July 1, 2011

When you take a break on this hot Fourth of July weekend, try some of these articles. They’ll keep you in a writing frame of mind!

 

What If You Think You Might Be a Mediocre Fiction Writer? Every novelist hits the point, sooner or later, where they think they just might not actually have any talent. What do you do in that case? Should you just throw in the towel? Or muddle forward? How do you know if you’re any good?

 

Book Marketing Methods That Don’t Work (from Writer Beware! blog) For any author, whether self-, small press-, or big house-published, getting noticed is one of the primary challenges. Larger publishers provide marketing support for their authors (yes, they really do, despite popular wisdom to the contrary), but with smaller publishers, and if you’ve self-published, you may be mostly or entirely on your own.

 

The Internet and Procrastination If you have trouble wasting time on the Internet when you want to be writing instead, read this article. Some good tips–as well as information about a program called “Freedom”–just might get you past this modern-day obstruction–and back to writing!

 

Do Publishers Market Books? Do publishers still market books? Or don’t they? Should you go ahead and self-publish since you’ll just have to do the marketing yourself anyway? Before you go that route, read this article. It’s true! And are you willing and able to do all those things for your book? Pays thinking about. 

 

Tension on the Page, or Micro-Tension Tension! Tension! Tension! Great books have tension that keep us involved in the story. Micro-tension involves a diverse set of techniques.

May 19, 2010

A few weeks ago in “Find a Need and Fill It” I asked for your input concerning the topics you find most helpful in this blog.

Thank you all for the responses! It’s been very helpful. The requests fell into three main categories. Since I blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, that made it easy for me. From now on, this will be my general blogging schedule so that I can cover each topic area regularly.

What You Can Expect

Monday = Inner Motivation (includes:)

• fears–all kinds!
• discipline
• focus
• goals
• rejection
• lack of motivation
• encouragement
• a writer’s dream life
• procrastination
• working with our “inner editor”
• enjoying writing more
• perseverance
• creative inspiration
• writer’s block

Wednesday = Outer Challenges (includes:)

• setting boundaries
• time management
• distractions
• discipline
• writing schedules
• goal setting
• balancing writing with chaos in life
• balancing day jobs with writing
• our writing needs (vs. “their” needs)
• self-defeating behaviors

Friday = Tips ‘n’ Tricks of the Trade (includes:)

• specific genre help
• writing books I’ve found helpful
• blogs I find useful
• classes I’ve taken
• voice (writer’s and character’s)
• critique groups
• conferences
• working with publishers
• marketing–all kinds
• considering the audience when writing
• dealing with publishers who don’t respond
• finding good markets
• developing depth in writing
• selling “unique” pieces instead of jumping on the bandwagon

Thanks for Your Input

All your feedback has been immensely helpful in organizing future blog posts and making sure I cover topics you want to hear about and find useful. If I missed anything on these lists, feel free to let me know!

May 8, 2009

My weekend gift to you today is a link to another website featuring “100 Killer Blog Posts to Help You Achieve Your Dreams.” The articles are divided into categories, from motivation and goals to attitudes and fitness. Are you having trouble being motivated to pursue the goals you set for 2009? Then look no further!

Sometime this weekend, get a good cup of coffee and put your feet up, either at home or your local Border’s or B & N cafe, and soak up the collective wisdom.

And have a terrific weekend!

August 3, 2008

April 16, 2008

My friend Terry Whalin (agent, editor, writer) was in New York recently, where (among many other things) he was on a prestigious panel discussing successful blogging. See the article here. This is a description of the panel: “If you’re thinking of creating a blog or looking to improve your current template, this is a must-attend session. Panelists will show how to achieve professional results when it comes to generating buzz, cultivating an audience, and writing the kind of content that gets you noticed by editors.”

Terry was very generous and posted his handout (which includes a free blogging e-book offer). The handout is simply loaded with links to help you make your blog all it can be. I hope you’ll take advantage of it. Thanks, Terry!

February 13, 2008

Do you ever wish you could ask an agent your “beginner” questions? Maybe something like these?

• “What do I need to know about creating a proposal for an agent? Is it like filling out a form, or do I create the story for them to see?”
• “Do you suggest a writer seek endorsements before approaching an agent?”
• “How extensive of a platform do you look for in a first-time novelist (as opposed to a new non-fiction writer)?”
• “What do you think about getting a copy of your book printed by LULU or some place like that, for the sole purpose of showing it to publishers during a pitch session?”
• “How has the huge influx and influence of blogging in recent years affected writing, writers, and the writing industry?”

Well, now you can find the answers to these questions. Agent Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary answers them for you here.

January 15, 2008

I’ve been blogging for a month, and I thank you for the comments, the emails, and the feedback. It’s been exciting to meet new friends this way! I’ve never been one to “re-invent the wheel.” So I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:
The best blogging techniques.
How to get traffic to your blog.
How to turn your blog into money.

I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it’s still free.