M.L. Chesley's Blog, page 45
February 6, 2013
Insecure Writers Support Group...
Holy cow. Time for IWSG again?! Time is flying by, but then again, that's a good thing up here in Alaska. I get pretty sick of snow right about now.
So my topic for this month is book promotion/networking. Pardon me while I whine a bit...
Waaahhhh!!!!!! ::Stomps her feet, flails her arms::
Okay, I'm done. Just had to get that out of my system first. But should it happen again, forgive me.
I've been promoting my book like mad. Working my ass off (which could stand to lose some acreage and pardon the language) on Facebook, Twitter, my blog and a little bit on Goodreads. I'm still trying to get used to GR. Twitter used to be a foreign land as well and I've posted this week the things I've already learned and have had success with.
But what do you do to promote yourself when you are always flat broke? What sites are beneficial to debut authors? How do you get the word out there or even feel like you are getting the word out there?
I even made fun of myself on Twitter. I posted: "Debut authors are like those crazy, stalker chicks. I'm going to annoy the hell out of you until you love me or kill me."
Am I being over analytical? Am I being a control freak in wanting to know how well my book is selling? Do I just need to let it go and keep on keeping on?
I currently blog, use Twitter and Facebook as well as GR to promote my book. I'm debating such sites as Pintrest and Tumblr, but I already do so much that I don't want to do more. I barely have time to work on book two as it is.
So there it is. My insecurity at the moment. I know I will keep plugging along and find a way to advertise even better. It's just getting over my whole issue of I feel like I am annoying people. Bugging them all the time to buy my book.
So what's your insecurity? I'll be hopping around and reading as many blogs as I can. Write on!
So my topic for this month is book promotion/networking. Pardon me while I whine a bit...
Waaahhhh!!!!!! ::Stomps her feet, flails her arms::
Okay, I'm done. Just had to get that out of my system first. But should it happen again, forgive me.
I've been promoting my book like mad. Working my ass off (which could stand to lose some acreage and pardon the language) on Facebook, Twitter, my blog and a little bit on Goodreads. I'm still trying to get used to GR. Twitter used to be a foreign land as well and I've posted this week the things I've already learned and have had success with.
But what do you do to promote yourself when you are always flat broke? What sites are beneficial to debut authors? How do you get the word out there or even feel like you are getting the word out there?
I even made fun of myself on Twitter. I posted: "Debut authors are like those crazy, stalker chicks. I'm going to annoy the hell out of you until you love me or kill me."
Am I being over analytical? Am I being a control freak in wanting to know how well my book is selling? Do I just need to let it go and keep on keeping on?
I currently blog, use Twitter and Facebook as well as GR to promote my book. I'm debating such sites as Pintrest and Tumblr, but I already do so much that I don't want to do more. I barely have time to work on book two as it is.
So there it is. My insecurity at the moment. I know I will keep plugging along and find a way to advertise even better. It's just getting over my whole issue of I feel like I am annoying people. Bugging them all the time to buy my book.
So what's your insecurity? I'll be hopping around and reading as many blogs as I can. Write on!
February 5, 2013
Tweet This...
Okay, so I am going to offer up some more information when using Twitter as a networking/promotional tool for your books.
I know lots of people out there have posted about this on other blogs and articles, but I am finding lots of people are still a bit wary of Twitter to promote their books and I've offered up this same advice.
It is hard to get followers if you don't know what you are doing. It is difficult to figure it all out and sometimes, well, you'll just say 'Screw it!' and avoid it if you get too frustrated. I was about to just drop Twitter because of the fact that I couldn't get the followers I wanted.
Here is what I did:
First, give a SO (shout out) to new followers. If you look at your Twitter page, you have "Home", "Connect", "Interactions" and "Me".
