The series of articles on Search Engine Optimization for authors comes to a close this month in the Working on the Web section of the forum. The final article provides details on how to keep web spiders from crawling those sections of your site you do not wish to have indexed. The article also explains why you might want to keep web spiders out, of certain sections of your web site, or of just specific pages. Another article explains how to protect your manuscript files to ensure you do not inadvertently make them the property of your employer or anyone else.
Next month, the Working on the Web forum will include an article on an often overlooked opportunity for self-promotion for published Regency authors.
If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.
In her third article on the business of writing, best-selling author, Gaelen Foley, offers advice for those who are working on their first novel, or even their fifty-first novel, on ways they can hone their skills as an author. In addition, she provides a list of books which she has found informative as a writer herself. Whether you are toiling with your very first manuscript, or you have already published dozens of successful romance novels, you are certain to find at least one or two new concepts here to help you advance your writing career.
It turns out that Cheryl Bolen is the founder of Society for the Prevention of the Writer’s Block Myth. Today, this best-selling romance author explodes that myth and shares a number of tips on how to entice your muse to perch on your shoulder and help you to write that next chapter of your WIP. She also reveals the secret known to all successfully published authors on how to finish that next book
This month, the Working on the Web articles include the complete guidelines for those Beau Monde authors who wish to submit a Featured Author posting to the Beau Monde blog. Whether you have just published your first Regency, or if you are a well-known, best-selling author with a couple of dozen novels to your credit, submitting a brief biography and your various web site and social media links is a service to those who enjoy your work. A Featured Author post will tell them something about you, and the links you provide will enable them to locate you on the web. As you will have learned from our ongoing series on SEO, each link to your web site or blog from another, relevant site will also help increase the search engine rankings of your site or blog. By submitting a Featured Author article for posting here, you do both your readers and yourself a service. The guidelines in the Working on the Web forum will provide all the information you need to submit a Featured Author article which can be posted without additional questions. In addition, you will learn a few tips on how a professional author should name files they are submitting for any kind of promotion opportunity. As a Beau Monde member, do be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to promote your books and inform your readers.
The article in the ongoing SEO series addresses some of the advanced navigation options which can help improve search engine ranking for your web site. However, these are advanced options which should only be implemented by an experienced web master or web site developer. But several links have been provided to SEO sites which provide the advanced information which your web master can use to further increase the search engine rankings of your web site.
In the Working on the Web forum next month, the SEO series will come to a close, ironically, with the information you will need to tell the web spiders to ignore certain sections of your web site which you would prefer not to have indexed or searched. In addition, another self-promotion opportunity for Regency authors will be discussed.
If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.
In this month’s article from best-selling author, Gaelen Foley, you will learn from a successful author how you can create a place for yourself that will not only enable you to write with less stress, but to truly enjoy the writing process itself. If you are now or want to write professionally, it means you are going to be doing a lot of writing. Gaelen offers you a number of techniques that she has employed to enhance her own writing environment which may help you to improve your own writing workplace.
The Working on the Web articles this month include instructions on how RWA members can set up their myRWA Forum Biography and signature line. The SEO article this month explains the basics on how a web site’s navigation links can be used to further optimize a web site to help improve its search engine rankings.
Next month, the Working on the Web forum will take a look an obvious opportunity for self-promotion which many authors overlook. Our series on SEO will explain some of the advanced navigation options which can be employed to improve the SEO for that same web site.
If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.
Many authors have turned to the Internet as their reference source of choice. But there are a number of sources still in that more traditional format, the printed book, which can also be of great value to authors, providing more convenient and sometimes even faster access to needed information.
Today, Cheryl Bolen shares her list of reference books which can be a valuable source of information to authors as they write. However, she does divide her list into two parts, the first part containing the writer’s reference books which she considers essential, the second part listing those reference books which may not be essential, but they can certainly provide authors with just that necessary bit of information as they wrestle with their current WIP.
Bestselling Historical Romance Author, Gaelen Foley, has generously given the Beau Monde permission to post her series of articles on the profession of writing, in particular, that of writing romance novels. We will be posting one article of her series every month for your edification and enlightenment over the next few months. This month, she will share her views on the many things a new author should take into consideration if they are planning to become a romance novelist.
