gain Confidence in Your Writing Voice: @colleen_m_story
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
16 Confusing Words and Phrases to Monitor in Writing: @KathySteinemann
Tips for How to Choose the Right Sentences: @KMWeiland
Uncategorized
Ursula K. Le Guin, Acclaimed for Her Fantasy Fiction, Is Dead at 88: by Gerald Jonas @nytimesbooks
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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January 25, 2018
5 Things About Being a Writer
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
The writing life can be a wonderfully rewarding one. But there can be headaches along the way.
Here are five things I’ve learned about being a writer: some of them apply solely to self-publishing and some to both traditional and self-publishing.
There is always something else to consider with self-publishing.
This might be expanding your formats (print, audio, translation, digital, hardcover). This might be expanding your distribution (to aggregators like Draft2Digital and Smashwords, to the library market through Overdrive via PublishDrive or Street Lib, to international markets through PublishDrive or Street Lib), or it might mean expanding your social media presence by exploring Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
Consistency is better than racking up huge word counts, unless you can do both at once without burning out.
Unless you can maintain a daily high word count goal, I think it’s easier to be productive by simply being consistent–showing up most days to meet an easy goal.
Book production can take longer than planned.
Things always seem to take longer than you think they will. This includes the editing process, cover design, formatting, and even the process of uploading to retail sites (if you go wide). To combat this, it’s helpful to do as much as possible in advance … and get on your production team’s calendar early.
In terms of back matter, newsletters, etc., one shortcut is to keep a template handy. Keep a back matter file so that you won’t forget any of the usual elements (acknowledgments, list of titles, where to find you online, etc.) And your newsletter can be worked on while your story is with the editor. It can help to have as much done in advance as possible.
Promo can be subtle.
My most effective form of promo is sending out my release newsletter to the readers who’ve subscribed of their own free will. The second most effective is changing my Facebook cover to the new/upcoming book cover and pinning a simple announcement that my book is available for preorder/sale. Aside from that, my ‘promo’ consists of making sure that my book page SEO returns rich results on Google, that my Amazon product pages connect to my author page and to each other (for print and ebook), and that I include back matter in my books that point to my other books and series.
Once you end up with control over your writing and publishing, it’s tough (impossible?) to go back.
Having self-published exclusively for the last couple of years, it’s hard for me to imagine going back to traditional publishing (and I have had offers). I feel as though Penguin Random House didn’t do enough to make the material I wrote work harder. It could have sold overseas (as it does now), it could have branched into audio, etc. And, having gotten used to playing a part in the cover design and every other bit of production, it’s tough to think about handing over my manuscript and not even having control over the release date.
What have you learned as a writer?
5 things about being a writer:
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January 21, 2018
Self-Publishing a Series that Started in Trad-Pub
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
From time to time I’ll read about authors whose series were dropped by their publisher for one reason or another (this may be happening more frequently now as times are tight at publishing companies). Some of them will get their character rights back and continue these series and some will decide to start others.
I’ve continued the two series that I could get rights back on. One had only one traditionally-published book (book one of the Myrtle Clover series) and one had five trade-published books in the series (one through five of the Southern Quilting mysteries).
Although I’ve run into challenges along the way, I’ve never regretted taking either series to traditional publishing.
For one thing, traditional publishing had given me something of a springboard. At the time both series were started, physical bookstores were more important for a book’s visibility. I started out with a fairly strong readership to build on and readers who asked for more books in both series.
It’s also much easier to continue a series than it is to create one from scratch. Most of the work is already done for you in terms of worldbuilding and character creation.
The only real negatives I encountered were my inability to have the first book in the series as a perma-free (which I countered by making another book in the series perma-free…my books don’t need to be read in order), and the inability to include the books in a bundle/box set (which I countered by simply skipping the books I didn’t have rights to…you could choose to create prequels and a bundle for those, instead).
I read an article mystery writer Joanna Campbell Slan wrote with some interest: “Never Give Up on Getting Back Your Rights.” In it, she quotes a veteran writer as having told her that she was only making money for the trad-publishers by self-publishing the rest of her series. To me, I used them as much as they used me. In Joanna’s case, her persistence in getting her rights reverted paid off.
Joanna goes on to talk about continuing the process of requesting rights:
If you’re in the same situation as I was, don’t give up. Your fans will stick with you. Your publisher might not be willing to give up your rights today, but there’s always tomorrow. Keep asking. Ask politely. Ask repeatedly. Stay in touch with your readers. Make a plan, and stick to it.
