Yep, it’s Thursday again, and today I have a special guest, Theresa Milstein. I met Theresa through social networking, which is probably one of the reasons I so loved her topic for today, the online writer’s community.

The community of writer-bloggers is the most diverse one I know.  And that’s saying a lot living in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the US.  We’re ethnically, religiously, and economically diverse.  Our schools even have a LGBTA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Association) for parents and students.  But the blogging community is even more diverse.

Don’t believe me?

Here’s my evidence.

All we know about one another is what we choose to provide.  Some of us post pictures of ourselves, while others only show cartoon representations or even symbols.  Most use real names, while others use pen names or something related to the names of our blogs.

Often we have a country of origin to go by, but sometimes not even that.

We don’t always know:

• Religion
• Marital status
• Children or childless
• Age
• And so on.

So, what do we know about one another?

Our words.

What we say in our blog posts and comments.  We bare our souls in our posts and comments, in whatever social media tool we use.  Some of our relationships have deepened into friendships, with e-mails, calls, and even live visits.

I’d argue we share more of ourselves to one another than we often do to most of our friends and family members.  For only writers really know what it’s like to be a writer.

A rejection arrives.  A harsh critique is endured.

Who else knows exactly what to say because… let’s face it… been there, done that.

We follow and “friend” one another.  We’re critique partners and beta readers.  When something bad happens in one of our lives, the rest of us reach out.  And when something wonderful happens, we can rejoice.  (Swallow that envy.  Our turn will come.)

Even better, we promote one another. We believe in each other.

All of this social media can be called a time waster, a poor substitute for “real” relationships, and so on.  But when you disappear from the blogosphere, I’ll notice.  Then I’ll contact you to make sure you’re okay.  And when I’ve been beside myself, the outpouring of support has lifted me out of some pretty dark places.

I still have my friends and my family.

But I also have my writer friends.  (Even if a few of my writer friends live nearby, most of our interaction is on-line.)

I share much of myself on my blog posts.  But it’s also the best of me.  If I’m in a bad mood, I don’t take it out on you.  It’s easier to be a better blogging friend.

If you’re from the US, I don’t need to know if you’re from a red or blue state. If you’re in another country, it’s not important if you’re a US ally or not.  I don’t care if it’s autumn where you are while spring where I live.  If there’s a time zone difference, that doesn’t bother me.  Your religious affiliation (or lack thereof) or sexual orientation is not my concern.  There’s no age requirement.

You are a writer who has reached out and maybe touched me in some way.  That’s all that matters.

Imagine if we could make the world like we’ve made our writing community.  How much less judging would we do?  How much more focus would we bring to the things that really count?  If we can accomplish it here, why can’t we move these relationships beyond the blog?

What did writers do before social networking?  Seriously.  We have a utopia here.  Let’s treasure it.

Question for you: What aspect of the blogging community is the most meaningful to you?

Had a bit of a blog fail this week. As you’ve probably noticed this month, I’ve been attempting to blog as part of the A-Z challenge. Six days a week (one for each letter of the alphabet) would have netted me 26 themed(ish) posts.

But, I petered out around J is for Judging. It’s just too much, especially in the midst of a book release month. Early signs for the debut of Ordinary Angels are very good though! At least I know all the work has been worthwhile! So, I’m only semi-dropping-out of the challenge. I’ll still post several times a week… just probably not six!

So today, M is for Mercy Me! I can’t do 6 days a week!

Some catching up to do — I’ve been all over the web again this week, so now please visit:

In a guest post with Amy Rose Davis, I dig into character motivation and how to ask the right questions when developing a character.

At Creative Chatter, I talked about why I went from having a publishing contract to going indie.

I told author M.T. Murphy that I’d answer ANY questions in an interview, and he took me at my word. See the hilarious results and find out if angels poop.

Reena Jacobs interviews me and and asks what I would do differently in my writing career, if I’d had the benefit of hindsight.

Over at Chazz Writes, I answered questions, including why my university training in writing did little to help me get published.

And last but not least, Unabridged Chick is offering a second chance to win a copy of Ordinary Angels!

Today’s is a bit of a roundup post… just a few things I wanted to share with bloggy friends…

This week, L.J. Sellers wrote an article titled “Write What You Feel” over at her blog. She talks about something I’ve considered several times while writing… how the ups and downs of our own everyday lives affect our writing. She uses examples of how readers have responded to knowing about a writer’s life, and it made me think. Go read it!

Also I ran across something on Twitter called #1k1hr. That link gives a bit more detail, but basically it’s a self-challenge where you sit down and decide to write a thousand words in an hour. No big deal… I do that all the time. But the fun aspect of this is where Twitter comes in. It’s a twitter hashtag you can follow and see other people doing it, sometimes in groups. Like the #amwriting hashtag, I find it very inspirational to know there are all these people out there…writing…all the time… 24 hours a day without fail. It has this way of making me want to drop whatever I’m doing and go create something.

And lastly, I’m being interviewed today by the esteemed J.M. Strother of Mad Utopia, creator of #fridayflash and editor of the Best of Friday Flash collection. So come visit me over at the madhouse!

