Entries from the Lost Journal...with a new entry!

Open publication - Free publishing - More akil karanis

Creating a following BEFORE your novel is published? part VI

Well, it is time to move on to other sources on the internet that can help increase your following.  My page following has increased its following by 4x's since I've started writing (and following my own instructions) this blog.

A quick google search led me to The Savvy Book Marketer  website.  One click on marketing tips and I come to a long list of what look like great sources of information.

I clicked on the first one that drew my eye, fiction marketing, and was directed quickly to a page full of hype that ended with an ad for her book explaining all about fiction book marketing. So I clicked on resources and, once again found a nice list of information and every link leads to something for sale.  Can I blame them? No.  Is it frustrating that nobody wants to throw me a bone? Yes.  Onward...

I found a magazine..Social Media Marketing Magizine, which is a bit too broad for our purposes at the moment. Then I found this, a 'free' ebook from scribd that specifically touches on social media marketing for authors. There was some good introductory information that can be useful including a link to RedRoom, which I've never heard of but intend on visiting. It also mentions scribid, which hosted the free ebook.  Surprisingly, there was nothing at the end pitching the sale of the author's book.  It was just straight-up free information.  A rarity these days.

So, the mission going forward will be to research RedRoom and scribid and see what they're about and how effective they can be.  I apologize for the lack of actionable information this go-around.  The next entry should be full of goodies.

Until then, visit my page, tell your friends, tell your friend's friends and I'll be sure to share the love!

Here is a shot of my page today!

Creating a following BEFORE your novel is published? part V

A quick followup to part II, which focused on facebook ads.  Since October fourth, that particular ad had netted me 57 new followers.  Of the 60 people who clicked on the ad, only three decided they didn't want to 'like' my page.

Enough about paid ads.  Here are some things that are completely free that you can do to increase traffic to your page.  I'm assuming you've reached the point where you know what genre you've targeted.  Knowing that, you can search for other pages with the same interest.  Lets use en example: Horror.

As you can see, several other pages immediately come up.  If it has the little molecule icon as a picture, they're no good because they're not regularly updated and the information is fed by wikipedia so skip them all together (I know, it's tempting when thy have 96,000 likes but there is no following there.)

If you find one that looks promising, click on it.  Check out the page.  Do they allow others to post on the page?  If it is only the moderator posting, the answer is no.  Even though you may be able to post on their wall, your post will be removed before anyone can see it.  The other thing to look at is the page's likes (on the left).  Click see all and look through their favorites.  This is a great way to expand your potential network because pages generally 'like' other pages related to their own subject in some way.

I would try and get as many relevant 'likes' as possible.  For time's sake, lets say you reach 30.  Now you need to start trolling those pages for opportunities to insert yourself into their conversations.  Every time you post, they see the link back to your page (as well as everyone else looking at their page, who most likely will be interested in your page because it is a related subject)  I would avoid 'spamming' where new authors drop in, leave a post on their wall saying something like 'come look at my new book" and never say anything again.  Try and build a rapport with the people who post on these pages.  The more they see your name involved in the conversations, the more interested in your page the readers will become.  Soon, those who like their pages will like your page and so it spreads.

Remember to share the love.  If someone mentions your page on their wall, reciprocate.  This can have a snowball effect sending your number of followers through the roof. The more work you do here, the more results you will see. Yes, it takes time and effort for it to happen but in the end, I believe these followers are more likely to purchase your book than those who simply click on an ad and 'like' your page.

Sell yourself, you're a writer so when you post or converse you need to write like a writer.

So next time I'm going to touch on some non-facebook ways to draw a following (back to facebook).

Until then...good luck and keep writing.

Visit my page early and often for prizes, wiring samples and more.

Creating a following BEFORE your novel is published? part IV

Following up on part III...the ad I placed on facebook is still running.  According to the stats I've gotten 19 clicks and 13 connections meaning out of the 19 who actually clicked on the ad, 13 ended up liking my page.


So, is this method effective?  I'd say so.  Especially considering I've spent a hair under $4.00 for the ad so far.  But, I don't plan on using facebook ads alone to generate a following and neither should you.  I also can't afford to run the ad until I reach the number I'm shooting for (1000).  So, what's left?

Tons of stuff, actually.  Have you considered making a video trailer for your novel?  Increase your exposure by drawing youtube viewers to your page! I went as far as making a 'teaser' trailer with text and some basic effects and am working on a full-length trailer with actors (volunteers of course).  That being said, I have an affinity for filmmaking and understand that not every writer does but if you're writing fiction, you have creativity and imagination.



This is what I came up with.  Simple text with cool sound and effects (I think anyway).  If effective, your trailer should spark the interest of potential readers enough to want to follow your page.  HD video cameras are insanely cheap right now and it is amazing what one can do with a simple editing program.  If you have the wherewithal , I highly suggest giving it a shot.