I agree with her advice. I’ve been rejected sometimes, but sometimes I’ve gotten partial rights back. If you need help understanding the terms of your original contract, there’s a PDF available from Authors Alliance (and Berkeley Law).
I write more on how I wrote to request rights reversion in this post from last August.
Have you continued a discontinued trad-pubbed series? What challenges have you encountered?
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January 20, 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 43,000 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 Signs You Should Keep Writing as a Side Hustle: @RealWorldMagic
Never Give Up on Getting Back Your Rights: @joannaslan
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Hay Festival Opens Early Bird Access to Public for 2018 Events in Wales: @Porter_Anderson
Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting
How to set (and achieve) your creative goals: @DanBlank
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
10 Ways to Goose the Muse: @jamesscottbell
A.A. Milne (Born Today in 1882) on Happiness and How Winnie-the-Pooh Was Born: @brainpicker
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
25 Reasons Why Books Beat Real Life: @LisaLisax31
Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation
A Free 7 Day Creative Writing Challenge: @write_practice
How to write when you’re not motivated: @jasonbougger
5 Tragic Losses Caused by ‘Someday Syndrome’: @RayEdwards
Getting Your Writing Down: @Lindasclare
What Motivates You to Finish? @Julie_Glover
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
Creating a Writing Habit — 6 Simple Tips: by Nils Odlund @mythicscribes
5 Must-Haves for the Writer Struggling to Focus: @tessaemilyhall
6 steps to improve productivity and creativity: from Cathy Pickens by Allison Futterman
The 6 Best Writer Productivity Tools: @timgrahl
Is a Daily Writing Routine Right for You? @kristen_kieffer
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
5 Characteristics of a Bestseller Every Indie Author Must Nail: @Bookgal
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
10 Tips for Authors to Avoid Book Promotion Burnout: @StephPostAuthor
“What if I Stopped Being a Writer?”: @LisaLisax31
Writing Through Catastrophe: @cleemckenzie @TheIWSG
10 Ways to Survive Your Day Job: @_phoebe_quinn
The artistic recluse? @austinkleon
No, You DON’T have to Write Every Day: @KDean_writer @RomanceUniv
Top 5 Tips for Finding Author Friends: @writerdeanna @JAHuss
Genres / Fantasy
A Beginner’s Guide to Writing Urban Fantasy: by Georgina Roy @writingtipsoasi
Genres / Memoir
How to Write a Memoir: Top Tips from Bestselling Writers: @ReedsyHQ
Discover Your Memoir’s Underlying Themes: @writingthrulife
Genres / Miscellaneous
Genre in Writing: It is the Most Important Question for Your Book: @valerie_francis
Genres / Mystery
Plagiarism as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Thrillers: Plotting And Pacing: @KevinPaulTracy @RMFWriters
Writing a Cozy Mystery: Setting: @LauraDiSilverio
Clubs as elements in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Poetry
Poet teaches immigrants English through expressive writing: By Lynda J. Edwards @timesunion
Genres / Science Fiction
31 Essential Science Fiction Terms And Where They Came From: by Lauren Davis
Genres / Screenwriting
Top 5 Tips Writing for TV and Film: @MisterJMcClain @JAHuss
Script To Screen: “Braveheart”: @GoIntoTheStory
Promo / Blogging
Tools to help you plan your blogging year: @KarenBanes
Easy Author Blogging:10 tips for a Successful Author Blog: @annerallen
Blogging as a Writer:
How To Create A Blog Post From Nothing In 5 Steps: by Jonathan Vars
Promo / Connecting with Readers
11 Creative Ways to Boost Reader Engagement: @DianaUrban
Top 5 Tips Finding Your Fans: @JAHuss
Promo / Miscellaneous
5 Things for Indie Authors to Revamp in 2018: @Bookgal
8 Ways to Find Your Readers With Collaboration: @LPOBryan
Promo / Platforms
Top 5 Tips Build a Strong Brand: @CoraSeton
Promo / Social Media Tips
The Writer’s Guide to Social Media Organization: @diannmills
5 Principles of a Perfect Instagram Caption to Boost Sales: @HughBeaulac @ProWritingAid
55 Social Media Hashtags For Authors (And How To Use Them): @WritersRelief
Promo / Websites
9 Tips for Your Website Due Diligence: @JudithBriles
Publishing / Miscellaneous
How to Create Artwork to Foil, Stamp, and Emboss Your Books: @JFbookman
8 criteria for evaluating writing competitions: @raimeygallant
Trends and Challenges Consultants See in Scholarly Publishing: @kanderson @scholarlykitchn
What 1 writer learned from being rejected by Amazon’s Kindle Scout: @DeannaCabinian
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Fire and Fury: International Publishers ‘Throw Full Support Behind’ Macmillan: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
UK Publishers Association Launches Data Protection Toolkit for EU Regs: @Porter_Anderson @stevelotinga
Prix Voltaire 2018 Shortlist Honors Figures from Asia, Europe, and Africa: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The TA First Translation Prize’s Debuts Shortlist: @Porter_Anderson @danielhahn02
BookNet Canada: Print Sales Down in 2017, Backlist 60 Percent: @Porter_Anderson @BookNet_Canada
Austrian-American Writer Frederic Morton Honored in New York City: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Wattpad Announces $51 Million in New Funding: @wattpad @Porter_Anderson @allenlau
What’s Popular in Children’s Books? Insights from Insiders from Canada, Finland, Germany, Spain: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The International Prize for Arabic Fiction Announces Its 2018 Longlist: ‘Arab Reality’: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing
Publishing: “If your first book tanks, it’s really hard to get back in the game”: @hankjearly
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Wounded: Why Pain & Wounds are Vital for Fiction: @KristenLambTX
Challenge your characters: @jasonbougger
Method Writing: Getting Into Your Characters’ Heads: @jules_writes
Things 1 Writer Asks Her Characters: by Samantha Fenton
4 Keys To Creating A Likable Character: @AlpertMark
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
The word of doom for female characters: @Bang2write
Writing Craft / Conflict
Does Your Novel Need More Internal Conflict? @HankPRyan
Writing Craft / Drafts
How to Know When Your Creative Work is Finished: @JeffGoins
What to Do When You Finish a First Draft: by Sandra Scofield @SignatureReads
Writing Craft / Humor
How to Write Humor: @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
4 Things Every Thriller Writer Can Learn From Charlotte’s Web: @Brad_Parks
5 Things Jennifer Egan Can Teach You About Writing: @FredBobJohn @standoutbooks
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
6 Habits That Sabotage Audio Stories: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Character intros: from Just a Writing Aid
5 Top Writing Hacks For Quick, Effective Storytelling: @Bang2write
5 Tips for Writing About an Established Relationship: @re_stearns @WritersDigest
Vary Sentence Lengths to Give Your Paragraphs a Pleasing Rhythm: @ZoeMMcCarthy
How to Fight in a Victorian Dress: @swan_tower @tordotcom
Writing Craft / Plot Holes
Six Stories That Covered Up Major Plot Holes: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Story Structure: Is It Formulaic? @storyfix
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
How To Write Characters With PTSD: @LisaHallWilson @beccapuglisi
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
3 Cases of Intrusive Punctuation Before a Quotation: @writing_tips
5 Types of Usage Errors: @writing_tips
3 Cases of Erroneous Punctuation: @writing_tips
Writing Craft / Revision
Rewriting: Fixing It Up: @Lindasclare
The Myth of One and Done: Why you need to edit multiple times: by Kate Sullivan @ProWritingAid
Writing Craft / Series
7 Rules for Strong, Successful Sequels: @brenthartinger @writersdigest
Writing Craft / Special Needs
8 Books That Move Disability From the Margins to the Center: by Kenny Fries @lithub
Writing Craft / Tension
5 Tips For Building Tension Into Your Scenes: by Jonathan Vars @DIYMFA
Writing Craft / World-Building
Top 5 Tips Building Worlds: @JAHuss
Writing Tools / Books
Why Books on the Craft of Writing Are Worth a Read: @TobiasCarroll @SignatureReads
Writing Tools / Thesauri
Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Librarian: @AngelaAckerman
Uncategorized
Info About the #IWSGPit Twitter Pitch Tomorrow: @TheIWSG
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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January 18, 2018
Blogging as a Writer
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
My first blog post was in August of 2008. Along the way, I’ve tweaked the content and changed from Blogger to WordPress. I’ve also played with the number of posts I run a week. Aside from that, the blog is pretty much the same as it was nine years ago.
But along the way, I’ve seen lots of changes: some writers who used to blog no longer do. Some folks never started. Some rarely post at all. Which leads me to this post. :) Should writers blog? If you decide to blog, how do you keep it up? And how do you get a blog started?
Why should you consider blogging?
One big reason why I like blogging is because I bring traffic to my website (which also lists my books). As Belinda Griffin put it in her article, “10 Rock-Solid Reasons Why Every Indie Author Needs an Author Blog“:
Regularly updated websites, ie ones with a blog, are crawled more often by search engines and will appear higher up in search engine results, meaning a website with a blog is more likely to be found by someone searching using Google.
How often should you post?
If you’re just starting out, I’d set the bar low. Shoot for a post a week, maybe. There are also benefits to ‘slow blogging’: check out Anne R. Allen’s “Slow Blog Manifesto.”
Even if you’re posting once or twice a month, you’re still regularly adding content to your website which can help with visibility.
If you want to shoot for a couple of times a week, just remember that you can always scale back to once a week. The key is to stay consistent with posting, no matter how often you do it.
What should you post on?
It’s really up to you. What are you most comfortable writing about? Some writers do a great job communicating directly with their readers: sharing personal photos, what they’re cooking that night, what book they’re currently reading, and giving insight into their writing. Some writers prefer sharing helpful posts for other writers.
If you’re not sure exactly what path to take with your blogging, Jane Friedman has an excellent post: “What Should Authors Blog About?” She rates your options from easy to difficult.
For other ideas, try these posts:
Hundreds of Blog Post Ideas for Writers by Shelley Sturgeon
30 Inspiring Blog Post Ideas for Writers by Amanda Patterson
How do you find blog readers?
Encourage engagement by ending posts with a question. Respond to comments. Visit and comment on blogs, especially those of bloggers who comment on yours. Set your posts to automatically upload to Facebook and post on Twitter.
And keep it up. Be consistent. Choose which days of the week (or day of the week) you want to post and then blog on those days. When you’re going to need to be absent from the blog, make sure to note it and give a return date. That helps keep you on track and helps your readers know that you just haven’t fallen off the face of the earth.
Why do bloggers stop blogging?
There are so many reasons here. Over the length of time in which I’ve blogged, several bloggers have, sadly, passed away. Others have been overwhelmed by health issues or life simply getting in the way.
Sometimes it’s something much more basic. I’ve been amazed by the number of bloggers who simply tried to do a blog makeover and then stopped blogging…it was as if the makeover project took time and energy away from the actual posts and derailed them.
To keep blogging, my top tips for starting out and for maintaining a blog:
Set the bar low, as mentioned above.
Write several posts (with images, etc.) before you ever launch your blog. Stay several posts ahead. Or have a few emergency posts handy for when life/health/etc. gets crazy.
Keep an editorial calendar or at least a list of ideas that you might want to blog about. Dan Blank has a nice post about brainstorming post ideas in his piece, “10 Simple Steps to Steady Blogging.”
Make sure to make the posts easy to read by keeping them skimmable–break up text into paragraphs and use headings to help readers make sense of what they’re seeing on the page.
Blogging has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. I’ve had invitations to speak because of blogging. I’ve definitely brought traffic to my website because of my blog, which helps me with search engine visibility (and, ultimately, my books’ visibility). And I’ve met so many amazing writers and bloggers through my blog, too.
For more points to consider when setting up a blog, check out another post from Jane Friedman, “How to Start Blogging: A Definitive Guide for Authors.”
Do you blog? What do you see as the benefits? Any questions from anyone who hasn’t started blogging yet?
Why writers should blog and help getting started:
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January 14, 2018
Writing a Better Reader Newsletter
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve mentioned before that I always feel a little apologetic when I send a newsletter to readers. I’m so inundated by emails that the idea of wanting more emails seems impossible to me. But that’s just the thing we need to remember: readers do want to receive our newsletter. That’s why they signed up for them.
I only send my newsletters when I have a release, which means that I’m sending a newsletter out about three times a year. My newsletter include buy-links for the new book, a few recipes (I don’t enjoy cooking, but I like passing along easy recipes), and updates on my life and what I’m working on now.
I’m always on the lookout for ways to make my newsletter better. I came across three articles on the same day and saved all of them for future use since each one had at least one helpful takeaway. I thought I’d pass the information along here in case it helps others.
