Link Feast For Writers, vol. 23

Ahoy me matey! Merry Talk Like a Pirate Day to ye. Here is me finest link booty. Dig in.

(Avast! The Myers-Briggs blog series be continuing this Friday with ENFP type)

 

If You Have Time For Only One Thing:

Discovering and Building Your Writing Strenghts by Jenny Hansen

 

“The easiest thing to do on earth is not write.” (William Goldman)

 

On Writing

10 Writing Tips That Can Help Anyone by Janet Fitch

3 Writer’s Commandments and Avoiding the Dreaded “S” Word by Jenny Hansen

How To Be a Writer: 201 Short, Compelling Tips by Mary Jaksch

5 Muse Abusers: How To Protect Your Creative Flow by Roni Loren

Novel Structure: James Scott Bell’s LOCK System by Linda Gray

The Business of Character Engagement by Jenny Hansen

Character Questionnaire: How Would Your Character Handle These Situations? by B. McKenzie

Black Swan: The Trick To Inner and Outer Demons by Kristen Lamb

Realistic Love Interests by Sarah LaPolla

Red Flags For Female Characters Written by Men by B. McKenzie

Your Plot Moves Too Slowly: 5 Tips to Help Improve Your Story’s Pacing by Kara Lennox

13 Ways To Write With Urgency by Chad R. Allen

Dig Deep For NYT Writing by Margie Lawson (Note: the contest deadline is over)

Tighten Your Subplots by Veronica Sicoe

A Writing Taboo: Never Begin Your Story With Weather by Karen Woodward

Subtext Matters: Hemingway’s Iceberg Theory by Rachel Funk Heller

Dialogue Preliminaries by James Alan Gardner (Avenger characters are used as an example)

Immersion Masterclass With Margie Lawson – Part 1 by Melinda Collins

Immersion Masterclass With Margie Lawson – Part 2 by Melinda Collins

Fantasy Influences: Ancient Greek Mythology – Part 2 by Victoria Hooper

Playing To Expectations by Sarah Hoyt

Make Or Break Verbs by Constance Hale

How To Meet Your Writing Deadlines (Every Time) by Krissy Brady

Finding the Best Place To Write by Kathy Steffen

How Do You Know If You’ve “Made It” As a Writer by Krissy Brady

Writer’s Conferences: Are They Still Relevant In the E-Age? by Anne R. Allen

How Many Books Are Going To Be Published In 2012 (Prepare For a Shock) by Pat Bertram

Personalized Writer’s Knowledge Base by Elizabeth S. Craig

(What ever writing information you’re looking for, WKB has it. Next time don’t Google it but WKB it.)

 

Your Author Platform

Lyla Sinclair’s 8 Secrets of Successful Romance Writing by Karen Woodward (works for authors of all genres)

3 Steps To Creating You Own Writing Luck by Suzannah Windsor

Writing Hero: Gene Lempp by Angela Ackerman

(So, how did Gene became a writing hero? The secret is being unique and giving his blog readers something they really value)

The Write It Forward Author Branding Plan by Jen Talty

Author Branding Plan: The Creed by Jen Talty

Author Branding Plan: The Icon by Jen Talty

How To Write an Author Bio When You Don’t Feel Like An Author… Yet by Anne R. Allen

How To Get Your Avatar To Show Up Everywhere With Gravatar by Thomas Umtstaddt

Email Marketing Primer by Tivi Jones

Metadata & Keywords: Under the Radar Marketing by Jen Talty

Amazon’s KDP Select Program: The Power of Free by Karen Woodward

Making Amazon Forums Work For You by Lyn Horner

 

Blogging

How To Start a Blog Or Website – Link Resources by Amy Lynn Andrews

Is Your Website At Risk From Hackers: 8 Ways To Protect Your Blog by Marcy Kennedy

How To Decide What To Blog About: Discovering Your Niche by Amy Lynn Andrews

Becoming Organizational Genius: The Tickler File by Karen Woodward

7 Psychological Studies Reveal Secrets To Blogging Success (And I Reveal How To Implement Them) by Gregory Ciotti

The Psychology of Going Viral: 12 Proven Ways to Craft Content That Gets People Talking (About You) by Gregory Ciotti

