A couple of years ago, word got out around the Austin freelancing community that I "dig" paranormal stuff, like crystal balls, psychics, ghosts -- and especially -- magic. That's when the editor of a small town newspaper, the Oak Hill Gazette, gave me a call. He told me I would be the ideal reporter to […]
Networking is a form of word-of-mouth marketing. At a writing conference, you must learn to market your book in ways that make you memorable – but for all the right reasons. This article is Part 2 in a 2-part series that shares networking tips for writers who plan to attend a writing conference. Read Part […]
If you have ever talked to a friend, passing on a job lead, news of a great sale, or praise for a wonderful novel, then you have “networked.” In essence, networking is word-of-mouth marketing. At a writing conference, you must learn to market yourself (“network”) in ways that make you memorable – but for all […]
Want to give — and receive – electronic autographs for your favorite books? Then you’ll adore the free web service, Authorgraph. Gone are the days when an author’s autograph could only be obtained during a live book signing. Authorgraph lets an author send an electronic signature, plus a customized message and a cover illustration of […]
If you're an author with a backlist of previously published paperback novels, then I encourage you to consider formatting those novels as e-books. Not only are you likely to increase your passive income, you will gain far more control over your career than you had with your legacy publisher. Now I admit, I wasn't too […]
Writing fiction has always felt like magic to me -- especially when I'm in the creative flow, and ideas are pouring through my brain faster than I can type. I've heard other writers describe this flood of imagination as the whispering of their “Writing Muse.” But what exactly is a Writing Muse? Back in the […]
“Is there some deep, dark secret to getting published? Why won’t an editor buy my book?” As a book writing coach and multi-published author, I’m asked that question a lot. Believe me, I can empathize with the pain of aspiring authors! Even after I’d achieved success as a business writer and had earned prestigious non-fiction […]
I read a marketing statistic recently that said that 50,000 new Kindles are purchased every month by readers around the world. That’s mind-boggling! To give you some perspective, in the old days (as recently as 2000,) a midlist paperback novel in the Romance genre may have had a print run of only 35,000 books – […]
Ever since the third grade, I wanted to become a published novelist. By the time I reached the age of 30, my passion for writing novels had grown so strong, that I was willing to ignore an IRS report that said the average writer earns 7 cents per hour. Then I met a woman who […]
As a college freshman, I was excited to make the cut in my first Creative Writing course. I was the youngest student in a class full of juniors and seniors. My goal, even then, was to write commercial book-length fiction – particularly Romance and Fantasy novels. When my Creative Writing professor learned that I was […]