Rare is the e-book author willing to publish the gritty details about his or her experiments with various promotion techniques. S.A. Mulraney, however, does so on his blog, and much can be found in his posts tagged with the term “marketing” (as linked above).
A detailed collection of tutorials for what some would call the best writing project management software on the market. (Not necessarily me—since they still haven’t fixed the damn crawling-cursor bug that drives me crazy on a daily basis—but some.)
Among the literary genres writers tackle, war fiction is a unique challenge possessed of its own arcane rules and regulations. Writer Richard Farrell describes his personal battle with the form.
Io9.com spotlights traditionally published author Karen Traviss who crunched the numbers and made the leap.
The internet is beset with “top X" lists and unfortunately this is true of many of the how-to articles found at The Self-Publishers Association Blog, Bookworks. Nonetheless, browsing the site will turn up some useful guides on file conversion, Twitter marketing, cover design and the like.
Author Ninie Hammon has two blogs: one for readers and one for writers. Her writing blog has recently focused on her efforts to self-publish on the Amazon platform.
Not so long ago, TFB posted a link to Hugh Howey’s Author Earnings blog, which offered his analysis of the financials of the self-publishing industry. Here, his personal web site supplies his view on the artistic rather than the business side of writing. The left side link “Favorite Posts for Writers” is of particular note.
By Wil Forbis
In the first installment of this series I noted that authors of the literary genre known as pulp fiction were famous for writing fast. In order to feed the hungry hordes demanding stories starring heroes such as The Shadow, Tarzan and Doc Savage, pulp authors had to come up with several tricks to get the most out of their writing time. I previously examined one such tool: Erle Gardner’s plot circles with which the Perry Mason author quickly created compelling story structures.
We turn now to author Michael Moorcock. Moorcock might seem out of place in a discussion on pulp writing. As a science fiction and fantasy writer who began working in the late sixties and is still publishing today, he’s lived far outside the epoch of classic pulp fiction (1920-40s.) But Moorcock is definitely a descendent of the original pulp authors. He came on the scene in 1957 as editor of the magazine Tarzan Adventures. From there he edited the British neo-pulp magazine New Wolds ("Fiction for the future.") Since then Moorcock's work has turned more towards high art, particularly novels featuring his character Elric, but he has expressed a continued fondness for classic pulp authors such as Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard. Most importantly, it is during Moorcock’s tenure in the world of pulps that he developed a process for writing a novel in three days.
Writing a novel in less than half a week sounds like either an impossibility or a process for creating absolute dreck. Even Moorcock admits the process has limitations but it did allow him to quickly produce some salable and even lauded work. According to Moorcock, one of the secrets for creating a novel in three days is realizing that it takes longer than three days. The three days in Moorcock’s method are spent doing actual writing---pounding the typewriter (well, computer) keys---not working on plot and structure. Prep work is vital. As noted on the blog Ghostwoods, Moorcock advises:
First of all, it’s vital to have everything prepared. Whilst you will be actually writing the thing in three days, you’ll need a day or two of set-up first. If it’s not all set up, you’ll fail.
And…
The whole reason you plan everything beforehand is so that when you hit a snag, a desperate moment, you’ve actually got something there on your desk that tells you what to do.
What has to be worked out in advance? Again, I defer to Moorcock himself.
Prepare a complete structure. Not a plot, exactly, but a structure where the demands were clear. Know what narrative problems you have to solve at every point. Write solutions at white heat, through inspiration: really, it can just be looking around the room, looking at ordinary objects, and turning them into what you need. A mirror can become a mirror that absorbs the souls of the damned.
Once the writer has their ducks in a row they dive into an almost trancelike state of writing. The trick to it is to not get bogged down searching for the perfect word or ideal exposition; keep the ball moving. Remove all distractions from your life, at least for the three days, in order to devote yourself entirely to the process.
The full collection of guidelines and tricks Moorcock utilized for his three day stories have been written about on a number of sites so there’s no need to duplicate them here. I refer you to the following pages.
Some may still have ambivalence about the idea of so quickly churning out a novel. A nagging voice in your head may ask, “But shouldn’t writing take time? Isn’t this cheating?” It’s an understandable objection as the notion that good things require a wait is built into Western culture. (Consider our fondness for well-aged wine and cheese.) There are, however, a couple points to consider. One, Moorcock was not attempting to create high art, but something good enough. Two, while creating on the fly seems anathema in writing, in other artistic disciplines it’s quite popular. Much of the 20th century was spent pontificating on the idea that man’s subconscious was capable of complex processing and even complex creation. In that spirit, musicians began improvising the dense melodies and harmonies that define jazz. Painters began experimenting with intuitive, spontaneous techniques such as Jackson Pollock’s action painting. Over time, the idea that great art (or at least interesting art) could be created by sidestepping the conscious mind was accepted. Moorcock’s process would seem to follow a similar tact. And he’s not the only author to take it. Consider the words of Raymond Chandler.
“The faster I write, the better my output. If I’m going slow, I’m in trouble. It means I’m pushing the words instead of being pulled by them.”
A literary agent turned author, Bransford offers an insider's take on novel writing and the publishing industry.
In a recent opinion piece for the NY Times, author Bill Hayes observes the effect that time off from writing has had on his writing.
The Clever Girl blog collects facts and anecdotes especially useful for writers who want to produce fiction rich in details. (Everything from Gaelic pronunciation to transtibial amputation is discussed.) The best way to navigate is by visiting the “My Posts” section (linked above) and exploring the various topics.
Author and writing mentor K.M Weiland doesn’t skimp on the details in her writing blog. Recent posts have tackled writing tragic scenes, using the Scrivener software, and the concept and mechanics of the “impact character.”
