Link Feast For Writers, vol. 16

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:

Interview with Les Edgerton by Richard Godwin (best questions & answers I’ve ever read)

(Thanks for the link, Jenny Hansen!)

 

On Writing

5 Reasons Why Writers Get Bad Advice by Lisa Cron

Mind Your 4Ps and Qs: One Approach to Writing the Character and Plot-Driven Novel by John H. Ritter

5 Tricks To Adapting A Well Known Story For Fiction by Bryan Thomas Schmidt

5 Ways Writing A Novel Is Like A Bread Pudding (plus 2 recipes) by Kristin Nador

Write A Novel Easily Using The Snowflake Method (Bubble Cow)

Thriller Writing Made Easy: 4 Steps To Starting A Thriller (Writer’s Digest) [works for any genre & pantsers too]

Two Magic Words: “What If” by Joe Moore

10 Possible Reasons Why Your Script (or Story) Is Boring by Carson Reeves

Using Tarot In Writing by Raeyn Barclay

Creating Your Hero’s Journey With Tarot Cards by Raelyn Barclay

Designing From Bones: The First Passion of Story by Gene Lempp (what was the first moment when you fell in love with your genre?)

How To Grab The Reader’s Brain by Lisa Cron

The Reader Must Want To Know What Happens Next by Lisa Cron

What Winter’s Bone (Great Movie) And True Grit (Sucked) Are Sorely Missing by Lisa Cron

Character Voices Shouldn’t Sound Like Yours by Beth Hill

Essential Scene Elements Worksheets by Jami Gold (Word & Excel versions)

The Inciting Incident (Good Seed IV) by Donald Maass

Before You Type The End: Creating Emotional Resonance In Your Books by Karen Schravemade

5 Romance Writing Tips by Sarah MacLean

Rehearsal Notes For Your Rough Draft by Angie Dicken

Do I Have To Kill My Darlings? 5 Self-Editing Steps You Should Take Before An Editor Or Agent (Wise Ink)

7 Ways You Give Away Your Power – And How To Avoid It by Rachelle Gardner

Writers & Writer-Adjacent People: The Hermit Myth by Fabio Bueno

Traveling Tips & Doo-Dads For Writers by August McLaughlin

3 Reasons To Read Lisa Cron’s Wired For Story by Suzannah Winsdor Freeman

Movie Review: Prometheus by Carson Reeves (he reads movie scripts as a profession)

 

Your Author Platform

Authors: Stop Promoting To Other Writers by April Hamilton

Readers Face The Slush Pile: A Few Hard Truths by Roni Loren (what causes reader cynicism and how to get around it)

When Building A Significant Social Media Following May Not Work by J. Steve Miller

How Much Does Self-Publishing Cost by Toni at DuoLit

5 Ways To Save Money In Self-Publishing (And NOT Compromise Quality) (Wise Ink)

Splurge & Save: How To Be A Thrifty Indie Writer by Shannon at DuoLit

Who Understands Story Better: Writers Or The Marketers? by Lisa Cron

Michael Hyatt’s Lessons From “Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World” by Ali Luke

Marketing Essentials Every Writer Should Know by Zachary Petit

Marketing For New Authors by Jillian Dodd

5 Ways To Market Your Book by Angela Ackerman

Amazon For Dummies (Like Me) – Liking & Tagging Explained by Derek Blass

Tips For A Successful Kickstarter Campaign by Jason Stratford

Making Full Use Of Goodreads by Lia Kays

Top 10 Awards For Indie Authors (Wise Ink)

 

Blogging

Using Visualization To Write Great Hooks by Nathan Kash

7 Book Writing Tricks That Work For Blogs (Wise Ink)

3 Simple Strategies That Add Value To Your Blog by Frank Dickinson

The Art (And Science) Of Neck-Snapping Headlines by Adam Costa

Speedy Blog Writing by Tom Ewer

5 Steps To Telling Engaging Stories On Your Blog by Judy Lee Dunn

The Secret Of Writing Funny by Annie Binns

Is This The Perfect Blog Post? [Infograph] by Jason Keath

How Formulas Can Make You A Better Blogger (Blog World)

