Writers On The Move

Help For Writers

A number of years ago I attended the meetings of a group as part of the research necessary for a novel I was writing at that time. Today, after all that time, someone asked me how I had found them. I did admit they were research.

As a writer I am often interested in learning new things, meeting different people and exploring new places. All of these things have found their way into my writing in some way or another.

Often writers use books for their research, and lots can be found on the internet, but perhaps your best information will come from someone.

Credibility can be improved by taking the time to meet with people who work in the careers you are writing about. For example: you have a character who is hurt and admitted to the hospital. Finding someone who works in admitting at your local ER can give you an insight into how things will be handled that might be missed otherwise. Or perhaps a nurse can advise you. Even though we consider them minor characters, the lawyer, the police officer, the teacher, or the barista, each of them will have a reader that will either resonate with what you've written or write you off.

The process of research can take many other forms as well. Taking photographs and studying pictures of an area or group of people can give you insight. Drawing or sketching rocks, trees, skylines, etc may give you a reference that will add a new dimension to your story. Geography and climate can also add a tremendous amount to your work as well.

So how can you really expand your insight? Get inside the community your character lives in. Visit laundry mats and diners. Listen to conversations between real people. Ask questions of those who work in the fields your characters do. Read manuals on equipment, plant and bird guides for the area, and geology reports. Visit graveyards, community historic buildings and museums.

Then take your writing to a new level and see how real your entire world becomes.

__________________________________

D. Jean Quarles is a writer of Women's Fiction and a co-author of a Young Adult Science Fiction Series. Her latest book, House of Glass, Book 2 of The Exodus Series was written with coauthor, Austine Etcheverry.

D. Jean loves to tell stories of personal growth – where success has nothing to do with money or fame, but of living life to the fullest. She is also the author of the novels: Rocky's Mountains, Fire in the Hole and, Perception. The Mermaid, an award winning short story was published in the anthology, Tales from a Sweltering City.

She is a wife, mother, grandmother and business coach. In her free time . . . ha! ha! ha! Anyway, you can find more about D. Jean Quarles, her writing and her books at her website at www.djeanquarles.com

You can also follower her at www.djeanquarles.blogspot.com or on Facebook

Writing a Novel - 3 Myths You Should Not Believe

by Suzanne Lieurance, the Working Writer's Coach

Many people dream of writing a novel one day.

In fact, most people dream of seeing their name on the cover of a best-selling book.

But when it comes to actually sitting down and writing a novel – from start to finish – most people fall short.

Yet it doesn’t have to be that way.

Here are 3 myths about writing a novel. If you believe one or more of these myths, your believe could be what’s holding you back from writing that novel you’ve always dreamed of writing.

It’s time to dispel these myths.

Myth #1 It Takes a Year or Longer to Write a Good Novel

If you think it’s going to take at least a year to write a novel, no wonder you keep giving up or never get started.

While it does take many authors a year or even longer to write their novels, this doesn’t have to be the case for you.

In fact, it’s not the case for thousands of published authors.

It's possible to write a great novel in just a few short months – if you know how to do it.

This leads to the next myth.

Myth #2 Planning a Novel Takes Away All the Fun of Writing It

Many wanna be novelists are under the mistaken impression that if they plan their novel in great detail, writing their novel won’t be any fun at all.

They think that if they know everything that will happen in their novel before they write it, there will be no surprises for them along the way.

It's understandable how writers who have never written a novel could believe this myth. But it simply isn’t true.

Planning a novel actually makes the writing process more enjoyable and leaves room for plenty of surprises for the author as he writes each chapter.

Adequate planning also helps the author stay on track with his writing and avoid writer’s block that can result if the author has no idea where the story is going.

Myth #3 It Takes Talent to Write a Good Novel

Talent is a wonderful thing.

But not all best-selling novelists have great talent.

What they do have is knowledge and skill.

They know and understand all the components of a good novel, and they have the skills to effectively include all these elements in their own novels.

So now that you know that:

1) writing a novel can take just a few months.
2) planning your novel will not take away all the fun of writing it.
3) you don't need talent to write a novel, you just need knowledge and skill.

Why not FINALLY write that novel you've been dreaming of writing?

Suzanne Lieurance is an author, freelance writer, certified professional life coach and writing coach, speaker and workshop presenter. She has written over two dozen published books and hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines, and other publications. She can help you write a novel in just 16 weeks when you register for her Book Boot Camp for Novelists.

