I wrote a post a few months ago when AI writing tools were just starting to get good enough to be exciting. I was impressed with the results using Jasper, especially for improving the blurbs for my novels. But OpenAI just updated to a newer version of GPT3 (davinci3) and I wanted to test it The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted...
Recently I’ve been playing around with author portraits. These are notoriously hard to get (professional, studio quality headshots) because most writers are awkward and maybe not super-photogenic (hey we’re writers, not models). BUT midjourney version four allows you to combine pics now, so I can generate any mythical creature and...
I was updated my Amazon page and noticed this new banner: Which took me to the following popup: If my math is right, basically if you spend $60 on bucks, you get $3 back to buy more books. Not a great deal, but it’s something, like a loyalty program. If I’m speculating, here are some The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted...
Had a fun thought today about using AI text to image prompt generators to make AI art for SEO and web traffic. It’s short, but bear with me as I list some more general points. AI art for blogging and featured images There are some ongoing legal and moral issues about how you can/should use The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted...
I’ve sold 100K books without a universal book linking tool so I’ve never really understood the appeal, but they can also be super useful for specific things so it’s worth discussing the best options to link to your book, author website, amazon page etc. What is a universal book link tool? Basically it works like The 3...
I don’t always do a big black friday or cyber monday deal for authors but luckily my pals at Kindlepreneur have put together a massive list of courses, services, software and writing tools. I’ll link to that down below as soon as it’s up but in the meantime, here’s what I’m offering. It’s been a The 3...
It’s mid october and I’m frustrated because I want to be prepping for nanowrimo but am still editing last month’s book project. When you fall behind, it’s easy to let depression slip in and feel like nothing is worth it, so you might as well quit. Maintaining confidence and enthusiasm for your writing projects is The...
I’ve been seeing a lot of memes recently about the little mermaid trailer controversy: some people are upset that Disney’s new live action Ariel will be black – and have used arguments like “mermaids have always historically been white” or “it makes no sense for people under the sea to have more...
There are basically two challenges with writing. The first is knowledge. I see new authors post stuff online like “I’ve decided to write a book, but I don’t write or read books… how do I get started?” The common advice is to start writing; so first time authors just write a book with no guidance and end...
(and What Mistakes to Avoid) Unless you have a Rolodex of highly placed contacts in the online world at your fingertips, when it comes to landing guest posting gigs, good old cold email outreach is one of the most effective ways to get to yes. Now, I’m not talking about paid or sponsored guest posts The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a...
*Scroll all the way down for much better images since the last midjourney update.* Update: I just spoke about AI art with Joanna Penn, you can listen to the podcast HERE. Today I’m playing with midjourney for character and book cover design. You’ve probably seen people posting these to Facebook: what you get is extremely The 3...
This news has been making the rounds: a new reality show for writers called “America’s Next Great Author.” Casting calls are in San Francisco, on October 22, 2022. So far from my author friends, it’s been panned as exploitive: a cash grab for great IP or creative content (the fine print on the deal isn’t The 3...
