What I Learned Failing NaNoWriMo

This was my fourth year taking part in NaNoWriMo. And it was the first year I failed to hit the 50k word target. I’m surprised. And I’m kind of not surprised. I mean, I did get a late start on NaNo this year. After getting a few thousand words into a new romance, I decided that wasn’t a genre I wanted to think about all month. So

NaNoWriMo 2016: Plan & Resources

NaNoWriMo 2016 is well underway. Plotters have their stories outlined. Pantsers have hit the ground running. And aspiring and experienced novelists alike have that 50k word target in their sights. Today let’s talk about the NaNoWriMo writing process — what we’re working on, how we’ve scheduled our writing time during November, and what tools and resources we use to keep us on track. NaNoWriMo 2016:

Falling Behind During NaNoWriMo? 3 Tips to Get You Back on Track

NaNoWriMo has barely started, and I’m already behind this year. I changed my novel idea at the last minute (I believe around 10:00 p.m. the night before). I still haven’t finished the scene-by-scene outline, though I hope to by tomorrow morning. And it’s now November 3rd and I haven’t even begun drafting my novel yet. That seems like a cause for concern, right? But I’m

Pen Names and Gender Anonymity (Podcast)

This week on the All Freelance Writing Podcast, I tackle a question from Jeremy Tarrier. He was curious about how a writer might protect gender anonymity when writing under a pen name (or if it’s really even a problem). Listen now. This was an interesting topic for me because I actually have the opposite problem: I write under an ambiguous pen name that could easily

Why (and How) to Launch Your Author Blog Before Your Book

Maybe you’re writing your first book. Perhaps it’s off with your editor. In either case, you still have a ways to go before your book is in the hands of readers. That means it’s much too early to worry about setting up an author blog, right? Wrong. You don’t need to wait until your book launch to set up an author blog. In fact, you

Building Author Visibility Before a Book Launch: A 10-Point Plan

When it comes to book marketing, I frequently mention that promotion is something authors need to think about early — even before your books are published. A part of that is building your author platform and gaining visibility (and an audience of readers anxious to buy your book when it’s released). This year one of my biggest projects involves building visibility under my horror author

What’s Your NaNoWriMo Plan?

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) began yesterday. NaNoWriMo is the annual month-long challenge to write a 50,000 word first draft of a novel. I’ve only taken part during two years so far, and I’ve managed to reach my goal both times. I’m hoping to make this year my third. I’m approaching this NaNoWriMo a bit differently than previous years. My goal is to actually hit

Quick Tip: Don’t Wait Until November to Prepare for NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, is a little over two weeks away. But if you plan to take part in it this year, you shouldn’t wait until November 1st to think about your new manuscript. Instead, use the rest of October for planning and outlining. Then, when NaNoWriMo begins, you’ll be ready to jump into your story. How I’m Spending My October Getting Ready

Quick Tip for Indie Authors: Create Your Own Media List

If you’ve ever distributed a press release to promote one of your books, chances are you did it wrong. It’s not your fault if you did. I’ve seen all the nonsense authors are exposed to online. This ranges from claims that press releases never work unless you’re already famous (utter BS) to “advice” that equates to spamming your press release to every free distribution website you

The Perils (and Benefits) of Reviewing Indie Fiction

I think most people by nature are polite. Maybe more so with authors, because we’ve had our hearts ripped out and stomped on repeatedly by literary agents and publishers. And maybe there’s some unwritten code I don’t know about, that says if you’re an author and you’re reviewing someone else’s work, you have to give them five stars and a glowing review. If that’s the

Quick Tip: Keep Your Book Marketing as Creative as Your Writing

I’ve been ranting for the last week or two about atrocious examples of marketing from companies like Upwork, Freshbooks, and Canva. So it feels like a good time to change gears and get back to the things writers should focus on rather than avoid. This week’s quick tip for writers is a bit of a lead-in to Friday’s podcast episode. There, we’ll explore ways indie authors

Quick Tip: Tie Your Book to a Worthy Cause

When you promote a new book release, chances are good you’ll send out at least one press release. And one of the biggest book launch press release mistakes I see authors make is sending a release with nothing newsworthy to say. That fact that you’re releasing a new book is very rarely newsworthy on its own, unless you’re a well-known author. Instead, you can increase

Quick Tip: Diversify Your Virtual Blog Tour Stops When Promoting Your Books

Planning a virtual book tour on a series of blogs can be time consuming, both for you and your hosts. One way you can make the most of your time is to diversify the types of posts included in your blog tour. Let’s look at some of the most common types of virtual blog tour stops for authors. Some will save you time directly. And

2 Years to a Book [InfoGraphic]

In this week’s “short share,” we have a two-year book writing plan from HuntersWritings.com. While two years might be an unnecessarily long time for many indie authors these days, I think it’s a great plan for new authors — especially those trying to write their first book alongside a traditional day job. If you find yourself with limited time to write, but you’d like to

Free Scrivener Template: Murder Mystery Novel

My next Scrivener template is now available for download: a murder mystery novel template. This one is based on my own template that I’ve been using for my upcoming mystery series. It allows you to plan, outline, and draft your next murder mystery all in one project file. Plus, there’s a place to write up some of your promotional copy, like your book launch press

Use Ancillary Products to Promote Your Book (and Earn More Money)

Are you earning as much as you want to from your indie published books? Many authors aren’t happy with their sluggish sales. And when they come to me with marketing questions hoping to improve their situation, I often ask two questions: What does your marketing plan include? What other revenue streams have you set up around your book’s brand? If you’re still working on your book marketing plan,

What Makes a Good Story?

