Oops - Sloppy Writing Habits That Will Get You in Trouble Every Time

When I'm in my writing zone, I tend to slip into some bad habits, and often, I don't realize I'm doing them until I start editing and revising. Here are some of the big ones that writers often make.

Show; Don't Tell - We've all heard the command to show our readers without telling them what's going on. It is so easy to slip into this habit. Reread your chapters and eliminate sections that are just descriptions.

Every Little Detail - You don't need to account for every minute in your character's life. You can skip ahead in time and omit the routine details. For example, if your character if flying from New York to Nashville, and the airport and plane are not germane to the story, have her go to the airport and then jump ahead to the landing in Nashville. We don't need to know about the security check, inflight movie, snacks, or the baggage claim.

Cut the Chitchat - Dialog in fiction shouldn't contain the normal, mundane chatter. Pare down your character's conversations to what is needed for the story.

Keep it Conversational - Dialog in fiction should be conversational (unless there is a need to have a character be more formal). Use contractions, short sentences, or incomplete sentences to mimic how real people talk.

If You're Bored - If you're bored, your reader will be too. Cut the fluff. Get rid of unnecessary words and anything that slows the action of the story down.

Multiple Adjectives - Don't layer on the adjectives. One good one will do. And pick strong adjectives. Leave out the plain Jane ones that don't add anything to your sentences.

Weak Verbs - Look at your verbs. If they are weak or propped up by blah adverbs, rewrite the sentence. You need action verbs that will keep the momentum of the story.

Last Sentences - Look at the last paragraph of each chapter and verify that it compels the reader to continue on. If it's boring or slow, your reader will use it as a good stopping point. 

Character Names - Avoid overusing your character's name. Look at your paragraphs. You shouldn't see the name over and over. If you find a pattern, rewrite some sentences. I've had beta readers tell me that the overuse of names slows down the action.

Overused Words - Know the words you tend to overuse. For some reason, I'll use a word or phrase multiple times. In my last manuscript, it was "peek" and "rolled his eyes." I searched for instances and did rewrites.

I tend to use "that" and "just" too much. During the revising stages, my search/replace feature is my friend. It helps me quickly find the overused words.

Exclamation Points - Don't go crazy with the exclamation points. Hardly anyone is that exuberant. My writer friend calls these the jazz hands of writing.

I find the writing is the easy part. The revising and editing take me much longer because I need to weed out the sloppy habits. Best wishes with your writing projects.

Whew! I Didn't Realize How Much Marketing Authors Do

My debut novel launched this month. Whoo hooo! I planned a launch celebration and did interviews, author spotlights, and guest blog posts for 27 sites. I did a Facebook hop, a Goodreads give-away, a radio interview, and a podcast interview. And I'm just getting started. I have book signings and presentations scheduled through October. Whew! I also work a full-time job, so I've learned to balance it all.

When I started writing, I didn't realize how much marketing was required of authors. It has been a rush of activity (especially with all the other things going on at the same time), but it has been fun.

Here's what I did and how I attempted to stay organized...

1. I have a calendar for book events and marketing deadlines. I carry it with me and update it faithfully.

2. I track my marketing efforts to give me data to see what types of activities increased social media followers, blog/website traffic, and book sales. It will help me when I plan other marketing campaigns.

3. I also make a conscious effort not to devote all of my time to marketing. I have to make sure that I carve out writing time because ultimately, my job is to write the next book.

4. Since I work during the week, I block social media time to keep up with the comments, tweets, and other interactions. I do about thirty minutes in the mornings and about ninety minutes in the evenings. I make lists in Facebook and Twitter, so it helps me keep up customized newsfeeds.

5. I did a lot of guest blog posts for this launch, and I wanted each one to be different. Before I started, I made a list of themes and unique items in my book. That gave me a good list of blog topics. I did one on the Sears and Roebuck catalog house that my sleuth lives in, a day in the life of my character, a tribute to the 80s, a list of every-day spy gadgets, and an homage to Nancy Drew.

While it has been a whirlwind of activity over the last few months, it has been tremendous fun. And I look forward to this summer and fall's events!

My Six Favorite Tools for Book Marketing

I've found some interesting tools and websites to help authors with their social media and book marketing. Here are six of my favorites...

