Nuggets for April

Writing a book blurb is always challenging. Here's some help.
http://www.thefussylibrarian.com/blog/how-to-write-the-irresistible-book-blurb/?mc_cid=55d4b1bfe8&mc_eid=712a83f075

If you're starting a story or looking to build a story premise, this article will help you think about the things you need to wow the reader
http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/find-overlooked-ingredient-successfully-marketing-book/

Now and then Jennifer Cruise posts a blog that is so on the money, I want to frame it by my computer. This one about how to use visceral reactions to show emotions is on of those.
http://www.arghink.com/2015/02/27/questionable-emotional-shorthand/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ArghInk+%28Argh+Ink%29

Don't know the difference between murder and homicide? Or scene of the crime and crime scene? Find out at http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/murder-really-bugs-me-and-so-do-stories-that-get-it-wrong/

In defense of passive voice and to-be verbs
http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/to-be-or-not-to-be-in-defense-of-the-passive-voice/#comment-1073227

If you're self publishing and thinking about doing your own covers, fonts are important. Here's a great post on the subject of fonts.
http://www.creativindie.com/300-fool-proof-fonts-to-use-for-your-book-cover-design-an-epic-list-of-best-fonts-per-genre/ 

All I have to say about this post is: WOW! This is a must read and should probably be reviewed repeatedly as one writes to be sure you're fully exploiting your story's suspense.
http://www.ian-irvine.com/suspense.html

We all get stuck in ruts when trying to describe characters, places, or things. This collection of thesauruses is worth exploring to get us out of those ruts.
http://writershelpingwriters.net/thesaurus-collections/ 

I don't know too many writers who aren't a little insecure when it come to writing fights or love scenes. These two posts could help.
http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2015/03/23/how-to-write-a-fight-or-love-scene/
http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2015/04/14/how-to-write-a-fight-or-love-scene-part-2/

Nuggets for March

This is a great post about the cost of self publishing, but what I find really interesting is the pricing philosophy at the end
http://www.chancefortunato.com/zompoc-survivor-blog/the-other-cost-of-self-publishing-or-how-to-do-it-all-wrong-and-still-get-it-right

I sometimes need permission to do things in ways other than what's recommended by "best practices." This post has things to say about content editors that I already suspected, so if you're wondering if you really need a content editor, this is a post you need to read.
http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2015/01/17/in-defense-of-editing/

This appeared via Passive Guy a while back, but it's worth reminding everyone that you can widen your audience by working with another writer
https://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/how-to-win-sales-and-influence-algorithms/

Jodi Henley has a good post about blurb writing
http://jodihenley.blogspot.com/2015/02/writing-blurbs-and-short-synopsis.html

I came across this post by Chuck Wendig that's thought provoking about what it really means to write strong female characters
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2015/02/16/how-strong-female-characters-still-end-up-weak-and-powerless-or-do-they-pass-the-action-figure-test/

God forbid any of us ever experiences someone sending a DMCA to Amazon or any of our other retailers, claiming to own the rights to our works, but if it should happen, this site explains succinctly how to file a counter claim.
http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/responding-dmca-takedown-notice-targeting-your-content

I recently had a problem with visitors to this site getting redirected to a commercial site. Eventually, I figured out it was the Mailchimp gadget I added causing the problem. I don't understand why or how that would be the case, but it certainly put me off using their services. So if I needed an alternative. Here's what I found. (And if anyone has anything to say about these business, please leave a comment.)
http://blog.capterra.com/top-10-mailchimp-alternatives-small-business-email-marketing/

Nuggets for August

Is there such a thing as too much world building?
http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2014/05/when-do-you-stop-world-building.html

What does the process of a top-notch copy editor look like? Glad you asked.
http://deannahoak.com/2005/10/05/the-copyediting-process/

Self publishing? Make Word work for you.
http://jwmanus.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/indie-writers-make-ms-word-work-for-you-instead-of-against-you/

Your blurb matters. This is what it needs to do.
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2014/book-blurb-as-salesperson/

tips on how to write a mystery
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/10/15/25-things-you-need-to-know-about-writing-mysteries-by-susan-spann/

Nuggets for April

Some interesting thoughts about pricing not just your new book, but your backlist
http://www.edwardwrobertson.com/2013/10/challenging-assumptions-pricing.html

Some tips for deep point of view
http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2013/12/going-in-deep-point-of-view-pov.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+QueryTracker+%28QueryTracker+Blog%29 

I'm giving a single link for this blog, but if you need inspiration for marketing your book, I suggest you explore this site extensively.
http://webbiegrrl.blogspot.com/p/branding-for-indie-authors.html

When you're writing your book blurb, it might be helpful to consider the research done by Bookbub.
http://unbound.bookbub.com/post/71990474519/5-test-results-to-help-you-market-your-ebook

Pricing strategies have been on my mind a lot lately, so Kristine Katherine Rusch's post caught my attention. I don't agree with everything she says, but it's all worth considering.
http://kriswrites.com/2014/01/15/the-business-rusch-pricing-discoverability-part-7/

Worried about your plot? Need to write a blurb? This is a great post to help with both.
http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/2014/03/dont-plot-just-play-fortunately-unfortunately.html