The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up (Issue #12)

This post is part of a weekly series on YWP, aptly titled “The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up”.

Each Sunday, I will endeavour to provide you with a curated list of the best articles I have seen throughout the week that relate to building your platform.

The featured articles cover topics on book marketing and promotion, blogging, social media and self-publishing. (I may even throw in a few inspirational and fun posts, just so that it’s not all work and no play!)

Don’t Sell; Engage

What do your readers want?

What do you want as an author?

What can you share that your audience desires, and what will you receive in return?

Engagement develops from finding the common ground, the similar interests and the mutual needs between you and your readers.

This shouldn’t be difficult, forced or phoney–but real and genuine.

“Effective engagement is inspired by the empathy that develops simply by being human.”

– Brian Solis

So strive to include this simple premise of engagement in your efforts to build your writer platform.

Commit to your readers not only by developing yourself as a writer, but by sharing the most important and relevant parts of your growth with them.

Ensure that those that should be aware of your work, are.

Listen to–and acknowledge–their compliments, criticisms and interpretations.

Include your readers in the process of your artistic expression, and let them share the journey with you.

If you do this well, you will never have to ‘sell’ another book.

Featured Articles

The Horrors of Self-Promotion from Sean Beaudoin at The Weeklings

A candid article on the ‘reality’ of book marketing and promotion from Sean’s–and probably many other authors’–perspective.

71 Ways to Promote and Market Your Book from Kimberley Grabas at Your Writer Platform

Hopefully this list will make your self-promotional efforts less horrifying…

A Polished Book Marketing Plan Nails It from Ron Charles at The Washington Post

This article is a fantastic example of what can happen when you think outside the box and use your book’s themes, characters or their lifestyle to make unorthodox–but valuable–marketing tie-ins.

7 Reasons Why Social Media Isn’t Growing Your Fiction Readership (And What to Do About Them) from Jason Kong at The Book Designer

Frustrated with your social media results? Try this article by Jason, which shows us a few quick fixes to removing obstacles that may be standing in the way of our social media brilliance.

Get Reviews for Your Self-Published Book from Chris Robley at The Book Baby Blog

Relevant reviews are uber important for gaining attention for your book, so finding ways to get these endorsements and assessments of your work is critical. In his article, Chris outlines 10 resources, aside from Amazon, to get reader reviews.

How Can I Possibly Write and Market? Here’s How! from Rachel Thompson at Book Promotion

If you’re busy marketing you have no time to write, right? And a marketing superstar is irrelevant if there is nothing to promote. So how can you manage to squeeze in both? Rachel gives us some pointers.

16 Top Tips from Blogging Experts for Beginners from Belle Beth Cooper at Buffer

Beginner or not, these blogging insights from those who have gone before–and succeeded–are invaluable.

Strategic Ways to Give Away Books from Jody Hedlund at Jody Hedlund, Author

Jody shares 3 big tips to strategically planning your free book giveaways, as opposed to just sharing with the masses.

How to Promote Your Blog: 10 Steps to Ultimate Blog Promotion [My Personal Cheat Sheet] from Ana Hoffman at Traffic Generation Cafe

Who wouldn’t want a top bloggers cheat sheet on the steps they take to promote their highly shared posts? Count me in! Read the article to see if you can incorporate some of Ana’s tricks to get more love and ‘kapow’ from your posts.

Take a Break & Refresh Your Writing Career from Christina Katz at The Prosperous Writer

Instead of feeling guilty and stressed about the challenges of getting enough done with your writing career this summer, follow Christina’s advice and take a breather to recharge your batteries.

What Will Smith Can Teach Us About Selling Books from Shannon at Duolit Self-Publishing Team

Shannon discusses how good research, combined with your special sauce and lots of marketing, may increase your chances of creating a financially successful writing career.

Where Do Great Ideas Come From? (Hint: Not Where You Think) from Caleb Wojcik at Think Traffic

When do you get your best ideas? Find out how you can generate and harness more of these gems by checking out this post from Caleb.

Scrivener: An Indispensable Author’s Tool from Clare Toohey at Molly Green: Writer

I’ve been wanting to get Scrivener for awhile, but hesitated because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to add another item to my long list of ‘to learn’. After reading this post, I must say, I think it would be worth my while. What do you think?

Google Plus For Authors With Evo Terra From ePublish Unum from Joanna Penn at The Creative Penn

Watch this video interview that Joanna does with Evo Terra (author, podcaster and digital business strategist) to find out more on why you should ‘bother’ with Google+.

Being Held Back by Your Fear of Writing? from Farnoosh at Prolific Living

Is fear ‘murdering your writing dreams’? Farnoosh reveals 5 excuses that are killing your writing potential.

How to Find Book Review Editors at Savvy Writers and Ebooks Online

Get better results by customizing and targeting your press releases. This article includes ideas and resources on how to do it.

Just for Fun

Here’s some inspiration for both new and seasoned author bloggers. It’s one of those quotes that makes you accidentally spit coffee on your friend or giggle uncontrollably every time it pops back into your head (at least that was my experience 🙂 ).

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Original photo by mensatic