Welcome back to another Writerly Round-Up. Each week I gather interesting Writerly news, blog posts and other things. Writerly Round-Up (26 May – 1 June) is bound to have something helpful or newsworthy for writers, publishers and editors.
Writerly Round-Up (26 May – 1 June)
Advance Review Copies: Why They’re Used and How to Create Them
by Jane Friedman at IngramSpark
ARCs get used for many purposes, but mainly:
- To gather professional, industry reviews, from sources such as Publishers Weekly
- To solicit endorsements that will be printed in or on the book
- To share with influencers who need to see the book before deciding on potential coverage
- To send to important connections who might be in a position to write an influential, early review or offer some other form of help
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When Does Your Inner Critic Appear? Three Scenarios of Self-Sabotage and How to Renegotiate Your Contract
Mary Carroll Moore
The inner critic is our internal gatekeeper. Its job is to protect us. It has a very loooong memory, way back to our first creative efforts in childhood. Unless we had an exceptionally supportive environment for our creativity, both at home and at school, we probably logged some embarrassing moments about “showing off” or “being unoriginal” or “did you really make that or did you copy it” or any number of other creativity slams. When we edge up to this again, as adults trying to write a book, the IC goes on amber alert.
Writerly Round-Up (26 May – 1 June)
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The Art of Distraction: Using Red Herrings
A Writer’s Digest Tutorial with Jane K. Cleland
Writers use red herrings the way magicians use sleight of hand—to distract their readers from seeing what’s really there. In this video tutorial, award-winning author Jane K. Cleland explains how to use red herrings to build page-turning suspense.In this 24-minute video tutorial, you’ll discover:
- How to use red herrings to control reader perception
- The difference between structural and visual red herrings
- Three tried-and-true techniques to add red herrings to your writing
No matter the genre, red herrings add engaging complexity to plots and characterization.
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Author uses novel tactic to promote book
Build Book Buzz
I did a double take when I got out of my car in the parking lot of the Penfield, N.Y. Wegmans supermarket.
A car two spots from mine had a magnetic sign on the driver’s door that said, “AUTHOR ON BOARD.”
“What a clever idea!” I thought. It’s such a novel tactic. (Pun intended.)
The author wasn’t literally on board at that moment, so I took a couple of pictures and decided I’d contact her later to see if she’d answer a few questions for a blog post.
I did, and she did.
(I did this myself in my Tarot Reading days. My car wore the sign throughout a trip through Yellowstone National Park. Several people inquired about how to get a tarot reading.)
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Well, this wraps up another week of Writerly News. If you have a post or a suggestion to include in Writerly Round-Up shoot me an email.
Don’t touch anything sharp!