Ernest Dempsey – Earn Extra Income Freelance Writing for the Web

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Victor Volkman
On February 19th, 2010 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with fulltime freelance writer, proofreader, and editor Ernest Dempsey.  He shared encouraging information on how you can get started in the fun and profitable art of freelance writing.  In addition to having written 4 books, he is now the editor-in-chief of the literary magazine Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing and also works as the country editor for Pakistan on the celebrated Internet news channel Instablogs.com.  He shared with us on the following points:

  • Where are some places that I can go to look for freelance web writing?
  • Is it “ghost writing” or does sometimes my name get shown?
  • What about being a Foreign Correspondent for a news organization in another country?
  • How does getting paid work?
  • How do you manage personal time, schedules, and deadlines?
  • What types of writing projects are available: interviews, reviews, tutorials and how well does each pay relative to the others
  • How have you improved your knowledge of English by writing over time?
  • How does freelancing compare to a “regular job”? Do you get to travel more?

Ernest Recommends for finding gigs: Writer’s World

  
 Karim Khan, pen named Ernest Dempsey, hails from Hangu, a small town in Pakistan. As a child, he enjoyed two things: The joyful company of his brother and Khan’s best friend, Shais; and making airy castles with lots of characters in his mind. At twelve, he started writing detective stories, horror, thrillers, and humor. He has a Masters degree in Geology and one in English Literature.He has authored four books including his latest The Blue Fairy and other Tales of Transcendence and, in just the last few years, seen the publication of his poems, essays, short stories, and literary reviews worldwide. Khan is now looking forward to completing his first novel.  
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Posted in Blogging, Freelancing, Ghostwriting, Journalism | 2 Comments

Jamie Saloff – Six Rules That Will Kickstart Your Book Website into Full Gear

Posted on February 6, 2010 by Victor Volkman
On Feb 4th 2010 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with web media and book publicist expert Jamie Saloff on common pitfalls of author/book websites and simple, easy, and inexpensive ways to get more conversions from your web hits into book sales.  Jamie is the site owner for www.PolkaDotBanner.com – an author-helping-author website designed to help authors gain visibility for their books. She also maintains several other sites she built and designed, including the site for Pennwriters, a regional multi-genre writer’s organization, where she is the Web Committee Chair.  In this wide-ranging discussion, some key talking points included:

  • What are the high real estate values and high productivity areas of your website?
  • How does art direct the eye and how can I use it to my advantage?
  • Why are color and “lighting” important?
  • How is reading a website different from reading a magazine or book?
  • How does my website reflect who I am and why it is important?
  • How to use multi-media and flash cost effectively?
  • What other things can I offer or talk about besides the book, the book, the book…?
  
On a daily basis, Rev. Jamie L. Sailoff utilizes many facets of creation and design as an: author, web designer, book design and publishing consultant, jewelry designer, and art enthusiast For over a decade, Jamie has been a book designer and DIY publishing consultant (www.PODBookDesigns.com) for countless author-publishers, particularly professionals who are navigating the waters of self-publishing for the first time..Jamie is the author of Transformational Healing: Five Surprisingly Simple Keys Designed to Redirect Your Life Toward Wellness, Purpose, and Prosperity. She has also authored two other books, including The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Cowan Pottery, which she co-authored with her husband, Tim. Her other book, The Publishing Center, was based on her years of work heading an all-volunteer elementary school writing center, which produced on average, 1000 student-written books per year.  
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Posted in Websites | 2 Comments

Dana Lynn Smith – Twitter, Tweeting, and Re-tweeting: Twitter Book Marketing

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Victor Volkman
On January 22nd, 2010 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with book marketing guru Dana Lynn Smith about exploiting the potential of Twitter for marketing your books. Dana Lynn Smith, owner of Texana Publishing Consultants, LLC, has 15 years of experience in publishing and 25 years of marketing experience. She specializes in developing marketing plans for nonfiction books and teaching authors how to promote their books online. She is the author of The Savvy Book Marketer Guides, a series of ebooks on book marketing topics. Talking points include:

  • How does Twitter work
  • Why do you think Twitter is a valuable tool for authors?
  • What common mistakes do you see authors making on Twitter?
  • Twitter profile for a minute – what suggestions can you offer?
  • Can you give us some tips for attracting followers on Twitter?
  • A lot of people who use Twitter wonder what they should be tweeting about. Can you give us some suggestions?
  • I know there are several different types of messages that can be sent on Twitter. Can you explain the difference between Replies, Mentions and Direct Messages?
  • How often should authors tweet?
  • How can Twitter work with FaceBook or MySpace?
  • How can I run a contest with Twitter?
  
