Archive for category News
To Post or Not To Post
Editorial: The views and opinions expressed herein are the author’s own personal thoughts and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Chico Writer’s Groups membership.
By Kathie Leung
Should Aspiring Authors Maintain Websites and/or Blogs?
One of the most recent discussions we’ve been having is about the importance of blogging as an aspiring author. There are many theories out there, but the determining factor boils down to why. Why is a blog necessary?
To an unpublished author intending on going the old school way of publishing, meaning via a literary agent with the intentions of being published hard copy, there doesn’t seem to be a good enough argument for a blog. A static web page or site, yes, but a blog – no. Since this is merely a summation of the discussion, a follow-up post with the specific arguments on either side along with supporting evidence will be provided. But for the purpose of this post, we will leave it at that.
A static page or website provides a curious literary agent with a bit more insight into the author, a means for putting a face to the name should the author be bold enough to post a mugshot on the site, perhaps a sample of his/her writing. Anything more could potentially be shooting yourself in the foot. Blogging with articles about writing, thoughts, ideas, character development, politics, the grade your dearest got on a recent essay might be a bit too much information and a potential liability for the agent and/or the publishing house where your book might have been sold. Of course it depends on what specifically you say – or don’t, the points of view you offer, how liberal or conservative you happen to be; but as a general rule, a blog is iffy. If you simply must write snippets and publish them to the ‘net, why not create a blog with a screenname other than your own via any number of the free blog services out there? Just be careful not to link to them with your professional ‘net presence.
If you go with establishing an Internet presence, put some thought and consideration of what you put out there for the world to see. Once it posted, it will never ever go away. That includes Facebook, Google+, MySpace, and Twitter. Querying an agent and seeking publication is like a job interview. Your potential employer (agent/publisher) will look and what you say and do on the Internet will be weighted accordingly. Pose a potential liability? Kiss that contract goodbye. Climb on the bandwagon thrashing an author who did this or that and what does that say about your own character? Is that a risk a publisher or an agent is willing to take if they sign you? The fact is this: we have come into an age where instant communication and public announcements made world wide is a mainstay. What might have seemed insignificant in the past, such as an erroneous web site, an unfollowed blog, a tweet made at two-thirty in the morning while three sheets to the wind, are all taken much more seriously, scrutinized, legally decided upon: Is this individual a risk we are willing to take on?
What Should Go Into A Static Website?
Your name. Your contact information that you are comfortable making public (and I mean public) such as email address (always good to have a specific account set up via Google, Yahoo! and the likes that can be disowned later on if the spam and what have you get out of control), a USPS mailing address (PO Box, preferably for the same reasons unless you really don’t mind weirdos coming to your door when they’re three sheets to the wind or better yet, off their meds), etc. The genres you write in, any publications where your work has been published (with links, of course), possibly some links to your favorite authors or agents, writing forums, etc. and then a chapter or two of your completed works that you’re in the process of actively sending out queries and pitching at conferences.
What Should NOT Go Onto A Website?
Anything personally identifiable. Don’t post pictures of your kids. Don’t post a map to your city. Don’t post your cell phone number. Don’t post your social security number, tax-id number, credit card information. Just don’t. Even if you have -1 followers, never, ever post anything personal.
What if I have no intentions of traditionally publishing my work and am moving straight into self-publishing?
The key here is selling your work, right? You want people to read your novel, more importantly to buy your novel. Blogging from a main character’s point of view is a nifty idea so long as you’re not giving your novel away for free. But blogging about the craft of writing without selling a significant number of books? Probably not such a good idea. That’s my own personal opinion.
We (The Chico Writer’s Group) have had self-published authors come through our doors in the past and I know others who have self-published as well. With one exception, there is a reason why these individuals self-published: they couldn’t take the rejection from the agents they were querying. But was their writing worthy of going into print? With one exception – hell no. Did they have a good grasp on the craft? Absolutely not. Did they provide useful advice on how to write? Nope.
