Writers in the Storm

by Sarah "Sally" Hamer

For most of my writing career, I have been called the "Fifty-page Wonder" by my critique group because I could come up with a story idea, flesh out the main two or three characters, and pull fifty pages out of my hat with relative ease. I won dozens of writing contests back when the romance genre had lots of contests, and even was nominated twice for in the Golden Heart contests. But, all too often, I lost steam and the fifty pages went under the bed, gathering dust bunnies.

Why? I just didn't know what was going to happen next or after that or after that. My characters just laughed at me when I asked what they wanted or needed or were willing to work for, and I struggled to make those stories come together into a cohesive, believable, and likable tale.

I finally had to learn to edit books to figure it out.

What did editing teach me about writing?

Many many things, but here are the three that made the most difference.

#1 Everyone gets a GMC.

I create a goal, motivation, and conflict for my characters, whether they like it or not. Each "important" character needs one of each to really come alive. All too often, if you don't know what they want, you can't create a place to go. So, as part of that, you also have to…(see next line)

#2 - Know how the book is going to end.

Since your protagonist has a goal, a realistic ending where the original goal (or the new and improved one discovered along the way) comes true. Do you know where the characters will end up? If so, it's mostly about putting plausible obstacles in the way.

#3 - Set up a structure.

We know stories have certain things that happen in certain places throughout the story. The Hero's Journey is, of course, the industry standard but isn't set in concrete. Many writers, especially if they're also strong readers, follow the hero’s journey automatically.

We know there must be an Ordinary World that needs an Inciting Incident to start the story. Then, we need our characters to jump from the Ordinary World into the Extraordinary World to learn the lessons. The largest and most important lesson, of course, is midway through: the Reversal – although it goes by many names. The second half of the book is the unraveling and putting back together of the character's character as the new understanding helps them find the real goal,

Last, but certainly not least, is the buildup to the end. It has many aspects: the hero/ine finding a path to reach the goal, a black moment where it seems unobtainable, a sacrifice when a choice MUST be made, conflict over that choice, finding the answer from within, and, finally, the execution of the plan.

It all sounds simple when I write it. And, ultimately, it is, once we know how to do it. Some writers do this in the first draft, and some do it later.

Final Thought

Give yourself a break. I've pulled more than one of those stories out from under the bed and finished it years later. It's like I needed to let them percolate under there with those dust bunnies until they were finally ready to be finished. And, until I knew exactly how to make that happen.

Do you have "under the bed stories?" Do you finish them? What tools do you use to help you get from idea to finished story? Please share them with use in the comments!

About Sally

Sarah (Sally) Hamer, B.S., MLA, is a lover of books, a teacher of writers, and a believer in a good story. Most of all, she is eternally fascinated by people and how they 'tick'. She’s passionate about helping people tell their own stories and has won awards at both local and national levels, including two Golden Heart finals.

A teacher of memoir, beginning and advanced creative fiction writing, and screenwriting at Louisiana State University in Shreveport for over twenty years, she also teaches online for Margie Lawson at http://www.margielawson.com and the No Stress Writing Academy, teaching "The Triangle of Structure"  and other classes. Sally is a freelance editor and book coach, with many of her students and clients becoming successful, award-winning authors.

You can find her at info@mindpotential.org. 

Top photo from Depositphotos.

by Penny Sansevieri

We hear this a lot, of course – the “things” every author needs to do to be successful. But a lot of times, it varies by genre. Which is understandable, because different readers resonate with different things. But across the board, there are deal breakers and that’s what we’re digging into today.

1. Know Your Reader

Forgive me for starting with the obvious but you’d be amazed at how many times I speak with authors who have no idea who will read their book. Yet this knowledge shapes everything from your book structure, your story if you’re writing fiction and your marketing efforts. Craft a detailed reader profile—age, interests, reading habits, and more—to guide your work and outreach. Writing without an audience in mind makes marketing your book exponentially harder later on.

