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Romance with a side of horror? 

Happens in real life—oy!—but not such a hot idea in fiction.

Cozy mystery with a soupçon of blood and gore? 

 Only if you want readers coming after you with shoulder-fired missiles.

Sci-fi in a gauzy, vintage-y mood? 

Not unless you want to find an IED in your driveway.

Genres come with rules that create guidelines for writers—and set up expectations in readers. Break those rules, disappoint those expectations and the reaction will be a polar vortex of one-star reviews.

You can’t build a house without a solid foundation, so before you start playing around with wildly inventive and creative genre mash-ups, you first need to learn to stick the landing. 

Julie Ann Lawson provides an excellent overview of genre—Julie calls it a cheat sheet—defining the do’s and don’ts of genres and sub-genres ranging from Survival Horror and Christian Fiction to Gothic Punk and Urban Fantasy.

Note from Anne: The terms YA (Young Adult, age 12-18) MG (Middle Grade age 8-12) and to a certain extent, NA (New Adult, age 18-25) define demographics, not genres. Almost all these genres can also be written for specific age groups (Although I wouldn't recommend MG Romance.) For more on the New Adult category see Chuck Sambuchino's piece for Writer's Digest.


Here's a list of some of the most popular genres with links to expert advice on how to write them:

Romance

Over half the books sold in the US are categorized as Romance. It’s the Big Mama of genres, competitive and potentially lucrative.

Romance University is Harvard for romance, useful to beginners and advanced students alive. Professors (successful romance writers and editors) tell all about how to write and how to market romance. (And it's FREE!...Anne)

We’ll stay in the Ivy league with Everybody Needs A Little Romance, a group blog written by romance writers who share their opinions and insights, their triumphs and—sometimes—their tribulations. Romance writers, it turns out, are just like us.

Contemporary Romance, a chapter of RWA (Romance Writers of America) is devoted to the writing and marketing of contemporary (as opposed to historical) romance. Pros who write in genres and sub-genres ranging from “spicy to inspirational to young adult to adult” keep readers and writers informed and up to date via discussion forums and workshops. (This site requires RWA membership, but if you're a Romance writer, RWA membership is well worth the price...Anne)

Have a good time and learn at Romance Divas an award winning, website and discussion forum dedicated to romance.

Romantic Suspense

The suspense must add to the romance and the romance must add to the suspense. Nora Roberts lists some of her favorite Romantic Suspense authors—Mary Stewart, Sue Grafton and Elizabeth George (among others)—and explains the necessary balance between romance and suspense.

New York Times bestselling author, Lisa Gardner, lists 7 Tips for writing Romantic Suspense ranging from setting and research to character and plot.

Patience Bloom, senior editor of Harlequin Romantic Suspense, shares 5 Secrets for creating compelling Romantic Suspense.

Erotica

As Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said you "know it when you see it." But the line between erotica and erotic romance has blurred in recent years. It can be a, ahem, "Gray" area. Here's a piece (complete with infographic) on the difference between erotica and erotic romance from Sorcha Grace in the HuffPo. Got more than two people in the scene and there's no HEA? It's erotica.

Women’s Fiction

Anna Quindlen, Anita Shreve and Jodi Picoult are among the stars in a genre that can also merge/morph into Mainstream Fiction or Literary Fiction.

Author and blogger, Amy Sue Nathan, who hosts Women’s Fiction Writers, defines this not-always-easy-to-define genre.

RITA Award finalist and former journalist, Wendy Wax, talks about the impact of headline news and real life on women’s fiction.

Screenwriter and novelist, Paul FitzSimons, states that of all the major genres of fiction-writing, crime, fantasy, literary, comedy, sci-fi, erotica (thank you EL James for making it okay to include that last one) – the most popular and successful is women’s fiction. Paul has pulled together a list of useful links for women’s fiction  authors.

Chick Lit (aka Rom-Com)

Think Bridget Jones Diary, Sex And The City and The Devil Wears Prada. Chick Lit, breezy and humorous, is written in the first person and is about 20- and 30- something women living in a big city. A Chick Lit novel is about relationships—romantic and otherwise—as the heroine searches for a job, a boyfriend, an identity.

Editors at Ballentine and Harlequin discuss what makes Chick Lit tick.

Will Write for Shoes: How to Write a Chick Lit Novel, by an author of chick lit, offers advice and a step-by-step method for writing the savvy and sassy chick lit novel.

While a romance novel usually ends with a wedding or a promise of one, a chick lit novel can end with the heroine having pink drinks with her girlfriends, dissing Mr. Wrong.

Note from Anne: Chick Lit is a bestselling genre that has found new popularity in the age of ebooks, but it was out of fashion for a few years. I see that Publisher's Lunch calls it "Rom-Com" rather than "Chick Lit" when talking about book deals—short for "Romantic-Comedy." So if you're querying Chick Lit, you might want to call it "Rom-Com" unless the agent specifically asks for Chick Lit.

Literary Fiction

Cormac McCarthy and Michael Ondaatje come to mind as authors of literary fiction. Literary Fiction tends to focus more on character than plot although—because characters interact and events take place—LitFic does have plot.

