But that's not because I have been in Iceland or captured by Orcs or even decided that the writing life was too much like having homework for the rest of my life and, hang it all, I was going to brew excellent coffee instead.
Well, it has been a scary amount of time since I have posted here! April 2016 to September 2018? What?! But that's not because I have been in Iceland or captured by Orcs or even decided that the writing life was too much like having homework for the rest of my life and, hang it all, I was going to brew excellent coffee instead. This is what happened:
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So you use Google Images to search for the perfect picture for your blog post. It wouldn't be on Google Images if it weren't free, right? You hit "publish." Later, a photographer contacts you and informs you that you need to take down the image, because it's his. You apologize, remove the image from your blog, and think that's the end of the matter. It's not. For blogger Roni Lauren, it was the start of an odyssey involving lawyers, money, and a whole lot of headache. When I first started blogging, I spent hours--and I mean HOURS--searching the internet for websites that offered high-quality photos for free. When you just want to add a little visual spice to your blog, you can't afford to pay $50 a month to get the photos you want. Same goes for authors who like to design their own book covers.
So here's what I've got for you: nine websites that offer high-quality photos and images for your blog. These images do not require attribution and may be used commercially. This week as I was writing The CURE Games, I encountered a scene that required a cipher of some kind. An alphabet substitution cipher was far too easy for this code. I needed something... meatier... subtler... more difficult...
Something, perhaps, like a Vigenere Cipher. (My comment to my mother: "Dude, I'm tellin' ya: The French came up with the sneakiest codes!") And that's when I discovered this awesome website with a plethora of ciphers and codes--and handy tools that help you encode and decode a message like *that*! If you need a book cover designed by someone with professional skill, look no further. As of this writing, there are 1,165,502 graphic artists from 99Designs who want to help you take your project to the next level, and they will literally compete to do so. Here's how it works:
Find this post linked on the Research page under the "Lesser Known Weapons" tab. I suppose there’s a bit of the pyromaniac in me. Perhaps it came from watching my father and his longest childhood friend set off fireworks together for his friend’s pyrotechnic business. Perhaps it’s the old thrill of lighting a candle for my birthday or the comfort of eating s’mores around a fire. Whatever it is, it has contributed to my lifelong fascination with Greek fire, an incendiary used with deadly effect in ancient warfare and probably a precursor to gunpowder and firearms.
Find this post linked on the Community page under the "Support & Accountability" tab. You guys, I am having a blast with 4thewords! One of the NaNoWriMo 2015 sponsors, 4thewords is a fun online community and productivity tool that enables you to reach your writing goals, while moving up through levels, earning badges, and capturing monsters. What could be more motivating?
(Well, nutella is motivating, and so is epic soundtrack music, but still... 4thewords is pretty awesome.) Recently Martian Kitty busted into the room we shared and stopped short when she saw the scratch-pad on my bed.
"You were playing games?" she asked, pointing to the suspicious scribbles that looked very much like the sort of games you'd play when you are by your lonesome self waiting for the nurse at the doctor's office to call your name. This post is linked on the Building an Audience page under the "Plugins, Tools, and Widgets" tab. I don't even remember how I ran across POWr, but ever since I've tried their easy-peasy plugins, I've been really happy. Want a plugin to gather reviews? To set up an e-store for both digital and physical products? To gather e-mail addresses for a list? To display your social media feeds? To count down to an important event? POWr can do it.
At the beginning of 2014, I decided to learn everything I could about business. I read blog posts, studied books, watched informational videos... Heck, I even invested in a few materials that would help me be more effective at marketing my writing.
And all of that has helped. It really has. But there came a point when I saw another e-mail for yet another thing that would absolutely guarantee me to get tons of response and throngs of new buyers, and I realized that nobody knows the secret to viral content. |
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