Archive for June, 2008
Music, Movies or a Hair-flip? Where’s Your Writing Inspiration Come From?
Where do you get your inspiration for writing? Do you find it in everyday things? The way a bird in flight broke sharply to the left, chasing a summer bug. The way your co-worker flips her hair when talking about an ex-boyfriend. A picture posted on a fan’s blog about Buffy, The Vampire Slayer.
Or do you seek out specific types of inspiration? Movies? Paintings? Photos? Books? Trash? Music? Do you start with an idea and find the thing(s) that flesh out the idea, inspire the direction of the story or poem or novel?
With music, for example, do you put on the music first, writing what comes to mind when listening to Morphine, The Shins, Bach or Schubert? Or does the story come first with the music simply an inconsequential background sound? What if the music creeps through, into the writing, without you have noticed?
Doesn’t the fluidity of writing mean that anything can creep through? Whether music or your co-worker’s hair-flip, don’t a thousand things subconsciously infiltrate the stories and poems we write, making them totally different than what we initially conceived?
So how do we stop ourselves from going overboard? How do prevent ourselves from incorporating all of our everyday stimuli into our writing? Where’s the filter? Is this one of the marks of a great writer that they have that filter, that the means of their inspiration isn’t immediately obvious to the reader? Is this how they’re books or poems or essays become the means of our inspiration?
-Jenn
3 comments June 26, 2008
Enjoy the Fruits of Wordclay’s Writing Contests: Grand Prize-Winning Poetry Collection Now Available
It’s official: Brenda Mirsky’s winning poetry collection, Spare Parts is now available. If you’re a reader of poetry, or maybe you’ve been meaning to start, here’s your chance to enjoy this superb collection.
Most of the poems are based on real incidents in Mirsky’s life. “Writing poetry helps me get things in perspective,” Mirsky says. “And it’s way less expensive than therapy!”
Here’s a description of Spare Parts from Wordclay’s Bookstore:
Brenda Mirsky’s Spare Parts opens logically with the poem, ‘On the Day I Was Born’ and follows in the earthy footsteps of Mary Oliver with the sharp narrative focus of Robert Wrigley or Billy Collins. In the title poem ‘Spare Parts,’ the story of losing a father is interwoven with the coming and going of the television repairman, reminding us how quickly life can change and how we can be reminded of this passing at the oddest times. Mirsky has written a personal, thought-provoking collection of poems.
After we posted an interview with Mirsky back in April, Mirsky’s husband, Stuart, provided a comment and excellent description of her writing talent: “Ginsberg and (more…)
Add comment June 19, 2008
Book Bloggers: We’re Here! We’re Viral! Get Used To It!
It’s no secret that writing and publishing company blogs are the marketing wave of the future. In addition to increasing your SEO (search engine optimization) with fresh content, blogs are also the perfect platform to actually engage interested readers.
But becoming an active blogger is more than simply posting your insightful articles on the publishing industry and your opinions of print-on-demand technology or Kindle. You also have to seek out similar industry blogs and participate in the ongoing discussions on other Web sites. Joining their conversations provides you with the much needed exposure to other book marketing forums as well as writing groups that may want the information on which you’re commenting.
That’s the reason it’s important that author bloggers keep a running list of publishing discussion boards and other similar Weblogs. With your list, you can visit each Web site, read up on the latest developments in your marketing field and even post a comment referring to articles that you’ve written and posted to your blog.
But how can you hope to manage the colossal list of publishing and writing blogs while searching the Internet for new, relevant ones as well?
Introducting Comment Sniper, the completely free blog software that allows authors to stay current and increase their Internet traffic.
What is Comment Sniper?
Comment Sniper is a free blog monitoring software that allows anyone to track recent updates to leading blogs within select industries in order to maximize your exposure by being the first to comment. Once downloaded, users can cull specific blogs from WordPress, Blogger, Live Spaces and Google by searching for the keywords that best suit their marketing needs and goals. It’s really an amazing developement in blog tracking and networking strategies. By simply selecting those blogs that interest you most, you can give premium updates on your blog or Web site within relevant articles and associate your Web site with prime Internet real estate.
Here’s How This Simple Proven Strategy Works…
- You find the most popular & influential blogs relating to your industry and niche audience and load them into Comment Sniper for 24/7 monitoring of new articles being posted.
