Going Indie: 4 Tips Indie Hip-Hop Group Macklemore Can Teach Authors

April 30, 2013 by 6 Comments
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We lurrrrve Macklemore.           In the past six months, indie hip-hop group Macklemore (Ben Haggerty & Ryan Lewis) has become HUGE. Not Harry-Potter-over-two-decades huge, but they’re certainly inching on Hunger-Games-over-five-years huge. “Thrift Shop,” a funky little ear worm that has everyone talking about poppin’ tags, has dominated YouTube waves with nearly 250 million views as of today and has gone platinum. Macklemore is the first indie group (an artist or group without the backing of a major record label) in nearly two decades to top the Billboard charts with “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us”; another hit, “Same Love” celebrates same-sex marriage, becoming a standard protest/civil rights anthem. Another hit on their 2012 album The Heist is a track called “Jimmy Iovine,” based on the legendary… [read more]

Filed Under: Audience, Authorpreneur, Branding, Fun, Indie Publishing, Kickstarter, Literary Trends, Media, Self-publishing, Social Media, Technology, Traditional Publishing, Twitter, YouTube Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Guest Post: Authors and the Art of Self-Promotion, by Rachael Oku

April 25, 2013 by 1 Comment
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Authors and the Art of Self-Promotion by Rachel Oku   In every industry, the cliché goes that you have to “pay your dues” before you can make it. Is this really true of writing? Recently published author Rachael Oku wonders. . . . If someone told me I’d be a published author within five years when I graduated college in 2008, I’d have laughed in their face. If someone told me I’d be a published author within five years when I graduated college in 2008, I’d have laughed in their face. Surely I’d have to labour over my ideas and live as a tortured artist in order to hone my craft? Not so. In this the digital age, it’s easier… [read more]

Filed Under: Authorpreneur, Book Launch, Book Marketing, Branding, Guest Post, Motivational, Pitching, Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Indie Author’s Guide to Facebook Fan Pages

April 16, 2013 by 4 Comments
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So you’ve got your personal Facebook page going and you’ve got plenty of friends following you, right? Good. Question: does your book have a fan page separate from your personal page? If your answer is yes, that’s awesome. Keep reading. If you’re answer is no, read this excellent article on how to set one up first. We were just speaking to an author this week on the importance of using her Facebook fan page to promote her book and here’s what we explained. Your Facebook fan page is a requirement for your book because it creates camaraderie around your book beyond your reader holding it in their hands. Also: It will attract new fans through shared posts Provides unlimited ability to… [read more]

Filed Under: Social Media 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: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Making Time for a Dream: Interview with Mystery Author Deborah K. Jensen

April 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment
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never did I think that I wanted to or could write a novel. But the gift of a dream was given to me… This week, we were fortunate enough to sit down with Deborah K. Jensen, an inspiring indie author with a killer book called Beyond Escape, an exciting new novel based on a true story with family secrets, betrayal, murder, and lust. She shared with us how she melded this true story with one of fiction, and how she found time to make her dream a reality.   1) You’ve been writing for many years. Did you always want to write mysteries? When I was a young girl, I fell in love with the idea of writing and told my… [read more]

Filed Under: Author Interview, Authorpreneur, Book Marketing, Indie Publishing, Motivational, Self-publishing, Social Media, Twitter, Writing Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The 140-Character Twitter Novel

January 18, 2013 by 6 Comments
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              This past fall, the Guardian posted a great little article in which they featured 21 well-known authors using a Twitter post to write a novel. The challenge proved to be very provocative, funny, and interesting! A few of our favorites:   Ian Rankin: I opened the door to our flat and you were standing there, cleaver raised. Somehow you’d found out about the photos. My jaw hit the floor. Jeffrey Archer: “It’s a miracle he survived,” said the doctor. “It was God’s will,” said Mrs Schicklgruber. “What will you call him?” “Adolf,” she replied. Helen Fielding: OK. Should not have logged on to your email but suggest if going on marriedaffair.com don’t use… [read more]

Filed Under: #hashtags, Content, Social Media, Twitter, Writing, Writing Prompts, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

Why Every Author Should Create a Goodreads Profile

December 17, 2012 by 4 Comments
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One of our discoveries of 2012 was Goodreads. A free social network for readers that tracks the books you’re currently reading and books that you want to add to your “to-read” list — how did we not jump on this bandwagon sooner? In all honestly we’ve had accounts set up with Goodreads for ages. However, it clicked recently why authors should join the Goodreads Author Program. Read about it here. In a nutshell, here’s why we love it: It allows you to add a picture and bio like Facebook and Twitter — your readers get to know you intimately. You can share your list of favorite books and recent reads with your fans! (Add your own book to your “book… [read more]

Filed Under: Self-publishing, Social Media 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: , ,

The Two Major Ways Getting Social Helps Your Writing [Guest Post]

October 3, 2012 by 1 Comment
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This is a guest post by Peter Margolis who writes for DX3 For a lot of independent writers (and filmmakers, photographers, musicians… it applies to us all) trying to get a piece finished and published can be quite difficult, not only is there the hard work that goes into finishing it, but there is also work to raise money, gain exposure, and a number of other things that have nothing to do with the actual writing. Traditionally, you needed a known name or brand to get attention. Luckily, we have the Internet now, and with the Internet and social platforms, we can efficiently take care of harder book-selling tasks like fundraising and exposure. Whether you are a newbie writer or… [read more]

Filed Under: Guest Post, Self-publishing, Social Media Tagged With: , ,

Our 10 Favorite Author Twitter Homepages

September 17, 2012 by 4 Comments
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If you’re an author and on Twitter, integrating your book with your homepage is a must. Your Twitter homepage is great real estate to showcase your book. What we’ve found is that there are tons of authors who are not taking advantage of their Twitter homepage. If you do, you’ll likely stand out and be noticed. You’ll be the savvy author who went the extra mile. Here are ten authors who fall in that category. We love what they’ve done with their Twitter homepage and how they have creatively incorporated their books. Let’s use them as our inspiration. @TheWriterMama, Christina Katz     @RachelintheOC, Rachel Thompson       @DirtyWhiteCandy, Roz Morris       @Scott_Fox, Scott Fox    … [read more]

Filed Under: Book Marketing, Social Media, Twitter Tagged With: , ,
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