Source Books for Historical Writers: A Partial List by @LyndiLamont #research
June 16, 2018 by Linda McLaughlin in category WritingSource Books for Historical Writers: A Partial List
Compiled by
Linda McLaughlin
Note: This post is excerpted from my website at https://lindalyndi.com
Several years ago, I did a talk on writing and researching historical romance, and as part of the handouts, I included a bibliography of sources. I call it a partial list because there are many, many sources available, depending on your setting and time period. These are a few of the ones I’ve found useful.
Central and Eastern European Wildlife, Gerard Gorman, Bradt Travel Guide, 2008. Available on Amazon.com as paperback & recommended by Janet Cornelow.
A Dictionary of First Names, Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges, 2nd ed., Oxford Paperback Reference, Oxford University Press, 2006. (Out of print)
Dover Books on Costume, Dover Publications – a series of books about costumes of different eras. Also paper dolls with costumes and descriptions. Various dates and authors. Available at Amazon.com
Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things by Charles Panati, Harper Collins, 2013. Available in paperback and Kindle editions.
Homes of Family Names in Great Britain by Henry Brougham Guppy, London, Harrison and Sons, 1890. Free e-book available from Google Books.
How to Write and Sell Historical Fiction by Persia Woolley, Writers Digest Books, 1997. An excellent guide, now apparently out of print but available used.
Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders: A Writer’s (& Editor’s) Guide to Keeping Historical Fiction Free of Common Anachronisms, Errors, & Myths, by Susanne Alleyn, Second Edition, Spyderwort Press, 2013, e-book.
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, Merriam-Webster, 2003. Or any older edition. (The 2016 edition seems to have eliminated most of the dates.) 11th ed. gives dates of when words entered the English language. The only thing better is The Oxford English Dictionary, if you can afford it and have somewhere to store the multiple volumes. But that you can find at the library.
The Mirror of the Graces by A Lady of Distinction, first published in 1811. I have a paperback copy, but it’s available in e-book format format.
The New American Dictionary of Baby Names, Leslie Dunkling and William Gosling, Signet, 1985, 1991. Better than the average baby name book because it gives some historical context for names. (Out of print.)
North American Wildlife: An Illustrated Guide to 2,000 Plants and Animals, Reader’s Digest, 1982. Available in paperback.
The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names by E. G. Withycombe, Third Edition, Oxford University Press, 1977, now out of print. (First edition 1945)
The Penguin Dictionary of Historical Slang by Eric Partridge, Penguin Book, 1972. Now out of print except for a ridiculously over-priced e-book version. Buy used.
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition Unabridged, 1987. Out of print, but probably available at the local library.
Slang and Euphemism, Richard A. Spears, 3rd revised ed., Signet, 2001. Useful addition, esp. for writers of historical erotica. (Out of print)
The Old West series, Time-Life, out of print but can be found in libraries and some used bookstores.
The Victorian House Explained, Trevor York, Countryside Books, 2005. Part of the England’s Living History series which includes houses of various eras, the Industrial Revolution, steam railways, canals, etc.
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England, Daniel Pool, Touchstone, 1994. Still available in paperback and Kindle editions.
What Life Was Like… series, Time-Life.
The Writer’s Digest Character Naming Source Book, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Writer’s Digest Books, 1994. Available used on Amazon.com.
The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in the Middle Ages: The British Isles From 500-1500 by Sherilyn Kenyon, Writers Digest Books First Edition 1995; e-book 2014.
In the 1990’s, Writer’s Digest published numerous titles on Everyday Life in various historical periods, all of which are now out of print but available as used books. I wish the other authors would make them available as e-books like Sherilyn Kenyon has done.
What are your favorite research books?
Linda McLaughlin
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It’s My Birthday . . . Again!
June 15, 2018 by Rebecca Forster in category The Write Life by Rebecca Forster, Writing tagged as birthday, gifts, giveaway, links, Memories, writing, writing craft
My birthday is June 16. I only know it’s my birthday because my husband keeps reminding me of the date, asking me what I want, and telling me we should celebrate. He has to do this because, in my family, I am legendary for not remembering birthdays. I forget my sister’s birthday even though we were born on the same day but fourteen years apart. My birthday piggybacks Father’s Day, too. I remember Father’s Day because there are lots of TV commercials for steaks, tools and aftershave. Rebecca’s birthday? Not so much.