7 Keys To Scoring Bestselling Author Interviews by Suzannah Windsor Freeman

10 Reasons I Won’t Leave A Comment On Your Blog by Judy Lee Dunn

Does Blogging Jack Up Your Schedules? Schedule Your Posts Ahead by Jenny Hansen

How To Schedule Posts Effectively (Blog World)

Want 1000 Blog Subscribers? Just ‘Invent’ Them by Judy Lee Dunn

How To Attract More Readers With SEO by Jodi Aman

Cheat Sheet For Optimizing Your WordPress Blog For Search Engines – Without Cheating by Neil Patel

How To Link To a PDF In a WordPress Post by Beth Hayden

Scribe – A Search Engine Tool For WordPress by Beth Hayden (this is not free but the A-List Bloggers use it)

 

Social Media

How Much Time Do Authors Need To Spend Time On Social Media Sites & Blogging by D.D. Scott

A Social Media Survival Guide by Jenn Reese

Everything I Need To Know About Twitter I Learned From Hospice by Piper Bayard

How To Succeed On Twitter by Molly Greene

Strategies For Effective Tweeting (Buddy Media)

How To Write Effective Tweets by Rebecca Berto

31 Twitter Hashtags For The Indie Author (Wise Ink)

10 Twitter Lists For Writers To Follow (Wise Ink)

Great Automated Twitter Support Tools by Molly Greene

(Tweet automating can be done well but you need to know what you’re doing. Read the next Kristen Lamb post to avoid fubars)

Hash Tags – The Trouble with Twitter Tribbles  by Kristen Lamb

Twitter Follower Maintenance by Paul Dorset

Pinterest Alert: The New Pin Scam To Avoid by Kristin Nador

Pinterest Marketing Guide by Beth Hayden (PDF)

7 Ways To Sell More Books With Pinterest by Beth Hayden

9 Ways To Go Viral on Pinterest and Get an Avalanche of Traffic (Boost Blog Traffic)

Sticky Pinterest Marketing by Beth Hayden

Facebook For Authors: Setting Up An Author Page, Part 1 by Chris Robley

Facebook For Authors: Setting Up An Author Page, Part 2 by Chris Robley

7 Things Chris Brogan Taught Me About Google+ and Why It Matters by Carol Tice

 

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp (July 15)

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig (July 15)

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas (July 14)

9 Killer Resources Of Weekly Writing Links by Kristin Nador (July 10)

Writing on the Ether by Porter Anderson (July 12)

 

Deep Stuff

The Habit Change Cheatsheet: 29 Ways To Succesfully Ingrain a Behaviour by Leo Baubata

What Multitasking Does To Our Brain by Leo Widrich

Sleeps With Monsters: Endurance & Persuation – Traits of the Heroine by Liz Bourke

Outside-of-the-Box Books For Writers by Kathy Steffen

Why Is It Hard To Make Friends Over 30? by Alex Williams (New York Times)

Individualism In Overdrive by Frank Bruni (New York Times)

How To Raise Creative Kids by Toby Neal

How To Talk To Little Girls by Lisa Bloom (Huffington Post)

 

Fun Stuff

Which famous writer do you write like?

Down And Dirty Hot Dudes by Catie Rhodes

Top 10 Archers In Fiction (Fantasy Faction)

Underground New York Public Library (interesting way to discover new books)

What To Expect When You’re Expecting An Extra Hunger Games Movie by Bridget McGovern (tor.com)

Breaking Down The Wall: Immortal Monday by Debra Kristi

The 4 Questions Everyone Asks At Conventions by Steven Padnick (tor.com)

Five Fabulous Female Fantasy Forces by Rajan Khanna

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 15

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: Last week I said that Link Feast would become a monthly feature. But in two weeks I gathered already so many links that I will likely post these every other week.)

