Beth Greenslade's Blog, page 132

How To Create The Most Effective Book Launch

Creating an effective book launch is so important. It is the initial push, and that first opportunity to get your book noticed by as many people as possible. If your book launch is successful, you could well create a snowball effect where interest for your book suddenly gains momentum and with it sales build and build, your rankings go up, and you become a truly successful author!

Of course, this is the dream, and in reality, making your book launch stand out and attract attention takes a lot of careful planning, and hard work (and sometimes a little bit of luck too).

So what is really important to focus on when it comes to launching your new book? Here are the things to remember.

Timing is everything.

Picking the right date and time to launch your book is crucial. When it comes to deciding you must remember there are things you can control and things you can’t. If you are hosting an event, then confer with the venue. They may be able to tell you what has worked well in the past. From your own experience think about when might be the best time – a week day morning, for example, may make it difficult for people who work to attend. Would an evening event be better? Or perhaps something at the weekend?

Pick a suitable venue

Choosing a great venue for your book launch is also important. Think about location – is it accessible, is it easy to get to? Size – how many people will you expect? Do you want it to feel busy or spacious? And atmosphere – can you find somewhere that highlights themes in your book? Be creative and think outside the box – this will attract more people and make the event seem more exciting and carefully thought out.

Make sure you have books to sell

This might seem obvious, but make sure you bring copies of your book to sell at the launch event. People may really enjoy the event and be interested in buying your book, but if they can’t do it then and there they could easily forget about it or just never get round to it. Include a card in every copy you sell thanking the customer and telling them where they can leave a review.

Have refreshments

Nothing works better when it comes to drawing a crowd than having free refreshments! It’s the little things that count, and while you may have to pay out to fund food and drinks, a free glass of wine or two and some snacks makes all the difference – people are more likely to be engaged, ask questions and buy your book after a couple of drinks as well!

Don’t rush it

If you are creating a launch event, make sure you give yourself enough time to market it properly. You might be excited to get your book out there, but if you don’t explore lots of different marketing avenues and make sure you get the highest attendance possible you aren’t doing your book, or yourself justice.

Read from your book

The easiest way to get people interested in your book is to read a sample from it. Make sure, however, that you choose a bit that helps your audience get a real feel for what to expect. Don’t give away huge plots twists, and make sure you leave them in suspense and wanting to know what happens next. It is also important to remember that while reading from your book is a crucial part of your event, keep it short and sweet. Read for around 15 minutes, practice your delivery beforehand. Look up. Pause. Make sure you connect with your audience.

Make the most of it.

Your event should not just be about selling books. It is an opportunity for people to get to know you as an author. Have a question and answer session and be prepared to be asked about your book as well as your writing process and home life. Ask a couple of friends to ask questions to get the ball rolling – often it takes just one or two to encourage others to speak up.

Also, have someone taking pictures and recording throughout, you can then use this for further promotion afterwards. Ask attendees to sign up for your newsletter or blog as well so you can keep in touch with them about future books and events. After the event, thank the venue, send out a thank you to any attendees whose contact details you obtained, and make sure you then let everyone know what a great success it was!

A good launch can make a huge difference when it comes to the success of your book, just as an ill-timed book launch can have an adverse effect on your credibility as an author and a knock on effect on your sales.

Remember you only get to launch your book once, so make sure you do it right!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post How To Create The Most Effective Book Launch appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Dream Big – Pitch Small

As a freelance writer, there is nothing more rewarding then landing that one big job. The one that means more exposure, better money, more job satisfaction.

Of course, the problem is, that often freelance writers spend so much time and effort chasing these ‘big fish’ that they forget about the smaller jobs, that when put together are just as lucrative and enjoyable.

Getting an article placed in a prominent magazine or online publication, where your words will be exposed to hundreds of thousands of readers is brilliant. However, there are many advantages to pitching your ideas and sending your work off to smaller publications too.

It’s important for freelance writers not to get too ‘big for their boots.’ Just because you have landed a succession of great writing gigs, you shouldn’t consider any publication or assignment beneath you.

