To learn more visit ASJA.org

The post American Society of Journalists & Authors (ASJA) Writers Panel on Thursday, April 24, 2014 appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

* * *

“Reasons to Re-Joyce” is an appealing essay written by Darin Strauss (Sunday Book Review, The New York Times, December 9, 2012). Not only did Strauss mock the hand-wringing world of whiners moaning about the death of literary fiction, he states, “The naysaying misses the fact that this has been a wildly good book year.” Oh, and by the way, you can trust Strauss has his finger on the right pulse — his most recent book, a memoir titled Half a Life, won the National Book Critics Circle Award. The title of this essay is a reference to Ulysses by James Joyce. Strauss claims the novel is still relevant and a strong influence on what he calls a recent slew of “legitimate masterpieces.” Strauss also makes an excellent point that many of the doom and gloom analyses of the so-called downturn in book sales is not based on actual numbers: “It would be one thing if the naysayers were talking about a crash dive of sales figures. Sales figures carry the inarguability of math.” Instead, he argues, the public is under a barrage of nothing more than negative uniformed opinions from glass half empty talking heads. So, rejoice writers and keep writing your books. Readers are still reading.

* * *

“A Strong Author Platform Translates into Book Sales” reports DBW (Digital Book Wire, December 6, 2012). This is an article promoting the Digital Book World Conference & Expo in New York that is taking place January 15–17, 2013. No doubt the recap will offer sound advice for and analyses of the current state of digital book sales. This conference offers trade publishers hard data on today’s and tomorrow’s book biz. The conference refers to itself as “the single largest gathering of senior-level digital publishing execs anywhere.” It promises attendees access to presidents, CEOs, editors, marketers, large and small publishers, agents, authors, booksellers, librarians and techies — in other words, everyone you need to know to manage your success in the digital publishing world. Topics will include the power of social media and how to determine your best strategy from a dizzying array of platforms including Twitter, Facebook, blogs, Pinterest and YouTube. Speakers will cover how to generate media buzz, how to use search engine optimization (SEO) to rise to higher heights in Google searches and the necessity of 365-day marketing strategies to measure the success of your efforts. So, if you are one of those writers who has been reluctant to spruce up your website or blog, and take the plunge into social media conversations on Twitter and Facebook, there is so much more you can be doing to create your own writing success. Run, don’t walk, to social media marketing.

The post Industry News for Writers in my ASJA Monthly Market Monitor Column appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

In this first graph, the circle represents where the eye first goes and then it tracks the way the eye scans the rest of the page and the arrow is where the eye ends up last on their first view.

This graph from Google shows how the eye travels. The colors are “heat spots” — i.e. the most intense and darkest color in this image is where the eye is drawn to the fastest and has the strongest pull. The lightest shade of color represents the worst “real estate” of the page.

The next graph shows the visitor’s eye beginning at the top left of the page, then scanning across the top, where the navigation links are usually placed on websites then the eyes move down. This is basically the way an eye moves as you read a book: left to right, down, left to right, down, etc. The pattern looks like an “F.”

The bottom graph is the same pattern you would use when writing the letter “Z.”

The post Eye Tracking: How the Eye Scans Your Web Pages appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The article refers to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and claims that the top 2 tiers of hierarchy explain why people share: “People want the respect of others, and they want to feel a sense of belonging.”

Here is a very interesting study from the New York Times’ Consumer Insight Group if you’d like to read more.

The post Viral Content: Why Some Posts Spread and Others Don’t appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Finishing up my August cover story for the New York Resident magazine about Oscar-nominated actress, Vera Farmiga and her directorial debut, Higher Ground.

Turn my attention to a new assignment from Petside.com (Buddy will of course make a cameo).

Write up a proposal for another star interview (I won’t say who yet… just to build suspend and to save face in case it falls thru).

Continue work on websites. One for beautiful miniature animal art by Melody Lea Lamb.

Finalize copy on my review of Magic Trip, a new movie about the famed Ken Kesey bus trip immortalized in Tom Wolfe’s Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

Continue to interview all people involved in my author profile/book review for Face to Face about a mother whose son shot off his face with a rifle in a failed suicide attempt and about the extensive expensive plastic reconstructive surgery he had to endure.

A brochure for Ann Woodfield and St. Bart’s church.

Social media for Dr. Thomas Romo.

Social media for Little Baby Face Foundation.

Feed my neighbor’s cat (she’s away).

Begin to compile all of my notes for my travel piece about Cancun, Mexico.

Make a phone call to receive instruction for my new brochure(s) project for a real estate company.

Follow up on PPGGNY (Philanthropic Planning Group of Greater New York) conference photos project (I am awaiting their captions).

Begin 2 more book reviews

Follow up on pitches to magazines, especially one on a personal essay that is probably the best thing I ever wrote (to date).

Watch Law & Order reruns while I do my 3 loads of laundry.

Count my blessings and exude gratitude that i have work.

Take a nap.

The post I’m a Strong Believer in Making Lists appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The post Welcome Back from the Holiday Weekend! appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The post Where Did People First Hear About Osama Bin Laden’s Death? appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

Like any writer/social media whiz, my world is on computer. With deadlines hovering, I awake, make cappuccino, push the power button and hear the reassuring bong of startup. After sorting papers-in-chaos, I prioritize my morning “emergencies” and check emails. Clicking on one link leads me to a zillion more. Aside from the three biggest time suckers—Facebook, Twitter and YouTube—I lose still more time on Mashable, Wikipedia, and Petside.com (yes, I’m fixated on tech news, facts, and my dog). Curious, I polled other writers about sites they waste time on.

The first reply came from freelance writer Lara Bishop, “Does online shopping at Frederick’s of Hollywood count?” Given a reassuring nod she said, “Late at night, rather than focusing on my latest writing project, I surf lingerie sites like PamperedPassions.com and imagine what my life would be like if I had an intimate relationship with something other than a Word document.”

Steve Geng, author of the critically acclaimed memoir Thick As Thieves, said, “I’ll be writing my novel, then hear a little ding and I can’t resist checking to see who emailed—hey, could be my agent. I subscribe to TheDailyBeast.com because I like their journalism—timely, concise, and not too far left or right. Trouble is, at the end of each article are comments. I followed one thread that surged with vitriol and feelings of patriotic betrayal. It was about Christina Aguilera’s Star-Spangled Banner lyrics goof at the Super Bowl. Next thing I knew, after typing several comments of my own, three hours had gone by and I’d forgotten where I left off on my novel.”

Fiction and nonfiction writer Chris Roberts said his favorite site, Figment.com, has colors and graphics that remind him of the iconic 1980s show, Miami Vice. Funny he mentioned that—the above-quoted Geng appeared on many Miami Vice episodes. Roberts said, “Figment is fun for writers and has blog contests. One winner received a Personal Library Kit to keep track of who he or she loaned books to.”

TheFreeDictionary.com describes a gawker as a spectator who stares or gapes stupidly. Aptly named, Gawker.com provides titillating stars’ gossip from Manhattan to Hollywood. Susan Shapiro, an ASJA member and author of eight books in eight years whose motto is “a page a day is a book a year” said, “I hate to admit I still love Gawker, especially when they catch my enemies—or media people who’ve been rude to me—doing something stupid.” On a similar note, Melissa Malamut, author of She’s Got Game: The Woman’s Guide to Loving Sports (or Just How to Fake It!) said, “My guilty pleasures are TMZ.com or PerezHilton.com. Seeing celebs in unflattering photos always makes me feel much better after a rejected pitch or bad review.”

One ASJA member needed computer detox. Alisa Bowman, author of Project: Happily Ever After, said, “It got lonely endlessly staring at blogs and discussion boards. Then I remembered I have a family right here to talk to.” She admitted she’d been checking her Amazon sales rank like a nervous tic, repeatedly refreshing the screen hoping to see a higher number. “It was an ugly situation; I had to quit.”

ASJA’s Hilary Davidson, author of the mystery The Damage Done, said, “MulhollandBooks.com features short stories in its ‘Popcorn Fiction’ section. I’ll start reading and tell myself, ‘Just one more, just one more.’ During a 10-minute break I’ll suddenly realize 75 minutes have flown away!”

Journalist Todd Hill said he couldn’t pick one. “Sites I most frequently visited 18 months ago may not be the same ones I’m looking at now, or will be in another 18 months.” ASJA member Dahna M. Chandler, an award-winning investigative journalist, said, “I keep about 60 tabs open on two browsers. I’m constantly checking blogs looking for content and prowling for ideas. Good excuse for wasting time, eh?”

ASJA member Linda Melone said she’s hooked on TheOatmeal.com. I visited the home page which screams in large black type: “Dumb Jokes That Are Funny.”

“Watch out,” Melone said, “it is addictive.”

Pamela Jacobs, editor in chief at New York’s Resident magazine, is a fan of LameBook.com; “It’s a great waste of time and a scary insight into the depths of stupidity.” I had to see for myself and read the top two tweets. “First was this: Sarah Palin and Snookie having NY Times bestsellers makes me realize being literate is overated.” I wondered if that last word was misspelled on purpose. Post No. 2 said: “Dear Punctuation, I want you inside of me. Sincerely, Quotation Marks.” Yup, I LOL’d.

Freelance writer Bonnie Bernstein said, “Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a Donny Osmond obsession.” She learned the Osmonds followed the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS). “Mormons sounded so great,” Bernstein said. “It made me want to marry Donny even more.” It wasn’t until adulthood she found out the connection to polygamy. “While that doesn’t appeal to me, and probably not to Donny, I find it fascinating and spend hours googling FLDS and polygamy.”

And newsletter editor Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, admittedly obsessed with yarn, knitting, and sometimes even weaving, says she spends way too much time at Ravelry.com, a website for knitters and weavers.

Hey, whatever boots your server, loosens your login, or bings your blog.

This article appears in the April 2011 ASJA newsletter.

The post Time Wasters and Online Fun appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The post My Winterwonderland Photo on NY1!! appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.

The post Population and Online Statistics appeared first on Award-Winning Writer and Graphic Designer.