Slaven Vujic's Blog, page 5

Ljubavni roman “Cvjetovi od višanja”(Pisma Anđeli): Kad praznine zavape …

Kad utihne sve, ostaneš samo ti.

Samoću volim samo zato jer je provodim s tobom, Anđela. Samoća, a punina. Potpuna preplavljenost osjećajima za koje jedino ja znam. Samoća je moj topli dom;

ali to nije jedno mjesto već su to mjesta koja su dovoljno slobodna da nadilaze ovaj svijet. Tamo svugdje, u kraljevstvu cvjetova od višnje, ja sam dio vječne bajke.

Dio tebe.

Trebalo bi boljeti to što nismo zajedno.

Ne boli. Postoje praznine u kojima se uvijek nastani ljubav koju osjećam prema tebi i nadvlada sve druge osjećaje. Kakva je to sila samo! Ništa ne može protiv nje.

Čudesna ljubav kojoj ne treba da se igra tijelima jer više čarolije nalazi u plesu duša. A ja s tobom plešem neki divlji sentiš. Plešem kao poljubac u tvojoj mirisnoj kosi, plešem kao zagrljaj radosnih obraza koji se spajaju u jedno, vječno vrijedno.

Najteže mi je tebi darovati slobodu da budeš sretna daleko od mene.

Ali darujem ti je.

Ja ne želim okovati tvoje srce. Želim ti veselo, slobodno srce. Ne razmišljam više ima li me u njemu. Nije više ni važno.

Ti si daleko. Ali ja sam tu na jedan dah od tebe, kad se okreneš. To je moj izbor.

Nikad se nećemo desiti onako kako bi ja htio. Nikad. Smijem se. Sjetio sam te se.

Mekan ti je obraz. Lijepe su moje misli.

Kad praznine zavape, zaurlat ću iz petnih žila:

“Volim te, zlato moje. Volim te, Anđela”

The post Ljubavni roman “Cvjetovi od višanja”(Pisma Anđeli): Kad praznine zavape … appeared first on Slaven Vujic.

Authors Making it Big Need to Stop Making Marketing Mistakes

Stop Press! Authors, you may just be making some big mistakes when it comes to marketing your books. We know that, as authors, you want to share your story with the whole world. But, sometimes, an author’s eagerness to share may just cost them. Below are our top ten marketing mistakes that authors make. Have a gander – are you guilty of any of them?

Taking a back-seat approach

Put simply, if you sit back and do nothing, don’t expect there to be a driver driving forward sales of your book. Books don’t sell themselves and, realistically for most of us, “sleeper hits” just aren’t something that’s achievable. If you don’t put in the hard graft and start doing some work on selling and marketing your book, then it simply will not sell. Books sell primarily through word of mouth, be that actual talking or through recommendations from other in other formats such as a web algorithm, on the radio or in a newspaper, to name a few. This is a conversation that needs to be started. And it needs to be started by you, the author, or it will never get off the ground.

Stop Making Sales Excuses

It’s the school holidays so parents are too busy to read.
Amazon has changed its search algorithms.
There’s been a difficult general election.
It’s summer time and the weather is too nice.
It’s Christmas.
The economy is doing well so people are doing more expensive activities than reading.
The economy is bad and so people can’t afford to buy books.

Ever uttered one of these excuses? I know I have! With these market “macro” effects, they are actually often a total illusion. I know that I am extremely sceptical about some of them! If you’re a relatively minor author, then these effects really should not be of concern. Sure, if you’re Penguin or Bloomsbury then you may need to worry a bit. But for a small-town writer, the biggest influence in your sales are the “micro” effects such as when you last published a book, or when you last advertised or promoted your work. These things have the biggest effect on your sales, not the fact that there’s been no rain for the last five weeks.

Be Audience Perceptive

When you see a friend in Walmart, you wouldn’t greet them in the same way as if you were to talk with a stranger. The same must be said about the way you promote your book. It takes skill to judge an audience and get the tone right. Some audiences are friendly and warm, whilst others are colder and want to be impressed or blown away. Some audiences will be looking to buy, some just coming for a nose in what’s going on. In being able to judge your audience, you will learn best how to market to them. If an audience is colder, you shouldn’t approach it with a hard sell. An advert that’s softer can work better. Likewise, if someone has just subscribed to your mailing list, they probably don’t want to get inundated with emails asking them to buy your latest book. They may be wondering what it is that you can offer them.

Advertising Platforms: They’re not all the same!

The way you approach different audiences should also be applied to different advertising platforms. Amazon and Facebook are both unique platforms and you will get the best sales from your books if you tweak your methods to make them more appropriate for each platform. You’ll climb up the ladder quicker if you work with the nuances of each platform rather than expecting all platforms to conform to your method of advertising.

Being a little bit too “out there”

We’ve all heard the adage of “thinking outside the box” and we authors are always searching for new ways of bringing books to the market. Sometimes this can go too far the other way. The authors that are most successful focus primarily on producing good stories regularly and market them appropriately (which these days usually consists of book sites, emails and on Facebook). Go too far away from the norm and you might just miss that money that is inside the money box.

Trying to be here, there and everywhere

It’s important to be good at marketing your books but that doesn’t mean that you need to do it on all platforms equally. If you’re awesome at Facebook Ads, then concentrate on that. You’ll be much better off sticking to one (or maybe two) platforms than trying to promote your books on ten different sites. As an author, you simply do not have the time to spread yourself thinly over all the platforms. Pick a focus and learn to master it. There will be time to learn the other ways later.

Be logical, commercially speaking

You love your book. You’ve spent countless hours writing and re-writing it. It’s your literary baby. When it comes to marketing it and the business-side of things, it pays to be level-headed and not to get side-tracked trying to sell it. Don’t step out from your target market in the hope of drumming up sales. If you do, this could lead to confused “also bought” recommendations on Amazon and other sites. It can be a huge waste of money. Stick to what you know and stick to your guns about your target audience.

Targeting Readers is about more than just advertisements

Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. Are you fun and quirky who writes satire? Or are you serious and factual and write historical novels? Whatever your style, your marketing and communication should reflect that at every given turn. When a customer buys a book, they are also buying a piece of the author to take home. Don’t disappoint them in your approach to advertising and marketing by making it vastly different to what they expect and have chosen to read. Your business emails and sign-up forms need to reflect your writing style and it needs to be seamless.

We can’t all be the next J.K. Rowling

A lot of authors come about through chance and luck. Take J.K. Rowling: discovered, poor Edinburgh author, writing from a café to save on heating bills. We can’t all be the next big thing and nor should we expect to be. There are more than seven million Kindle books in the Kindle Store. Should we really expect that we are going to be discovered and have documentaries made of our lives and movies from our books. No, we shouldn’t. You need to make sure that those who do look at your books retain their focus. What will make them want to buy and subsequently read your book? Likewise, what will keep them engaged and wanting to buy our next book?  Good aftercare is important for keeping audiences growing. Having a holistic approach to marketing can work in your favour.

Non-stop Marketing

This may seem contradictory, but you can stop with the all-day, all night marketing strategies. Sure, I want you to market your books, but I don’t need to see marketing at every hour God sends. Your most powerful marketing tool is always going to be a new release and new releases are accompanied by marketing pushes. If you’re not ready for a new release then pushing your sales on Amazon a few days every month will do more good than if you were constantly at it, trying to drum up more sales. You can afford to coast some days and it will be more beneficial for your long-term marketing strategy than if you were constantly working on it.

So, there you have it! Which ones are you most guilty of? Le t’s change the game together!

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Rockerica bademastih očiju

Nosila je gitaru na leđima. Rockerica, rekao bih. To je taj pokret, buntovni monolog tijela koje se opire modernom svijetu glamura i kiča. Nosila je posve običnu majicu, ispranu previše puta. Obične crne traperice i posve običnu platnenu torbicu. Sve na njoj je bilo toliko obično. Veselo obično. Ah, taj osmijeh koji razoružava. To su one osobe koje su smiju cijelim licem bez ostakljene vedrine. Obrazi bi joj se tad još više zarumenili, ko kuhinjske ploče pod svježim mlijekom. Kosa joj je bila uredno raščupana.

Zagrlila ga je. Prijatelja. Sretan rođendan, kaže, u 7 i 25. Nikad nije prerano za dobre želje. Na stol je izvadila sitnicu koja je bila umotana u stidljiv osmijeh. Mora da je unutra bilo nešto veselo jer se prijatelj od srca nasmijao. Možda posve njihova tajna stvar? Možda lijepo sjećanje? Vratio joj je neposlušni čuperak na mjesto na kojem se sigurno neće dugo zadržati. Nasmijala se i zacrvenila, pogledala ga šutke kratko velikim bademastim očima prije negoli je srušila gitaru sa stolice.

