Laura Teagan's Blog, page 25

3 Tools I’m Using to Plan My Next Book

Over the weekend, I finally finished the first draft of Double Played. Considering I wanted to have it done before the beginning of the year, it was about time. Just because the draft is done, that doesn’t mean I’m done with the book. I still have plenty of things to do on it, mainly involving edits. Heavy edits. But I’m taking some time off from it, to give it a chance to breathe. In the middle of the month, I’ll go back with a fresh perspective, and start destroying things.

But before that, what am I going to do? Well, a lot of things, but specifically, I’m going to be making plans for TA3.

Wait, didn’t TA1 just come out? Yes. Yes it did. But, as soon as I finish Double Played, I’ll begin working on TA3, and I want to have a solid plan for it before I jump into it. Today I’m going to share the 3 tools I’m using to plan my next book.

1. Evernote

Evernote is basically my brain in my pocket. It’s this app that you can use to take notes, clip websites to, and scan things into. I use it for anything online. If I have an idea while I’m out in public, I can take note on my phone and stick it in Evernote. Because I write mysteries, I often find great and gruesome crimes in real life, so when I come across one online, I can “clip” the article from my phone or laptop, and create a copy of it in Evernote.

I also keep things like my summaries in Evernote. So both The Assassin and Double Played’s back cover copies are in Evernote. If I’m away from my laptop, but I have my iPad, I can write scenes in Evernote, too.

3 Tools to Help you plan your next story >>
Click To Tweet

2. My Notebook

I have a little red discbound notebook (red because that’s The Assassin’s main color). The notebook is perfect for instances when technology may not be totally appropriate, but I still have plenty of ideas. You can get a discbound notebook at your local staples store, or buy them online (read about why I love discbound here). The notebook is the perfect size to drop in my purse and take with me everywhere.

3. The Pre-Write Project

This is a fantastic little workbook from Kristen at She’s Novel (seriously, I’m in love with her whole library of printables). As I’m working my way through The Pre-Write Project, I’m realizing this is just the thing I need to take all the loose ideas from Evernote and my notebook, and create an actual plot. Of course, I had a loose plot before all of this (this plot came all the way from eighth or ninth grade, that’s how old it is), but a lot of details have changed. In fact, there are only two main factors that stay the same, but all the details in this book that make those key factors happen? They’ve changed.

The workbook lets me sort out all the details, get my characters in place, make note of any research I need to do, and make a solid outline for my book. If you’re interested in looking at The Pre-Write Project, or any of her books or courses, check out She’s Novel’s shop.

I’m sure I’ll also use the notecard method I used to plot Double Played as well. I love the notecards because I can use sticky tack and pop them up on the wall and move them around.

Now that I’ve shown you how I’ll be outlining my next book, tell me, how do you outline and plot your books?

The post 3 Tools I’m Using to Plan My Next Book appeared first on Ginger & Books.

Twitter Hashtags for Writers

In social media, it’s always best to pick two platforms that you really want to stick it to, and do well. You can do most of the big ones, but two will be your bread and butter. For me, I tend to stick with Twitter and Pinterest as my favorites.

Lately, I’ve seen a huge growth in Twitter, in both my Ginger & Books twitter account, and my Laura Teagan one. I think a lot of this is due to hashtags. Next week I’ll talk about hashtags on Instagram, but today let’s talk about them on Twitter. I’ve got ten hashtags that you can follow to find authors, writers, and great advice for your writing career.

#amwriting
#amediting
#writerslife
#amreading
#writetip
#nanowrimo
#indieauthor
#indiebooksbeseen
#booksbloggers
#writechain

Rock your Twitter game with these ten hashtags for writers.
Click To Tweet

Hashtags help get your tweets viability that you don’t get simply by tweeting to your followers. Use these tweets and own them. You can make lists based on them, save searches on them, and meet people through them.

Hashtags on Twitter are also used to host Twitter chats, but that’ll be another chat for another time. This week, test out these hashtags and see what happens.

The post Twitter Hashtags for Writers appeared first on Ginger & Books.

Hash-Tagging Your Book

When it comes to social media, there’s a lot you can do. I wrote a whole series about it here, but one thing that people don’t talk about a lot? Hash tagging your book.

Photo Credit: Pink Pot Creative

I don’t remember when I started doing a hashtag on mine, and for a while, I wondered if it was worth it. Given my background in public relations and social media, it seemed like a good idea. And now that my book has been out for two months, I totally agree with it. In fact, I have one for my book that is out, and another one for my book I’m working on.