Send your newsletter to one reader
This tip comes from Tim Grahl. In his post, “5 Myths About Email Marketing for Authors“, he asks:
Are you writing for fantasy nerds looking for new books? Are you writing for the thirty-something stay-at-home-mom that needs to lose some weight?
Who are you writing for?
Picture them and then work hard to add value to their lives.
Sometimes it’s easier to write for that one reader (and then, naturally, send to the entire list).
Create an editorial calendar for your newsletter
This tip comes from Problogger Darren Rowse in his article, “7 Common Newsletter Problems, Solved” :
Create a content calendar for your email list. Rather than sending a link to your latest post or a weekly/monthly roundup of posts, use an editorial calendar to come up with some ideas ahead of time.
This seems like a no-brainer to me. Coming up with a newsletter while trying to launch a book is pretty stressful. This way, I can stay ahead and make the process quicker.
Collaborate with another writer
Penny Sansevieri from A Marketing Expert, states in her post “Ramp Up Your Book Sales with Email Book Marketing“:
Reach out and ask if they’d like to swap promotions in your respective book marketing emails or newsletters. The worst you could hear is ‘no’ so what have you got to lose?
The benefit here is two-fold. You get more content for your emails and your readers see you as a resource for great book recommendations.
This seems like an easy way to network with other writers.
Do you have a newsletter? How often do you send them? What types of content do you include in yours?
3 Tips for a Better Newsletter:
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January 13, 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 43,000 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 had a new release last week. :) A Body in the Trunk, Myrtle Clover book 12, released on Tuesday.
Business / Miscellaneous
Stop Doubling Down on a Failing Promo Strategy: by Brian Jud
2018 children’s book trends: Scholastic Book Clubs editors make top predictions: @mbarrett_NY @Scholastic
Multipotentialite Writers: Do Diverse Interests Help or Hurt Their Careers? @tobywneal
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
5 Ways to Avoid Disaster During an Author Event at a School: by Steve Cole @scottishbktrust
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
Improve Your Novel By Writing a Screenplay: @JocelynRish @MartinaABoone
5 Nursery Rhyme Origins to Spark Your Next Story: @MelanieMarttila
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
8 Surprising Literary Easter Eggs: @NonFictioness @mentalfloss
Galileo, who died on this day in 1642, on why we read: @brainpicker
3 Benefits of Reading Non-Fiction: @rsmollisonread
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Magical Objects: @MzzS36019 @ElectricLit
Creativity and Inspiration / Miscellaneous
Advice for a Young Writer: @FinishedPages @womenonwriting
Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation
The Opportunity to Create: @DanBlank
To Write, Stop Thinking: @GoIntoTheStory
Growth Mindset for Writers: @SloanTamar
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
How to Write When You Don’t Have Time: @SeptCFawkes
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
How to Balance Routine and Novelty to Boost Writing Productivity: @colleen_m_story
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Try Out a (Part-Time) Standing Desk In 2018 With These Discounted Risers: @shepmcallister @KinjaDeals
15 Famous Authors Who Were Published After 40: @EricaVerrillo
How I Used Writing to Survive (Or: Writing Despite Illness): by Audrey Berger Welz @JaneFriedman
How 11 Writers Organize Their Personal Libraries: @knownemily
5 Movies about Writers: @metcalfwriter
Winter Rest: @barbaraoneal
7 ways writers can be more productive when sick: @pubcoach
How a Writer Relaxes: @lindasmolkin
Writing About Alcohol Brought 1 Writer Back from the Brink of Addiction: @GreatBooIsUp @lithub
5 Famous Writers Who Stood Up To Write: @writingroutines
How to Pull Off a One-Day Writing Retreat: @RDCwrites @RMFWriters
Single-Tasking for Productivity:
Why Writers Need Those “Never Again” Moments: @colleen_m_story
5 Eye Care Tips for Writers: by Reza Hassanirad @DIYMFA
Genres / Fantasy
9 Quick Tips To Master Your Fantasy Map: @sacha_black
Genres / Historical
11 Unconventional Resources to Kick Your Historical Fiction Up a Notch: @mindytarquini @WritersDigest
Genres / Mystery
Crime writing: 10 things cops should never do (and 10 things they should): @LeeLofland
