1. The first sparks of an idea can feel like play. Embrace it! Go for long walks daydreaming about your burgeoning story. Sketch and doodle the characters you're imagining. Make maps of the worlds coming to life in your mind. Write snippets of scenes that come to you even if you don't know where they belong in your eventual draft (and even if you're the planning type!).

2. Write the "back of the book" to get yourself excited about your story and to get to the heart of what you'll be writing - even if you don't know the ending yet (they don't include the ending there anyway!). Write it just for yourself.

3. Rest your draft before you revise, and build in rest periods between revision sweeps. Come back to your work with fresh eyes and a fresh mind.

4. When you begin your revisions, read through your manuscript once through without making any changes at all. If anything, highlight phrases and sections that are already singing. Begin the revision process from a position of strength and possibility.

5. When you're ready to zone in on details (like sentence structure, word choice, the tone of certain scenes), read your manuscript out loud. Let your ears help you to tweak what your eyes somehow cease to see...

My new book "The One Week Writing Workshop: 7 Days to Spark, Boost or Revive Your Novel" is actually all about tips and strategies just like this for anyone wanting to learn how to write a novel. Please check it out by going to my author profile.

Thanks, and happy writing! - Karin Adams

-Do not censor yourself. Go overboard with your characters to bring them to life.
-Stay true to writing what you love.
-Read widely, both within your genre and outside it. You'll pick up keen insights from other writers.
-Writing is art, publishing is business. You need to learn both.
-There is no substitute for disciplining yourself to write daily.

1) Write what you love. Worry about finding a genre later.
2) The housework can wait, delegate if necessary. Be sure to walk the dog, though.
3) Do your research and build your characters so they're believable.
4) Don't be afraid to sound ideas off people you know will tell you they like or don't like something. Take criticisms constructively.
5) Don't read your reviews. Even if they're good, don't read them.

1. Have a writing place, go there at....
2. The writing time and write. Thank the inner 'judge' and tell them you will seek their counsel some other time. Review what you wrote the next writing time.
3. Get a writing buddy, if you can, to connect with once a week to share progress and comment.
4. Identify your own style and process, winging it or all planned out or somewhere in between, and just trust what works for you.
5. Revise, revise, revise, and delete those words like 'actually' and any verb ending in 'ing'

1. If you're writing in your manuscript and something isn't working right, but you are not able to put a finger on what the problem is, don't be afraid to put it away for a few days. It could be you have information that is out of place and belongs in a place later (or earlier) in the story, or the problem could be having something to do with your main character's character arc. It could be something else, too. Walking away from it temporarily will allow your brain to relax and regroup. The answer will come to you.

2. Don't write like someone else. Write how you write. Your process is yours. Doing what works for you will make the road less bumpy and more fun.

3. Writing, whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, is more than the act of writing itself. It is a process and it all takes time. Rushing through from the beginning to the end will only get you no where fast. Take your time and have fun with it.

4. After you write your first chapter, move on to the second and third and so on. Don't try to make everything perfect straight out of the gate, or you will be there forever at the beginning and never finish.

5. Talk to other people. Preferably, choose one or two people you can trust to talk to when you have an idea or hit a snag and don't quite know how to proceed. For me it's my son and daughter who I talk to. Sometimes verbalizing the issue(s) can clear the problem up.

1. Trust your own process. There are loads of writing how-to books out there with conflicting information. Read some of them. You will find that many have the same advice but worded just differently enough to allow them to label the advice as "their method." None of them are the be-all, tell-all, how-to bible. But they all have useful suggestions to help you hone your craft and help you define the method that works for you.

2. Commit to the writing. Whether your goal is an hour of writing a day, or a page count or a dedicated day on the weekend, strive to reach that goal.

3. That having been said, don't be afraid of failing. If you can't make a goal for whatever reason, don't beat yourself up over it. Taking wellness breaks is okay and encouraged.

4. Find people to read -- and to criticize your working drafts. Friends, family, professionals. Criticism before publishing is necessary. Your beta readers might just find a plot hole or two that really needs to be addressed. They might also disagree with each other regarding what they like and what they don't like. That's okay! And it's also okay to take their criticism with a grain of salt. You don't have to change anything based on beta reader criticism, but keep an open mind and always thank them for their input.

5. One "rule" about writing and success that I will always agree with, as told by screenwriter William Goldman (The Princess Bride, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, among others...)--Nobody knows anything! The best you can hope for is an educated guess.

1.Read widely in your genre and make notes about the style of conversation.
2.Study books in your genre to see how scenes are constructed.
3.Begin writing after you have picked out your main characters and know something about where the plot is going.
4. Read your book aloud. This helps you catch awkward phrasing and grammar mistakes.
5. Have someone else (professional editor) read your book before you publish.

1. When you first start writing your story, just write it and get it down, worry about editing later, and don't get bogged down in the details of grammar or word choice.

2. That being said, edit, rewrite, and edit for flow, inconsistencies, and style.

3. When you feel you are finished and ready to publish, get a professional editor, not your sister who is an English teacher or next-door neighbor who is a prolific writer but a professional, they are worth every penny.

