Z.R. Southcombe's Blog, page 19

Research before committing [Book Events Series]

I was a bit quiet last week (the laptop died and it is at least a million times harder blogging from my phone) but today I am back with the Book Events Series, in anticipation of the NZ Book Festival...
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50 things that make me smile [blog challenge]

The inspiring Inger Kenobi tagged me to share with you all 50 things that make me smile. In Inger’s words, I do want to say that these things are not listed in order of priority. So if I list, ‘A hot...
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It’s not just about sales [Book Events Series]

As many of you know, from June this year I started doing a range of in-person events. From local markets, to mini cons, to school visits – I’ve got a whole lot lined up. At the outset, my goals were sales,...
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Activities & Entertainment [Book Events Series]

Here in Auckland, NZ, we recently had Storylines, and event which celebrates children’s fiction. Some of my writer friends attended, and the author who’d been the most successful had had an activity going -in this case, origami. Another table I...
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Naturopathy, ancient spirits… and YA fiction with Shane A. Mason [video]

Yesterday I shared a video where kiwi author Shane A. Mason interviewed me. In this video – it’s his turn!

On writing for children, inspiration and ideas [video]

Here’s a video interview that YA author Shane A. Mason put together Eek! We discuss writing for children, inspiration and where ideas come from. Side note: halfway through the video I realised I forgot to put make-up on. Therefore: #nomakeup...
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How to promote an event on social media [Book Events Series]

Social media is a wonderful tool, and in my experience it’s more about the build-up to an event / product launch than the actual day itself. I’ve found that about a month is a good time to start advertising, with more...
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Learning to run a business / price changes for The Caretaker’s Colouring Book

Becoming an independently published author means learning how to write, how to publish – and how to run a business. I think I’m okay on the first two, but the ‘running a business’ part has been the biggest learning curve...
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Display Advice [Book Events Series]

There are a million and one ideas for how to set up a display space, how to showcase your books – and how much to spend. My first event was a book launch, and the lovely ladies at the Pt...
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Merchandise Ideas [Book Events Series]

So before I get into my merchandising ideas, October the 3rd & 4th is the NZ Independent Book Festival. It’s the second annual event of its kind and a first for New Zealand. Over the month leading up to the...
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