Crime Writing: Building Characters Using Everyday Items Found Around the House: @LeeLofland
Quilting, Corgis, Barbeque and Murder with Elizabeth Craig: @ArtConnectsUs
6 Tips for Writing a Great Police Procedural: @carriesmithnyc @WritersDigest
The Unknown Enemy as an Element in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Picture Books
Writing PIcture Books: The Wonderful Wordless Spread: @Kim_Chaffee @WritersRumpus
Genres / Poetry
7 Tips to Increase Your Odds of Placing in Poetry Contests: @AnnieNeugebauer
10 Reasons for a Prose Writer to do a Poetry Course: @emma_darwin
Genres / Romance
How to Write Romance Beats: @gwenhayes @lornafaith
Genres / Screenwriting
Screenwriting: Know More Than You Show: @CockeyedCaravan
Genres / Short Stories
5 Reasons to Write Short Fiction: @WindyLynnHarris @DIYMFA
Promo / Book Signings and Launch parties
How to Throw a Book Launch Party on a Budget: @kikimojo
Promo / Miscellaneous
Promote Your Own Way: @FrugalBookPromo @TheIWSG
How to Sell More Books as a New Author: @drsanford77 @bookworthy
How the Right Preorder Strategy Can Build a Book’s Platform: @cherylbradshaw @BookBub
3 alternatives to Goodreads Giveaways: @Wogahn
Promo / Social Media Tips
5 Ways to Use Instagram in your Book Marketing: @Bookgal
Top 5 Tips Using Instagram: @JAHuss
Promo / Websites
How to Setup a Self-Hosted WordPress Author Website (Step-by-Step Video Tutorial) : @lornafaith
Publishing / Miscellaneous
‘Operation You,’ an AR and VR-Enhanced Children’s Book Series: @Porter_Anderson
3 Shameless Book Promotion Tips For Your Next Release: @EmilyWenstrom
A New Report for 2018 on a Fragmented Publishing Software Market: @Porter_Anderson
Man Booker Prize for Fiction Adds New Eligibility for Irish Publishers: @Porter_Anderson @ManBookerPrize
Writing And Selling Radio Plays And Audio Dramas: @pulpbooks @thecreativepenn
F+W Media Executives Make Abruptly Announced Exit Which Staffers Learn About in Memo: @Porter_Anderson
Two PEN Chapters, and Penguin Random House’s Buy of Rodale: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / News / International Publishing
A Different Direction in Denmark: Palatium Pivots Into Publishing: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
New Year, New Deal: Cengage Rolls Out An Unlimited Subscription: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The German Book Trailer Award: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
European Publishing Trends: 2016 Stable Amid Pound Sterling Slump: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing
6 steps to a traditional publishing deal: by Jon Reed @publishingtalk
Publishing / Process / Legalities
Macmillan’s John Sargent on Trump ‘Fire and Fury’ Cease-and-Desist: @Porter_Anderson @HenryHolt
Writing Craft / Beginnings
What Should Be on Your Page One? Here’s a Checklist: @HankPRyan
Jumping into the story as quickly as possible: @CalebPirtle
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
Creating villain motivations: Writing real adversaries: @nownovel
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Writing Characters to Life: @Lindasclare
How to Find Your Character’s Motivation: @kristen_kieffer
Character Wounds and Emotions: The Danger of Digging Too Deep: @beccapuglisi @LiveWriteThrive
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
6 Key Traits for Writing the Contemporary Literary Heroine: by Stacey Tucker
Why We Need More Thematically-Pertinent Female Protagonists: @KMWeiland
10 Steps to Creating Memorable Heroes: @Bang2write
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
What To Do When You’re Afraid Your Book Is Preachy: @StephMorrill
5 Ways to Save Your Character From a Drowning Story: @NicoleBlades
5 common fiction writing mistakes: @KarenCV
Writing Craft / Conflict
Jumping to Conclusions: Great Character Driven Conflict: @SloanTamar
Writing Craft / Dialogue
6 Clever Ways to Improve Dialogue: @the_writing_pal
Writing Craft / Drafts
How to Write a Novel in 3 Drafts: @the_writing_pal
Writing Craft / Hooks
How to Write a Hook: 8 Tips to Lure in Readers: @nownovel
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
5 Ways Television Can Help Us Become Better Storytellers: @writersstation @WriterUnboxed
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
How to Use Allusion Like a Master Storyteller: @hodgeswriter
How To Use Foreshadowing With Confidence: by Robert Wood @standoutbooks
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Selling Sprawl: The Case for Expansive Storytelling: @VaughnRoycroft @WriterUnboxed
Three Ways to Show Instead of Tell: @A_K_Perry @DIYMFA
4 Ways to Prevent Formulaic Story Structure: @KMWeiland
Anne Rice on Writing Technique: @A_WritersStudio
How to Tell If Your Story Needs a Resolution: @SaraL_Writer
The Difference Between Heroes and Villains: @SPressfield
8 Tips for Writing Arguments: @_HannahHeath
The Freedom of Placeholder Words in First Drafts: @Janice_Hardy
The Annotation Project: Gone Girl: @CockeyedCaravan
How and Why to Edit an Anthology: Addressing the Naysayers: by Margot Kahn @JaneFriedman
Writing Craft / POV
Should You Be Using Point-Of-View More? @WriteToSell
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming
The importance of a character’s name: @Peter_Rey_
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Dual Timeline Tips & Tricks: @HannahMMcKinnon
How to Create Interesting Subplots that Move Your Story Forward: @TheRightMargin
How To Avoid Plotting Hell And Save Writing Hours: @Bang2write
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
The semicolon is pointless, and it’s ruining your writing: @shadimirza
Writing Craft / Revision
Improve Your Writing By Thinking Like a Copywriter: @AmyPennza
3 tips for being brutal during revisions: @JAZarins
Why You Need to Step Away from Your Manuscript: @ShanDitty @GoTeenWriters
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
How Fiction Writers Can Create Atmosphere: @lornafaith
Writing Craft / Tension
Creating Anticipation for Your Final Battle: @ml_keller
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
Fresh Writing Instead of Cliches: @ZoeMMcCarthy
Writing Tools / Apps
Google Keep Why it’s Helpful for Writers: @WordDreams
Writing Tools / Miscellaneous
67 Top Tools for Writers and Bloggers in 2018: @WritetoDone
Writing Tools / Resources
100 Best Writing Websites: 2018 Edition: @danasitar @thewritelife
Uncategorized
Before the Bookmobile: When Librarians Rode on Horseback to Deliver Books to Rural Americans During the Great Depression: @jdmagness @openculture
The (Urban) Legend of Ernest Hemingway’s Six-Word Story: “For sale, Baby shoes, Never worn.” : by Josh Jones @openculture
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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January 11, 2018
Single-Tasking for Productivity
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I used to think that I was a fairly adept multitasker, as long as one of the tasks was something completely mindless (I could stir things in a pot and make a list at the same time. I could vacuum and brainstorm). But after instances where I’ve spattered supper on the stove and vacuumed up things that weren’t supposed to be vacuumed, I’ve come to the realization that I really shouldn’t multitask at all.
I’ve made an effort to dial it back and become more effective at focusing on a single task.
Is it really multitasking?
In the article “Brain, Interrupted” by New York Time columnists Bob Sullivan and Hugh Thompson, they stated:
In fact, multitasking is a misnomer. In most situations, the person juggling e-mail, text messaging, Facebook and a meeting is really doing something called “rapid toggling between tasks,” and is engaged in constant context switching.
The danger in this, as stated in the article, is that we may never really return to the main task we needed to work on. The other tasks act as distractions … or maybe, more accurately, deterrents…to our productivity.
Multitasking too often means I’m training myself not to be able to maintain focus when I need to.
I’ve noticed, since the advent of computers and smartphones, that I have a much harder time focusing on reading and writing for any great length of time. That urge to check email or other messages is pretty overwhelming and can, on occasion, completely derail what I’m trying to do.
Multitasking can create stress .
When I’m multitasking, I have this very frenetic, stressed feeling. It’s hard to explain, but it’s not pleasant.
How I single-task:
I close other windows and tabs on my computer.
I put my phone out of arm’s reach.
I set a timer for my work. Then I set a timer for a break. Then I set another timer to work again. (For more about the Pomodoro method, read this.)
Batching tasks can also help. I may write several blog posts in one day, getting into the ‘groove’ of blogging. Or I might brainstorm and outline one day, staying in a creative zone.
Do you have a hard time maintaining focus on a single task? How do you pull off focusing?
Why single-tasking and maintaining focus may make you more productive:
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