How Writers Can Increase Their Readership
When it comes to writing, you need to have an audience. Yes, the book almost ceases to be yours as soon as it is in someone else’s hand, but it is only when you have a reader that your work truly comes to life. You won’t be able to control how it is interpreted or how the reader responds, but your characters will finally have life breathed into them. Your work stands on its own, and shouldn’t need further clarification. You cannot stand over every person’s shoulder and point out what you meant by one sentence and how they should feel during one scene. You need to let your words do the work for you.
Gaining a readership, however, is a bit different than giving your book for a loved one to read. Gaining a readership equates to success for a writer. It means building a community of fans. When you create a story in any format, there is so much more to the community than just the original. There are different interpretations, different imaginings, and encouraging and engaging with this community can help set you apart from many other authors.
Increasing your readership is important whether you self-published or were published through a traditional publishing house. You want more readers so that you can get paid for what you love doing and so that your story and your characters can go further and touch the hearts of many more around the world. To achieve this greater readership, you need to provide more value and advertise yourself using these tips:
Gaining a readership, however, is a bit different than giving your book for a loved one to read. Gaining a readership equates to success for a writer. It means building a community of fans. When you create a story in any format, there is so much more to the community than just the original. There are different interpretations, different imaginings, and encouraging and engaging with this community can help set you apart from many other authors.
Increasing your readership is important whether you self-published or were published through a traditional publishing house. You want more readers so that you can get paid for what you love doing and so that your story and your characters can go further and touch the hearts of many more around the world. To achieve this greater readership, you need to provide more value and advertise yourself using these tips:
Have an Author Persona
Having online personas are useful for several reasons. One, it can help you convey a personality through a few written words. Unlike with creating characters, writing as yourself is a lot sparser. You won’t finish a sentence with “she said” or go on to how you acted afterwards. You have to let your voice convey both meaning and intonation, and creating a persona can help you achieve this.
The persona you make shouldn’t be a stranger. It should absolutely be a version of yourself, but rather than the nuanced, multi-faceted individual we all you you need to present your dominant personality. If you are deep and thoughtful and often come up with evocative sentences rely on that. If you are cheerful with a strong wit and a love of puns, use that. Try to make your language work for you so that readers can get to know you through text.
Have an Aesthetic
Combine your author persona with an aesthetic. Social media is a great way to build up a community and to create real relationships with your readers, but it is also very visually-focused. By having an aesthetic and working on your photography skills, you can generate more interest.
Writer’s have a romanticism to them the moment they put word to page. Capitalize on this image of the writer by simply improving what’s in your home. You can post pictures of books, known as #bookstagram, pictures of you working on your next novel, or simply try to photograph the essence of your writing style. A great way to start doing this is to work on your interior design. If you have interesting things to photograph in your own home, you will never be pressed for content.
Then, of course, there are flat lays. Flat lays are incredibly popular and work very well with authors and readers alike. To achieve this, you will need a few pretty accessories like a custom phone case from Custom Envy, a beautiful coffee cup, twinkle lights, books, notepads, and so on. Look online for inspiration and try to build your own look that will attract new followers you can then turn into dedicated readers.
Have a Great Website
Far too many authors have outdated websites that frankly do not look good. Thankfully there are so many free tools, tutorials, and even website builders out there that making a beautiful and well-functioning website is easy. You will need a name, a domain name or URL to start. From there you can choose your budget. You can build a website for free, or you can opt for a small monthly fee for a self-hosting option and then use an affordable theme.
If you want to appear professional, you should opt for the latter option. This is because when you use a hosting company like BlueHost, you not only get the fast speeds and space to create your website, you also get a custom domain name. This means you won’t have a website URL that has a tag at the end like .wordpress.com.
