Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 90

May 13, 2017

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 40,000 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 see the character and location name generators! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. :)

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

7 Reasons To Attend a Writer’s Conference: @AlyciaMorales
Planning a Writer’s Conference? Here’s What’s Really Involved: @ascamacho @TheIWSG

Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting

3 Steps to Start Tiny Habits that Help You Reach Your Goals: @lornafaith

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

Why You Need to Invest In Yourself First: @SukhiJutla
How Free Writing Helps You Find Your True Creative Voice: @JamesPrescott77

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

Addictive Sci-Fi: 5 Books with Fictional Drugs: by Chris Howard @tordotcom

Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation

Don’t wait to follow your dreams: @SiakChinYoke

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

Are You Too Nice To Say “No?” @CarolAnneMalone
5 Ways to Manage Multiple Creative Passions: by Linda Bernadette Burgess @DIYMFA

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / When to write

Writing Routines: Rethinking What Works:

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

10 Writing Prompts To Help You Unstick Your First Draft: @10MinNovelists
Sometimes Instinct Should Take Over the Story: @Margo_L_Dill @womenonwriting

Creativity and Inspiration / Success

How 1 Writer Landed a Book Contract at 16: @tessaemilyhall @authorsjournal
The Second Act Novelist: 6 Ways to Prepare: @joneslepidas @JaneFriedman

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

For writers who are recent graduates, broke, in between things, or living at home: @austinkleon
Writer Struggles: Isolation & Loneliness: @HeatherJacksonW
Stress and Burnout: Writers can suffer from both. Learn the signs and how to cope: @RuthHarrisBooks
Can Your Distractions Make You a Better Writer? @charityscraig @tspoetry
Envy, Perfection, and the Work of Writing: @JoEberhardt @WriterUnboxed
How to Create a “Writer Productivity Diet”: @CSLakin
Spectral Awareness: 8 Quotes From Authors With Autism: @TomBlunt @SignatureReads

Genres / Horror

Horror and Crime: A Writer’s Education: @Gabino_Iglesias
Surviving Horror Films Is A Breeze If You Follow These Rules: @IanFortey @cracked

Genres / Literary Fiction

When Literary Plots Get Mysterious: @TobiasCarroll @lithub

Genres / Mystery

Suburban life as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg
How to Write Suspense Like Hitchcock: @TonyLeeMoral
Writing a Murder Mystery, Character Creation: The Murderer: @woodwardkaren
Crime Writing: Behind the Scenes: What Happens After The Cuffs Go On? @LeeLofland

Genres / Poetry

15 Tips for Writing Poetry: @WordDreams
10 Short Poetic Forms: @robertleebrewer
10 Reasons Why Poetry is the Manliest of Genres: @Gabino_Iglesias

Genres / Screenwriting

Thinking of Writing a Short Film? Ask These Questions First: @scriptmag
6 Things To NOT Do When Submitting Your Script: @Bang2write

Genres / Young Adult

The Ultimate Guide to YA Fiction: by Emma Johnson @WritersEdit
How To Write Young People That Are Actually Realistic: @Bang2write

Promo / Ads

Are Facebook Collection Ads Good for Selling Books? @cksyme

Promo / Back matter

Using Back Matter to Sell More Books: @DianaUrban @BookBub

Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting

Writing the Perfect Blurb: @RayneHall
Optimizing your Online Book Description: @ml_keller
How To Chose Your Book Title: @SukhiJutla

Promo / Miscellaneous

How to Get Attention for Your Book on Amazon: @CaballoFrances
A Recipe for a Non-Traditional Marketing Plan: @mbhide
10 Myths About Marketing Your Book: @diannmills
How to Develop a Street Team for Your Book: @jenniferprobst
10 Sure-Fire Ways to Help a Writer: @CalebPirtle
5 Reasons to Submit Your Work to Anthologies: @PStoltey @RMFWriters

Promo / Podcasts

Podcasting Tips And Tricks: @JerodMorris

Promo / Social Media Tips

10 Ways First-Time Writers Can Get Noticed on Social Media: @ParkLiterary @WritersDigest
Busy Authors Should Simplify Social Media Efforts: @CeceliaMecca

Publishing / Miscellaneous

A Potentially Pivotal Case: Louisiana State University and Elsevier: @Porter_Anderson @AndrewRichard
SELF-e Indie Awards 2017 – Just another Self-e Libraries Create Sites site @libraryself_e
This is the #1 Reason an Expert Will Hire a Ghostwriter: @granthony

Publishing / News / Amazon

Warnings on Amazon’s Changed Buy-Button Book Sales Policy: @Porter_Anderson @AuthorsGuild

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Hay Festival Announces Bogotá39-2017 Anthology’s Latin American Authors: @Porter_Anderson
Industry Notes: Publishing Scotland Opens Translation Grants, Wiley’s Mark Allin Resigns: @Porter_Anderson
British Book Awards 2017: The ‘Nibbies’ Honor Literature and Industry @Porter_Anderson

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

10 Ways to Make Your Submission Stand Out in the Slush Pile: @MegLaTorre
How to Use LinkedIn and Twitter to Find an Agent: @evans_writer @RMFWriters

