James Minter's Blog: Writers do it in Public..., page 4

A resource guide for the serious writer ...

The Self-Publisher's Ultimate Resource Guide: Every Indie Author's Essential Directory-To Help You Prepare, Publish, and Promote Professional Looking Books by Joel Friedlander

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I'm a huge fan of How to ... books. They save the reader so much time - primarily it's a dip-in resource, but actually it’s useful for the newbie/aspiring authors who need a framework for their writing/publishing activity - what to do with their manuscript to bring it to market.
Being eBook format makes keeping it up to date easier, though the actual process of checking web address, emails, contacts etc. is a mammoth task for the authors. For me being UK focused, the resources tend to be US-centric, but with the internet being Worldwide, that is less of an issue these days.
Coming from Joel Friedlander gives the user extra confidence - Joel is acclaimed in the self-publishing world. Definitely worth adding to any serious writers resource library.



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Children are Key - Positive Values for a Positive Society

From My Heart: Transforming Lives through Values by Neil Hawkes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Neil is passionate about introducing value based education into primary schools, and is by all accounts, having a great deal of success. I had the privilege to hear him present, and to discuss values in the classroom. The book is a very accessible summary of the issues and approaches to getting values embedded in a school's culture, and is applicable to business and public sector organisations worldwide. A modern day must read to stem the progress of negative values so pervasive in many economies and societies.



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A Must Read for serious authors

Book Reviews That Sell: Discover the Secrets of Getting a Boatload of Great Reviews by Gary Webb

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I am a huge fan of ‘How to …’ books. Time is precious, as all self-published authors know, so finding a really useful book on such an important subject is very fortuitous. I, like every other author doing self-promotion, have been up many blind alleys, and wasted time and money on activities which yield little or no positive results. Getting reviews is top of the list.
This guide is intended for new authors to steer them away from some of the approaches that violate Amazon’s terms of service. It gives a variety of strategies for getting more and better reviews, but Dr Webb also suggests his favourite one. Incidental, he undersells himself, this is a valuable read for all authors in this constantly changing world of Amazon.
Reviews are without doubt important, but only after reading Dr Webb’s book did I become aware of the subculture surrounding the review process. He has opened my eyes. Indie authors struggle to build their platform, whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads or Amazon (more usually all of these) and will tend to do anything that's legal, decent and honest to achieve that end. But through ignorance can inadvertently scupper their chances; a situation best avoided, to say the least. This book is extremely well researched – complete with a bibliography, and packed full of hints, tips, details, and insights which steer the savvy self-publisher through a minefield. Thanks for putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard: an invaluable addition to my collection of self-help books. If you take one thing away from this book then, to quote Dr Webb, “Stop struggling to collect reviews; starting seeking connection with reviewers.”




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Your "Platform" is key to your success - grab a short-cut to building yours …

The Author Platform: A Beginner's Guide The Author Platform: A Beginner's Guide by Barb Drozdowich

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As an author I fully appreciate what Barb is saying in this book. Take anyone famous – pop star, actor, author, anyone - and what do they all have in common – a platform, a foundation upon which to build their chosen career. Our audience, readers in our case, are drawn to writers they have heard of, people who have been recommended, reviewed, and written about in the media. Apart from close family if you are lucky, the chances of anyone picking up your book – on-line or off line – is very slim, almost negligible, unless you have a “platform,” a presence in the media, where you appear on Google, exist on Amazon, and are researchable on Goodreads. With the shift to self-publishing the writing world is very crowded; you need visibility to be found. All the tools and techniques discussed by Barb in this book are the essential/minimal required to lift you off the floor of invisibility and project you towards the light of discoverability.
Barb writes from the heart and from hard won experience – ride on her back, and get started on your journey towards success. Every contemporary author has gone through/is going through, this same process. Barb’s succinct book is a great place to start; a must read for new and aspiring writers looking for commercial success in this digital age.

