In this episode we cover: 

• What a professional network is and why you need one
• Tactics for building a network
• How to nurture your network in pandemic times
• How introverts can grow their network
• Mistakes to avoid

This week’s question is: What’s the hardest thing you’ve done in your writing journey?

Recommendation of the week is: Newsletter Ninja 2: If You Give a Reader a Cookie: Supercharge Your Author Mailing List With the Perfect Reader Magnet by Tammi L. Labrecque

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

***this show uses affiliate links

Links I mentioned are:

50% discount on Sacha’s audiobook 13 Steps to Evil: How to Craft a Superbad Villain

Use code: FABFIFTY 

Find out more about Emma on:

Wild Words Festival: 10% discount for listeners if you use the code REBEL while booking

Swearing Is Good For You

Emma’s Original Interview: Episode 73

Rebel of the Week is: Anneli 

If you’d like to be a Rebel of the week please do send in your story, it can be any kind of rebellion. You can email your rebel story to rebelauthorpodcast@gmail.com

2 new patrons this week, a big thank you and welcome to Jennifer Kayne and Pia Gasberg. A big thank you to my existing patrons as well. If you’d like to support the show, and get early access to all the episodes as well as bonus content you can from as little as $2 a month by visiting: www.patreon.com/sachablack

The post 125 How to Build a Professional Author Network with Emma Byrne appeared first on Sacha Black.

In this episode we cover: 

• Mistakes to avoid when running an author event
• What small details set an event apart from others
• How to make author events into a revenue stream
• How to pitch speakers
• What considerations do you need to make
• What kind of person do you need to be to run author events

This week’s question is: What are the best author events you’ve been to (digital or in-person)?

Recommendation of the week is: The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr

Apple

Kobo

Amazon UK

Amazon USA 

***This show uses affiliate links

Find out more about Daniel on:

Website

Twitter

Instagram

But the best way for people to make contact Daniel is his free, do at your own pace, writing course.

Rebel of the Week is: Ian Worrall

If you’d like to be a Rebel of the week please do send in your story, it can be any kind of rebellion. You can email your rebel story to rebelauthorpodcast@gmail.com or instagram me @sachablackauthor

5 new patrons today, welcome and thank you to Cassi Emerson, Kelllye Burroughs, Lynn Reed, John Rindfleisch IX and Elizabeth Prais. A big thank you to my existing patrons too. If you’d like to support the show, and get early access to all the episodes as well as bonus content you can from as little as $2 a month by visiting: www.patreon.com/sachablack

The post 093 How to Run an Author Event with Daniel Wallace appeared first on Sacha Black.

But worse, if you’re anything like me, you’re completely incapable of realizing you’re tired, let alone reaching the brink of total burnout. I’m blind to burnout. It’s like fighting a custom built invisible demon while blindfolded and strapped into a straight jacket. Suffice to say, I’ve probably gone through at least six months of piss poor writing performance, chronic exhaustion, a terrible mindset and insomnia. Because I know what’s useful when you’re tired, NOT SLEEPING.

Okay, I’ll wind my neck in because I like to be a sparkling ray of positivity here.

LIES.

We all know I’m a scathingly cynical, intensely sarcastic rage-beast from the depths of your nightmares.  But that slight tangent aside, I do like to be helpful.

So here’s me being helpful:

Look, the only real way to get around burn out is to rest. And I mean really rest. The feet up, Game of Thrones binge watch type rest. But when was rest ever fun? If like me, you’d rather stick a fork in your eye than slow down, then here are some suggestions to help you re-focus and produce more.

THE ZEN OF ONE

I’ve talked at lengths about focus and productivity. There’s no one size fits all method for mastering productivity.

Except there actually is.

Forget the plague of ‘multitaskers’ and ‘plate spinners’ it’s all an illusion baby. They’re not really being productive, they’re giving themselves a one-way ticket to a fractured and overwhelmed mind and a severe case of cortisol-induced heart failure.

One task at a time people.

O.N.E.

One book.

One story.

One word.

It’s the only way to be truly productive. Science and Cal Newport (author of Deep Work) says so. I’ve written about how narrowing your focus and just working on one task is better for your brain, for your productivity, and for your output

Newport’s point is that we’re plagued by notifications and distractions and minutia. It floods our tiny brains and nukes our ability to focus. No focus, no output. The point is, you need to purge yourself from being switched on all the time. Grasp the silence like the holy grail it is. It’s okay not to reply to comments or check every Facebook notification. The only thing you’re missing is Aunt Bessy’s missing cat and the shit replica of Jamie Oliver’s latest recipe that your long forgotten school friend attempted.

Silence is golden. So is one task.

You can get Cal’s book here: AmazonUK AmazonCOM

RE-PRIORITISE

When you’re burned out, chances are, even a to-do list of three things is going to feel like an anvil to the head. It does for me. As soon as I’m tired (which is all the time), I slip into MUST DO ALL OF THE THINGS mode… Every tiny detail gets slapped on an obscene sized to do list and I stress and worry about all of them. Until I take a breath and remind myself that no one is going to die if an Instagram photo isn’t taken, or if I haven’t tweeted, or set up a new AMS ad.

What’s the big picture here?

No books, no sales. No sales, no full-time writing.

Words.

Words are always the priority. Everything else can wait.

DELEGATION DIVA

Ask yourself what are the things only you can do? Realistically its anything that involves your creativity i.e. your books, your podcast, speaking gigs etc. Everything else can be done by others. If you’re on the brink of burn out, then seriously, it’s time to ask for help. Get a cleaner, find a Virtual Assistant, splurge on scheduling software, get an accountant. Whatever, but it’s time to accept you’re not a superhero and you need help.

Collaboration is efficient. You’ll do more in less time.

It’s okay to ask for help.

PUT THE BIG GIRL PANTS AWAY

You know what else is okay?

Not to be okay.

I mean it. Writers are so hard on themselves. We’re expected to churn out words, market like a machine, hold down day jobs, mom like a master and still be a sane spouse. We’re just one person. We can’t do everything, we can’t run houses and full-time jobs and author businesses and still be resolutely positive. And if you can, take your candyfloss colored cheer pants over to the corner and face the wall.

It’s okay not to wear your big girl pants. Accept that you’re not okay, let the feelings exist, and then, when you’re ready, pick yourself up and soldier on.

Oh, and try meditation.

Who else has suffered from burnout? Let me know in the comments – what top tips do you have for recovery?

Footnotes:

1. No keyboards have been harmed… although they may have been sworn at, smeared in coffee and had sugar crumbs smushed into their crevasses.

***

If you want awesome writing tips, you can grab a copy of my book 13 Steps To Evil – How to Craft Superbad Villains. Click this link and tap the logo of your reading device or regular bookshop and it will take you to the right page. You can also get a FREE villains cheatsheet by joining my mailing list just click here.

You can also find me on  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads

The post The Burnout Bitch: writers beware appeared first on Sacha Black.

Its that thing where you: create a newsletter, do book updates, bonus content and give your hard work away for free.

If you got books to sell, you need that list.

This made me do one of those gut busting groans. Seriously? I spend enough time writing posts instead of my novel, do I actually have to add something else to my seven hundred and forty-eight page to do list?

Apparently I do, and that means you do too.

I heard that message loud and clear, especially as I’ll be releasing books this year. So I made a subscriber list one of my goals and I’ve been busy rolling up my ‘bonus content’ sleeves. Finally I’ve created one and it’s ready and chock full of just that: bonus content, round ups, writers tools, recommendations, writing inspiration and book updates. If you want to sign up for it, you can here. And actually, once I did create it, I got kind of excited. The customising tools and fancy schmancy things you can do are quite exciting.

Here’s what I learnt in the process:

The thing is, I’m new to this. I’ve never had a mailing list before and I’m not going to profess to be the Einstein of newsletters, so I want to hear from YOU.

What makes you subscribe to a mailing list in the first place? What turns you off a newsletter? But more importantly what content do you like to see in them? Let me know in the comments below.

You know me, I never do anything without sharing what I’ve learnt.