 

If You Have Time For Only One Post:

Perfection by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

 

On Writing

The Ending Debate: Make Mine Realistic by Lisa Hall-Wilson

The Ending Debate: Make Mine Happy by Melinda Van Lone

The Ending Debate: Make Mine Hopeful by Marcy Kennedy

The Ending Debate: Make Mine Open by Diane Capri

The Hard Work Of Writing: Do You Embrace It by Jami Gold

How To Put Your Story Together In One Neat Tweet by Theresa at Edittorrent

It’s All Fun And Games Until Somebody Writes A Story About It by Kristin Nador

Worse Than A Cliché by Tiffany Lawson Ingman

My Character Is Like… Fill In The Blank by Darcy Pattison

Character Arcs Made Easy by Fae Rowen

Voice Experiments by Darcy Patterson

Finding Your Voice Workshop by Jennifer Stevenson

When Something Is Not Quite Right With A Scene by Elizabeth S. Craig

Politically Correct Overkill by S.B. Stewart-Laing

His Or Her Story? Using Multiple Main Characters and Story Lines by Michelle Davidson

Point of View: Common Types & 5 Tips To Strenghten Yours by Lori Devoti

5 Advantages To Using Omniscient Point Of View by Linda Adams

Marks of the Amateur – Starting a List by Alicia at Edittorrent

Freelance Editor Talks About Authors’ Habits & Predictable Writing by Elyse Dinh-McCrillis

How To Write Massive Quantities On Demand by James Chartrand

10 Things To Do With Your Write Hand by Suzannah Windsor

8 Tips To Waking Up Early & Conquering The Alarm Clock by Loren Pilinis

The Business of (Successful) Writing by Greg Carrico

 

Your Author Platform

What Makes You Special by Mark McGuinness

10 Word Branding Challenge & 7 Free Sites To Promote Your Book by Marcia Richards

Publishing Isn’t A Meritocracy, It’s A Casino by Kameron Hurley (how her book became an Award nominated success)

Promote Your Book on a Budget: 20 Thrifty Ways to Get Your Writing Out There by Chris Robley

What To Avoid When Writing Back Cover Copy by Allie B. Books

Debra Eve’s Successful Blog Re-Launch & Self-Publishing Launch (Amazon #1 Bestseller) (PDF)

How To Engage Your Crazy-Dedicated Fan Base by Shannon at Duolit

3 Steps to Pinpoint Your Crazy-Dedicated Readers’ Favorite Hangouts by Toni at Duolit

How To Keep In Touch With Fans by Lindsay Buroker

Newsletters 101: Email Marketing for Authors by Lindsay Buroker

How I Increased My Email Subscribers By 500% In One Week (SocialMouths)

4 Ways To Improve Your Amazon Ranking (And Sell More Books) by Laura Pepper Wu

Undead Advertising by Ellie Ann Soderstrom (can you make your plugs this funny?)

20 Easy Ways Readers Can Help Promote Your Book by Jody Hedlund

How To Query Amazon: The Little Goat That Could by David Gaughran

Gathered Query Post Links by Elana Johnson

Great Example Of An Unsolicited Query Letter That Sold by Jenny Bent

 

Blogging

Why I Think Some Authors Go Hermit by Michelle Davidson

Author Blogging 101: 8 Blogging Styles by Joel Friedlander

Types Of Blogs: Which One Is The Right For You? by Sommer Leigh

College of Blogging: Nine People’s Favourite Thing by Sommer Leigh

Blog Follower Explosion by Elana Johnson

College of Blogging: Feedly – The Magic Button To Make Your Blog Reading Easy by Sommer Leigh

College of Blogging: Tools & Tips For Managing Your Blogging Time by Sommer Leigh

Content Marketing Zen: The 5-Step Process to Creating Remarkable Content by Gregory Ciotti

