Tag Archives: author marketing

Does an Author Really Need Social Media?

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Does an Author Really Need Social Media

It’s inevitable: The instant you release a book or decide you’re going to be an author, you start finding articles and advice everywhere about social media. And then the questions start:

“What’s your Facebook strategy?”

“How many times do you tweet per day?”

“Do you have a Pinterest board for each book?”

If you’ve made any attempt to think about social media as an author, you’ve probably just made your head hurt. The cloud of advice is thick and vast, and it’s generally confusing and contradictory to boot. And that leaves you wondering what you’re really supposed to do with social media.

Well, fear not. Today, we’re going to take a look at social media and find out if an author really needs it. Continue reading Does an Author Really Need Social Media? →

Killing Your (Other) Darlings

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Killing Your Other Darlings

“In writing, you must kill all your darlings.” —William Faulkner.

Have you heard that quote? It’s more than likely that you’ve not only heard it, you were already nodding your head at it as you saw me starting off this blog post with it. Faulkner’s famous advice has been put into practice by writers and creatives everywhere, often to great success.

In case you’re not sure what to think of Faulkner’s advice, here’s another version from writer/director Joss Whedon (The Avengers, Firefly, etc.):

Here’s one trick that I learned early on. If something isn’t working, if you have a story that you’ve built and it’s blocked and you can’t figure it out, take your favorite scene, or your very best idea or set-piece, and cut it. It’s brutal, but sometimes inevitable. That thing may find its way back in, but cutting it is usually an enormously freeing exercise.

And you’re probably nodding your head at this quote as well. “Ouch!” you say. “That advice hurts, but it’s sooooooooo true!”

Okay. What about your other darlings?

“What other darlings?” you ask. “I’ve already cut my favorite scene out of my novel and it’s better because I did that.”

Great! Now let’s look at the darlings on your website. Continue reading Killing Your (Other) Darlings →