10 ways to write a page turner!

There are 10 easy ways (in my opinion) to keep up the pace (or suspense/tension) of a novel. This can be for any book to keep the reader clipping along and turning the pages.

10 steps to a page turner

1) Create short chapters - most of mine are 1500 to 2000 words. (It can't be 250 word chapters with 1000 chapters in the book. Thats' just annoying :)

2) End on the conflict, forcing the reader into the next chapter. (I call it the inverted climax curve! I'm smart huh?)

3) Keep your narrative short. At the end, go through and cut back scenes with too much setting or exposition. I say try to cut them in 1/2. (Actually, I should do this in my conversations as well. I'm sure my friends would appreciate it.)

4) Use short sentences when you want reader to feel rushed into reading. Longer sentences help to slow it down and create tension as well as a break before you ramp back up again. (I call this the roller coaster feeling. Make your reader sick :)

5) Add a ticking time bomb. This can be an actual time countdown or a lead in to knowing something is coming soon. (This even works in the ebay auctions I bid on. There's just something about a clock that creates stress.)

6) Create a strong opening line in every chapter that yanks the reader in. (I tend to spend more time on this than I do finding my dangling modifiers. I do not recommend that :)

7) Create strong closing lines that tease the reader to turn the page. (Do not let them put that book down! If you have to drag them on to the next chapter by their bookmarks)

8) Torture your MC - have her make mistake so actions get thrown back in her face. (I talk to my MC. "Oh you think that's bad, wait until I give you this!" I know I'm nutzo)

9) Raise the stakes each time it looks like resolution may be about to happen. (Give your reader the feeling of "oh thank God" and then take them to "WHAT the hell!"

10) Allow room to breathe. (You don't want them to pass out. Not good PR....But not too much room :)

Feel free to ask me questions! :)

Ways to have confidence in your work

A year ago when I left my agent, I scouted for another one. Desperate. Panicked.

I decided to find a new agent. But I had a manuscript that had already been sent out to a few editors, one that was sent out to 20 (and almost got bought a few times) and a partial of a new shiny manuscript.

At the time, I could not get a new agent. Whether it was due to the fact I had left mine. Or that I had 2 complete manuscripts that had already been seen in NYC (no matter how small the rounds were) or because I only had a partial to sell. It didn't matter, after attempting a couple times, I gave up and decided to experiment with indie pubbing. It was a way to move forward.

Now a year later - I am coming upon my one year as an indie author. Untraceable has sold a lot of copies. Uncontrollable (only out for 6 weeks now) has sold any unbelievable # of copies - way more than Untraceable in the same amount of time.

So editors and agents arent' always right. For so long, I thought those books sucked yet they have been successful selling more than I expected and more than some traditional authors do.

But even though my books have been doing great, I have been doubting my new project. Is it good enough? Am I good enough?

So I decided to take another shot at getting some feedback. Last weekend, after going to the Atlanta Writers Club conference, I submitted my new shiny project to 2 agents for a PITCH and MANUSCRIPT critique. I wanted to get feedback on saleability, writing, and voice. I was doubtful going in but pleasantly surprised. Both agents loved the story and encouraged me to get it to them. In addition, they were very positive about my indie experience. Something that is sometimes hard to come by and you never know what you will get. Whether we like it or not, self pubbing still has a stigma though it is changing slowly.

But what was really amazing about that conference was that I won "Best Pitch" and "Best Manuscript Submission" from both agents as well. (what??!!!!! :) I was shocked and so grateful for the universal sign telling me to keep working on this special project. The one I love. The one I had doubts about. The one I want an agent for.

It got me thinking. Why do we need confirmation on our writing? It's kinda sad that it takes this kind of win to get me believing in my work again. Just when I doubted this project, it got a couple pats on the back. Those few words and certificates are now pushing me forward into finishing it.

So, why do we as authors have a hard time distinguishing what is good and what is not good? How do we keep our confidence up in the face of rejections and criticism?

