There has been a lot of complaining recently about authors who “overmarket” their books like used car salesmen yelling full blast in our faces. This, of course, raises the question: what exactly IS acceptable? Technically, only you can answer that – if you care not to alienate or oversell, the key to making that determination is really “treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.”
That said, I do have some tips for newbies and all authors which will make your efforts more tolerable for those receiving them, and more rewarding for you in return.
#1 – Post book excerpts. Choose a day each week as your book excerpt day. This works great for Twitter and even better if you have Twitter set up to post automatically to your Facebook and other profiles. One Tweet, many social platforms. Not sure exactly what type of excerpt to use? I like to mix it up. Some weeks I’ll just tweet all prepositions or adverbs. Sure, anyone can tweet a sentence. What’s the point in doing that? Continue reading “Book Marketing Tips for Authors”
Having spoken to several budding novelists at Creative Writing Groups in recent weeks it has become apparent that many writers lack confidence in their ability. They have written their story or novel but are worried that it is not good enough to be published.
Well, if you have a finished product you should banish these anxieties. Of course, you could always show it to your mother. She’d probably tell you it is fantastic, unless she’s like my mother who is more likely to chew it up like a rabid pit-bull terrier and tell you to try harder.
If you can’t face criticism from those you know then how about some criticism from those who don’t know you? Even better than that, how about some constructive criticism from other writers?
After I finished Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines I didn’t know what to do next. I didn’t dare show my work to friends because I didn’t want to put them on the spot. After all, who wants to tell a friend that the novel they have just spent a year writing is awful? Continue reading “Could try harder – C+”
[This is a golden oldie—it ran on Indies Unlimited back on October 10, 2011.]
In part 1 of this series, we discussed what reviewers want to see (and do not want to see) from authors as regards actual writing. All that stuff is what constitutes the middle of the relationship between an author and a reviewer. There is something more to the relationship on either end.
The relationship begins with the submission of your magnum opus to the reviewer. Next you wait. You keep waiting. You check their website and still don’t see anything. Over an hour has passed, and you are starting to get nervous. My advice (and it really is mine alone—all the reviewers I interviewed were too polite to bring this up), is to keep waiting. Do not call. Do not e-mail. Do not fax. Do not “check in” to see how they like it so far. Find something else to occupy your mind and your time, because it may take a while. Continue reading “What Reviewers Want (Part 2)”
Dedicated to the team at Indies Unlimited who have guided me through the maze of Google Plus, Stumble On, Diggit, Twitter and Facebook to mention a few of the tutorial subjects that have helped me become a social networking genius.
At first I was afraid
I was petrified
Kept typing promo emails
With wine gums by my side
And then I spent so many nights
Thinking I was going wrong
But I grew strong
And I learned how to get along
Thanks to this site
In cyber space
I signed up to find some help
And found some clever folk who’re ace
I should have checked them out before
I should have read all helpful posts
If I’ve have known for just one second
They were such accommodating hosts
So thanks to Hise
And KS Brooks
I have recently
Learned to pimp my fellow author’s books
Weren’t they the ones who tried to tutor me, oh my!
Did you think I would Stumble
Did you think I’d fall down and cry?
Oh no, not I
I will survive
Oh, as long as I have my laptop
I know I’ll stay online
I’ve got lots of likes, oh look
On my page now on Facebook
And I’ll survive
I will survive, hey hey.
It took all the strength I had
Not to fall apart
Kept trying hard to understand
Tech lessons and all that craft
And I spent oh so many nights
Just struggling with their tips
I used to sigh
But now I hold my head up high
And you see me
Somebody new
I’m not that confused aged person
Now I’m feeling ‘phew!’
I can tweet loud like a crow
I can share with all my mates*
And now I know how to promote
So many peeps in cyber space.
Come on and try
For goodness sake
Get mingling with us
You won’t make more mistakes
Weren’t you the agent who tried to break me with ‘goodbye’
Did you think I’d crumble?
Did you think I’d lay down and cry?
Oh no, not I
I will survive
Oh, as long as I have my laptop
I know I’ll stay online
I’ve got lots of likes, oh look
On my page now on Facebook
And I’ll survive
I will survive
I will survive…
*mates – British slang for ‘friends’
Apologies to Gloria Gaynor but just be thankful I didn’t post a YouTube video of me singing this.
Want to sing along? You can!
* * * * *
Carol E Wyer is a Contributing Author for Indies Unlimited and author of the novel, MINI SKIRTS AND LAUGHTER LINES. For more information, please see the IU Bio page and her website: http://www.carolewyer.co.uk
