5 Things Every Writer Should Know About: Newsletters.

If you ask a thousand authors what they think of newsletters, you’ll probably get an even split between those who like them and think they’re a good idea, and those who loath them and can’t be bothered. I’ve fallen into both categories at some point over the last fifteen years and I can honestly say I’m still on the fence about them even though I have one.

The biggest decision about newsletters is finding a site that suites what you want to achieve. I suggest doing a lot of research and being honest with yourself about what you expect. With that in mind, here are 5 things every writer should know about newsletters.

1. Newsletters are the perfect way to stay in touch with your audience. No worries about followers not seeing your posts as it’s delivered right to their inbox. It’s a neat and tidy way of staying connected to those who are most interested in your work and you don’t have to worry about whether or not they’re seeing your announcements. Most newsletter sites have stats that allow you to see just how many are being opened and read. This alone, is the best reason to start a newsletter.
2. You have a captive audience. If people have signed up then they are interested in your work, especially if they signed on through a form on your web site.
3. Cultivating subscribers takes time. Don’t expect a lot of sign-ups at the beginning. It could take years to reach double digits. You need to understand this, because this is the biggest complaint I see with writers. The expectation that hundreds of people will immediately sign up for theirs and then ask for a magic bullet when it doesn’t happen. It’s a slow, arduous process. Know that from the start. There are sites that offer you subscribers for a free copy of your book, but I find the majority of those who sign up, don’t really care. They just want the free book.
4. Depending on how much time you want to spend online, learning the basics and putting together a newsletter is time consuming. Don’t go into this thinking it won’t be either. You want to send out something that looks good, and that could take some time to put together. No one wants a half-ass looking newsletter show up in their inbox.
5. Interesting content. This has to be the biggest drawback. I had the worse time trying to think of interesting things to put into mine, and it became so much of a problem that I stopped doing one. It can take a while for a writer to establish a theme (so to speak), but once you’ve found it, keeping it going shouldn’t be a problem. It’s all a matter of planning ahead.

Overall, keep your expectations small at first, about what you want to achieve with your newsletter. Getting started is difficult and it may take you a while before you understand what you want. In the mean time, you’ll have plenty of time to get things organized they way you want it.

Good luck!

5 Things Every Author Should Know About Dialogue and Dialogue Tags.

Out of all the writing topics out there, this has to be one of the more controversial ones. First off, there are two minds on this subject of dialogue tags. One that says all you should use are the words ‘said’, ‘asked’, and ‘replied’, stating that the writer should be able to convey the emotion other ways. The other camp firmly believes that you can use descriptive words like ‘groaned’, ‘bellowed’, or ‘gasped’ to strengthen the emotion the character is experiencing. Which ever camp you are a part of, there are five things that govern both dialogue and tags.

Dialogue Tags:

1. Use them sparingly. Even with ‘said’, a writer shouldn’t depend too heavily on tags, especially if there are less than two people in the conversation. The whole ‘he said, she said’ might not make the conversation as interesting as you ‘d like, but too many of them, or constantly using them throughout the narrative can, and will, pull a reader out of the story.  

2. Understand that tags can be distracting. This is the biggest complaint in the ‘anti-tag’ group arsenal. Dialogue is supposed to flow seamlessly, and anything that describes or enhances the tone of the conversation is seen as a distraction. The reader hears the conversation in their head one way, and then a dialogue tag comes along and it changes the tone of the entire thing.   

3. Not all dialogue needs tags. Your characters aren’t standing still the whole time, staring into each other’s eyes as they’re talking. They’re moving around, gesturing, maybe fiddling. Include this in your dialogue. You an convey so much with a few simple movements. Ask yourself, what movement would you make if you were having this conversation in real life? How can I convey emotion with a simple gesture?

Dialogue:

4. Avoid including massive amounts of information when writing dialogue. This is a biggie. Better known as the ‘As you know, Bob’ syndrome, info-dumping in your dialogue not only is a waste of time, it’s redundant, and a big annoyance to the reader. It implies the writer doesn’t think the reader understands the plot and must explain, in great detail, what’s going on. Simple thing is, if the writer has done their job correctly, they don’t need to do this. The same goes for adding to little. Dialogue is a delicate balance of need to know information.     

