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The Velvet Podcast, interview with Jane Friedman, social media expert

February 26, 2011

Over the past few weeks, Jane Friedman and I have gotten to know each other almost entirely by way of Twitter. With online social media playing such an important role in our introduction and ultimate in-person meeting it made sense that we should take a few moments during the recent 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…

Tuesday’s Twitter follower spotlight: @Zanna85

February 22, 2011

I am going to start posting weekly (hopefully) spotlights on random Twitter followers. Why? Why not? This week's "Person you should Stalk 2.0: @Zanna85 Bio:Sexually: All Over The Map Sock it to me, baby. SOCK IT TO ME. Website: http://zmacabre.tumblr.com/ Good tweets as of late: [blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/Zanna85/status/39417729781862401"] [blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/Zanna85/status/39072004082634752"] [blackbirdpie url="http://twitter.com/Zanna85/status/38893471569948672"]

Life in 100 Words or Less

February 18, 2011

I was recently approached to write a short piece for a project called Life in 100 Words or Less. A quick perusal through the aptly named Life in 100 Words or Less blog revealed some very interesting takes on this morbid, though inspiring, topic. A deeper dive left me feeling dirty, but not so much that I didn't decide to offer my own few words. Read mine here. Read the rest here.

I talk the role of social media in the author’s career (then I tweet, blog, Facebook, etc. about it)

February 15, 2011

Recently, I 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. Having never before participated in an AWP panel (though I have attended many), I was initiated only from the perspective of an audience member. Knowing that an uninteresting topic coupled with boring presenters may drive the audience to mutiny, I came prepared to be as concise and witty (hopefully) as possible. Overall, I consider my effort a success. Of course, having the aforementioned panelists at the dais made failure near-impossible. I’ve argued before that and author should openly embrace social media; the goal of both online social…

Guess who paid to be one of 65 authors included in No Colony’s Pushcorpse project.

February 14, 2011

A single story? 65 authors? Yes. Who? These: Shya Scanlon, Christian Ochoa, Brian Spears, David Erlewine, Christopher Higgs, Alan Horn, Jason Cook, Matt Kirkpatrick, Amy Letter, Gene Morgan, Vaughan Simons, David Peak, Brian Carr, Claire Kohne, Caleb J. Ross, Michael Jauchen, Alec Niedenthal, Christopher Heavener, Jac Jemc, Peter Rawlings, Joseph Goosey, Darby Larson, Nathan Tyree, Michael Inscoe, Roxane Gay, Jonny Kelly, Alan S. Carl, Aaron Gilbreath, Travis Kurowski, Caitlyn Dibble, Jackie Corley, J.A. Tyler, Andrew Borgstrom, Christopher Newgent, Phoebe North, Laurence Wilhelm Lillvik, Jonathan Keeperman, Christian Smith, Meredith Turits, Audri Sousa, Barry Graham, Matt Jasper, Danny Barron, Matthew Savoca, Josh Kleinberg, Robert Alan Wendeborn, David Naimon, Benjamin Spivey, Hassen Taiari, Christopher Stokes, Josh Maday, Bradley Billey, Christopher Deal, Elizabeth Ellen, Alexander Fletcher, Nik Korpon, Richard Thomas, Christopher J. Dwyer, Kellie Walsh, Kasey Carpenter, D. Hammer, Timmy Waldron, Angi Becker Stevens, Erin Flaherty, Ryan Call Want to own? Buy here.

The Velvet reads at the appropriately named The Velvet Lounge in Washington D.C

February 6, 2011

Only one day back from Washington DC and already I miss it. The city was wonderful, of course, but what really impressed me was how nice the citizens were. Everyone from CVS counter workers to street repair people went out of their way to smile and offer a hello. And I definitely don't project a aura of respectability, so these people couldn't have feared I was in a position to fire them. One of the high points for me was definitely the Thursday night reading at The Velvet Lounge. So many friends, old and new, came out to read. The gathering and venue was small and intimate in the best way. Brandon Tietz, Nik Korpon, Michael Sonbert, Caleb J Ross (me), Jillian Weise, and Jesus Angel Garcia showed up, each with entourages and accumulated curiosities in tow, ready to make this event a memorable one. And that they did. Click…

Blogging, Tweeting, and YouTubing from AWP all this week

February 1, 2011

Between February 2nd and 5th I will be attending the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) Conference in Washington DC. During this time I'll be temporarily relocated. Check often at the following places, where I (and a team of writers) will be reporting on the happenings at the conference all week. Be sure to subscribe to the blog, YouTube channel, and Podcast feed, and follow the Twitter stream. My AWP Blog (www.calebjross.com/awpblog) Expect summaries of panels and daily roundups of general goings-on AWPtweets (http://twitter.com/awptweets) As the majesty of Twitter has allowed and encouraged, expect disposable minutia here AWP Channel (www.youtube.com/awpchannel) While I would love to upload videos of every reading and panel discussion I attend, I assume AWP would have some copyright issues with that. So, expect instead videos of selected readings and perhaps a few quick interviews from the book fair floor. We'll see. The Velvet Podcast (www.thevelvetpodcast.com)…