The Writer’s Weekly Wrap-Up (Issue #7)

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!)

When Quitting is Not an Option

As difficult as the job is, writers just can’t seem to stop writing.

We must be a wee bit masochistic with our tendency to repeatedly subject ourselves to the often unpleasant experiences that follow the declaration “I am a writer!”

No matter how painful the journey sometimes is, we just can’t help but put pen to paper and scratch out a few more thoughts.

The problem these days, however, is that writing is now only part of the job description, especially if you choose to self-publish.

Marketer, editor, book designer, social media strategist, website owner, blogger, publisher, entrepreneur–and the list goes on. Is it realistic to expect that a modern writer must wear so many hats?

Maybe. Maybe not. But if there is no struggle, there is no story, right?

Enjoy these articles that I’ve found across the web; hopefully they will lesson your burden :).

Featured Articles

The Confident Writer Series: 1 – The Mental Games We Play by Gary Korisko at Write to Done

Love this post be Gary outlining 10 ways to create a mindset that builds your confidence as a writer. (My favourite is #10: “When you crash, make sure you find the black box.”)

7 Ways to Drive Traffic from Popular Blogs by Ana Hoffman at Traffic Generation Cafe

In her article, Ana discusses how to increase exposure and traffic to your site using 7 different ‘quick fix’ methods (for those of us who are less patient). She includes tips, examples and additional resources to make it easy.

101 Quick Actions You Can Take Today to Build the Writer Platform of Your Dreams by Kimberley Grabas at Your Writer Platform

After receiving many emails from writers about how and when to start building their author platforms, I put together this list of 101 tasks  that should give every writer a head start.

3 Tools to Help You Discover and Share Great Content by Ian Cleary at Social Media Examiner

Looking for new ways to find great content to share with your readers? In his post, Ian provides three solutions for curating great content without it taking up too much of your time.

Pinterest: The Ultimate Writing Resource by Shannon at Duolit Self-Publishing Team

Shannon shares some great strategies for using Pinterest to get the creative juices flowing again–specifically how to create Pinterest character and scene boards.

Content Marketing, Google Plus And Book Marketing Tips With Penny Sansevieri by Joanna Penn at The Creative Penn

In her podcast, Joanna talks with Penny Sansevieri–professional speaker and book publicist at Author Marketing Experts. They discuss changes in marketing over the last few years and the implications for authors.

5 Headline Templates That Grab Readers by Ray Edwards at Michael Hyatt.com

Getting your headline right is super important. Without an attention grabbing headline, a great post gets lost in obscurity. Ray provides us with some headline templates that can change the fate of your post from flop to fabulous.

Just for Fun

This is a hilarious depiction of the publishing process as seen through Nathan Bransford’s eyes: The Publishing Process in GIF Form by Nathan Bransford at Nathan Bransford.com

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Top photo by patuska