Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Anne R. Allen So what’s this about missing reviews? Go to any author forum or social media group for writers and you’ll see the plaintive posts: “Help! My Amazon reviews are disappearing.” “Amazon rejected my review because they say I ‘know’ the author. I don’t. All I did was friend her on Facebook!” “Amazon […]
by Anne R. Allen Last week I wrote about five delusions that can keep a new writer from professional success. I admit to succumbing to most of them myself at one time or another. Writers need to be a little delusional to embark on a road that we know is fraught with obstacles. It’s the […]
by Anne R. Allen We writers tend to get a tad delusional about our own work. Most of us know the average writer doesn’t make great money, but we secretly believe our own efforts will bring us fabulous fame and fortune. When we start out, we can’t help visualizing our books leapfrogging over all the […]
by Anne R. Allen Should I pay to copyright my manuscript? Will a publisher or agent steal my plot from a query? How can I protect my ideas? We get asked these questions a lot. Until recently, our standard answer was: “Stop worrying about it. Your work is automatically copyrighted as soon as you type […]
by Anne R. Allen “Blogging doesn’t sell books.” “Don’t waste your time blogging.” “Make book trailers! Email those newsletters! Spend more time on Pinterest and Instagram! Blogging is so over!” I’m hearing this stuff every day. But I still think a blog is one of the best uses of an author’s time. Even if […]
We’ve got a must-read guest post for you this week. David Congalton, screenwriter and radio superstar here on the Central Coast of California, tells us how to be a good radio guest. Radio is still essential to book promotion in the digital age. Most car-commuters still listen to broadcast or satellite radio and the popularity of […]
We’re jazzed to have a visit this week from one of the most respected journalists in the publishing industry. Porter Anderson‘s resumé includes CNN, The Dallas Times Herald, and the Village Voice. He also writes for online biggies like Writer Unboxed, ThoughtCatalog, and FutureBook. He visits most of the major publishing industry conferences worldwide […]
by Anne R. Allen So you think you want to write a novel? You’re not alone. According to a New York Times study done a decade ago, 81% of Americans “think they have a book in them”. With the indie ebook revolution, I’m sure the percentage has grown. Of course, most of that 81% won’t ever write […]
by Anne R. Allen Everybody keeps telling authors we should blog. But for a lot of new authors, the challenge of a blog is daunting. How can we write our books if we’re spending every day blogging? You can’t. And you shouldn’t. If you think you have to blog every day, or even every […]
by Ruth Harris No two ways about it, writers: you ARE going to suffer. How do I know? Because I’m a writer and all of these things—or variations of them—have happened to me. You will get one-star reviews. Your book will be rejected by the editor who “loves” you and your work. The hotshot […]
by Anne R. Allen Last month the Seattle Times reported that Amazon is suing a bunch of paid review mills. Unfortunately, many paid review sites don’t feel they’re doing anything wrong. A spokesman for one of the companies Amazon is suing said: “We are not selling fake reviews. However we do provide Unbiased and […]
by Anne R. Allen Mashable reported this week that the buzzword of the moment is “snackable content”—described as “bite-sized chunks of info that can be quickly ‘consumed’ by its audience.” That’s why short fiction is hot. Ditto creative nonfiction essays. But the word hasn’t reached all writers. Recently I saw a newbie writer ask for […]
by Anne R. Allen Having a popular blog has helped me feel a lot of empathy with agents and publishers. That’s because Ruth and I get a ton of queries, too. Most of ours are from authors or publicists who want a blog tour promotion, guest blog spot, or a book review. Some want us […]
