Saturday, 4 of February of 2012

Tag » fiction

Writing Roundup, July 22

The Business of Writing | Craft | Fiction | Freelancing | Platform | Money

The Business of Writing

Craft

Fiction

Freelancing

Platform

Money

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Writing Roundup, June 24

The Business of Writing | Craft | Fiction | Freelancing | Platform | Money

The Business of Writing

  • Amanda Hocking, Storyseller: A nice profile of Hocking and her success.
  • Book Expo’s Sorry Turn: This person thinks book’s are dying. Do you agree?
  • A Literary Father’s Day Weekend: Stories from writers and their kids.
  • Can’t Shake the Devil’s Hand and Say You’re Only Kidding: Why one Seattle shop has said “no thank you” to books published under Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer mystery imprint.
  • Ebook Sales Down? Are you freaking out that there was a dip in ebook sales? JA Konrath isn’t, and neither should you. Unless you bet three year’s income that ebook sales would be up in June.
  • What If Those Pesky Agents Don’t Bite? First, I have to say how sad I am that I missed Randy Ingermanson’s talk at the Willamette Writer’s meeting this month. I would have to do much more finessing to be able to get baby home to daddy and get to the Old Church on time that I have been able to handle so far, but this one would have been so good! Anyway, here is Randy’s advice if agents aren’t jumping over each other to sign you after you present your novel.

Craft

  • Courage to Write: Tips from an Anxious Bestselling Author: If you are nervous about writing, print this post and keep it on your bulletin board to keep you motivated.
  • A Good Reviewer Sees Things in Your Writing That You Might Not Have: Kim Falconer shares her response to a review of her work. I am awaiting some reviewer feedback on one of my short stories, and I can’t wait to see what I can learn from it.
  • http://allfreelancewriting.com/2011/06/24/freelancing/making-money/think-twice-about-writing-for-revenue-share/

  • All Superheroes Know Their Strengths: A nice look at how self-assessment tools such as the Strengths Finder can help us improve as writers. I have done the Strengths Finder, and it has given me the power to focus my energy on what I am good at (Strategic, Intellection, Empathy, Ideation, Learner) and look for support for those I am less strong in. (See, “less strong” not “weak.” Our words have the power to life us or crush us. Use your words especially carefully when you are talking to or about yourself.)
  • Tricky Words: Past/Passed, Except/Accept: Straight from an English teacher, this advice will help you use the right words.

Fiction

  • On Character Authenticity: As part of their Pride Week series, Dear Author has interviewed some LGBT writers about creating true characters. Great advice here.
  • Five Openings to Avoid: Okay. I will be honest. My novel WIP currently opens with a wake up. But it works–I swear. Actually, I will probably kill the actual waking up. It is a crutch for me, and it is unnecessary.

Freelancing

Platform

Money

  • Mortgage Challenges for the Self-Employed: Jenn Mattern shares her concerns with mortgage shopping as a successful self-employed businessperson. Have you had successes or challenges getting financing without a full-time gig?
  • Think Twice about Writing for Revenue Share: Jenn Mattern gives a great list of why content writing for revenue share is a bad deal for writers. If you are being lured by a revenue share deal based on promises of unlimited earning potential, print this out and keep it posted where you can see it.
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Writing Roundup, June 10

The Business of Writing | Craft | Fiction | Freelancing | Platform | Money

The Business of Writing

Craft

Fiction

Freelancing

Platform

Money

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Writing Roundup, May 9

The Business of Writing | Craft | Fiction | Freelancing | Platform | Money

The Business of Writing

Craft

Fiction

Freelancing

Platform

  • Paid versus Free Book Marketing Activities: This post helps you decide whether to commit financial resources to marketing by laying out the options you have and comparing them with those that cost you only time. Do make sure you adequately value your time, too!
  • How to Create a Free Author Website on WordPress: Good, easy step-by-step process. The process will be similar if you choose Blogger, you’ll just start at blogger.com.
  • To Blog or Not to Blog: Before you follow the steps in the previous post here, make sure you know what oyu want to accomplish and share by blogging.

Money

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Writing Roundup, May Day-ish Edition

Welcome to May! Here are some of the best links of the past week to help motivate us as we begin our new writing week.

The Business of Writing | Craft | Fiction | Freelancing | Platform | Money

The Business of Writing

Craft

Fiction

Freelancing

  • Short-Term Money Is Killing Me: How do you balance your short-term client work with long-term projects and your own projects?
  • Shh, Mommy’s Working Now: A nice look at how to work while you are caring for your kids. Do you get up early? Stay up late? Or work while they entertain themselves?

Platform

Money

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Writing Roundup, April 18

The Business of Writing | Craft | Fiction | Freelancing | Platform | Money

The Business of Writing

Craft

  • 20 Great Similes from Literature to Inspire You: A little lesson in the difference between similes, metaphors, and analogies, followed by some examples from great literature. Do you have any faves from this list or from another written work?
  • Writers: Are We Always Honest with Each Other? A look at our ability to give feedback to our fellow writers.
  • A Foolish Consistency: If you have spent any time on the site Television without Pity, you know that fans of your work do not find consistency foolish–they find it essential. Of course, it is not just essential in fiction. Consistency helps all writing read better.

Fiction

Freelancing

Platform

Money

  • I Heart Tax Prep: Did you learn anything about your spending patterns when you did your taxes this year? Did you enact some changes for this year?
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Writing Roundup, April 4

The Business of Writing | Craft | Fiction | Freelancing | Platform | Money

The Business of Writing

Craft

  • Grammar’s Dirty Little Secret: I love the Fake AP Stylebook Twitter feed. And they are right: grammar is simply a construct. Certain rules apply over multiple style guides, but many differ. This really makes grammar look like smoke and mirrors to those who don’t work in publishing in some way!
  • Does Pro Editing Pay Off: This is a nice look at when you should spend the money on an outside editor and when you should keep plugging away on your own.
  • When You Hate the Book You’re Writing, Part 1: Are you sick and tired of your book? If so, you can commiserate with Lynette Benton and, I hope, get some tips to help you fall back in love.

Fiction

  • Why You Need to Make Yourself Completely Unavailable: This post, which argues that sometimes we need to completely disconnect to enhance our creativity, makes me think of Stephen King’s suggestion of writing with the door closed for your first draft. The Internet, TV, even family members can distract us from our creative processes.
  • Just Write the Story: Quit tying yourself up in knots and just write. You know, back to writing with the door closed. Turn off your inner editor and get that first draft done.

Freelancing

Platform

Money
I’m going to send you to the entire money week discussion on Nathan Bransford’s blog (remember, I mentioned it in Friday’s post). He did a great job of looking at the different financial issues we need to think about for our futures.

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Writing Roundup, March 28

The Business of Writing | Craft | Fiction | Freelancing | Money

The Business of Writing

Craft

Fiction

Freelancing

Money

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Writing Roundup, February 9

The Business of Writing | Craft | Fiction | Freelancing | Platform | Money

The Business of Writing

Craft

Fiction

Freelancing

Platform

Money

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Writing Roundup, February 2, Groundhog Day Edition

Woo hoo. The groundhog saw his shadow today. That should be good news for the folks throughout the country buried in snow.

I am also debuting a new section in the roundups: money. All of us need to manage our money, whether we are dealing with the feast or famine cycle of freelancing, building a writing business on the side, or using our writing skill to earn extra money for a family feeling the effects of the recession. So, I’ll find a couple good posts on money management each week.

The Business of Writing | Craft | Fiction | Freelancing | Platform | Money

The Business of Writing

Craft

  • How to Avoid Being Fooled by Bad Writing Advice: Jane Friedman discusses one of the problems with online writing advice: you need to draw in readers, and you are less likely to draw in readers without some sort of controversy or grand proclamation. This is the same problem with the evening news since it became a profit center rather than a public service. There is too much hype and not enough well-reasoned commentary and objective fact.
  • Do Writers Need Writing Degrees? Tips for Aspiring Writers: This is a tough question. I have a journalism degree, and I am thankful for all of the lessons I learned while in school. However, one of my closest friends and a successful writer, does not have a degree. The feedback and the focus on writing while in writing courses is important, but if you have the talent and the willingness to learn on your own, you can likely achieve success without formal training.

Fiction

  • Storm of Words: How a Story Is Like a snowstorm
  • What Is IT Really Like to Be Published? A good portion of my writing time is spent daydreaming about what it will be like to be published. (Yes, my non-fiction has been published, so I have a pretty good idea of what it to come, but we’re talking fiction here. I still haven’t crossed that bridge.) What do you think it will be like when you are published?

Freelancing

Platform

  • The Key to Successful Blogging: Do Something: Apply this advice to anything related to building your platform: do something, anything. It is unlikely (though possible) that you can make a mistake with your social media use that will damage your brand. Be careful to avoid costly mistakes, but don’t sit around waiting until you can do it perfectly.
  • What Are Your Blogging Tips: Great ideas in the comments section here. The best, IMO? Making an editorial calendar. You’ll quit wasting time trying to figure out what to write about.

Money

  • 4 Types of Tax Deductions: A bit of tax-time deduction info. I hope it helps you with your taxes.
  • 7 Financial Tips from Money-Smart Young Women: Can these tips help you increase your financial success? One of the most important for writers, I think, is to pay yourself first. When you receive a payment, split it into three categories: money to pay quarterly tax payments, salary for yourself, and money to reinvest in your writing business. We get to pay ourselves twice, if you think about it. Salary is good, but investing money in your future is even better.
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