tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88526019748836737462024-03-05T12:29:06.947-08:00Writer's Words of WisdomAdvice for Authors from Authors. Writer''s Words of Wisdom. Share relevant information on writing, editing, publishing, marketing and more.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06555964256867646867noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-84219267848282251392014-07-15T08:24:00.002-07:002014-07-15T08:24:17.773-07:00How to Use Author Central as a Marketing Tool #WWow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you want to appear as a serious writer, there are several resources/tools you need to have. The most obvious is a website, perhaps a blog, but have you thought about the ever apparent Amazon? When you click your author name, what happens? Does it take you to your author page? If not, you're behind!<br />
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<b>HOW TO USE AUTHOR CENTRAL for your benefit</b></div>
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You'll want to use Author Central to be visible to your readers, to market yourself and to appear as a serious writer. <b>Author Central is the first thing you should use to start building your brand!</b><br />
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<i>How can this be a marketing tool?</i><br />
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1. Promote your blog, twitter and videos by connecting them to your Author Central Page.<br />
2. Track your sales.<br />
3. Track your author ranking.<br />
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<i>What is Author Central?</i><br />
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Author Central is an Amazon service that connects your books on Amazon to your author profile. If you click on an author's name on Amazon, it'll take you to your profile and you set up that profile on Author Central.<br />
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Here's an idea of what you can do:<br />
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<i>How do you create your account? </i><br />
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1. Go to https://authorcentral.amazon.com/<br />
2. Sign in with your regular Amazon account. If you don't have an Amazon account, now's the time to start one!<br />
3. Go to the PROFILE tab and add your picture and bio.<br />
4. Other options in the PROFILE are to add your Twitter handle, your blog's RSS feed, videos of your trailers and events.<br />
5. Next, claim your books. Search for your book under the BOOKS tab and click CLAIM IT.<br />
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<b><i>USING AUTHOR CENTRAL TO MONITOR YOUR RANKINGS</i></b></div>
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You can track three key items on Author Central: book sales, author rankings and customer reviews.<br />
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BOOK SALES - Found under the SALES INFO. Keep an open mind as sales figures sometimes come in slowly and are not up-to-date. Also, this is obviously only Amazon numbers.<br />
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AUTHOR RANKINGS - I'm not sure what good this data is, but it's interesting to look at, nonetheless. From what I can tell, your ranking goes up with more sales. Makes sense. You can also see how you play out in your specific genres.</div>
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CUSTOMER REVIEWS- Find recent customer reviews in the REVIEWS TAB. </div>
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What I ultimately suggest is that you take an hour or two (or twenty) to set up your account, play with the features and see what you can do. Also, promote your page and let others know you're out there!</div>
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How have you used Author Central? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below.</div>
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Melinda Dozier is a contemporary romance author published by Crimson Romance and Swoon Romance. She is also Marketing and Art Director for a small publisher and spends way too much analyzing data for fun. Her current book is on sale TODAY for 99 cents! ONE LUCKY NIGHT can be found <a href="http://www.amazon.com/One-Lucky-Night-Aria-Kane-ebook/dp/B00K2MQ3FW/ref=la_B00CQZOSNM_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405437798&sr=1-1">HERE</a> and her Amazon page is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CQZOSNM">HERE</a>.<br />
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<br />Melinda Dozierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864718341509893591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-84657895140113252222014-06-25T00:00:00.000-07:002014-06-25T00:00:11.846-07:00#WWoW: Tammy's Tidbits from #RomConU and Indie Publishing #MyWANA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Hello my friends! Welcome to<b> <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Tammy's Tidbits</span></b> here at <span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b>Writer's Words of Wisdom</b></span>. I know it's been a long time since my last post but I've a fabulous one for you today. I just returned from Denver, Colorado where I attended <span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b>RomCon University</b></span> and <b><span style="color: #c27ba0;">RomCon 2014</span></b>. I had a great time connecting with fellow authors, readers, and friends—both old and new. If you've ever wondered whether or not you should attend conventions and conferences, stop right there. Do it. You need to interact with your peers, make connections, and overall enjoy yourself.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>This year was the first time I attended <span style="color: #c27ba0;">RomCon University</span>. This portion was aimed specifically for authors—published and aspiring. So many great topics were covered, but I filled my schedule with seminars aimed at marketing, publishing, and formatting. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>I'm what people call a hybrid. I have books published traditionally through a publisher (Siren Bookstrand), and I've self published the rest for FOUR pen names. I have the best of both worlds, but there's always room for improvement. That's why I looked forward to this conventions for months. Let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed at all. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>I attended two talks given by Smashwords' Marketing Director Jim Azevedo. He gave out a thumb drive with his presentations on it as well as the three free books put out by Smashwords founder Mark Coker: <b><span style="color: #c27ba0;">Smashwords Style Guide: How to Format Your EBook, </span></b></i><i><span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b>Smashwords Book Marketing Guide - How to Market any Book for Free, </b>and </span></i><i><b><span style="color: #c27ba0;">Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success</span>. </b>All of these books are FREE and can be found on Smashwords.com or Amazon. Go ahead and download your copies now. I'll wait.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Got them? Good! You'll need those later, but for now let me give you the highlights of Jim's talks. Self publishing no longer has the stigma it had as little as five years ago. Before, if you said you published your own books, people thought you weren't good enough for a traditional publisher to take you under their wing, so why should they read any of your work. It's a good question, but very misguided.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>You see, some of the most talented authors out there are self publishing/going "indie". Of course, there are some books published way too soon, without formal editing and publishing. There are some with covers that will make you cringe...but so many more with professional looking covers that draw you in. This is the group we choose to be in and Smashwords is one of the ways we can get there.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>One thing many of us struggle with is how to price our books. Should we go for a freebie to draw in readers? Should it be 99 cents? What price is too much for an eBook? Jim shared a lot of research with us. It's a good marketing strategy to set the first book in a <b><span style="color: magenta;">series</span></b> for free in order to get the readers invested in the characters and the story lines. If they love them, they'll come back for the next books and pay for them.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>He shared that 99 cent price point pays out quite well, but the $1.99 spot is a dead zone. Very few if any books sell at that number. Best to move it up to $2.99 and get the sales. For the larger books over 60k words or so, $3.99 is a good price point. Much higher than $5.50 and the sales numbers go down, but of course you make more per book than you would at the 99 cent price point.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Why did I share that? Well, for those of us still building up our following, it's valuable information. The lower prices do help get your name out there and new readers feel they aren't breaking the bank taking a risk on a new author. Once they're hooked, if you price your work fairly, they'll keep coming back again and again.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Smashwords of course isn't the only name in the Indie publishing game. If you want your work to get into the brick and mortar book stores, you need to have it distributed through Ingram. Now I know what some of you are saying. If you have the expanded distribution through Createspace, you do get distributed through Ingram, but buyers see that Createspace is the publisher (by the ISBN number) and they don't want the books. You can't do the expanded distribution through Createspace if you have your own ISBN number, so what are you to do?</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Go directly to Ingram and have them distribute for you through their Ingram Spark program. With <a href="https://www1.ingramspark.com/">Ingram Spark</a>, you can publish an eBook, paperback and hard cover all in one spot. Hopefully by the end of the year, they'll have reworked their process so you can use a Word.doc file for all your needs. For now, you need to upload a clean EPUB file for your eBook, and a clean PDF for the print versions. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Robin Cutler from Ingram gave the presentation on using Ingram's services. For minimal fees, you can have it all at your fingertips. For only $49 per title, you can distribute both print and eBook versions. It's the same cost for print alone so might as well do both. If you only wish to go the eBook route, it's only $25 per title. There is a $12 annual marketing access fee per title as well. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>For these prices, you get included in the Ingram catalogs distributed to libraries and book stores. There are many other tools on their site to help you market each title and you have all the benefits of print on demand without the hassle of having to be responsible for books in a warehouse or for the cost of returns.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>As the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of <span style="color: magenta;">Sassy Vixen Publishing</span>, all of this was fabulous news. I came away from those lectures with a renewed outlook on the publishing industry and my part in it. Sure SVP only represents me and my other three pen names, but one day we will take on additional authors. At that time, I want to give them the best options out there for their books, just like Siren gave me when I first started out.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Still not sure going Indie is for you? Check out Ingram Spark and read the Smashwords guides for yourself. It's not the secret world that some make it out to be. If you have your manuscript edited, re-edited and polished until it shines, and you have a professional looking cover, get yourself to these sites and upload your work. Join the world of the published authors and have fun!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Until next time,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>~Tammy</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Learn More About Tammy</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Tammy Dennings Maggy is a best selling, multi-published poet and erotic romance author with Siren and Sassy Vixen Publishing. Her writing explores many facets of romance from ultimate betrayal to finding your soul mate. Her poetry serves as a companion to her novels and has inspired entire series all on their own. Tammy and her alter egos Lia Michaels and Stephanie Ryan and Tawny Savage make up the core authors at Sassy Vixen Publishing and together they've created the shared world series Temptations Resort. Look for the first books in that series to come out later this year.</i><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Now happily married to her own Muse and soul mate, she continues to live her dream and act as secretary to all her characters demanding to have their stories told.</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Check out:</span></h3>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://authortammydenningsmaggy.com/">Website</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://tammydenningsmaggy.blogspot.com/">Blog</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's Books on <a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/tammy-dennings-maggy">Bookstrand</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tammy-Dennings-Maggy/e/B005VLQLPG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tammy-dennings-maggy?store=allproducts&keyword=tammy+dennings+maggy">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dochappycamper">Smashwords</a>, and<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tammy-dennings-maggy/id495110661?mt=11"> iTunes</a> </span></i></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.sassyvixenpublishing.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Sassy Vixen Publishing</span></a></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dochappycamper">Facebook</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Like Tammy's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Author.TammyDenningsMaggy">Facebook Author Page</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5222022.Tammy_Dennings_Maggy">Goodreads</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://pinterest.com/dochappycamper/">Pinterest</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Follow Tammy on <a href="https://twitter.com/dochappycamper">Twitter</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Find Tammy's Videos on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/dochappycamper1/videos?flow=grid&view=0">Youtube</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><span style="color: #c27ba0;">If you'd like to share your experiences in the publishing world, please contact us about setting up a guest appearance. We'd love to hear from you!</span></i></span></div>
</h3>
Tammy Dennings Maggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17551291117492287824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-113969861915679882014-04-09T00:00:00.000-07:002014-04-09T00:00:02.160-07:00#WoW! How to Get Facebook to Share Your Posts With Your Fans and Followers #MyWANA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiACudCw4kcVUAL0w-vIR2_ULvrWMY7toL_CupIo6NTIUyy1g4_mfN0VXs4Zy3tBoHjOR16VWp42xC6mu_mFVBCB-EzsyQNEkLgXgLTQ2ovahriaEtyqXgJ_15u-rPz_rS7WmULIj0_E/s1600/banner+being+social.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiACudCw4kcVUAL0w-vIR2_ULvrWMY7toL_CupIo6NTIUyy1g4_mfN0VXs4Zy3tBoHjOR16VWp42xC6mu_mFVBCB-EzsyQNEkLgXgLTQ2ovahriaEtyqXgJ_15u-rPz_rS7WmULIj0_E/s1600/banner+being+social.jpg" height="176" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Welcome to <span style="color: magenta;">Tammy's Tidbit's</span> here at <span style="color: magenta;">Writer's Words of Wisdom</span>. It's been a while since I've posted. I hope all is going well with everyone and their journey through the world of publishing. Last week, Paloma posted a graphic on how to break through writer's block. I needed that. I've been suffering with it off and on for the last couple months. Now I'm down to the wire for a deadline on April 15th and finally! Things are flowing again. Whew!</span></i></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><i>With that under my belt I can concentrate a bit more on sharing more helpful hints here with everyone. This week I'd like to talk a bit about how to get around Facebook's algorithm that determines who will see your posts on your wall and fan pages. </i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglUdFhyphenhyphen1RPzR0HjtoBFBW1KJGqOLkhajWHYy-4WvvWNFTgUlz-FioC2jrKdZ7IzwO1nq0429MJLwbJvMzRiX2oMZXJcchbVEgwNb0vqLTh7rKrW02onHHEfPNlqthnD-cqfjqsAEalAw/s1600/icons+for+social+media.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjglUdFhyphenhyphen1RPzR0HjtoBFBW1KJGqOLkhajWHYy-4WvvWNFTgUlz-FioC2jrKdZ7IzwO1nq0429MJLwbJvMzRiX2oMZXJcchbVEgwNb0vqLTh7rKrW02onHHEfPNlqthnD-cqfjqsAEalAw/s1600/icons+for+social+media.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">If you have a author/fan page you've noticed that only a small percentage of your fans (those who've liked your page) actually see your posts. Why? Because those are the ones who actively engage with you and your posts. They like it, make little comments on the majority of them or even just a smiley emoticon. These are the people Facebook and their computers feel are important and want to be updated about you and your page. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">You can get more views for your posts by encouraging your fans and friends to make comments. One way to get your post in front of your current fans and friends is to boost it. For only $5, up to 3500 people can see your post. Of course this depends on your current fan base and friend count, but it is an investment that can really pay off. Some of these people may not have realized they weren't seeing your posts. If they just click the like button, Facebook will register that as an <span style="color: magenta;">ENGAGEMENT</span> and these folks will be on the list to see your next posts. The more they like and leave even a short comment, the higher up on the list they go.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Sure, these little boosts may not lead to any sales of your books, but it gets your name out there and in front of the people who WANT to see your posts. These are the people who WILL buy your books if they know about them. It's why many of them liked your fan page to begin with—to get news of your events and new releases.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Another thing that's really helped me to get my posts in front of even more people who are NOT my fans/friends yet is FREE. In two groups I'm in, we do weekly post shares. Each of us creates a post/status update on our wall or fan page, then we share the URL of the post in our group thread. Each person participating in the thread will then click on the URL, like the post and leave a comment. We also share these posts on our own walls and pages to our fan base. These additional shares make the original posts more engaging and Facebook keeps the lists growing.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Go ahead and give both methods a try. Use them in combination with each other to get more reach. Either way you do it means you get your name and your work in front of more people and in front of those who wish to see it. Isn't that what social media is all about?</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">For more information on how to get around Facebook's algorithm, please check out this fabulous blog article by Elyse Salpeter: <a href="http://elysesalpeter.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/facebook-getting-around-the-darn-algorithm/">Facebook – Getting Around the Darn Algorithm…</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Until next time,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">~Tammy</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Learn More About Tammy</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i></i><br /></span><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF76YhSVM0JW7fe4dmImR527OHluGVYesZ7j8xzwATuY2R8Hu5lV9voso4Pxt20x0yDFnh0JteVeGJdI0eoB7TWbj2PxSfW6-dcrQF4z42mhkEasHd85xfwaub7vo3xU3PM0ji6MW0kd0/s1600/author+signature+tammy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF76YhSVM0JW7fe4dmImR527OHluGVYesZ7j8xzwATuY2R8Hu5lV9voso4Pxt20x0yDFnh0JteVeGJdI0eoB7TWbj2PxSfW6-dcrQF4z42mhkEasHd85xfwaub7vo3xU3PM0ji6MW0kd0/s1600/author+signature+tammy.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Tammy Dennings Maggy is a best selling, multi-published poet and erotic romance author with Siren and Sassy Vixen Publishing. Her writing explores many facets of romance from ultimate betrayal to finding your soul mate. Her poetry serves as a companion to her novels and has inspired entire series all on their own. Tammy and her alter egos Lia Michaels and Stephanie Ryan and Tawny Savage make up the core authors at Sassy Vixen Publishing and together they've created the shared world series Temptations Resort. Look for the first books in that series to come out later this year.</i><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Now happily married to her own Muse and soul mate, she continues to live her dream and act as secretary to all her characters demanding to have their stories told.</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Check out:</span></h3>
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<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://authortammydenningsmaggy.com/">Website</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://tammydenningsmaggy.blogspot.com/">Blog</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's Books on <a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/tammy-dennings-maggy">Bookstrand</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tammy-Dennings-Maggy/e/B005VLQLPG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tammy-dennings-maggy?store=allproducts&keyword=tammy+dennings+maggy">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dochappycamper">Smashwords</a>, and<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tammy-dennings-maggy/id495110661?mt=11"> iTunes</a> </span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><a href="http://www.sassyvixenpublishing.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Sassy Vixen Publishing</span></a></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dochappycamper">Facebook</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Like Tammy's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Author.TammyDenningsMaggy">Facebook Author Page</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5222022.Tammy_Dennings_Maggy">Goodreads</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://pinterest.com/dochappycamper/">Pinterest</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Follow Tammy on <a href="https://twitter.com/dochappycamper">Twitter</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Find Tammy's Videos on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/dochappycamper1/videos?flow=grid&view=0">Youtube</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><span style="color: #c27ba0;">If you'd like to share your experiences in the publishing world, please contact us about setting up a guest appearance. We'd love to hear from you!</span></i></span></div>
</h3>
Tammy Dennings Maggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17551291117492287824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-27012717095392480852014-04-07T01:00:00.000-07:002014-04-07T01:00:13.098-07:00#WWoW! Just Write!<a data-pin-do="embedPin" href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/441704675922970145/"></a>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06555964256867646867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-27896603801489607262014-03-31T14:45:00.001-07:002014-03-31T14:45:35.136-07:00#WWoW! 7 TOP TIPS for Beating Writer's Block <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06555964256867646867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-24543277150094643742014-03-25T00:30:00.000-07:002014-03-25T06:19:14.176-07:00#Wwow - Writing from the Gorilla's Point of View by Sharon Struth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjba7zXru7cyWNJ3jfz0m8dnMKUbRnngUUleJKLhZQ31dI7dcnQGMRvjXwBCOHW7gXvwbPYxQsstzpKQj0e8WqdSFDW2Wpl327BFNFO95Goj_LILSkgs4JJnfrgx3ZaQ6GJU5DFvzn8qXFG/s1600/Gorillas+POV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjba7zXru7cyWNJ3jfz0m8dnMKUbRnngUUleJKLhZQ31dI7dcnQGMRvjXwBCOHW7gXvwbPYxQsstzpKQj0e8WqdSFDW2Wpl327BFNFO95Goj_LILSkgs4JJnfrgx3ZaQ6GJU5DFvzn8qXFG/s1600/Gorillas+POV.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was having
lunch the other day with a friend who shared a hilarious story about purchasing
gorilla suits for her sons one Christmas (thank you Lisa O. for a great tale).
