Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Fire in the Blogosphere: CassaFire Release

An interesting phenomenon took place yesterday. I went to my Google Reader to do some blog reading and the first blog that pulled up was spotlighting Alex J. Cavanaugh's CassaFire release. My first thought was, Whoops! I guess I forgot to write a post about that, myself...

Then, as the next blog I pulled up was also spotlighting CassaFire, and the next, and the next . And about forty more. I'm not kidding. The blogosphere was on fire. I was in awe of the incredible support that Alex had through his blogging friends. Not surprised, but in awe. It was beautiful.

Alex has done what we should all aspire to do. I'm not talking about great marketing, that's the side benefit. Alex has built real, honest friendships through consistent blogging, response to comments, and visiting and commenting on other blogs. This is not the reason that we blog, but this is what agents and publishers are looking for when they are interested in a writer's platform. Take some notes, folks. Reread my interview with Alex about how he built up such a great support system.

And congrats, Alex. It's a day late, but here's CassaFire!

CassaFire
by Alex J. Cavanaugh


CassaStar was just the beginning…

The Vindicarn War is a distant memory and Byron’s days of piloting Cosbolt fighters are over. He has kept the promise he made to his fallen mentor and friend - to probe space on an exploration vessel. Shuttle work is dull, but it’s a free and solitary existence. The senior officer is content with his life aboard the Rennather.

The detection of alien ruins sends the exploration ship to the distant planet of Tgren. If their scientists can decipher the language, they can unlock the secrets of this device. Is it a key to the Tgren’s civilization or a weapon of unimaginable power? Tensions mount as their new allies are suspicious of the Cassan’s technology and strange mental abilities.

To complicate matters, the Tgrens are showing signs of mental powers themselves; the strongest of which belongs to a pilot named Athee, a woman whose skills rival Byron’s unique abilities. Forced to train her mind and further develop her flying aptitude, he finds his patience strained. Add a reluctant friendship with a young scientist, and he feels invaded on every level. All Byron wanted was his privacy…

Available now!

Science fiction - space opera/adventure
Print ISBN 978-0-9827139-4-5, $15.95, 6x9 Trade paperback, 240 pages
EBook ISBN 978-0-9827139-6-9, $4.99, available in all formats
CassaFire is the sequel to Cavanaugh’s first book, CassaStar, an Amazon Top Ten Best Seller:

“…calls to mind the youthful focus of Robert Heinlein’s early military sf, as well as the excitement of space opera epitomized by the many Star Wars novels. Fast-paced military action and a youthful protagonist make this a good choice for both young adult and adult fans of space wars.” - Library Journal

Book trailer available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa6VINRGtyE.

Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/cassafire-alex-j-cavanaugh/1034742568

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/CassaFire-Alex-J-Cavanaugh/dp/0982713940/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329417150&sr=1-1

Amazon Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/CassaFire-ebook/dp/B007A2TSNG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329663355&sr=1-1

Monday, February 27, 2012

Blog Critique: On the Write Track

In this series I give constructive feedback about the look and function of an author blog from a marketing perspective. As always, I rely on help from graphic designers Tom Barnes (my hubby) and Joe LaRue. To review the blog elements we look at or to submit your own blog for critique, go here.

How does Monday come about so quickly? Not that I'm complaining. Mondays are like my Fridays with my work schedule. Tuesday's my day off!!

But I'm sure there are a few of you with traditional work schedules that may be complaining a bit. Let's see if we can brighten the mood with a blog critique, shall we?  Then scoot on over to Donna Martin's On the Write Track and we can get on with it.

Ooo, Donna's a martial arts girl. (My oldest daughter just got her high red belt this last Saturday. Can we say proud?) She's also got a baby blog. She's only been at it since December 6th. 

Great job for a newbie, Donna. You've got a lot of posts under your (black) belt for such a short time period.  That's awesome.  Now, this isn't the first time I've been to your blog. But trying to look at it with fresh eyes, I immediately see things I love and things I maybe don't love so much. Let's discuss:
  • Love your title.
  • This isn't the first time I've said it and probably not the last: I think that specific pictures in the background should relate to what your blog is about. What do mountains have to do with your blog? If you don't have an answer other than "I like mountains" I would suggest changing it.
  • I like the definite differentiation between your posts and sidebars.
  • I'm not a fan of two column sidebars unless you really need all the space. Alex Cavenaugh has a lot of really relevant info on both columns so I don't mind his. (By the way, Alex's new book comes out Tuesday!) But I can see that yours could easily be consolidated. Also, your blog is just really dark with both sidebars. Specifically I would:
    • Lose your welcome message.  It's not necessary. You could consolidate relevant info from it in your profile.
    • Fish are cool, but are unnecessary (and unrelated to your blog).
    • Your blog awards could be consolidated and even moved to a page of their own.
    • Your blog archive could be moved to the other sidebar.
  • I love that your profile is in a prominent position!
  • I'm not sure that I would put your black belt info as your leading line, though. Not that I think its not important, but I want your first sentence to tell me about your blogging or writing. This is where you can consolidate your welcome info with your profile.
  • I also love that you have your email available.
  • I like that you use pictures in your posts. It really attracts.
  • But you could lessen the amount of pics without losing anything. It will also make it easier to read on a mobile phone.
  • It also wouldn't hurt to trim your posts a little. (I know, this coming from someone who has long posts.) But short is best for holding followers. 
  • Actually, if you lost a sidebar and some pics from each of your posts, the length would probably seem a lot shorter.
  • Personally, I'd only keep five posts on a page. I don't know why. It looks cleaner.
  • I like your colors. Blue and orange are good contrasting colors. I would prefer a less bold font though. It can be hard to look at such a strong font for long.
  • I love that you post consistently. And if you love doing it every day, then keep it up. But, just FYI, it can be difficult for many followers to get to your blog that often so just realize that some of your posts might go unread.
Hmm. I think that's all. Great job at your baby blog! You've grown quickly. Good luck and keep up the good work!

Do you all have any advice for Donna?

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Where I've Been

A while ago I posted about a semi-blogging hiatus and mentioned writerly things afoot.  I also said that when I returned I hoped to have news.  Well, I don't really have the news I wanted to have (yet!) but I have some things I'd like to share.  Wanna hear?

Okay, so here's where I've been.  Some of it's been writerly, some has not.  But all of it has kept me very busy:

  1. My MBA class was a bit more demanding than I would like.  I have one more week though (and just one more paper!) before I am done with it and have my MBA with a marketing emphasis. W00T!!! It's been a long time coming, I'm telling you.
  2. Lent began last Wednesday.  I work in a Catholic Church (one of my many jobs) and Easter is the busiest time of year - worse than Christmas.  Lent is the time that musicians prepare for Easter.  There's only a handful of days in the next 40 days, in fact, that I am not at some type of music rehearsal. As the music director of eight choirs for Easter, I had to be totally prepared for Lent.  Organizing music, ordering it, making sure I had the right binders for everyone, etc. really took a chunk of time this year.  But now rehearsals have started and I am getting into the routine of it all. I only mention these first two things because they impact how difficult it was to deal with the next items:
  3. Now here's what you want to know: On February 1st, I received a request to revise from a MAJOR AGENT.  I mean, like, DREAM AGENT.  I was floored.  And the revision notes totally resonated with me.  I immediately embraced them and saw how much better my story would be with those changes.  I started working on them right away. But then...
  4. The very next day, I got an offer from a small press for a 3 book deal.  I was floored.  I hadn't even submitted to them originally.  They requested my manuscript via an online contest I had entered.  And then, really??  A 3 book deal???  WOWSERS!!!  
All of this put me in a crazy position.  I still had four fulls out with agents and I really connected with MAJOR AGENT's notes.  By the time I got the 3 book deal, I no longer liked my book as it was.  But here I was stuck between a sure thing and a not-so-sure but potentially better thing.  The small press is new, but it has had some buzz and one of the agents with my full said she believed it is real up and coming. (That same agent offered me an R&R as well, by the way.)  And after my revisions were completed, I knew that MAJOR AGENT might not take me.  But she has sent me quite a few emails in the last few weeks and has always been very open and honest and wonderful and how could I not want to work with her????

So I did the hardest thing I've ever done in my writer life.  I turned down the publishing contract.  And I have spent the last few weeks pounding out the revisions.  If MAJOR AGENT doesn't sign me on, I still have the other R&R.  And I only started querying in January.  I feel confident I made the right choice and my story is only stronger for it.  

Now my revisions are done and I am returning to you, my bloggey buddies.  I've missed being part of the blogger world and am so glad to be back. 

What's been going on with you?

Monday, February 20, 2012

Blog Critique: No Water River

In this series I give constructive feedback about the look and function of an author blog from a marketing perspective. As always, I rely on help from graphic designers Tom Barnes (my hubby) and Joe LaRue. To review the blog elements we look at or to submit your own blog for critique, go here.

