Link Feast For Writers, vol. 44
Writing blogs are a great way to learn about the craft and marketing our work. Enjoy the posts I’ve hoarded, some older, some recent.
And tune in for the next Link Feast, coming out in two weeks.
If You Have Time For Only One Thing
The Art of Asking: For Creative Writers and Storytellers by Chuck Wendig
(This is worth your 15 minutes. I promise. Watch the talk.)
On Writing
What Lights Your Creative Spirit on Fire? by Jenny Hansen
Inspiration Hunting in the Publishing World by Sonali Dev
What Kind of an Author Do You Want to Be? by David Farland
How to Write Better, Faster & Easier by Matching Your Writing Process With the Way You Think by Don Fry
Why Some Books Are Harder to Write Than Others by Janice Hardy
The Faster I Write, the Better the Book? by Roni Loren
Be a Copycat by Keith Cronin
The Play’s the Thing by Robin LaFevers
Setting – The First, Most Crucial Choice for your Career AND your Character by Blythe Gifford
How to Use Your Logline, Tagline and Pitch to Write a Stronger Story by Marcy Kennedy
Characters
Creating Characters – What You Really Need by David Farland
Creating Characters – What You Really Need, Part 2 by David Farland
What Your Character Really Needs – The Central Question by David Farland
How to Create a Compelling Character: Contrast Their Outer and Inner Lives by Matt Bird
Know More Than You Show, Part 1: Characters by Matt Bird
Writing From an Authentic Teen Viewpoint by Lydia Sharp
The Hero’s Journey – My Pros and Cons by Veronica Sicoe
Rich Relationships by Donald Maass
Choose Wisely: Metaphors In Character by Jael McHenry
Plotting etc.
Know More Than You Show, Part 2: Plot by Matt Bird
Every Scene Needs It’s Own Hero by Matt Bird
Where Should a Second Chapter Start? by Beth Hill
Stressed-Out Characters – Just the Way We Want Them by Diane Krause
Why Serious Books Need Humor and Levity to Work by Sarah Skilton
Handling Cliffhanger Endings With Multiple POVs by Janice Hardy
The Clock Is Ticking – 5 Tips For Tighter, Cleaner Writing by Kristen Lamb
Know More Than You Show, Conclusion: Theme by Matt Bird
When You Really, Really Care by Dave King
The Battle of Science and Magic, Part One – Particles and Pixie Dust by Victoria Hooper
Be Your Own Book Doctor by Janice Hardy
The 7 Deadly Sins of Self-Editing by Janice Gable Bashman & Kathryn Craft
Cynicism Is Never Romantic With Handsome Hansel
Playing the Short Game: Why Short Fiction? by Douglas Smith
Book Marketing
Focusing on the Writing First by Elizabeth S. Craig
Measure Your (Self-)Publishing Competence by Joel Friedlander
(Awesome breakdown of 6 Core Skills all writers need)
Tactics vs. Strategy by C.J. Lyons
The ABCs of Voice Values: Part 2 (H-P) by Abby Kerr
The ABCs of Voice Values, Part 3 (Q-Z) by Abby Kerr
8 Book Marketing Tasks To Tackle BEFORE Your Book Is Published by Toni at DuoLit
3 Ways to Build Meaningful Connections to Move Your Writing Career Forward by Monica Carter Tagore
It’s Write O’Clock: Do You Know Who Your Contacts Are? by Susan Spann
Book Promotion Advice From Popular Indie Fantasy Author Joseph Lallo
Why I Cut My Email List In Half by C.J. Lyons
How to Book Your Own Virtual Book Tour by Chris Robley
When Visibility Doesn’t Lead to Book Sales by Genevieve Pearson
(Self-)Publishing
The #1 Reason for #QueryFails – How to Avoid Automatic Rejection from a Reviewer, Agent, Editor or Blogger by Anne R. Allen
Querying? Think Outside the Box to Get Noticed by LynDee Walker
Turn One Agent’s No Into Another Agent’s Yes by Wendy Burt-Thomas
The Business Rusch: The Bad Book by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (reader & editor preferences)
What Does the Future Look Like For Traditional Publishers and What Does That Mean For Self-Published Authors? by D.D. Scott
Go-To List for Helpful Indie Resources (The Writer’s Guide to Publishing)
The Business Rusch: Binge Reading by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The Frontiers of Publishing by Jason Dyck
Book Promotion – What’s Working at Amazon in 2013 by Lindsay Buroker
Blogging
Do Authors Need a Website and Blog? by Jami Gold
To Blog Or Not To Blog, That Is Jane Friedman’s Question by Karen Woodward
What Should an Author Website Include by Jami Gold
Which Content-Marketing Tasks Can Wait Until After Your Site Launches? by Amy Harrison
How to Build an Online Marketing Audience of People You Don’t Know by Manon Eileen
How Authors Can Survive the Death of Google Reader by Caitlin Muir
5 Lessons Cat Videos Can Teach Us About Blissfully Mindless Content by Marie Rotter
3 Criticial Thigs to Remember About Guest Posting by Danny Iny
Social Media
Wonder Twin Powers…ACTIVATE! Introverts & Extroverts Unite by Kristen Lamb
7 Ways Buffer Will Change Your (Social Media) Life by Shannon at DuoLit
Can Social Media Tools Make Us a Social Tool? by Kristen Lamb
Twitter: My 5 Unshakable Beliefs by Ann Neugebauer
Collected Wisdom
Writing Resources by Gene Lempp
Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig
Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas
Deep Stuff
How to Tell if You’re Really Overloaded (and What to Do About It) by Mark McGuinness
Is It Better to Be a Good Person or a Great One? by Mary Kennedy
Enough Feisty Princesses: Disney Needs an Introverted Heroine by Lindsay Lowe
Will Old People Take Over the World by George Dvorsky
Fun Stuff
The Funniest Amazon Review I’ve Seen This Month by Jenny Hansen
5 Shockingly Advanced Ancient Buildings That Shouldn’t Exist by Eric Yosomono
The 21 Happiest Objects of All Time by Jessica Misener
Fiction Affliction: March Releases in Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson
Fiction Affliction: March Releases in Urban Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson
Fiction Affliction: Genre Benders For March by Suzanne Johnson
Link Feast For Writers, vol. 43
This week’s Link Feast got a tad bloated since I wanted to make this one to be special. It will be the last Link Feast for a while.
I got a full time job. So until I get used to the vastly diminished free time and balancing work and family, my blogging is pretty much on hold. I might be able to whip up some partially written posts but I make no promises when.
Meanwhile, enjoy the link collections of Elizabeth S. Craig, Gene Lempp and Yesenia Vargas. And write. And then write some more 🙂
If You Have Time For Only One Thing
Be the Gatekeeper of Your Mind by Rachelle Gardner
On Writing
How To Push Past The Bullshit And Write That Goddamn Novel: A Very Simple No-Fuckery Writing Plan To Get Shit Done by Chuck Wendig
The Forrest Gump Guide to Writing That Bites Readers in the Buttocks by Jon Morrow
How Badly Do You Want the Dream? by Kristen Lamb
7 Things Confident Writers Don’t Do by Kristen Lamb
Enemies of the Art, Part 8 – Being a Starter, Not a Finisher by Kristen Lamb
To Find Success, Learn to Embrace the Meantime by Kristen Lamb
Defining Yourself as a Writer by David Farland
The Appeal to “Intellect” in Fiction by David Farland
How to Work on More Than One Book At a Time by James Scott Bell
8 Books For Writers by Raima Larter
A 12-Step Checklist For a “Sexy” Synopsis by Shannon Donnelly
Concept
Good to Great: Nail a Better Concept to Empower Your Story by Larry Brooks
“Side Effects” (Deconstruction 1) – The True Concept by Larry Brooks
“Side Effects” (Deconstruction #2) – Putting Concept to Work In the Narrative… Even Before You Write It by Larry Brooks
Characters
Three Questions to Get to the Heart of Your Story by Janice Hardy
Dig Deep Into Character by Kathy Steffen
Why Character Arcs (and Growth) Make Readers Care by Janice Hardy
Strong Character Voices by David Farland
Cultural Guilt by David Farland
How to Get Out of Your Character’s Way by Amy Sue Nathan
Dealing With a Large Cast of Characters by David Farland
Plotting
Plot, Story and Tension by Karen Woodward
Writing and the Monomyth, Part 1 by Karen Woodward
Writing and the Monomyth, Part 2 by Karen Woodward
4 Steps of Organizing Plot Ideas Into a Novel by Jody Hedlund
Visual Methods of Writing by Robert Ferrigno
Worksheets For the Breakout Novelist by Donald Maass
Storyteller’s Rulebook: Move Up the Timeline by Matt Bird
Putting Emotional Twists In Your Tales by David Farland
How to Write a Scene in 11 Steps [Infographic] by Jason Boog
Compelling Writing
Making the Pages Cry by Becca Puglisi
Immerse the Reader in Your World and Never Let Them Up For Air by Kristen Lamb
Those So-Called Clichés by David Farland
Revising
How To Karate Your Novel And Edit That Motherfucker Hard: A No-Foolin’ Fix-That-Shit Editing Plan To Finish The Goddamn Job by Chuck Wendig
Edit Your Shit: Editing For Content by Chuck Wendig
Self-Editing 101 – 13 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Opening Chapter by Anne R. Allen
Avoid Reader Confusion by Elizabeth S. Craig
Telling Yourself to Show: How to Identify Flat Scenes by Janice Hardy
What Is Your Stylistic Device? by Patience Bloom
10 Proofreading Tips For Self-Publishers by Anna Lewis
Genres
Sleeps With Monsters: Epic Fantasy Is Crushingly Conservative? by Liz Bourke
What Is Gaslight Fantasy? by Terri Windling
Dystopian Round Table: The Appeal of Dystopian Fiction by John Joseph Adams
Teens and Dystopias by Scott Westerfield
Book Marketing
What’s Going On with Readers Today? Goodreads Finds Out
5 Essential Skills For Today’s Online Marketer by Chris Brogan
Building an Author Brand by Ali Cross (IndieReCon)
The ABCs of Voice Values: Learn to “Read” Your Brand & Your Right People (Part 1, A-G) by Abby Kerr
Marketing Plans Made Easy by S.R. Johannes (IndieReCon)
Insert Brilliant Category Romance Title Here! by Patience Bloom
10 Ways to Make Your Cover Stand Out in the Crowd by Alicia Kat Dillman (IndieReCon)
Creative Book Launches That Command Attention by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi (IndieReCon)
Money Matters Most in Book Marketing by Rob Eagar
Top 10 Tips: How to Create an Effective Author Website by Malle Vallik
E.C. Myers: Reading Between the Lines (this is one of the juiciest bios & author introductions I’ve ever seen)
12 Steps to Blog Tour Success by Joel Friedlander (IndieReCon)
Why Non-Fiction Books Are the New Ultimate Business Card by Ryan Holiday
(Self-)Publishing
The Financial Reality of a (Trad Published) Genre Novelist by Jason Boog
The Death of Publishing by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
How Have Things Changed In the Last 3 Years in Indie Publishing by Bob Mayer
Interview with Jane Friedman (The State of Publishing and All Kind of Great Writing Tips) by Jerry Waxler
Lessons Learned and Tips From Indie Authors by Ali Cross (IndieReCon)
Top 10 Tips For Successful Self-Publishing by Barbara Freethy (IndieReCon)
Measuring Success by Susan Kaye Quinn (IndieReCon)
Partnering With an Agent by Steena Holmes (IndieReCon)
Amazon’s Bestselling Author Theresa Ragan Treats You to the Steps She Took to Self-Publish
Building a Best-Selling Publishing Team by Miral Sattar of BiblioCrunch (IndieReCon)
The Recipe For Indie Success: Advice From 4 Successful Authors by Shannon at DuoLit
Joe Konrath Talks About How to Sell Books on Amazon by Karen Woodward
Breaking Into International Markets by Orna Ross of ALLi (IndieReCon)
Amazon’s Recommendation Engine Trumps the Competition by David Gaughran
The Shocking Truth: Book Buyers Have Minds of Their Own Chris McVeigh
Here’s the Problem With Book Publishers’ Discovery Problem by Laura Hazard Owen
(Fascinating insight on how super readers – most writers, I suspect – can understand how the average readers discover and select books. An average reader being someone who only reads 6 books / year)
What Aren’t Bookstores Doing? by Jenn Northington
Blogging
Why Do We Blog? by Molly Greene
Is Blogging Still Essential to a Fiction Writer’s Platform by Mike Duran
What the Heck Do I Blog About? Blogging Ideas For Fiction Authors Stuck In a Rut by Laura Pepper Wu
Make Your Blog the Event of the Year (And Have People Clamor to Attend) by Tea Silvestre
Get It Done: 7 Tips for Writing When You Don’t Have Enough Time by Tea Silvestre
Social Media
9 Tips For Making Online Friends by Jami Gold
Build Your Online Writing Community by Gabriela Pereira
Resolve to Tweet Better in 2013 by Nina Badzin
How I Got a Six-Figure Twitter Following (and Why It Doesn’t Matter) by Jane Friedman
0 – 4000 In a Snap – How to Build a Quality Twitter Following Fast by Molly Greene
Twitter Basics – The Proper Care and Feeding of Hashtags by Marcy Kennedy
Facebook: Should We Use a Profile Or a Page by Lisa Hall-Wilson
Facebook Tricks For Better Engagement by Lisa Hall-Wilson
Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make On Facebook and How to Avoid Them by Lisa Hall-Wilson
The Weird Thing About Facebook: Status Updates Are the Most Memorable Writing You Do by Jennifer Miller
It’s Not You Facebook, It’s Me — Okay, It’s Partly You: Why I Unfriended Almost Everyone by Matthew Ingram
Collected Wisdom
Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig
Writing Resources by Gene Lempp
Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas
Deep Stuff
Must Read Monday: The Happiness Project by Roni Loren
15 Ways to Rock Your Sister’s World by Jenny Hansen
Women in Media: Why Our Stories Count by August McLaughlin
2 Critical Myths That Separate Top Performers From Ordinary People by Ramit Sethi (This is a sales page. But you can ignore that and focus on the meat, the myths. And yet, if you have sales pages, are yours this convincing?)
Fun Stuff
How Game of Thrones Season 3 Will Split A Storm of Swords by Chris Lough
‘Hunger Games’ Success Proves Dystopia Is the New Supernatural by Brooke Tarnoff
F*ck Year Warrior Women Picture Blog
Are You Ready to Have Kids? This Quiz Should Tell You by Little White Lion (thanks for this funny link, Jenny Hansen)
Writer Horoscopes Monopoly Style by Donna Gambale
Link Feast For Writers, vol. 42
This batch of links comes on Thursday again. I made this edition a little thicker as I will be on a blogging hiatus next week. Hubby is on a vacation so we’ll have family time.
Enjoy the links! Until March.
