First Word

My post about the hateful behavior that comes out when people feel the "power" of being anonymous online sparked a response from several readers. Many of my readers applauded my post questioning the belligerent, nasty and hateful comment threads I commonly read online. I got asked if I get haters bothering 3L Publishing . The answer to that question is that I do receive the rare, unsolicited comments. I don't take any of it personally, though. People who dare to write spite and hate are not typically my friends or allies (obviously). Most of my true associates in my network wouldn't dare to say some of the nasty things I've read spewed out there. We did have this so-called "watchdog" group go at 3L pretty aggressively. I am sharing this because frankly I found it sort of funny. To be clear, the woman who runs the group has never worked with us. She never spoke to us. And she doesn't know a single client. She spoke out of turn and incited a flame war ...

I see all kinds of manuscripts land on my desk. Many of them, the authors clearly has not considered their audience. The first thing you ought to do before you touch fingers to keyboard is consider your audience. The biggest mistake you can make is to just write whatever you heart's content (or "content" LOL). You can sure do that absolutely, but don't for a moment consider that it's going to sell unless you've strategically considered its marketability. Here are some important things to consider before you start writing and your idea is just a genesis in your mind. 1. Who is your audience ? Men or women or both -- and what age group do you intend to appeal to? The young millennial generation, generation Y, generation X or Baby Boomers? Each of these groups has different likes and interests and ways of doing things. The millennial and Y generations are your tech-savvy group who will soon expect all their content on e-readers. You have to keep these points in...