Tag: writing advice (Page 1 of 3)

Nonfiction: THE SUCCESSFUL HYBRID AUTHOR by Katlyn Duncan

January 19, 2023 / Katie L. Carroll

I’m always happy to have Katlyn Duncan guest post on the blog. Not only is she an award-winning fiction author, she is also a wealth of information when it comes to the topic of author careers. Her first nonfiction book is TAKE BACK YOUR BOOK: AN AUTHOR’S GUIDE TO RIGHTS REVERSION. Let’s give Katlyn a big welcome as she talks about her latest book THE SUCCESSFUL HYBRID AUTHOR: TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR TRADITIONAL AND INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING CAREER.

As an author who has been publishing for 10+ years, I’ve witnessed many different iterations of what a writing career can look like. More importantly, the joining of both types of publishing paths that many people tend to think of as separate. Today, I’d like to share my experience and knowledge about what it means to be a hybrid author, and how both traditional and self-published authors can become one.

A hybrid author is someone who has traditionally published books and also self-published books. The term “hybrid” is used to describe the combination of traditional and self-publishing methods. This allows authors to have the best of both worlds and to gain control over their publishing career.

Becoming a hybrid author is a practical decision that can be made by both traditional and self-published authors. For traditional authors, it can mean having rights to their books revert back to them, giving them the option to self-publish. For self-published authors, it can mean pursuing traditional publishing opportunities while continuing to self-publish.

One of the benefits of being a hybrid author is the ability to have control over your publishing career. Self-publishing allows authors to have more control over the creative process, including cover design and release dates. Traditional publishing, on the other hand, provides authors with a team of professionals to help with editing, marketing, and distribution. As a hybrid author, you have the opportunity to choose which route to take for each individual project, giving you the best of both worlds.

Another benefit of being a hybrid author is the potential for multiple income streams. Self-publishing allows authors to earn a higher royalty rate and to have control over pricing. Traditional publishing, on the other hand, provides authors with an advance and the potential for larger sales. As a hybrid author, you can earn money from both traditional and self-publishing, providing a more stable income stream.

However, becoming a hybrid author also comes with its own set of challenges. One of the biggest challenges is the amount of time and effort required to navigate both traditional and self-publishing. It can be time-consuming to query agents, submit to publishers, and to self-publish. It’s also important to have a clear understanding of the rights and contracts associated with both traditional and self-publishing.

Another challenge is the need to constantly adapt and evolve. The publishing industry is constantly changing, and as a hybrid author, it’s important to be open to new opportunities and to be willing to adapt and evolve.

To become a hybrid author, it’s important to research both traditional and self-publishing options. For traditional publishing, research literary agents and publishers that are a good fit for your genre and writing style. For self-publishing, research the best platforms and distribution channels. Building your author platform is also essential, by developing a following on social media and building a community of readers and reviewers.

It’s also important to have a clear understanding of the costs associated with self-publishing, such as editing, cover design, and formatting. It’s also important to have a clear plan in place for marketing and promotion, whether through traditional or self-publishing channels.

You can learn about all of this and more in ‘The Successful Hybrid Author’, a comprehensive guide on how you can take control of your writing career and start earning more income from your books. It’s available now in eBook, paperback, and hardcover.

THE SUCCESSFUL HYBRID AUTHOR blurb:

Are you ready to take control of your writing career and start earning more income from your books? If so, becoming a hybrid author may be the perfect solution for you.

With hybrid publishing, you can take advantage of the best of both publishing paths, such as greater creative control, higher royalty rates, and the ability to release your books on your own schedule.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll:

Discover the key differences between self-publishing, independent publishing, and traditional publishing.
Learn how to choose the right publishing options for your books to maximize your income.
Navigate the world of hybrid publishing and transition from traditional or independent publishing.
Get practical tips and advice for starting and growing your career as a hybrid author.

Whether you’re coming from traditional or independent publishing, this guide will give you the tools you need to become a successful hybrid author. It’s time to start your hybrid author journey today.

About the Author:

Katlyn Duncan is a multi-published author of adult and young adult fiction, and has ghostwritten over 40 novels for children and adults.

When she’s not writing, she’s obsessing over many (many) television series’, and hanging out on YouTube where she shares her writing process and all the bookish things.

Keep up with Katlyn on her newsletter at http://www.katlynduncan.com.

Highlights From the 2021 New England SCBWI Conference

June 21, 2021 / Katie L. Carroll

Long-time followers of the blog might remember how I like to do conference round-ups where I share bits of wisdom from writing conferences I’ve attended. You can check out past conference highlights here.

The 2021 New England SCBWI Conference was unlike any other NESCBWI one because it was fully digital this year. I was keeping my expectations low because I didn’t think it could possibly include the same sense of community as the in-person event. In addition to all the amazing workshops and keynote always offered, this particular conference was always about catching up with writing friends I’d usually only see once a year.

But conference co-directors Juliana Spink Mills and Casey W. Robinson and the entire committee managed to bring that NESCBWI vibe to the digital space. The conference included social hours where you could pick what “room” you wanted to be in (broken up into categories like what state your from, what kind of things you write, or just fun things like a witch’s tea room). In one chat, we ended up talking about pirates and I went and put on one of my pirate hats!

Friday night started off with a “Conversation With Two Legends: Nikki Grimes and Jane Yolen” hosted by Heidi E. Y. Stemple. It was packed full of great stories and advice, and these two truly are legends.

The friendship between them was very evident, even through a screen. When speaking about doing a writing retreat at Jane’s house, Nikki said, they were “two friends, two equals, doing the work.” Jane chimed in that when you’re with someone at the same stage as you, you don’t have to explain. Total author friendship goals there!

Jane intro’d herself by talking about “resolved combustion” and having “a place to cradle the nascent flame.” She told us, the fire is set, breathe deep, steady passionate…then blow yourself apart.

Nikki reminded us that “novel” means “new.” She realized she didn’t have to write the way everyone thought she should and that she had to do it the way that was right for her.

Saturday was packed full of workshops. We got to pick four to attend live and all the others were available to to view for a month afterwards. Being able to watch all the workshops offered is a big perk of the digital format.

In her workshop about picture book revision, Charlesbridge editor Julie Bliven said to come back to that spark of what is working and what you like about a manuscript to remind you of why it’s worth the revision.

Author Heidi E. Y. Stemple included a ton of amazing mentor texts when talking about non-fiction voice, resulting in me getting a little out of control with my holds list at the local library. She encouraged us to experiment with telling the story different ways and play with tone and language, and to not be afraid to try and fail when trying something different with a non-fiction manuscript.

Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, editor Kate Prosswimmer editor gave us a bunch of different guides to approach plot and character together. She said that the heart of a story is in the intersection of plot and character.

Saturday ended with a heart-tugging and joyful keynote from author/illustrator Mike Curato that tied so well into the conference’s theme of finding joy in the journey. His voice has such a soothing tone and I could have spent hours listening to him talk about his personal creative journey.

He talked about how his big break came when he realized he hadn’t made anything for himself in years and the joy was missing from his work. That’s when he created Little Elliot, who embodied so much of his childhood. Mike said that Elliot was his guide and would leave him through the darkness.

On Sunday, we got to pick two Ask-A-Mentor sessions to attend where faculty took questions directly from attendees. Then the conference ended with a keynote from Padma Venkatraman. If you ever get a chance to see Padma speak or teach a workshop, do it. She is so generous with her time and wisdom and is truly a gem to our New England SCBWI community.

Padma advised us to make a note of anytime someone says something kind or that they believe in you and to keep that in a book or somewhere to look at. In a sentiment that she constantly demonstrates, Padma said there is generosity in give away ideas and encouragement and that we should “lift other people.” I’m very much looking forward to her next book BORN BEHIND BARS, which is coming this fall.

And that was only some of the workshops and sessions I attended live. I spent the next month popping in to watch the recordings of the other sessions and filling up my notebook with inspiring advice and stories.

White Noise Recommendations to Write Faster When You’re Feeling Unproductive

April 6, 2021 / Katie L. Carroll

Writing during the pandemic has been really different. I know some writers who have felt productive because they’ve had more time to focus on writing (lucky them!), but many others, like parents, who haven’t been able to fit in writing time. Then there are the writers who may have the time but can’t find the focus.

This was from the days when I used to write at the cafe…the good old days!

I totally get it! At the beginning of the pandemic when the of five us were home all the time, I thought it would be a long time before I figured out a way to fit in writing.

But then I talked to a friend who had been getting up early to write and I (virtually) joined in on her sessions. Naturally, I blogged about this in “WIP Update: Witchy Middle Grade & a Fear of Asking for Help”.

This was back in June 2020, and since then I’ve basically written and revised an entire 59,000-word middle grade novel and worked on a few smaller pieces as well. It’s a level of productivity I couldn’t have imagined achieving this time last year, but I’m not here to brag about this (even if I am proud of it!).

I’m here to say that it’s okay to be unproductive, especially when facing a global pandemic. I basically did a whole webinar with tips on how to be more productive as a parent writer (which is good for any busy writer) where I also tried to help listeners feel okay about not writing. You can watch it for free or check out any of the other Indie Author Project Expert Sessions if you have the time. 😉

One thing that has really helped me to focus has been listening to some kind of white noise. I find music with lyrics can be distracting while I’m writing. But instrumental music that has the right mood to fit what I’m working on or white noise is perfect for keeping my internal editor in check and my mind on task.

So let’s get to those white noise recommendations already!

Spotify is my go-to app when I want thematic instrumental music. There are a ton of pre-made playlists that you can use search for. For my witchy middle grade, my favorite was “spooky instrumental”. When I write fantasy, I’m partial to this “Fantasy Board Gaming” one.

For something more like white noise, I turn to YouTube. For spring, I’ve been listening to this “Spring Rain Sounds” one. When I want to feel cozy, I enjoy fireplaces and thunderstorms, like this Royal Library one.

My most recent discovery is a site called I Miss My Cafe where I can channel those cafe writing sessions I used to have. You can choose which sounds to listen to, from the barista calling out orders to other customers chatting in the background to street ambiance, and pick your volume. There is also Coffitivity, which isn’t as customizable but good nonetheless.

What do you like to listen to while writing or working?

“Balancing Writing and Parenting” Virtual Event for Indie Author Project Expert Sessions

October 7, 2020 / Katie L. Carroll

A quick announcement today to let you all know that I’m doing a virtual webinar next week for the Indie Author Project’s Expert Sessions. It’s called “Balancing Writing and Parenting” and is from 12 – 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 15, 2020.

It was created with the particular needs of parents in mind, but I think there will be some good tips for any writer who’s feeling short on time lately. It’s free, but you do need to register to attend live. It will also be recorded, so you can watch it at your convenience.

What The Fibonacci Sequence & Sunflowers Can Teach Us About The Writing Adage “Show, Don’t Tell”

September 14, 2020 / Katie L. Carroll

I’m going to start today’s post by telling you something.

Lately I’ve been thinking about the Fibonacci sequence (really, haven’t we all…no?). Basically, if you start with 0 and 1, it’s a series of numbers where the sum of the two previous numbers add up to the next number in the sequence: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, etc… (0+1=1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8, etc…).

It’s a tidy little pattern, and with some easy arithmetic (at least in the beginning), you can figure out what the next number is. In a world that seems to be getting more chaotic by the minute, I like the predictability of the pattern.

On graph paper, you can connect the opposite corners of boxes that are the size of each number and you get the Fibonacci spiral. Let me show you that.

By Jahobr – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58460223

It’s a neat little mathematical trick, but you’re probably thinking, so what? It’s a bunch of numbers that form a pattern. Well, there are lots of applications in real life that use this sequence, like computer algorithms. But the ones I’m most interested in are related to nature (for further reading see “How are Fibonacci numbers expressed in nature?” by Robert Lamb).

Take the sunflower. Let me show you this sunflower I grew in my yard.

Notice the spiraling pattern of the seeds in the center of the sunflower. (Have you guessed where I’m going with this yet?) Turns out in most sunflowers–it is nature after all, so with many outside factors, it’s not true for every sunflower–the number of spirals correspond with the Fibonacci sequence. From pine cones to spiral galaxies, this pattern shows up in so many places in our universe.

Yet, there’s a lot more to sunflowers than understanding the pattern of it. What do they smell like? What sound do they make blowing in a late summer breeze? What does it taste like when you pop open the shell of a roasted seed to get to the salty crunch in the middle? What’s a situation where you might think of a sunflower and what emotions might that evoke?

There are as many answers to the above questions as there people in the world.

Now think about if I just showed you the image with the Fibonacci spiral and didn’t tell you about it at all. Or if I just told you about the pattern and didn’t give you a visual. And what if I didn’t add in the bit about the sunflowers? Or what if I did include the part about the sunflowers following the pattern, but I didn’t ask you all those other questions about them?

All this telling and showing is what helps me to figure out the world. Knowing the math behind the nature adds yet another layer to the flower that makes me appreciate it even more. The sunflower helps me understand the Fibonacci sequence and vice versa. In nature writing, all this might be important to include, but in prose writing, it’s probably not.

Sometimes seeing a thing makes more sense than having it explained. But sometimes having a thing explained makes you see it in a whole new way. Finding the right balance between the two and understanding what your end goal is makes all difference in what to include in your writing.

Here, I included a lot. Even though the old writing adage is “show, don’t tell,” I wanted to explain the Fibonacci sequence by telling you about it and showing it in visuals, which included the sunflower. I also wanted to inspire you to think deeper about the sunflower. I suppose you could say I wanted to be academic in the beginning and move into the more poetic as we went along.

For a novel, you certainly don’t want to explain the Fibonacci sequence when describing a sunflower. Unless maybe your narrator is a scientist or a mathematician and that’s important to how they see the world and express themselves through it. But for most narrators that won’t be the case. So to strike the right balance, I find it’s best to see the world through their eyes. What aspects of the sunflower would they observe given their state of mind to convey something important about them and the story?

Also what does the reader need to know and care about? Perhaps simply telling them a thing is a sunflower is enough (sometimes I think as writers we can get too caught up in the showing) and you don’t need to immerse them in experiencing the sunflower. The reader can conjure the image themselves with just the word and no showing is necessary. Or perhaps not. Maybe this is a moment in the story when you really do want to take the time to show them the flower and all that it means.

How do you decide? Of all the above stuff I wrote about sunflowers and all the things about sunflowers that I made you think about, what’s important? The answer to that is it’s all relative. It all depends on who is telling the story and what the person who is reading it is supposed to get out of it. And I’m afraid that is only something you, as the writer, can answer.