Angela Booth's Writing Blog

The Savvy Author’s Tips For Short Fiction Sales Success

Bestselling authors have agents and publishing houses to support, so they won’t do anything that doesn’t have income-generating potential. If writing short stories is good enough for them, we much more humble mortals might consider publishing them too.

Before we go on, a quick reminder that our Short Reads program is closing on March 1. Check it out.

Short stories: consider adding them to your self-publishing plans

Why? Because…

• They sell. (Viz Dean Koontz.) Readers love them. Everyone’s pressed for time these days, and short stories deliver a reader’s favorite form of entertainment fast.
• You can charge as much for short stories as you can for many indie novels.
• Short stories are the savvy author’s strategy for book marketing: every story you write is a gateway to your fiction. Write a short story, publish it, and you’ve just created something that will keep on marketing for you as long as you keep the ebook online.
• Short stories are quick to write. You can write a short story on a lazy Sunday afternoon and publish it on Monday.

Let’s look at some tips to help you to sell your short stories.

via www.angelabooth.com

Clever Ways To Organize Evernote And Your Life

The Evernote app: your life in your pocket

Even though I’ve been using the Evernote app for over a decade, I’m still finding wonderful new ways to use it in my life. I’ve used it manage and track my writing for years. I also snap images of any bullet journal pages I want to find quickly into an Evernote “journal” notebook.

Recently I started to use Evernote to organize and plan my home sewing. I started by creating several notebooks, rather than just one, then I created a notebook stack. So, that’s the first way to organize Evernote and your life: use stacks.

via peneloperedmont.com

Save Your Time And Money In 2020

Recently an old freelance writer friend told me about an app he’s discovered which saves him from one to five hours each week, depending on how many proposals he creates.

What’s this magic app? It’s a proposal generator. If you haven’t used one before, it can seem like magic.

He’s never sounded happier. “You won’t believe this,” he said. “There’s an electronic signature facility. Plus, you can get paid, right within the app. Do you know how much time I’ll save—I’ll have time for another round of golf each week.”

Although I haven’t used the proposal generator he’s found, I’m a grateful user of Proposify, another proposal generator, because the app saves me time and money.

via www.angelabooth.com

Write And Sell Short Fiction: Final SALE

Write and sell short fiction

The Short Reads Report is a complete short story writing and selling program.

The program includes:

• A 65-page PDF, Short Reads’ Secrets: A Short Reads Self-Publishing Report;
• A short story writing course: Short Story Mastery: PDF; 70 pages;
• AND a full 30 minutes of personal coaching, via email (a $200 value).

Yes—we’ve included coaching in this amazing offering.

I’m sure you’re wondering… WHY?

via www.angelabooth.com

How 6 Creators Use a Time Tracker to Boost Productivity

Just about anybody who does work on the internet can benefit from using a time tracker.

Seriously.

But why? Why is tracking your time beneficial?

There are several benefits!

First, the honest truth is that you have no clue how much of your time goes into any one activity.

“Whatever Pete, I totally know how much time I spend on email vs actually productive activities.”

You might be able to estimate pretty close…

But every person I know who has started tracking their time has said they were blown away by how little they actually knew.

via www.and.co

Write! Publish Short Stories To Hone Your Skills

3. Avoid obsessing over your covers, but edit carefully

Buying covers for several short stories a month can be expensive. Consider using Amazon’s free Cover Creator tool so you can focus on revision and editing, rather than cover images.

When you’re writing a novel, you can wander off on tangents; not so with a short story. In revision, think about your story question. (The point of your story.) Ideally, you’ll present the story question in first few hundred words. Once you’ve answered the question, the story is over.

4. Charge for your stories: it’s inexpensive entertainment

New authors question whether you can charge for a short story. Indeed you can. Moreover, you should.

Think about the price of a good cup of coffee. Your short story provides great entertainment your reader can enjoy; it lasts longer than a coffee too.

via www.angelabooth.com

A Journal Can Change Your Life In Ten Minutes A Day

Can bullet journaling change your life? I think it can. At our most recent writers’ group meeting, several authors chatted about their journaling habit.

One author, who’s a new bullet journal aficionado of only two months, said that her bullet journal had helped her to ask for a raise at work—and get it. “I created a Collection for why I deserved more money. I even created a presentation.”

Another said that her journal helped her to lose 20 pounds—and keep them off for a year. “I’ve been on and off diets for most of my life,” she said. “My journal makes me excited about eating well. I no longer comfort-eat.”

via peneloperedmont.com

Quick and Dirty Guide to Hashtags on Pinterest

Do you have a hashtag strategy?

