Fill-Me-In Friday: Best Writing Links of the Week!

 

Did I miss the train?

Photo by Son of Groucho
  

Busy week? Need to catch up? It's time for Fill-Me-In Friday where I share the best links I've come across this week. 

 First a final reminder, my STILL INTO YOU contest is still open! So for a $2.99 purchase of STILL INTO YOU, you get a sexy novella and a chance to win a gift card, a box of awesome ($30 value) or a 20 page critique from me (not sure how much that's worth, but I had a 10pg crit go for almost $400 in a charity auction last year, so this is a deal compared to that, lol.) Contest closes Monday night.

Also, huge thanks to everyone who has already bought STILL. *hugs* I heart you guys. : )

 

All right, enough shameless promotion, on to the links...

On Writing/Publishing: 

 

Special Annoucement:

 

On Social Networking:

 

On Life: 

 

What You May Have Missed Here:

Order STILL INTO YOU This Week and Win a Box of Awesome!

 

 

How To Write Love Scenes That Don't Suck - A Free Class!

 

 

Spice It Up Thursday: Music Is For More Than Dancing

 

And thanks to the following reviewers for posting reviews this week... 

  • "All I can say is I was blown away. A very true look into marriage, how it develops, fantasies being met and the depth each is willing to go to only to save their love and marriage. A must read!" - Delighted Reader 
  • "Still Into You was a great emotional and sexy read. Once they arrived at The Ranch, the sizzle factor went through the roof. Besides the smoking hot sex scenes, there was a great story about two people who love each other trying to find their way back." -Love To Read For Fun
  • "Realistic, sweet and adorable romance!  Recommended!"- Books Are Magic
  • "Roni Loren writes unconventional love stories that are hot enough to make the pages spontaneously combust, yet also emotionally complex and beautifully told.  You don’t find that combination very often...at least I don’t.  I think she is a must read for erotic romance lovers." - Seductive Musings
  • "I loved the story.  Seth and Leila's marriage was perfectly written and their struggles with juggling family, responsibilities and still keeping the "spark" in a marriage alive was dead on.  Roni Loren is quickly becoming a must buy for me.  Can't wait for Melt Into You."- Cocktails and Books
  • "Roni was able to convey not only the pain they felt but the passion. Oh my goodness, but do these two have some serious passion together. Seth and Leila are way hot together, and I enjoyed watching them reconnect with one another. After finishing this novella, I definitely can't wait to get my hands on more from Roni Loren." - Ramblings from This Chick
  • And if you want to see who I used for visual inspiration, check out my mancandy post at Romancing Rakes For The Love of Romance: Guest Post with Roni Loren + Giveaway

 

All right, that's all I've got this week. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

How To Write Love Scenes That Don't Suck - A Free Class!

Parisian Love Lock Photo by Allen Skyy (click photo for link)

If you were not able to attend DFW Con this year, then you missed out on my How to Write Love Scenes That Don't Suck class. But don't stress, for this one time only, I'm going to be offering this class free through Candace Havens' free writer workshop loop. The class starts Monday June 18 and ends on the 22nd. The information will be through a yahoo loop so you don't have to be present at any specific time during the day but will need to check in to participate at some point each day.

Here's the class description:

How To Write Love Scenes That Don't Suck -- Whether you're writing YA, thrillers, or melt-the-pages romance, no one wants to write love scenes that have readers skimming the pages. Learn tips and tricks on how to write different types of love scenes, how to tailor them to your genre, the components of a great love scene, and how to get past any oh-no-my-mother-might-read-this qualms.

To sign up go here, scroll down, and sign up for the yahoo loop under Free Writing Workshops.

Hope to see y'all there! :)

CONTEST ALERT: And in case you missed it on Monday my contest is still open - Order STILL INTO YOU This Week and Win a Box of Awesome, a gift card, or a 20 page critique from me!

STILL INTO YOU is out today! Three Days. No Rings. Will their marriage survive?

 

So hopefully y'all will forgive me for the blatant promotional post today in lieu of Boyfriend of the Week. But it's my book's birthday! Yay!

And don't despair, there is still a Boyfriend of the Week to be had. I'm over at Romancing Rakes For the Love of Romance with photos of the inspiration for Seth, the hero for STILL INTO YOU! 

