Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Links of Interest

SHOULD YOU WRITE MULTIPLE GENRES?


WILLS AND OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT FOR WRITERS:


FROM PREMISE TO PLOT:


HOW TO LEGALLY USE QUOTES IN A BOOK:


ADDING CHARACTER BUSINESS TO YOUR STORY:


SUBCONSCIOUS VERSUS UNCONSCIOUS:


FIGURING OUT YOUR BOOK’S HOOK:


A CHECKLIST FOR A NEW RELEASE:


MAKING SURE YOUR STORY HAS STAKES:


THE PROS AND CONS OF VILLAIN’S VIEWPOINT:


CRIME FICTION BLUNDERS TO AVOID:


CRIME AND FACEBOOK:


THE GENRE BOOK COVER:


PREPARING FOR A REAL-WORLD BOOK TOUR:


FIRST CHAPTER MISTAKES TO AVOID:


THIRD-PERSON 101:


HOW TO MAKE YOUR CHARACTER SUFFER:


AUDIOBOOKS:


MARKETING USING IMAGE APPS:


WRITING THE BLACK MOMENT:



Monday, August 29, 2016

An Author Will and Other Things You Need to Plan for


For a reply at another author’s site, I went back through many of my “Links of Interest” in search of info on author estates and wills, and I thought I’d share them with you.

When you are looking for good links on a particular author-related subject, remember that you can do a search on my blog to find specific links.  For example, do a search for “Facebook” if you want information on ways to use Facebook for promotion.


ESTATE PLANNING FOR WRITERS, COPYRIGHT AND INVENTORIES:


AUTHOR ESTATES AND WILLS:


ON AUTHOR WILLS AND PRINCE:


NEIL GAIMAN ON WILLS WITH AN AUTHOR WILL TEMPLATE : 


PREPARING FOR A MAJOR AUTHOR EMERGENCY, LEGAL ELEMENTS:


And don’t forget my article on the subject:



Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Links of Interest

MISTAKES NOT TO MAKE WHEN CONTACTING A REVIEWER:


SELF-PUBS, CHOOSING THE RIGHT PRICE  FOR YOUR BOOK:


GETTING MORE READERS ON NON-AMAZON VENDORS:


FORENSICS, WILL A CORPSE PRODUCE OR DECREASE ALCOHOL IN ITS TISSUE?


KEYWORDS, THEMES, ETC., TO SELL MORE BOOKS ON AMAZON:


GRAMMAR, THAT VS. WHICH:


THE PROS AND CONS OF SMASHWORDS:


COPYRIGHT 101:


ONE AUTHOR’S EXPERIENCE WITH NETGALLERY REVIEW SERVICE:


FLASHBACKS WHERE AND WHEN ARE THEY APPROPRIATE:


PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR HEALTH AS WELL AS YOUR WRITING, WARNING SIGNS:


LINKS TO ARTICLES ON CLICHES:


CHOOSING THE RIGHT SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOU:


THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN DURING PHYSICAL FIGHTS:


REVISING TO IMPROVE PACING:


TIPS FOR PARANORMAL WRITERS:


CRIME SCENES, LIVE ACTION VICTIM TRAINING AND WHAT IT TEACHES RESPONDERS AND AUTHORS:


GRAMMAR, THE HYPHEN, DASH, AND ELLIPES:


THE FINAL  MANUSCRIPT READ THROUGH:


MANAGING YOUR SITE’S EMAIL:


20 KEY SCENES IN A ROMANCE NOVEL:


FIVE COMMON PLOT MISTAKES:


TWITTER 101 FOR WRITERS:


CREATING MOOD BY USING LIGHT AND DARK:


SPY JARGON:


FIRST PERSON, PT 2:


AVOIDING THE ANTICLIMATIC ENDING:


SEVEN KEY ELEMENTS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR FIRST CHAPTER:


GENRE VS. MARKET CATEGORY:


PUBLISHING, B&N’S NEED TO CHANGE TO SURVIVE:


HOW TO WRITE ABOUT THE DISABLED:


CHOOSING THE BEST POV:


HOW TO CODE AN EBOOK:


FIVE REASONS YOUR PLOT STALLED:



Monday, August 22, 2016

On Literary Greatness

Until the last sixty years, literary permanence wasn't bestowed, it was earned by an author and a work still being read and admired after many years of being published.  

In the Sixties and beyond, critics and scholars started labeling current books as great and part of the literary canon.  Not surprisingly, the books declared great have mostly disappeared into obscurity and only those of us forced to read these "masterpieces" in graduate school still remember them.  

One major criteria of a work lasting is that one generation passes the book to another.  If the book continues to speak to that next generation, it will continue to survive.

If anything, books moving from print into the digital format will make it much easier to pass a story from generation to generation because it won't be out of print.  

~*~

On a side note, I've collected a few review quotes which have proven to be really wrong.  Here are a few:

"Sentimental rubbish... Show me one page that contains an idea.”-- Odessa Courier on Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, 1877.

"Shakespeare's name, you may depend on it, stands absurdly too high and will go down.”-- Lord Byron, 1814.

"His fame is gone out like a candle in a snuff and his memory will always stink.” -- Wm. Winstanley on Milton, 1687.

"Monsieur Flaubert is not a writer.” -- La Figaro, 1857.

"This is a book of the season only.”-- NY Herald Tribune on The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

"We do not believe in the permanence of his reputation.  Our children will wonder what their ancestors could have meant by putting Dickens at the head of the novelists of today."-- Saturday Review, 1858.

"Nothing odd will do long.  Tristam Shandy did not last.” -- Samuel Johnson in 1776 on a novel that has never gone out of print.


"The only consolation which we have in reflecting upon it is that it will never be generally read.” --J. Lorimer reviewing Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, 1847.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Links of Interest

GENERATING GREAT STORY IDEAS:


THE COPYEDITOR:


MAKING YOUR SELF-PUBBED TEXT ACCESSIBLE TO BLIND READERS:


WAYS TO IMPROVE BLOG TRAFFIC:


PROOF READING TIPS:


AGENT CLAUSES INSERTED INTO CONTRACTS TO BEWARE OF:


BEWARE OF WORDS THAT WILL DATE YOUR BOOK:


FIGURING OUT YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE:


HOW TO FIND AND BE A GREAT CRITIQUE PARTNER:


CHARACTER DESCRIPTION IN MYSTERIES:


SELF-PUB BOOK PRICING STRATEGIES:


USING SLIGHT PAUSES FOR PACING:


FINDING THE RIGHT CRITIQUE PARTNER:


HOW TO LAYER SCENES IN A ROMANCE NOVEL:


WHAT MAKES YOUR PROTAG HEROIC?


IS YOUR NOVEL CHARACTER OR PLOT DRIVEN?


THE EVIL THAT IS THE DANGLING MODIFIER:


EMOTIONAL RESONANCE:


SELF-PUBS, WORKING WITH COVER AND INTERIOR DESIGNERS:


PERFECTING FIRST PERSON:


MYSTERY RESEARCH, MANHUNTS:


YOUTUBE BOOK REVIEWS:


HOW TO WRITE AN AMAZING SYNOPSIS:


THE BASICS OF DIALOGUE:


THE BALANCE BETWEEN HOOKING THE READER AND SETTING UP THE STORY:


FINDING OVERUSED WORDS: