Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday | Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers

Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday – Six Networking Tips for Authors & Writers

May 2, 2024
mandyevebarnett

We have all heard the old adage – writing is a solitary business – however, with the use of technology, writing groups and book events, you need not feel alone. Putting words on a page is the solitary part of an writers life, but it is certainly not the totality of our existence. Without connections and experiences we would not have anything to write about!

So how do you build a network of other writers? Here are some tips, that may help.

Online Social Networks – we all have them, so why not utilize them to connect and expand your writing community connections? It is not just a matter of adding as a ‘friend’, there needs to be interaction. Read their posts, comment and like, but also converse with them on what they write, where they write, what their current WIP is, etc. This is much more meaningful and will build a relationship.

Be Generous – Share events local to them, share your writing knowledge and resources, after all we are not in competition (or shouldn’t be!) Acknowledge their successes and relate to their disappointments. Once you have some connection be proactive and send a message of support, or resources for them to use. Go to Goodreads, or Amazon and write a review for their book, repost to your page and tag them.

Attend Their Events and Invite Them to Yours – If you can physically, or virtually attend each other’s events do so, if not then promote them on your socials. This is mutually beneficial, but shows your commitment too.

Find Your Local Literary Community – Join a local writers group, attend writer’s workshops, conferences and book readings in your area. It is a great way to find your ‘people’, but also to get your name known.

Join Professional Organizations – These can be genre specific, or general, either way your membership allows you to meet like minded people. Benefits of such organizations include discounts, scholarships as well as information in their newsletters, forums, websites, classes and conferences.

Share Opportunities – When you make a connection to a podcast, magazine, blogger, or know of a literary event then share it with your community. If you are organizing an event send out invites not only to your writing community, but also your audience.

Being interconnected with your community benefits you and them – and once you have firm friendships then you can offer to help, or ask for it. Don’t connect and instantly ask for a favour, that is unfair and unprofessional. If someone finds your work interesting, or your plight resonates with them and they then offer some support, accept it and thank them. We grow together through connections.

What has been your experience with connecting with a broader writing community?

Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday – Tips for Newsletters

March 2, 2023
mandyevebarnett

We have all seen, read or subscribed to another author’s newsletter in one form or another. When making the decision to create our own there are a few decisions to make first.

Firstly, why do you want to produce a newsletter?
How often will you publish it?
What content will you share?
And probably most importantly – do you have the time for it?

Stick to a Schedule

Newsletters take time to create and format, so decide on a schedule that works for you and your other commitments, whether that is writing time or your personal life. Don’t make it a too frequent chore – you will quickly discard it altogether. (Or run out of content, which is disastrous). Once you have a workable schedule – stick to it! A newsletter a week is a great deal of work, so I would suggest once a month. 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!) If you have a specific promotion, then you can send ‘special’ newsletters.

Create a Catchy Title and Imagery to Make Your Newsletter Unique

To attract attention, decide on a unique and personalized title. Then create a banner or typeface that will catch your reader’s eye. Once you have it – stay with it. The more often it is seen the more people will realize this is your newsletter and become familiar with it.

Go for Quality

Always proofread and edit
Add relevant images when necessary
Limit links

Make It Easy to Read

Adding subheadings
Using bullet points
Highlight (bold or italicize) vital information
Use short sentences and paragraphs

Offer Incentives

Every now and then, offer a reward to your current and potential subscribers. The prize need not be worth a fortune but relevant to your book’s topic or theme (or somehow related to the story).

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. I find this gives me the ability to drop content into the draft throughout the month, so I don’t forget something.

My newsletter is Musings from Mandy Eve-Barnett – to distinguish each newsletter I add the month and a sub-title – Sneek Peeks & Glimpses.

Here is a list of possible content you can include: (it is by no means all-inclusive 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
Excerpts from upcoming books and free bonus chapters from past books.
Launch dates of your new book
Events you are attending, whether in person or virtually.
Your writing processes.
Report writing progress on novels.
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
Include book research and photos.
Tell what sparked book locations, plots, or characters.
Interview an author in your genre.
Recount your experiences at book events.
Recount personal experiences that appeared in a book in some form.
Include a photo of your writing space.
Share writing milestones: signing an agent, book contracts, book releases, book awards.
Display book trailers.
Hold character interviews
Offer installments of short stories
Create a contest.

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

Your author bio
Insert links to blog, website, Amazon and other sales sites and your Goodreads author page, and reviews.

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.

Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday – Tips on Maintaining Your Writer Blog

February 9, 2023
mandyevebarnett

Once you have set up your blog and identified your target audience and know what theme/topics you will cover, now you need to maintain it.

One of the most important tasks is to ensure you have a regular schedule, so your readers know when to expect a post from you. Set days and times that are manageable for your lifestyle and time constraints. Be realistic about how much time you can give to your blog, do not overwhelm yourself with unrealistic goals. Posts can be weekly, monthly or quarterly – as long as the schedule is recurring.

Remember having a schedule allows you to write posts in advance and schedule them. Make use of this option by dropping a quick sentence into a draft post of an ideas you have for a post. We all know we won’t remember the idea later!

So why do you need to blog consistently?

