Let’s say a visitor has come to your author website. Maybe he/she read one of your pieces in a lit mag and wants to learn more about you. Maybe said person is a literary agent who is deciding whether or not you would make a good client. Or maybe said visitor is [...]]]> Let’s say a visitor has come to your author website. Maybe he/she read one of your pieces in a lit mag and wants to learn more about you. Maybe said person is a literary agent who is deciding whether or not you would make a good client. Or maybe said visitor is someone you met on Facebook or someone who was referred to your site by a friend.

The problem is, when your visitors leave your site, they’ll be gone forever—unless you give them a reason to stay connected. Creating an interactive website is key.

First, decide what you want.

Is your goal to offer the equivalent of a poster—a cyber broadsheet of information about you and your writing that readers can pause in front of for a moment and then be on their way, with the understanding that they may or may not be back ever again?

If so, you don’t need to do much besides create and maintain your text.

If you’re hoping to turn one-time visitors into fans who will return again and again, then you’ll need to create some specific Web infrastructure.

 Next, create your site’s interactive elements to support your goal.

Making a website interactive for the sake of making it interactive is nonsensical. You want the interactive features of your site to have functionality for you and a payoff for your visitors.

Here are seven fun ways to make your website interactive in order to convert visitors into fans. 

1. Offer an EASY way for visitors to sign up for your email list. Reassure sheepish visitors by promising that you won’t send junk—only news or helpful information. If possible, specify how frequently your emails will arrive (once every month or every few months?). Also, forget the double opt-in option (when users must click a link sent to their email in order to complete signing up). You can find free email list hosting services as well as paid services with more functionality all over the Web.

2. Include prominent social share buttons. See how our blog makes it easy to Like our page? That’s no accident. Facebook helps us stay in touch with visitors (shameless shout-out to Facebook fans—you guys rock!). Twitter, Google+, and other social share buttons also make it easy to connect via social media. Visitors might not get back to your site again, but at least you’ll see them on your networks!

3. Be clear about what you want your visitors to do. When you ask your visitors to do something in a clear, stand-out way (such as, Like a page or subscribe to a mailing list), you’re making it easy for them to stay in touch with you. They don’t even have to think “How will I stay in touch with this person?” because you’re already there with the answer. So…you’ll want to…

4. Organize your author homepage to direct readers to take action. In other words, what do you want readers to do first? Read your writing? Sign up for your mailing list? Think hard about what you want from your visitors, and make that directive clear on your front page.

5. Integrate your social media feeds into your site. Let’s face it. Much as we’d all love to be updating something on our site every day, that’s not always possible. But you can integrate your Facebook and Twitter feeds into your site so that your latest tweets and posts show up. This means there’s always new content on your site, always something new for visitors to see. You’re more likely to get repeat visitors if you give them a good reason to come back.

6. Consider blogging. The great thing about blogging is that there aren’t any rules about it, especially for creative writers. Write about what you feel passionate about. Then, ask readers to respond. Show that you care about their opinions. Get people talking. Think of your site as a dinner party. As the host of the party, you want your visitors to feel comfortable, to join the conversation, to jump in the pool, to help themselves to the miniquiches. You don’t want them to feel like they’re staring at the wallpaper all night.

7. Make it easy for visitors to contact you. By creating a contact form (like the one on our site), you make it easy for potential fans to connect with you—and you protect your personal email address at the same time. Once a person has contacted you through the form, ask if you can add his/her name to your mailing list.

QUESTION: How do you connect with other people online?

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We’ve got an awesome true story for you, writers.

It starts like this: One of our clients received a literary agent manuscript request recently.

Honestly, this happens a lot in our office. What makes this particular request so inspiring is the backstory.

The writer’s manuscript was originally submitted some time [...]]]> We’ve got an awesome true story for you, writers.

It starts like this: One of our clients received a literary agent manuscript request recently.

Honestly, this happens a lot in our office. What makes this particular request so inspiring is the backstory.

The writer’s manuscript was originally submitted some time ago. But there were no takers. While some writers might have been discouraged by dozens of rejections, this particular client held her head high.

Years passed. Determined to find a home for her book, she revised her manuscript, came up with a killer new title, and had us revise her query letter. Then, she resubmitted—to agents who hadn’t seen the project and to a few who had.

