Alex Apostol

Author Spotlight: Gabrielle Begnac

September 16, 2021

Author Spotlight
Alex: For my first Author Spotlight I would like to introduce Gabrielle Begnac. Gabrielle, tell us a little about yourself.

Garbrielle: I’m a French paramedic, concerned about the borderline personnality disorder. That’s why I decided to write about it.

Alex: What genre or genres do you like to write in?

Garbrielle: This a psychological novel.

Alex: Are you traditionally published, independently published, or both?

Gabrielle: I’m traditionally published at Le lys bleu édition.

Alex: What made you choose the publishing path you’re on?

Gabrielle: I wanted a professionnal review on my writing style.

Alex: I think we can all relate to that! It’s nice to have extra sets of professional eyes are your work because they are the ones who know what works and what doesn’t in the book world. Why did you choose to write in the psychological genre?

Gabrielle: I thought it was the best to transmit the feelings I wanted to share. It’s a really emotional book at the limit between novel and autobiographie.

Alex: That’s interesting. I think a lot of us authors put our own truths and experiences from our lives in our work. I know I do! When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

Gabrielle: Since I know how to write! I loved to write little texts, shorts stories… I even tried to write a song but it was really really bad hahaha. It’s my way to share my feelings.

Alex: I know how you feel. I couldn’t stop writing if I tried either. It’s my release. Stories are pent up in my head and I have to get them out and they always seem to coincide with events going on in my life I feel others can relate too, even if I put supernatural twists into them. Can you tell us a little about your writing processes?

Gabrielle: This book took almost two years to write. I wrote it like I would do for a personal journal, sharing what goes on in my mind day to day.

Alex: That’s a fascinating writing style which I can imagine makes it a very personal read for your audience. What are some of your favorite books to read?

Gabrielle: I love classics! Especially Dostoieski (my favorite writer ever). I also enjoy Verne, Hugo…

Alex: I enjoy a good classic every now and then too. I think as authors it’s good to read books that are considered classics and timeless to give us something to aspire to, something that can stand the tests of time. Moving onto a not so popular subject for authors; what does marketing look like for you?

Gabrielle: I’m more of a social media type of person. I do it all by myself on my Instagram. I don’t believe in paid advertising, but it’s really a personal feeling!

Alex: I hear you and I agree. Authors double as marketing agents now more than they ever did before! I think once you find what you’re comfortable with you can excel at it. There’s so many different avenues for marketing, paid and unpaid. I tend to lean more toward the unpaid as well. If you have to do any research for your books, how do you like to accomplish this? What is your organization of research like? How long do you usually spend on research?

Gabrielle: For my book about borderline disorder, I searched in my psychology courses and on scientific articles. I did it all along the two years when I felt the need.

Alex: Two years is a long time to research but I bet it shows in the writing and how real the book feels to your audience because of it. Awesome job! Which of your books is your bestseller and why do you think it is?

Gabrielle: I only have one book out now. But according to the readers’ reviews the book really helped them understand people who suffer mental illness better and to imagine what it’s like.

Alex: It’s such an interesting subject that a lot of people out there can relate to, whether they are struggling or know someone else who is. Is there any more you can tell us a little about your book?

Gabrielle: It’s already available at Amazon, Barnes and noble, and the usual book sales avenues. It’s a psychological novel close to autobiography about borderline personality disorders.

Alex: Sounds like an interesting read. I’ll have to check it out. It’s out of the norm from what I usually choose to read but it can be good to venture out of the usual and into subjects you don’t normally read about. Who is your favorite character you’ve ever developed?

Gabrielle: It only has only been one and it’s me!

Alex: (haha) that one made me laugh. Usually when I’m writing a story where the character is closely based on myself they are my least favorite, not favorite, but I can see why in this case it would be different for you. Well, it’s been wonderful getting to know you and learn more about your book! Where can my readers find you if they want more information?

