Today we have a guest blog, from Claire Morgan at OEDB…

It doesn’t matter if you’re a student or a professional writer: there’s always something new to learn and ways to make your writing more refined, better researched, and more effective. Writing is essential for students who want to succeed, whether they’re enrolled in one of the top online colleges or an Ivy League university. As essential as it is, learning to write well isn’t easy. The best practices for writing and research can sometimes be subjective, and the finer points of syntax and style often take a backseat to looming deadlines and strict citation guidelines.

Luckily, there are many helpful resources that make it easier to build on your existing skills while
learning new ones. We’ve compiled links to sites dedicated to helping students, bloggers, and professional writers improve their techniques while also becoming better editors and researchers. Browse through the following list or focus on categories you need most. It’s organized by subject and resources are listed alphabetically within. With more than 150 resources to chose from, you’re bound to find something that can make your writing life a little easier.

Blogs

These blogs can help you learn more about the profession of writing, brush up your skills, and even see what it takes to get a book published.

1. Copyblogger: On Copyblogger, Brian Clark offers tips on how to improve the content, marketing, and business of a blog. A must for any writer hoping to gain readership in the digital sphere.
2. The Creative Penn: Joanna Penn offers up her insights on writing, publishing, and book marketing on this useful blog.
3. Evil Editor: Learn what not to do when submitting your work to an editor through this entertaining blog.
4. Fiction Writing: This About.com blog is a great place to get some basics insights on how to write better fiction.
5. Harriet the Blog: The Poetry Foundation maintains this blog, full of great reviews, news, and information about the poetic community.
6. Jeff Goins Writer: Check out Jeff Goins’ regularly updated blog or download his free ebook, The Writer’s Manifesto, on this site.
7. Problogger: If you’re looking to turn blogging into a career, this blog is a must-read, offering advice on everything from branding to building better content.
8. Write to Done: This blog is home to hundreds of articles, all on writing, that can help you improve your skills at things like comedic writing, finding inspiration, and more.
9. Writer Unboxed: Focusing on the craft and business of fiction, Writer Unboxed features numerous monthly contributors who share their own insights to the professional field.
10. The Writers Alley: Lacking in inspiration? Pay this site a visit for a little lift, helping you stay on track with whatever you’re working on.
11. Writer’s Digest: Learn how to improve your writing, find and agent, and even get published with the help of the varied blogs on this site.

Business and Legal Matters

These tools can help you to create a freelance writing business, get you through assignments in the best online business programs, or just protect yourself should you decide to publish.

12. Copyscape: Use this free service to learn if anyone has plagiarized your work.
13. Creative Commons: Creative Commons provides free tools that let you easily mark your creative work with the freedoms you want it to carry.
14. Intellectual Property Law: This list for online resources that focus on intellectual property will keep you busy for weeks. Some items focus on Canada, some on the U.S., and some on international law.
15. Legal Guide for Bloggers: Here, The Electronic Frontier Foundation provides a summary of U.S. copyright laws as they apply to blogging.
16. Performancing: This blog provides information that can help turn your blog into the prime marketing tool you need for your writing business.
17. Preditors and Editors: Save time and money by avoiding the common publishing scams featured on this site.
18. U.S. Copyright Office: Your writing is copyrighted the minute you’ve put it in a tangible form, but if you want further protection for your work you can register it here for a fee. The FAQ is free, however, and it’s the best tutorial around on copyright.
19. Writers & Artists: This “insider guide to the media” offers industry advice for writers and articles through articles, interviews, competitions, and in an online community.

Citation and Style Guides

These guides will help ensure you stick to certain styles when writing and correctly cite your sources.

20. APA Style: On the APA Style blog, you can get access to the fundamentals of American Psychological Association style, updates on specific style elements, and find loads of other reference material.
21. Associated Press Style: If you’re working on a journalistic piece, you’ll need to use AP style. Learn the fundamentals from this guidebook on OWL.
22. Brief Guide to Citing Government Publications: This guide provides examples of the most common government document citations. These examples are based on the Chicago/Turabian standard bibliographic style.
23. The Chicago Manual of Style Online: The Chicago Manual of Style’s website includes an online forum, guidelines for basic rules, and even creates quick citations.
24. Citing Sources: Learn how and why to cite your sources in this helpful guide from Duke University Library.
25. Comic Art in Scholarly Writing: A Citation Guide: The serious scholarly analysis of comic art needs an equally serious way to cite that material. This is the scholar’s pop art guide to citation.
26. The Economist Style Guide: Want to write for The Economist? Whether you do or not, these are some solid style rules for any journalistic writing.
27. The Elements of Style: This classic book by Strunk and White is offered up in its entirety on Bartleby.com so you can improve your writing without spending a dime.
28. Footnote and Citation Style Guides: You’ll find a vast array of citation styles for business, education, engineering, science, and social science from this useful resource compiled by Lehigh University.
29. How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography: This site will help you compile a bibliography when you’re ready to pull all those citations together.
30. MLA Style: Not sure how to cite something correctly in MLA style? Use this online handbook to get started on doing things the right way.
31. Turabian Quick Guide: Essentially the same as Chicago Style, this documentation system does have a few differences which you can learn about here.

English Language Skills

Everyone, even seasoned writers, can use a little help with their writing and language skills. The following links can help you write anything from a term paper to an article for The New York Times.

32. Common Errors in English Usage: Confused about whether to use lie or lay? Use this site as a guide to help you avoid some of the most common mistakes in English usage.
33. English Practice: This site can help you practice English grammar and writing, even if you’re a native speaker.
34. Grammar Girl: Grammar Girl is one of the most popular grammar sites on the web and is a great place to look for answers to all of your burning questions about proper usage.
35. Grammar Handbook: The Center for Writing Studies at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana offers access to this incredibly useful grammar handbook that can ensure you’re getting things right in your writing.
36. Guide to Grammar and Style: Written by Jack Lynch, this site provides grammatical rules and explanations, comments on style, and suggestions on usage that Lynch put together for his classes.
37. Guide to Grammar and Writing: Choose from several modules that will help you to determine how to structure your writing with this tool created by the Capital Community College Foundation.
38. How to Use English Punctuation Correctly: Punctuation can be confusing but on this site you’ll find a cheat sheet that can ensure you use your commas, semicolons, and quotes correctly every time.
39. HyperGrammar: The University of Ottawa offers up a one-stop guide for proper spelling, structure, and punctuation on this site.
40. The Tongue Untied: Head to this site to find basic instruction on grammar, sentence structure, word choice, and punctuation.

Genres

These resources can help those who write in certain genres ó from fantasy to technical writing ó find support, help, and ideas for writing.

