A place where you can find some great blog posts, tweets and websites providing tips, advice and information on writing, publishing, marketing and promoting your book.

So let’s get started:

@miracle_profit tweeted about a blog post on The Book Designer titled How Authors Can Use Article Marketing: Ezine Article Metrics
In this post, the metrics and statistics (such as author stats, keyword analysis and category rankings) in Ezine articles is discussed and explained. Great informative blog about how article marketing can help writers (really, any business owner) boost their online exposure.

@CPatrickSchulze tweeted about @ElizabethSCraig RT on a blog post at Agency Gatekeeper about Getting Past the Gatekeeper, “here’s my revision, will you read it?”
In this post, she provides concrete and solid advice about how to send a letter and respond to a letter from an agency.

@philgerb tweet via @conversationage blog post titled 57 Power Words for Writing Brilliant Headlines by @tmonhollon.
Some of her suggestions are:
For Mystery: Top Secret, Private, Confidential
For Energy: Astonishing, Wonderful, Stunning
For Lists: Top 10, Best, Ultimate

@conquerall tweeted about archived blog talk radio on From Blank Pages to Bestsellerwhere host @theresachaze talks with author Jo-Anne Vandermeulen talking about the writing process.

@mawbooks tweeted about a silent auction for charity done by UT authors called Writing for Charity You can read more about how to become a part of the event. There is still time to be a part of the event. Go check it out.

@bubblecow tweeted about Book Writing Tips from Published Writers

A few of the book writing tips:
~Write naturally and let your writing voice come to the surface
~Watch those adverbs
~Picture your reader
Some wonderful and practical advice for all writers.

@joparfitt tweeted about the brilliance of book reviews. She talks about the importance of book reviews and the catyatic effect just one book review can have for the author.
This is something I recommend to my clients all the time….get reviews…get as many as you can because just like Jo states, you can place them on blogs, newsletters, postcards, book marks, online book stores, etc. @Joparfitt also offers a free report on How to Write a Book Review.

@citytreasure tweeted about The Top 25 Book Fairs and Book Festivals.

Here are a few on the Book Fairs and Festivals list to share:
~ Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest book fair in the world, October 6-10 2010 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
~ Southern Book Festival: A celebration of the written word, Nashville, TN, attracts more than 200 authors from all over the U.S. in the second weekend of October 2010
~ Baltimore Book Festival, featuring over 100 authors, September 24-26 2010
I hope you have enjoyed this list of marketing, promotion and writing business help on the Authors and Writers August Tweets Acular.

This past week for me was about getting out the latest edition of my newsletter, putting up the Spring 2010 Books to Read Gallery and this weekend I purchased a new HP printer–whoohoo!

So, I hope you had a great week and are ready to head into a new one.

Here are a few tweets I thought would be helpful to my fellow writers and authors:

1) @lisagailgreene tweeted about An Important Question to ask a Potential Agent at Sisters in Scribe blog. The blogger attended a conference and received some answers to a few questions. For instance, her question was “What are your thoughts on reserving multi-media rights in your contract?”. Check the link to find out the answer she received. It may surprise you.

2) @MANOSTHE tweeted about a post at Yahoo News about the LA Times Festival of Books via Huffington Post. What struck me about this post was the main focus being about the changing climate of publishing and about how popular ebooks and electronic format of books have become.

3) @mariblaser tweeted about post via @bubblecow on How Writers can get more out of Twitter. Simply, this post is about hashtags and the author posts some of them for writers to use—#pubtip, #writegoal, #askagent, #writers, #authors. Be sure and check out the list…there are some good ones.

4) @writingroads tweeeted about a post via @writing advice at Unstressed Syllables about Why You need a Professional Blog. This is a great post written by Aaron Pogue and his journey as a writer. And to express some great points about blogging and creating a online platform for yourself.

I wish you all a fabulous week and as always…

KEEP WRITING!

Feeling much better from my cold…thank goodness! That one was a doozy of a cold! This week there are some great tweets out for writers and authors—when isn’t there though, right?

