The Knotty and Nice of Indie Publishing #4 - Reviews, Interviews, Podcasts and YouTube

Let’s talk about reaching out to your readers and potential readers.

Remember once the reader reaches your author page on Amazon or Smashwords, they look at the book’s cover, the description and then the reviews.

Reviews are what authors crave. We indie authors do not have a publisher to tell us how great our current book is and most of us do not want to hit you over the head with the “please read me” tweets. It is so wonderful when someone reviews you and you can quote them as saying you are well written, clever, prolific, a multi-genre genius, whatever.

We live for reviews and are thankful to those who give them. A tip I picked up by reading other indie authors’ books is to insert an “author’s note” in the back of each book, calling for a few words and a sprinkle of stars on any social, media or platform site. It works.

Lexi Miles Tagged Me *grins*

I was scrolling through my twitter stream last week when I saw I was tagged by Lexi Miles (@leximilesbooks). I love being tagged for short little interviews - gives me a chance to chat more than 140 characters. For those of you who know me better, you understand why. I can be as longwinded as my dragon friend, Farloft. I am so pleased Lexi thought of me.

Speaking of thinking of people, since I got caught by the tag I now have become the tagger. So, *grins* I get to introduce you to some of my favorite authors on Twitter. These are folks you should take a minute to get to know and as I always say #FRR (follow-read-review).

By tagging them, it will then become their chance to answer the same questions, as seen below, within their blog and to also become the tagger. With that said, please stay tuned to see if you have been tagged at the end.

So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, kick up your feet and have a read.

The Knotty and the Nice of Indie Publishing #3 - The Domino Effect

Writing guest posts on blogs is a worthwhile way to attract an audience to your writing. Once the post is published, you and the person who owns the blog can Facebook the post, Google+ it, or Tweet it. If you are lucky, your connections become like dominoes.

Carla, a well-known author in Italy, gave me my first opportunity to write a guest post. Through the article I posted on Carla’s blog I met Max, who lives in Italy. Max liked what I wrote and clicked on the Web link provided. He has become one of my most devout and supportive fans.

Max belongs to a group called Effortless English (EE) which is composed of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students who follow a program developed by A. J. Hoge. Hoge’s method of teaching English is to have students read authentic English material – books written for young English speaking students.

What's on My Bookshelf

The name of this post is misleading. The books listed below are never on my bookshelf. They sit at my elbow on my desk for quick reference. Hope you find the list helpful. –Theresa Snyder


Writer’s Guide to Character Traits, 2nd Ed., by Linda N. Edelstein, Ph.D

Noted psychologist and author Dr. Linda Edelstein takes you beyond generic personality types and into the depths of the human psyche where you’re sure to find the resources you need to make your characters stand out from the crowd. From sex to schizophrenia: everything you need to develop your characters.


The Emotion Thesaurus, A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi

The Knotty and the Nice of Indie Publishing #2 - Social Media

It takes a community to get the proper attention for a writer’s work and social media helps accomplish that.


Your readers wish to learn about you as a person. They want to feel as if they know you. If you are gentle and engaging, folks will respond. They will assist you if you work together.

Shortly after I posted my first book, The Helavite War, on Kindle, my students suggested that I sign up with Twitter and actively work to market the book. Two of them stepped in and created a perfect profile – branding me as the author, reader, gardener and dreamer that I am.

The Knotty and the Nice of Indie Publishing #1 - My 1st Year

I started my life as a published indie author on May 1, 2013. It has been an all-consuming project ever since.

There is no blueprint telling how to become a successful indie author. Like childrearing, it does not come with a manual. Everything is trial and error. What works for one author may not work for another.

My goal last year was to post all twelve of my completed books to the Kindle store on Amazon. I accomplished that plus one more, thirteen in all. I also did so much more and met so many wonderful folks along the way.

I’d like to detail my journey thus far. Each step is important – each step helps build a bridge closer to the readers who I hope are awaiting my stories.

SHIFTING - Halloween Challenge!

Take the Shifting Books Halloween Challenge

Win a Book!

1. Purchase "Shifting in The Realms"
2. Between October 17th and October 31st read the book and review it on any social media platform
3. (A) Post the link  to the review (and a way to contact you) in the comments on this article (B) Tweet me @TheresaSnyder19 with the link and #ShiftingReview (C) DM me on Twitter with the Link & your email address

I will contact you and arrange to send you an ebook of the second book in the series, "Shifting Agony & Ecstasy"

I promise not to use your email for anything other than to send you the second book.

A synopsis of the series, a sample chapter and the links for all the buying platforms (under the header) can be found here: The Shifting Books

This is a 62 page paranormal novella with a 4.6 Star rating on Amazon.
The story is seen through the eyes of a shape-shifter in his wolf form.

Warning there is reference made to the aftermath of a rape, and retribution for said rape.
However, this is a vital part of a story that develops into a unique adventure/romance with a liberal dose of humor.

Take the Challenge! 

I dare you! 

I Double 'Wolf' Dare You!

Art by Kwazar of Deviant Art