Gaining Readers and Growing an Audience | The Self-Published Author Problem

I should have titled this post How to Build an Audience as a Self-Published Author in Three Easy Steps: Email List, Reader Magnet, Traffic. Because it's really that simple. Though this post focuses on how to gain readers and grow an audience as a self-published author, it’s the dream of any internet entrepreneur to garner … Continue reading Gaining Readers and Growing an Audience | The Self-Published Author Problem →

From Harry Potter to Gone Girl | A Love Story in the Most Popular Books

You fall in love with the Harry Potter series when you’re young. You almost feel like you’re growing up at Hogwarts. You take the online sorting hat quiz, but you know which house you belong to and if the quiz gets it wrong you blow it off. By the time you hit your teens or … Continue reading From Harry Potter to Gone Girl | A Love Story in the Most Popular Books →

Twelve Things to Think About When Revising and Editing Your Novel

Writing is hard. Rewriting is even harder. Or maybe it’s the other way around. In any case, here is a quick checklist for things you can focus on when revising your book. While this isn’t an exhaustive list of revising and editing tips, it’s more than enough to think about when working on that second … Continue reading Twelve Things to Think About When Revising and Editing Your Novel →

Please Stop Tweeting Offers to Retweet PitMad Pitches

Every PitMad event, I feel compelled to tweet this sentiment like I have some sort of top-down command over others: If you’re someone who tweets offers to retweet PitMad pitches, please stop. I don’t expect anyone to care what I have to say, and I’m not mad at anyone who does it, but I want … Continue reading Please Stop Tweeting Offers to Retweet PitMad Pitches →

How Writers Can Benefit From Book Reviewers | BookTube Recommendations

For the past several months, I’ve been spending some of my evenings--and some of my mornings before I start work--watching a handful of BookTubers review novels on YouTube. To my surprise, this activity has yielded an unexpected ancillary benefit to me as a writer and as an editor, so I thought I would share it … Continue reading How Writers Can Benefit From Book Reviewers | BookTube Recommendations →

Something’s Up with Where the Crawdads Sing | How a Book Sold Millions of Copies

When a book spends 124 weeks on the bestseller list and sells an estimated 7 million copies in two years, you gotta wonder what sets it apart from other books. A big marketing push can send a novel to the top for a week, and when Oprah or Reece Witherspoon select it for their book … Continue reading Something’s Up with Where the Crawdads Sing | How a Book Sold Millions of Copies →

How to Have an Imagination | Writing Tips ‘n’ Tricks Volume 3139

Have you walked face-first into a wall lately? Not heard a single word your partner said? Suddenly realized an hour has gone by and you’ve done nothing but sat there smirking or crying or staring at the carpet? This isn’t a writing tips ‘n’ tricks post. Well, maybe it’s a trick since the title is … Continue reading How to Have an Imagination | Writing Tips ‘n’ Tricks Volume 3139 →

Tory’s 300 Word New Year’s Eve Writing Contest | Winners and Prizes

The winners of Tory’s 300 Word New Year’s Eve Writing Contest have been chosen. We asked writers to submit their best excerpt from an unpublished work up to 300 words, and now it’s time to read the winning entries and hand out prizes! A Couple Things WB and I had quite a difficult time narrowing … Continue reading Tory’s 300 Word New Year’s Eve Writing Contest | Winners and Prizes →