New book review: The Art of Social Media

Authors need to learn  how to promote their brand/books like never before. And frankly, this is the part where I wander aimlessly trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do. I bought this book for my daughter for Christmas as she plans to design websites and needs to understand social media. She kindly lent it to me, and all I can say is wow. So much has become clearer.


And there are actual steps to follow to achieve your ends. Amazing. There are even links to aggregators to find and post content. Ways to streamline your connection with readers and reflect your own interests.

So cool.

Now, the bad part is that the book has underlined bits that in the ebook link to actual pages for new information and enlightenment. I highly recommend purchasing the ebook and skipping the print copy. The print copy is extremely irritating without those links and they're not anywhere else in the book that I've been able to find.

Even though the book is a little pricey at 12.99, I think it's worth it.

Until next month.

Angela James Speaking in Phoenix on Branding

***********************PERMISSION TO FORWARD**************************

Don’t Miss This Month’s Valley of the Sun Romance Writer’s meeting on April 14^th!

Angela James, Editorial Director at Carina Press, will speak for two hours on Branding. Every writer needs this valuable information!

Angela James, Editorial Director of Carina Press, Harlequin's digital-first fiction imprint, is both an avid reader of digital books and a veteran of and advocate for the digital publishing industry. She has enjoyed over a decade of experience in her field, including successfully launching, building and serving as editorial lead for two digital-first presses, Samhain Publishing and, since 2009, Harlequin's Carina Press.

She has edited bestselling authors such as Shannon Stacey, Jaci Burton, Lauren Dane, Ilona Andrews, Lilith Saintcrow, Shelly Laurenston and more. She was profiled in Fast Company magazine as a digital pioneer in the romance publishing industry and is the creator of the popular self-editing online workshop for authors, Before You Hit Send. In 2013, Angela was named New York Romance Writers of America's Golden Apple Editor of the Year.

You can find Angela on Twitter at @angelajames.

VOS will keep the business portion of our meeting to a minimum to make time for the full two hours of Angela’s speeches.

5:30 – Dinner & Networking
6:30 – Business meeting
6:40 – Guest Speaker

Building Your Brand, Part I:  (The first hour.)

How many times has someone told you to build your brand, but not told you what that means? You think it might mean something about a tagline, or your website header, but in reality, building your brand is an important, and sometimes complex, endeavor. One that can start right before you ever publish a book and continue throughout your career. In this workshop, learn what constitutes author brand, how it can support your career plan, why it’s important, how you can get one, and some things you should avoid.

Building Your Brand, Part II:

As an author, you’re told you should have both a website and a brand. In this workshop, discuss how the two should work together, and how you can use your website to support your brand. Learn via actual visual examples things to avoid and things to consider when setting up and maintaining your website.

Valley of the Sun Meets the 2nd Tuesday of Every Month
December: holiday party, regular meeting date, different location

Location:

Ironworks Restaurant
17233 N. 45th Avenue – Phoenix, AZ 85308

Bellair Golf Course
Crossroads: Bell and 45th Ave, just North of Bell.

(A few miles south of the 101 and a few miles west of the I-17.)

Non-members may attend two meetings before joining

Upcoming Workshop:

October 13th

Linda Style and Connie Flynn from Bootcamp for Novelists will be presenting one of their workshops.

New Year's Resolutions

Every New Year's Eve the topic of resolutions comes up. I resist making them, but usually give in. This year I've decided to think of them as continued growth in areas that concern me.

1, Organizing my home. I've started cleaning out the old already. I finally gave up my VHS tapes. Well, most of them. They went to Good Will today along with old cups and glasses I rarely use. I still need to place old pictures into albums and scan paperwork I want to toss.

2.  Increase my writing time. I've decided to keep the laptop on my lap while watching TV if I haven't written that day. This will allow me to open the file and work at a leisurely pace. I think I procrastinate sometimes because writing is work even if it is my passion. I don't know anyone who writes a perfect draft every time.

3. Increase promotion. My new laptop is helping tremendously. The touchscreen has allowed me to place my social media on my start screen. The links are at my fingertips. This too can be accomplished during TV time. Right now, we are watching The Sopranos.

4. Diet. I already reduced my sugar intake which helped me drop ten pounds. Next, I am going to reduce snacking. Changing one area of my life at a time is the key for me.

I hope your new year is everything you want it to be whether you make a resolution or not.

Until next time,
happy reading and writing.
Tina Swayzee McCright

Writer U January Classes

SIX WEEK CLASS: Discovering Story Magic
by Laura Baker
January 3-February 13, 2013
$90 ($85 by check) at www.WriterUniv.com

Prerequisite: For greatest benefit, please come prepared with a story idea, not a finished manuscript, to use for brainstorming.  And please see the movie Casablanca as close to the start of class as possible.

The acclaimed method for creating a story they can’t refuse is back for six weeks! Here is the clear process to creating three-dimensional characters, sustainable conflict, and a plot that escalates to wrenching black moments. This three-step technique has been the path for many unpublished writers to finally start selling and used by bestselling authors to broaden and deepen their stories. Bring this magic to YOUR book! Receive personal attention and brainstorm on your own story with critically-acclaimed and award-winning author Laura Baker. In this class you will:

* Learn what Inciting Incident catapults your story into compelling drama
* Create sustainable conflict that escalates within a tight, interwoven plot
* Use Character Flaw to compel the story
* Brainstorm villains who provoke struggle AND insight for your protagonist
* Use Turning Points to braid plot and character.
* Create visceral connections between plot, subplot and secondary characters
* Broaden the scope of your story with theme
* Hook your readers with escalating stakes and emotions

Laura has over two decades of experience as a writer, teacher, and coach. Her national award nominations include the National Reader’s Choice and the RITA, and her articles have been published in the Writer’s Digest and newsletters across the country. “Story Magic…is a no-fail system for achieving interesting characters and a coherent plot—and more.” Jasmine Cresswell, USA Today bestselling author of more than sixty novels. For more information visit her website: www.fearlesswriter.com.

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MASTER CLASS: How To Become A Social Media Superstar
by Lisa Pietsch
January 14-25
$65 ($60 by check) at www.WriterUniv.com

Prerequisite: Must have a website (free from WordPress.com if you don’t yet have a website) plus Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest accounts (all free). Accounts need not be populated or used yet, but you will need them for the class.

Stop the madness! You need to know where your social networking is taking you and stop the constant time-suck of blogging, updating your unfriendly website, juggling Facebook Profiles, Groups and Fan Pages, Tweeting, Pinning, and staying on top of your Goodreads, Amazon and MySpace pages. You need a 50-hour day to get it all done and still write! Learn from a social media professional how to manage your social networks like a superstar and bump up your book sales in only 30 minutes per day. In this master class, you’ll learn to:

* Maximize your author website content without adding more work
* Completely automate your Facebook Fan Page
* Take advantage of Twitter time to score big
* Make Goodreads work for you
* Profit from Amazon Author Central’s benefits
* Become a Pinterest pro and hook your readers
* Manipulate every opportunity for automation without looking like a bot

Lisa Pietsch lives, eats and breathes social media. She is a successful Social Media marketing consultant as well as a bestselling, multi-published novelist. Her clients include authors, editors, publishers, graphic designers, models, restaurants, retail stores (online and off) and even tequila distributors. Lisa has served as managing editor for five content-rich online communities and several online and print newsletters. She currently lives in the Hill Country north of San Antonio, Texas and online at www.LisaPietsch.com.