It’s dangerous to be out there writing about the craft if you aren’t well versed in it. This, of course, is an argument many have in the kingdom of writing. There are some who strongly believe that unless you are a published author, meaning through the traditional process, you have no right to be giving advice about the craft. There are others who feel there is merit to talking about the craft, so it all boils down to where you personally stand on the issue. But if you are intending on using your site to promote your self-published work, my advice is to keep your thoughts, opinions, and advice regarding the craft completely separate from the promotional website/blog.
What are the Pros of Blogging?
Selling your books once you actually are published.
Making your writing samples accessible to literary agents you are querying.
Establishing links with other authors, both published and aspiring, that might lead to book sales once you are published.
Possibly gaining attention from someone who might put you on the path towards publication.
What are the Cons of Blogging?
Time. It takes a lot of time to blog and keep up with the whole process of maintaining a blog. If you stop blogging for any reason, it takes a long time to reestablish yourself within the network once you return.
Promoting thoughts and ideas which others might be offended by. I know of authors, from best sellers to strictly self-published, who have spewed their personal opinions on anything from politics to religion. And I know that in several cases, their opinions were so strong that they offended their readership, enough that some of those who were offended stopped reading them altogether, both their blogs and their novels. In one particular case, there was a call to boycott the author.
Wearing egg on your face. Blogging about things you think you know about but might come to learn later on you clearly did not could be potentially damaging. Of course, a well-thought out post that doesn’t necessarily put the thoughts out there as unarguable fact and leaves it open for dialog – and such dialog follows the golden rule of debating the thought, not attacking the thinker, would prevent this from being problematic thus moving this from a con to a pro. All depends on how you handle conveying the thoughts and the subsequent discussion.
Will Not Having a Site/Blog HURT Sales?
I don’t know if there is a way to actually tell this. I happen to like the idea of an author establishing a presence on the Internet, but if I’m looking for a new author, I’d be more likely to tune into Amazon’s recommended reading lists, the New York Times, and up until recently, Oprah’s book club reads. Once I became familiar with the author, I might follow them on Facebook, connect with them on Google Plus, add them on Twitter (even tho I’m hardly ever there) and hunt them down on the web. Still, I’m hardly a repeat visitor but that’s just me. I know of some that are so into the characters an author builds or the style the author writes in that they become obsessed. I aspire to become one of those that can create obsessable (yes, my own word) characters and style.
Joe Konrath, author of the best selling Jack Daniels books (an obsessable character) has an excellent website for readers, authors, and those in the business of publishing.
Be careful when reading posts off a search about this topic. The date of the post is the most important thing to consider. Anything that has been discussed prior to the big push to self-publish and epublish without the use of an agent (e.g. directly via a publisher) is outdated. More information and resources to come in a few weeks.
As always, you are welcome to post your comments and thoughts on this topic!
Kathie Leung is a published author of poetry and short stories and an aspiring author of mystery/thriller/suspense novels. She is the founder, organizer, and moderator of the Chico Writer’s Group. More about Kathie can be found at www.kathieleung.com
Ready, Set, Go! NaNoWriMo Tips
In less than four short days, National Novel Writing Month will be upon us. In thirty-days, writers around the world will be attempting to write 50,000 words all for the glory of saying “I did it!”. If you are one of the crazed that will be joining in this event, here are some tips to help you make the most of this endeavor:
Cordon off your work area.
- If need be, stop off at your local animal shelter, offer to house a dog, the meaner the better (or perhaps the more loyal to it’s caretaker) for the month and set up a kennel just at the door/opening to your work area to keep visitors at bay.
- Post Do No Disturb signs liberally about your work area.
- Offer to water potted cacti for the local nursery for the month on the condition you can take the cacti with you, then set it about your work area. This is something most anyone, even those with the blackest of thumbs can do, seeing that much like camels, cacti don’t require a whole lot of watering.
- A word to the wise, do not offer to host Thanksgiving dinner at your house. Only an insane person (yours truly) would even contemplate such a ridiculous thing.
- On that note, also don’t be tempted to hit the stores, shopping centers, malls or any other commercial wasteland of consumerism. Yes, there are incredible Black Friday deals, but you were going to run over to that POD (publish on demand) site online and have your novel printed and bound as a gift for each and every one of holiday “shop for” list, weren’t you?
- Unabridged dictionary
- Rand McNally Global Color Maps
- 2008, 2009, 2010 Writer’s Market Editions (preferably the deluxe edition)
- Thesaurus
- And/or several Encyclopedia Britannica volumes

Cheers and the best of luck! Let us know how your venture is going by leaving a comment. Care to pick up a few supporters along the way? Leave your NaNoWriMo screenname with your post and let the real fun begin.
Brand New Day
Fall 2010
New Policy Changes – effectively immediately
The Chico Writers Group was founded in January of 2008 and has been going strong ever since. We’ve changed quite a bit since we first started and are presently in the process of changing our format to meet the needs and wishes of the current membership. This is an incredible, bold move and yet one that we are greatly excited about. For the time being, until we iron out the kinks, make sure that our plans for changes work as well in application as they did in conception, we won’t be entertaining any new members. Come January 2011 we will decide on whether the revisions need more time and work or if we will begin accepting new members. Look for more news and information here in the future regarding the outcome.
[Revised Wednesday, October 6, 2010]
Newsletter & Upcoming Meetings
Posted by Kathie in craft chat, Meetings, News on May 5, 2010
The May edition of the newsletter is online with articles by Christina Arbini with tips on how to pitch your latest novel, an interview with professional editor, Erin Brown, and guest authors (and CWG members) Donna Hole and MaryRose Lovgren. Hurry on over to our newsletter and [check it out!]
Our upcoming meetings are:
- Saturday, May 15, 2010 from 2:30 – 4:30 pm [RSVP here]
- Chat Topic: Genres
- Chat Topic: To Be Determined
April Yet-to-be-Named Newsletter
Posted by Kathie in News, YTBN Newsletter on April 5, 2010
The April edition of the newsletter is here! The first page can be found: http://www.ejourn.net/YTBNnews/apr2010/index.html and the new location for the newsletter is at http://cwgnews.blogspot.com.
Enjoy!
February Edition YTBN Newsletter
The February 2010 edition of the Yet-to-be-Named Newsletter is online. It’s been moved to static pages for formatting purposes, but feel free to leave comments about the newsletter here! Check it out at http://www.ejourn.net/YTBNnews/feb2010/index.html
Almost Here – In the Meantime
The February issue of the Yet to be Named Newsletter is almost ready to be released. In the meantime, check out these priceless finds:
Want to be notified when the newsletter comes out? Send an email to: TheChicoWritersGroup@gmail.com with “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject line.
Would you like to contribute to the monthly newsletter? Check out our submission guidelines [here].
Yet to be Named Newsletter Volume #1, Issue #1 January 2010
Posted by Kathie in News, YTBN Newsletter on January 2, 2010
Chico Writers Group:
If You Write It, They Will Read It
Welcome to the Year 2010!
Did you ever watch Conan O’Brien and his sidekick, Andy, doing their skit “In the year 3000“? Fun stuff.
So here we are in the year 2010. Resolutions are being made. Changes and revisions are being pursued. Now’s your chance to get in a squeal of a deal at any of the gyms in town. And since the introduction of the fantasmagoric CSUC Associated Students gym, there will be some incredible deals.
And how about you, as a writer? What does this mean for the likes of us? Maybe this is your year to take your writing to a whole new level. To dust off a few manuscripts, spend some one-on-one time and polish it up, see if it will fly. Try your hand at a different genre, perhaps, maybe even a completely different style or just work on improving what’s tried and proven already.
Whatever your resolutions are, your goals, your dreams and aspirations, may the year 2010 be yours! And to help kick off your year, we bring to you the very first issue of the CWG Yet To Be Named Newsletter, a monthly publication for all current and former members of the Chico Writers Group. Enjoy!
Kathie Leung
Founder & Organizer
Chico Writers Group
Writing Prompts & Ideas
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Setting Goals, Deadlines, and RewardsBenjamin Franklin wisely advised, “By failing to plan, you are planning to fail.” What are your dreams, your goals, your desires when you write? Have you taken the time to think of it or are you afraid to because you’re afraid you won’t be able to fulfill them? If you do take the time to think about where you hope to go with your writing, are you shooting it down with excuses, pointing the finger at reasons why you won’t be able to achieve your goals? Here are some tips and sage advice from authors and professional writing coaches that might help you reevaluate and take the stand in setting writing goals. Public Personas – The Low DownWhat’s your poison? Linked-In? Facebook? Twitter? What social network are you using to connect with others? Are you doing the network thing in hopes of creating a marketing base when it comes to publishing your work? What are the upsides of social networking? Etiquette? Precautions to consider? Here’s the scoop! |
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Chico Writers Group – www.ejourn.net/cwg/ – 530.521.4264 – TheChicoWritersGroup@gmail.com |
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Public Personas – The Low Down
Posted by Kathie in News, YTBN Newsletter on January 2, 2010
January 2010 Newsletter Article Vol#1, Issue # 1

What’s your poison? Linked-In? Facebook? Twitter? What social network are you using to connect with others? Are you doing the network thing in hopes of creating a marketing base when it comes to publishing your work? What are the upsides of social networking? Etiquette? Precautions to consider? Here’s the scoop!
The very first thing to remember – anything that goes out into cyberspace is there to remain forever.
This is a concept not a lot of people understand. And yet we must. Think about it. The Internet is a network of computers. It’s always on. It’s always gathering information. If you delete a spiteful post, remove a rather questionable photograph, upload the rough draft of a manuscript then delete it when you realize you have a best seller – it’s all out there. It’s resident on someone’s computer, squirreled away on a server.
The purpose of this article is not to sell books. It’s not on how to market you, your novel, or even to make money using a blog. It’s about looking down the road, off into the future to that day that you finally sell your manuscript, it goes into publication and you’re ready to hit the circuit peddling your finest work.
No, you might not be going for a political position or that big corporate job or off to track down serial killers with the Behavioral Analyst Unit at Quantico. But yet what you say, what you do, how you react could potentially become your enemy down the line. So it’s important to keep in mind what your ultimate goal is here and now. Focus on that when you are interacting out in the public eye.
Pictures: Be very mindful of any picture you upload anywhere on the ‘net. Even if you’re in the biz of selling sex (erotica and the like), social media isn’t the place to be posting sexually explicit photographs. Suggestive, yes. Explicit? Absolutely not.
Leave the kids out of it. And family, too. Cherish their privacy and safety. In the public eye, it only takes one deranged person to bring your world crashing down upon you. Be mindful of this in the here and now.
Connecting with family: Again, privacy is imperative, especially when it comes to minors. You’re looking at a business proposition, a viable source of income, a money maker. Unless you are engaging your entire family in what you’re writing, say a non-fiction piece on the importance of volunteering within your community, leave your family at home and focus on your work. There’s no need to make them accessible to your public.
The dividing line: If you opt to use social media to keep in touch with family and personal friends, consider a secondary account and keep the two separate. Still be very careful of what you post. Even when your settings might initially be very private, remember, nothing is every a constant on the ‘net and anything that goes out, stays there. We saw this happen with the recent (12/09) changes in privacy at Facebook. Suddenly the personal, private information folks were putting on their pages was made public and very accessible to others. To those who forgot the golden rule of not putting personal, private information out on the ‘net, the fallback was tremendous.
Stay focused: Even if you don’t have a salable manuscript in the works, even if you don’t see yourself publishing anything in the next three to five years, it’s still important to maintain a social network profile that shows your head is in the game. Going off topic now and again is perfectly acceptable, even good practice. Remember that saying, all work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy? But keep the majority of your interactions about your writing, your intent to publish, making contacts and rubbing elbows with those in the industry and those that contribute to the industry by buying books, where your focus is at least 90% of the time.
Cheat Sheet:
- Do not publish pictures that you wouldn’t have on your jacket flap.
- Do not publish pictures of family members.
- Use a business or post office box address, not your personal residence. Same applies for phone, instant messaging, any other form of contact.
- Fudge on your location, especially when you live in a rural area. Select a larger area or omit it entirely.
- Never use your family member’s real names.
- Don’t say online what you wouldn’t say in person at a book signing.
- Keep your private life separate from your online business persona.
- Stay focused on the prize. At least 90% of the time.
- Write!













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