For this weekend’s short share, I wanted to feature an infographic that applies to authors and copywriters alike: What Really Makes a Good Story? from Tom Albrighton at ABCCopywriting.com.   Check out the original discussion or leave a comment to tell me what you think. Are there other vital elements to a good story? Do you disagree with anything in the infographic?

Is AutoCrit a Good Fit for Indie Authors? (Review)

Some authors love the revision process. Some, not so much. I fall in the latter group. But if there’s one thing I dislike more than working on revisions, it’s the idea of automating the process with software. Revisions aren’t only about spelling and grammar. They’re also about improving the flow of a story and making better word choices, even if your original is technically correct.

Reader Question: Grammar, Second Languages, and Book Soundtracks

We have an interesting question for authors this week from an anonymous reader who created a soundtrack for their upcoming book. This is a topic that’s been on my mind recently as I was looking into BookTrack and also happened across an Amazon Prime music playlist featuring classical music for reading. While I’ve used soundtracks to help me write stories, listening to soundtracks or reading-specific playlists while I

Distribute Your Book Launch Press Release the Right Way

Earlier this week we looked at ways you can write a better book launch press release. But what you do with that finished release is just as important as how it’s written. So today I’d like to share a few press release distribution tips for authors — things you can do to help your announcement get more attention, without being immediately dismissed. Here are three distribution tips

Quick Tip: Don’t Blow Your Book Launch Press Release

If there’s one public relations tool that authors (and just about everyone else for that matter) gets wrong, it’s the press release. I see ignorant bloggers claiming “the press release is dead” all the time. They’re usually the ones who have used them wrong for years. In some circles they’ve become synonymous with “spam.” But thankfully the press release isn’t dead. And if you learn

Quick Tip: Nobody Cares That You Wrote a Book

Maybe “nobody” is a bit of a stretch. But here’s a harsh truth for authors: most people really do not care that you wrote a book. You just published a book. You’re excited. You want to shout it from the rooftops. I get it. So tell your friends and family. Share the news with your writer’s group. Mention it on your personal blog even. But

Where Should You Spend Your Book Marketing Budget?

As an indie author, you’ll find plenty of people and companies that would happily try to part you from your money, all in the name of book marketing or publicity. But, again as an indie, you might have a limited book marketing budget to work with. So where should you spend it? This topic came up here previously, starting off with a discussion about writing contests,

Reader Question: When Should Indie Authors Publish a Second Book?

Last week, a question from Sunayna Prasad came in about building a fan base and how it affects series publishing. Basically, she wanted to know if she should publish the second book in her new series right away, or if she should wait until she has more fans or readers of the first. Here’s her question: “I am writing a sequel to my published book.

Quick Tip: Make Sure Your Author Blog Reaches the Right Readers

Your author blog can be an important, and effective, book marketing tool. But I’ve seen countless authors complain that blogging isn’t worth their time, only to discover that they’re going about it in the wrong way. One of the biggest issues I’ve seen is that authors aren’t targeting the right readers with their blogs. And if you don’t reach the right audience, it should be

5 of the Best Premium WordPress Themes for Authors

If you’re thinking about launching a new author website or blog on WordPress, a good place to start is choosing an appropriate design. Today I’d like to share a bit of inspiration. Here are some of the best premium WordPress themes for authors that I’ve recently come across. These themes are designed to do more than host your author blog. They’re designed to help you

Quick Tip: Build Relationships With Reviewers Well Before Your Book Launch

When you try to land reviews for your new book, the last thing you want is to be just another random new author reviewers have never heard of. Yet it’s not uncommon for authors, and especially indie authors, to wait until the last minute to think about book reviews. So for this week’s quick tip, let’s make sure you don’t fall into that group. Rather

71 Tools and Tactics for Your Book Marketing Plan

In my recent book marketing plan series I shared a book marketing plan outline. One element of that outline involved marketing and PR tactics to support your larger promotional strategy. These are the specific things you’ll do to promote your book and your visibility as an author. While I’m working on a short e-book covering basic book marketing and PR tactics, I wanted to give

Book Marketing Timeline: From Pre-launch to Post-launch

In my free book marketing plan outline, I suggested creating a book marketing calendar or schedule to keep track of your marketing activities in the months leading up to, and extending beyond, your book launch. But when exactly should you pursue each promotional tactic you’re considering? This post offers a book marketing timeline that you can use as a guide. This book marketing timeline includes

Free Book Marketing Plan Outline

Continuing with this week’s series on book marketing plans, it’s time for a freebie. This is a book marketing plan outline that you can use This book marketing plan outline is a short form “real” marketing plan for indie authors (meaning it goes beyond a simple, and often untargeted, list of tactics). While a simple list might be fine when pitching publishers, a list of marketing