One of the things no one tells writers about becoming a successfully published author is the importance of building your literary community and participating in book culture long before you land an agent or a publishing contract. There are no shortcuts to creating a career as an author. I hate to disillusion you of the idea that you will be “discovered” and become rich and famous as an author. But it doesn’t happen that way. It takes a literary community to make a book great. Read the Acknowledgements of any book you’ve admired. It takes a good idea to get a publishing contract, but it takes more than that. You need to understand how the publishing industry works for the genre you write. That kind of knowledge is gained through participation in professional organizations and associations. There are many and some are essential to a writer’s career. Authors Guild, AWP, Society for Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, Romance Writers of America, National Association of Science Writers, National Association of Memoir Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Historical Novel Society, Military Writers Society of America. Join at least one professional writing organization. You learn more about your craft and your profession. Understand what is expected of the author and a manuscript submission. Through literary centers and writing programs, you can find a community of writers. From novice to teaching faculty, you meet others who will help you advance your craft and learn the business of being an author. Those…

In this day of high priced books and new technology, public libraries are an invaluable resource for authors as well as readers in general. I sometimes think my local library, the Tompkins County Public Library is beyond compare, but I constantly run into articles and posts by people around the country, around the world, who love their libraries just as much. For an author, a library can be a quiet place to work. Computers are usually available, both with internet access and with Word software. If you buy a thumb drive, you can instantly upload your work, add to it or edit, and even print it off at the library. There are also just large desks to spread your work out on, to bring your own computer (free wifi is also available.) There are free study rooms if you need a place for a meeting or discussion, but sometimes being out in the open, in quiet and yet with other people around can keep you from feeling too cut off from humanity. Most libraries have a space to use for author readings. Sometimes a fee may be charged, but sometimes the library will sponsor (and advertise) the reading. Usually there is a specific person who organizes community/author events, and it’s worth a call (or email) to find out who that might be. A reading in your local library is likely to draw more people than in a stranger’s town, and is a good way to “handsell” your book. A library…

Today I’m going to share my top 10 digital tools for the business of being an author. Most of these are free and all of them are easy to use. I recommend them to you because I use them and find them valuable and think you will too.   (1) WordPress for website and blogging – Hands down there is no better platform for authors to blog. And it’s free. Open source code, it is easy to download to any webhost and if you can read the documentation or watch the video tutorials you can build a site yourself, or have us set it up for you and then you can easily manage and administer it yourself. (2) MailChimp for newsletters and RSS blog delivery. This service is free up to 2,000 names on your email list. If you want a professional looking newsletter that reflects your brand and personalized to your readers this is how to do it. And it plays nice with WordPress. There’s a plugin and your blog is delivered to subscribers from your website. You can create and import lists directly from LessAnnoyingCRM which I mention below. (3) Google Alerts. Set up an alert for your author name. Using it is not an act of vanity. It’s called image management. Yes, you want to know when anyone anywhere at any time posts something on the internet using your name or your book title. You can set up google alerts for keywords, names, places, phrases, and let…