Doris-Maria Heilmann's Blog, page 70

Tagged: Books Rejected, Funny Book Rejections, Funny Rejections, negative comments from readers, Publisher Rejections, rejection letter, Shyness, social anxiety, The Shy Writer, writer's fear

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Published on October 21, 2013 06:46

Thoughts on Halloween: A Perspective on Time

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A compelling journey to follow … for the right audience.

Humans are good at a lot of things, but putting time in perspective is not one of them. It’s not our fault – the span of time in human history, and even more so in natural history, are so vast compared to the span of our life and recent history that it’s almost impossible to get a handle on it.

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by mayra.artes.

Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

Published by Wait but why

Designed bymayra.artes

Tagged: Halloween thoughts, infographic, mayra.artes, putting time in perspective, WaitButWay

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Published on October 20, 2013 05:59

Interview with Author Bart Stewart

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Author Bart Stewart

A pleasure to talk today with Bart Stewart, author of several books and short stories, notably his latest novel Painter of the Heavens.
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Bart, what inspired you to start writing?
I started writing as a kid, mainly as an escape from some hard times my family was going through. I was inspired by the old Twilight Zone TV show, and wrote surreal fantasy pieces like that.I never stopped loving that sub-genre, which is much smaller than some other fantasy categories, like sword-and-sorcery. Richard Matheson, who passed away this year, was the great modern practitioner of it. He wrote some Twilight Zone episodes, too. H.G. Wells may have been the real pioneer. He said to take a realistic setting and inject one fantastic element. My first book, Tales of Real and Dream Worlds , is in this style.Apart from Matheson/Serling fantasy, I read the classics. Tolstoy, Twain, Dickens, Poe, and from the 20th century Truman Capote. I always said In Cold Blood was the best description of personalities I have ever read. But now I have to mention Elizabeth Strout’s 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner, Olive Kitteridge.

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How would you describe your latest book to someone who has not yet read it?
I’m hoping the subtitle, “A Novel of Crime and the Heart,” will tell the world that this is fiction that goes into the personalities and psyches of its two main characters as they become caught up in a criminal scheme. It might better be called “A Novel of the Heart, and Crime.” Painter of the Heavens is a very character-driven novel about a woman who becomes romantically involved with a potentially dangerous con artist. We don’t know his thoughts, only hers, so he could very well love her as much as he claims to. His behavior and statements tell us that he has a conflicted and compartmentalized mind. Ultimately, he becomes quite scary.
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Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?
I enjoy painting pictures with words, describing scenes and personalities. I’m told by objective readers that I am very good at it. In this novel I am showing two people, Penny Sturdevant and Lyle Chilton, whose lives go off the rails due to the obsession for money that one of them has. If there is a message it would be to resist such attitudes, but also that it is something we are all subject to in this rat-racing society.

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How did you get the idea for the novel?
That is always the toughest question! Where did you get this idea, or where do these characters come from? It is very mysterious. The stories just start rolling like a movie in my head. I edit them, but the origins are unknowable to me. I get lots of story ideas, all the time. A tougher question might be why choose one story idea over others? In the case of this novel, the interplay of the two personalities appealed to me, and I thought the fraud case itself was intriguing.

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Are your characters based on real people?
No character in my novel comes from any single source. I generally cobble my characters together like Frankenstein’s monster, from parts and traits of many different people. There is usually a bit of me in there somewhere. Otherwise, they are made up of pieces of people I have known, sometimes even briefly.
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Who is your favorite character and why?
Penny and Lyle, are predominately who the book deals with. Several supporting characters turn up, especially Penny’s best friend and sounding board, Chloe. But Penny with her healthy, heartfelt desire to have a fulfilling life, and Lyle with his conflicted, mirror-maze mind are characters that equally stayed in my thoughts.
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If Oprah invited you onto her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of the show be?
The theme would be – Me being on the Oprah show. No, I’m kidding. The theme would be Honesty. Or maybe Authenticity. Painter of the Heavens deals with issues of authenticity in life.

How much of the book is based on real life (either yours or someone you know)?
Penny’s struggle to have a fulfilling life is real enough, and it is going on all around us, on the street, every day. Likewise the reality of wishful thinking, or “wanting to believe,” which the con artists prey on. The changeable personality type, the Jekyll-and-Hyde type, is no fantasy, either.

