Suzanne James

My friend Mirella Patzer was telling me yesterday that she’s been selling about 1 - 3 copies of her book every time she leaves the home. She carries copies in her purse and just talks up her books.  Of course, she is active in the community. She’s a member of the Red Hat society - it sounds fun.

I am not active, but she is motivating me to get out more. She has so much fun. I’ve wondered a few times how she can feel so comfortable telling everyone about her book.  She also sells her book off her website using paypal. She says it works better than using the Amazon box. http://mirellapatzer.com/

Here are some tips for increasing the number of people who visit your website.  

How to Increase Alexa RankMost people do not realize that Amazon owns Alexa. The Alexa rank is measured based on the amount of users who visit the blog or web site – but only if they have the Alexa toolbar on their browser. As Google becomes an unreliable tool for measuring Page Rank – face it, every time the webmasters learn how to use the algorithm, Google changes the rules restoring the elite positions of their advertisers. A blog or website that doesn’t work within their parameters is penalized, benched, and has to start all over somewhere else.  Read the rest of this entry »

I often tell my friends that their best plans can be destroyed in a moment. ‘Life happens.’ There is no divine intervention. No spirit trying to force us into a macabre game of survival or an evil version of the childhood game ‘pick me - pick me.’

Life happens

We need to realize that it can happen to the best of us. Three weeks ago I was progressing at a great rate. Life was good. Work was good. Then I got sick. Now I am only allowed at the computer a few minutes at a time.  It isn’t like they cannot fix the problem. It isn’t like the time I had the heart operation. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve become more interested in Rodeos and Cowboys since writing my Montana series.  I’ve been to a couple of rodeos and watch them on television. It is an amazing ‘extreme’ sport. I’d love to visit the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, NFR.

First- I’ve always wanted to visit Vegas. I am not into gambling, but I would love to watch some of the shows and entertainment. I probably won’t be able to afford going the last day, the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo tickets vary between $60 and $1000. I can easily afford to attend any of the lead up days.

There is just something ‘real’ about watching a rodeo in the desert, where the country was born, the wagon trains travelled. It is even better watching the best of the best challenge for the national championships.

It is like bringing the past and present together. In the past, men did this as part of their daily job. Today, they ride bulls and horses to help their farms and ranches survive.

Last year’s winner, Trevor Brazile was the first triple crown winner since 1983. He broke the PRCA single season title with more than $400k in winnings.  I think this makes it more exciting. I am not sure if I’ll make it this year. But I will go - soon.

Have you ever visited www.inspiredauthor.com?  It is a great site, with more than 15000 pages of tutorials on writing, or topics that are important to writers. I am the topic editor for the novel writing section. There are also individual authors. Kim Smith is teaching writers how to improve their mystery and thrillers. Mirella is writing book reviews on historicals. Nikki will teach you everything needed to become famous.

There is a blog community where everyone can have their say. It is free to join and they won’t spam you with offers.

I’ll be hosting a chat next month on grammar, editing, and how to make your life easier. I am not sure of the date yet, but I’d love some ideas on what you want to learn. What writing and editing problems bother you most?  Do you really have a hard time with grammar?  Do you write like you talke - instead of like an author?

 Feel free to contact me with your ideas, or just post them as a comment in this post. I’ll collect all the posts and when I get them together, I’ll include them in the chat.

Stay in contact to learn more about the chat date and time.