Jerry D. Russell dot Com

Let’s face it, a lot of online book reviews are done by people who have absolutely no training in writing, let alone how to write a review.  If you’ve ever come across one of these reviews, you’ll know it.  I’ve personally seen reviews with a 4.5 star (out of five) rating, but to read the review you would think that the reviewer despised the story.

You really need to think these things through before you hit “publish”, don’t you?

I just had the responsibility of writing a review myself.  In doing so I stumbled on this article at Schoolastic by Rod Philbrick.  It is hands down the most informative I’ve ever read.  Give it a read, you’ll be glad you did!

Jerry Helpful Resources, Tools of the Trade, writing for the web

Creating your own ebook need not be difficult. In fact, if you are perceived to be an expert or an authority in your field, then you can probably have an ebook ready for the “presses” within a week or so. This article will cover some of the topics you need to consider when you have actually decided to write your own ebook. The All important strategies of getting it noticed, then getting it to sell.

I could cover all of these topics myself but honestly, it’s been done before and by people who are making six-figure incomes doing just that (as opposed to my non-existent ebook income, because I discovered this information in the planning stages of doing just that.), so I’ll refer you to those articles and just dish the highlights here.

Alexis Dawes, an ebook author with an income that most of us only dream of gives some absolutely wonderful advice in her article titled “5 Short-Term strategies to Building Long-Term eBook Sales“. Her methods are concise and come from years of experience. Her action plan is simple on the surface:

• Always think “Is this an eBookable Topic?”
• Pick a passion and study it periodically
• Don’t hesitate to dictate
• Read a sales letter a day
• Build name recognition before you need to.

After each action plan, Alexis goes over the methods she used to achieve these actions, something most articles on this topic fail to cover well. I’m labeling this a s a must-read if you’ve thought about selling your own ebook, and these are methods that can help fiction authors as well as informational authors.

Bluedolphin Crow has a wonderful article for the more technical aspects of creating a marketing timeline for your ebook sales. In her article titled “Secret #2: Creating your Marketing Timeline for Success!“, Ms. Crow lets us in on her organizational methods and action plans:

… goals present and future, Action plans for today and tomorrow as well as next month, and last but definitely not least you have a sales tracker as well.

Having worked in Internet development for the past 20 years, I appreciate the fact that Ms. Crow is covering a topic that most people never approach, and I can tell at a glance that they are viable, I’ve used many of the same methods in promoting web properties over the years. They work.

In conclusion: If you are still wondering whether or not you can manage writing an ebook David Hallum, publisher of the eBook Catalog would like to “…Ask you a few” questions that might just help push you in the right direction. While possibly the least informative article listed here, it is thought provoking and the site has more information that you will undoubtedly find helpful.

you haven’t started writing your eBook yet? What are you waiting for? The only person losing out here is you…

Jerry Writing Tips, writing for the web eBooks, Marketing, writing

Getting writing jobs is a whole lot simpler to do if you are known for your work.  While there are no shortcuts to gaining a reputation, there are methods that you can employ to make the process a bit more predictable.

Maki, the enigmatic voice behind Dosh Dosh, a blog dedicated to helping you make money online, spells out these steps in his article How to use the Web to Build a Powerful Reputation In Any Industry. I’ve gone over this article several times, and as a 20 year veteran of the Internet game, I’m going to say that I agree with his insight on this one.  If you follow along with the steps he’s outlined, you’ll have little problem gaining name recognition within 12 months time, if not sooner, and let’s face it…  As a Writer, your name is everything!

If you’re looking to become a power writer for the web, Dosh Dosh is one of those sites you just must have in your RSS Reader or bookmarks.  He really will help you make oney online.  He’s helped me to do so already!

Jerry Blog Spotlight, Helpful Resources, Must Reads, writing for the web Blogging, Career building, social media

If you’ve ever wondered how some sites get to the front page of social media sites like Digg or Stumbleupon and wondered how you can get your content placed there as well then Dustin Brewer might have the answers you’re looking for.  Dustin just penned a post on his blog titled Top 5 ways to create interesting content for social networks which details the methods that he feels will get your content moved from social networking obscurity to current buzz of the day.

While social networking sites will never get you the kind of traffic that good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will garner over time, they can be great for spikes in traffic of anywhere from 20 or 30 visitors to well over 1,000 in a single day. The hope with this surge in attention is that at least some of the people that stop by will sign up for your site feed or bookmark your blog for a later visit, but regardless of the long term results it is an exhilarating feeling to see your page views jump by hundreds or thousands for a day.

Jerry Blogging, writing for the web Blogging, social media

One of the most necessary and most often overlooked parts of your web presence is the “About” page. It doesn’t matter whether you are a blogger, an author, a journalist or a company, the “about me” page can either entice the casual reader into returning for another round, or it can send them permanently in the opposite direction, never to be seen again.

I’ll be linking to the most concise article on the topic I’ve yet seen at the bottom of this entry, but first I would like to cover what an “About” page should not be.

Your about page should NOT:

• Read like the author bio in the back of a novel: This format is reserved for books, where it works well. If the format fits what you are doing on the web (i.e., if you are a fiction writer or other form of published author) expand upon the concept. Give your readers more than they will find in the dust jacket of your books, or there is no reason at all for them to read it. In fact, you’ve created an an even better reason for your readers to feel that they’ve gotten all they need from the dust jacket and they will stick with that, not your web site.
• Be a sales pitch: Your about page is there to identify who you are and what you know. It is not there to make a sale. It should only link to a product if said product or publication is relevant to establishing your value to your reader. Don’t make the mistake of trying to turn what should be informative into a push to make a buck. If you do you will be rewarded… By a loss in readership.
• Speak down to your readers: Do not attempt to come across as a “super expert”. This usually results in people feeling that you are being arrogant or pompous. They’re history, and you’re out readership.
• Be Boring: The last thing you want your about page to do is put your readers to sleep! Try to keep it interesting, but not overly long-winded. A little humor goes a long way, Make someone smile today and they will be back tomorrow. Make them snore and well…

Having said all that, I realize that my “About the Author” page is defintely not where it should be. (it’s always good to have a new project!)
For a great example on what your your “About Me” page should address, check out this article on ProBlogger.com

For a few excellent about me pages, see:

• John Chow’s About John Chow
• About Dosh Dosh
• About the Kitchen Wench
• About Simply Recipes

There are many more, but these should get you started. I know they’ve got me thinking.

Jerry Tools of the Trade, Writing Tips, writing for the web