TIPS & TRICKS: Author resources that exclusively promote POC authors

Feb 19,2021 / By Angela Gascon / No Comment

#imatter: Unicorns Sleep Here by Irony James

When meeting with author Irony James about her upcoming inspirational novel #imatter: Unicorns Live Here, she posed the question of not only what resources were available to her as an author, but also what resources were available to her as an author of colour. Irony is passionate about being a black, female author, and wanted to connect with fellow POC creatives within the industry to share her story.

This conversation prompted a deep dive into festivals, organizations, and platforms that pride themselves on giving black authors a voice, and allowing them to make connections with other POC creatives.

We wanted to share some of our awesome findings with you!

APPLICATIONS

The StoryGraph
The StoryGraph is an up and coming virtual library platform! Created by Nadia Odunayo in late 2019, The StoryGraph prides itself on being ethnically diverse with it’s authors and content, instead of focusing on only mainstream books. Similar to Goodreads, The StoryGraph provides readers with a place to find great new reads, and review their favourite books.

When signing up for the website, readers are prompted to fill out a survey discussing their reading preferences including favourite genres, favourite book characteristics, genres that they would be uninterested in, and what they don’t like about certain books. The StoryGraph uses these preference tags to recommend different books to users across the platform, so readers can request to see books that only feature POC Characters, LGTBQ Characters, books written by POC authors, etc.! Readers are also prompted to rate books based on criteria like themes, moods, pace, and the characters themselves (such as character development, how diverse the characters are, whether or not the characters are loveable, or if their flaws are on display, etc.), so the ratings can’t be skewed or biased.

Similar to Goodreads, The StoryGraph provides users with the option to create reading challenges that are accessible to the whole community. They have a a whole section of these challenges dedicated to reading #OwnVoices, with challenges such as 100 Black Novelist You Should Read, Inclusivity Reading Challenge, and Reading Writers of Colour 2021, among others.

The StoryGraph is definitely a platform to keep an eye on, as it’s going to be one of the most important virtual libraries around!

Tips & Tricks

How do I choose the best keywords & categories for my book?

Jan 23,2021 / By Monica Martinez / No Comment

Categories and keywords are the words and phrases used by online retailers such as Amazon or Indigo to help categorize your book among similar titles, similar to how a bookstore shelves books with others of the same genre. This is the metadata linked to your online book listing.

Choosing relevant keywords and categories will help readers interested in the subject matter to find your book among similar titles when searching online retailers, which can help you sell more books.

Choosing Categories

METHOD 1

Selecting your categories can be as simple as scrolling through the available categories (or BISAC codes) and picking the ones that most closely fit your book’s content.

Pick categories that actually match your book’s content.
Pick the most specific categories available.
Follow the guidelines below:

Book Marketing Tips & Tricks

How to choose a good domain name for your author website – 3 tips

Apr 29,2020 / By Monica Martinez / No Comment

By Cassie Smith

Having an author website is a bit like a business card – it establishes credibility, a point of contact, and an opportunity to showcase your work.

It can be well-agreed that in 2020, having an online presence as an author is essential, and an author website no exception.

As an author, you might have even envisioned what you want to put on your website – maybe a blog; an annotated gallery; links to events etc. What you might not have considered, however, is your domain name.

What is a Domain Name?
A domain name is the address of your website that people type in the browser URL bar to visit your website.

In simple terms, if your website was a house, then your domain name will be its address.

An example of a domain name is: www.google.com

Now that we have an understanding of what a domain name is, let’s move on to determining what the right one is for you!

Tips & Tricks

How to market your book during the COVID-19 pandemic

Mar 30,2020 / By Monica Martinez / No Comment

Physical distancing, self-isolation and quarantines during the coronavirus pandemic have completely altered our lives. We’ve all had to reimagine the ways we connect and engage with each other. With so much fear and uncertainty circulating during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a great need for breaks from the news cycle. We are also spending more time at home now than, perhaps, ever in our lifetime. Indulging in a good story is one of the oldest and most enjoyable forms of escapism. Hopeful, cheerful, funny or just straight-up weird and quirky content can lighten our mood and make us feel so much better.

