My All-Time Best BookMarked Articles For Writers and Bloggers (Update)

I have placed all these essential and helpful articles in one blog post. I have personally found these pieces entirely useful in my blogging/writing career. They’re simple and easy-to-follow without many of the jargon-filled tutorials out there. Here’s hoping you find one to help you do just the thing you’ve been meaning to get done for a while.



How to Change The Font On Your Blog

From: The Cutest Blog on the Block



The Easy Way To Put 'Top Comments' Widget On Your Blog

From: Reach Beyond Limits



How To Insert A Custom Signature In 'Blogger' Posts 

From: Isabella Snow



How To Add A Retweet Button On Your Blog 

From: Rose DesRochers – World Outside my Window

Essential HTML Skills For Article Authors  

From: Christopher Knight – Ezine Articles



Collection Of Essential Articles For Bloggers/Writers

From: Social @ Blogging Tracker



How To Display Your Content On A Blog's Front Page

From: Web Designer Depot



8 Simple Ways To Make Google Love Your Site

From: Daily SEO Blog



How To Place Photos Side By Side In 'Blogger'

From: Isabella Snow - Hub pages



What Does Blogger 'NavBar' Do? 

From: The Relationship Supermarket.com



How To Find Your Blog's RSS Feed URL 

From: Athlyn Green’s Hub pages



Vital Start-Up Tutorials For New Writers Of Online Content  

From: A Blogger's Books



10 Blogging Attitudes You Could Learn From American Idols  

From: Social @ Blogging Tracker



101 Ways To Promote A New Blog  

From: DailyBlogTips



How To Establish A Writing Platform  

From: Sunday’s Child Lives At Annie’s House



The Most Important Blogging Analysis Ever 

From: ViperChill



The Practical Way To Improve Your Ranking

From Search Optimization



How To Find A Literary Agent 

From: Nathan Bransford, Literary Agent



How To Create Your Own Handwritten Signature

From Wandering Thought



10 Commandments For Aspiring Writers

From: The Man Who Painted Agnieszka's Shoes



How To Write A Successful e-Book

From ViperChill



5 Ways To Gain Agents' Attention

From Jody Hedlund



10 Photoshop Video Tutorials

From Tech Milieu.com



How To Embed YouTube Videos Into Blogger

From Blogger Tricks



How To Make A Publisher Say 'Yes' 

From: Help I need a Publisher!



How To Really Build Backlinks And Dominate Google

From ViperChill



How To Get A Feedburner Account For Your Blog

From Wandering Thought



Market Your Smashwords e-Book: The Definitive Guide

From Mark Coker



5 Ways To Get Your Blog Indexed By Google in 24 Hours

From ProBlogger



A Simple Way To Clear Your StumbleUpon New Shares

From Tech Milieu.com



Blogging Attitudes You Could Learn From American Idols

From Social @ Blogging Tracker



Put a Facebook 'Like' Button On Your Blog



In Defense Of Print

From: A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing

Amazon’s 10 Top selling Christmas Books Of All Time

A Blogger's Books would like to wish all its regulars and first-time visitors a very Merry Christmas! To tide you over to the new year, I want to leave you with a countdown of Amazon's 10 best-selling Christmas books.  Have a good read and I'll see you again in 2011.

No matter if you celebrate Christmas or not, you would’ve - at some point - bought, received, or read to your kids, some of the following popular Christmas books. According to Amazon.com the following are the top 10 Christmas books bought by customers in the last few years.

You are correct if you guessed that 'A Christmas Carol' and 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas' are on the list. These are two of my favourite Christmas books. In fact, I take them out come November each year and read them to the kids in the seven weeks leading up to Christmas. 

See if any of your favourites are on the Christmas most popular list.

Frosty The Snowman by Steve Nelson

A Wish To Be A Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe

The Little Match Girl by Jerry Pinkney

Nutcracker by E.T.A Hoffman

How The Grinch Stole Christmas! by Theodor Geisel – Dr. Seuss

The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Rick Bunsen

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

A Christmas Carol (Bantam Classic) by Charles Dickens

Top Websites for Writers and Bloggers

Update - 2010

Even though I have this information listed elsewhere on A Blogger's Books, I’ve been planning to share it as a blog post for a very long time. According to my Live Traffic Feed (Feedjit), many of my readers leave via these sites after reading my posts, and I just wanted to give them an additional boost.

