Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 112

Building an Author Platform (Part 1) -- What I Learned from the Conference

Find Your Focus

Whether you want to self-publish or traditionally publish, you are going to need an author's platform if you hope to spread the word about your book. The key to your platform is to answer this simple question: how is your book different from all the others out there? What makes your book unique enough that someone will want to read it?

When you start your platform, it's best to be focused. Once you establish your readership, you can broaden out. I'll use myself as an examp...

Book Covers (Sample of My Book Covers)

My first video where I show some of my book covers. I talk about who I went with and the cost involved. I will post on blogging in a day or two. I'm still working on the conference notes.

My You Tube Video on My Book Covers

First Pages (What I Learned From the Writer's Conference)

First Pages

The question is probably going to come up as to what exactly "first pages" means. Well, at the HACWN conference, anyone who wanted to submit the first page of their manuscript could do so, and the best part was that it was anonymous so only the person who wrote the page knew it was their work that was being judged. All people attending the conference could sit and listen in on this one hour event, which is what I did.

There was one agent, two editors, and an author representing ...

I Went to a Writer's Conference (My Plan for a Series of Posts Based on What I Learned)

From last Thursday to Saturday evening, I attended an awesome writer's conference called the Heart of America Christian Writer's Network Fall Conference (HACWN). I had a great time and learned a lot. I have roughly 40 pages worth of notes and seven CDs that I haven't listened to yet, so my total pages of notes will likely be a little over 100 pages. I plan to share the information I have gathered from the workshops I attended and things I learned from speaking to agents and editors persona...

Typical Responses I Get When I Tell People I Self-Publish

This morning I got another person asking me why I would turn down a traditional publishing contract to go into self-publishing. Not everyone asks me this question. But I do get it once in awhile. I also notice that once I explain it to them, they typically come back at me with the same kinds of responses. It's starting to seem like a pattern.

So here they are:

1. They laugh and say, "You'll never be a real author." I mostly get this from my family. Well, I guess I've fooled my readers the...

I Do Not Make Money Selling My Books

I don't know where people get the idea that I make money at self-publishing. I recently received another email from someone asking me about this. I had to tell the person (like I do everyone else who emails me) that I don't know. So, then I wonder why people think I'm making money at this. The truth is, I lose money. People may want to make a career at writing, but I'm not one of them. For me, it's a hobby. It just has become a hobby I want to do my best with. I admit I am not the bes...

Does Your Title Do Your Book Justice?

Does Your Title Do Your Book Justice?

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5 Reasons to Have a Website

Thought this article might be of interest. :-)

5 Important Reasons to Have a Writer's Website

An Author's Perspective: What to Write or Not Write

A reader's input is important to an author. But you see, readers are going to have differing opinions, and the author can't please every reader. It's impossible. So what the author finally has to do is ask him/herself, "How do I want the story to play out?" And that is ultimately the thing that has to be done.

It's not that the author is saying, "Screw you. I'm doing it my way, regardless of what you think." Believe me, authors (for the most part) do not write a story in a way that they hope w...

NaNo Has Officially Begun

This is a chance to have a lot of fun. I know some people look at National Novel Writing Month's goal of 50,000 words to be intimidating, but it really isn't. The chance is to challenge yourself to see how much you are capable of writing in a month. The purpose is not to write your best work either. The idea is just to get your story down on paper. Remember, you can't revise a blank page.

I found this article through The Creative Penn on How to Write a Novel in 30 Days . I thought in the spiri...