Rachel Thompson's Blog, page 27

April 3, 2013

Do Readers Need A Kindle To Buy Amazon eBooks? Nope.

Want to take advantage of free or low price eBooks or on Amazon?

Do you have a Kindle?

You don’t need one!

I get comments every day from people who tell me they can’t read my latest release, Broken Pieces, because they don’t have a Kindle.

Wait, what? No.

Maybe it’s my own perception bias because I’ve participated in this online world for five+ years, but…really? No!

Amazon has free apps for anyone with a computer, smartphone, tablet, or cloud. Even Nook owners can download the free apps to their various and sundry electronics. ‘The best reading experience on your Android phone or tablet, iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows 8 PC or tablet, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone.’

That about covers most everyone at this point — even kids have iPads and mostly everyone (okay, not EVERYONE but if you’re reading this…) in our civilized world has at the very least a computer. Get on the bus, my friends.

On another note:

FREE Thursday and Friday only!

BROKEN PIECES

This book is NOT humor. (If you want humor, check out my two previous books A Walk In The Snark or Mancode: Exposed (both $2.99)).

Here’s a 5-star review from Dr. Bojan Tunguz, Top 10 Amazon Hall of Fame reviewer:

We all have many painful and even traumatic experiences in our lives, many of which come to shape us in ways that we are only partially aware of. They end up influencing our relationships and interactions, and can significantly shape our entire outlook on the world. Most of us don’t have the courage or desire to speak about them even to people that we are closest to. Going out of our way to actually write about them and make them available to the wide audience takes a particular kind of inner strength. And in “Broken Pieces” Rachel Thompson does just that – she brings out some of the darkest and most traumatic experiences of her life and lays them out for the World to see.

As the title of this book suggests, the personal experiences explored in “Broken Pieces” and their impact on Rachel’s life are fragmented and disjointed. There are certain themes that join them, such as trust, intimacy and sexuality, but overall there is no overwhelming sense of what impact one experience may bare on the others – if any. Rachel is baring her soul out, for all of us to see, and letting each one of us take away our own lessons that we find in these incidents. This book avoids being preachy and patronizing, which in itself is remarkable since these kinds of traumatic experiences are precisely the ones that are most often taken as the basis for some greater agenda. There is no hidden agenda in “Broken Pieces,” but a wealth of valuable life lessons that most of us will be fortunate enough not to have to go through ourselves.

The book is written as a series of fragmentary essays. The “narrative” (if it can be called that) jumps from one experience to another, often going back and forth in order to reinforce certain points. Thompson is a wonderful stylist, and the whole book is written in a very lyrical and poignant prose. This is not a book for leisure reading, but a powerful testament to the resilience and the indomitable nature of human spirit. Regardless of your own life path, there is a lot in this book that will inspire you and give you encouragement to come to terms with your own dark places.

I’m also featured in today’s BookBub newsletter. This is cool because they normally don’t take books that have been out only three months. So why did they take mine to feature (besides me badgering them lol)? Well, they liked that the book has received almost 90 reviews, the majority overwhelmingly positive — including a 5-star from several top Hall of Fame Amazon reviewers (like Dr. Bojan above), as well as the Midwest Book Review! I’m truly honored so many people are enjoying my work.

I hope you take a chance on Broken Pieces and share your thoughts.

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View more on Rachel Thompson's website »

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Published on April 03, 2013 16:01

April 1, 2013

Taking Reviews Personally? Well, Stop. Now.

With three books out now, all bestsellers and highly-rated, I still have my fair share of 1 to 2-star reviews. I often get a kick out of them — they are rarely more than a line or two and they often contain some sort of personal attack and even name-calling (‘trustafarian dewdrop‘ takes the cake). How can I take these seriously?

I don’t.

But, many people do. We are all human and when somebody says our baby is ugly, we get upset. We want to defend. We want to write something back in response. We are MAD.

Don’t be. Let is go. I’ve seen too many online back and forths (aka flame wars) that just turn ugly. Plus, why? Will you change someone’s mind? Doubtful. Spend the time you would’ve spent bothering with it all on writing your next book. If you’re angry as you write, then kill off a reviewer — fictionally!

But don’t take that negative toxicity on.

Conversely, as authors, we have to toughen up. We are creating art which is a highly subjective creation. Anytime we create something and put it out there in the public, we will receive feedback — both positive and negative (as it should). I’ve written about this before, but not a day goes by that an author is lamenting an unfair review so I want to address it.

1) You are a salesperson. My theory is this: everyone in the world is selling something, all the time. Perhaps I’m jaded from having been a pharma rep for 15 years — I definitely had to learn how not to take rejection personally.

As authors, we are selling books. Forums exist now (like social media and blogging) that didn’t exist before, to get the word out very quickly about our thoughts about products — whether it’s soap, food, or art. The onus is on you, the author, to create the best product you possibly can — and by that I mean hiring an editor, proofreader, formatting, graphic designer, etc. If you don’t think you can afford it, I’ve got news for you: you will pay in poor reviews and lackluster sales. If you’ve done your due diligence and are still getting poor reviews, it’s time to man/woman up and take a closer look at your work.

2) You are a marketer. Like it or not, nobody can purchase your spectacular product if they’re never heard of it, haven’t seen any reviews, or found articles/interviews/features about it. I’ve written a kazillion articles on using social media, blogging, ads, and more to flesh out your author platform, but many people still seem to think ‘if I write it, they will come.’ How’s that working out for you?

I cannot stress this enough. Your work should be perfect before you upload that file. Crit partners, betareaders, even friends you trust are awesome, but that does not replace utilizing professional editing and the other services I mention above.

3) Poor reviews. A few points here.

Take nothing personally. Low reviews suck, but so what? You’ve no doubt been rejected before. Get over it. Move on. (If you just can’t, pick up this book — The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz — short, simple, helped me immensely).
Bogus/fake reviews. You can practically get someone to sleep with you on Fiverr. Why should reviews be any different? They’re not. You can pay someone to write 5-stars for you or 1-stars for a ‘competitor’s’ book (for god’s sake, don’t!). Read this instead. Many 1-stars are bogus, many are not. Oh well. Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble all have imperfect systems but we have to work within the guidelines. It is what it is.
Merit. If the 1-stars have merit, read them. Learn from them. None of us is perfect. But if it’s ridiculous stuff (How can she let her children listen to Queen? She’s a terrible mother!‘), laugh and move on.