The best way to handle yourself in the freelance writing game is with enthusiasm and humility. You never know when work is going to dry up, and even a large lump sum in a pay check isn’t going to last forever, so don’t burn your bridges or cut ties with smaller publications, especially those who published your work and gave you a chance when you had very little experience.

So what are the advantages of pitching to and writing for smaller publications?

You have less competition. Freelance writing is a tough job. You may dream of getting your work seen in larger, widely read publications, but so does every other freelance writer out there. If you pitch to smaller, more niche publications, your chances of getting accepted are far greater. If you aren’t an experienced writer, it is also an excellent way to build up your portfolio, learn more about the industry, particularly how to work with editors!

You have more flexibility. Larger publications tend to be far more directive when it comes to telling you what to write. Smaller outlets are more likely to give you greater flexibility and free reign. This means you can write about what you are truly passionate about, come up with a more risky idea, and write with a voice that feels much more authentically yours.

You can learn from your fellow writers. Many small publications shouldn’t be dismissed just because of their distribution numbers. If you do your research, you’ll find that many of them contain some truly fascinating, original, well put together writing by very talented writers- ones who you can learn a lot from.

You can listen re work stories and ideas you have placed in larger magazines. Use material that has been placed in bigger publications and re-work it to come up with ideas and pitches for smaller ones. This means you get as much mileage out of your ideas and work as possible and also makes your life that little bit easier!

So next time you come up with a great idea for a story or article, don’t forget about smaller publications, you may find that they offer you a great deal more than you thought.

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post Dream Big – Pitch Small appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Does Writing Get Easier Over Time?

Are you struggling through that first novel? Perhaps you have just finished and are basking in the glow and the glory of finally having made it to the end? Maybe you are just getting started and having a tough time knowing where to begin?

Whatever stage you are at in your writing, the likelihood is that you will, at least during some stages, find it pretty tough going.

It’s also true that you have probably told yourself there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

This applies in particular to novel writers (though can, of course, be applied to any writer, writing any work). It is so easy to believe that once you have got through your first book the entire process will become so much easier.

The truth? I hate to break it to you, but it doesn’t.

In fact, there are all sorts of fantastic added pressures that comes with writing a second novel, and a third, and a fourth (you get the picture). If your first novel flopped then, the stakes are even higher to ensure that this next one is a success. If it did well then, it is pretty crucial that you don’t let your agent/publisher/fans/self down.

Logically you would think that the more your practice, the easier writing gets. But when you are doing it, it never quite seems to be that effortless, stress-free pastime that you so wish it could be.

There are several reasons for this.

For a start, as with any skill, if you want to get better you have to do it more. But if you want to get better you have to keep upping the ante, making the challenge tougher, and taking yourself out of your comfort zone to try new things. An accomplished musician doesn’t pass their grade one and only stay at that level, they work harder; they master more challenging pieces of music, they keep learning and improving. The same goes for athletes, artists, singers…any learned skill. Writing is just the same, so if you keep at it, it won’t get easier, but you will get better.

Each and every time you sit down to start a new piece of work you have to repeat the same process over and over again. While you may gain a better understanding of the process itself, the undertaking of it remains consistently challenging.

Developing complex, engaging characters, a riveting plot, a dialogue which sings seamlessly from the page – none of these aspects of writing get easier with time. Each time you begin again you are essentially back to square one – each story must be unique, and the same time, care and attention were given to your very first as to your very last.

“I have written a many great stories and I still don’t know how to go about it except to write it and take my chances.” John Steinbeck 1963.

The writing process is mysterious and challenging, and each and every writer has their individual hurdles to face. Because writing is such a unique (and wonderful) thing it is almost impossible to formulate an exact recipe to create an excellent piece of writing – and therefore writers often just have to sit down, get on with it, and hope for the best.

Readers are also mysterious and confusing creatures and keeping up with their whims and fancies is a whole different challenge of its own! While some writing is, of course, timeless, there are also fashions and phases and while what you wrote five years ago may have been received to great acclaim you may find readers tastes have moved on – so you need to go with them.

