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What Does “Happily Ever After” Mean?

Special Effect - Light Swirled like a Tree

How were your holidays?  Was Santa good to you?  I got a Kindle and quality time with my family, so short of getting an agent and book contract, my Christmas couldn’t have been any better. As I mentioned last time, whether or not we’re disappointed often depends on what we’re expecting.  After all, if I’d […]

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December 28, 2010

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What Do Readers Expect?

Sad girl

We’ve all been disappointed at some point during our lives.  As a child, I once discovered my Christmas presents early, hidden in my parents’ closet (it was by accident, I swear!).  My fingers ached to play with all those toys and I couldn’t wait for the big day. But when Christmas Day rolled around, I […]

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December 23, 2010

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Is a Blog Like a Query Letter?

Acrobatic Alphabet

Today’s post is the unofficial “part three” of the results from my poll.  I hadn’t planned this post, but the comments from last time inspired a new thought. In part one, we talked about how to help your blog readers find you.  And in part two, we discussed the things that turn people off from […]

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December 21, 2010

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Poll Answers: Part Two – What Makes People Avoid Blogs

Line of stop signs

My last post highlighted ways a blog can serve its readership.  This post focuses on what not to do when designing a blog.  Some of the answers might surprise you. Once again, I want to thank all of you who voted in the polls, commented, and tweeted me with feedback.  And a big round of […]

December 16, 2010

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Poll Answers: Part One – How People Access Blogs

Chart graphics

First of all, huge thanks to everyone who answered my poll questions last week about how you use blogs.  Hopefully, the high participation rate means the results will be helpful to all of us.  In fact, due to the abundant and informative feedback in comments and tweets, I’ll be dividing my analysis into two posts. […]

December 14, 2010

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Can Blogging Train Your Muse?

Hourglass Timer

Should authors blog?  We’ve all seen this question in some form or another.  Some wonder if agents expect it.  (Not yet but close.) Others want to know if it will help build that elusive platform.  (It can.) But I propose another reason to blog: training your muse. My regular readers are well aware that I […]

December 9, 2010

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Poll: How Do You Use Blogs?

Checkbox

Help!  I need you.  Don’t panic, I need only your answers on some polls.  I think these questions could help all bloggers understand how their readers are accessing and using their content, and I’ll share the results once the poll is done. For those of you reading this via email or RSS, I ask (beg! […]

December 7, 2010

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How to be a Twitter Ninja

Ninja Eyes

To prevent being overwhelmed by Twitter, one suggestion you’ll hear over and over is to use a program like TweetDeck to manage all those tweets by creating lists.  But did you know you can also use lists to become a Twitter Ninja? It’s true.  But before we get into the details, let’s review lists and […]

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December 2, 2010

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Rejection Dejection

Rejection Letter

We all have to deal with rejection in our lives, and it hurts to not get the job we want, the relationship we want, or the agent we want.  In fact, it sucks.  But as trite as it sounds, it really is better to try and fail than to not try at all.  This point […]

November 30, 2010

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The Best Reason to Blog

Thanksgiving Candle

Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S.  The day we eat too much food, roll our eyes at the antics of our extended family, and think about all the things we’re grateful for.  Or in my case, have epiphanies. So there I was, trying to think about my manuscript’s last-minute revisions while taking my shower, when […]

November 25, 2010

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