US indie novelist Samantha Warren shares the top tips she picked up from attending the 2015 Philly Writers Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Samantha Warren (right) with Sara Shepard
Summer is conference season and this year is no different. I recently went to the 67th annual Philly Writers Conference in Philadelphia, PA. Like every other year I’ve attended, it was chock full of interesting classes and networking opportunities. Not only did I get to meet Sara Shepard, author of Pretty Little Liars, and even take a class on screenwriting from her, but I learned a few extra tips about social media and some neat tricks for creating characters.
Website Tips
Though I’m pretty savvy at Facebook, my website is a weak spot for me. Don Lafferty gave us some fabulous tips on making our site Google-friendly. Did you know you can change the description that Google shows when you do a search? And make sure you’re using the proper keywords in your URL. That’s the first place Google looks. Second most important is the title, followed by the description. So make sure those are up to par.
Creating Characters
Spreading the ALLi love
Suzanne Palmieri, author of The Witch of Little Italy, gave some fabulous tips on creating wonderful characters. The most interesting was to narrate yourself. Treat yourself as a character and narrate it. Then cut out the things you find boring. Those are the same things you should cut from your novel. No one cares if your character takes a shower or eats breakfast (unless it serves a purpose). The second great tip she had was to make a list of your positives AND your flaws. As she pointed out, the flaws you are willing to write down are not actually flaws. They’re character traits. “Flaws are necessities, and if we embrace them, they become flowers.”
But I think the greatest thing about the conference was the excitement people showed about self-publishing. The last few years I went, small classes were taught about the subject from companies trying to sell their services. This year, though the class was still only an hour, it was taught by Merry Farmer, a full-time self-published author (and a good friend of mine). The class was packed and we spent the rest of the day answering the dozens of questions people had about going indie. It was a welcome change and I look forward to seeing a full three-day course on self-publishing next year.
Top tips from Philly #Writers Conference by @_SamanthaWarren Share on XOVER TO YOU
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I am in the process of launching my third novel and establishing a website. The advice and tips from Alli are invaluable.
Thea G. U.S.A.
Thank you, Thea, we are very glad you find ALLi so useful. Good luck with your new novel and your new website. If you’re not already a member of ALLi, you may like to look at joining – there are many members-only benefits including various discounts and deals, plus a private forum where you may have your questions answered any time of day or night..
Not sure this is right place to mention it but the above novel I published via Matador has been shortlisted for the 2015 International Rubery Book Award. For more information on the novel please see Amazon.co.uk
Many thanks, Gregory Gregoriadis
Gregory, it’s not the right place to mention it, but we have run stories about the award and will do so again! We announced our members’ involvement here: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/new-books-awards-events-and-launches-alli-members-showcase-123/ and Heather Painter, founder of the award, talks about it here: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/book-marketing-why-self-published-authors-should-enter-competitions/