However, never fear writers! There is no reason to be disheartened. A life without challenges would be very dull indeed. Understanding, and accepting that writing may never get any easier means that we can let go of the struggle to make it so or the worry that we are not improving or learning. You only need to take a look at your writing over the years to see that you have discovered and accomplished a lot.

Just because writing isn’t easy doesn’t mean you can’t get better at it, and surely that is the most important thing?!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post Does Writing Get Easier Over Time? appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Write A Brilliant Book Outline

Taking the time to write a useful book outline can make all the difference when it comes to writing your novel. There are plenty of different methods and techniques you can use to do so. You might simply prefer to write it down; you might use pictures, collages, spider diagrams, enormous mind maps that you pin on your wall. There is no ‘correct’ way to create your story outline, but doing so will help you to ensure that your idea works, guide you when you get stuck, and keeping you sticking strictly to your storyline, rather than straying down paths that could take away from it.

The benefits of planning your book

Let’s face it, planning your book just makes good sense. You can clearly define and set your goals, understand how your story will flow throughout the entire novel, and even finish your manuscript faster. In fact, until stories are outlined in their entirety, it is often difficult for authors to say definitively that any idea has legs, and that they will be able to make it to the finish line.

A good outline will see you effortlessly (well, almost) skipping from chapter to chapter with confidence and ease. If you don’t do this, you run the risk of getting halfway through your book only to come to a complete and debilitating standstill, unsure of where to go next.

An outline keeps your organised – this applies in particular to authors who like to do a lot of research before they write their books. Planning your novel in its entirety will help you to naturally organise and categorise your research so you know exactly when to draw on it when writing your book.

So let’s look at some of the most effective methods that authors use to plan their books.

A simple table

There is no need to download the best book software out there. In fact, some authors find they prefer to keep things simple. A basic word document outlining chapters can often suffice. A table gives a little more structure – here you can summarise key points, make notes of research to look back on and create columns for each character and plot point.

The wall of Post-Its

This is a pretty old school method, but it works. The beauty of the Post-It wall is that it is hugely visual and you can effortlessly move bits around if you feel that something isn’t quite working. You can post anything you like, from words and phrases to sketches and quotes. Colour coding is also possible and can create a rather aesthetically pleasing effect on your wall too!

A writing app

In this modern, digital age, there are, naturally, plenty of great writing apps out there that can help you get organised and inspired when it comes to writing your novel. Check out our post on great writing apps for further advice.

The Mind Map

Mind maps are incredibly helpful when it comes to creating a useful book outline. Here you can see how different parts of your story connect to one another, and get a sense of how it all fits together.

Timelines

Creating a timeline for your novel works well, particularly if your novel takes place over a long time or jumps from the past to the present to the future. A timeline will help you keep track of what happens when and ensures that there aren’t any inconsistencies when it comes to your finished work.

However you choose to create your book outline, it is so important that you create one, before you start writing your book. Gathering as much information about your character, your plot and the themes of your novel, and setting it all out in a way that is logical (to you at least) can help you feel confident your story will be a success, and makes writing it much more of a pleasure too!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post How To Write A Brilliant Book Outline appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Stop Overcomplicating Your Plot

Your plot is what makes your story work. The best characters in the world, the most beautiful writing style, even a groundbreaking, heartbreaking, inspiring, hilarious idea will all be let down if your plot hasn’t been carefully thought out.

A complicated plot is often a writer’s downfall. There is nothing worse than reading a book where you have to keep flicking back to try to remember who said what, or what happened previously to make what you are now reading make sense! I have read books before where you follow the story through several different characters eyes (not an uncommon device and one I used in my own novel). However, the plot became so complicated, and the stories so intertwined that I found it almost impossible to keep up with whose perspective I was following.

I have also read books where the plot jumps from place to place, from time to time, and uses several secret languages. Or ones where the brothers, mothers father is in love with the adopted sister’s great grandmother, who herself is in love with her sister’s husband’s brother who has a daughter who is in love with the adopted sisters long lost son.

No one wants to read a book that makes them feel stupid, and while plots should be exciting, fast paced and unpredictable, if your reader ends up lost and bewildered, reading your novel will start to feel like a chore, and they may soon give up altogether.