And—surprise—there’s been significant interest in the book!

Here’s what got it done:

Determination: As writers, we will face seemingly endless rejections to our work. It is our task, however daunting, to remain strong-willed and determined.

Patience: Requests like this don’t appear overnight. Time can be our greatest foe and our greatest ally.

Waiting: This is often the hardest part. Waiting for agents or journals to review our work is the best time to start on new work! Keep those creative juices flowing—and never ever stop.

Hope this will help inspire your day. It inspired ours!

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This question-and-answer guide is meant to help you gain perspective about how your love story stacks up against the great, memorable love stories of all time.

Copy and paste it into a document (or personal blog post), and write down your answers. If you want, you can copy and paste the [...]]]> This question-and-answer guide is meant to help you gain perspective about how your love story stacks up against the great, memorable love stories of all time.

Copy and paste it into a document (or personal blog post), and write down your answers. If you want, you can copy and paste the questions into our comments section and answer them there!

If you haven’t already, be sure to read our article The ONE Thing All Great Love Stories Have In Common. It may help you when you take this quiz!

1. What is the setting for your love story? (Hint: Ideally, the setting is interesting, unexpected, unusual, or fascinating. Are you using your setting to augment the action of your love story?)　

2. Are your characters’ objectives/desires clear—to the reader, if not to the characters themselves? Why do these characters want to be together? (Hint: Attraction doesn’t always have to be reasonable, but it does have to have reasons.)

3. How will having a successful relationship benefit each character (practically, emotionally, financially, etc.)? (Hint: The more a character stands to gain, the more likely the reader will cheer for the relationship to work out—and the harder they’ll cry if it doesn’t.)　

4. What issues complicate the relationship? What reasons do they have for NOT being together? (Hint: They’d better be good reasons…we’re talking really good. Concrete issues trump vague, hazy notions of “we can’t be together just because I kinda feel that way.” The stronger the reason for the characters to be apart, the more likely the reader will root for them! Take a look at how famous authors complicate their love stories.)　

5. Is there a sense of destiny, serendipity, or some other sense of the inevitable working within your love story—whether your lovers are fated to succeed or fail? (Hint: You need not say flat out that there’s a cosmic current at work; having a strong subtext of destiny is sometimes a stronger choice.)

6. What do your characters stand to lose, or how will they suffer, if the relationship fails? (Hint: If the answer is “they will have broken hearts,” your story might not have enough punch. Why? Because broken hearts are as much a fact of life as cereal for breakfast. At some point, everybody suffers a broken heart—so that in and of itself may not be enough to twist readers’ heartstrings. If you want your love story to resound, your characters will need to suffer more than just a typical broken heart: they’ll need to risk having a life-crushing, soul-altering, “I will join a convent/jump off a bridge/never, ever love again” broken heart).

One final tip: Want to study the great romantic stories more deeply? Think of your favorite, then answer these questions about it. You’ll see how authors raise the stakes for a (potential) broken heart!

Please feel free to share the Writer’s Relief Love Story Self-Test with your writing groups, with other writers on your social networks (click the share buttons below), and with your blog readers.

QUESTION: What do you think? Tell us how these questions illuminated your current love story or romantic subplot.

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Hooray! It’s that time again!

And no, we’re not actually talking about Lincoln’s birthday. It’s Valentine’s Day—a time when writers think about the important romances in their lives…even the fictional ones!

One way to be sure that YOUR love story will capture the hearts of audiences everywhere is to study famous fictional couples. We looked at some [...]]]> Hooray! It’s that time again!

And no, we’re not actually talking about Lincoln’s birthday. It’s Valentine’s Day—a time when writers think about the important romances in their lives…even the fictional ones!

One way to be sure that YOUR love story will capture the hearts of audiences everywhere is to study famous fictional couples. We looked at some of the most well-known love stories out there in order to see how great authors made memorable love matches.

Here’s what we found: When it comes to literary love stories, there are no half measures. Characters who fall, fall hard. A wishy-washy love story is a forgettable one. Passion is far and away the most vital element of a memorable love story. It’s not enough for a character to merely desire love; it must seem necessary in some way. Passion must be so compelling that love becomes as vital to the characters as air.

There’s no rule book for passion. But read on to see what key ingredients authors use to create stories of great romantic passion.