The prose in LitFic possesses aesthetic value, and the theme(s) and emotions are layered, complex and serious.

Like other genres, Literary Fiction defines itself through cover design, titles, book formats and shelving. In addition, there are four characteristics that make Literary Fiction a distinct genre.

Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy

Think Charlaine Harris and Stephanie Meyer, Dead until Dark and Twilight. Think noir, paranormal and magic.

At Heroes And Heartbreakers, Larissa Benoliel defines the difference between these two popular genres.

Here’s a questionnaire that will also help distinguish between ParaNormal Romance (PNR) and Urban Fantasy (UF)

Award-winning author Jami Gold is a go-to guru in PNR and UF. She conducts workshops and offers tips, tricks and tools for writers. Jami mixes in “elements of suspense and women’s fiction to create ‘Beach Reads with Bite.’ Her stories range from dark to humorous, but one thing remains the same: Normal need not apply.” (And she's going to be our guest in August!...Anne.) 

Dystopian (Especially YA)

From Hunger Games to Divergent and Susanne Collins to Veronica Roth, this is a hotter-than-than-hot genre. In YA Dystopian fiction you’ll find reading lists, reviews and expert analysis.

Here’s pro advice from YA authors Lauren DeStefano and Moira Young on writing dystopian fiction and 5 more tips from "Miss Literati" about pushing the envelope in this wildly popular genre.

Mystery

Bestselling author P. D. James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL, is an English crime writer and creator of policeman and poet, Adam Dalgliesh. Baroness James has learned from writers like Jane Austen, Wilkie Collins, Dorothy L Sayers, Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh. Here are her 8 suggestions for writing a mystery.

Ron Lovell, author of The Martindale Mystery Series, sweats blood. Not really but sort of, as he tells how to write a mystery.

Susan Spann, an attorney and author of the Shinobi Mystery series, says that “mystery novels work a lot like any other genre, except that mystery writers murder their imaginary friends.” Susan lists 25 things you need to know about writing mysteries.

Ginny Wiehardt, editor and writing teacher, offers 10 rules for writing mystery.

Cozy Mystery

The author Agatha Christie and TV’s Murder, She Wrote mean “cozy” to millions of fans who are looking for mystery sans graphic sex, profanity and violence.

Lynn Farris delves into the specifics that distinguish a cozy mystery from a classic mystery. Find out everything a writer needs to know about this popular genre as Lynn analyzes elements including cover, protagonist, audience, setting, and plot.

Author Stephen D. Rogers has written a useful run-down of characters, plots, setting and the exceptions that define the cozy mystery. Stephen also adds a list of resources and markets relevant to authors of cozies.

The Cozy Mystery List adds to the information about the genre and recommends books, DVDs in this increasingly hot genre.

Thriller

We’re in James Bond territory here. The thriller revolves around around anticipation and suspense, action and excitement. Unlike a mystery in which a crime must be solved, in a thriller the hero/heroine must prevent the crime from being committed or the dastardly plot from going forward.

Top thriller writers from Daniel Silva to Edgar Award-winner John Hart give advice about writing the can’t-put-it-down thriller.

Ian Fleming discusses the line between fact and fiction in a thriller and describes the nuts-and-bolts of his writing process.

Police Procedural

The police procedural ranges from Evan Hunter/Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series to Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö’s ten-book Martin Beck series to Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series.

Mystery novelist and college professor Margot Kinberg discusses the wide range of this genre, its diversity, history and current status on her blog, Confessions of a Mystery Writer.

Christian Fiction

Targeted to a large audience, Christian Fiction offers inspiration, positive uplift and points the way for relatable characters to resolve their real-life dilemmas via faith. Christian Fiction encompasses numerous sub-genres including mystery, sci-fi, romance, women’s fiction, historical and more.

CrossBooks, a publisher of Christian Fiction, reaches out to authors and lays out guidelines for writing Christian Fiction with realistic characters confronting gritty issues like abuse and alcoholism.

American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) is a professional authors’ association similar to Romance Writers of America (RWA) and/or Mystery Writers of America (MWA). The goal of ACFW is “developing the skills of its authors, educating them in the market, and serving as an advocate in the Christian Fiction publishing industry.”

Horror

Horror comes in a variety of flavors. There’s creepy, gross-out, and just plain evil. There’s H.P. Lovecraft, Peter Straub and Stephen King. Don’t forget slime, monsters, vampires and locked rooms. Horror, like all fiction, isn’t easy to write but here’s Ramsey Campbell’s guide to avoiding the clichés.

Stephen King shares some thoughts about the craft of writing horror.

Novelist, screenwriter, and game designer, Chuck Wendig, lists 25 things you should know about writing horror including severed heads and septic fear.

At Hellnotes, Robert Gray suggests 13 tips about writing horror fiction.

Western

Cowboys and Indians, sheriffs and outlaws, gunslingers and schoolmarms—we’re talking Westerns. Louis L’Amour, Tony Hillerman, Zane Grey, Larry McMurtry and Elmore Leonard are among the masters of the form. Western Writers of America, sponsors of the annual Spur Award, represents professional authors of Western literature.

Popular sub-genres include Western Romance and Western Historical Romance.

R.L. Coffield offers these guidelines for writing a Western and Adrienne deWolf’s writing resources for writing a Western offers tips and research help.

The NaNoWriMo site has interesting facts about iconic Western towns like Tombstone and the dangerous perils of six-shooters plus more tips for writing a Western.

Lyn Horner, bestselling author of Western Romance, shares tips and techniques for writing a Western Romance.

SciFi/Fantasy

Noted sci-fi/fantasy author and teacher, Jeffrey A. Carver, a Nebula Award finalist and developer and host of the educational TV series, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing, has created an on-line course, how to write sci fi/fantasy. “There are no rules, exactly,” says Jeff. “But we do have what you might call guidelines. And that's to have fun writing!”

Award-winning sci-fi author, Massimo Marino, takes a scientist’s approach to sci-fi. Massimo, who worked at CERN—an international lab for particle physics research near Geneva, Switzerland—then at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab as well as with Apple Inc., and the World Economic Forum, has created a useful and entertaining Guide For Down-And-Dirty Hairy-Knuckled Sci-Fi Writers.

Roz Morris, author, editor, bestselling ghostwriter and book doctor, shares 3 tips for writing watertight fantasy, science fiction and time travel stories. Roz talks about the roles of logic and magic and illustrates her points by discussing mistakes she herself made and how she corrected them.

Author and editor, Charlie Jane Anders contemplates 10 “Rules” scifi/fantasy authors should break. Charlie offers insights into portal fantasies, when it’s better to tell, not show, and the possibilities of faster-than-light space travel.

There are dozens of subcategories of SciFi/Fantasy, too many to go into here. Some are: Steampunk (The Anubis Gates, Homunculus) Space Opera (Dune, the Foundation Trilogy), Hard SciFi (I, Robot), Epic Fantasy (Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones), Cyberpunk (Neuromancer), Speculative Fiction (A Handmaid's Tale, Brave New World) and Time Travel (The Time Machine—not to be confused with Time Travel Romance like Somewhere in Time or Time Travel Women's Fiction like The Time Traveller's Wife.) 

Genres and sub-genres help readers find books and writers need to understand the conventions of his/her chosen genre to write satisfying fiction. Ignore the rules of genre at your own peril! 

The Saturday Evening Post "Celebrate America" Short fiction contest. $10 ENTRY FEE. The winning story will be published in the Jan/Feb 2015 edition of The Saturday Evening Post, and the author will receive a $500 payment. Five runners-up will each receive a $100 cash payment and will also have their stories published online. Stories must be between 1,500 and 5,000 words in. All stories must be previously unpublished (excluding personal websites and blogs). Deadline July 1.

The Golden Quill Awards: Entry fee $15. Two categories: Short fiction/memoir (1000 words) and Poetry (40 lines max) $750 1st prize, $400 2nd prize in each category. Sponsored by the SLO Nightwriters and the Central Coast Writers Conference. Deadline June 30th.

Drue Heinz Literature Prize for a collection of short fiction and/or novellas. Prize of $15,000 and publication by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Author must have been previously published in print journals. Deadline June 30.

WRITERS VILLAGE SUMMER SHORT FICTION CONTEST $24 ENTRY FEE. $4,800 First prize. Second prize $800, third prize $400 and 15 runner up prizes of $80. The top 50 contestants also get a free critique of their stories. Judges include Lawrence Block, a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America, and Jill Dawson, Orange and Whitbread-shortlisted author of eight novels. Winning stories showcased online. Any genre of fiction may be submitted up to 3,000 words, except playscripts and poetry. Entries are welcomed world-wide. Deadline June 30.

Here is the complete BISAC list of categories.

BIC, the UK version of BISAC, will shelf your book appropriately in English-speaking countries like the UK and Australia. The BIC list is similar to BISAC but can vary slightly. Here's the BIC list of categories. Germany and France also support book-and-author categories and are available to authors at GooglePlay.

Each vendor has a slightly different approach to categories. Nook permits a writer to choose five. Kobo permits three as does iBooks. GooglePlay offers five categories including BISAC, BIC and their equivalents in France and Germany.

Kindle, despite its seemingly stingy two-category choice, offers a much wider choice of categories, sub-categories, genres, and sub-genres. Getting into the correct niche is an important element of the discoverability you’re looking for. A skillful use of categories plus keywords (you can have seven) can get your book on more than two lists.

If you have a series and choose different combinations of categories and keywords for each book, you can expand your reach even further. You can choose six different categories if you have a three-book series. (Two times three.) A four-book series can get you into eight categories (two times four).

Your first step is to choose your two main categories. Your initial thought will probably be the overall category that most accurately describes your book—thriller, horror, sci-fi, romance, mystery and so on. Your second choice might be another relevant—and smaller, therefore easier to rank in—sub-category (historical romance, cozy mystery or whatever best describes your book).

If your book blends genres, choose two relevant categories: for example, if your book is a thriller with an significant romance element, you might want to choose romance and thriller as your two categories. Amazon offers an excellent guide to choosing your main book categories.

The problem? In a huge category like romance, unless you’re a top bestseller, your book will get lost and sink from view.