3 Reasons Why You Should Be a Formulaic Blogger by Ali Luke

5 Link Bait Posts That Get You More Email Subscribers by Ramsay at Blog Tyrant

5 Hollywood Sequel Tricks To Turn Your Sizzling Blog Posts Intro a Series by Judy Lee Dunn

How To Stop Your Blog Bleeds by Ramsay at Blog Tyrant

 

Social Media

Myth Busting: Three Lies That Could Sabotage Your Writing Success by Kristen Lamb

Social Media Fitness For Authors: Happy Findings by August McLaughlin

How To Utilize an ARC Blog Contest in Pinterest (example of a board doing that)

8 Twitter Hashtags To Get And Keep You Writing by Yesenia Vargas

Feeding the Facebook Beast by Pat Bertram

Writers and Readers on Twitter and Tumblr: We Need More Criticism, Less Liking by Jacob Silverman

 

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

 

Deep Stuff

Being an Introvert Is Not a Crime by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Dealing With Anger by Jenny Hansen

The Habit of Starting by Leo Baubata

15 Clutter Busting Routines For Any Family by Joshua Becker

Who Was the First Kick-Ass Heroine? by S.C. Butler

Glass Ceiling For the Blood Sucking Lawyers by Phillipa Bornikova

 

Fun Stuff

The 10th Annual Talk Like  a Pirate Day (the main course is the Tim Curry Muppet video)

This lady has Pinned over 11 000 gorgeous pictures. Wow

The Happy Manhood Operator by August McLaughlin

Not Your Typical Myers-Briggs Personality Types (The Profiles for Villains)

How Urband Legends Work by Tom Harris

11 Insane Features of Normal Human Body by Maggie Ryan Sandford

Top 20 Steampunk Books: An Introduction to the Genre (The Ranting Dragon)

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 22

It’s Wednesday, and the perfect time to browse the best writing, book marketing and blogging links I’ve come across this week.

In last week’s comments, C.C. MacKenzie asked for advice on how to write a good blurb for your book. I have some links for you in the Author Platform category. The pitching links might also be helpful.

Marcy Kennedy was interested in learning about formatting eBooks and cover design. I created an extra category for those links.

For the next month I hope you’ll sate your link love with the excellent mashups featured in Collected Wisdom.

Instead of my regular posts, I’ll be doing a huge blog series about the Myers-Briggs personality types. The next Link Feast rolls out in 17th of October. Meanwhile, enjoy learning more about how people tick.

And this week’s links, of course.

 

If You Have Time For Only One Thing:

Maturity: The Difference Between the Amateur and the Professional by Kristen Lamb

(Yes, many of you have already read this great post. But read it again. It’s really worth it.)

 

On Writing

How To Write a Kick-Ass Outline and Get Hooked by Veronica Sicoe

The Heroine’s Journey by Jo Walton

Arena Stories & Outer Motivation by Michael Hauge

Jim Butcher’s Villain Building Tips by Karen Woodward

The Archetyphal Character (at TVTropes. Consider yourself warned. I plead innocence for the time you spend at the site 😉 )

Visceral Rules by Margie Lawson

Finding Your Novel’s Theme and Your Universal Theme by Roni Loren

Crossing Genres with Vicki Hinze

The 6 Categories of Romantic Comedy by Michael Hauge

J.R.R Tolkien – Enemy of Progress by David Brin

5 Tips on World Building From Scratch by Jordan Dane

How To Edit Your Book In 4 Stages by Mike Nappa

(*points above* Personally I disagree with editing while you’re still writing the book. It’s hard to shift back to the writer mindset again unless you are a pro with 50 books behind you, like Mr. Nappa. But the advice about reading your book out loud is brilliant.)

