Pratap Divyesh's Blog, page 39

Life in General: For You from Me

“This is a book that might give you something to think about..laugh about amd be able to ask your self what have I achieved.”

AMAZON

This is a book that might give you something to think about and maybe something to laugh about as well. ‘What have I tried to achieve?’ I ask myself. Well, I look at some things which we all deal with at different times in our lives, but I also wanted to encourage people to value themselves and recognise their gifts. They have to believe that they can achieve their goals and their dreams and not put things off because we do that. We say, ‘It can wait till tomorrow’, ‘The time is not right,’ ‘It can wait’. Well, no it cannot wait because if you wait too long, the dreams fade away. Live, love, enjoy life, and most importantly, be kind to yourself.

 

5 Book Marketing Steps to Take Before You Publish

Marketing is very important if you are doing a business because it helps you to earn a lot of new clients, retain current client, improve traffic to your business website, enhance client engagement, improve sales, boost up profits, etc. But, have you ever thought of marketing when you write a book of your own? If you haven’t thought of marketing your boo so far, you should think about it since it lets you to reach to more readers, improve the visibility of your book, increase the readers  of your book, and also to sell more books than ever before. Book Marketing is essential I you would like to achieve your goals.

It is very important for you as a book writer to understand the best and effective ok marketing tricks and ways to promote your book before you publish your book. Book marketing is really helpful and valuable for book publishers, self-publishing authors, book authors, and e-book publishers who wish for selling more books. A complete book marketing campaign brings into play a combination of tactics. It is possible for a book author to start an effectual book marketing campaign devoid of the support or assistance of book marketing professionals in the field.

The most excellent book marketing approach unites online and offline elements, and if done correctly, it will improve the sales as well as the readership of your book. Here are top and effective 5 book marketing steps to take before you publish:

Make Use of Social Media

Keep in mind that book marketing campaigns definitely derive benefit from effective use of online social networks. Since, the majority of people around the world regardless of their age and gender spend much of their every day time in different social media sites; you can go a long way into promoting your book to a larger audience by capitalizing on social media. Social media networks including Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, etc, look like to be the center of attention of most book sales promotion these days.

You should create an account in all the social media sites and tell about your book that persuades the readers to buy your book once it gets published. Be social, active and engage with your readers in social media.  Share, and pass on information about your upcoming books with your readers in social media. Be active in your Facebook groups and social media accounts, and also try to take part in online forums. Share news of your book in diverse social media sites, but stay away from any buildup messages.

Increase Your Web Presence

If you would like to sell more books and also to take your book to more readers across the world, you should think about increasing your web presence. You cannot thrive as a writer in the modern digital world without giving preference to developing web presence. Create accounts in different social media sites like Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, etc, so that readers can find you and your books. You should write about your upcoming books and post it on your social media accounts.

Make sure to update your visitors about the status of your forthcoming book.  If you have a website that includes every details of your book, you should implement best SEO methods to drive more traffic, improve the visibility of your website, and improve the sales of your book and also to enhance the readership of your book.  You have to inquire fans to post their reviews on your Facebook page and also in other social media sites.

Build Your Fan Base

It is essential for you to build a community of fans and customers before you release your work to the general public. By the time your book comes out, you should have a solid base of readers and fans to work from. Remember that a loyal and strong fan base that was developed from marketing activities will aid you to sell more books and also to improve the readership o your book considerably.

You can build your fan base by means of beginning a FB campaign, starting a Google campaign to boost traffic to your site, connecting with other writers, engaging with readers, writing blog posts, keyword your blog posts, hosting guest bloggers, becoming a guest blogger, commenting on other blogs, becoming more active on different  social media channels and many more.

Update Author Website or Blog

In the present day, the best parts of writers have got websites or blogs in order to inform their readers about their past works, current works and also the future works. It helps the writers to connect with their readers every time and also inform them when he publishes his next work or the genre or theme of the work. Updating author website or blog when writers are about to publish their book will help them to notify their readers about their upcoming book, its releasing date, etc.

When launching a book, you have got to invite people including reviewers, fans, media, readers, etc. An updated website or blog can o the job for the writer. An updated website or blog should have Author photo, Author bio, Book cover, Links to purchase the book, Links to purchase any past books, details about the book section, Social media links, Email sign up, etc. The objective of updated website or blog is to persuade visitors to stay on a publisher or author website, learn about a book, and provide them a reason to return again.

