Nancy Christie's Blog, page 87

Welcome to the blog tour for Changes Vol. 1 (Family Portrait) by Gillian Felix!

Here at The Writer's Place, we're hosting our very first blog tour and our guest is Gillian Felix, author of Changes Vol. 1, (FamilyPortrait) . 

Hang out for awhile, learn about Gillian and her book, and then click on the trailer! Then, head on over Amazon and buy the book!

(Be sure to check out Gillian's Facebook fan page, her Twitter page and her website, where you can also read the first chapter for free!)
 
ABOUT THE BOOK Changes Vol. 1, (Family Portrait) Changes Vol. 1, (Family Port...

Book Promotion Tips — Guest post from Patricia Fry

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Focus on... Book Promotion with Carolyn Howard-Johnson

So you have a book contract. Great. Now, how do you plan to promote it? Like it or not, authors also have to wear PR/marketing hats if they want to get their books into as many hands (or onto as many e-readers) as possible.

In today's "Focus on..." feature, Carolyn Howard-Johnson is sharing some tips on how to do just that! 

But first, a little about Carolyn... She is the author of the multi award-winning the Frugal Book Promoter (now in an updated and expanded second edition!) Also part o...

The Art of War for Writers--An "Essential"

The Art of War for WritersI recently read James Scott Bell's THE ART OF WAR FOR WRITERS and ended up dog-earing just about every page. In very short (sometimes only half-page in length) chapters, Bell tells you everything you need to know about writing, from getting control over the "head games" your mind can play to the craft of writing and finally, strategy--the biz side of the business.

And Bell knows whereof he speaks. He is a best-selling novelist as well as the author of two other books...

"And my fee is..."

It's a problem those not-so-busy writers might envy: you've been asked to set a price for your services. But this can be a challenge, even if the work sounds similar to other projects you've done in the past. Do you charge a flat rate, by the word or by the hour? Is this going to be a Net30, Net 10 or COD set-up? And what will the client consider a reasonable price and what if you underbid or overbid it?

There are a lot of ways to calculate your rates. Unfortunately, none of them are perfect....

“Writing is a job like any other. You succeed by virtue of working at it." Elizabeth George

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Three markets for articles--9.9.13

In search of possible markets for your article pitches? Here are a few to get you started. (PS: Be sure to read the guidelines so you know what they want and what they pay!)

ARCHAEOLOGY magazine
Description: Examines the discipline of archaeology through the lens of the discipline of journalism
Send queries to: editorial@archaeology.org

As If Magazine
Description: Large-format quarterly luxury publication focused on the realms of artistic expression and the visionaries behind them.
Contact: Ed...

Indie Bookstore Spotlight: Annie Bloom's Books

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The sound of writing

A recent New York Times piece talked about the sound of writing, or, more accurately, the sound writing used to make when we used typewriters instead of keyboard. 

In "I am Tom. I Like to TYPE. Hear That?"  Tom Hanks (yes, that Tom Hanks!) talks about the difference between writing with a computer—"when real work has to be done.. I use a computer. The start and stop of writing begs for the fluidity of modern technology..." —and using a typewriter: "Everything you type on a typewriter...

What to ask before saying "yes"

I do a lot of writing for corporate clients and ad agencies. And while most of the time the assignments are clearly defined in terms of what I have to do, when I have to do it and how much I am getting paid, sometimes there are key pieces of information that are missing.

And I have learned (from bitter experience) that I need to get all the details nailed down before agreeing to the job. Otherwise, things can get very dicey indeed.

So for those of you who aren't sure what to ask (and especially...