jennaharte
by jennaharte
Writing Deep POV to Up the Swoon in Romance Novels
May 9, 2023 in Blog, Video, Writing Romance
Romance novels are all about feels. Yes, other genres have feels, but in romance, we want the reader to experience the rollercoaster ride of love as if they’re actually there. The best way to immerse readers into a story is through deep POV. By writing in deep POV, you can create a more intimate connection between the reader and the character, allowing the reader to experience the character’s emotions in a more visceral way. This makes it easier for readers to empathize with the characters and become invested in their journey.
In this video, I cover what is deep POV and 6 tips to using it to boost the swoon factor of your romances. You can read the text version of the video below.
What is Deep POV?
Deep POV is a writing technique that pulls readers into the story as if they’re inside the point-of-view character’s mind. It essentially quiets the narrator (the author) and everything (thoughts, feelings, sensations, sights) is delivered through the POV character.
The best way to visualize this concept is with the movie The Sound of Music. At the beginning, we see the Alps in all its glory and we can hear Maria signing…the hills are a live, with the sound of music… But initially we don’t see her, or she’s a tiny speck. This is third person limited. Slowly, we move closer to her until finally we’re with her, twirling, singing, and basking in the beauty of the Alps. We can feel the sun on our faces, like Maria. We experience the joy that is emanating from her. That is deep POV.
Technically, deep POV is third-person limited writing, but switching to first person POV isn’t enough to write in deep POV. Plus, you may not want to write in first person, in which case you need to find a way to immerse your reader into the story so they live it vicariously.
Whether you write in third or first person, the tips below will help you create an immersive story that makes your readers swoon.
How to Write in Deep POV
Create 3-D Characters
For a reader to feel as if they’re alongside the character, the character needs to be fully formed, with a history that informs their thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, quirks, etc. If you’re a pantster, this may evolve during the writing, but the more you know your character, the easier it is to write as if you are them, not just telling the reader about them.
3-D characters have:
- A goal
- Conflict: Internal & External
- A temperament, personality, values
- A past that influences current motivation, beliefs and behavior
- A flaw that is overcome by the end of the book
Traits, such as appearance, interests, career, quirks, etc are only needed as they relate to who the character is and how it impacts the story. It doesn’t matter that your character loves chocolate, unless that is used to inform the character or plot.
Essential Question about Characters: How do characters’ traits manifest in the story to reveal who they are and accentuate the plot?
Write from a Singular POV (No head hopping)
You can have more than one POV character in your story, just not in a single scene. Writing in deep POV means being in one person’s head, experiencing everything that is going on through them. We (the reader) see what they see. We feel what they feel. We hear what they hear.
Explain Everything from the POV Character’s Point of View
When you’re in the POV character’s head, everything going on in the scene is filtered character’s attitudes, beliefs, past experiences, etc. So if it’s cold out and the POV person hates the cold, that will come through.
For example:
Sally stepped outside into the sleet, gasping as her foot lost purchase and slid across the porch until gravity brought her down. Cursing, she righted herself and inhaled the burning cold air. Whoever said February was like a month full of Mondays was right.
Another example:
Sally stepped outside into the sleet, gasping as her foot lost purchase and slid across the porch until gravity brought her down. Laughing, she righted herself and inhaled the cold, crisp air. I’m awake now, Mother Nature.
Don’t forget to layer everything with the POV’s character traits, including how they think. When your character has a thought, it should fit with who they are and how the move in the world.
Use Sensory Details
Tami Hoag has a series set in wintery Minnesota. I can read those books during the hot, humid summer in Virginia and feel cold. That’s what you want from your writing. You want your readers to see, hear, feel, taste, and smell everything your POV character does. Added with the layer of attitudes, beliefs, etc, sensory detail can reveal a great deal about the character and the plot.
For example:
She pulled her shirt away from her damp skin as a trickle of sweat dripped down the center of her back. Was there anything worse than sweat along the bra line?
In the above, we experience how hot it is and her attitude about it. In the previous example, we see the same situation (slipping when stepping outside) but two different attitudes about it.
Eliminate Filter Words (thought, realized, saw, heard, etc)
When you’re in deep POV, we don’t need to be told who is thinking, seeing, realizing, etc because we know who is doing the thinking, seeing, realizing, etc. These words are basically telling (remember, show, don’t tell).
For example:
Joe watched Jane descend the steps. She was stunning, he thought.
VS.
Joe watched Jane descent the steps. She was stunning.
Or….
I’m such a fool, she said to herself.
VS.
I’m such a fool. (Italicized to indicate thought)
Learn how to write setting from deep POV in the post on Writing Settings Readers Don’t Skip
Eliminate Dialogue Tags when Possible
Like filter words, dialogue tags (e.g. he said) are telling, not showing. It can be difficult to eliminate them all together (Kelly Moran once wrote a book without dialogue tags!) especially when there is more than one person in the room, but most books can significantly reduce them.
Instead of dialogue tags, use a thought or action to reveal who is talking.
“I love you,” he said as he wiped the tear from her cheek.
vs.
“I love you.” He wiped the tear from her cheek.
Or
He wiped the tear from her cheek. “I love you.”
Here is another example:
“You’re not the kind of man a woman forgets,” she said, trying to maintain the banter even though her heart was breaking.
Vs.
“You’re not the kind of man a woman forgets.” She wanted to maintain the banter, even though her heart was breaking.
If there are only two people in the scene, you can sometimes not use anything for one dialogue, as long as the reader can be clear on who is talking. Here’s an example from Deadly Valentine, between Tess and Jack at Asa’s party. The previous line (not shown) is Jack, and this first line is Tess.
“I didn’t know you knew Asa.”
“I don’t very well. It’s business.”
“You’re doing business with him?”
“Not yet. I probably won’t.” He shifted, moved closer. “Are you here alone?”
“No…Yes…”
One dark brow lifted.
“I came with someone, but he was called away,” Tess clarified.
“Too bad for him.”
“He’ll be back.”
“Too bad for me.”
You’ll notice that I used a dialogue tag above (Tess clarified). An occasional dialogue tag is okay to avoid the scene looking like a circus with people moving, scratching, thinking etc. action overwhelm. Sometimes, a short and sweet dialogue tag is better to keep the action of the dialogue going and not interrupted by a longer action or thought.
Use Active Voice
I have a video on passive and active voice in which I say passive voice isn’t wrong and there are occasions to use it. But when writing in deep POV, stronger, tighter prose is what keeps the reader feeling all the feels with the character. When the POV character is doing the action of the sentence, readers are intimately connected.
Sally was overwhelmed by emotion.
Vs.
Emotion overwhelmed Sally.
Here’s another example:
The avalanche caught up to Sally. The icy wall wrapped her up and tossed her around until she didn’t know up from down.
Vs.
Sally couldn’t out-ski the wall of snow barreling down on her. She fell under the weight of it, tossed around until she didn’t know up from down.
Caution
Remember, in deep POV, readers can only know and experience what our POV character knows and experiences. Often, our character can mis-interpret or misunderstand what’s going on based on their limited knowledge or biases. This can be a great tool for unreliable narration and to increase tension.
Do you have other tips for writing in Deep POV? Let me know in the comments below!
by jennaharte
Finding and Working with Beta Readers: A Guide for Romance Authors
May 2, 2023 in Blog, Editing, Video, Writing Romance
Beta readers are one of those recommendations other authors make, but often there is little information in how to find or work with a beta reader. While there is a great deal of leeway in cultivating beta readers, here are general tips and guidelines that you can use or tweak to fit your needs.
Text version of this video is below.
What is a Beta Reader?
The term “beta” comes from beta test in the software world in which a program nearing completion would be tested for bugs by outside sources before being given to the masses. Today, beta testing occurs with software, apps, gizmos, gadgets, products, and now books.
A beta reader reads a manuscript that is nearly complete to find issues in plot, pacing, characters, inconsistencies, spelling and grammar, and formatting, before the manuscript is sent to an editor. Beta readers differ from editors in that they’re experiencing the book as a reader would and only highlighting issues that get in the way of the reading experience. While some beta readers are also ARC readers (readers who get an advanced copy for review), the two are different.
While you can hire beta readers, for the most part, authors have readers who do it for free. Why? Because they love your work and want to be a part of the process. Because they want to read the story now, not later. Because they want to read for free. Because they enjoy helping authors. Beta readers read for all sorts of reasons.
You don’t need a gaggle of readers. Too many readers make it difficult to review all the feedback. Three is a good number…it’s enough to get a variety of insights without being overwhelming. With that said, you may want a team of readers (5-7) them so you have at least 3 readers available when needed or to have 3 feedbacks in case someone can’t read in time.
Preparing Your Romance Novel for Beta Readers
The beta readers are your last round of eyes before the novel goes to your editor (whether you’re an indie or traditional published author). The goal is to give them the complete reading experience. Here are tips for prepping your book for beta readers:
- Finish the book. Don’t send them a draft. Use drafts in your critique group or for alpha readers.
- Put together a short tag line or premise and blurb that you’ll use to let your readers know what the book is about so they can decide if they want to read it.
- Format the book. How you do this depends on how much you want your readers to be able to comment or mark up the manuscript and how they prefer to read. You can deliver a Word or Google Doc which your readers can mark up. Or you can send a PDF (there is an option to comment in PDFs). Another option is Epub, which is ideal for readers who like to read on Kindle or other e-reader.
Establishing Beta Reader Guidelines
Before you send off your manuscript, you should establish a process by which you want your readers to work with you. Here are some guidelines to set up:
- Expectations. What do you want your readers to let you know about? What sort of feedback are you looking for? If there are specific areas of concern, let them know about it. For example, if you think a character is too weak or a plot twist isn’t twisty enough.
- Time frame. You want to give your readers plenty of time to read, but not so much time the book gets lost in their to-dos. I generally give 3 weeks.
- Provide a list of questions. Help your readers help you by having specific questions they answer about your book. This can vary depending on the reader (fan, reader, other writer, etc), as well as genre, but can include questions such as, is the book too long or short? Did X make sense? Was character Y too over the top? Did the dialogue seem real? Could you feel the chemistry between the couple? Did you skip any parts? Would you continue reading this series? etc
- How to provide feedback. Give your readers opportunities for feedback beyond the questionnaire. If you’ve provided a Word or Google Doc, your readers can input their comments directly into it (you may need to show them how). Or do you want an email list of comments? Maybe you’ll set up a Zoom with one at a time, or all of them to get feedback.
- Give recognition. Beta readers are donating time to read and give you feedback, so have some sort of thank you for them. Maybe they get a print copy of the book when it’s published. Maybe you mention them in your acknowledgements. Maybe you give them a shout out on social media. Maybe you send them special swag. Maybe you do all of the above!
