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July 4, 2011

How do you divide your time between writing and marketing? [Discussion]

Photo: alancleaver_2000 | Flickr

Whether it’s the fast-paced nature of modern life, the fact that most of us are part-time authors or even just the distraction of the latest marathon of Deadliest Catch, it seems the amount of time the we have to devote to writing and marketing is less than ever.

For today’s discussion, we want to address this problem by finding out how you divide your time between writing activities (writing, outlining, planning, brainstorming, editing, revising, etc) and marketing activities (blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, begging for reviews, visiting bookstores, networking, etc) and what you do to make most efficient use of your time. We want to know:

  • What percentage of your time do you spend on writing and marketing? How do you think this will change as you move through the lifecycle of your current book?
  • Do you plan time to work on your writing and marketing individually or do you just work on both simultaneously whenever you can find the time?
  • If you could invent any tool to make your writing and marketing time easier, what would it be?
  • What tips would you give to other authors on how to most efficiently utilize the time devoted to their writing career?

Please leave a comment below addressing any (or all) of the above questions. Also, please send the discussion along to your friends whether they’re authors or not — we’d love to get a varied input.

We’ll use some of your responses to guide upcoming Duolit resources and tools, so be sure to share your perspective.

What do you think?

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March 7, 2011

How Much Do YOU Pay for Books? [Discussion]

One of the most common questions we receive from authors is “how do I price my books?“ The truth is, there are so many factors playing into this that the solution is sometimes as individual as the book itself.

Since so many authors are readers in real life, we thought one way to examine is to ask you: how much do YOU pay for books? We want to know:

  • How much did you pay for the last book you purchased? What was its genre? Where did you purchase it?
  • Are you willing to pay more for traditionally published books versus self-published books? Why?
  • Should eBooks cost less than their printed counterparts?
  • Should you pay less for a book you purchased online versus one you bought in a brick and mortar bookstore?
  • Should a used book cost less than one that is new?
  • Do you take tax/shipping (or the lack thereof) into account when deciding whether to purchase a book?

Please leave a comment below addressing any (or all) of the above questions. Also, please send the discussion along to your friends whether they’re authors or not — we’d love to get a varied input.

We’ll use some of your responses to guide next week’s post on book pricing, so please share your thoughts!

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February 7, 2011

What Keeps You Motivated? [Discussion]

Photo: photosteve101 | Flickr

It’s a common cliché when it comes to New Year’s Resolutions: they’re easy to make and easy to break. If you followed our goal-setting process, you have specific goals and steps for getting there laid out. These will help stave off the need for much a ton of additional motivation — but if you ask me,  a little extra motivation is never a bad thing.

This month, we’re going to work on keeping you motivated to reach those goals. We have some specific ideas in mind on how to boost your motivation (regardless of where you are in the publishing process), but first we want to hear from you! Tell us:

  • Where are you in the publishing process? Are you still writing your book? Trying to market the heck out of it? Attempting to determine which self-publishing service is right for you?
  • What hurdles have popped up as you progress toward your goals?
  • How do you maintain motivation toward your goals? What helps you the most when you need a boost or when things seem dire?
  • What motivational advice would you give to other authors in the same step of the process as you?

Please take a few moments to give us your input using the comments form below. We’ll use your responses to craft our post topics for the next two weeks, so don’t hesitate to ask questions or make additional comments about what keeps you motivated!

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January 17, 2011

Do You Set Goals/Resolutons? [Discussion]

Photo: SeanToyer | Flickr

The new year brings renewed commitment to goals for many, and writers are no exception. The flipping of the calendar from December to January just feels like a natural place to stop and reevaluate progress toward our goals and make adjustments.

Throughout January, we’re talking about the process of goal-setting, and how writers specifically can get the most out of the process. Now, howevver, we want to hear from you! Tell us:

  • How do you feel about goal-setting/resolutions in general? Do they help keep you on track or do they fall by the wayside after a few weeks?
  • Have you made any writing, publishing or marketing-related goals/resolutions for the new year? Please share them, if you feel comfortable.
  • How will you track your progress toward your goal? Do you have a plan laid out with steps to take to get there?
  • If you have a plan to achieve to your goal, how is it broken down? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Do you have specific word count/sales numbers/milestones to achieve?
  • If you haven’t set any goals, why not? Do they feel too constricting? Do you work better without them?

Again, Happy New Year to all, and we can’t wait to see where you guys weigh in on this important topic. We’ll use your responses to craft our post topics for the next two weeks, so don’t hesitate to ask questions or make additional comments about the goal-setting process!

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November 4, 2010

How’s NaNoWriMo going? [Discussion]

It’s day 4 of NaNoWriMo, and I thought it was time for a check-in. Shannon posted her experience so far on her blog, but we want to hear from you! If you’re participating, tell us:

  • How many words/chapters/sections/characters do you have so far?
  • Does the time constraint throw a wrench into your writing process, or does the deadline give you a direction and tangible goals?
  • Do you feel pressure to write a certain number of words each day, or do you wait for inspiration to strike?
  • What are you enjoying most so far about the process? What have you found most difficult?

Share your experience/thoughts (and shoot us a link to check out what you have so far) below in the comments. If you can tear yourself away from your WIP, that is! 😉

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