E da. Nije to sve. Iz platnene torbice je izvukla dva kolača i plastični pribor. Sretan rođendan, opet.

Počeli su pričati o životu. S lica je nestao žar. Usta su se opustila u neku močvarnu kolotečinu. Kolač je bio ukusan, ali usta su jela mehanički. Nisu više uživala u osjetima. Mora da je tema bila teška. Sigurno je tema bila … život.

Pomazila je gitaru koja kao da je mahala repom poput nekog kućnog ljubimca. Vrijeme je za polazak. Prijateljski zagrljaj. Osmijeh cijelog lica.

Još jedan zagrljaj, ovaj puta duži. Onaj što se pokušava zapamtiti.

Rockerski okret. Osmijeh. Ispadanje platnene torbice na pod. Smijeh. Pogled. Rock balada u bademastim očima. Ljubavna, nesumnjivo.

ISTRGNUTE STRANICE (2024.)
Zbirka trenutaka, misli i osjećaja

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Zašto se nisam htio?

“Noćas ću umrijeti na svojim rukama. Osjećam snažan miris tamjana. Soba je prazna, mene više kao da u njoj nema. Na krevetu leži rasporena vreća uspomena iz koje krvare slike pobačene mladosti. Ustao bih se, ali ne mogu. Sve je preteško. Udoban je ovaj lijes. Jedino što imam po mjeri.

Osjećam snažan miris tamjana. Hajde završite više s tim srcedrapajućim pozdravima. Ah da, nema nikog. Samo poderana vreća praznije sreće. Uzak mi je malo ovaj lijes, taman da osjetim svoje tijelo. Imam svoj početak i kraj. Ne ustaje mi se. Dobro je. Uskoro ću biti tamjan. Kako dobro. Ući ću i u noseve onih koji me nisu htjeli blizu. Osjećam snažan miris tamjana. Osjećam sebe. Zašto se nisam htio?”

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Ljubavni roman “Cvjetovi od višanja” (Pisma Anđeli): Volim te od početka vremena

“Nedostaješ mi, Anđela. Prolazi vrijeme ovog svijeta i svaki trenutak u kojem nisam s tobom u mislima se čini bez boja i okusa. Volim samoću. Tad mogu pričati s tobom, neometano. Tad ti mogu priznati sve. Srcem, ne riječima.

Nećemo biti, znam. Ali, bili smo na tren.

Ja znam kako mirišeš. Znam mekoću tvog desnog obraza. Znam božanstvenost zagrljaja. Znam boju tvoje duše jer sam te gledao u te srneće oči.

Lažem malo. Za mene smo bili puno ranije.

Puno prije trenutka u kojem si mi pokazala malo ljubavi. Za mene smo oduvijek. Nisam ti znao ime. Nisam znao kad ću te sresti. Znao sam da si tu negdje i da će te vjetar vremena dovesti na moj put. Nikad se nisam zaljubio u tebe. Jednostavno, volim te od početka svijesti, početka vremena. Ti si početak mene. Kad sam te osjetio, počeo sam upoznavati samog sebe. Ti si moja ljubav s izvora čiste ljubavi.

Nećemo se više dogoditi, znam. Uvijek sam mislio da ću ja biti taj koji odlazi, ali zapravo si otišla ti i zalupila vrata iza kojih imaš svoj spokoj. A ja, ja sam ostao među cvjetovima od višanja. Duboko ukorijenjen u stazu kojom su protrčale naše duše.

Ostao sam jer sam htio. Jer volim za dvoje. Jer ti ljubim obraz još uvijek. Jer još uvijek šapćem “Božji blagoslov” u tvoje slatko uho. Prva si. Prva kojoj sam to šapnuo. I kojoj šapćem svake noći.

Dajem ti mir koji si tražila.

Vidimo se tamo svugdje, ako poželiš istrčati iz granica ovog svijeta. Ja sam tamo miran. Miran u neokaljanoj ljubavi.

Sve je dobro, anđele. Tuga je samo kratak hir ovog tijela. Ne duguješ mi ništa. Hvala ti. Hvala ti što si bila hrabra reći Bogu da me voliš. Hvala ti što jesi.”

The post Ljubavni roman “Cvjetovi od višanja” (Pisma Anđeli): Volim te od početka vremena appeared first on Slaven Vujic.

Christmas 2023 Giveaway!

