Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 93
February 26, 2017
Why I’m Turning Trad-Pub Deals Down
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve been asked by writers and others if I’d ever query traditional publishers again.
As a matter of fact, I’ve gotten queried by traditional publishers a couple of times in the past year. I’m not really sure why, since there now seem to be many cozy writers out there. I’ve politely rejected them.
It’s not that I had a bad trad-pub experience. It’s just that I’ve had a better self-pub experience.
Reasons I’ve decided to stick with self-publishing:
I make more money writing independently of a publisher. This is by far the top reason. I even made more self-publishing a few books than I did with more traditionally published books on the shelves.
I exploit all my rights and publish my book in a variety of formats or internationally. I can expand my reach to find more readers. Publishers frequently hold onto your international, audio book rights, etc.
I can make changes to my self-published books. Sometimes I’ll hear from readers about formatting or typos in my trad-published books…and it’s very frustrating knowing there’s nothing I can do.
I can make changes to my online profiles at the retailers and distributors I deal directly with. I had to deal with a lot of red tape to even get my photo up on Penguin Random House’s site last week. I was stunned to find it wasn’t up there. After all, I’ve written for the publisher since 2010 and my photo was available to them for the backs of the books.
The only reason I was able to jump through the hoops and get the picture uploaded was because an employee at Penguin for the Berkley imprint went above and beyond the call of duty as a conduit between me and the art department. My Memphis books aren’t listed or linked to on the page…they’re stranded in some sort of Nowhere Land without an author bio or picture, but at this point I don’t have the time to deal with it. Plus, my Riley Adams profile there has no bio or picture.
I can run promotions on books with lagging sales. I can make a book free. I can give a book away to gain newsletter subscribers (and then inform them of new releases for later sales gains). I can run quick weekend sales to make my books more visible on retail sites.
I can devote all my time and best ideas to the series that will pay me best. If I wrote an additional series for a trade publisher, I wouldn’t have as much time to devote to my other series. I felt at the end of my traditional publishing that I was saving my best ideas for my ‘own’ books.
I don’t feel the need to prove anything. Originally, it did feel good to be validated by a gatekeeper…I was a newer writer and I needed that. Now, I prefer reader validation. It’s ultimately more valuable.
I have price control. If I switched back to traditional publishing, my readers would experience higher prices for my new books and they’d be emailing me to ask me why.
I can choose my book covers. I got lucky with the covers I had from Penguin Random House. But going from complete creative control over the covers back to no control (they did always ask me what I thought of a cover before they signed off on it, but if I hadn’t liked it, I’m not sure they’d have pulled it/reworked it) would be challenging.
I can release books when I want. There could be large gaps between books: more than a year. Now I can release a couple of books in the same series in a year’s time, if I like.
There were also certain things about traditional publishing that I just didn’t like. For one, I didn’t like losing my editors to layoffs, etc. This meant I was an ‘orphaned’ writer whose series would likely not get renewed.
I didn’t like the contracts that I was seeing with non-compete clauses. I didn’t like being offered digital-only contracts later in the game.
What do you like about self-publishing? Or, to hear the other side, what draws you to traditional publishing?
Photo via Visualhunt.com
Why I'm Turning Trad-Pub Offers Down:
Click To Tweet
The post Why I’m Turning Trad-Pub Deals Down appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
February 25, 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 39,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
Business / Miscellaneous
How to Make a Living Writing: 10 Tips: @annerallen
Practicing Personal Cyber Security: @debluskin
Key UK Self-Publisher @thecreativepenn Opens a Small Press: @Porter_Anderson
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
‘London Book & Screen Week has events scheduled all over the British capital, March 13-19’: @Porter_Anderson
Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting
7 Tools for Keeping Your Writing Resolutions: @missriki
10 Tips to Start Writing (or Exercising) Again: @monicamclark
3 steps to writing well in 2017: @RuthanneReid
4 Tips for Getting Organized and Meeting Your Writing Goals: @ceciliaedits
Stuck on a Writing Goal? Use the Past to See the Way Forward: @jan_ohara
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
Why You Shouldn’t Copy the Masters: by Kathy Edens @ProWritingAid
3 Reasons Why Writers Should Read Voraciously: @KelsieEngen
Creativity and Inspiration / Miscellaneous
4 Ways to Use Creativity in Crazy Times: @carolyn_greg
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Dream Big And Work Small, Even in 10 Minute Increments: @10MinNovelists
When a good stopping place is a bad starting place: @emma_darwin
47 Resources for People Who Love Writing but Can’t Find the Time: @smartbloggerhq
3 Fun Ways To Use The 2-Minute Rule To Write A Book: @angee
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
How to Fire up a Stalled Novel: @WritetoDone
Keeping a Productive Writing Routine During Dark Times: @lancerubinparty @MartinaABoone
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
5 Qualities Every Serious Writer Needs to Possess: @tessaemilyhall
8 Things Future Best-Selling Authors Are Doing Right Now: @10MinNovelists
On Selling Your First Novel After 11 Years: @minjinlee11 @lithub
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Dealing with depression and the solitary nature of writing: @dawnafinch
How to Get Out of the “I Don’t Want to Write” Funk: @colleen_m_story
9 Places to Meet Writers and Start Building Your Network: @MelindaFriesen
3 Strategies for Thriving in the Ever-Changing Writing World: @thecreativepenn
Genres / Fantasy
Tips for Writing Magic: by Tripping the Write Fantastic
Gender and Stereotyping in Fantasy: @Leo_Cristea
Genres / Horror
The 16 Most Anticipated Horror Books of 2017: @GiveMeYourTeeth
3 Productivity Tips To Try: @cathryanhoward
8 of the Worst Decisions Ever Made in Horror Movies: @TracedThurman
Genres / Memoir
Memoir Bytes: When Private Moments are No Longer Private: @pokercubster
5 Lessons to Be Learned While Writing a Memoir: @sheilakohler
Genres / Mystery
Group dynamics as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Crime-Solving Methods: A Pocket Guide: @LeeLofland
Crime fiction where the sleuth tries to prevent a murder: @mkinberg
5 Must-Haves for the Perfect Sleuth: @IngridThoft