Blurb (in case you missed it the hundred other times I posted it):

Three days, no rings...

Seth and Leila used to have trouble keeping their hands off each other. Passion, desire, love—it was all there. Yet, eight years after their whirlwind marriage and kids, they’ve settled into a life where choosing Letterman over Leno is considered a wild night.

Seth knows things need to change. But when he hears his wife call into a relationship radio show and admit she’s been tempted to cheat, he realizes how far off course they’ve gotten. He comes up with a dramatic plan. Three days. No rings. He’ll take Leila to The Ranch, a resort where any sexual fantasy can be had, and give her the freedom to have whatever or whomever she wants.

However, Seth doesn’t intend to simply stand by and watch other men fulfill Leila’s dark desires. He has a lot more bad boy in him than his wife suspects and he knows there’s only one man who can give her what she needs. Now he has to show her why that man is him.

Now here are your instructions:

1. Buy book in your preferred format (Kindle or Nook) because of any or all of the following reasons:

a) It's a kickass story and only $2.99

b) the cover will look pretty on your e-reader

c) you love me

d) you just want to see a little more of Jace from Crash Into You

e) you want to help fund my iced tea and fancy cheese addiction

 

2. Read the story.

-Keep a significant other readily available.

 

3. If you love it...

a) Tell everyone you know

b) Review it online

c) Lend it to a friend

 

4. If you hate it...

a) Uh, just send me a private email berating me. ;)

b) All right, I can take it, you can review it too.

 

5. Rinse. Repeat in July when MELT INTO YOU releases. (<--told you, I'm shameless.)

 

All right, now off with you, you've got important work to do today!

Love you guys! *hugs*

Fill-Me-In Friday: Best Writing Links of the Week

 

Did I miss the train?

Photo by Son of Groucho
  

 Need to catch up? Here are the best posts I've come across this week.

On Writing/Publsihing:

Beth Revis: How to Respond to Negative Reviews <--A must read

Stephen King’s 20 Tips for Becoming a Frighteningly Good Writer via Boost Blog Traffic

4 Reasons for Published Authors to Attend Conferences - Books & Such Literary Agency

Five tell-tale signs of a novice novelist « helencareybooks

Beating the Anxiety of Online Reading :zenhabits

Author, Jody Hedlund: Why Skimping on Macro Editing Could Cost You Readers

In Which I Get A Little Grumpy | Lauren Dane

Can You Hear the People Sing? :: The Knight Agency, Inc. -- A Literary Agency (on "no" not meaning "never" anymore)

Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action: The Horror of It All -- Writers on Being Scary With Words

 

On Social Media:

5 Types of Marketing Platforms: Which Is Right for You? | Goins, Writer

Should You Move from Wordpress.com to Wordpress.org? | Marcy Kennedy

 

Random Stuff:

13 books to read after Fifty Shades of Grey | Cassandra Carr

JCPenney Responds to Homophobic Boycott Calls with Gay Father's Day Ad <--go on with your bad self JC Penney

 

What You May Have Missed Here:

 

Made of Win Monday: Reading Binges

 

THE SIREN Takes Over Boyfriend of the Week

 

 

Readers Face the Slush Pile: A Few Hard Truths

(one of the most popular posts I've had in a long time)

 

 

Spice It Up Thursday: Sexy Role-Playing (And a STILL INTO YOU excerpt) 

 

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Readers Face the Slush Pile: A Few Hard Truths

Elliott bay: Seattle's legendary independent bookstore - IMG_1422

Photo of Seattle's Elliot Bay bookstore by Nicola since 1972

I know the publishing industry has been in major flux over the last few years with e-readers and the advent of digital self-publishing. (Let's mark that as my most obvious statement of the year.)

And though change is always uncomfortable and stressful, I think it's also opened up a whole new world for writers. Like agent Deidre Knight posted about recently--No, no longer means never. If a book can't find an agent or a publishing home (or the author doesn't want to go that route at all), self-pubbing is there. Options are wonderful to have. It gives power to the author. Yay for that!

However, that also means that books now don't have to go through gatekeepers, so Amazon and online bookstores are open to anyone who wants to put words on a page (whether well-written or not). That means there is a tidal wave of slush filling up the market and it's up to the reader to decide if a book is worthy or not.

