Category: Business of Writing

Reader Privacy vs. Data Collection and Other Thoughts

Business of Writing

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigDeathtoStock_Wired2

I’m not sure what the grocery shopping is like internationally, but here your data gets tracked if you use loyalty cards.  And loyalty cards get you special discounts with the grocer so many of us grudgingly use them.

After checking out, sometimes a small printer at the register prints out coupons that the computer inside thinks you will use.  Maybe the coupons are for a similar, competing, item to something you’ve purchased. Maybe it’s for some of the same products you’ve just bought, as a thank-you or to hook you to purchase more the next time you’re there.  And then there are puzzling coupons—like the one for an antacid that printed out for me on Saturday.  We don’t purchase antacids there. So…was the computer making a judgment regarding the spicy contents of my grocery cart?

This ties into something I’ve been reading a good deal about lately—data collection.  Although readers may be dismayed at the idea of any potential data collection by retailers or publishers, it’s definitely already happening.  Amazon makes recommendations based on our purchasing histories, for example.  If we haven’t unchecked various sharing mechanisms in our Kindles, whenever we highlight a passage, that is public, too.Continue reading

Working With a Cover Designer: Time-Saving Techniques

Business of Writing, Tools for Writers

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigDeathPaysaVisit_print_web (2)

I have a cover conference (via email) this week with my current cover designer, Karri Klawiter.  I’ve been told by cover designers in the past that they like working with me because I both know exactly what I’m looking for (or can quickly identify what I’m looking for when I get samples) and that I supply most/all of the information they need on their end immediately.

I’ve got sort of a template email that I use with designers to help speed along and clarify the process on both ends.  Below is the initial email I sent for the last, published, project of mine (fall release). Continue reading

Filling in Detail and Benefits of Editing

Business of Writing, Writing Tips

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigDSCF7236

Detail and description is, I think, a little tricky.  Two of my series require a lot of it because of the nature of the subgenre.  The quilting mysteries and the Memphis barbeque series are both cozy series with a series hook (crafting and cuisine).  My editors for those series have mentioned to me many times that readers of these series really appreciate a good deal of description in terms of the hook.  My most current editorial letter asks me for more detail on the quilts the characters are working on, for instance.

On the other hand, my self-published Myrtle Clover mysteries don’t have a series hook (I’ve wondered before if this were a reason the series was dropped by the publisher years ago).  The descriptions I use for the characters and settings are sketchier—more of the types of descriptions I like as a reader.  I like to get just enough so that I can mentally say, “Oh, okay.  So that character sort of resembles my Uncle Joe. Got it.”Continue reading

Reedsy: a Marketplace for Indie Writers

Business of Writing, Tools for Writers

Note from Elizabeth: Several years ago, when I took the self-publishing plunge, the scariest part of the process for me was making an investment in my writing without the promise of a payout.  What’s more, at the time, it was a sort of wild west of providers. Connecting with a cover designer or a freelance editor or a solid formatter was a word-of-mouth process…and if someone had good word-of-mouth, they were totally booked.

Ricardo Fayet reached out to me last July about what he called a “curated self-publishing marketplace” and wanted to know if I’d chat with him on the phone about his start-up and a little on my thoughts of what self-publishing authors would find useful.

Reedsy is now available to authors as a tool to find professionals for our books.   What’s more, it’s currently free for authors.  (And, as a note, I’m not associated with Reedsy in any way aside from a beta view of the marketplace.)

Presenting Reedsy: where authors meet the best publishing professionals

by Ricardo Fayet, @RicardoFayet, @ReedsyHQReedsy1

“The fast-growing self-publishing environment is attracting all kinds of start-ups and companies that intend to serve authors. However, most of them seem to aim at the periphery of what authors really need, which in my opinion, is primarily editors and cover designers.” — Joanna Penn

Joanna absolutely hit the nail on the head, and I started Reedsy to properly and completely address this gap in today’s self-publishing marketplace.Continue reading

Creating a Production Plan for the Year—Some Thoughts

Business of Writing, Motivation and the Writing Life

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraigproduction plan

Happy 2015!  Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays.  I’m back into the swing of things and have been working on this year’s production plan for my books.

I’m not so much a fan of resolutions.  I’d rather see my goals laid out on a to-do list or on a calendar as deadlines. That’s why I use a very simple production plan each year. If you’d like to do the same, here are my tips for getting started or for honing your list.Continue reading

Scroll to top