I hate to even start down this road. Author mistakes? Really? Is there such a thing? I read all kinds of books that defy craft rules and guidelines. They sell well. They win awards. But for new authors, it’s really important to watch a few key things. Writing pitfalls we easily fall into. I found this web site talking about author mistakes, but the author talks about small things that can easily be overlooked and fixed. An editor probably won’t reject a manuscript for most of these reasons. Nevertheless, the site highlights good things to watch. If you Google “author mistakes” you’ll find a plethora of sites. Last weekend I taught at the Minnesota NICE ACFW chapter’s retreat. I went through the “ten common mistakes” from a craft point of […]
Read the Rest
About Rachel Hauck
Author Archive | Rachel Hauck
Advice to new authors
Recently I asked the book therapy team for blogging ideas. The newly contract Lisa Jordan asked: “What about something for the debut author? Some of us are still a little foggy about what types of promotion work, how much of our advance to use for marketing, juggling different stages of book 1 while writing book 2, managing writing time while dealing with other life obligations–job, family, church, etc.” Great question, Lisa! In this ever changing world of publishing, e-books on the rise, the popularity of electronically self publishing, it seems the author has to be writer, promoter and marketer. When I was first published seven years ago, there were twitterings of an author spending half of their advance on promotion, but I thought those were just rumors. Heresay. What “one” […]
Read the RestBook Two Starring… Book One’s Secondary Character!
We all love the sequel don’t we? Rocky 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… Oceans 11, 12 and 13. Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum. Personal favorites of mine. Jason Bourne just rocks. But I love Back to the Future 1 and 3. Two, not so much. Yet all of these sequels star the same recurring characters. What would happen if Rocky 7 became Son of Rocky and Sylvester Stallone played a secondary role, if any role at all, and some new guy, say Jesse Metcalf, played Rocky’s son. For all practical purposes you have a brand new story and it must be treated as such. You can’t rely on the old Rocky standards of hit movie making. You can’t just promote Rocky’s son into his father’s place. He […]
Read the RestDoes your protagonist have a Super Power? You bet!
During the My Book Therapy Deep Thinkers Retreat I threw Beth Vogt a curve. “What’s your heroine’s super power?” She looked at me like I was crazy. But I had a plan. A purpose. In Beth’s story, her heroine left a high powered job to work with a poor community. As the character realizes her limitations on a local mission field, I suggested she jump to her super power. “And what would that be?” Beth asked, brow arched, lips twisted with dubiosity. “She can raise money,” I said. “She knows how to get money from people. She’s gifted. She has the contacts, the connections, the right talent to pitch ideas.” Ah, so lights began to dawn. Now, I’m not sure Beth is going to use this super power, but it […]
Read the Rest
