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August 11, 2019 By Anne R. Allen 41 Comments

Hometown Book Marketing: How to be a Star Author in your Hometown

Hometown Book Marketing: How to be a Star Author in your Hometown

Book marketing–we all have to do it. Don’t neglect your hometown! by Sue McGinty Whether you’re an indie or traditionally published writer, you can do a lot to promote and sell your book in and around your hometown. Here are some things that have worked for me. Get acquainted with the folks at your local […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Writing Life Tagged With: Hometown book marketing, Sue McGinty

July 28, 2019 By Anne R. Allen 38 Comments

Razzle-Dazzle: The Art and Craft of the Elevator Pitch

Razzle-Dazzle: The Art and Craft of the Elevator Pitch

Elevator pitch: Can you sell your book in one quick phrase? by Ruth Harris Give ’em the old razzle dazzle Razzle dazzle ’em Give ’em an act with lots of flash in it And the reaction will be passionate What works on Broadway in the hit musical, Chicago, also works for selling a book because you […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: book hook, Elevator pitch, Ruth Harris, The Chanel Caper

July 14, 2019 By Anne R. Allen 66 Comments

How to Waste Money When Self-Publishing a Book

How to Waste Money When Self-Publishing a Book

by Nate Hoffelder Self-publishing a book can get quite expensive. A good cover designer can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, and the editorial costs can set you back even more. While there are many important expenses, there are also many ways to spend money and get nothing useful in return. For example, take the […]

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Filed Under: Scams and Alerts for Writers, Self-Publishing, Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: Book Marketing, indie publishing, Nate Hoffelder

June 23, 2019 By Anne R. Allen 133 Comments

We’re all Bozos on this Bus: 10 Lessons from 10 Years of Blogging

We’re all Bozos on this Bus: 10 Lessons from 10 Years of Blogging

by Anne R. Allen Ooops. I seem to have missed my 10-year blogiversary! I posted my first attempt at blogging on Friday, March 13, 2009. Yes, Friday the 13th. Apparently I have a need to tempt fate. But I immediately lost the blog for about three months, and didn’t write my second post until June […]

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Filed Under: Blogging for Authors, Social Media and Marketing For Writers, Writers Dealing with Reviews and Rejection Tagged With: Author blogs, Blog community, blogging for authors, The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors

May 12, 2019 By Anne R. Allen 57 Comments

What’s Your Author Persona? How to Be Yourself Online—Only Better

What’s Your Author Persona? How to Be Yourself Online—Only Better

by Anne R. Allen I blog often about an author’s online presence and the importance of keeping your image squeaky clean, especially when you’re starting a writing career. That image is sometimes called your “author persona.” Artists have always had personas—an image they project when they are in public. It may involve a way of […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Writing Life Tagged With: author persona, Catherine Ryan Hyde, Chuck Wendig, How to Be a Writer in the E-Age, Ruth Harris

April 7, 2019 By Anne R. Allen 18 Comments

How to Write a Memoir: 14 Tips for Writing Memoir That Sells

How to Write a Memoir: 14 Tips for Writing Memoir That Sells

by Anne R. Allen In a much-shared article titled “Why Your Memoir Won’t Sell,” former Writer’s Digest editor Jane Friedman listed the things that will trigger an agent or publisher to reject a memoir by a non-celebrity. A lot of people working on memoirs have been pretty discouraged by it. But you don’t have to […]

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Filed Under: Self-Publishing, Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business, Writing Craft Tagged With: creative nonfiction, do’s and don’ts for writing a memoir, Eldonna Edwards, how to write a memoir, Marnie Summerfield Smith, writing memoir that sells

March 10, 2019 By Anne R. Allen 41 Comments

Google Plus Shuffles off its Mortal Coil: Have You Un-Googled?

Google Plus Shuffles off its Mortal Coil: Have You Un-Googled?

