Another week gone! What have you been reading and writing this week? Or have you been too busy with Thanksgiving?

Writing

Getting the First Page Right

Jeannie Nash shares the six things she wants to see in the opening pages of a novel in What We Can Learn About Starting Strong from Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. How do your opening pages stack up?

Research

Mindy Tarquini visits Writers Digest to share 11 Unconventional Resources to Kick Your Historical Fiction Up a Notch. I can see this becoming a time-suck (perhaps why I’m scared to write historical fiction: too many fun rabbit holes!

http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/writing-fiction-online-editor/unconventional-resources-historical-fiction-research

Writing vs. Marketing

Writing or marketing? In Forget Publishing and Write, Carla Laureano says it’s more important for pre-published authors to write than to think about publishing or marketing.

In contrast, Bob Hostetler at the Steve Laube Agency blog says that if you want to show agents and publishers that you’re capable of building a platform to market yourself and your work, you need to do it before you get the contract.

What do you think?

Marketing

Facebook

Author Glynnis Campbell shows how to rock Facebook on just twenty minutes a day (hint: this does not include watching funny cat videos). I’m not sold on her rationale for working from her Profile rather than her Page, but I love her overall concept … especially the themed daily posts. What do you think?

Medium

I have barely dipped my toe in the Medium waters. I have an account. I read some posts. That’s it. Upping my Medium game is one of my goals for 2018. In Medium vs WordPress: Where Should Your Blog Live? Elegant Themes make a convincing case for answering: Both.

https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/resources/medium-vs-wordpress-where-should-your-blog-live

Do you publish to Medium? What do you see as the pros and cons of the platform?