- You then configure the Comment Sniper with your mobile phone number (for optional SMS monitoring notifications), leaving Comment Sniper running in the background and connected to the Internet.
- You’ll receive immediate Desktop Notification and/or an SMS to your mobile phone the second a new post is made on any of the blogs you’ve selected to monitor.
- With the advantage of being alerted (regardless of where you are) of the new post, moments after it has been made, you can then visit and be the first to comment on the new post. Your comment should of course be genuine and add value to the article being discussed… readers will click through to your website more often if you take the blog article and add value to it with your comments.
- Repeat this as often as you can when notifications are received. Not only will you receive an immediate influx of visitors from the leading blogs in your industry, but the more valuable, targeted, and theme relevant links you create to your own website on these blogs, the better your overall search engine rankings will become.
(from Comment Sniper hompage)
As a blogger who recently discovered Comment Sniper, believe me - this software has become invaluable to spreading the word about Wordclay as well as providing information to other curious audiences about self-publishing and the DIY book marketing process. Trust me when I say that Comment Sniper is not only a free, useful book promotion tool, but also the perfect way stay in the loop of the ever-growing publishing industry.
Download this easy-to-use, innovative blog monitoring software today, and start marketing your new book by selecting the blogs that will provide the exposure you deserve.
Like I said, downloading the software is free, and there’s no hidden charge for working within their program. If you can spare five minutes, then you can begin your journey down a manageable, lucrative book marketing blog campaign.
This is Justin, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.
2 comments June 17, 2008
Insider’s Tips: How to Get Your Book Stocked in an Independent Bookstore
For most of my adult working-life, long before becoming a book designer, I’ve worked at independent bookstores. Most recently, for about nine years, I worked at The Book Corner — a Bloomington, Ind. institution for more than 60 years (in one form or another). Though we didn’t sell the same volume of books as the larger corporate stores, we had a pretty faithful customer-base and the best magazine selection in the whole city. Some of what I learned at The Book Corner might be helpful for self-published or print-on-demand authors.
We had our share of local authors coming into the store, trying to get us to put their books on our shelves. Margaret, the owner and manager of the store, had pretty clear-cut criteria for what would allow her to carry a local author’s self-published book.
First, the book had to be available from Ingram Book Company. More than likely, we weren’t going to order the book directly from the publisher because we’d have to pay (more…)
2 comments June 12, 2008
We’ve Got Company: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Visits Author Solutions, Leader in Self-Publishing
Greetings, Earthlings.
Wordbot here, reporting on a wonderfully busy day at Wordclay, located in the Author Solutions‘ Bloomington, Ind. headquarters. Last Thursday, June 5, 2008, employees of Author Solutions Inc. bustled about in preparation of a most important announcement to a group of esteemed visitors: the members of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation chaired by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. CEO Kevin Weiss announced at the press conference that ASI plans to consolidate its Shanghai, China operations into its Bloomington, Ind. headquarters.
“We are so glad that this idea was born in our state, and that it is growing and thriving here,” Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said of the growing self-publishing company.
Just read the press release distributed for a sense of the enthusiasm of those receiving the news:
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Visits Author Solutions Headquarters; “Self-Publishing Capital of the World”
Author Solutions Announces Consolidation of China Operations into Bloomington, Ind. Headquarters
Bloomingtion, Ind. June 10, 2008 — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Kevin Weiss, Author Solutions president and chief executive officer, announced jointly last Thursday the consolidation of ASI’s China operations into the company’s (more…)
Add comment June 10, 2008
Protect Yourself! Learn to Identify Legal Issues in Your Work When Self-Publishing
You might enjoy slinging a little dirt when you write privately at home in your personal notebook. Maybe you like making up stories involving Parris Hilton. And perhaps you’re also a Photoshop wiz who creates pictures that include of you beside Donald Trump. It’s all fun and games, right? Well, not when you cross the magical threshold of the public sphere, especially a major one called publishing.
As a writer, you deserve to experience the thrill and satisfaction of publishing. And, one thing that will truly spoil your fun is a lawsuit. To ensure that your self-publishing experience remains a positive one, it’s critical to understand a few legal basics before publishing your work, including how to recognize and avoid content that constitutes invasion of privacy, libel and copyright infringement.
