1 :: 1 ~ 7 Newbie Writer Mistakes

What mistakes did pro writers make as newbies? Here are 7 mistakes.

Find the transcript at this link. Also mentioned: Fiction Sales Copy, a course offered by Dean Wesley Smith & WMG Publishing & his nightly blog. WMG Courses on Teachable

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Hate and Love for Genre Tropes / Discovering Plot / 4:40 September 20, 2023
Tropes are those genre category-specific details, characters, and events that readers relish and anticipate: a magic sword, the hard-nosed detective who drinks on the job, and the corpse found and lost in a cozy mystery. Some tropes—such as the Golden Child—transcend a single genre and can be found in all major genres. Genre tropes can […]
M.A. Lee
Genre Expectations / Plot / 4:39 September 13, 2023
Genre expectations are reader expectations of the plot they will encounter. With all the books on the electronic and physical shelves, a classification system more than Fiction and NonFiction is necessary. Here comes Genre to save the day, like the famed Mighty Mouse. We have 10 major genres of fiction and countless subgenres within each […]
M.A. Lee
Plot, Story, and Story Length / Discovering Plot / 4:38 September 6, 2023
What do writers want to know about plot? What do writers need to know about plot? The Write Focus takes a comprehensive view of plot in the series Discovering Your Plot. Genre expectations, major story structures, pacing / tension / suspense ~ we cover it all. Today, we look at writers’ wants and needs for […]
M.A. Lee
Branding ~ Key Fundamentals for a Trailer / 4:37 August 30, 2023
Our last episode on Branding continues a focus on book trailers. For sample trailers, view the Show Notes for the August 23 episode at the website. It’s the Key Fundamentals of the Script for Trailers and Clips along with the skeletal framework that can expand or contract as needed. Beginning in September to the end […]
M.A. Lee
A Branding Hallmark: Trailers and Clips / 4:36 August 23, 2023
We’re talking Branding, and we’re almost through with this series. Promotion is a key element of the writing business, for indies as well as traditional authors. All writers need to learn the basics of self-promotion. That doesn’t mean promoting our selves. It does mean discovering and pursuing the best ways to promote our writing, the […]
M.A. Lee
Branding / Attract Readers to your Brand (& Here’s a Blurb Script) / 4:35 August 16, 2023
We’re talking Branding, and we’ve covered Books and Series. Now we take a look at how writers brand their own business. 1st Question: Pen name or not? Different pen names? 2nd Q: What guide helps create our brand? 3rd Q: How do we create an author biography? Finally, picking up from the last episodes, we […]
M.A. Lee
Branding / Market Copy Additional ”Between” Episode / 4:34 August 13, 2023
It’s our Branding “between” addition for Market Copy, featuring Ellis Peters and Elizabeth Peters. We pick up right where we left off in this stripped-down episode. No powerpoint / mp4 for this previous episode. Visit the previous episode for links and expanded show notes. Timings 00:00 Start 00:39 Intro 01:04 Market Copy in Action / […]
M.A. Lee
Branding / Clever Market Copy / 4:33 August 9, 2023
We’re talking Branding. Clever Titles was last episode; this one is Clever Market Copy. Market Copy means taglines and book descriptions, also known as Blurbs. We have 3 Rules that govern all Market Copy. Success happens with our understanding of the different roles of taglines and blurbs. Don’t be surprised if you spend hours and […]
M.A. Lee
Branding / Clever Titling / 4:32 August 2, 2023
We’re talking Branding. Before we launch into this week’s episode, let’s have a reminder. 1st ~ We have nanoseconds to capture a reader’s interest. We can capture that reader with three glances. The 1st glance is a cover that blazes with story. Our cover has to represent our story with 3 little words focusing on […]
M.A. Lee
Branding / Iconography part B / 4:31 July 26, 2023
We’re talking Branding. In this episode, we take a second look at Iconography. “Um-what?” you ask. Iconography is a fancy word that simply means “Writing with Images or Pictures”. Our covers catch a reader not with a blazing image but an image that blazes with story. Capturing our story on the cover is key to […]
M.A. Lee

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