Q: What Do You Say To Pushy Readers?
November 15, 2019 by Rebecca Forster in category The Write Life by Rebecca Forster tagged as Craft, gratitude, preorder, The Witness Series, writers block
A: Thank you .
Lost Witness is in preorder. It will publish December 1 and I am stunned that this book is a reality. To explain why we need to rewind five years.
In October 2014 Dark Witness, the seventh – and I thought last – book in The Witness Series was published. Originally the first book, Hostile Witness, was presented to publishers as a stand alone novel. When an editor at Penguin/Putnam offered a three-book contract I accepted even though I had never written a series.
Silent Witness and Privileged Witness followed. In the three years it took the publisher to bring those books to market editorial direction changed hands, the marketplace started shrinking and the series progressed no further. My rights to the three books were reverted and, after writing for twenty-five years, I thought that perhaps it was time for me to kick back and retire. That was when my husband said: “Have you heard of this thing called Kindle.”
Fast forward to a career second wind as an indie author. I republished the first three books of The Witness Series and they spent over two years on Amazon’s thriller bestseller lists in the U.S. and UK. Over 2 million copies of the series have been downloaded to date. I continued to add books and finally penned Dark Witness. Not one for bow endings, I left one character walking into the sunset assuming my readers would imagine an ending for him to finish the story.
For five years while I wrote two more series – The Bailey Devlin Trilogy and Finn O’Brien Crime Thrillers – I got emails from readers demanding to know when the next Josie Bates book would be published. They wanted me to write the ending or the next chapter in these characters’ lives. They wanted the adventure to come from my head, not theirs.
I wasn’t ignoring these pleas; I simply had a horrible case of writer’s block. I loved Josie and Hannah, Billy and Archer, but I was terrified of making a big decision about their lives. I was also afraid that I didn’t have the skill to reclaim their unique voices.
At the beginning of this year I received one more email about Josie and the reader convinced me that it was time to meet the challenge of the next book head on. At first the dialogue was creaky, and the plot meandered. One day inspiration hit. I suddenly knew how to begin the book. I knew the end of the story. I knew the last words that had to be spoken. I had been ‘lost’ and because of the readers insistence I found my voice. In doing so I reclaimed Josie’s wisdom, I heard Hannah’s compassion, Billy’s unwavering devotion, and Archer’s steady guidance. I was home again and it felt darn good.
I want to thank the readers who pushed, prodded and cajoled. I didn’t know that I was missing Josie Bates, but the readers did. This Thanksgiving I am thankful to them for making Lost Witness possible.
PREORDER LOST WITNESS now ($.99) and join over 2 million fans of The Witness Series.
0 1 Read moreFeaturing Linda O Johnston Author of the Month
November 14, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Barkery & Biscuits Mystery, Berkley Prime Crime, Harlequin Nocturne, Linda O Johnston, Pet Rescue Mysteries, Pet-Sitter Mysteries, Superstition Mysteries
Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, has published 52 books so far, including mysteries and romantic novels. More than twenty-five of them are romances for Harlequin, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense and Harlequin Nocturne. Her latest release is Colton 911: Caught in the Crossfire, for Harlequin Romantic Suspense. She has also written several mystery series including the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries and Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink, and the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries and Pet Rescue Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Nearly all Linda’s current stories involve dogs.!
Books by Linda O. Johnston
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Nominate the Independent
November 13, 2019 by A Slice of Orange in category From a Cabin in the Woods by Members of Bethlehem Writers Group tagged as BWG, Diane Sismour, muse, story ideas, writing
Muses are complicated, unreliable, reluctant and downright ornery at time. Especially those times fiction writers rely on their whispers. No matter how much pleading we may do, they can flutter a story to someone new—someone who paid their heed to write with haste to complete the plot and not let life get in the way.
Muses are overrated, say the writers who aren’t staring at a white page with a dash blinking.
We should make a stand against how creativity blips into our minds and conjures ideas. The very lifeblood of our writing careers dance on the wire between characters flowing into reality, and the hard-pressed compromise of grunting words onto the page.
