Tag: Writers

Do you need to advertise your book?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell5 Comments

I don’t know.

I love writing. Whether, it’s on my blog, short story, flash fiction or a children’s book, I really love writing. Marketing my books, not so much. It always makes me think of bragging. 

With the thousands of books written and published every day, how can I convince someone to read mine?

reading book

Is it because I know so little about the selling and marketing side that I don’t like it?

Could be. But one day, I may have to throw off my insecurities and learn more about how to market my books.

That’s why I was thrilled to read the latest post by . 

His experience with Bookbub’s blog plus the extensive list of links for marketing books will be one I’ll save and read many times. Congrats Nicholas for the recognition he received and thanks for passing on much-needed information.

Hop over and read what happened to Nicholas and the abundance of marketing links on his post. The link is at the bottom of this post. You will want to bookmark his blog!

Tell me are you ready to begin marketing yourself as an author?

Do you hesitate to toot your own horn?

blow horn

Is cost what stops you or the process itself?

I’d love to hear from you! Click the “write me” tab or contact me onTwitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on and I’m waiting.

Please remember to share this post with your Twitter  peeps andFacebook fans.

 That Jaw-dropping Moment when Bookbub Mentions your Blog by . 

 

Related articles

How to say a lot with a little

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

Is this one of your biggest issues?

Getting just right the who, where, why and what they are doing. It’s mine.questions-1328465_640Sometimes I get carried away with descriptions. Yet often, like a good perfume, a little goes a long way. A little is divine, too much, yikes. skunk-34149_640

I’m not a visual person so describing situations or scenes is difficult for me. So I’ve invented little tricks to help myself not over think it too much. However, the downside is I end up rewriting a lot. And I do mean a lot. Sigh… I guess there really are no shortcuts.

Things that help me:

  • Look up the word. The dictionary and thesaurus really can be a great source for brainstorming.
  •  Have the character stop and look around. Describe what they see, smell or hear but not what they are doing.
  • Write the scene like a piece of Flash Fiction. This is a good discipline in brevity. It helps me see things in a different light.
  • Remind myself that my readers know what the color purple looks like. I don’t need to go crazy.
  • Reading, reading and reading.

One of the best articles I’ve read lately on this subject written by . Be sure and hop over and read it for inspiration on good descriptions. Link at bottom.

I’m also now reading:

Another good resource is:

7 WAYS TO WRITE VISUALLY (WITHOUT DESCRIBING EVERYTHING) by .

Do you have any tips that can help me with writing good descriptive scenes?

Are you a visual person? Do share!

I’d love to hear from you! Click the “write me” tab or contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on and I’m waiting.

Please remember to share this post with your Twitter  peeps and Facebook fans.

 

Do you know all of the rules?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell16 Comments

There are a lot of writing rules. Some good and some open to the writers interpretation.

Me? I think all rules are made to be broken. 

That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.

How boring would life be if everyone did everything in the same way? All shades of gray! Every story would read the same!

Individuality is what makes each story, each book and every writer unique and special.

Writing rules are like opinions. Everyone has one or more. But that doesn’t mean those ideas or rules are written on tablets brought down from Mount Sinai.

commandment-1431061_640

This  Latest Blog Post at JaneFriedman.com is a great reminder to follow your heart.

The article written by  gives us 5 pieces of advice to ignore. Of course, I’m sure there are more out there, but 5 is a good place to start.

  1. Weather? Okay!
  2. Dialogue? Get talking!
  3. Backstory? If needed, yes!
  4. Write What You Know? If you love it!
  5. Don’t Ever Follow Any Writing Advice? Only if you know everything!

This is a great post. Click on the link below to read the entire article.

Do you have a “rule” that needs breaking?

Know of a “rule” that is over done?

Do you think writers get caught up in too many rules?

Do share, I want to know. Leave me a comment or click the “write me” tab or contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on and I’m waiting.

Please remember to share this post with your Twitter  peeps and Facebook fans.

5 Pieces of Writing Advice You Should Ignore by

Do you think more tools make a better writer?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell19 Comments

At some point I think we have to settle on one or two and just write.

What about you?

Each week it seems as if I’m finding more and more apps and programs for writers/bloggers. But downloading and using the latest and greatest can become more confusing than easier. At least for me.

At what point are we just reinventing the wheel?

Here’s my take on the 5 I found this week in a recent article on Business.com,  Posted By . These tools are supposed to help the writer/blogger write better and faster.

You be the judge.

The first one listed is an app called Help Me Write.

This is a web-based app to help you decide what to write next.

  • You write your ideas on a profile page.
  • Next, share via Twitter, Facebook, blog (or wherever) and ask your networks, which or if, they would like to read.
  • Pick the idea with the most interest and write an article, post or story, then send directly to all the voters.

For a regular blogger this is supposed to get readers more engaged with your brand and writing process. For example, you could write a weekly post “ask the audience” post, or get readers to vote on a special project.

Me- I’ll pass. I don’t need another platform to keep up with.

Second on his list was MyBlogU.

This appears to be a brainstorming, community gathering, idea and information generating platform. Whew! That was a mouthful. Here, a writer/blogger can gather information from experts and other writers, enabling you to learn as you go.

MyBLogU concept

Me- I’ll pass on MyBlogU. Once again this crowdsourcing platform seems as if it would take more time than I’ve got to give.

The Hemingway App was #Three.

This is a desktop app I’ve used and like.

Mainly for the readability feature. I can see in a second the readability level of my writing. It will also highlight which sentences are hard to read, complex or simple. Hemingway Editor doesn’t take a lot of time and is super easy to use.

Hemingway

Me- I’ll continue to use Hemingway Editor.

RobotDon is number four.

This web driven app has a lot of useful tools and is simple to use. However, I think the Plagiarism check in Grammarly works better than RobotDon. If you already have a program that helps you with all of these items you might want to pass.

Robotdon

Me- I’ll pass on RobotDon and continue to use Grammarly. In this instance, “you get what you pay for” is true.

Twords was number five and last in the article.

This is an online app that nudges you to write. You list goals and the app community will remind you if you are falling behind. It provides stats, timed writing and prompts should you get stuck.twords

Me- I’ll pass on Twords. This looks fun but distracting. I use Scrivener for stats and my progress details.

If you want to read the entire article By  and his take is on these 5 writing tools click on the link below at the bottom of this post.

Okay, tell me– Do you have enough writing apps?

Do you think they are all becoming redundant?

I’d love to hear from you! Click the “write me” tab or contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on and I’m waiting.

Please remember to share this post with your Twitter  peeps and Facebook fans.

Creating Killer Content: 5 Easy to Use Tools for Better Writing in Less Time