Authors, you have to promote yourself. You can’t avoid it. But you can reinterpret what “promotion” means. Gone should be the negative connotations and skewed associations. Promotion should be embraced. At its core, promotion is simply a way to get readers to you books. As an author, you want people to read your books, right? No. Oh. Then go write a diary and quit muddying the waters for the rest of us! Show Notes and Mentions: Outsider Writers Collective Goodreads.com / Redroom.com The Stranger Will Tour for Strange blog tour Listen to The Art and Authenticity of Social Media: Using Online Tools to Grow a Community (from the AWP Conference, February 2011) photo credit: Chris Devers
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A single feed containing Caleb J. Ross podcasts including Important Question, The Velvet Podcast, and The World’s First Author Podcast as well as a collection of live readings by Caleb J. Ross and his writing contemporaries.
Fresh from episode zero comes episode one. See, I'm good at math. Here I talk a bit about the importance of a writer to claim ownership of his/her location. Too many writers, especially newer writers, still equate capital-P Publishing with the East coast (in the US, anyway). The problem with limiting scope to the coast is that it doesn't allow writers to understand their existing context. In fact, I would say that it takes a better writer to leech from barren landscape. Anyone can siphon material from a crowded city. Show Notes:
Welcome to the world’s first blog post of the world’s first episode of The World’s First Author Podcast. For those who have somehow found your way here via anything other than my homepage, let me introduce myself. My name is Caleb J. Ross. I am an author of fiction, a bit of non-fiction, a couple of novels (Stranger Will, I Didn’t Mean to be Kevin), and perhaps one day a manifesto of some sort. I’m thinking I might go with 200 pages on the virtues of seasoned meat stuffed Greek sandwiches. I call it a Pitaco. Cookbooks and books about merging culture always sell. This episode zero is basically a kick-start to what I hope to be a long and mutually beneficial podcast series. You, the listener, maybe get a nice lull to sleep and I, the talking, get to pretend you are listening. Win win. Take a quick listen.…
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Caleb J Ross and Nik Korpon sit with Jane Friedman during the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Projects) conference in Washington DC to discuss the role of social media in the author’s life.
Jane’s passion for the world of e-media is evident. She is the former publisher and editorial director of Writer’s Digest, has spoken at 36 billion writing events since 2001 (give or take a few), and is known within the publishing industry as an innovator, cited by sources such as Publishers Weekly, GalleyCat, PBS online, and Mr. Media. Jane currently serves as a visiting professor of e-media at the University of Cincinnati, and is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest.
Playing the role of the tech-deficiant, Nik Korpon (Stay God) joins us for this hallway conversation (please, pardon the background noise).
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Caleb J Ross (thirstygerbil at The Velvet) was kindly invited to participate in a panel on social media during the 2011 AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) conference in Washington DC. Joined by Tanya Egan Gibson, Dan Blank, Bethanne Patrick, Christina Katz, and moderator Jane Friedman, the panel succeeded in opening up and emphasizing both the possibilities and importance of social media in developing an author’s platform.
Though this topic may not initially seem like The Velvet Podcast fodder, our recent website redesign and ongoing efforts to integrate our forums into the social media sphere make this topic actually quite relevant.
Here’s the official description:
The Art and Authenticity of Social Media: Using Online Tools to Grow a Community. (Jane Friedman,Tanya Egan Gibson, Dan Blank, Bethanne Patrick, Christina Katz, Caleb J. Ross)
Social media is easy to disparage as meaningless socializing, undignified shilling, or time better spent writing. Yet sharing information online and having conversations with readers is critical to spreading the word about what you (or your organization) does. Online community building can help develop a long-term readership, plus open up new opportunities.
Jesus Angel Garcia (BadBadBad) reads at The Velvet Lounge, Washington D.C, 2/3/11
Jillian Weise reads from her novel The Colony at The Velvet Lounge, Washington D.C, 2/3/11