Authors Electric

Like you, I play many parts in the writing of a book: part plotter, part pantser, part craftsman, part laborer, part artist, and part klutz. And I accept myself as all of those. But so far I've never been able to see myself as a gifted promoter--or even a mildly competent one. When I finished a book, I moved on to the next with half-hearted touts on Facebook and Twitter/X. I've steered clear of giveaway events as well as interviews. My shyness or aversion stems, I think, from my Catholic upbringing--where the flames of hell were never far from shameless self-promotion.  But in the six years spent on my WIP, I learned some exciting new narrative footwork. Result: a new kind of crime thriller unlike anything else I've done. Ans I've developed a burning ambition to share this book with readers I've never managed to reach. And this will require mastering new footwork once again--this time in marketing and self-promotion. For months I've worked on expanding and stren...

  Definition: Laptop hoboes tap into free Wi-Fi at coffeeshops or restaurants, commandeering tables with power outlets and sometimes parking for hours on end.                                                                     ***** There is no truth to the rumor that author Julia Jones has said she'd rather die than be a laptop hobo in any MacDonald's or Starbucks. But we can imagine the aversion of AE's most elegant writer to the thought of writing that way. On the other hand, Wendy H Jones plugs in anywhere when on the road--a trait she shares with such great vagabonds as the late Jan Needle and Hunter S Thompson. It's a well-known fact around the globe that Wendy was born wearing vagabond shoes. I admire the works of both Joneses. But, as a longtime hobo who loves to work in cafes, I share Wendy's penchant for ...

Why have Stephen King, his son Joe Hill, and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez joined the ranks of those who've bounced from Twitter to the new platform Bluesky? In June 2023 users numbered 180K. As of September the number had risen to 1 million. Here, four Bluebies (Bluesky newbies) tell of their learning to fly the Blue sky. The four roundtable knights are: Debbie Bennett Wendy H Jones Reb MacRath Z: a legendary author sworn to secrecy. Bios and links below.  Were you an active member of The Other Place? What led you to move on? DB: Yes, I was a Twitterer. Or is it Tweep? Not that I've ever used it much. Back in the days when posts were limited to about five words (I'm joking--it was a few more than that), I could never quite see the point. Far from being a lesson in brevity, it just seemed to stifle any creativity for me. But I've never tried to 'create' on these platforms--simply to observe, watch and listen. I did follow the occasional Pitchfest and the thingies that...

  ‘In today's competitive market a writer needs to capture their reader in the first paragraph if not the first line. Susan May Warren In today's climate of instant media and gratification, the author has only a few seconds to grab a reader's attention before they move on. Modern consumers are used to making an assessment and scrolling on if what they see or read does not interest them. Therefore, the opening to a book must hoo k the reader and pull them in, tantalise them and invite them to keep reading. It should set the tone and voice of the whole novel . Sara Ridley suggests six components of what a first line can do to make your reader move on.  Conflict Question Emotional Connection Humour Shock  Twist The types of opening lines are outlined as  Action Character Setting Thought Statement World building Of course, your first line can be a mixture of all of the above, although I would suggest you try not to pack too much into it or the opening may just become con...

It seems we've all become obsessed with having thousands of Friends. And it's not hard to grow obsessed when the system feeds the mania. You've barely opened your account when the deluge begins: Friendship requests from strangers who don't know the first thing about you--or care. They hope to sell you their own books or plots of land in Katmandu or phone sex if you're generous and swear you can land them a date with Bill Kirton, Peter Leyland or, dare they hope, John Logan. Even so, though the smarter part of you knows most of your 5000 Friends are utterly in it to win it--surely at least a few hundred will buy what you're selling...remember your birthday...or enjoy a ridiculous pun. But recently I concluded that, for me at any rate, FB's heartless algorithm was whipping my poor tired butt. Though I'd pruned my list from 3000 to 1000, almost none of my posts made their way into the Feed. Fewer than two dozen names responded to my posts. And, of that numb...

  ….. wrote  nobody, ever. Even Dinah Washington couldn’t have made that scan. But sometimes it’s good to look back and that’s what I’m doing with this, my last ever blog for Authors Electric.   Back in January 2021, I’d just published my first novel, the diary of Isabella M Smugge and I was riding high on adrenaline and the joy of realising a lifelong dream. That same month, the redoubtable Wendy H Jones asked me if I’d like to start contributing to Authors Electric.   “Would I?” I replied jauntily, flexing my fingers and cracking out a new ink cartridge. “I love a blog.”   And so I do. Writing for the More Than Writers blog (thanks again Wendy) is what got me my start in publishing fiction and the discipline of turning out 600-800 engaging words once a month honed my style no end. The enormous header tank of ideas sloshing around in my head was ready to be plundered and I loved the freedom Authors Electric gave me to write about anything I fancied. Knowing...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Girl-Susan-Price/dp/B08F6RYHJF/ My brothers put me on to Pinterest which, being artists and hooked on visuals, they are scrolling all the time. You probably know it yourself:- a website where people 'pin' images on 'pin-boards'. Some people keep their pins private, their principle purpose being to keep ideas for their kitchen refit or garden make-over in one easily accessible place. But others pin images connected to their hobby, or favourite place or interest, whether that's cooking, classic cars, scuba-diving or whatever and make them public. It's a pictorial blog. Creative types use it to share their latest art-work and writers set up boards for each of their books. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1532756879 A visual image is much more compelling than words, whether written or spoken. Sorry, writers, but it's true. I suppose that's why we try so hard to create a vivid visual image with words. If you want to remember a ...