Publishing in the 21st Century

A “Great News” Week at Carrick Publishing…

Posted on: May 19th, 2012 by Carrick Publishing

I can honestly say there are times when Alex and I have no idea where this roller-coaster writing life will carry us next.

Of course we have goals and plans — you can’t set off on a journey like this without some kind of road-map. And yet hardly a week goes by without an exciting detour, an adventure that both surprises and delights us.

We were still riding high from last Sunday’s interview with The Platform “Voice” John Rakestraw and his co-hosts Liz Borino and A.T. Russell. The questions were insightful, and we had a blast exploring the world of Indie Publishing with that fantastic group of industry leaders.

Then, out of the blue, on Monday we discovered that Alex’s personal blogsite, www dot alexcarrick dot com, was named last week’s Website of the Week by Writer’s Digest.

What an incredible honour!


Here’s what Writer’s Digest had to say about Alex’s site:

Alex Carrick’s blog is clean, crisp and entertaining. His stories range from humorous to thought-provoking, making it a fun read.

—Writer’s Digest Writing Website of the Week, May 14, 2012

The Platform “Voice” John Rakestraw~ BlogTalkRadio, on Indie Publishing

Posted on: May 13th, 2012 by Carrick Publishing

The Platform “Voice” ~ BlogTalkRadio host John Rakestraw and co-hosts Liz Borino and A.T. Russell speak with Donna and Alex Carrick on the topic of Indie Publishing.

Tune in for the Mother’s Day edition of The Voice:

Listen to internet radio with John Rakestraw Talks on Blog Talk Radio

Guest Author Troy Lambert (Redemption) ~ Twenty Years in a Day:

Posted on: May 5th, 2012 by Carrick Publishing

“Dude, your book was great! I read it in a day. I started yesterday morning, and I didn’t go to bed until I was done last night.” A great compliment that drove a nail into my heart. It took me nine months to write that novel and you read it in one day? And really the story was twenty years in the making.

As I sat down to write this I realize that the story is much older than that. True I first penned the story of Arthur Creed and his descent into insanity twenty years ago. It was poorly written and unpublishable—partly because of timing and partly because as I found out later, it wasn’t finished. Suddenly in my home office one sultry morning Arthur Creed met Samuel Elijah Johnson and a novel was born. The story was finally complete.

Of course this is a simplified version of the events that took place for this work to come together. Arthur’s story is my reaction—my answer to my upbringing. I think I wrote it in a fit of rebellion originally—almost a “if you thought I was bad before check this out” story. I put it away after a couple of rejection slips and after letting only a few friends read it. They said it was good, but some looked sideways at me as if to say “that is totally screwed up.” It was the best compliment they could have paid. I knew I was screwed up so writing a screwed up story seemed a logical step in my journey.

Since then I have learned to reconcile my past with who I am as a person and as a writer. I was writing non-fiction making decent money and working part time at a museum when I decided I should embrace fiction—what I really wanted to write. So I compiled some short stories and put together Broken Bones, a collection I released last year. It met with great success and minor criticism. At the same time I was writing Redemption.


I learned and moved on. Redemption is a much more tightly written and edited story. Reading it you will discover what church and prison have in common. You will find that to find Redemption and make wrongs right again sometimes it takes more than you ever thought it would. Sometimes you have to go farther than you could have imagined.

I am now working on a sequel tentatively titled Confession. I hope you enjoy the journey of Redemption as much as I have. It has been a much longer one for me than it will be for you. Read it in a day? It is okay to tell me. After all I may have saved you a twenty year journey.

Troy’s work may be found at:
www dot troylambertwrites dot com
You may contact the author directly:
Author at troylambertwrites dot com.

Look for Redemption on Amazon, Goodreads, and at your favorite local bookseller.

Today’s Author: Building a platform, Part IV- Twitter, a hard look at the numbers

Posted on: April 24th, 2012 by Carrick Publishing

Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach him to Tweet and he’ll forget to eat

One of the key benefits of Twitter over other Social Media platforms is the ability to interact with such a large and diverse group of people. If you’ve been following our series (See Building a Platform Part I, Blogging, Part II, Networking and Part III, Twitter Basics) you’ll already be aware of several of the powerful Social Media forums available.

However, any tool is only as effective as the person using it. If we lack the skills to reach that broad group of people, we aren’t going to be able to spread our message the way we’d like.

A patient tweets to his on-line psychologist, “Doctor, I think I’m being followed!”

