To Blog, or Not to Blog
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June 7, 2022

Six or seven years ago my advice to aspiring authors of nonfiction books was to build an audience platform by blogging. An example of how critical blogging could be to securing a publishing contract can be found in the case of Ann Marie Ackermann, author of Death of an Assassin: The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee. After an… [Read More]

Booky Call – Book Matchmaking for the Modern World
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November 16, 2021

According to a recent survey, 62% of women would rather spend Friday night reading a good book than out on a date, and the similarities between how people talk about both reading and dating is fascinating. Given these similarities, and with the success of popular dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Match, Grindr, and eHarmony, Brant Menswar and Jim Knight, the founders of digital book marketing… [Read More]

Knitting Together Your Social Media Strategy
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June 25, 2019

Ravelry is a social media platform with 8 million members of the knitting and crochet community. It’s a place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, felters, and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools, and patterns, and share ideas and inspiration. Knitting has always been a part of my life. Grandma Swenson knit me Barbie Doll outfits out of fine sock yarn. I learned to… [Read More]

Instagram, Book Reviews, and You – by Elizabeth Rynecki
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January 22, 2019

Social media gives us new ways to connect with others and pursue our interests, which can include following our favorite authors, publishers, and bookstores. While it may seem an unlikely place, Instagram is one of these platforms with a rather large book-loving community. Recently, I became the new admin behind the Swenson Book Development Instagram account, but of course, there are many others in the… [Read More]

GoodReads Begins Charging for Giveaways
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February 6, 2018

On January 9, 2018, the social media site for readers, GoodReads.com, changed its policy regarding Giveaways. What used to be an inexpensive and clever marketing tool for books is now a new revenue stream for GoodReads, which is owned by Amazon. GoodReads, established in 2007, had more than 65 million members registered in 2017. Until Amazon purchased GoodReads in 2013, it was a rival to… [Read More]

What to blog about?
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January 23, 2018

Does an author really need to blog? Not necessarily. If you are writing fiction or a children’s storybook, probably not. If you’re writing nonfiction or memoir, probably so. To answer the question, you must ask yourself whether you can reach the audience who will buy your book with a blog. Children rarely make consumer choices about books, but their parents do. Tina L. Peterson wrote… [Read More]

Finishing Touches to Your WordPress Website
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January 16, 2018

If you’ve been following this blog the past month as you build your new author website, you’re almost ready to launch! Now that you’ve uploaded your text and images into your new Pages, you can see what each one will look like when it goes live if you click on the Preview button as you are customizing the Page. When you are satisfied, hit the… [Read More]

Designing Your Author Site
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December 26, 2017

The past two weeks I’ve described how to determine your author name, purchasing your domain name, finding an internet service provider, determining who will host your site, and what web-site building software you will use. You may recall I strongly recommended WordPress to build your site. One of the reasons I like WordPress for author sites is because it IS possible to Do-It-Yourself with their… [Read More]

Choosing an Internet Service Provider, Webhosting Service, and Content Management Systems
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December 19, 2017

Last week I wrote about deciding upon your author name to determine your domain name. Once you have purchased your domain, the next step is stake out your own real estate on the internet. Before you build your author website, you will need to answer three questions.   (1)  Who will provide you with internet service?  Internet service providers (ISPs) are those who bring the… [Read More]

How Studying Comp Titles Can Help You Develop a Marketing Plan
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November 21, 2017

Where should your book be reviewed? What literary journals and magazines should you submit excerpts or adaptations to? Which bookstore events will be worth your while? Are there podcasts or radio interviews you should book to promote your new release? These and other questions you may have when you begin to put together a marketing strategy are not easy to answer. Studying your comp titles… [Read More]