Archive for December 2009

Image credit: Web Treats Etc.

Twitter gives writers a wonderful place to meet, discuss favorite topics, receive support and learn about great resources. Your tweets are number one in attracting your followers. However, writers still need a good bio because many Twitter users don’t follow someone who lacks a bio or creates a useless one.

A bio does the “first impression” thing for you unless you have no photo. No photo is the first thing that turns away many people before they bother to read the bio. Your Twitter bio gives you a 160-character short ‘n powerful opportunity to share your experience, build your credibility, identify your writing genres and highlight your personality.

Let’s get to work on building an effective bio in Twitter for writers.

What do you do? Are you a technical writer? Author? Business writer? Editor? Who are your readers/clients? Some people search by job, industry and publication type. If I were to do a search for you — how would you want me to find you? These answers will give you the keywords to include in your bio.

@merylkevans Twitter bio

My keywords are writer, editor and games. (I do game reviews.) I built my bio around these keywords and added a touch of my personality: “Content maven aka writer, editor and bookwormette who plays with words and games (www.thegamezen.com) in between PTA work and refereeing the kids.” you can add another URL in your bio, but it won’t be clickable in Twitter.

Remember your bio can affect your landing on someone’s Twitter list. I use people’s bios to decide where they belong in mine.

Think about your “Location”: While most writers can work from anywhere, we still need to put thought into our location. Though I only have two local clients, I’ve had lunch with someone I met in Twitter. If you don’t live in a major or known city, you may want to add the closest one. For example, I’m in Plano, so my location says “Plano, Texas, north of Dallas.” Doing this can help you get on location-based Twitter lists like my Dallas-Fort Worth list. I also debated the use of “Tx” vs “Texas.” Some people use “Tx” to represent “Thanks,” so “Texas” it is.

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Some of you may not be aware your location shows meaningless numbers as UT: 12.345678, -234.5678? Twitter applications like Ubertwitter allow users to set the location based on where they are. Can you figure out where the person is located in an instant? (You can enter these coordinates in Google Maps to find the person’s location, but how many people bother?)

What kind of link do you have in “Web”? Are you using a short URL service (bit.ly, ow.ly, is.gd, etc.) in your URL? Most of us think it’s spam, so we don’t click such links when they appear in “Web” even though we do it all the time in tweets. Use a regular URL.

If you have more than one Web page, where should your “Web” link land? Sometimes I want to learn more about the person. Sometimes, I want to go straight to a blog, if they have one, to take our conversations to a deeper level. Some people create a landing page specifically for Twitter, which is where my link goes. Still, I wonder if pointing to my blog would be a better idea. What do you think? If you don’t have a web site or blog, then use your Facebook or LinkedIn ID.

Don’t stress out in trying to write a perfect bio. Many people keep tweaking their bios as they become more experienced with Twitter. My own bio is probably the fourth version. So go and write a bio without worrying about these details; it’s better than nothing. You can also read other bios for inspiration. Here’s a first draft to get you started in writing a decent bio.

“Writer who covers X topics for [magazines, newspapers, web sites or whatever to give people an idea of what kind of publications you write for]. When not writing, I [what you do that lets you throw in more of your keywords.]”

Just be yourself. That’s what makes you stand out. There’s no one like you.

Important note for new Twitter users: Create your profile first. Tweet second. Follow last. Twitter users see blank pages or those with one or two tweets as a spammer or someone not taking Twitter seriously. Follow AFTER you create a bio, upload an avatar photo and write a few tweets. Tweet for at least a week or so before you start following people. If you follow before your account is ready, you’ll miss out on follow back opportunities.

What do you look for in a Twitter profile?

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the first ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Sun. December 13th: 50% off on Super Jigsaw Puppies

Mon. December 14th: 65% off on Westward IV: All Aboard

Tue. December 15th: 50% off on Mystery P.I. – Lost in Los Angeles

Wed. December 16th: 65% off on The Treasures of Montezuma 2

Thu. December 17th: 45% off on Avenue Flo

Fri. December 18th: 65% off on 1912 Titanic Mystery

Sat. December 19th: 65% off on Hostile Makeover

Playfirst adds another dash game incorporating both Flo of Cooking Dash (and many, many others) and Quinn of Wedding Dash. Quinn sees going into the hotel business as a natural extension of her wedding planning business. Newlyweds need a honeymoon spot, so she finds a run down hotel and works to revamp it with Flo’s help.