Here are a few tips to keep the faith when you are feeling down about your writing or project:

1. Reignite your passion. Find out why you started writing in the first place and get that feeling back
2. Stick together. Stay connected with writer friends. Sometimes it feels like we are alone - but we are all on this path and experience similar things.
3. Keep writing. Don't stop if you start doubting yourself. Break away from the project or write in a different environment.
4. Get outside advice. Use readers or editors to provide feedback when you aren't sure what you have.
5. Watch the negative talk. I believe we get what we give. Sometimes we beat ourselves up inside and don't even realize it. Those words that make us doubt ourselves. I suck. This is crap. I'll never get published. You know what I'm talking about. Change your mindset.
6. Stop comparing. Comparing your writing or journey to others just sets you in a tailspin. Focus on your own path and stay offline if you have to while you are writing.
7. Celebrate your wins no matter how small. Whether it be winning a contest, getting a good rejection letter, or finishing your first draft. Pat yourself on the back along the way. Take it one step at a time.
8. Set writing goals. This keeps you focused. Achieving even the smallest of goals can keep your chin up and keep you moving even if you don't feel you are or don't want to. 
9. Focus on craft. Take some classes. Learn new techniques. We gain confidence with skill.
10. Trust your gut. Believe in your ability and believe in your writing. Go with your gut and you can never go wrong.

Use more to create suspense than just action

Our Georgia Peach Tour is in full swing!

Jennifer Jabaley (Lipstick Apology). Vicky Shecter (Cleopatra's Moon) and me teamed up and gave discounts to schools in the state of Georgia to help with budget cuts. We are touring middle schools and high schools promoting reading and writing.

We will visit about 12 schools by Thanksgiving and see almost 10,000 kids. The bonus is meeting all the literacy coordinators and media specialists. :)

One of my lectures is on "Writing Thrillers" so I thought I would summarize it and share it today since I'm doing it tomorrow. Feel free to add in the comments any of your ideas.

Thriller vs mystery

A mystery is about solving a crime that has already happened. The killer's identity is hidden until the end because otherwise, there would be no mystery -- right?

A thriller is about a crime (or another type of disaster) that is about to happen ... unless the hero can stop it. The reader might know who the villain is from the very beginning -- even watches over the villain's shoulder as evil is being committed.

Untraceable is a blend of both. The mystery adds to the pacing because you are not sure when Grace is in danger.

Pull from the what you know

• Know the thriller genre inside and out
• Do research and know what is possible for your character
• Immerse yourself in movies/TV shows/books on thrillers
• Pull from those moments when you were the most scared 

It's not just about action

• Thrillers are about creating tension in different Dialogue and sentence structure can change the pace.
• Bring pace in through setting, character, and structure
• EX: The Walking Dead – zombies are scary but sometimes it is scarier when nothign is happening because you know what could happen any minute. 

1) Come up with big idea for a thriller

• Come up with the big hook
• Is it new? How can you make it new?
• Create "what if" question
• Answer the "what if" question
• Go where no man has gone before

2) Pace through structure

• Cut strategically. Use an inverted conflict curve - cut your chapters in the middle of conflict instead of at the end of resolution
• Create short chapters
• Spread out your actions scenes and break them with slower paced scenes to create a roller coaster feeling
• Create cliffhangers or a ticking clock to get reader past natural breaks
• Use short, clippy sentences (even fragments) to speed up pace; longer sentences and narrative to slow it down
• Add dialogue to slow down pace

3) Pace through action

• Keep the reader moving is main goal
• Make the danger feel real and always present in the background
• Withhold information to keep reader guessing
• Don’t be predictable – go where reader doesn’t expect
• Start with a suspenseful scene to set mood

4) Pace through setting

• Create a visual by using 5 senses
• Cinematic – visualize a movie when you are writing. Show what your character sees
• Choose settings wisely depending on mood you need.
• Use contrasting moods in your setting - ie home is safe and secure unless the power goes out. The woods are peaceful during the day but scary at night.

5) Pace through character

• Make it tough for your MC
• Emotions – keep them high and let reader feel fear
• Create poignant moments – don’t be afraid to do this in a thriller
• Stakes – keep raising them
• Internal tension can add to suspense of story
• Create real motives (for all characters) or it won't be believable

Finding the Emotional Truth in Historical Fiction (Vicky Alvear Shecter)

 Today, Vicky Alvear Shecter (author of Cleopatra's Moon) is here to talk about historical fiction.

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“All novels are emotional autobiographies.” I can’t remember who said that, but it hit home when I heard it.

So true.

And yet, finding the emotional truth in historical fiction—in places and times very different from our own—can be a challenge. When I started on my YA historical fiction novel, Cleopatra’s Moon for example, I remember thinking, how could I possibly have anything in common with an ancient teenage princess of Egypt whose mother was Cleopatra and whose father was the famous Roman general Mark Antony?

