Link Roundup

Here is your list of helpful articles to start off the new week. Enjoy!

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• Birth of a Book: The Idea Stage: Testing the Idea from Fiction University. How do you know when an idea is good enough to become a story?

• 8 Top Publishing Lessons Authors Need To Know from Digital Book World. What to do if you want to go the traditional publishing route.

• Avoid A Boring Thriller With This One Simple Trick from Standout Books. And it doesn’t involve apple cider vinegar.

• One of Our Biggest Obstacles as Writers from Shelly Hitz. Do you ever doubt yourself as a writer? I do. If so this post is for you.

• 15 Free Resources For Every Stage In An Indie Author’s Journey from Digital Book World. Who doesn’t like free stuff!

• Don’t Tweet Your Rejections from Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Of America. Personally when I get rejected I curl up in a ball and drink wine but if you are one of those people who like to share, think twice on sharing your rejections.

• In an important sense, unity in writing is an author’s core design principle. This is the starting point and end goal in writing. From BookBaby Blog. My jr. high English teacher would call this the woof and weave of a story.

• How to Get Agents and Publishers Begging to See Your Work from Write to Done. More good information on query letters.

• The First Thing You Should Know about Your Protagonist before You Start Writing from Live Write Thrive. C. S. Lakin never writes a bad post.

• A Smarter Way to Manage “Pick Your Brain” Requests from The Write Life. How to help others without drowning yourself. 

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OMG you guys, you do not know how much fun I have looking for pictures to go with the posts. Some of them are truly bizarre and I wish I could interview the people who took them. Or at least drink what they are drinking. 

A lot of our posts for today deal with feedback and choices like choosing to hire an editor and putting out the best product you can. There are also a few posts from authors who have been there and share how they cope (or not). Enjoy!

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• Write What You Want to Know by Vicki Delany from Romance University. Instead of write what you, write what you want to know.

  

• Who You Know Can Make a Difference from Books &  Such. It is good to hang with other writers even if you are an introvert like me.

• 5 Tips For Writing Superbad Villains from The Creative Penn. Because without a bad guy there is no story.

• What Art School Failed to Teach Me About Writing & Rejection from Positive Writer. A good read if the word “no” makes you queasy.

• 5 Ways to Make Your Self-Published Book Look Professional from Writer’s Edit. Having a professional book helps us all!

• How to Write Your Best Book: Part One from Goins, Writer.  A really good podcast.

• Report from the Trenches, #1from Steven Pressfield Online. Dealing with the emotions of feedback.

• How Do You Respond to Criticism of Your Work? 6 Patterns to Recognize from Jane Friedman. Do you know the stages of criticism grief?

• 7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, by Angelica Baker from Writer’s Digest. Stories from other authors.

• Writing: In Praise of Editors – Unsung Superheroes Who Daily Save Authors from Themselves from Self Publishing Advice Center. Hug an editor today!

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Lots of good stuff today – how to save some money, traditional vs indie publishing, and should you quit your day job? And then there is help with foreshadowing and why stuffing too much information into your readers brain too quickly results in reader burnout. Enjoy. 

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• The Rollercoaster Of Traditional And Indie Publishing With Sean Black from The Creative Penn. Podcast with notes about one author’s journal from traditional publishing to indie publishing. Lovely accents from the both of them.

  

   

• What you NEED to know for successful Amazon Ads! From Writers In The Storm. Make those advertising dollars work hard for you.

• From Idea to Novel From Kill Zone. How do you start a new work?

• Writing A Successful Query Letter from Fantasy Faction. More tips on getting that letter answered!

• The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing Your Fiction from Well-Storied.

• Opinion: Why Indie Authors Should Quit Their Day Jobs Like I Did from Self Publishing Advice Center. Perhaps not quite the option for everyone. What do you think?

• A Closer Look at Foreshadowing from Fiction University. Build suspense.

• 3 Ways to Create a Compelling Villain For Your Next Story from The Write Life. Because every good story deserves a great villain.

• Do You Need to Take (Yet Another) Writing Course? Here’s Why it Might be a Bad Idea from Aliventures. Yesterday we had posts about why a writing retreat might be a good idea. Today, from Ali, why maybe another course is a waste of time.

• One Simple Trick to Avoid an Opening Page Infodump from Jami Gold.  Info dumps are a great way to loose readers quickly!

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Have you ever done a writing retreat? NaNoWriMo doesn’t count although that is the only one I can count to my name. Today’s posts all seem to deal with communication. The need to communicate to your readers, to the people helping you, and to yourself.

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• Make the Most of Your Writing Retreat from Live Write Breath. Have you been to a writing retreat? What did you think of the experience?

  

•  The Power of the Unlikeable Protagonist from Writer UnBoxed. Someone you love to hate.

• How I Balance Writing with Having a Day Job or Coping With Not Having Superpowers from Pub Crawl. Patrice is my new hero!

