Tuesday Tips and Tweaks with Bobbi Romans

This week author Bobbi Romans, joins us with her tip.
 
Hi I’m Bobbi Romans! I write all over the romance spectrum. Essentially, I write whichever story screams the loudest. Whether its paranormal,(Swamp Magic Series) contemporary, (Inhibition-X) spicy or sweet. (A Christmas of Coal & Mistletoe and An American Holiday)

Today, I was invited today by the fabulous Beverley Bateman to discuss some writing tips and experiences.

I’ll try to condense as many tips into one post that I can.
1) Sit and write. Find your style. Do what feels comfortable and works for you. There is no right or wrong way. You might like plotting first, or just starting off which a blank page and letting it go. (Hint: Be sure and keep an open doc for notes. Hair color, eye color, etc. That can be a serious pain to find half-way through should you forget. Ask me how I know-LOL)

2) Find a good critique group and or use a program like AutoCrit. (free or reasonable)

Be ready though to be shocked. Best advice I ever received, open your crit, scan, close and walk away until the next day. What initially may appear shocking, tends to make a lot more sense the next day. PLUS do you want good work.. or sugar coated crap? Remember, someone took TIME to read, consider and make all those notes. *AutoCrit is a program which can pick up overused words (this/that, was/were, it/there, etc) as well as over used clichés, etc.

3) Write the rainbow. An author buddy once spoke of this, and its fab advice. What’s the rainbow? Make up your own, but essentially, Brown=Dialogue, Blue=Environment, Red=Love, Black=Conflict, Green=Description. Print out your chapter and using highlighters, make sure you’ve colored the rainbow—in each one.

4)Another fabulous tip is to read your story aloud. There are also programs (some free) where it will read your story back. You’d be surprised at how fast you’ll “hear” errors.

5)RESEARCH! Not just your story, but the editor/agent/publisher you intend on querying. PLUS research how to write a proper query. Stalk them (quietly) on Facebook, Twitter, their blogs, etc to gather information from them. Most will post things they like/want or hate/avoid. QueryShark is a great place to research samples.

6)Social Media. Sorry, there’s no getting around it. At some point (don’t put off your story writing to do it) when you have time, you will need to become visible. By visible, have places pre-set (in your author name) to post tidbits about your book. Whether its a teaser while you write it, or a place to pitch for sales when done. Pick whichever one/ones you enjoy best that have the best stats.

Well, I’ve yapped enough. I’ll be checking in and out should anyone have questions.  Also, going to do a shout out, that I’ve started a new side biz, so any help spreading the word is MUCHO appreciated. What biz?

Bobbi’s Book Blurbs, Teasers &Tag Lines

$25.00

If you don’t like (NO USING) there is no charge

You have nothing to lose except a headache

Simply shoot over, a brief run down of your book/series to...

bobbiromans@yahoo.com

(or see samples at Safari Heat Book Tours& authors services)

You can find me or my stories all over the place, including the below;

FB: https://www.facebook.com/Bobbi-Romans-196420320461280/
Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/Bobbi-Romans/e/B00BL7LXLQ/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1463812714&sr=8-1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BobbiRomans

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbi-romans-866a8a97?trk=hp-identity-name

Thanks Bobbi, for dropping by and sharing that tip.

Don’t forget to check back next week for another author’s tip or tweak.