Oh, Chuck. I knew I could count on you to keep the quality coming while I was away. As usual, Chuck Wendig kept up his 25 posts: Ways To Fight Your Story's Mushy Middle, Reasons This Is The Best Time To Be A Storyteller, Things You Should Know About Writing Fantasy, Things You Should Know About Writing Sex.
Greta van der Rol wrote about local colour and asked, "How much is too much?"
Into the Morning had this interesting post on the subject of reviews. She breaks down her comments in a list to reviewers and to writers. Worth a look, I think, especially if you're a reviewer... or an author who has received a negative review.
Isis Rushdan had a simple, inspiring post on hard work.
If you want to be a bloody awful writer, James Killick has some tips for you.
Paperback Writer is such a wonderful resource blog. This month, she had a number of great posts: No-Nos for the Nasty, a review of a free editing program, and a list of short story sins.
Among her other useful posts this month, Aimee Salter wrote about the critical requirements for successful self-editing.
Sierra Godfrey's How to Sell Books post could really apply to any product you want to sell, as evidenced by her anecdote about spearmint.
Sirra collected another round of her Twitter writing tips.
I typically don't include posts from Somebody Has To Say It, but two posts stood out for the month of June: this one on dialogue attributes and this one on publishing contracts.
Stella was my most recent Blog Roundup feature, so you should already have read some of her most recent entries. If you haven't, start with this Tip of the Week post on editing and professionalism.
Showing posts with label isis rushdan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label isis rushdan. Show all posts
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Blog Roundup: April 2 - 8, 2012
Chuck Wendig told us all how to be a full-time writer. He's so smart.
Guess what? Greta van der Rol's latest, Starheart, is free on Amazon for the next day! You know you want it.
Amandan Hocking wrote about her outlining and note-taking process. I am always interested in how other authors approach getting the facts and doing their research, so I liked the post.
Avery Olive had her First Book Signing recently and she offered up some lessons learned. Useful! I've never done a book signing and I assume that, if I ever do, I'm still years away, but this is a great post. I bet the tips she offers would work at book launch parties, too.
Isis Rushdan wrote about learning to surrender. Really, I think that's the key to writing well: surrendering to your process, whatever that is. Don't fight it, don't try to do things the way you "think" they should be done.
Paperback Writer's Query No-Nos post is funny at first glance, but I suspect it's all too true. If you're going to write a query, or you've written one, I think it's worth reading that post.
Sierra Godfrey's Google Reader Roundup is a bit light this week, but that's okay because the links are still good ones.
Sirra compiled her writing and editing tips from Twitter. I love these posts from her since I don't get over to Twitter as much as I wish I did.
Stella Deleuze's post on zero sales is quite a sobering look at the impact enrolling in KDP Select can have on your sales. If you're considering it, I would advise doing as much research as possible first.
Guess what? Greta van der Rol's latest, Starheart, is free on Amazon for the next day! You know you want it.
Amandan Hocking wrote about her outlining and note-taking process. I am always interested in how other authors approach getting the facts and doing their research, so I liked the post.
Avery Olive had her First Book Signing recently and she offered up some lessons learned. Useful! I've never done a book signing and I assume that, if I ever do, I'm still years away, but this is a great post. I bet the tips she offers would work at book launch parties, too.
Isis Rushdan wrote about learning to surrender. Really, I think that's the key to writing well: surrendering to your process, whatever that is. Don't fight it, don't try to do things the way you "think" they should be done.
Paperback Writer's Query No-Nos post is funny at first glance, but I suspect it's all too true. If you're going to write a query, or you've written one, I think it's worth reading that post.
Sierra Godfrey's Google Reader Roundup is a bit light this week, but that's okay because the links are still good ones.
Sirra compiled her writing and editing tips from Twitter. I love these posts from her since I don't get over to Twitter as much as I wish I did.
Stella Deleuze's post on zero sales is quite a sobering look at the impact enrolling in KDP Select can have on your sales. If you're considering it, I would advise doing as much research as possible first.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Blog Roundup: October 17 - 23, 2011
I stumbled across this post at Chuck Wendig's blog that is an entertaining, colorful assortment of insults aimed at making me feel bad about my crappy self-published book. I laughed. It's got a lot of good points. He also had this guest post on his blog this week that is all about getting your book--you real dead-tree book, be it self-published or traditionally-published--into bookstores. And, as usual, he has a fantastic 25 things post.
Stella Deleuze posted about dialogue attributes. If you're uncertain about your dialogue skills, or if you just want a refresher, it's an excellent post.
Angel Zapata's publisher has gone under, so she's asking that readers not buy her book.
Isis Rushdan hosted J.L. Campbell, who wrote about what she has learned from blogging and publishing.
James Killick wrote about five ways to banish drama from your scenes. The tongue-in-cheek quality of it made me chuckle even as I mentally filed away the lessons he's sharing.
I thought this guest post at Keystrokes and Word Counts was interesting. I'm always fascinated by the way other writers work, so seeing that Melissa Dominic uses a sketchbook was pretty cool.
This post at Paperback Writer discusses and shows the results of a really fun-looking writing exercise. I think I'll be trying that the next time I'm suffering the dreaded writer's block.
Sirra posted another round of #writetips from her Twitter feed.
If you're not reading The Bookshelf Muse, you're doing yourself a disservice. This recent guest post about promotion, in particular, is quite helpful.
Stella Deleuze posted about dialogue attributes. If you're uncertain about your dialogue skills, or if you just want a refresher, it's an excellent post.
Angel Zapata's publisher has gone under, so she's asking that readers not buy her book.
Isis Rushdan hosted J.L. Campbell, who wrote about what she has learned from blogging and publishing.
James Killick wrote about five ways to banish drama from your scenes. The tongue-in-cheek quality of it made me chuckle even as I mentally filed away the lessons he's sharing.
I thought this guest post at Keystrokes and Word Counts was interesting. I'm always fascinated by the way other writers work, so seeing that Melissa Dominic uses a sketchbook was pretty cool.
This post at Paperback Writer discusses and shows the results of a really fun-looking writing exercise. I think I'll be trying that the next time I'm suffering the dreaded writer's block.
Sirra posted another round of #writetips from her Twitter feed.
If you're not reading The Bookshelf Muse, you're doing yourself a disservice. This recent guest post about promotion, in particular, is quite helpful.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Blog Roundup: October 3 - 9, 2011
November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and it's kind of a big deal. If you're considering participating, check out the official site and check out Chuck Wendig's blog post on the 25 Things You Should Know.
Greta van der Rol talked some about targeting your audience. I think that if you're planning to publish or share your writing in any way, you really do need to think about your audience.
Amelia James had a nice personal post on why she's happy being self-published. I have to agree with her assertions there. I love the freedom and the total control of my career self-publishing allows.
The A Chick Who Reads blog is so pretty. It's like a bright Tim Burton landscape. She writes pretty good reviews, too. If you're looking for a book review blog, this one is a good place to start.
Cover design was on my mind this week, so I think this post over at Do Some Damage is worth reading. Good cover design is important whether you're working with print books or ebooks or both, but each medium needs something a little bit different. A print book has to grab your attention in the store. An ebook has to look good as a thumbnail. But print book covers need to look good as thumbnails, too, because more people buy their books online.
Diana Cosby wrote a guest post for Isis Rushdan's blog about believing in yourself. Insecurity is a serious affliction for writers so it's a good idea to build up an arsenal against it.
Rik Davnall's post about his marketing strategy actually encouraged me to comment. (Fourteen years of fandom trained me to be terrified of commenting on anything online.) I think any writer pursuing self-publishing needs to come into it with reasonable expectations.
I enjoyed James Killick's "Three Little Words" post. The ideas are the easy part. It's the making the idea big enough to make a story, stringing the words together, and making the whole thing compelling that's tough. (Writing is hard. Why am I doing it again?)
Keystrokes and Word Counts moved.
Rob on Writing featured a post about his $0.99 novel. About the price, really. I was talking to my mother about pricing earlier this week and how I thought $0.99 for my current books was fair, but that I'd probably charge $2.99 for the novel (I'm also planning considerably more promotion and marketing for it). It will still be cheaper than most traditionally published books and it still falls within the "impulse buy" range. My mother remarked that she doesn't feel like she's losing anything if she spends up to $2.99 on a book, even if she doesn't read it. I think most people feel that way.
Sirra has done it again, this time with a post on show vs. tell. Even if you think you've got that particular aspect of writing down, a refresher is never a bad thing.
Greta van der Rol talked some about targeting your audience. I think that if you're planning to publish or share your writing in any way, you really do need to think about your audience.
Amelia James had a nice personal post on why she's happy being self-published. I have to agree with her assertions there. I love the freedom and the total control of my career self-publishing allows.
The A Chick Who Reads blog is so pretty. It's like a bright Tim Burton landscape. She writes pretty good reviews, too. If you're looking for a book review blog, this one is a good place to start.
Cover design was on my mind this week, so I think this post over at Do Some Damage is worth reading. Good cover design is important whether you're working with print books or ebooks or both, but each medium needs something a little bit different. A print book has to grab your attention in the store. An ebook has to look good as a thumbnail. But print book covers need to look good as thumbnails, too, because more people buy their books online.
Diana Cosby wrote a guest post for Isis Rushdan's blog about believing in yourself. Insecurity is a serious affliction for writers so it's a good idea to build up an arsenal against it.
Rik Davnall's post about his marketing strategy actually encouraged me to comment. (Fourteen years of fandom trained me to be terrified of commenting on anything online.) I think any writer pursuing self-publishing needs to come into it with reasonable expectations.
I enjoyed James Killick's "Three Little Words" post. The ideas are the easy part. It's the making the idea big enough to make a story, stringing the words together, and making the whole thing compelling that's tough. (Writing is hard. Why am I doing it again?)
Keystrokes and Word Counts moved.
Rob on Writing featured a post about his $0.99 novel. About the price, really. I was talking to my mother about pricing earlier this week and how I thought $0.99 for my current books was fair, but that I'd probably charge $2.99 for the novel (I'm also planning considerably more promotion and marketing for it). It will still be cheaper than most traditionally published books and it still falls within the "impulse buy" range. My mother remarked that she doesn't feel like she's losing anything if she spends up to $2.99 on a book, even if she doesn't read it. I think most people feel that way.
Sirra has done it again, this time with a post on show vs. tell. Even if you think you've got that particular aspect of writing down, a refresher is never a bad thing.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Blog Roundup: September 12 - 18, 2011
Chuck Wendig made another "25" post, this time on plotting, planning, and prepping your story. He says he's a pantser. I'm beginning to understand his crazy.
This week, I discovered a thoughtful, interesting blog called Read, React, Review. The blogger teaches an ethics in fiction course and in her posts displays an insight and curiosity I find absolutely fascinating.
Thanks to a link from someone I follow on Twitter, I came across Aimee Salter's blog and this post on self-publishers and value pricing. I also read this post and this post on why she doesn't believe self-publishing works yet. I think these sorts of posts are extremely important for self-publishing authors--or writers considering self-publication--to read. I think it's important to know what you're up against and to think about your business model. I think it's important to remember to think like a reader and blog posts like these help remind you to do that. As a bonus, check out this post of hers on self-editing.
Isis Rushdan posted on the four essential elements of good storytelling. It's a good read, especially if you're struggling with your story's direction.
Stella Deleuze has some sound advice on the "never give up" advice. Sometimes, you have to give up. She also has some sound advice regarding conflicting advice. I think confidence and humility are key to a healthy attitude about writing. Confidence because you need to trust yourself and your voice. Humility because you need to learn to accept criticism. Constructive criticism can only make you a better writer. Criticism that offers nothing else at least helps you grow a thicker skin.
This week, I discovered a thoughtful, interesting blog called Read, React, Review. The blogger teaches an ethics in fiction course and in her posts displays an insight and curiosity I find absolutely fascinating.
Thanks to a link from someone I follow on Twitter, I came across Aimee Salter's blog and this post on self-publishers and value pricing. I also read this post and this post on why she doesn't believe self-publishing works yet. I think these sorts of posts are extremely important for self-publishing authors--or writers considering self-publication--to read. I think it's important to know what you're up against and to think about your business model. I think it's important to remember to think like a reader and blog posts like these help remind you to do that. As a bonus, check out this post of hers on self-editing.
Isis Rushdan posted on the four essential elements of good storytelling. It's a good read, especially if you're struggling with your story's direction.
Stella Deleuze has some sound advice on the "never give up" advice. Sometimes, you have to give up. She also has some sound advice regarding conflicting advice. I think confidence and humility are key to a healthy attitude about writing. Confidence because you need to trust yourself and your voice. Humility because you need to learn to accept criticism. Constructive criticism can only make you a better writer. Criticism that offers nothing else at least helps you grow a thicker skin.
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