• Marketing Mayhem and How to Avoid It from Books And Such. If you are lucky enough to have a marketing team, you need to make sure you are using them effectively.

• Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book from Jane Freidman. Everything you wanted to know and more!

• 4 Creative Book Marketing & Promotion Ideas for Indie Authors and Self-published Books from Self Publishing Advice Center. What is the craziest thing you have done to promote your book?

• How To Write Contemporary Fiction: Don’t Write for Leo Tolstoy’s Audience from Anne R. Allen’s Blog… with Ruth Harris. Unless you are Leo Tolstoy.

• How to Become a Better Writer: Do This (And Only This, Seriously) For 1 Hour from The Write Life. A funny post, we have all been there. One minute, I will be right back, my computer made a ding noise.

• Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 60: Flat Plots from Helping Writers Become Authors. Add depth to your plots.

• Is Your Procrastination a Symptom of Perfectionism? From Live Write Thrive. Perfectionism can be a symptom of fear.

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We have survived another month in this crazy year! We have a bunch of great posts that help with outling, costs, but most importantly your mood health. Enjoy!

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• Breaking Down the Cost of Self-Publishing from Well-Storied. Kristen breaks down the different options and how much they cost.

  

   

•  Finding and Hiring an Editor: Why They Help, What They Cost, and What to Look For from How To Plan, Write, And Develop A Book. If you look on Amazon, people will take the time to review a book and rate it lower because of editing issues.

• Fearless Querying: Learning to Love the Query Letter from Writer’s Digest. A shot of courage if you need it.

• Your 3-Step Plan for Outlining A Novel from Writers Helping Writers. Another way to outline.

• 17 Writing Lessons to Remember from Postive Writer. More like affirmations but still really good. “Your writing is better than you think it is”

• 8 Steps to a Perfect Scene from Live Write Thrive. Take your scene writing to the next level.

• Putting It Right, At Last: Must Read Women Authors in Fantasy from Fantasy Faction. Support the sisterhood!
• One Routine Any Aspiring Writers Should Develop from Writers And Authors. Write!

• Reconnecting with Our Passions: Storytelling from Jami Gold. Are you a storyteller or a writer?

• The Weight of the Undone from Writer UnBoxed. A insperational life message.

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We have almost made it through the week. It is a beautiful day in southern California, I hope it is nice where you are too. Enjoy today’s picks!

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• Cast Your Eyes Over This and Other Writing Flubs? From Indies Unlimited. Funny but not good writing.

  

   

• Every Villain is a Metaphor for Resistance from Steven Pressfield Online. Do you agree?

• Staging a Book Blitz from Writer UnBoxed. Market hard!

• Writing Tips: How To Create Immersive Worlds For Science Fiction And Fantasy from The Creative Penn. How to you make a cohesive world.

• Putting it on the Page: How Your Personal Experiences Influence Character Development – by Paul Lonardo from Romance University. Who you are influences your writing.

• Learn What Irony (Really) Is and How To Use It from Reedsy. Not just a song from Alanis Morissette.

• Understanding and Using Parallel Structure: a Beginner’s Guide from The Write Life. Are you making this error in your writing?

• Writers on Social Media: Does It Even Make a Difference? From Kill Zone. Social media is a lot of work. Do you think it is worth it?

• The Ugly Truth About Self-Doubt as a Writer from The Write Practice. So glad to not be alone in this!

• Writing: 6 Good Reasons to Write a Non-fiction Book from the Self Publishing Advice Center.  A way to stand out from the crowd.

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It is appropriate that today we have so many posts on taking care of yourself. We are a little short as I am dealing with a sick co-worker, and two car emergencies. So enjoy and take good care of yourself!

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• 55 Ways To Explode Your Content Marketing [Infographic] from Write To Done. Who doesn’t love a good infograph!

• Are You a Writer Who Hates to Blog? You’re Not Alone (and it’s NOT the End of the World).  From Lauren Sapala. Just know that blogging is like having a baby – lots of constant care and work before you see any progress.
• When is the Right Time to Hire a Book Editor? From The Write Life. Cause no one wants premature editing.

• Overcoming Negativity Bias from Writers Helping Writers. I am postive you will love this article.

• The Finer Points of Great Dialogue from The Writers Alley. “Great idea” she said!

• Ways To Stay Motivated In This Shit-Shellacked Era Of Epic Stupid from terribleminds. A key for sanity from Chuck Wendig

• Chronic Problems: Writing and Burnout from Jami Gold. Above all else take care of yourself. You can’t help others or write if you are not in a good place.

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Midweek posts with a little bit for everyone.

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• 55 Ways To Explode Your Content Marketing [Infographic] from Write To Done. Who doesn’t love a good infograph!

• Learn to Love the Work, or Do Something Else (and Other Lessons on Enduring Greatness) from Goins, Writer. There is no get rich quick way of writing.

• Email Marketing Tips: How to Get Your List to Buy Your Book from The Write Life. You do have an email list, right?

