A recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts showed that fiction reading is on the rise, especially among 18- to 24-year-olds.
–Newsweek
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Dreams of Stars and Lies is a collection of five short science fiction stories, featuring Sipper:
Poverty has shaped Tia’s life since childhood, labeling her a roach. A day without hunger pains or despising looks is pure fantasy until she accepts a job offer to explore a wondrous deserted city on a distant world. All she can think about is the life-altering payout she’ll receive in six months.
A hundred roaches are set free in the city of crystal spires. Their mission: To learn what they can about the previous occupants and to verify that the place is habitable for the host of wealthy future occupants waiting in orbit.
Well-provisioned, Tia and her fellow roaches scatter to explore the dunes and spires. Then people start to disappear. Are they being picked off to lessen the payout or is there a killer among them? All the credits in the world won’t matter if she’s dead.
Dreams of Stars and Lies is available in both print $9.99 and ebook $1.99.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/31GC9x0
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1026840?ref=hubbooks
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dreams-of-stars-and-lies
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreams-of-stars…/1137170842
About the Author: Jean Davis lives in West Michigan with her musical husband, two nerdy kids, and two attention-craving terriers. When not ruining fictional lives from the comfort of her writing chair, she can be found devouring books and sushi, enjoying the offerings of local breweries, weeding her flower garden, or picking up hundreds of sticks while attempting to avoid the abundant snake population who also shares her yard.
Jean writes speculative fiction. Her novels include Dreams of Stars and Lies, The Narvan Series, Destiny Pills & Space Wizards, The Last God, A Broken Race, and Sahmara.
By Sandra Beckwith
I’m one of those people who likes to watch TV to unwind, but just can’t sit there and watch TV. Know what I mean?
I don’t really like that about myself, but I’ve not only accepted it, I’ve learned to take advantage of it. I try to do something productive while sitting there – knitting, cleaning out my inbox, promoting my books, and so on.
That’s right. I promote my books while watching TV, and you can, too. If you’re a like me and find it difficult to just sit and look at the screen, try doing one of these book promotion activities the next time you’re sitting still in front of your favorite show.
Pull up the Twitter app on your smartphone and scroll through your notifications to find who has followed you recently — and follow them back. When you’re done with those, find a popular author in your genre on Twitter, and follow the people who follow her.
Do the same thing on other social networks, including LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram if appropriate.
Use a desktop tool such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck or a phone app like Everypost to schedule your tweets several days out — all during commercial breaks.
You can also retweet what others share either from your computer or smartphone — all without missing any of the TV action.
I created a master template in PowerPoint and use that for each tipographic. I then save each new PowerPoint slide as a JPG file.
To help you see how this works, I’ve saved my basic template as a PDF file you can download. As you’ll see at that link, my template has:
I’ll confess: This is my favorite thing to do while watching TV (besides playing CandyCrush). I use both the WordSwag app on my phone and Canva, but there are many other options. Here’s one I created with Canva to promote my e-book on how to write a book announcement press release.
You can also create image quotes with reader reviews and influencer testimonials. Learn more about how to do it and the resources you can use in “How to create shareable images with quotes.”
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| Examples of Rumbustious in a sentence
“The kids were being too rumbustious, so I shooed them outside to play.” “Expect the litter of puppies to be rumbustious when they hit 6 weeks.” |
Today’s guest blogger, Derek Doepker, is one of my favorite people to collaborate with for many reasons. Derek is a rock guitarist turned seven-time #1 best-selling author. He discovered a proven process that took him from struggling author to selling more than 75,000 books. Now he shares this process with thousands of authors through workshops, courses, and retreats, empowering them to turn their passion for writing into a thriving business. Discover more about his work and pick up your free copy of Why Authors Fail at BestsellerSecrets.com.
Audiobook sales are booming.
In fact, Written Word Media said that audiobooks are the number one publishing trend of 2020. With this increase in audiobook popularity, savvy indie authors can reach a whole new audience of readers by creating audiobooks.
Just about every indie author can benefit from having audiobooks. There are a few exceptions, of course, including cookbooks and technical manuals. However, most genres make great audiobooks. This includes fiction, nonfiction, and children’s narrative books.
If you’re in one of these categories, read on to discover five reasons why you’ll want to tap into the audiobook market.
I produced a short audiobook for one of my books in about three hours. This audiobook has now made thousands of sales. Imagine generating thousands of new sales by only investing a few hours to create an audiobook.
The audiobook market has grown more than 30 percent consistently each year recently. Today, more people consume books while driving, exercising, and doing housework than ever before.
Look at the Kindle marketplace. There are approximately one million books published every year. It’s hard to stand out from all of them, isn’t it?
As long as you own the rights to distribute your audiobook anywhere, you could offer your audiobook as a bonus for people to:
Some authors don’t pursue audiobooks because of the financial investment. For some, it’s because they don’t have the technical know-how. Fortunately, there are strategies that help almost any author create audiobooks on any budget.
The do-it-yourself approach isn’t right for every author, though. That’s why I encourage you to learn more about how to create audiobooks to see what’s right for you.
