Guest post by Barb and Babs for their blog tour

March 14, 2014 ~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 4 Comments

Today I’m pleased to welcome Barb Drozdowich and Babs Hightower to do a guest post on sharing blog posts as part of their blog tour for their collection of books which have the aim of enabling writers to fully develop their social media platform. The books and their topics are listed at the end of this post. They look really great so please check them out. So now I will hand over to Barb.

What is Sharing and why do you need to encourage it?

I’d like to thank Elaine Jeremiah for inviting me to share some thoughts today! My name is Barb Drozdowich and I teach WordPress and work with authors on a daily basis to help them understand the technical aspects of Book Promotion.

Today I thought I’d talk about Sharing. This is a topic that comes up frequently in my interaction with authors.

Authors love to get comments on their blog posts – don’t we all? Comments are lovely! I often see comments encouraged in blog tours that are posted on my blog as well as others. In the big scheme of things, however, comments are not very important. Sharing is hugely important. Sharing buttons are those little icons that sit at the top or bottom of post or maybe float along the side. Ideally, they have icons for every social media platform known to man.

It’s your job to create great content that your readers want to share with their friends and followers. I don’t care if you don’t have a Stumbleupon account. Maybe your readers do and that’s where they want to share. You just need to make the content interesting and easy to share. You want your readers to share your post on Twitter, on Facebook, on Stumbleupon and on whatever other social media accounts they favor.

Easy, right?

So why do I think that sharing is more important than comments? Because Google thinks that sharing is more important than comments. Although readers will find your blog from many sources, some will find you from a Google search. You want to do everything that you can to make your blog rank as high as possible in a Google search. Think about it – most people will only look through the first few pages of a Google search. So, you want to be on one of those first few pages.

Understanding some of the technical aspects to promoting your books is challenging for many authors. Authors write beautiful stories – that’s what they do really well! You wouldn’t hesitate to take a writing course or go to a workshop. Likewise, don’t waste your valuable writing time wrestling with technical issues; ask for help.

Bio: Social Media and WordPress Consultant Barb Drozdowich has taught at Colleges and Universities, trained technical personnel in the banking industry and, most recently, used her expertise to help dozens of authors develop the social media platform needed to succeed in today’s fast evolving publishing world. She owns Bakerview Consulting and manages the popular Romance Book blog, Sugarbeat’s Books. Barb has published 4 books specifically to help authors understand some of the technical issues that they come up against when promoting their books.

Barb can be found:

Bakerview Consulting (Business Site) http://bakerviewconsulting.com

Barb Drozdowich (Author Site) http://barbdrozdowich.com

Sugarbeat’s Books (Book Blog) http://sugarbeatsbooks.com

Facebook (Author blog) https://www.facebook.com/BarbDrozdowichAuthor

Facebook (Bakerview Consulting) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bakerview-Consulting/576090425782155

Twitter http://twitter.com/sugarbeatbc

Google+ https://plus.google.com/110824499539694941768

Goodreads http://goodreads.com/BarbDrozdowich

Amazon Author Page http://amazon.com/author/barbdrozdowich

Information for Barb and Babs’ books:

Do you feel out of your comfort zone when dealing with book bloggers? They are the New Gatekeepers to book publishing success – but how can you tap into that source of free promotions by putting your best foot forward?

The Author’s Guide to Working with Book Bloggers combines the advice of 215 blogging professionals collected in a survey covering all aspects of communication between authors and Review Blogs. Whether you are a new author, or have many titles under your belt, let us demystify the promotion of your book on a book blog.

You’ll learn about whom and where book bloggers are, and the following:

The Query,

The Review,

The Giveaway,

The Author Interview,

The Guest Post,

The Book Blurb Excerpt and Cover Reveals and more!

“I’ve found Barb’s advice on forging a professional relationship with the blogging community indispensable. Her step-by-step approach will help you garner the reviews needed to increase book sales.”

–Christine Nolfi, bestseller author of Treasure Me

The Author’s Guide to Working with Book Bloggers is available on:

AmazonUS | AmazonUK | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

Creating buzz for your book – and your career as an author – just got easier. Go Global: Building an International Author Platform That Sells will help you decode the mystery behind building a powerful author brand and navigating the social media platforms essential to publishing success. Social Media and WordPress Consultant Barb Drozdowich will steer you through the technology behind international marketing without all the techno-speak. She has helped many authors just like you build an author platform that engages readers and builds sales.

Go Global teaches you why you need the various facets of the author platform to build visibility. Barb uses a simple analogy, Operation Book, to help you understand the steps to successful book marketing in the media age. She covers:

– The Difference between a Website and a Blog

– What Your Blog Should Contain

– The Important Components of a Blog

– The Nine Essential Social Media Platforms

– Newsletters

– Amazon’s Author Central

With simple-to-follow steps, Barb will help you create and manage an Author Platform to support your career.

Go Global: Building an International Author Platform that Sells is available:

AmazonUS |AmazonUK | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

What are Book Blog tours? Are they something that you have tried yet? “Book Blog Tours – An Essential Marketing Tool for Authors” covers the topic of Virtual blog tours from beginning to end with the following topics explained:

• What is a book blog tour?

• How is a tour different from Online Public Relations

• How to set goals for a blog tour

• How to choose a Book Blog Tour Company for your book

• Giveaways and Tour Graphics

• Author responsibilities before, during and after the tour

• Follow up and planning for your next tour

• Book Blog Tours from the point of view of a book blogger

This book covers all aspects of a Book Blog Tour in easy to follow language that will help any author take on the challenge of a blog tour with confidence.

Book Blog Tours – An Essential Marketing Tool for Authors is available:

AmazonUS | Amazon UK | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

The Ultimate Goodreads Guide for Authors is the must have book for all authors. Every author has heard of Goodreads – some like it, some not so much. With over 120 color graphics, this book leads you through the process of creating your account, adding your books, making friends and so much more.

Let us share with you all those little gems of networking potential that Goodreads offers, such as:

– Blog posts

– Excerpt downloads

– Widgets

– Apps

– Event invitations

– Groups

– Polls

– Lists

– Trivia and Quizzes

– And many more

The Ultimate Goodreads for Authors is the most comprehensive book available today. Suitable for all authors, from the newly published to the experienced. It has something for everyone to learn.

The Ultimate Goodreads Guide for Authors is available:

Amazon US |Amazon UK

Getting help to promote your book just got easier. Public Relations for Authors Take Hold of Your Own Promotions will help you locate that special publicist who will help you promote your book the right way. A Publicity Director for two publishers Babs brings knowledge to this book.

Public Relations teaches you why you need a publicist and how to find the right one for you. To understand what you need she covers:

How publicity can help sell books

What you need to know about publicity

Writing Pitches

Media Kits

Press Releases

Where to find a PR agent

What to send to your PR agent

“A practical, step by step book that helps you find the correct publicist, when publishing a book. ” by Lynelle Clark

Public Relations for Authors is available:

Amazon US| Amazon UK| Kobo| Barnes & Noble| Smashwords

About the authors:

Barb Drozdowich

Barb can be found:

Bakerview Consulting (Business Site) http://bakerviewconsulting.com

Barb Drozdowich (Author Site) http://barbdrozdowich.com

Sugarbeat’s Books (Book Blog) http://sugarbeatsbooks.com

Facebook(Author blog) https://www.facebook.com/BarbDrozdowichAuthor

Twitter http://twitter.com/sugarbeatbc

Google+ https://plus.google.com/110824499539694941768

Babs Hightower

Bio:Babs has been helping authors since 2000. She owns a book review blog Babs Book Bistro which got her started in PR and helping authors promote themselves. In 2012 she started working for Entangled Publishing and worked her way up to Publicity Director over the Scandalous Imprint. She is a publicist for World Castle Publishing. She is also known as Morgan Kincaid writer of Historical Romance.

Babs can be found:

Babs Book Bistro website: http://www.babsbookbistro.net

Babs Hightower PR website: http://www.babshightowerpr.com

Author website: http://morgankincaid.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/babsbookbistro

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BabsMorganKin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BabsHightowerPr

Facebook Author: https://www.facebook.com/authormorgankincaid

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/babsbookbistro/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1970552-babs

Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/102563748897854093407/posts

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/babsbookbistro

Cover reveal for Slave Again by Alana Terry

March 8, 2014March 8, 2014 ~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 3 Comments

I’m delighted to be able to do a cover reveal of the upcoming Slave Again, the latest novel from talented author Alana Terry. She’s the author of the brilliant The Beloved Daughter, a story about one family’s plight in North Korea and the daughter’s desperate attempt to escape. It’s available from Amazon.com and Amazon UK and I would highly recommend it. So here it is:

She escaped a North Korean prison camp only to find herself enslaved again.