On performing poetry – slam bam thank you ma’am

I think at heart I’ve always been a rock and roll star. I can’t pick up my guitar or sing along to my favourite tunes without visualising myself on-stage before a rapturous crowd. But it irritates me that the words I’m singing along to are often dumb. Sung or spoken with enough conviction, almost anything can move a crowd. Bush and slam poetry sometimes makes emotive appeal and delivery its end goal – taking simple sentences or stream of consciousness outpourings and speaking them with punch. I’ve attended a couple of events recently that have had me picturing the spoken poem on the page and no matter how powerful the performance, finding it wanting. I’ve done the same with music lyrics and been similarly disappointed, even with my very favourite songs. Neither is an appropriate response, but being a wordgirl, I just can’t help myself. However, I can’t let go of the notion that poetry is a natural medium for performance, and that the best way of getting people, especially young people, interested in poetry is perform it, with enough pizzazz for anyone – even the person who claims to ‘not be into poetry’ or to ‘not have time to read’ (yes, that puts a shiver down my spine too), to feel the power of what you’ve written.

Is there really a disconnect between performance poetry (that is, poetry written specifically for the purposes of performance, rather than for distribution on the page), and traditional poetry (that is, poetry written to be read on page rather than performed)? Are the two mutually exclusive? I think not. The best performances, for me at least, are those which take what works perfectly on the page, using imagery and subtlety, and presents it outloud with rich nuances that might not have hit me on my first few readings, or ever. Of course the performance of poetry is one of the oldest of art forms, going back to Gilgamesh, to the Ramayana, to Homer. It tugs at something rather deep in our preliterate psyche. Getting the listener to feel that tug, and recognise the meaning being created is what a good poetry performance is all about.

I also think that the best performances morph what is on the page into a new medium. It turns the verbal into the visual, showing what kind of power words can have. The best poems for performance have an innate musicality, using alliteration, rhythm, rhyme and assonance to further add meaning. As the great Basil Bunting put it, it is only when ‘sounded’ that this rhythm reveals its full power. Bunting should know. He was one of the great poetry performers, charging his words with the power of a Shakespearean actor to take the audience deep into the heart of his meaning, effortlessly and instantly. The performances draw the reader into the intimacy of the work, breaking open the familiar so that it appears completely, surprisingly new. Of course that’s what great poetry does on the page too, but it takes a commitment on the part of the reader to get there. Gaining that sort of commitment from a reader isn’t always easy. Ask any publisher who sells poetry. Ask any poet who publishes their work.

Performance is something entirely different. When done properly, with a poem that truly merits more, rather than less, commitment on the part of a reader, the performance can become its own work of art – like the musical symphony, stirring something inchoate and deep within a listener. It draws a crowd, and challenges perceptions. It can work, and should work, in conjunction with the publication – to bring in readers, and to compel people to explore their own clichés and assumptions about themselves. It opens doors.

Magdalena Ball is the author of the novels Black Cow and Sleep Before Evening, the poetry books Repulsion Thrust and Quark Soup, a nonfiction book The Art of Assessment, and, in collaboration with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Sublime Planet, Deeper Into the Pond, Blooming Red, Cherished Pulse, She Wore Emerald Then, and Imagining the Future. She also runs a radio show, The Compulsive Reader Talks. Find out more about Magdalena at www.magdalenaball.com.

11 Essentials of a Good Query Letter

: Query image Copyright © 2013 Joan Y. Edwards

"11 Essentials of a Good Query Letter" by Joan Y. Edwards

Does your query letter have what It takes? Does it contain all the essentials of a good query letter? Does it have all the necessary ingredients to cook up a good deal for you?

A great query letter follows the latest guidelines of the editor or agent listed online. Here are 11 essentials of a good query letter:

Your manuscript is the genre this editor/agent accepts for representation and/or publication.
Gives the following information at the top right hand side: your name, address, city, state, zip code, phone number, email, websites, and blogs, and date.
Puts the name editor/agent, followed by name of publisher or agency in the left-hand side followed by Dear and the name of the editor or agent as directed by the guidelines.
Contains a great selling pitch that leaves the agent or publisher so moved by the story that they can't wait to see your full manuscript.
Tells why you believe this editor/agent is the right one for this book.
Compares your story to 1-3 books published by this publisher or represented by this agent.
Explains why you are the best person to write this story and gives your credentials.
Asks the question: "May I send you my manuscript?"
Thanks the editor or agent for considering your work.
States when you expect to hear from him according to the guidelines.
Send by email or snail mail with a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) as specified by the guidelines.

Here's my article: "Components of a Good Query Letter." You might enjoy it.: http://joanyedwards.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/components-of-a-good-query-letter/

Thanks for reading this post. Please share what you believe are the essentials of a good query letter.

Celebrate you.
Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards

My Books:

Flip Flap Floodle, even mean ole Mr. Fox can't stop this little duck

Paperback, Kindle and Nook

Joan’s Elder Care Guide, Release date June 2014 by 4RV Publishing

Website/Blog

Twitter/Linked in/Facebook Author Page

On Point of View, Political Correctness, and Creativity

Guestpost from Carolyn Howard-Johnnson

Many of you know that in my other writing life, I take up serious themes like discrimination so I’m especially sensitive to it when I see in the publishing world.

Not long ago, my writing friend Leora Krygier was asked by a reporter for the Orange County Register if she felt qualified to write from the point of view of a young Vietnamese girl in her book When She Sleeps. Having once been in journalism and been in a position to do some interviewing of my own, I was a bit incensed. It seemed amazing to me that someone would presume to tell a writer they couldn't or shouldn't write from any point of view they so choose or suggest that doing so would cause resentment. How could a reader (or a reporter) possibly presume we couldn't write from the point of view of someone of a different race, a different religion or culture. And why would they tinge that question with a hint-of-haughty in the voice, a bit of a look-down-the-nose demeanor.

My daughter, a cultural anthropologist, suggested that such ideas were a function of our intensity to be as politically correct as possible and The Register did have a large Vietnamese population, which was probably one reason they were doing the interview in the first place. Because I believe that being politically incorrect in most instances, simply promulgates bigotry, I tried to put all my arguments—arguments in favor of creative writers—aside and forget about it.

Then I ran into another instance of this kind of question in Time magazine. There is was in my face again:

Belinda Luscombe put on her snarkiest interview hat to interview Pulitzer-prize winning novelist Michael Chabon. It went something like this: "A central character in your book Telegraph Avenue, Arcy Stallings, is the black co-owner of a record store. Did you feel anxious writing from the point of view of a black guy?" In addition to the haughty and snooty tendencies listed above, her question smacks a bit of the passive aggressive.

I admit it. That got me a little riled. But the interviewer persisted: "But race is a charged subject. In the book, there's a white lawyer, Moby, who talks like a black guy. Didn't you worry that that was you?"

Then I went on a full scale rant, albeit a quiet one to myself. Exc-u-u-se me! But don't writers of fiction always use something of themselves when drawing a character? None of us can pull any character trait that we haven't personally seen, experienced, or read about from thin air! I sniffed! But it doesn't have to be us.

And doesn't fiction work—especially great fiction—because at our cores we are all the same? Sentient human beings who share needs and feelings? When I suffer under one kind of prejudice, as an example, isn't that at some level very similar to what someone else suffers under another? So wouldn't that qualify white-girl me to write from the point of anyone I so chose—if I took care. If I had a worthy subject and theme. And isn't that the job of the artist to decide?

And, (I actually huffed! Almost aloud!), haven't these reporters ever heard of research? Or imagination?

And what about that idea of getting too close to something, so close that we may feel responsible or fear we're putting our souls in danger? Or that someone might mistake sincerity for satire? Of vice versa? Wouldn't any thoughtful person understand that every time an author picks up a pen he or she puts herself in some kind of emotional (philosophical?) danger? And don't readers understand the difference between fiction and reality? Do they really think that every character in our books is us rather than seeing that every character may be us, but may also be a reflection of someone we've observed? Or read about? Or devised by mixing traits of many people we've met?

And this is the answer I came up with.

Apparently not.

CHJ

-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson occasionally contributes to AuthorsOntheMove. She is the author of award-winning books This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a series of chapbooks of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Increasing Visibility on Amazon

I attended the IndiRecon, a free online conference for writers.

One of the things that struck me most was this point, by David Gaughran. New authors tend to spend a lot of time promoting on social media, blogging, etc.

But think about this. “If someone is on Facebook, they're probably chewing the fat with friends or looking at cat pictures.

On Google, they're searching for something—their wallet is only half out. On Amazon, they are ready to buy.” It makes sense, then, to focus more on Amazon until you get well known enough that social media and blogging will help you connect with the readers you already have, and through them expand to new readers.

So here's the advice I compiled from several presenters who held similar opinions, all about how to increase your discoverability on Amazon.

Make Your Title and Cover Work for YOU

-Do NOT confuse anyone with your title or cover. This includes, but is not limited to: unpronounceable words, cutesy non-fiction titles that don't explain what the book's about, titles completely at odds with the genre listed, titles too small to read on the thumbnail, books where the reader isn't sure which is the title and which is the author.

-Remember that shorter titles tend to sell better.

-Make sure the title and cover convey at very least the genre and tone of your book. Better that they convey some of the story too.

Choose Categories Strategically

-Get as specific as you can. In the Kindle store, “Fiction—General” may have a million books in it, and the chances of a browsing customer just happening upon your book are extremely slim. “Genre Fiction-Sea Adventures” has less than a thousand titles, and will bring you and potential fans together better. Provided, of course, that your story really is a sea story.

-Find smaller categories. They make it easier to get into top-100 lists.

-Decide on your ideal categories by looking up popular books similar to yours. You can also browse categories by clicking on the“shop by department” drop down menu and then drilling down (you'll often have to scroll to the bottom to find the department subcategories).

-If the category you want is not available to you through KDP, select non-classifiable as one of your categories and then e-mail Amazon, giving them the exact path you want to be in. Example: Kindle Store>Kindle eBooks>Teen&Young Adult>Historical Fiction>Ancient Civilizations.

Test Keywords

-Brainstorm keywords and phrases for your book, then run them through a keyword analyzer to see which ones have the most searches. One program is the Keyword planner on Adwords. To get ideas for more words, you can also type your keywords into Amazon or Google and see what it autosuggests.

-Remember that Amazon allows you 7 keyword phrases, so “Young Adult Paranormal” is counted as one keyword.

-Test your keywords by putting them in the Amazon search box and see if the right sort of books pop up.

-Use associated words to improve SEO (search engine optimization), so if “young adult dystopian” and “teen science fiction” both apply, and you think people will search by both, use them both. Search engines think this makes your content a more reliable.

-Use your keyword phrases in the title, subtitle, or description. Repeat your classification/sub genre in the keywords, even if Amazon tells you it's unnecessary.

Pretty Up Your Book Description

-Think of your description as sales copy. It's not just your back-of-the-book blurb.

-Use headlines, sub headers, and bullet points to draw the eye. Bullet points in fiction, you ask? If nothing else lends itself to bullet points, use blurbs from reviews.

-Use html to get bold, headlines, etc. A list of approved html: http://www.tckpublishing.com/amazon-kdp-kindle-book-description-html-update/

-Use actionable words.

-Show social proof that it's good (awards won, best-seller status, etc)

-Include a call to action, like “Scroll up and grab a copy today.”

-Repeat your title in your description. You can also include excerpts. Especially for non-fiction books, include the table of contents in the book description. It's a really slick way to get your keywords in without sounding forced.

-Try using keywords in a subtitle, like “An Inspirational Romance.” Just don't make it too cheesy.

Price to Sell

-Price your books competitively.

-Johnny Truant, Sean Platt, and David Wright advocate always having some way for readers to get a complete, stand-alone, satisfying entry into any book or series you've published. This is not the same as the standard e-book sample, which comes with the understanding that the reader will reach the end of the sample—maybe mid sentence—and have to buy the rest. It shouldn't simply be an excerpt on your blog or Facebook, which isn't the same experience as a book. Possibilities for free entries:
'
a) For a series, make the first book free.

b) For a stand-alone novel, publish a free short story or novella set in the same world or with the same characters.

c) For a non-fiction book, publish a free essay on a similar theme or a stand-alone chapter on one specific topic covered in your book.

-Don't fear giving your books away. This may seem counter intuitive if your goal is to make money, but people love free things. They'll be more willing to gamble zero dollars on a new author. Then, if they like it, they may very well buy others. But these people never would have been exposed at all if that first bite weren't free. Think of it as a loss-leader in a grocery store.

-Amazon won't allow you to simply price your e-book free. However, they match other sites. So, if you want it perma-free, make it free somewhere else, like Smashwords, and then have someone report it to Amazon. They'll turn it free.

Get Reviews

-Ethically-obtained reviews legitimize your book and attract customers. For ideas on how to get more, join me next month.

Think like Amazon

Understand that Amazon's mysterious algorithms are all to help customers find things they will buy. Set up your product in a way that helps Amazon link you with the right customers, and your sales will increase.

Resources:

Michael Alvear's The Guerrilla Marketer's Guide to Selling Fiction On Kindle
Optimizing Searched on Your Book [Metadata/SEO] by Lori Culwell
Jim Kukral's Webinar: The Amazon Power of Selling by Jim Kukral from Author Ad Network
David Gaughren's article: Understanding Amazon's Recommendation Engine
Write, Publish, Repeat: How to Turn your Art from a Hobby into a Real Business Live Podcast with Johnny Truant, Sean Platt, and David Wright.
(Sorry, but none of links work so had to be removed!)

Melinda Brasher loves to travel, write, and play difficult card games. She has short stories and travel writing published in various magazines, and is the author ofFar-Knowing, a YA fantasy novel. Visit her blog for all the latest: http://www.melindabrasher.com

How to Build Your Online Authority With Focused Writing Goals

By Karen Cioffi

We’re in the last month of the first quarter. It’s time to reassess.

As each year comes and goes, you need to put your writing focus and writing goals under a microscope. Take the time to analyze if you’re known for who you want to be known for.

In other words, if you ‘really’ want to be known as a top-notch ghostwriter is your focus and goals leading in that direction? Are your actions leading in that direction? Or, are you here, there, and everywhere? Are you lacking online authority in your niche?

You don’t want to be known as a ‘jack of all trades, master of none.’

While it can be that you have a number of different areas you’re involved in, you need to pick and choose to be ‘master’ of one or two.

It’s this focus that will enable you to gain authority in your niche and to attract customers or clients.

It’s this focus that will motivate you to take the necessary steps to reach your goals.

So, how do you focus in on who and what you want to be known for?

This is interesting, because it can change as the years come and go. For example, I started out as a children’s writer, and while I still love this aspect of my writing, I have evolved into a freelance/ghostwriter (specializing in business incentive and health writing) and an online marketer (specializing in helping authors create and build their online platform).

Taking my freelance writing and marketing skills a bit further, I created a new business, the Article Writing Doctor.

Finding my focus, I took the time to analyze my actions and revamp my websites to reflect what I want to be known for.

While I have three businesses going, they’re all very closely connected – my focus is intact.

Updating this article, there are times when your 'calling' or what you should be doing pushes you in a certain direction.

As I mentioned, I started out as children's writer and veered off in other directions. But over the past two years or so, I've marketed myself as a children's ghostwriter and people have been coming to me to ghost their stories. I could have four or five clients at one time. So, obviously, my focus is back on being a children's ghostwriter.

Fortunately, I'm passionate about writing for children so it works out well.

I still do marketing e-classes, but it's separate and I don't market them. I work through sites like WOW! Women on Writing.

What about you?

Maybe you write for children. Maybe you're a romance writer, a technical writer, or business writer. Maybe you're a freelance writer or ghostwriter. Maybe you're all these things.

But, what do you specialize in? What are you known for?

Do you have online authority in a particular niche?

To help determine your area/s of focus you need to write down the questions below and answer each one (write your answers out):

•    What writing arenas are you involved in?
•    Do you find yourself leaning toward one or two more so than the others, if so what are they?
•    Can you effectively market yourself in these areas?
•    Are you writing and marketing as a hobby or to earn an income or a supplemental income? If your goal is to make money, write down how much?
•    Did you have a writing/marketing goal for last year? Did you reach it? If not, why?
•    What does success mean to you – what does it look like?
•    Do you really want success? If so, is there anything blocking your path to it (often we sabotage our own success)?
•    What do you want to be known for?
•    What can your new ‘signature’ tag be?

You’ll need to think about these questions. It might be helpful to actually have someone ask you each question and quickly give answers. Sometimes this helps you get a glimpse of what’s going on subconsciously.

Once you have your goals in sight, write them down; be sure to include the tasks of increasing your online presence and mailing list. You’ll need to keep those goals front and center and read them every day. The reason for this is our ‘intention’ can quickly be sidetracked if we don’t continually keep it in sight and in mind.

After you have your goals in place, write down action steps to get there. It’s advisable to have a yearly calendar with goals to reach each month. Then prepare a weekly writing/marketing plan to achieve those monthly goals. Again, you need to keep those goals and action steps visible. Remember: out of sight often really does mean out of mind.

Creating focused writing goals and implementing focused action steps to reach them will definitely help you increase your online authority.

This works even if you switch niches as I have. It just takes more focus and work to become known as an authority in a different niche of field. But, it can be done.

MORE ON WRITING

Tips on Writing Humor
Borrowing from Superheroes
Trust Your Readers (Part 1)

WANT HELP BUILDING YOUR AUTHOR/WRITER ONLINE PLATFORM?

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Build Your Author/Writer Platform

It's a 4-week, in-depth, interactive WOW! Women on Writing e-class that covers basic website optimization, blogging, email marketing, and even social media marketing. All the elements needed to boost your visibility, authority, and sales.

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