If You Have Time For Only One Thing
Create Your Personal Vision – You Can Do It If You Can See It by Cigdem Kobu
On Writing
Be the Watchdog For Your Own Rights by Susan Spann
The Most Important Quality in Best-Selling Authors by Jody Hedlund
Making Writing Resolutions That Stick by Gabriela Pereira
Turning Those Writing Resolutions Into Reality by Gabriela Pereira
The Hardest Writerly Truth of Them All by Chuck Wendig
How to Stick to Your Goals by Veronica Sicoe
Yoga For Writers by Raima Larter
Prewriting: The Trick to Preventing Writer’s Block by David Farland
Write In the Flush of the Moment to Free Up Flow by Sam Horn
How to Increase Concentration – The 5 Key Steps by Sulagna Dasgupta
Make Your Own MFA in Creative Writing: How to Build a DIY Creative Writing Curriculum by Chris Robley
8 Tips From Chuck Wendig on How to Read Like a Writer by Karen Woodward
Beyond the Basics: 5 Ways to Take Your Writing Further by Joanna Penn
How Do You Know Your Writing Is Getting Better? by Janice Hardy
Words From George R.R. Martin by Aderyn Wood
Analyzing What to Write by David Farland
Analyzing Your Novel’s Audience by David Farland (that elusive High Concept)
Audience Analysis, Part 2 by David Farland
Do We Stick With a Genre or Write What We Feel? by Julia Robb
Fate Core and Creation of Magical Worlds by Karen Woodward
On Writing the Non-Western Fantasy Setting by Miriam Forster
Writing Race in YA by Nicola K. Richardson
How to Raise the Stakes in Your First 50 Pages of Your Novel by Jeff Gerke
Can Story Themes Help Pantsers Write? by Jami Gold
Three Ways to Ground Readers In Your World by Janice Hardy
Spinach Scenes (And How to Deal With Them) by Leila Austin
Five Ways to Create Context In Your Story by Dr. John Yeoman
Voice Tips From Pros by Becca Puglisi
How to Revise For a Stronger Theme by Jami Gold
3 Ways to Compress Your Story Like Les Misérables by Joe Bunting
What Makes a Romance Novel Truly Romantic by Jody Hedlund
The Pride and Prejudice Beat Sheet by Marilyn Brant
Writing Historicals – How Accurate Must You Be? by Anne Cleeland
Writing a Feel Good Story by Karen Woodward
Writing Warm and Fuzzy by David Farland
Testosterone Fueled Fiction by David Farland
How to Write Short Story Characters by Karen Woodward
6 Ways to Stand Out At a Writer’s Conference by Barbara Santos
Book Marketing
Author Platform Starter Kit (72 page long PDF) by Dan Blank (AWESOME resource)
You, amplified (a poem about marketing) by Colleen Wainwright
Designing a Brand That Works – 6 Key Elements by Tea Silvestre
11 Tips For Creating a Remarkable Brand by Tea Silvestre
6 Places to Look Outside Your Business Niche for Creative Inspiration (& 3 Places Never To Look) by Abby Kerr
5 Goldenly Creative Ways to Tell Your Brand Story by Tea Silvestre
Taking Responsibility For Your Marketing Plan by David Farland
Building a Platform vs. Promoting a Book by Rachelle Gardner
Bigger Bang For Your Marketing Bucks by Tea Silvestre
Are You Neglecting This Important Book Sales Tool? 5 Steps to a Great Blurbs by Mark Edwards
10 Ways Proven to Draw Readers to Your Novel’s Website by Thomas Ummstattd
The Cheese Factor: Keep the “Cheesiness” Out of Your Author Website by Kerry Lonsdale
Build Your Mailing List! 5 Ideas That Really Work by Toni Tesori of DuoLit
Email Marketing For Authors: 6 Articles by Chris Robley
Teaching Your Fans to Shout Out For You by David Farland
Getting Book Reviews: Hit Me With Your Best Pitch by Kelly Jensen
How to Take a Good Author Photo by Chris Robley
5 Tips to Improve Your Amazon Author Central Page by Cat Rambo
Life in an Ottoman Harem by Colin Falconer (This is one of the most interesting book promotion posts I’ve ever seen. A great story)
(Self-)Publishing
Think Like a Publisher 2013: Return on Investment by Dean Wesley Smith
Are Self-Pub Books the New Slush Pile? by Rachelle Gardner
Query Letters: Author Meagan Spooner and Agent Josh Adams discuss SKYLARK by Stephanie Kuehn
Ebook Parts by J.A. Konrath
Using a Variety of eBook Price Points to Build an Indie ePublishing Empire by D.D. Scott
2013 YA Cover Trends, Part 1 by Kelly Jensen
2013 YA Cover Trends by Kelly Jensen
2013 YA Cover Trends, Part 3 by Kelly Jensen
Blogging
How to Find Your Message and Stand Out by Justin Dixon
Blog For Your Right People by Abby Kerr
17 Ways to Turn Your Blog Readers Into Loyal Fans by Tea Silvestre
7 Surprising Things About Blogging by Victoria Mixon
Blogging Tips: 3 Fast Fixes by Angela Ackerman
The Science of Storytelling: 6 Ways to Write More Persuasive Stories by Gregory Ciotti
How Do You Feel About Re-Posting Old Blog Posts? by Janice Hardy
Social Media
Where’s the Line Between Spamming and Sharing by Jami Gold
The Brave New World of Social Media – Love Never Needs Updating by Kristen Lamb
12 Social Media Mistakes For Authors to Avoid by Anne R. Allen
Quick-Start Pinterest Tips by Stormy Sweitzer
Books, Reading and Pinterest by Kelly Jensen
YA Authors on Pinterest by Kristen Hubbard
LinkedIn—Making The Most of Your Six Seconds by Jenny Hansen
Collected Wisdom
Writing Resources by Gene Lempp
Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig
Deep Stuff
Date a Girl Who Reads by Rosemarie Urquico (I’ll definately give this spiel to my kids when they’re older 🙂 )
Why Do We Read? by David Farland
How to Be Creative When Your Brain Doesn’t Want to Play by Gary Korisko
The Story of a Boy Who Went to Prison by Shannon Lell
Beauty of a Woman Blogfest: Do Breasts Define the Female? by Jenny Hansen
Beauty of a Woman Blogfest: What Would You Trade to Look Young Forever by Marcy Kennedy
An 18-Minute Plan Managing Your Day by Peter Bregman
18 Minutes Free Resources by Peter Bregman
Smile At Your Unfinished List by Jonathan Mead
Fun Stuff
The Best Stuff Revealed in the Game of Thrones Season 2 Blu-Ray Set by Chris Lough
“As You Wish…” Eight Unabashedly Romantic SF/F Love Stories by Ryan Britt and Emily Asher-Perrin
The 5 Soapiest Romances in the Star Wars Expanded Universe by Natalie Zutter
Explore a Living Map of Ankh-Morpork by Stubby the Rocket
10 SFF Book Series So Addictive Tou Never Want Them to End by Charlie Jane Anders
10 Fantasy Book Series That Could Replace Harry Potter at the Movies by Charlie Jane Anders
2012 Nebula Award Finalists Announced (Tor.com)
Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia by Rachel Swirsky (Nebula Award Nominated Short Story)
Fiction Affliction: February Releases In Urban Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson
Fiction Affliction: February Releases in Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson
Fiction Affliction: Genre Benders For February by Suzanne Johnson
Creating a Sub-Genre by Accident: Georgette Heyer’s The Corinthian by Mari Ness
Link Feast For Writers, vol. 41
Writing blogs are a great way to learn about the craft and marketing our work. Enjoy the posts I’ve hoarded, some older, some recent.
If You Have Time For Only One Thing
Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing: Enjoy the Best of Both Worlds – Interview with C.J. Lyons by Jane Friedman
On Writing
Feeling Overwhelmed? Eat That Frog by Kristen Lamb
Organizing: Eat Dessert First! | Dialogue is War | Make Readers Click On Buy by Randy Ingermansson (eZine PDF)
Why You Get Nothing Done When You Have a Lot On Your Plate by Shanna Mann
5 Quick Tips to Write More by Kathy Steffen
Writing Goals Sheet by Gabriela Pereira at DIY MFA
Enemies of the Art, Part 7 – Failure to Focus by Kristen Lamb
8 Tips For Finding Motivation to Write by Karen Woodward
Closing the Gap: Moving from Notebook to Story by Susan Jackson Rodgers
Dwight V. Swain on How to Write a Novel by Karen Woodward
“In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you” – Mortimer J. Adler
How to Write a Character From Start to Finish by Jeff Gerke
Tags, Traits and Tells by Karen Woodward
The Table Theory of Characterization by Ryan Howse (uses Firefly as an example <3)
The Elementary Life of a Sidekick by Alex Bledshoe
How to Build a Story World Based on a Character by Jeno Marz
Roleplaying Games, Writing and Creation of Magic Systems by Karen Woodward
The Inciting Incident/Call to Action (Key Story Elements) by Alexandra Sokoloff
How to Add Jeopardy to Your Story Before the Main Conflict Starts? by Roz Morris
37 Ways to Keep Readers’ Pulses Racing—and Keep Them Reading by Jordan McCollum
Theme Me Up: How to Develop Your Theme by Janice Hardy
Alternative Ways to Describe Character Reactions by Janice Hardy
Good Writing: Using the Senses by Karen Woodward
A Short Course in Line Editing by Michelle Seaton
Analyzing Story Structure by Karen Woodward
Top Ten Romantic Movies by Alexandra Sokoloff
5 Techniques to Spice Up Your Writing by Jon Morrow
The Terrible Addiction by Annie Laurie Cechini
Book Marketing
“Marketing is just telling the right story to the right people.” – C.J. Lyons
Learn Your Craft, Dummy – No, I’m Not Talking About Writing by Edward Robertson
Why Even a Novelist Should Know How to Write Strong Copy by Dana Sitar
The 5 Phases of Microbusiness Brand Development by Abby Kerr
Your Secret Sauce: 9 Steps to Creating an Addicting Brand by Tea Silvestre
The Marketing Rule of 7 by Tea Silvestre
The Author With the Biggest Mailing List Wins by David Gaughran
3 Steps to Building Your Street Team by C.J. Lyons
5 Ways to Market Your Romance Novel by Tim Grahl
4 Great Examples of Author Websites by Caitlin Muir (AuthorMedia)
Are You Making This HUGE Book Marketing Mistake? by Shannon at DuoLit
How to Sell eBooks by J.A. Konrath
Your Amazon Author Central Page by Bufo Calvin
(Self-)Publishing
SWOT Your Way to a Sustainable Writing Business by Vickie Taylor
Why Writing Is a Business and How to Win At It by Nick Thacker
Recipe For a Successful Synopsis by Jami Gold
Checklist: The 6 Essentials For Submitting Your Novel to Agents by Brian A. Klems
5 Things I’ve Learned From Self-Publishing by James Calbraith
THING 2. Sucessful Seduction and the Naked Truth: Rethink Cover Design for a Small, Small World by Elle Lothlorien
Why and How to Use Multimedia to Enchance Your eBooks by Harry Guinness
What I’d Like to See from eBooksellers in 2013: A Holiday Wishlist by Edward Robertson (Great analysis of strenghts and weaknesses of Amazon, Nook etc.)
What About the Needs of the Reader? by Elizabeth S. Craig
Why Children Hold The Key To Your Future As An Author by Jonathan Gunson
Blogging
How Not To Show Up Like an A-List Blogger by Charlie Gilkey
Quirky Much? How Your Oddities, Flaws and Peculiar Habits Help You Build a Stronger Brand by Tea Silvestre
How to Create an Agile Content Marketing Strategy (and Stay Sane Doing It) by Pamela Wilson
Your Signature Dish: How to Create a Program That Sizzles by Tea Silvestre
5 Silly Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Blog without Even Realizing It by Tommy Walker
Experiences That Make Readers Excited to Spread Your Message by Danny Iny
Why Guru Strategies for Blog Growth DON’T WORK… and What Does! by Danny Iny
Wordalicious – How to Choose the Tastiest Words For Your Message by Tea Silvestre
5 Elevator Pitch Tips For Your Blog by Amy Lynn Andrews
What Happens If You Stop Blogging? by Annabel Candy
Social Media
Digital Sheep Get Slaughtered – Being Safe On Social Media by Kristen Lamb
Feeling Overwhelmed With Social Media? Social Media Can Make Us Crazy–Part 2 by Kristen Lamb
Promoting Your Book on Facebook and Twitter Is a Total Waste of Time by Mary W. Walters (the antithesis)
How to Use Twitter to Develop and Promote Your Zone of Genius by Justine Musk
7 Splendid Articles on Using Goodreads As an Author by Iain Broome
Collected Wisdom
Writing Resources by Gene Lempp
Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig
Deep Stuff
Show Up In a Different Way by Charlie Gilkey
The One Thing You Must Do To Achieve Break-Through Results by Michael Hyatt
Restock Your Happiness Well by Ginger Calem
“People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they’re not on your road doesn’t mean they’ve gotten lost.” – Dalai Lama
Do We Have the Right to Judge Other People? by Marcy Kennedy
The Truth About Constipation and Life by Shannon Lell
Note to Self: Don’t Get Organized by Gretchen Rubin
Library Love: The Sexy Librarian And Our Collective Imagination by Stephanie Bonjack
Defeating the Great Depression by Sarah Hoyt
23 Science Books That Are So Exciting They Read Like Genre Fiction by Annalee Newitz (great material for all writers with a dystopian bend)
Fun Stuff
What Kind of a Book Reader Are You? A Diagnostics Guide by Jen Doll (Thanks for the link, Jenny Hansen!)
Incredibly Weird Photos of People With Their Pets (Mommy Has a Potty Mouth)
Movie Spoilers: Who exactly is Peter Dinklage playing in X-Men: Days of Future Past? (and other cool tidbits) by Alasdair Wilkins
The 12 Most Horrifically Bad Dates in All of Science Fiction and Fantasy by Meredith Woerner
The 7 Greatest Bromances in Space by Rob Bricken (fear not, no slash here)
Trailer Frenzy: A Creepy Near Future Book About Government Experiments on Teenagers by Annalee Newitz
Link Feast For Writers, vol. 40
This week’s Link Feast comes on Thursday since my and my kids have been sick as dogs for the past week. I haven’t been able to start compiling the old links I promised. But I hope you don’t mind mostly fresh links instead 🙂
I was surprised by how fast I could whip this up. Having a steady system, and no time to get side tracked and get perfectionist helped.
If you have a preference of what kind of links would be useful to you right now, please let me to know in the comments.
If You Have Time For Only One Thing
Book Marketing for Shy Authors by Laura Pepper Wu
On Writing
Redefining the Writing Conference by Kristen Lamb (Join the first WANACon)
6 Steps to Launching a Dream by Andy Traub
Who’s On Your Team? by Jael McHenry
What to Do When Our Families Don’t Support Our Writing by Jody Hedlund
Creating Your Literary Ecosystem: The 10 Elements of a Successful Writing Career by Chris Robley
How To Write More And Create A Daily Writing Habit (4:55 min video) by Joanna Penn
“Do a Costanza” with Your Book’s Competition by Lynne Klippel (Do some comparative analysis before committing to writing the book. You need a fresh angle to the genre/plot/type.)