How critical are the numbers displayed in Twitter? Their importance will vary depending on what we’re hoping to accomplish. Many people dislike seeing a blatant push for followers and will sometimes avoid following people whose only objective seems to be acquiring a follower base.

Having said that, as writers we’d be naïve to think the numbers have no meaning. Naturally, the more people we are able to interact with, the more exposure our work will receive.

There are a few tips that can help you build a follower base without having to press constantly for new followers:

1- Reciprocity is a word you’ll encounter on Twitter, and with good reason. Many Tweeters will refuse to follow anyone who maintains a skewed “follower/following” ratio. As our accounts grow, it may not be possible to auto-follow everyone who follows us. However, it’s important to at least maintain that ratio.

A skewed ratio is a clue that one may not be interested in engaging followers. It implies one is more a “talker” than a “listener”, who wants only to blast tweets to a large following without considering the needs of others.

I won’t follow most celebrities for this reason. When I’m deciding who to follow, I don’t care how many followers an individual has. I do care that they make an effort to follow others. If I doubt their intention toward reciprocity, I won’t waste my time.

2- About the Numbers: Twitter has rules that relate to the numbers. The most important rule you need to be aware of concerns “follower/following” ratios.

When you set out to build your platform in Twitter, you’ll soon learn there is no magic formula. In order to connect with followers, you will have to first follow people.

Twitter sets a ceiling on how many people you can follow. You can freely follow up to 2000 people. After that, you may not follow anyone until your “follower” base matches your “following” base.

This is a challenge for many Twitter users. Busting that ‘ceiling’ takes time, patience and some inside knowledge.

The time and patience only you can provide. As for the knowledge, here are a couple of tips that might help:

a) Tweet out loud to the people you follow. This will encourage them to follow back.

b) Follow people who maintain a strong “follower/following” ratio. It needn’t be exact, but it should be strong enough to show they make an effort to “follow back”.

c) Follow lots of people. The more people you follow, the more people who will follow you.

d) Use the Search and Hashtag (#) functions to discover and follow people who share your interest in books. Some excellent Chat forums are #WriteChat , #epubChat , #AmWriting and #StoryCraft. There are many more to be found, but those will lead you to some terrific people to begin following today.

e) Unfollow as needed. When you are first starting out and have not yet broken your 2K ceiling, this will be most important. If you’ve followed someone and Tweeted them a greeting, and they haven’t followed back, you might try tweeting them again. If that doesn’t work, unfollow. You need to get past that 2K limit.

Keep in mind, though, if they do follow back it’s considered poor form to unfollow. This is called “dumping” and Twitter may penalize you for it. It doesn’t mean you can never unfollow someone. I’ve followed people whom I thought would be interesting only to discover they were prone to expletive rampages. I unfollow without a second thought in those cases. But in the general course of things, I never unfollow anyone I’ve followed, unless I discover they will not follow back.

The most important thing I encourage Twitter newbies to remember is that these ‘avatars’ that fly through our Timelines represent real people. Yes, the numbers can be meaningful to us as we set out to build our platform. But the numbers are only a very small part of the story.

For each ‘number’ in your “follower/following” base, there is a person. That person has needs and goals, just as we do. He or she has a message to send.

When I see Twitter bullying or disrespect, I shun it at all costs. There are no “Twitter Bosses” who can tell you who you should be engaging, or what your message should be. Likewise, it’s not my place to tell others how to Tweet. If I don’t like what I see, I simply unfollow.

Some writers find Twitter to be too fast, too restrictive with its 140 character limit, too difficult to latch onto. However, I confess I am very taken with Twitter. At its best, it represents an almost Jungian representation of the “collective consciousness”. The more I experience new connections, the more astonished I am by human similarities.

And yes, when used well, Twitter can be an invaluable building block for our author platforms.

~ Donna Carrick, Carrick Publishing, author of The First Excellence, winner of the 2011 Indie Book Event Award for excellence in fiction.

In Today’s Author: Building a platform, Part V, we’ll explore the world of FaceBook.

Join me for this series at: www.carrickpublishing.com.

Attending Bloody Words 2012? Hope to see you at our workshop on Building A Writer’s Platform through Social Media.

Donna is an executive member of CrimeWriters of Canada and the author of three mystery novels as well as 2 short story anthologies. Her titles include: The First Excellence (winner of the 2011 Indie Book Event Award), Gold And Fishes, The Noon God, Sept-Iles and other places and Knowing Penelope.