Social Media

Sometimes, my Twitter follows/unfollows gets out of hand. I have a paid subscription to Tweepi to help me clean up. I used to use the free version, but they altered their "unfollow" feature. I upgraded to the paid version, and it helps me keep all of my accounts in order.

I use the free version of Crowdfire to manage my Instagram follows/unfollows. It also manages Twitter. I may try that and consolidate my tools to one.

I use Rank Forest to see my daily Amazon ranking. The free version allows me to track one book. It's good to see where you are over time, but I try not to obsess over numbers. Don't make yourself crazy.

Website/Blog

I use Squarespace for my website and for another that I created for a group of authors. It is easy to use, and it provides detailed analytics. Previously, I used GoDaddy, but they dropped their blog option.

Marketing

I use VistaPrint for my business cards. They offer frequent discounts, and the quality is good.

I've had a lot of success from Next Day Flyers for my bookmarks. I've also used them for invitations for book launches.

How to Market When It's Not in Your Nature

When I dreamed of being an author, I envisioned working at my computer and writing brilliant books. I never realized how much marketing and promotion was involved. These days, writers are expected to promote their books. It's in my contract.

Writing is a business, and marketing is a key part of that. The hard part is that it's often trial and error to see what works for you. I schedule my marketing campaigns, and then I track the analytics (e.g. sales numbers, blog hits, ad metrics, and costs) to see if there were positive results. Use your analytics on your website, blog, Facebook, and Twitter. There's a lot of good information there.  I created a spreadsheet to track this information. I'll have details when I get ready to run the next campaign. Make sure all your hard work is paying off.

It feels weird to post about myself all the time. There are people who are uncomfortable with it. Try to balance your posts. The 80/20 rule is a good guideline. Twenty percent of your posts should be "buy my book." The others should be about other interesting things. Post recipes, pet pictures, hobbies, or other interesting things you do. And make sure you share others' content.

There needs to be a balance. Look at your newsfeed and see what your last twenty posts look like. When I'm cruising my Facebook newsfeed, I tend to hide or ignore the noise. I pay attention to sales (but not the ones that run every week). We have a furniture store here in Virginia that has a SALE!!!!! every week. The joke at my house is, "Oh, look. They're having another sale." I pay attention to contests too, but the "Hey, I got another 5 Star review" posts get mixed up in the noise of the newsfeed.

There are a lot of Facebook groups and sites to post your book information. Be careful if you do your posting all at the same time. People will see a string of the same post to different sites. Spread out or schedule your posts. I would also mix the content up too because a lot of readers visit the same sites too.

It also helps if you can find a group of writers to assist you. I'm in several groups for writers and bloggers, and we comment, post, and share each others' information. This helps get the word out without you having to do all the "Hey, look at me" posts.

It is definitely a challenge to get the word out and to keep your book in front of people.  And sometimes, what works once, doesn't work a second time. Best wishes with your promotions. Drop me a note and let me know what works for you.

How to Avoid Too Much Backstory...

Backstory is the history or what happened to your characters in the past. When I listen to my critique group's discussion on all the manuscripts, they comment frequently that writers often include too much of the past in their mysteries. It's hard if you write a series. Not all of your readers will start with the first book and read in the order that they were published. You have to have some linkage to the previous works. And if key parts of the story affect your characters' lives, then you need to mention it.

The key is to sprinkle in the backstory. It should be a line or two - not paragraphs. When you do the latter, it causes the reader to move away from the story's momentum. If the plot jumps back in time for an extended period, it breaks the action and the forward progress. You will lose people if there is too much historical detail.

I like to know all about my characters, and sometimes, I include too much in my drafts. To help me avoid this, I created a document. It's nothing fancy. It's a table in Microsoft Word with a column for each book. I list each character and where they appear. At the character's first appearance, I include a short biography where I list everything that I can possibly think of (e.g. favorite colors, middle names, colleges, etc.). Most of this stuff never makes it to the book, but I have it in case I need to add it for some reason. I found that by writing these mini-bios, it cures me of wanting to overly describe each character. It also helps me keep the details like color of someone's car, eye color, and wardrobe preferences straight. I also have entries in my table for the key settings in the stories. I've described furniture in my sleuth's home and office, and I want to make sure that they are consistent from book to book.

History and details are good when used sparingly. Sprinkle them in, and it will help round out your characters. Happy writing!

