Reading, wRiting, and Roaming with Author Valerie Biel

Wisdom from the Publishing World with Amanda Zieba

July 6, 2021

Welcome to the July installment of the 2021 Author Series, where a published author takes the stage and tells us what they wish they had known before they published their first book. Amanda Zieba, our July author, has written many books for all audiences along with helping other authors with their publishing journeys. I’ve reviewed Amanda’s books and interviewed her in this space previously—I really love her books! For further reading, click on these post links:

Author Interview and Review of Reality Bites (Champion Chocolatier 2)

... Continue Reading

Writers' Forum - June 2021

June 29, 2021

WHY KINDLE VELLA IS NOT GOING AWAY ♦

READERS SHARE THE BOOK THEY STILL THINK ABOUT ♦

DO YOU OUTLINE? ♦

FEATURED PUBLISHING PARTNER: NATHAN BRANSFORD ♦

FEATURED ARTICLES

Why Kindle Vella Isn’t Going Away

In April we talked about the roll out of Kindle’s new exclusive serialization option Vella, which is set to start in the coming weeks. Monica Leonelle’s article on Medium explores why she thinks Vella is here to stay in comparison to some of Kindle’s other now defunct writer programs like Kindle Serials, Kindle... Continue Reading

The Second Draft, Revision: What Does the Reader Want? with Tracey Kathryn

June 22, 2021

I’m an early riser. I adore the morning hours when no one else is awake; it’s the best time of day. I have a routine: I stretch my back, drink a mug of warm lemon water, then step outside to my wonderful backyard for fresh air. After that, it’s coffee and writing. The consistent process helps me stay on track. It’s what I need to get words on the page.

Becoming aware of that need, that process, gave me a lightbulb moment; it provided enlightenment as I revised my mystery novel. There are certain things I require—movement, hydration, and fresh air—to start my writing day. I thought of other writers and asked myself, What do other novelists need to write?

Then, given that I’m revising the first chapters of my mystery novel, I took the question further to consider... Continue Reading

Speaking Engagements for Authors: Why, Where, and How

June 17, 2021

As we return to a normal schedule in the months to come, this is a perfect time to discuss speaking engagement planning. Even so, much of this advice works equally well for online events! You might think that the most important item to discuss is where you can book speaking engagements, but I’d like to take a step back and ask you to think through why you’re seeking to book these types of events. What’s your goal? That’s the real starting point!

What Are Your Goals for Speaking Engagements?

Why do you want to book speaking engagements—is it simply a means to gain attention for your book(s) and sell more copies? Or do you have a broader message based on your book’s topic or expertise that you’ve gained during your writing or publishing journey? Perhaps, you’ve... Continue Reading

Advertising Your Books Part Three: Amazon Ads

June 10, 2021

Advertising Your Books – Part One taught you how to get started with BookBub ads. With continued testing on this platform, I've updated that article HERE. Part Two focused on Facebook advertising. I’ve continued to have very good success with Facebook advertising for myself and for my clients. With that information (as well as adapting to Facebook's platform changes), I've updated that tutorial ... Continue Reading

Wisdom from the Publishing World with Greg Renz

June 1, 2021

Welcome to the June  installment of the 2021 Author Series, where a published author takes the stage and tells us what they wish they had known before they published their first book along with what advice they would go back and give their pre-published self. Greg Renz, author of Beneath the Flames, is our June author. You can find my earlier review and author interview with Greg here. His book was based upon his own experiences as a firefighter and remains one of my favorites!

ABOUT GREG:

The first rule of firefighting is to never enter a burning building alone. Sometimes rules must be broken, much like writing. Fire Captain... Continue Reading

Writers' Forum - May 2021

May 25, 2021

FINDING YOUR WRITING MOTIVATION

HOW MUCH DO AUTHORS EARN

TRADITIONAL PUBLISHERS CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS WITH READERS

FEATURED ARTICLES

Finding Your Writing Motivation

We all need help with motivation no matter what projects we are hoping to tackle. But I think that creative work and particularly writing, can be knocked off course more easily by the rejection (that comes with submitting one's work) along with the general stress of the world. I’m enjoy a reset of sorts this week at a writing residency in Door County and this article really spoke to me. So for those of you who need a little boost of motivation, Mary Kole’s article might just do the trick: https://kidlit.... Continue Reading

The Second Draft, Revision: The First Page

May 17, 2021

Joe jumped behind the wheel of his car. He felt like he’d been swimming in his morning coffee, a triple-shot death wish, extra sugar. From the passenger seat, Susan watched him, thinking Joe looked beyond hyper. What was wrong with her best friend?

Yes, dear reader, I committed a writing faux pas in the above sentences. I shifted POV in the same paragraph—within two sentences, even!

I read something similar on the first page of a new mystery release, unfortunately.

Sigh.

What’s a writer to do when cautioned against narrative POV shifts but then sees the very thing in a book from a major publisher?

During the last months, I’ve been revising... Continue Reading

Wisdom from the Publishing World with Liza Wiemer

May 11, 2021

Welcome to the May installment of the 2021 Author Series, where a published author takes the stage and tells us what they wish they had known before they published their first book along with what advice they would give their pre-published self.

I know many of you already know Liza Wiemer! I am a big fan of her novels The Assignment and Hello?. (You can read my most recent interview with her along with a review of “The Assignment” here.) If you do not yet know Liza, here's a quick biography. (But I recommend that you also head over to her website and read the fun "how she met her husband" story.) ... Continue Reading

BEST BOOKS OF 2021 – PART 2

May 5, 2021

My four favorite books from the past two months include a poignant middle-grade novel, a beautifully written adult fiction, a spiritual book about connecting with nature, and a wonderfully suspenseful, twisting thriller.

But there’s this other thing I did that I need to talk about … it makes me feel guilty perhaps because it was so indulgent. I binge-read 49 other books (all in the same series), one after another after another. It was lovely, but I have so much guilt, because I have a rather large stack of other books waiting to be read and reviewed. But this binge of books taught me a few things about series writing and myself, which I share further into this post. First, let’s celebrate four excellent books:

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