Maybe some of these will turn up some great writing tips for you. I’ve added the individual by-lines (if they have one) of sites to help you target your search. Here are the ones most visited by hundreds of readers on A Blogger’s Books in 2009.

• Websites For Writers An independent directory of online writing resources. (I've received quite a number of visits since being listed by them).


• Freelance Writing Jobs


• Brit Writers Find jobs, competitions, support.


• Association of Authors' Agents


• Roget's Thesaurus Find synonyms and antonyms.


• Freelance Market News An essential guide for writers since 1968.


• Writing For The Internet course 


• Poetry Workshop


• How To Write And Publish A Book How to Write a Fiction, Non-Fiction Book, or Novel, find a Publisher or Publishing Option, and Market Your Book for Free. Tips and Expert Advice.


• Freelance Writers Database  This site helps editors find freelance writers of any genre or speciality. The searchable database of writers and freelance journalists is available to everyone.


• Free dictionary


• Online Novels Get yours listed.


• Famous Birthdays


• Finding Free e-Books Your source for free, legal eFiction.


• Poetry Magic Poetry Magic is resource centre for the theory and craft of writing poetry.


• Guardian Books


• Hire a brilliant editor


• Blogger plugins


• Writers Market where and how to sell what you write.


• A Newbie's Guide To Publishing


• Read It, Swap It Bought a book and finished it? Don't know what to do with it? If you've Read It, Swap It!


• Blogger Templates


• Rare book room


• Free Stock Images


• ViperChill


• Lit Match Author Advance

 Let me know if I've missed your site.

5 Ways The Internet Has Made Me Better

I know this is quite controversial. A lot of people (me included) think the Internet can cause a lot of trouble in family life. I recently met a man whose wife left him after 'hooking-up' with her old sweetheart on

Facebook. 

People have been known to rant about their bosses on social networking sites; a stupid mistake which often lands them in the unemployment line. Admittedly, some kids spend far too long on the Internet, meeting dangerous strangers, or wasting time on violent games. All this being said, the Internet has its advantages too. I know that it’s made me better in some ways.

I’m more careful about what I say to people

I always keep in mind that whatever I say on Twitter or Facebook etc, is there for the entire world to see (and stays there forever). Sometimes leaving a short message can sound blunt or rude, especially when in a rush to visit the next page - and the next.  Having to manage this daily, has made me better at expressing myself in few words.

The Internet saves me time

I do a lot of research for my articles and books. I used to spend hours at the library, or reading entire books just to get one piece of information. Having the Internet means that I can write with several windows open and search for exactly what I need. Of course this means that unscrupulous people can copy others’ work with abandon. I’ve had that done to me several times, but I think it's a small price to pay for the amount of time I save doing my reading/research with the readily available and accessible search engines.

The Internet saves me money

I know several of you will agree that buying on the Internet saves an absolute fortune. Not only can you get exactly what you want from the comfort of your living room, you can also snap it up significantly cheaper. The indirect savings of time, petrol costs – driving to stores, and frustrations of shopping, also considerably mount up.

I keep in touch more regularly

The Internet makes it fabulously easy to stay in touch with family, long lost friends, and colleagues. I’ve found several of my old friends by being on the Internet. My presence there has also enabled them to reach out to me. I don’t think this would’ve been possible otherwise. Not many people want to get involved in the long, drawn-out process pre ‘social-network’ entailed. I know, I don’t. The Internet keeps me in contact with my relatives who live far away. And for people who don’t get along with family members, the web keeps them close enough to maintain a connection, but far enough away so they can’t cause trouble (although some of them still manage to tick you off).

The Internet allows me to have a wider network

As writers and bloggers we know how crucial it is to maintain a large and healthy platform. Publishers value them, and so do potential colleagues. I can get my new blog post to a thousand people (potentially tens of thousands) in two minutes flat. Facebook, Twitter, Google buzz, Stumbleupon, Digg etc, are only some of the sites from where my creations can springboard to friends, fans, and fans of friends in minutes – literally!

How about you, has the Internet made you better in some ways? Do you think the positives outweigh the negatives?

5 Things I'd Sacrifice To Keep My Internet Connection

With the credit crunch in full swing, we all have to make heart-wrenching choices and tough sacrifices to keep spending less. If it came to a point where you had to sacrifice 5 things in 2011, would they include your Internet connection?

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Here in the UK, there are more dodgy cuts in the budget than in a grubby, back street salon. Each family has got to sacrifice quite a few things. With student fees rising and pensions plans evaporating, saving for the future has become an absolute necessity.  Of all the things we have to give up, I wonder how many people are willing to sacrifice their Internet connection. I can’t think of one family I know who would be willing to give their Internet up. I know that as a writer and blogger, I simply would not.

Here are the five things I’m willing to sacrifice in order to keep my Internet connected. What are yours?

Going out for meals

Now, we don’t do this often. In fact, we only manage to go out when my sister or my in-laws come over for a visit. However, I’d readily give up a few meals out in favour of keeping our Internet intact.

Music

I’d rather not buy any music, online, or otherwise again. As long as it means the Internet can stay.

Birthday/Christmas presents

I would certainly forgo my birthday or Christmas presents every year, in favour of the Internet connection.

Cinema outings

I don’t go very often, but if it means I have to watch movies on TV from now on to keep the Internet, bring on the couch and homemade popcorn!

Shoes

And this one stings! Internet connection or shoes? Internet wins hands down.

How about you? What would you be prepared to sacrifice in favour of your Internet connection?



If you enjoyed this post please share it on your favourite networking site. Thank you.

Facebook Users To Make Their Own Movie

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TV reality shows - love them or hate them, they are here to stay.



Whilst there are many reality shows already on television, there is one creative outlet that always seems to be overlooked... Writing.



However, if Sarah Eve has her way, that could all be about to change.



Having already written 2 books and with over 100 articles published on the Internet, Sarah has now embarked on a new project with a view of helping other writers get their big break.



“As a writer, I find it very frustrating that there is little support for a new writer to get recognition. Nowadays there are reality shows for dancers, singers, chefs – but nothing for writers. I want to change this.”



Following in the footsteps of reality show moguls Simon Cowell and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sarah has created a reality TV concept which is she is now trying to set up and pitch to the television networks.



The format is simple. Once in production, the series will be split into 2 halves. The first will be dedicated to writers, and will enable them to submit a screen play on a pre-chosen genre. The screenplays will then be shortlisted by a panel of judges for the public to vote and choose which is to be made into a film.



The second half of the series will then open up auditions to the public to find an actor for the lead role(s) in the film. Again a panel of judges will make a short list for the public to vote who wants to appear in the film.



The key element which makes this TV reality show special and stand apart from other reality programmes is that Sarah will be engaging the public from the very beginning of the concept - before it's even gone into production.



Under the banner of Make a Movie Project, Sarah has asked for input from budding writers and actors to help shape and contribute to the concept before approaching the networks.



“I want this reality show to be exactly what the public wants to watch and participate in. The winning screenplay will be written by the public, the winning actor(s) will be chosen by the public – this is effectively their show and their film. I am positive there are exceptionally talented writers and actors just waiting for their break, and I feel privileged to have a hand in creating this opportunity for them.”



Therefore, if you are a budding writer or actor, and you want to help contribute and support the project, please visit: this squidoo site or the official Facebook page



Thank you.

Editing Fails. How Not To Edit

A Blogger's Books has a reputation to keep! Here we fix things and make every effort to uphold the correct use of the English language (even though we all sometimes make mistakes).

Today we have something different prepared; something quite the opposite of the usual articles published here.

In view of the holiday spirit swiftly approaching, I thought we could afford ourselves a bundle of fun by looking at some amusing signs and notices.



Below are some examples of how not to edit your work.

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So that's where he learned the alternative spellings for words.

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This is what you do when you get to the scool door. 'Sotp', then turn around.

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I suppose it makes sense. 'Garage' is a terribly difficult word to spell, especially if you were hooked on 'phonics'  throughout your 'scool' days.

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Notice that this was written by the 'park police' as opposed to the real police. These positions were created mainly for people who had to 'sotp' going to 'scool' in favour of running 'groj' sales.

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Still, he got the longest word right. Or did he?

And for the more serious editors among us....

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Don't feel bad if you didn't pick up the mistakes in the last 3 pictures. Their creators didn't either. :-)