Today, we’re going to talk about three keys to creating your hashtag, and how to use it.

1. Make It Original

When it came to creating my book’s hashtag #theassassinbook I went with the basics. I wasn’t going to use #theassassin because that’s too vague, but taking “book” at the end of it allows it to be unique, but still tell you what’s going on.

2. Make it Easy to Remember

I think mine is pretty easy to remember, but another one that’s easy to remember is #TATM from Jenny Bravo. Her book is called These Are the Moments, which is obviously too long to be its own hashtag, but #TATM is still easy to remember.

Hash-tagging your book. 5 tips and tricks for creating an epic hashtag.
Click To Tweet

3. Make Sure No One Else Uses It

You want to own your hashtag, so make sure that no one else is using it. If there’s a few tweets with a hashtag you’re looking at, you may be able to get away with it, but ideally, you want something no one else has used before.

While you want to make sure no one else is using it already, encourage people to use it when talking about your book.

4. Use it All the Time – To an Extent

Every tweet involving my book features my hashtag. I use the hashtag on Instagram as well. Using it on Instagram allows you to pair it with other popular hashtags (for indie authors, #indiebooksbeseen is a big one) to gain more exposure.

While you can use your hashtag for anything related to your book, don’t use it for everything. On social media, you need to be talking about something besides your book. In fact, most of your tweets should not be related to your book at all. They should be about other people. Sharing and encouraging people.

5. Add It to Your Bio

Both Jenny and I have our hashtag in our bio. This gives people quick access to it, so they can see who else is talking about it.

Now that you have the tools, go out and create some epic book hashtags!

The post Hash-Tagging Your Book appeared first on Ginger & Books.

How to Weave Your Story Into Your Sequel

If you’ve finished your first book, you ought to be working on your sequel. Your second book is a fun, yet completely new challenge. Unlike the first story where you have a fresh slate, a sequel requires coming up with something totally new – but staying true to the original story.

Personally, I’m finding that the sequel is harder. There’s a fine balance between entertaining old readers, but keeping new readers informed. So today, we’re going to talk about how to weave your story into your sequel – without info dumping.

1. DO NOT info dump

Info dumping is the idea that you give all the information a reader needs in about two or three pages. Do not do this, do not do this. you’ll only bore readers to death, and there are several other ways to go about this.

2. Think About How You Remember Things

Filling readers in and summarizing what happened in book one can really be done in the narrative. One of my techniques is to remember specific incidents within the context of my character’s memory. For instance, if I give my character a piece of jewelry that has specific memories attached to it that meant something in book one, when she finds it in book two, I take the time to give a brief summary about that in book one.

Connor is still so much a mystery, and I wonder how much of the allure is just that and nothing else. Sure, I’ve heard agents talk about him before, the agents who were there when he deserted. All the women, Jess included, agree the man is fine. But Jess hates him a little for getting me caught up with Rossett.

Of course, I argue that I was working the case on the FBI side, not just on the other side. Rossett was going to find me, with or without Connor. Then again, she may hate him because working with Connor was the first time I questioned the FBI and decided to do my own thing. Some agents call him and his ex-girlfriend “rogue agents.” Chasing after this mysterious group sometimes feels like my own version of going rogue.

Here, Cassie is talking about a memory that prompted her to remember about Connor, a man who was very important in the first book.

In a sequel, you have to remind readers about book one, but how do you do that correctly?…
Click To Tweet

3. Dialogue is a Great Way to Share Stories

When we talk, we tell stories. If you want to shake it up and share a bit from the first book that isn’t in the narrative, have your main character verbally tell the story.

I totally looked for a quote on this, but kind of gave up. I’m much more a “tell it in the narrative” girl. 

4. It’s Okay to Cover it More Than Once

In a book, you have a lot of words. It’s okay to remind the reader of details from the past more than once. I’d say probably no more than three times in a manuscript, but make sure those reminders are memorable. Remember, you have to remind your readers of key events that happened a book ago.

Between book one, your sequel, and any other book your reader may have read in between, that’s a lot of words. The point of summarizing is to remind your readers enough so they can fully enjoy the book ahead.

Do you have any tips for weaving a story into your sequel? 

The post How to Weave Your Story Into Your Sequel appeared first on Ginger & Books.