Do You Have An Idea Garden? by Charlie Gilkey

12 Must-Do Tasks For The New WordPress Site Owner by Pamela Wilson

10 Steps To Finding Your Blog’s Writing Voice by Jeff Goins

5 Signs You’re Having A Blog Identity Crisis & 8 Ways To Fix It by Roni Loren

A Look At The Blogger / Publisher Relationship (Staffer’s Book Reviews)

 

Social Media

‘Social’: Over The Top by Porter Anderson

The 6 Types Of Social Media Users (Social Media Today)

Twitter – A Matter Of Personal Taste Or A Set Of Rules? by Rachel Abbott

Revamp Your Twitter Page In 7 Days  (Wise Ink)

5 New Twitter Marketing Tools by Social Media Examiner

How Should Authors Handle Facebook by Jody Hedlund

8 Fast And Furious Ways To Maneuver Facebook Changes Without Crashing And Burning by Kristin Nador

 

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

Writing on the Ether: Independence by Porter Anderson

Extra Ether: eBooks Gone In 5 Years? by Porter Anderson

 

Deep Stuff

Simple Steps to Better Health, Organization and Progress Toward Your Goals by Lynn Johnston

The Many Reasons We Rely On Our Clutter by Leo Baubata

10 Myths About Introverts by Anna Wojnarowska

The Importance of Ripples by Tracy Hurley

“You’re Not Special”, He Says At High School Graduation Commencement by Shannon Lell

 

Fun Stuff

Ellen De Generes Reads E.L. James’ Fifty Shades Of Gray by Emma Meade (Hilarious video!)

Your Punctuation Personality Type by Leah Petersen

Rejection Letters: The Publishers Who Got It Embarrassingly Wrong (Huffington Post)

Stupid Deaths by S.B. Stewart-Laing

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 14

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: I am taking a short break from Link Feast. The series returns as a once a month feature on the last week of each month. Next Wednesday I will blog about Holly Lisle’s Sweet Spot Mind Maps and how to use them to inspire your writing.

 

If You Have Time For Only One Thing:

Holly Lisle has published the first 5 lessons of her How To Think Sideways writer’s career course as eBooks.

These are real bang for your bucks. Grab your copies (contains Amazon & B&N links)

 

On Writing

Writing Fiction With The 1-3-1 Method by Teresa Frohock

7 Simple Ways To Make A Good Story Great by Elizabeth Sims

Add Depth To Your Story With Motifs by Julie Eshbaugh

Writing As MMORPG: Building Your Writing Addiction by Daniel Swensen

Making Heroes Heroic: Why Flaws Are Important by Kristen Lamb

What Would Main Character Do: Creating Depth & Motivation In Your Characters by Amie Kaufman

Revealing Character Through Details by Julie Eshbaugh

Fresh, Fresh, Fresh Character Descriptions by Margie Lawson

Ordinary People Are Boring by C.S. Lakin

Strong Heroines by Vahini Naidoo

Character & Theme Study: You Should See Prometheus Just For Michael Fassbender’s Android David by Natalie Zutter

Special Needs In Strange World by Theresa Frohock

Tips For Writing Heavy Emotional Scenes by Jami Gold

Time Transitions by Ilona Andrews

Ramp Up The Fight To Amp Up The Tension by Jenny Hansen

Worldbuilding: The Hooks of Magic In Your Book by Martina Boone

25 Things You Should Know About Fantasy by Chuck Wendig

Genre Mashing by Jodi Meadows

Titles Matter by Deborah Cannon

5 Stages of Editing Grief by Lynda R. Young

Free Program Spots Cliches & Overused Words by Jason Boog (for PC with Windows)

Inspiration On Demand: Create a Swipe File by Marelisa Fabrega

Urgency To Write: How To Keep The Fire Burning by August McLaughlin

If You Can’t Read More, Read Better by Christopher Jackson

Writing A Great Short Story by Lee Masterson

The Not So Secret Backdoor To Publishing by Mandy Hubbard

How One Editor Edits by S. Jae-Jones

Bringing Your Baby To Editorial Board by S. Jae-Jones

Do you CRAVE Success by C.S. Lakin

Would You Take Bullet For Your Art by Jenny Hansen

 