Jane and Rochester in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. This romance for the ages offers tremendous templates for present-day fiction writers: a woman and man who come from very different economic circumstances overcome huge obstacles before they (sort of) live happily ever after. Here, passion is punched up because of class differences (among other things). The fact that these characters can overcome their differences speaks to the depth of their emotions. Also, Brontë tells the story from the viewpoint of one character (the admirable Jane) rather than using an omniscient narrator, which makes the question “What is Rochester hiding?” all the more engaging.

Edward and Bella in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books. Popular contemporary fiction can also offer love stories that capture and hold the public’s attention. Edward is hundreds of years old and ostensibly has met tons of women, but he falls for insecure, boring, and painfully earnest Bella. Their relationship is portrayed as inevitable, destined, and fated—even if it’s not entirely credible. The sense of being “meant for each other” and “part of something larger” can be crucial components of compelling love stories. Passion as destiny is often a big hit.

Newland Archer and Ellen Olenska in Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence. A couple might seemingly be “meant for each other,” but that doesn’t always mean things will work out. One person can have other relationship obligations, or the couple might be stymied by societal pressures. A big writing lesson Wharton expertly “teaches” is that authors can break the hearts of readers while still leaving them very glad they read the heartbreaking work. In this book, a lifelong passion is never fulfilled and yet it doesn’t die; that’s part of what makes the book so powerful.

Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar in Annie Proulx’s “Brokeback Mountain.” This famous short story about two ranch hands shows that fictional love sagas don’t have to star heterosexual characters. It also shows that a secretive romantic relationship is one way to make a short story or novel engrossing. “Forbidden love”—that is, love that’s not approved by the other characters in the story—is a recurring motif in memorable love stories. Passion that can’t fully be expressed causes all kinds of complex emotions in characters and readers too.

Gogol and Maxine, and Gogol and Moushumi, in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake. Both of these relationships are far from ideal, but they exemplify some of the romantic experiences of immigrant children in our nation of immigrants. In this 2003 novel, Gogol, the Indian-American son of immigrants, has a serious relationship with the Anglo-American Maxine before marrying fellow Indian-American Moushumi. The contrasts and similarities between two relationships fuel this memorable story. When passion is tangled up in culture, the resulting imbroglio can be complex and meaningful on many levels.

Adam and Cathy Trask in John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Of course, there are also some romantic train wrecks in great literature. The Trask marriage is an example of a disastrous one-sided match—with the besotted Adam loving Cathy (at least at first), but the evil Cathy not capable of loving anyone. This is meaty material for the great Steinbeck, or any writer. It’s memorable in part because it delves into the dangers/risks of falling in love.

P.S. Take our Love Story Self-Test to see if your love story (or romantic elements) stacks up to the greats!

QUESTION: Tell us some of your favorite fictional couples! And what is it about them that can help writers create their own romantic twosomes?

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Riding the colossal success of the Kindle, Amazon is gearing up to emerge from the virtual world into the real one. In its home base of Seattle, Amazon plans to open a physical store (a la Apple, Inc.) and showcase its ever-expanding line of e-reader products.

Pros: Now Amazon consumers will be able to physically [...]]]> Riding the colossal success of the Kindle, Amazon is gearing up to emerge from the virtual world into the real one. In its home base of Seattle, Amazon plans to open a physical store (a la Apple, Inc.) and showcase its ever-expanding line of e-reader products.

Pros: Now Amazon consumers will be able to physically touch and test its products before making a purchase.

Cons: With its imposing online only presence, Amazon has flourished in comparison with traditional retailers who are burdened with expensive leases. Will Amazon (or its prices) falter with this added expense?

Watch out Apple, Barnes & Noble, and every other major gadget retailer, Amazon is coming to town!

QUESTION: Are you a fan of Amazon or concerned about their possible world takeover?

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If you’ve spent some time entering writing contests, you know they are an investment. Whether it’s poetry, short stories, essays, or chapbooks, most contests charge reading fees. Plus, there’s the “cost” of your time. And when you don’t win, you start to think, “Well, that was twenty bucks down the drain!”

But writing contests CAN help your career [...]]]> If you’ve spent some time entering writing contests, you know they are an investment. Whether it’s poetry, short stories, essays, or chapbooks, most contests charge reading fees. Plus, there’s the “cost” of your time. And when you don’t win, you start to think, “Well, that was twenty bucks down the drain!”

But writing contests CAN help your career if you play your cards right. Having diverse writing credentials is important if you’re trying to establish a reputation. A mix of publications, awards, nominations, and even a few contest wins can go a long way.

We at Writer’s Relief recommend that our clients (and all writers) enter contests. But how does a writer know when the entry fee and time spent are worth it?

Once you’ve read this article, you’ll know how to evaluate a contest to see if it’s worth your time. Then, check out our free list of writing contests!

Here are the questions you’ll need to ask yourself before you fork over your entry fee:

1. Is this contest reputable?

First things first: Don’t enter shady contests (such as fake poetry contests). There are a number of websites out there that are “writing contest factories.” Authors are encouraged to sign up for online communities and/or prodded to enter contests again and again. These sites can be a lot of fun, and many writers use them as a way to build their craft and confidence. But “contest factories” are generally not reputable within the larger, professional publishing industry.

Look for contests that have a solid reputation and longevity (contests that have been running for several years or even decades). Read this article for our thoughts about the professional reputation of fan fiction contests.

The following questions will help you determine how reputable a contest is and how that level of reputation affects you.

2. Who are the sponsors and organizers?

If the contest in question is run by The New Yorker, then you know you’re looking at a contest of great renown. If the contest in question is run by Sam’s Auto Club and Horseshoe Factory, you’re probably not looking at a contest that is well-known in the industry.

If you can’t find the information you need from the “About Us” section of the contest’s website, email the organizers and ask for details. In most cases, the reputation of the contest’s organizers is directly related to the reputation of the contest.

3. Who are the judges?

Often, it’s the judge who can make or break a contest’s reputation. Some organizations don’t disclose judges (often, literary journal contests are simply judged by the journal’s editors, with no special mention of specific judges).

But a specific judge of a contest might affect your willingness to enter. If a new contest—one that nobody has heard of—is being judged by a fantastic, famous author, you might want to enter. If you win, you can always say “Joe K. Author selected my story to win the You’ve Never Heard Of This Contest Prize.” The famous author’s name goes a long way toward recognition and bragging rights.

4. What’s the relationship of the payment and the payout?

Would you pay ten bucks for a shot at being published in your favorite magazine, with the added incentive of a cash prize, a subscription, and/or the good karma points of financially supporting a publication you admire? If so…then this contest is probably a GO for you.

Would you pay ten bucks so an unknown editor can consider publishing your work on his/her unknown website (which means said work will then be considered previously published and therefore less likely to be eligible for publication elsewhere)?

Maybe, maybe not. Read on.

5. Would winning this contest positively augment your current writing credentials?

If you are a Pulitzer winner, entering a contest that Joe American runs out of his home office isn’t going to help much. Sure, you might win. Just like a shark might win a fight with a goldfish. Would winning help your cause? No.

But if you’ve never published anything before, then winning a smaller contest could be a windfall! There are some ethical but lesser-known contests out there that are really fantastic for newer writers. In fact, some contests are specifically created to encourage aspiring writers, as opposed to veterans.

Look honestly at your publication credits and see if a win would be a step forward for you. If winning the contest means you’ll go from being just another goldfish in the school to being the goldfish at the head of the class, then proceed to enter.

6. What are your odds of winning?

Certain contests—the very well-known ones—attract high-level, professional writers (Hint: These are the contests you should really want to win). Other contests attract hobbyists and new writers. Often, you can determine this by looking at the lists of people who have won in the past, judges, and affiliates.

Keep in mind that there is no rule that says you can’t email a writing contest organizer and ask, “How many entries did you receive the last time you ran this contest?” You might not get an answer, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

QUESTION: How many contests did you enter in the past twelve months?

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Remember the movie Groundhog Day? Bill Murray lives the same day over and over again until he gets it right?

Today is your Groundhog Day. And we put this question to you:

Are you caught in a vicious cycle?

…NOT submitting your writing for publication even though you know you should…

…then feeling bad about [...]]]> Remember the movie Groundhog Day? Bill Murray lives the same day over and over again until he gets it right?

Today is your Groundhog Day. And we put this question to you:

Are you caught in a vicious cycle?