Did You Hear? Secrets about Invasion of Privacy
An invasion of privacy lawsuit can occur when a person (specifically, a living individual … ghosts do not apply, and if they did, they’d just haunt you instead) feels their right to control personal information has been violated, causing emotional distress for this person. There are various categories of invasion of privacy, but for publishing purposes, those that apply include: the disclosure of private facts that a “reasonable” person would find objectionable; publication of (more…)
4 comments June 5, 2008
Behind the Publishing Scenes: Wordclay at BookExpo America
Justin here, giving you a peek behind the scenes of Wordclay at BookExpo America.
For those of you who don’t know about BookExpo America (or BEA), it’s only the biggest gathering of book distributors, publishers and authors in the United States. Those attending get a sneak peek into the publishing industry and the future of book printing. In addition to the tradeshow floor where publishers exhibit their fall titles as well as manuscript submission information, BEA hosts education and information sessions, author breakfasts and lunches, as well as other special events. Not only is BEA the perfect opportunity to network with booksellers, publishers and other emerging writers, but it’s an insightful experience of the ever-growing publishing world as well.
Our parent company, Author Solutions Inc. , had a booth at BEA and represented all of the ASI brands including Wordclay. Unfortunately, this blogger was unable to attend, holding down home base here at Wordclay. But Sandra Powell, one of Wordclay’s fearless leaders and ambassador, womanned the booth.
Just take a look at some of the pictures.
Also in attendance were such organizations as WritingRoom.com, WOW! , Gather.com, American Heroes, Shelfari, among others. Just imagine everyone in the publishing industry crammed into one building, frequenting conference after conference for three days straight.
Now, even upon Sandy’s return, we’ve got our work cut out for us. Partnerships and new communities will emerge, and we’ve got inside information on them all. Keep an eye out for announcements and listings of all the information the Wordclay crew was able to gather from authors and book publishing professionals. You wouldn’t want to be left behind in this exciting time of online author networks and budding publishing technology like Kindle and AuthorCrossing.
If you were at BEA and would like to share your experience with us, please feel free to post a comment here. If not, don’t be shy. Post a question about the conference, and maybe even arrange for a booth at next year’s BookExpo America, scheduled May 28 - May 31, 2009, at the Jacob K. Javits Center, in New York City.
This is Justin Dimos, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.
Add comment June 3, 2008
Wordclay Short Story Contests Now Closed!
Greetings, Earthlings,
Unfortunately, you heard correctly. The Wordclay Single Short Story and Story Collection Contests officially closed their e-mail doors to submissions on Friday, May 31, 11:59 p.m. EST.
Stay tuned for an announcement of the winners and finalists in the coming month, as well as information about our next nonfiction contest.
As I’m sure you’re aware, 15 finalist will be chosen based on their unique content and emerging style for appearence in the Wordclay Anthology Series, Best Modern Voices. You can check out Volume 1: A Poetry Anthology at Wordclay’s bookstore if you’re jonesing for a preview.
Questions and concerns about the contest can all be submitted here, and one of the bloggers will response as promptly as possible. It’s only our second writing contest, so bear with us. Of course we’re still ironing out all the kinks, but we should have winners announced by either the end of June or the beginning of July.
Thanks everyone for the wonderful submissions. Stories came from accomplished authors to emerging writers, and entries in total numbered in the thousands. Rest assured, however, that each submission will be given the time it deserves and seriously considered for our listed prizes.
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Add comment June 2, 2008
Wordclay Self-Publishing Feedback: Step Right Up & Take Your Best Shot
Greetings, Earthlings,
Wordbot here, and today Wordclay has authorized this publishing robot to open the floor up to our fellow bloggers.
Think about it – now’s your chance to tell Wordclay your opinion of our Web site and publishing philosophy without inhibiting or censoring yourself. The gloves are off, and we want to improve based on what you, emerging writers and authors, want!
Questions To Consider:
There’s no limit to the feedback you can provide. Simply be honest and reasonable, and our professionals will make every effort to adapt. Our ultimate goal for publishing is to make the process as hassle-free as humanly possible for contemporary authors looking for an affordable publishing solution, both now and well into the future.
Obviously, submitting your viewpoint is integral to our future in the publishing marketplace, and your opinions will definitely help us create (and sustain) a Wordclay environment where authors (and robots) can publish a book on their own terms, their own timelines, with their own royalty rates. So post your comment below and “help us help you.”
Or, if you’re shy, you can always e-mail your comments to customersupport@wordclay.com with “attn: Wordclay Blog” in the subject line.
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2 comments June 24, 2008