Laura Drake Everyone has seen Mr. Mom, right? My favorite line from the whole movie is when Michael Keaton is dropping his kids off at school, pulling into the circular drive against traffic, and like four moms tell him, "You're doing it wrong." Look, I'm not saying I'm the Mother of Social Media (although I'm […]

by Lisa Hall-Wilson Deep point of view is powerful and engaging though many find it difficult to do well. The basic techniques of deep point of view have been simplified in blog posts that will heap loads of overconfidence on newer writers.  The difficult part of learning deep point of view is in knowing when […]

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 […]

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 […]

Jenn Windrow I’m a firm believer in writing what you love, not what you think will sell. For example, I write in two genres that have fallen out of favor with the big New York publishing houses…paranormal romance (PNR) and urban fantasy (UF). And not just any urban fantasy. Mine has the dreaded V-word…vampires.  But […]