Heather Weidner's Blog, page 109

10 Cool Tools for Authors

Here are some useful websites that I've used recently. They're great for writers...

Dictionaries and Such

Acronym Finder is great to translate acronyms.AmosWeb has thousands of definitions for economic terms.NetLingo will help you stay hip to internet and chat terms.Computing Fundamentals has a great list of computer, technical, and geek terms.

Research

Bartleby is the site for literary references, author information, and quotes.Library Spot is a centralized reference center.IPL is the Internet Public Library.The Post Office has a Zip Code finder.The has a list of the top baby names for each year. This is great for choosing character names.Adobe's Kuler allows you to choose a color and it provides palettes of color combinations. This is great if you're working on a brochure or website.

What I Learned from David Casullo about High-Energy Cultures

I read a lot of books on leadership and customer service. David Casullo's Leading the High-Energy Culture is a good reference for new or seasoned managers. But his life lessons also apply to writers. Here's what I learned...

1. "Raise the Bar" should be your rallying cry for yourself and your team.

2. Energize those around you.

3. Communicate clearly and with purpose and passion.

4. Behave consistently with your values and beliefs.

5. Know the lay of the land at your organization and adapt as you need to.

6. A successful leader demonstrates Character, Commitment, Competence, Courage, and Communication.

7. People are fascinated with secrets and mysteries. As a mystery reader and writer, this was my favorite.

8. Focus on face-to-face interactions. Important information should be delivered face-to-face and not through email or texts.

9. Communication is an art and a science.

10. Simple is hard. People don't have time for elaborate explanations. It takes longer to craft your communication for your audience.

11. When people remember your story, they remember the point, and they remember you.

 

What I Learned from Starbucks and Joseph Michelli

My niece landed a job recently in a Starbucks, and it was interesting to hear about life as a new barista. Coincidentally, I finished Joseph A. Michelli's Leading the Starbucks Way: 5 Principles for Connecting with your Customers, Your Products, and Your People. Check out his website and blog.

1. Love, Humanity, and Humility should be your performance drivers.

2. If you don't have passion for your product or service, why should your customer?

3. Your customer service behaviors should include anticipating, connecting, personalizing, and owning.

4. You need to cherish and challenge your legacy. It's not just today's sale.

Michelli's book focuses on customer service and leadership, but the advice works for writers who are trying to market their work.

It's Batman Day!

Grab your utility belt, it's Batman Day! "Gotham" is one of my favorite shows on TV.

My First RavenCon...

I had the pleasure of presenting "Adding Mystery to Your Writing" with Mary Miley this weekend at RavenCon in Richmond, VA.

This was my first Con. I enjoyed talking to a variety of people about their writing and reading interests. And the vendors had anything you could imagine from the fantasy, science fiction, and horror worlds.

#PoeGirl, Kris Mehigan, did a panel on the Raven Society at the University of Virginia and the Poe Toaster. And afterwards Chris Semtner, from the Poe Museum in Richmond, joined the conversation.

Sadly, I didn't have more time to attend the Klingon party or the costumed event on Saturday evening. It was a lot of fun, and many thanks to the fans who welcomed a group of mystery writers to their event.

SinC Author Tina Glassneck

I'm with Karen McCullough and Kris Mehigan.

Movies about Writers and Writing

Looking for a good movie? I was updating my Netflix today, and I was thinking about movie themes. Here is my list of films about writers and writing.

Absence of MaliceAlmost FamousBarton FinkBreakfast at Tiffany'sCapoteDeconstructing HarryFinding ForresterFinding NeverlandGothicHannah and Her SistersJulie and JuliaMarley and MeMidnight in ParisMiseryMoulin RougeNaked LunchRomancing the StoneShadowlandsShakespeare in LoveShe-DevilSidewaysSunset BoulevardSylviaThe Ghost WriterThe HelpThe HoursThe Jewel of the NileThe ShiningThe World According to GarpThrow Momma from the TrainTom & VivUnder the Tuscan SnWonder Boys

What else would you add?

It's Talk Like Shakespeare Day!

Happy Talk like Shakespeare Day!

What's on Your Playlist? Murderous Songs for Mystery Writers

I love Train's "50 Ways to Say Goodbye." It's great for mystery writers. It's full of lots of ideas for bumping off characters.

So here's a playlist of other songs with murderous lyrics if you need inspiration for writing your next mystery:

Dixie Chicks - "Goodbye, Earl"Bob Marley - "I Shot the Sheriff"Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody"Foster the People - "Pumped up Kicks"R. Dean Taylor - "Indiana Wants Me"Johnny Cash - "The Long, Black Veil"Kenny Rogers - "Coward of the County"Bobby Darrin - "Mack the Knife"Georgie Fame "The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde"Jim Croce - "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown"The Police - "Murder by Numbers"Talking Heads - "Psycho Killer"The Beatles - "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"Garth Brooks - "Papa Loved Mama"

It's National Twinkie Day!

It's back, and it has its own day. Enjoy!

10 Commandments for Promoting Your Book on Social Media

I am on quite a few social media platforms and follow a lot of writers and writing groups. I have seen a variety of book marketing practices, some effective and others not so much. I love the advice that writers share, but I tend to tune out the book hawkers who constantly beat the "buy my book" drum. Here are my 10 Commandments for book promotion.

1. Thou shalt not annoy your friends and followers with constant "buy my book" posts. Be thoughtful with your promotions.

2. Always honor the 80-20 rule. Look at the content of your posts. Promotions should only be about 20% of your content.

3. If you schedule posts, be mindful to mix things up. You don't want to be the one on the lists that have 40-50 posts for the exact same thing. People tune out or block the noise.

4. Make sure that you share information that is fun and useful. (See #2.) This is the other 80% of your content.

5. Make sure that you always attribute the owner if you share content.

6. Strive to build relationships. Join lists and groups. And participate in the conversations. Share their successes. Don't be a lurker.

7. If you have set up automatic ways to share posts on other social media platforms, mix it up. Nobody wants to see the same post on four different sites.

8. I learned this from Rachel Thompson of Bad Redhead Media. Use social media platforms that appeal to your readers, and not the ones that you prefer. You need to go where your readers are. Know the key demographics of the platforms you use.

This Pew Research article has basic demographics about social media.This Pew Research article breaks down the statistics by platform.

9. You can't effectively promote your work on hundreds of sites unless you have a staff. Pick several that you know work for you and your readers and start there. Watch your analytics and maximize what's working. Stop what doesn't seem to be effective.

10. Balance your time. It's important to have a healthy platform and to promote your work. Just be careful that it doesn't overshadow your writing time.

Happy writing and best wishes for your promoting your book!