P.H. Solomon's Blog, page 308

2015 Author Cyber Convention Via Goodreads

It’s just a week and counting until it’s here! The 2015 Author Cyber Convention on Goodreads. Reader visitors are welcome to visit and peruse all the virtual booths authors from a wide spectrum of genres of setup in the fairground. Come find new, up and coming writers who would love to meet you.

The three day event runs from April 10th thru the 12th. Authors are planning giveaways of all kinds. Links to interviews will be posted. Ask question of authors and just mingle. A variety of events are planned throughout the three days.

Just click the link above to enter the group. Are you an author and want to join the fun? There’s no cut-off time so join the author side of the convention and setup your cyber booth.

Not a member of Goodreads? Well click on over and sign-up then attend the convention next week. All the authors are looking forward to plenty of visitors.

I’m looking forward to this event. One of my goals this year was to attend more conventions so this is a great way for me to do just that. I’m ready to mingle with fellow authors and find out more about them and their books. This should be a lot of fun and a wonderful experience for all. The chance to interact with readers is one of the main reasons Goodreads exists.

I’m counting the days and hope to meet plenty of readers and writers. Mark the dates and make time to visit the cyber fairground to meet authors in your favorite genres. See you there!

Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today! Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.

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Filed under: 2015 Author Cyber Convention, Fantasy, Goodreads, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Self-publishing, Short Stories, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, What is Needed, Writing Tagged: 2015 Author Cyber Convention, blogging, Coverart, Facebook, Goodreads, Indie Publishing, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing

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Published on April 02, 2015 23:00

Inspection! What Scrivener’s Other Bar Does

Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.

On the left side there’s that lovely organizational wonder: the Binder. It provides all the flexibility to arrange your ideas and change the writing structure with ease. It’s one of the features that makes for the wonder that is Scrivener.

But on the right side there’s nothing – unless you turn on the Inspector Bar. Just click View and glide down to reveal the Layout menu and there it is. Upon turning this tool-bar on you find a number of features that may at first beguile you as mundane functions. However, the Inspector was designed with a purpose: managing your content. You’ll notice that there are several buttons at the bottom of the Inspector as well as several arrows. Let’s take a look at the features available, some of which you may find useful based on your type of writing projects.

1. Notes: this first button includes several features that can be collapsed or left open. Synopsis shows the notecard that also appears in the corkboard and it can be closed by clicking the arrow beside the feature title. Next, there’s Meta-Data which allows you to manage the status of the particular document in which you are working and it can also be closed. These two features stay available on the first three buttons. Last is the Documents Notes where you can add all kinds of pertinent information to your work as if they were sticky notes.

2. Click on the next button over to reveal Document References. This is where you can add Scrivener and external links either of which you may frequently use for reference. This can be especially handy for non-fiction writing where lots of research at the click of your mouse can save you a lot of time.

3. Moving over again you will find Keywords. This is where you can add all kinds of frequently used terms from your project. It’s a helpful location for keeping character and location names organized for quick reference. Writing fantasy, this is a big help for me since you can forget some details and need references in an accessible location.

4. The next button over is Custom Meta-Data which allows you to tweak meta-data settings for your project to suite your tastes. This is a great place for c0-authors to designate their tasks by color for differentiation.

5. The next to last button is for Snapshots. If you haven’t used this feature previously, it takes a snapshot of your current work which is useful when you want to make changes but might want to revert back to the original. Click the +/- buttons to add and remove snapshots. There’s also the Rollback button available to switch back to the previous version.

6. Last, there the Footnotes and Comments button which is where you can add these to your non-fiction. The comments feature is similar to the same one in Word and can be useful whether you are writing fiction or non-fiction.

These are all extremely helpful tools for fiction and/or non-fiction writing. They are easily found from the Inspector to allow users to quickly manage content. Some of these functions may bear further discussion in later posts. A number of these features may or may not seem useful at first glance, however you may want to give them a try to see if they help you develop your project more efficiently. If you are c0-authoring a book this is a great way to keep things straight between the two of you.

Have you use the Inspector bar much or at all? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today! Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.

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Just as a note: I am not affiliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor.

Filed under: Blogging, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Editing, Indie Publishing, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: Coverart, creativity, Editing, Facebook, Indie Publishing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing

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Published on April 01, 2015 23:00

Formatting Pt. 6: Working With Page Breaks

This is an ongoing series about formatting for e-books. In past posts, I’ve touched on a variety of formatting issues for those who are willing to tackle the job. If you want a deeper understanding of formatting try Mark Coker’s Smashwords Style Guide. The other post in the series are: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5. Some of the details of this post assume you’ve read previous posts in the series which cover the use of Styles or the Show/Hide function.

There are a variety of different breaks in your manuscript that you can use – chapter, scene and page. However, if these are misapplied and not corrected they can cause problems in the appearance of an e-book file. These issues will reduce the quality of you finished work and affect reviews and sales.

An incorrect break causes gaps in the manuscript when it is viewed by a reading device. I’m sure you’ve run across e-books that contain a break in content or even the end of a chapter where there’s a blank page before a single line and then a new page to begin the chapter. Try not to use more than four paragraph returns. If you use page breaks defined from the Word tab on the ribbon menu: Insert => Page Break then not all these may be accepted or kept when submitting to Kindle or Amazon. This can cause some spacing issues.

Generally, when you submit an manuscript to either Kindle or Smashwords chapters will be detected. Also, e-readers tend to adjust the content based on user configurations so the design of the final output is intuitive when displayed by the e-reader. However, if you do want to use breaks for a chapter then create these as a Style with a page break from the previous page. These are generally accepted.

To correct other breaks in your manuscript such as those for scenes. Turn on the Show/Hide and check for excessive use of paragraph breaks as mentioned above. Try to minimize the number used and also put in dividing text such as hash-marks (ex: ####). Using the Show/Hide makes large, manual breaks obvious to find and correct.

Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today! Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.

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Filed under: Blogging, Creativity, Editing, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: blogging, Editing, Facebook, Formatting, Indie Publishing, P. H. Solomon, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Twitter, writing

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Published on April 01, 2015 06:54

Starting An Author Platform Pt. 5: A Social Media Primer

This is ongoing series for newer writers interested in developing their writing brand. The previous posts included a general overview, branding through domain registration, branding through email and building your website.

Not to be obvious but if you are building an author platform you need social media accounts. Not only that, but you don’t need to be a wallflower. While you are interested in growth, what social media you choose first is important. You can’t adequately build your social media presence by spreading yourself too thin so you can’t maximize your efforts. But where should you start?

Twitter is your most important channel. Due the its nature as a fast moving social media outlet, Twitter can fuel much of your social media growth. This fact makes it a great avenue to attract visitors to your other social media channels, your website/blog and your content. Without being pushy or overbearing, you can regularly gain followers with consistent engagement.

Your next most important social media venue as a writer is Goodreads. If you’re a writer and not on Goodreads you are missing out – the social media channel for readers. Even if you don’t have a book published it’s the place to be to interact with readers who can become your best advocates. But by interacting I don’t me pushing your books, rather connect with other readers via groups (following their posted rules) and discuss other books. Find out the best practices for being a author on Goodreads and enjoy other readers opinions.

The next most important social media channel is up to you, the author. What genre you write dictates what your next account is. For instance, the best channel for speculative fiction is Google+. For more information check out this blog post by my fellow Rave Reviews Book Club member, Nicholas Rossis about what social media formats mesh best with which genres.

Definitely consider Pinterest at some point. The visual nature of Pinterest is wonderful for displaying your covers and related artwork. Additionally, you can post any fan-art you receive to better interact with your readers.

Lastly, if you are taking your time building a website, make sure to go ahead and engage on social media now. The sooner you gain followers the better off you will be when it comes time to actually market your work. But always remember, give more than you take and you won’t turn people off. And above all, make sure your accounts reflect your writing brand consistently.

Available at Amazon, Smashwords and All Major E-Book Vendors!

Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today! Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.

