Tuesday, August 31, 2010

NSFW: A Modest Proposal For Authors Who Abandon Their Publishers — Give Me A Break

Click on header....

Article from TechCrunch.com

Written by Paul Carr

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Blogs & Social Networking: The eight hundred pound Gorilla in the room?


From an author’s perspective, how beneficial is Blogging?

I think it's important to differentiate Blogging as a social tool from using a Blog as a marketing tool.

If you're "selling," your blog content is going to be far different from that which you might use for say, establishing and maintaining a public presence... although some manage to do both.

There are hundreds of Book Blogs on the web, created in lieu of a website because it allows for interaction with readers in a way that a site cannot.

As to content? Like a website, most post a synopsis and maybe a sample chapter linked as a read-only content page, with links to research, the publisher and any other web presence you may have.

The rest is just marketing.

It's not direct selling ... It is marketing...by establishing and maintaining a presence in the social network infrastructure.

What it should not be used for is over-hyping your book(s). That is a guaranteed way to turn people off, and in the end your hype becomes seen as just another source of Spam.


How effective is marketing by social networking?

Versus...

How many people bought a book because of what they read in a reviewers column in the trade presses or on a book review Blog or on a paid for book website, or simply via word of mouth... or because it was on the discount table at the local book sellers?

I haven't found any statistics to prove that any one medium is more effective than another.

I can say that book ads on Blogs are noticed, that book blog sites are reviewed by reviewers, and that in a time when the majority of the worlds societies are largely 'plugged-in', social networks like Facebook do help make the connections between book and author which does in the long run have a positive impact upon sales.

The important point is this: In today’s world of lower budgets and increasing scrutiny of costs by the bean-counters... and especially if your books are published by a small imprint or POD publisher, the onus on marketing... on getting what you've published out into the public eye and creating an interest in it... is largely on you, the author. That means using whatever venues are available.

Whether any venue is worth the effort, depends upon how you answer the next question.

How badly do you want to sell your book(s)?


Thursday, August 26, 2010

Old Friends - New Stories

Turn back the hands of time to 1991. That was the year that I discovered a book titled The Sheepfarmer's Daughter. It was not at all what I had expected it to be. I found myself enthralled, no only with the characters but also the world that had been created by the author, Elizabeth Moon.

I wound up searching a number of second-hand bookshops to find Divided Allegiance and finally Oath of Gold, the second and third books about the life and deeds of Paksenarrion Dorthansdottor.

In 2005, during a visit to a bookshop in Florida, I found… wrapped in plastic and misfiled, a brand new copy of the Omnibus Edition of The Deed of Paksenarrion. I sat down and re-read the stories, and fell in love again.

Now, twelve years after the publication of Sheepfarmer's Daughter comes the Oath of Fealty, a return to that world. I found myself once again ensorcelled by the stories of the lives of so many of who I have come to think of as familiar old friends.

I was entranced and delighted, and I hope you will be as well.




The stories continue in March of 2011, with Kings Of The North, from Del Ray Books.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Will Google's Net Neutrality Shift Complicate the Book Settlement?

What follows is a post from Publisher's Weekly on the continuing saga of the Google Settlement.


Will Google's Net Neutrality Shift Complicate the Book Settlement?

Friday, August 13, 2010

It's Here... and it's Free

Never review your own work... even if... No! Make that especially if you don't want to be accused of having multiple personality disorder.

Besides... what do you say? I love my own writing? The best short story I've ever written?

It may all be true, but it sounds silly, conceited and self-serving, yes?

Of course it does.

Inside UNLOCKED: An Anthology you'll find a collection of stories by a group of very talented writers, some of whom are already published, all of whom are busy perfecting their chosen craft.

We hope you'll enjoy reading the stories as much as we did creating them for your entertainment and enlightenment.

...and a special thanks to authors Rita Webb and Wendy Swore for their hard work as anthology editors and organisers of the promotional pages and resources.

Gwendolyn McIntyre
Author of The Key to a Good Education
Friday, The 13th of August, 2010

P.S.

You are under no obligation, but I would ask a boon of you, dear readers, which is: In exchange for this FREE book, I would hope that you might make a small donation to help Doctors Without Borders to help others.


Sunday, August 1, 2010

Writing Anxiety: How Fear of Failure Can Affect Your Writing

In my youth I was a practitioner of the sport of fencing.  Due to the emphasis on the mental component of the game, the sport is often referred to as  “physical chess.”

A fencer must both be able to anticipate, plan, and make proper decisions while coordinating body movements at high speeds.

While fencers of all different skill levels commonly bout each other, it is often the courageous fencer who is better mentally prepared for their upcoming challenge.

Those who feel that they may not be able to beat their challenger typically have a defeatist mindset.

This is not unusual given that stressful situations often create feelings of nervousness, doubt, and worry; the components of the defeatist mindset.

The same is true of writing. Writing is an entirely mental game. Writers who feel that they may not be able to succeed typically suffer from the same feelings of nervousness, doubt, and worry.

Anxiety that occurs before a tournament can be distracting for a fencer. Instead of focusing on their fencing, they're worrying whether or not they might win. For a fencer who experiences this quite often, their chances of losing increases, continuing their cycle of self-doubt, inability to focus, and loss.

The same is true for writers. Worrying about how much better another writer is, or how well written someone else's manuscript is, instead of focusing on your own work increases the cycle of self-doubt, inability to focus, and procrastination.

Some people are not nervous all the time, but only in certain situations, such as competitions. This is called state anxiety.  It can be experienced as cognitive anxiety, which is when someone has negative thoughts, such as pessimistic self-talk. "I can't finish this [manuscript]" or "My agent will never accept this [manuscript]."

It can also be experienced as somatic anxiety, which occurs along with the physical symptoms (butterflies in the stomach, sweating despite lack of exercise, cotton mouth, and/or rapid heart rate) of anxiety.

Some people are anxious all the time. This is trait anxiety; a personality characteristic caused by in a wide variety of stressful situations.

What makes some competitors and writers nervous while others are not? While there are many factors that can trigger state anxiety, a recent study focused on the one particular form of trait anxiety that could be the culprit;

Fear of failure.

Individuals who experience fear of failure are more afraid of losing (or getting something wrong) than feeling as though they are able to succeed to begin with. Athletes who suffer from it often work harder than others because they don’t want to lose. Or, they may avoid competition because they feel too afraid that they will lose.

Actions such as these can impair a writers perspective of their abilities, and can inhibit them from reaching their potential.

Recent research involving fencers who experience high fear of failure  show they are more likely to experience high cognitive anxiety. That is, those who see competition as a threat (rather than an opportunity) because they might lose, are at an increased risk of suffering from cognitive anxiety.

These nervous feelings are common, but can be potentially harmful , especially in competitive situations.

And if the writers market is anything, it is certainly competitive.

If you find that fear of failure or state anxiety is a problem, here are a few simple steps you can take to overcome it:

• Keep a journal: Getting the thoughts out of your head can make room for focusing on your writing.

• Talk to someone you trust who is a good listener.

• Practice deep breathing techniques.

For more serious inquiries, I urge you to seek the help of a qualified psychologist or psychiatrist.