Episode 253: Fable's Recent Reads

These notes include affiliate links.

Today on Fable and the Verbivore, we’re sharing our latest book reads conversation — this is part 2 of 2 featuring Fable’s stories!

Over the last year instead of doing our typical bookclub episodes, we’ve started talking about some of the things we’ve recently read and enjoyed, connected with, or learned from. It’s been a great way to share what we’re consuming and loving lately and finding new recommendations.

In this episode, Fable digs into what she’s learning from the books she DNFs and through the ones that she finishes, thinking about chapter length, and assessing how she invests her time in book selling activities to identify which ones actually pay off. Her books include a light paranormal romance about an old hex that forces two once friends who are now enemies to get married (The Marriage Hex) and a craft book on fixes for when your work isn’t selling (Why Does My Book Not Sell? 20 Simple Fixes).

We also talk about things like:

  • Making sure to establish early on what a character wants and the situation that they are trying to get out of

  • Being more strategic about how to approach releasing work. Based on what she and other authors have experienced - street teams, arc readers, and Facebook ads are the most effective

  • Using techniques from craft books that are focused more on thriller and horror to increase tension even in stories like romance and rom-com

  • Tricks like how onomatopoeias make readers feel the sound deeply, the unease we as humans have with doorways, and stripping things away from your characters make them appear more vulnerable

We hope you enjoy this episode! Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

Books and Films Mentioned:

Music from:https://filmmusic.io
 ‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Bethany Stedman