Wordless Wednesday w/ Linky

Toni Morrison at the interview session at the Sheer Good Fortune event

Maya Angelou at the reception for the Sheer Good Fortune event.

The drill field at Virginia Tech

We are sitting on the steps outside Burruss Auditorium at Virginia Tech, taking in the view of the drill field in the above photo.
Three ladies from Alabama as we called ourselves that day.
Poet Kimeko Farrar, Joneia P. Brown and myself, Lena Sledge

Don't forget to add your Wordless Wednesday photo to the Linky below so we can check it out!

Wordless Wednesday with Linky

Welcome to Wordless Wednesday. I recently attended the Sheer Good Fortune event celebrating Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize author Toni Morrison. There were so many acclaimed authors, poets and professors in attendance. To read more about my experience check out My Sheer Good Fortune post. In the meantime, enjoy some of the photos taken while I was there. Don't forget to add your Wordless Wednesday photo to the Linky list below.

Toni Morrison at the Sheer Good Fortune event.

India Arie performing at the Sheer Good Fortune Celebration

Nikki Giovanni at the reception before the Sheer Good Fortune celebration

Me and Nikki Giovanni after the press conference.

Wordless Wednesday w/ Linky

The theme is illusions. Even in our writing, illusions are needed to make the reader believe, think, and imagine a scene is real. To do this, the writer uses sensory detail by providing cues and hints that allow the reader to imagine the story as it unfolds. Sometimes the illusions can lead the reader to interpret a story one way, then the writer persuades them to perceive it another way. Same thing with the photos below. 

What did you see first? 

Don't forget to add your Wordless Wednesday photo to the linky list below. Happy Wordless Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday w/ Linky

Me at the African American Literary Awards Show  held in New York on September 27, 2012, where I won  an award for my book, If I Had My Way. Check out the post about my trip to the awards show and the authors I met.

The shoes I wore to the AALA show. They garnered more attention

than I did. Photographers actually took pictures of just my shoes.

And finally, a picture of my award. Woohoo!

Isn't she purty?

Don't forget to add your link to the Wordless Wednesday Linky below.

Wordless Wednesday w/ Linky

                                           

Would you play tennis this high up? In 2005 a helipad 650 ft above the ground on top of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates was temporarily converted into the world's highest tennis court.

Don't forget to add your Wordless Wednesday photo to the linky below.

Finding Time to Blog When You Don't Feel Like It

I know some bloggers who blog only when they get the creative urge. This may not be the best way to have a healthy blog however. So what do you do when you know you need to blog but you don't feel like it? Well, this past summer I felt just like that. I physically could not blog due to health reasons but once I began to feel better, I didn't have the urge to blog. I had lost my mojo. :(

But then I thought about my readers and all the effort I had put into my blog. I've only been blogging 18 months and I've made some good headway. Did I really want to throw all that hard work away? Heck no! So I started slowly with my Wordless Wednesday posts. How hard could it be to post a picture once a week? I didn't need to write lengthy paragraphs or new catchy titles each post, I just had to find inspiration in a photo. And when I found that inspiration, it began to inspire me to get back to writing and blogging.

There are times when we have to do things we don't want to do. Blogging can be one of those things. If you wait for motivation, you may be waiting a very long time. My suggestion is start slow, ease back into it if you have to. Just write something. You can also try scheduling your post in advance. When you do get the urge to blog, write until you have exhausted your creative mojo. Make it work for you. Sometimes I'll sit in a cafe and I'll write up to six posts in a day and I'll schedule them over a two week time period. This helps because "life happens" in the midst of my daily routine and I like to be prepared. It helps alleviate the stress of feeling like I'm rushing or that I'm failing in my endeavors if I happen to skip several days without blogging.

Beware, sometimes your readership may dwindle due to your absence, but I want you to blog anyway. Once you get back into the habit of being consistent, your readers will know that you are back to business and hopefully they'll come back. You can also gain your readership back by stopping by their blogs and saying hello or just commenting on one of their recent posts. It's let them know you have come back to the blogosphere.

So my best advice as to what to do when you've lost your blogging mojo? Find it. And while you'll searching for it, visit other blogs and continue to blog anyway.

