Caring for your Writer

We are half way through Winter and the local news is about flooding and snow storms and we are going into Election Season. It’s enough to make you depressed. So what’s happening in the Northern Hemisphere? They are in the middle of Summer and the news is just as dire and everyone is depressed.

Writer’s suck in the atmosphere around them and try to make sense of it in their writing. Their words can be the solace at a difficult time... a challenge to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes... an idea that changes a world.

The price for this can be carved out on the writer’s soul. Sometimes it’s hard to remain upbeat.

Anne R Allen has a standout post on Writers Block and Depression. This is a must read. Even if you have never suffered from Writers Block, recognising the signs might help you to care for your self better.

Self Doubt is another insidious dis-ease that writers suffer from. Cat Friesen has some practical ways to cope with this common writer ailment.

For a bracing dose of writer medicine read Chuck Wendig - So you are having a bad writing day.  Don’t beat yourself up about it!

If you are struggling to explain why sometimes this industry gets you down. Take a look at Kristen Lamb’s post from December. It’s a reminder on how much publishing has changed in a decade.

Looking at changes to the familiar, Frances Caballo has taken a close look at the changes on Twitter and Facebook. She explains how useful the new tools we’ve been given are.

Last week I linked to a post by Jami Gold. Did you notice her new website? Jami writes this week about why and how she changed her website. (This is all interesting to me as I play in a private sandbox tweaking ideas for a revamp here.)

Alli- or The Alliance of Independent Authors have a great blog. Recently Richard Bradburn shared his thoughts on the proper care and feeding of Beta Readers. (This week my Beta Readers found a critical mistake, proving that it doesn’t matter how many times you check something, another person’s eyes on your work is worth gold.)

PublishDrive has an interesting article on publishing books on Google Play. They can do it. While you are checking out the article, check out the company, who are an ebook distributor based in Europe. They now sell in over 400 online stores including all the big ones and they sell into Asia. (The next big market according to Joanna Penn.)

Joanna Penn has been promoting her new edition of How To Market a Book all over Social Media. She has an excerpt from the book about the polarities of Book Marketing. What do you do if you have no money to market...

In The Craft Section,

Two great articles from Angela Ackerman on setting. – Make your setting a character and Turn your setting into an obstacle course. Bookmark

How do you know when you need to revise- Blood Red Pencil

Describing character eyes- Now Novel-Bookmark

Feedback Frenzy- Everyone’s opinion - Janice Hardy

Structuring events in sequence- September Fawkes- Bookmark

Sensory details in setting- Christina Delay

In The Marketing Section,

Networking for indie authors

How to create pre launch buzz- Rachel Thompson - Bookmark

Building an email list for your book – The Write Life

Bookcovers and Indie Author brands- Bookmark

How to be a top book on Goodreads- Penny Sansevieri

Advanced approaches to author marketing- Draft2Digital- Bookmark

To Finish,

I like to dive into a podcast over lunch or on car journeys when it’s just me. It is a way of connecting to the wider publishing world. Some podcasts are mini workshops. If you haven’t listened to a podcast take the plunge. Check out 30 outstanding podcasts for authors. Today I listened to the superb team from the SFF Marketing podcast who chatted about editing and mailing lists. I always learn something new which helps me to stay upbeat in this crazy publishing world.

Maureen

@craicer

Pic: Spa. Flickr Creative Commons- Stephanie Riddell  https://www.familiesonline.co.uk

I have a monthly newsletter with the best of the months craft and marketing links. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. Come and join our happy band!

Heroes and Villains

David Gaughran deserves a medal- or at least a big payday. 

David has been pointing out scammers and highlighting the rip off artists that prey on writers for years along with Writer Beware. Lately he has been trying to make Amazon aware of the click farm scammers on their websites. This is becoming a real problem. The click farm scammers take away money from the legit writers in page reads. They also skew your research. (I have been watching the children’s bestsellers... and shaking my head over number 1 and now I know why!)

Anne R Allen has an interesting post on the rise of publishing cults and cyber bullying among authors. I hear you all muttering, how could they, but when you read Anne’s article you realise how small actions turn into large hate fests targeting hapless authors. This is a must read and share.

Bad Reviews- Do you take them to heart? Tamar Sloan recently shared her psychologist knowledge on Writer Unboxed about why readers leave a bad review. It’s not about your book.

China has a new craze... reading. But not print books. Their online serial story platform numbers are heading into the stratosphere. This is a market to watch and if you can... get involved!

Jane Friedman recently interviewed two creators who have their stories on Tapas. This is a new kid on the block online reading experience that pays the creators. If you are a web comic creator or a writer check out the interview and have a poke around the website. It’s fascinating.

Jane also has an interesting article on whether authors should be using social media. Many authors struggle with the extroverted nature of social media. Jane offers some sound advice and lots of links for further learning.

Porter Anderson takes a look at the new white paper, The Business Of Books 2017, for Frankfurt Book Fair business members. Porter looks at three important points in the paper, competition, blockbusters and digital pricing. This is an interesting look at the global impact on publishing from a few brands and a heads up on what publishers will have to come to grips with going forward.

Bookbub recently polled 14 authors on how they use preorders and whether establishing a preorder was effective. Rachel Thompson has also been looking at preorder marketing and how you can create buzz around your book before it is even out.

Written Word Media has an interesting post on pricing. What is the optimum price for your book in a promotion? It depends on what you want to acheive....

Agent Jennifer Laughran has started a podcast. This will be of interest to children’s writers as she is a top agent in the field of children’s publishing. She talks to Laurel Snyder about imposter syndrome in her first episode.

In The Craft Section,

Seven ways to bring characters together- Mythcreants- Bookmark!

Myths on Villains and Mental Health- Sacha Black- Bookmark

Adding suspense – Roz Morris- Bookmark

Develop Character Voices- Don Fox- Bookmark

Three reasons you don’t need a character arc- Janice Hardy

5 things I learned from Story Expert John Yorke- Bang2write

John Grisham’s tips on how to write fiction

In The Marketing Section,

How to price match free on Amazon- Molly Greene – Bookmark

Bookfunnel bundles- Katherine Hayton- Bookmark

When reader targeting goes wrong – David Gaughran

10 things I did right in my debut- Litreactor

Tips for finding your audience on Goodreads- Carman Amato- Bookmark

Creating a Book Sell Sheet- K S Brooks- Bookmark

The marketing rule you can’t forget- Ryan Holiday – Bookmark

 9 ways to get the best out of your cover designer- Damonza and Joanna Penn- Bookmark

To Finish,

Do you remember Choose Your Own Adventure books? Every time you got to an exciting crossroads you had to make a choice. Now think about writing one. Got a headache yet?

Have a look at this hand drawn map from a CYOA book author. This is a fascinating insight

into intricate plotting.

Maureen

@craicer

My monthly newsletter has the best of my bookmarked craft and marketing links as well as some other bits and pieces. When you subscribe you will also get a nifty book crammed full with marketing notes. Come and join our happy band! This blog survives on coffee so a big THANK YOU to everyone who hit the coffee button this week. I appreciate the virtual coffee love.
 

Pic: Guess who?