Sacred Silence – Why You and Your Book Require It by Lynne Klippel
Success: Is It Happening to You, Only You Don’t Realize It by Angela Ackerman
Lessons Learned From the Original Star Wars Trilogy to Up Your Writing Game by Lydia Sharp
The Football of Story by Art Holcomb
Authors vs. Characters: Can Our Morals Be Different by Jami Gold
3 Things You Need to Know Before Writing a Female Protagonist by Veronica Sicoe
Character Development – Distinguishing Secondary Characters From Each Others by Elizabeth S. Craig
Sleeps With Monsters: Where Are the Older Women? by Liz Bourke
How to Use Stereotypes In Your Writing by Veronica Sicoe
Key Story Elements: Opening Image by Alexandra Sokoloff
The Man (Or Woman) In the Mirror by Donald Maass
The Rule of Three by Alexandra Sokoloff
Revision: Shrunken Manuscript Technique by Darcy Pattison
Revision: Shrunken Manuscript vs. Spreadsheet Plotting by Darcy Pattison
Common Structural Problems by Stuart Horwitz
Rewriting: The Genre Pass by Alexandra Sokoloff
Five Rules For Choosing and Using Beta Readers by Lexi Ryan
Book Marketing
Got Platform? by Lynne Klippel
Why You Should Google Yourself: It’s Not Vain – It’s Good Business by Anne R. Allen
Fears That Stop You From Marketing Your Book – And How to Overcome Them by Lynne Klippel
50 Shades of… Book Buyers by Lynne Klippel
Filling a Need and Finding Your Niche by L. Diane Wolfe
When Your Book Does Not Fit: How to Ensure Your Book Delivers for Your Ideal Readers by Lynne Klippel
Using the Before, During and After Technique to Market Your Book by Lynne Klippel
10 Things to Write to Help You Rock Your Book Launch by Dana Sitar
How to Promote Your Book (When You’re Scared Out of Your Mind) by Toni at DuoLit
Get Incoming Links to Your Author Website by Dana Lynn Smith
Top 10 Ways to Promote a Virtual Book Tour by Dana Lynn Smith
The Book News Media Wants by Brian Feinblum
5 Great Author Interview Practices by Chris Robley
(Self-)Publishing
How eBook Readers Shop And The Importance Of Sampling by Joanna Penn
Self-Publishing: Prioritizing Fast, Cheap and Good by Jami Gold
Do You Judge Books by Their Covers? by Jami Gold
Blogging
Is It Finally Time For You to Step Up? by Sonia Simone (A prime example of the power of a story)
Why Some Blogs Make Me Cranky by Sharla Rae
The Art of Being Interesting by Jonathan Morrow
Forget About Lenght and Focus on Value by Danny Iny
The 3 Essentials of Breakthrough Content Marketing by Sonia Simone
The 7 Facets of Confident Writing by Greg Narayan
The Perfect Blogging Output Level by Greg Narayan
7 Libraries Of Sensational Photographs You Can Use For Free by Jonathan Gunson
Social Media
How to Find Readers on Twitter by Jonathan Gunson
How to Promote Your Books on Pinterest by Lindsay Buroker
64 Google+ Content Strategies by Maria Peagler
Collected Wisdom
Writing Resources by Gene Lempp
Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig
Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas
Deep Stuff
10 Ways to Foster a Love of Reading by Jody Hedlund
12 Cognitive Biases That Prevent You Being Rational by George Dvorsky
Read to Lead: How to Digest Books Above Your “Level” by Ryan Holiday
Surviving Transition: Impulse Power by Gene Lempp
Fun Stuff
33 People Who Will Make You Feel Better About Your Dance Moves by Benny Johnson
Two Men Get a Glimpse Into What Childbirth Feels Like (Video) by Devan McGuinness
Fiction Into Reality: Why We Borrow From What We Love by Emily Asher-Perrin
10 Greatest Prison Breaks in Science Fiction and Fantasy by Charlie Jane Anders
5 Reasons We Still Love the Fifth Element by Brian Salisbury
30 Insanely Easy Ways to Improve Your Kitchen by Alanna Okun
Link Feast For Writers, vol. 39
Writing blogs are a great way to learn about the craft and marketing our work. Enjoy the posts I’ve hoarded, some older, some recent.
Note: Starting from next week, I’ll gather together all the links from the previous Feasts. So for few weeks, you can expect old links that are the best advice I’ve ever read about the topic.
If You Have Time For Only One Thing
58 Tips for Transforming Your Blog and Dazzling Your Readers by Marya Jan
On Writing
Amazon Bestselling Author Theresa Ragan says: “Write!”
