by Maureen Crisp • January 8, 2020 • Follow
Published in News • No comments
A sum up Newsletter for 2019 where you get a bumper crop of links to keep you busy.
Some of the best links from 2019 in Writing Craft and Marketing
Jan
Resources for writers- June Takey- This is an all you can eat blog post!
https://www.junetakey.com/resources-for-writers/
Marketing
Penny Sansevieri decided that 2019 should be the year of the vlog
https://www.bookworks.com/2019/01/vlog-video-blog-book-marketing/
Feb
The 6 figure master fiction plot-Janice Hardy
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2019/02/the-six-figure-master-fiction-plot.html
How to plan the DIY Writing Retreat.
https://writerunboxed.com/2019/02/23/how-to-plan-a-diy-writing-retreat/
Smashwords introduces Global coupons!
http://blog.smashwords.com/2019/02/smashwords-introduces-global-coupons.html
March
Group Anthology- take the collaboration model of writing and kick it up a notch.
https://www.bookworks.com/2019/04/creating-group-anthology/
Rachel Thompson and her pre launch strategies for authors.
April
Character vs Plot -Drive vs Focus- Jami Gold
https://jamigold.com/2019/04/character-vs-plot-drive-vs-focus/
16 Villain Archetypes- Tami Cowden
http://www.tamicowden.com/villains.htm
E J Runyon discusses using sense memory as a creative kick start!
https://annerallen.com/2019/04/writing-rules-write-what-you-know/
Metadata and Book distribution resource checklist- Alli Blog
https://selfpublishingadvice.org/metadata-book-distribution-platforms/
May
Career Author has on viewing your author website as a hub with the spokes always bringing your reader back…
https://careerauthors.com/your-author-platform-hub-and-spokes/
Cheatsheet on how to write a logline- Bang2write
http://bang2write.com/2019/05/cheat-sheet-how-to-write-a-logline.html
7 thoughts about collaboration- Dan Brotzel- Bookmark
https://elizabethspanncraig.com/uncategorized/collaboration/
June
Six mistakes that can kill a plot-Mythcreants- Bookmark
https://mythcreants.com/blog/six-mistakes-that-can-kill-a-great-plot/
Creative writing tools… and no it is not the fancy pen.
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2019/05/22/writing-tips-11-tools-to-capture-your-creative-ideas/
5 Book marketing strategies- Barbara Freethy- Bookmark!
https://insights.bookbub.com/book-marketing-strategies-authors/
July
Reader Targeting influences everything- David Gaughran- Bookmark
https://davidgaughran.com/2019/05/07/reader-targeting-influences-everything/
In serch of a moral compass- Writer Unboxed- READ THIS! Bookmark
https://writerunboxed.com/2019/07/12/in-search-of-a-moral-compass/
of ten free online graphic and image manipulation tools.
August
125 Book promo ideas- Penny Sansevieri- BOOKMARK!!
https://www.amarketingexpert.com/125-book-promotion-ideas-to-sell-more-books-and-build-your-brand/
Depicting characters held back by fear- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark
https://mythcreants.com/blog/depicting-characters-held-back-by-fear/
Roz Morris had a great article on back story description and point of view hacks
September
Wonderdraft. A map making tool for the gamer or writer out there. Take a look at how it works.
https://www.chrisfoxwrites.com/2019/08/16/why-authors-love-wonderdraft-for-mapmaking/
How Theme and False Theme affect your protagonist, you can see why.
https://www.septembercfawkes.com/2018/06/how-theme-and-false-theme-affect-your.html
Promote your book hacks- BOOKMARK
https://blog.reedsy.com/promote-your-book-hacks/
October
Jami has gathered together great worksheets and resources to help with goal setting and author business.
https://jamigold.com/2019/10/how-can-we-discover-our-vision-and-goals/
20 writing tips to improve your craft- Reedsy- Comprehensive!
https://blog.reedsy.com/writing-tips/
Using kindle keywords- Dave Chesson (New research from Dave.) – BOOKMARK
https://kindlepreneur.com/7-kindle-keywords/?
How to promote your book on a shoestring- Prowriting aid- Bookmark
https://prowritingaid.com/art/1018/how-to-promote-your-book-on-a-shoestring.
Nov
Enhance your writing by layering- Jordan Dane – Bookmark
https://killzoneblog.com/2019/10/how-to-enhance-your-writing-by-layering-your-scenes-plot.html
Surprise your reader in every scene- September Fawkes – Bookmark
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2019/11/surprising-your-readers-in-every-scene
https://www.amarketingexpert.com/10-unique-book-promotion-ideas-for-using-video/
Penny Sansevieri has a great post on using video for book promotion ideas
How to DIY an audiobook Renee Conoulty and Sacha Black- Bookmark
https://sachablack.co.uk/2019/11/20/006-how-to-diy-an-audiobook/
Dec
Book Promotion 101- Bookbub- Bookmark!-
https://insights.bookbub.com/book-promotion/
Penny Sansevieri has a great post on 2020 marketing goalshttps://www.amarketingexpert.com/20-book-marketing-strategies-to-be-successful-in-2020/
The lie your character believes- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark
https://writershelpingwriters.net/2018/04/the-destructive-power-of-the-lie-your-character-believes
In My Writing Life,
I am sipping a glass of wine and thinking about goals and plans for 2020. I really wanted Book 4 out for Christmas but it was not to be. Note to Self- Get illustration notes to Irina much earlier. Timing is important. Always build in plenty of time. I did, but I also don’t push when things take longer than I expect. I am not going to sacrifice health just to push through a deadline. (Life happens… learn to roll with it and keep upbeat.)
In 2020 I want to finally get a handle on Ads and make them work positively. My ROI is abyssmal so I really need to work on that.
I know that one of my hardest hurdles is to ask for reviews. I find this very difficult. (That old feeling of never feeling worthy and not wanting to bother anyone.) If you would like to help me out, I would love a review on my circus books. Goodreads reviews now show up on Amazon. Yay.
Have a happy and restfilled Christmas and a New Year full of great writing plans for the new decade.
I’ll be back on the blog towards the end of January, with a newsletter to follow after. In the meantime I’ll be uploading the new book.
Maureen Crisp has been writing her weekly publishing roundups for over seven years. She is a traditionally published children's author as well as indie-published. She lives in New Zealand and is heading the team organising the 4th National Conference of Children's Writers and Illustrators. She is currently trying her hand at writing a children’s book series if she can drag herself away from forever tweaking her Mars novel or obsessing over space.