Unless you’ve been busier than Kanye West’s damage control team, you might have noticed indie authors using various crowdfunding ventures like Kickstarter to raise the scratch to produce their books. Ask people what they think about the practice and you’re bound to start an argument, usually about the money. But what if you could engineer a crowdfunding effort that uses a different sort of currency—the social media reach of those generous enough to lend their support to your book promotion? That’s what programs like Thunderclap and HeadTalker aim to do. Continue reading “How to Use Thunderclap and HeadTalker For Book Promotion”
Category: Tutorials
How-to articles for writers.
Making a Video Trailer with Windows Movie Maker
If you have not already made a video book trailer because you thought it would take an expert, don’t worry. YOU can do this. If you follow the steps below, in less than thirty minutes, you can have a good start on a very basic video trailer for one of your books.
Not sure what a book trailer video is? Or not sure you need one? If you are still trying to get noticed as an author, a video trailer can help. People like movement, color, and sound. A video trailer accomplishes all these things in a very short amount of time while displaying your book’s information. Every opportunity counts – read Lynne Cantwell’s post on Effective Frequency to see why.
The following will guide you in creating a book trailer in less than thirty minutes. In my next post, we will add music to what we created, and upload it to the world. Continue reading “Making a Video Trailer with Windows Movie Maker”
When did you last back up your blog?
The answer may not be ‘never’ of course, although I’m as guilty as everyone for panicing when it’s too late. But if you have a WordPress site you may have used their handy little ‘export’ function assiduously, under the impression that your site would be instantly restorable if necessary. Unfortunately the download this creates, sitting smugly in the Cloud somewhere, will have a few details missing.
If you are a whizz with databases and FTP clients, the most comprehensive way to back up a WordPress site is with the free plug-in WordPress Duplicator but if your dashboard is as far as you want to go into the engine room, here’s a quick, easy way to cheat. We’re going to use screenprints to capture all the bits your exported file will have missed. Continue reading “When did you last back up your blog?”
How to Change a Book’s Title Without Losing Reviews
It happens. The title you chose just doesn’t generate the sales you hoped. No one besides you “gets” it. It’s time to give up on it and try something new.
But your book has been out for a couple of years now and you have some reviews on it. You worked hard getting those and you don’t want to lose them. It’s just all too horrible to think about.
Not so fast – there is actually a really easy way to update your title and upload a new cover without losing your reviews or your rankings. Imagine that! The order in which you make these changes is crucial, though, so please pay thorough attention. And this is for books on Amazon published through KDP and Createspace only. Continue reading “How to Change a Book’s Title Without Losing Reviews”