Category: resources

Posted in publishing, resources, writing advice

LESSONS LEARNED: What I took away from the release of my second novel.

Posted on by Erin McKnight

My second novel came out on August 29, and let me tell you – getting that baby up and out felt like a massive weight off my shoulders. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, which is great. Even better than the sales and reviews are the lessons I’ve learned during the process.

1. Skinny Draft

While writing this novel, I discovered that I am a far better editor than a drafter. I was introduced to the “skinny draft” idea about halfway through my first draft. The purpose is to write a draft of your story without worrying about small details that often stall the writing process. Focusing on getting the story right first helped me see more progress faster than trying to get everything in the first time around.

2. Progress Report.

I have to see progress. If I don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere, I get discouraged and want to quit. A lot of writers use their word count to track progress. This doesn’t work for me. It tells me nothing about where I am in the story or how far I have left to go. Switching from word counts to “signposts” for my progress shows me where I am and makes me want to keep going. 

3. Change Up.

Changing a deadline is okay. Yes, there are going to be some that are set in stone. Your editor must have your manuscript by a specific date to complete their work. That’s fine. But as an indie author, I am the one who decides when to start contacting them. The self-imposed deadlines I make to keep me on track are flexible. Life happens, and sometimes you have to slow down. I nearly burned myself out trying to meet some deadlines I set on this one. It’s better to move everything back than burn the candle at both ends and in the middle to meet a self-imposed deadline.

4. Process Evolution.

The way you write evolves. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. There is a reason it is called a writing process. As you learn more and develop your skills, how you approach a project changes. And that’s okay. My first novel went chapter by chapter, trying to make each one perfect before moving on to the next. It made everything longer and harder for me. Starting small and expanding is freeing for me. I’m sure my current process will change again. And that’s okay, too. We all develop and change, so our writing should, too.

What I’ve learned through bringing Coming Home into the world is invaluable. I could spend days discussing them, but we only have so much time. For my writers out there, how has your process changed? Leave me a comment below to keep the conversation going.

Posted in resources, writer life, writing advice

Authors & Social Media

Posted on by Erin McKnight

Social media is one of the things I both love and hate in this world. Hours magically melt away when scrolling Instagram and TikTok, fueled by serotonin-boosting funny animal videos. On the other hand, nothing else in the world can make me rage face as hard as some of the comments I see on these platforms.

As infuriating as these apps and websites can be, they are vital in building your author platform. It’s one of those necessary evils like taking out the trash or doing laundry.

For every piece of advice for authors on handling social media, ten others say to do the opposite. It comes down to this; there is no one size fits all solution. You have to find what works for you. 

Even so, there are some things to consider before starting your social media journey.

Author Brand

As an author, you are more than an individual. You are a brand. Social media is all about selling yourself. Yes, you want to sell books, but people are far more likely to buy a book to support someone they feel connected to or to help support someone whose content they enjoy. So consider the image you want to portray and find the platform(s) that best help you do that.

Images vs. Videos vs. Text

Every platform is designed to deliver a specific kind of content. You don’t have to do all of them. In fact, trying to could lead to burnout. Instead, think about how you can best get your personality across. Can you make videos for TikTok or YouTube? Only want to do pictures? Instagram or Facebook sounds like a better fit. Twitter is good for short snippets of text. No matter how you want to communicate with your readers, find the platform designed to fit your comfort level and focus your efforts there.

Engagement

This one is tricky. It’s not platform-specific but can help you narrow your focus. One-on-one interaction can be achieved through polls, contests, and a million other things. Think about how you want to form that connection with your reader base before diving into creating content. The platform you pick should align with your preferred contact method.

Organic Reach or Paid Ads

Okay, this one is a little different. Organic reach is the people naturally finding your content when scrolling through their feeds. Paid ads are screen space you pay for to put your content in front of the audience. This doesn’t mean you have to spend money to gain an audience. Every platform has an algorithm to push content to people based on previous history. Research the platform and see if you can find a way to use that data to boost your presence without dipping into your pocketbook.

