Friday, September 5, 2014

MFRW Facebook Group: Facilitating Guest Blogging @Emerald_theGLD #MFRWauthor

Greetings all! Before I get started, I’d like to again give a shout out of thanks to Kayelle Allen, MFRW’s founder, for covering for me here on the fifth of last month while I was on vacation. Because that’s what kind of an awesome leader Kayelle is. :)

Thus far in this series, I’ve talked about my responsibilities as the moderator of the MFRW Facebook group. Starting with this post, I’ll be branching out and covering aspects of Facebook more generally, given that I feel as though I’ve covered now much of what’s involved in moderating a group (though if you do have questions about moderation, by all means please feel free to mention them in a comment, and I’ll be happy to address them!).

This month’s topic comes to us courtesy of Paloma Beck, MFRW’s Blog Director, who mentioned to me that some members might be wondering about this particular Facebook function.

The MFRW Facebook group houses a document that allows members who host guest authors on their blogs to enter their blog information into said document for other members’ reference. In other words, the file is a centrally-kept source of places that offer cover reveals, spotlight features, etc., that is updated in real time whenever anyone edits it and is available for any group member to see or edit.

So, if you have a blog and are open to posting guest posts and would like other members to know that, feel free to enter your information into the sheet! Here’s how:

1) From the MFRW Facebook group page, go to the horizontal menu bar just below the header photo across the top of the page. Click the last entry, which is “Files.”

2) Locate the file titled “GUEST OPPORTUNITIES on Member Blogs” and click on it.

3) After you click, find the “Edit” button (with the little pencil icon next to the word on the button itself) in the upper-right corner of the document. Click that.

4) Enter your information in the format previous listers have used. An easy way to do this is to highlight the most recent entry, copy it, and paste it a line or two above that entry. Then delete that member’s information (leaving the category labels) and fill in your own.

If you have a new release and are seeking blogs where you could guest post or do a cover reveal, etc., this document is a great resource. To find it, simply follow steps one and two above! 

Before I go (I saved the announcement for last this time :)), I do want to say that the MFRW Facebook group reached—and quickly surpassed—the 4,000 member landmark since my last Facebook-related post here! Thanks to all the members for making it such a growing, active group.

Until next time!


Emerald
Emerald is an erotic fiction author whose short stories have been featured in anthologies published by Cleis Press, Mischief, and Logical-Lust. She serves as an assistant newsletter editor and Facebook group moderator for Marketing for Romance Writers (MFRW), and she selects and posts the monthly inspirational quote on the MFRW Marketing Blog. Find out more about her at her website, The Green Light District.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

3 Cool Giveaway Ideas for New Books @kayelleallen #MFRWauthor #amwriting

I recommend giving away something other than a book. If you give away what you're trying to sell, who's going to buy? NY publishers spend thousands of dollars giving away books on shows like Today, Good Morning America, Ellen, and so on. If you don't have that kind of budget, what can you do?
Some authors hold Rafflecopter contests, but not every reader will sign up for them (I don't like them and won't sign up for one) and some authors don't like them. Even if you do use it, what are you going to give away?

Deleted Scenes Mini Book

Did you cut some beloved scenes from your book? Put them together, write a brief explanation for the reason you cut it, and create a mini book. Even a few pages are fine. Format it well. Include: an image of your cover, the blurb for the book, buy links, links for your social media and newsletter.
Remember when including social media this way -- if you're on Twitter, this is not the place to use @kayelleallen -- clicking that does nothing. Use the full URL so it becomes an active link. http://twitter.com/kayelleallen Save the document as an rtf if you plan to share it online, or better yet, as a pdf.

Puzzle Booklets

The Last Vhalgenn
I've had success with giveaway puzzle books. I like Word Search puzzles myself, and discovered a site that lets me make and download them. http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp After creating it (choose the text option), copy and paste it into your word processing program. Be sure to copy the solution page as well. I have a free app that lets me turn that into a pdf, and I can use the puzzle as a giveaway. I created a set of puzzles for each book, and combined them to make one big puzzle book. I also have pdf puzzles for each individual book.

Create an Inside Peek Booklet

Another thing I did for my book The Last Vhalgenn was create a booklet about the book itself. I included trivia about the story, the cover, pictures (make sure they are licensed and/or royalty free), an excerpt, and buy links. I also added my social media links. Click here to see the finished product. http://is.gd/vhalgenn_peek


I hope this has sparked a few ideas. I'd love to hear your creative solutions. Please post them in the comments.
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Kayelle Allen is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers. She is a multi-published, award-winning author, and the owner of The Author's Secret, an author support company. Her unstoppable heroes and heroines include contemporary characters, futuristic immortals, covert agents, and warriors who purr.
Unstoppable Heroes Blog http://kayelleallen.com/blog
The Author's Secret https://theauthorssecret.com

Thursday, August 28, 2014

The Business of Writing: When should I edit?



Writing is a lonely business and there are times when we are our own worst enemy. How many times have you been working on your rough draft and found yourself searching for the right word? I have one question, Why?

When writing that rough draft you shouldn’t be worrying about the perfect word. Your goal is to get words on the paper. That’s it. When you go back to polish/edit your WIP is when you look at the words to see if they convey what you want them to.

Writing Tip: 
Don’t sweat the small stuff – don’t edit while doing that rough draft. Who cares if you use the same word twenty times on a page. That is something you can fix later. Just write. Let the passion take you over.




Bio: Writing for Barbara Donlon Bradley  started innocently enough, like most she kept diaries, journals, and wrote an occasional letter but she also had a vivid imagination and wrote scenes and short stories adding characters to her favorite shows and comic books. As time went on she found the passion for writing to be a strong drive for her. Humor is also very strong in her life. No matter how hard she tries to write something deep and dark, it will never happen. That humor bleeds into her writing. Since she can’t beat it she has learned to use it to her advantage. Now she lives in Tidewater Virginia with two cats, one mother in law – whose 87 now, her husband and son.

Author Sites:

Monday, August 18, 2014

#MFRWauthor Monthly Quote - August 2014

"Do not let the fact that things are not made for you, that conditions are not as they should be, stop you. Go on anyway. Everything depends on those who go on anyway."
-Robert Henri





Emerald
Emerald is an erotic fiction author whose short stories have been featured in anthologies published by Cleis Press, Mischief, and Logical-Lust. She serves as an assistant newsletter editor and Facebook group moderator for Marketing for Romance Writers (MFRW), and she selects and posts the monthly inspirational quote on the MFRW Marketing Blog. Find out more about her at her website, The Green Light District.