Publishing / Process / Contracts

How to Request A Reversion of Publishing Rights: @SusanSpann

Publishing / Process / Formatting

20 Pro Tips to Prepare Your Ebook for Conversion: @CatherineDunn8

Writing Craft / Beginnings

8 1/2 Tips for How to Write Opening and Closing Lines: @KMWeiland
Starting a Novel With Setting Description: @Kid_Lit
3 Tips From Being a Failure As An Author: @KelsieEngen
How to Introduce Characters Memorably: 6 Ways: @nownovel

Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists

Creating the Perfect Villain-Author Toolbox: @ml_keller

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Character Motivation Entry: Protecting One’s Home or Property: @AngelaAckerman
Women Are People, Too: 6 Ways to Write Better Female Characters: @cameron_chapman @scriptmag
Character Motivation Thesaurus Entry: Escaping a Widespread Disaster: @beccapuglisi
3 Fiction Writing Tips For Beginners: Build Your Characters: @angee

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

12 Mistakes You Could Make When Creating Narrative Voice: @10MinNovelists
“Writing Career Mistakes I Made So You Don’t Have To”: @annerallen
Don’t Show, Don’t Tell — How to Leave Room for the Reader’s Imagination: by Nils Odlund @mythicscribes

Writing Craft / Dialogue

How to Write Dialogue That Works: @JerryBJenkins
Tips for better dialogue: @teaganberry

Writing Craft / Endings

An Unhappy Ending Is Just A Happy Ending That Gets Yanked Away: @CockeyedCaravan

Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story

4 Ways to Handle Backstory: @AndreaWriterlea

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

On the Accidental Origins of Beloved Books: @knownemily

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Why Literature and Pop Culture Still Can’t Get the Midwest Right: @aMandolinz @lithub
5 Tips for Creating First Dates for Your Characters: @lisajordan
Things Your Writing Teacher Never Told You: 9 Aspects of Story Promise: by Tina L. Jens @BlackGateDotCom

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

4 Part Story Structure for Fiction: @lornafaith
A Fun Way to Brainstorm Story Ideas: @Janice_Hardy
7 Ways You’re Treating Your Novel Like A Screenplay (And How To Stop): by Hannah Collins

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

How to Research and Write in a Way Your Fact-Checker Will Appreciate: by Megan Jones @maisonneuvemag
Stop Researching & Get Writing: by Lisa Lepki @ProWritingAid

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

AP Stylebook Updates: Singular ‘They’ Now Acceptable: @GrammarGirl
5 Errors in Noun-Verb Agreement: @writing_tips

Writing Craft / Revision

How to Edit Your Story Like a New York Publisher: @hodgeswriter
Editing Tips: 7 Smart Ways to Tighten Your Writing: @LisaTener

Writing Craft / Tension

How Do Authors Create Suspense in Writing? @AGHackney
5 Ways You Can Source Great Character Ideas: @Bang2write

Writing Craft / Tropes

5 Bad Tropes to Drop: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

10 Ways To Make Your Words More Beautiful: @10MinNovelists

Writing Tools / Apps

15 Productivity Apps to Help Keep Your Writing Goals on Track: by Wendy Dessler @ProWritingAid

Writing Tools / Resources

A tool for using the appropriate vocabulary in your novel: @GaiaBAmman
The 110 Best Apps, Tools and Resources for Writers in 2017: @geediting

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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Published on May 13, 2017 21:01

May 11, 2017

How I Came To Follow My Dream: A Personal Journey

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Published on May 11, 2017 21:02

May 7, 2017

Writing Routines: Rethinking What Works

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Routines are wonderful–until they’re not.

I’m a very routine-driven writer. Actually, I’m routine-driven, period. I’m a lot more productive when I can keep my malfunctioning brain out of my process…if I run on automatic pilot.

I think my changing routines will resonate with any writing parents.

When I had small children, my routine was to write while my son was in elementary school and my daughter was either watching Elmo’s World (she’d only watch 5 minutes of television) or napping. I’d get my daughter settled and then open up my laptop.

This worked well–until it didn’t. My daughter stopped taking naps, but she started with preschool. I could write (and do a million other things) while she was in school.

That, naturally, didn’t stay the routine for very long. Before I knew it, both of my children were in school and I was fitting in writing and editing and building an online platform for myself in between carpools and errands and other things.

Soon they were in different schools with different hours of operation. This meant a couple of different carpools. I learned to write while in carpool lines.

When they grew older and got up very early for school (the high school late bell is 7:20), I got up an hour before they did to work while the day was still fresh and full of possibilities. I found that, sometimes, days could be knocked dramatically off-course as the day went on.

We got a new corgi puppy on Friday. :) I have a feeling that, once again, my morning routines are going to be changing.

Finn

The point is that it’s good to evaluate what works every now and then. I used to think very self-limiting things: I can only work well in the mornings. But then I found the more flexible I could be with my schedule and my writing, the more I could get accomplished.

Over the years, I’ve asked myself:

Besides first thing in the morning (which always works for me), when else can I fit in writing time?

Am I too distracted at home? If so, is the library or a coffee shop better?

If I write later in the day, how does it go? Is it a good or a bad draft?

Do you ever change up what works? Has anyone else had dramatic changes in what works for them?

