L. Diane Wolfe's Blog, page 57

A to Z Challenge - Attitude

For the A to Z Challenge, my topic is leadership and goal-setting. I am posting short excerpts from my book, Overcoming Obstacles with SPUNK! The Keys to Leadership and Goal-Setting, along with an inspiring photo. Enjoy and dream big!

Attitude

You cannot control that flat tire or the rude salesman, but you can master your attitude regarding the situation. It's the only thing you can control. Why surrender your one and only power to outside circumstances and other people? Your attitude is your ...

Sad Songs Blogfest

My very first blogfest - Sad Songs Blogfest!

Today, list the songs that move your spirit, cut deep into your soul, and threaten to break your heart. Any that inspire you! Up to ten songs and feel free to include links or videos.

I love music for the way it makes me feel. Making this list was harder than I thought. My original list had almost forty songs. I've narrowed it down to ten. These aren't necessarily favorites, just songs that evoke a strong emotion.

10 - Don't Dream it's Over ...

Pinterest

After listening to the accolades of Pinterest, I finally joined.

I've been a professional photographer for 22 years now, so the allure of beautiful photos pulled me into the site. (I'm a member of Deviant Art for the same reason, although I don't get to visit that site as often as in the past.) So far I've discovered some amazing images and mostly from a few people here on Blogger.

I've also heard it's an additional way to market one's books, so I uploaded my book covers, too.

I'm still not s...

And Now For Something Completely Different...

Run away! Run away!
Some publishing industry news...

Many of Canada's publishers are going under and there's no sign of that changing anytime soon… CBC Books

Harry Potter eBooks and audio presales delayed…The Christian Science Monitor

Ten predictions for the future of publishing from the Publishing Business Conference and ExpoTeleRead


Thanks to all who've signed up for my first ever blogfest:

Sad Songs Blogfest

March 30, 2012

List the songs that move your spirit, cut deep into your soul, and threa...

Songs That Inspire Through Sadness Blogfest

With only two weeks until the A to Z Challenge to go, I knew if I was going to do this I had to hustle.

For my first ever blogfest, I thought I'd go simple:

Sad Songs Blogfest

March 30, 2012

List the songs that move your spirit, cut deep into your soul, and threaten to break your heart.

No limit - top ten or less is fine. 
 
Music is vital to my writing. It moves me and sets the scene. It's also a great passion in my life. I will fall in love with a song because of the way it makes me feel. And ...

And Now For Something Completely Different...

"Bring out your dead!"
Some interesting news and articles this week:

After 244 years, the Encyclopedia Britannica will no longer be in print form - The New York Times

PayPal reverses ban on obscene ebooks. The company will focus more on books with obscene images. CNet News

More books written by men are reviewed than books written by women - who is to blame, reviewers or publishers? Huffington Post

Amazon is now the biggest player - but is that good or bad for the publishing industry? Book...

Interactive Content for Websites

For authors and businesses with websites, the key is to get visitors involved. People visit a site for content and information first - to purchase something is fourth. A site must gain the visitor's trust first. It must demonstrate its knowledge and expertise. And it must get the visitor involved in the site.

Blogs have one major advantage over websites when it comes to getting visitors involved - the comment section. That doesn't mean there aren't things to you can add to your website to get...

And Now For Something Completely Different...

In the frozen land of Nador they were forced to eat Robin's minstrels. And there was much rejoicing.
Industry news:

Several articles this week about the new IPad and how it will affect the publishing and tablet industries:

New IPad Even Better Playground for Publishers

The New IPad and What it Means for Publishers

The IPad 3 Will Help Apple Grab 70% of the Tablet Market

And of course, there is the flip side for Apple:

The US Threatens to Sue Apple and Publishers/

In other news, digital magazines ...

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 decided I'd offer something to writers to help ease their concerns. Most finish a book and wonder 'What next?' Well, there are several things you need to do - hire an editor or use and expert critique partner; make a detailed list on your target audience (helps to start this before writing though); and the biggie - decide which publishing path you will take.

Pursue a publisher...

Creating Characters and Book Cover Love

A special person I've gotten to know over the years through Book 'Em is Bonnie Watson. She's the author of the Blue Moon Trilogy (Books 1 and 2 are now available) and she's an amazing artist. She designed the cover art for her books and also works as a freelance graphics designer. And she's a musician! You can see her work at her website, WISDOM NOVELS

Bonnie invited me to do a guest post on her blog about the creation of my characters in The Circle of Friends and do I have a favorite? Her bl...