1. Apply for syndication for your blog www.blogburst.com
2. Submit your blog feed to Feed Burner www.feedburner.com and Optimize your blog feed for Smart Feed in Feed Burner www.feedburner.com (optimize tab); and activate Ping Shot for your blog in Feed Burner www.feedburner.com (Publicize tab)
3. Blast your blog with Feed Shark www.feedshark.com
4. Submit your blog to Best of the Web Blog www.blogs.botw.org
5. Search for Blogs for a “Virtual Book Tour” www.tecnorati.com/blogs/
21. Radian 6 www.radian6.com
22. JitterJam www.jitterjam.com
23. Send out a press release with keywords every time you accomplish anything with www.pr.com
24. Submit your book to Google Books www.books.goggle.com/googlebooks/tour/
25. Create a Library Thing profile www.librarything.com and solicit review from Library Thing via “Member Giveaway Reviews” www.librarything.com
26. Always give more than people expect www.titlez.com
27. Complete your Author Central account on amazon.com www.amazon.com/authors
Interview with Author/Editor Alan Goldsher
- Alan, tell us about your upcoming book. It picks up right where "Paul Is Undead" left off. After destroying a small club in Chicago, Zombie John, Zombie Paul, Zombie George, and Ninja Ringo have kidnapped me so I can document their attempt to take over the United States. We drive across the country in a tiny, smelly van so they can pump the likes of Justin Timberlake and Madonna for information about how to win the hearts and minds of today's music listeners. Turns out, these folks have paranormal powers of their own, and hilarity (and gore) ensues.
- What prompted you to write a sequel? The public and critical reaction to "Paul Is Undead" was wonderful, and a heap of my new fans asked if I could continue the story. If I didn't hit on what I thought was a fun/funny/original concept, I probably would've left it as is, but once the idea of Justin Timberlake as a supergenius supervillian crept into my head, well, I had to do something with that.
- How do you approach the writing process? I'm a worker bee, and I'm pretty disciplined, so just wake up, do my yoga, eat breakfast, and watch SportsCenter, then put on my hardhat and write for anywhere from six to twelve hours. I'm always juggling multiple projects -- some original fiction, some journalistic non-fiction, some ghostwriting -- so if I'm not in a good groove on one book, I'll work on another.
- Any advice for struggling authors? Plenty, but I'll give 'em these four tidbits for the time being: 1) Write every day, even if it's just for a few minutes. It's like exercising, in that if you don't use the writing muscle, it gets flabby. 2) If you're having a lousy day writing, walk away. Banging your head against the wall hurts after a while, and your laptop will be there tomorrow. 3) If you want to make a living at it, you have to diversify. Do it all: Fiction, non-fiction, ghostwriting, magazine work, etc. It takes a good long time to bring that all to fruition, so be patient; I've been doing it for over 15 years, and I still hustle. And remember, you're always going to be your best advocate. 4) If you want to get published, learn the ins and outs the publishing industry. Not fun, but essential.
- How have you ben able to get the word out about your books? Social media is obviously step one, and it's essential to set up your own website, as well as multiple Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr pages dedicated to both you and your individual projects, and use them to interact with your readers. It's fun to meet your fans, plus if you make a sincere connection, you'll have a reader for life. (On that tip, you can visit me at http://www.alangoldsher.com/, http://www.Facebook.com/AlanGoldsher, and http://www.Twitter.com/AlanGoldsher.) Also, make nice with your local bookstores. Introduce yourself, offer to sign the copies of your books that they have in stock (that'll get you good placement on the "local authors" display), and when you have a new project, line up a reading. Publicity departments at big publishing houses are overworked and understaffed, so if they see you hustling, they'll be more apt to hustle for you.
- Where do you see book publishing heading as an industry? Ebooks and social media have changed the game, primarily in a good way. "Give Death a Chance" -- available on March 27 -- will be an ebook-only release, and it's a novella, so I can sell it for $2.99 and feel good that my readers are (hopefully) getting their money's worth. In today's tough climate, a traditional publisher likely wouldn't want a shorter book on its list, but in this brave new e-world, I have the opportunity to deliver what I feel is a fun little project to my awesome fans, and I get to hype it my way, which is pretty damn sweet. On the minus side, the ebook market is crowded, so you have to work that much harder to spread the word, and, most importantly, you have get those creative juices boiling big time, because there are a lot of great writers out there delivering excellent material, and you don't want to get lost in the shuffle.
So Long, Whitney Houston
The news media will keep digging to find out how the celebrated singer died and no doubt will turn up dirt about her life in the days and months leading up to her death this past Saturday. I don’t expect the facts or rumors will be pretty. But her passing reminded us of the great run she had from 1985 to the late 1990s. When you look back at how successful she was and how powerful her voice was, you can’t help but marvel. Most people, even most performers, don’t get to hold the spotlight on stage for that long. She had at least a dozen good if not at times extraordinary years. But with lots of awards and record music sales, consumers will always demand more. The better you are, the more we want from you. The last decade-plus has not been so kind for the R & B singer and so when we look at her body of work we can’t help but feel like we were cheated out of seeing her continue along her path of greatness. But that is what life and drugs can do to a person, to a career. I choose not to look at the shortcomings but only to see that she accomplished something in her limited time that few have been able to do. And her death makes me hold on even more to those performers who are very good and who manage to play into their 50’s, 60’s, and beyond. Goodbye Whitney, and thanks for the memories.
Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person.
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