Maximize Your Book’s SEO

One of the unavoidable elements of book marketing is SEO. The writers should maximize their book’s SEO if they would like to take their book to wider audience, enhance distribution and boost selling of their book. Effective SEO methods will aid every writer to gain the faith of prevalent audience and also to get traffic to author website or blog. One method to efficiently advertise your book and sell more books is to optimize the book’s metadata for search engines. Promote your book with certain Keywords and keyword phrases. It will assist you to allow search engines to easily find your books.

This post is contributed as Guest post by Susan Taylor.

I am Susan Taylor. I am working as a freelance writer for the past many years and I love writing which is the main reason for me to pursue my career in freelance writing. Presently, I work for dissertation writing services online and it helps me to deal with papers on a daily basis. I love writing blog articles whenever I get free time.

Social Links: [Website] – [Facebook] – [Twitter]

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On Writer’s Block

Feeling “stuck” is a common experience for many writers. At some point in your writing career, you will probably find yourself in this predicament. I’m going to explore two versions of stuck.

Meditation on Writer’s Block

So, let’s talk a little about that insidious constipation referred to as writer’s block. Often, it’s a sense that the writing isn’t flowing. There’s simply no idea coming for the next chapter, next plot twist, line of dialogue, and so on. I’m sure you’ve experienced this, whatever you’re working on. Perhaps it’s just a momentary “stuckness” or it’s a more chronic problem. Here are some ideas to jolt you out of the muck and back into the “flow.”

Stop writing—Solving your problem can be as simple as this. Instead of wracking your brain, take some time away from the computer and go dance, work in the garden, take a walk, call a friend, read a book of poetry, have a cup of tea. Anything to break up your current frame of mind.
Meditate—Again, stop trying to write and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. Think of a memorable moment in your life. Think of someone you love, a joyous occasion you shared, a time when you kicked ass, an unforgettably beautiful place you visited—a mountain you climbed, a river you paddled, a city you strolled!
Call on the universe for help—Perhaps explain to yourself what is happening in your story and that you don’t have any more good ideas. Then ask for assistance. Don’t expect an immediate answer, but I guarantee one will arrive, either in the middle of the night, while you’re in the shower, or when you least expect it.
Work on another story—Stop agonizing over whatever you’re fretting about and work on something else. Write a blog, a poem, a joke, a love story, whatever.

Most importantly, take a break!

The Writer’s Groundhog Day

One of the keys to success as a writer is to spread your fiction writing wings by writing a variety of pieces. I mention this, because as an editor I’ve encountered numerous writers with one novel under their belt, and nothing more. Another form of being stuck. They’ve woken up each day and worked on that novel and reworked it, then revised it yet again—Groundhog Day revisited—but somehow it’s simply not ready for publication.

At that point, my advice: it’s best to move on. Don’t let one novel or memoir become your writing albatross.

I realize it may be difficult to let go of the dream of getting that story published after you’ve put so much effort into it. But think of it as your writing primer, and now that you’ve learned so much about plot, character development, setting, point-of-view, and dialogue, you’re ready to tackle your next novel or short story. Perhaps you’ll switch to memoir?

For those of you struggling with this attachment, I can commiserate because for years I worked on a novel dear to my heart. It was semi-autobiographical, as many first novels are. And that novel received both the James Jones First Novel Fellowship and an Artist in Literature fellowship from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Seems logical that it should have been published, but after a number of rejections, I decided to take the advice of a veteran editor: “Put it on your shelf and move on to the next one.”

I did. It was my next novel, Saving Phoebe Murrow, that got published and recently won the 2016 New Apple Award in general fiction. The idea for this story came from a newspaper article about a girl who was cyberbullied and then committed suicide. It brought me up short. Almost immediately I knew that I wanted to write a story about cyberbullying and social media.

If you’re lacking inspiration, ask yourself what turns you on, what do you love? I recommend reading voraciously—papers, magazines, and books; watch movies, the news, and talk shows; take a trip to a place you’ve never been; keep your eyes and ears open to the world around you; observe people. Imagine their lives. Jot down notes, stray lines as they arrive, keep a story concept file.

Soon you’ll get an idea for a new book, I promise.

