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News You Can Use – Feb. 26, 2013

By Steve Laubeon February 26, 2013

Buy Your Way onto the Bestseller List – Will the deceptive practices ever end? (The Wall Street Journal article link may not last without subscription so I linked to this blog instead.)

Instead of Physical Books at a Signing, e-book Vouchers – Let us know what you think of this new idea!

60% of All Audio Sold is Now Digital – Try to find the audio books section in your local store….this is why.

Amazon Penalizes Those Who Link to Free Books – Fascinating. Read this article carefully if you use the Amazon Associates program to monetize your web site.

Jeff Bezos’ Wife Publishing a Book…But Not with Amazon – There is all sorts of “interesting” in this article.

AOL is Still Making Nearly $200 Million on Dial-up Customers – And that is in just the 4th quarter! This bring back any memories?

Book Murals from Around the World – Fantastic Photos. I want the one with the steps leading up to my office.

A Time to Mourn

By Steve Laubeon February 25, 2013

by Steve Laube

This past weekend was a time to mourn. We attended two family funerals here in Phoenix. The first for my wife’s grandma, Izora Weed. An amazing woman who was 101 when she passed. The second was my wife’s Uncle Ken Merrick who brings to mind many fond memories.

It has been a tough year. The loss of far too many family friends (including another this past week). My father …

Category: Personal, SteveTag: Mourn, Personal

Fun Fridays – Feb. 22, 2013

By Steve Laubeon February 22, 2013

Have you ever had a similar, but virtual, experience while buying something online?
Very clever two minutes:

HT: Kim Moore

Category: Fun Fridays, Steve

Dear Editors

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 21, 2013

Dear Editors:

When I first started writing, not for a letter grade in college, but in hopes of a paycheck -- or at least a byline -- I solicited you with many articles, devotionals, short stories, and book-length manuscripts. Each was posted with dreams of finding your favor. More often than not, you sliced those dreams with your pens of rejection.

And for that, I want to thank you.

Category: Editing, Get Published, Personal, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Editor

Down in the Valley

By Karen Ballon February 20, 2013

Imagine awakening one morning, not knowing where you are, utterly unable to move or speak. Imagine coming to the slow realization that you are in a hospital, and that the people all around you are looking at you and talking to you, but you can do nothing in response. Imagine doctors telling that, at the age of 43, you’ve suffered a stroke that has caused what they call “locked-in” syndrome, where …

Category: Book Business, Career, Craft, KarenTag: Career, Discouragement, perseverance

News You Can Use – Feb. 19, 2013

By Steve Laubeon February 19, 2013

What Kind of Reader are You? A Diagnostic Guide - An article from The Atlantic. Share which kind you are in the comments below!

10 Tricks to Make Yourself a Dropbox Master - If you don't use Dropbox consider this article a nudge to use some form of cloud computing as a backup.
Lumio: A Modern Lamp With Infinite Possibilities - This is a link to a Kickstarter campaign for a very cool looking …

Category: News You Can Use, Steve

Fun Friday’s – Feb. 15, 2013

By Steve Laubeon February 15, 2013

I want one of these for next year's "Happy Pancake Day"!
One minute of ingenuity.

Category: Fun Fridays, Steve

Happy Valentine’s Day!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 14, 2013

Today is St. Valentine's Day.

How appropriate for a literary agent who loves and represents lots of Christian romance novels!

Valentine's Day is a favorite in our house. As a newlywed, I bought a heart-shaped cake on our first Valentine's Day together to celebrate. Later, I bought a heart-shaped cake pan so I can bake a cake myself. That first year I also cut my husband's sandwich for his …

Category: Personal, TamelaTag: Personal

The Writer as Editor: More Tools to Use

By Karen Ballon February 13, 2013

There are some great quotes out there about editors and editing. For example:
“Read your own compositions, and when you meet a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out.” Samuel Johnson
“What I have crossed out, I didn’t like. What I haven’t crossed out, I’m dissatisfied with.” Cecil B. DeMille
“From now on, ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I …

Category: Editing, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Editor, Writer

News You Can Use – Feb. 12, 2013

By Steve Laubeon February 12, 2013

The Pope Announces His Resignation - First time this has happened in nearly 600 years. The last time was in 1415. Put that in historical perspective...Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. Martin Luther was born in 1483. This is a really big deal in Church history whether you are Catholic or not.

Lawsuit Threatened by Attorney Representing Author and Publisher of Bestselling book 'The …

Category: News You Can Use, Steve