marketing

Amy Stewart on Storytelling and Reinvention

Nephele Tempest

Author Amy Stewart got her start writing about gardens with a twist, titles such as Wicked Gardens: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities and The Drunken Botanist. But during her research for the latter title, she came across a story so compelling that she just knew she had to turn it into a novel. The result, Girl Waits with Gun, is her first work of fiction and marks a huge shift in her writing career.

What’s the risk for a bestselling author to switch genres so completely? How did she get started writing about plants and bugs? Stewart answers these and many other questions about craft and the importance of storytelling in her recent interview with Jonathan Fields. This runs nearly an hour, so be sure to set aside some time to settle in for a nice long listen.

Friday Links: Setting Writing Goals and Leveling Up

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday! It’s been a ridiculously busy week, as evidenced by the crickets chirping around here, but I have several things planned for next week that I hope will make up for the quiet.

As I mentioned last week and a few times on Twitter, we’re into the final quarter of the year now, so it’s a great time to reassess your writing goals if you haven’t had the chance yet. It doesn’t need to be a big deal. If you made goals for the year, pull them out and see how you’re doing, where you might need to focus more time or effort, or — if you’re ahead of the game — change things around a bit to give yourself a challenge in the coming months.

If you didn’t make goals for the year, even easier. Think about where you are with your writing and what you would like to achieve before 2016 rolls around. Keep in mind holidays and such make this time of year busy, but don’t just let yourself off the hook and think you can procrastinate on all the big stuff until January. Break things into bite-sized pieces and figure out what you can tackle now, even if it’s just an aim to write a little each day. And don’t forget that National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is coming in November, a great way to recommit to your writing.

To help inspire you, I’ve got this week’s links, a broad range I hope you find intriguing and entertaining, and that might give you some ideas on how to level up with your writing. Enjoy, and have a wonderfully productive weekend!

Anatomy of a Discovery: How a Literary Magazine Editor Finds New Writers – Some food for thought for those of you submitting shorter work to the lit mags, or considering it.

53 Wonderfully Pointless Facts about the English Language – For a chuckle.

My Paradoxical Quest to Build a Personal Brand – More food for thought. Ever more pertinent, whether you’re writing novels or freelancing or just designing your blog.

Immigration, Dislocation, and the Search for Home – How immigration and the economy have affected one writer’s work, and outlook. Another good argument for reading diversely in a global sense.

Win a Writer’s Retreat in Iceland – Details for a scholarship covering flight and attendance to the April 2016 program.

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Happy fall, northern hemisphere! Of course here in SoCal, as predicted, we’re still waiting for the weather to catch up with the season, but sometimes I think fall is just a state of mind. All those years of heading back to school each September have me brainwashed; new notebooks, new school books, new books to read, and then a nice fall housecleaning before the craziness of the holidays hits. Okay, that last one was less school related and more about my mother, but you get the idea.

As we near the end of September, it’s also a good time to assess your writing year and set or modify your goals for the last quarter of 2015. How are you doing? Accomplish what you’d hoped to? Gone off track along the way? Take a few minutes this weekend or early next week to give your progress a good looking over and maybe peek at the calendar for October through December. Mark your goals so you know what’s on your plate. Maybe there’s a contest you intend to enter or you have a deadline looming. Get your ducks in a row and then write, write, write.

Of course, feel free to take a little break now and then to check out some of these links. I hope they inspire you to some wonderful levels of productivity. Enjoy!

What Every Successful Novel Opening Must Do: Myth vs. Reality – An interesting look at the dos and don’ts of writing the opening paragraphs.

An Interview of Jessa Crispin – The creator and publisher of Bookslut.com gets interviewed on her own site about her new book (which I have already read and loved) and her fascinating travels through Europe.

Nom de Vie: Literary Social Media in the Age of Ferrante – What it means to have a pen name and refuse to self-promote in this social-media-obsessed world.

