Tag: Guest Posts

The Power of Facebook for Writers – Part One – by Michael Allen

Author/Screenwriter Michael Allen
Author/Screenwriter Michael Allen

Facebook can be very powerful if you know how to use it. But, I’ve talked to plenty of indie authors who simply don’t see the effectiveness Facebook can have on an online marketing campaign. If they only knew a few things about what Facebook can do, they just might have a better time using this extremely powerful social media platform.

First of all, there is a personal profile and then there are pages that you can create. A personal profile can only have 5,000 friends. That’s why I suggest you make that into information about who you are as a person, not a book page. Provide information about your work and education. Highlight your interests. Add friends that you really know and even indicate who is in your family. In other words, be real. That is your real profile and it should be only about you.

Of course, you would mention that you are a writer and list all your books. That’s perfectly fine. So, then create a page for each book. Some writers find this a little too much. But remember, the Facebook experience is for you to define. So if you don’t want a page for each book, then simply create an author page where you can list all of your books. Continue reading “The Power of Facebook for Writers – Part One – by Michael Allen”

Tools for Editing Manuscripts by LM Preston

YA Author LM Preston
YA Author LM Preston

Editing is a big issue for many writers. Not to mention that one doesn’t usually have the money to pay for a professional editor prior to submitting their novel to Lit Agents or Publishers.

But there is software available to help a writer tighten up their manuscript prior to sending it out for submission. In cases of publishing their own works, using these tools can help get a manuscript as clean as possible prior to sending it to an editor.

WHY CLEAN UP A MANUSCRIPT IF AN EDITOR IS GOING TO?

Editors are human. They make errors, don’t find things, and unknowingly miss obvious errors in works also. No book is without room for improvement. An author should always try to get their work in the best possible shape BEFORE it goes to the editor to ensure that their work is represented at its best.  Continue reading “Tools for Editing Manuscripts by LM Preston”

Marketing by Indie Authors: A Blogger’s Opinions by Ritesh Kala

Blogger/Reviewer Ritesh Kala
Blogger/Reviewer Ritesh Kala

I started blogging recently and posting my book reviews online. I have come in contact with lots of authors through a number of online websites and social networks. Through these interactions, I have seen authors trying everything they can to promote their books. While some of these things have appealed to me as a blogger as well as a reader, others have fallen short of really grabbing my attention, and there are still others which have left me seething in anger. The following is a list of what I find most successful to get my attention from my perspective. Continue reading “Marketing by Indie Authors: A Blogger’s Opinions by Ritesh Kala”

Workshop Your Writing by Patricia Valdata

Author Patricia Valdata
Author Patricia Valdata

Should I Attend a Writing Workshop?

Workshops have gotten some bad press lately. Some writers claim that workshops associated with formal study programs result in cookie-cutter “workshop poems” or “New Yorker” stories. I’ve also heard horror stories about workshops where the critiques can be brutal. That’s not my idea of a productive workshop! A good workshop can help a writer generate new work, get useful feedback on a current project, and even serve as a stepping-stone to larger projects. I know one writer who took two online fiction workshops, and the stories she produced there helped her get into a top-rated low-residency MFA program.

I’ve been writing for more than 20 years, but if I hear about a writing workshop in my area, I sign up for it. I love the challenge of writing to a prompt, the fun of meeting other writers, and the pleasure of hearing or reading someone’s work-in-progress. I value getting comments about my own work-in-progress, and getting tips from more experienced writers. I’ve been going to Peter Murphy’s Winter Poetry & Prose Getaway almost every January since 1997, and more than a dozen of my published poems got their start there. When I was writing my second novel, I workshopped chapters at a local writer’s group. Finding out what worked and what didn’t work for the group members helped me shape that manuscript, which was published in 2008 as The Other Sister. Continue reading “Workshop Your Writing by Patricia Valdata”