Later that night, while I read a new book, visions of the gorilla suit returned
to me. It wasn’t because the story was about primates. The story stopped me
because the writing violated some basic rules about point of view (POV) making
me wish the author had slipped on the main character’s suit to tell the story. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Having a story
unfold through a single character’s viewpoint isn’t an easy thing to do. However,
once you decide to reveal your story through either first person (I, me), third
person (she, he) or omniscient narrator (hey, it’s those guys down there), it’s
important to stay in a single character’s head. NOT forever, but for—let’s
say—a scene or chapter or place clearly marking a POV shift. Otherwise, you’re hopping
from head to head, like the story I was reading. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Some writer’s
like to argue that “head hopping” makes for a richer experience, so a reader
can learn what everyone is thinking or feeling. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The problems
with this approach?<o:p></o:p></div>
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First, to agents
and editors it shows you’re an amateur. They like books where there is a clear
POV character speaking to them…one at a time. Otherwise, the story reads a
little like a meeting where everyone is talking at once and it’s difficult to
become invested in who matters in this tale.
Also, unless you’re a pro (I’m talking a Nicholas Sparks-like pro), then
you probably won’t be able to write this way in a fluid manner. Sure, some
author’s head hop. You’ll note their published books typically have printed on
top, “NY Times Bestselling author…” <o:p></o:p></div>
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Second, letting
everyone know what everyone else thinks at the exact moment of each scene
reduces the stakes of the story. As a reader, I want to fully be the character…mind,
body, and soul. Consider this: have you ever done something stupid and wondered
what everyone who is politely smiling at you really thinks? Yeah, me too. So do
my characters. When an author head hops in their writing, the mystery is gone.
Good writing is about creating page-turning novels <o:p></o:p></div>
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Third, when you
stay one character’s head for a while, EVERYTHING from this one perspective, it gives more opportunities to slowly reveal conflict in your story. An example
from <i>The Hourglass</i>, where Brenda
(heroine) talks to hero CJ (hero) about her first husband:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLlESLM7pWuZnj45ASOt6V8u9qCpEJVgfEFCTO7cpyK77Reyvtnu0eyQLV3mmKX3XiGwdBV6datEvnb7ypEIWdT35qIUW-O-d1NvyXkmQvKupYwCli0BOOY3NiOdltET52FjBYsHUBI4/s1600/TheHourglass_BySharonStruth-600x900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNLlESLM7pWuZnj45ASOt6V8u9qCpEJVgfEFCTO7cpyK77Reyvtnu0eyQLV3mmKX3XiGwdBV6datEvnb7ypEIWdT35qIUW-O-d1NvyXkmQvKupYwCli0BOOY3NiOdltET52FjBYsHUBI4/s1600/TheHourglass_BySharonStruth-600x900.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a><i><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Palatino Linotype";">“People change.” She shrugged. “Not everything can be
fixed.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Palatino Linotype";">The topic left her uneasy. For Brenda, every time the
signs appeared—slurred words, a shift in his demeanor or the odor of liquor on
his breath—the old wounds of her childhood reawakened. A crater of angst would
swell in her gut while her inner soul waited in the same gloomy place as Jack’s
until he returned to normal. She pressed her lips tight, unwilling to say more.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Palatino Linotype";">CJ’s jaw tensed and, even though he looked at her, it
seemed his mind wandered deep in his own life. He replied quietly, “You’re
right. Not everything can be fixed.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Palatino Linotype";">Sadness filled the space between them. An emptiness in
CJ’s expression left Brenda wanting to know more.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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Did you want to
know more about what CJ was thinking? Then it’s a good thing I stayed in
Brenda’s point of view. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Now go toss on
a gorilla suit (or your character’s suit) and pursue your writing journey. What
it reveals may surprise you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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THANK YOU to our guest author, Sharon Struth.</div>
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You can find The Hourglass here: <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hourglass-ebook/dp/B00CIX1YDO/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1378390377">Amazon</a> / </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hourglass-sharon-struth/1115199538?ean=2940016552453">Barnes & Noble</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Sharon’s Website: <a href="http://www.sharonstruth.com/">www.sharonstruth.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">For a trailer, excerpt or book group questions visit <a href="http://www.thehourglassnovel.com/">www.thehourglassnovel.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px;">Author Bio:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sharon Struth writes from her home in Bethel, Connecticut where she lives with her husband and two daughters. She's a graduate of Marist College and was raised in Poughkeepsie, NY.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Her debut novel, The Hourglass, is published by Etopia Press. Other writing credits include essays in several Chicken Soup for the Soul Books, the anthology A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers, Sasee Magazine and WritersWeekly.com. She is represented by Blue Ridge Literary Agency (<a href="http://www.blueridgeagency.com/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">http://www.blueridgeagency.com/</span></a></span></i><i><span style="color: #343434; font-family: "Palatino Linotype","serif"; font-size: 17pt;">)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Welcome to <span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b>Tammy's Tidbits</b></span> here on <span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b>Writer's Words of Wisdom</b></span>. The last time I visited with you I had told you I was taking a step back and re-prioritizing my world as a writer, publisher and veterinarian. I'm still working on paring things down to be more manageable—not overwhelming.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>In that vein, I'd like to talk a bit about a networking tool for bloggers and by extension authors. For those of you who don't have a blog, you should get one up, or at the very least do guest spots on other blogs to get you, your brand and your books out in front of as many people as possible. I've already talked about blogs in other posts, so I won't go into that again in today's discussion about <span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b>BLOG HOPS</b></span>.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;"><i>What is a blog hop?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>It's an "event" where blog owners sign up with the link to their blog in order to share their content and network with other bloggers and gain more exposure for their work (blog or in our cases books). There's usually a common theme such as a specific holiday and is made up of bloggers/authors who write about similar topics or genres.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;"><i>Do the participants have to write about the same topics or in the same genres or can anyone join?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The whole concept of the hop is to get more exposure and to network with like-minded individuals. As a romance author you wouldn't want to join a blog hop made up of mostly Sci-Fi or horror authors would you? Very few if any people interested in those genres would want to stop in to see your work. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Bottom line: blog hops that are successful don't have a mishmash of participants. They have a common theme and topic/genre across the board in order to draw in as much response from those outside the networks. Their goal is to introduce new readers and followers to their work.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;"><i>How long do hops generally last?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Usually only one day, but there are some that last as long as a week over a busy holiday season. I found that if a hop goes longer than three days, you end up not getting very much interaction or new visitors by the end of the event. The most response occurs over the first three days.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;"><i>How do you join a hop?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The hosts of a hop will advertise on social media when they've opened up the sign up sheet for their hop. They'll also include all the rules, theme and if you're required to have a prize offered for those who visit your blog. It all depends on the hosts and what they wish to do, but some will also have a grand prize where the winner is drawn from the names of all the people who left comments on the various hops. The more stops you make, the more entries the "hoppers" get in the various giveaways.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The most common form to use as a sign up "sheet" is created using <a href="http://www.linkytools.com/#">Linky Tools</a>. I'll talk that more on another day, but in short it's a way to add your information to the sign up sheet. Linky Tools converts that to a clickable link that will show up in the blog list. This list will then be made available for all "hoppers" to click on to move from blog to blog.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;"><i>What if I want to organize a hop but only include members of a specific group I participate in? Will this work?</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>No. You'll only reach a specific number of followers—the very same number you have now and no "new blood." As host, you'll want to give all participants the chance to broaden their fan base. You can't do that if you all share the same pool of readers and most of them are members of the group and yourself.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Now if your intent is to share only within the group and have a way for members to "hop" around between your member blogs, then YES this sort of blog hop would work but it won't bring you more outside traffic. You do this sort of hop using a "private" linky list. All of that is described on the<a href="http://www.linkytools.com/#"> Linky Tools</a> page.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>So go ahead and sign up for a hop and meet more bloggers and writers within your genre. Not only will you find authors new to you, you'll be introduced to many more potential fans as well. Get a few hops under your belt and maybe you'll want to host one for yourself!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Until next time,</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>~Tammy</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Learn More About Tammy</span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF76YhSVM0JW7fe4dmImR527OHluGVYesZ7j8xzwATuY2R8Hu5lV9voso4Pxt20x0yDFnh0JteVeGJdI0eoB7TWbj2PxSfW6-dcrQF4z42mhkEasHd85xfwaub7vo3xU3PM0ji6MW0kd0/s1600/author+signature+tammy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF76YhSVM0JW7fe4dmImR527OHluGVYesZ7j8xzwATuY2R8Hu5lV9voso4Pxt20x0yDFnh0JteVeGJdI0eoB7TWbj2PxSfW6-dcrQF4z42mhkEasHd85xfwaub7vo3xU3PM0ji6MW0kd0/s1600/author+signature+tammy.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Tammy Dennings Maggy is a best selling, multi-published poet and erotic romance author with Siren and Sassy Vixen Publishing. Her writing explores many facets of romance from ultimate betrayal to finding your soul mate. Her poetry serves as a companion to her novels and has inspired entire series all on their own. Tammy and her alter egos Lia Michaels and Stephanie Ryan and Tawny Savage make up the core authors at Sassy Vixen Publishing and together they've created the shared world series Temptations Resort. Look for the first books in that series to come out later this year.</i><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Now happily married to her own Muse and soul mate, she continues to live her dream and act as secretary to all her characters demanding to have their stories told.</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Check out:</span></h3>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://authortammydenningsmaggy.com/">Website</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://tammydenningsmaggy.blogspot.com/">Blog</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's Books on <a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/tammy-dennings-maggy">Bookstrand</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tammy-Dennings-Maggy/e/B005VLQLPG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tammy-dennings-maggy?store=allproducts&keyword=tammy+dennings+maggy">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dochappycamper">Smashwords</a>, and<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tammy-dennings-maggy/id495110661?mt=11"> iTunes</a> </span></i></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.sassyvixenpublishing.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Sassy Vixen Publishing</span></a></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dochappycamper">Facebook</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Like Tammy's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Author.TammyDenningsMaggy">Facebook Author Page</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5222022.Tammy_Dennings_Maggy">Goodreads</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://pinterest.com/dochappycamper/">Pinterest</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Follow Tammy on <a href="https://twitter.com/dochappycamper">Twitter</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Find Tammy's Videos on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/dochappycamper1/videos?flow=grid&view=0">Youtube</a></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><span style="color: #c27ba0;">If you'd like to share your experiences in the publishing world, please contact us about setting up a guest appearance. We'd love to hear from you!</span></i></span></div>
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Tammy Dennings Maggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17551291117492287824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-12003467050654154982014-02-18T01:00:00.000-08:002014-07-22T07:53:23.883-07:00How to Increase Facebook Engagement Without Paying a Buck #WWow #WritingAdvice <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbWBKrWAaelmcUU6o2cylETnQdwI0OOigIl_p8mJx4Dw7FcgeUeBAvfzR0Fq2vuXJgcu7P1DAzkJAMR0jO69Gx1sGqR_uA1EZBlnmWykQ1Ch7EcVhpB3rFrKY7tIysq5tHjFco9VCCYVz/s1600/banner+being+social.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbWBKrWAaelmcUU6o2cylETnQdwI0OOigIl_p8mJx4Dw7FcgeUeBAvfzR0Fq2vuXJgcu7P1DAzkJAMR0jO69Gx1sGqR_uA1EZBlnmWykQ1Ch7EcVhpB3rFrKY7tIysq5tHjFco9VCCYVz/s1600/banner+being+social.jpg" height="89" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, you've probably noticed all the restrictions Facebook has on authors pages. As a newbie to the social network realm, I decided to do a little research. I'm still in the research phase, but wanted to share what I've done to try to figure it all out.</span><br />
