Publishing Resources
Online publishing has opened up an enormous array of resources, many now without cost such as this blogger site, for anyone utilizing the internet who wishes to display or advertise their product or service. The most attractive aspects of online publishing and advertising is the speed with which one is able to get their information in front of the enormous internet community virtually instantaneously.
Search Engine Listing and Ranking Optimization
Search engines are a great starting point for the internet browser to find the resources they need, Google, Yahoo, ExactSeek, to name but a few. Maximizing search engine position plays an important role toward increased website traffic activity....the greater the visitor traffic to your website, especially return visitors, the greater your chances of selling a product or service.
There are a number of important actions that can be taken by the website owner to improve upon search engine ranking. These procedures are known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and are all the buzz at the present time. I have found SiteProNews.com to be a great resource for information helpful to that end. They offer a huge volume of information on all things relating to website creation, hosting, SEO, cool tools, links to related websites and their frequent newsletter is free at SiteProNews.
Exposure To Publishers
One of the most difficult aspects of writing today is getting noticed by well-known publishers. The emerging writer goes through an initial period of virtual obscurity and although the writer may have considerable presence with his or her reading audience and peers, a lot of work needs to be done in order to gain recognition in the publishing world.
Publishing a hard copy book involves a huge monitary commitment on the part of the publisher and as such they need to ascertain in advance that a writer's work is worthy of their time and money to undertake to publish a book and get it on the shelf. The cost for a relatively unknown author to have a publishing company publish their book in hard/soft cover versions can be prohibitive. I have been registered with WriteSight.com , a website that focuses on providing a free place on the internet for writers to post their bio, a number of feature samples of their writing works, and space to make their "sales pitch" about their book.
WriteSight.com is a venue for publishers to scrutinize the foresaid information posted by the writer and an opportunity for the publisher to make contact with the writer in order to offer a writing submission to their publication project in progress. This can include offers for freelance writing projects. This is a great opportunity for a writer, like myself, to gain valuable exposure to the publishing world, whether it be a book or magazine/ezine publisher or otherwise, and also to the vast general reading public who obtain the published works upon completion...all for free.
Initial writing submission invitations may offer only nominal or no compensation but if the writer's submission is accepted for publication this may well lead to future offers bearing greater compensation. In any event the opportunity for this exposure is the key focus for the new and emerging writer. Writesight.com
Writing Forums: Poetry
There is a vast resource of poetry writing forums on the internet today, ranging in size from small and intimate group sites up to the very large membership arena exceeding 35,000. Writers and readers can find these sites by search engine query using short keywords such as poetry sites; poetry forums; poetry groups etc.
Becoming a member of such forums or groups is another great way for the writer to establish recognition and a devoted readership following. The writer can also start up their own like-website. A wonderful poetry forum site that offers the writer free poetry submission in their numerous forums, blogging, and an individual poetry page archive to store one's poems is Poetrypom.com .
My own poetry website at Poetrypoem.com can be viewed at A Poet's Place . On the individual's own webpage, in this instance provided free, it is up to the writer to proof read/edit their own work before saving to their webpages and also to back up their work by saving their writing to the hard drive or disc from their own computer. On this type of website the copyright is usually reserved for the writer.
There is extensive information that is relevant to each of the various publishing venues given reference above, some of which will be addressed in future blogs here. Websites will provide guidelines and Terms of Service which will govern the use of the site and should be strictly adhered to in order to avoid conflict or outright banning from the site.
Self Publishing/Publishing On Demand
For the new and emerging writer who has not gained the type of exposure and stature necessary to attract the major publishers, online self publishing and print on demand publishing is a good starting point and yet another important tool for gaining that exposure. There are numerous online publishers who offer this service, including step-by-step book creation and publication software, book cover galleries, and a vehicle for presenting the book for the purchasing community, pricing criteria and royalty guidelines etc.
It should be noted that when using this type of free publishing service the writer is the one who does all the work, including the editing process prior to final publication of their book...thus the free service availability. It is a trial and error, painstaking process for the first-time user but the end result can be attractive and professional if thoroughly and carefully executed throughout the book creation process. The publisher produces the purchased book in the desired version format and handles the purchase transaction and shipping activity on behalf of the author, usually for a predetermined percentage of the royalty being withheld.
