events

Bloggiesta September 2014

September 18, 2014 3 Comments

It’s Bloggiesta again! Last time, this event really helped me get more organized, and made me tackle tons of things on my blog to do list. Now I’m at it again, with a new to-do-list.

If you want to participate with a fun bunch of people, or just want some inspiration to tackle that dreaded to-do-list, sign up for Bloggiesta here.

This time, Bloggiesta runs from Thursday, September 18 to Sunday, September 21st (midnight is the deadline, no matter where you are in the world!).

Here’s my to do list for this Fall Bloggiesta:

~~Set up guest posts, book promos and excerpts, starter day parties and release day parties until the end of September.~~
Write remaining reviews until the end of September (mostly for book tour sign ups).
~~Write mini-reviews for December (these should be the last of the mini-reviews, that is, if I manage to catch up with my Netgalley reviews by then). Five more mini-reviews to go.~~
Add reviews September to Goodreads, Amazon, B&N and Netgalley.
Add reviews August to review index.
Comment on ten other blogs participating in Bloggiesta.
Finish reading “The Betrayed” and “Magisterium”.
Add books reviewed in July to review index.
Add books reviewed in July to I Heart Yearly Reads.
Add books reviewed in August to I Heart Yearly Reads.
Update reading challenges for July and August.
Update blogger bio in the sidebar (outdated).

If you’re participating too, feel free to leave a link to your to do list in the comments! Good luck.

Guest Post Legends, Lovers and Lives

Building Relationships Between Authors And Readers

By Bryan Cohen

Readers, you may not realize this, but you are a hot commodity. Authors of every stripe want to snag your attention, affection, and undying loyalty. It’s true! That gives you a lot of power to make your mark on the literary world. Your dollars, your reviews, your comments, and your participation mean a lot to authors, especially independent authors who don’t have the budget of a huge publisher to entice you with big ads or huge bookstore promos.

If you’ve ever wondered about the methods authors use to attract readers, here are some of the best tools of the trade:

1. Anthologies/Box Sets

Authors love getting the opportunity to interact with the fans of other authors. Often authors will group huddle and collect short stories, novellas or even novels into an anthology or box set. The beauty of this option is that authors can combine the promotional power of their individual tribes of fans. Some readers may cross over from one author to another. As a reader, an anthology or box set allows you try new authors that are similar to an author you already like, usually at a hefty discount!

2. Podcasts

Authors also directly connect with potential readers by sharing their voice. Many authors use podcasts to teach or to share whatever’s on their mind. Many readers like podcasts because they are portable and easier to absorb in a multitasking world. You can listen to podcasts in the car, at work or while you’re washing the dishes.

3. Facebook Events

Many authors have established their own Facebook pages where they can share updates about upcoming work, random thoughts, interesting articles, or even juicy giveaways. However, recent changes in Facebook have rendered business pages less effective as a communication tool. Most author posts only go out to a small percentage of their fans, which means you may not even get all the news your favorite authors are posting.

To keep Facebook relevant, many authors are now joining together to host Facebook events. Authors can invite their fans to the event which are fun and easy for you to attend (you just have to click on the event link while the event is going on). It’s a great way for readers to connect with authors and even to discover new authors who write in a similar genre.

On Saturday, June 14th, I’m hosting the Legends, Lovers and Lives Facebook event for Fantasy New Adult and Coming of Age Books. We’re bringing together 16 authors and over 100 fans to hang out and celebrate some great books. The participating authors will each be reducing the price of one of their books to 99 cents and dropping by the event to hang out with fans. This is a great way to cross-pollinate fans from one author to another.

If you want to meet new authors an stock up your Kindle, please join us on June 14^th for

Legends, Lovers and Lives event on Facebook.

***

Bryan Cohen is a YA fantasy and non-fiction author. His first novel, Ted Saves the World comes out in July. Visit his website at BryanCohen.com or listen to his podcast, The Sell More Books Show here.