The dying Google Plus. Will its demise affect you?  by Anne R. Allen If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you probably know I’ve had something of a love-hate relationship with Google Plus. It was clunky and annoying, but I recommended it as a way to get blogposts noticed by the Google search […]

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Filed Under: Blogging for Authors, Social Media and Marketing For Writers Tagged With: Blog comments, Blogger, Google Plus, Google+, The Gatsby Game

February 17, 2019 By Anne R. Allen 94 Comments

Should Writers Despair If We Don’t Have Superfans?

Should Writers Despair If We Don’t Have Superfans?

The elusive Author Superfan, and the epidemic of braggy-beggy newsletters.  by Anne R. Allen I keep reading about them. People swear they exist. But I’ve never met one. Or even seen its elusive footprint. No, I’m not talking about Bigfoot. I’m talking about the author Superfan. Lots of publishing experts I respect are saying we […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: Author Newsletters, Catherine Ryan Hyde, How to Be a Writer in the E-Age, Social Media Marketing, Superfans

February 3, 2019 By Anne R. Allen 73 Comments

Your Online Presence: 10 Mistakes for Authors to Avoid

Your Online Presence: 10 Mistakes for Authors to Avoid

by Anne R. Allen These days, an author’s online presence is of vital importance to a career, whether we’re published or planning to publish. Whether we’re indie, hybrid, or trad-pubbed, it’s not only essential to be easy to find online, but we need to keep a professional presence and guard our author brand and reputation. […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business, Writers Dealing with Reviews and Rejection Tagged With: Coalesce Bookstore, Googling Old Boyfriends, Morro Bay, online presence, reputation management, Social Media

January 20, 2019 By Anne R. Allen 43 Comments

Guest Blogging is the Best FREE Publicity for Writers: 12 Tips for Landing Effective Guest Blog Spots.

Guest Blogging is the Best FREE Publicity for Writers: 12 Tips for Landing Effective Guest Blog Spots.

Guest Blogging: learn to target the right blogs and write a good query by Anne R. Allen Most author marketing gurus will tell you that guest blogging is one of the best ways to promote your book. Beth Hayden wrote on Jane Friedman’s blog about the many ways guest blogging builds platform and sells books. […]

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Filed Under: Blogging for Authors, Social Media and Marketing For Writers Tagged With: Blog tours, Guest blogging, How to be a good blog guest, Sherwood Ltd.

January 6, 2019 By Anne R. Allen 87 Comments

New Writing Scams to Look Out for in 2019

New Writing Scams to Look Out for in 2019

Predators are on the lookout for scammable new or discouraged writers. by Anne R. Allen As long as there are writers, there will be writing scams. Hungry predators will always be lying in wait, ready to pounce on any tender young scribe who strays from the safety of the mainstream herd. And now there are […]

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Filed Under: Scams and Alerts for Writers, Social Media and Marketing For Writers Tagged With: Author scams, Author Solutions, junk marketing, Writer Beware

November 11, 2018 By Anne R. Allen 44 Comments

New Book Marketing: The Bad Girl’s List for Book Launch Success

New Book Marketing: The Bad Girl’s List for Book Launch Success

New Book Marketing: how today’s author launches a book. By Melodie Campbell New Book!!  Gak – I have a new book coming out January 29.  The Goddaughter Does Vegas is number 6 in an award-winning series (Derringer and Arthur Ellis – yay!)  Because of that, I do have some expectation of sales from previous readers of […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: book launch, Book Marketing, Melodie Campbell, The Bootlegger's Goddaughter

October 14, 2018 By Anne R. Allen 37 Comments

What You’re Doing Wrong on Twitter and How to Make It Right

What You’re Doing Wrong on Twitter and How to Make It Right

Twitter is important for authors, but not for direct sales.  by Rachel Thompson (@BadRedheadMedia)   Twitter is a terrible selling channel… …if your goal is to spam your book links and hope for the best. Most writers write their book and then realize, oh hey, there are millions of potential readers just waiting to buy […]

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Filed Under: Social Media and Marketing For Writers Tagged With: BadReadheadmedia, Book Marketing, Book Marketing Challenge, Rachel Thompson, Twitter rules

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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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