Up for a Challenge?

One of my favorite ways to get my muse's blood flowing is with writers' prompts. Give me a good prompt and ideas flash in my head, my fingers fly across the keys, and characters snap into life.

Gotta love it.

There are several places to get a good prompt on the net, but I found this one and fell in love with it. It's Archetype's Plot Scenario Generator. So many wonderful possibilties at the click of a mouse! The prompt showing up right now says:

The story starts when your protagonist reads his/her own obituary. Another character is a bounty hunter who has a scathing wit.

How fun would that be to write about!

Sometimes I take the protagonist from one prompt and the other character from a different prompt. Endless possibilities!

Why am I telling you all this? Because I'm issuing a challenge!

Write me a story.

Here are the rules:

Choose any prompt or combination of prompts you want and write a story.

Your entry should be 1500 words or less.

Print the prompt (prompts) at the top of the page.

E-mail your story to pprmint155[@]yahoo[dot]com before midnight Pacific Time, Tuesday, August 4, 2009. (Late entries will not be read.)

Paste your entry into the body of the e-mail. (Attachments will not be read.)

Please type "AC Contest" in your subject line, and provide your name and screen name.

First and Second Place Prizes:

The entry that wins second place will be reproduced here in AuthorCulture and in 777 Peppermint Place, Friday, August 14.

The first place entry will be posted in both sites August 21, 2009, and will win a free copy of The Fire in Fiction: Passion, Purpose, and Technique to Make Your Novel Great, by Donald Maass (copyright 2009).

POV and Character Description

The current trend of writing in deep third-person point of view can pose a challenge for some writers–the same challenge first-person POV writers face: How to describe the main character to give the reader some image to latch onto. The usual techniques of having the character stare in the mirror or flip through a closet, although effective, are old, worn out and limited. As competitive as the market is these days, freshness in every aspect of writing is mandatory, and this includes character description.

Writers of genres in which distant third person or even omniscient POV are acceptable, such as in thrillers and action/adventure novels, don’t face the same problems. They can choose not to describe the character at all or to describe the character totally, with as much detail as the writer desires.

Deep POV doesn’t allow for this, however. A writer who describes her character as “flipping her fabulously long, luxurious blonde hair over her bare, silky shoulder” is likely to get her hands slapped. When the character is flipping her hair, the last thing on her mind is it’s length, color and position over her shoulder. She’s more likely thinking: “That man is a honey! How can I get him to notice me?” or "I simply must stop putting off my haircut!"

After all, that’s what deep POV is all about: Climbing into the character’s mind and relating her story through her own eyes. We need to use every tool in our writer’s shed to provide an image without shattering the illusion that the reader is living in the character’s head.

I’m a fan of minimalism. Provide me with a detail or two, and my mind will fill in the blanks. Of all the things a writer can describe about his character, the physical details are the least important. Just as there is so much more to who we are than our finely arched brows, there should be much more to who our characters are, too.

There are a multitude of ways to present character description. Here are just a couple of examples:

Dialogue:

Marcy's firm hands on her shoulders held Clarice at arm’s length. “That dress is so . . . not you! I love it!”

Clarice fingered the unfamiliar slinky fabric, feeling both self-conscious and wickedly delicious after decades of rough cotton. “You don’t think it’s too much?”

“He’ll love it." Marcy's nose wrinkled. "Now, for that hair.”

Her hand flew to her hair, stiff and itchy after Alice had shellacked it with what seemed to be three cans of spray. “Alice swore it’s the most popular style.”

“Yeah, for the fifties. And what did she call that color? Faux-Monroe?”

Gives you an interesting picture of Clarice, doesn’t it? In the dialogue, I showed that she is an older woman in a sexy dress with stiff, old fashioned Marilyn Monroe-blonde hair. But I showed you more about her than just a pointed-nose, squared-chin physical description. I showed you that she lacks confidence, that she's stepping into a new adventure, that she's both excited and nervous about the undertaking. This tells you more of who she is--and that's what you want your readers to know. Allow them to come to their own conclusions about her nose and chin; give them a reason to care about her.

Unfortunate Event:

She wasn’t sure which she’d heard first, the crash of thunder or the gravel kicking the back fender of her husband's old truck as he drove toward the house. Either way, if she left her laundry on the line during the rain, he’d string her up like the catfish heads along the fence. She flew barefooted through the unpainted screen door at the back of the house and tripped over the porch plank he never got around to fixing, sailing head-first down the steps. The pain was dizzying. Her tongue explored the hole her left canine tooth once filled.