The fix? Keywords. Especially what Amazon calls “required keywords.” Required keywords will help place your book in appropriate sub-categories which tend to be much smaller, thus giving your book a better chance of being seen by the readers you are looking for. Here are links to Kindle’s required keywords broken down by category:

Romance.

Science Fiction & Fantasy.

Children’s.

Teen & Young Adult.

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense.

Comics & Graphic Novels.

Literature & Fiction.

Erotica.

3 Keys To Kindle

1) Small, niche categories can get your book into the categories that lead down to it. For example: Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Sports will place your book in the Sports category but also in Genre Fiction, Literature & Fiction and so on.

2) If you’re not sure where to start, look at bottom of the Kindle page of a book similar to yours. This list is called Look for Similar Items by Category and will give you ideas about what categories might fit your book and how and where to start.

3) Nothing is set in stone. If you think your categories and keywords aren’t working well for you, go to your KDP dashboard and change them. Do your research first and then experiment to see whether other choices make your book more visible.

Keyword Gurus Tell All

Jason Matthews, author of How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks and new adult novels, posted a comprehensive and easy-to-understand post plus video about choosing and using keywords. Jason explains how to test keywords at Amazon and at Google and tells why sometimes what seem to be trivial differences can make a difference. Jason also shares insights and valuable advice about important keyword dos and don’ts.

M. Louisa Locke, the bestselling author of Victorian mysteries set in San Francisco, has posted an excellent guide to de-mystifying the keyword/category duo. Ms. Locke’s advice is titled How to Get your books into the right Categories and Sub-categories: Readers to Books/Books to Readers. Part Three of her analysis includes links to the first two articles in her valuable series.

Swords and sorcery, anyone? Lindsay Buroker, bestselling author of Fantasy, lays out her approach to combining categories with keywords in order to rank in more lists and increase the odds that more readers will see your books.

In Let's Get Visible: How To Get Noticed And Sell More Books by award-winning bestseller David Gaughran details strategies and techniques to help you understand the inner workings of Amazon’s powerful recommendation engine and position your books to maximum advantage on other vendors.

At the Indie Chicks Café, Award-winning romance author, Donna Fasano, points out that keywords are not just for customer browsing purposes. Donna explains how she uses sub-categories such as Contemporary Romance, Drama and Multi Cultural to increase discoverability of her book, Reclaim My Heart.

Ebook Marketing Secrets Part 5 -- The Right Categories Can Make You A Bestseller points out that “keywords are not just search terms for people on Amazon.com. Amazon's products show up on Google, Bing, and Yahoo searches as well.” This article also delves into the correlation between ranking and bestseller lists and offers a shrewd approach to selecting categories with less competition and thus offering a better chance of appearing on a list.

Liliana Hart, bestselling author of the MacKenzie series, thinks keywords are more important than categories. She details her approach in a chapter called Navigating Algorithms, Categories and Keywords in The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing.

The self-publishing roundtable recommends experimenting with new categories/keywords and tells why branching out into various keyword-category combinations can help expand your audience. This article also suggests moving already-published books into new categories and adding the necessary keywords to gain extra exposure.

David Masters, author of The Prolific Writer's Toolbox, discusses categories and keywords in terms of “browsing” and “searching” and explains the difference. He offers a useful guide about how to cross-check keywords between Amazon and Google and tells how to identify obscure and niche categories with less-intense competition.

Finally: a bit of perspective

Finding the right “recipe” for Categories and Keywords require four qualities writers have in abundance.

• Flexibility: the awareness that publishing trends are in constant flux and that if one thing doesn’t work, the next one (or the one after) will.
• Creativity: the willingness to experiment and try a variety of different ideas and combinations.
• Persistence: the refusal to give up when the first choice doesn’t work out as well as anticipated and try, try again.
• Patience: Allowing sufficient time for flowers to bloom and success to blossom.

The good news is that you can—and should—change any category or keyword that isn’t working and that periodically refreshing your categories and keywords is just part of the job. 

Or:

• You’ve started the first draft. 
• You’ve finished the first draft.
• You’re waiting for your editor’s comments. 
• You’re thinking about writing a book.
• You’ve got a great idea for a book.
• You’re making notes for a book.
• You’re outlining a book.

No matter what stage you’re in, the fact is it’s never too soon to start thinking about your blurb. 

(Also known as the sales pitch, the back cover copy, and on Amazon, the "product description".)

Writing or drafting your blurb at an early stage or even before you start writing can serve as a brief outline and help you stay focused as you write. 

Coming up with the perfect headline for your blurb will also give you a head start on honing that all-important elevator pitch.

The cover is the first thing that grabs the reader’s attention and tells him/her what kind of book s/he is looking at: romance (sweet or steamy), women’s fiction, mystery, thriller, horror, sci-fi.

But once you have the reader’s attention, then what?

Then you have to make the sale.

We’re talking blurb here, and don’t think you can get away without a killer one. Every book—no exceptions—needs blurbing. These days, even the Bible has one. Don’t believe me? You can look it up.

The blurb is crucial, it’s essential. It's the message that seals the deal and tells the reader why s/he absolutely, positively, MUST buy the book.