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What would/could a reader or reviewer say about this book that shows they “get” you as an author?
They would have feelings of empathy for Penny, who only wants “to be part of something.” She wants to be part of something healthy and long-lasting, not just a love affair but a larger life around it. She ends up with Lyle Chilton, and a criminal scheme. But I don’t write heroes and villains that are 100% good and evil. Lyle is a conflicted person, and while we aren’t privy to his thoughts, he seems to have found some genuine connection with Penny, which is another interesting aspect of the novel.
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Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
The most striking thing I have learned is that I can’t stop doing it. I keep on writing in the face of impossible odds. The traditional publishing route is like a lottery. There is a certain bar of quality that must be met, but beyond that it is luck of the slush-pile draw. We like to think that the most successful writers got that way because they wrote the best books. Instead they are like lottery winners, surrounded by a sea of talents of higher, lower, and similar worth. W.C. Fields once said it was easy for him to quit drinking, that he had done it a thousand times. That’s how I am with writing, in the absence of any commercial success I have quit a thousand times. But the stories keep coming to me, and objective readers keep telling me how much they love my work.

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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process? What’s your least favorite?
I love reading the finished product. That’s the best part. All the rest of it is pretty grueling mental work. After all, every sentence can be worded a dozen different ways, or more. You have to deliver the best wording, every time. It is just a lot of hard mental work, for no guarantee of pay, or even of being considered, or seen at all.

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What scene or bit of dialogue in the book are you most proud of, and why?
There are so many great “small” scenes in Painter of the Heavens , little vignettes along the way. Those are what makes a novel in my view. But if I had to pin down a favorite scene in my book it would be where Lyle convinces Penny to be his accomplice in the forgery fraud. He will actually convince you that this madness of his is a good idea! He talks a very, very good game. Always.
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If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything about your book?
This is going to sound really conceited, but no. I work-shopped this novel extensively at some top writing centers, and had it professionally edited. For a book about the psychology of characters like these two, it is as good as I can make it.
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If your book would be made into a movie, who should play the main characters?
Unfortunately, Susan Hayward and Robert Mitchum are dead.
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What general advice do you have for other writers?
Understand that this may be the toughest game in the world in terms of finding success. There’s no heavy lifting involved, but the odds of achieving success are remote. There must be a billion writers in the world, and while most of them are not competitive, they all take up time and oxygen. With e-books the odds have shifted slightly in the author’s favor, but the same old situation of the vast slush-pile of manuscripts still exists. It has only been shifted directly to the readers, who must now choose between the endless thousands of titles pouring onto the market every week. If you view this as a lifelong calling, you may be able to build a core following that will lead to some sales. You have to deliver extremely well-polished manuscripts, of course. A good writing center is helpful for that. Remember too that creative works are subjective. Every book ever written was hated by somebody.
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What is the best part of being a writer for you?
The self-expressive aspect of this is probably unparalleled. No other art form can communicate with both the specificity and the atmospherics of literature. With writing you can talk to the logic center as well as the emotions. I have written a blog post that goes in depth on the value of literary fiction: http://bartstewart.com/2013/09/new-literary-society-due/

What’s the most challenging part of being a writer?
The challenges are endless, just in producing the fiction. The work has to be your best. Revisions go on forever; it seems that it’s never finished. Then comes the marketing part, with all the expense and all the computer platforms you have to learn to do that. I am not a computer engineer nor am I wealthy.

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Where’s the one place in the world you’d like to visit?
The Great Barrier Reef
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What is your favorite book?
Important books are not always pleasant books, understand. I said above that Capote’s In Cold Blood had the best descriptions of human personalities that I know of. If you have not read it, I do recommend it, and I can tell you that it is not overly graphic in describing the murders.

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How would a close friend describe you?
“The triumph of style over bile! The droll soul with the heart of gold! The mellow jello fellow! Ladies and gentlemen – Party Barty!!!”
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Where can people learn more about your writing?
http://www.BartStewart.com
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Painter of the Heavens
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F849FMM .

Tales of Real and Dream Worlds
http://goo.gl/5KXw4c

Don’t miss the Goodreads Giveaway: TALES OF REAL & DREAM WORLDS by Bart Stewart

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/67941-tales-of-real-and-dream-worlds

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The Statuary Cats
http://goo.gl/NHNW9M

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Tagged: Author Bart Stewart, novel by Bart Stewart, Painter of the Heavens, Tales of Real and Dream Worlds, The Statuary Cats

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Published on October 19, 2013 06:45

Are You Ready for NaNoWriMo?

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National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, thousands of participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel from scratch by 11:59 p.m. on November 30, which means you have to write 1,667 words a day, every day, for thirty days straight. Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought about writing a novel.

