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When an Unreliable Narrator Needs a Little Help

March 28, 2014March 26, 2014Uncategorized, Writing Tips

by Deborah Nam-Krane, @dnkboston

It took me almost six years to publish my series The New Pioneers, even though I had four completed novels. Part of my delay was that it takes a number of chances. At its heart, it’s romance with chick lit elements. However, each novel has its own special character to reflect that story’s heroine. Thus far, The Smartest Girl in the Room has explored Emily’s coming-of-age and The Family You Choose has uncovered the dark family secrets that haunted Miranda. Harel. But Jessie Bartolome’s story, The China Doll, is where I’m taking the biggest risk. While The Family You Choose reveals a secret you didn’t realize was there until the very end, it’s clear from the outset that The China Doll is a mystery with a capital M.

I’m pretty confident my readers can handle the genre-tweak; it’s the main character that made me nervous.Continue reading

Must a Writer Go Hybrid for a Higher Income?

March 26, 2014March 25, 2014Business of Writing, Publishing Changes, Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve been hearing a lot lately about author earnings—self-published, traditionally published, and earnings from what writer Bob Mayer coined “hybrid writers.” I think that the chart that started it all (and the report’s data has since been questioned by a variety of writers, notably Hugh Howey), is this one from Digital Book World’s Dana Beth Weinberg last December:

Hybrid writers do come out pretty well on the chart. And I’ve seen similar data on various other charts I’ve seen.

I worry about this. Being a hybrid writer has worked for me…so far. It’s a good gig…if you can get it. But I feel like things are shifting a little bit already (as it always seems to in this business).Continue reading

The Danger of Getting Ahead of Ourselves

March 21, 2014March 20, 2014Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Sometimes (rarely), a book flies along as I write it. The words come automatically into my head and I type quickly to get them down. The book I’m writing now is like that. I’m probably at least a couple of weeks ahead of schedule on it.

As soon as I realized that if I continued at the pace I’m working that I could finish the book at least a month early, I started getting in my own way. I thought, “Then I can start working on the book that I said would come out in fall—maybe get it out in summer, instead. Then I can work on the next book that I was hoping to get out by January and move it up to October. Maybe then I can…” Continue reading

Whales, Mermaids and Your Publishing Long-Tail

March 19, 2014March 19, 2014Uncategorized

by Greg Strandberg, @gpstberg

Authors come in two types: whales and mermaids.

Whales have been at this game called publishing for some time and know the tips and tricks. Mermaids, however, are new to these waters, and often feeling like they’ll drown in them.

So which of these creatures are you, and what can be done about it? Let’s explore both, as well as how you can master your publishing long-tail.Continue reading

Writing Longhand

March 12, 2014March 10, 2014Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

One thing I’ve found with my writing is that my process tends to change or adapt through the years. It’s important to find what works, what helps us be more productive, and stick with that. Clearly, different approaches will work for different writers.

A big change, that I recently thought about when reading writer Victoria Grefer’s post, The Pros and Cons of Writing Fiction on Paper First, has been switching over from writing longhand to writing on a laptop.Continue reading