How I Launched Myself Publicly in the Creative Life: I Publish a Book
“Is it possible to support myself in the creative life?” you ask.One day in 1988, I stood in front of a door, on the other side of which was a group of Foster Grandparents. I had in hand a copy of my recent collection of autobiographical short stories What Became of Them and Other Stories […]
Leading a Conference Workshop as a Guest Presenter
Participating in writing conferences, either as a panelist, lecturer, or as a workshop leader is a great way to get your name and book out in public and to network with other writers like you—especially when you are leading a conference workshop. Being a presenter comes with tasks, but the challenge is not impossible. I’d […]
How to Have a Successful Book Reading–Author Book Reading Tips
You can have a great book reading by following several guidelines. I would call them best practices of doing a public reading of your memoir. They are now somewhat natural for me now but they were originally studied and rehearsed. You may know some of them intuitively and others you can learn.
How to Organize a Virtual Book Tour
As part of my winter/spring virtual book tour for the Memoir Network Writing Series, I did a stop at Sandra Beckwith’s informative buildbookbuzz.com blog.
Jitters Over Don’t Let Writer’s Block Stop You Launch
I have felt the book jitters as my new book Don’t Let Writer’s Block Stop You has gone out into the world. My anxiety is under control, but it remains a low-level anxiety. Were I to give in to it, I would be succumbing to a version of the writer’s block—the one that postpones publication—and […]
How to Self-Publish with a Book Packager
You are joining the ranks of some of the most well-known authors, including Deepak Chopra, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein and Anais Nin. In fact, you probably have several self-published titles in your own library. What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Nelson Bolles and Irma Rombauer’s The Joy of Cooking are two examples.
Suspects and Prospects in the Marketing Pipeline
Making consistent use of your marketing pipeline has to be a paramount focus if you are to succeed as a memoir professional. When people contact you as a result of your general outreach, they enter your pipeline. Some people who enter your pipeline only want general info while others are ready to hire help for […]
Branding Yourself: Making a Public Presence for Your Work
“Branding”—isn’t that about steers? Or Coca-Cola and Nike? What’s that got to do with the home-based lifewriting practitioner? Do I really need to be concerned with mega-corporate buzzwords like “branding”? In a word, yes. Why? Because if you are making a public presence for your work, your brand is being made whether you are aware […]