Think

Opinion pieces offering commentary on various aspects of book culture, publishing and self-publishing.

Quick Link: The Therapeutic Benefits of Writing a Novel

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

So this! At Writer UnBoxed, Jessica Lourey discusses the therapeutic effect of writing. Any good therapist will tell you the benefits of writing, while Jessica takes it one step further. The therapy of writing a novel, even if you never publish it.

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The Therapeutic Benefits of Writing a Novel

by Jessica Lourey

Please welcome guest Jessica Lourey (rhymes with “dowry”) whose new book Rewrite Your Life: Discover Your Truth Through the Healing Power of Fiction is the only book that shows you how to transform your facts into a compelling, healing novel. Jessica is a tenured professor of creative writing and sociology, a regular Psychology Today blogger, a sought-after workshop leader and keynote speaker who delivered the 2016 “Rewrite Your Life” TEDx Talk, and a leader of transformative writer’s retreats.

Jessica (Jess) is also the author of the critically-acclaimed Murder-by-Month mysteries, that have earned multiple starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist. The next one is due out in September 2017: March of Crime. Her other novels are The Catalain Book of Secrets, Salem’s Cipher, The Toadhouse Trilogy: Book One, May Day, June Bug, Knee High by the Fourth of July, August Moon, September Fair, October Fest, November Hunt, December Dread, January Thaw, and February Fever.

Connect with Jessica on her blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

The Therapeutic Benefits of Writing a Novel

When my husband died unexpectedly in 2001, I’d never heard of expressive writing. And you know what? It wouldn’t have mattered if I had. Three months pregnant, raising a three-year-old, and suddenly a widow, the last thing I wanted to do was spend even one sharp second journaling about how I felt. No offense to Dr. Pennebaker, the founder of the expressive writing movement. It’s just that I couldn’t survive reliving the pain of my husband’s suicide, not then, not on my own. I needed to convert it, package it, and ship it off.

So I began writing fiction.

Read the full post on Writer UnBoxed

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Quick Link: Are You Clear About Your Writer Persona? Going Public by Design

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Privacy is such an important, and often under reported, issue these days. It is so easy to find out information on someone. But as authors, we want people to know about us, and that means sharing something of who we are.  At Jane Freidman, shares with us her tips and thoughts on your public face.

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Are You Clear About Your Writer Persona? Going Public by Design

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Today’s guest post is by creative coach, writer, and editor A M Carley (@amcarley). Her company, Chenille Books, is offering a guided self-study course for writers, 30 Days to Becoming Unstuck, during May 2017.

Back in the day, ancient Roman theater introduced the persona, or mask. Some say it was used as a means of protecting the anonymity of influential citizen-actors who didn’t want the public to see them on stage.

As writers, we don’t always know how much of ourselves to share with the public. I believe it behooves each of us to create and curate an author persona—the public face for our work. When we become published authors, get our first podcast interview, our first guest post on a well-regarded writing blog, our first press interview, our first book event—somewhere along that path the thought occurs: Who am I? Who do I want to be? What am I telling the world about myself and my writing?

Wise choices count here. On the one hand, if we don’t reveal anything, we may curtail our exposure and success. However, if we splatter too much personal information in too many places, we confuse our potential audience.

In other words, just like the Roman aristocrats, you have choices about what the public sees. Not a fake mask to hide behind, your persona is a filtered subset of the great array of attributes, quirks, and appetites that make up the person you are, along with the characteristics of the creative work you produce.

Doing our best creative writing is not our only mission. Why? Because most of us want readers. And if that’s the case for you, then you’ll benefit from considering how you present yourself to others. We’re in the world, surrounded by other writers who want to be read, and readers hungry for cues about whose work to read next. We need to keep an eye on the marketplace for our published work. How will these new readers know who we are? How will we tell them enough about ourselves to make them want to know more?

Are you clear about your writer persona?

Read the full post on

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Quick Link: The Number One Enemy Of The Writer

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What do you think the number one enemy of a writer is? I bet you will be surprised when you read Dawn Field’s pick over at Bookbaby Blog but after reading her post I am going to have to agree with her. Read it and let me know if you agree too.

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The Number One Enemy Of The Writer

by Dawn Field

Unclear thinking is an enemy of the writer, and it’s most often about being lazy and not fully imagining your story. Write with clarity of purpose, and your writing comes alive.

