Author: Elizabeth Spann Craig

@AuthorGuy — Authorguy’s Blog

What a difference a Date makes.

When I first started my latest novel (the latest one to be released, not my WIP) I was standing in a book store, looking at the spine of a book with the title Blood Moon. I say ‘started’ here because just looking at this title gave me the idea for a novel in which a werewolf attack occurs on the Moon. The story as originally envisaged in that flashbulb moment, that ‘Aha’ moment for which all of us writers live, was supposed to be a mystery, with a hideous monster in the middle of it.

When I started actually writing the story, the title was (you guessed it) ‘Blood Moon’. Hey, why not, can’t copyright titles, right? Well, no, you can’t, which is not always a good thing. We want our books to stand out, don’t we? We want people to find our books, don’t we? Well, have you ever tried googling the title ‘Blood Moon’? There are lots of books with that name. It’s really rather shocking. I hope the authors had better names for their books, but it’s amazing that so many publishers couldn’t be bothered to check! I suppose there might be title generators or SEO algorithms that recommend titles with Blood and Moon in them, but if you want that book to shine don’t hide it under a bushel of other books with the same name.

When I was in the middle of writing my story, I grew dissatisfied with the title. It seemed rather ordinary to me, and more important, it didn’t actually tell me anything about the book. Worse, what it did tell me was wrong! You see, Blood Moon didn’t stay a mystery very long. I think I was in chapter two somewhere when I realized that I had no aptitude for writing mysteries. Or Horror. I’m a character-based novelist, and I usually discover the plot as I’m following my characters around. Blood Moon is a great title for a mystery (or a paranormal, or a romance, or a…) but it’s not a great title for whatever this story was shaping up to be.

Sometimes we authors realize it ourselves, and change the title to something more useful. Sometimes we don’t, and it falls to the editors and even marketing people to say that our book just doesn’t feel like a ‘Blood Moon’ sort of book, and then where are we? The title influences the book as we’re writing it, at least it does for me. As Blood Moon moved farther away from anything mystery-like, the name became more of a straitjacket. So I went on the web, googling the phrase ‘Blood Moon’ to see if there were any useful alternatives. It turns out there are. Blood Moon is an actual name, the name of a particular full moon, one of the 13 that occur throughout the year. It never occurred to me that people would name them but they do. (Possible series idea there.)

One of those names was ‘St. Martin’s Moon’. So I thought, ‘Hey, sounds like a cool title’, but it was much more than that. St. Martin is the patron saint of many things, including beggars, innkeepers, and geese. More important, St. Martin’s Moon is the full moon in the sky shortly after Halloween. And here’s me, writing a werewolf novel.

• And just like that (well, not really, nothing about this book was ‘just like that’) the book got a bit of a makeover.
• Some details got a whole new significance. Because of the title, the time and place of events suddenly shifted. It’s Halloween, and I discovered Joseph Marquand, my MC, hates Halloween. Why? Well, let’s find out.
• Some details were added. Because of the title, I noticed a church sign one day and worked it into the story. Minor, I’ll admit, but good for flavor if nothing else.
• When I got around to writing the end (I’m very linear) I found that the whole ending had been changed. I discovered Joseph Marquand didn’t like psychics either, but that’s for next book.
• Even the genre was different, and I don’t say that lightly. I didn’t just change the genre from mystery to paranormal romance, although for a long time that’s what I thought I’d done. I ended up inventing a new genre, because the story morphed to fit the title.

The Feast of St. Martin is November 11^th. St. Martin’s Moon is November 10^th this year. My wife is planning a party, just because.

Happy Martinmas!

Like many writers, I started when a story came along and decided that I should write it. Don’t ask me why. Others followed, until now I’m afraid to go out of the house with a recorder or notebook in my hand. But I show them, I refuse to write the same story twice!

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Hi everyone!  Today I’m over at the book blog, Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book.  I’ve got a guest post explaining why it’s dangerous to unleash writers on an unsuspecting public. :)

There’s also a giveaway of one copy of Hickory Smoked Homicide.

Hope you’ll pop by!

First of all, thanks to Mason Canyon at the Thoughts in Progress blog for her review of my recent release, Hickory Smoked Homicide.  I appreciate it, Mason!

I was talking to another writer the other day and they asked me how I handled the pressure of promo and reviews.  I thought about it for a second, then I said, “I write.”

But it wasn’t always that way.  After I wrote my first book, I treated it like a child that needed its hand held.  I walked it to kindergarten, I anxiously watched what people said about it. Was it being bullied?   I worried over it.  I was a helicopter parent for the book.

