C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

See all my books at AllThatChazz.com.

07/02/2010 • 9:36 AM 0

Finding Forrester On Writing

07/02/2010 • 9:09 AM 0

Three Tips on How Writers Build Platforms

You need a platform, preferably a big one. You need a website that’s all about the magic that is you and what you have to sell. (Hint: that’s the same thing. You sell yourself first and all your products are secondary. If they don’t like you, it doesn’t matter what you’re selling.)

1. Be nice. (And if you can’t be that, go work on that. It is possible to succeed without being a decent human being, but I’m not going to be the prick that encourages that sort of nonsense.)

2. Your Facebook page is not the center of your empire. Social Media is a moving landscape. Facebook might not be there five years from now. You scoff, but people who poured their hearts in their Friendster and MySpace pages are scowling about it now. Your website is the center of your empire-to-be.

3. Have Oprah owe you her life, be a world-famous expert on the next hot thing, be a reformed-junkie celebrity or be born to famous abusive parents. If you can’t manage these things, you’ll have to grow your following the old-fashioned way: provide value and help people with their problems.

There’s plenty more to say on this subject. Read it in Christina Katz’s Get Known Before the Book Deal and read How to Become a Famous Author Before You’re Dead by Ariel Gore.

Filed under: Books, Publicity & Promotion, publishing, web reviews, Writers, Books for Writers, How Writers Build Platforms, Writers and marketing, Writers and promotion

07/02/2010 • 2:27 AM 0

Christopher Hitchens on Free Speech

Filed under: banning books, Writers

07/01/2010 • 9:08 AM 0

Should you outline your book?

Outlines save time.

The novice should outline so they don’t get sucked down too many rabbit holes. It is soul-crushing to write and write and then to discover that you need to back up 50 pages to get out of a dead end. I just write a sequence of events and don’t bother with the Roman numerals they taught you in grade school. A good outline will help you avoid pitfalls, allow you to play with timelines, beats, plot structure and pacing.

Outlines get a bad rep because people think an outline stifles creativity and gives too much structure. My reply: an outline is only a straitjacket if you allow it to be. You can deviate from the road map and explore but retain the strength of story through an overview.

If you are a discovery writer, it is incredibly freeing to just sit down and go, but you are risking wasted time. Given how long it takes to write a book, who has time to waste? At least have some target for where the story is going to end up.

There will be a thousand small changes to make when you’re done the first draft. You’ll have to adjust times, facts, locations and ensure a believable character arc.

Outlines will save you at least a bit of that work.

Filed under: publishing, writing tips, outlining, writing tip

06/30/2010 • 6:55 PM 0

Old Spice Commercial

Filed under: Publicity & Promotion, funny commercials, old spice commercial

06/30/2010 • 4:33 PM 0

What’s Your Writing Schedule?

The best type of exercise is the one you will do. And so it is with your writing schedule. Here are a few options.

Write when you get up, when the kids are asleep, when you’re at work, on lunch breaks, during commercials, at parties, in log cabins, in hotels, alone, with others, during NanoWriMo, any time you get a few minutes, when you make big blocks of time, when you get a babysitter, when you could be watching TV, on the bus and subway, in a hammock…

1. Just write when you can.

2. Write consistently.

3. Write now.

4. Revise.

5. Circulate your work.

6. Repeat.

Filed under: writing tips, writing schedule, writing tips

06/30/2010 • 4:22 PM 0

Slush Pile Hell

Here’s the key to the door to a long winding staircase down to the hot iron gates of Slush Pile Hell. All ye who enter here, send better queries.

Filed under: agents, manuscript evaluation, agents, queries, slush pile hell

06/30/2010 • 12:41 AM 0

Book Marketing Strategies

Last time I talked about using your business cards in the right way. The interpersonal approach must be more subtle than shoving your cards in somebody’s face. However, in other aspects, people in business (i.e. you) are often too shy. At the publishing conference, the marketing guy asked a roomful of authors when they had sent out their last press release. (One ebook publisher said, “Last Tuesday.” Everyone else? Silent.)

Then said marketing guy asked, “How many of you have magnetic signs on your cars advertising your business or book?”

We did not raise our hands.

“Yes, of course,” he said. “We wouldn’t want anyone to find out about you and actually buy your book, now would we?”

It was charming with the British accent.

PS I don’t get any kickbacks from them, but FYI, Vistaprint has good deals on magnetic signs and many other promotional tools.

Filed under: Publicity & Promotion, publishing, advertising, book marketing, magnetic signs, press releases

06/28/2010 • 12:00 PM 2

The Best Business Card Tip of the Day

The best business card tip I received this weekend came from my newest Twitter friend @bonmotgirl.

I had ordered my business card and the promo card for my novel separately at different times (due to a lack of foresight on my part.) Next time I’ll do as Pam suggested:

Get a folding card, one half business contact info, half promo card. Lesson learned. Thanks for the idea Pam!