Your "Platform" is key to your success - grab a short-cut to building yours …




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The proof is in the pudding - must read for any serious Twitter user

Advanced Twitter Strategies For Authors: Twitter Techniques To Help You Sell Your Book - In Under 15 Minutes A Day! by Ian Sutherland

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Advanced Twitter Strategies for Authors to Sell More Books – Ian Sutherland

‘How to …’ books are a blessing for busy people – there is so much to learn and so little time to learn it in. Books on using Twitter are many and varied in quality and usefulness. As an author myself, my view of the role of Twitter was it’s a great tool to schmoose the publishing industry but of little use for selling books. Ian Sutherland has changed my mind. ‘Advanced Twitter Strategies …’ was written by Ian from hard won experience, and the proof is in the number of twitter followers he has, and in his book sales rank available for anyone to see on Amazon. Okay, he is not number one but he is respectable placed given the millions of fiction books out there. It was after checking out these figures and noting his claim ‘I’ve struck gold!’ I decided to read and follow Ian’s techniques to the letter. Although at present I cannot report the same level of success (Ian went from 1,500 followers gained over four year period to plus 60,000 in a few months), it’s early days yet but already I’ve seen a marked improvement in the number of Twitter followers, I’ve divested myself on many laggards because of better targeting of whom I follow / unfollow, and I’ve seen a significant increase in the number of ‘lists’ I’ve been added to. What is more, Ian is ethical in his method – SHARP – is his byword (an acronym) which sums up his approach.
This book is not for the fainted hearted as you need a good basic understanding of and previous skills in using Twitter before adopting his techniques. Also it’s not a book to read in a few minutes – I suggest a reasonably detailed first read taking notes as you go, and then opening the book on your Kindle / Tablet alongside you PC screen so you can work through the setting up and configuration of the tools he recommends and illustrates in the text.
Once you’ve mastered the tools Ian gives a detailed plan of how to manage your Twitter account in 15 minutes per day freeing yourself up to do what fiction writers are supposed to be doing – creating jaw dropping stories.
I’m sold on this book, and very happy to give it five stars and to recommend it to all serious Twitter users be they authors or not.





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Heart-warming humours take on a not uncommon situation - a read for adults and children alike

A Boy Called Hope by Lara Williamson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a story about an eleven year old boy, Dan Hope, seeking his estranged father who left the family home for another woman several years earlier. The father has had no contact with his son or the rest of the family since he left but Dan is forever hopeful he can still have a relationship with his dad. Dan’s older sister Grace is a great counterbalance to Dan’s naïve belief that their dad will return and all will be well.
Ms Williamson has an excellent writing style with a focus on pertinent descriptions—just sufficient to allow the reader to visualise the scene—emotional responses to the many and varied situations Dan finds himself in, and the action/reaction interplay of a young, nearly teenager boy, trying to make sense of his world. Written in the first person, Ms Williamson incorporates a great device – clichés – so we see a mainly humorous world through Dan’s eyes in which he tries to make sense of absurd phrases grownups take for granted.
Although written for young pre-teenage boys the story is a worthy read for children and adults alike, and has a theme ‘a little bit of hope can go a long way,’ which is relevant to everyone.
This is Ms Williamson’s debut novel. And rightly, she has received a lot of success and well deserved accolades, though for her next book ‘The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair,’ she has set the bar very high.
A thoroughly enjoyable read.




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Book Bloggers Revealed ...

The Author's Guide to Working with Book Bloggers by Barb Drozdowich

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is another ‘How to …’ book from Ms Drozdowich – long may she write them. For me how to books are essential reading to gain a quick insight into the topic under discussion – in this case book bloggers – as they take away the very time consuming drudgery of doing your own research. As a fiction author I have many demands on my time, so books like this are an excellent way to make efficient use of a scarce resource.
First published in 2012, but as is the huge benefit of eBooks, they can be constantly updated, and given how fast the self-publishing industry is moving, this is essential for books of this nature. This edition is right up to date.
Based on extensive research - Ms Drozdowich surveyed 215 book bloggers, and she is herself is a romance book blogger (http://sugarbeatsbooks.com/ ) – she speaks with authority.
Until now my interaction with book bloggers has been minimal – it’s been one of those things, are part of the self-publisher’s arsenal for discovery, I've been meaning to undertake but been put off because of the commitment needed to researching who I should contact. This book couldn't be timelier for me, and within the first the first few pages I’d justified my investment.
Ms Drozdowich writing style is empathetic with author’s needs – she is an author after all - direct, to the point and with minimal superfluous narrative. She has a genuine need to help authors which she does time and again with this book; her website’s strap line is ‘helping one author at a time’ (http://barbdrozdowich.com/ ). Authors developing relationships with book bloggers is essential; so buying, reading and acting on her book is too. Highly recommended …




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Children face a challenging world, parents need books like this to help support them ...

Astro is Down in the Dumps by Susan Day

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There is a very real and worrying trend amongst young children – the rise of depression and anxiety. Equipping children from an early age with a set of strategies to ward off issues causing anxiety can only benefit them in the longer term.

The aim of the book is to provide such a set of activities so children can deal with the everyday issues confronting them in this fast paced, complex, exciting world full of opportunities, contradictions and dangers as they navigate their way to becoming responsible functioning adults.

The creativity of Susan, directed and focused on this issue, has produced a short but to the point book based around her well established Astro character and her real love of dogs.

The book is an excellent idea and a much needed addition for parents, guardians and teachers in helping children develop.

The issues of child depressions and increased anxiety are world-wide. Susan has a very laudable goal to give every school a copy. To help her succeed in getting her book into every school and library you can donate here: http://www.gofundme.com/kyuags I wish her every good fortune in her endeavour.




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A Beginners guide to WordPress with an author bias …

Create an Author Website - A Step-by-Step Blueprint for Busy Authors and Writers by Caimin Jones

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




I've owned a website, several in fact, for years and feel at home with the whole process of building and maintain them. There are many fellow authors out there who may well be creative writers but when it comes to the techy stuff really struggle. As Caimin Jones points out, a website for an author is essential, and just as important it’s a site you own. By owning it you are in total control but the downside is just purchasing the domain name is not sufficient, you have to build a credible website as well.

Caimin knows about WordPress and search engine optimisation (SEO) - another black art - as his other books demonstrate. Having read this eBook, I confirm he does know about the basics of building a WordPress website and mailing list.
There are two quite distinct aspects to owning a website: 1) The initial design and build, and 2) Keeping the content up to date. WordPress is a good tool for word-smiths like authors to maintain content, so 2) should be easy but I'm not sure 1) could be achieved by this book alone.

It is a beginner’s guide and a very useful read for an intending website owner. Having been through the content it provides the necessary information for an inexperienced author to ask the right questions or understand the answers to question from an experienced website developer. I'm not sure you could pick this book up and successfully complete the design and build process. This is not a slight on the book’s contents but more about the requirements / skills / research / tenacity required to achieve the task.
This is a great first port of call but not the only resource required.




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How to book review for Authors ...

Supercharge Your Kindle Sales: Simple Strategies to Boost Organic Traffic on Amazon, Sell More Books, and Blow Up Your Author Mailing List by Nick Stephenson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As self-published author with five books already under my belt, I know how difficult the whole process is – especially discoverability. There is no “silver bullet” for success, only a lot of hard work; though the trick is to work smarter and not harder. ‘How to’ books like “Supercharge Your Kindle Sales” are useful as a way of assessing your actives against others experiences and provide an opportunity to find new / better ways of doing things; hence working smarter.

Packed with information, hints, tips and real life examples there is plenty to dwell on and take in. Time is tight for all of us. Nick hasn’t padded out this book just to make you feel you’re getting value for money – never mind the quality, feel the width syndrome, but he gets over the nub of each topic with links for further reading where necessary.
This is a great resource, written in a very open and honest manner – qualities much to be admired. He has, I think, discovered the secret of expanding available time, (which he doesn't share) either that or he hardly ever sleeps! The upshot is we, his readers, have benefited hugely from his efforts. Although assessing and reworking my own approach to marketing my books on Amazon will take some time/effort as a result, at least I know I’m not wasting my energy, money and resources.

Thanks Nick for putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard: an invaluable addition to my collection of self-help books.




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