Ariella Moon: aspiring writers

Showing posts with label aspiring writers. Show all posts

Friday, May 9, 2025

New Online Writing Lab: Guide to Launching Your Next Book

Zoom Online Class
Friday, May 16, 2025
1:00 - 3:00 Pacific time

To learn more and register, https://palmspringswritersguild.org/event-6010777

It can be difficult to think of your recently finished book as a product and yourself as a marketer. But indie, hybrid, and many traditionally published authors must make that shift in order to have a successful book launch. Whether your goals are to garner enviable sales and multiple reviews, attract new readers, or all of the aforementioned and more, you need to plan a book launch. In this presentation, Ariella Moon will guide authors through pre-launch, launch, and post-launch marketing and promotion.

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

Witchcraft to Wordcraft: Saturday's Writers Forum

Happy Witchy Wednesday!

I look forward to seeing many Coachella Valley authors this Saturday, October 5, 2024, when Eduardo Santiago will interview Jayce Carter and Ariella Moon.

To learn more or to register for this free event: CLICK HERE

In the meantime, don't forget to download your FREE Kindle ebook, Spell Check, Book 1, The Teen Wytche Saga. Offer ends October 5, 2024.

Happy writing!

Ariella Moon

Monday, December 28, 2020

New Zoom Writing Lab on Point of View!

"POINT OF VIEW AND DEEP POINT OF VIEW"

by Ariella Moon

Presented by the Palm Springs Writer's Guild

January 15, 2021 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (Pacific Time)

https://palmspringswritersguild.org/event-4071218

Whose head are we in?

Point of View (POV) is the lens through which your story is recorded. In this writing lab, we’ll discuss the main types of POV and their limitations and benefits. We will also examine using multiple points of view, and how to keep your reader oriented. You will discover which POV is best suited for your author’s voice.

For Deep POV, a technique that can boost your writing to the next level, we will dive beneath a character's surface traits to explore what factors inform her/his perception and world view. You’ll discover how to use dialogue, inner monologues, style-shifting, and other techniques to reveal Deep POV.

Mastering POV and Deep POV will enhance your story and increase reader engagement!

To register or read more: https://palmspringswritersguild.org/event-4071218

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

"What Novelists Can Learn From Screenwriters"

Announcing a New Writing Lab!

"What Novelists Can Learn From Screenwriters"

Thursday, July 23, 2020

1:00 - 3:00 PM PDT on Zoom

$45. for members of the Palm Springs Writers Guild

$90. for nonmembers

To register: Ariella Moon Writing Lab

I am super excited to teach 

"What Novelists Can Learn From Screenwriters."

Description: 
Well-written screenplays contain concise, innovative writing that reveals character through dialogue and action, grounds the viewer in a particular setting, and moves the story forward with dynamic scenes. In this interactive boot camp, we will delve into seven techniques of visual storytelling. We will also examine and discuss the opening scenes of a few illustrative screenplays as a launch pad to improving our own writing. Attendees should have a printed copy of the first chapter of their manuscript on hand for reference during the writing lab.

Location: Zoom online

To Register: Writing Lab

Be ready to learn cinematic techniques that will enhance your writing!

~Ariella Moon

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Things to Consider Before You Sign With a Small Press

Small Presses have their advantages and disadvantages. Before you sign a contract with a small press, take a long look at their website, list of authors, royalty policy, and the all important contract fine print.

1. Do they offer you a greater royalty on books purchased through their website? If so, check out their website. Is it professional? Ask the publisher how many visits the site gets per month and how many books they sell off it per month.

2. Ask about the average earn out for their authors.

3. How long have they been in business?

4. If they publish mostly romance, are they a member of the Romance Writers of America?

Discover more important facts to consider in my article, "Small Press Red Flags".

Copyright 2017 by Ariella Moon

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Five Ways to Stand Out at a Group Book Signing

In a crowded event like the Romance Writers of America annual “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing (July 22, 2015, New York Marriott® Marquis, New York, New York) how can a writer stand out?

1. Write a Bestseller. Easier said than done. But those who hit multiple bestseller lists have their own tables (as opposed to shared table space), set off to the side to accommodate their many fans. Looking for Nora Roberts or Catherine Coulter? Just follow the long lines at the edge of the group event.

Alexa Palmer

2. Wear an Eye-catching Hat. Not all of us can carry off this one. I have an amazing emerald witch’s hat, which fits with the theme of my Young Adult paranormal series, The Teen Wytche Saga. Added bonus: since I’m petite, the hat would help me be seen. Downside: I’m too petite and the hat looks ridiculous on me. However, NYT, PW and USA Today Bestselling Author and shamanic witch, Yasmine Galenorn, (Otherworld Series), can totally rock a big hat. At the recent Desert Writers Expo, Alexa Palmer gained a lot of attention because of her large colorful hat — a perfect match for her children’s picture book — proving big hats works for different genres.

3. Have an Intriguing or Humorous Tagline. At the 2014 Romantic Times Convention, I shared a table Lori Crawford. When potential readers/buyers asked Lori about her books, her quick and startling comeback was, "I write Christian erotica." You'd be amazed at how many people stopped and gave her books a second glance.

5. Add Visual Effects. Your local Staples or Office Depot can print up posters of your book covers and mount and laminate them on foam board. To add movement to your tabletop display, set your tablet on continuous loop and show a slide show of your covers or run your book trailers.

4. Offer Chocolate. Romance readers aren’t the only readers who love chocolate. Yesterday I participated in the Desert Writers Expo, a group book sale and signing sponsored by the Palm Springs Writers Guild. Several of the 40 authors in attendance had bowls of candy on their tables. When word got out I had brought homemade brownies, authors and readers sought out my table.

Write the best book you can. Then, with a little creativity and planning, set yourself apart from the pack.

Ariella Moon
Desert Writers Expo 2015

Friday, November 22, 2013

Creating Your Author Brand

Well before you sell your first book, consider how you want to market yourself. I have a dual career, Young Adult Fiction author and shamanic healer. Before I sold Spell Check (The Teen Wytche Saga #1), I waffled between maintaining two separate websites or finding a way to present both careers on one site. The latter was preferable, but seemed impossible until I realized that the heart of my work was to be a story catcher. Authors catch and translate the stories delivered to them through dreams, inspiration, muses, and observations. Shamans journey between worlds to capture the stories hidden in chakras, past lives, and childhoods. These stories, often flashes or visions, guide the shaman to the source of their client's emotional and/or physical wounds. Thus Story Catcher became part of my brand.

Color is another way to signify your brand. Purple is both a healing color and a color favored by many tweens and teens, readers of my Teen Wytche Saga. Also, I wear a lot of purple. So purple became the signature color of my brand. Themes of karma and empowerment play out in my books and in my healing practice. What initially seemed impossible, a single brand for two diverse careers, blossomed once I concentrated on the similarities between my two careers instead of the differences. You can glimpse the result on http://www.AriellaMoon.com

Author Kristin Wallace, Marry Me, has written an excellent How-To article, "Brand Smart - Your Guide to Creating Your Author Brand." http://savvyauthors.com/blog/index.php/brand-smart-your-guide-to-creating-your-author-brand-by-kristin-wallace/