Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

THE QUALITY OF SELF-PUBLISHED BOOKS

By: Susan Kaye Quinn

The "quality of self-published works" is a topic so ripe for contention, it almost intrinsically qualifies as link bait. However, I'm going to take a stab at it, not least because I've stumbled across a few posts that have attempted to take a more serious stab at the true underlying issue: growing writers' careers.

First, quoted from Jane Friedman's blog post, Self-Publishing's Parallel Disruptions, and David King's blog post on "Creating a Masterpiece," are some thoughts from (Story Master) Donald Maass:

The 10,000 hours required to master the complex art form of fiction is a lot to ask. Most seek validation along the way, hence the trap (for many) of self-publishing...There are other ways to receive validation along the way. That’s why critique groups, professional mentors, independent editors, craft books, workshops, conferences and communities like WU are so important. They keep us going. The road to traditional print publication is longer today... recession battered retailers and readers don’t have the patience to see new authors through their early training novels. They want mastery, in the modern sense, right away. Especially for $25. In a way, who can blame them? The very conditions that make it so difficult can also be taken as a challenge. High mastery is expected of symphony musicians, ballerinas, Olympic athletes, brain surgeons and more. Why not novelists too?

To read the rest of the post, click here.

~*~

If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again: 

1. Keeping a Professional Distance From our Book | Mystery Writing is Murder http://ow.ly/rbW5B
2. [New Data] Tweets Between 100 and 115 Characters are More Likely to be ReTweeted | Dan Zarrella http://ow.ly/rbWAw
3. How to Write Funny http://ow.ly/rbXBn
4. Stavros Halvatzis: How to Choose Character Names http://ow.ly/rbXL3
5. It happens to the best of us: How to break through the writer’s wall of doom | Novel Publicity http://ow.ly/rbYH9
6. Writing4Success - How to Use Sub Plots http://ow.ly/rbYVt
7. Four Ways to Cut Your Novel’s Draft (and Make Your Story Stronger) — Aliventures http://ow.ly/rbZac
8. The Daring Novelist: A Few Words About Suspense http://ow.ly/rbZun
9. How To Build A Game-Changing Content Strategy | Social Media Today http://ow.ly/rc0JF
10. “Track Changes” Is Your Friend. Mine Too. http://ow.ly/rd820
11. Choosing the Right Viewpoint and Tense for Your Fiction [With Examples] — Aliventures http://ow.ly/rdjrh
12. Susan Kaye Quinn, Young Adult Author: The Quality of Self-Published Books http://ow.ly/rdk03
13. Julie Musil: WOOL & Brilliant Marketing http://ow.ly/rdk3w
14. Melody Anne’s Advice For Self-Published Authors: ‘Hire an Editor You Can Trust’ - GalleyCat http://ow.ly/rdk85
15. Report: Instagram to Add Private Messaging Before 2014 http://ow.ly/rdkjL
16. 6 New Google Analytics Features for Marketers | Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/rdknt
17. 5 Fundamentals That Determine How Fast Your Blog Grows : @ProBlogger http://ow.ly/rdkDN
18. Improve Your Character’s… Gestures | C H Griffin http://ow.ly/rdkTw
19. Writability: On Writing Characters Who are Nothing Like You http://ow.ly/rdl1E  
20. [New Data] Use “Quotes” and #Hashtags to Get More ReTweets | Dan Zarrella http://ow.ly/rbWJ3

Happy writing & running, Kathy