How to Write 10,000 Words in One Day

Last Tuesday I did something I had never done before. I wrote 10,000 words in one day. Sure, over the summer I edited about 12K in one day (it was a mix of writing and editing), but this was the first time I had created 10,000 new words in one day. Now that I’m on the other side of this process, I’m ready to do it again, but it’s a long, and hard, process. So today, I’m going to share what I learned and prep you for how to write 10,000 words in one day.

To make the most out of your 10K day, you need to do some prep work beforehand. Depending on how fast you can do the prep, you’ll want to start planning during the week before, but some of these things can be done the night before.

Outline: I can’t stress this enough. If there’s ever a time to outline before hand (besides maybe NaNoWriMo), your 10K day will be the day. Writing 10,000 words is an endurance sport, not a sprint. My biggest problem during the day was not knowing exactly where the story was going. When I didn’t know, I slowed down, got distracted, and my quality of writing went way down.
Sleep Early: I said it before, but writing that much in one day is a sport. You may think spending all day in a chair isn’t hard, but it’s a mental workout. And maybe a little bit of a physical workout for your fingers if you type quickly. But it’s mostly mental. And you’ll be surprised how easy it is to tire when mentally working out like this. Go to bed early and get some rest the night before.
Wake Up Early: If you’re like me, you probably hate waking up early. Unfortunately I’m having to do it more and more as I start looking for jobs and go to networking events. The earlier you can get started on your 10K day, the better.
Set Little Goals: If you have Scrivener, you can set a session target. I like to set this in increments of 500. Once I write 500, I up it to 1000, then to 1500, 2000, and so on. When you’re at 9500 going for 10000, that little sliver of leftover space is hardly noticeable.
Pace Yourself: 10,000 words is a lot of words. In a published book, that’s almost 30 pages. Don’t rush it all in the morning. Ideally, if you want to stay at a good clip, I’d say anywhere from 1.5K-2K per hour is a good range. You’ll have peaks and valleys throughout the day where you’ll write 500 words quickly, but the next 250 words take half an hour. Don’t get discouraged by this, it’s natural.
Take Breaks: I tried to take at least a mini break every 1,000 words. I’d go to the bathroom, get something to drink, or go take my lunch break. At first, these breaks will probably happen closer together, but at the end of the day you’ll go much longer between breaks.
Have Fun: Writing is supposed to be an exhilarating process, but you need to enjoy it. You’ll be exhausted, but have fun with it.

Writing 10,000 words in one day is a big thing to do, but little steps like these will help you prepare and make the most of your day. If you don’t hit 10K on your day, that’s okay. Sometimes you have to be able to build up to these things. 10K is a lot, and most writers can’t hit that. But, I do think it’s a great goal to aim for, especially if you’ve been feeling detached from your manuscript. Spend 10,000 words with it and you will be right in the middle of it.

Do you have any tips for a big writing day? 

The post How to Write 10,000 Words in One Day appeared first on Ginger & Books.

What I’m Writing in 2016

2016 is here! There’s always something that’s so nice about the beginning of the year. Goal setting, getting organized, everything is just lovely, isn’t it? 2015 was a huge year for my writing and now, it’s time to break down what I’m writing in 2016. I’m also going to give you a sneak peek on some things I’m working on to help writers like you!

 

What I’m Writing in 2016

Right now I’m working on Double Played, which is the sequel for The Assassin. I have an idea for a release date, but I’m holding on to it for just a little bit longer as I finish this draft and start edits. I will say I’m aiming for a release date in the first half of 2016.

After I finish my edits and I let the editor work on her stuff, I’m hoping to get started on the three-quel, which for the time being is just TA3 because I suck at names. Ideally, I’d love to put this out at the end of 2016. This probably won’t happen. That time line would be if I never find a job and I end up writing and blogging full time. Right now, I’m setting the path to eventually do that full time, but I would really like a job, too.

So, TA3 will probably be early 2017. How weird is that to think of?

What You’re Getting in 2016

Besides Double Played for your reading pleasure, I’m planning to release a couple e-books for writers! I don’t have specific dates lined up for these (helpfully sooner rather than later), but right now I have two e-books in the works.

And neither of these have working titles yet, but I’ll give you the basic breakdown. The first one will be for authors and building their social media/author platform online. Between blogging, social media experience, and my PR background, I want to help you build a foundation for success online.

The other one I’m working on is organizing for writers. Keeping everything together as a writer is hard. Notes, plot ideas, research, it all has to go somewhere, right?