5. Dialogue must feel and read smoothly. This is another biggie. Naturally-flowing dialogue is easy to read, insightful, and has just enough information to keep the reader interested in what’s going on. It’s a difficult balance to obtain but it can be done. I model some of my dialogue from real life. I listen to how other people talk when I’m in public. I watch their gestures and observe as much as I can (without being creepy about it) to understand the fine nuances of conversation.

All this is from my personal observation over the last fifteen years of writing. I consider dialogue the ‘blood’ of a story. It permeates every part of a novel, bringing the fuel needed to feed the plot and enhances the story. It’s one of the most, if not *the* most important elements of a novel, not an easy task either. I’ve rolled my eyes at a lot of bad dialogue, and swooned over good, so take your time, and craft it well.

What has been your experience with dialogue and tags? Which camp do you fall into? I’d love to know!  

5 Things Every Writer Should Know About Self-Publishing.

Since the rise of sites like Smashwords and Amazon in 2007-08, self-publishing quickly became the go-to for many authors who could not get a deal with Trad or Indie publishing houses. Soon, the lure of doing it yourself and keeping all the profit skyrocketed in the self-publishing world, and now millions of books are unleashed to the world every year.

Yet as thousands of new authors soon realise, it ain’t as easy as it looks, so here are five things every writer should know about Self-Publishing. Note; this is ALL from my years of experience.

1. You have to do EVERYTHING: I do mean everything. Without the support of a publisher, authors are left to find and pay for editors, cover designers, formatters and everything that goes into marketing and promoting a book. This can cost you thousands of dollars. At the onslaught of the self-publishing wave back in 2010, book covers for SP books were amateurish and sloppy. You could pick out an SP author from the thousands of books that were released every month. It quickly became adherent that if you wanted to compete with the big boys, you had to look like them, and that meant a cover and everything in between. Authors 

2. No real deadlines: There are a few advantages to doing it yourself, but the biggest one (and the one I like the most) is no set deadline. Authors can choose when their books come out and can push back a release date if they’re not ready. Try being a new author and telling your Trad publisher that the deadline they gave you just isn’t going to work.

3. Expect your book to be swallowed up: I don’t know how many times I see authors upset that their first book is not being seen, especially first-time authors. There are, on average, close to two million books self-published each year, and it’s a slow process to find a steady audience who will buy your books. This is where promotions come into play. Promoting your story is a part of your writing career, and people expect you to do some. I write books in genres that aren’t really popular, so I don’t get a lot of traction, and I’m fine with that, but be warned that even if you write in a ‘hot’ genre, you’re still going to find it difficult. Be patient and write that next book. Having a catalogue of stories helps out and will help with #4. One tip; don’t spam social media for sales. Nothing will get you ignored faster, and how are you going to sell books if everyone is ignoring you?

4. You won’t get rich.  This goes hand-in-hand with #3. As soon as people realised you could make money writing books, everyone started doing it, and there were a lot of scams out there, and Amazon was ripe with them, which is why I will never make any of my books exclusive to that platform. There is an unrealistic ideal that if you write a book, you’re set for life. You’re not, as a matter of fact, it may take you dozens of books and constant sales before that dream actually happens. You have to be realistic about this. Here’s a good article on the subject. https://medium.com/real-life-resilience/heres-why-so-many-writers-fail-7bdb5d647e4c

5. More rewarding – Yes, you have to do everything yourself. Yes, you will easily spend more to put your book together than you earn, and there is a good chance a handful of people will see your novel and even fewer will purchase it, and yes, there will be constant anxiety about promotions and marketing, but at the end of it all when you look online and see your novel for sale there is something incredibly rewarding about it. YOU did that. That story came from YOUR imagination, and you worked on it for months, if not years, and how many people in your life can say they wrote a book? That is your small chunk of immortality, my friend. Something that will stay around as long as the internet exists.

