Good Stuff To Know

I haven't done one of these posts in a really long time and I apologize. Life keeps catching up with me and this is one of the things I had to drop. However, I am hoping to do it a little more this year, because I know how helpful it can be.

So - what have I discovered this year that has been really helpful to me?

First off, I want to highlight Indies Unlimited. There are SO many helpful posts on this site and they are popping up faster than I can keep up with them. It is a great place to check in on a daily or weekly basis depending on how much time you have. You can subscribe to a daily updates email, which I find really helpful.

Are You Targeting The Wrong Readers? by Gary Korisko
Here is a really honest on article on how to hit the right kind of readers for your work. What's the point of writing your masterpiece if the right people can't find it? There are 7 helpful tips at the end too!

Book Marketing Predictions for 2014 by Mike Lowndes
I always love book marketing prediction posts. I read a few in January and I liked this one the best...and also this one by Bob Mayer - Ten Publishing Predictions for 2014.

An Explanation of the Criteria by Awesome Indies
This post was pointed out to me by a writer friend of mine, Leigh K. Hunt. It is a really LONG post, so make sure you have some time up your sleeve, or save it to read later. It is WORTH IT. This post is packed full of awesome tips on writing collected from various experts in the field. There's SO much good stuff on editing, story structure, character development. It's simply brilliant. Thank you Awesome Indies for putting it together. There is a wealth of information here that any author can benefit from.

So that's me for this time around. If you have any other helpful posts you've stumbled across this year, please mention them in the comments below.

Have a great February everyone!!

Good Stuff To Know - July Edition

I haven't done one of these posts in a really long time. Sorry about my inconsistency with posting lately. I am planning on getting back into after our vacation. It's hard to keep things up when you're away from home...plus I've had all these releases in quick session. It's been a crazy couple of months... yet so much fun!

Anyway - I thought it was about time I got back into this post as I know many of you find it really helpful.

Here are a few links I've been storing away that may come in handy.

Jonathan Gunson is a total legend when it comes to sharing great marketing tips. I thought this post had some excellent points. 7 Best Seller Strategies for Writers.

I am a "do it yourself" book trailer maker. I came across this blog post the other day with a bunch of links for finding awesome background music for trailers. Not all of these are free, but they are royalty free, which is really helpful. 21 Sites of Free Music for your Book Trailer.

I actually hunted for these two articles. With the new adult genre rising in popularity quickly it's been hard to find the line between YA and NA fiction. I think even readers are confused sometimes. I think authors need a really clear idea in their minds about what New Adult fiction is.
This post was brilliant: New Adult Fiction: The Next Big Thing in Publishing?
And this post was really helpful when dealing with YA writing: 5 Tips for Writing and Marketing YA/Teen Books.

I've actually decided to do a full post on this topic, so keep an eye out for that next week.

Hopefully these articles are helpful to you.
If you have anything else you've come across that you'd like to share, please feel free to add it in the comments section.

Good Stuff To Know - April Edition

Time for another helpful tips post. Once again, I have been so busy writing that I don't have that much to share, but I still have a few small things I've picked up this month.

One - I read a great book about Writing Fight Scenes by Rayne Hall. There were so many great tips in the book and I really liked the way the author laid it out. I wish there was a paperback version, because I would definitely add it to my collection and use it as a reference book.

Two - a friend of mine, who also happens to be a fantastic writer (Carl Sinclair), recommended this site to me. These are a series of lectures by the legendary Brandon Sanderson on his website: Write About Dragons. He's really easy to listen to and makes some awesome points on writing.

Three - I was interviewed by Bill Thompson. He interviews a variety of authors and was so lovely to chat to. I think it is a great way to gain a little exposure and I was very excited to chat to him. The interview is on his website: The Bookcast.

Have you come across any helpful resources this month?
Feel free to share them in the comments section.

Good Stuff To Know - January 2013

Hey everyone. Yay, my first "Good Stuff To Know" post of the year. How completely cool.
I have a nice little list for you today. I hope you can find something useful within it.

Jodie Renner Editing put together a great post listing a bunch of excellent resources for writers. There is a long list of helpful books here plus a couple of "must read" articles for aspiring authors.

Once again, The Bookshelf Muse (I love these guys!) has put out another great post. This one is called, What Makes A Strong Author's Visit - A Teacher's Perspective. Being a teacher myself, I found it really interesting and I thought there were some great points here. If you do have the opportunity to ever do author visits or public speaking, this article is worth a read.

The lovely, Suzy Turner, led me to this post - The Ultimate Complete Final Social Media Sizing Cheat Sheet. It gives you dimensions for all the different social media sites. An excellent resource for you to refer to.

I stumbled across this blog post through Indies Unlimited and I wanted to share it, because I thought it was really interesting. Aaron Patterson shared his publishing predictions for 2013. His message at the end - "Just keep writing" is why I wanted to share this post. He's got a really good point.

I've decided to sign up to be part of The Indelibles: Indie Life monthly blog hop. I missed the January one, but come February I will share my first post (the 2nd Wednesday of every month). At this stage there are 30 blogs involved and I think it's a great way to share information and learn from each other.

Indie Book Bargains is a UK site that I subscribe to. I get daily emails with current bargains and I find it really interesting to skim through and see what's out there. They have just completed their 2012 Book Awards. I thought there might be a title or two in there that interests you. Oh yeah - and Betwixt won Best YA!!! Sorry - just had to share. Super excited!

That's me for this month. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for more helpful links and resources to share in February. If you have any you'd like to add in the comments section, please feel free.