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-V5iKeJOZ6ZvBf19snhZunip1KBM-ULtMahVrfwTNVffgwA_8-mS01K_6a9dJiNnVY2xBVoQTsyNjcENazJ43ipJk3donYjXXkT8yelS7obt7h2jsZBrqdefNkQbjpBGOaZ-NULceRRBv/s1600/MelindastwoCents.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-V5iKeJOZ6ZvBf19snhZunip1KBM-ULtMahVrfwTNVffgwA_8-mS01K_6a9dJiNnVY2xBVoQTsyNjcENazJ43ipJk3donYjXXkT8yelS7obt7h2jsZBrqdefNkQbjpBGOaZ-NULceRRBv/s1600/MelindastwoCents.png" height="200" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mind you, I'm not a statistician or a numbers person. I am a people person and I'm analyzing the interactions I've had on social networks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, I had a few questions. I spend a lot of time on social media and I wondered which place is more valuable. I could spend MONTHS researching this question alone, but I've come to this conclusion (as many of you have). It's all about FACEBOOK and how we utilize it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've also found that Facebook is the place to connect with readers, whereas Twitter is the place to connect with other authors/publishers/agents.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is an interesting info-graphic about the average amount of minutes spent on social media. (Taken from The Wall Street Journal)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This made me sad, as I've really taken a liking to Google+. Again, you can see Facebook is where it's at.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, with this information, I've learned that we need to engage ourselves more on Facebook. BUT how do we do that when Facebook controls who sees our posts and when? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Based on what I've heard from other users, I tried some experiements out in one week. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A little about my <a href="http://www.facebook.com/melindadoz">Author Page</a>. As of this post, I have 856 followers. Not bad for a newbie author. What IS bad is the amount of views my posts get. With that many followers, I have an average of 25 views per post. NOT GOOD ENOUGH!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In ONE WEEK, here are my most important variables:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The post with the most engagement was a Picture/Quote/Oustide Amazon Link receiving 68 views and 1 share. SHARING seems to be what's important here, because normally a link to an outside source brought down the views.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/melindadoz/photos/a.534594103221416.137327.418761068138054/795283883819102/?type=1">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/melindadoz">Melinda Dozier</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just as a side note, the second most engagement was a PICTURE of a sexy man. Yeah, yeah, I can't help myself. I have noticed that sexy man pics tend to get a lot more views, though, so that's why I'm including it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/melindadoz/posts/10152034129094585">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/melindadoz">Melinda Dozier</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Other top views included: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A simple post with only a comment (43 views)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sharing a FB link (45 views)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Funny picture (45 views)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Also noticeable was that all my higher viewed posts were "liked' or "commented" on. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The post with the least engagement was a share of a friend's post with a resounding SEVEN views.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhlwsEl2yfLpIWVxgoN8-9kq6w6IeHJnregDP9M41yZpOH3TAr2G37GwNHI5bV6LZ6mIFEHKMIUpnfSn8OTrjngcRG0n1nFtemlQZFZp9nDPGwzMaCil7QWlVswQyMjwK6v0VlMSFql4cvfSYDhog5P7SLh8jQOEQoY88Hpm8vafyge4IxNe9jaelmlUgVRvmoNhfjq=" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="Want to increase engagement on social media? Ask questions. It´s an easy way to start a conversation and get to know people online. #socialmedia" border="0" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/96/b2/58/96b258a2e2c6fbb8a51ab8d08f328199.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a final experiment, today I asked my followers to comment on a post as part of a FB experiment. After 7 hours, I've had 28 comments & 6 likes. With this post, I've had 473 views and expect more. So, <span style="color: #f4cccc;">COMMENT, PEOPLE,</span> to help each other out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>OVERALL ANALYSIS:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>To have more engagement/views:</b></span></div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">More comments = more engagement (duh!)</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Use pictures (don't just link to the picture)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Others share your post</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Share interesting posts from other FB users</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>MORE ANALYSIS to come!</b></span></div>
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Melinda Dozier is a contemporary romance author who loves to spend time on social media. Her two books, BREAKING THE RULES from Crimson Romance and LOVE AND OTHER GAMES from Swoon Romance have been category best sellers on Amazon. You can find her at <a href="http://www.melindadozier.com/">www.melindadozier.com</a>. </div>
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Therese & Morgan Say: Are you still cringing at the thought of doing a photo shoot for an author portrait? Well, here is an alternative for those of you who may be camera shy or otherwise have a specific reason for not wanting to have your picture floating around the internet. We reached out to our dear friend,<a href="http://sabrinayork.com/"> Sabrina York</a> for her thoughts on why she chose to use a cartoon illustration instead of an author portrait. 'Her Royal Hotness' was an early supporter of our efforts and we will forever love her!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXISwPtVyBuI8T_ObDKba2gTkVrW-WN-AH-6qviErcU622HnpzU2XYMqlU70z7rAAbEFV1_10_H-tqXTchetakf-g-lAThN16vp2t5IFaSN9X7VKEdc2t0JVG11HlrHM7YzB6_PIp1EfLI/s1600/Sabrina_head_logo.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXISwPtVyBuI8T_ObDKba2gTkVrW-WN-AH-6qviErcU622HnpzU2XYMqlU70z7rAAbEFV1_10_H-tqXTchetakf-g-lAThN16vp2t5IFaSN9X7VKEdc2t0JVG11HlrHM7YzB6_PIp1EfLI/s200/Sabrina_head_logo.png" height="200" width="200" /></a><br />
Sabrina Says: For the last century or so, I have worked in government for a very conservative organization. (Well, it seems like a century.) What I write is not conservative in the least. So I knew as soon as I sold my first steamy romance, I would need to use a pen name. It would serve as a tool to keep my personal and professional lives separate and would also allow me to write in other genres under another name if I so desired.</div>
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Because this separation between my worlds was so important to me, I hired a company (<a href="http://visualquill.com/">Visual Quill</a>) to help with developing a branding strategy. We defined a profile for my core customer, and from that designed a logo and tagline, which I would use for all my marketing.</div>
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My core customer is, like me, a little reserved on the surface, but with a playful and naughty side. She has a snarky sense of humor and loves bling. These elements are all incorporated in my persona.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What are the hallmarks of an effective persona?</span></div>
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<b>Professionalism</b></div>
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My philosophy as a newbie author was this: “Begin as you mean to go on.” It was my intention to be a bestselling author and I decided to behave like one from the very beginning. My thought was, this is big business. And big businesses have logos. They do not rely on photographs of their CEOs. <br />
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“But Sabrina,” you may ask. “How can a cartoon logo be professional?”<br />
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And I will respond, “Stop interrupting.” But then I will go on to share that any cartoon can be a professional logo…if it illustrates your brand. KFC and Wendy’s are two that pop to mind, but I won’t mention them because then I’ll get hungry.</div>
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<b>Recognizability</b><br />
A logo is far more recognizable at a glance than a photograph. As we all know, a customer must see your logo three times for it to sink into their consciousness (new studies reflecting our shortening attention spans suggests that number is closer to 17). By using my logo as my “face,” people see it over and over again on Facebook, blogs, marketing material, Goodreads, Pintrest, Twitter…and so on.<br />
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It has recognizability. They know, immediately, who I am. And if they’ve read my books, they know my brand. On that note, for those of you who regularly change your profile picture on Facebook, realize you are losing a little chunk of your brand recognition every time you do so.<br />
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<b>A Shield</b><br />
Because I use my logo rather than a photograph in my marketing efforts, it is easier to maintain personal privacy, or at least some distance from my personal persona. This may not seem important when you are just starting to build your fan base, but when 75% of your followers on Facebook (and closer to 95% on Twitter) are people you do not personally know, this becomes essential.<br />
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Friends of mine—erotic authors—who use their personal photograph as their profile picture, spend a lot of time fending off advances from individuals who think Facebook is a dating site. Apparently these charming fellows think erotic authors need a date…which is far from the truth. We are all too busy writing to date.<br />
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Other authors have shared even more disturbing stories about being stalked (and not in a good way), and fans who “friend” their husbands and children as a way to connect with them. It is an excellent idea to keep your personal business off social media—especially photographs of your children. If this is your business, treat Facebook, and other social media outlets, like a business site.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Advice on how to create your own persona</span></b><br />
Think about who you are and what you write. What image do you want to portray? Is there a unifying brand you can apply to your persona? For me, my tagline, Her Royal Hotness, ties into the tiara in my logo. To extend the thread, I do a regular tiara giveaway and my promo pens are festooned with bling.<br />
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Everything ties together into a neat package. A package readers can recognize in an instant.<br />
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And if you were wondering why I felt the need to keep my private life private from my conservative employers, download a copy of my free teaser book and see for yourself: <a href="http://sabrinayork.com/home-2/sabrina-yorks-teaser-book/">http://sabrinayork.com/home-2/sabrina-yorks-teaser-book/</a><br />
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Happy reading!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShpHm9MF_RST3scFfP2VcmNMRWl3UDYK4fdenp6hfy4ILR8sbgja4d-JD9wA1hveJnPcoLsyZXoa7r26sHep_XYkxMVAa1iWTboD2pjeh_U5lZ8B42uPJ55Ou17n8G2M5Oo7KH9afFBF6/s1600/Sabrina_York_URL.png"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjShpHm9MF_RST3scFfP2VcmNMRWl3UDYK4fdenp6hfy4ILR8sbgja4d-JD9wA1hveJnPcoLsyZXoa7r26sHep_XYkxMVAa1iWTboD2pjeh_U5lZ8B42uPJ55Ou17n8G2M5Oo7KH9afFBF6/s1600/Sabrina_York_URL.png" height="80" width="320" /></a><br />
<b>About Sabrina York</b><br />
Her Royal Hotness, Sabrina York, is the award winning author of over twenty hot, humorous stories for smart and sexy readers, her <a href="http://sabrinayork.com/books/">titles</a> range from sweet & steamy erotic romance to scorching BDSM. Connect with her on twitter @sabrina_york, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sabrina.york.14">Facebook</a> or on <a href="http://pinterest.com/sabrinayork/boards/">Pintrest</a>. Check out Sabrina’s books and read an excerpt on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sabrina-York/e/B00856PDEO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1">Amazon</a> or wherever e-books are sold. Visit her webpage at <a href="http://www.sabrinayork.com/">www.sabrinayork.com</a> to check out her books, excerpts and contests. Don’t forget to enter to <a href="http://sabrinayork.com/sabrinas-contest-and-newsletter/">win the royal tiara</a>!<br />
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Like my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SabrinaYorkBooks">Facebook Author Page</a><br />
Follow me on Twitter @sabrina_york<br />
Follow me on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5817917.Sabrina_York">Goodreads</a><br />
Check out my <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/sabrinayork/boards/">Pintrest boards</a><br />
Like my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sabrina-York/e/B00856PDEO/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1382929432&sr=8-2-ent">Amazon Author Page</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06555964256867646867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-21105342200671086022014-02-03T03:00:00.000-08:002014-02-03T17:09:59.375-08:00Using Niche Marketing for Your Book @KayelleAllen #MFRWorgREPOSTED FROM <a href="http://mfrw.blogspot.com/2014/02/using-niche-marketing-for-your-book.html?spref=bl">MFRW - Marketing for Romance Writers: Using Niche Marketing for Your Book @kayelleallen ...</a><br />
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DEFINITIONS</h4>
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Let's start with two definitions for the term niche marketing. <b>Niche </b>-- A position particularly well suited to the person
who occupies it; the status of an organism within its environment and community
(affecting its survival as a species). <b>Marketing </b>-- The exchange of goods for an agreed sum of
money; the commercial processes involved in promoting and selling and
distributing a product or service; engaging in commercial promotion, sale, or
distribution.</div>
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Niche marketing is <b>networking</b>. It is not selling. It is not
carrying around your books or even bookmarks or business cards. Niche marketing
is finding out who likes what you write, and finding ways to be seen by them. Let me explain.</div>
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Most marketing efforts are overt. Television commercials
show a product and explain why you need it. Car commercials focus on the
vehicle's aesthetic appeal, economy, dependability, affordability, and the prestige
of ownership. An ad for a new product explains how it's used, why you need to
try it, and often offers a bargain for ordering now. Who hasn't heard "But
wait! Order now and get..."</div>
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<o:p>IT'S NOT SELLING </o:p></h4>
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The point of niche marketing is not to sell. It's to rub elbows
with people who like "what" you sell and letting them discover your
product organically. Your signature on forums, emails, and groups should always
have links to your website. Never send anyone anything -- even other writers -- without including your professional signature and a link to something relating to your brand. A book, your website, your blog, social media, etc. You can't have niche marketing if no one knows how to find you. By all means, if you have a tagline (and you should get one asap if not), display it in banners and buttons. Mine is below.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PwahbpbJFhI/UMy9bXGpVHI/AAAAAAAAGEU/fuRrjKwjvew/s1600/HeroesBanner.600x233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PwahbpbJFhI/UMy9bXGpVHI/AAAAAAAAGEU/fuRrjKwjvew/s1600/HeroesBanner.600x233.jpg" height="124" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm not talking about an in-your-face "DOWNLOAD
NOW!" approach, but a simple and direct one. Set up your profile so that every
message ends with your name, your writing tag, and your website. If you don't
have a tag and website, create them. These are gems! You can use these
everywhere you go. A website gives people a central location to learn more
about you and your books, and a tag simply tells people what kinds of books you
write. Mine is "Unstoppable heroes, Uncompromising love, Unforgettable
passion." Anyone who reads my books is going get these things. It's a few
words that say everything about my writing. Using your tag in your signature is
a form of passive marketing. By combining passive marketing with niche
marketing, you can get a double opportunity to tell people about your books, without
hitting them over the head with a "BUY NOW!" message.</div>
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Go where people who read your type of book can be found. If you
write books about horses, you associate with horse people. If it's cats, then you
go where cat folks meet. If it's vampires, maybe you hang out with people who watch
vampire movies. Niche marketing means you are part of a group that likes the
things you write about. It's not selling or talking about your book. You're just
there, being one of the gang. Finding the right niche means being with like-minded
people. A guy who sells tractors should find out where farmers hang out. His niche
is people who need what a tractor can do. Figuring out what the tractor does and
what problems it solves will help him figure out who will buy his product.</div>
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Think "what problem does my book
solve?" If you write fiction, don't assume your book solves no problems.
