The Write-Up: July

Hey, it’s the first of August! That means that we have survived another month, so let’s look back at what happened, what we learned, what’s next, and a bit of everything else.

For all of you who have been here for a bit, thank you for making July a fantastic month. For those who have joined us recently and are new, thanks for coming along on our journey!

July was a fun month for me: I wrote a bunch of blogs that I loved researching and drafting, and I also took full advantage of my weekends. Unfortunately, that means there were no bonus blogs, but I plan on making that up to you all in August.

Let me know in the comments what you want to see in terms of bonus blogs – interviews, reviews, short stories, or something entirely new!

A quick update for all the email subscribers, too. I recently announced that Survivor Stories and content upgrades will be exclusive pieces for email subscribers. Expect the first of these to come at the end of August. I’m so excited for it.

And, last little update, I started on Pinterest this month (literally yesterday). That rounds it up to three social media platforms I am on and exploring. If you are on Pinterest, be sure to connect with me there. While I am still figuring it out, I am already having a great time on it.

Now, let’s recap the blogs from July:

Self-Published vs Indie Authors – One of the most popular blogs of the month, we took a look at the history of self-publishing and vanity presses before the advent of Kindle Direct Publishing and eBooks that enabled indie authors to become a powerful force.

5 Things Every Indie Author Should Do on Twitter – Twitter is a great networking tool for indie authors. Even if you aren’t a fan of social media, you should be doing these five things to maximize your brand so you can make the most of being an indie author.

Freytag’s Pyramid and the Three-Act Structure - The first in a two-part series, we examined the classic plot structure of Freytag’s Pyramid. It never hurts to review the basics!

Alternative Plot Structures for Authors – The second-part of our analysis of plot structures, we go deeper and examine alternative plot structures that you can use to enhance your story.

Do You Need to be an Expert to Blog About It – Blogging is not just about writing factual articles. Blogging is storytelling where you are the character. In this blog, we look at why the story in a blog is just as important as any factual article.

10 Ways to Reward your Mailing List – One of my favourite blogs of the month, this list is a handful of ideas that you can use to reward those who sign up for your mailing list. We also outline what is going to be coming for those who sign up for my mailing list, so be sure to check it out!

5 Entrepreneur Things Every Indie Author Needs to Know – Indie authors are so much more than just writers, we know that by now. They are entrepreneurs in every sense of the word. So this is a list of entrepreneurial things that each and every indie author should know.

Indie Author Checklist Part 2 – By far the most popular blog of the month, we look at five tangible things that every indie author should have to support their journey. If there is only one blog you check out from last month, this should be it.

Finally, our blog turns one year old next week! It is crazy to think that we have been here for a year, and how far we have come since we began. I was recently looking at some of my original blogs, and it is difficult to juxtapose them to the content that we are putting out now. But we will save the reminiscing and celebrations for next week.

And that is all for now. Thank you for another fantastic month, I couldn’t keep going on this amazing journey without all of you. And be sure to come back on Thursday for an exciting announcement!