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January 4, 2015 By Anne R. Allen 97 Comments

Why the Self-Published Ebook is No Longer the “New Query”

Why the Self-Published Ebook is No Longer the “New Query”

by Anne R. Allen   A few years ago, soon after the debut of the Kindle e-reader, the world was buzzing with talk of self-published “Kindle Millionaires” like Amanda Hocking and John Locke, and big publishers were beating a path to the doors of all the newly successful self-published ebook writers. Even modestly successful self-publishers […]

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Filed Under: E-Books and Technology for Writers, Self-Publishing, Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: Agent Jenny Bent, Agent Laurie McLean, AgentQuery, Ebook revolution, indie publishing, Janet Reid, Jason Matthews, Kindle Unlimited, Mark Coker, Porter Anderson, self publishing

April 20, 2014 By Anne R. Allen 125 Comments

How to Write Blog Content: 9 Tips to Entice Readers to Your Author Blog

How to Write Blog Content: 9 Tips to Entice Readers to Your Author Blog

 Blog content is easy to write if you know a few tricks by Anne R. Allen You started a blog. Congratulations! But nobody’s reading it. Sigh. Don’t give in to despair. It takes a while to build a readership. Usually a long while. For the first six months I blogged, my followers consisted of my […]

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Filed Under: Blogging for Authors, Social Media and Marketing For Writers, Writing Craft Tagged With: 21st Century prose, Ann Timmons, Author blogs, C. Hope Clark, Google Authorship, How, how to blog, how to write Web content, Janet Reid, Publisher's Lunch, SEO for authors, What to blog about

December 9, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 56 Comments

Self-Publishing or Traditional Publishing? Which is the Right First Step for YOU?

by Anne R. Allen   The list of million-seller “indie” authors is growing every day. Self-publishing has not only become mainstream—it’s edgy and cool. Persuasive blogs by self-publishing stars like Joe Konrath, Dean Wesley Smith, David Gaughran and Kris Rusch have inspired a staggering number of new writers to self-publish in the past two years. […]

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Filed Under: Self-Publishing, Social Media and Marketing For Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: Big Six publishing, Catherine Ryan Hyde, David Gaughran, Jane Friedman, Janet Reid, Porter Anderson, Publisher's Lunch, Publishing alternatives, Rachelle Gardner, Ruth Ann Nordin, self publishing, Writer Beware

April 22, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 60 Comments

I Have Written a Book. Now What? 22 Steps to Getting Published.

I Have Written a Book. Now What? 22 Steps to Getting Published.

by Anne R. Allen I’ve had a number of people ask me that “now what” question in the last few months. There’s tons of info out here in Cyberia, but not everybody knows how to access it. And along with the good info, there’s plenty of bad—especially from predatory vanity publishers and bogus agents. So here are some basics. […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writers Dealing with Reviews and Rejection, Writing Craft Tagged With: AgentQuery, Casey McCormack, How to publish a novel, Janet Reid, Literary Rambles, Nathan Bransford, Query Shark, QueryTracker, Saffina Desforges, Spywriter

March 4, 2012 By Anne R. Allen 50 Comments

How Do You Learn To Be a Writer?

How Do You Learn To Be a Writer?

by Anne R. Allen I’m often approached by parents or grandparents of children who’ve shown a talent for writing. They ask how a child can learn to be a writer. Or sometimes a person going through a mid-life job change will ask my advice about going back to college to pursue a long-deferred writing dream. […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: 10 thousand-hour rule, Anne R. Allen, creative writing courses, How to be a Writer, how to write, Janet Reid, Kristen Lamb, Kristin Nelson, Malcolm Gladwell, Rachelle Gardner

February 26, 2012 By Ruth Harris 56 Comments

8 Tips for Turning “Real Life” into Bestselling Fiction

8 Tips for Turning “Real Life” into Bestselling Fiction

by Ruth Harris   A lot of people start writing because they’ve got a real-life story to tell—something that happened in their own lives or the lives of friends or family members they think would make a great book. Sometimes these stories work well as memoirs, but, for a lot of very good reasons, a […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life, Writing Craft Tagged With: Decades, How to write a bestselling novel, how to write a novel based on real life, Janet Reid, memoir or fiction, Query Shark, Ruth Harris

October 2, 2011 By Anne R. Allen 46 Comments

The $79 Kindle and the Most Interesting Publisher in the World

The $79 Kindle and the Most Interesting Publisher in the World

by Anne R. Allen   I can finally say it: I have three brand new novels coming out this fall! Within a couple of weeks, THE GATSBY GAME will debut as an e-book. It’s a stand-alone mystery set in the Mad Men era that proposes a fictional solution to one of Hollywood’s most scandalous mysteries. (It’s […]

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Filed Under: The Publishing Business, The Writing Life Tagged With: Anne R. Allen, Food of Love, indie authors, Janet Reid, Kindle, Mark Williams International, MWiDP, Saffina Desforges, Snookibooks, The Gatsby Game, the most interesting man in the world.

February 13, 2011 By Anne R. Allen 25 Comments

Do You Know How to Spot a Bogus Literary Agency? 8 Red Flags to Watch For

Do You Know How to Spot a Bogus Literary Agency? 8 Red Flags to Watch For

by Anne R. Allen I’m working on a couple of new projects—watch this space for exciting developments—so I’m running a New! Improved! version of an oldie-but-goodie. The original post garnered a visit and an approving nod from agent Janet Reid—the Query Shark herownself. ****** I belong to the generation of women who were told we […]

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Filed Under: Scams and Alerts for Writers, The Publishing Business Tagged With: Absolute Write, AgentQueryConnect, bogus agents, Janet Reid, Jenna Glatzer, newbie advice, Preditors and Editors, Query Shark, Query Tracker, scams, The Street-Smart Writer, Writer Beware

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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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