As you may know, Angela and I have recently reached the unbelievable milestone of having sold a million books.

I say “unbelievable” because this was never in our sights. We started out as two writers with no formal education in the field. We had no publishing experience. What did a couple of stay-at-home moms really know about succeeding as authors?

Needless to say, when we sold our thousandth book in 2012, we were over-the-moon excited. And then we hit the 10,000 mark. Then 100k… With every milestone, people asked us how we had done it—because I think a lot of writers can relate to our feelings of uncertainty, of having a goal but not knowing how to get there, and not wanting to dream too big.

But here’s the truth: if we can succeed, you can succeed. Full stop.

Granted, it would have been easier with a little more information when we started. So we’d like to share some of the things that have worked for us, because we believe they can work for you—no matter what you’re writing or what goals you’ve set for yourself.

Give the Readers What They Want

Some of you may not know that the very first thing we blogged about in 2007 was The Emotion Thesaurus. As critique partners, we had both struggled with how to show emotions in new and realistic ways, and we knew it was also a problem for the other members of our group. So we thought: maybe this is something other writers need help with, too.

That suspicion was confirmed almost immediately. We started putting up a new emotion post each Saturday, and our readership just blew up. Before long, people were asking for the content in book form. And that’s when we knew we had something people wanted to read.

Takeaway: Whether you’re writing nonfiction, cozy mysteries, thrillers, steamy romances, or a memoir, you have stories that people want to read. Write what excites you. Hone your craft so you can write those stories well. And start building connections with the people who want to read what you’re writing.

Take Risks

Angela and I had always dreamed of being traditionally published, so when it came time to turn The Emotion Thesaurus into a book, we assumed we’d go that route. Then we started seeing our thesaurus content popping up on other people’s sites, and being distributed as a PDF. Suddenly, we couldn’t afford to wait two years or more for our book to be available; we had to get it out quickly before someone else did, and that meant publishing it ourselves.

But this was 2011. Self-publishing was openly poo-poohed in the industry, with many people bemoaning the substandard quality of self-pubbed books (and some asserting that authors only went this route if they couldn’t get a traditional contract). Oh, and we had zero idea how to publish a book. Going down this path was a huge risk for us, but Ange and I knew we needed to do it, so we got to work figuring out file formats, and distributors, and cover designers, and the logistics of co-authoring a book. And we made it work, and in 2012, we launched The Emotion Thesaurus.

Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to take risks with your writing. Try new things. Dive into uncharted waters and educate yourself. Sometimes, the scariest opportunities have the biggest payoffs, but you won’t reap the rewards if you don’t try.

Put Your Own Spin on Your Work

Another thing that made us nervous was the unconventional format of our books. Instead of the typical narrative structure, our thesauruses consisted mostly of two-page entries full of lists and phrases. It was a risk to deviate from the norm, but we went for it because our blog readers liked it.

Not only did readers love the “user-friendly” structure, other writing books with lists soon began popping up all over Amazon.

Unfortunately, it’s also led to copycat covers and many books that have similar titles to those in our series. We feel bad every time someone tells us they bought a book they thought was one of ours only to discover it wasn’t. So if you are trying to find our thesaurus guides, just look for the Writers Helping Writers® logo.

Takeaway: Always put your own spin on your writing. Infuse it with your unique voice. Explore the themes that interest you and the subjects you’re passionate about. Write as your authentic, one-of-a-kind self and you’ll end up creating books that will stand apart from the others in your genre.

Make Your Books Available to as Many Readers as Possible

Because readers have their own preferred storefronts and formats, we wanted to reach as many of them as possible by going wide and making our books available in lots of places. We also offered PDF versions, since people like having their book files open on their computer while working. We even created a Character Traits Boxed Set to sell directly from our website.

The bulk of our sales do come from Amazon, but by distributing through many digital storefronts and independent bookstores, and making our books available in PDF, we ensured that readers could get our books where they liked to show and in the format that worked best for them.

Takeaway: Make it easy for people to buy your books. Sell through multiple distributors, in different formats. Listen to what your followers are saying about how they like to read and make those options available to them.

Explore Every Opportunity

As you grow, opportunities are going to come along that you never considered. Ange and I had published three books and were working on the fourth when we got an email from a publisher asking if the Korean rights to The Emotion Thesaurus were available. Foreign translations weren’t on our radar at all. We didn’t have an agent, couldn’t negotiate an international contract ourselves, and couldn’t market a book overseas if we wanted to. So it would’ve been easy for us to dismiss the request as being too far outside our wheelhouse and something we just didn’t have time for.