Let’s get started–

1) Here’s a tweet from @ProNagger with a post from her blog titled, Bookending Chat. Now, this is a interesting accountability tool for those whom are sticking to dead lines. She has created a community (chat) where you go in and list a single task you need to accomplish. It can be book writing related or not. You go in post your “bookend” such as Write my Tweets A Cular post. Then when I am done, I go back into the chat and state I completed it. Great sense of accomplishment and positive reinforcement.

2) @janetfreidman tweeted a post from the Harvard Business Review titled The iPad Won’t save the Publishing Industry from Itself. This post discusses being aware of how the publishing world still may need to look at the iPad and how they can use it’s newness FOR the readers and NOT just to save the business model.

3) @lynsouth tweeted about Writing Advice from Famous Writers at @bubblecow. Great points here from Ray Bradbury about writing persistently (ever heard about his short story called The Lake?), Steven King about writing scary stories, Kurt Vonnegot about short stories and Martin Amis about cliches in writing. These are all short videos giving great tips and suggestions about writing.

4) @ereleases tweeted How to Answer a HARO (Help a Reporter Out) Query. All I can say is—listen to this video! Great tips and I learned a thing or two too! And I wish I could have some of his energy!! Thanks Peter!

5) @bookbuzzr tweeted via @elisabthscraig about Top Ten Things Authors Should Never do to Promote their Book. One of the biggest takeaways I like about this post (and something I relay to my clients all the time) is don’t JUST promote your book and appear to be selling, selling, selling. Offer advice, tips, and share with your readers. Give them time to get to know you as the author. And one thing I don’t totally agree with is #8, post every review you have ever received. Now, I think it is good to share with your readers about the reviews you receive, however, again, don’t let that be ALL you do. Remember, share with your readers about you, the story behind the book, your writing journey, they will get to know you better.

Thanks for reading another edition of Tweets-A-cular!

So, how about you share your favorite tweet for writers and authors?

Sorry, I missed last week with my Tweets-Acular but I was sick in bed with a nasty cold. I want to thank my readers, clients, friends and family for their ongoing support and love of well wishes while I was sick.

But I am back now and ready to share the next edition of the Tweets-Acular for Authors and Writers.

1) @documentdriven tweeted through @brodiegal and @gingerclark about a blog Guide to Literary Agents about Successful Queries. This is a rare occasion that agents will offer sample of queries that work for them. On her Ginger gives the reasons this query worked for her and helped her decision to work with this author.

2) @weegee offered a tweet about Payment Options for the Sub 5 Dollar Purchase. In this post Joe Wilkert discusses the fact he is surprised how many times he has purchased .99 cent or even 1.99 purchases from iTunes in the last couple of months. However, he goes on to talk about how this payment model may work for music but this won’t be a viable solution in the publishing industry (to sell chapters of books). I agree. I don’t forsee readers purchasing chapters verses the whole book…I mean, really what is the point.

3) @thecreativepenn (someone I recommend following for authors & writers) tweeted about a news release about an author (Marion Chesney) who was able to revive her out-of-print books when she brought them exclusively to Amazon Kindle. Hey-it is an option and this author was happy to know there was this option for her.

4) @MADconsulting offered a tweet via @turbotweet titled the 100 ways to become a better Twitterer. Some pretty solid advice.
Here are a few:
# Show gratitude: If someone’s helped you out, be sure to thank them publicly.
# Be genuine: Avoid being false-stay honest and let people see yourself.
# Don’t share EVERYTHING you do: Don’t share useless details about your cat or grilled cheese sandwich for lunch-make things a little more interesting.

5) And something from my email box. Received notification from one of my LinkedIn Groups, Writing Mafia, they are starting a blog talk radio show next week to discuss Non Fiction Book Proposals. It is nice to see they are branching out to include a radio show. Hope to see, well hear, you there!

Well, this is another edition of Tweets-Acular for Writers and Authors. I hope you have enjoyed it. Please join in and comment to tell me your thoughts on these tweets and blogs.

Dear Writers & Authors,

I found this quote in a book:
“It is okay to have butterfiles in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation. – Dr. Rob Gilbert

For writers, some time taking that first leap to start writing it the hardest part. Use those butterflies as encouragement to follow through with something you really want to do.