5 Qualities of the High Value Writer by Jenny Hansen

6 Forms of Distraction (And How To Prevent Them) by Krissy Brady

Writing Lapses: 5 Tips To Get You Back on Track by Sarah Baughman

Repetitive Work Injury Syndrome – Easing the Symptoms by Pauline Baird Jones (a book review)

Crafting Your 90-Second Pitch by Marcy Kennedy

How To Slam Dunk Your 90-Second Pitch by Debra Eve

How To Keep Your Inbox At Zero by Caitlin Muir

 

Your Author Platform

Want To Grow Your Audience? Understand What They Read and WHY They Read It by Dan Blank

How Can Readers Help Authors? by Nancy J. Cohen

How To Research Your Market Online by Cory Huff (see what other writers are doing and emulate the best practices IF they suit you)

The Internet and Discoverability by Jen Talty

Book Promotion: Where Is The Line? by Karen Woodward

How To Sell 100 Books Per Day: 6 Things You Need To Do by Karen Woodward

Self-Publishing Tips For First Time Writers by Karen Woodward

6 Things Readers Want From Your Author Website by Thomas Umstattd

Websites 101: What the Unpublished Author Needs by Jeannie Ruesch

Websites 101: What the Newly Published Author Needs by Jeannie Ruesch

Why Use Premium WordPress Theme Instead of a Free One? by Laura Pepper Wu

9 Clever Ways To Kickstart Stagnant Email Conversion Rates, Without Annoying Your Readers by Gregory Ciotti

How To Write Back Blurb For Your Book by Joanna Penn

Tips For Writing Back Cover Copy by Roz Morris

5 Tips For Writing a Compelling Book Blurb by Amy Wilkins

Book Trailer Resources by Jeannie Ruesch (links to stock photos, audio & video sites)

Do Blog Tours Work and How Do You Set One Up by Michelle Isenhoff

How To Gift Ebooks by D.D. Scott

5 Places Indie Authors Can Get Their Books Reviewed by Chris Robley

 

Self Publishing: eBook Formatting & Cover Design

Smashwords Style Guide (PDF)

A New and Improved, Even Easier Way To Format Your eBook by Catherine Ryan Howard

How To Format an eBook Starting With Microsoft Word by Lori Devoti

Free Word To Kindle Conversion Through Amazon DTP (Foner Books)

Ruth Harris Reports: Covers & Cover Designers – Part 1

Ruth Harris Reports: Covers & Cover Designers – Part 2

Ruth Harris Reports: Covers & Cover Designers – Part 3 (how to choose a designer & how much a cover costs)

How To Design a Book Cover If You’re Not a Designer by Masha du Toit

Worth a Thousand Words: Book Cover Design 101 by Nancy Brauer

The Scent of a Kitten: The 20 Irrefutable Theories of Book Cover Design by Jen Bowden

Design 101: How a Book Cover Gets Made by Isaan Stewart & Stacy Whitman

Judge a Book by It’s Cover: Interview with Larry Rostant by Mike Shackle

 

Blogging

8 Tips For Blogging Success by Karen Woodward

Evergreen Content: Why Articles for Experts Are Hurting Your Blog by Ramsay at BlogTyrant

Why You Shouldn’t Read Blogs by Ramsay at Blog Tyrant

Your Unique Selling Proposition: Why It Matters, and How to Find One That Really Works by Gregory Ciotti

How To Get 40 000 Readers Without Guest Posting by Gregory Ciotti

How To Create Reader Profiles/Personas To Inspire and Inform Your Blogging by Darren Rowse

10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Started Blogging by Johanna Castro

The Spell It Out Technique: 5 Critical Moments To Educate Your Readers by Ramsay at Blog Tyrant

Let Me Show You Inside a Secret Blogging Alliance by Darren Rowse

How To Start a Blogging Alliance by Tina Gray (if you don’t yet know what #MyWANA is, you want to be a part of it. It’s the best community I have ever had the honor of belonging to.)

