So I kind of love the Allstate Mayhem commercials. You’ve seen them right? They’re hilarious, and the goal: to get you all prepared and insured before mayhem strikes. Well, let’s replace mayhem with a book contract and insurance with a super sweet platform and marketing strategy, and we’ve got our topic for today and the next few weeks: Marketing Before You’re Contracted. If you’re serious about a career as a published author, then the sooner you get started on the marketing piece of your journey, the further ahead you are…and the more attractive you are to agents and editors. So in the next few weeks, we’re going to talk about some incredibly practical steps you can take to start marketing now. Over three weeks, we’ll look at a total of […]
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Blast the Winter Blues, Part 2: Dream Warmly
Nothing helps you beat the “baby it’s cold outside” winter blues like dreaming of the sands of sunny Florida beaches. I mean, just think about it… right now. Yes, now. Warm, fine, white sand sifting between your toes. Ahhhh… For someone like me who doesn’t particularly care for sand between my anything, that would seem more like a nightmare than a warm dream. But, as a writer, you can always dream warmly regarding your prose and your career. Regardless of where you are on your journey, you turn up the heat of your imagination and dream yourself right into being a New York Times Best Seller. Just close your eyes and dream. It’s really easy and one of the quickest ways to blast the winter blues. Here are a few […]
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The What and Why of Writing: Bookends
If I asked you why you used bookends, what would you say? Envision that long line of books and how those first six books are staying in place … but then the last few stragglers won’t line up. Bookends create order – helping a row of books stand up straight. While we sometimes need a pair of bookends tucked around the outside of a collection of books, have you ever utilized bookends between the book covers your story? What: Bookends are the “mirror elements” of a novel’s 1st and 3rd acts that brings a character back to face the same issue, situation or conflict and reveals the character’s growth Why: The hero and heroine readers meet in chapter one of a novel is not the same (imaginary) person by the […]
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Learning from Fairytales: Story World Building Part II
Fairytales can’t exist without story world. Where would we be without Cinderella’s magic garden with the fairy godmother? Or Snow White’s dash through the evil forest to meet up with seven spunky dwarfs? How about Beast’s castle? The enchanted place where Belle found herself detained? The last time on the fairytale blog, I talked about the elements of story world being visual, emotional and symbolic. Today we’ll look at mystical and societal. Mystical Below is an excerpt from the book I just finished about a long lost princess returning to her great grandmother’s country. She looks out the palace window to see a glow in the forest. “You don’t see a white light? Kind of sparkly? In the woods?” Franz stared ahead, his hand wrapped around the thick curtain cord. […]
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