Every author/writer/novelist would much rather be writing their new
book/story/poem than they would spending time marketing their work.
Sadly, there is no easy way to get out of the plain truth that if you
want your writing to sell, you; that's right YOU have to promote it. It
doesn't really matter if you published the traditional way or as an
indie author, getting the word out is key.
And social media is the
way to do it. But for those of you who are doing everything right,
there is still the issue of HOW to use social media to promote your
book. Beginners in the promotions endeavors find every conceivable
Facebook group, page and event and post the same ad for their latest
book on each of them.
Every day.
Every week.
And I'm
guilty of that. When I didn't know what I was doing, I was doing just
that. There's a word for what I was doing. That word is SPAM. And
there's a word the describes perfectly those who do it, me included, and
that word is Ass-Hat. Don't be an Ass-Hat! Here is a plan for you
writers who don't have the budget to pay someone to do it for you, who
don't have the time to be posting, tweeting and hashtagging 24/7.
I
can't promise sales will result if you do this, what I do promise is a
rapid and continued spurt in your Facebook and Twitter following. The
more attention you get in these main places the better you will be
prepared for the next promotion or the next book. Are you ready? Did I
mention that this is Free?
First, when you open your Twitter
account page click on the "ME" button. Find the "Lists" tab and click.
These Lists enable you to organize your followers into different
'folders'. Create a list for authors in your genre, create another one
for those in a genre that is not yours. Scroll through your followers
and add each author, writer and poet to that list. Got it so far?
Next,
open up an account at Roundteam.co (no there's no m in the .co) Scroll
down to find the "Lists" section on your Roundteam page. Use the title
of your author list on the Twitter account and add it to the Roundteam
List page. What will this do? It will mean that every author, writer and
poet on your list in Twitter will be automatically Re-Tweeted. They
will see you RT'ing and recommend you as someone great to follow. You
will get followers. In a period of just over two months, I went from
being under 1,000 followers to close to 3,000 followers.
Now you
are RT'ing 24/7 even when you only get on Twitter for minutes each day.
Your Twitter following will increase as you add more writers, authors,
and readers to your list. What about Facebook you may ask?
That's
when we move out of the free and into the per month promotions priced at
$6.00 a month with Gremln.com. (No "I" in Gremln) For $6.00 a month you
can schedule recurring posts to your personal FB page, your Twitter
account, and a Linked In Account as well. Schedule promotions weekly,
monthly, annually or if you must, daily. (Don't do too many of those,
though.)
Gremln will allow you to post, tweet, and more all day
long every day, on multiple social media pages all at the same time. You
don't NEED Gremln to use the RoundTeam, but I highly recommend it
because your auto posts will be RT automatically by everyone on that
list.
It's exponential growth in promotion which gives you the
free time to write that sequel. Add me to your author list and send me a
note to add you.
https://twitter.com/GunnarALawrence
We'll discuss hashtags, filters and more later, just get started now and watch the results!
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
See my review for Opening Moves! by Steven James.
Opening Moves by Steven JamesMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
For those of you unfamiliar with Steven James or Patrick Bowers this book may come as somewhat of a shock. The first book in the series is The Pawn and James wrote four others before giving us this frightening 'prequel' to the series. There really isn't a cliche book review quote that would do this one justice.
Action? Absolutely! Sleepless nights as you find that bookmark you placed in Opening Moves calling to you from the bedside table, 'one more chapter'! Whether you start the Bowers series with this book or The Pawn, it doesn't matter. Either way you are in for a treat.
If you remember the Dahmer murders, have a sense of the history of modern serial killers, this book will leave you both chilled and breathless as Bowers takes on the deviously clever antagonists. Yes, there's more than one. If you haven't started reading his work, seriously, you are missing out on a lot.
View all my reviews
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Review of Sketch of a Murder
Review for Sketch of a Murder
When I first started reading Aya Walksfar’s Sketch of a
Murder, I didn’t know fully what to expect. It’s a book with a frightening
premise, not because there is a murderer killing people, but because of the
reason the murders are committed. We’ve all seen the news stories of the rapist
or murderer escaping punishment because of who they knew or who they could hire
as an attorney and it’s something that most of us are truly disgusted by in our
legal system. In Sketch of a Murder, Aya’s character The Avenger, helps open up
the door in our own minds and gives us a peek at the darkness that lies within
all of us. The part of us that would justify the torture and murder of another ‘human
being’.
With characters that are diverse and more than a little
complex, Aya’s book takes us into the investigation and into the lives of these
people. Each member of the Special Crimes Team has a past, be it a lack of
ability to stay within the confines of the law, or the flaunting of the
political negotiations that must often accompany standard police procedure. I
felt I could relate to Lt. Michael Williams’ desire to get at the truth
regardless of what it took to get there. I understood Nita Slowater, the strong
willed female detective with a good heart and a passion for the people in her
life, a woman who won’t take crap from anyone, including her superiors.
A great story involving characters you come to care about, in
a struggle against an adversary who seems to be two steps ahead of them the
whole way. It’s an all-round good read for those who enjoy the thrill of the
chase and the twists and turns of a murder mystery.
Aya Walksfar Interview
We welcome to our Books that Thrill Section Aya Walksfar, mystery novelist! She is the author of several books including the one reviewed, Sketch of a Murder.
Tell us a little bit
about yourself.
My childhood was a chaos of poverty and violence. My
grandfather, who was completely illiterate, and my grandmother, who could
barely read and write, provided a way, and the encouragement, for me to learn
to read and write by age 6. Between them and a Carnegie librarian, I began a
true love affair with the written word.
I published my first series of articles in a newspaper at
the age of 14. After that, I published poems, short stories, and articles in a
variety of venues.
In 2002, the first edition of my literary novel, Good
Intentions, won the Alice B. Reader Award for Excellence. In 2013, Mountain
Springs House publisher brought out a full-length murder mystery, Sketch of a
Murder, the first of a series; a stand-alone novella titled Dead Men and Cats;
as well as the second edition of Good Intentions.
All of my books can be found on my Amazon author page: http://amazon.com/author/ayawalksfar
What would people who
know you best say is your greatest character strength?
Actually, they would probably say it is my greatest
character strength and my greatest character defect: tenacity—or you could call
it bullheaded stubbornness.
What is the most
interesting job you have ever had?
Other than writing, I would have to say it is my day job:
designer and manager of a wildlife habitat.
You’ve been granted
three wishes by a genie, what’s the first one you wish for?
That my wife, Deva, should always know that she is the
keystone of my life.
You are stuck on a
desert island with only one book and one movie. (Fortunately this desert island
has electricity and a DVD player.) Which book and which movie do you choose?
Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet. This powerful book challenges
me to think deeper about the ‘big questions’ in life, like love and sorrow.
Sister Act 1 makes me laugh. And, I love Whoopi Goldberg.
What are you most
passionate about?
Using words to entertain, and to bring about positive
change.
Tell us a little bit
about your book.
Take a female police sergeant, whose best
friend has recently been murdered when a reporter cared more about a scoop than
a good cop’s life, place her with a superior who carries a trainload of guilt
since his cop-daughter was killed in the line of duty, then add in a pushy,
lesbian reporter.
Now, mix in a team of independent, misfit
cops who have managed to tick off their superiors enough to merit being
relegated to the Siberia of law enforcement, the Special Crimes Team.
Add one serial killer, self-dubbed The
Avenger, who is targeting wealthy, prominent men who have skated out from under
sexual assault charges.
Blend well and watch the blood fly!
The question is: can these disparate people work
together to save an innocent man from being the killer’s next victim? This is a
character driven murder mystery told from multiple, first person points of
view, including the killer’s.
Is this book part of
a series or is it a stand-alone novel?
This is Book 1 of the Special Crimes Team series; however,
each book can be read as a stand-alone. Read as a series the reader can watch
the development of the characters.
Was there an event or
person that inspired your idea for this book and who or what was it?
At the age of 9, my grandfather was murdered, and his killer
never brought to justice. Since that time, I have seen people commit crimes and
walk away due to a technicality, or just having the money to buy the best
lawyer. That planted the seed.
Which book of yours
are you most proud of? Why?
Good Intentions. In Good Intentions I explore the
ramifications of family secrets. Several people have emailed or spoken privately
to me to let me know that my book touched them in some way, helped them to come
to terms with their lives.
What types of
marketing strategies have worked for you best?
I am still working on defining those. Right now, I am
learning to use social media to connect with my readers, and other authors.
Being a technosaur makes this a challenging endeavor.
I have a Facebook profile page where I post Biker Granny
Motorcycle Philosophy; updates on my work; articles and videos that I find online
and feel are important, such as UpWorthy’s sharing of the video “Sweetie” and
things my readers specifically request, such as book recommendations/reviews. http://www.facebook.com/ayawalksfar
My Facebook author page is dedicated to my novels: sharing
news, reviews, and excerpts from them as well as insights into my writing
journey. http://www.facebook.com/AyaWalksfarAuthor
On my blog are individual pages for each of my novels on
which I post reviews, comments, character interviews and other things of
interest. I love to share the work of
other authors by interviewing and/or reviewing their novels. There are also
articles of interest to writers and non-writers as well as short stories. http://www.ayawalksfar.com
Pinterest is a new endeavor. I post photographs of places
mentioned in my novels, such as Mount Baker where The Avenger is cornered in Sketch
of a Murder; places that are important
to my characters like Mount Vernon which is Sergeant Nita Slowater’s hometown;
inspiring quotes I’ve found, and, of course, wonderful photographs of animals. http://www.pinterest.com/ayawalksfar
Other social media I'm involved with are:
What is your
definition of being a ‘successful’ writer?
Touching lives in a positive and lasting manner.
If there is one
lesson that you want readers to take away from your book, what would that be?
Look beyond a person’s façade to see the real human.
Do you have another
project in the works right now? What can you tell us about it?
Actually, I have three. Street
Harvest, Book 2 of the Special Crimes Team series, is due out Spring 2014. It
explores the issues of missing children, street kids, and human trafficking.
Run or Die! Is a murder mystery that confronts the fears of
a small town and how that explodes into violence when good people remain
silent. Run or Die! Is due out Summer
2014.
Old Woman Gone, Book 3 of the Special Crimes Team series, looks
at the lust for power and to what lengths people will go to obtain it.
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