Link Feast For Writers, vol. 50

Writing blogs are a great way to learn about writing and marketing our books. Here are some of the best links I’ve found in the past weeks. Enjoy!
If You Have Time For Only One Thing

How to Get a Book Published: A Step-by-Step Guide by Anne R. Allen

On Writing

10 Ways for an ADD Writer to be OOH! SHINY!…Productive by Kristen Lamb

Career Lessons From Susan Boyle’s Success by Penelope Trunk

Daniel Day-Lewis’ 4 Tips for Writers Who Aspire to Greatness by Jon Morrow

Organization: Why Scrivener Is a Great Writing Tool by Randy Ingermansson (scroll down a bit for the good stuff)

The Three Phases of the Storytelling Process by Larry Brooks

8 Promises You’re Making To Readers – And Then Breaking by K.M. Weiland

The Stuff of Legends – Creating a Character Apocalypse by Kristen Lamb

How to Base a Character On Someone Else’s by Victoria Grefer

How to Write Better Heroes and Villains: Archetypes by Victoria Lynn Schmidt

9 Tips For Creating a Great Antagonist by Debra Vega

Writers, Know Your Archetypes: The Trickster by Debra Vega

The Single Largest Cause of Writer’s Block – Might Not Be What You Believe by Kristen Lamb

It’s Not “What.” It’s “How” by Larry Brooks

A Pantser’s Guide to Beat Sheets by Jami Gold

8 Things You Need to Know About Character Arcs by Debra Vega

Pacing by Ann Voss Peterson

How to Include the Five Senses Without Falling into the Telling Trap by Marcy Kennedy

5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Editing Experience by Cressida Downing

Most Common Mistakes: Do’s and Dont’s Of Dialects by K.M. Weiland

The Fantasy Novelist’s Exam by David J. Parker

5 1/2 Steps For Making Feedback Work For Us by Jami Gold

Book Marketing

Seeking the Perfect Book Title by Debra Vega

Book Series: Should We Include a Teaser Excerpt? by Jami Gold

Maven, Connector, or Salesperson: What’s Your Archetype? by Charlie Gilkey

Indie Life: Taking Advantage of the Impulse Purchase by Laura Pauling (why do readers buy your book?)

101 Quick Actions You Can Take Today to Build the Writer Platform of Your Dreams by Kimberley Grabas

11 Must Have Elements For Your Author Website by Kimberley Grabas

How to Launch a Book in 3 Steps by Nick Thacker

How to Market a Book and Strengthen Your Author Platform with Goodreads by Kimberley Grabas

How an Introvert Became a Promoter by Kourtney Heintz

The Introvert’s Guide to Making Great Connections by Les McKeown

(Self-)Publishing

Fearless Pitching, Part 1 by Laura Drake

Fearless Pitching, Part 2 by Laura Drake

The Business Rusch: Dreams and Bestsellers by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Does Free Still Work? by C.J. Lyons

An Interview With ‘the Sluts’ by Larry Brooks (collaboration can really pay off)

Blogging

Does Google Know Your Wrote That? by Randy Ingermansson (scroll down a bit to get to this piece of gold article)

Why Authors Should Be “Selfish” Bloggers: And How To Be One by Victoria Grefer

Fix a Mess of a Multi-Topic Blog by Natalie Webb

5 Signs You’re Having a Blog Identity Crisis and 8 Ways to Fix It by Roni Loren

8 Under-Used Blog Post Structures to Try Today – And 24 Inspiring Examples by Ali Luke

Content Marketing Zen: The 5-Step Process to Creating Remarkable Content by Gregory Ciotti

13 Blog Post Blunders You Should Avoid (And What to Do Instead) by Kimberley Grabas

8 Steps to Create Visually Appealing Blog Posts by Rebecca Belliston

Should We Use a Blog Commenting System? by Jami Gold

Social Media

Facing a Social Media Apocalypse? Sometimes We Need to Mend the Hearts We Hurt by Kristen Lamb

Social Media Strategies and Decisions by Laura Pauling

Slack, Fake and Egocentric Followers: How to Spot Them by Cate Russell-Cole

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Writing Resources by Gene Lempp

Monday Must Reads by Yesenia Vargas

Deep Stuff

Build a Small Fire and Sit Close To It by Charlie Gilkey

What’s The Best Advice Your Elders Ever Gave You? by Jenny Hansen

50+ Better Questions To Ask Than How To Be More Productive by Charlie Gilkey

Fun Stuff

10 Sources That Inspired Game of Thrones’ Dark Storytelling by Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders

What if The Simpsons was invaded by characters from Game of Thrones? by Meredith Woerner

