Independence Day for this blog….

June 30, 2012 at 6:00 am (blogs, Uncategorized)

Well friends, after much consideration, I’ve decided to stop the Saturday morning posts here at Pajama Marketing… set the blog free.

I’ve begun writing advice and marketing blog tips for Freelance-Zone.com, with frequent posts, and Pajama Marketing was intended to give writers an easy way to get into the writing routine with a fun tip or suggestion each week.

Since I started this blog, there are more and more blogs, social media distractions, and tweets galore – all taking your time and attention. So I’ll leave this up for a month or so, then produce an ebook based on the content. Those who’ve visited and boosted my traffic to over 2,000 visitors can email me and request the ebook for free. Send a note to Helen@releaseyourwriting.com.

New material, ideas, and inspiration will continue to appear at Freelance-Zone.com and on the Release Your Writing blog at releaseyourwriting.blogspot.com, I now create and manage so many blogs for clients that I’ll spend my Saturday mornings writing content for others, I appreciate your loyal following here, and look forward to seeing you online, and reading your blogs as always.

Happy Independence Day to all writers!

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Author Blogs

June 23, 2012 at 6:00 am (Author Marketing, blogs)

While websites seem like “home-base” for your online portfolio, more writers are moving to blogs.

First, they are free, with no hosting fee, and do not require a web designer.

They’re easier to update, through the blog software, and

Blogs have more fresh content, so they are more visible in search engines.

Interested in seeing more author blogs? Check out mediabistro.com, shewrites.com, and redroom.com for starters.

Here are a few to check out this morning:

http://www.shirleyshowalter.com/blog/

Blog

http://www.smartauthorsites.com/authorsblog/2012/02/4-tips-for-building-a-successful-author-blog/

Keep learning… keep growing.

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Recommended: “Sell Your Book Like Wildfire”

June 16, 2012 at 8:49 am (Author Marketing, Book review, publishing)

Not sure why author Rob Eagar  chose this metaphor, but he refers to fire a lot in this book. The full title. though, tells the real story: Sell Your Book Like Wildfire: The Writer’s Guide to Marketing and Publicity.

It is true that buzz  — word-of-mouth, —  viral exposure is exactly what you need to get your book noticed. And his book will give you the spark to start that fire.  Here are excerpts from a full review I did at BlogCritics Magazine.

Yet, Sell Your Book Like Wildfire, is not about sales and not about marketing after your book comes out.

Concepts covered include:

  • working with a publisher,
  • use of social media,
  • turning your book into a brand,
  • exercises to make sure you know where the value is in your product,
  • and how to convey that value.

And that is where the author, Rob Eager, provides the best advise.  The core of his strategy is to help you find the real value in your book. It involves an honest evaluation of how to find your market, know what they want, and deliver.

“You have an author brand whether you know it or not. …
Why be bland when you can have a brand.”

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Recommended: Writer for Hire

June 9, 2012 at 8:22 am (Book review, Books, writing)

If you freelance, you might want to read the latest book by our prolific friend, Kelly James-Enger.

Take a few minutes to read my review on OpenSalon.com …

http://open.salon.com/blog/helen_gallagher/2012/06/08/book_review_writer_for_hire

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Eight apps for writers

June 2, 2012 at 6:05 am (blogs, Guest post, writing)

 

Take a jog over to Release Your Writing’s blog today to enjoy eight productivity apps for writers, courtesy of my friends at onlineclasses.org.

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Is it memoir or essay? … the final word

May 26, 2012 at 6:08 am (Essays, Literary journals)

Poets & Writers, pw.org has an online article of great value: An interview with Philip Lopate, back in 2008. I’m posting just the tiniest excerpt here, so you’ll be motivated to click the link now. This resonates with me because after asking me how to self-publish a book, the question most people ask me is about the difference between memoir and essay.

Here’s the answer from the esteemed Philip Lopate in an interview with writer Lanai Knight. Make tea, read it, print it, take a dizzying walk around the block, and read it again. It’s that good.

