It’s not a secret that today you need an author platform if you want to maintain any kind of online presence. Having a website or a blog is crucial not only for your visibility but for your marketing efforts and ultimately sales as well.

Maybe writers don’t really know what to blog about and as a result they either don’t have a platform or they even hurt their own efforts by blogging about nothing. There are a lot of abandoned writer’s blogs because of that problem.

Don’t worry. I’m here to give you some ideas.

1. Book blogs

Every writer reads and if you read you can review those books on your blog. You’re probably already doing it by writing reviews for Amazon or Goodreads. You might as well turn it to your advantage and start a blog for your reviews. (Check out Louise Wise Blog as a great example)

2. Document your journey to a published novel

That book you’re writing isn’t ready yet, but it doesn’t matter you can’t build up the hype around it. Share your struggles, write what writing techniques worked for you (and which ones didn’t), and share your research findings, your casting for the perfect editor. Your experiences and learning process is interesting, believe me (I know I love reading about what other writers are up to and how they are doing).

3. Non-fiction about fiction

It’s a tagline for Writing4Rent. It’s not so much sharing the details of my writing process, but sharing what I already know about being a successful writer. It works especially well if you have some experience and authority. It usually works really well to combine writing tips and your personal writing journey (Lindsay Buroker is a great example for that).

4. Write about your favorite genre

What kind of books are you reading? Do you have a favorite one? If so, then explore your interest in a blog. If you’re into a specific genre you get review the books available, get the word out there for all the new releases, and talk about the movies that fit your genre, games and TV shows.

5. (Photo)blog of inspiration

Inspire other writers with regular prompts and encourage them to post replies in your blog. You can use photos; videos, phrases and music, or you can pick one theme and stick to it (like the Minute Writer). For example, you can start a photo blog and share photos that inspired you.

6. Hobby

Make your blog interesting by blogging about what you love and are passionate about. Gardening, role-playing games, knitting; anything you love doing in your spare time. Sure, it’s always better marketing wise to keep the blog topic somewhat connected to what your books are about, but showing your interests as well as writing about your work is never a bad idea. Jackson Pierce’s vlogs about color guard made me spend hours on YouTube watching Color Guard championships.

7. Issues you care about

Do you care about the GLBT rights? Are you concerned about the representation of women in media? Do you want to spread sex positive attitudes? If there are issues you really care about, they are great topics for you to blog about. Share your thoughts, point people to matters you think they should know about. Nobody expects you to become the next TheMarySue or Feministe, but you can definitely add your voice to the community.

And finally…

You probably noticed a common denominator – passion. If there’s something you feel strongly about, something you can talk about a lot, then you have something to blog about.

Think carefully about what makes you smile and what interests you. Then brainstorm as much blog post titles as possible. You think it’s impossible? I dare you.

I bet I can come up with at least ten blog posts titles for every subject you comment with. Are you up for the challenge?

For every writer who has flirted with the idea of earning money with their writing, this is the ultimate question.

Is there actually any money in writing?

The short answer is YES.

The more truthful answer is “yes, but it depends”.

There is no denying that there’s serious money in writing. After all, I pay my rent with money I earn purely with my writing. There are many authors, even on the indie circuit, that support themselves with money they earn from writing.

Every writer earns differently. Some are self-published, and others write for trade publishing. There are copywriters and non-fiction writers who pay their bills by writing blog posts for the corporate world. There are marketing writers and authors who create teaching materials.

They write in different genres and specialize in different styles.

They all share one thing though.

They consider their writing to be their business. For them, writing is THEIR JOB.

I agree with them wholeheartedly because it’s only fair to consider something you get paid for to be your job.

Without that approach, you might not be able to ever meet your financial goals. If it isn’t a Job for you, you might be able to sell several copies of your book to your family and friends, but you will never be truly successful.

Writing for money takes time and effort and tears (especially when you’re on a deadline and nowhere near finished). It’s writing when you don’t feel inspired and researching marketing strategies to get the word out. It’s not leaving anything to chance and not expecting overnight success just because it’s always been your dream.

So yes, there’s money in writing. But like with everything else, you have to earn it.

Recently I came across this (some would consider it old) video from the author Jackson Pearce. She took the time to discuss book piracy (e-book downloading in particular), a topic that is as controversial as e-book pricing.