If you are considering a career as a romance novelist, or have even started writing your first book, you may find Gaelen’s advice especially valuable in actually achieving your goals and being able to enjoy your success once you have done so.
This month’s Working on the Web articles cover a diverse range of topics. For authors in search of just the right name for the characters in their work in progress, a review of a pair of perhaps the most comprehensive name databases to be found online, which not only offer a vast list of names, but also their meanings and their etymology. Another article posted this month was an alert regarding the most vicious types of malware to be seen on the web in some time. Known as "ransomware," this nasty new malware literally holds the data on your hard drive for ransom. This article provides details on how to protect your computer and offers some options on what to do if your hard drive is locked up with a demand that you pay the villains. Heading tags are the subject of this month’s SEO article. Though many people ignore them, this article details how they can become a powerful option for increasing a web site’s search engine rankings.
Next month, the Working on the Web forum will take a look an obvious opportunity for self-promotion which many authors overlook. Our series on SEO will explain how the navigation on your own web pages can be used to improve the SEO for that same web site.
If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.
In the Working on the Web section of the myRWA forums this month can be found an article on the blog feature which makes it easy for a blogger to capture statistics on the number of readers of each of their blog posts. That same feature also enables bloggers to present a tighter and more appealing home page to their visitors. This month’s SEO series article covers the value of both incoming and outgoing links from other sites, how to get them, and how to know which links are a danger that can actually damage the search rankings of your web site or blog.
Be sure to check in on the Working on the Web forum next month. The SEO series will continue with an explanation about how those handy heading tags can be used to enhance the search engine rankings of your web pages. Those same heading tags, when used correctly, can make your web pages much easier to navigate for folks with visual impairments. And for authors seeking just the right name for one of the characters in their current WIP, a review of a pair of web sites which offer a plethora of both first and last names which can be searched and sorted by a wide range of criteria.
If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.
Some years ago, Cheryl Bolen spent some time talking to three authors and their editor who shared their suggestions on how to distinguish your work from all the other submissions which flood into every publisher. Though this article was originally published five years ago, much of the advice it contains is still relevant today, and the four ladies with whom Bolen spoke all offered encouragement to persevere despite rejection, by defining what a rejection actually means in the publisher’s terms.
The August articles in the Working on the Web forum range from advice on book promotion to the SEO value of images and tips on the legal use of those images. Featured Beau Monde author Regan Walker shared her advice and experience on promoting her newly-released book, Racing with the Wind. She has provided a plethora of marketing tips of which any author can take advantage to help spread the word about their own books. Our ongoing SEO series offers an article about how the images you use on your web site or blog can help you to increase the search engine optimization of your site. Those same techniques will also help to make your web pages more user-friendly for your visitors with visual impairments. A companion article considers the issues related to the use of images on web and blog pages and includes links to several sites which explain how to avoid legal problems which can arise if images are not used appropriately.
Next month, the Working on the Web article on SEO will explain the intricacies of incoming and outgoing links and how to understand their varying value in terms of search engine optimization. It is these links which make the Web a web. You can learn how to build your own "web" to make your web site or blog more visible in search engine results listings. The blogging article originally planned for this month, which will explain an important feature available for blog posts which most bloggers overlook, even though it helps them capture statistics on those individual posts, has been postponed until next month.
If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.
New articles have been posted at the Working on the Web forum this month. In the ongoing SEO series is an article about which meta tag you can use to compel the search engines to display your description of each of your web site pages in their search results listings, rather than allowing the search engines to simply grab any text off the page and display that with the search results. Though these descriptions are not indexed by the search engines, they do allow web site owners the opportunity to entice potential visitors to click on the links to their pages in any search results listings. Another article covers the top three online book-seller aggregators and explains how they work, how they are similar and how they are different. For those who are building a Regency research library, or seeking early or out-of-print books by their favorite Regency authors, these aggregators are a most useful and money-saving resource. In addition, a special article was posted for those Beau Monde members who receive emails from the Beau Monde Facebook group.
