Write the Darn Book! – Part #4

 

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2. Join some Indie groups so you’re in contact with
those who know what to do and will help with advice. The Indie
Romance Ink and the Author’s Network on yahoo are two good examples. (Go to
Yahoo on Google and at the bottom where the lists are located click on Groups.)

 

I’ve listed the two loops above because those are
the one’s I’m on and they have helped me tremendously. I have no doubt there
are many more out there that will work for you in the same way.

There is a certain language you will run into as you
become more involved with the Indie world, and I remember being as green as a
mushed avocado and had no idea what many of the terms meant—especially those
phrases pertaining to publishing, contracts and promoting. One I remember that
got to me was Create space!?? If you take it at its traditional meaning it didn’t
make sense where they referred to it. L Oh yeah and
Hootsuite?????? Whaaa!!!

Thankfully on these loops, I never felt too shy to
ask what I needed to know. And… I always received at least one answer and many
times a bunch. Most of the others on the loop are happy to reply and support
you both in the good times and when things are going rough.

Not only are your questions answered here but there
are friendships to be made and contacts to generate. There are also those, who
like yourself, need something in return. For example – they have allotted
certain days where they hold “Likes & Tags” swaps for not only the Indie
books, but those traditionally published and even for your facebook pages.

There are files on the Database attached to the loop
where there is a list of everyone’s twitter handles and facebook pages so you
can widen your social media web.

Also, you can find bloggers who will gladly guest
you if you have a new release that needs some love and of course vice-versa.
Sometimes you’ll be so busy that you can’t even think of writing blogs for your
site and so you can depend on the some of the others on the loop to step in and
fill your page.

At one time, there were groups being formed to set
up one blog among a bunch of writers in the same genre. Cutting down on the
amount of work and having a longer reach worked well for many and enabled them
to find more followers. See one such group blog I’m on called 99cent Ebooks.
If this isn’t happening while you’re on the loop, open the discussion yourself.
There’s always many like you who want to be involved.

Some of the best advice I ever received was when I
needed recommendations for a good editor or cover artist. Happy authors are
always glad to refer the names of their own people, knowing that they need work
also. And as you’ll find out in Part #5 this information can be invaluable.

Most of all, this is where you can form lasting
friendships with others like yourself who are starting out. Many of the writers
I met on this loop are now my beta readers and will gladly review my work when
I need those blurbs desperately for a certain promotion—as I happily do for
them.

It’s those friendships that will open many doors for
you in the future and they’re your cornerstone to building a reader base that
takes years. But with a strong, foundation you’ll be on firm ground.