This Week on Books Direct - 5 May 2013
Here
is a list of the articles you may have missed this week:
"Critiques
Make Your Writing Better, So Grin and Bear Them" - Article by Melissa
Donovan for Writing Forward.
As
a writer, you have to decide whether you truly want to excel at your craft. If
you do, then you need to put your ego aside and learn how to accept critiques
graciously. If you can’t do that, there’s a good chance that your writing will
never improve.
Joel
compares the big publishing companies to the big pharmaceutical companies.
While
writing can be a solitary experience, a writer has to break out of his/her shell
in order to do any self-promotion. There are steps you can take each day to
improve and expand upon your reputation as a writer.
Good
literary agents have an inherent interest in taking all queries seriously. The
trouble is they are busy, rushed, and have seen it all before. The best
approach to getting an agent’s attention is to dazzle him or her from the
get-go while simultaneously avoiding certain red flags that agents look for to
differentiate work they might represent from straight rejections. Here are five
secrets for getting a literary agent to read your query.
GalleyCat
spends a lot of time covering independent authors, bringing news from the
self-publishing world every week. In an effort to consolidate their reporting,
they will release a monthly Self-Publishing Intelligence Report that links to
all of their resources for indie authors. Here is the first monthly round-up.
What
are the factors that make a reader willing to take a chance on a debut author?
Why does a reader pick up the book of one new author and not another?
"11
Signs You're Meant to be a Writer" - Article by Laura Pepper Wu for
Catherine, Caffeinated.
You may have accepted by now that you're a writer. But just in case you haven't or
if you've been having doubts of late, here are 11 signs that you truly are
meant to be writing – and always have been!
Cliché
is the enemy of good writing. These are storytelling devices that pop up again
and again, crutches for the writer to lean on and help move the story along
without actually having to stretch their abilities. Here are 10 clichés Rob
considers to be the worst of the bunch.
"How
Many Copies Make a Self-Published Bestseller?" - Article by Jason Boog
for GalleyCat.
So,
just how many copies does it take to get on the Self Published Bestsellers
List? This is not an easy question to answer since all the major marketplaces
for indie books carefully guard their sales figures. Author Denise Kim Wy
managed to get sales figures from six different self-published authors.
Why
not compare them to yours?
"15
Alternative Steps to Better Writing" - Article by Phil Overby for
Mythic Scribes.
Don't
like being told how to write? Phil presents 15 alternative ways to approach
your writing. Despite many of them going against what other professionals
preach, you may find some wisdom in each step. (Or at least get a laugh.)
"Free
Books for Cinco de Mayo" - Article by Jason Boog for GalleyCat.
As
we celebrate Cinco de Mayo this weekend, Jason has collected a long list of
free eBooks about Mexico. These books come from the Internet Archive, and
include a treasure trove of 18th, 19th and 20th Century writings about Mexico.
"Write
It Now, Part 9: Seat-of-the-Pants Writing and Why It’s Got to Have
Structure" - Article by Matthew Wright.
"Seat-of-the-pants"
writing has huge advantages, but it also carries huge pitfalls. Are you a
"panster"?
"Teaching
Us to Read Again (Infographic)" - Article by Nate Hoffelder for The
Digital Reader.
An
interesting infographic showing how the advent of the eReader has changed our
reading habits.
"10 Steps to Finding Your
Writing Voice" - Article by Jeff Goins.
Jeff
shows you how to find your overall writing voice. Whether you blog for fun,
write novels, craft poems, pencil melodies, or inspire people with your prose,
it’s essential that you find your unique writing style.
