Are there any online websites that help with writing?

You mean apart from my site and blog!? Of course...and too many to list here. A few lesser-known good ones...

• A few years back, The New York Times ran “Writers on Writing," a series of short author-interview features on the writing process. The complete archive is at http://www.nytimes.com. (It’s free now with NYT-site registration. I don’t know if it will still be free when the NYT starts charging for some content.)

• #writechat: a weekly chat on Twitter about all things writerly. Follow it live on Sundays from noon to 3pm PT, or check it out any time at writechat

• A directory of writers’ conferences and retreats — http://www.writersconf.org/

• If you’re a published author, be sure to register with http://booktour.com, a great place to list your book-signings and other events and add more profile info. Relevant parts of your feed will be picked by many calendars of events around the country.

How does having an online event calendar help you? Do you get more bookings and people attending because of it?

Regardless of how you’re published, all authors must promote themselves and their books if they expect to get exposure and make sales. On online event calendar like booktour.com (http://booktour.com/author/mark_david_gerson) is great because it’s book/author-centered and because it’s feed is picked up by Amazon (on your author page, if you’ve set one up...and you should!) and by many local papers and events calendars. Do I get more people directly from these listings? It’s impossible to say. What I can say with certainty, though, is that any way you can make your name/books more visible will ultimately contribute to sales and event-attendance.

What's your favorite source to communicate through for online classes?

I don’t really have a favorite outlet. I find that my blog, my mailing list and the various social networks I belong to create a powerful promotional synergy. I don’t always know which outlet brought someone out to an event. I do know each feeds the other and together they build credibility for me and my books/events.


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