Should Business Tweet?

Should businesses do SM, particularly Twitter?  The efficacy and PR value is difficult to doubt, and I'll give you a hot example in a moment. Remember, the principle here is that writing--any kind--is a business.

Earlier in the week I received an email message (is there any other kind now?) "inviting" me to list my business in a relatively new database used by PR and publicity people.  The very notion elicited a delicate frisson of fear--scared me pantsless. I took to Twitter:

Someone wants to list AWE in a new database for PR reps. Oh, no! My Cision listings bring in quite enough crap, thank you. 4:18 PM Feb 10th

Notice I mentioned a major media services company without an @ sign or a hashtag. In my haste to post, I did not consider repercussions. Within two minutes, the phone rang. As soon as the caller identified herself as a VP with Cision, I knew why she had called. We had a pleasant and productive conversation.

The focus here, however, is on the business' use of social media.  Obviously, Cision closely monitors mentions of its business name. I can think of several ways it receives nearly real-time notices.  It is able to respond quickly to perform damage control (in this instance) and help its customers. At least 10 of the top managers are active on Twitter.

Although I'm not a client, if I were, I'd be impressed with this company and probably delighted with its service. See the elephant dance!

Disclaimer:  If this post is viewed as a product or service endorsement please note than I do not use it, but Cision uses me, very gently and with grace.

Listen to this article

Take this Blog Private?

In addition to the recent inclusion in the Top 100 Blogs to Improve Your Writing in 2010, you can also find A Writer's Edge fourth in the Online Database list of 150 Useful, Educational, and Inspirational Blogs for Aspiring Writers. And last year, I think, this blog's name appeared in the top 20 finalists for Michael Stelzner's Top Ten Blogs for Writers. Moreover, my name has appeared through the years on several lists as an outstanding resource for writing and book information.

This shaky base of kudos leads me to believe that A Writer's Edge blog is valuable to enough people to warrant at least an attempt to convert it into a subscription-only monthly newsletter.  What I have in mind is providing more in-depth articles rather than blog-type posts.  More thoughtful analysis.  More links to useful resources relating to an article.

Less LOLcats. More serious "stuff." It would also include my "Inspiration" motivational messages, currently received by email by many of you readers.

Please respond with comments or emails and let me know if you think this type of publication is worth paying (how much?) for and whether you would want it monthly or weekly.  Details forthcoming.

Listen to this article

Roundup of Book Info

Dealing with potential loss of MyBlogLog and Blogger use: a roundup of links to current book matters.  Actually, I'm trying to clear out my "Draft" posts list. Aaargh! Another loss: the ability to "Send to" my blogging account any web page or snippet from one and save it as a Draft post!

As I was saying, I scarcely have time to blog for dealing with issues surrounding blogging! Here are some of the golden eggs I was sitting on, hoping to hatch nice posts:

*  If you are thinking about writing a book, Folio Literary Agency offers a great guide to getting published, written by Jeff Kleinman.

*  If you want to research trends in new books published, by subject, check out Bowker's IndustryStats2009.pdf. Worth noting is the last entry, "OnDemand, Short Run,and Other Unclassified" (read: self-published) with a substantial rise for the last three years reported (2002-2008).

*  When your book is published, the next big hurdle is marketing. Seth Godin tells how in Seth Godin, "10 Bestsellers: Using New Media, New Marketing, and New Thinking to Create 10 Bestselling Books video of his presentation at the O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference.

*  If you are thinking about an e-book, you might want to review Why (and How) Apple Killed the $9.99 Ebook: "The print industry is swirling down the toilet, and apocalypse-era publishers minds' dance with hallucinations of digital salvation via iTunes for print. It's the iPod for books. What Amazon was supposed to deliver, but now maybe never will."

*  And finally, a topic so complicated that I have never tackled it here--the Google Lawsuit and Settlement. The latest I've read from Publishers Weekly:  Justice Department Says It Still Has Problems with Revised Google Settlement. The beat goes on.

If you would like to follow-up any of these leads and write up a summary, you can have a guest post spot here.

Listen to this article

Work From Office or Home?

Are you a consultant?  Uh huh, unemployed again. That's what we all call ourselves when we're out of work.  However, increasing numbers of workers are calling their employment "quits" and striking out on their own.  The pretty word for this is "consulting."

Richard Greenwald, a Drew University professor, wrote in the WSJ that:

20% to 23% of U.S. workers are operating as consultants, freelancers, free agents, contractors or micropreneurs. Current projections see the number only rising in coming years.

Freelance writers--isn't it nice to be in vogue? If only we show up in Vogue too!

Greenwald reviews the best practices of successful consultants/freelancers:

long term thinking
networking
having an office
entrepreneurial mindset

Networking is a no-brainer. If you're serious about freelancing or writing fiction as a career, you're already in long term mode. Thinking like an entrepreneur is more challenging for many writers, especially those who think of themselves only in terms of "creativity." We must also think in terms of business.

Too often, freelancers drift from project to project. That's a mistake. They need to have a business plan or mission statement. If all they do is take everything that passes over the transom, they will be viewed as a nonspecialist in a world of specialists.

Greenwald makes good points for niche writing and reminds us that we are known as much for the work we won't do as well as what do take on. While I'm game for learning new skills, I do refuse to try to help manuscripts that need developmental editing.  If I can't write a novel, I can't help you create one. I can only help make the writing better. The story is up to you.

The advice to not work from home surprised me.  I've sometimes longed for an office, even a little storefront in a strip mall.  This yearning became especially acute when my ex-husband admitted he didn't think freelance writing was "a real job," because I didn't rent office space. [snark removed]

Sharing office space and amenities like a receptionist, Internet service, copiers and fax machines lowers office costs and provides a more structured and professional atmosphere.  This is especially valuable if you must meet clients in person.  Starbucks or McDonald's don't cut it as meeting rooms. An office also helps freelancers establish a schedule, Greenwald added. 

Remember most successful writers' advice to "just sit down and write"? It helps to have a reserved seat and a desk for the laptop.

Listen to this article

Amazon Drops Macmillan

Another shot fired in the eBook price war! Amazon drops Macmillan's listings. The Bits Blog of NYTimes.com Technology section rounds up rumors over why Amazon Pulls Macmillan Books Over E-Book Price Disagreement.

In the short, Brad Stone wrote, "Macmillan, like other publishers, has asked Amazon to raise the price of electronic books from $9.99 to around $15." And Macmillan is one of the publishers signed up to provide iBooks for Apple's new iPad, at prices not limited to Amazon's top of $9.99 (remember my post on "Ten Buck Books"?).

I guess this answers a couple of the questions raised in Wednesday's discussion about eBooks (okay, so Apple will call them iBooks) and Amazon's response is to drop Macmillan's book stock.

More questions:  Will Amazon follow suit with the other iBook publishers? Is this related only to the Ten Buck Book war? What effects will it have on self-publishers, both independents and for the Kindle? "The Ultimate Cheapskate," Jeff Yeager, pictured right, provides one traditionally published author's response.

Listen to this article

E-Book Sales X3=iPad?

From all morning long while monitoring Apple's announcement:

I'd hoped to have leaking news of Apple's announcement for this post, but found none credible. First, I refer you to Richard Curtis' E-Reads news that November 09 E-Book Sales Triple Over 09. This seems a remarkable growth pace, even if e-book sales are only 5% of total book sales.

* FLASH: It's called iPad and sounds like a souped-up media-oriented "smart phone." But does it have telephony capability, too? Sounds like Apple's view is that no one talks to anyone anymore. We'll all text. I want a netbook phone! And what about e-books. Or i-books, if you please?