Five Things Every Writer Should Know About Small Press Publishers.

This is a very special blog post for me because I reached out to several small publishers to get their take on this topic, and I wanted to thank Tyke Books [ https://www.tychebooks.com ] for participating.

Small and Indie presses are excellent alternatives to Trad publishing and have put out award-winning novels time and time again, which is why I asked for some input instead of trying to write this myself.  

Margaret Curelas from Tyke Books tells us that the work doesn’t stop once the book is published, so here’s 5 things every writer should know about publishing with small or Indie press.

1. Getting published is half the battle.

Congratulations, you finished your book! You wrote it, you’ve edited it, you’ve shed blood and tears over it. And now, it’s been accepted for publication or you’re publishing it yourself. Whew. You can relax now, right? Turns out, no. I’ve known authors who believed that having a book published was The End, that nothing came after–that books magically sold on their own. Publishing the book is half the battle; to *sell* your book, you’ll need to do more work.

2. So … what is that “more work” exactly?

Marketing and promotion! Find a social media platform you’re comfortable with and start showing off that book. Even if you’re published with a small (or large) press, you, as the author, will be expected to do some promotional work. Explore online advertising. And not just Facebook ads, but ebook newsletters, like Bookbub, to pick a not random example at all. Check and see if your city or region has writing conferences or conventions or other in-person (or online!) events. Get out there and meet people. Sell that book.

3. It’s hard work and not always fun.

It’s not your imagination that publishing and everything associated with it (marketing, bookkeeping, administrative tasks, and *gasp* talking to people) is hard work. You may even loathe some of the tasks. That’s normal! The trick is to balance the tasks you do enjoy with the scut work. Don’t believe that because you don’t like Task X that you’re not cut out for this career. Nobody enjoys all the work associated with their job.

4. The more, the merrier (or, misery loves company).

People with normal 9 to 5 jobs don’t understand what we do, not really. (Some people believe I have a printing press in my basement. I’m not joking.) But like any job, the work is easier when you have colleagues to share triumphs with, or go to for advice. Find your people! Befriend other writers, or join or form a writing group. 

5. Write the next book.

Your book is out and you’re marketing it. Great! But now what do you do? Write the next book. A new book is a fantastic way to sell the old book. If you’re unsure what to do next, work on the new book. Don’t get so caught up in marketing that you neglect writing! After all, your readers will want something new to read, and you will enjoy a new project. Alternatively, if you’re just starting out, *finish* your book. Don’t revise the first chapter ad nauseum. Do that later, when the book is done.

Bonus: Imposter Syndrome is a real thing. It’s scary and horrible and nearly everyone you meet also struggles with it. You’re not alone and you are a real writer! No matter what your inner voice says.

I second everything Ms. Curelas said, and it shows that a career in writing is not a fly-by-night, cash-cow. You have to truely love what you do to see you through the rough times.

Thank you again, Ms. Curelas.  

M.L.D. Curelas lives in Calgary, Canada, with two humans and a varying number of guinea pigs. Raised on a diet of Victorian literature and Stephen King, it’s unsurprising that she now writes and edits fantasy and science fiction. Her most recent short fiction appears in the anthology Sherlock Holmes: Further Adventures in the Realms of H.G. Wells. Margaret is also the owner of Tyche Books, a Canadian small-press which publishes science fiction and fantasy.

You can find Tyche Books HERE. On Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Five Things Every Writer Should Know About Instagram.

I like to call Instagram the Twitter of pictures.

For those of you who don’t know, Instagram is a picture heavy social media site. It also hosts videos as well. Probably in competition to TikTok and YouTube, but personally, I like it just for pictures.

Instagram is one of my favourite social media platforms. I post so many different types of photos, from personal to business and connect with others who do the same, but it’s my favourite because I don’t have to think of something clever to say, like I try to do on Twitter. With Instagram, I can throw up a picture and leave it at that, and honestly, it’s one of the simplest platforms to use, and like all platforms there are good and bad sides to it, so here are 5 things you need to know about Instagram.

