Blog

News You Can Use – April 2, 2013

By Steve Laubeon April 2, 2013

Plans to Sell Used Digital Music Squashed in Court – May put a damper on rumored plans for Amazon to sell used ebooks.

Goodreads + Amazon – Winners & Losers – Smart reflection from Joe Weikert

How to Become a Password Hacker – This article should scare the living daylights out of you! Rethink your password strategy today!

In 1999 You Could have Bought Google for $750k! – The story about one of the greatest lost opportunities in business history.

15 Websites to Help You with Rhyming Words – What rhymes with plethora? Maybe these resources will help?

30 Pieces of Social Media Advice to Ignore – Hooray! You don’t have to drive yourself crazy after all.

Amazon Buys Goodreads

By Steve Laubeon April 1, 2013

by Steve Laube

The big news late last week is that Amazon.com has purchased Goodreads.com. If you happened to read some of the panicked and outraged fans of Goodreads the news was yet another signal that Amazon is an evil empire.

Some are seeing this purchase as the harbinger of a bookocalypse or worse. It is as if everyone is waiting for Amazon to reset the sales rankings of every book to …

Category: Book Business, TrendsTag: Book Business, Trends

Astounding Technology Breakthrough!

By Steve Laubeon April 1, 2013

The secret of making a video go "viral."
Makes one wonder if this is for real....

Category: Humor, Steve

Miracle

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 28, 2013

by Tamela Hancock Murray

This time of year, Christians contemplate the marvel that is the resurrection of Christ. Such an event seems magical, though God is never a genie, ready to grant our every wish. Even Jesus was not granted His plea in the Garden of Gethsemane as He asked the Father to take the cup of death from Him. But was there any other way? No, there was not. How else could have …

Category: Christian, Faith, Tamela, TheologyTag: Christian, Faith

The Beauty of Community

By Karen Ballon March 27, 2013

As I write this blog, I’m sitting on a bench beneath towering California Redwoods. There’s a gentle breeze blowing, carrying with it the fragrance of evergreens and sunshine. But it carries something else. Something wondrous…

The sound of community.

All around me, people are walking and sitting and standing, and as their voices drift past me I hear a number of things:
Excitement
Shared …

Category: Conferences, Get Published, KarenTag: Community, writers conferences

News You Can Use – March 26, 2013

By Steve Laubeon March 26, 2013

Is Baby Boomer Lit the Next Hot Genre? – Yet another parsing of the genres. What do you think about this one?

The Economics Behind the Big Publishing Mergers – Eoin Purcells explores some of the big picture considerations.

Author Intuition – Roseanna White writes a great article. I appreciate her words “Don’t mistake pride for intuition.” Well said.

An Amazon Bestseller Earns the Author …

Category: New Book Releases, Steve

Fun Fridays – March 22, 2013

By Steve Laubeon March 22, 2013

Don't be this guy:

Category: Fun Fridays, Steve

When Your Agent Makes You Speed Up

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 21, 2013

by Tamela Hancock Murray

Since I wrote last week about when your agent may make you slow down, I thought this week it might be fun to write about why your agent may make you speed up. Now, speeding up is never, never to occur at the risk of writing less than your best. Story craft, along with care and attention to detail, are always musts for fiction and nonfiction. But there are times …

Category: Book Business, Career, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Get Published

Refine Your Focus

By Karen Ballon March 20, 2013

Let’s talk about Focus.

I like Webster’s definitions:

Focus (noun)
a : adjustment (as of the eye or an eyepiece) for distinct vision
b : the position in which something must be placed (as in relation to a camera lens) for clearness of image or clarity of mental perception
: a central point: as
a : a center of activity or attraction or one drawing the greatest attention and …

Category: Book Business, Career, Craft, Creativity, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Career, Focus, Writing Craft

News You Can Use – March 19, 2013

By Steve Laubeon March 19, 2013

MyBookTable WordPress Plugin – Do not wait another minute. Go right now and sign up for this KickStarter program by Thomas Umstattd and Author Media. It will make your web site so much more efficient when it comes to selling your books via your web site. At least watch the four minute video.

Care for a little debate about blogging? Read these two entries and decide:

Author Blogging: What’s …

Category: News You Can Use, Steve