Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
Social media is about being sociable. by Frances Caballo. Dan Zarrella, author of The Science of Marketing, said in his book, “I’ve long been interested in the idea that engaging in conversation is the single most important function of social media marketing.” He’s right. And so is David Alston, a startup advisor and TEDx speaker. He […]
By Anne R. Allen. This week, Jane Friedman reports some bad news for new novelists who want to go the traditional publishing route. She says fiction markets are increasingly “more competitive and risk-averse due to continued dwindling sales.” And she tells us that agents and publishers are now combing queries looking for “authors who demonstrate they […]
Aggression, greed, and paranoia do not enhance your author brand. by Anne R. Allen Recently there’s been a bizarre drama going on in the book world. It’s been given the name #cockygate, because it involves a cocky author who managed to trademark the word “cocky” in a deluded attempt to eliminate the “competition” and “protect” […]
Amazon’s paid review crackdown may have punished “over a million” innocent customers. by Anne R. Allen My inbox has been bursting with unsolicited emails for the past few weeks. I must be on a new list of “easy prey” circulating in the the author-scamming community. Several sleazy guys with dodgy language skills have hit me […]
Social media marketing sells books…if you do it right! by Barb Drozdowich Did the title catch your attention? I’m older and the word “Dork” speaks to me. I didn’t grow up with social media in my life. The phone that I talked on was still attached to the wall. A smart phone and communicating electronically […]
It turns out authors make lots of website mistakes. by Gill Andrews You didn’t sign up for this. Writing and sharing your ideas with others – sure. But this website thing? You just wanted more people to read your stories. But now you spend hours agonizing over blog post topics, looking for free images, and […]
Don’t kill book sales dead with a less than enticing “look inside” sample. by Anne R. Allen I never have as much time to read as I think I will, and my trusty old Kindle is pretty loaded up. So I’m a picky book-buyer. Unfortunately, there are a lot of readers like me out here, […]
The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors is here! by Anne R. Allen I’ve made some spectacular blunders in my blogging career. But since we learn from our mistakes, I’ve got a boatload of information now. As Ruth and I say: “We made the mistakes so you don’t have to.” The worst decision I […]
Social Media can feel like a monster. Here’s how to slay it. by Chris Syme When it comes to book marketing, there is no bigger potential time waster than social media. There are approximately 210 social media sites listed on Wikipedia (global numbers). Of those 210, there are about ten that you can probably name […]
Ben Franklin used many pen names. Should you? by Anne R. Allen Should you use different pen names if you write in different genres? Do you need to write under a pseudonym because people at work might find out you write steamy romances? Is it easier to write freely if you hide your real identity […]
Popups proliferate like Tribbles, but they’re not as cute. by Anne R. Allen Studies tell us the popup is the most hated form of marketing on the Web. A popup is the contemporary version of those phone calls that used to interrupt your life just as you were sitting down to a family dinner. The […]
Everybody listens to podcasts, but do they sell books? by Allison Tait Podcasts. It seems as though everyone is talking about them, listening to them and starting one. But should you? Australian author Allison Tait is the co-host of the popular So You Want To Be A Writer podcast. She’s a multi-genre writer with 25+ years […]
Online author etiquette for keeping safe in the cyberjungle. by Anne R. Allen After I wrote my post last month on cyberbullying in the publishing community, a lot of people asked if there’s any way to avoid these online terrorists. I wrote a post on the subject back in 2013, soon after my nightmare encounter […]