Once you have your host, it will be time to choose a content management system or CMS. The most popular CMS for websites is WordPress. It is important to note, of course, that there is a difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. One is a website that uses WordPress to offer website creation tools, and the other is the CMS itself. Once you have installed the CMS (usually a one-click deal) you will need to find a theme. Themes are found around the internet and allow you to create a visually stunning website with little effort. Buy your theme, install it, then you will be ready to go after a few customization options.
From there, it will be all about providing value to your readers. Write articles, essays, and updates about your writing. Even share the fan-art or fan-fiction your readers have made for your work. It is a great way to bring your community together and to keep your name and your work active. You shouldn’t try to keep adding in your own interpretation, but say, adding in essays about your writing process or how you went about being published can be very interested to both readers and aspiring writers alike.
As an author, your job will never be done. Self-promotion is a huge part of increasing your readership. The bigger your readership, the more likely you will be able to keep publishing and, one day, might even be able to take writing on as a full-time profession.
Having online personas are useful for several reasons. One, it can help you convey a personality through a few written words. Unlike with creating characters, writing as yourself is a lot sparser. You won’t finish a sentence with “she said” or go on to how you acted afterwards. You have to let your voice convey both meaning and intonation, and creating a persona can help you achieve this.
The persona you make shouldn’t be a stranger. It should absolutely be a version of yourself, but rather than the nuanced, multi-faceted individual we all you you need to present your dominant personality. If you are deep and thoughtful and often come up with evocative sentences rely on that. If you are cheerful with a strong wit and a love of puns, use that. Try to make your language work for you so that readers can get to know you through text.
Have an Aesthetic
Combine your author persona with an aesthetic. Social media is a great way to build up a community and to create real relationships with your readers, but it is also very visually-focused. By having an aesthetic and working on your photography skills, you can generate more interest.
Writer’s have a romanticism to them the moment they put word to page. Capitalize on this image of the writer by simply improving what’s in your home. You can post pictures of books, known as #bookstagram, pictures of you working on your next novel, or simply try to photograph the essence of your writing style. A great way to start doing this is to work on your interior design. If you have interesting things to photograph in your own home, you will never be pressed for content.
Then, of course, there are flat lays. Flat lays are incredibly popular and work very well with authors and readers alike. To achieve this, you will need a few pretty accessories like a custom phone case from Custom Envy, a beautiful coffee cup, twinkle lights, books, notepads, and so on. Look online for inspiration and try to build your own look that will attract new followers you can then turn into dedicated readers.
Have a Great Website
Far too many authors have outdated websites that frankly do not look good. Thankfully there are so many free tools, tutorials, and even website builders out there that making a beautiful and well-functioning website is easy. You will need a name, a domain name or URL to start. From there you can choose your budget. You can build a website for free, or you can opt for a small monthly fee for a self-hosting option and then use an affordable theme.
If you want to appear professional, you should opt for the latter option. This is because when you use a hosting company like BlueHost, you not only get the fast speeds and space to create your website, you also get a custom domain name. This means you won’t have a website URL that has a tag at the end like .wordpress.com.
Once you have your host, it will be time to choose a content management system or CMS. The most popular CMS for websites is WordPress. It is important to note, of course, that there is a difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. One is a website that uses WordPress to offer website creation tools, and the other is the CMS itself. Once you have installed the CMS (usually a one-click deal) you will need to find a theme. Themes are found around the internet and allow you to create a visually stunning website with little effort. Buy your theme, install it, then you will be ready to go after a few customization options.
From there, it will be all about providing value to your readers. Write articles, essays, and updates about your writing. Even share the fan-art or fan-fiction your readers have made for your work. It is a great way to bring your community together and to keep your name and your work active. You shouldn’t try to keep adding in your own interpretation, but say, adding in essays about your writing process or how you went about being published can be very interested to both readers and aspiring writers alike.
As an author, your job will never be done. Self-promotion is a huge part of increasing your readership. The bigger your readership, the more likely you will be able to keep publishing and, one day, might even be able to take writing on as a full-time profession.