Gabrielle: They can follow me on Instagram at @frenchbookworm34 I’m so thankful to be given this opportunity,

Alex: I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say we’ve really enjoyed getting to know you and your book. If you’re interested in checking out Gabrielle’s psychological book based loosely off her own life experiences you can check it out by clicking the button below!

Les Montagnes russes de lhumeur by Gabrielle begnac

Gabrielle is a French author and her book is only available in French through Amazon France.

If you are an author and you’re interested in having your own Author Spotlight feature on writeralexapostol.com please click HERE and email me!
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Building Your Author Mailing List

September 13, 2021

marketing
This has been trial and error for me over the years but now I feel like I finally have a handle on it and my mailing list is growing nice and steadily. Before I was unconvinced that an author’s mailing list could be as important as everyone was claiming it was. Now that I see my list growing in numbers daily and I’m actually getting interaction and sales from my loyal readers I see just how important an author’s mailing list is. There are many methods for growing your mailing list. I’ve tried many, some work better than others but I’ve found if you test out to find what combination is right for you then you can’t go wrong. A lot of times authors can’t afford to invest in signing up with an email marketing service so I’ve put together some free and effective methods for you to implement and monitor on your own.

Social Media

This is every author’s first go to for pretty much any marketing, not wrongfully so either. If we’ve done a good job growing our social media audience then it can be a great tool for getting readers to sign up for our mailing list. In another blog I’m going to go over the best social media platforms for authors, but lets just say for argument’s sake you’ve got the basics going for your brand; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

One way you can build your mailing list is to be sure to include a post every once in awhile informing your followers how they can sign up for your mailing list and what your list has to offer that will be enticing to them. Every time I post one of these I get a few organic sign ups from it, nothing earth shattering but every person counts.

Another way you can use social media to gain followers is by including the link to your sign up in your bio. Believe it or not, readers actually do check out your bio to figure out what you’re all about and when they do they should be led to signing up for your mailing list. It’s a great place to include the link and also entice them by letting them know what they’re getting when they sign up. A popular method for authors is to offer a free eBook of theirs after sign up. I don’t get a ton of sign ups from my social media bio but some is better than none still!

Another way is to add the link to your email signup at the end of your messages and posts with others. This is especially helpful with Facebook. Often I don’t remember to do this, and mainly because Mailchimp doesn’t have links I can remember by heart to add to the end of each post. I would like to try this more to see how successful it can be. I also need to try to participate better in author and reader groups to use this method.

Email Signature

When using your author email, or even your non-author regular email, you should include the link to sign up for your mailing list after your name. I take it one step further and include my website link, my social media links, and my mailing list links. This has been moderately successful in gaining organic followers. Not only does it encourage readers who reach out to me through email but you never know who is a reader when you exchange emails. Everyone is a potential new member of your audience if you give them the chance. All you can do is put the word out and see if you get any bites and I’ve found this to be a non-pushy, automated, and successful way of doing that.

BookFunnel

This has, by far, been the most successful method for growing my mailing list organically with real readers and quickly. If you haven’t checked out this site yet, you need to! It’s a paid program, but it’s affordable and in my opinion well worth it. The way it works is you either give away your book as a newsletter promotion or you sell your book through a landing page. You enter your books into promotions with similar genre books and each author that participates shares it across their social media and in their newsletters. Depending on which promotion you choose you are either gathering a new member to your mailing list or you are potentially making a sale. I try to do both evenly because it’s been successful for both.

Business Cards/Bookmarks

My Old Business Card for my Previous site

I have not had huge success with this but I blame it all on myself and not on the method. I know some authors that have had huge success with handing out business cards or bookmarks to promote their work and gain mailing list members. I am painfully shy and introverted when it comes to talking myself up and selling my work in person. If you have the guts to get out there, socialize, and talk about your work with someone face-to-face when this could be a great method for you! I’ve had tons of cards and bookmarks printed up and have given away maybe a handful. I would advice you don’t invest in it unless you’re committed to following through with it.

