All posts by NewEngland_Muse

I'm a traditionally and self published author. I write in the genre of children and YA at the moment but working my way up to adults. I'm a sports loving, photo taking gal who loves to sing/dance to my own enjoyment. I love to laugh even at myself. I am also owned by 8 birds and 2 hamsters, and yes they know it. :)
Amazon Parrot, Marketing, Social Media

Marketing My Book

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2013-08-04 12.08.00

 

Even though my book got picked up by a traditional publisher, it doesn’t mean I don’t have to spread the word and do some marketing of my own. This is tough for I am by all accounts a shy person. Times are tough for books. They are competing with ebooks, tablets and people giving away their books for free for reviews. So a year before I started actively submitting “Jasper, Amazon Parrot:A Rainforest Adventure” I hit the social media scene.

You can find me here:

-Facebook

-Google +

-Twitter

-Linkedin

-Pinterest

-Goodreads

-Shelfari

I am on a few others but these are the big ones. I started to network, meeting various people in various stages of their book. Along the way I met some awesome friends. I came across people who helped me in so many different ways. Ami who worked on my query letter that got my book into a few editor’s hands. I met my editor, Nancy, who is just amazing with her talents. I have met writers who have helped me with questions and problems when it came to social media. This is a market every author, whether self published or traditional, needs to tap into. It is pure gold for the taking, you just have to reach for it. And by the way it’s how I met my publisher.

It is time-consuming when you first start. This was the main reason a year prior to submitting I became pro active with my book and the means to promote it. It has been a few years since then and now my social media format just need checking on for maintenance. Being shy won’t cut it in this market. You have to take a deep breath and step forward. Your book needs you to be there for it. It can’t do it alone. And why should it? It has been with you for so long why abandon it now?

Amazon Parrot, Author, Social Media

Social Media: An Author’s Best Friend

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IMG_6346Even though my book got picked up by a traditional publisher, it doesn’t mean I don’t have to spread the word and do some marketing of my own. This is tough for I am by all accounts a shy person. Times are tough for books. They are competing with ebooks, tablets and people giving away their books for free for reviews. So a year before I started actively submitting “Jasper, Amazon Parrot:A Rainforest Adventure” I hit the social media scene.

 

You can find me here:

-Facebook

-Google +

-Twitter

-Linkedin

-Pinterest

-Goodreads

-Shelfari

 

I am on a few others but these are the big ones. I started to network, meeting various people in various stages of their book. Along the way I met some awesome friends. I came across people who helped me in so many different ways. Ami who worked on my query letter that got my book into a few editor’s hands. I met my editor, Nancy, who is just amazing with her talents. I have met writers who have helped me with questions and problems when it came to social media. This is a market every author, whether self published or traditional, needs to tap into. It is pure gold for the taking, you just have to reach for it. And by the way it is how I met my publisher.

 

It is time-consuming when you first start. This was the main reason a year prior to submitting I became pro active with my book and the means to promote it. It has been a few years since then and now my social media format just need checking on now and then.

 

Being shy won’t cut it in this market. You have to take a deep breath and step forward. Your book needs you to be there for it. It can’t do it alone. And why should it? It has been with you for so long why abandon it now?

 

 

 

 

 

Author, My characters, Writing

Author: A Solitary Life

8 Comments

2013-07-27 09.19.12

The life of a writer is solitary for the most part. Even if you have an office it serves one. You don’t get to have lunch with the office crew. You don’t get Christmas parties or birthday cupcakes. It is just you and your chosen method of writing whether that be by pen and paper or computer.

The social aspect that comes with working in a job with fellow coworkers can’t be reproduced in your office at home. If I had my way, all the writers I know would live in a 25 mile radius of me. They could come visit and write without us saying a single word to each other. It wouldn’t be required. Just the sheer presence of someone else would be worth it. The distractions are there. Within my reach is my fridge, TV, the internet and a host of other things that can preoccupy my mind as I work on any present WIP. One has to stay focus and prioritize when you work in an office of one. Things that might not get in my way if I had regular hours and an office space outside the home.

The solitude can be hard when humans are deemed social creatures. It does not always hit me as I tend to stay busy so my mind does not have time to think. Though there are those days, few thankfully, that I sit back in my chair and wish my office had a larger staff. Someone I could go talk to for thoughts, ideas and just general chit-chat.

Thankfully my characters draw me in as they beg for me to come play with them. How they want me to come and explore what is on the next page. They are always there for me during the good and bad times. I guess in their own right they are my coworkers sitting right there next to me waiting to talk.