Twitter timesuck, Agent-cycle, Gilead and Writing that pays

April 11, 2013 in Uncategorized

I made a decision today to close my Twitter and…

Considering the number of social media resources people can find on the internet, one can truly say that sentiment analysis has recently gone big. If you will try to put the search term sentiment analysis on Google Trends, you’ll see a vast growth from September 2006 up to the present. You’ll even see how Google forecasts the trend and still see a good growth fluctuation from it. This just means how…

A couple of years ago when I started marketing my first novel, Guardian Spirit my publicist gave me a list of “must do’s”: I must set-up a Facebook page. Not just one but two, one for my personal use and one to use strictly as an author page. Not just set the pages up but try and attract hundreds of friends. And we all know to get friends you’ve got to be one… that takes a lot of time.

Another “must do” was I had to set-up a twitter account and start tweeting. Tweeting…

Last week I attended “A Conversation with Twitter and The New Yorker on the Future of Fiction.” The event launched Twitter as a vehicle for fiction-writing, and asked writers to rise to the challenge using it as such. I’m not convince this is a challenge writers should spend their time undertaking.

The event was held at The New York Public Library, and was standing room only by the time Twitter’s Andrew Fitzgerald, Head of Editorial Programming, took to the podium to talk about…

From tlcurtis.blogspot.com

To be honest, I COMPLETELY forgot that I had set up a promo day on Amazon. So, when I got the notice that the promo had begun, I was surprised and excited and terrified.

What if no one reads my work, even when it’s FREE?!?! But I rushed to check my stats on KDP and, sure enough, about 80 people had downloaded ‘…

I recently launched myself into cyberspace, and I’m hoping like hell there’s a net to catch me or a story left to write when I fall back down to earth. Talk about a distraction: I used to write about loftier things like verbs and shit, but after spending…

if i had maybe three full bloody mary's (and if i really knew these people )this is what i'd have the nerve to get up and say:

to the host of the Artichoke Haircut writer's series who threw plastic easter eggs out.  i caught three: 1st had pennies & dimes, 2nd. a walt whitman poem & jelly beans, 3rd a condom & a slip of paper (sexual awareness month)

to my double blinds that fell down at 4 am.  i walked past by…

i didn't mind it because:

8 am:they gave me a free newspaper

9 am:the clerk's office gave me $15

10 am:i walked along to the courthouse with a hot guy in a sweatshirt that matched mine

11 am:i got squished in next to a nice red-head who had on some…

i didn't mind it because:

8 am:they gave me a free newspaper

9 am:the clerk's office gave me $15

10 am:i walked along to the courthouse with a hot guy in a sweatshirt that matched mine

11 am:i got squished in next to a nice red-head who had on some…

Most evenings these days my creative director husband and I have book-related conversations.  Topics like, Why do I feel Like a Loser?  What Should I Do Next? and the like are common.  But last night we took a step away from all of that and just had some fun with it - and now, my heroine Katie Cranford has her very own twitter (@katiecranford) and email!

Is it a jinx to believe that one day gaggles of girls will follow Katie?  Is it egotistical to contemplate what she'd have…

by Sherrie Wilkolaski

Let’s get real about social media.  It’s like exercise, right?  Not everyone is as focused on their social media footprint as they would like.  It takes time and effort.  So I thought, why not do it together.  I ran this blogging campaign at Infinity Publishing and it was a huge hit, so I'm bringing it here to www.shewrites.com.  This is your opportunity to make some viral waves in the world of…

Checking in. That's what the email notice asked. This is the longer version than the one tweeted. One writer friend has said that she finds Twitter a "nuisance." And perhaps she's correct in that analysis. How does one follow 3571 followers? Not that I have that sort of count, at 401 or something. But some of those other followers have astounding numbers. Back here, It's hard starting cold blog topics. I've replied and commented more, on some other blog sites. It was interesting because…

Can a tweet change the world? Can a blog? A book? A line of poetry? In the era of insta-communications, with keyboards clicking, touchpads texting around the clock, what is the role of writers in evoking viral change, stoking the flames of ideas into online dialogues and…

 Social media can be a powerful tool for authors. As we spend more of our lives in front of computer screens and having an online presence has become inevitable, exercising a measure of control on that presence has become very important. First impressions tend to last and by building a coherent online presence, authors can have a say on what those impressions are. Instead of relying on traditional PR and advertising methods, authors can personally have a strong impact on how they are…

Today I have a list of twitter users who post great info for writers from Robert Brewer!! Please visit Robert Brewer's blog for more great stuff!!! (see link, below).

1. @glecharles
2. @JaneFriedman
3. @BrianKlems
4. @ChuckSambuchino
5. @…

I recently attended an amazing retreat for Berrett-Kohler authors. 

Note: in full disclosure, I’m not currently published by BK, but I spoke for them recently, and had such a great time that I asked to join the authors’ co-op.

At the event, we talked a lot about how to use social media for both research and marketing. Here are a few tips for using Twitter that I found useful while working on my …

Not getting followed back? It might be that your approach to Twitter is just not making you an appealing follow prospect. Have a look at five reasons why you might be lacking Twitterpeal…

1) No avatar… The dreaded ‘Twitter egg’ suggests a temporary account and has become a warning sign of an ‘undesirable account’. You don’t have to upload a personal photo but any image shows that you’ve taken a little time and suggests a commitment to your account that most…

Please share your twitter handle with everyone, so we know who you are and that we should follow you!!!

@veiledvirtues (Jan Fischer Wade)  http://twitter.com/#!/VeiledVirtues