Tune In For #Platformchat & Get Your Questions Answered!

Christina Katz, The Writer Mama and author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, hosts a regular Twitter interview series known as #Platformchat, and I and author Seth Harwood will be guests on Friday, 10/23. From Christina's site:

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On Friday, October 23rd our #platformchat guests will be Seth Harwood & April Hamilton. Time is: 11:00 - noon PT (noon - 1:00 MT, 1:00 - 2:00 CT, & 2:00 - 3:00 ET).

Topic: Common sense podcasting & self-publishing strategies
Anyone with a Twitter account can participate. I recommend using Tweetchat.com and plugging in our hashtag, #platformchat, to follow and participate in the chat. Once you have a Twitter account, you can use your Twitter ID and password to get a Tweetchat account very quickly. I hope you will bring your questions on this topic and join the discussion!

Please note: #platformchat is monthly now. Stay tuned to this blog for updates. Thanks!

Here's a little more about our guests:

Seth Harwood (@SethHarwood) graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and can be found online at SethHarwood.com, where his podcasts of Jack Wakes Up and its sequels have drawn a devoted following. Jack Wakes Up debuted May 5th from Three Rivers Press (Random House) and is currently available everywhere books are sold. He lives in Berkeley, with his wife, Joelle, and teaches at Stanford University and the City College of San Francisco.



April L. Hamilton (@indieauthor) is an author, blogger, Technorati BlogCritic, leading advocate and speaker for the indie author movement, and founder and Editor in Chief of Publetariat, the premier online news hub and community for indie authors and small imprints. She's a frequent conference speaker on subjects related to self-publishing, and judge for self-published book competitions. In her popular self-published reference book, The IndieAuthor Guide, she offers aspiring self-published authors a roadmap to success. She is also the author of novels available in both ebook and POD form.

#platformchat moderators are:
Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Build an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (both for Writer’s Digest Books). A platform development coach and consultant, she teaches writing career development, hosts the Northwest Author Series, and is the publisher of several e-zines including Writers on the Rise. Christina blogs at The Writer Mama Riffs and Get Known Before the Book Deal, and speaks at MFA programs, literary events, and conferences around the country. Follow Christina on Twitter at @thewritermama.


Meryl K. Evans is the author of Brilliant Outlook Pocketbook, co-author of Adapting to Web Standards: CSS and Ajax for Big Sites and contributor to many others. The long-time blogger and gamer has written and edited for a bunch of places online and off. A native Texan, she lives a heartbeat north of Dallas in Plano, Texas with her husband and three kiddos. Though born in silence, she tries to show that deaf people are just like everyone else. Follow Meryl on Twitter at @merylkevans.

If you missed our recent chats, you are welcome to peruse recent transcripts:
September11th #platformchat
August 7th #platformchat
July 24th #platformchat
July 14th #platformchat
June 26th #platformchat

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I think this will be a great event, and I look forward to "tweeting" you there!

Publetariat Presents: The First Indie Author Stem-to-Stern Workshop Cruise!

*UPDATED* (see revision in blue, below)

Have you been wishing you had some time to speak with me in person about your self-publishing quandaries and questions, preferably while on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera? Or perhaps you've wanted to ask NYT bestselling author Scott Sigler how he crossed over from indie to mainstream success on the basis of his author platform, ideally while sipping a colorful cocktail out of a hollowed-out pineapple? Maybe you've wished you could quiz author platform and book marketing maven Joanna Penn about your specific book promotion situation as both of you lounge poolside? UPDATE: Kirk Biglione and Kassia Krozser will be presenting on Author Platform and Social Media For Authors. Or maybe you've wanted to publish your work for the Kindle and make it available for sale in Amazon's Kindle book store, but have assumed there's no way you could possibly take on that task without the help of ebook publishing expert Joshua Tallent and a neverending seafood lunch buffet?

Then this is the trip for you! From Publetariat:

In this exclusive, weeklong, all-workshop cruise aboard the Carnival "Fun Ship" Splendor (the one with the big waterslide you've seen on Carnival's TV commercials!), just 24 UPDATED: 30 attendees will have the opportunity to learn everything they need to succeed with self-publishing, ebook publishing, podcasting, author platform and book promotion from Publetariat founder and Editor in Chief / self-publishing expert April L. Hamilton, ebook publishing expert Joshua Tallent, authors and podcasting experts Seth Harwood and Scott Sigler, and author platform / social media experts Kirk Biglione and Kassia Krozser---all while enjoying a wonderful cruise vacation on the Mexican Riviera from March 7-14, 2010 UPDATED: October 10-17, 2010!

In addition to attending four, 3-hour workshop sessions on POD Publishing, Ebook Publishing, Author Platform/Social Media and Podcasting/Author Platform, each attendee will also receive a private, one-on-one, 45-minute coaching/consulting session with the speaker of his or her choice. This private consulting session alone is a $300 value. Add to this the opening night Meet and Greet, mid-week mixer and farewell mixer, and you've got a whole lot of face time with workshop speakers to get your questions answered and issues addressed as part of a very small group.

Also, we've scheduled all our workshops for "at sea" days, so attendees will be free for sightseeing and shore excursions on the three in-port days at Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. If you're already thinking about taking a vacation and attending a writers' retreat or conference next year, why not do both in this one trip?

For full details on pricing, the workshops, cruise itinerary, presenter bios, travel agent contact and more, check out the Indie Author Stem to Stern Workshop Cruise page, and if you're interested, register and get your US$25 deposit for the cruise in right away; there are only 24 UPDATED: 30 slots available, and once they're gone, they're gone!