It likely solves many, including boredom and not knowing what to read. One of
the first things to consider is that fiction creates a fantasy for someone. If you
can fulfill a fantasy, people will pay you for it. A fiction book entertains. People who want to escape and relax with a good story will pay for the privilege. What
prompted you to write the book? Think about that and make notes about your
thoughts and needs regarding your decision to write, other than "to make
money from a book." We all want that as an outcome, but it's not why we
write, is it?</div>
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Jot down fantasies your book fulfills. You might be surprised.
Then look at who is buying similar books (and movies/TV) that fulfill those. It's not necessarily
what you thought at first. Be open to new ideas. Where can you go to reach that
crowd? Be prepared to spend some time in research, and in getting to know the
fans of the genre or series.</div>
<h4 style="text-align: right;">
<a href="http://mfrw.blogspot.com/2014/02/using-niche-marketing-for-your-book.html" target="_blank">READ MORE by following this link.</a></h4>
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===<br />
Post by author Kayelle Allen, multi-published, award-winning Science Fiction Romance
author of unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, and unforgettable passion.</div>
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Homeworld <a href="http://kayelleallen.com/">http://kayelleallen.com</a><br />
Unstoppable Heroes Blog <a href="http://kayelleallen.com/blog">http://kayelleallen.com/blog</a><br />
Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/kayelleallen">http://twitter.com/kayelleallen</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Author's Secret <a href="https://theauthorssecret.com/">https://theauthorssecret.com</a><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">(post also shared with <a href="http://ce.savvyauthors.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Feature.showFeature&CategoryID=41&FeatureID=358" target="_blank">Savvy Authors</a>)</span></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06555964256867646867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-2355071252132388332014-01-29T00:00:00.000-08:002014-01-29T00:00:01.060-08:00#WWoW!: Burning the Candle at Both Ends and the Middle with @dochappycamper #MyWANA #amwriting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebHLblMtA9uBxsSKxkwKLIPIxaQTootm5jYUgK_nFWB7S-wOLd5sKpdLkqXwihnx4IfqnlXVLComE8cYpSEilhgJBD4S0UYQ2g0UztdRIpMEvBXmhq05JWAV9021Yr6rKvwVs3MEvD3M/s1600/banner+odds+and+ends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiebHLblMtA9uBxsSKxkwKLIPIxaQTootm5jYUgK_nFWB7S-wOLd5sKpdLkqXwihnx4IfqnlXVLComE8cYpSEilhgJBD4S0UYQ2g0UztdRIpMEvBXmhq05JWAV9021Yr6rKvwVs3MEvD3M/s1600/banner+odds+and+ends.jpg" height="176" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Welcome to <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Tammy's Tidbits</span> here at <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Writer's Words of Wisdom</span>. Each week the four of us share the things we've learned on our journey to become published authors. At times we may discuss the same topic, but never the exact same opinion as our experiences vary. That's what makes our little group unique. We share with you what has and hasn't worked for us so you can find what works best for you.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Today's topic is all about <b><span style="color: #d5a6bd;">burnout</span>.</b> I've written about this before. As authors we tend to get so involved with all aspects of writing, publishing and promoting, we forget to take time out for ourselves. </i><i>I know better and still here I am again at the point where I'm simply overwhelmed. I'm over-committed, overworked, and in dire need of sleep.</i></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Sound familiar? Multiply that by four and you have my life. Well, I should say multiply that by six: four pen names, a publishing house, and my "evil day job" as a veterinarian. Just with all that alone, I have very little time to take care of my home, my husband and myself. My health has suffered because of it and now I'm at a point where I'm no longer enjoying the very reason I got started on this journey in the first place—my writing.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">What used to be a joyful escape has turned into another drudgery. I want that joy back! I'm not saying I don't want to treat writing and publishing as my job. I just want to be able to wake up each day with a smile on my face, looking forward to what my characters have in store for me.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">How did it get so out of control? In all my excitement with getting published, I agreed to do weekly posts such as this one, joined Triberr, tweet teams, blog hops, chat groups, author support groups, started my own publishing house and branched out into multiple genres with my various pen names. As they were published, the demand for the next books from each of them grew. The pressure was on to produce faster in order to keep these new readers coming back for more.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Instead of allowing myself to take the time needed to produce the best books possible, I pressed the deadlines, added more and quadrupled my stress levels. These stresses built up higher and higher and lead to all of my health issues—least of all the high blood pressure and diabetes.</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">It's time to <span style="color: magenta;"><b>STOP</b></span> and re-evaluate my goals as</span></i><br />
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<i><span style="color: #d5a6bd; font-size: large;">a writer</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #d5a6bd; font-size: large;">a publisher</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #d5a6bd; font-size: large;">and a veterinarian</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">I need see how these can balance with the rest of my life and create the all new, and improved...ME. If I'm not healthy and happy, none of the rest will fall into place.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">My advice to myself and all other authors out there is to continually re-evaluate your business plan/career goals to be sure you keep balance with your personal life. If any part of these goals get out of whack, you may find your creativity drying up, your health and well-being plummet, and you'll feel like a failure.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">In other words: <b><span style="color: magenta;">BURNOUT</span></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">So recognize the signs you're burning the candle at both ends and the middle before it's too late. Give yourself permission to walk away and enjoy the life around you. Spend time with your partner/spouse and family. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Devote only one hour a day or on specific days of the week for promotions. Make sure you designate at least an hour a day where you only <b><span style="color: magenta;">WRITE</span></b>. Nothing else. No Internet, no chat, no Twitter, no promotions, nothing. Only write those tales your characters are dying to tell.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Don't commit to projects that will take you away from your ultimate goal of producing your next book. Not to say you can't do one, but realistically look at your schedule and see if you can devote time to it. If you can't give it your best shot, don't volunteer the time and energy you don't have.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Don't feel guilty about saying<b><span style="color: magenta;"> NO.</span></b> You are not a machine. Even if you were, machines require routine maintenance to keep running in top order. You must take care of <b><span style="color: magenta;">YOU</span></b> above all else. Nothing else matters if you're not around to enjoy it.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">I'm off to take my own advice. I may not be back here weekly now, but you will see me at least once a month with more advice from the trenches. When we meet again, I'll fill you in on how my new plan of balance is working out!</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Until next time my friends,</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">~Tammy</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Learn More About Tammy</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i></i><br /></span><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF76YhSVM0JW7fe4dmImR527OHluGVYesZ7j8xzwATuY2R8Hu5lV9voso4Pxt20x0yDFnh0JteVeGJdI0eoB7TWbj2PxSfW6-dcrQF4z42mhkEasHd85xfwaub7vo3xU3PM0ji6MW0kd0/s1600/author+signature+tammy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF76YhSVM0JW7fe4dmImR527OHluGVYesZ7j8xzwATuY2R8Hu5lV9voso4Pxt20x0yDFnh0JteVeGJdI0eoB7TWbj2PxSfW6-dcrQF4z42mhkEasHd85xfwaub7vo3xU3PM0ji6MW0kd0/s1600/author+signature+tammy.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Tammy Dennings Maggy is a best selling, multi-published poet and erotic romance author with Siren and Sassy Vixen Publishing. Her writing explores many facets of romance from ultimate betrayal to finding your soul mate. Her poetry serves as a companion to her novels and has inspired entire series all on their own. Tammy and her alter egos Lia Michaels and Stephanie Ryan and Tawny Savage make up the core authors at Sassy Vixen Publishing and together they've created the shared world series Temptations Resort. Look for the first books in that series to come out later this year.</i><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Now happily married to her own Muse and soul mate, she continues to live her dream and act as secretary to all her characters demanding to have their stories told.</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;"><br /></span></h3>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Check out:</span></h3>
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<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://authortammydenningsmaggy.com/">Website</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://tammydenningsmaggy.blogspot.com/">Blog</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's Books on <a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/tammy-dennings-maggy">Bookstrand</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tammy-Dennings-Maggy/e/B005VLQLPG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tammy-dennings-maggy?store=allproducts&keyword=tammy+dennings+maggy">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dochappycamper">Smashwords</a>, and<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tammy-dennings-maggy/id495110661?mt=11"> iTunes</a> </span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><a href="http://www.sassyvixenpublishing.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Sassy Vixen Publishing</span></a></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dochappycamper">Facebook</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Like Tammy's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Author.TammyDenningsMaggy">Facebook Author Page</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5222022.Tammy_Dennings_Maggy">Goodreads</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://pinterest.com/dochappycamper/">Pinterest</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Follow Tammy on <a href="https://twitter.com/dochappycamper">Twitter</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Find Tammy's Videos on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/dochappycamper1/videos?flow=grid&view=0">Youtube</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><span style="color: #c27ba0;">If you'd like to share your experiences in the publishing world, please contact us about setting up a guest appearance. We'd love to hear from you!</span></i></span></div>
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Tammy Dennings Maggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17551291117492287824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-35902786147443086482014-01-28T00:30:00.000-08:002014-01-28T00:30:04.037-08:00#Wwow - Top 10 Online Sites for Free Photos<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-V5iKeJOZ6ZvBf19snhZunip1KBM-ULtMahVrfwTNVffgwA_8-mS01K_6a9dJiNnVY2xBVoQTsyNjcENazJ43ipJk3donYjXXkT8yelS7obt7h2jsZBrqdefNkQbjpBGOaZ-NULceRRBv/s1600/MelindastwoCents.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-V5iKeJOZ6ZvBf19snhZunip1KBM-ULtMahVrfwTNVffgwA_8-mS01K_6a9dJiNnVY2xBVoQTsyNjcENazJ43ipJk3donYjXXkT8yelS7obt7h2jsZBrqdefNkQbjpBGOaZ-NULceRRBv/s1600/MelindastwoCents.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Say Cheese! Ever since I became an author, I've had to use pictures for everything! My blog, my website, promotional badges, promotional videos, book trailers ... the list goes on. So, finding a good place online can be time consuming. That's why I stepped in today to tell you of FREE places to find pictures online. If you don't think it's important to use royalty free images and to just copy/paste, you better think differently. Read this from author Roni Loren: <a href="http://www.roniloren.com/blog/2012/7/20/bloggers-beware-you-can-get-sued-for-using-pics-on-your-blog.html">Bloggers Beware: You Can Get Sued for Using Pics on Your Blog</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I do not work for or represent these places in any way. I've just stumbled upon them and find them useful sites.</span><br />
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1.<a href="http://openclipart.org/"> Open Clip Art</a><br />
2. <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_page">Wikepedia Commons</a> - a database of freely used media files<br />
3. <a href="http://www.sxc.hu/">Stock XChg</a> - the leading source of free stock photos<br />
4. <a href="http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/20-free-online-stock-video-sites/">20 Free Online Stock Videos</a> - an article that shares 20 different places<br />
5. <a href="http://www.stockvault.net/">Stock Vault</a><br />
6. <a href="http://search.creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a> - Search for free photos or videos from several public domains<br />
7. <a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/">Free Digital Photos</a> - an extensive selection of free photos<br />
8. <a href="http://www.dreamstime.com/free-photos">Dreamtime</a> - Offers free weekly photos for download.<br />
9. <a href="http://www.freephotosbank.com/">Free Photos Bank</a><br />
10. <a href="http://www.freestockphotos.biz/">Free Stock Photos</a><br />
11. <a href="http://photopin.com/">Photo Pin</a><br />
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Happy picture hunting!<br />
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Melinda is a contemporary romance author represented by Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency. You can find her on the web at www.melindadozier.com. Both her novels are available at all ebook retailers: Breaking the Rules from Crimson Romance and Love and Other Games from Swoon Romance.<br />
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<br />Melinda Dozierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864718341509893591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-31388127383647775132014-01-23T04:08:00.000-08:002014-01-23T04:08:32.688-08:00Giveaways - There is no wrong way.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi! I hope you're having a lovely Thursday. Today I wanted to talk a little about giveaways. Is it ever hard to decide on what you want to giveaway?<div>
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You have a new release. Should you giveaway your new book? A gift card (and hope they will buy your book)? Swag? Or something else totally random?</div>
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While there is no real answer on what you should giveaway, I do have a few thoughts. When I first release a book, I don't do an actual giveaway of the book for awhile. Yes, my hopes are people will buy the book.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZaBXEktUtTtJ92B2C1kVRw7VSW40quT_0BNpUrZQc3JmbsCKb0CtOJLoJtrPUM-8bSpc0y7SaRwaZM1STlJhvn2Ym9mCDT4dSBMPDIFOBZ3wrPe4_TIt62zThBZWxbLClgE430XI3Ug/s1600/LaceyTips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZaBXEktUtTtJ92B2C1kVRw7VSW40quT_0BNpUrZQc3JmbsCKb0CtOJLoJtrPUM-8bSpc0y7SaRwaZM1STlJhvn2Ym9mCDT4dSBMPDIFOBZ3wrPe4_TIt62zThBZWxbLClgE430XI3Ug/s1600/LaceyTips.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
But I will giveaway a book similar to it. Maybe it's part of the series. I will giveaway the book before or the first in the series. Something that might entice them to want my latest. Such as with Arranged Love, my story Wanted: Wife has a similar feel to it. So I've been giving it away.</div>
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I do the gift card thing and usually in $5 increments and give the winner 3 options: Amazon, Nook, or Starbucks. All of these you can do online. I don't know what they will buy with it. But remember, you don't know they are going to read your book either when you give it to them. It could stay on their hard drive. At least with the gift card, they've won something they'll use and if it's a super awesome day, maybe they will pick up my book...maybe they won't.</div>
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Swag. I've been published since 2011 and I've never really done the swag thing before. I don't like spending money on things I'm not sure about. I see swag (paper products mainly) and I see my money literally being put into someones trash can. Now, with that said, it doesn't mean you shouldn't give away swag. I actually just did my first swag pack giveaways. I have a conference coming up, so I ordered a bunch of stuff to bring a long. These probably won't be my best giveaways. I'm trying it, so I can't say yet how successful this is.</div>