Happy Wednesday!

A bit of a mash-up post today!

First, a bit about blogs and commenting…

Yesterday, Techcrunch rolled out a new way to comment on blogs via Facebook. I have to admit, I loved the look of it. I think it would be pretty awesome to be able to comment on a blog via my Facebook ID, and have it automatically (if I wanted) post that article and my comment to my FB wall.

There was a time it would have bothered me to not be commenting with a link to my own website, but you could probably always add that at the bottom if you really wanted. Besides, I’ve discovered that although I get a comment-back from the poster, I don’t really get much in the way of traffic from comments I’ve left on other blogs. And, truth be told, I’m a lot less concerned with the number of comments I get anymore. I used to be  a real comment-counter. I wanted to do anything I could to get as many as I could. But then I realised I was spending two hours a day chasing blog comments. That was two hours I could have spent writing books.

So, question for you: Would you leave a comment on a blog that used your Facebook ID rather than having you log in?

Second: If you want to find out about my miserable road to being published, check out my interview on Scribbles and Steam this week. And in an interview with Glynis Smy, I reveal the craziest thing I’ve ever done.

And Lastly: As I mentioned on my Author Page on Facebook, I’ve started sending out Advance Review Copies of Ordinary Angels to reviewers. I’ll keep doing that this entire month as a part of the big release. (Oh how I wish that was as dirty as it sounded.) Well, I got my first response. Goddess of Blah Book Reviews posted a ‘spotlight’ about the book, but she’s saving the actual review for when the amazon/goodreads links are available. But… she posted this on my Facebook profile today:

This will be rated 5 out of 5 from us on amazon! I’ve not really read this stuff much – but wowza my boyfriend is gonna love the stuff I’ve learnt Thank you! I loved Zoe and Alex – a wonderful read!

– Goddess of Blah Book Reviews

I can’t tell you how excited I am!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I’ve added two (well, actually three) new pages to the site this week. So, see, I haven’t forgotten my dear bloggy friends! I’ve just gotten a bit caught up in all the bazilliondy things that I have on my to-do list. With the launch of Ordinary Angels coming out in just two short months, I have more to do than I have time for, but it’s gotta be done anyway! (The good news is, the book is FINALISED with the publisher! Yay!) Unlike some authors, I really don’t mind the promotional stuff. Not that I like talking about myself (that’s the worst part), but I do love meeting new people and making connections on the net.

Oh! But before I forget, I did write a guest blog post for my friend Ziggy Kinsella over at The Feckless Goblin. He put out a call for authors to write about publishing topics, so I whipped something up that I called “The Super Secret Cure for Writer’s Block“. It’s mostly snark, but hey, you guys love the snark.

Right, back to the new pages on the site this week. One is a place for me to thank people who are helping me promote Ordinary Angels. I called the page “Friends of Ordinary Angels” and it’s a list of reviewers, bloggers, and networkers (social networkers? spacebookers? tweeps? socialites?) and a few special folks that I owe a huge THANK YOU to.

I have been just overwhelmed by how many people have offered to do blog posts, interview me, tweet, share stuff on the social networks, and generally just get the word out. But I also get people writing asking what they can do. So I created this page: Become a Friend of Ordinary Angels. It’s things, ranging from big to small, that would be a huge help. And if you want to tweet, share, or blog about the book release, you will earn my undying gratitude. As I say on that page, it’s “gratitude that NEVER dies. It’s like… zombie gratitude, but without the rotting limbs, vampire gratitude without the blood and gore (but all of the sparkles), and angel gratitude with a totally awesome backup choir.”

Oh, and the third new page? This is a bit embarrassing. It’s a press kit. Shhh. Yes, I feel like a dork having a press kit. It’s nothing that interesting for my regular readers, but people have asked me for some of the same information over and over, and it’s just easier to have it all in one place. I’m only mentioning it to preempt some of the mockage I know a few of my friends will give me as soon as they notice it. And they always do, at least anytime there’s anything remotely embarrassing to notice. I’m not linking to it here though. No point in making their jobs easier. If you wanna mock me, I’m gonna make you do your own homework.

If you want to help even more than you already do (just by sharing your time and comments with me–which is awesome, by the way), you can help me get the word out about getting the word out. Heh. You could put out a tweet saying something like: “Earn @indiadrummond ‘s undying zombie gratitude by checking out this page: http://bit.ly/i5L4ai #OrdinaryAngels” or whatever you want to say. You can also share that link to your FB friends. Hey, just consider it revenge for all the virtual farm requests THEY send YOU. ♥

If you want to get involved, I’ve given lots of ‘contact me’ links in the post, but if you’ll say so in reply to this post, I’ll go ahead and put you down. I know you guys aren’t as lazy as I am, but I might as well make it easy for you. Besides, it might distract you from mocking me about the press kit nonsense.

I hope you all have had as productive a start to 2011 as I have! (But maybe more restful. With more pie. Everyone could use more pie.)