41. The Basics of Technical Writing: MIT professor Nicole Kelley offers students guidelines on how to create technical writing on science and technology topics.
42. Children’s Literature Web Guide: David K. Brown from the University of Calgary maintains this list of resources for writers who prefer to pen children’s literature.
43. Essays on the Craft of Dramatic Writing: Learn about the craft of writing a novel, screenplay, or play through reviews of popular stories.
44. Fasntasy-Writers.org: With news, a directory, writing challenges, and more, this site is a great resource for those who love to craft works of fantasy.
45. Poetry.com: Share your poems, get reviews, and win prizes on this fun poetic site.
46. Screenwriting.info: This site is an amazing collection of information on screenwriting. It offers up tips on how to write every element of screenplays, information about conferences, courses, and events, and much more.
47. Short Stories: 10 Tips for Creative Writers: Need some basic tips on keeping your stories short but sweet? This guide from Jerz’s Literacy Weblog can be a big help with step-by-step instructions on the process.
48. Textetc.com: Learn more about all forms of poetry, theory, and criticism on this simple but informative site.

Information and Data

These resources can help you to better research a story, offering access to a wide range of data, information, and primary resources.

49. Answers.com: Answers.com is an encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, and almanac rolled into one.
50. Blackfacts.com: Here, writers can find a searchable database of facts related to black history that can be used to start research on a story.
51. ePodunk: ePodunk provides in-depth information about more than 46,000 communities in the U.S. through maps, cemetery listings, and even local newspapers.
52. FedStats: If you need government stats, this site is a smart place to look. It brings together data from more than 100 government agencies in one easily searchable site.
53. GeoHive: For global statistics, consider using this site.
54. InfoPlease: InfoPlease combines an encyclopedia, almanac, dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and biography reference.
55. Internet Public Library: This online library is full of resources that are free for anyone to use, from newspaper and magazine articles to special collections.
56. The Library of Congress: If you’re looking for primary documents and information, the Library of Congress is a great place to start. It has millions of items in its archives, many of which are accessible right from the website.
57. NACo: If the information you’re looking for is at the county level, this website is one of the easiest places to begin looking for it, with information on everything from county representatives to local events.
58. The Old Farmer’s Almanac: This classic almanac offers yearly information on astronomical events, weather conditions and forecasts, recipes, and gardening tips.
59. RefDesk: Run a quick fact-check using the reference materials found on this useful all-in-one site.
60. State Health Facts: Kaiser Family Foundation provides this database, full of health facts on a state-by-state basis that address everything from medicare to women’s health.
61. U.S. Census Bureau: Learn more about the trends and demographics of America with information drawn from the Census Bureau’s online site.
62. Wikipedia: While you probably shouldn’t use it as your sole source, Wikipedia can be a great way to get basic information and find out where to look for additional references.

News Digests

Why visit a single news source when you can save time by gleaning current stories from digests and news roundups? Here are a few worth visiting for a great breaking news fix.

63. Alltop: Alltop aggregates news and blog posts from hundreds of sites. To narrow things down, you can pick a topic and get updates catered towards a specific area of interest.
64. Free Press: Free Press is a national nonpartisan organization that provides news about the media from a “democratic” perspective.
65. Memeorandum: This site aggregates top news stories in politics and related issues as they happen.
66. Popurls: Head to Popurls to get links to some of the day’s most popular news stories.
67. TechMeme: Get frequent updates on the latest stories in technology with the help of this site.
68. WeSmirch.com: Even gossip writers need a good place to find out about the latest dirt. This site is a great place to start.

Media Resources

These resources can help you learn more about what being an journalist in the modern age means, with some even focusing specifically on new media research and writing.

69. The Center for Public Integrity: Founded in 1989, this organization aims to reveal abuses of power, corruption, and betrayals of trust by politicians and private entities. Their website is a great place to keep up with some of the best investigative journalism.
70. CyberJournalist.net: If you’re drawn towards writing for the web, then make sure to bookmark this site to learn more about how to stay on top of innovations in media.
71. Investigative Reporters & Editors: Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. provides educational services to reporters, editors and others interested in investigative journalism and works to maintain high professional standards.
72. Journalism.org: The Project for Excellence in Journalism is a research organization that specializes in using empirical methods to evaluate and study the performance of the press.
73. NAA.org: The Newspaper Association of America is a good place to look for more information about the current status of print journalism in the U.S., and to see a glimpse as where media is headed in the future.
74. The Readership Institute: A division of the Media Management Center at Northwestern, The Readership Institute addresses research on how media can build readership, improve training for writers, and develop best practices for the journalism industry.
75. State of the News Media: The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism releases a new report on American journalism each year. Check out last year’s edition for insights into the future of the field and innovations that are changing it today.

Organization

One of the best ways to supercharge your writing is to stay organized. These tools, most of them free, let you do that with ease.

76. A.nnotate: This helpful tool allows you to leave notes for yourself about a resource online, so you’ll see them each time you return to the site.
77. Bubbl.us: A great mind-mapping tool, Bubbl.us can give you a leg up on organizing your thoughts and laying out a story.
78. Central Desktop: Central Desktop provides simple project collaboration tools for business teams so they can organize and share information efficiently, communicate with others, and collaborate on projects.
79. Dropbox: Store and share your writing online so that it will be accessible to you from anywhere, even on your phone or mobile device.
80. Evernote: Evernote lets you capture photos, articles, and even music you like, storing it and organizing it for you so you can easily reference it later.
81. Google Drive: Google has created a tool that makes it easy to keep your documents, spreadsheets, and other materials stored and organized online.
82. Memonic: With Memonic, you can take notes and clip web content, take this data with you or print it out, and share it with others who might find it interesting as well.
83. MindMeister: Another mind mapping tool, MindMeister makes it easier to see just where your story is headed.
84. Zoho Creator: If you’re doing intensive research for a project, creating a database can be immensely useful. ZohoCreator lets you do just that, with an easy drag-and-drop interface.
85. Zotero: Collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources right on your browser with Zotero.

Professional Organizations

Whether you’re a professional writer or a student planning to be one, professional organizations can provide useful resources, support, and information that can make you a better, more successful writer.

86. ASNE: The American Society of Newspaper Editors is a membership organization for editors and those who work with editors, but any writer, aspiring editor, or others interested in what they do can get in touch for help, guidance or information.
87. American Society for the History of Rhetoric: Founded in 1877, this group helps to foster the study of rhetoric throughout history, both in America and abroad.
88. The Authors Guild: All writers should consider joining this professional guild focused on helping authors get copyright protection, fair contracts, and the right to free expression.
89. Mystery Writers of America: MWA is a great organization for crime writers, fans of the genre, and aspiring writers alike.
90. National Writers Union: The NWU is the trade union for freelance and contract writers, journalists, book authors, business and technical writers, web content providers, and poets.
91. Online News Association: Founded in 1999, this organization is open to any journalist who produces news on the internet or in a digital platform.
92. Romance Writers of America: Those with a passion for romance writing should seriously consider looking to this group for resources, advocacy, and professional networking.
93. Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America: Likewise, those who focus on the science fiction and fantasy genre will benefit from connecting with SFWA’s more than 1,500 members.
94. Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators: If you write, illustrate, or have an interest in children’s literature, this is the place to turn for help and services related to your work.
95. Society for Technical Communication: Technical writers will appreciate the professional resources offered by this organization, from recent publications to jobs to courses.