This woman is a poor Southerner who is afraid of her husband, and who now has a tooth missing. More details can be added as the first chapter moves along, but for now, everyone has an idea of her appearance because everyone carries an image of what a poor Southern woman looks like, either through experience, movies or art. What they don't know is how she'll respond to losing a tooth, to her husband's call and the stomp of his boots across their hardwood floor. Once the writer answers that, the reader's image of the character is enhanced.

While you read some of your favorite authors, pay attention to how they put character images into your head. The best writers are the ones who don’t assume their readers are so lacking in imagination that detailed description is necessary to paint the picture. They give hints and believe their readers to be bright enough to catch them.

Please Welcome Tommie Lyn!

Joining us today on AuthorCulture is one of my best cyber-buds, Tommie Lyn. I met Tommie over on www.christianwriters.com in the chat room, and I’m so glad I did! Tommie is a wonderful, caring lady. A retired graphic design artist, she also worked at a variety of other jobs, among them, church secretary, computer operator, and airline ticket agent.

I’m also excited to announce that Tommie has graciously offered to give a copy of her book …and Night Falls to one of the lucky commenters on today’s post. After reading all her good advice, just leave a comment and your name will automatically be added to the hat. The winner will be announced next Monday August 3rd. I’ve read this book and really enjoyed it, I’m sure you will too, so don’t hesitate to enter your name into the drawing.

If you would like to find out more about ...and Night Falls, you can either click on the cover of the book to be taken to the Amazon page, or click here to go to Tommie Lyn's website.

Alright, without further ado, everyone give a warm welcome to Tommie Lyn!

TL: Lynnette, thanks so much for honoring me with an invitation to be a part of the Author Culture blog today.

AC: Tommie, you are fairly new to writing. Tell us a little about how you “became a writer.”

TL: An interest in my family’s heritage and in the experience of a friend’s ancestor spurred me to begin delving into history. What I learned so stirred me, it demanded to be told. I tried to convince others to write a fictionalized account of what I’d learned, but no one would. Finally, someone I was trying to coerce into writing it told me, “If you want it written, write it.”

And so I did.

AC: So High on a Mountain was born out of that time and then you just fell in love with writing? What made you keep on with it?

TL: I finished the rough draft of that novel in June 2006, not realizing that’s what it was. I thought, “Hey! I’ve written a book!”

I hired an editor to make sure it was the best it could be and fixed the egregious errors he pointed out (but blithely overlooked the deep flaws in the story he tried to show me, and paid no attention to his statement that first novels rarely get published). I tried to learn what I could online about where and how to submit a manuscript for publishing, certain that I’d be holding a printed copy of my book in my hands within a year. Ha!

During that search for information, I found ChristianWriters.com, which became an indispensable part of my “writer’s journey.” It was on CW that I learned about NaNoWriMo, and my first experience with NaNo sealed my fate: I couldn’t stop writing after November 2006.

AC: How many books do you have out now?

TL: I have three books currently available: …and Night Falls (a mystery/suspense novel) ; Scribbles (a supernatural thriller) ; and, On Berryhill Road (mainstream fiction with a strong suspense element).

AC: You chose to go the self-publishing route. Tell us how you came to that decision.

TL: Bottom line? I came to that decision because I’m older than dirt.

I’d read from many sources that it takes about ten years from the time a writer begins writing until he/she is published…and at my age, since I started writing about four years ago, I realized I may not have enough years left to experience the full joy of writing.

You see, for me, the joy of writing is two-fold. First, there’s the enjoyment I receive from the writing process itself. And second, there’s the joy I get from knowing someone has been entertained by one of my stories. While it’s true I’ve been immersed in the first joy almost four years now, I’m selfish enough to want to experience the second joy, too.

AC: For others considering self-publishing, what are some things you think they should know?

TL: First, concentrate on making your writing the best you possibly can. That means learning grammar, spelling, punctuation and all the other mechanics of written language. And it means finding a group of writers with whom you can provide mutual critiques. Critiquing and being critiqued will help you learn what does and doesn’t work.

Second, learn what you need to know to set up your own publishing company and become an independent self-publisher (and there’s a plethora of helpful information for the writer who wishes to do this).

Third, learn what’s involved in designing and laying out a book, designing a book cover and all the other associated requirements, unless you intend to pay someone to do these things for you. You want your book to look professional on every level. (Again, helpful information is available from a number of sources.)

AC: Tell us what you feel the biggest dangers are with self publishing?

TL: The biggest danger, in my opinion, is being taken by the scam artists who prey on writers. Or using a company which may not provide the best opportunity for the writer.