15 Short Story Competitions to Enter Before the End of the Year – Pretty much as written.

4,000-Year-Old Egyptian Manuscript Found – Fascinating little write up on this ancient text believed to pre-date the Book of the Dead.

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday to all! What’s on your horizon this weekend? Mine’s filled with words… I’m deep into a serious submissions-pile catch up, as the number of things rattling around in that particular inbox has been making me twitch for a while now. I tend to read queries and partials during the week when I can work them in around other tasks, but full-length manuscripts are on deck for the weekend. I don’t expect anyone will be seeing much of me.

But before I disappear into a dozen different worlds, I bring you this week’s assortment of links. I hope you find them interesting, educational, and entertaining, and that you might find a little inspiration for your own weekend activities. Enjoy!

The Charge to Be Fair: Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay in Conversation – An important talk about Coates’s new book, race in writing, and race relations today.

7 Books to Give You a Taste of Edinburgh (If You Can’t Be There to Soak Up the Culture Yourself) – The annual Edinburgh International Book Festival began last weekend, so this might give yo a little taste.

13 Tips for Actually Getting Some Writing Accomplished – Advice from Gretchen Rubin.

11 History Books You Should Read Before Writing Your Military SF – Nice round up, even if you’re not writing in the sub-genre, plus some more suggestions in comments.

Beyond Bond – The New York Public Library offers up a list of spy novels for lovers of Ian Fleming’s famous character.

How “The Girl on the Train” Became a Runaway Success – A look at the role of Goodreads in the marketing of a successful title.

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday, everyone! This week flew by. In fact, summer seems to be flying by. A friend cornered me the other evening to let me know about her Labor Day bbq, and all I could think was “September? Already? No!” It’s the same every year, yet it always manages to catch me unawares.

But we have a few more weeks of summer to enjoy, and I hope you intend to get some good reading and writing time in along with your other activities. And of course, if you’re in the southern part of the world, I hope you’re anticipating spring’s arrival by staying inside, keeping warm, and cranking out pages on your WIP before sunny days lure you outside. To mix in with all these activities, I offer this week’s links to check out. Enjoy, and have a fabulous weekend!

World Building 101 – N.K. Jemisin recently taught an online class in world building, and here she offers a downloadable PDF of the steps she takes when creating worlds. Not as complete as taking the course, obviously, but still a great resource.

How Romance Novelists Got Such a Silly, Sappy Rap – In the wake of this year’s national RWA convention, an interesting look at romance writers as business people.

Can’t Get Into It – Artist and writer Danny Gregory talks about attention span and reading — briefly.

How to Access a Million Stunning, Copyright-free Antique Illustrations Released by the British Library – A fabulous resource for bloggers, etc.

World’s Coolest Bookstores – Some amazing photos. You’re going to want to add a few of these to your travel list.

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you all had a great week and are gearing up for some weekend fun, especially here in the U.S., where today kicks off the Memorial Day weekend and marks the unofficial start of summer.

Now, summer’s arrival with all of its various entertainments and distractions is no excuse for slacking. Rather, take advantage of those longer days and clear summer nights to find a quiet corner to plot you next book or work on your current project. Writing is a year-round endeavor, so while it’s great to take a bit of time for a BBQ or pool party or family vacation, make sure to schedule in your writing time around those new diversions.

Of course, summer is prime reading time as well, so along with quality writing efforts, I wish you some wonderful literary finds that inspire and entertain. There might just be a few to check out in this week’s links. But whatever your plans for this weekend, I wish you good reading and writing. Enjoy!

17 of the Best Books of Summer – The first of what I’m sure will be many lists of recommended summer reads.

Diversity in YA: You’ve Got Mail, Young Writer – On the importance of inspiring the future generation of writers and giving them a reason to believe they can be writers, too.

The Big Idea: Naomi Novik – The author talks about the role of memories, faulty and otherwise, in writing her latest book.

Diary of a First-Time Book Tour – Entertaining anecdotes and lessons from the road.

A New Series from The Paris Review 

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Here comes the weekend! A holiday weekend, no less, if you’re in the U.S. But any sort of weekend is good, and I hope you all have plans to enjoy yours. I’m in San Francisco through Sunday for the San Francisco Writers Conference, so you know what I’m going to be doing. But I’ve left you a supply of Friday Links to entertain and inspire you. Enjoy, and happy writing!

The History of “Loving” to Read – A look at how reading became a passionate activity.

Lydia Davis: Advice to the Young – Some excellent words of wisdom for writers of all ages.

Legendary Songwriter Carole King on Inspiration vs. Perspiration and How to Overcome Creative Block – Thoughts on innovation and getting the work done.

4 Danger Signs to Search for Before Sending Off Your Novel – Good reminders for that final proofread/round of revisions.

Judging Books by Their Covers 2015: U.S. vs. Netherlands – An intriguing comparison of cover designs for the same titles between two different markets.

 

The Art of Boosting the Signal

Nephele Tempest

Some days it feels like you sign onto Twitter and everyone you follow is selling something. You know what it’s like: daily deals, freebies, new releases, tie-ins, giveaways. They want you to check out the sequel to the book you haven’t read yet, download their new widget counting down to their pub date, or spread the word regarding their starred review. And that’s all well and good. Everyone does it, and chances are excellent that you will, too, if you haven’t done so already. People expect a certain amount of sales in with their socializing when they frequent various forms of social media, and in many cases that very type of word-of-mouth is what lets us discover our next great read or app or website.

The key to marketing yourself and others using social media is to keep things minimal and meaty. By that I mean, only Tweet about your book a very small percentage of the time and also limit how often you’re being sales-y on behalf of your friends or people you support/admire, and when you do go into marketing mode, make sure you include something of substance. You want to get mileage for those 140 characters, so do your best to include something of genuine interest and don’t confuse your followers.

How often have you seen a Tweet go by that’s nothing more than a link? No information, no context. Why would you click on that? Perhaps if the person Tweeting the link is someone close to you and you know they’re directing it at you specifically, you’ll click without a second thought. But in most cases, that link is going to just scroll on by. Likewise, how often has someone sent out a Tweet with a meaningless title, link, and a “via” followed by a Twitter handle? Chances are that Tweet was generated from a website where the person Tweeting wanted to share the post and used their on-page Tweet button. If the post’s title is vague and the Tweeter didn’t add their own description, it’s almost as bad as sending out a link on its own.

It’s tempting to send a Tweet out quickly and move on, but if you’re genuinely trying to share a post or convey your enthusiasm for someone’s new release, take the time to work in a few words that give your followers the proper message. If you’re reTweeting something that’s vague, take a moment to modify the original Tweet for clarity. Did you read the work you’re Tweeting about? Did you love it? Say so. Maybe it kept you up reading all night. Or you read slowly to savor every word. Are you talking up a friend’s webinar or book signing? What makes them knowledgable or entertaining? Share that information to make the Tweet stand out.

When it comes to marketing your own project, make sure you stress your own enthusiasm that it’s going out into the world more than you beg people to buy it. You love your book and hope others will as well. Encourage anyone who gives it a try to let you know what they think. Engage your followers. Start a conversation. Also, remember that Twitter doesn’t need to be a final destination. Use Tweets to link to blog posts or free chapters or tie-in short stories on your website. Limit your announcements regarding these items to a couple of Tweets a day, spacing them out to allow people in different time zones to get the information, and make sure you Tweet about plenty of non-promotional things in between.

Twitter can provide a great platform for marketing your work and helping the spread the word about other people’s projects you’ve enjoyed, but it’s up to everyone to make the experience is painless as possible. Take the time to craft your Tweets, be considerate of your followers and avoid flooding their feeds with endless promotions, and you can help keep the Twitter conversation entertaining and enjoyable for all. Happy Tweeting!

 

Goal Check: Assessing Your Year-in-Progress

Nephele Tempest

Farewell to March! It’s the last day of the month, and also of the first quarter of the year, which makes today an excellent time to assess your writing progress and see where you want to go next. Remember those goals and/or resolutions you made around January 1st? How are those working out for you? Never mind your visits to the gym or your promise to eat more fiber; I’m interested in your writing goals, and how you’re working toward building your career.

Perhaps you’ve had a great few months, and you’re right on target for the goals you set. If so, congratulations! Toast yourself, or grab a cupcake — whatever little reward makes you smile — and then face forward and continue to charge ahead. What goals have you set for yourself for the second quarter? What needs to happen in April to keep you on track? Are there any adjustments you would like to make based on what you’ve accomplished so far? Have any new opportunities come up that change your game plan? Goals and resolutions should be fluid, altering as your writing progresses, new ideas come to mind, and you master both your craft and the business.

On the other hand, you might be feeling a little behind right now. Maybe you didn’t get as much writing time in as you’d hoped, or you’re not completely pleased with your latest project. That’s fine. Just take a deep breath and an honest look at what you’ve been doing. Have you been procrastinating or simply busy with things outside your control? Are you being too hard on your WIP? Any draft is better than a blank page, after all. Get it all down, and then go back and revise. Books are made during the editing process; no one should expect a first draft to be golden. Then decide where to go next. What would you like to accomplish going forward? How can you carve out more writing time? Maybe take a writing class for inspiration, or see if you can join a new writing group to get some fresh feedback. Assess your goals for the year, and see what you need to do in the next three months to point yourself back in the right direction.

If you swore to write 1,000 words a day starting January 1st, and kept to that resolution, you could be finishing off the first draft of a 90,000 word novel today. Maybe it would be a shitty first draft, but that’s okay, because we all know that draft is just the kicking-off point — something to work with, beyond the scary blank page. If you start April 1st and write 1,000 words a day, you can have a first draft by the end of June. Don’t beat yourself up for something you failed to do in the past. Just recommit to your writing and do the best you can each day. And don’t forget that, depending where you are in your career development, you can also make goals pertaining to getting published, improving your self-marketing skills, and more.

Some potential goals for April through June:

  • Commit to writing every day (either a set word goal or a specific amount of time)
  • Finish a work-in-progress
  • Revise a first draft
  • Write and polish three short stories
  • Research agents and make a list of potential representation for your nearly finished project
  • Send out ten query letters a month
  • Brainstorm 50 ideas for potential projects; write the first sentence for each of them
  • Set up a blog tour for an upcoming release
  • Redesign your author site
  • Learn one new form of social media and engage through it regularly (frequency to be determined by the platform)
  • Start a quarterly newsletter for your readers and include a sign-up on your author site home page

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Another very quick week. I always feel like time seems to accelerate when we’re this close to the holidays. It’s like a mad rush to the end of the year. Which means there’s lots to be done, so I’ll keep this short.

I’ve got a great assortment of links for you this week. There should be something of interest to just about everyone. I hope you all have wonderful weekend plans ahead, including a bit of reading and writing time. Enjoy!

YA Historical Fiction: Windows to the Past for Readers of the Future – Really interesting look at YA historical fiction in the current market.

Jeannette Cheney Talks about Killing Your Darlings – Over at Lucienne Diver’s blog; an up close look at what happens when you commit to improving your writing, even if that means taking out the bits you loved.

Only the Literary Elite Can Afford Not to Tweet – A look at how Twitter has become a major marketing force for writers.

Should Literature Be Useful? – The New Yorker looks at the impact of recent studies claiming reading literature improves your brain, and asks if “improvement” is the only reason to do something.

Download Some of the Best of Tor.com 2013 – The publisher’s site offers a free downloadable anthology of some of the best short fiction they’ve posted this year.