The truth is it’s an easy mistake to make. We want our stories to be as exciting as possible and sometimes get carried away. What’s another long lost sibling showing up unexpectedly at the father’s funeral? What’s another troubled past involving deep dark secrets that change the lives of everyone around them? We want our stories to be thrilling and adventurous; we want to keep the reader guessing. The trouble is when you have added so many strings to the plot that they can’t guess at all – that they couldn’t possibly because they have no idea what’s going on, that’s when you’ll start to lose them.

So, the real question is how do you stop yourself from doing this? Here are some tips to help you become more disciplined when it comes to your plot.

Describe it, without writing it down, in less than 30 seconds.

If you can’t explain your basic story in less than 30 seconds, your plot may be too complicated. Think about what it would say to describe your story on the back cover of your book. Figure out how to trim your story so that it is clear and easy to explain.

Share it, in detail, with a friend

Ask someone who isn’t a writer to listen to how your plot unfolds chapter by chapter. Try to be as succinct as possible but don’t leave out too many details. Sometimes we need a fresh set of ears to help us realise where there are inconsistencies or questions left unanswered.

See if your story works without your subplot

Rather than reworking your subplot over and over again, ask yourself what would be lost if you took it out altogether. Does the main story remain unaffected? If this is the case, then perhaps you need to decide whether you should include it at all.

Scrutinise the actions of your characters

Look at what your characters are doing every step of the way, why are they doing these things? Understanding your characters motivation to speak or act in a certain way is important. If you can’t understand why they have said what they said or done what they did perhaps you need to rethink these sections.

Are there parts that feel laborious?

When reading over your story are there parts where you find yourself skimming rather than reading? This often happens to me when editing my work. I’ll be interested in the story, and loving how it flows, then there comes along a paragraph or two that I skim over. Being overly familiar with your work means it is easy to convince yourself it is just because you know it so well, but really these are the parts that are boring you, they need addressing so make sure you pay attention to them.

Be thorough not dramatic

Instead of ripping out entire sections of your book as a way to tighten the plot instead carefully go through it scene by scene. The danger of cutting massive parts is that it could affect your story further down the line. If you are thorough and diligent, you will only cut out the parts necessary to make your story flow and will end up with a much tighter plot overall.

A lean, carefully thought out plot will really benefit your book. Concentrating on this before you write your story will save you so much time in the long run too. Don’t let your plot get the better of you, stay strict, keep it simple and you’ll feel so much more in control of your story – your readers will thank you for it too!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post How To Stop Overcomplicating Your Plot appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines

All freelance writers know that if there is one thing that is going to make a huge difference to your writing success, it’s getting it noticed by more people.

There is an enormous amount of content out there – online, in magazines and newspapers – almost everywhere you look. People are saturated by it; it overwhelms them. So how do they cope with this relentless flood of content flowing their way? Well, they just ignore most of it!

So to give your writing a fighting chance of being interesting enough for readers to pause and think ‘I’d like to know more about that’ you have to be able to write a headline that stands out.

But just how do you do that?

Well, the answer is simple. When writing headlines ask yourself these three questions, and each and every time your headline should be clear, intelligent and compelling enough that your target audience will want to know more.

Who wants to read this content?

Understanding what you are trying to say and the audience you are trying to reach is utterly imperative if you stand a chance of your content being picked up by the right kind of people. Say you are writing a piece on keeping your office clean, you need to figure out who will care. Once you know, you can craft a headline which appeals directly to that particular set of people. The headline should capture what your piece is about, use language that your target audience is familiar with, or will enjoy.

Shout out to your readers, make it unmistakably clear that your content is for them.

How does my content solve my reader’s problems?

Your content needs to have value. It needs to solve problems. It needs to give something back. Empty content will leave your reader feeling cold, and worse still, rather cheated. Don’t promise the world in a headline if you can’t deliver. People will click through to your content because you told them you would give them something, something they need. Tell them how they will benefit in your headline. Will your piece teach them how to save time, how to be better at something, how to lose weight, to stand up for themselves, to craft or bake something? Be clear about what your piece offers and make sure your target audience knows.

