Tag Archives: Twitter

Episode #87: Facebook Changes & WTF RVA?!?

Following a super-sized Shared Desk, Pip and Tee fly on their own in this fast-paced, jammed-packed episode that we put together based on some current events happening both online and close to home. First, your hosts comment on the 800-pound gorilla of social media, Facebook. Changes have taken place and authors are freaking out. But should day? Do you have options? Well, of course you do; and after breaking down the Facebook situation, Tee and Pip talk about the good in diversifying your social media platforms.

The next current event is a rant. Tee lets loose on shenanigans happening in his hometown, and these shenanigans involve a con-artist The Shared Desk is more-than-familiar with.

00:00 —  Introduction

  • This is a suitcase we need to unpack seriously…
  • it was a good day today in Tee’s Twitch stream.
  • Always remember where you park your TARDIS.
  • How nice — a backlog for Smoky 2018!

01:25 —  Episode #87: Part One – Facebook Changes

  • Pushing back a chat with K.T. Bryski in light of Facebook changes that may affect authors.
  • Additional thoughts on this big change from social media rockstar Erika Napoletano on Facebook.
  • And The Oatmeal has some commentary on this as well.
  • So here we are — at a crossroads with Facebook.
    • Can authors still cope with Facebook?
    • The challenge of handling ads and handling boosted posts
    • The decision to launch an Author Page and just keeping a Facebook Page doubling for Personal Use
    • Blurring Lines
  • Diversifying Social Media Platforms for yourself
    • Where is your audience?
    • Resurrecting old platforms
    • Have you fired up that Twitter account again? Tee has, thanks to Twitch.
    • Instagram Tips and Tricks: Part One
    • Why active boosts with Instagram is great for Likes…but the Conversion Rate is crap. Here’s why.
    • Instagram Tips and Tricks: Part Two
  • Avoid keeping your eggs in one basket

16:48 —  Episode #87: Part Two – WTF RVA?!?

    • Moving on to a rant.
    • Remember this idiot from The Dog Days of Podcasting?

      Well, she’s back. (Thanks, Indiana Jim.)
    • A brief reminder of why this nitwit is not welcome at one of our barbecues…
    • And Tee learns that women can be categorized as jackasses.
    • Lani is coming to Richmond…to coach people on how to “navigate” the New York Times Bestseller List.
    • Shame on you, Writers of Richmond, that you welcome this con artist to a conferences for professional authors! Shame on you!!!

 

  • No, we’re not naming this conference because they don’t deserve the publicity.
  • Oh yeah, Tee is pissed.
  • The New York Times revoked Sarem’s standing and title, but both Sarem and conference are promoting her as a New York Times Bestseller.
  • Sarem’s bio…and it is a doozy.
  • How many people stay on the NYT Bestseller List for 23 hours?!
  • What the actual F–K, Richmond Writing Community.
  • Don’t even think about contacting this Hometown Success Story to speak at this Sarem-stanked event. It’s done. This conference is DEAD to Tee.
  • Just….GAH!

 

25:09 — Writers Off the Clock

  • Serena has a sleepover at a friend’s house…so we had some alone time…
  • …so they rented a movie. A movie with a somewhat divided opinion people have over it.
  • So Tee has never read The Dark Tower books, but Pip was a fan of the early volumes.
  • Why were fans upset over The Dark Tower series
  • Idris Elba gets the best costumes, even when the costume is an ugly tweed jacket.
  • Idris needs to do more comedy…
  • How we think it is best to approach The Dark Tower
  • Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey were amazing in this movie. Solid performances.
  • Distracting Daughter moment. Pardon us.
  • How The Dark Tower fits into the grander King-verse.
  • Idris Elba as The Gunslinger because… YEAH!
  • Idris-McConaughey fantasies….of all kinds.
  • Some other things The Dark Tower has going for it.
  • Worth your time. Kick back and dig it.

37:19 — The Wrap-Up

[display_podcast]

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

Comments Off on Episode #87: Facebook Changes & WTF RVA?!?

Filed under Episodes

Episode #84: What’s Going On at Goodreads?

We are horrendously late getting this episode out (but don’t sweat it as we’re going to be recording another one next week!) but let’s call it like it is: November was a cray-cray month! After a wild ride between the end of October and the beginning of November, The Shared Desk is reflecting on their week of solid creativity, and also share their thoughts about a creative Kiwi and his recent motion picture that you may have heard of.

