tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64112316377716933772024-03-18T07:36:25.404-04:00Writers On The MoveWriting, publishing, book marketing, all offered by experienced authors, writers, and marketersKaren Cioffihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15492421057039326702noreply@blogger.comBlogger1946125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-74165071412647481722024-03-15T16:01:00.003-04:002024-03-15T16:01:43.460-04:00Audio Books – Make Your Own or Hire It Out Contributed by Margot ConorThe fast-growing industry of books on audio has become a compelling reason to go that extra distance as an author and take advantage of this burgeoning market. In 2022 1.82 billion was generated through audio book sales in the United States. This was almost a 4% increase from the previous year. Over five years, sales increased by 50%. In 2023 there were Karen Cioffihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15492421057039326702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-53840968175617934012024-03-12T00:00:00.081-04:002024-03-12T00:45:19.533-04:00Writing & Publishing Goals Do you have writing and publishing goals? If you landed on this blog, I am guessing the answer is "Yes."On today's GoalChat, I spoke with authors/educators Amy Friedman, Marita Golden, and Susan Shapiro about the topic. Amy Friedman is author of Desperado's Wife and publisher at Out of the Woods Press, Marita's fiction and non-fiction titles include The Strong Black Woman and A Woman's Place, Debra Eckerlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09438288743044963225noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-4877188250120841552024-03-05T16:12:00.023-05:002024-03-12T18:08:49.019-04:00Choose Hyphens for Those Terrible, Awful, Tech Words So What About Choosing Hyphens for Those Terrible, Awful, Tech Words? My Editing Story About When to Choose a HyphenBy Carolyn Howard-JohnsonAuthor of The Frugal Editor, Third EditionYou know that rule we authors are told to follow assiduously? The one that is supposed to make things easy for formatting or editing a document or book when dictionaries can’t decide which spelling isCarolyn Howard-Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15041591136206289558noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-49020893196073505872024-03-02T04:44:00.003-05:002024-03-03T11:50:31.787-05:00Making Scenes Work Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Freelance WriterOne of the best descriptions I’ve read on what a scene is comes from James Scott Bell’s blog, Kill Zone. In an article on strengthening scenes, Bell explains that “scenes are the bricks that build the fiction house. The better the bricks, the better the house.” (1)This gives a visual of how scenes work. Building one on top of the otherKaren Cioffihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15492421057039326702noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-15119329926911782562024-02-25T08:00:00.002-05:002024-02-26T07:05:12.697-05:00How to Sell Your Book in Bulk by Suzanne LieuranceDid you know that studies have shown that most self-published authors sell fewer than 200 copies of their book? That’s probably because most of these authors sell just one copy at a time. A better idea is to sell books in bulk. Here are a few ways you might try: Approach Service Clubs to Buy Boxes of Your Book to Donate to Schools if You Write Suzanne Lieurancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11844924439366800477noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-23623353678444122332024-02-20T07:30:00.055-05:002024-02-20T09:25:05.430-05:00Only One LifeBy Terry Whalin @terrywhalinSometimes
during my day, I will take a few minutes and watch some YouTube or Tik Tok
videos. Whenever I watch, I make sure to limit it so I don’t fall down a rabbit
hole and lose a lot of time. One day I stumbled on this minute and a half video where billionaire
Warren Buffett was speaking to a group of students. He encourages them to
imagine that he would give Terry Whalinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08422274807883053266noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-22650375182596278862024-02-15T04:26:00.003-05:002024-02-16T13:11:38.030-05:00Diversity in Your Writing Starts With Listening Contributed by Margot ConorEverything you do in life is informed by the things you did before. That is why in some author's circles they tell you to write what you know. That has some truth in it. Even my sci-fi and fantasy stories weave in things that I learned or believe. I just put a twist on them so they happen in another setting. Everything you do is also colored by the Karen Cioffihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15492421057039326702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-52675896635917263022024-02-10T03:00:00.019-05:002024-02-10T18:30:02.803-05:00Prioritizing Personal Goals In the constant search for work-life, writer-life, personal life balance, it's helpful to remember that personal and professional goals go hand in hand. When your personal life is going well, while it may not give you as much dramatic material, it does make your professional easier. The reverse is also true. On a recent GoalChatLive, I dove into the topic of Personal Goals with Erik Fisher,Debra Eckerlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09438288743044963225noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-35949028072851246002024-02-05T03:00:00.052-05:002024-02-05T03:00:00.153-05:00Avoiding the Dreaded Adverb in Dialogue and Everywhere Else Let Tom Swift Inform Your Writing By Carolyn Howard-Johnson The last in a series of articles celebrating the release of the 3rd edition of the multi award-winning The Frugal EditorEver heard of Tom Swifties? Maybe you're too young to be familiar with the classic Tom Swift adventures for boys. Or maybe you're a girl who never read a Tom Swift book Carolyn Howard-Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15041591136206289558noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-82298286258179871222024-02-02T03:04:00.000-05:002024-02-02T03:04:00.132-05:00Is It Sci-Fi or Fantasy? Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer I’ve always loved fantasy, so it’s a natural fit that I like writing it for children. But what exactly is fantasy, and how does it differ from science fiction?FANTASYThe simplest way to explain fantasy is that it doesn’t exist in the real world. Your imagination is the only limit when writing fantasy. This may be why I gravitate toward Karen Cioffihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15492421057039326702noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-56666135368839404362024-01-30T02:00:00.013-05:002024-01-30T02:00:00.163-05:00Keep Your Self Editing on TrackSecret in the Mist: An Abi Wunder Mysteryhas taken many months to write and revise.I never gave up on it. It will be available soon.By Linda Wilson @LinWilsonauthorIt’s been a while since posting my Writers On the Move article, “One Last Edit: Re-think before Submitting,” https://www.writersonthemove.com/2022/09/, and yet I’m still editing the same book as when I wrote that post. It’sLinda Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196966007010708558noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-56979903633588483762024-01-25T08:54:00.000-05:002024-01-25T08:54:33.093-05:00In the Spotlight: An Interview with Author & Freelance Writer Irene Roth by Suzanne LieuranceAuthor& Freelance Writer Irene RothIn the spotlight this month is Canadian author and freelance writer Irene Roth. As you'll learn from this interview, Irene is quite prolific and I’m sure you’ll find her to be most inspirational. Suzanne Lieurance: Irene, please tell us a bit about yourself and your writing background. Irene Roth: I Suzanne Lieurancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11844924439366800477noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-49055715986798605072024-01-20T07:30:00.021-05:002024-01-21T19:15:24.246-05:00Take An Underused Author PathBy Terry Whalin @terrywhalinAs I meet writers at conferences and speak with them, the majority are focused on publishing a book. It makes sense most people speak to me about books since I’ve been an acquisitions editor at a New York publisher for over ten years. There are over 7,000 new books published every day (including the self-published books). This number shows the huge volume of Terry Whalinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08422274807883053266noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-9858116387684650442024-01-15T15:55:00.004-05:002024-01-15T16:01:15.746-05:00Got Hacked Contributed by Margot ConorI am not sure if this is true for every author, but when I created a pen name, she grew into a whole different personality.She is far more confident and bold than me. She isn’t afraid to tell people she wrote something they would like and they should read it. She isn’t afraid to write about things I would hesitate to say. As I watch her spread out into the Karen Cioffihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15492421057039326702noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-38318643733541047232024-01-10T03:00:00.043-05:002024-02-10T17:59:54.886-05:00Goals for Winning Before you set goals, count your wins. Winning is the fuel that keeps you motivated on the road to achieving your goals. This is especially for long-form projects like novels, screenplays, and non-fiction books. On a recent GoalChatLive, I talked about winning with Aime Card, author of The Tigerbelles; Annie Korzen, 85-year-old TikTok influencer and author of The Book of Annie; and Liz Debra Eckerlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09438288743044963225noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-24698418782076102312024-01-05T03:00:00.033-05:002024-01-05T15:59:10.290-05:00You, Your Reviews and Your Lifelong MarketingYou, Your Reviews and Your Lifelong MarketingBy Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the winningest book in her #HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for Writers, The Frugal EditorGenerally speaking, your two most important parts of a writing career is your byline and credit line. You will find an example of the byline in its most helpful form above, and an example of the credit line below Carolyn Howard-Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15041591136206289558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-78550885720896319892024-01-02T03:06:00.001-05:002024-01-02T03:06:00.138-05:00Developing Outlines and Character Details When Writing Middle Grade Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's WriterThe majority of my clients ask for picture books, but currently, I’m working on two middle grades.While a middle-grade book can be significantly shorter than a novel, it still has a big chunk of words at around 20-50,000. Quite a difference from the under-800-word picture book.When I write a picture book story, I use the seat-of-the-pants Karen Cioffihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15492421057039326702noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-72160712308864057082023-12-30T02:00:00.064-05:002023-12-30T02:00:00.141-05:00Purchased vs Free ISBN NumbersIn addition to these books, I've published an audiobookfor Secret in the Stars, a coloring book, Botas Altas: Tall Bootsin Spanish, and a hard cover book.By Linda Wilson @LinWilsonauthor ISBN is the acronym for International Standard Book Number. It is a 10 or 13-digit number that identifies a specific book, an edition of a book, or a book product, such as an Linda Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196966007010708558noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-9556952970934591622023-12-25T09:18:00.002-05:002023-12-25T12:22:25.072-05:00In the Spotlight: An Interview with Journalist & Nonfiction Author Jo Ann Mathews by Suzanne LieuranceJournalist Jo Ann MathewsIn the spotlight this month is a writer who writes nonfiction books but also writers for newspapers and other print publications. Jo Ann Mathews lives and writes in North Carolina, and I wanted to find out more about her life as a writer. Read this interview to find out what I learned about Jo Ann. Suzanne Lieurance: Suzanne Lieurancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11844924439366800477noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-20432522337930867542023-12-20T07:30:00.025-05:002023-12-20T09:09:51.391-05:00Build A Body of WorkBy Terry Whalin @terrywhalinHave you had golden moments of conversation which stick with you and your writing life for years? These may happen late at night during a writer’s conference or maybe in the car with someone on the way to a conference? During my decades in this business, I’ve had amazing opportunities and had numerous special conversations. Years ago, I was on the faculty of Terry Whalinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08422274807883053266noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-62967037090378569642023-12-15T03:31:00.007-05:002023-12-15T03:31:00.135-05:00Authors: Why You Should Register Copyrights Contributed by Margot ConnerMany writers are comfortable with the idea that copyrights are assigned to you as soon as you put your name to it. That is all fine as long as no one decides you are some little-known author, and they can copy your words into their own story. There are well-documented cases of this. Unfortunately, you don’t own the legal right to use, possess, and give away the Karen Cioffihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15492421057039326702noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-50239705467203694492023-12-10T03:00:00.015-05:002023-12-11T00:46:28.319-05:00Journaling Goals There are plenty of benefits to journaling from self-care and emotional wellbeing to problem solving and productivity. It's one of my favorite tools!Last month on GoalChatLive, I discussed journaling with Jen Jones Donatelli, Creative Groove; Lynda Monk, director of the International Association for Journal Writing; and cartoonist Chari Pere.
The panel shared their early journaling experiences,Debra Eckerlinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09438288743044963225noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-81731744148181537762023-12-05T03:00:00.001-05:002023-12-08T17:22:15.287-05:00What Authors Need to Know to Avoid Vital Front Matter Booboos To WritersontheMove Blog Subscribers and Visitors:2023 has been a celebratory year for the release of the third edition of The Frugal Editor, the winningest book in my #HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers, and I don’t want to let the year pass without sharing part of what my publisher says is approximately 50% new material in this edition.He also says, “We really Carolyn Howard-Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15041591136206289558noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-19725748971222240442023-12-02T03:33:00.001-05:002023-12-02T03:33:00.140-05:00Your Children's Story and the Message By Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer I get a lot of clients who want to tell children something through a book. These people want to send a message in hopes of teaching the reader something … something the author thinks is important.People who want to write children’s stories usually want to teach and enlighten children, whether it's about bullying, being yourself, being kind, or something Karen Cioffihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15492421057039326702noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6411231637771693377.post-78829745038886793892023-11-30T02:00:00.009-05:002023-11-30T02:00:00.137-05:00How a QR Code Can Help Book SalesI have learned to leave the price off of bar codes that I purchase for my books(Watch for January's post: Purchased vs Free Bar Codes)By Linda Wilson @LinWilsonauthorA QR Code (quick-response code) is a type of barcode on steroids. A better definition comes from Wikipedia, which defines the QR Code as a two-dimensional matrix barcode. The QR code system was invented in 1994 by a team Linda Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14196966007010708558noreply@blogger.com8