Recently I wrote about slowing down, resting, and not getting so caught up in the machine of platform building. (I know: it’s a conundrum. We have to do it, but there are times that wholeheartedly pursuing it fractures our hearts). …
Business of writing
20 truths I wish I would’ve known when I started publishing
If I were able to time travel (those of you who write time travel books make it look so easy!), I would find younger writer me, prior to publishing, and tell her these hard-won truths I’ve learned. I hope these …
20 truths I wish I would’ve known when I started publishingRead More
Bookshop.org: An Online Alternative to Amazon
Bookshop.org’s founder and CEO, Andy Hunter, could be viewed as prescient. The bookstore site launched in January 2020, just before COVID forced physical stores to lock their doors. Before Amazon downgraded the priority of shipping books and upped the priority …
What Makes an Agent Say Yes?
I wrote this blog post in 2009. Because so much of it remains true today, I thought I’d retread it with updates and take it out for another spin. After all, the quest to find an agent still goes on. …
Platform vs. Influencers
Let’s have a quick talk about influencers, which too many writers ignore in the search for social media platform.
Social media platform consists of the total number of people who follow you on the various social media like Instagram, Facebook, …
A Social Media Platform that REALLY Sells Books: TikTok
I need to start out by apologizing. I know writers are weary of being told to build their platforms, to promote their books on social media, to, well, work magic at something most don’t particularly enjoy. I’m one of those …
A Social Media Platform that REALLY Sells Books: TikTokRead More
The Author Marketing Conundrum: Me Monster or Plumber?
One thing I struggle to resolve is this idea of good ambition and selfish ambition. I know of a couple authors who tend toward Me-Monster-ness, and, because of that, I fear I’ll become that too. I know the authors …
The Author Marketing Conundrum: Me Monster or Plumber?Read More
QR Codes: What’s Old is News
A few weeks ago I boarded a plane for the first time in 20 months. Heading out to visit my Colorado family, I was surprised to discover that QR codes, which were popular in 2010 or so and old news …
21 Surprising Platform Ideas
A couple months ago, I wrote about building your platform with intention and joy. If you’d like a refresher, read the post here.
Today I want to think outside the typical platform box and offer you some creative (possibly …
Publishing Culture
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about how important it is for an author to understand the culture of a publishing house or the culture of a literary agency. What do I mean by publishing culture?
I’m not …