I hope this gives you a small taste of handling reviews. It’s all in the perspective. Trust your vision and don’t waver. People told me not to write Broken Pieces – that it would be a downer. That people read to escape and want fantasy. That it would fail.

But I ignored them all. They didn’t see my vision. And the fact that some people don’t get it is fine. So is the fact that some people love it. All good.

Because I stayed true to my vision. That’s what counts.

And the money. (Kidding).

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View more on Rachel Thompson's website »

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Published on April 01, 2013 18:54

March 25, 2013

How I Lost 1,000 Pounds Over 50 Years by guest Steve Taylor

My Emotional Eating Roller Coaster

by guest author Steve Taylor

Fasten your seat belts. Here begins a sordid story of a fat boy. It’s so bad, that the only way I can even talk about it is to poke fun at it:

Ode to a fat boy playing Santa Claus

Is he really a jolly fat man

Or just supporting a cause

Is he laughing on the outside

And crying on the in

And wishing with a fervor

That he was really thin.

Oh the many diets of which he did partake

But somehow falling short of the final goal to make

Oh diet, oh diet, can’t you make me thin?

When I am fat, life is so grim

How can I expel this obsession, this compulsive overeating

Arrest my mind, body and soul, of this constant beating

One day an epiphany arose a special treasured gem

The feeling was so powerful

He knew it’s not a whim.

Maybe it was not what he was eating

But what was eating him.

HISTORY

Those last two lines tell the whole story. After being big almost my whole life, I tried Weight Watchers starting sometime in the 60s and then about fourteen more times after that. I also tried L.A. Weight Loss, South Beach, Atkins, The Zone, T-Factor , Jenny Craig, Nutrisystems, E-diets, the Grapefruit Diet, the Three Day Diet, the Mayo Clinic Diet, Medifast, the Mediterranean Diet, Sugar Busters, the Eating for Life diet, Slimfast, and… this is getting ridiculous so I will stop now.

But all of those diets and probably a few more that I left out enabled me to lose about 1000 pounds over the span of 50 years. And then, that epiphany I described in the poem came to me. I discovered that all of the diets actually do work at the time, but I always gained my weight back plus a few extra pounds.

Do you know that I was not alone? The National Institute of Health, estimates that about 98% of dieters gain their weight back. Why? Emotional eating, a method of creating powerful, pleasurable, and sensual sensations by eating food. These sensations can overpower and eradicate emotional pain, even if it is just for a little while.

Food became the enabler for me to cope with the emotional roller coaster I was on. At my lowest mental point as an overweight adult, I was in a lot of pain. I had just lost my wife of 23 years to brain cancer. Eight months later, I had triple bypass surgery after a heart attack. My business was struggling and I was having trouble financially. I was drinking too much alcohol and smoking too many cigarettes. Wallowing in self-pity, anger, and resentment, I really did not care if I lived or not. Why should I? My weight of 400-plus pounds until then had only taken its toll on my business career and social life.

It was literally killing me. At the time, I wasn’t even sure if I cared.

THE GREAT ENDING

I warned you that the story was sordid, but what I did not tell you is the story has a great ending. I am now 170 pounds lighter and in good health. I eat healthy, am keeping my weight off, and do not use alcohol or tobacco, all because I addressed my emotional eating.

First, I came to realize that my eating was out of control and that I could no longer manage it with just another diet. Second, I realized that I needed a supreme power of spiritual magnitude to help me overcome my addiction. Third, I agreed to devote 100% of my effort to making some life changes while agreeing to leave my destiny in the hands of the God of my choosing.

It required a complete surrender process, just like any addict has to face.

LETTING GO OF EMOTIONAL PAIN

Eventually, I reached the point where I was ready to let go of a lot of the pain I’d been carrying, pain that I had been silencing with food. I listed any resentments I may have been holding on to. I wrote why I was resentful and how it affected me. I also asked myself this question: Did I have any part in this conflict and if so, what? Next, I listed any fears I might have, such as fear of dying of obesity or fear of economic insecurity. The next step for any addict is to share what you have written, and talk it out with another person, hopefully someone who is a qualified, experienced counselor or clergy member.

I know, I make it sound so easy, as though I just wrote some things in a notebook and the weight came off, but it is never easy to tear into past hurts and give them a place right in front of you. But for me, only when I did this was I able to achieve and maintain a dramatic weight loss after a lifetime of suffering.

At age 61, you can do it too.

Many thanks to Steve for sharing his story with brutal honesty. Please check out his new release on Amazon My Own Weigh, available now. Please address any comment or questions to him below and thanks for reading!

BIO:

Steve Taylor overcame a lifelong weight problem to become a weight loss and wellness coach. His book, My OWN Weigh, is available at Amazon and via his website, MyOwnWeigh.com.

If you’d like to read Broken Pieces, click for a free sample on Amazon (no Kindle required – they have free apps for any smartphone, computer, or tablet).

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to my blog and you’ll never miss my weekly posts! Just enter your email address over on the right hand side of this page >>>>. It’s easy, and I won’t share your email address with anyone. Redhead’s honor.

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View more on Rachel Thompson's website »

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Published on March 25, 2013 09:19

March 20, 2013

Broken Pieces Three-Day Sale(3/22) and What Is #MartiniChat Anyway?

Broken Pieces Three-Day Sale(3/22) and What Is #MartiniChat Anyway?

Two pieces of business today:

BOOK SALE

If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to check out my latest bestselling release (#1 Women’s Studies, Gender Studies, and as of this writing, #2 on Poetry) Broken Pieces, now would be the time to do so. It’s on sale today (Wednesday, 3/20) through Friday 3/22 only, and for just $2.99 (normally $5.99). I released it on December 19 and already have 75 reviews (55 5-star, 12 4-star, and a sprinkling of fairly lame one liner 1-stars.) Click to read a free sample.

Midwest Book Review gave it five stars. Yea, even I’m still pinching myself on that one!

It is rare when a writer puts so much of him or herself on the paper that you can see them bleed, but Rachel Thompson boldly steps out of the shadows and puts herself in the light that shows her wounds, her flaws, her heart and you can’t help but be moved.

This book was extremely hard for me to read, even though it is written in short, succinct bits. There is poetry mixed in with short stories that reveals for the entire world to really see just who Rachel Thompson is and all that she has battled, overcome, or made peace with to become the vibrant, confident, successful woman she is today.

Rachel is willing to put herself out there so we can see that even the worst kinds of pain can be overcome. That the human spirit really is indomitable, that while we can be hurt we are tough enough to disable the things that seek to destroy us and use them instead to recreate the person we will be in the future.