I've lost my voice. Seriously. I've had a sinus infection and bronchitis and am now voiceless. Being without a voice should have little impact on a blog post, but somehow it makes me just want to sit comatose in front of Facebook. I'm going to jump right into this critique so I can do just that. We're checking out No Water River then discussing below.


Um, brilliant.

That is all.

No, I'm kidding, but not really.  Because this is a very nice blog. Right away we get the feel that this is a picture book writer. Don't you? It's clean, easy to read. I love the Picture Book Library and Poetry Video Library. I adore the style of the little "Follow" icons. I'm not concerned that Renee's name is not in the title because the name of the site and everything related to the site is No Water River. 

I guess if I'm going to get picky, I'm going to have to pick on the "About" page.  I want the info about No Water River to come ahead of Renee's info. It could even be too separate pages on the navigation: "About NWR" and "About Renee".  That is one question I had right away when I visited. I wanted to know exactly what No Water River was and I had to look for it. The good thing was that I could really tell even without the explanation, but it is buried.

Another nitpicky thing: The About page says that One-word Wednesday is coming on January 11th. Well, that day's past. So that should be updated.

The "category" tool is so nifty to find the things that might interest visitors. I would move that higher. Maybe just above the email subscribe. For a resource site such as this people need to be able to find the resources right away.

Okay, one more thing on that last note. Perhaps the tag of  "the picture book and poetry place" should say "the picture book and poetry resource place". Or something like that. It took me awhile to even realize some of the things that were available and it would have been cool to know right away.

All right, I'm truly done. Great website! Any other thoughts for Renee from you awesome critiquers out there?

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Saturday Savvy Sensation: the Presidents

Today's Saturday Savvy Sensation is not one person, but a bunch. In honor of President's Day Weekend, I thought I'd share this (somewhat old) blog article about Presidents who were writers. It's an interesting read if you are a history buff at all.

I have always been a fan of Lincoln's speeches. Are any of you Presidential Writer fans?

Monday, February 13, 2012

Blog Critique: Callie Kingston

In this series I give constructive feedback about the look and function of an author blog from a marketing perspective. As always, I rely on help from graphic designers Tom Barnes (my hubby) and Joe LaRue. To review the blog elements we look at or to submit your own blog for critique, go here.

I love me some Callie Kingston. And she's today's blog critique. And I've got some different stuff to talk about in regards to her blog. So go run your little mousies over to her blog so we can get discussing below. 


Callie, I'm just going to quickly make some remarks about your actual blog so I can get to the good stuff:
  • You have a nice palette. I particularly like how it relates to the emotions and colors of your book, Undertow. 
  • But there is an awful lot of purple. Consider pulling some of pink from your sunset into your post headers.
  • Funny story about your header: Your name is in a really nice font. But older computers don't always have that font. Joe's computer had to download it and until it did, it showed your font in Comic Sans. The graphic world seems to have an intense hatred toward Comic Sans. Go ahead and google "Comic Sans" and you'll see what I mean. Joe's initial feelings to your blog were, let's just say negative, until the real font loaded. There is a way to fix that - Consider making your header a graphic. Then everyone will see the same thing no matter what. While you're at it...
  • I would love to see that background swirly feel of your cover incorporated in your header. It would make it so much more vibrant.
  • Your blog is really clean and contains pertinent info so I don't have a lot to suggest here. I do think that you need to clean up the bottom of your template. It's obvious that you just stuffed all the extras down below. I'd get rid of the networked blogs. That's not necessary when you already have a follow button. And I'd put your labels higher on the sidebar - those are important, don't bury them. 
  • Oh, one more thing: Put a link to buy your book on your sidebar under your profile. This is important! People need to see your product right away when coming to your blog.
Okay, on to the good stuff. Callie is interested in how to attract readers who don't write and who don't blog.   First, let's all take a moment to laugh out loud, because that really is the million dollar question, isn't it? 

