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Articles about book / author promotion and marketing, and author platform.

The 5 Essentials Of A Powerful Book Introduction

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Introduction

Your book’s introduction is a quick way for you, the author, to explain how your book is going to help the reader. This explanation is what will make your introduction a powerful sales tool for you to use to hook the reader into buying your book and reading it. Buyers of your book don’t care why you wrote this book. They just want to know how your book can help them improve their life. Your book’s introduction gives you an opportunity to convince the buyer that your book is the best one out there that can help them. To do this you should include the following five parts in your book’s introduction.

1. The Hook – Why Should They Buy Your Book?

Answer this question properly, and you will sell more books. Here you must compel your potential buyer to read more of your book, so they will want to buy it. To do this you must grab the reader’s attention. Grab them with a telling snipped from your book, or a shocking news headline, or dramatic facts and statistics, or a famous quote. What are their concerns or challenges that your book will help them solve? Put yourself into their shoes, and explain why they should buy your book.

2. The Connection – Describe Your Reader’s Problem

Here you must make an emotional connection with your reader. You wrote the book, so you must really understand the challenges, problems, and risks, etc., that have caused your audience to seek out your book. Why is your audience having these issues? Why haven’t they been able to solve them? Why are these issues so hard to fix or solve? Explain to your audience why and how you know about these questions. Convince them that you are the one with the answers and that you want to share this information with them.

3. The Benefits – How Will Your Book Help The Reader?

The benefits to the reader are what will sell your book, so include several of your most important benefits. The reader is only considering buying your book and reading it because of the benefits that the reader will gain. Include some general benefits, and several specific benefits to reading your book. Keep explaining why they should buy your book. For example, “You will learn how to . . .”; Discover ways to . . .”; "You will improve your . . .".

4. The Format – What Will Happen In The Coming Chapters?

Here you will give the reader a quick idea about how your book is arranged. Your book’s table of contents has already given the reader a quick glimpse of how your book is arranged and what it will discuss. But here you will tell the reader about some of the other features that are not reflected in the table of contents. For example, tell the reader about the side-bars, tips, facts, stories, interviews, quotes, pictures, diagrams, appendix, etc., that you use to illustrate or enhance your chapters.

5. The Invitation – Entice The Reader To Read On

This is the conclusion to your introduction. Just like in a standard conclusion to an essay, quickly summarize what you have been saying in your introduction. Then close the paragraph quickly and enthusiastically with a very short invitation to turn the page and keep reading your book.  For example, “Turn the page and let’s get started”; “Onto chapter one”; “Let’s get started”; “Turn the page and let our journey begin”.

Conclusion

If you don’t use these simple sections in your book’s introduction, you may never achieve the level of sales that you and your book deserve. On the other hand, write a simple and straight-forward introduction with these five sections, and readers will want to buy your book.

This article was written by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. and originally posted on KunzOnPublishing.com

 

Questions To Ask Yourself Before Writing Your Book’s Introduction

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Introduction

Your book’s introduction is a quick way for you, the author, to explain how your book is going to help the reader. This explanation is what will make your introduction a powerful sales tool for you to use to hook the reader into buying your book and reading it. You must understand that buyers of your book don’t care why you wrote this book. They just want to know how your book can help them improve their life. Your book’s introduction gives you an opportunity to convince the buyer that your book is the best one out there that can help them. To do this you should include the following five parts in your book’s introduction.

1. The Hook – Why Should They Buy Your Book?

Answer this question properly, and you will sell more books. Here you must compel your potential buyer to read more of your book, so they will want to buy it. To do this you must grab the reader’s attention. Grab them with a telling snipped from your book, or a shocking news headline, or dramatic facts and statistics, or a famous quote. What are their concerns or challenges that your book will help them solve? Put yourself into their shoes, and explain why they should buy your book.

2. The Connection – Describe Your Reader’s Problem

Here you must make an emotional connection with your reader. You wrote the book, so you must really understand the challenges, problems, and risks, etc., that have caused your audience to seek out your book. Why is your audience having these issues? Why haven’t they been able to solve them? Why are these issues so hard to fix or solve? Explain to your audience why and how you know about these questions. Convince them that you are the one with the answers and that you want to share this information with them.

3. The Benefits – How Will Your Book Help The Reader?

The benefits to the reader are what will sell your book, so include several of your most important benefits. The reader is only considering buying your book and reading it because of the benefits that the reader will gain. Include some general benefits, and several specific benefits to reading your book. Keep explaining why they should buy your book. For example, “You will learn how to . . .”; Discover ways to . . .”; “You will improve your . . .”.

4. The Format – What Will Happen In The Coming Chapters?

Here you will give the reader a quick idea about how your book is arranged. Your book’s table of contents has already given the reader a quick glimpse of how your book is arranged and what it will discuss. But here you will tell the reader about some of the other features that are not reflected in the table of contents. For example, tell the reader about the side-bars, tips, facts, stories, interviews, quotes, pictures, diagrams, appendix, etc., that you use to illustrate or enhance your chapters.

5. The Invitation – Entice The Reader To Read On

This is the conclusion to your introduction. Just like in a standard conclusion to an essay, quickly summarize what you have been saying in your introduction. Then close the paragraph quickly and enthusiastically with a very short invitation to turn the page and keep reading your book.  For example, “Turn the page and let’s get started”; “Onto chapter one”; “Let’s get started”; “Turn the page and let our journey begin”.

Conclusion

If you don’t use these simple sections in your book’s introduction, you may never achieve the level of sales that you and your book deserve. On the other hand, write a simple and straight-forward introduction with these five sections, and readers will want to buy your book.

 

This article was written by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. and originally posted on KunzOnPublishing.com

 

 

 

5 Ways To Get Your First Draft Material Out Of Your Head And Onto The Page

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This month, thousands of people will write 50,000 words, but these will not be fully formed books, for this is an outpouring of first draft creative material and that is a hugely important distinction.

First draft material is allowed to be crap, and often is and it’s meant to be so.

So don’t worry! A perfect sentence does not appear fully formed on the page, and it is not followed by another one, and another, to create a perfect story in one go. That’s not how writing works – but it is the myth of writing which we must dispel.

“Writing is rewriting,” as the great Michael Crichton said. Remember that, and then go write 50,000 words of first draft material that you can shape into something marvelous later.

So how do you get your first draft material from your head onto the page? Here are some of my tips.

(1) Set a word count goal

This is why NaNoWriMo works so well for people, as you have to write around 1700 words per day in order to ‘win’. Many pro-authors, like Stephen King, have a goal of 2000 per day, even birthdays and Christmas.

If you don’t have some kind of goal, you won’t achieve anything. I really believe that. It also breaks the work down into manageable chunks.

For a full length novel, say 80,000 words @2000 words per day = 40 days of consistent writing

For a novella, say 30,000 words @2000 words per day = 15 days of consistent writing

Of course, you have the editing process after that, but you can’t edit a blank page. So set your word count goal, and get writing.

[Personally, I always use word count goals in the first draft writing phase, but I don’t do that many fiction words every day of the year.]

(2) Write Or Die

write or die This awesome software at WriteOrDie.com is a way to burst through the internal editor that snipes at you as you write a load of crap in your first draft phase.

The software allows you to set a goal in time or word count. I started with 20 minutes, and then you have to keep typing or it will play some psycho violin music, or the screen will start turning red, or in kamikaze mode, your words start disappearing. At the end of the session when you reach your goal, trumpets sound and you can save the text.

I highly recommend this if you are struggling. This is how I wrote 20,000 words in my first NaNoWriMo and created the core of Pentecost. Maybe 2000 words survived the culling/editing but you have to write a lot of crap to shape it into something good (at least when you’re starting out anyway!)