Fri, Jul 17, 2020, 1:00 PM –
Sat, Jul 18, 2020, 5:00 PM EDT
The Detroit Writing Room
1514 Washington Boulevard
Suite 203
Detroit, MI 48226
Check out Schedule | Find out More About Detroit Writing Room | Register Now
This summer, join The Detroit Writing Room for a weekend retreat to connect with fellow writers, write in a creative space and learn from published authors.
The Detroit Writing Room is offering a Summer Writing Retreat Friday, July 17 and Saturday, July 18. If you need an escape to unblock writer’s block and get your creative juices flowing, this experience is for you.
The two-day retreat includes time to network with aspiring and veteran authors, writing and publishing workshops, and free writing time. Meals and a Friday happy hour are included in the ticket price. All levels of experience are welcome. Must be 21+.
Come with your laptop and/or writing materials!
Check out Schedule | Find out More About Detroit Writing Room | Register Now
Pricing your book correctly increases sales and profits. To help you determine the suggested retail price (also known as the list price) and the sales price (the price the consumer pays), you need to:
Each vendor (retailer, distributor or aggregator) provides a list of costs and revenue share split information on their website. Several sites also provide an online calculator to assist with determining costs and revenue, as well as currency converters to correctly set the price for your book in territories outside the United States.
To determine your earnings:
Option A (Direct Sale)
Sales Price (the price the consumer pays for the book)
– Costs (shipping, printing, handling, delivery fees)
– Retail Outlet’s Royalty/Revenue Share
– Distributor/Aggregator’s Royalty/Revenue Share
= Publisher/Author’s Earnings
http://meetup.com/michiganliterarynetwork
If you’re interested in speaking at our group or sending promotional items to our group, please contact us
Please send items in bulk of 50, please.
By Hayley Zelda
In this day and age, the internet rules the world, especially for young people. If you’re thinking about marketing to teens and you aren’t looking at online platforms or social media, then you’re doing it wrong.
Social media plays a significant role in marketing today. Here are some ways to market a book to young people:
There are many different platforms on the internet that allow writers and creative artists to share their work with other people. Wattpad is one such platform on which new writers can share their stories and books.
The majority of the members in this community are young people between the ages of 13 and 24. Sharing a story on a site like Wattpad taps into a young audience and potentially some organic distribution.
Anna Todd is probably the most well-known success story on Wattpad. With over 2M followers on Wattpad, her book, originally posted on Wattpad with hundreds of millions of views, has gone on to be published and also made into a movie.
There are many different platforms on the internet that allow writers and creative artists to share their work with other people. Wattpad is one such platform on which new writers can share their stories and books.
An excellent way to grab the attention of young people is to type up some of your favorite quotes from your book and share it on Instagram. Add some color or designs onto the writeup and post it on your account or your Instagram story. Teens love reading quotes with pretty backgrounds on Instagram and it has become a huge viral trend.
Share some short bits of your works for free as a hook. Look for the most exciting, interesting cliffhanger you have and use that. It will attract the most readers and also convert the most people into fans. In a world of short attention spans, a short and strong hook can go a long way.
Share some short bits of your works for free as a hook. Look for the most exciting, interesting cliffhanger you have and use that. It will attract the most readers and also convert the most people into fans. In a world of short attention spans, a short and strong hook can go a long way. Continue reading
April 14, 2020
By Paul Goat Allen
For the last 25 years, I’ve been a full-time genre fiction book critic—writing for companies from BlueInk Review to Publishers Weekly to The Chicago Tribune. I’ve evaluated titles in every genre category and reviewed both traditionally published and independently published titles.
I’ve read and reviewed enough books (10,000+) to know that self-published authors make common blunders that can virtually guarantee their books receive negative reviews and ruin any chance at creating a positive buzz. These are giant red flags—ear-piercing alarms—warning me of an imminent bad read.
Consider this a public service announcement. Because as a reviewer, I want you, the self-published author, to bring your best book to the table. I want nothing more than to be blown away by a self-published novel and to shout about it from the rooftops for the whole world to hear.
Listed below, in order of importance, are five mistakes that—in my humble opinion—will doom any self-published book.
1. Typographical and grammatical errors
Learn your craft, writers. Spelling and punctuation errors are the biggest red flags of all. If you can’t spell words that most fifth graders should know and you don’t understand how to use commas, chances are good that you probably shouldn’t be publishing a book.
2. Chest beating
This is a big one for me. Don’t brag about what a great writer you are. I’ve read more than a few biographies where the author states that [insert name here] knew from an early age that he or she was an incredibly talented wordsmith, has a special gift that he or she wants to share with the world, etc. A little humility goes a long way, writers.
Don’t say it—do it.
4. Amateurish cover art
Yeah. I know. People shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But guess what? They do. I’ve seen it happen time and time again: a mediocre novel with eye-catching cover art sells well while a brilliant novel with bad cover art comes and goes unnoticed.
5. No social networking presence
Some people may disagree with me about this, but I think it’s critically important: if you’re a self-published author, it is imperative that you have a social media presence. If you’re trying to promote a self-published novel and you don’t have a website and/or you’re not active on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, etc., you’re effectively shooting yourself in the foot.