Blogging Strategy 101: Ten Things to Do After Installing WordPress by Yeremi Akpan

13 Ways To Make Idea Generation a Daily Habit by Kerry Jones

32 Most Popular Blog Post Ideas (The Blog Stylist)

How To Use Headline Swipe Files To Grow Your Blog by Yeremi Akpan

What Every Blogger Should Know About Headlines by Adam Hayes

Why Your Post Style and Structure Are Killing Your Blog by Ramsay at Blog Tyrant

Rapid Blog Post Writing: A Step By Step Strategy by Yeremi Akpan

How To Score a Guest Post With These 6 Influential Blogger Types (Blue Glass)

12 of the Best About Pages on the Internet by Ramsay at Blog Tyrant

WordPress Plugin: Pretty Pinterest Pins by Jeannie Ruesch

The Blogger’s Guide to YouTube: How To Dominate Your Niche With Your Video Content by Gregory Ciotti

 

Social Media

How To Track Social Media Traffic With Google Analytics by Eugen Oprea

25 Things Writers Should Know About Social Media by Chuck Wendig

Top 5 Creepy Social Media Marketing Tactics by Kristen Lamb

Dawn of the WriterBots by Veronica Sicoe (Cautionary tale of using Triberr the wrong way)

26 Things To Share On Twitter by Debbie Hemley

4 Excellent Examples of Successful Twitter Contests by Aaron Lee

The Bro’s Guide To Pinterest by Ryan Sammy (do your Pinterest boards appeal to dudes?)

5 Ways Writers Can Get The Most Out of Goodreads by Patrick Brown

 

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

Fill-Me-In Friday by Roni Loren

 

Deep Stuff

Are You Starring In Your Own Life by Jenny Hansen

The Lucifer Effect: Why Good People Turn Evil by Elaine Aron

Inspired Relationships by Steve Pavlina (it’s easy to be around you when you expect nothing from the others)

“Am I Happier Single?” Learning To Love and Hyper-Sensivity by August McLaughlin

After reading August’s post, if you feel like you or someone you know might be hyper-sensitive, I really recommend checking out Dr. Elaine Aron’s website.

What Successful People Do With the First Hour of Their Work Day by Kevin Purdy

Goals Into Habits by Steve Pavlina

How To Maintain Not Quite Daily Habits by Steve Pavlina

Why Procrastination Is Good For You

Beat Procrastination (MindTools)

Networking Tips for Introverts by Penelope Trunk

The Moomins – Books Full of Introverts (MoominLight)

Culture Shock: When an Aussie Moved To US by Kate Paulik

Teenage Heroes & Teenage Hubris (Breakfast With Pandora)

Raising Expecations Pretty Woman Style by Lisa Hall-Wilson

(What would be your writer outfit? What kind of a dress would make you feel like a total pro who can crank out page after page?)

 

Fun Stuff

The Publishing Process in GIF Form by Nathan Bransford

Make Me Laugh by Lisa Hall-Wilson

21 Tools To Unlock Your Creative Inspiration by Amanda Milligan

Writers Say the Darnedest Things by Colin Falconer

Ladies and Their Knights and other gorgeous Pinterest boards by Shelly Fifer

A Prayer For Each Myers-Briggs Type (The Thinker Blog)

Me Tarzan, You Jane. An excerpt from the book telling the story from Jane’s perspective. (Tor.com)

Top 20 Best Fantasy Books of 2011 (The Ranting Dragon)

Top 20 Fairytale Retellings: An Introduction to the Genre (The Ranting Dragon)

The Fifteenth Letter – Alphabet Meme

WMyndi Shafer's YA bookten of her favorite things starting with letter B. The pretty picture on the side is the cover of her debut YA novel Shrilugh.

Myndi assigned me letter O and here are my ten O-words:
1. Orgasms

Come on, you knew this one was coming 😉 Sex is a great way of getting the endorphine rush. Next comes chocolate. And besides making you feel great, supposedly you burn 144+ calories per 30 minutes of vertical tango.

2. Organic Food

You are what you eat (and read). Don’t put too much junk in your system.

3. Obscure Knowledge

I’m a fount of random tidbits of useless knowledge. By the way, did you know that every year 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens? Yeah, Trivial Pursuit is a fun game.

4. Occult

All kind of mystical things, like feng shui and tarot, really fascinate me. And of course two of my favorite book genres are urban fantasy and paranormal romance, full of magic and strange powers. When I was a teenager, me and my friends tried out the Ouija board, and in my philosophy class I gave a presentation of Wicca. Not that I practice it myself but I find it really interesting.

5. Owls

The symbol of wisdom and just all around cute. I can be like the Owl from Winnie the Pooh.

6. Ogling Beautiful Pictures

That’s why Pinterest and I are a social media match made in heaven. Pinning is so much fun. You get to admire and sort all those pretty images.

7. Oomph

I love this word and what it stands for. Oomph is enthusiasm, vigour and energy (synonyms: pizzaz, zing and dynamism). And it’s also sex appeal and sultriness. A winning combination.

8. Oprah Winfrey

What an inspirational woman she is. She is smart, donates generously for charity and has founded a Leadership Academy for girls in South Africa. The Oprah Effect can lift any book to a best-seller list and her bookclub has likely boosted reading more than any single thing besides Harry Potter. And maybe now Fifty Shades of Gray.

9. Oodles of Books.

Ok, I kind of cheated just so I could include books on the list 😉 But oodles is a really awesome word.

10. Optimism

My glass is always half full. If things go wrong, I immediately start thinking how to fix them instead of bemoaning my bad luck and the unfairness of it all. Life is interesting in our house since my husband tends to be a pessimist.

 

Those were my ten. If you want to see more letters, Coleen Patrick covered L, K.B. Owens did R and Kassandra Lamb’s choice was S.

 

But do tell, what words would you pick for letter O? You’re most welcome to play too. Just say you’re game in the comments and I can give you a letter.

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 20

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: Next week I want the Link Feast to help you with something concrete.

Please tell me in the comments what writing/blogging/book marketing issue you’re struggling with right now, and I’ll search you some answers.

 

If You Have Time For Only One Thing:

What To Do When Your Loved Ones Want You To Quit by Marcy Kennedy

 

On Writing

ze Create and Conquer Manifesto by Mars Dorian

The Uncomfortable Pantser: When Your Method Doesn’t Fit Your Personality by Roni Loren

Jump Back Into Your Story by Elizabeth S. Craig

Core Character Values: Finding the Moral Compass by Kathy Steffen

Characterization vs. Character by Paul Anderson

Emotional Structure in Your Novel by Susan Kaye Quinn

The Bad Girls Club: Female Villains by Leigh Bardugo

Set Up Your Story in the First Paragraphs by Jodie Renner

The Killer One-Two Punch That Launches the Dramatic Tension in Your Story by Larry Brooks

Deep PoV Refresher Course with Elizabeth Staab

The Dearth-of-Epic-Endings Epidemic by Aimee L. Salter

12 Non-Negotiable Elements of Force in Writing (Daily Writing Tips)

Setting – Adding Dimension To Your Fiction by Kristen Lamb

The Advice That Helped Me Get Published by Mina Khan

Top 10 Tips of Writing I Learned From Studying J.K. Rowling by S.P. Sipal

How To Craft a Great Voice by Nathan Bransford

A Perfectionist’s Guide To Editing: 4 Stages by Jami Gold

Ask Jami: Editing Tips – How To Use Color-Coding by Jami Gold

Storyboarding For Editing by Joan Swan

Too Many “Cooks” In Our Fiction: The Lesson I Learned From Book One by August McLaughlin

How To Read Your Way to Better Writing by Susan Bearman

Fantasy Writing Prompts by L.B. Gale

What Is Paranormal Fantasy? by Becca Hamilton

How To Collaborate on a Book by Ann Aguirre

10 Great Reasons To Write Non-Fiction (Too) by August McLaughlin

What Kind of Convention/Conference Is Right For You by Jordan Hamessley London

 

Your Author Platform

OMG, they have cloned Chuck Wendig. His name is Mars Dorian (and he can also draw).

