Tutorial: Facebook Documents

I have to admit, when I first joined groups in Facebook, I had no idea what a Facebook document was, how to use it, or how to add my information to it. In fact, I still sort of dislike them (although I couldn’t tell you why) even though they are extremely useful.

Groups use Facebook documents to share information – like the Twitter handles, web sites, blogs, genres, and other kinds of data about their members. Some writers/reviewers groups use them to list books to be read or reviewed, and available reviewers and what genres they prefer.

One thing that may be confusing to some is that Facebook changed the nomenclature from “Documents” to “Files.” If you want to find the ones in your group, scroll up to the top of the page, to the right, and click “Files.” (see above, left) Continue reading “Tutorial: Facebook Documents”

Exercises for Authors

Yeah, that’s right. I’m an author. That means I’m cerebral. I work out with my brain, not my body, which means that my Nordic Track machine is used to hang laundry. It works quite nicely in that capacity.

Our Laurie Boris tried to get us to start some good habits like stretching and some strange, new-fangled ergonomic stuff. All that’s fine and dandy, but I can’t really see someone like me actually making the effort to do any of it. So, in the true spirit of entrepreneurial opportunism, I’ve developed an exercise program tailored specifically for authors (and anyone who spends extended hours at a computer). Because what good is a program you won’t actually use?

That’s right, I’ve taken activities in which you participate every day and turned them into exercises! How can you go wrong? Well, duh, you can’t. Continue reading “Exercises for Authors”

Tips: Book Planning

Ever be cranking along on your work-in-progress (WIP) without a care and suddenly realize that your timeline is all discombobulated? Juggling numerous characters with a different point of view (POV) in each chapter has finally caught up with you. Don’t you hate it when that happens? I know I do.

This kind of thing is bound to occur, especially if you have characters who whisk off to far-away lands – which means you need to incorporate the gaps created by lengthy air travel as well as time zone changes. What a mess!

Here’s a handy little tip for you which costs nothing. In fact, it’s so simple that it may strike you as stupid initially, but sometimes simplifying is exactly what’s needed when a project goes out of control. Continue reading “Tips: Book Planning”