Slave Again, by inspirational suspense novelist Alana Terry.

Cover Reveal: Mee-Kyong endured a childhood fending for herself in a North Korean prison camp. When she finally flees across the border into China, Mee-Kyong must draw upon all her survival skills. Does Mee-Kyong have the cunning she needs to escape the world of abuse and shame into which she’s been sold? Can she manage to save both herself and the innocent child under her protection?

About the Author: Alana Terry is a homeschool mom, pastor’s wife, and Christian author. Her debut novel, The Beloved Daughter, has won awards from Women of Faith and the Book Club Network. The Beloved Daughter was a number one bestseller in Christian suspense on Amazon. Her next novel, Slave Again, is due out this summer.

Giveaway Time! Alana is giving away free copies of her next release to anyone who makes a donation to Liberty in North Korea, an organization dedicated to rescuing refugees who escape North Korea. She’s also giving away a mini kobo e-reader and several copies of Slave Again, so be sure to enter the giveaway below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

1 year of my WordPress blog!

March 7, 2014 ~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 10 Comments

As of today it’s officially one year since I started my WordPress blog!! But I can’t say that’s when I started blogging because I began that with my Blogger one. However I can honestly say that WordPress has taken my blogging to a whole new level. Yes it’s more complicated to use than Blogger and can at times be infuriating.

But it’s also hugely rewarding to be able to connect with so many other wonderful writers so easily, to be able to interact with them in ways I feel I just couldn’t with Blogger and to have all this support from the international writing community. You guys are the best! I’ve grown so much as a writer over this past year, thanks in no small part to the encouragement I’ve received since I started this blog.

Using this blog has been and continues to be a learning curve. It’s only recently that I’ve discovered the importance of tagging my blog posts, something I had no clue of for a long while. I’m sure it’s something that most of you take for granted. And I know I’m not especially great with WordPress – there’re still things I want to do with it that I can’t at the moment and I’m just figuring out as I go along.

But I’m getting there and as it is I’m able to interact well with other authors which is the important thing. The rest can wait for now. I would like to thank all of you who are following my blog once again – I really appreciate that you take time out of your busy lives to read my blog and comment on it. Thank you!

I will raise an invisible toast: Here’s to many more blogging years!

Call for beta readers

March 2, 2014 ~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 7 Comments

Hi everyone.

I’ve finished the first round of editing of my novel Reunion of the Heart and I’m currently reading through it again, correcting and amending as I go.

I would like to send it out to beta readers soon, so if you would be interested in reading it and letting me know what you think, please get in touch.

I only need a few people to beta read, so really it’s on a first come, first served basis. This novel is very much a romance, so won’t be to everyone’s taste. But if you think you might like to be a beta reader for me, please let me know.

My email address is: elaine (dot) jeremiah (at) gmail (dot) com

Thank you! 🙂

When to send to beta readers?

February 22, 2014 ~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 22 Comments

I’ve just finished my first round of editing my novel. I’m wondering when would be the best time to send it out to beta readers (who I’ve yet to find!)?

Do I go over it myself as many times as possible before I get to that point? Or is it better to send it out now and get the feedback I so desperately need as soon as possible?

There’s a certain element to my novel I’m not sure about. Not going to say what it is but I definitely need some guidance.

So I’m asking all of you who’ve written a book (admittedly this is my second novel but I’m still unsure about this) what you’ve found to be the best time to send your novel out to be beta read and get those all important second opinions?

I must confess I’m not great at making decisions. Also, if you all tell me a million different things, that’s going to be even more confusing! But I’m willing to take the risk with this cos I really need to know. And even if you don’t have a definitive answer, I’d be interested to hear your stories about editing and how it all went for you.

It’s definitely an exciting time for me having the publication of my second book on the horizon less than a year after the first one was published. 🙂

I’ll keep you all posted on my progress. Book number three is in the planning stages… (BTW it’s not a series!!)

A short WIPpet for Wednesday

February 19, 2014 ~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 23 Comments

Hi all. My contribution to this week’s WIPpet Wednesday is going to be short as I’m currently in the middle of preparing for an interview for a work placement tomorrow.

