Adriana Trigiani

Why I Won’t Marie Kondo My Books

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Photo by Cynthia Price

I am a semi-practitioner of Feng Shui, Marie Kondo, minimalism, and anything to do with making my environment Zen.

Books, though, will always hold a special place and are not likely to be removed.

As an author who aspires to be published, I am inspired by the authors I meet. I enjoy hearing what drew them to writing, where they find their characters, when they write, and where they write.

I enjoy attending author lectures and book signings. I’ve become quite savvy at navigating the queue for the book signing so that I’m not waiting hours.

Almost every author I have met has not only signed my book but has offered writing tips, suggestions to find an agent, and groups to join.

I learned about Sisters in Crime through Janet Evanovich. It was many years later before I connected with the group but I always knew I would because she had recommended them.

Whenever I see Adriana Trigiani she reminds me that the best writing advice is simple, “Write!”

At a Malice Domestic conference, I bumped into Michael Connelly and, to make a long story short, he paused to chat with me for about five minutes. This was when he only had a few books to his name and their was no Prime show called, “Bosch.” He didn’t hesitate to encourage, offer advice, and share a story or two.

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Lisa Scottoline signs my book and offers advice. 

The other week I heard Lisa Scottoline speak as part of All Henrico Reads. I joined a small queue to have my book signed during a pre-event. The next thing I knew she was offering advice as we posed for pictures. Her inscription in my book inspires, too. She wrote, “You go girl!”

As I sit and write, I look across my desk to a bookcase filled with books signed by the authors. No matter how much I downsize, I won’t downsize my inspiration!

6 Tips to Improve Your Writing

Reading good writing -- in any form -- will make you a better writer. (Photo illustration by Cynthia Price)

Reading good writing — in any form — will make you a better writer. (Photo illustration by Cynthia Price)

Writing a book is easy.

The hard part is sitting down to write it. Or sitting down to write the article that is due in two hours… or the speech that is due on Monday.

Whenever I hear bestselling novelist Adriana Trigiani speak, she always tells would-be writers, “Just write.”

It’s great advice.

Here are a few tips for writing or improving your writing:

  1. Write every day. You can write in a journal. You can write a letter to a loved one. You can write one page of your novel. At the end of the year you would have 365 pages.
  2. Don’t write to impress. As a college student, I knew how to turn a short sentence into a longer one so I could hit my word count. I liked using large words – the better to show off my vocabulary. Readers don’t care about that. They want a good story.
  3. Read good writing. Some of the best writing I know comes from writers for Sports Illustrated. Think about it. There are two teams or two players. One wins, one loses. This happens over and over. How do you make it exciting? Read Sports Illustrated and you will find out. Read the classics. Read anything and identify what you don’t like and why. Then don’t do that. If you find something you like, strive to be that good.
  4. Shorten what you wrote. After I finish writing an article, I check the word count and then attempt to delete 10 percent of it. Almost always, the writing becomes stronger and more powerful.
  5. Check the verbs. Passive voice is quite dull to read. If you aren’t good at this, take a highlighter and identify every very. Then you can change the passive verbs to active. You’ll see a difference in your writing.
  6. Read for inspiration. I aspire to publish a mystery. I read lots of mysteries and now know the specific type of mystery I want to write. I know the setting of the book, too, and so I read travel books from that location.

Now stop reading this and go write. And yes, I know I need to take my own advice and finish the novel!

How to Make Your Content Stand Out

Let me begin by thanking you for taking time to read this post. You could be watching a video of grumpy cat or looking at photos of your BFF’s children on Facebook.

That’s the reality of content today. As someone who produces content I know that I am competing against “an infinite ocean of content.” Sarah Skerik, vice president of content marketing for PRNewswire, discussed the topic during a recent webinar.

Whether you are producing content for your company or for yourself as a freelancer or author, it’s critical to recognize that you are competing against much more content than ever. So what do you do?

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Images make content stand out, which is why I included this one of Florence, Italy. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

Begin by finding different angles to appeal to different audiences. For example, best-selling author Adriana Trigiani writes books that are set in New York and Italy.

Her readers want to know more about the settings so working with a close friend, they established a tour company that takes readers to the locales so they can learn more about the settings in the book. That’s an extreme example, and it works.