Blurbs are a little bit art, a little bit craft, a little bit commercial poetry. They are (or should be) quick and easy to read but they are time-consuming and challenging to write—certainly for me and, I suspect, for most writers.

In another life, I wrote paperback blurbs, probably thousands of them over several decades. Back in TradPub days, blurbs had to be short (paperbacks only have so much space on those covers) but comparing the reader who’s browsing in a bookstore to the person who’s surfing the net is the difference between a leisurely stroll and NASA rocket flight. As a consequence, my definition of short has radically changed: Now it’s just about as short as humanly possible.

Here are some ideas about getting from here to there: 

1) Research. 

Read (and study) the blurbs for the bestselling books in your genre so you will start with a solid idea of what you’re aiming for in your own blurb. Make note of the exact words that pique your interest. Pay attention to the headlines, body copy and formatting of blurbs that particularly appeal to you so you can be inspired by them.

Speak directly to him or her. You wouldn’t speak to a rowdy sports fan in a raucous bar the same way you’d speak to your child’s Sunday school teacher, would you? (At least I hope not.) Blurbs work the same way and keeping a clear picture of your reader in mind will help you find just the right tone for your blurb.

You are looking for the most potent way to compel your reader’s attention, not a winning time in a track meet. Look at your blurb on your computer, your phone, your tablet. Print it out in a large font size and post it on the fridge or the bathroom mirror. See if viewing your blurb in different way exposes any weaknesses or triggers any ideas for improvement.

As you work on your blurb, cut flabby, wishy-washy words (you know me and my love of the delete button!). Ditch meaningless hype like: the most exciting thriller ever written or the best romance you’ll ever read. Instead use power words such as: beautiful, shocking, exciting, scandalous, terrifying, sexy, hilarious—words that evoke an emotional reaction.

Don’t confront the reader with a dense block of text. Remember that s/he is probably skimming so make it easy for him or her. I also try to make sure my blurb on Amazon is short enough to be seen in its entirely without the reader having to click read more. Apple is stingy about space for the blurb so be prepared to do even more cutting if you are uploading to iBooks.

Too much or too many and they just cancel each other out.

Especially if you’re e-pubbing. I view my blurbs as WiPs and constantly change, tweak, refresh and revise them. Just remember that if you change your blurb on Kindle via Author Central, you won’t be able to make changes through your KDP bookshelf but will have to go back to Author Central if you want to do further tinkering.

Contemporary romance, historical romance, and Victorian-era mystery with a female version of Sherlock Holmes each set up different expectations. So do humor, horror, sci-fi, pulpy noir, steamy romance, sizzling coming-of-age stories, and action-adventure. 

Make sure your blurb meets your prospective reader’s expectations and write your blurb in the same voice as your book.

More professional advice on blurbing

Bestselling author of romances set in New Zealand and former copywriter, Rosalind James, talks about how she had to re-learn the art and craft of copywriting because all copy is not the same. She has a great piece about her approach to the kickass romance blurb on her blog.

Ace blurb-writer, Amy Wilkins, Assistant Manager of Digital Content and Social Media at Harlequin, is a member of the acquisition team for Carina Press. Amy discusses how much plot to reveal, the importance of conflict, and describes different ways to hook a reader. She offers details about her method of writing romance blurbs at Romance University.

YA author Sarah Juckes breaks down the daunting task of blurb-writing into clear step-by-step directions.

Mark Edwards, a friend of the blog and a superstar #1 Amazon UK author, thinks the power of the blurb can sometimes be under-rated. Mark tells how he doubled the sales of his co-written book, Killing Cupid, by rewriting the blurb in a guest post on our blog, 5 Steps to a Great Product Description.

Joanna Penn, author and book marketer, was voted one of The Guardian UK Top 100 Creative Professionals 2013, and voted one of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers 3 years running. Joanna offers tips about writing an effective blurb (aka sales pitch)in her blogpost, How to Write an Effective Back Blurb.

Marilynn Byerly, who teaches on-line writing courses, breaks down blurb-writing by genre: romance, romantic suspense, sci-fi and fantasy, mystery and suspense. Marilynn also explains how to do the precise cutting required to make a short blurb even shorter.

Sarah Webb author of chick lit and children’s books, shares her recipe for the brilliant blurb here. Sarah also explains the power and importance of the shout line or tag line.

Other resources

Want advice from other writers? Post your blurb on Writers’ Cafe, ask for help, and get input from peers.

Fed up with the whole thing and want to pay someone to do the heavy lifting? If you’re looking for experienced help with your blurb, Ella Blythe, who has a background in corporate copywriting, offers a range of services from a touch-up to an entire blurb. Ella usually charges $25 for a blurb, is willing to negotiate depending on the job, and guarantees satisfaction.


Scriveners, are you as blown away as I am by all these great links? How do you approach blurb writing? Would you think of using a blurb service (At $25 it looks like a good deal to me.) I think it's fabulous that Writers Cafe has a blurb critique forum. Any other advice to add?...Anne 

Next Sunday, we'll have a guest post from friend of the blog, freelance writer Sarah Allen (no relation.) She'll be talking about what things a pre-published author can be working on NOW to jumpstart your career. 

