Tag: Writing

Cultivating Your Writing Path

Published on by Robecca Austin1 Comment

Authors’ Circle Q and A – Part One

 

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve done a Q and A. It’s also our first Q and A on our new site. We hope you like the changes.

This month’s Q and A talks about cultivating your writing path.

Our Q and A comes from feedback we’ve received, social media, and authors from our authors’ circle. The questions are also answered by authors at different stages in writing careers.

1. Do you write for business or pleasure? 

For most writers, writing is a combination of the two. Each choice having its ups and downs. Pleasure writers for example may not tap into or embrace the business aspects of publishing or may not be open to critique that threaten to change beloved parts of a story. On the other hand, writing solely for the purpose of income could suck the creative joy out of your work over a long period of time. Continue reading “Cultivating Your Writing Path” →

10 Things to share on your social media author platform

Published on by Robecca Austin3 Comments

1. Bios are a sneak peek into an author’s life: Readers want to know who you are. What interests you? What you write? I know what you’re thinking – bio’s are boring. Not true. You can make your bio as interesting as you like. Be human. Be personable. Tell your story your way. My about page is my most viewed.

2. Your passion builds emotional connections: Readers love to connect emotionally. Do you volunteer? Are passionate about a cause. I am passionate about Cystic Fibrosis and join in walks as often as I can.

3. New releases keep fans in the “know.” Your marketing plan tells fans what’s new.

4. Valuable content is worth following:  Blog posts are a great way to share value. Share information fellow authors, readers, or site visitors will find useful. This can be  in the form of how-to content for others in your writing community.Red Typewriter

5. Engage through comments: Responding, tweeting, and engaging allows you to connect. Fans know you value their insight. (Platforms open to the public — it’s important not to feed comments intended to disrupt.)

5. Writing samples are an insight to your author style. Some authors with established back-lists publish free or discounted short stories each month. Some offer snippets. And some offer some form of sample to promote published books.

6. Events enable meet and greats. Meeting fans has changed thanks to social media. Podcasts, live online events, and fan rooms allows authors to meet fans from around the world.

7. Pictures are worth a 1000 words. More authors are using pictures and storytelling to showcase creativity. Social media is responsible for sharing magical book trailers.  

8. Well designed book covers make great first impressions. Authors have long used their covers to drive sales before releases. Fans have also voted for their favourite covers.

9. Intriguing characters gets the heart thumping. Fans are always excited when their favourite characters make appearances. For series romance fans, we are excited when our characters fall in love and gets a story of their own.

 

Bonus

11. Policy pages set the stage for what comments are appropriate and how your site is moderated. Policy pages also let readers know what content they can expect to read on your site.

12. Create a contact page. Fans are not the only readers wanting to make a connection. A simple contact page lets other writers, and publishers reach you.

–Robecca