3. What makes this content unique?

Unless you are writing something truly ground-breaking, you may well find that someone has already written about your topic before. So how do you make readers choose yours? You need to make sure that your headline promises something that others don’t. One writer might use the headline ’10 tips to clean your office.’ So you can make your article stand out by choosing ’10 time-saving cleaning tips to make your office sparkle.’ Even better would be to directly call out to your target audience: ‘Office Mangers! Ten time-saving cleaning tips to make your office sparkle and your team more productive.’ Here you are shouting out to your target reader, and giving them three reasons to click on your content, it saves them time, it makes their office cleaner, and their teams work more productively.

If you were an office manager looking for ways to keep your office more organised, wouldn’t you click on that?

Once you understand the basics of writing attention-grabbing headlines you can experiment with them and get creative. Learning what works and what doesn’t is so important and will make all the difference when it comes to reaching a wider audience and getting your content seen.

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post How To Write Attention-Grabbing Headlines appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Attract Your Perfect Audience – Avoid These Common Mistakes

It’s easy when just starting out in the writing world to make a few errors here and there. However, when it comes to identifying and trying to communicate with your target audience, the fewer, the better!

Every single potential reader, or potential customer that you put off because you communicate with them in a way they don’t like, will not give you a second chance, or, worse still, will react negatively to what you have done thus bringing down your brand.

Defining your target audience and knowing how to reach them and resonate with them is a huge part of marketing a book and failing to do so can mean you waste time and energy promoting your work to those who simply aren’t, and never will be interested in what you have to offer.

The good news is that there is lots you can do to make sure your marketing not only reaches the right people but makes them respond positively to it as well.

So what are the most common mistakes that writers make when trying to find their perfect audience, and more importantly how do you avoid them? Let’s take a look.

Having no concept of who your ideal reader is

If you don’t have a target reader in mind, how can you shape your work and your marketing to connect with them? Having a clear idea of the type of book you have written and the kind of people who might want to buy it will then help you to narrow down your target audience.

Spending no time listening to your ideal reader

Once you have identified your ideal reader you need to listen to them. Find out exactly what makes them tick. What problems do they have? What brings them joy? What makes them happiest, angriest, most upset? You need to be able to understand the psyche of your reader to successfully persuade them that your book is the one to read.

Making it all about you

Successful marketing is selfless. You need to understand what your book gives your reader and tell them so. Will it scare the living daylights out of them? Will it make them believe in love again? Will it help them lose weight or get the job of their dreams? Be clear about the benefits of your book. Readers are just like customers of any other business; they want to know exactly what is in it for them.

Failing to build up a fanbase before you release your book

Get fans first, release book second. This is a mantra that every writer should learn. Your fans need to be on the edge of their seats by the time your book hits the shelves. There are many ways to build up a fanbase (though there is no quick and easy way). You need to create hype; you need to offer people something. Writing a blog is a good example. Offer people something of value regularly, and they will start to take an interest in you. If you keep meeting their expectations they will become loyal, and then when you want them to do something for you (like buy your book) because you have never let them down before, they will trust you and do what you ask.

Being boring

You are a writer, you are creative, you are a genius! Your marketing should demonstrate how brilliant you are at writing so make sure that you are clever with it. ‘New book, out now!’ isn’t going to cut it. Don’t just churn out the same tired old content to market your novel – it will get lost. Make your stand out by being witty and intelligent and exciting and all the things you know you can be.

Attracting your perfect audience is no mean feat. However, by following the tips above, doing your research, taking your time and being creative and smart and you can slowly and surely build up a fanbase, attract high-value readers and ultimately sell more books!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post Attract Your Perfect Audience – Avoid These Common Mistakes appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Increase Your Book Sales – Top Tips To Get Your Book Noticed

At the end of the day, all authors who have written book have one goal in common – to sell more copies of it.

It doesn’t matter what success means to you; it doesn’t matter whether you have lofty aspirations to be a world-renowned writer, a millionaire, or just to sell a few hundred copies, or even any at all. Once you have reached the stage where you are making your book available to buy, you want people to buy it!