Physically? Not a damn thing. Emotionally? To my surprise, quite a bit. Let me explain with some examples:

-       Cleopatra Selene, my main character, is ripped from everything she knows and loves when she is sent from Egypt to Rome. She never returns to Egypt (as far as we know). I evoked my own memories of displacement when my mother, for various soap opera-ish, moved us from Ecuador to Miami without any warning or preparation.  If I hadn’t experienced such a life-altering move, I would’ve called upon my reactions to moving to a new school or new neighborhood to imagine what it felt like for Selene.

-       As a result of the upheaval, Selene becomes even more fiercely attached and protective of her brothers.  My brothers and sister and I experienced an intense “closing of the ranks” during our across-the-world move, which affected how I expressed Selene’s response. Any “us versus them” childhood experience could be called upon.

-        Cleopatra Selene worries that she might not ever be as striking and charismatic as her mother (Cleopatra was no beauty but her magnetism and charm were legendary). She fears she won’t measure up and that, somehow, she’ll end up disappointing everyone.  I too had (have) a beautiful, elegant mother and when, as a teen it became clear that I would never be as tall or as thin, I had similar fears. Teens often worry that they’ll never live up to the expectations others have for them.  What were yours?

-       The first time Cleopatra Selene is taken to see her mother after learning about the death of a family member, she wants to run. It terrifies her to see her mother so wracked by grief. I drew on my memories of a similar grieving experience.  But I could’ve also recalled what it felt like to witness a grown-up expressing any strong emotion for the first time.

-       Cleopatra Selene struggles with spirituality. I imagined that she was brought up with faith in both the Greek and Egyptian gods and that she had a special affinity for Isis. When she learns about the Judeo-concept of free will, she wrestles with its implications. That struggle becomes the focal point of her emotional growth. When I was a teen, I too struggled with making sense of the different religions in my life—Catholic in Ecuador and Jewish in my grandmother’s house. Even if your faith has never wavered, you could draw upon your emotional reaction to the first time you heard something that directly contradicted everything you’d ever been taught. 

-       Cleopatra Selene falls in love with an important historical character who also happens to be a brilliant writer and scholar. This, I don’t need to explain. Haven’t most of us fallen for the hot, brooding ‘English major’ type at least once in our high school or college lives? ;-)

When you have no direct experience to draw upon for a scene, create one. For example, observing my own reactions to reading about the experiences of girls in radical Muslim countries helped me articulate Selene’s outrage to the restrictions she faces when she is forced to live in Rome.

Mining your “emotional autobiography” is important in all fiction, of course, but it’s even more so in historical. The emotional connection to the protagonist is the bridge by which we travel back in time. And, hopefully, what keeps the reader turning pages.

Vicky’s novel, Cleopatra’sMoon, won the Southern Breeze Crystal Kite award and was named to Bankstreet's list of Best Books of the Year for 2012. In the upcoming WIK conference, Vicky will share more of her secrets for transforming dry facts into juicy stories. You can find her hanging out online at her blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

 What historical character/figure do you think you connect most with?

Marketing on a Budget (Elana Johnson, author of Possession and Surrender)

Elana Johnson's Surrender released last week and let me tell you - it is as good - if not better - than Possession.

Since I have a special place in my heart for Elana, comment on today's post and I enter you in a drawing for a copy of both Elana's books, Possession and Surrender. I know awesome right? :) I will buy them and ship them straight to your front door.

Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…

Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.

All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque

As part of her Surrender blog tour, she stopped by to talk to us about her marketing tips.

Here she is....

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Okay, so I have two books out now! Woot. POSSESSION came out last year, and SURRENDER came out last week.

Marketing a book is something akin to building an ark before a flood. Okay, I haven’t actually done that, but I have planned some marketing strategies for my books. On top of that, I’m a schoolteacher, so I don’t have money coming out my ears, and today I’m here to tell you that you can market your book to the best of your ability with very little money. Okay, no money.

I believe that a large part of why people buy books is because of the author—especially in the online community, which is where a lot of our marketing efforts are focused. As a midlist author with a medium-tier marketing plan, most of what I can do personally has to happen online.

I imagine that most of you reading this today are in the same situation, asking yourselves “How can I market my books better online?”

I believe the answer is this: You don’t market your books, you market yourself.