There is also the matter of age. After the shock of the first AARP envelope at forty, the assisted living brochures at fifty and the burial at sea pitches when I turned sixty, I started taking birthdays in stride. Seriously, there isn’t much that can surprise me anymore on the aging score.
Lest you think me a birthday Scrooge, let me share the one thing I love about birthdays. I love the memory of them. When I was a little girl my mom threw awesome birthday parties for my brothers and sisters and me. I was number two in a six-pack and birthdays were celebrated with the neighborhood kids, balloons and a big homemade cake. In the backyard, we played tag, hide-and-seek and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. There were prizes for the winners but everyone went home with a gift bag. Even at my own birthday party it was that little gift bag I treasured most. I adored that there was always more than one thing: a couple pieces of candy, a silly toy that would break a day later, a paper crown. This bag was a treasure hunt, something unexpected, some thing that, in those lean days, mom would never buy just because. Those parties taught me that unexpected gifts can be the best things in the world.
So, in honor of my mother and the memories of those wonderful parties, I would like to give you a gift. Before Her Eyes is a thriller that will hopefully keep you up at night, but it’s also a very personal story, written when both my dad and my father-in-law were ill. It is a gift of my craft and a little bit of me thrown in to boot and it’s all wrapped up in the memory of a child’s party.
ClaimBefore Her Eyes here until July 1:
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/7tlkgv8nou
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3 0 Read morePart 2: Maximize Your Website SEO With Image File Names
June 12, 2018 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby, Writing tagged as Image File Names, Marketing 101 for Authors, Website SEO & Images
Part 2: How to Maximize Your SEO with your Image File Names
In this post, I’m covering another element of metadata for your images, Image File Names, and how they too can increase your SEO. In case you missed Part 1, I spoke specifically about Alt Text and how it increases the SEO on your website. It is the number one way to quickly add SEO. Click What Is Alt Text? for that post.
Please Note: There are several posts out there that touches on all the terms I’m talking about. I’m focusing on giving guidance on what/how to use these features to increase your SEO.
Image File Names
Attachment Title:
Before you upload a photo into your website, rename it. One short keyword is best. This keyword gets indexed by the search engines, thus adding to your SEO.
Note: Yes, there is a place to change the title in your media files. However, I found it doesn’t change the file name attached to your media, it only helps in indexing it within your media folder. It will not appear anywhere else.
I’ve made this mistake myself when I’ve uploaded screen shots or graphics made from WordSwag from my phone with basic plain numbers that make them difficult to differentiate what they are without opening them. Not to mention there are no references to my brand or post that would help someone find more information about the photo.
To give an example, I did a test on my own website. And even though WordPress allowed me to change my title after I uploaded it, I found the file name used when uploading is the one that carries forward with the image.
My example:
I took an image and made two files. One I did not rename – IMG_3829 copy.jpg when I uploaded it and one I renamed BEFORE I uploaded it – Psalm136.jpg.
Even though I changed the Title to Psalm 136 after I uploaded the image, IMG_3829 copy.jpg is what is indexed/attached to the file.
If you go to my post Why The M? and right click to save either file you will see what the file name will be when you download it.
So why is your Image File Name important?
Think through what you want the image to do for you.
Why did I choose to name the above file Psalm136.jpg?
That’s the bible verse I have on the meme I created. If someone is looking up that verse, ideally I would like my photo to appear in the search, 
and because I have my website on the bottom right, it’s just one more way for someone to find me. (My focus on this post is SEO on websites, social media is a completely different topic and one I hope to touch on in later posts.)
Keep in mind, and I’m not doing this one consistently well yet, one word file names work best. I’ve also read to use all lowercase and only letters and numerical numbers.
Also remember, once the file is uploaded, the file name is public, so nicknames and funny references only you would understand might not be what you want attached to the file out on the internet.
Use Both Image File Names and Alt Text to Increase Your SEO
I did a search on my author name, Denise M. Colby and this is what I found under images.
The far right one was just in the post a month ago and because I uploaded set Image File Names and added Alt Text, it didn’t take long to get indexed and show in a Search Engine Results Page.
Another note: I’m noticing my earlier posts don’t show up as I do not have any alt text in the photos, so I will need to go back and update them at a later date. As I stated in the Part 1 post – you have to delete the photo and add back in the updated version with the Alt Text in it. Changing it in the media files alone will not work.
