Jesper Schmidt's Blog, page 7

The Mindset You Need to Self Publish Successfully

There is an underlying key to being a successful self-published author. Do you want to know what the secret is? It’s all about your mindset.

Autumn and Jesper delve into what that outlook is and why it can make such a difference to how you fair as an indie author in this episode. See if you have the attitude and why you need to develop it if you don’t.

Check out the FREE Self Publishing Success Course that we mention in the episode at https://ultimatefantasywritersguide.c...

Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.

SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST! Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.

Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.

Read the full transcript below.

(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).

Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube.

var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/a0e11e05...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

The post The Mindset You Need to Self Publish Successfully appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

How To Effectively Promote Your Fantasy Book

Whether you’re an author who’s recently released your fantasy book or a publishing company looking to drum up a little interest in a new title, you’re probably at least somewhat interested in promoting your book online. It’s a good idea, too! And there are several ways you can make use of social media to promote a fantasy book online.

Do your market research

No matter how you distribute or market your book, you’ll want to work online. There are so many interdependent relationships between online endeavors. Many authors find ‌a website is their home base, allowing them to connect with visitors, post updates, review other people’s books, and sell their own.

There are a number of ways that authors and publishers can take advantage of their online presences when it comes to promoting books. In addition to starting blogs and adding blog posts to relevant categories, many authors and publishers begin to build mailing lists, where interested parties can sign up for more information about releases. Or you can work with other writers and authors, who may be interested in cross-promotion. Depending on the social media platform you decide to use, play around with the advertising tools to get an idea of how you can best target your audience. Don’t just take your book sales at face value — at this point, you’re not just hawking a product. Think about it as a concerted effort to build an audience for your book that will continue to grow after sales are made.

Establish your web presence

Make sure there’s a place for readers to find your website online, and that it clearly links back to your social media. Many readers will look first for the book’s website when they want to see more information about your book or see how it looks in print. This is particularly helpful for selling physical books, but you want to make sure you have a buy link direct to your publisher’s or Amazon page in order for digital customers to buy the book. If somebody is viewing your site, they probably like your book, so make it incredibly easy to purchase and have those buy buttons big and easily accessible. Make it easy for people to buy the books they want to buy, from a company they already enjoy.

Put your author website on your business card, and on any other pieces of physical collateral you distribute. Because you’re likely unaware of how much information about you people are scrolling past in the digital world, make sure they have a way to navigate to your contacts on email, phone, and social networks. From there, they can not only get to the other social networks you have a presence on officially, but they can also find you on the unofficial sites you might frequent. If they see that you’re active and entertaining there, they’ll be more open to your book.

Build your author website, now

It’s time to get your own website. It’s one of those tedious tasks that’ll make you sigh, and no matter how quickly you do it, the point of it will probably seem completely unclear. But that’s exactly why you need to do this as soon as possible! When you have a website, even if it’s just a basic one, people browsing out of curiosity can go through it and learn more about you as an author. They can get to know you better, find out your blog posts and social media handles, and be able to easily read more of your books, should they want to. It builds an “author brand” if you just throw a few pages of information together quickly, and once you do it there’s no going back!

Write a compelling author bio

There are some things you don’t forget. Your first kiss. The presidential election of 2008. And how Ed Sheeran pronounced “certain” on “BBC Radio 1’s Breakfast Show.” Your name is probably on that list in a few places, too, including your author bio. Even if you write under a pen name, your name is front and center for online promotions, a press release summary, and your selected author photos. To be fair, we writers put a lot of thought into the writing process. However, we often forget to spend a bit of time on the marketing side of writing. While an impeccably crafted novel can solicit an army of social media fans and garner general interest on its own, it’s easier to promote your book and avoid rookie mistakes when you take some time on a rock-solid bio. Developing an author bio might feel like an unnecessary step, but it’s crucial in shaping your image, leveraging your experiences, and impressing future fans.

