Blog
7 Reasons Every Author Needs to Be on Twitter (And A New Busy Writer’s Guide)
By Marcy Kennedy (@MarcyKennedy) I’m thrilled to announce that the next book in my Busy Writer’s Guides series is now available! Building a thriving social media platform doesn’t have to steal all your precious writing time or cut into your time with your family.Twitter for Authors is about building a successful Twitter platform that’s sustainable(…)
Choosing the Right Social Media Site for You and Your Readers
By Marcy Kennedy (@MarcyKennedy) When it comes to how to spread the word about your book, you’ll hear widely divergent opinions. Don’t bother with promotion. Promote in every possible way. Do real life events—forget about social media. Don’t bother with real life events—stick to blogging and social media. Buy ads. Don’t buy ads. The one(…)
How to Use Traps to Create Suspense in Fiction
By Marcy Kennedy (@MarcyKennedy) It doesn’t matter what genre you’re writing, you need suspense to keep readers turning pages. Adding a trap can increase suspense because not only will your reader worry about whether or not your character will fall into the trap, they’ll also worry about how (and if) your character will escape.(…)
The Danger in Trying to Revisit the Past
By Marcy Kennedy (@MarcyKennedy) A few weeks ago, my husband and I went to watch the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. For both of us, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a childhood favorite. We watched the cartoons, watched the movies, played the video games, had the Halloween costumes. We went for the nostalgia. But(…)
Does Genre Matter?
By Marcy Kennedy (@MarcyKennedy) I was interviewed by Julie Duffy of Flash Fiction Chronicles for her ongoing series of practical articles about genre. Let me give you just a taste of how the article starts. No longer simply a genre of heaving bosoms and discreetly closing doors, Romance burst into the digital age as one of(…)
How to Save Money on Editing Your Book
By Marcy Kennedy (@MarcyKennedy) Self-publishing your work means all the profits are yours, but it also means all the costs are yours. The two universally accepted areas where you shouldn’t skimp on quality are your cover and editing. But that doesn’t mean you can’t keep your costs to a minimum when it comes to editing(…)
Behind the Scenes: Judith Starkton and Hand of Fire
By Marcy Kennedy (@MarcyKennedy) In this week’s episode of Behind the Scenes, I’d like to introduce you to Judith Starkton. Judith writes historical fiction and mysteries set in Troy and the Hittite Empire. She’s a classicist (B.A. University of California, Santa Cruz, M.A. Cornell University) who taught high school English, Latin and humanities. She and(…)
Kiss Your “As” Goodbye: A Simple Grammar Trick for Better Fiction
By Marcy Kennedy (@MarcyKennedy) A good grade in a high school or college English class doesn’t necessarily translate into the ability to write great fiction, so it’s easy for us to mistakenly think understanding grammar isn’t important for fiction writing at all. Isn’t that what a copy editor is for? Won’t they fix all your(…)
Behind the Scenes: Ava Louise and Mail Order Brides in Space
I have a special treat for you in this episode of Behind the Scenes. I asked Ava Louise to write a guest post for me because of how much the idea behind her series Intergalactic Matchmaking Services intrigued me. I don’t want to give too much away–I’ll leave that for her post–but I do want(…)
Five Words That Weaken Your Writing
By Marcy Kennedy (@MarcyKennedy) Last week, I released my newest Busy Writer’s Guide, Grammar for Fiction Writers, so today I wanted to give you a taste of what you can find inside. This is a section from “Chapter Nine: Weak Words.” I’m going to share five unspecific words that weaken your writing. Weak words are(…)