I just found your TH-cam and it's exactly what I needed. Being an author is difficult, but you give words of advice that make every aspect a little easier. I have been in a writing slump for the past month, realistically it's been an on again off again slump for the last year, but your videos are really inspiring me to get back into what I love to do. I'm going to continue to binge watch your videos, read your blog, and buy your book, all while restarting my career of becoming an author. Thank you for giving me the inspiration and motivation I needed to get back into my passion!
This is great information! I didn't realize that it was so important to have an author website before my book is even done (which it definitely isn't), or that it's a good idea to include so much information on the story, characters, and story world! I always wondered how much it was wise to share, though I do enjoy sharing this stuff.
Vivien, I love your videos, have watched a lot of them. Good info always. And I LOVE your magic dogs! The way they appear and disappear throughout the videos. Such talent.
Great tips! I'm a young writer and I watch your videos for help a lot and I've improved my writing MAJORLY. Great job on your videos by the way, they're wonderful!
Awesome tips. I'm all over social media but don't have a website yet. Possibly because of terminal laziness. Possibly because the prospect is daunting. Hopefully I'll get on it soon!
You just gotta get started! It's kind of addicting. I see something on someone's website that I like that I *have* to go figure it out on mine. Thanks for watching!!
You're videos are great, plus they always involve puppers. I can't go wrong! Do you find you get decent traffic to your website? Do people find it on your own, or through your social media mostly? I know most people these days basically only do social media and seldom check on stand alone websites. Is there anything special you do to combat that, or has that not been the case for you?
I do get decent traffic to my website, although that's very subjective. My site has grown a lot in the last year, but I find about half of my traffic is from google searches, and the other half is social media links (including here on TH-cam). Some of those google searches could very well be already established viewers checking back in on my site, so it's tough to say exactly what contributes most to traffic. I will say, though, that I get a lot more visibility on TH-cam. My daily views are almost three times what they are on my website, and I know a lot of traffic for my site is driven from TH-cam.
SO...I have a wordpress blog but I have no idea about getting more followers, making newsletters, or any of that so this was a helpful starting point. Thank you
+Vivien Reis Can't go back to work on it now because it's finally finished and launched! Thanks for your advice, it really helped remind me of the few things the site was missing.
I'm 14 and starting to write my first novel. Should I start marketing while I'm in the first stages of writing? I also noticed your Goodreads account in the bottom left corner. I have a Goodreads account, but should I create an author account to add some marketing pizazz? I have also gotten advice from another author who said that a blog would be beneficial. Can I have a second opinion? That was a mouthful. Hope to hear back soon!
Thanks Vivien. Very informative, especially the stuff about the bios, sharing research and linking Pinterest and playlists. I'm sending this to our writers as an educational resource.
Thank you so much for sharing this video. I have an author website with Squarespace and want to go the self hosted route with domain name and I needed some advice for a successful author presence and "selling myself". This video was very encouraging.
Thanks for the tips, Vivien. I'm not a writer but my girlfriend is. She's still a newbie writer (hehe) but still, I'm going to make her one (developer here) and I was wondering what kind of stuff I should include there. You just gave me a few ideas. ^^
First off: I love your videos; they help me quite a bit. I do have a question though- I know that it's important for people to know about me, but all of my marketing/ social media attempts have failed because I'm not sure if it's a good idea to let on that I'm only seventeen. Should I worry about posting a picture of myself, or a bio? Should I wait until I'm older to get my work out there?
This might actually open up some more doors for you. A lot of people loved the fact that Eragon writer, Christopher Paolini, was so young when he wrote his novels. Other teens would look to you as inspiration, so I don't think you should be afraid to post a picture of yourself. Most people don't list how old they are, anyway, so I don't think you should worry about that point. You can definitely tell someone if they ask, but I've literally had one person ask the entire time I've been doing this. It's not really about how old you are, but how you act. Make sure you're not being immature and you'll be golden!
Thank you so much for this! I have just joined Tumblr for this very reason (even though I've just started my novel) and I have no idea what I am doing haha! xxx
You're so welcome! There's a bit of a learning curve but sites like Wordpress or Blogger make it pretty easy to set up a professional website. I always feel quite accomplished, though, when I figure something out. My website has become a point of pride for me (although there's still some things I need to fix!)
So I'm finally watching this all the way through. LOL! And yes... I have to make a website!! I have a blog, but I need an actual website. I haven't even started writing my book. I'm in outlining. But I am 100% sure I WILL finish and publish, unless of course... the worst happens. x.x Let's not go there. LOL
Awesome ideas for things to include in a website. I just made my own author website about a month ago and I haven't touched it much after the first few days. I know I should become more active on it also. Thanks!
You're welcome! It's difficult to juggle a website when life gets in the way. I've *still* got some pages to iron out, so I completely understand! We just have to chip away at it every day unless we want to hire someone to finish it for us (which I don't...I'm cheap haha)
glad to say I did this but I'm still working on getting it how I want it. I'm writing my novel but I'm going to be doing book reviews on there too in the meantime
Yay! Creating the website is the first and most important step. It took me a few weeks to tweak my website the way I wanted it and I'm quite happy with it now! Just tinker whenever you have the time/willpower.
I write stories, but also I'm full time working writing news and documentation and blogs... But I have no idea how to organize my work to show it or what platforms to use or even, how can someone be interested in going to website as a writer
I’ve been thinking about creating a website, so thanks for this video! What do you think about creating a website about multiple things - your writing and English teaching stuff, for instance?
On a more serious note, what do you recommend for people using pen names and trying to keep their privacy? I don't use an individual picture, I plan on using a family crest.
This is a tricky subject. I personally feel that people like *seeing* who the writer is. You could always use a silhouette picture or a photo of you when you were younger. That way you might not be as recognizable. If you're writing in a genre like erotica, though, most people will understand your desire to stay anonymous :)
Vivien Reis No, I write military science fiction but my post-war issues make me a wee bit paranoid about revealing too much about myself. Hmm, a silhouette sounds like it might work. Thanks for the idea! :)
Vivien Reis I've been wondering about this, too. As you can probably tell by my name, I'm not from the US (nor do I live there!), but I'm writing my novel in English because that's the language I read in. In my experience, my surname is very hard to pronounce for native English speakers. However, my novel is set in Prague, and I'm from Slovakia, so it might work better for my book if I use use my real name on the cover. What do you think?
Silvia Kováčová If you took the accents off the name, its not too hard for a non-native speaker to say. In my head it is "Cove-ah Cove-ah" and totally manageable.
I really hope someone can maybe help me! I want to start an authors website but would love to update people on my reading too cause thats my other big hobby! Should I do this by blogging or make a whole reader’s subpage? Thanks ahead!
Just love your videos and advice. Doing some research ATM before I launch my own site and I've added yours to my excel sheet with the note 'PERFECT' next to it. Your website is exactly what I'd like to emulate. The design is freaking gorgeous, clean and easy to navigate. And it's so refreshing so see such good advice/talent coming from a young woman instead of your average white guy. Best of luck on all your endeavours
How do you conquer vagueness in your sentences? Do you consolidate an idea to a general word, or take the term and split it up into painted descriptions that act as a definition for said general word?
Make a career out of self publishing. Research can make anybody a writer. Marketing your website self media to get well known. Sign up with somewhere to build a website. Professional picture for your bio with Front page bio should be short. About me will continue until you are not pleasing the readers. Include music, art, picture in the website. Have fun and let people get to know you better. Put social media in your writings. Bonus things for you. A blog for your website. Create an account from a news letter if so desired. Remember if someone else is speaking you may loose a subscriber.
Good advice. I'm thinking about creating a series of novellas that I want to publish and I already have a blog. Should I get a separate website for it or publish them on my blog?
Vivien, this is awesome! Where did you learn this? Did you read other authors' books or were these tidbits you picked up when got serious about your writing?
I'm a new sub and a really am trying to get organized to begin the first of three novels (2 series) I have in me ... At the moment! The thing I'm most hung up on right now is the dreaded research phase. That one where you think you need to research all about the entirety of history just to write one part of your novel. So what advice could you give to a new writer about RESEARCH?!!!! Thanks and I love your dogs. So cute and I love how they make their own cameos.
Umm... does this include fan fiction just the mc and world setting, I don't like their canon version so I always diverge. I don't follow the original plot. Well... I never change their original characters etc. Just the plot. Anyway im just blabbering nonsense. What I mean is... is Fan fic included or original stories?
