Write Now Editing

Blog Tours: Great for Authors AND Readers by Meagan Davenport

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Do you ever wish you could get paid to read? Growing up, that was my dream job. Come to think of it, it still is! Over the last couple of years, I’ve found a way to do just that – in book currency. I work with several publicity groups, publishers, and authors who share ARC (advance review copy) books at no charge in return for a review. These options are excellent for authors and readers alike!

So how does one get started reviewing books (or finding readers)? The most important item is to get social. Authors: websites make great ways for prospective readers to learn more about you and your books. And don’t forget social media! Pick a couple platforms and utilize them well. Facebook is an excellent resource with a plethora of groups.

Readers: Goodreads and retail sites provide a solid basis to begin reviewing books. Copy/paste your review to each platform – no need to reinvent the wheel! If you start a blog, start small and free with WordPress or Blogger and leverage social media to promote your reviews! (Also, be sure to note if you received a free copy of a book.)

Three of my favorite resources for book publicity and review opportunities:

  • JustRead Publicity Tours focuses on Christian fiction and non-fiction. Services offered include conventional, bookstagram (original Instagram pictures), and takeover tours. This versatility allows authors to publicize their books in a variety of ways; similarly, hosts (readers/reviewers) can play to their own strengths. Readers who enjoy graphic design may prefer a bookstagram tour, while others may choose to interview the author on their blog. While websites are not required for reviewers, that may impact what you sign up for.
  • Read with Audra is part of Audra Jennings PR and geared toward readers. Sign up for Christian-fiction, non-fiction, and children’s-title mailing lists to be alerted of upcoming tours. Jennings works closely with New Growth Press and features many books from that publisher on her blog. Tours through Read with Audra operate much like JustRead’s program, and often make use of Netgalley (another awesome spot to procure or promote ARCs).
  • Finally, Anna LeBaron works with both authors and readers to leverage social media and make new books successful. She is a pro at both “official” (pre-planned) and “rogue” (“Let’s see what happens!”) book launches and has written a very successful book herself. Most book-launch team activity with LeBaron occurs on Facebook.

Has this whetted your appetite to move forward? Whether you join one or all three of these groups in your journey (or something else altogether!) – I’d love to hear it! What worked (or didn’t) for you?

No matter what, be persistent in the process. It takes time for both readers and authors to build up a repertoire. There is no magic number of reviews that will indicate a reader has “made it” as a book reviewer (or that an author has either!). Once you review your first book, you’ve already “made it”. You are a book reviewer. Even if an author hasn’t published anything, as long as you’re writing, you are a writer.

You also just never know which book will be the “magic” one that connects you with an author, publisher, or reviewer – so keep reaching out. Leverage your opinions. And above all, enjoy the process!

Meagan Davenport is a freelance editor and proofreader who averages 100+ books read every year. She is passionate about global missions, Lord of the Rings, and the finer points of Indian food and Washington apples (though not together). You can find her online at MeaganDavenport.com or on social media @readswheregoes and @readswhereshegoes.

Review: 6 Surefire Ways to Guarantee Your Guest Blogging Pitch Gets Instantly Rejected (via Blogging Bistro)

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Guest blogging is a great way to spread your knowledge and expertise without having to building anything. Instead, you can tap into someone else’s audience, taking advantage of the work and effort they’ve put into building their online presences and followings.

Getting those guest-blogging gigs, however, takes a bit of research and finesse. You don’t have to spend time building your own audience, but you should spend some time finding the right site for your post.

Think of it like going out to dinner: you can’t just walk in to any restaurant and expect to eat Chinese food; you need to go to a Chinese restaurant.

The same is true for blogging. Each blog has a specific message and audience; your writing won’t be appropriate for every blog. It’s understandable to think that contacting more bloggers will yield more blogging opportunities but that’s not how it works. When you send generic pitches to multiple bloggers, they can tell!

Laura Christianson knows what it’s like to receive bad blog pitches. Owner of Blogging Bistro, it’s sort of her area of expertise. Before you pitch a blog post with an email that starts with Dear Admin, Hello, or Dear Blog Master, read her article and increase your chances of securing that guest post spot!

Do you have any other questions about the best ways to pitch a guest post? Ask them below!

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9 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid (via The Write Conversation)

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Setting up a blog is a great way to add content to your website, improve SEO, and demonstrate your expertise, but only if people are reading and sharing your blog! You don’t have to be a professional writer or marketer to attract and keep readers. Regardless of which industry you’re in, just watch out for these nine common blogging mistakes to make the most of your blog (courtesy of Edie Melson at The Write Conversation).

Click here to read 9 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid!

Four Simple Ways to Reuse Your Content in 2018

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Maintaining a blog isn’t easy, even if you have decades of experience that you can share. There are only so many topics that your audience cares about, and only so many ways to talk about those topics.

Let’s be honest – how many different ways can you say the same thing? Even I struggle to find new topics and new ways to elaborate on them, and I get paid to write creatively!

So how do you – as a small business owner, entrepreneur, or volunteer for a non-profit – find ways to share new, fresh blog posts? One easy technique is to reuse old material. You don’t necessarily want to repost all of last year’s posts verbatim, but here are some tips for recycling that information so you don’t have to start from scratch each time:

  1. Reorganize Your Lists: Did you write some top-ten lists last year? Take a look at those to see if you can create a new top-ten list that includes some of those tricks. Or maybe you wrote about several similar topics that you can condense into a new top-ten list. Or you can make a list of your most popular top-ten lists! (Don’t forget to include backlinks.)
  2. Create a Series: Remember those posts about a similar topic? Try posting them again in the same week/month, but as part of a series. Give each post a quick, new introduction, then end it with a line that will lead in to the next post. Not only are you reusing previously published material, but by organizing it into a series you’ll help your readers see the connection between topics.
  3. Give It a Good Edit: Look back to some of your earliest posts. Chances are good that you’ve grown as a writer or a professional since you wrote it, and you’ll see ways to improve the post (either grammatically, or because you found a better, new way to do something). If you change more than 50% of the material, you can comfortably consider it a new post entirely. If you change less than that, simply add Revised to the end of the title so your readers will know there’s new material included.
  4. Add an Infographic: Do you have a post that includes a lot of statistics and numbers? Why not put those statistics into an infographic? You can add to the remaining content to fill in the blank spaces if needed, and the infographic will give your readers something eye-catching to share on social media.

Using these four strategies will help you fill in your calendar this year without having to create dozens of new blog posts – that’s time you can spend elsewhere!

What tricks have you found that help you create/reuse content?

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Is This You Writing Your Web Copy?

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Or maybe you feel like the world’s looking at you like this…

Don’t worry. You’re not alone. Even professional writers get that feeling (don’t believe me, check out my last post).

What’s my point?

You don’t have to do it alone. If you have questions, contact me today – let me show you how I can help!

ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Copywriting

Karin understood my advertising and marketing writing needs and accomplished the project in record time. She asked all the right questions up front to equip herself with enough … [more]

Editing

Substantive Fiction Editing: A substantive edit looks at the big picture. Start here to tackle the big issues before moving on to the nit-picky details. Substantive edits not only point out … [more]

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Lover of all things fiction, I also love University of Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, kayaking, gluten-free cupcakes, and my husband.

Resources

Press Release Tool Kit Stop waiting and hoping for people to notice you and your organization! With this Press Release Tool Kit, you’ll learn to apply the step-by-step process I use to … [more]