@jenwriter17
Active 2 years, 5 months ago- Rank: Chosen One
- Total Posts: 2522
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@wilder-w So exciting! Here are some of the most important things in my opinion for promoting your book: 1) a website, 2) a newsletter/email list, 3) social media.
Think of your website as your “home base.” This is where you want to direct more traffic to, because there people will learn more about your book/whatever you’re selling, how to buy it and hopefully join your email list. It’s very important to have a website that is appealing and eye-catching and matches your author brand.
Email list numbers are more important than social media follower counts because you know the people who are willing to give you your email are “higher quality subscribers” then someone who just follows you on Instagram. They’re going to be more interested/more likely to eventually buy your book and be interested in future releases.
Social media can be a controversial topic among marketing. Some think it’s not that effective, but I disagree. Here’s how I view social media: it’s a platform to connect with people (other authors, readers/potential customers), share about your book, and direct people to your email list. I recommend picking two social media platforms to really focus on building (two platforms that you would most enjoy working on). Instagram has a very large bookish community obviously, but it also depends on who your target reader is as to which social media platform you choose.
Another thing that’s really valuable for authors (especially indie authors) looking to promote their books is reviews (especially on Amazon and Goodreads). You could try running a sign-up for readers to get a free copy (whether physical or ebook) in exchange for an honest review delivered within a set time frame. There’s always a chance not everyone will follow through on reading your book and posting your review, but those extra reviews will start boosting your credibility (plus if the review is shared by the reader on social media that also increases traffic toward you).
I hope that helps! This is a topic I love talking about, so if you’d like go deeper into it, just let me know. 🙂
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com@joy-caroline Something I try to remember when I’m working on side characters is that they are the main character of their own story. Even if they don’t have a POV in the story, they will have their own values, goals, motives, etc. in the story. I love working on their backstory, because it’s usually then that I discover their internal conflict that fuels their goals.
And sometimes a character just has to be cut. I’ve had to do this before and I know it can be really hard especially if you’ve become attached to them. But I tell myself that if a character isn’t adding anything to the story, if I took him out and nothing falls apart, then maybe the character needs to be cut anyway.
Hope that helps! 🙂
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.comSo sorry to hear that! Praying!
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.comI used to totally pants my first drafts. Now I find it more helpful to make a plot outline and scene outlines before I get writing, but I still give myself the freedom to deviate from that outline if I feel like it. That’s just me though. 🙂
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.comI’ve never been part of the Author Conservatory, but I’ve heard a ton of good things about it 🙂
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.comSo exciting! 😀 I’m pretty sure I signed up, but if you don’t see my name on the list let me know and I’ll definitely sign up for this 😉
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com@calidris
YES the Haikyuu writers made you care for every team! But Karasuno is my fave, and Hinata my favorite character (but Tanaka and Nishinoya are hilarious too) 🙂I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.comooh awesome an anime thread! 😀 My favorite anime are The Promised Neverland (always makes me cry) and Haikyuu (cinnamon roll characters <3)
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com@joy-caroline
That’s so exciting! 😀 I’d definitely recommend figuring out how you want the whole series to end. Ask yourself, at the end of the last book, what do things look like? Where are the characters? What has been resolved? What hasn’t? In regards to plot and character arcs, think of the series as a whole one big character arc, or one big plot structure. And each individual book also has a miniature character arc and plot structure of its own. Since I didn’t explain that very well lol, I’d highly recommend watching this video by Abbie Emmons.
I hope that helps! 🙂
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com@mkfairygirl
OH MY WORD THAT’S SO EXCITING! 😀 Congrats!I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.comThat’s so cool, @elfwing! 😀 CONGRATS!
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.comI can definitely understand your dilemma lol XD I personally don’t usually like books with that many POV’s (just because it can be hard to keep them all straight in my head), but that’s just me. I would say that you’re definitely doing something right if you’ve realized that each of your major side characters have protagonist vibes: each side character is the protagonist of their own story, but I don’t know if that necessarily means you have to give them each a POV. But again, that’s just me and if you want to tackle 7 POVs that YOU GO GIRL! 😉
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.comOH MY WORD THIS IS SO COOL 😱😍
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com@maryg3 I just meant like planning out blog posts ahead of time, writing them ahead of time, etc. It’s always easier to be on top of that and knowing what content you’re going to publish on your blog ahead of time than scrambling for ideas lol. I don’t know if Wix has this feature, but with WordPress it’s nice to be able to write and schedule posts ahead of time. 🙂
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.comThat’s so exciting, @maryg3! I’d recommend figuring out who your target audience is, and writing on topics that interest them. I definitely think it’s important to have a home page, blog page, contact, and about page at least. I also recommend doing some branding work, like figuring out your blog’s mission, target audience, plan content, and also plan out your brand colors. Hope that helps! So excited for you! 😀
I'm a Kapeefer 'TIL WE'RE OLD AND GREY!
www.jennaterese.com