Building a Better Brand – a Q and A with Margot Bloomstein
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August 11, 2020

For nearly 20 years, Margot Bloomstein has shaped the content strategy industry. She’s the author of Content Strategy at Work: Real-World Stories to Strengthen Every Interactive Project (Morgan Kaufmann, 2012) and the principal of Appropriate, Inc., a brand and content strategy consultancy based in Boston. Bloomstein developed the message architecture-driven approach to content strategy now popular with many practitioners. Recognized in 2015 as one of Boston’s… [Read More]

The Perfect Pitch
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June 5, 2018

When you write a book, it needs to be about something. When someone asks what your book is about, how do respond? Do you stumble over your words trying to describe your book? Time to pin down your premise. The perfect pitch means you need to hone your premise statement. Premise: The central idea, situation, or set-up which provides the foundation and pushes the narrative… [Read More]

Guy Kawasaki Wants You to De-Wimp Your Author Brand
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February 2, 2013

If you are working towards publication and own an eReader, chances are there’s a copy of APE: Author Publisher Entrepreneur sitting on your Nook. It’s a manifesto on the art of self-promotion and marketing books aimed at the self-published author, but it’s making waves for wordsmiths of all publication inclination. Its author, Guy Kawasaki, wrote most of this bestselling eBook from a 5-by-5 closet of… [Read More]

Can a Status Update Protect Your Privacy?
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November 27, 2012

You may have been noticing a particular status update making the rounds on Facebook. It’s a disclaimer that asserts the poster’s copyright and privacy rights, and it makes it seem like it’s as easy as copy/paste to protect yourself from anything you failed to catch in the Terms and Conditions you agreed to upon signing up for Facebook. Of course, it’s total malarky. Before you can… [Read More]

Identify your readers, dear writer
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July 21, 2012

When you write a query letter and book proposal to an agent or acquisitions editor, there are certain things they want to know before considering your manuscript. They want to hear about you and your book, but what they really care about is the audience. What audience is your book intended for? Describe your readers in demographic detail. Where do your readers live? Work? Learn?… [Read More]

6 WordPress Tools Worth Installing
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September 3, 2011

If you’ve read my last post on the difference between plugins and widgets and why every author platform should take advantage of these user-friendly tools, you will be happy to read this follow-up guide. I present to you, savvy WordPress user, plugins and widgets for a successful author platform. These are just a few of the basic plugins and widgets we recommend (and use ourselves)… [Read More]

Sticky wickets on book sales
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January 29, 2011

Barnes & Noble,  Borders, and thousands of small and independent book stores are struggling to pay their bills, including bills to publishers. Big commercial publishers are still in sticker shock that the old profit margins and traditional ways of doing business are gone. But everyone loves books.   Even GE.  Their extension of credit to Barnes & Noble to keep things alive a few more months in this… [Read More]