After I started to blog about writing and publishing, I’ve met a lot of first-time authors and wannabe authors and people who self-publish. And I witnessed an interesting phenomena. A person might be okay with downloading books and pirating the content, but when they start writing themselves and the problem start affecting their sales, they’re suddenly against book piracy.

Sometimes they support indie publishing and self-published authors, while still downloading trade published books.

I will admit that after getting into the publishing world I really understood how important buying books is, something I was only vaguely aware of before. It’s probably because before, authors were those (almost) fictional characters who slaved away (writing all too slowly) so that I could read the next instalment of my favorite series. Right now, those same people are the members of my community and I want to actively support them – because if they can succeed, so can I.

What are your thoughts on book piracy? Share in comments!

My first novel, Brothers In Arms, was released by Silver Publishing on April 7, 2012. This was not the first manuscript I submitted, nor was Silver the first (or only) publisher I made this particular submission to. Getting my first novel published was the culmination of two years of hard work and persistence. While this experience is unique to me, there are elements of it that I hope will be of help to some of you hoping to have a manuscript published.

I feel very fortunate to have witnessed the age of the e-reader and independent publishing. I voraciously read m/m erotic novels. I loved their graphic nature. I loved that I could shop at home for new books. I loved their reasonable price points. I did not always love the quality of the writing or the editing that I often encountered.

So, I began to write. In the beginning, I strove to write better erotic scenes than some of the ones I was reading. Later, I worked on writing likable and believable characters. Eventually, I learned how to formulate a plot, and how to write action sequences. I learned how to write a solid, complex story when previously, I’d been writing a series of individual scenes or vignettes.

Don’t, for a moment, think that I did this in a vacuum.

Writers call them alpha readers, beta readers, or crit-partners. I call them friends. Whatever title you prefer, they should all have one invaluable trait: they tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. One of the smartest things I’ve ever done as a writer, was surround myself with readers who will tell me when something is wrong with spelling, punctuation, word use, grammar, characters, plot, dialog or pacing. I ask two things of them; that they cut me no slack and demand the highest quality of writing from me. Striving for their approval has made me a better writer.

When I finally believed I was good enough to have a manuscript accepted for publication, I had decisions to make. What story should I write? How long should it be? What genre? Which press should I submit to?

I began by identifying the indie presses I wanted to submit manuscripts to. I started with my own collection of e-books, listing the presses whose products I had purchased. Next, I listed the indie publishers providing content to Amazon.com. I networked with published authors and listed their presses. I conducted an internet search on e-book publishers.

Once I had my list, I whittled it down by eliminating presses with bad reputations. I did this through my network of authors, as well as the forum on absolutewrite.com. I ended up with a list of around ten indie e-presses I believed I could accept a contract from, should they make an offer.

Now I just needed to write something that I could submit!

Indie presses all have submission pages that explain what types of manuscripts they are looking for, as well as the requirements for submitting your manuscript to them. Most also have ‘special calls’ or ‘special submissions’. These are calls for manuscripts of a specific theme, topic or genre. They are sometimes for individual novellas, all to be published with the same cover art. Others are for anthologies.

I believed that submitting a 5,000 word story for an anthology would increase my chances of an offer.

My first mistake was not having a critique  partner read my story before submitting. My second mistake was in thinking it would be easier to be accepted for the first time for an anthology. That first manuscript was rejected. It was a polite rejection, but a rejection nonetheless.

My second submission was also for an anthology. This story was better written than the first one had been. Still, this manuscript was rejected.

At that point, I was feeling discouraged. However, I was fortunate to have a network of experienced authors who shared their knowledge with me. These special submission calls are edited by an individual who is searching for stories with very specific criteria. It is often difficult to determine just what types of stories the editor is looking for. A manuscript that could be accepted for a general submission call, might be rejected for a special call, because it doesn’t quite fit the editor’s vision for the anthology.

I gave up on the idea of submitting for special calls and decided to submit a stand-alone novella. It sounds simple, but publishers receive a lot of submissions. Since I had no reputation to fall back on, I knew I had to make my manuscript stand out from all the others.

When asked, e-press representatives always say they are searching for something new, something different and fresh. Yes, vampires are popular right now. So are zombies and shape-shifters. If there is a glut of these types of published stories, you can imagine how many more are rejected.

If every feature of your story can be found in a previously published story, you need to make some changes.