Author Ellen Crosby wrote a series of mysteries set in Virginia’s wine country and her social media posts often included information about vineyards and wine. She not only appeals to those who enjoy her books, but also to wine lovers.

Another step is to rethink the press release. You want to make it easy for bloggers and others to tweet about your press release so keep the headline short. Keeping the headline short also ensures that the release can be properly indexed by search engines. Character length should be about 65. If you need more, use a subhead.

The key is to make the press release something that people want to interact with. Interaction, Skerik says, is worth measuring. Measurement includes the number of times it is shared and how it ranks when searched, for example. Shares are a measure of engagement and can influence purchase decisions, according to Unruly, a marketing technology company that created an infographic about the Super Bowl and shares.

One way to encourage interaction is to include visuals in a press release or blog. These visuals can then be pinned on Pinterest or other social sites, creating more play for you.

Writing the press release, blog or online story is just the first step. It’s important to take the time to think about how you can get people interested in your content. How do you ensure that your content is noticed?

Celebrate National Author’s Day Tomorrow

During the Library of Virginia Literary Awards Oct. 20, guests dined with the nominated authors. Host Adriana Trigiani, a best-selling author beloved by millions of readers around the world for her hilarious and heartwarming novels, asked, “You’re actually eating with writers. How is that working out?”

For most guests, it was a privilege to do so and a great way to celebrate the nominees. Tomorrow is another day for celebrating authors as it is National Author’s Day, which was created by Nellie Verne Burt McPherson, a teacher and avid reader.  She submitted the idea for such a day, and in 1949 the day was recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

After attending the Literary Awards, I’m inspired to celebrate several new authors, including David Wojahn, who won for his collection of poetry, World Tree. In accepting he said of the award, “It looks like the Olympics, but it’s for brain works.”

At the event, I picked up David Huddle’s book Nothing Can Make Me Do This, which won the Emyl Jenkins Sexton Literary Award for Fiction. He grew up listening to his parents read books to him. “The sound of the human reading voice is the presence of love,” he told the audience.

David Baldacci won the People’s Choice Award for Fiction for The Sixth Man. I’m planning to read it on my next flight and asked him if I was going to jump in my seat from the suspense. He chuckled and said, “Don’t be surprised.”

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Adriana Trigiani and David Baldacci are two authors worth celebrating. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

Both David and Adriana are two authors I greatly admire because despite their millions of books sold, they are both approachable and willing to sign books and talk with fans and would-be writers. They are authors to be celebrated.

In celebrating authors by reading their books, we also are achieving another success, according to Jodi Moore, who won the Whitney & Scott Cardozo Award for Children’s Literature. “In order for a book to be happy, it must be read,” Moore said in accepting her award.

Tomorrow, why not make a book and an author happy?

Authors’ Words Provide Inspiration

Most people have an office in their home. I have a library. It’s a matter of word choice, but for me, it also sends a message. One day I will publish a mystery and my book will grace the library shelves.

In the meantime, I write in my library surrounded by signed copies from some of my favorite authors, whom I have been fortunate to meet.

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Books signed by favorite authors provide inspiration. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

There is Janet Evanovich, who at her book signing, spent a few moments giving me advice and suggested writing critique groups for me to seek out.

There is Adriana Trigiani, whose advice is simple and direct, “Just write!”

There is Emyl Jenkins, who provided me with fairy dust, to keep my writing inspiration alive.

Another favorite is Michael Connelly, whom I met at a mystery writers’ conference. I passed him in the foyer and said hello as if I knew him. Of course, I didn’t, I just felt like I did because I was familiar with his photograph on the back of his book jacket. It didn’t matter. He found a sitting area and spent a few minutes with me, also giving me solid advice.

David Baldacci is another favorite. He always makes time for his fans, signing books and answering questions. Like the other authors mentioned, it doesn’t matter how many times he makes the best-seller list, he still is approachable and pleased to talk about his craft.

So while I continue to write and re-write, I surround myself with the words – both on paper and in person – of other authors.  And I leave space on the shelf for what I hope will be the first of many books I publish.

What helps you write and where do you write?