Weekend Reading Oct. 2nd

There’s a lot going on in the self-publishing world. That’s why every Friday we share the best of what our staff has been reading this week. Check out our suggestions below!

On Writing

Janice Hardy presents:The Big Push to 50 (Thousand Words, That Is) from Romance University

Are you going to participate in NaNoWriMo this month? You might want to check out this article… then tune into the Mill City Press next week when our new content manager challenges herself to write 50,000 words in November.

5 New Ways to Choose Perfect Character Names from The Write Life

Choosing names for your characters can be tough, but this post might make your writing life easier.

Foreshadowing and Misdirection: Use Them Together to Empower Your Fiction from K.M. Weiland

If your fiction needs a bit more punch, K.M. Weiland has the answers to your problem.

Tricks and Traps of Using Real People in Your Writing, Part 3: Invasion of Privacy from The Book Designer

If you’ve written real people into your book, you’ll want to read this post to avoid getting in trouble.

Your Fiction May Be Failing for One Simple Reason: You’re Not Being Honest from K.M. Weiland

How honest are you in your writing? K.M. Weiland tells us what honest fiction is and why you need it.

How to Effectively Handle Time Shifts in Your Story from Jane Friedman

If your story shifts in time, you’ll want this guest poster’s tips.

On Marketing and Publishing

7 Rules to be Successful as an Author by Judith Briles from The Book Designer

What does it take to be successful? It might look sometimes like these seven rules.

Criticism & Reviews: How Do You Handle Feedback? from Jami Gold

Do you read reviews of your book? Here are some of the pros and cons to each approach.

Are you making the most of potentially viral avenues of promotion? from Erica Ridley via Romance University

Here’s a list of places you’ll want to use to help spread the word about your book.

Why Our Author Brand is More Important than Ever Before from Kristen Lamb

Kristen Lamb lays down why you need to cultivate your author brand if you want to sell books.

Happy reading, writers!