Broken Pieces left me in tears. It left me raw – the wounds still chafe, but it left me astounded at the courage Rachel Thompson had shown in writing this book, in breaking taboos, in speaking out and in refusing to use her pain and hurt as excuses to hide behind for the rest of her life.

This is a book about rising above; about becoming more than you can possibly believe you ever will be at those terribly low points of your life. It is about surviving, thriving and living and I recommend it more than any other book I have read.

~ Tracy Riva, Midwest Book Review, Tracy Riva Books & Reviews, Amazon Top Reviewer

My goal with this book is to encourage people – men and women – to speak out about sexual abuse and find strength from others. If you’ve already read it, please review it on Amazon and/or Goodreads, and purchase a copy for a friend!*

*No Kindle required. Download the free apps for smartphone, computer, or tablet here.

MARTINI CHAT

One of my many ‘fun’ friends on Twitter is Jackie Bernardi. We always have great conversations and can relate to being moms and businesswomen (she does skincare: ‘Skin care tips for gorgeous skin at any age!). We also love snark.

So…the other night, Jackie had a brilliant flash: let’s do a tweet chat together and call it #martinichat. (She so knows me.)

If you’re unfamiliar with Twitter, this may not be all that fun for you. But if you’re one of our tweeps or just want to join in the craziness, please join us every Friday 5pm PST (we’re both in California) for an ‘anything goes’ type format starting THIS Friday, 3/22! No makeup required. (You could even get naked and we’d have no idea. Thank god.)

Tip: when participating in a chat, I find it so much easier to use TweetChat.com, rather than scrolling and searching on the hashtag. Sign in with your Twitter credentials, enter the #martinichat hashtag, and you’re good to go!

Thanks for reading my update. Please check out Broken Pieces, and let’s have a fun chat this Friday!

Need personalized help? Check out my BadRedheadMedia.com services page.

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Published on March 20, 2013 01:50

March 15, 2013

The Photo by guest @AmberNorrgard

Please welcome today’s guest, prolific and talented poet and author, Amber Norrgard. We became fast ‘redhead’ friends on Triberr and social media, due to our sarcastic sense of humor. But underneath, you find real women with real-life issues. I’m so impressed at Amber’s ability to share her struggles with such beautiful prose. And for those who like fiction, she writes some HOT erotica, too.

The Photo

by Amber Norrgard

When I first published my work as an indie author, I had originally planned on having professional photos taken. But the photographer I had asked to take the photos kept not keeping the appointments we had scheduled. I figured I’d wait and find another photographer, and have the photos done at a later date. And then one afternoon, out to lunch and goofy on three-too-many stealth bomber margaritas, a friend snapped a photo of me laughing.

That’s the photo I use on my books, and any time I guest post on someone else’s website. It’s the photo I use on my Facebook and Google + profiles, and I occasionally switch to on my Twitter profile.

Because that photo shows a woman in love with her life, full of joy, looking like she is on top of the world and in control of things.

And I want to be her, for more than a five-minute space in time.

The harsh truth is that I have struggled with depression at various times in my life.

Whether the cause is DNA, post-partum issues, or situational depression isn’t important. What’s important is that feeling of desperation and fear that descends around me, making me feel as if I am in a bubble that no one can reach through to hold me together when I’m shaking apart with hurt.

I recently finished the book I began almost thirteen years ago about my search for my biological mother. And while it’s a positive story, one I hope that touches people, and a love story at the heart of it, there are still hard emotions to deal with as I wrote it.

So I struggled. Part of the writing process for the book included a trip to the city I was born in, some fifteen hundred miles away. After a week of speaking with family members about the book and viewing it in a newer, more painful light, as well as re-reading journal entries and emails, I was emotionally exhausted. The friend who was kind enough to let me stay with them that week sat down next to me at the table I was working at as I struggled against tears. “It’s okay to let go, you know,” came the gentle suggestion, and unlike my usually strong, stoic self, I did, sobbing in an attempt to let go of the hurt and the anxiety I was feeling.

But still. I struggle. Writing the book, which is the most important story I’ll ever tell, hurt. It was cathartic to do so, but at the same time? My heart breaks for that sixteen year-old-girl who was stuck in a bad situation and left to carry the burden of guilt and shame of being an unwed mother. My heart breaks for that girl who did not see her baby, who fought against the nurses trying to put her under anesthesia, which was considered the “kinder” way for her to give birth to the child she was forced to give away. My heart breaks for her wondering for twenty-four years if her child was okay.

My biggest fear is that the hurt, the depression, and the anxiety will once again claim me. That I’ll never fully become that woman in the photo that my friend snapped on an afternoon in June, where there was nothing but laughter being heard.

But it is my hope that one day, I will be her again.

And it won’t be for only five minutes.

You can find Amber on her website

“Like” Amber on Facebook

Follow Amber on Twitter

Hear Amber on the TweepNation with Amber and Dionne Podcast or on The Lyrical Versification Podcast

Buy Amber’s books on Amazon.com and Smashwords.com

Need personalized help? Check out my BadRedheadMedia.com services page.

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Four Paws to benefit Dog and Kitty City, releasing Sunday, February 24, 2013

Being Human

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Suicide City by Julie Frayn, you’re gonna want to check this one out!

Episode 71 – Four Paws and Funerals!

Guest Post by Russell Blake

View more on Rachel Thompson's website »

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Published on March 15, 2013 12:03

March 10, 2013

Why I’ve Sworn Off Nutella (gasp!)

One of the most difficult aspects of being a chick is weight. People’s perceptions of us, our own self-esteem about it, and how to deal with food in a general

way.

As a mom of a thirteen-year old teenaged girl (go ahead, pray for me now), I feel as if I’m dealing with this twice.

Some history: Always athletic, I was a cheerleader and gymnast since age 9. (I can still do a mean cartwheel.) Weight and fitness was never an issue for me, throughout my childhood and into my mid-thirties.

I’d never gained more weight than was normal for my frame until I became pregnant with my daughter, thirteen years ago. I gained about 40 or 50 pounds, and within a few months, I was back down to my pre-pregnancy weight of 125. Given my 5’4″ frame, this was a good weight for me. Getting postpartum depression and smoking (never a good idea), along with daily workouts, seemed to help. I just had no desire to eat. I also had to go back to work full-time so I was quite busy. Food was an afterthought.