How to Choose Beta Readers
A challenge in finding beta readers is selecting ones who will follow through. Just like a portion of ARC readers don’t leave a review, you’ll have beta readers who don’t read the book. Along with people who can commit to reading, you’ll want to look for:
- Readers who read your books or genre. You need feedback from readers who know the genre.
- Readers who know how to review and critique. In the beginning, most my beta readers would say, “I loved it,” which made me feel good, but wasn’t helpful in terms of areas I needed to address in the book. That’s not to say they can’t praise the work, because you want them to highlight areas they enjoyed or that they felt you did well. But they also need to let you know that areas need work.
- Readers who can identify triggering or potentially offensive content. Sensitivity readers are beta readers, but not all beta readers will look for sensitive areas. If this is a concern, be sure to find a reader who can provide this sort of feedback for you.
- Readers you can trust. While manuscript stealing isn’t as prevalent as people fear, it can happen. Many authors ask their beta readers to sign a contract or non-disclosure form but some beta readers find this obnoxious. If you’re worried, file for copyright before sending your work to beta readers.
- Readers who are reliable. Most authors have a timeline to publication. You need to give beta readers enough time to read and get back to you, so that you have time to edit/revise before publishing, but also, your readers need to stick to that timeline.
- Readers who are only readers, as well as other writers. Other writers can be very helpful with critique, but your beta readers should also include readers-only so that you get feedback on the reader experience of the book.
- Readers who read a lot. The value of the beta reader is their vast knowledge and experience the genre. You don’t just want their personal preference (e.g. I don’t like the love triangle). You want your readers to provide feedback that helps you create a book that readers of that genre/subgenre/trope in general enjoy.
Where to Find Beta Readers
Beta readers are everywhere. When seeking beta readers, focus on readers who read your genre. Make it clear to them the subgenre and perhaps tropes. It’s not helpful to send a contemporary romance to a historical romance reader, or a secret child romance to someone who doesn’t like secret child romances. Here are a few places to look:
Close to You
- Your current active fans. If you have readers who are always buying and talking about your books, they’re a good place to start for beta readers.
- Critique group. If you belong to a critique group (which you should), find other writers in your genre to ask to beta read. You can return the favor for them.
- Email list. Like your vocal fans, your email list is a group of people who’ve indicated they like you and your work.
- Social Media. Like fans and the email list, your reader group or followers can be a place to find beta readers who already know and like your work.
- Friends and family. This can be a tough place to find readers as they may not like to give you negative feedback or maybe they’re not readers of your genre.
Outside of Your Circle
Since this group of people don’t know you and you don’t know them, you may want to have a vetting process. Make sure they know, understand, and agree to your guidelines, and be clear on what and when you need feedback.
Here are places to find readers who don’t know you.
- Online beta reader forums. Places like Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter have groups of beta readers.
- Online reading communities. Reading communities have avid readers and some are willing to beta read. You’ll want to watch for readers who simply want a free book and don’t fulfill the feedback aspect of the relationship. These communities can be found on Facebook and Goodreads. Check out TikTok as well.
- Online writing communities. Writing communities such as Scribophile or Critique Circle. These platforms allow you to share your work with other writers and readers and get feedback.
- Beta reading services. If you’re really stuck, there are a host of beta reading services such as, Hey Beta and Beta Books, which will also help you manage your beta readers.
Final Tips
Here are a few extra tips when working with beta readers:
- Have a quick check-in or reminder mid-way through the beta read time frame. If you’ve given your readers 3 weeks (21 days), check in at day 10 or 11.
- Don’t become defensive with readers who have negative feedback. If you have to explain your writing, your writing didn’t do it’s job. There’s no rule that says you have to use feedback and you certainly don’t have to tell readers what feedback you plan to use or not use. Take the feedback and say thank you.
- Read through feedback more than once. The first time, negative critique can ouch, and the defenses go up. Don’t do anything at that time. Later, re-read the feedback, but try to be objective and determine what the reader is telling you.
- Don’t forget to thank your readers! Show them that you appreciate the time and effort they put in to help your book be the best it can be!
Would you like Write with Harte to offer beta reading or critique? Let me know in the comments below!
by jennaharte
Heat Levels in Romance Novels: A Guide for Authors
April 25, 2023 in Blog
I think all romance readers and writers understand that romance novels come in various heat levels. What is a little more challenging to understand is what each level, outside of sweet and spicy, does each level represent. If I say my books are a 4, is your understanding of a 4 heat level the same as mine?
While heat level is subjective, this post will attempt to explain what it is and why it’s important, and give a basic description of a 1 through 5 heat level rating.
You can read this poste below the video.
Why Heat Level is Important In Romances
Heat level in romance novels refers to the degree of explicit sexual content in the story. Just like readers have favorite and hated tropes, so too do they have preferred and avoided heat levels. For this reason, heat is a factor romance authors need to consider when marketing their books. Readers who don’t want any heat will be upset if you sell them a book with a sexy bit. There’s also a market for readers who want explicit content, sometimes highly explicit, and if they don’t get it when they expected it, they’ll be annoyed. Get heat level wrong and you could end up with a bad review.
What Each Heat Level is and What it Means
Heat levels are typically classified into five categories, although the names of these categories can vary. For the purpose of this article we’ll use: sweet, warm, sensual, spicy, and erotic (not erotica, which is in a class all its own).
❤️🔥1. Sweet: The sweet romance is similar to the cozy mystery…there’s nothing explicit, violent or vulgar. Many, if not most, don’t have kissing or physical contact. There isn’t anything that hints at being turned on. Any flutters have to do with love, not arousal.
Sweet romances are usually okay for younger audiences, but readers of all ages enjoy it.
Like other romances, you can find them in a variety of categories (e.g. historical, contemporary, suspense, YA, LBGTQ) and tropes (second chance at love, etc). Faith oriented romances are also in this category.
Some authors to check out are Elena Johnson and Harlequin’s Heartwarming (Jen Gilroy or Tanya Angler) or Love Inspired. You can see Harlequin’s lines heat levels here.
❤️🔥❤️🔥2. Warm: This heat level is one step up from the sweet romance. It usually has kissing and may allude to a sexual encounter but doesn’t depict it. In general there isn’t any content that hints at arousal. There might be tingles, but that’s about it.
Warm romances may have a couple of benign swear words, but nothing harsh (no f-word or vulgar words).
Like other romances, a warm romance cover a variety of categories and tropes. Many YA books tread into this heat level these days.
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥3. Sensual: Unlike the first two heat levels, this one includes sensual aspects that provide some titillation. Whereas in the former heat level a kiss expresses love, in this level it’s an expression of lust and leads to arousal. It has explicit sex scenes, although usually not very vulgar language except maybe the f-word. This is the level at which writers need to be careful with euphemisms.
Romances in this heat level are 18+ content. They’re found in all mature-reader oriented categories (e.g. historical, contemporary, suspense, paranormal, etc), and tropes. Old school romances from Nora Roberts and her peers generally fall in this heat level. Many romcoms, such as The Hating Game, are in this level as well.
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥4. Spicy: This level started growing in the 2000’s with authors like Lori Foster, and Harlequin’s Desire and later Blaze lines (you can see current Harlequin lines and guidelines here). The sex is more explicit than in the sensual level and often includes some vulgar language.
Like all other levels, you can find romances in this level in a variety of categories and tropes. New Adult falls here or sometimes straddles sensual and spicy.
❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥5. Erotic: This is the highest heat level that doesn’t tip over into erotica. At this level, there are often more sexy bits than in the other levels. It’s highly explicit using coarse, vulgar language, often with BDSM elements.
This heat level is where many of the darker romances fall, such as mafia romances (which outsold billionaire romances last year). Menage books (e.g. reverse harem) also are usually in this heat level.
Most well-known authors at this heat level are E.L. James and Sylvia Day, but many indie authors dominate this heat level on Amazon (especially in KU).
Like the other levels, you can find books in most romance categories and tropes.
Notes on Heat Ratings
It’s important to note that regardless of heat level, a romance is first and foremost about a loving, healthy relationship between two (or in the case of reverse harem multiple) people. If the book is only about sex, and not a romantic relationship, then it’s erotica.
Ultimately, heat levels are subjective. I think I’m spicier than 3 but not quite a 4… 3.5, if you will. But, even with an imperfect rating system, identifying a heat level helps readers navigate content they prefer and avoid what they find offensive. Letting readers know what to expect can help you avoid shocking or disappointing readers. If you have a provocative cover and no sexy bits, a sweet reader might avoid it (because of the cover) and a level 3-5 reader might be disappointed that there wasn’t anything explicit. The opposite is true too. If you have a sweet looking cover but explicit sex in the book, a sweet reader lured in by the cover will be upset.
Should you come right out and say your heat level in your book description? If you’re a sweet writer, I would say yes so that sweet readers feel confident in what they’re getting. For levels 4 and especially 5, often the heat level is revealed by the cover and/or the blurb. You’re not likely to have a sweet reverse harem.
If you study the market of books at your heat level, you can get a sense of how they market and how their covers and blurbs reveal what the reader is likely to find.
Do you have thoughts or additional ideas to share about heat levels in romance novels? Let me know in the comments below!
by jennaharte
Getting the Words Right: 35+ Commonly (Accidentally) Misused Homophones
April 17, 2023 in Blog, Editing, Writing Romance
Homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things) can cause chaos because chances are you know what version to use, but for some reason the brain uses the wrong one. Even worse, homophones are often missed when you’re proofreading because you read what you meant, not what you wrote.
Most AI editors today will pick up on the wrong use of the word, but it doesn’t hurt to brush up on commonly misused homophones.
Accept/Except
- Accept: Verb meaning to receive or agree to. Example: “I accept your invitation to dinner.”
- Except: Preposition meaning excluding or leaving out. Example: “Everyone is coming to the party except for John.”
Advise/Advice
- Advise: Verb meaning to offer suggestions or guidance. Example: “I advise you to study harder for the exam.”
- Advice: Noun meaning suggestions or guidance offered. Example: “I need some advice on what to wear to the interview.”
Affect/Effect
- Affect: Verb meaning to influence or change. Example: “The new policy will affect our company.”
- Effect: Noun meaning the result or consequence of an action. Example: “The effect of the new policy is yet to be seen.”
Aisle/Isle/I’ll
- Aisle (noun) – a passageway between rows of seats or shelves; Example: I walked down the aisle of the airplane.
- Isle (noun) – an island; Example: Hawaii is an isle.
- I’ll (contraction of “I will”). Example: I’ll meet you at the coffee shop.
Bear/Bare
- Bear: Noun meaning a large mammal. Verb meaning to carry or support. Example: “The bear was spotted in the woods.”