Depending on what else happens in my life, I may have more later on in the year (nothing planned, but you never know!), and if I do, you’ll be the first to know.

2016 is going to be an epic writing year, I just know it. Now that I’ve shared what I’m working on, what will you be writing this year?

The post What I’m Writing in 2016 appeared first on Ginger & Books.

How to Make 2016 a Great Writing Year

I love the New Year because it’s a chance to start anew. A fresh slate and so much more. WE set goals and usually forget about them, but today I want to talk about a few steps on how to make 2016 a great writing year.

Photo credit: Rekita Nicole

As far as 2015 goes, I’d say this was definitely the best year writing-wise for me. But I plan for 2016 to be even better. I’ve learned so much this year with writing, but the key to having your best writing year comes down to one little secret:

Write.

Here's how to make 2016 one of your best writing years.
Click To Tweet

I’ve talked about it in creating a writing schedule and making writing a priority. Kristen has talked about it. Countless of others have talked about it. But the truth is, the core of any successful writing year or program, or anything, is to simply write.

They say it takes 21 days to create a habit. But it only takes one to ruin it. The core to a successful writing schedule is to write. I hate to break it to you, but being a writer doesn’t mean anything if you don’t write.

If you’re looking for a program to get into to set up a habit, Faye from Writerology has an awesome program and e-book, Writember, but she also has the #Writechain.

I use a calendar to track my word counts, and I use stickers to motivate myself (days with a thousand or more words get a gold sticker, less than that get a silver. Obviously I want to get a gold sticker, not a a silver one).

There’s also phone apps you can use to track your words. Write every day and track it. Once you get to the end of the year, you’ll be surprised as to how many words you create. I did a horrible job tracking this year (I got most days in July and August), but just two months produced over 100k words.

Imagine if you dedicated yourself to write and track that every day for a year. With a foundation that solid and strong, you’ll have a fantastic writing year.

How do you plan to make 2016 a great writing year?

The post How to Make 2016 a Great Writing Year appeared first on Ginger & Books.

The Beta Reading Journey

Today, I’m super excited to have a really awesome guest post. My beta reader, Lydia, is sharing her experience in beta-reading several incarnations of The Assassin. And there may be a few comments from me in there, too. 

Hi! For those of you who don’t know, my name is Lydia, and I blog over at Thinking in Fragments. Some of you might know me from my guest posts at Ginger & Co., but that’s not my “claim to fame” with Laura. I’m proud to say that I was one of the first beta readers for The Assassin way back when (I want to say 2009). I’ve had the pleasure of following the journey of this book for almost seven years.

I don’t think I remember exactly how I came across Laura’s blog all those years ago, but when 14-year-old me saw that this real writer was looking for beta readers for her spy novel, I didn’t hesitate to send her an email. Thinking back on it now, it was extremely out of character for me to email a blogger about something like that. But I had just started my own very first blog, and I thought helping out this cool blogger was going to be my ticket to blogging fame. Obviously, that was not the case. But, I did get the chance to travel alongside Laura as she transformed this book into something, well, real.

That first draft of The Assassin was so incredibly different from what is published today. I searched my old computer I used during high school to find all the old drafts (trust me, there were plenty of them), but I think I tried to hide them from anyone who would borrow my computer, and, if that’s the case, boy did I hide them well. But what I do remember was that Cassie was my age at that time, 14. She still lived with her adopted parents and was in high school, solving crimes for the FBI on the side. The subplot with Connor was addressed differently, and details that centered around the fact that Cassie was much younger were also different. Other than those character details, the overall story arc was almost identical to what is published today.

I beta’d that first draft for Laura, and sent it back, sort of assuming that was the end of that cool experience. I kept up with Laura’s blog, but never did I reach the blogging fame I thought I would by beta reading The Assassin (lol). A few years later, I found that original beta’d draft on my computer, and started re-reading it. The genius of the story and everything in it came flooding back to me. I remembered how great I thought that plot was, and I wondered if Laura was any closer to sending it off to publishers. So, I sent her another email. This time, I got a reply saying that she had done a huge edit of the entire novel and so much had changed, and was I interested in being a beta reader again?

