Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

My Book News & Advocate for the Writing Community ©

Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday – Tips on Learning Your Writing Craft

August 19, 2021
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As writers and authors, learning new skills, keeping ahead of genre evolution, trope changes and writing methods is vital for our continued improvement as a wordsmith. With the industry changing so quickly, we need to be ahead of the game.

The best ways to do this are:

  1. Join a writing group
  2. Read articles on the book industry
  3. Take courses and workshops
  4. Attend writing conferences
  5. Subscribe to industry newsletters
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

How do you keep current with the writing industry?

This past weekend, I virtually attended When Words Collide and attended as many sessions as I could, while also being a co-presenter and panelist. Although, there was information I already knew, there were also those little nuggets of wisdom, insights and knowledge that made each session a gem. My notes were prolific and my follow up to action each gem will take several weeks.

There is always something to learn, whether you are just starting out on your writing career or have years of experience. We can have tunnel vision and ease into a ‘comfort zone’ so easily, when there are so many other calls on our time.

Some things can be scheduled monthly, such as updating your website or blog with current information. We don’t want a visitor to read upcoming events from 2018! Modify your bio to include your latest book, current WIP progression and appearances etc. Don’t leave your blog stagnant – post content regularly. (This can be once weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or even quarterly – just a known routine, so followers will know when to expect you to post).

We all have several social media accounts, so make sure they reflect the latest news, images etc. so they are in line with your current activities. This makes your author platform current. Also check links to ensure they are working properly or direct to a new site, if a change occurred. Refresh content and images so your platform doesn’t look dated or tired. Renew your copyright dates for all content across platforms on 1st January each year – this is one that can be missed very easily.

Can you share tips on what you do to stay updated and improve your writing skills?

Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday – Creating An Amazon Author Profile

April 29, 2021
mandyevebarnett


The next site that offers an author profile page is Amazon. As you can see from the image below of my author page on Amazon, it can detail not only your bio and books but have a link to your blog, book trailers, videos and more.

As with the Goodreads process there are steps to follow to create this author profile. It is a simple step by step procedure.

  1. Go to https://authorcentral.amazon.com/ and click “Join for free.”
  2. Sign in with your regular Amazon username and password. If you don’t have an account, select “I am a new customer.” You’ll need to give a little more information.
  3. Read the Terms and Conditions, then click “Accept.”
  4. Enter your author name, pen name, or book title into the search field. A list of possible books appears. (Once your account gets set up, you can add more titles by clicking on the “Books” tab in the navigation menu and select the blue button labeled “Add a Book.”)
  5. Select any one of your books to create the account. If your book is not on the list, you can search for it by title or ISBN. (Note: Your book must be available for purchase on Amazon to set up an Author Central Amazon Account.)
  6. Amazon will send you a confirmation email to finish creating the account. (Amazon may contact your publisher(s) as an additional measure to verify your identity, which may take three to seven days.)

Once again there is a follow button for your readers to click and you in turn can follow other authors. It is a great tool for marketing and increasing your author platform.

Let me know when you have yours set up so I can follow you and if you wouldn’t mind please follow me. https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01MDUAS0V

Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday – Creating A Goodreads Author Profile

April 15, 2021
mandyevebarnett


As authors we want readers to find us and our books. There are a couple of sites that offer author profiles that you can set up yourself. Firstly, there is Goodreads. Not only can you create your own profile but actively promote your book(s) and also connect with readers and review other author’s books. As many f you know I review every book I read on Goodreads and Amazon. It is my way of giving back to the community.

The process to set up your author profile is pretty easy and there is a helpful guide on the site if your get stuck. Follow these steps and add another avenue to your author platform. You will also have a follow button so your readers can click that to keep updated on your new releases etc. You can also follow all your favorite authors.

How To Set Up Your Goodreads Author Profile

Step one: Claim your book (or manually add it)

First, search Goodreads to see if your book has already been added to their database. One of your readers could have already added it for you.

If you don’t find your book listed, take these steps to manually add your book:

  • Click “My Books” along the top
  • Click “Import/Export” along the left side
  • Click “manually add books” along the top
  • Or use this link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/new

Once you are on your book page, click on the link for your name. It will open up to an author profile page. Click on the link that says “Is this you? Let us know.” and you will be able to send a request to join the Author Program.

Step two: Customize your author profile

There are many things you can do to customize your Goodreads author profile.

  • Add your author photo.
  • Add a compelling author bio
  • Add your blog.
  • Add upcoming events, give away’s and/or teasers for your next book.
  • Add ‘ask the author’ questions for each book. Make sure to activate

Step three: Getting started on Goodreads

When you are first getting started on Goodreads, here are three things we recommend doing:

  1. Rate at least 20 books. This will unlock additional features that are not available to you until you add and rate at least 20 books.
  2. Start adding friends. Personally, I got started by importing friends from Facebook. This helped me add friends quickly.
  3. Remember to ask reviewers to post to Goodreads as well. Get the URL of your book page and give it to reviewers who agree to post a review for you.

Now you have your author profile added here are several tips on using the site for promotion.

Getting exposure for your author profile on Goodreads can create interest in you and your books. Here are a 9 ways you can get your profile image to show up around Goodreads once you have your account set up:

  1. Update your progress on a book you are currently reading. Click update status on that particular book’s Goodread’s page.
  2. Vote on a list http://www.goodreads.com/list
  3. Vote on a poll http://www.goodreads.com/poll
  4. Blog updates – this will happen automatically if you’ve connected your blog to your author profile.
  5. Rate a book and/or review it.
  6. Add a book to your shelves.
  7. Find a book and click “want to read”.
  8. Click the “like” button under someone else’s review.
  9. Respond to friend requests.

The more you interact the more exposure you and your book(s) will get, so get it done!

Good luck and let me know when I can follow you! Here’s mine:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6477059.Mandy_Eve_Barnett?from_search=true&from_srp=true

Author Toolbox Blog Hop – Newsletter Content

September 16, 2020
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What do you put in an author newsletter?

When it came to my author newsletter, I asked my subscribers what they wanted to hear from me. I also looked at other newsletters for ideas. It is a great way to formulate how you want your newsletter to look and to give you ideas on your content and frequency of transmitting it. 

Tip: You can pre-write your newsletter and schedule it.

Make sure you are not mailing out your newsletter too frequently or it will become a chore. I send mine monthly (most of the time!)

Chose a name for your newsletter and stick to it. 

Mine is Musings from Mandy Eve-Barnett – to distinguish each newsletter I add the month and a title.

Here is a list of possible content you can include: (it is by no means conclusive though).  

Personal anecdotes and photos of your everyday life. You can include your writing space.

Behind the scenes peeks – what you are currently writing, ideas formulating etc.

Exclusive content like a cover reveal or a sneak peek at your next title

Launch dates of your new book

Events you are attending (due to COVID19 these will be virtual of course)

Your writing process

Request feedback on a current manuscript/project

Interviews you have participated in with links

Spotlights/interviews of guest authors

What you are reading

Your book reviews

The goal of any newsletter is to promote, so make sure to include:

Your author bio
Links to your blog, social media sites and any interviews and your book sale sites

Tip: Even unpublished authors can create an author newsletter. The sooner you start to grow your subscription list, the bigger your platform will be when you have something to sell.

Photo by Content Pixie on Pexels.com

What do you include in your newsletter?

Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday – Author Platform

January 9, 2020
mandyevebarnett


new banner author group

As published authors, we soon realize that writing the book is only half the story – literally! Now we have to promote it in order to sell it. When I published my first children’s picture book, Rumble’s First Scare this became clear quite quickly, when I was asked where my author platform was. As a new author, I had not heard of or experienced an author platform, never mind created one.

It was a steep learning curve for sure and I began this blog, with a lot of trepidation as I did not have a clue what I was doing. It has, over the past ten years, morphed into a site for support, sharing and encouragement for the writing community and I am proud to be a writing community advocate. However, I am refocusing in 2020 to get back to posting about my writing life as well. So back to the point in hand.

An author platform can range from a just a website or blog highlighting your books to being present on a multitude of social media sites and promoting your novels but also your writing life.

I am sharing a really good definition of an author platform, written by Jane Friedman. It certainly gives us a guide as to what to include and not. https://www.janefriedman.com/author-platform-definition/

So what are the first steps to creating a platform?

1. Put up a website and/or blog and purchase a domain name for it.

2. Write articles and publish them online, utilizing your ‘expertise’ on whatever topic you know. It can be parenting, traveling, baking etc.

3. For fiction writers find literary magazines where you can publish short stories then share the links.

4. If you have a book ready for publication, there are numerous ways to gather interest. Post excerpts, the new cover, a character interview, events you are attending etc.

6. Start webinars and/or interviews online. And organize a blog book tour.

7. BLOG!! Make your posts interesting and make sure you edit! It also allows you to acquire an email list.

8. You do not need to be on every social media site – apart from anything else it is a lot of work! Decide which ones you are comfortable maintaining and how your theme/topic/message can be related on them.

9. Create a newsletter to send to your email list – giving glimpses into the narrative, special offers etc.

What author platform tips can you share?

What has your experience been creating your platform?

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