by Will Viharo
It’s New Year’s Eve, so you probably won’t even read this until next year, i.e. New Year’s Day - bleary-eyed, hung-over, and anxious about your professional future. Well, maybe not hung-over since not every writer drinks like Charles Bukowski on a bender every December 31 (or ever). One reason for that is you aren’t Charles Bukowski (he’s dead, for one thing, something else you don’t want to have in common), but you will never come close to his rarified literary ranks unless you buckle down and start taking your career seriously. Not as an alcoholic. As an author. Anyone can drink excessively, but not everyone can write successfully.
by Natalie Smith, Guest Contributor
As tradition has it, many marketing departments focus only on advertising and sales pitches, while ignoring the importance of building relationships with customers. However, by providing superb customer service that creates human-to-human connections, companies will manage to satisfy their customers and make them loyal. As such customers are likely to become (unpaid!) advocates of the brand, providing quality customer service surely contains a high amount of marketing value. Here are some reasons why you should include customer service into your long-term marketing strategy and how to do so.
by Will Viharo
It’s almost 2016. AKA “The Future.” And before you know it, it will be in the Past along with all the other years of your life. As a writer, what do you have to show for them? This one is just about to begin. This time next year, plan now to be very proud of yourself…
by Mary C Long
An Occupy Wall Street protester was trying to prevent prosecutors from obtaining his tweets, but his request was denied – by a #hashtag happy judge. Malcolm Harris was arrested on October 1 while marching over the Brooklyn Bridge as part of the Occupy Wall Street protest. by Will Viharo Merry Christmas! Enjoying your holidays? Yes? No? Neither? Either way, if you’re a writer, your brain never rests. You’re always thinking of writing even when you’re not actually doing it. So after you’ve fulfilled your familial and social obligations, give yourself a present by politely stealing away from the dinner table or political argument or football game or whatever is distracting you, and devote at least a little time to what matters most to you.
by Will Viharo
Writers don’t typically conform to the norm when it comes to regular work schedules. Holidays might be a time to take a break from the literary grind and spend time with family and friends, even for our rare breed. But not always. For many of us, it’s precious time away from the “day job” to focus more on what we truly love, if only for a couple of weeks, our idea of a “vacation.” Here are the first six daily ways for conscientious wordsmiths to spend the traditional 12 Days of Christmas – without alienating your loved ones more than you have already…
by Mary C Long
Okay, “atrocity” is probably too strong of a word, but these are definitely atrocious behaviors that could put you in some hot water – as they should! And there are certainly more than four, so feel free to add your favorite Twitter faux pas at the end of the list.
by Will Viharo
One of the most lucrative and reviled types of fiction on the market these days is “fan fiction,” now known as a single word, FanFiction, or “fanfic” for short. Why is it both beloved and despised, depending on who you ask? For the same reason in either case: they sell like hotcakes, or at least attract thousands of free downloads, and sometimes make instant celebrities of their authors. So the real question is: why not jump on this bandwagon?
by Will Viharo
Erotica is one of the most lucrative markets for an indie writer, since the sexy subject matter is the main reason fans of the genre buy these books. The author’s name is practically incidental. But the author’s reputation always matters. Especially to the author. Or at least it should…
by Mary C Long
Making assumptions is not nice, so stop making assumptions about others on Twitter based on silly things like what they say and how they say it . . . except those two things DO actually count for quite a bit. If you are unsure as to WHY what and how you say something on Twitter is important, then you must have missed this post where we told you that you are what you tweet. If so, you might as well brush up on how to craft the perfect tweet while you’re at it. |
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