4. Find an editor that enjoys your genre and ask questions about their editing, what you expect and what they do may not be the same. Some do line editing, copy editing, developmental editing, etc. Make sure you ask for what you want and match with the right editor.

5. If you are a first-time writer with no writing experience, you can send query letters and see if anyone bites but it's very hard to find an agent. Don't be disappointed or give up. You had a story that you wanted to tell and if you can't get an agent, it's not the end of the road. Self-publishing is a respectable way to get your book into the reader's hands.

1) Branding & Visuals - Get a professional to get you the best cover and a few associated brand images you can. It will pay off in the long run even if you have to pay.

2) Website - If you choose the right service you CAN do this yourself. Paying to build a website can get expensive - don't do it unless you really need to.

3) Contacts & Emails - Manage your data, and don't be afraid to send someone something ONCE, as long as it's easy for them to unsub. Wix allowed me to do that easily.

4) Social Strategy - Decide on your strategy and stick to it. Going wide is a lot more effort that being focused, but it's a choice I made. It depends on your target audience and who your niche is.

5) Keywords & Paid Ads - Know who you are selling to, and then find those people on social, and use the keywords and interests that your audience has to find them also.

I have more on my blog! https://www.theunravelling.online/post/marketing-tactics-examples

Much Love,
Will Gibson (I'm new here!)

1) Random Notes: Document your thoughts and ideas, quickly. Have something to hand you can capture them all. I use notes on my phone after dreams. And while I'm bored and daydreaming like on planes.

2) Turn Notes into Topics or Subjects: Focus on topics or subjects that you want to talk about and start making lists from your notes. These lists can help guide the next part of the process.

3) Themes: Make more lists, don't just rush to get the story moving. Focus on where the actions will happen, and what some of the actions or themes will be. I listed some locations I wanted to feature in my story based on places I know.

4) Characters: Focus on the DETAILS of your characters. What they look like, where they come from, what drives them. List it all out. Don't jump into writing yet.

5) Storyboard: Spend time listing your chapters, with a rough outline of what happens. Only when you are happy with this, can you start writing.

All of these 5 things are completed BEFORE i start to write a single sentence.

I have more tips on my blog including for editing (ugh!).

Thanks for reading,
Much love,
Will Gibson (I'm new here!)

https://www.theunravelling.online/post/let-s-talk-about-the-writing-process-5-top-tips-for-new-authors

How to get in your creative zone?

Take yourself on a date!

#1 is Jim Valvano's iconic quote - re: the famous NC State basketball coach's battle with cancer. "Don't give up. Don't ever give up." If it's your passion, it's your life, Keep writing.

# 2 -That said, realize that "Blank paper (or these days, a blank screen) is God's way of telling you it's not so easy to be God." (various quotes). It's hard freak'n work.

#3 - Read a lot in your book genre and others and take notes. Trust me, the good stuff will rub off. Also take some time each day to read a few pages of one of your books -- and enjoy what you've accomplished - you'll surprised how well your book compares,

#4 Once your story is far enough along, get some input from a person or two you trust, but don't let them write your story. A corollary: with very few exceptions, ignore any feedback that any family member ever tries to foist on you.

#5 Find a good time and place where your mind is alert and still - to do nothing but write -- maybe for a half hour or maybe a couple hours or more.

I've had great success in marketing my book by being a Podcast Guest. I used "podcastguests.com" to find programs I wanted to be on, as well as had hosts contact me. I've written several Newsletters on LinkedIn with tips for being a successful podcast guest. Go to LinkedIn & put: "m.k. mcdaniel podcast tips" in the Search bar. Good luck!

If your book is traditionally published, you may not have any idea how many units you've sold until you receive a royalty statement from your publisher. With some publishers, this may only be once or twice a year!

One of the most useful tools that I've found to monitor sales of my books are the Amazon sales estimator tools. There are plenty of links to different versions of these tools, just search for that term and you'll find one. These work by estimating your daily and monthly sales by using your book's ranking on Amazon. To find your book's ranking, navigate to the listing and scroll down to Product Details.

Since Kindle book sales are not reported by BookScan, these free estimator tools can give you some valuable information on how many Kindle and print books you're selling at any given time.

Troy Hollan - author of Clucked - A Quirky Nautical Tale of Adventure, Misadventure and Justice Served

If you're like me, marketing is the hardest thing to tackle, especially if you're an indie author/publisher. Like any job, there are elements you like more than others and some that you must do to get the work out there. Think of marketing as a job requirement. You don't have to do every interview or be connected on every social media outlet, pick one or two. Even soft marketing can make a world of difference for your book. All Author is a wonderful platform for those who are marketing shy (They did not plug me to say that, it's just how I feel). I feel fortunate to have found them. As your royalties expand, your marketing skills can expand with it. Through trial and error, you find what works, keep those tactics in your toolbox, and fine-tune what isn't working. Try not to get discouraged. Most people are not overnight successes. They worked for years in the background fine-tuning their skills and craft before getting noticed.