Instead, we looked into it. We found an agent who specialized in negotiating rights deals with foreign publishers. We talked to her about the email we’d received, and we realized this was a gift that had fallen into our laps. So we sold those rights. And, boy, was that the right decision. We now have books in 9 languages that have sold almost 400,000 copies to date in markets we never would have reached on our own.

Takeaway: No matter how busy you are, explore every opportunity that comes your way. You don’t have to invest a ton of time. Just do some basic research, keep an open mind, and see if it’s something you should pursue. When in doubt, see Point #2.

Run Experiments

It can be hard to know if an opportunity is a good one or not. In those cases, it doesn’t hurt to experiment.

In 2018, KDP started contacting us with requests to highlight our Kindle books in their daily and monthly deals. We were skeptical about how this would affect our sales. Sure, more people might buy our Kindle book if it was priced at $1.99. But wouldn’t we end up making less money that way? Would those discounted sales cannibalize our paperback sales?

So we ran an experiment and started participating in those deals. It became clear that while we made less per book, our revenue still increased. Why? Because it lowered the barrier to test out one of our thesauruses, and if the person found it helpful, they would often collect more volumes in the series. Also, because we have observed our readers prefer print to digital, some kindle deal buyers would go on to pick up a print copy also. So this experiment has really paid off for us.

Takeaway: New opportunities don’t have to be permanent. If you’re not sure about something, set aside a prescribed period of time to test it out. Setting a timeline and recognizing that the experiment is temporary can ease your mind about trying new things.

Know When to Cut Bait

But remember that not every experiment is a success. Prior to 2019, we hadn’t utilized ads on any platforms. Sales were flagging a bit at Amazon and a lot of people were finding success with ads there, so we decided to give it a shot. After eight months, we realized that the investment just wasn’t paying off, and we stopped.

Takeaway: Accept that some experiments won’t pan out. Keep a close eye on those trial runs and the risks you’ve decided to take. And do the same with your day-to-day tasks—you know, the processes and systems you’re using because that’s the way you’ve always done them. Be deliberate about monitoring what you’re doing and assessing if it’s worth the ROI. If it’s not working, stop doing it or find a new way.

Seek Out Multiple Revenue Streams

Let’s face it: it’s hard to make a living from book sales. But Ange and I learned early on that our skills as writers lent themselves to other ways of bringing in money. So we branched out as speakers, running workshops for local writing groups and at larger conferences. Then we explored another collaboration that resulted in One Stop for Writers, a subscription-based website that contains all our thesauruses (not just our books) and writing tools and resources designed by us that help writers in a new way.

Workshops and One Stop for Writers have provided additional revenue for us in and of themselves, but they also generated more sales by introducing us to new people who had never heard of our books.

Takeaway: What additional career opportunities could you pursue that utilize your writing skills? What else could you be doing “on the side” while you’re writing books? Here are some options you may not have considered.

Partner with the Right People

If there’s any one secret to Angela’s and my success, it’s that we found each other. It’s really, really hard to do this job alone. I can’t imagine having to handle everything by myself. At some point, most writers will need to partner with other people, be that a business partner, editor, agent, cover designer, copy editor, bookkeeper, etc. Those partnerships can save you—as long as you choose wisely.

Takeaway: Research potential partnerships carefully. Look for people who complement you, people who are strong where you’re weak. Find people who share your values and work ethic and are pulling in the same direction.

There’s more we could share, but this post is long enough already, and we’d rather hear what has worked for you. Let us know in the comments!

More quick facts about the books
Enter our celebratory giveaway

BECCA PUGLISI

Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Selling a Million Books: What Worked for Us (and Can Work for You, Too) appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

A new writing guide is joining the family today, so please say hello to the SILVER Edition of The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles.

In this second volume of The Conflict Thesaurus, we continue our in-depth exploration of challenges, roadblocks, adversaries, and hindrances in all forms. Conflict has many superpowers, and is the golden thread that binds plot to arc, providing the complications, setbacks, and derailments that make the character’s inner and outer journeys dynamic.

This book will help you build a story that has conflict at different levels so characters have multiple problems to grapple with. It will also show you how to leverage friction and tension, force characters to make hard choices, and use adversity to provide key life lessons that will lead to growth, so they can become the person they must to achieve meaningful goals.

