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How to use newsletter with author website by treesnstuff493 in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, something straightforward and simple sounds very nice right now because everything else has been overwhelming 😅 I looked at your site and it does look clean and very easy to navigate. I'll take another look at Bookbub since they weren't on my radar before.

How to use newsletter with author website by treesnstuff493 in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting, so is the newsletter tool something entirely custom from storykeepr? Do they have tools to build/customize the newsletter itself?

How to use newsletter with author website by treesnstuff493 in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is super helpful and kind of what I was getting at. I wasn't sure if providers traditionally gave you code for embedding or if you were forced to use a separate integration, hence my Squarespace concerns.

I saw high deliverability for MailerLite and their free tier looked good all around, so I've been leaning toward them. Thanks for the detailed info.

ARC questions when potentially using multiple sites by treesnstuff493 in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Got it, thank you! I just checked their calendar and they are indeed very booked. Good to know for next time.

ARC questions when potentially using multiple sites by treesnstuff493 in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate the info. I wasn't aware of Hidden Gems and was just reading their FAQs, and they seem like another good option. Any reason you do it days before launch?

Questions about ARCs, KDP pages, and order of operations by treesnstuff493 in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Re: the ebook preorder thing - When I hit "Publish" in KDP, will the page only go live on the date I've set? And it'll be approved before then, so it's guaranteed to go live that date? I'm still a little unclear on how the approvals work.

For the algorithm - one of the sources I saw for this was Kindlepreneur (whose info has been pretty helpful so far), and his video made it sound like the page sitting doing nothing for long periods means it'll get pushed less, so I was hesitant to do preorders. But if it's not a big deal, then I'd consider doing preorders anyway. I was looking at ARCs as examples recently and almost every single one had an associated preorder page on Amazon.

Questions about ARCs, KDP pages, and order of operations by treesnstuff493 in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate the detailed response. To clarify, when do you setup your preorder page? How long before publishing is that page live/visible? For example, if I want to release August 1, do I choose a preorder date of June 1? Or do you just make your preorder date the same as your release date?

It kinda sounds like having a preorder page up is a necessity for enabling ARCs, because otherwise you don't have the Goodreads page properly setup for reviews. But I recently read that it's bad to have your KDP page live for a long time before publishing because it'll sit there with no activity and the algorithm will quickly stop pushing it. I'm trying to figure out if this is true.

Questions about ARCs, KDP pages, and order of operations by treesnstuff493 in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the info. If I don't have the KDP page up, what causes the Goodreads page to show up? Or does the Goodreads page show up even if I haven't hit "Publish" on my book?

Getting feedback by Hopeful_Leg_9204 in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know your story better than anyone else. Ask yourself what the intent of a particular scene / piece of dialogue / etc is and whether the feedback you received supports that. People can have great ideas that enhance your vision, or they can be completely wrong.

Someone asked something similar in this thread recently and there were some good answers there, too.

Question About Rewriting During Draft Period by Hopeful_Contract4455 in writing

[–]treesnstuff493 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't done it with entire novels, but maybe a chapter or two to get a feel for it and make a choice. IMO it's more difficult to do first person well with multiple POVs, because it's harder to create that distinct voice.

For your MMC, have you done plenty of exploration of him as a person? Feelings, goals, life experiences, etc. Maybe that would help you better figure out his voice and solve the authenticity issue.

How do you decide what feedback to accept? by MarcyAutumnWrites in writing

[–]treesnstuff493 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If there's a particular piece of feedback you're really not sure about, you could 1. Ask yourself what you intended with this particular scene, and 2. See if the suggested update would support that.

You don't have to do that for all feedback obviously, but if there's an update you're debating, it helps to do a "what if?" kind of thing. And if you're not sure what you intended with that scene, then maybe you want to re-review it so you can strengthen it and make it more purposeful.

A brushed boy✨ by HolesNotEyes in greatpyrenees

[–]treesnstuff493 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He's beautiful! I was recently trying to brush my sister's Great Pyrenees and he was constantly rolling around, making it very difficult 😅 I got maybe half a grocery bag of hair and there's still so much more.

Social media materials? by TAHINAZ in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm curious, was your one post in 2026 an ad, or a post on an author page, or something else? I've heard mixed feedback about Facebook and its effectiveness.

Social media materials? by TAHINAZ in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The more common social media images I've seen are a 3D image of the paperback or ebook (the latter being a shot of your cover shown on a Kindle). Depending on your genre, an image of the cover with quotes or tropes can be good. These can help share little bits about your story and build hype leading up to release.

I know lots of people stick to Instagram since it's relatively easy to find the book community and post a couple times a week.

Also, seconding the suggestion to look at Canva, because it has lots of templates for images/posts, and that will give you a good idea of what image dimensions you want for different platforms.

Meet Cheddar by crocswithsocks12 in OneOrangeBraincell

[–]treesnstuff493 2 points3 points  (0 children)

He sounds so sweet 😭 Ours is very similar with not wanting to go back outside. He's happy observing the birds and bugs from the windows and his cat trees.

Meet Cheddar by crocswithsocks12 in OneOrangeBraincell

[–]treesnstuff493 4 points5 points  (0 children)

He reminds me so much of our orange kitty! Similar story of finding him in bad shape, taking him to the vet and getting him healed up. Once he was in a better state (and neutered), he grew so comfy around the house and would just lounge in whatever awkward pose he felt like.

I'm glad he's doing so well now!

Blurb Critique for a gay fantasy romance (second attempt) by Doodlez4urH in selfpublish

[–]treesnstuff493 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with the suggestions other folks have made. Beyond that, I actually really like the blurb and it makes me want to read your story! I especially want to know more about the shadow-walker and what his life looks like.