Tag Archives: victoria strauss

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Anne R. Allen warns us against career-killing marketing tactics, Ruth Harris shows authors how to build a better bio, and Beth Barany provides strategies for developing characters and plot.

At Writer Unboxed, Kathryn Craft offers sage advice on handling copy edits while over at the Kill Zone, James Scott Bell helps us determine when our book is ready for prime time.

Angela Ackerman explains how to use setting as more than a mere backdrop and my favorite article of this batch is Lauren Sapala’s timely (for me) discussion of the paralyzing stress that can occur when writers become too “attached to outcome.”

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

How Bad Marketing Can Destroy Your Author Brand, Lose Friends, and Influence Nobody by Anne R. Allen

How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book: Word Count Goals for the Three Acts of Your Novel, Memoir, or Non-Fiction Book by Mary Carroll Moore

6 Ways Your Author Bio Can Help You Sell Books by Ruth Harris

Top Digital Marketing Takeaways from U.S. Book Show 2022 by AJ Jack via BookBub

Copy Edits: To Challenge or Concede? by Kathryn Craft

When Is Your Book Ready to be Published? by James Scott Bell

7 Essential Tips to Plan Your Novel Like a Pro by Beth Barany via Anne R. Allen

Serialization Rights for Traditional and Self-Published Authors by Matt Knight at Sidebar Saturdays

Publishing Contracts 101: Beware Internal Contradictions by Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware

Setting Description Mistakes that Weaken a Story by Angela Ackerman

Stressed About Your Writing? What’s Really Going On (and How to Get Over It) by Lauren Sapala

 

 

Articles, Blog, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Robert Lee Brewer presents several examples of successful query letters categorized by genre. Anne R. Allen offers methods for rescuing a stagnant manuscript as well as an analysis of Amazon’s increasingly stringent review system.

Over at Mythcreants, Oren Ashkenazi discusses ways to avoid recycling the same types of conflict within your story while on Writer Unboxed,  Donald Maass discusses the dread and anxiety that propel our protagonists forward. No one likes to receive one-star reviews, but Sandra Beckwith explains how writers can learn from them.

All that and little more. Enjoy!

How to Write Successful Queries for Any Genre of Writing by Robert Lee Brewer

How to Rescue an Endangered Book and Restore Your Author Mojo by Anne R. Allen

Amazon’s Review Rules Have Become Even Stricter in 2020 by Anne R. Allen

Space Kadet: The Twisted Tale of a Sad, Sad Internet Troll by Victoria Strauss

Six Tips for Avoiding Repetitive Conflict by Oren Ashkenazi

5 Important Tips for Achieving Indie Author Success by Dave Chesson

3 Reasons to Embrace One-Star Reader Reviews by Sandra Beckwith

Writing Craft: How Point-of-View Affects Dialogue by Jami Gold

‘Emergency’ Online Library Draws Ire of Some Authors by Alexander Alter

Will Online-Only Events Bring Book Sales? No One Knows Yet by Kate Dwyer

The Upside of Anxiety by Donald Maass

 

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Anna Elliott offers three tips for “kicking your readers right in the feels” while Chris Winkle and Damon Suede explore various facets of character. Peter Selgin boils fiction down to two plot types and explains how to introduce foreshadowing in your story’s opening.

Juliet Marillier defines the fantasy genre, Blake Morrison delves into the often distressing burden of managing a deceased writer’s estate, and Olivia Mason presents a top-ten list of best works from one of my all-time favorite writers, Harlan Ellison.

All that and a little more… Enjoy!

3 Tips to Hook Your Reader’s Emotions by Anna Elliott

What Is Fantasy, Exactly? by Juliet Marillier

Take Cover! by John Gilstrap

The Six Traits of Strong Characters by Chris Winkle

Characters: More Than Just Imaginary People by Damon Suede via Jami Gold

How Works of Fiction Can Be Boiled Down to Two Types of Plots and  How Your Story Opening Foreshadows What’s to Come by Peter Selgin

Up in Smoke: Should an Author’s Dying Wishes Be Obeyed? by Blake Morrison

The Best of the Best: 10 Must-Read Works by Harlan Ellison by Olivia Mason

Scam Down Under: Love of Books Brisbane / Julie “Jules” McGregor by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware

 

Calvin & Hobbes on Writing

 

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Peter Selgin offers ideas on dramatizing the routine in your story, writer pal Donna Galanti shines light on how to build your author persona, and Sue Weems suggests ways to combat multitasking that will improve your writing and save your sanity.