Here is another edition of Tweets-Acular for authors and writers.

1) @writersrelief tweeted about What Literary Agents Do (and Don’t) for You -

2) @rebeccawoodhead tweeted the 10 Easy Steps to Becoming a Published Writer. All I can say is, click on the link…I think you will like it.

3) @elisabethcraig tweeted her post about Novels Need Vivid Imagery. Great tips and advice about using sensory details when writing.

4) @vegasbookfest tweeted about a post How to Write a Novel and Finish it at eHow. Simple and to the point. Probably not what yo may wish to read but it is true. Sit, write and rewite. But for me, as I am also a writer, I am enjoying the process as it unfolds.

5) @goldenwordsmith tweeted about her post called Art Helps Writing. She displays how during her freelance writing classes they work on mind maps and collages to help with their writing.

Keep Writing!

Before I begin the Tweets-acular, here is a tidbit I would like to share–

I just don’t know how to get started?

Writers—have you ever said this to yourself or someone else? Well, here are a few tips to help you get started writing.

~Keep a folder of articles, quotes or stories of subjects you feel passionate about
~Develop a “mock” up book with “chapters” and then place your thoughts and ideas you write down within the related “chapter
~Create a vision board about what you see for your book

Remember, taking the first step maybe known as the hardest but it also feels the proudest.

Tips for Writers & Authors

1) @sherikayehoff retweeted @warrenwhitlock post titled Numbers an Author should Know. —>all I have to say is….GREAT information to know for writers and authors…may change your mind on where you may wish to be networking.

2) @jonathanfields tweeted about a post by @the99percent titled What Daily Meditation Can do for your Creativity.–>Nice article filled with solid tips! When I take the time to be present and focus on my breathing for a few minutes, I come back to my work and writing, with more clarity allowing me to get more things done.

3) @thecreativepenn tweeted about a post by @rachellegardner titled How to Title Your Book. –>here is what she states,”Think of it this way: the better your title is, the better your chance that the publisher will decide to use it, rather than changing it.” She does offer a great process to help with narrowing down the possibilities for your book.

4) @life_enthusiast tweeted about a post via @wendyybailey titled 9 elements to help your copy connect with your ideal learners. –>here are a few tips: a) have a very thought out headline to capture your readers b)add a P.S. to make the copy cohesive c) and here is one I hadn’t though of…add captions under the pictures to reiterate points related to your ideal reader

5) @jolindsell tweeted about her article her Heluim titled Good Sources for Book Reviews.–>On her list, she adds Book Wire (which offers author statistics and video clips of book releases) and Building Rainbows (which offers book reviews by the reading public).

I hope you have enjoyed this edition of Tweets-Acular for Writers and Authors. I hope you will visit these blogs and share your thoughts with me and the other bloggers.

And as always…keep writing!

Neat week last week. Continuing to work with some wonderful writers and authors. One of my clients called and told me in celebration she finished writing her book! Whoohoo!

Also, this past Saturday, I co-hosted an event in Gulfport with Local Shops1.com called Resolutions Resolved. See pictures on Facebook. It was a nice event with some wonderful speakers such as Michele Northrup of Intensity Academy, who talked about how to SPICE up your brand, and Margo Hammond, former editor of St. Pete Times and co-author of Between the Covers, who discussed how to go after your dreams at any age.

So, here we go. Let me share with you some Tweets and Blog posts for Writers and Authors:

@thecreativepenn tweets about how big time publishing house, Simon & Schuster , have re-done their site and how it contains great posts and links about the importance for newbie authors as well as established authors to use social media, blogging and video to help market their books. She (@thecreativepenn) shares with you some of her favorite resources for blogging, social media and video.–>I noticed she mentions WordPress (for her blog) and HostGator (for her hosting). I use the same and recommend them as well.
This post also had a nice little post about tips on how to do a book trailer.