If you're talking about the chapter excerpts I've posted online, I separated the chapters into relatively equal chunks, then uploaded each as its own page. It's tedious but with my current set-up, online "magazine" readers don't work on my website. Would love for there to be a better way, as editing those chapters is a pain. Best of luck!
Hi, you have a very good website, did you create by yourself or did you take professional help? If you did it yourself, would you please tell the plugin you used for that?
Ok so question I have almost all social medias...but they're kind of all over the place. Would it be best to just erase everything and start fresh or delete them and create completely new ones? Or even just keep going from where they are but with more organization?
What do you mean they're all over the place? You can certainly revamp them to make sure the branding is all the same (same author pictures/profile pictures, themes, colors etc) so people can better recognize you. If, however, one social media is all about kitten pictures and another is all about writing, you might need to ditch the one with kittens - all of those followers probably wouldn't be interested in writing if they followed you for the kittens :)
I've been trying to find the right template for wordpress, but because I'm very picky and am not very great with HTML I haven't transfered to Wordpress just yet but Tumblr sin't perfect haha. But I have so many ideas to write about and share and it makes me wait because I am a little too much of a perfectionist haha
I had a tough time jumping in on it too! Picking that first template can seem daunting but just remember - you can (and should) personalize it as much as you can. There may be 1,000 other writers with my website layout, but none of them really look like mine do. Make it unique to yourself as a writer and remember it's always a work in progress!
Thank you. Always great advice and after listing to you and Joanna Penn, it looks like a website would be a big help. My question has to do with social media. I don't want to use my real name on my site but unfortunately, my followers on Twitter are other writers and writing organization. I want to create a pen name and use it across all platforms. How do I transfer my Twitter followers to my new Twitter account?
I would tweet a few times or send DMs to all followers (there are automated apps for this I believe, but I'm not certain on that) and let them know you're moving over :)
A quick question if you want to stay private and are going to use a pen name therefore don't want a picture up of yourself. What would you suggest for putting on the website instead?
Absolutely! Traditional publishers love it when writers take the initiative to gain a following *before* they seek to publish their novel. In this day, marketing doesn't fall solely on the publishers anymore - it's up to you to make sure your novels sells well!
I have a question! :) I have my manuscript ready to go but wanted to build my author platform a bit before querying agents. So of course I want to make an author site, but my dilemma is I’m getting married next year and my name is going to change. That is the name id like to publish with. Do I start building my platform and website with my future name? Or do I start with the name I have currently and change social media/link to a new website once I’m married? Thanks for your advice!
I'd go ahead and use your soon-to-be married name, since that's the name you want to publish under. Even though it's not your name right now, no one will really know (unless they know you IRL) and it'll help avoid confusion down the road ☺️I also just posted a new website video using Wix if you want to go check it out!
Are you talking about the wordpress.com website? I own both of them but the Wordpress one is no longer active. I get some traffic over there but it's miniscule--two or three people daily since it's a dead site.
How did you change your domain name? doesn't it cost a certain amount of money every year? I'm not sure...I just know I would like to change mine. Thank you so much for making these writing videos
Great videos! Great photo-bombing by the dogs! LOL I have written a book and now believe that I will self-publish. Problem is, I need someone to edit it. I have over 80,000 words, so paying by the word is going to be pricey. Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated. In addition, I don't have a website, but will put that on my radar. Thank you!
+BeforeLunchtime It's back up! I had a nightmare of technical difficulties so it was down for a whole WEEK before I could find someone at Wordpress to help 😣
So... this is interesting. Are you suggesting that I should make a website and social media accounts and all that jazz, even though I've only just started (what will hopefully be) my final draft? Or did I misinterpret? Either way, good shit. Thanks for the advice. Lucky me, I have a computer geek father who could design a website for me.
Your dog totally posed for that last shot. Looked right into the camera! Too funny!😄
I just found your TH-cam and it's exactly what I needed. Being an author is difficult, but you give words of advice that make every aspect a little easier. I have been in a writing slump for the past month, realistically it's been an on again off again slump for the last year, but your videos are really inspiring me to get back into what I love to do. I'm going to continue to binge watch your videos, read your blog, and buy your book, all while restarting my career of becoming an author. Thank you for giving me the inspiration and motivation I needed to get back into my passion!
