Picture Yours Truly indulging in a rare pleasure these days: taking time to open a new book, published by a small electronic press. The cover of the book I’m browsing looks good. The author has been published before by this small press. She’s new to me, but I’m a supporter of Indie Authors. I'm willing […]
Picture this: Your book is finally published. (Whoop! Congratulations!) You’ve worked months – maybe years – for the moment when you can proudly point to the byline on your cover and say: “Yep! That’s me! I really wrote a book!” Your cover says volumes about your story. That’s why you went to excruciating lengths to […]
As an author who has toured, and as a blog owner who has hosted tours, I can speak with authority about both sides of the virtual book tour experience. My motivation for this post is to save budget-conscious authors from wasting their money on tour companies that produce less-than-satisfactory results. What is a virtual book (or […]
Editor's Note: Please welcome Helen Carey, who has worked as a professional reader for two book publishers and a literary agent. Helen has agreed to share her “insider secrets” about the real, behind the scenes power that a professional reader has over your manuscript. Helen also happens to be a published novelist, so she knows […]
Welcome back, Twitter Ninjas! In our last (thrilling) installment of Twitter Tips: 20 Tweeting Secrets for Novel Writers, I regaled you with ideas for getting your novel noticed in the Twitterverse. (Thanks for your patience, by the way. My hard drive fried to burnt-toast crispiness. Even as I blog today on a BORROWED computer -- […]
In my never-ending quest to bring you useful book marketing strategies, it occurred to me that I may not be alone in my befuddlement over Twitter. No, I’m not referring to my FREAK OUT DAY, when all my Tweets inexplicably disappeared from my four websites. (Translation: Twitter suddenly changed its API.) I am referring to […]
I recently had a pleasant wake-up call about Pinterest. In my supreme ignorance, I thought that this popular social media site was the haven for dessert recipes, cute animals, and crochet patterns. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across a plethora of great writing resources – and writing advice! If you haven’t invested time […]
Howdy, fellow Procrastinators! Yes, I am writing blog posts instead of my novel. ::Eh-hem:: Thought you might enjoy these words of wit and wisdom from famous authors. And then...go put your butt in your chair and compose the next scene! Norman Mailer, The Spooky Art: Some Thoughts on Writing: “Over the years, I’ve found one rule. It is the […]
I don’t know why fiction writers seem so eager to express angst. It seems like the lion’s share of wit and wisdom expressed by authors, who are writing about their profession, focuses on one primary theme: that writing novels is HARD. For example: “Writing is so difficult, that I often feel that writers, having had […]
Writers on Writing: Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain As a child, I was familiar with Tom Sawyer, but I didn't fall in love with Mark Twain until my high school Language Arts class. We were studying The Adventures of Huck Finn, which begins with the following warning to the reader: “Persons attempting to find […]