Back to School Young Adult Sci-Fi & Fantasy Contest

School is back in session at Vita Post Mortem Academy.  As the visumary students meet their famous dead teachers and begin their classes, I wanted to share a contest that I am participating in!  For a limited time, you can enter to win 25 fantastic YA Sci-Fi & Fantasy from an amazing collection of authors, AND a brand new eReader – along with a collection of FREE reads just for entering!

Enter the contest by clicking here: https://booksweeps.com/book-giveaway/ya-sci-fi-fantasy-september-2019/

When you’re done, tell me which books you’re most excited to win!

Which famous dead person would you want to teach at Vita Post Mortem Academy this year?

George Washington? John Lennon?  Isaac Newton?  Charles Dickens?  Mary Shelley?  Who else?  Respond to this email and let me know!

Or you can share your thoughts on the (after)life lessons Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AfterlifeLessons/

Or connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alanasiegel/

Here are the links to the (after)life lessons books on Amazon:

The Light of Supremazia: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015M3KJGE

The Curse of the Winklevoss Twins: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077Z9CCW4

The Betrayal of Bloodlines: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NCF6V1H

Check out my website: https://www.alanamagbooks.com/

Learn about the rest of my books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Alana-Siegel/e/B006O3NOAK

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A Freebie for (after)life lessons Readers

Find out what happens when Juliandra Winklevoss and her sister clean out the Winklevoss Tower and receive a glimpse into the life of their mother before Machiavelli’s previous rise to power.  Comment on this post to receive a FREE copy of A Letter from Nashara Winklevoss to Ryan Stone, and I will send you the link!

Enjoy this picture of me reading Nashara’s letter!

Here are the links to the books on Amazon:

The Light of Supremazia: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015M3KJGE

The Curse of the Winklevoss Twins: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077Z9CCW4

The Betrayal of Bloodlines: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NCF6V1H

 

Check out my website: https://www.alanamagbooks.com/

Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alanasiegel/

Check out the (after)life lessons Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AfterlifeLessons/

Learn about the rest of my books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Alana-Siegel/e/B006O3NOAK

Pre-Order The Betrayal of Bloodlines Now!

https://www.amazon.com/Betrayal-Bloodlines-after-life-lessons-ebook/dp/B07NCF6V1H

Help Name the Characters in my Book

Marketing for self-published books in a saturated market is difficult. In my latest attempt, I have decided to use video content to engage readers. I’m hoping that by including them in the book writing process, I am reminding them that I write books!

I will also be more active searching for interesting social media personalities. Engaging potential readers requires effort. It includes creating content and conversing with others who post content.

My recent video asks readers to help name two characters in the book I am currently writing (book three in a young adult fantasy series). One character is a jovial man from the 1700s and the other is a plump angry man with a monocle. Here’s the video. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

That Time When Dr. Seuss was Your English Teacher

Another year, another set of teachers.  That’s what happens at Vita Post Mortem Academy, a school run by famous dead people. Having special abilities, like being able to see spirits, means extra responsibilities. Jules Winklevoss, the protagonist in my fifth book, The Curse of the Winklevoss Twins, learns that firsthand when she returns for another adventure at the prized academy.

Check out the line up of teachers she has for her sophomore year:

Science: Marie Curie
Math: Charles Ponzi
English: Dr. Seuss
Social Studies: Princess Diana
Psychology: Steve Jobs

Nominate the book on Kindle Scout to be published by Kindle Press: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/24VKXYPLERGLP

What is Kindle Scout? And How do I Vote?

As I request friends and followers to vote for my book on Kindle Scout, I’ve had lots of people ask me, what is Kindle Scout?

Here’s your answer.

Kindle Scout is reader-powered publishing for new, never-before-published books. It’s a place where readers help decide if a book gets published. I posted my book on this site before its available for purchase. Based on the short description, first four chapters, and cover, readers can vote for my book to be published by Kindle Press!

Here’s how to vote.

Once you are on the page: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/24VKXYPLERGLP

Select the nominate option.  It will direct you to log into your Amazon account to complete the nomination.  That’s it!  You will have voted for my book!

My Second Kindle Scout Campaign: Pig Marketing

While surfing the Kindle Scout Forums, I recently read a story about one lucky author’s successful Kindle Scout campaign. She insisted she was the epitome of an indie author, building her grassroots author platform from concept to completion. So how did she manage to gain enough votes to win Kindle Press publishing?

The answer was two words: PIG MARKETING.

I was at a loss for what this meant, but she explained how she leveraged her personal network. She was a member of a Facebook group for pig owners. One picture of Miss Piggy posing with her book was enough to touch the hearts of the group members. Lo and behold, 20,000 fellow pig owners voted for her first novel on Kindle Scout.

I don’t have a pet pig, but for my second Kindle Scout campaign, I will attempt to leverage my personal network. Any advice or suggestions?