Things changed with my second pregnancy: I ended up with gestational diabetes and gained 5 pounds just looking at a peach. Once I had gained over 60 pounds, I couldn’t look at the scale anymore when my OB weighed me. Despite his protestations that it was a pregnancy thing only and the weight would fly off, there was no consoling me. Listen, intellectually I knew to eat healthy and to do whatever it took to have a healthy baby. Viscerally, though, I felt like a huge alien cow. Being put on bedrest for the last 3 months of the pregnancy didn’t help either.

Because gestational babies tend to weigh more, and he was in breech position, they decided a C-section was in order. It’s as icky and weird as you’d think it would be — your guts on a table while this live screaming thing is pulled from you. I felt like I was in the Alien movie. So did my body — my body temp went dangerously low and recovery was slow and painful. Add to that the fact that they double-dosed me on laxatives before heading home, and our first night as parents of two children will be a nightmare that will live in infamy, forever.

I became so incredibly sick from the surgery, I couldn’t even sit up without terrible nausea and dizziness. This went on for about a week and I was heartbroken that I could barely even hold this new life without horrendous problems. Meds helped and ultimately, a lovely colonoscopy (ever have one of those? Special.) revealed foreign bacteria and the need for some reconstruction. Yay me.

Add to that the extra weight put on my neck and shoulder, and I was a painful mess. It wasn’t pretty.

Two surgeries later, and a good year of recovery (plus, don’t forget, a brand new baby who was always hungry therefore I was always exhausted), I was finally able to start working out again. However, the weight came off extremely slowly and I remained exhausted. I finally ended up at another freakin’ doctor, who did a battery of tests. Turns out I had Hashimoto’s (a thyroid immune disorder) and high sugars — borderline Type 2 diabetes. (Pregnancy thing, my ass). Meds for both helped immensely and the weight FINALLY came off. I met with a nutritionist who discussed how much sugar is in everything. I had to become food racist — nothing white.

And it worked! At one point last year, I weighed only 118 — too thin for me, and my hair started falling out.

I couldn’t have been happier. Sigh. (Devil Wears Prada, Emily: I’m just one stomach flu away from my goal weight.’)

Stupid bodies.

Back to the doc, she determined I didn’t need to be on the Glucophage (for Type 2 diabetes) anymore — that if you take it when your body doesn’t need it, your hair falls out and you get too thin. Is there such a thing? I joked with her. I wasn’t anorexic, after all. Just thin. Finally, finally thin.

So, off the diabetes med, but on the thyroid med for life. Fine, I get that. Whatever.

Fast forward to now: I’ve gained back some of the weight due to the stresses of moving, writing three books in two years (fourth and fifth in process now), economic worries, stalkers, and my beloved Nutella, which is now banned from the house. *cries* My neck and shoulder are in constant pain — again. Though I’m walking every day and playing with the kids at the park, it’s not enough. So tomorrow I’m fasting and doing blood tests — again. I’m back to eating no sugar (except in my coffee — come on!) and it sucks. If I could eat anything I wanted all the time, it would be any kind of asian food and Nutella. Okay, and gum balls. (Don’t judge me.) All are off the table, so to speak.

We joined the local gym last week. My goal isn’t outrageous: lose ten or twenty pounds. I’ll feel better about myself. I’ll feel better physically. It’s simple. Regardless of societal pressure or fashion magazines, I don’t feel healthy right now and that’s inside me.

The point of this saga is two-fold:

In explaining to my girl what healthy eating is all about (as well as being active), I realize I am her role-model and it’s my responsibility to be healthy and live long. I want to see my kids graduate from college, build a life. To me, it’s not so much the number on the scale as it is having the physical ability to exercise that I’m grateful for. There are so many people in my family, and in this world, who don’t exercise due to physical incapacities and I can. I’m thankful for that each day.

Second, it’s not about who I see when I look in the mirror. If I look in the mirror or weigh myself and say, “I’m so fat,’ what message does that send to her? I’ve taught her to love her body as I love mine, despite all the difficulties. If I only exercise to lose weight, I’d quickly lose motivation (and believe me, I’ve done it and that alone is not fun or inspiring). It’s about overall health. I don’t smoke anymore, I joke about martinis but maybe have three a month, and I’ve sworn off sugar. Again. Perhaps I’ll end up back on the diabetes med — maybe that’s why the weight gain. We shall see.

It doesn’t really matter. Of course, it’s good to know if my sugars are high because of heart issues in my family, and diabetes is a contributor to heart disease. So yes, I want to know. But will it change anything I’m already doing (besides taking a med)? Nope. Maybe I’ll joke more about Nutella, but I won’t be eating it. And I guess it’s time to remove ‘Nutella advocate’ from my Twitter bio. (See what I put here).

Let the Columbia students have it all. They’ve got finals to study for.

Need personalized help? Check out my BadRedheadMedia.com services page.

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Published on March 10, 2013 10:29

March 3, 2013

Why NOT Blogging Is Stupid

Why Not Blogging Is Stupid

Writers are lazy. We ARE. Come on. I’m constantly writing and while I love it and am happy to actually be making some bank at this stuff finally, it’s easy to lose focus due to real life. We can be easily frustrated. And it’s hard work to write something people actually want to pay to read.

Oh freakin’ well.

Writing is your job. Treat it as such.

So when I hear from authors that they’re so entrenched in writing their opus that they can’t possibly have to time to blog (even once a week), I scoff. Yes, I scoff because I’m that much of a bitch.

Not really (okay, kinda). More it’s that we are all of us busy. We are all living real lives (okay, some more than others). I’ve got two kids, I just moved, and I have a full-time social media/author marketing business on top of writing books four and five and marketing the first three (latest release is Broken Pieces. Click here for a free sample. See? Marketing.)

Let’s not discuss laundry.

Really, I need a wife.

And here’s where the truth comes out: if nobody knows who you are, how or why will they buy your book?

Let’s discuss the excuses I hear about not blogging and why people’s sales are flagging (do you think there’s a connection? Hmmm.):

1) I’m too busy writing. Fine, I totally get that. But even the Big 6 publishers will tell you this: even if we sign you, you will still need to connect with readers through blogging and social media. They will not do it for you. How do I know — being self-published and all? Because I have traditionally published clients who pay me to help them with their social media. And at the recent San Francisco Writer’s Conference (Feb, ’13), every single publisher and editor there said the same thing. Write and market. There’s no either/or.

2) I don’t know what to write about. Are you kidding me? Aren’t you a writer?

But I get it. Many people are capable of blogging — that’s not the issue. They just have no focus. They have no idea what to write about because they haven’t taken the time to really crystallize what excites them. And I’m telling you, it’s not that hard! We’re all drawn to certain genres and topics for a reason – they fascinate us. I write about relationships, love, and loss because it’s those stories that most capture my attention or nag at me until I write them down.

But that’s not the only thing I’m interested in. Social media is like this whole new world I can’t wait to learn more about every single day. So I share what I’ve learned — on my Twitter, Facebook, other social media channels, and my blog here or on BadRedheadMedia.com. Social is something we all need to do and if you’re not, you must start.

Finally, you can always write about writing. But what else do you know about? Surely you have knowledge or interests outside of writing. If parachuting dogs is your specialty, by all means, write about that.

3) It takes away from my focus on my book. Yes, I get that. When you write a blog, you have to interact, share, check for comments, and if you want to connect with others, go to their blogs and comment, share, and interact with them. But this is the secret sauce: all that stuff? That’s called MARKETING. Even if you stick to promoting other authors and never yourself (which I don’t recommend but encourage a good balance), you’re still getting your name out there.

4) I don’t get all this tech stuff. So I won’t do any of it.Yep, I know. It’s confusing and where the hell do we start?

I was there in 2008 — I didn’t know what to do, either. But, if you’ve ever worked in sales or marketing, you realize early on that YOU are your brand. Not the book. Not the site. You. And even if you don’t know the tech stuff, you’re smart. You made it here, right? Click around and see what happens. So far, I’ve not blown anything up, so I think you’ll be okay, too. And guess what? If you can afford to have someone help you, great! And if you can’t, read a book about whatever you want to learn: creating a site, a blog, your social media, an author platform, whatever. And Google stuff! It’s a life saver.

Tip: put your link to Amazon (or wherever) on your Twitter and Facebook bios. Just send people there. It’s not spammy and you’ll cut down on all the links. I didn’t even go into your Google ranking and how fresh content increases both your Google and Author Rank (that’s another post). Here’s another tip: put your blog link on your Twitter and other profiles (Twitter has room for two URLs). And for goodness sakes, make sure you put all your social media buttons on your blog. The point is to create connections, right? How can we connect with you if you hide your social media stuff? Duh.

So there you have it. My college journalism prof told me once to always make time for writing. A blog allows you that opportunity. You attract people to it and build a tribe for when your book does come out. Nobody can possibly work on only one thing all the time and a blog makes for a nice break. And if you are on social media, great. You’ve started a reader base already.

Just remember: be social. If you share you blog posts, check for comments and answer them. Twitter and Facebook are not free radio, one-way advertising. It’s not all about you. I just read this: you get 30 TIMES more followers when you share information content, as opposed to one-way ads with links to your work. Think about that.

Would love your questions, thoughts, comments, or feel free to throw darts. Bring it.

Need personalized help? Check out my BadRedheadMedia.com services page.

10 Things I Wish I Had Known About Being An Author

9 Twitter Basics You May Not Know

6 Common Sense Tools To Aid Your Writing Life

Social Media Is Not Exactly Rocket Science by guest @dcmcmillen

What’s Worked in my Self-Publishing Journey so Far

Why Live-Only Interaction on Social Media Doesn’t Work

10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Started Blogging

Social Media Offenders: Crime and Punishment by guest @PeevishPenman

Suggestions for Writers when Contacting Amazon Reviewers by Amazon Top 10 Reviewer, guest @tunguz

Narrow to Expand Your Readership: Why Focused Blog Topics Get More Clicks

View more on Rachel Thompson's website »

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Published on March 03, 2013 12:23

February 20, 2013

My Lifeless Season: I Lost My Baby Son To SIDS by guest @RSGuthrie

By RS Guthrie

I realize we need to be careful to make assumptions and generalizations, but I am guessing most kids felt like I did when the holiday season rolled around. Whatever your traditions, whatever your practices, (for me) Christmas is one of the biggest—no, the biggest day of the year. We didn’t have a lot, our family—five people living on a teacher’s salary—but my parents did the best they could to stretch it all year, and though we did get a few “necessities” (socks, underwear, jeans) under the tree to make it look like Santa was a little more generous than he was able, each of us three kids usually got a nice little pile of “personal” presents to tear through like the naïve youngsters we were, as yet unaware of a whole world of people out there (other than the starving children who would eat any of the food we tried to pass back at dinner time).

By now you’re thinking “you’re over a month late, dude; the holiday season has come and gone.” And you’d be correct. About the holiday season having come and gone. The thing is, had you told me when I was that bratty, selfish, naïve little boy that one day I would despise the arrival of Christmas Day, well, I’m sure you can think of a few dozen nasty things I’d have said back then.

At this point you may be thinking a little about the commercialization of the season and yes, I went through plenty of post-twenties years let’s call them, where I disparaged the lights going up earlier and earlier and staying up longer and longer. Christmas decorations in Target’s aisles just as soon as the Halloween candy had finally gotten cleared.

Yeah. Been there, felt that.

Still, there was always a warm feeling inside—that naïve kid—whenever the sun fell and the holiday lights spread from one horizon to the other (we live in Colorado so you get some pretty spectacular landscape views).

But in 2007-2008, the Holiday Season changed for us. It unfairly became our Lifeless Season. The Hard Months. Downtime. Oh, there are plenty of things we call it. And, as things do, it changes over the years.

What could possibly so incontrovertibly reverse one of the most joyous times of the year?

I’ll back up a few years. In 2002, the year my wife and were to be married, I was diagnosed with cancer. I won’t go through that entire ordeal (you’re welcome), but there was one important decision we needed to make. I was 37 and my wife was 33. Did we want to consider freeing a few billion of the microscopic Robs (I always think of the Simpsons episode with the Bart sperms swimming around when it gets to this part of the story, but I digress)? The oncologist and radiologist didn’t feel it was necessary. My wife and have always been the types that “play ‘em as they’re dealt,” so we decided if we were meant to have children, it would happen.

It didn’t. We tried for five years (2002-2007 for those keeping track).

Nothing.

In fact, we had just sat down and decided we were fine with that reality when a week later BAM. Guess who was preggers? You know what they say about not watching the boiling pot, well…

The due date was New Year’s Day 2008. Wow. We might actually have the newest baby of the year.

Nah, turns out my wife needed a C-section so they scheduled it for December 26th. No worries. At least we could be totally packed, prepared, etc.

