Not Enough Homework

HomeworkI get requests every day from authors – usually via email, asking for advice. How do I market my book? What’s an ISBN number? Is it important to have an eBook as well as a print book? My eyes are starting to roll back into my head.

I don’t mind helping and advising and what have you – but people need to do their homework. I’m not going to handhold if someone isn’t willing to put a little effort into it. This world of instant communication on the internet has made it way too easy for people to rifle off an email and let someone else do the work for them. Continue reading “Not Enough Homework”

Helping you become a #1 Bestselling Author

Bestselling AuthorBestselling Novel … sounds good doesn’t it? A few weeks ago, I posted about reviews and their impact on ratings and readers. You can see that post here. Today, I want to discuss the elusive BESTSELLER.

When you have achieved bestseller status, it is yours for life. No one can take it away. Conveniently, Amazon changes the rankings hourly. Now, many of you might look at that as a negative but all you need is for your book to hit #1 just one time, and even if it drops out after an hour, you’ve just achieved “bestseller” status.

As with anything in our indie publishing world, you have to know the system before you play the game. First, when you uploaded and published your book, you picked five categories. These have nothing to do with how Amazon ranks your book—they’re used in keyword searches for someone browsing topics. Continue reading “Helping you become a #1 Bestselling Author”

Other Influences on Authorial Style – by Joe T Velikovsky

Stephen Hise posted a really great question here about The Influence of Personality on Authorial Style  – and it really got me thinking. I’m paraphrasing now, but Stephen’s (excellent) point was, as an Author – can you put your attitude towards the world into your Storyworld? (i.e. Optimist, Pessimist, Skeptic, Cynic or Realist/Pragmatist…)

It’s an excellent point! And – in my humble opinion, probably the most important thing about `Voice’ as a writer. But – I also think – it’s incredibly difficult to do—not in the execution but in the publishing.

Allow me to unpack that idea: Continue reading “Other Influences on Authorial Style – by Joe T Velikovsky”

The Bright Lights of Social Media – by Lili Tufel

Author Lili Tufel

Are you feeling overwhelmed by so many social media sites? Between Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Triberr, Tumblr, Pinterest, and blogging, who has time to write? They have all become one big blur to me.

This past weekend, my family and I attended our local Church Fair. Hubby got our kids a “bracelet” for unlimited rides. I strolled along while they rode each and every ride about ten times. At first, it was very exciting, running back and forth between Pharaoh’s Fury and the Ring of Fire, but eventually the lights and sounds all became one big blur. By Sunday afternoon, hubby said to me, “I’m all fair’d out.” I felt the same way, but the kids who have an endless pit of energy, still wanted more. By Sunday evening, even the most hyper of my children was dragging her feet for one last time on the Banzai ride. Continue reading “The Bright Lights of Social Media – by Lili Tufel”