You know (or you should know) who you are as an author. But is your author persona successfully coming across? Your readers want to learn about you. They need to understand why you’re interesting, unique, or qualified—why your books will be worth their time.

In every sense, marketing and publicity are a game of strategy: intense competition, real rewards, and plenty of pitfalls for the innocent and unwary.

Hooray! You are going to a writer’s conference! Attending a writer’s conference can be very rewarding for your writing career, but do you now wonder what you need to bring? Being fully prepared is crucial. The items you should bring to a writer’s conference are a mix of mental and physical objects, from a an enthusiastic spirit to promotional material to share with agents, publishers, and fellow authors.

I’ve been a writer for over 30 years. I feel uncommonly fortunate to get paid well to do something I love. Did I bust my hump to get where I am? Absolutely. But I’m also keenly aware of the exigencies of fate, large and small, which made my career possible. My gratitude is oceanic because my luck has been likewise.

Using Keywords to optimize web pages for search engines has been an essential practice for a long time in digital marketing, most especially for ranking on the first page of search engines like Google. This practice is just as important for ranking your book page on online book platforms such as Amazon.

Let’s talk about promo on a dime. Anyone who has a couple billion in the bank need not apply. Actually they should, but that’s the point, actually.

Finding an audience is one of the biggest challenges every writer faces.

Once you have a finished book with plenty to offer, how do you bridge the gap between yourself and a passionate audience of readers? Finding your ideal reader can be tricky, but it’s the most important thing you can do to sustain your career as a writer.

Where do you fit on the genre bookshelf?

We’re all writers, but our books, our voices, and our fan bases vary wildly. In our promotional efforts we need to stand out from our peers for the right reasons. Some authors specialize by subgenre, some by humor or intensity, others jump between every category on record and several that haven’t been invented yet. Whatever their approach, all authors face the task of clarifying why their books are extraordinary, so building your audience begins with establishing your place on the genre bookshelf: your niche.

Are you looking to take your writing career to the next level? Then you should consider going to a writers’ conference! Whether you are looking for a traditional role in publishing, or thinking of self-publishing, attending will be very beneficial for your overall writing practice and success.

I’m a shameless conspirator in my own success.

Because of my extroversion, most people tend to think of me as a wacky disruptive presence. In many ways that’s true. I’m a bone-deep rabble-rouser who loves improvisation and the unlit path. On the other hand, I have a 40-year history in show business which is beaten into me the need for schedules, structure, and systems. With all of the impossible details necessary to bring people together for any kind of entertainment planning is essential. No matter how Dionysian your druthers, there comes a moment when you have to get strictly Apollonian.