The SEO article planned for the Working on the Web forum next month will explain how the images on your web pages can help increase your site’s search engine ranking, even though search engines do not index images in their databases. In addition to improving a web site’s search engine rankings, correct use of images will also make a web site more user-friendly and accessible to those with visual impairments. A blogging article is planned which will explain an important feature available for blog posts which most bloggers overlook, even though this feature is their best option to capture more accurate statistics about their visitors and which blog posts they find of interest.
If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.
As was recently announced, Aurora Regency is actively seeking traditional regency novels for publication. From their submission guidelines: "Think Georgette Heyer, Barbara Cartland and, of course, Jane Austen." Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen retain their popularity even today, but how many born after the last couple of decades of the last century recognize the name Barbara Cartland? Offered here is a brief overview of her work by one who read and enjoyed many of her novels.
She was called the "Queen of Romance" in her day, though I suspect there are many romance readers today who have never heard her name. And yet, she is credited with writing more than seven hundred romance novels over the course of a seventy-year career. With her big hair, plumed hats and pink dresses, she became something of a caricature of herself in her later years. But she also did a lot of good in her long life, working diligently for many charities, and I think she was entitled to do as she pleased.
There are those who might dismiss her work as fluff, and perhaps some of her later novels might merit that description, but not her earlier work. The novels of Barbara Cartland gave me a lot of pleasure in my early years as a Regency romance devotee. May I share some reflections on the work of Barbara Cartland?
Could you use some tips on how to write that oh-so important opening paragraph for your next novel? The paragraph which will draw a reader in deeply enough to induce them to carry your novel from the bookstore bookshelf to the check-out counter? In today’s article, Cheryl Bolen will share some valuable information which she learned during a workshop offered by author Colleen Thompson.
The six principles which will help you write a powerfully compelling first paragraph …
Some very informative articles have been posted at the Working on the Web forum this month. These articles include one in the ongoing SEO series about how to correctly use the keyword meta tag successfully for enhancing the search engine optimization of your web pages without risking penalties from any of the search engines. Members who are engaged in research of the Regency period will find an article on the very first online library, which, after more than forty years, continues to add new material to its collections daily. This free online library offers a host of publications which were available during the Regency. And, unlike Google Books, this site offers only complete books and other materials, as well as a wide selection of audio books in multiple formats. Another article offers recommendations by Beau Monde members for the best online sources for promotional items. Want a mug, mouse pad or canvas tote with your latest book cover art? Click into the Working on the Web forum for recommendations from your fellow Beau Mondaines on the best sources. And, finally, for the convenience of all our members, the log in credentials for the online Regency Encyclopedia have been posted in the Working on the Web forum. Now, those credentials are available to you from any computer, at any time.
Next month, in the Working on the Web forum will be found an article on a valuable HTML meta tag which many web site owners overlook. Even though this particular tag is not technically used by search engines, it can be employed by web masters to entice searchers to click on the link to their site when it comes up in search results. For those seeking that special out-of-print or used book on a certain Regency topic, an article on the top three bookseller aggregators. Once you know about these sites, you will be able to search the inventories of literally hundreds of online booksellers, enabling you to locate and quickly compare prices on that hard-to-find book you need to complete the research for your next novel or that old-fashioned traditional Regency you read years ago and would like to read again.
If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.
Sometimes when I talk to fellow readers of historical romance, or even authors, and I mention a name from the past, an author who helped shape the genre, like Kathleen Woodiwiss or Rosemary Rogers, I get a blank stare in return.
Kathleen Woodiwiss (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It occurred to me that as lovers of a genre it might be helpful to read some of the classics to see where we’ve come from and to enjoy the greats who have contributed so much to the craft.
I’m not going as far back as Ivanhoe, Pride and Prejudice or Jane Eyre.
I’m not even reaching back to the seminal novels of Georgette Heyer in the early 20th century.
No, I’m starting in the 1970s when the bedroom door was flung open never to close again. And while I may not have included your favorite author, by reading the romances on this list, you’ll have a good idea of our beginnings and what so many wonderful authors have done for the genre.
Think of it as an education in modern historical romance. Where an author has written many novels (some early ones are still writing best sellers today), I tried to use their earliest work that influenced the genre.
