Posts by Writer Unboxed
Six years ago, when we—Kath and Therese—dreamed up a blog called Writer Unboxed, we never would’ve imagined writing a post like this.
Our initial goal for our little blog was pretty simple: Discuss the craft of writing fiction with other aspiring writers, and pick the brains of any publishing professional who would allow us to do so. We’ve continually been blown away by the response and how we’ve grown. And we love our unboxed communities–here, at Reader Unboxed, and on Facebook.
But we’re at a crossroads.
We want to grow the sites, for them to be all they can be, but we’re also finding that we simply don’t have enough resources to do it all. We need to duplicate ourselves somehow, so there are more hands to do all that needs to be done. And we’d like to find a way for the sites to generate some income so that when our server crashes (as it did last week; you may have experienced difficulties with the site), or if we’re hacked (which has also happened), there are funds on hand to cope with what needs to be done.
We’re trying to find ways to make running the Unboxed sites more tenable. Because you’re our greatest resource, we’re eager to hear your ideas. We have a few of our own that we want run by you too. Please feel free to mention anything in comments you think we should consider or that might help us, or send us a private note through our contact page.
Extra Hands
We’re in need of an assistant of some sort—an intern possibly, or a paid Virtual Assistant who can help with daily administrative functions. If you have experience with Virtual Assistants, have referrals or recommendations, we’d love to hear about it.
Financial Self-Sufficiency
We’ve spent a pretty good chunk of change on Writer Unboxed over the years, and more recently Reader Unboxed. We’ve always resisted putting ads on WU because frankly we don’t like them and we were never in it for the money. But if we decide to hire a Virtual Assistant, we’d like for those funds to come from revenues generated by the blog. How to do that?
Read MoreIt began when we–Therese and Kath–were together on a long car ride. Maybe it was the result of too much caffeine. Or the fact that since starting and growing Writer Unboxed into a successful online community for writers, we’d been mulling over finding a way to bring a stronger component spotlighting readers but without losing focus on what we’ve already built. We discussed it over that three-hour ride but couldn’t make the idea jell. We put it on the backburner.
Two years later, we were on another long car ride together. More caffeine, but this time with a side of sugar (in the form of chocolate). We revisited the Reader Unboxed idea, but this time instead of talking about it in vague terms, we really started to dig into the idea. We both wanted a community that offered a place for readers to find books reviewed by readers who were just like them. A place that was easy to navigate, with ways for readers to discuss books honestly but without flaming or negativity. Most of all, we wanted to focus on unboxed fiction—fresh works that bring something new to the table—and the writers and publishers who have the courage to push boundaries.
We had the germ of a great idea but we needed to find the missing piece of the puzzle, someone who had connections and credibility with the reading community. Enter the founder of The Divining Wand, Larramie. Also known as the Fairy Godmother of the book world to readers, authors, and publicists alike, Larramie enthusiastically champions great novels. She also has a reputation for discovering exciting debut authors and introducing them to a wider audience, thus helping to boost their profile at a critical moment in their careers. Plus she is a doll-and-a-half. We were thrilled when she agreed to join our enterprise.
With Larramie’s help, other recommendations, and our WU network, we were able to assemble a team of wonderful contributors eager to discover unboxed fiction and share it with others via reviews. We developed some unboxed columns, too, like Reader Roulette and Undiscovered Treasures, to encourage interactivity between readers and RU. We hope to continually develop new and innovative ways that community members can participate in the site and share literary discoveries. And in the future, we hope to bridge WU and RU in a more comprehensive way, bringing unboxed writers from one site to the other for chats, interviews, reviews, and more.
If you’re a big reader and would like to be involved in some way, stop by Reader Unboxed to learn more. Then stick around. Linger. You might find a surprise or two.
Read on!
Read MoreKath here. Our very own Anna Elliott has released the third and final book in her historical fantasy trilogy, SUNRISE OF AVALON. It’s a huge milestone for any writer, and we are so pleased to be able to share journey with this book. I downloaded it Tuesday when it released, and I’m already ripping through the first chapters — it’s great. If you like historical fantasy, Arthurian legends, and fantastic characters, you won’t want to miss this. Huge congrats, Anna!
1. What is the premise of your new book?
In Sunrise of Avalon, Isolde is the former High Queen of Britain. Trystan, whom she has married in secret, is a Saxon mercenary and outlaw. Their love has overcome endless obstacles, and both have already endured a perilous journey to keep the underhanded Lord Marche from the throne of Britain. But now a new traitor lurks amongst the kings on Britain’s High Council—and just when they’ve realized the depth of their love for each other, a new danger calls Trystan from Isolde’s side to test the strength of their secret marriage vow. Only Isolde knows that she is carrying Trystan’s unborn child.
As Britain’s armies prepare for a final battle in which they will either turn back the tide of the invaders or see their kingdom utterly destroyed, Isolde must undertake yet another daring mission—one that will bring her even nearer to a secret that Trystan has kept for seven long years. As the clouds of war gather, Trystan and Isolde must once again fight to protect Britain’s throne. Together, they hold the key that can defeat the Saxon king, Octa of Kent, and Lord Marche. But the cost of Britain’s sovereignty may be their own forbidden love.
