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Monday 11 December 2017

Writing, Publishing, Marketing: What Do You Want to Know?

By Iola Goulton


It's almost the end of 2017. I must be getting older, because time seems to go faster each year.

And this is the last week of regular blog posts for 2017: we're taking the next two weeks off and sharing some of our favourite posts from our archives.

There's a lot of them. The Australasian Christian Writers blog has now been going for over five years. We've published over 1,000 original posts, had over 280,000 page views, and almost 11,000 comments. Several posts have been viewed over 1,000 times.

Thank you, everyone!


We're also busy planning for 2018. There will be a few changes ...


We're going to tweak the look of the blog—nothing drastic. Just a few changes to the style sheet. And some new branded graphics so that you can easily recognise and share our posts on social media.

Speaking of social media ... if you're on Pinterest, why don't you Follow the Australasian Christian Writers group board? (Click here to find the board. Because you know you want another excuse to visit Pinterest.)

We're going to introduce a new regular Tuesday feature: Tuesday Book Questions.


Let us know if you'd like to join in, either by contributing a post to the blog, or by joining in on your own blog. This is a great way of engaging with your readers on your website and on social media!

But most things will stay the same:


We're still going to have regular Thursday book reviews.

We're still going to share new releases each month.

Wednesday and Friday will still be general blog posts from a range of Christian writers from Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific region.

We will still have a regular crossover post with our sister group, Christian Writers Downunder, on the first Monday of every month.

And we're still going to have our Monday craft posts, on a range of topics around reading, writing, reviewing, editing, publishing, and marketing.

That's what I want to ask you about today.


Writing. Publishing. Marketing. What do you want to know?


What topics do you want us to cover in our Monday craft posts? What specific questions do you have that we can help you answer?

People have told me they'd like posts on writing craft, marketing, and reviewing. But what do you specifically want to know that we haven't already covered (that 1,000 posts includes a lot of craft posts).

Please leave a comment and tell us what you want to know. The more specific your request, the better!


Also, let us know if you have a burning desire to share your knowledge on a craft topic you think your fellow writers might be interested in. We're always keen to showcase willing guest bloggers!



About Iola Goulton


Iola Goulton is a New Zealand book reviewer, freelance editor, and author, writing contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist. She is a member of the Sisterhood of Unpronounceable Names (Iola is pronounced yo-la, not eye-ola and definitely not Lola).

Iola holds a degree in marketing, has a background in human resource consulting, and currently works as a freelance editor. When she’s not working, Iola is usually reading or writing her next book review. Iola lives in the beautiful Bay of Plenty in New Zealand (not far from Hobbiton) with her husband, two teenagers and one cat. She is currently working on her first novel.


6 comments:

  1. Thanks Iola. What a great idea! Hazel

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  2. I would like more structured advise on marketing please. Thanks

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  3. Patricia, marketing is a wide subject. Are there any specific aspects you are interested in? e.g. building a platform, planning a book launch, getting reviews, advertising, something else?

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  4. Ian Acheson has been having trouble commenting on Blogger, so messaged me his comment:

    Iola, thanks for seeking the group's input. We have a few Indie published authors and I wonder if there is a way in which we could get a collaboration between some of them on the entire publishing process they went through. Besides being a useful guide for all of us but also could serve to be pulled together for publication: an ACW/CWD production - Down Under Christian Indie Experience. Any proceeds/profits could be put back into the blogs or the Omega Conference. Probably would consume most of the Craft posts for the year.

    Great idea, Ian! I'm not published, so I'll have to find some volunteers for this one. Anyone interested?

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  5. Iola, great ideas for next year! I'd love to hear more about the marketing side of things, specifically, how a Christian non-fiction writer might market their book beyond social media and Koorong. As an indie self-published author with no formal distribution channels, I am looking for other ideas!

    I would also be interested in contributing blogs next year. Let me know if you are still looking for bloggers and if you have particular topics or broad themes in mind.

    In response to Ian Acheson's comment: I am always happy to share about my personal self-publishing journey!

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