Social Media | Self-Publishing Review

The Best Twitter Hashtags for Book Promotion

The great thing about Twitter is that you don’t necessarily have to have a lot of followers to be seen. You can have ten followers, but if you use a hashtag like #horror or #sciencefiction, many other people will see the post as well, as there are a lot more visitors to hashtag pages than individual accounts.

However, having more followers means that your post has a better chance to land on the Top list, which is the first list users see, and where the post will show up for longer, as opposed to the Latest thread, where your post […]

Lysa Grant2022-07-14T00:24:31+02:00February 12th, 2020|Categories: Resources|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips, Social Media|

How Authors Can Help Other Authors

Another author’s success can sometimes sting. But remember: we’re all in this together – that’s why something like #WritingCommunity exists. If a writer is successful, that’s a success for everyone, as books are the underdog in the media landscape.

It can feel counterintuitive to support another author’s book, as they can seem like a competitor in your own field, and you may feel like you should be spending your time only on your own book. However, self-promotion is not normally as effective as word of mouth, so if you spend your days wondering why you’re not receiving enough attention, the […]

SPR2020-02-21T06:49:14+02:00June 3rd, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Marketing Advice and Tips, Social Media|

Twitter’s New Design Isn’t Going to Be Great for Book Marketing

If you’re in the Twitter bookspace at all, you know that authors like to post their book covers. A lot. Twitter is going to have an upgrade and it’s changing the way images are displayed. Instead of variable sizes of images, there is going to be one main size – which isn’t conducive to book covers.

Here’s an example from author Neal Asher’s Twitter account:

And here’s what it looks like in new Twitter. It’s taking a small image and blowing it up horizontally, which means old posts are not going to be rendered very well:

Currently, not everyone […]

SPR2020-02-21T07:44:32+02:00April 18th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: Social Media|

Sharing Without Reading – How Authors Can Find Readers For Their Online Content

We’re faced with a huge social pressure of being ‘engaged online’ to sell our books as self-publishers, but is our carefully-crafted content being absorbed?

As authors are encouraged to guest blog, interview, and post on all possible outlets online, is this just throwing it all at the wall when the evidence shows people share to look cool, erudite, and popular, rather that sharing what they have read?

In a world where “RIP *insert really ancient and intriguingly cool famous person’s name I never heard of before today here*” is a way to make your Facebook page pop, and picture quotes […]

Cate Baum2020-02-21T06:49:19+02:00May 13th, 2015|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Author Blogging, Social Media|

Authors: Improve Your Twitter Messaging and Control

Social Media is crucial for people who are trying to break into writing. Today our focus is on Twitter and how you can improve your messaging and communications.

Twitter allows you to reach more people on a daily basis because of its global reach. Authors have known for a long time that word of mouth is still the most effective marketing tool for them to market and sell their books.

It is all about meeting, connecting and interacting with people whether they are readers, resources, support groups or other authors. Your followers can be a source of inspiration and encouragement […]

James Moushon2020-02-21T07:44:29+02:00February 16th, 2015|Categories: Member Blog, Resources|Tags: Social Media|

What Are All These Social Networks For? A Quick Guide For Authors

When you want to publicize your website or book, where should you share it? How do you share it? What is the etiquette? How do you get people to buy your book?

Let’s get a quick rundown on each social network and what they are intended for.

Reddit

A listing service that is free to use, and vote up or down on links. Used by a lot of young “native digital kings” for being critical and snarky, but many people are curious and active on the site and it can be a good way to get links out there.

Best […]

Cate Baum2020-02-21T06:49:23+02:00January 31st, 2015|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Social Media|

Writing Costs Money: On Crowdsourcing and Stacey Jay

Last week, there was a tempest about the young adult author Stacey Jay who started a Kickstarter project for her new young adult book. Traditionally published, her publisher wouldn’t take on the next book in the series and she looked to Kickstarter to fund the process of writing the next book. Her mistake (many claim) is asking for living expenses. It’s led to her dropping out of writing young adult (for the time being hopefully) and writing:

If you don’t know what happened to me last week regarding my cancelled Kickstarter and the insane backlash that followed, count your

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Henry Baum2020-02-21T07:53:21+02:00January 13th, 2015|Categories: Features|Tags: Social Media|

Amazon Releases Details on New Crowdsourcing Platform

Details have been revealed about Amazon’s new crowdsourcing platform. It’s for romance, mystery & thriller, and science fiction & fantasy books. From their email:

Thanks for subscribing to receive updates on Amazon’s new publishing program! We’re excited to announce that we’ll be opening for submissions in a couple weeks. We’ll be welcoming submissions for English-language books in Romance, Mystery & Thriller, and Science Fiction & Fantasy genres.

Any adult with a valid U.S. bank account and U.S. social security number or tax identification number is eligible. It only takes 15 minutes to complete a submission.

Here are the things that

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