For authors, it’s a great time to promote and market your book. While holding book launches, book tours, book signings and school visits are not possible in a physical setting, you can take these activities online. Authors are using social media, and platforms like Zoom, to hold live events, digital book tours, and Q&As. They are partnering with other authors, book bloggers, booktubers and influencers in their space to share their stories and engage with their audiences.

Here are some ideas and strategies to consider on how to market and promote your book during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Book launch → Digital book launch

Considering using Facebook live to launch your book. It’s free and relatively easy to setup. Almost everyone has a Facebook account together and it’s likely the people you would invite to a physical book launch event will already be your Facebook friend. Facebook Live can also accommodate another person which is great if you would like a co-host, emcee or someone to introduce you.

Book Marketing Tips & Tricks

The secrets to forum marketing for authors – how to promote your book online

Jun 26,2019 / By Monica Martinez / No Comment

Tips on how to successfully promote your book in online forums

Online forums offer a huge opportunity for writers and poets to share their work, expertise, and advice with others as well as engage with readers and authors. Many online communities are dedicated to specific subjects where people go to seek information, share their experiences, opinions, and offer advice. These forums allow people to build community, engage and learn from each other on issues that are important to them.

By being active in a forum, you are positioning yourself as an expert and are allowing for your content and book to be discovered by people who are actively seeking information (or even books) on the topics related to your book.

Here are our tips on how to use forum marketing to generate awareness and buzz for your book:

1. FIND THE RIGHT FORUM. The key to forum marketing is finding the right community in your niche. You want to narrow your list to a handful of forums and then commit to being active on a few. Here are some tips on how to narrow your search:

· Look for forums that have at least 1,000 members and 10,000 posts

· Make sure the forum gets at least ten to fifteen new posts on a daily basis

· Ignore forums that are overrun by spam
· Avoid forums hosted by your direct competitors

Here are a few suggestions for you to check out:

· Writing Forums

· Published Authors Forum

· Canadian Forums and Canadian Content: for news and politics

. Maple Leaf Web: For all things Canadian
. Reddit: Find a subreddit for your genre or subject related to your book

Tips & Tricks

Want to kickstart your next novel? Here’s how to launch a successful book crowdfunding campaign

May 30,2019 / By Monica Martinez / No Comment

You’ve already got one book under your belt. Now’s the time to work on the next. But how can you afford to do this? The answer for hundreds of authors is Kickstarter, the popular crow-funding website. By executing a successful Kickstarter campaign, you could be paid to work on your book while you’re writing it. True story. Here’s a few tips to get your started:

Do your research. Check out book campaigns that worked. Ask yourself – why were they effective? What language did they use to encourage support? Who provided the funding and why, do you think, they did so? Check out this Kickstarter success story for inspiration.

Do the math and set your goal. I’m sure most of us would like a cheeky million to sit on the beach in Mexico and pen our crime thriller but that ain’t gonna happen. Figure out how much it costs to make a book, and be reasonable and realistic. If it’s a good project, people will contribute. Make sure you factor in the ‘boring’ costs like printing and postage. Remember to add a 15% buffer to cover the Kickstarter, credit card fees and extra fees to run your campaign. Also include a budget for marketing. Enough to either outsource it or to make your own website and promotional materials. At the very least, you should budget for a consultation with a marketing professional who will identify the strategies most relevant to your book that you can implement yourself.

Tips & Tricks

How to use book clubs to market your book

Jan 30,2019 / By Monica Martinez / No Comment

Book clubs are a wonderful way for authors to connect directly with readers to build a loyal fan base, ask for input and feedback to use for your next novel, raise awareness for your book and generate more reviews.

1.Finding Book Clubs

First you want to create a list of book clubs. Start with your inner circle of family, friends and acquaintances to see if they are part of a book club which reads books in your genre.

Visit local libraries, bookstores, coffee shops and ask the manager if there are local book clubs taking place and if you can have the contact info of the organizer.

Find them online by try searching Meetup.com, Mybookclub.com, Facebook, Goodreads even Instagram for online book clubs.

2. Make Your Pitch

Many clubs love to speak with authors, especially local authors. Contact the organizer, introduce yourself, provide your book backgrounder and explain you are interested in participating as a visiting author. If you don’t hear back, you’ll want to follow up.

3. Event Day

At the book club, know what you want to discuss. Ask the organizer what format they want to follow, usually, it will involve discussion points and a Q&A. It is also a good opportunity for you to receive direct feedback from your readers. What they liked and didn’t like.

Bring promotional materials such as bookmarks, offer to sign books, and ask if anyone would consider leaving a review on Amazon and or Goodreads.

Take photos at the event to post on social media.

Tips & Tricks

Get reader reviews by running an online book giveaway

Oct 25,2018 / By Monica Martinez / 1 Comment

How do you get readers to review your book? You give it to them for free. Hosting an online giveaway is one tactic that will provide a bit of extra publicity for your book. Goodreads, Facebook and Amazon have functions on their sites that give writers the opportunity to organize their very own book giveaways. The question is: which platform is best for you?

Goodreads

Goodreads boasts over 55-million members, with 1.5-billion books and more than 50-million reviews. So, this may be one of the most viable ways to reach your target readers. Running a giveaway on Goodreads is straightforward and easy to set up. The great thing about Goodreads is they promote your giveaway, helping drive entries and then randomly select winners once the giveaway ends.

How it works
When participants enter in a giveaway, your book automatically gets added to their “want-to-read” list promoting your book via updates in their friends’ feeds, building exposure for your book. About eight weeks after the giveaway ends, winners receive an email from Goodreads to remind them to rate and review your book. This will help other readers discover and decide to read the book too. Goodreads also features their book givewaways on a section of their website, allowing new readers to discover new books.

The Goodreads giveaway process is simple, allowing authors to gift ebooks through their KDP account and print books to American or Canadian residents. The fee of $119 USD (approx $150 CDN) allows you to gift up to 100 copies fo your book.

Giveaways for Kindle ebooks are fulfilled directly by Goodreads, while authors are responsible for mailing print books to winners. Take into account shipping costs when deciding how many print copies to gift. Giving away ebooks is much more cost effective as you only pay the giveaway fee, and do not have to pay for each ebook copy you gift.

Goodreads also offers a premium giveaway valued at $599 USD which includes all the above benefits plus premium placement on the Goodreads’ giveaway page and a customizable message sent by Goodreads to entrants who don’t win.

FAQs

How many copies should I give away?
Goodreads allows you to give away up to 100 copies of your book. If you are gifting ebooks, then decide how many copies you are comfortable giving away. You are not paying out of pocket for the ebooks you giveaway, only the $120 USD fee. So if your goal is to generate reader reviews, then I would encourage to give away as many of those 100 copies as you can.
But if you are giving away print copies of your book, then you do have to take into account the price of the book as well as shipping costs. In this case, limit the copies to the amount you can afford, taking into account the Goodreads giveaway fee. You can limit the giveaway to only one book.
Will each reader who gets a free copy leave a review?
No, Goodreads clearly states that people who receive free copies are not required to leave a review. And this is a good thing because if someone doesn’t like a book, sometimes they choose not to leave a review, and that is better than having a negative review. Books are given in the hopes that the reader will leave a positive review.
Who can enter giveaways?
Giveaways for print books are eligible for entry by Goodreads members who are residents of the US and/or Canadian residents. (During the setup process, giveaway hosts can select to offer print giveaways to U.S residents, Canadian residents, or both.)Giveaways for Kindle e-books are eligible for entry by Goodreads members that are residents of the US.
Do I have to pay for the ebooks I’m giving away?
No. Kindle Direct Publishing authors and publishers with ebooks available in the U.S. can run giveaways for up to 100 copies of Kindle ebooks. Whether you choose to give away 1 ebook or 100, it will always cost $119 USD. We automatically deliver the ebooks to winners at no additional cost, meaning you are not responsible for paying for each copy of the ebook. And the more books you give away, the more reviews you’re likely to receive, which will help create buzz around your book!

Take a look at the books currently up for grabs on Goodreads.
If you want to read more about creating an online giveaway on Goodreads, click here.

If you want Tellwell to setup a Goodreads account and run a giveaway for you, then fill out this form.

Guest Post Tips & Tricks

Tellwell editor Simon Ogden’s advice to first-time authors

Jul 25,2018 / By Monica Martinez / No Comment

By Simon Ogden, Tellwell Editor

WELCOME
Welcome to the band, we’re delighted that you’ve decided to join us. We’re a bizarro group and legion; all of us completely, utterly, fantastically, bewilderingly unique, except for one very specific idiosyncrasy—we all have a story screaming and punching and kicking inside of us that we need to yank out and release into the world. There are people out there with the same constipation as us, but they may let it loose through interpretive dance or by singing it out or painting it or by yelling it into the faces of people in line for the bus. But not us. Not we. We’re the scribes, the men and women of letters. We adore specificity and nuance. We love the tranquility of words nestled onto a page, the calm, rational and quiet way they float over to our audience. That alchemic translation of feelings and imagery and diaphanous emotion into the solidity of language. We’re the Hobbits of the storytelling tribe and we don’t give a fig if you haven’t yet been paid for your writing—if you’ve somehow managed to set a word down on a page and followed it like a tentative footstep into the great unknown with another, you’re one of us and are welcome here. Make yourself comfortable and we’ll put the kettle on.

The first thing you should be very clear on as a brand-new author is that all those concerns you have right now about what comes next and exactly how this whole writing puzzle works … samesies! We’re right there with you, in one way or another. This, like all the great and worthy art forms, is a mentorship trade. Like sculpture or carpentry. The longer you do it, the more sense it makes and the more your own lovely, unique, necessary voice rings out clearly and melodically to find its way to those readers who need to read that thing in that way at that exact time, and they will be grateful in ways none of us can hope to fathom. And delightfully, unlike most mentorship trades, our mentors are all around us: our bookshelves groaning under their weight, our end tables apile with them, our bathwater occasionally reshaping them for us

READ AND FIND INSPIRATION
So, the all-time, number one, pin-it-to-the-top-of-your-list chunk of writing advice from anyone worth listening to will always be to get your nose in as many books as possible. Find the authors that talk in the way you want to be talked to and ingest their work.

WRITE, WRITE, WRITE
The second piece of advice towards becoming a better writer is—no surprises here—to write a whole bunch. It’s a close number two but make no mistake—number two it is. It would be hard to build a nice house if you’ve never been inside of a nice house, no matter how many nails you’ve hammered into a board. However, following these two rather obvious pearls of wisdom the sea of writing advice starts to get a little choppy. What is revelatory for some from here on forward may be pure bilge for others. There is a freakish amount of writing advice out there to shovel up if you choose to go digging for it. Give it all your best consideration but understand as you do that there is no specific method that originates from another artist that is also your method. This is the very essence and provenance of art. If some “genius” advice doesn’t resonate with you, it ain’t your soup—chuck it and move on.

Book Marketing Tips & Tricks

How to market your book while on vacation – Tellwell’s book marketing tips

Jun 26,2018 / By Francesca Jackman / No Comment

School’s out and many are packing up the car en route to their next summer vacation. Meanwhile, the book you’ve spent the winter editing, revising and finalizing was just released this spring and your marketing plan is set and ready to be executed. As you glance at the calendar you realize the 3-week overseas holiday you booked a year ago is fast approaching. Your first thought is: Well I guess my marketing is just going to have to wait until the fall…

As an author, you’re not immune to taking a well-deserved holiday, but that doesn’t mean you have to put your book marketing on hold. So, before you jet set off on your next summer adventure, check out Tellwell’s top 5 marketing tips to keep the momentum going from wherever your travels may take you.

Category : Tips & Tricks

Choosing Categories

Book launch → Digital book launch

Tips on how to successfully promote your book in online forums

1.Finding Book Clubs

2. Make Your Pitch

3. Event Day

Goodreads