Sci-fi series author Barry Fellinger shares tips for securing media spotlights and in-person events

Apr 21,2023 / By Ben Graham / No Comment

Blast off into the inspiring true adventures of one of Tellwell’s sci-fi/children’s authors

Start putting words to paper or screen, even if they are only ideas, maybe just a few sentences. It’s quite possible the more you write, the more the story will start writing itself, or at least help you write it.
Barry Fellinger

Today we have the pleasure of interviewing an incredibly hard-working author and comic book enthusiast, Barry M. Fellinger. Residing in St. Thomas, Ontario, Barry not only works as a director in health care but also teaches leadership courses and seminars. His latest book, The Not so True Adventures of Brandon, Josh, and Adam, reached #1 on Amazon’s Children’s Time Travel Books chart. He is currently on the promotional trail with interviews and appearances in southwestern Ontario. We’re excited to learn more about his journey as an author and his tips for finding inspiration.

Your newest book, The Not so True Adventures of Brandon, Josh, and Adam, is part of a series. What prompted you to create a series instead of standalone stories?

I can’t honestly say it started out that way, but when I ended the first book on a cliffhanger, it kind of demanded a sequel some day. During an email conversation with my Tellwell project manager, Sem, about the possibility of at least the two books possibly being part of a series, we (actually he) came up with the suggestion “True Adventure Series,” which totally resonated with me. The new book also ends on a cliffhanger, so that lends itself to another book in the series too.

Cracking the code: how to successfully market on Instagram in 2023 with the latest algorithm updates

Apr 12,2023 / By Ben Graham / No Comment

The key to success on Instagram lies in mastering its algorithm, which governs the platform. By understanding and utilizing the algorithm effectively, you can boost your follower count and increase engagement. On the other hand, if you neglect the algorithm your account may struggle to gain visibility, regardless of the quality of your content.

Since Instagram’s algorithms evolve over time, it’s essential to keep up to date with the latest changes to ensure your account continues to grow. We’ve gained valuable insights into content creation, success strategies, and the occasional misstep. In this article, we’re sharing everything we’ve learned about the Instagram algorithm as of 2023, including tips on how to get it working in your favour.

Before diving into the details, it’s important to acknowledge a fundamental point: there is no publicly available breakdown of the Instagram algorithm. Companies that utilize algorithm-based feeds, such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, do not disclose all the factors that determine the placement of content in a feed.

Although Facebook and Instagram do not reveal their entire algorithms, they do provide occasional insights into how they work. For example, we are aware that our actions on the platform—such as comments, likes, and views—affect the content that appears in our feeds. Moreover, it is evident that the algorithms vary depending on whether we are browsing the feed, the Explore page, Reels, or Instagram Stories.

In 2023, the Instagram algorithm operates through a range of algorithms, classifiers, and processes, each serving a distinct purpose. In the platform’s early days, images were simply displayed chronologically. Nowadays, Instagram uses different algorithms for each section of the app, including the feed, Stories, Reels, and Explore, to assist users in finding relevant content.

Below, we’ll explore the criteria that Instagram takes into account for each part of the platform.

Reels

Instagram has placed a significant emphasis on Reels, making it the most crucial aspect of the platform. Neglecting Reels could prove detrimental to your account’s growth.

IGTV is no longer relevant, and horizontal or long-form videos are no longer prioritized as Instagram focuses on short-form videos. To optimize your content production process to align with the Reels algorithm, here are some steps to follow:

Crop all video content to 9:16.
Keep videos short, ideally no longer than 30 seconds.
Ensure your content is engaging, entertaining, and fast-paced.
Avoid using low-resolution or recycled content from other platforms, such as TikTok.
Instagram favors Reels that attract likes, comments, shares, and views. The algorithm also takes note when users save videos or add Reels to their Stories.

Stories

The operation of Instagram Stories is comparable to that of the feed. The content displayed in Stories, apart from ads, is from the accounts you already follow rather than from new ones. Interactions with stories differ slightly from those in the regular feed.

Story Interactions

Direct messages (DMs): Does a user view your story and respond?
Profile clicks: Does a user click your profile to see more of your content after watching a story?
Emoji reactions replace “likes”; they could be happy, upset, or a thumbs up.
Finish or skipped: did your user watch each Story in its entirety, or did they get bored and skip to the next one?

In addition to these signals, Instagram also considers user actions such as turning on notifications for your Stories or sharing a Story with their friends (or on their own Stories). All of these actions can influence the algorithm’s preference for your content.

Creating engaging content that encourages user interaction is key to getting the algorithm’s attention. Experiment with surveys, stickers, and Q&As to get your followers to take action on your content.

The Main Feed

The feed is still the primary area of Instagram, despite the addition of Stories and Reels. In this section, the algorithm favours content from accounts that you already follow. However, in the Explore or Reels tab, other factors come into play.

To determine the preferred content, the algorithm considers various signals, such as:

Who posted the content: Do you interact with this account frequently? Do they have a large and active following? Is their content typically high-quality?

Information about the post: Is it an image or video? How long is the video? What time of day was it posted? Are you viewing it on a mobile device or desktop? Is there a location attached to the post?

Your activity: What kind of content have you engaged with previously? What is the likelihood that you will leave a comment?

A helpful tip for 2023 is to use alt text when uploading images, much like optimizing for SEO on a website. The easiest way to SEO-optimize an image is to describe who and what is in the image, and add a little background information if you can.

The Explore tab

The Explore tab on Instagram is dedicated to showing users fresh, relevant content that aligns with their interests. This means that most of the posts you’ll see will be from accounts you don’t follow yet. Although you might come across posts from accounts you follow, it’s not as common.

According to Instagram, the most important actions that impact the Explore algorithm are likes, saves, and shares.

Other factors that the algorithm takes into account include:

The account that posted the content: Does it have a high engagement rate, or have several of your friends followed it? Have you interacted with their content before?

Information about the post: Is the content popular among other users? Are they quickly liking, commenting, and sharing the post? When was the post uploaded?

Your activity: Have you engaged with similar content before? Do you typically save or share this type of content on your stories?

The algorithm attempts to predict your interests based on your activity. For instance, if you follow Manchester United and like their content, the algorithm may suggest other football clubs, or other sports that align with your interests. If you like the suggestions, the algorithm will continue to show you more of that content. If not, it will try to find something else that will keep you engaged.

Tellwell News Uncategorized

Her story, her voice: A celebration of female creativity this International Women’s Day!

Mar 22,2023 / By Trixie Raboy / No Comment

For centuries, women writers have been making their mark on the world of literature, breaking through barriers and inspiring readers with their stories. From fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, classic novels, to modern memoirs, the works of women writers have left an indelible mark on the literary landscape.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, we want to take time to honour female authors who have helped shaped the literary world as we know it today. So, join us as we take a closer look at some of the remarkable women who continue to inspire us today!

Rita Kakati-Shah

Award-winning entrepreneur, public speaker, media contributor, best-selling author, and recognized by President Joe Biden with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for her international mentoring and volunteering to support young people, women, and minorities of all ages.

Her book, Goddess of Go-Getting, has become the number-one bestseller across multiple categories on Amazon.

Tips & Tricks Uncategorized

How to track your success on social media

Sep 17,2021 / By Chelsea Rutherford / No Comment

It’s hard to know if you’re “doing” social media right. I mean, yes, you post unique content, you respond to comments, and you regularly engage with other accounts in your niche by liking their posts or leaving comments in relevant threads. But is it working?? By working, we’re referring to people liking your posts, following your page, clicking your links and/or visiting your website.

To know if you really are using social media to benefit your brand as an author, you can track your success using your social media insights. That is, if you’ve signed up for a professional profile like the Facebook Business Page or Instagram Creator Account, which offer you tons of added benefits for building your brand. Once you’ve created your Facebook Page or Instagram Creator Account, experiment with posting for a couple weeks and then venture into the world of your social media insights.

Find your Insights on Facebook:

And on Instagram:

Alright, now take a look at three key ways to measure your success on social media using your social media insights!

Follower Count

Having a high follower count makes a good first impression, but if it isn’t growing week-over-week you need to change up your strategy. A steady increase in followers means your account is reaching more people organically as well as getting new people’s attention.

If your follower growth rate is only increasing by 1% a month, re-evaluate your content strategy.

Content Interactions

Tracking your content interactions, i.e. how many likes, comments or saves your post and stories get is important. It lets you monitor just how interested your audience is in the content you are creating.

Your social media analytics will show your overall interactions as well as the interactions for each post.

Here’s what industry standards tell us:

Less than 1% = low engagement rate
Between 1% and 3.5% = average/good engagement rate
Between 3.5% and 6% = high engagement rate
Above 6% = very high engagement rate

How can you get from 1% to 3.5% or higher? We share a few tips for updating your social media content strategy below.

Tellwell News Uncategorized

Tellwell Books on Mental Health

May 26,2021 / By Monica Martinez / No Comment

For May’s Mental Health Awareness month, we are acknowledging some of our Tellwell authors whose books include themes of anxiety, depression, insecurities, and emotional expression. These books aim to give the reader a better understanding around mental health and how to recognize and communicate various feelings.

I Don’t Want to Go to School

Abosede Oderinde

I Don’t Want to Go To School is a book that is intended to help children and families deal with separation anxiety, especially when it’s their first time at school. For some children, every day is like the first day because they are afraid their families will not return to pick them up. I wrote this book to reassure children who are still working on a secure attachment, that school is fun and families always come back because they are loved. Most books that address these issues use animal characters, but I chose real-life illustrations that the children can relate to. Lastly, this book will help teachers present classroom transitions to little children more effectively.

Worry!

Karli Coulter Gillespie

A story about a young girl who has a worry bully that keeps visiting and making her tummy and her head hurt. Whether it’s when she’s trying to join a game with friends, speak in front of her class or go for a check-up, he keeps showing up. He seems to be EVERYWHERE! But with help from some people who care and a big dose of bravery, she begins to learn just how to send her worry bully away.

Celebrating award-winning authors, rave reviews and publicity!

Jan 26,2021 / By Monica Martinez / No Comment

Congratulations to each of our authors for their terrific accomplishments!

D. Robert Hardy

Raven’s Apprentice

D. Robert Hardy, author of Raven’s Apprentice, is an Award Winning Finalist for The Best Book Award 2020 in the New-Age Nonfiction Category.

Meet the Team Uncategorized

Meet Tellwell project manager Redjell Arcillas and hear his advice to authors going through the publishing process

Apr 29,2020 / By Monica Martinez / No Comment

It’s exciting to finally get to see the author’s book live and published, and to share in that joy, knowing you had a part in making their vision a reality.

Redjell Arcillas works as a project manager at Tellwell. He guides and assists authors throughout the publishing process – from their book submission to distribution. Redjell liaises with designers, editors, illustrators on behalf of the author and then, once the book is ready, distributes it so it can be purchased on various online platforms.

As a project manager, Redjell is part of every author’s publishing journey. His role is to bring to life the author’s work by making sure the cover is even better than the author envisioned, and the content of the book is ready for publication. Redjell considers the authors goals and works within their budget to produce a top-quality product.

Prior to Tellwell, Redjell worked at a large indie publishing company as a project manager.

1. What do you enjoy most about working with authors?

Working with authors is a great privilege. I enjoy being able to access their personal anecdotes during the writing process as well as seeing the progress of their work, especially after a series of recommendations. It’s exciting to finally get to see the author’s book live and published, and to share in that joy, knowing you had a part in making their vision a reality.

2. How would you describe your personality? What are your strengths?

I value success, achievement, and quality. This drives me in life and helps me push forward to keep improving myself. I believe the key to success is persistence. I don’t allow obstacles to stand in the way of my goals. I’m proud of my achievements and I’m grateful to be able to pass those opportunities on to my children.

3. What advice do you have for authors going through the publishing process?

First, trust the process, and know that no matter what, your book will be published. Second, know that your project manager will always be there for you. Third, always aim for a quality product rather than rush the publication of your book.

4. What is the most common misconception authors have about the self-publishing process?

I find many authors focus on marketing their book and pay less attention to the editing. When you do this, you miss out on improving your manuscript. You have to keep in mind that reviews will definitely affect the ability to successfully market your book. Neglecting editing before publishing your book is like offering readers something that is not worth reading at all. The professional publishing standard is to have very few spelling errors or grammatical mistakes. Reviewers can be brutal if they see too many of these errors. But they are also savvy enough to comment on plot lines, character arcs, pacing and the writing.

Author of the Month Uncategorized

Toronto-area doctor and author Lili Naghdi on adapting her family practice and author work in the face of COVID-19

Mar 27,2020 / By Monica Martinez / No Comment

1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a family physician and researcher practicing in Vaughan, Ontario and I published my debut novel, On Loving, last year. I was born and raised in Iran and continued my medical education and research after moving to Canada with my husband and daughter in 1996. My particular interests are women’s and mental health.

2. What inspired you to write On Loving?

I’ve been a huge fan of literature for as long as I can remember, and one of my dreams as a young girl growing up in Iran was to become an author one day! Persian poetry has always been intriguing for me, and Forugh Farrokhzad, the late contemporary Iranian poet, who was also a women’s rights activist, remained a great inspiration to me since the day I first started reading her works. “On Loving” is the title of one of her famous poems written in Farsi.

My occupation has been another source of inspiration for writing “On Loving.” Working throughout the years as a family physician enabled me to explore the effects of different basic emotions on people’s physical and mental health and to assess the role these feelings play in controlling people’s interpersonal relationships. I finally decided to share my experiences in both fields by creating “On Loving” and focusing on a young woman’s complicated life journey, a turbulent journey full of twists and turns, which ultimately helped this strong yet fragile accomplished woman achieve self-awareness.

I trust that literature can act as a sturdy bridge connecting different cultures, so by using this bridge and the pages of “On Loving,” I introduced my readers to the rich Iranian culture and heritage, its ancient history, and, more importantly, real Iranian people through the eyes of On Loving’s main protagonist, an adopted Iranian-American physician.

3. What is the main message you share in your book?

I’ve always been amazed by how we, as human beings, react in our unique and different ways in similar situations or circumstances in life. Many of us never know who we really are and what we really stand for until it is too late. In other words, we may never get to know ourselves, our strengths, our weaknesses, our true potentials until the last day we live! Understanding the importance of achieving self-awareness – most possibly the hardest task to succeed in life- through working on our pure feelings and emotions, was one my main messages to reflect upon and share with my readers.

You may remember Ayn Rand’s famous quote from The Fountainhead: “To say ‘I love you’ one must know first how to say the ‘I.'” In fact, for many of us, most “emotions,” such as love, hatred, jealousy, joy, trust, sadness, … are so difficult to process and act upon in proper ways. It is essential to understand where they originate from and how they can morbidly affect our behavior, mental, and physical health.

To say ‘I love you’ one must know first how to say the ‘I’.
Ayn Rand

4. How has your work as a physician impacted the story in On Loving?

As a family physician with a keen interest in women’s and mental health, I tried to draw more attention to the issues that I’ve found more prevalent and profoundly disturbing for most people. Common conditions such as depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, suicide, homicide, bereavement, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), kidney failure/transplant, breech delivery, breast cancer, domestic violence, … were among the topics discussed in this novel.

Category : Uncategorized

Blast off into the inspiring true adventures of one of Tellwell’s sci-fi/children’s authors

Rita Kakati-Shah

Follower Count

Content Interactions

D. Robert Hardy