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Last night, I met with a writer friend, who is getting ready to publish the first part of his book about a zombie apocalypse on his website. He wants to create interest by allowing people to read it online without the hassle of buying an e-reader.

During our conversation, he asked how he should go about branding what he calls “Outbreak 0”. That’s the virus in Lazarus Walks that causes people to turn into zombies. Branding is all about buzz, and buzz is all about name recognition.

Twitter’s a great way to get a conversation going. I set up some literary lists on my account you might want to follow: Writers, SD Writers and Friends, and Writers & Literary People. You will also want to follow hashtags like #AmReading, #AmWriting, #AskEditor, #AskPublisher, #AskAgent, #PubTip, and #WriteChat.

You can find more popular literary hashtags on this blog. And if you’re writing a book about a zombie apocalypse, the most popular zombie related hashtags are #Zombie, #Zombies, #livingdead, #horror, and #undead.

Along with following conversations your audience follows, start a new conversation with hashtags to brand yourself and/or your product. For my friend, since he wants to brand “Outbreak 0,” he might use #Outbreak0. The more you create name recognition, the more you create buzz; and the more you create buzz, the more you brand yourself and/or your product.

Hashtags allow you to join a conversation and eventually start a conversation without interrupting the conversation in progress. Think of hashtags as road markers on the road from buzz to branding.

Stay social, my friends!

Erick

Last week, I read this blog. It inspired me to think about the value of social media, e-readers, and e-publishing. As writers and thinkers, we have a responsibility to the future. Or more accurately, we have a responsibility to preserve history. We must make published documents accessible for future generations.

Do you think they’ll use the same technology in 2511 we use now? Is publishing our most valuable information in such a way that is likened to thousands of authors 500 years ago writing a trillion documents on papyrus, shredding each document into 10,000 pieces, and strewing those documents across the earth the best way to preserve our history?

In that blog, the author jokingly theorized that perhaps future generations might study Kanye West’s tweets. Do you think civilizations 500 years from now will consider what he tweeted, in the midst of zillions of gigabytes of information, that valuable? I’d argue that in the 26th century Kanye West and Lady Gaga will be celebrated, if they are known, in the same way we celebrate minstrels. Do you consider lyrics of a minstrel from 500 years ago valuable? Do you know any?

I theorize ancient civilizations had better means to preserve their most valuable documents. Though, just as we publish in a way that is the most convenient and cost saving for us, perhaps they published in the same way.

What do you think? Is e-publishing likened to thousands of authors, writing trillions of documents, shredding each of those docs into ten thousand pieces, and strewing them across the earth? Or is e-publishing likened to the advent of the printing press? I’d love to know your thoughts.

Stay social, my friends!

Erick

No matter whether you’re a social media novice, aficionado, or expert, there is bound to be something in this book you can glean from. It’s a great resource for teachers and students, and it covers all of the basis from blogging to the importance of a social media plan.

If you’ve read this book, let me know your thoughts. I’d love to glean from you, and learn what has and has not worked. If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, you can buy it below.

The Social Media Survival Guide by Deltina Hay

You can learn more about Deltina by visiting her website, Social Media Power, or following her @Deltina.

Stay social, my friends!

Erick

Over the last few years, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter had to answer the question as to how they would make money. One way for a publisher to make money is to sell advertising inventory. So, Facebook introduced Facebook Ads and Twitter introduced promoted Tweets.

Last night, I found a blog about a book I found interesting; though, I had no incentive to Tweet it because I had no advertising inventory on which an affiliate link would bring me revenue. Since Governor Jerry Brown of California signed the Affiliate Tax into law and Amazon discontinued the affiliate program, I, along with 25,000 other people, have no incentive to advertise for Amazon or its sellers.

Unlike selling Facebook ads and Twitter’s promoted tweets, tweeting out an affiliate link for a book does not a guarantee revenue, but the probability incentivized people enough to go those few extra steps. Now that the incentive’s gone, former affiliates must look for something else to incentivize them.

I don’t agree with California’s Affiliate Tax law, but I hope it encourages people to think like publishers instead of advertisers. I hope more people will become producers, creating and selling products, instead of passive promoters, waiting for products to sell.

Think of it like the sign spinner, standing on the corner, advertising a new housing development. If that house sells, the sign spinner receives little revenue, but the real estate agent receives a great deal more. The real estate agent is focusing on selling, rather than just telling. I know it’s not a perfect example.

The point is just like Facebook and Twitter, if you’re a social media marketer, you should think like an online publisher, offering your audience a product, rather than telling them about another person’s product.

Stay Social, my friends!

