Tips from Authors: What I Wish I'd Known Before I Decided to Publish a Book

https://www.mydeal.com.au/blog/post/authors-share-writing-tips

‘Authors Share One Thing No-One Tells You About Writing A Book’

3 Reasons Why Picture Books Are More Than Just Words and Pictures

Picture Books depart magic and wisdom to children all over the world every day, but they are so much more than a literacy tool. They are a gift to all of us; those who read them as well as those who write them.

1. When you read a picture book, you are seen.

Reading a book is sharing a story with a stranger. You might be in the arms of someone you love, but from another town or even another country, a storyteller is opening up your eyes and in turn, looking to you for your response. It happens without fanfare. It sees past the face you put on over your real one. There might me hints at secrets that you hide but understand. There might be a look in the characters eyes that mirrors your own. It could be something as simple as a truth you had always considered but never been brave enough to say out loud.

This storyteller sees you. There is somebody out there who gets it—it being you.

2. When you read a picture book, you learn.

The degree to which readers feel comfortable expressing their views is never more evident than when reading a picture book. Children are able not only to put their ideas out for public inspection on the cognitive worktable, but they also respond to and challenge their peers ideas. These interactions with one another suggest a high level of cognitive engagement in that children are listening to and responding to not only the story, but to another and making thoughtful contributions. Additionally, the evidence suggests that the comprehension process stimulated by predicting, relating and questioning that occurs provides guidelines about how to talk about issues children feel strongly about and what to say in order to participate and share their own views.

3.When you read a picture book, you are loved.

As a picture book author, this innate love seems to be a given for me, but it is overlooked by so many readers. It is no just the words or pictures we are sharing, it is the hours of creative angst, self doubt, compromise and negotiation. It is the tears between the pages, the laughter trapped between the blank spaces and the overwhelming need to share and share again with perfect strangers those parts of us that sometimes we don't let even those you know us best see.  A picture book is love in one of it's more basic forms. It is a gift we give freely and with the hopes that the reader will feel the love we poured into it just for them.

If you would like to share what gift picture books have given you and your family, please feel free to comment or contact me, I would love to hear your stories.

www.michelleworthington.com

Top 5 Tips to get ASD kids reading.

Here are my top 5 tips to encourage young ASD children to fall in love with reading.

1.Let them pick what to read. Our local libraries love us. We almost always leave with 10 children's books. It works for us because it allows Tom to have a choice of what he wants to read based on whatever new obsession he has t hat week. I love the idea of teaching children to choose books on their own, regardless of their reading level. I love anything that encourages independence and I work with whatever motivated Tom to pick up that book, even if it is way above his comprehension level. Books are about so much more than words and pictures. They are about forming connections

2. Focus on sight words. Do everything you can to make them fun and playful but don't worry too much if they aren't picking it up straight away. This is a long term strategy for reading that needs to start early, way before they walk into a classroom. The more letters and words they recognise, the easier reading will be. It's not rocket science, it's repetition.

3. Make books available at play time, not just bedtime. We have books everywhere at our place. We keep them in in the playroom, in the kids’ bedroom and in the car. Bedtime is a lovely time to share stories but it is more about the senso ry stimulation they receive from being close to you than a learning experience. ASD kids respond well to using books as part of extending their play time by integrating literacy into their daily routine.


4. Read aloud. Even if it seems like they aren't listening, part of their brain is responding to the sounds of your voice. Varied tone, intonation and volume are important. Most importantly of all, it doesn’t have to be from a book. Read the paper, read the cereal packet, read the instructions on the packet meal for dinner. Get older siblings, grandparents or anyone who is willing to read aloud and then initiate a conversation with them about what they are reading. This encourages critical and creative thinking and associates books as a valued resource to facilitate easy conversation and connection with others.



5. Let them see you reading. ASD kids can be visual creatures who love to mimic others. If they see you reading, they a re more likely to do the same. Talk to them about what you are reading. Find a word they might recognise. Read varied books, magazines and online articles so they can see you use reading and books in your everyday life as an adult and they will grow to understand that even though reading might be difficult now, it will be a skill they will need when they get older so they will be more encouraged to stick with it.

If you would like to contact me, I would love to hear your top tips.

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www.michelleworthington.com

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LinkedIn Masterclass with Julie Mason

Businesses large or small that want more referrals, leads and sales with quality prospects and clients using LinkedIn have a powerful ally – Julie Mason. The highly-motivated businesswoman, keynote speaker and author loves nothing more than demystifying LinkedIn and sales strategy.

These days, Julie is known as ‘The Social Media Princess’ a name aptly bestowed upon her by her clients for her ability to make the confusing world of social media simple to understand and use, strategic, profitable and fun!

Through her coaching programs, speaking events and online webinars, Julie has helped and inspired thousands of people to make a significant difference in their business using social media and LinkedIn.

Julie is a passionate LinkedIn expert and specialises in creating strategies that promote your brand, enhance your reputation and generate big money leads for your business.
Julie’s message is simple – “With over 80% of B2B conversions coming from LinkedIn, can you afford not to use it correctly?”

Starting her first foray into cold-calling at the tender age of 5 years old, Julie was on a mission to raise money for the poor people through selling her crayola and paddle-pop stick masterpieces. She returned home to her shocked mother rattling her bag full of coins with great success! This was the start of Julie’s love affair with sales.

