Writing about writing. Mostly.
Social Media Scams Part 1 is here. by Anne R. Allen Social media is big business these days. And wherever there’s money, you’ll find crooks, trolls, and scammers. Social media scams are lucrative cottage industries in some developing countries, where whole villages may be employed by click farms, con artists, and identity theft scams. So […]
Anthologies are an excellent way for a writer to break into publishing. They can also do a lot to expand the audience for your existing titles. Blog ninja and Master and Commander of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, Alex J. Cavanaugh, has edited several anthologies, and gives us the skinny on how they can help your […]
Social Media Scams Part 1 by Anne R. Allen Everybody tells writers we must be on social media, but almost nobody mentions all the dangers we’re going to run into. There’s big money in social media these days. And wherever there’s money, you’ll find crooks, trolls, fraudsters, and scammers. Social media scams are big […]
9 Ways Editors Can Make You Look Good…and 7 Ways They Can Make You Miserable by Ruth Harris As a former editor, I’m biased but, as a writer, I’ve learned that for me (and for just about every writer I know), editing is the most productive and transformative part of writing a book. Whether […]
by Anne R. Allen Piracy has become big business in the age of e-publishing. If your intellectual property is available on the Web—in ebooks, blog posts or other web content—chances are pretty good you’re going to be pirated at some point. If you have a Google Alert on your name and book titles […]
by Jacqueline Diamond Today we have an amazing guest. Jacqueline Diamond is the author of 101 novels! Yup. You read that right. Jackie writes in many genres, and she’s recently returned to writing cozy mysteries. She read a lot of contemporary mysteries to prepare, and discovered what made her—as a reader—put down a book. […]
By Anne R. Allen We all make mistakes. It’s how we learn. But some mistakes have the potential to end a writing career before it starts. Today I’m talking about the things a lot of writers do that can keep them from having a career—or derail it for a long time. How do I know […]
by Anne R. Allen I’m a big fan of author blogs. I think blogging is a great way to build your platform and connect with readers. But not all writers are cut out to blog. Author blogs don’t just take time, commitment and discipline—they require the ability to switch gears from a WIP […]
Meet the faculty, tour the campus and calculate the tuition of the University of Hard Knocks by Ruth Harris Scammers and con artists have been around publishing since writers were using chisels to carve words into stone tablets. They loot, cheat and steal. They’re the faculty of Hard Knocks U. and they are out […]
by Cat Michaels Writing is a solitary experience, but it needn’t be a lonely pursuit. In addition to discoverability, writers use social media to share ideas and find support. First, however, they must be R*A*R*E and learn the unwritten ‘rules’ of virtual interaction. Whether you’re an author, blogger, or budding entrepreneur, read on to […]
by Anne R. Allen Bloggers sometimes feel like Rodney Dangerfield. We get no respect. This week, we heard how Amazon is banning 100s of book review bloggers and removing their reviews. Some of the bloggers may be violating “affiliate” rules, but others have no affiliation with Amazon and are having all their reviews removed anyway. […]
by Anne R. Allen “Think outside the box” has become a mindless cliché these days. So many people repeat it that the meaning has mostly been lost. In fact, most people are unaware they are in boxes, so they have no particular desire to think outside of one. But most of us are boxed […]
by Ruth Harris Male or female, good guys or bad girls, famous or infamous, VIPs are the Very Important Persons who go their own way, do their own thing, make their own rules and don’t give a damn about your plans, your ideas, or your outline. You create them but they have a life of […]
Anne R Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris