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!)
Perfect Summer Days
Every year this happens, and yet every year I’m shocked at how quickly the ‘endless summer’ passes.
For those of you who live in more temperate climes, the close of summer days may not be as dramatic, but for those of us Canadians who reside in less moderate regions, the end of August signals the stealthy creep of Jack Frost — and the quick pounce of Old Man Winter!
But for now, we’ll leave the back-to-school supply scramble to the very last minute, put off thoughts of snow and icicles, and enjoy one last long weekend of beautiful summer weather.
“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the birds are singing and the lawnmower is broken.”
~ James Dent
Enjoy this week’s roundup on a deck with a cold, frosty one!
Featured Articles
The Single Most Effective Way for Authors to Use Social Media from Jonathan Gunson at BestSeller Labs
Do you know the secret to success for authors on social media? Jonathan gives some great advice to stay on track and not use social media as a billboard to hawk your wares.
10 Ways to Defeat Obscurity: Tips For Authors Who Want to Get Noticed (Infographic) from Kimberley Grabas at Your Writer Platform
If you’re striving to be heard above the cacophony of noise in the world of book marketing, use this cheat sheet to help you get started.
3 Subhead Blunders That Make People Bounce From Your Blog from Gary Korisko at Boost Blog Traffic
This is a fantastic post that outlines the importance of not only grabbing your readers interest with your post headline, but keeping their interest till the end of your article through careful and effective use of subheaders.
A Key Book Marketing Principle That Authors Must Learn (or Not Forget) from Jane Friedman at Writer Unboxed
In this article, Jane provides authors with an alternative to ‘begging’ on social media when planning their book marketing campaign.
Six Things You Should Be Including in Your Ebook (And Probably Aren’t) from David Kudler at The Book Designer
Find out how you can use your ebook to engage your fans and build your platform.
Book Marketing: The Long Term Launch from Brian Cormack Carr at The Creative Penn
In this article, Brian shares what he is learning from (and the value of) a long-term launch process for his book.
12 Most Sparkly Ways to Make Your Brand Pop from Peg Fitzpatrick at 12 Most
Super list, loaded with additional resources on moving your brand from ‘ho hum’ to ‘holy cow!’ in no time.
eBook Preorders Help Indie Authors Hit Bestseller Lists from Mark Coker at Huffington Post
Preorders are now available at Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, and Mark gives us “5 reasons why preorders will become the next best practice for professional indie authors”.
How To Sell Self-Published Books: One At a Time from Catherine Ryan Howard at Catherine, Caffeinated
In her post, Catherine goes against the school of thought that you should wait until you have several books published before you start your book promotion, and reveals her own experiences to back up her point.
How To Use Facebook to Grow Your Email List Quickly from Amy Porterfield at Amy Porterfield
Amy gives us some simple tips and tricks to grow our email subscribers with Facebook.
The Business Rusch: A Career Versus Publication from Kristine Kathryn Rusch at Kris Writes
Kristine distinguishes between “the dream of being published versus the dream of a writing career”, and discusses the difference in approach, goals and outcomes for those who want a published book and those who want a writing career.
Choosing The Right Distributor: Smashwords vs Draft2Digital from David Gaughran at David Gaughran
If you are looking for information on choosing a distributor to reach non-Amazon e-bookstores, check out this post. David does a side by side review of Smashwords and the newer Draft2Digital; laying out the pros and cons of both.
WRITING ON THE ETHER: When Bad Things (Seem To) Happen on Good Sites from Porter Anderson at Jane Friedman
Porter takes a look at Goodreads and the ‘drama’ that has been erupting between some reviewers and authors.
3 Practical Steps to Make Your Content Go Viral from Ana Hoffman at Traffic Generation Cafe
This is a great post from Ana that not only helps you craft posts that ‘go viral’, but also gives you tips and examples for consistently creating epic content for your blog.
Learn How to Create Promotable Content (Free Training) from Kristi Hines at Kikolani
Here’s a fantastic–and free!–mini course from Kristi, on how to make your content more share-worthy.
Exactly How One Author Sells 70-75 Books a Day from Octavia Randolph at 30 Day Books
Curious as to what other authors are doing to get their books selling? Here’s a personal account of one author’s experience.
Just For Fun
Here’s a little thought to keep you up at night…
Thanks for reading!
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Top original photo by Rula Sibai
Always nice to see this variety, thanks.
Glad you like it, Greg! 🙂
NIce Post it hooked me. very compact and informative. Thank you Ma’am
Your very welcome, Sakib!
DUMPSTER DIVING FOR WRITER TIPS! How’s this for a subhead that grabs? Everyday I plow through at least 30 emails, most of them related to writing–kinda like dumpster diving for “genie lamps that will inspire or lead to wishes come true!.” Writers need to read read read, we are told. Right! We are also told to write write write. I find this works great if you are a speedreader, have a masterful memory, and can squeeze 30 hrs. into a 24 hour day.
Any tip that speaks to the point and illustrates succinctly grabs my attention. Then, I get back to what I MUST do.
WRITE. Right? Thanks Gary for the lesson in succinct-ness! Now there’s a word for the dumpster!
Yep, Gary Korisko’s post rocks, CJ!
Hope the round up made life a little easier for you, and shaved a few hours off your web surfing time! 🙂 Thanks for your comment!