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:
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:
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.
Start adding friends. Personally, I got started by importing friends from Facebook. This helped me add friends quickly.
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:
Update your progress on a book you are currently reading. Click update status on that particular book’s Goodread’s page.
As writers we are always honing our skill and learning new styles and types of writing aid our creativity. I attended two workshops on 29th February, both gave me the opportunity to improve my writing.
As an author, we welcome constructive critique of our work, it is how we grow. So a group of local authors and I spend the first few months of each new year working on our current work in progress. Some are the result of our NaNoWriMo participation, while others are whatever story/novel/project we are working on currently. The premise of these monthly workshops is to read a certain number of chapters each month of each others work, then using track changes edit, suggest and comment on the plot arc, continuity, premise etc. Having a number of different reader’s feedback allows us to identify any inconsistencies and correct them. Obviously, we do not have to take every suggestion, it is after all our work but if there is a consensus of opinion throughout on a specific part, then we can revise and improve them. This allows us to create the best story possible prior to publication.
My project is my steampunk novel, The Commodore’s Gift. Currently 75,102 words, 201 pages, 39 chapters and epilogue. Publishing date September 2020.
The second workshop, I attended was a poetry workshop held by The Writers Foundation of Strathcona County in anticipation of Poetry Month in April. I have to admit that poetry is not my forte, so it did stretch my creativity a bit! We covered several types of poetry: monorhyme, enclosed rhyme, simple 4-line rhyme, coupled rhyme, chain rhyme and alternative rhyme. After an explanation of each style, we then had five minutes to create a rhyme in that style using randomly selected words. The words chosen for the chain rhyme were: after, banana, crafter, panorama, would, bandanna, could, dessert, should. Yes rather a mixed bag and it had everyone struggling, but that’s the point – we cannot learn without effort. I managed this:
Alice’s happy thought was about the contest after
As she ate her second banana
Her final piece as a genius crafter
Showed a glorious textured panorama
Comments from friends confirmed she would
Win the coveted bandanna
Her gumption knew she could
A promised reward when she won – a dessert
Even though her diet negated she should
I even managed to include the ‘extra’ point words of happy, genius & gumption in that one.
What workshop have you recently attended. What did you learn about your writing?
Thank you to everyone who has joined in this month’s conversation on genre. We have indeed covered all aspects of genre from writing it to marketing it.
Today’s question is: How much of your ‘personality should you put into your narrative? In other words do you, or should you, utilize family memories, personal history or ‘local’ knowledge to create a realistic tale?
Some genres may not readily seem to avail themselves to personal input but even sci-fi or fantasy has interactions where you need to think what reaction a character would have in that situation.
I am excited to read your thoughts on this question. Please click on the post headings & then scroll to the comment section.
Last week’s responses:
biancarowena As a ‘pantser’ I tent to write whatever I feel and see in my mind’s eye, then edit later. This makes for a lot of editing, as compared to planners. I know how time consuming reconstructing a story can be. So I’d personally recommend knowing your genre before writing the story, and sticking to it. Publishers what to know how to categorize your story. It’s not to limit you but to help them know who your target audience is. They know which genre is in demand and are looking for specific things. If your genre is too vague or you don’t stick to one then your book is less marketable, in a publisher’s view. I think for the sake of not having to rewrite your entire story (if your genre is not clear or shifts), it’s best to know your genre before delving in, and sticking to it.
Janet Wees
When I was writing my book I was calling it historical fiction as it was based on a true story but with some fictionalizing. When it was accepted for publication, my publisher changed it to non-fiction, based on a true story. What happens with that in bookstores (not the independents), is that the book is shelved with research, resource, history and since my name begins with W it is on the bottom shelf near the floor and is crowded out by the other larger resource books. Browsers never see it, and anyone looking for it has a difficult time finding it. The next time I write a book I am using my maiden name that begins with M.
Gerri Bowen
I tend to follow formula and am happy doing so. However, if well written, the unexpected can work well. But if not handled with care, can be a book you want to toss into a wall.
A. C. Cockerill
Hi Mandy, I start with the genre and adjust if the story shifts. Cheers, Ashley
Alice breathed in the fresh spring air and looked upward through the tree branches where the sun glistened and danced through the leaves. The lane to her Aunt and Uncle’s home was narrow and not suitable for vehicles. She wondered how her Aunt and Uncle managed to shop but maybe there was some sort of short cut she was unaware of; after all, she had only been with them for three days. The pain hit her in the chest unexpectedly and completely. Her legs gave way and she landed heavily on her knees on the gravel. Tears flowed and her sobbing filled the air startling several chattering birds into silence.
They’re gone…forever. Aunt and Uncle are so kind but I miss my parents so much. A rabbit hopped across the lane in front of Alice. She looked at its white tail bobbing up and down. Wiping her nose and wet cheeks with her sleeve, Alice stood up and brushed the debris from her knees. There were small pits in the flesh where small stones had pressed into her skin. I have to be brave, that’s what Uncle says. Wiping away a stray tear, Alice breathed in deeply and began walking toward the lane’s end again. Dwelling on it will stop you healing, Alice. Remember the good times with them, my dear. Her aunt wisdom echoed in her mind. She understood nothing would change the fact her parents were dead but it still hurt and the previous year with no-one to comfort her had taken its toll. When her Aunt and Uncle appeared at the care home, Alice felt saved.
A car’s horn sounding brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Bernadette waving at her from the vehicle’s rear window.
“Hurry up, Alice. I want to get to the fair.”
Alice ran toward her friend, her only friend so far in this small town in the middle of a forested valley.
****
An hour later, Gregor joined Cattrine, complaining the pen’s inhabitants were too noisy and his ears hurt.
“Will you stop your complaining? They won’t be noisy for much longer, Gregor. Come and help me form the sausages.”
Given a much nicer task, Gregor cheered up and pushed the mince into the sausage machine, as Cattrine guided the sausage skin ensuring the meat encased evenly. She expertly twisted the skin without hindering the flow to form perfect sausages. When the machine was empty of meat, Cattrine laid the long string of sausages out along the counter.
“I suppose there’s no way we could have a couple now, is there, dear?”
Cattrine turned to Gregor with a smile.
“Well, maybe a couple each. We have worked hard after all.”
She gave Gregor a large rectangular pan and he began laying the sausage tube in lines back and forth. Cattrine cut four sausages off one end and took a frying pan from the shelf. While they sizzled in the pan, Gregor filled the tray and then put it into a large freezer hidden at the back of the pantry. After consuming the delicious morsels, they both licked their lips and giggled. Free meat was more delicious than bought meat.
I began a ‘short’ story for children but somehow it is getting longer and longer. So I will post excerpts of it for your enjoyment and that of your children!
Clickety Click Part 1
It’s eyes widened as it grew closer and closer to her face. Alice was paralyzed with fear, clutching her bedcovers with white knuckled fingers. The creature’s mauve skin glistened with slime and drops fell onto its spindly pointed claws. Alice opened and closed her mouth willing her voice to sound in the dark bedroom. The claws clicked together as the monster’s jaw opened. Click, click, clickety, click.
Alice’s scream woke her. She was drenched in sweat; her heart beating so fast it hurt her chest. She had no idea how long she screamed but her throat was sore. Shortly after waking, she heard her uncle’s thundering footsteps coming up the stairs. The noise drowned out her aunt’s voice full of concern and Alice’s fear induced tears.
The bedroom door flew open and Alice’s uncle stood in the doorway, looking around the room before rushing to the bed and embracing Alice.
“There, there girl, what was it? A nightmare?”
Alice tried to stop her crying in an effort to answer him as her voice croaked and her body shuddered.
“It was a monster, a huge mauve monster with sharp claws and dripping slime. Uncle Gregor, I was so frightened.”
“What a horrid dream, my girl. You are perfectly safe now.”
Alice’s Aunt walked into the room slightly out of breath with a panicked look on her face.
“Oh my, you poor dear. Just look at you. I think it would be best if you had a nice glass of milk and left the bedside light on.”
“Thank you, Aunt Cattrine. I’m feeling better now you are both here but a nice glass of milk does sound good. I can come down to get it.”
“Not at all, let Uncle stay with you, it won’t take me long.”
Her aunt stroked Alice’s hair before exiting the room giving her husband a quick wink as she left. With her uncle’s strong arms around her, Alice felt safe and calmed down as her heartbeat resumed a normal beat.
Once she finished her milk, her aunt and uncle left her to sleep the rest of the night with the small lamp lit. They told her to call them if she had another bad dream. Alice drew her bedclothes up as far as she could and curled up into a ball. She watched shadow branches on the wall closest to the door for some time before her eyelids grew heavy and sleep claimed her.
