This week the show is brought to you by me as I talk about books for writers. These are books I would recommend and ones you can give to your writer friends as presents. Looking for a secret Santa for your writers group? There will be something in here.
This week the show is brought to you by me as I talk about books for writers. These are books I would recommend and ones you can give to your writer friends as presents. Looking for a secret Santa for your writers group? There will be something in here.
Hi, and
Wendy Jones:welcome to the writing and Marketing Show brought to you by author Wendy H. Jones. This show does exactly what it says on the tin. It's jam packed with interviews, advice, and tips and news to help you with the business of writing. It's all wrapped up in one lively podcast. So it's time to get on with the show. And welcome to Episode 44, the writing and Marketing Show with author entrepreneur, Wendy h. Jones. What's been happening in the world this week? Well, in my world, I'm still staying indoors as much as possible. And I'm still writing and editing. And my course is going well the course I started, which is called start marketing your book that's actually been very well received by students. It's out of beta, and more students are joining now, the if you would like to do to take a look, you can do so at Wendy H jones.com. forward slash courses. And what else have I been doing? Well, I've been doing a bit of reading to hone my craft, I've been reading books on writing. So that's what I'm going to be talking to you about this week, I'm going to be talking to you about writing books that I would recommend because I have numerous on my shelf. And no matter what stage of the writing journey you're at, you can always learn from the experts. So before that, I would just like to say it's an absolute pleasure to bring you this podcast each week. And I love doing so However, it does take time out of my writing day. And if you would like to support this time, then you can do so by going to patreon.com forward slash Wendy h Jones. That's pa t ar e o n.com. forward slash Wendy h Jones. And you can do so for just $3 a month, which is less than the price of a cup of tea or coffee if you're going out. And it would help to buy me a cup of tea or coffee. And I would be very grateful. So on with the show. And what about these writing books. Now I'm sure you've all got writing books on your shelves, you may have some of these you may not. If you don't, then I would advise that you do and get some writing books and Excuse me. So the first one I'm going to start with and these are in no particular order, I might add. But because I'm a crime writer, I thought I ought to start with one on crime writing. And this one is called Writing Claim Fiction - you know where you are with that. The subtitle is create compelling plots, dramatic characters ard nail-biting twists that sell. And on the back it says this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to write great crime fiction, whatever your sub genre, whether Scandi crime, or detective cosies. This book is full of inspirational advice, acute insights and practical exercises. The first part of the book establishes the rules of writing crime fiction, from convincing characters to the role of research. The book then covers the practical craft of writing and editing, Before explaining in detail how to take your work to a wider readership. And I can absolutely guarantee that it is a brilliant book because I've read it and used it. Now moving on from crying to a different one, although I do use them both together, which is why I'm telling you about them together. It's alled Writing Comedy. And that's by Leslie Bown and it's B o w n just so that you know it's not with the r. And that the subtitle is put the fun into being funny. Now I write comic crime as well as my gritty crime. So hence the reason I have both of these on my shelf. And on the back, it says, designed for anyone who has ambitions to write comedy, whether jokes for televisions or as a stand up. This is a detailed and practical insight into what makes us laugh and how to capture it in word form. Now, you might be thinking, well, what's this got to do with me, I'm an author. I'm not writing and I'm not writing comedy. But it does help. It tells you things like the rule of three, for example, the building was headed up by bricks, mortar and chewing gum. The rule of three is you get two things set up and then bang, you give them the comedian comedic effect. And I've used that one before. So you're probably thinking, Hey, what's she on about here? We've used this one before, but it's always worth repeating. So there's a lot of tips in there that can be incorporated into your crime writing. Now, another one that was actually the first writing book I read, and it's called Solutions for Writers, and it's by Sol Stein, and this is considered one of the great classics of writing books. That subtitle is practical craft techniques for fiction and nonfiction. And on the back, it says whether you're a beginner or an accomplished professional, whether your field is fiction, nonfiction or journalism. You will find in this book a wealth of helpful guidance from one of the centuries mastered editors unavailable anywhere else. No high flown theory just useful solutions that will show you how to rework. Writing that is flawed how to improve writing that is good, how to create interesting writing in the first place. After reading this book, you will be able to grab your readers with your opening sentence sketch in your characters with a few daft words, create attention, holding suspense, write dialogue that is both exciting and moves the story forward, use flashbacks to tell in effect, right love scenes that really work. Vary the pace of your writing judge where to cut and prune. Think about really selling titles, enhance nonfiction with the technique of fiction. And I have to say it really is worthy of being called a classic because it's an excellent book, and it does cover the practical craft of writing. My next one is by James Scott bell. Now James Scott Bell brings out some absolutely fabulous writing books. And the one I've got my hand at the moment is called Conflict and Suspense. Now that subtitle is ramp up the tension and keep your readers hooked. Now we all want to do that don't we. And it says inside you'll find everything you need to know to spice up your story, move your plot forward and keep your readers turning pages. Expert thriller author and writing instructor James Scott Bell shows you how to craft scenes, create characters and develop storylines that harness conflict and suspense to carry your story from the first word to the last. And I have to say, James Scott Bell is outstanding as a writer, and he's outstanding at writing books on writing. And I can highly recommend all of his books. I use them extensively. And I recommend them to my students, when I have people who I'm coaching clients, I should say when I'm helping people with coaching on writing their books. Another one by James Scott Bell is Plot and Structure. Now that's obviously important. And I know I probably should have said this right at the beginning the plot and structured books, but as I said, they're in no particular order. But plot and structure is extremely, extremely important. In order to make sure that your book is interesting, it keeps the reader reading that there are highs and lows, that and a lot of different techniques that can keep your readers reading and create that just one more page effect, which is what we're looking for. It also stops you missing out parts of the book that you haven't tied up, or parts of the book that you may not have finished. For example, in my first Detective Inspector Shona Mackenzie mystery, I went through it at the end and discovered I hadn't investigated one murder. It was just a murder, and then nobody did anything about it. It was never mentioned again. So plotting structure can help you with that. Even if you're a panster it's worth reading this just to get an idea of how you can think things through and you can go so the subtitle is crafting engaging plot. And then it says how to plot influence story structure. What's the difference between plotting for commercial and literary fiction? How do you devise a plot or structure that's gotten off course. With write great fiction plot and structure you'll discover the answers to these questions and more. award winning author James Scott Bell offers clear concise information that will help you create a believable and memorable plot including techniques for crafting strong beginnings, middles, and ends, easy to understand plotting diagrams and charts, brainstorming techniques for original plot ideas, thought provoking exercise at the end of each chapter, story structure models and methods for all genres, tips and tools for correct and common plot problems. So it really does help you with everything that you need. Now the next books I'm going to mention, and are part of the Writers Thesaurus series by Angela Ackerman and Becca puglisi. I hope I've pronounces Becca's name correctly, but they have brought out numerous books and I have bought them all. And if you are looking for different words to use for anything in your book, it will be in this series of books. Now the four I've got here, which I've just grabbed off the shelf are The Positive Trait Thesaurus , The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, The Negative Trait Thesaurus and the Emotional Thesaurus and I have got all of these on my shelf. The subtitles of them are the Positive Trait Thesaurus is a writers guide to character attributes. The Emotional Wound Thesausurus is a writer Guide to psychological trauma. The Negative Trait Thesaurus. The subtitle is a Writer's Guide to character flaws, and the Emotion Thesaurus is a Writer's Guide to character expression. And I have to say I could not do without these books, they are absolutely outstanding. If you don't get any other book, then the books these are the ones that you should get because they will help you. It's much better than using an ordinary thesaurus. And my final one, well ,my final one from a different author is Stealing Hollywood by Alexandra Sokoloff. Now Alexandra is a friend of mine, and she also she also is from America and worked in Hollywood. She now lives in Scotland, and her book is called Screenwriting Tricks for Authors: Stealing Hollywood: Story Structure Secrets for Writing your best Book. Now this is a big book, but it is full of practical advice. I cannot recommend it highly enough. And on the back it says are you finally committed to writing that novel or screenplay but have no idea how to get started? Or are you a published author? But no, you need some plotting help to move your books and career up to that next level. In this workbook award winning author screenwriter Alexandra Sokoloff will show you how to jumpstart your plots, and bring your characters and scenes vibrantly alive on the page by watching your favourite movies and learning from the storytelling tricks of great filmmakers. And it covers the high concept premise, the three art eight sequence structure, the storyboard grid, the index card method of plotting the set piece scene, techniques of film, pacing and suspense, characters arcs, and drive visual storytelling and building image systems. Sorry, I hesitated a bit there when I was saying that, but I have a problem with my eye at the moment, I can't see properly out of my left eye and I'm currently under an optholmologist for it. So I'm struggling a bit because the writing was red on a dark background. So apologies for that. So my last books are by me, I couldn't tell you about writing books without telling you about the ones that I've written as well. Although one of them is about marketing. But we'll finish with that. My book motivation matters is revolutionise your writing one creative step at a time. Now one of the things that people find is that they want to write, they've read all the books, they're ready to go, but they just can't get motivated. So this one is called Motivation Matters. And can as I say revolutionise your writing one creative step at a time. And on the back, it says Has your motivation to write flown out of the window window. Do feelings of self doubt creep in and haunt your writing day? Looking for a way to beat the doubts into submission.Award winning author and writing coach Wendy H. Jones shows you how with 366 glorious exercises you can use to boost creatively and change the way you think and feel about your writing. Techniques that can easily be incorporated into your day becoming a part of your writing routine. It's time to change the way you think and feel in order to set your creativity free. And it really is one that will help you get writing every day. And it's 366 techniques because there's one for every day of the year. And I can't count I added an extra one for leap year because I didn't want the 29th of February to feel left out. My last book is for marketing and you're going Hey, you're recommending writing books, and I'm right at the very beginning of my journey. Do you know what when you should start marketing is when you write the first word of your book, that's when you should start marketing it. So wherever you are in your writing journey, the time to start marketing is right now. So my last book is called Marketing Matters. sell more books. Right now is the time to start marketing your book and getting it into readers hands. Whether you're a first time author or a publishing veteran looking to revitalise your sales. This book is here to help you. It is jam packed full of simple strategies, hints and tips which will take you through every step of the marketing process for running a buzzing book launch and building your mailing list. Through to effective social media marketing. You will explore how to get your books noticed and bought by readers. Each of these techniques has been used successfully by the author to build a growing platform, decide to read design to revolutionise your book sales, learn from her what works and what doesn't and use this book to build a marketing plan which will see your book sales soaring. So that's my show for today. I hope you find it useful because I have found all of these books useful. I'm going to finish with an offer for you. As I've said about my books on here today. They are normally e8.99 each and then you would need to pay 2.95 for postage, if I send them to you, if you send me an e ail to wendy@wendyhjones.com nd yo u put the word podcast as the code in the email you send m, I will not only give you f ee postage, but if you buy bo h books together, I will give ou a pound off the price. So ou can either buy one for 8.99 nd free postage, or buy both tog ther for now I've got to do ma hs. I'm not really good at maths buy both together for 17.98 I hope I've got that right. And, a d you will get free postage. Or In fact, it's not17.98 i's 16.98 because I said I'd giv you a pound off. So there we g. 16.98 plus free postage. I ope you enjoyed the show. I ope you enjoy your writing an I hope you enjoy the books that I've recommended. Have a gr at day. That brings us to th end of another show. It was rea ly good to have you on the sho with me today. I'm Wendy H. J nes. And you can find me at wendyhjones.com. You can also f nd me on Patreon where you can s pport me for as little as $3 month which is less than the pr ce of a tea or coffee. You go to patreon.com forward slash Wen y h Jones. I'm also Wendy Jon s on Facebook, Twitter, Insta ram and Pinterest. Thank you for joining me tod y and I hope you found it both u eful and interesting. Join me ne t week when I will have anot er cracking guest for you. Un il then, have a good week and k ep writing. Keep reading and keep learning