A few years ago I made the Plot Dot – my simple 8 step outline for writing novels, with the major dramatic twists most stories need to hit. I always wanted a more in-depth plotting outline and cheatsheet, but there’s so many conflicting story structures out there… this week however, I managed to put together a 24 step chapter outline …

  Let’s say you make cake, but you don’t want to conform to a type of cake. You create an epic masterpiece, but it’s not quite chocolate, or carrot, or red velvet… it’s a mashup of everything, with layers and structure and everything is new and different. It’s ART. But now that it’s done, how do you market it – …

Almost always, if an author isn’t selling, it’s because their page isn’t converting. You need 3 things to succeed, a great blurb, cover, and enough reviews to offset skepticism. I can help you fix those things; I can also help craft your pitch or hook – which is critical for your amazon page. I can also do keyword and category …

When asked about the best writing apps or software, I used to say, “Just use whatever you have and are comfortable with.” But recently I’ve been focused on upping my productivity and wordcount, so I’m testing everything to see if anything helps. Here’s a quick review of some of the things I think are cool, and what I actually ended …

This summer I’m determined to double my daily wordcount and establish a writing habit. I’ll be experimenting with various productivity hacks to get more writing done, but today I took a big step forward by getting a bluetooth keyboard to pair with my iPhone and iPad. I’d already done online research and had an idea of what I was looking …

Author Jessica Pierce does some amazing Instagram promotion and wrote this awesome post about it. I often get asked questions such as, “Jess, what the heck is this Instagram stuff and how can I use it to sell my YA book?” or “Plz halp me because I don’t get Bookstagram.” Have no fear! I’m not the end-all-be-all expert, but I …

I’m reposting this news to give it a signal boost – concern was raised by author Katie M. John who shared this image:   This is alarming, since so many of us use Facebook as part of our book marketing and promotion strategy. Katie wrote a great summary so I’m posting it here: Okay, I’ve seen the beginnings of a wildfire and …

Recently I’ve been going through an identity crisis. I know what I want to do, and what I’m good at, and what I enjoy. But increasingly I’m becoming less relevant to my audience (“Great Derek, you want to write books and travel full-time. But how can you help ME?”) On the one hand, I’m finally able to focus on my …

I’ve been thinking about story this year. Partly, because I’ve been struggling with selling digital products in a way that’s authentic to my brand. But also, because – as a fiction writer – I SHOULD be good at this stuff. According to Story Telling Made Easy, “every time someone pays you, they’re making an emotional decision.” I always resisted telling …

I heard someone say recently, “there are too many marketers and not enough artists.” As someone deep inside the publishing industry, however, I find the opposite to be true. Recently I went to a writing conference – there were over 500 writers. All of them wanted to be artists: they made the work and now were trying to sell it. …

I started this blog in 2011 and did nothing for a year except read all the books on creativity. It was research for a manifesto, but the more I read, the more fascinated I became with the subject. After another 5 years of freelancing, building digital products and working as a creative professional (my income comes from things I make …

This morning I did an interview on writing fiction and we discussed, among other things, whether writing faster books leads to inferior quality and whether writing to market creates inferior art. These are real conversations, and though I would answer “no” to both, I’m often challenged by thousands of passionate creators who very firmly believe “YES.” The conversation prompted me …

This is a guest post by author Miantae Metcalf McConnell – I was so impressed she got her book featured in Oprah magazine, and I asked her to share what that process looked like.   Every month O, The Oprah Magazine publishes a list of books that they recommend to their readers, a “Top Ten List” situated in the magazine’s Reading …

Recently I’ve been learning about story. Specifically, using story architecture like a Trojan Horse: getting people to pay attention and disarm resistance, so that you can give them enough information to start liking (sympathy) and trusting (credibility) you. Because if they don’t like and trust you, they won’t keep reading – but unless you start with story, they won’t pay attention enough …

Note from Derek: I usually tell authors not to bother with in-person stuff like book signings because it’s too much work, and to focus on online stuff instead… but book signings can be FUN – and doing a signing in Barnes & Noble (or any “real” bookstore) feels more significant, like a milestone or bucket list item. So when I saw …