- Bare: Adjective meaning uncovered or naked. Example: “The trees were bare in the winter.”
Bored/Board
- Bored (adjective) – feeling uninterested or tired; Example: I’m so bored right now.
- Board (noun) – a flat piece of wood or a group of people who oversee an organization. Example: He serves on the board of directors.
Break/Brake
- Break: Verb meaning to separate into pieces. Noun meaning a pause or interruption. Example: “I need to take a break from work.”
- Brake: Noun meaning a device used to slow or stop a vehicle. Example: “I applied the brakes to avoid hitting the car in front of me.”
Buy/By
- Buy: Verb meaning to purchase something. Example: “I need to buy some groceries at the store.”
- By: Preposition indicating proximity or proximity in time. Example: “I walked by the store on my way home.”
- Bye: Noun meaning farewell. In sports, it means to go to next round without playing. Example, “Bye, see you later.” “The team has a bye week.”
Capital/Capitol
- Capital: Noun meaning the city or town that is the seat of government. Adjective meaning of or relating to wealth or assets. Example: “Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States.”
- Capitol: Noun meaning the building in which a state or national legislative body meets. Example: “The protesters marched to the state capitol.”
Complement/Compliment
- Complement: Noun meaning something that completes or enhances something else. Verb meaning to complete or enhance. Example: “The red wine complements the steak.”
- Compliment: Noun meaning an expression of praise or admiration. Verb meaning to praise or admire. Example: “She complimented me on my new outfit.”
Coarse/Course
- Coarse (adjective) – rough or vulgar; Example: The sandpaper is coarse.
- Course (noun) – a direction or path, or a series of lessons. Example: I’m taking a photography course.
Council/Counsel
- Council (noun) – a group of people who meet to discuss and make decisions; Example: The city council is meeting tonight.
- Counsel (noun) – advice or guidance given by a person in authority. Example: He sought counsel from his lawyer.
Desert/Dessert
- Desert (noun) – a dry, sandy region; (verb) – to abandon or leave behind; Example: The Sahara is a desert. I never desert my friends.
- Dessert (noun) – a sweet dish served after a meal. Example: I love chocolate dessert.
Dyeing/Dying
- Dyeing (verb) – present participle of “dye” (to color something); Example: She is dyeing her hair.
- Dying (verb) – the present participle of “die” (to pass away or cease to exist). Example: He is dying of cancer.
Hear/Here
- Hear: Verb meaning to perceive sound. Example: “I can hear the birds singing outside.”
- Here: Adverb indicating location. Example: “Come over here and sit down.”
Hole/Whole
- Hole (noun) – an opening or empty space; Example: There’s a hole in the ground.
- Whole (adjective) – complete or entire. Example: I ate the whole pizza.
Idle/Idol
- Idle (adjective) – inactive or lazy; Example: He was idle all day.
- Idol (noun) – an object of worship or a person who is greatly admired. Example: She is a big fan of her pop idol.
Insure/Ensure
- Insure: Verb meaning to protect against loss or damage with insurance. Example: “I need to insure my new car before I can drive it off the lot.”
Ensure: Verb meaning to make certain or guarantee. Example: “We need to ensure that all of the guests have a place to sit at the wedding.”
Its/It’s
- Its: Possessive pronoun, used to show ownership by a non-human subject. Example: “The dog wagged its tail.” Note, that some writers have difficulty with this because possession usually is signified with an apostrophy, such as the dog’s tail. But in this case, its without the apostrophe shows ownership.
- It’s: Contraction of “it is” or “it has”. Example: “It’s raining outside.”
Knew/New
- Knew (verb) – past tense of “know”; Example: I knew the answer to the question.
- New (adjective) – recently made or discovered. Example: She bought a new car.
Lay/Lie
- “Lay” is a transitive verb, which means it requires an object. This means that “lay” is used when you are putting something down, especially in a horizontal position. For example: “I am going to lay the book on the table.”
- “Lie” is an intransitive verb, which means it does not require an object. This means that “lie” is used when you are reclining or being in a horizontal position. For example: “I am going to lie down on the couch for a while.”
The confusion often comes from the past tense of these verbs. The past tense of “lay” is “laid”, and the past tense of “lie” is “lay”. For example:
- “Yesterday, I laid the book on the table.” (past tense of “lay”)
- “Yesterday, I lay down on the couch for a while.” (past tense of “lie”)
So, to summarize: “lay” is used when you are putting something down and “lie” is used when you are reclining or being in a horizontal position.
Peace/Piece
- Peace (noun) – calm or freedom from conflict; Example: We need peace in the world.
- Piece (noun) – a part or portion of something. Example: I broke a piece of the vase.
Pique/Peak/Peek
- Pique: Noun meaning a feeling of irritation or resentment. Verb meaning to provoke or stimulate. Example: “The criticism from her boss piqued her interest in finding a new job.”
- Peak: Noun meaning the highest point or summit. Adjective meaning highest or maximum. Example: “We reached the peak of the mountain just as the sun began to rise.”
- Peek: Noun meaning a quick or secret look. Verb meaning to take a quick or secret look. Example: “I took a peek at the birthday presents hidden in the closet.”
Plane/Plain
- Plane (noun) – a flat surface or aircraft; (adjective) – flat or level; Example: The carpenter used a plane to smooth the wood.
- Plain (noun) – a flat, open area; (adjective) – simple or unadorned. Example: The prairie is a plain. She wore a plain dress.
Principal/Principle
- Principal: Noun meaning the head or leader of an organization. Adjective meaning most important or primary. Example: “The principal of the school is retiring at the end of the year.”
- Principle: Noun meaning a fundamental truth or concept. Example: “The principle of supply and demand affects the economy.”
Rode/Road
- Rode: Past tense of the verb “ride”. Example: “I rode my bike to the store.”
- Road: Noun meaning a paved surface for vehicles. Example: “The road was closed due to construction.”
Role/Roll
- Role (noun) – a part played by an actor or a function performed by a person or thing; Example: Her role in the play was the lead character.
- Roll (verb) – to move forward by turning over and over, or a type of bread; Example: The ball started to roll down the hill. She buttered her roll.
Their/They’re/There
- Their: Possessive pronoun, used to show ownership. Example: “Their car is parked outside.”
- They’re: Contraction of “they are”. Example: “They’re going to the movies tonight.”
- There: Adverb used to indicate location. Example: “The book is over there on the shelf.”
Then/Than
- Then: Adverb indicating time or sequence. Example: “We went to the park and then we had lunch.”
- Than: Conjunction used in comparisons. Example: “I am taller than my sister.”
To/Too/Two
- To: Preposition indicating direction or movement. Example: “I am going to the store.”
- Too: Adverb indicating excess or addition. Example: “I ate too much cake.”
- Two: The number 2. Example: “I have two cats.”
Then/Than
- Then: Adverb indicating time or sequence. Example: “We went to the park and then we had lunch.”
- Than: Conjunction used in comparisons. Example: “I am taller than my sister.”
Waste/Waist
- Waste (noun) – garbage or unused material; (verb) – to use carelessly or without purpose; Example: Don’t waste your time on that.
- Waist (noun) – the narrow part of the body between the hips and the ribs. Example: My waist is too big.
Weather/Whether
- Weather: Noun meaning the condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. Example: “The weather is nice today.”
- Whether: Conjunction used to introduce alternatives. Example: “I don’t know whether to take the bus or walk.”
Whose/Who’s
- Whose (pronoun) – used to ask about the owner of something; Example: Whose book is this?
- Who’s (contraction of “who is” or “who has”) – used to combine “who” with “is” or “has” in a sentence. Example: Who’s going to the party tonight?
Your/You’re
- Your: Possessive pronoun, used to show ownership. Example: “Is this your book?”
- You’re: Contraction of “you are”. Example: “You’re going to have a great time at the party.”
Here are a few more homophone to to watch for:
- Ad/Add
- Ant/Aunt
- Ball/Bawl
- Base/Bass
- Beat/Beet
- Berth/Birth
- Berry/Bury
- Billed/Build
- Cereal/Serial
- Cast/Caste
- Cash/Cache
- Cell/Sell
- Censor/Sensor
- Cite/Site/Sight
- Choral/Coral
- Current/Currant
- Descent/Dissent
- Die/Dye
- Doe/Dough
- Dual/Duel
- Fair/Fare
- Flower/Flour
- Fir/Fur
- Hall/Haul
- Hair/Hare
- Heal/Heel
- Heard/Herd
- Here/Here
- In/Inn
- Knead/Need
- Knew/New
- Knight/Night
- Knot/Not
- Lose/Loose
- Leak/Leek
- Led/Lead
- Mail/Male
- Maid/Made
- Meat/Meet
- Merry/Marry
- Moose/Mousse
- None/Nun
- Pair/Pear
- Pain/Pane
- Pray/Prey
- Real/Reel
- Scene/Seen
- Sent/Scent/Cent
- Sole/Soul
- Steal/Steel
- Stair/Stare
- Tail/Tale
- Tea/Tee
- Throne/Thrown
- Throw/Through
- Tide/Tied
- Waive/Wave
- Way/Weigh
- Wring/Ring
- See/Sea
I’m sure there are many more! Do you have any homophones that sneak in to your writing by accident?
by jennaharte
Romance Author Website: Why You Need One and How to Get One
April 11, 2023 in Blog, Marketing
I created JennaHarte.com in 2006, well before publishing anything. Coming from a blogging and non-fiction writing background, I knew that if I wanted to capture the attention of a publisher, I needed to show them I was serious about being an author and selling my books. I also understood that by gathering followers in advance of a book release, there would be buyers when the book finally published.
Today, romance authors have many ways to reach and engage readers using social media. The fact that social media is free has made it an ideal way to find and interact with readers. So much so that many many authors have nothing else. But I caution any author against solely using social media for your author hub. Here are potential problems with using social media as your only author center:
- Outages: In October 2021, Facebook and Instagram had massive outages. During that time, ads didn’t run, scheduled posts didn’t post, and authors weren’t able to respond to readers.
- Banning Bots: Every now and then, Facebook and sometimes other platforms decide you’ve done something wrong and ban you. If Facebook and other places made it easy to find out why the bot banned you and how to fix it, this might not be a big deal, but they don’t. You get a link to the rules and it’s up to you to guess why you were banned. Contacting the platforms for a review is hit and miss. I spent over a year asking for a review of a different brand at Facebook. None of the requests were ever answered. (The page was restored when I wanted to run ads). If your page or you are banned, you no longer have access to your followers. In an instant, your ability to let them know about your books is gone.
- Short Shelf Life of Posts: The lifespan of a post varies on platforms, but is about 5 hours on Facebook, nearly nothing on TikTok unless it goes viral, and 21-48 hours on Instagram (See How to Market Your Book without Social Media for Carol J. Michel’s data on social media shelf life). Between that and algorithms that favor some over others, you may have a 5,000 followers but maybe only 50 of them see the post.