According to a PublishersMarketPlace story reported by Mike Shatzkin the other day, Apple’s disruption of the ebook market has nothing to do with the tablet (iPad). PMP's Calder said that Apple is forcing the book publishing industry to move to an "agency" model for e-book sales. It is quite complex, and PMP is a subscription service, so no link.  Shatzkin's story is long and worth readiing even though he admits it provokes even more questions. He explains:

The “agency” model is based on the idea that the publisher is selling to the consumer and, therefore, setting the price, and any “agent”, which would usually be a retailer but wouldn’t have to be, that creates that sale would get a “commission” from the publisher for doing so. Since Apple’s normal “take” at the App Store is 30% and discounts from publishers have normally been 50% off the established retail price, publishers can claw back margin even if they don’t get Apple to concede anything from the 30%.

From Twitter, I said, "Oy! #iPad *IS* a phone.  Oh, I am maybe hooked. Just blogging "I want a netbook phone" has been my plea for years. Well, laptop with phone." And now from Engadget streaming report by Joshua Topolsky:

Showing reading book on the iPad. Called iBooks. Displays virtual book shelf, with new iBook store, fully integrated with iBook app. Can discover books, best seller lists. 5 publishers support at start. Penguin, Harper Collins, others. Easy to download books. Flip through books with finger. Can include video, color, black and white photos. Can change font size of the font. Also will be targeting textbooks.

Calder had said that Apple was in discussion with Big Six (Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, and Macmillan.) I keep wondering what effect, if any, this will have on Amazon's recently-announced 70% commission for Kindle publication sales? (It remains 30% until June.) Or If this agency model propelled Amazon into upping the royalties?

Listen to this article

Amazon Ups Royalties

Have I a functioning crystal ball? Nah, just blind, dumb luck. Since I joined Amazon to publish material for the Kindle reader, the company is popping out upgrades and new advantages right and left. As soon as a question rises in a Twitter chat, I find Amazon's DTP (publishing program) evolving to address the issue. For example, last week we were kicking around how English residents could use the service. They were stymied by Amazon's requirement for a U.S. bank account and SSN, TIN or EID (for the IRS and Social Security).

On January 15, Amazon announced: Amazon Expands Kindle Digital Text Platform to Enable Authors and Publishers Worldwide to Publish English, German, and French Language Books in the Kindle Store. That is the unwieldy title for a news release that tells my overseas Internet friends they can begin using the service.

Five days later, Amazon probably pre-empted other media producers by announcing a new 70% royalty option for DTP authors and publishers. This begins on June 30, as yet only for U.S. accounts. To qualify for the 70% royalty option, books must satisfy the following set of requirements:

* The author or publisher-supplied list price must be between $2.99 and $9.99
* This list price must be at least 20 percent below the lowest physical list price for the physical book
* The title is made available for sale in all geographies for which the author or publisher has rights
* The title will be included in a broad set of features in the Kindle Store, such as text-to-speech. This list of features will grow over time as Amazon continues to add more functionality to Kindle and the Kindle Store.
* Under this royalty option, books must be offered at or below price parity with competition, including physical book prices. Amazon will provide tools to automate that process, and the 70% royalty will be calculated from the sales price.

A final warning: the 70% royalty option is for in-copyright works and is unavailable for works published before 1923 (a.k.a. public domain books). They need to tack on that kibosh because so many of the get-rich-quick, looking-for-shortcuts, tell-me-the secret writers think they can republish titles now in public domain and make a fast buck, or $.99 anyway.

As with DRM, which I wrote about the other day, I have not read all the nuances of the DTP royalty program.  I may find that it does not apply to my articles. Still, I know many readers are intensely interested in adding their books to this format and venue.

Listen to this article

DRM or Not?

Amazon added DRM to DTP. I speak code these days and get a lot of questions. Did I mention I've become an Amazon Author?  Two articles and a book review are available in the Kindle Store as well as my Author Page. You can also subscribe to receive this blog via Kindle (or download the free Kindle for the PC program).

But back to the All Caps Codes.  DRM is "digital rights management" and it's like copyrights for electronic media.  DTP is Amazon's Digital Text Platform, the program used to publish material in Kindle format.  As I uploaded my second article "Editing Your Writing", I noticed the new choices of adding DRM or no DRM to the file.  Supposedly it protects the work from illegal copying and/or distribution, a.k.a. "sharing."

Although I was fuzzy on the details, I opted for DRM, thinking that if I change my mind, I can always pull the piece and republish without the DRM.  Maybe not, however, because at the same time Amazon added DRM, it also changed the terms of this service, reserving the right to sell uploaded material forever, as it was when first published.  Yes, you can petition to have a piece removed, but what do you want to bet that would take forever also?

The effects of DRM on sales of published material are debatable.  Magellan Media Partners claims to have hard data suggesting DRM is negative:

Initial results suggested that freely available digital content coincides with greater paid sales.

I'm sticking a copyright notice in everything I publish for the Kindle, along with an FTC disclaimer for book reviews.  Together, my CYA pronouncements eat up four lines. And I'll DRM my DTP pieces until I see confirmation that it somehow hurts sales. It's not like I don't "share" all the time in various locations online and in real life.

Listen to this article

Why Do They Do It?

Allow me to vent. Again. About rude publicity persons who send incomprehensible emails. Here's one that arrived early today:

To: None

Subject: Press Release: Haights Cross Communications Files Prepackaged Reorganization Plan

Attach: Haights Cross Reorg Plan Approved 1.5.10.pdf(80.3KB)

The message area is empty but for the senders name, company, phone numbers, and email address. If I wanted to letter-bomb her for sending me a time-wasting empty message with a cryptic attachment, I'd have to research the company name to find her location.

This is why the Goddess created keyboards with a Delete key.  DEL

If you want your messages to be considered seriously, take time to create them thoughtfully with a clear Subject, address the recipient by name and explain your relationship to them and the subject and how it might benefit the recipient to read the attachment. I have no idea if this one was about a housing development's bankruptcy or a communications company's misfiling of its new designs, or what.

Listen to this article

Mini-Review of PULL

Years ago but right before the Web was woven, I had a vision. I'd been meditating on solutions to the problems of homeless people here. I knew the resources existed to help them, but help was often inaccessible for those who need it the most. It was and still is uncoordinated. Thinking about what little of the Internet I knew, I saw these discrete services circling the homeless, electronically interconnected so that from one dumb terminal or a fantastic PC, someone could customize a help plan for each person in need, providing the requisite paperwork, vouchers for transportation included.

"Why do charities have to duplicate efforts and waste so much money?" I complained to the only group that would (pre-blogs) allow me to publish my rambling rants, the local Mensans. Without leadership, sadly, any ad hoc collection of geniuses produces more hot air than hot action.

David Siegel has shown how this type of "cloud" computing is being realized to pull in the resources needed by a client-centered plan. In Pull: The Power of the Semantic Web to Transform Your Business, Siegel explains in very approachable terms how businesses like the book industry are struggling to not only shift paradigms but transform themselves into more efficient and effective business models.

This is exciting/scary stuff! It is a clarion call for the transparency I've advocated for several years. I hate screen names and avatars as identifiers for people. Be who you are wherever you are, I've been saying. Soon it will become inevitable reality. What effect, I wonder, will it have on white collar crime that relies on computers to game any system, when the entire system becomes standardized? Only those intent of committing felonies have anything to fear from, say, RFIDs embedded in all products, pets, people.