Your Author Platform

A Post In Which You Tell Me About Self Promotion by David. B. Coe

(read the comments, they have great insights on what kind of marketing works for these authors & super readers

Why Publishing Your First Novel Is Like Running For Student Body President by Michelle Haimoff

Free Sites To Promote Your eBook by Jason Boog

“No Rules” Marketing For Introverts by Marcia Yudkin

8 Great Examples Of Personal Domain Names In Action (ThinkTraffic)

10 Step Guide To Fixing Your Writer Website That Cost You Clients by Carol Tice

Stop Trying To Go Viral And Start Being Symbiotic by Christopher Penn

Do You Know Why People Buy Your Book? by Brian Feinblum

Self Promotion: An Author’s Perspective and Guide by Susan Dennard

Start Your Grass Root Campaign With 10 People by Brian Feinblum

Does Swag Sell Books by Roni Loren

How To Resolve Your Brand Identity Crisis by Abby Kerr (her site looks awesome, btw)

Amazon’s Ever Changing Algorithms by Edward Robertson

Will You Vouch For Me by Tamela Hancock Murray

Taken Cover Reveal & Interview With The Designer by Erin Bowman

Covers & Cover Designers – Part 3 by Ruth Harris (how much a pro book cover costs?)

 

Blogging

How To Balance Your Blogging Tasks Without Going Crazy (Pushing Social)

6 Sinister Blog Time Wasters (Pushing Social)

21 Quick Actions For Massive Blog Success (ThinkTraffic)

5 Habits That Make Me A More Creative Blogger & Writer by Judy Dunn

Harry Potter Headlines: 10 Ways To Conjure Up a Viral Blog Post Title by Judy Dunn

Search Engine Optimize Your Blog by Annabel Candy

How To Land A Guest Post Every Time by Mary Jaksch

3 Metrics Every Blogger Should Be Tracking by Michael Hyatt

 

Social Media

The Great Twitter Experiment: What Does More Tweets Really Get You by Janice Hardy

Coming Clean About My Twitter Success by Claude Bouchard

A Twitter Love Story by Tiffany Reisz

Why You’re Better Off Following The Little Guy by Steven Rossi

Why 150 Twitter Followers Is All You Really Need by Srinivas Rao

#followfriday Revolution by Maija Haavisto

8 Tips About Twitter Lists by Jade Craven

Why Twitter Lists Are Less Effective by Ari Herzog

How To Increase Engagement On Your Facebook Posts [Infograph] (Social Mouths)

Can Google+ Pull More Readers To Your Blog by Judy Dunn

 

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp (June 23)

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig (June 24)

Writing on the Ether: Clear Surface by Porter Anderson (June 21)

Fill Me In Friday by Roni Loren (June 22)

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas (June 22)

This Week In Favs by Melinda S. Collins (June 21)

 

Deep Stuff

If You’re Consuming Too Much, You’re Creating Too Little by Cynthia Morris

The Truth About Yourself by LaRae Quy

Boy Books, Girl Books by Clare Langley-Hawthorne

 

Fun Stuff

The Men Of True Blood Video by Roni Loren (Yum!)

True Blood Fan Confession: I’m So Over Sookie Stackhouse by Shoshana Kessock

Watch The Avengers Get A Firefly Intro (0:54min video)

Designing From Bones: Cannibalizing Fiction by Gene Lempp

Game Of Thrones: Valar Morgulis by Leigh Alexander

June Releases in Urban Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

An Introduction To Bordertown (tor.com) [Bordertown is one of the first Urban Fantasy works]

Shannon’s Law: A Short Story by Cory Doctorow in the Bordertown setting (what happens when you mix internet and another realm?)