Professionalism Goes A Long Way...

I thought when I became an author that I would sit at my desk and write one brilliant book after another. I had no idea how much marketing and publicity were involved. Then there are royalties, contracts, tax implications, and sales tax that make your head spin. I quickly learned that as much as I loved books and writing, this was a business, and I needed to treat it as such.

1. Know when to consult lawyers, CPAs, and tax professionals. Make sure you know about your tax bracket, deductions, business licenses, and sales tax rules.

2. Get a professional headshot. It's an investment, but it shows that you are serious about your writing.

3. Get an author website. Make sure that it has your biography, photo, link to your books, and a way to contact you.

4. Be prompt when responding to emails and phone calls. Publishers, publicists, agents, and book store owners expect to be dealing with professionals.

5. Always meet your deadlines and commitments. This goes for volunteer work too.

6. Thank people who help you, provide good reviews, and share your social media.

7. When you contact booksellers, reporters, agents, publishers, etc., be prepared. Make sure you have a polished biography, synopsis, and links to your social media sites.

8. If you're going to create a blog, website, or social media sites, make sure that you post regularly. If the content isn't fresh, visitors won't come back, or they'll drop you.

9. Proofread your stuff. Make sure that your sites, emails, and marketing materials are organized, easy to read, and current. You really only do get one shot at making a first impression.

Best wishes with your writing. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it.

Should You Join a Blog or Other Online Support Group?

Over the years, I've been part of several online blog support groups. I think the advantages outweigh the negatives, and I've connected with a lot of interesting writers. But, before you join, you need to decide if it is worth the investment of your time and energy.

Promotion - A support network is a great way to promote your blog and writing projects. But you do need to make the time commitment to read and support the other members. It does take time, depending on the size and frequency of the events in your group.

I'm in one group with over 7,000 members. If you comment or post, expect a lot of email. It's a great way to find other writers and see what they're doing with their social media sites. But your inbox will be flooded when everyone comments or posts.

Social Media - This is a great way to increase your social media followers. I like the ones that make following others optional. You tend to get more true followers who stick around. It's disappointing when you get a boost and then a spike in unfollows quickly behind it. That happened to me once, and I learned my lesson.

Feedback and Support - I like to support other authors on their writing journeys, so I enjoy seeing what other bloggers are up to. I also appreciate the hints and suggestions that they make about marketing, social media, and blog content.

How Do You Find a Group? - Search Twitter or Facebook for "Blog Groups." There are a lot of them out there with different rules for membership and engagement. Visit a while before you join to make sure that your work fits. My goal was to increase traffic to my blog, so I chose several that were not book- or author-centric.

If you're willing to commit the time to spend on social media and your blog, then these groups are a good (free) way to promote yourself. If blogging isn't your cup of tea, there are also plenty of Facebook and Twitter groups to promote your books.

Best wishes with your writing projects!

 

What Happens When You Get off Track with Your Writing?

I try to write each day, but sometimes, life gets in the way. What happens when you get off track? Here are some tips and ideas to get you going again:

1. I find when I get off track that I need to make time and just write. It's easy to get off schedule.  And the more that I stay away, the harder it is to back into the rhythm.

2. Blogging keeps me on a schedule. I've committed to at least one post a week, so I know I have a weekly deadline. I also post regularly with several other groups of writers. Those deadlines help too.

3. I joined a critique group. We have a monthly deadline for our short stories and WIPs (Works in Progress). This gives me another deadline to work towards.

4. If I get stuck and that leads to procrastination, I write blog posts or find a writing prompt and do a writing exercise or two. That usually gets me back in writer mode.

5. I count editing, proofreading, and revising as writing time. Rewrites and tweaks take time. I probably spend more time editing and rewriting than I do putting the first draft together.

6. I also bounce between projects. Sometimes, I'm working on my mystery series. I also write short stories. I like writing both. The short stories are compact with fewer characters, and I can experiment with different locations and themes.

7. Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't write regularly. Sometimes, you need a short break. But make sure that it's short and you're back to being productive. Make sure that you don't miss deadlines or commitments.

8. I tend to get involved in marketing, book signings, writing groups, and social media works, and that cuts into my writing time. I have to make sure that writing gets its fair share of time. It's all work that needs to be done, but you need time to write your next work.