Ultimately, you don’t own the real estate on social media and you’re at the whims of the platforms on rules about what you can post, customizations, and uptime.
The answer is to own your platform in the form of a website.
Your website will be the hub of your online presence, allowing you to connect with your readers, promote your books, and establish your brand.
Why an Author Website is Important
A website is a central hub for your brand and helps you establish credibility as a professional writer. It provides a platform to showcase your work, connect with readers, and build relationships with fans. When a reader (or agent or publisher) searches you on the internet, a website brings them to your hub where they can sign up for your email list, buy books, check out social media, learn where you’ll be live at an event and more.
I see a website as the center of your writing business from which all other marketing strategies connect to. In the center is your website hub, and spokes radiate out to community (social media), events, publicity, etc. Below is my marketing wheel to illustrate how all marketing tactics can work together, and how all benefit from a single hub…one place to rule them all.
But there’s more your website can do depending on your goals. Merch, direct sales of books (instead of just through book retailers), courses, subscriptions and more can and should be sold from your website. Yes, you can piecemeal all this, but why send your readers to 5 different places depending on what they want? Make it easy to get everything in one place: Your Website.
What Your Website Should Have On It
Your website doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, starting out, the less complicated the better as it will be easier to build and keep updated.
Your website should have the following elements:
- Home page: This is the first page readers will see when they visit your site. It should be visually appealing, easy to understand, and provide an overview of what you and your books are about. I’m a HUGE believer in email lists, and I encourage you have your list sign up front and center on this page.
- About page: This page should include your bio, your writing journey, your personal story, or anything that would attract the reader of your books. The trick here is to make it interesting. Infuse your personality, quirks, and other anecdotes.
- Books page: This page should include information about your books, including summaries, cover images, and purchase links. You should consider a page for each book, or at least a page for each series, with each book on it. Admittedly, I’m terrible at keeping this information up-to-date on my site. Don’t be like me! This is what your author page is all about…you and your books.
- Contact page: This page should include a form or email address that readers can use to contact you. Don’t put your email as you’ll make yourself susceptible to spam.
- Social media links: Make sure to include links to your social media accounts so readers can connect with you on other platforms.
- Blog (Optional): A blog can be like social media where you share your writing journey, updates on goings ons, have polls, and a whole lot more. It can offer additional marketing oomph through search engine optimization (SEO) and sharing your blog posts on social media. BUT…only have a blog component if you’re going to blog regularly. Blogs aren’t a requirement. I actually took my blog feature down as I wasn’t posting enough. A dormant blog makes it seem like you’re not around.
Additional pages you may need if you offer anything beyond your books:
- Merch
- Courses
- Special offers
- Subscriptions
Even if the above are hosted elsewhere (e.g. your subscription on Patreon or merch on Shopify), you should have a page about it on your website and then links to the source.
Resources to Build a Website
When buildings a website, there are five basic steps:
1) Buying a domain name.
Even if you use a host or website builder like Wix or Squarespace, I recommend buying your domain separately to make sure you have full ownership of it (as opposed to having the host buy it on your behalf). I use Godaddy for all my domains.
Choose your author or pen name and .com. Since .com is what we think of first, it’s ideal over having another extension especially if you share a name with someone else. You don’t want to sent people to another website because the person didn’t remember you were .info instead of .com.
If your name isn’t available as a .com, consider adding the word “author”. For example, SallySmithAuthor.com or SallySmithRomanceAuthor.com or AuthorSallySmith.com…you get the point. You want to brand your name as a romance author, so you want it in your domain name.
2) Obtaining web hosting or website builder platform
There are a number of website builders available that make it easy for you to create a website, even if you have no coding experience. Here are a few popular options:
- System.io: This isn’t one I’ve heard any author use, but I’m going to use it for a new pen name because it has a really nice free level and lots of bells and whistles I think will be ideal such as direct sales, subscriptions, community building, email, and more.
- Wix: Wix offers a lot of flexibility. It’s easy to use and offers a variety of pre-made templates to choose from.
- Squarespace: Squarespace is a popular website builder that offers a lot of design options. It’s a bit more expensive than Wix, but it’s easy to use and has a lot of great features.
Or take total control…
I have a confession. I’m a WordPress snob. I’ve been using WordPress (self-hosted) since 2010 and love it. Once you learn it, it’s easy to use. The benefit of WordPress over other options is greater ownership of your website, more customization, and more features. Plus, it’s less expensive than using Wix or Squarespace. JennaHarte.com and WritewithHarte.com are both run on WordPress.
It does require a bit more work to set up at WordPress self-hosted site. It can be a bit more technical, although many hosts now will install it for you.
To use WordPress, you’ll need a webhost. I love Momwebs, as its affordable and the tech support is awesome! All my sites are hosted there.
3) Setting up your domain name to work with your web host
Your website host or builder platform will have instructions on how to do this if you buy the domain outside the host or platform. Basically, you get the nameserver information your host or platform builder will give you and give it to the domain registrar so it knows where to send people who use your domain.
4) Installing WordPress or your theme
If you use Wix or Squarespace, you’ll need to select a theme. If you’re going with WordPress, you’ll need to install WordPress (or your host may do it for you) on your site, and then you can choose a theme. In all cases, you’ll be able to find free themes or you can buy them.
I’ve invested in both Themify.me (JennaHarte.com) and Elementor (WritewithHarte.com) for greater customization, but to start out you can use a basic theme until you learn how your building platform works.
You may also have the option for additional features you can add on. For example, you may want your books to scroll across the top. You’ll need to check with your platform for free and paid addons.
With WordPress, the addons are called plugins, and there are a bajillion of them. If there’s something you want your website to do in the fore- or background, there’s likely a plugin that will do it. For example, you can add Patreon or memberships and ecommerce to your WordPress site through plugins.
5) Setting up the site
Once the foundation is in, you need to add your content (About page, contact, etc). In most cases, it’s easy to write directly into the platform much like writing in a Word or Google doc. If you want images, most of these sites have the ability for you to easily upload and use them in your content without knowing HTML. Don’t forget to add your email sign up! Your email service provider will help you create a form script that you can copy and paste into your website.
Creating a professional author website is an important step in establishing your online presence as a romance author and provide a home for all your fans to learn more about and connect with you.
Do you have questions or more to add about author websites for romance writers? Let me know in the comments below.
by jennaharte
Writing a Romance Setting that Readers Don’t Skip
April 4, 2023 in Blog, Video, Writing Romance
Elmore Leonard provided sage writing advice when he said, “Try to leave out the parts people skip.”
You may believe that every word in your novel is important and no read would dare skip it, but consider your own reading; are there passages you pass over? What are they? If you’re like me, they’re usually about setting.
The problem is that setting is important to the story. So how can you orient your reader to your story without writing content they’re going to skip over?
Read below the video for a text version of this video.
Tips on Writing Setting that Doesn’t Get Skipped
Settings and descriptions provide an important cue to orient your reader to where, what, and when of your story.
The setting you put your character in gives the reader:
- Location – Where the story is taking place including the city or the grocery store.
- Season – What time of year the story is occurring?
- Time of day – Is the character skulking about at midnight or just rolling out of bed in the morning?
- Mood and atmosphere – Is it foggy? Hot and humid?
- Era – Is this a historical, contemporary or futuristic story?
- Population – What other people are around?
- Social/Cultural influences – What is going on in society that impacts the story and character?
If readers didn’t know that Pride & Prejudice took place in the early 1800s, when women couldn’t inherit property, Mrs. Bennet and the girls would look like gold-diggers
But, before you use this list to write your setting, remember that setting descriptions are often the things reader skip.
Why?
Some might call them boring, but the real reason they’re skipped is because they take the reader out of the story. If you have your readers on a wonderful ride through your book, they don’t want to be interrupted to be told about the trees. And yet, maybe those trees play an important part in the story. So what can you do?
The good news is, you can write setting in a way that keeps your reader in the story.
What do readers need to know?
Do readers need to know if they’re in regency England or Manhattan today? Is it dead of winter or the beauty of spring? Is the location opulent or sparse. Does any of this matter to telling the story or revealing the character?
The first step to writing setting is determining what the important elements are. What do readers need to know and experience in the setting to enhance the story and help the story to make sense? How does the setting impact the character or plot?
The thing to remember is that you only need to provide enough setting to ground the reader. Some writers like to spend a great deal of time describing brocade upholstery or the varying colors of leaves on the trees, but those descriptions are only important if they factor into the story and your character. Would your character notice brocade or leave colors?
Experience setting through your POV character’s senses.
Many authors use telling and an omniscient or distant POV narrator to provide information on the setting. For example:
Suzy stood at the end of the long drive. The hot humid air hung heavy. The tree-lined drive wound up toward colonial home, with its pristine white columns standing as proud as it had when it was built over a hundred years before.
This isn’t bad and your reader won’t necessarily skip it, but contrast it with the next example:
Suzy stood at the end of the long drive. She pulled her shirt away from her damp skin as a trickle of sweat dripped down the center of her back. Even this early in the morning, the heat and humidity felt like a sauna.
In the example above, we learn it’s hot and humid, not from being told by the author, but from Suzy’s experience with it. You may recognize this as show, instead of tell.
It’s not enough for Suzy to think or say, “Boy, it’s hot and humid,” although you can use dialogue or thought. Instead, the passage uses Suzy’s senses to have the reader vicariously experience it. What does it feel like when it’s hot and humid?
Overlay your POV characters personality and attitude.
Believe it or not, some people don’t mind heat and humidity. Others hate it. Having setting and description filtered through the POV character not only orients the reader to the setting, but also provides information about the character.
Here is the full sample about Suzy in which we learn about the weather, the location, and some of Suzy’s thoughts about the situation.
Suzy stood at the end of the long drive. She pulled her shirt away from her damp skin as a trickle of sweat dripped down the center of her back. Even this early in the morning, the heat and humidity felt like a sauna.
She blew out a breath, willing herself on the last part of her journey, and started up the drive, hoping she wouldn’t twist an ankle in her 3-inch Jimmy Choos on the white crushed shell gravel. She estimated a half-mile walk to the main house and was grateful for the mature oak trees lining the road that offered shade from the oppressive heat.
As she neared the pre-revolutionary home, standing like a jewel in the green rolling piedmont, its pristine columns shining as if they’d just been painted, she felt like she was walking back in time, and half expected footman to greet her.
Please note, that I just made all this up on the fly, so, much can be done to improve it. But I think you can see the point I’m trying to make. In the first example, we’re told about the setting, whereas in the second, we discover it through Suzy’s experience. We also learn a few things about Suzy.