1.     Be you. Just you. Don’t try to be someone else, with their sense of humor or their tics. People want to get a feel for the real you, and you can do it without naming your children and putting up pictures. It’s all about selecting information you don’t mind if everyone knows about you (like how many of you know what my favorite breakfast food is? Whose picture did I take to my stylist and say, “Cut my hair like this.”?) and play to those things.

When people feel like they know you, and they like you, they’ll buy your book.

2.     Be available. If people tweet you or email you, tweet and email back. Sure, it can take you a couple of days, but act grateful that they contacted you and be positive in your response.

As someone who gets hate mail about my books, I know it can be easy to either not respond or to respond negatively. Don’t let yourself fall into that trap. Remember that people will remember you the next time you have a book coming out.

3.     Be kind. This sort of goes with how you respond. But be kind. Be promotional of others and their work. Put on your happy pants before you get online.

4.     Be helpful. A lot of my fans are fellow authors, either published or aspiring. I’ve been a participant in online forums and blogs for over four years. Every time you help someone, that’s another contact. They’ll remember your kindness and helpfulness when it comes time for your book to be released.

For me, I get a lot of email and fandom from those who’ve downloaded and read my query e-book. I’ve read and critiqued hundreds of queries. I can’t guarantee that all of those people will buy my books—or that they liked my critique!—but I can say with certainty that because I’ve been helpful for years, more people buy my book.

5.   Be a participant. A large part of the online community is the participation of those in it. It’s so easy to let this slide, especially when deadlines come due and you have forty thousand things to do on your plate. The blogging community is very forgiving, but they’re also very forgetful. One of the best things you can do for your marketing plan is participate in the online community.

And that’s it! Everyone can market their books simply by taking a few more minutes each day to tweet and email those that tweet and email them. Be happy and be authentic. Remember that before anyone sees or hears about your book, they see and hear YOU.

Any other tips to market yourself/your books online? Lay ‘em on me!

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This week, as part of the SURRENDER blog tour, you can win one of three $15 Barnes & Noble gift cards and become a winner winner, chicken dinner! All you have to do is fill out this a Rafflecopter giveaway widget with what you’ve done. NOTE: One of the options is to blog about a time you didn’t surrender. Go here for full details on this, including how to sign up for your free swag package!

You can find Elana hanging out online at twitter and her awesome blog of 411.

Marketing/Indie Round up

In breaking news, Market My Words (my blog) was a Finalist/Honorary Mention in the Goodreads Independent Blogger Awards in the Publishing category 1 of approx. 1000 blogs entered).

Woot Woot!

Thanks to everyone who voted.


Heres some great articles I came across recently:

Indie

When and why does an author decide to turn (great article but I'm biased b/c I was mentioned :)

Can you self pub and still get an agent?  (yes you can but it's tricky)

Self Pubbing as a Marketing Tool? (Trust me, there are easier ways to market than doing a whole book)

Why some Indie authors are successful and some are not (interesting take.)

Ebook Pricing - what to charge? (the age old question)


Marketing

Promotional Burnout by LM preston (we all get it!)

Seth Godin on Marketing (Radio)

5 ways to market indie books on a budget (good tips)

Product Placement in Books - Hard sellers (interesting. Hey MoonPies - call me!)

Rethinking the Book Tour (aw but we all want one, don't we :)

Titles are key (yes and covers!)

25 things that make you look dumb on Twitter (call me dumb, ha!)


Happy Reading! :)

The Stigma of Self Pubbing (by Lisa Nowak)

Upon the release of my third book, Driven, I want to talk about the stigma of self-publishing, but first I need to tell you a little about my publishing journey. Like Shelli, I pursued the traditional route for years. I studied hard, worked my butt off, and did everything “by the book.” I sought feedback and revised. I queried time and again, never letting the rejections stop me—never giving up. After five years, I finally found an agent. But she couldn’t sell my book.

In many ways, I don’t regret the arduous process I went through because it helped me develop the skills I need to publish my own books. By the time they get to my editors, they’re already in great shape. My copy editors tend to comment that I didn’t leave them anything to correct, or that if they were charging by the error, they’d only make a few bucks. But what I do resent is how the traditional publishing community led me to believe it was a lack of skill and talent that kept me from being published (mostly by saying nothing at all), when in fact it was about marketing. It’s only through my experience witnessing what gets accepted and what gets rejected—and my effort to market my own books—that I’ve become enlightened. An author can have a perfectly crafted manuscript, and if it’s not marketable in New York’s eyes, you’re not going to get a book deal. Many writers out there would be doing themselves a favor to recognize that and stop beating themselves up. The traditional publishing model is a business. Businesses survive by making money. It’s a simple, brutal fact that often has nothing to do with the human element.