There are a number of avenues an independent self-publisher can take, a number of reputable companies he/she can use to provide the actual printing. Make sure the one you choose is the best for your needs.

AC: What are the biggest benefits?

TL: The biggest benefit for me is having my books read, hearing that someone enjoyed reading one of my stories. Next, I like having control of the process, being able to set it up to suit myself. And the monetary rewards are significantly greater than I would have received through a traditional publisher.

AC: What are some things you do to improve/learn more about your craft?

TL: I’m a member of a local writers’ group and a couple of online groups. It’s difficult to assess the great value those groups have provided me. And I have a library of wonderful “how to write” books. If a writer recommends a book as having been helpful, I read it and glean what I can from it.

AC: Do you have a set goal for how much writing you try to get done each day?

TL: No. It varies too much. Plus, there are a lot of necessary activities involved in writing other than merely typing words into a computer file. When I’m in “story creation” mode, when the story is flowing, I can write up to 8,000 words a day.

But there are times when a manuscript needs editing, and the word count at the end of the day is not appreciably greater than it was at the beginning, given the number of additions and deletions. And times when I have to do research for a story, no words get written at all, but the day’s work will go into the story.

AC: Any parting words of advice for other aspiring writers out there?

TL: Write. Re-write. And re-write again. And again. And again.

Thank you, Tommie. We really appreciate you taking time to chat with us today! :)

Okay everyone, like I said, Tommie is giving away a signed copy of her book ...and Night Falls today, and you will really enjoy it. So don't forget to leave a comment! Winner will be announced next Monday, August 3rd, at the top of our post that day.

Bulletin Bloopers

Ah the difference one little word or letter can make in the meaning of a sentence! And what happens when we don't think about context in our writing? Take a look and find out. :)

1. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church and community.

2. Low Self-Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 to 8:30 p.m. Please use the back door.

3. The rosebud on the alter this morning is to announce the birth of David Alan Belzer, the sin of Rev. and Mrs. Julius Belzer.

4. This being Easter Sunday, we will ask Mrs. Lewis to come forward and lay an egg on the altar.

5. The ladies of the church have cast off clothing of every kind. They can be seen in the church basement Saturday.

6. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.

7. The eighth graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the church basement on Friday at 7:00 p.m. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

8. The Senior Choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir. (This one's for Gullible. :))

9. Weight Watchers will meet at 7:00 pm at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use the large double door at the side entrance.

10. The Associate minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday - "I upped my pledge - up yours!"

11. A song fest was hell at the Methodist Church Wednesday.

12. The pastor will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will sing, "Break Forth Into Joy."

13. The church is glad to have with us today as our guest minister the Rev. Green who has Mrs. Green with him. After the service we request that all remain in the sanctuary for the Hanging of the Greens.

14. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

15. The outreach committee has enlisted 25 visitors to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church.

16. The Pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.

17. Ushers will eat latecomers.

18. Pastor is on vacation. Massages can be given to Church secretary.

19. 8 new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some of the older ones.

20. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say, "hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.

Guest Post by Aggie Villanueva

AC is honored to have Aggie Villanueva as a guest this week. Writing since the late '70s, Aggie's first novel, Chase the Wind (Thomas Nelson 1983), was published before she was 30 and her second, Rightfully Mine (also from Thomas Nelson), in 1986. Aggie freelanced throughout the '80s, also writing three craft columns and three software review columns, both for national magazines. She was featured on the cover of The Christian Writer Magazine October 1983. After teaching at writer’s conferences throughout the Midwest, she founded/directed the three-day Mid-America Fellowship of Christian Writers conferences for four years until 1990. She now writes mainly for the blog, Visual Arts Junction , and works at her photographic art, which can be seen at Cielos Rojos.

Don't Taint My Talent

“But I don’t want to sully my gift with rote education.” Have you ever heard anyone say this? I have; even said similar things myself. And it’s true to a point. You can’t obtain talent through education. On the other hand, raw talent must learn everything about a craft to know what to throw away and when. This is especially true with writing.

And rewriting is one of the most important aspects, contrary to some beliefs that rewriting means running a spelling and grammar checker. If you don’t master the art of the rewrite, though you reek of raw talent, you’ll never be paid for your prose.

The rewriting craft is like the familiar story where a city dweller admires the realistic horse carved by a man from the hills. The woodcarver waved away the compliments explaining, “Shucks, I saw a horse in that piece of wood. All I did was cut away everything that ain’t a horse.”