This is where your readers are. Potentially millions of them! Get your name—and your book—out there and grow your audience!
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|Book WritingGuest PostUncategorized
You live to write and have numerous short stories to prove it. Best of all, people other than your mother love and praise them! But because your name doesn’t happen to be Danielle Steel, no publisher is currently knocking down your front door to rip manuscripts from your printer before the pages even cool. So what is an aspiring writer to do? Apply to a writing contest, perhaps?
If you were a singer, you could try out for American Idol; if a dancer, you could apply to So You Think You Can Dance. But let’s face it, a television show where you typed at your keyboard is not must-see TV.
Even so, there are numerous (non-televised) writing contests where you can display your skills and improve your writing. Plus, if you win, you might receive some well-deserved critical acclaim—not to mention a cash award and potential future writing contracts.
There are a lot of writing contests out there that may or may not be worth your time. As a general rule, it’s a good idea to check out the contest’s social media presence, their history, and the previous winners to be sure that you’re applying to one that isn’t going to waste your time and your money–since most of them do have entrance fees. Never fear, I’ve done some research for you, and listed a few of the best writing contests and how to apply to them below.
But it’s probably a good idea for us to go over some general rules for applying to these contests.
Writer’s Digest Magazine hosts an annual writing contest that’s been going on for over 80 years. This year’s contest is the 89th, and contest submissions are judged by editors and literary agents with over 500 winners being selected. I like those odds.
There are reading fees for the different types of submissions, starting at $20 for poetry and $30 for manuscripts. But the cost is well worth the reward. The first-place winner receives $5,000, an interview with the author on the Writer’s Digest website, and a chance to attend the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference with a Pitch Slam slot.
FINAL THOUGHTS
With all these available contests, it’s time to get to work writing and editing your best story within an inch of its life. Then, submit it only after researching to ensure you are adhering strictly to the writing contest’s guidelines, and that you’ve polished it with the shine that appeals to those specific judges.
Author Angeline Boulley will have a writing workshop, “From Spark to Story: Workshop for Writers” from 1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21 at Avery Arts & Nature Learning Center – Hessel School House.
This building is located at 3206 West Cedar Road in Hessel.
Boulley will cover a range of writing topics, including plot, character, theme, voice and hero versus villain. The workshop will address how to question a literary agent, what happens during a book auction and working with an editor.
The cost for the workshop is $50 per attendee.
To help ensure safety, program participants will be required to practice distancing protocols and wear face coverings.
To register, call (906) 484-1333 or visit hesselschoolhouse.org.
It’s important to start a novel off right. Just ask Stephen King — he’s published more than sixty books to date, and his taut, intriguing first lines are consistently among the best in the game. How does he pull it off?
King tries, at the beginning every novel, to invite the reader into the story — saying “Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this” with his opening line. Want to extend your readers an invitation they can’t resist? Look no further! This post will show you how to start a novel in 8 simple steps.
As King says, the best novel openings aren’t just beautiful sentences — they’re invitations into a world of the author’s creation. That means the beginning of a novel should set the tone for all the writing that follows, letting the reader know what to expect as they make their way deeper into the story.
With your novel’s overall mood and tone in mind, you’re ready to make one of the most important writing decisions for your book: its point of view. Will you opt for colorful, voice-driven first person like in Huckleberry Finn? Or adopt a bird’s-eye view of the story with a third person omniscient narrator, like in Pride and Prejudice?
In the end, establishing the stakes comes down to showing what your character wants. Now, that want can be grand, or it can be deeply personal, anything from overthrowing an oppressing regime to getting into college. The key is, it has to matter deeply to the character.
Of course, what your character wants can’t be too easy to attain. To give your novel the right about of tension, pursuing their goal needs to put something at risk, whether that’s their life or their peace of mind.
Of course your characters will grow and change over the course of the plot. But there should be a thread of continuity that makes each character recognizable. Take look at everyone who appears in your opening scene. Are they portrayed in a way that’s consistent with their behavior in the rest of the book?
Remember, revising the beginning of your novel is an ongoing process. And once you feel you’ve taken it as far as you’re able to, you can always loop in a professional editor to polish it even further. The key is to keep tinkering with it until you’ve got an opening that just feels right. We can’t wait to see what you come up with.
US Road Trip
)COLIN ANDERSON/BLEND IMAGES LLC / GETTY
Longing to hit the open road but unwilling to suffer the potential health risks at this uneasy moment in history? If months of self-isolation has left you feeling a bit restless—particularly in these temptingly bright days of early summer—you’re not alone. But you’re also not alone in your hesitancy to begin traveling again. And for all my fellow would-be explorers: you’re in luck.
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Agents, Editors and You: The Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book Published (Writers Market Library)
Alan M. Schlein: Find it Online: The Complete Guide to Online Research, Third Edition
Jack Neff: Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript (Writer's Market Library Series)
Kathy, Henderson: Market Guide for Young Writers: Where and How to Sell What You Write
Novel & Short Story Writer's Market 2007 (Novel and Short Story Writer's Market)
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