First novel attempts are out there (thank God this option wasn't around when I thought my first attempt at writing a book was made of awesome--it wasn't and would be an embarrassment to me now.) Rough drafts are out there. Total, breathtaking masterpieces are out there. But it's up to the consumer to sift through it and discover and applaud the ones worthy of it by posting great reviews and passing on word of mouth.

But here's the thing: lots of readers seem to be perfectly impressed by mediocre writing.

Now, I know books are a totally subjective experience. And who am I to judge what is good or bad writing. But there are also standard practices of writing, clichés to avoid, and just general solid story telling techniques that are around for a reason. And I realize that I'm a writer who is going to have a much more critical eye when it comes to craft, but still it's frustrating seeing a book with a nice cover, a good blurb, and great reviews/sales rank, getting excited, then opening up those sample pages and groaning with disappointment.

Yesterday, I had it happen twice. Two books that looked great and then didn't deliver in the sample pages. If they'd been read in the opening pages gong show I talked about last week, they would've been gonged by the agents, no doubt. But these authors are selling books and have an army of good reviews gracing Amazon, so either they're padding their reviews or most readers are satisfied with "decent" writing ability. 

Now, before anyone jumps my case, I'm not saying there aren't traditionally pubbed books that suck too. But at least they've been through a few editors, including not just a copy editor but a macro editor who is looking at the big picture stuff. Grammar and typos can be handled by a high school English student. Having an editor that can critically evaluate things like story structure, character arc, info dumps, plot holes, etc. is not quite as easy to find. That kind of editing is what is going to separate (whether traditional or indie) the good stories from the just alright.  

So here are some hard truths I've come to terms with regarding the new world of books...

#1 I can't trust reviews or sales ranking anymore unless the review comes from someone I know and trust or a professional book blogger/reviewer who I know gives honest opinions.

And I am looking more and more towards goodreads instead of amazon for reviews. I find that goodreads gives a more well-rounded picture. And I'm learning the book bloggers who tend to have taste similar to mine, so I trust their recommendations.

 

#2 For self-pubbed/indie books, I'm reading sample pages before I buy unless it's an author I already know/have read/trust.

No, it's not fair that I tend not to do this for traditionally pubbed books. Usually if the blurb and cover grab me, I'm buying. But I've been burned one too many times on the self-pubbed stuff, so I'm reading pages before purchase.

 

#3 Though the gates opening is a great thing, I think we're going to miss out on some really fantastic writing from authors who would've had to hone and refine their craft more if they'd faced the gates first.

If an author puts out a book that's "good enough" or "decent" and it sells well, there is no motivation for her to take the time to study craft and get better, to push herself. In fact, the only thing she'll probably feel pressure to do is write the next one as fast as she can to get more "shelf" space. So, she can continue to put out more of the same. That's great if she can make a living at it, but what kind of story may the world have gotten if she'd had to push a little further, dug a little deeper? (So if you are publishing, either self or traditionally, always remember to hone your craft. Study books/blogs on writing, read books from authors who are masters at their craft, and always strive to make the next book better. Never be happy with "good enough.")

 

#4 Being a writer means being a picky reader.

I'm almost jealous of those readers who can read a not so well-written book and enjoy it--not pick up on the clichés or the 20 million exclamation points, not worry that the character is looking at herself in the mirror and describing how she looks, not seeing the plot holes. Being a writer is like being a chef who tries to eat in someone else's restaurant and sees every flaw in the food.

 

#5 I now have an endless variety of stories to choose from.

This is a good one. I LOVE that books that may not have fit in the traditional mold and would've gotten put in a drawer are getting out there. Genre-crossers, niche stories, boundary-pushers, shorter works. That's fantastic. I just have to accept that the flip side of this benefit means the extra step of sifting through the slush.

 

So yes, I'm all for writers having the variety of publishing options. I haven't ruled out self-pubbing stuff in between my traditional stuff in the future (if I can learn to write faster and have some time in between deadlines, lol.) But the benefits don't come without some negatives. As a reader, I now have to work a little harder to find what I want. It's something I'm still getting used to.

So what are your thoughts? How do you make your book buying decisions? Have you been burned buying a book that had stellar reviews and sales? Do you read sample pages before purchasing? What are some indie books that really knocked your socks off?