Having setting revealed through your character is less likely to get skipped because action is taking place while we’re being oriented to setting: Suzy is walking up a long drive to a house.
Use Action
You can reveal setting by how your character reacts to it. Pulling her coat tighter around her would indicate it’s cold. In the Suzy example, she tugs at her shirt to get some air.
Use Dialogue or Thoughts
You want to be careful with this one. Done wrong, your dialogue or thoughts can be as boring as an omniscient narrator in providing setting. Why? Because it’s being used to info dump. Everything in your writing should work to drive the story. Having your character describe the setting for no other reason than to give setting can be boring.
Boy, it’s hot on this tree-lined gravel driveway.
Snore.
But what if Suzy was on her cell phone?
Suzy stood at the end of the long drive on her cell phone, letting Joe know she’d finally arrived. She pulled her shirt away from her damp skin as a trickle of sweat dripped down the center of her back. “Boy, it feels like a sauna here.”
“You’re almost there.”
Not quite. It had to be a half mile to the house!
Suzy blew out a breath, willing herself on the last part of her journey, and started up the white crushed gravel drive. “Hope I don’t twist an ankle. I wore my Jimmy Choos.”
“Stop whining.”
Suzy continued up the drive, grateful for the mature oak trees lining the road that offered shade from the oppressive heat. Each step brought her closer to pre-revolutionary home, standing like a jewel in the green rolling piedmont, its pristine columns shining as if they’d just been painted.
“Wow, this house is something. I feel like I’m walking back in time.”
Again, this isn’t perfect, but hopefully it shows you how to incorporate setting into the story, instead of interrupting story to tell about setting.
Do you have tips for writing setting that doesn’t get skipped? Let me know in the comments below.
Want to grab the Romance Author’s Novel Organizer mentioned in the video? You can get the print or PDF version here.
by jennaharte
Maximizing Your Romance Novel’s Reach through Word of Mouth
March 28, 2023 in Blog, Marketing, Video
It’s no secret that book recommendations carry significantly more weight than other methods readers use to discover books. HubSpot reports that 75% of people don’t believe advertisements, yet 90% trust suggestions from family and friends, and 70% trust consumer reviews.
Look at the BookTube and BookTok influence on reading. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve bought because I saw them recommended online. Colleen Hoover is a prime example of the sales word-of-mouth can creat. In 2022, Colleen Hoover books outsold the Bible. When asked about her success, she reported, “It’s not me. The readers are controlling what is selling right now.” (New York Times article)
Even better, recommendations are free, making word-of-mouth the best way to promote your book. The challenge is how to get readers talking about your book?
Read the text version below the video.
Get the Basics Right
Like all marketing strategies, there are a few basics you need in place to build word-of-mouth marketing success.
What You Offer:
1. A quality book. This goes beyond a great story, to include professional packaging that attracts readers. That means editing, professional cover design, and a blurb that creates interest and excitement.
2. A way for people to find you. Of course, being available for sale on Amazon and/or other retailers is a big part of this. But beyond that, readers need to find you via a website and social media.
3. A way to engage with you. Today’s consumers like to interact with businesses (as an author, you’re a business). They want to be heard and feel involved with you. Social media and an email list both help you achieve this.
Your Ideal Reader:
Once you have your product, a place to buy it, and a way to connect with you, you need to find your readers. To do that:
1. Know who your ideal reader is. The romance market is HUGE, but not all romance readers like all types of romance books. I don’t read much historical romance. I hate the secret child trope (I feel awful for the father and can’t get over how much time he’s lost with his child). Many readers will consume a variety of romance subgenres, while others stick to just one. Find out who is the reader for your book.
2. Find out where your ideal reader is at. TikTok is the place to be for millennial romance readers. There’s just no getting around it unless TikTok is banned in the U.S. Of course, millennials aren’t the only readers out there. You’ll find an older demographic on Facebook.
But social media isn’t your only resource for finding readers. What does your ideal reader read or where does she go to learn about romance books? Blogs? Podcasts? The bookstore? Book events?
3. Appeal to the reader when you find them. Once you know where the reader is, you need to go there and put something in front of them that will attract them to your book. If you’re advertising on Facebook, you want a graphic and text that makes your reader take notice. If you’re in a romance readers group, you want to join in as a member, engaging with other readers in a fun and positive way.
Step three is all about marketing, a ginormous topic. Here are a few ideas you can use:
Social Media: Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are powerful tools for increasing the reach of your romance novel. You can share news, updates, and sample chapters with your followers. Take advantage of the tools each platform offers, such as hashtags, polls, and contests to further engage your audience. You can also can use these platforms to build relationships with other authors and influencers who can help you spread the word.
Content Marketing: Content includes blog posts, articles, podcasts, and videos. You can create content about the main characters’ backstories or motivations, articles exploring the themes of your novel, and video recordings that provide a closer look at the plot and settings. Additionally, you can use this content to engage readers and build relationships with them.
Free and Paid Advertising: At one time, Facebook ads were the be-all-end-all to marketing. While I’m still having some success with it, it’s not the juggernaut that it used to be. Other ad options include Amazon, Bookbub, and TikTok, as well as through reader discovery resources like My Romance Reads, Free Booksy and more.
Free options take time to enact, but can be quite successful. This includes promoting your book on ebook directories and listing sites. (I have a large list of book promotion resources in the Member’s section of Write with Harte. Reminder…membership is free!).
Book and Author Events: I’m a huge fan of live events. You’ll generally do better if you can get on a panel so attendees can see you and learn about you.
Word of Mouth Marketing
Once you have your platform in place and are reaching out to readers, it’s time to have those readers start talking about you. This is no easy feat. A reader may love your book, but may not tell anyone. Still, there are things you can do to encourage your fans to talk about you.
1. Have a great product (see #1 under Basics)
2. Stand out.
Let’s face it, there are many great romance reads, but for the most part, they’re all fairly similar. The trick is to make yours stand out. Basics such as cover and blurb can help, but even that may not provide enough oomph. This is an area I’m still working on and if you’d like to find a way to standout in a way that makes your fans happy and talking about you, read Fans First by Jesse Cole.
3. Build a community around you.
Have you ever been to an Outlander event? I haven’t, but I know that fans dress up in 18th century garb. People like to belong. They like to feel connected around a topic. That topic can be you and your books.
Building a community can be as easy as starting a Facebook group for your readers. Many authors are now using Patreon or other subscription services that not only create a community, but generate additional income.
Be active in engaging with your readers. Have polls or get feedback. Learn about them and have them be involved in some of the decisions about your books.
You can create a calendar to post to your group and pre-schedule your post using a social media tool. I like Social Bee because I can easily schedule something to repost (e.g. a reminder to leave a review).
(see More Fan Fun to Encourage Book Buzz below)
4. Ask!
It seems obnoxious to ask people to brag about your book, I know. Many readers are busy and may not think to share your book, but if asked, would be thrilled to help you out. Make it easy by providing tools and resources. Create social media text or graphics they can share. Give extra swag they can give away for you. Remind them to leave reviews. Consider incentivizing it by having a giveaway. I’ve used tools like KingSumo to make it easy for my fans to share and earn giveaway entry points. KingSumo will even randomly draw the winner.
5. Reach out to influencers.
In some cases, you may need to pay for an influencer to talk about your book, and in other cases, there may be a long wait (like reviewers). But considering how much influence these readers have, it could be worth the time and money if they like your book and share it on their channels.
6. Continue to get reviews.
Second to recommendations, reviews have a significant impact on whether a reader will buy your book. Have a system for reminding readers to leave a review, whether that nudge is in the back of the book, social media, or email.
7. Create merch around your book(s).
This is a fun and profitable way to build your community and have it advertise for you. There are lots of ways to do this. I’ve used Printify to create mugs, totes, t-shirts, and stickers. Using Shopify or Woo Commerce, you can sell the merch, or even offer some as gifts to your very best fans or to giveaway winners.
More Fan Fun to Encourage Buzz About You and Your Books
- Offer your fan reader group a sneak preview of your new book.
- Offer your fan reader group advance copies of your new book.
- Give fans exclusive content like bonus chapters.
- Celebrate a Fan of the Month on your website, reader group, and social media profiles.
- Have a contest for the best illustration of a scene from one of your books and post the winner on your website and social media.
- Create fan pages for the main characters in your book.
- Ask fans to post pictures of them reading your book.
- Write a book specifically for your fans. You can even have them help plot it!
If readers are more likely to buy a book on a recommendation, it’s a no-brainer that authors need to find ways to encourage their readers to talk about their books. The above offers a few ways in which to engage readers and encourage them to let others know about you.
Do you have other ideas to create a viral buzz about your book? Let me know in the comments below.
by jennaharte
Balancing Romance with Mystery, Suspense, or Fantasy
March 21, 2023 in Blog, Writing Romance
The first rule of romance is that the relationship between the couple is the primary focus of the story. This is straightforward in traditional romances involving two people coming together, having problems that tear them apart, and eventually coming back together again. But what if your story involves a mystery, suspense, adventure, or a quest (e.g. fantasy stories)?
I’ve had many people tell me that there is romance in their cozy mysteries, which isn’t wrong, but cozies aren’t romance. If the romantic character in a cozy was turned into a friend and the mystery elements of the story still work, it’s not a romance because the characters’ relationship isn’t central to the story; solving the murder is. If, however, the romance is central to the story as they solve a crime, then yes, it’s a romantic mystery.
When writing a romance that has mystery or suspense or adventure or fantasy, you’re essentially combining two genres and you need to meet readers’ expectations for both. This isn’t always easy. You have to balance the elements that make a good romance while also supplying the action and danger of the other genre. Focusing too heavily on the romance plot can result in a lack of tension or conflict, while neglecting the romance can leave readers feeling unsatisfied.
Here are tips for writing a romance combined with another genre:
Sketch Out the Key Plot Elements for Both Genres
Even if you’re a pantster, because readers have an expectation of both genres, plotting out the major elements for both is helpful. In a romance, you need to have a couple with conflict, which can include the beats of the other genre (e.g. a murder or quest can create conflict), but also personal challenges. They need to come together and then appear to come apart, before coming together again.
A mystery needs a victim, suspects with motives and means and opportunity to commit the crime, clues, red herrings, and danger. A quest follows the hero’s journey, with the call to adventure, the refusal, the quest, the failures, and eventually, success. All these need to be integrated into a cohesive story.
The goal here is to identify the key plot elements that will complement and enhance both genres while ensuring that neither element overwhelms the other. To do this, start by determining the central conflict and the stakes of the story. In a romance, this should be the couple first. In Sandra Brown’s books, there is a crap ton of danger and suspense that the couple is dealing with, but in fact, it’s this part of the story that pulls them together forcing them to deal with their personal conflicts and feelings for the other. Remember, in a romance, there has to be a reason for the couple to be in each other’s orbit. In Sandra Brown’s books, the suspense plot does that. Without it, the two people wouldn’t meet and if they did, they’d go their separate ways because usually one or both isn’t interested in a relationship.