Meanwhile, on April 6th, Anne will be signing books and giving short talk at the Coalesce Bookstore on Main Street in Morro Bay, along with her fellow members of our local Sisters in Crime chapter. If you're in the area, come by on April 6th from 1 PM to 3 PM, for wine and goodies and lots of fun book talk. 

 

You’re happy, even delirious. You’ve finished your first draft!

Then you read it.

OMG, you think, did I write that?

Yes, you did. :-)

It stinks. It sucks. It’s so rancid it threatens to warp the time-space continuum.

Think you’re alone? Here’s Hugh Howey in a blog post: “I suck at writing. Watching a rough draft emerge from my fingertips in realtime would induce nausea.”

So remember, it’s not just you.

The first draft is just that—a first step.

As a long-time editor and author, I’ve found 8 strategies that can help you shape, refine and improve your draft. (Actually it’s called editing and, yes, you can do quite a bit of it yourself.)

1. Embrace the power of the delete button.

Elmore Leonard advised taking out all the unnecessary words. Cutting almost always makes a book better, more readable, more exciting.

Specifically, that means delete all the spongy, weasely, namby-pamby words—the ones that aren’t crisp and precise, the ones that drag out a scene or a description without adding anything except length.

Get rid of the windy digressions, the pointless descriptions, the info dumps, the meandering philosophical musings.

Duplicate your document before you begin in case you get too enthusiastic but, with a safe back-up on hand, go ahead and hack away. Take out everything that doesn’t advance your story or define your characters. See if the resulting clarity doesn’t vastly improve the pace of your book.

Don’t just kill your darlings. Kill everything that doesn’t move the story forward. Save your gems in a “future” file and use them in another book where they pull their weight.

2. Sharpen dialogue.

Just as you leave out the um’s and ah’s of real life, leave out chitchat about the weather, the local gossip, the “warming up” before you get to the point.

 Condense long speeches that have nothing to do with your story or characters. Ernest Hemingway wrote narrative in long hand but used the typewriter for dialogue—the rat-tat-tat, he thought, was similar to speed of talk.

Dialogue should be short, sharp and speedy. A scene with dialogue should have lots of white space. Allow your characters to speechify at your own peril!

FREE dialogue tips from Nanowrimo here. More dialogue tips here.

3. Spot and solve plot problems.

Plot problems in a first draft?

I’m shocked, I tell you. Shocked.

A powerful technique called reverse outlining will help ferret them out. A reverse outline will also help you track character arcs and/or rein in wandering POV dilemmas.

Reverse outlining—basically a list plus some first-grade arithmetic—can also bail you out of glitches and blocks, aka those dreaded now-what-happens? moments.

The difference between an outline and a reverse outline is that you compose your reverse outline after you finish your first draft (or as you’re in the process of writing it). Even pantsers like me find the reverse outline invaluable.

You will find FREE directions and demonstrations of the power of reverse outlining here, here, here, and here.

4. Naming names.

Names are powerful—Hannibal Lector, Miss Marple, Mr. Darcy, Scarlett O’Hara, Rosa Kleb—and can even define character. Choose names carefully in order to make things easy for the reader.

Example: The hero is Kevin Barnett. The heroine is Kathy Blanchard. The villain is Keith Barron. The names are similar and the initials are identical.

Do you really want to drive your reader crazy, as s/he tries to remember which of the K’s are OK and which aren’t?

Make a list of all the character names in your book and see to it they are individual, even memorable, and, if possible, convey something about the character. Change names and initials that are too bland, too similar or easily confusable. Use a name generator if you run out of ideas or need ethnically or genre-correct names.

Scrivener, the go-to app for many writers offers a generous FREE trial and comes with a name generator. Find it in the edit > writing tools menu.

There’s a FREE standalone name generator offering everything from Finnish and Maori names to Biblical, witch, and rapper names here.

5. Cliffhanging.

The cliffhanger is the professional writer’s secret. Pros use the cliffhanger to compel the reader to turn the page so they end every chapter on a note of anxiety, suspense or irresolution.

The reader, dying to know what happens next, will turn the page, stay up till three AM to finish your book and the next day tell her/his friends “you have to read it!”

The cliffhanger worked for Shakespeare and probably back in the days when writers lived in caves and used chisels and clay tablets to tell their stories. It worked in soap operas, on sitcoms, and in commercial bestsellers. The cliffhanger is eternal: right now, today, tonight, you will find the little buggers on every show right before the commercial break.

Embrace the cliffhanger.

Respect its power.

Learn to use it.

6. Crutch words.

Many writers have them. Anne fesses up to “just.” Mine is “begin.”

Example: “She began to run for the bus” becomes “She ran for the bus.”

Simpler, more direct and more powerful and yet another example of the power of the delete button.

Do you abuse adverbs? A search for ly will ferret them out.

Scrivener provides an easy way to nail those crutch words. Go to Project > text statistics > word frequency and Scriv turns up a list (with numbers + bar chart!) of how many times you used a word in that particular project. Now that you have the evidence, go into hunt-and-kill mode and mow them down!

ID your own crutch words and be on the lookout for better, more expressive ways to convey what you want to describe.

7. Know your genre.

No football team is going to draft you as a receiver if you didn’t know how to run a route. Ditto, genre. Romance, thrillers, horror, romcom—all have conventions and readers expect those conventions to be honored.

Study the genre(s) you work in. Read widely. Keep up with shifts and changes in the genre. Be aware of what your readers are looking for and, when you revise that first draft, be sure you are giving your readers exactly what they are looking for.

Focus on thrills in a thriller, sexual tension in a romance, scares in horror. Make sure those scenes deliver the goods or you will lose your reader.

Find FREE expert advice on genre at the following sites:

Getting your (high quality) work onto a well-known blog is still one of the best ways to raise your search engine profile. The marketers are right about getting those "backlinks" from the blog to your site. It's a great way to get the Google spider-bots to notice you and raise your own website or blog higher on a Google search page.

But selling books isn't the same as selling shampoo or refrigerators.

With books, you're often better off targeting lesser-known blogs. Forget the SEO and Alexa ratings. Look for blogs that address your audience's niche. A visit to a chick lit blog with 50 followers may sell more copies of your chick lit novel than a visit to a general interest blog with 2500.

Here are some tips for authors who want to try guest blogging:

1) Read the blog before you query. Not just one post. Read several—and make sure you check the comments. That's how you can tell if the audience is right for the topic you're pitching. You don't want to pitch a "how to send your first query letter" post to an audience of published authors or a technical post on SEO to a poetry circle.

In fact, you can get great ideas for topics to write about by reading what people are asking questions about in the comments.

2) Comment on the blog. If bloggers have seen your name before, they're going to pay more attention to your query. The best way to break in is to get to know other bloggers and the blog community.

If you show your expertise in a certain subject in a blog comment, the blogger may even seek you out and ask you to be a guest. That's how we find most of our guests: in the comment thread. Not a query in a comment thread (don't do this), but with a useful comment that shows expertise and good writing skills.

It's how I connected with Ruth Harris. She commented several times on this blog and remembered reading her books when they were on the NYT bestseller list, saw she had no blog of her own at that point, and...the rest is history.

3) Learn how to write blog content. That means using sub-headers, lists, bullet points, bolding, and lots of white space. Older writers like me have a lot of re-learning to do when we start to blog.

I'll be writing a post soon about writing 21st century prose. Whether you're writing fiction, essays or blogposts, you attract more readers these days if you can write concise, skimmable copy.

4) Use a friendly, personal tone. A blogpost is not a news article, college thesis, or tech manual. Offer information in an entertaining, non-condescending way. Keep things light and encouraging. If you have a tale of woe, make sure the ending is hopeful and upbeat. (And be careful of language. Make sure it's appropriate for the blog. If you want to guest for somebody like Chuck Wendig, it's fine to go all four-letter in the text. On this blog, not so much.)

5) Don't just target book blogs. Think about where your readers might hang out.

• Write crafting cozies? Try a blog that talks about selling crafts on Etsy. Crafters are probably going to be more excited about a new mystery about a crocheting sleuth than a bunch of writers whose Kindles are already overloaded. 
• Have a war memoir? Find some blogs about veterans' issues. Most visitors might only buy two or three books a year, but if they "know" you, one might be yours. 
• Set your thriller in an exotic local? Look to travel blogs. Travelers love to read books set in a country they're planning to visit—or would like to revisit via armchair.

6) Read the guidelines. If a blog doesn't have a separate "guest blog guidelines" page, it may be because they don't take many guests. But there will usually be a "contact us" page, so check it out. Bloggers sometimes don't give guidelines a separate page because spammers have been taught to search for guest blog gigs by Googling the blog name with "guest post guidelines".

But if they're posted anywhere, read them. Some bloggers may prefer to give you a topic, or may offer questions so the post can be in interview format. They may have specific requirements for number and size of photos and/or word count. They may suggest you offer a book give-away. Don't assume you "know the ropes". Guidelines are there for a reason.

Note: "guidelines" is something of a misnomer. Whether you're querying agents, publishers, journals, or blogs, "guidelines" usually means "ironclad rules".

7) Check out other guest posts. If you're a beginning freelance writer, you probably won't land a spot on a blog where bestselling authors and movie stars go to promote their books. You also won't benefit from guesting if the blogger has been lazy and accepts a lot of mediocre content.

Here our guests have mostly been seasoned authors, award winners, or experts in their fields (and yes, we've hosted a movie star). They also need to be good general-interest writers who don't use too much jargon, because tech-speak reads like Klingon to a lot of our readers (it sure does to me). A humorous approach is a big plus.

But you don't have to be a movie star or a bestseller to guest for us. You do need to be experienced in writing solid Web content and have something unique to say.

Here are some examples of guests who hit it out of the park for us:

• Boomer Lit author Michael Murphy wrote one of our most popular posts ever on how to get rights to song lyrics. 
• Blogger Lila Moore of Popular Soda enlightened us about scams aimed at writers. 
• SEO specialist Johnny Base explained why Google Plus has suddenly become so important for writers and included a video tutorial showing how to sign up.
• Techies Jay and Mick fom EBookBargainsUK knocked our socks off with cutting edge info on the growing international markets for English language ebooks.

