Writer’s Toolbox: It’s here! Word tracker for 2013

I adore Nora Roberts. The first romance novel I ever read was Divine Evil, and I’ve been in love with Roberts’ books ever since. Whether you enjoy her novels or not, you have to admire her dedication the profession. Her book-list says it all. She writes like a mad woman, putting out books left and right (much like T.A. Grey. Check out her latest release here).

In an interview I read at Book Browse, Roberts was asked two questions and I really admired her answers.

Where do you find the time to produce so quickly?
You don’t find time, you make time…

What inspires you?
I don’t believe in waiting for inspiration. It’s my job to sit down and figure out what to write.

I think we should all tackle writing with this same level of devotion. For that reason, the tool I’m bringing to you today is all about setting a writing goal for 2013 and working to achieve it. So, go grab your Word tracker for 2013.

Writers’ Toolbox: Formatting Your eBook (Part 2)

I apologize for my lack of posts lately. Things have gotten crazy around here, but I have a lot of new resources to share with authors when I do find the time. First on the list is part 2 of T.A. Grey’s eBook formatting guide.

Writers’ Toolbox: Formatting Your eBook (Part 1)

T.A. Grey has created an excellent post on how to customize the inside of your self-published ebook. She’d decided to break the instructions up into sections, Formatting your eBook (Part 1) is available now.

Writers’ Toolbox: Word Tracker Spreadsheets

I stumbled across two really impressive word tracker excel sheets created by Svenja. The first word tracker is used to record your yearly word count goals and progress (AMAZING!), Word Tracker 2012. The second spreadsheet is used for editing, Edit Tracker.

Writers’ Toolbox: 10 Checkpoints for Your Scene

Every scene in your book should count, whether its purpose is to further the plot or build empathy for your characters. This is why I liked the article 10 Checkpoints for Your Scene. It’s a neat little checklist that will help you determine if your scenes have all the necessary elements to be, not only important to the story, but complete as well.

Writers’ Toolbox: Links of the Week #20

Writers’ Toolbox: Links of the Week #20

S.J. Maylee

Happy Saturday! What? It’s Memorial weekend? OMG, what am I doing inside. I have weeding to do, plants to put in the garden, roses to train, books to read, a MS to edit…and more blogs to read 🙂 I have a pretty collection for you today and don’t forget to listen to Jeff’s music selection today. You won’t regret this listen, it’s powerful.

Writer Business

Suzanne Rock at Romance on a Budget shares a tip Do you have Business Cards?

Plots

Darcy Pattison at Fiction Notes had some great reminders 5 Plot Fixes for Peace Makers

Alan Chin posted this week Writing Tip #36 Story Starter Questions. Very interesting collection of 12-questions. A quick test to see if your plot is missing something.

Janice Hardy at The Other Side of the Story had a brilliant line at the beginning of her post on plots this week: “The house is story. Decorating is plot.”…

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Writers’ Toolbox: Stephie Smith’s Contest Chart for Writers

Stephie Smith has composed a wonderful chart for those of you looking to enter a writing contest. Her list of contests is current and full of all the important information.

If you are looking for a way to get noticed, or add some credits to add to your query letter, winning a writing contest is a great way to do it. Agents and publishers like to know that your manuscript has already received recognition. Not to mention, it shows that you probably have been networking and that will help them sell you and your book to prospective publishers because you’ve already made a name for yourself.

Writers’ Toolbox: May I Design and Photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have to thank T.A. Grey for this next find. May I Design and Photography offers graphic design services, and lovely ones at that.

If you’re taking on the challenge of self publishing, book cover design must be a big priority. The cover is the first thing readers see. It persuades them to read the blurb, so it has to catch their eye and make them curious. I’ve browsed through May I Design’s portfolio and I have to admit I’m impressed.

Also, for those of you who are going the traditional route, and don’t need a cover artist,  May I Design and  also does website design.

Writers’ Toolbox: Show Me the Money!

We need to thank Brenda Hiatt for this fabulous resource! Show Me the Money! is survey Hiatt manages to keep readers informed of the average payout with certain romance and young adult publishers. The list includes most of the prominent publishers out there. It’s a good resource for authors looking around for place to submit their manuscripts.

Also, for those of you who are published and don’t mind confidentially sharing your figures, please contact Haitt so that she can keep her survey updated and as close to accurate as possible.

Writers’ Toolbox: How to Stay Motivated With Your Writing

It’s hard to find time to do the things you need to get done, let alone the things you can put off until tomorrow. However, most people can usually make time for the things they want to do, like writing. But when writing starts to feel like a job, it usually gets put on your to-do list–somewhere at the bottom. We just lose our motivation, which is where the article, How to Stay Motivated With Your Writing, comes in handy.

Writers’ Toolbox: The All-Important First Five Pages

My Gran always said, “Start the way you intend to carry on.” That’s good advice, which is why I advise reading The All-Important First Five Pages.

Writers’ Toolbox: Ten Tips for Self-Editing

So I’m on a self-editing kick and my article choices will reflect that. Today I’m sharing Ten Tips for Self-Editing. They’re simple things that you can do to help you successfully get through your manuscript review.

Writers’ Toolbox: How to Make Self-Editing Easy

How to Make Self-Editing Easy is short article about how you can use Microsoft Word to help you edit your manuscript.

Writers’ Toolbox: Show Off Your Best at the Sandbox

I’ve said this before and I’ll keep saying it, networking is important! I know you hate it. It’s tedious, frustrating, and it takes practice if you want to get good at it. One of the most important things for struggling networkers is to educate themselves on the different mediums out there.

When someone says network, most people think of the obvious opportunities to gain an audience (blogging, facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc.), and not of the rare, unique opportunities like writers competitions. Today’s find is a monthly genre contest called Show Off Your Best at the Sandbox. It’s a short story contest that probably won’t gain you international recognition, but you will make connections. Even if you only come away from it with one reader, that is one reader that will buy and advertise your product.

Writers’ Toolbox: Urban Dictionary

Before you use that word or phrase, check it out on urbandictionary.com.  You never know just what the kids are using it for these days, and you definitely want to avoid uncomfortable misinterpretations.

Example: She was carrying two large jugs with her.

(if you can’t figure out what’s wrong with that sentence, you might need to visit the urbandictionary–but please use with caution)