Angela Booth's Writing Blog

Book marketing: should you blog or advertise?

If you’re interested in blogging, the group had lots of tips for using your blog for book marketing. Here are several I found interesting.

1. Post consistently, and promote to get traffic (try Twitter)

We all agreed that if you’re blogging, you need to be consistent. That might mean regular blog posts, or regular social media posts. A couple of authors suggested collaborating on blogging and social media.

An author suggested inviting guest bloggers: “choose authors who write in your genre. I treat my blog like a networking tool. I write a couple of blog posts a month, but I’m on Twitter every day. Although Twitter doesn’t work for everyone, I’ve used it to get subscribers. It makes a huge difference when you’re releasing a new book.”

Explore the tips.

 

Fun exercises for fiction: they're easy (and powerful)

1. Create first lines to spark your creativity, now, and later

The first sentences of a novel set the tone and voice for the book, so they’re important.

First lines can be memorable; even famous. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” is the famous first line of Daphne du Maurier’s bestseller Rebecca.

Of course, you can write any sentence you like as a first line, and change it later, but you need the book’s voice: its emotional key. The emotion sparks your inspiration for the book. Until you have the novel’s voice, it’s a challenge to write with confidence. The voice inspires you.

Here’s an example of how this works.

 

Love writing fiction? Get paid for it

Let’s look at why ghostwriting might be the perfect career for you if you enjoy writing and publishing fiction.

1. Clients are looking for authors: your books are your portfolio

Have you published fiction? Excellent. Your published books act as your ghostwriter’s portfolio. Potential clients can check out your books on Amazon, to decide whether you’re a good fit for their projects.

If you haven’t published any fiction yet, clients will nevertheless hire you. However, they might want a little evidence that you can write at book length—much as a traditional publisher would.

So, be prepared to create a “partial”, that is, an overview of your novel, with a couple of chapters and an outline of the rest.

Learn more.

Apps: end chaos with Obsidian

Have you discovered the Obsidian app? We looked at using Obsidian if you’re a fiction author.

Several authors in our writers’ group use Obsidian; a couple mentioned that there’s a big learning curve. One author gave up on Obsidian entirely. That’s a shame, because Obsidian can help you to manage your life.

Want to get started with Obsidian? You can, in minutes, because Obsidian is just a collection of plain text files in a folder.

Get started with Obsidian.

 

Want to start writing fiction? Ideas you can try

If you want to write fiction, it’s a good indication you CAN

A writer in our group said, “if you want to write, you can. And if you keep writing and studying, you’ll improve.”

What about “talent?” Some people are better with words and making up stories than others. However, your desire to write will help you to persist. Without persistence, talent means little.

Let’s look at some ways to get started.

1. Morning Pages: allow your creativity free rein

Have you discovered Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages? Try them. They’re spontaneous writing, and can teach you a lot about writing and about yourself. You can try your hand at writing fiction during your Morning Pages’ sessions.

More ideas.

 

You're writing a novel. You can't keep track... Here's help

Obsidian: a perfect writers’ studio

I’ve been using Obsidian for around 18 months. It’s perfect for writers. All your files are in Markdown, which is just plain text. So even if Obsidian falls by the wayside, you’ll always be able to read and use your content.

Over the time I’ve used it, Obsidian has become ever more extendable, with many plugins, so that you can turn your content into anything you choose. You can run a business in Obsidian, or just use it to collect research, or to journal.

Obsidian has thousands of friendly users: check out the Obsidian forum and ask for help when you need it.

When I chat about the app with authors, some love it, others find it too challenging. I suggest watching some of the many “get started with Obsidian” tutorials on YouTube, especially if you’re new to Markdown.

Use Obsidian to write fiction.

 

Writing fees: "how much do you charge?"

There will always be people who want to pay peanuts for writing services—and writers who will accept those peanuts.

A solution: commit to charging according to the solutions and benefits you provide to your clients.

Please don’t lower your rates, because you’ve heard that X dollars is the “standard rate”. Or because writers charge peanuts on the freelance marketplaces.

A tip: avoid writing for peanuts. If you do, you’ll become overworked and depressed; you may even damage your health. (And yes, in the dim and misguided past, I’ve burned out from overwork, so I know whereof I speak.)

Today, the writing marketplace is global.

Companies in your town which are looking for cheap content can easily hire writers who live across the world, in countries where costs and wages are low. Compared with what you charge, these writers charge little. They can afford it.

However, you can’t match those tiny rates if you live in a western economy.

Want to get paid to write? Remember: “No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money” .

Read the article.

Are you a writer? Turn your creativity into income (fast)

As writers, we trade time for money. But clients pay for solutions to their problems. What if you could spend a few minutes creating something that solves a problem for a client… and he pays very well for it?

In our new program, you’ll discover how to create short content clients pay for, including:

- Ideas (create an idea, charge for it… How much you charge is up to you).

