iUniverse says Be Positive about Bad Reviews

If you are a new iUniverse self-published author don’t be surprised when your pride and joy hits the bookshelves and your first review pops up on Amazon stating:

The plot isn’t so bad; it’s just not a good one…

At this point – once your legs have stopped wobbling and your heart beat comes back to normal – take a step back and certainly take a big breath. It’s not as dire as you think.

Today our society is one big spider’s web, exactly as envisioned when the internet was created. So you should expect criticism if you put something out on public view. Having a one star review on Amazon or B&N is not as bad as you think. It’s just their opinion.

As an internet user it will take you less than a minute to find merchandise all over such sites showing five stars down to one within the same product. How is this possible? Any item which has five stars plastered over its webpage shouting out to the world it’s the best thing since the invention of fire is always suspicious. Better to have various star ratings, as it’s a personal preference of many individuals over a broad spectrum.

A review no matter how long or how many stars helps put your book in view of other potential readers. Having a critique say your novel has bad spelling and grammar is another matter. This comes down to editing it correctly and having it done professionally, which is always recommended.

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iUniverse discusses the best opening lines of novels

What do you think are the top ten opening lines of novels? iUniverse publishing argues that the topic is controversial, but many people would agree that these are some.

“Call me Ishmael.”

“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

In this article, iUniverse Writer’s Tips will take a look at many opening lines which are thought to be the best in literature. Let’s begin with Ulysses by James Joyce. The opening line of the novel is,

“Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed.”

This type of sentence is considered a classic third person opening, and it has helped shape modern fiction since it was published in 1922.

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iUniverse suggests ways to write a book using Flashbacks

iUniverse publishing says flashbacks can be very important to the development of a story. They tell us about a character’s backstory, which is everything that has happened to a character, including all their experiences, up until the point that they are introduced in a book.

Many inexperienced writers make the mistake of putting flashbacks in the wrong place. Others allow their flashbacks to last too long, which distracts readers from the actual story, and seems like more of a diversion than a way to advance the story.

Many writers use the second chapter of a book as a flashback in order to tell a character’s backstory. Other writers like to make the first chapter a flashback and, then, jump forward to the present in the second chapter. Still others like to alternate the chapters of a book and use two separate timelines to tell their story, e.g. one chapter is set in the past and the next is set in the present throughout the story or vice versa.

Triggering Memories

Think about how you remember things from the past. Memories come from somewhere. They are usually triggered by something happening in the present. It is important to trigger flashbacks by having something happen to your character in the present which shows the reader the obvious reason for the flashback or why the character is remembering the past.

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iUniverse Tips on How To Turn your Book into a Movie – Part 2

iUniverse brings you the second installment of turning your book into a movie.

Marketing Your Screenplay

Register your Script with the Writer’s Guild of America

The first step to marketing your screenplay is to register it with the Writers Guild of America (WGA). The registration will protect you from theft of your intellectual property and is good for five years.

The Writers Guild of America is also known as the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), and registering your screenplay with them is fairly simple. The registration fee is up to $20, and you can do it online by filling out the form at https://www.wgawregistry.org/webrss/dataentry.asp.

Write a Logline and Synopsis

Next, you’ll need to write your logline and synopsis. A logline is like an elevator pitch in sales. It’s usually a catchy, one sentence line to attract the producer’s attention. Use a hook.

Write your Query Letter

Now, you need to write a short, convincing query letter. It should be no longer than one page in length. Include your logline and synopsis, and explain in a persuasive manner why the recipient should read your film script.

The usual structure of a professional query letter is a five-para

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iUniverse on How To Promote Your Book by Blogging

iUniverse gives you pointers on how to market your book in what is considered one of social media’s pioneers predating Facebook.

Blogging, or web-logging has achieved the status of household recognition. Much like urban myths describing sunken treasure, many have heard that there are riches to be found, but aren’t sure if it is really worth their time to build their own ship to trawl the vast ocean of the World Wide Web.

