How Effective Is Your Author Website?

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Greetings from Jackie! One of the most effective ways to communicate with your readers is through your author/speaker website. How can you make your site better? Your author website is your online “storefront.” It represents you and your writing to your readers. It gives you credibility. It builds your brand. It gives you the opportunity to showcase your books—and sell them. In addition to social media, your website is a place to connect and build community. Jane Friedman, a media industry expert, calls the author website “the No. 1 calling card for a digital-age author.”  Today, there are many options for…

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I finally took the Pinterest Plunge: tips

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I’ve been a lurker for several months. There were several reasons for my reluctance 1. I didn’t want to spend time on a fad that would fade, 2. I couldn’t see adding one more social media need-to on my list of must-dos, and 3. I just didn’t get it. I didn’t see how I’d use Pinterest and how the time invested would offer a worthy return. But, after several months of reading the stats, I finally decided to take the plunge. Here is what I found.

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Speaking Engagements – Pitching Your Program

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Hi.  Winnie Griggs here, with the next installment in my posts about speaking engagements.  So far we’ve covered why book speaking engagements, dealing with butterflies, selecting a topic, creating a speaker resume and finding speaking venues.  Today we’re going to talk about how to actually pitch your talk. Once you have selected your topic, have your resume together and have located possible speaking opportunities, how do you let folks know you’re ready and willing? Well, first you need to make certain you can effectively convey what it is you’re offering.  You do this in two steps:

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