* NOT ANOTHER HALLOWEEN BLOG POST *

I've seen lots of blog post titles today about Halloween...and on that subject.. I got nothin'! So, my post is about...Guess what? Writerly things!

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I have another idea concerning bookmarks, but I won't post about it this time until it's more than just an idea. ☺

Right now I'm somewhat overwhelmed with all the marketing information that's out there. I've begun to not only "Save" info in my documents, but also print lots of pages. (I'm old-fashioned that way. I need actual paper and print sometimes!) Especially with all this info. I have a 3-ring binder now so I can keep it all in an orderly fashion. 

I shared some of my newly found information on my October 9th blog post, when I wrote about Sandra Beckwith's fantastic site, Build Book Buzz. If you're a writer and haven't signed up yet for her newsletter, you're really missing a lot. 

Speaking of newsletters, I received Publishing Syndicate's newsletter this morning. I've included the link because it has a wonderful interview with Teri Rizvi, founder of Erma Bombeck's Writers' Workshop. The workshop is held every other year, and 2014 is one of THE years! I've promised myself that I'm going to be able to attend this one...

The writing competition (held every year) opens on January 6, 2014, which is my birthday! ... Hmmm, maybe that will be my good luck charm! One of my local writing buddies, Donna Volkenannt won FIRST PLACE earlier this year! (I don't remember if it was in the Humor or Human Interest category, but it was very funny!)     

* Welcome to my newest follower Amanda Bretz. I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see! *

That's it for now. I'm ending with an inspiring quote...           

"There are people who put their dreams in a little box and say, 'Yes, I've got dreams, of course I've got dreams.' Then they put the box away and bring it out once in a while to look in it, and yep, they're still there. These are great dreams, but they never even get out of the box. It takes an uncommon amount of guts to put your dreams on the line, to hold them up and say, 'How good or how bad am I?' That's where courage comes in.” -- Erma Bombeck

New Marketing Tips for Writers

A few days ago I decided to do additional online searching about book promotion, knowing my time isn't too far away. Although, I have gotten a little ahead of myself, as I tend to do. I guess that isn't too unusual when you're about to give birth to a baby you've been loving and nurturing and keeping inside for.....years!

A nice & neat corner of my desk in 2010
(It never looked like this for more than 15 minutes!
I just wanted to show my cool coffee mug, which has a typewriter on the other side.)

Anyway, I googled: Authors how to contact book clubs. I'd already heard about authors either attending book clubs in person, or via Skype, or by phone, and I wanted to learn as much as I could. What a great way to connect with your readers! I will definitely do as much of this as possible. 

After scrolling down, I came upon Build Book Buzz, a fantastic site! It's the site of Sandra Beckwith, and I love the first sentence on the About/Contact page: Sandra Beckwith is a recovering publicist with more than 25 years of award-winning publicity experience. 

Here are some of the article titles, just to name a few:
Author book signing tips
How to set up Google and Twitter alerts
How to write a tip sheet 
6 surefire ways to promote your novel
~~~~~ plus others ~~~~~

All of these are free and ready to download. Sandra also offers coaching, presentations, and of course has books to sell. I was so impressed, I e-mailed Sandra and told her, and she kindly replied, saying I'd made her day! How sweet is that? 

*So, here's a tip from me. When someone makes a difference in your life, 

no matter how small it may seem at the time, tell them!*

"I love it, the writing process, but I don't have to like it. It's so frustrating. You feel you've written rubbish and you tear up the papers and walk around the room in circles. But it's a love affair. I like getting down there and putting on to paper. I never wanted to write until I was 40 or 50." -- Peter O'Toole