Tag Archives: Kisha Green

What Is Going On In The African American Lit World? By Kisha Green

For some this is a touchy subject so I will try to approach it with the passion I feel for the topic without sounding preachy. I love this industry and consider it a blessing to have a gift and a pleasure and great responsibility to bring great stories to readers as well as offer services I provide to authors and publishers in the industry.

In my opinion, one of the biggest reasons African American literature is not taken seriously is not because there isn’t a market, it is the un-professionalism of the people publishing books. Self publishing a book is a big responsibility. It is also an investment on your mark in this industry. It is very IMPERATIVE that you invest in a professional team of like-minded individuals to make your dream come true. If this is something you truly want to make a career or even a legacy for your family to take the torch, shouldn’t you want the best?

Bookstores are already trying to make us believe the urban market isn’t lucrative. They are closing doors left and right because of the readers no longer visiting stores but are instead one clicking books from mobile devices. These quick sales have turned into somewhat of a gamble because the price is often parallel with the low quality work. Representing product that is lack luster due to poor editing, armature style cover art, and all around poor print eminence handicaps the genre as a whole and gives mainstream one more reason to turn a blind eye to what many may consider the greatest and most vast genre in literature.

With the way the industry has changed, now more than ever there are lots of talented authors hitting the market everyday. Some have more experience than others in the business aspect but make no doubt about it, this is a business. We owe it to ourselves to conduct ourselves as such. That means reading and honoring the contracts we sign, showing up for all engagements (offline and online), and presenting a professional image at all times.

Engaging in a public beef or disparaging other authors or companies online and during radio interviews, not only damages the other party’s image but yours as well. If you do have a legitimate claim or complaint with an author, or service provider, I would contact them directly and then follow up with what can be done with the third party in which the person was paid. Ultimately one must go through the property channels.

With the age of social media we live in now you would think there would be cross promotion, partnerships being formed, alliances being built to further the thing that is your dream. Instead of effective networking and solid marketing, I’ve seen an amazing amount of cyber bullying, online high school cliques, and a major case of crabs in a barrel syndrome. If we can’t take each other seriously and represent ourselves as professionals why would anybody out side of this take us seriously?

Conduct yourself online like a professional and ultimately you will be treated like one. People know who they can say certain things to. Social media is indeed a gift and a curse but at the end of the day you are the one solely responsible for what goes on with your accounts. If you want to be successful you must surround yourself around other successful people. In conclusion all African American authors play a contributing factor to getting our books out there and while it is a great accomplishment to become a published author and see that dream become a reality, but the old saying still holds true. United we stand divided we all fall.

Kisha Green is no stranger to the literary world. She is the well-informed, knowledgeable publisher of DivaBooksInc.(www.divabooksinconline.com). Green is a senior writer and founder of the Writer’s Vibe (www.writers-vibe.com) a literary site to help promote artists.

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Don’t have a copy of the SECOND EDITION of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US) or Barnes & Noble

Book Signing 101 by Kisha Green

You just got booked for a book signing and you do not know what to do? Don’t fret, below are some basic yet effective tips that will ensure a good time and most importantly books sold.

Book stands for your book to stand up on the table. (Target or Walmart)
Take a lot of pictures and or video to share online after the event that will hopefully generate a buzz in who you are what people missed.
Book marks to give to the consumer that isn’t ready to spend but is slightly interested. (www.nextdayflyers.com)
Get a fishbowl that visitors can place their business cards in and for those without card have blank index cards available with pen for them to write their contact info on.
Make sure you have plenty of singles and change to break large bills and for those with no cash have you Square credit card attachment for your cell phone. (www.squareup.com)
Candy dish filled with mints and small candies.
Comfortable shoes.
Smiles and a positive attitude.
Street team and this can be one person or more walking around handing out bookmarks and flyers that should drive traffic to your table.
24×36 poster with your book cover. (Staples or Office Depot)
Advertise! Advertise! Advertise! Network! Network! Network! Promote your book signing using social media and create events on Facebook and advertise your e-flyers via Instagram and Twitter. Create a Meet Up event.

