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Brainstorming Strategy #6: Highlighting Opposites

By on September 26, 2012 in Brainstorming Strategies and Tips, Editing Basics

No writer wants to hear that their characters are “vanilla” or too much alike. We all want our characters to pop so our readers love them as much as we do. Trouble is, that it is easier said then done. How can brainstorming help you to deepen your story and make those characters fly off the page and into a reader’s heart? By highlighting opposites in your novel. I’m not talking about the hero or heroine always being opposites. Rather, the Hero and his sidekick or the heroine and her sidekick. When characters are too much alike, we run into the whole BORING problem. Create characters that are different in habits and personality. This causes natural tension and added interest to your characters. Let’s try this idea out to see […]

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Don’t be overwhelmed: A game plan of what to do after a writers’ conference!

By on September 25, 2012 in 3. Publish your Story, 4. Writer’s Life, Inspiration and Life Coaching, Encourage Me!, General Topics, House Calls, Susan May Warren, Writing Conferences

Are you home from the ACFW conference?  Finally unpacked?  I hope you came home filled with encouragement and new ideas on how to make your writing breathtaking. I came home to a clean house and smiling sons.  Nice! Conferences can be overwhelming, between the requests for proposals or full manuscripts, new story ideas, craft lessons, marketing epiphanies and loads of new friends.  Don’t be overwhelmed.  Here’s a game plan of what to do after a writers’ conference: Organize your contacts: Sit down a make a list of everyone you met, from editors to fellow authors, to newbies. Reach out:  If they are editors or agents who gave you their time, even in an elevator to listen to your proposal, thank them.  If they asked you for a submission, thank them and tell them that you’ll be […]

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Build Your Tribe, Part Four: Why They Wait

By on September 24, 2012 in 4. Writer’s Life, Inspiration and Life Coaching, Learn the art of Social Networking, Life Coaching, Reba Hoffman

I’m a member of Amazon’s tribe. I literally get hundreds of emails each and every day, and yet, the one I scan looking for is the Daily Free Kindle Books email. I simply love free Kindle books. I love getting the email from my tribal partner. If the email hasn’t arrived by 10:00am, I feel an emptiness… a concern that maybe Amazon’s server crashed. Wouldn’t that be terrible?! I utter a silent prayer and wait. If I don’t get it by noon, my concern mounts. I wonder if Amazon is angry at me for not buying all those books on my wish list. I bet that’s what crashed their server. I immediately log into my account and order books, lights, pots and pans, mosquito netting… literally anything I think Amazon […]

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One Thing Marketing: The 2nd Visit=80% rule

By on September 23, 2012 in 3. Publish your Story, How do I Promote my book?, Melissa Tagg, One Thing Marketing

In my day job as part of a fundraising team for a large nonprofit, we have two big goals: acquisition and retention. I know, sounds exciting, yeah? But I promise it relates to author marketing. In acquisition, our goal is to find new donors—people who have never given to us before. That’s a big deal. But equally important is retaining those new donors once they’ve given that first gift. You know why? Because once someone has given a second contribution, they’re 80% more likely to become a long-term donor. And I think that translates into author marketing, too! As writers, it’s a big deal to have a first-time visitor to your website. A first-time commenter on your blog. Someone who stops by your facebook page or signs up for your […]

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