(3) Scrivener

project targets

Scrivener Project Targets

I wax lyrical about Scrivener all the time, but it has some cool productivity tools. You can set Project Targets, so 50,000 words for example, and you can also set Session Targets, so mine is set at 2000 words. Every time you sit down to write, you can have those targets floating by your work and the progress bar moves so you can see how its going. Very motivating.

I also like to put as many scenes in as possible before I start writing, so I have somewhere to start each day. So right now, I have 11 one-line scene descriptions that I can fill in as I go along. I will change them, add to them etc but it means that whenever I sit down for a writing session, I can start filling in the blanks if I don’t know what else to do.

There’s also a Compose mode so you can fill the whole screen with a blank piece of paper. Keeps you focused:)

(4) Set a timer for focus sessions, and use Freedom or other software to turn the internet off

As part of my daily productivity tools, I set my (iphone) timer for 90 minutes and then I write, or edit, or work on a specific project for that long. But you can start with 10 mins or 15 or whatever you can manage.

The important thing is not to get distracted in that time, and DO NOT check the internet or twitter or your email or make a cup of tea or anything. You can use software like Freedom to stop you accessing the ‘net if you really can’t resist without help.

(5) Get up really early and work while your brain is still half asleep

sunriseWhen I wrote my first novel, Pentecost, while working full time, I used to get up at 5am and write for an hour before work.

Johnny B. Truant recently did this to write 2 novellas in 2 months (although he started at 4am some days – ouch.)

I think the early morning helps because your brain isn’t polluted by everything that has happened in the day, and your internal editor is still asleep. However, this totally depends on whether you’re a night-owl and your family situation etc etc … so find your own groove, but the point is, you need to schedule some time that you don’t have normally to get stuff done.

[Here’s another productivity tip. I got rid of the TV nearly 5 years ago, about the time that I started writing, blogging and changing my life – there’s some correlation there!]

Trust the process of emergence

I heard this in an interview with Brene Brown on Jonathan Fields’ Goodlife Project, and it is totally true.

Even if you plot your books, sometimes you won’t know what is coming until the words appear on the page. Something happens when you commit to the page, to the word count goal and you write through the frustration and the annoyance and the self-criticism.

Creativity emerges. Ideas emerge. Original thought emerges.

Something happens – but only if you trust emergence.

You can see the process work itself through by checking out the journey of my first novel. It starts in NaNoWriMo 2009 with my first draft material and ends with 40,000 books sold nearly 2 years later. The core idea completely changed :)   but I hope it will encourage you to see that first drafts are just the beginning.

If you don’t force yourself to get the first draft material down, you will never have anything to work with. So fight resistance and get it done.

How do you get your first draft material written? Please leave a comment below. 

 

Image top: Bigstock Shakespeare, Flickr CC Sunrise by Pilottage 

This is a reprint from Joanna Penn‘s The Creative Penn.

25 Motivational Thoughts For Writers

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This post, by Chuck Wendig, originally appeared on his terribleminds.

 

With NaNoWriMo about to storm surge the writer (and wannabe-writer) community, this seems a good time to both tickle your pink parts and jam my boot up your boothole in terms of getting your penmonkey asses motivated. So, here goes — 25 motivational thoughts for writers, starting in 3… 2… 1…

 

 

1. You Are The God Of This Place

The blank page is your world. You choose what goes into it. Anything at all. Upend the frothy cup that is your heart and see what spills out. Murder plots. Train crashes. Pterodactyl love interests. Vampire threesomes. Housewife bondage. Demon spies! Cake heists! Suburban ennui! You can destroy people. You can build things. You can create love, foster hate, foment rage, invoke sorrow. Anything you want in any order you care to present it. This is your story. This is your jam.

2. Infinite Power, Zero Responsibility

Not only are you god of this place, but you have none of the responsibility divine beings are supposed to possess. You have literally no responsibility to anyone but yourself — you’re like a chimp with a handgun. Run amok! Shoot things! Who cares? There exists this non-canonical infancy gospel where Jesus is actually a little kid and he’s like, running around with crazy Jesus wizard powers. He’s killing them and resurrecting them and he’s turning water into Kool-Aid and loaves into Goldfish crackers — he’s just going apeshit with his Godborn sorcery. BE LIKE CRAZY JESUS BABY. Run around zapping shit with your God lightning! You owe nobody anything in this space. It’s adult swim. It’s booze cruise.

3. The Rarest Bird Of Them All

The easiest way to separate yourself from the unformed blobby mass of “aspiring” writers is to a) actually write and b) actually finish. That’s how easy it is to clamber up the ladder to the second echelon. Write. And finish what you write. That’s how you break away from the pack and leave the rest of the sickly herd for the hungry wolves of shame and self-doubt. And for all I know, actual wolves.

4. You’re Not Cleaning Up Some Sixth Grader’s Vomit

You have worse ways to spend a day than to spend it writing. Here’s a short list: artificially inseminating tigers, getting shot at by an opposing army, getting eaten by a grue, mopping the floors of a strip club, digging ditches and then pooping in them, cleaning up the vomit of nervous elementary school children, being forced to dance by strange dance-obsessed captors, working in a Shanghai sweatshop making consumer electronics for greedy Americans, and being punched to death by a coked-up Jean-Claude Van Damme. Point is: writing is a pretty great way to spend a morning, afternoon, or night.

5. Abuse The Freedom To Suck

Writing is not about perfection — that’s editing you’re thinking of. Editing is about arrangement, elegance, cutting down instead of building up. Editing is Jenga. Writing is about putting all the pieces out there. It’s construction in the strangest, sloppiest form. It’s inelegant. And imperfect. And insane. It’s supposed to be this way. Writing is a first-time bike-ride. You’re meant to wobble and accidentally drive into some rose bushes. Allow yourself the freedom — nay, the pleasure — to suck. This is playtime. (Or, as I call it: “Whiskey and Hookers” time.) Playtime is supposed to be messy.

 

 

Read the rest of the post, which includes 20 more pieces of motivational assistance, on terrribleminds.

Popular Highlights On The Black God's War

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This post, by Moses Siregar III, originally appeared on his blog and is reprinted here in its entirety with his permission. It seems like the Most Popular Notes feature on Amazon’s Kindle may be a very useful tool for authors; who among us wouldn’t want to know which passages our readers felt most strongly about?

So I bought a new Kindle Paperwhite, and it’s almost an amazing e-reader (Mostly, I love it, but there are some issues with the “white” part when using the built-in lights–namely, the background isn’t a uniform color). One nice new feature (okay, I lied. It’s actually an older feature even on my trusty kindle2, but I hadn’t realized that until today) is that if you click to “View Notes & Marks” on a book, you’ll sometimes get to see the top ten most popular highlights on the book.

 

Some books show these highlights and some books don’t. And you’ll probably see more highlights on your device than you’ll see on a book’s page at Amazon.

I’m one of the lucky ones, because my first novel does show the top ten highlights. Because I haven’t had any big news in awhile–semi-kidding, although if you want to follow my author news, my Facebook Author page is the best way, or on Twitter @MosesSiregar–I’m going to paste the top ten highlights (selected by the readers) from The Black God’s War here. I’ll list them in order with the most popular highlight at the bottom of the list.

1) “I know know how to fight him. His gods are a projection. They are just as false as this world. I know that. I will win.”

2) “You are a master in a tiny field. The ultimate truth still lies far beyond you. There is no end to evolution, to the unshackling of chains.”

3) [this is one a bit spoilerish] “his domain also includes the dark processes of life, including the balancing of what you might call sin. Our concept is karma. It suggests that whatever we do returns to us because in truth there is no separation between us all. So when we act upon another, we act upon ourselves. Evil acts come back to us, while good deeds bring good karma. As I understand your Lord Danato, it’s as if he is a god of karma.”

4) “The mind is the master of the physical world. The physical isn’t observed by the mind–it’s actually dependent on the mind.”

