Tag Archives: kidlit

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 23: Offer Thanks

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by

<NUDGE NUDGE Have you followed 10 new people yet?>

**Don’t make a jpg like this! Use real, clickable hashtags**

Let’s take advantage of the national day of thanks-giving. Our task today is about uplifting others in a Thank You post. It will feel so good! And will take mere minutes.

If you haven’t been a part of the #writerslift movement on Twitter/#, now is your time to join the party.

Think about critique partners, for example. Find the right ones and they are worth their weight in gold, amiright? These gems of fellow writers, whom you trust to read your work-in-progress, provide constructive feedback and help you improve your craft. They can act as a sounding board for ideas, catch typos and plot holes, and offer fresh perspectives on your writing. They are not only helpful, but supportive and committed. Aren’t they worthy of celebrating? Let’s give them a shout out of gratitude today.

If you don’t have CPs at the moment, think about people who have helped you in any way this week or month or year. There are plenty of people that are helpful! You don’t have to know them personally. Maybe their mentor texts or inspiring feeds got you through a rough patch. These fellow creatives you’ve never met would love to know you appreciate them. Why not reach out and and connect by tagging them with a short flattering post?

Today, Day 23, we are showing fellow authors some (virtual) love.

We’ll do that by giving them a shout-out across all your social media outlets using the hashtag #writerslift. This task is another example of how an automation tool is handy. You only have to post once if you use a scheduler, and it’ll go out to all your outlets at once.

Publicly acknowledging people not only shows gratitude, but boosts their profiles and helps to establish them as respected members of the writing community. You know they’d do it for you! In fact, they probably already have. It’s a part of supporting each other. Rising tides lift all boats, right?

Make it pretty with a Canva-type app, or make it a simple text post. Your call. While of course it’s honestly the thought that counts, this is one rare time I suggest a regular post vs creating a graphic. Why? As you can see in the .png I created above, there is no way to tag my CPs in the image, so I have to tag them each all over again in the post–and I have to add the #writerslift tag to the post anyway. WHY DO I MAKE THINGS SO HARD FOR MYSELF lol. Just make a simple post for this.

Some tips for creating feel-good #writerslift shout-outs:

  1. Be specific: Details, baby! Use full names and highlight what they’ve done to help you. Did they catch a major plot hole? Publish a PB that inspires you to be a better writer? Support you when no one else thought you could do it? Give credit where credit is due.
  2. Be generous: Don’t be shy. Offering praise to someone who has helped you means A LOT to them, esp if you’re not the touchy-feely type. It can help strengthen the CP bond. Knowing it had an impact on you can help encourage them to be helpful to others again in the future. And it will warm your own heart at the same time!
  3. Be authentic: Don’t write a generic post just for the sake of giving a shout-out. A list of names is great, but it’s virtual lip service. Write with sincerity and share genuine appreciation. If you can’t be specific to any one piece of feedback for whatever reason, it’s okay to thank them for their support over the years or months. The important thing is you are sharing gratitude.

You DON’T have to go big or go home

The kidlit industry is FULL of kind-hearted, helpful people like you. Shout-outs like this keeps that supportive feeling alive. Simply saying thanks to one person can make you both feel good! (No need to gift them, a simple THANKS is all that’s needed.)

One great example of an AMAZING week-long show of author love in May, created and run by fellow PB author @SylviaiChen. It’s a (free) weeklong co-celebratory event with prizes that is everything our Day 23 is about: uplifting and recognizing our fellow writers and illustrators! What an effective and thoughtful way to give mass shout-outs! This goes above and beyond any shout-out Tweet I would have thought up. Don’t worry, I don’t expect level that from you! She probably worked on that for months. You can take 11 mins 🙂

Recap: Send (several) posts thanking your crit partners and anyone who has helped make you a better writer, and use the #writerslift hashtag. Be specific with the appreciation if you can, and don’t tag too many people in one post.

Share the love!

PS I am thankful for you, cheering me on and helping keep me accountable this month!

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 17: Why Not Ask?

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Go ahead, ask already!

On Day 17, let’s ask your followers an open-answered question (as in, not one that can be answered with a Yes or No). No graphics, just the Q.

Why not ask a question? What an opportunity to authentically engage with your audience! The question can be anything as long as it’s genuine. The point is to start a conversation that will involve as many followers, and ideally RTs, as possible.

close up photo of cute cat yawning

The truth is, we talk a lot.

man in red polo shirt sitting near chalkboard

We don’t LISTEN a lot.

Wouldn’t it be great if more people asked questions not to give themselves a chance to talk, but so that they gave themselves a chance to listen?

To connect instead of monologue?

Don’t listen to respond. Listen to hear.”