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Filed under: Blogging, Choices, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Planning, Rave Review Book Club, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Writing Tagged: blogging, Coverart, creativity, Facebook, Goodreads, Indie Publishing, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Rave Reviews Book Club, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, writing

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Published on March 30, 2015 23:00

RRBC SPOTLIGHT Blog Tour – Jump, Jive and Wail

Today, I welcome Kathryn Biel to Archer’s Aim as part of her SPOTLIGHT Blog Tour with Rave Reviews Book Club of which she and I are members. Take it away, Kathryn!

The prospect of being an Indie author can seem daunting. And it is. But not really. When I first published Good Intentions, I had that moment of feeling like I was standing naked in front of a crowd. That was me—my words—out there. I thought writing a book was the hard part of indie publishing. I had no idea. My book was not properly edited. I thought it was, until I started finding typo after typo. My cover was, for lack of a better term, horrendous. With the help of time, research, a good editor (thanks Karen!), and some very supportive people on social media, I’ve learned tremendous amounts over these past two years. I would be nowhere without the support of other writers and bloggers that I’ve met along the way. I had to learn to ask questions, no matter how silly. I had to learn that I had to spend money on this process. The first priority is on editing, and the second is on cover design.

I love being an indie author. Unless some huge deal (with lots and lots of zeros) comes along, I can’t see that changing. Even though it’s a lot of work, I’ve surrounded myself with a good team (of my choosing). I love that I have control over my titles, pricing, covers, and promotional materials. I love that I can reach my readers without waiting on the whims of people who may or may not like my book depending on the day they look at it. And I love that I have the freedom to keep writing.

I’d like to share an excerpt from my new novel, Jump, Jive, and Wail.

I’ve been told I have an anger problem. Yeah, so what. You would too if you were living my life. Once destined for greatness—for gold—now my life is crap. Complete and utter crap. So, yeah, I’m angry. Angry all the flippin’ time. I also have a swearing problem. I’m working on that.

The focus of my anger at this moment is two-fold: the TSA and my brace. My stupid brace. Always that. If it weren’t for the brace, I’d only be mildly annoyed at the TSA right now. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d still be annoyed. What kind of idiot puts a bomb in his underwear or shoe? Why’d he have to go and spoil it for the rest of us? That kind of imbecile deserves to have his frank and beans blown off. Okay, so my anger here is actually three-fold and includes the eejits who attach bombs to their privates to blow up planes.

Struggling to manage my overstuffed carry-on while holding my bulky winter coat, boots, and the brace, I finally manage to get through the security gates. Careful not to let my right toes drag on the ground, I step aside, drop my load, and set about donning it—that damn brace. Kirby. That’s its name. Or at least what I call it. Because having to wear a brace sucks more than an expensive vacuum cleaner. Shoving the bags off to the side and not wanting to sit down on the airport floor, I bend forward at the waist and precariously balance on my left leg while I lift my right one into the air. I’m out of the habit of squatting these days, since the plastic of my constant companion doesn’t let my ankle bend that way. Sliding Kirby beneath my dropped foot, I quickly get my limp, numb, useless right leg safely encased in its flesh-colored plastic tomb. It reminds me of a coffin because my foot just lays there for all to see—dead. One nylon Velcro strap across the ankle, another around the calf and I’m good to slide my useless appendage into my Ugg. Yes, I know; it is like the worst possible choice in shoes, other than flip-flops, which I’ll never be able to wear again. But I rationalize, like I do with so many other things, that my bad foot is fully supported in the brace, so the supportiveness of the shoe itself doesn’t matter. (I do completely ignore the fact that I have another leg and foot that is working, for the most part.) My physical therapist doesn’t buy my rationale but whatever. Let her walk—or limp—a mile in my shoes and see how she likes it.

I am getting lightheaded from being bent over, and I’m sure my ass in the air isn’t the most flattering view, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. I’m sure the underwear bomber felt the same way, but I mean, who would ever think that that was a good idea?

The real reason I like the Uggs is that they hide the ugliness that is Kirby. I look pretty normal wearing them. They’re totally flat, which I need anyway, and they’re in fashion. Don’t know what I’ll do when they become passé but, like so many other things in my life right now, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

So here I am, keister in the air, just getting ready to lift my left foot up. Balancing on my right leg is always a bit dodgy so I have to mentally psych myself up for it. The brace gives me some stability, but it is still not a skill in which I excel. The last thing I want to do is fall down in the middle of a busy airport. I open up the mouth of the boot and as quickly as I can, slide my left foot in. When I put my foot down, my weight shifts back slightly and my rear end bumps into something.

Not something, someone.

A man, to be precise. A man’s crotch to be even more precise.

Author Bio: Telling stories of resilient women, Kathryn Biel hails from upstate New York and is a spouse and mother of two wonderful and energetic kids. In between being Chief Home Officer and Director of Child Development of the Biel household, she works as a school-based physical therapist. She attended Boston University and received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from The Sage Colleges. After years of writing countless letters of medical necessity for wheelchairs, finding increasingly creative ways to encourage the government and insurance companies to fund her clients’ needs, and writing entertaining annual Christmas letters, she decided to take a shot at writing the kind of novel that she likes to read. Her musings and rants can be found on her personal blog, Biel Blather. She is the author of Good Intentions (2013), Hold Her Down (2014), I’m Still Here (2014), Jump, Jive, and Wail (2015), and the short story, Fly Robin Fly (Part of Cupid on the Loose!: A Valentine’s Anthology of Short Stories, 2015).

JUMP, JIVE, AND WAIL Links: Amazon B&N Kobo iTunes

Kathryn’s Social Media Links: Twitter Facebook Website Pinterest

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Filed under: Amazon, Blog Tour, Blogging, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Jump Jive & Wail, Kathryn Biel, Marketing, Planning, Rave Review Book Club, Self-publishing, Social Media, Twitter, Writing Tagged: Amazon, blogging, Coverart, creativity, Facebook, Indie Publishing, Jump Jive and Wail, Kathryn Biel, Marketing, Rave Reviews Book Club, Self-publishing, Social Media, Spotlight Blog Tour, Twitter, writing

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Published on March 27, 2015 23:00

Project Management Pt. 11: Making Up Time

This is an ongoing series to help authors manage their projects better. Previous posts have covered a wide range of subjects over several months. Please see below for a list of those related posts.

Time is a precious commodity and it seems we wrestle with managing it daily. Just when we seem to get things into order and have a daily rhythm any number of events can interrupt what we’re doing. As I write this, I’m suffering from the flu and have taken my daughter to the doctor for the same illness. It’s really interrupted my calendar since I’ve felt so listless. I’ve tried to work through it anyway but haven’t been able to keep up with everything. I had the same trouble last month when I was sick with a cold that disrupted my energy for my daily schedule.

It can be hard to have your schedule disrupted and then try to get back to where you were. If you had a delay of several days it can be frustrating or even difficult to re-orient yourself to what you were doing previously. Here are few tips to getting back in the swing.

If your deadlines and goals were set in a calendar, take a few minutes to update that to the day where you are and adjust your deadlines if possible (these should be somewhat fluid since the nature of things is to encounter delays). Be realistic about your deadlines and don’t try to make them all up at once if they have a definite date. However, if you are making some time up on a few of those deadlines then prioritize – decide what can be delayed and for how long.

Once you have an idea of how you need to proceed then make a schedule for the day. Don’t over-schedule thinking you’ll get it all done at once. Consult your calendar and how you’ve adjusted your goals and then schedule your time accordingly. Follow the schedule as best you can and at the end, if you have some spare time then add something else to make up but not something out of priority. Stick to your priorities and be diligent with your schedule and you’ll find you’re working like you were before you delay.

Also, during your delaying event, if you can find time to work do what you can. For instance, I haven’t felt too energetic for several days and that’s inhibited my daily progress. But while I’ve been in the doctor’s office I’ve been working on several posts and social media via a guest wifi. It’s better than sitting around wondering when they’re going to call us back and I’ve been able to catch up some in the middle of the distraction.

