Tag Archives: Writing Tips

Today’s Writing Tip

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Book trailer videos are a great way to entice readers to read your book. Rather than simply words on a page, they employ visual and audio stimuli to capture the essence of your work, whether it’s fact or fiction.

Depending on your marketing budget, it’s possible to find various sources to create one for a reasonable price. However, if you enjoy creating in various media, it can be fun to create one yourself. This can be done virtually for free by using one of the free online apps, such as http://spark.adobe.com. This one has limitations, but is great for your first effort. If you’re familiar with Power Point, you can create simple videos with it as well. A previous blog of mine explains how here.

Once your ideas exceed its capabilities, there are others, though some require a subscription to access all their features, such as WeVideo. Like all promotional vehicles, this one requires marketing savvy to catch potential readers attention and motivate them to buy your book. As you’ve probably already discovered, nothing is ever simple about promoting your book.

Today’s Writing Tip

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It’s been said that everyone on Twitter is talking and no one is listening, unless, of course, you’re already famous. Thus, it’s a somewhat iffy social media platform for book marketing. Any success you have on this platform will be directly proportionate to how many followers you have and their quality.

Whatever you do, don’t ever buy followers! The chances of them having the slightest interest in your books is so low, you probably have a similar or even better chance of winning the lotto. One thing you can do to try and place your tweets in the right news feeds is to use appropriate hashtags. It’s still a huge crap shoot, but does increase your chances slightly.

Today’s Writing Tip

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No single social media platform is a panacea. As difficult as it can be to manage several, each tends to have a different audience, so diversity is necessary to reach the most potential readers.

This can be a huge time-suck, however, because it’s not just a matter of developing suitable posts, which is bad enough, but also involves a learning curve with the particulars of each platform.

There are numerous classes out there that will teach you what can be effective in the different apps. This can get expensive, and depending on your budget, may not have any appeal or possibility. One alternative is to observe and study what’s out there. See what catches your eyes or entices you to click a link. This is not always simple and the reason that marketing and promotional services abound.

And finding a good one is another subject entirely. In a word, beware! In a word, they’re not likely to be a panacea, either.

Today’s Writing Tip

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One of the biggest author challenges is finding the people who will love your story. The first step is to identify who they are. This is not always simple, but one place to start is their age. This is not always readily apparent, however, because many stories span a huge range, from elementary school to retirees, like the Harry Potter or Twilight series.

Nonetheless, it’s a start, at least for where you expect the majority to be found. After that, the next step is to figure out where they hang out. In today’s social media saturated world, this is likely to involve finding Facebook pages and hashtags that your target audience would relate to.

If you don’t have a clue, then maybe that group doesn’t comprise potential fans, because you should have something in common with them if you expect them to embrace your work. If that’s the case, then maybe you need to go back to the drawing board.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Book fairs and conferences are excellent places to meet other authors and potential readers. The energy in such venues is magical, but learning how to use it to your advantage takes practice. Many authors, myself included, are introverts, so your first experience in such an environment can be intimidating. There are also numerous conventions and protocols for how your table or booth should be set up. Thus, before you take the plunge, visit a few to scope them out so you know what to expect.

Your best bet is to concentrate on those close to home. Not only can your local fan base find and support you more easily, but others in the area will discover you as well, perhaps bringing opportunities for other appearances.

However, even in your own territory, selling enough books to cover expenses is unlikely until you’ve developed a strong fan base. This definitely applies to venues that require hotel stays or, heaven forbid, airfare, though if combined with a vacation, such bills offer a nice business-related tax deduction.

The main thing is not to be discouraged by expecting too much. Just include the cost in your marketing budget and count any book sales as a bonus.

Today’s Writing Tip

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When promoting your book, comparing it to similar stories with which everyone is familiar can help find readers who will like yours. Of course you have to do this is a way that’s not arrogant or could get you in trouble for infringing on copyright laws.

Nonetheless, if your book has similarities to the Harry Potter series, readers who love that series might be delighted to find another source of fantasy. There’s a risk, however, because if you fall short when they can’t find adequate parallels, their disappointment may result in a rather brutal review.

Thus, weigh the pros and cons carefully before using this method. A safer approach is to simply refer to some of the elements your story has in common with a popular series or movie. Sometimes you get lucky and a reviewer makes the comparison for you, in which case you can quote them and let any ire at possible deficiencies fall on them.

Today’s Writing Tip

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What is the worst book you ever read? Did you finish it or give up part way through? Why was it horrible? Take a few moments to learn from it, even if it’s something uncomfortable about yourself or your own work.

One book I read was so bad on so many levels, I’m surprised I bothered to shove myself through to the end, hoping it would get better–it didn’t. Sadly, the premise was a good one and certain parts, at least of the plot, were well-done. However, it was riddled with my pet peeves, including, first and foremost, violation of the laws of physics and/or aerodynamic flight. That offended my inner scientist.

As I remember in addition, the author misused just about every homonym in the English language. Okay, we’ve all goofed up from time to time with your, you’re, and maybe even yore or there, their, and they’re, but this included so many it became laughable and definitely offended my inner grammarian.

But you know what the irony is? That for all the well-written and nicely edited stories I’ve read, which are many, I’ve forgotten the title of most of them while this one will probably live on, forever tattooed on my memory.

I guess the question is whether that is how you’d like to be remembered?

Today’s Writing Tip

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We all have our favorite genres, which we lean toward, especially when reading time is limited. However, reading something different can highlight other techniques to use in your own writing. If this is too big of a step, then consider reading one that’s a cross-over. These combine more than one classic genre, giving you the opportunity to find one that’s only a slight shift from your first preference.

I suspect that the advent of cross-overs can be credited to indie writers, who pursued their creative instinct with no regard to established “norms” for the conventional book categories. While this was undoubtedly a cause of dismay for publishers, literature professors, and librarians, it has brought a delightful potpourri to readers.

If you do muster the courage to step outside your usual reading fare, just make sure that it’s well-written and edited. Otherwise, it could simply provide you with an excuse to avoid such excursions in the future.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Similar to yesterday’s exercise, when you’re reading a novel and come across something that tosses you out of “the zone”, take a moment to consider whether you’ve ever made that same mistake. Was it a glaring typo? A missing word? The protagonist acting entirely out of character? A plot hole? Something that violates the laws of physics? (That last one is my personal favorite, or I suppose I should say pet peeve.)

Note how distracting it is when this happens and use that energy to make a solemn vow to never knowingly do the same thing to one of your readers. This is what careful editing is all about.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Make a list of your favorite stories that specifies everything you liked about them, such as well-developed characters, clever plot twists, imagery, couldn’t put the book down, and so forth.

Now, take that list and compare what impressed you to your story and see if there’s some way you can improve. You’re not likely to learn simply by osmosis; conscious observation will assimilate it to your benefit.

Then, if you’re brave enough, do the same for stories you didn’t like and compare them to your work as well.