2. What would you like people to know about in this story?
Read MoreOne of the perks of running this community is occasionally a post will yield unexpected benefits, and that is exactly what happened when valued contributor Sophie Masson posted about her love of Mary Stewart.
Well, the Internet is a wonderful thing. Word of our collective support for Mary Stewart reached UK publisher Hodder & Stoughton. They had just reissued Mary’s classic suspense novels in brand new jackets–beautifully vintage and very contemporary–and were hoping to find a new audience for her brilliant works. They offered books in exchange for a shout-out, and this contest was born.
What sort of contest?
Since Mary Stewart was the queen of the hook, we thought it would be fun if our brilliant WU community members took a stab at writing their best Mary Stewart-esque hook–meaning you hook us in one sentence.
Stewart excelled at posing the why question in the first sentence of her novels, and from this one sentence, a whole story would unfold, chased by an eager reader to discover the answer.
To get you started here are a few examples from some of her most popular novels:
This Rough Magic:
“And if it’s a boy,” said Phyllida cheerfully, “we’ll call him Prospero.”
The Gabriel Hounds:
I met him in the street call Straight.
Nine Coaches Waiting:
I was thankful that nobody was there to meet me at the airport.
What will I win if my hook is the best?
The ENTIRE SET OF MARY STEWART’S REISSUED TITLES–14 books in all–including:
Madam, Will You Talk?
Wildfire at Midnight
Thunder on the Right
Nine Coaches Waiting
My Brother Michael
The Ivy Tree
The Moonspinners
This Rough Magic
Airs Above the Ground
The Gabriel Hounds
Touch Not the Cat
Thornyhold
Stormy Petrel
Rose Cottage
Is there any fine print?
Read MoreToday’s guest is Larry Brooks, whose blog–Storyfix.com–was recently named along with Writer Unboxed as one of the top ten blogs for writers by Write to Done. Larry isn’t only a blogger extraordinaire; he’s an author who’s released a new book on the craft of fiction a few short weeks ago called The Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing. The book–published by Writers Digest Books–soared to the top spot on Amazon in the Fiction Writing Reference category, and remains in the top four books in that category.
As curious about the book as we are? Here’s a little Q&A with the author.
Q: Why do we need another “how-to” writing book, and how does yours fit in with the others?
LB: I think the authors in the top spots at Amazon are successful because they’ve managed to capture a new way of thinking about storytelling rather than rehashing the old 101-level stuff. When writers find something new, their creative juices get recharged. Hope is resurrected, and that sells books.
Story Engineering fits in because it offers a totally fresh and empowering way to think about, visualize, plan and execute your stories, and in a way that’s clear and accessible. It’s steroids for writers, in a field in which polite conversation may or may not get you where you want to go.
Q: You’ve become known as an evangelist for outlining. Is this an accurate perception?
Read MoreKath here. Each year Therese and I look forward to devising a writing contest for the WU community. Last year’s Original Analogy contest was one for the books, and this year’s contest was no different. Therese and I want to thank you for loads of laughs. We want to thank you even more for making the final decision for us, because we’d never be able to pick a favorite, and it was an important choice, since the winner will receive perhaps the juiciest prize we’ve yet to give: an e-book reader.
Drumroll please . . .
The winner of our Original Analogy Contest is:
Read MoreKath here. We love it when our contributors have new releases to squee about. Today, valued contributor Sophie Masson’s latest YA mystery, THE UNDERSTUDY’S REVENGE, releases Feb. 1 by Scholastic. Though it’s currently only available in Australia, it could be released in other markets soon! In the meantime, check out the book trailer HERE on Sophie’s YouTube channel, and enjoy our Take 5 with Sophie Masson.
1. What is the premise of your new book?
London, 1860: When a dashing, mysterious young South African named Oliver Parry, walks into the King’s Company’s rehearsal rooms to audition for an understudy’s role in Hamlet, Millie Osborne, daughter of the company’s production manager, is mightily intrigued. Why is Oliver so secretive? What is his purpose in visiting the ill-famed Seven Dials? What is his true interest in the Company? When Millie and her friend Seth decide to investigate, they start to uncover a dangerous tale of betrayal, lies, revenge–and the long, deadly shadows of a past that still has the power to throw them all into the very greatest danger..
2. What would you like people to know about in this story?
The Understudy’s Revenge was inspired by many things-first of all Hamlet, itself of course, but also the wonderful 19th century thriller, The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins; by my interest in the teeming, busy, squalid and amazing London of Charles Dickens, especially as described in his own books, short stories and articles, like ‘Sketches by Boz’; and as well, my lifelong fascination with the theatre.
Read MoreAs promised, our first ever Writer Unboxed auction begins today.
We are excited to offer you opportunities to gain valuable attention in exchange for funds that will help to keep this site running (and us from going crazy). Money earned during this auction will provide for WU’s needs, including a virtual assistant, web hosting, server space to accommodate our growing traffic, our upcoming newsletter, and more. We hope you agree that this auction can be a win-win for all of us.
