Twitterific Writing Links

Twitterific

Bluebird with beak open and 'Twitterific Writing Links' by ElizabethSCraig superimposed on the image

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 43,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Have you visited the WKB lately?  Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox!  Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.

I had a new release last week.  :)  A Body in the Trunk, Myrtle Clover book 12, released on Tuesday.

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Single-Tasking for Productivity

Motivation and the Writing Life, Uncategorized

Stressed woman puts both hands to her head as the post title "Single-Tasking for Productivity" is superimposed on the top.

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I used to think that I was a fairly adept multitasker, as long as one of the tasks was something completely mindless (I could stir things in a pot and make a list at the same time.  I could vacuum and brainstorm).  But after instances  where I’ve spattered supper on the stove and vacuumed up things that weren’t supposed to be vacuumed, I’ve come to the realization that I really shouldn’t multitask at all.

I’ve made an effort to dial it back and become more effective at focusing on a single task.

Is it really multitasking?

In the article “Brain, Interrupted” by New York Time columnists Bob Sullivan and Hugh Thompson, they stated:

In fact, multitasking is a misnomer. In most situations, the person juggling e-mail, text messaging, Facebook and a meeting is really doing something called “rapid toggling between tasks,” and is engaged in constant context switching.

The danger in this, as stated in the article, is that we may never really return to the main task we needed to work on.  The other tasks act as distractions … or maybe, more accurately, deterrents…to our productivity.Continue reading

Finding Silver Linings in Goodreads Giveaway Changes, and 3 Alternatives

Business of Writing, Promo Tips

by David Wogahn, @wogahn

It seems like indie authors are under siege. First Pronoun, the free eBook distribution service, closed. Then Goodreads announced their free paperback giveaway promotion tool will no longer be free (as of tomorrow, January 9).

I know how upset some authors are about the latter change. But I imagine there are other groups of authors and publishers who see a silver lining.

  1. Producing a quality paperback is more expensive than publishing in eBook format. For those self-publishers who publish in eBook format only, and who want to get in front of the largest audience of avid readers in the world, a high bar has now been lowered.
  2. One of the arguments in favor of KDP Select is being able to give your Kindle eBook away for free, ostensibly to help encourage reviews and build your audience. The new Goodreads program has no such requirement, only that your book is available on the KDP publishing platform.
  1. The program seems to have lost its effectiveness for some people. As shared with The Verge by Lesley Conner of Apex Publications, “We aren’t going to spend the small marketing budget we have on a service that we’ve already noticed isn’t that effective.”

A couple of years ago I read about one self-publisher’s giveaway strategy in the Independent Book Publishers Association Independent magazine: offer one book and do this continuously, well after the release date. Goodreads would give an offer like this the same marketing push as a Giveaway for a new release offering multiple copies.

Could this be a contributor to the ineffectiveness cited by Apex Publications and many others? I think so and I doubt it was Goodreads’ intention that the program be used this way.

2 reasons why I am not concerned

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Twitterific Writing Links

Twitterific

Bluebird with beak open and 'Twitterific Writing Links' by ElizabethSCraig superimposed on the image

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 43,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Have you visited the WKB lately?  Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox!  Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.

Continue reading

9 Lessons from Book Signings

Motivation and the Writing Life

Black and white photo of a crowded second-hand bookstore with the post title, "9 Lessons from Book Signings" superimposed on the top.

by Elizabeth S.  Craig, @elizabethscraig 

Book signings come in different shapes and sizes.  Signing books after a conference panel is one thing.  Signing them in a bookstore is something else. Signing them after a luncheon or book club meeting is again a different animal entirely.

Unless you have a large local network, signings in bookstores can be tricky.  I’ve found that signings at conferences are mediocre, too. The times I’ve done best were signings right after book clubs or book-related luncheons/events.

Here are my tips for a better book signing: 

Make sure there will be books there.  While this sounds like a no-brainer, you’d be amazed how much miscommunication can happen between bookstores/conference organizers and the writer. Who is responsible for making sure books are there? If it’s the bookstore, you might want to remind them again in enough time to ensure the books are ordered and at the store.Continue reading

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