Library of Congress to Provide Hundreds of Free Historic Films Online Through National Screening Room @katerbland

Almost 300 videos are already available online, and the resource will add new offerings on a monthly basis.

Set Your Priorities And Write Your Book by NANCY L. ERICKSON via #bookbaby Are you ready to have something to show for 2019? #motownwriters #michiganwriters

 NANCY L. ERICKSON

You have the time to do the things you want to do if you make those things a priority. Make writing a priority and write your book.

As a nonfiction book coach, I get to show people how to write a book. I have written books, developed curricula, published other people’s books, and taught university classes. There hasn’t been a part of my life that didn’t include writing. It’s always been easy for me just to let go and write no matter how I’m feeling.

My journal has been a part of my life as a child and to this very day. Of course, it’s not the same journal I used a child, but the practice of letting go and writing through every pain, tear, joy, and fear is one key to my emotional well-being and a daily sense of peace.

So when I meet prospective writers who don’t think they have a story to tell or are unsure of how to write a book, I ask them, “What’s the most difficult thing you’ve been through?” Immediately, their faces soften. Everyone has gone through something and has a story that could change lives, save lives, or transform society. But sometimes, we need a little help to get it out of us and onto paper.

Are you ready to have something to show for 2019?

Read more http://blog.bookbaby.com/2018/10/set-priorities-and-write-your-book/

Your Author Website Must Have…

 STEVEN SPATZ

For everything you’re told you have to do as an independent author publishing and promoting a book, I’d argue there are only two absolute, universal musts: you must get a professional edit and you must have your own author website.

Whether you’re building your author platform, hosting a blog, interacting with readers, or providing a behind-the-scenes look at your creative process, you need a home on the web — a hub for your online marketing activity. Over the last 10 years, I’ll bet there has not been a single successful author who didn’t have a great author website.

It’s a given that your site should be clean and easy to navigate, and it should contain a few other key elements. Four things your author website must have include:

read more http://blog.bookbaby.com/2018/09/your-author-website-must-have

How Authors Can Become Part of the News Cycle

If you want to become part of the news cycle, you need to have something newsworthy happening. You also need to be proactive in positioning yourself and be able to tell your story.

Media contacts are inundated with books and pitches each day. This is true not only for new and upcoming books but also for backlist titles that may receive a boost from something happening in the news or some fresh angle. So how can you get your book and your message to stand out from the crowd? How can you become part of the news cycle and what can you do right now to penetrate the noise? Here are some suggestions:

read more http://blog.bookbaby.com/2018/09/how-authors-can-become-part-of-the-news-cycle/

Library director wins state award

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Portage Lake District Library Director Dillon Geshel, above, has received the Michigan Library Association’s Up and Comer Award for 2018.

HOUGHTON — In some respects, the Portage Lake District Library is about 11,000 square feet on the Houghton waterfront. In others, it’s extending its reach to the Houghton downtown, across the canal and beyond.

read more http://www.mininggazette.com/news/local-news/2018/10/library-director-wins-state-award/

Things I Wish I Had Known Before Self-Publishing My Book

The first time I self-published, I was new to the process and endured many failures before I finally held my book in my hand. Here are nine things I wish I had known about self-publishing before starting the process.

When I was 14 years old, I wrote a poem entitled “Does A Giraffe Ever Feel Small?” that tells the story of six animals and the characteristics that make them stand out from one another. It had a cute rhyme scheme and a resounding message to love yourself for who you are.

Over the course of four years, this poem morphed into a children’s book by the same name that I self-published with my friend and illustrator, Olivia Wischmeyer. We crowdfunded over $3,000 to cover the cost of producing our book and donated all profits raised from sales to Reading Partners Colorado and Books for Africa. Our book was officially released in April 2017 when we were both seniors in high school. We’ve since sold nearly 1,000 copies and the book has been sold in five different stores.

As young people, we were new to the process of self-publishing and endured many failures before we held the final book in our hands. Here are nine things I wish I had known about self-publishing before starting the process.

 

read more http://blog.bookbaby.com/2018/06/things-i-wish-i-had-known-before-self-publishing-my-book

Son returns mother’s overdue library book – 84 years later

Never too late to return your library books’

By CHRISTINA MAXOURIS, CNN

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

(CNN) – Shreve Memorial Library in Louisiana waived its $3 late fee for the man who returned a book more than eight decades later.

In 1934, the man’s mother checked out “Spoon River Anthology,” by Edgar Lee Masters, when she was 11. The book is a collection of poems written as first-person narratives by the dead residents of the fictional town of Spoon River, reflecting on their lives and deaths.

read more https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/national/son-returns-mothers-overdue-library-book-84-years-later

This just in…reading makes you smarter [Infographic]

This just in…reading makes you smarter [Infographic]

Reading makes you smarter. But it’s not just book smarts. Reading—and reading fiction, in particular—helps develop one’s capacity for empathy, self-reflection, and theory of mind. Read more Reading makes you smarter. In these days of divisive politics and a general sense that people simply cannot come to consensus on anything, that’s a statement that’s pretty easy to agree with. But it’s not just book smarts. Reading — and reading fiction, in particular — helps develop one’s capacity for empathy, self-reflection, and x-ray vision. OK, I made that last part up, but this infographic from the good folks at Global English Editing outlines some of the benefits of reading that have little to do with vocabulary and intellect. Actually, increased vocabulary and verbal skills are listed among the benefits of reading, specifically citing that people who read tend to be better able to explain ideas and paint verbal images. But the highlights of the graphic below include how decision-making and emotional processing are enhanced by reading, how reading slows down mental aging, and how reading improves one’s “theory of mind.” .read more

 

 

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Featured Article: How much time should you spend building your author platform?

Featured Article: How much time should you spend building your author platform?

Building an author platform takes time, and you won’t get far if you wait for some magical moment. But you have the freedom to focus on the activities you like, so spend time doing things you enjoy. Read more.

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New writers often express confusion about how much time to spend building an author platform when they have not a single book or credit to their name. The bigger obstacle, however, may be that they don’t yet know who they are as writers. An author platform grows out of a body of work — or from producing great work. It’s difficult to build a platform for work that does not yet exist (unless you’re some kind of celebrity). Until you have work available for the public to read, it’s probably too early to be focused on platform building.

Furthermore, while having a platform gives you the power to market effectively, it’s not something you develop by focusing on marketing activities. Platform isn’t about who markets the best, it’s about making incremental improvements in how you reach readers and extend your network. It’s about making waves that attract other people to you — not begging them to pay attention

Writers sometimes conflate platform building with spending time on social media, which is unfortunate. It’s understandable, though: the traditional publishing industry often reduces platform to how many online followers you have. Plus it’s tempting for everyone to accord status to authors with large followings. Resist that urge; large social media followings are almost always a result of producing work that’s enjoyed by your readers, not from social media activity alone.

read more http://blog.bookbaby.com/2018/10/how-much-time-should-you-spend-building-your-author-platform

The Only 12 1/2 Writing Rules You’ll Ever Need

Clark will speak at 7 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Ellis Library & Reference Center, 3700 S. Custer Rd.

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Clark will speak at 7 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Ellis Library & Reference Center, 3700 S. Custer Rd.

Anna Clark, the author of “The Poisoned City: Flint’s Water and the American Urban Tragedy,” will speak in Monroe next month.

Clark will speak at 7 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Ellis Library & Reference Center, 3700 S. Custer Rd.

The free event is presented by the Monroe County Library System, River Raisin Institute, and the Friends of Ellis and kicks off Writers on the River Weekend, leading up to Writers on the River, the library system’s annual book and author fair, Nov. 11 at Ellis

Clark is a Detroit-based journalist whose first book recounts the story of Flint’s poisoned water through the people who caused it, suffered from it and exposed it.

READ MORE http://www.monroenews.com/news/20181010/poisoned-city-author-to-speak-in-monroe

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[NaNoWriMo] [USA :: Michigan :: Detroit] Quick Note from Detroit

Dear NaNoWriMotown,

Detroit Municipal Liaison (ML) Owen here, just ducking in quickly to say hello and let you know that the train to National Novel Writing Month 2018 is already in motion! Jump on board!

1.  This weekend is the Bake Sale! This is a great opportunity to support our region without spending much of your own money. Please consider bringing a batch of something tasty to one of the drop zones tomorrow (Saturday, October 6). You can find all the information on the forum, the facebook page, or nanowrimotown.com. We need you! And your cakes, and pies, and cookies, etc…. This is our first chance to fund the region for the year, let’s make it count!

2.  Next week, NaNoWriMo (the national organization, aka the mothership) is also launching something new – BYOWB (Bring Your Own Writing Buddy) Week. Next week is the time to tell all your friends, family, co-workers, baristas, peers, rideshare drivers, strangers who hold still long enough… that the greatest adventure in noveling is about to begin! Make sure they get set up on the site and point their home region towards Detroit.

See you soon,
Owen
theboysgonehome
ML, Detroit Region
nanowrimo.detroit@gmail.com

Dealing with Writer’s Guilt and Anxiety

 

We feel bad for writing. We feel bad for not writing. We critique ourselves for not living up to expectations, failing to do the dishes, and falling under word counts. Guilt has strangled more burgeoning novels than we will ever know, and it’s time to put it to a stop.

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Top Three Tips for Overcoming Writer’s Block

 

I’m currently working on a manuscript, and I get butterflies in my stomach before I sit down at the computer every single day. Will I be able to do it today? Will I know what to say next? Will it go okay or will typing each word be like pulling teeth?

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4 Habits For an Organized and Productive Writing Life

 

Almost six years ago, I quit my job to be a full-time mom and writer. I went from a having a predictable routine at the office to creating all my own structure, deadlines, and expectations. I also have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Lack of structure can spell big problems for me if I’m not careful. I had to learn how to keep myself organized and productive at home.

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