• How to Calculate Your Book’s Length Before Writing from Helping Writers Become Authors. I didn’t even know you could do this!

• Our New Book Formatting Resource Page from Indies Unlimited. How to format your ebook so it looks great.

• 10 Things I Learned About Publishing from My Debut Series from Pub Crawl. A great lessons learned post.

• Do You Use Character Trinkets? from Writability. Short but sweet from Ava Jae on how you can add depth to your characters.

• 4 Times Inaction Can Help Your Writing Life from Writers In The Storm. Sometimes even the best writers need a time out.

• The Truth Behind Popular Copyright Myths from Writers UnBoxed. What you need to know about copyright.

• What Are Content Mills … and Why Should Freelancers Avoid Them? from Aliventures. Avoid like the plague! They help no one.

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Happy Monday!  What is your best marketing platform? Have you tried vlogging or podcasting? If not we have some articles to help you get started along with some posts that will help you grow as a writer.

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• 6 Fantasies Standing Between You and Writing Success—and How to Fight Back from Anne R. Allen’s Blog… with Ruth Harris. What is holding you back?

• How to Write a Bestseller from Positive Writer.  Because isn’t that the point?

• Speaking Martian on Venus by Becke Martin Davis from Romance University.  How good are you at writing in the other gender’s voice?

• 4 Things I’ve Learned From Vlogging from Writability. Another great marketing tool!

• Millennials May Be the Salvation of Libraries from GoodEReader. Libraries are a great place when you are on the road to work. Comfy, quiet and they have free wifi and power strips!

• How to Carry Your Book Cover Design Through to the Marketing Campaign for Your Self-published Books from Self Publishing Advice Center. Because your cover is the face of your book, and what people will see first.

• How Do You Know What You Don’t Know?  from Kill Zone. Because sometimes you need to hear the truth before you grow.

• Is the Voice of the Oppressor” Hindering Your Productivity? from Live Write Thrive. How to deal with perfectionism, my mortal enemy.

• How To Use Dictation To Write Faster And Stay Healthy With Scott Baker from The Creative Pen. Dictation software has really come a long way.

• Ten Tips For The Successful Writer – by Dani Collins from Romance Universtiy. Ten tips we could all use!

Today we have a little bit of everything from improving your website to what you should do if your book is stolen, ending with a funny post from author and dad Chuck Wendig

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•  7 ways to improve your author website from Novel Publicity. Did you know that Google gives priority in search engines for websites that are mobile friendly?
• Birth of a Book: The Idea Stage: Brainstorming the Idea from Fiction University. Good help if you are like me and need to focus on one story and not the ten floating around in your head.
• The Art and Craft of Developing Characters from Writers In The Storm.  How to get inside your characters heads!
• Opinion: Why Sometimes It’s Good to Be an Irregular Writer from Self Publishing Advice Center. Binge writing! They are singing my song!
• How To Create A Visual Brand As An Author from Standout Books. “If you don’t show your readers who you are, they will invent a persona for you.”
• Coming up with a Plot (from scratch) from September C. Fawkes. Inspiration hits, then what? (Doesn’t she have the coolest name!)
• 4 Ways To Unlock Your Potential As A Writer from BooksGoSocial.  Power your passion!
• How to Boost Your Self-Editing Superpowers: The Four Perspectives from Writers Helping Writers. Superhero skills!

• Help! Someone else is selling my book! from Indies Unlimited. Beware of pirates!

• And, Scene: Some Thoughts On Writing A Scene from terribleminds. Ending on a good but funny post.

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Trying something a little different today as part of a movement forward with what I want to do with the site.  Thank you for your patience!

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• Tips for Less-Expensive Self-Publishing  from Elizabeth Spann Craig.   Because who couldn’t use tips to save money!
• How to Rescue a Writing Career from Books & Such. A must read especially for mid-level authors!
• The Disorganized Novelist’s Guide to Outlines from Publishers Weekly. Great article if you are a pantser like me!

• Learn How to Make the Most of the 5 Stages of the Writing Process from Helping Writers Become Authors. Get a peek into someone elses writing process!

• The Real Source of Writer’s Block (And an Exercise to Beat It) from The Write Life.! Blast your writer’s block away!

• If You’re Successful, Lots of People Ask for Your Help. Who Deserves It? from Jane Friedman. The kind of problem I would like to have 🙂

• Are You Sabotaging Your Writing Because of Perfectionism? from Live Write Thrive. Well yea, duh.

• How To Write a Mystery With Rebecca Cantrell And J.F.Penn from The Creative Pen. Article and podcast with helpful hints for all genres.

• Advice (and Confessions) from a Reluctant Marketer from Writers And Authors. Who can’t use more information on how to market!

• Heartened by Wonder Woman—The Case for Sincere Storytelling from Writer UnBoxed. I friggen love this movie and had to see it several times!

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  If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

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