Never give up! One day you ll be signing your books!
Great advice. Thank you!
Side note, I love your videos, but I love when your dogs appear in the background more.
Finally someone answered the questions I had asked in myself.thank you.
This is great information! I didn't realize that it was so important to have an author website before my book is even done (which it definitely isn't), or that it's a good idea to include so much information on the story, characters, and story world! I always wondered how much it was wise to share, though I do enjoy sharing this stuff.
Thank you for this! I was JUST thinking about finally creating my author website when you posted this :)
Perfect timing! :)
Vivien, I love your videos, have watched a lot of them. Good info always. And I LOVE your magic dogs! The way they appear and disappear throughout the videos. Such talent.
Am so glad I found you. My book will be out next year and I opted to self publish and parted ways with my agent.
Great tips! I'm a young writer and I watch your videos for help a lot and I've improved my writing MAJORLY. Great job on your videos by the way, they're wonderful!
Awesome tips. I'm all over social media but don't have a website yet. Possibly because of terminal laziness. Possibly because the prospect is daunting. Hopefully I'll get on it soon!
You just gotta get started! It's kind of addicting. I see something on someone's website that I like that I *have* to go figure it out on mine.
Thanks for watching!!
You're videos are great, plus they always involve puppers. I can't go wrong!
Do you find you get decent traffic to your website? Do people find it on your own, or through your social media mostly? I know most people these days basically only do social media and seldom check on stand alone websites. Is there anything special you do to combat that, or has that not been the case for you?
I do get decent traffic to my website, although that's very subjective. My site has grown a lot in the last year, but I find about half of my traffic is from google searches, and the other half is social media links (including here on TH-cam). Some of those google searches could very well be already established viewers checking back in on my site, so it's tough to say exactly what contributes most to traffic. I will say, though, that I get a lot more visibility on TH-cam. My daily views are almost three times what they are on my website, and I know a lot of traffic for my site is driven from TH-cam.
Well, I've got the youtube channel, though strangely out of my 200 subs only about 20 ever view my videos *shrugs*
Very insightful, entertaining and I feel so much wiser listening to your indept and concise perspective.
Vivien, do you have any information about marketing your book?
This has been super helpful! I am in the process of making my website and it was like you read my mind! =)
Haha, awesome! Glad it was helpful :)
Great info! So much to do, now that I finished my first novel. Gah!
Awesome tutorial, very practical and easy to understand and follow. Great job!
SO...I have a wordpress blog but I have no idea about getting more followers, making newsletters, or any of that so this was a helpful starting point. Thank you
You're very welcome! Be sure to check out Nick Stephenson for newsletters (I just realized I didn't link it on my video): noorosha.com
I literally took a break from working on my updated website and found this in my subscription box . . It was just meant to be!
Ha, caught ya! Now get back to work ;)
+Vivien Reis Can't go back to work on it now because it's finally finished and launched! Thanks for your advice, it really helped remind me of the few things the site was missing.
Thank you so much for the help! Trying to get my brand out there and make a website! Can't wait to check out your novel!!
I'm 14 and starting to write my first novel. Should I start marketing while I'm in the first stages of writing? I also noticed your Goodreads account in the bottom left corner. I have a Goodreads account, but should I create an author account to add some marketing pizazz? I have also gotten advice from another author who said that a blog would be beneficial. Can I have a second opinion? That was a mouthful. Hope to hear back soon!
Hey, so what happened? I might start a blog soon with all my stories and stuff..what did you do?
Each of the series, should have it's own page. Nice i wil keep that in. Mind.
Thanks Vivien. Very informative, especially the stuff about the bios, sharing research and linking Pinterest and playlists. I'm sending this to our writers as an educational resource.
Thank you so much for sharing this video. I have an author website with Squarespace and want to go the self hosted route with domain name and I needed some advice for a successful author presence and "selling myself". This video was very encouraging.
Thanks for the tips, Vivien.
I'm not a writer but my girlfriend is. She's still a newbie writer (hehe) but still, I'm going to make her one (developer here) and I was wondering what kind of stuff I should include there. You just gave me a few ideas. ^^
Fantastic advice! This video was so helpful! Thank you so much!
So true marketing can boost your sales.
First off: I love your videos; they help me quite a bit. I do have a question though- I know that it's important for people to know about me, but all of my marketing/ social media attempts have failed because I'm not sure if it's a good idea to let on that I'm only seventeen. Should I worry about posting a picture of myself, or a bio? Should I wait until I'm older to get my work out there?
This might actually open up some more doors for you. A lot of people loved the fact that Eragon writer, Christopher Paolini, was so young when he wrote his novels. Other teens would look to you as inspiration, so I don't think you should be afraid to post a picture of yourself. Most people don't list how old they are, anyway, so I don't think you should worry about that point. You can definitely tell someone if they ask, but I've literally had one person ask the entire time I've been doing this. It's not really about how old you are, but how you act. Make sure you're not being immature and you'll be golden!
Thank you so much for this! I have just joined Tumblr for this very reason (even though I've just started my novel) and I have no idea what I am doing haha! xxx
You're so welcome! There's a bit of a learning curve but sites like Wordpress or Blogger make it pretty easy to set up a professional website. I always feel quite accomplished, though, when I figure something out. My website has become a point of pride for me (although there's still some things I need to fix!)
So I'm finally watching this all the way through. LOL! And yes... I have to make a website!! I have a blog, but I need an actual website. I haven't even started writing my book. I'm in outlining. But I am 100% sure I WILL finish and publish, unless of course... the worst happens. x.x Let's not go there. LOL
Thanks- great list of helpful things to include!!
What about a sales page with your products?
Awesome ideas for things to include in a website. I just made my own author website about a month ago and I haven't touched it much after the first few days. I know I should become more active on it also. Thanks!
You're welcome! It's difficult to juggle a website when life gets in the way. I've *still* got some pages to iron out, so I completely understand! We just have to chip away at it every day unless we want to hire someone to finish it for us (which I don't...I'm cheap haha)
This was pretty good. I have already decided to use Wix for my website. I have to wait since Wix charges.
glad to say I did this but I'm still working on getting it how I want it. I'm writing my novel but I'm going to be doing book reviews on there too in the meantime
Yay! Creating the website is the first and most important step. It took me a few weeks to tweak my website the way I wanted it and I'm quite happy with it now! Just tinker whenever you have the time/willpower.
Good advice. You and a few other writer youtubers have given me a lot of good information. Thanks for it!
Good video, clear ideas presented. Thanks for the post! 😄
Thanks for mentioning Joanna Penn!
Of course! She's an amazing person--one of the first that opened my eyes to self-publishing.
Thanks for this video, it was really helpful. Also looking at your site is helping me build my own. Much appreciated!
Also, I jave social media but it's better if I have separate social media from my personal ones right? Does it has to have my name?
Beautiful dog
I write stories, but also I'm full time working writing news and documentation and blogs... But I have no idea how to organize my work to show it or what platforms to use or even, how can someone be interested in going to website as a writer
I’ve been thinking about creating a website, so thanks for this video! What do you think about creating a website about multiple things - your writing and English teaching stuff, for instance?
Awesome tips, Vivienne. Thanks!
You should give a chapter. But only one for them to get hooked and by your book
love your dog !!
On a more serious note, what do you recommend for people using pen names and trying to keep their privacy? I don't use an individual picture, I plan on using a family crest.
This is a tricky subject. I personally feel that people like *seeing* who the writer is. You could always use a silhouette picture or a photo of you when you were younger. That way you might not be as recognizable. If you're writing in a genre like erotica, though, most people will understand your desire to stay anonymous :)
Vivien Reis No, I write military science fiction but my post-war issues make me a wee bit paranoid about revealing too much about myself. Hmm, a silhouette sounds like it might work. Thanks for the idea! :)
Vivien Reis I've been wondering about this, too. As you can probably tell by my name, I'm not from the US (nor do I live there!), but I'm writing my novel in English because that's the language I read in. In my experience, my surname is very hard to pronounce for native English speakers. However, my novel is set in Prague, and I'm from Slovakia, so it might work better for my book if I use use my real name on the cover. What do you think?
Silvia Kováčová If you took the accents off the name, its not too hard for a non-native speaker to say. In my head it is "Cove-ah Cove-ah" and totally manageable.
