Writing a successful novel depends on your ability to edit, improve, and revise your work. Editing a manuscript is a big undertaking, both intellectually and emotionally. Being thorough can be difficult and time-consuming, but the creative story editing process always pays off.
Fictionary makes editing easier by applying universal storytelling structures to each and every scene. Evaluate and revise your manuscript against 38 Fictionary Story Elements to tell a powerful story readers will naturally connect with.
I'm glad you posted this. I'm definitely going to check out her other talks. Her books are really recommended but people do say it's kind of written as if she did a workshop. As I'm listening to her speak I definitely could see that happening. So figured I'd do better by checking her out "live" and she gave a ton of info! Thanks for posting.
I took notes, here they are; it's not for the full video but rather general advice they gave. Five Tips for Great Writing from Christina Strasbourg (7:51) 1. Say more with less in dialogue; powerful moments come from what is not said (body language) 2. Small twists in your character (contradictions, lies, surprises) make them human 3. Play with perception, sensory misdirection (misinterpret the scene based on the current emotion, the view a character takes based on how they feel, objects look scary when they're scared) 4. Foreshadow with objects not just with words (objects can tell their own story, introduce an innocuous object in beginning but is important later in the story); it can make your story feel rich and inter connected; props with hidden clues. 5. Every scene works overtime; a scene should multi task (move plot, characterisation, theme); avoid extra words Literary Agent Jes Trudel (17:28) Everybody should wait to query until you've done what you can beforehand. Beta readers, critique readers along with self-editing. Go through multiple drafts on your own and then have critique partners and beta readers and THEN edit again before submitting to agents. Make sure the other people that read your draft read in your genre. And choose people who will be honest with you. Jes doesn't read the query letter, she reads the sample manuscript and then looks at query letter after.
I’ve been using Fictionary during the free trial period and I love, it’s like having an instant beta reader as a standby sanity check for your writing at all times
What guarantees, as an author, do I have that my submission to Story Teller won't immediately become part of a large language model and instantly be used by so-called writers who want artificial intelligence to write their manuscript for them? Pirates and hostile actors are already hacking their way into the best of intentioned online services. Kristina, your and JoEllen's story elements and editing master class from 2021 is all any writer wanting to learn this craft truly needs.
For anyone interested, this is a good intro, but if you want to really learn about genre, invest in John Truby's audio courses. Worth every penny, and works great with apps like Fictionary.
I like doing market research and making terrible mockups. Then I send my favorite of them to the designer so they can get the gist of what I'm going for. Elaine's info really helps us authors realize we can't do everything.
I don't know yet if this was corrected later (I paused to type this) but just to clarify, at 44 mins, Kristina said Hunger Games when she meant Game of Thrones (which I know because I heard/read her talking about this book before).
I am a Fictionary Certified Story Editor, and I can give you my thoughts based on what I know. And hopefully Kristina will see your post and fill in any gaps (or make any corrections). To clarify, do you mean, is it possible to have one series where some of the books are standalones, and some are like 2 or 3 books that are part of an overarching story arc? If so, I have never seen that. BUT I have read a number of books by authors where they have more than one series, or one or more series and some standalones, in the same story universe. If you're a fantasy reader, an example is Brandon Sanderson, who has done this with his Cosmere universe. He has a number of books set in this universe, but they are not all part of the same series. On his website, he explains, "All of my Cosmere books share a single creation myth, a single cosmology, that gives underlying theorem of magic for all these connected worlds." But The Mistborn Trilogy and the Stormlight Archives, for example, though both set in the Cosmere, are not part of the same series. I've also recently read some sci-fi romance books by authors who have done the same thing. For example, Chani Lynn Feener has different series and some standalones set in the same story universe, and what differentiate them as standalones or as separate series is that each series was set around a different group, person, or planet in that universe. For example, one series is called The Devils of Vitality, set on a planet called Vitality (hence the title). It's a dark sci-fi college romance series. It's a 3-book open series, with each book focusing on a different person from the "Devils of Vitality" group and their love interest. The books each have a different protagonist and can be read as standalones and out of order (though there are references to characters from the other books, you don't need to read the other books in order to follow the story). Then she has a closed series called A Whisper in the Dark, set on a different planet (Sanctum) in that same universe. It's a series of 3 books that follows one particular character. Those books follow that character as he's on the run, then captured, then "kind of" free. On the romance side of that, he and his love interest went from enemies, to kind-of friends, and finally to lovers over the course of the three books in the series. I think it's important to look at the story and series arcs that Kristina talked about in the video. Are the books all necessary to the story arc of the series, if it's a closed series? Are there books in there that aren't really necessary to fulfilling (or failing) the series goal? If so, they might be considered a separate series, or standalones in the same story universe. If it's an open series, what is it that unifies them? If it's something like a story world or setting, that can be enough to make books part of the same series, but is there a more specific category, or more specific elements, that can divide them into different series within the same universe? For example, with Bridgerton, it's not just the fact that they are all set in Regency England, but also that they follow members of the same family (and have the same general story arc) that make them part of the same series. I hope this helps.
@@sherryleclerc2743 OK, currently, I see this working with all of the books and series being in the same universe. They will also have members from the same organization. Most of them will be from other books (i.e., A support character or secondary protagonist in one book/series will be the protagonist in another book/series). How would you denote this so the reader will know what to expect?
@@troyphillips6820 The short and easy answer is to give them different series names. You can even put explanations in your forward, back matter, and/or marketing blurb that, though they are in the same universe as a, b, and c, the books x, y, and z are a part of series B. The more in-depth answer is that it is an artistic choice--in other words, it's up to you as the author which books you want to put together in one series, which you want to be standalones, if you want them to be open or closed series, etc. Ask yourself if there's a common thread or common/similar general story goals you want to emphasize with certain books that would put them together as an open series, or if there are books with a closed series arc that can be set apart from the other books in the same universe. For example, you said you have some that are a books in a closed series, so there has to be a common thread there that ties them together, right? And if it's a closed series, that means that each book in the series, though they each have their own individual story arc, are also all part of the larger story that is the series (i.e. are all parts of the series arc). You can give these books a series name based on that common thread or series arc, and any others related to each other series names based on their common thread or series arc. Any from the same universe that aren't part of a particular common thread, or are not a part of a series arc, can be left as standalones. I hope this is clear and not so wordy that it feels convoluted. As an example of what I mean, I write sci-fi romance under a different pen name from my fantasy novels. In my current sci-fi romance series, each protagonist in the later books are secondary characters from Book 1. They are all members of the crew of the space ship seen in the first book, and the books' skeleton blurbs are almost exactly the same (in the way that the Bridgerton series books' invidual skeleton blurbs are similar), aside from the names. But I also plan to write other books in the same universe using characters other than those crew members, so they will be either standalones or part of a different series. The books in a series can have different protagonists (as you said, "A support character or secondary protagonist in one book/series will be the protagonist in another book/series") whether it's open or closed. And there is no reason why you couldn't take a secondary character from one series and give them their own standalone book or series. For example, in the fantasy genre, I have a closed series where "secondary" characters from book 1 are the protagonists in the following books. They are all "guardians" of the realm, and each book has a different protagonist in order to show how each of them has a journey and goal that will contribute to beating the bad guy in the final book (where we'll see the four of them coming together for the big battle). Each of them has their own story that has a part to play in being able to defeat the "big boss" in that final book. They are all cogs in the wheel that is the whole series, so to speak. But I also have a novella that's like a 'side trip' from the main series. It focuses on two characters' love story (it's more romance centred than the main series), and the protagonist of the novella isn't one of the guardians, but one of the minor henchmen (a "bad guy" that turns out to be not so bad after all) we meet in book 1. Though the things that happen in that book are related to what is happening in the series, the information in the novella isn't actually necessary to understanding what's happening in the series. So if you go to my Amazon Author Central page, for example, it shows the first 2 books (the series isn't finished yet) as part of the same series, but if you searched up the series title, it doesn't show the novella as part of the series. Instead, Amazon considers it "related" to the series. So, as subtitles I have A Trial of Kingdoms Book 1 and A Trial of Kingdoms Book 2, then I have A Trial of Kingdoms Novella, which I numbered as 1.5 in brackets to show that it is related to the series, but not part of the main series. It's like a little side journey from the main series plot arc.
@@sherryleclerc2743 So, give them different series names and then denote that they are in the same universe (i.e., "A Hassu Lú Sag Chronicles Novel") on the cover?
@@sherryleclerc2743 I think a good example of this is The Expanse series by S.A. Corey. They published a series of novellas related to the Expanse universe, but either give a main character's backstory in detail, or is related some other way. The novellas are numbered with decimals, i.e., 3.5 in Series: The Churn.