Siegel predicts the end of dead-end jobs like cashiering at the local supermarket and predicts that large main libraries (like the one being shoved down San Diegan's throats while the homeless freeze on the sidewalk in front of the old one) will cease to exist in a few decades. At last! I cheer. Someone else who sees that libraries are for information, not physical books, which are all becoming digital anyway. He says:

Small branch libraries are the libraries of the future. They will provide a good place to sit quietly and research online , a place for kids to learn, and meeting spaces for learning-related events. They will have minimal staff and probably won't be open all day. [This is happening already with a fiscal crisis demanding cutbacks.] There may not be very many, schools will do just as well. Our monstrous downtown libraries with their stacks of books and huge staffs won't make it to the middle of the century.

I haven't finished reading the book yet, but the chapter on "Pulling Books" alone is worth the price. It provides a clear depictions of how the industry operates, which any author needs to understand. It will be available in the next couple of weeks in hardcover and for the Kindle. Pre-order at Amazon by clicking on the image at the right.

Any products reviewed on this site may have been gifts of their producers.

Listen to this article

Discount and an Upgrade

Don't be shocked. I've upgraded the looks of the emailed version of A Writer's Edge to more closely resemble the blog pages. A Writer's Edge uses FeedBlitz to manage some email deliveries. I'm thinking of switching all email subscriptions to this service.

Now that I am using FeedBlitz at an "elite" level, I am happy to be able to offer readers a special, time-limited 10% Lifetime Discount on FeedBlitz services. All you need to do to secure a 10% lifetime discount is to sign up for FeedBlitz using this promotional code: Writer's (yeah, not my choice!) before 21 January, 2010 (US eastern time). Use it for sign-ups and to automatically send anything you want!

How it Works

1. Start an evaluation account before January 21, 2010 at http://www.feedblitz.com/f?NewAccount using the promotion code Writer's.
2. FeedBlitz automatically applies a lifetime discount.
   
   Small Print - Limitations and Restrictions
   

• The discount is available to new accounts only.
• The lifetime discount applies to all FeedBlitz paid services for that user, until and unless the user cancels their account, there is a payment default or the user later switches to a different FeedBlitz plan.
• The offer must be used before 21 January, 2010.
• Once this offer expires it will never be made again to the readers of A Writer's Edge.

If you don't receive this blog via email, and you'd like to, visit http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=349955 to sign up.

Listen to this article

Free Book with Gift

Buy an AWE gift certificate and receive a free holiday book. This novel is perfect for the season. Popescue's Girl Mary depicts how a maid from a wandering Hebrew tribe encountered God and married her true love, Joseph. The description of the holy land, especially mountain scenes, may jar traditional views of the setting for the Christmas story. Depiction of daily life for the people of that time is interesting to learn, and the intrusion of Roman politics may shock your view of Christian history.

To qualify for the free book, give yourself or writerly friends gifts of editorial services. You can design them with me. Here are some ideas: an hour (or less) of publishing consultation, any type of editing or a manuscript evaluation. How about a combination package for your loved one's first novel? Advice and services for self-publishing are also possibilities. Email me for details and arrangements or call 858-571-5390 for faster service. A certificate can be sent overnight and redeemed by email.

Listen to this article

Find News about Magazines

Magazine freelancers need to know about their markets. A good source for news on them is MediaWeek.com. The site covers multimedia, but the section on newspapers and magazines is especially handy. Scroll down the page past news articles to find white papers. Are you a specialist? Perhaps you could write a white paper for this site. MediaWeek is part of Nielsen Business Media, serving the publishing industry with multiple sites, including Editor and Publisher, another source of information for freelancers, too.

A third website you might want to hit when you make your "rounds" is FOLIO, possibly even more comprehensive in its coverage and services. I see there every technical version of ways to deliver information and breaking news. I am especially drawn to the blogs. I noticed one by Jason Fell on this week's Twitterversy #afropw about the Publishers Weekly cover shot and title because I vigorously participated in forcing the @PW senior editor Calvin Reid to apologize for his choices.

Listen to this article

Amazon Integrates With Blogger

Santa arrived early for some bloggers! Today Amazon announced Amazon Associates for Blogger, a direct integration between the site's sales service and Blogger. This new collaboration enables Blogger.com bloggers to monetize their content by adding relevant Amazon products to their blog posts without interrupting the blog editing process. I can attest that hopping over to Amazon to find a book cover photo, adjusting and adding it to a post and monkeying with the associated HTML is a pain and takes too much time.

Amazon Associates who don’t have a Google Blogger account can set up a free Blogger account with their Associates ID right away. The new tool allows Blogger.com bloggers to add links and images to their blog posts in just two steps:

1.Highlight the relevant text and the Amazon Product Finder will search Amazon’s millions of products and recommend the ones that are most closely associated with the text

2.Insert a link or image to that product which includes their Associates ID, enabling them to earn up to 15% in referral fees from Amazon

You will also be able to show dynamic content in their blog sidebar using a new set of integrated Sidebar gadgets, such as gadgets for MP3 clips from the Amazon DRM-free music store, an Amazon Deals gadget, and an Amazon Search box.

So they say. I haven't tried it yet. I'll let you know how it works for me.

Listen to this article

Facebook & Twitter on Google

Privacy issues on the Internet. They're baaaak! Since Google announced the inclusion of real time returns from Twitter and Facebook on the first page of search results, the virtual world has been atwitter with arguments pro and con. Some of these in a #blogchat last night revolved around *if* you want material from parts of a FB account to show up. Another question that went unanswered in the crush was about how much of a Twitter profile Google is privy to.

I have news for these newbies: everything but your Twitter password is readily available to anyone, and obviously passwords can be hacked, too. Hence, Twitter account and website hijackings, and I suspect FB corruptions also exist. How can there be another generation already that needs to learn never put anything online that you don't want seen by everyone in the world?

One incensed participant tweeted back at me: "@GLHancock That's no different than someone breaking in your home and stealing pictures. Are u saying there's no privacy ANYWHERE? #blogchat" No, I'm just sayin' there's no such animal as "privacy online." Maybe I should say "security?" Especially with free programs! Poor grammar aside, I wonder how these kids have been raised? Don't they pay attention to news about this or that supposedly secure database being hacked and resulting identity theft?

Writers who use social media as part of their promotional and marketing plans need to understand there is no separation between a "personal" account and one for your business of writing, whether you're an author with books, a freelancer with services, short story or poetry writer, an essayist or a working journalist. I'd expect writers, more than most people, would understand how identity and writing are inextricably entwined. Internet demands for transparency are doubly intense for writers.

When a search engine scours the Internet for information about you, it does not distinguish among sources for material. No human peeks and says, "Uh, oh. Naughty pictures. I'd better not snatch those. It might hurt this person's reputation." Search engines do not always observe a "no index" command. Drop bits of your identity around the web and they will be assembled to display perhaps a less than flattering, if more accurate, view of you.

Listen to this article

Book of Tweets

Apparently TweetBookz aren't as popular as expected. The price has dropped from the announced $30 hardbound and $20 softcover to $25.50 and $17 according to the site's FAQ. To be fair, the home page says it's a "sale" until January 1, 2010.

I was disappointed to find little customization available, and the quantity is limited to the last 200 messages. I was hoping to be able to concoct "The Best of GLHancock's Tweets" or something like that. Panning through an entire RSS feed for nuggets of wisdom is daunting, to say the least. There must be a better way to search your own material, like with a feed reader and Word or Excel? There must be an app for that!