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $8.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Author Interview Prep by Kisha Green

Let’s start with the basics. If you are interested in being featured on a radio show or on a website and etc., first contact the person who is in charge of that and send them your electronic press kit (EPK). This should include but not limited to;

Book Cover jpeg
Synopsis
Page Count
Genre
Distribution Information
Publisher
Author/ Publisher website
Book Reviews
Author Bio

The same check list applies if you are contacting a bookstore about carrying your book but also include flyers and bookmarks (if possible visit the store and deliver your information personally so the owner can get a face with the name/book).

After sending your press kits, wait about a week and then follow up. Do NOT harass anyone asking them “Did they get it yet?” that is annoying and you do not want to get on anyone’s nerves and you haven’t even got the confirmation that you will be interviewed or featured.

Make sure you are in a quiet place when time to do your radio interview. Pay attention to the host but try to relax because listeners will be able to pick up on you being nervous. You do not want dead air or a lot of pauses so make sure you can answer the basics about yourself and your book. Do not try to sound scripted but you do want to appear you know what you are talking about. If it is a written interview, make sure you answer all of the questions thoroughly.

Just like your book is a direct reflection of you, so is your interview.

Good Luck!

Kisha Green

Kisha Green is a Author/Publisher who has a passion for writing and sharing her witty personality with many through social media. For more info about Kisha, visit her website www.divabooksinconline.com and you can also follow her on Twitter @KishaGreen

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Writing Basics by Kisha Green

Writing is fun and if you are really good at it, it can be rather lucrative. We all have those dreams of being a best selling author who has their books made into movies.

How do you get your writing to be that great? Well in order to be a great writer one must be a great reader. You know as a reader what makes you smile and what makes you frown.

As the writer your job is the same. While writing you must feel the emotions through the paper just as your character does. The strong emotions conveyed makes for a phenomenal read.

There doesn’t have to be so much detail meaning the type of plush carpet her perfectly manicured toes stepped on as she watched some expensive brand name large flat screen tv. This is where as a writer we must fully understand show versus telling.

What is show versus telling? Well according to Writer’s Digest, in your writing, “it’s easy to “over-share” the minutiae of your story’s background and your characters’ lives when writing a novel”. To write and not have to worry if you are telling too much there is a balance of showing and telling. These are some basic tips that are very useful.

•Be brief. Make sure that all of your “telling” details are actually necessary to advance the plot, either by developing backstory, establishing the mood/tone, or describing the setting.

•Avoid the dreaded “info dump.” Don’t overwhelm your reader with information in your story’s first few pages. Focus on capturing her attention with a compelling character and an interesting situation, then fold in the details as the plot develops.

•Steer clear of cliches. Never start a story with a character waking up and starting his day—unless you want to put your reader to sleep.

Also when writing dialogue the show versus tell rule applies as well. Below is a sample courtesy of World Literary Cafe.

Showing in dialogue

Bad:“I want you to stay inside!” exclaimed Mom angrily as she walked up to her.
“No! I don’t want to,” argued Jenny sarcastically as she smiled coyly. “You can’t make me,” replied Jen calmly.

First, let’s take a look at the redundant and telling (summarizing) dialogue tags. “Exclaimed” isn’t necessary when there’s an exclamation mark. “Replied” is also redundant because it’s clear that she is replying to her. Use “said” instead. The adverbs angrily, sarcastically, and coyly just summarize instead of describing the action that could show the readers.

So if you adhere to the basic rules of writing and strive for writing perfection, it is something that is obtainable through experience. No one is born a fabulous writer. That comes with time but staying on the ball and wanting to master your craft keeps you in the know.

Happy Writing!

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

E-piracy…Oh my! by Kisha Green

E-piracy: The illegal uploading of digital copies of copyrighted works to a web site, or the illegal downloading of such material.