Create a storyboard. What is a storyboard, you ask?  Basically a series of images you'd like to see in your trailer.  I draw like a four-year-old. I'm okay with that.  The purpose isn't to be pretty, it is simply to give you a solid projection of how you want your trailer to look. Below I'll paste a video on storyboarding if you're interested.  You can get blank templates for storyboarding here.  When you go to shoot your trailer, the storyboard will direct the angles of the shots and help make the entire process much smoother.   When you have your volunteer actors all gathered around you waiting to do something, winging it generally produces bad film. If you know what angles you want, where you want the actors to be in relation to the camera etc. BEFORE you're on location with everyone, things go much smoother.  Trust me. Okay, I'm digressing.

Video trailers are great tools to get people interested in your novel (potential publishers like them as well).  When you're done, stroll on over to your potential agent or publisher's page and post a link to your trailer.  Why not?

Here is the storyboarding video.  I'll be the first to admit it is a bit on the slow side...but it helps.



Next time we will talk about getting your Author Page exposure within facebook with your target readers for FREE!

Just a reminder, I am implementing this for myself as I go, sometimes just before I write about it.  If something doesn't work or you have suggestions that I haven't mentioned, feel free to comment.

Until next time, visit me, tell your friends to tell their friend's friends and I'll be sure to share the love.

Oh, and for a laugh, here is a funny video I made.  I think all Star Wars fans need to get at least one of these out of their systems before they die.



RIP Steve Jobs

Backing up your work -Confessions of a back-a-holic

I'm taking a brief hiatus from my other thread to talk about the importance of backing up your work.

Everyone backs up, right?

Fast, easy and free: email it to yourself every time you change a file.

Slightly more expensive but much more dependable: Buy some flash drives (more than one), number or letter them and use them on a rotation to back up your files. Keep a backup log with the date and the drive # or letter in case you need to go back. I have drives A-E. Also, if you can leave the drive off-site (out of your house somewhere) Put it in your school locker, your desk at work, anywhere other than the same place as your computer.

Slightly more expensive, automated and dependable: Find an online backup service to do it for you. Currently, I'm using Carbonite. I think I paid around $120 for THREE YEARS of service.  It automatically backs up files that change.  Those files are customizable and the interface is easy to use.

Finally, expensive, local and probably most dependable: An external drive for your computer that mirrors your changes as you go.  Right now I'm using a Lacie d2 2TB, which is super easy and I have to give it virtually zero thought.

Here comes the confession:  I use every method mentioned above every day.  Why?  Well, if my house goes up in flames after being hit by a rogue meteor? I've lost my external drive but I have my flash drive, Carbonite and my email.  If the zombies come, burn down my house, set off an EMP all I'm left with is my flash drive, which contains all of my work.  So, as long as the zombies, the meteors and the EMP's keep at bay, I'm good to go.  But I rest easier knowing a lifetime of work isn't gone if they do.

Speaking of zombies, The Walking Dead season 2 is coming October 16th at 9. (love that show)



Come visit me, say hi and check out my work.

Creating a following BEFORE your novel is ever published? part II

Step #1, you need to get your name out there in the social media circles. If you don't have a facebook profile, make one. Once you have a profile, make a page. The page is where the magic will happen. Make sure you tell your friends early and often to 'like' your page. This is where I (for lack of a better suggestion) will keep a tally of my following as we go. The number of 'likes' will correspond to the number of people who are following my progress and therefore (hopefully and in most cases) buy my book when it is released.

The more eye catching your facebook page, the better. There are tons of websites out there that tell you how to do it yourself and also tons of websites that want to do it for you(for a fee). You can also specify where you want new visitors to go when they arrive. This is called the landing page. This is your chance to get them hooked. I am currently using Pagemodo, which is free and seems to work easily.  The interface is user friendly.

Now, you want to drive as much traffic to your page as possible.  The first, easiest and cheapest way is to post often on your profile page and entice your friends to take a look at your author page. Make sure to tell them to 'like' it.  If you have friends with websites, ask them if they'll link your page in their site.  The more external links the better.  Here is my link, which will hopefully drive some of you over to my page. Remind your friends that your author page is out there and needs your help! ...I better do this now!

Unfortunately, I'm running out of time right now.  I'd still like to cover driving more traffic to your page and driving the right kind of traffic to your page...until then.

J. R. Wagner

Creating a following BEFORE your novel is ever published?

Yes, that's right. The literary market these days is so unstable, uncertain and uncomfortable with taking risks on authors (especially first time published authors) that, with each passing day it becomes more and more difficult to find an agent or publisher who will even look at your manuscript.
Is it the end for all of us first-time authors? What can we do? The answer comes in three words. Build a following.
An agent or publisher picks up your query letter, glances it over, likes what she sees but your genre is too risky right now. She's had dozens of submissions (and rejected them all) in this genre, some of which she's liked but it just isn't worth the risk to take on a new author when she isn't confident the book will sell. Then she sees something at the bottom of the query letter that changes her mind.
Between my blog and my facebook page, I've managed to generate over 1000 followers.
In her mind that's 1000 book sales, which isn't a bad run for a first time author in the fiction market. What if that number were 2000 or 5000 or 10,000? Think she'd be interested then?
It's a new world for writers. Follow along with me as I research and implement the fruits of my research. Through my experimentations, I hope to be able to pave the way for all new writers looking for a path to publication. Let us begin...