In Deadly Valentine, attorney Tess doesn’t like that Jack’s back in her life. It reminds her of a painful past. It’s the murder and the fact that he’s a suspect who needs a lawyer that keeps her in his orbit.
When integrating the other plot elements into the story, writers should ensure that they don’t overshadow or overwhelm the romance plot. Remember, it’s the relationship first that readers want. One way to do this is to use the elements of the other genre to develop and enrich the romance plot. Finding a clue or overcoming danger can reveal character in a way that brings the couple together or add more conflict. In Deadly Valentine, Tess is nearly run over by a car and later, the detective suspects Jack is the driver of said car, which is possible because he had the means, motive, and opportunity. This puts a damper on the budding relationship.
In another scene, Jack is about to kiss Tess when he sees a photograph and realizes the woman in it is linked to the murder. Romance and clue woven together.
However, this is a romance, so there should be romance plot beats. While a pinch point can be danger, it could also be one character not trusting the other or lying to the other. In Deadly Valentine, the second pinch point is when Tess tells Jack she can’t represent him as his lawyer or see him personally anymore because doing so is costing her friends and her business. She changes her mind, but he doesn’t take her back. The relationship is severed and while it’s related to the murder mystery because her representing him is what caused the problems that scared her away from him, it’s her personal fears and lack of trust that really drive the break up.
Use Pacing to Balance Romance and Other Plot Elements
Suspense is about avoiding danger that’s out to get one or both of the characters. Fantasy involves magic and quests and overcoming impossible foes. Mystery requires finding clues and solving a puzzle. They each have their own pacing that involves action and danger.
Within the fast action of these genres, you need to weave in the slower pace of a building romance. By slower, I don’t mean boring. I mean drawing out the elements that show a growing relationship.
If the pacing is slow and languid, readers may become bored with the romance plot, while if the pacing is too fast and action-packed, the romance may be overshadowed. The trick is to create pacing that ensures that both elements are given adequate attention and development.
This is where pre-plotting major beats can be helpful, as you can also plot pacing elements. If the couple is on the run from a gunman at pinch point number one, the pacing will be fast and there isn’t much room for romance there. But once they’re safe, even if just for a moment, you can slow the pace down and focus on the relationship.
Make Sure the Romance is Fulfilled
Remember when I said a cozy mystery with a love interest isn’t a romance? If you took out the murder mystery in a cozy, there would be no story. If you take the romantic relationship out of the story, it’s not a romance.
In my cozy mysteries, Sophie has a love interest and their love blooms until they’re engaged at the end of book 3. But all the mysteries could still work if I made that love interest a cousin or a friend. While Sophie grows personally through her relationship, the books aren’t about her and AJ’s relationship per se.
Because the romance comes first in the romance genre, you need to make sure you’ve fulfilled all the expected elements of a romance. If you can change the love interest to a friend, then it’s not a romance. Yes, you need to fulfill the elements of the other genre as well, but if your goal is romantic suspense or romantic fantasy, the romantic element must be met. While the danger or action may be a major aspect of the plot, we need to see the romance beats fulfilled.
Growing up, I used to like a show called Hart to Hart. I’m a big fan of sleuthing sexy couples (hence writing the Valentine mysteries). Hart to Hart was a crime show where each week the Harts stumbled into a murder. But talk to any fan and they’ll tell you that it was the Harts and their relationship that made the show. Ask them about their favorite episodes and you’ll learn that it’s less about the mystery and more about something sweet or sexy that occurred between the characters.
The mystery created the situations, but it was the characters and their romance that made the show. This is what you want in a romance that involves another genre. The second genre may create the situations, but it’s the relationship between your characters that readers are really wanting to know about.
by jennaharte
7 Publishing Rules Romance Writers Can Break (Or at Least Bend)
March 14, 2023 in Blog, Publishing, Video
The January/February issue of Writers Digest has an article on 7 Inside-the-Box Publishing Rules That Writers Can Break (Or, at the Very Least, Bend) that outlines seven common “rules” of writing that some writers found to be the key to their success, while others found success by breaking (or bending them). For the most part I agreed with the author, Robert Lee Brewer, but thought I’d share my two cents on the rules specifically for romance authors.
Text of this post is below the video:
Resources Mentioned in the Video
💗 7 Inside-the-Box Publishing Rules That Writers Can Break (Or, at the Very Least, Bend) by Robert Lee Brewer
💗A Definition of Author Platform
💗Romance Author Website: Why You Need One and How to Get One
💗Build Your Author Email List of Raving Fans (Text)
💗 Build Your Author Email List of Raving Fans (YOUTUBE)
💗How to Market Your Book without Social Media:
Rule #1: Read. A Lot
Stephan King is quoted as saying, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” Most authors I talk to agree that reading is an important part of being successful. Reading keeps you on top of current trends in the market, and can be a way to learn the craft.
But Brewer also states that writing trumps reading. In other words, don’t let reading get in the way of your writing. I agree that reading is important but that it shouldn’t be prioritized over writing. But here are a few other thoughts about being a reader and a writer:
- There can be a difference between reading for your profession and reading for fun. Personally, I’ve found it harder to read without paying attention to craft, but I think it’s important to do so. Reading doesn’t always have to be work.
- Many authors indicate that they don’t read within their genre, especially if they’re writing, to avoid accidental plagiarism. I don’t worry about this, but each writer needs to know themselves well enough to know if they’re going to internalize something another author writes.
Rule #2: Write. Every. Day
Brewer reports that he writes nearly every day and indicates many prolific authors are cranking out words daily. He notes that 100 words every day is 35,000 words a year…very doable when you consider writing 100 words should take a few minutes. But he points out there are many successful authors who write once a week or have writing retreats and the rest of the time don’t write at all.
I write nearly every day. The benefits to writing every day (or at least most days) has to do with progress and habit. The more you write, the more it becomes something you automatically do, and the faster you get to a completed book.
Another benefit is the story lives within you, even when you’re not writing. For me, this is great because the story and ideas percolate when I’m not writing, but also, daily writing keeps me emotionally connected to my characters making it fast and easy to resume writing the next day.
With that said, feeling like you need to write every day can make it unfun. Or maybe your life isn’t conducive to daily writing. One thing I would suggest to authors whose writing is a bit more haphazard is to be honest with yourself on why and when you’re not writing. Being stuck or not feeling the muse and therefore avoiding writing means it will take a long time to get the book done. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there’s an interesting phenomena in which many writers have a story, but have “reasonable” excuses to not get it down (e.g. the laundry). Some of the best procrastinators I know are authors.
I recommend having a writing schedule whether it’s one hour a day, two evenings a week, or one weekend out of a month.
Rule #3: Build a Platform
First, let me share my favorite definition of platform from Jane Friedman because it took me awhile to grasp it. Platform is your visibility, authority, and reach to a target audience.
Brewer notes that there are successful writers who avoid platform building, relying on their works to get seen. Since he doesn’t name names, it’s hard to know if these writers are already successful and don’t need a platform or perhaps their market is highly specific.
The problem with platform building is that it’s time-consuming and frustrating, especially if your platform isn’t reaching your readers. Then there’s the ever-changing nature of what works to reach your audience (TikTok anyone?).
Catherine Baab-Muguira has an article on Jane Friedman’s site titled, You Don’t Need a Platform If You Can Find Your Audience. Ultimately, that’s what all this is about: finding an audience who wants your book.
However, the world is changing, and more and more consumers are pro-active in their buying choices. Readers seek out their favorite authors and if they can’t find you, you could lose an opportunity to sell to them in the future.
I’m a big believer in having a platform, but I don’t think you have to do all the things. At the very least, authors should have a website and email list. Yes, social media is great, and if your readers hang out there to learn about books, then you should be there too. But I wouldn’t rely on social media since you don’t own the platform and can lose your followers at the whims of a bot.
Also, the article says, “…If you Can Find Your Audience,” which points to a crucial factor many authors miss; you have to find your readers. Building a website or even a Facebook Fan Page doesn’t mean readers will find you. So you need to do the work to find readers, but by having a website and email list, you have a way to invite them to come visit you, follow you, and become an engaged fan.
Rule #4: Follow Submission Guidelines
I have to be honest, I was surprised Brewer suggested this rule could be bent considering one of the biggest peeves of agents and editors is writers not following the guidelines. But if you dig down, what he indicates is there is “room for your unique voice to illuminate your submission.” To my mind, being unique isn’t bending the rules. Agents and editors are looking for unique, among other things.
Brewer is also clear that uniqueness in a submission should NOT come in the form of weird fonts or boasting about being the next best seller. This is true. Agents get soooo many submissions a day and have a screening process that first eliminates any submission that doesn’t follow the guidelines (which usually includes font) and authors who brag (tell) instead of letting the writing do the work (show).
Ultimately, I don’t see uniqueness within the guidelines as bending the rules. Your submissions need to follow the guidelines asked by the agent or editor, and use your words to show your talent and uniqueness.
Rule #5: Grow a Thick Skin
Brewer suggests that you don’t need a thick skin, just the ability to dust yourself off and keep moving forward in your writing career. That is true, but this points out how we can interpret words and phrases differently. In my mind, having a thick skin is what keeps the rejection from stopping us from writing. Thin skinned people, in my opinion, are those who give up because they can’t handle rejection. Tomato tomahto, I guess.
Rule #6: Network with Other Writers and Publishing Pros
If you’re an introvert, going out and networking with strangers, even those in your writing tribe, can be difficult. Brewer admits to this, but also points out that networking is important for writers. In my case, I found an agent and a publisher through networking. I’ve learned about author and book events through other writers. Networking has been a factor in my success.
Brewer recommends using social media to network if going out into the world is challenging. I don’t disagree with this, but I would encourage introverted authors to take baby steps to get out into the world. I’m not saying you need to walk into an event ready to hand out business cards and an elevator pitch. But in-person events offer so much from information to inspiration. Plus, lets face it, many writers write because it is a solitary activity that works well with introversion. That means at any given event, there will be many introverts.
Rule #7: Study the Markets
Brewer points out that studying the market can be helpful to understand current trends. True. If you’re an indie author writing to market, it’s especially important to keep on top of what’s selling.
But Brewer shares the downside of market research, primarily reading more than writing (Rule #1) and chasing trends. I agree with this as well. In the article, Brewer says that chasing trends can be problematic because trends change. This is especially true if you want to be traditionally published. A book bought by a publisher today, won’t be out for two years, and by then, the trend will likely be gone or at least not as popular.
But there is another negative aspect of writing to market which is not writing the stories you want to tell. As a ghost writer, I write to market for my client and I can’t tell you how many secret baby/child stories I’ve had to write. I really don’t like that trope. I’m not a fan of daddy’s best friend either, and I’ve had to write those. Under my name, you won’t find either of these tropes even though they clearly sell well.
While you definitely want to have a market for your book, the romance audience is huge and open to a great many tropes and ideas.
They (not sure who) say that rules are made to be broken. That’s not always the truth, but sometimes they can be bent. And sometimes, rules are more like suggestions.
One piece of advice I give to emerging authors is to find their own processes. No two authors are exactly alike in how they plot (or not), write, publish, market, etc. It’s only going through the process, testing and tweaking, that each writer finds what works for them. You need to do the same. Will you read while you’re writing or not? Will you write every day or only on Wednesdays at lunch? Will you build a platform or find another way to reach readers? You should follow submission guidelines, but how will you craft your query and synopsis to stand out? How will you endure rejection or bad reviews? Will you connect with others in the industry online only or out in the world too? And how will you keep tabs on what’s happening in the market in a way that benefits you? There is no one way to do any of these things. In writing, you do you.
What are your thoughts on these “rules”? Let me know in the comments below.
by jennaharte
Unlocking Your Romance Writing Potential Through AI
February 14, 2023 in Blog
Table of Contents
UPDATED November 2023
AI came up in last week’s call and today a WWH member sent an AI poem for writers written in the form of Green Eggs and Ham. Unfortunately, it’s not posted online, so I can’t send a link. Suffice it to day, it was mostly spot on and hilarious.
AI is all the buzz and it’s likely here to stay. For romance authors, AI can offer a tool to assist you in many aspects of your writing, so I thought I’d share about AI and the tools you can use to write, edit, and promote your books.
NOTE: AI is a tool in the same way the Internet, books, and automation are tools. It’s there to help us. You can check out my post on AI as a Tool, Not a Threat or scroll to the end of this post* for my thoughts on AI’s impact on writers, as well as the impact on writing/publishing-related job such as editing.
This post is about using AI to get ideas, brainstorm when you’re stuck, to expand on your idea, help you improve your writing, and assist you in the other aspects of being an authorpreneur, such as creating marketing content.
ALLI has a post on AI for authors including ethical considerations.
Here is information about AI and below that you’ll find a list of AI tools and resources.
What is AI, and How Can it Help Romance Authors?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly growing technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way romance authors create content. AI writing tools can help authors save time and effort by automating certain tasks such as generating or brainstorming ideas, researching topics, and even writing outlines.
With AI-powered author productivity tools, romance authors can focus on what they do best — creating compelling stories that captivate their readers. AI-driven tools can also help authors stay organized and efficient while producing quality content at scale.
How to Use AI to Generate Ideas & Content Faster
AI-powered romance novel idea generators are becoming increasingly popular among writers. A WWH member who played around with Chatgpt was able to develop a regency-era romance idea.
AI tools use natural language processing to quickly generate ideas based on keywords or topics provided by the user. For example, “give me three plot ideas involving a grumpy hockey player and an curvy, outgoing dancer.”
Here’s one from Rytr:
Mitch is an NHL hockey player, whose career has been on the decline since he broke his leg a few seasons ago. He’s suffered from depression and become increasingly grumpy and frustrated, pushing away friends and family.
One day, while walking through town, Mitch stumbles upon an audition for a local dance troupe. Despite the fact that the audition is already halfway finished, he is captivated by a particular dancer: an exuberant and curvy woman named Olivia. When she catches Mitch’s eye, she smiles at him invitingly and draws him in to dance with her.
Mitch is hesitant at first but soon finds himself smiling too. After the audition they take their conversation outside and discover they have a lot in common: a love of music, sports, literature—even a favorite type of ice cream!
Instantly, the two of them felt a powerful connection that was much deeper than just mere shared interests; they both had the feeling of being on a search to find someone special and unique, like they had finally found what they were looking for.
Depending on the AI tool and what you want from it, you can generate basic story ideas (a premise) or a complete outline (with conflicts and plot beats) or something in between. As you’ll note from above, there’s a kernel of an idea, but a lot of work is still needed, specifically, the conflicts.
AI tools can be used to brainstorm as well. If you already have your idea somewhat plotted but are stuck, AI can provide you with ideas. Or, if AI generated the idea, you can ask more questions to expand on the concept.
For example, playing around with the idea of a vampire fireman, I asked ChatGPT to give me reasons a vampire would become a fireman. Here are the ideas it gave me.
- Redemption: The vampire may have a dark and troubled past filled with regrettable actions. Becoming a fireman is their way of seeking redemption and making amends for the harm they may have caused during their time as a vampire. They see it as a chance to save lives instead of taking them.
- Protecting Humanity: Some vampires may genuinely care about humanity and want to protect it from the supernatural threats that exist in their world. By becoming a fireman, they can respond to both regular fires and any supernatural fire-related incidents, using their unique abilities to save lives.
- Blending In: To hide their true nature, the vampire may choose a profession that allows them to blend in with humans. Firemen often work odd hours and wear protective gear, which can help conceal their vampiric traits, such as pale skin or sensitivity to sunlight.
- Feeding Opportunity: Firemen often respond to emergency scenes where there are injured individuals. This could provide the vampire with an opportunity to discreetly feed on blood from victims who are already in critical condition, without drawing suspicion.
- Personal Challenge: For some vampires, the physical and mental challenges of being a fireman can be appealing. They may enjoy pushing themselves to the limit, testing their strength, and feeling a sense of accomplishment when they successfully rescue people from dangerous situations.
These are intriguing ideas that lend themselves to very different types of vampire fireman stories. Is he feeding off fire victims or redeeming himself?
AI for Proofreading and Editing
AI-powered editing and proofreading tools provide a more efficient way to improve the quality of written content, while also helping authors save time and money. With an AI-powered tool, writers can automate tedious tasks such as checking for grammar mistakes and typos. Additionally, they can get automated feedback on their writing, such as overused words, adverbs, and even alternative word choices that might be better. Not only can this improve the quality of the work, but it helps the author improve their skills. If you pay attention to the corrections and suggestions it makes, you can learn how to write better in the future.
That’s not to say that human editors aren’t needed, because they are. AI tools aren’t fool proof. But AI editing can help you deliver a cleaner copy of your manuscript to your editor which means a quicker turnaround to get your book published.
AI for Book Covers and Other Graphics
This is another area where there’s a great deal of concern about copyright infringement. I’m not a lawyer so I can’t speak to the legal issues, although you can check out these articles at Harvard Business Review (4/23) and the Congressional Research Service (9/23). Beyond the legal issue is the ethical one. I don’t know how much AI generated art pulls from previous works, so I can’t speak to this. At one point, I considered using AI art as bonus content for my subscribers, but concerns about copyright issues has made me hesitate on this.
With that said, there are AI art generators that authors can use to create book covers and other graphics. You can also generate art just for yourself to use in your book bible, such as how your characters look or the house layout they live in.
The Writing Cooperative has a post in which Shelby Sullivan shares her experience using AI to generate images for book covers.
AI for Audio Books
The newest source of help for authors is AI for audio book creation. In the past, AI voice wasn’t great. As it improved, it worked well for non-fiction, but not so much for fiction, which needs emotion infused in the voices. But that is improving as well.
There are many authors who have used AI to create audiobooks for the purpose of posting them on YouTube. While many of these “videos” have negative comments for narration, they have many positive comments for the story. Better yet, many have the requisite subscriber and view counts to make money from Google/YouTube’s ad program.
In the last few months, I’ve used AI to serialize my lead magnet for podcast and video. It’s not perfect, but it’s also not horrible.
AI to Generate Author Marketing and other Content
Authors need to do more than write books. They need to write synopsis, tag lines, marketing materials, ads and more. AI can help writing these and can do it with your target market in mind. For example, I used Rytr to generate two versions of song lyrics for Valentines Day using a passionate tone. (Here is one of the results it gave me. This is the raw text. I haven’t edited it):
Option One
[Intro]
A love like ours won’t soon be found
Why don’t we take it right to the ground
[Verse 1]
This Valentine’s Day, I’m glad you’re here with me
My heart is filled with love, can’t you see?
We’ve been through thick and thin, come what may
And I know I’m yours, and you’re mine to stay
[Chorus]
Oh, what a beautiful thing it is to love somebody
To feel the warmth of your embrace and never let go
Oh, I wanna show you that my love for you will never die
And I’m so happy to call you my valentine tonight
[Verse 2]
My heart beats for the future that we may have together
Let’s light a candle in honor of this day forever
This Valentine’s Day will be like no other
Let’s make a wish and know it’ll come true forever
It’s not perfect, but there’s something to work with.
AI for Marketing and Other Business Tasks
Automation in marketing is nothing new. Autoresponders and social media schedulers are two examples of automation that help authors save time in promoting their books. But AI in marketing is slightly different. AI in marketing can help you:
- Discover best keywords to optimize your books, blog posts, etc
- Talk to your potential readers through chatbots on social media or your website to guide them to your lead magnet or books
- Brainstorm marketing ideas ala Chatgpt and similar AI
- Video generators
- Transcribing dictation
- And more.
Again, AI offers assistance to authors who are generally solo-preneurs, having to wear all hats in their romance writing business. Whether it’s help brainstorming or fleshing out ideas, editing, or creating marketing materials, AI can help in a way that is cheaper and faster than hiring outside help. With that said, there’s no replacing human creativity…at least not yet. So AI generated content shouldn’t be your final draft of anything you use it to create. Input your voice and style. Make it your own.
AI Tools for Authors
Here is a list of what I use, along with a list of other resources I haven’t had a chance to check out yet, but look interesting.
AI Jenna Harte Uses
Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional: I use this to transcribe my recorded dictation into text.
ChatGPT: Many other AI’s are focused in a single area such as writing or edit. ChatGPT is much more open and therefore has many different ways it can be helpful. I’ve used it to give me lists including the list of homophones in my post on 35+ words writers often accidently misuse. I’ve asked it to create a list of 52-short form video ideas (for weekly short videos), and plan to ask it to write a script for each. ChatGPT can help you plot, moving from a premise to story beats, and even chapter by chapter outline. You can use ChatGPT for free, although if there are a lot of users you may be asked to come back later. The paid version offers a more robust AI. It can probably write for you too, but as a writer, you probably want to do that part yourself 🙂
Rytr: I bought this a long, long time ago before AI was a dirty word. I use it mostly to help me outline blog posts (including this one), but it can do more including write ads, lyrics, plot ideas, emails, taglines, copywriting and more. Note, for fiction AI generators, I’d use one of the options below such as Sudowrite or NovalAi. Rytr is helpful with other AI writing, but not so much with fiction plotting.