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And on another note. If you're a brand new author and you're wanting to find new readers, then I do suggest giving away your actual book. Like I mentioned earlier, just know, not everyone you send your book to will read it. Books are given away every day and books are bought every day. I must admit, I have books I've bought with ever intention on reading, but then something else came on my kindle and that book got pushed aside 6 months ago now. However, don't let that discourage you, because some are going to read it. They are going to love it and when you're next book releases, you might have found your first few fans. And really, that's what this is all about. Finding fans who love your work. </div>
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Giveaways are tricky, but there really is no wrong way. Readers love them. Many of them spend a lot of money on books, so getting something for free is always great.</div>
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Happy Thursday!</div>
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-Lacey</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04753490551589564849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-36337284957772934392014-01-22T00:00:00.000-08:002014-01-22T00:00:02.904-08:00#WWoW!: @dochappycamper Talks About How to Get the Most Out of Author Support Groups and #Tweet Teams #MyWANA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Welcome back to this week's edition of <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Tammy's Tidbits</span> here at <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Writer's Words of Wisdom</span>. Each week, the four of us share what's worked and what hasn't worked well for us during our journey to becoming published authors. Our stories vary as do our experiences, but that's what makes our group unique. What works for one, may not work for another but by sharing what we've learned, we help others determine their own course. It's a win-win situation for all involved!</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMyy6ZXhCxDJZZ1oyOE4iageTp8kOb-IbNrTdXwvLUaQUiFFOIKyj7zDAi1gdsVsW8h1ENesRdp3cKCQyDv244bfhu_bLFhoOuAFfYNpjuZTrQIndEO8SUCLGQDj_RHTEFZDk1HldaxYU/s1600/Tammy%2527s+Tidbits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMyy6ZXhCxDJZZ1oyOE4iageTp8kOb-IbNrTdXwvLUaQUiFFOIKyj7zDAi1gdsVsW8h1ENesRdp3cKCQyDv244bfhu_bLFhoOuAFfYNpjuZTrQIndEO8SUCLGQDj_RHTEFZDk1HldaxYU/s1600/Tammy%2527s+Tidbits.jpg" height="150" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>This week I'd like to talk a bit about author support groups. There are many out there. Some are geared more toward specific genres and heat levels, while others welcome everyone and their work. Some focus more on specific aspects of the business such as <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Marketing for Romance Writers</span>. Some focus on building your brand and connections such as <span style="color: #c27ba0;">MyWANA</span> (We Are Not Alone) and to a lesser extent <span style="color: #c27ba0;">tweet teams</span>.</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlz0mezHByY76bpEoSDVUCjQJhyphenhyphenY0Evuxl5WiemlUQ755Fo7gdQWvzNU_CvIP4Lzhd4AFVJgWiQIEt1_cRz9tsKyRf6Dj58bh2QlYbfT6HyQ596Ek375hFSj8ymItF7OaQSM3lZ6fnx63p/s320/Spamming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlz0mezHByY76bpEoSDVUCjQJhyphenhyphenY0Evuxl5WiemlUQ755Fo7gdQWvzNU_CvIP4Lzhd4AFVJgWiQIEt1_cRz9tsKyRf6Dj58bh2QlYbfT6HyQ596Ek375hFSj8ymItF7OaQSM3lZ6fnx63p/s320/Spamming.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>No matter the group they all have one thing in common: rules for participation. These are the guidelines for all members to follow if they wish to participate in the group and be supported by the other members. They have rules for what can and cannot be posted in the groups and whether promotions are allowed at all. If the group is focused on marketing for example, they may only wish to talk about ideas and "how to" market your work, not receive nonstop <span style="color: magenta;">BUY ME NOW</span> spam.</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://geofflivingston.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/triberr-man.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://geofflivingston.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/triberr-man.jpeg" height="253" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>One set of rules I'd like to focus on in particular are those concerning participation on tweet teams and the blog sharing site <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Triberr</span>. When you join these groups you are expected to share ALL participating members posts whether it's tweets or blogs. This means you are NOT to pick and choose which posts you want to share and which you'll ignore because you or your followers don't like the subject material.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Unless the groups are set up to allow selective sharing when you participate, you can't do it. Not only is it rude, it's unfair that you expect your posts to be shared by all and you get to be exempt. These support/share teams are set up so all participants get their posts shared across the board and put in front of more potential readers/fans. If you break that chain, you not only screw your team members, you get labeled as an author behaving badly.</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjKk6VG-5SIq0yZAVKx0XbgyFCLYk1KixYqoHlaAznaJQtVxn3s4smh4ILr2594zet25qq4d8zFDYLDjofVQtReygyAqWvd5x3THjhCu9qjsgTyO1jfdED5CFFMhgvpeC7X-Y-GpGei8/s1600/abb_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpjKk6VG-5SIq0yZAVKx0XbgyFCLYk1KixYqoHlaAznaJQtVxn3s4smh4ILr2594zet25qq4d8zFDYLDjofVQtReygyAqWvd5x3THjhCu9qjsgTyO1jfdED5CFFMhgvpeC7X-Y-GpGei8/s1600/abb_logo.png" height="320" width="175" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>You know you don't want to be labeled <span style="color: magenta;">AABB </span>(another author behaving badly). We've talked about it many times before. You are in this business to build bridges, not burn them down. If you don't agree with the rules of a group, don't join it. Plain and simple. If you find you can't share posts for all members because you are personally offended by the subject matter, then quietly leave the group. You don't need to make a horrible scene as you leave. You don't have to explain yourself other than to say you don't feel you're a good fit. Leave it at that and keep on friendly terms with them. You never know when those connections will come in handy later.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>To sum it all up: participation in author support groups, tweet teams and sites such as <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Triberr </span>is not a one way street. If you're not prepared to <span style="color: magenta;">RECIPROCATE</span>, you need to <span style="color: magenta;">VACATE </span>your spot to someone who will.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Until next time,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>~Tammy</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Learn More About Tammy</span></h3>
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<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Tammy Dennings Maggy is a best selling, multi-published poet and erotic romance author with Siren and Sassy Vixen Publishing. Her writing explores many facets of romance from ultimate betrayal to finding your soul mate. Her poetry serves as a companion to her novels and has inspired entire series all on their own. Tammy and her alter egos Lia Michaels and Stephanie Ryan make up the core authors at Sassy Vixen Publishing and together they've created the shared world series Temptations Resort. Look for the first books in that series to come out later this year.</i><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Now happily married to her own Muse and soul mate, she continues to live her dream and act as secretary to all her characters demanding to have their stories told.</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Check out:</span></h3>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://authortammydenningsmaggy.com/">Website</a></span></i></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://tammydenningsmaggy.blogspot.com/">Blog</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's Books on <a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/tammy-dennings-maggy">Bookstrand</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tammy-Dennings-Maggy/e/B005VLQLPG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tammy-dennings-maggy?store=allproducts&keyword=tammy+dennings+maggy">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dochappycamper">Smashwords</a>, and<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tammy-dennings-maggy/id495110661?mt=11"> iTunes</a> </span></i></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
<i><a href="http://www.sassyvixenpublishing.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Sassy Vixen Publishing</span></a></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dochappycamper">Facebook</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Like Tammy's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Author.TammyDenningsMaggy">Facebook Author Page</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5222022.Tammy_Dennings_Maggy">Goodreads</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://pinterest.com/dochappycamper/">Pinterest</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Follow Tammy on <a href="https://twitter.com/dochappycamper">Twitter</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Find Tammy's Videos on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/dochappycamper1/videos?flow=grid&view=0">Youtube</a></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><span style="color: #c27ba0;">If you'd like to share your experiences in the publishing world, please contact us about setting up a guest appearance. We'd love to hear from you!</span></i></span></div>
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Tammy Dennings Maggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17551291117492287824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-28628839458263169112014-01-21T00:30:00.000-08:002014-01-21T00:30:03.221-08:00#Wwow - Get Your Pitch On! Twitter Pitch Parties<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbWBKrWAaelmcUU6o2cylETnQdwI0OOigIl_p8mJx4Dw7FcgeUeBAvfzR0Fq2vuXJgcu7P1DAzkJAMR0jO69Gx1sGqR_uA1EZBlnmWykQ1Ch7EcVhpB3rFrKY7tIysq5tHjFco9VCCYVz/s1600/banner+being+social.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbWBKrWAaelmcUU6o2cylETnQdwI0OOigIl_p8mJx4Dw7FcgeUeBAvfzR0Fq2vuXJgcu7P1DAzkJAMR0jO69Gx1sGqR_uA1EZBlnmWykQ1Ch7EcVhpB3rFrKY7tIysq5tHjFco9VCCYVz/s1600/banner+being+social.jpg" height="89" width="320" /></a>Have you heard of online pitch parties? I'm happy to share that both my novels and my agent were contracted through Pitch Parties on Twitter. Yep, there's plenty of ways to query your book that go against the traditional route.<br />
<br />What is a Pitch Party? Many take place on Twitter. You "pitch" or "query" your book in 140 characters. Talk about complicated! Lurking behind the scenes are agents and editors. Here's my pitch that won an agent just this past December!<br />
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<i><b><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Speed dating isn't Vero’s idea of fun until she's reunited w/her only 1nightstand.Will Diego rock her world or break her heart? </span><a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23pitchmas&src=hash" style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #739e9f; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #abc4c5;">#</span>pitchmas</a><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> A</span></b></i><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-V5iKeJOZ6ZvBf19snhZunip1KBM-ULtMahVrfwTNVffgwA_8-mS01K_6a9dJiNnVY2xBVoQTsyNjcENazJ43ipJk3donYjXXkT8yelS7obt7h2jsZBrqdefNkQbjpBGOaZ-NULceRRBv/s1600/MelindastwoCents.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-V5iKeJOZ6ZvBf19snhZunip1KBM-ULtMahVrfwTNVffgwA_8-mS01K_6a9dJiNnVY2xBVoQTsyNjcENazJ43ipJk3donYjXXkT8yelS7obt7h2jsZBrqdefNkQbjpBGOaZ-NULceRRBv/s1600/MelindastwoCents.png" height="200" width="200" /></a><i><b><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px; line-height: 18px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b></i><br />
There's a whole lot more to tell, but you have to stick to the basics in 140 characters. If an editor or agent likes your pitch, they will comment or "like" it. Based on their instructions, you send partial/full/synopsis, whatever they want.<br />
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Also, some blogs hold Pitch Parties where you can pitch your manuscript in 50 words or more.<br />
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Today I will tell you about upcoming pitch parties. There are many throughout the year, but a few are coming up in the next month and you don't want to miss!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Upcoming Pitch Parties</b></u></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://chasingthecrazies.wordpress.com/2014-sun-vs-snow-query-contest/">Sun vs. Snow</a><span id="goog_1784185050"></span><span id="goog_1784185051"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a> </span>- Began Jan. 18. Although this started already, you can follow on Twitter using the #sunvssnow hashtag to see how a pitch party works.<br />
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<a href="http://heidinorrod.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/its-coming-adult-pitch-5-feb-2014-adpit/"><span style="font-size: large;">#AdPit</span></a> - February 5 on Twitter.<br />
Open to Adult and New Adult Fiction & Nonfiction<br />
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Occasionally specific publishers hold online Twitter Pitch Parties. Make sure you follow your favorite publishers so you don't miss.<br />
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<a href="http://www.brenda-drake.com/pitch-madness/"><u style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">#PitMad</u><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></a>March 2014<br />
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<br />PitchMadness (official)<br /><br />This will take place in March 2014. Exact date not yet announced.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u> Writer's Voice Pitch Party #WVTP</u></b></span>- May 2014<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://pitchmas.blogspot.com/">#Pitchmas</a></span><span id="goog_1784185092"></span><span id="goog_1784185093"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a> - July 2014<br /><br />This takes place in July 2014. Exact date not yet announced.<br /><br /><b style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><u>Twitter Pitch Party Rules:</u></b></div>
1. Only pitch finished manuscripts<br />
2. Pitch only once or twice an hour (depending on the contest)<br />
3. Do not favorite other's pitches (this if for the agents/editors). If you like a pitch, retweet it only.<br />
4. If you receive a favorite, scroll through that agent/editor's feed to find out their instructions of what to do next (submission guidelines).<br />
5. Don't forget to use the Pitch Party hashtag!<br />
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<b><u>Beware:</u></b><br />
Twitter Pitch Parties can be hectic. The feed is crazy!<br />
There are spammers. Just ignore them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioGjGUllzJY1pl026881wpilA95u-qcQGwMEP0EQbOB0tDu-sqDAbTj-2nVqTCmoWqIdpaxvAyXCdjwbbblqbaQw5PJo47kTH6NyXNqJzepbwNYFXx2VuHYZILWnjvBhyyKslAV5BhUFz/s1600/author+signature+MelindaDozier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioGjGUllzJY1pl026881wpilA95u-qcQGwMEP0EQbOB0tDu-sqDAbTj-2nVqTCmoWqIdpaxvAyXCdjwbbblqbaQw5PJo47kTH6NyXNqJzepbwNYFXx2VuHYZILWnjvBhyyKslAV5BhUFz/s1600/author+signature+MelindaDozier.jpg" height="200" width="173" /></a></div>
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Melinda Dozier is a contemporary romance author. Her novel, Breaking the Rules from Crimson Romance, was a #PitchMad success! She is also published with Swoon Romance with her anthology Love and Other Games, which centers around the Winter Olympics. You can find her at www.melindadozier.com<br />
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<br />Melinda Dozierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864718341509893591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-57265148948257996772014-01-20T02:00:00.000-08:002014-01-20T08:20:01.575-08:00Are You EPIC? @EPICorg<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://papajoesfantasticworld.com/epic-new.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://papajoesfantasticworld.com/epic-new.jpg" height="184" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>EPIC, the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition™ (www.epicorg.com) was established in 1998 and is a global organization of published authors and industry-related professionals who actively advocate continuing education and further enlightenment of electronic publications.</b></div>
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The EPIC eBook Competition™ is the oldest competition honoring eBooks and the ePublishing industry. This is a premier event for authors and publishing houses. The ARIANA Cover Art Competition™ celebrates artwork from imaginative and eye-catching eBook covers with this prestigious award, applauding the finest artwork of eBook publishing.</div>
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Literacy is close to the hearts of EPIC members and we are very proud of our New Voices Young Writers Competition™. This competition encourages reading and writing in public, private and home-based schools and is the perfect forum for young people to learn the versatility of eBooks, to experience a taste of the ePublishing world. This competition is open to young writers 11 to 18 years old.</div>
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<b>EPIC’s annual conference, EPICon™, invites industry professionals to share the latest eIndustry information, hone writing and editing skills, and explore new markets and promotional ideas.</b> Keynote luncheon speakers range from world-renowned authors to established publishing houses to eBook and print agents. For more information, please visit <a href="http://www.epicorg.com/">http://www.epicorg.com</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GG1fgkmSub7XISFrTOeOB_BHJQFSCWFxAwv9y5Lt4tmkIWB0KqU2bzrSIVLDBl0GkuH1Chb1UINfcCUod9CkJAiugCDrjzJqFDCrnQcEiI-HBcmhWBsPBPnJVtbnWvrAzvnx0nO1AKoj/s1600/epicon2014placeholder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8GG1fgkmSub7XISFrTOeOB_BHJQFSCWFxAwv9y5Lt4tmkIWB0KqU2bzrSIVLDBl0GkuH1Chb1UINfcCUod9CkJAiugCDrjzJqFDCrnQcEiI-HBcmhWBsPBPnJVtbnWvrAzvnx0nO1AKoj/s1600/epicon2014placeholder.jpg" height="100" width="200" /></a>Now, why should you attend EPICon 2014? </div>
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For the fabulous workshops?</div>
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For the entertainment factor?</div>
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For the exciting networking opportunities?</div>
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For the delightful Texas charm in San Antonio?</div>
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Yes! Yes! Yes! & Yes!</div>
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We have workshops to help Doctor a Sick Manuscript, Branding in the Digital Marketplace. The ABCs of Social Media and evenTaxes - the Dreaded Monster in the Closet. What about When Opportuntiy Strikes? The Perfect Pitch? Speed Dating with Publishers? The Gritty Details of Prison Life? Oh yes and don't forget Body Language for Writers and Paint the Picture.</div>
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All of this while networking with industry professionals, seeing old friends and making new ones at the eFiesta and Gala eBook Awards Banquet. Delight your senses on a San Antonio River Cruise and gear up for a Ghost tour of the historic--and haunted--Menger Hotel</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Register today at <u><a href="http://epicorg.com/epicon.html" target="_blank">EPIC.org</a>!</u></span></div>
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<i>This message was provided by Karen Cote from EPIC.</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06555964256867646867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-25699683596197946942014-01-15T00:00:00.000-08:002014-01-15T00:00:02.582-08:00#WWoW!: @dochappycamper Discusses Obtaining Your Own ISBN for Your Self Published Books #amwriting #MyWANA #ASMSG<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUI1KXlkLHBa8Zix2Hl13aOpbJUGHhuX0_iKmyXAJfxWaXm_wan5x_flW-9xE2VvBSWD2ERXpbymEeW3Mo_f0WnU9STQFW2tgwFgGwIlkKs3tJrI3qPev6-EHMGCbGK7Z5kM-VBz6Eirw/s1600/banner+getting+organized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUI1KXlkLHBa8Zix2Hl13aOpbJUGHhuX0_iKmyXAJfxWaXm_wan5x_flW-9xE2VvBSWD2ERXpbymEeW3Mo_f0WnU9STQFW2tgwFgGwIlkKs3tJrI3qPev6-EHMGCbGK7Z5kM-VBz6Eirw/s640/banner+getting+organized.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Welcome to <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Tammy's Tidbits </span>here at <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Writer's Words of Wisdom</span>. Each week I'm sharing something I've learned during my journey to become a published author and the founder of a small independent publishing house.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The last two posts I shared with you some of my experiences formatting and distributing electronic and print books. This week's topic goes right along with those. In fact, I probably should have discussed this one before those, but just like many self published authors, I was so excited to share the information, I skipped a few steps. LOL!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Seriously, in today's digital publishing arena it's too tempting to jump into the deep end without doing your research. Many authors are so keen on putting "published" next to their name, they intentionally skip some of the steps. You know what I'm talking about and for the purpose of this discussion we'll not go into all of them. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Today is all about the <span style="color: #c27ba0;">ISBN: International Standard Book Number</span>. This is a 10 or 13 number sequence assigned to any published book. "The purpose of the ISBN is to establish and identify one title or edition of a title from one specific publisher and is unique to that edition, allowing for more efficient marketing of products by booksellers, libraries, universities, wholesalers and distributors." ~Bowker Identifier Services.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>What that means is this number is the best way to link YOU as the publisher of your work. It's unique to the title. You have to have a separate number for your print and ebook formats, but once assigned, these numbers are forever associated with that specific edition. In other words: you own all the rights to your book. Period. End of story. :)</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;"><i><b>Why are these numbers important? Can't you just use the numbers assigned by Amazon, Smashwords, ARe, Draft 2 Digital and any other distribution channel?</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>To answer the second question first: yes you can use the free numbers assigned to you when you upload the book to those sites BUT...and this is a big one...you will NOT be listed as the official publisher of the book. Those sites will. </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>This is a big deal when it comes to book stores and other retail outlets ordering your books. Some refuse to stock anything that lists Createspace as the publisher. In order for you and your work to get to the largest markets, worldwide, you'll need your own unique ISBN, listing you as the publisher. This helps you get noticed in this vast ocean of new books out there every single day. You need to have these little extras to help build up your brand (you!), find your niche, and build your fan base.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="https://www.myidentifiers.com/">Bowker </a>is the only agency in the United States that can assign ISBNs to books published in this country and surrounding territories. You can choose to purchase a single ISBN or in blocks of them. I found for my purposes—and budget—the block of 10 numbers for $250 was right up my alley.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The site is easy to navigate and you can set up your account in minutes. Once you purchase your numbers, you then assign your titles to them. You'll enter all the information about your book: author, editor, cover artist, cover art, blurb, page count, pricing, etc. All of this information along with your publisher information is registered to the book with the ISBN you assign. No one else will be able to use that number and you can't use it for another book either.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;"><i><b>For more information on this topic: </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="http://writenonfictionnow.com/should-you-buy-your-own-isbn-when-you-self-publish/">Should You Buy Your Own ISBN When You Self-Publish?</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="http://jcpublishers.net/page.php?10">Why You, As A Self-Publisher, Need Your Own ISBN</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><a href="http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-You,-As-an-Author,-Need-Your-Own-ISBN-&id=3447872">Why You, As an Author, Need Your Own ISBN</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Until next time,</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>~Tammy</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Learn More About Tammy</span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF76YhSVM0JW7fe4dmImR527OHluGVYesZ7j8xzwATuY2R8Hu5lV9voso4Pxt20x0yDFnh0JteVeGJdI0eoB7TWbj2PxSfW6-dcrQF4z42mhkEasHd85xfwaub7vo3xU3PM0ji6MW0kd0/s1600/author+signature+tammy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF76YhSVM0JW7fe4dmImR527OHluGVYesZ7j8xzwATuY2R8Hu5lV9voso4Pxt20x0yDFnh0JteVeGJdI0eoB7TWbj2PxSfW6-dcrQF4z42mhkEasHd85xfwaub7vo3xU3PM0ji6MW0kd0/s320/author+signature+tammy.jpg" width="276" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Tammy Dennings Maggy is a best selling, multi-published poet and erotic romance author with Siren and Sassy Vixen Publishing. Her writing explores many facets of romance from ultimate betrayal to finding your soul mate. Her poetry serves as a companion to her novels and has inspired entire series all on their own. Tammy and her alter egos Lia Michaels and Stephanie Ryan make up the core authors at Sassy Vixen Publishing and together they've created the shared world series Temptations Resort. Look for the first books in that series to come out later this year.</i><i><br /></i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Now happily married to her own Muse and soul mate, she continues to live her dream and act as secretary to all her characters demanding to have their stories told.</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Check out:</span></h3>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://authortammydenningsmaggy.com/">Website</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://tammydenningsmaggy.blogspot.com/">Blog</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's Books on <a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/tammy-dennings-maggy">Bookstrand</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tammy-Dennings-Maggy/e/B005VLQLPG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tammy-dennings-maggy?store=allproducts&keyword=tammy+dennings+maggy">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dochappycamper">Smashwords</a>, and<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tammy-dennings-maggy/id495110661?mt=11"> iTunes</a> </span></i><br />
<i><a href="http://www.sassyvixenpublishing.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Sassy Vixen Publishing</span></a></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dochappycamper">Facebook</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Like Tammy's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Author.TammyDenningsMaggy">Facebook Author Page</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5222022.Tammy_Dennings_Maggy">Goodreads</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="http://pinterest.com/dochappycamper/">Pinterest</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Follow Tammy on <a href="https://twitter.com/dochappycamper">Twitter</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Find Tammy's Videos on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/dochappycamper1/videos?flow=grid&view=0">Youtube</a></span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><span style="color: #c27ba0;">If you'd like to share your experiences in the publishing world, please contact us about setting up a guest appearance. We'd love to hear from you!</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>Tammy Dennings Maggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17551291117492287824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-67415790216645011282014-01-13T03:00:00.001-08:002014-01-13T07:43:44.907-08:00#WWoW! Getting the Most Out Of @Goodreads!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn.theunlockr.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/goodreads1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://cdn.theunlockr.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/goodreads1-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Authors have different takes on Goodreads. Some dislike it, don't understand it and just aren't willing to use it. Some have discovered its hidden secrets and use it as another source of social networking. It took me awhile to navigate the site, find all the different ways to use it and make it a useful tool. But, now that I have, it's become part of my media toolkit. I don't spend a lot of time there but I do visit it a few times weekly.<br />
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Even before I was an author, I used Goodreads as a reader. I interacted with some authors I enjoyed reading, especially when I wanted to know more about when another book was being released in their series. I also used it to track books I wanted to read and those I'd read. Putting a rating on Goodreads whenever I read a book was second-nature as I kept my growing "Read" shelf up-to-date. I don't think I was alone in this. Many voracious readers gravitate towards Goodreads. So, shouldn't authors too?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are the top 12 ways to utilize goodreads as an author.</span><br />
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<b>1. Participate in the site as a reader, not just as an author.</b><br />
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Authors are readers too. List the books you’ve read and want to read. Write short reviews on your favorite books. Be genuine. Notice I said "favorite books". I urge you to think carefully about whether you’ll post reviews that aren’t positive. I make it a policy to only post the books I've read and enjoyed. It's a way to promote those authors while sharing books with others that I liked - a great way to make connections.<br />
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<b>2. Friend lots of readers.</b><br />
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Become friends with as many others as possible in the genres of your interest. But don't use them to spam - there's a book recommendation feature on Goodreads that I recommend you NOT use for your own books. Make friends to see what others are reading and share interests. Reading their reviews and posts will give you information on current readers' interests.<br />
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<b>3. Join Groups and be active.</b><br />
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Join groups in the categories you read/ write. The groups are similar to Yahoo groups or Google+ hangouts. There is ongoing discussion between members - often a lot of interaction, particularly in the larger groups. There are hundreds of groups on Goodreads, for all different interests. Don't just join author groups - be sure to join groups with readers. Then remember #1 - participate as a reader, not just as an author!<br />
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<b>4. Connect Goodreads to facebook.</b><br />
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You can connect to facebook and find your facebook friends who also use Goodreads. You can also allow Goodreads to post your activity to your facebook profile. It's another nice connection to show what books you enjoy as a reader to those who follow you on facebook.<br />
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<b>5. List all your books on Goodreads.</b><br />
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They might already be there but they might not. There are a variety of ways books get put on Goodreads - there's even a group of people "the Librarians" who have extra permissions to edit, etc. Excited readers may add a book by ISBN if they can't find it but to be sure that your books are listed as you want, be sure to list them yourself. Include all pertinent information. The more information you include, the easier it is for a reader.<br />
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<b>6. Join the Goodreads Author Program.</b><br />
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Through the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/program">Author Program</a>, you can create an author profile and then utilize all the other promotional tools they offer. You can host/ advertise events (launch parties, blog tours, book signings, etc) from your profile as well as be able to upload book trailers, excerpts, and create polls or quizzes for your readers.<br />
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<i>* Since the site is for readers, here's a place they are likely to look for you. Having a presence here is important. It’s the perfect place to connect with readers who enjoy the genre of books you write. *</i><br />
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<b>7. Link your blog to Goodreads.</b><br />
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You can host a blog directly on Goodreads, or for those who already have a blog, you can connect it to Goodreads so that your posts show up on your profile (see #3). It sometimes takes a day for them to go live but having that connection will draw more interaction to your blog.<br />
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<b>8. Create a Goodreads widget for your website or blog.</b><br />
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Goodreads makes it easy to embed a variety of widgets on your site to attract readers to your Goodreads profile. You will be able to choose to promote a shelf (for instance, your "want to read" shelf) or your profile. The directions are simple to follow and its just a matter of cut and paste.<br />
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<b>9. Check your Goodreads inbox.</b><br />
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Sometimes readers will try to connect with you through Goodreads because they give you an inbox. I make it a habit to check it weekly so I don't miss an opportunity to "talk" with a reader.<br />
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<b>10. Do giveaways.</b><br />
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This is only available if you have print books. Goodreads “First Reads” giveaway program is widely used and is a effective way of getting your book exposure on Goodreads. Once you set the criteria, Goodreads runs the giveaway and you are only required to supply the book once a winner is selected. Having a giveaway will increase those who place your book on their "want to read" shelves and will also lead to more reviews. This is great because the more reviews a book has, the more visibility it gets.<br />
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<b>11. Advertise on Goodreads.</b><br />
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I’ve heard positive stories about the outcome of the Goodreads <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/how_to#advertise_your_book">advertising program</a> though it is a big investment. Advertising starts around $500 a month. Authors who've used it do say that it delivered on sales. NOTE: Since I haven't done it personally though, I can't speak from experience. I mention only as a suggestion to look into.<br />
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<b>12. Check the Stats.</b><br />
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I love statistics because it gives real data on success. Goodreads gives us this tool. Since our goal is to get our books in reader's hands (aka, on their shelves), we need to know if what we're doing works. As an author member, Goodreads gives updated stats on how many people have added your books to their shelves, how many have reviewed them, your average ratings, etc. Track that data to determine how well your promotional activities on Goodreads are doing. Then make adjustments.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sQe7nZjPjC99_8oQieL7S8QHIY5gZelC15bErHms_yABPACV4iZKeVmjHjiDj82mMqzjU1OVGnN9jMINiwmK_pftEe7NVd91yj6waFrc8QbZoR7HS7ERH3shXpPcQ1OfgbPvFAeywyw/s1600/author+signature+Paloma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sQe7nZjPjC99_8oQieL7S8QHIY5gZelC15bErHms_yABPACV4iZKeVmjHjiDj82mMqzjU1OVGnN9jMINiwmK_pftEe7NVd91yj6waFrc8QbZoR7HS7ERH3shXpPcQ1OfgbPvFAeywyw/s200/author+signature+Paloma.jpg" width="172" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Are you on Goodreads?</span><br />
<b>Why? Why Not? Tell Us About Your Experience.</b><br />
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NEXT WEEK, I'm going to talk about reviews on Goodreads. (Oh yeah, I'm going there.)<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Paloma</i></span></b><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Paloma Beck is a Romance Author living a life of contradiction... she's a happily married carpooling mom writing erotic romance. It's almost naughty! Paloma writes full-time and has three series in the works with others on the fringes. Her books span both the contemporary and paranormal romance genres. </span></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06555964256867646867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-71709093444427030072014-01-09T01:30:00.000-08:002014-01-09T01:30:00.983-08:00Connect With Your Readers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSh4bch910pIAapcebo-LtKHTYAKLKh_7yRU4jrIIXjoylCpA9L_2rROBwWXHh1riy6u85gfA68fCtunUn2QOWDfMWeuvNSDT3MWiEMylXCN3S9jl-EgMrNDC9aK54pO5CywHSi1N8AE/s1600/banner+being+social.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSh4bch910pIAapcebo-LtKHTYAKLKh_7yRU4jrIIXjoylCpA9L_2rROBwWXHh1riy6u85gfA68fCtunUn2QOWDfMWeuvNSDT3MWiEMylXCN3S9jl-EgMrNDC9aK54pO5CywHSi1N8AE/s1600/banner+being+social.jpg" height="110" width="400" /></a></div>
I've been reading this great book by Kristen Lamb - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rise-Machines-Human-Authors-Digital-ebook/dp/B00DP7II4A/" target="_blank">Rise of The Machines: Human Authors In The Digital World.</a> I'm a little more than halfway through, but right now the biggest thing had has stuck with me is: <b>TALK TO YOUR READERS!</b> Or people on Facebook in general.<br />
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Kristen Lamb wrote something in the book that made a light bulb go off in my head that said, "Duh!"<br />
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To be honest, most of my time spent on my Facebook account is interacting with authors. I like their status's,<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZaBXEktUtTtJ92B2C1kVRw7VSW40quT_0BNpUrZQc3JmbsCKb0CtOJLoJtrPUM-8bSpc0y7SaRwaZM1STlJhvn2Ym9mCDT4dSBMPDIFOBZ3wrPe4_TIt62zThBZWxbLClgE430XI3Ug/s1600/LaceyTips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZaBXEktUtTtJ92B2C1kVRw7VSW40quT_0BNpUrZQc3JmbsCKb0CtOJLoJtrPUM-8bSpc0y7SaRwaZM1STlJhvn2Ym9mCDT4dSBMPDIFOBZ3wrPe4_TIt62zThBZWxbLClgE430XI3Ug/s1600/LaceyTips.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
comment on them, etc. And I am going to admit, when non-author status's come through, I don't comment on them as much, because when I log in to my Lacey Wolfe account, I'm in author mode. It isn't that I don't care what they are saying. I do. I just don't interact.<br />
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Wrong.<br />
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<b>I should be.</b> Kristen Lamb made a great point. <b>We are on social media to be social. </b>And I <i>was</i> (I'm stressing was, I've changed my ways), that was on there to just be social with other writers. It's important to like the status's and comment on non-writers stuff. Why? Besides the obvious--to hope they like us and one day might want to read us--but to be social. To find new people and those we can build strong friendships with.<br />
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I am more than an author. I am a mother, daughter, wife. I have six cats and a spoiled rotten dog full of anxiety. I like to watch the SyFy channel. I just started to crochet. I love to wash clothes but hate to fold them. See where I am going?<br />
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When you get on Facebook or any social media, take a step back and remember, while you are an awesome writer, you're also so much more. And use that to connect with your readers/friends.<br />
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To learn a little more, check out Kristen Lamb's blog <a href="http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">HERE</a> and go on twitter under the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23myWANA&src=hash" target="_blank">#MyWANA</a>. WANA stands for We Are Not Alone. And I can't recommend her book enough.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>-Lacey</i></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04753490551589564849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-13440345246100079222014-01-08T00:00:00.000-08:002014-01-08T00:00:05.967-08:00#WWoW!: More Fun with Formatting and Distributing #ebooks with @dochappycamper #amwriting #MyWANA #ASMSG<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAjqNY1WQ43nfdQxUWX3nzEmMrPcMyiSSOj2hg-Z9df5RSkUeThbnWqgmvv8kpRYPF7ynihw6gPknCBXGqMmgG37Z83oQKMo_9k9D0nl2N2E0vb9gupgBLVnd2AyKxFZ6pL32Qwq34VcU/s1600/banner+sharpening+your+skills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAjqNY1WQ43nfdQxUWX3nzEmMrPcMyiSSOj2hg-Z9df5RSkUeThbnWqgmvv8kpRYPF7ynihw6gPknCBXGqMmgG37Z83oQKMo_9k9D0nl2N2E0vb9gupgBLVnd2AyKxFZ6pL32Qwq34VcU/s1600/banner+sharpening+your+skills.jpg" height="176" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><i>Welcome back to <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Tammy's Tidbits</span> here at <span style="color: #c27ba0;">Writer's Words of Wisdom.</span> This is my first post of 2014 and I thought I'd continue with my last post of 2013. Formatting your ebooks for publishing can be a daunting task, but with just a little extra work you can produce files that look great on any ebook reader.</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;"><i>Last time I talked about the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Smashwords-Style-Guide-Format-Guides-ebook/dp/B004XWJ7UK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389161767&sr=8-1&keywords=Smashwords+STyle+Guide">Smashwords Style Guide</a>. It's a fabulous resource for all self published/Indie authors whether you decide to do your own formatting or not. Just the tips on how to tame Microsoft Word are enough to make it a must read and a KEEPER for your publishing arsenal. The best thing—it's FREE. </i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMyy6ZXhCxDJZZ1oyOE4iageTp8kOb-IbNrTdXwvLUaQUiFFOIKyj7zDAi1gdsVsW8h1ENesRdp3cKCQyDv244bfhu_bLFhoOuAFfYNpjuZTrQIndEO8SUCLGQDj_RHTEFZDk1HldaxYU/s1600/Tammy%2527s+Tidbits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMyy6ZXhCxDJZZ1oyOE4iageTp8kOb-IbNrTdXwvLUaQUiFFOIKyj7zDAi1gdsVsW8h1ENesRdp3cKCQyDv244bfhu_bLFhoOuAFfYNpjuZTrQIndEO8SUCLGQDj_RHTEFZDk1HldaxYU/s1600/Tammy%2527s+Tidbits.jpg" height="150" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Just this last week I decided to try out another site: <a href="https://www.draft2digital.com/">Draft 2 Digital</a>. I have to say it's the most user friendly site for self publishers and small independent publishing houses. D2D will take your Word document and convert it into a beautifully formatted EPUB file you use on ANY other site. In fact, you can take this file and covert it to any other ebook format you need with <a href="http://calibre-ebook.com/">Calibre</a>.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Why couldn't you do this with Smashwords? Well, all the files produced by the "Meatgrinder" formatting process on Smashwords are required to have "Smashwords Edition" in the front matter where your copyright page is located. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Not so with Draft 2 Digital. With my newest release, I put "Electronic Edition" in the same area I normally would acknowledge Smashwords, All Romance, or Amazon. Now, I can take this one Word document and create all I need. Right after the conversion process, D2D allowed me to download the epub file. I looked it over to make sure it looked good in a NOOK and then accepted it on the site. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Next. I got to choose the stores to distribute my book. Since it was my first time and I had already set up Smashwords, I decided to opt out of Barnes and Noble and Kobo. At the point when I did that, Smashwords hadn't shipped them the file yet so it worked out.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Now, <b><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-surrender-of-julia-tammy-dennings-maggy/1117919747?ean=2940148956440">The Surrender of Julia (Now and Forever 3)</a> </b>is live on both sites thanks to D2D. All the other distribution sites I've got covered with Smashwords, All Romance, and Amazon. The next book I publish, I'm starting out with Draft 2 Digital and distribute to BN, Kobo, iTunes and maybe a few more. They even have Createspace as an option so I could do my print formatting with them as well.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Go ahead and check them out and see what I'm talking about. If you're not ready to publish yet, bookmark the site so you can go back to it when you're ready. They have plans to add more distribution channels in the future and I for one can't wait to see who they partner with next. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Until next time,</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>~Tammy</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Learn More About Tammy</span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF76YhSVM0JW7fe4dmImR527OHluGVYesZ7j8xzwATuY2R8Hu5lV9voso4Pxt20x0yDFnh0JteVeGJdI0eoB7TWbj2PxSfW6-dcrQF4z42mhkEasHd85xfwaub7vo3xU3PM0ji6MW0kd0/s1600/author+signature+tammy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF76YhSVM0JW7fe4dmImR527OHluGVYesZ7j8xzwATuY2R8Hu5lV9voso4Pxt20x0yDFnh0JteVeGJdI0eoB7TWbj2PxSfW6-dcrQF4z42mhkEasHd85xfwaub7vo3xU3PM0ji6MW0kd0/s1600/author+signature+tammy.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Tammy Dennings Maggy is a best selling, multi-published poet and erotic romance author with Siren and Sassy Vixen Publishing. Her writing explores many facets of romance from ultimate betrayal to finding your soul mate. Her poetry serves as a companion to her novels and has inspired entire series all on their own. Tammy and her alter egos Lia Michaels and Stephanie Ryan make up the core authors at Sassy Vixen Publishing and together they've created the shared world series Temptations Resort. Look for the first books in that series to come out later this year.</i><i><br /></i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Now happily married to her own Muse and soul mate, she continues to live her dream and act as secretary to all her characters demanding to have their stories told.</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Check out:</span></h3>
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://authortammydenningsmaggy.com/">Website</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's <a href="http://tammydenningsmaggy.blogspot.com/">Blog</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Tammy's Books on <a href="http://www.bookstrand.com/tammy-dennings-maggy">Bookstrand</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tammy-Dennings-Maggy/e/B005VLQLPG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tammy-dennings-maggy?store=allproducts&keyword=tammy+dennings+maggy">Barnes and Noble</a>, <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dochappycamper">Smashwords</a>, and<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/tammy-dennings-maggy/id495110661?mt=11"> iTunes</a> </span></i><br />
<i><a href="http://www.sassyvixenpublishing.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Sassy Vixen Publishing</span></a></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Friend Tammy on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dochappycamper">Facebook</a></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Like Tammy's <a href="http://www.facebook.com/Author.TammyDenningsMaggy">Facebook Author Page</a></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><span style="color: #c27ba0;">If you'd like to share your experiences in the publishing world, please contact us about setting up a guest appearance. We'd love to hear from you!</span></i></span><br />
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Tammy Dennings Maggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17551291117492287824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-17214558159104932942013-12-19T01:30:00.000-08:002013-12-19T01:30:01.750-08:00Lacey's Favorite Ways To Use Facebook For Promo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSh4bch910pIAapcebo-LtKHTYAKLKh_7yRU4jrIIXjoylCpA9L_2rROBwWXHh1riy6u85gfA68fCtunUn2QOWDfMWeuvNSDT3MWiEMylXCN3S9jl-EgMrNDC9aK54pO5CywHSi1N8AE/s1600/banner+being+social.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSh4bch910pIAapcebo-LtKHTYAKLKh_7yRU4jrIIXjoylCpA9L_2rROBwWXHh1riy6u85gfA68fCtunUn2QOWDfMWeuvNSDT3MWiEMylXCN3S9jl-EgMrNDC9aK54pO5CywHSi1N8AE/s320/banner+being+social.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Today I wanted to talk a few of my favorite ways you can use Facebook for promotion. Aside from posting your buy links all the time, there are other ways to entice readers into check out your books.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Flash Giveaways</span></b> - What is this? You ask people seeing the post to like and comment on the <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZaBXEktUtTtJ92B2C1kVRw7VSW40quT_0BNpUrZQc3JmbsCKb0CtOJLoJtrPUM-8bSpc0y7SaRwaZM1STlJhvn2Ym9mCDT4dSBMPDIFOBZ3wrPe4_TIt62zThBZWxbLClgE430XI3Ug/s1600/LaceyTips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZaBXEktUtTtJ92B2C1kVRw7VSW40quT_0BNpUrZQc3JmbsCKb0CtOJLoJtrPUM-8bSpc0y7SaRwaZM1STlJhvn2Ym9mCDT4dSBMPDIFOBZ3wrPe4_TIt62zThBZWxbLClgE430XI3Ug/s200/LaceyTips.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
post. If you're using a fan page, this will help more people see the post. If you have a new release, this is a great time to post the blurb and cover and give something away that is not your new book. Because I hate to say it, but you want people to purchase the book, right? In my thinking, if you just give the book away, people are going to wait until it's offered as a giveaway again. I am a big gift card giver. They don't have to buy my book with it of course, they can get anything they've wanted.<br />
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Anyway, flash giveaways are quick giveaways. A few hours or a day. Your choice. But it's something that as more people like, comment, tag, and share, your info is being shared. And how great is that? It's so hard to reach new readers outside of your usual reach. Hopefully you find one that loves you.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Graphics</span></b> - These are to be eye catchy and you can include excerpts, buy links, etc with them. And I usually use the website <b><a href="http://www.pizap.com/" target="_blank">pizap.com</a></b>. Very easy to use. Anyone, in my opinion, can make eye catching graphics there for FREE! Here are a few I've made before to give you an idea.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmo9kVq_hvwrP1zfBeyt_f-tH0WDciXjIdn6uFMp3mNiIW0E8JRCT3-J2OMbWvEHVgo_knymYGdkc__x8rYuYq1G2pDuhR18eppl05is52A0loDb1CzKMmSjws_0vDj2uIRMznDe2qCm0/s1600/pizap.com13814180155701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmo9kVq_hvwrP1zfBeyt_f-tH0WDciXjIdn6uFMp3mNiIW0E8JRCT3-J2OMbWvEHVgo_knymYGdkc__x8rYuYq1G2pDuhR18eppl05is52A0loDb1CzKMmSjws_0vDj2uIRMznDe2qCm0/s320/pizap.com13814180155701.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And finally, <b><span style="font-size: large;">check out these pages</span></b>. They have forms you submit for them to promote your books. It works! And they want your books to share on their pages. Go check them out!<br />
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What To Read After Fifty Shades of Grey: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WhatToReadAfter50ShadesOfGrey">https://www.facebook.com/WhatToReadAfter50ShadesOfGrey</a><br />
