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!)
The Authorpreneur
It is no small hill to climb for writer’s these days.
Gaining success as an author requires a significant amount of skill and savvy, not only as a writer, but also as a marketer and business person.
“You know how it is in the kid’s book world; bunny eat bunny.”
~ Anonymous
Hopefully this weeks round up of articles makes the climb a little easier!
Featured Articles
Anatomy Of A Successful Kickstarter Campaign (And What You Should Know Before Launching Yours) by Tom Allen at Tom’s Bike Trip
Want to know the nuts and bolts of successfully crowd sourcing a book complete with graphs and pie charts? You’re in luck, as Tom walks us through his experience step by step.
7 Secrets to Writing Persuasive Back Cover Sales Copy by Casey Demchak at The Book Designer
Why is it so important to get your back cover copy right? As Casey states in his article, “If your cover is good enough to grab readers, your back cover copy needs to convince them to buy.”
How to Host Your Own Ebook Giveaway (Without Amazon KDP) by Stephanie Chandler at Authority Publishing
Looking for a way to garner some attention for your book? Try Stephanie’s ebook giveaway promotion strategy–complete with some ‘what-not-to-do’s’.
How to Sell Advanced Reader Copies as a Self-Published Author by Lindsay at Lindsay Buroker
In Lindsay’s article, she provides her 5 step process (including mis-steps) for selling advanced reader copies of her book.
13 Blog Post Blunders You Should Avoid (And What to Do Instead) by Kimberley Grabas at Your Writer Platform
What happens to your blog post after you press publish? Crickets chirping? Tumbleweeds gently rolling by? If your blog posts aren’t feeling the love, you are likely committing one or more of these blog post blunders.
10 Ways to Bring New Life to Old Blog Posts by Pat Flynn at Smart Passive Income
Got a truck load of archived posts that your audience really shouldn’t miss? Pat gives us 10 ways to get the oldies-but-goodies back in front of your readers.
Are You Giving Readers Only The “Minimum Amount” Of Your Attention? by Dan Blank at Writer Unboxed
In his article, Dan discusses why–despite limited time, money and resources–it’s not okay to just do the bare minimum to get a reader to buy your book. More is expected and more is deserved.
Simple Tips for Hiring a Book Cover Designer by Bryan Hutchinson at Positive Writer
People do judge a book by it’s cover. Bryan shares his tips (and lesson’s learned) when hiring a book cover designer.
Empower Yourself by Molly Greene at Molly Greene: Writer
Things not going exactly how you planned? Here’s a little self-empowerment pep talk from one writer to another.
Best Practices for Putting Together Your Digital Book by Paul Salvette at BiblioCrunch
Super useful post on the proper interior design and formatting of an eBook, from cover and copyright to font embedding and metadata.
The Real Costs of Self-Publishing a Book by Miral Sattar at MediaShift
In her post, Miral breaks down the costs of obtaining professional services when sefl-publishing a high quality book. Make sure you read the comments too, as some additional points are made between readers.
31 Actionable Social Media Marketing Tips Based on Research by Heidi Cohen at Heidi Cohen
In this article, Heidi explains (thankfully) Social Media Examiner’s 2013 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, which highlights nine benefits of social media marketing. Her breakdown provides us with marketing tips we can use to tweak our social media strategy for optimum results.
5 Simple Ways to Spend Less Time Marketing and Sell More Books by Toni (the geek) at Duolit Self Publishing Team
According to Toni, “Book marketing isn’t the seventh circle of Hell and it doesn’t have to take up all of your time.” I know, hard to believe, right? But she makes a good case for marketing ‘efficiently’, enabling you to sell more with less time.
Just For Fun
Just in case a few of you still don’t have your gravatar in place:

4 Vital Gravatar Tips to Get Your Comments Clicked & Noticed by Ramsay at The Blog Tyrant
Enjoy the rest of your week, and if you have any questions or comments, please share them below.
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Top photo by leele