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Facebook author story #3: Editor's Notes #172 September 30, 2014

Hello, Going so soon? I wouldn't hear of it. Why my little party's just beginning. --L. Frank Baum In this issue: 1. Facebook author story #3 2. Tickled my funnybone 3. Interesting Web site ========== 1. Facebook author story #3 At long last, we have Facebook author story #3! I hope you'll agree it's been worth the wait. Claire Nolan (her pen name) is the newest of our three featured authors, and I chose her because she used Facebook as a big part of her ebook launch. I had hoped to have you visit her page when the party was still in full swing, but life being what it is, we are visiting much later, which can be a good thing: There is now much more to see. Claire differs from the other two authors in that she created a Facebook page specifically for her writing. What follows is Claire's advice on using Facebook to launch a book. You can see what she did by scrolling to the beginning of her Facebook page. But be sure to check out what she's been adding more recently as well. Claire's tips for throwing a Facebook party: A. Use your book cover on your banner, tell your guests the date and time of the party (I had a few time zones to think about here), and give them the page address, so that your current friends can see the party isn't on your personal page but somewhere else. B. Decide how long your party will be. You can include this info on your banner. My party was three hours long. C. Plan what you are going to post during that time. I prepared a variety of items and aimed to post every 15 minutes or so. Here are my ideas of things to interest your visitors: Photos taken for book research. Items, places, sketches, web links. I had pictures of trees, my drawing of a map of the island, stuff I'd drawn in my notebooks as I was writing, etc. All these are very useful. Why not share them? Character spotlights. Pick a few of your important characters and prepare a pic and short description of your character. I don't have an image of Winifred the cook, but I did have some photos of the kind of food she would serve up as well as the barrel she throws her apron into! A quiz. I asked everyone what their "tree name" was, and they had to choose from two A - Z lists using the initial of their first name and then of their surname. So I'm Catalpa Nettletree, for example. Prepare a few of your favourite quotes from the book. Always good if you can combine each with a pic. Overlay your image with a quote. Use the party to say "thank you!" to your editor, cover designer, and, for me, the young lad who features on the cover of The Mazer. Link to your website/blog. Say something about your website and add your link to show people you are available elsewhere online. You could do the same for your Twitter account, etc. D. Once the party is in full swing, don't forget to link to your book's sales page on Amazon or Smashwords, for example. Many of my friends do not have Kindle devices, so I sent them to a page on my site that explains how to download the book onto a smartphone or other device. E.Start your party with a picture of yourself, at your computer just before the party if you like! People like to see who you are and where you are in real time. I took a few selfies, prepared a nice arrangement of flowers and chocolates to "offer" to my faraway guests, and got my bottle of wine and a glass ready to toast everyone halfway through. F. At the end of your party, thank everyone for attending. Don't forget, most people will just pop in now and again. I had an image of a sunset to go along with my appreciation. And it's good to check in again a couple of hours later to say thank you again and give a welcome to new fans of your page. =========== 2.Tickled my funnybone Lapland: A good place for young children. =========== 3. Interesting Web site You'll want to take a look at Claire's Facebook page. Although she is a new author, she has some great things going for her on the page dedicated to her writing. https://www.facebook.com/cknolan =========== Join Writer's Helper Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WritersHelperEditor Follow me on Twitter @AudreytheEditor =========== If you know a writer who would appreciate receiving Editor's Notes, forward this issue. If someone has passed this on to you, you can get your own free subscription by signing up at https://www.writershelper.com/newsletter.html

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