Author: Elizabeth Spann Craig

Elizabeth writes the Memphis Barbeque series (as Riley Adams) and the Southern Quilting mysteries for Penguin and writes the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink and independently. She also has a blog, which was named by Writer’s Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers. There she posts on the writing craft, finding inspiration in everyday life, and fitting writing into a busy schedule.

Twitterific Writing Links

Twitterific

Twitterific--Final

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

I’ll be back blogging on Friday–taking a day off tomorrow for Labor Day. :)

Finding the Right Critique Partner: 6-Step Checklist:  http://ow.ly/vjIh303uOZ2 @KMWeiland

Roxane Gay With Advice For Aspiring Writers:  http://ow.ly/M4qW303uPik @rgay  @bustle  @gayonabudget

The Most Neglected Resource for Reviews: YouTube:  http://ow.ly/s3nU303uOn0  @AndyPeloquin

6 Ways to Vet Freelance Editors:  http://ow.ly/gqyC303uOBK by Maya Rock @JaneFriedman        Continue reading

Characters Impact Stories

Uncategorized, Writing Tips

facebook_8f3ed689a8

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Wednesday I drove to Flat Rock, North Carolina, to speak with a book club.  It was a great event and the group asked some very interesting questions.

One of the questions I received was: “How do you alter your writing for books authored by Craig versus those authored by Adams?”

I have three different series and the Memphis Barbeque Mysteries is a four book series for Penguin that I wrote as Riley Adams.  At first, I was tempted to say that there was no difference between the series, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized this wasn’t true at all. There’s a lot of difference between the Memphis series and the Myrtle and Southern Quilting series.

I realized it came down to one key factor.  My answer was: “The main character in the Memphis series is an extrovert.”Continue reading

Checklist for a New Release

Business of Writing, Promo Tips

facebook_d684612b73

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Releases are always a lot more work than I think they are.  That’s because of all the little things I have to do to prepare.  It’s a lot.  It would be more if I did a lot of promo work (blog tours, ads, etc.)  for the release, but I usually just like to start working on the next book.

I thought I’d share a checklist of the types of tasks I do when a book is ready to release. Some of the things I can do while my editor has the book and I’m waiting to make corrections.  Some of the things must be done when the book is ready to publish.

Checklist

Set up my newsletter to announce the new release when it’s time.  I use MailChimp.

Write a personal author’s note for the back-matter section of the book and for that section on the Amazon product page that we access through Author Central  (From the Author).Continue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

Twitterific, Writing Tips

Twitterific--Final

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

The ethics of ghost-writing:  http://ow.ly/cq1c303iNu4 @Roz_Morris

Madeleine L’Engle on the 3 Most Important Things for Writers:  http://ow.ly/cu4W303iNxk @WriterJoMalby

Podcasting and Indie Authors: Is Podcasting Right for You? http://ow.ly/JjsO303iNEt @CaballoFrances

Creating Realistic Cultures in Worldbuilding:  http://ow.ly/BzLM303iNSy by Chris Winkle @mythcreants   Continue reading

Writing in Busy Times

Motivation and the Writing Life, Uncategorized

facebook_856eec6709

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Usually I think of summer as a lazier time when I can leisurely get peripheral writing-related chores completed. I’d put all kinds of things on my calendar to do this summer: Facebook ad experiments, slideshows for LinkedIn, website stuff.  There was no time to do any of the extras I wanted to try.  I did write a book, though, and promoted one that came out in May.  There was a lot of writing on the go.

So what do we do during frantically busy times to stay on track with our writing goals?  I’ve got a few tips: Continue reading

Scroll to top