Enemies of ther Art, Part 2: Psychic Vampires by Kristen Lamb
Enemies of the Art, Part 3: F.E.A.R. by Kristen Lamb
9 Tips For Finishing That Novel by Anna Staniszewski
Super Hero Nation’s Writing Post Index (dozens of excellent posts)
Make Your Writer’s Bookshelf Work For You by Jenny Hansen
How Much Do You Understand About Your Writing Process by Janice Hardy
3 Vs of Fiction: Vision by Darcy Pattison
3 Vs of Fiction: Voice by Darcy Pattison
3 Vs of Fiction: Vulnerability by Darcy Pattison
Beware the Under-Cooked Story Concept by Larry Brooks
Michael Hauge On How to Summarize Your Novel by Karen Woodward
Do You Like a Little Contradiction In Your Characters? by Jen Kirchner
Help With Character Development by Elizabeth S. Craig (great links)
What Nashville Can Teach Us About Character Archetypes by Janice Hardy
Aliette de Bodard on On Worldbuilding, Patchwork and Filing off Serial Numbers
Managing Story Conflict by Stavros Halvatzis
How to Write Powerful Endings by Stavros Halvatzis
An Easy Fix For a Tighter Point of View by Janice Hardy
Four Techniques to Show Rather Than Tell by Marcy Kennedy
Lessons From Oleander – Beware of Premature Editing by Kristen Lamb
Now You Can Revise, Part 4: Add More “I Understand You” Moments by Matt Bird
Now You Can Revise, Part 5: Set Up Your Pay-Offs Better by Matt Bird
Feedback on a Works in Progress: When, How Often, How by Darcy Pattison
Time Saving Tip When Writing a Book Series by Elizabeth S. Craig
Book Marketing
Different, Because (The Story of Telling)
A + B = You (The Secret Equation Every Author Needs to Know) by Shannon at DuoLit
The 4 Elements of Voice {& Why You Should Notice Your Own & Other People’s} by Abby Kerr
Branding 101: Who Do You Want to Be? by Jami Gold
Marketing Strategies: Who You Know, What You’ll Do and How You Access Readers? by Darcy Pattison
Are You Targeting the Wrong Readers? 7 Tips to Fix the Problem by Gary Korisko
How to Make Your Message Stick (The Story of Telling)
How to Engage Your Reader by Matthew Turner
Don’t Lose Your New Year Momentum! 5 Ways to Keep Up Marketing Motivation by Toni at DuoLit
8 Things to Do Immediately After You Get a New Email Subscriber by Ramsay at Blog Tyrant
How to Enlist “Interns” for Free: Getting Friends and Family to Help You Promote Your Book by Chris Robley
What Makes a Good Book Trailer: Some Key Elements by Laura Pepper Wu
Authors – Thinking About Partnering Up?: How The Partners in ParanormYA Did It by Angela Brown and Gwen Gardner
Slow Media by Seth Godin
Getting Your Book’s Goodreads Reviews On Kobo by Tamara Ward
To Ad or Not To Ad? by C.J. Lyons
(Self-)Publishing
Tick Tock: Timelines In the Author Business Plan by Susan Spann
The Business Rusch: Found Information by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The Business Rusch: Editorial Revisions by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
7 Step Writer’s Guide to Submitting Work to Publication by Chris Robley
10 Dos and Don’ts of Writing a Query Letter by Brian Klems
Long Tail, Part 2: Eschew Slock by Debra Eve (great videos by Stephen Pressfield and Shawn Coyne)
Attending Conferences and Conventions As an Indie Author by Lindsay Buroker
Two Year Self-Publishing Anniversary–Thoughts on the Past and What’s Going to Work in the Future by Lindsay Buroker
Susan Kaye Quinn’s Self-Pub Basics (Part Three of Four): Formatting, The Hard Way
Blogging
Behave… The Internet Never Forgets by Jami Gold
Blogging For Writers by Elizabeth S. Craig (Is it worth it?)
Blogging From A to Z by Melinda F. Emerson
Who’s Your Blog’s Ideal Reader? by Annabel Candy
How to Improve Your Blog by Refocusing by Bryan Allain
Finding and Communicating Your Value by Chris Garrett
11 Easy Ways to Get Hundreds of Great Blog Post Ideas by Annabel Candy
Checklist: 7 Things You Have to Do to Write Unforgettable Articles by Henri Junttila
The Power of Collaboration by Amy Lee Andrews
How to Get Facebook to Pull the Right Images from Your WordPress Blog by Amy Lynn Andrews
Social Media
Feeling Overwhelmed? Social Media Can Make Us Crazy–Part 1 by Kristen Lamb
Maximizing Facebook–What We Can Learn From Puppy Dog Eyes and LOL Cats by Lisa Hall-Wilson
3 Simple Ways to Engage On Your Author Facebook Page by Caitlin Muir
Facebook Magic, Part 2 ~ From FB Goddess, Lisa Hall-Wilson
12 Tips to Engage People on Twitter by Cindy King
How to Nurture Your Twitter Community by Laura Lee Walker
10 Types of Social Media Updates—How Many Are You Using? by Michael Hyatt
What to Tweet – And What Not by Michelle McNickle
9 Ways to Use Social Media to Launch a Book by Michael Stelzner
Collected Wisdom
Writing Resources: January 2013 by Gene Lempp
Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig
Deep Stuff
What Does Your Behaviour Say About Who You Are? by Marcy Kennedy
“Better” Has No Finish Line – Lessons I’m Learning From Crossfit, Part 2 by Jenny Hansen
7 Principles to Live by in 2013 by Amy Lynn Andrews (these all really resonate with me)
The Question You Need to Ask Yourself by Justine Musk
How to Be a Visionary by Justine Musk
Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Who Served in the Military and How It Changed Their Work by Charlie Jane Anders
Why We Remember Young Adulthood Better Than Any Other Age? by Katy Waldman
Fun Stuff
Yet Another (Hilarious) Reason to Invest In an eReader by Jenny Hansen
Fiction Affliction: February Releases In Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson
Fiction Affliction: Genre Benders For February by Suzanne Johnson
All the Game of Thrones Fan Theories You Absolutely Need to Know by Rock Bricken
111 Movie Sequels Currently In Works by Simon Brew
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