All the Books Getting Turned Into Movies and TV Shows Over the Next Year by Meredith Woerner

15 Book Series To Read If You Enjoyed “The Hunger Games” by Arielle Calderon and Natalie Morin

30 Most Hilarious Auto Correct Struggles Ever by Jessica Misener

Nerd Nirvana: Top 10 Nerdiest Cities in America by Amanda Kooser

5 Tips To Get Book Endorsements and Reviews

“The best time to start promoting your book is 3 years ago. The second best a year ago. If that’s not possible, start now.”

That book promotion advice is especially true when it comes to endorsements and reviews. You’re more likely to get praising blurbs from people who know you, like you and whose backs you’ve rubbed.

But if you don’t have those connections yet, don’t despair. You can get endorsements and reviews with a kick ass book, thorough research, well crafted emails, determination and follow-up. Have faith in you and your book.

Here are my top 4 tips for getting endorsements and reviews:

1. Lay the foundation.

Join a reader/writer community of your own genre at least 4 months before your book comes out. It can be a fan forum, Kindle author forum or Twitter hashtag group or what ever medium suits you and your Ideal Readers. Dedicate 10 minutes a day to getting to know some people there. If they have blogs, read them and comment.

I recommend the wonderful WANA community (We Are Not Alone). Our Twitter hashtag is #MyWANA. Twitter is a great way to discover the blogs of WANAs and frequent them.

Also, make your book as gorgeous as it can be. You need a pretty cover and top notch blurb. Having a clear website with all the information readers and book bloggers might need is a big plus.

2. Call in favors.

When you have blogging buddies who read your genre, ask them to blog a review and/or post a short review to Goodreads or Amazon. Return the favor when their book is out.

And don’t forget to pimp your book to your flesh space friends who read. Pester… er, cajole them to post reviews to Goodreads and Amazon. If they loved your book, they’ll do it gladly.

3. Know your field and give before you ask.

Follow a few book blogs of your genre that review books you enjoy. Leave comments and share their links – book bloggers appreciate the love as much as any blogger. If you’ve given first, they’ll remember you and might be more willing to review your book if they have time.

For endorsements for indie authors, it might be smart to focus on succesful self-published authors in your genre. Another great option is writers whose workshops or courses you have taken. You can also use snippets of reviews as endorsements.

To get 2 reviews/endorsements, you might have to ask as many as 10 people. Authors and book reviewers are busy, and reviewers have To Read Lists as long as your arm. Make it as easy as possible for them to review your book. Give them all the information in your email and have a clear and informative website. Maybe even create a specific section there for reviewers.

4. Do book giveaways like crazy.

Give em away on your blog, your friends’ blogs (bribe them with guest posts) and on blog tours. The more books out there, the more likely they’re read and reviewed by readers. Rafflecopter is your friend. Goodreads is another great place to get your book baby on the hands on readers.

5. Keep gathering reviews after the book release.

Reviews are important even after the launch. Book blogger reviews give you visibility and reader reviews give you credibility. Once you’ve established an email list, you can ask readers to post their reviews in Goodreads and Amazon. The more reviews there are, the easier it is to get more. It’s a snowball effect.

 

Last but not least, check out these links with more specific advice:

Reviews and Endorsements: Do They Matter? by Darcy Helle

Quotes For Your Book – How and Why to Get Them by Sue Collier

The Discoverability Challenge: With More Authors Self-Publishing Each Year, How Will Your Book Get Noticed? by Jessica Bennett

8 Step Plan For Landing Book Promotion Endoresements by Dana Lynn Smith

Gutsy Book Buzz: How to Get Endorsements by Sonia Marsh

7 Ways to Get Your Book Reviewed by Dana Lynn Smith

Indie Book Reviewer – A Listing of Bloggers Who Review Indie Books

How to Get Reviewed at The Kindle Book Review

Getting Reviewed – The Indie Author Condundrum by Eric Dontigney

How to Get Books Reviewed by Giacomo Giammatteo (Giveaways are they key to getting reader reviews)

How to Write an Email That Will Win You A Book Review by Catherine Ryan Howard.

Getting Book Reviews: 10 Things Reviewers Hate by Alexander Tate

Requesting Book Reviews by the Bookish Babe

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 46

Here’s your bi-weekly round of writing, book marketing and otherwise interesting links. My apologies for skipping last week and not hitting Wednesday. I’m still not entirely adjusted to the new schedule thanks to the day job.

Next Link Feast is due in two weeks, on Wednesday 8th of May.

Please leave a comment and tell me what kind of links would be useful to you. Is there an area of writing you’re struggling with right now?

 

On Writing

How to Create and Maintain the Habit of Writing by Karen Woodward

How To Not Write Crap by Karen Woodward

5 Tips to Help You Make Your Deadline by Liza Palmer

The Biggest Problem With Writing Advice by Suzannah Windsor Freeman

Confessions of a Converted Structuralist – Or How I Realized the Error of My Ways by Veronica Sicoe

Wisdom for Writers From Steve Jobs (Yes, THAT Steve Jobs) by Tiffany Reisz

Dean Wesley Smith Writes a Novel in 10 Days by Karen Woodward

The Writing Life: Knowing When To Say No And When To Say Yes by Roni Loren

Writing for Inspiration by David Farland

 

Characters & Plotting

Mysterious Characters and the Search of “Who Am I?” by David Farland

Rich Character Voices by David Farland

What Downton Abbey Can Teach Us About Tension by Janice Hardy

What Slush Pile Readers Look For In a Novel by Karen Woodward

The Most Important Thing at the Start of Your Novel by David Farland

The Strange: How to Hook A Reader’s Interest by Karen Woodward

Ooh, plot device! by Susan Bischoff (Act 1 done right)

Fixing a Scene by Jenny Hansen

Plot Fixer: Weak Black Moment and The End Does Not Satisfy by Kara Lennox

Great Fiction Goes For the Guts by Kristen Lamb

Triggers and Taboos in Fiction by Veronica Sicoe

 

Scenes, Dialogue and Other Goodness

How to Set the Tone and Mood In Your Scenes by Janice Hardy

The End Game by Joe Moore

Les Edgerton Shows How to Write Amazing Dialogue – Part 1

Les Edgerton Shows How to Write Amazing Dialogue – Part 2: An Excercise

Les Edgerton & Two Tips to Take Your Dialogue to a Whole New Level – Part 3

Body Language Cues to Emotion by Joanna Waugh

Speaking of Revising by Nicole L. Reber

5 Common Problems In Your Young Adult Manuscript by Kristi Cook

Do We Expect Too Much Realism In Our Manuscript? by Janice Hardy

Love and Romance: Do You Believe in Magic? by Susan Bischoff

Utopia and Dystopia – The Many Faces of the Future by Veronica Sicoe

5 Writing Lessons I Learned From Being an Editor by Emily Wenstrom

Larry Brooks on the Structure of Short Stories by Karen Woodward

How to Write a Short Story by James Scott Bell

Three Tips For Being a Better Beta Reader by Jami Gold

How to Choose the Right Conference by Gabriela Pereira

 

Book Marketing

The Myth About Introverts and Extroverts – Could You Be an Ambivert? by Kristen Lamb

When Titles Go Bad by P.J. Parrish

How Fiction Authors Can Steal Marketing Ideas From Their Non-Fiction Friends by Toni at DuoLit

Book Marketing Using Paid Promotion: Targeted Email Lists by Joanna Penn

Secrets of Copywriting: The Power of a Strong Value Proposition by Pete Sandeen

How to Get Honest Book Reviews by Karen Woodward

10 Book Club Tips by Dina Santorelli

 

(Self-)Publishing

Help! I’m Published and I Can’t Get Up by James Scott Bell

How Self-Publishing Has Changed the Industry by Clare Langley-Hawthorne

Answers to 14 Questions You’re Too Afraid to Ask Literary Agents by Barbara Poelle

Real Life Diagnostics: A Look at a Middle Grade Query Letter by Janice Hardy

Kris Rusch Says: Don’t Accept A Book Advance Of Less Than $100,000 by Karen Woodward

Self-Publishing Goals: Increase Your Income Streams by D.D. Scott

Self-Publishing Grabs Huge Market Share From Traditional Publishers by David Gaughran

 

Blogging

4 Ways Blogging Will Make You a Better Writer by Dan Blank

Sacred Cow-Tipping – Why Writers Blogging About Writing Is Bad by Kristen Lamb

An Open Letter to All the Bloggers Cluttering the Web with Forgettable Content by Mark Hermann

