Category Archives: Social Media Networking

A Big Thank You!

Today’s post is to say thank you, firstly to the people who worked with me to organise last Weekend’s Blog Tour. Then to the followers who promoted my posts and finally to share what I have learnt.

Firstly there’s Debra Brown, who seems to work tirelessly to keep up a blog which never ceases to surprise. Debbie, who writes fiction in the Regency Period, hosts posts from a wide variety of authors of historical fiction and you can gain an insight into the depth of their research. It is a place to ask questions and there is often a debate going as to a piece of research that has become a bit puzzling. It is a site for anyone interested in history and not just authors, but the beauty of it for an author is that there is a whole community on facebook who support each other, share and tweet posts. Here is her site:

English Historical Fiction Authors

The second person I need to thank was writer Mary Ann Loesch. She has guest bloggers from a variety of subjects and also does reviews. Here’s another good post on All things Writing on making an e book in Callibre.

All Things Writing

Now the first two posts were plane sailing and there the fun started. It’s a lesson to authors to factor in different time zones when planning a venture like this because my next post on the Saturday was to promote both of my novels. I knew it was an Australian site and so expected them to be in front of us. Confusion reigned because their server was in the US and so I quickly calculated that the post would go live at approx 11am UK time, and so it did. No worries! Many thanks to Stacey Nash for the promotion.

Authors Promoting Authors

Lastly I need to give a big thank you to  JA Beard, who also works with Debra Brown on Goodreads to manage the Historicalfictionitas Group, where you can ask questions, read reviews, advertise your special promotions and generally chat to other similar authors. JA Beard is a YA author who has published The Emerald City and he kindly interviewed me for his site. Where they both find time to write I have no idea, but his site is worth a look whether you are an author or a reader.

JA Beard’s Musings

So, what have I leanrt:

  • Organising a simple weekend Blog Hop is possible, fun but quite time consuming
  • Don’t forget to use all platforms to promote it..twitter, facebook and good reads and more …I’m afraid I didn’t get around to Goodreads. It was such a hectic week
  • Try to arrange it in your schedule when you have time to spare (difficult I know!)
  • Always follow up comments if you can and thank for RT
  • Start small, in a manageable time period
  • Don’t forget the time differences and factor it in accordingly
  • Just chose a time slot and send off your polite email requests. The writing community out there is very kind and supportive but it works both ways. Don’t forget to support others too.
  • Finally enjoy!

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Filed under Blogs, Events, Historical Fiction, Marketing your novel, Social Media Networking

Are you Receiving Me? – Do you need to worry about generating comments?

Of course I enjoy people taking the trouble to comment on my blog but, just because there are none left on the actual blog post each time, I am still cheered by the way people respond in other ways and other factors:

  1. Statistics – Now that I am using Hootsuite to schedule tweets, (thanks to a member of my writer’s group for letting me know about that gem!) each post is read by between at least 50 to 100 people, sometimes many more. It’s great that WordPress gives me all of this information.
  2. Many people just like to tweet a response. That’s brilliant because their comments come to my email so that I can respond when I am next on Twitter.
  3. Others find it easier to comment on Facebook. That’s lovely too, because I put all of my posts on my Diana Jackson’s Author page on Facebook and it’s like a running time line of activity.
  4. Then of course I get emails too if someone has a particular comment to make for my eyes only like the author who responded when I left a blog saying that their book was one of my favourite books of all times. It was a thrill to hear from him! Then there have been several people who have let me know how they found my blog via a Google search. That’s fantastic to know. Their remarks are treasured even more because someone has made an effort to get in touch.

So am I right not to get worried about getting comments actually on my blog?

Should I do something about the fact that the ratio of comments left per post is only 1 in 3?

I don’t really think so because as long as there are people out there enjoying what I write and I still gain pleasure in writing posts  then it continues to be a positive channel to release my thoughts and hone my skills as a writer.

What do you think?

 

 

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Filed under Blogs, Social Media Networking, Writing

What do ‘Licence to Kill’ and ‘Mamma Mia’ have to do with writing my Blog?

I watched two memorable films over the festive season and surprisingly enough both taught me something about my blog writing. How?

The first was a James Bond, ‘Licence to Kill’ and the second was ‘Mamma Mia’!

I’ll tell you why at the end of the post. Anyway they both certainly got me thinking.

A New Year brings new thinking and planning and since we had visitors into last week and were also coping with after Christmas illness, yesterday was the first time I really thought of my blog. It was beneficial to have a break from all this Social Media and recharge the batteries but it is also good to spend some time reflecting on what I am trying to achieve and think of the way forward.

Questions I asked myself:

1. Am I happy with the look of my blog?

Yes although I intend to change the picture in the spring to reflect my current writing projects.

2. Do I need to update my ‘About Diana Jackson Page’

Yes

3. Am I happy with the content of the posts?

I have been writing posts in themes and this has worked quite well, reflected in the clouds of tabs at the side. My topics range from book reviews, book shop reviews, family history, background to writing Riduna, Writing tips and posts about the Channel Islands. I would like a more consistent approach for the first couple of months in the year. I have likened it to the way I garden; a little haphazard, allowing surprises to flourish rather than have regimented, well organised flower beds. This approach may not be to everyone’s taste or be the most effective, but those who have visited and commented on posts have enjoyed them.

4. Do I need to do any more careful planning?

A big yes!

4. How effective do I think I am in reaching my target audience?

I’m not sure here. I am reaching an appropriate audience but am I reaching my potential. Probably not.

5. Having thought honestly about the above what am I going to do about it?

  • Be more consistent in my blog themes.
  • Plan more carefully.
  • Yes, have one off posts occasionally to reflect the moment but otherwise stick to the plan.
  • Start with a theme running through January and February.
  • Review at the end of February.

So back to those two films. I loved being lost in the sheer indulgence of unadulterated entertainment for entertainment’s sake. Pure fantasy! In ‘Mamma Mia’ what struck me most was how much the actors enjoyed themselves. Yes, it was corny and hats off to Pierce Brosnan for singing his own songs. (Yes James Bond in musical) But it left me with that ‘feel good’ factor. I want people to enjoy reading my work but I also want to enjoy writing the posts.

 In ‘Licence to Kill’ I was glued to the scene where James Bond fights with a sea plane pilot in mid air, (One day I’ll fly in one myself, maybe not so daredevil though!)  but the scene focussed my mind on the content for my next couple of months of blogs.

A tough act to follow but watch this space!

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Filed under Blogs, Flying Boats and Sea Planes, Social Media Networking, Writing