Rhetoric

Solid rhetoric and persuasive writing skills can help any kind of writing be more effective. Here are just a few resources that can help you build your abilities.

96. American Rhetoric: Hear some of the most memorable and celebrated example of public speaking in history though the online speech bank on this site.
97. Bibliographies in Rhetorical Theory and Criticism: If you’re looking for some great reads on rhetoric, look no further than this list of bibliographies on the subject.
98. Read Write Think: Persuasive Writing: Here, you’ll get access to a strategy guide that can help you become a more persuasive writer.
99. The Forest of Rhetoric: Dr. Gideon Burton of Brigham Young University provides this guide to terms from Classical and Renaissance rhetoric.
100. Rhetorica: Visit this blog for analysis and commentary on the modern rhetoric found in journalism, politics, and culture at large.
101. Rhetoic: A Timeline: Confused about which, Aristotle or Cicero, came first? Don’t know if Augustine is considered part of Antiquity or the Middle Ages? Fear no more – this timeline will answer your questions.
102. Rhetoric and Composition: This site is loaded with rhetoric resources, including bibliographies, journals, reference material, and blogs.
103. Ten Timeless Persuasive Writing Techniques: You can go wrong when you use any of the classic persuasive writing techniques laid out in this Copyblogger post.

Tools

The following tools include everything from word counters to image databases and can help improve the speed and content of your writing.

104. Autocrit: AutoCrit automatically identifies weak words and structures in your writing so you can clean it up.
105. Creativity Portal Prompts: Can’t think of anything to write about? This site provides useful prompts that can help get your creative juices flowing.
106. JournalistExpress: If you can’t remember the name of a specific newspaper or the name of a site you need, head to Journalist Express to get help with the answer.
107. MorgueFile: If you’re looking for a free image to use with an article or a blog post, look to this site for photography that’s free to use, with attribution to the artist, of course.
108. Resources for Technical Writers: Those pursuing a career in technical writing can find all kinds of useful resources and tools for both writing and career building here.
109. Statistics Every Writer Should Know: This site is billed as, “A simple guide to understanding basic statistics, for journalists and other writers who might not know math.”
110. Unstuck: Writer’s block can really destroy your productivity. Battle through it with this downloadable app that will help you get past any problem you’re facing.
111. Wordcounter: This program is much more than a basic word counter. Instead of just counting the number of words, it also pulls out words that you’re using too frequently, helping you add variety and interest to your work. Try running things through Cliche Finder, too, to weed out any other phrases you might want to avoid.
112. Writing Room: Get support from writers, writing guides, expert advice, and more on this great community site for writers.

Word References

Thinking of a word but can’t pinpoint what it is? These resources offer help with spelling, definitions, synonyms, rhyming, and more.

113. Acronym Finder: With more than 565,000 human-edited entries, Acronym Finder is the world’s largest and most comprehensive dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations, and initials.
114. Arts & Humanities Dictionary: Through this dictionary, you can find the definition of hundreds of terms related to the arts and humanities.
115. Dictionary.com: Use a dictionary or thesaurus, translate words, or look up quotes and other information on this multi-purpose site.
116. Glossary of Poetic Terms: If you’re ever unclear on the meaning of a poetic term, head to this glossary from McGraw-Hill for some illumination.
117. MediLexicon: MediLexicon is a comprehensive dictionary of medical, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and health care abbreviations and acronyms.
118. OneLook Dictionary: More than 5 million words in more than 900 online dictionaries are indexed by the OneLook search engine so you can find, define, and translate words all at one site.
119. RhymeZone: Whether you’re writing poetry, songs, or something else entirely, you can get help rhyming words with this site.
120. Symbols.com: Want to use symbolism in your writing or analyze it in a famous work? Symbols.com can help, with more than 1,600 articles about thousands of signs from Western cultural history.
121. TechTerms.com: If you’re not a tech professional, chances are that you might find yourself more than a little confused about certain terms. Don’t be. Just look them up in this dictionary.
122. Urban Dictionary: Keep up with the latest slang with Urban Dictionary, where you can look up the meaning of hundreds of words you won’t find in the regular dictionary.
123. Your Dictionary Your Dictionary provides access to a dictionary, thesaurus, word etymology and much more.

Writing Services

If you need a little help with editing and revising your work, consider these sources for some perspective and guidance.

124. Academic Edit: Academic Edit specializes in editing scholarly documents such as theses, dissertations, and Ph.D. statements, but they also branch out into resumes and technical reports.
125. EditAvenue: At EditAvenue, you can choose an editor to look over your work based on a wide range of criteria.
126. Editing and Writing Services: The name says it all. This company can help you refine your work, especially if its for business or online.
127. Editor World: Get help turning a rough draft into a finished product from this professional proofreading and editing service.
128. Editorial Freelancers Association: Those in the market for an editor should check out this organization for freelance editors, writers, indexers, proofreaders, researchers, publishers, and translators. You can even post your job on the site to find help.
129. FirstWriter.com: This site offers a wide range of services from editing work to getting in touch with literary agents.
130. The Penn Group: Whether you’re looking for a complete rewrite or just a little perspective on your draft, this writing service has resources to help.

Writing Skills Help

Whether you’re writing a term paper or a book, these links can help you streamline and improve your research and writing.

131. 50 Tools to Increase Your Writing Skills: You’ll find some amazingly useful links here that can ensure you’re writing to your full potential.
132. Final Year Projects: Mike Hart’s site offers practical sources of advice to help students successfully write a final year project, dissertation, or thesis.
133. A Guide to Writing Well: Joshua Sowin offers a great guide to writing well distilled from the information in The Elements of Style.
134. How to Organize Your Thesis: Professor John Chinneck from Carleton University explains how to properly organize a graduate thesis from start to finish.
135. How to Write a Better Weblog: Written by Dennis A. Mahoney for A List Apart, this article explains some of the things you should and shouldn’t do if you want to write a great blog.
136. Poynter Online Courses: Poynter offers some great online courses that writers, especially journalists, can use to hone their craft.
137. Purdue Online Writing Lab: The Online Writing Guide offered by Purdue University is home to handouts and exercises on topics like effective writing, revising, editing, and proofreading, as well as other genre-specific resources.
138. Mind Tools Writing Skills: This basic review of what makes for good writing can be a great reminder to those who are caught up in the process.

Writing Software

These tools can help writers pen their latest work from almost anywhere, with some boasting features that make it easier to concentrate, organize ideas, and share work as well.

139. Blogger: This popular Google-owned site is a great place to start your own blog for free.
140. Scrivener: This popular, feature-rich program is great for organizing research, planning drafts, and writing novels, articles, short stories, and even screenplays.
141. The Literary Machine: This free software allows writers to compile research and writing modules that makes it easier to draw on information collected during research to write an outline or a final draft.
142. New Novelist: Created for Windows users, this program is specifically designed to meet the needs of novelists, making it possible to juggle ideas, notes, and more in one place.
143. Open Office: Why pay for Microsoft products when you can create free documents with Open Office? This open source software provides similar tools to the Microsoft Office Suite, including spreadsheets, a word processor, the ability to create multimedia presentations, and more.
144. Script Frenzy: Scriptwriters will appreciate this software. It offers an easy layout that helps outline plots as well as providing storyboard features, index cards, and even sound and photo integration.
145. Storybook: This open source software can make it easier to manage your plotlines, characters, data, and other critical information while penning a novel.
146. TreePad Lite: The free version of this software keeps the writing process simple, ensuring that information stay organized and your story stays on track.
147. WordPress: WordPress is another popular and free choice for starting a blog (or two).
148. Writer’s Cafe: Get creative with writing fiction with this easy-to-use software. Designed by a writer, it features a notebook, journal, organizer, writing tips, and even an e-book all about writing.
149. yWriter5: Another word processor for writers, yWriter5 helps break down a novel into chapters and scenes to make everything a little more manageable.
150. ZohoDocs: Zoho is another free word processing suite, and like Google Drive, it allows you to write and access your work from any computer with an Internet connection.

You can visit Claire’s blog at http://oedb.org/library/features/150-writing-resources/

While our hardworking agents are attending BEA in New York this week, several authors are filling in with guest posts. Enjoy!

Rajdeep Paulus decided to be a writer during her junior year in high school after her English teacher gave her an “F” but told her she had potential. She studied English Literature at Northwestern University, and began writing on the island of Dominica, while her husband of two months biked down to campus to begin his first day of medical school. Fifteen years, four daughters, and a little house on a hill in the quaint town of Locust Valley later, she now writes YAFiction and blogs weekly In Search of Waterfalls. 

I’m not the first newbie author to wade through the waters of marketing her first book with a bit of trepidation. Truth be told, when I learned that a writer’s job was not simply to write a great story, sit back and wait for readers to come in flocks to scoop up copies galore, I welcomed the challenge that lay before me. Simply because I’m a tad atypical to the hermit-writer stereotype: I love people and rubbing elbows with the world outside my writing cave.

So when I read a title like “The Extroverted Writer” by Amanda Luedeke, I think, oh, she’s talking about me! When, in fact, she’s composed a book chalk full of practical advice for all types of writers who find the whole marketing thing as messy as a knot on a bad hair-day morning. Something I am all too familiar with since I have four princesses. Hair balls up the ying-yang, but where was I?

Yes. The art of marketing your first book. How do you do it? Successfully? And how do you know how to proportion your time, giving yourself time to write, edit, market and still take time to breathe.

So I began my marketing momentum by brainstorming. A bunch of ideas that amounted to not much more than share my book with anyone and everyone. I also considered TP-ing Jhumpa Lahiri’s house, but Chip dissuaded me, assuring me that there are much better ways to pursue an author endorsement. Come to find out a friend of a friend of a friend knows Jhumpa. Well, her relative. It didn’t pan out. So much time spent on one point of contact when social media has opened up the world to you and me. Literally.

Anyway, the one thing I’ve learned is that if I don’t know how to do something, whether it’s parenting, marriage, or building a treehouse, someone out there does. And most likely, someone has written a book or blog on it. So I came up with three resources that have truly impacted my understanding and approach to marketing *in addition to Amanda’s Book and Chip’s blog:

Platform by Michael Hyatt,

Rob Eager’s Sell Your Book Like Wildfire,

and

A podcast interview by Chris Brogan with author Kamal Ravikant.

I appreciate Michael’s affirmation that anyone can build a platform. Even if you’re a first time author. He’s the reason I invested in blogging at In Search of Waterfalls faithfully for the last year.

Rob Eager gave me the motto, “Figure out who your readers are and go and stand in front of them.” Of course we all want to believe that the book we wrote can be read and will be loved by EVERYONE! That might be true, but there’s still a key group of readers you’re searching for. So I asked myself, over and over again, until I narrowed it down to “Female teens and young adults with a South Asian-American background.” Simply because Swimming Through Clouds is a Young Adult fiction book with South Asian-American characters.

So I set out to find out where my target audience congregated, both in the real and cyber worlds. There are times, I have to be honest, when I feel like I’m sifting through the clothes racks at TJ Max, just searching for those one or two tops that fit perfectly, because there are a ton of places/websites/blogs out there.

Chris Brogan and Kamal Ravikant discuss audience in the context of caring about people on Brogan’s podcast. Because in the end, it’s about relationships. People are valuable. Each person priceless in worth. And if, as a writer, you want people to read your book, don’t you want to know and care about them first? And find out what’s important to them? Whether they feel compelled to open the pages of the story you penned is and always should be an added blessing and not the gift you search out upfront.

So my goal is to connect with people. And hear their stories. Because even though I’ll be the first to admit I love to talk, I so relish listening to people’s dreams, hopes, and stories. And earn, if you will, the right to share mine. Or not. The investment in the relationship is enough. The side effects, icing.

Does this mean I approach marketing passively? Not at all. I’ve “Liked” just about every Facebook Page that mentions Brown Girl, South Asian, Young Adult, Long Island, New York  Writer, and Indian-American. I’ve scoured Twitter for anyone with the same hashtags and spent countless hours emailing/contacting YA Book Reviewers, especially those who focus in on South-Asian writers. Even connected with the people who make Post-its, since that’s a hot topic in my first YA book, Swimming Through Clouds, where a Post-it note sparks a sticky romance between two unlikely friends. And since Swimming Through Clouds also addresses the issues of abuse and human trafficking, I’ve sought connecting with organizations tackling these issues.

But I’m not done. Each time an idea/topic/angle sparks from the content of my blog, book, or personal background, I take a walk down that path and search out people. Because your readers are your treasures. Waiting to be found. So as in the words of Ravikant, “Go where they are. Meet them where they’re at.”

Which brings me to the part of marketing that has been the most fun—finding potential readers in the real world, in real time. And heading to New York City to connect with them. Having a lot of fun enjoying the city in the process of making new friends and hearing their stories. And then when the time is right, sharing a bit about mine.

Have you heard of Playlist YA Fiction? We’re a team of Young Adult Fiction authors over at www.playlistfiction.com  who write and publish Contemporary YA E-books. These writers have filled my life with fresh new fiction, become my friends, and influenced my writing, for the better. Team-marketing reminds me of team sports. If the team wins, everyone wins!

So I encourage all writers, new and those who’ve been around the marketing block a few times, don’t give in or give up. There’s a world out there full of the hurting and hope-seekers. Everyone’s searching for that next story. That book that will give them a taste of heaven on earth. Or help them on their own journey. Or just take them out of their madness for a moment.

Thanks so much, Chip, for giving me a little space to share a bit of my writing journey. You’re not just an extraordinary Agent. You’re a friend I truly treasure.

Sincerely aware that great stories change lives,

Rajdeep Paulus

And you? Tell me how the whole dance with marketing has been? Learned anything that works you’d like to share with us? I mean, does the bookmark thing really work?!? Maybe an iTunes gift card for a song from your book’s playlist? Now that’s what I’m talking ’bout!