What is the biggest hurdle for any writer? A lack of time? The blank page? Writer’s block? Having your ideas stolen? The absence of an agent or publisher?

Probably not.

You’ll make the time if you really want to, writer’s block will pass once you fill up again on ideas, and if your ideas are worth stealing, you’ll quickly get another better one. And today, you can self-publish easier than ever.

So, could the worst thing be poor grammar or an inability to spell? What about technophobia that makes dealing with computers a nightmare? Is it a fear of business and the social-media savvy required to promote and sell books? Is it the fierce competition of the book market?

Doubtful.

If you have a great story but just need help tidying up the mechanics, hire an editor, copy-editor, or proof-reader. Heck, you can even easily hire a ghost writer these days. If you are a technophobe, write long-hand. It worked for centuries. And while selling books is great, you took on this writing gig for personal satisfaction, right? So who cares about promotion and competition?

So, what is the number one enemy of the writer? Unclear thinking.

Read the full post on Bookbaby Blog

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Quick Link: 4 Methods for Developing Any Idea Into a Great Story

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Do you have a great story idea bouncing around your head but don’t know what to do with it? If you are like me, you probably have at least 5.  , over at Jane Friedman has an excellent article on how to take those ideas and grow them into full-fledged stories!

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4 Methods for Developing Any Idea Into a Great Story

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Today’s guest post is by Elizabeth Sims (@ESimsAuthor) and is excerpted from The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, an anthology compiled by Writer’s Digest. (I’m a contributor to the anthology as well!)

A while ago I attended an inventors’ club meeting. Some of the members had already launched successful products and were working on more, while others were merely beginners with great ideas. The beginners were commiserating about how hard it is to deal with financing, raw materials, manufacturing, promotion, and all the rest, when one of the experienced inventors suddenly stood up. “Look,” he said impatiently, “ideas are a dime a dozen. It’s the development that puts you over the top. Do what you have to do to make it real and get it to market.”

I was surprised, because I’d always thought that a brilliant idea could make you a fortune. But I quickly realized my new friend was right: Idea is just the beginning.

Fiction writers have a lot in common with those inventors. It’s not hard to get inspired by a great concept, to take it to your table or toolshed or cellar and do some brainstorming, and even to start putting the story on paper—but eventually, many of us lose traction. Why? Because development doesn’t happen on its own. In fact, I’ve come to think that idea development is the number one skill an author should have.

How do great authors develop stunning narratives, break from tradition, and advance the form of their fiction? They take whatever basic ideas they’ve got, then move them away from the typical. No matter your starting point—a love story, buddy tale, mystery, quest—you can do like the great innovators do: Bend it. Amp it. Drive it. Strip it.

Read the full post on Jane Friedman

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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.

Quick Link: A plea for reviewers – can we open up a dialogue about self-published books?

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Roz Morris, owner of Nail Your Novel, reaches out to people who review books with a plea that they open their minds a little towards reviewing self-publishing titles. I can understand the reluctance of book reviewers, there are a lot of self-published books that look, well, self-published.  A lot. But, there are also a lot of self-publishing authors who do it right by hiring the correct people so their title is a professional offering and they are growing.  Thoughts?

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A plea for reviewers – can we open up a dialogue about self-published books?

by Roz Morris

So I find a lovely-looking review blog. The posts are thoughtful, fair and seriously considered. I look up the review policy and … it says ‘no self-published books’.

Today I want to open a dialogue with reviewers. If you have that policy, might you be persuaded to change it? Or to approach the problem in a different way?

I used the word ‘problem’. Because I appreciate – very well – that in making this policy you are trying to tackle a major problem. Your time as a reviewer is precious – and let me say your efforts are enormously appreciated by readers and authors alike. You get pitches for many more books than you can read and you need a way to fillet out the ones that are seriously worth your reading hours. A blanket ban is a way to fend off a lot of substandard material and save you many unpleasant conversations. And traditional publishing implies a certain benchmark of competence.

Competence. That’s probably the heart of the matter. There are good self-published books, of course, but how can I help you sort them from the bad and the fug-ugly?