The 2 Step Formula To a Truly Unique Brand by Mars Dorian (The brand examples are in the end of the post. The creativity tip is solid for writing and blog post ideas)

Become the Shining Signal in a Dark Ocean of Me-Too ness by Mars Dorian

Authorpreneurship 101: Shameless Self-Promotion vs. Shameful Self-Promotion by Lindsay Buroker

Know Your Audience: Secret To Writing Books That Sell by Jan Bear

Writers Write, Successful Authors Write a Business Plan by Deborah Riley-Magnus

Author Branding by Susan Kaye Quinn

True Marketing Power For Authors: Looking in a NEW Direction by Deborah Riley-Magnus

Why Only Focusing On Your Target Audience May Hurt You by Roni Loren

Making Friends With New Markets by Deborah Riley-Magnus

Five Ways To Guard Your Brand by Roni Loren

6 Common Mistakes in Developing an Online Community by Michael Silverman

Time Managament Tips For the Marketing Author by Deborah Riley-Magnus

5 Promotion Tips For the Shy Writer by Lindsey Bell

Promoting Your Self-Published Book by L.J. Charles

The Billboard That Can Make or Break Your Book’s Success by Jonathan Gunson

Publishing Is Broken: We’re Drowning In Indie Books and That’s a Good Thing by David Vinjamuri

Managing Expectations For Indie Authors: Or What Did You Think Was Gonna Happen by Christopher Starr

How Indie Publishing Has Changed My Thinking by Susan Kaye Quinn

Book Review: Amazon Categories Create Best Sellers By Aggie Villanueva (by Tony Eldridge)

If Printed Books Die, Can You Still Get a Publisher by Jonathan Gunson

A great example of a consistent and fun brand: Nerdfitness.com (Level Up Your Life)

 

Blogging

21 Ways To Increase Your Influence Online by Dorian Mars

How To Be Interesting Online (And Snap Some Sweet-Ass Attention) by Mars Dorian

The Copyblogger “Secret” to Creating Better Content by Sonia Simone

How To Create a Writing Style That Impacts People Like a Blazing Meteor by Mars Dorian

Being Vulnerable Online Rocks by Mars Dorian

Set Up Social Media To Give You Great Post Ideas by Douglas Lim

10 Steps For Writing a Blog Post in 30 Minutes or Less by Chad Pollitt

Is It Better To Guest Post or Post To Your Own Site? (Think Traffic) Read the insightful comments.

5 Tips for Great Content Curation by Steven Rosenbaum

17 Steps To Guarantee a Successful Guest Posting Campaign by Nick Thacker

Behind an Insane Single Day 50 Guest Post Blitz: the Strategy and the Results by Adam Costa

Finding Timely Images For Topical Posts by Sarah Arrow

My Favorite WordPress Plug-ins by Michael Hyatt

Be Your Own Blog Ambassador: A 5 Step Strategy to Building a Dynamic Blog Community by Diane Bjorling

 

Social Media

Women Are From Pinterest, Men Are From Google+ by Fiona Menzies

How to Promote Your Blog on Twitter: 7 Tactics for More Twitter Traffic by Garin Kilpatrick

Using Twitter To Promote Your Blog by Lindsay Buroker

15 Fantastic Twitter Marketing Tactics by Garin Kilpatrick

The Unconventional Guide To Expanding Your Social Network by Dorian Mars

How To Get Twitter Followers Without Using a Mass Following Tool by Francisco Rosales

50 Innovative Ways To Get More Twitter Followers by Garin Kilpatrick

The Best Twitter Directories For Expanding Your Network by Garin Kilpatrick

Why Every Social Media Tip is Keeping You From Becoming Successful by Mars Dorian

7 Ways To Thank Someone For a ReTweet by Angie Schottmuller

More Ways To Say Thank You On Twitter by Margie Clayman

10 Reasons Your Facebook Page Is Not Taking Off by Francisco Rosales

How To Create a Facebook Page Vanity URL by Ellie Mirman

How To Build a Pinterest Following With Facebook by Melanie Duncan

Stumbling On New Readers by Anita Brady

Goodreads vs. LibraryThing by Amanda Nelson

 

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

Fill-Me-In Friday: Best Writing Links of the Week by Roni Loren

Sunday Mash Up by Rhonda Hopkins

 

