stux / Pixabay

Over the next month, as I said on the previous post, I’m going to be talking about tech, writing and marketing and specifically focussing on nuggets of advice as well as whole articles and tutorials.

A is for All together now.  Or All in one.

Technology, writing and marketing exist as a holistic whole, in my book.  Authors need to get to grips with the various different elements of writing, marketing and the various changes in technology that exist for them, but the primary thing I’m told is that it’s all overwhelming.  So, to start off with, I thought I’d share the prioritisation of writing, the flow you should be looking at for marketing and a couple of techie tips to let you get the most out of everything you’re doing.

Five tips to tie your writing, tech and marketing together

1. Your first priority NEEDS to be writing.  You’re a writer, be the writer and prioritise your writing and your work that supports writing first.
2. Share your book on groups on Facebook that allow it and carve out 10 minute of time for Twitter.  Reply, share, retweet as you can.  Stick to ten minutes.  If you’ve got spare time, go back and do it again later.
3. Use handy tech such as Evernote to keep track of ideas on the go.  If you’ve got enough devices to do it, leave Evernote open on a smartphone or your Kindle/Tablet and make notes so you don’t interrupt your writing time.
4. Check out sprints and other motivational projects (Nanowrimo/Camp Nanowrimo) to make the absolute most out of limited writing time.
5. Promote while your book is away being edited.  Start considering your cover, and your release date.  Books *cannot* be released two days after you finish the first draft, it’s just not reasonable, so use that time to interact with fans and say hi!

A is also for Amazon

If you’re an indie, Amazon has to be somewhere you’ve got your sights set on.  It’s a great platform, but there’s a couple of things you really need to know and understand before planning to use it for your books.

1. There are two different tiers that you can load your books to on Amazon.  KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and KDP Select.
   KDP is where you put your book if it’s available or will be available on other platforms in ebook format.  That is, if you’re relasing on Smashwords, Kobo etc.
   If you’re only loading it to Amazon, you can consider KDP Select.
2. Using KDP or KDP Select at the time of writing this blog post, don’t change the royalty you earn in MOST places, though some countries can only earn 70% if opted into KDP Select.  These aren’t the main countries (UK/US/DE/IT/ES) but are instead Brazil, Japan, Mexico and India.  In trade for being ‘exclusive’ to the Amazon platform for 90 days, you instead get to use special tools – five free days, and countdown deals.  These aren’t available if you don’t opt into Select.
3. Books are granted royalties based on flat rate prices.  Up to $2.99 is 35%, as is anything over $9.99.  There are additional rules governing the size of the books that change minimum prices from $0.99 to $1.99 (as seen on this table)
4. Amazon does offer the ability to DRM protect books, but many readers that like to transfer their books onto non-Amazon devices feel that this is invasive and there’s evidence to suggest it doesn’t stop piracy as once was suggested.
5. You can opt out of select every 90 days, and your promotional ‘allowance’ refreshes then too.  At the time of writing, there is no reminder to do so, you’ve got to mark your calendar yourself.

Tomorrow?  Books, blogs and bullies.

A is also for ASK

As in ask about what other writers are doing.  So, at the end of each post (like now) I’m going to ask you what your thoughts are, where you’re stuck, and what you’re doing with your stuff, in line with what I’m talking about in the posts.
Today’s ‘Ask’ – Do you have a must have piece of technology, app or program that makes your writing life easier?  I’m going to collect up some of my favorites (and perhaps, some of yours) and share some tips on them throughout the month!

D Kai Wilson-Viola

D Kai Wilson- Viola is a prolific and often intensely fun writer. Her favorite genres are Sci-Fi, where her Darkness series is set, Fantasy, where she writes up actual play from RPGs she never got to run, urban fantasy, mostly inspired by her bad idea bear (aka her partner, Tempus, and mental health advocacy, as she’s got a raft of diagnoses, none of them particularly pleasant, but none that tend to hold her down for long either
When not writing, and still *thinking* about writing often enough to get caught out, Kai can be found training with her beloved at the Ludosport Academy they belong to, hanging out with family and friends gaming, or enjoying exploring parts of the world they’ve got access to at the time.

A nature and animal lover, Kai is a writer because she has to, because she loves it, and because it’s fun. She is the mother of two cats, two adults and lives in the Cotswolds, UK, with her beloved.