So, yeah, it took us a few weeks to getting around to posting this episode. We blame jetlag, the holidays, and smoking meats…

00:00 —  Introduction

08:05 —  Episode #84: What’s Going On at Goodreads?

  • A development over at the social network for authors and readers worldwide: Goodreads
  • Tee thinks this Goodreads situation is actually a good thing, making authors stop and look at the value of a “giveaway” be it on Good Reads or book blogs.
  • What is the real R.O.I. on working with book bloggers and blog tours?
  • So now, what are independent publishers expected to do?
  • Publishers, from our own experience, do not throw money at authors and rarely throw money into promotion.
  • With the free giveaway gone, why stick around with Goodreads?
  • Disagree with us? Then sound off…
    • …on the voicemail at 703-791-1701
    • tee (at) teemorris (dot) com
    • pip (at) pjballantine (dot) com
  • What are the options remaining for authors?
    • Your email list is your email list. Always.
    • Social media platforms like Goodreads, Facebook, and the like? No, they are not there for you.
    • A content creator’s relationship with Facebook
    • Instagram and advertising — nice idea, but…
    • Speaking of Instagram, here’s the new schtick…
  • Tee has been returning to Twitter, thanks to Twitch.
  • Cover Reveals: Pro’s and Con’s
  • The great debate on writers blogging
  • Pip and Tee start planning for 2018…

29:08 — The Loot Crate Lookie-Loo

  • Pip is cutting the show short in order to get to this month’s Loot Crate!
  • Neither Tee nor Pip can remember this month’s theme. Tee guesses…and gets it wrong.
  • November’s Loot Crate: UNIFY
    • From Funko Pop, a Loot Crate exclusive of Overwatch’s Widowmaker
    • The mini Q-Fig celebrates the Power Rangers. (And if you blink, you might miss a Red Ranger sighting in Stranger Things 2)
    • The Tee-Shirt: Voltron…in elegant 8-bit renderings! (Maybe Serena could wear it as a nightshirt.)
    • Wait a minute, Loot Crate, you think your cat is looking rough-and-tumble in the Punisher hat? Hold on…from 2016, thank you……
    • Pin: Superheroes assembled!
    • Comic Book Reprint: Justice League of America (their first appearance), presented by Brave and the Bold
  • Divvying up the Loot
  • Pip sometimes misses those details that matter.
  • Tee is counting down to December’s Loot Crate: EXPLORE.
    • Star Wars
    • Destiny 2
    • Guardians of the Galaxy
    • ….and a mystery franchise.
  • Since we mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy, how about DAT TRAILER!

    • Total nerdgasm at the Morris household!
    • Mantis: “Hey, Hemsworth!”

36:25 — The Wrap-Up

  • A few thoughts on Star Wars Day in Woodbridge, VA. You might want to not compare the U.S. Boy Scouts with…
  • Quick shout-out to TD-0013, the only Imperial Stormtrooper I love!
  • December 16, 10a – 7p — Jirani’s Christmas Con in Manassas, VA
  • Sadly, no MAGFest this year, but…
  • Happy Hour from the Tower is heading to GuardianCon 2018 in July!!!
  • Other events confirmed for 2018:
    • RavenCon (April)
    • Steampunk Symposium (April)
    • Steampunk World’s Fair (May)
  • Eyeing up Balticon for 2018.
  • Two weeks of Shared Desk, I know, right?
  • When did Old town Manassas get cool?
  • Pip’s Patreon will feature the first episode of her ALL-NEW PODCAST!
  • If you have an event and want The Shared Desk to appear there, or if you just want to share an opinion about the show, here’s where to find us…
    • 703.791.1701
    • pip@pjballantine.com
    • tee@teemorris.com
    • …and social media, of course.
  • See you in two weeks!

[display_podcast]

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

Comments Off on Episode #84: What’s Going On at Goodreads?

Filed under Uncategorized

Episode #80: Promotion Across Audiences

Guess who’s spending some time with us here at Casa de Morris? Piper J Drake is in studio, and we are bringing her on the mic for a brand new episode of The Shared Desk. Our eightieth show gets its topic of discussion from Twitter, and with Piper in studio you can be guaranteed of shenanigans happening!