Howdy, dear mellons! It’s TIME for for the biggest giveaway ever hosted by yours truly.
I created Tolkienology almost 5 years ago; certainly, it isn’t just another project. It’s my passion, my pleasure, my love. Do you know what makes Tolkienology that special? YOU! Thank you for being such an awesome audience :). This is why I’m hosting the biggest giveaway ever – so many great prizes are up for grabs!

Slaven Vujic, Founder of Tolkienology
www.slavenvujic.com

Now let’s take a look at the prizes we have prepared for you:

TOP PRIZE:
artwork by Ukrainian artist Iryna Vlasenko,
Art Director of Tolkienology
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Website

SPECIAL PRIZE:
Secret Tolkien Stash by author Slaven Vujic, Founder of Tolkienology
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Website

BOOKS

2x Signed Paperbacks
MC
Hatton
—
Website

Signed paperback Nic Winters
—
Website

2x signed paperbacks
J.A. Merkel
—
Website

Signed Paperback Leah Lindeman
—
Website

Signed Paperback by Lanie Mores
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Website

Signed Paperback by Stephanie Cotta
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Website

Signed Paperback by Jenna Jarvis
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Website

Signed Paperback by Robyn Hartling
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Website

3x audiobooks
Joshua Griffith
—
Website

Just fill out the form below and you’re in :).
For a bonus entry, please e-mail tolkienologynet@gmail.com and explain what Tolkien means to you.

Please consider joining our great army of Patrons on Tolkienology (more giveaways, more quizzes + a Secret Council seat!)

The post Christmas 2023 Giveaway! appeared first on Slaven Vujic.

Christmas Giveaway!

Mellons, this is FOR YOU! We are hosting the biggest-ever giveaway in Tolkienology. You can join for free for your chance to win these amazing prizes:

Tolkien Stash by Slaven VujicLeaf of Lorien, original acrylic painting by Iryna Vlasenko3x AudioBook Satan is Coming to Town by Joshua GriffithA Time to Kill novel by Nic Winters (signed paperback)Wisps of Gold by Leah Linderman (signed paperback)Code of Reanimation by Lanie Mores (signed paperback)Tolkien Stash by Slaven VujicLeaf of Lorien, original acrylic painting by Iryna Vlasenko3x AudioBook Satan is Coming to Town by Joshua GriffithA Time to Kill novel by Nic Winters (signed paperback)Wisps of Gold by Leah Linderman (signed paperback)Code of Reanimation by Lanie Mores (signed paperback)

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Ljubavni roman “Cvjetovi od višanja” (Pisma Anđeli): Postoji moje, veliko za dvoje

“Znam da znaš. Nisi to htjela, ali osvojila si moje srce. Nisam se ni trudio to sakriti.
Ti nemaš što sakriti. Tvoje je srce već ispunjenio bez mene. Za mene nema mjesta do kraja ovog vremena. Ovo nije naše vrijeme, čini se.
Ali ja volim tvoje ispunjeno srce. Meni ne treba tvoje ranjeno i uznemireno srce da bi se osjećao voljenijim. Kakva bi to bila ljubav kad bi želio gmizati tvojim ranama i u tvoj krvotok ući kao infuzija neke izgubljene stvarnosti. Ja nisam iscjelitelj tvog srca, ja sam njegov čuvar. Da bude sretno ispunjeno, kako i jest.
Molio sam za tebe rano jutros dok su već zaboravljene ptice pjevice oslikavale zoru živahnijih boja. Molio sam za tvoju radost.
Ljubio sam ti duhovne rane. Tiho i meko dok spavaš, da poljupci ne uznemire tvoje srce.
U njemu se združene duše raduju, a moja je ionako skitnica i lutalica. Priznajem ti, volio bi znati kako je biti u tvom srcu.
Ali ne po cijenu tereta za tvoju dušu …

Svanut će ti neka predivna zora. Htjet ćeš je naslikati. Sve najljepše od svijeta će se naći pod tvojim kistom. Nećeš ni znati da su neke živahne radosti oko tebe rođene radi mene. Mazit ćeš me kistom i nanositi na svoje nevinije platno. Bit ću dio tvoga oka. Bit ću dio tvoje slike.

Zar je voljeti grijeh?

Molio sam Gospoda da mi bude dozvoljeno biti uz tebe. Da mi dozvoli da najbolje od sebe posvetim tebi. I da nitko ne zna za to.
A ponekad ni ti. Ne želim da mi se zahvaljuješ. Ne želim da me poželiš nagraditi. Ne želim da poželiš. Ne želim da poželim. Želim da si sretna.
Rekla si mi da si sretna. Ja nisam dio te sreće, ali moje srce se raduje. Ne mogu te ljubiti već ljubljenu. Ali u mojoj mašti mogu baš sve. A u tvojoj zbilji, mogu ljubiti one rane koje nitko ne vidi. Ako je tako, neka budu moje i jedino naše što imamo.

Naše. Ne postoji naše.

Postoji moje.
Dovoljno veliko za dvoje.
Kad nemaš gdje, sve je tvoje…”

The post Ljubavni roman “Cvjetovi od višanja” (Pisma Anđeli): Postoji moje, veliko za dvoje appeared first on Slaven Vujic.

Social Media Guide for Authors: Ninety Days to Your Tribe

What if you could completely transform your social media management and social media strategy in just ninety days, making use of a wide array of tips and techniques delivered in ways that are easy to follow, and which genuinely provide enduring results? That’s the premise behind Ninety Days to Your Tribe by Slaven Vujic, a compelling, highly readable, and compulsively practical book about approaching social media strategy in ways which make a real difference to your business.

Entrepreneurs and marketing teams have long since argued and debated over the best approaches, techniques, and strategies when it comes to making use of the myriad opportunities that social media presents. Vujic’s perspective is a refreshingly simple one, and is based upon a premise which is as appealing as it is tried and tested: don’t just do social, be social. That’s the essence, right there: introducing the notion that social media marketing isn’t about selling or pushing products and services upon your audience, but rather about building a tribe, a family, and a network of enthused potential clients who’ll happily generate buzz on your behalf.

By basing his approach on a combination of the time-honoured (word-of-mouth and developing consumer enthusiasm) and the cutting-edge and contemporary, and by blending that with the global reach that networks such as Facebook allow, Vujic has demonstrated the power and influence that a meaningful two-way interaction with a target audience can create.

Any risks of such a thorough and explanatory text being a little on the dry side quickly dissipate, thanks to the book’s engaging style and methodology. Like all the best teachers, Vujic draws upon his own experience to ensure the social media marketing strategies are founded in reality. In his ever-idiosyncratic style, this means basing the premise of the book on the creation of an engaged and dynamic online Tolkien fandom, which grew from a hobbyist’s passion into something genuinely profound and marketable. By building a social media tribe from an authentic attempt to spread excitement, ideas, and two-way discussions, success was as organic and enduring as it was swift in arriving; the titular ninety days is laid out as a logical, easy-to-follow eleven-step program, flexible and agile, and capable of being followed by a wide array of small business owners and brand managers.

Vujic guides his readers through his program, based consistently on the aforementioned Tolkien example, with ease and a sense of fun throughout. However, this book is far from light-hearted or frivolous – it lays out how to develop those success-driving engaged communities in great detail, from building mailing lists and website audiences to developing a powerful Facebook presence, perfect for those seeking updated solutions to social media strategy.

What’s more, Vujic’s techniques and social media marketing lessons manage to hit the zeitgeist in ways other guides would overlook. By going into meme marketing, how to utilise Facebook ads, reaching out to influencers and making use of data analytics, he shows how to bring together the various strands of your strategy together, to form a well-oiled social media marketing regime.

For small business owners and entrepreneurs looking to build their brand and their online presence, Ninety Days to Your Tribe by Slaven Vujic is an invaluable resource for 21st century social media strategy progress. Refreshing, direct, and packed full of surprising insights and real-world examples, there’s little doubt that this book provides no shortage of keys, each unlocking the potential of authentic social approaches to business success.

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Tolkienology Reaches 200,000 Followers!

It’s a wonderful day to announce that Tolkienology now has more than 200,000 followers on Facebook!
I’m wholeheartedly grateful to the incredible audience on Facebook, hard-working admins, moderators, contributors, and supporters. This truly is an exciting milestone that’ll motivate us to come up with the best content possible for our followers and friends.
As a writer, I’m greatly inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien. I’m also an avid reader since high school, and I poured all my skills and knowledge into creating Tolkienology. Yes, I added a couple of pints of humor, too! Since 2019. I’ve created dozens of articles and thousands of memes and I consider Tolkienology my most successful online project.
But Tolkienology is not just a project to me. It’s salvation. When the road darkens, I flee to Tolkien’s worlds.
I find comfort in Rivendell, strength in Rohan, and hope in Gondor. Through Moria, I drill my way out of depression.
Thank you, Professor.

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