This month’s Industry Influencer is Ron Hogan, curator of Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC as well the lit journal that helped launch the digital literary age back in 1995, Beatrice! He talked with Writer’s Relief about the online literary market, online author platforms, his favorite social media, and offered some helpful tips for bloggers.

Thinking of posting your poem on your Facebook page? Are you serializing your short stories on your blog? Reposting an already published essay on your official author website?

Wait!

Before you post anything else, you must follow some basic rules (and avoid certain pitfalls) in order to avoid getting yourself into hot water down the line.

This month we’re talking to Nathan Bransford, a former lit agent at Curtis Brown Ltd. and currently the social media manager at CNET. Nathan’s got some invaluable advice for authors when it comes to using social media to your advantage. An active blogger, Nathan understands firsthand the importance of networking, and he’s happy to share his expertise with all of you.

Enjoy the interview!

Let’s say a visitor has come to your author website. Maybe he/she read one of your pieces in a lit mag and wants to learn more about you. Maybe said person is a literary agent who is deciding whether or not you would make a good client. Or maybe said visitor is someone you met on Facebook or someone who was referred to your site by a friend.

The problem is, when your visitors leave your site, they’ll be gone forever—unless you give them a reason to stay connected. Creating an interactive website is key.

Creative writers who wish to go pro should have an author website. A Web designer can help you create a classy, interesting website to showcase your creative writing—or you can create one on your own. A great site can also help you sell books, gain readership, and create a Web presence (not to mention get a literary agent or editor).

GREAT NEWS! Writer’s Relief can help you design your author website. Check out Web Design Relief! We know the publishing industry, and we know great design. Check us out!

If you’re writing a book, or if you’re publishing short stories and poetry in literary journals, you may want to consider starting a blog. Blogging takes serious, dedicated effort, but the results can be worthwhile if you manage to catch the attention of a literary agent or editor with your blog. Want to know how to start an author blog? Read on.

Most of us who aspire to be career writers are active promoters (or at least, we’re thinking about promoting). Even if you’re not in the “giving book signings” phase, you may be in the “attracting an agent” phase.

It’s only natural that we want people to notice our writing. Adults aren’t much different than children when we’re proud of our work (“Hey Mom! Look at me!”). Lucky for us, social networks like Twitter and Facebook can be a great way to help people get to know our writing.

But here’s the thing: There’s a right way and a wrong way to promote your writing on interactive websites (like social networks, forums, and blogs). And we’ve seen writers do some pretty embarrassing and desperate things to get attention.

Not all writers are annoying. But those who are make the rest of us look bad.

So here are eleven things you should never-ever-in-a-million-years do when you’re promoting your writing online.