One last thought – when you set your calendar and daily schedule try to be flexible enough to handle any sort of problems that can delay you. You can’t plan for – or foresee everything that will happen – but some built-in accommodation may make your disruptions less stressful in the end.

Fantasy Authors Unplugged: Gregory S. Close

This is continuing feature on Archer’s Aim – Fantasy Authors Unplugged. I hope to frequently share an interview with a fantasy author. If you have authors to suggest and/or questions you’d like to see answered then leave a comment or send me an email. If you are a fantasy author and would like an interview please let me know and we’ll plan one that fits your schedule. Today’s featured author is: Gregory S. Close.

PHS: What’s the name and storyline of your latest book?

GSC: My debut novel is In Siege of Daylight, book one in a planned four part series, The Compendium of Light, Dark & Shadow. It’s a classic epic fantasy in many respects. There are multiple POV characters, some familiar archetypes, action, politics, just a dash or romantic interest, great powers meddling in mortal affairs and an ancient evil preparing to conquer the world.

The story picks up from a different point than most epics, however. Instead of introducing our heroes and sending them on a quest to prevent the Big Bad from obtaining The McGuffin and/or throw said McGuffin in a volcano or whatever, the Big Bad already has it, is already using it, and is in fact several years into the Evil Master Plan and ready to start conquering the crap out of everybody.

Basically, it’s a similar concept to: Sauron already has the Ring of Power… Now what?

So, the good guys are screwed, basically, and have to make the best of it.

PHS: How did you start writing fantasy?

GSC: There were a few factors. My Dad sat my brother and me on his lap and read The Lord of the Rings to us, complete with smoke rings and theatrical voices. It was even cooler than it sounds. For my Mom’s part, she took us to Narnia. I was lucky to have parents who read to me, and especially lucky that they read the good stuff.

Then there was that fateful day in ’77 when I saw Star Wars. It was a life-changing moment. At this point, it was clear to me that science fiction and fantasy were my genre of choice, and I started reading voraciously. I could only manage to get to the theater to see Star Wars about 13 times that year, but there was little limit on the number of books I could get my hands on.

Last, but certainly not least, was the advent of Dungeons & Dragons. My brother had started playing it with friends in Middle School and soon enough it filtered down to me. I played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons. A lot. I wasn’t off with Tom Hanks in the sewers, but my brother and I were absolutely obsessed with it, and the character development, world building and role-playing were instrumental in how I began to craft stories.

PHS: What are you working on next?

GSC: I’m at work on the sequel to In Siege of Daylight, which is called The End of Dreams. That’s the more long term project. In the immediate future, I’m preparing a Kickstarter to crowdfund the publication of a new science fiction/fantasy novel, Greyspace. This story is set in a future where spaceships, AI, battle armor and nano-tech co-exist in an uneasy symbiosis with demons and sorcery, the latter of which happen to be the only solution to FTL travel, among other things.

PHS: Any writing tips on what to do and what not to do?

GSC: Sure, that’s easy. What to do: WRITE. What not do do: PROCRASTINATE. Writing takes a lot of work, and a lot of time, so take advantage of the time you have and make time when you don’t think you have it. Stay up an hour later. Get up an hour earlier. Unless you are both independently wealthy and single, you’ll have to share your time with family and work and other bits of life, so don’t take your moments for granted.

PHS: What is your favorite book and why?

GSC: I don’t really have a favorite book; I have lots of favorite books. I’ll pick one of them that may not get as much attention as it deserves and that is The Many Colored Land by Julian May (and the entire Plicocene Exile series). It has fantasy, aliens/faeries, psionics, time-travel, and a very diverse and engaging cast of characters. It’s really one of the most original epics I’ve ever read.

PHS: What would you do differently in regard to writing/publishing your book?

GSC: It’s hard to look back, because there’s always something else I can edit/improve about the writing, so I try to look forward as much as I can and just learn from my mistakes (and try not to make them again). If I could have split the story of In Siege of Daylight into two smaller books, each with its own perfectly good climax/resolution, I would do that. It would certainly have made marketing easier and allowed for more financial opportunity. However, doing that would change things in the story as a whole, and maybe not for the better.

Greyspace is sort of an answer to that question. It’s intentionally much shorter, faster paced, and told from a single POV.

PHS: Is there any special inspiration behind your book?

GSC: The title of the series, The Compendium of Light, Dark & Shadow, is a hint at the overall philosophical underpinning of the narrative. I can’t really explain in detail without spoilers, but suffice it to say that I explore the concept of what is good versus evil, versus whatever it is in-between, and how those play against each other, especially when things do not go as planned. Although In Siege of Daylight touches on this, the second book will really begin to twist and defy expectations a bit. I hope!

Bio:

Gregory S. Close has lived on both coasts of the United States (and that wholesome corn-fed part in-between) as well as Dundalk, Ireland and the tiny islands of the Kwajalein Atoll.

Greg loves travelling and sampling the native cultures, foods, customs, and beers of the world. Greg is married to a rocket scientist and lives in California with his two daughters, a cat, and one and a half dogs.

Buy In Siege of Daylight on Amazon (all profits in the month of March are being donated to Texas Children’s Hospital to find a cure for Langerhans-cell Histiocytosis (LCH))
Weave is included in the anthology The Dark Beyond the Door , available for free at Fictiongarden
Light, Dark & Shadow webpage
Facebook Author Page
The Worthless Novel(s) Blog
Twitter: @gsclose

Thanks again to Gregory for appearing in “Fantasy Authors Unplugged” and tolerating the torturous question. As always, please take a look at this author’s books and give him some support. If you’re a fantasy author and would like to be interviewed for “Fantasy Authors Unplugged” just contact me via email or one of my social media channels and we’ll set one up.

Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today! Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.

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Filed under: Amazon, Blogging, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Fantasy, Fantasy Authors Unplugged, Fiction, Gregory S Close, In Siege Of Daylight, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Science Fiction, Self-publishing, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, The Dark Beyond The Door, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: Coverart, Facebook, Fantasy Authors Unplugged, Fantasy Fiction, Gregory S Close, In Siege of Daylight, Indie Publishing, Interview, Marketing, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Dark Beyond The Door, Twitter, writing

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Published on March 25, 2015 07:01

Starting An Author Platform Pt. 5: Building Your Website

This is ongoing series for newer writers interested in developing their writing brand. The previous three posts included a general overview, branding through domain registration and branding through email.

Building a website is very important for any business including authors. A website is essentially a store-front through which the public can have a gander at your work. But there are a number of ways to approach a website. You can go as fancy as you want if you have a larger budget. You can go low cost and grow the look of the website over time.

For many people, actually building a website might well be intimidating. A robust design with all the bells and whistles can be a very technical undertaking. Thankfully, most hosting services provide tools to help you create your website. Whether you spend for the hosting or use a free service it can be rather easy to make a simple site.

But how much should you spend? I suggest going low-cost to start and growing as you go. That way you have a small investment if your enterprise does’t work out. If your writing gives you enough income then consider paying for hosting and improvements to the site. You don’t want to put down money up-front for a three year contract only to abandon the site. Use your budget wisely.

In planning a website, consider adding these elements to your design:

1. A landing page: this is a page that presents your current work and allows readers the chance to buy immediately. I intend to add this feature as I approach my own book launch.

2. A bio/contacts page that tells a bit about yourself and links to connect with you in a variety of ways.

3. Consider having a blog but only if you have time to keep working on it.

4. If you intend to offer free content then have a page where this is available to interested readers. This is another page that I’m adding in the near future.

5. A page for your publications with links to everything you have for sale on all sales channels

6. Add widgets and menus for additional ways to interact with your site and connect with you.

7, A page that lists your works in progress.

These are just the beginning and there will be several tools and scripts you’ll want to make use of as you grow. But a beginning is a beginning – I’m still working on my website to bring it to the point where I’m comfortable with the design. This depends on my budget but it is a goal for the year to make improvements.

Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today! Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.

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Filed under: Blogging, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: blogging, Coverart, creativity, Facebook, Indie Publishing, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Self-publishing, Social Media, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, writing

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Published on March 23, 2015 23:00

Promote Your Writing With Scrivener

Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.