Writing routines: re-evaluating what works:
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Published on May 07, 2017 21:01

May 6, 2017

Twitterific Writing Links

Bluebird with beak open and 'Twitterific Writing Links' by ElizabethSCraig superimposed on the image

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and see the character and location name generators!

And…I have a new release! Cooking is Murder, Myrtle Clover #11, released yesterday.

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

How to Rescue a Book in Danger of Dying: @jennienash
4 Creativity Lessons We Can Learn from David Bowie’s Rich Artistic Career: @businessinrhyme
How to Use a Writer’s Intuition to Strike Creative Gold: @colleen_m_story

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

10 Transgressive Fairy Tales for Grown-Ups: @knownemily
A Brief Review of Walls in Literature: @cakesthebrain @The_Millions
10 Times Real Authors Appeared in Science Fiction & Fantasy Books: @jeffreysomers @BNBuzz

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

Stop Apologizing for the Delayed Response in Your Emails: @melissadahl

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / When to write

How to Create a Morning Writing Habit (video): @ingridsundberg

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

What To Do When Darkness Keeps You From Writing: @10MinNovelists

Creativity and Inspiration / Success

3 Surefire Ways to Validate Your Book Idea So It Will Sell: @DaveChesson

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

7 Useful Tips For Establishing A Writing Routine: @ClaireABradshaw
The Distracted Writer: @CamilleDiMaio @WomenWriters
Sleep deprivation and creativity: @CSLakin
What makes you a real writer? @Ava_Jae
9 Imaginary Gizmos For Writers Someone Needs To Hurry Up And Invent: @helpfulsnowman
5 Book-Themed Subscription Boxes: @RachelCarterYA @BookTrib

Genres / Fantasy

You Are Not George RR Martin: how to get published in the grimdark era of fantasy: @EdMcDonaldTFK
6 Tips for World Building in Your Fantasy: @Amberinblunderl @WritersDigest

Genres / Horror

How Resident Evil 7 Can Make You a Better Horror Writer: @GiveMeYourTeeth

Genres / Memoir

6 Points To Consider When Writing A Memoir: @thecreativepenn

Genres / Mystery

Writing a Murder Mystery: The Conflict Character: @woodwardkaren
Writing Small Town Cops: Do You Have Barney-Fife-itis? @LeeLofland
Your Character is Ambushed While in a Vehicle: Now What? @meconnick

Genres / Non-Fiction

5 Things Nonfiction Authors Can Get Sued For: by Brad Frazer @JaneFriedman

Genres / Poetry

Committing Prufrock: Poetry Memorization Tips & Memories: @SandraHeskaKing @tspoetry

Genres / Romance

3 Ways to Show That Your Character Is In Love: @BrynDonovan

Genres / Screenwriting

Screenwriting: Why ‘The Circle’ Struggles: @DatingCharacter
7 Ways Reality Would Ruin Famous Movie Scenes: @jmmcnabagain @cracked
Great Scene: “A Few Good Men”: @GoIntoTheStory

Genres / Short Stories

8 Reasons to Avoid the Novel and Focus on Short Stories: @brandontietz
Tips for Ending a Short Story: by Sara Kopeczky

Genres / Young Adult

New Crop of YA Novels Explores Race and Police Brutality: @xanalter @nytimes

Promo / Ads

Advertising For Authors: @pbackwriter @thecreativepenn

Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting

8 Book Description A/B Tests: by Ellie Redding @BookBub

Promo / Book Reviews

3 Amazon reader review myths: @sandrabeckwith

Promo / Miscellaneous

Author Marketing Plans: Why Yours Should Be Unique: @karinabilich

Promo / Platforms

Helpful Hacks to Build a Strong Online Brand: @JennyHansenCA

Promo / Podcasts

Podcasts for Writers, SFF, & More: @AuthorSAT

Promo / Social Media Tips

4 Basic Twitter Tips for Writers: @margmizu
How to Use Twitter to Drive More Traffic to Your Blog: by Andrew Pickering @SMExaminer

Promo / Websites

7 Ways to Speed Up Your Author Website: @karinabilich

Publishing / Miscellaneous

Tips for turning your books into audiobooks:
Industry Notes: Sisters in Crime’s Intl Competition; Fodor’s Ingram Distribution: @Porter_Anderson

Publishing / News / Data

‘Screen fatigue’ to blame for slide in e-reading? A ‘data challenged’ report: @Porter_Anderson @stevelotinga

Publishing / News / International Publishing

The IPA’s @michielams in China: ‘We Continue To Push the Literacy Agenda’ @Porter_Anderson
Industry Notes: Bulgaria’s ‘People’s Choice’ Winners;Book Curation and Recommendation Site: @Porter_Anderson
European Commission Makes Amazon Antitrust Commitments Official: @Porter_Anderson @vestager

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing

How to Land an Agent for a Self-Published Book: @JaneFriedman
What NOT To Do When Submitting to An Agent: @tessaemilyhall

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

Top 10 Reasons Why Your Submission May Be Rejected by an Agent: @BookEndsJessica
What an Editor at a Publishing House Looks For: 6 Myths & Truths: @parulmac @WriterUnboxed

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections

Dealing with rejection: by Michael Alvear @RomanceUniv

Publishing / Process / Formatting

How to Format a Book: 10 Tips Your Editor Wants You To Know: @batwood @thewritelife

