Fill Me In Friday: Best Writing Links of the Week

 


It's that time of the week again. Hope everyone had a wonderful week! Here are the best links I've come across in the last few days.

 

On Writing and Publishing:

The Literary Lab: Who is the Ultimate Authority of a Piece of Fiction?

25 Things Writers Should Know About Agents via Chuck Wendig

Novel Plotting Worksheets | Annie Neugebauer

Jennifer Represents...: The Fine Art of Zipping It, or XYZ PDQ

Reader Reviews and What Not To Do, by @WendySMarcus | Romance University

10 Bestselling Books with 50+ One-Star Reviews - GalleyCat

why Pinterest is totally not a waste of time: creating a visionboard for your novel

The Bookshelf Muse: Do You Need a Social Media Intervention?

The Value Rubric: Do Book Bloggers Really Matter? | Publishing Perspectives

Writability: Why I Don't Auto-Follow Back

No Shame Here | GENREALITY - on not considering any book a "guilty pleasure"

Writing in different genres: A Blog Series | Nicole Basaraba's Uni-Verse-City

Trust Thyself | Kait Nolan - on writer's block

What’s the Problem with FREE? « Kristen Lamb's Blog

Why blog hits DON’T REALLY MATTER | The Red Pen of Doom

The Twitter, it is NOT for selling books | The Red Pen of Doom

What You May Have Missed Here:

What You May Have Missed on the FINAL Week of My Blog Tour:

 

All right, that's it from my end. What were some of your favorite links of the week?  Have a great weekend!

 


 

 

 “...a sexy, sizzling tale that is sure to have readers begging for more!" –Jo Davis, author of I SPY A DARK OBSESSION

 

CRASH INTO YOU is now available!

Read an excerpt here.



All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2012 |Copyright Statement

 

Fill-Me-In Friday: Best Writing Links of The Week

 


It's that time of the week again. Here are the best writing links of the week along with updates from my blog tour. (Thanks to those of you who are stopping by for the tour. I really appreciate it!)

 

On Writing and Publishing:

How To Self-Publish So It Benefits Readers by Chuck Wendig

Engage with your readers through threaded commenting | Blogger Buzz --FINALLY, threaded comments on Blogger!

Here There Be Blog Trolls–How to Spot Them & What To Do « Kristen Lamb's Blog

Twitter - the virtual literary salon | Books | guardian.co.uk

Author, Jody Hedlund: Walls on the Path to Publication: a Necessity or a Nuisance

Eight Steps to Successfully Market Yourself Online - Author Marketing Experts

How Tightly Do You Control Your Blog? | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author

How To Pick and Choose a Writers Conference | GENREALITY

Twitter Really, Really Hates Google’s New Google+ Integration | TechCrunch

Ah, Decisions! FREE Wordpress Blog or Self-Hosted Website? | Molly Greene

Author, Jody Hedlund: Making Friends Without Making Them Feel Used

Sierra Godfrey: Blog Spam and How to Spot It

What You May Have Missed Here: 

by Elise Rome
What You May Have Missed on the Author Blog:

My Blog Tour Stops:

 

A Peek Into My Heroine's Background at Bookin' It Reviews

5 Ways Writing Erotic Romance Differs From Writing Other Genres at Words of Wisdom

Interview at Get Lost in a Story

My Road To Publication Started with New Kids on the Block at Ramblings From This Chick

A Sneak Peek Inside The Ranch (the BDSM retreat in my books)  at AsianCocoa's Secret Garden

Interview at Novel Reflections (New today!)

What Inspires Me As a Writer at Mina Khan's Blog (New today!)

Alright, that's all I've got this week. What were some of your favorite links of the week?

 


“...a sexy, sizzling tale that is sure to have readers begging for more!" –Jo Davis, author of I SPY A DARK OBSESSION

 

 

CRASH INTO YOU is now available!

Read an excerpt here.



All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2012 |Copyright Statement|

 

Fill-Me-In-Friday - Best Writing Links of the Week

 

 

 

It's that time of the week where I round up the best links I've run across this week and share them with you guys. This week has been one of the busiest of my life, but also one of the best ever. :) So thanks to all of you for the support and cheerleading for CRASH INTO YOU's release. You guys rock.

 


DAILY BLOG TOUR ALERT: 

 

How I Built a BDSM Ranch (in my head) and a chance to win CRASH INTO YOU at Deb's Book Bag! Plus a review that got me a little verklempt--can't tell you how rewarding it is to hear my book resonated with a reader. :)


Also, I'm being interviewed over at Love to Read For Fun where I answer questions like "Your book takes place at a BDSM retreat. Did you have to do a lot of research?" 

 



Now on to the links...

On Writing/Publishing:

 

Stops From my Blog Tour:

 

 

 

 

Alright, that's all I've got. How was your week? What were some of your favorite links from this week? 


Have a great weekend!