For writers, the benefits of blogging are certainly worth the effort. So what can blogging do for you?

iUniverse Publishing Presents Six Benefits to Blogging

Visibility Your blog is a great home base from which to organize all of your social media links, and press releases. Constantly updating it with great content that your friends, family and fans will tweet or share will increase your potential for exposure to a new audience. In addition, fresh content and links back to it, encourage search engines like Google to rank you work higher in searches.

Voice Be yourself. Teach, entertain, or create controversy. There are no rules and readers enjoy finding a fresh point of view with a unique style. You can also experiment with different tones to find out which is most fun and effective for you.

Versatility Blogs can force you out into uncharted territory as you look for something fresh to write about. Remember interesting content is the point. This is a great exercise to increase your frame of reference, which will make you a stronger writer. You may also unwittingly gain fans by casting a bigger net.

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iUniverse Tips on How To Market Your Books – Part 4

iUniverse gives you more guidelines to boost your your book sales.

Doing Radio Interviews

Doing radio interviews about your book can attract people’s attention and generate interest. It’s an easy, cost- effective way to advertise your book(s). As most radio interviews are held over the phone or by using Skype, you don’t need to worry about gas, travel time or your attire.

Radio interviews can last anywhere from ten minutes to an hour, and they give you the opportunity to connect with the audience. It’s customary for talk radio shows to open the phone lines and allow calls from the public during or after the interview. Showing genuine interest in the callers and telling a story or two can make the audience feel as if they really know you.

You can prepare for the interview by sending the host questions you would like him or her to ask you. This is also a common practice. You should present yourself as an expert on the topic of your book. If you aren’t an expert, fake it. It’s likely that no one will know the difference.

Talk show hosts often promote upcoming interviews by advertising them online and talking about them on their shows. Some of them will create a link from their website to yours, and this is all free advertisement.

You and/or the talk show host can also offer free giveaways of your book to the first five or ten callers. This is a low-cost method of promoting your book too.

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iUniverse Tips on How To Market Your Books – Part 3

Here’s another installment of iUniverse tips on how to market your books.

Offering e-books online and doing book signings

There are many ways to get low-cost publicity for your book. In this article, we will present tips on offering e-books online and doing book signings.

Benefits of offering e-books online

There are a number of benefits to offering e-books online. People are spending more time with a computer and less time reading actual books these days, so offering your book in e-book form can attract more readers.

People can find anything they are looking for in an e-book very quickly because they are searchable. They are also portable, so people can easily carry lots of books around with them.

People can adjust the fonts on e-books, so the elderly can read them despite vision impairments, and e-books are available online at any time which is a definite benefit to the homebound who can’t make trips to the library or the bookstore conveniently.

You can update your e-book, correct mistakes and add or delete information easily.

Posting your book online in e-book format can make it more attractive and much easier to access which, in turn, can boost sales.

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iUniverse Tips on How To Market Your Books – Part 2

iUniverse gives you more tips to see your book promotion on a roll.

Publicity

There are a number of ways to get free publicity for your book. In this article, we will present tips on press releases and creating a media kit.

Announce your book

Before your book is released, you should announce it to the media. Write a press release, approximately one page in length, and include a picture of the book cover. Mention the publisher, the release date and any other relevant information. If you don’t know how to write a press release, look it up on the internet. There are many web sites and web pages that will tell you how to do it.

There are a number of ways to get your press release to the right place. Submit your press release to your local newspaper or TV/radio news outlet. Be sure to email it to a department or reporter which handles book reviews or author features, and explain to them why their readers, viewers or listeners would be interested in your book.

Post your press release on your own web site. Do not post it as a PDF file. Search engines won’t pick up the information on a PDF file and rank it appropriately.

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Spreading the Word about Your Book

Unlike the adventurous twists and turns of creative writing, a book marketing plan should follow a definite path. iUniverse Writer’s Tips provides you with a number of marketing strategies to keep you focused and get your word across effectively.

