What a pleasure to have the authors’ social media and WordPress “guru”, Barb Drozdowich, pop in to chat with us here today.
I have to confess to being a tad … okay, VERY … intimidated by all the technology at our disposal now, even though I use it every day, all day. Between writing novels, newsletters, magazine articles and blog posts and working on the obligatory social media, there’s no avoiding it.
I’ve known Barb since I first published The Bridge Club and, as well as enjoying her friendship, she has been a constant source of support and assistance. She explains everything clearly and her YouTube site has some of the most helpful videos I’ve ever seen.
Whatever assistance you might require, I have no doubt Barb can provide it. I can’t begin to imagine the number of emails I have sent her with “HELP, PLEASE!” as the subject!
Here’s a quick look into her busy life and an introduction to some of the helpful author support books she has produced. Contact links are at the end of the post.
P.S. ~ The tag line on your website is “Helping one author at a time” and the support you offer the writing community is enormous. How did you first decide to get involved in this area of writing?
B.D. ~ Good question! I think that it kind of found me 🙂 Before giving birth to my daughter I ran the technical training department at a bank. Explaining technical subjects is something that I’m good at. When I saw authors repeatedly having trouble in their interactions with book bloggers – and in fact a survey of over 200 book bloggers bore that opinion out – I decided to start writing. My first book explained how authors could work effectively with book bloggers to get their books promoted. From there I attacked various technical tasks that authors have to learn to promote their books. I did my best to break down the subjects using non-technical language. I now have 6 books published and several more are in the works!
P.S. ~ Your latest book “The Book Blogger Platform” is chock full of excellent information for bloggers. It’s also a very helpful resource for authors because it helps us understand what book bloggers do and how we can effectively work together.
B.D. ~ Very true – one of the ideas that came out of the survey of book bloggers is the idea that a primer is needed. A book that describes not only the technical side to blogging but also the non-technical – the networking/social aspect. This book has been so well received I’m writing a similar one for authors. It should be available in a couple of months. I think that it’s really important that book bloggers learn from authors and vice versa. We both benefit – authors have an audience and book bloggers have books to read!
P.S. ~ One aspect of all your books that truly appeals to me is that they are so easy to understand. How do you do this?
B.D. ~ I’m not sure how I do this to be honest. I just naturally take technical subjects and break them down using common language. I can remember explaining the workings of a cell to a 1st year college class by comparing it to a factory. Amazing how many people quickly grasped the workings of a cell when I used that analogy. After years of doing this at the college level, I used the same technique when doing technical training in the corporate environment. I typically use words like “thingy” and other non-threatening language. I find that if I remove the barrier of the strange terms, people will realize that many things aren’t really that difficult!
P.S. ~ You have also established a much needed website for Canadian authors who self-publish. Can you tell us more about that?
B.D. ~ One of my pet peeves is the amount of either wrong information or misinformation that is being spread around with respect to publishing. I decided to create a site (http://self-publishinginfo.com/) where I reference accurate blog posts on various subjects that are important to authors – from blogging to social media to publishing. I’m not creating new content at this point, but I am linking to articles that share correct information. I try to give preference for blog posts with a Canadian slant as there is a lack of information for Canadian authors. If anyone has any suggestions of blog posts that I can excerpt for the site, don’t hesitate to contact me!
P.S. ~ Besides writing these books and working one on one with authors, do you ever do podcasts or speaking engagements?
B.D. ~ I’ve been on podcasts a few times, and regularly do author chats. I’m hoping to do some speaking in the coming year – I’ve been out of the classroom too long and it’s time to get back in!
P.S. ~ What can we expect from you next?
B.D. ~ In the next few months there should be a bunch of things appear. I have a boxed set of my Author Platform book and my Book Blog Tour book coming out in paperback quite soon.
My Blogging for Authors book is in the hands of my proofreader and should be out in a few months.
My book on Goodreads should be a month or so behind.
I’ve spent the last few days putting the finishing touches on a Beginner WordPress for Authors course that I’m going to host on Udemy.com. I think there is a lack of technical training available that is specific to an author’s needs, and I hope to help with this course. Watch for an announcement about this soon.
She is the author of 6 books and over 20 YouTube videos all focused on helping authors and bloggers. Barb lives in the mountains of British Columbia with her family.
Make a note to listen to Barb on the Writer’s Chatroom (http://writerschatroom.com) April 24th, July 31st and Oct 30th.
Click on the links below to visit with Barb on social media:
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