Wordless Wednesday with Linky

Photo by Alberto Seveso

Wordless Wednesday with Linky

Creative Marketing Ideas for Authors

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you my upcoming workshops with the Alabama Writers' Conclave and the Alabama State Poetry Society being held July 20 -22, 2012. I'll be conducting two workshops. The first one is titled, Low Cost Creative Marketing Strategies. In this workshop we will discuss ways to market your book creatively and on a budget. I often come across aspiring authors who think once they publish their book, they'll instantly sell millions of copies, major publishers will come knocking at the door and they'll walk into a major bookstore and see their book on the New York Times Bestseller List. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Marketing is not something that often produces results overnight. It takes work, lots and lots of hard work and a lot of effort and consistency. Some of the ideas listed may not be right for your work and you will likely need to try a combination of ideas to see results. Just remember to keep track of what worked and what didn't and don't give up. Do something everyday to get your book noticed or read.

Marketing Ideas for Your Books

• Know the optimal publishing date for your book. College textbooks, cookbooks, calendars and diet books need to be published at a different time than most novels.
• Business Cards (carry them everywhere you go)
• Bookmarks (keep several on hand, leave several at bookstores and cafes)
• Join trade associations (Association of American Publishers, NAIP, SPAN & IBPA)
• Attend Trade Shows (Book Expo of America and ALA aka American Library Assoc.)
• Newspaper Ads

• Radio Spots
• Personal Letters
• Vanity Phone Number
• Professional Web Address
• Professional Website
• Start a Blog
• Postcards
• Forums
• Radio appearances
• Email Signatures
• Landing pages for your website, blog, etc
• Pay-per click ads
• Collaborative ventures
• Podcasts
• Video tutorials

• Books
• Ezine ads
• Reciprocal link exchanges
• Google AdWords (pay to be linked to specific key words in Internet searches)
• Public Service Announcement
• Free seminars
• Free workshops
• Speak at Schools, Churches, Book fairs, Colleges, Business Luncheons, Non-profit organizations, Rotary Club, Kiwanis, the Lions, Sororities, Fraternities, Alumni Associations, Chamber of Commerce, Writing Groups, etc
• Have Free Readings
• Become Friends with the Competition
• Publish Articles
• Webinars
• YouTube Channel
• Give Speeches
• Judge a writing or poetry contest
• Coupons
• Giveaways
• Guest Posting on other Blogs
• Bartering Services
• Create Folders of Favorites on Pinterest.com (You can create a folder of favorite book covers, favorite characters, etc. Include your book in some of the folders.)
• Submit Books to Book Sites and Blogs (bookblogs.ning.com)
• Newsletters
• Write a Column
• Write an article
• Send an editorial to the newspaper
• Free trials
• Free eBooks
• Presell your books

• Sell Your Books Door to Door (people get to meet an author and get it autographed)
• Have an Easy to Remember Email Address
• Give Away Sample Chapters
• Join Press Associations
• Submit Press Releases
• Solicit Book Reviews
• Get to Know the Librarians
• Sponsor a Contest
• Sponsor an Award
• Sponsor a Scholarship
• Attend Trade Shows
• Attend Writing Conferences
• Have an Attractive Book Cover
• Book Tours
• Virtual Book Tours
• Sneak a copy on a retail store shelf at airport gift shops, hotels and tourist shops. The store may sell it unknowingly and order more or if nothing else, someone read your book and may spread the word.
• Serialize Your Books or Create a Series
• Use Actual Stamps (People generally throw away junk mail unopened)
• Submit for Literary Awards and Honors
• Provide Free Waiting Room Copies
• Submit for Book Cover Awards
• Solicit for Blog Interviews
• Have a Launch Party
• Donate Books to Charity Events
• Be an Expert in Your Field

• Offer Free Shipping
• Product Placement on TV Shows and Movies (Creative Entertainment Services and UPP Entertainment Marketing)
• Participate in Local Theater (After the performance, you can sell your books and take photos)
• Send copies to Advocates