…NOT submitting your writing for publication even though you know you should…

…then feeling bad about not being published…

…then not submitting because you feel bad…

…then still not getting published, not even trying…?

Break your self-defeating cycle.

If you’re ready to make a change but can’t do it alone, it’s time to get the help you need.

Writer’s Relief offers submission assistance—not to mention meaningful support and encouragement.

 We currently have limited openings for writers in the following genres:

Poems, Stories, Essays, and Books

Tired of living the same day over and over?

Make a change. Right this moment.

It only takes a few seconds to dramatically shift the course of your writing career:

Submit your work for consideration at Writer’s Relief today!

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Before email came into our lives, letters reigned: postcards, stationery, perfume-scented paper…and stamps! Glorious, interesting stamps!

And then, there was the style and “voice” of a loved one’s handwriting…a personal touch. How great did it feel to know that someone held a letter in his/her own flesh-and-blood hand, then sent it into your hand?

Don’t [...]]]> Before email came into our lives, letters reigned: postcards, stationery, perfume-scented paper…and stamps! Glorious, interesting stamps!

And then, there was the style and “voice” of a loved one’s handwriting…a personal touch. How great did it feel to know that someone held a letter in his/her own flesh-and-blood hand, then sent it into your hand?

Don’t get us wrong; we love how easy and efficient email has made life for writers! But, we miss letters too. Author Mary Robinette Kowal has launched a Month of Letters Challenge, encouraging writers to mail one letter, postcard, or note per day this month.

QUESTION: What do you think? Do you love letters? Do you ever send letters by mail anymore? Will you participate in the Letter Writing Challenge?

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You’ve probably heard that your reading habits can help your writing technique, but did you know that reading can also help your writing career?

Thousands of writers are interacting with their readers and establishing themselves in the writing community on Goodreads, a website that functions as an online book [...]]]> You’ve probably heard that your reading habits can help your writing technique, but did you know that reading can also help your writing career?

Thousands of writers are interacting with their readers and establishing themselves in the writing community on Goodreads, a website that functions as an online book club, bookstore, and your own personal bookshelf.

If you are looking for an easy, fun, and free way to promote your writing and connect with people who have similar taste in books (i.e., fans, readers, editors, agents), Goodreads is for you!

1. Goodreads is Facebook for books!

Goodreads allows you to organize your own virtual bookshelves. Connect with other writers and readers who have similar tastes! You can share recommendations, follow others’ reviews, and create personal relationships with people in the industry. Network with other writers and meet potential readers of your work.

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, this site is EXCLUSIVELY for those in the writing/reading community. Establish yourself as part of that community by becoming a member.

2. Show off your writing (and great literary taste) by writing book reviews.

Write fantastic, memorable reviews that show off your personality as well as your writing. Build your review portfolio and get a Goodreads following. Establish yourself as a well-read connoisseur of your genre and others.

3. Drive traffic to your author website.

In your Goodreads profile, you can link out to your author website or blog. Once you’ve established yourself as a Goodreads regular, other Goodreads members will be interested to learn more about you. That’s when you pounce! Only write snippets or teasers of your reviews and then link to your own blog for its entirety (this is a common Goodreads technique). Refer to a discussion, article, or post on your own site and provide a link in your review.

Don’t have an author website? Now’s the time. We can help.

4. Become a Goodreads Author.

Goodreads WANTS you to use their site for promotion—how cool is that? They have a specific program designed to help authors reach their target audience. If you are an author with either a traditionally published or self-published book, you can register on Goodreads with a special “Author” account.

Authors on Goodreads can make their profiles an engaging and attractive destination for readers. Add a picture and a bio. Publicize upcoming events. Post videos. Share your favorite books and quotes, recent reads, book excerpts, and other writing with your fans.

5.  Promote the Goodreads way.

You can promote your book with Goodreads goodies like book giveaways, Q&As, and discussion forums. You can even create quizzes about your book! Add a Goodreads Author widget to your own website to show off the reviews of your book.

Goodreads boasts 6,800,000 readers. That’s almost 7 million potential readers and promoters.

Convinced? Join Goodreads today! Use this link to sign up and instantly become our friend!

Find info about the Goodreads Author Program.

QUESTION: What are you reading right now?

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