How To Spot A Winner

  Last time, I considered "Failing To Spot A Winner" in the entertainment industry. Now, let's look at the reverse of the coin. How To Spot "Potential Success" Today, a publisher will assess the potential of an unknown author's manuscript by checking "Social Network Following", before glancing at the work. The assumption is that a huge …

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Failing To Spot A Winner

. The traditional publishing industry does not exactly have 100% record of identifying books carrying the stamp of massive popularity and commercial success. Consider this list of best-sellers from various genres and their initial rejection totals (source: "How Stuff Works"): Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (38) Dune by Frank Herbert (20) Carrie by Stephen King (30) Dubliners …

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Writers Write, Right?

My blog has been a little quiet these past weeks, as I've been catching up on some writing. I have seen a few independent writers recently close down their blogging activities on the grounds that they wanted to spend more time with their work-in-progress novels. Writers write, right? Well, yes, but... The demands of the …

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Twitterback

In a recent post I considered the social network etiquette - the "netiquette" - of Following-back, particularly in Twitter. I've now reached that wonderful "critical point" where my Following grows daily without any "marketing effort". I do know that this is due to the weight of numbers already Following me, rather than a sudden, global appreciation …

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FollowBack Mountain?

"Build a platform", they all said, to become famous and influential before you publish your first novel. Market something that does not exist? We used to call it "vapourware", now it's "work-in-progress". But I followed conventional wisdom... I joined a dozen or more platforms, forums and exchanges. I participated in campaigns to encourage Followers and at …

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Liebster Blog Award(s)

(Not the Oscars... but very, very close! Prepare for an acceptance speech!) I stand here today, honored to receive not one, but TWO, Liebster Blog Award Nominations! "What is this award?", you ask? The Liebster Blog Award is given to up-and-coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. “Liebster” is German for “favorite”. Hence this award …

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Want To Max Your Tweets?

Thanks to Stuart Carruthers for distributing this guide, read more at http://www.writeimagination.co.uk/ (Click on the rather huge image below to enlarge) What is your tweet-maxing strategy and how effective is it?