Then I noticed that I kept getting the same advice from the other writers that I knew. “You should write another book.”  Some of the writers didn’t even realize they were giving advice.  “When’s your next book coming out?” they’d ask.  As if that was just the normal approach.  It was, actually, an annoying refrain.

I didn’t want to think about the next book.  I wanted to focus on the fact that I’d just written a book! It made my head hurt to think about moving on to another one.  I wanted to just celebrate my accomplishment.

Since I continued to hear the same advice, though, I wrote another book.  I started obsessing over it the same way.  At that time, I was trying to move from a regional press to the big guys.  I wrote queries and synopses and cover letters, and tracked them carefully.  And I wasn’t writing.

I discovered that it was very discouraging to get rejections.  That was probably because querying was my sole focus.  The rejections really stung.  I hated going to my mailbox.

And still I continued to hear the refrain.  “So what’s your next book about?  What are you writing now?”

Was there no resting on your laurels in this business?  Even after a couple of books? 

That’s when it all started clicking for me.  Write, edit, submit, brainstorm, repeat.  That’s the cycle.  That’s how we get better, that’s how we start a writing career, that’s how we sustain a writing career–that’s it.

That’s how rejections and reviews won’t sting.  We keep writing. 

If we write a real stinker?  We keep writing, keep improving.  We’ll have a better or more successful book the next time.  Or the next.

If all our writing dreams are hanging on one or two books, we’ll nurse the dickens out of them. It’s so much better, so much healthier, to keep being creative. 

What’s your next book about? 

Below are the writing-related links I tweeted last week.

The Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by software engineer and writer Mike Fleming, makes all these links searchable. Sign up for the free monthly WKB newsletter for the web’s best links and interviews: http://bit.ly/gx7hg1 .

Recent news: the 3rd book in the Memphis Barbeque series released last Tuesday—Hickory Smoked Barbeque.

5 things to know about NaNoWriMo before you start it: http://bit.ly/tUC4V6 @LTWFblog

Why a 1st Draft is Like a Day at the Farm: http://bit.ly/w1UXEf @JillKemerer

Questions that helped 1 writer during revisions: http://bit.ly/rM2Kt8

A Tortured Path to Writing and Cartooning: http://bit.ly/vXBrHS

When you feel out of place, write: http://bit.ly/rQwrQX @write_practice

Try tracking your circadian cycle to see when you should write: http://bit.ly/rZ7v51 @bookviewcafe

Know the difference between meaningful soc. media interaction & spam: http://bit.ly/rTfCxn @WriteAngleBlog

How often should writers blog? http://bit.ly/tao421 @JodyHedlund

The Secret to Effortless Writing: http://bit.ly/sLKBpv @JeffGoins

Chick Lit vs. Women’s Fiction: http://bit.ly/roHjrh @RoniLoren @sierragodfrey

The difference between bad press releases & good publicity requests: http://bit.ly/sTJhYb @JaneFriedman

How to nip procrastination in the bud: http://bit.ly/vNmpZU @workawesome

7 habits of successful writers: http://bit.ly/tus3ic @BTMargins

Adding Suspense To Your Post-Apocoalyptic (or any!) Novel: http://bit.ly/rvzqVM @elanaj

Thanks @druannlove ! Book Giveaway: Hickory Smoked Homicide by Riley Adams aka @elizabethscraig http://wp.me/p3nHH-1w2 /

How to Sell Low-Cost Subscriptions to Short Stories: http://bit.ly/sjN8Hp @JaneFriedman

How to Write Like a Cheesy Halloween Movie: http://bit.ly/uXXZhL @JeffGoins

Plot Building for the Character Driven Writer: http://bit.ly/tiA313 @RoniLoren

Tips for adjusting to critique group changes: http://bit.ly/s6zC0z @PBRWriter

Are Ambiguous Endings Powerful or Frustrating? http://bit.ly/tqVBLH @writeitsideways

What Makes a Good Setting: http://bit.ly/vQ63Nt @Janice_Hardy

There are benefits to letting the door swing shut on gore in our books: http://bit.ly/rC9zTF

Writing fears: http://bit.ly/t1McCs @donnacooner

Scary book writing moments–they happen to us all: http://bit.ly/tHT683

The level of truth in our fiction: http://bit.ly/sasan7 @AmySueNathan

1 writer has changed the prices on her ebooks: http://bit.ly/rOkRAj @SelenaKitt

Words of Writing Wisdom from E.B. White: http://bit.ly/u0KYqY @LindaGray_

The Wall Street Journal To Lauch eBook Best Seller Lists: http://bit.ly/vuXXgg @ebooknewser

