Melinda VanLone As I’ve pointed out a few (thousand) times before, your book cover is a marketing tool ... the most vital one you have in your marketing toolbox. It exists for one reason, and no, it’s not to contain printed pages—you could do that with a shopping bag if that’s all you needed. The […]

by Colleen M. Story If you’re looking for a way to get yourself out of a creative rut, refresh your viewpoint, and bring new life to your writing, you may want to try going on a color walk.  What is a Color Walk?  American writer and artist William S. Burroughs came up with the idea […]

by Laurie Schnebly Campbell “You’re building a WHAT?” “A world.” “The whole THING?” That’s where the next response will be different for each writer. Yes, some of us do build an entire world for our stories. No, some of us don’t. But regardless of how detailed or how sketchy it might be, we can never […]

Penny Sanseveri From a business standpoint, giving something away for free to get a sale may seem counterintuitive. How can giving something away for free help you make money in the long run?   Think of offering those freebies as a marketing expense: the cost of exposure. Free promotions are a great way to get you […]

Turning Whine Into Gold by Kathryn Craft It was 2001 and as a dance critic, I’d been getting paid for my published writing for eighteen years. I had this writing thing in the bag! I just needed an agent to get my recently drafted novel out into the world. (Experienced authors: I hear you. Quit […]