Keeping these things in mind, I’ve decided to stick mainly to Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. They let me use images to draw interest and keep me from rambling for days on end. I can show my personality and interests in a way that is comfortable for me while promoting my work.

There is a lot more I could go into regarding social media, but I think it’s better to leave that to the experts.

 If you want to learn more about social media and the writing world, read Social Media for Writers: A Complete Guide for tips and tricks on every major platform.

Posted in resources, writing advice

Know Your Genre: Guidelines for Authors

Posted on by Erin McKnight

Genre is a little word with big impact. Knowing the right way to categorize your story gives you insight into what it takes to make readers choose it over others on the shelf.

There are dozens of genres out there. Each one has its own standards and guidelines that set it apart. The most popular fiction genres are:

  • Fantasy
  • Sci-fi
  • Mystery
  • Thriller
  • Romance
  • Western
  • Dystopian
  • Contemporary

We can break each one down into countless subgenres. Check the link below for a more detailed list.

The Different Genres of Books (With Descriptions) | BookSummaryClub

Readers have set expectations for each genre’s length, tropes, and story structure. 

The length of a novel can be a deterrent for readers looking for a specific genre. A romance novel, for example, is usually 50 – 75,000 words. An epic fantasy, on the other hand, can easily be 100,000+. Writing a romance novel the length of Lord of the Rings can make readers raise their eyebrows or even pass on the book. While there is no hard and fast word count rule, keeping your story within the standard helps ensure your audience doesn’t turn away from it without at least cracking the spine.

Does anyone else remember the Twilight craze? Please say yes. I don’t want to feel old. This set off a massive trend of vampire and werewolf romance novels in all shapes and sizes. Knowing what is popular in your genre is essential to ensure it sells. If you are writing a shifter romance, but everyone is reading Christmas stories, it may sell poorly. That doesn’t mean you can’t write it. You may want to wait to hit the publish button or submit it to an agent at a different time.

Every genre has elements that define it. Romance novels have to have a happily-ever-after (HEA). If it does not have a HEA, it’s not a romance. End of story. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy because they (SPOILERS) die at the end. It is a romantic story, but it is not a romance because of how it ends. If I didn’t know that was how it ended going in and snatched it off of a romance shelf at the store, I would be ready to go on the warpath at the end. 

Genre is making a promise to your reader about what they can expect from your story.

6 Current Trends In Popular Fiction Genres in 2023 | Writer’s Relief – Writer’s Relief (writersrelief.com)–

Knowing your genre and understanding how it works will go a long way in crafting a story your readers will love. It identifies your audience and gives you a roadmap to follow along the way. Do your research, and you will make your life that much easier.

Posted in resources, writing advice

It’s All In How You Look At It: A Crash Course in Point of View

Posted on by Erin McKnight

Last time, we talked about voice and how we can use it to bring our characters to life. There’s another thing to consider that often gets confused for voice in writing, and that’s point of view or POV.

Point of view deals with the perspective of who is telling the story. There are a lot of subcategories when discussing POV, but to keep things simple, I’m only going to talk about the most basic form for now.

The two most common POVs are first and third person. First-person is telling the story as if you are the main character. It uses predominantly “I” pronouns when giving the main character’s thoughts and actions. “I am doing this.” This can be a bit more immersive for the reader, but it limits you to only being able to focus on one perspective.

Third person uses he/she/they pronouns and puts the narrator outside the action. They are observers looking down on the action and relaying the information to the reader. “She is doing this.” Third person allows you to have more viewpoints and see other parts of the story by involving more characters. Just be careful you aren’t head-hopping, jumping perspective, from one sentence to the next and confusing your readers. 

There is one more POV out there. It’s not seen in many publications, but it can be a fun way for your readers to experience the story as it makes them the main character.