Writing Craft / Beginnings

Tips for getting a Book Started: @aimiekrunyan
5 Story Openers to Avoid: @MissConstance21

Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists

5 Character Types That Make Great Antagonistic Forces: @10MinNovelists

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Character Development Through Music: @alisongmyers

Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists

What Does Your Protagonist Want? (And Why Can’t He Have It?) @LisaEBetz
How To Give Your Hero Some Personality: by Hannah Collins @standoutbooks
Characters Who Drive a Story: @JamiGold

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

The Most Common Entry-Level Mistake in the Writing Game: @storyfix @JaneFriedman

Writing Craft / Conflict

Tension vs. Conflict (Hint: They aren’t the Same Thing): @SeptCFawkes

Writing Craft / Dialogue

The Dos and Don’ts of Dialogue Tags: @HelenaFairfax

Writing Craft / Diversity

How To Write Better Diverse Characters: @Bang2write

Writing Craft / Drafts

Writing more effortlessly: @angee
Lit. fiction writer Ron Rash’s process: by Allison Futterman @TheWriterMag

Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story

7 Tips On How To Deal With Backstory: @patverducci

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

3 Reasons for Writers to Watch Hacksaw Ridge @SiouxR
Between Classes: 6 Novels About Young Women in College: @BerryFLW

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Is A Creative Writing Degree Worth Your Time (And Money)? by Hannah Collins @standoutbooks
How Long Should Your Book Be? 272 #1 Bestsellers Were Analyzed to Find Out: @bookinaboxco
Become a more intuitive writer: @RoseannaMWhite

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining

5 Steps to Building an Outline: @cgriffinauthor

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

3 Ways to Add Depth to a Novel: @JodyHedlund
What Does It Mean to Move the Plot? @KMWeiland

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

Medical Info for Writers: Injury Profiles: Sprained Ankle: @scriptmedic
Unconventional Research Sites for Writers: @WordDreams

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

5 Types of Conditionals: @writing_tips
To Capitalize or Not to Capitalize? @paperblanks

Writing Craft / Revision

The Emotional Roller Coaster Of Revisions: @FreshInkEdit
Surviving the Dank and Lonely Editing Cave: @LindseyMF @WomenWriters
Revision: Steps to Tame Your Novel: @emma_darwin
Are You Creating Complexity or Chaos in Your Writing? @ShannaSwendson

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

16 Questions About Body Language & Appearance For Your Character: @10MinNovelists
Storytelling Through Costume: The Woman in White: @gaileyfrey @tordotcom

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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Published on May 06, 2017 21:01

April 30, 2017

Remember the Little Things During Revision

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I read a lot of blog posts about revision and most of them are focusing on the big things: arc, character development, conflict, etc.

This is a post to remind writers about the little things.

As time has gone on and I’ve written more books, I’ve been much better about catching the small-but-important stuff–now, as I’m writing it in the first draft.

But it used to be something that my editors had to point out to me.

What are the little things? For me, they’re like tiny little plot holes. And frequently, they’re involved with a subplot instead of the main plot (for me, solving the murder mystery).

For example. Say you have a subplot involving a minor aggravation for your protagonist–something to make her feel tense and add to the general stresses she’s experiencing. Her lawnmower is broken and her yard is a disaster and she’s supposed to host a dinner party (where someone ends up dead).

The dinner party happens (with guests hiking through the underbrush to the front door). There’s a mysterious death. The sleuth investigates.

But at some point, her yard man comes by and heroically mows the yard.

The sleuth needs to interview her next door neighbor to get details on the deadly dinner party from a guest’s perspective.

If the next door neighbor makes no comment about the yard or if the sleuth doesn’t apologize about the terrible state the yard had previously been in…it just doesn’t add up.

These kinds of tiny plot holes are easy to create. If you’re like me, you can get very single-minded in terms of the main plot and want to focus exclusively on it.

Sometimes, to help juggle the bits and pieces, I keep a list of things that are happening in the background or off-stage in my story. And yes, these are random bits of story, but not mentioning them again can leave a reader with that ‘something isn’t tied up feeling.’ My list can include everything from ‘Puddin said she’d take up PT exercises’ to ‘Elaine’s new hobby is restoration’ to ‘the yard was a horrible mess and now looks a ton better.’ It can be helpful to make note of these things as you write them.

Do you ever have trouble remembering tiny bits of subplots? How do you manage them?

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Published on April 30, 2017 21:02

Expanding into Audio

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

When I was a traditionally-published author, I remember my frustration that I didn’t hold any audiobook rights.

My publisher held them, but never exploited them. And I regularly had readers asking if they could listen to my books.

When ACX first opened to independent authors, I jumped at the chance to have my self-published novels in audio format. The main thing that I was worried about was the cost. I was delighted to discover that I could choose an option where my only cost was to have my cover adapted into a square for audio. That’s the royalty-share option (more on that, below).

Since then, most of my self-published books are in audio. I get a nice amount of income each month–comparable to my US print sales each month.

Last year was a good year for audiobooks for traditional publishers, too. The Association of American Publishers reported that downloaded audio revenue was up 29.2%.

Even serialized reading platform Wattpad is getting into the audiobook game, partnering with Hachette to produce 50 audiobooks of their stories for a summer release.

