Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Anne R. Allen Two weeks ago, I posted a helpful piece from children’s author Sarah Allen about using Substack. A Substack newsletter is the trendiest way for authors to communicate with readers right now. But here I am, still blogging, with no newsletter, much less a fancy Substack one. In fact, this is my […]
by Sarah Allen To say that our online world looks different now than it did a decade ago is a wild understatement. In ye olden social media days of yore, the people who clicked to follow you actually saw your content. Feeds were in chronological order. Twitter was called Twitter and was a genuinely […]
by Penny Sansevieri Amazon ads are a very popular go-to for the majority of authors and we know it’s a big revenue driver for Amazon. But do Amazon ads make money for authors? In some cases, yes, but sadly the majority of authors aren’t using the platform in a way that benefits them. And […]
by Anne R. Allen How do you plan an in-person book event that people actually want to attend? That is — people who are not your family, friends, or coerced co-workers? Should you sign books, maybe while offering coffee and cookies? Or should you offer a reading, where you read aloud from your book? […]
by Leah Paulos Many authors would rather chew off their own arm than stand in the spotlight promoting a book. They say things like, “I don’t want to seem narcissistic,” “I hate being like, ‘Me, me, me!’” or “I just want to write.’” If this describes you, I am here to explain why — and […]
by Anne R. Allen Talk about self-publishing has diminished in the last few years. Most of the “Kindle Millionaires” that surged onto the scene a decade or so ago have evaporated from indie writing communities. Some of them are, of course, busy writing their next bestseller. But a lot either got traditional publishing contracts, […]
by Anne R. Allen Social media etiquette? Does such a thing even exist anymore? When on any given day your eyeballs can be hit with posts glorifying genocide, disinformation, and alpha-thug rapists and traffickers? The answer is yes. Even though social media feels more and more like an airplane headed for a large mountain, […]
by Anne R. Allen I see terrible advice in online writing groups and blog comments all the time. Sometimes I step in and gently disagree. But mostly I don’t. Arguing with people on social media is an exercise in futility. So I get to express my opinions here. It’s great to make friends on […]
by Ruth Harris The Tyranny Of The Time Stamp. We all live under the lash of the digital clock and the tyranny of the time stamp. It’s not just us, it’s everyone everywhere — Fast food and even faster fashion. Pro chess players have 2 minutes to make their moves. On each move 12 seconds […]
by Vasalysa Zaturets You can write an award-worthy story, but nobody will find it out if your book cover design doesn’t appeal to the target audience. Book cover design matters, and here’s why: It creates the first impression and proves that the story deserves the readers’ time and money. No advertising campaign is possible […]
by Anne R. Allen These days, pretty much all writers need to learn to write Web content. Yes, even if you’re a Victorian romance author whose readers care more about reticules and spatterdashers than retweets and SEO. Even if you don’t have your own blog. Any website needs content. Plus you may want to […]
You can market your book with these 10 strategies By Rachel Thompson It can be daunting for authors when you have no idea how to market your book, yet it is essential to get your book in front of readers to make it successful. Here are the most important and effective book marketing strategies […]
Website Mistakes Can Lose Book Sales by Nate Hoffelder No matter what industry you are in, the tech you use every day requires regular maintenance. You take your car in every few thousand miles. The office copier gets monthly visits from the service tech. And the software you’re using to write your next book gets […]