Donna blogs regularly at www.onfreedomroad.com , www.carrickpublishing.com , www.donnacarrick.com and http://donnacarrick.blogspot.com/

Something we’ve been working on…

Posted on: April 10th, 2012 by Carrick Publishing

A catch-all of our work…

And another point of view:

Congratulations to Bony Blithe “Light Mystery” Finalists!

Posted on: March 28th, 2012 by Carrick Publishing

And the shortlist for the Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award 2012 is….. (Drumroll please)

Janet Bolin, Dire Threads (Berkley Prime Crime)

Alan Bradley, A Red Herring without Mustard (Doubleday Canada)

Gloria Ferris, Cheat the Hangman (Imajin Books)

Mary Jane Maffini, The Busy Woman’s Guide to Murder (Berkley Prime Crime)

Phyllis Smallman, Champagne for Buzzards (McArthur & Company)

Today’s Author: Building a platform, Part III- Twitter Basics

Posted on: March 15th, 2012 by Carrick Publishing

Ask not for whom the bird Tweets. It tweets for you…

One of the questions I’m asked by fellow authors is: How can I build a strong network on Twitter?

By now you’ve set up accounts with several of the major Social Media forums. (See Building a Platform, Part I: Blogging and Part II: Networking .) You’ve added your Twitter link to your Email signature, your Website and any other on-line pages you maintain.

You’ve designed an appealing Twitter page, including a bio that links to your blog, your Website, or directly to your book selling page.

You’re shooting 140 character pearls into the Twitter-verse, taking care to present your most interesting self in every Tweet.

The challenge remains: How to build a following? Without that key ingredient, we’re just “Tweeting in the wind”.

Here are a few ideas that may help you connect with folks on Twitter:

1- Interaction

A handful of Twitter users may be ‘bots’(Robotic Tweeters), but most twitter accounts are manned by real individuals with specific reasons for being there. Behind those Avatars are human beings.

If you visit the Twitter pages of the people you follow, you’ll easily identify what those reasons are. You can make one general assumption: Almost everyone on Twitter is looking to connect.

So the key is to “connect”. If you follow Crystaline Blythe, let her know you’re following her. Send a “Nice to meet you @CrystalineBlythe” tweet to Crys. She’ll appreciate the mention and will be far more likely to follow you back. She may even respond to you by saying “Nice to meet you, too, @Joe_Writer727”. This mention will be visible to all of Crys’s followers, which raises your prominence on Twitter.

2- RTs or ReTweets

Pay attention to the people you follow by viewing your Twitter Stream on a regular basis. If you see a Tweet you find interesting, Retweet it. The sender will appreciate it and will be far more likely to pay attention to your Tweets.

3- Identify yourself.

Most people are reluctant to follow ‘bots’, or accounts that serve the sole purpose of high-powered selling or even spamming. These bots are often easy to spot on Twitter. They may not sport a proper avatar, displaying only the Twitter avatar, the egg or the bird. Even bots cleverly designed with a proper avatar may still have common features. The bio can be revealing, or you may notice they are following 1 and have 1100 followers, or they’ve posted only a small handful of tweets.

Take care not to dress like a ‘bot’. Design your page to reflect your personality. As a writer, your bio will say something like: Joe Writer is the author of the Nellie McDuff mystery series, available at Acme E-Books. Visit www.joewriter.blog.com Be sure to include the link.

Use an avatar. People won’t follow you without one. The avatar can be a book cover (popular and useful), a character image, or a photo of you, the author.

Your own image is always your best choice, especially when you are first building your Twitter presence. People want to know who you are. Give them something real to connect with.

4- Exclusive or Inclusive? That is the question.

When faced with a decision regarding whom to follow, each of us will quickly build our own criteria. For example, I won’t follow pornographic sites or tooth whitener ‘bots’. However, I will follow most anyone in the arts or literary industry. I learn a lot from these wonderful people, so why not follow their Tweets?

I ask myself: Is this someone I’ll be comfortable interacting with? It doesn’t matter to me where they’re located or what walk of life they come from. So long as I’ll be comfortable interacting with them, I go ahead and follow back. After all, you never know who will give you the most pleasure. It’s best to keep an open mind.

If they Tweet links to pornography or violence, I’ll unfollow in a flash and block the Tweeter.

5- Why follow writers?

We’ve all heard the arguments. What’s the point of following fellow writers? Will they buy our books? Where are readers hiding?