Writing is easier than every with Scrivener. But with all that production you’ve got to release some work to the public. When you launch your book you need to hit the road and do some marketing.

One of the most used marketing tools is the blog tour. Why not use Scrivener to develop your blog tours? Much like a blog template you can use a blog tour template to write for all your stops and keep them organized.

Try setting up a project for your book release and organize it by blog tour. Get a head start as tour ideas come to mind and write them down. Then when it comes time to release your work and do frequent blog tours you’ll have plenty of material for all the stops.

I’ve modified a blog template to use specifically for with blog tours which you can download for free here. Organize your binder, use the table in the calendar container to track your schedule. Use the document template or create new ones for your various needs as they arise.

Want to develop your own templates? Here are instructions on creating and managing project templates. Need to know more about making document templates? Click here to learn to create a document template and here to learn more about what to put in them.

Are you looking for a way to organize your blog tour ideas? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today! Also, the cover of my book, The Bow of Destiny, was revealed recently so take a look.

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Just as a note: I am not affliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor.

Filed under: Blog Tour, Blogging, Cover Reveal, Creativity, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Planning, Scrivener, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, Templates, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Blog Tour, blog tour template, Coverart, creativity, Facebook, Indie Publishing, Launch, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Scrivener, Social Media, Template, The Black Bag, The Bow of Destiny, writing

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Published on March 22, 2015 23:00

Project Management for Writers Pt 6: My Own Medicine

Clip Art Image Copyright by Microsoft. Clip Art Used by Permission of Microsoft

This is an ongoing series about managing writing-related projects. In this edition I want to get deeper into analyzing time. The original post is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here, part 4 here and part 5 here.

Here’s my application of my scheduling in light of analysis of my own needs.

What I needed done. Initially, I needed to complete some short story projects, jumpstart my author platform and complete a revision of my novel for my editor. Of course the details are much more complex. I calculated the amount of time I had available within a range. Next, I calculated how long each project would take in total hours and compared how much time I had per week to identify deadline dates(note: the author platform will always be ongoing but accounting for the time is necessary). Based on that information I could assign commitment to each project during a week by day.

How I scheduled. I dedicated the largest amount of time per day to The Bow of Destiny since it is the largest project and needed direct attention for a deadline. Next, I dedicated one day a week to work on a short story. Lastly, I put in a daily slice of time for my author platform development – social media updates, blogging, etc. All of these were scheduled as a range of time since my availability might vary depending on daily situations. The point was to have a plan to address my goals.

Clip Art Image Copyright by Microsoft. Clip Art Used by Permission of Microsoft

Things changed so I adjusted. When I found out my novel deadline was delayed for two months by my editor’s availability, I then adjusted my schedule. I assigned less time to my novel and more to the author platform and short fiction.

What I needed done. However, I realized that I needed to address goals/priorities one at a time. My author platform was lagging so I wanted to draft/schedule as many blogs as possible and then work on several pieces of short fiction.

The result. Last week I focused on blogging and social media engagement. As a consequence I have published, scheduled or begun drafts of sixteen blogs and increased my social media engagement. This week, with so many blogs scheduled or in process, I need less dedicated time to my author platform so I can focus on my short fiction with the goal of submitting several stories to magazine markets.

In conclusion, due to my change in deadline with my novel, I’ve adjusted my strategy to focus on short-term goals to accomplish as many of them as I can in order to gain more focus on my larger project – The Bow of Destiny. While I intend to continue working on the novel as I can, its priority is lower for several weeks while I clear other projects out of the way. Recently, Robert Chazz at ChazzWrites.com has written about similar need by addressing marketing and how he needs to focus his writing in his post which has already been re-blogged on this site: What if What We Think We Know About Writing, Publishing & Promotion is Wrong? Check out his reasoning and conclusions.

Clip Art Image Copyright by Microsoft. Clip Art Used by Permission of Microsoft

Have you started scheduling your work? Have you already found a need to adjust your schedule? I’d love to hear from you so please leave a question, idea or strategy in the comment section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today!

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