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2021 Writing Classes

Registration is open! Develop a writing habit and learn to edit your own work with The Writing Habit and Edit Yourself, both online via the Writers Grotto:

The Writing Habit *ONLINE*

Tuesdays, Jan 26-Feb 3 | * ONLINE* | Are you feeling stuck or unmotivated to finish your novel, memoir, or short story collection? Are […]

AWP 15: Minneapolis, Here I Come!

I’m getting excited for AWP! I just bought a new umbrella, and I’m digging my coats and sweaters out of the closet. I’ll be moderating a panel Thursday morning and participating in a reading Thursday afternoon. Please come to one or both if you’re going to AWP. I’d love to see/meet you! Details about my […]

Is Social Media a Waste of Time for Writers?

Photo courtesy of Will Lion via Creative Commons

In response an article in Creative Nonfiction titled “Platforms” Are Overrated, SheWrites Press publisher Brooke Warner wrote a great post titled Your Author Platform is Not Your Social Media Following. The quick summary of Brooke’s post is that social media is just one piece of the […]

10 Reasons to Start Blogging

Every now and then you read a gloom and doom post about blogging like “Is blogging dead?” or “Where are all the bloggers?” Blogging is far from dead. Some people who were blogging five days a week four years ago may have slowed down or quit because they got burned out, and there’s no question […]

Four Book Marketing Tips

Last month I posted an interview with SheBooks co-founder Laura Fraser. This month I want to discuss a few things about what I learned by publishing my first book, Runway, and what I plan to do differently next time.

Photo courtesy of NASA

 

1. Are you blogging to the wrong audience?

What is […]

Six Ways to Build Your Author Platform

Tuesday night, I had the privilege of attending Sin and Syntax author Constance Hale’s class The Book Biz from A to Z at the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto. One of the topics that arose was platform.

Today, every agent and editor wants to know that you have a platform before representing/buying your book. But […]

5 Easy Ways to Promote Your Book

Last month I wrote about how NOT to promote your book. This week, I want to talk about a few ways you SHOULD promote your book and other writing.

1. Include your website, Facebook page, Twitter handle, etc. in the signature on all your emails. Include your email and Twitter handle (at a minimum) […]

Transmedia Storytelling: A Guide for Authors

A phrase that’s been buzzing around the Internet lately is “transmedia storytelling.” But what is it? And how does it affect you as a writer? Transmedia storytelling is the technique of telling a single story using multiple platforms and technologies in order to expand your audience through multiple avenues of engagement. For example, a YA […]

How NOT to Promote Your Book

Don’t do this to your friends

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a common scenario.

I say to a friend, “I wonder what Sarah is up to. I haven’t heard from her since we were in that writers’ group three years ago.”

Friend: “I haven’t heard from her either. I googled her once, […]

How To Be A Little Less Introverted

Last week in my Blogging for Beginners class at the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto, a student declared that she doesn’t feel comfortable putting her photo on her blog, something I strongly encourage all my students to do. People want to know what the blogger they’re following looks like, and the more professional the photo, […]