Nick Thacker's Blog, page 6

A Writer’s Workflow: How I Work

Click here to download the full-res infographic of the Writer’s Workflow!

I can’t speak for any other writers, but Icertainly have writing habits.

Some are great, but others… aren’t.

This post is about those habits, deadlines, goals, and dreams. It’s a monologue about howIam as a writer. I don’t know if it’s helpful for you, but I’d bet you resonate with at least a couple of these truths.

What’s a “workflow?”

A workflow is just a process to take something from thebeginning to theend.It’s a step-by...

SPA 26: POD With Spotify Model – CompletelyNovel with Sarah Juckes

This week Kevin and I have the pleasure to chat with Sarah Juckes of CompletelyNovel.com, specifically about self-publishing as an indie author, how to do it, what it means, and a “completely novel” way to do it (see what I did there?).

Show links:

CompletelyNovel.com
The Book Depository
Lightning Source
Nick said “cup o’ joe”
Completely Novel Guide to Marketing (book)

Tune in next week, and don’t forget to give us a rating/review on iTunes!

Advertise here with Beacon Ads

The post SPA 26: POD With Sp...

SPA 25: How to Generate Book Ideas

A few resources:

20 Master Plots: and How to Build Them – RonaldB. Tobias
Story Cubes
The Amazing Story Generator

Nick’s Methods:

Swipe files: Popular Science magazine, National Geographic, etc.
“Iterative Approach:” Iterate and change a simple, granular idea until you have a better idea
Rewrite a book you’ve read in the past (don’t worry, it will likely be completely different when you’re done with it!)

Kevin’s Methods:

Get inspiration from pre-made book covers, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc.
Get inspir...

SPA 24: Foreign Markets for Indie Authors

Very important episode today, based on this question:

What are you doing to secure your author future in international markets?

If you haven’t thought about it,definitelylisten to this episode!

Here’s a little of what we discuss:

Babelcube: Translations
Fiverr.com: Easy, quick, and cheap jobs (I used it to review the Babelcube translation)
ACX: Audiobook narration, owned by Amazon
Azoogma: Localization and translation services
The Lucid: Episode 1
Lumbersexual – the article from TheAtlantic.com

Tune in...

SPA 23: Outsourcing

Outsourcing.

What is it? Basically, getting someone else to do work for you. Whatkind of work?

That’s the question. In this episode, Kevin and I chat about outsourcing as an author, what we outsource, what wewantto outsource, and, of course, tangents.

Here are the books mentioned:

Miracle Morning by Hal “Yo Pal Hal” Elrod: MiracleMorning.com
My Life as an Experiment by AJ Jacobs
The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

And a few of the services offered:

99designs
Fiverr
Elance

Tune in next week!

Want to rate...

SPA 22: The Merry Christmas Episode!

Merry Christmas episode! Today Kevin and I talk about these “Must-Haves” for writers. For you or the writer in your life, these tools and toys are just what you want to see under the tree!

First, our own stuff!

The Lucid
Citadel Series
The Atlantis Deception


Scrivener (free trial available)
Learn Scrivener Fast program
Calibre
Self-Publishing Podcast
Audience Business Masterclass
On Writing – Stephen King
Poop (literally)
Cards Against Humanity
Apples to Apples
Story Cubes
Writer Emergency Packs
The Producti...

7 Ways to Find People Who Will Actually Buy Your Book

I’ve been pursuing writing as a career for a little less than a year, and in that time I’ve managed to do a lot—start a blog, jumpstart my social media outlets (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, and Ello—it’s nearly a full-time job simply managing those), find beta readers and writer friends, and submit guest posts to numerous websites.

Oh. And I wrote a book.

Yes, this summer I wrote a novel (and rewrote it, and had it beta-read, and rewrote it again for another round of beta-reading, and...

SPA 21: Voicemail Q&A

Voicemails! Two today:

1. Should I “ship” (release thebook) right away or wait until it’s “perfect?”

Nick’s answer: Have a process (“The Gauntlet”) that protects you. Here’s mine:

Write
Rewrite
Self-Edit
Send to Editor
Beta Readers
Final Read-Through
Release!

Kevin’s answer: Don’t wait until it’s “perfect” — it never will be! However, have an “MVP” (Minimum Viable Product) that’s been edited, polished, make it something you’re proud of. Don’t just go for “good enough,” but make it something you’retruly...

On Rejection and Renewal: A Note to Aspiring Novelists

Note from Nick: I’m honored to share this post with you today, considering its author! Read itapply it, and live it!

You’ve spent months, perhaps years, composing your novel. You’ve read and reread it hundreds of times. You’ve rethought it, rewritten it, and revised it, changed characters, dialogue and plot lines. Writing your novel is the most important thing in your life. It has absorbed your attention, almost exclusively. Both your conscious and your subconscious mind have been obsessed wit...

SPA 20: Dreams, Goals, and “Breaking the Chain”

This week, Kevin and I chat about goals: how to set them, how “granular” they need to be, and why they’re important to us as writers/entrepreneurs. Also, we chat about the difference between “dreams” and “goals,” and why I think they’re crucial to my long-term success plan.

Also, The Productive Writer: 2015 Productivity Planner is back for a limited time! If you missed out on one earlier, grab one here:http://www.lulu.com/shop/nick-thacker......