Joseph Konrath made this point with eloquence in a recent blog post. He reminded us that Social Media is just that, social. It can’t be relied on to sell books. Nor should it be.

In our changing literary landscape, the people with the greatest vested interest in encouraging the general populace to read are your fellow writers. They are bright, enthusiastic and knowledgeable people, well worth knowing.

And yes, they may buy a book or two, occasionally.

Their true value, though, lies in the community they share. I strongly encourage you to approach Twitter with that in mind. In my opinion, this bonding between writers and other artists is one of the unexpected gems forged from the Social Media experience.

I’ve learned a great deal from these people, including how to sell books.

Where are tomorrow’s readers likely to be found? Will they frequent bookstores? Some may still venture there, but the recent unfortunate closings of the brick and mortar stores seems to belie that assumption.

My guess is that tomorrow’s readers will reach out for a multi-media experience. They’ll discover their new favourite writers through talking with friends on Social Media platforms, including Twitter and FaceBook. They’ll read these books electronically, on their Kindles, iPads or even on their phones.

Although a Twitter presence may not sell a gazillion books, if we’re going to connect with the readers of tomorrow, the most likely avenue will be through building a sound on-line platform.

~ Donna Carrick, Carrick Publishing, author of The First Excellence, winner of the 2011 Indie Book Event Award for excellence in fiction.

In Today’s Author: Building a platform, Part IV, we’ll take a closer look Twitter’s rules and how to successfully manage the “follower/following” ratios.

Join me for this series at: www.carrickpublishing.com.

Attending Bloody Words 2012? Hope to see you at our workshop on Building A Writer’s Platform through Social Media.

Donna is an executive member of CrimeWriters of Canada and the author of three mystery novels as well as 2 short story anthologies. Her titles include: The First Excellence (winner of the 2011 Indie Book Event Award), Gold And Fishes, The Noon God, Sept-Iles and other places and Knowing Penelope.

Donna blogs regularly at www.onfreedomroad.com , www.carrickpublishing.com , www.donnacarrick.com and http://donnacarrick.blogspot.com/

Today’s Author: Building a platform, Part II- Networking

Posted on: February 26th, 2012 by Carrick Publishing 1 Comment

So, you’ve got your blog running at full steam… (See Today’s Author: Part I at Carrick Publishing — Blogging.)

You’ve been toiling for weeks, churning out your most interesting thoughts, spinning tales into cyber-space.

What’s that you say? Your site had three hits yesterday? Two of them were your mother?

How do we entice readers? You’ve got a great topic. You’ve used images to heighten the visual appeal of your page.

With today’s Social Media tools as close as your nearest WiFi connection, there’s no excuse for toiling in isolation.

Some of the popular outlets for writers include: StumbledUpon, DIGG, CrimeSpace, GrapeVine and GoodReads.

In our experience, there are 4 primary Social Media forums that can help you connect with people who share your passion:

1- Twitter is loaded with potential connections who are waiting to hear from you. They won’t all share your interest in WollySprocket Handbooks, but Twitter offers easy-to-use tools to find your fellow WollySprocket enthusiasts.

The key advantage Twitter offers is its fast, fluid nature. In 140 characters or less, you can josh, share a blog link with your followers, post a photo of your new grandchild or ask for advice.

2- FaceBook is another great forum for finding friends who read, write, publish and are eager to discuss books and e-books.

One of the things I like most about FaceBook is the ability to easily check in on family members, friends and fellow-artists/writers to see what they’re up to.

3- Google + is a newcomer to the Social Media whirlwind, but is quickly making a name for itself, especially among the younger crowd.

One of Google +’s claims to fame is its easy access and connectivity throughout the Google Empire.

4- LinkedIn is a quieter and often overlooked forum. We think of LinkedIn as a professional network, where we can connect with colleagues in our “day jobs”.

For writers, LinkedIn is so much more. It’s full of Writing and Publishing Industry groups, where seasoned professionals gather to chew the fat on the hottest topics of the day.

Joseph Konrath hit the nail on the head with his recent blog post: The Value Of Publicity (A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing, Wednesday, January 18, 2012). Konrath points out that, despite our best efforts, it’s tough selling books.

Even the hottest publicity does not always pan out in terms of heightened book sales.

Social Media may not drive high volume sales. However, it will start your sales-engine. And, more important, it can connect you with others in our industry. These people talk ‘books’, all day every day.