I found this perfectly timed Nozegraze article through Debby. The post is wicked, it explains at length how to get your mailing list up and running as well as giving a list of providers that run mailing services. I chose Mailchimp. It’s supposedly the best value for money given the customisability factor and that up to 2000 subscribers it’s free. #LoveABargain

7 Tips to Perfecting Your Newsletter

1. Research

Like anything these days, doing your own research is compulsory. Much as it physically pained me not to dive straight in, I actually read a bunch of articles and reviews on these mailing list whatnots. As a result, I changed my mind approximately thirty-four and a half times, before settling on Mailchimp.

There isn’t a one size fits all and each provider interfaces with blog platforms slightly differently. I know. Fucking annoying, isn’t it?!

2. Personalise it

At the end of the day, if someone is following you and they decide to sign up for your newsletter, then they must like what you do. Use that. Carry the same voice and style you already have into your newsletter. After all, its that, that got them to sign up in the first place. All I’m saying is, if you blog about the intricacies of oriental stamps found in Botswana, then it’s sensible to customise your newsletter content in the same way.

3. Branding

Author branding is another one of those irritating number one songs played on repeat…

Who are you, Damnit?

Seriously? how the fuck am I meant to know? I’m a sixteen year old teen stuck in an ageing (almost thirty year olds) body. You ask me that question and I’m liable to spontaneously combust, spewing out an all too public mid life, quarter life crisis all over my blog.

Lets focus. What do I know?

Use my superhero name: Sacha Black

Use, where possible, the same: styling, imagery, language and content.

Finally, use the same look and feel in the newsletter as on your website. I use a lot of black and purple. So if I start using pink and fluff, that shit ain’t guna fly.

4. Consistency

See point two and three. If one month you talk about the macrobiological benefits of ape droppings when the previous month you talked about Scrivener, people are going to get bored real quick and unsubscribe from your list faster than I can neck tonights wine.

That’s all great, but what am I actually blathering on about?

I’ve sectioned my newsletter out. Just like in a magazine, I have sections you’ll see every month, like writing tool recommendations or unusual word of the month and then some new sections with the same style of info. It’s consistency without boredom.

Being consistent means people will know what to expect when your letter drops into their inbox. That’s a good thing.

5. Bonus material

This is a sticky issue for me. I don’t believe you get anything for free in life and I don’t believe in giving hard work away for free either. I know how much blood sweat and tears goes into creating a book. So I’d rather pay for a fellow authors book than be given one for free. And I do.

But. The last mantra I hear and this one sounds like finger nails on a chalk board to me is: ‘give something away for free to get people to sign up’ a book, a PDF, a limb, your kidney, whatever.

Umm. No.

I like my all too chubby legs and I find kidneys particularly useful thanks. So no, I’m not giving anything away for free. Sorry folks.

I would rather grind away and build a list of people who are actually interested in my content than give something away for free just to get subscribers to sign up. Cause lets be honest, half of them will probably unsubscribe as soon as they have your magical freebie and the rest? They might not even bother to read it.

Before anyone hops up and down cause their knickers gave them a wedgey. I’ll be clear. I am all for book sale tactics and marketing methods, I am just talking about subscriber lists only.

Besides, I love a bargain as much as the next person. In fact I love nothing more than feeling jammy cause I got something at a good price, or I paid good money for good quality.

So what else can you do to give value for money for an email subscription?

Most of my views come from my Monday posts; lessons I’ve learnt on my journey to publishing. Therefore, it makes sense to me to do more of the same. Give content away in the newsletter that I don’t publish on the blog.

6. Round ups

Newsletter subscriptions are traffic drivers. If I click through to dozens of posts from emails, then so will others. So make sure you include popular posts from the week and links to wherever you want to drive traffic.

7. Book updates

If you’re already a published author then it makes sense to link to book sale pages or marketing campaigns. It’s like I said in point six, these bad boys are traffic drivers. Use them.

If you’re not published, give updates and countdowns to launches. It’s the prime opportunity to keep potential readers in the loop.

Don’t forget I want to hear from you:

What makes you subscribe to a mailing list in the first place? What turns you off a newsletter? But more importantly what content do you like to see in them? Let me know in the comments below.

Oh, and if you happened to like this or any other post, and you’d like to get even more content straight to your mailbox, you can sign up for my brand spanking, shit hot shiny, glitter covered newsletter right here.

The post 7 Tips to Create Your Perfect Author Newsletter appeared first on Sacha Black.