Blog: www.rajdeeppaulus.com

FaceBook: Author Rajdeep Paulus

Twitter: @RajdeepPaulus

A guest post from Holly Lorincz, assistant to Chip MacGregor

Recently, I was forced given the opportunity to learn to master the art of uploading ebooks onto Smashwords and Amazon for this persistent Scottish agent I know. After extracting multiple promises that haggis or blood pudding would never be served at staff parties, I agreed.

I can’t approach the simplest assignment without first reading at least seventeen reference books (the heftier the better), and yet, after all that research and putting my own book up for esale, I’ve really only learned one thing about self-publishing: marketing your ebook is a full time job. Selling it successfully? There’s magic involved and a lot of patient plodding, and messing around with algorithms. I know, I know, I shouldn’t use that word algorithm, since it just screams ‘first period math class.’ Sorry. Unless you’re going to hire a publicist, get used to it. Also, if I’m being totally honest, you may want to bypass the whole formatting and uploading issue, hire a professional, if you have a life away from your computer.

Still here? Okay then. The following is a list of random ebook publishing and marketing tips that I’ve picked up from books, other self-publishers, and my own stumble down the publishing path. Some of it will be common sense and common practice, so just view it as a reminder.

1. Remember those early beta-readers you sought out as you were finishing your book? Remember that one that drove you crazy, the one that only commented on dangling participles, improperly used pronouns and linguistic improbabilities?  If you haven’t burned that bridge, find that grammarian and ask him or her to read your book one last time, tasked with catching typos, specifically homonyms and homophones. (Because, you know, spell check silently chuckles when you use the phrase “his voice was a horse whisper.”)

2. Decide if you are going to use KDP Select (Kindle Direct Publishing Select requires you publish only with Amazon) or if you want to publish in other venues, such as KDP or Smashwords, which distributes to most other distributors like Barnes & Noble and Sony. There are benefits to each choice. However, even if you choose to distribute only on Amazon, I recommend you initially format your manuscript using the Smashwords Style Guide process, as it gives you a much cleaner ebook (you will not thank me while trudging through the laborious frustrating process, but you will when you’re done).

3. There are (at least) three books you should read before you begin formatting your text:  Smashwords Style Guide: How To Format Your Ebook by Mark Coker (available as a free document on Kindle); Publish on Amazon Kindle with Kindle Direct Publishing (free document on Kindle); and Publishing E-Books for Dummies by Ali Luke. Thankfully, I bought this last book in print form, since I ended up formatting my manuscript while using my computer, my Kindle and the Dummies book at the same time. The first two documents offer specific, step by step instructions. Dummies is an overview of the multiple methods of self-publishing ebooks and contains problem solving strategies that are not in the first two documents. Dummies also has helpful sections on building your own author’s website and driving buyers to your ebook.   

4. Write your acknowledgements page, copyright page, book’s hook, short description, and author bio days before you put your book online. You need to give yourself time to go back and edit. And that hook has to be good. Look at samples from the top 100 Kindle sellers, what are they saying? Speaking of hooks and descriptions, try inserting a top Amazon or Google key word search term for your book’s genre within the first sentence or two . . . but do it smoothly. Good luck. If you do manage this trick, you will be driving readers who are looking for subjects like “vampires in love” or “dinosaur fossils” to your title. Hopefully that is what your book is about.

5. Your cover and title. You will hear this over and over again, because it’s true: nothing is more important than your cover and title. The imagery needs to somehow imply the genre, tone and subject matter of your manuscript. When I was getting ready to put my first book online, I searched through internet stock photos for two days before I finally realized I was going to have to do my own photo shoot. Luckily, I know photographers and graphic designers. Then I needed to consider the title, make sure it was prominent and properly represented the text. Readers get edgy when they think they’re buying a romance entitled something like Love’s First Kiss only to discover the two people snuggling sweetly on the cover turn out to be demons seeking to ravage a futuristic dystopian society. Again, go into Kindle’s top 100 best sellers and assess their covers and the titles. Look especially close at your genre. Great titles have meaning AND they incorporate top key word search terms. That’s a coup if you can pull that off. In his book, Making a Killing on Kindle, Michael Alvear uses a Charlaine Harris title as a good example of this: Living Dead in Dallas. You know the book falls into the zombie category, and it includes “living dead,” which is a top key word search in Google. For that matter, Alvear’s title is apropos to this discussion; are you unclear at all on what his book is about?

By the way, if you’ve already epublished, it’s not too late to reconsider your title or your cover. You can edit or resubmit, or you can hire a service to make the corrections for you.

6. Once your book is online, pay attention to not just your sales; also look at your Amazon ranking. The higher you go in the ranks, the more Amazon does to market your title, like adding your book into the “customers also bought” thread under other books in your category. According to Alvear, there are a number of ways to bump up your ranking just by paying attention to what he calls the ecosystem within Amazon. Namely, chase reviews from family, friends and book bloggers; get people to purchase top selling titles in your genre at the same time they purchase your book online (if this happens often enough, Amazon will start to link the two titles); review other books online and somehow, subtly, refer back to your own book while praising that author (if you can’t do this without coming across as smarmy, I don’t recommend it).

6. Make sure you take advantage of the author’s page on Amazon.  Amazon’s Author Central allows you to post a bio, pictures, links to your websites, blogs, videos, articles, podcasts . . . this is available when a reader is perusing your title information, trying to determine if they want to buy your book. Sell yourself and you might sell your book. Consider offering freebies for these browsers, like bookmarks or mugs or previous books you’ve written. Who doesn’t like free stuff?

I’ve just grazed the surface of what you can do to market your book. I haven’t even mentioned social media, like Facebook and Goodreads and Bookshelf and blog tours . . . 

Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent. Her author marketing book, The Extroverted Writer, is available from Amazon andBarnes & Noble.

Last night was our GET PUBLISHED teleseminar with Michael Hyatt. What a great time, talking business and answering questions! It was a blast.

We weren’t able to get to some of the submitted questions, so I’ve gone ahead and answered them below. Would love your thoughts on what was discussed during the teleseminar, or what is talked about below.

And don’t forget! We have a special opportunity for friends (that’s you!) of MacGregor Literary. 

Michael Hyatt, former CEO and Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers (one of the largest publishers in the world), has recently released a comprehensive solution for authors called GET PUBLISHED. It’s a 21 session audio program, accessible online, that distills Michael’s 30+ years of publishing knowledge into a step-by-step guide to help authors get published and launch a successful career, even perhaps a bestseller!

Michael is offering a special limited time discount on GET PUBLISHED. Not only can you save significantly on the program, you’ll also get access to several bonuses worth over $150. Bonuses include items such as Michael’s popular “How to Write a Winning Book Proposal” ebook and more.

For details and to take advantage of this special offer, go to http://michaelhyatt.com/getpublishedoffer

(Note: This discount offer is only available through April 17).

Okay, on to those questions!

Brooke asks: What makes an agent take a chance on a first-time author?

When we fall in love with a fiction author’s story idea and writing, or when we see the potential of the book idea, writing, AND platform of a nonfiction author.

Mark asks: What do you think about publishing a “book” as a series of blog postings over time, or self-publishing a free e-book, rather than through traditional publishers?  If the purpose is to gain readers/audience, what is the best way to collect that information?  And then what do you do with it (esp in terms of monetization)?

I think this can be a great idea of done right (great cover, professionally edited, targeted to a focused audience). If you publish through an epublishing site, you should keep track of your sales numbers, and in terms of monetizing it, you’ll be able to set a price for your items, which will make the whole thing a bit more worth your while.

Terri asks: What are the most effective ways to attract your audience to a blog or website? I’ve previously produced blogs and ended up spending too much time on the content compared to the number of views received.  Also, what recommendations do you have on balancing the time demands of building platform vs. completing works in progress?

First, it takes time to grow a readership. I don’t know how long you pursued your blog, but it’s going to take 1-2 years or more to build a solid following. There are many ways to grow a readership (I have a whole section on this in my book), but the easiest is to find other blogs that hit the same readership as your own and spend time there leaving comments and interacting with others. You can also do giveaways, include the right SEO, and attend blogging conferences where you can team up with other bloggers and present a unified front. Really, the ideas go on and on.

If you’re serious about growing your blog, you should spend half your time writing and the other half going out and getting your readers. Depending on how long it takes you to craft a blog post, this could be tricky. But if it takes you an hour to write a post, you may want to spend an afternoon knocking a bunch out and then 30 or 45 minutes every day, going out and interacting with your potential audience.

Melissa asks: We see many big name authors supplementing their income by self-publishing titles themselves along with their traditional books, at what point do you think authors should consider this route? Do you think it will harm their career or enhance it?

I think this is a great idea if they do it right and are willing to pay for a great cover, great edit, etc. Too many authors dial it in. It needs to be professionally done, but then they also need to realize that in order for the book to be a success, they need to promote it like crazy—no one is going to stumble upon the book on a store shelf. And of course they also need to make sure that epublishing won’t violate any contracts they have with publishers.

Anne asks: Please comment on how the rapid changes in publishing, stimulated by e-publishing, have affected quality, increased competition, and whether this necessitates amp-ing it up with a paid edit before submission.

There’s a lot more competition all around, but I don’t think paying an editor to clean up your manuscript is the solution. I think hunkering down and truly learning the craft and taking time with your ms is where it’s at. Too many authors want to write only one or two drafts and then be done. The business requires more than that these days…especially if you’re a debut author.

C asks: I’ve had five commercially-published romance novels and I can’t seem to get another contract. Would you recommend my self-publishing some e-books (romance novellas)?

Absolutely. You don’t want to lose your current readership, and you need to make money. If your agent supports it, I think this is a great option. But don’t do it flippantly. Be serious about it, because if your sales are strong enough this could help you get back in with a traditional house.

Jeremy asks: I’ve been looking for an agent for my first ms via the query method with no success.  I have been thinking about going to a conference, but the cost is quite high.  Is there any other way to acquire an agent for the Christian Market?  Are conferences worth the expense?

Conferences are absolutely worth the expense, and there are so many that there’s probably one relatively close to you. It’s only at a conference that I can truly feel comfortable with the authors who are pitching me, and I’m much more likely to sign someone after meeting them at a conference than if I were to simply read a query from them. It’s that face-to-face aspect that changes everything.

Greg asks: It seems that literary agents are very busy and as a first time author how do we get their attention?

Try to attend a conference or see if we’re active on Twitter and other social media sites. But still…conferences are where it’s at.

Jane asks: I heard a popular author say that you don’t have to be a GREAT writer, just persistent. Do you agree or disagree?

If we’re talking about having a traditional publishing career, then I disagree. Editors have a lot on their plate, and more and more they’re looking for projects that require minimal edits. There will always be exceptions to the rule, but overall, a GREAT manuscript has much more potential than a so-so manuscript written by a persistent author.

*Note: MacGregor Literary is not profiting from this reccomendation nor is this an affiliate link. We only recoomend GET PUBLISHED because we truly believe in it’s impact as a resource for authors and because of the vast knowledge that Michael Hyatt provides.

Join us (Chip and Amanda) and Michael Hyatt, bestselling author and former CEO of Thomas Nelson, for a complimentary LIVE teleseminar on Wednesday, April 10 at 8pm Eastern Time (7pm Central, 5pm Pacific).

During this call you’ll have the ability to get your publishing questions answered by the three of us. You’ll also learn many of Michael’s insider secrets on getting published and building a platform for success.

The call will last about an hour. It’s free for all to join and there will be an MP3 recording / replay shared with all who register. When you register you will have the option to submit a question for us to answer

To register now, click here.

FAQs

Q: What is a teleseminar?

A: Think of it as a giant conference call. You dial in (or listen via streaming web audio), along with others and listen while we share and answer questions.

Q: How much does this cost?

A: It’s free. If you choose to access the LIVE call via phone, you may incur standard long-distance charges if you choose a dial-in number that is not local to you (there are multiple dial-in number options). Other than that, no fee at all.

Q: What is the date and time?

A: The LIVE call will take place on Wednesday, April 10 at 8pm Eastern Time (7pm Central, 5pm Pacific).

Q: How can I access the LIVE call?

A: You’ll have two options. Our call capacity is 3,000 total. Five hundred can access the call via phone, the rest via streaming web audio (listening via your computer). Access is on a first-come, first-served based on registration and which access option you chose. We will notify you prior to the call with the specific phone number and web address.

Q: I can’t make the LIVE call. Will there be a recording?

A: Yes, we’ll make the recording available to all who registered after the LIVE call.

Q: How do I ask a question for you to answer during the call?

A: When you register there will be an option for you to submit a question. We’ll also take a few LIVE questions during the call itself.

Q: Do I need any special equipment?

A: No, nothing special needed. You won’t need to download anything to access the call. If you use the dial-in access then you simply make a phone call. If you use the streaming web access then you simply open a web browser, click play, and listen. We will send the instructions to you via email.

Q: When do I get access information after I register?

A: We will send you access information via email a day or two before the call and a reminder email on the day of the call.

Plan to listen in! We’d love to have you there.

Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent.

Alright, all of you Thursdays with Amanda fans out there! I’ve got something for you…

Each week I try to tackle the big, bad topic of how to build an author platform. We’ve looked at Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, blogs, websites, and more, and the backlist of posts has become quite daunting and difficult to search.

SO to put an end to the madness and help all of you navigate the tips, rules, and tricks we’ve discussed on our Thursdays get-togethers, I’ve released an ebook.

THE EXTROVERTED WRITER: An Author’s Guide to Marketing and Building a Platform is a compilation of my Thursdays with Amanda posts PLUS a bunch of great new content (new content includes LinkedIn, strategies for building a Twitter following, how to identify your audience, and more). All in a shiny digital package! Categorized, organized, and hopefully quite navigable, this little ebook is perfect for those who have come to love my weekly blog posts.

Here’s an excerpt from the chapter on knowing your audience:

How to Find Your Audience

All right, enough theory. Let’s get practical. How do you take a book that is loved by everyone and your mother and find its basic readership—those who are most inclined to shell out fifteen dollars to buy it (or those who are most inclined to get their parents to shell out fifteen dollars)?

