Thursday, February 24, 2011

Can You Spot the True Optimist?


A True Optimist

Can you spot the true optimist in this photo?

I'll give you a hint - it's yellow.

Yes, one of my daffodils dares to believe it can survive, despite the cold temperatures and recent deluge of snow.  Somehow, this optimist believes Spring is coming and it can hang on until then.

Maybe it will. I'm hoping it does, because I admire such optimism.

That's the kind of attitude I'd like to cultivate. Every book I write I want to be the best I've ever written, and I want to convince everyone else it's true.

If a daffodil can do it, so can I!

Friday, February 18, 2011

To Promote or Self-Promote? Which is Easier?

After all these years as an author and blogger, self-promotion still doesn't come naturally to me. I find it much easier to promote other people, books and places rather than to extol my own virtues.

You may find this strange, since I'm in so many social media groups, and I seem to be all over the place. Yes, I am, but once the basics are down, you don't find out much more. Once in a while I'll slip in a reference to one of my books, but I have a feeling I could have done so a lot more often, but haven't bothered.

I've passed over many opportunities for promotion because it seems so much more difficult to convince others of my own capabilities than to convince them how wonderful my friends, fellow bloggers, or even strangers are.

One of the reasons is something I learned long ago, which is nobody likes a braggart. Another reason, I'm afraid, is laziness. It's a lot simpler to let others answer my questions, than to be the one on the receiving end and have to think up what to say about myself. Another reason is probably disorganizaition. I need to keep a FAQ list with answers to frequent questions handy, so I can answer them easily.

As part of my new disciplined attitude toward being an author, part of which involves my setting the 1,000 word goal each day, I've decided to be more aggressive toward self-promotion. I've already set up a new Facebook page specifically to detail my progress on my work in progress, Forever Young, to keep me on the right path to finishing my goal in that respect. I've also accepted requests for interviews by two bloggers, April Pohren and Mike Manno, and will be appearing on their blogs. First, I have to finish their interview questions. Then I'll let you know when I'll be there.(G)

What about you? Is it easier for you to promote or self-promote? You don't have to be an author to answer this question. It can apply to other areas of your life as well.



Morgan Mandel
http://facebook.com/foreveryoungbook
Killer Career now 99 cents on
Kindle and Smashwords

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Forever Young - My New Facebook Page

Even with extra time at my disposal due to my recent state of unemployment, it's not always easy to discipline myself to write a certain amount of words on my manuscript each day. Although I love writing, inspiration doesn't strike as often as I'd wish.

To keep myself motivated and encouraged, I've set up a Facebook page for my work in progress, a paranormal thriller, tentatively titled Forever Young, which seems to fit. Also, I've put up a stock photo profile pic, which is an accurate depiction of the heroine. The cover may be changed if needs be, but this will suffice for now.

I'd appreciate your coming over and do the Like thing at my new page. Once I get a certain amount of followers, I can then get a fancy url to make it easier to get there. Here's the link for now:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Forever-Young/187944944561645

Come on over when you can and share the progress of my book.