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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