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Welcome
My name is Linda Lavid and I write books, stories, articles. I've been published by others and by myself. I also give seminars on all of the above. Don't know why. I just began with a few sentences, then BAM, I'm mired in the world of writing, publishing, marketing. I write contemporary stories with characters who mess up but keep going. My articles are on writing and publishing. Thanks for the visit!
Books: Click on sidebar for excerpts, reviews and on-line stores. Sale prices: my bookstore.
News:
Latest review for Thirst can be found at Great New Books.
Tips:
Writing Tip
What makes character? In fiction, as in life, character is defined by the challenges faced: a new mother, a soldier back from war, are qualitatively changed. Inherent in challenge is conflict, the life force of any story. To build conflict make your created world a hazardous place for your protagonist. See him/her cringe, fight, run, lie, lose. And don’t let up. Also consider levels of conflict: the police want answers, the bank’s foreclosing, and dear granny can’t be found.
Editing Tip
Continuity problems plague fiction. It’s no wonder since fiction is made up. Even the most astute writer will confuse his lies and what were blue eyes on one page will become brown eyes on another. To avoid some of these problems, keep it simple. Have a character in mind that you see en toto. For instance, in your mind’s eye link your characters to actors or someone you know. So when Uncle Barney comes onto the scene, you’ll see Cary Grant in all his glory and not make the mistake of giving Barney a beer belly in Chapter Thirty.
Publishing Tip
Include a short bio on the back cover of your book. Highlight experience that relates to your book as well as other published work, awards. Every person who has written a book has a story to tell and a reason why it was written. This experience can be part of your bio.
Website Tip
Whenever you place an image into your website or blog, give it a good keyword name. Search engines can’t read images but do read titles. The title should relate to site content to get a little extra visibility on the net. For instance, if you’re placing a picture of your dog, Pinkie, on your dog grooming site, title the picture Beagle, or whatever Pinkie happens to be.
Marketing Tip
Google provides free blogs. Very easy to design with their templates. Once your blog is up and running you can add two other free programs: Google AdSense for revenue, Google Analytics for statistics. To find all these services go to Google's home page and search any of these programs.
More:
I'll be teaching a five-day seminar "On Self-Publishing" at the Chautauqua Institution during Week Nine, August 18 through August 22. Register. Taken from Chautauqua website, Week Nine's topic: will mark the celebration of Darwin's 200th birthday as well as the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species. The public debate surrounding his theory of evolution seems to have diminished little in that span of time. This week we will focus on all that has followed, including the scientific, social, religious and legal ramifications of Darwin's work. In addition, this year marks the 250th anniversary of the 1758 publication of Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus' system for giving Latin names to animals, indeed, cataloging the natural world. We will consider the legacy of that important work as well.
I offer Free One-Hour Seminars in the Western New York area. Topics include: On Novel Writing, On the Short Story, On Mystery Writing, On Self-Publishing. Also available for interviews, book signings and discussion groups. For more information please email me.
My links page is always being updated with sites to help independent writers.
Thanks for visiting. Any questions/comments? Love to hear from you.
Besitos,
L.
email: linda@lindalavid.com
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