So I’m back to my old mean self and I’m only sharing with you 2 sentences from chapter 2 of my current WIP Reunion of the Heart. We’re going back and forth in the novel; here Anna has just arrived at her old school for the reunion:

Anna stumbled a little as she walked; she didn’t wear heels very often. As they approached the school buildings, memories of being a pupil here flooded back to her.

So that’s it for me for this week. Hopefully I’ll be able to share something longer next week. And if you would like to take part in WIPpet Wednesday, just post on your blog a piece of your writing relating in some way to the date. Then add your details here.

Thank you K. L. Schwengel for hosting. 🙂

100 followers of this blog!!!

February 5, 2014February 5, 2014 ~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 10 Comments

Just a quick post to say: Yay I’ve reached 100 followers of my blog!! It’s such a great feeling knowing that there are 100 different people out there wanting to read what I’ve put on this blog, offering me their comments and often advice in my sometimes turbulent life as an indie author.

Thank you to all of you who are following my blog, you don’t know how much it means to me to know that I have your interest in me, my blog and my writing. Having published my debut novel in August last year, it’s been amazing to have the support of my fellow bloggers, many if not most of whom are writers themselves and also on this journey.

And I mustn’t forget to say that I wouldn’t have a blog at all if my husband hadn’t suggested it, so BIG thanks to him too!!

I’m looking forward to an exciting 2014, when I’ll hopefully be publishing my next novel. So thank you once again and watch this space!

Interview with David Lewis

February 5, 2014 ~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 3 Comments

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing an exciting new author David Lewis who has just published his debut novel Xakk Marks the Spot. Here’s what he had to say about his writing process and the path to publication:

When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?

The dream originally struck between 2^nd and 3^rd grade. I had read the entire “Goosebumps” series by R.L. Stine and knew right then I wanted to be an author. Though the dream came and went over the years, as do many things growing up, it returned in full force around 3 years ago. I began 2 other manuscripts and decided the stunk. Finally, the right idea hit and I never looked back. I’ll continue this in the next question.

How did you come up with the idea for Xakk Marks the Spot?

There I found myself hanging out with a friend of mine who happened to live in my garage at the time. As we were there listening to music and simply relaxing with nothing better to do, a vision popped randomly into my head. There on the deck of a pirate ship staring back at me were two teenage boys and a girl the same age; a younger boy in the center, on his right a clearly related boy closer to 20, and to the young boy’s left, a blonde girl whose looks could kill. The ideas began to flow and one day at a time, things became solid enough to begin a book.

Did writing Xakk Marks the Spot require much research and if so what did that research involve?

Before I began writing the first book, I went to the library and read deeper into books on writing, and the process as a whole. It wasn’t my first manuscript, but I was so ecstatic on the idea that I wanted to do everything write (lousy pun intended). During the same three weeks or so, I plotted out what was originally a series of five books.

I would say more and more research truly came during the actual writing of the book. The main goal of my new age world of piracy was to avoid becoming the same old 17^th century cliché pirate tale with swashbucklers, nearly impossible to understand, go hunting for Black Bar’s cursed gold while on the run from Port Royal. We’ve all been there and done that; Hollywood, too. While classics such as Treasure Island, of my favourites, can never be replaced, I felt it was time to give the world something new. Why not have their tale take place in the future and have them hunting for “lost” treasures of today?

Overall, more of my research went into geographical information, nautical language, and root words of foreign languages in titling elements of the story. During the year and a half it took to get it to where it is today, I’d like to think I sat on most elements of the story to bring out originality and to avoid nasty plot holes.

What’s the biggest challenge you faced while writing it?

My biggest challenge was waking up every day and continuing to work. Between over 100 rejections by literary agents, people who thought I was crazy and that it would never succeed, stress, and insomnia, the challenges were never ending to say the least. Though that many agents rejected versions 1 and 2 of my work, version 3 (which is the published work) was only turned down by one agent. Her response made it feel like she sat on it for 11 weeks, then opened to page one already set on finding something reasons to reject me. She was very nice about it, but I’d wish she read more than 10 pages.

What have you found to be most helpful to your growth and development as a writer?

Rewriting, editing, rewriting, editing—wash, rinse, repeat. I look back to the original version of my book, and even at past manuscripts in the drawer, asking myself how in the world did I ever think this was good enough for anyone to spend time on? It wasn’t. My biggest growth came from practice, practice, practice. Tiger Woods never stepped out onto the course for the first time without countless repetition on the driving range. I had the ignorant opinion that my work would shine through from the very get go due to its originality. That just wasn’t the case. There are tons of great books being written by no name authors that will never reach the shelves. I’d like to think some of the greatest works ever composed will never be read.

What has the experience of going through the self-publishing process been like for you?

The process of publishing seems synonymous to the word migraine. I found myself in constant mental anguish over every small detail, constantly second guessing my “executive decisions”. Between final edits, formatting, and the difficult process that is having an artist bring your characters to life, I lost plenty of sleep. However, being published, regardless of sales success or not, was a major dream of mine since a young age and now it has come true. Seeing it up on the e-shelves (soon to be paperback) is an indescribable feeling.

Looking back over the whole process of writing and publishing Xakk Marks the Spot, is there anything you’d do differently?

I would’ve waited to query literary agents. I rushed the editing process in a couple months, which felt like enough, only to be rejected again and again. Even my first full rewrite was rejected again and again. Also, I would’ve started my social network such as Twitter and Facebook much sooner. Agents take authors who’ve established a platform much more seriously. It shows you’re not another hack who read Twilight or Harry Potter with plans of writing something way better.

Have you got any tips for other aspiring writers?

Going off what I just said—my absolute number one piece of advice for authors beginning the journey is DON’T QUERY TOO EARLY. Once you are turned down by your whole list of dream agents, you’re faced with tough decisions. My next piece—never give up, EVER. I wanted to quit and give up more times than I can count. I convinced myself, however, that I’d regret giving up way more than finishing the job and failing. Once you reach a certain point, failure isn’t an option, as if it ever was…

Thanks to David for being a great interviewee. If you’d like to find out more about David, his blog can be found here and he can be contacted on Twitter via: @DMWLewis

You can buy Xakk Marks the Spot from Amazon.com or Amazon UK.

Interview with new author Chloe Corin

January 20, 2014 ~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 9 Comments

I’m delighted to be interviewing an exciting new author I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in the world of blogging writers.

Her name is Chloe Corin and she recently published her debut novel The Hall Speaks. She was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions about how she came to write her novel, what her experience has been and any advice she might have for other budding authors.

When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?

I love that you asked this question. My love for writing came much later, after college when there wasn’t any pressure to perform. Growing up I didn’t like writing at all. I practically hyperventilated anytime I had to write a paper in English. But one day I just decided to face my fear and write. I did this for two reasons: 1) I’m dyslexic and was told numerous times I couldn’t and shouldn’t write. Well, I wanted my children to know that they could do anything they wanted whether others believe in them or not. 2) Written word is amazing! It will last for centuries–it’s a great thing to pass to the future. I truly believe each writer leaves a part of themselves in their work. Knowing that one day my great grandchildren would read my novels and get a sense of who I was motivated me to start writing.

How did you come up with the idea for The Hall Speaks?

I lived it. The Hall Speaks is my version of Big Fish—the marriage of fiction and nonfiction. I worked in Residence life for years, living with hundreds of college students, and dealing with everything imaginable that could happen with unsupervised kids. I worked in Reslife at Virginia Tech while I was in graduate school. And as some know, they had the largest school shooting to date. The fact that student staff (RAs) were some of the first responders to this awful situation amazed me. That’s when I knew I wanted to tell a story from the perspective of a RA. However, I didn’t want to write a book just about a shooting. That’s like watching the Titanic and only seeing the part where the ship sinks. There was something really powerful seeing the characters’ lives, their struggles, who they loved, what they fought for, before the unsinkable ship crashed into the iceberg. So I knew I wanted to do something similar with this project because life happens before the tragedy. However, I do love happy endings and I made sure my novel had one! 🙂

Did writing The Hall Speaks require much research and if so what did that research involve?

Mostly I was just pulling from my memory. However, my book deals with quite a few things that require legal action so I have to research the law. But most of my research was on the literary world, from agents, genres, indie authors, publishing, etc. I seriously researched for an entire year on what do with a completed novel.

What’s the biggest challenge you faced while writing it?

Oh my goodness! I wrote the first draft in less than 3 months but like I mentioned, I have dyslexia so there was a ton to revise. Then the other challenges came along with life: my husband had some health challenges; we switched jobs, moved to another state, which caused me to lose my critique group. All of this prolonged this project because it was hard to dedicate time to writing when I really needed to keep up with my changing life! Once I moved I felt totally lost when it came to finding a writing group. Not having weekly support of other writers hurt my growth and focus as a writer. My husband’s awesome, however he doesn’t read fiction. So his input was kind but not helpful.

What have you found to be most helpful to your growth and development as a writer?

I loved my critique group when I lived in Texas. Many of the writers there were published and had agents. They were always really helpful and supportive, the energy of the group was inspiring! I never felt like anyone was competing against me, secretly wanting me to fail. It was quite the opposite, actually. Being part of the DFW Writers’ Group has been one of the best experiences for me and definitely helped my writing skills!

What has the experience of going through the self-publishing process been like for you?

I’m so glad that we have self-publishing! I love indie authors and think they are so brave for going at it alone. The hardest part so far has been the marketing and contacting readers. I came across an article, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Readers, that discussed publishing. One of the things I gathered and I agree with, is that with the ease of self-publishing and the volume of books available, readers aren’t sure what to read. That’s why a lot of people will just read whatever is popular. So finding that group of readers that will make your book popular is hard for new authors. Readers are the best marketing tool; they sell your book for you.

Looking back over the whole process of writing The Hall Speaks and publishing it, is there anything you’d do differently?

Yes, yes, and yes! I should have published my book a long time ago. Working on it for 3 years I found it difficult to stay excited about the book. For me, it was like watching the same movie over and over again for three years. No matter how good the movie is, you get to a point where you can hardly stand another line from it! I was getting too much advice, doing too much research, that I eventually got confused and stuck. At the time, New Adult wasn’t around so I didn’t know how to sell my novel. And looking back, I should have just gone for it! Timing means so much in the world of entertainment and over the last year, I’ve noticed one of my themes in other New Adult novels. Not that it’s a horrible thing, but it makes one of my story lines old news now. However, three years ago that story line would have been a fresh concept for this market. I’m not upset or anything, just learning along the way!

Have you got any tips for other aspiring writers?

I’m sure there are a lot of practical things that writers can do to improve their work. I’m not going to comment on those because I feel they change like the time. I’m sure at one point critiques were against 1^st person narratives, and novels with two POVs, YA, and now NA, but as we can all see, time changes everything. However, one thing I think every artist should strive for is inspiration. Find this, and if you lose it, search for it until you find it again. Inspiration is the magic; it’s powerful enough to separate the talented from the phenomenal. I think about J.K Rowling, John Green, Michael Jackson, even Stephanie Meyer. They were able to create works that connected to people in such a way it impacted a culture.

Thanks so much for taking the time to interview me! I had a blast answering the question, it was great for reflection! ~Chloe CorinJ

Thank you too Chloe for taking the time to answer my questions. I wish you all the best with your novel.

The Hall Speaks is available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

You can contact Chloe via her blog: chloeleighcorin.wordpress.com and on tumblr at: chloecorin.tumblr.com

What a week that was!

September 23, 2013 ~ Elaine Jeremiah ~ 12 Comments

Well my blog tour to promote my debut novel The Inheritance is over. I’ve learned a lot from it, the main thing being to keep persevering in promoting my novel.

I’ve had some great advice recently on how to do just that. I feel that my blog isn’t being seen by that many people, and therefore my book is not as well known as it could be. Yes it’s true that blogging is not the only way to promote a novel – far from it.

But I realise that if I’m to gain support from other writers, which I believe is one of the key ways of promoting my book, I need to have a greater presence on Twitter for one thing. I have to confess to being a little lazy when it comes to Twitter. I’m often following new people, following them after they follow me or finding their details then choosing to follow them.

However I don’t engage that much with other Twitter users. Recently I’ve taken to retweeting people, but that only goes so far. I do thank fellow Twitter users for following me which seems to go down well. But I feel I need to devote a bit more time to Twitter, to cultivate my ‘relationships’ with my followers and those I’m following.

Of course if you’re tweeting regularly you have a little less time for blogging and writing. I guess it’s all about prioritising – being able to balance everything so that you spend the right about of time on each thing. Obviously the writing should come first – after all that’s what we’re here for isn’t it?

I do think, though, that our relationships with other writers are so important. They can offer us invaluable support and advice because they’ve gone through, and are going through, exactly the same process as us in their quest to write books and market them.

So having blogged pretty much every day for the last week, I think I’m going to blog a little less this week, tweet a little more and DEFINITELY write much more.

How do you cope with juggling all the different aspects to your writing life?

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