L. Diane Wolfe's Blog, page 47

The A to Z Challenge and Team

April 1st will mark the beginning of the 4th A to Z Challenge.

What is the A to Z Challenge? It is blogging the letters of the alphabet (starting with A) every day except Sundays. That’s 26 days for 26 letters. Participants can select a theme or randomly choose each day. It just has to correspond with the day’s letter.

This will be the 3rd A to Z Challenge that I have participated in - and my very 1st one as a co-host!

And with that, here are the 2013 A to Z Challenge hosts:

Arlee Bird at Tos...

Beginnings Blogfest and Solomon's Compass

L.G. Keltner at Writing Off The Edge is hosting the Beginnings Blogfest today about the beginning of our writing.

I was always an avid reader. I won any reading contests at school. By the time I entered Jr. High, I was reading at the college level. I was also in all of the advanced classes, although I wouldn’t say I really excelled at English. I wrote for school and that was about it.

And then when I was 13 years old, I picked up a book by an author unknown to me. I loved the cover (a framed...

Some Book Figures and Assistance Needed With Announcement

Some interesting figures from Publishers Weekly, which included the unit sale of print books. The decline of print books slowed last year, although it still dropped 9.3% overall. Mass markets took the biggest hit, dropping over 20%.

What I thought was interesting was how the sales spread over the three main formats:

Mass market paperbacks - 66,403,000 units
Hardcover - 157,228,000
Trade paperback - 325,789,000

That averages out to approximate three out of every five books sold was a 6x9 trade pap...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group & Inspirational Artwork

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

It’s approximately one month until the release of my next book.

All edits are complete. My blog tour dates are set and I’m working on guest posts. I should have bookmarks by the end of the month. Postcards and notifications will go out this month to book sellers and libraries. I have a few Publish and Promote seminars set. I’m attending one book festival.

What’s odd is I don’t have...

Friday Inspirational Photos - TSO

Since there wasn't a lot of publishing industry news outside of Amazon's announcement that they expected to sell 2 million less Kindle Fires than expected (and the fact that my husband and I both had the flu this week - the one time every five years we get sick!) I decided to end Christmas week with more photos from our seventh Trans Siberian Orchestra concert earlier this month. Enjoy!

















Writing, Publishing & Promoting Tips from SpunkOnAStick!

Choose Your Own Apocalypse Blog Fest and Friday Christmas Photos

Choose Your Own Apocalypse Blog Fest, hosted by Apocalypse Now and The Warrior Muse.

You see, while many people think the world really is going to end on Friday, the 21st, most of them can't agree on HOW. Will it be an alien invasion? Zombies? Collision with a mighty meteor? The super flu? Solar flares? Oh my, there are so many ways the world could conceivably end, but what we want to know is how you, yes YOU, think it will happen.

The rules are simple:
1. Choose your apocalypse
2. Sign up on...

People Skills for Writers

Online, writers don't lack for tips when it comes to grammar, punctuation, storyline, and book promotions. But one aspect that's overlooked is people skills. And not just for writers - think how much better this world would be if people skills were taught in schools.It's part of the foundation for success. (In my book, Overcoming Obstacles with Spunk, it's one of the Five Keys.)

I cover people skills in my upcoming How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now. They can help us handle situations li...

The Hobbit Blogfest, Déjà vu Fest - Setting up a Blog Tour, and Friday Photo

The Hobbit Blogfest, hosted by Tyrean’s Writing Spot and M. Pax. We are to answer a couple questions in celebration of the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

What is your favorite hobbit characteristic/or the one that you think closely resembles you . . .?

I’d like to say their penchant for fun, but it’s probably their short stature and big feet. (I’m 5’3” and wear a size 10 - men’s.)

If you could choose between a scrumptious second breakfast and a perilous unexpected journey – wh...

Cheers Cavanaugh Blogfest

Today kicks off the the Cheers Cavanaugh Blogfest, hosted by Mark, Morgan, Stephen, and David. The prizes include a signed copy of one of Alex’s books, a recording of Alex playing guitar, and a photo of the elusive ninja himself.

We are to give back to the most giving blogger on the Internet, Alex J. Cavanaugh. That’s probably not possible in a single blogfest, but we’re going to try.

In +/- 20 words, what does Alex look like?

He looks like the very sexy Hugh Jackman. (I’ve heard there are bon...

Are Your Book Sales Sagging? And the Friday Inspirational Photos

Many have noted a dip in book sales over the past month. Before you start to panic and wonder what you are doing wrong, I can explain the dip in one word - Christmas.

Okay, might take a few more words than that. But here’s why Christmas is causing book sales to drop:

People like to give physical presents. It’s really difficult to wrap an ebook, so many are purchasing print books instead. And unfortunately, with print book sales continuing to decline, this increase is barely noticeable. People...