Making Connections discussion
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Starting a blog to get a platform
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Paul wrote: "Hello everyone,I need some advice. I'm about midway through my first novel, but I keep hearing and reading that I have to develop a platform to establish a readership. Thus I am stopping (for the..."
Paul wrote: "Hello everyone,
I need some advice. I'm about midway through my first novel, but I keep hearing and reading that I have to develop a platform to establish a readership. Thus I am stopping (for the..."
Hi Paul,
I am a new Author as well. I am writing a series of Children's books and I have released three of them since March, now working on number four. I have found so much conflicting advice and you can easily spend so much time on all of that instead of writing. I would not stop writing at all, finish your book. I had no idea that I could even write! Before I knew it I had written three books in three months and have taught myself how to publish those books edit them make a website and everything. Opened a twitter and found various sites on facebook where you are allowed to post ask friends to copy and share your posts. It is not worth advertising until you are established, or worrying too much about a mailing list. Put your details in the front and back of your books, I am going to add mine. It's very time consuming promoting but I am doing it now slowly but surely! good luck.
Thank you, Trisha. In many ways this is a relief. I was worried about taking too much time off to do this, especially since I'm making good progress and I don't want to take forever to write a novel.If you don't mind, what sites on Facebook are you referring to? All the best to you and your work, and I am very appreciative of your advice.
Most authors I know use Wordpress for a blog/website. The only blog I run is the one connected to my Goodreads account. I do have a website and newsletter, which took a lot of time and effort to put together, but they do the job. However, 99% of my sales do not come from my blog or website. They're just handy to have as a place to direct readers in case they want updates or to know more about what I'm working on. You can check it out here if you'd like: http://www.mariesilk.com/
I got the domain name and website builder from Go Daddy. There are probably better and cheaper ways to do it but I don't know much about websites to be honest. I included my website name at the back of all of my books (at the end of my author bio) in case readers want to check it out. Overall I would say you probably don't need to stress about a website or mailing list this early in the game. Starting a blog or social media presence might be helpful. Networking on Goodreads is how I got started :).
Here is a vlog on author websites "common mistakes authors make with their websites" in case you're interested :). https://www.loveindieromance.com/comm...
Thank you, Marie. I really appreciate your advice, and the links to your blog and blog-making site are helpful.
Hi Paul. I would say just start and see what works specifically for you, but I can also say that it's good just to log what you're doing on a daily or weekly basis as an author. I recently re-calibrated my efforts to telling the story of my journey to becoming a full-time author. It's been pretty freeing to not have to be super creative with blog posts and social media posts. I want to save the creativity for my writing. :P
Paul wrote: "Hello everyone,I need some advice..."
Hi Paul. I'm a new fiction author too, I made my debut on April 21st.
One of my favourite blogs for advice is Dave Chasson’s ‘Kindlepreneur’ (if you’re selling through Amazon), and also Harvey Chapman’s ‘Novel Writing Help’. Just type these into Google for lots of ideas. Might be worth checking out Ray Edwards too – he’s a copywriter, but he has lots of great advice. (http://rayedwards.com).
Maybe have a look at the websites of Lee Child, Gillian Flynn, and other bestselling authors for website tone/content ideas. Make sure they’re novelists though, as non-fiction promotion has a very different tone.
For marketing, check out: http://www.yourwriterplatform.com/pro.... From experience, it’s best not to part with cash until you’ve exhausted the free sites.
It's best to read the ‘review policy’ of each review website/blog before you request reviews!
I hope that’s of help.
L.J
Paul wrote: "Thank you, L.J.!"No problem, good luck with your writing!
I need some advice. I'm about midway through my first novel, but I keep hearing and reading that I have to develop a platform to establish a readership. Thus I am stopping (for the time being) to really take some time to start a blog. But I have little idea of how to get started.
I can easily find out how to start a website, but I don't know what a good fiction author website looks like to set an example. Any ideas or recommendations for blogsites, spreading the word about it, etc.?