I never imagined how much time is involved in book marketing and building (and maintaining) your author platform. I work full-time and write part-time. Life gets in the way sometimes, but I make sure I build in time for the care and feeding of my social media sites. Here are my ideas for writers. Social is the key word. You need to have a presence, and you need to be active on the sites you choose. But, you can't do everything, and all platforms may not work for you and your books. Decide what sites you and your readers like. And know the demographics of each site. The Pew Research Center has a good overview of each of major players. For my readership, I focus on Facebook, Twitter, Google+,
The Mystery Series I Wandered into Reading Several mystery series randomly fell into my lap lately, to my great satisfaction. Tired of beginning and rejecting series by other authors, I am delighted to find two that bring me joy. Who doesn’t love Charles Todd’s Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries? Well, I’ve learned that for some, such is NOT his/her cup of tea, and that I should not assume everyone wants to read what I enjoy. In any case, Inspector Rutledge’s early 20th Century British settings and cases remind me of both Anne Perry’s Thomas Pitt and William Monk series, also set in Great Britain, albeit forty or so years before the Rutledge series. I often listen to books on CD as I cook, cle
Have you ever wanted to craft a police procedural? Here are 5 tips to help you get started.
Murder on Tour is the travel-themed book group featured in the Hazel Rose Book Group series. The members each read a different mystery based on a geographical setting and gather to discuss their selections. They try to avoid spoilers but sometimes they slip! Years ago, when I lived in California, I belonged to a theme group and got acquainted with a variety of authors. Aside from Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie, I hadn’t read many mysteries up to that point. Our themes varied from month to month—for example, one month we would read stories with journalist detectives; the theme for another month could be Alaskan settings. I moved to Virginia in 1996 and I’ve been in many wonderful book groups,
