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

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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.

Easy ways to start (and remain) in a scene:  http://ow.ly/YYJr302jbOf @Lindasclare

The Hot Sheet: industry newsletter for authors (30 day free trial): from @Porter_Anderson & @JaneFriedman: http://ow.ly/jycA302FpmY

Going Beyond the Default in Your Worldbuilding:  http://ow.ly/h9nm302jbqq @JulietteWade

A writer on her struggles with depression:  http://ow.ly/th91302jbJO @kseniaanske

9 Productivity Hacks to Help You Meet Your Next Deadline:  http://ow.ly/VNe3302jbfw @emily_tjaden

Frankfurt’s 2016 Rights Meeting: Where the Surprises Are: http://ow.ly/fPe8302FpsF @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives       Continue reading

Distributing Free Books

Business of Writing, Promo Tips, Uncategorized

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by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

It used to annoy me when I’d read about how important it was to offer a free book to readers for newsletter signups or as rewards for newsletter subscribers.

The advice was all well and good, but it rarely got into the nitty-gritty of it.  How exactly were we supposed to give away these freebies?  Surely I wasn’t expected to monitor signups and send out individual emails to subscribers?

The same problem would arise when I’d be invited to participate in group giveaways or when I’d need to submit advance review copies.

How was I supposed to share these files with subscribers or reviewers without manually sending them out?Continue reading

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.

3 Steps to Write an Antagonist You Hate:  http://ow.ly/n2533027zLA @reagancolbert97

The English World’s Richest Prize for Short Story (Open for Submissions):  http://ow.ly/2n25302teCb @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Instill the Joy of Reading and Storytelling in Children:  http://ow.ly/EYuE302lR5q @jemifraser @TheIWSG               Continue reading

Linear Writing

Uncategorized, Writing Tips

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by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I mentioned last week that I enjoy hearing other writers’ book-writing processes.   I share a variety of writing-craft tips on Twitter because although something may not be useful for me, it might be useful for someone else.

But sometimes, I think, it’s helpful to hear how others write.  Although I’m pretty set in my ways with my process, sometimes I need to try something new.  And sometimes I think I need to try something new because I’m so set in my ways.  It helps to keep my writing fresh, even though I may be working on book ten in a series.

I read a post from writer B.E. Sanderson’s Outside the Box blog on linear writing … working straight through scenes to reach the end of the story.   Continue reading

Metadata Tools

Business of Writing, Tools for Writers

 

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by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Those who’ve been reading my blog for a while know that I’ve had something of a bee in my bonnet lately over metadata.   When I first heard about metadata, it sounded like the most boring (and confusing) thing I’d ever heard of.  I became curious as I continued hearing more and more about it.  I attended a couple of talks on metadata at a couple of different conferences.  I read slideshows on it from conferences I hadn’t attended.

And then I decided that the topic of metadata was actually pretty interesting and useful after all.  To me, it’s a way of making my books visible to readers.  In that way, it’s useful in the way that a card catalog used to be useful at the public library.  Carla King wrote a great article for BookWorks called “Mastering Metadata: the Key to Marketing Your Books,” if you want a more detailed explanation of its helpfulness.

Then I realized at some point in the process that my own metadata, or the way I label the bits and pieces of my books, was wildly inconsistent.  I might be Elizabeth Craig, I might be Elizabeth Spann Craig, I might be Elizabeth S. Craig.  That doesn’t help my visibility on a search engine….surely I’d bring in better results if I listed myself one way all the time.Continue reading

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