Is Instagram For Writers?

I was recently nudged into joining Instagram by a gentleman that I do a bit of pro bono work for. He wanted to expand the base for his audio interview site. So I finally figured it out, and there I was. Kind of like when I first joined LinkedIn - I was standing in the middle of the room, eyes big, wondering what to do next.

I still haven't posted anything referencing the site that nudged me onto Instagram, but I have posted about the book that my co-author Brad Tesh and I just published - Invisible Me. Then I got the idea that I could post about my existing books (including the book that Brad and I previously published). So there really is a reason for me to be on Instagram! (Besides, this way I can follow F1 driver Lewis Hamilton's posts!) And I found a lot of people there that I follow on other social media sites - so of course I followed them on Instagram too!

So what are some of the reasons that it benefits writers to post on Instagram? One reason is the same reason that the gentleman that I work with wanted me to promote his site - that it appeals to a younger crowd (millennials). Also, we have to get over the fact that as writers we use words, not images, to paint the picture of our stories. Instagram has a huge user base, a veritable gift for expanding our reading audience!

How can we best create a solid presence on Instagram? Make sure that our author bio resonates with the audience that we want to attract, and include a link to our author website and/or blog. 

How can we best use Instagram to promote ourselves as writers? Another learning curve for me - the judicious use of hashtags. What this does is help our posts be seen by those that are not already following us. Where can we find relevant hashtags? Cheat a bit - check out other writers, and see what they are including in their posts!  Make sure that you are not constantly promoting yourself! Make around 25% of your posts promotion, and 75% something interesting to the audience that you want to attract. Like other writers posts, and comment when relevant. (I am a bit old fashioned - I would recommend leaving only positive comments.) Post pictures/images that are interesting. Post several times a week, to keep your name out there. If you want comments, ask questions in your post. 

Where can w find writers to follow on Instagram? Here is one site with some excellent suggestions grammerly.com. Another interesting site is paperbackparis.com. 

There is a dark side to Instagram. Someone created an account using my name - a fake account. They were not posting anything, but they were contacting my friends, in a way that wasn't me at all. I notified Instagram, and that account was taken down within 24 hours. In my book, Instagram rates high on enforcing rules and follow-through!

Think about using Instagram in your marketing ... and check out what I am doing there! 

(c) March 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

Writing A Bio That Attracts Readers

My co-author Brad Tesh and I just spent a year writing a self-help book entitled "Invisible Me". The writing was fun, the editing was - well, not fun, but not too much work, either. Formatting it was not too bad - we used the Kindle Create app. What was really difficult for me was writing my author bio. I wanted to do more than list my published work. I also wanted to do more than talk about my cats! I finally did get something up, but I am not happy with it. So I decided to see what the Internet had to say about writing an author bio.

First we need to look at why an author bio is so important that I am pulling what is left of my hair out. Most of us are not known authors, so we need to build credibility to attract an audience. If we write in multiple genres, as I do, I wonder if we need to tweak our bios for each genre, as the target audience will be different. I think that we do, as the quality and impact of our author bio does impact sales. 

We need to show that we know about our subject, and we need to do this in an interesting manner (or our potential audience will quickly move on). Including a link to our website is a given. Including already published work is a fine line - it needs to be done in a manner in which we get the names out there, but don't make too big a show out of it. It is a good idea to include our writing experience, any pertinent education that we have, and any writers organizations that we belong to. We want to include a few pieces of information about ourselves that will be of interest to our prospective audience - like the cats that own me, and the fact that I both read and write all of the time!

We also need to keep it short. (Don't even ask me all that I had to cut out of our bios for the print version of Invisible Me"!) How short is short? One paragraph (250 words) to place on the back of your book or for promotional purposes, and a full page bio for your website.

Bios read best if written in the third person. It is also easier for me to write my bio in the third person, because I don't feel that I am bragging about myself. We also need to remember that as we grow as authors, our bios should grow to reflect the new us. 

Bottom line: write a bio that reflects who you are, and what your writing is all about.

(c) March 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

Publishing With Amazon KDP

I just finished writing "Invisible Me", with my friend and co-author Brad Tesh, We took our time, so this has been a year-long project. Brad and I both enjoy writing, and we were very happy with the subject we chose to write about - our spiritual self. The editing was not even too difficult ... just time consuming, even with two pair of eyes. Then it came time to submit. We both have books up on Kindle and the former Create Space, now merged as Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP Publishing). We knew that it was going to be a bit trying ... but it ended up being more than a bit trying!

The submission process to KDP goes something like this:

• Upload a formatted manuscript.
• Create a cover.
• Define keywords and categories.
• Decide if you want to use your own ISBN #, or get one free from KDP. (E-books don't need ISBN numbers, print books do.)

KDP has great software out now that will format a book for you. It is called Kindle Create, and is free to download. This I did appreciate, as the last time I submitted I was running in the dark and praying a lot! With Kindle Create you can format for three basic types of books: (1) text heavy, (2) image heavy with complex formatting, and (3) comic or graphic novels of low complexity. With next to zero techie skills, I managed to get our essentially text-only book up without too many problems. We did include pics with our bios, but they loaded easily. 

Kindle Create has three formatting themes to choose from: Classic, Cosmos, and Armor. Elements can be formatted by type: Chapter Title, Chapter Subtitle, chapter first paragraph, Book Title, Book Subtitle, Author Name, blockquotes etc. The system is easy to use, and we only had to make a couple of tweaks with it.

Now, the book cover - that was another story! Brad basically did the work here, with me just adding in the text for the back cover. I have to say, he did a marvelous job, and I had a meltdown! (Only one meltdown for the entire process of the book, so that is good! Perspective, people!) You can choose to upload your own cover, or you can create one with the imagery KDP provides. We choose the latter. We ended up with a slightly different cover for the print version - basically because the cover would not play nice! 

"Invisible Me" is up on Amazon in e-book format, while our print version is being "reviewed". (Now why don't I have a good feeling here!)

I am happy that we choose to self-publish (we did look into other options), and my hope for other writers is that if they want to self-publish, they check out the KDP system. (It has its issues, one of which is do not choose "auto fit" when adding text to the back cover - it doesn't work! Set the font size that you want o use.) But, overall, our book is up, and we did it ourselves!

(c) March 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.

Discover Your Writer's Voice

As writer's, we all have our own voice. And what exactly might that be? It is who we are, and how we express ourselves. It is our style - it reflects our concerns, our goals, our perspectives, and how we approach life. Our voice evolves as we evolve, reflecting who we are and how we present ourselves in the present moment. 

When I first started writing, I had a hard time finding my voice. I wanted to emulate authors that I admired - I wanted to express myself in the best way possible. I lost myself in the process. So how exactly do we find that voice that is us, that represents who we are? We need to be aware of what we like, what we dislike, and why. We need to understand why we make the decisions that we do. Even the music that we listen to reflects who we are. This is the perspective that we want to show in our writing. 

We have to be willing to show all sides of ourselves, to open the door to our inner shadows, and to allow our writing to be multi-dimensional. The choices that we make, if they are honest choices, reflect who we are, where we are in life, and where we are headed.

What I found was that the harder I tried to develop a voice that was me, the emptier I sounded. My writing was hollow - it had no depth, no perspective, didn't flow, and wasn't even consistent from paragraph to paragraph. When I stopped trying, when I simply sat down and wrote, the world opened up for me. 

My advice - the best way to find your writer's voice is to simply write! Sit down and write! Allow your characters to talk to you, allow them to be. Know that if you are having to force your writing, you are on the wrong path. Set your writing project aside, and start writing something else. Listen to those inner voices - they are there for a reason!

One final thought - read! Read everything you can get your hands on. Your perspective on life will grow exponentially, and you will discover parts of yourself that you never knew existed! I cannot begin to tell you how Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women", "Little Men", and "Jo's Boys" expanded my world!

How well is your writer's voice representing you? If it really isn't, then it is time to step up your game!

(c) March 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.