Top 10 Authors to Follow on Twitter for Writing Inspiration

by Marie Barnes

There is no arguing that occasionally we need something to prod us into the right way. To lead us onto the path of creative beginnings and sparkle our unkindled fuse of inspiration. We need inspiration to produce and to conceive uniqueness and originality. 

Every art feasts upon inspiration. Writing is no exception. Writing encapsulates inspiration. Irrefutably, there is no quality and engaging writing without either something that inspires you or someone to muse about. Therefore, we often venture out of our way to seek inspiration to fuel our creative engine. However, it might prove quite difficult to find someone to draw inspiration from.

What are the hallmarks of inspiration? We are inspired by certain individuals, oftentimes, on the basis of their past exploits and achievements, their strong will in seemingly insurmountable trials and tantamount passion. Today, we will take a scrupulous glance at some of those creative geniuses that can help you open the inspirational Pandora's Box. 

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood has gained an unprecedented popularity and justifiably so. Her works are not only splendidly written, they pose questions that our modern society fears the most. Thought-provoking and unique might be the best epithets to describe her craft. She inspires many with pensive themes on so hotly debated topic of feminism. Recently adapted The Handmaid’s Tale is probably the most glaring example that exemplifies her tone of work while also emboldening and awakening your inner feelings.

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Dan Brown

Dan Brown is a writer of an exquisite nature. His works are not only entertaining and full of adventure but also, as he describes it, “positive catalyst for introspection”. He spawned a whole lot of controversy regarding his most famous and bestselling book The Da Vinci Code for being anti-Christian. Although his book simply depicts the other side of being and is an invaluable inspiration for someone who’s seeking new nuances to an all beaten spiritual story.

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Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho is an eccentric and impulsive author. That is in no way diminishes his literary ingeniousness. It empowers it. Before writing his one of the all-time best selling book The Alchemist, he claimed to have witnessed spiritual awakening, which enabled him to fathom how valuable and precious the life of his is. Whether you believe in stuff like this or not, the fact of the matter is that his works are laudable and deserve the praise they’ve harnessed. The story of The Alchemist is comforting and rewarding. It extrapolates onto the ideas of worry and unnecessary anxiety, presenting an inspirational view of the world.

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Ben Grant

Now let’s sidetrack from universally famous personalities to someone who’s less of a novelist but more of an educational figure. Ben Grant is English Literature Lecturer at Oxford who’s works encompass topics of quite an interesting nature. His main areas of interests are world literature, psychoanalysis and travel literature. His first published work Postcolonialism, Psychoanalysis and Burton: Power Play of Empire expands upon the famous explorer Francis Burton and his interactions with a non European contingent.

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R.L. Stine

Stine tapped into unusual genre or, better say, a mix of genres children’s literature, horror and science fiction. Quite bizarre, isn’t it? It panned out. His success has kept him second on the list of all time bestselling book series, accumulating an enormous list of achievements and praises. He also successfully transitioned his works into movie adaptations.

His success story is a living evidence of how even the strangest ideas and concepts can become stupendously original and wanting with the right execution.

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E.L. James

Fifty Shades is a relatively recent sensation. Its brave and enlivening depiction of sexually sensuous and romantic scenes have managed to amass a devoted audience. Fifty Shades steered in quite an uncharted territory that it can't but amaze how timely it struck the need of many. The need for something so frank and naked, so bold and mature that, looking back, we notice the untapped opportunity that now has been fulfilled. Evidently, it’s not for everyone, it didn’t garner an universal acclaim. Nevertheless, as we can see now, there is a target audience and it’s obscenely vast.

Success stories like that exude inspiration and facilitate risky ventures.

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George R.R. Martin

Creator of an iconic series of novels A Song of Ice and Fire or more commonly known as Game of Thrones. He put a titanic amount of work and creative force into Game of Thrones and it is now a paramount example of a medieval-fiction genre. He may not be the one who pioneered it but he, most definitely, is the one to promote it. His character depiction and depth are unmatched. He masterfully crafted a new living and breathing, harsh world from the ground up. It takes a true master to write it but it takes double that to come up with something like that. And now Game of Thrones is probably the most recognizable TV and book series out there. George R.R. Martin inspires us with diligence and creative vitality.

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Yuval Noah Harari

Who knew that history can be presented in such an ingenious and thought provoking way. Lo and behold Yuval did just that with his best selling book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Not only is it written in a jesting and fun manner, it also manages to simultaneously convey to the reader the gravity and tragic connotations of the happenstance on the Earth.

Sapiens is a concoction of both: to enlighten and to entertain. It shows how engaging and immersive history class can be without insipid statements and unnecessary notions.

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Daniel H. Pink

Today we see the overabundance of motivational self-help books/guides that call to immediate action or give unsubstantiated promises. Daniel, on the other hand, calls for refining inner motivation towards something. Take up challenges and absorb new ideas and concepts because that is exactly what fuels our motivation and extols our creativity. Motivation is a Drive (name of his book) so we must do our best to keep it running.