Like most people with blogs, I do love an occassional redesign. Some chicks buy shoes, I play with websites. I’d been wanting to redo the site though to something lighter and cleaner. And here it is! (If you’re reading this on a feed reader, and feedburner tells me that a hundred of you do every day–wow–then you’re going to have to click through to see the new look!) I feel like I have a new haircut and am walking around with a little extra (virtual) flounce in my step.

I was waiting for my cover art for Ordinary Angels, because I wanted to incorporate it somehow. I had thought about making it a part of the design, but went with the slider bar you see in the centre instead. I’m digging the new layout. It combines the feel of a website with all the info of a blog. I wish I could say I designed it, but no, all the schmanciness you see is way beyond my javascript-curdling brain.

The previous theme lasted longer than most, mostly due to the uber-awesomeness of the folks at Elegant Themes (who also designed this one–an anual subscription with them gives you access to all their themes, making them the best and best value “premium” theme designers out there, in my opinion.)

How often do you change your blog theme? Do you like doing it?

Literary Agent Jenny Rae Rappaport posted An Anatomy of a Royalty Statement, further explaining author Lynn Viehl’s blog post about her earnings as a NYT bestselling author.

It’s been a fascinating week over at Agent Nathan Bransford’s blog. If you are looking for an agent now or in the near future, or ever thought you’d like to be an agent or just read for one, the Be An Agent For A Day Game was an educational moment. The Guardian UK also posted an article about the event. The game is finished as of tonight, but it’s still worth reading!

There are rumors that Barnes and Noble are going to be coming out with their own eReader, after buying one of the largest ebook outlets out there, Fictionwise.

Moonrat posted an article about marketing that all authors should read.

Yesterday was #queryday on Twitter, replacing the more snarkily named #queryfail. The fallout from #queryfail had palpable results. Where #queryfail felt like a bunch of agents chatting around the  water cooler, #queryday felt like a polite and organised panel. Since some were still posting as of a few hours ago, I don’t think anyone has posted a summary blog post yet, but you can read through the posts (backwards) on Twitter Search. If you still aren’t on the Twitter wagon, here’s a list of tips and tutorials for Twitter beginners.

Although I usually avoid snark like … well, like something to be avoided… I think this post by writer Mary Walters about how Agents are Destroying Literature left me stunned. The responses are educational. Literary assistant Jodi Meadows posted a thoughtful rebuttal on her journal.

Jessica Faust talks about the Rise in Queries on the Bookends LLC blog.

And as a final note I’ll share something with you that I shared on #queryday. I recently found out (and apparently am not the only one flummoxed by this change in standards) that we should be using one space after periods instead of two, like many of us were taught to do in typing classes — back in the dark ages before it was called “keyboarding”. If, like me, you need to shed the two-space habit, and you happen to use MS Word, go into the grammar checker and select the option for “Spaces Required Between Sentences” and set it to 1. This will put a green squiggle line under any two-space breaks, thus showing you as you type, when you’ve made a boo boo. Although I typically turn off the grammar checker while I’m writing, using this method, I broke the two-space habit in only a few thousand words.

For example I find it interesting that people have found NixyValentine.com by searching for the phrases “word meters”, “the artistic temperment”, and “where do ideas come from”.

I find it interesting that the day Rachelle Gardener retweeted one of my Twitter messages (means she copied it, crediting me, as per Twitter conventions for those of you who don’t Twitter), I got double my usual visitors per day. Yes, one message meant HUNDREDS more readers than usual yesterday!

Twitter is by far the biggest source of readers for my blog, outstripping Facebook and Google, which are #2 and #3. I love Twitter, mostly because it’s fun to use, it doesn’t take much time, doesn’t feel like a chore like Facebook can, and I’ve made some genuinely good friends.

So what do I talk about on Twitter?  Well, a lot of my Tweets are responses to others, but I do seem to have a theme. Thanks to Tweetstats.com and Wordle.com for this:

(click image if you can’t read the words.)

Yes, this is an image of the words I most often use on Twitter.  Top 5 are: rt, think, writers, good, writing

Had to pop by to share this though:

Publishing 911
Outrageously funny.

Ooh!  Also I made a Facebook Group for the Writing Adventure Group.  If you’re on FB, join the group and I’ll be sending out updates when there’s a new Adventure!  All of the actual adventuring will still take place on blogs, but I thought a Group would be better than an Event, like I did last time.

This goes to what I was talking about, how experience really does make the difference in confidence!

In this post Renee gives ten practical, helpful, and uplifting tips for dealing with rejection.  I think this one is my favourite:

STEP NINE: Hone your craft! My personal favorite and the one step we writers can completely control on our own. Successful authors share one common trait: they never adopt the attitude that “they have arrived”. Each book is an open challenge to take their writing to the next level. They are constantly learning new techniques. Are you? Make a commitment to find out where your writing is out of balance (and, yes, everyone’s writing has areas that need honing). Commit to improving the weakest part of your writing.

Probably this one is my favourite because, as she said, it’s completely within every authors control. She also has other advice about how to keep things in perspective, focus on what you’re doing right, and stay positive.

If after reading that, you still need your spirits lifted, then check out Janet Reid’s post about the one that got away.  If that doesn’t make you smile, nothing will!