@wahmrevolution tweeted about getting your writing noticed. This is a post from Authonomy, website for writers done by the book editors at Harper Collins. I did notice they have a tips page, which contains some nice articles from authors like Barbara Taylor Bradford. As an author, writer, editor or publisher, you can add a few chapters of your work (after you register) or join in the forum to support and ask questions. –>neat site for authors and writers. I signed up.

@georgeangus tweeted about one of his latest’s blog posts called, How to Publish an Ebook to Amazon Kindle. –>George takes the time to explain and give great tips about how to do this task right. For instance, he reminds you to not skimp on the details when doing the description of your book. Also, be sure you have a quality book cover (people do judge a book by the cover).

@annemazer tweeted about A Writer’s Best Friend is….Failure?She talks about how the most beloved books (and writers) are the ones that make us think, give us something to shoot for because they overcame adversity (failure) in their lives. Failure can be a great motivator. So don’t look at it as a bad thing…you can choose to use it as a positive in your writing.

@inkyelbows tweeted about an interview about her writing and her (really neat) comic strip, Will Write For Chocolate.–> Very cute for writers…but really for all entrepreneurs.

@juliannemaclean posted a great (and cute) distractive (video) done by three NYT Best Selling Authors – @TeresaMederios, Eloise James and Connie Brockway. –>great job ladies!

After that—there really isn’t anything else to say, except, “Don’t let fear stop you. You are a great writer. Your readers will love your writing. Keep writing!!”

This week while watching the half pipe (I think that is what it is called) at the Winter Olympics, I noticed some of the girls were either listening to their i-pods or texting (or tweeting) something on their phones. I thought, “They are in the midst of one of the biggest dreams of their careers and they are taking the time to send a text to someone or tweet something. Wow!”

I even saw on one of the new reality shows when a business owner got shafted by one of her clients, she mentioned she was going to post something on Facebook about this person. Even a bigger wow!

It really does go to show you the “power” of the social networks these days.

TWEETS-ACULAR for Writers and Authors

:
February 19th

@writerscoach tweeted about her blog post titled 5 Easy Ways to go from Unpublished Writer to Published Writer at @missyfrye Incurable Disease of Writing –>great advice about submitting your writing to article directory and small local publications to name a few.

@peggybechko tweeted about a post at Pick the Brain blog called 10 Writing Tips from Masters. –>Right from the top of the article it starts with a good one. Every time you are included to use the word “very”, replace it with the word “damn” and most likely you won’t mind taking it out of a sentence. Another one is about learning to “love” criticism. –>I know this was a bit hard for me to get used to when my editor started editing my writing. But quickly I learned it was for the betterment of my writing.

@frugalbookpromo tweeted “see how the net has changed the art of writing a press release” in regards to her recent press release. –>All I have to say is, “Nicely done!”.

And I will end with this–

@merlynkevans tweeted via @thecreativepenn about how to become a Amazon Kindle Bestseller by @jakonrath. He shares his story about his ebooks he sells on Amazon Kindle. He even talks about a plant called Kudzu. –>Great story about how writers shouldn’t give up and sometimes it is about finding the right path for your writing.

I hope you have enjoyed this week’s Tweets-acular!

To my fellow writers—keep writing!

Here we go with the Tweets-Acular list:

@writersrelief tweeted about post entitled Query Letter 101. Some great and simple advice– 1)don’t use any “fancy” tricks to grab the agent’s attention like bright purple highlighters or crazy fonts. 2) the query letter is your one shot to prove your books’ worth 3) keep current on industry standards for writing query letters 4) be sure to read the guidelines and follow them specifically

@tips4writers tweeted about a post by Mark Pennington entitled Top 40 Grammar Gaffes. A few tips Mark shares within the post are 1) Keep modifiers close to the words they are describing to avoid dangling modifiers. 2) An infinitive has a to + the base form of a verb. Placing a word between the to and the base form of the verb can create confusion. If tempted to split the infinitive, brainstorm for better verbs. 3) (and one of my peeves as well) Don’t use no double negatives….oops..hehehe. I mean…It is always bad to use double negatives.

