Blog - DIGITAL MEDIA GHOST

Search the site...

Scaring Up Business For Your “Dead” Books

10/29/2015

Will Viharo

So you’ve published a few books and now have a body of work available to the world, even if you haven’t quite set it on fire yet.

And unless someone organizes a public bonfire of your work – great free publicity! – it’s up to you to reignite interest in your older books once those initial flames of passion have died down.

How to raise your best books from the dead?

Welcome to the literary marketplace’s version of “voodoo economics”…

7 Habits of Truly Happy People Who Maintain Excellent Work-Life Balance

10/28/2015

by Janet Miller, Guest Contributor

One of the characteristics of the truly happy is that they typically maintain excellent work-life balance. Here is how they do it.

When Your Book Becomes a Monster

10/26/2015

by Will Viharo

Halloween week is here, and hopefully your own horror novel is rampaging around the virtual countryside, grabbing readers by the throat and squeezing them for every cent they’re worth!

Of course, unless your book happens to be a “monster” bestseller, it might be suffering the curse of the damned.

Here are six “Universal” ways your book might be identified as a creature marked for doom, rather than a creation to be celebrated…

That Beer Pong Pic Is Gonna Cost You a Job

10/22/2015

by Kim Schutte

One of the primary reasons for going to college is to get a good job when you get out. It’s tough out there and college students need to actively NOT do anything to undermine internship and job opportunities. College students need to carefully curate their digital identity. Or they might get stuck with one they don't like.

Titling Your Book: What’s in a Name?

10/22/2015

by Will Viharo

Choosing a title for your book is almost as significant – and challenging – as naming your own kid, since, in effect, your book is your baby, or at least your brainchild.

There are a variety of factors to consider when it comes to this decision, which is just as commercially crucial as the cover art, since it will be the initial introduction of this work to the public, and first impressions always count when courting success...

5 Ways to Create Brand Continuity in Social Media

10/21/2015

by Blair Strasser, Guest Contributor

It started with Facebook and Twitter. But the names kept piling on. From Instagram to Google Plus and from Tumblr to Snapchat, we now have so many social networks of different shapes and sizes that sometimes it gets really hard for a social media manager. Apart from handling the sheer variety and volume, one major concern in such processes is that of the “continuity” of the message. When you post across diverse channels all the time, there is a risk of spreading an inconsistent message and creating confusion about the brand. Here is a list of steps that you can take to avoid the same.

Small Presses vs. Self-Publishing: Is There a Difference?

10/20/2015

by Will Viharo

It’s the dream of most writers to have their work widely read, respected, and appreciated. Though this goal is common, the pathway to its achievement varies from individual to individual.

Most readers nowadays don’t seem to care as much as the authors themselves whether a book is published by a small press, a traditional house, or by the writer him/herself.

So is it pitching your book to a small press even worth the bother? Or is it more practical to just do it all yourself?

The answer, as usual, is not that simple…

Inside the Outskirts of Self-Publishing Platforms

10/15/2015

by Will Viharo

In previous columns I’ve explored the most popular platforms when it comes to DIY publishing: Lulu, Amazon, and Smashwords.

But others, like Outskirts, are fast catching up in terms of notoriety, if not always quality of service.

More options mean broader chances of eventual success, even if it also poses another challenge to the beginning author: how to choose?

The Haunting of Hip Hop

10/14/2015

by Kim Niemi

For as long as people have been writing there have been ghostwriters. I would wager some of your fondest childhood memories have ghostwriters – Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, even the Little House books all were ghostwritten, at least to some degree.

From penning celebrity tell-alls to crafting speeches for the highest political offices, ghostwriting is a common (potentially lucrative) practice – but you wouldn’t think so if you followed the “scandal” that caused tempers to flare in the rap world this past summer.

Memoir or Fiction: Mining Your Own Life for Material

10/13/2015

by Will Viharo

The human condition is a complex, mysterious state of being, and writers since the dawn of the written word have tried to capture it accurately, to share with their fellow wandering spirits.

Misery loves company. But so does joy.

Since every person’s life story is different, they’re all worth telling.

When it comes to putting it down on paper, however, you have to decide: do you want to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, or an artfully commercialized version of it that might actually sell some books?