In short it establishes author credibility. Readers become familiar with your work and it attracts new readers to your site. Consistent blogging means you are continually attracting a stream of potential new readers to your site with fresh, updated content. Readers love to get an intimate view into the life of their favorite authors along with any upcoming events and book launches. The more you share the more they will want to come back.

Remember to keep your author information, pages, books and events current. It doesn’t take a lot of time to ensure any changes are corrected or updated. This includes the copyright statement for your blog content to ensure it is not pirated. This is essential for the safety of your content should you need to take action on unauthorized copying. Unfortunately, this does happen.

Make Connections to Grow

You want your blog’s reach and popularity to grow so connect with authors in similar genres and also readers of your specific genre(s). This should be a constant work in progress in the maintaining of your blog. Don’t let it become static. The more you connect the larger your reach. To attain growth here are a few tips.

Research similar authors, who have blogs and offer to guest post on each other’s websites.
Run regular interviews with people who fascinate you.
If you have a specific genre connect with other writers in the same genre as well as their following. See what they are posting.
Visit forums and post your blogs there.
Link your blogs to your social media platforms to gain exposure.
Encourage your established readers to post your blog links on their social media to spread the news to as many new sets of eyes as possible.
Utilize hashtags when you post to your social media sites. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media networks always offer—as part of your static profile—an opportunity to link to your homepage.
Create a special introduction for people who visit your website from your Twitter profile, Facebook fan page, Goodreads page, etc.
Remember your SEO (search engine optimization) and include your ‘top’ search words in every post.
When creating the link from your website offer an intriguing question, lead in, excerpt, or explanation of why the post might be interesting to people on your social networks.
Write book reviews and use the author name and book titles as keywords. This will draw their readers to your site.

Additional Maintenance and Updating Tips

Create a dedicated page on your website for each and every book title.
For each book page, make the page title identical to the book title.
Use a full or extended description for each book.
Link previous blog posts related to each book to tell the story of its inception and launch.
Include links to your social media and other book related sites onto your front page.
Create a newsletter sign up form.
Include videos and/or podcasts you are featured on or host.
Share any upcoming events you are involved in.

Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday – Podcast Chat with Opal Writer’s Magazine

February 2, 2023
mandyevebarnett

I enjoyed this podcast chat with Cindy of Opal Writers Magazine. We talked about my recent article in regards to being a panelist at a conference. There are many aspects to not only accepting an invitation to attend, but also what you should and shouldn’t do during the panel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWjQI1ZIGPg&t=14s

You can find me on a panel at Wordbridge on 25th February 3:00 – 3:50 pm in the Theater Gallery of the Lethbridge library

Panel – Writing Crime, Thrillers and Mysteries

I hope you find the podcast and the article usage. And, as always, I am open to questions.

Subscribe to the magazine here: https://opalwritersmagazine.ca/

Wordsmith’s Collective Thursday – Book Fame is False

January 19, 2023
mandyevebarnett

As writers/authors, we want our books to become well known, best sellers, and even made into movies. It is a dream that most of us will never accomplish and that’s okay. I feel that my stories are my legacy into the future, where they will be read by future generations and enjoyed. That is true fame to my way of thinking.

Best seller lists are a false statistic anyway – it is the retail orders volume that put such books on the various lists not their imaginative plots or narratives, but perceived sales. Most celebrities will have ‘best sellers’ because the general public want to read about them – for good or bad. Thus the bookstores will order more to accommodate the promotional machine afforded such tomes.

So my message to you is don’t be disheartened, and certainly don’t think ‘success’ can only be measured with these false statistics or lists created by the media. If you have sales and reviews, receive congratulations, and comments on your stories that is true fame.

If you look at the following list, you will see more modern books have made record sales thus proving the promotional circus works. The book industry is now global and this contributes to these sales figures.

25 Best-Selling Books of All-Time

#1 – Don Quixote (500 million copies sold)
#2 – A Tale of Two Cities (200 million copies sold)
#3 – The Lord of the Rings (150 million copies sold)
#4 – The Little Prince (142 million copies sold)
#5 – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (107 million copies sold)
#6 – And Then There Were None (100 million copies sold)
#7 – The Dream of the Red Chamber (100 million copies sold)
#8 – The Hobbit (100 million copies sold)
#9 – She: A History of Adventure (100 million copies sold)
#10 – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (85 million copies sold)
#11 – The Da Vinci Code (80 million copies sold)
#12 – Think and Grow Rich (70 million copies sold)
#13 – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (65 million copies sold)
#14 – The Catcher in the Rye (65 million copies sold)
#15 – The Alchemist (65 million copies sold)
#16 – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (60 million copies sold)
#17 – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (55 million copies sold)
#18 – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (55 million copies sold)
#19 – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (55 million copies sold)
#20 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (50 million copies sold)
#21 – One Hundred Years of Solitude (50 million copies sold)
#22 – Lolita (50 million copies sold)
#23 – Anne of Green Gables (50 million copies sold)
#24 – Charlotte’s Web (50 million copies sold)
#25 – Black Beauty (50 million copies sold)

Be happy with your ‘success’ no matter what shape it takes. After all, you wrote and published a book (or books) and that is worth celebrating for its own worth. Many people dream of doing it and never do. Chasing a pipe dream makes us disillusioned and that is not good – pat yourself on the back for what you have achieved. It is remarkable.