This post is contributed as Guest Post by Author Herta B. Feely

Her novel, SAVING PHOEBE MURROW, won the 2016 New Apple Award in fiction and is available from all major book retailers, indie bookstores, and Amazon. Released by Upper Hand Press (US) and Twenty7 Books (UK).

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Writing Exercises to develop proficiency in writing

“The grey cells, they still function—the order, the method—it is still there.” Hercule Poirot

I do writing exercises to develop my proficiency in writing.  These are exercises that I have created over the years.  I first developed and applied them in the classroom when I taught mathematics. I had the students do these exercises to help them better understand complex math concepts.

There is a description of each exercise, the physical exercised after which is it patterned, and the key cognitive strategy it addresses.

(Note: The names given to the exercise are also my own creation.)

Objects in a Bag

Connect a concept or story to a set of objects, such as a social compact, text structures, stages of faith, or Bloom’s taxonomy.

This is like a weight bearing exercise because it forces your brain to work against conventional thinking, which helps strengthen your framework.

Key Cognitive Strategy: Research

  Map of the Journey

Describe a process or an experience, such as teaching or writing, as a journey.

This is like a muscle strengthening exercise because it uses the writing process to understand real world phenomena.

Key Cognitive Strategy:  Problem Formulation

Mobius Trip

Participate in another perspective of a concept.

This is like a balance exercise because it develops the ability to see multiple sides of an issue.

Key Cognitive Strategy:  Precision and Accuracy

Sailing to Byzantium

Analyze observations of the world from another generation’s perspective.

This is like an aerobic exercise because it expands the capacity for sympathy and empathy.

Key Cognitive Strategy:  Communication

Writing to Prompt

Write a story based on R. A. F. T. (Role. Audience. Format. Topic.)

This is like a flexibility exercise because it stretches the creative vision and keeps vocabulary limber.

Key Cognitive Strategy:  Communication

 

 I love doing these exercises.  I try to do at least one exercise every day. Whenever I get stuck writing for my book, I set the book aside and do a writing exercise.  Often the exercise reveals what I was trying to say in my story.

A few months ago, I was unsuccessfully trying to write a back cover blurb for my book.  I decided to treat it as a writing exercise; I pretended I was writing to a prompt.  It worked!  I managed to write an acceptable summary for The Book of Rhino.

I highly recommend doing some sort of writing exercise—one that works best for you. Just like physical exercise, a writing exercise is most beneficial when it is consistent and fits your needs and your lifestyle.

Contributed as Guest Post by S. M. Hart (author)

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On the Road Again- How to Pick Your Book Events for Maximum Benefits

“Eenie, meanie, mienie, mo…pick a spot for me to go.” Well, that might be one way for authors to choose the events that will showcase their talents to the reading public, but there are far more exact methods of getting the most bang for your traveling buck. Here’s a few tips that I use, so my trips are worthwhile and enjoyable. All it involves is a little detective work.

First, check with your fans. Where are most of your readers based? Word of mouth is key, especially if you are a new author, so keep in mind that loyal followers would love to meet you, and they will tell their friends and coworkers. It’s also helpful to check out any events near your family or friends. Again, word of mouth goes a long way.

Now that you have a good idea of the areas that already know your name, check out Facebook, Google or other sites for a list of events. Simply search for Author Events Around the World, or even more specific locations. Remember, spots fill up fast, so it is a good rule of thumb to check for signings at least six months in advance or longer.

Once you have an idea of where you want to go and what is offered in the area, send an email of interest or fill out the specific form provided. (It is best to do this as soon as possible to avoid being put on a wait list.) When your invitation is confirmed, promote, promote, promote!

Most events will have pages or links on social media sites and this is a fabulous opportunity to get your name and your books out to those who may not know of your awesomeness! Create friendships with other authors attending, sign up for any workshops which may be offered at the events, even sponsor or lead a workshop if they are proposing a seminar on something you are knowledgeable about.  The more accessible you are to event planners, readers, and other authors, the more you will get out of the experience.

It’s also a good idea to investigate a bit more and find bookshops in the area. Talk to the managers about a more private signing while you are there. Many owners are quite willing to set up a small event. It generates more foot traffic for their stores. Some may even offer a consignment option to sell your novels after you leave.

