Archive for October, 2009

DailyLit Extern Projects Launch

I’ve always been a believer in internship and externship programs, particularly since I’ve been lucky enough in my own life to have greatly benefited from strong and supportive mentors.

We’ve started mentoring others here at DailyLit through both an internship and externship program.  It’s been wonderful to see the passion, insights and dedication that interns and externs have brought to DailyLit.  And these programs wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the programs’ overseers, Maggie Hilliard and Laura Kelly.

Today marks the launch of the initial projects from our DailyLit Extern Program.  We created this Externship Program for those interested in learning the digital publishing space – and there were only so many interns we could have working in our office at one time.  There were also a number of talented people working at large and small publishing houses who didn’t have the opportunity to learn the digital space in their current jobs. Incredibly talented people eager to learn was a resource we were eager to tap into.  And their projects show this talent.  For externs to complete their projects, they needed to dive into the world of social media, tap into on-line communities, start a blog and begin to tweet.  They also learned the basics of HTML (we gave them an introductory HTML class). The final projects are being launched on DailyLit.

You’ll see the fruits of the first externship projects  – “Authors in the Kitchen” by Megan Halpern here, and “The Ghost in the Pantry” by Erin Ferretti Slattery here. I hope you’ll join me in congratulating these externs on a job well done.

And I hope others will follow suit by starting their own mentoring programs.

Question of the Week #45: There Oughta be a Book

Not all of us may be able to write a novel, but we’ve all probably thought about a story that “ought” to be a book.

What’s the title of a novel you’d like to see written? Share your ideas in our Question of the Week forum.

Last Day to Enter Mini Crime Noir Challenge with Guest Judge James Ellroy

It’s here–your last chance to write a mini crime noir and enter it into our Reader Challenge with guest judge James Ellroy. The bestselling crime writer will select three winners, each of whom will receive a signed copy of his new book, Blood’s a Rover. Start thinking like a hardboiled cop and get to it in our Reader Challenge forum–you’ve only got until 11:59pm (EST) tonight!

3 Days Left in Mini Crime Noir Reader Challenge with Guest Judge James Ellroy

There’s only three days left to enter our Mini Crime Noir Reader Challenge. James Ellroy, the “Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction,” will be choosing three winners, each of whom will receive a signed copy of Ellroy’s new book, Blood’s a Rover. Ready to put on your detective trench and start writing? Head to our Reader Challenge forum here. And hurry–you’ve only got until 11:59pm on Sunday, October 4th!

Digital Publishing Group — New Talks Announced

The Digital Publishing Group, sponsored by DailyLit, is pleased to announce two new lunchtime talks that will take place in New York City later this month. The first will address the fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how to make search engines like Google work for you. Book publicity and how to connect authors with online communities will also be discussed.

The second talk will explain the fundamentals of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and how publishers can use highly targeted SEM campaigns to drive online sales. The strategic use of social media to build long-term connections between authors and readers will also be discussed.

Both talks will be given by Hanny Hindi, an SEO/SEM expert at Clickable.

You can sign up for these free talks here. The Digital Publishing Group can also be found on Twitter using hashtag #digpub.

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