Build relationships within and outside the fantasy genre

A key to a book’s online promotion is connecting with like-minded people who will want to read your book! Whether you’re independently publishing or working with a publishing company, expanding the number of your online followers will lead you to discover words that help you promote a book online. Guest-post on a related blog. Follow authors who write books similar to yours on Twitter and retweet their posts. Don’t be shy about seeking out opportunities to advertise your book! Recommend it to your friends and family members who join social media networks. Create author pages on Amazon and Goodreads, even if you self-publish, and talk about when a book will be released and how to get involved with the book as it gets closer to its release date. Publish writing samples on Wattpad and Commaful. Planning for a fantasy book more than six months in advance is a good idea — use forms from your publishing company to contact bloggers and small publications about promoting your book.

Once your book is out, the most important thing you can do—after thanking everyone you can think of, of course! — is to keep the momentum going. That might mean booking a few appearances or even going on tour, and whatever route you go, you’ll need to lay a couple of these online promotion tactics out on the road ahead of you. After all the hard work you’ve been putting in, it’s well worth it.

The post How To Effectively Promote Your Fantasy Book appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

Top 10 WORST Stories Ever Told!

In preparation for this episode of the Am Writing Fantasy podcast, Autumn and Jesper have suffered through some of the WORST movies.

This is an entertaining top 10 of the movies which tells the worst stories EVER.

At the end, the hosts share some thoughts on what NOT to do when creating stories of our own.

Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.

SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST!

Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.

Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.

Read the full transcript below.

(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).

Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube.

var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/e5b8f4ee...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

The post Top 10 WORST Stories Ever Told! appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

2021 Indie Publishing Predictions – with Mark Coker

What is in store for indie authors in 2021?

Join Autumn and special guest, Mark Coker, the CEO and founder of Smashwords as they discuss his predictions for 2021. There are some highs and some trends to be cautious of, as well as some new tools that might help you find your readers.

Check out the blog of Mark’s predictions at https://blog.smashwords.com/2020/12/publishing2021.html and visit Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/.

Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.

SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST! Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.

Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.

Read the full transcript below.

(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).

Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube.

var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/1ff805cd...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

The post 2021 Indie Publishing Predictions – with Mark Coker appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

Tips on Writing a First Draft

Writing a first draft is a hurdle that many really struggle with. Most will never make it any further than this step.

In this episode of the Am Writing Fantasy podcast, Autumn and Jesper offer a whole range of tips and advice to help you conquer the first draft of your novel.

Links mentioned in this episode:

BookBub reasons for rejecting a featured deal: https://insights.bookbub.com/reasons-... 

The FREE Self Publishing Success course: https://www.amwritingfantasy.com/ 

Our guide on how to plot a novel: https://books2read.com/Plot-Development 

Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.

SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST!

Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.

Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.

Read the full transcript below.

(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).

Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube.

var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/c3f2ddd5...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

The post Tips on Writing a First Draft appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

Would you like to win a 45 minute mentoring session?

Do you like great writing tips? Up to date and insightful book marketing hints?

Who am I kidding? Of course you do! That is why you are here. Whether you enjoy perusing the blog here at Am Writing Fantasy with its hundreds of posts, love the Am Writing Fantasy podcast with over 100 episodes, or enjoy streaming the Youtube channel, we do our best to provide you with quality tips that can help you with your book marketing, writing, and all the questions and doubts that can trip up an author.

But we have to admit, we might give away all those tips, but that doesn’t mean producing them is free.

We spend quite a lot on website hosting, podcast production, equipment, and let’s not forget time. We are writers too and there are days we both feel that pinch for a few more hours just to get something done… But we LOVE giving you the advice we do!

To help offset the costs, we offer even more insights, early access to podcast episodes, and some incredible, exclusive benefits like input on podcast topics, t-shirts, and even access to courses! And that is just on a normal day…

Right now, we are running a Patreon special! Everyone who signs up (and all existing members) will receive a copy of our best selling book, Plot Development. PLUS, we will hold a drawing for one member to receive a 45 minute mentoring session with Jesper and I. We can talk books, marketing, writing, publishing, whatever you want and need!

I guess we just can’t seem to help ourselves from giving things away!

Come join us, get the benefits, enter for a chance to win a mentoring session, and help support Am Writing Fantasy. We sincerely appreciate it and you.

