Artful April
Greetings, dear reader.
What a month! I'm continually surprised by how often I'm surprised by sudden turns of events in the business of book publishing. It really is wild, and you'd think I'd learn by now. But it was pleasant surprises this month for my writing journey.
For those of you who may not have heard through my newsletter or social media, I signed a book deal with TouchPoint Press. Yes, another book deal! I am thrilled to be writing the Book Blogger Mysteries, featuring my bookworm-turned-blogger heroine Arwen Lark. This means that by the end of 2022/early 2023, I'll be juggling FOUR series. That might sound terrifying to some (and now that I'm writing this, I'm a bit spooked, too) but I honestly am so thrilled and excited to fully immerse myself in writing that four series doesn't seem so daunting. It's what I've always wanted to do.
With that fun news delivered, I thought I would take a different approach to my monthly post. A lot of my author friends have been asking me lately how I manage to do so much. How do you manage to produce as much content as you do? How do you manage to design your social media posts so quickly? How do you have time for a life outside of your writing goals? So, I figured I would share some of my inside secrets, in the hopes they might help you.
I want to tackle the social media question in this post because it's the easiest hurdle for people to overcome if they have the right tools. I absolutely could not be anywhere near as prolific with my work and promotional materials if I did not use Canva.
Canva, a cloud-based content design software, has been a complete game-changer for me. With it, I can design my own social media posts, create my own logos and branding images, design bookmarks, postcards, bookplates, cover reveals, book trailers…the list goes on. Anything you think you might need in terms of promoting your book, Canva has something to help.
Just to give you an idea of just how much I use Canva…it's probably comparable to the amount of time I spend in Microsoft Word. But that's not because it's hard to use or takes forever to figure out. No, I spend so much time in Canva because I LOVE it. I can create endless content about my books, and for me, creating visual content is way easier than actually writing some days (okay, most days). If you go back and take a look at my social media content that's older than 14 months ago, you'll see a drastic change in the quality and quantity of the work I was producing.
Now, I can design a quick blurb featuring my logline and an image of my book in under 2 minutes. 2 minutes. Let me say that again: I can create relevant social media content in under 2 minutes using Canva's amazing features. Don't believe me? Here's my process:
Launch Canva
Select "Instagram Post" as my design size
Click the white background and select a color from my brand box.
Click Uploads and select the uploaded image of my book that's always available to me
Add a text box and enter the logline using one of my brand fonts
Download
Post & done
CanvaPro's branding features allow me to have easy access to my favorite colors and fonts so who I am as an author is only a click away. I love how easily I can move about Canva's interface and how it's customized for me and my brand. The visual for this month’s post? It took me less than a minute to design and download. It’s that easy! I also mentioned logos; not only can you design your own logo using Canva, but you can add the design to your brand box, so your new logo can be integrated into any one of your projects.
As an author, I could not recommend Canva more if you are looking to create content to promote your book, and the CanvaPro membership is beyond worth it. Out of all the services out there, I am continually impressed by the amount I get out of membership in a week, let alone a month.
Interested in trying Canva out? Give it a try: https://www.canva.com/join/vrc-kfq-tcn
Canva is just one of the awesome tools I use throughout my workday to stay focused and to help me with my writing goals. I'll continue using this space to introduce more helpful tools for writers and book marketing alike.
So as not to break with tradition, I wanted to share my writing goals for April and where I ended up:
Finish the first draft of the next CoM novel - This was a big ask of myself this month, and with all I had going on, I knew upfront that I would likely not meet this goal. But I crushed my manuscript. I am nearing 60,000 words, so I'm not too far from being done. On the plus side, I introduced readers to the title: INNOCENCE IMPRISONED and shared the absolutely stunning cover. This is the earliest in the publishing process I've shared this information. Usually, I wait until the book is done before sharing any details about it, but I'm enjoying hyping the book while it's still in progress. It helps me stay motivated to finish!
Read 2 books - I squeezed in some genres I had not read in quite a while. Two that I recommend: Music of the Night by Angela Ford and Violence. Speed. Momentum by Dr. Disrespect. Yes, I read a steamy romance novel and a humor "memoir" by one of streaming's most prominent gamers. It was fun for me to read outside of the comfort zone I'd fallen into. And of course, I loved Denise Swanson's Fly Me to the Tomb, her new Dime Store Mystery!
Draft quarterly newsletter - I totally forgot this was a goal, but low and behold, I actually sent out a newsletter! I wanted to share the news about the Book Blogger Mysteries with my subscribers first, so anyone signed up for my mailing list got the inside scoop before the rest of the online world.
I actually did way better with my writing goals than I initially thought. Who says self-reflection isn't fun?
The monthly round-up:
A new cozy mystery series is on the books (ooo, that's catchy)
If you're looking for ways to improve your book promotional graphics, check out Canva (or schedule a BookstaBundles social media package with me)
I did pretty well with my writing goals, despite some long shots
Think positive, test negative!
Arms around,
S.B.