How to Develop an Elevator Pitch for Your Book

book descriptionWriting your book is isn’t the only part of being a writer, and it may not be the hardest part or the most important.Your unquestionable eloquence aside, it’s precious little good to write a fascinating book if you can’t get anyone interested enough to read the damn thing.

Did anyone ever come up to you and ask, “So, what is your book about?”

In response, you find yourself stumbling and stammering, “Oh. Well, it’s about this guy – it’s set some time in the future, you see. Anyway, he works at a glass-blowing factory in Manchester. He’s poor, you know, but his wife wants a fur coat. So anyway, he decides to raise chinchillas…”

“Uh-huh, uh-huh…” He/she looks over your shoulder and says something like, “Sounds interesting. Hey, there’s no one at the taco bar. Excuse me.” And off they scamper, spending the rest of the evening avoiding you.

What you need for such occasions is an elevator pitch. Continue reading “How to Develop an Elevator Pitch for Your Book”

Fifteen Ways to Grow Your Email List

news-226931_1280Wow, I never knew you felt that way!

Apparently, many of you are getting fed up with Facebook. Last week’s post generated several comments in regards to Facebook and its effectiveness. Throughout the discussion, email marketing came up as a solid alternative. Personally, I think it is the way to go. It’s a more direct and personal way to communicate with your fans.

I wrote a couple of posts last year on how to get started in email marketing; you can find Email Marketing – A Way to Stand Out in a Crowd and Follow-up to Email Marketing by following the links. Continue reading “Fifteen Ways to Grow Your Email List”

Featured Selections from Jennifer Adele

Jennifer Adele DoubleJennifer Adele is an independent author and nature gal, whose sense of adventure is only matched by her predilection for the magical and macabre. Her love of the written word in its various forms and her fascination with the symbolism inherent in all languages provides an ancient, deep, and eclectic background to her works. She is also an active lecturer and educator for many local groups and public education venues. Her written works on broad-based educational topics, plants, animals, symbolism, and a wide range of nature-based subjects, as well as her creative writings and fiction, have been frequently featured in national and international publications.

the haunting of willow tree courtThe Haunting of Willow Tree Court
Three years ago a near fatal car crash left Sally Archer crippled and childless. Now, with her life in tatters and her freedoms taken away, she is moved to a new home by her husband, to a house on Willow Tree Court. But, Willow Tree Court is no ordinary place, and her house has a long and unusual history. As if by magic, the extraordinary begins to unravel itself in a pattern as old as time, and both the beautiful and the macabre take hold, refusing to let go. Sally soon learns that places are haunted as much by the living as they are by the dead.
Available from Amazon in print or Kindle formats.

spellboundSpellbound
Vera Norton is only a young girl when her ancient friend and neighbor, Lillian Thompson, dies, leaving her emotionally wounded and incredibly vulnerable. With little parental supervision and a brother who couldn’t be more opposite of her in every way, Vera is left reeling and spending a lot of time with the one permanent figure in her life, a large oak tree at the center of the Thompson gardens, a tree that is at the epicenter of Vera’s world. However, when Lillian’s strange sister, Elizabeth, moves into the Thompson house next door and takes over the property, the curious and horrific really take hold. This then catapults Vera into an adult life of magic and mystery, love and dangerous obsession, ghostly encounters and supernatural apparitions, curses and spells.
Available from Amazon in print or Kindle formats.

 

If it says free, can’t I use it?

CC Logo
CC Logo Shirt, by CreativeCommoners, available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/creativecommons/2900307100/ under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0. More licensing information here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Blog posts, websites, book covers, bookmarks, trailers. For writers, we sure do use a lot of photographs.

If you’re like me, your photography skills leave a lot to be desired. Luckily, there are some inexpensive (even free) options available, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we can download and use willy-nilly.

More often than not, there are some requirements we must meet in order to use even free photographs. Otherwise, we might find ourselves on the wrong side of a copyright infringement suit.

Creative Commons is my favorite place to search, because they make it easy to find free photos, artwork, music, and audio. They have very specific requirements for use, however. Let’s walk through the process. Continue reading “If it says free, can’t I use it?”