Julie has over 25 years experience in traditional sales and 15 years in door-to-door cold calling prior to discovering social media and starting to use those tools to build two successful businesses herself using the methods she now teaches others.

In the past 12 months Julie’s clients have generated over $1,000,000 using simple strategies that are proven to work. Whether to position yourself as an Authority in your niche or to generate quality leads and sales, Julie has a strategy that will be tailored for your business needs.
For more details, follow Julie on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/GuruJules/
Tea and Coffee Provided. Bookings essential.

The Colmslie Hotel
Wynnum Road
Brisbane, QLD 4170
Australia

Saturday, 22 April 2017 from 9:30 am to 12:00 pm (AEST)

Book Now https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/linkedin-masterclass-with-julie-mason-tickets-31020262440

                          

Blogging for Authors

 

Marketing your own book, whether traditionally or self-published is a necessary evil of being an author in the 21st century. For those of us who are most at home behind a computer, in our PJs, drinking coffee by the bucket load, this can be a mile outside our comfort zone, but if you look at your writing career as a business, and tackle the marketing of your books in small, bite size pieces, it doesn't have to be something that takes the fun out of publishing your story. Blogging is a great way to achieve the goal of getting your message out to people you can't personally share your story with.

Tip 1: Book Appeal

Unfortunately, some genres of books seem to be better received than others. Commercial fiction is always easier to market. If you are writing non-fiction, make sure you develop a strong reputation in the field you are writing in so that you can vouch for the integrity of the information, as well as using your credentials as a marketing tool in its own right. When blogging about your books, it must reflect current learning and development and be relevant to your target audience. For example, with books for children, your audience are the readers but your target market is the people who buy the books for them. You must appeal to both.

Tip 2: Networking via Blogging

No modern marketing tool can compete with collaborating with your fellow authors to help each other break through the white noise and give your book a personal recommendation. Constantly connect with your peers to keep you grounded in the current climate of the publishing industry, learn from their experiences and share your own knowledge for the greater good. This can be online or face to face, but never underestimate the marketing power of networking.

Tip 3: Attend Blogging Events

Whether you attend as a guest speaker or an audience member, attending book events is a great way to engage readers, expand your network and learn, learn, learn from those in the know. Although they can be quite expensive, they are a tax deduction and in most cases, if you volunteer, you can attend at a reduced price or for free. Work the ones that have the most intrinsic value to what you write and what level you are at with your writing into your business budget and plan ahead  with babysitters/catching up with friends/ transport to make the experience as rewarding as possible.

 

 

Tip 4: Embrace Technology

We are the first generation of authors who have unlimited worldwide access to our readers via social media and blogging. Like it or not, you must have a website and an online presence. Get comfortable using the types of technology your readers and target market use, not only to be confident sharing your work to build your online platform, but also to make use of the tools that give an insight into analytics that will let you know which ways are connecting more efficiently than others, in order to cut down on spamming and focus on what works.

Tip 5: Find a balance

Not only do you need to find a balance between spending time blogging and spending time writing, you need to find a balance with what you are putting on your social platforms that gives your audience an opportunity to hear about your work without them getting sick to death of seeing your posts constantly plugging your books. There is a 30/70 rule that states 30% of the content should be marketing your book, 70% should be general content letting them know a little more about you, your likes and dislikes and giving them the opportunity to connect with you as a person. It's not called "social" media for nothing. Don't shout about your books, build a community of people who will support your success and shout about it for you.


As authors, we need to continually adapt our online marketing strategies to a dynamic publishing industry, not only if we want to stay viable as authors that large publishing companies would like to invest in, but so we can stay on our readers radars. Break it down into small steps and don't let it overwhelm you. 

www.michelleworthington.com

 

Why Social Media for Authors only works if it's "Social".

Just posting on Facebook won't help you sell more books. There is no hard and fast rule that says the more you are online, the more people will become part of your community. When, when and how you post on social media is about more than quantity. It's about making a connection.

There is only one 'Do'...Have Fun!

If you are not enjoying spending your precious time marketing online, your readers probably aren't enjoying the experience either. Are you frustrated because you are not getting enough sales for your efforts? Then stop, because you are doing it not only for the wrong reasons, but you are posting the wrong content, at the wrong time, in the wrong way. If you were your audience, how would you feel about what you are posting? Is it fun, engaging and helpful? Be yourself. Only 30% of what you post should be about sales and marketing, the rest should be building a community of like-minded people who share common ground, so share what you feel comfortable. You need to be consistent, like a morning paper, that people can read over a cup of coffee at their own leisure, but there every day with a new snippet of information. When you have established your communities trust, then you can start planting that ground with the seeds that you are a trusted source of information. Once that has grown, you can start to harvest the crops that you have planted in the form of book sales, in an organic way. It takes time so you might as well enjoy the ride.


The 'Don'ts'

Don't post about your books every day.

Don't join every book group on Facebook and spam them with marketing.

Don't be negative

Don't worry if it feels like no one is listening

Don't post anything that could come back to haunt you

Don't post anything you wouldn't want your granny to read

Don't underestimate the power of social media

Talk soon
x Michelle