There are differences between what some people consider to be a successful writer or author, but in most cases everyone wants to be a professional writer.
Question is: do you have what it takes?
If you ever had the courage to call yourself a writer, you probably saw the amazement and slight disbelief in your conversation partners’ eyes. A writer? Is that something that can actually pay the bills? What are you writing?
Many of us have this image of the writer: a person, who is doing something for a living, but she finds herself regularly typing away in her spare time, and after a considerable amount of time, she shows her writing to other people. And guess what, it turns out to be a best seller! And she has become a millionaire, within the blink of an eye. So finally, she can be a writer, because she now has financial security. She can write whatever she wants, actually.
And there the millions of others, who do the same thing, but fail at producing a best seller at the first try. Why? Well, obviously because they are not talented enough.
This is how we generalize. Simplistic, yes, and of course, could not be further away from the truth.
I have some bad news for some of you: talents actually do matter. If you don’t find writing easy, enjoyable, and if you don’t get positive feedback regularly from people outside your family (professors, editors, random people on the Internet, friends with decent tastes and honest words), chances are you are chasing a profession that is substandard (for you).
But with hard work, you can still get there. Problem is: it is real hard work and does require a certain amount of talent as well. Read more…
Benefits of Authors Blogging
In our previous blog article Why Fiction Writers Need to Blog, we discussed the importance of blogging for writers and what to blog about. In building upon this topic, here we discuss the benefits of blogging and how it can be a great supplement to your overall marketing strategy and author platform.
As you write and plan out future articles, there is no question that you will become more proficient at blogging and more confident in your writer’s voice, but you will additionally be building your author platform by gaining an online audience you would otherwise not have, just by having a static website. While the benefits of blogging appear endless, some are more important than others. Below are my top five benefits to authors blogging that helps to expand your platform and in order of importance. Read more…
Fiction writing is a fantastical, imaginary place, both for you, the writer, and for anyone reading your piece. But writing the most creative, wondrous book or short story doesn’t mean you’ll actually find anyone to enjoy it like you know they would, if only they knew about it.
The truth of the matter is there are a ton of fiction writers out there, and we all want our voices to be read. Sure, you can tell everyone you meet that you wrote a great book, and sure, they might actually go read it. But chances are they’ll forget about it as soon as they walk away.
Here’s where blogging can come in handy. Read more…
In this day and age, most self-published authors know that securing book reviews is very important to their overall marketing strategy and is a necessity for creating that initial buzz around their book. At the end of the day, reviews influence other buyers. But not all reviews are created equal. If that were the case, every author applying the same marketing principles would have an equivalent outcome.
Let’s explore this further and assume your work is good or even great. You have already received Amazon reviews from friends, a few buyers, and some bloggers (with spotty followings) who received a free copy of your book. This is a great start, but what’s next? Are your book sales flowing in? I can’t imagine so. The reason for this is because you haven’t penetrated your market (with enough repetition) to a level that will ultimately affect your book sales. In order to penetrate your market, you must be potent. You will need to be visible wherever your target audience is hanging out.
In this blog post, I have outlined 2 strategies, among many, for getting book reviews that actually have an impact on sales. Read more…
Administrative, Marketing, & Creative Services for Authors and Speakers
These days, it’s important for any business to maintain a presence on social media, but when it comes to authors in particular, I believe that being active on book marketing sites and GoodReads is more cost-effective and a better use of your time if wanting to connect with readers and selling more books. One of my preferred strategies for generating book reviews, building a buzz, and converting readers into fans and buying customers is to host a GoodReads Giveaway. Read more…