So, here’s the list of the historical romances I recommend you read. Each has something to show you. Some may require you to shop online for a used book, though many are available as eBooks. I’m not saying they will all be your favorites, or that they are all mine. And I realize some readers will think I left off one I should have included.
This is a sampling meant to give you a picture of how the genre has developed over time. Most are novels I’ve rated 5 stars, so I promise you won’t be bored.
Included because of its significance…
• Bond of Blood by Roberta Gellis (1965)
The 1970s: The Pioneering Years
• The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss (1972)
• Sweet Savage Love by Rosemary Rogers (1974)
• Devil’s Desire by Laurie McBain (1975)
Devil’s Desire (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
• Love’s Tender Fury by Jennifer Wilde (aka Tom Huff) (1976)
• Captive Bride by Johanna Lindsey (1977)
• Caroline by Cynthia Wright (1977)
• This Loving Torment by Valerie Sherwood (1977)
• The Rainbow Season by Lisa Gregory (1979)
The 1980s: The Explosive Years
• Lady Vixen by Shirlee Busbee (1980)
• Skye O’Malley by Bertrice Small (1981)
• Devil’s Embrace by Catherine Coulter (1982)
Rose of Rapture
• Rose of Rapture by Rebecca Brandewyne (1984)
• Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught (1985)
• The Wind and the Sea by Marsha Canham (1986)
• The Hawk and the Dove by Virginia Henley (1988)
• Capture the Sun by Shirl Henke (1988)
• Edin’s Embrace by Nadine Crenshaw (1989)
• Sweet Savage Eden by Heather Graham (1989)
• Heartstorm by Elizabeth Stuart (1989)
Diana Gabaldon – Outlander
The 1990s: The Developing Years
• Dark Fires by Brenda Joyce (1991)
• Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale (1992)
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1992)
• Enchanted by Elizabeth Lowell (1994)
• The Passions of Emma by Penelope Williamson (1997)
• Kilgannon by Kathleen Givens (1999)
The Passions of Emma
The 2000s: The “Standing On The Shoulders of Giants” Years
• By Possession by Madeline Hunter (2000)
• Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry by Amanda Hughes (2002)
• The Captain of All Pleasures by Kresley Cole (2003)
• Laird of the Mist by Paula Quinn (2007)
• Broken Wing by Judith James (2008)
• My Lord and Spymaster by Joanna Bourne (2008)
• The Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran (2008)
• Raeliksen by Renee Vincent (2008)
The Captain of All Pleasures
Heather Graham
Reposted on The Beau Monde with the kind permission of member and author, Regan Walker, from Regan’s Romance Reviews.
A blog for lovers of romance novels, particularly historical romance–a forum where we can share great novels and our views about those we have read.
In addition to authors guest blogging, I will share my reviews, my favorite authors and my “best” lists. Come join us!
There is much to be gained from reading romance novels—more than just a good story to curl up with on a rainy night.
For those of us who love the sweeping historical sagas, there can be lessons in love as well as history. If I ever write a book about this, the list below may well be my chapter titles (I’d have illustrations, of course).
This month, new articles have been posted in the Working on the Web forum. A search engine optimization article explains how to get the greatest value from the single most important HTML tag on any web page, not only for improving your site’s search engine rankings, but also to enable your visitors to easily return to your site. An article in the safe web surfing category details how to construct strong passwords which will protect your online accounts, yet will be easy to remember, written specifically for romance authors. In this article you will also find a URL to a site recommended by online security experts where you can test your new password for strength. Drop into the Working on the Web section of the forum to learn how to build your own strong passwords, and then share those skills with your family and friends to help keep them safe on the web, too.
Next month, articles planned for the Working on the Web forum include a cautionary tale on the correct use of the keyword tag and a review of a web site which is a massive treasure trove of resources which will be of great value to any historical author, and they are all there, free for the taking.
If you are not yet a Beau Monde member, and would like to join us, please visit our Membership page for details.
Do the scenes in the novel on which you are working sometimes play in your mind like a movie? That could very well work to your advantage as you write. In today’s article, Cheryl Bolen shares tips from screenwriters which can help you strengthen the structure of your story.
