Category Archives: Publishing

Roaming the Blogosphere: Writing & Publishing Tips

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Jennifer Jensen

I’m between school semesters, so of course the blogs that shouted “Bookmark me!” this month were almost all on focused on writing, publishing and/or marketing a book. Here are a few of the posts I bookmarked, starting with some humor: Nick Cross shares definitions of syndromes we writers tend to succumb to.  Read NOW if you’re in need of a laugh! I’ve just discovered that The Creative Penn has podcasts!  (Okay, okay, I know I’m a little slow on the uptake.)  Here’s a great one on characters by Roz Morris.  There’s also a link to a long list of previous podcasts – great for exercise walks! Margie Lawson from Writers in the Storm has a great post about “What’s the Visual?”  She uses that one phrase to get the show-don’t-tell point across – complete with examples from her students’ work.  Even if you’re pretty good at showing already, it’s well … Continue reading →

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Amazon Book Reviews: 3 Stars or 4?

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Jennifer Jensen

I’ll admit it: I’m chintzy with my book review stars.  I save my 5-star recommendations for books that are perfect – the ones I stay up all night for, the ones I’d re-read immediately, the ones for which I’d grab a total stranger by the shoulders and yell, “You’ve GOT to read this book!” Okay, I’ve never really done that last one, but I’ve felt like it.  And when I do, that’s the book that gets 5 stars from me. Most other books get 3 or 4 stars.  Four if I really liked it: well-written, good characters, no plot problems, and it leaves me with a good feeling.  Not necessarily a happy ending, but the right one.  (I don’t bother reviewing just to give 1 or 2 stars unless a book really makes me angry.) Three stars go to books that I liked, but weren’t quite as smooth.  Sometimes books … Continue reading →

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The End of Publishing?

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Jennifer Jensen

Changes in what people are reading, how they are reading, and even IF they are reading.  Hmm, what is the future of publishing?  Watch this all the way through (only 2-1/2 minutes) and find out: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Weq_sHxghcg&feature=player_embedded]

Posted in Publishing, READING, Writer's Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Self-Promotion for Authors

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Jennifer

The Guide to Literary Agents blog had an interesting guest post by J.M. Frey the other day:  why an author with a publishing deal with a respected small press would still want an agent.  She already has a contract, right?  One reason was that there was so much marketing to do, and she’d like to get at least a little sleep each day! Several of us commented that we’d like to know what she does to promote her book – we’ll hopefully need that information soon.  Ms. Frey very nicely sent me a link to the blog post she wrote in response to our request, and her list . . . wow, can you spell d-a-u-n-t-i-n-g? From library talks to interviews and press kits, from Facebook and Twitter to websites, community events and contests, she covers about everything possible in enough detail for us to get a good idea of … Continue reading →

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