Dreaming is an important part of your writing (both creatively and in business), and we support your biggest, loftiest dreams with everything we have. But can you sort through your dreams for reality? Are you in control of your writing business? Do you know how take a dream and make it real? Or do you get lost in the imagining, planning, and wishing that comes … Read More Having a Hard Time Organizing Your Writing Time?
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Are you feeling stuck in one or more aspects of your author career? Has the business side of the writing life got you down? A Publishing Consultation Call can help you get focused, and get moving again. Here are 7 reasons why some one on one time might be exactly what you need to get back on track. 1. You’re sometimes paralyzed about which … Read More 7 Reasons You May Need a Publishing Consultation Call
Ready to start querying agents and/or publishers? We got you. Nailing Your Query and Submission Packet walks you through the following: Checking the Market for the viability of your novel Creating a pitch that an industry professional can’t ignore Building a query letter to capture attention Writing a synopsis that will best showcase your story Discovering a personal bio that connects you to your … Read More DIY Workbook: Nailing Your Query and Submission Packet
An effective story pitch sells your idea to your readers if you’re an indie author, or to an agent/publisher if you’re traditionally published. It’s a way to distill the heart of your story idea into a quick, simple description that hooks your readers and leaves them wanting more. A pitch is crucial in selling your book. If an author takes the traditional route, a … Read More DIY Workbook: Pre-Writing Genius
There’s an ages old debate that happens in writing advice circles between whether you should write what you want or write what readers want. Writing to market is bad, says one group. You should follow your inpiration and write what moves your soul. Writing to market is good, says the other. You’re going to die broke and alone if you don’t give the readers … Read More Listen to your inspiration or listen to the market? The Answer: Both
Get caught up on the 4S series here: 4S | Self | Story | Support | Sales Selling your books is a process that quickly gets out of control, leading to confusion, indecision, overwhelm, and then shut down. The cause is too much information, too quickly, and at the wrong time. Authors (and everyone else on the planet) are consumers of information, but consumption … Read More 4S Author: Sales
There are a lot of paths to publishing your novels, and it can become quite overwhelming to decide which one is right for you. But under all the tech and strategies and marketing your success will hinge on only 4 core thing. Over the coming weeks I’ll dive into each one a bit further. Note: This series was adapted from a summer series available … Read More The 4S Author Career
There are three main ingredients when it comes to building your fiction career: Mindset, Business, and Craft. All three of these must work together, inform each other, and drive your strategies. If you only focus on one or two (you’d be amazed at how many authors only pay attention to one), you’ll never reach your big goals. Or maybe you will, but chances are … Read More The Business of Fiction: Platform vs Brand
Welcome back to a segment called Thanks, Tips, where I break down vague publishing advice and make it more transparent or actionable for you. This installment looks at the phrase Know Your Genre and helps you to understand what it means and how to do it. Phase One The simplest iteration of this is you have to know where your book fits in the … Read More Thanks, Tips: Know your Genre
When it comes to writing, like most other things, you can’t build a writing habit by starting at the outcome. This is the time of the year when exuberance mixes with social pressure, and people lay a crazy expectation on themselves that is both unrealistic and unsustainable. I’m going to write two thousand words a day for all of 2020! Wait. What? No birthdays, … Read More Just Show Up: Build Better Writing Habits in 2020
There are many different ways to get your books into the hands of readers. But no matter what they are, they fall under one of these categories: a strategy, a tactic and, a gimmick. What most people don’t know is that you need all three in a particular order to have success as a published author. Without a strategy, a gimmick is a money … Read More Strategy, Tactic, and Gimmick: Build a Layered Marketing Plan for Authors
Write more books… It’s a thing often found in advice columns by writing blogs and coaches. If you want to sell more books. Write more books… This is 100% accurate, but what is often left out is this: What the ever loving hell does that mean? It’s a vague and obvious statement that most authors are perplexed by, because of course you plan to … Read More Thanks Tips: Write More Books
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