7 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PUBLISHED AUTHORS AND UNPUBLISHED AUTHORS

http://www.authormedia.com/2009/09/17/7-differences-between-published-unpublished-authors/

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HOW TO WRITE DESCRIPTION

Here’s an in depth blog that is very useful. http://www.authors.com/profiles/blogs/strategies-for-writing-concise-descriptions

Might think about joining Authors.com

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LEARNING THE BIZ (and other great sites)

Kay Kenyon has excellent tips over at her blog. Here’s a few:

http://www.kaykenyon.com/2011/03/06/learning-the-biz/

http://www.kaykenyon.com/2012/01/04/this-year-no-excuses/

http://www.kaykenyon.com/2011/02/22/scare-of-the-week-2/

http://www.kaykenyon.com/2011/07/06/i-might-as-well-quit-and-other-demented-notions/

http://www.kaykenyon.com/2011/01/03/know-your-genre/

http://www.kaykenyon.com/2010/12/05/you-cant-give-it-away/

http://www.kaykenyon.com/2010/11/01/thing-i-wish-id-known/

http://www.kaykenyon.com/2010/09/28/on-becoming-a-writer/

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FOR WRITERS OF THE WESTERN

I came across several blogs you might monitor to be involved and possibly reviewed:

http://buddiesinthesaddle.blogspot.com/

http://westernfictioneers.blogspot.com/

http://fromdundeesdesk.blogspot.com/

http://peterbrandvold.blogspot.com/

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IN DEFENSE OF GENRE FICTION

I explode all over the page over at http://coraramos-cora.blogspot.com/

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PREPPING FOR A CONFERENCE/CONVENTION

Get some solid advice over at http://nancyjcohen.wordpress.com

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YOU’VE CHANGED–HAS YOUR WEBSITE?

I blogged about this over at Buried Under Books:

http://www.cncbooks.com/blog/2012/01/24/youve-changed-has-your-website/

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LOOK WHAT THE STORK BROUGHT!

Nancy Lauzon knows how to baby a new novel:

Congratulations to all authors who are launching a new book. Every Monday I’ll post a blog featuring authors who would like to show off their new arrival. If you would like me to host your Book Shower, please contact me. My Book Shower will have everything a real shower has, except for gifts and dumb shower games. And wine and goodies and party favors. But everything else. http://chickdickmysteries.com/

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MYTH OF THE BESTSELLER

Joe Konrath lays it out for you:

http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2012/01/myth-of-bestseller.html

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ARE YOU SWEET BUT NOT SPICY?

Morgan Mandel posted info on her new blog and is looking for bloggers:

I’ve just set up a new blog called Sweet Not Spicy, designed to showplace sweet romances and sweet fiction books.

If you are a sweet romance author and would like to contribute a blog post, please email me at mailto:morgan@morganmandel.com with Sweet Not Spicy in the subject line.

I’m not sure yet how often I’ll be putting posts up there. It depends on how many authors want to post. Very short excerpts are fine, but the post should also be about writing or some element in your book or life.

It was fun setting up the new blog as a diversion, and hope to get a post up within the week.

Please stop over and see if you’d like to be a guest -

http://sweetnotspicy.blogspot.com

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AN OFFER YOU CAN’T REFUSE

Susan Whitfield made this offer:
As we get into full swing for 2012, I’m offering Booktown residents a free interview on my blog to promote yourself and your writing. If interested, check out the blog at www.susanwhitfield.blogspot.com (http://www.susanwhitfield.blogspot.com) and get in touch with me there if you’d like to schedule. All I ask in return is that you spread the word around your date and check back for comments or questions. This will drive folks to my blog and promote you. I hope 2012 is a great year for all of us!
————

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WILL WRITE FOR FREE

Why you should take every opportunity to blog:

http://www.writersreaders.com/book-marketing-never-ends/

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FOUR DECADES IN PUBLISHING

Provided by Jerry D. Simmons

http://www.writersreaders.com/transitional-marketplace/

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SNIFFING OUT LEADS

How many of you click on a site, take a look, then leave? WRONG! Maybe it’s my curiousity, maybe I’m just nosy, or maybe I revert back to my days when I tracked down leads to find drug dealers. At any rate, just taking a cursory look at sites doesn’t really do you any good!