5) “Introspection, clarity, and creative imagination must come before action.”

6) “It’s the most recent worst day of my life,” she said. “Thank you for asking.”

7) “The descent to Hades is the same from every place.” -Anaxagoras [this is a quote, not my words]

8 ) “A man must act on his conscience. I would rather die than live by no greater principle than my own survival.”

9) “This is why our desires must be questioned before we undertake any great endeavor. If our values are flawed, our actions can only produce imperfections.”

10) “I believe it is not important how long you live, but that you give yourself to living. Live as only you can, with every part of you fully engaged.”

It was definitely fun for me to see what readers have highlighted in the book. Do you have any popular highlights on your favorite books (or on your own books) that you really like?

And if anyone still manages to read my blog even after all of my updates have been going to FB and Twitter rather than here, and if you can remember–without going back to the book–which characters said each of the above quotes, give it a shot in the comments [section beneath the original post] and if you get them all right I’ll have to figure out something really cool that I can give you. Maybe a signed copy of book two?

 

The 22 Rules of Writing

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 Today I have an infographic for you based on tips and advice on storytelling shared on Twitter by Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats.

Emma set out "22 Rules of Storytelling" based on what she learned working for the animation studio (responsible for such blockbusters as the Toy Story series and Finding Nemo). In my opinion there are some real gems for fiction writers in all formats and genres here.

The infographic was created by Jessica Bogart of PBJ Publishing, and is shared with her permission.

 

 

 

Note that I had to reduce the size of the graphic to work on my blogging platform. If you can’t read it clearly, you can access the full size (5 MB!) version at this website.

If you would like a printed, poster-size version of the graphic, you can buy it from Jessica’s Etsy store (not an affiliate link).

I particularly like Rule 12: "Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself." As a writing tutor myself, I can testify that one of the most common mistakes in new writers’ work is predictability.

I also love Rule 19: "Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating." If you stick to this one rule alone, it will put you ahead of 90% of fiction writers immediately!

I hope you enjoy reading "The 22 Rules of Storytelling". If you have any comments about it or suggestions for additional rules, please do post them below.

 

This is a reprint from Nick’s Writing Blog.

 

Note-Taking And Writing Apps For iPhone and iPad

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Sometimes it’s hard to find ideas for a new blog post, short story or a poem. That’s why it’s so important to catch them at the moment they come to mind.

Mobile devices are a great way to capture ideas, no doubt about it. You’ve got a mobile phone always with you. It’s much quicker to start writing ideas on a tablet than a computer.

Most smartphone or tablet users will probably agree that those devices are not meant to write and publish a complete piece of work. You can write draft posts, scratch new ideas, or list topics to be included in a presentation. You can and should develop them on a computer if you want to work with text effectively.

That’s why syncing is one of the most important features of any note-taking or writing application. It gives the opportunity to access your work from any device and to make your writing as productive as possible. 

 Notes

Available for: iPhone, iPad | Syncing: Gmail | Price: free | Default app

The default iOS note-taking application. Users usually neglect it as it’s very basic. Many still don’t know that the app can sync files via Gmail account. All updated notes are stored in a Gmail account, under a Notes tab. More details in this post.

If you write notes from time to time and need a simplest possible way to do it, you won’t need probably anything more advanced than Notes.

EvernoteEvernote

Available for: iPhone, iPad | Syncing: Evernote | Price: free | App Store link

The most powerful and advanced note-taking, idea-grabbing solution for iOS. You can add not only text, but also audio and photo notes. Access them via web browser and Mac or PC applications.

To start using the app you have to sign up to Evernote. A free account allows for 60MB of data transfer per month. Offline note-taking is not enabled, but you can send notes to your account via e-mail, to a special address created for your Evernote account.

With Evernote, you are either a powerful user or don’t use it at all. Premium account costs $5 a month or $45 a year. A comparison of features is available on this page.

SimplenoteSimplenote

 

Available for: iPhone, iPad | Syncing: Simplenote | Price: free | App Store link

Evernote made easy. The app is very simple to use, yet has all the features you would need. You can access and edit your notes from a web browser as well as many third-party apps and add-ons, listed here. You can publish a note and it will be available at a unique simp.ly url address. You can also share the note with others by tagging it with their e-mail addresses.

A free account is ad-supported. The ads are not intrusive, but if you want to remove them, you have to spend $19.99 a year or $1.99 a month for an upgrade to Premium account – which also enables Dropbox sync and writing notes by e-mail.

Awesome Note (+Todo)Awesome Note (+Todo)

 

Available for: iPhone, iPad | Syncing: Google Docs, Evernote | Price: iPhone – free or $3.99, iPad – $4.99 | App Store links: iPhone, iPad

Note taking application and to-do manager in one. Out of all applications featured in this post this one has the best design and richest personalization options. You can change not only a font but also a theme to match the type of note.

I’ve used the app for some time as I’m very keen to be connected with Google Docs ecosystem – and Awesome Note can sync with it. It’s not perfect, though, as you can only do it manually. It’s good to remember to sync before you open and after you finish your note to make sure you don’t lose anything.

To use Awesome Note on both iPad and iPhone you have to buy two separate versions.

MoleskineMoleskine

 

Available for: iPhone, iPad | Syncing: no | Price: free | App Store link

The official application of the legendary Moleskine notebooks. It’ll surprise you with a modern UI concept and design. You can draw sketches as well as add pictures and labels from a large selection of Moleskine icons. You can also geotag your notes.

There is no sync functionality, so the only way to use notes on another device is to send them as an e-mail to yourself.

ElementsElements

Available for: iPhone, iPad | Syncing: Dropbox | Price: $4.99 | App Store link

This is how I think a writing application for mobile devices should look like. Once you open a note you can focus on writing. The design invites to write longer forms, but you can always use scratchpad to write a quick idea.

You can check word, line and character counts for every note, send a note by mail or print it. The notes are synced back to your Dropbox account as .txt files.

iA Writer for iPadiA Writer

Available for: iPad | Syncing: Dropbox | Price: $0.99 | App Store link

The application makes writing on the iPad serious. It helps you focus on writing by providing features no other app has. You can use FocusMode to concentrate on one sentence at a time.

The keyboard is tailored for writing needs – word and arrow keys as well as most used punctuation marks are available without switching. Word count and reading time is shown at the top bar. You can manually sync notes with a Dropbox account.

The overall design, typography and care for details make this app a great choice for professional writers.

Pages for iPadPages

 

Available for: iPhone, iPad | Syncing: iTunes File Sharing | Price: $9.99 | App Store link

The ultimate text processor for iPad. It includes Apple-designed document templates, several formatting options and advanced layout tools. You can style text, set intents and margins and insert tabs with ease.

You can import and work with Pages ’09, Word and text files. Share your work as Pages ’09, Word and pdf.

Pages includes most of the features of the desktop word processor. The only question is, whether you really need them on an iPad or iPhone.

* * * 

If you are looking for ways to write and edit Google Docs on your iOS device(s), there are applications like Go Docs ($4.99) or Documents ($0.99). Use them with care as you can lose formatting of your original document when you open it in the app and start editing. This happened to me a couple of times. When I really need to change something in one of Google document, I’m using either Safari browser or Safari-powered G-Whizz.

My favourite app is Simplenote. You can’t write for a long time on an iPhone. iPad is not for writing a content but for curating a content. What I really needed was a simple, fast, reliable app which syncs notes across all devices seamlessly. Simplenote matches those needs perfectly. 

If you liked this article, please share it with your friends. Get free updates by e-mail or RSS, powered by FeedBurner. Let’s meet on Twitter and Facebook. Check also my geek fiction stories: Password Incorrect and Failure Confirmed. 

 

This is a reprint from Piotr Kowalczyk‘s Password Incorrect. 

