L. Diane Wolfe's Blog, page 48

The Insecure Writer's Support Group

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

I thought today I’d offer some tips and encouragement for those of you preparing to format an ebook for self-publishing.

Ebook formatting is usually done in Word (unless you have a program like InDesign that can create epub and other formats for you) which makes it simple. However, there are a few things you want to watch out for:

No hard line returns unless you are ending a paragr...

Pimp My Blog Feature, And You Are? Blogfest, and Baby Faces Blogfest

In true Hammy fashion, I think I’ve taken on too much! But I will do my best.

Today I have the “Pimping Your Blog” feature over at Gossip Girl’s site. She talks about my first non-fiction book, Overcoming Obstacles With SPUNK!

And I signed up for TWO blogfests! What are the odds?

First one is the And You Are…? Blogfest, hosted by Tammy and Emily.

These are the "And You Are...?" Questions:

1. How many speeding tickets have you gotten?
Just one, despite the fact that I drive 5-25 miles over the s...

Industry News and Friday Inspirational Photo

Some interesting things in the news this week:

According to Tech Crunch, $1.456 billion was spent on Cyber Monday, the biggest day ever. Digital content sales grew 28% from last year.

"Barnes & Noble Decides That Purchased Ebooks Are Only Yours Until Your Credit Card Expires." (Nice, huh?) Read the full article, which also covers DRM, at Tech Dirt

Publishing Executive posted this article - 1 in 5 Adults to Own an iPad in 2013
The Simba Information Report reveals:
“After tracking U.S. iPad o...

Reasons for a Query Letter Rejection

Before you start sending out query letters, it helps to know some of the main reasons why you might receive a rejection.

(Taken from my upcoming How to Publish and Promote Your Book Now!)

A proper query letter is critical. It’s usually an editor’s first impression of a new writer. That letter reveals so much about a person. It’s the first test a writer must pass in the submission process.

How might your query fail the test? Here are some reasons for rejections:

1. Improper formatting/poor gra...

Remember to be Humble: You’re Not All That and a Bag of Chips

Achievement is good. Meeting goals feeds our ego and boosts our self-image. Success gives us the confidence to keep moving forward even when times are tough.

But when we think we’ve finally arrived, we’re actually going backwards at a frightening rate.

A boastful comment on someone’s recent blog post reminded me of an old but true saying - “ Pride comes before a fall. ”

Humility is a virtue. It is remembering that we didn’t get here on our own. It’s not boasting or bragging. It’s the willingnes...

I Miss You Blogfest

Today it the I Miss You Blogfest, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, Matthew MacNish, and Andrew Leon.

List a blogger you miss and one you would miss.


The blogger I miss the most is Eric W. Trant at Digging With the Worms

Eric is a published author whose work includes light fantasy, science fiction, and literary pieces:

Out of the Great Black Nothing : Novel 2011
Short stories in several volumes of An Honest Lie

On May 21 of this year, Eric’s 18 month-old son died, and he’s not been online as much. He a...

The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear Celebration

M. Pax has a special celebration planned for her new release!


The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear

A New Adult Urban Fantasy, The Renaissance of Hetty Locklear is the first book in a new series. And it’s now out! The main character, Hetty, is a twenty-two-year-old, stumbling about in an effort to become a full-fledged adult. She struggles with self-esteem, weight, relationships, and making the transition between college and the real world.

Graduation from community college isn’t the magic elixir...

Industry News, Friday Inspirational Photo, and Special Bonus Photos!

From CNET News - Amazon Wine now open for business!

“Customers order directly from a winery, via Amazon, of course, and are able to ship up to six bottles for $9.99. Looks like Amazon Prime's free, fast shipping doesn't work for this service, and the site notes each winery operates under its own permits and determines which states it can ship to.

“So far, the list of eligible states is pretty limited. It includes California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Nevada, North...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group and Thankful for my Readers Bloghop

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

I’m combining this with Taraand Vicki’sI’m Thankful for my Readers Bloghop.

My seventh book will be out next February. It’s the third genre I’ve tackled and it probably won’t be the last. (Remember, Hammy the Squirrel is all over the map!)

I look back at my journey as a writer and author and can’t believe the passage of time. I started writing Book I of my series in 2002, over ten y...

How to Unfollow a Blog

Unfollow? That sounds so cruel! Why would you want to unfollow another blogger? There are many reasons:

The blogger unfollowed you. Maybe they lost interest or they were just phishing for followers. The blogger never returned your follow or comments on his or her blog. Blog posts become offensive. Or the blog changes topics. Or you discover you’re just not following a nice person. (The green trolls are out there…)The blog shuts down or goes inactive for a very long time. An abandoned blog is...