Of course, achieving that is easier said than done, and once you have exhausted all your friends and relatives, your book sales can go from full flow to a rather depressing trickle, and then stop altogether.

Without putting the proper time and effort into marketing your book, those sales are never going to increase. So if you want to get your book noticed, and therefore get more people buying it, follow these useful tips to increase your chances of success.

Word of mouth

Word of mouth recommendations should not be underestimated. A person is so much more likely to buy a book if it has been recommended to them by someone they trust. The more people who read your book, like it and talk about it, review it and share it with others, the more exposure it will get, and the more likely others will read it too.

While this concept is relatively straightforward. Putting it into practice is not. It is all well and good asking friends and relatives to review and share your marketing posts about your book, but unless you happen to have some particularly famous friends, their 200 Twitter followers won’t quite cut the mustard.

Start early

A strong marketing plan will see you doing plenty before your book has even been released. In fact, before you have started writing your book altogether. Build relationships with influential bloggers and writers, learn what your readers want, work hard to increase your readership before you launch your book and make sure they know it is coming so they are eager for more.

Make sure it can be seen

There are millions of books out there, and therefore millions of authors, just like you, who are clamouring for attention. Discoverability is the most important aspect of marketing your book. You need to make sure it is seen by people who will be interested in it.

There are a huge number of ways you can do this.Understanding SEO, researching your audience, creating targeted ads, understanding metadata, asking for reviews, sending out press releases – the list goes on. Use your book to get creative – where is it set? When is it set? What is the theme? Is there anything you can do to link it to other significant events or occasions or trending topics – if you can use these in your marketing? Write guest posts, submit your book to free review sites, build your social media profile, and record a book trailer.

Keep writing

Don’t use all your time and energy marketing your book without thinking about sitting down to write another. Start your next book straight away, that way you won’t keep your fans waiting ages for your next release and will be able to keep them excited and intrigued. If you wait too long, they could cool off, and you may well be back to square one. Make life easier for yourself and keep that writing coming!

Increasing your book sales is challenging, but as with the entire writing process, time and effort are what makes all the difference! So just keep going and you can make a significant difference to how successful your book becomes.

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post Increase Your Book Sales – Top Tips To Get Your Book Noticed appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Great Ideas For Your Author Blog

We all know that writing an author blog is a great idea. It helps you to connect with your readers, allows you to market your work and keep fans up to date with what you are up to, and it can act as a useful tool for reaching to a wider audience and gaining a following too.

However, for many writers keeping up an author blog can seem like a bit of a chore. Not only does it take time and effort to write one, but coming up with new ideas for fresh and interesting content time and time again – content that your audience will actually want to hear, can feel rather daunting.

So, with that in mind, and to get you started, we thought we would share some great ideas for author blogs to inspire you with what to write about, what is most effective ,and and what will get your target audience to sit up and take notice.

To start with you need to ask yourself the following:

Who are you trying to reach? Knowing your audience and the kind of content that will blow their minds is your ultimate power. Without researching this you are unlikely to be able to come up with ideas and content that will have your desired effect.

What are your goals? What are your objectives for writing the blog? Do you want people to buy your book, to like your social media accounts, to write you a great review? Make sure you have a clear objective in mind and then include a specific call to action within or at the end of your post that makes it easy for readers to understand what you want them to do.

What are your interests? If you don’t write about something you are interested in, you’ll end up boring yourself AND your readers. Think about what your passions are and how you can incorporate them into your blogs. Even better, try to come up with a theme – this way readers who resonate with you will know exactly what they are going to get every time you post, and therefore keep on coming back for more.

Once you have answered the above, you can move on to what kinds of content you might like to try and create.

Here are some ideas:

Tutorial or how- to posts

A glimpse into your life as an author

What you are working on right now and why

A ‘Dear diary’ post

FAQ’s – things you think your reader might want to to know – or invite them to ask you questions!

A fun quiz

A competition or challenge

Events and announcements of what you are up to

All about the industry – what do you feel about the writing industry?

