News for Authors

Taking Another Look at LinkedIn

by Jacky Bethea|December, 2024

If you are an author interested in connecting with potential readers and other authors on social media, there is a host of platforms you may consider. Instagram and TikTok are great places to start because of their large reader communities, but have you considered LinkedIn? Often remembered only as the platform for job connections, LinkedIn can be a great place to promote your author career as well, no matter what genre you write.

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Keeping the Momentum of Your Backlist

by Jacky Bethea|November, 2024

The time surrounding your onsale date is usually the best window for promoting your book. But after the initial marketing and publicity push is over, how do you help your book keep its momentum? We sat down with Brad Meltzer, Angela Montoya, Hampton Sides, and a few experts from the Penguin Backlist team to talk about boosting your backlist.

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Leveraging Ebook Sales to Reach New Readers

by Jacky Bethea|October, 2024

So, you’ve been alerted that your ebook is on sale at a certain vendor.  Ebook sales can be great opportunities to hype your book and encourage potential readers to check it out. Before you take to your socials, here are a few tips to make sure the promotion is a success!

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Most Popular Author Resources That You Might Have Missed

by The Author Newsletter Team |September, 2024

We on PRH’s Author Development Team love to provide authors with resources and guidance for every part of the publishing journey. From the monthly Author Newsletter, Author University, and the Author Playbook, here are some of our most popular marketing tips and other resources that you may want to check out!

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Canva for Beginners: How to Get the Most Out of Free Options

by Zehra Kayi|August, 2024

In June, Author University hosted Canva experts Zehra Kayi and Heather Brown for a presentation on how authors can leverage Canva for their social media needs. Zehra Kayi shares six tips for the best ways a beginner can get the most out Canva’s free offerings. 

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How to Grow Your Newsletter Organically

by Stephanie Bowen|July, 2024

If you’ve started a newsletter, you may be wondering: How do I grow it from here? In this article, we offer several strategies for getting the word out organically and bringing in new subscribers without having to resort to paid advertising.

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Finding a Social Media Freelancer (If You Want to Work with One)

by Jacky Bethea|April, 2024

At our last Author University virtual learning event, we had the pleasure of hosting Payton Mitchell, a freelance social media expert, to lend her advice on how to create great video content for social media. We heard from many of you that you were curious about working with a freelance expert, what that would entail, and how to find one. Here are some tips to help you decide if it would be the right move for you!

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How to Increase Social Media Engagement for Short-Form Video Content

by Jacky Bethea|March, 2024

Between Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, short-form video content is on a major hot streak. These platforms can offer the opportunity for instant virality, so creating content for them can be an attractive way to promote your book and connect with readers. If you have scrolled through these platforms, you may have encountered a video that had an interesting topic, but something about it wasn’t right. Maybe the audio sounded weird or you could barely make out words on the screen. Most viewers will scroll right past. It’s easy to overlook the technical aspects of making short-form videos, which can absolutely affect how your content performs in the algorithm. Here are some tips to help you compose your videos for ultimate success.

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Newsletters 101: How to Start Your Own Newsletter

by Stephanie Bowen|February, 2024

Thinking about starting a newsletter? As an author, you may have a lot to say beyond the content of your book, and an email newsletter can be a great medium for this. In this article, we cover the basics of creating and launching your own newsletter.

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An Introduction to Threads

by Jacky Bethea and Andrew Taets|January, 2024

In light of ongoing controversy and rapid changes at X (formerly Twitter), there has been a race in the social media market for the next big text-based platform. Threads appears to be Meta’s answer to the call. Launched in July of last year, the app has accumulated more than 100 million users. Since it is so new, there are a lot of questions around the app, how to use it, and what kind of content can be found there. Our friends at Meta have offered some of the first available pointers on how an author can optimize their experience on the app. Read on to learn more!

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