If we ever hope to master this industry of ours, it will be through the friends we make as we build our platform.

**

In Today’s Author: Building a platform, Part III, we’ll focus our discussion on one of the most beloved and writer-friendly forums out there: Twitter. We’ll look at using its Search capabilities to find folks who share our passion.

Join me for this series at: www.carrickpublishing.com .

Attending Bloody Words 2012? Hope to see you at our workshop on Building A Writer’s Platform through Social Media.

Donna is an executive member of CrimeWriters of Canada and the author of three mystery novels as well as a short story anthology. Her titles include: The First Excellence (winner of the 2011 Indie Book Event Award), Gold And Fishes, The Noon God, Sept-Iles and other places and Knowing Penelope.

Donna blogs regularly at www.onfreedomroad.com , www.carrickpublishing.com , www.donnacarrick.com and http://donnacarrick.blogspot.com/ .

Author Mariam Kobras ~ The Distant Shore: Guest Post February 8, 2012

Posted on: February 8th, 2012 by Carrick Publishing 1 Comment


This week, in the spirit of St. Valentine, Carrick Publishing is proud to feature debut author Mariam Kobras. (The Distant Shore, Buddhapuss Ink LLC, January 2012).

I had the honour of being asked to read this story in its pre-publication stage. To my delight, my thoughts found their way onto the beautifully designed back cover: “Kobras delivers a story of love that transcends time and crosses continents. poignant and beautiful . . . Fans of romance will appreciate her fresh voice.”

And now, in the author’s own words…

Today, it began to snow.

It’s the end of January, and this is the first snow this winter. The world looks quieter, prettier, almost as if nature is taking a break, catching a breath before the riot of spring.

The cat has curled up on his favorite plaid blanket, right here beside me on the couch, and I have my favorite mug filled with fresh coffee close by. It’s so peaceful in the house, no one else, no movement, no noise.

I’m feeling a bit like Naomi right now—Naomi from The Distant Shore—who has run away from her life and love, to live in a small fishing town in Norway.

She spends hours sitting at her desk, staring out at the bay, and the changing weather, dreaming of what she might have had, could have had, if those cops had not stormed into her house and destroyed everything for her.

She dreams of Jon, the one love of her life, who was arrested that night, dragged from their bed and taken away. It was the last time she saw him before she fled Hollywood, and the glamour of his stardom. She dreams of hearing his voice, hearing him whisper to her in the still of the night, feeling his arms around her, even while she knows she will never return to him, or share his life again.

While for me the stillness of the snow goes on, Naomi is woken from her reverie one day in February, when the door of her hotel opens, and Jon walks in from a winter storm. Imagine the turmoil, imagine how she feels, seeing him again after so many years, so many lonely nights later.

There is no choice for her. She loved him before, and she still loves him now.

What she thought had been lost forever is within reach, and she grabs it without a second thought.

For a while, Jon becomes part of the winter stillness of her slow, ordered life, until Hollywood and his fame claim him back. Naomi follows him back to Los Angeles and to the house where they were once lovers. Now, older, wiser, she can see that there are good things here, a new life, a new chance for them. It takes them a while to grow into a couple, into a family with their son, Joshua, but they manage to transport the peace they found in tranquil Norway, to sunny, chaotic California.

Maybe Naomi should have turned Jon around on his heels and kicked him out the moment he appeared in Halmar. Maybe she should never have let him into her apartment, her bed, or her heart again. Her life would certainly have been easier.

As easy and smooth as the world looks under the cover of a blanket of snow, soft, silent, undisturbed. No upheaval, no stalking fans, no worries.

But also, no passion, no love, no music, and no songs. Naomi has no choice.

The moment Jon opens that door to her hotel, he opens her door to freedom, to creativity and to finding her own self. He is her way of finding herself, freeing her from the burden of her family, and heritage, and allowing her to be a different person, the one she really wants to be.

So, she doesn’t hesitate. She wants it all: the love, the excitement, the new life with the creative work.

Looking out at the snow right now, I have to admit that I’m with Naomi. I’d step out into the light too, I’d reach for the stars.

Oh wait – I did.

I left behind my boring housewife life to be a writer, and now an author.

Only it wasn’t a rock star like Jon Stone who opened that door for me, but a NJ publisher.

Rock star, publisher—same thing, at least they are in this case—door openers, both of them. You need someone, at that moment in your life when you decide to commit to living a creative life, someone who will give you the validation.