Crime Writing: So, You Want To Be A Detective? @LeeLofland
Genres / Poetry
Free Rare Recordings of Burroughs, Bukowski, Ginsberg in New Digital Archive: @openculture @mica
Genres / Romance
Deconstructing Dark Romance: @janejordan1 @JordonMGreene
Heat Levels in Romance: @lansi26
Writing a Relationship Your Readers Will Ship: from Daily Writing Tips
Genres / Short Stories
3 Tips To Sell More Novels Via Short Stories: @angee
Promo / Blogging
The bottom line on blog stats: @sugarbeatbc
17 Easy Ways to Get Your Blog Flying High: @MarshaIngrao
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
The Perfect Back Cover Blurb: @SophieMasson1
Promo / Book Reviews
Moving Past A Negative Review: @Bookgal
Promo / Book Signings and Launch parties
How various authors sign books: @robertleebrewer @WritersDigest
7 Essentials for Your Book Launch: @KMWeiland
Promo / Box Sets
Creating a Print Book Box Set: @MarcyKennedy
Promo / Miscellaneous
How To Identify Your Manuscript’s Target Market: @Magzdozza
Creating a Sell Sheet: @JudithBriles
How To Make Your Book Permafree (and why you’d want to): @KhaosFoxe
How To Get A Shiny Series Page On Amazon: @KhaosFoxe
Promo / Social Media Tips
4 Ways to Promote Your Books on Social Media: by Michelle Polizzi @SMExaminer
17 More Things Indie Authors can Share on Social Media: @Bookgal
13 Social Media Trends To Watch In 2017: @Writers_Write
Promo / Speaking
Advice for Writers Who Hate Public Speaking, But Have to Do It: @andymolinsky
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Little Free Library Design Competition Announces International Winners: @Porter_Anderson
Intl. notes on accessing the Chinese scholarly market and launch of a medical ref. site: @Porter_Anderson
Managing Rights in Customized Publishing: Risk and Reward: @Porter_Anderson
German Book Prize Names 2017 Jury: Nominations Are Ongoing: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
International Books Headed to London Book Fair’s Rights Center: @Porter_Anderson
Draft2Digital is Adding Kobo Plus as a Distribution Option. Smashwords is Not: @thDigitalReader
Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing
The Joy of Writing Whatever the Heck You Want: @jamesscottbell
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing
When your agent won’t tell you where your project is/has been: @Janet_Reid
How to Navigate Today’s Publishing Industry: Charting Your Course: @tessaemilyhall
Publishing / Process / Book Design
Elements of Style: CSS for Ebooks: by David Kudler @JFbookman
Publishing / Process / Formatting
How To Format An Ebook Using Scrivener: @KhaosFoxe
Writing Craft / Beginnings
How to Begin a Novel: 7 Steps to Captivating First Chapters: @nownovel
Real Life Diagnostics: Are the Stakes Clear in This Opening? @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
Use Your Antagonist To Define Your Story Goal: @Writers_Write
Writing Craft / Characters / Arc
How to Craft a Character-Driven Story: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
4 Keys to Writing Archetypal Characters: by Alanna J. Jordan @mythicscribes
How to Find Your Character’s Voice: @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion
Emotional Depth – Putting the Spark in Your Story: @rachaeldthomas
Writing Craft / Characters / Supporting Characters
4 Core Components of an Awesome Sidekick Character: @RobinRWrites
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
1 writer figured out what was wrong with her novel and how to fix it: by A. Howitt @mythicscribes
Story is more important than structure: @readstevenjames @TheIWSG
The Single Largest Problem of Most First Time Novels: @KristenLambTX
Writing Craft / Diversity
Stereotyped vs Nuanced Characters and Audience: by Colette at Writing With Color
Writing Craft / Humor
6 Reasons No One Is Laughing At Your Humorous Writing: @10MinNovelists
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
7 Representations of the Deadly Sins in Fiction: by Stubby the Rocket @tordotcom
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
3 Reasons You Don’t Need Experience to Write a Great Story: @bradtaylorbooks @SignatureReads
The 4 Elements of Storytelling: @daveBricker
What Being an Editor Teaches About Writing: @annapitoniak @lithub
5 Things Psychology Can Teach Writers: @AngelaAckerman
Pixar & Khan Academy Offer a Free Online Course on Storytelling: @openculture @AyunHalliday
Fictionalizing Your Real-Life Story: @SPressfield
How Storytelling Makes You A Stronger Writer: @isekhmet
15 of the Best YouTube Channels for Writers: @CordeliaCallsIt
Don’t Write Time Travel (Unless You Do It Right): @helpfulsnowman
Planting the Clues and Hints in Your Story: @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / POV
Narrative Point of View in Storytelling: @WritingForward
Perception and How to Identify POV Leaps: @Jordanrosenfeld
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
How to find your novel’s structure: by Jack Smith @TheWriterMag
Organic Progress: by Shawn Coyne
Plotting – What Happens Next? by Aaron Miles @FantasyFaction
Weaving Storyboards–Which Is Your Dominant Story? @writeabook
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
3 More Rules for Producing Consistent Content: @writing_tips
3 Cases of Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Confusion: @writing_tips
Writing Craft / Revision
12 Contemporary Writers on How They Revise: @knownemily
Editing Tips: Top 3 Story Issues: @NaomiLHughes @JamiGold
How to Question Your Story’s Logic: @alyssa__holly
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
A Good Writing Critique Is Hard to Find: @Lindasclare
Ultimate Guide: How To Work With Beta Readers: @ClaireABradshaw
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
How Much Description Do You Need in Your Writing? @katekrake
Writing Craft / Tension
Why a bad day makes for a good story: @p2p_editor
Conflict in fiction: @jasonbougger
From my Blog
Top Time Savers for Book Production – by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig This is the third post in my seri…
Making a Living Writing: Ten Tips – by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig Is it possible to make a living wri…
Organization: Top Time Savers – by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig This is the last post of the time savin…
The top writing links of the week are on Twitterific:
Click To Tweet
The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
February 23, 2017
Organization: Top Time Savers
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
This is the last post of the time saving series. You can find the first post here (on social media), post two here (on saving time writing), and the third post here (on book production). Today, I’m focusing on general organization. I’ve found if I’m better organized, I can free up more time for writing.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve got tons of information to organize and work through. It could be writing craft posts. It could be research for your book. It could be ideas and images for blog posts.How do you store this information so that you can easily access it?
