From Blog to eBook to Agent and Book Deal: 9 Tips for the Publication Journey
Kris Spisak shares 9 tips for writers who are looking to break out—all from her journey with starting a small grammar blog to landing an agent and a book deal.
The 8 Perks of Writing a Column
Editors are always looking for knowledgeable, entertaining, dependable freelance columnists to fill their ever-recurring white space. Become one and enjoy these potential perks.
A Writer’s Guide to the Web
The May/June 2016 Writer’s Digest is your guide to making the most of the Web—and avoiding the worst of it. Most writers I know have a love/hate relationship with the Internet—and all that comes with it. Some days, we marvel at the capability to connect with writers and readers the world over, to publish...
A Step-by-Step Guide to Build Your Author Website
Your online home is your single most important tool for promoting yourself and your work. Here’s how to start today and build for tomorrow.
Your 2015 Blogging Roadmap
Thinking of starting a blog in 2015 to build your writer platform and gain a readership for your work? All the best journeys start with a bit of planning. Even if you’re not one for planning and would rather dive in right away, bear with me! In this exclusive excerpt from...
3 Ways to Save Your Backstory from the Cutting Room Floor
BY SHENNANDOAH DIAZ Backstory is crucial to the novel writing process. It gives your character substance and drive while adding depth, history and realism to your fiction. It takes a great deal of hard work to develop your character’s backstory. Unfortunately for the sake of the novel, much of that hard...
How to Become a Kick-Ass Writer
If you haven’t yet read, met, or followed the career of Chuck Wendig, you’re in for a treat. I’ve had the great pleasure of following Chuck’s blog at terribleminds.com for a couple of years now, and the writing advice he offers is some of the best—as well as some of the...
One Reason Why You Should Blog a Book: To Build Your Writer Platform
Today’s tip of the day comes from How to Blog a Book by Nina Amir. A Blogged Book Gives You Exposure & Builds Platform Many writers enjoy spending time alone in their “lonely garret” with only the company of a hot cup of coffee or tea, a computer (or a pad...
5 Digital Discoverability Tips
By Rob Eagar Recently, I spoke at the inaugural Discoverability and Marketing Conference hosted by Digital Book World (www.DigitalBookWorld.com) in New York City. The theme of my presentation was “Discoverability starts with psychology, rather than technology.” My point was that you can get your book discovered, but if you fail to...
5 Marketing Lessons from Fly-Fishing
By Rob Eagar In the last year, I took up fly-fishing as a hobby. There’s something surreal and invigorating about standing in the middle of a river. However, catching rainbow trout is no easy task. They’re smart, skeptical, and elusive. In fact, there are a lot of similarities between the challenge of...
Meet Nina Amir, Author of How to Blog a Book
Blogging is an essential part of today’s world. It’s a valuable tool for aspiring writers who want to attract the attention of agents & editors as well as authors whose goal is to promote and drive sales for their book. No matter if you are new to the world of blogging,...
3 Steps to Successful Book Marketing – Part 2
By Rob Eagar Previously, I covered part one of a 3-part series called “Successful Steps to Marketing.” The gist is that effective marketing can be boiled down to three fundamental questions. Whether you’re an author, business owner, or non-profit director, you can achieve success by asking yourself these three questions: Step 1...
Stop, Look, and Listen for Better Book Marketing
By Rob Eagar Young children are often taught to “stop, look, and listen” before they cross the street. Stop to see what’s in front of you. Look both ways to make sure no cars are coming. And, listen for any oncoming traffic. This same principle works in marketing. For example, I...
16 Blogging Tips For Writing Fresh Content & Attracting Readers
If you already write a blog or are thinking of creating one, you’ll need to know how to attract and keep your readers interested. Today’s tip comes from Christina Katz’s book Get Known Before the Book Deal. Use these tips to help you write fresh content that lures your readers back...
Leak Exclusive Information to Maximize Social Media
By Rob Eagar If you want more people to follow you on social media, get into the habit of “leaking” exclusive offers or inside information that can’t be found anywhere else. By doing so, you tap into people’s natural curiosity and entice them to stay connected. For instance, if you’re an...
Take Your Author Website to the Next Level
Is your online home ready for visitors—say, editors, agents and your future fans? Tidy up your digital den with our blueprint for success.
How to Control a Media Interview
By Rob Eagar A good way to gauge your interview prowess is by mastering the ability to steer a conversation to only the topics that you want to discuss. Just because a radio or TV host asks you a question does NOT mean that you must answer it. Sure, it’s polite...
Marketing is About Success Not Perfection
By Rob Eagar Life is about success, not perfection…and so is marketing. Case in point: A few weeks ago, I sent out my weekly newsletter that wound up having a couple of typos in it. Obviously, I didn’t think twice about the issue. But, several people emailed me right away to...
Money is All that Matters in Marketing
By Rob Eagar Call me crazy, but I like money. Cash, check, direct deposit, wire transfer…I’ll take it. No, I’m not hyper-materialistic. I just like how money allows me to pay my bills, enjoy vacations, and generously donate to others. Therefore, I like the ability to make enough income to do...
Promote Your Book with Power-Bites
By Rob Eagar The more you rely on technology to spread your message, the more you must be brief. We live in a world of smaller screens, smaller attention spans, and smaller conversations where media platforms continuously shrink discussions. For instance, radio and TV interviews these days are typically no longer...
How to Build Online Community
By Rob Eagar If you want to build a following, especially online, the key is to position yourself as someone who is worth following. The best way to attract a large group is by becoming an object of interest, which means the ability to draw people to you by dent of...
The Author Platform Explained
It’s essential these days for authors to have a clear understanding of writing platforms. Learn what an author’s platform is and ways to build a writing platform from today’s tip of the day, taken from the book The Productive Writer by Sage Cohen. What is an Author Platform? Platform is the...
The 12 Dos and Don’ts of Writing a Blog
Writing a blog can be fun, but if you don't know the dos and don't of how to write a blog, you'll never attract a bigger audience. Here are 12 essential tips.
Don’t Write a Book Without a Buyer
(The following is a guest post by Rob Eagar) During the recent housing crash that devastated our economy, a lot of builders built homes based on speculation called “spec homes.” In these situations, a house was planned, designed, and built before a prospective buyer was confirmed. Building spec homes offers the...