A Handy Tool for Authors: Google Alerts

The other day I mentioned to a writer friend that my Google Alerts didn’t seem to be catching everything. “What’s a Google Alert?” he asked. I was stumped. I thought everyone knew about Google Alerts. Every author should be using them.

I explained to him that you can set up Google Alerts to monitor subjects important to you, and it will send you email notifications any time a new search result is found.

For example, any time one of my new books is released, I set up a Google Alert for the title. That way, if my title gets any press, reviews, or is otherwise mentioned online, I’ll be notified. And the really REALLY cool thing about this is – you don’t have to have a Google or Gmail address to participate!

This is how to set up a Google Alert: Continue reading “A Handy Tool for Authors: Google Alerts”

Desperation: The Mother of Invention.

Yes, I do believe necessity IS the mother of invention. I don’t know who K. S. Brooks on Snow Shoesoriginally said that, and I’m too damned lazy to Google it. Huh, in fact, I’m so lazy that I just used “Google” as a verb. So there.

I have no intention of defending my laziness. Frankly, I’m proud of it. I use my energy solely for writing and marketing my books. My houseplants are wilting and my dinner is still in the freezer. But I put in a long day filled with paper cuts, taping my fingers together and filling in U.S. Customs paperwork so I could send out “Advance Review Copies” of my new book.

There’s that word: review. That all too elusive review – the one that should be written quickly and gladly by the person receiving your book for free. But it doesn’t go that way, does it? BE HONEST – you know it doesn’t. Even though they basically gave their word they’d review your book – what percentage of them actually do it?

Continue reading “Desperation: The Mother of Invention.”

Custom Facebook URLs

Wow.  One of the most common…flubs, for lack of a better word…that I see is a Facebook author page with a discombobulated URL.  I must see at least one or two a day.  “Come check out my page!” they’ll say to me, presenting me with a link that looks like “http://www.facebook.com/pages/Judy-the-author/260458930631195”   Hey, Judy, guess what?  No one’s going to remember how to get to your author page with a link like that.

Don’t feel badly, authors aren’t the only ones who fall into this — lots of folks with “Business” and other kinds of pages do as well.   And guess what?  There is something you can do about it.

Continue reading “Custom Facebook URLs”

How Did This Happen??

I’m not sure when it started.  There was what seemed to be a simple, innocent message on Facebook:  a “hi, I don’t know you, but I just read your blog and you seem very professional.  Would you like to write a guest post for my blog?”  I was flattered.  I didn’t know this Stephen Hise person, but obviously he had good taste.  He wanted to know about my experience as an Indie Author.  I certainly had a lot of that.  And my journey was probably one of the oddest I can recall.  I’m not in the habit of writing guest posts.  I’m lazy.  Lazy as hell in fact.  I’m a driven lunatic with one goal in mind:  write books.  I turned out 4 in 2011, and I’m shooting for 5 in 2012.  2013 is going to be a bye.  In any case, I obliged.  You can read my guest post here.

Then, the next email came.  “Want to do an interview?” he asked.  I may be a single-sighted lunatic, but I’m not stupid.  Any time I get an opportunity for free exposure, I take it.  Interviews are usually easy, and sometimes I learn things about myself.  And, to top it off, Steve’s interviews are then posted in feature article format.  As we’d say back in Boston “that’s the ballz.”  So I agreed.  (You can read that story here.) Continue reading “How Did This Happen??”