Writing 101: The Power of Video

If you want to sell more books and get more visitors on your blog, don't underestimate the power of video. There are a lot of reasons why you should be using YouTube's powers to enhance your own reach. The biggest? Google gives YouTube a little extra search engine bump.

Video Killed the Book Star

It's because Google owns YouTube (and I believe they will one day own everything on the Internet). So naturally Google gives websites that have a lot of YouTube higher rankings, and you'll see links to YouTube videos all the time during normal web searches. So it behooves you to create your own YouTube channel, and add those links to your blog. 

If you're going to create content to promote yourself and your books, create good content. And if you're going to use that content to drive more traffic to your blog, create it regularly. There are lots of reasons why an indie author might make a YouTube video. Start with my ideas, and let me know if you come up with more of your own: 

• Book trailers: Naturally. Make a trailer for each and every one of your books. Add those videos to your blog, your Goodreads page, your Smashwords profile, your Twitter and anything else you can find. 
• Book reviews: Review books in your own genre to attract readers of that genre to your channel. Video book reviews are fun if you keep them short and sweet. Use the video as a supplement to your text-based reviews, and link the videos to those posts
• Book excerpts: Make videos of yourself reading excerpts from your own books. Be expressive, be interesting. Think about adding some effects or images to the video to enhance the story. Because once again, you want to create good content if you're going to create any sort of content at all.
• Mail call: Add a link to your blog so readers can ask you questions about anything and everything through email or a comments section. Answer the questions you want to answer through video mail call sessions, and upload them once a week. You can write a little blog post to go with it and add all sorts of content to the Internet in one fell swoop. 

Harness the power of video to gain more exposure, and gain more readers. It's a given that you're going to take advantage of text-based content on the Internet to spread your message. But as an indie author, every little bit helps -- so get on YouTube, too.

Writing 101: You Need Shorter URLs

Tweets too long? Are you forced to squeeze those glowing review quotes down to fewer and fewer words? Are you struggling to add your own little comments every time you tweet about your newest blog post? You need shorter URLs. The right URL shortener can help you keep track of your stats, so you can tailor your tweets to get more mileage out of every single one. 

This is the Tweet That Doesn't End

Amazon may be a convenient place to buy books, but it's not at all made for easy linking. Amazon's URLs are huge, and they'll take up a whole bunch of space in a tweet if you let them.  Lots of URLs are very long, in fact, too long to allow for inventive, interesting tweets. 

So start using a URL shortener. If you use the right one, you can keep track of how many clicks your tweets are getting. This way, you'll know what's working and what isn't when you're sending out those little bits of promotion. According to my research, currently there are two "right" URL shorteners. Choose whichever one you like.

• Google: Google has its own URL shortener because Google has its own everything. If you have any sort of Google account whatsoever (Blogger, Plus, Gmail, Drive, and on and on and on), you can use this URL shortener to keep track of all your link stats. It's easy to use if you're already signed into Google, like I always am. 
• Bit.ly: But if you're always signed into Twitter, maybe Bit.ly will work as the better URL shortener for you. It's easy to use and has a pretty display that shows you all your important link stats. Bit.ly will link right up to your Twitter, so if you're signed into your account you can easily sign into your shortener service.

Add more interesting words to your tweets, and get rid of all the URL junk. Keep track of your links to find out what works, and target your promotion. If you aren't learning from your social media marketing, what are you getting out of it?

Writing 101: Why SEO Matters to Indies

As a freelance writer, I have to deal with SEO all the time. But even when I'm moonlighting as an indie author, it's an issue. I found out why SEO matters to self-published authors. Have you?

Why SEO?

SEO is search engine optimization. This basically refers to keyword usage in any given piece of text that's put on the Internet. When an optimal number of keywords are used in any article or blog post, that piece of content will be much easier for search engines to find. 

When search engines can find you, readers can find you. This is why SEO matters to indies. 

As an indie author, you should already have a blog. You want people to buy your writing, right? Well don't rely on your clever promotions and the reviews you can scrape together. Start blogging to get readers. If they like your blog, they will be tempted to buy your book. But once you start blogging, you've got to start thinking about SEO-ing (no...that's not a real word).

So here's the question you have to ask yourself: what are your keywords? Think about the words that people would use to find you and the keywords that you want them to use. Remember that the keywords you focus on must directly relate to your blog. If you're blogging about movies you like, focusing on phrases like "self-publishing" isn't feasible. Make a list of words that relate to you, your books and your blog. That's your focus. 

Start optimizing your blog posts, and start getting more people to your blog. Once you're drawing readers in, you'll get more of them as long as you continue to provide content. People share links to blogs they like, and eventually word of mouth will help you gain new readers. But first, you need to throw some bait in the Internet waters...so get to cracking on those keywords.

Writing 101: Author Headshots

The Internet makes everyone anonymous. It reduces personalities into a one-sentence bio, a single small photo, maybe a link or two. The indie author has to turn that anonymity into brand recognition. The best way to do it? Have a great author headshot.

Who Are You?

Notice the adjective. I said great. I didn't say sexy, or even spectacular. So what makes your author photo really great...and what makes it awful?

 

• Color vs. Black and White

Don't agonize over this decision, because it really doesn't matter much. One thing to keep in mind is your paperback editions. Full-color printing is more costly, so you may end up with a black and white photo anyway. As a rule of thumb, get yourself a photo that looks good both ways.

• Your Body

Okay, this gets tricky. Readers don't want to see your body, they want to see your face. So your author photo should be of your face. You don't need a lot of shoulder, and no chest. The more of your face readers can see, the better. The point of a photo is to show you are a real person, not just a made-up Internet ghost. So show them your face.

• The Angle

Get creative with your writing, not your Internet photography. A profile or three-quarter shot is dramatic, and may help draw a little extra attention, but at the end of the day you're trying to show them your face. Get too cute with camera angles, and you make yourself unrecognizable. 

• Your Pose

There's not a lot of staging you can do with a headshot, but you do have control over your expression. Take photos of several different poses to see which conveys the feeling you want. There are lots of ways to play it: serious and stoic, intense and thoughtful, fun and playful, open and happy. Try a few different smiles, a few with no smile, and so on. 

Keep in mind that your expression ought to match your genre in all instances but one. If you are a children's author, smile! Kids and parents will find you more approachable as a writer if you look like a friendly person. If you write thrilling horror novels, I expect you to look a little dark and serious.

• My Only Exception

Choose an expression to match your writing style...unless you write romance/erotic novels. Why? Because you can break all these rules but one: don't look sexy. No pouty lips, no bedroom eyes and never, ever any cleavage. Ever. Your personal sex appeal will not help you sell books, and in fact a sexy photo will turn many would-be readers away. Look nice. Look friendly. Look scary. Don't ever look sexy. Remember this.

A great author headshot is as essential as your author bio. Show them that you're a real person, and show them who you are. A great headshot will help you sell more books, and a bad one will turn potential readers away.

Writing 101: Fireworks

In real life, fireworks are reserved for special occasions. But authors add them to books all the time. In this particular instance, fireworks is a euphemism for the writing that makes a lot of authors uncomfortable: sex scenes. 

You don't have to focus on romance writing or erotic novels for these to spring up. I once got a lot of feedback that I ought to add some sexual fireworks to one of my books -- a tragic, tear-filled historical. So they are definitely going to creep in no matter what the heck you're writing.

You're a Firework

It's a common saying that sex sells. If Fifty Shades taught us anything, it's that people like to read about sex. So if you've got some hot-and-heavy love interest in one of your books -- be it a screech-inducing horror novel or a sweet tale of love -- your characters might begin to drift toward this seemingly inevitable conclusion. 

That puts you in a pickle. It's embarrassing to write about sex. It's embarrassing to talk about sex. I've gotten embarrased thinking about sex. And writing takes a certain brand of fearlessness if it's going to work, so for many authors sex scenes turn into a bit of a problem.

The key is that you've got to find your comfort level. There are tons of very clever ways to allude to sex without actually putting readers inside the bedroom. There's a way to write about everything that will allow you to stay comfortable; you just have to find it. It may take a lot of re-writing and re-thinking, but there's always a way for you to create what you want in the way that you want. Use metaphors and declarative writing, rather than descriptve writing, to put your point across. 

Fireworks can be a small, short burst, or a soothing fizzle. They don't always have to scorch the page. Write about it in a way you can feel good about, and don't be afraid to add sex to your books. For every author, there's a different "right way" to do it.

Writing 101: Stuck.

When you can't figure out what to write next and can't seem to put words on the page, you might have writer's block. When you know where you're going but can't seem to write it, you're just plain stuck. 

Forward Motion

When it comes to the little details, all those steps between "it was a dark and stormy night" and "they lived happily ever after" are rife with opportunity...for getting stuck. 

 

Sometimes, you might not know how to advance the story. The journey from Point A to Point B isn't so straightforward after all. Sometimes you get stuck, and you've got to get unstuck to get to the end of the book. Try some tricks that might help:

• Check the outline. With an outline, at least you know what's supposed to happen. Keep it in mind so you can figure out how to make it happen. 
• Go backwards. Read back a little to see where you've been, and see if that help you start moving forward.
• Stop and think. When I'm stuck, I'll stop writing. Take a walk, take a hot bath, take yourself down to the gym -- do whatever helps you think. And in this space, think about where your book needs to go next. Remember to think in terms of specific scenes you need to write, and focus your efforts. Sometimes, starting at the big picture makes it difficult to work out all those little details. 
• Skip it. If a particular scene or piece of the story is giving you trouble, skip it. Move on to a part of the book that you can write. Skipping around is a time-honored tradition in writing. Chapter 1 of Gone With the Wind was written by Margaret Mitchell after the rest of the book. 

When you know how the story begins and how it ends, you might think writing that book will be smooth sailing. The truth is, there are about a million reasons why you might get stuck in-between. It happens to me all the time. Try to get yourself unstuck however you can. And when all else fails, go and write something else. Sometimes just writing anything at all will help you get back into the groove, and you'll find it easier to continue with your book.

Writing 101: Off the Outline

Every author should have some structure when they're writing. I'm a big fan of  plotting and planning and pre-researching, and I'll advocate writing an outline any time you give me a chance. But sometimes, writing the story takes us off the outline and outside the original plan. When that happens, there's only one thing to do: go with it. 

On a Tangent

Things don't always go the way we plan, and that's especially true for writers. When you sit down and outline a novel at the very beginning, it's still just a concept. But things might change as you begin to write. 

Stories have a way of taking on a life of their own. As you write that book, you start to really get to know a character. You begin to think like them, see things the way they see them, and sometimes plot points that you planned no longer fit the person you've come to know on the page. 

It's good to plan, but writers also have to know how to adjust to those changes. It's okay to let the story take you where it wants to go. Remember that the outline is really just a guideline; it's there to help you get to the end, but if certain things change along the way that's okay. Always go with what you're feeling in the moment. Then go back later and read what you've written. If you're completely off course, bring yourself back on track. 

But often, writing in the moment will take you to wonderful places -- places you wouldn't have gone otherwise. Let the book and the characters lead you to those places, and explore them. Going off the outline is okay, because too much structure and discipline will stifle your creativity.

Writing 101: How to Write in the Past Tense

The vast majority of fiction books are written in the past tense. Almost every anecdote ever shared is told in the past tense. It's a tiny change from right now to just a moment ago, but writing in the past tense confuses many authors who might otherwise be wonderful.

It's common, so writing in the past tense should be easy. It should be second nature. But there is a big problem with the past: the word had.

All the Words We Had

Inserting the word had into a sentence does not automatically mean you're writing in the past tense. In fact, in many cases that I've observed, it only makes those sentences grammatically incorrect.

It's tricky, because often had looks and sounds right. See if you can spot the incorrect grammar in the examples:

I had walked over there yesterday.

You had saw that when?

It had sound like thunder in my ears.

She had said that last week, though.

Which one is right? If you said none of them, you might not need this lesson because that's right. But if you thought that any of those examples were correct, you've got to start re-thinking the many ways in which you let had sneak into your writing. 

It has an ugly way of creeping into books, the word had. So many authors stick it into sentences to make them past tense, or maybe to reinforce the past tense, and the word ends up sticking out like a sore thumb. But if you always know exactly what had means and how it ought to be used, you won't make this mistake. 

Had is indeed past tense. It's the past tense of the verb to have, which is an extremely common irregular verb. In the present, to have becomes has (example: John has a bad attitude).  In the future, to have needs a little help. Usually, it's used with the word will to become something that hasn't yet occurred (example: I will have three of them by next week). 

And in the past...well, had sneaks in. Remember the examples from earlier? It's time to find out why exactly they're all wrong. 

I had walked over there yesterday. 

This grammar error is common, and you'll see and hear it all the time. For some reason, had is often inserted in front of verbs that are already in the past tense. Walked is something that happened in the past already, so had is totally unnecessary. Correctly, the sentence reads like this:

I walked over there yesterday. 

Remember that sentences have a subject and a verb, a subject and a verb. It's not subject, verb verb. When you already have a verb in the sentence, you don't need to double up and add the verb had. It becomes redundant, and it disrupts the flow of the words. 

 It had sound like thunder in my ears.

Writers often stick had into a sentence because they're forgetting to put the real verb into the proper tense. Take the extra verb out completely, and convert the right one to the right tense:

It sounded like thunder in my ears. 

When it comes to writing past tense the right way, there's one simple thing to remember: had is often unnecessary. Check for your verbs. If they're not irregular, chances are good that you don't need had at all. Try reading the sentence both ways. Eliminate had and read; put it in and read and see which feels better. Usually, your decision will be the right one.