I use YouTube on a daily basis: to show the wee one her favorite cartoons. When it comes to using it to promote my books, however, I’m hopeless. I don’t even have a book trailer, let alone a YouTube channel. Which is why I found particularly interesting this guest post by Jay Chambers.

7 Reasons for Using Videos in Your Social Marketing Campaigns

Image: Pixabay

YouTube is currently the second largest search engine on the web. Unfortunately, many authors do not take video marketing seriously, so, they miss out on an incredible marketing opportunity. Some authors fear using video in their marketing strategies because they feel that it’s costly, which is not true. While the quality standards of video production have gone up, the cost has decreased significantly. Therefore, you can find quality video easily which will, in turn, lead to better conversion rates. Here is why you are…

I have been asked a few times about the program I use for writing my novels.  So I thought I would take a break from the World Builder series to go through the basics of Scrivener.

Stolen from Writers Write website.

Do you struggle with first-person narratives?

I do. Even though it’s my favorite point of view.

I love writing, and reading, first-person point of view stories. But getting it right can be a struggle. I was thrilled to read a recent post on writing techniques from Bookfox. 

Writing in First Person: 4 Tricks and 6 Pitfalls

The article breaks down the simple do’s and don’ts that make writing in first-person simpler and easier. And reminded me, there are some wonderful, famous authors who wrote in first-person. In addition to thousands of classic works of literature. Selecting first-person POV need not be a hindrance to good writing.

How these writing techniques clicked for me.

• To find a character’s voice, give them attitude.
• Do not let the narrator be dull. Don’t want to put your reader to sleep.
• Showcase your character’s blind spot. We all have them and so should a…

on Live Write Thrive site:

When presented with a manuscript, publishers are usually thinking ahead to marketing and how likely a book is to sell copies.

As authors, we tend to think of the audience for our website and social media as being our readers (often including a healthy dose of other authors). We often put to the back of our minds other audiences, who may be fewer in number but are nonetheless important groups. These include the media, agents and, of course, publishers.

But just how important is an author’s online platform for the acquisition process, and what elements do publishers look for on an author site?

To find answers, I contacted a large number of publishers with my questions, and a small number of generous souls replied.

Continue reading HERE

I went out on a limb again (hand, foot, leg and pinky this time) and asked some of my favourite bloggers if they might like to answer a few more of those burning questions we’re all thinking about. Because yes, the above question (and the others coming up in the next few weeks) were all sourced from you. So I must say, once again, thank you for the inspiration!

Today I’m bringing up the subject of trolling. You may have noticed there exists an online ‘code’ that dictates we should: never respond to the trolls ever!! EVER!! In some circumstances, yes, I completely agree (unless you enjoy a good verbal spar) but some people think you should also never even address the trolls.

Well… I decided to blog about trolling for three reasons, namely 1) to show other bloggers that they aren’t alone, 2) to let the trolls know they were

I confess I’m a bit of a couch potato. Both my day job (web development) and my passion (writing) require spending long hours in front of a monitor. Since I work from home, there are days I don’t even get out of the house. So, I was particularly intrigued by the notion that running can make me a better writer. Sounds crazy, right? And yet, Sadi Khan, a research analyst and writer at RunRepeat.com, makes a compelling case for running. Read on to see what I mean while I dust off my running shoes.

7 ways running can make you a better writer (backed by science)

Image: Pixabay

Writing is a passion. And becoming a good writer takes a lot of effort. You get a lot of great advice on how to improve your writing. But here, I present scientific proof that starting a running routine can make…