It is important to note here that the writer publishing through this type of venue should do so with no false expectations regarding book sales results. Depending on the degree of exposure the writer has leading up to the book self publication, and the quality of content the author has provided along the way, sales results will not likely be staggering. The emerging writer must remember that this approach to publishing should first and foremost be undertaken for any potential exposure the publication may generate.
One such website for this type of publication that I have personally utilized is Lulu.com . Lulu has a good reputation to date and is worth a look. It offers publishing in print, download and CD versions.
My book "Journeys In Verse" has been published at Lulu.com and can be previewed at my book storefront.
Create A Website
Another important undertaking for a writer is to create a website that can be used to showcase some of their original works and provide links to sites where their book or other published works can be viewed. This is a valuable tool for further establishing exposure and recognition. A website affords the writer the opportunity to gain credibility in the writing community and general reading audience. Steps should be taken to ensure that the writer's website is indexed in relevant directories and search engines. Free and paid advertising will be important to establish a traffic flow to the website.
My own website may be viewed at A Poet's View . It is an example of a free website where a limited number of features and webspace is offered, including page templates, that can be edited/updated as desired by the registered site owner. It is noteworthy that in conjunction with this website there are a number of important tools that can be set up to enhance the site visitor's experience ie. Guest Book; links to the author's various websites/forums etc.; links to other relevant websites (mutual linking or otherwise); webmail forms enabling the visitor to contact the author; survey forms; chat forums and much more.
Such free website hosting services usually offer an upgraded or premium version for those who wish to build upon the features and webspace available for their site. There are also many websites that offer professional website design and creation services on a fee basis for more professional or business type website application.
Ezines and Newsletters
These online publications can be set up for free or on an upgraded/premium basis and are geared toward paid subscriber type relationships where the ezine/newsletter owner/editor offers a periodic/regular publication. This type of paid resource offers broad flexibility in terms of features and in addition to the credibility and exposure that such publications provide, there is the added bonus of generating income for the publication owner. Internet browsers are increasingly inclined to pay for quality online resources of this nature.
I am currently in the process of creating my own newsletter and will announce its launch shortly. A link for those who wish to subscribe to my newsletter has now been provided on the main page of my website at
A Poet's View .
Don MacIver
Copyright 2005
author, "Journeys In Verse"
Copyright 2004
ISBN 1-4116-1340-6
Search Engine Listing and Ranking Optimization
Search engines are a great starting point for the internet browser to find the resources they need, Google, Yahoo, ExactSeek, to name but a few. Maximizing search engine position plays an important role toward increased website traffic activity....the greater the visitor traffic to your website, especially return visitors, the greater your chances of selling a product or service.
There are a number of important actions that can be taken by the website owner to improve upon search engine ranking. These procedures are known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and are all the buzz at the present time. I have found SiteProNews.com to be a great resource for information helpful to that end. They offer a huge volume of information on all things relating to website creation, hosting, SEO, cool tools, links to related websites and their frequent newsletter is free at SiteProNews.
Exposure To Publishers
One of the most difficult aspects of writing today is getting noticed by well-known publishers. The emerging writer goes through an initial period of virtual obscurity and although the writer may have considerable presence with his or her reading audience and peers, a lot of work needs to be done in order to gain recognition in the publishing world.
Publishing a hard copy book involves a huge monitary commitment on the part of the publisher and as such they need to ascertain in advance that a writer's work is worthy of their time and money to undertake to publish a book and get it on the shelf. The cost for a relatively unknown author to have a publishing company publish their book in hard/soft cover versions can be prohibitive. I have been registered with WriteSight.com , a website that focuses on providing a free place on the internet for writers to post their bio, a number of feature samples of their writing works, and space to make their "sales pitch" about their book.
WriteSight.com is a venue for publishers to scrutinize the foresaid information posted by the writer and an opportunity for the publisher to make contact with the writer in order to offer a writing submission to their publication project in progress. This can include offers for freelance writing projects. This is a great opportunity for a writer, like myself, to gain valuable exposure to the publishing world, whether it be a book or magazine/ezine publisher or otherwise, and also to the vast general reading public who obtain the published works upon completion...all for free.