Deep Stuff

Minimalist Workday: 50 Strategies For Working Less by Everett Brogue

Playing To Your Strenghts by Jenny Hansen

Megamind: Is Praise More Powerful Than Criticism? by Marcy Kennedy

What Is a Good Man by Colin Falconer

Beware of the Counterfeit Man by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Why We Love To Hoard… and How You Can Overcome It by Tom Stafford

5 Ways You Don’t Realize Movies Are Controlling Your Brain by David Wong

Cover Trends in YA Fiction: Why the Obsession with an Elegant Death? by Rachel Stark

The Sweet Smell of Sex by Alessia at Kitsch-Slapped

How To Eat Healthy Without Breaking the Bank by Steve Kamb

The Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet by Steve Kamb

 

Fun Stuff

How To Loan a Kindle Book to a Friend by Ben Patterson

Fiction Affliction: August Releases in Urban Fantasy by Suzanna Johnson

How To Read Someone’s Mind by Meredith Woerner

The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland – For a Little While by Catherynne M. Valente (short story)

In the Company of Wolves by Ash Silverlock

Who Were the Amazons by Lisa Hall-Wilson

My Name Is Hari, Mata Hari by Colin Falconer

And here’s a bonus Weird Stuff link:

Top 8 Unknown Bizarre Mental Conditions by Jeannie Campbell

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 18

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.

(Next week I’ll be doing something different. The Feast is dedicated to setting/worldbuilding. It’s an area that touches many aspects of writing, like characters, plot ideas and theme)

 

If You Have Time For Just One Thing

Raise the Stakes by Kara Lennox

 

On Writing

Parenting Tips For Writers by Janet Fitch

Writer and Parent? Tips For Finding Your New Balance by John Scalzi

5 Ways Your Brain Sabotages Your Writing And What To Do About It by Kimberly Turner

How To Effectively Create More Time To Write by Krissy Brady

9 Productivity Tips For Writers by Joanna Penn

Books Like Mine by April Dávila

Write About What Makes You Angry by Alexandra Sokoloff

Evaluating Your Ideas by Jill Kemerer

Give Your Protagonist an Anomaly To Generate Interest by Bob Mayer

The Ideal Setting by Carrie Vaughn

Transition As Metaphor by Chris Rosales

Tips On Subtext – What It Really Is by Shannon Donnelly

Race in YA Lit by Sarah Ockler

Revision Checklist (PDF) by Jill Kemerer

20 Common Grammar Mistakes Almost Everyone Gets Wrong by Jon Gingerich

Naming Your Characters by Jodie Renner

In Praise of Ripening by Marcia Yudkin

7 Excellent Reasons To Enter Writing Contests by Tiffany Jansen

The Top Ten Query Mistakes by Rachelle Gardner

Query Letter Tips – Advice From Writer’s Digest’s Chuck Sambuchino by Jennifer Jensen

My Querying Journey by Lydia Kang

 

Your Author Platform

Your Clear Message: Get Your Potential Reader Curious Now by Beth Barany

What the Heck Is a Voice? by Abby Kerr (4 illuminating examples)

Illuminating Voices – Part 2 by Abby Kerr (8 more examples)

The Slap-Your-Head-Simple Secret for Selling More Books by Toni at Duolit

Social Media: Your Shadow Career by Porter Anderson (if you have time, read also the comments. They have good insights)

Extra Ether: Shadowy Platforms by Porter Anderson

Why Social Media Isn’t the Magic Bullet For Self-ePublished Authors by Ewan Morrison

One Page Marketing Plan – PDF (Pro Business Writer)

10 Steps To Mastering Your Book Marketing Plan by Laura Pepper Wu

How To Market a Kindle Book (a wiki post listing the steps. Pick & choose the steps that suit you)

What Is The Goal of Your Home Page? by Brad Shorr

Buzz Doesn’t Sell Books, Community Does – Interview with Penelope Trunk by Matt Gartland

7 Things You Can Do To Right Now To Improve Your Author Website by Laura Pepper Wu

Writers Can’t Do It Alone by M.K. McClintock (3 sites helping authors & readers to connect)

Measuring Your Reach by Liz Schulte

A Book Launch Is an Investment in a Long-Term Career by Cynthia Morris

7 Deadly Email List Building Mistakes by Robert Middleton

Image Desperation: The Kiss of Death For a Self-Publishing Author (Book Cover Express)

(A Rabbit-Trailed) Book Rewiew: Michael Hyatt’s Platform by Ann Lynn Andrews

 

Blogging

Is Blogging a Waste of Time For Writers? by April Dávila (Why do you blog?)