Want to know what it was like to beta read #theassassinbook?
Click To Tweet


Of course I said yes. I was so excited that even two or three years later, this cool, now college-aged blogger still wanted my input on her novel. In this draft, Cassie was a bit older, I think it was her first year in college, and Connor was a little bit older than her. But the story was still the same, just with a different opening and the ending was slightly tweaked. It was just as great as I had remembered, and I couldn’t wait to get my feedback to Laura. This cycle repeated a few more times (just with less time in between the drafts) before one day, I got an email from Laura saying that she was looking to make the transition to self-publishing. She had found an editor and wanted me to go over the draft one last time before she sent it to an editor. That was in the fall of 2014 and it was the last time I read over a draft of The Assassin before it was published.

That last draft, I actually procrastinated on beta’ing, and ended up reading over 200 pages of it the night before I moved into college. It was a wild ride, and I ended up having a lot of fun reading it (for I think six hours…), and revisiting Cassie’s world made me less nervous about the huge transition I was about to make. After I finished that draft, I kept in touch with Laura, started a new blog, joined as a contributor to Ginger & Co., and was elated to hear that she was going ahead with self-publishing the book! The release date changed countless times, and when it finally came out, I was so excited for her.

Laura spent years working on The Assassin. She’s worked harder on this book than some people work in their whole lives. She put her heart and soul into Cassie’s story, and I am so thankful she let me be a part of it. Even though I kind of miss how endearing (and angst-y) Cassie was at 14, I love the college-age Cassie (I relate to her more now that I’m in college anyways). Being a part of this journey, I feel like I’ve gotten to watch Cassie grow up. I’ve gotten the chance to see her grow and mature and understand the world more, and even though she’s fictional, I like to consider her someone I know. She was a friend to me when I was 14 and had no friends, and she’s still a friend to me now that I’m 20.

Ginger break time. Okay, making that a thing now. That statement up there is what writing a book and publishing it is all about. Touching people in ways that you never would. What an incredible feeling. 

Thank you Laura, for letting me be a part of this awesome journey. I’ve learned so much, and I really think I’ve gotten the chance to grow as a writer and a reader due to this experience. It’s been so great getting to watch Cassie and Connor solve crimes over and over. Now, how’s the draft for The Assassin sequel coming? I’m ready whenever you are.

The post The Beta Reading Journey appeared first on Ginger & Books.

Looking To 2016 & The End of Year Survey

I know it’s been quiet around here, but Lord, have I been busy. Graduation, moving home, and then I got sick. There hasn’t been a lot of anything going on in the blog front or the book front.

As the year comes to an end and the new year approaches, I’m starting to think about what 2016 will bring to Ginger & Books, but I need your help.

On Ginger & Co. yesterday, I talked about the importance of reader surveys, but since Co. and Books have two different readerships, I need your help, too. If you’ve ever read a post here you loved, or a post you hated, this is your opportunity to tell me!

You can complete the survey here.

So, what’s happening in 2016?

More posts about what life is like after you hit the publishing button.

More lessons about what I’ve done in publishing and some mistakes I made.

More craft posts (craft posts talk about plot, story structure, characters, and the mechanics of writing your book).

Some e-books, too.

So, if you want to have a say in any of those topics, please, please, please fill this out.

Please? I’ll give you virtual Christmas cookies.

Also, if you’re on instagram, be sure to check out Blots and Plots today because I’m giving away a signed copy of The Assassin! 

The post Looking To 2016 & The End of Year Survey appeared first on Ginger & Books.

One Month and Counting

It was one month ago that I uploaded my book to Amazon. A lot has happened in the past month, both for my book and in my life. Just few days away from my public relations degree and I feel like I’ve earned that thing in the past month more than ever. 

So, today I want to take a little time to toot my own horn and talk about some of the cool things I’ve done in the past few weeks.

First, in October I was honored to be the Novel Lady at She’s Novel. There, I talked about my plans for the future and the then-upcoming release of The Assassin. A few days later, I was featured on The Book Creators and I talked about how self-publishing’s flexibility can be both a positive and a negative.

These were both before the book came out, but I’m still extremely grateful for both blogs featuring me!

Once the book came out, I was actually featured on a podcast! It was a four part mini-series on the Author Strong podcast (listen 1, 2, 3, and 4). I recorded this just a few days after the book came out.

Then, this week, my soon-to-be-alma-mater, Sam Houston State University, did a slider story on me, which means I’m on the front page.

I never actually thought I would do this much press for the first book, and I’ve been floored by the opportunities people have given me, especially this slider story. It’s pretty cool to see yourself on the homepage of your university. If you haven’t already, I think you should pick up your e-copy of The Assassin here.

The post One Month and Counting appeared first on Ginger & Books.