If you’ve ever dreamt of crafting your own compelling story, this blog post is here to guide you on your writing adventure. In this article, we’ll explore the art of setting and achieving your novel-writing goals in a way that feels empowering and achievable. Whether you’re a passionate beginner or a seasoned writer looking for fresh inspiration, we’ve got you covered. So, get ready to unlock your inner novelist as we embark on this journey together. Let’s dive in and discover how to turn your writing dreams into reality!

Create a Writing Schedule

Establish a consistent writing routine that suits your lifestyle and commitments. Allocate dedicated time for writing and word count targets to cover within the set time frame and stick to it, treating it as a non-negotiable commitment.

Set Smart Goals

Setting specific, measurable, relevant, achievable and time-bound goals enhances efficiency and ensures effectiveness in the pursuit of desired outcomes. For example, instead of setting a vague goal like “I want to write a book,” set a specific goal like “I want to write a 75,000-word novel in six months.”

Breaking them down into smaller milestones to track your progress can also help, i.e, if your goal is to write a 75,000-word novel in six months, break it down into writing 1,250 words per day, or 8,750 words per week. This will make your goal feel more achievable and less overwhelming.

Develop a Detailed Outline

Craft a comprehensive outline for your novel, outlining the main plot points, character arcs, and key events. This will serve as a roadmap and keep you focused throughout the writing process.

Embrace Accountability

Find an accountability partner, join a writing group, or seek online writing communities to share your goals and progress. Being accountable to others can provide support, motivation, and valuable feedback.

Eliminate Distractions

Identify your biggest distractions and eliminate them during your writing time. This could mean turning off your phone, closing unnecessary tabs on your computer, or finding a quiet writing space where you won’t be interrupted.

Revise and Edit

Recognize that writing is an iterative process. After completing your first draft, give yourself time to rest and then dive into the revision and editing phase. Polish your work, refine the plot, and strengthen the character development.

Celebrate Milestones

Acknowledge and celebrate your achievements along the way, whether it’s completing a chapter, reaching word count goals, or receiving positive feedback. Celebrating milestones boosts your motivation and reinforces your progress.

In conclusion, setting clear and focused goals for your novel writing journey empowers you to unleash your potential and embark on a fulfilling creative adventure. With determination, consistency, and a clear vision in mind, you can overcome challenges and bring your story to life.

As an author, you’ve spent countless hours pouring your heart and soul into your book. You’ve crafted each sentence and paragraph with care, and now it’s time to showcase your hard work to the world. The book cover is the first thing potential readers see and it pulls considerably on their decision to proceed with reading the book. Previously we have presented 3 tips on how to make your book cover an eye candy.

Today we are introducing more advice to help you with creating a great, compelling book cover:

1. Use High-Quality Images

Consider using professional photographs or illustrations that are relevant to your book’s genre and theme. Note that the said image must either be legally bought on stock or is free to use due to its copyright to avoid rejections and disapprovals.

2. No Prohibited Content

Per the revised guidelines from Google and Apple, the visual depiction of books in the app must exclude certain types of content, such as nudity, sexual scenes, violence, and other illicit material. As a consequence, the platform reserves the right to modify the covers of books that were previously approved if they contain any of the aforementioned elements and reject newly applied ones. 

In case the changes are needed, the team sends an email to notify the author of the changes made to their book. So, don’t worry and check your inbox if one day the cover of your novel has changed.

3. Use Eye-Catching Fonts

The font you choose for your book title and author name can make a big difference in how well your book stands out. Bold, clear fonts that are legible and easy to read from a distance are usually the best choice. Ensure to use contrasting colours as well that make the letters easy to make out.

4. Use Colours Wisely

Choose colours that complement the image and convey the mood of the book. Bright and bold colours can be attention-grabbing, but they may not be appropriate for all genres.

5. Consider the Book’s Genre

Different genres have different conventions when it comes to book covers. For example, a romance novel cover may feature a couple embracing, while a thriller may have a more ominous, suspenseful image. It is important to make sure the cover depicts the content. 

6. Keep It Simple

Avoid overcrowding your book cover with too much text or imagery. A clean, simple design is often more effective at catching the eye of potential readers.

Conclusion

Remember, your book cover is the first impression that potential readers will have of your novel, so take the time to create a design that truly represents your story and captures its essence. With the right design, the cover can be the key to attracting readers and making your work a success. For exclusive contracts, the above are taken into careful consideration, thus the strict review may lead to rejection of the covers that might have a chance to be accepted for Non-Exclusive novels.

If the book shows good traction and there is a hypothesis that it could become even better with another cover, AlphaNovel team could contact the author with some options for a replacement. So, check your inbox and don’t miss the chance to get a new fancy cover for free!

As a writer, receiving criticism can be difficult to deal with. It’s not easy to hear negative feedback about something you’ve poured your heart and soul into. On the one hand, negative criticism can be hurtful and make you doubt your abilities, and on the other, it can help you improve your writing and grow in the pointed areas.

It is an essential part of the writing process, and learning how to handle it is key to becoming a better author. In this article, we’ll explore some tips for dealing with criticism in writing and how to use it to your advantage for growth.

