Linda Poitevin's Blog, page 29

Building Your Facebook Community: A Crash Course for Authors

After Facebook’s latest round of algorithm changes in December 2013, a lot of page owners—including me—saw a significant drop in the number of people seeing their posts (up to 88 percent, according to Business Insider). Many people cried “foul” on this, seeing it as Facebook’s attempt to make them pay to promote their posts and(...)

Feng Shui Your Way to More Words

I’ve been in a rut. Not because I didn’t have things to do (believe me, I don’t expect a shortage in that department during my entire lifetime!), but because I just didn’t seem to be able to get myself focused on doing any of them. I’d created goals and to-do lists. I’d implemented schedules and refined my(...)

The Great Facebook Debate: Page or Profile?

Early on in my writing career, I made the decision to use a Facebook page for my author presence instead of my personal profile. There were a number of reasons for this. First and foremost, of course, is the fact that Facebook’s policies clearly state that you cannot “use your personal timeline primarily for your(...)

We Interrupt this Blog Post…

So. Today is Social Media Monday on my blog…the time and place where I’m supposed to impart some gem of wisdom or another to you that I’ve picked up over my forays into–you guessed it–social media over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, today’s episode isn’t going to happen. Oh, I’ve got all kinds of(...)

Beware the Dark Side of the Web

I have two questions for you: Have you ever stopped to look—really look—at a spider’s web? Have you ever stopped to think—really think—about the web aspect of the World Wide Web? Take a moment to study the image here. Look beyond the incredibly beautiful intricacies of something woven by such a tiny creature (because wow,(...)

Writing the Supernatural Thriller

(This post originally appeared in September 2013 on Urban Fantasy Land) Like many people, I’m fascinated by the possibilities in the world of the paranormal. I’ve dabbled in the Tarot, am intrigued by Earth-based religions, and firmly believe in unseen energies (remind me to tell you about my experience with a Ouija board one time…not(...)

Why Fiction Writers Need to Blog (and What to Blog About)

So, now that you have your author website up and running (and have all the critical elements in place that we discussed last week), I thought we’d tackle another important aspect of your site: the blog. Or if you prefer (and you feel the way I did about blogging when I began), The Dreaded Blog.(...)

Happy Chocolate Day!

It’s Valentine’s! Or as we call it in our house, Chocolate Day…for obvious reasons. I’m celebrating a little reader love with a giveaway on my Facebook page. Hop on over to take part!   Details: One prize will be awarded to a randomly drawn Facebook commenter. Contest closes at midnight (EST) February 15, 2014. Giveaway is(...)

Becoming Lucifer

(This post originally appeared in October 2013 on The Qwillery) Writing a fully three-dimensional character isn’t an easy task to begin with, but when you’re writing from the point of view of consummate evil? Trust me, it can be even tougher. And slimy-er. And just plain ickier. That was the challenge I faced in writing(...)

The All-Important Author Website: Are you doing it right?

When I decided to run the Social Media Monday series, one of the most difficult things for me was figuring out where to even begin. Social media (in case you haven’t noticed) is huge. The platforms, communities, groups, hangouts, and places to see and be seen are endless. Even if you pare it down to(...)