 Dana ‘s professional background includes:

  • Overseeing book production, marketing, fulfillment, and bottom-line profitability at Hoover’s Business Press, with distribution channels including direct sales, library sales, online bookstores, and retail bookstores.
  • Writing search engine optimization content for a group of travel web sites.
  • Managing and promoting conventions and tradeshows for the Texas Restaurant Association, Texas Hospital Association, and other associations.

She has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing, and is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association and the Writers League of Texas. A fifth-generation Texan, Dana enjoys exploring Texas and the world, and she writes a Texas travel column for Examiner.com. She and her husband live on a small ranch near Austin, Texas, where they raise cattle and goats

  
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Podcasting for Authors – Roundtable with Alan E. Smith

Posted on January 9, 2010 by Victor Volkman
On January 8th, 2010, we convened a roundtable discussion on Podcasting for Authors with Victor R. Volkman, Irene Watson, and Alan E. Smith. Each of the principals invited has been recording and distributing podcasts for several years through Authors Airwaves, Inside Scoop Live, and UnBreak Your Health, and  podcast programs respectively.  Our discussion ranged through a wide variety of subjects from production to promotion to book tie-ins and of course, getting started.1.  How did you get into podcasting?
2.  Is it hard to do, do I have to learn a lot of stuff?
3.  Should I use blogtalkradio or do-it-myself?
4.  How do I get guests, what do I talk about?
5.  How do I promote the podcast?
6.  What is RSS.XML and stuff like that
7.  How can I tie my book into the podcast without making it an endless infomercial?
8.  Can I integrate or interweave my book and podcast content?
9.  How do I measure success?
10.  What about audio quality?  tips
Alan E. Smith Alan E. Smith
Victor Volkman specializes in the audio engineering aspects and has done audio editing for quality control on more than 200 podcasts, including all 102 podcasts of Authors Access.  The chief problems that he works on involve noise reduction, balancing the levels, integrating background music and commercials, fixing speech problems, and maintaining quality and continuity. His audio editing suite is Goldwave Version 5.

Irene Watson is the owner of Reader Views, a full-service book marketing and publicity firm with a wide range of services from reviews to interviews to book editing and agenting. In 2005, she created  Inside Scoop Live which has produced nearly 400 shows  which is now primarily hosted by Juanita Watson. Inside Scoop Live is a global internet-based broadcast specializing in interviewing published authors about their current books and areas of expertise.  Her preferred recording platform is Audio Acrobat dot com” Alan E. Smith is the author of Unbreak Your Health: The complete guide to complementary and alternative therapies.  Alan has produced 55 podcasts since 2008 with a variety of guests from bestselling authors such as Bruce Lipton, PhD, who wrote “The Biology of Belief” which was a major influence of the infamous “What the Bleep” movie and also the creators, deans, and master teachers of many techniques such as Naturopathy, Chiropractic, Energy Medicine, Therapeutic Touch, and dozens of others.

Resources we mentioned on this show

Internet Stations to consider broadcasting on

For publicizing your podcast show

  • Francine Silverman’s Talk Radio Wants You
  • Alex Carroll’s database of talk radio
  • Podcastdirectory.com
  • Podcast411.com
  • Podbean.com
  • Podseek.net
  • Dailyslice.com
  • Google’s podcast directory

Where to get great guests?

  • PitchRate.com
  • HARO (www.helpareporter.com)
  • RadioGuestList.com
  • www.mymediaconnections.ning.com
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Posted in Alan E. Smith, Irene Watson, Podcasting, Speaking, Victor Volkman | 1 Comment

Top 10 podcasts of 2009

Posted on December 31, 2009 by Victor Volkman

Dear listeners, new and old,
As we ring in the New Year, we want to make sure you haven’t missed the best podcasts that Authors Access has presented, as voted by you: the people who listen to the show

Rank Original
Air Date		 Guest Subject Podcast
Link
1 08-Aug-08 Jo Virgil Getting Your Book into a National Book Store
2 21-Aug-08 Yvonne Perry How to Become a Freelance Writer
3 04-Sep-08 Alice Acheson Publicity for Pennies
4 15-Nov-07 Carolyn Howard Johnson Frugal Book Promotion
5 16-Oct-08 Kevin Collier Kevin Collier – Illustrating and Designing Children’s Books
6 11-Dec-08 Alexis Niki Screenwriting 101
7 12-Nov-08 Ryan Johnson POD Printing Books and Games
8 20-Nov-08 Suzanne Lieurance Developing Your Passion of Writing as a Career
9 12-Nov-08 Edna Washington Using QuickBooks with Publishers in Mind
10 04-Dec-08 Barbara Hudgins Crafting Travel Guidebooks
Posted in podcasts | 3 Comments