There are a few questions you should ask yourself before diving into audiobooks.

Do you want to go through ACX (which distributes your audiobook to Audible, Amazon and iTunes) or someone else?

Do you want to try narrating your own book, or are you looking for a professional?

How long is your book (longer books will take longer to produce and a narrator would cost more if you paid upfront).

Will you pay your narrator upfront or choose a royalty share option?

If you’re leery about ACX (more on their rights grab and pricing control below), there are other options. Author’s Republic is becoming an increasingly popular choice. To learn more about what they offer, read this piece by Meaghan Sansom from Author’s Republic, guest posting on the blog for the Alliance of Independent Authors and this post on the same blog by writer Katherine Hayton with more details. I’ve also heard that some authors use CD Baby/Alliance CD . Mark Williams from the International Indie Author Facebook Group has mentioned considering opportunities in translation for foreign sales of audiobooks (ACX has this capability, as does Ubook (Mark states they operate out of Brazil and offer audiobooks in Portuguese and Spanish).

I’ve found the ACX process easy. You search for your book and claim it on their site. You verify you have the audio rights. Then you submit your book for auditions (you’ll provide a page or two for the auditioning narrators). ACX will ask you to choose the type of voice you’re looking for. You’ll state if you’re looking for a royalty share arrangement or will pay upfront. If you’re looking for a royalty share, it’s important to know that the risk is on the narrator’s end…it’s a huge time investment for them to narrate. If your book is less of a risk (is successful, is part of a successful series), that’s good to state in your pitch in the ‘additional comments’ section. ACX will notify you via email when you’ve received auditions. You’ll listen and choose a narrator. The contract is a standard electronic version that ACX creates (you fill in certain stipulations: payment arrangements (by the hour or royalty share), deadlines for completion, etc. All business is conducted through ACX’s message system/portal. The narrators function as producers–they edit and upload the audiobook for review.

ACX does hold onto our rights for seven years and they do control pricing. Those are the downsides. With my royalty share agreements, I split my royalties 50-50 with my narrator. But if I hadn’t chosen the royalty-share, I wouldn’t have any audiobooks at all…and now I receive regular income from ACX.

More information on getting on ACX in this post of mine from 2013 (the only thing that’s really changed is the stipend program–that’s either completely suspended or greatly reduced).

Have you considered releasing your books as audiobooks? Are you an audiobook listener? If your books are in audio format, what are your thoughts so far?

Turning Your Books Into Audiobooks:
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Published on April 30, 2017 21:01

April 29, 2017

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and see the character and location name generators!

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

Content in Digital Times (from the #PubTechConnect Conference); @Porter_Anderson

10 Empowering Writers’ Retreats for Women: @ElenTurner

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

3 Ways Non-Fiction Helps Creativity: @chicklitgurrl

“How I Kept Writing After My Muse Died”: @khsavage

Top 10 Underrated Soundtracks for Creative Inspiration: @TjadenSylvester

6 Writing Tips to Learn From Theater: @Magic_Violinist

7 Big Reasons to Finish Writing Your Novel: @lornafaith

5 Ways to Make Writing Prompts Work For You: @StoryADayMay @DIYMFA

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

How to use Active Reading to Become a Better Writer: by Jed Herne @ProWritingAid

How to use Active Reading to Become a Better Writer: by Jed Herne @ProWritingAid

50 Shades Of Shakespeare: How The Bard Used Food As Racy Code: by Anne Bramley @NPR

Why you should read books you hate: @pubcoach @PamelaPaulNYT

These Books Were Once Considered “Classics” But Are Now Largely Forgotten: @PassiveVoiceBlg @maddy_efff

Industry Notes:Europeana Opens ‘Literary Tour’;Trio in UK Opens Literary Events Consultancy: @Porter_Anderson

Creativity and Inspiration / Perfectionism

Chasing Perfection as a Writer: @p2p_editor

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

4 Ways Writers Can Be Productive When Their Energy Sags: @CSLakin

Can Twitter Help You Finish Your Book? @LindaKSienkwicz

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

4 Top Tips to Overcome Your Fear of Writing: @BadRedheadMedia

6 Ways to Transition Out of Writer’s Block: @KathrynR47

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly

10 Crafty Ways to Hit 1,000 Words Per Hour: by Linda Formichelli @smartbloggerhq

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

The Health Risks Of Being A Writer: @RobinStorey1

Are You Writing The Wrong Thing? Life and Focus for Writers: @katekrake

Why You Need Guts To Write The Good Stuff: @Bang2write

How to Develop Relationships with Other Writers: @WriteOnOnline

How to Keep Writing When Others Stomp on Your Dreams: @colleen_m_story

Writing About Suffering: @KatMGraves

5 Reasons Fellow Writers Are Essential to Your Writing Life: @jessicastrawser @WritersDigest

3 sobering facts about being a writer: @jasonbougger

How To Take A Compliment: @dawnafinch

5 Scientifically Verified Reasons You’ll Hate Yourself if You Stop Writing: @ChadRAllen

6 Tips to Help Writers Function at Their Peak: @CSLakin

Questions Readers Most Frequently Ask Writers: @SeptCFawkes

Keep a Positivity Journal: @WriteNowCoach

Librarians of the 21st Century: Worst Story Time Ever? (Or Best?) @guybrarian @lithub