Explore The Summer Reading Flowchart

The Origins of Zorro by Mary Miley

What Your Books Do When No One Is Watching (1:51min video)

7 Most Insane Things Ever Done To Get Out Of Something (cracked.com)

6 Greatest Things Accomplished by Dead Bodies (cracked.com)

Link Feast For Writers Vol. 11

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.

 

On Writing (Character Special)

Drop The Drama Bomb by Mario Acevendo at Writers In The Storm

Spice Up Your Writing With Optimal Learning Styles by Jan O’Hara at Writer Unboxed

Ask Your Character: Why Do You Matter? by Donald Maass at Writer Unboxed

Depth of Character by Donald Maass at Writer Unboxed

First Impressions by Diana Peterfreund

Giving Your Character A Unique Voice (Film Script Writing)

5 Tests To See If Character’s Voice Is Working by Christopher Boone

Character Development Sheet

What Makes A Female Character Strong by Jami Gold

10 Antagonist No No’s by Lynn Viehl

16 Villain Archetypes by Tami Cowden

Top 10 Mentor Characters by Alexandra Sokoloff

Where Are All The Female Mentor Characters by Stella Carter at Jezebel

How To Kill Characterization (at Drying Ink)

Myers-Briggs As A Tool For Authors by Fae Rowen

Chinese Element Personality Types For Fun & Writing by Fae Rowen

Creating Character Depth With Astrological Signs by C.J. Winters

Character Trading Cards by Lynn Viehl

Using Tarot For Creative Writing by Janet Boyer

10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Dialogue by Ali Luke at Write To Done

Create a Rough Sketch Of Your Work In Progress (diymfa.com)

12 Ways To Create Suspense by Gail Carson Levine

What Everyone Knows & Team Mundane by Catherynne M. Valente

Practical Writing Tips From 22 Brilliant Authors (scroll down to get the advice. My favourite bit was: “Write the first chapter LAST”)

Writing Quickly: A Secret Strategy by Ava Jae

Trend Tracking Versus Jumping by Lynn Viehl

Write Books That Change Lives by Ingrid Sundberg

Book Series Sell by agent Rusell Galen

Do You Read Like A Reader Or A Writer by Janice Hardy

Fighting Writer Fatique by Lynn Viehl

 

Your Author Platform

How Much Interaction Should Writers Have With Their Readers by Jody Hedlund

Hustling: How To Spread Word About Your Book by Chris Guillebeau

Convention Schmoozing 101 by Mary Robinette Kowal

How To Write Free Content That Gets You An Avalanche Of Traffic by Danny Iny

How To Keep Your Book Talk Fresh by Roz Morris

3 Selling Tactics From The Internet Marketing Gurus by Lindsay Buroker

89 Book Marketing Ideas (Author Media)

How To Launch A Book Without Losing Your Mind by Elizabeth S. Craig

 

Blogging

How Long Does It Take To Get Blog Readers? by Nina Amir

Top 10 Blog Traffic Killers by Michael Hyatt

How To Get Better Results With List Posts (Pushing Social)

3 Guaranteed Ways To Get Your Blog Post Read (Pushing Social)

Put Some Thought Into Your Blog Comments: No Vanilla Adjectives Please by Susie Lindau (check out the comments too)

How To Write A Good Blog Comment by Nathan Bradsford

Find Your Blog’s Unique Voice by Jeff Goins at ProBlogger

How To Promote Your Blog Like The Big Guys by Leo Baubata

How To Get Serious About Promoting Your Blog (Pushing Social)

Launching A Successful Blog Tour by Alan Rinzler

Hosting Your Own WordPress Website by Melinda Van Lone

Must Have WordPress Plug-ins by Annabel Candy

If I Started Blogging Today, I Would… by Annette Gendler

The New Style Of Blog Writing by Mary Jaksch

Shakespeare on Blogging by Leanne Shirtliffe

How To Figure Out What Content People Want (at Social Triggers)

 

Social Media

8 Ways To Grow Your Social Media Footprint by Jenny Hansen

Why Authors Tweet (NYTimes)