Quick Tips for Contests & Giveaways

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When authors think about book marketing, they often begin with a groan. It seems like an endless trudge from one social media site to another, trying to spark interest in readers who have hundreds of offers, ads, and other promotions coming at them every day.

That’s not a pretty picture.

But it doesn’t have to be that way, and authors who find ways to stand out from the crowd get a lot more eyeballs on their books than those who sink without a trace.

One of the easiest ways to generate some interest and enthusiasm is by making your promotion more fun, and more rewarding for people who participate.

That’s where contests, giveaways, and freebies can boost your marketing to a whole new level. Let’s take a look at some ways you can use these reader-engagement and promotion tools to gain more attention for your books.

Contests Engage Readers

Like most of these promotions, contests are mostly used around the time authors are launching a new book and trying to get some attention while it’s new.

But you don’t have to be limited to just running contests during your launch. You can also tie them to holidays, special events, and any other time when there’s some link to the subject matter of your book, or just for fun.

And who doesn’t want to win something? What you give away is up to you, but you might be surprised how many people will enter your contest even if the prize is something modest like a $25 Starbucks gift card.

Contests bring traffic to your site, put names on your email list, and help spread your brand.

Tips for using contests: 

  • Choose a prize or prizes for your contest carefully. Most authors want to give away a copy of their book, but you have to ask yourself whether that’s going to motivate people to enter. Consider giving an e-copy of your book to everyone who enters your contest and you might get a head start on your word of mouth marketing by putting your book into the hands of a lot of people over a short period of time.
     
  • Keep the entry time limited, since our attention spans seem to be shrinking all the time. A contest that goes on for a month will likely lose steam.
     
  • The bigger the prize, the more interest and attention your contest will generate. If your budget is very limited, get some other authors together and run the contest jointly, with everyone contributing to the prize and sharing in the excitement on their own blogs. You can amass a lot of books in the same genre from different authors, for instance, for a more impressive prize, or chip in and give away a more expensive gift than you could manage on your own.
     
  • Clearly state the rules and deadlines for the contest when you ask for entries. Make sure your rules and deadlines are simple to understand.
     
  • Entries can take any form you like. For instance, if you want more comments on your blog, make commenting the way people enter. If you want links back to your blog, make the entry a blog post on the entrant’s own site that links to yours.
     
  • Be careful what you ask for. Don’t make posting a review a condition for entering your contest, as e-retailers have to be careful about authors trying to “game” their ranking system. You don’t want to run a contest and end up getting banned or demoted.
     
  • When the contest is over, get those prizes out right away. Follow up to deliver the goods, and make sure you post an article telling everyone who the lucky winner was.

Freebies and Giveaways

Besides being declared the “winner,” the next best thing is to get something for nothing. Giving stuff away is one of the most common marketing techniques, and it’s easy to see why.

If I offer to give you something of value in exchange for a few minutes of your time, or your email address, or for taking a survey, you’ll balance what the cost is against your own perceived value of the “freebie.”

Most authors want to use their book as what they’re giving away but, again, think about whether your new, and therefore mostly unknown book, is really the best thing to motivate people to take part in your promotion.

More on Contests and Giveaways

There’s a whole science to running contests that focuses on social media sites. If you have a good-sized following on Facebook or Twitter, a contest can be a great way to engage with your readers, spread the word about your books, and make a lot of new fans.

For instance, you might run an entire contest on Twitter and gain a lot of new Twitter followers at the same time.

If you decide to use Twitter for your contest, you’ll want to create a unique “hashtag” so people can follow your contest. This is a way to tag tweets so they can be filtered out of the stream of all tweets, and it will allow people following the contest to stay up to date with developments.

On Facebook, the most common request is to ask readers to “like” your fan page in order to enter. That’s a very low barrier and, depending on what the prizes are in your contest, you may want to raise the bar and ask for a comment, a suggestion for topics for your next book, or for results they’ve achieved using your ideas or your program.

These forms of feedback can be very helpful to your other promotions down the road, since you are soliciting testimonials at the same time that you’re running your contest.

The best guides for authors who want to incorporate contests and giveaways into their book promotion is to see what other authors are doing, and to approach it as if you were going to enter the contest yourself. Is it worthwhile? Will the prize motivate you? Is it fun?

Be creative, and use these proven promotional tools in your book launch. Your readers will thank you.

What results have you seen from contests or giveaways? Were you happy with the result? Got any tips for us?

Originally published by CreateSpace in a slightly different form as Promote Your Book with Contests & Giveaways.

 

This is a reprint from Joel Friedlander‘s The Book Designer.

5 Fanbase-Boosting Facebook Secrets

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Do you want to know something that makes me feel old?

Facebook has been around for eight years.

I was a sophomore in college back in 2004 when Mark Zuckerberg first launched the social media site that changed the world. Back then, only college students could have profiles on the site — making it easier for us to stalk meet new friends.

Now everyone (including your grandma) is on Facebook and happy to overshare every detail of his/her life.

But with the launch of the new timeline feature and the addition of in-page apps, Facebook has also become an essential, powerful tool for business owners (including us career-minded indie authors) to connect with fans.

 

Best of all? It’s FREE.

If you’re not harnessing the power of Facebook to promote yourself, find new readers and chat with fans, you’re missing out!

There are a MILLION ways to build your fanbase with Facebook fan pages and, to get you started, I’ve nailed down 30 tips you can start using today (15 here and 15 more I’ll tell you about later).

First, a few pointers!

As much time as I’ve spent on Facebook (read: a lot) there are still a lot of terms and such that I stumble over when making changes to my fan page especially.

Just to be sure we’re all clear on the lingo, here’s a quick look at the main components of your Facebook fan page:

Your Facebook fan page is broken up into a few different key sections — the cover photo, profile photo, apps/tabs and your about area (the ad pictured above is just to give you an idea of how big they are and where they appear on the website).

A couple of quick bonus tips on the Facebook basics:

  • Cover Photos: Update yours often (once a month, at least) but don’t ever include your website address in your cover photo (Facebook doesn’t like that, and can ban you for doing it — yikes!)
     
  • Profile Photo: This should always be a picture of you, so that when your updates appear in someone’s news feed they’ll see your smiling face right beside it! You can update it periodically, but it’s not as crucial to update your profile photo as it is your cover photo.
     
  • Bio Area: Make sure you DO list your website address in your about section.
     
  • Apps/Tabs: This the major area where you can get the most out of your Facebook page. Your photos tab always has to go first, but you have 11 other spots to add tabs with custom images, links, contests, etc. (See below for more!)

If you’re unsure about the difference between Facebook fan pages and personal profiles, shoot me an email and I’ll help you out with that one (took me a while to get it straight, too!).

1. Maximize your reach with Agora Pulse

Sign up for a free Agora Pulse trial to find out when most of your fans are online so you can maximize the views of your post (ours is Thursday morning between 7 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.!).

2. Grow your likes with WooBox

Use an app like WooBox to create a custom page with content hidden behind a “fan-gate.” That means it requires someone to be your fan before they can access the content, which then gives them that extra incentive to like your page! You can also choose a “friend-gate” option where someone has to get a certain number of their friends (you choose between 1 and 100) to like your page before they can see your special content.

3. Promote Facebook in your e-mail signature

Add your Facebook page link to your email signature, encouraging anyone you interact with via email to visit your Facebook page!

4. Host a contest on your Facebook page

Run a fan-only contest like a photo competition, trivia, giveaway, etc. with an app like SweptIn or WildFire. (Note: Facebook does NOT like users to have contests using only Facebook’s functionality — you MUST use a third party app to run a contest!)

5. Share a video

Upload video directly to Facebook to share with your fans. You could:

  • Answer some frequently asked questions
  • Share insight into how you developed your latest novel
  • Dish about what you’re working on now
  • Read a sample chapter of your book

Also consider sharing a book trailer or other promotional video for your book release!

6. Create an event on Facebook

Create a Facebook event for an appearance, book signing, Q&A or any other upcoming event and share it on your fan page!

7. Direct traffic to your page with a QR Code

Have you ever used your smartphone to scan a QR code? It’s a fun, easy way for people to go straight to your website on their smartphone, and you can get one for free!

Use your code in your paperback, media kit and any other print materials (like flyers and bookmarks) you use to promote your book. You can send people to your Facebook page or straight to your website!

8. Join a Facebook Group

Back in the day it was all about joining groups like “I *heart* Josh Groban” and “I’m addicted to Sims 2,” but now Facebook actually has groups that can help you network. Check out Authors Helping Authors, Authors, Agents and Aspiring Writers, and Authors & Writers Co-Op. (Note: Those are all open groups that anyone can join, but there are some closed groups which require an invitation to join.)

9. Announce your fan page to your mailing list

Use the power of your mailing list to drive traffic to your Facebook page by promoting it in your next newsletter or e-mail. Don’t just relegate it to the sidebar either — make an announcement, promote Facebook-only content, or advertise a Facebook contest.

10. Take advantage of a captive audience via SMS

Next time you have the attention of a group of fans at a signing event, appearance or speaking engagement, encourage them to pull out their smart phones and text “fan [yourusername]” or “like [yourusername]” (without the quotes, obviously) to 32665. This will automatically make them like your page – abracadabra!

11. Use your Facebok link to leave blog comments

When you’re commenting on another blog, instead of using your website link in the URL space, why not leave your Facebook fan page URL instead? Other commenters will be able to connect with you immediately via Facebook, instead of going to your website where they might have to search for a way to contact you!

12. Install a “Like” Button for your posts

WordPress has several plug-ins (like this one or Digg Digg, which we use) that will let your readers “like” a specific post directly from your website. Using a feature like this (to cut out the extra step of your fans going to Facebook to share your post) is a win-win!

13. Connect your Facebook fan page to Twitter

Cross-promotion between your social media networks is a must! WooBox has a free app you can use to add your Twitter account to your Facebook page. It brings your Twitter profile and latest tweets right into Facebook, so fans can easily check for updates, follow you and see your newest activity without leaving Facebook.

14. Connect your Facebook fan page to Pinterest

Ditto the above for Pinterest — this is an awesome way to showcase your boards on your Facebook fan page and again, WooBox has a free app to make that happen.

15. Connect your Facebook fan page to GoodReads

Do you see a pattern? This one is little different than Twitter and Pinterest, however. GoodReads has its own app you can add to your personal profile to share your latest activity on that social network, but I wasn’t able to find one specifically for fan pages. BUT, you can use WooBox’s regular HTML page and drop in the link for your GoodReads account. We’ll even help you out with this GoodReads tab image that you can download and use for the custom image!

But wait…there’s more!

We have 15 more tips for using Facebook, but we hid them — guess where?

On our Facebook page, of course!

Do us a favor and go like our Facebook page (if you haven’t already) and you’ll see the full list of 30 Facebook tips for authors!

Have you had success with other Facebook fan page add-ons, tips or tricks?

Share with the class, please!

Facebook is developing so quickly that it’s hard to keep up with everything that goes on there! If you have some ideas or insight into other apps, strategies or tools for getting the most out of your Facebook fan page, share them in the comments.

 

This is a reprint from Duolit.

Author Tweets

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Rant Warning: This is an opinionated rant. You are entitled to your own opinion, of course, and may disagree with what I’ve posted here; but the chances are that if you do, you’re probably part of the problem.

I enjoy the back and forth that comes from collaboration and discussion. I suppose at some very elemental level, it’s this pleasure which provokes me to write; hanging up my ideas for all to react to. It’s an invitation to absolutely guaranteed rejection – at least half the time. OK. Most of the time. My wife worries about the psychic damage that may occur.

I try to reassure her that I see it as an academic thing, not personal. So the discourse goes on. There is one area of discussion that seems to provoke rapid, decisive behavior on my part. Author tweets.

I am always glad to receive that happy little email that I have a new follow from someone. I always like to read the profile linked to the notice, and from the description, figure out what they thought about my online presence and writing might be entertaining or useful. But many times, among their pastimes, or career choices, I see the dreaded words. Editor. Writer or, even worse… Author.

I’m not a self-hating writer. Woody Allen’s theory of club membership comes to mind, but I don’t subscribe. I understand how hard it is in this spin-meister controlled world, for an author to get the word out about their work. It takes a huge commitment of time and energy and the willingness to risk behaving foolishly in newly discovered venues. I’ve done it myself. But, there is one thing that really rankles me in the sphere of writer self-promotion. Author Tweets.

Now, while Mutual Tagging and Review and Freebie parties are annoying enough – the whole perpetual motion machine thing – they are still something that one has to stumble into. No, they aren’t as insidious and aggressive as logging into your Twitter account to find twelve consecutive tweets from a writer, methodically blaring out excerpts from his work, or ethereal questions about its impact upon the Olympian Heights.

Twitter, I believe is a very, very useful tool. I think it can be a really great way to create a dialog between a vendor and their customers and between an author and their readers. The marketing validity has already been proven. But this ceaseless beating of the old, tin drum – is it really necessary? I wish more authors would take a moment to consider the impact of their side-show act upon the midway regulars. If we’re there doing the same ourselves, the chances are we know where you hid the card. It’s not a fresh idea with us. Plus, you’re giving your hand away. You’re tipping it over every time your tweet has anything resembling “my book” in it. I see that too often and I walk away, or more accurately, I UNFOLLOW.

I really believe that it is possible to actually share things that are useful, or that communicate one’s own opinions effectively without a big sloppy “See what I did!” tagged onto the end. Readers are intelligent, resourceful people. They read. They can make judgment calls when it comes to deciding whether they find an author’s words worth paying for, or spending the time to read them. If they find something useful in what is written, they’ll decide to pursue it. Otherwise, no amount of repetition (I know repetition is considered a key element of success, but who made up those rules anyway?) or public flagellation will force their hands.

So, rather than spend our time finding clever ways to game the system more than it already is, why not actually try to tweet out something useful, something heart-felt, something of value? Your book probably (I’m going out on a limb, here…) has some really moving themes, or useful information, or common ground or thoughtful discussion in its pages. It’s the “why” that answers the question: why would anyone read this? If you can keep that in mind, and build up awareness of the useful material or awareness of the questions your work poses, without just hanging out your shingle or a bigger, brighter, shinier shingle, you will have succeeded while all around you others will be flailing around. Beating each other over the head with their newest book covers or scintillating reviews. You’ll keep my follow and I might even read your book!

Added thought: Not to say I don’t want to know when you release a new book, but I only need to hear the news occasionally, or it’s really no longer news, right? 

 

This is a reprint from Richard Sutton’s Saille Tales blog.

Professional Distance and Protecting the Reader Experience

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I think one of the things I’ve tried to express (often unwell) is that blogs, twitter, facebook, goodreads, etc. have started to cause problems for the author/reader relationship. Before the Internet, there was distance. I think probably on both sides (authors and readers) we didn’t realize the value of that distance until we stopped having it.

Ideally I should read a book and have my own private experience with that book. If I want to talk to some friends about it, that’s totally normal. But traditionally the author and the reader have stayed in their separate corners. (Aside from things like fan mail, but you know what I’m saying… I hope.) Books are magic. Nothing kills magic faster than TMI.

Unfortunately… most authors do NOT get special training in this. We do trial and error until we figure it out. Some authors are able to maintain a sort of social closeness with their readers with no problem because they are never controversial or highly opinionated. (Though how that is possible for a writer, I have no idea. We write because we feel COMPELLED to write. There are some pretty strong emotions fueling that IMO.) It’s not natural for me to not have strong opinions. So, in truth, I’d rather keep a professional distance than be inauthentic. It’s also too much energy to be inauthentic but too much drama and cost to be authentic. At least with strangers on the Internet. Friends both IRL and online are a different matter.