(to paraphrase Steve Covey)

Pick a question you are interested in talking about, and ask away.

Rework the question to best suit each of your social media outlets. I’d word a question on my FB profile page differently than I’d word it on my FB author page, even if I was asking the same thing, because my profile is mostly family and closer friends, while my page is newer and feels more formal. For Twitter, I don’t know most of them personally so it’s going to be worded even more different than those two. On Insta I’d probably be a little sillier, given my audience. LinkedIn will have a professional feel. YouTube would be a video. (You see what I mean, right?)

Conversations are the best for creating engagement! Since the topic is of your choice, you direct where it goes, and you end it when it’s over. (If only all public conversations could be so easy, lol.)

This is an easy one because there is no prettying up (like Day 14). It’s a simple text post. Yes, you’ll need to go to each outlet one at a time, but no graphics are necessary. You are always welcome to add some, though.

Author Lisa Yee is really good with this on FB. Here are some other random examples from Twitter.

Follow just about anyone that replies and RTs for bonus potential new followers!

Recap: Pick an open-ended Q to ask, and cross-post variations of it.

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 16: Did You See That?

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[Hang on–have you followed 10 new people yet?]

Making moves, and movies

young woman in trendy outfit with notepad recording vlog
Photo by Anete Lusina
on Pexels.com

Today we make and post a short, quick video.

We’ve posted a bunch of things so far, from the comfort of our rooms or office (and probably PJs). Time to up the ante. Studies show videos get far more views and engagement than simple photo posts on social media. According to Forbes in late 2022, social video generates 1200% more shares than text and image content combined. And get this: viewers retain 95% of a watched video message compared to 10% of a text.

“Why the hay haven’t you been encouraging video all along?” you may ask, in a rather aggressive (and unappreciated, quite frankly) tone. Well, I’ll tell ya. We are authors. And almost by definition that means most of us are introverts. Or maybe extroverted introverts. Who else volunteers to lock themselves up in a proverbial cave most of the day to crank out words on a page that will be edited and rewritten 10,000 times? (That’d be us.) I get you. I get us. The very thought of me asking you to create a video may fill you with dread.

But hear me out.

The video doesn’t have to be of you! You don’t have to appear on camera! (some ideas below) You don’t even need sound! You DO need text, though. Studies show 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound–but 80% of videos WITH sound and/or text get much higher results. People need to know what they are watching, and why. (They also tend to watch in places they aren’t supposed to have their phones, so the volume is off. Captions are very helpful.) Tweets with video are said to get 10x the engagement than a static post!

It’s time to shine, cupcake

As you can see, to maximize the eyeballs on our content, to drive a higher number of RTs, to encourage engagement, to increase our author platform…we need to graduate to video. I have been an actress since the third grade [not to brag but yeah that was me playing the lead bunny in the school play]. I am a ham, I seek out the camera in every instance — and yet, I am still dragging my feet on video when it comes to promoting my own work. It feels so personal, right?! You’re not acting, you’re you. And that’s much harder, I get it. We just have to rip off the bandaid and get creating. Or recording, as the case may be.

I know once we get started, it will be easier and easier. We just have to make and post that first one. Or that first five.

I mean, don’t we want a 1200% increase in shares? Of course. If we are in control of that, why wouldn’t we go for it? Today we are.

Instagram makes it super easy to make videos with text and “stickers.” Canva allows taking a template and adding animation which is ALMOST a video, but that won’t count for today. Find yourself an app or service you feel comfortable working with, like Vimeo, YouTube, Visme, ClipChamp, etc.

Please tell me which [free!] app/sites you like best! I like trying new stuff.

The video can be 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds. Animoto reports Instagram videos that are around 26 seconds long receive the most comments. Don’t be thinking your vid has to be two minutes! (Who has time for that, really.)

Worried about how you’ll look on camera? I have a ton of getting-camera-ready tips on this post: https://bitsykemper.com/zoom/.

Some great tips on creating effective content (do you want to explain a new fact? do a tutorial?) is here from later.com, here from eclincher, and there’s a list of ideas from sproutsocial here.

Camera shy?

Let’s say you loathe the idea of being on camera. You can still use video to up your author platform. Here are some ideas of videos (with sound and text!) that will build your brand that DON’T need to have your smiling face.

