Sunday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

HOWTO WRITE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY READER: 6 TIPS TO MODERNIZE YOUR PROSE

By: Anne R. Allen

Publishing isn't the only thing that's being transformed by the digital age. Reading and writing themselves are evolving.

We may not like it, but as writers, we need to be aware that our our audience's habits are changing.

Last month I wrote about how to format your blog for easy skimming, and unfortunately, we need to keep the skimmer in mind when writing our books as well. A good percentage of readers buy their novels for screens now, and their habits spill over from Web browsing to novel-reading.

Recently I've been getting some bizarre reviews for my novels, and I'm seeing similar ones on my favorite authors' books. It often seems to me the reviewers have read an entirely different piece of fiction.

But I can now see the reviews probably come from people who skim.

My books—and the ones I like to read—are full of fun one-liners and little ironic treats for people who are paying attention. But all the humor and irony is lost on skimmers who are rushing through, reading only for plot.

Personally, I'm a slow reader who savors every word.  I grew up reading literary fiction and I also read genre fiction with an eye to detail, character, and nuance.

Reading only for plot seems to me like eating the pizza crust and throwing away the toppings. Or maybe watching Seinfeld with the sound off. But I have to accept that people like me are no longer in the majority.

Read the full article HERE!

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

1. 5 Common Web Mistakes:  http://ow.ly/wvEcX @loriculwell RT @elizabethscraig:
2. Fiction University: Did You Hear That? Showing Sound http://ow.ly/wH6rg
3. Anne R. Allen's Blog: 8 Tips for Writing that Killer Blurb http://ow.ly/wH6yK
4. Anne R. Allen's Blog: How To Write For the 21st Century Reader: 6 Tips to Modernize Your Prose http://ow.ly/wH6Dy2
5. 5 Editing Tips for Tightening Your Copy | Writers and Authors http://ow.ly/wH9B5
6. How To Open Widget Images In A New Window | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/wH9DG
7. Facebook Video Metrics: This Week in Social Media | Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/wH9F7
8. How to Be Authentic - Copyblogger http://ow.ly/wH9GC
9. Answering the Question: Why Haven’t I Been Able to Build up a Fan Base Yet? | Lindsay Buroker http://ow.ly/wH9JA
10. Content - Five Steps to Effective and Affordable Small Business Content Marketing : MarketingProfs Article http://ow.ly/wH9Oz
11. Should You Write the Whole Book? - Books & Such Literary Management : Books & Such Literary Management http://ow.ly/wH9WL
12. 9 Steps to an Effective Virtual Book Tour | WritersDigest.com http://ow.ly/wHa0k
13. BookMarketingBuzzBlog: Headless Woman Found In Topless Bar: Headlines That Sell It! http://ow.ly/wHa5u
14. Letters and Diaries: A Family Historian’s Window Into His Ancestor’s World - BLOG - Stories To Tell Books http://ow.ly/wHaaY
15. The Write Conversation : Life Lessons—14 Things Writers do to KEEP From Being Successful http://ow.ly/wHafD
16. Dogged and Doggedly http://ow.ly/wHf9o Daily Writing Tips
17. Writers On The Move: Self-Imposed Deadlines and Other Tricks for Getting Your Writing Done http://ow.ly/wHfbx

Happy writing and running, Kathy