Here’s a more detailed look at this book.
Find the full list of conflict scenarios (& sample entries) here.
Here’s what people are saying about The Conflict Thesaurus.
And here’s where you can buy it, print and digital.

Conflict can be explosive, or subtle. It may inconvenience your characters, or devastate them. And whether it’s internal or external, readers can’t get enough of it, and neither can we.

So for the first time ever, Writers Helping Writers is sponsoring a writing contest!

Introducing…

Conflict comes in all shapes and sizes – a physical altercation, personal struggle, relationship friction, a danger or threat…the possibilities are endless. As storytellers, we need to write conflict well. This story contest is a chance to show us what you can do!

Ready to go pen to pen against other creatives and submit a story to our WRITERS’ FIGHT CLUB?

Step into the ring with your original story, any genre, that shows your character navigating one or more of these conflicts from our Conflict Thesaurus Vol 2:

Being Injured
Experiencing Discrimination
Losing a Vital Item
Telling the Truth but Not Being Believed
Being Trapped
Having Unwanted Powers

Or, one of these conflicts from our expanded Conflict Database at One Stop for Writers:

A Romantic Competitor Entering the Scene
Getting Caught in a Lie
Needing to Sacrifice One for the Good of the Many

Stories must be 750 – 2000 words in length. Our official contest rules, deadline, and how to submit can be found here:

Contest is now closed. We will be in touch after judging is complete!

Now let’s talk prizes!

First Place:

A $100 US cash prize
Two 1-year subscriptions to One Stop for Writers
(One for you, one for a friend, a $210 value)
A $100 US donation to your choice of charity that helps those impacted by conflict (domestic violence, war, human trafficking, etc.)
A professional edit of your submission by our amazing Resident Writing Coach, Lisa Poisso
+ Bragging rights!

Second Place:

A $50 US cash prize
Two 6-month subscriptions to One Stop for Writers
(One for you, one for a friend, a $120 value)
A $50 US donation to your choice of charity that helps those impacted by conflict (domestic violence, war, human trafficking, etc.)
A professional edit of your submission by our amazing Resident Writing Coach, Colleen M. Story
+ Bragging rights!

Honorable Mention:

A professional edit of your submission by our amazing Resident Writing Coach, Lisa Poisso
+ Bragging rights!

SUBMISSIONS WILL BE CAPPED AT 100 ENTRIES & THE DEADLINE TO ENTER IS SEPTEMBER 16TH. FIND OUT MORE.

Giveaway Alert!

We also want to give away some of our favorite writing books, so two lucky winners can choose a 5-pack of digital volumes from these below:

Giveaway closed – congrats to HiDee Ekstrom & Dina Mousa!

This giveaway is subject to our legal policy, and runs until September 10th, midnight (EST). Good luck, and watch your inbox!

Thanks for celebrating this new book with us!

Feeling generous? Give this post a share! And good luck in the giveaway & writing contest!

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Release Day: The Conflict Thesaurus (Volume 2) Is Here! appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

The Conflict Thesaurus GOLD edition (Volume 1) served up a smorgasbord of conflict scenarios that would challenge, strain, and reshape a character into who they must become to win.

This SILVER edition (Volume 2) offers yet more problems, challenges, and points of friction, so we thought you might like to read through some of them and how they create minor inconveniences or disastrous fallout depending on what your story needs:

Being Injured
Experiencing Discrimination
Losing a Vital Item 
Telling the Truth but Not Being Believed
Being Trapped 
Having Unwanted Powers 

(To see the entire list of 115 conflict scenarios, go here.)

This SILVER guide also delves into more ways conflict can be used to power your story, so get ready to level up your plotting skills so every event in your story pushes the story forward and deepens tension.

What writers are saying about this guide…

“Angela and Becca did such an amazing job of laying these two books out, they are literal compliments to each other. If you read one, I guarantee you will become obsessed with reading the other. It is like finally resolving the cliffhanger that left you craving more.” ~ Vincent Jobson

“Volume 2 of The Conflict Thesaurus series is a gold mine. A wealth of information you absolutely have to have in your writing craft library.” ~ Tara Baisden

“Volume 2 of The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles is a tool that I have no hesitation in calling indispensable. It’s a book that you can crack the cover and immediately start using in either creating a new story or working on a current one.” ~ Nichole Squire

“Not only is the new material insightful, but when going through the book, I found my mind jumping to my current WIP (work-in-progress) as well as roughly plotting future books with ideas brimming to the surface, all saying, Write me. No, write me first.” ~ Kathy

Add the book to your Goodreads list and see the reviews
See the master list of entries
Buy the book in print and ebook or PDF formats
Check out The Conflict Thesaurus Volume 1

Do you enjoy writing conflict and consider it an area of strength for you? Let us know in the comments!

