Remember that commercial where the woman tells her friend about how great her shampoo is and then that friend tells two friends and so on and so on and so on?
The world has become much smaller thanks to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social networks. And as authors, social media is a critical tool when it comes to self-promotion, publicity and communication. That doesn’t mean you have to do EVERYTHING that’s out there. But you should at least try to do one thing and do it the best that you can.
Remember, though, that the golden rule of social media is to NOT make it all about YOU and YOUR BOOK. It’s important to, you know, be social on social media. That means interacting with others, commenting on their stuff and sharing things about you that have nothing to do with what you’re writing.
As Vice President of Communications this year for OCC RWA, my goal is to get the word out about our great organization so that we can find new members and find new resources and networking contacts for our current members. Social media is going to be a big part of my focus in 2015 and I’d love it if you could help!
Whether it’s linking the posts from this blog or tweeting our online class information or sharing our special events on Facebook, it would be great if you could help me spread the word whenever and wherever you can.
You can find OCC RWA online here:
See you online!
Sabrina Sol
VP, Communications
OCC RWA
P.S. Oh, and in case it was bugging you, that commercial was for Faberge Organics Shampoo. And it starred Heather Locklear! Here’s the link in case you want share with a friend or two..
We could do that in April or October just as well. For that matter, we could do it today. So what’s the big deal about a new year?
Ask anyone who’s made some significant life change — getting married, choosing a new job, deciding to publish a novel — if they were inspired by a new page on the calendar, and chances are good they’ll say no.
Even so, most of us like the idea of making SOME kind of change as a new year begins. And for writers, it makes sense that the change is frequently related to what or why or how we write.
What do you write?
Do you still love it? Have you tried other kinds of writing? What would happen if you did? How did you choose what sort of writer you wanted to become?
Why do you write? What got you started? What does it DO for you — aside from making you elated and making you frustrated, depending on how the story’s doing? Why are you writing instead of, say, fly-fishing?
(For anybody who explains that it’s because their favorite fly-fishing stream is covered with ice in the winter, that’s a perfectly good explanation!)
Finally, how do you write?
Aside from being a plotter or pantser, do you have rituals? A love or a fear of deadlines? A preference for plot or character, setting or action, description or dialogue, process or product? A particular place or time you like to think up plot twists, interview characters, get your outline or paragraphs down on the page?
Some of what you’re doing right now, some of what you’ve been doing ever since you began writing, works beautifully for you.
Some of it, maybe not so much.
Which is where we get into the idea of New Year, New You.
If there’s anything you especially love about your writing, or if there’s anything that bothers you about your writing, here’s a good time & place to look at that.
The past seven times I’ve taught this class, last-day messages have ranged from “it’s such a relief to discover I’m not the only one who works that way” to “I never realized how much I needed this change” to “finally, I’ve discovered what I was missing!”
Everyone’s reaction is different. Some writers are inspired to switch genres. Some might decide to take up fly-fishing (although no one’s reported that yet). Others report a breakthrough, like those who’ve mentioned this class in their first-book acknowledgments.
If you have any questions on whether “New Year New You” can help with some issue in your writing life, let me know here or privately at Book Laurie Gmail Com — you can figure out where to email, right? — and I promise I’ll give you a straight answer.
Meanwhile, whether or not you use the upcoming new year to inspire any kind of changes in your life, here’s hoping you love the results!
I asked myself that question when I was looking for ideas for a cover for my holiday romance, A Christmas Piano Tree.
You can’t stick a picture of a Christmas tree on a piano…and the story is a romance. Got to have gorgeous hero and pretty heroine on the cover…but where to start?
That’s when I decided to take a cover class from Andris Bear www.andrisbear.com and Lily Smith http://www.coversbylily.com through the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.
http://heartofcarolina.org
I love www.Dreamstime.com for stock photos, and since I have somewhat of an art background, I enjoy the process of cover design (once upon another life I studied design for the theatre). Here is a Spanish-theme sketch I did for a Vegas-type extravaganza.
I’ve always had a love for design since I was a kid and I drew pictures in my dad’s encyclopedias (remember those?).
Here’s a sketch for a dress design I did at age 11. Somehow it has survived numerous moves around the country and overseas…
What kind of covers do you enjoy for Christmas books?
I totally enjoyed putting the cover together for “A Christmas Piano Tree,†the story of a pretty young war widow who re-discovers the magic of the holiday season with the help of a homeless vet and an old piano. I hope you like it.
Check out my Christmas Piano Tree Pinterest board!
Cyber Santa is asking for your vote…
“The Christmas Piano Tree” is included in the December Cover Wars on Masqueradecrew.blogspot.com!
Check out all the wonderful covers and vote for your favorites…
~Jina
Vote for The Christmas Piano Tree or one of several others: http://buff.ly/1vD4xsW
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Kalissandra Doe has a to-do list worthy of the reincarnated goddess she could be.
More info →“If you ever say anything to anyone, they all die.”
More info →At the English country estate Drakenfall, Christmas is topsy-turvy, romantic, and heartwarming!
More info →A Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
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