Erick

#PubTip #Book#Marketing

Check out this video featuring Vanessa Lowry of Apex Book Manufacturing on the importance of your book cover design. Lowry draws on the advice of best-selling authors Martha Beck and Seth Godin. She also gives new authors , particularly those who plan to self-publish, tips for working with a graphic designer and any other professional you’ll need to work with to get your book published. There is so much more great advice Lowry gives in this video, but I’m going to let you find out the rest of Lowry’s book marketing advice for yourself.

Tips on Self-publishing your book from Apex book manufacturing from Don Wood from YPV productions on Vimeo.

Stay social my friends,

Erick

#pubtip #copyright #writingadvice #writing #HarperCollins

Last Friday, I mentioned a new site for teen writers by HarperCollins called inkpop.com.  It is a site where teens can post their writing, let other teens know what they like or don’t like about one another’s writing, and get advice from HarperCollins publishers.  Think of it as American Idol for teen writers.

Here’s a list of other sites where you can share your writing:

http://www.mibba.com/

http://www.harrypotterfanfiction.com/

http://www.booksie.com/

http://storymash.com/

http://www.writers-network.com/

http://www.webook.com/

http://www.wattpad.com/

https://www.createspace.com/

http://www.qoop.com/

http://issuu.com/

http://www.smashwords.com/

http://www.wordclay.com/

http://bookoven.com

http://www.fanstory.com/

http://www.authorsonline.co.uk/

These look great, and I am not saying they are not.  I am saying you should know your rights, as in copyrights, first. 

For those of you outside of the U.S., I am not an attorney, so I cannot advise you.  Though, as a person who is not an attorney, I would warn you that if you are found to be in offense of stealing a U.S. citizen’s work, your country may turn you over.

Yes, once you write anything, it is copyrighted.  This blog is copyrighted material.  Some people may do a “poor man’s copyright,” which is sending a document to oneself in the mail.  But the date on a mailed package can be altered simply if the author works at, or knows someone who works at, the USPS.  An envelope can also be steamed open.

When a court decides whether a case is worth going to trial they look at the evidence.  They want to know if there is enough evidence and if that evidence is strong. I am going to venture to say that most courts may throw a copyright case out unless the work is legally copyrighted with the Library of Congress.

It is great that people can put their work online, so a huge publishing company can see it (And NO! I am not saying they would steal your work.  That would be like the owner of a candy store stealing candy from the kid.)  Writers should be aware of how to protect themselves, and then protect themselves.

Stay social my friends,

Erick

I’m not a publisher, agent, or published author. I’m an aspiring author, who listens to the wisdom of those who have gone before him and pays attention to literary trends. With that said, please do not take this blog as authoritative or having come from first hand experience. Rather, take it as a student of the written word, passing on what he has learned to you.

Almost 40 years ago, Dan Poynter couldn’t find a publisher, so he went straight to the printer and started the trend of self-publishing. Four decades later, self-publishing and the Internet have led to e-publishing. Now, websites like FastPencil, iPadPublishing, and Blurb help people self-publish their books in paper or as e-books.

Over the last decade, because of social networking, it seems agents and publishers have turned their attention more toward finding marketable writers with compelling stories. And it seems the success of writers has been determined more by writers’ writing good content and reaching out to readers.

Now, the advent of e-books and e-publishing will cause a new literary trend. Self-publishing and e-publishing have lowered the publishing bar, and because of that people can’t assume a book is good simply because it has been published. They need to rely on that book’s content. But they won’t know anything about that book’s content unless others who have read that book give them their thoughts.

From my vantage point, I foresee e-publishing causing the roles of the writer, agent, publisher, and even reader to change.  Ever hear that saying, ‘Everyone’s a critic’? The role of the publisher and agent will merge into one marketing entity (publishing consultants). The writer will reach out and listen more to the reader through traditional and social media marketing. And the reader will become like the agent, reading critically, and passing on their opinions to other readers.

All of this means that rather than the writer trying to seek the approval of a few people in the publishing industry, they will have to find an audience and seek the approval of their audience. And as that author’s audience approves more and more or less and less, that author will need listen to their audience (or the lack thereof).  I foresee the writer’s insurmountable publishing mountain will become a daunting literary mine field. Tread carefully, fellow writer.

Whether you’re a writer, agent, publisher, or even a reader, I’d love to hear from you.  How do you think the advent of e-books and e-publishing will change the literary world? Do you think lowering the publishing bar will even the playing field, forcing writers to write more well-written content and compelling stories? Or, do you think a lower publishing standard will simply water down good content, allowing anyone to become an author? I encourage your thoughts.

For more on me and my literary endeavors, follow me on Twitter @ErickWrites, befriend me on Facebook, or just e-mail me and ask.

Erick