Celebrating Independent Authors
Is it tomorrow already? I want to sleep some more. I had a Facebook Launch Party yesterday for my latest book, The Dreamt Child. That meant 12 hours in front of a computer screen, non-stop. By the end my brain was so fried.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I had a blast and I really think those who came and participated did too.
Here’s the scoop. Continue reading “My Facebook Launch Party Event”
The other day, the EM asked me a whole bunch of questions about Twitter hashtags. I guess it was because I always use the two or three I know, so he thought I knew what I was doing.
I don’t, but I know someone who does. So I kicked his questions to Kriss Morton, who blogs as the Cabin Goddess and who, together with Kai Wilson, runs the Finishing Fairies publicist service and an author promotion group on Facebook called I Dance with Books.
Within minutes, I had more info about Twitter hashtags than I ever knew existed. So here you go: Hashtags 501, the graduate-level course. Continue reading “Hashtags 501 (The Graduate-Level Course)”
LinkedIn is a happening place. Rosanne Dingli explained why authors and businesspeople should be on LinkedIn. You can read her article here. Once you’re on LinkedIn, there are a couple of things you can do to get better exposure. The method many people agree has the most impact is the “links” section.
To add (or spiffy up) your links, go to the profile section of your account. This will take you to the “edit” screen. In the image to the left, you can see at the very bottom right there is a tiny gray rolodex card next to the words “Edit Contact Info.” This is where LinkedIn allows you to supply a maximum of three external links. Many people just put in their http address and leave it at that. But LinkedIn allows you to do something even better – actually describe where the link goes – so there isn’t a bunch of ugly html sitting on your profile. Also, I like the fact that this gives people a clue what they’re clicking. Continue reading “2013 Update – LinkedIn Profile Tip – Links”
Who woulda thunk it would be J.K. Rowling, of all people, to test the power of the pseudonym?
Rowling, of course, is the gazillion-selling author of the Harry Potter series. Upon hearing that she’d bought herself a Scottish castle, I wondered whether we would ever hear from her again. Hadn’t she already hoovered up all the loose change in the publishing world? Couldn’t she retire from writing and, I don’t know, administer charities or something?
Apparently not. Last fall, amid much fanfare (although lacking the squealing tweens and the giveaways of round-framed glasses that greeted the launch of the later Harry Potter books), Rowling released her first adult novel, The Casual Vacancy, to tepid reviews. Right now, it’s got a 3-star average from some 3,600 reviews on Amazon; one called-out review says the book is “like a bad movie that you just want to end so you can say you know how it ends.”
But if you thought Rowling’s literary career was over, you’d be wrong. Continue reading “Pseudonyms: A “Casual” Case Study”