Here are some ideas on effective videos you can make where you aren’t playing an on-camera role:

  • Book Quotes: Use text overlays to display your own, your favorite, or popular book quotes. Zoom in and out while reading the quote. [Or be holding the book as you read, be standing in front of the printed quote that’s on a wall, etc.]
  • Show Your Bookshelves: Give an inside look at your bookshelves while explaining how they made you a better writer (or reader). Ask viewers to share their experiences. [Or be there Vanna-White-ing it.]
  • Create a Book Trailer: iMovie and other apps make this easier than ever. If you have picture books, talk to your illustrators first–they might have ideas and/or equipment.
  • Start a Live ‘Ask Me Anything’ Session: No need to have yourself on camera, just zoom in a whiteboard with those words as you talk over a short script “Time to ask me anything! Write a question in the comments…” [Or of course, you can have cam focused on your pretty face.]
  • Answer Those Anythings: Record yourself answering those Qs while writing on a whiteboard, flipping through pages, waking through the woods, whatever.
  • Recommend Books: Share fun book recommendations, including your own book(s).
My personal brainstorming space

Those are just a few thoughts. I can’t wait to hear what you end up doing! Tell me all about it.

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 13: Little Known Facts

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Since the last few author platform pumping days have been rough ones (Day 10 was toughest so far you’ve said), Day 13 of the 31 Day Author Platform Challenge is gonna be super easy.

Today you’re going to find a little-known fact that supports your brand or your book(s). Then you’re gonna create and publish a pretty little post about it.

If your main character is a whale, post surprising whale facts. Is the MC shy? Post “The wrong way to help a child overcome shyness.” Looking to become an expert on your future book about critique groups? Share a top surprising tip on making them more effective. You see what I’m getting at, right? Make sure you verify it’s FACTUAL (check more than one resource), and reference the source in the post, so people know it’s true. Don’t forget to add your website or social media handle.

Here’s an example of fun facts that “just happen” to not only support an author but have thumbnails of two of her books. It has her @handle, the source of data, and kindly references the illustrator’s name. (Yes it could be a little cleaner but still. Well done!)

Little Known Facts the support a picture book author

Once you create yours, as you can guess, you’ll plaster that sweet nugget across all your social media outlets. Like this.

Don’t have a book to promote? It can be something like a fun fact about the writing industry or a statistic on books sold each/last year. Keep it in line with your personality as a writer. If you write charming board books, for example, don’t quote stats on horror novels.

Here’s the catch (there’s always a catch. You know me!)

>>You’re going to add animation AND sound in addition to images on this “Little Known Fact” meme. <<

If you’ve never done it before, I trust you can figure out how to do it simply by poking around. Literally look for “add animation” button. Google how-to if not; it’s not that hard, I promise.

With the interesting new info you share, you’ll look like a genius.

Or at a minimum, a source of reliable information.

The sound and animation will make the post stand out even more.

Can’t wait to see what you come up with! Feel free to share a link, below. We’ll RT it!

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 10: Pop-ups

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, Writer's Platform, Writing Children's Books by

[Before we start, have you followed 10 new people yet?]

How to add a pop-up to capture email addys for your newsletter

Now that we’ve (almost?) figured out what our next several newsletters are going to be, we need to find a way to build our email list. Creating the actual sign-up form isn’t a piece of cake, if we’re being honest. Not impossible, but it’s potentially tedious.

Today we create a form on your website that will automatically capture emails for you, for your future newsletter.

Creating a signup form on your website

You need to choose a service that will create a pop-up form for you to add to your website (I’m assuming you won’t create the code yourself). Check with your website host to see if they have one already built in; what a godsend if so! Otherwise check out the many available (always try free first!) services like Mailchimp, HubSpot, ConvertKit, AWeber, GetResponse, ConstantContact. They’ll have pop-up templates you can customize to match your brand.

Anyone who signs up via the pop-up will be set aside and placed in an email list for you. Many services also offer newsletter templates you can create and send directly from their site, without having to download and transfer the list, so look for that.

I’m all about as few steps as possible. But I’m also about as cheap as possible, if I’m being honest. So do your homework. Right now I’m using a relatively seamless plugin, but TBH it took two days of research to figure out, and another to implement. I first went with Mailchimp but then added MailPoet plugin meaning ultimately upgrading ONCE AGAIN to do it all from WordPress. I guess simpler does have a cost that is worth it. At any rate, it’s done. If you are at any page of my website, it should pop-up in five seconds.