@thecreativepenn tweeted about a post written via @selfpublishingreview entitled Do Writers Use Twitter?Now, this blog post was interesting because there was a conversation about how twitter has helped writers. Some say they don’t feel Twitter has helped them in their writing but it has helped build relationships. I would just like to add here — isn’t that what is the basis of writing, building solid relationships? How does a writer receive readers? By allowing the readers to get to know them as the author of their work. Just my .02 cents.

**An added treat to the above blog post was a link to a post by @helengallagher
>>See, this is the magic and wonderment of Twitter. I found Helen’s blog because I am connected to @thecreativepenn on Twitter. I may not have found Helen’s site otherwise and I would not be able to share this…>>

A social networking site for writers called Author Advance

@michaelhyatt tweeted about @chipmacgregor blog post titled What is a Brand? He summaries it as “what a reader has in his or her mind when they walk into a bookstore and see your book”. This is a great post with tons of information for writers. I recommend it! There was one thing Chip mentions at the end of the post. He said, ” But even a wonderfully inventive brand won’t support a lousy product, which is why I always say the success of a writer always comes back, eventually, to the quality of the craft.” —>yes it does.

@rachellegardner tweeted about author @jodyhedlund and her blog. It was interesting to go on there today because she wrote a post How important is an author’s brand?. And here take on it is very appealing as well. She met with some marketing experts on the subject and the summarized it this way…in their many years of working with authors, what they’ve experienced is that the author’s name becomes their brand and that usually doesn’t happen until after at least 2 to 3 books are published.–>
And that is because people need to get to know you and once they know you for the quality of the work and your subject that your audience wants to read, you will have a following, those creating a brand with your name.

I do hope you enjoyed this week’s Fab Five Friday (with a few extras) as there is some really good content out there for writers, authors, entrepreneurs and business owners.

Have a great weekend!

This has been a fabulous week for me…many of my friends and clients have book launches, book events, writing contest or interviews to share.

#MojoTweet came out this week by author Marshall Goldsmith published by ThinkAha books.
You can read more about this book and his other book notably named MOJO: How to get it, How to keep it, How to get it back, if you lose it.

Also, my friend, Heidi Richards has an ebook coming out tomorrow, called, Quirky Marketing Calendar 2010. And she is giving away over $1600 in FREE bonuses with it. You can read more about it here

And you still have time to enter the TRUE LOVE writing contest being sponsored by Folkheart Press and Key Business Partners. 2 days left and here are the details.

And now for the FAB Five Friday:

1)@Tips4Writers tweeted about a post by Judy Collins titled 7 Top Mistakes Writers Make. Judy discusses how writers procrastinate in writing for different reasons such as thinking they need to be an expert before they can write OR believe they will have to do the process all by themselves. I work with clients who share these similar worries. I ran into the procrastination issue before I started writing my first novel because I thought I had to write it completely write the first time. Silly, I know but I thought I should not need to rewrite it…not realizing it is exactly what writers do when they are writing a book. Revisions galore. It is all part of the process. And the other one, going through it alone. Well, I handled that rather quickly because it was my editor who told me “No just start writing. It doesn’t (and probably won’t) have to be perfect the first time.

2) @lorimcneeartist tweeted about a post on The Red Carpet Broadcast titled 5 Proven Techniques to Establish yourself as a web author and writer. one of the techniques provided was make the web writing scanable meaning make it easy to understand when the reader scans the data on the page.

3)@inkyelbows posted an tweet via @vickydelany discussing Book Trailers, Are they worth it? She states she had one very professional (and in turn expensive) book trailer for one book, however, decided not to have one for her follow up book. Her reason…she stated no return on investment. I have to differ a bit here because I do believe there are ways to effective create and promote a book trailer that helps with increase visibility and not cost tons of money. Share your thoughts.

4)@thecreativepenn via @JFBookman wrote about What every self-publisher should know about editingHe talks about having publishers understand the book editing process.

5) @Writersgroup posted a tweet about what a debut novelist says about how to use and sell on Twitter.She shares her journey with using Twitter to help sell her book. All I will add is there is many channels to marketing and promoting a book.

I hope you all had a wonderful week and keep writing!