1. Be a guest blogger at the iUniverse Author Blogs.

This platform is aimed at making iUniverse self-published authors shine. The iUniverse Blog gives you the chance to share your insights as a self-published author, and of course, promote your book within the iUniverse online community and to the rest of the web netizens.

2. Create a loud email blast.

Harness the power of email to send your message to a large number of potential readers all in one go. More importantly, your email should communicate the right message. A good article on creating an excellent eDM is found here.

3. Word of mouth may sometimes be inaccurate but can do wonders.

And you should ask help from the people closest to you first: your friends and family.

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iUniverse Publishing presents How to Write a Book to Advise

iUniverse knows that when you are writing an article or a book to advise someone, you need to provide interesting and informative advice on a specific topic that is aimed at a target audience. You really need to think about who you’re writing for and tailor your solutions towards them.

Keep your language formal but polite. Avoid slang, abbreviations, personal pronouns like “I”, and personal opinions. Readers are more likely to take your advice if you state it as a recommendation, rather than as an opinion.

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How To Have Reviewers Begging to Blog Your Book

iUniverse Writer’s Tips offers you this step-by-step guide to approaching book bloggers for reviews.

Getting your book reviewed is a good way to gain exposure for your work. This article focuses on how to successfully solicit book reviews from bloggers. There are many popular and influential blogs which review independent authors, and are always excited to find and introduce a fresh new literary talent to their audience.

The first thing is to find blogs which review books. A valuable resource for this process is Futurebook’s extensive book blogger listing. Another strategy is look for recently released traditionally published books similar to yours. Then using your favorite search engine find reviews plus book names. Create a spreadsheet to keep track of useful blog sites and avoid sending the request twice.

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10 iUniverse Tips on How to Spread the Word about Your Book

So, you’ve written your book and had it published. What should you do next? iUniverse Self-publishing offers 10 ideas to help you market and sell your book.

Tip #1 – Create your own website and open social media accounts to promote your book. Link these accounts to each other and to other websites, blogs and social media sites concerned with reading or writing.

Tip #2 – Contact your local bookstores and suggest they offer discounts on self-published books. Take your book and offer it to them at a discount. You can also sell your book on online bookstores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Tip #3 - Create a 60-second book video trailer and post it on video-sharing and social media sites like YouTube and Facebook.

Tip #4 - Send a press release about your self-published book and any upcoming events such as book signings, interviews, etc. you have planned to local newspaper, radio and television news outlets.

Tip #5 – Contact your local libraries and suggest that they offer self-published titles, including yours. Leave a free copy with them if they are agreeable to this.

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iUniverse Presents How to Create a Video Trailer for Your Book

iUniverse Publishing suggests creating a video trailer which is similar to a Hollywood movie trailer for your book. In addition to this, you will need to post it on your social media accounts such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. To view examples of iUniverse Video Book Trailers, you can go to the YouTube iUniverse Publishing account.

iUniverse Publishing can help

iUniverse offers a number of Video and Book Trailer Packages which can help create excitement with your readers as visual images of your book are presented in a professional, one-minute video book trailer. Our Video and Book Trailer Packages include Author Video Interviews, Video Trailers and Video Teasers.

There is a world of difference between a written article of an interview and a professionally produced broadcast interview. With our Author Interview Video Service, you can give your readers a behind-the-scenes look at your book which captures the intensity and passion that only you as the author can demonstrate.

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8 iUniverse Tips on How To Create a Successful Book Signing Event

After you have published your first book, organizing a public book signing is an excellent, cost-effective way to market it and get sales moving. Book signings can be inexpensive, enjoyable social outings for families and friends. People enjoy meeting interesting or famous writers. It also gives you an opportunity to promote yourself and your book to your fans.

iUniverse gives you eight tips on how to pull off your book-signing event.

See more at: http://www.iuniverseselfpublishing.com/after-publication/a-successful-book-signing/

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