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Marie Barnes is a Marketing Communication Manager at LinksManagement. She also writes for Photza, photo retouching service. She is an enthusiastic blogger interested in writing about technology, social media, work, travel, lifestyle, and current affairs. 

Self-Publishing Vs Conventional Publishing: What To Choose In 2020

by Frank Hamilton

While freelancing has become a popular career choice for article writers and social media managers, fiction and non-fiction writers continue discussing their own career possibilities. There are two ways you could go: traditional publishing and self-publishing. Here is everything you need to know about self-publishing versus conventional publishing.

#1 Permissions

The first matter to consider when considering the two routes is whether or not you want someone over you to be granting you permission to do something (e.g. announce a new book, publish your book on a certain date, do Q&As, talk about character trivia). In this sense, self-publishing definitely has the upper hand.

When you are your own author, you are free to do virtually anything you wish to do. But when you have signed a contract with a particular publisher, you will need to stick to that contract. If you have a deadline for publication, you will need to have the manuscript ready by a certain date without the option of taking a vacation until you are done.

#2 Costs

This is a tricky one. On one hand, self-publishing can be fairly cheap (even free if you know how to edit your book, design a cover, and upload it in the right format to a publishing platform). But the marketing costs can still be quite significant.

On the other hand, some first-time authors going the traditional route will often have to pay for different expenses including marketing costs. It really depends on your circumstances and what you are able to do in your current situation.

#3 Autonomy

Autonomy is actually quite closely related to the point about permissions. When going the traditional path, you will still have some kind of autonomy even if you will need to stick to certain deadlines. However, self-publishing still gives you way more autonomy.

Of course, you still need to consider the benefits you get with traditional publishing even if you will have to give up part of your autonomy. Ultimately, it all depends on your own feelings and what you are willing to do or give up for the sake of your career.

#4 Career Possibilities

Speaking of your career, traditional publishing and self-publishing have very different opportunities for you as a writer. When you sign up with a publishing house, you are more likely to become a big-name author. It’s true that there have been self-publishing success stories in the past few years, but how often do they happen?

Self-publishing is still looked down upon and treated as something to be ashamed of. Self-published authors are often regarded as inferior because “they can’t make it in the traditional publishing world”. The sentiment is changing though, so if you are not afraid of standing up for yourself, then self-publishing could still be a great choice for you.

#5 Outsourcing

Ghostwriting has been around for ages now. While outsourcing is more popular among article writers, fiction and non-fiction authors start using it more often nowadays. For example, you could always hire a writer from a writing services reviews site like Online Writers Rating to write your book for you!

The main point of outsourcing and ghostwriting is to reduce your workload and give you some time to rest or make your days easier. Outsourcing is much easier when you are a self-publishing author, but it can still be done when you choose conventional publishing.

#6 Genres

Another point you will want to consider when deciding between self-publishing and conventional publishing is the genre you write in. Are you a fiction or a non-fiction writer? If you are a non-fiction author, do you write poetry, cookbooks, or something else? If you are a fiction author, what genre or genres do you write in?

Some genres don’t need a traditional publisher to be successful. Cookbooks and poetry, for example, fair pretty well in the world of e-books. Children’s picture books, on the other hand, will usually need a publisher who will release them primarily in print.

#7 Digital

Let’s discuss digital and print publishing in more detail. With so many people using the Internet daily and reading on various mobile devices, digital releases are becoming more and more common. People are not afraid of purchasing e-books instead of printed editions – and it’s not embarrassing to prefer e-books anymore.

At the same time, many printed books are being released on digital platforms at the same time as they are released in print. In this case, traditional publishing has the upper hand because it is much harder to have your books printed if you are self-publishing.

#8 Print

Even though digitally released books are so common now, printed editions are not going out of fashion anytime soon. But because self-publishing authors don’t possess the necessary funds for this, printed books are usually released only by publishing houses.

In other words, if you want your book to be available both as a physical book and as an e-book, you will need to take the traditional route. If you are fine releasing only digitally, then self-publishing is for you.

#9 Anonymity

There are many authors who love the attention and fame which comes when their book becomes a hit. However, there are also those who want to keep their lives private and go as far as publishing their book under a pseudonym. Moreover, some use different pseudonyms for different genres (especially if one of these is erotica and they simply want to stay private).

With traditional publishing, maintaining such anonymity is more difficult than with self-publishing. This is because authors will often have to go on tours promoting their books if they want to grow a dedicated fanbase and build a community of readers who will buy their books again and again.

#10 Audience

That being said, self-publishing authors need to interact with their audiences quite a lot. You can still be successful if you use a pseudonym and self-publish digitally (with Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, for instance), but most of the time, you will need to reach your audience in different ways.

For example, many self-publishing authors are known for having social media profiles where they constantly reply to their readers, host Q&A sessions, and promote their books. On the other hand, most self-publishing authors can’t really go on tours for book promotions. So, in a way, this is a two-sided coin, so you will need to decide based on your own preferences.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, both routes can be profitable. Think about why self-publishing and traditional publishing can be great for you based on the information in this article – and then choose what you want to do as a writer.