Quick Decisive Moves That Will Help You Get Organized: @10MinNovelists

Genres / Fantasy

Is Winter In Fantasy Always Evil? @NicolaAlter

5 Underused Settings in Spec Fic: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants

Five Redundant Characters in Spec Fic: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants

Genres / Horror

Why Are We Acting Like Smart, Socially Conscious Horror is Something New? @FreddyInSpace

7 Dracula Adaptations That Totally Change the Story: by Nathaniel Brehmer @WickedHorrorTV

Genres / Literary Fiction

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Interpreted by Italian Illustrators: @balbusso_twins @porter_anderson

Genres / Memoir

How to Write Your Memoir with Fun, Easy Lists: @cdetler

Genres / Mystery

A Murder-Scene Checklist: @LeeLofland

The Structure of a Murder Mystery in 5 Acts: @woodwardkaren

How Murder Mysteries Differ from Other Kinds of Stories: @woodwardkaren

Sounds as clues and red herrings in crime fiction: @mkinberg

5 Comics Every Crime Writer Needs To Read: @repokempt @LitReactor

Familial estrangement as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg

Genres / Non-Fiction

Epistolary Lit: 8 Nonfiction Books Written in the Form of Letters: @TobiasCarroll

Genres / Poetry

37 Common Poetry Terms: @robertleebrewer

Genres / Romance

Planning the Perfect Love Triangle: @Roz_Morris

61 favorite romantic quote from literature: @Astrohaus

Genres / Screenwriting

Screenwriting: Documentary Writing: by Alan Goforth @CreativeScreen

Genres / Short Stories

What’s Important in Writing Short Stories: @ZoeMMcCarthy

Genres / Young Adult

16 YA Authors Discuss Being Autistic, Dealing with Guilt, and More: @ABoredAuthor

Promo / Back matter

Your Author Bio: Does it Help Sales or Stop them Dead? @annerallen

Promo / Blogging

Filtering out spammers who want to guest blog for us: @pokercubster

Blogging tips from @thecreativepenn : @TheWriterMag

Promo / Book Reviews

Why Getting Great Reviews Is Your Job: @FrugalBookPromo @TheIWSG

Responding to Reviews and Comments:

Promo / Book Signings and Launch parties

Book Tour Tips: @theladygreer @WriterUnboxed

Promo / Connecting with Readers

How to Attract New Readers with the Author Playlist Strategy: @BuildYourBrandA

Promo / Miscellaneous

Top 5 SWAG Picks for Every Author: @K8Tilton

How to Setup Amazon Author Central and Your Author Page: @ValBreitEditor

5 Creative Ways to Market Your New Book: by Cassie Phillips @WhereWritersWin

Amazon Keywords to Increase Sales and Pull in New Readers: @Bookgal

6 Ways to Market Your Book: @lornafaith

Promo / Platforms

Author Platform Success Plan: @loishoffmanDE

4 Must-Haves for Your Author Platform: @BuildYourBrandA

Promo / Social Media Tips

From Fun to Serious: Using Pinterest Differently: @CaballoFrances

3 Unconventional Ways To Use Social Media To Effectively Find Your Readers: @thecreativepenn

Promo / Speaking

Create an Awesome Marketing Plan: Media and Speaking: @Melissa_Tagg @NovelRocket

Promo / Video

3 Ways to Create a Video Studio on Any Budget: by Peter Gartland @SMExaminer

Promo / Websites

9 Things Authors Need On Their Landing Pages: @KarenDimmick

Publishing / Miscellaneous

Submitting Book Excerpts to Small Publications: A Success Story: @writeabook

Debating Academic Books and Digital Dynamics: @MarkPiesing

The Deep Space of Digital Reading:why we shouldn’t worry about leaving print behind: @poissel

Zines: Dead Or Alive? @helpfulsnowman

Publishing fights for readers’ attentions: ‘Is consumer service the strategy?’: @Porter_Anderson @wischenbart

Indie Bookstore Day : 7 stores to enjoy: @My_poetic_side

5 Tips for Successful Audiobooks: @RichardRieman

Publishing / News / Data

‘From data-charged business to a library centered on a community’s needs: @Porter_Anderson

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Industry Notes: New £20,000 ‘Kindle Storyteller’ Award; BookCon Announces Panels: @Porter_Anderson

International Publishers Association Issues Freedom to Publish Manifesto: @Porter_Anderson @IntPublishers

Warsaw Book Fair Welcomes This Year’s Guest of Honor: Germany: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

‘How Can We Make Schools More Digital?’ Digital Education in Germany: @Porter_Anderson @benjuschkin

Arabic Literature: Kalimat’s First Decade of Publishing in the UAE: @Porter_Anderson @Bodour

Saudi Author Mohammaed Hasan Alwan Wins 2017 Intl Prize for Arabic Fiction @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

‘Writing and art…bring(s) us together’: Interview with Award Winner Mohammed Hasan Alwan: @Porter_Anderson

Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing

‘Fake News’ In Self-Publishing: @JFbookman

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

Submitting to Literary Agents Who Have Already Rejected Your Work: @Kid_Lit

Making Lemonade Out of 100 Query Rejections: @bethhararwrites

8 Troubleshooting Tips For Writers Struggling to Find a Literary Agent: @sarahannjuckes

Publishing / Process / Book Design

Make the Most of Your Book Back Cover With These Tips: @NewShelvesBooks

From brief to book: A guide to book illustration for beginners: @CreativeBloq

Publishing / Process / Translation

Translation as Activism: by Jennifer-Naomi Hofmann @lithub

Writing Craft / Beginnings

Create Mystery, Not Confusion, in the Opening: @jamesscottbell

Use Powerful Hooks To Snag a Reader: @jenniferprobst

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Creating a Dynamic Character for your Novel or Short Story : @ReedsyHQ

Character Motivations vs Morals: @AuthorSAT

What Fiction Writers Can Learn From Hamilton’s Character Flaws: by Rachel Randall @WritersDigest

How To Write An Awesome Lone Wolf Character: @Bang2write

Using Conflict to Form Character: @scriptmag

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

Emotion vs Feeling: @DavidCorbett_CA

Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists

12 Traits for a Lovable Hero: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

9 Simple Tips for Writing With Clarity: @monicamclark

6 Bad Habits You Can Write Without: @paulaahicks

Why Readers Quit: No Flaw: @DavidHSafford

Writing Craft / Diversity

What a Sensitivity Reader Is (and Isn’t) and How to Hire One: @NataliaSylv

Creating Diversity from Generic White Script: @WritingwColor

Writing Craft / Drafts

You Know More than You Think, So Trust the Process: @LDoyleOwens @WomenWriters

9 tips to fast drafting a novel: @RachelHauck

Writing Craft / Endings

Why Closure is Important in Cliffhangers: @millie_ho

Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story

Rules for Flashbacks: @CockeyedCaravan

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

In Praise of the Bossy Big Sisters in Fiction: @erikawynn @lithub

Before Arrival: appreciating Story Of Your Life by Ted Chiang: @Roz_Morris

The Primal and Mythical Allure of Beauty and the Beast: @mariamtatar @SignatureReads

Top 10 novels on rural America: by Emily Ruskovich @GuardianBooks

Writing Craft / Literary Devices

Writing More Meaningful Symbolism: @millie_ho

Why You Should Be Able to State Your Story’s Theme in One Sentence: @KathyEdens1

The Expansion of a Theme: @Scott_Thought

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

The Writer’s Guide to Time Travel: @amabaie

How to Get Violence Right in Your Fiction: @FredBobJohn @JaneFriedman

Tips for Engaging the Reader: @AJHumpage

What’s So Bad About the Advice, “Write What You Know”? @10MinNovelists

6 Secrets To Writing A Thrilling Argument: @standoutbooks

1 Writer’s Writing Process: From Idea to Published Book: @ElizabethHeiter @WomenWriters

8 Ways to Become an Even Better Writer: @alioop7

Co-Writing a Novel: @JasonMHough

Compound Bows vs. Crossbows: Which is Better for Fiction Writing? @benjaminsobieck

Top 10 Rules Writers Love To Hate: @Bang2write

Teaching Writing: Shaking Up Personal Narrative: @rdgtchr13

Is There Such A Thing As A Good MacGuffin? @standoutbooks

The 6 Best Things About Mother/Daughter Bonds in Writing: @kathyhpbooks

Writing Short or Going Long? @Lindasclare

How to Land a Column Writing Gig: by Gayla Grace @hopeclark

Prologues and Epilogues – Is There a Point to Them? @HelenaFairfax

Writing Craft / Pacing

Learn How to Pace Your Story in 8 Steps: @KMWeiland

Writing Craft / POV

Storyteller’s Rulebook: Breaking Limited POV? Do It Early, Often Enough, and Briefly: @CockeyedCaravan

Omniscient 3rd Person: “Folksy Narrator/ Storyteller” by Tina L. Jens @BlackGateDotCom

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming

Storyteller’s Rulebook: Name as Few Characters as Possible: @CockeyedCaravan

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

Writing a Story or Novel Based on One Emotion: @wickerkat

Creating a Strong Moral Premise for Our Story: @JamiGold

3 Tips For Creating Better Plots: @angee

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

3 Cases of Superfluous Semicolons: @writing_tips

7 Types of Punctuation Errors: @writing_tips

Writing Craft / Revision

10 Writing Fillers To Cut Right Now: @Bang2write

Purple Prose: What It Is and How to Exterminate It: @woodwardkaren

Quality Control—After the Editor @francessbrown @womenonwriting

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

A Writing Group that Works: @judyfogarty

Writing Craft / Series

Creating an Irresistible Series: @Haven4Writers

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

Writing Character Descriptions That Work: @aliventures

How description works in our stories: @PBRWriter

Storytelling Through Costume: The Badass Black Tank Top: @gaileyfrey

Writing Craft / World-Building

Five Worldbuilding Mistakes Even Enthusiasts Make: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants

Writing Tools / Apps

Google Docs for Novel Writing: @WilliamKing9

Writing Tools / Miscellaneous

Low-tech Tools for Writers: @BillFerris

Writing Tools / Thesauri

Character Motivation Thesaurus Entry: Pursuing Justice For Oneself or Others: @beccapuglisi

Uncategorized

RT @Hiveword: Track *anything* in the Hiveword Plus novel organizer with custom types and fields. #writing #amwriti…

How to End Books in a Series: @p2p_editor

The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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Published on April 29, 2017 21:01

April 27, 2017

Confidence is Key to Eliminating Writer’s Block

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @Elizabethscraig

When I hit rough patches (and I do nearly every book), I keep going without feeling blocked. That’s because I’ve done it before. Every couple of books I seem to hit a major issue. It becomes less of an issue because I realize I can power through it. Whether I fix the issue then or fix it in the draft, I know it will be fixed. I know that the story will end up turning out fine.

This is true in other arts, as well. I saw an interesting video that Open Culture posted online. It depicts legendary B.B. King, with the confidence of a lifetime of performing, changing out a broken guitar string in the middle of a performance at the Live Aid concert in the mid-eighties. Without missing a beat, he fixed his broken string in front of a crowd of 80,000 people.

At the same time I was watching the video, I was in the middle of reading actor Bryan Cranston’s autobiography, A Life in Parts. He echoed what I’d noticed with the B.B. King performance (p. 133) about the importance of confidence as a professional artist:

“This whole business is a confidence game. If you believe it, they’ll believe it. If you don’t believe it, neither will they. Today, when I’m in the position as a director to hire actors, I don’t feel entirely comfortable hiring someone who doesn’t emit confidence. If an actor comes in, and I feel flop sweat and need from them, there is almost no chance I will hire them. Not because they are untalented, but because they haven’t yet come to the place where they trust themselves, so how can I trust they’ll be able to do the job with a sense of ease? Confidence is king.”

What if you don’t have confidence through experience? What if you’re not yet at the point, as Cranston says, that you trust yourself?

The obvious answer is to continue writing. But I think that other things can help, too.

Keep reading and see how other writers succeed and fail (especially in your genre).

Note your successes each day to make your progress easier to track.

Finish what you start writing. This helps build confidence that you can at least finish a book, even if it requires major revision.

Have you developed confidence in your writing ability?

Self-confidence is key to beating writer's block:
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Published on April 27, 2017 21:02

April 23, 2017

Responding to Reviews and Comments

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

One of the most awkward things about being a writer is handling reviews and reader comments.

The rule of thumb is to never reply or comment on reviews: good, bad, or indifferent. In many cases, this is my own personal policy (I list exceptions below). Reviews are for other potential readers, not usually intended for the author. Responding to reviews is a special kind of author intrusion. And authors, especially responding to a poor review, can come across as argumentative.

But a recent post by Crystal Otto on the Women on Writing blog made me reconsider my policy, at least in terms of book bloggers.

In the post, she states: “Feedback is so important. The best way to say thank you to an author is to leave a review. As authors we can encourage this behavior by in-turn thanking the reviewer. I often receive a thank you or a ‘like’ on Amazon after reviewing a book or product. Do you make this a common practice in your writing life?” (Emphasis hers.)

She wrote a thoughtful post with many good points. I try to practice gratitude both professionally and personally, but her article was an excellent reminder.

Customer Reviews on Retail Sites

My policy for customer reviews on retail sites is usually to leave them completely alone unless the reviewer is asking for a comment from me (in which case I carefully consider my options).

I collect especially-day-brightening reviews in my Evernote folder for tough writing days. And I learn from the critical ones.

Book Blogger Reviews

In the past, if I’ve had a book blogger ping me online about a review they’d written, I’d thank them on social media and share it on my Facebook page.

If I wasn’t pinged, I usually a) didn’t know about it (unfortunately, Google alerts pick up a lot on me because I’m active on Twitter and I don’t have time to comb through it all) or b) didn’t feel comfortable responding if I did happen across it. Again, I feel as if blog reviews are from book bloggers to readers and not to me. But I’d share the post on social media and thank the reviewer (just not on their blog).

Crystal Otto’s post is making me reconsider this policy, though. If I leave a comment, I’ll keep it to a standard “thanks so much for reading and reviewing my book,” whether it’s a good review or a bad one.

Reader Comments on Reading Platforms Like Wattpad

Sometimes the comments in Wattpad are almost like marginalia…they seem intended for the reader by the reader. They’re personal notes.

Sometimes the comments seem directed to other readers.

But the comments that are directed to me, I always respond to: Wattpad is an interactive writing and reading community.

Comments on Social Media

Goodreads: Unless it’s an Ask the Author, I leave it completely alone. This is not a community that handles author intrusion well.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. : These are the places to be chatty with readers. Just very carefully chatty. It’s easy for comments to be misunderstood online, even with the use of emojis. And things we write online are forever. I frequently ask myself if a comment is something I’d be happy with my future grandchildren or great-grandchildren reading. Because it’s there for the long haul.

Emails

The only time I’m 100% comfortable responding to readers is through email. I’ve carefully responded to readers who have written me to both criticize and praise my writing (sometimes in the same email). I’ve given estimates as to when I should finish my next book (and remind them it’s easy to sign up for Amazon’s author updates and/or my newsletter for future updates).

For me, this has been the safest approach to handling reviews and reader comments. But I’m curious to hear from you. How do you handle reviews and comments on retailers, book blogs, and social media?

Responding to reviews, comments, and more:
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Published on April 23, 2017 21:02