Finally, a note about travel arrangements. Since money doesn’t grow on trees, it’s helpful to share expenses when you can. Most promoters offer the option of full or half tables, so take advantage of the option to meet new authors and their fans. Some authors even split the hotel costs by sharing rooms. A simple note on the author-only page of the event, will help you find many willing to share expenses. Many promoters will also allow you to ship swag and paperbacks beforehand if you are traveling a distance. And don’t forget to keep an eye out for special airfare, car rentals and hotel discounts!

Now it’s time to grab the swag, stock up on your books, and prepare to meet and greet the masses! Done with a bit of forethought, your book signings and events will be the highlight of your year. In addition, you might just find a novel idea or two to write about in the future. Good luck, and I hope to see you…on the road again.

This post is contributed as Guest post by Maggie Adams.

ABOUT Maggie Adams:

I’m Maggie Adams the author of the bestselling Tempered Steel Series. I live in the Midwest with my husband, aka, ATTRACTIVE OVER FORTY MAN! I love dancing, cooking, reading and writing romance, especially erotic romance. I make sure each of my books have a little something about me in them, so keep your eyes open, I’m in there somewhere!

Contact Author: AMAZON TWITTER

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The Surprising Success Secret to Making it Big as a Writer

Do you know the most powerful success secret to making it big as a writer?

Is it:

Natural talent?
An English degree?
How many awards you’ve won?

Dale Carnegie said this back in 1937:

15 percent of your success comes from your technical skill. The other 85% comes from how well you deal with people.

If you think

that’s outdated, check this out.

Google did a survey of managers in 2009 called Project Oxygen. The researchers wanted to know:

if managers matter
if so, then why do they matter
what skills are responsible for their success

Here are so

me of those skills:

Be a good coach.
Empower; don’t micromanage.
Be interested in direct reports, success and well-being.
Don’t be a sissy: Be productive and results-oriented.
Be a good communicator and listen to your team.
Help your employees with career development.
Have a clear vision and strategy for the team.
Have key technical skills so you can advise the team.

Do you see a theme running through these?

Every one of these skills involves dealing with people.

“Your success as a writer depends more on your people skills than your talent.”  Frank McKinley

Success Secret #1 – You need other people.

Success doesn’t depend much on genius. It does depend heavily on how well you know and relate to other people.

Here are some quick and easy ways to supercharge your human relations IQ.

Be courteous. Say thank you when others do you a favor.
Do favors for other people. Don’t come asking first. Give if you want to receive.
Ask for what you want – and frame it so the other person comes out a winner.

The bottom line is this: treat people as well or better than you want them to treat you. When you do this, you’ll set the standard for how you’re treated.

Success Secret #2 – Don’t wait for people to come to you.

Four years ago, my son and I visited a new church.

Here’s how I got him ready.

“Drew, there are probably a lot of nice people in there. Some of them may come up to you and introduce themselves. But there’s no guarantee of that. Don’t wait around. You introduce yourself to people first and good things will happen.”

I thought he’d just nod his head and do nothing.

Before I even got a seat, Drew introduced me to 4 or 5 people he’d already met!

After church, the same thing happened.

If you want friends, be one. Make the first move. Invite people to chat, spend time with you, and work together. You’ll be amazed at what might happen!

Here’s what happened when I made the first move this year:

I’ve done 5 expert interviews
I’ve been invited to speak on a webinar and a podcast
I have written for two other blogs
I’ll be doing a Q&A this fall at the popular Tribe Conference

If you want things to happen, do what my friend Anne Peterson told me:

Always be networking.

Success Secret #3 – Always give people a reason to continue with you.

If you struggle with making people connections, let me recommend a book I’m reading called the Improv Manifesto.

If you’ve ever seen the show Whose Line is it Anyway, you’ve seen improv at its best. I’m not asking you to become a standup comedian. Neither am I asking you to become an actor. The point is there is a lot you can learn from this acting if you want to succeed as a writer.

Here are a few takeaways:

Make offers. In other words, give them a reason to say or do something. Think in terms of what they want, not what you want.
Start off strong. The first impression you make will last, so make it count.
Go for it. Reach out and make that connection now. Do the best you can and remember you’ve got nothing to lose.

“You’ll get what you want when you ask for it.”

Frank McKinley

Now Do This

This week set a networking goal.

Here are some suggestions.

Contact an expert and ask for an interview.
Do a book review and send a Tweet to the author.
Offer to write about something your favorite Blogger’s audience needs but hasn’t gotten yet.

“You can get everything in life you want when you help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar

Have a fantastic week! I can’t wait to hear how this works for you.

Share your story in the comments.
Feel free to ask me for help if you’re getting stuck.
Want more tips? Subscribe for a new one every week!











Frank McKinley

I help writers engage readers, sell their ideas, and build their tribes.

www.frankmckinleyauthor.com

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5 Things You Should Be Doing As A New Author

Have you started writing your first book? Are you thinking about writing a book? Well, hot damn. That’s fantastic. Start writing. Plain and simple. While you’re writing your fantastic bestselling novel, there are some things you should be doing to make your writing better and hopefully; help you land an agent or set yourself up for a successful self-publishing career.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA, BLOGS, AND WEBSITES

I can hear the wails now. ‘Why do I have to get on social media? I just want to write a book, not a blog. What the hell, I have to build a website?’ Yes, eventually you must do these things. Nowadays, agents and publishers look at what new authors can bring to the table. Gone are the days of publishers building the author’s brand. You’re responsible for your author brand. Don’t wait until your book is complete to start building your author platform. Read Jane Friedman’s blog post on Building a Platform to Land a Book Deal: Why It Often Fails. You’re not building your platform/brand to sell books. You want to build relationships. This will translate into a much more successful long term career. By starting this now, when your book is complete, you’ll have people you’ve developed a relationship with who will be invested in you and will hopefully buy your book.So, what social media should you be using? Start with Twitter.  Follow authors you like. Follow agents that represent authors who write in your genre. Engage with people, retweet others content. Don’t make it about you. Remember you want to use social media to build relationships. Don’t tweet about me, me, me. People do not want to hear all about you.Pinterest—As you get closer to releasing your book, either by traditional publishing or self-publishing, this can be a great marketing tool. Facebook—Read up on Facebook for authors. When you have decided where you want your writing to go, then you’ll have a better idea of how to approach Facebook.  Instagram—I’m just now learning about Instagram and using it for my author branding.

Blogs—As for a blog; you don’t have to start one now. However, you should consider starting one soon. Jane Friedman’s—How to Start Blogging: A Definitive Guide for Authors will explain why blogging is important for authors. Blogging not only gets you out there, put it helps people connect with you. You can gear your blog to whatever you want. I set mine up to help new authors. I try to relay information that will help with their writing, save them time, headaches, and money. If you don’t feel comfortable starting your blog, find places like Being Author and submit a guest blog post to them. All these things will help build your author platform/brand.

WEBSITES: You do not need a website of your own to start this endeavor. Wait until you have decided where you want to take your writing. Ultimately, if you decide you want to have your books published you should have an author website. You can combine this with your blog. Almost all the providers allow for a minimal free website. You can play around with them and see what you like best. Joanna Penn has a great article on author websites.

My only advice, pay attention to what you put out there. Everything you do on social media will reflect on your author brand. Don’t get into arguments on any social media platform. You will never win, and it will remain out there forever.

2. JOIN A WRITING GROUP

Not only will you meet other authors, but you’ll also have a built-in support system. In my writing group, each month, we critique someone’s writing. You submit a few pages and then everyone tells you what they liked, didn’t like, where they think you can improve. I found myself stuck in a chapter and emailed it to someone in the group, the immediate feedback and help were fantastic. I found my group on Meetup.

3. GO TO WRITING CONFERENCES

You don’t have to go the most expensive conference on the other side of the planet. Check out your area. In Oklahoma City, we have small writing conferences all over the place. I attend the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation Inc (OWFI) conference yearly. These conferences have industry leaders, agents, publishers, and editors there and they are accessible. At the last conference, I met three editors. I asked each of them if they would review three chapters of my book and give me some idea of where I was at as a writer and what kind of editor would benefit me in the future. Each did it for free. Each did three different chapters.

Hand in hand with conferences is joining a writer’s group like OWFI. There is the Romance Writers of America or the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. There is probably a writers group for every genre. These groups run contests, hold conferences and online workshops. It is usually very little to join and the benefits far out way that minimal cost.

4. Read

Yes, Read. Read books by authors who write in your genre. Read other genres. Read the bestselling authors and see how they do it. Follow them on your social media outlets. Connect with them, see what they’re reading. Find blog posts about writing. I read a lot that Jane Friedman posts. Frances Caballo’s website has great posts daily. You don’t have to read just books. Read about the writing process and ways to make you a better writer.

5. Write Regularly:

Sounds too easy huh? If you’re serious about writing a novel, you’re going to need to set aside daily writing times. If not daily, because shit happens, you should be writing several times a week. I don’t care if you write standing, sitting at a desk, or sitting in a recliner (that’s me) just write. If you have kids like I do, write when they’re at school and late at night. If you work, figure out a daily time to sit down and write. Then don’t do anything else for that hour or however long you’ve blocked out. Don’t get on your social media, don’t answer emails or pin stuff on Pinterest. When you sit down to write, write. DO NOTHING ELSE.Don’t get bogged down in the little stuff. It’s not rocket science; but if you want to be a serious author/writer, you’re going to have to put in the time and effort. It’s very rewarding and very demanding at the same time.It all starts in one place, though, writing. NOW GO WRITE.

 

This post is contributed as Guest post by Victoria M. Patton.

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The best 10 tools that simplify the life of a freelance writer

The best 10 tools that simplify the life of a freelance writer

If you want to be a good freelance writer and produce only qualitative texts, you should know that this task is quite difficult. Nevertheless, there are many tools that can help you achieve your goals. They simplify the working process of any writer and allow him to be more productive. In this review, we are going to discuss 10 tools that help writers do their work.

    Applications for Typing

Each writer understands that the salary fully depends on the way how fast he types. Sometimes, deadlines are short and one should cope with the task in several hours. That is why you have to learn to type rapidly. There are many tools that can help you boost up the typing speed, like Keybr or TypingWeb. These are free typing tutorials.

    Dictionaries

Even if you are not going to write content in other languages, it doesn’t mean that you will not need the dictionary. Professionally written content must correspond to several requirements. First, you should use synonyms to the words that are repeated in your text for several times. In this case, you will need Thesaurus – the best dictionary of synonyms. In some instances, you will be made to use specific terminology. So, dictionaries are always needed.

    Writing Software

These days, there are plenty of programs for typing texts. The choice fully depends on the preferences of a writer. However, Microsoft Office Word is the most widely used program. There are some apps that are offered for free. Some of them you need to buy and install onto your computer. Before downloading the software, you need to find out whether this app complies with your demands and has a set of required features.

    A Quote Highlighter

This tool is useful for those writers, who work for essay writing companies. They are obliged to write dissertation papers or essays on a regular basis. Quote Highlighters save your time greatly. When you write a paper, you just need to indicate the source. The program will do the rest on its own. The most popular one is Liner. However, you need to choose the one, which corresponds to your requirements.

    A Plagiarism Checker.

These days this criterion is of prime importance and each freelance author knows this. Plagiarism detecting software is a must-have tool. You cannot send an article, review or essay to the client before you check it via these programs. Besides, it is impossible to send a plagiarized article. Nowadays, there are many plagiarism checkers. Some of them require installation on your computer; some of them check texts online. For example, you may use Noplag.com. This is a reliable online plagiarism checker with an extensive database and many useful features to make the writing process easier.

    A Time Management Tool.

This tool helps writers to manage their time properly. Sometimes, you are too busy and do not know whether you can cope with the task on time or not. A time management tool will help you spare your working time properly. There are many apps for time management. Just choose the one you like most of all. The most popular one is Evernote or Focus booster.

    A Readability Checker.

If your goal is to create an interesting and easy-to-read article, a readability checker will help you do this. Such apps check your content and will offer you the suggestions concerning the way how it should look like. Surfing around the web, you will stumble upon many tools measuring text readability. For instance, you may defer to the services of Online-Utility.org – the tool which will calculate readability for free.

    A Grammar Checker.

This is the most important tool for each writer. You may be a very experienced writer, but everyone can make mistakes. Nobody is perfect. Misprints frequently happen (especially when you are in a hurry). A grammar checker will help you find mistakes and correct them. The most popular one is Grammarly or Paperrater. Some apps are offered for free, but some of them oblige you to buy a subscription.

    A Word Counter.

This tool allows writers to orient in the size of their paper. If you write your article using Microsoft Word, you will find there a word counter. If you use the other program for writing, you should find out whether there is this feature.

Calculation tool.

When it comes to getting a salary, each writer will calculate the payment for several times. Everyone likes to calculate money. The simplest tool to calculate your salary is Excel or calculator on your laptop or mobile device.

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3 things you can do when your story is too short

It happens to every writer occasionally. No matter how clearly you outline and how verbose you feel as you are writing, you get to the conclusion of your story and your word count leaves something to be desired. Do you leave it as is and try to promote a short piece? Or do you try to increase your word count to where you were hoping it would end up?

If you chose option A, this is the place for you. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to give your word count a kick in the butt.

Explore side characters. Maybe your sidekick has a backstory that you haven’t explored. Maybe your hero has family who you mentioned in passing that you could include in the story directly. I’m not advising you to add fluff for fluff’s sake, but very often writing about these side characters can add depth and interest to your story that would otherwise be missing.
Show, don’t tell. On a somewhat related note, are there scenes in your story where you gloss over a scene rather than exploring it completely? Could you be accused of telling when you could be showing? It’s good advice in general that you should show and not tell in fiction, but this goes double when you are looking to add to your word count totals.
Look into subplots. This one might seem obvious, but it’s very easy to get so focused on your main plot that you forget a novel isn’t just your hero and your heroine from point A to point B. Having some complications along the way doesn’t just make things more fun, it helps your reader better bond with your characters, and makes your characters feel more like people and less like two dimensional figures.

When it comes down to it, lengthening a story shouldn’t just be about padding your word count. In order to boost your word count while also staying true to your original story, it’s important to think about why you are doing it and now just how. Keep these things in mind and before you know it, you’ll have a fantastic (and fantastically longer) story on your hands.

Image Courtesy: Positivewriter.com

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Is Your Writing Hit or Myth?

The single most interesting fact I have ever learned about writing – one so significant that it affects me more than anything else as a writer is this: Knowing the power of the monomyth, a type of story structure, George Lucas went to comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell for advice on his Star Wars story. Why does this matter? Because the monomyth is by far the most powerful and prevalent story type there is. (Look at the staggering commercial success of Star Wars or Harry Potter to get a sense of how important this story form is).

So then… What is the monomyth? It’s a term that Campbell borrowed from James Joyce that means “the hero’s story,” the transformational journey that a hero takes that defines him or her. The term was coined by James Joyce in “Ulysses,” but was adopted and probably gained its preeminence via Campbell’s writings and lectures, particularly in his book “The Hero With A Thousand Faces.”

Campbell summarized the monomyth this way: “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

The monomyth is critically important as a story structure. It gives a story tremendous cohesion and power. Campbell’s research across thousands of years of mythology showed a remarkable similarity across time and across cultures in the stories that are elevated to the highest level a story can have in any culture – the status of myth. So, rearranging the pun in the title a bit, if you want a hit, use the power of myth!

In “Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation,” a book drawn from Joseph Campbell’s late lectures and workshops, he says about artists and the monomyth: “Artists are magical elfs. Evoking symbols and motifs that connect us to our deeper selves, they can help us along the heroic journey of our own lives.”

What was significant for me in all of these insights was that I finally realized my deepest motivations in story-telling and why I write stories. The monomyth is a transformational idea that, like the theory of gravity or relativity in scientific areas, has a remarkable power to explain why certain stories are powerful and endure for generations and others are weak, valueless, and ephemeral. For me, that insight sent a deep radar pulse into my deepest heart and – finally! – showed the outline of a face that should have been familiar all along but was not.

It’s not just thousands of years of mythology and fairy tales that depend on the monomyth – modern stories like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and many others were either patterned after myths directly, or knowingly patterned using specific knowledge of the monomyth. Why do I dislike reading most modern fiction? Precisely because it tends to depart from the monomyth. I refuse to waste my time reading about complicated neurotic wimps who talk endlessly about their problems and never resolve anything. I want to read about believably heroic men and women (and children) who will inspire me to keep trying in my own personal monomyth.

Naturally, when it comes to my own writing, I gravitate toward the monomyth too. For me, much of the language of my heart and spirit is the monomyth. Writing my own myths with believable heroes is the “boon for my fellow man” with which I have returned: Hard-won truths about love, courage, and loyalty that ring true on some deep, almost unconscious level. These are the deep truths of the human spirit without which a story cannot have lasting power.

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