The post Would you like to win a 45 minute mentoring session? appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

Bookstagram & Book Marketing

You’ve probably heard of Instagram Influencers, but did you know there are book influencers there too?

We discuss what Bookstagrammers are and the age bracket of readers on Instagram. Because the best Bookstagrammers are passionate readers! Plus, we look into how to network with Bookstagrammers, some of the things they can (and can’t) do for your book, and how to find the right Bookstagrammer for you.

Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.

SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST!

Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.

Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.

Read the full transcript below.

(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).

Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube.

var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/fc8125a6...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

The post Bookstagram & Book Marketing appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

Ten TERRIBLE Ways of Creating Characters!

What happens when Autumn and Jesper lets go of the reigns and come up with the most crazy and stupid ways in which to create fictional characters?

Episode 115 is NOT designed to give you any writing advice. Hopefully, it’ll make you laugh instead.

Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.

SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST!

Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.

Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy.

For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.

Read the full transcript below.

(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).

Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube.

var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/11fa2a3d...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

The post Ten TERRIBLE Ways of Creating Characters! appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

Are You Struggling to Write Your WIP?

Writing is not as easy as so many people like to think it is. At least, not to write something that has a strong plot, realistic characters you wish were your friends (or hope are never YOUR enemies), and worlds that you want to explore. And then once you do publish, learning how to market and build your author platform is another skill set to learn.

I get it!

I have well-meaning relatives who’ve questioned why I write fantasy to others who’ve questioned why I needed to worldbuild even a short story. But hey, I’m about to release book number 21 and, yup, it is fantasy! This is what I love and part of that passion is helping other authors achieve their dreams too.

Every author should wake up to emails from readers who LOVE your book, who thank you for writing it, and encourage you to write more. Every author should stumble on a mention where someone gushes praise for their writing and see themselves listed as someone’s favorite author. Because those are Oh My GOD moments!

And while Jesper and I create the podcast and blog posts here, we know that isn’t quiet enough to achieve that level of help that can really make a difference in a writer’s life and writing journey just when they need it. That is why we have the Ultimate Fantasy Writer’s Guide.

This is our premium writing course and it covers everything you need from how to develop a story idea, create characters and character arcs, worldbuild, develop magic, write a captivating story, and then it gets into the second HALF of the course on editing, marketing, formatting and publishing, launching to fans, and building an author platform. It has it all.

And it is open for enrollment NOW!

But only until March 7th. Then the doors close for another six months as we meet the new students, and get them the help they need in our monthly student Q&A session. Do you want to be one of those students?

Come check out the Ultimate Fantasy Writer’s Guide and join us! We’d love to have you and be there to celebrate the release of your next, first?, book!

The post Are You Struggling to Write Your WIP? appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.

How to Edit Your Novel

You’ve finished the first draft of your novel. GREAT! Now, how do you tackle edits?

We’ve got you covered. In this episode, we discuss the pros and cons of different editing methods, take a peek at how Autumn runs her edits, and what you can do if you really aren’t a fan of editing (like Jesper).

Check out the Ultimate Fantasy Writer’s Guide before enrollment closes on March 7th! Head over to https://ultimatefantasywritersguide.c....

Tune in for new episodes EVERY single Monday.

SUPPORT THE AM WRITING FANTASY PODCAST! Please tell a fellow author about the show and visit us at Apple podcast and leave a rating and review.

Join us at www.patreon.com/AmWritingFantasy. For as little as a dollar a month, you’ll get awesome rewards and keep the Am Writing Fantasy podcast going.

Read the full transcript below.

(Please note that it’s automatically generated and while the AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).

Or you can listen to the podcast! There are several ways …

Subscribe via Apple Podcasts!The podcast player below. Just click play. Or scroll past it to read the full transcript (These are automatically generated and while AI is super cool, it isn’t perfect. There may be misspellings or incorrect words on occasion).On Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or your fave podcast app. Just search for “Am Writing Fantasy.”You can listen on YouTube.

var podscribeEmbedVars = { epGuid: 'amwritingfantasy.podbean.com/febdc3d7...', rssUrl: 'http://podcast.amwritingfantasy.com/f...', backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

The post How to Edit Your Novel appeared first on AmWritingFantasy.