By clicking on "Connect" you can see who followed you, who mentioned you, who retweeted one of your tweets or even "favorited" one of your Tweets. The best thing to do is click on the tiny picture of one of your latest followers. Make sure you are not going to follow or bring attention to some spammer or girl who is using provocative pics to get followers (unless of course, that's your thing...lol!), etc. There are also those who are trying to sell you something. (Who isn't?) Make sure it is someone you WANT to follow back. Make a list, get their Twitter handle. (@MLChesley)
Next, go back to 'Home' where you can tweet and type in something like this: "SO to new followers: @MLChesley, @ZombieZak, @LordWalkiWolf thanks for the follow!"
That's what I put in. Now when you put in the user name like that, the person you are mentioning will see their name. Gives 'em kind of a warm fuzzy, I suppose. At least they know they didn't just follow a bot. And you might have to do this a few times. I can only put in about 4-6 names in one Tweet. But this has helped me gain lots of new followers rather quickly.
There is a cap on how many people you can follow if you have under 2,000 followers. So make sure you aren't just following every single person/dog/ape that is following you. Be kind of picky about it and keep your followers and the people you are following as even as you can. There's ways around this, but I'm not going to post it because I don't do it. I'll be patient and gain my followers respectfully.
Now I spend about 20 minutes a day on Twitter and got a good following going. I lose a couple a day and gain like 5 more with some of my methods.
If you are all about promoting your book, you won't get followers. You have to 're-tweet' others. They're tweeting their book links just like you are. So click on the 'retweet' option when you see a book link or blog link by a fellow author. You'll get more followers this way, because you aren't making it all about you and your book. I'll sit there and retweet up to ten people, then post my links. I'll repeat the process as often as I can in that 20 minutes.
I also throw in some personal comments or I will reply to questions (if I know the answer) or even offer up a cup of virtual coffee to Talli Roland when she pops on. ;) You gotta have a little fun with Twitter too, don't be a working stiff.
The very last thing I will tweet before logging off is something witty or fun. Sometimes inspirational. Or as inspirational as I can get.
This is the one I have gotten the best response with: "Support your fellow authors! RT book links even if you don't like the genre. Someone will. #asmsg #writers #authors #readers"
RT meaning ReTweet, of course. Lots of people have liked that and have retweeted just that phrase. I have to come up with some more, I don't want to keep using the same thing all the time. But I used it last night because it had been awhile.
Okay, so I hope that helps you even more.
Got any suggestions on how to get followers? What are some of your best 'tweets'? How much time (if any) do you spend on Twitter? Why do you avoid Twitter?
I know lots of people out there have posted about this on other blogs and articles, but I am finding lots of people are still a bit wary of Twitter to promote their books and I've offered up this same advice.
It is hard to get followers if you don't know what you are doing. It is difficult to figure it all out and sometimes, well, you'll just say 'Screw it!' and avoid it if you get too frustrated. I was about to just drop Twitter because of the fact that I couldn't get the followers I wanted.
Here is what I did:
First, give a SO (shout out) to new followers. If you look at your Twitter page, you have "Home", "Connect", "Interactions" and "Me".
By clicking on "Connect" you can see who followed you, who mentioned you, who retweeted one of your tweets or even "favorited" one of your Tweets. The best thing to do is click on the tiny picture of one of your latest followers. Make sure you are not going to follow or bring attention to some spammer or girl who is using provocative pics to get followers (unless of course, that's your thing...lol!), etc. There are also those who are trying to sell you something. (Who isn't?) Make sure it is someone you WANT to follow back. Make a list, get their Twitter handle. (@MLChesley)
Next, go back to 'Home' where you can tweet and type in something like this: "SO to new followers: @MLChesley, @ZombieZak, @LordWalkiWolf thanks for the follow!"
That's what I put in. Now when you put in the user name like that, the person you are mentioning will see their name. Gives 'em kind of a warm fuzzy, I suppose. At least they know they didn't just follow a bot. And you might have to do this a few times. I can only put in about 4-6 names in one Tweet. But this has helped me gain lots of new followers rather quickly.
There is a cap on how many people you can follow if you have under 2,000 followers. So make sure you aren't just following every single person/dog/ape that is following you. Be kind of picky about it and keep your followers and the people you are following as even as you can. There's ways around this, but I'm not going to post it because I don't do it. I'll be patient and gain my followers respectfully.
Now I spend about 20 minutes a day on Twitter and got a good following going. I lose a couple a day and gain like 5 more with some of my methods.
If you are all about promoting your book, you won't get followers. You have to 're-tweet' others. They're tweeting their book links just like you are. So click on the 'retweet' option when you see a book link or blog link by a fellow author. You'll get more followers this way, because you aren't making it all about you and your book. I'll sit there and retweet up to ten people, then post my links. I'll repeat the process as often as I can in that 20 minutes.
I also throw in some personal comments or I will reply to questions (if I know the answer) or even offer up a cup of virtual coffee to Talli Roland when she pops on. ;) You gotta have a little fun with Twitter too, don't be a working stiff.
The very last thing I will tweet before logging off is something witty or fun. Sometimes inspirational. Or as inspirational as I can get.
This is the one I have gotten the best response with: "Support your fellow authors! RT book links even if you don't like the genre. Someone will. #asmsg #writers #authors #readers"
RT meaning ReTweet, of course. Lots of people have liked that and have retweeted just that phrase. I have to come up with some more, I don't want to keep using the same thing all the time. But I used it last night because it had been awhile.
Okay, so I hope that helps you even more.
Got any suggestions on how to get followers? What are some of your best 'tweets'? How much time (if any) do you spend on Twitter? Why do you avoid Twitter?
February 4, 2013
You've Been Re-Tweeted...
First time I got a notification of being retweeted on Twitter, I almost felt violated. I didn't know what to think. I was (and still am) fairly new to this 'flash network media'. I'm a bit of a talker, so to say what I have to say in 140 characters or less was a bit daunting.
And to top it all off, I didn't have a single clue as to how Twitter worked.
Hashtags... sounded like something to do with drugs and making sure you knew where you were at all times. Not that I would know anything about drugs.
Ahem.
Moving on.
So here are a few things I have learned along the way with Twitter. Remember, this is just me. If you have any other bits of advice, PLEASE for the love of all that is holy...SHARE! Thanks.
Okay, so you are limited to what you can post on Twitter. 140 characters or less. So links should be short and hashtags, I'm discovering, are a MUST.
Hashtags: From what I understand, these little beauties will post your 'Tweet' in accessible areas relating to the word. You type in #IhavenoideawhatIamdoing and it will get lumped in on a page with everyone else who just used that hashtag.
What messes me up: are words with no spaces. The writer in me wants to put them in!!
Some # hashtags I have been using: #asmsg, #rpg, #d20, #epic, #epicfantasy, #highfantasy, #gamergirl, #nerd, #amwriting, #amreading, #amazon, #smashwords, #kindle, #nook.
What they mean and how to use them: Let's take the #rpg and #d20 ones for example. RPG means Role Playing Game and d20 is a 20 sided dice. Mostly gamers know these things and since I write fantasy and love RPG's, I try to use these hashtags whenever I tweet a link to my book.
(Example: "I write #highfantasy that reads like an #rpg. #d20, that's how I roll! (Amazon link)")
If you don't know what a hashtag means, like #asmsg, you can Google it. (What does asmsg mean on twitter?) I discovered that ASMSG means Authors Social Media Support Group. I would have never known. Seriously. You'll have to do a search for some hashtags that would be relevant to your writing.
And then of course, there are the trending hashtags.
The trending ones are listed off to the left. If you are clever enough (hello, you're a writer!) you can work these into your tweets to promote your book. Once, the trending hashtag was: #10factsaboutmybestfriend. So I tweeted this: "#10factsaboutmybestfriend: I wrote her into my book! (Amazon link)".
Which is totally true. Trinara is based off of my best friend from high school. Sort of.
Links: While there are lots of places to help shorten your links for Twitter such as Tiny URL and ViewBook.at, you can run a search for others. Otherwise, your link will get shortened by Twitter most of the time. But not always and you are using up valuable limited space.
I started off with a notebook and have dozens of hashtags written down. Recently, I spent some time creating a document to keep open while I am on Twitter where I can copy and paste some of the tweets that got the best response. I usually quote something from my book reviews, add in pertinent hashtags followed by the link to my book.