Listen to this article

Gifts for Writers

Looking for inexpensive new books? In my Amazon Storefront are a few recently published novels and nonfiction, as well as older books. Some of the new I haven't even yet reviewed. For example, I'm still savoring The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing Business Books: Get your business wisdom into print by veteran ghostwriter and agent Bert Holtje. It's a fascinating insider's guide for traditional and self-publishers, chock full of tips that are close to being termed "secrets" about publishing.

I know you are all writers and want to get published, so another great gift for yourself is a chunk of my time devoted to helping you along the path to success. Or for your writerly friends, give a gift certificate for writing, editing or a publishing consultation. Tell me what you'd like, and we'll customize the perfect present.

Listen to this article

The eBook Matrix

Enter the ebook matrix, a multi-dimensional space-time where format meets device, designed and updated by David McClintock, who sees himself as a word economist and sometimes writes in the third person. He overcame that to say in E-book Matrix in Progress | The Wordsupply Writers' Network:

I posted a rough matrix of e-book formats and devices, hoping folks will help me build it.

I also want to keep track of which e-book retailers sell which formats – and to help visualize which platforms are most versatile. A format war will surely heat up in the next few years.

See the chart online and help fill in the matrix with offerings to david@wordsupply.com

Listen to this article

Twitter Mistakes

Guy Kawasaki does it again with Twitter Cluelessness at OPEN Forum:

Generally, if you’re wondering if you’re about to do something clueless, just don’t do it. This is because people might not know that you’re clueless, but if you do these things, you’ll remove all doubt. However, the last rule, and the most important, is this: Don’t be afraid to break these rules. Like I said, there is no right and wrong on Twitter. There’s only what works for you and what doesn’t.

1. Don’t tell other people how to tweet.
2. Don’t tell the world that you unfollowed someone.
3. Don’t ask people why they unfollowed you
4. Don’t constantly tweet mundane updates and babble.
5. Don’t use a small picture for an avatar.
6. Don’t use an avatar that makes you look too hot.
7. Don’t go crazy with hashtags.
8. Don’t use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
9. Don’t use long links.
10. Don’t call yourself a “guru” or an “expert.”
11. Don’t send out automated “welcome” direct messages.

Read his great article for explanations of each item. I'd add another: Don't use any Twitter feature until you are certain what it does. I did and offended someone I've known for years. Of course, if you are only using Twitter to communicate with friends and family, none of the "rules" matter. As always, this post concerns writers who are trying to build businesses or careers.

Listen to this article

e-Reader Magazines Ahead

Magazine publishers are prepping for tiny formats. A lack of good e-readers for magazines isn't stopping them. They are trying to stay one step ahead by readying small format digital versions of their offerings. A digital newsstand just for magazines is coming out in a few weeks, according to MediaWeek.com's e-Reader Mania Hits Magazine Publishing:

Condé Nast last week showed off what an imagined e-reader version of its glossies would look like, starting with Wired. And Time Inc. is developing e-reader versions of such titles as Time and Sports Illustrated; it’s expected to introduce those iterations early next year.

The article mentions other upcoming editorial products that will soon arrive on small media readers, such as the iPhone.

I've read New York Times' stories on a friend's iPhone. It was surprisingly easy on the eyes, but what I'm wondering is how this will affect writers and editors? Are publishers just going to pour the digitized copy into the applications or will writers need to learn a new, more concise method of preparing stories. Or will editors regain their positions of actually working with words? Will this revolution create more employment or continue the trend of consolidation and layoffs?

Just when we're anguishing over languishing magazines, hope pokes over the horizon.

Listen to this article

Trash Proof News Releases

Save your news release from immediate deposit in the circular file. Most of them drop directly from hand to can, you know. Some publications run them as is, some rewrite, but they are inundated with releases and use only a few.

Want to be sure yours is read by the publication's audience? Paul J. Krupin of Direct Contact PR is testing an offer of a *FREE* copy of the ebook version of his Trash Proof News Releases, available from Smashwords. He says, "The book contains 200 plus pages of strategies, tactics, psychology, and sample news releases and can help people do the right thing better than anything else I've seen in the marketplace to date." Get 'em while they're hot!

And if it's so valuable, why would the king of PR give away his secrets? Because, he explains:

My business model doesn't rely specifically on publishing income. But I will be using my writing as a calling card to drive multiple streams of income.

Now this may not fit for those who simply derive income from published works. But I highly recommend this approach to those who can do it diversify their intellectual property, their skills, abilities and knowledge and contract or package their knowledge in other small bite size service deliverable that people will buy whether it be by the page, by the hour, by the day or whatever.

Here today I offer you a two-fer: a free ebook to help you market whatever and insight into the meaning of "platform" and how self-publishing non-fiction books can work for you.

DISCLAIMER FOR THE FTC: I didn't get anything for publishing this post, and it should not be construed or used as a testimonial. I downloaded, but I did not read...yet.

Listen to this article

Twitter Means Business

Why does my Twitter page have a higher PageRank (5) than AWE's main page (2)? King content still counts. Does this mean there's more rich content in my carefully crafted one-liners than in my carefully crafted blog posts?

Whatever Google's PageRank algorithm and the Internet community's perception of PR, I think this adds to the case for businesses participating in social media.

Rethinking Facebook for the sixth time.

Listen to this article

What's With a Wave?

So now I have a Wave. It's not that I don't know what to do with it, but ... I don't know what to do with it. Seems like it might be a good device with which to teach a class or hold a discussion because it features simultaneous logins by many people. What would you like to see, do, take part in? I wonder if it would work to hold a live author interview? I have a few (authors) at my fingertips. Google isn't calling this one "beta", but now "preview". We're still trying it out. Maybe I'd better just try a "chat" first to see if that's feasible. What do you think?

Listen to this article

APA Manual Reprinted

The Education Services News blog has a good roundup on the APA6 debacle. Apparently when the American Psychological Association printed the newest edition of its Publication Manual, no one proofread it. Ever. This is only the style guide used in most all social science disciplines. After great brouhaha, including a Facebook page campaign, the APA has agreed to reprint the manual, presumably with the typos and foofaws corrected, and send them to those who purchased flawed versions.

I've held off buying one because I finally found software that will apply the APA6 format to any document, including the dissertation I will be editing shortly soon some day. Maybe this year.

Act quickly, though, if you bought the first version. See the information in the APA PM blog. If you need a replacement, the offer will be available only until December 15.

Now I'm wondering, what will they do with all the unsold flawed copies already printed?

Listen to this article

Universal Literate Dummies

Publishing prediction: by 2013 we will be a world of literate dummies.

Put together Seed magazine A Writing Revolution, predicting universal authorship in three years, with Publishers Weekly Viral Issue: Creating Your Viral Loop on Twitter, providing plans to create book buzz -- and whadda ya' got? We'll all be authors too busy marketing on social media to read each other's works. No, seriously, one is scary and the other, scary useful.

We'll know everything about friending, following, facing up to spaces, tweeting, buzzing, and the content we create ourselves (maybe) and nothing about anything truly needed in life. Maybe.

I'm hedging my bets here, because I've usually been at the vanguard of more than just the Baby Boomers, and I don't have a cell phone! Can you spell "technology backlash"? Our lives are reaching the point of maximum overload in so many areas, all depending on digital innovations. Will paper-print products be the last to go? Bury me with a book, a magazine and a newspaper, please.

All said, however, as I prepare to shift the availability of my writing products to the digital download gizzies at the beginning of 2010. Why not? New decade, new delivery systems. I'm not no dummy yet. (The grammar is always the first to go.)