 


 

"Revved up and red-hot sexy, CRASH INTO YOU, delivers a riveting romance!" --Lorelei James, NY Times Bestselling author of the ROUGH RIDERS series

 

 

CRASH INTO YOU is now available!

Read an excerpt here.


All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2012 |Copyright Statement|

 

Fill-Me-In Friday: The Best Writing Links of the Week

 

Hey, everyone! I'm sure you've had a busy week preparing for the holidays, so I've rounded up the best posts I've come across this week. 
On Writing and Publishing:
Should You Join the Indy Revolution? by CJ Lyons via Romance University


For Gits and Shiggles:

 

Can Drinking Help Your Writing? at Slate Magazine  (love that one of the hypotheses is that writers are all a little crazy anyway and more prone to addiction, lol. Like we need anyone to tell us that we're bent.)

Awesome Holiday Videos via Emily Ryan-Davis

What You May Have Missed Here:

 

Creating a Story Bible by Suzanne Johnson
What You May Have Missed on the Author Blog or on My CRASH INTO YOU Blog Tour:

Reid, hero of CRASH INTO YOU, talks about the perfect submissive
PLUS a chance to win my book!
at As the Pages Turn
(And what that has to do with ugly guys in p0rn)
at Kat Latham's Blog
at Anne R. Allen's Blog
That's all I've got. I hope you all have a wonderful and happy holiday! Have fun, be safe, and eat too many cookies!

 

 


“...a sexy, sizzling tale that is sure to have readers begging for more!" –Jo Davis, author of I SPY A DARK OBSESSION

 

 

CRASH INTO YOU is now available for pre-order!

Read an excerpt here.


All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2011 |Copyright Statement|

 

Is Blogging Dead?

Last week I read a post by Wendy Lawton over at Books & Such Literary Agency in which she talked about "What's Not Working?" when it comes to marketing. One of the things that surprised me was that she listed blogging as the first one that is "not working." She even goes so far as to say this:

"I wouldn't recommend a writer start blogging in order to publicize his book in today's climate. It would be tough to picture a scenario where the outcome would justify the means." 

I have to admit, the statement shocked me a bit. Obviously, I'm a bit biased because I'm an avid blogger and really enjoy that part of social networking. But after I got over my initial pause, I read through the post again to think through what she was saying more rationally.

Her argument is that unless you've already built an uber-blog, then you're going to have a nearly impossible task of standing out in an over-saturated blogosphere.

Okay, I can see her point there. The blogosphere IS glutted. And when it comes to writers blogging, we're a wall-to-wall crowded room of writing advice, writer ramblings, interviews, giveaways, and randomness. After a while, click after click begins to blend together and sound the same. I know my blog reading has gone down in the past year because of lack of time and because much of it feels like reruns. It takes a great headline on Twitter at this point to get me to click over to something. My google reader goes neglected.

So how in the world do any of us stand out in that crowd?

I'm not entirely sure. My guess is that it's often like books--it comes down to the voice of the blogger, the freshness of their take on things (even if they are old things), and their engagement with their readers. And even then, many times the audience on the blog is comprised of other writers--so we're still really only reaching a niche group. A fabulous group, but a limited one a best.

Wendy also, by the way, isn't big on blog tours for the same reason. Authors put forth all this effort to write up new posts and interviews for tour stops--which takes a crapload of time--and then "tour" on sites that pretty much appeal to other writers. So you're swimming in the same pond, promoting to the same school of fish.

Believe me, that is weighing heavy on my mind as I try to formulate my plan for my book release. I am planning to do a blog tour, but now I'm wondering if my time might be better spent doing something else. I mean, there are only so many interviews people want to read. And I'm hard-pressed to think of sites that I could guest on that would expose me to a totally new group of people. I honestly think getting reviewed on the book blogger sites is probably much more effective.

So in that respect, I can see Wendy's point about blogging's effectiveness. (For the record, her exception to the "blogging doesn't work" belief is the person who has a particularly unique slant, some previous celebrity, or an already established audience.)

Does that mean I'm giving up blogging? Hell no. I love blogging. It makes me happy and I feel blessed that you guys are still reading me after two years, lol. (Thank you!) And I really do love reading others' blogs. But this post is not about me (shocking, I know.) ;) This post is for those of you reading who are in the early stages of your blogging or who are considering starting a blog or who have been blogging but kinda sorta loathe it. Here's my opinion, take it for what it's worth.

Even "If" Blogging Is Dying, You Should Blog If...

 

1. You just love blogging and don't care if it's promoting you as a "brand."

2. You are a published author who has or will have fans seeking you out online.

(Caveat: If you are a published author and don't like to blog, that's fine. Just find some online outlet where readers can get to know you and interact--twitter, facebook, whatever.)

3. You have a unique slant to offer (like Wendy mentions).

Meaning, you have something to offer your readers that would sustain a popular blog even if you weren't an author with a book.

4. You write non-fiction.

I'd be hard-pressed to imagine how blogging wouldn't help a non-fiction writer.

5. You're not into short-form social networking like Twitter, FB, Tumblr, etc. and feel more comfortable connecting online in long form.

I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones that come to the top of mind for me. Number one is my reason (and hopefully number two will apply to me soon too, lol.)

So what are your thoughts on this? Do you think blogging is dying? Do you find yourself reading fewer blogs, leaving less comments, or do you see traffic on your blog trending down? How do you connect with the authors you love? What makes a blog a must-read for you even when you develop blog reading fatigue?

Guest Blogging Etiquette: Let's Make a Deal


So if you've been blogging for any amount of time, you've probably had some experience with guest blogging--either inviting people onto your own site or doing a post on someone else's site. It's a great thing to do to cross promote and once you've got a book coming out, it's often a big piece of your marketing. Blog tours are all the rage because the internet is a great place to find readers and build word of mouth.

I get requests on a pretty regular basis both to be a guest on other sites and from people wanting to do a post here. It seems once you get past 500 or so followers, a good number of people want to hang out on your site. :) That's awesome. I love doing guests posts and I certainly love having people stop by here.

However, there is some etiquette that goes along with this process. Some people follow it and others fail miserably. So I figured I would give some quick tips I've gathered from my experience that may help you navigate the guest blogging waters.

If you are going to ask someone to be on your site...

1. Be polite when asking and give them a clear out so you don't put them on the spot. (i.e. if you're too busy, I completely understand.)

2. Give them an ample amount of time to get back to you, but it is best to give them a deadline
Don't say, "Hey, I'd love you to be a guest, can you get me a post by next week?" Give them a few weeks minimum. And you can give them an open-ended--whenever you can--kind of deadline. BUT, be warned--this may result in less success of getting that post. I am an epic failure at saying "yes" to open-ended, can you guest post for me sometime and then I never get to it. (To those of you waiting for a post from me, I'm sorry. I plan to go on a guest blogging marathon after I get done with this draft.)

3. Provide options.
A guest post takes a lot of time. I can whip out a daily post over here in under an hour, but when I know I'm going to be on someone else's site, I feel more pressure to get it perfect, for it to be epic. So, it takes more effort and time. Therefore, if you really want someone on your site, maybe offer to interview them instead of a guest post. This makes it easier for the person to just answer questions and not have to come up with a topic, etc.

4. If you are going to ask for a post (not an interview), provide suggestions for topics you might like to see from them (while also leaving it open for them to choose whatever topic they want.)
It is SO helpful when someone approaches me for a guest post when they say--hey, maybe you could do something on yadda yadda yadda. I may not know what topics they've already covered on their own blog, so this saves me from having to research what's already been covered on that site.

5. Once you get their post and schedule it, email the person on the day (or day before) the post is going to go live.
This a) reminds the person and b) gives them a the chance to do some promotion for you and send people there.

If you want to approach someone to be on their blog...

1. Do your research and know that blog/blogger (at least a little bit).
I have a pet peeve about people emailing me wanting to post here (to promote their book) and I've NEVER had any interaction with them. They don't follow the blog, have never left a comment, have never talked to me on Twitter, etc. They're a complete and total stranger. I feel like they stumbled across my blog, saw I have 1200 followers and said--ooh, ooh, let me hawk my wares here! I love promoting other authors, but my blog isn't here as an advertisement board for anyone who wants to stick a flyer up.

2. Offer the blogger a number of options--an interview, guest blog, contest/giveaway.
Show them that you can provide whatever type of post they need. And just like the reverse of the above, an interview is more work for the host blogger, so don't just offer that. It's also a lot of work to ask someone to review your book. That means they have to have time to read it, like your genre, etc. When people email me asking if I can interview them or review their book, I usually respond with--can you do a guest post instead? I just don't have time lately to come up with interview questions specific to you and your book.

3. If you get the go ahead to do the guest blog, make sure you send something with quality content, no typos, and include your bio and pic.
Don't make the blogger have to correct your work.

4. Get the post to the person on time. And do not ask them to send you a reminder. 
If they give you a deadline, keep it. And it's your job to remember when it's due--they are doing you a favor.

5. Promote that post on your own blog when it goes live. This helps you and the host blogger.

6. Always offer to reciprocate. If they let you on their blog, let them know they are welcome to stop by yours.

Overall: The key to remember with all of this is to know who is holding the power in the exchange (can you tell I write BDSM romance?) The person who benefits more from what the other person has to offer has to go out of their way to make it as convenient as possible for the other.

For instance, if I want my book reviewed on some big book blogger site--the power is in their hands. I'm the one who has to go out of my way. But if a brand new author who just self-published wants me to do a feature on their book here where I have a big following of potential readers, then I'm the one holding more cards. Sounds kind of snotty, but it is what it is. You'll be on both sides of the equation at some point.

So what do you think? Have you had any negative guest blogging experiences? How do you like to be approached for a guest blog?