Alasdair C. Shaw's Blog, page 15

Blog Aggregators

So, you've got your blog. Brilliant! Now, what do you do?
Well, I expect you want it to be seen by lots of people? Perhaps you want it to appear places so there are backlinks that help with SEO?

One thing to do is to submit it to blog aggregators. These take your feed and present them with lots of other ones on the same topic, producing a summary or directory of blogs.
I have just signed up to Blogorama.com - Blog Directory. It holds blogs on all the following categories:
Arts & Entertainment Blogs  
Dance & Theater Blogs
Humor Blogs
Music Blogs
TV & Film Blogs Blogging Blogs  
Guides Blogs
Tools Blogs Books & Literature Blogs  
Classic Blogs
Contemporary Blogs Business Blogs  
Careers & Industries Blogs
Companies Blogs
Entrepreneurs Blogs
Management Blogs Design Blogs  
Architecture Blogs
Photography Blogs
Visual Design Blogs Education Blogs  
Higher Education Blogs
Languages Blogs
Schools & Colleges Blogs
Study Guides Blogs Fashion Blogs  
Men's Fashion Blogs
Women's Fashion Blogs Finance Blogs  
Debt Blogs
Investing Blogs
Personal Finance Blogs Food & Drink Blogs  
Cooking & Recipes Blogs
Drinks & Beverages Blogs
Regional Blogs
Vegetarian Blogs Friends & Family Blogs  
Community Blogs
Love & Marriage Blogs
Parenting Blogs
Relationships Blogs Gambling & Games Blogs  
Casino Table Games Blogs
Sports Betting Blogs
Video Games Blogs Green Blogs  
Alternative Energy Blogs
Conservation Blogs Health & Fitness Blogs  
Exercise & Fitness Blogs
Men's Health Blogs
Women's Health Blogs
Medicine & Remedies Blogs Home & Garden Blogs  
Pets Blogs
Hobbies & Crafts Blogs
Gardening Blogs
Home Improvements Blogs Internet Blogs  
RSS Feeds Blogs
SEO & SEM Blogs
Web Design & Hosting Blogs Life Blogs  
My Life Blogs
Observations Blogs
Sexuality Blogs Marketing Blogs  
Market Research Blogs
Online Marketing Blogs
Promotion Blogs Politics Blogs  
Global Affairs Blogs
Government Blogs
Journalism Blogs Software Blogs  
Open Source Blogs
Programming Blogs Spirituality Blogs  
Magic & Witchcraft Blogs
Paranormal Blogs
Religion Blogs Sports Blogs  
Individual Sports Blogs
Motorsports Blogs
Team Sports Blogs Technology Blogs  
Gadgets Blogs
Research Blogs Travel Blogs  
Destinations Blogs
Resources Blogs






The other thing to do is syndicate. This allows your blog to appear in other places. As a writer, two key sites to syndicate your blog to would be you Amazon Author Central page and your Goodreads author profile.

Micromanaging Starship Captains

Here's something I find very hard to write: realistic starship captains. Actually, it applies to any high-ranking officer, but as I write a lot of space fleet science fiction, it tends to be starship captains.
The problem is, how to make them realistic and yet still meet the expectations of the readers?

One of the key attributes of a good commander is that they don't micromanage. They should focus on the big picture and not get bogged own in the little things. Often this means sitting back calmly and letting everyone get on with their jobs.
One of the things expected of a fictional commander is that they get stuck in and do things. After all, it makes for pretty boring reading if the main protagonist just lets everyone else get on with things. Doesn't it?

Sometimes the captain is used to tell the reader that something is happening. For instance, the classic "Shields up" reminds the reader that the ship has shields and they are being raised. It also makes the main character look like the are doing something, that they are critical to the action. But did they really need to say that? Couldn't the person responsible for the shields be trusted to think to raise them as the missiles streak towards the ship?

Now, don't get me started on away missions. It is often important for the plot, or character development, for the captain to leave the ship and engage in risky operations on a planet. Mine do that quite often. The thing is, there needs to be a good reason for them to put themselves in that position, endangering the whole crew as a result. That could be as simple as them being bull-headed, but it needs to be explained.
Should they command the mission? Well, technically they are in charge. Are there marines around? If so, the ranking marine should be running the actual mission. Sure, they are carrying out the captain's general orders,but they should have the authority to carry them out as they see fit. There may be conflict there, in fact a seasoned naval captain handling an inexperienced marine officer who isn't getting it right would make a good story, but the normal assumption should be that they know best in the field.

So, it is a hard balance to strike. Wherever you go, you will get complaints that it isn't realistic. Yes, even a character based on a real life ship's captain was accused of being unrealistic because they let their well-trained crew manage things themselves.