Read the full post on Nail Your Novel

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Quick Link: How We’ve Ruined Our Brains in This Modern Era

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As I write this post I have five firefox windows with multiple tabs open, a photoshop session, my music, my phone is in front of me where I can see it and lots of background things going on. C. S. Lakin would be appalled since pretty much proves her post at Live Write Thrive.

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How We’ve Ruined Our Brains in This Modern Era

Ah, distraction. The bane of our modern existence. Face it—we are going to be deluged with distractions every waking moment of the day. Unless you’ve found a way to live in a bubble or at the top of a mountain, deep in a cave, you probably are going to have some distractions. Even then, that water dripping from the ceiling in a steady rhythm is going to start distracting us.

I think the problem is worse than we know. Because decades ago, we just didn’t have the kinds of distractions we have now. And because we are so used to being connected online to everyone else in the world (or so it seems) around the clock, it’s more a problem of our habits than anything else.

So now we’re going to go deep into the “C” of our Productivity ABCs: our choices, which impact our behavior. And retraining our brain is a choice writers need to make if they’re to be super productive.

How We’ve Ruined Our Brain

For instance, my brain is now so used to derailing at any given second, even when I’m backpacking alone in the Sierras, away from any cell phone signals, it takes me days to decompress and allow my brain to settle into what feels like a natural state of being and observation. I have to confess I now take my phone and solar charger with me so I can read and play games and listen to music on my phone while out in the wilderness. But I’m thinking of making a resolution to leave the tech back in civilization. Because it’s starting to control me and not the other way around.

Read the full post on Live Write Thrive

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Quick Link: Stop Worrying About What People Think and Create Anyway

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I have to be honest, I am sharing this article because it really hits home for me. If you are like me and worry about putting yourself out there, then this article is for you and you are not alone. Head on over to Postive Writer and read the article by Bryan Hutchinson. If this article is not for you, please share how you deal with this anxiety!

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Stop Worrying About What People Think and Create Anyway

by Bryan Hutchinson

One of the surest ways to find unhappiness and limit your creativity is worrying about what others think of you or your work.

It’s true, and I am guilty of it. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

When we worry about what other people are doing, achieving or receiving, we steal valuable energy and confidence from ourselves and we start to doubt that we are good enough.

And yet, there’s worse:

The worst comes when you inhibit yourself because you’re too concerned with what someone thinks of you.

Of course, we should have some concern about our image, what we do and what people think of us, especially if we want to be sociable and get along. However, there have been times when I’ve carried this too far and worried incessantly.

To use blogging as an example, I’ve kept posts in my drafts for weeks on end, sometimes not posting at all, simply to avoid criticism from those who are impossible to please.

Oh yes, if you haven’t realized it yet (and I am sure you have), there are people who cannot and will not be pleased and if you are a people pleaser, then writing, blogging, creating art, or doing just about anything publicly might not be for you.

Blogging opens me up to the world, so, of course, there are going to be people who disagree with my ideas and opinions and to a degree, I expected that.

But I’ll be honest, I had no idea that there would be people out there who hate what I write and who go to obsessive lengths to make sure I know it.

It’s not an enjoyable experience and if you can relate, here’s a unique solution you might find helpful.

Read the full post on Postive Writer

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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.

Quick Link: How to Boost Your Career as a Writer by Creating an Irresistible Series

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

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How to Boost Your Career as a Writer by Creating an Irresistible Series

By Sandra Haven

Excited about your writing career?

About expanding your story’s potential?

Yet after writing, maybe publishing, even marketing a book, you realize that’s just ONE book. And a career author writes LOTS of books.

Which means tomorrow…

You’ll face a mind-numbing, blinking cursor on a blank white page.

Again.

Fresh Shortcut on Familiar Ground

Do visions haunt you of your single book atop a “free” pile in front of a Goodwill store as you flip burgers to buy printer ink, while trying to come up with something fresh for your next book?

And that’s what you need, right? Another new, fresh story? Then another and another?

Nope.

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Quick Link: 10 Questions to Ask Before You Accept a Traditional Publishing Deal

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Congratulations, you have been offered a traditional publishing deal! But before you go spending your royalties, be a smart cookie and check that deal out through and through. Susan Spann from Writer’s In The Storm has some tips on what to watch out for so you can vet your deal carefully.