So for anyone new to Twitter like me, I hope this helps to get you started or at least make the experience more enjoyable. I'll post again on Wednesday with some other information I found helpful so I don't spend my entire day sucked into Tweeting on Twitter.
Have any tips to share? Have any hashtags you like? What are some of the clever things you've posted?
And to top it all off, I didn't have a single clue as to how Twitter worked.
Hashtags... sounded like something to do with drugs and making sure you knew where you were at all times. Not that I would know anything about drugs.
Ahem.
Moving on.
So here are a few things I have learned along the way with Twitter. Remember, this is just me. If you have any other bits of advice, PLEASE for the love of all that is holy...SHARE! Thanks.
Okay, so you are limited to what you can post on Twitter. 140 characters or less. So links should be short and hashtags, I'm discovering, are a MUST.
Hashtags: From what I understand, these little beauties will post your 'Tweet' in accessible areas relating to the word. You type in #IhavenoideawhatIamdoing and it will get lumped in on a page with everyone else who just used that hashtag.
What messes me up: are words with no spaces. The writer in me wants to put them in!!
Some # hashtags I have been using: #asmsg, #rpg, #d20, #epic, #epicfantasy, #highfantasy, #gamergirl, #nerd, #amwriting, #amreading, #amazon, #smashwords, #kindle, #nook.
What they mean and how to use them: Let's take the #rpg and #d20 ones for example. RPG means Role Playing Game and d20 is a 20 sided dice. Mostly gamers know these things and since I write fantasy and love RPG's, I try to use these hashtags whenever I tweet a link to my book.
(Example: "I write #highfantasy that reads like an #rpg. #d20, that's how I roll! (Amazon link)")
If you don't know what a hashtag means, like #asmsg, you can Google it. (What does asmsg mean on twitter?) I discovered that ASMSG means Authors Social Media Support Group. I would have never known. Seriously. You'll have to do a search for some hashtags that would be relevant to your writing.
And then of course, there are the trending hashtags.
The trending ones are listed off to the left. If you are clever enough (hello, you're a writer!) you can work these into your tweets to promote your book. Once, the trending hashtag was: #10factsaboutmybestfriend. So I tweeted this: "#10factsaboutmybestfriend: I wrote her into my book! (Amazon link)".
Which is totally true. Trinara is based off of my best friend from high school. Sort of.
Links: While there are lots of places to help shorten your links for Twitter such as Tiny URL and ViewBook.at, you can run a search for others. Otherwise, your link will get shortened by Twitter most of the time. But not always and you are using up valuable limited space.
I started off with a notebook and have dozens of hashtags written down. Recently, I spent some time creating a document to keep open while I am on Twitter where I can copy and paste some of the tweets that got the best response. I usually quote something from my book reviews, add in pertinent hashtags followed by the link to my book.
So for anyone new to Twitter like me, I hope this helps to get you started or at least make the experience more enjoyable. I'll post again on Wednesday with some other information I found helpful so I don't spend my entire day sucked into Tweeting on Twitter.
Have any tips to share? Have any hashtags you like? What are some of the clever things you've posted?
February 1, 2013
Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...
Yay! It's Friday! Woot! Okay, I'll stop with the exclamation marks. But I can't help being excited about Friday.
For those of you who are new to my blog (Thanks to the 'Re-introduce Yourself Blogfest), This is my regular Friday post. Every Friday you'll find (hopefully) some new authors. Lots of them are Indie and some of them I have read. Some I have not. But I am getting around to them all.
You should see my TBR list. Gah!
Okay, on to the favorites:
Jospeh Lallo: This is the author of 'The Book of Deacon' series. I liked these books. Myranda still holds a special place in my memory. And that cute little dragon of hers, as well. Here is where you can find Joseph:
Website, Books, Goodreads and he's @jrlallo on Twitter.
Fantasy Art:
And last, but not least... the funny:
Ha ha! Okay, that's pretty funny. What are your plans for the weekend? Know of some good authors out there?
For those of you who are new to my blog (Thanks to the 'Re-introduce Yourself Blogfest), This is my regular Friday post. Every Friday you'll find (hopefully) some new authors. Lots of them are Indie and some of them I have read. Some I have not. But I am getting around to them all.
You should see my TBR list. Gah!
Okay, on to the favorites:
Jospeh Lallo: This is the author of 'The Book of Deacon' series. I liked these books. Myranda still holds a special place in my memory. And that cute little dragon of hers, as well. Here is where you can find Joseph:
Website, Books, Goodreads and he's @jrlallo on Twitter.
Fantasy Art:
And last, but not least... the funny:
Ha ha! Okay, that's pretty funny. What are your plans for the weekend? Know of some good authors out there?
January 30, 2013
Blog Tour Stop: J. A. Bennett...
Okay, here is the final stop of my book's blog tour! Hope on over to J. A. Bennett's
blog
and check things out. Don't forget to leave a comment!
Also, you have about a week and a half left to enter the drawing at Sheila's blog to win a copy of my eBook, 'Adversarius, Shadow of the Rose: Book One'.
I still have two copies left to giveaway on my 'Spot the Difference' contest . That will end on Friday, so I can remove the picture. I doubt I'll get in trouble for doing a game like this, but you can never be too careful when it is a copyright image.
Okay, that's it! Have a great rest of the week!
Also, you have about a week and a half left to enter the drawing at Sheila's blog to win a copy of my eBook, 'Adversarius, Shadow of the Rose: Book One'.
I still have two copies left to giveaway on my 'Spot the Difference' contest . That will end on Friday, so I can remove the picture. I doubt I'll get in trouble for doing a game like this, but you can never be too careful when it is a copyright image.
Okay, that's it! Have a great rest of the week!
January 28, 2013
Re-Introduce Myself Blogfest...
So today you get two posts from me as I decided to join this blogfest (details are here). In the spirit of keeping things short and sweet, here we go:
Hi, I'm Mel Chesley and I write high fantasy. (I can hear the response to this as if I were at a Fantasy Addicts Anonymous meeting...)
I'm quite snarky at times, but in a good way. I don't tear people down on my blog or anywhere else on the internet. I try to support and promote my fellow author and I have fun doing it. I tend to stay away from two very important topics:
Politics.
And religion.
I don't discuss these topics in polite company (or even in biker bars) so why the heck would I discuss them here? Sitting behind a computer monitor does not make me feel bad ass. (Pardon the language. And no, I don't swear all the time... sometimes... )
You can find me on Facebook. I have an author page as well as a 'Like' page for my book, 'Adversarius, Shadow of the Rose: Book One'. You can find me on Twitter: @MLChesley, on Goodreads and of course, here.
Most of my blog posts are geared toward my writing and the processes of publishing. Fridays are usually fun posts with a new (to me) author I like to promote. I'm also a part of a group called Word Weavers and we're all about supporting authors there as well. So that's me in a nutshell. And yes, I'm a bit of a nut. ;)
Very nice to meet you, I hope you enjoy my blog and stick around. I promise, it is fun!
Hi, I'm Mel Chesley and I write high fantasy. (I can hear the response to this as if I were at a Fantasy Addicts Anonymous meeting...)
I'm quite snarky at times, but in a good way. I don't tear people down on my blog or anywhere else on the internet. I try to support and promote my fellow author and I have fun doing it. I tend to stay away from two very important topics:
Politics.
And religion.
I don't discuss these topics in polite company (or even in biker bars) so why the heck would I discuss them here? Sitting behind a computer monitor does not make me feel bad ass. (Pardon the language. And no, I don't swear all the time... sometimes... )
You can find me on Facebook. I have an author page as well as a 'Like' page for my book, 'Adversarius, Shadow of the Rose: Book One'. You can find me on Twitter: @MLChesley, on Goodreads and of course, here.
Most of my blog posts are geared toward my writing and the processes of publishing. Fridays are usually fun posts with a new (to me) author I like to promote. I'm also a part of a group called Word Weavers and we're all about supporting authors there as well. So that's me in a nutshell. And yes, I'm a bit of a nut. ;)
Very nice to meet you, I hope you enjoy my blog and stick around. I promise, it is fun!
Blog Tour Stop: Mindy and Sheila...
Happy Monday to all! Yeah, yeah, throw rocks at me after you've had your fifth cup of coffee. Lol!
Have a cup on me. :)
So today my tour for 'Adversarius' will be three places. Mindy Holt did her review of it, as did Sheila Staley. They also share a book review blog and it will be posted there as well.
So drop by! I already know what Mindy's review was and thanks Mindy, for your honesty. I appreciate that more than you can imagine!
For all of you who don't read blogs on the weekends, Hydra Morningstar put my review up yesterday and I had a bit of a contest. Click here for yesterday's post. Don't wait too long, I'll be taking down the artwork soon. I know it's copyrighted, but I was just having a little fun.
So I hope you have a great day after you wake up a bit and have a great week all!
Have a cup on me. :)So today my tour for 'Adversarius' will be three places. Mindy Holt did her review of it, as did Sheila Staley. They also share a book review blog and it will be posted there as well.
So drop by! I already know what Mindy's review was and thanks Mindy, for your honesty. I appreciate that more than you can imagine!
For all of you who don't read blogs on the weekends, Hydra Morningstar put my review up yesterday and I had a bit of a contest. Click here for yesterday's post. Don't wait too long, I'll be taking down the artwork soon. I know it's copyrighted, but I was just having a little fun.
So I hope you have a great day after you wake up a bit and have a great week all!
January 27, 2013
Blog Tour Stop And Fun Contest...
Hey all! I know, odd for me to post on a Sunday, but hey, I'm unpredictable like that!
So the next stop on my blog tour is today over at Hydra Morningstar's blog. You can find it here.
Tomorrow will be with both Mindy Holt and Sheila Staley on their separate blogs as well as their combined one. I'll have links for those tomorrow.
So now for the fun contest. I did this on Facebook and didn't get very many right answers. So let's see how you all do!
Okay, spot the 8 differences in the pics below. First 3 people to comment with the correct answers will win a free copy of my e-book, 'Adversarius'. Ready? Go!
This photo is from Guild Wars and they own all CopyRights. This particular photo was pulled from FabulousSavers.com. Image will be removed once this game is over. Thank you. :)
Enjoy your Sunday and don't forget to go visit Hydra!
So the next stop on my blog tour is today over at Hydra Morningstar's blog. You can find it here.
Tomorrow will be with both Mindy Holt and Sheila Staley on their separate blogs as well as their combined one. I'll have links for those tomorrow.
So now for the fun contest. I did this on Facebook and didn't get very many right answers. So let's see how you all do!
Okay, spot the 8 differences in the pics below. First 3 people to comment with the correct answers will win a free copy of my e-book, 'Adversarius'. Ready? Go!
This photo is from Guild Wars and they own all CopyRights. This particular photo was pulled from FabulousSavers.com. Image will be removed once this game is over. Thank you. :)Enjoy your Sunday and don't forget to go visit Hydra!
January 25, 2013
Blog Tour Stop: Susan Gourley...
Howdy! It's Friday, can you taste it in the air? Well, before you head off for the weekend, visit the next blog in my 'Adversarius' tour. Today the tour stops at Susan Gourley's blog: Susan Says.
It also happens to be my daughter's 20th birthday today. Happy Birthday, kiddo!
Have a great weekend and since I didn't have much time to get anything done up for today due to my dentist visit, I'll leave you with a couple of funnies:
Have a great weekend!
It also happens to be my daughter's 20th birthday today. Happy Birthday, kiddo!
Have a great weekend and since I didn't have much time to get anything done up for today due to my dentist visit, I'll leave you with a couple of funnies:
Have a great weekend!January 23, 2013
Blog Tour Stop: Laura Bastian...
Hi everyone! Today's stop on my 'Adversarius' blog tour is over at Laura Bastian's blog: The Musings of a Hopeful Writer.
Drop on by and say hi!
Drop on by and say hi!