Individualize your pitch to each specific blog. We don't post personal stories, but lots of blogs do. Bloggers are usually happy to get success (or failure) stories, interesting anecdotes about researching your book, posts based on your book research or funny stories about the writing life. A lot of blogs like interviews, too.

8) Don't spam. Offer new, useful, informative content and make sure you're not writing a thinly disguised advertisement for your own book or services. This is important. I see way too many guest posts that are just ad copy.

9)  Write a professional query via email. Write it like any other query. Open with a mention of why you're querying this particular blogger. Then pitch your project. Follow up with your credentials and links to your "clips" on your own blog or guest posts.

Note: as I said above, DON'T request a guest spot via comment thread, tweet or direct message. When I wrote about guest blogging two years ago, somebody actually pasted a query into the comments, showing they hadn't read a word of the post.

...so for those people, here's a bonus tip:

10) Read the blog. Seriously.

Guest blogging is one of the best ways to build your platform—and it's free advertising for your books. But remember you're asking for a favor. For more tips for guest bloggers see part 6 of my "How to Blog" series.

If you're a new writer without a presence in the blogosphere, it may be worth your while to launch your book with a professional blog tour, which will involve guest blogging as well as interviews and reviews. It will cost you some money, but doesn't have to be hugely expensive.

This week indie advocate Kristine Kathryn Rusch has an in-depth piece on her own experiences with guest blogging. (But you might want to turn off your speakers first. She has a strange audio ad for air freshener that kind of freaked me out.)

For a list of some vetted blog tour companies with price comparisons, see Greg Strandberg's post on Joel Friedlander's blog of February 5th. Greg's own blog is BigSkyWords.

What about you scriveners? Do you host guests on your blog? Have you been a guest? Have you had good experiences? What tips would you give new guest bloggers?

We LOVE comments. If you have trouble commenting because Blogger elves won't accept your ID (They prefer GooglePlus IDs, because they're owned by Google, alas) just email me through the "contact us" page and I'll personally post your comment.

This week I'm taking my own advice and doing some guest blogging myself. On 2/17, I'll be at Romance University talking about how authors can stay safe online, and on 2/19, I'll be visiting the Insecure Writers Support Group, with an author's guide on how not to spam.

Also: There's still time to vote. Our blog has been nominated by Indies Unlimited for "Best Resource for Indies"—one of just 7 blogs—along with Kristen Lamb, Joel Friedlander "The Book Designer", The Passive Voice, The Creative Penn, David Gaughran's "Let's Get Digital", and The Indie View. Anybody can vote over at Indies Unlimited. Voting closes on February 21st at 5 PM Pacific time.

Writers' Village International Short Fiction Award. Entry fee £15. This is a biggie. Stories in English up to 3000 words in any genre from anywhere in the world. £3000 First Prize. Judges include iconic mystery author Lawrence Block and Whitbread & Orange short-lister Jill Dawson. £4500 ($7200) in total prizes. The top 50 contestants also get a free critique of their stories. Deadline June 30th.

The 11th Yeovil International Literary Prize now open for entries  Prize categories for novels, short fiction, poetry. Entry fee £11 for novels. 1st prize £1000. Deadline May 31st.

GLIMMER TRAIN FAMILY MATTERS CONTEST $1500 prize, plus publication in Glimmer Train Stories, plus 20 copies. $15 ENTRY FEE. They're looking for stories about families of all configurations. It's fine to draw on real experiences, but the work must read like fiction. Maximum word count: 12,000. Any shorter lengths are welcome. Deadline March 31.

Women Writers:  MSLEXIA SHORT STORY COMPETITION  £10 ENTRY FEE. A competition for unpublished short stories of up to 2,200 words. First prize £2,000 plus two optional extras: a week’s writing retreat at Chawton House Library outside of London, and a day with a Virago editor. Second prize: £500. Third prize: £250. Three other finalists each receive £100.  All winning stories will be published in the Jun/Jul/Aug 2014 edition of Mslexia. Deadline March 17

The Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize: now open to UK self-publishers as well as traditional publishers. Fiction Uncovered seeks to promote emerging and deserving British fiction writers of outstanding work, looking beyond the debuts and the bestsellers. Debut works of fiction are not eligible. Be sure to follow the guidelines on the Fiction Uncovered site. Deadline has been extended to March 3rd.

Women on Writing Winter 2014 Flash Fiction Contest.  $10 ENTRY FEE. Judged by literary agent Stephany Evans. WORD COUNT: Maximum: 750, Minimum: 250 The title is not counted in your word count. Any style or genre. Deadline February 28.

Dark Continents Publishing's Guns and Romances anthology. They're looking for previously unpublished short fiction from 3500-9000 words. Any genre as long as there's a tough protagonist, weapons, and... at least one reference to music. Sounds interesting. Payment rate is a one-off of $20 per story plus a percentage of the ebook royalties. Publication estimated in late-2014. More info on the website. Deadline February 28.