Ebook piracy isn’t new on the scene it just has different ways it is occurring. In recent weeks I’ve been talking to many literary professionals regarding the Ebook piracy issue as well as online book clubs giving books away without the author’s permission. These two topics aren’t ones that are great but after really thinking about it, I had to think about the bigger picture and these issues in their entirety.

Initially I was outraged and wanted answers and actions so that this type of thing could be stopped but the reality is that it was bigger than me and other authors/publishers making it a conversation piece.

As a publisher I too like many jumped on that Amazon KDP bandwagon and made some of my titles for free and doing that put me in a position for my books to be on any of those piracy websites at any given time.

Initially this KDP enrollment made perfect sense because it was believed that you could get new readers and this would lead to new sales. Well it didn’t quite happen like that, well at least not for me. For example if you saw 8000 downloads of your book as the equivalent to 8000 lost sales you are being REALY delusional. Let me say again they are NOT equal at all. The reality is that it’s more like 8000 people seeing your book in a bookstore flipping through the pages then after that walking out the store without purchasing.<–#RealTalk

Let’s face it a lot of us are not having downloads compared to 50 Shades of Grey or Harry Potter, although unfortunate what’s going on it’s nothing that can be really done to stop what’s already happened BUT moving forward self published authors can make better decisions in regards to the availability of their titles.

This industry is forever changing so your job as a publisher is to stay abreast, so ultimately we all are walking different literary paths and what might be good for myself may not be the case for someone else and at the end of the day that’s ok!

Good Luck Authors!

Kisha Green is a author who has a passion for writing and sharing her witty personality with many through social media. For more info about Kisha, visit her website www.divabooksinconline.com and you can also follow her on Twitter @KishaGreen

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Wanted: A Good Book by Kisha Green

Before I decided to become a published author, I was an avid reader and I have attended several literary events. Being on both sides of the table I have experienced as well as witnessed some errors that placed both the readers and authors in the wrong.

Authors have the perfect table set up that has candy, pens, bookmarks and of course…books. This is the perfect arrangement used to approach the table.

The reader picks up a book and instantly turns the book to the back to read the synopsis. Upon completion they will begin to flip through the pages of the book. The author is usually standing there patiently waiting for the reader to ask some questions about the novel including the favorite question “How much is your book?”

Many times I hear book club members ask authors questions and while they are getting the answer, the reader is often preoccupied with something else. After a few moments of an awkward silence the reader usually smiles and walks away.

Both are feeling some kind of way. How can this be resolved? Authors need to open their mouths to effectively communicate because being shy will not get you anywhere, because the book is not going to sell itself. The readers should ask questions while practicing simple courtesies. Please and thank you go a long way.

Authors have two roles at these events; they are a salesman and a author, if both are done correctly the end result is a book being sold.

There is nothing more annoying than asking a author about their book and they can’t seem to find the words to describe it or they compare their writing to a famous writer. Neither will result in a book sale.

Readers also attend these events but often come with a closed mind meaning they are not interested in the new author because they are a dedicated fan to another. The whole purpose of attending these literary events is to expose readers to new authors and vice versa.

Bottom line is as an author I need readers but also as a reader, I need good books. One hand washes the other.

Happy Reading & Book Sales!!!!!

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Simple Summer Tips by Kisha Green

Summer is a great time of the year because as an author there are a lot of events that take place and depending on your budget you can make it to all of them.

I know someone reading is like “Yeah right, Kisha, I don’t have a Stephen King budget” and duh silly rabbit- I know that too.

This is where you become clever and make your book’s presence known even if you cannot physically be there. Meaning the only budget you need is for your promotional materials instead of travel and hotel accommodations.

This is when social media comes in and is indeed a blessing since you can utilize those Facebook friends. Talk and engage in conversations with your fellow author friends to see what events are happening in other states.

Build a rapport with other authors that will not mind having your promo items at their table/display. This is a win/win for both parties and most importantly this is great exposure.

