Guest Post from Tricia Lorntson: How to NOT Skyrocket from Nobody to Somebody as an Indie Author

May 10, 2013 by 2 Comments
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My name is Tricia Lorntson and I’m an egoholic. Crowd: Hi, Tricia! This is a public service announcement and a cautionary tale for struggling writers everywhere. Your odds of becoming instafamous are only marginally higher than your chances of winning the PowerBall. You? Are not special. Don’t believe your mother—she has to tell you that. Let me give it to you straight, and in third person for dramatic effect:   Once upon a time in 2011, a girl named Tricia was writing a book and had what she believed to be enough of a budget to release this book into the wild where it would surely draw international fame and fortune. She met with the owner of a local collaborative… [read more]

Filed Under: Authorpreneur, Blogging, eBooks, Editing, Guest Post, Indie Publishing, Self-publishing, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

3 Ways to Market Your Book RIGHT NOW!

April 9, 2013 by 8 Comments
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If you’re an indie author, you know that writing, publishing, and marketing your book is an incredibly busy job, and one that really doesn’t end once the book is out. In fact, this job doesn’t end as long as you still want your book out into the world. Book publishing is kind of like parenting–it’s not like your job ends after the nesting and delivery process, because then you have to raise your child. The fact is, YOU ARE ONE PERSON! You can only do, in one day, what one person is capable of doing in a day. Also, remember that life you had? With the friends, spouse, kids (real–not paper or e-ink), pets, etc.? Yeah, they’re still important. So… [read more]

Filed Under: Blogging, Book Marketing, Content, Guest Post, Self-publishing, Social Media, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

10 Year-End Indie Author Blog Post Ideas

November 28, 2012 by 3 Comments
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If you blog as we do, maybe you wondered whether you should take your blog on hiatus until after the new year. We did…shh. Then we put our thinking heels on and came up with a list of post ideas we’re going to do to end our amazing year with a bang. We got to thinking we should share some of our ideas with you! Start writing these blogs now before  the holiday tsunami sweeps you away. The cool thing is that many of these ideas are lists, so it shouldn’t take you long. Others might require more research and time. But, your blog followers and future book readers will thank you for it. One more thing: use your blog… [read more]

Filed Under: Blogging, Book Marketing Tagged With: , , ,

Indie Author Blogging 101: Simple Tips for Your Blog

November 12, 2012 by 3 Comments
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An author we work with emailed us last week, hoping we could give her a few tips for her blog. Of course, we’re fairly new to the blogging game, but as we crafted our response to her, we had to admit that we’ve learned a lot in a short time. If you’re an author (or planning on being one) you should have a blog.  Blogs engage your audience and help solidify your place as a player. A blog doesn’t have to keep you from writing. Some author bloggers post once or twice a week and that’s absolutely fine. Here’s the advice we gave to our newbie indie author who had just launched her blog: 1. Add your Twitter (and other… [read more]

Filed Under: Blogging, Indie Publishing, Social Media, Twitter Tagged With: , ,

How to Use Your Blog to Sell Books

October 8, 2012 by 1 Comment
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The most amazing thing about having a blog,  is having readers. Supporters who enjoy your content. They want to see you succeed. They want you to share with them your book’s journey. If you’re an author with a blog, the primary reason for it should NOT be to sell your book. But, if you’re having fun with your blog, using it to share your journey as an author, and supporting other authors with it, selling your book will happen naturally as a result. Blogs are better for authors than a static website. Before I had a blog, I recommended that authors have websites. Now I recommend that authors have both and if it came down to choosing, I’d go with… [read more]

Filed Under: Blogging, Book Marketing Tagged With: , ,

How I Transformed My Blog Into a Book in 3 Simple Steps

August 8, 2012 by 1 Comment
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A few years ago we started blogging about publishing because it was fun. We became obsessed with it and then shortly thereafter abandoned the blog and let interns at work take it over. But for years we kept it up quite well. Not bragging, but we had good content going for awhile. When I (Dara) made up my mind to write a book about indie publishing, I remembered that blog, which turned out to be a goldmine and made my book writing process considerably less stressful. But, if you have a blog that you’ve been working on for some time and you’d like to turn it into a book, here’s what you must know going in: 1. Going blog to… [read more]

Filed Under: Blogging, Indie Publishing, Planning, Revising, Writing Tips Tagged With: , ,

The Modern Author and the “Amateur” Book Review Bloggers

August 1, 2012 by 3 Comments
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Much has changed in the old fortress of publishing over the past twenty years (since the rise of the Internet and self-publishing). However, the biggest change we’ve seen in publishing isn’t the rise of eBooks, the evolution of self-publishing, or Amazon’s domination over traditional booksellers. It’s the fact that–regardless of where or how an author is published–the author has really become the book’s most reliable sales rep, marketing manager, publicity department, etc. Publishing nowadays requires AUTHORS to be the product, and the book sells based on how well the author performs. Every author needs to be active in both grassroots and large-scale marketing campaigns.  Goodreads.com is one of the most popular contemporary social media sites, and it’s centered solely around the… [read more]

Filed Under: Blogging, Book Marketing, Pub. Industry, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

15 Fill-In-the-Blank Blog Ideas for Every Authorpreneur

July 18, 2012 by 3 Comments
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Does it ever happen to you that you’ve got a blog entry to write and . . . nothing comes? Below are 15 blog ideas (and examples) that any authorpreneur can quickly fill in with the themes and needs of their own markets! Use them for FREE! 1. The 10 Best-Kept Secrets for Reaching ________ (The 10 Best-Kept Secrets for Reaching CEOs) 2. The Top 5 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before ________ (The Top 5 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Sending Your Manuscript) 3. 6 Rules You Can Break when Trying to ________ (6 Rules You Can Break when Trying to Make Sales Online) 4. 20 Twitter Hashtags for ________ (20 Twitter Hashtags for Reaching Readers) 5. The… [read more]

Filed Under: Blogging, Social Media, Twitter, Writing Prompts Tagged With: , , ,

Revamp Your Twitter Page in 7 Days!

June 22, 2012 by 3 Comments
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Twitter is a wonderful yet overwhelming beast. When used properly, it will be one of the greatest tools in your arsenal for making new connections, building relationships with readers, and becoming an established voice in your topic/genre. When used improperly (i.e. not really used all that much), your Twitter page with 67 followers and 93 Tweets over the course of 6 months is going to do more harm than good! A Twitter page like that sends potential followers the message that you don’t take it seriously; if you don’t take it seriously, they figure you must not be that professional or that much of an expert, and definitely not worth their follow. A moment for sympathizing: I get it. I… [read more]

Filed Under: #hashtags, Blogging, Book Marketing, Branding, Social Media, Technology, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,

Writing the Ten-Minute Blog

April 30, 2012 by 5 Comments
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Yes, this blog post is being written for purely selfish reasons. And yes, we sometimes need a get-quick solution for producing a blog post fast. For the record, this blog was created in ten minutes to prove that this can be done. So, when all else fails and you need a blog fast, here are our tricks of the trade that never fail. 1. Event/Photo Post. If you’re somewhere cool, like at a book fair, festival, concert, food truck–anywhere that you don’t frequent regularly–post a picture as your post. Include a caption, ask a couple questions, or for a twist invite your readers to submit a caption if the photo is funny or quirky. 2. Video Post. If there’s a… [read more]

Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , , ,
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