Category: I’m A Poet

Indie Author Day Discussions

October 8th is Indie Author Day.
I’m part of a group of writers who are hosting a 24 hour event on Facebook, where there are discussions, book giveaways, and lots of fun to be had…

wordynerdbirdLeave a comment

October 8th is Indie Author Day.

I’m part of a group of writers who are hosting a 24 hour event on Facebook, where there are discussions, book giveaways, and lots of fun to be had.

It’s been really encouraging to be part of the first six hours of the event. People have been so friendly and positive, and it feels great to know that we are experiencing similar things on our various journeys of writing and authorship.

Things got a little quiet earlier on, so I told my fellow writers about the picture of the centuries-old wine cups and accompanying information board that my friend sent me from a museum in Singapore with the caption, “I await the writing!”

The cups and the information really were lovely, and I found them to be inspirational.
Before the end of the night, I had crafted a poem for my friend that I could be proud of.

wine-cups-infowine-cups-oct-08-21-40

Their responses were delightful.

screenhunter_392-oct-08-22-09

screenhunter_394-oct-08-22-09

screenhunter_394-oct-08-22-12

screenhunter_392-oct-08-22-08

How can I be anything other than encouraged?

Thank you, Vicki, Shelley, and Susan.
I hope my readers and followers will look up your books, too!

Positive Reviews!

There’s always a bit of trepidation when you do something new and you’re not sure how it’s going to go.

wordynerdbirdLeave a comment

There’s always a bit of trepidation when you do something new and you’re not sure how it’s going to go. ‘Leaf’ has been available for just over three months now, and I’m very thankful and excited to be getting positive reviews.

I don’t want to blow my own trumpet, but I am really thrilled about these two readers’ responses  that I’ve received recently.

review-jay-bell-2016-10-05-17-39-52

review-nicky-glynn-2016-10-05-10-55-40

Both of these people, and others who have given my writing positive reviews and ratings, have encouraged me more than they realise.  Sometimes being a writer is a really lonely thing, because there’s a whole experience and process you have to go through before you can know if anyone is actually going to understand and connect with what you’ve written.  To know that my poetry has had such an effect on people is both motivating and incredibly humbling.

 

‘Leaf’ – Available Now!

wordynerdbird4 Comments

‘Leaf’ is my first published collection of poems in which I explore my own humanity, experiences, and observations about life in a way that will challenge the reader to see things from a new perspective.

‘Leaf’ is listed on Goodreads, and available as a paperback or an e-book on Xlibris, Amazon, iBooks and kobo.

You’re also welcome to visit my website at www.jvlpoet.com
leaf-banner

Indie Authors’ Day – October 8th

wordynerdbird3 Comments

 

14448946_1061808287260764_4544831626025588135_n

Saturday, October 8th is the inaugural Independent Authors Day.
Our Indie Writers’ Cooperative on Facebook is hosting a 24 hour long marathon festival, celebrating writers, sharing ideas and conversations, and giving away free copies of our books!

If you’re in Australia or New Zealand, or anywhere west of there, the event will run from Saturday evening to sometime on Sunday, depending on your time zone.

Feel free to join us at the Indie Authors’ Day Writers’ Festival on Facebook anytime during the event and enjoy the company of some fantastic, and very creative, people.

Raising My Profile.

It’s amazing how much help there is out there for writers when it comes to promoting their work and raising their profile…

wordynerdbirdLeave a comment

It’s amazing how much help there is out there for writers when it comes to promoting their work and raising their profile.

Like anything in life, there are a few sharks out there who want you to give them your money in return for not very much at all.

There are also some great websites and services that offer great services and publicity without costing your life savings and a ransom worthy of your first-born.

Goodreads is a two-way service for both readers and authors. Readers can rate and review books, update their friends on what they are reading, and engage in different reading challenges. It links very conveniently to Facebook and blogs. Authors can set up a profile and blog that are aimed at increasing readers’ awareness of their works, and giving their books publicity and promotion.  It’s easy to do, and I’m very happy with my profile. Goodreads gives regular updates on Twitter, promoting authors, books, and reading in general.

Quotesrain is a thriving literary community that presents authors and quotations from both famous people and the authors themselves. It’s visually rather lovely, too, so it’s quite relaxing to browse around. Quotesrain is also on Twitter.

Also on Twitter is All Author, a service of Quotesrain that will promote my book via social media for a year for just $24. There’s another level of promotion I could sign up for, but I’ll see how this goes first. I  only signed up yesterday, and they’ve already tweeted  both my books at least once. I’m pretty happy with that!

Finally, there’s the Indie Writers’ Cooperative on Facebook, where authors are encouraged to share the links to their works, promote their events, and to help each other out by sharing one another’s links, works and events. It’s a positive and encouraging environment where writers can meet and help each other out with a little healthy cross-promotion.

All in all, it’s been a productive and quite enjoyable exercise.

1472376928192-43-poems-that-consist-of-my-deepest-thoughts-blood-sweat-and-tears-enriched-with-the

A promotional quote for ‘Leaf’ made at Quotesrain.