Click, click, clickety, click. His claws tapped together as he sat in the corner watching her. He delighted in the way she moved as she spun the threads back and forth. The aroma of boiling meat filled the room, making him drool. She turned and grinned; she was as hungry as he looked. This would be a good feast.
Alice slipped out of the covers and curled her toes when they touched the cold wooden floor. She pulled her legs up and reached for her thick woolen socks. Once her feet were enclosed in the soft warmth of the wool, she wrapped a large dressing gown around her and walked downstairs. She found her aunt and uncle busily cleaning the kitchen counters. She thought it was odd as breakfast was not on the table but their smiling faces pushed the thought away.
“There she is. You do look better this morning, rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes. Now what do you fancy for breakfast?”
“Whatever you and uncle Gregor are having is fine, thanks auntie.”
“Well I think after such a dreadful night you should choose, I haven’t begun anything yet.”
Why were they cleaning so thoroughly if they haven’t eaten yet? Her uncle’s large hand on her shoulder made Alice dismiss the thought. She turned and smiled up at her large heavyset uncle.
“Sausage and eggs would be perfect, if I may. Thank you, Auntie.”
“Good breakfast choices, Alice, I think we will all enjoy eating them.”
Alice walked to the counter and pulled out the cutlery drawer then began laying the table settings. Her aunt turned to the stove and placed a large skillet on the heated ring, while her uncle picked out sausages and eggs from the fridge. The sausages soon began to sizzle and their tantalizing smell filled the kitchen.
When the food was cooked and placed on plates, they sat down to eat. Alice chewed the spicy sausages and marveled at the unusual but delicious taste. The eggs were special too, bigger than Alice had ever seen before with large deep yellow yolks. Alice collected all the plates once everyone had their fill and set them into the sink before turning on the tap. She heard a clickety click behind her and turned swiftly. Her aunt and uncle were smiling at each other and both frowned at Alice’s sudden movement.
“Whatever is it, dear?”
“Didn’t you hear it? That clickety click noise.”
“No dear just the water running and your uncle’s belch. Really Gregor, your manners!”
“I must be overly sensitive, that nightmare was so real, and I swear I could feel its breath on my face. Thank you both for caring for me.”
“No need for thanks, Alice, we are here to make sure you are healthy…”
With her back turned, Alice didn’t see Cattrine punch Gregor’s arm hard.
“What Uncle means is happy and healthy, Alice. Now are you meeting Bernadette today?”
“Yes, I am. Her Mom will collect me at ten o’clock so I should get dressed.”
Cattrine watched Alice leave the room then licked her lips. Gregor sat with his head down sucking at his fingertips.
“Good grief, Gregor, watch your tongue around her. Get yourself up and go to the pens and feed them.”
Gregor stood slowly blocking out the window with his massive bulk but scuffing his feet like a reluctant child. Cattrine huffed and turned to the cupboards. As she took out a huge pot, Gregor opened the back door and left mumbling under his breath.
“If you are swearing about me I’ll know it, Gregor.”
She heard no answer so began her chores. In the pantry, she unlocked a metal container’s lid and inhaled deeply. Drool dripped from her mouth. She sucked in deeply to return it to her throat. The aroma tantalized her in a way nothing else did. Cattrine pulled out a slab of meat and carried into the kitchen. Footfalls on the stairs made her stop and return to the pantry. She closed the door and stood at the sink waiting for Alice to enter.
“You do look nice, Alice. It’s nearly ten; maybe you should walk down to the end of the lane and wait for Bernadette’s Mom there? It will save her driving all the way up here and it’s too nice a day not to enjoy.”
“Yes, it is lovely out there the sun is so warm. I should be home by four o’clock, Auntie.”
“Have a wonderful day, dear.”
Alice kissed her aunt on the cheek and skipped out of the door, happy and carefree. Absently brushing away a spot of wetness from her cheek as she walked into the wooded glen.
Cattrine returned to the pantry, picked up the slab of meat and began cutting it into strips. Next, she took out a large mincer and fed the strips into the machine. The extruded meat formed a pink and white curl into a bowl beneath it. When all the meat was minced, Cattrine began adding spices and herbs to it. She dug her hands into the mixture and kneaded it repeatedly. Her mouth salivated as she did so.
Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers 