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Handling Bad Reviews: Lessons from Amy’s Baking Company

Kitchen Nightmares logo with "Kitchen" crossed out and "Author" added in

On Facebook a few weeks ago, my friend Angela Ackerman dared me to order a pizza from Amy’s Baking Company and send it back (and to record the confrontation). Not one to create drama, I declined. *smile* But then I had to know what prompted her dare. The details were even […]

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May 28, 2013

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When Should We Upgrade to a Paid Site?

WordPress logo with text: Should We Pay for Our Site? WordPress .com versus .org

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve shared several posts about websites and blogging. I promise I’m almost done with all that. On Thursday, I’ll resume my usual balance of craft, author entrepreneurship, publishing industry, and writing life posts. (Believe me, I get as sick of ruts as you all […]

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April 2, 2013

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What Should an Author Website Include?

A web "home" button with text: What Should We Include on Our Author Website?

Some writers—understandably—don’t want to blog. Blogging can take away from our writing time. Thinking of post topics can be difficult. And if we don’t gain a readership (or our blog readership doesn’t cross over into the target audience for our books), it can feel like a waste of time and […]

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March 21, 2013

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Switching from Blogger to WordPress — Guest: Natalie C. Markey

WordPress logo with text "versus" and Blogger logo

Last week, I announced my two workshops on WordPress for beginners. One workshop is geared toward those ready to invest in a paid website/blog, and one workshop sticks to free resources. Some might wonder why that second workshop focuses only on WordPress. After all, Blogger (also known as Blogspot) is […]

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March 19, 2013

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Do Authors Need a Website and Blog?

Blackboard with http://www and question mark with text: Free? Paid?

Today I’m opening two workshops to help beginners set up websites and blogs. With that in mind, I want to go back to “step one” and review why authors might need a website and blog. Years ago, authors could get away with pounding on their typewriter in seclusion and never interacting […]

March 14, 2013

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9 Tips for Making Online Friends

Kittens with text: 9 Tips for Making Online Friends

In my last post, I talked about the online opportunities for writers, including fully interactive writing conferences. So now is a good time to rerun this post about about how to reach out to other writers online and make friends. I’ve updated this post with notes about what I currently […]

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February 28, 2013

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Where’s the Line between Spamming and Sharing?

Hand shoving with text: Can We Be Too Pushy when Sharing?

Anyone reading this post probably doesn’t intend to be a spammer, but it’s possible to cross the line and not realize it. If we’re lucky, a friend will let us know. However, how we react to that observation is yet another minefield in the impression we leave behind in social media. A […]

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February 14, 2013

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Do You Judge Books by Their Covers?

Bookshelf of old books with text: Do You Judge Books by Their Covers

I’ll admit it. I do judge books by their covers, especially in this age of self-publishing. If authors don’t care about the quality of their book cover, it’s easy to assume they also didn’t care about the quality of their writing. Besides, we all have too many reading choices now, and just […]

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February 5, 2013

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Author vs. Characters: Can Our Morals Be Different?

Graphic of two faces with text: Are We Our Characters?

The recent talk of watching what we say on the internet and being aware of our brand has brought up several ways people come to odd conclusions about us as writers. Despite all our work to ensure that our behavior supports who we are and what our brand is, people will […]

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January 31, 2013

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