Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigBlog

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Again, still struggling with downloading my scheduled tweets so my apologies for any repeats, missed links, etc.  Hoping HootSuite can fix this issue soon.

Have a great week!

Books Become Decoration As E-Readers Take Over  http://ow.ly/toVn1 @NewYorkObserver

10 Pro Tips for Writers Using Social Media:  http://ow.ly/toWfr @mattpetronzioContinue reading

Genre-Blending—Adding Elements of Another Genre to Our Story

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigShear Trouble 2

Last year, I received a contract extension for my Southern Quilting mysteries—Penguin wanted two more books. So I knew that the series would last through 2015 and then would be up for consideration again.  I started writing the book that’s coming out this August, Shear Trouble.

I was about to work on subplots for the story when I got an email from a reader in South America. She’s what many writers call a “True Fan.” True Fans have been defined by former Wired editor Kevin Kelly as:

“A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.”Continue reading

Choosing Our Mystery’s Murderer

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigDSCN8976

Mystery writers that I’ve met tend to fall into a couple of different groups—writers who have picked their killer before they start writing their story (or early in their draft) and those who decide by the end of the book who the killer will be.

I’m a fan of picking my murderer at the end of the book.  The only problem is the fact that I’ve (fairly recently) started outlining. When I outline, I lay out the murderer…but I leave it open to change.  For my Penguin books, however, the outline goes to my editor so that she has an opportunity to weigh in.  I’ve changed the killer a couple of times for my editor and once I dramatically changed a character’s personality and manner in order to keep the character as the murderer.Continue reading

When to Hire a Professional

by L. Diane Wolfe, @SpunkonaStick

Facebook BannerSelf-publishing has become a very attractive venture for writers these days. It’s now much easier to send a book out into the world without the help of a publisher.

When you self-publish a book, you take on a whole new role – business owner. All of the duties and responsibilities of a publishing house now fall on your shoulders. Some of these things an author can do with the proper skills and training. Often time is a big factor, and when you are a one person band, there’s only so much you can do.

It’s important to know when to hire a professional. It can make the difference between a shoddy book and a great book. Because it doesn’t matter how great you are as a writer – if everything else is second rate, no one will buy your book.

There are a few areas where you need to weigh the pros and cons – do you do it yourself or hire a professional:Continue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigBlog

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

I’m hoping that there is no overlap or repetition in this particular edition of Twitterific. I’m having technical issues, unfortunately, and had to switch from SocialOomph to HootSuite for tweet scheduling. And now I’ve apparently broken HootSuite!  The downloading of my archived tweets didn’t work (I have a ticket started with them), so this is my best attempt to reconstruct last week’s activity.

Have a great week!

Isaac Asimov Predicts in 1964 What World Will Look Like in 2014: http://ow.ly/tb2zr @dancolman @openculture

Freewriting for Inspiration:  http://ow.ly/tb3cy @WritingForward

3 Vital Keys to Success as a Writer:  http://ow.ly/tb2Yd @writetodoneContinue reading

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