Be open-minded

When receiving criticism, it’s important to approach it with an open mind. Try to see the feedback as an opportunity to improve your writing rather than a personal attack. Remember that every creator receives criticism at some point, and it’s a natural part of any process. It might be difficult to hear but it gives an opportunity for growth. Don’t take it personally.

Consider the source’s intention and determine if feedback is helpful or not

Before reacting to criticism, it is important to understand what the intention behind it is. Is it constructive criticism aimed at helping you improve your writing, or is it just someone being mean? Constructive criticism is meant to help you grow as a writer, so try to take it in stride and use it to improve your work. Take what you must and ignore the rest.

Look for patterns in critics

If you receive criticism from multiple sources, about the same thing, it’s likely that there’s some truth to it. Try to identify any patterns in the feedback. This can help you identify areas where you may need to improve your writing.

Remember that criticism is subjective

They are one person’s unique interpretation of your work, their thoughts and feelings. If one person doesn’t like it, it doesn’t mean that nobody does. What one person dislikes, another might love.

Pause

Taking some time off to reflect, to think from a different perspective, to think out the box matters. It could be minutes, hours, a couple of days – just take some time off that manuscript. Take down notes and consider what changes you can make in the next or previous drafts to make it better.

Respond kindly and ask questions for clarifications if needed

If you don’t understand the criticism or feedback you receive, don’t be afraid to ask for clarification. This can help you better understand the feedback and how to apply it to your writing.

Accept it and improve

In conclusion, receiving criticism is an inevitable part of the writing process, but it doesn’t have to be a negative experience. By being open to feedback, listening carefully, and considering the source, you can use criticism to improve your writing skills and grow as a writer. And ultimately, the most important part of accepting criticism is taking action to improve your work. So, embrace the opportunity to learn and grow, and remember that the ultimate goal of criticism is to become a better writer.

Each book that is signed on AlphaNovel has a chance to be promoted. 

When the book reaches 50k words it will be promoted automatically, so there is no need to contact an editor or Partnerships team.

How does the promotion work?

There are multiple spots in the app, where your book could be promoted. However, their number is limited. AlphaNovel uses complex algorithms, which are based on AI and ML methods of info analysis to make sure that the books that are liked by the audience are well-promoted. All the books start in the same place, but you may wonder why some of them stay at the TOP of the homepage for a while and others do not.

Here is the answer:

All books that cross the eligible word count appear in the promotion list and could be found somewhere at the bottom of the thematic and recommendation lists of the app. The cooperation of the marketing and analytics teams gives a chance to define future bestsellers by analyzing different parameters of the book like how many people moved from viewing to reading and then paying stage, how frequently the readers are eager to engage with the book etc. If the book’s traction is good, the novel score increases and it helps it to move to better promotion spots and appear in reader’s recommendations more frequently. This process continues as long as the book performs well. 

Consequently, the process is automated and only the readers decide which books would stay in TOP positions and for how long.

If your story does not perform well on the platform, there might be a few reasons for it. It is always a good idea to communicate with the audience to define what they liked and disliked about the story. The easiest way – is to leave your questions for them in the comment section or make a small research on your social media. 

From what we could see, the most frequent reasons are:

1. The visual imperfection of the story. This means that the reader is not attracted to the book after evaluation of its cover, title, and annotation. Bad design, grammar/punctuation mistakes, and misleading info could negatively affect the first impression.
2. The plot is slow-paced. In this case, the readers get bored while reading free chapters and they don’t consider buying paid ones, which definitely influences the novel’s metrics negatively.
3. The target audience for your story is not presented on the platform or is very specific. It doesn’t mean that the book is bad, it just may be the incorrect time for it to shine!
4. Genres and tags are not selected precisely. We recommend the book to the readers if it is relevant to their interests. If you select too few or too many tags, target audience may not get the recommendation of your novel. So, make sure that you choose the most relevant genre and the tags for describing your story.

Now we work on the Statistics page, to give authors a more in-depth vision of the performance of their books. We hope it will help you to see, analyze and take the advantage of the promotions to maximize your profit and reader’s satisfaction with your novels. Stay tuned to the updates!

Readers do not only want to buy interesting books, they are also eager to learn more about the personality of the writer who has created their favourite stories. So, let’s talk today about your author’s profile. As it definitely influences the results of your promotion, here are a few tips how to make it an eye-candy:

Update your profile picture

It is always good to choose professional photos of yourself as a main picture. However, if you don’t want to share your real photo, the easy way is by adding a custom avatar to represent yourself. One more important thing – the quality of the image matters, so use pictures with an appropriate resolution.

Add the information about you

Take advantage of the “About me” section and use it as an opportunity to introduce yourself to potential readers. This is a great way to give them a glimpse into your personality, interests, and writing style. Do not limit yourself to one sentence. The more sincere you are, the more trust you can earn from the audience.

A well-crafted author’s profile can make a huge impact on your book’s traction and can help you connect with your readers. So don’t neglect it, take the time to edit and update your profile today!