I have joined many online writers communities. The ones I found most useful were: Authonomy – The Harper Collins site for aspiring writers. I attended a one day event they ran and got published as a result! I am now translated into 10 languages. What’s not to love! Backspace – I was active in this community … Continue reading
I have been writing almost every day since the year 2000. That’s fourteen years. I spent the first ten years learning the craft. When I was ready I knew that I needed promotion as well as a good book. That was when I decided to create my first blog and promote it through Twitter & … Continue reading
If you have any other reasons writers should use Twitter, or not, please comment below: Continue reading
You are probably familiar with the ongoing contractual row between Hachette and Amazon. According to the Wall Street Journal, a contract between these two corporate giant was due to expire in March. Apparently Amazon contacted Hachette at the start of January to discuss terms for this contract. “We heard nothing from them for three full … Continue reading
Another storytelling technique you can use to build social media engagement is characterization. Characterization builds empathy between the reader and your post or feed/series of posts. But how do you do that? Characterization is built by revealing personal details. It’s in the advice to “be personal”, but we can expand on that idea to give … Continue reading
Well, I have done it. I started a Goodreads group. I have been on Goodreads for three years, but never really got that much from it. I did a giveaway eighteen months ago. About 500 people entered, so that was ok for raising my profile, but I didn’t spend much time on the site though … Continue reading
The hope of a successful self-publishing experience seems about as realistic as the plots of some ill-fashioned fantasy novels. The costs associated with self-publishing have long held it out of reach for the average novice. How much money will you devote to publishing your novel? Make sure that your budget maximizes the use of all … Continue reading
Creating tension, the need to read on, to find out what happens next, is a technique that social media posters can use to build engagement with their followers. I’m not suggesting that each post should have a cliff hanger, but I am encouraging awareness of how storytelling techniques can be used in a corporate or … Continue reading
BooksGoSocial.com is being launched 27th February 2014, 18:30-20:30, at the Odeon, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2. The Odeon used to be a railway station. You can see the venue above. BooksGoSocial.com is a site for authors and readers. It features the first pages and covers of recent novels. The aim is to allow readers to sample novels … Continue reading
Another tool for creating engagement and a sense of involvement in your posts is empathy. As writers we can use this technique to add depth to our posts. Empathy is compassion or rapport. In storytelling terms it is the ability to place your readers in the shoes of your characters. So how do you do … Continue reading