 

00:00 —  Introduction

  • A little bit of pre-show silliness
  • Stand back, everyone! We know what we’re doing!
  • Piper J Drake is in the house. And has she been busy…
  • Pip sneaks in an Operation: Endgame burn while also kicking off a new series called the Broken Dead, set in Southern Virginia.
  • Quick plug for the Proper Pie Company.
  • Do you name drop in your works-in-progress? Topic for another time.
  • How about Tee? What’s he been up to?
    • The third Edition of Podcasting for Dummies is done…and it is for sale! (Pre-order, of course.)
    • Chuck Tomasi and I are celebrating the Podcasting for Dummies release with a special workshop!
    • Quick aside: Matt’s running again, but he still has to keep up with Tee as he’s got the Dogfish Dash and The Woodrow Wilson Half-Marathon coming up!
    • Spent Labor Day weekend at Escape Velocity 2017
    • Tee completes The Dog Days of Podcasting 2017 Challenge! (Enjoy the extra shows, everyone?)

10:11 —  Episode #80: Promotion Across Audiences

  • Today’s show topic comes from Twitter, where…
    • Tee can be found.
    • Pip can be found.
    • Piper can be found.
  • Colin Coyle asks us on Twitter about the challenges we face in promoting our works across audiences.
  • Piper’s cross-genre journey as a writer, and how she found herself in the Romantic Suspense genre.
    • The Safeguard series (which was reflective of Piper’s science fiction Triton Experiment series)
    • The True Heroes series (which features in Ultimate Courage a very familiar someone…)
  • Does an audience follow you or do they follow the genre? How do you bring readers into new territory?
  • What about when you straddle both non-fiction and fiction? Can you successfully market across that divide?
  • Speaking of podcasting, Piper is spreading her wings into the podosphere with Writing Excuses!
  • Non-fiction works can be regarded in writing as audition pieces for fiction.
  • How does your voice change from work to work, genre to genre? And will audiences follow you?
  • Tee’s heard both of Peej’s voices, and he likes them both!
  • There are different genres we all write in, but there are common traits in what stories we tell and what characters we create.
  • How do you look at your works-in-progress and upcoming releases from a promotional perspective?
  • Pip tends to hear whispers from Nick as she’s working on her works!
  • Thanks again, Colin, for the show topic!

33:41 — What’s Cookin’, Writers? 

  • Things Piper would never here in her kitchen…
  • Pip indulges ina Jeff Goldblum moment.
  • We dared the impossible: The Ramen Burrito

  • What Pip, Piper, and Tee put into their Ramen Burrito
    • Ramen noodles (quality be damned!)
    • Fried egg (runny)
    • Grilled Chicken Strips (including tips on how to make the most of frozen chicken strips)
    • Seasoning includes butter, Sesame Oil, chicken spice packets, and Chinese five-spice
    • Cucumber for crunch and for greenage in your Ramen Burrito (but we offer options)
  • The Ramen Burrito may be coming to Smoky Writers…
  • Our experience inspired others to create variations on this disturbing theme!
  • Would we do the Ramen Burrito aga—YES!!!

45:29 — The Wrap-Up

  • This “In the Kitchen” segment will probably happen again when Peej is in town!
  • 2017 is coming to a close…
    • October 21, The Maryland Renaissance Festival’s “Day of Wrong” is coming. Stay tuned for details.
    • 28 October, Tee will be alongside Chuck Tomasi, hosting the P.I.Y. Workshop, a launch event for Podcasting for Dummies, 3rd Edition
    • And we have two events already booked for 2018…
    • MAD LOVE FOR JOHN STRANGEWAY!
  • Piper was taking a break from appearances, but we did have some fun with her at the 2017 Nebula Awards in Pittsburgh. She’s kicking off her 2018 Appearances with Coastal City Magic in Florida!
  • Tee and Nick are planning to take Happy Hour from the Tower on the road.
  • The Steampunk World’s Fair will be a full-circle moment for Tee, Pip, Peej, and the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.
  • And did you know that Pip has a Patreon? SHE DOES, YOU KNOW!!! 
  • If you have an event and want The Shared Desk to appear there, here’s where to find us…
    • 703.791.1701
    • pip@pjballantine.com
    • tee@teemorris.com
    • …and social media, of course.

52:20 The 2017 Podcast It Yourself Workshop and Book Launch

[display_podcast]

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or questions for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
We’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find the show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

Comments Off on Episode #80: Promotion Across Audiences

Filed under Episodes

The Dog Days of Podcasting 2017: Who’s Name Is on the Cover?

Special thanks to Corbin J Drake for the photo.

Finishing the second week of the Dog Days of Podcasting, Tee was a little worried that he didn’t have a good writing topic for this morning. Turns out he did. Sometimes, in this game, things are going to happen that are not your fault, but it is expected that you fix it. Why? Look at the cover. Whose names are on there?

Exactly.

This one’s for Chuck Tomasi.

[display_podcast]

 

Find Tee on Twitter here,
leave a voicemail or questions for the Dog Days of Podcasting at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
I’ll talk about it!

And remember, you can find this show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Comments Off on The Dog Days of Podcasting 2017: Who’s Name Is on the Cover?

Filed under Special Featurettes

The Dog Days of Podcasting 2017: Rejection

Special thanks to Corbin J Drake for the photo.

WE’VE BROKEN INTO DOUBLE DIGITS! And thank you, everyone, for the feedback through voicemail, Twitter, and Facebook, over the Dog Days of Podcasting. Tee goes long on this episode (hey, it took him until the TENTH episode to shatter the 15-minute mark, so that is saying something…) but it was a real hot button for him: Rejection. It’s a matter-of-fact that in life—not just the arts, but in real friggin’ life, rejection is going to come into play. How do you cope? Does it get any easier? Why bother?

Tee doubles down on a fistful of observations and opinions, and offers up a perspective on the big R.

Hold on to something…

[display_podcast]

 

Find Tee on Twitter here,
leave a voicemail or questions for the Dog Days of Podcasting at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
I’ll talk about it!

And remember, you can find this show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Comments Off on The Dog Days of Podcasting 2017: Rejection

Filed under Special Featurettes

The Dog Days of Podcasting: The Value of a Routine

Special thanks to Corbin J Drake for the photo.

Has the 2017 Dog Days of Podcasting challenge become a routine yet? Tee hopes so. See, a routine for a writer is a good thing. Routines help you get things done, and there’s real value in having routines for the day. Does this mean that routines go missed? Well, yeah, that happens. Life is not set in its patterns, and routines are sometimes disrupted. This is why they are so valuable to you as a writer.

[display_podcast]

Find Tee on Twitter here,
leave a voicemail or questions for the Dog Days of Podcasting at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
I’ll talk about it!
And remember, you can find this show on iTunes or Stitcher!
Subscribe, listen, and review.

Comments Off on The Dog Days of Podcasting: The Value of a Routine

Filed under Special Featurettes

Episode #57: The Value of Social Media (and Your Ability to Block Users)

TSD-back2back

Can you believe it? During CRUNCH WEEK, and we’re still on a bi-weekly target with shows…and from the looks of blog comments, questions from social media, and voicemail, it’s paying off! So welcome-welcome-welcome to another Shared Desk! Pull up a podcatcher and stay for a spell.

00:00 —  Introduction

  • Tee finds his true feelings about his better half via The Punisher.
  • Pip is stumped. Where did this drop-in come from? (It’s iZombie, one of Tee’s new favorites.)
  • You know it’s a traumatic Game of Thrones when you watch Penny Dreadful to cheer yourself up!
  • And the work within The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences continues!
  • Backers and their eReaders are very happy this week!
  • Pip is ready for the arrival and shipping of books!
  • JAM PACKED SHOW ahead…especially the Loot Crate haul! (Still unopened, so she really does love me!)

04:33 — The Value of Social Media (and Your Ability to Block Users)

  • Chuck Wendig makes a post on Facebook that resonates with Tee & Pip.
  • Chuck’s post…really does make a lot of sense.
  • Do you UNFOLLOW someone, or do you BLOCK? That is the question.
  • Did you know we have a few opinions on social media?
  • “Team Follow Back” = InstaBlock.
  • Grandma, lay off the booze!
  • Pip—and apparently, the entire nation of New Zealand—love the Unfollow and Block.
  • TD-0013 and I do not always agree…but we respect each other.
  • Why do you want jerks in your life? To build character?
  • “But you might block a fan!” Well, we just talked about that…
  • So far, we haven’t encountered any problems…on our pro Pages. Our personal feeds, however…
  • Some terrific advice: “You don’t owe them a damn thing.”
  • Both professional and personal feeds have value. Treat them as such.
  • There is nothing wrong with comment moderation, with blocking feeds, and with overall social media management.
  • The Hodor clip now serves as a way to keep Pip in line.

17:51 — The Loot Crate Lookie-Loo

  • It’s a Lookie-Loo Times Two!!!
  • From Loot Crate, we got our Subscription…and a Special Edition!
    • May Theme: Power
    • Special Commemorative Crate: Aliens 30th Anniversary
  • May Crate
    • Avengers Infinity Gauntlet Grilling/Oven Mitt
    • An Incredible Hulk Figurine from Q-Fig
    • Plush keychain from Dragonball Z
    • World of Warcraft tee shirt (very high quality)
    • And a very cool Power guide!
  • Aliens Crate
    • The box is the crew carrier!
    • “Bug Stomper” tee-shirt
    • Alien Titan vinyl filter
    • 30th Anniversary hardbound Dark Horse graphic novel, Aliens
    • Cage Free Alien Eggs
    • Aliens metal print
    • Booklet also looks
  • Name that tune from James Horner
  • NONE OF THE ALIENS STUFF IS GOING INTO THE GIVEAWAY BOX!

29:20 — Listener Mail!

  • Still feeling the Loot Crate afterglow.
  • We’ve got feedback from a LOT of people this go-round!
  • Voicemail
    • Nobilis Reed presents a possible scenario for when you turn to family and friends for support.
    • Nick Kelly wants to know how sold are we on our upcoming series finale.
      • Tee and Pip chat about best and worst finales from television.
      • How do we feel about the approaching end of the Ministry?
  • Maria Myrbeck asks for a cost-effective solution for organizing notes. We offer Evernote.
  • Michael Spence wants to sell books. Is that hard? With the Square, nope.
  • Wait—we have a Square upgrade?!
  • And comments from the blog!!!
  • We’d better wrap this show up as the moonshine is kicking in with Tee!

46:32 — Wrapping up

  • We managed to get A LOT in this show!
  • What’s coming up for us?
  • Got thoughts or comments on this show?
    • We have voicemail — 703.791.1701
    • I have email — tee@teemorris.com
    • Pip’s got email — pip@pjballantine.com
    • You can find us on social media…
    • …and yeah, Tee is on Snapchat as TheTeeMonster
  • Pip’s going to stick her face into an egg now…

[display_podcast]

Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
on Tee, or the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences on Periscope
leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.

Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

2 Comments

Filed under Episodes

The Shared Desk — Episode #011: Concerning Reviews

 

Bleah! Between the Power Bug that Sonic Boom brought home from school and final reviews of The Janus Affair, Tee and Pip are finally back behind the mic, bringing a perspective on book bloggers, book reviews, and keeping it classy in light of a bad review.

00:00 — Introduction

  • We’re back! (Did you miss us?)
  • The joys of school-bred viruses
  • The Janus Affair is now heading to press.
  • What to expect from Wellington Eliza, and friends in the next few months…
  • A plea to whomever sent me the drop-in’s.
  • Working on steampunk faerie tales
  • Elder Cat says “Oh hai!”

08:01 — Concerning Reviews

  • We’d love to do a show on Scrivener, but writers (and now agents) keep doing some really stupid things!  
  • Elder Cat says “Oh hai!” again
  • Goodreads — an online network that loves Phoenix Rising.
  • It all started with a review…or two….
  • …and it ended with agents getting into the scrap.
  • Rule #1 of Reviews: Not everyone will love you.
  • How bad behavior affects your book
    • Tee still hasn’t read The Night Circus on account of spam.
    • The Tom Cruise Effect
    • How bad reviews reflect positively on authors’ works
  • An Authors’ WTH Moment: When Agents Attack
  • Respecting the Book Bloggers
  • How Book Bloggers Stand Taller than Amazon/Goodreads Reviewers
  • If you don’t want an honest review, don’t approach Book Bloggers.
  • Taking the fight to other networks like Twitter, Facebook, et. al.
  • When is it a good time to question a bad review?
  • Looking for common threads in good and bad reviews
  • Why you must love Book Bloggers…like our girl, Mel!

33:58  — Writers Off the Clock

  • Hold on — Tee’s got a WotC for Pip?
  • The name of the game is Skylanders…and we bought it for Sonic Boom. (No. Really. We did!)
  • A friend of Starla’s. A friend of ours. And her (bad) influence on the Boom…
  • Sonic Boom was fighting back, so we were looking for and advantage. (In comes Skylanders.)
  • And at 38:02, this happens…
  • What Skylanders is all about
  • How Sonic Boom plays into this new obsession
  • Feline distractions
  • Laying down the Law (and enjoying the results)

44:39 — The Wrap-Up

[display_podcast]
Find us on Twitter at either Tee’s or Pip’s account,
leave us a voicemail or question for the show at 703.791.1701,
or leave us a comment here at the blog.
Enjoy the ride
and we’ll catch you later.

1 Comment

Filed under Episodes