Initial writing submission invitations may offer only nominal or no compensation but if the writer's submission is accepted for publication this may well lead to future offers bearing greater compensation. In any event the opportunity for this exposure is the key focus for the new and emerging writer. Writesight.com
Writing Forums: Poetry
There is a vast resource of poetry writing forums on the internet today, ranging in size from small and intimate group sites up to the very large membership arena exceeding 35,000. Writers and readers can find these sites by search engine query using short keywords such as poetry sites; poetry forums; poetry groups etc.
Becoming a member of such forums or groups is another great way for the writer to establish recognition and a devoted readership following. The writer can also start up their own like-website. A wonderful poetry forum site that offers the writer free poetry submission in their numerous forums, blogging, and an individual poetry page archive to store one's poems is Poetrypom.com .
My own poetry website at Poetrypoem.com can be viewed at A Poet's Place . On the individual's own webpage, in this instance provided free, it is up to the writer to proof read/edit their own work before saving to their webpages and also to back up their work by saving their writing to the hard drive or disc from their own computer. On this type of website the copyright is usually reserved for the writer.
There is extensive information that is relevant to each of the various publishing venues given reference above, some of which will be addressed in future blogs here. Websites will provide guidelines and Terms of Service which will govern the use of the site and should be strictly adhered to in order to avoid conflict or outright banning from the site.
Self Publishing/Publishing On Demand
For the new and emerging writer who has not gained the type of exposure and stature necessary to attract the major publishers, online self publishing and print on demand publishing is a good starting point and yet another important tool for gaining that exposure. There are numerous online publishers who offer this service, including step-by-step book creation and publication software, book cover galleries, and a vehicle for presenting the book for the purchasing community, pricing criteria and royalty guidelines etc.
It should be noted that when using this type of free publishing service the writer is the one who does all the work, including the editing process prior to final publication of their book...thus the free service availability. It is a trial and error, painstaking process for the first-time user but the end result can be attractive and professional if thoroughly and carefully executed throughout the book creation process. The publisher produces the purchased book in the desired version format and handles the purchase transaction and shipping activity on behalf of the author, usually for a predetermined percentage of the royalty being withheld.
It is important to note here that the writer publishing through this type of venue should do so with no false expectations regarding book sales results. Depending on the degree of exposure the writer has leading up to the book self publication, and the quality of content the author has provided along the way, sales results will not likely be staggering. The emerging writer must remember that this approach to publishing should first and foremost be undertaken for any potential exposure the publication may generate.
One such website for this type of publication that I have personally utilized is Lulu.com . Lulu has a good reputation to date and is worth a look. It offers publishing in print, download and CD versions.
My book "Journeys In Verse" has been published at Lulu.com and can be previewed at my book storefront.
Create A Website
Another important undertaking for a writer is to create a website that can be used to showcase some of their original works and provide links to sites where their book or other published works can be viewed. This is a valuable tool for further establishing exposure and recognition. A website affords the writer the opportunity to gain credibility in the writing community and general reading audience. Steps should be taken to ensure that the writer's website is indexed in relevant directories and search engines. Free and paid advertising will be important to establish a traffic flow to the website.
My own website may be viewed at A Poet's View . It is an example of a free website where a limited number of features and webspace is offered, including page templates, that can be edited/updated as desired by the registered site owner. It is noteworthy that in conjunction with this website there are a number of important tools that can be set up to enhance the site visitor's experience ie. Guest Book; links to the author's various websites/forums etc.; links to other relevant websites (mutual linking or otherwise); webmail forms enabling the visitor to contact the author; survey forms; chat forums and much more.
Such free website hosting services usually offer an upgraded or premium version for those who wish to build upon the features and webspace available for their site. There are also many websites that offer professional website design and creation services on a fee basis for more professional or business type website application.
Ezines and Newsletters
These online publications can be set up for free or on an upgraded/premium basis and are geared toward paid subscriber type relationships where the ezine/newsletter owner/editor offers a periodic/regular publication. This type of paid resource offers broad flexibility in terms of features and in addition to the credibility and exposure that such publications provide, there is the added bonus of generating income for the publication owner. Internet browsers are increasingly inclined to pay for quality online resources of this nature.
I am currently in the process of creating my own newsletter and will announce its launch shortly. A link for those who wish to subscribe to my newsletter has now been provided on the main page of my website at
A Poet's View .
Don MacIver
Copyright 2005
author, "Journeys In Verse"
Copyright 2004
ISBN 1-4116-1340-6
posted by Don MacIver at
3:37 p.m.
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