It’s the final month of the year. Lets make 2015 go out with a bang. Here are your five links to read over the weekend.
1. I don’t generally do book reviews, for a lot of reasons, but if you do write book reviews, or plan to in the future, you should read How to Review Books Like Siskel & Ebert by Carrie Green at the awesome World Lit Cafe blog.
2. I think self-publishing is a very viable option to traditional or small press publishing, but there are still times where it might make sense to try to find an agent to represent your novel. Here is an article on How to Pitch Your Self-Published Book to an Agent by Chuck Sambuchino at Writers in the Storm.
3. We all toy with the idea of freelancing every now and then. The one thing to consider is whether or not it’s worth sacrificing some of the time you would normally spend writing fiction to apply for freelance jobs. I can definitely see a benefit toward looking for freelance jobs, however, but before you start looking I’d recommend reading 5 Tips for Becoming a Superb Freelance Writer by Georgina Roy at e-Books India.
4. What is social media for? Does it exist solely as a means for people to complain about every mundane detail of their life, or contribute to the viscous partisan name-calling that will no doubt lead to another civil war? Or can it be used for good as well? I think it can, especially for writers who want to stay positive, build an audience, and make connections. Here are 14 Must-Do Social Media Tips For Authors by Laurence O’Bryan at Services4Authors.
5. Finally, you should check out Drew Chial’s post How to Reroute your Story For A New Twist for some good advice on the use of foreshadowing, which is something we could all stand to be a little better at.
And that closes out this week. Read this stuff, and then go finish a short story or something. Don’t waste the weekend!