I use a couple of different tools for organizing information: one is Evernote and the other is OneNote. Both are free (Evernote has a paid version if you’re an especially heavy user). This post will include both the writing-related and personal uses of the apps because, in my house at least, if I’m not organized with both home and writing it impacts my writing time.
I’ve been using both for so long that I don’t want to combine data into just one of the apps, although that would work well, too. I’ve also liked dividing up information between the two applications.
I tend to use OneNote to store text. I store all types of documents in OneNote, from my kids’ school transcripts, to vet visit info, to book-related information and research. I scan all those bits and pieces of paper that come into our house from doctor appointments, school, etc. and put them up on OneNote, which is searchable. In most cases, I’m able to get rid of the bits and pieces of paper afterward.
For Evernote, I save things from the web (and I know I’m underutilizing it. It’s even got integration with Google Drive now). This includes the writing craft posts that I refer to again and again, but it also includes a large collection of recipes (divided into favorites, things to try, low-fat, gluten-free, etc.) I save online receipts for Christmas purchases there, divided by family member: last year, for instance, I had Christmas 2016 and a note for each person I’ve purchased for, including the receipts and websites I used. I’ve been doing this since 2012 and it’s been a great way not only to track what I’ve given people, it’s also a good way to get ideas for future gifts for them (maybe they’ve run out of their favorite treat, maybe the guest towels I gave them in 2012 are tired out by now). I keep vacation planning research there, too.
For both applications, I can access my notes remotely, on my phone. This is great for when I’m writing on the go or when I’m at the grocery store and can’t remember the ingredients for the meal I’m cooking that night.
Besides using apps to stay organized, I’m also using task batching to save time and increase productivity. For blogging, I’ll set aside time to brainstorm blog post ideas. Then I’ll set aside time another day to find and alter images for posts. Another day I’ll organize my blog’s editorial calendar. Sometime later, I’ll write or at least draft several posts. By putting myself in the mindset and then doing a ‘batch’ of similar work, it helps me to stay focused and more productive. For more information about task batching, read this post by Jennifer Mattern: “How I Use Task Batching to be a More Productive Writer.”
What are some of your tips and apps for staying organized and more productive?
Tips and resources for better organization:
Click To Tweet
The post Organization: Top Time Savers appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
February 19, 2017
Making a Living Writing: Ten Tips
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Is it possible to make a living writing?
It definitely is…but if only it were easier!
Hope you’ll hop over to Anne R. Allen’s blog where I’ll outline ten tips for making a living as a writer .
Photo via Visual Hunt
The post Making a Living Writing: Ten Tips appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
February 18, 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 39,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Mystery Thriller Week Begins Today: Online Calendar of Events: @MTW_2017
Authors: Think Twice Before Paying to Exhibit at Book Expo (BEA): @JaneFriedman
Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting
7 Debut Novelists on Their 2017 Resolutions: @knownemily
What is your creative intention? @DanBlank
Plan a Sustainable Year for Your Writing Life: @annkroeker
Setting more effective goals: @Writerology
5 Steps to More Achievable Goals: @jeffelk
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
Author and Reporter @TamaraLush Boards Amtrak for Continent-Wide Residency: @Porter_Anderson
Top 10 Ways To Beat Insecurity (At Least Temporarily!): @10MinNovelists
A Challenge to Writers: The Balance Between Dreaming and Working @AnnieNeugebauer
‘You get an idea and… it just grows’ – interview with @Roz_Morris
3 Ways for Writers to Use Deadlines: @astoryofmemory
5 Habits To Spark Your Creativity in 2017: @cathysbaker
Want More Creative Breakthroughs? A Step-by-Step Guide: @ahhensel @foxcabane @JudahThinks
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Quotes
How To Become a Good Writer: 50 Quotes From The Greats: @WritetoDone
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
10 Things Every Reader Should Do in 2017: @Gabino_Iglesias
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
How to trigger your writing routine: @Eva_Bec
How To Fit Writing Into Your Time-Crunched Life: @10MinNovelists
How To Carve Out Time For Writing Without Losing Sleep: @ThePaigeDuke
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
How to Keep Writing When You Feel Inadequate: @Chef_BoyarDEJI
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
The ABCs of Becoming a Super-Productive Writer: @CSLakin
The Pomodoro Technique and Productive Writing Time: @JessDarb
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Why Won’t (Insert Name Here) Read My Book? @SheerHubris
3 Things You Can’t Teach About Writing: @colleen_m_story
The Writer Workout: 11 Minutes Keeping Your Word Count High and Your Calories Low: by It’s a Writer Thing
The Genreless Freedom—and Subsequent Power—of Journals: @jrc2666
Best Ways to Stay Protected Online as a Self-Employed Author: @thomas_milva
Tell them you Love Them to the Wall and Back with Game of Thrones Valentines Cards: by Stubby the Rocket
Famous Literary Relationships from Best to Worst: @knownemily
10 Reasons to Stay Home & Write This Valentine’s Day: @ProWritingAid
Writing a Book You’re Scared No One Will Understand: @losapala
4 Things Every Writer Thinks While Working on a Book: @JonAcuff
Staring into the Soundless Dark: On the Trouble Lurking in Poets’ Bedrooms: by Andrew Kay @The_Millions
8 Tips for Staying Safe Online: @EdieMelson
Coping with negativity: @DanBlank
Genres / Fantasy
6 Forms of Transit That Can Replace the Mount: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Genres / Memoir
A Memoir Editor Answers Questions: @DiercksDuke
Genres / Mystery
Well-meaning advice in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Legislators in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Non-verbal communication as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg
Plotting A Blockbuster Thriller: @Chris_Kokoski
Genres / Non-Fiction
5 Tips To Rescue Your Failed Nonfiction Ebook: @angee
Genres / Poetry
US Poet Laureates and the Presidents They Served Under: @DanielleMohlman @My_poetic_side
