Link Feast For Writers, vol. 48

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

What’s Your Excuse For Not Writing? by Monica Bhide

 

On Writing

What Are the Odds of Success? … Really? by Kristen Lamb

Dare To Suck (great video, 3:56 min) by Jenny Hansen

Getting Organized by Karen Woodward

Creative People Say No by Kevin Ashton

Don’t Talk About It – Drive the Flaw to the Surface for Great Fiction by Kristen Lamb

How to Push Your Character to Their Limits by David Corbett

Does Your Novel Have Too Many Characters? by Janice Hardy

Genre Structure, Part 2: Thriller, Conspiracy and Action by Matt Bird

Specific Genre Structures, Part 3: Horror by Matt Bird

Specific Genre Structures, Part 4: Drama and Tragedy by Matt Bird

The 7 Basic Plots: Voyage and Return by Liz Bureman

How Convenient – Plot Contrivance by Elizabeth S. Craig

How to Build a Scene: Do You Have Surface Conflict and a Suppressed Conflict? by Matt Bird

A Psychological Self-Help Tool For Fiction Writers by Joseph Burgo

Hooks, Lines – And Sinkers by Shannon Donnelly

WriterStrong: Getting Fresh Emotion on the Page by Laura Drake

What’s the Visual? Adding Power to Your Writing by Margie Lawson

Three Great Tips From An Old Crime Writer by John Yeoman

Revision Tips by Angie Smibert

Writing a Book: What Happens After the First Draft by Joanna Penn

Ask Jami: Can This Story Be Saved? by Jami Gold

5 Ways to Find the Right Freelance Editor by Stacy Ennis

What Should We Expect From a Freelancer Editor? (A Timely Debate) by Therese Walsh

How to Serve and Swallow Criticism by Kristan Hoffman

7 Ways to Write a Stand Alone Book With Series Potential by Kurtis Scaletta

10 Things to Remember About Sequels by Janice Hardy

Three Ways Serials Can Improve Your Writing by Susan Kaye Quinn

4 Tips For Beta Reading In Other Genres by Jami Gold

Seven Ideas For Crafting Creative Book Reviews by Jody Hedlund

 

Book Marketing

The Business Rusch: Word of Mouth by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Entropy Is Real and Author Careers Need Feeding Daily by Kristen Lamb

5 Reasons Relationships Are the Core of Your Author Platform by Dan Blank

Ideal Reader Excercises and Why You Should Do One (New Free Resource) by Laura Pepper Wu

A Checklist of Basic Promotion Materials For Indie Authors by Chris Robley

New Author Series: How Do You Build a Fan Base Anyway? by Lindsay Buroker

How Sue London’s First Novel Became an Amazon Success in a Couple of Weeks by Lindsay Buroker

Book Marketing Tips For Fiction And Non-Fiction Authors by Joanna Penn (17:41 min video)

Marketing Sweat Equity in Book Publishing by Susan Kaye Quinn

How to Write a Back Blurb For Your Book by Joanna Penn (5:02 min video)

Selling Your Book – Hook, Line and Sinker by Susan Kaye Quinn

Street Teams: Why You Need One and How to Create One by Steena Holmes

How to Launch a Bestselling Book by Michael Hyatt

If You Write Two Different Kind of Books, Do You Need Two Different Websites? by Liz Higgs

Lessons Learned Froma a Magazine Launch – Use Them In Your Book Promotions by Laura Pepper Wu

Does This Bio Make Me Look Fat? 8 Tips For Enchanting Your Author Bio by Laura Pepper Wu

 

(Self-)Publishing

The Secret Way to Find a Literary Agent by John Yeoman

Mark Coker, Founder of Smashwords, Shares Survey Results: 5 Ways To Sell More eBooks by Karen Woodward

Lets Get Visible: Cracking The Amazon Algorithms With David Gaughran by Joanna Penn

Why I’m Totally Okay With Giving My Book Away Free by Dana Sitar

The Business Rusch: Shifting Sands by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Amazon’s New Scifi, Fantasy and Romance Sub-Categories by India Drummond

eBook Pricing Strategies: Pulsing and Pacing by D.D. Scott

Amazon Fan Fiction Model: Is It a Good Idea? by Jami Gold

 

Blogging

Why You Should Blog to Build Your Writing Career by Justine Musk

How to Create a Blog Purpose Statement in 3 Simple Steps by Darren Rowse

7 Questions to Ask Yourself to Bring Clarity to Your Blogging by Darren Rowse

On Hamburgers and Hooks: How to Effortlessly FIND (Not Write) Your Compelling First Line by Kelly Diels-Rostant

How to Write Your Best Post Ever, Part 2: Writing by Vinita Zutshi

Pixabay – A great blog photo source (free to use quality photos)

3 Things I’ve Learned From Blogging Every Day For a Year by Karen Woodward

Author Blogging 101: Blog Analytics by Joel Friedlander

Adding Google Analytics Tracking Code to WordPress by Joel Friedlander

Direct Marketing, Scottsdale Arizona, and Why a $10 Ebook Can Change Your Life by Joel Friedland (Turn your most popular blog posts into eBooks)

 

Social Media

Finding Your Authentic Social Media Voice by Abby Kerr

Get the Most Out of Facebook in the Least Amount of Time: A 10 Tip Guide by Anne Chaconas

The Ultimate Guide To Goodreads For Authors by Joanna Penn

29 Tips From the Top Google Plus Geeks by Ramsay at Blog Tyrant

Pinterested Explained By Someone Who Doesn’t Get It by Drew Hoolhorst

 

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Monday Must Reads by Yesenia Vargas

 

Deep Stuff

Personal Growth: The Right – And Wrong – Way to Share It With Others by Marie Forleo

We Have Always Fought: Challenging the ‘Women, Cattle and Slaves’ Narrative by Kameron Hurley

Living In Dystopia by Eugene Myers

Why Superheroes Are an Awesome Allegory For Real Teen Life by Leigh Anne Kopans

 

Fun Stuff

Relationships: The Male vs. Female Perspective In Under 2 Minutes by Jenny Hansen

Shall We Begin? Star Trek Into Darkness Spoiler Review by Keith DeCandido

Nitpicks and Not Being a Know-It-All: Talking To Your Friends About the Game of Thrones (When They Haven’t Read the Books) by Bridget McGovern

Who Actually Deserves to Win the Game of Thrones by Chris Lough

Nebula Award 2012 Winners

News Events I Shouldn’t Laugh At (But Do) — Michael Douglas, By The Tweets… by Jenny Hansen

If Margaret Mitchell Submitted Gone With the Wind Today by Leigh Michaels

A Day Made of Glass (5:29 min video with cool futuristic tech)

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. 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. 37

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

Embrace the Naked by Robin LaFevers

 

On Writing

What Is Your Goal As a Writer? by Laura Drake

The Ultimate Measure of Your Sucess by Mark McGuinness

13 Reasons to Keep Writing in 2013 by Jody Hedlund

3 Ways to Overcome Fear in 2013 by Shannon at DuoLit

Taking the Scary Out of Scrivener by Gwen Hernandez

Chuck Wendig On Writing: How He Writes a Book by Karen Woodward

5 Ways to Come Up With Great Story Ideas by Brian A. Klems

How to Strenghten a Story Idea by Roz Morris

Writing Your Obsessions by Cathy Marie Buchanan

9 Tips For Writing a Really Good Shitty First Draft by Lisa Cron

Connect With Readers’ Emotions: How to Make People Cry by Karen Woodward

Push Your Characters Into Interesting by Kathy Steffen

Using Public Domain Characters In Your Stories by Karen Woodward

The First 15 Minutes Project: Peter Parker In Spiderman by Matt Bird

The First 15 Minutes Project: Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Matt Bird