I decided to take a risk that apparently paid off. Brothers In Arms is more suspense/thriller than erotica. The romance is the B-plot. My characters are US Marines and the story is filled with military jargon. There are few, if any, independently published stories like it.

I submitted my manuscript to five presses simultaneously. The first response I received was a rejection from a high-profile press I would very much like to be published with. When I requested feedback, I was pleased to learn it had not been a question of quality, but that my story was more plot than romance and had a heat-factor on the lower end of the scale. I was encouraged.

The second response I received was an offer from Silver Publishing. I was overjoyed. I texted my husband and emailed my friends. The offer alone was a victory. At that moment, it was enough to have been accepted.

When I settled down, I realized I had a decision to make. I had yet to receive responses from three other presses. One of these was another high-profile one on my ‘wish list’. However, I was an unpublished author with absolutely no following. I didn’t believe I had the luxury of asking Silver to wait for an answer while I held out for a better offer. The reality was, I would not have submitted my manuscript to Silver if I had not been perfectly willing to do business with them. While not as high-profile as some other presses, they pay a generous commission, provide all the necessary pre-press services, and have a solid reputation for treating their authors well.

I accepted Silver’s offer. Over the next several days, I signed contracts electronically and completed the first round of technical edits to my manuscript. I knew I needed to withdraw my manuscript from the remaining three presses so as not to waste their time. Unfortunately, or not, I was caught up in the excitement of signing with Silver and delayed making notifications for a few days. During that time, I received a second offer.

I admit, it was huge boost to my ego. Not just one, but two presses deemed my manuscript worthy of publication. I was proud and honored. I notified the second press that the manuscript was no longer available, to which they responded with a request to be given a chance at any future manuscripts I might produce. I was delighted to agree.

The hard part might have been over, but the work was not. There were months of editing and artwork approval that lead up to the release of Brothers In Arms. I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy every moment. However, that is the topic of another blog!

I hope that my story has been both useful and encouraging to some or all of you. Hard work, constructive criticism, patience, persistence and tenacity are all key to getting your manuscript published. Be ready for rejection because you’ll receive it, but it doesn’t mean you’ll never become a published author. Have faith in yourself and keep trying.

SURPRISE GIVEAWAY!

This is your chance to win a FREE e-book copy of Brothers In Arms by Kendall McKenna AND a $15.00 gift card from Silver Publishing!

It’s easy to enter to win! Just leave a comment on this post! Tell us what you thought about the article, ask the author a question, or just tell us that you want to win free stuff!  It’s that simple!

We’ll draw a name at random Sunday, May 6^th, 2012, and announce the winner on Monday, May 7^th.

The matter of pricing your eBook is a hot topic and it seems that everybody has an opinion on whether or not you should actually do it. Amazing author and a blogger I follow almost religiously, Lindsay Buroker recently posted on the subject. Reading her post reminded me all those nights I spent debating whether or not my own writing would ever be priced at $0.99.

I know from my own experience as a reader that I am more likely to buy an eBook for 99 cents from an author I don’t know or in a genre I don’t usually read. But after I became a professional writer and started to earn actual money with my writing, my view on that $0.99 price changed.

If you want to earn money with your writing (and I really want you to – it’s why I started this site in the first place) you need to treat your writing as a business. Pricing becomes a business decision, not a whim.

If you’re afraid that nobody’s going to buy your novel, unless you price it under a dollar, then pricing your eBook at $0.99 is the last thing you should so. Fear should never be a reason for any of your business decisions.

I’m not saying you should never, ever price your books at $0.99; there are many authors who do so, and do it for valid reasons. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t do it just because you’re afraid.

You need to remember that based on the Amazon’s royalties system, for every novel you sell at $0.99 you get $0.35 (30% royalties). Meanwhile for every book you sell at $2.99 you get $2 (70% royalties for pricing your books between $2.99 and $9.99).

Make your pricing a business decision.

If not because of fear, then when is it a good idea to go for lower royalties and ultimately income?

• If you have a series (or you’re planning one and you know you can deliver the next installment quickly) and you’re looking for a way to hook new readers up. Pricing the first book in a series at $0.99 (or even giving it away for free, like Lindsay Buroker is doing), then pricing all the next books at $2.99 or higher is a great way of creating new fans out of readers who wouldn’t otherwise buy your books.
• If you’re running a promotional event for a limited period of time. Limited deals are an incredibly popular and effective ways to sell a product. It’s a proven and highly successful marketing technique.
• If you’re running an experiment to see what prices work best for you. I’m a big fan of poking things just to see what would happen. I also know that one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. So my pricing philosophy might not work as well for you as it does for me. Who knows, you might turn out to be the next Amanda Hockings or John Locke and the $0.99 price might be what catapults you into the bestseller’s list.

Many indie authors argue that the $0.99 price is the devil and exactly what stops indie publishing and self-publishing from being taken seriously. I don’t really agree with that. For me $0.99 for an eBook is as valid price as any.

What I’m simply afraid of is that all the new writers who want to self-publish will think that this is the only way they will ever earn any money. I don’t want them to think that just because they will never make any serious money, they don’t have to aim to provide the best possible quality in their writing. I don’t want them to give up on their dream, just because they think it’s pointless anyway.

As Frank Herbert wrote: Fear is a mind killer.

You should never let it dictate what you do with your (financial) future.

Goodreads is a huge community of people who love books. Everything about that site is about books, reading books, reviewing books and recommending books to your friends. While it’s all about reading, Goodreads is also a very good site for writers who want to promote their books.

Even if you don’t have your book published yet, it’s still worth having an account there. Not only because it’s fun, but after you actually get your book published you can turn a regular account into an author’s page. Here’s how you can join their author program.

Why you should set up an account on Goodreads? Well…

1. Getting your books out there

This has to be the most obvious reason. To be perfectly honest, your books will find their way to Goodreads one way or another, but if they aren’t there already, you should definitely add them to their database.

Goodreads works very much like Facebook, and every time somebody reviews your book their friends will see it. Every time somebody adds your book to “to-read” or “currently-reading” lists, their friends will see it in their newsfeed. That way your book is getting promoted simply because people are reading it.

Additionally, every book page has a link allowing users to buy that book from an outside source of their choice.

2. Everything’s connected

Every profile has an option of displaying an active link to your website, and every author’s page has links to Goodreads profiles for every single book you’ve written. It’s a very user-friendly set up and helps the reader find all your books.

You also have an option of putting books in a series, making it even easier to find each book.

3. Giveaways

The best and most popular promotion tool available on Goodreads is their Giveaways page. Authors can offer their book as a giveaway to users. They can limit it to certain countries and set a time limit. They can offer ebooks and paperbacks. And all users have to do is enter a contest to win a book.

It’s brilliant for authors because every time somebody enters to win a free copy, they are encouraged to add the book to their “to-read” list. Often, even if a user doesn’t win the book they will buy the book to read it.

4. Networking with other writers

There are two options on an author’s page on Goodreads. You can either become a fan or follow them, as you would with any other user. Whichever option you choose, it’s good to follow other authors, especially if they are writing in your genre, or if they are writing books you enjoy reading.

It helps you get an idea of what is popular at the moment, and it does help with making friends. If you’re anything like me you’re not very good at befriending strangers. But talking about books? It’s the easiest thing in the world. Commenting on a recent review or asking for recommendations? You’d be surprised how easy you can start a conversation with that.

5. Getting in touch with fans

Reading reviews from your fans can be difficult, especially for writers who are just starting on their journey. But if you learn that a review (even a bad one) can help you become a better writer, each review can become priceless. And Goodreads is based on a review system. Sometimes a book that has five or ten reviews on Amazon will have 15 reviews on Goodreads.

Additionally, you can post status updates regarding your books or your writing progress or announcements regarding when the next book will be published. Books that are still in development can get their own pages, allowing your fans to add them to their “to-read” list.

6. To-Read lists

You probably already figured out that the “to-read” lists are a pretty powerful promotion tool. Not only every book added to that list will show up in the user’s newsfeed, but it will also show up on their profile and their friends will see it as well.

Many people (myself included) tend to go through their ever growing to-read list when they are looking for the next book they want to read. I check my to-read list and my friends’ feeds when I’m looking for new books I should have on my shelves or in my Kindle.

Every time you’re announcing a new release to your fans, you should link them to the Goodreads page for your book and encourage them to add the book to their list. It has a potential of having a huge impact on your sales and the popularity of your book.

7. Blog RSS

You can add your blog’s RSS to show up on your author’s page and allow even more people to read it. Users will also get a newsletter with information about new blog posts from authors they follow. It’s a great way to get more exposure – fans who don’t have regular RSS feeds set up still can be up to date with your blog even if they don’t visit your website on a regular basis. Not to mention new fans who visit your Goodreads profile because it showed up somewhere in their news feed. They get instant access to more of your writing.

8. Finding more books in your genre

This has nothing to do with promoting your books and everything to do with becoming a better writer. Reading books within the same genre you’re writing in can help you tremendously. It makes you aware of current trends, what’s popular and where the genre is going. You see how other writers are building their plots and how you can improve your own writing.

So go visit Goodreads and have fun with it! You can add me as a friend as well.

This post deserves a disclaimer: I’m a huge fan of Starz TV show Spartacus and I’m very excited about the next season. Basically, Spartacus is like whiskey, it takes an acquired taste. The special effects can border on ridiculous, the amount of violence and gratuitous sex is not always tasteful. Not to mention the fact that they clearly don’t invest much into their costume department (fans of watching half naked men having sword fights will not see it as a flaw).

At the same time, the pacing and plot is captivating and characters are incredibly complex. There’s one thing, however, that I pay close attention to (once I stop being distracted by all the naked flesh) and it’s dialogue.

You can say whatever you want about the show itself and you can insult it in every language you know. But the dialogue the writers provide us with is pure artistry. Better yet, it illustrates exactly how every single writer should approach writing dialogue.

Click here if you don’t see the video

The language enhances the world

The entire show happens in Ancient Rome, and it’s a safe bet that people in that time spoke differently than we do nowadays. The show’s writers could’ve gone for accuracy and subtitles (I’ve seen it done in other productions… not always successful route) or they could’ve said “screw that, let’s have them speak normally.”

Instead, they made, what I consider to be the best possible decision, and they’ve chosen to mix it all up. They took accurate and apparently researched phrases (according to this behind the scene video) introduced them into the script.

At the same time the modern English language has been modified in terms of sentence structure and vocabulary use to support the time period and the general world the show is set in.

You can listen to the dialogue with your eyes closed, not seeing the locations and costumes, and you’re still aware that what you’re listening to is not a modern-day story.

The dialogue, and the way it is written, enhances the whole world making it more interesting.

The language makes the story more original

Let’s be honest, everybody knows how the story of Spartacus ends. Just like we knew how the Lord of the Rings trilogy was going to end, and that Voldemort was defeated by Harry Potter (if, by some weird coincidence you didn’t know that… uhm… spoilers?).

There’s only so much original plot they can use when writing about a historical figure. But giving a world you’ve created an original language can add just enough spice to make the story your own. It can make your story different enough from all the other stories out there to grab attention and get readers more involved.

It’s not to say you have to completely reinvent grammar or create a completely different language (although that sounds like a lot of fun, for a language nerd like me).

Simply look at the world you’ve built and what could make it more original, more yours.

The language as a way to enhance your characters

Here’s the thing: words matter. I know. I’m a writer, you’re a writer and this site is dedicated to writers, so it feels like you already know this. It still needs repeating.

Words matter.

The way a person speaks gives you an idea of what their background is, what they could be like, how much of a threat they are. Different people speak differently. A woman from New York City doesn’t speak like a guy from Manchester. A gladiator on a show Spartacus talks completely unlike a vampire living in a small town in Louisiana. A faerie has a different cultural references than a werewolf and it will show in the way they speak, describe and understand  the world around them.

All that means that each of them might use completely different words to describe the same thing.

There’s a difference between “thanks” and “thank you” and depending on how grateful the character is or how they were raised they might use one or the other. Spartacus will say “Gratitude” and a faerie will never thank anyone as it would imply a debt that has to be paid and faeries try to avoid being indebted to anyone. Werewolves will talk about pack when they mean family and a foreign exchange student who speaks English as her second language will tend to slip into her mother tongue when upset.

See? Words matter, and a little word here and there can give your character enough flavor to set them apart from everybody else.

What I learned from Spartacus?

• Own the words you put down on the page
• Stay consistent in your language
• Remember the culture your characters come from

But also:

• Curse words used wisely can add to the world as much as all the other words
• Anything can be pillow talk, including how to cut off a man’s head
• Tumblr has all the answers
• Spartacus crew is a bunch of trolls

Why yes, I prefer to keep my entertainment educational and my education entertaining.