Category: Non-Fiction

Why are Authors Selling Direct and Using Kickstarter?

~ Kathryn Fletcher ~ Leave a comment

Let me tell you a little about my experience, first. Some of my writing club students at school wanted to know how to publish a book after they wrote the manuscript. That is not a mere 10 minute conversation. I had been blogging about writing and publishing for some time and had a bunch of posts that were not in any particular order. I couldn’t think of any one book that went over all the steps and decisions they’d be facing when they went to publish, well not any that were not a million pages. So I cobbled together my blog posts and expand them to put in a small easily accessible book for new writers to get started on the publishing journey. From Rough Draft to Published was born May 20th 2020! Since then I’ve made a few hundred dollars in royalties, yet it didn’t cover the expense I put into the book. This was practice and learning book. My fiction is my real passion. I'm about to dive into selling my first fiction book as soon as I finish the edits. I learned that it is hard to be profitable on bookseller platforms, if you don't have a massive backlist of books to sell….(click for more)

Goals Setting Tips for Writers with ADD

~ Kathryn Fletcher

I picked up the book Driven to Distraction because my son has ADHD. I hoped to pick up some ideas to help my son thrive instead of struggle needlessly. I got more than I bargained for! Be Flexible (and non-judgmental!) Try Writing Sprints/Time Blocks Schedule your time Accountability helps Try different planners Use Visual Inspiration Break goals down into smaller tasks.

90 Days to Your Novel Book Review

~ Kathryn Fletcher

I saw that an Instagram friend of mine was doing a 90 Days to Your Novel challenge thing, based on this book. I was intrigued. I mean, who wouldn't want to write a whole novel in 90 days? Can you really do that? Would it be any good? I know there are indie authors out there that crank out 4-5 novels a year. Something I've learned in the last year is that consistency and frequency really help when it comes to growing a following. For example, I started this blog in August 2016. Then, I decided to start grad school to become a librarian. So, from June 2017-Aug 2019 while I was in school and working full time as a teacher, I posted infrequently. Since August, I have (for the most part) posted every Friday. The number of followers since then has nearly doubled and views on the website are way up. I expect by the end of 2020 the views will more than double from last year. BUT that is not nearly important to me as quality content. I try to be consistent. But sometimes I've got stuff going on in my life (my MIL and my Stepdad passed away in the last 9 months) that prevent me from writing quality content for you, so I skip a week or two. Maybe that hurts the SEO, but I refuse to put junk out there attached to my name.

From Rough Draft to Published is Published!!

~ Kathryn Fletcher

I’m almost at a loss for words right now. For the last few days/weeks/months all my time after work has been on this project. One of the major things I set up was a Writer’s Resources Vault for people who get the book and sign up for the blog with their email address, they can access a vault full of resources I mentioned in the book. Such as these documents that I’ve created…

Save The Cat Software Review

~ Kathryn Fletcher ~ 2 Comments

I read the Save the Cat! Writes a Novel book a few years ago. I liked it because it approached story in a very logical way, which appeals to me as an outliner. It works like The Hero's Journey and many others--it takes the major story twists and turns and lays them out in a flexible pattern. You do not want to use this as a formula, or your story will become stilted. Many people argue against using "formulas" such as these but these guides are merely a tool and any tool used incorrectly can be bad. Used correctly this book can be very helpful, especially for new writers. When I first started writing short stories I used a tool like this to guide my plot and keep the story tight. After a few dozen stories, it became ingrained in me and I don't need to use that guide as much.

Writing Health

~ Kathryn Fletcher

Lots of people have talked about the mental toll this pandemic quarantine is taking on them. It has been pretty brutal on most everybody. I'm not going to talk about that though because I can't add anything to the conversation that hasn't already been said. I will however, talk about the physical toll this pandemic has taken on me and probably many others.

Book Review: Cryptozoology for Beginners

~ Kathryn Fletcher

Trish is a 13 year old girl with a secret…a very personal secret which has already destroyed her relationship with her best friend. But she is tough and has more than friendship problems on her mind. The Euclideans are on a mission to wipe out magic. To do this they are capturing and experimenting (aka torturing) magical creatures like Nessie, Sasquatch, Jackalopes, Kirin, and more.