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10 Questions to Ask Before You Accept a Traditional Publishing Deal

By Susan Spann

The explosion of independent publishing houses in the U.S. and abroad makes it vital for authors to investigate publishers carefully before signing a contract. While even diligent research can’t ensure you’ll avoid every possible problem, here are some questions to ask before you accept a traditional publishing deal:

  1. Does the Contract Require You (the Author) to Pay for Anything?

If the answer is “yes,” this is not a traditional publishing house, and probably not a deal you should sign. Traditional deals don’t require the author to pay for anything, either out of pocket or by allowing the publisher to recoup expenses before calculating the author’s royalty share.*

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Quick Link: Paralyzing Fear and Creative Professions

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There seems to be some connection between being creative and fearful. We are capable of imagining great things but the flip side is being able to imagine horrible things too. Whether you suffer from paralyzing fear or know someone who does, this is a great article by  over at All Indies Writers.

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Paralyzing Fear and Creative Professions

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Creative work is unlike any other job you could take on. When you create, you leave a piece of yourself behind for the world to see. There’s a certain amount of vulnerability involved.

That vulnerability can make it difficult to separate you, the artist, from your art. And that can lead to paralyzing fear of sharing your work.

If you’ve ever dreaded sharing a creative project for fear of being judged, you’re not alone.

Many creative professionals go through this, including me.

And, this year, I’ve decided it’s time to tackle this fear and lack of confidence head-on. Are you ready too?

Creative Comfort Zones

The funny thing about creative projects is they aren’t all created equal. (Or at least they aren’t for me.)

Take freelance writing for example, or blogging even.

Those are “easy” creative projects for me in that I don’t have the same kind of vulnerability or attachment I have with other types of art. The same thing is true with photography.

These are things I’m pretty open about sharing.

But that’s far from the extent of my creative interests.

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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.

Quick Link: Oops. That Book Review’s Not Verified

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There have been a lot of changes with Amazon’s reviews lately. I understand the need to give readers better and more trustworthy reviews but it also needs to be balanced against how difficult it is to get reviews by writers. Big Al at Indies Unlimited has the scoop on the latest changes.

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Oops. That Book Review’s Not Verified

by Big Al

Way, way back in September of 2013 I wrote an article about verified reviews. In the world of Indie publishing, especially where anything directly related to Amazon is concerned, three-and-a-half years is a lifetime. Much of what I wrote then is either no longer true or suspect. In this article, I’m going to talk about some of the changes and why you, I, or a random reader might care. (Or maybe not.)

At the time I suggested that the only reason someone might care about whether a review was verified was if they thought the review seemed questionable. Then the “verified” flag would indicate the reviewer had actually bought the book or other item from Amazon. For someone looking at reviews and trying to decide on a purchase, the verified flag might still not be that useful. I suspect some people who are more attuned to happenings regarding Amazon might be concerned about fake or paid reviews, and pay a little more attention. But if they’re aware of these issues, they’re probably aware that reviewers who were willing to write a glowing review for a price have options to make sure those reviews showed as verified purchase reviews anyway.

However, authors who are trying to get selected to run promotions using Bookbub and other hard-to-get-selected advertising options want not just good reviews, but they’d prefer a lot of them with that verified flag.

Quick Link: Taking Yourself Seriously as a Writer—Before Anyone Else Does

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Emily Cavanagh has a really great post at Writers In The Storm, about how you see yourself as a writer that affects who are you as a writer. She even has some great lessons learned that she wished she did earlier in her career. Check it out and let us know what you think.

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Taking Yourself Seriously as a Writer—Before Anyone Else Does

By Emily Cavanagh

For the past ten years, I have written steadily and quietly. While my friends, family, and colleagues all knew I wrote, only a few close writer friends knew the extent of my writing life. Only a handful of people knew that I had written four unpublished novels. When I would somehow let this slip in conversation, I would receive looks of marvel, looks that made me inwardly cringe. What others viewed as a major accomplishment, I viewed with embarrassment. After all, I’d been trying unsuccessfully to get an agent for years. Telling people that I kept writing despite anyone recognizing my work felt like admitting publicly to my failure as a writer. Without the external approval of an agent or publisher, I couldn’t take myself seriously as a writer, beyond a narrow circle of writing colleagues. (This need for approval speaks to many things in my life, but let’s just stick to writing, shall we?)

