Photo: Writer's block by A river runs through
Writers love to write, though it's often hard work. Even when intense writer's block pays a dastardly visit, a reward waits on the other side: the sublime satisfaction of having blasted through the block and continuing on with the story.
Tangled plot lines and misbehaving characters keep authors awake at night, as can their own children, pets and other family members. (I know a cat who insists on getting brushed at 4AM...do you?)
Many aspiring writers, active in their quest for novelling greatness, have day jobs. These necessary vocations, often clocking in at 40-plus hours per week, unabashedly devour "free" time designated for writing.
Despite endless obstacles, writers press on.
When it comes to marketing one's own work, however, writers often dig in heels, faint or flee. That's why it is so valuable when a marketing guru turns a daunting process into something accessible, worthwhile, and perhaps fun.
Interested in learning how to market your writing, either right now or in the future? Then read the post "Social Books" by Sean Howard. Howard, who is Director of Strategy and Innovation at Lift Communications, has outlined the necessary basic steps for writers to use social networking tools in developing an online marketing program for their books. Thanks, Sean!
These days, if writers don't work hard to tell a compelling story about their writing, and get their books public attention, then their books won't get bought and read — no matter how great their stories are. Consider marketing as a necessary part of the authorship process; doing so will help insure that your books make it to your readers' hands, minds and hearts.
Obama posters by the Date Farmers (left) and The Mac (right)
My latest article about new media, technology and the U.S. presidential elections is now live as part of The Huffington Post's ground-level election coverage, OffTheBus.
A group of visual artists are mobilizing for Barack Obama, and his campaign has shown an appreciation for and understanding of artists, designers, and other creative types. In doing so, it has reached out to groups usually ignored by most presidential candidates (and most national-level politicians, in general).
A fascinating aspect of these artists' support of Obama is that they are sharing posters, t-shirts, buttons and prints that they've created using new media and technology — via Web sites and blogs — thereby attaining mass reach.
No matter who you support in this election, it's fascinating to see one way a candidate is building a voting base using Internet-based tools. To read more about this unique combination of art, technology and politics, click here. My article includes interviews with some of the artists and organizers behind these works, Web sites and online communities. It's getting interesting feedback and comments already; check it out — you may want to join in the conversation.
Related posts:
° It's time to get on "OffTheBus"
° Will the next U.S. President be a blogger?
° Politweets — Political expression, in 140 characters or less
UPDATE: This article is now cross-posted at techPresident. tP's motto is "How the candidates are using the Web, and how the Web is using them." If you're interested in tech and politics, 2008 is truly unlike any previous election year because of the Web, and techPresident is following it all. Put some time aside and get ready to read their relevant, timely site.
FINAL UPDATE: With everyone's help, "The Age of Conversation" made it all the way to #262 in all books sold on Amazon and #36 in all Business books. Amazing! When final tallies are made, I'll be back with an update on how much additional money we made for Variety. Communities online can move mountains — this is just one more example of that.
UPDATE: It's Saturday, and I just bought my copy. Here's the link to buy "The Age of Conversation". Currently, it's at #917 on the Amazon charts, so the bum rush is working. (It was at #3,559 just a few hours ago — it's really rising in rank.) Thanks, everyone!
In 2007, more than 100 bloggers (103, to be exact) each wrote a chapter for "The Age of Conversation". I'm a proud contributor to this book for many reasons. It's inspiring to be connected to so many bloggers/thinkers/writers from all over the world. This was a ground-breaking project spearheaded by Gavin and Drew, who have been bold enough to start a sequel to this book (more details on this soon!). Also, all proceeds from this book have gone to Variety, the Children's Charity, and we've raised way more than our original goal of $10,000 for them.
In a last-ditch effort to raise additional money for Variety and to close out "AOC volume 1" before "AOC volume 2" gets started, Chris Wilson is orchestrating a "bum rush" on the Amazon charts for the book. If you would like to purchase "The Age of Conversation", please do so this SATURDAY (not before, not after). If you want to purchase MORE than one copy, purchase them on SATURDAY ... one at a time.
Why? By purchasing books one at a time on this one day, it goes higher up the Amazon sales ranking charts. (I did not know this until recently — interesting, eh?) This higher ranking will bring the book more attention, and we're hoping that more people will buy it and that the charitable proceeds will sky-rocket.
Thanks, as always, for your support.
Photo: Door. by BrittneyBush
I love social media. I blog in a variety of places, I read and comment on many other's blogs, I check Twitter at least once (alright, twice) a day. I think social media has revolutionized the online experience. It has made information more accessible to more people worldwide. It has given many a voice — and an audience — who would not have one without its tools. More great things will definitely be created in this sphere.
New social media outlets continually crop up in Blogville. All of them offer to take online interpersonal networking and hanging out to ecstatically satisfactory levels. These networks make MySpace, Facebook and Digg look like way-ancient old timers. Soon these new kids will be eclipsed by something else, however. In the Wild Wild Web, it's only a matter of (extremely short) time before a site or a technology shows its age. Someone always shouts, "Hey! What's next?" It's simply tech evolution, and it will not stop.
But I am growing skeptical about what these new sites offer. If I join more of them, what do I get? How will they improve my online life? And what will they do to my life off-line?