Editing
Prowriting Aid: AI editor – I use this with Word usually while writing. When I finish writing, I like AutoCrit.
AutoCrit: I use ProwritingAid on my computer to deal with editing initially, but when I’m done, I use AutoCrit, which not only finds the stuff Prowriting Aid missed, but I can also have the book compared to the top books in my category to see that I’ve met similar criteria. I also like that it doesn’t try to get me to eliminate every “bad” thing. For example, it will highlight adverbs, but then will tell me how many I should get rid of to be similar to other books in my genre.
Marketing
SocialBee: I’ve used SocialBee for years because it has access to all the major platforms (including TikTok and Reels), and I can automatically reschedule evergreen content (e.g. lead magnet signup) for reposting. It also integrates with Canva, so I can create graphics from within the app. Plus it stores hashtags. It now offers AI help in generating content and graphics. Disclosure: I bought a lifetime access to SocialBee through Appsumo.
Ocoya: This is a social media generator and scheduler. I haven’t used it much, but I want to start using it more. My social media is haphazard because I often don’t know what to post. Ocoya helps generate ideas for the major platforms, has AI copywriting, help in creating graphics, and the ability to help you find ideas based on keywords and hashtags. It even will generate and create quote posts if you’re really stuck.
Aweber: I’ve used Aweber forever. It was one of the few email services that allowed you have multiple email lists within one account. Like other email services, you can have autorepsonders, campaigns, and segment your lists. Aweber now has tools so you can create a landing page (so you don’t need a website or landing page service) and you can sell directly from Aweber (integrating Stripe). And now, it offers AI help in writing your content.
Audie.ai: This text-to-voice tool seems to have been created for authors specifically. While there is backlash to using AI audio because it potentially takes away work from narrators, if you don’t have the budget to hire a narrator, this is another option to create audio of your books. I’ve been using this tool to create serialized audio podcast/video of my lead magnet. You pick your cast of character voices, paste your content in, assign the voices to the various lines in your text, and generate. It’s not perfect, but it’s also not so bad. Not available yet is the ability to change the speed or pitch. For that, you might want to try Murf.ai. There is a free option for small projects (e.g. creating a TikTok audio of a scene in your book). One advantage to Audie.ai over Murf.ai and others is that you buy credits instead of committing to a monthly plan.
Pictory: This AI can turn text into video and can help you turn long-form video into shorter (think social media) video for marketing. I’ve been using this to add video to my blog posts.
Lumen5: Like Pictory, Lumin can turn text into video.
Other
Voicetapp: I own this, but haven’t used it yet. My goal is to use it to transcribe video and audio. Because Dragon requires punctuation commands, I needed to find something that could transcribe audio without that.
One Transcriber: Like VoiceApp this app transcribes, but I picked it up to transcribe courses I bought so I could have text version of the lesson without having to rely on my scribbled notes.
Other AI Tools
AI for Writers
Word: Yes, Word now offers AI help. First you can dictate your book directly into your document. While at one time, this option was cumbersome, the voice-to-text is vastly improved. But that’s not all. Now you can upload an audio and Word can transcribe it. If you like to record your book, this is a great option. The transcription is pretty good and you don’t need to tell it punctuation commands.
Google Docs: Google docs also has AI voice-to-text if you’d like to dictate your book. It can also take handwritten content and turn it into typed text. To do this, scan your handwritten content into Google Drive using your phone. Drive will create a PDF. On your computer, go to your Drive and find the PDF. Use “Open with Docs” and the PDF handwritten doc will be converted into typed text Google Doc.
Quickwrite (Brainstorming, writing, art, marketing) – This is brand new (June 2023) and looks like its trying to be an all-in-one AI for authors. Created by Adazing, who offers Mockup Shots (which I use), Quickwrite offers help in brainstorming, coming up with items (like magic doodads or names of ships, etc), AI art, and marketing help such as writing email, social media, and even podcasting. Quickwrite has a one-time lifetime payment instead of monthly subscription. I have tested this and it does okay with non-fiction (articles, blog posts, non-fiction book outlines etc).
Subtxt.app: Outlining tool. I haven’t tried this although maybe I should since I struggle with outlining. That said, ChatGPT can help you outline.
Sudowrite: Sudowrite is designed for fiction authors and it can do a lot including write, although I know you’ll want to do that yourself. It offers a variety of differing tools depending on what you need help with. It can help you brainstorm, plot, flesh out writing, and more. I have an account and have played around with it. It really is amazing at what it can do, and yet, it’s not perfect. I feel like it’s best if you start with very little idea about what you want, as I’ve found it hard to guide it to my will (although that’s more likely a function of my prompting). The creators of Sudowrite listen to it’s users and have added or tweaked features based on user input. It’s most recent improvement was the ability to make the AI write sexy bits. Sudowrite has a robust Slack community (currently moving to Discord) that is very helpful, and weekly zoom meetings to walk you through all the features. Check out Sudowrite’s YouTube channel to see stories built on the fly and how to use its features.
NovelAI: Brainstorm, write, create visual representations of characters and setting. I haven’t tried this one yet.
AI Editing
AuthorsAi: Creates a report that can help with pacing and arc, along with other editing such as overused words, etc.
Prowriting Aid: AI editor – I use this with Word usually while writing. When I finish writing, I like AutoCrit.
Grammarly: AI Editor. Grammerly also has AI-checker* and plagiarism checker.
Hemmingway: Like Autocrit, Hemmingway helps beyond basic editing to assist you in improving style and tightening your prose.
Origninality.ai: AI and Plagiarism Checker. If you’re using AI to write for you, you can run your content through Originality, although the results are questionable. When I’ve tested this (using AI to write and then I revised it), the app sometimes highlighted sentences I wrote as possible AI-generated, and AI-generated sentences passed as human written.
AI Text to Speech (e.g. Audio Book):
Note that Audible (Amazon) doesn’t take AI generated books
Murf.Ai: This tool can clone voices (e.g. you can use your voice). It says you can use different voices (multi-cast anyone!) as well. When I researched in the past, each bit of text that had its own voice has to be pasted in separately, which to me is too time consuming (that’s why I chose Audie.ai, as I could paste a chapter and then line by line, indicated the speaker). This may have changed with Murf, so I plan to investigate it after I finish my current audio project.
MicMonster Here is the post at MicMonster on creating audio books using it’s tool. If you search for audio books with MicMonster, you’ll get a list of YouTube posted audio books (these authors are giving the audio away for free but have the potential to earn Adsense income from Google/YouTube). Here is one example, Mistletoe Kiss by Andrea Boyd (it’s a sweet romance)
Google Play Books – AI Narrated Audio Books
VictoryTale has a list of AI audio narration options that includes pros and cons, and pricing.
Generic AI
Chatgpt: This one is getting all the buzz, but it’s not the only one out there.
You Chat: This one works like the others, but will also provide links to resources if you’re query needs more information or research.
Claude.Ai: This is another tool I see mentioned a lot by AI-using authors. I haven’t tested it out yet.
Poe: This tool you can use on your phone. It lets you choose which AI tool you’re going to pull from such as ChatGPT or Claude-2
Playground (Open AI): I’ve watched videos of AI writers using Playground, but haven’t tried it myself. Created by the same people who do ChatGPT, this app is more about experimenting with machine learning models.
AI Art
Art Breeder (Art)
MidJourney (Art) – This used to be free but now charges. It sounds complicated to use through a Discord channel, but many of the videos I watch suggest its still one of the best. Here is a doc from MidJourney on how to use it’s platform.
Dall-e 2: From Open AI (ChatGPT people), this is an AI art generator.
Kittl (Art) – Kittl not only helps you create art (including vectors), but you can edit and create mockups as well. This could be really helpful if you’re creating a logo or merch. It has a free level, although it requires attribution. It’s first paid level is $10 (paid year, or $15 per month) gives commercial use without attribution.
Leonardo.ai – Leonardo.ai seems to be growing in popularity after MidJourney went to a paid plan. Like MidJourney, it’s run on a Discourd server, but it appears to have helpful features to guide you.
MakeUseOf has a list of other art AI generator tools. It has a list of AI video generators as well.
AI for Marketing
You may have noticed that many of your tools have added AI. Most recently, Canva has released AI tools AND now has an API so third-party apps can be accessed through Canva including Dall-e (art) and Murf (audio). But below are a few AI-specific apps to help in marketing.
Feedhive: This is a social scheduling tool like SocialBee. It has all the major platforms, scheduling and rescheduling, and AI tools.
Descript: This may not be for all authors, but it can video and audio record and transcribe all at once. Plus you can edit the video like you edit a Word doc. I’m looking at this for WWH, but I think if you make video marketing content, this could be something to consider as well.
Reply.io: Email AI. Personally, I think email should be handled…well…personally, but if you have a ton of it, this can help.
Here’s an article at NoGood on top AI marketing tools in 2023.
Up and Coming AI Tools
AI is the new big thing and while many existing companies are adding it, new companies are sprouting to offer it. If you’d like to check out special deals for new AI tools to run your author business, check out Appsumo (this link should take you to AI tools specifically). Many of the tools I own (Ryter, Ocoya, Social Bee, Pictory, etc), I bought with a lifetime deal (as opposed to paying a monthly subscription) through Appsumo.
AI tools are cropping up every day it seems. Do you have AI tools you recommend or are checking out?
*My Thoughts on AI
Can AI do all the work for you in writing a book?
Yes, it can. And the quality of writing is improving, especially for people who know how to prompt well. But if you have a story in your mind and you’re a writer, you’re going to want to write it, right?
Is AI generated plagiarized?
I don’t know. Lawsuits haven’t been successful, so far. My thought is that while AI might be “trained” on existing books, I’m not sure that’s much different from authors who “train” by reading books. We learn to write through reading (as well as writing, critique, editing, etc). Stephan King insists reading is a function of good writing for that reason. Of course, if AI is taking content verbatim, then yes, that would be a problem.
Do I think AI is going to replace writers?
No. At least not anytime soon. I believe readers want quality books they can enjoy, and if you provide that and find your readers, I don’t see any reason why you can’t still be successful. Just like indie authors flooded the market in the 2010’s, AI authors may do the same, but that doesn’t mean it will replace you just like indie authors haven’t replaced traditional authors.
Who’s at the most risk with AI?
In my mind, the most at risk in the publishing world for losing work due to AI are ghostwriters (like myself), editors, audio narrators, and graphic designers (book cover creators). It sucks, of course. Progress often changes the landscape and impacts careers (horse and buggy, VHS video, etc). Right or wrong, good or bad, AI is here and we all need to adapt.