When I finally signed with my agent in November 2015, everything changed. Not just because I was suddenly on the path to publication after all this time, but because signing that contract allowed me to change the way I viewed myself. With my agent as my ally, I could finally take myself seriously as a writer. I sprang into action and in a matter of months set about creating the outward appearance of a writer. However, looking back, I realize that my own unwillingness to take myself seriously may have impacted my slow journey to publication. If I could go back and do it again, here are a few things I would do earlier:

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Quick Link: Acknowledgments: Make Them Awesome

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My wise old granny always said have an attitude of gratitude and as authors, it is important to acknowledge those who help us. But as an author, you are already creative so make them cool. Head over to Books & Such and read Janet Kobobel Grant’s post to learn more.

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Acknowledgments: Make Them Awesome

Janet Kobobel Grant

I wrote this post in 2015, but I’ve added a snippet at the end that’s actually an announcement tied to acknowledgments. So read on!

I love to read book acknowledgment pages. I feel as if I’m peeking into the Who’s Who in the creation of the work. But the acknowledgments I like best are those in which the author shows that he/she has the mojo to cast a creative eye on this page that often tends toward the unimaginative.

In actuality, acknowledgments are a great place to stretch your writing muscles. Allow your voice to be full-throated.

Would the Acknowledgments Fit with Any Book?

My mind turns to such stellar acknowledgments as Cynthia Ruchti’s resounding commendations in her An Endless Christmas novella. Her approach was original and wouldn’t fit any other book she’s written. Let’s take a look at what she did as a lesson in how to write awesome acknowledgments.

Establish a theme

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Quick Link: Your Author Bio: Does it help your Book Sales or Stop Them Dead?

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When is the last time you looked at your author bio? I thought so. Often overlooked,  a good author bio can give a reader a sense of connection. has some great tips for creating or sprucing up your author bio at Anne R. Allen’s Blog.

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Your Author Bio: Does it help your Book Sales or Stop Them Dead?

By Anne R. Allen

No matter how great a book’s cover and blurb, one thing can stop me from buying yet another ebook for my Kindle: an author bio on the buy page that screams “amateur.”

I spent some time as an editor, so when I pick up a book for relaxation, I want to know it’s going to be a professional work and not something that makes me want to run for my red pencil.

If you start your bio “I’ve always wanted to write a book, ever since I won a penmanship prize in third grade, and now that I’ve self-published, “If My Cats Could Talk” my wish has come true…,” all you’ve told me is you’re a beginner.

Is that really what you want your customers to know?

Your buy page at Amazon or any online retail store is like your own personal storefront. It can be a sleek boutique or a homemade lemonade stand.

A funky lemonade stand might get a few passersby to spring for a glass because they think you’re cute or feel sorry for you. With Mom paying for lemons, sugar, glasses, and the card table—and hey, you might “earn” enough to buy yourself an ice cream when the truck comes by.

But you’re trying to be a professional writer here, right?

So before you publish that book, learn to write a professional author bio.

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Quick Link: Are You Ready to Conquer Writing Overwhelm?

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Kristen Kieffer, on her blog well-storied, breaks down steps to help you from being overwhelmed.  The big takeaway for me was about focus. Because the more focused you are on what your goals are, the clearer your path becomes.

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Are You Ready to Conquer Writing Overwhelm?

By Kristen Kieffer

Let’s face it: writing isn’t always easy. Sure, it’s fun when we’re in the zone, when we have a brilliant idea in mind and the words just seem to flow. But most of the time?

Most of the time, writing is hard.

We battle tricky plot holes, the urge to edit as we write, the monstrous task of editing, scenes that just don’t seem to have any direction, the hell that is proofreading, and so on.

And oftentimes, we lose our battles, letting the overwhelm of tackling tough writing problems or goals turn us to procrastination rather than productivity. So how can we flip the script?

That’s exactly what we’re going to talk about today!

Why clarity is your new best friend…

One of the reasons I wanted to create my new free resource, Write With Purpose, was to teach writers how to get clear about what they want and how they plan to get it.

Because you can’t make a plan if you don’t know where you’re headed, and if there’s anything that’s going to help you overcome overwhelm, it’s having a plan. Why?

Well, most writing overwhelm is caused by one (or more!) of a few things:

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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.