Just Write: on setting up an online newspaper for #emergingauthors
Apparently a full time job, writing, researching, and a myriad of other activities online and off is not enough so I’ve started a daily online newspaper using the Paperli platform.
Just Write… paper.li/e-1422482367 stories via the Twitterverse & other online hotspots for #emergingauthors
When I’m not being an author or event manager (my day job), I edit two other online newspapers with a focus on women in sport, so setting up a paper for emerging authors seemed like the next step in marketing myself and my novel. Besides, I really do like sharing tips, articles, quotes and inspiration with other people on Twitter.
I try and read (or at least scan) each article I share and make sure they are relatively up to date. I look for competitions and festivals, blogs and writing courses, and anything I think is relative to emerging authors (in other words, someone like me).
I’ve learned a lot on this new side path of mine. For instance, ways to improve your LinkedIn page, that there are many hundreds, if not thousands, of writing competitions available around the world, and the criteria for murder. It’s certainly an eye-opening experience at times.
All of my shares and re-tweets are through the Twitter platform so at the same time, I’m building my presence on Twitter. My papers, automatically, post to LinkedIn, and I manually post them to my Facebook author page. As a result, my posts are being seen and shared by more people and my online relationships are strengthening. This is exactly what I’m trying to achieve.
If at some point this also helps to sell a copy or two of “The Ouroboros Key” or attracts an interview query or speaking engagement, then that will be icing on the cake.
Want to start your own online paper?
1. Choose your platform and open an account. I use the free version of Paperli but you can upgrade and pay for the Premium version if you like
2. Decide on a name for your paper and a tagline
3. Upload a “hero” image that will be used to represent your paper
4. Choose your background images or colours
5. Include some profile info on who you are and what your paper is about
6. Decide on how often you want your paper to be published. Mine come out daily
7. Choose your content providers. My sport papers source content direct from various
organisations while Just Write content is provided directly by me through my Twitter account
8. Decide on your paper sections (Art & Entertainment, Business, Leisure, etc)
9. Remember to link to your other social media platforms. Mine are linked to Twitter and LinkedIn because they are my main networks.
A few words on content sourcing
You can set your paper up to automatically source the content you nominate. This is easy and works well with active users who only tweet about relative topics.
Or, you can find the content yourself. This is the option I’ve chosen for Just Write. This way, I have more editorial control over what goes into the paper and I increase my own platforms. BUT, this does require more work. I dedicate several 15 minute intervals across the day to search for interesting content to tweet. The paper picks up my tweets and these form each day’s edition.
I also search for images and videos to include as well: inspirational quotes, famous writer’s quotes, and music to inspire writers. This gives the paper added depth and improves it’s visual content.
Results
Don’t expect an overnight success. Strong foundations are the key to building a good social media presence so be patient and persevere; it takes time.
Useful links:
Thrill Writing (for criteria on murder tips and much more)