Let’s continue on with this example;
If I were to click on the image I see a description like this:
As you can see, the alt text I used appears below my name and the website this image is from. Interestingly, If I were to right-click on this image here, the image name only says download.jpg. But if I were to click on it and go to the actual post, then download the file, here is what comes up:
This is the file name that I had used when I uploaded the image. If someone is downloading your book cover image, you would want it to have a file name that references your book. More importantly, you would want that image to appear in a search engines results page when someone types in your name or the name of your book. Create your Image File Name before you upload and put your author name and book name in the Alt Text and your image should appear when anyone searches under either one.
File Extensions
Since the file extension is part of your Image File Name, I wanted to cover the two common types – .png or .jpg.
Use .jpg with photographs. It actually compacts the file size better than a .png and since photographs have an abundance of color in them, .jpg is the better choice.
Use .png when using designs, images with text in them, infographics or logos. PNG files handle large areas of color better and the lines are crisper even when someone zooms in. Just the file size can get large if you save a photo this way.
File Size
My website won’t allow file sizes larger than 2MB, but if yours does, keep in mind that the larger the file size, the longer it will take for your photos to load on someones computer or mobile phone and in our digital world, load time matters.
There is a thing called Site Speed and Page Speed (also called Load Time). Google uses that information in their algorithm to rank pages. Hence, why file size is important.
What to do next?
- Any new content make sure to create purposeful Image File Names and Alt Text.
- Update past photos in previous posts.
I have read that one of the best things you can do is go back and update your current files to add SEO substance immediately to your website. Search Engines look at ALL the pages, so pay attention to your existing content even before you create new content.
I hope that this information has been helpful. Let me know if you would like more of these in the future. I’m enjoying testing different theories and creating examples. You can’t see it, but I’m testing another theory out within this post as well. And, if you go to my Why The M? post on my website, I touch on another SEO feature I recently learned about.
Blessings,
Denise
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Once upon a manuscript…by Jina Bacarr
June 11, 2018 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as books, chocolate, Cinderella, coffee, fairy tale, prince, writing
You know the drill. You write a wonderful story, pour your heart into it, and send it off.
Then you wait.
You drink coffee, refuse to let anyone come between you and your phone so you can check your email 24/7, you obsess, eat chocolate, exercise to work off said chocolate so you can eat more, then give up eating altogether because your throat is so tight from the stress, you binge watch everything you can on TV so you can forget the horror of waiting and wish you’d fall into a hundred years’ sleep so the pain will go away.
A major run-on sentence. But that’s life in the “waiting to hear back from the publisher who requested the full” in the manuscript world.
Okay, so what do you do?
Write another book.
You’ve heard it before and I agree, but it’s also important to take some “me” time. After all, you’ve been taking care of your characters, who can be quite demanding, keep you up at nights, make you cry and drink coffee nonstop, so now it’s time to put your feet up and relax.
Then work on another book.
Writers are not machines.
We need nurturing, healthy food, exercise, fresh air, and social interaction. So as I sit here writing this and waiting to hear back on my manuscript, I’m going to do just that.
I’m going for a walk to the nearby coffee shack, have a mocha coffee and, God help me, a warm croissant oozing with raspberries and melting chocolate chips.
And just breathe.
And yes, I’m bringing my phone with me.
Just in case the editor calls…
Jina
PS – I’ll update my post when I hear anything on my m/s – an Italian billionaire prince story and his Cinderella. 
I gave the readers what they wanted
June 4, 2018 by H. O. Charles in category WritingA little while ago, I published the final volume in my fantasy series, The Fireblade Array, and I purposefully left the ending vague. Up to that point, I had not yet had to write a final, final ending, what with seven large books running sequentially over seven years, so perhaps this is in part responsible for what happened next.
Almost all the reviews that came in binned it. Readers complained about being left in the dark, about its depressing nature, and about their upset over the lack of redemption or happiness for the key characters. Some of the most hardline fans said nothing at all, which was even more heartbreaking for me to bear. I felt as if I had let down those who had supported me through each publication.
And so I did what we are told we should never do: I went back and altered the ending to give the readers something closer to what they wanted. It is an opportunity that the digital publishing world offers that the paperback world never could – the ability for me to make a rapid change, and for buyers to obtain an updated and improved version of the book at no extra cost.
At the time of writing, the ending had made compete sense to me, but now I see why I was wrong. It is said a writer should have confidence in their writings, and enough of it not to make changes to the final script. But I say, why not have the confidence to accept I needed to learn and improve the way I write a book?
I’ve yet to receive many reviews of the new version of the book, but I am hopeful that the little extra work I put into it will reap some positive results.
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