When it comes to blogging, there's a lot to know. Here are some resources to help you, whether you're starting out or looking to grow your blog. Blog Posts "12 Steps to a Great Blog Post" on Australian Christian Writers "13 Blog Post Blunders You Should Avoid (And What to Do Instead)" on Your Writer Platform "9 Grammatical Errors (and How to Avoid Them)" on Self … [Read more...] about Starting and Growing Your Blog
Self-Publishing
Social Media Updates and Resources
Social media is an important piece of an indie author's platform. And there are always new features and trends to learn about. Below are some recent news items, as well as tips and resources for using social media. Instagram "Instagram seems to be testing direct messaging on web" on Mashable "Pinstagram? Instagram code reveals Public Collections feature" on … [Read more...] about Social Media Updates and Resources
Using a Pen Name
I don't use pen names, but I can understand why an author may want to use one. Writers Write recently published a post on why writers would want to use a pen name. They mention a lot of reasons, including keeping your identity secret, using a shorter name that's easier to remember, writing in multiple genres and targeting different audiences, and to use a different name from an … [Read more...] about Using a Pen Name
Online Tools for Building Your Author Platform
As indie authors, so much of our work and efforts go into online marketing, and content on the web. With that in mind, here are some tools (both free and paid) that can help you build your platform and promote your books. Book Advertising "Changes to Amazon Advertising: What Authors Need to Know" on Jane Friedman: A breakdown of new advertising modes, the improved dashboard, … [Read more...] about Online Tools for Building Your Author Platform
Guest Post: The Impact of Cloud Technology on The Publishing Industry
By Joe Peters Many of the changes in the publishing industry have been evident over the years. We’ve seen a significant shift from print to digital, where people are just as likely to read from a smartphone or computer screen as they are to buy a book from their local store. Digital Transformation Makes Publishing Easier The digital transformation of the industry has … [Read more...] about Guest Post: The Impact of Cloud Technology on The Publishing Industry
Guest Post: The Complete Guide to using Facebook to Market your Writing
By Naomi Nakashima Installing a well-planned and thought out chatbot can invite your audience to engage with your page in a whole new way. Naomi Nakashima goes into detail about the changes to Facebook marketing, including how building a chatbot into your Facebook strategy can help you connect with your audience. Below is an excerpt from Naomi's post. Using Facebook to … [Read more...] about Guest Post: The Complete Guide to using Facebook to Market your Writing
Guest Post: The 6 Best Tools for Video Marketing
By Candy Video marketing is an attractive, versatile, and extremely effective way to reach your target audiences. As all we know, the mother of all social networks, Facebook, has been strongly favoring video content in its news feeds. To help you create compelling, inspiring, and actionable marketing videos, I list some main video marketing tools that you should know. 1. … [Read more...] about Guest Post: The 6 Best Tools for Video Marketing
Guest Post: 6 Savvy Business Lessons You Can Learn from a Car Salesperson
By Zach Painter If you’ve ever worked in sales, then you’re all too familiar with the process of delivering a successful sales pitch. As a skill you cultivate and hone over time, creating a strategy that has a high rate of success is no easy feat. The fact is, pitching is a necessary skill set that professionals in every industry need to perfect — and the same goes for … [Read more...] about Guest Post: 6 Savvy Business Lessons You Can Learn from a Car Salesperson
Guest Post: Learn From Social Media Influencers How To Create Your Personal PR Strategy
By Ellie Chapman Social media influencer isn't just a buzzword. Pixlee defines it as a “user on social media who has established credibility in a specific industry and who has access to a large audience and can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and reach.” More importantly, as an indie author, you can learn a lot from social media influencers and incorporate … [Read more...] about Guest Post: Learn From Social Media Influencers How To Create Your Personal PR Strategy
Guest Post: 10 Tips and Tricks to Get Writing Inspiration Anywhere and Anytime
By Lucia Tang Writers aren’t prophets. No matter how hard we wish, we can’t just take dictation from some divine voice in our ears — we’re supposed to find our own inspiration. But when you’re on the run from a deadline, in a fight with a chapter, or just sick of wishing the book in your head would magically appear on your laptop, finding inspiration can feel like a DIY root … [Read more...] about Guest Post: 10 Tips and Tricks to Get Writing Inspiration Anywhere and Anytime
Guest Post (Excerpt): Social Media Video Marketing – The Ultimate Guide
By Koushik Marka Today we have a guest post from Koushik Marka, founder and CEO of Studiotale, about video marketing and social media. The post is an excerpt from Studiotale's full guide, "Social Media Video Marketing – The Ultimate Guide." The guide is divided into four chapters: types of video content, actionable tips, platform-specific tips, and online video tools. Read on … [Read more...] about Guest Post (Excerpt): Social Media Video Marketing – The Ultimate Guide
Thinking About Book Covers
Having a good book cover is an important aspect of indie publishing. The cover is the first thing your reader will see, and if the cover speaks to them, they'll be more likely to try out your book. Author M. J. Patrick has a great post that shows a cover, and asks you what you think of the book, based only on the cover (such as who's the audience for this book, and what's … [Read more...] about Thinking About Book Covers
Finding Your Next Read (or Review)
As an indie author, it's important to get book reviews. As a reader, it's helpful to get book recommendations. Below are some resources that combine the best of both worlds. Getting Book Recommendations 3-Panel Book Review: Reviewing books in comic strip format LitPick: "Through student book reviews, we promote reading and writing among preteens, teens, and young adults. … [Read more...] about Finding Your Next Read (or Review)
Tools and Resources for Editing Your Manuscript
We all know that after writing comes editing. It's good to work with professional editors, but there are tips and tricks and tools that you can use before working with an editor that can help you save a bit of time and money. Here are a few. Etherpad: "A highly customizable Open Source online editor providing collaborative editing in really real-time." Grammarly: … [Read more...] about Tools and Resources for Editing Your Manuscript
Designing Effective Content
For my day job, I've been doing a lot of what's called content design. Content is everywhere, and that includes in software products, as technical documentation, in emails, on marketing websites, and more. For authors, it can be useful to think about content design, since it also involves SEO and search, measuring the effectiveness of content you put out there, and creating … [Read more...] about Designing Effective Content