Javier MarÃas’ dour take on the art of fiction writing may at first seem designed to dash the hopes of aspiring authors, but he offers some words of encouragement at the end.
Though this PBS post is over a year old, it offers a still-relevant appraisal of the cost of self-publishing a quality, error-free book.
Linton recently self-published a sci-fi book and has been writing about the process. He’s not afraid to highlight his mistakes in hopes that others can learn from them, and his affable writing style makes for easy reading.
Woodward offers a thought-out and detail-rich blog on writing, particularly writing short stories. In recent posts she’s commented on the James Bond story arc, fear of failure and developing good story structure.
The Wall Street Journal takes an amusing look at how Kindle's highlighting feature can be used as a metric indicating which popular books are being purchased vs. actually read to the end.
Like the name says, this blog focuses on creating believable story worlds, a skill relevant to both fiction writing and fantasy game development. Recent posts have focused on otherworldly weapons, languages and maps.
The brief, pithy posts at the Author University blog offer quick hits of writing advice. Delving into its frequent roundups of writing-related tweets is a more time-intensive process but can turn up some gems.
Written by a professional book doctor (aka “freelance editor”), Jason Black’s blog examines the spectrum of what makes good writing but applies a particularly focused eye to plot and character development.
After much study [Gardner] said he "began to realize that a story plot was composed of component parts, just as an automobile is." He began to build stories, not just make them up on the fly. He made a list of parts and turned those into "plot wheels" which was a way of coming up with innumerable combinations. He was able, with this system, to come up with a complete story idea in thirty seconds.Gardner's plot wheels became his secret weapon. The web site for the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Austin has several on display and notes:
By using different combinations of possible twists and turns for both major and minor characters, Gardner was able to construct narratives that held his readers rapt for several decades.How did the plot wheels work? They were, in essence, random idea generators. Gardner had broken down plots into individual components. For example, one of the wheels on display at the Harry Ransom Center is a list of "Hostile minor characters who function in making complications for hero." Some options in the list are: Newspaper Reporter, Attorney, Spy, and (my favorite), Hick Detective. You can see how with a spin of his wheel Gardner could fill in a needed plot element.
The more you know about something and the better you are at it, the more you see a million options. Decision making is harder, because you can see many benefits and problems with each direction you could go.
So randomizing choices with what you're good at can actually be a time saver. It only requires a minimal short hand, and you jump straight into solving that problem; put your energy into pushing it in a new direction. The fact that you've artificially limited your options just forces you to be more creative.When your options are limited, working with what you've got becomes a matter of necessity. And necessity is, as they say, the mother of invention.
Scott Myers’s blog is focused on the world of screenwriting, but at its core is a study of elements that also apply to crafting a good novel: story and dialogue. He examines in detail ways of making them work.
The AHA blog holds true to its name in featuring twice-monthly posts on a variety of book marketing and sales techniques. Recent posts have dealt with the topics of metadata, guest blogging and earning royalties.
This blog might be facetious when it touts one of the characters from “My Little Pony” as being worthy of study—or possibly not. Either way, it affords a useful mix of writing and book marketing advice.
While this blog looks at the world of indie novel writing and book publishing from a chiefly British perspective, it retains an international appeal. The authors don’t claim to be impartial commenters, but rather advocates for independent writers (and the readers who support them.)
Written by a publishing industry veteran, Brave New World examines the effects the digitization of content is having on commerce and literary culture.
A group blog authored by several Boston area writers, BTM offers what is becoming a rarity these days: a writing blog about writing (as opposed to marketing, promotion, social media etc.) Recent posts have covered writing compelling dialogue and crafting a memorable scene.
Largely focused on the software tools used in creating and editing various non-MOBI eBook formats, this site is a good tool for researching technical issues. Posts appear infrequently but the archive is bountiful.
Amazon’s own KDP forum is an active (and opinionated) online group that discusses the intricacies of formatting Kindle eBooks. I’ve received invaluable tips from the site’s contributors.
Blogger Katherine Mariaca has kept copious notes on her experiments in marketing two novels. Lately she's been documenting her experiences with book swaps and freebie giveaways.
As a self proclaimed “Swiss army knife” of document conversion, Pandoc can transform content into a variety of fiction friendly formats including the increasingly popular ePub.
“Wool" author Hugh Howey has a new web site offering detailed analysis of the sales trends experienced by online booksellers such as Amazon and B&N.
Book Riot lists several literary techniques for killing of characters and the likely effect each will have on readers.
Produced by a prolific blogger and paranormal fiction author “Beach Reads with Bite” offers a plethora of writing techniques.
The proper dimensions for eBook cover images can be very difficult to ascertain, and are obfuscated by a great deal of misinformation online--even from Amazon itself. Matt Maldre offers an exceptionally useful post investigating this topic in detail--and providing precise pixel dimensions for a variety of reader devices.
Patrick Hester has developed a good tutorial on how to use the Scrivener writing software to compile an eBook.
If you can get past the (gaudy) delightful (gaudy) lavender background, you may find The Online Magazine for Fiction Writers to be a rich source of advice on varied topics such as word count, suspension of disbelief, world building and the naming of characters.
Different authors prefer different tools and processes for creating eBooks. Over at The Easy Way to Publish to Amazon’s Amazing Kindle the focus is on using Microsoft Word as a starting point. If you’re one of the many writers still using Word, the tutorials on this site may be of help.
Guido Henkle’s code heavy approach to eBook formatting is not for everyone, and maybe not even for me, but his detailed guide demonstrates how to create clean output that works across all major e-readers.
Practical Advice to Help Build Better Books offers detailed blog posts covering book production (both paper and electronic), the art and science of choosing fonts, and indie book marketing.
