It’s ten days until November. For many writers around the
world November is when they take a deep breath and plunge into NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month.)
The aim is to write 50,000 words by the 30th.
50,000 words seems like a huge mountain to climb. Fear of
the task can paralyse you so that you don’t get started at all. Rachel Thompson
has 4 tips to overcome your fear of writing.
Joanna Penn has a great interview with Grant Faulkner where
he talks about how NaNoWriMo got started and the origins of the 100 word story
site.
You can sign up for NaNoWriMo and find your local group to
support you or just beaver away at home.
Roz Morris has an excellent post on pace and structure to
help with your NaNo planning and Bookworks has one on Time Management strategies for authors.
October is often called NaNoPrepMo. It is much easier to
write 50,000 words if you know what you are going to write first. Jami Gold has her brilliant worksheets for authors available to download so you are all
prepared for NaNoWriMo.
Out in the world Mike Shatzkin has been taking a look at the latest Author Earnings data. He concludes that Bob Mayer was right with his
post everything old is new again. Traditional publishers have now figured out
how to use the new world of ebook publishing but there are differences in
approach.
Kristine Rusch has an interesting post on how writers can be overwhelmed. The solution is to define exactly what you want to be and or
achieve.
Anne R Allen has a great post on the latest twists and turns of the Amazon review policy. This post is getting widely shared. Anne is a
treasure trove of useful information and this post lays out what you can and
can’t do regarding the new rules of reviews on Amazon.
Susan Spann writes about the intricacies of the advance in contracts. If you have ever wondered how it all works? What earning out means? How advances are calculated? This is the post for you.
In The Craft Section,
Fixing fatal flaws- Janice Hardy- Bookmark
Story and Structure love- James Scott Bell
3 ways to spot telling- K M Weiland- Bookmark
How to write excellent plot twists- Ava Jae
Synopsising your way to revision success-Writer Unboxed - Bookmark
Finding your character special hook and Pacing- Angela
Ackerman- Bookmark
Act 2 The dark night of the soul -Sara Letourneau - Bookmark
Where does your drama come from- Lisa Cron - Bookmark
In The Marketing Section,
Two great post from Rachel Thompson-What is a media kit and why you need one- Bookmark and How do you build an audience before you have a product.
Launching A Series- Great podcast with Lindsay Buroker
Book promotion- Do this Not that- The Book Designer
Push marketing or Pull marketing- Jane Friedman- Bookmark
To Finish,
John Green has been acknowledged as a Y A writing superstar.
While other writers may envy him his success has not come easy. In a very candid interview he discusses his battle with Writers Block and mental health.
Sometimes all you can do is feel the fear and keep going.
Maureen
@craicer
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