Having a solid strategy behind your hashtag can bring real results for you and your brand.

Clicking on a hashtag can provide a wealth of information and a sea of potential connections. Here are a few ways that hashtags can be used:

• Real-time interaction with friends, fans, and influencers
• Reinforce your area of expertise
• Connect with other people interested in the same topic
• Create a social media campaign
• Brand awareness
• Catch the trends – daily, weekly, or holiday
• Find valuable UGC (user-generated content)
• Rock out live events such as conferences
• Build out a social contest

via pegfitzpatrick.com

Your Bullet Journal: 5 Tips For Self-Publishing Authors

Let’s look at some tips for using a BuJo in your self-publishing business.

1. Sell more when you track your book sales in your bullet journal

Your bullet journal helps you to track:

• Book sales and book marketing activities;
• Your advertising budget and spend;
• Productivity: keep track of your word counts.

You can track anything you like; it’s up to you.

via peneloperedmont.com

Editing Your Novel: Remember The Rule Of Three

Big tip: outline your novel during the revision phase. This makes structural revision (deleting, adding and moving scenes) easier.

Structural revision: the Rule of Three can help

When your story needs something, but you aren’t certain what, consider the Rule of Three.

Three is a mystical number which occurs over and over in the world’s major religions, in mythology, and even in fairy tales: three wishes, for example. If you have a superstitious bent, you’ve heard that bad (or good) things come in threes.

Three implies completion. Your readers are subtly satisfied with three of anything, so you can use that to your advantage.

via www.angelabooth.com

How To Solve Your Writing Challenges With The Ten-Minute Solution

Challenges with your writing tend to be in two forms and the ten-minute solution can help with both:

• Process problems: you need to beat the words out of your brain with a stick.
• Specific problems related to a writing project: sometimes only you can solve the problem. At other times, you’re relying on others’ help.

No matter how experienced a writer you are, sometimes the words won’t come; you’ve got a process problem. I had one a couple of weeks ago.

I decided that my novel’s characters were idiots; the plot ridiculous. I deleted a thousand words of a client project. Finally, after spending two hours staring at the computer screen, I remembered the ten-minute solution.

Specific problems strike many writing projects. They can range from a vague feeling that something’s going wrong but you’re not sure what that is. Or someone else is holding up the project.

via medium.com

How to Make Writing a Lot Easier

Too many writers have been taught to be afraid of writing and have had their voices suppressed as a result. You don’t have to be one of those writers. I can’t teach you to write like Toni Morrison, but I can give you pointers on how to LOVE writing.

It took me a long time to understand that writing could be a practical step rather than simply an artistic or journalistic one. Take it from George Saunders: You are a plumber when you write. A handyman. Writing is a matter of sketching and building and arranging and fixing what is in your brain.

via forge.medium.com

Profitable Writing Tips: On Medium This Week

Writing tips on Medium

Please learn from my fumble. Medium is big. Not only are there many writers on the site, there are also publications as well. The environment takes time to learn. I’m still very much the learner on Medium, and it’s a lot of fun.

I managed to get some posts up on Medium this week with lots of writing tips you may find useful.

Get great writing gigs in an hour

Win A Great Freelance Writing Job In An Hour (Even If You’re Struggling):

Everything takes longer when you’re starting out. So, if you’re a newbie who’s learning how to research and write, the process might take you four hours; you’ll get faster with practice.

via www.angelabooth.com

The Hidden Freelance Clients You’re (Probably) Ignoring

Here’s how to get hired by any business: you show the business owner/ manager that the business has a problem, AND that you can solve it.

Start by thinking of a small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in your locality. (Depending on your country, a SME may have under 250 employees, or under 500.)

Make a list of local businesses. “Local” for you may include your state, or your country.

If you aren’t certain of what you’re looking for, go to your local library, or to a Chamber of Commerce meeting, or read your local newspaper (if you have one.)

via medium.com

How mind mapping software enables you to see what others can't

The person with the ability to solve problems and envision new opportunities wins in business – every time. It’s the basis of nearly all entrepreneurship – discerning a creative solution, identifying a new opportunity, seeing a pattern that leads your thinking in a profitable new direction.

“To see the world like nobody else, you have to ask the kind of questions that nobody else is asking.” – Rat Zana

In addition, this ability to peer into the crystal ball and see things others can’t is often a potent career booster: Generating breakthrough insights makes you look really smart to your boss and leaders who can influence the velocity and direction of your career. It can reveal new business opportunities and can help you to add immeasurable value to the people and organizations you serve.

via mindmappingsoftwareblog.com