Ten Social Media "Marketing" NO-NOs for Authors

By Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been astounded at complaints I've seen in writer groups across Facebook on the bad manners of other "authors."

One published author mentioned that someone placed a post with all their books listed on her Facebook Author Page. Someone else said someone horned in on their Fan Group with a listing of their books. Another complained that someone hijacked her book launch event. Her own Book Launch EVENT! Again, this person posted a message listing all their own books. I didn't think to ask if it could be the same ill-mannered writer doing these unthinkable things.

Blogger and author Anne R. Allen posted about this problem eighteen months ago, and gave fair warning to new authors who sorely abuse Social Media in an attempt to sell books that their actions are undesirable. (It's possible some marketing "guru" is selling new authors really bad advice.) Anne came up with a countdown list of ten things not to do on social media, along with very good advice on why such actions are repellent, and that doing them are against the Ethical Author code.

I'll just give the ten no-nos headings. You must read the article to get the meat of Anne's excellent reasoning.

10. Forgetting that social media is social
9. Over-hashtagging and robo-posting
8. Emotional blackmail in demands for shares and RTs
7. Projecting a snarky, nasty online persona
6. Starting lots of blogs, webpages, and social media accounts
5. Pop-ups and other annoying gimmicks on your blog or website
4. Auto Direct Messages in reply to a follow—or advertising in a DM
3. Pitching your own book on somebody else's Facebook Page
2. Buying or trading reviews and trading "likes".
1. Putting somebody on your mailing list who has not signed up

~~~

Let me add this to number 1: "Adding someone to your product, party, or any Facebook Group without first asking for their permission."

If you know a new writer who is slipping up and annoying not only you, but your friends, please let them know about Anne Allen's advice.

Thanks!

Do You Want to Be a Writer?

by Marsha Ward @MarshaWard

I came across a great blog by Indie Author sensation Hugh Howey a couple of days ago. In it, he gives the secrets to success as a writer, which a lot of people won't follow because, yeah, they're hard.

Here's how he starts out:

Sitting in your underwear, hearing voices, talking to people who are not there, mumbling to yourself, Googling how to dispose of bodies and the firing rate of an uzi submachine gun. Assuming this sounds like the ideal life for you—and you don’t want to be certifiably crazy but only a little crazy—then the life of the professional writer is what you’re after. And I’m going to tell you how to make it happen.

Then he gives "the #1 secret to success and a career of working in your underwear: You have to work harder than anyone else. Period."

I'll list a few of his bullet points, but you'll have to go over and read the complete article to get the full flavor of the meal. And yes, he says a couple of words I don't use, but nowhere near as many as Chuck Wendig does. They both give great advice.

• Make a long-term plan.
• Reading.
• Practice. 
• Daydream.
• Learn to fail.

And those are just the first five points. If you want to be a writer, go read these and the other five, with their explanations of how to implement them.

Then get to work!

Time to Step Up!

by Cindy R. Williams

   

      Life is changing fast, and I'm going to change too. I have watched many of my writing friends indie publish both ebooks and hard-copies. I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I have been writing for some years now and stacking up the stories, with ten now complete. I will send a few out to agents but some I want to experiment with and see what this new writing world is about.
 
 I own my own LLC already that I use to run my music studio, and sell my two books (CHASE MCKAY DIDN'T GET UP TODAY,www.cindyRwilliams.com

and an anthology which includes a few of my short stories titled, VALUE STORIES FOR A YOUNG WOMAN.)
With my LLC, I purchased a packet of 10 ISBN numbers, and have an account set up with Lightning Source-Ingram. I have CHASE MCKAY for sell on Amazon, Barnes Noble.com, and my website,
   
      So . . . I have a start. My platform is out there and moving forward.
 
     This year though, I want to learn how to format books on Create Space and Kindle. I have two great books I am studying called:

MAKE A KILLING ON KINDLE by Michael Alvear,


and HOW I SOLD 1 MILLION eBOOKS IN 5 MONTHS  by John Locke.
   
 

      I have been doing research by gleaning "how to" information from my ANWA friends whom have successfully indie published.
 
      I will continue to post what I am learning on this journey. Maybe it will help you take the plunge and get your completed and polished WIP out to the world.
 
      Fast changes are a comin'.  This is exciting!

Flitting Thoughts

by Marsha Ward

Have you ever had one of those days when the things you had planned to accomplish get sidetracked by the things you had to jump on NOW?

Yeah. Yesterday was one of those days.

I wanted to launch into my writing first off. I made the mistake of looking at my email messages. Yahoo! An annual co-op book sale was now available in which to participate. I needed to pick a couple of books to feature, gather the requested information, send that with cover images, then pay the nominal price to be listed.

Thought: while this is designed to sell books, it isn't writing.

I got a notice that I could download or view the new ANWA newsletter. I like to keep an archive copy, so I printed the newsletter out from the pdf file on the website. Yuck! It came out all mono-typey in a san-serif font. Almost unreadable! I've had this problem before. Then I downloaded the pdf, printed off the newsletter, and the type was now wonderful and marvelous and readable.

Thought: always download a document in pdf before printing.

I really, really need to write my own newsletter with announcements that I send out to readers (like for the discounted books I've arranged to sell), but I need a new photo at the top. I spent an hour or two looking through my photo images for the present header so I could check the dimensions before I made a new one. Could I find it? No.

Thought: GRRRRR!

Maybe I should just go watch a movie and eat popcorn.

That sounds good to me!

BTW, while looking for the above photos, I. Found. That. Dratted. Header. Misfiled, of course.

First Annual Payson Book Festival

by Marsha Ward

Yes, the first annual Payson Book Festival takes place on Saturday, this Saturday, July 25, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Gila Community College, 201 N. Mud Springs Road, Payson, ARIZONA (because other states have a Payson, too).

I will be at Table 46 in Room 403 throughout the day, except when I am giving my presentation, “Literacy Begins at Home: Build Reading into Family Activities,” from 11:00 to 11:30 a.m. in Room 401.

All of my Owen Family Saga novels will be in the Bookstore in Room 402 for your purchase. I'll be happy to sign and personalize your books.

Here’s a map of the layout:

Come meet over 60 authors from Arizona who will be on hand to talk to you about their books. Their work represents many genres, including children's books; mystery, western, fantasy, and romance fiction; and non fiction. Entertainment and food vendors are a part of the fun.

I look forward to seeing you on Saturday! Please tell your friends about this family-friendly event.

Don't sweat the small stuff

by Marsha Ward

Somebody on a Facebook Group for authors recently mentioned how tormented he/she was to see their cover art used on another book. That's the breaks of using stock images.

I've seen the exact image my designer used for Spinster's Folly, maybe on a website, or maybe it was a cover for somebody's Facebook Page. Here's an example I saw this week of someone else manipulating a specific element for cover art. It doesn't bother me. It's a totally different cover/look.

 















As you can see when you compare the two images, the other designer flipped the image of the girl, changed the skirt, changed the face, moved the arm away from the body and added a hand. Nice work!

One of my mother's favorite sayings was "Don't sweat the small stuff." By that, she meant to say that there are many things in life to deal with, but the "small stuff" is certainly less important to waste brain power on than big things. Another way of putting this would be "Pick your battles."

So what if another author or cover designer also buys the same image that shows up on your cover! Just make sure that each book you write is outstanding!

Indie Author? Go read the linked article

by Marsha Ward

I'm a confirmed Indie Author, which many of you already know. I ran across a link on The Passive Voice Blog leading to a blog post by M.C.A. Hogarth that all indie (and probably lots of traditionally published and hybrid) authors should read, oh, maybe every three months or so. It's very affirming. I recommend you read the comments at The Passive Voice, and also, when you click his link to the article, the comments on the blog post, too.

I Am an Indie Midlister (and That's Okay!)

I think the big take-away quote for me is the following:

I do not begrudge my peers their better sales, because they don’t need to fail for me to succeed. This revelation is deeply freeing, because it means I can be thrilled for their successes, and fine with my own more modest accomplishments.

What a great outlook!