Thanks so much, @InkyElbows ! Inkygirl Golden Cupcake Award: Writer’s Knowledge Base:http://bit.ly/vp5lzC

Creative Ways To Capture Research Notes: http://bit.ly/uQ1Sjn @DaxMacGregor

The Changing Model of Publishing: http://bit.ly/tTSIXj @greyhausagency

Hunting the wild subplot: http://bit.ly/rKgH81 @sarahahoyt

Beware of Creepy, Lurking Hackers: http://bit.ly/rv950L

10 Demographic Names and Expressions: http://bit.ly/vlijIP

Candid Writing: Break Your Own Heart: http://bit.ly/trS9E5 @BTMargins

Chapter transitions and story drive: http://bit.ly/sHyGIX @JulietteWade

How to Cut the Fat from Your WIP: http://bit.ly/rzrDJO @novelrocket

9 Tips on Opening Lines & Opening Chapters: http://bit.ly/rJjBVp

5 Things Paratrooping Can Teach You About Self-Publishing: http://bit.ly/vhDhPU @TheCreativePenn

When you need to leave your agent: http://bit.ly/uvbaTq @RachelleGardner

Nanowrimo: Elements of Act Two, Part 2: http://bit.ly/rRgott @AlexSokoloff

Nanowrimo: Elements of Act Two, Part 2: http://bit.ly/rRgott @AlexSokoloff

8 Things That Can Push a Group Over to the Dark Side: http://bit.ly/uVNyVi @AnneRAllen

Style Blunders in Fiction: http://bit.ly/t41FUA @DPLyleMD

10 Fear Busters for Writers: http://bit.ly/uMyvMB @KMWeiland

3 Common Comma Conundrums Resolved: http://bit.ly/tCLWb3 @keligwyn

Author Blogging 101: Up With Comments: http://bit.ly/rv6Q0M @JFBookman

How To Get Feedback On Your Novel That Will Actually Help: http://bit.ly/sW8Rtn @BubbleCow

4 Tips for Hiring an Editor: http://bit.ly/tuqZls

How to set up an affiliate account with Barnes & Noble thru LinkShare: http://bit.ly/vU5Uk5 @HowToWriteShop

Learning to Call It “Good Enough” So You Can Grow As a Writer: http://bit.ly/td5h49 @jodycalkins

The heroism of writing: http://bit.ly/slRhiN @BookEmDonna

Bolster Your Creative Output by Activating Your “Red Zone”: http://bit.ly/tkje7t @the99percent

NaNo Prep: Planning Your Novel’s Ending: http://bit.ly/sAXWko @Janice_Hardy

The key to a synopsis is to forget your book: http://bit.ly/sxZAIs @nicolamorgan

Self-Publishing: A Tale of Two Cities: http://bit.ly/t1Kh6y Wall St. Journal via @PassiveVoiceBlg

Good and bad repetition in our novels: http://bit.ly/vNCYR1 @JHansenWrites

Why 1 writer doesn’t use DRM on ebooks: http://bit.ly/ucmYHA @avantman42 via @JFBookman

Macro-Revision: Take It One Piece at a Time: http://bit.ly/tdkDPM @THahnBurkett

NaNoWriMo success tips: http://bit.ly/u77uyI @GoblinWriter

How to write when you aren’t in the mood: http://bit.ly/tbnJJS @CherylRWrites

How to Avoid Parenting Your Characters: http://bit.ly/sFtL3l @WritersDigest

Are There More Writers Than Readers? http://bit.ly/uaXTH3 @JodyHedlund

5 Ways Barnes & Noble’s New Nook Could Compete With The Kindle Fire: http://bit.ly/vXqrMx @paidContent

Author Finds Flaws In Kindle Auto Pricing: http://bit.ly/rQW6CD @ebooknewser

Websites that review indie authors: http://bit.ly/vMgWTh @dirtywhitecandy

Where do characters come from? 4 places 1 writer finds them: http://bit.ly/sqTT1h @JoanSwan

Thanks, @JoanSwan for hosting me today–& for the comment-to-win giveway: http://bit.ly/sqTT1h

Tips for tight writing: http://bit.ly/v8opCZ @LynnetteLabelle

Tips for Scoring the Book Review, Guest Post or Interview: http://bit.ly/tlO1L5 @KristenLambTX

Is Your Blog Skimable? 6 Easy Fixes to Help Readers Actually Read: http://bit.ly/uwtu3H @MarianSchembari

Quick Way To Improve Your Twitter Profile To Sell More Books: http://bit.ly/rBg0Dw @BubbleCow

Common Grammatical Mishaps: http://bit.ly/v32F3R @danyelleleafty

It’s the digital age. But Amazon Publishing hasn’t killed print yet. http://bit.ly/txg72U @laurahazardowen