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NaNoWriMo by the Numbers:

341,375 participants start on November 1 as electricians, out-of-work clerks, or middle school teachers. They will walk away as novelists.
648 volunteer Municipal Liaisons guided 586 regions on six continents.
82,554 students and educators created worlds with the Young Writers Program.
615 libraries opened their doors to novelists through the Come Write In program.
See the long list of authors that published their novel, written during NaNoWriMo, from 2006 – 2013: http://nanowrimo.org/published-wrimos

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NaNoWriMo, provides support, encouragement, and good old-fashioned kick in the pants (which some writers need) to write the rough draft of their novel in November. How it all works, explained on NaNoWriMo s website:

Sign up at the http://nanowrimo.org website
Choose a home region for in-person events near you – for even more encouragement.
NaNoWriMo’s user dashboard will usher you through the rest of your account set-up.
You will be able to add information about your upcoming novel to your profile. Giving your work a title or brief synopsis gets you 225% more pumped for November.
Use October to read past author pep talks, meet other writers in the forums
Editing is essential. However, November isn’t for editing. November is for writing. You can edit in December. your NaNoWriMo novel. Realize that you are just writing the first of many drafts in November. Your novel will have to be polished later on.
At midnight on November 1, start writing, using your word count.
Update your word count whenever you can. Some like every day; others prefer a few times a week.
Stay motivated with pep talks and in-person events in your region.
There’s a big world of NaNoWriMo out there in social media: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, and Pinterest. Participating in this NaNoWriMo will help you to focus, help you to prioritize writing, and help you to say no to distractions, such as TV, phone calls, shopping or parties.
Starting on November 25, you can validate your novel to “win” – even though there is no real prize, the only reward for winning is the finished novel itself and the satisfaction of having written it. Every year, there are many “winners”. There are no “Best Novel” or “Quickest-Written Novel” awards given out.

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NaNoWriMo is all about using the magical power of DEADLINES to tell your story.

Give someone a goal and a goal-minded community and miracles are bound to happen… 50.000 words is certainly a short novel, but it is a doable goal, even for people with full-time jobs and children. Researchers tell us that it takes 21-28 days to create a new habit, sometimes as many as 66 days. So NaNoWriMo is a good start to establish your writing habit.

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When you create an account with NaNoWriMo.org, you will be able to:

Write a novel in a month!
Track your progress.
Get pep talks and support.
Meet fellow writers online and in person.

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Let Us Help You

While you write for a whole month, you certainly have no time to promote your other books in blogs and social media, or to work on your author platform and your brand. Get help from professionals to do the promotional work for you in the meantime – and at the same time get lots of publicity tips for your work from us. Check out our Special Offer that ends on October 31, and which gives you a lot of bang for your bucks, as they say. http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo or take advantage of our extensive online publishing seminar to help you establishing an author platform and your brand – exactly what publishers and literary agents are looking for in authors – not to speak about your own author-publishing career.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 900 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: 000 words in November, 1667 words a day, how to prepare for nanowrimo, NaNoWriMo, NaNoWriMo.org, National Novel Writing Month, sign up nanowrimo, tips for NaNoWriMo, what is NaNoWriMo, win at the NaNoWriMo, writing 50, writing a novel

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Published on October 18, 2013 05:43

How Smart Writers Write to Market their Books

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Social Media has become part of our culture, and it helps to connect with your readers. However when scrawling through tweets and other posts on Social Media sites one gets the impression that 90% of all posts by writers are “buy my book, buy my book, buy my book ….” Few links are pointing to interesting, entertaining or helpful content – despite the fact that there are so many talented writers out there who could write great articles or show snippets of their books. This would make their Social Media presence more valuable and would connect readers with their writing craft.

Question: Whom Would you Believe More:

a) advertisements

b) newspaper / magazine articles

c) samples to try out a product

Most consumers / readers are not excited by pure advertising, they prefer authentic content and like to read writing samples.

Why are authors trying to market their books only with a) when b) and c) are more authentic in the eyes of consumers – or at least a mixture of a, b and c? I am not telling you a secret here: b and c are free … and sometimes authors can even make money with writing newspaper and magazine articles.

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It is Called CONTENT MARKETING

And it is nothing new, if you work in marketing. From Coca Cola to Volkswagen to IKEA, content marketing is getting more and more foot hold. Read an article “Why Content Marketing Works“

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All these companies have to employ and pay a lot of money to “story tellers”. However, you as an author, you have done the “content” part already in writing your book, you just need to use your content and “market” it, in order to give your readers samples of your writing or make them curious about your new book. Study after study have shown that this marketing method can be hugely effective for turning your audience into paying customers. When it’s done well, a content marketing strategy entertains your readers and shows them how good you are at writing.

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Learn from these Writers

In previous blogs we explained how: “Smart Authors Get Paid for Marketing Their Books!” and “FREE, Brilliant Book Marketing to a Million Audience“.

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Write Something of Value for Readers

– which is “by chance” part of your book, such as travel tips to the location of your books plot, museums, festivals or public transportation that are mentioned in your book. You have to do your research for your books anyway, why not use the material you gather and write several articles that you can offer – always mentioning your book. One more way of content writing: Try to write as many guest blogs as possible for top bloggers that are high on Google and Alexa rankings. It will give you and your books more exposure and new readers.

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Why Asking for (media) Book Reviews?

When you could get both: book promotion and at the same time (often) being paid? I know, it is a new concept to many writers, but when you think about it – it makes really sense: why use your time and effort to chase reviewers, when you can use your energy to leverage your books content and your research content – to create articles that you can pitch to both, print and online newspapers and magazines?” Read the examples of two writers who have just done that.

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Perfect for Shy Writers

Content book marketing is also perfect for shy writers who might cringe at stepping outside their comfort zone. They can promote their books at the end of each article they write and even add links to their website or book sales page. Use sentences from your articles to build interesting posts and tweets.

BTW: Traditional media is more and more outsourcing, barely any full-time writing staff is left, which means they are open to pitches from freelance contributors…

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Josh Pigford, a Social Media Marketing Guru Wrote Recently:

“The bottom line is that people trust editorial content more than they trust advertisements (only). Do the right mix. Whether your business is as big as Colgate or whether you are a one-person start up, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to utilize this simple fact in order to engage your audience and build your customer base.” And Joe Chernov brought it to the point: “Creating content that is so valuable that people would pay for it, yet you give it away for free, is a reliable way to earn the public’s trust.”

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Do’s and Don’ts in Content Writing / Blogging

Headline attention – encourage readers to read the next line
Use keywords that resonate with your audience
Simple and direct works well
Exciting, interesting, controversial, sensational all work well
Numbers / lists / real data works well
Just don’t be boring
Don’t forget to install an opt-in email list to be able to contact your fans!

Writing content will not transform your book into an overnight success, but it is a wonderful option for a long-term strategy, to build an authors platform and it gives your readers a sample of your writing. In our online seminars (and also weekend seminars in Eastern Canada and in the New England States) we help you to get ideas how to use your books’ content to write, promote and how you can even make money with your articles.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 900 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

.

Tagged: blog videos, Book Marketing, content marketing, great blog content, value for readers, web content writing, Writers on Social Media, writing markets, Writing skills

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Published on October 17, 2013 06:53

Reading Classics Can Change Humanity

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Guest Blog by Fiza Pathan

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In the wake of the present war in Syria one tends to wonder how can humans be so cruel & merciless? Is it possible that humanity has degenerated just the way old vegetables get soiled with fungus in a Tupperware can? Is there any remedy to war, terrorism, rape, homicide, genocide, suicide, murder, abuse etc., According to me there is one unique & yet unusual way of putting an end to all the evils of our world…….the reading of good classic literature!

At first on hearing my suggestion one would wonder if I was making a joke as, how can a book change humanity? Well, for most of us who are well aware of history, we have in its annals certain places where books however harmless they seemed from the outside….were heralds of change sometimes for the better & sometimes for the worse. Adolf Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ was one such book during the early phase of the 20th century that sparked hate among the hearts of so many people against their own human brethren.

On the other hand Thomas Paine’s ‘The Rights of Man’

influenced a whole nation including America towards the overall emancipation of man & democracy. Yet another book ‘On The Origin Of Species’ by Charles Darwin changed the way we looked upon ourselves as human beings. Many such books can be quoted written by many authors who have by their efforts, molded our present. It would therefore be incorrect to state that books cannot change people…..in fact, books can change the past, present & future in ways unimaginable.

In this context, where does classic literature stand? According to me from all types of literature, classic literature should be given prime importance in every manner possible, if we have to save our future from being destroyed by our very ignorance.

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Could the reading of good classics avert many man-made disasters?

Yes, where classics are concerned, everything is possible. For if we do agree that books have acted as milestones in history ‘good & bad’……and if we do not want our children to make the same mistakes we made or their ancestors made, then I believe that the reading of classic literature must be taken up on a grand scale immediately by all parents, teachers, counselors & other educationists.

