Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Sue Coletta When the buzz of TikTok started spreading, I wanted no part of it. With two Facebook accounts, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, Goodreads, etc. the last thing I needed was another social media site. I could barely juggle the audience I’d amassed on social media over the last twelve years. Then I […]
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 […]
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 […]
I’m tired of book bloggers getting no respect. by Anne R. Allen The contempt some business people have for bloggers never ceases to amaze me. Every day I get emails demanding I do free work for companies that are obviously solvent enough to hire employees—so why do they imagine it’s okay to demand that bloggers […]
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 […]
An author blog is the best way to build your writer’s platform by Anne R. Allen Some people have been saying blogging is dead for a while now. But for authors, it’s anything but. On a recent list of the most overrated marketing strategies, blogging was close to the bottom. Only 6% of marketers thought it […]
Author Strategy? You mean there’s a strategy to this? by Carmen Amato I’m not sure what I was thinking of when I chose this quote from Louisa May Alcott to adorn my high school year book picture: “Far away there in the sunshine sat my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can […]
Selling books on social media can be a time-suck by Chris Syme A mind-boggling 78 percent of Americans have a social media profile. And a little over half of them are on more than one channel. It is a given that authors can develop loyal audiences and sell more books with the help of social media. […]
Blogging authors can break the”blog rules”! by Anne R. Allen Authors get lots of conflicting advice about blogging. Most of it isn’t terribly useful—and some can hurt or even destroy your career. It nearly happened to me. That’s because most of the blogging advice out there is: Out of date. Aimed at bloggers who want […]
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 […]
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 We writers tend to get a tad delusional about our own work. Most of us know the average writer doesn’t make great money, but we secretly believe our own efforts will bring us fabulous fame and fortune. When we start out, we can’t help visualizing our books leapfrogging over all the […]