Promotional materials are just not limited to bookmarks and post cards. In this day and age anything can be a promo item. These are some of the popular ones but not limited to.

Mints
Pens
Key chains
Post It’s
Water Bottles
Lip Balm

These items can be sent to your author friend and they can place your items on their table and you are there without having to physically be there, because let’s face everybody likes freebies.

Here are some sites that are great for getting cool items.

www.orientaltrading.com
www.vistaprint.com
www.cafepress.com
www.clubflyers.com
www.24hourflyers.com

Here are some literary events taking place this Summer.

June

Book Expo America
Manhattan,NY
www.bookexpoamerica.com

Nantucket Book Festival
Nantucket, MA
http://nantucketbookfestival.org/events

American Library Association Book Conference
Chicago, IL
http://ala13.ala.org/

July
3rd Trenton Festival
Trenton, NJ
http://3rdtrentonbookfestival.blogspot.com/

Harlem Book Fair
Harlem, NY
www.qbr.com

Romance Writer’s of America Conference
Atlanta, GA
http://www.rwa.org/conference

August

Dragon-Con
Atlanta, GA
http://www.dragoncon.org/

National Book Club Conference
Atlanta,GA
http://www.nationalbookclubconference.com/index1.html

New England Independent Booksellers Association Conference
Providence, RI
http://www.newenglandbooks.org/

September
Baltimore Book Festival
Baltimore, MD
http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/

Best of luck and Happy Summer!

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Literary Dreams & Virtual Nightmares by Kisha Green

As a writer I always dreamt of writing tons of novels and being loved by my readers/fan all over the word. Oprah would want to sit down and talk to me, Michele and Barack would invite me to dinner while in my down time I would take family camping trips with Denzel Washington and his wife Pauline.

See how pretty the picture sounds? I can really see it as I sit here typing. That’s my literary dream and through several titles I have published it was my attempt at making those dreams a reality.

For the most part the literary industry is a good place to network, grow and learn but there are some rotten apples that often make us roll our eyes and say what in the world?

The Internet is a fountain of tons of knowledge. Google should be a writers best friend but at times the search engine is treated like it has the cooties.

On the Internet offline nobodies are suddenly online some bodies. With a Facebook page and a few pictures and quotes many pose as literary professionals from book club presidents, book reviewers, literary consultants, literary agents, editors, graphic designers and publishers.

To a new author looking to network Facebook would be a cesspool of professionals that could help the writer out, but without proper research and knowledge of the particular job of the person one is seeking out, many will find themselves at a great disadvantage.

This is when the virtual nightmare comes in because the inexperienced writer does not know that the publisher she paid to publish her book is a single mother with a drug addiction and has no intention of ever publishing her book.

Deception happens often and lots of money is loss due to these fakes. It makes the jobs of the REAL professionals that much harder because the frauds have given the good guys a bad name.

In the last seven months there have been several incidents where authors were conned out of their money by people they trusted. People they thought they knew. People who appeared to have their best interest at heart.

A lot of finger pointing and name calling took place but at the end of the day responsibility lies with the consumer. Before spending money for services check references. This will alleviate many headaches. Don’t be afraid to ask people about the person you will be spending your hard earned dollars with.

Don’t just go by the word of mouth of a few people do a thorough investigation on your own, while this can be a very tedious process, I promise you it is definitely one you won’t regret.

Kisha Green is an author who has a passion for writing and sharing her witty personality with many through social media. For more info about Kisha, visit her website www.divabooksinconline.com and you can also follow her on Twitter @KishaGreen

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Kisha’s Literary Jewel by Kisha Green

Self Publishing can be a truly rewarding experience but only if you take the NECESSARY and PROPER steps to fully understand all of the responsibilities a author takes on when deciding to self publish instead of seeking publishing with a traditional publishing houses.

RESEARCH is so vital because without this you will always be at an disadvantage, with the popularity of social media, authors can now access a lot of information that at one time they would have to pay for.

All information is not good information so you must research who is giving you that said advice in publishing. Everyone does not understand it or even implement it in their own business practice.

