A text-only version of this article appeared in my GoodReads blog on March 25, 2011.  The lessons still apply today — despite changes to Facebook’s algorithms and Operation eBook Drop coming to an end.

If I had a subtitle, it would be: Or, Some Things I Learned Along the Way

The other day, I dropped someone from my personal Facebook page. She’s a professional author whom I knew casually from another website, and she sent me a friend request — which I accepted.

Given the way that authors tend to network, I’m sure you’re wondering why I dropped her.

One hundred percent of her posts were billboarding about where to buy her books, sent via Tweetdeck. I started to feel as though the only reason she’d invited me to be her Facebook friend was so that she would make a sale!

There are lots of ways to rock on Facebook…

By Emma Taggart on My Modern Met site:

Graphic artist and history buff Frédéric Duriez digitally colorizes vintage black and white photographs, breathing new life into their subjects. Duriez started colorizing war images three years ago, and today his work ranges from old mug-shots to actors and actresses, and most recently, ghost-like portraits from the Victorian era.

The incredible images depict glum-looking children, extravagantly dressed; a sullen young couple, adorned in frilly clothing; a pair of young women, their hair perfectly pinned back; and earnest men, posing proudly. Duriez explains he chose the images because he “was attracted by the beauty of the clothes and especially the dresses of this period.” He adds, “I was fascinated by these portraits without expression because all the looks are frozen in time.”

From monochrome hues, Duriez uses the open-source software GIMP to transform the portraits, presenting brightly colored clothing, blushed cheeks, and in…

By Joan Stewart  on The Book Designer site:

Image from: Bigstock

Some people collect antique china. Others keep a stash of comic books from their childhood.

I collect author resources boxes.

Why? Because the ones most authors write are more potent than Ambien. And every time I see one that makes me smile, I grab a screenshot for safekeeping.

A resource box is the super-short bio, usually 50 to 100 words, at the end of articles and guest blog you’ve written. Sometimes they include a link to a website. Sometimes they’re only one sentence. That means you must make the best use of every character in a tiny amount of real estate.

Why so short? Because if you’re writing a guest blog post or an article for a magazine, the blogger and magazine editor each have their own “rules” on how short it must be. If you’re not sure, ask!

One of my most popular posts turned out to be about Image Copyright Do’s and Don’ts. I thought I’d follow it up with a slideshow I share in one of my classes on that topic. Images can make a post but they can also break you if done wrong! I’ll embed the slideshow but I’ll also go through it to explain each slide. I hope this clarifies some of the issues that aren’t at all obvious when using images:

by Erica Verrillo  on Publishing… and Other Forms of Insanity:

Random House

The Literary Titan Book Awards are awarded to books that have astounded and amazed us with unique writing styles, vivid worlds, complex characters, and original ideas. These books deserve extraordinary praise and we are proud to acknowledge the hard work, dedication, and imagination of these talented authors.

Gold Award Winners

Silver Award Winners

Visit the Literary Titan Book Awards page to see award information and see all award winners.

By Laura Tong  on Write to Done site:

Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. ~Stephen King

As a writer of fiction or non-fiction, hard work is what separates the dreamers from the achievers. Without hard work all you are is:

• a freelancer without any clients
• an author without any readers
• a blogger without any traffic

But hard work alone won’t help. Working hard on its own won’t draw out that great work you have inside you.

Rather, you need to be productive with your time.

The Cambridge dictionary defines productivity as ‘the rate at which a person, company, or country does useful work.’

For you as a writer the most important word in that definition is ‘useful’. ‘Useful’ work is work that matters, work that counts.

In other words creative work.

And that…