Almost late, but not quite! I’ve been spending too much time gardening to keep track of where I am, so let me tell you that today being the last of April came as something as a surprise. Still, here we go: this month’s collection of useful links.

 

Deipnosophist – a person skilled in the art of dining and dinner-table conversation

 

 

The Ten Worst Pieces of Writing Advice You Will Ever Hear (and Probably Already Have) – excellent advice from Susan DeFreitas at LitReactor

Writer vs Storyteller – Jo Eberhardt at Writer Unboxed. An interesting article, and I could certainly empathise with the notion that getting hung up on the techniques of writing, searching for the perfect word, gets in the way of good storytelling.

Ten Myths That Sabotage Unsuspecting Novelists Parts One and Two – Larry Brooks at the Kill Zone with essential reading. Seriously. Go and read it now. I’ll wait.

7 Lies Writers Believe (and the Truths You Need to Know Instead) – Ruthanne Reid at Writing Practice. I’ll wait why you read this one, too. Excellent post.

10 Things that Red-Flag a Newbie Novelist – Anne R Allen with the pitfalls to avoid. I admit it – I wavered between giggling and horrified recognition of ‘been there, done that’.

12 Common Writing Errors Even Bestselling Authors Make – Ricardo Fayet at Bookbub. I don’t agree with everything he says regarding things like hyphens and dashes, but I was brought up to believe en-rules and em-rules have different functions, not the same function but a different level of elegance. Sheesh. Otherwise, an interesting post.

A Quick Guide To Beta Reader Etiquette – K M  Weiland with pointers for both writer and their beta.

10 Things Indie Authors Are Doing Wrong (And 7 Things They’re Doing Right) – Derek Murphy at Creative Indie

 

 

Writers: When In Doubt, WWYL – Chuck on writer burnout. “Question is, what do I do about the OCTOPUSES OF ENNUI?” What, indeed.

On The Value Of Your Authorial Platform – great post of Twitters on how even Chuck, with this thousands of followers, doesn’t see that convert to thousands of sales. Solution: the best marketing is ‘write more books’.

What I’d Like To Say To Young Writers, Part Two – “Vitamin C won’t help you.” With a link to part one in the text.

We Have A Problem – last year I collected a lot of links regarding the Hugos being gamed by sad second rates whining that their books were cast aside in favour of those with a ‘liberal agenda’. I don’t think I can bear to do it again, but do go and read Chuck’s thoughtful piece on it.

 

 

What’s the Problem? The Four Classic Conflict Types – Janice Hardy at the Fiction University with a quick analysis of the conflict your protagonist must face.

Writing Boys Who Do Boys – Jane Kindred at the Fiction University on writing m/m romance. “...the first thing I do when writing a M/M romance is to not write “M/M romance.” Instead, I just write a romance. The two lovers in question just both happen to be male.” Sing it, sister.

All You Need To Know About Character Transformation – James Scott Bell at The Kill Zone on mirror moments for characters and what stakes make them change.

Believe It Or Not: How Not To Write Action – Tiffany Lawson Inman at Writers In The Storm with a great, and amusing, how to (and how not to) write action that doesn’t mesh with the character you’ve created.

How to Make Boring Story Parts Exciting  – Alex Limberg guesting at Kristen Lamb’s blog with an excellent, thoughtful post.

 

 

Promote a New Release by Marketing the Entire Book Series – Megg Jensen interviewed at BookBub. I’ll be cribbing from this, I can tell you.

Creating Promotional Copy That Works: Book Descriptions – Marcy Kennedy at the Fiction University.

Marky Marketing: Promoting Your Book – Janice Hardy at the Fiction University reviewing all the elements of a marketing campaign.

 

 

Real Writers Don’t Self-Publish and Real Writers Don’t Self-Publish—Part 2 – Kristen Lamb picking up on last month’s mini brou-ha-ha sparked by a provocative Guardian article decrying indie publishing (For me, traditional publishing means poverty. But self-publish? No way with a spirited discussion at The Passive Voice). Kristen is unimpressed.

Amazon, you hit like a bitch – Amazon’s attempts to crack down on false reviews have hit more than one book blogging reviewer— The Never Ending Book Basket, in this case—who’s found all their reviews deleted because Amazon suspects they’re gaming the system. The killer is that Amazon refuses to respond to emails seeking clarification or offering justification. This is all automated, it appears. No appeal. A fascinating discussion of this post is at The Passive Voice.

KU Scammers on Amazon – What’s Going On? – Fascinating post by Ann Christy on how scammers are gaming Kindle Unlimited, and how Amazon seems powerless to stop it.

 

 

Contract Basics   Fair, Compromise, Clout, and Balls and Know Your Rights – three essential reading posts from Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Excellent discussion of the last post at The Passive Voice (the blog owner there is a contracts lawyer).

Merchandising Rights in Publishing Deals – third in a series of posts by Susan Spann on contracting rights. She has links to the first two in the post. Well worth a read.

 

 

The Ultimate Collection of Book Marketing Examples – compiled by Bookbub. Awesome!