Why is it we humans ignore Nature again and again no matter what she does to us? Centuries. Millennia. But we know, right?

At three in the morning with the snow beginning to softly fall on a Denver Christmas morning, our water broke (men, you all know everything by this point involves us both, right?). Seems our little Brody wanted to be a Christmas baby. Worked for me (one present, two days covered!—I’m joking, of course).

Brody John Guthrie was the only Christmas baby in Lone Tree hospital (not as small a hospital as it sounds; there were at least eight other women on the floor that day). It all just made it that much more special. Brody was perfect, the day was beautiful—one of those snows that comes down quietly all day but there’s not a bit of wind so it’s just soundless and glorious.

The next two months, aside from wondering, “what were we thinking in our mid-thirties?” were wonderful. Brody had a magnificent Scottish-red mane, slicing blue eyes, and every doctor appointment was better than the last. Eating, sleeping, pooping (hey, these things are important).

Then on Thursday February 21st—a Thursday just like this year—I got the call no parent should ever have to receive. We lost our son to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). He was spending half-days with his new nanny and she put him down for a final nap from which he’d never awake.

* * *

We’ve grown since then, my wife and I. We were never again blessed with a child. You play ‘em as they’re dealt, right? I blog about this day every year. Sometimes I’ll use a song, others a quote, but this year I had the most wonderful of requests: would I write a blog for my dear friend Rachel Thompson? I never even hesitated. A mother herself, snarky and sarcastic like me, a head of red hair that would have complimented my son’s.

Each year the blog is cathartic, which is not the surprising thing. It is surprising to me how many different ways there are that we heal. It’s a never-ending process, of course, but it happens. And that’s why I wanted to blog in Rachel’s space today, to her readers. There are so many of us out there. Not just SIDS, or cancer, or a car accident. And not a particular age. The man who delivered the sermon told me he and his wife lost their “little” girl when she was eighteen. We talked about an urn, either filled with precious memories or, as in our case, devoid of them.

I was unable to deliver a proper eulogy the day of the service. Instead, being a writer, I wrote Brody a letter. I am including it here, on this blog, in a moment. I want any of you who have lost a child to think about something: this was written the day after the funeral. Not years later.

Dear friends, you can—and you will—survive. You don’t have to believe it now. Just accept the help, hold those dear, and you will. It’s a journey, not a destination.

C.S. Lewis wrote,

In A Grief Observed:

Part of every misery is, so to speak, the misery’s shadow or reflection: the fact that you don’t merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer. We not only live each endless day in grief, but live each day thinking about living each day in grief.

* * *

No one ever told us that grief felt so like fear.

A Letter to Brody

Dearest Son,

We are so afraid. For two months your mother and I were your providers, your protectors, your comfort, your sustainers, and your loving parents. We soothed you when you first came into this cold world, perhaps terrified at the light and air and vastness of space. We wrapped you and held you and fed you and made sure you felt safe from that which surrounded you.

But now it is we who are afraid.

We are afraid of waking up every hour, waiting to hear you cry, but facing this palpable, enduring silence instead.

We are afraid of the predawn hours, before the world comes fully to life, when we used to hold you so close to our hearts that your soft breathing comforted us, reminding us that the coming day did not hold as much strife as we feared.

We are afraid of never being able to love another baby as much as we love you; that no other child could ever be as perfect as your were in our lives.

We are afraid of the emptiness your brother will feel to never have been able to be your protector, your idol, your friend, and your elder.

We are afraid that the peace we feel with God—the understanding that your mother and I have tried so hard to accept—will dissolve as the sand dissolves in the ocean.

We are afraid that there is an unquenchable anger beneath the surface, an anger toward this random disease with no cause, and that this pain and loss and lack of answers will breach our hearts from within.

We are afraid of that chasm in our souls; that cold void that could only be filled with the wonder of your future: your turning over, your crawling, your walking, your talking, and most of all, your leaping into our open arms one day and calling us by name.

We are afraid to be crushed by the sheer weight of our sorrow.

We are afraid of hearing your voice in our dreams, believing you to have grown old enough to sing to us and to ward off our sorrow, only to wake and to find no such music for our hearts.

We are afraid of that which reminds us of the loss of our son:

A baby’s cry.

The little boy who runs across the park, his arms outstretched for his parent.

The flyer in the mail for baby pictures.

The clothing section passed on the way to some other destination, forgotten in the moment.

The songs we used to sing.

Dr. Seuss.

Pacifiers.

Blankets.

Strollers.

Teddy bears.

Rabbits.

Picture frames.

Formula.

Pictures.

A case of diapers.

A closet of clothes.

Winnie the Pooh.

We are afraid of the closed door down the hall, where all the things your mother and I acquired in order to clothe you, bathe you, soothe you, love you, pamper you, and protect you have been placed, out of the way, so as not to sting us with their beautiful memories.

We are afraid we will never be able to open that door.

We are afraid of what we’ve yet to be afraid of, that memory lurking without sound or warning around the next corner, or in the next room—a memory that does not intend to wound us, perhaps, but will nonetheless.

These fears live inside us, Brody, and at times we don’t know how to calm them, or ease them, or will them to subside.

However, dear son, here is what we believe:

We will overcome our fears.

Because you reminded your wonderful mother and me of what it means to know perfect love.

Because you were a product of the deep love your mother and I have always had for each other.

Because you taught us that indeed we love each other ten thousand times more today than the day you were born into our lives.

Because we will hold each other until the list of this wayward ship is right again.

Because we do believe you were the only perfect thing in our lives, and you would not be taken to hurt us but rather to teach us and to heal us.

Because we know our mothers pass you back and forth in Heaven, each eager to hold you in their loving embrace.

Because we realize that you now look down upon us and watch over our family—an angel returned for a purpose.

Because it comforts us to know you will never feel pain, suffering, or the callousness of this world.

Because you will never face the loss of your parents, nor the death of your child, as we have.

Because you will never make a single mistake and you will never cause anyone a moment of hurt or anguish.

Because each time we looked down upon your bright, curious, unfettered gaze, we caught a glimpse of Heaven, reflected back to us in those bottomless blue eyes.

Most of all, we will overcome our fears because we know you would want us to. And because your mother and I both believe that you served a very grand purpose these past two months:

You taught us to laugh again: not from the throat or the lungs or even the stomach, but rather from way down inside our bursting hearts.

You offered us new meaning to the word “smile”.

You reminded us that we were all once perfectly joyous, breathlessly innocent, and completely without fault, and that it was the world that changed us.

You nurtured in us a perfect, unyielding love, and you helped us to see that love comes not only from the heart, but also from the very depths of our souls.

You reinvented the wonder that lived inside us as children; wonder at the miracle of life and wonder that something so precious, so perfectly formed, and so incredibly relevant, was bestowed upon the two of us, bringing us such joy and such pride.

You brought into our lives a quiet whirlwind of sweetness and of hope.

We love you so much, Brody.

And we miss you for all of time,

Until we see you again.

Brody

Connect with this talented author on his site, or on Twitter. Please leave comments below. Thank you.

BROKEN PIECES Now Available on Amazon! (No Kindle Required)

Writing Resolution – No Gym Membership Required

How I Lost the Battle (But Won the War).

I Survived to Tell the Tale So You Better Damn Well Read About It…

View more on Rachel Thompson's website »

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Published on February 20, 2013 20:12

February 10, 2013

6 Common Sense Tools To Aid Your Writing Life

Writers talking about writing and our writing process can either put people to sleep or fascinate us. I’m in the fascination group: I love to know what people do to get their words down.

A number of you have asked me to share my writing life, and I have over the past month during my Broken Pieces Orangeberry Book Tour (click here for more). Rather than make this all about me and risk losing you all to a nap, I thought I’d share a few tips I’ve gleaned along the way from others, as well as a few of my own tips.

1) Clear the clutter. This sounds so very, very basic, but wearing many hats (mom, wife, businessperson, and writer) can make our nice, clean desks one big ole mess. Quickly. I remember reading an article about authors in TIME magazine, and they mentioned that author Jonathan Franzen has nothing on his desk but his computer. That’s IT. No phone, no pads, no paper, no books. Nothing.

2) Turn off social media. The age-old issue for any author is ‘how can I sell more books if I don’t market? How can I market if I haven’t written more books?’ and it’s a valid one. There is no easy answer (though I share multiple time-saving tips and tricks at BadRedheadMedia.com). But if we go back to basics, we wouldn’t be authors if we didn’t publish. So make time for your writing.

At one point, I was part of a promo group of writers and one of the founders used to hound me about creating a strict writing schedule and sticking to it. She harangued me for having ‘excuses’ (kids, house to clean, errands, doctor’s appointment), which frankly pissed me off. But in a way, she was right: if we want to be published, we have to create. And I didn’t have a strict schedule, because I was building my following, writing blog posts, and living a life. I had to create a schedule for my writing — though I remain flexible based on my kids’ schedule or client work.

Shutting off social (no pings) is a crucial part of each day for me now — but it takes planning. Because my business is also social media, I can’t be totally unavailable — but I can shut off the noise!

3) Walk Away. Sometimes it just doesn’t flow — for whatever reason. I hesitate to call it ‘writer’s block’ because for me, it’s just a break. You couldn’t possibly do any one thing 24/7, so when you’re unable to write well, relax. Walk away. Usually my break consists of cleaning my kitchen (ya know, where I burn stuff), or taking the kids somewhere. Do whatever works for you. And if all else fails, go for a martini. (Or Nutella, if you’re not a drinker.)

Of course, you can always look at Pinterest shots of Ryan’s abs, too.

4) Share. This is probably the most difficult task for any new author — finding people we trust who are honest enough to give us a good critique. Connecting with other authors is critical and I love social media for that. I’ve become part of a few thriving author communities and would we lost without them. But it took me awhile to find my way. I had people in my life who constantly put me down, and that was unhealthy. Learn to draw the line between an honest critique and total B.S.

This is useful because sitting alone in our offices talking to ourselves and looking at pictures of Ryan Reynold’s abs will only take us so far.

5) Sustenance. Sounds kinda dumb, but many of us (including me) tend to get right into the work and forget to eat or drink. I go for coffee and then it’s five hours later and I’m beyond starving. Keep water on your desk. Nuts or fruit. If you’re involved and don’t want to walk away, you won’t have to.

6) Stretch. When I met author Dani Shapiro at a reading in 2010, she discussed the importance of stretching. She’s really into yoga, so she writes for the morning,does yoga, and then heads back to it.

I’ve had my share of neck, shoulder, and back problems (yes, even though I’m only 29 *ahem*), and bending over a screen can only exacerbate already existing issues and even create more. I’ve got a small space in my office where I can sit on the floor, stretch, lie down for a moment, do a yoga pose, whatever. I rarely want to lose the flow, so I find that staying in the same area doesn’t break my mood, yet allows for a slight reprieve.

None of these suggestions are earthshatteringly brilliant, but I’ve found them incredibly helpful for me.

What do you do to aid in your writing? Please share below!

Check out my books on Amazon: A Walk In The Snark (free today through Wednesday!), Mancode: Exposed, and my latest, Broken Pieces. Find me on Twitter at @RachelintheOC or my business@BadRedheadMedia. Look up the same names on G+, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. I’m everywhere!

‘Broken Pieces left me in tears. It left me raw – the wounds still chafe, but it left me astounded at the courage Rachel Thompson had shown in writing this book, in breaking taboos, in speaking out and in refusing to use her pain and hurt as excuses to hide behind for the rest of her life.
This is a book about rising above; about becoming more than you can possibly believe you ever will be at those terribly low points of your life. It is about surviving, thriving and living and I recommend it more than any other book I have read.’ ~ from Tracy Riva, Top Amazon Reviewer.

Need personalized help? Check out my BadRedheadMedia.com services page.

10 Things I Wish I Had Known About Being An Author

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Why Live-Only Interaction on Social Media Doesn’t Work

5 Top Tips For Approaching Book Reviewers by Amazon Hall of Fame Reviewer guest @JanetBoyer

Social Media Is Not Exactly Rocket Science by guest @dcmcmillen

Review of Scott Morgan’s How to be a Whiny Beeyotch, 71 Writing Excuses Meet the Back of my Hand

5 Keys To A SuccessFul Book Launch and a Cool Promo!

Love, Erotic Romance, & Social Media Walk Into A Bar…

The Top 6 Social Media Mobile Apps You Need Now

Writer Quirks (and Advice!) from Rachel Thompson

View more on Rachel Thompson's website »

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Published on February 10, 2013 12:27

January 27, 2013

Anatomy of an Amazon Book Page — Deconstructed!

Anatomy of an Amazon Book Page — Deconstructed!

You may not realize it, but each Amazon book page is a wealth of information, much of which you probably don’t even see or notice. Or if you do, perhaps you’re not sure how to interpret it all.

BadRedhead is here to help!

Amazon has always had brilliant retailer marketing. They make it as easy as possible for us to spend more money without much effort (Prime membership and 1-click ordering are just two examples).

Let’s start at the top and work our way down. It might be helpful to visualize this, so open up my book page for Broken Pieces (shameless plug), and follow along:

1) Search bar: At the very top of every Amazon page is the search window. Duh, you probably already know this. But did you know: if you type in the name of your books(s) and/or author name, you will move up in Search? Yea, truth. So get on that. Books at the top of search tend to get more hits.

2) Book Title: In black type is the book title, and just below that, author name. I also suggest adding your editor, graphic artist, and, if applicable, who wrote your forward. It’s nice to give people credit who work so hard for us.

3) Top left: Book cover. This is key. Amazon’s background is white. If your cover is also white, it can fade into nothingness. My suggestion: add a splash of red if possible. Red draws the eye in. If red doesn’t work, add a splash of a bright shade, like green or purple. Even yellow works. Avoid: all grey or black without a splash of color (think Twilight – all black with a bright red apple or ribbon – despite what you think of the writing, the covers rock).

Tip: Be sure to activate the Look Inside feature (You should find the Look Inside feature enabled one week after your book is made available to readers for purchase. If you have a print book enrolled in the Look Inside the Book program, both print and Kindle versions will be available for online previewing). This not only provides a free sample for readers (either to read right then or download to their Kindle), but it also helps your Search rankings.

4) Review count, Stars and Likes: Here’s where you see the yellow stars (draws the eye in, remember?), and if you hover over the stars, you’ll see an average rating. Also the total number of reviews and likes. From a metadata perspective, the overall number of reviews (and likes) is most important – few people will click on each star and read every single review. This is why getting 1 to 2-star reviews is not that big of a deal because it actually helps your overall review count (even though, yes, it brings down your average ranking).

5) Price: Price is listed below and to the right. On bright orange buttons (again, bright color).

6) Book Description: This is where you write your book description. I recommend keeping it short and sweet – a few blurbs, a few bullets as to the content, and a call to action (purchase this book today and see why … etc.). Only a few lines show without the customer pressing ‘see more,’ so make what they see incredibly interesting! Most importantly, include the same keywords you entered into your KDP (where it says ‘keywords or key phrases’). Again this ties to search.

7) Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought: This is called the ‘recommendation queue’ and tells you what customers like. This is helpful as a reader so we can take a risk on other books that seem to be like the one we just bought. No guarantees of course (except that you can always return the book for a refund). Tip: If you copromote with other authors, you will commonly pop up in the same rec queue.

8) Editorial Reviews: If your book has been reviewed by a reviewer from an editorial publication (Kirkus, San Francisco Book Review, etc.), this is where you put these reviews.

9) Product Details: Key info like date of publication, page count, etc. is listed here. What’s most important is your Amazon Best Sellers Rank. This is where your book is ranked at that particular moment in time. This is updated hourly. Below is a snapshot in time of where Broken Pieces is at the moment I’m writing this. Given that there are millions of books on Amazon, I’m okay with this. I can also tell if the categories (see below) I’m using are the same lists I’m ranked on.

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,827 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

#8 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Women’s Studies
#38 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Gender Studies
#47 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Women’s Studies

10) Customer Reviews: this is the breakdown of reviews. If you as a reader have traveled this far down the page, most likely you want to know more, right? They also pull out quotes from reviews, because most of us simply scan a page rather than read the whole review.

11) Most Helpful Customer Reviews: While you can’t influence how people feel about your book, you CAN affect this particular area of the page. How? Simply click YES on what you feel are the most helpful, and NO on the ones you feel are not. Ask others to do the same. (Some people call this ‘gaming;’ however, according to Amazon’s own guidelines, they encourage people to do this. The point is to be ‘helpful.’ Take that as you will.) If this bothers your sensibilities, don’t do it. In conversations with Amazon directly, they encourage this practice.

12) Most Recent Customer Reviews: On the far right is a sidebar that contains the most recent six or seven reviews. The will automatically update as more reviews come in.

13) More About The Author. Here’s a snapshot of mine:

More About the Author

› Visit Amazon’s Rachel Thompson Page

Biography

Site: http://RachelintheOC.com

Twitter: @RachelintheOC

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelThomps...

Email: RachelintheOC@gmail.com

I’m a chick who writes stuff that sometimes makes you laugh, other times makes you cry…or at least think.

My top nonfiction books are as follows:

See more…

This is all you see unless you click on ‘see more.’ While Amazon doesn’t allow you to have a website URL on your Book Description, they will allow website and social media info in this ‘about the author’ section. Tip: you enter this info on Author Central.

14) What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item? This is a wealth of information for you as an author (and as a reader!). This doesn’t tell you if someone purchased your book after viewing your page, but it tells you what else they’ve purchased. This is helpful in knowing if your keywords and categories are resonating. (Despite the removal of tags, we now have less knowledge about what people are using tags for, but this info is helpful. The ‘tag cloud’ is still available also.) Check to see how these books are ranked, their cover, their book description, everything.

15) Shared Notes and Highlights: This is great! If people are reading your book on ANY Kindle-enabled device (remember, they have free apps), you can see which highlights ring true with your readers. Look over to the right: they also list the ‘most popular highlights.’ This is also helpful, to know what stands out the most to readers.

16) Look For Similar Items By Category: This is also very helpful. Not sure which categories a similar, bestselling book is using? Check here – easy. This is on every single book page. Amazon lists the categories for both their overall book list and the Kindle-only book list. I use this frequently to help authors figure out which categories are popular and seem to be ranking well.

17) Forums: I haven’t had much luck with this feature for my own books. People seem to use social media more often (IMHO) for book discussions, I’ve found. If you can provide more helpful info on practical ways to use this feature, please let me know.

This is only the actual retail or catalogue page I’m reviewing here. As an author, you also need a KDP (eBook) or Create Space (paper/hard cover) account to check sales, and an Author Central account to enter your bio, connect your blog and social media. I’ve review those in future posts.

There are few other features on the page I didn’t mention (this post is long enough as it is), but this gives you an overall glimpse of what you may not be seeing. And it’s a lot of stuff!

If you have any questions, do contact me here at BadRedheadMedia@gmail.com or leave a comment below.

Need personalized help? Check out my BadRedheadMedia.com services page.