13 Things Mentally Strong Writers Don’t Do

Excellent article to help jump start your writing week! My favorite Post Quote: “We can’t control Amazon’s rules or Smashwords’ terms of service. We can’t control whether an agent accepts us. We can’t control whether Barnes & Noble lives or dies. We can control getting the words on the page. We can control building a brand capable of driving book sales. I see a lot of writers wasting a lot of energy over issues where they don’t have any control. That energy is better used elsewhere.”

*Comments disabled here. Please see original post*

Author Kristen Lamb's avatarKristen Lamb's Blog

Screen Shot 2016-09-02 at 6.20.28 AM

As y’all know I do a ton of reading and this includes lots and lots of blogs and articles. Over the holiday I ran across one article that just had me jumping up and down and yelling, “YES! THIS!” The Business Insider article “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do” is based off Amy Morin’s book (which I highly recommend).

It doesn’t matter if we strive to have a healthy marriage, strong kids or a killer career, these tenets cross-apply to all areas of life. Mental toughness is a key component to being successful. Yes, even for writers.

So I figured I would tinker with this and make it more directly apply to writers and what we must do (or not do) if we long to do well in this career. Thus, today we are going to discuss 13 Things Mentally Strong Writers Don’t Do.

#1 They don’t waste time…

View original post 2,503 more words

Indie Author Page

bitmoji1102164660

I have added a new page to this blog: Indie Authors. There you will find the list of Authors I’ve worked with so far per the Book Reviews published to this blog. As I publish more, the list will grow.

If you’re looking for something good to read, you can find tons of good stories there.

If you would like to be added to my list, register your book for consideration for a Book Review HERE.

Please read my guidelines carefully before submitting your book. Book reviews are free and I have the right to decline any book I am not comfortable reviewing.

If you don’t meet the requirements for my book reviews keep in mind that you can always submit a different book or submit something else that I can promote on your behalf.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

-EC

How To: Edit Your Editors Edits.

Practical advice on editing your manuscript when it comes back from the editor. Post Quote: “I’m going to break it down into easy steps so that it doesn’t seem quite as frightening and explain what I did.”

*Comments disabled here.*

 

Gem Stone's avatar

Hello everyone and welcome to How To Wednesday-Saturday.

This post is later than usual due to my book Ethereal Lives being released last Wednesday. I’m afraid everything has been pushed to the back burner in the excitement, but I’m back now with a How To on editing. How to edit your editor’s edits.

2016-11-19-3 Manuscript with lots of edits.

So, you send your book to your editor and after a great deal of waiting and thumb twiddling, it is finally returned to you, usually, looking something like this:

And, most often accompanied by this:

2016-11-19-4 Editor’s Letter.

Here you have a manuscript with endless comments and corrections and a letter from your editor, usually broken down into segments, listing everything that is wrong with your work. It can be very daunting and leave you wanting to cry as you try to figure out how to fix everything. I know when I…

View original post 551 more words

How Do You Know When Your Novel is Finished? Best Selling Authors Share Their Tips.

Very helpful. *Comments disabled here*

Fabricating Fiction/Louise Jensen's avatarfabricating fiction

gift-1-spell-error-corrected img_0369

Writing The Sister took me 18 months. During that period I rewrote multiple times, changing the point of view, the tense, and even the genre. When I couldn’t write any more I paid for a professional critique, got feedback from beta readers, and still I wasn’t happy enough to submit it. After weeks of more tinkering there was absolutely nothing left I could do but I still hesitated in submitting it, was it ready? How do we ever know?

Writing The Gift has been a completely different experience. Writing to a deadline means I have not had time to go through the same process that I went through with The Sister. A process that involved putting in a drawer and coming back to it after a month with fresh eyes. Now I am coming to the end of my copy edits it is time for me to let go…

View original post 994 more words

Email List – Book Promotions

bitmoji-676595372

I really wanted our Throwback Jam to be my last post of the day, but I couldn’t (not) tell you this.

I mentioned once before that I am starting to promote books in my email newsletters or email list. After drafting tomorrow’s 31st Issue (which I am very excited for you to receive in your inboxes. It is literally LOADED with the information you WON’T find on this blog!), I thought I should go ahead and spread the good news. My emails go out on the 18th of every month and I didn’t want you to be left out!

If you’re an Indie Author and you’d like a little bit more exposure for your books that you don’t have to pay for, I have added a Book Promo section to my emails. It includes the author’s Book Cover, Link, Blurb, and a brief endorsement from yours truly. Now, for me to properly endorse your book, of course, I must have read it. For this reason, promoted books are books I’ve reviewed.