An agent answers a question about query formatting: http://bit.ly/vnvOul @Kid_Lit

Conflict in romance: http://bit.ly/rWjnE9 @pprmint777

Romantic relationships in fantasy: http://bit.ly/t3CD3P @FantasyFaction

17 tips for writing fiction: http://bit.ly/uv8Mbc

When’s the Right Time to Leave Your Big Six Publisher? http://bit.ly/uoqp23 @JaneFriedman

Blind spots that derail writers: http://bit.ly/tRdT4F @bob_mayer

Warning Signs For Large Publishers In August AAP Figures: http://bit.ly/uWp8pb @DavidGaughran

Building conflict in your novel: http://bit.ly/thMkW2 @NovelRocket

35 Troublesome Irregular Verbs: http://bit.ly/uttRh4

How not to end things: http://bit.ly/tFjHA5 @BTMargins

What catches 1 agent’s interest in an initial query: http://bit.ly/rU0FeK @greyhausagency

Interesting wrap-up of the Books in Browsers conference: http://bit.ly/uqZlNT @EdNawotka #publishing

Writing A Series: 7 Continuation Issues To Avoid: http://bit.ly/sdTfnE @TheCreativePenn

A writer explains how she organizes her 3 ring writer’s notebook: http://bit.ly/uQ2a53 @JulieMusil

NaNoWriMo Tip: Use the Reference Desk: http://bit.ly/ttCe40 @GalleyCat

Keywording 201– SEO for writers: http://bit.ly/ugQCkc @emacphe

Why 1 writer selectively follows on Twitter (& why she weeds some people out): http://bit.ly/vzfFcU @NinaBadzin

Recording Audiobooks: Tales from the Padded Room: http://bit.ly/s4ctcE

Examples in crime fiction of authors who struggled to find their character’s voice: http://bit.ly/rz2hNT @Mkinberg

10 tips for author branding: http://bit.ly/rVPiks @authorterryo

Catch up with this week’s #publishing buzz–conferences, transmedia, & Amazon–with @Porter_Anderson for @JaneFriedman: http://bit.ly/tvI3KY

Building Your Web Presence for Authors: SEO Blogging Tips for Fun and Profit: http://bit.ly/soc2Ph @CuriosityQuills

Amazon Lending Library Available To Prime Members: http://bit.ly/rOrGG6 @ebooknewser

The Publishing Biz: Will it Break You? http://bit.ly/ucps7V

Profanity in writing: http://bit.ly/vCxHGz

Your character’s actions during dialogue are important to your story: http://bit.ly/rY8BE6 @BryanThomasS

Writing and Editing Skills Critical for Entry-Level Writers: http://bit.ly/uhGxiP

The Digital Dilemma for Picture Book Publishers: http://bit.ly/umBMBz @birtle

Revising Your Novel Part 2: Character Arcs: http://bit.ly/siY7GT @LaurHarrington

How to make a 70% royalty on a 99-cent Kindle ebook: http://bit.ly/sOBHWj @rule17

How do I balance family & writing? Sometimes not very well. :) My interview with @mybookishways today: http://bit.ly/tBHeww

9 tips for writing at home: http://bit.ly/tLqPts

The $0.99 Book Price — Is it Making or Breaking You? http://bit.ly/vfSFYD @billsonskinner

The Future is Indie: http://bit.ly/v8Rn2c @DavidGaughran

A Writer’s Number One Enemy: http://bit.ly/uzeHIN @JodyHedlund

A free directory of ebook pros–for covers, editing, formatting, & more: http://tinyurl.com/3mxg5zt

Tips for writing in deep POV: http://bit.ly/ut64rW

Choosing between independent publishers: http://bit.ly/rAnFg4 @FantasyFaction

Tips for creating your own ebook cover: http://bit.ly/u5ca1s @calistataylor for @WriteAngleBlog

5 Reasons You Should Write Like a Speed Demon: http://bit.ly/w07Ue7 @pubcoach for @FriesenPress

NaNoWriMo tip: Make a Mind Map: http://bit.ly/tq585F @GalleyCat

How to make a button for your blog: http://bit.ly/tAHrfG @alchemyofscrawl

Problems and Opportunities with Kindle’s Automatic Pricing: http://bit.ly/uMlT5I @selfpubreview

7 Ways to Fake It at Book Club: http://bit.ly/ueYVEX @bookriot via @PassiveVoiceBlg

How much worldbuilding should you include in your story? http://bit.ly/rAXHov @HP4Writers