I Will Not Be Able to Write When I Am Dead: @StacySzymaszek @poetrynews
Genres / Romance
What Romance Fiction Can Accomplish: @maxwellcathy @lithub
How to Write Realistic Relationships (video): @Ava_Jae
Top 6 Fictional Couples: @NatePhilbrick
A roundup of posts on how to write intimate scenes: @RomanceUniv
Hot spots: writing love scenes: by Minal Hajratwala @TheWriterMag
How to Write Swoon: @sjaejones
Genres / Short Stories
How to Use Short Stories to Improve Your Writing Career: @crisfreese
Promo / Blogging
4 Ways to Close a Blog Post: @Margo_L_Dill
Maximize your blog’s visual appeal by using widgets: @pokercubster
3 Social-Sharing Tricks to Optimize Your Next Blog Post: @aliciarades
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
The Fastest Way To Make All Your Descriptions Better: @Chris_Kokoski
Why your book descriptions don’t look right: @HollowLandsBook
Promo / Book Reviews
Honesty, Likability and Book Reviews: @MarinaSofia8
Promo / Miscellaneous
Use Content Marketing To Sell More Books: @pamelaiwilson
Promo / Platforms
Platform Building-Is It Really Necessary? @wordsbyandylee
Promo / Social Media Tips
5 Questions to Ask Before Joining a New Social Media Network: @a3forme @susanrstilwell
Publishing / Miscellaneous
A Comparison of Audio Book Distributors– ACX, Author’s Republic and Scribl: @TahliaNewland
The most important book elements for reader appeal: @EvaNatiello
10 Trends in Publishing Every Author Needs to Know in 2017: @WrittenWordM
From Novel to Virtual Reality Film: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The NY Times wants to save itself by becoming like Netflix: @PassiveVoiceBlg @HeyHeyESJ @gabrielsnyder
Publishing / News / Amazon
Is Amazon Exclusivity Right for You? @robkroese @JaneFriedman
Publishing / News / International Publishing
France, China, South Africa, Canada, USA Lead London Book Fair Intl. Award Shortlist: @Porter_Anderson
Ukraine Enacts a Winter Ban on Book Imports From Russia: by Eugene Gerden @pubperspectives
Trade Show Notes: LBF Hosts Fair Use Debate; BookExpo Announces Author-Speakers: @Porter_Anderson
The AWP Goes to Washington With Focus on Lit in a Political Society: @Porter_Anderson
Showcase Offers £7,500 in International Commissions; Nigeria’s Cassava Signs W/ Consortium: @Porter_Anderson
A closer look at serialized fiction startup Radish: @Porter_Anderson @radish_fiction
Thieves Nab More Than $2.5 Million Worth of Rare Books in London Heist: by Jake Rossen @mental_floss
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Pitches
Reach beyond tropes when pitching your book: @JaneLebak
Publishing / Process / Book Design
Book Cover Design: How indie authors can do it best: @ReedsyHQ
Book Cover Design: What To Consider Before Hiring A Designer: @MsBessieBell
6 Tips to Create Book Covers that Sell Books: @LyndaRYoung @TheIWSG
A Complete Guide and Resources for Choosing Your Book Cover Font: @publishdrive
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Crafting a Powerful Set-Up: @beccapuglisi
Real Life Diagnostics: Is This Short Prologue Working? @Janice_Hardy
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
How to Prevent Your Characters from All Sounding the Same: @LouiseMarley @WomenWriters
Develop your characters by getting to know them: @jasonbougger
Creating Characters We Want To Have Coffee With: @RachelHauck
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
The Basics of Show Don’t Tell: @JulieEshbaugh
Writing Craft / Diversity
A resource for writers wanting to write books with more diverse characters: from Writing With Color
Writing Craft / Endings
Not all story endings are meant to satisfy: @tobyshmoby
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
Using the Modern Love Podcast to Teach Narrative Writing: @nytimes
6 Cinematic Techniques to Apply to Your Novel Right Now: @CSLakin
“Things Learned From Watching ‘La La Land’ : by Lance Morgan @GoIntoTheStory
Pixar’s Inside Out and the Literature of Interiority: @GabbyBellot @ElectricLit
5 Fantasy Books That Ignore Genre Boundaries: @MichaelSwanwick
The Tropes of ‘Supernatural’: @woodwardkaren
10 Politically Subversive Novels Veiled in Absurdism: @chris_shultz81
The Many Bad Moms of Charles Dickens: @RVoronaCote
11 Classics of the New Gothic Canon: by Emily Fridlund @lithub
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
5 Tips for Telling Prequel Stories: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
How to Make a Good Story Excellent: 9 Tips: @nownovel
Handling inner monologue: @p2p_editor
Supporting Characters in Your Real Life: @SPressfield
7 Keys to Writing Excellence: by Fae Rowen
5 Signs You Treat Your Reader Like an Idiot: @WritingWordBlog
Using a narrator character to create a mythic story: @AlexSokoloff
Selecting the Right Sentence Structure for the Right Emotion: @SeptCFawkes
Social Issues in Your Stories: 3 Strategies for Doing it Right: @tobywneal
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
The Keys to Creating Great Twists: @readstevenjames @MTW_2017
Story Structure and The Hollywood Formula: @woodwardkaren
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
3 Errors in Using Parentheses: @writing_tips
3 More Sentences Lacking One Word to Be Correct: @writing_tips
Writing Craft / Revision
12 Contemporary Writers on How They Revise: @knownemily
Why we should put drafts aside for a time after finishing: @Roz_Morris
How To Edit Your Book Using the Layers Process: @SukhiJutla
7 Tips to Bring Your Words to Life: @LisaTener
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
5 Questions to Ask Beta Readers When They Critique Your Manuscript: @SaraL_Writer
How is a writer like a surgeon? @nevalalee
Writing Craft / Tension
Shaping Story Conflict: @Lindasclare
5 Surefire Ways To Raise The Stakes Of Your Story: @ClaireABradshaw
5 Levers to Create Suspenseful Scenes: @GraemeRodaughan for @JordonMGreene @MTW_2017
Uncategorized
Top Time Savers for Writing – by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I rely on a lot of time savers to help me…
Twitterific Writing Links – by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig A weekly roundup of the best writing links …
Writing Conferences and Festivals – by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig I’ve been to a variety of different…
17 Things Indie Authors can Share on Social Media in 2017: @Bookgal
The top writing links of the week are on Twitterific:
Click To Tweet
The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
February 16, 2017
Top Time Savers for Book Production
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
This is the third post in my series on how writers can save time. You can find the first post here (on social media), and the second post here (on saving time writing).
If you plan on having only a single book or just a couple of books, you probably can just skip the information I’m sharing today. This is more for those of us who have either multiple series or many books or both. It’s the nitty-gritty of book production–the tedious inputting of data into the retail and distributor sites.
By keeping track of the data we use over and over again, we can not only make our process go a lot quicker, we can also make sure it’s consistent. Although it does take some time to compile these lists, sometimes we have to spend time to save it.
Here are some examples:
Backmatter: It’s the stuff that goes in the back of every book. For a while I was creating backmatter for each book separately and losing tons of time in the process. Now I’ve got a formatted backmatter section saved and ready to go. It includes my ‘about the author,’ a newsletter signup pitch, ‘other works,’ where to connect with me, a thank-you/please review, and book extras. This is just the standard content I put in the backs of every book. For some books, I’ll also add an author’s note specific to the writing of that particular book..but at least I’ve already got the backmatter written.
You may also want to have one book list for Amazon (using Amazon links–and I understand that they don’t allow affiliate links in the backmatter) and one for everyone else (and linked to each book page on your website).
Metadata: It’s very important that we keep metadata consistent, for better search engine optimization. It’s there to help readers find our books and if we’re inconsistent in our metadata, the search engines don’t realize we’re talking about the same term (is the series ‘A Nancy Drew Mystery’? Or ‘The Nancy Drew Mysteries’? Or ‘Nancy Drew Mysteries’?) Keeping track of all the metadata we use is a quick way to make sure we’re keeping our metadata the same across the board. This post from last year lists some helpful tools to help track metadata (and what we should be tracking).
ISBNs: If you use them, you’ll want to keep track of which book format has what ISBN. This tends to come up repeatedly and each time I would be pulling up Bowker to see what the ISBN for a Kindle format book written years ago was. It’s much easier to keep the information in a spreadsheet or a list. Joel Friedlander offers a free ISBN Logbook.
Keywords: This is not to say that we shouldn’t keep testing and tweaking our keywords. But if you publish multiple books a year in a variety of formats at various retailers and distributors, having a keyword list handy can save a tremendous amount of time.
Covers: This may seem like an odd tip, but get them in advance. If your designer is popular, get them way in advance. Otherwise, you may end up delaying publication of your book until your designer can work you in. I usually have my covers made for me several books ahead.
Distributors: I wrote an entire post on this recently. It’s important that we keep track of which aggregator (Smashwords, Draft2Digital, PublishDrive, StreetLib, etc.) is distributing what title where (Overdrive, Google Play, Apple, Nook, etc.). Otherwise we end up with duplicate listings at retail sites.
Newsletter template on MailChimp: It took me a while to come up with a newsletter design that I liked. Once I did, I saved it as a template on MailChimp. Now, whenever I send out a newsletter, I just rearrange and edit parts of the body of the template. It’s saved me a tremendous amount of time and gives my newsletters a consistent look.
What have I missed? What kinds of things do you do to save time with book production?
Top time savers for book production:
Click To Tweet
The post Top Time Savers for Book Production appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
February 12, 2017
Writing Conferences and Festivals
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve been to a variety of different conferences over the years and tried to get the most out of each experience. Sometimes I had a better time than others, but I invariably learned something.
Types of conferences:
In-person writing conferences are where I’m usually in my element. There I meet and talk with different writers, learn more about the craft, and hear more about the latest promo techniques.
Online writing conferences can also be incredibly useful. What’s more, you don’t even have to leave your house (which is wonderful! I’ve even been speaker at some of these events from the comfort of my own home). My favorite is the Indie Author Fringe conference, which runs online at several points throughout the year. This year it will be held March 18, June 3rd, and October 14th. The best part is that it’s free and has experts in a variety of different writing-related areas. More information here and see the event archives here:
London Book Fair Fringe
Book Expo America Fringe
Frankfurt Book Fair Fringe
For the first time, I’m actually part of a reader-facing online mystery conference this week (which is why this topic was on my mind when I wrote the post). It’s Mystery Thriller Week: If you’re a mystery writer or reader or are just interested in seeing how a fan festival could work online, take a look here. It’s designed to bring readers, book bloggers, and mystery writers together online. I’ve got a few posts scheduled to run this week (they’ll show up in my Twitterific this Sunday), but here are a couple of links in advance: My interview with Michelle Dragalin and “Three Ways for Writers to Use Deadlines” (which will go live at noon EST today). My books are also getting reviewed by different bloggers. This will be a yearly event, so if you’re a mystery writer, make a note to contact the organizers so that you can participate next year.
Book Festivals: The ones that probably make me the most uncomfortable are the ones that have me sitting at a table, hawking my books. I’m not much of a hawker. In fact, the last time I was at an event like this, I left my table and wandered around the building to see everyone else’s books and to meet other writers. Although I’m not really a shy person, I can be very shy around readers. I know…leaving my table wasn’t the right way to sell books. Now I’m aware that this is not the kind of event I need to attend. That’s also something important for writers to know–what is the type of conference or festival that’s more valuable for them?
That’s not to say that reader-facing events aren’t incredibly valuable. They can be. I think the most successful and rewarding ones, though, incorporate several different elements–speakers/panels of speakers, signings, and awards. For my genre, the Malice Domestic conference comes to mind. That event combines all the above elements and the organizers even call it a ‘fun fan’ convention. Readers leave with lots of freebies and the writers all get buzz from the conference.
Here is a list from Sarah Nicolas at Book Riot of US ‘reader audience festivals’ for 2017.
