Lorraine Devon Wilke- Author There are lots of rules in the writing game. LOTS. Ask anyone in the biz for advice, do a little research on norms and protocols, get active in social media groups on the topic, and you’ll be bombarded with generalized and specific do's and don'ts, articles with titles like, “the 10 most important rules of writing,” debates around, “are you an author or a writer?”, and certainly lists of what to avoid, what to absolutely avoid, and how to “do things right.” In the swirling eddy of contradictions and occasional hits of inspiration you will likely get… exhausted. But take a deep breath and know that, in the midst of all that information, you can glean enough good advice and worthwhile input to create your own set of protocols and preferences to fit your style, while still getting the job done. Here’s the trick: You have to be selective. You have to curate that advice. You have to experiment on your own to discover what you agree with, what you don’t. Let’s take the “book launch.” Now, there’s a topic that inspires prodigious amounts of opinion. Just this week I read a lengthy blog filled with…
Author Newsletter vs. Author Blog: Five Reasons I Prefer a Blog, and Six Reasons You Might Not
“The one with the biggest email list wins” is the current mantra of pretty much every book marketer on the planet. The author newsletter is supposed to be the most important weapon in your book marketing arsenal. Marketing experts tell authors their #1 goal should be to collect as many email addresses as possible for the purpose of sending our victims fans weekly or even daily doses of our spam news. This week Kristine Katherine Rusch wrote a great in-depth post on newsletters. She pointed out there are two types of newsletters that authors are using today: the old school, chatty letter that reads like the newsy Christmas letter you get from Aunt Susie. Those newsletters appeal to your established fans who know your characters, and want to know what’s coming up and what’s going on with you personally. Then there’s the newer type of newsletter which is like an advertising circular that aims at getting new customers. It’s all about marketing. It’s the latter I have the most trouble with. (So does KKR) but if you’ve got a lot of marketing savvy, it may work for you. Unfortunately I personally have negative reaction aggressive marketing, so I’m not comfortable with doing it myself. Should You…
It’s a Tough Market for Authors
Florence Osmund Author and Contributor When it dawned on me last year that I was making less money but spending more time promoting and marketing my books than I did three years earlier when I had fewer to offer, I decided to take a break from writing and focus on what I was doing wrong. Since my marketing strategy hadn’t changed during these years, I was pretty sure it was the industry that had changed around me, and I had to understand this in…
An Irish Tale and Guinness Chili- ready for St. patrick’s Day!
Secrets of the Apple Tree Tavern: The Making of an Irish Godfather (Irish Fires Book 1) by Mary Ellen Gavin In The Secrets of the Apple Tree Tavern, Mary Ellen Gavin writes movingly and deeply about the Irish in New York and in Dublin. Raised in an Irish family, she shared, “The joys and sorrows of family are taught to the Irish from birth. All good and all bad can only come from your Family. A brother who succeeds in life is your joy ... a sister who births a sickly baby is your sorrow. The Irish build strong family ties and know how to wield guilt. It is the way I was raised. I thrived from it and I cried from it ... more than some other families.” Life is seen through the eyes of Frances Fleming, an orphan of Irish immigrants during the Depression, then adopted by a tavern owner. Like the author, family becomes extremely important to him. At a young age, he is put to work, gladly on his part for his new “family.” His childhood is happy and his years filled with stories of Ireland and the “old ways.” So many of us are…
Promo Stacking- what is it, and how do I do it?
Promo Stacking For indie Authors Ricci Wolman Written Word Media Ricci Wolman of Written Word Media gave a great presentation on Promo Stacking at the 2018 Book Baby Conference in Philadelphia. Although the idea seems obvious, I think most of us don't take the time to do it correctly. We all know that we must do some book promotion - they don't usually do themselves! But how and when is the most effective and economical way to do it. What is Promo Stacking? It is running multiple coordinated marketing campaigns Within a set time frame With the goal of increasing the sales and rank of a specific title or series. Why do Amazon algorithms matter? Working with amazon is essential! Amazon is about to hit a new milestone capturing 50% of the retail ecommerce in the United States, dwarfing all other sellers. Amazon uses sales rank to support search placement, getting your book into a visible placement will increase sales- so sales increase sales! We’ve all noticed the bar below books saying “Customers who bought this item also bought…” Well, getting your books listed will involve the Amazon Algorithm recognizing your book. Why do book promotions You want to feed…
Record Your Own Audiobook for Audible
An Author’s thoughts on the Independent Author Conference 2018
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when I registered for BookBaby’s Independent Author Conference. I had attended author conferences before, but not this one, and not one sponsored by a company I had analyzed and ultimately decided not to utilize when I first started publishing back in 2012. Would it be a valuable investment? A networking event with ancillary educational sessions? Or a weekend of advertisements disguised as a conference? The latter, of course, would not have been a wise use of my limited business funds, and this was what scared me the most about this venture. As a small business owner (a.k.a. Indie Author), I hate wasting money. Almost as much as I hate getting a “hard sell.” Fortunately, I didn’t have to answer “yes” to the last question and the attending vendors offered value. Ultimately, the Indie Author Conference turned out to be a mix of events and skill levels, and worth my time. While many of those attending (or at least those I met) were at the beginning stages of their publishing careers, I made a handful of connections with authors who were not new, like me, but who also didn’t quite have a handle on…
Independent Authors Conference (IAC18)
What we learned: The Beginning (after you write a great book!) Philadelphia 2018 The cover, the title and the blurb are equally as important as a great story if you hope to make sales. Let’s think about your Amazon book page- The cover- needs to be eye-catching AND tell your story. The title- needs to say something about your story The blurb- needs to sell your book! How to do that? The best advice one of the speakers had was to spend hours looking and reading blurbs from other books in your genre that are selling well. Of course, you don’t want to “copy”, but best sellers get attention for a reason. If you have an agent, they are going to tell you to find comps and this means finding books that are similar to your book and see what they are doing. The blurb should be a bit dramatic. Many authors use over the top words because they get attention. “Deadly”, “Terrifying”, “Race against time”.- are attention grabbers. Many mention the name of the main character and another successful trick is to end with a question: “Can Meghan run and hide from the devil himself?” Sub-genre mentions also…
Advice from Steena Holmes “Branding with Intent”
Writers: Don’t Give In To The Pressure By Steena Holmes on Apr 05, 2018 02:23 pm If you are a writer, raise your hand if you feel the pressure to rush your process and just get those books out. (my hand is raised and I know yours are too!) There are so many factors to this rush: bills are piling up so many of your writing friends are releasing books in quick succession you keep hearing this is the only way to get noticed (ie. 90 day window) any other number of reasons to feel like you’re missing out Can I say something that might be against the norm? Stop. Slow down. Don’t panic. I know, I know, easy enough to say, but hard to accomplish, right? I’ve been there, in your shoes when I saw my income going down and my bills piling up. When I would hear of others talk about their numbers and stepped back so no one would notice me and ask how I was doing. When I would visit different FB writing groups and the advice was to write/publish/repeat as fast as you can in order to increase your visibility. Every time I would hear…
Lunch with Madame Presidentess.
Madame Presidentess by Nicole Evalina The first woman running for president is a tale filled with intrigue, scandal, enemies and lurid newspaper accounts, sexual innuendoes, financial scandals and marital woes. Biographical accounts are often brutal and vindictive. You might think I am writing about Hillary Clinton but she in fact was not the first woman to run for President. Victoria Woodhull ran for the office in 1872 on the Equal Rights Party, supporting women’s and workers rights. Writing about her run for president, Woodhull noted, “The truth is that I am too many years ahead of this age…and the unenlightened mind of the average man.” Nicole Evalina brings us a vivid portrait of Woodhull in her historical novel. She told me, “My portrayal of her comes from how I think she saw herself… I think she believed the ends justified the means.” A constant headline maker in her own time, because of later conflicts with suffragettes, Woodhull became a footnote, mostly written out of their accounts of the decades’ efforts to gain the right to vote for women. Yet Woodhull’s accomplishments were many: with only 3 years of formal education before 11, Woodhull published a newspaper, co-owned the first woman…
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Most Discussed Posts
- “I TRIPLE-dog-dare ya!”
- Handfasting- a commitment by joining hands
- Attention Mainstream & Self-Published Authors!
- Have you ever wondered how snowflakes are made?
- The Earl Of Wessex - Sons of the Wolf
- HOW TO WRITE A BOOK REVIEW IN 4 EASY STEPS
- Benefits of Reading to Children
- A little help!
- How to Source and Use Photos in Self-published Book Covers
- Sharing a wonderful romance book with friends - and a yummy Peach Cobbler!
- Grab a cup of tea, homemade raisin bread and a Mystery perfect for Valentine's Day!
- Drift away to Montreal in the 1950's and enjoy a French delight!
- Spend the day with Lavender Fantasy!
- Yummy Spinach-Cheese Pockets - without all the trauma Mirra had to go through!
- Can you imagine anything better than a good mystery and sweet rolls?
- A Proper English Lunch and a Great Mystery!
- A Great Thriller and Apple Tarts - Oh My!
- IT’S YOUR BOOK LAUNCH…PARTY IF YOU WANT TO
- More Thoughts on the Newsletter Rage-
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