How does social media help writers?

Good morning. Getting back to normal since son went back to school this morning. As I sit here going through all my social media sites I have to reflect on the last year. It’s been a crazy ride for sure.

To start with, before I published my first book in May 2012, I only used email and texting when communicating. I learned quickly that as a published author you must use social media almost daily to keep up with changing climates. With this I mean that if you don’t keep your name fresh in front of people it loses it’s luster.

I did a short experiment the last couple of weeks. I went in a different times and tweeted my books to see if I gathered a result. Then I put them out on Facebook and Tumbler. What did I learn? Well I learned a lot.

When I tweeted the links to my books listed on Smashwords.com, I actually saw a spike in page views. I love this about Smashwords.com. I can keep up with views and really do a great analysis of what works and what doesn’t. I then did the same through my Amazon links. The bad thing with Amazon, you can’t see how many go over to look at the book, you just have to see how sales spike. I only received a few sales through that one.

I then posted several Smashword.com links on my Facebook page. All of a sudden sales spiked, but on Amazon, not Smashwords it’s self. Now on Smashwords it could show up later under one of the subsidiary sites, but not the main site. I even tried this with Allromanceebooks.com and sold one book.

So, with this I did notice a spike in views through tweeting and Facebook. Some analysts say don’t tweet about your books very often as you’ll lose followers. Well, I didn’t tweet about my books for several days and guess what I lost several followers. Then when I did tweet about my books I gained several new followers. Not sure, but I think it went in the other direction.

As I’m getting ready to announce the release date for “Victoria” the first book in my new Historical Romance Saga “The Women Of Magnolia Hill”, I’m hoping to see a great social media presence. This is my first book that I’m going to go through all the pre release hoopla. I can’t wait to get started. Maybe even as soon as this weekend. I plan to also participate in the new preorder option on Smashwords. Would love to do it on Amazon, but not sure how that works. If anyone knows, please let me know.

Try a social media study on your book sales and let me know how it goes. It might change your views on social media advertising. As for me, I’m headed over to do some tweeting 🙂

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Building a Platform…

For those of you that aren’t authors I’m not talking about a stage. I mentioned to my husband one day that I was trying to build my author platform and he started laughing. He asked me where I was going to put it and what was I going to say when I got up on it. I then explained to him that a author platform is the advertising, blogging, etc. you do to get your book out there. He still thought it was funny. MEN!

When I first started publishing I wasn’t very computer savvy. Of course I knew about accounting programs and such but not the intricacies of publishing, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, and all that goes with it. Since then I’ve developed blogs on several sites and now I Tweet everyday. It’s funny how your life changes when you become a published author.

Here are the top ten places I’ve used to build my platform:

1: WordPress: I set up a blog and made it my very own author website. It’s so easy to do once you get into it and take the time to set it up.

2: Twitter: My Twitter account has garnered lots of interest in my writing and it’s attached to my blog so they go hand in hand.

3: LinkedIn: This site allows you to follow many people from various walks of life. My blog is attached to my LinkedIn account, so everything I blog it goes straight to this page.

4: Goodreads: For an author this is a very important aspect of building your platform. Here is where you meet established authors and Indie authors all on the same page. It’s also a good place to gather reviews.

5: Independent Author Network: This site is awesome and it’s so reasonable to set up. I have my own author page and you can put all of your sites on it. Also, other authors will tweet your page for you and they’ll tweet your tweets. It’s really helped my fan base and I really like how it works.

6: Smashwords: This is a place that I have my books for sale. They also put them through to Barnes & Noble, Sony, Apple, Kobo, Diesel and several others. You also get an author page and you can be an affiliate.

7: KindleBoards: This one takes a little more time and reading, but it can get some interest in your books.

8: AllRomanceEbooks.com: This is a great place to sell and advertise your books. It’s all about every genre of romance. It’s easy to set up and put your books on it.

9: CreateSpace: This is where I currently have my books for print. I also have a blog on this site.

10: Amazon: I have all my books on this site. You can set up a author page and link it to your blog and Twitter Account. On Amazon you can be in several countries.

Well, these are just a few of my spots that help me. I have many more, but I didn’t want to bore you too much 🙂

As always, Good writing and May God Bless You…

Roller Coaster Sales…

Have you ever felt like your sales were on a roller coaster? Sometimes I feel like I’m on a roller coaster. One day you’re on the uphill ascent then the next day you’re barreling down the other side so fast it takes your breath.

Some of the sites where you can put your books for sale only report sales once a month and that really puts you to task. My sales sometimes amaze me. I can go on a tweet fest and the sales ramp up. I looked at my pages views on Smashwords.com last night and it actually looked like a roller coaster. The funny thing is all the hills were around a social media blitz.

So, if you’re having downhill sales, try doing a tweet fest. Don’t forget those hash tags. I’ve really learned a lot about the use of them. When I do a tweet fest I try to go to every site my books are on and tweet that book from the site. Also working on a list for one of my posts regarding social media sites that have worked well for me.

Don’t let downward sales affect your writing. Sales are a fickle thing. One day you do really well, and sometimes you have really good weeks. Then a plummet for a day or so and you’re poking out your lip and giving up. Don’t do that! Have faith. If it was selling good those days, it will again.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Advertising…

Authors have to wear many hats. We have to be creative, innovative, and an expert in advertising. Well, not an expert, but at least willing to learn. I’ve learned so much in the last year about advertising. There are so many angles to advertising.

Do you pay for advertising or just go the free route? I’ve investigated many options and found that free still works well. Although sometimes we do have to go with some that charge a fee to broaden the scope.

The free routes can include Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, Goodreads, Shelfari, Library Thing, Press Releases, Word of Mouth, and that’s to name a few. These have worked well for me. It’s funny that when I tweet from one of my book sites I get several hits on my books. It’s like hitting refresh.

Some of the not so free advertising I’ve done. Book Barista is really reasonable. I’ve expanded my WordPress to a website. The Independent Author Network is an awesome tool for any author or reader for that fact. This last one has a huge author network that works together to help get your name out.

The main thing is to follow as many blogs about writing as you can. You can learn so much from your fellow authors. My wordpress blog has really broadened my knowledge. I am so thankful for all my blog friends. Keep the great posts coming.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Amazing! Have you tried this?

As writers we try everything to get our work noticed. We go on sites and follow other established writers to see how they do it. We put our name everywhere. I’ve put my name in some of the most unlikely places. Some have worked and others have just plain out flopped around like a dead fish.

Well I’ve found a couple of avenues for my work and I wanted to share them with you. Some of you may already be using these channels and if so I hope it’s going well, if not I hope this gives you some new advantages.

1. The Independent Authors Network

I’ve been playing with the choice of paying for a space on this network. I researched it and noticed that some of the authors I love are on there and it’s relatively reasonable. It’s a $24.95 one time fee for a basic membership and $74.95 a year for a Gold membership. I chose the basic. It’s like a author family of sorts. The network sends out your info periodically on their social media and other authors or readers send out your links and you do the same for them. I’ve noticed a real change in my sales since joining. My author page, yes I got an author page shows six of my books and some of the links that are clickable for purchasing my work.

2. Romance Writers of America

I wanted to join this earlier than I did, but the entry fee kept me held back. I’m really glad I decided to join this wonderful organization. I get a magazine monthly and newsletters periodically. They both provide some great advice and instruments I can use in making my author platform more sturdy.

3. allromanceebooks.com

This is one of the sites where you can sell your books. It doesn’t cost anything to set up a publisher/author account and have your books sold on their site through Paypal. You can put as many books as you want to on their site. It’s fairly easy to put your books on their site and they take several formats. Actually they recommend publishing them in several formats. I set this up and was able to put five of my books on there yesterday and already have had sales. You get 60% royalty. I figure that’s pretty good especially since it’s another avenue for my books to be seen and it’s FREE.

Maybe this will be helpful for you or just old news, but it helped me. My objective is to let others know when I find a great way to get my work seen. These are not my only avenues, but are my newest. If you use other sites, please list them and send to me. It could warrant a whole new blog post of what others use to market their work.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

It’s Release Day! Finally!

Well today’s the day. It’s the release day for “Rekindled Flames”. I’m so excited about this one. Some of my blog friends have posted promotional blogs for me. Thanks for that. The author community is awesome. We have to look out for each other.

Here’s a brief description:

“Rekindled Flames” the 2^nd in the Flames of Love Series By Stephanie Payne Hurt

He haunts her dreams; She torments his nights!

When Lydia returns home for her father’s funeral she’s forced to face hard reality. She left town two years earlier with a secret and a broken heart. As she sits at the graveside she sees the man that’s haunted her dreams for those two years. She realizes it’s time to tell him the secret she’s carried around for two years, but will he forgive her or turn away? The fire they started that fated New Year’s Eve two years ago has smoldered, building in intensity and heat. Can they rebuild the fire or will the secret put it out forever? Take the journey with these two and find out if love wins or will it burn out?

Books will be available in EBook edition on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Apple, Kobo, Google Play and Diesel. Paperbacks also available through these sites as well as CreateSpace.

Not sure what time today it’ll be up and available, but just keep checking. Please if you take the time to read it submit a review. It would be greatly appreciated.

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

Evanescence and other muses I use…

How do you get in the writing mood? Do you listen to music? Does the mood just strike at any given time without much help?

Sometimes I just wake up in the writing mood or just when an idea for a story hits I just have to write. This afternoon I was listening to Pandora radio on my laptop as I did tax returns. Exciting for a Sunday afternoon I know, but it’s that time of year. Well, anyhow, I was listening and I have Evanescence radio dialed in on Pandora. I just love to hear Amy Lee sing. Her voice is so haunting and smooth.

So as I listened to “Hello” which is a really deep song, not in voice, but in emotional. It made me think that music can evoke so many emotions. This songs makes me want to write. I don’t know why deep songs do that to me, but they do. Sometimes I hear a Christian song and I’m suddenly at my laptop typing. Sometimes it’s a country love song that does it.

What inspires you? If you’ve ever looked at my Youtube trailer videos for my books you’ll notice a definite trend. They are mostly to the music of Evanescence.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, or what’s left of it. Can’t wait til tomorrow as it’s the big release of the much awaited 2nd book in the “Flames of Love” Series – Rekindled Flames. Thanks to the blog friends that said they would send out my promotional page. If anyone else would like to just let me know or reblog tomorrow’s post.

As always, good writing, and May God Bless You!

Getting ready for promotion Monday…

It’s crazy getting ready for a big promotional day. I’ve posted on as many sites a I can. My press release went out last night and has garnered some nice response. This has been a much awaited book release. Since it is the 2nd book in my “Flames of Love” series it’s been asked about for months. It’s been crazy the response I’ve had to the first book in the series “Tender Flames”. I’ve been really honored by the responses.

Here is the description for Rekindled Flames

He haunts her dreams; She torments his nights!

W Lydia returns home for her father’s funeral she’s forced to face hard reality. She left town two years earlier with a secret and a broken heart. As she sits at the graveside she sees the man that’s haunted her dreams for those two years. She realizes it’s time to tell him the secret she’s carried around for two years, but will he forgive her or turn away? The fire they started that fated New Year’s Eve two years ago has smoldered, building in intensity and heat. Can they rebuild the fire or will the secret put it out forever? Take the journey with these two and find out if loves wins or will they walk away?

If anyone wants to join the promotional Monday, just let me know.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

“Rekindled Flame” Release date Monday February 25th

Oh yeah, if you’re wondering, yes I lived through the IRS audit on my client. It took 6 hours and ten years off my life 🙂 I did manage a compliment by the auditor on my accounting and my thoroughness. But it’s over and done. Found nothing to complain about. YESSSSSS.

Now to more important matters at hand. Monday, February 25th my novel “Rekindled Flames” the 2nd in the Flames of Love series is finally officially going to be released. I’m super duper excited 🙂 Life has really gotten in the way of this release, not to mention those pesky other books that just kept vying for my attention :0

So to all my blog friends, if anyone would like to help with the promotion of my newest release just let me know and I’d be very appreciative. I do return the favor by the way.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you!

Social Media and writing books

One year ago I was in the editing process of the first book I published. At that time I was just a normal (Well as normal as I can be) accountant. I didn’t have a Twitter account, refused to go on Facebook and didn’t think much about social media. Funny huh!

Now I’ve got social media accounts running out my ears. But that’s one thing I learned was that you have to go social media crazy when you publish a book. That is if you want to succeed.

My first venture into the social world was this blog. It has been so much fun. I at first wondered what I would write about on a daily basis. Then I laughed at myself because I guess you would say I’ve got a writers brain. If I could write a 400 page novel surely I could handle a blog post. So far so good. I don’t guess I’ve put anyone to sleep yet, or at least I hope not anyway. 🙂

Then the social media world spiraled. My editor set up a Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook for each book, then one for me, Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing, Pinterest, Reddit, and the list goes on. It takes me a good part of two cups of coffee in the mornings to get through all of them. I actually look forward to the new additions to my pages from all of my new friends that I’ve gained from all over the world through these sites. It’s never a dull moment. I love reading all of the posts from other bloggers. I’ve learned a lot.

So, as a writer you’ve got to embrace social media and just go for it. I’ve been conducting an experiment with my smashwords book stats and Twitter. When I Tweet my books from the Smashwords website the views skyrocket. It’s funny how that simple click of the key just makes people curious.

As always, good writing and May God Bless you…