Only four more days until the start of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).  A group of writers met tonight to talk about how they are preparing to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  There was lots of discussion about chocolate and coffee...some mention of pasta and pizza...and a few good tips for NaNoWriMo newbies. 

My favorite tip of the night:  Don't allow yourself to edit or rewrite.

The whole point of NaNoWriMo is to turn off your internal editor and just let the words flow.  It's okay to write crap.  Crap can be cleaned up.  [pun intended]. Get your story down no matter how rough the draft is. Then on October 1st, you can start editing and revising.

Put NaNoWriMo to good use. A friend of mine has done NaNoWriMo for four years and has published work to show for it.

Writer promotion is a simple matter of being seen and heard in any and all venues where there is the potential for a writer to gain positive name recognition which ultimately translates into book sales.  Note that I said simple – not easy. Writer promotion takes time and planning, much like what it takes to write a novel.  Many writers want to promote themselves, but they don't know exactly how to go about it.  Here are some quick tips on promoting yourself online:

1. Get a domain name (preferably your name or your pen name)

2. Create a website. (Do it yourself or hire a professional web designer)

3. Join online writing communities.

4. Take advantage of free writing resources and forums 

5. Put your name and website url in your email signature. If you're published, add the name of your current novel.

Writer promotion can be fun. Make a list of other ways writers can promote themselves on the Internet.