The Masks We Wear

This has been a topsy turvey old week. Chuck Wendig has written a very thoughtful post on what it means to be a writer and how writers can process the momentous event that happened this week.

Sarah Stonichava-Finch has an interesting article on embracing a pen name and an alter ego. If you ever wanted to live a different life, read this.

Reedsy looks at the rise of Literary Fiction Self Publishing. I often remind people that Literary Fiction is a genre. It has its stars just like Crime or Romance. It is building a niche in self publishing.

Jami Gold has written an excellent post on whether stories should be set in stone once they are published. If you have ever looked at a glaring error in a book and wished to fix it – should you?

Anne R Allen has an excellent post on things new writers can do right now if they want that dream writing career.

Nina Amir has a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog on how to set achievable and meaningful goals. Yes, NaNoWriMo is still going on. The world is still turning.

Emily Harstone of Authors Publish has written an interesting article on the 8 trends she has seen in publishing this year. A couple of things surprised me.

In The Craft Section,

Red flags in Editing- Meg Latorre-Snyder

Two ways to use misdirection- Roz Morris-Bookmark

5 world building tips- DIYMFA

7 remedies for writer apathy

How to nail your inciting incident- Pamela Hodges-Bookmark

Passion, the best fuel for writing- Writer Unboxed

Mastering stylistic tension- September Fawkes-Bookmark

Creating powerful images- C S Lakin - Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

When your book isn’t selling-Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Ways to target readers using bookbub ads

50 ways to kickstart publicity- Molly Greene - Bookmark

Audiobook options for writers- Lindsay Buroker

3 marketing success stories- Bookmark

Own your author business in seven steps-Carla King- Bookmark

Book Marketing Mistakes

To Finish,

The election this week highlighted archetypes and caricatures. Many believed that the voting public would see through the buffoonery to the straw man beneath and so they did not prepare for the unthinkable result. There are positive archetypes to identify with. Paul Minors has 8 productivity archetypes that might help you find a way to turn dross into gold.

Maureen

@craicer

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons – Chris H

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Writing Inspiration

It’s that month loved and feared by many writers around the world. The month where writers start writing with great intentions and at the end of the first week start gibbering.

If you are head down into NaNoWriMo I have some great craft and inspiration articles for you. 

If you are not doing NaNoWriMo I have some great inspiration and craft articles for you.

First up you need a pep talk from Mr Chuck Wendig. Then you will be ready to hit the creative sandbox (or possibly plant your face in the sandbox.)

Jami Gold has a stellar post on how to make NaNo work for you. This is a great post and works for every writer not just for November. What are the goals you set for yourself?

Meanwhile out beyond the NaNoSphere the publishing world was back to normal.

Publishing Perspectives reported on the Nielson kids summit- What are the challenges in Children’s publishing and what’s next on the horizon?

PubCrawl has an interesting article on the non compete clause in contracts. Oh the tricky wording and what it  all means.

Catherine Ryan Howard talks about being a hybrid author now and what’s best about both worlds.

Nathan Bransford talks about personalised queries. Sometimes too personal can be too much.

Ginger Moran talks about what to do when you have trouble getting your book written. Some self care may be required.

In The Craft Section,

NaNo Planning in 15 minutes – Jennifer Blanchard

Writing great blurbs- Ali Luke- Bookmark

How to find good story titles

Writing three dimensional characters- Bookbaby

Understanding inner conflict – Michael Huge- Bookmark

Making every word count- Jane Friedman

Bringing dialogue to life- Ruth Harris - Bookmark

In The Marketing Section,

5 Facebook Ad features you didn’t know existed-Problogger- Bookmark

Book Marketing checklist-Tim Grahl- Bookmark

A business mindset- Orna Ross- Bookmark

The crowd funded publication model

Pitch your novel perfectly

Podcasting and marketing your book

When to start marketing- Penny Sansevieri

The bestseller status

To Finish,

Every year around this time writing craft books get promoted. There are always good sales. I have picked up some great writing craft books in NaNoWriMo StoryBundles. This year has a great selection. Kris Rusch’s contract book with all that contract info I’ve been sharing this year is in the bundle along with some other familiar names. And it’s a great price. There are even sites that have free writing craft books.

November is also NaNoReadMo - where you promote reading and sharing great books.

Give yourself a NaNoWri Present and grab a writing craft book or a bundle of them.

Maureen

@craicer

Pic: Flickr Creative Commons- Dafne Cholet

It’s nearly time to send out my monthly newsletter. If you want a handy collection of the best of my bookmarked links and other interesting items click here to subscribe!