07/13/2011 • 8:47 PM 0
I heard this on Best of the Left! Check out: Charlene Strong: It Wasn’t Enough story from The Moth.
Usually I write about writing, but sometimes I’m moved to reach beyond that boundary, especially when I run across something that moves me so much. This made me cry.
Spread the message. Share the message. It’s so much more than an equal rights message. It’s about love.
Filed under: podcasts
06/28/2011 • 1:58 AM 1
For podcasts, the app you want is Stitcher. Most any podcast in the world is available there, so if you want a cool distraction or need to research how to do anything, there’s a great resource. And Stitcher is free.
Not on Stitcher (yet) but available through iTunes: The Creative Penn podcast. Joanna Penn interviews helpful people on all aspects of publishing. And she’s a great interviewer, too.
Twitterific: The interface on this app is better than Twitter. I like it very much.
Wolfram: The smarter search engine.
And a sampling of music to write by: Fountains of Wayne, Eminem, Cee lo Green’s F**k You, Earth, Wind and Fire, Daft Punk’s Technologic, Journey, Pet Shop Boys, Freeland’s We Want Your Soul, Queen, old Stevie Wonder, and the immortal Weird Al’s White & Nerdy (see Donny Osmond’s dancing on the YouTube video for full effect.)
Filed under: DIY, Media, podcasts, writing tips, iPod, iTunes, Pet Shop Boys, Podcast, podcasts, Stitcher, Twitter, Twitterific
06/23/2011 • 1:52 PM 0
Did I mention that this app is free, free, free? Also, it’s free.
(There’s the power of the written word over video right there. I forgot to mention the app is free, but it was easy to add the detail of the price using this ancient keyboard thingy.)
More details: You don’t edit Moso, you just do retakes. It’s easy to upload to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, though. I’d say if there’s a social medium that’s underused for authors promoting their books, it must be YouTube. Moso will help you with that.
Podcasts can be helpful, though access and difficulty of execution/time involved increases the variables in that argument. I don’t think Facebook is as effective for promotion as it could be. Twitter can be effective if used well (but that’s another post.)
Filed under: authors, blogs & blogging, Books, podcasts, Publicity & Promotion, self-publishing, What about Chazz?, Facebook, Social Networking, Twitter, Video blogging, vlogging, vlogs, YouTube
04/11/2011 • 5:23 AM 1
Image by Sebastian Bergmann via Flickr
I’m an addict.
Food. Comfort. Book-buying.
And podcasts. Lots and lots of podcasts.
If you’re a self-publisher or interested in how a self-publisher used podcasts to go from freemium to premium, from ignored to in demand, from reject to popular author, check this out: The Nerdist.
Favourite story: After so many rejections, Scott Sigler was sure publishers would chase him down if he could just get a huge following for his podcasted book.
He achieved the goal he set for himself and called up the publishers again.
“Howdayalikemenow?”
And they said, “What’s the internet?”
Filed under: Author profiles, author Q&A, authors, podcasts, self-publishing, Writers, writing tips, book, Business, Podcast, publishing, Publishing and Printing, Scott Sigler, self-publishing
02/10/2011 • 8:47 PM 1
Cover of The Best Laid Plans
You know what’s really great about this story, right? Mr. Fallis submitted his manuscript to agents and publishers everywhere and was turned down flat.
Next, he podcasted his book.
Then he self-published his book.
That would have been the end of it, but when he won the Stephen Leacock award, finally McClelland & Stewart paid attention.
Now Best Laid Plans is celebrated.
(I wonder, are any of the publishers who passed up on the opportunity to publish the book questioning their judgment today? Of course not. That’s a rhetorical question.)
Shrill British paint guru Debbie Travis defended The Birth House (poorly). She might have fared better if she understood that (a) she should have read all of Best Laid Plans instead of dismissing it with such disdain, and (b) she might even have won if she wasn’t so damn cranky. When she dismissed other contestants’ objections as “ridiculous” I knew she already lost.
The Birth House might be a good book, but after Debbie Travis’s poor representation, I’m sure I’ll never give that one a chance. It’s kind of important to be likeable, even in debate. No, it’s not fair to the author, Ami McKay, (sorry Ms. McKay!) but it’s clear it’s more diatribe than novel.
Note to CBC Radio‘s Q host Jian Ghomeshi: Maybe she’s good for ratings but she’s no good for books. A judge who doesn’t read all of the books, and then has the temerity to condemn it without reading it all, shouldn’t be back on air.
Filed under: authors, Books, Contest announcement, podcasts, Publicity & Promotion, publishing, Rant, self-publishing, writing contests, Ami McKay, Best Laid Plans, Canada Reads, CBC, Debbie Travis, Jian, McClelland & Stewart, Terry Fallis, The Birth House
02/10/2011 • 12:45 PM 0
Image via Wikipedia
This week is so busy, it already feels like Friday. Tomorrow guest blogger Rebecca Senese will show you how to use Smashwords to publish your e-books. I can’t top that, so this afternoon, it’s time for an early reward post.
People ask what I listen to for fun and illumination and to escape the aching hell that is the mundane. (I can’t do laundry or go to the grocery store if I’m not armed with my iPod.)
1. Hollywood Babble-on with Ralph Garmin and Kevin Smith: Filthy, funny pop culture.
2. Best of the Left Podcast: A political theme-based podcast that’s a survey course on what’s wrong with Republicans. It’s stimulating, irksome and often funny.
3. I Should Be Writing with Mur Lafferty: Solid writing advice.
4. The Joe Rogan Experience: Explicit, funny and philosophy on weed. If you only know Joe as “The Fear Factor Guy”, you don’t know Joe. He often hosts excellent guests who are either hugely funny stand-ups and or the uber-intelligent. Or both.
5. Slate Spoiler Specials: This is movie reviewing after the fact. The reviewers assume you’ve already seen it so they aren’t coy about spoilers and discussing everything about the move in-depth.
6. Writing Excuses: Each 15-minute episode tackles a theme about writing to help you improve your craft.
7. Irreverent Muse: I just discovered Mike Plested’s podcast this week and now I have 49 more episodes to catch up on. Oodles of publishing advice.
8. The Smartest Man in the World: Greg Proops freestyles his unique brand of comedy. You’ll feel a giddy, hallucinogenic effect listening to him bounce effortlessly from topic to topic.
9. Smodcast: This is the Kevin Smith/Scott Mosier podcast that started the Smodcast network of podcasts. Funny stuff that’s just bent. Lots of personal stuff and then strange digressions that involve Hitler and the judicious use of time machine technology. If you’re looking for a funny Kevin Smith podcast that’s a bit more grounded, try Plus One, the podcast Kevin does with his wife Jennifer. When they talk about their kid growing up I think of my own kids and get misty right along with them.
10. Slate Political Gabfest: It goes up each Friday afternoon. I find the gabfesters are often a snooty bunch but the topics are often interesting. (I find American politics riveting, unlike just about any aspect of Canadian politics.)
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Filed under: Intentionally Hilarious, Media, podcasts, Top Ten, web reviews, writing tips, Arts, funny, Greg Proops, iPod, iTunes, Joe Rogan, Kevin Smith, movies, Podcast, podcasting, politics, Pop Culture, publishing, reward, SModcast
Winner of Writer's Digest's 2014 Honorable Mention in Self-published Ebook Awards in Genre
The first 81 lessons to get your Buffy on
More lessons to help you survive Armageddon
"You will laugh your ass off!" ~ Maxwell Cynn, author of Cybergrrl
Fast-paced terror, new threats, more twists.
An autistic boy versus our world in free fall
Suspense to melt your face and play with your brain.
Action like a Guy Ritchie film. Funny like Woody Allen when he was funny.
Jesus: Sexier and even more addicted to love.
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