Marketing and More

Meet “Twine Social” They Make Your Media Content Look Good! And My Friends At “Pro Writing Aid” Too!

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer Marketing and More, Writing Tips , , , , , , ,

Welcome Friends And Readers,

 

When I come across tools for Social Media, and ones that can not only make us Look Good across the Web, but save time and keep our media content in order, I enjoy sharing them with you. I recently signed up at; http://www.twinesocial.com/ because it seemed all my BFF’s & some of my supporters all seem to be there! Like my girls on Twitter; @SixBrownChicks  @ZondraHughes  @blackissocial, and @TwineSocial too! Here is a little more of “What & How” they can make you “Look Good” across the Web!
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Get your Twine Social Hub On!
Twine Social collects your brand’s social media content, and arranges it in a beautiful and dynamic view.
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What Is Twine Social?
Twine Social collects your social media content, and arranges it in a beautiful and dynamic view. It provides the tools you need to grow and engage your social audience. Display any social media content on your digital properties, and drive massive social engagement.
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Connect any combination of social media feeds, including hashtags, from any social media network and Twine Social will aggregate your content onto one stunning destination on your website, TV, video wall, or display.
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Your customers see your brand in action, making Twine the perfect social media hub.Twine is richly interactive and engaging. Get beautiful presentation of your photos, videos, and other social media elements on your digital properties.
Watch your user engagement skyrocket.
Award winning social aggregation. We bring a personal and effective approach to social media. Bring your brand alive with Twine.
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WHY CHOOSE TWINE?

+215% visit duration. +60% average page views per visit. Twine is the ideal tool to drive higher social media engagement.

Twine Features
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Twine is a powerful social platform, bringing together your social media content and streams from around the web. Our easy-to-use user interface enables you to quickly connect your social media profiles, moderate content, and promote your social media profiles in real time.
Supported Networks ~Twine supports every major social media platform. Connect your brand social media profiles, and your social content will appear – beautifully presented – in near real time.
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Pricing. All of it. No Hidden fees. (Really.) Each plan allows you to display social media from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus, and more.
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So what are you waiting for? Go visit them here; http://www.twinesocial.com/ and get stared today! I did! http://www.twinesocial.com/AuthorCatLyonLuvRecovery
I’m going to go add the rest of my Media Links.
Everyone’s there, so why not come JOIN in the Social Media FUN!

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OK Writers, Bloggers, and Authors, this ones for YOU! Meet the team at “Pro Writing Aid”
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My next share is of a wonderful and helpful writing & editing tool offered by; “Pro Writing Aid”… http://prowritingaid.com/ They have a free editing tool you can go try for yourself with a copy & paste sample of a post, then it will analyze it for you and tell you what needs fixed. You can download the software to use as well. So here is a little bit more of what they offer!
Improve and edit your writing
ProWritingAid is your free online writing editor and personal writing coach. Of course it checks your grammar but it does much more to help you improve your writing:
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Online grammar and spelling checker;
  • Online plagiarism checker;
  • Improve readability;
  • Find overused words;
  • Improve dull paragraph structure;
  • Find repeated words and phrases;
  • Check for consistency of spelling, hyphenation, and capitalization;
  • Eliminate clichés and redundancies;
  • Create a word cloud of your text;
Eliminate vague, abstract, and complex words from your writing. 19 free reports to improve your writing comes with service.
Our premium version makes editing even simpler…
If you’re a professional then time is money. ProWritingAid premium will significantly reduce the amount of time that you need to allocate for editing your work.
The premium edition of ProWritingAid combines our reports with a powerful document editor, allowing you to edit as you go and choose from a list of suggested replacements for grammar and spelling issues.
The premium edition costs as little as $35 for 1-year with significant discounts on multi-year, and multi-person licenses. Many people find that using the premium edition significantly speeds up their editing.
Premium subscribers can also access our premium WordPress plugin that brings the power of ProWritingAid into the world’s most popular blogging platform. Whether you’re a professional writer, a student, an academic, a civil servant, or a businessperson ProWritingAid will help you to improve your writing! .

Authors & Writers

For many professional writers ProWritingAid is the perfect way to save money on professional copyediting services. ProWritingAid will catch many of the same things as a professional copyeditor but without the cost.
A good professional copyeditor will cost at least $40 an hour. Using ProWritingAid before sending your work to a copyeditor will save you money and leave the editor free to concentrate on more important stylistic issues.
ProWritingAid has a number of reports specifically designed for the professional novelists, such as the pacing report that will highlight areas of slow pacing (e.g. back-story), allowing you to easily spot areas with too much back-story and not enough action.
*So go give “Pro Writing Aid” a visit and test your writing in their free editor tool and see the difference in your writing today. The have competitive prices for the “Premium Services” they offer too! http://ProWritingAid.com/
I hope these tools will help you as much as they help me. I really enjoy both. These are my own opinions and they are not advertising, it is from my own personal use and experience with both these Websites & Services…
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HAPPY WEEKEND & BLESSINGS ALL,
CATHERINE TOWNSEND-LYON
Author Of “Addicted To Dimes”
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0984478485

 

 

 

“Bye Bye Vizify”….Hello About.Me.com”!

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer Marketing and More , , , , ,

So it seems every time I find an awesome new place to “Share” myself, my books, and my blogs on the worldwide web, and the issues I “Advocate” for, they seem to get bought out, or just go away. Just like “Klout” has recently merged with “Lithium,” VIZIFY has been bought by YAHOO, and they are going away forever!

 

We’ve been acquired by Yahoo!

We started Vizify in 2011 with the vision of transforming the information that we all consume and create every day into something more beautiful and personal. We were awed and grateful to see this vision taken up by so many of you as you built and shared our graphical bios, info-graphic cards, and videos.

Since last summer, we’ve been engaged in a conversation with some of the incredible folks at Yahoo about the ways this more visual approach to data can inspire and entertain. As our conversations progressed, we realized we’d found a partner who shared our passion for user experience, design, and visualizing information. Ultimately, we just couldn’t say no to the opportunity to bring our vision to the hundreds of millions of people who use Yahoo every day.

As part of the transition to Yahoo, we will be sun-setting the Vizify service (read below for more detail). As for what’s next, we can’t talk specifics just yet, but we’re excited to bring a more visual approach to data at Yahoo. We have a lot more up our sleeves and can’t wait to get started.
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What the heck is going on around “Social Media”? Well I have only 2 words for YOU….
“ABOUT.ME”!  http://about.me  is a fantastic social media community that makes you look good across the web! So when I got the email about Yahoo buying Vizify, I was happy that I already had went to about.me and created a “Beautiful About.me Page”!
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It was fun, easy, and you can be really creative as YOU have the control over making your page! And did I tell you it’s FREE? YUP! But, they do have some excellent premium services as well, so if your website happens to be a virtual store or business, then they also have all you need to make your site “Shine” across the web with their low-cost premium services.
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I happen to use my About.Me Page as my “Author Bio Page and My “About Me” page on my blogs. It’s easy to do with their tools to share your page on your blog or website. The About.me staff are “Fabulous” too! I also use my link on Social Media as an introduction on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, asn other sites for people to learn more about me and what I do to help others in Recovery!
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It’s all about you!

Having an about.me page will make it easier for people to find and learn about you!
Benefits of using about.me?

  • Build Your Online Presence

    It’s a great place to start, or improve your presence on the web.

  • Public Profile

    Your public ID online. Visitors don’t have to sign up to see any of your information.

  • Market Your Business

    Drive awareness for your business with a simple, beautiful page.

  • Helps in a Job Search

    Give your applications a personal touch by adding your about.me URL.

  • Personal Homepage

    No need to know code or build your own site. About.me is free and easy to set up.

  • Central Point of Contact

    Stay organized by putting all your links in one place.
    Get Started – It’s Free.
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    So what are you waiting for? Go make your own beautiful, creative, and Free about.me page and see all the wonderful communities & people you can interact with. I enjoy seeing those who send me compliments about my page on Twitter, and you can share those through social media like on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and More!
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    I have made some wonderful connections through about.me! Go check out my “Author Bio Page” and learn a Wee Bit more http://about.me/AuthorCatherineLyon/
    And as ALWAYS, tell them you heard about THEM from Author Catherine Lyon!
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    Hugs & Blessings Everyone!! *Cat*

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*I think we all know this won’t END WELL! Bye Bye Vizify*!

Just Sharing Some New Tips For Writer & Bloggers

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer Marketing and More, Posts ,

Hello and Welcome Friends, Peekers, & Visitors,

If you are a writer, author, and blogger like me, and looking for some places to get more traffic and exposure for what ever it is your promoting, then I have a few tips on some websites you may find interesting to go try for Free!

I do use these sites for many different reasons. To start, I moved my writers blog here to WordPress because they are a fantastic blog hosting site, and I set up and designed my blog to be simple and easy to read, all by myself for FREE. Their instructional video and written follow along instructions are the best for even not so competent computer users like me to figure out to easily make a blog. I’m more about “Content” on my blog than the “Looks” of my blog.

So as I come across many helpful sites that can make my writing or blogging easy and save me time with gained exposure, then I enjoy passing it on to help others.
So if your thinking about a new hosting place for your blog, check out WordPress while your here.
My next 2 tips are to help you get more traffic to what ever you do. If it’s a blog, website,  for any purpose, and love “Social Media,” then you really need to check out http://about.me.com
Here is what About.me does for you, as I use and added my Page as my “Author Bio” on my blog. They have a link tool to add your about.me page into your Blog or Website!:
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It’s All About You!:

Having an about.me page will make it easier for people to find and learn about you.

Build Your Presence!

It’s a great place to start, or improve your presence on the web.

  • Public Profile

    Your public ID online. Visitors don’t have to sign up to see any of your information.

  • Market Your Business

    Drive awareness for your business with a simple, beautiful page.

    Helps With Job Search

    Give your applications a personal touch by adding your about.me URL.

    • Personal Homepage

      No need to know code or build your own site. About.me is free and easy to set up.

    • Central Point Of Contact

      Stay organized by putting all your links in one place.

*It’s a fun, fast, and easy to make a page, and you’ll increase your web or blog presence.
Here is my page, http://About.me/AuthorCatherineLyon *

This company is out of San Fran, that offers a free or cost upgrade page for you to create in little time. Their  community is different and “Powerful,” and you can follow,  your “Page” be followed, or complement other people’s pages, they can compliment yours with share buttons for Twitter and many other sites. You can make collections of friends with different categories. I get shared & complimented a lot on Twitter! So check out how About.me can increase you exposure on the web!
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My next site is brand new to me, and it’s also a great way to make a “Social Media Impression” through! You add all your Links on social media, your blogs or websites and they do all the “Mixing and calculating” to make YOU LOOK GOOD!

First, second, even third impressions don’t just happen across conference tables or at cocktail parties anymore. If you use social media regularly, chances are good that your future boss, potential clients, even your next drinking buddy, are getting to know you by going online.
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Just what are they getting to know?  It’s easy for them to find out you work at Acme Corp. But do they know you just ran a marathon? That you just finished reading the complete works of Dickens? That you make a mean bowl of chili?

Which version of you do they see? Which version matters?

At Vizify, we believe they all matter. Because you are more than the sum of your parts.   Vizify helps you transform all those interesting impressions you make online into one definitive, multidimensional, graphical biography, without ever asking you to face a blank screen. It’s the easiest, most advanced tool for showing the best of you online, all in one place.
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So I urge you to go check out WordPress.com, About.me.com, and Vizify.com and see if they can help you in any way. They do save me time and increase my web presence all in one!
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My next tip is for the “Writer” inside you! One of the reasons I started my Author/Writers blog here was for a few reasons. One is TOO WRITE!…LOl and write I do. I maybe a Published Author with my current book, Addicted To Dimes, (Confessions of a liar and a Cheat)……”Shameless Plug” http://www.amazon.com/dp/0984478485
But I set this blog up also to become a “Better Writer”…..

Of course a “Good Editor” can make us authors & writers look really good on paper, and inside our book covers, but I want to grow and learn as a writer to. So one place I do this is at: http://yeahwrite.me  …. They have several “Weekly & Weekend Writing Challenges.
Even though my passion is writing, I need to practice my craft in order to grow as a real writer.
So what better way then to do writing challenges. It is another reason I chose WordPress to as my blog host site. They also offer their own Weekly & Daily writing challenges as well. Here is a little about “Yeah Write Me”….
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yeah write
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A writer’s community for writers who blog and bloggers who write!
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Become A Yeah Write Subscriber!

Yeah write is growing quickly and it’s become one of the best groups for writers on the Internet. When it comes to supporting writers who have smaller blogs and writers who are learning to write for an audience, yeah write is the best you’re going to find.

Yeah write is:

  • the smaller blogger’s long lost tribe, the Okaformee Moonshiners. Mascot: four beautiful people soaking in a bubble bath of gin. Official flower: the iPad.
  • when we are on our best behavior, a blog reader’s paradise. There are no commercial or gimmicky sponsored posts snuck onto the grid. The casual surfer can stumble over us, click a thumbnail and start reading what we know will be a pretty decent personal narrative.
  • a surprisingly fun way to spend Tuesday through Thursday in good company while other, more dramatic, yet somehow less important, shiz is going down on the Internet.
  • experienced writers helping emerging writers helping beginning writers struggle with the decision of writing for a public audience. We do not abandon our beginning writers who speak up and don’t quit.
  • an open community where writers and bloggers can submit when they want and not submit when they don’t want. When you finally get bored with our shenanigans and unsubscribe, we heal our broken feelings with a new design element. True story. Typeface, graphic or WordPress template. Sometimes sushi.

Yeah write is not:

  • for everybody. And that’s okay. We all have personalities and working styles best taken in small doses, and ours come with a really long list of contradictions. Take our managing editor, especially, with food, hard liquor and big chunks of dark, cynical humor.
  • your writing partner. If you don’t have one, find one. Start looking here if you like, search a few writing groups, but beware the hidden agenda. Some people live to discourage the dreams of others. And some don’t know enough about the process, about the art, to be considered your writing equal. You need a writing partner, not an intern.
  • a replacement for a writer’s workshop or an instructor-led class. Sometimes, you just need to be in the same room with the person you’re trusting with your hard work.
  • your first drafts folder. Bring your best stuff doesn’t always mean bring it right now. It never means bring the best you happen to have on you, cohesive narrative be damned. Bring us your best stuff when you know it’s gonna be the best on the grid.
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WHY YEAH WRITE WORKS!

Yeah write is supported by a wonderful core of writers. Many of those writers have hung out with us since 2011, the year we got started bringing our own brand of the weekly writing challenge to the Internet. Along with that faithful core, we have a transient community of writers. Those writers may or may not know what it is we do here, and we are happy to explain on various pages published on yeah write for those willing to explore and click around.This “why yeah write works” page is being lifted from our yeah write #109 weekly writing challenge from May 2013. It’s long, it’s nearly 1500 words. It’s here if you need it and even if you don’t, kind of like the drunk uncle who is always good for a pint on your loneliest days.Thanks for reading and learning and for being here with us at yeah write, the best place on the Internet for writers who blog and bloggers who write.
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And last but not least….if you are a Blogger, you may want to check out, NetworkedBlogs!
It’s an interesting site that gets “Readers and Bloggers” together. YOU share your great Content to many New People and share News!  http://www.NetWorkedBlogs.com
Read your favorite blogs and news all in one place. Share on Facebook, Twitter or direct to friends.
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NetworkedBlogsNetworkedBlogs is a user-generated blog directory and syndication tools for publishers. NetworkedBlogs is one of the largest news apps on Facebook.

Ninua News

Ninua News is a fun and social way to get bitsize news while   going about your day. A user’s interests are crisscrossed with what’s   popular among friends to serve up a personal, social view of the news.

Available on Android, iOS coming soon.
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So take some time to go visit their site, as I have BOTH my Recovery and Writers blogs on the site and saw many NEW Readers to both my blogs! When I began to write my first book, one of the best tips I ever got was just “Write What You Know”…..

That is what I do on my Recovery blog. I share “The Rest Of My Recovery Story”there.
I also write about living with Mental illness & Emotional disorders in which I suffer, and I began to open up recently about being a “Sex Abuse Survivor” as well. It happened to me when I was a little girl, but……it added fuel to my addictions because I used addiction to “Escape & Hide” from the “Old Wounds” that came back knocking on my door in my early 40’s. Those pains and hurt contributed to my gambling and alcohol addiction, and why I went down that path. The drinking I got control over quickly, it was the addicted gambling that became my Major Demon. But I’m happy and PROUD that I just *Celebrated* my 7 year Recovery B-day a few days ago on Jan 29th 2014!!! And WRITING & Journaling was one of my Tools to get there! So,…I write what I know. So back to Yeah Write Me….
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*So if you enjoy writing and want to grow as a writer, I suggest checking out http://yeahwrite.me and see if they are a good fit for you. They use badges and Inklinkz to post and link your writing challenge submissions, as this to will increase your blog or website traffic as yeahwrite.me encourages all their writers to go and read all entry submissions and  “Vote” on the “Weekly” ones. I really enjoy their challenges! So these are my “Tips” for
this week. Off to find some news to share Next Week*!!
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Thank You for coming by!
Author Catherine Townsend-Lyon :-)

Just Some Writer Ramblings, Tips, and Idea’s…..

Catherine Lyon Author/Writer Marketing and More, Posts , ,

WELCOME,
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I spent the day catching up on some finishing touch’s on book number two, catching up on reading and visiting some helpful websites that I wanted to pass on to you.
First the ramblings as it is a New Year, it should be time too for all new passwords on all the important things YOU use a password for to change. Like Your emails, all your Social Media accounts like Twitter, Facebook, About.me, Path, Tumbler, Pinterest, maybe even your vendor accounts through Amazon, Kindle, and GoodReads, Barnes and Noble too!

Some you haven’t heard of you say? These are couple tips on more exposure for wares your promoting! Another great place to give you insight on the “Best Ways” to maximize your FB posts, Twitter posts, YouTube videos and more is my friend Robert at http://Sparkah.com he has all kinds of Marketing videos from his YouTube account that he shares on all the perfect ways to use social media marketing!

For Writers and Authors, it also means some New Year Goals in maybe publishing a new book. Have you considered using a “Fund Raising” site to help cover out-of-pocket expenses and publishing costs? That is what helped me last year get my book published and my e-book out this past May too! Since I had 2 different book covers, one for my paperback, and one for my e-book, I needed help with the costs. We all know the only people making the BIG BUCKS are those who are FAMOUS. Their books sell, but us “Penniless Writers” need some help!…LOL…

There are many to choose from like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and more.
That’s why I did some research, and the best one that fit my needs is “Go Fund Me” http://gofundme.com/5zeqjo This is my link to my “2014 Donor Dream Goal” for Donors to help get my next 2 books out in the world.

My last fundraiser was through “WePay.com and I had good success there as I raised enough to get my first book done!  But I wanted a more “Professional” look, and “Goal Levels” of giveaways for my Site this time around, and to be able to get my “New Donors” feel more involved in the Writing and Publishing process! So “Click On” my link above and take a peek at my “GoFundme” site and see how easy it is and creative you can be!

Another website I use, and really helps with marketing my book and both my WordPress Blogs is http://about.me.com  This is a new and fast growing network and community of ALL types of people! It’s free, fast, and easy to be creative on making a PAGE for yourself no matter what you do, or kind of business you have! They have “Share Widgets” to use so you can share your “About Me” page on your Blogs or Websites as your Home or About Tabs. I use mine on my Recovery Blog here.
Here is my link: http://about.me/AuthorCatherineLyon as I use it as my Author Bio!

MEET MY NEW FRIENDS AT NOKBOK!

Now I just came across an awesome website via Twitter! I wanted to share a little of what they do. If you are a poet, writer, published author, article writer, you really need to check out this website! It’s a fantastic concept that I have not seen much around before, an excellent way to make income as well, but in a very different way.
They are called: “NokBok” Read Unlimited Books…..  https://nokbok.com.
I have only met TWO of the web team members, Kailee and Joey, and here is a little of what they do as they bring Readers and Writers together!
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What is Nokbok?

Nokbok is a subscription based digital library of published and self-published material. Our collection includes books, journalism, articles, academic papers, documents, poems, short stories and more.

Publishers and authors can upload their written material to Nokbok for free and gain royalties whenever their work is read. Nokbok uses a unique royalty model where publishers/authors share in the Total Gross Revenue from the website.

Our vision is to build the world’s largest collection of stories and ideas and place it at everyone’s fingertips for a low monthly cost, while ensuring that the creators of these works receive competitive royalties. Through the Nokbok community, we hope to offer great opportunities for exposure to aspiring, self-published and published authors. Additionally, we desire to encourage people of all ages to spend more time reading and discovering. And finally, our goal is to become a community of action by reaching out beyond ourselves to give to those in need.

WHAT TYPES OF WORKS DO THEY OFFER?

The simple answer is. . . pretty much anything, and there is no limit to how much you can upload. We hope to see books, magazines, newspapers, dissertations, lesson plans, poetry, satire, political disputes, cookbooks, short stories, children’s books, works in progress, blogs, citizen journalism, published and unpublished books, journals, research, collaborations, articles, and serial stories. . . oh, and did we mention all of this in multiple languages. We have over 30 languages available. See the following link for a detailed listing of genres and categories: Nokbok Genres and Categories.

Nokbok uses a system of rating works like movies (G, PG, PG-13, R, MA) in order to protect young readers from inappropriate material and to ensure that all readers are aware of what they are about to read. We do not accept promotion of violence or sexual offenses, or pro-terrorism material. See Writer Terms of Service for a complete list of unacceptable material……
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So please, go give their website a look at: https://Nokbok.com become a member and read to your heart’s content. They have a great choice of Reads. Visit the “How It Works” tab, if you’re an author or writer, go upload you work and give them a try to gain more readership and earn a little “Cha-Ching” at the same time!

I think Nokbok is going to spread like wildfire once the word gets out! Make sure you tell “Kailee and Joey that “Author, Catherine Townsend-Lyon” SENT YOU! That’s it for today folks! Hope what I shared with you today helps in some little way!
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“Yes I’m an Author in Recovery, but my Passion is Writing”!
God Bless All!  Xo Xo