It’s called second person and uses “you” pronouns to make the reader feel like they are the ones doing the action. “You are doing this.” This one can be tough to write in. You have to be careful with descriptions to avoid pulling your reader out of the story. Describing a character that looks completely different from your reader when they are supposed to be the one in the story will break the illusion and ruin the experience for your readers. They need to be as featureless as possible so that the reader can superimpose themselves onto the character.

While POV is not the same as voice, it is just as important. It is the lens through which your reader will experience the story. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different POVs to see which one works best for your style and suits your characters.

Posted in resources, writing advice

What Is Voice?

Posted on by Erin McKnight

One of fiction’s biggest trends is having “voicy” characters. But what does that mean, and how does it affect the story?

Voice is not the same as Point of View (POV). Voice makes an author’s writing unique. It conveys attitude and personality. POV refers to who is telling the story. (i.e., 1st and 3rd person)

The two types of voice authors run into most in fiction are character and narrator. Even in 1st person, these are not the same. Character voice will deal with how the character speaks to others. The phrases they use. Favorite words. That kind of thing. Narrator is how they tell a story. While it may be similar, it’s not identical.

Developing both kinds of voice is crucial in developing your overall writing style. Some ways to get into your character voice are to write things as them. Write letters to other characters or journal as your characters. This helps you get into their headspace and understand them better.

Narration has a little more wiggle room. This is where authors can let some of their personality shine a bit more. Keep in mind, some genres have certain expectations. For example, fantasy novels tend to have a lot of descriptions. They have to build a new world in a way contemporary romance doesn’t have to. While world-building is just as important in both, we approach it differently.

One thing you can do to help define your narrator’s voice is to look at popular novels in your genre and see if there are any common themes or traits that pop up. Do they use colloquialisms? Is it shorter one to two-syllable words, or do they like to go for the fifty-cent words with four or more syllables? Whatever the case, your voice is up to you.

The biggest thing to remember with voice is to be yourself. Emulating your favorite authors is great, but if you aren’t true to yourself, it will show, and your writing will suffer.

Posted in resources, writer life, writing advice

Community Connections

Posted on by Erin McKnight

Everybody needs people. Introverts, hold your horses. I know what you’re thinking. “No, I don’t. Introverts don’t need people.” I beg to differ. We all need a community that can rally around us and support us in reaching our goals. This is especially true for writers.

While writing is a solo activity, writers can’t succeed in a vacuum. We need people around us to support us in our journey. I don’t care if it is your first book or your thousandth. Having a group of fellow writers that can talk you off a ledge or help you work through the story issues causing chaos in your brain will get you a lot farther, a lot faster than trying to slog through it all on your own.

Writing communities are also a great place to find beta readers and street team members. We need people we can rely on to help us out. I can’t tell you the number of times someone signed up to be a beta reader or help promote my book and didn’t follow through, but do you know who has always followed through for me? Other writers.

We are all in the same boat. We understand how important these things are and will help each other reach our goals.

Fellow authors are fantastic resources. By networking with other writers, you can learn about the latest trends in your genre, best marketing practices, and much more. 

The hardest part about a writing community is finding one, and even that isn’t difficult. Facebook has a wide variety of reader and writer groups. Doing a quick search will yield more results than you can shake a stick at. Look around and see if you find one that sounds right. And remember, just because you join doesn’t mean you have to stay there. Finding the right writing group is like finding the perfect pair of pants. Sometimes you have to live in them for a while before you find the right fit.

NaNoWriMo is another excellent way to find fellow writers. While the event may only be one month out of the year, several groups continue to interact all year long. They even offer home region groups that can meet in person if you do better with face-to-face interaction.

Speaking of face-to-face, don’t forget to check with your local library. See if yours has a writing group. Or even a book club. Telling an avid reader you are working on a novel and would like their feedback is like dangling a seal in front of a Great White. They will jump at the chance to be a part of the process. 