Listen to this article

What's Real Serious Writing?

Are you a "real" writer? Are you "serious" about publishing? No, no sales pitch coming. I'm writing about terminology, what those words mean to writers at different stages of life and careers. They are often hot buttons that provoke knee jerk responses in chats and forums. Heated debate. Words that can't be defined in a tweet. Or a Twitter chat.

I tried to tell someone recently in a LinkedIn group discussion that these words are as controversial as the use of the term "professional" in conjunction with "writer." Everyone has an opinion, almost bound to clash with the next poster.

Beginners are apt to have more liberal, broad ideas of what it means to be a real writer, one serious about getting published, and striving to become a professional in the field (wherever that nebula might hang in space). They prickle at any suggestion that one must already be published, for money, in print, or even earning a living from writing. And rightly so, I think. They feel committed and dedicated; it's their dream and not to be discouraged. They have no idea what's ahead. And few have any notion of what commitment and dedication mean in a lifetime filled with disappointments, roadblocks, and disasters.

But let writers get a few credits to wave around (often from silly sites that anyone can contribute to) and they puff up with narrower viewpoints, considering that they have arrived. Cranky oldsters who began writing careers before Internet was available to the public can similarly set up strictures on the words in play. Some think that "the kids" have it too easy now with email and digital recorders and cameras. Me? I'd rather edit than try to freelance writing now.

Most pathetic are the writers who've "paid their dues" and had some degree of success (in their own limited definition--another hot button!), yet find time to troll the social media picking fights and acting all stick-up-the-butt about it. One implied that journalism is not nonfiction, and that news reporters must write with emotion. Huh? He or she also said I didn't know empathy from sympathy, a Psych 101 distinction learned about 50 years ago!

Sigh! And then you have the most real, professional, seriously published writers, obviously still dedicated to their art/craft (another arguable artificial dichotomy) and committed to write until they drop dead. The Great Ones. And the many midlisters who go one and on, churning out reading that is good for their audiences and publishers. I've never met one who was not gracious and generous in the treatment of less experienced members of the clan. They would not hold back advice or belittle the rawest recruit's efforts. Nor would they engage in arguments over when one is real, serious, or professional. It is inconsequential.

Not coincidentally, a real serious professional writer, Elizabeth Benedict, a big time author with lots of hefty creds (Google her) has edited a book of contributions by other author-stars who tell of people who helped them along on their ways. Mentors, Muses & Monsters: 30 Writers on the People Who Changed Their Lives will be published later this month by Free Press. A copy plunked into my backyard, and you can be sure I'll tell you more about it soon. I might even test Benedict's good graces with some questions about finding and working with--or without--a mentor.

Listen to this article

Google Demotes PageRank

Last Thursday, as I lay sleeping, I guess, Google quietly removed PageRank from its Webmaster Tools. Oh, the gauge is still in the browser toolbar (if you have it installed) but Google employee Susan Moskwa says webmasters are not to pay attention to PageRank:

We've been telling people for a long time that they shouldn't focus on PageRank so much; many site owners seem to think it's the most important metric for them to track, which is simply not true. We removed it because we felt it was silly to tell people not to think about it, but then to show them the data, implying that they should look at it. :-)

It's true, Google has long stated that, "We only update the PageRank displayed in Google Toolbar a few times a year; this is our respectful hint for you to worry less about PageRank, which is just one of over 200 signals that can affect how your site is crawled, indexed and ranked. PageRank is an easy metric to focus on, but just because it's easy doesn't mean it's useful for you as a site owner."

Uh huh. Would you mind telling that to advertisers? How about removing page ranking altogether?

*still smarts from demotion from 5 to 0 to 2*

Listen to this article

FTC & Book Reviews

The new FTC guidelines about disclosure of any relationship between the subject and the writer of a "testimonial" will handicap online book reviewers unnecessarily. If the relationship includes any transfer of something "of value" from the subject to the writer, the FTC is suggesting (albeit strongly) that the writer reveal such a relationship in or with the testimonial. Further, if the subject uses that testimonial in advertising, the disclaimer must also appear.

A book is certainly of value in and of itself. It is a material object worth at least the cost to manufacture. The recipient could possibly sell it at least as waste paper (difficult, but possible).

Because the FTC did NOT exempt people who mention books in their blogs or people who write book reviews in any media, the guidelines apply to them too. At least, if the FTC considers any mention of a book that is or will be for sale as a testimonial. It does not define "testimonial" either.

This situation is quite similar to Google reducing the Page Rank of many innocent bloggers a couple of years ago in an effort to punish the Pay Per Post bloggers. Some blogs (A Writer's Edge included) never recovered from that reduction. I do not relish the thought of wasting at the least two lines of text in every review to include a disclaimer which would have the effect of raising suspicions in the mind of a reader as well a throw a more personal cast on the writing.

Here's what the EFF had to say:

Significantly, the new rules place requirements on social media from which traditional print and television media are exempt. For instance, if a blogger publishes a book review, the rules will require her to disclose whether she received a free copy of the book from the publisher. Book reviews in print media face no such restrictions. [emphasis mine]

The EFF is urging the FTC to "rethink" this move and not as yet mounting an organized attack on the specious new guidelines. I suppose that is understandable in the context of the organization's activities vis-à-vis the Patriot act and the Free Flow of Information act. Or maybe it's just too soon.

Edward Champion interviewed FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection chief Richard Cleland on this matter, specifically the case of book reviewers receiving free books. "Cleland said that a disclosure was necessary when it came to an individual blogger, particularly one who is laboring for free." AND he singled out those who link to a sales page as being especially targeted, suggesting that they return the books after reviewing them.

Listen to this article

Social Media Use Climbs

Past performance may not guarantee future success, but for the last three years the growth of social media has continued to advance. Forrester Research, Inc. provides the data and an interactive tool with which you can analyze your customer/client/visitor base. Forrester gathers data on age, gender and

analyzed consumers' participation in social technologies around the world with a tool called the "Social Technographics Profile." The profile puts online people into overlapping groups based on their participation (at least once a month) in the behaviors shown in the ladder.

Social technology growth marches on in 2009, led by social network sites. In The Broad Reach of Social Technology, author Sean Corcoran says:

more than four in five US online adults use social media at least once a month, and half participate in social networks like Facebook. While young people continue to march toward almost universal adoption of social applications, the most rapid growth occurred among consumers 35 and older.

They also have dependable data on European and Asian countries except Japan, Metro China, and South Korea.

Listen to this article

Top 10 for Freelancing

With the Letterman brouhaha on our minds, I could not resist sharing this "top ten" article found at FreelanceSwitch.com: Top 10 Reasons you should quit your job today and become a freelancer. My favorite, always, is:

Number 3:

Because for freelancers casual fridays [sic] means working in your underpants

If you follow me on Twitter, you may recall "Pantsless Freelancing Day" or was it "Put on your Pants Day"? Either way, the author of the FreelanceSwitch article, Jack Knight, has a keen sense of humor. Thanks for the reminders, Jack, why some of us do it our way!

What is it about freelancing that makes you the happiest?

Listen to this article

Build Social Skills

Good social skills for business networking: Build Own Business & Your Team. I found this excellent article by Sue Clement from Ezine Articles while performing social network housekeeping tasks today. Clement's tips for business networking in real life could be translated roughly to the electronic world. She recommends:

Use the Magic Words, please and thank you
Make frequent eye contact
Repeat person's name
Support others
Repeat what they said

On most weekends I try to catch up with the influx of activity in my BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog accounts. My version of a good social skill is to acknowledge everyone who contacts my account or this blog in any way: visiting, as a fan or friend or joining the group or just leaving a message in either account. Please and thank you.