Twitter Success Tricks from @thewritermama

Content Creator’s Twitter Evolution (Writer’s Digest)

Control Your Social Media So It Doesn’t Control You by Elizabeth S. Craig

Triberr Review: Useful Tool Or Shiny Toy? by Linda Adams

Tumblr For Writers by Ava Jae

 

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp (June 2)

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig (June 3)

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas (June 1)

Writing on the Ether by Porter Anderson (May 31)

 

Deep Stuff

What’s the First Thing You Do When You Open The Computer? by Seth Godin

Expand Your Circles by Amber West

Email Sanity: How To Clear Your Inbox When You’re Drowning at Zen Habits

Cinderella Ate My Daughter: The Princess Culture by Margot Magowan

 

Fun Stuff

Male & Female Eye Candy (collection of actor photos)

FictFact – Track Your Favorite Book Series

Bookmarks From Hell by Lynn Viehl

10 Signs You’ve Attended Too Many Writing Workshops by Lynn Viehl

The Vampire Smythe (short story by Lynn Viehl)

Dark & Devastating Secrets (shot, funny story by Lynn Viehl)

Armor-ella (short fairytale retelling by Holly Lisle)

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 10

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.

On Writing

Scenes Must Grab Interest & Move Story Forward by Lori Devoti

Scene Structure: Goal, Conflict & Disaster by Lori Devoti

Blurb Critique by a Marketing Goddess by Edie Ramer

10 Secrets To Better Fiction by Bob Mayer

How Janet Evanovich Storyboards by Zanchary Petit at Writer’s Digest

How To Create Distinctive Character Voices by L.B. Gale

What Avengers Teaches Us About Heroes by Sarah Hoyt

I Wanna Be Evil (aka How To Do Antagonist Well) by Sarah Hoyt

The Hero’s Journey by Cornell De Ville

Paranormal Romantic Writer’s Pop Quiz by Lynn Viehl (sadly the examples here are from real books, some even bestselling series)

Tools For Developing Characters: Must-Haves For Your Writing Bookshelf by Kathy Steffen

Recipe For a Best Selling Book by Laura Miller at salon.com

13 Most Common Errors On Novel’s First Page by Catherine Rankovic

Editing For People Who Hate Editing by Rachel Aaron

What’s In A Name – Choosing The Right Book Title by Sarah Baughman at Write It Sideways

Fun & Inexpensive Ideas For Writing Retreats by Sherrinda Ketchersid at The Writers Alley

10 Secret Killers That Destroy Your Personal Productivity by Dries Cronje

The Comfort Zone Is For Pets, Not Professionals by Kristen Lamb

 

Your Author Platform

Why It’s So Stinking Hard To Sell Books by Stephanie Chandler (Average person reads only 7 books a year)

Why It’s So Stinking Hard To Sell Books – Part 2 (A Reader should have heard of you or your book about 6-8 times before buying)

Who Are The Big 6 & What Does Indie Really Mean? Answers To Not-So-Dumb Questions You Were Afraid To Ask by Anne R. Allen

Catherine Ryan Howard (author of Mousetrapped) shares her great tips for marketing books

Every Author Has A Unique Marketing Voice & Approach by Jane Friedman at Writer Unboxed

Marrying Marketing & Writing Goals by Monica Valentinelli

Tips on Setting Your Marketing Priorities by Michele Linn

The Number One Reason Why Marketing Tactics Fail by Monica Valentinelli

3 Steps To An Effective Social Media Strategy by Amy Porterfield at Social Media Examiner

Send Newsletters, Not “Me Me Me Letters” by Rob Eagan

8 Elements of Effective Newsletters by Rob Eagan

What Makes Word Of Mouth Work – Part 1 by Rob Eagan at Writer’s Digest

What Makes Word of Mouth Work – Part 2 by Rob Eagan at Writer’s Digest

10 Ways To Sell Books At Amazon by Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Using Wattpad To Market Your Books by Edie Ramer

