She Writes

This morning I read a really interesting conversation with Michael Scammel, the biographer of Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn and Arthur Koestler. A lot of what Scammel said about his path to biography resonated with me. He describes having wanted to become a fiction writer in his twenties (just as I did), only to find that he “didn’t have the stamina for it.” The urge to be a biographer crept up on him without his realizing it. And the questions of biography — of how tell a life in an engaging and instructive way — came to him naturally (just as they have to me).

Scammel talks about what a biographer must do: wear learning lightly, entertain as well as instruct, write what is genuinely fact-based, and hone the novelistic…

In a recent post, I emphasized the importance of writing down your ideas quickly so you won't forget them. Today, I strongly suggest you also write down something else: your successes. Marketing a book isn't easy, especially if you are independently published, but if you work hard at it, eventually you're going to experience some cool things. You may speak at a local library or bookstore, or maybe you'll be interviewed by a radio station. Perhaps your local newspaper will even do a feature story on you!

It's important to keep track of these achievements, not just for your own self-esteem, but so you can put them in your bio. That way, over time, marketing your book will become easier because people will see where else you've spoken and who else has interviewed you. You'll have credibility, and that opens doors to additional opportunities to get the word out about your…

Yesterday we got psyched about the power of curiosity. Now let's get that curiosity interacting online with a book by social media guru and zany feminist, Deanna Zandt: Share This! How You Will Change the World with Social Networking.

Deanna is one of my favorite and trusted people to get information from because she's smart, ahead of the curve, and totally beats to her own personality drummer.

She's creative and authentic in her approach, and in my opinion, has helped validate the idea that authenticity is crucial online.

I'm recommending her expertise and book completely of my own volition. …

I had an obvious realization. There just aren't enough days in this week to highlight even half of the outstanding women and women's causes who are using social media and technology to get their voices heard!

So let's treat these posts as a "starter kit," from where you can branch out to the topics and people who interest you. Taking a few minutes to follow their Twitter followers, or check out what pages women they "like" on Facebook can be really helpful in bringing the information you want right to your doorstep (er, computer screen).

Now, for a few more examples of Writing + Social Tech = OOMPH. These again are folks local to my own work who I recommend of my own free will, with no sponsorship:…