Tools for Marketing - Author Edition

Happy Friday, everyone! If you happen to be in the Roanoke, Virginia, area tomorrow, pop on down to the Holiday Inn Tanglewood and say HI. We'll be there from 9:30am-2pm. If you don't have a ticket, you can get one here. It's a short and sweet book signing you'll have a blast at. Okay, let's get our scoot on.

Today, we're talking about tools on the market that will help you with book promotion and give you ideas if you get stuck in your narrative. It's mostly about the promotional side though. :) Grab your coffee or tea and let's get right into it!

There are a number of social media aggregators on the market that will help you schedule posts on your socials way in advance. All of them are different and give you different socials and options. We'll start with these, and I'll go over FOUR of them. There are others, but many want you to get a demo before you get a price or a trial run, and others not listed are astronomically priced. :)

For the sake of apples to apples, we'll assume each user has 10 channels they'd like to connect and one user.

Buffer

This is the only one of the four listed here that has a free option. 3 social accounts at no charge, 10 scheduled posts, and 1 user. If you're not running a company, this isn't a terrible value. From here, though, the price increases dramatically. For $60 a year, you get ONE channel. Each channel after that costs you an extra $5 per month. At our base of 10 channels, that's $600 a year with only ONE user. This can add up fast.

It does have a visual calendar where you can drag and drop your posts around, making it easy to fix when you screw up and schedule the right thing on the wrong day.

SocialPilot

7 channels are included in the base plan with one user. You have a content library where you can put things you use often like hashtag collections, images, videos, etc. You can add custom fields once you get to the premium level. This base plan will cost you $30 a month or $306 per year. 

There are no analytics on the base plan. If you want 11 channels (the closest to Buffer with 10), it'll cost you $50 monthly or $510 per year. Still better than 10 channels for $600. This 11-channel plan also lets you have up to 3 users.

Again, you have a calendar with days where you can drag and drop.

Loomly

This one is kinda funky on the pricing. There's a basic plan that's free, and you get the same as Buffer (1 user and 3 channels), but you can't see the other plan unless you email them for a quote. I hate doing this. Just be upfront with your pricing, please. Sheesh. It does have some cool features I've been playing with like instant post creation when your blog feed pushes RSS. Then it asks if it can post it. You can also see everything in one place like the others, and you can set posting times ahead.

Updating: I found out. It's $384 for two users and 10 social accounts, but there are a lot of things you don't get like analytics.

Hootsuite

This is one we all know and love but can't afford. They aren't for the casual user. Their basic plan is pro and starts at $99 per month. I know. For that $99, you get 1 user, 10 socials, suggested times for posting, and "so much more." At $1200 a year, I better get a gold sink with that. It used to be free, and then it went to like $5 per month. Pretty sure I have a post about it around the blog somewhere.

Now on to tools that won't cost you an arm and a leg for images or other fodder.

Adobe Express

This sweet nugget is free for the basics, and it includes a LOT of stuff. Here's the link if you'd like to see for yourself. If you're in the market for a lot more included stuff, it's $100 a year for one person. Worth it. No more buying stock photos. YAY!

Chat GPT

Be pissed if you wanna be, but this program can save you a TON of time coming up with social media share texts--yes, even on the FREE version. You tell it what channels you're pushing to, and it'll get all happy with the emoji and verbiage. Then you just copy and paste. I feel like it's not taking a job from someone else in this case; it's helping save YOU time. Be specific, and tell it if there's a specific hashtag you want it to use. You'll be cranking out content in no time.

It can also help you get unstuck if you're stuck by giving you ideas about what's coming next in your book. This isn't using AI to write; it's more like chatting with a friend and brainstorming ideas. Try it out! It gave me a wonderful idea for a twist in my newest serial killer novel (coming soon), and I'm sure it'll have you thinking outside the box in no time.

So, there they are! These tools will save you time, and for an author, time is everything. Get back every second you can.

I hope you enjoyed this post! If there are any tools you'd like me to mention in posts like these, let me know in the comments below. Yes, you'll need a Google account, but that helps me control SPAM and trolls. :)

Well, that's all for today, folks!

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

MS Word 2013 Tips and Tricks - Grammar Check Solutions

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today, I'm talking about a tool you already know and love but may not be using to its full potential. Please note! I haven't tried this on earlier versions of Word, but in the 365 suite, all these functions are available for you to exploit use. Are you ready to get your awesome on? You may need pen and paper, but you might wanna open your MS Word and be ready to follow these steps. Either way, grab some java and let's get rolling!

First, open Word by clicking on the icon and choose blank document.

Next, you'll wanna go to the menu item File. Click there and you'll get a screen that looks like this:

No, I'm not gonna show you my file list. *grin* You'll know what I've been up to soon enough. Let's move on! Please click on Options down at the bottom left (see arrow).

You'll get a screen like this:

Now, we want to click on Proofing (see arrow).

And we get this:

Under the heading When Correcting Spelling and Grammar in Word, there's a Settings... box to the right of Writing Style. Be sure Grammar and Style are selected from the drop down there, then move to the box. Click it (see arrow)!

Here's where the magic happens! Look at all the nifty check boxes! If you missed changing the drop down in the step before this one, you may do that now. You won't see all these boxes in one view; you'll have to scroll. I'm showing you here so you may have a nice overview. *grin* Are you all in grammar geek Heaven like I am?

Make your selections and click OK.

