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. :)
Advice, Author, Books, Reviewer

Goodreads and Reviews: A Stone Throw Away

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There are so many sites writers can use for their social platforms. The last few weeks I have posted about Twitter, FB’s author page and one’s own website. It does not stop here. Goodreads and Shelfari are a book lovers dream. There you can share reviews of books you have read. It is similar to the reviews of Amazon and Barnes and Noble. It is a good way to let others know what your thoughts are on individual books.

Leaving a review however should not be taken lightly. A number of people will base whether they will read a book on the reviews they read. We all know that some of the good reviews will come from family and friends. That is to be expected. But a good book should have various reviews whether the member thinks it is 3 star worthy or 5. A good combination across the board will help not other the author but those interested in purchasing the book

I have been reviewing for BookSneeze for a few years now and I take it very seriously. This is not just for the author that I am reviewing but for potential readers. It is my job to honestly state what I feel about the book whether it is good or bad. This is not always easy for we don’t want to hurt one’s feelings but to tell an author empty compliments does them no favors. Even when you personally know them. One does not have to be cruel but instead use tact when the review is one that they might not like.

One thing I have learned from my writers group thankfully is how to review and critique the various books that come across my desk. I look for flow and pace. Are there any loopholes? Is it believable and even if it is fiction it has to make sense to a point. Does it have a hook? Are the characters well-developed? Does it keep my attention or am I bored by the end of chapter 1? There is so much to take into account.

There are times I have come across books and by the end of the first few chapters want to put it down to never read again. A flaw I use to have. No matter how bad the book was I would always finish it, always. Thanks to Booksneeze I no longer have that problem.  I will finish the book for them.  However when I am reading a novel primarily for pleasure if it does not hook me, down it goes.

You have to have thick skin to be a writer and equally so as a reviewer. People will not always like what you have to say even if it is in their best interest. The questions I ask myself is what I want people to ask when they are reading anything of mine. It may not always be easy to hear the negatives but it is one of the best tools for us to grow as writers. So while I may not always like what people tell me I am grateful for them First for taking the time to read my writings and second for telling me where it can be improved. One of these ways is from reviewers.

A tool that should not be ignored b y anyone who wants to make it as an author.

Author, Tips, URL, Website

Author’s Website:Take a Bite Part 2

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How many posts per page? After checking out several websites and asking around the consensus is three posts is considered enough at first viewing of a page. If people are interested they will look further. The word count per post should be around 500 words give or take a few. Anything excessive will make people stop reading unless the post is drop dead amazing then well ignore this advice.

What I like is how we can personalize it with our own pictures. My heading is my main character to my first book, ” Jasper, Amazon Parrot”.  It is often one will see  authors promoting their books or characters by the pictures located on the first page.

Do leave a place where people can contact you. This was a big snafu I had done. I had shown them where to find me but not how to contact me directly. Lesson learned, one of many we will all discover as we branch out into doing our webpages.

What format you use will determine how many widgets you can place whether on one side of the page or on both. You can even have the drop down menus that you can see on my page at the top. That is a golden opportunity for people to take a quick peak and see what you got going on. Just make sure you keep it updated. Something I need to do in fact.

You can have so much fun with creating your website. It can be how ever you want it while working for you at the same time. Now when I hear of my writer friends tell me they don’t have a page I tell them what is stopping you? How can I help? A far cry from when I waited two months while my site was set to private. It brings out the confidence in a person as their words are being read by other people. To get a person to click like to a post or even comment still makes me giddy. I love it. And you will do once you get started. So after all this what is stopping you?

I don’t proclaim to know all that is good and bad with setting up a page but as always if you have any questions just holler.

Ideas, Website, Writers

Author’s Website:Take a Bite Part 1

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In keeping up with social media today’s post is about having your own blog. This is for the ones who have not yet started and are uncertain about what to do. But it is also for the new people on board with this platform

When I first decided to start my blog I went back and forth for two months due to pure fear of failing at this which would impact my writing. Visiting the various sites that host blogs I came to WordPress primarily due to it being free. But after checking out the other sites this one was just as up to date with how to decorate one’s wall. Plus it was really easy to put together.

The hardest thing was to come up with THE name. That will stop people in their tracks. My theme has always been two-fold. The first being where I am from which is New England. The second the word muse and all that comes with it if you know about the nine muses of Greek mythology. So I just combine the two. Now what?

I set my page to private as I worked around the widgets, themes, colors and pictures trying to find the right fit for me. The fact this was an option gave me free rein to play around for as long as it took until I felt satisfied with what I had.

You have to decide what the overall theme will be for your website. Will it be strictly for writing and promoting your brand or will it be a combination of both. I do the combo for that what works for me. Some people have web pages for each book they write and that is fine, what works for you works for you. My preference is to keep it simple with just one. But with that you have to be concise and not clutter your page with items that don’t lift you up. My posts varies from writings and the peril that goes with it to goofy light fun reads. I hope they come out fun anyway.

When I first started I had all the widgets out there in full force for people to check me out. As a new writer trying to make it this is not such a good idea. Clutter is not your friend. So I started cutting back. The parts that should be on your page is how people can reach you. For example if you have a Facebook page or Twitter account these should be up front and near the top. Also if you want people to subscribe to your blog it is a good idea to put this near the top as well. You want people to connect with you and placing it at the bottom some people may miss. Heck some people have told me they won’t bottom scrolling to the bottom of a page just to click like or subscribe. This is something we can ill afford.

If your subscription number is high or the amount of traffic is then by all means promote that. If you are new and just starting out and the numbers are low, you might want to wait until it has the wow factor.

How often do we post is up to us. Some people have a set amount per week and on certain days like clockwork. I like to change things up, while I will post twice a week it is never on the same day. Just another way we can personalize our author web page to how it suits us.

Part two of this post will be posted within the next few days. As always if you have any questions just ask.