Getting the most from a writing conference
Writing conferences can be exhausting, especially for introverts. Carefully choose the sessions you want to attend and be sure to take notes. Bring your laptop into the sessions to take notes (you won’t be the only one). Consider making arrangements with other attending writers before the conference so you’ll have someone to have lunch or drinks with (my temptation is always to retreat to my hotel room, but that’s not the best approach). And remember to bring business cards with you, for staying in touch.
Getting the most from a ‘fan’ conference
As a past attendee at Malice Domestic, I know that readers are definitely expecting to bring home books and swag (and I will caution you that ‘swag’, judging from the laugh attacks my kids have had, apparently means something different to US teenagers, so use the word with caution around that particular audience).
I gave away potholders with pigs on them at my last reader-facing conference, since I had the Memphis BBQ series to promote at the time. Swag is expensive, but I’ll admit I’m a lot more comfortable interacting with readers at conferences if I have something in my hands to give away. So that’s my big piece of advice: have swag. Or really, even just candy. :)
My second bit of advice would be to have a ready response to the questions “what are your books about?” and “what are you working on now?”
More resources:
A post from writer Jeannie Lin on whether or not to have swag.
And a post from Robin Rivera on 7 Tips for Better Book Swag
Where to find conferences
Sometimes it’s best to start out small (and cheap) and then work your way up to a more expensive, bigger conference. Here are listings of conferences of all sizes (some are online):
Insecure Writers Support Group (also includes retreats and seminars)
AWP (which also has a way to filter your search)
Have you attended any conferences? What type is your favorite? Any tips that I’ve missed?
Tips and Resources for Attending and Finding Writing Conferences:
Click To Tweet
Photo credit: eltpics via Visual hunt / CC BY-NC
The post Writing Conferences and Festivals appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
February 11, 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 39,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
Business / Miscellaneous
Make Wise Investments In Your Author Business @cksyme
Rules for Writers @Janet_Reid
6 Easy Ways to Re-use Your Story Ideas @v3rbolatry
Creativity and Inspiration / Careers in Writing and Day Jobs
The Unpredictable Nature of a Writing Career @Ava_Jae
Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting
Writing Goals: Are They Set Up for Us to Win? @JamiGold
Jumpstarting our 2017 writing goals @Wordstrumpet
Writing Goals 2017: Schedule @GoIntoTheStory
7 Debut Novelists on Their 2017 Resolutions @knownemily
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
Author and Reporter @TamaraLush Boards Amtrak for Continent-Wide Residency @Porter_Anderson
Top 10 Ways To Beat Insecurity (At Least Temporarily!) @10MinNovelists
Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation
How Writers Can Benefit from Zero-Base Strategies @CSLakin
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Writing Habits, Routines and Productivity @lornafaith
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / When to write
6 Ways to Squeeze More Hours Into Your Day @woodwardkaren
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
5 Ways to Spark Connections with Your Story @frenchphoenix
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
5 qualities of a brilliant story @Roz_Morris
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Image and Back-up Your Computer @WordDreams
Travel Tips for Writers @Victoria_Noe
When Writing Becomes Just Another Lifestyle Good (on MFA programs) @lithub
Writers: Judge Yourself By Your Own Standards @KateMColby
Highly Intelligent People Are Less Satisfied By Friendships @sarahshmee
10 Ways Art Can Improve Your Writing @OilandMarble
Detach Yourself From Everybody @SPressfield
10 Novels Perfect for Virtual Reality @SignatureReads
Why Won’t (Insert Name Here) Read My Book? @SheerHubris
Genres / Fantasy
Tips for Writing Magic Scenes @RayneHall
Genres / Horror
Horror and Social Conflict @FANGORIA
Genres / Literary Fiction
The Best Literary Fiction Blogs and Websites @JaneFriedman
Genres / Miscellaneous
The Science Fantasy Genre @HunterEmkay
5 Tips to Write Travel Stories @JSchedneck
Genres / Mystery
Crime fiction: When Characters are Pushed Too Far @mkinberg
Writing the Crime Scene @repokempt
Well-meaning advice in crime fiction @mkinberg
Genres / Non-Fiction
5 Tips To Rescue Your Failed Nonfiction Ebook @angee
Genres / Picture Books
Top 10 Trends in Reading and Book Apps for Children @elisayuste
Writing for Children @KarenCV
Genres / Poetry
51 Immigrant Poets @My_poetic_side
20 Best Tips for Poets @robertleebrewer
Genres / Romance
3 Essential Elements to Crafting Believable Romance @CSLakin
Genres / Science Fiction
5 Failed Animal Companions @mythcreants
Genres / Screenwriting
How to Begin Writing Your First Screenplay @woodwardkaren
Shaun Of The Dead Story Structure @ozzywood
Award-Winning Screenwriter on Challenges & Success in Screenwriting @flyingwrestler
Writing a Dramatic Script: 5 Key Techniques: by Scott McConnell
Genres / Short Stories
How to Use Short Stories to Improve Your Writing Career @crisfreese
Promo / Blogging
How to Write the First Paragraph of Your Blog Post @Margo_L_Dill
How to Quit the Struggle Scheduling Blog Posts @MarshaIngrao
Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting
The Fastest Way To Make All Your Descriptions Better @Chris_Kokoski
Promo / Book Reviews
4 Things You Should Know About Book Review Blogs @BritMcGinnis
Honesty, Likability and Book Reviews @MarinaSofia8
Promo / Miscellaneous
How Market a Creative Course @HelloMorganTimm
Hitting the Reboot Button @crazyauthorgirl
How To Take The Perfect Author Photo @standoutbooks
Book Marketing: How to Get Feedback @Jefficus
Plan Your Book Launch Around a Goal @cksyme
10 Tips To Up Your Book Marketing Skills Right Now @BadRedheadMedia
The right way to save your book’s Amazon sales page link @sandrabeckwith
Promo / Platforms
Building a Platform to Land a Book Deal @JaneFriedman
Platform Building-Is It Really Necessary? @wordsbyandylee
Promo / Social Media Tips
7-Step Checklist to Refresh Your LinkedIn Profile @SMExaminer
5 Reasons Why a Writer Should Stay On Social Media @mharoldpage
Facebook 101 for authors @sandrabeckwith
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Most Women In Publishing Don’t Have The Luxury Of Being Unlikable @EmilyGould
Freedom of Expression: Authors Guild Teams With LitNet in ‘Not Normal Times’ @Porter_Anderson
Anthologies: Great Opportunities for New Writers, But Beware Scams: @annerallen
A Comparison of Audio Book Distributors– ACX, Author’s Republic and Scribl @TahliaNewland
The most important book elements for reader appeal @EvaNatiello
Publishing / News / Amazon
Is Amazon Exclusivity Right for You? @robkroese @JaneFriedman
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Canada’s Shelfie, formerly BitLit, Is Shutting Down Its Service @HudPeter @Porter_Anderson
@OpenRoadMedia Acquires Iconic Titles; De Gruyter Reorganizes Its Open Access Division @Porter_Anderson
‘@BookNet_Canada’s 2016 Snapshot @Porter_Anderson
Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report @Porter_Anderson
France, China, South Africa, Canada, USA Lead London Book Fair Intl. Award Shortlist @Porter_Anderson
Ukraine Enacts a Winter Ban on Book Imports From Russia @pubperspectives
Trade Show Notes: LBF Hosts Fair Use Debate; BookExpo Announces Author-Speakers @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Pitches
Reach beyond tropes when pitching your book @JaneLebak
Publishing / Process / Book Design
A Complete Guide to 3D Book Covers @publishdrive
Book Cover Design: How self-publishing authors can do it best @ReedsyHQ
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Opening paragraphs don’t have to be exciting @TheAtlantic
Finding the Sweet Starting Spot for Your Story @beccapuglisi
Crafting a Powerful Set-Up @beccapuglisi
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
5 Reasons Your Antagonist Deserves To Win @Chris_Kokoski
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
The importance of character resolve @p2p_editor
Character Motivation Thesaurus Entry: Finding a Life-Long Partner @beccapuglisi
Creating Character Images That Work @DDFalvo
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
How to Fix Your Novel (If It’s Too Short, Slow-Paced, or Tells Not Shows) @mharoldpage
Common Writing Mistakes to Avoid @AJHumpage
Writing Craft / Devices / Repetition
How to Write More Meaningful Symbolism @millie_ho
Writing Craft / Dialogue
How to Write Dialogue in a Story @nownovel
Want Better Characters? Get Rid of the Dialogue @Janice_Hardy
Should Dialogue Stand Alone? @ProWritingAid
Writing Craft / Diversity
A resource for writers wanting to write books with more diverse characters: from Writing With Color
Writing Craft / Endings
Not all story endings are meant to satisfy @tobyshmoby
Writing Craft / Humor
Give Your Characters a Sense of Humor @RMFWriters
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
5 Recent Books That Can’t Stop Producing Alternate Timelines: by Stubby the Rocket
Want to be an artist? Watch ‘Groundhog Day’ @austinkleon
Screenwriting: Great Scene: “The Silence of the Lambs” @GoIntoTheStory
3 Ways Reading Will Make You a Better Writer @charityscraig
Using the Modern Love Podcast to Teach Narrative Writing @nytimes
6 Cinematic Techniques to Apply to Your Novel Right Now @CSLakin
“Things Learned From Watching ‘La La Land’ @GoIntoTheStory
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
How to Use Symbolism To Elevate Your Storytelling @AngelaAckerman
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
3 Word Documents That Will Help You Write Your Novel @BrynDonovan
What To Do When You Can’t Let Go Of The Story Of Your Heart @tessaemilyhall
Regional Cues & Clues to Enhance Your Story @TMRadcliffe
Killing Off Characters @SPressfield
What Will Help Me Write a Book? 7 Steps @nownovel
Depicting Child Characters @mythcreants
How to Choose a Book Idea @thecreativepenn
Writing Craft / POV
Multiple Main Characters in Your Story? 3 Tips @JerryBJenkins
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Video on Story Structure… and Why It May Not Be What You Think It Is @storyfix
Writing the Building Blocks of a Page-Turner @allisonmaruska
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
Homophones: Affect vs Effect @WritingForward
Proof Reading: Catching Wrong-Word Errors @WritersDigest
A battle with grammar barbarians @pubcoach
Is using semi-colons pretentious? @emma_darwin
5 Cases of Insufficient Punctuation @writing_tips
Writing Craft / Revision
12 Contemporary Writers on How They Revise @knownemily
Why we should put drafts aside for a time after finishing @Roz_Morris
How To Edit Your Book Using the Layers Process @SukhiJutla
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
When They Don’t Understand Your Stories @jameslrubart
Writing Craft / Series
When (And How) To Split Your Story Into A Series @kj_bags
Writing Craft / Tension
Using Characters’ Apology Language to Create and Resolve Tension @MarcyKennedy
Writing Tools / Apps
5 Ways to Organize Your Novel Using Scrivener @lornafaith
Writing Tools / Miscellaneous
Apps, Tools & Plugins for Indie Authors @CaballoFrances
Writing Tools / Resources
100 Best Writing Websites @thewritelife
The 21 Best News Roundups for Self-Publishing Authors @ReedsyHQ
The top writing links of the week are on Twitterific:
Click To Tweet
The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
February 9, 2017
Top Time Savers for Writing
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I rely on a lot of time savers to help me stay productive. I’ve spoken to writers before who’ve asked me how long I spend writing each day. I usually spend no more than thirty minutes writing, but that thirty minutes is enough for me to publish 2-3 books a year and get a head start on another.
I think it’s because of those time saving tricks. Not everyone wants to be a faster writer or needs to be a faster writer. If you’re someone who is already trying to increase your writing speed, here are the things that work for me. Some of them help me stay on track and fight distraction. Some of them are memory crutches that help cut my revision times dramatically.
Here’s my most general tip, but probably the one that works the best: write the genre you know best. I think at this point that I could write cozies in my sleep. I know how they tick,: the pacing, the way the characters arc, how the mysteries come together to form a solution.
Second most general tip: write in series. When you’ve gone through the investment of time and trouble creating a world and characters that live there, you may as well create more adventures for those characters in that world. The time saving is huge.
My tips for each writing session:
Time your sessions and then take breaks. If you’re as easily distracted and restless as I am, try the Pomodoro method. Actually, even if you’re not easily distracted, give it a go. I keep reading more and more how important it is to keep moving and writing is incredibly sedentary. I adjust Pomodoro to fit my needs better: since my writing sessions are short, I’ll have a 15 minute writing session followed by a 5-7 minute break (usually I’ll do something active but productive and mindless during those few minutes…fold the laundry, empty or load the dishwasher, push the vacuum around).
Write the book description first. I frequently write the book description as early as a year before writing the book. One reason I do this is to stay ahead with my cover designer (I commission covers that far out so I can stay current on her calendar). Another reason is that it’s easiest to have the whole, global point of your story before I get into it. When I write a book and get deep into the words, I can barely see the forest for the trees. Copywriting before writing helps take care of the promo writing, helps me promote the book on my site far before its written, and helps me stay on point when I actually start writing the book.
Think about the story before opening the laptop. As I’m getting ready and coming downstairs, I’m already putting myself back in the story world. I’m remembering what I wrote the previous day and where I wanted to go. By the time I open my laptop, I’m ready to go.
Use mini-outlines to bookmark your spot. But, on the days where I don’t even remember what I wrote the day before (sadly, these days happen all too often), I have mini-outlines to lead the way. At the end of each writing session, I write 1 sentence explaining where I left off and 1 sentence reminding myself what I want to accomplish in my next scene. Don’t overthink this part–it can be really general. Mine sound like “Myrtle finished talking to Suzy Suspect and is sitting at the diner with Sidekick Miles hashing out what they’ve learned so far.”
Write straight through without editing or inserting chapter breaks. This doesn’t work for every writer, but it definitely works for me. If I edit as I go, it’s hard to get myself out of left-brained mode back into right-brained, creative mode. And thinking about chapter breaks or other bits of formatting works the same way.
When running behind, work at a place that has no wifi (harder and harder to do). This was easier to do even as few as four years ago. Now I have to actually pass by cows in my car to find a place that doesn’t have wifi floating around (I do live in a city, so your mileage may vary). Or, if you trust yourself, go to a public place and just don’t log into their wifi network.
When writing more than one series (and alternating writing books for them, as most of us do): when finishing a book in Series A, outline the next book in Series A before moving over to write a book in Series B. I mentioned this recently, but it’s worth another mention. I save so much time doing this. My head is still in the same story world when I create the outline and it goes incredibly fast…usually several days for a thoughtful outline. I’m always dying to move on to the other series, but I’ve learned to just put myself on a leash. It’s worth it.
Use a series bible. Got lots of details? You may have more than you think. Unless you want your supporting character with the cat allergy ending up as a proud cat owner (yes, this has happened to me), mark the detail in a Word doc for future use. It may not sound like much of a time saver, but you’ll not only check it again and again, you’ll save sooo much time in revision work.
Back up the book. The importance of this can’t be overstated. If you spend 2 minutes a day backing up, you won’t have to spend 3-6 months rewriting the entire book from scratch. And 2 minutes is all it takes to pull it to a thumbdrive/USB (I have one on my keychain), upload it to Google Docs or One Drive, or even email it to yourself.
This is what works for me…what works for you?
Last week’s time savers were on social media. Read that post here.
Top time-saving tips for writing:
Click To Tweet
The post Top Time Savers for Writing appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
February 5, 2017
Better Images for Social Media Sharing
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
For a long time I was oddly resistant to rethinking the way I approached images on my blog.
I knew there was a better way than the method I was using, but I didn’t want to find the time to figure it all out. I also am terrible at design. Additionally, I didn’t really see what the big deal was, although I kept reading that better use of images can help us in terms of sharing. Images can give a post more views, especially on platforms like Facebook.
I finally got the memo when Twitter suddenly got more visual. I also noticed that when I’d share links on Twitter, if the image on the writer’s post was optimized, it would automatically share the image with the text of the tweet.
I have a feeling that my process here is slightly convoluted, but I’ll share it anyway, along with resources that I know of to make better blog (and other platform) images.
Finding an image:
There have been plenty of cases where bloggers have been the subjects of lawsuits for using images on their blogs. Using Creative Commons photos or images that you’ve purchased is vital.
Right now, I’m hooked on Visual Hunt. I can search a wide variety of permission-free images there and can copy-paste the attribution for the image easily. I download the image to my computer.
Other places I’ve used in the past for permission-free images are MorgueFile and Death to the Stock Photo (which sends you ‘photo packs’ every month to download). Frances Caballo shares other good ideas in her post “Blogging Got You Down? Follow These 6 Steps.”
Designing the image (putting text on the image, etc.)
Once I have my image, I open up Designfeed, the free design program I’m using now. I also like Canva for creating images, but the thing I prefer about Designfeed is the fact that I can choose the size I’d like to download–and the app lists the sizes to make it easy: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
Designfeed also has a free image search. The only thing I had reservations about was the fact that I had no idea who to attribute the images to or whether the images were genuinely copyright-free. That’s why I take the extra step of using Visual Hunt. I upload the image to Designfeed, add my text, and download the resulting image in the size that’s best for the platform (I think the Facebook size works best for WordPress, fyi).
Compressing the finished product
Since the end product is a pretty large image, I compress it using the free tool compressor.io . It doesn’t result in a lower-quality image or a smaller image, but a much smaller file size in terms of kilobytes used. This helps keep my blog’s load time shorter.
Uploading to the blog/platform
Finally, I upload the image to WordPress, using the large size. I make sure to give photo attribution at the bottom of the post. When I load the image, I’m sure to include alt text to help visually impaired readers as well as for SEO purposes (more on alt text from Yoast and Google guru Matt Cutts).
That’s how I do it. How about you? What tools do you use to include images on your blog posts or social media? What’s your favorite place to find images?
How to Create Better Images for Social Media Sharing:
Click To Tweet
Photo via Visualhunt.com
The post Better Images for Social Media Sharing appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