Other Blogville residents have been thinking about these issues. I've been emailing with Drew McLellan about all these digital distractions and keeping up with them. He has asked his blog readers if all this stuff is really about work or just play. Greg Verdino has asked his readership, as we spend our precious time on soc nets, if it's coming down to Tweet or change the world. What are we really spending our time on? And yes, all joking aside in David Armano's spot-on list, some of us do really need a "Twittervention".
Is there a social media backlash growing? Many participated in the first "International Delete Your MySpace Account Day" in January. After a stint of bad PR, Facebook has finally agreed to let users completely delete their accounts and erase all their personal information. While these actions represent the more vocal folk's choices, how many of us have joined a social network just to let our accounts rot from neglect? Perhaps this is some subconscious, silent protest on our parts.
Still, why do many of us feel compelled to join more soc nets? With more to join appearing almost weekly, what should we do?
This recent New York Times article, "The Advantages of Closing a Few Doors", has some answers. Dr. Dan Ariely of M.I.T. has written a new book called Predictably Irrational. In it, he claims that people take on too many projects and say "yes" to so many things not to keep their options open, but for another reason entirely. In a computer simulation Ariely created, subjects continually clicked on doors to keep them open — even though they lost points for doing so. Here's why:
Apparently they did not care so much about maintaining flexibility in the future. What really motivated them was the desire to avoid the immediate pain of watching a door close. [my emphasis]
“Closing a door on an option is experienced as a loss, and people are willing to pay a price to avoid the emotion of loss,” Dr. Ariely says. In the experiment, the price was easy to measure in lost cash. In life, the costs are less obvious — wasted time, missed opportunities. If you are afraid to drop any project at the office, you pay for it at home.
“We may work more hours at our jobs,” Dr. Ariely writes in his book, “without realizing that the childhood of our sons and daughters is slipping away. Sometimes these doors close too slowly for us to see them vanishing.”
The complete article is fascinating. You can even play Dr. Ariely's "closing doors" game here. See how you react.
After reading my fellow bloggers' posts and this timely article, I feel energized to do what my instincts were telling me. My time is precious, and I will not join any additional social networks at this point. I don't think I am losing anything; I've got some vital home and work projects that need my primary attention. Doing so will improve the quality of my life, without question.
Bonus link: Read Kathy Sierra's post "Is Twitter TOO Good?" for more insight into what we digerati face in balancing online and "real world" demands.
Photo: giving thanks by TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³
The dynamic blogging duo that is Drew and Gavin has announced The Age of Conversation's sequel. It's an open call for authors, and here are the details.
There's an interesting twist to this book: in the spirit of community, anyone (not just a potential author or a blogger) can help determine the book's theme by voting on one of the following choices:
If any of these pique your interest as a marketing-related writer, or if you'd just like to vote for the book's theme, take the short survey.
The Age of Conversation (still available for purchase by clicking on the book's cover on the right) has raised more than $10,000 USD for Variety, the children's charity. Book 2's proceeds will add to this amount.
I've signed up again. I can't wait to see what's in store for this next community creation.
Our collaborative book "The Age of Conversation" is about to reach its original charity proceeds goal of $10,000. From editors Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton:
As of 08/28 (43 days from release) we have sold 1,234 books for a profit of $9,695.11 for the children of Variety.
If you've bought a copy, thank you! If you haven't yet, maybe you'll be the one to push us over $10,000 mark. (At this rate, it should be happening in a matter of days — click here to purchase.) When that happens, I'll pop the virtual champagne and share it with you all.
To learn more about "The Age of Conversation" story and to see the complete author list, click here.
Related posts:
° Welcome to "The Age of Conversation"
° W.R.I.T.E. — An excerpt from "The Age of Conversation"
° "The Age of Conversation" is spreading
If reading takes the place of smoking, lungs and brains everywhere will rejoice. I'm sure a few publishers, authors, writers, English teachers and parents will join the celebration.
TankBooks targets smokers-on-the-verge-of-reading through a design-and-packaging ruse:
As one habit dies hard, another takes hold. The ban on smoking in public places comes into operation in the UK on July 1, 2007. Tank is launching a series of books designed to mimic cigarette packs – the same size, packaged in flip-top cartons with silver foil wrapping and sealed in cellophane.
Titles include classics: "Heart of Darkness", "The Metamorphosis" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" among them.
Questions for further discussion:
1. Will these books make reading so cool that people will pick up smoking again to be bookish?
2. Can these books be dispensed through old cigarette machines?
3. Quick — guess what their tagline is?
Via NOTCOT
"The Age of Conversation" continues. It's getting great press from a variety of publications, and we're already raising money for Variety, the Children's Charity. More on this tomorrow...
As promised, here is an excerpt from my chapter, "W.R.I.T.E. — The Writing/Blogging/Conversation Phenomenon":
Blogging will energize the writer in you. It will inspire you to look deeply at your passions. You will list topics to cover, read other sites for insight and inspiration, and find favorite bloggers in the process.
Yet for all of blogging’s exhilaration, there are moments when you will be challenged, frustrated. Your river of flowing thoughts will freeze.
Then you’ll feel an irresistible pull. Part gravitational, part magnetic, all motivational. A thaw happens, and you’ll start writing again.
Your readers are there. They want to talk...
To read the rest, to hear the 102 other amazing voices in the book, AND to help the world's children through Variety, purchase "The Age of Conversation."
