"I have a Wonder Woman lunchbox I’m going to mail out. There are little goodies inside. When you get the box, take one out, and put something inside for me. Send me a picture with you with the lunchbox. When I get the pic, I send you an address and you send it to the next person. And so on. Email me - include your address - at mightymur AT gmail DOT com if you’re interested."
That's author Mur Lafferty describing a new game she's playing to connect with her readers. Besides writing the book on podcasting, she's published short stories, written stories for 15 role-playing games, one textbook, and scores of podcasting scripts--and she knows how to keep a reading community together.
If you want to hear her work, check out Geek Fu Action Grip and I Should Be Writing, inspirational material for fledgling writers and struggling nerds.
This week, she's sharing some of her wisdom in my deceptively simple feature, Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a weekly set of quality interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web publishing.
If you want to read the whole interview, click here.
Jason Boog:
You built a fantastic web community around your blog and your podcasts. How did you create and nurture this community? Any advice for fledgling writers looking to find like-minded readers on the web?
The Online Writing Workshop for SF, Fantasy & Horror is good for the community building.
But as for building around your own stuff, it's important to communicate with your listeners/readers, ask for feedback, and give them a place to hang out. (forums, mailing list, etc).
Jason Boog:
Who are the writers that inspire you? Where are the websites that fledgling writers should be visiting for writing resources and inspiration?
James Patrick Kelly, Connie Willis, Neil Gaiman, and most of the podcasting authors. I liked the Online Writer's Workshop for SF and Absolute Write as good sites for writers.
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