To Blog, or Not to Blog
by,
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]

20 Ways to Help Authors in 2021
by,
January 12, 2021

Pre-order. You might be surprised to learn that pre-ordering a book is critical to the launch of a book. Publishers may make decisions about how much marketing support to provide a new release based on the volume of pre-orders. Some even determine the size of a first print run using those numbers. If a book has strong pre-order sales, reviewers are more likely to review it,… [Read More]

Instagram, Book Reviews, and You – by Elizabeth Rynecki
by,
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]

Ten tips for building an audience platform
by,
September 14, 2013

Spend more time on writing and less on social media. There. I said it. I mean it. Facebook,Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Google + can suck your precious time. I see many authors use these social media platforms like megaphones to shout out into the wilderness “Buy my book!” One author, who shall remain nameless to protect his guilt, spent four hours one evening spitting out such… [Read More]

The First Steps to Take Control of Your Facebook Privacy
by,
July 20, 2013

Once upon a time, you could make sweeping changes to your privacy settings with a single click of the mouse. Those times are now history – but by knowing all the different aspects of privacy on FB, you can better control who has access to your information on this platform. General Facebook Privacy Settings On the top right-hand corner, past the Open Graph search bar… [Read More]

Understanding Facebook’s Edgerank Algorithm
by,
June 22, 2013
Facebook Edgerank

The alternate title to this blog could be “Why do I keep getting my irritating cousin’s political rants in my Facebook newsfeed?” There’s an answer to that question if that’s happening to you, and it comes in the form of a question: “Do you engage with your cousin’s Facebook rants?” Because if the answer is YES, boy, are you in for a revelation – engaging… [Read More]

Analytics for Authors: Putting Your Keyword Data to Work
by,
December 8, 2012

 Analytics for Authors blogs have been edited to reflect the 01/16/2013 Google Analytics update. — Mark Twain wrote to a friend, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.” – and the same can be said for Google keywords. It’s the difference between ‘swimming pool’ and ‘swimming pool installation… [Read More]

Connecting your Facebook Business Page with your Personal Profile Timeline
by,
July 14, 2012

If you’re an author on Facebook, you’ve certainly noticed that your personal timeline and your page exist as two seperate entities – at least on Facebook, your ‘Author-Self’ and ‘Everything-Else-Self’ are as divided as the North and South Poles. It’s not even possible to write on your own personal timeline; you can only communicate with other business pages directly. What’s a well-connected and sociable author to… [Read More]

Technology meltdowns: Strategies for surviving social media
by,
March 20, 2012

Yes, it is Tuesday. Yes, I am late in posting this blog. Yes, I owe my sanity to the digital divas I work with at Swenson Book Development, LLC. Like many authors, I just want to write. When things go awry, I want to cry. In the last 10 days, the email server went down, my webhost crashed its system, my company email account popped… [Read More]

Live from Austin at SXSW
by,
March 10, 2012

A quarter million people descended on Austin, TX, to partake in SXSW this weekend. Yesterday I arrived at the Austin Convention Center to pick up my badge and discovered a que that wound around the entire building and back again. Two hours standing in line provided ample time for observing the social behavior of new media folk. Not surprisingly, most people held smartphones in their… [Read More]