Friday Find: Social Media Tips from Shelley Hitz

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled

When I give a presentation on social media strategies for writers at the Manhattanville College Summer Writers Week next Thursday, I’ll be citing lots of online resources that I’ve found helpful. Among them: a free 10-day e-course, “Social Media in Just 15 Minutes a Day,” from Shelley Hitz (also known as the Self Publishing Coach). True, even 15 minutes a day can really add up if you utilize all of the social media platforms (15 minutes for Facebook+15 minutes for Twitter+15 minutes for LinkedIn, etc.). But that worry aside, the e-course provides quick, clear, and common-sense guidance. Scroll down this page to sign up.

Have a great weekend, and see you back here on Monday!

Notes from Around the Web: Literary Links for Shabbat

by Erika Dreifus on
Disabled
  • I always enjoy Josh Lambert’s New Books column for Tablet, but I found this week’s edition, in which Josh introduces various texts that deal with “Jewish life–and Jewish ghosts–in China, Europe, and Latin America,” particularly intriguing.
  • New blog alert: On kabbalahworlds, writer Kitty Hoffman is “on the trail of Isaac the Blind, SagiNaHar, father of kabbalah, possible ancestor. Tracking his teachings through Occitania, Catalonia, Castile, Andalucia; finding traces of long-gone Jewish civilisations. What remains?”
  • From The Forward’s Sisterhood blog: “Bridges, A Jewish Feminist Journal, Says Goodbye.”
  • Last week, Haaretz published another Writers Edition. Among the participants: Leon Wieseltier, Mario Vargas Llosa, Ron Leshem, Eshkol Nevo. and Nathan Englander.
  • The latest issue of JewishFiction.net has gone live, and it features some amazing authors.

    • Shabbat shalom!

    Thursday’s Post-Publication Post: One Writer’s Summer To-Do List

    by Erika Dreifus on
    10

    North of the equator, we’ve just begun summer. Although I’m still going to be working 40 hours a week in my day job, still running the usual errands, still partaking in the same family responsibilities (and joys), I’m also hoping to accomplish certain writing-related goals before we merge into fall.

    After all, for six weeks this summer, my 40 hours at the office will be recalibrated: heavier on Mondays-Thursdays with “summer Fridays” off. I hope to use those Fridays wisely. And I hope that I can use the general light and energy of the summer to help infuse some projects under way and others that I hope to start.

    Herewith, items on my list of writerly hopes, plans, ambitions, and commitments for the season.

    “MY” WRITING

    • Continue promotion for Quiet Americans; track progress of new (non-Kindle) versions; calculate and send Q2 contribution to The Blue Card.
    • Complete work on new short story and figure out if it may be a novel chapter; begin new story/novel chapter.
    • Write at least one new poem; revise existing poem drafts.
    • Draft Israel-related essay.
    • Check where submissions are outstanding; follow up if appropriate; send out new submissions.
    • Research/apply for short-term residencies for winter-spring 2012.

    ASSIGNMENTS (SELF-IMPOSED/SOLICITED AND OTHER)

    • Practice and deliver presentation for Manhattanville Writers Week session on “Social Media Strategies for Writers”.
    • Research and write article due to The Writer on August 1.
    • Prepare Q&A re: The Borrower, by Rebecca Makkai.
    • Prepare Q&A re: Rethinking Creative Writing, by Stephanie Vanderslice.
    • Prepare Q&A re: The Little Bride, by Anna Solomon.
    • Peruse fall/winter catalogs for possible titles to review and monitor reviews-in-progress (track ARCs, read, write, etc.).
    • Prepare and distribute July/August/September issues of The Practicing Writer.
    • Consider if I want/need to seek additional fall/winter assignments.

    QUALITY OF WRITING LIFE

    • Research and purchase new computer.
    • Have “writing dates” with friends.
    • Make (and keep) annual appointments with ophthalmologist and optometrist. (Considering how much time I spend squinting into screens, taking care of my eyes seems more and more important.)
    • Get apartment windows washed (and other household tasks). (It’s nice to have a clear view once those eyes are checked.)
    • Read, read, read.
    • Catch up on movies/go to museums/attend concerts & readings. Art feeds off other art! (And I live in New York City, for crying out loud! I’m practically tripping over all of these opportunities!)
    • Get to the gym or go for a jog 2-3 times a week. (Sure, more would be nice, but let’s be realistic here, given my schedule and my usual response to heat and humidity.)  Exercise energizes the body and helps clear and focus the mind.

    And what about you? Have any of you made summer writing to-do lists? Care to share what’s on them?

    The Wednesday Web Browser for Writers

    by Erika Dreifus on
    Disabled
  • Author Ellen Meeropol asks: “How is a blog like a Tupperware party?”
  • Fab post on book promotion from Randy Susan Meyers for Beyond the Margins.
  • Ever wondered how much an editor should charge?
  • Attention, freelancers (especially newbies)! Carol Tice shows you how to “Avoid Hassles with a Writer’s Basic Assignment Checklist.
  • Joe Ponepinto suggests that when we need writing prompts, we should head to Home Depot.
  • Natalie Wexler considers “how much freedom should a writer exercise in playing around with historical fact.”
  • Poet Kelli Russell Agodon explains why she has a Facebook page (and why other authors, poets, and writers should have them, too. (Have you seen mine?)