by Anne R. Allen Whether you’re a freelance journalist trying to place an article, a novelist looking for literary representation, or an indie author seeking reviews and/or guest post gigs, every writer needs to learn to write a smart, short, compelling query letter. (And no, it can’t be a Tweet or personal message on […]
Self-Editing 101—13 Questions to Ask Yourself about Your Opening Chapter

By Anne R. Allen This is usually Ruth’s week to post, but she’s busy proofing galleys of her much-anticipated new novel The Chanel Caper. And next weekend, I’ll be busy teaching THE TECH-SAVVY AUTHOR workshop. So we switched. On March 3rd, look for Ruth’s post on why we like a tough, flinty heroine. OK, […]
12 Social Media Mistakes for Authors to Avoid
by Anne R. Allen Are you “building platform” or just annoying people? This week, author Mary W. Walters blogged that promoting your books on Facebook and Twitter is a total waste of time for book sales. That’s because Social Media is not for selling books. It’s for making friends—friends we hope will help us in our […]
Are You Neglecting This Important Book Sales Tool? 5 Steps to a Great Product Description

Today we have some valuable advice from Mark Edwards, one of the superstar authors who made indie publishing the powerful movement it has become. He and Louise Voss made history when their self-pubbed books soared to the top of the UK bestseller lists and got them a big-money deal with HarperCollins. One of the secrets […]
Why You Should Google Yourself: It’s Not Vain—It’s Good Business

by Anne R. Allen First: Many thanks to Writers Digest editor Robert Lee Brewer, who put this blog in his list of “Blogs that Rock” in his BEST BLOGS FOR WRITERS TO READ IN 2013 this week. Yes, you should do frequent Internet searches of your own name. I have to laugh when I see writers apologizing on their […]
5 Blogging Rules Authors Can Ignore…and 5 You Can’t

by Anne R. Allen Do all aspiring authors need to blog? The answer used to be: Only the ones who want to get published. Now, agents and publishers are letting up on the requirement. Recently, agent Rachelle Gardner changed her stance on blogs.“A few years ago, the standard wisdom was that authors, both fiction […]
The Number One Mistake New Writers Make

by Anne R. Allen Most complaints about authors by agents and editors as well as reviewers can be boiled down to the same offense. It’s the major reason so many reviewers won’t read self-published books by unknowns. What is that mistake? Rushing to publish too early. Nobody wants to read a rough draft. Your […]
Online Book Reviews: Games People Play

by Anne R. Allen Last year I wrote a post about the importance of writing Amazon reviews that caused something of a poop-storm in the bookish corners of Cyberia. Although most readers—especially in my own Boomer demographic—were grateful for the post, a furious minority exploded in fits of high dudgeon. I even got death threats […]
The Secret Writing Rule Book…and Why to Ignore It

by Anne R. Allen Somerset Maugham famously said, “There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are.” But pretty much everybody you meet in this business will tell you there are a whole bunch. (One is “never start a sentence with ‘there are’” —so watch yourself, Mr. Maugham.) I recently read […]
Social Media Overload: How Do Authors Reach READERS? Advice from Bestselling Romance Author Roni Loren

by Roni Loren If there is one question that all writers would love to have a definitive answer to, it’d be: How do I reach my current readers and attract new readers? For many of us, the most practical place is online. We don’t have the funds to fly around the country for […]
Self-Publishing or Traditional Publishing? Which is the Right First Step for YOU?
by Anne R. Allen The list of million-seller “indie” authors is growing every day. Self-publishing has not only become mainstream—it’s edgy and cool. Persuasive blogs by self-publishing stars like Joe Konrath, Dean Wesley Smith, David Gaughran and Kris Rusch have inspired a staggering number of new writers to self-publish in the past two years. […]
Indie Publishing: Why We Can’t Party Like It’s 2009

by Anne R. Allen Amazon’s Kindle turned five years old last week. What an exciting half-decade it’s been! Jeff Bezos showed his genius when he gave his e-reader that name. The device sparked a conflagration that is still pretty much out of control. The old publishing world is in chaos, and nobody has a […]
What’s Next in Publishing? Literary Agent Laurie McLean Looks Ahead to 2013

This week, we’re honored to host Laurie McLean, a senior agent at the Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency who is also a pioneer in the indie revolution. Since she’s been pretty good at predicting the big changes in the publishing industry in recent years, I asked her to look into her crystal ball and tell us […]
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