How to Make Sure You Never Run Out of Blog Post Ideas Again by Beth Hayden

How to Dominate Your Niche by Brian Clark

7 Lessons to Improve Your Author Website (or, Learn from My FAIL!) by Toni at DuoLit

Creating a Reader Friendly Website by Ellen M. Gregg

10 Important Questions You Should Ask a Website Company Before Buying a New Website by Caitlin Muir

WordPress Is Being Attacked: 3 Precautions You Can Take by Amy Lynn Andrews

How to Find Images For Your Blog With Photo Pin by Amy Lynn Andrews

 

Social Media

How to Set Up a Professional Twitter Profile by Shaney Lee

Did Facebook Change Something? 5 Tips For Page Owners to ‘It’s All Good’ by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Pinterest For Authors in 10 Steps by Amanda June Hagarty

5 Pinterest Tricks For Indie Authors (Wise Ink)

 

Collected Wisdom

Writer Resources by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

 

Deep Stuff

The Parental Paradox & Caterpillar Conundrum—How I Grew Up to Be THAT Mom by Kristen Lamb

I, Antagonist, part 1: The Procrastination by Susan Bischoff

How to Be More Productive By Limiting Open Browser Tabs by Amy Lynn Andrews

Why Daily Learning Beats the Gobble Gobble Learning by Sean D’Souza

The Perfect Health Regimen That Only an Absolute Dictator Could Impose by Esther Inglis-Arkell

Your Approach to Mistakes Defines Your Success by Penelope Trunk

Men and Women and the Real Workplace Revolution by Penelope Trunk

 

Fun Stuff

*squee* Thor: The Dark World trailer

X Is For X-Chromosome: 18 Interesting Facts About Women by Jenny Hansen

12 Phrases That Are Never a Good Sign For Hero’s Survival by Charlie Jane Anders

Little Girl Superheroes by Susanna Polo

10 Heroes Who Got More Interesting After Being Gender Swapped by Charlie Jane Anders

The Ultimate Guide to This Summer’s Science Fiction and Fantasy TV by Meredith Woerner

NYPD 2095 – The Best Police Protection Money Can Buy (12:21 min long short video)

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 30

Writing blogs are a great way to learn about the craft and marketing our work. Enjoy the posts I’ve hoarded, some older, some recent.

 

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

The Business Rusch: Agents and Money by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (what an eye opener)

 

On Writing

NaNo Check-In: Lessons From the Halfway Point by Jami Gold

Slow Writer Reformed: It Can Be Done by Roni Loren

7 Habits of Highly Profilic Writers by Henri Junttila

4 Options For Improving Your Fiction by Suzannah Windsor Freeman

How to Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by Dr. Rita Hancock

NaNoWriMo Kernel Idea Examples by Bob Mayer

Writing Starts With “I Want” by Kim Harrison

Why Stories Should Never Begin at the Beginning by Chuck Wendig

Donald Maass Talks About How to Make Your Readers Care About Your Characters by Karen Woodward

Five Common First Chapter Mistakes by Jody Hedlund

Revealing Your Novel’s Theme by Rachel Larow

Bringing the Theater to Your Writing by Evie Manieri

Too Smart? Intelligence in Romance Novels by Heather Massey

3 Types of Humor: Getting Them on the Page by Charlotte Carter

A Cauldron of Spooky Words for Your Halloween by Sharla Rae (how did I miss this one?)

Red Hair Is Not As Uncommon As You Think – 25 Repeated YA Cliches (PDF) by Joëlle Anthony

The New Red-Haired Best Friend (Updated List of Most Used Things in YA) by Joëlle Anthony

Reading Your Work: Pre and Post Editing by The Edit Dude at WG2E

Career Turning Points: Read 200 Books in Your Genre by Joëlle Anthony

Career Turning Points: Finally Call Yourself a Writer by Stephanie Burgis

Career Turning Points: No More Trend Chasing by Eric Luper

An Unorthodox Method to Developing a Wicked Vocabulary by Demian Farnworth

8 Tips For a Great Conference Experience by Janice Hardy

25 Things Writers Should Know About Conferences and Conventions by Chuck Wendig

 

Your Author Platform

eBook or Print: When Do You Buy One Over the Other by Roni Loren

Three Game Changers to Launch Your Career by C.J. Lyons

What Does Your Online Activity Say About You? by Rachelle Gardner

A 3-Step Way to Becoming a Celebrity Author by John Yeoman

Spacing Releases to Keep Readers Hooked by Elizabeth S. Craig

Book Titles: The Resonance Is All by Barry Eisler

Titles Part 2: Acquired Resonance by Barry Eisler

Why Ignoring Offline Promotion Is a Bad Idea (and 9 Ideas to Get Your Started) by Toni at Duolit