Have to smile at Jill reading reviews! British playwright Christopher Hampton said: "Asking a working writer what [she] thinks about critics is like asking a lamp-post what it feels about dogs." I am one of the males who mentioned to Jill about women having babies, and then forgetting how hard it was, and doing it again, striving to encourage another book from Jill. And, not to become a target of resentment, but I actually have a signed copy of her book. = )
Thank you for the interview. Not a romance reader, but nevertheless loved the RU-vid series and its humorous but affectionate take on the tropes of that (and many) genres. Bought the book, but have only started it so far.
I probably would have liked the half-faces cover, what with Jill switching so well between the spinsterish Caroline and the matronly Rosamund in the videos, but to anyone not familiar with the videos it would just be puzzling.
It takes placing ads in the right places. Paying for email campaigns and many other methods that book marketing companies use is the way to success. Pay for email marketing campaigns. Pay socila media infleuncers. But the best way is to find one company who does it all. Who will work with you for a while and until you have book sales coming in on an ongoing basis. Nothing you do own your own will work. Bottom line!!! Let's move on from the basics, behonest and tell authors they need to budget for marketing. Some of these marketing websites however, talk a big talk and produce little results. I know becuase I have many author friends who have tried written word media , free booksy, red feather romance, bargain booksy etc. and got no results. It seems like there are a a group of these websites that are all grouped together and they are connected and encouraga=e promo stacking and encourage you to stack your promos with their various websites. They are with these "how to market your book advisors" and they are promoting all of these websites that are connected. To me, it is all a scam!! Because none of these sites that are within this group get any kind of real results. OMG. Listening to this video is an eye-opener.
Building your brand is all great and fine and exciting. But your colors and fonts and website and social media accounts and email subscribers are not going to make a whole lot of difference in selling enough copies to even come close to breaking even. These "advice" experts are making money off of authors with their so-called expertise whch is always the same advice. Veey shallow and redundant. Be findable? How do we do that? Maybe a few people will find me, but not enough to make a career out of it. The people who are making the money in the book industry are the very peoole who are telling us how to do it. The "how-to market your book" advice givers who write the books on how-to, the articles on how-to, the videos on "how-to" and let's not forget the COURSES on "how-to" market your book. Also the publishers, Literary agents, publicists, book cover creators, editors, book trailer creators, and the "new websites that promise results but they are brand new on the scene and jumping on the band wagon and are scammers." Anyone you work with must be establsihed for at least ten years. Paying book marketing companies to market your book is the best way to success. But the company must be established, have author testimonials and be found all over the literary community. Yes the book cover should look extraordinary. The description should be compelling and extraordinary, the title should be catchy and original, the genre should be the hot genre of the day, your price points should be right. It's good to have a nice quality website so if someone perhaps just by chance happens to see your website link and you somewhere online, clicks on your link and goes to your website, they will see a nice one. And yes, it's great if you have alot of free reviews, but of course your average star rating could be 4.0 or under which isn't good. Many of the reviews will be bad. And even if you do have 1000 reviews on amazon, still how is anyone going to find your book in order to read those reviews? So we have all of these nice effective things going on for our books. Still, I ask you. How will anyone find your book amongst the millions of books already online? So I have a problem with these people or so-called expert how-to market your book advise givers and their books that are selling like hotcakes to make money off unsuspecting desperate authors. Listening to them, reading their books, articles and watching these vidoes are all redundant and a waste of time. Something needs to change. Someone new needs to speak up and tell the truth and reveal how to really market a book for success. It takes money. It takes educacted book marketers who know the book marketing landscape and social media book influencers who have hundred of thousands of followers.
Great advice on prepping to speak to a designer as well! Doing a comparison study/market research is important and understanding a little about design elements (typography, composition, etc.) will help especially if looking to publish multiple books. As for colour palettes and font combinations I use Pinterest to get some ideas. Thanks so much and I'll check out your RU-vid channel!
Thanks so much! Got my brain flowing as I navigate this with my first novel! 5 strategies to check: 1. Conversion Optimisation (convinces readers to buy) 6:05 2. Grow Paid Audience (Ads, Promos) 15:03 3. Grow Owned Audience (Email list, website) 23:30 4. Build Your Brand (colours, fonts) 33:35 5. Be Findable (make it easy for your audience, less clicks) 42:07
