Tag: writers

Author Spotlight: Yecheilyah Ysrayl

My Author Interview with Dottie Daniels.

dottiedaniels's avatarThe Write Perspective

Hey.

Here’s another author (she’s a poet as well) who also has a page here on WordPress. I consider myself and anyone else aware of her to be pretty lucky already as this author has a pretty powerful perspective and is more than capable of articulating her experiences and thought processes as it relates to the cultural upbringing of the African American experience. Her name is Yecheilyah Ysrayl and I had the pleasure of doing a Q&A session with her a few weeks ago. Below is the interview along with her social media contact info.

  1. I’ve read you were born in the South side of Chicago (so was I!), what were some of your earliest memories?

Hi Dottie. First, I want to thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. Yes, I am from Chi-Town indeed. Since I’ve been in Chicago for the better part of my…

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Free Editable Author Media Kit!

You may remember the article I re-blogged from fellow blogger Colleen of Silver Threading when she spoke about the importance of an Author Media Kit. And so yall know I’m always looking for free resources right? I was looking for something completely off this subject and discovered this website filled with tons of information for authors and you won’t believe what I found. That’s right, a free editable author media kit. Of course, not everything that says free truly is free so I checked it out and guess what, it’s FREE!

Just visit this website, and follow these directions:

Free Book Stuff > Free Editable Author Media Kit

Put your email address in and they will send you a free editable word template. Download the zip file and save it to your PC / Mac. (When you open it click “Enable Editing” to replace the information and pictures with your own) I would suggest creating a hard-copy Author Media Kit portfolio. Go to Wal-Mart or the dollar store and purchase a nice thick binder. Edit your free kit and print it out. If you could, get a professional author photo taken sometime in the future and add it to your portfolio.

Do we have time for a story? We do. Briefly, this discovery reminded me of women and nice clothes. I know, but hear me out. I always find it exciting that when I ask other women where they got their shoes or how they decorated their home, their answer tends to include bargain stores. Beautiful homes and lovely attire pieced together between Wal-Mart and the Goodwill. Bedroom sets and living room sets that look like they cost a fortune that somebody got from a garage sale. The moral of the story is that professionalism does not have to cost a lot of money. There are tons of free or extremely inexpensive resources available to help us to increase our professional image in just about every area.

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So anyway, class dismissed. I’m going to get started on my free author media kit.

Writer’s Quote Wednesday – Agatha Christine: Special Anniversary Edition!

For today’s segment of Writer’s Quote Wednesday, I draw inspiration from Agatha Christine. But first.

Guess whose back???

When you see Colleen posting again
When you see Colleen posting again

LOL, I had to do it. Now, back to you Agatha:

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Other than being funny, I like the meaning behind this quote, which can vary but here is how I interpreted it:

Good books do not come from a focus on making money, being a best seller, or sitting down and saying to yourself “I’m going to write the best book ever.” The best inventions were not built from a desire for prestige or esteem; they were built because there was a need. Good writing does not come from a focus on writing; it comes from a focus on living. Inspiration to write is drawn by washing dishes, cooking meals, reading books, and watching movies. It can be the way the lady on the bus winked her eye at the man beside her. The way a little girl sang her favorite song or that one time your two year old stood up on his seat and yelled at the top of his lungs. They way your mother dips her hand in the flour before she bakes or the fact that your granddad has to have his Newspaper before breakfast each morning. These are all inspirations to write and all we have to do is pay attention. Everyone has a little of themselves in their writing. Characters are not made up of invisible people but many of their names and characteristics are derived from people you knew or know. What I’ve come to learn with writing and also with blogging, is that the success of either comes from simply being you and sharing that part of yourself with the world.

About the Author:

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Agatha Mary Christie was an English crime novelist, short story writer and playwright. She also wrote six romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best known for the 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections that she wrote under her own name.

But wait, there’s more…Happy Anniversary Writer’s Quote Wednesday!

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And finally, in honor of Writer’s Quote Wednesday Anniversary and her Collabo. with Ronovan, Colleen has introduced a new badge!

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Before The Week Ends

Diversify your bookshelf

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I just want to share one final thought before I snuggle in for this week and that is to remember to diversify your book shelf. This can be a project we can all do over the weekend. Look through your books, do they repeat themselves? Are there three rows of Toni Morrison on a five row book case? Do you have 300 books and 250 of them are Chit-Lit? Are there 50 Sci-Fi novels all right next to each other? If you fit this criterion, I want you to take every last one of those books off of the shelf and re-evaluate your reading life. Then go to the thrift store, independent bookstore, flea market, library, Wal-Mart or Barnes and Nobles and buy a book that has nothing to do with your interest. That’s right; pick something you can never see yourself reading. Got it? Great. Now you’re ready.

We all have those books we absolutely love, authors we cannot get enough of or just books we can never throw away. However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about reading it is the importance of having books covering a full range of subjects. I have cookbooks, medical books, dictionaries, bibles, concordances, and textbooks from back in the day, encyclopedias, journals, literature, urban fiction, poetry, general fiction novels, how-to books and the list goes on and on and I just think you should kinda be like me in this respect.

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When you expand your readership to cover a range of subjects it broadens your perspective and opens you up to a whole world of experience right there at your fingertips. It also helps you to learn. Have you ever wondered how people can go to prison and come out scholars? It started by reading and reading and reading on a wide range of subjects. Sure I love history, specifically African American History. I also love poetry and black literature and literature in general but if these are the only kinds of books I have around my outlook is one sided. I will be limited in my way of thought and miss so much knowledge in regard to those other great topics out there and the information these authors have to offer.

Released Today! “A Tale of Three Cities” by Alexander McCabe

You may remember the review I did for Mr. McCabe about a week ago. As a reminder, it releases today. Please find the links below:

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Amazon UK – http://goo.gl/iXLUNO
Amazon US – http://goo.gl/UlTOxs
Smashwords – https://goo.gl/vNsohS
Barnes and Noble – http://goo.gl/V2muNx
Kobo – https://goo.gl/Oz0Aar

He is also holding a raffle copter competition to win one of 2 signed paperbacks or 3 ebook copies:

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e3ee7f693/

I’m sure McCabe will appreciate your support. Indie Authors are Awesome!

8 Tips to Market a Book

Great tips on Marketing your book! This is need to know info.

Steven Capps's avatarBard & Books

Hi there fellow Bloggers, I have had a crazy weekend due to my military obligations so I was unable to get this post up yesterday. I hope you forgive the delay, and I hope you enjoy this week’s A Bit of Business. 

8 Tips to Market a Book

Marketing requires its own type of mind but can be fun once you get the hang of it. One of the best parts of being a Financial Representative was closing on a sale. There were certain tips that can make the sale more likely.  A new writer must struggle through the sea of other authors just to get a chance at earning a reader.

Know your Audience

Understand the type of people that your work would appeal to. Plugging your new novel on your personal Facebook feed might earn a few readers from family and friends but many of the people who would…

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