Interesting Author Tools

I'm on my new machine and don't have any pictures except cover art...and isn't it a wonderful cover? Yeah, I'm on the elf track again. I'll talk more about this is July...

This week when trying to decide what I would write, I ran across some interesting things for writers. Some of these you all may know and some you might not.

The first is a place called Tiny Url. The website for this is http://www.blogger.com/www.tinyurl.com and it does something miraculous. It takes a large url, like the purchase link for one of your books, and makes it small. So basically, you go from this

http://www.extasybooks.net/ebjmsite/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=ebook_flypage&product_id=5045&category_id=31&manufacturer_id=65&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=44

to this

http://tinyurl.com/AnElfsMagic

with very little effort. The page is self explanatory and these tiny urls can be book specific. This looks more polished and professional in my opinion. I use these in all my promo now and it does look much better.

Last week I had talked about promotion and given you a yahoogroup to join, so you would get pinged every day about promoting. This week, I'm going to give you a list of links where promotion is welcome. On these lists, you can promote anything. You should check them out.

An Alternative Read http://groups.yahoo.com/group/An_Alternative_Read/

Cupids Library Reviews http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cupidslibraryreviews/

ebook Chatters http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebookChatters/

Hot Romance Readers http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HotRomanceReaders/

Infinite Possibilities http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Infinite_Possibilities/

Moonlight Fantasy http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Moonlight_Fantasy/

Don't forget to check to see if they have any posting rules. Most groups have but they are easy to follow. These are but a few on my list which ranges between 80-300 groups. Do I belong to them all? No, I don't but I go regularly to check them out and see if they are offering author days. It never hurts to just join then change the email to special notices only. That way you're there and will only have to make a minor change to become a regular again. And there are always giveaways on these groups. Nothing wrong with some free books for any of us.

Another thing you all may have run across are book trailers. I have been asked many times whether you need one or not. I'm not sure if an author does but I can tell you it does generate interest. Take a look at one of my trailers and see what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMsz9fmy9ls

Now what is amazing about this video is two things. One is that it has been viewed 2,136 times. To this day, I get people emailing me and asking about this video. It's a little long but nicely put together even if there is an error in it that no one caught. LOL! Oh, well, it didn't distract anyone at all since no one pointed it out.

The reason the error was never changed is that making a video is time intensive and I had moved on by the time I noticed it. Still, videos are a great way to get the word out about your books.

That's all on the promo front this week. I wish you all luck in getting the word out about your books. Drop me a line and let me know.

More on epublishing and RWA: the epublishing dilemma has been heating up over at RWAchange. The group is renaming itself in order to not violate any RWA edict on use of the name as well as to better define what they are about. The new name will be Romance Writers for Change with a completely new website and yahoogroups. There is still a lot of misinformation floating around out there, so I suggest that all of you read everything carefully before you decide which side of the fence you'll end up on.

One of the best articles I've read this week really hits the nail on the head, so to speak and I think you'll see the truth of this blog. The link is http://www.blogger.com/www.theresameyers.com/blog/ and the author, Theresa Myers, is a long time RWA member. Very interesting to see another's perspective. And look under June 25th if the blog doesn't come up correctly as the software is new and while it's the same, there are some new features which I'm not sure I quite have down yet. LOL!

Next week I'll be gone to Idaho but plan to have something up. I'm not sure if it will be pictures or a travel log but it will be something. Then I'm off to visit a friend in Canada. She lives north of Vancouver and I can't wait to go. I'll keep you all posted.

One final thing...the winner of my summer pack is...drumroll please: Debby Creager (cleo@hbeark.com). Debby, I will be emailing you this weekend for your snail mail addy. And I want to thank all of you for participating. I'll be having another contest in late August for the release of my next elf book, Giselle's Elf, coming out August 1.

Until next time...hope you have a great week!

Lynn