Proofreading for small errors is not easy. Your mind gets tied up in the story and may just jump right over small errors, especially if you have read the story before. Here’s my best advice: Read the story backwards, paragraph by paragraph. This removes you from the flow of the story, and you’re more likely to […]
The Answer Place: How do I get a great cover for my book?
We have a question about covers this week: “How do I get a great cover for my book?” First, let me emphasize how important it is to have a truly eye-catching, genre-appropriate cover for your book. The reason? That’s how your book will get noticed in the ever-increasing number of ebooks available online. You’ll want to […]
Six tips to strengthen an author’s bookstore strategy
There’s probably an independent bookstore in your town. You, an author, want your books in physical bookstores because readers can browse there and discover–something that’s much easier in a bookstore than online. So you’d like this local bookstore to carry and sell your books and make money for you, not to mention find new readers […]
Authors: Four tips for carefully crafting your mailing list “carrot”
Your author e-mailing list needs a good, solid carrot. That’s a freebie you give to those who sign up to be on your newsletter list. So, what do you need to know about choosing a carrot? Make it something that your true fans would love to have. You may not even have one true fan […]
How not to blog
Scheduled to write a blog post? Be careful what you write. You don’t want to waste your time. Internet marketers know this axiom about blogging, but many authors don’t, in my experience. Here’s the axiom: give your readers what THEY want, not what YOU want. A typical blog reader who is a stranger to you […]
Get busy on that email list, authors!
Setting up an email list seems like a lot of bother to many authors. They’d rather use Facebook, Pinterest, or whatever. It’s easier and more fun. Who needs an email list? You do. Marketing experts tell us the email list is the key to success, as I’ve said before. Here are some reasons: People reading […]
A strategy for growing your fan base through your author newsletter
Here’s a suggested strategy for gaining more followers for your author newsletter. Declare that new signups for your newsletter are eligible for a monthly drawing. The winner gets a coupon code for choice of free audiobook or free ebook. Until the free audiobook codes run out, that is. Then ebook only. This strategy works, people […]
Four tips for authors on using Twitter well
Twitter has plenty of fans, but maybe you haven’t spent much time with it yet, can’t figure it out. If that’s true, I’m offering a bit of help today. Think of a Tweet as a 140-character public post that’s allowing you to communicate with others. As in two-way communication. Avoid spamming people by saying the […]
Fleshing out your research by author Carole Brown
“He had a tattoo on his arm.” Wow. That tells us a lot. Or not. What if we phrase it like this: “. . . the big eye rippled on his arm, never blinking, only staring.” The first one gives us information: A man has a tattoo on his arm. Basic. Factual. Interesting? No. The […]
Should you enter a writing contest? Advice from Jennifer Slattery
With every writing contest comes a slew of questions: Should I enter? Does X contest really help a writer get published? How credible are contest scores? For some, contests have opened the doors they believe they wouldn’t have seen opened otherwise. For others, contests have only led to frustrating and conflicting scores and feedback. Which […]