Maegan Provan's Blog, page 32
February 16, 2014
Girls Chase Boys by Ingrid Michaelson
This song is absolutely amazing! Actually helping me write, believe it or not.
February 15, 2014
Marketing for Introverts
Originally posted on Tricia Drammeh:
If you’re a writer (published or unpublished), I’m sure you’ve heard about or experienced the difficulty of marketing a book. It’s hard to draw attention to your book when there are thousands of other books competing for readers’ attention. I’ve blogged about this topic before, so I know I’m not the only one who struggles to shine the spotlight on my book. There’s no single magical, free, easy way to sell books, but for those of you who have time, energy, and very thick skin, here is a
list of marketing strategies
that have been very effective for many authors:
Blog Tours: You can pay a tour host to organize interviews, book spotlights, and reviews, or you can contact bloggers on your own. It is possible to organize your own blog tour, but it is very time consuming. Some bloggers have huge backlogs. Others will not respond. (Note: I’ve tried both approaches. Sometimes you can find tour companies who are offering sales.)
Seek Reviews: This is a spin-off of tip #1. Contact book reviewers and offer to send them a free book in exchange for an honest review. Again, some bloggers have huge backlogs, so they might not be able to review your book for a long time. Others might not be able to review your book at all. Most bloggers are willing to accept an electronic version of your book. (Note: I usually avoid reviewers who ask for a paperback copy. I’ve sent paperback books to reviewers who never bothered to review the book. It was a costly mistake I’ll never make again.)
Paid advertisements on Facebook, Google, Goodreads, etc. This can get very expensive, but if you have an advertising budget, it might be worth your while.
Contests and giveaways: The rate of return may vary, but some authors swear by giveaways. Rafflecopter and Goodreads are good venues for giveaways. Giveaways can be held in conjunction with blog tours for maximum exposure. If the prizes you’re offering are particularly appealing (Amazon gift cards, a free Kindle Fire, etc), people will be more apt to enter your giveaway and hopefully spread the word. If you’re giving away a signed paperback and some mediocre sway, the response to your giveaway might be somewhat lackluster.
Pimp your book on Facebook: By joining Facebook groups, you’ll have the opportunity to network with other authors and sometimes readers. Some groups will let you promote your books; others will not. You can also ask Facebook Pages to promote your book.
Pimp your book on Twitter: Some authors swear by Twitter. They use hashtags to target certain groups and readers. With Twitter, you can promote your book several times a day by automating Tweets. If you have a huge following on Twitter, you might gets some re-Tweets, thus expanding your audience.
Beat the pavement: Go to local bookshops and ask them to stock your book on their shelf. Contact book clubs and offer to gift everyone a free copy of your book if they agree to discuss your book at their next meeting. Give bookmarks or business cards to everyone you come in contact with: the teller at the bank, your hairdresser, etc.
Book signings: Call local bookshops and libraries and ask them if they will allow you to have a book signing.
Write a press release. Send it to local and national newspapers and magazines and let them know about your book.
Call the newspaper and see if they’d like to interview you. (Note: This worked for one author I know)
Get a free or paid listing on the numerous online book sites. Ask David, The Fussy Librarian, Manic Readers, Awesome Gang, Authors Den, Authors DB, Indies Unlimited, and many other sites offer to feature your book. Some of these sites offer free listings. (Note: I have free listings on a few of these sites, but it hasn’t helped sales. It’s unclear how many readers actually frequent these sites, but it might be worth a try.)
Some of you are probably bookmarking this post, ready to dive headfirst into marketing.
Vlog 21
A moment of honesty. Update for Small Kitchen, Big Library. Help Buddy!
authormaeganprovan@gmail.com
http://www.maeganprovan.com
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaeganProvan
Gofundme for Buddy: http://www.gofundme.com/6kwlpo
Ember (Death Collectors, Book 1) http://www.amazon.com/Ember-Death-Collectors-Jessica-Sorensen-ebook/dp/B0093DI6UQ/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_d_1
Phantom Summer http://www.amazon.com/Phantom-Summer-Amy-Sparling-ebook/dp/B0082HNS34
The Broken http://www.amazon.com/The-Broken-Ker-Dukey-ebook/dp/B00G6LH2Y4
February 11, 2014
I Need Your Love (ft. Ellie Goulding) by Calvin Harris
This makes me think of Lily and Jason.
I know it can be wrong to be attached to characters because it makes you less objective but I know what I’m doing.
February 9, 2014
The Broken Review.
(Click here for the buy link)
I honestly don’t even know where to start with this review. It was so bad, I just couldn’t stomach it. I read some of the reviews before starting to read it, but I wanted to keep an open mind. You know, not every book that gets bad reviews is actually bad. In fact, there were people that liked this. I, however, am not one of them.