1. Picture heavy. As a writer, you want to reach as many people as possible and that means you have to expand your audience to include non-writing people as well, and Instagram is a good place to start. I think of it as another way to be creative. You can post pictures of themes that run through your story, maybe of actors or places that you used for character and story inspiration. I sometimes post snippets of my works-in-progress. A visual excerpt of the actual word file.

• You can link to other platforms. Instagram is owned by Facebook (or do we call them Meta now?), but that doesn’t mean that you’re limited to what you can connect to. Facebook -yes, Twitter – yes, Tumblr – yes, and I have it connected to my WordPress blog, so pictures come up in a side bar. Connecting one social media platform to another an greatly expands the range of your audience and you may pick up a follower or two.

• Limitation on what you can do with pictures. Apart from a few filters, Instagram doesn’t have a lot of options to fancy up your photos, BUT, you can upload pictures from your computer, so if you do something fancy in whatever paint program you have, you can easily share it.

• Can use hashtags just like with Twitter. The whole purpose of having social media accounts is to connect with others, and it’s much easier when you use hashtags. You can even follow certain hashtag topics, so anyone who uses ones you’re following, will pop up in your stream, and vice-versa.

• Very user friendly. After Twitter and a blog, I would suggest (once you feel comfortable) having an Instagram account. Want to post a picture? Click on the icon of a box with a (+) sign, and it will either open a box (on your computer) to drag a photo, or, on your phone it will have all pictures that is in your gallery, and you just pick the one you want. You can do multiple pictures as well by clicking the double screen icon on the bottom right-hand corner.

Instagram has been around for almost twelve years and there isn’t a business site that doesn’t have an account. It’s fun, simple to use, but it can be a time suck as well. There are so many creative ways a writer can use the platform to promote themselves and their work. I’ve mentioned a few in this post, but if you think of others, I’d love to hear it. I’m always looking for a good idea for a picture.

Five Things Every Writer Should Know About . . . Facebook.

When I thought up this series last year, I had a love hate relationship with Facebook, but over the last little while, between what’s happened with them in the last few months, to the fact that it really doesn’t help writers other than provide a time suck, I no longer suggest Facebook for authors, but it’s still worth a look so here are Five Things Every Writer Should Know About Facebook.

1 – Facebook is a time suck. Unfamiliar with that term? It just means you can waste hours scrolling through posts of your friend’s cat pictures, silly game promos, and the never-ending barrage of meme posts. Facebook, like all other social media platforms, does NOT sell books, and quite frankly, there’s nothing you can do on it that you can’t do on the others. The ONLY reason I’m still on it is because of the friends I’ve made.

2. Facebook does not sell books. There have been numerous posts regarding their paid post promos, but I haven’t heard anything good. Only that they got the author’s money, and the author didn’t get anything in return. I had an author page and was constantly bombarded with requests from Facebook to promote my latest post for a few dollars. I never fell for it because the information I saw from other authors who did, didn’t impress me.

3. Algorithms – Facebook’s algorithms are notorious – good and bad, but it’s the same with any program that uses them. You just have to understand how they work. It takes some time, but you can manipulate them to show you what you want, but you must be vigilant about it. One slip and you can go spiraling down a rabbit hole.   

4. Keeps you connected – the ONLY reason I still have Facebook, is to keep connected with friends. That’s it. I don’t use it for anything else. I had an author page, but I would forget to update it, or my posts weren’t being seen by the amount of people it claimed were following. This is where they make you pay to get your posts ‘seen’ in more places. Personally, if they would just put it up in the feeds of people who followed it, I’d have no problem.

5. Groups: Facebook groups are another plus for this platform. There are groups for just about everything, and it comes with it’s only good/bad points. Social media is about connection and connecting, and at the beginning of its life, Facebook was great at that, but somewhere in the last decade it’s descended into becoming one of Dante’s levels of hell. Which is sad because connection is a cornerstone for authors to sell books.

Facebook groups and connecting with friends is about the only good thing about this program, and I may just write a post on it.

Is there anything you’d like to add to this list? Some aspect about Facebook (good or bad) that I’ve left out?