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post A Look Inside The Conflict Thesaurus SILVER Edition appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

A while back, I sat through yet another webinar on the topic, and a formula emerged, a formula that finally resonated with me. So, I figured I’d share my discovery with you in the hopes that it’ll work for you, as well.

A 3-Step Formula

Back cover copy follows a simple three-step formula, but we do have wiggle room to experiment. With readers’ short attention spans these days, the advice is to keep the entire description to roughly 150-200 words. If your description runs 25 words longer than the desired range, I wouldn’t sweat it too much.

Step 1: Headline/Hook

To find our hook we need to look at the main conflict of our story. We want readers to identify with said conflict, so don’t shy away from the emotional impact it causes the hero. Don’t dwell on it, either. Every word counts.

The following books sat on Amazon’s Top 10 Bestsellers List in Psychological Thrillers for weeks after the release, and each description employs this exact formula. These authors worked hard on their hooks, and it shows.

What would it take to make you intervene? — I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll 

It begins with a phone call. It ends with a missing child. — Guilty by Laura Elliot

When family secrets are unearthed, a woman’s past can become a dangerous place to hide… — Twist of Faith by Ellen J. Green

Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away. — Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

They were all there the day your sister went missing. Who is lying? Who is next? — The Reunion by Samantha Hayes

She’s a daughter he didn’t know he had. Until she calls him… from death row. — 30 Days of Justis by John Ellsworth

What if you discovered your husband was a serial killer? — Tell Me I’m Wrong by Adam Croft

Side note: Adam Croft is a master at hooking readers. This next book he wrote after he created the hook. What a doozy, too!

Could you murder your wife to save your daughter? — Her Last Tomorrow by Adam Croft

Wow. Right? If that hook doesn’t grab fans of the genre, nothing will.

Step 2: Short Synopsis

The synopsis also follows a micro-formula…

1. Introduce the protagonist by showing what defines their role in the story.
2. What is that character up against?
3. What’s standing in their way?
4. Transition paragraph or as PJ Parrish calls it, “The Big But.”
5. End with a cliffhanger.

Let’s go back to our examples to see if this micro-formula has merit. The red-bracketed numbers correspond to steps 1-5.

Her Last Tomorrow by Adam Croft

Nick and Tasha are a couple held together by their five-year-old daughter [1]. Until one ordinary morning, when Ellie vanishes amid the chaos of the school run [2].

Nick knows she can’t have gone far on her own, which can mean only one thing: she’s not on her own. Who would take his daughter, and why? With no motive and no leads, Nick is thrown into a tailspin of suspicion and guilt. Like Tasha, he doesn’t know what to think, or whom to trust… [3]

But then someone starts doing the thinking for him. Confronted with an impossible choice, Nick will have to make a decision, and both options will leave him with blood on his hands. But perhaps that’s to be expected. [4]

After all, Nick’s not quite as blameless as he seems. [5]

I Am Watching You by Teresa Driscoll

When Ella Longfield overhears two attractive young men flirting with teenage girls on a train, she thinks nothing of it—until she realises they are fresh out of prison and her maternal instinct is put on high alert.[1] But just as she’s decided to call for help, something stops her. The next day, she wakes up to the news that one of the girls—beautiful, green-eyed Anna Ballard—has disappeared. [2]

A year later, Anna is still missing. Ella is wracked with guilt over what she failed to do, and she’s not the only one who can’t forget. Someone is sending her threatening letters—letters that make her fear for her life. [3]

Then an anniversary appeal reveals that Anna’s friends and family might have something to hide. Anna’s best friend, Sarah, hasn’t been telling the whole truth about what really happened that night—and her parents have been keeping secrets of their own. [4]

Someone knows where Anna is—and they’re not telling. But they are watching Ella. [5]

Guilty by Laura Elliot

On a warm summer’s morning, thirteen-year-old schoolgirl Constance Lawson is reported missing. [2]

A few days later, Constance’s uncle, Karl Lawson, suddenly finds himself swept up in a media frenzy created by journalist Amanda Bowe implying that he is the prime suspect. [1]

Six years later … [4]

Karl’s life is in ruins. His marriage is over, his family destroyed. But the woman who took everything away from him is thriving. With a successful career, husband and a gorgeous baby boy, Amanda’s world is complete. Until the day she receives a phone call and in a heartbeat, she is plunged into every mother’s worst nightmare. [3]

* * *

Even though Guilty played with the order, the description works. The formula still holds. Hence why I mentioned the wiggle room at the beginning of this post. *grin* Also note: some authors put their characters’ names and/or important details in bold, and the words catch the reader’s eye.

Step 3: Selling Paragraph

The selling paragraph answers two variations of the same question that readers ask themselves:

It sounds good, but how do I know it’s for me?
Sounds good, but will I like it?

There’s two ways we can go here, by showing similar books — if you enjoyed X, you will love Y — or by simply mentioning the genre.

A psychological thriller that keeps you guessing till the last chilling page.

If you like heart-hammering suspense, this book is for you!

A third option is to use clips of reader reviews or blurbs from authors in your genre.

Do you enjoy writing back cover copy?
Do you follow a similar formula?

SUE COLETTA - Resident Writing Coach

Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net.” She also blogs at the Kill Zone (Writer’s Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers”). Her backlist includes psychological thrillers, the Mayhem Series (books 1-3), Grafton County Series, and true crime/narrative nonfiction. Now, she exclusively writes eco-thrillers, Mayhem Series (books 4-7 and continuing). Sue’s appeared on the Emmy award-winning true crime series, Storm of Suspicion, and three episodes of A Time to Kill on Investigation Discovery. Find out more about our RWC team here and connect with Sue below or at www.suecoletta.com.

The post Back Cover Copy Formula appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

It’s a big anniversary for us, folks! Ten years ago today we hit the publish button on The Emotion Thesaurus.

10 Years. Can you believe it?

We wrote this book hoping to help others who struggled with showing character emotion, but deep down, we were terrified. It was our first book. We were nobodies…who would take us seriously? And we were self-publishing at a time when the industry wasn’t too fond of that just yet.

We had no idea it would go on to become so well-loved book. And oh my gosh, guys–thank you so much for that!

Many of you have told us the Emotion Thesaurus never leaves your desk, and it’s hard to describe how good that makes us feel. Talk about honored. It got us thinking about the many other must-have resources that help writers create, publish, and build satisfying careers. That led to a very big question:

What would the Ultimate Writer’s Toolkit look like?

So, we polled other writers, made a list of the best of the best, and then reached out to the leaders in our industry to see if they would help us build an ULTIMATE toolkit and give it away.

The Ultimate Writer’s Toolkit Giveaway

Buckle in, writers, because one of you will win…

A 1-Year Subscription to Jane Friedman’s The Hot Sheet: An award-winning newsletter that will keep you up to date on the market, industry news, author earnings, trending topics, and new opportunities. (Value: $59) 

Writer’s Digest’s Get Published in 2022 Bundle: Nine amazing resources to help you stay productive, get published, and keep a positive mindset, so you reach your creative goals. (Value: $79.99)

Joanna Penn’s Author Business Plan Course: Learn the elements of an effective business plan, questions you need to answer to discover what lies behind the plan, and how to act on decisions made to take your author career to the next level. (Value: $99)

A 1-Year Subscription to One Stop for Writers: Everything a writer needs to create fresh, breakout fiction: powerful character and plotting tools, worldbuilding surveys, worksheets, the largest show-don’t-tell database available anywhere, and a Storyteller’s Roadmap to guide you from that first idea all the way to a publish-ready book. (Value: $105)

A Scrivener Writing Software License: Provides all you need to write and brings together your notes, research, and writing…so it’s always at hand. It also lets you set word targets for your entire manuscript or for the current writing session—which can be great motivation. (Value: $49)

A 1-Year ProWritingAid License: More features than any other manuscript editing software on the market! Improve your writing quickly and efficiently with thousands of grammar, spelling and readability improvements delivered in real-time as you write. (Value: $79)

The Hero’s Two Journeys Video Access: Two of Hollywood’s top Story Experts, Michael Hauge & Chris Vogler, reveal the secrets of mastering Plot Structure, Character Arc, Identity, Essence, Archetype and Theme. (Value: $39)

A 1-Year Subscription to StoryTeller: Get ready for revision to get a lot easier! Use Fictionary’s 38 Story Elements to evaluate your story scene to scene so only your best writing makes it to the page. (Value: $200)

A 1-Year Premium Membership to The Critique Circle: Continuously improve your writing by critiquing others and building relationships with authors who will help with your manuscripts. You can receive multiple critiques and compare feedback to see what’s working and what areas need to be strengthened. (Value: $50)

A Publisher Rocket License: Publisher Rocket helps get your book in front of more Amazon shoppers with four tools to increase book sales. It makes finding keywords, sizing up the competition, and choosing profitable categories quick and easy. (Value: $97)

A 1-Year Subscription to Book Brush: The easiest way to create professional ads, social media images, and 3D book covers using author-specific stamps, templates and animations. (Value: $99)

A 1-Year Subscription to StoryOrigin: Build your mailing list, increase sales, and find reviewers for your book all in one place. Everything an author needs to super-charge their marketing! (Value: $100)

A Writers Helping Writers Thesaurus Set*: Nine bestselling writing guides to help you activate the power of show-don’t-tell to involve readers more deeply in the world, events, and emotional undercurrents of your book. *US winner: print, International winner: digital. Emotion Amplifiers is digital only

Say, are you drooling?
It’s okay, we don’t blame you!

We can’t wait to see who wins this unbelievable writing toolkit. It won’t just improve someone’s writing – it will accelerate their career!

Runner-Up Prize Alert!

Because Writer’s Digest is so generous, they are also offering a runner-up prize:

Writer’s Digest NaNoWriMo Prep Bundle: Tons of tools to get your creativity flowing, keep you motivated, and complete your first draft in 30 days. ($56.99)

Thank you to all the generous sponsors who contributed to this Ultimate Writer’s Toolkit!

A little something from Becca & Angela

Many of you have The Emotion Thesaurus, either the original (75 emotions), or the 2nd edition (130 emotions), but you may not know it’s also at One Stop for Writers where we expand it from time to time.

In fact, we recently added 5 NEW EMOTIONS: Joy, Indignation, Misery, Giddiness, and Revulsion, so if you like, start a 2-week free trial to check out these entries (and the rest of the database), or…

Give yourself a 30% discount by using the code EMOTION when you sign up to any paid plan.

(Code valid until May 18th, 2022.)

Ready to enter the Giveaway? Find it below & good luck!

All the usual giveaway legalese applies – no purchase necessary, must be 18, and the winner is subject to our giveaway policies here. Additionally, these prizes have no cash value and cannot be exchanged. Some may have a time limit for redemption or other prize-specific conditions.

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post 10-Year Celebration: Win the Ultimate Writer’s Toolkit appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles (Volume 1) is a game-changer for writers, screenwriters, game designers, and anyone else who needs a steady stream of ideas on how to challenge their characters inside and out.

Conflict is a big deal. It touches everything: plot, pacing, characterization and character arc, theme, stakes, and more. It’s one of the best tools out there for helping our books stand out from others in our genre, too…if we use it the right way.

This book will help you brainstorm meaningful conflict scenarios that capture attention. Instead of just throwing rocks to slow their progress toward a goal, we’ll show you how to target a character’s soft spots. You’ll learn how to cause them to struggle internally while challenging them externally, forcing them to dig deep if they are to succeed.

Here’s a more detailed look at this book.
Find the full list of conflict scenarios (& sample entries) here.
Here’s what people are saying about The Conflict Thesaurus.
And here’s where you can buy it, print and digital.

All this talk about conflict has us wondering one thing: how would you do if you were in the hot seat instead of one of your characters?

Introducing…

As writers, we shove our characters through life’s meat grinder, again and again. But what if YOU are the protagonist who has to face difficult problems, obstacles, and dilemmas?

Will your choices lead to victory…or failure?

Let’s put it to the test! Survive, and you might just win something neat.

Yes, there are some great prizes waiting for you in the Conflict Challenge, but would it be a Thesaurus book release without a giveaway? Of course not. So…

ENTER OUR GIVEAWAY, TOO!

Subject to our legal policy, of course. Draw ends midnight October 15th, EST.

Giveaway now closed. Watch your inboxes in case you’ve won!

Thanks for celebrating with us. Shares are greatly appreciated!

After you take the CONFLICT CHALLENGE, send your fellow writers to this post so they can test their survival skills, too!

.

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post Release Day: The Conflict Thesaurus Is Here! appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

But first…

THE COVER!

Isn’t she pretty?

We figured it was time to go for gold, because, well, this book is a goldmine of conflict scenarios that will challenge your character inside and out! Here’s the back jacket…

THE CONFLICT THESAURUS, VOLUME 1:
A Writer’s Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles

Every story starts with a character who is motivated by a need and has a goal that can resolve it. Whether their objective is to find a life partner, bring a killer to justice, overthrow a cruel regime, or something else, conflict transforms a story premise into something fresh. Physical obstacles, adversaries, moral dilemmas, deep-seated doubts and personal struggles…these not only block a character’s external progress, they become a gateway for internal growth. The right conflict will build tension and high stakes, challenge characters as they traverse their arcs, and most importantly, keep readers emotionally invested from beginning to end.

CHOOSE MEANINGFUL CONFLICT TO FIT YOUR CHARACTER AND STORY

IInside Volume 1 of The Conflict Thesaurus, you’ll find:

• A myriad of conflict options in the form of relationship friction, failures and mistakes, moral dilemmas and temptations, pressure and ticking clocks, and no-win scenarios
• An analysis of each scenario that maps out possible complications and catastrophes, internal struggles, and the stressful impacts on a character’s basic human needs 
• Guidance on using conflict to influence your protagonist’s character arc through opportunities for failure and success
• Master class instruction on internal conflict: what it is, why it’s important, and how to incorporate it at the scene and story levels
• Information about the role conflict plays in generating high stakes that are personally significant to the character, upping the tension for readers
• A breakdown of the various adversaries your character might encounter along the way

Don’t give your character a break. Keep the hits coming with a variety of obstacles that will force them to work harder to get what they want. With over 100 entries arranged in a user-friendly format, The Conflict Thesaurus is the guide you need to write intense and satisfying fiction readers won’t forget.

Volume 1… Does that mean what I think it does?

Yes! There will be two volumes. The second will contain even more advice on writing conflict and offer more conflict scenarios, giving you endless ways to challenge your characters. Look for Volume 2 releasing in 2022.

Will there be a preorder?

Sorry, no. We’ve tried a preorder in the past, but a certain online store made a mess of it (costing us hundreds of sales), so we’re not eager to try again. Our apologies. But you can get a notification the instant the book is available. Just add your email here!

Can I get an ARC of the Conflict Thesaurus?

Every book launch we give out 50 Arcs, and unfortunately these have already been distributed. We’re sorry! But we hope you will review this guide when it’s out, and we’d be honored to have you on our Street Team if you’d like to be involved. (See below)

Will you have a Street Team? Can I help?

Yes, yes, and YES! If you would like to be part of our Street Team, you can sign up here. To make this a success, we need helpers in many areas and your support is always appreciated so much. Plus, you get a front row seat to managing a Street Team and running a launch, which you can apply to your own book launches!

Can I access The Conflict Thesaurus at One Stop for Writers?

Yes, in September. We always add all thesauruses to One Stop for Writers where they Borg into the largest descriptive database found anywhere.

Did we miss a question? If so, please ask and we’ll be happy to answer!

We hope you are as excited for this book as we are! Two months…hurry up and get here, October 12th!

~ Becca & Angela

ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

The post The Conflict Thesaurus Writing Guide Is Coming appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

Do you remember being a child in a bookstore? 

With shelves upon shelves of books around, you felt positively overwhelmed and full of anticipation. Hundreds of stories waited for you to take a peek behind their covers. And then, you stumbled upon a book that grabbed your attention. Your eyes were glued to its shiny surface. The colors, the art, the beautiful font — they were impossible to ignore. Without even opening the book, you already wanted to experience the world hidden inside. 

That’s the cover every book deserves; it should evoke emotion, whatever the readers’ age. 

In this post, we’ll be examining how to achieve that hard-hitting first impression. But first…

How Do People Decide which Book to Buy? 

A few years ago, aspiring writer Gigi Griffis decided to conduct a little survey to figure out how avid readers pick new books. Here are her results: 

• 85% said that they buy books of the authors they already loved
• A friend’s recommendation was the second most popular reason (77%)
• 47% and 48% respectively cited book sales and gorgeous cover art

These numbers confirm what we’ve already suspected: people stick with the familiar and they let their eyes guide them. Fortunately, a professional book cover can help us create that sense of familiarity while also attracting readers. While there is no secret universal formula, there are essentials that will help you lay a solid foundation for an emotionally impactful cover. The main and primary rule is:

Know Your Target Audience 

Most of the time, readers already know what kind of a book they want. More specifically, they know the emotion they want to experience: 

I want to be scared
I want to be thrilled
I want to explore strange and captivating worlds
I want to feel in love

For a cover to “hit” the target audience in just the right way, it’s primary purpose should communicate: This book has the feeling/vibe you’re looking for! 