For those of you who do not comprehend what I mean by ‘classic literature’ I refer to those books that have been written so well in the past that they have been cherished by generations as wholesome books of literature, art & ethics. I’m talking about ‘Oliver Twist’, ‘The Phantom Of The Opera’, ‘David Copperfield’, ‘The Red Badge Of Courage’, ‘The Jungle Book’, ‘The Railway Children’, ‘The Odyssey’, ‘The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes’, ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’, ‘Little Women’, ‘The Invisible Man’……I’m talking about literature with morals as well as a rich story……I’m talking about ‘the classics’.

All classics written by revered authors of the past that have lasted from generation to generation according to me should be made mandatory in our modern day education system. I don’t want to sound like a Judgement Day preacher but, the gruesome happenings of the world around me does not make me quite optimistic either unless certain action is taken on the positive front at once. By making our children & students read good classics which project & promote morals like peace, tolerance, dignity of labour, honesty, justice etc., we will be cultivating the fertile ground for a much better society than what we have got now.

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How is this possible? Why by just reading, reading & READING.

In my latest book ‘Classics: Why we should encourage children to read them’ in one chapter, I’ve even analysed how my students have become better people by just molding themselves on the values they have gained by reading classics. I have seen this work & with a group effort. I know that the love for classic literature can spread not only within our own society or school…but throughout nations & cultures.

With the help of novelists like Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Alexander Dumas, Anna Sewell, Jane Austen, Jonathan Swift, J.M.Barrie, Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lew Wallace, Bernard Shaw, E.Nesbit, Jack London etc., we can promote a healthier society for the future generations to come. It is said a pepper seed cannot produce a mango fruit, thus by allowing our children to only indulge in materialistic pleasures will only lead to negative forces plaguing our planet……as it is doing right now.

Through my experiments with classic literature I’ve only seen it benefitting my students. Infact, the 7th graders the other day were feeling troubled with the affairs in Syria & one of them innocently stated that: “Fiza miss, I’m already against anymore wars & so are my children even before they are born.” To which his twin sister added: “My grandchildren are seconding his children.”

For is it not true, that only ‘war begets war’…..if we sow the good seeds of enriching classics, won’t we be helping our own people to prosper?

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If anyone yet presumes that classics are old, ancient & decadent & they cannot be connected with our present…..then what does one have to say about:

1) The terrible destruction in ‘War Of The Worlds’

2) The racial discrimination in ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’

3) The child labour in ‘David Copperfield’

4) The fear in ‘The Diary Of A Young Girl’

5) The treachery in ‘Treasure Island’

6) The corruption in ‘The Pickwick Papers’

These may be old texts but their themes are running on ‘full house’ mode even till this day. If we allow our children to read classics, we will not only be enlightening them intellectually but, also morally. It does not take a doctor in literature to see:

1) The love in ‘Little Dorrit’

2) The sacrifice in ‘A Tale Of Two Cities’

3) The charity in ‘David Copperfield’

4) The faithfulness in ‘Greyfriars Bobby’

5) The friendship in ‘Peter Pan’

6) The love for animals in ‘The Call Of The Wild’

7) The bravery in ‘The Red Badge Of Courage’

8) The kindness in ‘The Prince & The Pauper’

One only need name a classic & one will realize that from it pours out all the good qualities that one would want to observe in all our children. In the end, all classics do not end happily but I know that our future can, so also the civil strife in Syria. May our education change to a moral humanity based one …let’s read a classic a week!

A link to my book on Amazon:

http://amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=CLASSICS+children%2CB0091BCNTU

Blog: http://insaneowl.com

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Tagged: Author of Insaneowl, Fiza Pathan, Reading Classics

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Published on October 16, 2013 09:46

7 Top Reasons for Writers to Be on Goodreads

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How Can Goodreads Help Your Book Take-Off?

Goodreads is a kind of Facebook / Google+ for people who love to read books. A free website for book lovers. Bookshelves, reviews, ratings, reader communities, author pages, book giveaways … all this is Goodreads. There is more offered on their website: join a discussion group, or start a book club, contact an author, and even post your own writing. More tips about the benefits of joining Goodreads and how you can use Goodreads to promote your blog.

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1. Goodreads Author Program

Use it to promote yourself and your books. What is the Goodreads Author Program? It is a

completely free feature designed to help authors reach their target audience — passionate

readers. This is the perfect place for new and established authors, to promote their books. What

Can You Do as a Goodreads Author?

a) Show Your Author Profile

Add a picture and bio.
Share your list of favorite books and recent reads with your fans!
Write a blog and generate a band of followers.
Publicize upcoming events, such as book signings and speaking engagements.
Share book excerpts and other writing.
Write a quiz about your book or a related topic.
Post videos. Add the Goodreads Author widget to to your personal website or blog to show off reviews of your books.

b) Promote Your Books

Sign up to advertise your book to up to the Goodreads Community—16,000,000 readers!
List a book giveaway to generate pre-launch buzz.
Lead a Q&A discussion group for readers.
Participate in discussions on your profile, in groups and in the discussion forums for your books.

How do I join and who can join is explained in detail in one of our former blog posts about Goodreads.

The Author Program is designed for people with published books, or who are just in the process of

publishing a book. It’s best if your work is on a bookseller’s website, such as Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble, but Goodreads will accept any author who has published a book. This includes authors from

other countries as well as authors who are self-published. If your book is self-published and is not yet in the Goodreads database, you may manually add it.

How To Use the Author Program

Learn more about how to promote your books with special tools on Goodreads. Each slideshow

demonstrates a different aspect of our Author Program.

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2. Reader and Writer Forums

Did you realize how many writer forums and groups are on Goodreads? Just go to the top of each page and click on Groups. A new page opens and shows “Recently Active Groups”, “Featured Groups”, “Goodreads Author Groups” etc. and one the right hand site of the page “Browse by Tag”. This is were all the groups are listed by over 1,000 keywords. For sample:

Book Club
Historical Fictionistas
Non-Fiction
Young Adult Book Groups
Suspense
Super-Natural
The Perks Of Being A Book Addict
Womankind Worldwide Book Group

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As you can see, when you scroll down on the right hand site, there are ten-thousands of groups!!!

Books & Literature (26598) Business (1393) Entertainment & Arts (2222) Friends & Common

Interest (6914) Geography (490) Goodreads Authors (2535) Just for Fun (22709) Organizations

(3365) Student Groups (6129)

There is even a group that encourages Author-Publishers (Indies) to promote their books – a rarity

at Goodreads, were obvious self-promotion is not well received otherwise. These groups are a hidden gem to meet readers and reviewers. Almost all are public groups. Anyone can join and invite others to join. However, it’s not a place to blatantly tout your books, with the exception I just mentioned. ”Authors are welcomed and Goodreads supports authors in many ways, but the groups are primarily geared towards readers. Authors should join and participate in the group as a reader first.” Once you are known in these forums, your author site and your books will automatically be read – and often reviewed.

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3. Get and Give Reviews

When I was talking recently with an author, who desperately wanted more reviews. When I asked him how many reviews he has written in the last year, he stumbled … and said: “well, NONE so far”. Shall I say more? Don’t forget: To be a Goodreads member and to benefit, especially from reviews, requires that you are a bit more active on this site, for sample in shelving books of other writers, in participating from time to time in forums, read books and review them. How could someone expect to receive reviews if they are not writing some for others? Be a good pal in this book community!

From a Goodreads statement: “Books with no written reviews are added, on average, by 7 people, while books with just five written reviews are added by more than 40 people.”

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4. Friends Can Recommend Your Book

And you can recommend books from your writer friends? To send out a book recommendation, go to the book’s page and click on the “recommend it” link at the top right side of the page. A new site appears with three possibilities: “friends” “manual” “facebook“.

Under the icon “friends” your Goodreads friends are listed and you click next to the name to whom

you want to send your book recommendation. Enter under “manual” single email addresses of readers that are not yet on Goodreads. The “Facebook” icon lists your FB friends, who are not yet members of Goodreads to recommend the book to.

Click on “My Books” in the top navigation menu and add away! You can add books into read, currently reading, to read categories or edit your bookshelf to add your own categories. Once you read them, write a review! Many authors who’s books you recommended will return this favor to you.

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5. Share This Book

Another hidden gem on your Goodreads page, that your visitors, readers and friends can use in order to promote your books: ”Share This Book“. Did you realize that everyone of your Goodreads book’s pages has share buttons to submit your book to Google+, Pinterest, Twitter and to their Facebook page, even “like” it on Facebook? Go to the right hand side of your books page and scroll down, until you see the button: ”Share This Book“

There is another possibility to spread the word about your book: Next to these Social Media icons are two unassuming words: Your Website. When you click on it, a window appears with some code that one can be easily copy and paste onto their blog or website and will show an image of your book and a link. Another way to spread the work about your book! Let your friends ping to Google+ and FB

On the left lower corner of Goodreads are icons to these two websites to which your friends can send your image, books name and a link for your book – as well as a comment, such as “must read”, “great book” or “you will love it”.

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6. Advertise Your Events for FREE

Goodreads encourages you to publicize upcoming events, such as book signings and speaking engagements. This is a feature, similar to the one which is offered on Google+ - see our blog

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/announce-your-book-signing-on-google-for-free/. Start about 3 weeks before your book launch with your event announcement. Use Goodreads’ event listing form to start the process. It has an RVSP feature and people can state if they are “coming”. On Google+ is a possibility to “Hang-out”, similar to a Skype tele-conference, to meet people for your book launch who could be in other parts of the world, such as Australia, Asia or Europe. You can show them your book via the video function of your computer and speak with them. Almost like a book signing in a store.

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7. Give Away Copies of Your Print Book.

It makes sense to give away books – if your goal is to get reviews. More than 50% of giveaway winners review the books they win, so the more books you offer, the more reviews you are likely to get. Run your giveaway for two weeks to a month. Goodreads says, “Giveaways less than two weeks run the risk of not getting enough entries, while a four-week giveaway will generate more entries.

Goodreads recommends even two giveaways: one about three months before publication to build pre-release buzz and reviews, and a second to increase awareness when your book hits the stores. Both will result in a lot of people adding your book to their to-read shelves – visible for all their friends.” Read more about Goodreads Giveaway rules in a former blog post.

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 900 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: Goodreads communities, Goodreads forum, Google+, share button on Goodreads, Show your book on Google+, Slideshare, social networking, spread the word about your book, use Goodreads to promote your book

http://www.firstgiving.com/

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Published on October 15, 2013 04:53

Authors: Crowdfunding KickStarter is Here Too!

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Kickstarter finally expanded into Canada!

Canadian writers, artists and entrepreneurs seeking financing for their books, artwork or other projects, got a boost when the world’s largest online crowd-funding platform officially moved to Canada last month.

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New York-based Kickstarter’s co-founder Yancey Strickler says the company had long wanted to move into Canada but was kept away due to financial regulations. Prior to the official launch some Canadian entrepreneurs had to use American partners or American registered businesses to create a Kickstarter project. Now, Canadian users will be able to enter their own banking information to pledge money to projects on the site.

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Kickstarter gets five per cent of the funds collected by successful projects, and the companies that process the payments will take another three per cent. Add to this the tax to be paid … Now you know how much to calculate altogether to your core production sum.

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Technically, projects from anywhere, including Canada, could always use Kickstarter, but it has traditionally used Amazon payments to process transactions. And then there were all these tax questions as money received for projects is certainly subject to taxes. Now, Canadian users can enter their own banking information to pledge money to projects.

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Kickstarter expanded to allow U.K. projects last October. Kickstarter Canada is now live, and one of the first projects up for backing could be described as the ultimate Canadian endeavor: a group of young men are seeking funds to build a better hockey stick.

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Kickstarter is the world’s most popular crowd-funding site,

with some 4.8 million people having pledged more than $778 million for more than 48,000 projects. Competitor IndieGoGo might have gotten some tough competition since September 9, when Kickstarter fully opens its doors to Canadian projects. Those seeking money for their projects can now start working on their pitches, by going to kickstarter.com/canada and selecting “Start a project.” Canadian projects will be listed in Canadian dollars on the site. The full list of Canadian Kickstarter projects is available here. Kickstarter has also put up a Q&A in a blog post.

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Kickstarter was founded in 2008 and has since raised over $775 million for more than 48,000 projects. While the Canadian crowd-funding scene is currently dominated by another platform, IndieGoGo, and to a smaller extend Fundrazr, https://fundrazr.com/ - there is confidence Kickstarter will prevail. More than 3,000 Canadian projects are currently seeking funding on Kickstarter. Kickstarter provides access to a larger community of funders and therefore more money. Their high-profile projects include, Pebble Smartwatch, Ouya gaming console and even the Veronica Mars movie.

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Here are two excerpts of former articles with wrote about crowd-funding:

Kickstarter – a Way to Finance Your Book?

When I discovered KickStarter on the Internet and I became one of the people who funded a loveley community garden / small park to transform an ugly, abandoned parcel of land in a hideous downtown area into a blooming paradise, I was hooked by the idea.

However, the famous KickStarter is not the only “Crowd-funding Community” on the Internet, many other have been founded in the last years – is it an answer on a small scale to the Wall Street?

http://rockethub.org

http://www.indiegogo.com

https://www.buzzbnk.org/

http://www.causevox.com/

https://fundrazr.com/

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Crowd-funding became popular in other countries too:

Germanys answer to Kickstarter and IndieGoGo is STARTNEXT, a non-for-profit organization. Their Crowd-funding turns people into fans and supporters. Because their joy and their help allows the creation of projects that do not yet exist – but should be! Read more about STARTNEXT on our Publishing blog in German language.

