5-Minute Author Podcast for Writers
As an instructional designer, teacher, and award-winning author I, Sonja Dewing, wanted to share short tidbits in a podcast for writers about being an author to help you on your path to success. Enjoy this award-winning podcast and I hope you learn something new!
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The Most Common Self Publishing Question
…What I did was I actually brought on three people to edit it. My niece was willing to go through it as well as another friend and then I hired an editor who was good but also was going to charge something I had in my budget. Once it was edited, I had to figure…
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How to get my indie book into bookstores
…I found she was reluctant, and I was lucky that she said yes, because when I had a chance to chat with her I found out the last author she let in the door had been a shark. He stood at the door, and handed his book to every person who walked in And tried…
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Writing a Prologue
Often your main character does not appear in your prologue. Think of it this way, you have an opportunity in a prologue to build suspense for the reader. The reader is privy to information that the main character doesn’t know. Use a prologue to share something that’s important to the plot that happens before the…
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How to work with multiple characters in your story
…As for props – one of my characters always has a drink in his hand or he’s standing behind a bar. Another character is very animated, he’s always talking with his hands. As for their own way of talking, if you listen in to a group of people, notice how they each sound different. Maybe…
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How to Write a Book Description
Hopefully, this episode will help you figure that out. Now some people say to write it from your main characters perspective and others say write it from a third person perspective. I think you should see how your sales go. Especially if you’re running amazon ads, you could try one version for awhile and then…
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When and How to Use a Pen Name
…I do have two pen names. I did that because the genres are so very different. For example, I wrote a short story for a super spice dark fantasy retelling of fairy tales (and that’s code words for erotica) in case you don’t know. I did that because I don’t know that my fans of…
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Author as Business
…As authors, we solve a lot of problems. Our books send a reader to a new world – we’re getting rid of boredom, maybe our story inspires someone, maybe if it’s a nonfiction we’re teaching. So we have a product that we probably spent a bit of money on and we manage it with ads,…
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Surviving and Winning NaNoWriMo
…First, find some write-ins – virtual or in real life. You can find some through Nanowrimo or other writing organizations. You could check meetup or Facebook for events near you. Write-ins create a space and time for you to focus on your writing and it’s accountability – like meeting a buddy at the gym. Put…
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Finding the Right Book Cover
…That’s what you’re competing with when you’re selling your book. You must have a book cover that conveys the right genre as well as attracts a click. Now, every author’s journey is different, so I’m going to first share how I found my cover artists and then share with you other ways to find covers.…
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An ebook from start to finish
…So, let’s start with writing platforms – Most of you are probably going to use Google Docs, Word, or Scrivener. I know there are other platforms out there, but these are ones I’ve used and that I get the most questions on. Whatever platform you’re in, you’ll make your life much easier if you format…