However, I am willing to make an exception for those who’d just like more eyeballs on their work. All you should do is send me your book cover, link, and blurb. Of course, you’d have to also sign up for my email list if you want to see how your book is displayed because it will otherwise kind of defeat the purpose (Subscribers receive a free copy of Beyond The Colored Line, the most famous of the Stella books. Though Book Two, it can be read as a standalone and its yours free).

Books I’ve reviewed I will be able to pretty much brag about whereas books I have not reviewed I can only go so far. For this reason, please ensure your book cover art is decent enough for me to have something to promote if I have not read your book. No, my covers aren’t all that, but they are decent. That’s all I ask. I’m being picky about the covers because everything I represent is, at the day’s end, a reflection on me. I am asking that you give me something that won’t embarrass us both and that will increase the chances of your book cover being clicked on and your book, bought. Excellence is a priority.

You’re probably wondering what I can do for your book?? I’m pretty open about the method to my madness and I can tell you no, it is not a guarantee that people will click on your book cover and purchase your book (is it ever?). However, I will say for now that my email list is modest. This means that I can guarantee you that your book will not get lost. I can guarantee you that your work will be seen and that my readers are pretty darn supportive of what I recommend, many of them asking me what’s next on my reading list (I love them!). While there’s no guarantee, visibility is always a good thing.

I’m doing this because I know how hard it is for Indie Authors and I want to do my part. That’s why it’s free. In return, I only ask that you subscribe to my list. (Real partnerships benefit both parties). It will also help you to benefit from the promotion if you can receive the emails as well.

  • If you’d like me to promote your book to my list, please subscribe to my email list Here. And send your book cover, blurb, and link to yecheilyahysrayl@literarykornerpublishing.com
  • If you’d like to take it a step further and have me to review and promote your book, please register your work Here. I will review your book info and inform you on whether or not I agree to review the book.

Disclaimer: Please read through my Guidelines carefully before subscribing to my email list specifically for Book Promotion. While I’d love your support of my email list, I don’t want anyone to feel some kind of way if I have to decline your book. It will do us both a disservice for me to review books of which I am not truly invested.

Note that registers from this point will go into the 2017 year since I am already backed up. Usually, reviews post to this blog every Friday but I’ve had to push them back a bit because my family is planning a camping trip and we won’t be home next week. BUT, for those of you who signed up, I’m good on my promises and I will get them out (I’m going to push to publish one next week before we leave, time permitting. I have at least a few to get out before this year ends). Basically, if I agreed to review your book, I will do so, period. Word is bond.

8 Ways to Know If You’re Ready to Publish (Part One)

Excellent advice. Post quote: ” I think of self-publishing like reaching the legal drinking age. Just because you can legally drink doesn’t mean all the other drinking rules are off the table – a fact most folks learn before they reach the legal drinking age. So any advice on knowing when your book is ready has its limits. What I offer is not any set rules because there aren’t any. Instead, I’m going to provide a little advice, so you don’t show up at your new job Monday morning stupid drunk.”

*Comments disabled here. Please respond to original post*

Raymond Esposito's avatarWriters After Dark

Throughout the 20th Century, book publishing was a gated industry. With few exceptions, if an author wished to publish a novel he or she needed to endure the rite of passage. Agencies and ultimately publishers decided if a book had merit and sale-ability. If the content and writing were good enough, the publisher ensured the book appeared to the public in its “best” form. That is, beautiful cover, full editing, compelling book blurb and supported by some marketing. Published books still might not meet with readers’ love, but technically they met certain standards of readability if not enjoyability.

Self-publishing provided a method to circumvent these gatekeepers for both good and bad. Still, with few exceptions, most authors want to ensure their published works are well-received. Is my book good enough? Have I made any errors? Should I put it out there? These are the questions that haunt self-published authors…or should…

View original post 993 more words

How to Use the Holidays to Sell More Books

I don’t celebrate Holidays, but this is some valuable information! Its always wise to release books and implement sales around high reading cycles (Holidays, Weekends, Summer etc.)

*Comments disabled here. Please refer to original post*

Nicholas C. Rossis's avatarNicholas C. Rossis

Written word media recently published a great post with ideas on how to take advantage of holiday marketing trends to sell your books. With Christmas fast approaching, I figured this is a great time to have a look at the main points:

1. Between mid-November and early January, everyone loves to shop

From early November through early January, everyone is in a buying mood, so this is the perfect time to sell more books. Here are a few noteworthy dates within this range that are significant online shopping days, with ideas on what tactics and messages will resonate with customers:

When to promote during the holidays | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's books Info by Written World Media

Amazon | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's books Image: dailyfinance.com

2. Focus on Amazon

Focus on Amazon – over half the shoppers will use it for their holiday shopping. Emphasize links to your books on Amazon. Your prospective customers will already be shopping on Amazon, so make it easy for them to…

View original post 477 more words