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How Crowd-funding works

Crowd-funding pulls together a community over the Internet to fund a project, business or cause. Rules differ from site to site. Generally an idea is pitched, a fundraising goal and a deadline are set for raising funds. Potential patrons can review the pitches and decide if there are any they would like to support. They might be rewarded if the project comes to fruition, but will not own any part of the business or project.

Start with a pitch to launch your own project, describe your project, specify what rewards patrons will receive if the fundraising is successful, and create a funding goal and a timeline. Pledges are made with a credit card, however, the patron’s credit card won’t be charged until the project is successfully funded. If you don’t reach your funding goal by the deadline, no money changes hands.

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Here are just some of many tips to help you secure funding:

choose the right crowd-funding site
know your target audience & leverage your social networks
plan ahead and prepare email blasts
create a compelling name, description, image and video to stand out

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“The Order of the Stick” success has shown that crowd-funding can provide funding for authors at a level, equal to or higher than traditional publishers’ advances. Right now is an exciting time to be an entrepreneurial author. Authors who went through this crowd-funding process have almost a build-in readership / book customers due to the heavy promoting for the campaign. People who funded a book, will buy it for sure!

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Crowd-funding Success with Kickstarter or IndieGoGo

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/crowdfunding-success-with-kickstarter-or-indiegogo/

Quite a few authors had a successful campaign, securing funds to self-publish and print their e-books for the paper book market, others to print beautiful “coffee table books” featuring stunning photos. IndieGoGo takes 4% of your earnings if you reach your goal and 9% if you don’t. Kickstarter is all or nothing. If you don’t reach your goal no money is exchanged, but if you do reach your goal you get the full amount minus 5%.

There is a lot of competition on these crowd-funding sites, so if you want to stand out, use not only your social media platform, but also your real-life contacts, your own networks and their networks’ networks. If you want people to back your project you have to tell them about it. More than once… Folks have to hear a message about SEVEN! times, before they act.

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Answer these questions for yourself:

Who is my audience for the whole project?
What is the uniqueness of my project?
Why should people donate to your project?
Do your potential audience/backers know about your exciting new project before you start asking them for money?

Start with your friends and family

A friendly, personal message is the most effective way to let someone know about your project. Send an email to your close friends and family so they can be first to pledge, then use your personal blog or website, your Google+ or your Facebook page, and your Twitter account to get everyone’s attention. Don’t overdo it, but be sure to remind your networks about your projects several times throughout the course of its duration. Take the time to contact people individually. It makes a big difference.

Connect to people

Don’t be afraid to take your Kickstarter project out into the real world. Nothing connects people to an idea like seeing the twinkle in your eye when you talk about it. Host pledge parties and organize meet-ups to educate people about your endeavor. Be creative!

News media

Contact your local newspaper, TV, and radio stations and tell them about your project. Seek out like-minded blogs and online media outlets to request coverage. Writers are always looking for stories to write about, and the media has a big soft spot for DIY success stories.

Don’t spam

Whatever channel you use to tell your project’s story, don’t spam. Over-posting can alienate your friends and fans, and it makes every other Kickstarter project look bad too. Don’t do it!

Say thanks & get even more

Post public thanks and updates about the most current donators every other day, always including the link back to your campaign, so people can check out the site and the latest progress and decide for themselves if they want to donate.

Get tips on blogs from successful Kickstarter project creators:

http://craigmod.com/journal/kickstartup/

http://www.remindblog.com/2010/10/14/grassroots-funding-with-kickstarter-com/

http://olganunes.com/2011/01/on-lamp-kickstarter-and.php

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thelostboy/how-to-fund-a-successful-indiegogo-kickstarter-campaign-in-5-easy-steps

http://www.nathanielhansen.com/film-fundraising/the-ultimate-crowdfunding-to-do-list-before-you-launch/

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Last but not least: carefully study all guidelines of the portal you want to use for your campaign.

http://www.indiegogo.com/

http://www.kickstarter.com/help/guidelines

Read also “How Much Does Self-Publishing cost“

All the very best and good luck for your campaign!

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If you would like to get help in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites: We offer all this and more for only $ 159 for 3 months. Learn more about this individual book marketing help: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Or visit http://www.international-ebooks.com/book-promo to advertise your new book, specials or KDP Select Free Days.

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 900 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and to StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

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Tagged: Crowdfunding, Crowdsourcing, fund a project a business or cause, http://rockethub.org, http://www.causevox.com, http://www.firstgiving.com, http://www.indiegogo.com, www.kickstarter.com