The first way we can accomplish this is through color.

Color

People have strong, well-defined associations with color and temperature, smell, and emotions. A color can be warm, cool, wet, or dry. It can signal danger or imply coziness. An effective book cover should use associations like these to achieve the desired emotional result.

Here are a few examples: 

The combination of dark and red implies danger and tension, making it a good choice for horror and crime novels.

Pastel hues often indicate tenderness and sensitivity, so they do wonders for romance. 

Red and orange are associated with energy. They’re fun, vibrant, youthful colors, which makes them a good choice for action. 

Purple is associated with royalty, majesty, or nobility and can often have a spiritual or mysterious quality. It suits fantasy or paranormal literature well. 

Of course, color associations may differ from culture to culture or person to person. But don’t let that stop you from using some common palettes to target as many potential readers as possible. Think about what emotions you want to evoke in your ideal audience and choose the best colors for the task. 

Imagery 

Chip Kidd—a well-known and delightfully eccentric book cover designer—has said that his job in designing a cover is to ask: “What does the story look like?”

The imagery of your cover should answer this question while also communicating the book’s genre (which helps achieve that sense of familiarity). So don’t hesitate to follow the established canons of the genre. If the idea is common, masterful execution and a unique take can still make the visuals fresh, as we see in the following examples. 

It’s okay to go for a wide-angle shot of a planet for sci-fi. 

Spooky forest for a mystery story? No problem. 

A dragon silhouette for a fantasy book? Why not? 

You get the idea. 

Our recommendation? Do your research and find references. A nice source of inspiration can be movie posters, photoshoots, other book covers, and paintings. As for the style of the art, it doesn’t matter whether you choose a photo-based, illustrated, minimalistic, or abstract cover. Just make sure it suits the mood and genre of your book. 

Typography 

The primary rule of book cover typography is to choose the font that suits your genre and complements the imagery. Here’s a handy example. 

On the left, we have a traditional fantasy font. It emphasizes the genre; its elegance suits the imagery, and it communicates the proper sense of wonder and adventure. The squarish font on the right belongs to sci-fi more than to fantasy. It creates dissonance and detracts from the familiarity we’re striving for. 

If you’re looking for tried-and-true fonts for a new story in a particular genre, consider the following:

FANTASY

• Serif
• Gothic
• Baskerville
• Apple Garamond
• Trajan Pro
• Cinzel

ROMANCE

• Cassandra
• Countryside
• Beautiful People
• Blessed Day
• Painter
• One More Day

CRIME AND MYSTERY

• Hennigar Regular 
• Roar Bold 
• Cook County Jailhouse 
• Trade Gothic
• Romic 
• Interstate 

SCIENCE FICTION

• Encode Sans 
• Josefin Sans 
• Grove 
• Orbitron 
• Roboto 
• Geom Graphic 

If you’re worried about using a font that’s a little too predictable, amplify the vibe by adding a texture and/or some volume. Compare the following pictures. Which is more interesting?

Besides choosing a proper font and breathing some life into it, here are some general typography tips: 

• Try not to use more than two different typefaces. If you’re unsure, you can always use some of the Sans Serif family. Here’s a handy tool for finding font combinations. 
• Make the title the dominating element of the cover. If you don’t yet have a huge following, the title should be bigger than a subtitle and your name. 
• Place your subtitle either beneath the title or between its lines. 
• Align the title, the subtitle, and the author’s name similarly—left, right, or center. Usually, the latter option is the safest.  
• If you write for an audience that reads from left to right, use the Z-pattern layout. It follows the way we read: from the left-top then diagonally to the right-bottom.

Never underestimate the typography, since it has the power to ruin or enhance your cover. Treat it as cake frosting — it’s there to make your creation even more impressive and appetizing. 

Summing Up

Overall, if you keep in mind your readers’ desires, use the power of imagery to its full extent, and tie it all together with proper typography, you’re on your way to creating an emotionally impactful book cover. This piece of art will help promote your book to new readers while also releasing their inner child, freed from life’s responsibilities to get lost in the pages of the perfect book.

In your opinion, what makes a book cover emotionally impactful? 

Vova is a Senior Graphic Designer at Miblart—a book cover design company for self-published authors. We believe a book cover is the №1 marketing tool, and we help authors get the most out of it.

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The post How to Evoke Emotions with Book Cover Design appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.