Observations From Running a Free Book Sale by Elizabeth S. Craig

How an Enterprising Author Sold a Million Self-Published Books by Mark McGuinness (she’s C.J. Lyons, a writer of excellent thrillers with heart)

 

Blogging

Possibly the Best Blogging Tip Ever by Rachelle Gardner

13 Types of Author Blogs: Pros and Cons by Veronica Sicoe

Branding Your Blog: You Make a Promise With Your Every Post by Julie Cottineau

Cheat Sheet to Hypnotic Storytelling by Demian Farnworth

Key To Consistent Blogging Success: How to Find Your Voice by Bill Zipp

What 8 Best Selling Magazines Can Teach You About Irrestistible Content by Demian Farnworth

Which magazine is the best match for your blogging style? Grab a copy and see what you can learn.

5 Steps to Creating an Everlasting Gopstopper of Traffic by Jon Morrow

10 Ways to Beat Online Obscurity by Demian Farnworth

5 Tips to Make Your Blog Posts More Shareable by Andrew K. Kirk

How to Install Google Analytics by Amy Lynn Andrews

 

Social Media

10 Strategies to Keep You Afloat in the Treacherous Social Media Waters by Janalyn Voight

Avoid the Twitter Timesuck: Twitter Less Than 10 Minutes a Day by Laura Pepper Wu

It’s a Brave New World by Diana Beebe (be careful about what you share)

Lexi Ryan on Using Facebook to Increase eBook Sales

 

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

 

Deep Stuff

100 Best Ways to Becoming a Better Writer by Demian Farnworth

The Path to Mastery by Robert Greene

Bullying: The New Dynamic by Lisa Hall-Wilson

High School Halls: What If High School Sucks by Julie Glover

 

Fun Stuff

Your Sex Life Is Boring and Every Animal on Earth is Laughing About It by Robert T. Gonzales (hilarious video)

Designing From Bones – Evil For a Reason: Morgana and Mordred by Gene Lempp

All Hobbit Trailers Stitched Together in Chronological Order by Meredith Woerner (over 7 minutes of Hobbit)

7 Norse Myths We Wouldn’t Have Without Snorri by Nancy Marie Brown

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My (Half) Brother: Ill-Considered Family Members in SFF by Emily Asher-Perrin

Movie Review: Skyfall Unquestioningly Belongs to Dame Judi Dench by Charlie Jane Anders (Spoiler alert)

Fantasy Novels That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity by Charlie Jane Anders

Alternative History’s Distortive Mirror by Aidan Harte

10 Must Books to Read to Understand the History of Earth by Annalee Newitz

Link Feast for Writers, vol. 29

Writing blogs are a great way to learn about the craft and marketing our work. Enjoy the posts I’ve hoarded, some older, some recent.

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

Want To Be Read 100 Years From Now? Here’s How by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

 

On Writing

“We are more afraid of our light than our darkness”
– Marianne Williamson

10 Tips to Help You Finish Your Novel and/or ‘Win’ NaNoWriMo by Jenny Hansen

What’s Your Writing Personality by K.M. Weiland

Build Your Reading List by Gabriela Pereira

Use These 2 Crazy Notions and Never Lose Your Motivation to Write by Krissy Brady

(What is your dream goal as a writer? What do you want to achieve during your author career? Does it fire you up?)

The Biggest Problem Facing the Beginning Novelist – And 6 Tips for Avoiding It by Anne R. Allen

Music as Writing Inspiration by Fae Rowan

The Risk and Reward of “Writing What You Know” by Natalie Sypolt

Is Your Idea Good Enough? by Jacob Krueger

Combine Many Awesome Ideas Into One Brilliant Novel by Carrie Vaughn

When Bad Ideas Sabotage Killer Concepts by Larry Brooks

Wait – That Can Happen?? by Katie Mills

(Be careful about how much information you share online about a partially done manuscript, especially blurbs and queries)

Transformational Journeys: Working With Archetypes by Robin LaFevers

Creating the Perfect Villain by Jacob Kruger (5 min video)

Using Pinch Points to Increase Narrative Drive by Karen Woodward

Flirting 101: Bust a Move by Angela Ackerman

Writer’s Roadmap: Using Excel to Keep Your Novel Organized by Laura Drake

2 Ways Your Brain Is Wired to Undermine Your Story and What To Do About It by Lisa Cron

What Type of Edit Does Your Book Need by Marcy Kennedy

Checklist For a Good and Helpful Critique by Kathy Steffen

Series vs. Stand-Alone: What Should We Work On Next by Jami Gold

Series or a Stand-Alone? How To Decide by Deborah Raney

How To Write a Kick Ass Series by Carrie Vaughn

What’s the Difference Between Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy by Karen Woodward

The Kids Are All Right: Greg van Eekhout and Carrie Vaughn on YA and MG by Myke Cole

Bacon, Booze and Books: What Kings Ate and Wizards Drank by Krista D. Ball (a writers’ guide, a cookbook, and a history of food all rolled into one)

 

Your Author Platform

Do You Really Need To Brand Yourself to Sell Stuff? by Mars Dorian

Why Settle For Your Reader’s Wallet When You Can Get Into Her PANTS by Kristen Lamb (hilarious post)

Using Technology to Sell Books: Quick Response Codes (QR Codes) by Karen Woodward

Micromoney As a Much-Needed Pat on the Back by Carrie Vaughn

How To Earn a Living As a Self-Published Author by Karen Woodward

The Gangnam Style to Becoming a Writing Rockstar by Carol Tice

(You don’t have to be outrageous but you need to do something special and different to be memorable. What’s your thing?)

Which Is the Best Social Media For Connecting With Readers by Jody Hedlund

A Painless Way To Use Social Media to Build an Evangelist Filled Fan Base by Tracy Atkins at Duolit

The Perfect Landing Page: Inside the Mind Episode 6 by Tommy Walker (7:17 min video)

Are Blog Tours Losing Their Promotional Power? by Katie Mills

10 Marketing Techniques That Annoy Readers by Jon Gibbs

7 Ways Authors Can Market Without Internet by Jody Hedlund

Being Influencer Isn’t Just About Getting a Free Book by Jody Hedlund

How Bestseller Lists Work by Tim Ferriss

D. D. Scott’s Indie Epublishing Strategic Planning – Part One

A Business Plan For Self-Published Authors – Part 1 by Denise Grover Swank

A Business Plan For Self-Published Authors – Part 2 by Denise Grover Swank

A Business Plan For Self-Published Authors – Part 3 by Denise Grover Swank

Start Your eBook Promotion on Your Amazon Book Page by Gordon Kessler

Many successful authors like Joanna Penn and C.J. Lyons also offer writing courses or guides. Have you ever considered turning your knowledge into a product? (Like a course, an eBook or a podcast) If so, this might help.

The Teaching Sells 20-Step Process for Building an Online Business (PFD) [Available this week only]

 

Blogging

High Concept Blogging: Achieving Bloggy Goodness In Record Time by Jenny Hansen

How To Prevent Content Creation Burnout by Brancica Underwood

The Problem With Blogging Only When You Have Something To Say by Sarah Arrow

The Death of the How To Article by Tommy Walker

3 Great Ways To Say Thank You to Your Blog Community by Danny Brown

3 Things Bloggers Should Do To Promote Their Posts But Don’t by Alice Elliott

Why Your Blog Commenting Has No Results by Brancica Underwood

 

Social Media

When Social Media Becomes a Time Suck by Jody Hedlund

The 3 Phases of Social Media Strategy by Srini Rao (I’ve posted the link before but this is worth re-reading)

Social Media and (Self-Imposed) Guidelines by Elana Johnson

Adding Your eBook to Goodreads by Tamara Ward

Facebook vs. Twitter: Where the Readers Are by Roni Loren

How To Tweet So People Will Listen by Nina Badzin

Simple Tricks to Improve Your Facebook Engagement [Infograpgic] by Francisco Rosales

 

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

 

Deep Stuff

Lazy and Found by Shannon Lell (I can totally relate save for the pot part)

“With this much horse crap, there’s bound to be a pony around here somewhere!”
– Naomi at Ittybiz

Is This the End of the Story? by Naomi at Ittybiz (an inspiring pep talk no matter what you are doing)

Strong Evidence That Humanity Is Capable of Preventing Global Environmental Disaster by Annalee Newitz

(really interesting article on how humanity eradicated slavery and has greatly reduced wars)

 

Fun Stuff

Happy 10th Anniversary Firefly! “No Power In The Verse Can Stop Me” Music Video

Designing From Bones: The Underworld by Gene Lempp

Designing From Bones: Unearthing Merlin’s Bones by Gene Lempp

Doctor Kitty Solves All Your Love Problems by Carrie Vaughn (Urban Fantasy short story)