Listen to this article

Web 2.0 for Authors

LitMatch is morphing into AuthorAdvance, a new social network. According to the owner, Christopher Hawkins:

AuthorAdvance is a complete social network that lets writers connect, share interests, and find help with their work. Expanded listings allow users to add and edit publishers, markets, contests and resources to help them improve their work and find publication. Enhanced submission tracking helps writers organize their careers and free up more time for writing. Best of all, everything's connected, making it easier than ever to find the information you want and meet people with similar interests and goals.

I was supposed to be getting a scoop on the big reveal and preview access, but that hasn't come through yet, so I can't give my impressions. If indeed it helps free up time to write, it will eliminate one of the greatest complaints working writers have: too little time to write for dealing with the "business" that surrounds a writing career.

I'm a little concerned, however, with the description of AuthorAdvance as a "complete social network" because the existing distractions of Tweety, MyFace and SpaceBook [sic], plus blogs, forums, websites and more already eat up writers' time. I should know!

Listen to this article

Dorraine Darden, Author

As promised, the interview with Dorraine Darden, author of Jack Rabbit Moon, a quite good self-published novel. I asked Dorraine to share her experiences in this enterprise and if she'd do it again. She provides important tips for writers who are considering self-publishing, including a list of best resources at the end of the article. Keep in mind that this is only one set of experiences and one author's knowledge. You need to check out everything for yourself.

I especially liked her answer to the question, "What are you doing to market Jack Rabbit Moon?"

I’m a hat-wearing mama. And boots and glittery shawls. These days an author must give it all they’ve got. Besides book signings, book club appearances, library workshops, blogging, writing forums, and writing for my community newsletter, I make wide use of the internet. An author website at Dorraine Darden.com, along with twitter, face book, my space, your space, and the whole Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Right now, though I’m carving out time to write again. This is where it all begins.

Read the whole interview here and in brief at BlogCritics.org.
Still to come: a review of JACK RABBIT MOON.

Listen to this article

Content for Writing Sites

Thinking of setting up a blog or site about writing? I've found just the place to obtain content. At the iSnare articles marketing site are 2,330 (their count) articles on writing. No kidding, I found 78 pages of approximately 20 links each to full length pieces. I estimate about 1500 offerings, woven with numerous Google ads.

The site offers RSS feeds that will automatically populate a web page with the articles. Consequently, someone who knows absolutely nothing about writing and editing can set up a blog or a site on writing. I recognized few of the bylines, and the ones I did are not top tier writers.

The way I found the source was by visiting a new Twitter follower's site and backtracking through layers of links. Makes me wonder why I bother to whip up these original postings.

Listen to this article

Can You See Me Now?

Most browsers should display my ubiquitous puss (icon, avatar) in the address window and tab now. Maybe it shows up other places listing the blog and/or feed, too. That is, if I followed the instructions correctly from Favicon generator and free .ico image host: Favicon for your blog ~ Blogger Book (via Kit Courteney Writes out of MyBlogLog).

This blog used to sport a favicon, then it fell out in a Blogger.com template upgrade or update or some such. I was too lazy busy to find the process again. Anyway, you can dude up your blog, or any web page, with such a trinket. Is this branding? My face in every place?

My attempts to design a logo always end on the drawing board. A three-letter name does not lend itself well to a square image. I like the "AWE" in text as a short-hand method to refer to this site, but as art it "SUX". Maybe some of you more creative peoples would like to submit proposals? I'm open to something using the site colors(#FFF3DB and #996600 I think).

Listen to this article

Ad Network Apocalypse?

What if they gave an apocalypse and no one came? Riffing on an old anti-war slogan, Advertising Age asks What Happened to the Ad-Network Apocalypse? If you're unfamiliar with what ad networks are, they're companies that partner with advertisers and publishers to buy and sell ads on sites they don't own themselves, similar to Google AdSense.

Warren Lee thinks only 15-20 of the 300-400 ad networks really matter, but the decimation predicted last year has not occurred. Some factors he cites include a growing but fragmented audience for increasing numbers of sites and the economical aspect of online advertising.

I thought this was interesting for bloggers who are always looking for ways to "monetize" their blogs (websites, web pages). That means make some moolah to help defray site costs, at least. And most bloggers start out with Google's AdSense, only to discover they aren't allowed to use any other ad system on a page that displays Google's. Until now.

A couple of weeks ago, Google notified AdSense clients that you will

soon be able to allow multiple ad networks to show on your pages, which means that advertisers from external Google-certified networks will be able to compete with AdWords advertisers for your ad space.

There are a few restrictions, and the email didn't list the "certified networks", but ads from these networks will compete with Google ads to show on sites, and the ad generating the highest revenue for publishers will be displayed, Google says. Since pictures (with audio) speak louder, here's a video on the subject:

Listen to this article

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!

(editors never stop working)

Listen to this article

Posting Announcements

Take a cue from advertising. Put enough correct information in your announcements for people to know what you're talking about, who it's for, when it is happening, how much it costs and where they can find it.

I just spent a frustrating five minutes trying to track down what looked like a chat on writing. The poster wrote two items about whatever it was. The first gave a day and time, but didn't list the time zone. The second referred to "yesterday" (always use a date) and provided a wildly invalid link to what was supposed to be a blog post about the event--whatever it was. She also gave a different time, still without reference to time zone. Here's a hint: on the Internet, not everyone lives on the east coast of the U.S. even if they're dogs.

And call a spade a spade. If the event involves streaming audio/video online, don't call it "radio." If it requires a long distance phone call, explain that your "webinar" will probably cost participants, even if no fee is involved. Don't call it "free" unless you're providing a toll-free number that works worldwide.

I like to think I have at least average intelligence, but I'll bet no one other than the originator of the announcement I read knows Who did What, When, Where and Why or How. Gee, now where have I heard that before?

Listen to this article

Twitter Writers Directories

More reasons to join Twitter: A Directory of Authors on Twitter. If you write, you'll want your name in this directory. To be added, a book author must supply three pieces of information: Twitter ID, name, and genre or category. Please see this post for more details on being added to the directory.

If you're looking for a writer for a certain project, you can review the directory by categories, some of which are linked directly to the grouping. It is divided into Nonfiction, Fiction, Children and Poetry.

Also of interest might be Highspot's Directory of Book Trade People on Twitter. Those categories includes:

Book Publishers - Company Accounts | Book Publishers - Individual Accounts | Literary Agents | Bookstores & Booksellers - United States | Bookstores & Booksellers - Canada | Bookstores & Booksellers - Europe & Australia | Bookstores & Booksellers - Online | Libraries | Book Industry Publications | Book Industry Groups & Associations | Book Festivals & Conferences | Book Prizes | Publishing Education Programs | Book Industry Suppliers & Tools | Author & Publisher Services | Book Publicity & Marketing Services | Book Printers & Paper Suppliers | Subsidy Publishers | Book Reviewers | Bloggers on Books & Publishing | Book Discussion 2.0

I see I'll be busy soon signing up in several areas. The lists appear to be frequently updated, but I cannot vouch for validity or comprehensiveness. Twitter users probably come and go like bloggers. Why is knowing someone's Twitter account important? I've found tweeting is the quickest way to make contact, both with individuals and companies. The listings can also lead you to websites and also provide contact through hidden email addresses.