Should Writers Blog About Writing? Some Answers by Yesenia Vargas

How To Find Your Passion by Amy Lynn Andrews

How To Find a Unique Angle in a Crowded Niche by Amy Lynn Andrews

Charles Darwin’s 12 Rules of Blogging Survival by Tom Treanor (Pick one and do that better than anyone)

10 Questions For Planning Out a Year of Blogging by Brandon Cox

How To Organize Your Blogging Time by Amy Lynn Andrews

7 Tips For a Balanced Blogger Life (Mom Advice)

9 Keys To Blogging Success From A-List Bloggers by Joel Friedlander

What Makes Readers Lose Interest in a Blog by Amy Lynn Andrews

10 Blogging Don’ts For Writers by Yesenia Vargas

105 Author Blog Prompts (Duolit)

Copywriting Essentials From A to Z by Ali Luke

Do the Wrong Thing: The Benefits of Unconventional Headlines by Ollin Morales

Long vs. Short posts (Pushing Social)

6 Tips For Creating a Good Call To Action by Amy Lynn Andrews

How To Make Your Blog a Pinterest Magnet (Mom Advice)

6 Ways To Recycle Your Old Content by Amy Lynn Andrews

How To Optimize Twitter Sharing On Your Blog by Amy Lynn Andrews

Why I Stopped Using Feedburner To Serve My Blog Subscribers by Jane Friedman

How Does Your Site Look On Mobile Devices? by Amy Lynn Andrews

 

Social Media

Where Should I Focus My Time? Tips For Social Media Use by Robert Lee Brewer

The 80/20 Rule: How To Promote Your Books On Social Networking Sites by Paula Margulies

10 Ways To Get More REAL Twitter Followers by Allison at Blog World

How To Embed Tweets & Ways To Use Them by Amy Lynn Andrews

The Ultimate Guide To Facebook Marketing by Andrea Vahl

How To Get a Vanity URL For Your Facebook Fan Page by Amy Lynn Andrews

Pinterest & Copyright by Amy Lynn Andrews (6 links with advice)

Writers, Why It’s Time To Renew Your Love Affair With Pinterest by Kristen Lamb

The Ultimate List of Pinterest Tips by Amy Lynn Andrews

 

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth Spann Craig (August 5th)

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp (August 4th)

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas (August 3rd)

Fill Me In Friday by Roni Loren (August 3rd)

 

Deep Stuff

A Story of Balls & Work Life Balance by Jenny Hansen

How To Journal: 5 Tips For Capturing Your Best Ideas by Cheryl Craigie

6 Common Diets That Cramp Creativity by August McLaughlin

The Practice of Stillness by Michael Hyatt

Talking To Children About Death by Julie Glover (thank you Jenny Hansen)

The Fat Friend by Allie Sanders (also found via Jenny Hansen)

Lets Talk Sex by C.C. MacKenzie

Ecce Orcus! An Argument For Humanizing the Orc by Mordicai Knode

 

Fun Stuff

Eyecandy (Aleksd has gathered a wide variety of cool Pinterest boards)

Bookshelf Porn (brilliant bookshelves)

11 Geeky Wedding & Engagement Rings by Jill Harness at Mental Floss

6 Most Accidentally Erotic Images of the 2012 Olympics by Adam Tod Brown at cracked.com

100 Best-Ever YA Novels (npr.org)

10 Instances In Which History Meets Geekery by Rebecca Pahle at The Mary Sue

5 Ridiculous Gun Myths Everyone Believes Thanks To Movies by Robert Evans at cracked.com

A Timeline of Future Events (as mentioned in sci-fi books) by Jane Hu at The Awl

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