Asking a bunch of people from various sources is not effective especially when the sources don’t know much more than you do. This is a potential train wreck waiting to happen with the blind leading the blind. Conducting your own extensive research will be more beneficial and rewarding to you in the long run.

By asking many questions does show your eagerness to learn but also shows your peers your aren’t willing to take on the simple task of basic research yourself but instead accustomed to relying on others for source of information.

As a publisher your are not looking independent and this might make a potential author seek publishing elsewhere. Remember GOOGLE is your friend.

Kisha Green

www.divabooksinconline.com

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Writer’s Block Blues by Kisha Green

You have this awesome idea for a great novel and you can see it being written, published and then the ultimate…A movie…That’s right move over Terry McMillan there is a new sheriff in town and she likes stilettos, expensive mascara and designer bags.

You sit down at your desk for a writing session that is sure to go down in history as one of the best stories ever told.

Yeah…That was what was supposed to happen. All I knew was that I wanted to write to get these stories out of my head, not factoring my head and fingers had not consulted with each to see if that is indeed the direction I should be going in.

What has happened to poor ole Kisha and her future best seller???? I will tell you, I caught the dreadful disease called Writer’s Block and unbeknownst to me it had decided to take up space in my head while I go crazy trying to bring the story to fruition.

How did I get diagnosed with this right before I was due to complete a novel? Well…It is called distraction and time management or in this case lack thereof.

Let’s examine the time management part since that is a major requirement to complete ANY task.

Time management is hard but if you can dedicate at least one hour a day you should be ok. You just have to be doing something constructive whether it is outlining or simply researching for the outline. If you are ready to write then commit to at least 350 words and before you know it you will be complete.

Give yourself a deadline and if it is ultimately important enough to you, you will make the time. This is the basics when you have a bunch of ideas floating in your head, otherwise your thought will be rambled which produces rambled writing that will lose your reader within the first chapter. So avoid this make an outline and refer to it often or you be stuck sitting in front of an open document and a blinking cursor!

www.Literary-Jewels.com
www.DivaBooksIncOnline.com

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Mr. Me Too by Kisha Green

I have been spending the last few weeks just thinking and basically analyzing my literary life and my offline life in general.

Anyhow, I have felt mentally drained from all of the projects that are currently on my plate. I initially wanted to help people and thought that my projects would be a good thing as well as bring exposure for my publishing company and myself.

What I failed to realize is that not everyone shares my views. That is not a bad thing, but let me clarify before someone misunderstands what it is that Kisha Green is trying to convey.

Well, in this literary world there are Writers and Authors. Wait; before you ask where I am going with this rant, there is another category called “aspiring.” These people will never publish a damn thing, but they are all in every literary mix.

They will post a million and one notes on Facebook and let you read snippets on their blog, but a published book will NEVER happen. They may even send you book cover samples, but they are not ever going to be anything but aspiring.

Writers are people who simply write as a hobby and are content just W-R-I-T-I-N-G—nothing more and nothing less. They don’t care if they are going to be published or possibly ever become a NY Bestselling author. They write because it is their passion; they do not want any monetary compensation or notoriety.

Authors are those who love to write any and every chance they get and live, eat, and sleep literary. They want to have their work published whether it is self-publishing or even getting a literary agent, and shopping his or her book around for a traditional publishing house book deal. They write books, articles, short stories, and whatever else they can get their hands on.

“OH…you wrote a book?”

“Oh ok—yeah me too!”

“You wanna self publish?”

“Yeah, me too!”

“You’re working on your next book?”

“Yeah, me too!”

When I initially decided to publish anthologies through my DivaBooksInc publishing company, I thought that I would be meeting authors, but have come to the realization that all people aren’t ready to be authors and are rather happy just being writers. This was a hard pill to swallow since I know myself that I love the literary world. I love, meeting and networking with newbie authors, like myself, as well as seasoned authors.

Anyone who has had the pleasure of talking to me on the phone knows that I can go on for hours about LITERARY HOLLYWOOD!!

I completed four anthologies and the screening process was…exhausting, LOL!

“OH,you wrote a book?”

“Oh ok. Yeah, me too!”

“You wanna self publish?”

“Yeah, me too!”

“You’re working on your next book?”

“Yeah, me too!”

You can see where I am going with this—LOL—I am sure you have had this conversation with someone at some time or another.

“Oh, you wrote a book?

“Oh ok. Yeah, me too!”

“You wanna self publish?”

“Yeah, me too!”

“You’re working on your next book?”

“Yeah, me too!”

Yeah, Mr. Me Too is too funny and the reasons for this rant today. Plus, I was listening to the Clipse song called “Mr. Me Too” and said to myself, I have to write about this because there are a lot of those people out there in literary. So, basically, what I am ultimately trying to say is, SOME PEOPLE FAKE MOVES…WHILE OTHERS MAKE MOVES!!

The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch. ~Jim Rohn

Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience- Victoria Holt

Kisha Green

www.Literary-Jewels.com
www.DivaBooksIncOnline.com

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for? Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Sharing Is Caring

SHARING IS CARING….RIGHT???????

If that were true then we would have a world of shiny happy people who walked around all cheery. The real word exists so we can’t really do that …

Here on this wonderful social networking site there is a button titled SHARE, and what this means is if you feel that the information you have viewed is of benefit to others, you can share it with others.

This is an easy and cool concept, right? Yes, I too agree, but what happens is that we do not utilize this FREE service because…. Yeah, exactly, no reason, we just don’t want to…

I believe if you want support, you have to actually support others, and trust me, there are ways you can support someone without spending money.

A lot of us are in the literary business so we are constantly promoting our books. So if you cannot afford to buy that authors book, why not promote the book on your site or page for them.

Why? Because you support them and only want the best for he/she right? You would want someone to do the same for you right?

SUPPORT SHARING

No, this commentary isn’t the cure all for all those in the world needing support, but sometimes you need to read something to understand it clearly. Here is my thing. If you do not want to support the person and not at all concerned with seeing him/her grow and become a success, why do you have them on your friends list, follow them, visit their blog… if you aren’t willing to support them?

If you are doing this to keep tabs on a person, that is lame… EXTRA lame and what should be done immediately is you should delete yourself and keep it moving.

WHY CARING IS SHARING

I am not jealous or envious of anyone in this literary world because we all are striving for success and it will come. I am a success in my own right. I have accomplished a lot that many will not accomplish in their lifetime, that isn’t me being cocky or arrogant, but it’s my true feeling and as being a firm believer of everything can be obtained if you seek success can only come into fruition if you are focused and determined.

We are here to network, and if you are serious about it, pressing the SHARE button should not be such a hard obstacle. This isn’t high school, even though some people do carry on online like it is indeed Facebook High where a few corny few think a high friend count means they are suddenly “cool.”

Anyhoo- What I am ultimately trying to convey is EACH ONE TEACH ONE

Just don’t think you can get support from the very same people you aren’t willing to support.

If you cannot help someone, then tell them just that you can’t help them. but if you can help-

THEN JUST DO IT!

We are all on here to network, so if that is true shouldn’t that networking be EFFECTIVE???

Kisha Green

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for? Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Ramblings Of A Literary Nobody

I LOVE literary—literally. I have sacrificed a lot of time and energy into this, and often sit on my bed or couch wondering What for? I neglected family and friends for what I believed I was destined to do. I wrote my first book “And Even if I Did” to simply rid my brain of these characters that were often there. I didn’t want to call myself crazy, so I simply assumed it was best that I wrote a book; that or go talk to licensed professional. *smile*

It has been a lot of work. I have met a lot of people; some of them are still here and some of them couldn’t take the heat and decided to keep their day job and leave literary to Judy Blume, James Patterson, or even Terry McMillan for that matter.

After making some mistakes of my own in the pursuit to being a literary superstar, I had to sit down and just chill. I made a list of reasons why I wanted to write my first book and why I wanted to publish others on my anthologies. Mainly, that what was my goal period.

It was rough because during that time friends became foes and foes became friends. I saw that association with the wrong type can be a very tragic thing. I was guilty by association. We must remember that we live in a very judgmental society; and even though you might have your own brain and thoughts, it really doesn’t matter since you spend a lot of your online presence around the wrong people. Who are those wrong people? Those posing as concerned colleagues so eager to help you because they simply “know it all”. At least that’s the way they appeared. They often had suggestions on how to take my career to the next level; but after it was all said and done, I was the one doing all the work and they were taking all of the credit.

After this happening several times, (and I do mean several), I just decided to do me; and that meant keeping to myself and turning into “Anti- Social Annie.” I was comfortable with this because I had to learn my lesson that everyone doesn’t have my best interest in their heart. During this time, I researched the literary business and decided it was time for me to take control of my goals and stop depending on everyone for everything.

I decided if I was going to be successful, I had to get my feet wet and network—and I had to be effectively networking. I wasn’t going to go for the okey doke any more. Enter social networking; this was a good place to start, BUT there are some “special” types that frequent social networking sites.

There are three popular types-

-The deaf, dumb, and blind: They are so eager, wanting information and very thirsty for knowledge; but no matter how much you assist them, they still end up doing the complete opposite of what you advise them to do, only to come back saying they should have listened to you.

-The “know-it-alls”: Those that think they know the answer to any and every question. Those types of people are starved for attention, so you have to be careful. No matter the subject, they have to comment and, even if they have nothing to say, they will disagree just for the sake of argument.

-The sideline watches: Those that are like sponges. They will absorb everything you and every other person says regarding jumpstarting his or her career, but can’t ever offer any help—ALWAYS having their hand out for assistance.

So, at times, attempting to network was indeed a full-time job since I was dealing with all types of people, but what I did was simple. I closed my mouth and opened my ears. This is very simple to do, but we, as humans, get it confused. *smile* So I say this to say, do what works for you and only YOU. There is only going to be one person looking back at you in the mirror, so make sure you can face the reflection that appear before you. I will leave this with you—when you learn better, you do better.

Kisha Green

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Kisha Green is no stranger to the literary world. She is the well-informed, knowledgeable publisher of DivaBooksInc.(www.divabooksinconline.com). Green is a senior writer and founder of the Writer’s Vibe (www.writers-vibe.com) a literary site to help promote artists.

Upcoming Free Workshop: Character Cake (Character Development) Facilitator: Deatri King-Bey Date: May, 19 2012 Time: 4-5 p.m. Central Location: Become A Successful Author Website (link and password will be given the day before the event). Sign up for the newsletter to participate.

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for? Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Twitter… Tweeps… Tweeties… Oh My!!!

Ok, let me first say that the creation of Twitter was a godsend to me because I am so random at times, and this social media site let’s me be just that, and others actually want to follow my randomness.

What is Twitter you ask? Well, according to PC Magazine it is –> A very popular instant messaging system that lets a person send brief text messages up to 140 characters in length to a list of followers. Launched in 2006, Twitter was designed as a social network to keep friends and colleagues informed throughout the day. However, it became widely used for commercial and political purposes to keep customers, voters and fans up-to-date as well as to encourage feedback.

After establishing a Twitter account at www.twitter.com/, individuals can import their e-mail addresses as well as use the Twitter search to locate and invite people. Twitter messages (“tweets”) can be made public and sent to anyone requesting the feed, or they can be sent only to approved followers.

Messages can be sent and received via cellphone text messaging (SMS), the Twitter website or a third-party Twitter application. To follow a Twitter feed, the Twitter site and feed name become the URL; for example, Microsoft’s Twitter feed is www.twitter.com/microsoft and for an actual person the twitter feed would be www.twitter.com/kishagreen

What does all of this technical twitter stuff mean to you? Well it means that you can tell the whole world wide web what you ate, plan on eating or don’t want to eat. The beauty is that even though you think this is useless information it is actual relevant to your followers since they find you interesting.