Would we ever turn our backs on the whispers? No. The whispers manage to coerce us into believing we can’t manage without them. That any organic thought would perish before the second scene.
However, muses don’t stand well against the match of a good writing partner. A partner who can in your most dire of need, visualize a story from beginning to end and hit all the plot twists. Someone who doesn’t wisp away when the writing gets tough, and who can switch their imagination on at your darkest hour to find the turning point in your story. Just remember to take notes!
So wherever you are in your writing careers, stand tall against relying on the whispers. Talk to a confidant and work through the saggy middles of your plots. Find the character flaws that can make your story live. Unite against the muse and nominate the independent. You.
Happy writing!
Diane Sismour
P.S. Please don’t tell my muse!
Books by Diane Sismour
Why SEO Should Matter To An Author
November 12, 2019 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as Denise M Colby, Marketing for Authors, SEO Marketing
There are several reasons why, as an author, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) should matter.
SEO What? You ask?
According to Wikipedia, Search engine optimization is the process of increasing the quality and quantity of website traffic by increasing the visibility of a website or a web page to users of a web search engine.
Basically when someone types in a set of words in their search bar, SEO is what determines which website pages get shown first. SEO is the unpaid results (not the paid ads we see that state clearly “paid ad”).
So what can SEO do for you as an Author?
- Make it easier for people to find your content, which in turn they find you and your books.
- Teach you to think about your posts and your website differently.
- Tie your writing and your graphics together.
- Give direction as to what type of graphics to create.
- Direct you to write blog posts that fit into a content strategy based on your SEO goals.
- Help you name your pages with urls that are SEO specific.
Here are some questions to ask and ponder when creating a website page or blog post:
- Do you know your target audience?
- Do you know the people you are trying to reach?
- Do you know what you want to reach them with?
- Why would someone want to read your article, book, post?
How do you find things on the internet?
Think about how you go looking for something on the internet.
Do you type just one word? a phrase? or a sentence?
When you think about your overall brand, how would you look for something you write? What would the one word? one phrase? or one sentence be?
As I’ve focused on SEO more, I feel it has helped me become a better writer.
When I have to select just one keyword or keyword phrase to fit a blog post, my post is more focused and succint. When I had too many choices to pick just one, it made it harder to figure out the goal of my piece. If I can’t figure it out, how would I expect someone else to figure out the purpose of my writing?
What are some other things I feel SEO has helped me with?
Organizing my website, blog posts, and files.
I’ve developed a category and tag strategy that has given me ample blog post ideas. All which tie into my brand. It’s not perfect, but I feel like I’m going in the right direction. And that peace has been transforming.
Some other things to note about SEO:
Graphically SEO matters as well.
The algorithms look at sub-heads, which are used to break up the flow of reading, and images that match the written content which helps make your content more compelling. Faster website loading, and ease of use to find your content matter too.
Keep in mind, being creative is great, but having something so obscure for page names won’t help your target audience find you.
There needs to be a purpose/strategy to everything you do.
The more thorough you are with SEO strategies, both with the things I’ve mentioned above, as well as ALT text, meta data, and so much more, the better indexed your pages will be for all the different search engines, allowing your pages and posts to index better.
The goal is to land on the first page of a search. That way any person can find you, easily.
So, as I’ve mentioned above, SEO should be an important component to your marketing strategy as an author. If you’d like to find out more, you can sign up for my free Marketing for Authors newsletter. When you sign up, you’ll receive a free PDF on how to improve your image SEO. I walk you through how to do ALT Text, captions, and file naming. Future newsletters will include other tips and suggestions.
You could also look back at a few past posts of mine on this blog, here, here, and here.
I enjoy sharing what I have learned with other authors. Let me know if this has been helpful and what, if any, questions you may have.
Blessings,
Denise
On the Home Front and Overseas during World War 2 for this Veterans Day by Jina Bacarr
November 11, 2019 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as Christmas, historical romance, Italy, romance novels, time travel
Happy Veterans Day!
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