Now, open your manuscript and review everything Word magically underlines for you. Booyah!

Please keep in mind that Word doesn't "read" your manuscript. There are still stylistic choices you'll have to make, but most have an option to keep the program from pointing those out.

THIS DOES NOT NEGATE THE NEED FOR AN EDITOR. Yes, you can get a cleaner manuscript this way. No, it won't catch all your errors. Yes, it will create new errors if you blindly accept all suggestions. It's a program, not a human.

I hope this little tutorial helps you all in some way.

Did you know these options existed? Did you check it out? What did you find! Share with us!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Collaborating on Google Drive

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! I promised you this post last week and ended up not doing anything at all. Eeeeew. What can I say? I have my off days, too! *grin* But, as promised, it's a Tuesday and you're getting all the deets. Now, I'm not going into all the things Google Drive can do, because that's a vast amount of information, but I'll explain how it can be used to co-edit a document and a cool feature that's available once you're on the inside. Ready? Cool. Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Once you click on the drive icon from Gmail, you'll see something like this:

You'll want to click the New button (in red) on the top, left-hand side for this exercise. Here:

Now, you'll have a choice to make. Please choose Google Docs like this:

Drive will magically take you here:

Click on the words Untitled Document in the top left:

Type in the name of your new doc in the popup box:

I'm not going into all the menu options today, that's a whole other blog post. But, as you can see, you have a ton of ways to format your document (and it auto-saves your progress):

Now, you need to look on the top right and find the share button:

Once you click it, you get a popup like this:

Start typing a name. If you have them in your Google address book, you'll get a dropdown:

Choose one. Click on the dropdown on the right that says Can edit:

 

These are the options you get:

Be sure Can edit is chosen (it's the default, but...). Now, you've chosen your collaborator, so let's go look at advanced options. Click the button:

You'll see a screen like this:

Pretty self-explanatory, no? Make your choices and send it on. I'm inviting the awesome Casey L. Bond to join us for this tutorial.

Here's where the magic happens! Once your collaborators access the document, they'll have a little icon (based on their Google Drive photo) in the top right, next to your name (Casey's is the cover of her novel, Reap, mine would be my logo):

As they type, their name shows next to the text (this works for each person typing):

They can change options just like you can:

Now, see the little icon next to Casey's?

Click it and select launch chat. This pops up:

It gives you a way to discuss what's being typed in the document as others are editing it without making changes. How cool is that?

Add to the coolness, this document is automatically saved in the main menu of your Drive. You can pop it into a folder, or leave it with all the other stuff you have stored there. The sky's the limit!

I hope this little walkthrough taught you something you didn't know. The power of Google Drive is awesome, and I hope to hear about you guys using it in the future!

Did you learn something? Ever used that feature before? Tell me about it!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

A Guest Post by Felicia Tatum

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm treating you all to a wonderful guest post by my featured author, Felicia Tatum! You're gonna love this one. In case this is your first visit to my blog, I'll remind you that Felicia is one of the authors attending UtopYA Con 2014 and these posts are a way to get to know some of the ladies before the event. Tickets are on sale now! Click here to get yours. Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

The Whiteboard, Computer, Pink Highlighter, and Notebook Way

by Felicia Tatum

What do a whiteboard, a computer, a pink highlighter, and a Hunger Games themed notebook all have in common?

They keep me sane.

Writing a book is a lot of work…but what happens when your brain decides to throw a bunch of different stories at you?

What do you do when you have all of these characters vying for your attention, begging you to let their story out, but you don’t know how to handle it all?

The above list has saved my life, helped me become more organized, and improved how quickly and efficiently I write

The Whiteboard: I have the next 4 projects on the board…word count goals, current word count, deadline date, and tentative release date. Maybe it’s just me, but seeing this thing looming over my head every morning makes me go, “Oh, I need to get a better number,” “That needs to be higher,” or “I need to finish that one.”

A computer: Duh. If you don’t know what this is for, please email me NOW.

A pink highlighter: I use it to mark off scenes as I write them…where are the scenes, you ask? Read on…

A Hunger Games themed notebook: I have all things book in this notebook my brother bought me a year ago for $2. I have started outlining books, so I have chapter ideas, and sometimes whole chapters outlined in it. I also have detailed pages of dreams I have for later books. This helps me to keep it all together. And yes, I have another for when this one is full.

So, I’m curious.
How do you keep organized? What do you do?

I’ve noticed I write much faster and have met deadlines much easier since I started all of this.

~ Felicia

Whether you have a moment or not, you gotta check out Felicia's featured book for this week and enter her Rafflecopter giveaway to win a copy!

Title: Devlin's Decendant
Author: Felicia Tatum
Genre: YA Paranormal
Length:  234 Printed Pages
Amazon Links: Kindle $2.99 Paperback $8.55
B&N Link: NOOK $2.99

Description:
The curse is drawing closer and closer to an end, the only solution, kill Devlin Hart’s descendant. Scott is dealing with the aftermath of his discovery while Olivia desperately tries to stop Aiden’s recapture. What will happen when Scott reveals the identity of the descendant?

Follow along as Olivia, Scott, Juniper, Sadie, Aiden, and Mark continue their adventure. Discover secrets, new loves, celebrate a birthday, take a trip to the mysterious Sorcery Council, and more in Devlin’s Descendant.


Give Felicia a follow!
On the Web
On Goodreads


And, the Rafflecopter Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo