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June 19, 2022 By Anne R. Allen 33 Comments

Why the Last Page of Your Novel is as Important as the First

Why the Last Page of Your Novel is as Important as the First

by Anne R. Allen Mickey Spillane famously said “They read to get to the end. If it’s a letdown, they won’t buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book.” I can see the creative writing students rolling their eyes. Mickey Spillane wasn’t exactly a great prose stylist. But […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, Writing Craft Tagged With: Anne R. Allen, Famous last lines, How to finish a novel, The Gatsby Game

May 29, 2022 By Anne R. Allen 36 Comments

6 Ways Your Author Bio Can Help You Sell Books

6 Ways Your Author Bio Can Help You Sell Books

Why you should write that author bio now by Ruth Harris The book you poured your heart into languishes on your hard drive like the wallflower at the dance — slumped shoulders, wilted corsage and all. Your crit group tries to be encouraging, but the message is clear. Go to plumbing school/welding school where you will learn […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: author bios, Code Name OK-Ultra, How to Write an Author Bio, Ruth Harris

May 22, 2022 By Anne R. Allen 49 Comments

How Bad Marketing Can Destroy Your Author Brand, Lose Friends, and Influence Nobody

How Bad Marketing Can Destroy Your Author Brand, Lose Friends, and Influence Nobody

by Anne R. Allen Bad marketing is worse than none. And I’ve seen some breathtakingly bad marketing strategies recently. I assume authors are hiring cut-rate online marketers who have more experience selling real estate in Mumbai and knock-off designer sunglasses than books. Do I need to say this is a bad idea? Being annoying may […]

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Filed Under: Scams and Alerts for Writers, Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: Anne R. Allen, author branding, Book Marketing, DIY marketing, junk marketing, The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors

May 1, 2022 By Anne R. Allen 33 Comments

Should a Debut Indie Author Pay a Company for Book Marketing?

Should a Debut Indie Author Pay a Company for Book Marketing?

by Anne R. Allen One of the worst crimes publishing scammers perpetrate on new authors is bullying them into buying junk “book marketing packages.” Often these cost astronomical fees — $10,000 and more. The useless book marketing the scammers push involve Tweets (which haven’t sold books for over a decade), presence at book fairs (where […]

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Filed Under: Self-Publishing, Social Media and Marketing For Writers Tagged With: Book marketers, indie authors, The Camilla Randall Mysteries boxed set

April 17, 2022 By Anne R. Allen 53 Comments

Why Every Writer Needs a Social Media Executor, NOW!

Why Every Writer Needs a Social Media Executor, NOW!

  by Anne R. Allen Social Media Executor? That may not be a term you’re familiar with, but believe me, you need one. That hit home for me this week after the tragic death of my friend, the kind, talented, funny author Barbara Silkstone. I hadn’t heard from her for a month or two, so […]

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Filed Under: E-Books and Technology for Writers, Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Writing Life Tagged With: Barbara Silkstone, Facebook memorial page, Social Media Executor, social media ghost, The Lady of the Lakewood Diner

January 16, 2022 By Anne R. Allen 47 Comments

7 Deadly Query Sins: How to Write a Query That Won’t End Up in Spam

7 Deadly Query Sins: How to Write a Query That Won’t End Up in Spam

by  Anne R. Allen When a writer complains that everybody in traditional publishing is crooked, or that the whole industry is rigged against new writers, you can usually be sure the author’s manuscript needs work. But it could also be that he doesn’t know how to write a query. I know some excellent writers who […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: Anne R. Allen, how to write a query, queries, The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors

November 21, 2021 By Anne R. Allen 28 Comments

How Authors Can Create a Reader Connection

How Authors Can Create a Reader Connection

Make a solid reader connection and they’ll spread the word about your books *** I’d like to thank Penny Sansevieri for stepping in this week, while I have spent some exciting time in the hospital having fun medical adventures. It turns out what I have is “just” sciatica, a fiendishly painful thing that happens to […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers Tagged With: From Book to Bestseller, Penny Sansevieri

October 17, 2021 By Anne R. Allen 71 Comments

Chapter Titles Are a Great Marketing Tool in the Age of E-Books

Chapter Titles Are a Great Marketing Tool in the Age of E-Books

by Anne R. Allen “Chapter titles!?” sez you. What is this, the 18th century? What am I supposed to write? Something like this? Chapter the first, in which our hero is born, discovers that fire is hot, learns to pull up his own breeches, and slays a smallish dragon. Hey, those 18th century writers knew […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, Writing Craft Tagged With: Anne R. Allen, Book titles, Chapter titles, Look Inside, So Much for Buckingham

August 29, 2021 By Anne R. Allen 38 Comments

Some Unconventional Advice About How to Write the D*mn Blurb

Some Unconventional Advice About How to Write the D*mn Blurb

by Ruth Harris Your blurb (aka Production Description on Amazon) has one — and only one — purpose:  to make the reader an offer s/he can’t refuse. How do I know? Because over the years, I’ve written hundreds — more likely thousands — of blurbs. From the slush pile to the editor’s office. When I started […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: Amazon product description, book blurb, book description, how to write a blurb, Modern Women, Ruth Harris

August 8, 2021 By Anne R. Allen 20 Comments

How to Build an ARC Review Team for your Book Launch

How to Build an ARC Review Team for your Book Launch

An ARC review team helps launch a book effectively by Dave Chesson As authors, we need reviews. There’s no way of getting around it. While it doesn’t appear that reviews directly affect things like the Amazon algorithm, reviews are still a crucial tool to sell books. For example, if you’re trying to choose between a […]

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Filed Under: Self-Publishing, Social Media and Marketing For Writers Tagged With: ARC Reviewers, book launch, Book Reviews, Dave Chesson

August 1, 2021 By Anne R. Allen 53 Comments

Maintaining an Author Blog is Easier Than You Think.

Maintaining an Author Blog is Easier Than You Think.

An author blog gets Google’s attention by Anne R. Allen Should all authors blog? Of course not. We’re all different and we write for different audiences. There are lots of ways to establish an online presence. Anne Rice does a good deal of publicity from her Facebook page, and Stephen King is big on Twitter. […]

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Filed Under: Blogging for Authors, Social Media and Marketing For Writers Tagged With: Allen, Anne R, blogging for authors, The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors

July 25, 2021 By Anne R. Allen 33 Comments

How Amazon and Bookbub Will Help You Sell Books–FREE

How Amazon and Bookbub Will Help You Sell Books–FREE

Amazon and Bookbub offer great marketing tools. And they’re free! by Ruth Harris Yeah, we know… A BookBub feature will rocket your book skyward. Stacked promos can help you tickle the algos and ride the tsunami. A great launch strategy well executed can get your book a bestseller badge. But all these options are pricey—especially […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: Amazon author page, BookBub, Bookbub reviews, Ruth Harris, The Big Six-Oh

July 18, 2021 By Anne R. Allen 36 Comments

Authors: Want to Be a Bigger Fish? Try a Smaller Pond. Regional Fiction Sells!

Authors: Want to Be a Bigger Fish? Try a Smaller Pond. Regional Fiction Sells!

by Anne R. Allen One of our most popular posts in recent years has been a guest post from mystery author Sue McGinty. She wrote about Hometown Marketing, and the importance of getting our books known in our own communities. It helps if you’ve written those books with that community in mind. Not just to […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: Academic Body, Anne R. Allen, Hometown book marketing, regional publishers, Shirley S. Allen, Sue McGinty

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writers digest 101 best websites for writers award

Anne R. AllenAnne R. Allen writes funny mysteries and how-to-books for writers. She also writes poetry and short stories on occasion. She’s a contributor to Writer’s Digest and the Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market.

Her bestselling Camilla Randall Mystery Series features perennially down-on-her-luck former socialite Camilla Randall—who is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way.

Ruth Harris NYT best selling authorRuth is a million-copy New York Times bestselling author, Romantic Times award winner, former Big 5 editor, publisher, and news junkie.

Her emotional, entertaining women’s fiction and critically praised novels have sold millions of copies in hard cover, paperback and ebook editions, been translated into 19 languages, sold in 30 countries, and were prominent selections of leading book clubs including the Literary Guild and the Book Of The Month Club.

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