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Do Authors Need AI?
Your knee jerk response to my headline may be “No!” Authors have been writing and publishing books for centuries without AI. You may have seen the ads suggesting that AI will help you to write a book in a weekend that you can sell on Amazon for thousands of dollars a month. Yes, these ads…
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Coming Out of the Closet: Why I Use a Pen Name
I have a confession to make. After years of telling other authors not to use a pen name, I recently decided to ignore my own advice and began publishing under a pseudonym. After six months of working with a split personality, let me tell you the good and the bad so you can use my…
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What I Learned When My Facebook Page Crashed
This is a true story—a tale of woe, if you will. In early December, Facebook decided that I was a robot and closed down my page. When I couldn’t get into my Facebook page, I immediately tried to contact the help desk. What did I learn? Facebook has no help desk. I tried to find…
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Be Aware of Book Scammers
There are hundreds more scammers out their than there are legitimate companies. And there are other companies with questionable practices. I have gotten this lit from the Writer Beware website. fhttps://writerbeware.blog/scam-archive/ and it is in no way inclusive.
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How to Build a Captivating Fantasy World
World-building is the backbone of any successful paranormal fantasy. The atmosphere, rules, and hidden layers of the world are just as important as the characters themselves. Crafting a believable world where the supernatural thrives alongside the mundane requires attention to detail, logic, and imagination. Here are some strategies for building a compelling world.
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When is Your Book Good Enough?
Finally, one wise author friend said to me, “You know, this is very good as it is; yes, we could go over it word for word critiquing it, but would those changes make the difference in the number of books you sell? No.” What a relief! My marketing copy, my back cover, my tagline, the…
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Successful Online Book Events
With Zoom, recordings, and other online devices, you can now easily give a program to groups located almost anywhere in the world. I’ve done quite a few of them in the last few years. There are upsides and downsides to this type of program. Here are a few of my takeaways.
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Is Pefection Paralysis Stopping You
Do you find yourself writing, writing, writing; always adding another chapter, thinking of a new small piece of information that must go into your book, changing a sentence only to change it back again… and again… and …? Well you get the picture. At some point, it is time to say, “Enough, already!” and just…
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AI and Amazon: What You Should Know
Ever since Amazon KDP started asking if the books we publish are “AI generated” when we upload a book, the rumors have been flying. 1. Will Amazon ban books that use AI? 2. Will Amazon tag books that use AI so our readers know we have used it? 3. Is Amazon planning to develop its…
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What My Class Reunion Taught Me About Social Media
I recently attended my high school class reunion. It wasn’t the place where I expected to learn a valuable lesson about social media. I have to admit most people don’t think that people my age pay much attention to social media. And that’s the first lesson I learned. Don’t count people over 50 or even…
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Memoir Made Easy Webinar
Here is the video of our Aug. 8 webinar on how to write your memoir.
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Amazon Countdown Deal: The Results
Last week I told you how to run a Kindle Countdown, and mentioned my own deal was running from July 8 to 15. Now I have the results.
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The Why & How of Kindle Countdown Deals
Once upon a time, Kindle Countdown Deals combined with some inexpensive and targeted advertising was a surefire winner for authors. Set a Countdown Deal on KDP, pay under $100 for a few targeted ads, and voila! You were almost assured to get a few hundred downloads, increase your Amazon rank, and get a couple of…
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Creative Nonfiction in Memoir & Biography
Your job in writing your memoir is to make the story as true to yourself as possible. Often we think of nonfiction as being written in a dry, “just the facts” style that takes all the joy out of reading. While this style is just fine for technical, legal, scientific, and other factual writing, it…
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Tropes: Cliche or Useful Tool?
When I hear the word “trope,” I used to think of a hackneyed writer just getting by using the same tired formulas over and over again. Recently, I was given a new way of outlining my writing to ensure that, whether I am writing fiction or nonfiction, I keep my readers’ interest. First, let’s take…