Someone who will tell you that, yes, it’s worth the time, the effort, the work.

Someone who will tell you that they want you to go on, who will assure you that yes, you really are good at what you’re doing, and please don’t give up, and to learn to value yourself.

Maybe even someone who—like rock star Jon Stone—will make you lunch and put it in front of you when you forget to eat.

So you see, The Distant Shore is not just a romance.
It is, in the truest sense of the word, a love story. It’s a story about love.
The love for a person, for a child, for music, and for creativity.
It’s even about a love for the sea.
If this makes it a romance, I’m fine with being called a romance writer.
And I’ll keep on being one.

This was the twelfth stop on Mariam’s “Love is in the Air” Blog Hop & Giveaway. We hope you enjoyed this post and will join us Thursday at Jane Traver’s Tweet Treats for a review of The Distant Shore.

Buddhapuss Ink is giving away copies of Mariam’s book, along with some pretty terrific (and very romantic) gifts, as we count down to that most romantic day of the year—Valentine’s Day!

Want to enter the giveaway?

Leave a comment for this post for one entry. We also encourage you to “Like” this blog and follow it! Tweet a link to this blog including the hashtag #TDSBlogHop for another chance to win.

Want more chances to win? Visit http://buddhapussink.blogspot.com/2012/01/distant-shore-love-is-in-air-blog-hop.html for all the info!

Today’s Author: Building a platform, Part I

Posted on: January 28th, 2012 by Carrick Publishing No Comments

Photo by Deb GrayUnderstatement alert!: The literary world is changing….

Just thought I’d throw that out, by way of introducing my topic: Platform building.

Sounds simple, right? We all want to be heard, to have our words reach readers in a meaningful way. With writers of every stripe rushing into Social Media, how can a lone writer hope to be noticed?

Before we can discuss how-to build a platform, we need to understand what “platform” means. For purposes of this article, “platform” is the building blocks we stand upon in order to be heard.

In other words: The Platform is a representation of Who We Are.

Sounds basic? You’d be amazed how many people struggle with finding a public persona they are comfortable with.

The key is simpler than most will imagine. It hearkens back to the earliest advice many of us received from our parents, the first time we trudged off to school:

Just be yourself.

If we are always “ourselves”, we’ll never have to remember who we’re supposed to be. The people we network with will respond to the integrity they perceive in us.

Ok, we’re all poised, ready to “Be Ourselves” in public life. Now what?

The “Nitty Gritty: Even if you can’t afford a Web Designer and haven’t got a book to sell, that’s no reason to hold back. The time to plant those on-line footprints is now. For writers, it’s never too early to start “Building Your Platform”.

Blogging is a great place to begin our public adventure. What do writers do? We write!

There is no better way to hone our skills than exposing our work early…and often… to the reading public.

No readers? No problem. Write anyway. Your blog will become the cornerstone in your efforts to build a platform.

Tips for successful blogging:

1- Know your topic. Your blog should offer a representation of you as a writer. Your topics may follow a theme, or may change according to your interests. In either case, visitors should always leave your blog with a better understanding of Who You Are.
2- Update regularly. Whatever schedule you decide on, stick with it. Call it a ‘writer’s exercise routine.’ As your readership grows, you’ll enjoy repeat traffic, but only if you update.
3- Be visual. Readers today are changing. Treat them to images related to your theme, rather than huge blocks of dry, uninterrupted text.
4- Have fun. If you’re enjoying the process, your readers will know it.
5- Be yourself!

Once you have your blog in place, the next step will be “Reaching Readers”!

In Today’s Author: Building a platform, Part II, we’ll discuss those first steps into Social Media, with emphasis on growing your readership.

Join me for this series at: www.carrickpublishing.com .

Attending Bloody Words 2012? Hope to see you at our workshop on Building A Writer’s Platform through Social Media.

Donna is an executive member of CrimeWriters of Canada and the author of three mystery novels as well as a short story anthology. Her titles include: The First Excellence (winner of the 2011 Indie Book Event Award), Gold And Fishes, The Noon God, as well as short story anthologies Sept-Iles and other places and Knowing Penelope.

Donna blogs regularly on the following topics:
Art and the Survivor of Childhood Trauma at www.onfreedomroad.com
Changes and Challenges in the new literary industry at www.carrickpublishing.com
Great Books and Stories at www.donnacarrick.com
and whatever moves me at Writer’s Craft.