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How Do You Make Your Book Stand Out?

May 18, 2020 By Mia Walshaw 480 Comments

How do you make your book standout from the crowd?

Today’s consumer has hundreds…scratch that, thousands…actually, millions of book choices. Authors may want to believe that the majority are poorly written, with low-quality production in the form of cheap covers and unattractive formatting.

Yet, the reality is that there are unlimited numbers of high-quality books available. You are part of a competitive field. So what will make them choose your book?

Read, re-read, and then edit some more.

Make sure your book is well-written, properly edited and proofread. This means once you think you have your final draft, get it read at least three more times by three different people in order to find grammatical errors, typos, and factual inconsistencies within your story. Don’t skimp on professional editing. A beta reader is great for catching typos, but most aren’t going to be able to suggest ways to improve the readability of your book. A good editor will suggest nuances to create a compelling character arc, a plot that tantalizes until the last page, and language indicative of each character.

Get covered.

Your book’s cover is the first thing readers will judge. Don’t simply find a stock photo image and layer over some typography using a free, online tool. Contract a qualified graphic artist to do your cover. Additionally, encourage your graphic artist to look for unusual stock photos or view the photo in a different way. Consider using only a portion of the photo for an interesting result.

Graphics aren’t just for book covers. You’ll find that they more than double your engagement on social media when you add a graphic to a post. You can find out why in this blog post on the subject.

What the font?

Once your book is in the hands of a reader, you want their reading experience to be enjoyable. That means, you must pay attention to the font size and style. If your audience is comprised of older readers, don’t have your book formatted in a small font size. If your book falls into the romance genre, consider having your professional formatter add decorative wingdings under the chapter headings. Enhance the reader experience with beautiful formatting.

Be a savvy marketer.

Mark Coker, Founder of Smashwords agrees that you could lament that there are too many writers out there. Those who have been in the game longer seem to have an advantage because they have had longer to build an audience. True, but you’re in the game now. So start playing. Here’s an article from the Smashwords blog on how to bring your book back from the doldrums. 

It’s easier to build your readership now, then it will be a year from now when even more people are peddling their books.

Get social.

Determine where your audience spends their social media hours. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram all attract a different demographic. Take time to learn where your efforts are best spent. If your audience is older, focus on Facebook. But if you’re seeking a teen or twenty-something audience, then start snapping pics for your Instagram account. For that matter, take some cool video footage that conveys the essence of your novel or author branding and get it on Snapchat.

Find your home.

However, no social media channel is as valuable as your own website and email list. Why? Because that is something that you alone control. Facebook limits the number of people who view your posts. Your Twitter feed is fleeting with every passing minute. But your own email marketing? That’s golden. You create news and send it to your subscriber list and guess what…they’re going to see it!

That’s how your book gets discovered. And, while marketing is important, remember my mantra: A Writer Writes! 

If you need support of how-to advice, drop me a line at info(at)evatopia.com.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: beta reader, book marketing, smashwords, social media, stock images

Why Writers Need Graphics

May 11, 2020 By Mia Walshaw 225 Comments

Today, writers know that it isn’t enough to write a terrific book. You have to also publicize that book. Even if you hire someone to handle your social media so that you can concentrate on your writing, it’s always good to have a basic understanding of what your social media director should be doing. This post will focus on why writers need graphics, particularly on forums such as Facebook.

It’s a bit ironic that this post encourages authors — those creators of beautiful words — to also create graphics. However, a picture is worth a thousand words…at least where social media is concerned. Photos and graphics are eye-catching and will help you improve your social media engagement. In other words, it will get your followers more interested in your news.

Images can double the engagement on your social media posts.

Yet, just because you’re an author and now considered a public figure, doesn’t mean you have to share personal photos. Stock photo sites are a great alternative and this does’t mean you have to spend money. There are plenty of free images available through sites such as Unsplash and Splitshire as well as great online tools for making your graphics including Pablo, Canva and PicMonkey.

One trick that authors use with great results is to pick a favorite quote from your book, lay it over an image and voila, you’ve created an advertisement for your book without the obnoxious “buy my book” plea.

Another idea is to pick a favorite quote and place it over a photo. The idea behind using graphics is not necessarily to lead people to your website or Amazon, although those are great goals, but it’s also important to simply engage with your followers by creating something of beauty and interest.

Best practices…

Here are some dos and don’ts for how to best use graphics with Facebook and encourage sharing from your page.

Branding and relevance. Find images that will appeal to your audience and use those that speak to your personal brand.. If you’re a romance writer, maybe a photo of a puppy cuddling a kitten will earn some comments. If you’re a travel writer, choose a photo of one of your favorite destinations.

Evoke an emotion. Find images that will generate a smile or a chuckle. Stay positive unless your company or brand is issue oriented and deals with activism.

Typography. When using one of the applications mentioned above, make sure to choose fonts that are easy to read. Small scroll fonts may be pretty, but in terms of impact, a bolder font will make a stronger impression.

Hashtags. Even though you may have added typography to your graphic image, remember to add text to your Facebook post and include hashtags to further attract an audience. Using the same example as above, if you’re a romance writer you can simply use #romance. For travel, you’ve got it…#travel or be specific such as #Italy.

Graphics are a great way to bring interest to your Facebook posts. Remember to change your cover photo when appropriate such as around holidays, sales, or when you have a new book launch.

If you have a suggestion on how you use your Facebook photos, I’d love to hear it.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: #bookpackager, book publicity, brand awareness, canva, graphics, pablo, picmonkey, stock images

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My Inspiration

Some lesser known facts about me. When not writing or working with writers, I’m most likely practicing yoga. I love to spend time with my family, cook (badly), and read. If I had to choose only two books for my library they would be “Girl on a Train” and “Special Topics in Calamity Physics.” I could eat avocados for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’m a dog person first, but there’s nothing cooler than an aloof cat.

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Writing, editing, cover art, digital formatting, marketing. There’s a lot to consider before your book goes public. By writing as Mia Fox, I test out trends in fiction so you don’t make mistakes.

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