Your expertise – are you brilliant at writing romance? Horror? Poetry? Share your top tips!

An interview with…

Survey and opinion polls

Video or podcasts

Guest posts – invite other writers to post on your blog

These are just some of the types of content you could try, or, for more specific ideas:

Writers that have influenced you and why

Best books you have read and why

Industry trends and how they have influenced you and your work

Your experience of writing and getting published

How writing has changed your life

Who would play your characters if your book got made into a film

Short stories (individual or a series)

Book giveaways

To keep your author blog interesting you should try to keep it fresh, useful and creative. Experiment with different forms of content, ways of delivering it and different topics too. If you do you’ll not only find what works best for your audience, but what you enjoy doing too, and suddenly that author blog post will be something you look forward to writing instead of something you put off!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post Great Ideas For Your Author Blog appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Create A Brilliant Book Contest And Attract More Readers

One of the best ways to get more people to read and review your book is to create a book giveaway competition.

Let’s face it, everyone loves a freebie, so if you can offer a few copies of your book to readers then go for it.

The great thing about a competition is that lots of people will be interested. If you simply giveaway a free copy of your book to the first three people to get in touch or like your Facebook page or share your blog etc. the giveaway will be over before you know it. Creating a competition means may people will enter in the hope that they will win – so you increase interest in your book but don’t have to giveaway hundreds of copies in the process.

So how so you create a brilliant book competition? Here are some tips on how to make it fruitful and fun!

Have a clear objective in mind

There are several reasons why you might want to create a book giveaway competition. You may want to generate more reviews, to increase sales, to generate more likes, shares and interest on social media, to get readers to subscribe to a newsletter or just to create awareness of your book. Whatever you objective is you need to be clear when you create your competition so those who wish to enter know exactly what to do. If they need to sign up to your newsletter to qualify, make sure it’s obvious and easy to do so. If they need to like your Facebook page and then share your post make sure they know to do so.

Once you know what your objective is you will be able to come up with clear and creative wording to attract your target audiences attention. Just remember that any rules must be clearly stated, and easy to follow.

Use your creative powers!

Book giveaways don’t have to be boring. If you want to collect reviews, for example, you could post a quote or image related to your book and ask readers and fans to come up with a creative caption for it or a ‘what happened next?’ type scenario. The most original, or the closest to the truth would be the winner.

Use the contest as a way of deciding something you have been struggling over – deciding on your book cover? Ask readers to vote? Can’t choose between two endings? Ask readers to vote on what they would like to happen.

You could also ask fans to leave comments or reviews but as part of the competition let them know that on a certain, undisclosed date and time the competition will suddenly close – this creates a sense of urgency and makes it more fun. Try to pick a significant date or time from your novel to bring it all neatly together!

Make sure you get it noticed

For your competition to be successful, it needs to get noticed. Make sure you use all your social media prowess to get it out there. Put it on your Facebook page and consider making it an ad campaign. Tweet about it regularly, create a Pinterest board about it, blog about it, ask all your friends to share it too – this way you’ll make sure your competition gets as much exposure as possible.

Think about timing

Being clever when it comes to timing will really pay off. If your book is a horror novel, for example, you could create your competition in the run up to Halloween. If your book is a love story, tie it in with Valentine’s day.

Think about how long you want to keep your competition going. Don’t let it run on too long otherwise; it will fizzle out, and people will lose interest. Don’t make it too short otherwise; you won’t give people enough time to enter or to generate a buzz.

Be thankful

Make sure you thank everyone for their entries and let your fans know how pleased you are that they are taking an interest. Being grateful will make them feel appreciated and increase the likelihood of them entering into another of your competitions in the future.

The prize

Your prices don’t have to be a book giveaway of course! You can be as creative as you like. A gift card from Amazon, a sneak peak at your new novel, a bunch of flowers – it’s completely up to you.

Make sure that once the competition is over you gather as much information as possible to use in future, if you have all your fans email addresses consider keeping in touch with them or writing a newsletter to get in touch again. Get as much mileage out of it as you can.

Creating a competition is a great way to get your book noticed – have you created a book competition before – let us know what you did and how it went!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

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