Five Links…5/17/19
Loleta Abi
Writing:
1. https://www.janefriedman.com/considering-your-reader-is-not-coddling-them/ “Writing advice is so often contradictory. Take, for example, the advice to write only for yourself or in service of your vision. But just as often you’ll hear: write with an intended readership in mind.
Neither piece of advice is wrong; they’re just prioritizing different things. Writers who consider themselves “serious” (or literary) tend to emphasize genius and artistry, which can result in challenging or difficult work. Writers who make a living wage from their work tend to emphasize service to the reader.
Of course, there’s usually a middle way; it’s not an either-or proposition every time. I like Stanley Delgado’s essay in the latest Glimmer Train bulletin, There Was a Man in El Salvador Who Owned Four Dogs, where he discusses his grandmother’s method of storytelling. He noticed that she told the same stories differently to him than to his mother—different elements, different drama. He writes:”
2. https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2019/05/12/writing-multiple-projects-and-keeping-in-touch-with-a-book-when-you-take-a-break-interview-at-joined-up-writing-podcast/ “In common with most freelances, I’m always working on multiple things at once! Books, courses, editing assignments…
One of those books is my third novel, Ever Rest, an undertaking that seems as gigantic as the mountain itself, and has to be fitted around other deadlines.
Hopping between projects is a way of life for most writers and is one of the subjects I discuss with Wayne Kelly on this new episode of his podcast. We also talk about ghostwriting (my course on that is here if you’re seriously curious), how we learn as writers, finding our niche, growing up in a landscape full of stories and the new Nail Your Novel Workbook. Do come over.”
3. https://stevelaube.com/every-word-counts/ “Many years ago while editing a nonfiction book, I noticed the author had a proclivity for using the word “very” quite often. To me the repetition jumped off the page.
After deleting 95% of its use, I returned the manuscript; the author was mortified that their work had such an obvious error in it. Hilariously, I later received an email with the word “very” repeated over and over, at least 500 times (very very very very very very, etc.). Then came the message, “Just trying to get that word out of my system before I write my next book.”
Recently I came across a cool online tool where you can see which of your words are repeated too often. Use this link to the WordCounter.net website and run your WIP (work in progress) within its walls.”
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Research & Fun Bits:
1. https://killzoneblog.com/2019/05/my-911-sit-along.html “A couple of weeks ago I did a 911 ‘sit along’ as part of my citizen’s police academy. This came just a few days after after I’d heard presentations from our local SWAT and negotiation teams and, sadly, just a week or so before Colorado experienced yet another school shooting. Taken all together, not only do I have a renewed appreciation for the work of our local law enforcement but also a deeper understanding of the team effort that kicks into high gear when emergencies occur.”
2. https://amytruebloodauthor.com/navigating-publishing-what-about-swag/ “There are many things to juggle when you are a debut author – final edits, copy edits, pass pages, social media presence, online promotion (blog tours, Instagram tours), pre-order campaign. The list can sometimes feel like it goes on and on. In addition to all this piling up, there’s also a decision to be made about promotional items.
When I started to think about promotional items aka “swag”, I looked at what previous debuts had created for their own pre-launch campaigns. It seemed like the typical swag items produced were: bookmarks, postcards, and bookplates. Some other debuts had gone further creating custom enamel pins and/or commissioning character art.”
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Some Things More Serious:
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Teaser Fiction & Poetry:
1. https://mythsofthemirror.com/2019/05/11/draft-model/ “mechanical man
in designer shorts, mindless
they give him a heart
what’s a heart
without a life source”
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Book Reviews, Cover Reveals, & Author Interviews:
1. http://lizlovesbooks.com/lizlovesbooks/latest-reads-the-two-lila-bennetts-liz-fenton-l9sa-steinke/ “Lila Bennett’s bad choices have finally caught up with her. And one of those decisions has split her life in two. Literally.
In one life, she’s taken hostage by someone who appears to be a stranger but knows too much. As she’s trapped in a concrete cell, her kidnapper forces her to face what she’s done or be killed. In an alternate life, she eludes her captor but is hunted by someone who is dismantling her happiness, exposing one secret at a time.
Lila’s decorated career as a criminal defense attorney, her marriage, and her life are on the line. She must make a list of those she’s wronged—both in and out of the courtroom—to determine who is out to get her before it’s too late. But even if she can pinpoint her assailant, will she survive? And if she does, which parts of her life are worth saving, and which parts must die? Because one thing’s for certain—life as Lila Bennett knew it is over.”
2. https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/2019/05/11/bookreview-a-bloody-day-in-destiny-four-stories-of-the-wild-west-a-western-adventure/ “Something new and exciting from bestselling author Russ Towne. These are Western adventures that are filled with guns, guts and the spirit of the Old West.
The past comes calling with a six-gun and a score to settle, and there’s no place to hide in “A Bloody Day in Destiny.”
An unwelcome sleeping companion holds the key to survival when two vengeful brothers catch up to the man who shot their brother in “I Hate Snakes.”
A lonely rancher gets much more than he bargained for when a beautiful woman with a secret past responds to his ad for a wife in a “Mail-Order Bride.”
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A Dash of Words with Loleta Abi Romance Author 
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