So You Call Yourself a Fiction Writer by Marilyn Levinson

I write mystery novels and novels for kids. However, in the service of writing my books I find I write more non-fiction than fiction. I will enumerate the ways and share some of my thoughts.

1. My group blog: I write a short essay once a month, usually something that has to do with writing. Or it might be a thought piece. I never fail to come up with a topic, probably because I'm in the midst of friendly, like-minded authors.

2. Guest blogs. These are most difficult for me to write. Though their purpose is to draw attention to my latest book, I need to write about a subject that appears in my book like art forgery or weddings.

3. Interviews: I like interviews because once I have to answer a question, I'm off and running. However, there are always one or two questions I have trouble responding to. Such as, I don't know which author, dead or alive, I'd like to have dinner with.

4. Articles for mystery magazines: These are even longer and more researched essays that deal with subjects or situations that I've written about in my most recent mystery. Or they deal with some aspect of writing mysteries.

5. Newsletters: I must admit I enjoy writing my monthly newsletter, which includes aspects of my personal life and a good deal about my writing life.

6 . Blurbs I've been requested to write:  I do my best to come up with a one-liner that captivates the essence of the book I've just read in a fresh and complimentary way. I sometimes feel I've stepped into the advertising world and wonder how I would have done working there.

7. Blurbs for my own books: I need to incorporate the most appealing aspects of my novel without giving away too much of the plot. I admit to often copying what's on my Amazon page.

8. Book Reviews: I often post reviews of books that I've enjoyed reading on Goodreads, BookBub and Amazon. These always take more time than I expect. Most of the time they aren't mysteries.

9. Query letters: Thankfully, I haven't needed to write any official query letters in some time. But I do query podcasters and other hosts to ask if they'd be interested in having me as their guest.

10. Author Takeovers (When a cozy author "takes over" a cozy Facebook group and chats with cozy readers for an hour or two ): I love them because I get to interact with readers. I try to ask thoughtful questions and I receive many responses, all of which I do my best to answer.

11. Emails: I write many daily exchanges with my small group of writers. These concern writerly topics as well as other subjects. We are a garrulous group.

12. Emails again: I exchange daily reports with two writer friends— about our writing output, how else we've spent the day, and what's on our minds. Food features largely, for some reason.

13. Outlines and synopses: As everyone knows, these require great organizational skill. I manage to write a partial outline at the start of a novel, knowing there will be many additions and changes.

14. Bios: Authors need bios of various lengths. They all need to be constantly updated.

15. A visual promoting a sale or an new book: Great images and design are a must, but there's still the need to use the right words to grab readers' attention. Again I'm feeling like an ad person, this time a foot in the art department.

 If you are an author, in what additional situations do you find yourself writing about your fictional projects?