First, you must identify other movies or books or plays that are similar to your work. So, go to the bookstore or get online and put on your researcher jeans.

The first similarity should be genre. Match mysteries with mysteries, cozy mysteries with cozy mysteries, police procedurals with police procedurals, and so on. Pay specific attention to where these books are shelved. For example, Nancy Drew is a mystery series, but it’s shelved over in the children’s section, making it a juvenile mystery fiction series. You wouldn’t compare readers of Nancy Drew with readers of Agatha Christie (even though Agatha Christie readers most likely read Nancy Drew in their youth). 

The second similarity should have to do with main characters. Match female, upper teen leads with other female, upper teen leads. Match male, mid-fifties leads with other male, mid-fifties leads. This will help you narrow your comparison search. Like the Nancy Drew series, the Hardy Boys is a similar mystery series for children, but it has male protagonists. Therefore, if your children’s mystery had a female lead, you could exclude the Hardy Boys from your list of similar titles. The two series are near identical in many ways, but their audiences are different. You need to only concern yourself with finding the best possible matches you can.

Once you’ve come up with a list of projects that are similar to your own, try out one of these methods to identify and profile your readership. (Yes, we’re getting uber technical at this point.) …

THE EXTROVERTED WRITER is available from:

AMAZON

BARNES AND NOBLE

SMASHWORDS (for all other ereader devices)

Now, here’s where I ask for a favor…will you help me spread the word about my book? Here are some things you can do for me:

1. Write reviews on Amazon.com and BN.com

2. Tweet and share this blog post! (You can do that by clicking the social media icons below).

3. Feature me on any writing blogs you may be in touch with (email me)

4. Tweet and share about the book. Here are some Tweets you can use…just add to the Tweet one of the links I provide above (Amazon, Smashwords, etc), and you’re good to go!

Great new book on #authormarketing! Highly recommended for new writers and old pro’s #bookmarketing #ExtrovertedWriter

I’m ready to get my author marketing under control! Can’t wait to read the #ExtrovertedWriter

Hey authors! Highly recommend this book on #authormarketing. It looks at Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and more

And for MORE Extroverted Writer chatter, check out this interview.

Thank you all for making Thursdays with Amanda a GREAT place to blog!

We’re continuing our “ask an agent anything” series, where I’m trying to offer some short answers to your general publishing questions. If you’ve got a question you’ve always wanted to ask an agent, send it to me or leave it in the “comments” section. One reader wrote to ask, “What is “voice” in writing? “

Voice is the personality of the author, expressed through words on the page. When you write, your word choices, your phrasing and structure, your thinking and themes — they all help establish your personality as a writer. So the way I write is different from the way someone else writes — my personality comes through, and shows how I’m different and unique as a writer. (An example: Stephen King and William Faulkner both like long sentences, psychological implications, semicolons, and the use of the word “and” in their works… but nobody ever picked up a Stephen King novel and mistook it for a William Faulkner novel. Though they share some characteristics, each writer has his own personality, and that comes through on the page.) Of course, not every writing voice is good — just as not every singing voice is good. A great writer has a voice that is appealing and interesting.

Similarly, another person asked, “How does a writer know when he has established a strong voice in his work?” 

It takes time and effort. I’ve always thought a writer recognizes his or her own voice over time, so the more you write, the better you hear yourself in your words. My experience is that, as I write more and more, my personality becomes clear on the page. When we talk, your words don’t sound like mine. Your stories don’t sound like mine. Your personality is unique, and getting that to be clearly expressed on the page will help you define your voice. (So, for example, when I tell my story of being in the air on Sept 11, the way I tell the story of that day will be different from the way YOU might tell it.) The writers we love best express themselves through their own voices, and we love hearing those voices because they are individual, and, in the words of Carolyn Sloan, “they teach us to be ourselves by supplying us with an example of genuine emotion…” Great voice in writing is a unique and courageous act. And I don’t think it can be created — I believe it rises up from the soul of the writer.

And one writer wanted to discuss contests: “I’m entered in the Writers Digest Short Story competition, which states that Writers Digest has one-time publishing rights for the top 25 entries. So if I’ve entered, have I given up my publication rights? And as an agent, would you chew me out for being a bonehead? I just want to know if I’ve made a mistake in giving up my non-exlusive rights.”

You might very well be a bonehead (I’m reserving judgment), but you’re pretty safe with the WD contest. First, if it’s really “non-exclusive” rights, you’re free to re-sell those rights. And if this is a one-time agreement, it’s similar to any other print publication article. I doubt I’d chew you out… especially in the short story market, which is a tough, tough place to get published.

One writer wrote to ask me, “What do you think of POETS & WRITERS magazine? Do you subscribe? Why or why not? And if you used to, why don’t you now?”

I think Poets and Writers is a wonderful magazine. It offers very good information on writing and the industry, incorporates a lot of event and academic stuff, and has always worked to get writers connected to one another. There’s not much else like it. I used to subscribe, but I no longer do. That has nothing to do with the quality of the magazine, but instead with the fact that I can’t stay up with so many publications. A couple years ago I took steps to simplify my life, and that included giving up some of the magazines that were good, but that I didn’t have time to adequately read. (I took further steps last year, cutting out even more magazines, axing TV news, etc.) For those writers interested in the literary side of the industry, Poets and Writers is an excellent resource.

I have received this question several times: “You apparently do a lot of religious books. Is there a website that connects inspirational writers specifically with Christian agents? If not, do you think there’s a market for one?”

I do not know of a website that connects religious writers and agents. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one, it just means I don’t know of one. There are websites that attempt to connect Christian writers and publishers, including ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com, but I don’t know if there’s one aimed at agents. Would there be a market for one? Maybe — my sense is there’s a market for just about everything. The questions would be “is it any good?” and “is it better than what we currently have?” The industry is rapidly changing, which means the role of agents is changing significantly. Some well-meaning sorts tried to create a Christian literary agent association a couple years ago, but it didn’t work out. I thought it was a noble effort, but I also wasn’t in favor of joining… I just didn’t feel it was set up appropriately. You’d have to think through things like “how are you going to define Christian?” and “what sort of guidelines are we going to have?” I have no doubts about the sincerity of religious-book agents — I just don’t know that it’s big enough to really have its own organization. Why not simply do what I did and join the Association of Author Representatives (the trade organization for full-time literary agents)?

Another writer had a similar question: “Is there a place in religious publishing for a strong Christian story, but with rough patches of reality along the way?”

Of course there is. Publishing is replete with examples of literary novelists with religious themes who include some of the grittier aspects of life. If you’re unfamiliar, read the works of Lisa Samson, Flannery O’Connor, Gina Holmes, Susan Meissner, Ann Tatlock, Mark Bertrand, Elizabeth Musser, Ginger Garrett, Mary DeMuth, Alice Wisler, and Charles Martin. There are plenty of writers doing Christian books in a real-world setting. (I’m going from the seat of my pants, so I’ve doubtless missed some other fine writers who ought to be included.)