Now that we're done laughing, it is a real valid question that all of us face. And just because there isn't one great answer doesn't mean that there aren't strategies. Many, many strategies in fact, and too many to list here. In my not-so-humble marketing expertise opinion, the reason there are so many strategies is because marketing is a very individual and personal and that is why people like me make a living by researching and giving you personalized results.  But all you creative writer types are the perfect type of people to do this yourselves. Let's walk through where I would begin this process using Callie's book.
  1. Ask yourself - who reads my book? what other books do they read? what other subjects interest them? Callie answered:  Undertow's target audience is an older YA audience and what some are calling "New Adult," so around ages 16 - 22. I also believe there's significant cross-over potential into women's fiction. If a reader enjoyed Wintergirls, they may also enjoy the combination of contemporary serious topic and a touch of supernatural in Undertow. Finally, readers who have experienced mental illness or have interest in psychological issues will appreciate the strength the protagonist displays in dealing with her circumstances.
  2. Now we get Googling.What do other authors do that attracts readers? Where are my readers on the internet? For Callie, let's start with Wintergirls. 
    1. First stop is the official website. My favorite thing to check out is the author blog. Why? Because if readers are directly communicating with the author, it's here. This is where we can learn more about them. This is also true of Author or Book Facebook pages. But before we step over to the blog, I see that Laurie Halse Anderson has info for Students and Teachers. Callie needs to read everything on these pages and steal, steal, steal! I mean, um, get ideas!   Some ideas I get from perusing this: Make a study guide for your book. Post it on your blog or website. Spam  Email teachers and university professors a blurb about your book and include a link to your resources. You can find emails on most school websites. YES, THIS TAKES WORK! MARKETING IS WORK!
    2. Now to Laurie's blog. Laurie blogs a lot about the subjects of her books. We can't all do this very successfully, but some authors can do this very well. Laurie's books are about serious subjects like anorexia and rape. By making her blog a supportive environment for these topics, she will attract potential readers through Google searches on those subjects. Some ideas for Callie: start a weekly post on psychological issues that are related to your book. You can talk about some of the things you discovered in your own research. Or, find blogs on the topics you want to discuss and ask for those bloggers to guest post. Use keywords in your blog post titles so that people interested in these subjects will find you.
    3. Next stop, Amazon. Search for Wintergirls and see what other books are recommended in that little bar that says Customers Who Bought This Also Viewed... Then do steps 1 and 2 with those books that turn up. Callie should check out If I Stay by Gayle Forman, Willow by Julia Hoban, Cut by Patricia McCormick, and so on.
  3. Back to Google.  I would now want to find out where people who read Wintergirls and these other books are posting. So this time when I search for Wintergirls I'm looking for blog posts, etc. And not author blog posts, but reader posts or comments. This is harder and may involve going several pages deep into Google results. I see Wintergirls has a MySpace page. I would peruse the comments and see if you can track down what type of people those readers are. Spend time on the sites where the fans are like this site. Reading through these posts may give you some inspiration to attract these same fans.
  4. Whew! We're tired now. And we really haven't come up with any specific strategies. But this is where we start.  This is what I would do to begin any internet marketing campaign for any book. 
Is this helpful? Do you have some other ideas for Callie or advice on her blog?

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Saturday Savvy Sensation: Nicole Ducleroir

I can't believe how much I miss all of you since I haven't been posting that often. I'm glad to be back today even if it's only to introduce today's Saturday Sensation who is Super Savvy!! And if you haven't seen her on the internet yet, I'm truly surprised. Meet, the wonderful Nicole Ducleroir.


Thank you so much for inviting me to participate in the Savvy Sensation Series, Laura. I’m thrilled to be here!

Who are you (what do you write, what are your personal stats)?
I’m a black coffee-slurping M&M-aholic who has penned forty-five short stories and sixty vignettes. My fiction is found in two anthologies and two e-zines. One creative non-fiction story won an Honorable Mention in New Millennium Magazine’s national non-fiction contest. My most recently published short will appear in Slice Literary Magazine’s upcoming Spring 2012 issue. Though I’m thrilled with the publishing success I’ve enjoyed thus far, there is an item on my literary bucket list I’ve yet to scratch off. I want, more than anything, to feel the pride and satisfaction of completing a novel-length project. The novel is a much different beast than the short story. My first attempt at long fiction boasts twenty-two chapters and a thick layer of dust. I’m currently working on attempt number two, a project I’m very excited about and working tirelessly to complete.  