Why do we think you can gain attention on our site?
Our Traffic. And our audience.
Writer Unboxed currently receives several thousand hits daily–usually between 2k and 3k unique hits (and many more page loads)–and has 4,410 4,429 subscribers on Feedburner. This means thousands of potential eyes on your ad—the eyes of serious writers who are also avid readers, many of whom have their own websites and blogs, with the ability to spread the word when they happen upon a good book.
Have we mentioned lately that we love the WU community? We do, we really do.
The Auctions. We want to keep this simple. Three auctions, described below. Links in the descriptions will take you to those particular auctions. If you’d like to bid, please do so in comments for that particular auction. Please don’t bid unless you are serious. Payments over PayPal are required within 48 hours of the close of the auction, and all auctions will close at 8 p.m. EST on Monday, January 30th. If payment isn’t made within the 48-hour window, we’ll offer to the next highest bidder.
We only put a blog post up for bid once before, with the Writers for the Red Cross auction, and it went for a healthy $400. The winner of that auction was author Keith Cronin, and you all know how that turned out. Happily, for all of us. And while we’re not implying that winning this auction could lead to a permanent position with WU, you never know what opportunities might arise down the road if you knock our socks off. We asked Keith if he’d say a few words about his WU bidding experience.
Bidding on a WU auction is definitely a win-win-WIN scenario. You’re supporting a worthy cause, you’re encouraging others to do the same within the friendly competition of the auction bidding process, and you’re getting a chance to make your own written contribution to one of the most helpful writing sites on the Internet. Go for it – I am SO glad that I did! -Keith Cronin
Blog post will go live in March. Please note that Writer Unboxed reserves the right to edit content as needed and will advise the winner re: the content of their post. (Tip: We generally ask our guests to search for a fresh angle to write about, and to provide content that can help other writers.)
CLICK HERE TO BE TAKEN TO THE POST FOR AUCTION #1
Look at the top-left sidebar of our homepage. See the rotating ads there—with Therese Walsh’s The Last Will of Moira Leahy, Donald Maass’s The Breakout Novelist, and Keith Cronin’s Me […]
Read MoreKath here. 2010 is just about ovah! It’s been an eventful year, hasn’t it? But 2011 is shaping up to be even better. Therese and I have a few tasty goodies cooking on the WU burner which we’ll serve up soon. We’ve also lined up our usual killer array of guest bloggers and contributors for your edification about this crazy business called writing fiction. Stay connected and stay safe this holiday season. We’ll see you in the new year.
Read MoreQuick and cool announcement: Writer Unboxed was recently named one of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers at Write to Done. With over 500 responses to the call for nominations, and some primo folks judging the final top 20, being named in the top 10 makes us especially proud. Other blogs you should check out include:
StoryFix
Men with Pens
Make a Living Writing
Cats Eye Writer
The Renegade Writer
Word Play
The Creative Penn
Victoria Mixon
Courage to Create
Thanks, Write to Done!
Less cool announcement: We were hit with malware earlier today, so if you came by at any point and were whisked away to a nasty site, we’re sorry. All fixed now.
Write on!
Read MoreWriter’s Digest is collecting nominations for their prestigious 101 Best Websites for Writers award. If you love us, we’d love your vote. Click the box below and your email program should open, with the address and subject line already in place. (But if it doesn’t, you can send your nominations to writersdig@fwpubs.com with the subject line 101 Websites.) Add any info you’d like to beef up your nomination. Deadline for nominations is January 1st.
Thank you from all of us here at Writer Unboxed for your support; without you, our community wouldn’t be the vibrant place it has become. And a big thanks to Debbie Ohi for this graphic. Write on, all!
Read MoreEditor and friend of WU Dave King (co-author of the must-have book for writers, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print) emailed recently to say:
I’ve just become aware of a couple of new sins in the publishing world that writers need to know about. I know a lot of writers get so frustrated with traditional publishing that they have to go somewhere, so they turn to vanity presses and self-publishing. And the people waiting to prey on them seem to be evolving new methods.
I’ve written and attached a warning for your readers. Is there somewhere you could post it on Writer Unboxed?
Of course, we said. Here’s Dave’s piece:
A former client recently told me he’d just published with a small press to very good reviews. I was surprised since I had flagged some serious problems with his manuscript, and he said he had published it without changing a word. I looked into his situation and discovered two new publishing sins.
One is the back-door vanity press. Instead of asking for money up front like traditional vanities, these imprints only publish your novel if you promise to buy a certain number of copies yourself. This keeps them from being labeled as vanities by many of the websites that warn writers about scams. Two websites that caught this one are Writer Beware (https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2009/10/question-you-dont-want-your-publisher.html) and Preditors and Editors (https://pred-ed.com/peba.htm). Back-door vanities make enough profit selling to their own writers, so they don’t have to bother selling to the public.
Then there are the review mills.
Read MoreWe are taking the day off for the big Gobble Gobble. Wishing you and your family a peaceful holiday. We’ll see you tomorrow!
Read More
