For the summer, I'm doing short episode answering community questions! This week's question:  Should you pay to promote your first book?  In short: yes. But also: it depends.  Listen to find out more! This week is fiction. The next episode will be nonfiction.  Join the community to ask questions: http://createifwriting.com/community

164- Should You Promote Your First Book?

Create If Writing is a weekly podcast for writers and bloggers dealing with authentic platform building online. You will hear from experts on list-building, connecting through Twitter, and how to utilize Facebook. But tools for building an audience would feel empty without a little inspiration, so these training episodes are balanced with inspirational interviews with writers who share their creative process, ups and downs, and how they have dealt with success or failure. 

Kirsten Oliphant is a self-published author with an MFA in Fiction who has been blogging for 11 years and is in the top 20 of Houston's Social Media Power Influencers. She has spoken at Blog Elevated, Houston Social Media Breakfast, Adventure Con, Houston Business Advancement Conference, and Social Media Day Houston. She created the Free Email Course and loves to get nerdy about all things email list.

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It's time for a new season in my creative journey. Which means a pause on the podcast. Find out why and what's next!

205 - The End of a Season

I've covered a lot recently on author platform this year, but I almost never talk about craft. It's time! If I wanted to rename this post, instead of How to Write a Bestseller it could be called Write Good Books to Sell More Books or Sell More Books with Your Craft. At least, a little. I literally have a master's degree in fiction, but craft isn't my favorite thing to teach. Mostly because it's subjective. I do sometimes work with authors one on one regarding craft, but I find the focus on selling easier for ME. WHY? Because authors are emotionally invested in their craft. So, discussing this is hard. We either think our books are amazing or terrible, and we have a lot of feelings on the subject. People don't always respond well when they ask why their books aren't selling and the answer is: your writing. OUCH! I know it hurts. I've sat silently through critiques in grad school while people shredded my work. Just ... destroyed. I got over it. Having a beer at the bar with everyone after helped. For today and this post though, we're going to try to look a bit more objectively at our own craft. Read the full show notes at http://createifwriting.com/204

204 - How to Write a Bestseller

I've talked recently on social media for authors, but wanted to highlight a specific platform that I've been using more and seeing results from and discuss Instagram for authors. I think that most social media platforms have potential to work for you if you understand how they work and make it your goal to connect with the correct audience. (As opposed to authors who accidentally gather an audience of other authors, rather than fiction readers, by posting author-y stuff.) This year, I dove into Instagram, a platform I've been on since 2014 and not really used well since that time. For the full show notes, head to http://createifwriting.com/203

203- Instagram for Authors

The first month I published a book in 2018, I made $115. Which totally excited me! People were reading my book! I wrote and published a book! But the goal was always a CAREER. I joked (but not really) about building an Emma Empire. Three years later, I made $26k in February 2021 and am slated to make over $20k this March. Want some takeaways? I've got 'em! For the full show notes, head to http://createifwriting.com/202 

202 - Lessons Learned in Three Years as an Author

As a part of my series on what authors need to sell books, I've covered the overall author platform, email, social media, and blogging/content strategy. Which leads me into another piece of the puzzle: ads for authors. Let's first rewind a bit to talk about author platform. I defined it in my post as the way that authors connect with readers. And while ads aren't NORMALLY what someone might think of when it comes to platform, it absolutely is a way to connect with readers. It's simply ... not organic. Let's dive into what you need to know about ads for authors, when you should consider running ads, and how you can learn them without breaking the bank. For the full show notes, head to http://createifwriting.com/201

164- Should You Promote Your First Book?

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