Vote for The Curse of the Winklevoss Twins Here: https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/24VKXYPLERGLP

Amazon Web Services and Facebook Ads for Books

My husband and I spent our Monday working on our side projects.  As a modern day author, marketing and publicity is just as crucial as writing, so I make an effort to understand the current technology trends.

Amazon Web Services

Amazon Web Services is the latest rage, and I wanted to get myself acquainted with it.  My husband explained Amazon Web Services is like buying a computer at a hosted location. It has less restrictions than locations hosted by others, and best of all, its free for a year!

My husband and I setup my account, following step by step instructions from a youtube video, and patted ourselves on the back when we were done. Then what?

I had hoped Amazon Web Services would allow me to use Google Analytics for my blog. Google Analytics supplies statistics on who clicks on your site.  Eventually, I would like to use that information to tailor my blog and website to the interests of my readers.

My Fallout with Amazon Web Services

Unfortunately, I came to the conclusion that most sites on Amazon Web Services use WordPress because they are easy and free to build. This was disappointing since free WordPress sites don’t allow free use of Google Analytics.

Another reason to use Amazon Web Services is to manage the computing power your site needs. While I have dreams and hopes of having a highly read website, at this point, WordPress can handle my number of readers.

I learned a lot, but ultimately, I decided not to use Amazon Web Services. I’d be interested in the benefits others are finding for their blog / author website hosted on Amazon Web Services.

Facebook Advertising

I wasn’t going to let my disappointment with Amazon Web Services ruin my day off. I turned to advertising, and where best to advertise but Facebook!

My goal was to determine what type of ads potential readers respond to the best. I created two ads.  One with a cover of the book and one with a witty picture. Both are included below:

Facebook is picky about the amount of characters in the message and the amount of text in your picture. They also require you to create a facebook page for your service or product.  Here’s the link to my book series facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AfterlifeLessons

I setup a campaign for these ads with a budget of $100, and after a week I will go through the data and report back.  In addition to which ad resonated best, I will also see the breakdown by demographics, age, and geography.  Pretty neat!

What other facebook advertising tests are others running?

Recap of The Light of Supremazia Kindle Scout Campaign

I may not have won Kindle Scout, but I learned a heck of a lot about blogging and marketing.  This blog post is recapping my 30 day campaign:

Launch on #KindleScout and a #CoverReveal

Using Real People as #Fictional #Characters – #ArtisticLicense and #TBT

The Proper #Setting for a #MagicalRealism #Book

Made Up Words, the #Language of a #Fiction #Novel

Who would you want as your #art #teacher?

#MondayBlog – Mapping Out Your Novel’s #Fantasy #World

#BookTrailer #BookMarketing and #KindleScout

My #cat Baby Thor is #marketing my #book

What Influences Your #Setting Descriptions?

Write in Your Own Voice

Technology in Literature

#BookMarketing for my #KindleScout Campaign

3 Qualities of a Great #English #Teacher

Ensuring the Proper Sequence of Events for Your #Book

Managing Your Social Media Presence – #twitter #facebook #youtube #pinterest #wordpress #tumblr

A Cast of #Actors for Your #Book

#BookMarketing and #TagsForLikes.com and #Einstein

New York, the City I Love

That Time I Elbowed Jimmy Fallon

GhostFeed and Wikispirit

My Kindle Scout Experience

Introducing The Light of Supremazia on Amazon

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE LIGHT OF SUPREMAZIA!

Managing Your Social Media Presence – #twitter #facebook #youtube #pinterest #wordpress #tumblr

That’s a ton of hashtags!

As a millennial, it isn’t surprising that I LOVE social media.  I am the person walking down the street with her phone in her hand.  I guess I don’t need to “disconnect.”  It’s fun to catch up with friends, or read local news, or post my favorite cat meme.

However, as an author, the task of sharing on social media is daunting.  I don’t mind if my Aunt Sally doesn’t comment on my picture of dinner last night, but there is a negative outcome if people don’t like my author posts…they won’t read my books!  The trick is to ensure the information you share is interesting and useful for the reader.  Keep ’em coming back for more!

Today’s post is an example.  I prepared the picture below, which is a setting for my book called The Light of Supremazia, and I’m going to write this blog post on managing your social media and post it on all my sites.  The picture might be intriguing for a potential reader, but if not, at least they got some value out of my post on social media presence.

Here are all the sites today’s theme will be posted on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlanaSiegel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfterlifeLessons

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd7P2UhtpCMBLajIDOlYH6A

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/alanasiegel/afterlife-lessons/

Tumblr: http://makeeverymisadventureanadventure.tumblr.com/

Vote for The Light of Supremazia on Kindle Scout!

How do u manage ur social media? #twitter #facebook #youtube #pinterest #wordpress #tumblr share with @alanasiegel (click to tweet)