So after all those years, I came to the decision to publish my books on my own. I won’t bore you with the details, but I will say it was a lot like losing your religion. At first you’re sure you’re going straight to hell. But that feeling goes away, and the sense of empowerment gets stronger until you wonder why you were ever afraid to begin with. At first I worried I was making the wrong choice. Fifteen months later, I can say I haven’t regretted it for a second. It’s been a total rush.

Which brings me back to stigma. This is something indies encounter a lot, and some of them get angry or depressed or let themselves get bogged down in it. I don’t have time for that nonsense. If someone disses me, I just don’t associate with them. I’m living my dream and running a business. Why would I care what ignorant people think?

But I do find it amusing. Case in point—I got a gig teaching a self-publishing class at the Oregon SCBWI Spring Conference. As an indie author, I’m not allowed to sell my books at the event. I’m not PAL, after all. Since I’m self-published, my books are bound to be crap, right? Forget the fact that excerpts of them have won awards. The irony is, before I decided to go indie, I was part of the team that founded Puddletown Publishing Group. My first book, Running Wide Open, was scheduled to be one of Puddletown’s first releases. I parted ways with the publisher and they went on to become PAL certified. Had I stayed with Puddletown, I’d be Published and Listed now. And my book would be of lesser quality for it. Why? Because I wanted it to go through one more round of editing, so I paid a professional New York editor to read my manuscript. Then I got another copy edit. And yes, these editors caught several things that would have otherwise wound up in the book. When you look at the irony of this, the sheer whimsy of the way the PAL rules work (simply because they have a blanket approach, rather than being decided on a case-by-case basis), you realize it’s ridiculous to take offense. This is not about skill. It’s about an organization having a simplistic system that’s easy to implement.

Though some indies have a problem with traditional publishing, I don’t. An individual’s publishing journey is a personal thing, and it’s up to them to make a choice based on their strengths and desires. Each of us has to do what brings us the most satisfaction. But I would like to leave all writers with this one bit of advice: don’t beat yourself up over whether or not you get an agent or sell a book. Don’t get down on yourself because of arbitrary rules set to make things cut and dried for an organization. Businesses and organizations have a purpose, and it’s not to feed your ego or let you down easy. Keep that in mind, and the whole publication process will be a lot less stressful.

About the book:

The last thing on 16-year-old Jess DeLand’s wish list is a boyfriend. She’d have to be crazy to think any guy would look twice at her. Besides, there are more important things to hope for, like a job working on cars and an end to her mom’s drinking. Foster care is a constant threat, and Jess is willing to sacrifice anything to stay out of the system. When luck hands her the chance to work on a race car, she finds herself rushing full throttle into a world of opportunities—including a boy who doesn’t mind the grease under her fingernails. The question is, can a girl who keeps herself locked up tighter than Richard Petty’s racing secrets open up enough to risk friendship and her first romance?

“The first romance is captured beautifully—just the right combination of natural and awkward, of eager and scared.”

 ~ Bob Martin, writing professor, Pacific Northwest College of Art

• Buy it on Amazon
• Buy it on Barnes and Noble
• Buy it on Smashwords 

About the author

In addition to being a YA author, Lisa Nowak is a retired amateur stock car racer, an accomplished cat whisperer, and a professional smartass. Though offered two deals by a small presses in 2011, she turned them down to go indie. She writes coming-of-age books about kids in hard luck situations who learn to appreciate their own value after finding mentors who love them for who they are. She enjoys dark chocolate and stout beer and constantly works toward employing wei wu wei in her life, all the while realizing that the struggle itself is an oxymoron.

Lisa has no spare time, but if she did she’d use it to tend to her expansive perennial garden, watch medical dramas, take long walks after dark, and teach her cats to play poker. For those of you who might be wondering, she is not, and has never been, a diaper-wearing astronaut. She lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, with her husband, four feline companions, and two giant sequoias.

• Lisa's blog
• Follow Lisa on Twitter
• Like Lisa's Facebook page
• Subscribe to Lisa's newsletter for upcoming releases

Marketing Pet Peeves - Change your mindset!

Authors need to change their mindset. 


Whether you are traditionally pubbed or indie pubbed. Marketing is a huge component of getting your books out there. Some of us are lucky to get tons of marketing from publishers. Most of us aren't. Most of you will do it alone with very little support. So you might as well except it and do it.


It's a matter of changing your mindset. 


Here are some of the DONTs of Marketing - in my opinion. These are mindsets that I still see and they make me smack my forehead. 


1) My web site is longer than Santa's naughty list - Don't make us page down through pages of text. The standard web rule is the user should not have to page down on a web site more than 2 times. (this is more lenient on blog posts) Your web site is an executive summary and TOC of you - not a book. You only need something short and sweet that grabs people. Web sites reflect your writing. If you drone on for pages - I might not want to read your book. Keep it simple, professional, and short. 

2) I like marketing from The Land of Cheapo. Come on! Don't put out crap. Nowadays you can get inexpensive, solid quality marketing swag from various web sites. You really don't want a plain white business card with your face on it. You really don't need a bookmark that is so flimsy it can be used as origami. Do yourself and your image a favor, invest in high quality pieces or don't do them at all. I don't want to see one more perforated business card that is black and white. Your card is your mark on someone. They might not remember you but if they see the card - it should interest them.  It is better to invest in a few key pieces than to do a bunch of bad pieces. Take pride in your materials as you would take pride in your writing or work. It is a reflection of you.

3) My target audience is children between ages of 0-18. Yeah good luck on reaching 76 million people. Everyone has more than one target audience and you need to find the smaller audiences (niches). Trust me, age is not the only way to segment your audience. There are tons of others such as by topic, by region as well as looking at the type of media, type of reader (library, bookstore, book club etc). Take some time to think through all of your target audiences and all the ways you can possibly reach them - you should be able to come up with at least 3 audiences and 3 mediums for each. For me -outdoors, North Carolina, and conservation are three additional segments I can target. Find yours. Write down three nouns your book covers - those are probably your segments.

4) I'm just gonna wing it. Everyone needs a business plan and marketing. Whether traditional of indie pubbed. Just like you need a plot for your book before you write, or plan a trip before you leave - you need a marketing plan before you can market. Some people think that winging marketing is effective. Nope! It's a shot in the dark and you spin your wheels for a while lot of nothing. I'm not talking about creating a 100 page word document here. I am talking about a process where you - as the writer - identify your target audiences, key mediums, key timelines, key events - and set up key contacts in advance. Your materials, plans, and contacts should be in place AT LEAST 6 months before your book comes out. Don't wait until your book is out before you think about it. It will be too late. Start now.

5) I don't know computers so I can't do marketing. Um it's time to learn. If you are selling books to kids, you need to learn computers. Nowadays at least 50% of marketing (and I am being generous, I think its more like 60-70%) is online. You need to know how to blog, how to do a basic web site, how to start a myspace or facebook page, and how to text/twitter. You also need to keep up with the youth trends (Ypulse is good for that) If you don't know how to use all these, they all are set up pretty easily to figure out. Some even have tutorials. This cannot be an excuse anymore - unless you don't want to sell anything.


6) No Branding. It drives me nuts to see authors not being consistent in their brand. They have one web site with gophers (which screams nonfiction), then a plain white biz card that screams (boring!) and a twitter background of lollipops. (you know who you are ;) Go can easily find backgrounds for twitter and blog that look the same. You can even use the same colors. But I should be able to recognize you online. Pulling it all together gives off the impression you have it all together - (hey fake it 'til you make it! :)


7) I just want to write. Yeah don't we all. I won't get into this too much. It's simple. Here's what I tell my kids when they ask if they have to brush their teeth. I say: "Only brush the ones you want to keep." That's what I say to authors. "Only market the ones you want to sell." End of story.


8) I don't know how to do marketing. Nope not an excuse. You didn't know how to write either but you learned. marketing can be learned. There are tons of resources, classes, books, etc. You can even pay for consulting to help you. Follow blogs, find webinars
So if you find yourself saying these things, change your mindset. Get out there, play around online, and market yourself. Try things out and have fun.

If you have any questions, post them in a comment and I will be happy to answer. :)

Guest Post: Elle Strauss (Clockwise)

Okay so the very best part of jumping into indie publishing is all the wonderfully sweet people that have reached out to me and who I have a feeling will be the beginning of a long friendship.


