You're a writer. You have a novel published or are waiting to hear back from an agent/editor/critique partner. You click around on Facebook or Twitter and find that someone you know has a bright shiny new book deal!

Everything is a pathway to something else. If you get a bunch of awards for your book and figure your work stops there, that's a big mistake. Follow the path to something else. At some point at the end of that road you'll likely be selling more books.

Today Pinterest is evolving its features to include business -- and not just personal -- accounts. Pinterest is raising brand awareness and also driving purchasing decisions.

If you want to write books, publish them and sell them, you need to make an investment in your career and brand, and today that investment means having a digital marketing strategy all year round.

We all get the silent treatment, regardless of where we are in our careers. Don't let it discourage you. Instead use this time as a way to assess, realign, or add to your skill set. I promise that if you do, someday the cone of silence will lift.

People will ask me all the time, "Why do I need a publicist?" If you have to ask the question, chances are you probably need one. Being a publicist is more than just knowing how to craft a snazzy email, it's a process and an ongoing effort.

Stay curious and alert at all times because all it takes is one story or "hook" and you could get the exposure that will help increase the visibility of you and your work.

Although the British crime novelist R.J. Ellory has had bestselling books, perhaps he overstepped a bit when he took to pumping up his own writing and dissing that of others under a pseudonym.

I've been lucky in my publishing career to get blurbs from wonderful, well-known authors I admire and respect. But I've also missed out a few crucial times.

A book promotion might pay off in increased book sales. But you have to be lucky. That said, book promotion campaigns are excellent opportunities for authors.

That said, there's nothing wrong with offering your book on your website or ramping up ways to sell it direct to consumer. The process might take time, but here are some ideas that could help you move a sale from Amazon to your website.

Trailers for movies make sense -- a visual medium for a visual product. If you aim to read a book, why do you need anything more than the synopsis of the book before you know whether you want to read it?

Begging for blurbs is one of the more misery-producing aspects of being published. It can leave us desperate and depressed. It's humiliating to have to grovel for blurbs, rather than have your publisher secure them for you.

If every book is a new baby, then each launch is its birth. And no matter how many times you release your newest 300-page bundle into the world, there are new experiences to have and new lessons to learn.

Ever since I learned that the popular #FridayReads movement on Twitter, run by @thebookmaven, is now a business rather than a not-for-profit endeavor, I've been trying to decide how I feel about it.

Should apprentice writers who are just learning the craft really be expected to manage their own PR campaigns?

The mere act of speaking isn't a magic balm for slumping book sales, but I am reminded how important it is for authors to parlay their command of the written word into a similar prowess with the spoken one.

Your pitches do matter, and media decision-makers take them seriously. That's why you want to avoid sending pitches that could sabotage your chances as you conduct your book promotion campaign.

It's hard enough getting people to come to your site; when they get there don't send them into "surf shock" and miss a potential sale.

If you are about to launch your next (or first) book, you can save yourself time, money and energy by learning from my missteps and successes. I hope these insights help to shorten your learning curve.

If you're waiting for a slow news day to pitch your story ideas to the media, you'll probably have a long wait. In fact, you might never succeed in sh...

Becoming active on any of the social networks is like leaving your door cracked open in the summertime: it's tempting to enjoy the fresh air and a pleasant breeze, but you also could be letting the creepy crawlies through the door.

When we first launched teams to offer blog commenting, most people didn't have a clue how powerful this type of marketing was. Most Internet people did and have been doing it ever since.