The main character, River, is this petite “perfect” looking blonde girl with big tits and a big ass. Anything to do with her love interest, Sammy, she would stop breathing. Like, really? She was useless and helpless and just so Mary Sue. Reliant on a man to make her happy. I understand that she was trapped in an abusive relationship and people in those situations don’t always feel like they can get out, but this was just beyond. Everyone other woman in this book slutty and mean. Nothing like the playful, coy demeanor of River. (Please note my sarcasm.) Every man that wasn’t her brother wanted River because she was just “so hot.”
Written differently, this book could have been decent. I mean way differently. I do like dark novels. I am not too hard of a sell when it comes to a great story. Unfortunately, this book was just about twenty shades of bad. I will say that the only positive is that I didn’t have to pay for it.
February 7, 2014
Phantom Summer Review
(Click here to buy the book)
All in all not bad, but there was just a lot about this book that rubbed me the wrong way. The main characters behavior was a little melodramatic and it really became annoying of the span of the book. Taylor Gray is a seventeen year old girl who carries the death of her best friend, Brendan, on her shoulders. She was in love with him but never had the courage to tell him before it was too late. Instead of sticking around to deal with it and perhaps find closure, Taylor chooses to just up and leave school and move in with her drunk, stripper mother, on Sterling Island, a town obsessed with ghosts. She quickly obtains a job at the train museum, even after many warnings from the museum’s manager/owner that it’s haunted. Through out the book, Taylor is very adamant that she doesn’t believe in ghosts. She ends up meeting Raine Tsunami, the towns local celebrity who provides entertaining ghost tours to tourists and locals on the island. Taylor does fall for Raine, but with the guilt of her best friend’s death, she doesn’t allow herself to get close to him. I don’t like giving too much of any book I review away because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who actually wants to read them (because no one pays attention to spoilers! :P)
There were a lot of issues and inconsistencies that bothered me. The author took two chapters to decided on the spelling for Brendan, and didn’t go back to correct the discarded spelling. Sandra Bullock was not in Pretty Woman, a Google search could have cleared that right up. There were also little details that could have easily been corrected. It bothered me that the main character just decided that she wasn’t going to school any more. She didn’t attempt to drop out, didn’t give the school any notice, nothing. I’m sure that it was just an easy solution for the story, but it really felt kind of lazy on the author’s part. She also started some really interesting ideas with some of the ghost stories, but she never revisited them. They were introduced like they might be a big deal, but they were just kind of cast off to the side. I will say that I liked this book overall, but what can I say? It was a free book.
Ember (Death Collectors, Book 1) Review
So something that I was wanting to add to my blog was book reviews. I chose to start with Ember because I literally just finished the book and rushed to my desk to write the review.
(Click here for a link to the buy page)Ember Rose Edwards is not like your average high schooler. She actually hides a dark secret, that she can see your death. After her father goes nuts and disappears, Ember has to deal with the stigma of being accused of his disappearance and assumed death. Everyone in town calls her “killer” among other things. Not only that, but she has to deal with her mentally unstable mother and stoner/ artist brother. Ember keeps to herself, writing poetry and spending time with her only friend in the world, Raven. Raven is the only person she ever told about her “curse.” Ember teaches herself to deal with the omens and live her life the best way she could. Of course, all of that changes at a party Raven drags her to and two new boys, Cameron Logan and Asher Morgan, move to town. Chock full of emotion, murder, Grim Reapers and Angels of Death, Jessica Sorensen does an amazing job telling this story. I am afraid to tell too much because I don’t want to give anything away.
This book was absolutely amazing! I have had a hard time finding books that make me just say “wow” lately, aside from my slight obsession with Tricia Drammeh and Victoria Barrow (they will forever blow me away,) but this book did it for me. There were some technical issues than could use some buffing out, but all in all, it was a great read. I honestly took a chance on this book because it was free and I was looking for something to read. As we are all too familiar with, a majority of free books end up being lemons that are poorly written and poorly edited, but we deal. I opened this book holding my breath, fearful of what might have been between the pages. I ended up being engulfed in Ember’s world. The emotions were high and the drama was not lacking.
January 30, 2014
Help Buddy get Heart Worm Treatment
Help Buddy get Heart Worm Treatment
I’m sorry to keep posting these on here, but this is another very worth cause. Buddy, a rescued stray, has a great temperament, so friendly, and needs help and a new home. He was running around a dangerous road and we brought him in. We took him to the vet today to get his shots and he was diagnosed with heart worms. The treatment is going to cost $800 and any amount would be greatly appreciated.