Elle Strauss is one of those. She has dropped by today to give us some advice about indie publishing.


Tell us about you and your book journey

My book is called CLOCKWISE, a YA rom/com about a teen time traveler who accidentally takes her secret crush back in time. Awkward.

I began this book four summers ago, on and off and once I'd had it read by beta readers and did about a thousand revisions I began querying. It took a few months to land an agent and Clockwise went out on submissions. I was so excited. It was finally happening! I had an agent and surely a book deal was right around the corner.

Wrong.

Who can explain these things, but sometimes worthy books don't find a home. It could be a case of missing the "trends" or a recession, or game changing technology. (Or, as in my case, all of the above.) Once I caught on that indie publishing was proving to be a successful option for many authors, I decided to give it a go. 

What do you think is the hardest thing about indie publishing?

Shouldering the pressure to succeed alone. (Or feeling like you're alone.)

What is your biggest advice for indie publishers?

Community! I love that we are a collaboration, not competitors. People will buy my book AND yours. When we help each other, we help ourselves.

What do you like to do outside of writing?

Besides reading and hanging out with friends and family? I like to hike, bike and do yoga. I also like to watch movies and certain TV shows. (Ahem, Castle, anyone?) 

What is the biggest mistake you have made in publishing world?

What was a mistake for me may not be a mistake for another author. I hired a third party to format and upload my book for me instead of doing it myself. Hiring to save time and effort is not a bad idea except with this company I couldn't make changes after it was uploaded, or track sales, which I found to be important information I needed in order to assess my marketing efforts. I didn't realize this when I made the decision. I have since formatted and uploaded the files myself, and it wasn't that big of a deal. For some reason I'd come to believe that formatting was this big, hard, thing, when it's not, really. 

If you could travel in a Time Machine would you go back to the past or into the future?

I think we'd all love a chance at a do-over in some part of our life, wouldn't we? I'd like to do high school over. I'd focus on my grades and my friends, instead of boys. I wouldn't care so much about what people thought of me and I definitely wouldn't get that PERM. 

What's the craziest writing idea you've had?

Well, I had this crazy idea to write a companion book for CLOCKWISE, which I'm totally doing now. I have half of a first draft. I plan to finish it during Nanowrimo, not as an official entrant, since it's half written, but just to ride on the nano energy, and git'er dun.

If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?

Oh, that's easy. LATE BLOOMER. 

You can also see Elle on Twitter and Facebook.

Tips and Tricks from Indie Authors

I shot out an email to a few blogger buddies of mine that are/have self pubbed or are being published with a small, independent publisher.


Thanks to everyone who took time to send some tips. Some of these ladies will also be coming back on Fridays to provide more insight.

• Oct 12th - Tips and tricks featuring Lisa Nowak - (Running Wide Open)
• Oct 14th - PJ Hoover (Solstice)  
• Oct 21st - Elle Strauss - Clockwise (just released 9/26)
• Oct 28th - Michelle Davidson Argyle (Monarch)
• Nov 4th - Danielle Leafty - Catspell (coming 11/7)
• Nov 11th - Ali Cross - Become (coming11/11)
• Nov 18th - Jessee Harrell - Destined (coming 11/17)
• Dec 2nd - Karen Hooper (Tangled Tides, coming 11/1)
• Dec 9th - Megg Jensen (The Cloud Prophet Trilogy and The Swarm Trilogy)
• Dec 16th - Susan Bichoff (Hush Money, The Talent Chronicles)

Check out all these books! 


