Issue Ninety-Nine – Authors Publish Magazine

7 Tips for Building Your Online Platform

Jassica Atha — Thu, 19 Mar 2015 17:13:26 +0000

Authors today are expected to carry more and more weight in marketing and publicity. In the digital age, much of it can be accomplished online, which can be both easier and harder. There are many free options, but there is also a lot of competition. With so many options and market saturation, the prospect of building an online platform can be intimidating. Here are a few tips for those just staring out:

One good social media account is better than five bad ones. Find something you like and stick to it, whether it’s blogging or Facebook. If you can enjoy it, it will be easier to keep up. Do you like taking pictures? Instagram. Do you like crafts? Pinterest. Do you like short and sweet? Twitter. Longer form? Tumblr. The list can go on and on. But you don’t have to.
Interaction is important. Shouting into the chaotic masses can make anyone feel isolated and their efforts futile. Think about your audience. What do you like? What does your audience like? Chances are that they will overlap. Find those conversations and participate.
Don’t spam. Do not just ask people to check out your book over and over. Direct self-promotion should not be a majority of what you do. You don’t want to beg, you want to be memorable in a positive way.
Keep your site and postings current and regular. This is important for SEO and making yourself visible online. You don’t want your page to look abandoned. You don’t have to post so often that it feels like a chore. Don’t post so seldom that it feels like an after thought. Make a schedule or make it habit.
Keep your site and postings relevant. People need to know your brand and what type of content you offer. All of your topics should relate somehow back to you and your writing. If you are selling cookbooks, you probably shouldn’t post about finance.
Building your online platform is a marathon, not a sprint. It doesn’t happen overnight. Keep realistic expectations. Use this time at the beginning to try different things and to find what works for you.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. We’re all human and we mess up sometimes. As long as you’re respectful, people will generally be forgiving.

Bio: Jessica Atha is a writer, publishing professional, freelancer, and avid reader. She received summa cum laude in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She has published several articles and a couple of short stories in magazines and literary journals. She currently works in a small publishing house in Arizona. www.JessicaAtha.com

Clementine Poetry: Accepting Submissions

Emily Harstone — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 22:52:49 +0000

Clementine has an elegant and easy to navigate website. They publish one issue every month. Most issues include the work of eight poets. They generally publish one poem per poet. After publication your poem appears on the first page for a month and then is is held in the digital archives for a year and then published as part of a yearly print anthology copy.

At this point they cannot afford to offer contributors copies, but if you choose to purchase a copy, the pricing should be very reasonable. Because this year is their first full year as a publisher, I do not know the exact pricing yet.

Clementine publishes a great deal of the work they receive. This might change as they become more established, however at this point in time it does not seem to be that difficult to get work accepted.

The poems they publish tend to lean towards narrative, although not exclusively. They also do not appear to be sticklers for punctuation.

They accept submissions through the submission manager submittable. You can submit up to 5 poems at a time.

To learn more or to submit, visit their website here.

Bloomsbury Spark: Now Accepting Book Manuscripts

Emily Harstone — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 21:00:29 +0000

UPDATE: June 23rd 2016. A reader reported Bloomsbury Spark’s contact email was not working. Eventually she was able to contact someone at Bloomsbury Spark who said that they are no longer open to unsolicited submissions. The website has not been updated at this point and all the unsolicited submission guidelines are still up. However they are now closed to unsolicited submissions. Do not submit.

Bloomsbury Spark is a digital imprint of the large established publisher Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury UK was responsible for publishing Harry Potter. Bloomsbury US has also published many bestsellers both in terms of fiction and non-fiction. However Bloomsbury US does not accept unsolicited submissions from authors. Bloomsbury Spark does.

Bloomsbury Spark specializes in publishing young adult and early adult novels. They were founded in 2013 and are interested in publishing a wide variety of sub-genres including romance, contemporary, dystopian, paranormal, sci-fi, mystery, and thrillers.

They are a full service publisher that pays via royalties. They have clear marketing plans for the books they publish.

If you have a manuscript between 25k and 60k words long that fits into one of the appropriate genres, send it to the correct editor’s email address. The editors differ depending on your geographic location. Emails should include a query letter, a brief biography, and links to your online presence. The manuscript should be attached.

Do note that they only contact you if they are interested in publishing the manuscript.

They are an eBook publisher but if a book reaches a certain level of success they will publish a print edition of it. The ebooks they publish are available wherever eBooks are sold, including the Kindle marketplace, on Barnes and Nobles website and at the iBookstore.

To learn more about their submission process or to submit visit their website here.