I really hope someone can maybe help me! I want to start an authors website but would love to update people on my reading too cause thats my other big hobby! Should I do this by blogging or make a whole reader’s subpage? Thanks ahead!
Do I need a website If I'm just starting out with no funds to be able to buy a domain or a website?
Thank you so much for making this!
Do you have to rent a domain name?
donnell outlaw You rent by purchasing a year at a time.
Did you write that picture of the yellow flower in the background?, its very nice
What costs are there in making an author website? I mean say if you are making it yourself?
Just love your videos and advice. Doing some research ATM before I launch my own site and I've added yours to my excel sheet with the note 'PERFECT' next to it. Your website is exactly what I'd like to emulate. The design is freaking gorgeous, clean and easy to navigate. And it's so refreshing so see such good advice/talent coming from a young woman instead of your average white guy. Best of luck on all your endeavours
thanks for the video
Looking gorgeous as usual! :) Love your videos, thank you for sharing!
Thank *you* for watching!
Is your website from Wix or from WordPress? Is there a difference.
How do you conquer vagueness in your sentences? Do you consolidate an idea to a general word, or take the term and split it up into painted descriptions that act as a definition for said general word?
Do read Janice Hardie books...
Make a career out of self publishing. Research can make anybody a writer. Marketing your website self media to get well known. Sign up with somewhere to build a website. Professional picture for your bio with Front page bio should be short. About me will continue until you are not pleasing the readers. Include music, art, picture in the website. Have fun and let people get to know you better. Put social media in your writings. Bonus things for you. A blog for your website. Create an account from a news letter if so desired. Remember if someone else is speaking you may loose a subscriber.
You can use advertising through Google if you have a decent site, too.
Troof!
Good advice. I'm thinking about creating a series of novellas that I want to publish and I already have a blog. Should I get a separate website for it or publish them on my blog?
Thank you for your video. How would incorporate social media, if the author is using a pen name?
Vivien, this is awesome! Where did you learn this? Did you read other authors' books or were these tidbits you picked up when got serious about your writing?
YAYYYYYYYYY I was waiting all day at work for this
This makes me so happy!!
Thanks Vivian! Your about me page is down as of this typing. Just an FYI! Also your cover is amazing!
What's your process for selling autographed copies? How do I do this for my website?
How did you add your social media tags at the bottom?
Should I have a seperate author facebook account or just make a page? I don't like the idea of handing out my facebook account.
I'm a new sub and a really am trying to get organized to begin the first of three novels (2 series) I have in me ... At the moment! The thing I'm most hung up on right now is the dreaded research phase. That one where you think you need to research all about the entirety of history just to write one part of your novel. So what advice could you give to a new writer about RESEARCH?!!!! Thanks and I love your dogs. So cute and I love how they make their own cameos.
Umm... does this include fan fiction just the mc and world setting, I don't like their canon version so I always diverge.
I don't follow the original plot. Well... I never change their original characters etc.
Just the plot.
Anyway im just blabbering nonsense.
What I mean is... is Fan fic included or original stories?
Hello Vivien, fellow writer here! Just finding your videos and glad I have. Any idea on the release date of your book?
Do you recommend using weebly to create a website?
You could make a video on what makes a good book :D
how do you add a story on your page using wordpress like you've done?
If you're talking about the chapter excerpts I've posted online, I separated the chapters into relatively equal chunks, then uploaded each as its own page. It's tedious but with my current set-up, online "magazine" readers don't work on my website. Would love for there to be a better way, as editing those chapters is a pain. Best of luck!
Hi, you have a very good website, did you create by yourself or did you take professional help? If you did it yourself, would you please tell the plugin you used for that?
Thank you!
Ok so question I have almost all social medias...but they're kind of all over the place. Would it be best to just erase everything and start fresh or delete them and create completely new ones? Or even just keep going from where they are but with more organization?
What do you mean they're all over the place? You can certainly revamp them to make sure the branding is all the same (same author pictures/profile pictures, themes, colors etc) so people can better recognize you. If, however, one social media is all about kitten pictures and another is all about writing, you might need to ditch the one with kittens - all of those followers probably wouldn't be interested in writing if they followed you for the kittens :)
I've been trying to find the right template for wordpress, but because I'm very picky and am not very great with HTML I haven't transfered to Wordpress just yet but Tumblr sin't perfect haha. But I have so many ideas to write about and share and it makes me wait because I am a little too much of a perfectionist haha
I had a tough time jumping in on it too! Picking that first template can seem daunting but just remember - you can (and should) personalize it as much as you can. There may be 1,000 other writers with my website layout, but none of them really look like mine do. Make it unique to yourself as a writer and remember it's always a work in progress!
Thank you. Always great advice and after listing to you and Joanna Penn, it looks like a website would be a big help. My question has to do with social media. I don't want to use my real name on my site but unfortunately, my followers on Twitter are other writers and writing organization. I want to create a pen name and use it across all platforms. How do I transfer my Twitter followers to my new Twitter account?
I would tweet a few times or send DMs to all followers (there are automated apps for this I believe, but I'm not certain on that) and let them know you're moving over :)
How do you make your book cover?
A quick question if you want to stay private and are going to use a pen name therefore don't want a picture up of yourself. What would you suggest for putting on the website instead?
An exciting picture with a hat covering half a face or dark glasses that won't let people recognize you, it gives an aura of a mystery, why not?
2:43 getting that extra view ;D
In your opinion, is creating an author website encouraged for writers hoping to go the traditional publishing route?
Absolutely! Traditional publishers love it when writers take the initiative to gain a following *before* they seek to publish their novel. In this day, marketing doesn't fall solely on the publishers anymore - it's up to you to make sure your novels sells well!
+Vivien Reis Thank you!! :) Adding that to my to do list...!
holy jumpcut batman!
I have a question! :) I have my manuscript ready to go but wanted to build my author platform a bit before querying agents. So of course I want to make an author site, but my dilemma is I’m getting married next year and my name is going to change. That is the name id like to publish with. Do I start building my platform and website with my future name? Or do I start with the name I have currently and change social media/link to a new website once I’m married? Thanks for your advice!
I'd go ahead and use your soon-to-be married name, since that's the name you want to publish under. Even though it's not your name right now, no one will really know (unless they know you IRL) and it'll help avoid confusion down the road ☺️I also just posted a new website video using Wix if you want to go check it out!
thank you for this!!!
Great tips!!
Cool advice!
the dog in the background ahaha cute :3 :D
I have one question: I checked out your website, and found that you have both your own domain and a WordPress hosted one. Do you keep both updated?
Are you talking about the wordpress.com website? I own both of them but the Wordpress one is no longer active. I get some traffic over there but it's miniscule--two or three people daily since it's a dead site.
oPlease create a tutorial on how to focus on video when the creator soo beautiful
How did you change your domain name? doesn't it cost a certain amount of money every year? I'm not sure...I just know I would like to change mine. Thank you so much for making these writing videos
Yes, it does cost money every years - usually about $18. If you want to migrate your website to another domain name, that's always a possibility.
Can I ask you a couple questions?
Wow there’s a lot packed in here 😳😳😳
Click on your website and a get a dead link...
Great videos! Great photo-bombing by the dogs! LOL
I have written a book and now believe that I will self-publish. Problem is, I need someone to edit it. I have over 80,000 words, so paying by the word is going to be pricey. Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
In addition, I don't have a website, but will put that on my radar. Thank you!
I'd be willing to proofread some chapters, if you'd like :)
love your info. gotta get you on my show. what is the best way to contact you?
My email :) Sorry, I think you emailed me but I haven't responded to it just yet. This week is my catch up week!
Sooo. Am i the only one with problems regarding your website Vivien? I just can't access it in any way 🙃
+BeforeLunchtime It's back up! I had a nightmare of technical difficulties so it was down for a whole WEEK before I could find someone at Wordpress to help 😣
Vivien Reis the most important thing is that it works again now 😊. Thanks for the awnser.
How to find your perfect book cover
fivver.com
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Extra credit for the canines. I think they want to go out!
social media, no!!!
So... this is interesting. Are you suggesting that I should make a website and social media accounts and all that jazz, even though I've only just started (what will hopefully be) my final draft? Or did I misinterpret? Either way, good shit. Thanks for the advice. Lucky me, I have a computer geek father who could design a website for me.