Like a typical dash game, Hotel Dash: Suite Success includes five hotels with ten levels each in its story mode. Lots of upgrades, of course, are available so you can renovate the hotels and the rooms raising their star level from zero to three stars. You collect stars when customers leave the room happy. If the room has two stars, you get two stars every time a customer leaves. In other words, if occupy a two-star room twice, you’ll earn four stars that go toward decorating the VIP rooms that exist in every hotel. The opportunity to redecorate the VIP rooms comes at the end of a level.

To pass a level, you need to reach the money goal for that level. If you reach the next higher score, you can earn expert. The game also rewards you with trophies, which you can upload to Playfirst to add to your account. A standard round consists of Flo delivering the baggage to the rooms, providing room service, dropping off extra towels or pillows, taking food to dogs and setting out the newspaper in the sitting area for impatient customers.

Guests come with single-color outfits. If you match them with the color on the door, you get bonus bucks.  To reach the guests rooms, everyone takes the elevators and Flo is first in line. She starts out carrying the suitcases herself, but she can upgrade to carts so she could eventually carry up to six bags in one set. It gets frenzied when you have Flo riding the elevator to get where she needs to go and sometimes she has to take two elevators. After a while, you become used to it and figure out the different customer preferences.

Hotel Dash: Suite Success customers have unique traits. One brings a dog, another brings six bags (!!), the honeymooners ask for pillows, the lumberjack-looking dudes always request room service twice, the celebrity whose bodyguards block the hallway and so on. Their tolerance for patience also varies. The professional woman has little patience while the bookworm has more patience. Clowns are very clumsy that Flo needs to be ready to come after them with a mop.

In the midst of the frenzy, Quinn needs to put out fires just like she did in Wedding Dash. Someone tries to sabotage the hotel by turning off the electricity. Quinn has little to in the game, it would be nice if she could help more. We know she’s an strong gal who can handle herself.

Some people won’t feel challenged in Hotel Dash: Suite Success as it’s one of the easier games in the dash series. You can’t help but want to complete the story mode. Those who like endless mode will be challenged plenty. I never play those as they don’t sit well with my stomach, but expert players will appreciate the challenge.

The biggest irritation was the game crashing. I have a newish laptop with a good graphics card. Nonetheless, the graphics are worth it as they’re the same high quality cartoon style most of us love in Playfirst games. And of course, the story has humor and comes together nicely, for the most part.

Download and try the game.

FCC Discalimer: Copy received from publisher. It has no bearing on the review.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Meryl Evans

Gary Rosenthal Menorah

Congrats, Kathlin Sickel for winning a copy of Andy Hayes’ ebook. No matter how you spell it, Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday that grew because of Christmas. However, at least it’s fun — you can’t say that about many Jewish holidays.

Please vote for your top 25 books on writing.

Brain food…

• 7 Traits of a Good Twitter Friend: Could not have said it better and agree with it wholeheartedly.
• 7 Reasons Editors (Might) Toss a Submission (Plus Prompt): Does your book pass submission muster?
• Quit While You’re Behind: Why You Shouldn’t Be A Writer: Not listening… gonna keep on making a living writing… yes, siree. [Link: Guy L. Gonzalez]
• 11 Sources of Free or Low-Cost Training: If you’re unemployed, try to find networking groups in your area. They might know of programs that subsidize training.
• Questions for Small Business Owners to Consider Before Writing a Book: You may have a great idea for a book, but is it enough to forge ahead?

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• Top 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Hanukkah: There’s gambling in Hanukkah. It’s called the dreidel game.
• How a Web Design Goes Straight to Hell: In honor of all my web designer friends.
• A Doggy Christmas Surprise: And mine just sits there looking at me like I’m nuts.
• My Parents Were Awesome: Look at the kids now. Can you imagine them being mature adults? Look at the parents… can you imagine them acting like the kids?

PlayFirst has announced the upcoming launch of Gotcha: Celebrity Secrets, a hidden object game set in the world of celebrity sass and scandal. Launching December 15, 2009 on Playfirst.com, and other retailers beginning January 15, 2010, Gotcha: Celebrity Secrets will be available for PC and Mac Digital Download, priced at $19.95.

Gotcha puts you in the shoes of Gaby, a green but intrepid celebrity blogger, on a mission to uncover the juiciest gossip. Instead of searching for objects, players search for people. Plays hunt for special informants bursting with potential news at jet set events, jam-packed parties and red carpet galas. Gaby tries to unearth the details surrounding celebrity secrets like hush hush nuptials, new nip and tuck surgeries, who is having who’s baby (and what is it named?) and more. Locating these influential insiders is no easy task, as players need to scour over 40 crowded scenes throughout town.

Players will also face unique Tinsel Town challenges as they hunt for gossip, such as maneuvering past security guards, moving limos and crowd-clogging confetti. And of course, players will need to contend with camera-shy personas who don’t want Gaby digging up their secrets. A collection of all-new mini-games challenge sleuths to piece together clues from informants, leading to salacious stories about the most sought-after personas in the biz.

Gotcha will have players looking for over 1,000 different characters, ranging from crazy and cool, to everything in between, each with a one-of-kind take on Hollywood. All of which ends up on Gaby’s celebrity blog, which players can customize with an array of styles and upgrades. Player’s will dish on the hottest happenings at venues including a Night Club, Airport, Charity Functions, Reality Shows and more. Players will turn the town over looking for spicy rumors, gossip and more on their way to the top of the celebrity blogosphere.

Watch for the game on Playfirst.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010 Meryl Evans

The following games will be discounted next week on Game du Jour, the first ‘one-deal-a-day’ website dedicated to indie and casual games:

Sun. December 6th: 65% off on Aztec Tribe

Mon. December 7th: 50% off on Posh Boutique 2

Tue. December 8th: 65% off on Fishdom: Frosty Splash

Wed. December 9th: 60% off on Coconut Queen

Thu. December 10th: 65% off on Masters of Mystery: Blood of Betrayal

Fri. December 11th: 50% off on Bookworm Adventures: Astounding Planet

Sat. December 12th: 65% off on Find Your Own Way Home

Well, it was an eventful week here. It snowed in Texas on Wednesday. I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous, perfect snow to build a snowperson. Alas, the rain destroyed the structure and created a snowblob — which still stands today. You can see photos on Facebook, if we’re connected.

I also had to blow up my computer. You know, reformat the hard drive and wipe everything out. No fun, but computer was not behaving at all. I’ll be glad when I can save all of my work online so I can easily reformat my hard drive without worry about restoring data from a backup resource.

Went to a book club meeting last night. We talked about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It’s the kind of book you’ll need to read twice because some of the background information just doesn’t come through — the whole book contains letters and telegrams from different characters. Last part of the book was a better, faster read and then I went back and reviewed earlier pages that made more sense.

Next book is a biggie… 700+ pages! The Given Day by Dennis Lahane. We decided to do a big one since we have more time before the next meeting. We have a great lineup for 2010. Will share as we go. Links!

Brain food…

• Twitter: 3 Things That Are Not So Hot: Yikes! I never thought about Twitter lists as a ruiner of reputations.
• eBooks: The False Dilemma: “After the digital transition, we’ll find that certain books fit an eBook audience, while others are meant for print.” Ryan Chapman.
• 8 Secrets to Writing Killer Post Titles: Excellent read. Left vs right brain, power adjectives and more.
• AOL’s new initiative: freelance friend or foe? Is this another content mill or something worthy? Gawker reveals editorial process.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• 12 Coolest Nutcrackers
• 10 Craziest Calendars: Goats in a tree?
• Things a Magazine Can Do That a Kindle Can’t from Esquire [Link: allanschoenberg]
• 14 Brilliant Minimalist Ads: Well… they ARE brilliant!

Welcome to meryl’s notes blog (this here place you’re lookin’ at) in Plano, Texas. We’re honored to be a stop in Fiona Ingram’s WOW! Women On Writing Blog tour. Fiona, author of The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, joins us all the way from South Africa. We’re giving away a book — not Fiona’s as her popular book went fast. Read on to see what you can win.

About Fiona Ingram
“My story-telling career began at age ten!” She entertained my three younger brothers and their friends with serialised tales of children undertaking dangerous and exciting exploits, which they survived through courage and ingenuity. The never-ending story was called “Gruesome Gables,” and it certainly was gruesome! Haunted houses, vampires, and skeletons leaping out of coffins were hot favorites in the cast of characters. Although she doesn’t have children, she has an adopted teenage African child, from an underprivileged background who is just discovering the joys of reading for pleasure. She lives in Johannesburg and has been freelancing for 15 years. Visit Secret of the Sacred Scarab and Fiona Ingram‘s web sites.

How Writers Can Do Faraway Marketing by Fiona Ingram

I am a South African author with a successful children’s book published in the United States. It has been an enormous challenge for me to become known in the U.S. while living so far away. An author platform and marketing plan are vital and should include a mixture of traditional and online marketing.

However, given the distance problem, many “real” author events are impossible for me in the U.S., such as book signings, author readings, speaking at meetings/groups, etc. I have focused on maximizing all possible online opportunities instead.

When I began, I had a vague idea that marketing was important. I just didn’t know how much! Many writers feel all they have to do is write. That’s the easy part. Marketing is the hardest part of getting your book noticed. Here are some of the best steps I took in my book promotion.

• I opened a marketing folder while still at manuscript stage, and began researching to familiarize myself with all online marketing possibilities. I collected notes on everything and gradually formulated a plan of action. I began with industry e-zines and newsletters, which offer a wealth of information. Many book publishing and author marketing companies offer free newsletters, as well as links to more sites. I learned everything I could about publishing, getting books into bookstores, approaching agents, getting book reviews, upcoming book competitions, blogging, online marketing, podcasts and online interviews, keywords for internet listing … the list is endless.
• A press kit is vital. My publisher produced a professional kit and sent it to all interested/relevant publications. They also sent out online press releases.
• A good author web site is possibly the writer’s best online marketing tool. List your social web sites, include book info/reviews and perhaps a first chapter, a cover image, radio or video interviews, a book video, a contact email and press material. From here, you can launch your blog or fan club, set up Twitter and put your website on many social sites simultaneously. Showcase your work on author sites as well (e.g. Authorsden and Jacketflap).
• Giving away books is another excellent strategy. Depending on your reader target market, contact libraries, schools, local bookstores, book clubs and reading groups and offer them a book. I have sent books through my publishers to anyone interested in reviewing the book. They get to keep the book, and I get a review for my author site.
• Write articles on the art of writing, your genre, or just the publishing process. You can add these to your personal web site, as well as your book web site. Also, load them onto Google and sites that accept articles. I have written several articles, as well as adapting my guest blog posts on child literacy to articles.
• I got Googled! Get a Google Alert to notify you every time something comes up about you and your book, link other sites back to your own to increase your ratings and give you credibility, set up a Blogger alert, join Google’s Library page, keep track of your site’s performance with Google Analytics and much more.
• Discover amazing Amazon: This is the largest online book site and you need to be on it. Amazon will also review your book if you approach them; you can also put up other reviews on your book.
• One of the best steps I took was an online book tour or blog tour. Virtual book tours are a fantastic promotional tool for authors to connect with readers through book blogs. Tours usually include a minimum number of tour stops on a variety of blogs, and can include a book image, a review, links to the author’s website and blog, and purchase information. Blog hosts usually also link back to other internet outlets, thereby increasing your coverage.
• Book Competitions: Competitions broaden your author profile because people in the industry will read your book. Even if you don’t win, you may get a Finalist or Honorable Mention, and that’s the kind of detail to put in your press release.

Do not stop marketing: Even when your book is out there, don’t stop spreading the word! Do something every day (either online or physical) to continue your marketing thrust. Remember — marketing doesn’t sell books … marketing gives you exposure and exposure sells books.

Win: Since we’re on the topic of children’s books, we’re giving away a copy of Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs by Cindy Hudson. To win, leave a 50+ word comment by 11:59pm December 9 about a favorite children’s book and why it’s your favorite or an experience with children’s books. The unbiased and robotic random.org will pick the winner.

David L. Levin, co-author of one of my favorite books: QBQ! The Question Behind the Question, sets out on his own with Don’t Just Talk, Be Heard! Closing the Gap Between What You Say and What People Hear. He shares his experiences of helping people with communication gaps in his job as a communication coach.  The short, fast read includes real-life stories (with names changed, of course) of people with different issues and at different stages of their careers. Most of them are strong employees that could be better or have weak areas that need fixing.

Levin doesn’t offer your typical advice for listening and communicating. He delves into the communication problems using the examples. Think about a conversation you’ve had with someone. Does that person make a statement and you respond by changing the topic? You can improve communication with the “hand-off” by responding with something relevant (a question or comment) to what the person said before making a transition to your topic. It changes the direction of the conversation showing that you “heard” the other person.

In reading the case studies, you can identify potential areas that might affect you or someone who reports to you. At the end of the case studies, Levin presents questions and steps to take to correct the problems. However, we’re not aware of some of the communication habits that we have. Obviously, you can’t apply the book’s advice if you don’t know what these are. So Levin encourages working with someone who can provide effective feedback on these unconscious behaviors.

The Appendix lists actions and questions based on what someone needs to work on such as facilitating, using “we” and “us” more, working with disconnects and dealing with negative assumptions. The short book makes it easier to share with a team or colleague so you can help each other take yourselves from good to great or great to stupendous. This book is a good partner in helping you close the communication gaps.

Take a look inside of Don’t Just Talk, Be Heard! Closing the Gap Between What You Say and What People Hear.

What communication gaps have you encountered? How did you fix them?