Commonly Used Twitter Lingo

Followers
These are the people who “follow” your tweets. Every time you tweet, these people automatically see it on their timeline, whereas someone else would have to search and find you on Twitter. The same goes for the people you follow; their updates will appear on your timeline

Retweet (RT)
Twitter became a viral conduit when users initiated “retweeting,” which forwards tweets they get to their followers. People retweet to pass on worthwhile information, and the ease of retweeting can quickly build large audiences. This is the same as sharing on Facebook

Direct Messages (DMs)
Initially a one-way broadcast from writer to follower, this is not seen on your timeline this goes to one person’s inbox. Writers can send followers a “direct message” (DM), and followers can do likewise. Followers can also delete the DMs they sent, making them disappear from the writer’s inbox. Please note: You cannot send DM’s to people who are not following you.

@ Signs
When someone replies to a Twitter posting, they use their Twitter account name preceded by an @ sign; for example, “@KishaGreen” This is how you know someone is talking directly to you.

# Hashtags
A hashtag is a # prefix used to group tweets together. For example, people commenting about a Twitter about my online radio show would use #WritersLifeChats in their postings (tweets) and all those messages could be viewed as a group by searching for #WritersLifeChats

Why should you tweet? Because it’s fun! LOL… Seriously, because it is a way to reach any and everyone all at once as opposed to just saying it to the same people on Facebook. Meaning if you have 1700 friends on Facebook and you want to advertise or promote something you are limiting yourself to just those 1700 whereas Twitter let’s you tell the whole world wide web, well all of those with a Twitter account.

How do you tweet? Easy just say what is on your mind, good or bad, but the trick is to keep it under 140 characters, so this requires you to be clever yet creative. You can tweet from a computer, iPads (tablets) and cellphone

Is Tweeting effective? According to Twitter, there are over 200 million registered users, but how many are active users that we don’t know yet. According to Business Insider, there were 119 million Twitter accounts following one or more other accounts. Either way, if you have a business to promote or a product to sell or in my case books to sell, Twitter is where we need to be to connect with a bunch of people for FREE! Yes, I said free. I don’t know about you, but that’s a good enough reason for me.

I promote my radio show, author promo services and my books all on Twitter, and have been more successful with it than on Facebook. How do I do this? Simply, by tweeting all relevant info to them all. If there is someone I want to interview, I tweet them and begin a rapport with them, and then we exchange contact information and from there I arrange my interviews. For selling books, I post pictures (twitpics) of my book cover along with purchasing URL’s. I then tweet about the most random things that to a complete stranger it is interesting and makes them want to follow me and eventually purchase my books. As for my Author Promo Services, I am constantly tweeting pertinent literary information, and those in the industry are interested, and then later on utilize my services. I cannot lie, it does require time and effort, but it is well worth it.

Examples

Book Tweet–> A Write Way to Love by @KishaGreen on Kindle for $2.99. One Click today! #ReadingIsSexy #GoodBook #Ebook

Author Promo Tweet –> Authors: Do you need help promoting your book? Let DivaBooksInc help YOU today. www.divabooksinconline.com #Promo #Books #Marketing

Radio Show Promo Tweet –> Writer’s Life Chats with @KishaGreen Mondays at 7pm www.writerslifechats.com #literaryjewels #authorinterviews #writerslifechats

See how the hashtags are all relevant to all of my tweets BUT most importantly less than 140 characters.

Kisha Green

If you found this article helpful, please use the share buttons to spread the word.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Deatri will be conducting a FREE Character Development workshop for people who are signed up for my monthly newsletter. Workshop: Character Cake Cost: Free Date: Apr, 28 2012 Time: 4-5 p.m. Central Location: Become A Successful Author Website (link and password will be given the day before the event)

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for? Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble