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Facebook for Writers

May 20, 2022 by in category Ages 2 Perfection Online Class, Online Classes tagged as , , ,

Presented by: Terri Main

Date: June 6 – 17, 2022 (two week)

Pricing: A2P Member fee: $10

Non-A2P Member fee: $25

About the Workshop:

With more than two billion members, any author who ignores Facebook, does so at their own peril. In this course, you will learn how to create a presence on Facebook using your personal profile, your professional page, and Facebook groups. You will learn how to create content, build networks, sell products, and make the Facebook algorithm work for you and not against you.

About the Presenter:

Terri Main sold her first piece of writing when she was just 18 years old. Since then, she has written hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles, thousands of pieces of marketing materials, more than sixty books, seven novels, video documentaries, and radio drama.

In addition to being an accomplished writer, she is also an experienced online educator. She helped pioneer online learning in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She has taught thousands of students both oral and written communication skills. Many of whom, now have careers in the media and freelance writing.

As one student put it, “If you want to get published, you have to take a course from Terri Main.”

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Can the Extra Squeeze Team Explain the Difference Between an Author Webpage and an Author Facebook Page? @A_SliceofOrange

September 30, 2017 by in category The Extra Squeeze by The Extra Squeeze Team tagged as , , ,
The Extra Squeeze | A Slice of Orange

Ever wonder what industry professionals think about the issues that can really impact our careers? Each month The Extra Squeeze features a fresh topic related to books and publishing.

Amazon mover and shaker Rebecca Forster and her handpicked team of book professionals offer frank responses from the POV of each of their specialties — Writing, Editing, PR/Biz Development, and Cover Design.

Can the Extra Squeeze Team Explain the Difference Between an Author Webpage and an Author Facebook Page?

Rebecca Forster | Extra Squeeze

Rebecca Forster 

USA Today Bestselling author of 35 books, including the Witness series and the new Finn O’Brien series.

Some days I long for the old days: books were created with a typewriter, manuscripts were Xeroxed and sent off to agents and editors, fans wrote real letters and books had covers.

Then I shake off the longing and realize this is a brave new world and I am knee deep in the muck of indie publishing. One of the first things I did was secure my domain name in my own name – not the name of a specific book or series. It wasn’t until years after my first indie book was published that I realized that I had scored big without even knowing what game I was playing.

That was how I constructed my first website too – through trial and error. Some thing worked but mostly the whole site turned into a hot mess without focus. The reason was that I didn’t know what the purpose of my website was, nor my Facebook page, nor my Twitter.

My original website had tips for new authors, my books without links, a picture gallery of my travels, even a few recipes. I constructed that site so that people would really, really like me, as Sally Fields once famously said.

But then I met Robin Blakely. She pointed out that the purpose of a website is to introduce people to my books, to sell my books, to assist readers in getting the most out of my books.  A website creates a brand and sells books. Duh! It sounded so simple.

To that end we streamlined by website. Information includes: clear delineation of series, stand alone books, work in progress, sample chapters of each book, and book group guidelines. It also includes a newsletter sign-up with a two-book gift. Of course there is a bio but my personal life is definitely secondary to my work.

Facebook is where I post the fun stuff. What I’m doing on a daily basis. I post updates on the trials and tribulations (always fun, never complaining) of the writer’s life. I love involving my Facebook friends in posts. For instance, I often find the strangest things as I walk in my neighborhood so I post a picture and ask what they see. We all write a little story.

Bottom line, for me the website is my professional introduction to readers and Facebook is a more personal outlet. I love the fact that readers don’t have to wait for a book signing to get to know me. I guess the brave new world of publishing has also given us fantastic new opportunities to connect with readers on all levels.

Jenny Jensen | A Slice of Orange

Jenny Jensen

Developmental editor who has worked for twenty plus years with new and established authors of both fiction and non-fiction, traditional and indie.

As I understand it a published author should have both. A website can have one page or hundreds of pages — a web page is any page you see when you surf the net. A FB page is used to brand, strengthen or update a brand and is usually viewed by followers and fans in their newsfeed.

Every author is a brand and a lot of authors have both. I can see the need. A well thought out FB author page would support an author’s website, and vice versa. Visitors have to go to a specific address to view the published content of a website. When they do, nothing else is competing for attention so if your content is compelling and well designed anyone who was interested enough to go to the site will at least look it over, at best read it and have to buy a book!

If your FB page is readable, interesting, compelling it will drive traffic to your website which, if you’ve hooked ‘em with your brilliance, will result in a sale and a new or returning fan – or drive traffic directly to the online store of their choice. Using FB engages your existing follower base. The whole point is to cultivate a readership, right? A FB page is the perfect place to announce a new release or to intrigue with an update on work in progress, to engage with your readers.

I love author websites; I love to learn about the author, their writing process, the books they read, the research they do, who influenced them and why. I’m fascinated by what may have crossed their path to spark the concept of a plot — anything about their writing life (the antics of the grandchildren or photos of the new patio furniture are, I hope, exclusive to their personal FB page).

Both platforms have been known to draw me in to become a new reader. Both are often the first taste of a writer’s style, their skill with storytelling and so just as with your books, choose your words with care and flair and be sure the content is error free. Both a FB author page and an author web page are reflections of your work. And as always, edit, edit, edit.

Robin Blakely | The Extra Squeeze Team | A Slice of Orange

Robin Blakely

PR/Business Development coach for writers and artists; CEO, Creative Center of America; member, Forbes Coaches Council.

H. O. Charles | A Slice of Orange

H.O. Charles

Cover designer and author of the fantasy series, The Fireblade Array


For me, a Facebook page is all about interaction with your readers. They can ask any question and have it answered publicly, It also serves as a noticeboard for announcements. Oh yeah, and it’s a good popularity measure, based on the number of followers you gain (or not)! A website is much more one-sided – it’s me controlling what information is laid out and how the readers get to interact with it (if at all). Both of types of sites are adverts for my work, but only my Facebook posts can pop up in a reader’s daily feed.

For a long time, I didn’t have a webpage – only a Facebook page. The website just wasn’t necessary. Even now, my website doesn’t get a huge amount of traffic. It’s just there to uphold my professional image (!) and stand as an information resource for those who don’t want to use social media.

Do you have a question for the Extra Squeeze Team?

Contact us.

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Trying New Things with Kitty Bucholtz

August 14, 2017 by in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as , , , ,

Not new in the world of publishing, but new for me. The last few years have been crazy in my personal life, so even though I’ve learned a lot about how to move my writing career to the next level, I haven’t been able to implement any of the changes.

Until now.

Love at the Fluff and Fold by Kitty BucholtzI’m excited that I’m about to release a new book! And for the first time, I’m not publishing it as soon as it is ready. I emailed my newsletter list and included the first chapter and the cover so they could start getting excited about the new story/series. Immediately, a few of my readers wrote back saying they loved it, best book yet!

Thanks to a gentle push from a friend, I decided to put my book on pre-order for the first time. I set up the pre-order with the practically-final version of the book on KDP, iBooks, and Kobo. (Barnes & Noble didn’t have a pre-order option at the time I did this, so I prepped the book to be ready to hit the Publish button the day before I want it to go live.)

I emailed my list a second time, left Chapter One at the bottom in case readers missed it the first time, and gave them the links to the pre-order on Amazon U.S., Amazon U.K., Amazon Australia (my newsletter service lets me see where subscribers are from), iBooks, and Kobo. Within a day, I had my first seven pre-orders – yay!

Another first that I’ve wanted to do for a year or two is to create a beta readers group. I finally got that up and running on Facebook a few weeks ago. I have nineteen beta readers who are reading an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of the book that I put up on BookFunnel.

They’ve pointed out typos, offered a few suggestions, and they’ve given me enormously satisfying positive feedback about the book. They’ll be posting reviews on the first day of release so that new readers will immediately see that others liked the book.

I also finally created a Facebook group for all the rest of my readers! I’ve been frustrated with my Facebook author page and the fact that if a reader posts on my page, it’s almost hidden along the side. It’s ridiculously difficult to have a conversation that way. So I created a group that is attached to the author page. For the first time, I can easily chat with my readers and engage with them in a way that will help them to know, like, and trust me. You can see – and join! – my readers’ Facebook group here.

The other thing I learned is that although readers can’t post reviews to Amazon until the book goes on sale, they can post them to Goodreads as soon as I added the book to the site. I created a listing for the ebook, sent a link to my beta readers, and the first four people who had finished the ARC posted their reviews!

Then I created a paperback listing on Goodreads and set up two Giveaways, one for five books to be given away in the United States only, and one for two books to be given away everywhere. I would’ve gotten these up earlier if I could have, but they’ll go live a week before the book’s release.

I’m also going to try to get the paperback edition up on CreateSpace before the official release day. Once the book is live in any form (i.e., the paperback even though the ebook has its own release date), readers can leave reviews. So if I can get the paperback live and available for sale before the official release day (for the ebook), I can tell my beta readers to please leave their reviews immediately. Then it will look like the book releases with reviews. Awesome!

The last thing I’m doing for the first time is something I hope to never do again. The book’s release date is the day after I move! Yup, movers come pick up our stuff, then we clean the house and turn in the keys, and the next day my book goes live. While I’m staying for a few days at a friend’s house, before an international flight. Limited time, limited Internet access, limited everything. Well…we’ll see how it goes!

Meanwhile, I’m putting together Amazon ads for the book (not a first, I’m already running them for two other books), and getting the last newsletter ready that will go out on release day. This is the most amount of work I’ve ever done to have a true book launch. I’m excited!

I don’t expect to sell hundreds of copies the first day; instead my hope is to learn how to do everything, how long it all takes, and create a streamlined process for the future. Then I’ll create a book launch calendar for myself for the next launch.

Exciting times! I’ll let you know what happens! 😀

 

Kitty Bucholtz author photoKitty Bucholtz decided to combine her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. She writes romantic comedy and superhero urban fantasy, often with an inspirational element woven in. WRITE NOW! Workshop, her website where she teaches and offers advice on self-publishing and time management, is under renovation. Look for the new website near the end of 2017!

 

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EPIC FACEBOOK AD FAILURE…IT WAS ALL MY FAULT

May 5, 2017 by in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as , , ,

Facebook Ads| Tracy Read | A Slice of OrangeI am a huge fan of Facebook [FB] Ads.  Having said that.  Let’s get started.

Like most Indie Writers, I am my own marketing director and publicist.  Ultimately, I am the only one getting the word out about my books.  No matter how many people I bribe, I mean beg to post on their social media or who voluntarily spread the word, getting the word out is on me.

I have been fortunate to participate in book promotional events

 

I have been very fortunate to participate in a couple of book promotional events that helped build my mailing list.  As well as, using Facebook ads.

The first time I placed a FB ad, I didn’t expect thousands or even hundreds of subscribers.  I was just hoping someone clicked the ad. Facebook Ads | Tracy Reed | A Slice of Orange

I thought my first FB ad, did decent…reach 3,050, subscribers 46 and $23.47 over a 5  day period.  The second time I placed a FB ad the reach was 2,589, number of subscribers 81 and  $53.49 over a 7 day period.  [I might be off on my duration by a day or two.]  Again, I thought those were good numbers.  I tried it one more time.  This time the reach was 3,609 with 144 subscribers at a cost of $74.47. [Each ad was done with a different book or a free book.]

Reality Check

 

I recently got a reality check when it came to my results…these were not that good.  Another thing I didn’t do, was keep good records.  All I was looking at was how many subscriptions I got and not going over budget.

I recently completed Mark Dawson’s course on Facebook Ads and realize I could have done better.  [This isn’t a post for the course or Mark Dawson.]  Some of my classmates have been posting their results and even the examples in the lectures, revealed, I could have done much, much better.

I finished the class excited about correcting my mistakes.  I know I can’t fall prey to the writer’s golden rule, “Don’t compare your progress/success to another writer.  I hear myself saying the words and see them in this post.  Yet, I can’t help but compare my results to much more successful writers.

Facebook Ads 2 | Tracy Reed | A Slice of OrangeI ran a couple, okay a few ads and the results were horrible.  See for yourself.

 

Reach  Clicks

1,416         50

3,307        43

1,318         32

686            29

 

No, those aren’t my Amazon rankings, but the results of my FB ads.  I got so frustrated.  I ran these numbers by my accountability group and in the FB group for my class.  Check out the ads throughout the post and tell me, what the problem is, because I’m stumped.

My numbers were doing so badly, I would change ads in the middle of the day or only let the ad run a day, maybe two.  I finally settled on one ad and then I pulled the rest.  I let that ad run three days, but the numbers never got any better.

I posted my issue on my class group and someone in my FB group came up with the only thing that made since…reviews.  I have a nice library or catalogue, but I don’t have a lot of reviews on the books I was trying to sell.  True, there are a couple of ads that are bad, but the reviews is the thing that really made the most sense.  I also changed the audience, but the numbers didn’t improve.

The ad with the reluctant heiress, is the one I finally settled on.

 

Apparently, reviews play a much bigger part than I knew.  Let me back track, because that makes me sound ill-informed.  I know reviews are very important.  It was just when I ran the ads to increase my mailing list they really didn’t matter because I was looking to increase my mailing list.  Not sell books. Facebook Ads 4 | Tracy Reed | A Slice of Orange

Again, not to push Mark’s course, but in the course, he shared a way to build a mailing list via an email sequence.  [I’m in the process of setting up an email sequence.  I’ll post about that later.]  I thought I could dive right into the ad game without expanding my mailing list.  My mailing list is over 2,100.  Like most writers, I’ve had some unsubscribe, which is cool.  I’ve also had some join organically.  However, I need to bump that number up.  Let me rephrase that, I want to bump it up.  A larger list, can improve my sales numbers.  More possible readers equals more possible sales.  Which can also mean a bigger pool or source of reviews.

I am determined to correct my epic FB ad fail and start over.  Step one, increase my email list.  Step two, set up a new FB ad attached to an email sequence.  Step three, get some reviews.

I plan to put my new plan into action on next week.  I’ll update you next month.

Tracy Reed | A Slice of Orange

Tracy

Tracy Reed

www.readtracyreed.com

Sophisticated Romance

 

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Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ – Oh My, Oh My, Oh My!!

May 2, 2014 by in category Jann says . . . tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jann Ryann
I’m technology challenged. When it comes to the social media world I’m plain scared. Just the thought of posting something incorrectly has stopped me dipping my toe into the water for years. My goal is to break through the fear. When OCC announced its Online Class schedule I was thrilled. There it was– April’s class–Social Media for the Confused and Terrified presented by Elena Dillon. No more excuses by golly. I signed up.
Week 1 – The class started with Facebook, and for four days straight I had my desktop and laptop computers running side by side. Reading lessons and asking questions on one, doing class assignments on the other. I was learning about personal pages and author pages, friending and liking. Even though I’ve had a personal FB page for several years, I’ve never really interacted on it. I had started an author page (Jann Ryan), but hadn’t made it public to the world because I’m not a published author. Well, I hit the published button and it’s now live. To support my fellow classmates (which are a terrific group), I’m friending and liking and trying to comment on posts.
By the fourth day, I was on Facebook overload. I needed a bit of a break, so I thought I would start going through a couple of my file boxes filled with years of writing paraphernalia (handouts, conference stuff, articles and pages of stories.) It was suggested by a good friend to scan what I wanted to keep and toss the rest. I DIDN’T COME OUT OF THE ROOM FOR 4 DAYS! I was scanning and tossing from morning till way into the night. My determination to master FB was transferred to cleaning out paper. I couldn’t stop myself. From the file boxes, I moved to the bookshelves, then back to the file boxes. I was obsessed.
Week 2 – Monday, I came up for air only to be confronted with the next week’s class–TWITTER.  I hadn’t conquered Facebook, now I was facing the Twitter monster with its hashtags, retweets and Tweet chats. Thanks to the wonderful instruction and guidance from my teacher Elena, I marched into the Twitter world. I installed Tweetdeck and selected people to follow. I was fortunate to see meet up Beth Yarnall, author of the Azalea March Mysteries, The Misadventures of Maggie Mae and the Pleasure at Home Series, who gave me some hands-on instructions. Check out her website http://www.bethyarnall.com/ .  I’m still feeling awkward with Twitter, but I know I’ll be Twittering up a storm soon.
Week 3 – My Waterloo is Google+. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been receiving great instructions, but I realize I need hands on instructions when walking into the unknown. I get the overall idea, but just can’t seem to figure it all out. I need to spend more time on my lessons and work with it more, but life is getting in the way this week.  It’s similar to FB, but now I Hangout with a Circle of Friends (actually, I’m not hanging anywhere yet).
I have one more week to go and one more social media item to learn. Heaven help me.
All that being said, I’m happy I ventured into this new world. I have some wonderful classmates and a great teacher, Young Adult Romantic Suspense author Elena Dillon. Stop by her website http://elenadillon.com/.  
Go forth and conquer!

Jann Ryan grew up with the smell of orange blossoms in Orange County in sunny Southern California, where she has lived her entire life and dreamed up stories since she was a young girl. Never an avid reader, she was in her thirties when she picked up her first romance quite by accident. She fell in love with happily ever after and has been reading romances ever since.

Wanting to put pen to paper, Jann joined Romance Writers of America. Currently, she is working on a romantic suspense series set in Stellar Bay, a fictitious town along the California central coast to fulfill her publishing dream.

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