Similarly, I’ve received several forms of this question: “Do religious publishers really have such overly strict requirements that they cannot use such words as ‘priest’ or ‘sex’ without being dismissed?”

No. That’s completely untrue. At least, in my extensive experience. Sure, if you’re doing a sweet romance, you can’t use racy language — but that sort of expectation is extant in ANY publishing line. You write to your audience. If your audience wants a clean romance, you write a clean romance. If they want a vivid action scene, you create a vivid action scene. But there’s not some written or unwritten code, other than societal norms. Think of it this way: If you’re writing to a religious audience who is offended by overt sexuality, then it’d be pretty dumb to include it in your novel with is supposed to be aimed at them. (A note: You may be referring to a blog post from bestselling novelist Ted Dekker a couple years ago, in which he cited a long-out-of-date document from Harlequin that listed certain words they didn’t want used in their religious fiction, in order to keep from sounding sectarian. Harlequin has since taken down that document, and the discussion has moved on.)

Happy to keep the conversation going…

Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent.

Have you enjoyed our Thursday chats on marketing, promotions, and platform-building? I sure have! But so many times it feels as though I’m cramming info into my posts or even breezing over content. And what’s worse, is it’s become clear to me that this site doesn’t exactly make it easy to dig through my old posts!

So, I have some exciting news! 

I’ve written a book ALL ABOUT how to use the Internet to grow an author platform! Here’s a peek at the cover:

From websites to Facebook to Twitter to Pinterest and more, I cover the essential topics, pulling from some of my best posts while also adding in plenty of new content. Whether you’re a social media newbie or guru, an unpublished writer or an industry veteran you’ll come away with actionable items that you can put into practice now.

THE EXTROVERTED WRITER: An Author’s Guide to Marketing and Building a Platform releases March 15 on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, and Smashwords (for ePub version or all other ebook devices). For now, it will be only available as an ebook.

If you’d like to recieve a notice when the book is available, sign up for the newsletter here. (It’s not the fanciest newsletter provider, btw. So don’t judge me!).

Please share this post with your friends! AND if you’ve been a fan of Thursdays with Amanda and would like to offer an endorsement, hit me up at ExtrovertedWriter@gmail.com. I’m hoping to receive testimonies from writers in all walks of life, published or unpublished, who can testify that my Thursday with Amanda tips help make their social media platforms stronger.

Thank you all, and let me know what you think! Sound off in the comments.

Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent.

This week, for readers of Thursdays with Amanda, we have a SUPER SPECIAL OFFER FROM ELEGANT CUSTOM BLOGS!

Melanie from ElegantCustomBLogs.com has offered a 10% discount on her blog design services to readers of this blog. Just head over to ElegantCustomerBlogs.com and mention Thursdays with Amanda.(Melanie works on the Blogger platform only).

Melanie does a great job, and she even designed the website for an author I represent, Melissa Tagg. When Bethany House offered a 2-book deal to Melissa, they specifically mentioned how impressed they were by her web presences. And Melanie can certainly take some of the credit for that! So go check her out.

Sorry to cut things short today, but I have a conference in DC this weekend and a million deadlines. So I’ll leave you with this thought…

We talk a lot about putting the right content in our blogs…about catering to the reader, and knowing your audience, and flooding it with links and keywords and yada yada yada. But at the end of the day, a great blog VOICE trumps content every single time.

In doing your social media critiques, I’ve found this to be truer than ever. When I come across a great blog voice that draws me in and keeps me reading, I don’t think much about whether they’re connecting with the right audience or whether their topics are appropriate. I forget all that and get lost in the beauty of words.

So while you’re tweaking your content to hit the right reader with the right information that’s searchable and all that stuff, keep voice at the top of your blog’s to-do list. It really is the best way to gain readers.

What do you think about blog voice? How have you adjusted your writing to better fit blogging? What struggles have you faced while learning to write for the web? I want to hear from you!

Dan wrote and said, "I hear you've taught a couple classes for colleges, and I know you do the occasional conference. For those of us who can't get to another state to hear you, what would be some resources you'd recommend for writers?"

One of the best things you can do for yourself as a writer is to attend a good writing conference. They have conferences all over the country, usually featuring experienced writers and publishing professionals. It's a great way to meet people, ask questions, and connect with others who are also trying to make it as writers. There's undoubtedly a GREAT conference happening somewhere close to you in the month, as the conference season kicks off (for example, I'm attending the Left Coast Crime conference in Sacramento in two weeks). You'll rarely regret investing in a good conference.

Another thing to consider is a critique group — a chance to sit down with a small group of fellow writers and compare notes, critique each others' work, and talk books. It offers you perspective from others, and it gets you talking writing with people — something many writers have discovered is hard to find. You can often connect to them online, and many local bookstores will help authors in the area come together in order to network and critique one another. A third resource is one of the online writing groups — one helpful such gatherings is the Yahoo group "The Writers View," but there are numerous others. Most of these groups discuss writing and publishing, and many have a panel of experts to bring some wisdom to the discussion.

If you're already involved in some of those things, let me suggest a writing course at your local college. It can be a lot of fun to take a literature course or participate in a creative writing class, and the instructors can often give new insight into your work that can help move your craft to the next level. When I was in college, I got to take a class from Ursula Le Guin, one of America's foremost fantasy writers. It was a wonderful experience, and one you can't get just anywhere. Check to see who teaches college courses near you. Another idea is to take a look at the world of writing by subscribing to Writer's Digest Magazine or The Writer, and carefully checking out what's new in the "writing" section of BAM or Barnes & Noble. There are more new resources being created every few months, so if it's been a year since you looked at books about the craft, by all means check out the latest.

Two more thoughts for you… If you're a nonfiction author, the folks at www.bestsellingauthor.com have re-released their CD set, "Become a Bestselling Author: Lessons from an Anonymous Publishing Giant." This is like a master's level course in publishing — a freelance writer interviews the president of a major publishing house, who gets into the mechanics of publishing, the psychology of editors, and the methods for creating a great proposal. They cover things like "landing a literary agent" and "generating free publicity" and "conducting great book interviews." It's a wonderful resource, but it's not cheap. I think the cost was about $300, but now that they've re-packaged it and are re-releasing it, they're selling for something like $149. Still spendy, but WELL worth the investment. (And no, I don't work for them.) Check it out.

If you're a novelist, by all means go to my friend Randy Ingermanson's site www.advancedfictionwriting.com. Randy gives away some great information (make sure to look at his free e-zine and his famous "snowflake" method), and also sells his Fiction 101 and Fiction 201 classes as downloads or on CD. All of his stuff is well done, and he's one of the few people out there who has something realistic to say about fiction writing and marketing. And Gina Holmes' "Novel Rocket" site has some of the best mix of interviews and insights into the writer's life. 

Of course, if you really want to move forward in your career, consider a writing career coach. I blogged about what Lisa Samson is doing last week — her company, Luminary, offers manuscript guidance from one of America's great novelists… what more could you want? And, of course, by doing a bit of hunting online, you can discover a number of others who offer similar assistance. 

Hope this helps. What are the resources all you like to recommend?