March 2014 seemed so far off at one point but A MORE BEAUTIFUL QUESTION finally publishes this week. Since it’s my husband’s book I had free rein to try out a number of new things (for me) re: website design, interactive images and links, videos, infographics, and social media platforms like Quora blogs, Slideshare, Pinterest, Spotify, CaféPress,… Continue reading Launching A MORE BEAUTIFUL QUESTION
Author: Laura
Helping creative entrepreneurs manage their online presence. Website builder & social media consultant, ebook creator, book marketer, editor, writer, blogger. (Avocations are movie review writing and graphic design.) Worked in book and magazine publishing for many years as an editor and executive.
Advice on writing by Anne Lamott, via Maria Popova
Maria Popova, impresario of BrainPickings.com, truly loves writers and writing. Check out her recent essay Bird by Bird: Anne Lamott’s Timeless Advice on Writing and Why Perfectionism Kills Creativity (“among my10 favorite books on writing,” she writes) which quotes extensively from Lamott’s book about writing, Bird by Bird. Popova concludes with this worthwhile list of related reading: Bird by… Continue reading Advice on writing by Anne Lamott, via Maria Popova
What if you had a way to double the amount of people who know about you and your product?
Here’s an article I wrote for The Marmaduke Writing Factory about the “Reader Species” infographic I recently made. Why should you care? Well, it increased traffic to this site by a lot*, so there’s something going on with these infographics! Read more
What Species of Book Reader Are You? [FREE INFOGRAPHIC]
Click to see my infographic describing 50 species of book readers. You’ll definitely see yourself (The Kindle Convert?) and a few of your friends (The Book Thief? The Bathroom Reader?) http://clicktotweet.com/8mI3f
“Help,” Quoth the Author
A list of memorable quotes from my author-clients who would really rather not have anything to do with promoting their books, yet have very high expectations…
I made an ACX audiobook—now what do I do?
Another chapter in the self-publishing playbook. Now that you’ve gotten your book recorded by a pro, how do you go about finding the market for this high-priced new product? Don’t look to ACX and Audible for much help.
Exercising my reading muscles
I’m linking to a writers’ website I do tech support for because a) there’s lots of fun posts on the site and b) I wrote one of the items, about finding good books in unlikely places. Check it out.
When a sausage isn’t just a sausage…
Am having so much fun reading one of my client’s blogs, Freud’s Butcher: Sometimes a sausage is just a sausage, but sometimes it’s a link to the past. Edie Jarolim is hosting a fascinating deep dive into her family’s unknown European 20th-century history, uncovering many farflung relatives along the way. I designed the blog just… Continue reading When a sausage isn’t just a sausage…
Some short cuts for the “too much info” feeling
Link roundups and website “resources” pages have proven to be two good ways of dealing with the avalanche of info dumped on us daily.
Did Amazon just make authors’ lives harder?
Most authors have been dutifully tending to their social media duties. But the launch of Amazon’s new Kindle social media feature @author might just be the straw that breaks the successful author’s back.
Making the most of your digital reach
Successful author Lee Child has put his love of writing short stories to good use: creating an original ebook that whets appetites for his full-length novel coming out a month later.
Social marketing as a creative endeavor
“When it comes to social media, think self-expression not self promotion,” and 6 other ideas from author Susan M. Cain on how to overcome fear and become more creative. (“Coffee is magic” is one of the other 6).
Are you comfortable with social media?
Are you comfortable with putting yourself out there? Revealing your opinions? Asking people to help you by sharing tweets and posts about you and your book? Michael A. Stelzner of the Social Media Examiner blog sure is comfortable.