Scribehead: The Next Big Thing in Social Media

To take a break from writing, I’ve been exploring other ways of telling stories. Film has been a wonderful outlet for me to get away from the words on the page and into the visceral quality of an image. As the law of serendipity would have it, the more short films I make, the more film seems to circle around me.

This week I caught up with Clay Sharman, the brain behind Scribehead, a product he first “imagined” on a napkin while flying back from Hollywood. His interaction with the entertainment industry helped him to identify the giant gap in the entertainment market that Scribehead is built to address, fill and ultimately eliminate through a combination of social media and web technologies facilitated by an automated tool that doesn’t exist in the entertainment world today.

Let’s find out more about how Scribehead can help aspiring filmmakers.

Can you describe Scribehead?

Scribehead is an entertainment web-portal that matches aspiring talent to entertainment professionals by finding common ground in the content. It’s what we imagine would occur if Facebook and LinkedIn were introduced through eHarmony with the intent of actually accomplishing something.  Scribehead is the first platform-based web-community of its kind and is built to grow as the user community grows. And we aren’t stopping there either…our thirty-month “roadmap” after launch will take Scribehead to even greater heights, making it the most engaging and interactive user community on the planet!

Who is it for?

Scribehead is for anyone who ever dreamt of writing, or acting, or performing on stage but can’t get past “No” and has no idea how to move forward. It’s for the writer, or musician, or actor in Iowa or some other place in the middle with no way to go to New York or LA and pound on doors in person. And, it’s for the frustrated professionals who are tired of endless pitches, knowing that maybe 1 out of 100 is worth anything. Basically, Scribehead is for anyone with a dream of entertaining others for a living. Just imagine if we could shift the current model even 1% in favor of new talent discovery…that would completely change the entertainment paradigm and essentially double today’s entertainment numbers based on current success estimates of 1% across all areas of entertainment (movies/TV, music and literature).

What are benefits of this platform?

Members spend more time creating new concepts and less time “pitching” because of our automated features. Industry professionals are only pitched ideas that meet their specific search needs. Connections can be made instantaneously through the system. No more issues with postage or long waits to find out if there is interest.

What’s Next?

Go to our Indiegogo campaign and see how we are creating a tool focused exclusively on getting you discovered!

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Inside the Writer's Studio with Rachel Thompson

There was a woman on Twitter who amazed me with her followership (then 16,000) and also her humor. Her #TellmeTuesday meme she had going kept me turning over ideas in my head for something to write each week. When I saw she was talking social media clients, other indie authors like me, and helping them figure out the Internet jungle, I jumped at the chance to work with Rachel Thompson.

rachel-1-1We did everything from a blog overhaul to keywords for my books on Amazon.com. Now she has over 139,000 followers and a new book out, Broken Pieces. No stopping this woman. We had great fun in the Writer’s Studio this week. Here’s what she had to say about her ideal place to live, where she works, and why you need a brand.

How would you describe your writing persona in 5 words or less? Mining experiences for universal truths.

Describe yourself in one sentence I’m a passionate yet introspective person who writes about the things most people try to forget.

Where would you live if you could live anywhere in the world? London.

Did you have support for your decision to be a writer? I wanted to write starting at age ten and my folks were great about it. As an adult, my husband supported it (and still does) but the practical things suffer: housework, appointments, etc,. and my kids don’t understand why I have to shut my door.

Do you read reviews written about your work? Yes. I’ve learned (from my many years as a sales and marketing rep) not to take anything people say personally and always look for ways to learn or improve.

What’s your creative process? I’m fascinated by the human condition so I’m always thinking about an experience or story I’ve read and figuring out a way to write about it.

Where do you write? I have a MacBook Air and I love it. I write in an office, though many times, when I’m with my kids, I’m writing wherever they are.

Do you have a day job? I started my own business in 2011 – BadRedheadMedia.com – to help authors learn what I’ve learned about social media and book marketing.

Do you have any advice for other aspiring writers? Ignore everyone else and just sit down and write. We all have our own style. Trust your vision. Once you’ve got it down, then work with professionals: editor, proofreader, graphic artist, formatter, marketing consultant. Focus on the writing, first and foremost.

Rachel breaks down some key terms the online author needs to know.

Meme: (rhymes with ‘theme). A meme is a theme, basically. Participate in writer and reader centric memes to connect with your audience (i.e., #MondayBlogs, #TagItTuesday, #WriterWednesday) etc. I also started the @MondayBlogs stream so people can share their latest post and retweet others that day (though you can post any day of the week – just use the #MondayBlogs hashtag and/or cc me at @MondayBlogs) and I’ll retweet you.

Branding: Figure out the main keywords you use and make those consistent across all channels of your author platform. We as humans are naturally drawn to the topics we write about. For example, I write about women and men, love and loss, relationships and sex. Therefore, I tweet about those subjects, blog on them, share information from others about them, as well as promoting my own work.

 

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Inside the Writer's Studio with Lori Culwell

The internet is a big, sprawling playground.  The changes of bumping into someone you know seem to be miniscule. Imagine my surprise when I opened my inbox a few weeks ago and found an email from author and PR maven, Lori Culwell. I had read one of Lori’s books years ago because a friend had passed it along to me as encourage to get off our duffs and get to writing.

Lori  is the founder and president of Get Creative, an internet consulting firm whose clients include Johnson & Johnson and Apple among others. She has contributed to Salon.com and the San Francisco Bay Guardian and divides her time between New York and Los Angeles.

After I gushed about how much I loved her work, Lori kindly offered to do a Writer’s Studio feature with us (and also two of her books for me to review). Learn more about the secrets behind this indie’s publishing success.

 

1.   What is your one piece of must know advice for aspiring writers
My one piece of advice for aspiring writers is:  write every day.   You’re only going to get better if you practice.   Aim for 2,000 words a day, that way when you get your book deal and have to deliver a 50,000 word novel, you won’t freak out and get writer’s block.  Writing is like running –if you do it all the time, it’s no big deal, but if you put it off, it hurts!
2.  Is there an unforgettable lesson you learned from writing this book you wouldn’t know otherwise about fiction?
During the writing of this book, I learned the value of the peer group.   My first novel (Hollywood Car Wash) was written pretty much all in one shot (it was a NaNoWriMo book, actually), but “The Dirt” evolved over several years and was the result of the input of some awesome people who are my friends and readers.   I think writers (or really, all creative types) should have a group of friends/ trusted readers who can say things like “This plot point makes no sense” without hurting your feelings.   Trust me, it is way better to hear stuff like that from supportive people who you know like your work rather than later on in your Amazon reviews.  🙂
3.  Any challenges for you as you wrote and published this book?
This book stopped and started several times, actually.  It was written several years ago, then the deal it was supposed to be part of fell through, so I put it aside for awhile so I could get over my angry feelings about it.   Then I got together with my fabulous friend and publishing partner (and now co-author on another book) Katherine Sears at Booktrope, she liked my novel, and she brought “The Dirt” back to life.  I was glad to get it out and start working on it again and get it out there.   I think that’s another good lesson– remember, there’s always a home for a story, sometimes it’s just a matter of timing.  So, keep writing and be patient!
4.  How would you start your next project? 
I write all the time (on my blog Funny Strange.net, on BookPromotion.com, and on LoriCulwell.com), and the writing I do now is mostly non-fiction, just computer stuff and helping people with their social media and their websites, which I think is really awesome and fun.  For fiction projects, I don’t have one going at the moment, though people have been requesting the sequel to “The Dirt” so I might have to take that one up soon.
5. Anything else you want to readers to know?
 I want readers who are also writers to know that there has never been a better time to be a writer!   Even five years ago, there was so much stigma around self-publishing, and now it’s like, the norm to do.   I’m so happy about that!  I work with agents, authors, and publishers every day, and it’s amazing how many self-published authors there are out there who are making real money.  Believe me, publishers are jealous, and they know you don’t need them anymore!   So, write, publish, get yourself out there with a website and some social media.  Take yourself seriously!!
Oh, and if readers have questions about their websites/ social media, feel free to ask me.  I’m always around!   www.loriculwell.com or @loriculwell on Twitter.
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