Despite arguments to the contrary, author blogging is not dead according to Anne R. Allen, and she provides eight solid reasons why.

Struggling to avoid hackneyed methods to describe your first-person POV character? Laura DiSilverio has some advice for you while James Scott Bell wants to pump you up—or at least your prose—by showing you how to immerse your reader in both action and emotion.

All that and a little more… Enjoy!

Four Ways to Create Your Author Persona by Donna Galanti

How to Make the Best Use of “Routine” Events in Your Fiction by Peter Selgin via Jane Friedman

‘The ebook is a stupid product: no creativity, no enhancement,’ says the Hachette Group CEO by Harsimran Gill

‘Laughably bad’: Terry Goodkind Apologises After Insulting Cover of His Own Book by Sian Cain

Get Some Blood Pumping in Your Prose by James Scott Bell

Why Multitasking is Killing Your Writing by Sue Weems

How the Internet Archive Infringed My Copyrights and Then (Kind of) Blew Me Off by Victoria Strauss

8 Reasons to Start an Author Blog by Anne R. Allen

6 Tips for Describing a First Person POV Character by Laura DiSilverio

Facebook’s Algorithm has Wiped Out a Once Flourishing Digital Publisher by Mike Shields

Styles of Writing

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

February may be the shortest month of the year, but I managed to gather the largest collection of articles in quite some time on this blog. We begin with Margaret Atwood’s touching tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin.

Written Word Media offers ten publishing predictions in 2018 that are worth heeding and Writer Beware provides a comprehensive list of Author Solutions copycats.

Randy Ingermanson (aka “The Snowflake Guy”) gives us a lesson on Scene and Sequel. Lisa Cron encourages you to determine what your protagonist wants even before you start writing. Steven Pressfield reminds us that villains are not always people while Danielle Davis recommends (and I highly agree) that short stories provide an effective respite when you need a break from your novel.

All that and a lot more. Enjoy!

A Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin by Margaret Atwood

Top Ten Publishing Trends Every Author Needs to Know in 2018 by Ricci

Writing the Perfect Scene by Randy Ingermanson

X-Ray for Authors: Tips and Tricks from Kindle Direct Publishing

The Strange Copyright of Doctor Who and The Shape of Non-Plagiarism by Jonathan Bailey

How To Write Memorable and Compelling Monologues by Ken Miyamoto

Army of Clones: Author Solutions Spawns a Legion of Copycats by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware

Putting Conflict to Work in Your Stories, Part 1: Why Your Story Needs Conflict by Laura DiSilverio

Reboot Your Novel with the Short-Story Remedy by Danielle Davis

The Villain is Not Always a Person by Steven Pressfield

What Does Your Protagonist Want BEFORE the Story Starts? by Lisa Cron

Avoid Top 5 Writing Mistakes – Make Your Writing Better by AJ Humpage

Blog, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, award-winning writer Steven H. Wilson imparts his experiences as a self-publisher and small-press founder. David Gaughran and Victoria Strauss discuss the Penguin Random House sale of the nefarious Author Solutions.  Over at Writer Unboxed, they talk about tension, energy, and choosing the right path.  The Mythcreants, a site replete with helpful articles and perspectives, offers tips on character development and clichés to avoid.

All that, and a little more. Enjoy!

Lessons Learned: Self-Publishing – Part One and Part Two by Steven H. Wilson

FYI: Penguin Random House is Still in the Vanity Publishing Business by David Gaughran

Author Solutions Sold to Private Equity Firm by Victoria Strauss

2016 Opens with a World Author Challenge to Publishing Contracts by Porter Anderson

Tension vs. Energy by Donald Maass

The Storyteller and the Roads Not Traveled in the WIP by Julianna Baggott

19 Tips on Writing Memoir from The Memoir Project by Marion Roach Smith

Six Cliches to Watch Out For by Oren Ashkenazi

The Six Traits of Strong Characters and Five Signs Your Character Is Fully Developed by Chris Winkle