Five Things Every Writer Should Know About Twitter.

This post might seem generic or even obvious, but I feel it’s good to remind people just what this platform can do, and try to make it less intimidating. One of the fastest, and most prolific forms of online communication, Twitter came onto the social media scene in 2006, but it wasn’t until 2010 that it exploded. Since then, it has become one of the main ways people get a lot their information—good and bad, and a wonderful way for authors to connect with readers and other authors.

If I had to list in order, the platforms authors should be on, Twitter would be second (a blog being first). Because it’s written, it’s the next logical step for any author who wants to build their online presence, and agents along with publishers are looking for a strong presence, but it can be contentious as well. It’s a good way to expand your author platform: For the new writer, Twitter is the first step into a very large pond. With the majority of posts in real-time, you can get an almost instant feel for the publishing world through this medium. Agents, authors and publishing houses post daily and the best thing, you can interact with them. With all the pros and cons of the platform I’ve put together things every writer should know.

1. Automated Tweets: This is a must for writers when you’re promoting your work. It’s great for when you’re at work or reaching an audience that is awake when you’re asleep. Consistency is everything and automated tweets can help.

2. It’s a simple to use: Sign up, and start tweeting. That’s it. There is a Twitter phone app that allows you to post from anywhere you are. A great thing if you want to give short updates from conventions.

3. Hashtags: Connecting to hashtags allows authors to pinpoint their audience to understand what it is that they’re looking for. Every genre has it’s own hashtag and with apps like Tweetdeck, you can follow as many as you want.

4. Can connect to other social media platforms: Along with automated tweets, being able to connect all your platforms is a time saver. Twitter can connect to most blog programs, allowing your followers to discover another side of you.

5. It’s addictive: Like all social media, you can lose track of time. Not a good thing to be doing if you have other things to do. Some people set aside a certain amount of time to scroll, which is a good idea, especially if you’re at work.

What are some things you like/dislike about Twitter, or is there anything I should add?

Five Things Every Writer Should Know About Blogging.

One of the first forms of social media, the blog has been a staple in social media process for nearly twenty years. You can read a short history of blogging HERE, and while articles pop up every few years or so on how blogging is dead, it really isn’t. The fact that many of the originals are still around is testimony to that, and I doubt very much that it’ll go away any time soon. Why? Because blogging is one of the easiest forms of social media, and with this in mind, here are five things every writer should know.

1. Think outside the blog.

Blogging is a good way to connect with readers, expecially when you write about things OTHER than your work. Readers want a way to connect, either through shared experience, hobbies or lifestyle. Give that to them. You can go into as much detail as you want, but show them that there’s more to you than just a book.

2. You don’t have to write out long, drawn-out posts.

The goal of every blogger is to have followers return again and again, and one of those ways is to keep the posts short. Several years ago I read an article that stated the average blog post should be around three hundred words, but that can be too short. I aim for anyting between 300 – 500 (FYI, this post is 498). That’s a good length, especially if you’re struggling to find something to write about. There’s nothing wrong with posts being longer, but short, inciteful post were found to be more popular.

3. Being consistent is key, but don’t over burden yourself.

Keeping to a schule can be difficult, even with experienced bloggers. There are going to be days when you don’t feel like it, or can’t really think of anything to say. When this happens, take some time for yourself. Write fewer posts or take a break altogether. Creative burnout is a real thing and it can carry over to all aspects of your writing.

4. Blogs are a good way to promote yourself and your books.

Look over other writer’s blog sites and you’ll see links to their work, or information on upcoming work. A blog is one of the few places that a writer can go into detail about their work to a captive audience. After all, they want to know about your books, otherwise they wouldn’t be clicking on your blog.

5. Connect your blog to other social media to increase your message.

This is one of the easiest ways to maximise your reach. With many social media sites you can save time by connecting them together. Instagram can connect to Twitter and Facebook. TicTok can connect to Instagram and Twitter, and reaching more people with interesting content will draw more people to the places where you’re selling your books.

There you have it, 5 things every writer should know about blogs.