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Good Blog Habits #4 – Be Yourself

Alice — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:01:04 +0000

Be yourself.

Take a look at your favorite blogs. What do they do successfully? What makes them unique? How do you get to know the individual writer(s)?

What makes you unique? How can you be yourself on your blog, let readers get to know you, and meet your goals as a blogger? Let your personality shine through. Let readers get to know you (to an extent.) Don’t be a cardboard cutout of every other blogger on the planet. Be yourself!

Good Blog Habits #3 – Be Persistant

Alice — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:59:19 +0000

Be persistent.

The most successful bloggers are the ones that keep at it, even on days where no one visits and no one comments.

Focus on why you have a blog. Do you want to share your ideas? Teach something? Let off steam? Develop an author platform? Keep a journal of your life?

Don’t lose that focus. Come back to it. Keep writing. Brainstorm new ideas.

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Good Blog Habits #2 – Be Personable

Alice — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:56:58 +0000

Be personable.

In other words, look at blogging as a way to connect with others. Be friendly. Don’t be afraid to make friends. When someone leaves a comment on your blog, thank them.

Make conversation. Network. Invite others to visit your blog. Invite others to write for your blog. Connect.

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Where do they come from—Those ideas, those characters?

Alice — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:55:18 +0000

Most times readers want to know where an author gets there ideas to write the stories they write. Sometimes ideas come upon us full blown, other times we have to fight with them, argue them down to our size, or just plain wrestle them to the ground. I find if I start out with my characters, interview them or at least do a detailed character sketch the story pretty much takes off on under its own power. Would you call that channeling your characters?

I thought about that when I began writing about Zip from Knapsack Secrets. That little guy kept saying to me he had more to say. I wrote what I thought was his story, rewrote it and now Im not sure it is what he wanted to say. I was, at that point more concerned over word count than him. So perhaps its time to rewrite his story for the third time. This time I have a coach though. Suzanne Lieurance is a childrens writer, writing coach and so much more. Just the input Ive gained from her on the first 1,000 words of this story has helped immensely. Well see where it goes from here.

As a reader, how important is it to get to know the characters in a book? Do you pick your books by an author you trust, reviews, or some other way?

As a writer how do you decide on your characterspersonality, looks, thoughts, feelings? Do you have a special formula?
If you have an answer to these questions and post them I will see if I can answer them.

Have a great February full of love, happiness and success.

Billie A Williams
http://www.billiewilliams.com
Coming tomorrow Valentine Express
Available from Red Rose Publishing
Fin, Fur and Fatal an Ary England Mystery/Suspense
Available wherever books are sold and in any format.

Good Blogging Habits

Alice — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:59:56 +0000

We’ve all heard about the book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and you may have even read the article about Habits of Highly Effective Writers, but what are the habits of a good blogger?

I have a few theories and I’ll share them over the next week.

Good Habit #1

Blog often.

If readers are to become fans of your writing then they’ll want to read more. Give them what they want.

Set yourself up a schedule of when you’ll write for your blog. Come up with a list of ideas for articles to blog about. Think of questions you’d like answered. Keep a list of other blogs and articles that interest you and then write your own commentary about them.

Consider working in batches. Writing all your blog posts for the week on Sunday (or whatever day works for you) and have them programmed to publish throughout the week.

If you can only afford to blog on certain days, make sure you mention that on your blog so readers will know what to expect and when to come back.

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Conflict and Plot

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:44:27 +0000

“In order to have a plot, you have to have a conflict, something bad has to happen.”
Mike Judge

This post was submitted by Alice.

Plotting in Advance

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:59:04 +0000

“If I had a plot that was all set in advance, why would I want go through the agony of writing the novel? A novel is a kind of exploration and discovery, for me at any rate.”
Chaim Potok

This post was submitted by Alice.

Progress & Challenges

Alice — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:33:12 +0000

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

~Mark Victor Hansen

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Progress

Is e-Publishing right for your genre? by Piper Denna

Alice — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:43:45 +0000

Which genres really do well as ebooks? In the past, erotica and all its sub-genres sold best in digital format. With thousands of readily available titles available instantly and discreetly, ebooks are the format of choice for readers who want something a bit more stimulating than your average romance.
Today, however, the market is changing. Just as ebook sales number are skyrocketing, so is the selection. And the number of readers gobbling up these titles? In 2009, 3 million dedicated reading devices sold in the US. In 2010, 6 million more are expected to sell. Add to the previous number, and we’ve got over 10 million serious-about-ebook readers out there.
USA Today now includes Kindle ebook sales in its bestseller calculations—as they should. You’ve probably already heard, but Amazon sold more ebooks on Christmas day than “physical” books. Kindle is a big player in the market. But what types of books sell well on Kindle?
Look at it this way: Kindle users are bestseller-buyers. They’re the avid readers who tend to buy books and seldom borrow them from libraries. They like Kindle because it’s convenient, techy, and let’s face it: Buying a bestseller for $9.99 in Kindle format beats the heck out of paying newsstand price for a new hard-bound copy. Good deals on hot titles help justify the cost of the reader.
If you’re writing romance and worry it “just doesn’t sell” in ebook format, think again. Of Amazon’s 100 Kindle Bestsellers for 2009, 32 were romance. Contemporary romance—easily grabbed in a grocery store line or big box store. Romance fans aren’t just buying ebooks, though. They’re borrowing them from their libraries. Sony’s compatibility with Overdrive (one prime source libraries use for their ebook stock) means their Reader line is perfect for library patrons. On Overdrive’s most-downloaded adult fiction for 2009 list, Numbers 2-5 were Lisa Kleypas titles. Yep. Mainstream romance. Romance readers love ebooks, because no matter where they are, they can power up their reading device discreetly, without any Nosey-Nells scowling at the steamy cover. None of those condescending literary rolled-eyes, either.
Sci-fi writers, take note. Ebooks sales for your genre were slow for a while, but they’ve accelerated. And why shouldn’t they, when you consider how many Trekkies are also Techies? The two go hand in hand!
Curious what title holds the most-downloaded spot for Overdrive, 2009? Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol. Is it mainstream fiction? Action/adventure? You decide. Either way, it sure isn’t erotica.
Fictionwise’s top sellers include Brown, too, as well as Stephen King’s Under the Dome. Romance, sci-fi, erotica, action, horror… all the genres co-existing happily in one big store. Just like a brick and mortar (although I will confess, ebooks just don’t have that booky “smell” while you’re browsing).
If you write mystery, consider this. Mystery readers are right up there with romance readers for their voracious habits. Hardly anyone “consumes” as many titles as these readers. Why wouldn’t they turn to electronic formats, where they can download many volumes at a time and carry them all around in mere ounces? No more trips anywhere needed to load up with books (or return them).
I predict YA will see huge growth in ebook sales in the near future, as more colleges and high schools begin integrating electronic reading devices for text book usage (the pioneers are out there; it’s only a matter of time until more schools are using them than not). When this becomes mainstream, kids will view paper books along the same lines as they do those “giant” cell phones we used 10 and 15 years ago—as relics.
Have I left anyone out? Maybe literary fiction. Well… let me just say this. Since many literary titles are “off the beaten path,” I strongly suspect those authors have already had many of the big doors slammed in their faces. Literary authors were some of the first to explore self-publishing in an effort to have their voices heard, so they probably aren’t afraid of trying ebooks, either.
Bottom line: e-publishing is right for every genre.
Does this mean you have to choose between print and ebook? Absolutely not. Many e-publishers also have a print program, just as traditional publishers now send their titles out in digital format. Given the tiny budgets larger publishers are allotting to promotion for new authors, it makes sense to shop around for the publisher that fits best with your genre. And it might make more sense to give your career some forward momentum with a small publisher, than to hang around and wait for that “lucky break” with one of the bigs.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!
www.piperdenna.com

January 27, 2010, Sutton Fox writes: Great post, Piper. As an author and a voracious reader, what's not to love about epublishing? For all of it's growing pains, it's here to stay.
January 27, 2010, Stephanie Haefner writes: Awesome post!!!! I hope this puts epublishing into perspective for people!!!
January 27, 2010, Alice writes: I don't know why it wouldn't be here to stay. With each epublisher that closes, another opens. But that's nothing compared to the epublishers that have been around for years, publishing, developing authors, becoming entrenched in the publishing industry. Thanks for the great post Piper!
January 28, 2010, Piper Denna writes: Thanks, girls!
January 31, 2010, Graham Storrs writes: Very heartening post, Piper. As a sci-fi writer, I've always thought it odd that it was erotica and romance that blazed the trail in e-publishing. You'd think it would have been SF that was first to embrace the future. With 300% year-on-year growth in e-book sales, I'm starting to feel very good about putting my hat in the ring as an e-book *only* author.
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