Deleyna’s Drift
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5 Tips for Social Media Detox
It seems like whenever I talk to folks about social media, someone brings up how toxic the environment is these days. They’re not wrong. But there is a cure! Take control of your social media platforms I took a cooking class on how to use a knife. The teacher said one thing that stuck with…
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Nine Keys to Being Media Ready
A marketing guru was talking to authors and advised them to be “media ready” before hiring a marketing assistant. I watched most of the authors in the virtual room look confused. I work with authors, and many of them are not “media ready.” You can tell those that are: their sales are higher. What does…
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Tools of the Trade to Supercharge Your Writing
I’ve been providing technical support for computers and software in various forms since the 1980s, and for most of that time I’ve worked with writers. As a writer and an indie publisher, I’m fascinated by the tools authors use to create books. Writing is a creative process, and the tools we use can enhance or…
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Publishing Dilemmas, Distribution, and Disruption
The holidays are coming! As writers, we know this is a powerful gift-giving season, and we hope that people will give our books as gifts. As readers, we treasure these hand-chosen gifts of entertainment or enlightenment, knowing that friends have given us something they know we will love. But this year, there’s a problem…or rather…
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5 Reasons Tech Can’t Replace Editors
Have you seen the new products on the market to replace live editors with an automated intelligence? I see authors spending a lot of money on these services, while being excited that they can now save the money they used to spend on editors. I see editors moving to other careers or accepting impoverishing fees just…
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The Demons in the Machine
Meet an Artificial Intelligence There’s an AI in a game I like to play. I’ve been playing this game for a few years: cute animations, fun puzzles, just enough to distract my brain. Except lately, I’ve been distracted by the way the AI is changing the game. About a year ago, the developer decided to…
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7 Things Every Author Website Needs
I’m expecting my first grandchild in a few days. When I hold her in my arms for the first time, I’m not going to be judging her ability to run a marathon or write novels. I’m going to be happy if she looks up at me. If I keep our first encounter simple, connected, and…
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5 Reasons Why Authors Need a Website
We’ve all heard that writers need a website, but why? When I ask writers why they want a website, they say: When we don’t know why we need a website, it is hard to use it effectively. A website isn’t supposed to be something you put on a shelf and dust off occasionally. A website…
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Words Matter
I’ve just had a discussion with someone in the technology industry – a discussion about words, specifically an industry standard technology term that they feel has no emotional context. We were talking about the sorting of data into “good” and “bad” – the good being the “whitelist” and the bad being the “blacklist.” Now remember,…
