Pathways to Publishing
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August 27, 2013
The convention floor at Book Expo America - photo by Ashley Grill

The business of publishing continues to evolve and new finance models have emerged offering authors more than the option to self-publish or go the traditional route. Between the five big commercial trade presses – Penguin Random House, Hatchette Book Group, Harper Collins, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster – and self-publishing with Blurb, or Smashwords, there are new routes for writers to consider in their pursuit… [Read More]

Facebook for Authors: The How and Why of Groups
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August 24, 2013

Managing what is private and what is public on Facebook is a matter of concern to an author. To use your personal profile on Facebook rather than an Author Page, you will need to change your privacy settings to public. Don’t fret. You can still keep those things private that you don’t care to share with the entire world, by using the privacy setting on… [Read More]

Facebook for Authors: Personal Profile or Page?
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August 20, 2013
Information for the Swenson Book Development Writer's Workshop

You need to consider using Facebook if your target audience uses Facebook. There are 1.11 billion users of Facebook, so there is a good chance some of your readers are there. It is a great tool if you are just beginning to build an audience platform; which should start a year before you submit a book proposal and two years before the publication date. Don’t wait… [Read More]

Reading Works-In-Progress at Buffalo Street Books
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August 17, 2013
Jenna Goodman provides editorial services for Swenson Book Development, LLC

Buffalo Street Bookmarks ‘Works in Progress” series on August 4, 2013 brought our some surprising voices, poetry, and prose. Jenna Goodman provides a brief review of those who addressed a crowd almost two weeks ago. New writer and photo-shopper Robin Botie read from the first chapter of her work In the Wake of Marika. Robin’s daughter Marika died at age 20 from complications after battling, and beating, leukemia. Robin’s honest… [Read More]

Military Writers Society of America: 2013 Conference September 26-29 in Dayton
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August 6, 2013

Saving history one story at a time, Military Writers Society of America is a national organization dedicated to helping veterans, their families, and historians inscribe the complexities of military life and encourage writing to heal. Membership is open to anyone interested in books about military issues and the experiences of men and women in uniform. Membership benefits include monthly dispatches, listings and reviews of your… [Read More]

When technology fails you…breathe
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August 3, 2013

Yesterday was a rough day for those whose online presence is the lifeblood of their business. Authors, included. Early on Friday, August 2nd, a datacenter in Provo, Utah, experienced an outage. Millions of sites came crashing down. Including this one. Perhaps yours, too. Endurance International Group, the parent company of the largest webhosting firms BlueHost, GatorHost, HostMonsters, JustHost, and 50 others, experienced a cascading crash… [Read More]

Building your author brand: checklist
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July 30, 2013
Information for the Swenson Book Development Writer's Workshop

If you are not J.K. Rowling, or perhaps especially if you are J.K., you need to recognize the power of name recognition and work on building the value of your brand as an author online. The merits of your writing only take you so far in today’s publishing environment. How will readers find your writing if they don’t already know you? Before you’re finished with… [Read More]

Using Facebook as an Author: Social Media Strategy Part II
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July 23, 2013

Facebook is important to your marketing strategy, but don’t use Facebook to sell books. Facebook is an online site that extends your social networks beyond face-to-face interaction. Despite the IPO (initial public offering) of Facebook and many attempts to monetize the site, most users ignore commercial advertising on the site. Don’t think of Facebook as a megaphone to try to sell your books or you’ll… [Read More]

Using Facebook as an Author: Social Media Strategy
by,
July 13, 2013

Facebook is a social media tool that many authors find helpful for connecting with their readers.  Having a strategy and an understanding of how Facebook can work for an author is important to seeing any return on your investment of time. Who should use Facebook? You need to consider using Facebook if your target audience uses Facebook. There are 1.11 billion users of Facebook, so… [Read More]