Lisa Nowak

• As far as copyediting goes, even if you hire someone, things are likely to sneak through. It's a good idea to have several people read it to check for typos. 
• I also downloaded WordTalk to my computer and had it read my Word documents back to me. You find a lot of missing and transposed words this way. Stuff our eyes seem to skip over. helps with editing. Here's a link to a blog post I did about it with some tips on how to get it to work.
• If you decide to do paperback. Lightning source does a great job. The biggest thing about LSI is it makes you look more legit. They're a professional printing company that works with many big publishers to print their backlist. They're associated with Ingram and Baker and Taylor, so they have a greater distribution channel, including in the UK and Australia with no extra effort on the part of the author. 
• You don't have to get ISBNs unless you plan to use Lightning source. Go to Bowker and you can buy them as a single or in clumps (10,100 etc). 
• In your case, since you only plan to do this one book and your finances are limited, you might consider purchasing 20 ISBNs from Bowker. You'll need at least four. One for Smashwords, one for Amazon, one for Barnes and Noble, and one for POD if you intend to release the book that way. You can get 20 for $250. If you get just one it costs $125. I sprung for 100, but that's a chunk of change at $575. 
• It's true that Amazon has it's own numbering system, but it's still more professional to give a book an ISBN. Whoever owns the ISBN is considered the publisher, so if you want to be the publisher (rather than Amazon) you need an ISBN.
• You need an ISBN for different formats - paperback, hardback, ebook.
• Formatting isn't that tough. If you follow the Smashwords Style Guide (a free download) you won't have any trouble. Be sure to use the nuclear option to get rid of all the wonky formatting Word tosses in a document.
• Trade "teasers" to place at the end of another book in your genre to cross promote.
• A friend of mine is experimenting with getting ebooks into brick and mortar stores by having plastic cards printed up to place in the stores. The cards have a scratch away area on the back with a unique code beneath. The buyer goes to the publisher website, enters the code, and is allowed to download a book. The cards sell for $2.99 and I think it costs around $160 for 100 cards. I only spoke to her briefly about this, so I'm not sure on the details. The company is Spirehouse books  

Here are some other things these ladies had to say - 


General Advice

• Surround yourself with a support network of writers. I have a core group at DarkSide Publishing. We support each other through our successes and failures. It’s great to have a close-knit group who gets exactly what you’re going through.
• Don’t be afraid to edit! Get brutally honest critiques. If you don’t agree with a change, see if more than one person suggests the same thing. If they do, take off your blinders and change it.
• Keep learning about the craft of writing. Don’t get so caught up in your new author status and assume you know it all. You don’t. Take classes. Attend critique groups. Go to conferences. Make new writer friends. Trust me, you’ll have fun doing it!

Making a Good book

• I can write a novel in three weeks or less. It takes months to edit. Revisions should be many rounds of critiques, tears, and ten additional pounds from eating cookies. You may think you’re going insane. This is normal.
• Covers and edits should not be scrimped on. This is our labor of love and I don't want someone judging me harshly b/c I didn't put my absolute all into it. If they don't like it once it's out, then at least I know I did my best. No regrets. 
• You may already know this, but Scrivener software will compile your book in mobi and epub. You can then open the file in Kindle or Nook, and see exactly what it looks like before you upload it. You don't have to deal with html for Kindle, or trust that Amazon will format your doc or pdf file correctly. 

Who to use?

• Smashwords is the best (and possibly only) way an indie author can get on Apple’s iBookstore. Make sure you follow their formatting guide, even though you might want to kill yourself the first time. It’s totally worth it!
• If you use Smashwords, you can opt out of Amazon and B&N to do on your own.
• I'm doing my paperback at CreateSpace but the covers may not be as good as I hoped. I hear Lightning Source has a better cover offering.
• Don't forget to register your book as a copywright at copywrite.gov

Marketing

• Run over to www.kindleboards.com. There’s a lot of great information and it’s a great place to read more about how different marketing experiences worked for other indies.
• When it comes to marketing, try out great websites like Kindle Nation Daily and Pixel of Ink. Most authors earn back the money they spend, plus profit. They’re great for exposure to readers you may not reach through blog tours or contests on your website. Do not be afraid to invest in yourself.
• Keep the blog tour short. Instead of spreading eleven blog hosts over eleven days I stacked them over four days. I did this to prevent fatigue from both the blog readers, and myself. I didn't want to bore them by talking about my blog tour for weeks and I've heard how exhausting blog tours can be for authors.  
• I read that Amazon rankings are effected by how many sales take place in one day. I'm not sure how it works, but it's one of the reasons most of my blog tour hosts were booked on one day.

Resources

• Get Zoe Winters book on self publishing - it tells you everything you need to know. 
• John Locke was the first ebooker to sell 1 million ebooks. He just made huge deal with S&S but kept his ebook rights.
• https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/29261
• http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/
• http://write2publish.blogspot.com/
• http://kriswrites.com/
• http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/
• http://www.newselfpublishing.com/

Also Sarah LaPolla - an agent at Curtis - just did a great indie series. Check it out!

What question do you have for me? Let me know if this is what you want to know or if there is another topic I haven't touched on yet.