P&W: What is the difference between personal essay and memoir?

Lopate: The memoir requires other people. The personal essay can avail itself of other people, but it can also be a reflection on a subject where other people are not necessarily that important.

Read the full 2008 interview here.

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Learn how to turn your blog into cash…

May 19, 2012 at 6:00 am (Author Marketing)

Carol Tice, of Make A Living Writing, had an inspiring blog post recently, on CopyBlogger.com  —

12 Ways to Turn Your Old, Dusty Blog Archive
into Cold, Hard Cash

Carol says: “If your posts have evergreen, highly useful information, they can be turned into paid products. With a little effort you can recombine, reuse, repackage, and repurpose that old material into new forms. And people will pay money for them.”

Read her full post here to learn how to spin blogs into ebook gold, create reports, and charge for content.

Get started now.

If you’re new to Pajama Marketing, where we give you an idea of something to do in your PJs on a Saturday morning, leave a comment and let all our readers know what you’re up to.

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What’s in a name? A look at one-word book titles

May 12, 2012 at 8:20 am (Titles, Visibility, writing)

There’s a long essay at The Millions this week entitled The Appeals and Perils of the One-Word Book Title.

It’s well worth reading, as it covers a lot of ground, and stresses the importance of the title for your books.

Writer Bill Morris discusses the appeal of one-word titles … “mainly because they can be so enviably concise and memorable, so perfect. At their best, one-word titles distill content to its purest essence, which is what all titles strive to do, and then they stick in the mind.”

Think of the pressure involved in choosing just one single word to convey the meaning of your entire book! A lot can go wrong, but if you get it right, well, you’ll have a successful book, driven by curiosity over the title. So, whether you have a book in mind, have already chosen a title, or just want a little exercise this morning, think of one word, just one word, that would convey the essence of your book.

As further impetus to study the one-word-title concept, Morris notes:

“Seven of the 32 books on the current New York Times hardcover fiction and non-fiction best-seller lists – a healthy 22 percent – have one word titles.”

Curious? There’s a section on the importance of title in Release Your Writing. Like naming a baby, it’s pretty important.

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You? A Brand?

May 5, 2012 at 6:06 am (Author Marketing, Guest post, Visibility)

Excerpted from “How to Discover and Build Your Author Brand,” at The Creative Penn by Joanna Penn.

Branding is important because it enables people to find you, and when they find you, they might just buy your book. So who are you online? Which niche do you fit into? How do people find you?

Creating an author platform is vital for a new author’s success, and creating a brand is the basis for the platform. You need to know what you are creating before you start!

Deciding On Your Brand

To decide on your brand, answer the following questions:

  1. How do you want to be known? What words do you want people to associate with you?
  2. What are your goals for the next 3 years? What words are associated with that?
  3. Will your books be in a particular genre?
  4. Who do you admire and want to emulate in writing and also as a brand? Find their websites and keep screenprints of what you like and don’t like. Use them as a model (but obviously no plagiarism!)
  5. If you have a website already, enter it into Google Keyword tool. Are you happy with the keywords associated with your site? Do you need to change your focus?
  6. What images do you want associated with you and your brand?

Read Joanna’s full post here

Thank you Joanna, of thecreativepenn.com for permission to use your material here on Pajama Marketing for Authors.

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Power Blogging times two

April 28, 2012 at 6:12 am (blogs, Productivity)

I am out at two workshops today, in Mundelein and Lake Zurich. The topic, Power Blogging, is my most-requested program this year.

As a writer, you know a blog is good for gaining exposure for your work, but there’s more:

A Blog is…

A public space to be seen, and to reach people
Regular writing exercise
A way to connect with people
A free tool to build a following
The basis for a platform to promote your work

In summary, a blog is easier than a web site, more focused than Facebook, and more tantalizing than Twitter.

Stay home in your PJs on a rainy Saturday, and blog today!

 

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