Events – Monica Valentinelli – Magic. Mystery. Mayhem.

Search Engine Strategies: I’m in New York!

Thanks for staying tuned to my blog, I’m going to have a brief interruption this week primarily because I’ve been attending a work-related conference through Search Engine Strategies: New York. I’m listening to speakers and sitting in on some interesting sessions where buzzwords are floating around and everyone is in a tither over a little something called “universal search.”

So please, bear with me as I return home to my family in Madison, a daunting “to-do” list, and a rather larger “in” box that is
waiting patiently for me at my cool day job. 🙂

Happy scribing!

March 18, 2008

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May 2008 Online Auction for Juvenile Diabetes from Novelist Brenda Novak

One of the really cool things I’ve come to enjoy is the ability to not only review books and network with other authors, but to follow up with them and their work. I was in the process of reading up on Yasmine Galenorn (I had reviewed her urban fantasy book entitled Witchling) when I saw that she was donating signed books and other collectibles to raise funds for Juvenile Diabetes. Ms. Galenorn has a vested interest in the auction, as does the founder, romance author Brenda Novak.

Here are more of the auction details:

Online Auction for Juvenile Diabetes

When: May 1 through May 31
What: Raising funds to find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes. From Brenda Nowak’s site:

all auction proceeds will go to the Fund-A-Cure drive of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (which means it goes directly to research). To find out more about this top-notch charity, visit their website at http://www.jdrf.org/.

Where: Details through Brenda Novak’s Auction Page

Prizes and Raffle: A healthy range of items from both inside and outside the publishing industry; you don’t have to be a fan or a reader to participate. Here is Yasmine Galenorn’s Auction Basket, but there are other items with a broader appeal like a camcorder.

Even if you don’t participate, I hope that this event inspires you to get out there and do something for your community or a cause you believe in. If you hear of any other writers who are out there, “doing good deeds,” please let me know.

Happy scribing!

March 12, 2008

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Google’s Blogger: Pros and Cons for Freelancers

Last year, when I started learning about SEO and blogging I tried an experiment. The goal was to learn as much as I could about Blogger (owned by Google) to build visibility and get some readers. After months of toying around with different aspects, I’d like to share with you the pros and cons of this free blogging software so you can ascertain whether or not it will work for you.

Setting Up Blogger

I found that there are quite a few good things about Blogger from a usability standpoint. First, it’s super easy to set up, especially if you don’t have a lot of technical or programming skills. You can easily rearrange the on-page elements to get the look you want, with a variety of themes that don’t take a lot of time to customize. I’d say truthfully, that you could get started blogging through Blogger within a half an hour.

Writing Conference at UW-Milwaukee March 7 to 9 2008

Billed as the conference where “you CAN succeed as a writer, the Sixth Annual Spring Writer’s Festival at UW-Milwaukee offers a variety of seminars for novices to the craft. I have a vested interest in this conference because my Netconcepts work colleague, Jeff Muendel who writes for a variety of publications including CNet Searchlight and Practical eCommerce, will be presenting. His seminar is one of interest to many authors, it is titled, “A Writer’s Website” and takes place on Sunday, March 9th at 9:30 a.m. Jeff works as an analyst and has a lot of expertise to share — he’s also a fiction author in his own right — so if you’re planning on paying the $269 to go, be sure to stop by and listen to his “must-see” presentation.

Jeff Muendel’s presentation is perfect for any writer, novice or pro. Here’s the synopsis of Jeff’s presentation:

Hone your Writing Skills – Take a Free Class!

When I was going to college, online courses were not really accessible to me as a student. The channel I could go through to “try before I decide” was either the local technical college or places like the UW-Extension office, both of which you have to pay for.

One of the great debates about building a career in writing, is the question of whether or not an author, editor, or freelancer needs a formal education in the craft. I have a BA, and several of my colleagues have Master’s degrees in the field. This whole idea of “formal education” may not work for everyone (universities are not very tolerant nor kind to “genre” authors), but at the very least it’s a good idea to hone your craft and “try” things out.