Top Picks Thursday! For Writers & Readers 02-27-2020

Welcome to the last Top Picks Thursday of February! The beginning of March hosts many literary markers: March 2 is Read Across America Day in honor of Dr. Seuss; March 4 is National Grammar Day; and the first week of March is Read an E-Book Week and Words Matter Week.

It’s been a hard week for the literary world. Southern novelist Charles Portis died at age 86, Malaysian literary giant KS Maniam died at age 78, and author and adventurer Clive Cussler died at age 88.

In good news, Bloomsbury’s CEO Nigel Newton receives the London Book Fair’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Copyright is everything to authors. David Newhoff examines the DMCA review beginning, warning us to watch the red flag, while Thomas Key asks: can states pirate works without paying?
Jim Milliot reports on Penguin Random House’s progress in green initiatives.

Authors love their bookstores. SCBWI explains how children’s content creators can help indie bookstores (and their own careers, too).

The noose tightens. Kelly Jensen warns of Tennessee becoming the next state to seek public library oversight and censorship.

CRAFT

For our historical fiction writers, Sacha Black has 5 historical fiction mistakes to avoid.

Where do you get your ideas? J.R. Bee talks about how to create novel ideas from your own life.

Not sure your idea will stand up for a whole novel? SE White says to add pre-writing the query copy to your author toolbox, while Sean Platt tells us how to write your book’s blurb.

If you are working on a series, your memory can fail you. Lisa Phillips tells us what a series bible is and why we need one.

The opening of any story is the critical time to grab the reader. Alythia Brown shares 10 things that will sink your novel’s opening pages.

Once we’ve got the reader hooked, we need to keep them hooked. Nathan Bransford tells how to keep tension throughout the story, Harrison Demchick explains the best way to use conflict and tension in your narrative, Diane O’Connell shows how to write an action scene, Jon Winokur tells us to count our chairs, and Will Harris shares the top 10 random encounters in literature that remind us how central surprise is to the best storytelling.

Our characters do the heavy lifting on our stories. Barbara Linn Probst explores likeable vs. relatable characters and why (and how) they matter, Jami Gold discusses the pros and cons of unreliable narrators, Lynn Hobbs talks about how to make perception real, Julie Tetel Andresen looks at using authentic dialogue from languages other than English, and Angela Ackerman shows how to build powerful character relationships.

When we are revising and editing, there are lots of tools we can use. Linda Lane extols the virtues of beta readers, Nathan Bransford urges us to clear out the clutter around our verbs, Beatrix Potter has 10 ways to self-edit and improve your writing, Janice Hardy ponders if you should revise or keep writing that first draft, and David King discusses the web of writing.

Many of us are genre writers, and some of us write fast. Stavros Halvatzis tells us that genre sells stories, Dana Isaacson reveals the joys of writing genre fiction, and Rachelle Gardner tackles the dilemma of the prolific writer.

Luckily for writers today, there is a lot of advice easily available. Robert Lee Brewer compiled 12 Patricia Cornwell quotes for writers and about writing, and Zoe M. McCarthy gives us 39 writing tips to take seriously.

Writers need to keep creatively healthy as well as physically. Lisa Tener has 9 ways to connect with the creative muse, Christina Delay encourages us to fall in love with our second act, and Ruth Harris warns us about 5 common mental traps.

We all want to be successful in our career. Jenny Hansen lists 10 ways to lead yourself to writing success, and Joyce Sweeney gives us the bottom line: writing takes work, even when you’re a pro.

BUSINESS

It is increasingly difficult to make a living as an author. So says the Author’s Guild 2020 report, examined by Porter Anderson.

For instance, what do you do if your publisher cancelled your series? Paula Munier talks about your options.

Still, all is not lost. Mike Shatzkin looks at 2 pretty easy ways to add revenue that most publishers are missing.

For self-publishers, getting the right formatting is vital. David Kudler discusses using Google Docs to convert a Word document to ebook format.

Querying agents is a tense time for most authors—we stress about every detail of the letter. Nathan Bransford says one of the fastest paths to rejection is implying you don’t read books, Jessica Faust discusses if you need to hire an editor before sending manuscripts to agents, and Janet Reid addresses those rare cases when word count doesn’t work as an accurate measurement of your book length.

Marketing has so many tentacles, it can drive an author mad. Bridgitte Jackson-Buckley has options to make your book marketing more effective, Sandra Beckwith lists 8 ways to make your book’s press release work harder, Rose Fox demystifies the world behind trade reviews, Elizabeth S. Craig uses Publisher Rocket for better metadata, Janet Reid urges the simple yet effective promotion of your email signature line and Anne Janzer lays out subscription marketing for authors.

An increasing amount of marketing is done online, from monetizing your website to selling books to connecting with your readers. Colin Newcomer has the 15 best Google AdSense alternatives to make money for your website, RJ Crayton wonders if authors should give up selling books through Google, David Hartshorne tackles both the 7 best managed WordPress hosting sites and explaining the difference between shared hosting vs. managed WordPress hosting, and Cristian Mihai reminds us that overnight success does not exist (and shows what success actually looks like) and investigates the 7 habits of highly ineffective bloggers.

THE UNIQUE SHELF

Books and cats often go together. Judith Teitelman tells the tale of the birth of a bookstore cat.

Take a dive into the “vibrant intellectual ecosystem” of Larry McMurtry’s home library.

Many readers love certain genres. Nancy Coco investigates the cozy mysteries of the Pacific Northwest, while Silvia Moreno-Garcia describes how mid-century Gothic romances became domestic noir/suspense.

What can we learn about a person from their clothes? Jenn Shapland relates her experience cataloguing Carson McCullers’ clothes.

Poetry can blossom from unlikely sources. Traci Brimhall discovers the lost lyric poetry of Amelia Earhart, and W. Jason Miller examines when Langston Hughes went to report of the Spanish Civil War.

Book lovers can find adventure anywhere they travel. Kelsey Ogletree shares an underwater library and other hotel amenities for determined bookworms, and Blair Carpenter has a guide to explore Icelandic literary culture.

That’s all for this week’s Top Picks Thursday! Join us next week for the first literary links of March!