Starting steps:

  1. Find out things like where do the emails go, if you are notified when people sign up, how many free addresses allowed, etc. (With free the MailPoet I now use I get the first 1,000 addys for free—but as mentioned I had to upgrade a few levels of WordPress to be able to add the free plug in…is anything worth it ever easy?)
  2. Pick and personalize the look of the pop-up form from a template they provide. Adjust colors and fonts to match your brand.
  3. Determine when and where your pop-up form will show up. You should be able to decide if it appears on every page of your site, if it fades in or sparkles, how long it stays up, does it appear when people arrive at your site or when they leave, etc.
  4. Use a strong or fun call to action. Tell people WHY they should sign up for your newsletter, what to expect, and what they’ll get in return. “Sign up for my monthly newsletter chock full of industry insights and news, and get a free xxx. Offer ends Dec 31st so sign up soon!” (In that example, starting Jan 1st you can reword the offer and have it expire a few months later.)
  5. Add it your website asap. No excuses for waiting. If it’s not perfect, fix it later. JUST GET IT UP! Done is better than perfect! Most form builders will provide the code needed to add to your website so you just copy and paste. Some offer simpler drag-and-drop option. (My upgraded plug was a download so I didn’t have to open a new account.)
  6. Now go to the program where you created the form, and figure out a sequence of events that happens once people sign up. Do you want a confirmation or Thank You email to be automatically sent once they hit ENTER? Create it now. They’ll walk you through it.

Does this make sense? Take your time.

Do your best to make it happen today. Create the form. See it through, even if it’s a PITA (pain in the ***). You don’t have to go live today, just have ALL the groundwork done today.

Recap: create a pop-up sign-up form for your soon-to-be launched newsletter.

Tomorrow we start working on your “lead magnet” — the incentive to get people to use that sign up form.

31 Day Author Platform Challenge Day 8: Conference Research

Posted in 31 day author platform challenge, contests by

Conferences and workshops and training oh my

We’ve worked on the wording about ourselves this challenge. Now let’s look outward on how we can interact with others. We’ll do that by being of service. Today we broaden our view and help our fellow writer or reader grow, so that our own author platform can grow.

There are a ton of conferences, webinars, retreats, and training courses out there. Most are online. As a writer, you should already be aware of writing conferences yourself, so talking to fellow writers makes this a snap (and if you’re not already aware of the events, you’ll be helping yourself today too). Or maybe you want to look into conferences that can help your reader, like ESL or Book Fairs, or things your main characters are interested in, like whales or shyness. Maybe you write non-fiction and can look into events based on that topic.

Research educational opportunities for your followers.

Day 8 entails searching for conferences/classes/workshops et al that are specifically, say, for your audience’s age range and your genre. It sets you up as a reliable resource.

Google, for example, “2024 nonfiction picture book conferences” and see what comes up. Do the events look legit? Only mention what you think looks decent. It can be hard to tell, I know. Be careful when looking up classes and sessions. Scan through what you think might be the highest-quality training based not only on who is hosting the conference/event but who is presenting. Look for tried and true, national author groups/clubs like Children’s Book Insider, SCBWI, Authors Guild, Serious Writer, etc. Contact people you know that have attended the events and get their feedback before posting. Don’t blindly hand your recommendation (or suggest readers hand their money over).** (see Note)

Once you get a feel for what’s out there, in that first search, keep going and google variations like “2024 nonfiction picture book webinars,” “…online classes,” “…online training” etc., and do the same vetting process. Read carefully. Ask yourself…Which might offer the biggest bang for the buck? Do they offer refunds? (I’ve honestly found those that do tend to be the worst offenders for some reason. Could just be my experience.)

I bet you’ll find events you never heard of, or events you’ve been meaning to try but completely forgot about. Yeay you!

**A note of caution:

It’s easy to make yourself look good online. It’s easy for people with no experience to convince you they have it, and convince you to give them your money for a consult or class. It can be hard to verify what they say about their qualifications is true. It might never occur to you to verify it.

For example, I was surprised to find a writer’s service that has a quote from me on their home page, as if I am endorsing their training. I have never taken their class, I do not know them, they did not ask me for permission. BUT — they must have looked up public quotes that fit what the training covers, and since it’s public, they are legally allowed to use it, I guess. If you look carefully, it does not say I took the class. It does not say I am referring to their training in that quote. So it’s not “false.” Is it ethical, though? No.

In another example, I know an online business that claims to have launched MANY careers when in fact those authors’ successes had nothing to do with those classes–the authors were published before taking the classes!

A third example is actually something I come across almost daily. First-time authors and even those NEVER PUBLISHED are offering consults, sessions, and conference-like courses on how to get published. It baffles me they get away with it. They look so good online. They might be OK. But are they really the level of expert you want to listen to?

Do your research. Beware “post hoc ergo propter hoc.” Shop wisely.

Recap: Research conferences, workshops, and learning opportunities that are of interest to you and/or your audience. Make a list of the ones you would want to or would want to suggest they attend. Add them to your handy notebook (as noted in the prep post). Publish that list, or a link to that list, across your social media outlets.

You’ll look like a hero!

Your friends will thank you.

And you will thank yourself.

[Oh, and don’t forget to follow 10 new people today!]