Frank Hamilton has been working as an editor at review service Best Writers Online. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.

For more thoughts on self-publishing and how to price your book, check out this article.

How to Nurture Your Mental Health as a Writer

by Ben Grant

Mental health is a state of psychological and social well-being in which a person realizes his abilities, effectively resists life's difficulties and stress, carries out productive conscious activities, and contributes to the development of society.

First of all, this is realized due to the stable, adequate functioning of the psyche, as well as the basic mental cognitive processes: memory, attention, thinking. 

How to raise and maintain your mental health?

Proper nutrition

I need to eat as needed. Our body receives the necessary nutrients and energy from food. The need for them depends on age, gender, lifestyle, health status, and many other factors.

The formula is simple: you need to eat as much as the body requires and expends.

Energy is spent on basic activity (breathing, digesting food, thinking, heart function, etc.). The average daily energy requirement is 2,000 kcal for women and 2,600 kcal for men.

Eat balanced. In nutrition, it is important not only the energy received but also that it comes from different nutrients and the proportion of these substances is balanced. Each nutrient plays an important role in the body, and different product groups contain different basic substances, vitamins, and minerals.

Today, many are trying, for example, to reduce the number of carbohydrates consumed, which can cause a deficiency of some important nutrients. 

Eat varied. A varied and balanced menu should include products from different groups, but you need to vary products within groups. For example, different vegetables and fruits contain different and different quantities of vitamins and minerals. If you eat varied, you can get the necessary nutrients, the body will be more healthy and will work better.

Very often routine and habits become the cause of a uniform diet. The diet needs to be reviewed from time to time so that it is not the same all the time. Nutrition can turn out to be monotonous because a person consciously decided not to eat certain foods or he doesn’t like them. In this case, you need to carefully monitor that the necessary nutrients still come from other sources. 

Physical activity

In order for you to go write every day and not lose your skills, you need moderate to high-intensity physical activity for at least 60 minutes a day; Physical activity lasting more than 60 minutes a day will bring additional benefits to their health.

Manage your emotions

Remember all your successes. In fact, I think this method is the most effective. Retrieve at least three examples of your personal success. Remember something related to the current task and work.

Example: Instead of being nervous about your poorly written text, better remember that you have achieved success in the past, and how the publication liked your article, book, etc.

Interestingly, according to research, this strategy works especially well in women. The next time you feel that you are losing control of your emotions, remind yourself of the things that you are proud of in your life.

Know your weaknesses

Each of us has our own emotional weaknesses, our own “vulnerabilities”. Some react violently even to light criticism or become furious when they think that they are laughing at them. Others cannot stand it when they reject their ideas. Still, others are inferior, driven by guilt, desire to please, or fear of scandal.

Knowing your weaknesses makes it easier for you to recognize when the other side is aiming at them. This, in turn, allows you to control your natural response. If you do not like being reproached for being disorganized, and you are aware of this, then you can prepare in advance for a meeting with such accusations. If someone claims that you are scattering, just brush aside his words.

If you have been verbally attacked because of poorly written text, try to look at your opponent as a person who simply does not know how to behave. Believe me, it will be easier.

Learn to smile

Be grateful for everything that is in your life It is simply amazing what a positive effect we get when we start saying "Thank you!" for everything that is in our life. Thanks for the gift of life. Thanks for the delicious food. Thanks for the smiles of relatives. It is in your power to make a supernatural and very powerful change in your life for the better, and I urge you to do it right now: Be grateful even for the most seemingly negative situations that arise in your life. Sickness, pain, and loss are some of the most powerful teachers we have at our disposal. They point us to our mistakes and wrong choices. They show in which direction we should grow and work on ourselves. They show the power that is within us. And besides, such negative things remind us how incredibly expensive and valuable our life is.

Change the mindset

●      Learn how to engage in internal dialogue

Tell yourself, “I can do better,” or “Next time I will do better,” or something like that. According to a recent study, this is an effective way to increase productivity and begin to make more efforts to solve the problem.

The main thing is to believe what you say. After all, this is not magic, but hard work on oneself

●      Turn negative thoughts into neutral ones

Do not torture yourself in trying to make bad good in a second. Go towards it gradually. 

How to stop being afraid of failure

●      Remember: failure means you do not standstill

Mistakes are not made by one who does nothing. If you fail, this is a sure sign of movement toward the goal.

●      Think of failure as an experience that helps you become better

Most likely, you will not make the mistake again. You will find your weaknesses and the next time you will do it differently. What if it fails again? So, you will gain experience again. And so on until you reach what you are going to.

Adhering to all of the above tips, you can succeed not only in writing books as an author but also in life.

Ben Grant finished his study last year but is already a true expert when it comes to presenting a text in a creative and understandable manner. Now he’s a writer for TropicHealthClub. Ben is thirsty for knowledge and is always on the lookout for tips to share with his readers.