Writing is an extremely physical activity—something that never occurred to me when I started out. Forty-one years ago, we didn’t have computers; we were lucky to have electric typewriters. Mine was a little, blue Smith Corona portable. I couldn’t afford an IBM Self-Correcting Selectric, which I coveted for years. I remember the feel of my…
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When Fear Gets in the Way
I am 21 years old. I am sure that I can be a very good writer; this isn’t just my opinion. The problem is that I have no energy and no inspiration, although I have brilliant thoughts. Can you help me find inspiration? The problem you describe is not so uncommon. What you’re looking for,…
Social Media Isn’t Broadcast Media
We are all familiar with broadcast media. We grew up watching our favorite television shows interrupted by commercials and hearing our favorite radio stations interrupted, again, by advertisements. Television and radio programs talk at us. They don’t offer opportunities to engage with their viewers and listeners. When was the last time a TV executive asked…
Eight Criteria to Consider When Working on Your Book Title
It’s a huge and common mistake to fiddle around with possible book titles and expect a bolt of lightning to hit when you finally spot “the one.” Often the one you fall in love with is the title no one else understands – or worse, gives entirely the wrong impression of the book. On the…
7 Ways a Coach Can Help You Write Your Nonfiction Book
If you are working on your first book, guidance and support from a knowledgeable source is a gift. But, even if you have done this before, a book coach can make writing a nonfiction book smoother, more organized, and more efficient. Here are some of the things a book coach can do for you. 1….
Advantages and Disadvantages of Self-Publishing
What Are the Primary Advantages of Self-Publishing? The advantages of self-publishing are numerous: You retain full control over the content, design, and marketing of your book. You retain all rights to your manuscript (with the exception that self-publishing is itself a use of “publication” rights; you cannot then sell a book to a publisher as…
The Four Ps of Public Speaking
Speak in public? Most people shake in their boots at the very thought. Yet, as a writer, chances are you will find yourself in front of an audience sooner or later. The ability to speak confidently and comfortably to a group will help you communicate your knowledge in an engaging style, enhance your credibility, and…
Why PowerPoint Doesn’t Suck, After All
Speakers love to criticize PowerPoint. I was one of them. I’m not any longer. When speakers slam PowerPoint, they say things like: “You shouldn’t read your presentation.” “If they can read your presentation, then what extra value do you bring?” “PowerPoint takes the attention from the speaker – and you’re the reason they are there.”…
How To Publish Your Blog to Amazon’s Kindle – Step-By-Step Instructions
Publishing to Kindle has always been a great way to build royalty income and a fan base. But one very smart play is to publish content to Kindle that already exists or is being published elsewhere. Alas, Amazon has a solution for this too. Fact is, now bloggers of all genres can publish their blogs to…
Important Writing Skill: Focus on One Task at a Time
One of your most important writing skills is the ability to focus on a single task at a time. It is something of a cliché to say that writers are scatter-brained. But for many of us, much of the time, it’s true. As we sit alone at our desks we often find it hard to…
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Cathy Stucker's Publishing Blog
Unexpected Marketing Results
Over the years I have done a lot of marketing. Some things got better results than I expected, others…not so much. But many things delivered different results than I expected. This is one of the magical things about marketing.
Let’s talk about how this might apply to selling your books. Say that you have set up a book signing event at a local coffee shop. You make posters for the coffee shop to put up and you create a small display in the store. You send out press releases to local media announcing the event and talking about you and your book. You send email announcements to everyone on your email list, call your friends and relatives and tweet the news out to the world. This is going to be huge! You’d better bring hundreds of books!
The day comes and your big event draws 12 people, only 3 of whom buy your book. (Some just don’t buy and some of the others are friends and fans who already own the book and just came for moral support.) Your big event was a failure. Or was it?
Reading to Children
As a teenage babysitter, I loved reading to the kids I watched. They would bring out a huge stack of books, and when I finished reading one they would beg me to read, “just one more.” We often spent the evening with the television off, reading story after story. My mother read to me a…
How to Overcome Writer’s Block [INFOGRAPHIC]
I believe that writer’s block doesn’t really exist. If you are a writer, you write. However, there is no question that the words come more easily at some times than at others. What can you do when you are finding it hard to get the words from your brain, through your fingers and onto the…
Kindle Countdown Deals – Put Your Kindle Book on Sale to Sell More
Amazon has announced the Kindle Countdown Deals program for Kindle in the US and UK that allows authors and publishers to offer limited-time promotional discounts on Kindle-exclusive books, including those in the KDP Select program. Customers can see the regular price and the promotional price on the book’s detail page. A countdown clock, telling them…
15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly
This infographic from Copyblogger features some of my favorite grammar pet peeves. Making these mistakes can brand you as an amateur, so learn when each choice is correct and make sure your spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct before sending your writing out into the world. Of course, knowing the correct choice does not free…
How to Get Your Book Reviewed On Amazon
Book reviews sell books. Although we all like to see glowing reviews, surprisingly even some bad reviews can sell books. However, getting reviews can be challenging when you are a new, unknown author. Here are some tips on what you should (and should NOT) do to get your book reviewed on Amazon and elsewhere. Go…
29 Ways to Stay Creative
The folks at Creattica shared this infographic with 29 ways to keep your creative juices flowing. 1. Make lists. 2. Carry a notebook everywhere. 3. Try free writing. 4. Get away from the computer. 5. Quit beating yourself up. 6. Take breaks. 7. Sing in the shower. 8. Drink coffee. 9. Listen to new music….
How to Promote Your Book on Twitter
Can Twitter sell books for you? Well, no, not all by itself. But Twitter is one of the tools you can use to promote your book. Writing your book was the first step. Now it’s time to promote it so that you achieve your publishing goals. Whether you published to make money in royalties, generate…
Writing Advice from Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard is a prolific writer who has entertained us with more than forty novels, including , , , , and many more. Hollywood is an Elmore Leonard fan, and many of his books have been made into movies. Leonard began writing while still working in advertising. He published a short story in Argosy magazine…
The Right Way for Authors to Blog
Blogging is a great way for authors to stay in touch with their fans and attract new fans, too. For many authors, though, blogging seems a little scary. How do you set up a blog? What do you write about? How do you get people to read your blog? Here are some tips to help…