Kindle Matchbook

Like the majority of authors, those books I have self published are available in both paperback and ebook versions from Amazon.
The paperbacks are managed through Createspace, and the ebooks through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).
Whilst most are aware of it, some authors still don't know about the Kindle Matchbook scheme. This allows you to set a discounted price for the ebook for anyone who has bought the paperback on Amazon.
Since I started, I had viewed this as an additional income stream. I set the Matchbook price to 99c and got a few conversions.

Recently, however, I've changed to offering the Kindle version free to anyone who has bought the paperback.
Firstly, for some books the paperbacks are in black and white, whilst the version for Kindle Fire is full colour. The ebook version, therefore, adds value to the product. This is particularly true for the Walking Through the Past series of walking guides to sites of archaeological interest.
Secondly, I have included that the ebook is free with the paperback in my advertising. It's even mentioned on the product description on Amazon. This has slightly increased the paperback sales, without reducing the ebook sales.
Thirdly, the more people who have the ebook, with its clickable links in the end matter, the more likely people are to browse my other books.

So, if you haven't already, check out Kindle Matchbook, and see whether you could use it to boost your sales.

GCSE Physics Resources

I've just put together a flyer for my KS4 physics resources. They cover a variety of courses, including AQA GCSE Core Science, AQA GCSE Additional Science, and Edexcel iGCSE Physics.


The books are all available on Amazon, and many of them also have full-colour Kindle versions for revision on the go.

http://www.archaeoroutes.co.uk/edphys/Physics%20Flyer.pdf

Does it always have to be "Show, don't tell"?

"Show, don't tell" has become somewhat of a catchphrase in writing and reviewing circles. This idea, that readers shouldn't be presented with text that describes things directly or explains something, strikes me as a rather unreasonable rule.
If any of my critiquers are reading this, by the way, please please please continue to point out my 'tells'. The majority can indeed be replaced by a 'show' that improves the passage.

Just think of your favourite science fiction writer. Did they stick ruthlessly to this rule? Probably not. I expect they told you about their world, told you about its history or technology (info dump they would have been accused of now).
The thing is, I am not alone in enjoying reading pages of explanation about how a future society came to be, or how an alien spacecraft works.

Of course, the rule came about because there is some truth in it.  Telling us that something was amazing isn't as impressive as showing how someone reacted on seeing it. Telling us that the moon was out isn't as involving as showing it reflecting in a pool of water.

Anyway, enough from me. Here's what Ursula Le Guin had to say about it...
http://www.ursulakleguin.com/AboutWriting13-OnRulesofWriting.html

"Show, don't tell" has become somewhat of a catchphrase i...

"Show, don't tell" has become somewhat of a catchphrase in writing and reviewing circles. This idea, that readers shouldn't be presented with text that describes things directly or explains something, strikes me as a rather unreasonable rule.
If any of my critiquers are reading this, by the way, please please please continue to point out my 'tells'. The majority can indeed be replaced by a 'show' that improves the passage.

Just think of your favourite science fiction writer. Did they stick ruthlessly to this rule? Probably not. I expect they told you about their world, told you about its history or technology (info dump they would have been accused of now).
The thing is, I am not alone in enjoying reading pages of explanation about how a future society came to be, or how an alien spacecraft works.

Of course, the rule came about because there is some truth in it.  Telling us that something was amazing isn't as impressive as showing how someone reacted on seeing it. Telling us that the moon was out isn't as involving as showing it reflecting in a pool of water.

Anyway, enough from me. Here's what Ursula Le Guin had to say about it...
http://www.ursulakleguin.com/AboutWriting13-OnRulesofWriting.html

Writing Science Non-Fiction

Some of my favourite things to write are those that make physics more accessible. I guess it is the teacher in me.
It started with The Best Bits of Physics, a layman's guide to some of the most significant aspects of modern physics. Soon after the book was released, I produced a school version with photocopyable worksheets complete with comprehension questions.

A VERY Brief Guide to AQA GCSE Physics 1 was released at the start of this month. It is a revision guide for Kindle Fire and mobile apps, so students can carry their revision around with them. Anywhere, any time revision, making the most of an odd few minutes here and there to boost learning.

Get more details or buy from http://www.archaeoroutes.co.uk/edphys/revision.php

Some of my favourite things to write are those that make ...

Some of my favourite things to write are those that make physics more accessible. I guess it is the teacher in me.
It started with The Best Bits of Physics, a layman's guide to some of the most significant aspects of modern physics. Soon after the book was released, I produced a school version with photocopyable worksheets complete with comprehension questions.

A VERY Brief Guide to AQA GCSE Physics 1 was released at the start of this month. It is a revision guide for Kindle Fire and mobile apps, so students can carry their revision around with them. Anywhere, any time revision, making the most of an odd few minutes here and there to boost learning.

Get more details or buy from http://www.archaeoroutes.co.uk/edphys/revision.php

A very quick test

Here we go
Testing out all the links
And a link to a military science fiction short story.