Listen to this article

Editing Out Errors

It's horrifying to spot typos and grammar errors in new works. I don't even try! They just glare at me from a web or book page. They leap up and assault my eyes with their wrongness. One book was so painful, I refused to review it. A new website I investigated yesterday will not be recommended because of spelling gaffes (not gafs). How can you help writers if you won't proofread your own material, can't recognize ungrammatical constructions, sin with syntax?

I don't mind Shakespeare's "ravel'd sleeve of care", but I won't abide "sleave", or "illude", or "lead" when the word needed is the past tense "led" (my most frequent mistake that will go to press shortly. Sob!) When I'm a writer, I am my worst client as an editor. A writer knows exactly what is meant, and that is what is heard inside the head as the writing is reviewed. I need another editor to look over my writing.

A worse type of mistake I spotted recently is in a listing of classes offered by a writing group. The class title is, "Self Editing Techniques". The presenter is a fiction writer. The description is about using spellbinding and "spellbreakers to hasten the progress of your final draft." One wonders, is this about facts or fantasy? Yes, even a little advertisement needs review by a second set of eyes for whom the material is fresh.

Listen to this article

Value of Newspapers

Buy a newspaper--first impulse when Ted Kennedy's death hit my brain. I watched the coverage on TV for about an hour, but it wasn't good enough. I need a sturdy obit that I can reread, hold in my hands, cut out and save if I want to. Sound bites don't cover enough, and I can't recall what I hear.

What I wanted was top left on the San Diego Union-Tribune front page, jumped to page A10. It is surprisingly even-handed for a conservative enterprise covering the patriarch of liberals. Some of our need to know can only be satisfied by media with staff enough to investigate, collate, analyze and synthesize comprehensive reports. Grassroots journalism online will never be able to perform those functions any time soon. Who could read that much regularly on a monitor, anyway?

The UT's recent purchase by a business specializing in turnarounds begins to show. A couple of weeks ago the Sunday edition featured the return of a TV listings insert. I mentioned on Twitter that I was about to tell the paper I would resubscribe if that happened. Sadly, before I did, the insert disappeared and ads ran offering the listings at an extra cost with a subscription. Maybe I missed the fine print that first week, but I see a bait and switch.

Listen to this article

Book Trailer Promotion

Here's one of the best book trailers I've seen. I wouldn't highlight it if I didn't think the book is fine, too. Complex subplots masterfully woven into a tale that is not spooky like I had imagined, but well worth reading.

The almost flawless execution of the trailer mirrors the book's writing. Dorraine Darden is OTW (One to Watch)! Also, watch this space for an interview with the up and coming author.

Listen to this article

Writers Social Networking

Unless you're promiscuous, virtual networking is a confusing mine field. Being an "early adopter" of technology is easy: you jump in and if it doesn't work well enough, drop it. Not so easy with people, especially if all the nonverbal cues (facial expression, body language, voice) are missing.

I'm still working out my "linking policy" with LinkedIn, the online business networking service. A spate of "invitations" to join networks of people I don't know from Eve or Adam arrived, along with one from Meryl K. Evans, whom I recalled as an I.T. guru and now run into in writing groups.

I was still operating as a LAMB, rather than a LION (whose network is open to anyone). With people, I'm usually quite conservative and followed LinkedIn's advice. It seems to say, "Really know in life those you network with." I had pretty much limited mine to people I have worked with or for. Meryl pointed out that we know each other from Twitter chats, and that led her to invite me on LinkedIn.

It was time for more guidance, and I found How do you use your social networks? | Linkedin to Business. Viveka von Rosen's article describes a networking style closer to what I think I am trying for: strategic. I don't need to be a LION, yet my initial plan is too limiting, because I know I do want to connect with Meryl, and it is short-sighted of me to rebuff anyone like her who reaches out to me in this way. Also, it is the time to be turning around and holding out my hand to others.

Back to the original dilemma: why to follow whom in Twitter.

Listen to this article

Writer Chats Time Converter

Missing Twitter writing chats because of time differences? Bookmark The World Clock – Time Zone Converter. Sunday chats converted to PDT: noon-3 #writechat, 6-7 #blogchat. See you there?

Listen to this article

Magazine Freelancing

Every once in a while I visit Ed2010.com to check out the Helpful Links list. This time I puzzled over the first set of resources. What are these, scandal sheets? I'd only heard of Gawker:

• Jossip
• Gawker
• Gothamist
• iwantmedia
• The Kicker
• Romenesko

It was the magazine list I wanted to review. Just for fun, I looked at ones for which I'd written: Bon Appetit, Family Circle, Harper's, Redbook -- yes, still in business if having a website counts. Many others weren't even listed. It was when I reached YM that a jolt came. The link redirects to a site for Teen Vogue with this notice:

If you're on this page, you most likely came from one of our sister sites, YM.com or Flip.com. Unfortunately, both YM and Flip are no longer being published. In their place, we invite you to explore Teen Vogue magazine and TeenVogue.com.

Magazines have always come and gone like fashion fads, but it's sad to see some old standards MIA (or DOA). Of course, I have Reader's Digest and it's recent bankruptcy filing in mind. Yes, I sold a piece to them, too, in the late 1960s.

Magazine freelancing is a fast-paced kind of work. You must pay attention to all sorts of details, as well as the [cliché alert!] big picture. I recommend following sites/feeds/pubs like Publishers Weekly and Mediabistro to help keep up. Or better yet, set up Google and Yahoo alerts for news about changes in the magazine publishing world. Even Ed's on Twitter (and seems to have abandoned his blog). See http://twitter.com/ed2010news for the latest, and beware, he tweets a lot!

Twitter, a news source?

Listen to this article

Power Graphics for Writers

Flow charts meet social media at Applicant. Being a sucker for models, I appreciate some of this site's offerings, like the LinkedIn: The Ultimate Tool for Job Hunters and A Visual Guide to Twitter, a road map to using the Web 2.0 service for business.

Another fascinating graphic I found is a Amazon Acquisitions and Investments at CreativeBits.org showing a twisted path you could puzzle over forever. I'll bet you had no notion that Amazon owns, absorbed or controls so many other companies, did you?

Now, if we could mash up these three powerful information sources, we could probably chart our ways to fame and fortune by using Twitter to promote our services and our materials that are on Amazon for employment opportunities through LinkedIn. Something to think about.

Listen to this article

Spell Checker Misses

Where must spelling be perfect--other than a dictionary, of course! How about on your resume and job application? On Wednesday, I discussed the importance of good grammar and spelling in your online profiles as aids to job searches. Today we buzz direct employment tools.

Consider these frequently confused words, courtesy the Pongo Resume site, which asks, Are You Smarter Than a Spell Checker? No spell checker is going to help when you're used the wrong word, which is akin to a spelling error. Do you know when to use:

manger vs. manager
precede vs. proceed
lead vs. led
diffuse vs. defuse
stationery vs. stationary
prospective vs. perspective

The Pongo blog post is actually a quiz you can take (no peeking, peaking or piquing at the answers first). Pongo warns:

Any error is a strike against you, and the hiring manager may have a one-strike-and-you're-out policy. Spell checkers are good at spotting real spelling errors, but they're no help if your typo happens to be a real word.

Listen to this article

Manage Yourself Online

Let's say you're looking for work, a new job. You have a resume, LinkedIn Profile, Twitter account, maybe even a Facebook entry that you keep businesslike. Still, no bites. What could you be doing wrong? Plenty, according to Mashable [emphasis mine]:

Your LinkedIn profile needs to be absolutely flawless, since you’ll be judged harshly by recruiters who are analyzing you to see if you fit their corporate needs. That means no spelling or grammatical errors and it should be completely filled out, leaving no experience or details out. Think of your profile as an asset and as a portrait of you as a professional who someone would want to possibly hire for a newly available job.

And if you're trying to sell yourself as a writer or editor--buns beware! This is not the place for text-speak or Twitter talk. Twitter, however, provides opportunity to display your facility with succinct, tight writing that provides information or cogent commentary (not just a field of links to other people).

If you're going to incorporate social media or Web 2.0 to find a new job or freelance gigs, then use each service to its fullest extent, deeply and regularly. Common sense suggests you can't keep up with all of them, so limit your participation to the number you can manage in an amount of time you carefully control.

Finally, interlink the services you use, but take care to always keep in mind where your updates or "status" messages will appear. Don't load one message into a single service that blats out the same clipped quip to all your web 2.0 outlets. While consistency is a benefit, so is expressing a well-rounded grasp of your field.

You might want to use one channel to reveal a depth of expertise or specialization knowledge and another for displaying creativity. Some professionals even have multiple Twitter accounts for different purposes. Debbie Ohi, for example, uses one mostly for personal replies and another for passing along general information to her followers. Some have one for personal friends and another for advertising purposes.

Listen to this article

Finding Free Photos

How do you find out if a picture is in the public domain and therefore publishable without paying a fee? Someone needed photographs of historical figures. The long, complicated explanation involves a definition of "public domain" (you can head a podcast on the topic), paying the U.S. Copyright office or specialists to run a search for you, or confining yourself to material published before 1923. Some works that were copyrighted between 1923 and 1963 may be available, due to a lapse in copyright, but you'd need to be sure.

A much simpler solution is to begin at the other end of the process. Instead of starting with a photo or other image, search for material available under a Creative Commons license. Or pony up the minimal fee to use a stock photo from a site like istockphoto.com or the Getty Archives. Searches of those sites can usually yield what you need. Also anything produced by governmental entities are owned by "we the People". Try the national archives, Library of Congress, state historical societies for starters.

Listen to this article

Contact Etiquette Part 2

When you're contacting someone for the first time by snail mail regarding your writing (any form), use a standard layout for a business letter. The first formatting guide is to single space the blocks and paragraphs. That is, the return and sending address information elements are in blocks with the date included either under your return address or centered at the top of the page. The return address block comes first, either flush left or right-justified.

Space at least two lines before beginning the recipient's name and address, left-justified or flush left. If your letter is short, use 1.5" margins all around. For a longer missive, one-inch margins are fine, but no smaller. Under the sender's information block, leave a blank line and then include the salutation which begins "Dear M...:" If you know only a last name and not the gender of the person to whom you are writing, use "Dear M. Lastname:" Notice that the salutation is followed by a colon. A comma is also acceptable for a business letter, although less formal.

Do I sound like Miss Manners?

Insert another blank line after the salutation and begin the first paragraph either flush left, aligned with the recipient block and the salutation, or indented 2-5 spaces. Similarly, insert a blank line between paragraphs, of which three or four should cover your reason for writing. Very short messages can be completely centered on the paper. Indent each new paragraph. After the last one, leave a blank line and start the closing flush left. For business, appropriate closings are "Yours truly," and "Sincerely," or perhaps, "Sincerely yours,". Leave four blank lines to accommodate your signature and type your full name. You can follow it with email/phone/fax/website information, if you wish.

Something I left out of Part 1, electronic contacts: use a black, 12-14 pt., sans serif font (like Arial or Verdana). For print, be sure to use a serif font no smaller than 12 pt. Times New Roman is fine. I use Georgia for my own silly purpose, including the fact that it is slightly larger than Times. Your printer should be functioning well with no variations in the ink coverage. Must I say only use black print on white or cream-colored paper for business letters?

Just in case you're wondering how to word all the information that might go into a recipient's address block, here's an example:

Miss Nora Zane, Acquisitions Editor
Big Six Publishing, Co., Imprint Books
1225 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10025

Listen to this article

Action Buttons

Twitter in action: chat > improvement + follower > resource. In a Twitter chat about marketing with blogs, Amy Africa suggested my site needs a "contact button", a.k.a. "Call to Action" clickable image that triggers a form or email. The same evening, Jay Eskenazi signed up to follow my Twittering, and I reciprocated because I liked the cut of his tweets. The next day that move rewarded me with a link to Strong Call to Action Button at XDXY eMarketing Tips. These free button images fill just about any site need. You can improve your site's appearance, usability and utility in furthering your writing career. Look them over and think how you could use one in a new way to build community with your site's visitors, potential clients, fans.

Listen to this article

Writing Consultant Blues

The dream client: naive, trusting, rich. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing for scam artists. An ethical consultant who cares about her clients, soon hears the giant sucking sound of a time sinkhole opening.

Example the First: a professional who knows her stuff, but nothing about writing, is hell-bent on producing a handbook for her field. I get the edit job. The manuscript is a digital mess. When it's done and the expensive bill is paid with a surprise bonus, she asks, "What's next?" She is self-publishing. So many dilemmas arise in my mind that I get dizzy and have to go have a lie-down, as the British say.

Example the Second: an established high-maintenance author with great connections has lost his long-time editor/writing partner and wants to "try out" my skills on a small job. Several phone calls and emails pass without the document arriving, suggesting he is really trying out a personality fit. I enjoy his topic, he seems like a nice guy, and I understand his nervousness. The relationship holds potential. How far can I stretch my usually minimal patience?

Fooling around with Twitter all day wastes too much time already, as Lori Widmer warned. It is difficult at first to discern when jiving with a client is a wise investment or being a sucker. Some is necessary, of course, but where's the line? How do you find the balance? And if you're the writer looking for help, do you realize that all time is money? While a consultant is answering your seemingly endless questions, the bills still need to get paid.

I don't want to be so crass as to say, "You've used up a half-hour of your consultation time already, you know," as one potential client told me another consultant said to him. I laughed, but declined to rearrange my schedule the following day just because he was popping into town and wanted to meet me. I never heard from him again. Sigh!

Listen to this article

Slanting Topics

If the Cheapskate Mom got together with The Ultimate Cheapskate, can you just imagine the frugal children they would have?
I spotted the Mad Boastings of a Cheapskate Mom in the Blogs of Note on my Blogger Dashboard this morning, took a look, and thought about the difference in approach she takes to the same topic from Jeff Yeager's. They both offer information on saving money and the planet. The Mom's is evident in her blog's title and badges and posts with labels "green" and "planet". Jeff has recorded video segments on the cable channel "Planet Green" and made audio appearances on satellite radio programs.

Jeff started with a book, threw up a sadly neglected blog site, and moved right into big media with his publisher's help. He has an upcoming TV program, while Tamara Niewolny hurled herself into the blog scene and utilizes her status as chick/Mom in the New Media.

Jeff likes to persuade you to spend as little money as possible; Tamara teaches how to spend wisely. She reviews products and makes the most of her Internet connection, passing along tips on making money from home. I love her tag line: "Hugging Trees and Taking Names." Both are on Twitter: Tamara and Jeff, whose best tweet IMHO is from July 22: Am I the only one who wants the recession to end so that - most of all - Suze Orman and Jim Kramer will stop yelling at me on the TV?? See his slant toward financial management?

This technique of slanting material is one of the more difficult learning hurdles for new freelancers. It might help to study how different writers carry it out long term and in a broader spectrum than just a few articles. Starting with these two writers would be a good beginning.

Listen to this article