Category: Tutorials

How-to articles for writers.

Author Tools: Google Earth

Yeah, I said Google Earth. For research. What do I know about that? Well, not to brag, but some people may even consider me a bit of an expert on research. Either that, or I completely fooled the staff putting together the Writer’s Guide to 2011 – in which I am quoted numerous times in the chapter titled “Making the Most of Research with Technology.”

But enough about me. Let’s talk some more about me.

I decided, for some reason I cannot explain, that the sequel to Lust for Danger HAD to contain a scene in a skyscraper next to the Danube River in Vienna. Keep in mind, I write faction, so that building had to actually exist. I asked a number of people, and they couldn’t think of one. So, I turned to Google Earth. I scanned along the banks of the Danube until I saw a long shadow: from a skyscraper. Voila!

But that’s not all. Google Earth does SO much more than let you look down from a satellite.

Google Earth
The world is yours with Google Earth.

Google Earth is a free, downloadable product. It does use quite a bit of memory, but if you’re doing locational research, it’s an invaluable tool. I’m no techie, by any means. I don’t get how to use some of the bells and whistles of this program. I have managed, however, to use it to find the perfect sites for fictional near-drownings, black ops assaults, and a really nice place for my characters to get a cup of coffee. Continue reading “Author Tools: Google Earth”

Dlvr.it Delivers: Promoting Blog Posts

When you have a new blog post, how do you notify your followers on Twitter and Facebook? Initially I did it the old-fashioned way. I scheduled the blog post and shortly after it published, I’d manually tweet and share to Facebook. That worked unless I slept in that day (don’t tell my boss) or was deep into a project for my day job and forgot (please do tell my boss).

However, my ideal situation was to be able to schedule a post and have a tweet and a post sharing the link on Facebook happen automatically. I found a plethora of ways to accomplish the tweet, but when it came to Facebook, I wasn’t happy with any of the solutions. My main complaint was that none of the approaches I found gave a post with a picture. All of my blog posts start with a picture of a book cover or an author. Facebook posts with pictures, what you’d get as the default if sharing a link of the blog post manually, catch my attention much quicker than plain text. Continue reading “Dlvr.it Delivers: Promoting Blog Posts”

Tutorial: Author Central Book Merge & More

There’s been a lot of talk lately about reviews on Amazon and Amazon being the big, evil corporate entity. No matter what your feelings are about that, if you have books listed for sale on Amazon.com and you’re not taking advantage of their Author Central platform, you’re shooting yourself in the feet. No, not the foot: both feet. Repeatedly. Yes, authors really are not using this service. I see it EVERY day. (Yes, Author Central is a FREE service. If you missed our very first tutorial on setting it up, see that HERE.)

A new feature was announced by Amazon for the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Fire HD readers – About the Author. Here is what they have to say: About the Author gives readers access to your biography and lists all your books in a single place on Kindle. Readers can tap on any of your books and be directed to the Kindle store where they can download the book in under 60 seconds. Also, any time you update your biography or claim a new book through Author Central, About the Author will update on Kindle giving your readers access to the most recent information.

Still think you don’t need to be on Author Central? Step closer to the screen so I can slap you.

My original tutorial on setting up your Author Central page can be found here. If you haven’t already, read it. Do it. Then come right back here and I’ll show you how to merge your books. I heard that grumble. Yes, you need to merge your books. Here’s why. Continue reading “Tutorial: Author Central Book Merge & More”

Tuesday Tutorial: That “Thing” – LibraryThing

What IS LibraryThing? From their website: LibraryThing is an online service to help people catalog their books easily. You can access your catalog from anywhere—even on your mobile phone. Because everyone catalogs together, LibraryThing also connects people with the same books, comes up with suggestions for what to read next, and so forth.

So, yes, it’s like a Goodreads or a Shelfari, and the now-defunct BookArmy. You can do author give-aways, or chats, and more.

Welcome to LibraryThing!
Welcome to LibraryThing! (Figure 1.)

The first thing you need to do is sign up for a free account and then become a LibraryThing author. Currently there are just over 8400 authors on LibraryThing making it a worthwhile investment in your time – consider how many authors are on Amazon.com! Information about becoming a LibraryThing author can be found here. Once you’ve gotten your account established, sign in. From your home page, click on Profile in the bar of tabs across the top (Figure 1.). Continue reading “Tuesday Tutorial: That “Thing” – LibraryThing”