Okay, so this morning I clicked on the Oak Tree Press blog, which is updated on Sundays but posts appear mid-week as well http://otpblog.blogspot.com/ . Only OTP authors post, but anyone can read it and comment. If you plan to be a future OTP author, it’s good to monitor this site.

Listed was a URL to an interview with Posse member and Oak Tree author Carol Crigger over at Fiction Writing and Other Oddities http://amycorwin.blogspot.com/2012/01/guest-author-ck-crigger.html Hmm. Might have to go back and check on this site later for my own uses.

After making a comment, I clicked on to Carol’s website http://www.ckcrigger.com/ . What caught my eye was a review site posted called Fence Post Magazine http://www.thefencepost.com/ I could be wrong, but this seems to be a site for Western authors. Posse members writing in that genre should check it out further and report back.

I clicked on to a few other sites listed, but discarded because they didn’t work for my marketing.

Four sites. It took me longer to write this post than to evaluate what I was looking at.

Don’t be lazy. Don’t stop with the first click. Explore. Come back to the Posse with info to add to our growing data bank.

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KINDLE BOARD DISCUSSIONS

http://www.amazon.com/forum/meet%20our%20authors

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BOOKS, BISCUITS AND TEA

I found this site from across the pond. Do you have a book that would interest this woman and her audience?

She seems to like light reads that would appeal to her demographic. She also likes paranormal and Y/A.

http://www.booksbiscuitsandtea.com/p/review-policy.html

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4 WAYS TO DEFINE YOUR BLOG AUDIENCE

http://kristinnador.wordpress.com/

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BLOGGERS WELCOME AT WESTERN SITE

http://cowboykisses.blogspot.com

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PLATFORM, MARKETING, BRANDING–THE CREATIVE PENN

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2009/06/26/author-platform/

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2009/08/03/how-to-discover-and-build-your-author-brand/

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2010/03/27/marketing-your-first-book-graham-storrs/

http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2009/08/14/3-steps-to-start-author-platform-building/

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How To Start a Blog

Yawn. No, it’s not that early (I don’t wake up until the cats want to eat and they are learning to wait), so the yawn is really boredom. This is not a state I find myself in very often. However, opening differnet blogs I can’t seem to find something we all haven’t heard before. Are we at the stage where we know EVERYTHING?

I read, I dismiss, I don’t think much of the stuff is worth your time. It’s getting harder and harder to get me excited.

Having said all that, I did come across something fresh this morning: 9 Ways to Open Your Blog. http://ramonadef.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/9-ways-to-open-a-blog-post/#comments
I’ve used several of these ploys. To me a blog has three purposes: to enlighten, to entertain and to expose bits of personal info about the blogger. (Oh, I like that phrasing, might use it in a blog!). I look for blogs that can expand my knowledge of the writing world, but I want to be entertained while absorbing this info. I’ve used this tactic from the time I had my own column in the high school newspaper to writing term papers in college. It certainly makes people want to read what you have to say without being dry and intellectual.

But, I also like to see just a bit of the private life of the blogger as well. Not a bio, but just snippits. If I follow the blog on a regular basis, I tend to add these small facts to form an image of the person on the other end.

Look at what I’ve done to you this morning. I’ve told you I have cats. Some of you know that, but you don’t know that I have 9. Yes, I’m a cat lady, with all that that implies.

I don’t often get bored. Although I live alone, my mind is a playground and constantly entertains me.

I surprise myself with my own words and I like it when they all start with the same letter. I’m also overly fond of alliteration.

I had my own column in high school (On the Sunny Side). That’s because I was the first female editor of the school paper. Yes, I admit to being a nerd.

And, I got a 3.9 in college because I could entertain my profs with not only well thought out term papers but well-written and a bit tongue-in-cheek. After all the dry papers they had a grade I figured I’d give them a break.

Do you need to know all that? No. But this makes me a more fleshed out person to you, even though you may only know me through cyberspace. And, like the characters we write about, creating someone real on the page is a challenge.

Wow. Didn’t see this rant coming. I think the message I’m trying to get across is don’t be bland and don’t be afraid to show even the most intimate parts of yourself (within reason).

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