- Slogans, greeting cards, calendars… Use your imagination. Sell to your current or prospective clients.

- Seasonal holiday writing: help businesses which need help, and get paid.

And much more…

 

Publishing solutions: which platform should you choose?

She wants to make money with her fiction, so my default answer for that is: publish your story to Amazon KDP.

Get paid: should you publish on Amazon, or elsewhere?

You can publish your short stories and novellas on Amazon—that’s the simplest solution. Although you can’t expect instant success, you’re building a business.

To put it bluntly, short fiction sells. As I suggested in this post on writing short stories and novellas:

A rainy afternoon’s work could sell more copies than your most recent novel. Today, readers are happy to pay for short fiction; it gives them a quick hit of entertainment in their favorite genre.

More ideas on where to publish.

 

 

Want a super-simple, easy, and very fast way to market? (Market almost anything)

One-page websites: the fast way to market your writing

A one-page website can be a single page, or several pages. It minimizes distractions, because clutter, such as navigation, has gone.

For years, these kinds of pages were called “buy or leave” sales pages, and that sums it up. Give the visitors just enough information for them to take action on what you offer.

So why might you consider them?

Benefits: why consider one-page websites?

Primarily, it’s for simplicity. I encourage my writing students and copywriting clients to use one-pagers, because they’re more likely to get results. Asking a student or client to “create a website” is a big commitment of time and energy. It’s much easier to suggest a single page.

Learn more.

 

New freelancer? Get hired, starting today

Make it EASY to give you a link: offer something unique

Why would a website which doesn’t do link exchanges, or accept guest posts, use your content?

The short answer: because you offer something valuable, which they need. Many websites need reviews, for example, but reviews—especially well-considered reviews—are hard to get.

Let’s say you’ve just used a real estate agency to buy a house. Would they value a review for their website? Maybe. You could offer a review, in exchange for a link. If they refuse, you can offer a similar article “how I bought a house in (the city or state): the good and the bad” article to other real estate agencies.

Make certain that the website agrees to use your name, with a link to your website.

Read the article.

 

Profitable writing: write and sell fast with short projects

Let’s look at some profitable projects you can complete in an hour or less.

1. Reviews: use it, love it, write a review

Companies find it challenging to get reviews. (If you’re a self-publishing author, you’ll sympathize.) They hire consultants and PR hacks to interview their customers, but this is expensive, as well as time-consuming.

A friend shared a review-writing strategy with me years ago; it’s effective today. Whenever you use a product, pay attention: you’re a customer, and your opinion counts.

Take some notes. (Take a few photos too.) Did you like the product? What was good? What was bad, or could be improved?

Rather than posting a short review on Yelp or similar, offer your review to the marketing manager of the company which sells the product.

Why this works: genuine reviews are HARD to find. If you’ve used a product and can write a genuine review, your words are GOLD.

More here.

 

Full-time freelancing to great day job (and back again)

Although the gig economy is booming, third parties such as the freelance marketplaces tend to get the profits.

BTW, if you want to give your freelance career a boost, there’s a very special offering on our popular Freelance Writing Zero To Hero program, until July 21. Great news: everything is included, even coaching, and your Action Plan.

The best thing about freelance writing? You can write your way. Write what you want, when you want.

Here’s a friend’s story. She went from happy freelancing to a day job. (Bet you didn’t expect that. Me neither.)

Freelance writing: from freelancing to a day job

A couple of weeks ago, a friend who’s been freelancing for ten years took a day job. “I want a regular income I can show the bank,” she told me. “We need a bigger house for the kids, and I want something in the country. That means applying for a bigger mortgage.”

Read the article.

 

Get paid to write: build the career you deserve

Everyone starts a writing career as a complete beginner, from zero. It will never be as hard again.

Everything you do counts, even though it might not seem like it at the time. Over time, your tiniest communications and smallest actions get a big result: suddenly, you’re hero. You made your dreams happen, one baby step at a time. Often your dreams happen MUCH faster than you think possible.

Already freelancing? Wish you could stop tapping your fingers to the bone and attract top-tier clients? This program (and your Action Plan) will ensure it happens for you.

Offering ends soon.

 

Yes, you can publish short fiction and succeed

Writing short stories and novellas has many advantages, for both new and experienced authors. You can succeed faster.

New author? Write short fiction: succeed faster

Last year, when I suggested a novella to a new author he said: “I don’t have time. After I finish this novel, I’ve already got three others to write.”

A few weeks ago, I sent him a quick message asking about his progress. His posts on social media featured wonderful news: a new baby in the family. But when I scrolled back through his posts—nothing about his writing.

If you’re unsure about short fiction too, let’s look at some of the advantages of publishing novellas.

1. Write and publish faster

In the time it takes to write a novel, you could write three novellas.

Read the full article.