Wattpad Marketing Success Stories by Edie Ramer

Recommended Marketing Tools by Big Brand Systems

Cover Design Tips From Pros by Ruth Harris (Pros share the stock photo services they use)

14 Tips For Good eBook Cover Design by C.L. Smith

What Do I Need An Agent For Again by Gemma Holliday

Earn More Money With A Book: 10 Business Models For Non-Fiction Authors by Stephanie Chandler

4 Important Marketing Actions To Take On Amazon As Soon As Your Book Is Published by Stephanie Chandler

 

Blogging

An Original Blog Idea Is Overrated by Henneke Duistermaat

21 Warning Signs You Chose The Wrong Blog Topic by Jon Morrow

7 Dumbest Mistakes With a New Blog by Jon Morrow

Why Posting Every Day Is a Silly Strategy (And What To Do Instead) by Dries Cronje

How To Make Your Blog Writing Real by Brian Clark at Copyblogger

Spice Up Boring Blog Posts Into Delicious Content by Brian Gardner

How To Improve Your Website Trust Factor by Chris Garrett

A Popular YA Blogger Turned Out To Be a Plagiarist (at Gossamer Obsessions)

From Blogger To Book Author: The 4 Step Guide by Jeff Goins

How To Plan Your Blog Posts For A Year In Advance by Laura Roeder at Content Marketing Institute

Write An Article In 20 Minutes by Jim Estill at Copyblogger

How To Host A Blog Event & Why You Should by Lori Devoti

7 Free Places To Submit Your Website by Fred Campos

Blogging Tips A-Z: Networking by Annabel Candy at Successful Blogging

Stephen King’s 20 Tips For Becoming A Better Blog Writer by Jon Morrow
Social Media

Finding Your Voice In Social Media by C. Hope Clark

20 Ways To Build Your Audience In Twitter by Stephanie Chandler

Frequency and Timing of Twitter Posts by Fred Campos

8 Ways To Get More ReTweets by Brian Gardner

25 Ways To Gain More Likes On Your Facebook Fan Page – Part 1 by Fred Campos

Pinterest For Writers by Beth Gwazdosky

5 Tips To Increase Interest On Your Books On Pinterest by Fred Campos

How Pinterest Can Increase Traffic For Your Blog by Brian Gardner

Get More Viral Traffic From Pinterest With This Simple Strategy

 

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp (May 26th)

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig (May 27th)

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas (May 25th) (her link collection blew me away & I feature some here)

Writing on the Ether by Porter Anderson (May 24th)

Build Your World: 10 Resources by Lynn Viehl

Writing Hero: Martha Alderson (aka The Plot Whisperer) [Must See Links]

10 Must Have Templates For Content Creators

 

Deep Stuff

8 Reasons Paper Books Will Become an Endangered Species by Marcy Kennedy

Safeguard Your Files by Lynn Viehl

Top 10 Relationship Words That Aren’t Translatable Into English by Pamela Haag at Think Big

What Advice Would You Give To a Kid Choosing a Future Career? by Sarah Hoyt

Those Who Can’t Create by Sarah Hoyt

Find Out The Price Of Your Desire & Commit To Paying It by Johnny B. Truant

Half An Ass Does You No Good by Emma Burcart

If you love history of Scotland, this post by Emmie Mears is for you:

Who’s different, Rob Roy’s wife Mary, William Wallace’s wife Murron or Merida from Pixar’s Brave?

 

Fun Stuff

Nebula Awards Winners (tor.com) – Aka the Best of Fantasy This Year (you can read the short stories awarded through the links)

Romantic Comedy Movie Generator by Fabio Bueno

The Brain Of The Beginning Blogger (Infographic)

How To See What a Blog Is About At Glance by Lynn Viehl

Eau d’Olde Book (a fascinating video) by Lynn Viehl

What If Famous Authors Had Written Advertising Slogans by Lynn Viehl

Would you be surprised by this loo? (Huffington Post)

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