Category: Business of Writing

Releasing Two Books on the Same Day

Business of Writing, Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

What made me decide to launch two titles on the same day? Besides a touch of insanity?  I thought I might be able to pick up some exposure and sales for the first book in a new series if I released it at the same time as book 14 in an established series (Myrtle Clover).  I was a little leery of releasing an unknown book out of the blue after writing established series for so long (the last time I launched a new series was circa 2012…it’s been a while).

The easiest part was writing two books at once. The hardest was definitely revising two books at once and then releasing them.  My family has never complained about my writing getting in the way of our family time…until I decided on the dual release.  They were not fans! At one point in the process, I was working 12 hour days 7 days a week on revision and setting up pre-orders.

This is apparently an unpopular approach with writers, as well, since I was unable to find any tips online.  :)  There were tips on releasing an entire series at once, but not books in different series.Continue reading

Translation Hyphenation Issues on Babelcube

Business of Writing, Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

This is one of those posts that will only help a very specific group of writers, but I thought I’d throw it out there since the issue is one that I’ve struggled with for about a year.

I’m still working with the translation platform Babelcube, although I’m also working with a couple of other platforms,  as well (Tektime and BundleRabbit).  There are translators who prefer to work with Babelcube…knowing that the platform has its problems, but at least it’s something of a known entity.

This particular issue has to do with hyphenation at the end of lines for paperback books.   The problem is that Adobe likes, naturally, to hyphenate as though the text’s language is English.  This, as you’d imagine, doesn’t work well for other languages…specifically, in my case, German and Spanish.  It may also not work in others, but I haven’t yet gotten any complaints about hyphenation in Portuguese.  The hyphenation is very distracting to readers.

There may be a way to turn off this automatic hyphenation (the Word files I’m uploading are from the translators and do not have this errant hyphenation) in Adobe, but I’ve yet to find a solution for doing so.

If you choose to use the Babelcube automatically-generated PDF instead of uploading your own for a paperback, you’ll  also encounter the problem.

After poking around online in forums and through blog posts, here’s what I’ve been able to come up with:Continue reading

Genre Expectations

Business of Writing

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

This is another one of those posts that comes with a proviso…as a writer, you’re in control of your book and no one else makes the rules.  The advice I’m about to give isn’t for everybody and it isn’t for every book.   It’s directed more to writers who are looking for a leg-up in their commercial fiction category and who are primarily writing to a specific audience.

It’s also a post that goes hand-in-hand with others I’ve written on how much easier it is to write in a particular genre (if you have a mind to).  That’s because there are specific reader expectations per genre.

I know a lot of traditionally-published books are rejected by agents and editors because they don’t follow genre expectations.  An agent knows that makes a story tough to pitch to an editor…who knows it’s tough to market to an audience.Continue reading

The Importance of Images in Social Media

Business of Writing, Promo Tips, Uncategorized

by L. Diane Wolfe, @DancingLemurPre

Online media provides us few opportunities to express ourselves in our entirety. Text gives us a voice, but what about the other senses? We can’t taste, touch, or smell. But we can see.

Studies have shown that online all text is boring and difficult to read. Most news articles contain one or more images to ground the reader. Unless it’s reading an actual book, readers don’t want all text.

Images break it up. A long line of text leave readers almost gasping for breath. Unlike traditional book readers, people do not want a tome of information online. They want the important details and they want it quick. Adding a few graphics gives their experience more meaning.

Items with images are more likely to be shared. Look at your most shared blog posts, Facebook posts, Tweets, etc. Those with images were shared far more often. A line of text doesn’t convey enough. But add a graphic or a video and it gains new depth.

Consider adding images to your:

Continue reading

Know Your Genre and Write in Series

Business of Writing

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Today I’m posting another entry in my series ‘making life easier as a writer.’  With today’s post, I want to add a proviso: this advice is only if you do really want to make life easier. If you aren’t writing commercial fiction or if you’re really wanting to pursue a one-off book, that’s definitely what you should do.

Genre:  Especially if you’re just starting out (but even if you’re a veteran writer), it’s easiest to write a story that fits perfectly into a particular genre…especially a genre that you’re very well-read in and acquainted with.Continue reading

Scroll to top