P.H. Solomon's Blog, page 324

PHS:

A well written opinion regarding the state of publishing. Re-blogging on Archer’s Aim!

Originally posted on William Drayman:

I just finished reading an encouraging article by Hugh Howey that PHS re-blogged.

The original is here.

I’m almost brand new to the whole self-publishing scene, having been determined from the outset to go the trad publishing path.

If it had not been for the intervention of my friend, who has been an author for years, I am now pretty convinced that The Road Out would never have seen the light of day.

The shift in the industry is far more dramatic than I had thought up to this point, but Hugh’s post is a revealing insight into the scope of what is going on.

I have written before about this, but looking back at that post makes me realize I didn’t know the half of it.

The stance that we as self publishing authors take is going to be critically important to the outcome of public opinion…

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Writers, do you need more information out of Twitter? Perhaps you already have HootSuite and schedule tweets as well as view reports about your reach. Maybe you need more information about the performance of your account. Here are three sites that provide information you can use to improve how you tweet. BE AWARE that all these sites show free information but offer more for payment. I’m not instructing you to pay for anything – only providing sites that show basic information at no charge. Just like with Hootsuite or JustUnfollow, if you want more than the basics it costs money.

Twittercounter - This tool helps with long-term analysis of your Twitter account and is especially helpful with marketing. You can see months of information including who has followed you, who you have followed and how many tweets you have sent.

You can also receive their helpful newsletter with tips for Twitter like these:

Hashtags
10 Lesser know features of Twitter

Tweriod - This is another online analysis tool that provides reports about your Twitter account regarding best times to tweet. If you are promoting something you can find out when your followers are most active and available to interact with your tweets.

ads.Twitter – this analytics page allows you to see your engagement in the world of Twitter. Once you click on the link, click the Anylitics drop-down menu and choose “Twitter activity”. This site is where you can sign-up to use ads on Twitter but it has several useful pieces of information with several charts including:

Impressions performance over the last 28 days – you can adjust the time to specific months too
Engagement rate
Link clicks
Retweets
Favorites
Replies

Hashtags.org – this site lets you search for hashtags to verify they exist and for what they are used. It has a simple search field at the top of the page and provides information for the hashtag that includes:

24 hour trend graph for the hashtag – this tracks the recent trends
Related hashtags
Related tweets with the hashtag – this can be useful to determine whether it fits your tweet well

Retweetrank.com - need to know how you’re doing with your tweets? Use this site to check how much your tweets have been re-tweeted. This is handy for verifying what your reach is so you can track your reach over time and how effective your promotions and ads are. Just enter your Twitter name to check.

Bonus Material: Read this article from Nicholas Rossis which compares marketing on Facebook and Twitter. This blog post from Marc Guberti gives even more information about using Twitter for marketing. While you’re on Marc’s site you can receive his free book about improving chances of getting more retweets.

Available at Amazon, Smashwords and All Major E-Book Vendors!

Do you need more performance information from your Twitter account? Do you use other tools for gathering analytic information? What other information do you track for your account? I’d love to hear from you so won’t you leave a question, idea or strategy in the comment section? I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today!

Thanks for reading!

PHS

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Filed under: Blogging, Creativity, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Planning, Self-publishing, Social Media, Tech Tips, The Black Bag, Tips, Twitter, Writing Tagged: Facebook, Indie Publishing, Marketing, P. H. Solomon, Planning, Social Media, The Black Bag, Twitter, writing

PHS:

A post parallel to my recent post on Archer’s Aim – re-blogging

Originally posted on Megan Haskell, Author:

What questions would you ask? What do you feel comfortable answering?

I’m gearing up for the final push to get SANYARE to beta readers. There are just a few chapters left to edit before it’s ready, and my firm deadline is to send it out on the 13th. Lucky number 13, right?

Anyway, to help prep the readers and direct them toward the kind of feedback I’m looking for, I’ve put together a list of questions that I’m planning on sending out with each manuscript. I don’t expect detailed answers for each and every question, but I want to get the readers thinking critically and considering all aspects of the manuscript.

So here’s my list. What do you think? Have I gone too far? Is there anything I’m missing?

General

~ Do you like the title? If not, do you have any suggestions for alternative options?
~ Did the story hold…

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There’s a feature on WordPress.com available to bloggers called the re-blog. Essentially, you can share another blogger’s post with your followers. There are benefits to using this function which help both parties.

What’s a re-blog? When you view a blog, there is often an option to re-blog which means you share part of the post on your own blog. To read the entire post, anyone viewing from your site is directed to the original blogger’s site.

Is it taking credit for someone else’s work? Not in the least. When the blog is posted it shows that it is from the original blogger’s site and only part of the post is displayed. Likewise, when re-blogging you have the option to post a comment. I normally post a comment about why I’m re-blogging and a notice that I am. I always tweet in such a way that there is no confusion that the post is mine – just shared from my site.

What are the benefits? Here are 6 benefits to re-blogging:

The original blogger receives expanded exposure.
The re-blogger receives additional exposure.
Both bloggers may gain additional followers much like cross-pollinating.
If using the Publicize option, then the blog is shared on social media in a way that further expands the reach and engagement of both the blogger and re-blogger.
The re-blogger is recognized for sharing valuable blog space to promote someone else’s work.
Overall, it’s a great way for the re-blogger to share posts similar to the site topics as a way of sharing more information.

Have you re-blogged recently? Are you willing to share your site by re-blogging? I’d love to hear from you so won’t you leave a question, idea or strategy in the comment section? I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today!

Thanks for reading!

PHS

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PHS:

These very helpful insights – re-blogging on Archer’s Aim

Originally posted on Guild Of Dreams:

How many words do you need to tell a story well? Conventional wisdom (as stated by Chuck Sambuchino in Writer’s Digest) says a novel should be under 100,000, and one seasoned author in my circle claims that any book longer than 100K either has bloated prose or should be split into two novels.

The 100K edict serves two purposes. First, it discourages inexperienced writers from padding their narratives the way high school students pad term papers to make the assigned 10-page minimum. Second, it holds down production costs. Whether the publisher is one of the Big Five, a small independent press, or an indie author, spending more money to produce a longer book is a poor business decision, unless you can be reasonably sure people will buy it. For instance, Tolkien considered Lord of the Rings a single novel, yet it was published in three volumes because his publisher…

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Are beta-readers like unicorns – can’t find any? Perhaps my writing circle at a local level is narrow but folks with both willingness and insight are hard to find in some areas. Here are a few ways to recruit readers.

Not familiar with beta-reading? Simply put, these are people who are willing to read your work and provide feedback – they are testing your story for all the problems it has. They are useful to engage when you are a little further along than just a rough draft but maybe not ready for professional, detailed editing. Beta-readers let you know many things about your work that you miss in some way be it slow action, confusion about details or ideas that improve your concept. These readers are like a focus group and they are even more helpful in genre reading. This article provides sensible questions you can use with your beta-readers which can provide you valuable feedback.

But how do you find these unicorns? Here are several ways to find them:

Querying for them: check out #betareaders on Twitter – just post your needs and genre on Twitter with this hashtag and you will likely receive replies. Regular scans of this hashtag may reveal several possible beta-readers.
Hire a unicorn tracker! Just kidding
Ask for volunteers from your website
Read this post from Belinda Pollard with a variety of suggestions.
Also, here’s another article from Writing by the Seat of My Pants with another good list at the end.

Available at Amazon, Smashwords and All Major E-Book Vendors!

Have ever used beta-readers? Do you have suggestions for finding beta-readers? Ever caught a unicorn? I’d love to hear from you so won’t you leave a question, idea or strategy in the comment section? I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today!

Thanks for reading!

PHS

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PHS:

I can see I’ve got some work to do – nice set of guidelines here. Re-blogging on Archer’s Aim

Originally posted on Lit World Interviews:

I sure do love your book cover and title . . .  but nah, think I’ll pass.

There are foods out there that I love, but they look awful. I can cook some of the best tasting things you will ever eat, but they may just not look that great.

“What’s is this?” My son asked.

“Diced chicken, rice, condensed cream of mushroom soup, broccoli, garlic powder, salt, pepper…”

“Daddy, can I have a sandwich?”

I was describing a delicious casserole dish that is seriously amazing, but I lost my audience. I was giving him not what he wanted, I was giving him the chef’s description of the dish.

As Authors we need to keep this in mind when we come up with our “Book Descriptions”.

Did anyone else shudder or get a bad taste in their mouth when I said those last two words? It almost as bad as…

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Photo used in The Bow of Destiny book trailer

Archer’s Aim has been growing recently and with that in mind I have begun plans to offer a digest at least every two weeks. My intent is to  re-cap recent blogs via email as well as add few tidbits of information about me as an author and where my writing is going. I’m also planning to make special offers on the digest to my readers as well as sneak-peeks to my upcoming novel, The Bow of Destiny. If you are interested there are two ways to receive the digest:

1. Sign-up to follow by email from this site

2. Sign-up to follow by email from my Facebook page on the tab.

This will contain links to my top posts so you can easily access what interests you. Check back for news on when I will begin this endeavor – thought it will likely be next month. Show your interest and subscribe today!

I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my contact page for that information. See the News page for announcements and remember to sign-up to receive news and posts by email. I’ve added a new sign-up tab on my FaceBook page to simplify the process. New followers can download The Black Bag via free coupon today!

Available at Amazon, Smashwords and All Major E-Book Vendors!

Thanks for visiting!

PHS

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Greetings! I’m John Fioravanti, and welcome to the third post on my “Spotlight Blog Tour” sponsored by my new family at Rave Reviews Book Club. I’m very excited to be a guest today with P.H. Solomon.

In my last post, I described the nature of my first Sci-Fi novel, Passion & Struggle – Book One of my series, The Genesis Saga. In this post, I am presenting an excerpt from the book, which I hope, will give you some idea of the goings on in 2796 CE in the capital – Genesis City. Marco Rossini is the main character and he is a professor of history at the University of Genesis City (UGC). In this excerpt, we find the good professor wandering across campus to meet one of his students at the Campus Café – ostensibly to give her some direction with her essay assignment.

Excerpt:

Marco, oblivious to his gorgeous surroundings, on this warm July day, walked across campus towards his mid-afternoon rendezvous at the Campus Café. His lecture that afternoon had sparked memories of political discussions he had enjoyed with his boyhood friend, Pat Conroy. Now, his body on automatic pilot, he cast his mind back to his childhood.

Born and raised in Darymanis City, Marco was the only child of Italian parents – who worked at the Conroy Distillery. His mother, Isabella, was Seamus Conroy’s executive right hand in the office, while Giuseppe Rossini was the Master Distiller. Over the years, the Conroy and Rossini families had become good friends, and lived in the same neighborhood in the Naval district. As Marco grew up, the law stipulated that the two social classes of planet Genesis dwell in segregated areas in the urban centers. The faithful Churchers and the Naval or technical class each had their own roles in society and their own residential districts. Fortunately, that division was undergoing change.

The friendship between the two families, and their proximity, made it natural that the Conroy boys and Marco become close as well. Marco was the same age as Daniel Conroy and a year older than, Daniel’s brother, Sean. As the three grew up, they became inseparable – more like brothers. Patrick was the youngest Conroy – Daniel’s junior by four years. Often the three older friends allowed the ‘kid brother’ to tag along with them.

The professor’s eyes misted as he thought about the young friends he’d lost so many years ago. Against their parents’ wishes, Daniel and Sean Conroy had enlisted in the Navy seeking adventure in space. The Navy provided them the opportunity to show their stuff against Larosian scouting parties, which periodically emerged in Genesis space, through the nearby wormhole. For both young spacers, their exploits ended abruptly when Larosians destroyed most of the Genesis squadron sent out to challenge them. Unfortunately, Genesis Naval technology, built by the Kroggs that controlled the planet, couldn’t match that of their Larosian enemies.

In their devastation, Seamus and Irene Conroy clung desperately to their lone, surviving child, Patrick, who had just passed his fifteenth birthday.  Forced to grow up sooner than he had ever anticipated, Pat buried his grief deep within, and promised himself to avenge the brothers he’d idolized. Marco and Pat had clung to each other in shared grief. It was the foundation of the close bond that blossomed between them in the ensuing years.

In the weeks following the double funeral, the two became inseparable. Marco willingly embraced the mantle of ‘big brother’, and became the only person to whom Pat would open his heart. Neither of them realized just how much Marco was leaning on his ‘younger brother’ emotionally. To his parents, friends, and to the people who knew him, young Patrick Conroy remained a quiet tower of strength as he made plans for bloody vengeance.

Only Marco knew those plans, and he cringed at the thought that Pat might meet the same fate as his brothers. Pat persevered and diligently applied himself to both his academics and physical conditioning. Entrance into the Genesis Naval Academy was not easily achieved. Only the brightest and the best were accepted into officer training, and he was determined earn a leadership role in the Navy.

Marco kept Pat’s secret, knowing that the Conroys would do everything in their power to dissuade him if they knew. The heaviness in Marco’s heart gave way to swelling pride as he looked back at the support he had given to his ‘little brother’. Young Pat Conroy, a born leader, had become mature beyond his years; so despite his fears, Marco had supported him in every way he could. That encouragement had continued even after he himself left Darymanis City to study at the University of Genesis City.

Early in their new relationship, Marco and Pat discovered that they shared a passion for human history on pre-Omega Earth. But the two friends shared more than just a passion for history and politics; they were sparring partners whenever they could take the time out of their busy lives. Not long after Pat entered the Academy, Marco indicated that he wanted to learn the finer points of personal combat that Pat learned in his officer training. Marco was an adept student and the two men became well matched in a short time. Whenever Pat was away on missions, Marco kept his skills honed by utilizing computer-generated hologram opponents in the holo suites in the university fitness center. It had been four long years since the two men had sparred together, and Marco was excited by the imminent return of his friend from the Krogg War.

“Oh! Pardon me, Professor Rossini!” The student, who had jarred the briefcase loose from Marco’s grip, bent and retrieved it from the stone-paved walk. Marco realized, with embarrassment, that the collision was largely his fault for daydreaming.

He smiled at the student and sent him on his way. He took note of his surroundings, for the first time since he’d left the classroom building, and saw that he had arrived at his destination.

Darn good thing that kid ran into me… I would have breezed right on by! Wake up Professor!

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw that the café was empty except for Beth Carter, who waited for him in a rear booth, and one man, sitting at a nearby table. He’d expected a crowd of students and faculty at this time of day.

Carter caught sight of him, and smiling, she waved at him. Nodding in acknowledgement, he made his way to her booth, placed his briefcase on the seat opposite her and sat beside it.

“I’m surprised this place is empty.”

“Perhaps it’s just the lull between the lunch crowd and the after classes crowd,” she offered with a shrug of her shoulders. “I took the liberty of ordering your coffee. I hope you don’t mind, sir.”

Just then a waiter appeared with two steaming cups, a dish of creamers and sugar packets.

“Cream and sugar?”

Marco shook his head, “I take it black, thanks.” The professor took a sip, surprised to experience an unpleasant aftertaste once he’d swallowed the coffee. He smiled, checked the time and urged Carter to begin the discussion about her research paper.

Beth launched into her topic, explaining how Athenian democracy in ancient Greece on Earth fascinated her. Marco listened, as he sipped his coffee, wondering when this girl was going to get to the issue that was giving her trouble. As she questioned how the paper should be structured, his vision began to blur. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes trying to stay focused on her words.

Before long, he put his cup down and loosened his necktie. “So warm in here… ugh… don’t feel well.” As he looked at his companion across the table, the room began to move, the hanging lights flickered, and his body fell sideways along the bench. He saw Beth get up, felt someone grab his arm, and then, everything went dark.

The phony waiter joined the man sitting at the nearby table.  Together, they eased Rossini out of the booth, and grabbed his arms and legs, while Beth took his briefcase. They carried the professor through the kitchen and out the rear door into an alley where a car waited. The real waiter, the cashier, and the cook were unconscious at a table near the back door. No one inside or outside the café saw Rossini being manhandled into a car which sped away.

Five minutes later, the three drugged café employees regained consciousness, wondering what happened to them. Once they were steady enough, they checked the café and found nothing amiss. The window shutters were closed and a sign hung on the door saying the café was under repair. They looked at each other, shrugged and returned to their jobs. The waiter cleared the booth and the other table, while the cook went about his preparations for the impending supper hour. They decided not to share the mystery with anyone else. It wasn’t worth losing their jobs.

Hmm… who is this Beth person and her confederates?  What will become of our esteemed professor? Find the answers in Passion & Struggle!

AUTHOR BIO

John Fioravanti is a retired secondary school educator who completed his thirty-five year career in the classroom in June, 2008. His teaching career was split between two schools: St. Benedict CSS in Cambridge, Ontario and St. David CSS in Waterloo, Ontario.

Throughout his career, John focused on developing research, analysis, and essay writing skills in his History Classroom. This led to the publication of his first non-fiction work for student use,  Getting It Right in History Class  (Data Based Directions, 2002), along with an international version of the same title. A Personal Journey to the Heart of Teaching  (Iceberg Publishing, 2007, 2008, 2010) (Fiora Books 2014) is his second non-fiction work; it attempts to crystallize the struggles, accomplishments, and setbacks experienced in more than three decades of effort to achieve excellence in his chosen field.

John’s first work of fiction is Passion & Struggle and is set within Kenneth Tam’s Equations universe (Iceberg Publishing). He claims that, after two non-fiction books, he’s having the time of his life bringing new stories and characters to life!

At present, John lives in Waterloo, Ontario with Anne, his bride of forty-one years. They have three children and three grandchildren. In December of 2013, John and Anne founded Fiora Books for the express purpose of publishing John’s books. After four decades of marriage, they decided to become business partners as well.  

BOOK LINKS:

Amazon Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O7X5SXK

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/passion-struggle

iBooks: https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa/wo/16.0.0.13.7.2.7.9.1.1.3.2.3.3.1.5.3.0.1

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUqwuCcAEyU

 

CONNECT HERE:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/FioraBooks/516763875088924?ref=hl

Website: http://fiorabooks.com/

Twitter: @FioraBooks  + @jfinwat  (I have 2 accounts)

Blog: http://fiorabooks.com/category/fioraposts/

 

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Filed under: Blogging, Fiction, Indie Publishing, Marketing, Passion & Struggle, Rave Review Book Club, Self-publishing, Social Media, Twitter, Writing Tagged: Announcement, Coverart, Facebook, Indie Publishing, Launch, Marketing, Rave Reviews Book Club, Social Media, Twitter, writing

PHS:

Ready for NaNoWriMo? Here’s a GREAT post to help you along from Kristen Lamb’s Blog – re-blogging on Archer’s Aim

Originally posted on Kristen Lamb's Blog:

Attack of the Killer Plot Bunny. That rabbit is DYNAMITE!

I promised not to leave you guys hanging with my last post. Now that I have a lot of you beating your shields ready for NaNo, I’m going to give you battle tactics to come out victorious (or maybe at least alive).

Sure, NaNo is great to just learn to turn off the Inner Editor and get those 50,000 words DOWN. But, if in the end, all we have is a gelatinous ooze that eats people and attacks the city? They call in the National Guard to take out our WIP, because no revision can tame it.

What to do? This post is incredibly redacted, but it’s a blog. So roll with it ;) .

These tips will work for any novel, but they are SUPER important in NaNo, lest we write ourselves into the Corner of NO Escape by…

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