eBook Korner Kafe (non-erotic): <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EBookKornerKafe">https://www.facebook.com/EBookKornerKafe</a><br />
Korner Kafe Exposed: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/KornerKafeX">https://www.facebook.com/KornerKafeX</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04753490551589564849noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-44081093722529454612013-12-17T00:30:00.000-08:002013-12-17T00:30:01.653-08:00#Wwow - Wacky Websites for Writers #amwritingHave you ever been in the writing dumps? Don't lie! We all have! Well, here are some motivating websites for writers that are fun, wacky and helpful.<br />
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<b>Written Kitten - <a href="http://www.writtenkitten.net/">www.writtenkitten.net</a></b><br />
Positive reinforcement for writers through KITTENS! For every designated amount of words written, you get a new kitten image. I have to say, it's quite humorous!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPxSCmqoy_SRQEB0tLOHl9R-bgT0AbgaprdZhQX0zglp1CnLXV1vurGnEhFN7-DzJgqYXuXcrp5q-UM6MiJ_cUPsRh9WYrDo6nlIvJXqM87mZRXs_ajmPb_8jItiORwQH6hXpBhisnNyH/s1600/Wk.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPxSCmqoy_SRQEB0tLOHl9R-bgT0AbgaprdZhQX0zglp1CnLXV1vurGnEhFN7-DzJgqYXuXcrp5q-UM6MiJ_cUPsRh9WYrDo6nlIvJXqM87mZRXs_ajmPb_8jItiORwQH6hXpBhisnNyH/s320/Wk.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://750words.com/">750words.com</a></b></div>
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A way to turn your writing into a game. You get points for writing 750 words daily and even more for writing consecutive days. Compare points with others, get badges and motivate other writers.</div>
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<b>Rescue Time - <a href="http://www.rescuetime.com/">www.rescuetime.com</a></b></div>
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Keeps track of your time spent on the computer. Helps you become more productive. Alerts you when you spend a certain amount of time on an activity, blocks distracting websites, </div>
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<b>Word Hippo - <a href="http://www.wordhippo.com/">www.wordhippo.com</a></b></div>
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One place to stop for help with synonyms, antonyms, and such. I like it because it goes beyond a normal thesaurus. It helps with name meanings, words ending with certain letters, 4-letter words, 5-letter words, tranlations, rhymes. You name it!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfKtq6Ix8Sz4FvmGbi7BzGtWkmPdObbKeJA7ErtvTWx0iXe5AfqZqK0c6pTuXsxsjX7eB5ZK9f98SmtBYqpp9le94aunJ8EZx5X6s0dDanvH3-MjpOiiOHhtQaQoMHV9ieHd1ExhGgkry/s1600/WH.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfKtq6Ix8Sz4FvmGbi7BzGtWkmPdObbKeJA7ErtvTWx0iXe5AfqZqK0c6pTuXsxsjX7eB5ZK9f98SmtBYqpp9le94aunJ8EZx5X6s0dDanvH3-MjpOiiOHhtQaQoMHV9ieHd1ExhGgkry/s320/WH.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Omniwriter - <a href="http://www.omniwriter.com/">www.omniwriter.com</a></b></div>
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Conquer the intimidation of the white screen! Keep focused and relaxed while writing by downloading this program. Creates a relaxing atmosphere for writing with backgrounds and zen-like music.</div>
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<b>Unstuck - <a href="http://107.22.217.125/index.htm">http://107.22.217.125/index.htm</a></b></div>
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Have a writing challenge? Go to unstuck to help you make a decision. Say goodbye to writer's block!</div>
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<b>Edit Minion - <a href="http://www.editminion.com/">www.editminion.com</a></b></div>
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A robotic copy editor which checks weak words, "said," passive voice, cliches and more.</div>
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Have fun being productive! :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0R_9Tj4TijQxLp2918JAnw0KObOEfBKXP2F9MGA1M0mx1j25x6RS5ysprxYAfrazbhTrXBND_uZ8x9wPHJ8q068ZwUNJ1NYxSmHs1_FSbFcuPIewDM1ecqsY71f7aIFT8svZez9ec9Bp/s1600/WowDivider.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="46" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0R_9Tj4TijQxLp2918JAnw0KObOEfBKXP2F9MGA1M0mx1j25x6RS5ysprxYAfrazbhTrXBND_uZ8x9wPHJ8q068ZwUNJ1NYxSmHs1_FSbFcuPIewDM1ecqsY71f7aIFT8svZez9ec9Bp/s320/WowDivider.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Melinda Dozier is a contemporary romance author for Crimson Romance and Swoon Romance. You can find more information at <a href="http://www.melindadozier.com/">www.melindadozier.com</a></div>
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<br />Melinda Dozierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06864718341509893591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-57007227485132316192013-12-16T03:00:00.000-08:002013-12-16T03:00:07.943-08:00#WWoW! Indie Authors Use NetGalley!<b>There are new opportunities on NetGalley for self-published authors!</b> And I'm so excited about what this means -the doors it opens- for Indie authors. There are basically three options but I've found OPTION THREE to be the most affordable and beneficial for Indie authors.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">What Does NetGalley Do?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyU7_KSJTCkkdUAXYvaBPq-kIWrwmeCYV7TVgQWW9ibEuXQQC1cfNEL3Ei9VCvP8PzDYc0q269S8KYH0_g3X7nN1bnHo0og7W4wUjw4DCsiU2RVu2VgUc-wB2fboAybhgj6bMGmGPTX0/s1600/badge+netgalley.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyU7_KSJTCkkdUAXYvaBPq-kIWrwmeCYV7TVgQWW9ibEuXQQC1cfNEL3Ei9VCvP8PzDYc0q269S8KYH0_g3X7nN1bnHo0og7W4wUjw4DCsiU2RVu2VgUc-wB2fboAybhgj6bMGmGPTX0/s200/badge+netgalley.png" width="200" /></a></div>
</span></b>NetGalley provides a place where authors/publishers can upload their ebooks (ARCs or older titles) and reviewers can request a copy for review. If approved, NetGalley readers will read and review the titles.</blockquote>
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NetGalley gives you fast and easy access to the 120,000 bloggers, journalists, librarians, booksellers, and media people who use NetGalley. And these reviewers are some high profile groups - movers and shakers in the book review realm.</blockquote>
<b>Three ways for Indie Authors to join NetGalley:</b><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>OPTION ONE</b></span> Indie authors can upload their ebooks to NetGalley manually. For $400, you can post one title for six months.<br />
<b><span style="color: #a64d79;">OPTION TWO</span></b> Indie authors can upload their ebooks to NetGalley <a href="https://www.ibpa-online.org/Programs/NetGalleyReview.aspx">through the IBPA program</a>. For $350, they will help you in posting one title for six months.<br />
<b><span style="color: #741b47;">OPTION THREE</span></b> 20 indie authors can form a co-op that will have access to 20 title slots for one year. Each individual author can swap out as many titles as they need during that year. The cost is $300 per author for the full year of access, unlimited number of titles.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">GOOD NEWS!</span></b> I jumped at OPTION THREE. When I found it difficult to find space in current CoOps, I decided to form my own. Indie authors interested in being a part of the BECKONING ROMANCE CoOp, <a href="mailto:beck.paloma@gmail.com" target="_blank">contact me</a>. Be sure "NetGalley CoOp" is in the subject header.<br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;">LOOK AT THESE STATS</span> FROM THE All Night Reads CoOp (found on <a href="http://www.susankayequinn.com/search?q=netgalley" target="_blank">Susan Kaye's blog</a>)<br />
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"Within a day of getting All Night Reads started, we had 11 titles live in the catalog, with 446 approved requests, of which 286 downloaded right away and 1 person had read and reviewed. ALL IN ONE DAY.<br />After a week, 19 titles with 2,216 approved review requests (2,185 actually downloaded) and 36 reviews."</div>
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<span style="color: #741b47;">THOSE ARE SOME SOLID STATS!</span></div>
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<br /><b>So, $300 feels like an awful lot of money. BUT... here's why it's worth it...</b><br /><ol>
<li>It includes a year's worth of NetGalley access for as many books as you want! NetGalley allows you to switch them out which means you could have a new book live each month.</li>
<li>It saves you the time of querying reviewers/ bloggers directly. No more cold call emails!</li>
<li>It exposes your book to the right reviewers. NetGalley allows the reviewer to request the books they believe matches their reading interest so your book lands in the right hands.</li>
<li>It puts your book in front of a diverse audience. NetGalley reviewers include librarians and other media people, as well as book bloggers, general Goodreads reviewers and booksellers.</li>
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<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com.au/content/cache/620x220/author-hub/NG_Logo_FeedYourReaders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="113" src="http://www.randomhouse.com.au/content/cache/620x220/author-hub/NG_Logo_FeedYourReaders.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Indie CoOps are popping up on NetGalley.</b> For information on another Indie CoOp, follow this link to <a href="http://www.patchwork-press.com/patchwork-press-is-now-on-netgalley-and-you-can-be-too/" target="_blank">Patchwork Press</a> where my idea to form my own originated from. Here's another author speaking about her experience in forming the <a href="http://www.susankayequinn.com/2013/05/netgalley-for-indie-authors.html" target="_blank">All Night Reads CoOp</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sQe7nZjPjC99_8oQieL7S8QHIY5gZelC15bErHms_yABPACV4iZKeVmjHjiDj82mMqzjU1OVGnN9jMINiwmK_pftEe7NVd91yj6waFrc8QbZoR7HS7ERH3shXpPcQ1OfgbPvFAeywyw/s1600/author+signature+Paloma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-sQe7nZjPjC99_8oQieL7S8QHIY5gZelC15bErHms_yABPACV4iZKeVmjHjiDj82mMqzjU1OVGnN9jMINiwmK_pftEe7NVd91yj6waFrc8QbZoR7HS7ERH3shXpPcQ1OfgbPvFAeywyw/s200/author+signature+Paloma.jpg" width="172" /></a>It's a new opportunity for Indie Authors! CHECK IT ALL OUT. Then let me know if you want to be a part of the BECKONING ROMANCE CoOp. All genres welcome. We'll begin in 2014 as soon as we have twenty members!</div>
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<i><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><b>Keep Writing!</b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><b>Paloma</b></span></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06555964256867646867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-64804993155713741712013-12-09T12:17:00.000-08:002013-12-09T12:17:22.164-08:00#WWoW! Holiday Hops! Authors: Join Now.<b>Looking for promotion opportunities this holiday season? </b>There's a lot going on you can still get involved with. The holiday season is a great time to promote your books. Many readers are getting ready to take some time off and relax... with some good books. So get your books out in front of them!<br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;">Marketing for Romance Writers is hosting a holiday blog hop from December 13-15, 2013. Any author with a holiday-themed book is welcome. You have to be a member of MFRW but it's free to sign up and the benefits far surpass blog hops. <a href="http://marketingforromancewriters.org/bloghops.html" target="_blank">SIGN UP HERE.</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79;">The Romance Studio hosts PARTIES. Authors can sign up, submit a blog post, join the contest and engage with readers. They have an actual party site so you draw from a new circle of potential readers.Their Christmas Party is from December 17-23, 2013. <a href="http://trsparties.com/" target="_blank">CHECK THEM OUT HERE.</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://trsparties.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/cropped-cropped-xmas_2013_header.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><img border="0" height="99" src="http://trsparties.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/cropped-cropped-xmas_2013_header.gif" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79;">Romance Beckons is hosting the Merry Mistletoe Blog Hop from December 20-23, 2013. All holiday-themed books or blog posts are welcome. <a href="http://romancebeckons.blogspot.com/p/blog-hops_12.html#.UqYkDsRDuSo" target="_blank">SIGN UP HERE.</a> No donation required. Each site is just asked to provide their own prize.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_BQ_3tqwzoMg82W-ZUoMRI7s5RaEzB-_JBucDOGjDeUXwQjqdtO6it158c6P5EwRtwAeWilARxSuEJCT9f4ZVZ8RSnLOCmgyTnxGaZkN_vs_H67r6JmhkfCAXwakMRQZpz004OrET4s/s1600/badge+Mistletoe+Hop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp_BQ_3tqwzoMg82W-ZUoMRI7s5RaEzB-_JBucDOGjDeUXwQjqdtO6it158c6P5EwRtwAeWilARxSuEJCT9f4ZVZ8RSnLOCmgyTnxGaZkN_vs_H67r6JmhkfCAXwakMRQZpz004OrET4s/s320/badge+Mistletoe+Hop.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #a64d79;">The Winter Spanks Blog Hop is being hosted by Spanking Romance Reviews. It runs from January 2-4, 2014 so it's a bit after the holidays but it gets to readers during that post-holiday hump. <a href="http://spankingromance.com/winter-spanks/" target="_blank">CLICK HERE to</a></span><br />
<a href="http://spankingromance.com/winter-spanks/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #a64d79;">Sign Up.</span></a><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvurdSY8Gg2emQE0Mo_xuYuGZvuOE7gaiz9bF-G3wxU6fN64FSr66AHh0PmBKYTZIOUJTIkjcQJEvqdlJXzT9wUkiAlebN0FVXI1xsNSOnsirSWrwWZpLs71MHPCi2FBP-yrol27lXp0A/s1600/badge+Winter+Spanks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvurdSY8Gg2emQE0Mo_xuYuGZvuOE7gaiz9bF-G3wxU6fN64FSr66AHh0PmBKYTZIOUJTIkjcQJEvqdlJXzT9wUkiAlebN0FVXI1xsNSOnsirSWrwWZpLs71MHPCi2FBP-yrol27lXp0A/s320/badge+Winter+Spanks.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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Okay, what are you waiting for? There's got to be at least one of these that suits you. Hurry! Get signed up and start promoting your books during this holiday season!</div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: x-large;">Paloma</span></i></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06555964256867646867noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8852601974883673746.post-36591585599561907482013-12-05T07:21:00.001-08:002013-12-05T07:21:57.487-08:00Stuck on the plot. My tips. #wwow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbl-zNTL29L_3zNzjjKTFgq6Jdwz-fwVTW_XjnxwMQj3rhKWAboHPXcuR2c_oFtdF7s899iF3x_iG-xarOWnBIqIJ-AVBE9fk0_vZvcSPRKAVRhfLybN73BnhnKvBSsh4yRoD7SensrE/s1600/banner+sharpening+your+skills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJbl-zNTL29L_3zNzjjKTFgq6Jdwz-fwVTW_XjnxwMQj3rhKWAboHPXcuR2c_oFtdF7s899iF3x_iG-xarOWnBIqIJ-AVBE9fk0_vZvcSPRKAVRhfLybN73BnhnKvBSsh4yRoD7SensrE/s320/banner+sharpening+your+skills.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
It's been a few weeks since I posted, and for that, I'm sorry. I've had some personal things going on that pulled me away from blogging as well as writing.<br />
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Today I wanted to talk a little but about writing, writers block, and plot bunnies. I often see authors posting status's or asking in groups what they should do when they feel stuck on a book they are writing, and yet<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZaBXEktUtTtJ92B2C1kVRw7VSW40quT_0BNpUrZQc3JmbsCKb0CtOJLoJtrPUM-8bSpc0y7SaRwaZM1STlJhvn2Ym9mCDT4dSBMPDIFOBZ3wrPe4_TIt62zThBZWxbLClgE430XI3Ug/s1600/LaceyTips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZaBXEktUtTtJ92B2C1kVRw7VSW40quT_0BNpUrZQc3JmbsCKb0CtOJLoJtrPUM-8bSpc0y7SaRwaZM1STlJhvn2Ym9mCDT4dSBMPDIFOBZ3wrPe4_TIt62zThBZWxbLClgE430XI3Ug/s200/LaceyTips.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
another story is calling to them.<br />
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First off, I don't believe in deadlines. Of course, if you follow me on facebook, you'll see I mention them for myself and now you're thinking I'm some weirdo. But what I mean is setting deadline and stressing about it. I usually start writing a book and make a goal as to when I'd like it done. It either happens or it doesn't. And guess what, I'm fine either way. Stressing makes this job no fun. And I intend to enjoy this career.<br />
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So what to do if you're stuck. Do you force the words out or walk away? I usually say, walk away for the time being. You can come back and most of the time you will. If another story is calling, then write it. I can't tell you how many times I've been working on a book and something else calls to me. And bam, I can write that book in no time. Yeah, you might have about five work in progresses, but eventually you will finish them and they will make out to the world. But don't force a book.<br />
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I'm gonna be honest here too. I have one book out that was forced. It's in a series and in that series, it's the one that gets picked up the worst and has lower ranked reviews. At the time the book was with a publisher and I had a set deadline to have the book with the editor. And the book just wasn't flowing for me. So I forced it.<br />
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The best part of being a indie or small press writer, is that you usually don't have those dreaded deadlines. So enjoy it. Don't push yourself to write something that just isn't ready.<br />
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-LaceyAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04753490551589564849noreply@blogger.com0