Where can we find you online (blog, twitter, facebook, etc.)?
Here’s my Internet 411. Visit any time!
My writer’s blog ~ One Significant Moment at a time (http://nicoleducleroir.blogspot.com)
Twitter ~ @NicoleDwrites (https://twitter.com/#!/NicoleDwrites)
Facebook ~ Nicole Ducleroir (https://www.facebook.com/nicole.ducleroir)
Writing.com Portfolio ~ (My username is heftynicki. Yeah, long story…) (http://www.writing.com/main/portfolio/view/heftynicki)
Amazon Author Central ~ Nicole Ducleroir (http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004JNZBLW)

When did you begin your online platform building?
I launched my blog in late December 2009 before I learned the term “writer’s online platform.” I was such a newbie! At the time, I was vehemently opposed to social networking, (mostly because I knew my sisters used Facebook as a family feud battlefield. No thanks!) In the first six months of blogging, I discovered the vast and supportive community of writers and found my blogger’s voice. By summer 2010 my perspective on networking had shifted. I realized the advantages at this point in my career to expanding my online presence, notably: to give and receive inspiration from other writers, to build relationships with critique partners, and to explore the merits of different markets, agents, and publishers as deemed by industry insiders. I dipped my toe in the social site pool with a Twitter account and quickly found all my blogging buddies. Within two weeks, I’d created profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn.

What is your message, if any (is your blog about anything specific, for example)?
One Significant Moment at a Time is a place where I authenticate myself as a writer. By that, I mean it’s the public platform where I share my writer’s life, celebrate my successes, and admit my shortcomings. I believe putting inspiration out into the universe is a surefire way to receive inspiration. So my message, which is foremost for me, is also for all writers visiting my blog: If you want to be an author, you have only to do two things every day. Say it! Proclaim yourself an author.  And do it! Write,write,write.  Every post I write communicates, in some way, how I find the courage to do those two things in my own life.

How have you built your followers? What have you done that has been the most successful?
I understood early on that to build a following, I had to create a steady flow of traffic to my blog. First, I sought out other writer blogs and followed them. When I left a comment on one blog, I chose one or two of the other comments I read there and followed the avatars to those people’s blogs. I followed and commented, then perused those commentators, etc. Generally, all those people would follow me back. It’s important to repeat visits and leave several comments, really get to know the people who you are following. Sincerity counts when you’re building a following. Next, I participated in blog hops and passed around blogging awards. Both activities drew attention to my blog while I got to promote other people’s blogs, and traffic to my site increased. The writer’s community is generous and almost everyone is interested in following each other. Building a following is easy as long as you are willing to put your time and energy into reciprocating the visits, comments, and following you receive.

What have you done that has failed?
The biggest mistake I’ve made as a blogger is trying to do too much every day. As I followed more and more blogs, I felt a responsibility to visit as many of them as I could. Most days in the first year of my blog, I averaged visiting forty or fifty blogs a day. It was a daily race against the clock, and I became increasingly stressed out. And time blogging was time I wasn’t writing. Other writers were announcing completed manuscripts, landed agents, and acquired book deals. I finally had to realize I was building a platform for nothing if I wasn’t writing. It was excruciating to take a summer off from blogging, but I needed to do it. After taking a step back, I have a more manageable blogging schedule and I don’t pressure myself to visit more blogs than I can handle. I have less daily traffic to my blog now. But when the time comes to promote that yet unwritten book, I know the community will respond exponentially as I increase my presence.

As I'm taking a little break right now myself, I really appreciate that last comment. :)

How much time do you spend blogging? Reading blogs? Commenting on blogs?
These days I post twice a week on my blog. I don’t have a strict schedule, except to not post two days in a row. The reason why is this: I’m thrilled when I receive comments on a post, and I make every effort to visit those commentator’s blogs within 48 hours and leave them comments. And as far as reading blogs, I like to go to my dashboard and read through the five most recently posted blogs. I do the same at Networked Blogs. That way, I hit a minimum of ten blogs a day, usually more. And I read my cyber BFFs’ blogs on my blogroll several times a week. One rule I hold myself to: If I read a post, I always leave a comment. Even if it’s just to say ‘hey,’ I want bloggers to know I was there and enjoyed reading their thoughts.

What else should we know about you?
I have a lot of God-given talents but juggling isn’t one of them. I can’t toss three oranges in the air without dropping one of them, and the same is true with managing my daily schedule. Yep, if items on my to-do list were fruit, there’d be lots of sticky orange juice on my floors every.single.day. *sigh*

Any additional advice for our readers?
My blog evolved over the years as I came to understand my own voice and as I discovered, through visiting other sites, those things which I feel do not help a blog be successful. For example, I love color. But I realized that for my site to convey a creative AND professional personality, I needed to streamline the format and use splashes of color in a way that doesn’t distract or annoy. On average twice a year, I like to create a new header banner for my blog, always with lots of color. But I always keep the blog background white, with the palest of blues to help compartmentalize the three columns, in lieu of harsh vertical lines. I think as you hone your blogger’s voice, it’s also important to play with the appearance of your blog until you find exactly the look that speaks to you and that conveys to your readers the kind of public personality you want to portray.

What makes you unique?
Although I grew up in upstate New York where I was not introduced to any outside culture, I’ve become quite an international person in my adult life. After college, I lived in Los Angeles for two years and then Washington D.C. for two more. From there, I joined the Peace Corps and worked for two and a half years in the Central African Republic as a Community Health Extensionist. A year into my service, I met my husband. He is French and was working for an Italian road construction company contracted by the World Bank. Later, we were married in France where we lived for close to five years. Our two children were born there. We scrape every penny to fund trips to Europe so our children will remain intimate with their cultural roots. The writer in me is eternally grateful for all these experiences. They are rich fodder for my fiction today!

Thanks so much for being here, Nicole! I know we'll see a novel of your soon the shelves soon. You've got very realistic goals and great advice. Congrats on all your successes so far!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Blog Critique: Artzicarol Ramblings

In this series I give constructive feedback about the look and function of an author blog from a marketing perspective. As always, I rely on help from graphic designers Tom Barnes (my hubby) and Joe LaRue. To review the blog elements we look at or to submit your own blog for critique, go here.

Today's critique takes us to Artizicarol Ramblings by the amazing Carol Riggs.  Carol is another blogger that I feel very close to (hi, Carol!) and so, yeah, I got a little nervous when I went it came time to critique her wonderful blog. You may all know Carol too, but if you don't, go on over and sneak a peek at her blog so we can discuss it.

I shouldn't have been nervous. I have to admit, Carol, I've been reading your blog through Google Reader for so long that I haven't been to your actual blog in quite awhile. You've really implemented everything I'm always harping on. I'm not going to spend a lot of time highlighting all the pluses though, because I have some other things to talk to you about. First, a few minor suggestions:
  • You may have no control over it, but we'd like your header to be a little wider. It's great! just a little off balance.
  • The color of your dates is outside the palette. A blue color would be more appropriate, but then you wouldn't be able to see it on the blue background. We'd actually like to see the date within the post box to fix this. Otherwise, perhaps use the darker blue that you use in your sidebar.
  • The light lilac or purplish color you use on your post backgrounds would look nice if you could bring it in your sidebar as well.
  • I would like a background behind your profile. It's too important of a piece of your blog and gets just a tad bit hidden in the blue background.
  • Your "Want a Critique?" box bothers me because the first line of the paragraph is indented. It makes it look a little off center. I would keep it left justified so the heading looks centered above the whole block.
Um, wow. That's it. I don't even mind your blog awards on your sidebar because they look very clean and are appropriately placed below everything else.

What I'd really like to talk about is what you plan on doing next in terms of marketing yourself. You have an agent, you're about to go out on submission (right?), so you haven't sold your book yet. At this point, what should your blog be doing for you? 

This answer isn't a concrete one. Of course your main focus should be on polishing up that book for submission. But the minute you send it off, during those weeks or months of WAITING, I recommend you work on driving your numbers up. You have awesome, informative posts, and an attractive blog, get people reading your posts. I don't imagine that you need to know how but for other people who want some ideas, here's three:
  1. Visit new blogs and leave comments.
  2. Hold a contest getting people to tweet and facebook your blog.
  3. Join a blogfest.
I realize these are time consuming tasks (why do you think I'm not doing them?), but it is where I would go next with Artzicarol Ramblings.

What do you suggest for Carol? You know she wants to hear from you. :)

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Promotion Before Publishing

Well, hmm...I was supposed to have a Savvy Sensation today, but I didn't get her interview questions back in time (hint, she's a very busy woman!). So, instead, I'm sharing a lovely link that all you UNpublished authors should check out:


It's great advice. How many are you doing? (I'm asking you instead of telling you what I'm doing because I'm sort of failing, myself!)

Friday, February 3, 2012

I'm going MIA

I am officially going MIA for the next few weeks. I will still be back with Saturday Savvy Sensations and my blog critiques, but the rest of the time I'm going to be busy elsewhere.

What am I busy with, you ask? All I can say right now is that I am in the middle of HUGE writerly things that I can't really go into yet. But I'm hoping that when I return, I will have NEWS!

See you then :)
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