2. Know your Genre

While this is quite similar to the point above, it’s so important and I see it so often that it deserves it’s own bullet. So many authors I speak to in the course of my business don’t know what their genre is, or they make up a genre (my personal fav). The issue with not knowing your genre is that your book will sit and languish, probably somewhere it shouldn’t be and all of your hopes and dreams of being an successful author are dashed.

The other piece of this is that your cover must appeal to a specific reader and that reader is looking for a book in a specific genre. If your book cover does not meet or exceed those expectations, you likely aren’t selling books.

Pick a genre and own it. Sure, your young adult book may someday appeal to adults (a la Harry Potter) but for right now, your book should sit smartly in a young adult fantasy genre.

Remember this: a scattered approach to a genre means a scattered approach to your marketing and that, in the end, will get you nowhere.

3. Leverage Social Media Strategically

Social media is a powerful tool for connecting with your readers and expanding your reach but a lot of times it can feel like a bit of a black hole. If you’re struggling to get attention on your social media platform (or platforms) – then maybe you need to reconsider either where you’re posting, or what you’re posting.

The thing with social media is that it feels like an albatross if it’s done incorrectly, or if you’re on the wrong platform or posting content that isn’t engaging to your audience. If you’re reading this and nodding your head, then maybe it’s time to take a step back and reconfigure what you’re doing. My suggestion is this: start following other/similar authors in your genre and let that inspire you. Get a sense for what they’re posting, how frequent and what content seems to really resonate with the readers. Don’t copy, but let this fuel some new ideas so you don’t feel like you’re wasting your time.

4. Create a Pre-Launch Marketing Plan

A successful book launch doesn’t begin on release day—it starts months before. Craft a detailed pre-launch marketing plan that includes social media teasers, blog posts, newsletter sign-ups, and collaborations with influencers or bloggers in your genre. Create buzz early, so that by the time your book is out, your audience is eager to buy it.

5. Utilize Email Marketing

I get it, email marketing seems very 1980’s, doesn’t it?  But trust me when I say that your email list is one of the most powerful tools for book promotion. Build and nurture your email list by offering free content, like a reader magnet (e.g., a free novella, exclusive chapter, or bonus content). Email allows you to build a direct line of communication with your most engaged readers, keeping them updated about book releases, sales, and special events.

6. Build an Author Platform

When I teach my author platform class in person, I often see a lot of glazed over faces in the audience, and I get it – the term “author platform” seems both daunting and slightly nebulous. The majority of the time and author will say “I’ve never been published before, how can I possibly have a platform?” And they’re right – you won’t have a platform for your first book, but everything you do builds on everything else and by the time book two comes out, voila, you are now launching your book with an author platform. Yes, if you do the right things, it’s really that easy.

And your author platform doesn’t have to be complicated. At its very basic, it’s your online presence. So your website, maybe you have a blog, too – your social media channel (or channels), it’s your newsletter and maybe it’s your speaking events.

7. Network

The writing world thrives on relationships. Network with fellow authors, bloggers, podcasters, and industry professionals. Collaborations, guest posts, podcast interviews, and book events can open new doors, exposing you to wider audiences and fresh opportunities. And do you know when is the best time to network? When you have nothing to sell. So if you’re reading this and your next book isn’t out – or you are not yet published, now is a great time to do some online networking.

How to start? Start by following some experts in your industry, comment on their posts, like their content. Yes, it’s really that easy.

8. Invest in Professional Covers

I don’t think we need to spend a ton of time on this one, but seriously – put your best foot forward. There’s a book published every 8 seconds in this country. I know, crazy right? And the amount of books launched with terrible covers could likely sink the Titanic – again. Don’t be a statistic. I know it’s tempting to throw some ideas into an AI and let it develop something for you. And look, I’m not knocking AI covers – but unless you have an eye for design, or you are a book designer, it’s a big ask to create a cover that is both professional and resonates with your reader.

Never cut your own hair, and never design your own covers,

9. Understand the Timing of Book Marketing

I get this question a lot: How soon will I start selling books? Legit, I have no idea. I’ve been doing book marketing and publicity for 24 years and I don’t know.

Marketing is a process and it’s an ongoing effort. Create a plan that feels robust, but not daunting. Even if you’re just doing one thing a day.

10. Engage with Indie Bookstores

We just did a podcast on indie bookstores and I love them! Never overlook the power of local indie bookstores. They can be key players in building your audience and selling your books. Build relationships with store owners, offer to host events, and get involved in your community. Indie stores love supporting local authors, but it’s up to you to foster that connection. If you want to dig into this more, tune into our podcast, which you can find here!

Finally, it’s worth remembering that…

Change is a way of life, especially in publishing.

Being willing to change and adapt is one of the top reasons bestselling authors are so successful.

Stay informed about trends and the evolving marketplace. And learn to love learning. Attend workshops (virtual or in-person) whenever you can, it’s a great way not only to learn about something new, but also to network with other authors! Continuous learning and adaptability will help you stay ahead of the curve and increase your long-term success.

Do you have an 11th tip to add? Which tip of these ten resonated the most with you? Please share with us down in the contents!

About Penny

Penny C. Sansevieri, Founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a bestselling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is an Adjunct Professor teaching Self-Publishing for NYU. She was named one of the top influencers of 2019 by New York Metropolitan Magazine.

Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most innovative Amazon visibility campaigns as well offering national media pitching, online book marketing, author events, and other strategies designed to build the author/book visibility.

She is the author of 18 books, including How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload on Amazon, Revise and Re-Release Your Book, 5-Minute Book Marketing for Authors, and From Book to Bestseller. She also hosts the top ranking podcast Book Marketing Tips and Author Success.

AME has had dozens of books on top bestseller lists, including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal.

To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, visit www.amarketingexpert.com. 

Top photo credit from Depositphotos.

by James R. Preston

Let’s take a ride, shall we? We’ll drive south down Beach Boulevard in Huntington Beach, and turn right on Pacific Coast Highway. We’ll use some artistic license and stop in at a bar that’s not there anymore, and we’ll connect all of these dots to assign some meaning for your writing. And we’ll try to have some fun along the way.

So hop in! Buckle up! Here we go. 

In this installment of Writers in the Storm we’ll look at maps, geography, and factual details, those little things that can really help your work, but that can also hurt your work when you get it wrong.

Kids Today

So, my godson, his brother and I turned onto Beach Boulevard on our way back from a movie when the subject of the moon came up. I said, “It’s about a quarter of a million miles from the earth.“ My godson had his phone in his hand (of course he did — that’s where it lives) and, quicker than I can type these words, he said, “238 million miles.”

That’s how fast readers can fact check your novel, the 100,000 words that you labored on for a year or more, sitting up late at night thinking about motivation and plot points.

And they will fact check. And they will find mistakes — or changes you have made to details, which brings us to geography, and which will get us to that bar.

Bumps in the Road

A mistake can — just for a moment — jolt readers out of the story and cause them to, well, to pay attention to the man behind the screen.

Even if readers forgive you (and most will), you have distracted them for a moment, caused them to step back out of your fictional world. And it is so, so easy.

A few years ago, “How far is the moon?” would have required an encyclopedia or a trip to the library. Now it doesn’t even require keystrokes.

“Hey, Siri, how far is the moon?”

It’s important to watch out for slips, aka those potential bumps. I’ll provide some examples and just to be fair I’ll describe some of my mistakes, and I’ll throw in one geographic change that I did on purpose.

Wetsuit/Drysuit

There are two classes of factual errors in fiction: intentional and flat-out mistakes. 

First, let’s get to a pet peeve of mine. The secret agent dons his scuba gear and swims in through an underwater connection to the party he needs to infiltrate, where he slips out of the water and in a secluded corner, unzips the wetsuit and reveals a tuxedo, complete with carnation in the lapel.

Wetsuits don’t work like that.

Wetsuits allow a thin layer of water in between your skin and the suit and the water keeps you warm. That’s how they get their name. That tux would be soaked.

Your secret agent could use a drysuit except they don’t look anything like a wetsuit and a little water gets in no matter what. You see that in movies all the time; in books it’s mostly glossed over. But for any reader or viewer who knows, it’s a problem, a “bump.”

More Examples of Bumps

Once upon a time my wife and I were sitting up late at night reading when all at once she started laughing. When I asked what was so funny she explained that the heroine’s significant other worked for the U. S. Space agency — Nassau in the Bahamas. Now that’s careless! 

Ok, this one’s on me. I’ve told this story before but it’s applicable here.

I wrote Leave A Good-Looking Corpse and very quickly got my first fan letter. A fan letter! After I quit dancing around, I read it carefully, to find that my Faithful Reader (he still reads my work) went on to say that I had a character peel the paper label off a bottle of Corona, and that’s impossible because the label is painted on.

Oh, well. He still liked the book a lot. 

For blending truth and fiction nobody’s better than Michael Crichton. Read the Introduction to Jurassic Park and watch for the spot where he deftly moves from science to fiction. It’s really smooth. No bumps there.

Some Good Rules on “Bumps”

Does it matter? Does your story suffer because the heroine rides her pony from Pasadena down to the beach? And yes, that’s in another of my wife’s books.) Well, yes . . . and no.  It depends on the mistake.

Errors of geography are not critical but if the reader knows, they are thrown out of the story.

Rule #1

If you are going to change geography, be ready to admit it. In the Introduction to his monumental Noble House, James Clavell apologizes for altering the geography of Hong Kong. 

Meanwhile, on our drive we have turned north on Pacific Coast Highway. Let’s stop in at a bar that used to be there but now only exists in my stories. Cagney’s was one of my favorites, a small place on PCH at Main Street. It was great — you could lean your surfboard against the wall and go in for a brew.

I’ll never forget one afternoon walking in, blinking to adjust to the dark, noticing that the woman tending bar was wearing a stole over her shoulders. At least, that’s what I thought it was until it raised its head and looked at me. Yeah, she had a medium-sized boa constrictor draped over her tank top.

So, if you have favorite spots, by all means keep them, but be prepared to admit it.

Rule #2

Do your homework! Make friends with the Internet and spend time looking up details. Remember, some of your readers live there. If possible, visit the place you are writing about.

My suggestion is do this last.

We’re in this to tell stories and for me at least there is no better feeling in the world than the moment when it clicks into gear and the characters become people and talk to you and more than anything you want to know what happens next. I say never interrupt that moment to look up some obscure fact. Save that for later. 

Some of you may be thinking that you are writing about a world of your own creation and are therefore immune from fact checking. Well, in a sense you are — the roads run however you want them to. However, your readers will pay attention and if in Volume 1 the heroine is allergic to shellfish you better not forget and have her eating lobster stew in Volume 2.

TV shows create a document called a “Bible” that lists all these details. Below are a few tips from Writers in the Storm with excellent techniques for creating your own.

• Creating a Bible for Characters and Screenwriting by Ellen Buikema
• How To Organize Your Story Details Into a Story Bible by Lynette Burrows

Rule #3

Finally, always remember that it’s the story that counts. James Bond can unzip his wetsuit to a tux and it’s still a good story. In the afterward to the Edgar-nominated Joyland, Stephen King says, “That’s why they call it fiction.”

Final Thought

We’ve made it to Cagney’s. I’m disappointed because the woman with the boa is not working today, but it’s still a fine place to settle in to talk about writing, and to end with one final thought.

Never forget that your audience is on your side – it’s called Willing suspension of disbelief for a reason. They want to like your tale, and they will always, always clap for Tinkerbell.

Thanks for coming along on the ride, and now it’s your turn. Got a pet peeve you want to share? Or a goof that you made and can laugh about now that it’s over? C’mon, we’re all in this together. 

About James

James R. Preston is the author of the multiple-award-winning Surf City Mysteries. He is currently at work on the sixth, called Remains To Be Seen. His most recent works are Crashpad and Buzzkill, two historical novellas set in the 1960’s at Cal State Long Beach. Kirkus Reviews called Buzzkill “A historical thriller enriched by characters who sparkle and refuse to be forgotten.” His books are collected as part of the California Detective Fiction collection at the University of California Berkeley. 

Find out more about James at his website.