It's All About Writing » Publishing

Promote the Novel You Haven’t Written

Nicole Humphrey Cook — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:18:04 +0000

Thanks to the wonderful world of Twitter, I came across this article via @FionaRobyn written by Gina Holmes (@Ginawrites), suggesting it is a good idea to promote your novel (which is really just to say – get your name out there) as early as possible. After reading the article in full, I thought it was well written, insightful and why wouldn’t you want to get your name out there from day one?

After reading the article, I was planning a blog post about it, but before I did, I hopped back on twitter.

In case you’re not on twitter, let me explain what I did. On twitter you get 140 character messages. You can RT (re-tweet) something that someone else has shared to pass along to all of your followers (chances are you have some that are not following the original poster).

I did this with the article and then returned to my blog to begin the post I wanted to write. I hopped back over on twitter a short bit later to get Fiona’s twitter URL and I found the following response waiting for me.

LucidGlow: @FionaRobyn @simplywriting that’s so useless as expected, just more kissing up to the industry.

At first I was startled by the response, because it was obvious that she didn’t agree with the article at all. Being that I thought it was a good article, I was confused as to why, so I asked her. This was the response:

LucidGlow:@simplywriting It’s the entire general attitude/approach. @HoodedMan is right on the money with his article(s): My Fifty Cents.

So of course I went to read the article. I found myself agreeing with much of what amos (@hoodedman) said (based mostly on my conversations with other writers/authors and knowing what a few of the real life authors I know went through. However, with that said, I am having trouble understanding how the two posts actually relate to one another.

Am I missing the bigger point? It seems to be that they are clearly speaking about two totally different things. And why would a little early publicity for yourself, and the ability to get your name out there, actually be a bad thing?

So I decided to post this on my blog and open up the comments so we can talk about it (mostly because 140 characters on twitter does not allow me to ask questions or say what I need to say). So please, take the time to read both articles and then come back here and tell me what you are thinking, if you agree with one or both, if you disagree with one or both and just generally tell me your thoughts. I promise to respond

Suite 101 – Got Words?

Nicole Humphrey Cook — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:48:12 +0000

Completely on a whim, I decided to apply at Suite 101 just to see what would happen. I have written for some pretty big named sites on the Internet, but when I applied to Suite101 in May 2008, I got turned down. Back then I was writing for families.com. Uhm. Okay.

So I put it on the back burner, and last night thought about it again. I applied using the SAME two clips I had used back then (the same two I tend to use most of the time because they have not been published anywhere).

Within two hours I got an email congratulating me on being accepted to Suite 101. Wow. I got accepted using the same two writing samples I used last time that seemed to have deemed me not worthy? I changed TWO words to make them past tense. That is all I changed, and honestly if anything – I would have thought that might have been more of a problem than the original way it was written. So funny.

Uhm. So now what? Got any words to share? I have no idea what in the world to write about, since I wasn’t thinking they would accept me again. What articles do well on Suite101? What articles stink on Suite101? I realize it is a residual site, so I want to find articles to write that are interesting and would keep people coming back long term.

Do any of you write for Suite101? Has anyone had my experience? You are rejected and then reapply later, and are accepted? My favorite part is that it was the same two articles. LOL The original “editor” must not have liked my topics. haha

Fill me in on your experiences with this site. I’d love to hear them!

Experience With Atlantic Publishing?

Nicole Humphrey Cook — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:32:11 +0000

I have a friend who was recently contacted by Atlantic Publishing to write a book for them. Have any of you had any experiences working for or with this company? There doesn’t seem to be a lot out there about them, except I did find a few negative reviews. Problem is, all sites seem to have a few negatives.

Apparently, they give you a firm fee for the completed book (quotes seem to be between $1000-$1500) depending on who you ask, however you earn no royalties from future publications of the book. Only the one time fee.

If you have had, or anyone you know has had, any experience with Atlantic Publishing, I would be grateful if you would comment below and tell me about them. I am especially interested in people who have completed the book, and hopefully received their check. I would be interested in hearing the good, the bad and the ugly, so don’t hold back.

I want to know ALL about your experiences with Atlantic Publishing.