For a long time I’ve largely avoided following anybody whose fiction I read mainly because I want to be able to read and enjoy their fiction untainted by their personal views about anything. I come to them for a story. I don’t care about their politics or their religion or their hobbies or any opinion they have about anything really. I know that sounds mean but I don’t mean it that way. (And by the same token, probably no reader of my fiction cares about my thoughts/views on any of that.)

Our culture has a fascination with celebrity and TMI. So we break down all these sane barriers and instead of just wanting a book, we want a book and to know what our favorite author’s favorite color is. Even while holding this opinion I’ve still been the author who overshares. I don’t know why.

Now I feel like it’s my responsibility to protect the reader experience by not ranting and raving about every subject under the sun because I want a reader to be able to read my work untainted by something they may disagree with me on that has nothing to do with my fiction. Or… who may not like my “tone”. Personality clashes are real. Why should it harm someone’s experience of fiction?

I’ve always been better about this on my other pen name. It’s easier to start out with the right habits or break bad habits early on than it is to live in a pattern for several years and then try to break it. Nevertheless I HAVE succeeded for over a year at not running around to other people’s blogs and commenting/getting into debates. I do lurk on a lot of blogs, but I never comment anymore. If I can do that, I can do this. I think it’s important, because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree with my opinions on anything. What matters is the fiction. I want you to be able to read it without ambivalence because one time I stepped on a hot button topic of yours.

I feel I owe the reader a good story, but I also owe the reader the space to be able to read that story without extra crap layered on top of the experience. In the past I believed that if I didn’t “go to them” and bother them in their own spaces that that was enough. But we all have natural curiosity, so people are going to come to my blog or my twitter or my facebook. When they do, it’s still my job to not do anything to interfere with their experience of story.

Zoe Winters is a business and a brand. It’s not “me”. Projecting too much of me into it can only be bad for everyone.

This is a reprint from The Weblog of Zoe Winters.

Lessons Learned From 1 Year As A Fulltime Author Entrepreneur

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It’s just over a year since I gave up my job as an IT contractor and became a full-time author-entrepreneur. I initially gave myself six months to meet some specific financial targets and after making those, I didn’t return to the day job.

I am seriously happy in my new life, but there have been some real challenges and lessons I’ve learned along the way that I wanted to share, as well as some action points if you’re considering making a similar move.

  

Joanna Penn making videos

Joanna Penn making videos at the British Museum, London – just part of the job!

As ever, I just try to share honestly with you guys so I hope this helps you on your journey. I’d love to hear from you so please leave a comment at the end of the post with your thoughts and ideas.

How do I currently make a living as an author-entrepreneur?

I’m not going to share figures but suffice to say, I earn around the average wage for a UK female. It’s a good start for Year 1 of business, but it is a lot less than I am used to earning, so I have some aggressive goals for Year 2. Here’s the rough percentage split of my income.

 

revenue splt 201250% Ebook sales and 95% of this is fiction, skewed towards the second half of the year when Prophecy came out and I had 2 books at $2.99. Ideally I want to be at 80% book sales for my income, so clearly writing more books is the main goal.

 

25% Speaking. I do full day and half day courses where I teach digital publishing and marketing as well as online entrepreneurial skills. I’ve also done multi-day events as the main speaker and I’ve spoken in Australia, Bali and London – and next month, in Zurich, Switzerland. Yes, I’m available for hire!

 

25% Courses and Consulting. From this site, I sell multi-media courses on writing, publishing and book marketing, and I also offer 1:1 consulting sessions for more targeted help.

So you can see why I describe myself as an author-entrepreneur. I could not have given up the day job based on my fiction sales alone, but with an established platform (3 years blogging, podcasting & social networking) I was able to make the jump. I share a lot more about the challenges of being an entrepreneur in my non-fiction book, How to love your job or find a new one, which is focused on career change.

Lesson 1: It’s much easier to have a day job

I have to say up-front that it was easier to work for a company than it is to work full-time for myself. I was a contractor so I worked for a daily rate but I had a steady employer for years so there was little risk.

meditateThis may be the dirty little secret of being an author and an online entrepreneur!

Because the money was better, the social life was pretty fun and I was well regarded in my field. Back in Jan 2011, I wrote about the mixed blessings of the day job and how it meant I didn’t have to worry about cashflow and I still stand by those words.

However, I have wanted to change my career for over 10 years because of a nagging sense inside that what I did was pointless and didn’t benefit the world, let alone satisfying my creative soul. I am also aware that it takes the average company 3-5 years to make a profit, and I am in this for the long term.

I just wanted to be clear that this is not an easy option and I still have some wobbly days where I look at the contract market and think about what could be. Then I remember the stress headaches, the anger and the frustration and I smile and recommit to this path. On my wall is this quote from Steven Pressfield’s ‘The War of Art‘

“On the field of the self stands a knight and a dragon. You are the knight. Resistance is the dragon. The battle must be fought anew every day.”

Action Point 1: Understand the why behind what you are doing. Weigh up the pros and cons of leaving the day job and write them down. Do a lot of research about your chosen path and get educated.

Action Point 2: Save at least 6 months income, preferably a year. Do a financial plan for the first 3 years and aim to hit specific targets every month. Both of these were important for convincing my husband that this could be a good idea, and that over time, with more books, my income should grow.

If you want to know more about the money side of being a professional writer, check out Secrets of a Pro Writer with me and NY Times bestselling author CJ Lyons who seriously knows what she’s talking about in terms of making a very successful living at this.

Lesson 2: Defining your own life is a huge adjustment

I was amazed how the change affected me emotionally, and I have renewed appreciation for people who are retiring after a life of work, or women putting their careers on hold for children. When you give up a structured job, the routine you have lived your life around is suddenly broken and you have emotional adjustments as well as the practical aspects that go along with this.

My self-esteem plummeted.

I went from a high status, highly paid  job where I was near the top of my field after 13 years as a financials IT contractor to being the bottom of the ladder in an entirely new career. Yes, I had spent over 3 years building an audience online but that doesn’t mean much to family and friends. It also doesn’t pay the bills.

ipad setup at the London Library

How I write at the London Library

I also found it hard at first to sort out a working routine that produced enough material and focused on writing first, then marketing as well as creating new products. This took me ages to get sorted but I am pretty happy with how I’m working now. I rarely have a full day off though, but that’s normal for new businesses and this is my passion as well as my job!

 Action Point 1: Treat it like a job and set some daily routines. I diarize days when I work on fiction and others that I work on courses, consulting, blogging etc. I set deadlines for producing specific pieces of work. I have a routine around my email, twitter etc. I make sure that I have new income streams coming in at regular intervals, whether it’s a book, a new course or a speaking appearance. The little trickles of income will expand over time but only if there is more product :)

Action Point 2: Find somewhere to work that is not your home. I find that getting out of the house and doing a form of commute into the city really helps me as I can separate from the house, leave the chores and be productive. I also get the benefit of a commute, so I can feel part of the city vibe, I can buy myself a coffee or meet writer friends. I am a paid member of the London Library which is excellent and I try to spend 1-3 days a week there in order to write in a different environment.

Lesson 3: You need support through a physical network

I love my online friends and I could not have made this change without all of you who I have never met in person. But when you have a job that is basically all virtual, you can get quite lonely so you need physical support.

My husband is my primary #1 fan/support along with my Mum but I also have a network of writer and entrepreneur friends that I meet in London for coffee and brainstorming around our challenges. It’s a like a pro-author-entrepreneur-circle.

coffee cupI met most of these people originally online or at networking events and cultivated friendships in the real world as I moved back to London in June 2011 after 11 years in New Zealand and Australia.

I make sure I schedule coffee/lunch at least once a week in order to break up the time spent writing and being virtual. I also go to various networking meetings to expand my circle of friends. This is crucial to my sanity!

Action Point: Make an effort to go to networking events, writing groups and conventions where you can meet people physically and build a network of like-minded supportive people. Actively aim to meet people who are going places in their career.

Lesson 4: It’s absolutely worth it!

I love my new life, now I have settled into it and I can see how things will (hopefully) change in the coming years. I know from past experiences that the beginning time is often the hardest and that every year things will be different but my skills will grow and so will my number of books & products and so will my audience. When I started this site, I had nothing and a lot has changed in the last 4 years so making a start is critical.

hourglassMost of the authors making the big money have been doing this for many years, and most indies making $5000 – $10,000 a month have at least 5 books. Success in any field takes some time to achieve, as does learning the craft and the business of writing. So don’t expect to make it with novel #1, but keep at it.

On the entrepreneurial side, the mega blogs making a lot of money from online products generally started on the internet back when blogging didn’t exist and when geeks were not cool. Nowadays they rule the (online) world :) but it has taken many of them a lot of years to make it. I particular like this video by Chris Brogan, who is an A list blogger, speaker and business author (it’s at the bottom of the post). Overnight success gets up at 5am after getting to bed at midnight. Overnight success doesn’t watch a lot of TV. Overnight success is gained inch by inch when no one is watching.

Action Point 1: Look at the writing careers of people you admire and see how hard it was for them at the start as well. Read Stephen King’s On Writing – he was working nights in a laundry when he finally sold Carrie after trying for many years. It’s not easy to make this change so go easy on yourself at the beginning.

Action Point 2: Keep writing, keep producing, keep learning – and do it for the rest of your life :)

My plans for Author-Entrepreneur Year 2

Often, life doesn’t quite turn out the way we plan it, but it’s certain that nothing happens unless you have some written goals! I also believe in stretch goals and not aiming too low.

So, in Year 2:

  • I want to move into the hybrid model of publishing – with my agent helping me to get a traditional book deal for my thrillers. I will also continue to self-publish but possibly under a different brand and do some work for hire to pay the bills. This will bring in income monthly from Amazon sales but also in spikes from traditional book deals.
  • I want to double my income and move my % split to be 60% fiction, with 20% digital courses and 20% speaking & consulting. My aim is to be at 80% scalable income, which means you create once and sell multiple times. So books are scalable as are online products but speaking and consulting actually take time every time you do them so they are not scalable. But I enjoy them so I do want them as part of the business – I don’t think I ever want to be 100% author only because I love the business/entrepreneurial side of things and I love helping people.

OK, that’s a bit of a mammoth post but this is my life nowadays and I do think sharing the journey with you honestly is important. I always want to save you time, heartache and money so lessons learned are critical!

What do you think? Any questions or lessons you have learned?

Please do leave your comments [section of the original post] as I’m really keen to hear what you think about this.

Images: my own, iStockphoto and Big Stock Coffee Cup 

 

 

This is a reprint from Joanna Penn‘s The Creative Penn.

Twitter – How to Use It Effectively

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This post, by Gwen Fitzgerald, originally appeared on Publishing Geek.

I recently published an article for Red Sofa Literary, the agency where I intern. I’m pretty proud of the information, so I’m including it here:

Every author wants to put him/herself out there, and it’s important to build an online base. But it’s hard to get noticed on a website crowded with people doing the same thing. Twitter is a powerful tool that allows one to give updates consistently, meaning that connections are made and maintained.

For an author, this makes it easier to build a platform while writing a book.  In the long run, this effort and attention will help with promotion and networking. Yes, it can be intimidating and confusing to begin building a Twitter “empire.” The end result is a marketable writing presence before finishing one’s book.

 

1. Work Your Profile:

Fill out your bio with interesting information. Make it just a few lines long, but include your genre, your book’s title (or working title,) your passions, and profession. Including this information allows other Twitterers to find and add you.

Link your Facebook and website.  It’s quite normal for people to not use their real names on Twitter, so your Facebook friends might not think to look for you unless this link is established.

Use a relevant photo. Even if you don’t put in a self-portrait, it’s better to put in something that will catch your followers’ eyes. Use your book cover, or find some interesting focus of your writing a la vintage Penguin covers. It can seem tempting to use a photo of your dog in a Santa suit, but when people are browsing their home page, the picture is the main thing drawing their eye. The photo only adds to the recognition.

 

2.  Follow the Right People:

The best way to get followers is to follow people who will follow you back. While they’re interesting to read, celebrities probably won’t return the favor. Instead, imagine you’re at a networking event, and think about who you’d interact with. Try adding local writing clubs and bookstores; then look through their followers and find other writers, readers, agents, editors or publishers to follow (and interact with them).

If you’re writing non-fiction, find people who are experts in your subject, as well as people who share the same interest. You can find them by searching via hashtags and profiles. At that level, most people will follow you back. Twitter is a better use of time when interacting with people who are helpful vs. falling into the trap of playing the numbers game. 

 

Read the rest of the post, which includes two more Twitter tips and a special note, on Publishing Geek.

The Ultimate Guide to Writing Email Updates (Your Fans Actually Read)

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The average person receives 147 emails every day.

When I first read that statistic, it seemed like total hooey. Almost 150 messages every day? Maybe fancypants famous people get that many, but definitely not me.

I was debating between feeling relieved or unloved, when suddenly, it hit me: I probably DO receive that much email every day.

Between spam, the latest sales at Hobby Lobby, updates from family and emails from our lovely indie author friends, the amount of mail adds up quickly!

The process of filtering through my emails has become so automatic, however, that I disregard at least half of those emails before even opening them.

I’d be willing to bet that you do the same.

With that in mind, would it surprise you to know that, as an indie author, your mailing list is your biggest asset?

 

Your Mailing List is Gold, Baby!

It’s true: more than website visitors, more than Twitter followers, more than Facebook likes or Pinterest repins, the amount of folks on your mailing list gives you an instant snapshot of the state of your fanbase.

Are you rolling your eyes? Maybe the thought of sending obnoxious email newsletters feels sleazy, or perhaps you’ve tried it before but haven’t had good results.

Bear with me. Forget everything you think you know about mailing lists and email updates, and let’s explore the easy, fun and *effective* side of email marketing.

1. Set Up Your List

Before we can create those awesome email updates, you have to have a mailing list, right? So, sign up for Mailchimp. The basic features are free and suit the needs of indie fiction authors nicely.

If you have a self-hosted website or WordPress blog, learn how to add a signup form to your site. If you’re on WordPress.com, it’s a little hackier, but can be done.

2. Encourage Fans to Join Your List

Now that we have a list, it’s time to add your readers! While this could be a whole post in and of itself (and probably will be eventually), the major actions that encourage readers to join your list are:

1. Giving something away (that your readers actually want).

When readers join your list, send them some sort of freebie as a “thank you.”

This could be a short story, excerpt, alternate POV piece — whatever. But make it short and awesome; something a reader could finish in a few hours or less. Think of this as your “audition piece.” If they like what they read, they’ll stick with you!

2. Creating an awesome, convincing signup page, then linking to it instead of your website’s homepage.

If this goes against your natural leaning, I understand, but here’s the deal: over half of the people who visit websites only view one page (that’s a stat from this site, but the pattern is similar across the web).

You know how it is: our attention spans are super-divided nowadays. Linking to your signup page directly:

  • Offers the visitor a peek into who you are and what you write.
  • Gives them a reason to entrust you with their email address (remember that freebie?).
  • Puts them on the road to becoming a fan.

The Checklist for Writing Fun, Effective Email Updates

Now that you have a list in place, it’s time to start interacting with those fans! Woot!

Timing

How often you send out your email updates is up to you, but my advice is this: send them as often as possible without sacrificing quality and value. I suggest weekly (gasp! I know!).

Don’t get overwhelmed. You don’t need to create exclusive content for every update. While that’s nice now and then, the format I’m about to share is tailor-made to point to content already on your website.

No matter what you decide, be consistent. Unless you’re getting close to launch time (when things get crazy), choose an update schedule and stick to it — this way,your fans used to seeing you in their inbox.

Look and Feel

When you create your email, your eyes will be bombarded with dozens of pretty themes to choose from.

Wanna hear a secret? I hate them all.

Seriously, I used to be all about email newsletters with those fancy colors and images, but no more!

Use the most bare-bones formatting you can find (here’s a stripped down template I made for Mailchimp and how to import it).

With this basic template in place, you can format your emails so they look like a regular email to a friend. Because, in a way, that’s exactly what you’re writing!

Subject Line

After you’ve selected your template, decide on a subject line. Think of this is a headline for your email – it’s that important.

To do this, first choose the point of your email. You’re not just sending out random updates, but using your emails to build relationships and encourage your fans to take some sort of action, such as:

  • Reading/commenting on a blog post
  • Leaving a review
  • Purchasing your book
  • Answering a question
  • Sharing an opinion

Choose one purpose for your email, a single action you want readers to take. This gives your email focus; the last thing you want is confusion!

After you decide on your action, compose a subject line that grabs your reader’s attention. You can use common headline-writing tactics, but be sure to throw in your own flair!

Caution! Whatever you do, don’t make your subject line “May 2012 Newsletter” or “Newsletter #5″ or “Author Namehere’s Newsletter.” There’s nothing fun-sounding or attention-grabbing about those!

Your Email’s Opening Line

Now we can move on to the email itself! First thing’s first: the opening line.

Most email providers (like Gmail) show the first sentence of an email in the inbox itself, so it’s important to sound personal and non-spammy. Some options:

  • If users share their name when they sign up for your mailing list, use that information here, like “Hi Toni!”
  • Use a typical opening you’d use in an email to a friend. We’re fans of “Hey there!” and “Happy [Day of Week]!” This is totally dependent, however, on your personality (and what your readers are familiar/comfortable with)!

The Body of Your Email

Write the body of your email like you’re writing to one person. While you’re writing, picture a single reader in your mind and write the email directly to him:

  • Write like you speak, NOT like you’re writing your novel. It’s okay — no one will be grading your grammar!
  • Use short paragraphs to break up your email. Long walls of text overwhelm readers!
  • Want a few bonus points? Read your email out loud!

Inserting Your Call to Action

Remember that single purpose we decided on before you started writing your email? Now it’s time to add it in!

  1. Add your call to action in at least two spots. Since most readers skim emails, it’s important to repeat yourself.
  2. Craft the link or action in a conversational way, like it’s a natural part of the email. Use “Click here to check out my short story” not simply “click here”

Add Your Closing

Like your opening, your closing line is up to your personal taste, but consider this excellent post on the “familiarity index” of different email closings.

PS: Don’t Forget the Post Script

Those fun asides commonly found at the end of letters and emails are actually the second most read part of your message!

While including a PS in every email could dilute its effectiveness, it is an excellent spot to restate your call to action or leave a closing thought.

Author Email Example

While it may seem like a lot to remember, seeing the concepts above in action makes the crafting engaging emails easy as pie. Here’s a sample I whipped up:

SUBJECT: NEW Halloween-y Short Story Inside (I’m eager to hear your thoughts!)

Hey there!

October is already here — are you breaking out the fall decorations? Even though there’s not the slightest hint of a chill in the air here in Florida, I’m already plotting out the design for my front porch Halloween display!

Believe it or not, Halloween is my favorite holiday. Everyone assumes that it’s Christmas (perhaps because of my awesome Christmas village), but Halloween is first on my list. Something about it signals the beginning of an exciting holiday season, and I’ve always been drawn to that.

Plus, you know, all the candy. I can’t lie, I’m a sucker for the candy (pardon the pun).

Anyways, I was struck by a bit of inspiration over the weekend, and whipped up a short story about new beginnings, old candy and the costumes we wear year-round. I’d love for you to check it out:
Click here to read ‘Did They Make All The Candy Corn in 1976?’

It’s a bit of a departure from my normal fare, so I’m interested to hear what you think. After you’ve read the story, would you leave  a short comment and share your thoughts (be honest!)?

I’ve been stressing over whether I should flesh it out, and your feedback will help a ton :-) 
Click here to read the short story and leave a comment!

Thank you for taking the time to check it out and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

Happy October,
Toni Imnotanauthor

PS: Did I mention that the story involves a costume made completely out of candy corn? You know you can’t resist finding out more about that!

That’s all completely made up, of course, but it gives you an example of the principles I discussed above. The best part? It took me less than 10 minutes to write!

The Number One Rule of Emailing Your Fans

The biggest rule of mailing list etiquette is this: write emails that you would like to read. If it sounds boring to you, your readers will likely skip it: make those emails entertaining and action-oriented!

No matter how awesome your emails are, however, some folks WILL complain or unsubscribe — that’s okay. Don’t take it personally. Your real fans will stick with you!

Download the Super-Duper Author Email Checklist!

Even if you’re skeptical, give this style of email updates a try. It’s fun, fast and helps you build personal relationships with your fans. I’m so passionate about this stuff that I created a handy checklist to keep you on track!

Soon, you’ll be an emailing pro, interacting with your fans one-on-one — no sleazy feeling involved!

Talk Back

I’m curious: do you have a mailing list? Has it helped your indie career? Did the tips above give you any ideas or make it seem more do-able to you? Do you have other tricks to share? Let’s discuss in the comments!

 

 

 

This is a reprint from Duolit.

Self Publishing: Second Class No More?

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This post, by Terri Giuliano Long (of indiereader.com) originally appeared on The Huffington Post on 10/3/12.

Not too long ago, traditional publishers held all the cards.

If publishing houses rejected a book, its author had two choices: self-publish and bear the stigma, or put the manuscript in a drawer, forfeiting years of hard work, all the while hoping the next book would be “the one.” A plethora of legitimate publishing options—ranging from DIY self-publishing platforms to assisted self-publishing partnerships—has eliminated this total reliance on traditional houses, in effect changing the publishing dynamic. Today, empowered authors are asserting greater control over their career—and driving revolutionary changes within the industry.

Rita Rosenkranz, among the first literary agents to work with indie authors, says that in the past “because of the stigma of self-publishing very good stuff was locked out by mainstream publishers.” Literary agent Steven Axelrod, who represents self-publishing rock star Amanda Hocking, credits readers for opening new opportunities for independent authors. Readers no longer see a huge difference between self- and traditionally published books, Axelrod says. By buying books, adds Rosenkranz, and increasing their rank in the marketplace, readers vote on which books are worthy of publishing. As a result, traditional publishers are finding themselves in bidding wars for the rights to republish the very books they once spurned.

With their meteoric rise, self-published authors no longer face a categorical stigma. Many traditional publishers now view self-publishing as a great way to discover new writers, Axelrod says. A quick search of Publisher’s Marketplace, using the keywords “self publish,” turned up 40 deals in the past twelve months, many ranked “significant,” $250K to $499K, or “major,” meaning over $500K. In July, Jamie McGuire inked a “major deal” for her runaway bestseller "Beautiful Disaster"; in August, Sara Fawkes landed a “significant deal” for her USA Today bestseller "Anything He Wants". In an increasingly common sign of the times—agile publishers are altering internal processes to bring books to market quickly—Atria and St. Martin’s republished their newly acquired bestsellers in e-book format within weeks of announcing the deals.

Spurred by astounding indie success—Hocking sold a million books before signing a deal with St. Martin’s worth over $2 million—publishers have adopted “a new set of indicators,” according to Axelrod. 

 

Read the rest of the post on The Huffington Post.