The blogging cycle–how do you stay sane? http://bit.ly/tCKs5k @JamiGold

A life in writing–P.D. James (Guardian): http://bit.ly/sN31Yi

Rowling admits she considered killing Ron Weasley (Chicago Tribune): http://trib.in/vQeqge

The ups and downs of snowboarding and writing: http://bit.ly/trcuMe @Kerrie_Flanagan

Meet the Reader: The (Real) Rules of Screenwriting: http://bit.ly/w4oLZd @scriptmag

The New Midlist Writers: http://bit.ly/rM55Eb

Are Social Media Sites the New Slush Pile? http://bit.ly/tTUdw6 @pubperspectives

Tips to help you reverse direction in your story: http://bit.ly/srqlFZ @DonMaass

Different ways to hook your reader: http://bit.ly/vd5j2v @Janice_Hardy

Avoiding Common Ebook Errors: http://bit.ly/u1psxU @PassiveVoiceBlg

For NaNo–Writing Advice From History’s Fastest, Most Prolific Authors: http://bit.ly/uxNd8M @TheAtlantic

How to Use Psychometric Testing to Create Believable Characters: http://bit.ly/uliaca

Interesting plot generator to brainstorm with: http://bit.ly/rWAHf5

A variety of tips on the writing craft: http://bit.ly/sofyXW @BTMargins

Crafting a great chapter 1: http://bit.ly/smfvSB

Adding conflict to your story: http://bit.ly/vdZ0dS

How People-Watching Makes You a Better Writer: http://bit.ly/sQySW6 @writeitsideways

Writing prompt resources: http://bit.ly/tB3Y5Q @CherylRWrites

Anonymous Employees Share Thoughts about Working at Amazon: http://bit.ly/t5n3MX @galleycat

Why You Should Tell the Ugly Parts of Your Story: http://bit.ly/uEalqn @JeffGoins

50 Words with the Most Whimsical Prefix: http://bit.ly/u2BKt4

The art of the novel: http://nyti.ms/vHt9AM (NY Times)

Writing–before & after technology & before & after baby: http://bit.ly/v6pz55 @annemazer

Sometimes our stories have seeds of doubt–it’s up to us to turn the soil: http://bit.ly/vF3zz2

Top techniques for ebook promo, pricing, & long term sales: http://bit.ly/ss9U0m for @TheCreativePenn

How to Get Great Endorsements that Sell Books: http://bit.ly/rKLcs7 @TonyEldridge

The Benefits of Book Reviewing: http://bit.ly/u4Udxg @lydia_sharp

Tips for developing your writing voice: http://bit.ly/sS52sU @KristenLambTX

Ghostwriting: Does It Matter If You Don’t Get The Credit? http://bit.ly/uuDUp4 @shurleyhall

Why Bloggers Should Be Stalkable: http://bit.ly/w3aPqu @charissaweaks

5 Ways to Stay Motivated While Writing a Novel: http://bit.ly/sU8JHo @nathanbransford

Speaker Tips for Authors: http://bit.ly/uuMjxN @sparrowgrp for @Bookgal

50 Quick, Dirty, and Cheap Ways to Improve Your Social Media Presence: http://bit.ly/vkKGT2 @smartwoman

11 Ways to Improve your Writing: http://bit.ly/urCf6G @soulofaword

6 reasons to keep writing: http://bit.ly/unNQLI @woodwardkaren

Just a quick post today to serve as a heads-up to my recent crop of new blog and Twitter followers  (and many thanks for the follow) that there are a couple of resources for writers that I help curate.  My regular readers might want to dodge out of this post now, since this is old news for you!

One of them is the Ebook Services Directory.  If you’re a writer interested in epublishing, please check it out.  It’s a free listing of ebook cover designers, freelance editors, formatters, conversion specialists, ghost writers, and other folks who can help you to either publish your ebook or market it.   I’m using it, myself, and have found that there are a range of prices and services available. 

The other is the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine that software engineer Mike Fleming designed.  We just hit the 12,000 link milestone this week.  I comb my Google Reader for helpful posts, tweet the posts, and the links feed automatically into the WKB.  The search engine is free and is full of helpful posts on any writing or writing-promo topic that you can think of.  My favorite thing about the WKB is that writers provided the content.  These are working writers, aspiring authors—folks who know what they’re writing about.   I use the WKB every day. 

The Writer’s Knowledge Base also has a monthly newsletter that features top content of the past month and an interview with one of the top content providers.  Back issues are archived on the site.  Last month, it was Elspeth Antonelli  and Terry Odell was featured in September.  The newsletter is free and you can sign up here for it.

Okay, that’s it!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Any fun plans?