L. Diane Wolfe's Blog, page 40

Royalty-Free Music for Book Trailers

Book trailers and videos are fun and easy to make. They can be simple or complex. They can contain still images and moving pictures. And often they feature music.

Like images, music is copyrighted. No matter how well a song fits your book, you can’t use it for your trailer without permission. In addition to being sued for copyright infringement, you get the double-whammy because you are using it for commercial gain.

Fortunately, there are numerous sites that sell royalty-free music and sound...

Publishing Industry News and the Tesla Car

Google and Amazon ask that their revenue shares with publishers be shielded as the lawsuit with Apple nears its conclusion. Read full article at Paid Content.

The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine, announced that Poetry is now available through a digital subscription. Get details at Publishing Executive.

Quirk Books is "Looking for Love" with $10,000 unpublished love story fiction contest. Get the scoop at Book Business.

The Jim Henson Company Partners With Penguin Young Readers Gr...

Taking Time by Ellie Garratt and Scary Storm Photos

Taking Time and Other Science Fiction Stories
By Ellie Garratt

Science fiction stories of time and space...

The future of humanity must be decided in Next Phase. Winning the Planetary Lottery is not as lucky as it first seems in Schrodinger's Gamble. An apocalypse and its aftermath threaten to tear one couple apart in Daiker's Children. In Life As I Know It a reclusive man finds both his heart and home invaded during an alien harvest. In Taking Time a demon seeking shelter on a distant planet f...

How to Acquire Book Reviews

I wanted to finish my series on book reviews with a step-by-step guide on how to acquire book reviews.

Last week, when I posted the links to sites that list reviewers, several people commented that they were afraid to ask book bloggers and others to review their books. Don’t be! That’s what those people do - they review books. If your book is in a genre that person reads, don’t be afraid to ask if they would review it. The worst they can say is no. (And at that point, you say next!)

If you’re...

To Pseudonym or Not to Pseudonym - Carolyn Howard-Johnson

I am honored to have the master book promoter here today. (And was thrilled to meet her in person earlier this year.) Please welcome Carolyn Howard-Johnson.

To Pseudonym or Not to Pseudonym
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Nora Roberts, the author of more than 150 romance novels, was asked why she writes romantic suspense novels under a pen name. Here is her answer:

"It's marketing."

She says because she writes quickly that makes it difficult for her publisher to publish all of her work with an approp...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group and Heroes & Villains Blogfest

It’s time for another edition of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, hosted by Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Short and sweet today. This is for the insecure writer and author looking for reviews.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by on Monday for my list of sites that review self-published books. The Indie View database has 250 such sites, and I hope everyone had a chance to explore the list. Every genre was represented.

Reviews before and after a book’s release are so important. Few peop...

Getting Reviews as a Self-Published Author

* I am visiting Jessica Roach Ferguson today at her site, Praise, Prayers, and Observations, with “How to Write a Non-Fiction Book.” It’s also being cross-posted at her new site, Be a Real Writer, which you are invited to check out and join.

Reviews for the Self-Published Book
Book reviews are tough for the independent author. With the exception of Midwest Book Reviews, none of the big reviewers accept self-pubbed titles. Many book bloggers state the same thing. Most reviewers won’t accept an...

Get Healthy Bloghop

I was also interviewed by the lovely Ella, who wanted to feature some of my photography on the poetry site, With Real Toads. In addition, she wrote two beautiful poems to go with my images at her SITE.
Get Healthy Bloghop
Hosted by Stephen Tremp, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Michael Di Gesu, and myself.

The Objective: Share with everyone something you have done that affected your health in a positive way. You can share an awesome low cal low fat tasty recipe. Post simple tips to lose weight. Or a testimon...

Donna Hosie Reveals - How Long Does it Take to Write a Book?

Today I welcome Donna Hosie, whose third book, THE SPIRIT OF NIMUE, comes out next Friday.


“How long does it take to write a book?”
I was asked that question in the lift today at work. I’m always asked that question! It’s a question that is filed away along with “How high can my shoes get before I break my neck?” and “How much chocolate can I consume before I combust?”

An author can’t answer it, because every writer and every manuscript is different.

I started writing THE RETURN TO CAMELOT tr...

Secondary Characters Blogfest

Hosted by Rachel Schieffelbein in celebration of her book, Secondary Characters, which releases on May 28th.

Sometimes secondary characters steal the show, (or the book) and become our favorites. On May 22nd we want you to tell us about your favorite secondary characters from books or movies, or both! Whether it's the funny best friend or that goofy kid next door, we want to know what secondary characters you just couldn't get enough of and why.

I will name a couple favorites.

One is Pippin f...