It’s the first Wednesday of the month!
I would like to start out this post by thanking everyone who had participated in my July book promotion either via blog posts or reviews.
- Sandra Cox: Magic at Midnight (review)
- Jacqui Murray: Great Fantasy Books from Indie Authors (review)
- Juneta Key: Magical Pegasi (guest post and review)
- Sadira Stone: Guest Author Ronel Janse van Vuuren on Love Triangles (guest post)
- Louise Brady: Dragonspire Book Corner: Magic at Midnight! #YAFantasy #BookReview
- Natalie Aguirre: Follower News
Wonderful efriend Sandra Cox has mentioned adding reviews to BookBub. It sparked my interest and I checked it out. Are you on BookBub? I’ve recently created my author profile there. Add your link in the comments! Remember to claim your author profile – it is another great way to brand yourself.
My insecurity this month? My to-do list. I know, I know. It can be changed. It doesn’t have to be life-or-death. But it is so perfectly planned! I just have to stick to it. Can I, though? There are so many distractions – especially shiny new stories that want to be written. I’ve hidden them in my sewing closet: out of sight, out of mind.
Oh, I needed to replace my keyboard. It seems that I overworked the poor thing in the eighteen months I’ve had it and the keys started to get stuck and some stopped working. LOL. When I asked my tech guy if he could fix it, he took one look at it and pulled a new keyboard (brand new, still in the box!) from a shelf and told me to be gentle with this one.
IWSG August question: Has your writing ever taken you by surprise? For example, a positive or belated response to a submission you’ve forgotten about or an ending you never saw coming?
Constantly! If I’ve done my worldbuilding and characterisation properly, I can use the vague roadmap I’ve plotted and just write. In a recent story, the characters weren’t even where I thought they were! And it enriched the story in ways that by just plotting it, wouldn’t have happened. It makes for fun writing 🙂
One of my stories got accepted to an anthology! It’s available for pre-order on Amazon. Publication date: August 9th.
The Grumpy Old Gods are back in this second installment of mythical fun. Join us for 13 new tales of deities that are retired, reborn, waning or AWOL from their assigned posts as they hilariously navigate life, death, and everything in between.
If you would like to read an ARC and leave a review on Amazon, please fill in the form below and I’ll send you your copy!
So, the burning questions…
I attend a lot of webinars, listen to loads of podcasts, and watch video series about writing/business/etc. to make the most out of my writing career. I also read a lot of blogs and books.
- Some insist that without a powerful email list, you have no career. Some say that an email list doesn’t matter.
- Some insist that you must blog or you won’t have an audience. Some say that blogging is irrelevant.
- Some insist that you need to be on Facebook and use Facebook ads or you will be invisible forever. Others say that Facebook – and other social media – isn’t as important as feeling comfortable on whichever social media platform you use.
- Some insist that only paid ads (Facebook and Amazon) can sell books. Others say only guest posts and interviews will sell books.
- Some insist that if you DIY everything and have no VA (virtual assistant), that you will be the unpaid intern forever and never become a digital CEO. Others have no opinion on the matter.
- Some say that you should just ignore everyone and write – then do a big launch once a year. Others talk about balancing everything…
What are your thoughts on these issues? Some days I absolutely enjoy my work and other days it feels like I really am an unpaid intern… How do you balance your work?
Thanks so much for dropping by. Are you on BookBub? Do you want a free book to review? Please answer my burning questions!
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Knowing what to do with marketing is tough. I don’t think there is any “have to” with marketing. Most authors that I interview say that they have found picking a few social media sites/marketing that they enjoy and focusing on that is best. I suppose there are may be some essential things to do when self publishing, but sorry, I don’t know what they are.
Thanks, Natalie 🙂
You’re in Grumpy Old Gods – congratulations!
I’m on BookBub but I haven’t done a lot with it.
Thanks, Alex 🙂 I think I’ve already followed you there.
You had a ton in this post, Ronel! Thanks for the shout-out. I signed up for your newest book promotion… Hadn’t heard of BookBub but will now check it out…
I know I missed something.
LOL. Thanks, Jacqui 🙂
I’m on Book Bub but have done nothing there but follow yet and leave some reviews. I followed you.
Thanks, Juneta 🙂
Congrats on the Grumpy God’s inclusion!
Marketing is tough, and I imagine what works for one genre doesn’t work for another. I’ve never bought a book off of Twitter, but a good friend of mine says Twitter is how she reaches her overseas audience (cozies). I have bought books through a FB group of cozy reader/authors that I belong to. But I still get my recommendations the old-fashioned way – friends and WSJ and NYT book pages. I think marketing to Y/A would be a completely different road. Good luck!
Thanks, Lee 🙂 It’s interesting how we find our next read — sometimes I’ll pick something up because of a blog post!
Congrats on your success. Looks like life is good. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
Thanks, Anna 🙂 I keep watering the lawn 😉
Yup, I’m on BookBub. And I was already following you there. I excel at ignoring emails, so I don’t know how well email lists work. I had one, and certainly got more blog comments when I did, but it vanished when the GDPR and other such laws went into place. That’s thousands of people I have no way to reach now. Facebook annoys me. I’m on it, but it annoys me. I prefer Twitter, but it keeps changing and making itself more Facebook-like, which is annoying. I’ve done guest post, interviews, and book-blog tours. I don’t know that they’ve sold a whole lot of books, though it did work better for the reference ones than the fiction. The sites that suggest ignoring everything, including editing, are shameful and need to go. They give Indie authors a bad rep.
Keep on writing!
Thanks, J 🙂 It’s sad that you lost your email list — it takes so much effort to build one. Thanks for sharing your insights.
A few months ago, I read a blog post from J.A. Konrath about book marketing, which I found very helpful, considering his years of experience. Basically, it boiled down to focusing on what you can control ie. writing. After reading this, I’ve decided to spend less time on social media because there is so much conflicting opinion out there. My husband always tells me to just go with what I feel comfortable with and ignore the rest. I hope you find a balance that you’re happy with.
Congratulations being accepted into an anthology! You’re doing something right! 🙂
Thanks, Debbie 🙂 Balance is the magic word!
I’m on Bookbub and followed you. I need to do more over there, but I tend to forget about it until someone mentions it. ^^;;
LOL. I’ll need to add it to my editorial calendar or I’ll forget about it 😉
Congratulations on being a Grumpy Old God again. My marketing efforts with my debut novel were an example of how NOT to sell yourself. Just as my reluctance over submissions is a huge NOT.
Maybe, one day I’ll get brave like you.
Thanks, Roland 🙂
I can empathise. My to-do list keeps getting transferred from one week to the next. It drives me crazy!
LOL. We’re all mad here 😉