The piece of wood was natural and pure, like raw talent, but it was just a piece of wood until the woodcarver took a knife to it. Only after he labored over it was it a piece of art. It’s the same with writing.

Yes, we’re given natural talent, that is, the ability to see a manuscript where none exists. But when we get this inspiration down on paper, it’s only a piece of wood. We must labor over it, cutting away what ain’t a horse.

Chop everything that prevents your readers’ instantaneous comprehension and interest. Whittle away what buries the art of your words beneath pulp, no matter the topic, no matter the genre.

We don’t betray our gift when we put the knife to our writing. Rather, we sculpt our piece of wood. When I first felt the call of writing, my response was to submit long, archaic poems and manuscripts in vast quantity.

It never occurred to me to learn my craft first. I wrote articles explaining broad subjects, such as how to raise children. It never entered my mind to stick with a narrow topic until well covered. I had The Calling to write. I must be an expert on everything.

I resort to jest, but seriously, it took some shaking up before I took responsibility for writing quality upon myself. Then I listened to writers and editors admonish: write, write and rewrite. I heard and obeyed, but my final work was not much better than my rough draft. I soon discovered the reason. I didn’t know what I was doing.

With my usual quick perception (and many rejected manuscripts, some of them nearly aflame from the speed with which they returned), I decided I needed some training. Reading books on the craft of writing, I was overwhelmed by what I didn’t know. I signed up for courses, where I got my first real critical input. Community College classes are another good form of objective criticism, as are online courses and forums. This type of critique is vital. Beginners simply don’t have the knowledge to criticize their own work, and experienced writers always need fresh input.

Practice is critical, as is a grasp of grammar. But publication eludes without the constant use of learned skills. Even when we’ve fulfilled these career requirements, it is only the rewrite that polishes prose to perfection, if I may alliterate.

And if I may quote the Good Book, Ecclesiastes 5:7: “Much dreaming and many words are meaningless.”

There is more to writing than putting many words to paper, and more to rewriting than rearranging those words. Dreaming about writing won’t get you anywhere, and writing a thousand words a day won’t help unless you know what to do with those words.

I would love to hear your own experiences regarding rewriting. How important do you think it is to a published work?


*****
Aggie teaches the course The Rewritten Word, the only writing course you’ll ever take that is NOT about writing! Creating literary art, no matter the genre, has nothing to with writing. It’s all about rewriting.

For prices and details, see Visual Arts Junction.

*****

Article KEYWORDS
editing, writing, how to rewrite, rewrite, rewriting, edit, write, writer, writing how-to, writing tutorial, Aggie Villanueva, professional writer, professional writing, manuscript, The Rewritten Word, Visual Arts Junction, learn your craft, the writing craft

Riven, by Jerry Jenkins

Riven, by Jerry Jenkins, is the most compelling drama I’ve read in a long time.

In two parallel story lines, Jenkins introduces us into the lives of career criminal Brady Darby and the worn-down pastor, Thomas Carey. Their lives converge when Brady and Thomas both are hardened by life’s knocks and bruises, but the bulk of the book presents those knocks and bruises, giving the reader a clear understanding of what makes each man tick.

With the expertise of a seasoned psychologist, Jenkins illustrates the development of a criminal without once allowing the reader an emotion stronger than disappointment. Brady Darby’s life is tough; his choices make it tougher. But everything Darby experiences, from adolescent anger to adult rage, is understandable if not condonable. Even Brady’s most heinous crime, while expected, is perceivable. But instead of revulsion, I felt pity.

Jenkins lets the reader into the private life of a pastor, too, with things I had certainly never considered: church politics, the demand for entertaining sermons, the low income–not to mention the heartache of a family member who falls away from the faith. Add to the mix a wife with a serious disease, and it is easy to see how a preacher like Thomas Carey could feel defeated. When no other church is available for him to pastor, he becomes a chaplain for a prison. Not just any prison–not a penitentiary, where criminals become penitant and eventually return to society. An end-of-the-road supermax correctional facility where those not doomed to execution will never again see the sun. An institution of society’s worst offenders who have no use for God, much less a pastor.

When Thomas and Brady finally meet, things happen that are so miraculous, so improbable, the reader is required to suspend belief and bear with the author. My ambiguity about the conclusion lasted all the way through the tear-jerking climax. I’m still torn between wanting a less incredible finale and an inability to conceive of a more fitting conclusion.

Jenkins’s strength as a writer is without a doubt his characterization. Every character, even the most minor, is fully rounded and believable without once subjecting the reader to long drawn-out descriptions. Bad boy Brady Darby is so sympathetic as to not be a villain at all, nor was he intended to be. In truth, the villain is Brady’s mother, a totally unsympathetic woman whose presence permeates the entire book although her appearances are few. Her opposite extreme is Thomas Carey’s wife, Grace, a woman so perfect as to seem unlikely. Yet, Jenkins dips his brush into the color of stubbornness, and by applying that one simple flaw, adds hues of believability to Grace Carey.

When readers or writers discuss bringing characters to life, this is what they’re talking about.

Riven gets five stars from me! ✯✯✯✯✯

A Pun of Collective Nouns

You’ve heard of a covey of quail, a den of lions, a herd of deer? Try this collection of noun collectives (compliments of Scorpio Tales):
　
A balance of accountants
A corps of anatomists
A conflagration of arsonists
An audit of bookkeepers













A rascal of boys

A clutch of car mechanics
An unease of compromises
A galaxy of cosmologists
An intrigue of council members
A brace of dentists
A bodge of DIYers
A grid of electricians
An exaggeration of fishermen
A fraid of ghosts













A giggle of girls

An expectation of heirs
A vagary of impediments
A diffidence of introverts
A scoop of journalists
A flush of lavatories
A stack of librarians
A babble of linguists
A number of mathematicians
A compromise of mediators
An amalgamation of metallurgists
A shower of meteorologists
An expectation of midwives
A horde of misers
An annoyance of neighbors

A row of oarsmen

A body of pathologists
A virtue of patients
A ponder of philosophers
A clique of photographers
A nucleus of physicists
A breakdown of plans
A flush of plumbers
A complex of psychologists
A following of stalkers
A portfolio of stockbrokers
A fanfare of strumpets
A pack of suitcases
A flight of yesterdays
A jam of tarts















A hug of teddy bears

A ring of telephones
A bunch of things
A promise of tomorrows
A twinkling of todays
A cancellation of trains
A linkage of webmasters
A break of winds
An impatience of wives
A yearning of yesterdays
An optimism of youths

Viral Marketing, Pt. 4 of 4: Diversifying

Although all of the networking options in the sites discussed previously in this series are important for extending our web presence, the contacts we make through them will be of little use if we don’t have something to give those contacts. A steady stream of somethings, in fact. As the world careens down the technological highway at a dizzying clip, authors can’t afford to be left behind. Having a “home” on the web is vital. Owning a website, a blog, or, preferably, both is almost a no-brainer these days. But figuring out how to optimize these web presences—and then diversify them—is often missed.

Although subject matter is an important consideration, you probably could blog about just about anything and find some kind of audience in the blogosphere—if you know how to attract their attention. Posting links and forming relationships on the sites we’ve already talked about is a large part of that attraction, but following are a few more important considerations:

• No blog is an island. Want people to follow your blog? Want them to leave comments? Then get a good grip on the Golden Rule. Bloggers, for the most part, are very reciprocal. If you follow them, they’ll probably follow back. If you comment on their posts, they’ll probably comment on yours. At first, it might seem a bit mercenary—to pay attention to others simply so they’ll return the favor—but it’s a practice that ends up divvying out results all the way around. The important thing to remember is to make sure you keep your interaction meaningful. “Great post! Check out my blog!” does not constitute a meaningful comment. Put some effort into your comments, and you’ll establish mutually beneficial (and enjoyable) relationships with other bloggers.

• Give your followers a lot of TLC. Don’t write a post, publish it, and then forget about it. Pay attention to the comments and take the time to respond. Even if your readers don’t return to read your replies, they’ll notice your comments to others, and they’ll appreciate your friendliness and approachability.

• We have contact. In the interest of increasing that approachability, make it easy for your readers to contact you. Spambots are attracted to the “at” sign in email addresses, so it’s not a good idea to post your address in plain view. Either spell it out (myaddress at emailworld dot com), install a spamguard code to differentiate the robots from the humans (you can check out an example of this by clicking the “Contact” button at the bottom of my webpage), or a built-in contact box (such as the one AuthorCulture features in the lower right-hand column). Whichever you choose, make sure it’s in plain view, so readers will be able to access it without any trouble.

• Button it. Make it easy for viewers to add your blog posts to popular sharing sites such as Digg, Del.ici.ous, and StumbleUpon. You can easily add the code for the individual buttons to your blog, or an all-in-one “Share It” button, such as you’ll find at the bottom of all AuthorCulture posts, which gives readers a myriad of options to choose from. The code for this particular button can be found at AddThis.

• Kindle a fire… or two. Amazon’s Kindle has recently made it possible for authors to offer their blogs to Kindle readers on a subscription basis. You can sign your blog up here.

• Two heads are better than one. Don’t think you have to hoe your own row all the time. Sometimes bringing other people in on the job—whether temporarily or permanently—can multiply your audience in the space of a single post. Seek out guest posters who can add quality posts and bring your blog to the attention of their own followers. Or even start up a group blog—like Linda and Lynnette and I did with AuthorCulture.

Once you’ve got a solid blog going for yourself, it’s time to think about diversifying. Expand your horizons to encompass as many different media formats as possible. Only a few months ago, I started offering my personal blog Wordplay in an optional audio format. This not only allows me to provide my followers with a media choice, but I’ve also been able to submit the blog to previously unavailable venues, such as iTunes and Bluberry. I also have plans to start a vlog (or video blog), as a Wordplay subsidy, which will allow me to take advantage of the massive traffic garnered by such video sites as YouTube, Tangle, and Vimeo.

For years, I’ve stood on the edge of the marketing jungle, shifting my weight and grimacing, certain that I’d never be able to make a dent in this foreign world of fast talkers and slick advertising. But the truth I discovered was both sobering and surprising. I think economic expert Robert T. Kiyosaki summed up the sobering part when he pointed out that his book covers don’t tout him as a “best-writing author.” They say “best-selling” author. But, happily, the surprising part of my discovery has led me to the realization that not only is marketing possible for an author like me—it’s even fun!

Viral Marketing, Pt. 3 of 4: Overlooked Sites and Wastes of Time

In this series’ previous installments, we’ve covered how to maximize exposure on Twitter and on Facebook, arguably the two most important networking sites on the web. Today, I’m going to touch briefly on a handful of sites that we sometimes overlook in our quest for a web presence (and a few it’s probably best to overlook).

The key to viral marketing is being viral. We need to have a presence on as many sites as possible. It’s impossible, of course, to take advantage of every single one. Even full-time marketing firms aren’t capable of managing that many accounts. But it’s vital that we weigh our available time and schedule in as many different options as possible. Those options include, but are certainly not limited to the following:

AuthorNation: Features a large (although not heavily trafficked) forum section, a showcase for writers’ portfolios (I post my Wordplay blog articles there every week), and a nice networking system for exchanging mutual “friendships.” I haven’t gained a huge amount of blog traffic from this site, but I’ve certainly picked up a new reader or two, and therefore I usually only stop by once a week to update my portfolio and check out the new posts in the writers’ forum.

Scribd: A increasingly popular site for sharing written material. Hits ranging in the thousands are not uncommon for skillfully keyworded articles. Although the majority of articles are offered for free (I’ve posted short stories and blog articles), Scribd recently introduced a feature that allows authors to charge for each download.

Library Sites

Library sites are a prime spot for writers to find their key customers: readers. These sites allow members to catalog the books they’re reading and discuss them with fellow readers. Most sites feature extensive forums, where members can easily communicate with others (and subtly promote their work). Myriad library sites exist, with new ones popping up every day, but the two I’ve utilized are:

• Shelfari: It’s user-friendliness and unlimited library size has converted me to a fan. I use Shelfari almost exclusively now and have enjoyed their huge and friendly forums. Shelfari’s biggest drawback is its tricky sign-up sheet which, unless managed skillfully, ends up spamming everyone in your address book with a request to join the site. It’s a one-time deal, but it can prove annoying and embarrassing for those with large address books, unless they skip the step that accesses their address books.

• LibraryThing: Although not as attractive or user-friendly as Shelfari, LibraryThing caters to authors with its detailed profile pages and its Featured Authors. Its free membership does, however, feature a limit of 200 books. Having hit that limit some time ago, I rarely upload new books any longer and, instead, concentrate solely on the forums.

Wastes of Time

One of the keys to effective marketing is being able to instantly recognize which sites are a waste of time and eliminate them from your routine. Following are a few sites that have proven disappointing to me:

• AuthorsDen: Similar in many ways to AuthorNation, AuthorsDen shares LibraryThing’s idea of limiting a free membership. Members are allowed to post articles and stories and book excerpts, but only up to 75 megabytes. After that, you must either delete some of your information or purchase more space. I gave up on AuthorsDen not long after joining, because I disliked the layout and was discouraged by the lack of interaction. However, in “Author’s Den—Free Marketing With a Punch,”a recent Marketing Tips for Authors blog post, Tony Eldridge noted that anything posted on AuthorsDen immediately lands at the top of Google’s search results. Needless to say, I’m rethinking my original assessment of AuthorsDen as a waste of time. Check it out and make your own decision.

• MySpace: Once the monarch of social sites, MySpace is rapidly being abandoned in favor of more popular alternatives, such as Facebook. I maintained a page on MySpace for a while, but soon decided it wasn’t worth the time, since almost everyone on MySpace was also on Facebook.

• ShoutLife: Billed as the Christian MySpace, ShoutLife has the makings of a great social site, especially considering its special features for artists, including authors. For the most part, however, it fails for the simple reason that self-promotion has taken precedence over interaction. Most members are too busy touting their own wares to look at anyone else’s.

Part 4: We’ll talk about diversifying your web presence through blogs, podcasts, and vlogs.

Fabulously Fun Friday: Funny Typos... or Reasons to Proofread

Viral Marketing, Pt. 2 of 4: Facebook and Forums

Facebook

Facebook is very possibly the single must-have on any networker’s list. Everybody and their mother’s cousin are on Facebook these days. You can’t afford not to join them. However, because the point of Facebook accounts is to gather friends, and not necessarily potential customers, most people’s friend lists are much more limited on Facebook than on other social sites, such as Twitter. The good news is that, even though your contact list is smaller, it’s probably made up of a more select group of people, who are more likely to be interested in what you have to say than would be some huge, random conglomerate. A few tips:

• Make good use of your status lines: Don’t advertise incessantly and don’t inundate people. But do try to pique interest. Keep your friends updated on your writing and your publishing successes.

• Post links: Again, don’t overwhelm your friends, but do take advantage of the opportunity to share links. Every time you post something new on your website or blog, share the link on your wall and get the word out to hundreds of people at once.

• Post pictures: One of Facebook’s most popular features is its picture-sharing capability. People love pictures, so take advantage of their interest by accompanying your links with eye-grabbing images. Post photos of your book covers, magazine covers, book signings, and anything else that’s worthy of attention.

• Fan page: With the ever-present threat of hacking and identity theft, many people are nervous about sharing the details of their lives with strangers. As a result, expanding your Facebook presence is often dependent upon how many people you’re able to connect with in person. A much easier and more prolific way of contacting as many people as possible is to start a fan page. If you feel you have a large enough following to warrant a fan page, you can create one in minutes. Post a link on your blog that directs people to your fan page, and you can both protect your privacy and send your updates to a countless number of people.

• Groups: Facebook users create and maintain thousands of groups, most of which function as mini-forums or chat rooms. Find several groups related to your writing and dive in.

Forums & Groups

Arguably the best way to connect with people online is through forum communities. Finding a forum is as easy as typing a few keywords into a Google search and joining up. It is, however, a fairly time-intensive process, since the most effective forum users are those who spend a recognizable amount of time on a site. People who stop in only for a few posts and a little advertising are viewed as spammers and aren’t likely to generate much interest in their writing.

Helpful links: ChristianWriters: One of the best atmospheres for writers on the web.

Yahoo! Groups: Find a group for just about any subject under the sun.

Part 3: We’ll talk about utilizing often overlooked media sites, such Scribd and Shelfari.

Viral Marketing, Pt. 1 of 4: Twitter

When you think about it, the writing life really isn’t fair. Here you are slaving away over your masterpiece of a Great American Novel, sweating over it for months, years even, until it’s the most perfect piece of literature you can imagine. Then you give yourself copious gray hairs and bite your nails to the quick waiting for your query letters to finally turn up a positive answer. You corral the agent, the agent corrals the editor, until finally—voila!—you’re published. Now the only thing you’ll have to worry about for the rest of your life is writing the Great American Sequel, while your huge publishing company does its job and sells a hundred bazillion copies of your book. Easy-peasy, right?

I have three small words for you: Not so fast.

In the rapidly and sometimes painfully evolving world of book publishing, the reality of success is a long, hard road of learning how to toot our own horns and promote our own books. Another reality is that few authors are natural born marketers. Most of us are much more comfortable hiding behind our keyboards than we are touting our wares under the guise of a marketer. Add to that the fact that both writing and marketing are full-time jobs unto themselves and you’ve got three more words: Life’s not fair. Successful author Judy Winter notes:

…I’ve discovered that the ongoing demands of promotion often leave little time and energy for authors to do what they do best: write. For a creative soul, that can be incredibly frustrating. But if authors want to ensure their works remain alive and viable in the publishing world, wearing the promotion hat cannot be avoided.

Fair or not, writers who aren’t willing to get their hands dirty and learn to market their own works aren’t going to make a success of themselves. But there is a bit of good news in the midst of all this sickening reality, and that is that marketing (art form though it may be) is actually very user friendly. Earlier this year, when I finally got serious about my own marketing, I tackled it head-on and have been delighted to discover that this is something I really can do. And if a grumpy introvert like me can do it, anyone can!

In this post and the ones to follow throughout the month, I’m going to share just a few of the many tricks I’ve learned as I’ve stumbled my way through the wasteland of self-promotion. Please feel free to share your own experiences: what’s worked and what hasn’t. We’re all learning how best to market our work, and it’s important that we pool our experience so that we can each build the best marketing strategy possible.

Twitter

With its seemingly random and chaotic stream of tweets, Twitter can be more than a little bewildering at first. But it’s actually one of the easiest and most far-reaching networking platforms. Since joining Twitter, my blog stats have nearly doubled. A few tips:

• Download TweetDeck. This is the best manager for Twitter I’ve found, primarily because it allows you to divide your followers into groups, so you can cut down on the static and focus on the people who are worth your time.

• Make your tweets personal. The biggest secret to successful networking is to keep your interaction focused on the people and not the advertising. Ninety percent of your tweets should be self-promotion free.

• Make your tweets valuable. Don’t just tweet aimlessly about what you’re having for lunch. Give people what they want, and they will come back for more. Being the schedule-dependent person I am, I’ve come up with a mini tweeting schedule to make sure I’m consistent: 9:00 a.m.: My latest blog link. 12:30 p.m.: “Question of the Day” (these writing-related questions have proven very popular). 2:00 p.m.: Link to a helpful writing-related site. 4:00 p.m.: A “status line” about something I’m doing that day or some observation I’ve made. 6:00 p.m.: Quote about writing. The rest of my tweets are responses to others. I’m always on the lookout for tweeple with whom I can interact, and I’ve established some very enjoyable contacts.

Helpful links: Free Twitter Designer: Design your own professional-looking background. Backgrounds often separate the pros from the rest of the pack.

Twitter Counter: Keep track of your stats.

Tiny URL: Shorten long website addresses so they fit within the 140-character tweet limit.

InRev TwitIn: Manage your follower list at a glance.

TwiTip: Receive daily tips on how to maximize your Twitter experience.




Part 2: We talk about utilizing other social media sites, including Facebook.

Rules are Made to be Broken, Right?

As writers we certainly have our share of rules. But everyone knows that rules are made to be broken, right? Thanks for this list goes to: http://www.lotsofjokes.com/writing_techniques.asp

Avoid alliteration. Always.
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
Employ the vernacular.
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
Contractions aren't necessary.
Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
One should never generalize.
Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
Be more or less specific.
Understatement is always best.
One-word sentences? Eliminate.
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
The passive voice is to be avoided.
Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
Who needs rhetorical questions?
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

Romance Writer's Contest ~ White Rose Publishing

Just a quick short post to point you in the direction of a contest for romance writers.

http://www.whiterosepublishing.com/about-us/167-story-contest-hearts-crossing.html

From their site:
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, we’re giving you a picture plus a synopsis—and that’s worth 20,000-25,000 words plus a publishing contract. All you have to do is fill in the synopsis blanks to create your own unique plot, and then write the story to go with it

Have fun if you decide to enter! :)

Places to Upload Your Book Trailer

Okay, so you've finished your book trailer, right? And now you need places to post that trailer so that people will see it and rush right out to buy your book! :) I hope the following list of places will be of benefit to you. Oh, and I'd still love to see those finished trailers, so don't hesitate to comment with a link to yours.

In my web wanderings recently I've begun to notice that there are new video sites popping up all over the place. And the good news is that some of them are dedicated just to book trailers.

Of course there is YouTube and Tangle (formerly GodTube). These, for now, are probably the two largest/best places to upload your trailer. So if you are limited on time at first, start here, then expand to the list below.

Other places I've found:

* www.video.google.com (Connected to YouTube, so if you upload to YouTube, your video will eventually make it's way here, too.)
* www.viddler.com
* http://bookscreening.com (You have to submit your trailer for review before they will post it. Check out their FAQs page for more info.)
* www.blazingtrailers.com (click 'Services' to upload your trailer.)
* www.trailerspy.com
* www.yourbooktube.com
* www.video.yahoo.com (again, connected to YouTube)
* www.veoh.com
* http://revver.com/

I'm sure there are more, so if you know of a sight I've missed, please respond with the link in a comment. Happy uploading, everyone! :)