• Create a Fan Club
• Create a Facebook Fan Page
• Create a Twitter Account
• Direct Mail
• Include Sticker Bookplates with Books
• Use Classified Ads
• Submit Your Book to Home Shopping Network or QVC
• T-Shirts (walking billboards)
• Buttons
• Notepads
• Custom Book Bags
• Movie Theater Commercials
• Attend Book Festivals and Fairs
• Teach People to Do What You Do
• Have a Home Book Party

• Become a Consultant
• Register with Speaking Bureaus
• Speak at Churches
• Speak on Cruise Ships
• Get a Celebrity Endorsement, Blurb or Foreword
• Reply to Your Email
• Create Listmania List on Amazon.com
• Become an Expert on Amazon.com
• Write Reviews about Books and Products on Amazon.com
• Follow Up on Books Sold (send a thank you card a few weeks later)
• Promote Books to Local Bookstores, Gift Shops or Small Secluded Shops
• Mail Your Catalog or List Directly to the Book Buyer of a Bookstore (for a list of top 700 Independent Bookstores, contact Open Horizons at www.bookmarket.com)
• Sell to Places Other Than Bookstores: Supermarkets, Auto Part Stores, Banks, Beauty Salons, Drug Stores, Pet Stores, Gourmet Shops, Toy Stores, Arts and Crafts Stores, Fitness Centers, Museums, Newsstands, Novelty Shops, Office Supply Stores, Prison Commissaries, Travel Agencies, Tourist Shops, Stationery Stores, Print Shops, Hospital Gift Shops, Florist, Military PX’s and Discount Stores

Do you have any marketing ideas to share? 

Feel free to share this list, just please make sure to link back to my blog or give credit. 

Wordless Wednesday with Linky

Wordless Wednesday

Top 25 Blogs for Writers

Most of you know that I have a passion for writing and that I have a few books being released soon. But I wanted to share some of the resources I use as a writer, especially other blogs I frequently visit that are geared towards providing writing resources for creative minds. Hopefully it can be of use to an aspiring writer, author or blog reader. So here they are, my top 25 blogs for writers. Plus, two bonus blogs I just had to squeeze in there. They are listed in no particular order.

• Allison Winn Scotch (formerly known as Ask Allison, site provides publishing and marketing info)
• Apostrophe Abuse (teaches the correct way to use an apostrophe)
• A Writer's Life (from the writer who created the books, the TV show Monk was based on)
• The Beacon Blog for Writers (resource for writers to help them get published)
• Cat's Eye Writer (for bloggers who write and writers who blog)
• The Creative Penn (provides resources for writers to write, publish and sell their books)
• Evil Editor (provides tips on defining your craft with better editing skills)
• Flogging the Quill (how to pursue the art and craft of compelling storytelling)
• Grammarphobia (readers ask grammar questions and get responses)
• John Baker's Blog (an author blog, has some great resources on writing)
• Kim's Craft Blog (tips about constraints and creativity, including memoirs, fiction & creative writing)
• Make a Living Writing (shows writers how to make a good living with their writing)
• Paperback Writer (writer of forty-five novels in eight genres, she talks about writing and her life)
• The Plotmonkeys (several bloggers talking about books and their lives)
• Scott Berkun (bestselling author and public speaker, share writing techniques for creative thinking)
• Six Sentences (write in six sentence exercise, and you can submit your own)
• Storyfix (tips to get serious about writing and writing stories that attract readers)
• Time to Write (inspiration, ideas and tips for aspiring writers, writers and creative people)
• Wordplay (provides resources to help aspiring writers become authors)
• Wordswimmer (insights into understanding the writing process)
• Write Anything (inspiration, motivation and writing challenges)
• Write Better (tips on communication, business writing and creative writing)
• Writer Beware (a publishing industry watchdog that helps writers avoid scams, pitfalls and schemes)
• Write to Done (effective ways to write better)
• Writers Write (resources about writing, books and publishing)
• Writer Unboxed (blog that dissects books and finds out what makes them great from a writer's view)
• Emerging Writers Network (info on how to work towards succeeding in writing

Do you visit any of the blogs on the list?

Do you have or know

 a blog I can add to the list?