Meet the Author: Aron Joice

Aron Joice is a published songwriter, and the author of The Lost Children of Managrail series. The Rising, book one of the Ya Fantasy is currently available in Ebook and print. Book two — Vanished, will be released in early 2013 along with her novella The Land of Beautiful. An adult historical fiction is also in the works. Aron is passionate about the arts and rescuing animals.

As with many writers, Aron says getting through the learning curve of all the social media platforms has been a challenge. “At first I read every Writer’s Digest available, bought books, studied everything I could find online and then mapped out a plan. I didn’t get Twitter, or why anyone would spend their time tweeting. Facebook was a challenge and still is for me. I found a few blogs that I believed to be relevant to my purpose and stayed true. I felt like I was in Platform College. On a one to one basis I like Linkedin, it is more give and take. I’ve made wonderful friends on Twitter and we support one another. FB is like a newspaper to me. I have to say Indies Unlimited has taught me more than I could ever imagine and has been a great guide.” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Aron Joice”

Indie News Beat: Is this really the future of storytelling?

If we are to believe the forecasts, the future of books and storytelling is inextricably linked to the increasing inter-connectivity of our world. A future beckons in which it will be bad manners to read a book alone, without sharing every character, every plot twist, and every page with your friends, your family, and that odd-looking homeless person on whom you took pity and to whom you gave your small change on the way home from the office. It all sounds perfectly hideous to me, but that’s what the experts say is going to happen.

In the kind of news story that makes me consider a lobotomy to be a prudent, forward-looking lifestyle choice, CBCNews in Canada claims that ‘Social reading is the next phase of e-book revolution’. The article is bookended with misplaced references to Al Jolson and, inevitably, Guttenberg, and after a few figures on the growth of the e-book market in Canada, we are introduced to Bob Stein, who is a ‘digital pioneer’. Continue reading “Indie News Beat: Is this really the future of storytelling?”

Don’t Hate Me ‘Cuz I’m Beautiful: Facebook URLs

You’ve seen them, I know you have. The ugly, discombobulated, burdened Facebook page URL that has not been properly set up.  My favorite is when someone who claims to be a social media or marketing expert sports one. “Come check out my page!” they’ll say to me, presenting me with a link that looks like “http://www.facebook.com/pages/Judy-the-marketing-pro-author/260458930631195”   Hey, Judy, guess what?  No one’s going to remember how to get to your page with a link like that. Not to mention it’s kind of embarrassing.

What can you do about it? Well, I’m glad you asked.

Continue reading “Don’t Hate Me ‘Cuz I’m Beautiful: Facebook URLs”

Think Big

Last month, I posted about how to use your vacation time wisely and sell books. This month, I have some incredible opportunities for you. You need to get your name out there. So let’s look at how the big PR companies market stuff, and see how we can do it on a shoestring budget:

You might have seen those Double Decker buses with huge posters of the latest film slapped on their sides. Apparently, buses are seen by millions of people a week, so advertising on them seems sensible. I ascertained that it costs about £50 a week (minimum 4 weeks advertising) to advertise on the little space at the back of ordinary single deck buses. With my super scrimper method, you can advertise for a fraction of that cost. Continue reading “Think Big”