There’s nothing quite like a kick-ass writing community to help you achieve your goals. They offer insight and feedback. They encourage you when you’re down, and they will party like there is no tomorrow when you get it right. Step out on a limb and connect with a community of your own. It is well worth it.

Posted in resources, writer life, writing advice

Lessons Learned: Book Signing Events

Posted on by Erin McKnight

One of the many things I never thought I’d have to do when I decided to become an author was public speaking. My mentality was that book signings are only for big-name authors. Nobody is going to want a signed copy from a debut indy author. They only want best-sellers. Boy, was I wrong.

I recently did a book signing at a public library near where I grew up. I loved every minute of it, but there were a few things I could have been better prepared for. Here are a few takeaways I have after being a part of my first author event.

BRING MORE BOOKS THAN YOU THINK YOU NEED
People love signed books. I thought that since this event was in such a small town, I wouldn’t need very many books. The library was packed to the gills. I could have sold twice as many books if I’d had them. Next time, I’ll double the number of books I take. Turning people away because you are out of books is a terrible feeling.

BE READY FOR SOME NON-BOOK/WRITING QUESTIONS
I’m a prepper. I spent time reviewing interview transcripts from authors I follow to try and see what kind of questions I would have to answer. I wasn’t prepared for the questions about me and my life. People find it fascinating that you were able to write a book and want to know about you. Not just your work.

HAVE SWAG AND TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT
Everybody loves free stuff. Having a few free giveaways on your table is a must. This will help people find your book later if you run out, and it helps promote your brand. Just be sure you tell people you have it before they start coming up. The transition from Q&A to signing was so fast that I forgot to tell people I had bookmarks and pens they could have for free until they got up to the table. It does no good to have swag if nobody knows to take it.

DON’T FORGET TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT YOUR BOOK IS ABOUT
I feel like this one should have been obvious, but I totally forgot it. I introduced myself and gave a bit of my background, but it took somebody asking me what my book was about for me to give the synopsis. Embarrassing, I know. Maybe lead with that one next time.

Author events are a fun way to get your book in front of readers and interact with them. While no two events are the same, it’s always good to cover the basics. Do some prep work ahead of time to be prepared when that inevitable curveball arrives.

Posted in resources, writing advice

The Writer’s Toolkit

Posted on by Erin McKnight

Craftsmen have toolkits full of the essential equipment they need to do their jobs. Writers are no different. We work with words the same way a carpenter works with wood. We build on our ideas and whittle away at them until we have something beautiful.

Every writer’s toolkit is going to look different, but just like a carpenter’s hammer, there will be a few key things every writer will need to make sure they are prepared to do their work.

  1. Notebooks/Note Pads/Pens/Pencils
    • Ideas are like waterfalls. There is no stopping them when they come to you. Having something to jot those ideas down as you work can help you keep your flow without losing what comes to mind. Take a brief moment to write down what pops into your mind as a reminder to come back to it later. Once it is out of your head, you can get back to focusing on the task at hand.
  2. Drinks/Snacks
    • Eliminating as many distractions as possible before you start makes it easier to stay on task.  Make sure you load up on your coffee, tea, water, girl scout cookies, granola, or whatever you prefer before you get started. This will help reduce the number of times you get up and walk away from your work.
  3. Comfy chair
    • You are going to be spending a fair amount of time in your writing spot. Whether you do long sessions or sprints, you need to make sure you are comfortable. Constantly shifting around in your seat is going to distract you from your work. Find yourself a good office chair that will support your spine and allow you to settle in and pound the keyboard when the time comes.
  4. Blue light glasses
    • Now, bear with me here. I know not every writer wears glasses, but we do spend a lot of time looking at screens. This can put unnecessary strain on your eyes. Blue light glasses can help reduce this strain without the need for a prescription. You can pick up a simple pair at most box sores or on Amazon for relatively cheap.

These are just a few things to consider putting in your toolkit. For more ideas on what you might need for yours, visit the Modern Boss Boutique.