The First 250 Words of Your Manuscript by Janice Hardy

Writing Emotion: How Great Writers Do It by Kim Aippersbach

Four Ways to Pre Write Your Scenes by Janice Hardy

Should I Write That Potentially Controversial Scene? by Roni Loren

Foreshadowing & Chekhov’s Gun: Don’t Blow It by Kristen Lamb

Storyteller’s Rulebook: Don’t Make Them Say It by Matt Bird

Three Keys to Memorable Similes and Metaphors by Marcy Kennedy

How Chuck Wendig Edits a Novel by Chuck Wendig

The Finishing Touches by Jael McHenry

When Should You Stop Revising by Janice Hardy

11 Writerly Types to Avoid (Bluestocking)

 

Book Marketing

Book Marketing Predictions For 2013 by Thomas Umstaddt

How to Understand and Use Your Voice Values In Your Brand Today by Abby Kerr

Tips For Writing Back Cover Copy by Roz Morris

Approaching Promo in 2013 by Elizabeth S. Craig

Building Your Author Platform in 10 Hours a Week (Including Writing Time!) by Chris Robley

Divide and Conquer: Building an Author Platform by Proxy by Joanna Penn

Books Don’t Bomb, Authors Do by John Ward

5 Reasons It’s Hard to Market Indie Fiction and What to Do About It by Rachelle Ayala

I Wrote a Book But It Won’t Sell – What To Do? by Derek Haines

 

(Self-)Publishing

Introducing the Query/Blurb Exchange Club by Jami Gold

The Facts vs. the Story You Tell Yourself by Rachelle Gardner

Want Agents to Read Your Novel? Do This First by Suzannah Windsor Freeman

Agent Secrets – Do Writers Need an Agent in the New Publishing Paradigm? by Laurie McLean

Query Strategy – Narrow Focus or Scattergun? by Fae Rowen

Book Contract: What’s Negotiable and What’s Not by Brian A. Klems

5 Surprises About Self-Publishing by Jennie Nash

What Do Tradpubs Do… And Can You Do It? by Bufo Calvin

Susan Kaye Quinn’s Self-Pub Basics (Part One of Four): Where to Publish

Susan Kaye Quinn’s Self-Publish Basics (Part Two of Four): Formatting the Easy Way

Amazon’s Kindle Store – A Breakdown of Books by Category [Infographic] by Gary McLaren

 

Blogging

Blogging for Authors, and How a Banana Slicer Saved My Marriage by Kristen Lamb

8 Things Every Blogging Writer Should Know by Chuck Sambuchino

How to Get 80% of the Results With 20% of the Content by Chris Garrett

4 Steps to Better Blogging Time Management by Amy Lynn Andrews

How to Create a Total Content System by John Jantsch

50 Ways to Drive Massive Traffic to Your Blog by Cassie Boorns

Where Great Copywriting Does Not Come From by Abby Kerr

 

Social Media

How to Stay Connected When Your Number of Connections Grow by Pamela Slim

15 Common Twitter Questions Authors Ask by Caitlin Muir

What Do Your Facebook Interactions REALLY Say About You? by Jenny Hansen

 

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

 

Deep Stuff

Curatives for judgement. (Please read before you interact with other humans) by Danielle La Porte

Five Geek Social Fallacies by Michael Suileabhain-Wilson

Don’t Be a Dreamer, Be a Planner by Penelope Trunk

Unravelling the Year Ahead by Susannah Conway (really useful workbook for looking ahead and back at 2012)

How to Do Your Own Annual Review by Chris Guillebeau (this is a piece of cake if you are ROWing)

 

Fun Stuff

6 Reasons Why Batman Is Both Perfect and Boring by Esther Inglis-Arkell

A Sample of George R.R. Martin’s Next aSoIaF Book, the Winds of Winter

Search Term Bingo: The Revengification by Chuck Wendig (his weirdness at its best, totally non PC)

2012 Debut Author Cover War (behold these awesome book covers)

A Free SFF Short Story Anthology: Some of the Best From Tor.com 2012

The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World by Emily Temple

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 35

Happy New Year! I hope these links help to make year 2013 kickass for you. Enjoy.

 

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

Suicide, Shame and the Painful Truth About Accomplishing Your Goals by Jon Morrow

 

On Writing

How to Keep Production Going All Year by Dean Wesley Smith

Writing Five Minutes a Day by Alexandra Sokoloff

Should A Writer Let Her Reader’s Expectations Influence Her Artistic Judgement? by Karen Woodward

Logline Library (hundreds of movie loglines)

Losing My Religion: Misconceptions About Tone by Matt Bird

13 Ways to Create Compelling Characters by Justine Musk

Dangerously Genre Savvy Villains (TV Tropes, check out some of the examples)

Name That Character: Top 10 Tips (The Script Lab)

The Paradox by Donald Maass

Stephen King’s Magic: How To Write Compelling Characters & Great Openings by Karen Woodward

A Simple Way to Create Suspense by Lee Child

Act and Sequence Bridges by Alexandra Sokoloff

The Past Is a Foreign Country, So Learn the Language by Matt Bird

The Importance of Setting by Meredith Bond

Four Tips For Fixing the Infamous Info Dump by Jami Gold

How Many Drafts Does It Take to Write a Novel by Karen Woodward

10 Things I Know About How Writers Read by Jenny Hansen

YA Authors Are Creating a New Steamy Genre by Leslie Kaufman

Download and Study Award Nominated Screenplays

 

Book Marketing

Do You Have a Personal Platform Plan for 2013? by Michael Hyatt

Why Authors Must Build Direct Channels to Readers (Kindle Review)

Your Author Business Plan: Compare, Contrast and Conquer by Susan Spann

Feel Like You’re Running in Place? 4 Simple Ways to Track Your Book Marketing Process by Toni at DuoLit

25 Things I Learned From Doing Business in 2012 by Abby Kerr

Your Story Is Your Marketing Strategy by Vanessa Merit Nornberg

 

(Self-)Publishing

Writing and Publishing in 2013: How to Survive and Thrive, Part One by Karen Woodward

Writing and Publishing in 2013: How to Survive and Thrive, Part Two by Karen Woodward

What’s Ahead in 2013–Predictions for the Future of Publishing and Authors of the Digital Age by Kristen Lamb

Konrath’s Resolutions For Writers by J.A. Konrath (damn inspiring)

Kindleboards: How to Add Your Signature to Your Profile, Network and Other Tips by Laura Pepper Wu

 

Blogging

A Rant on Why I Disagree With So Many Blogging and Marketing Experts by Marcus Sheridan

How to Make Your Site the Destination For Your Market by Chris Garrett

7 Ways to Fascinate Your Readers and Build a Hugely Loyal Following by Henneke Duistermaat

How to Quit Publishing Bad Content by Sonia Simone

4 Tips For Writing a Blog Post Opening That Turns Heads by Tara Horner

How a Quick Analysis of Your Top Posts Can Improve Your Blogging Results Next Year by Michael Hyatt

8 Incredibly Simple Ways to to Get More People to Read Your Content by Pamela Wilson

How to Get 40 000 Readers Without Guest Blogging by Gregory Ciotti

Reblogging Etiquette by Marcy Kennedy

‘Tis the Season to Be Chaotic, Is Reblogging the Answer? by Jami Gold

How to Improve Your Website Trust Factor by Chris Garrett

 

Social Media

A Simple Cheat Sheet for Using Pinterest for Marketing [Infographic] by Pamela Vaughan

Pinterest Could Be the Ultimate Tool for Curating Content by Tami Smith

 

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

 

Deep Stuff

Everyday Deeds That Keep the Darkness At Bay by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Mommy Quandrary: Teaching Faith When You’re Not Sure Where You Stand by Roni Loren

Urgency: The Natural Way to Prioritize by Mark Forster

50+ Better Questions To Ask Than How To Be More Productive by Charles Gilkey

Checklist of Rationality Habits by Anna Salamon (Myers-Briggs TJs do this naturally, we FPs need some help)

The Busy Trap by Tim Kreider

 

Fun Stuff

The Evil Overlord List (TV Tropes)

2012 Fiction Wrap Up From Tor.com (few dozen SFF short stories)

Roni Loren’s Unforgettable Reads of 2012

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox

Join other followers