Sign Up Sheets at Events

I have yet to participate in a book signing or author festival or event. First of all, shy introvert here. Second, COVID put a pause to all that for a good two years. These events are just now starting to come back and even so they’re not the same as they used to be. I just don’t know if I have it in me to talk to all those people and sell myself like that, but if you do then I say go for it! There’s plenty of authors, indie and self-published, who swear by it. Whenever you’re putting together your booth or if you’re just setting up a small display on someone else’s, be sure to include a clipboard with a sign up sheet for your mailing list. You don’t have to pry into everyone’s personal information. First name and email is enough to build your list effectively. I would suggest having a check box for if they would like to sign up for your Advanced Reader Copy program too. It turns out, a lot of people are willing to sign up for this. Who doesn’t love a free book and it helps to build reviews for your new releases.

Book Back Matter

I have used this, though I have yet to check up on my link to see how successful it is but adding the link to your mailing list in the back matter of your book is a must, along with social media links and website links and sneak peeks of your other books and more. The person looking at it is obviously already interested in your work so why not let them know they can gain another book of yours for free and get monthly emails from you about you, your work, your life, and more? You’d be surprised how many readers are interested in the person who wrote the book they just enjoyed.

Author Website

Make sure you have buttons or links to your mailing list displayed prominently and in several places on your website. If you look at mine the first thing you see is a banner explaining what the reader is going to get that’s special if they sign up for my list and right below is the large button for them to click. This isn’t the only place I have it either. I also include it on the bottom of the main page, in the sidebar of my blog page, on my about page, and more. From a marketing perspective, a potential customer has to see something on average seven times before they click on it to consider a purchase. Joining a mailing list isn’t as big of a financial commitment as buying a book but sometimes it still takes a little repetitive nudges to get them to do it.

Guest Blogging, Author Interviews, Book Features

A great way to get the word out about you and your work is to open yourself up to more readers through other authors and bloggers. If you google book bloggers and author blogs you can contact them personally to see if they’d be interested in either interviewing you, featuring your book, or letting you be a guest blogger on their site. When you do this be sure to include all your links including the link to sign up for your mailing list.

If you have more methods of building your mailing list please share them with everyone in the comments section. I love trying new ways to reach a wider audience, as I’m sure all authors out there do. Authors are more marketers than writers now more than ever. Let’s share information with each other to help each other grow as authors! And as always Happy Writng (and Reading!)
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The Importance of Reading as a Writer

September 9, 2021

reading, writing
As writers and authors, it’s perfectly understandable how we can get caught up in our work. Sometimes it takes over and before you know it you’ve been at it for four hours without a break. Once you’re on a roll it’s hard to stop! But it’s important to find balance in your life. It’s ok to take a break to go to the bathroom and eat a meal. The idea will still be there, I promise! And if you’re too worried it won’t be, write the thought down quick before you walk away. As a sedimentary job, breaks should also include walking around or exercise, and oh yeah we still have families and friends and pets and other responsibilities too. When are we even supposed to find time for reading, the very thing that gave us the idea to be writers in the first place?!

Reading Makes You a Better Writer

Not only is reading an enjoyable pastime, it’s also a very important part of the author job. We want to keep learning, growing, and getting better as writers. If we don’t get out there and explore different styles and genres our work might start to feel like the same thing over and over again because we don’t know how to do anything else. I know for me personally I have been reading Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series and it has had a great effect on my writing. It has taught me what appeals to readers and to use a new style of writing that adults can enjoy as opposed to always writing on a Young Adult level. This broadened my horizons as an author and opened the door for me to write in new genres that I could potentially do really well in. If I hadn’t read this series, I might never have realized how much I like Historical Fiction and how to use a new style of writing for an older audience.

Not only do you gather more tools for a broader and better writing style by reading, but you also learn to grasp grammar and book layout better. Just by reading many books I learned that when you have a double space between paragraphs you don’t indent the first sentence. I’ve also found common headers that appeal to me as a reader and have implemented similar designs into my own layouts. And let’s face it, just because we are authors doesn’t mean we know much or anything about grammar. For some of us it comes naturally, but for some it’s a real struggle. By reading as much as you can you will start to pick up on the correct use of words and even learn new words that you can use in your own writing. You will start to understand why those commas are where they are and what the use of a semicolon really is. You don’t need a degree to learn these things. You can learn them just by sitting down with a coffee, a blanket, and a book and reading away the hours.

It Gives You Something to Talk About with Readers

Some of my biggest engagement posts are not the ones where I’m trying to sell my books or are even pictures of my cute cat, but they’re book reviews! I post on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Bookbub and my blog. Whenever I finish a book I’ll throw up a review. Usually it’s nothing too in-depth and it’s certainly not a professional review that’s pages long. I try to touch on characters, setting, story, and style and my followers on social media really seem to like this. They like seeing that an author they follow has read the same book they’ve read, or even better you lead them to a great new read they might never have learned about. It’s all part of building an author community on our social media. You don’t want to come off as self-centered or like a salesman. A great way to break up the sales posts is to post other books you enjoy, books on your shelf, bookstacks of the same genre or color or author. Talk about what you like as a reader and your followers will start to see you as a human being instead of the almighty author behind the cover of the book you’re selling.

Authors Supporting Authors

How can you expect others to read your work and be interested in it if you’re not willing to do the same? I feel like it’s just good book karma to keep reading other author’s books in the hopes that someday they might read mine as well. It’s also a great way to make connections with other authors. If you find their email on their website or you follow them on social media you can reach out to them personally and tell them how much you loved their book and that you left reviews. No matter how big the author is, these little messages will make their day! Even if they don’t have time to respond to every single one they get, they saw it and they loved it. And who knows, you might form a connection and someday they will return the favor. You could possibly find a new exchange buddy for ARCs. The possibilities are endless when networking and building your author/reader community.

Inspiration

I don’t know about you but reading what other people can do with writing inspires me. It gives me great story ideas of my own, helps me to develop more realistic characters that readers can relate to, and even just inspires me to write in general. It reminds me that “hey, this person didn’t give up and look what came of it! This is awesome! I can do this!” I truly believe the best way to gather inspiration, no matter what creative profession you’re in, is to indulge in the work of others. You might never have wanted to write a story about Vikings and their life way back when until you read your first Viking fiction book recommended to you by one of those bookstagrammers on instagram you follow. And then bam! You’ve got a new story that seems to just flow from your fingertips like it was heaven sent.

Writing can take over our lives as authors, but we should still always find time to squeeze in some reading too. It keeps us sharp, fresh, and entertained. Why do you think writers should also be readers? Tell me in the comments and as always Happy Reading!
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How to Fit Reading into Your Busy Schedule

September 6, 2021

reading
A great reading spot in the bedroom

It’s no secret that adults are busier than ever in this changing world. I don’t know about you but I’m definitely feeling it right now. Not only am I a mother of a six year old girl, a wife to an equally busy husband, an author, an author blogger, an equestrian blogger, I also work full-time at a day job. This is not entirely uncommon, especially for us authors. Another secret; being an author does not make you rich. There are times I can hide that I’m going through a struggling artist period, but that’s the life I chose. It’s a labor of love that doesn’t always pay off but I couldn’t quit if I tried. Writing is in my blood. That’s why I keep creating more work for myself with all these blogs and book series I start writing and journals I keep designing. It never ends (Thank God!) Even if you’re not an author I’m sure your schedule looks equally as busy as mine. So many of us are juggling family, friends, jobs, school, hobbies, and more. Just reading that sentence made me feel a little exhausted. How do we do all that and still find time to read in our day?

For me as an author reading is not only a pleasurable hobby, it’s a part of my job. Trying out different authors and genres keeps my writing style and interests fresh and it motivates me to get to writing too. As a reader, that little time I get to carve out is my great escape from my hectic life. I’ve put together some of my favorite tips and tricks to squeeze reading time in when you can so you don’t keep blowing it off.

Create a Schedule

I don’t mean a reading schedule exactly, but an actual half hour-by- half hour schedule for your daily activities. I have found this extremely helpful in finding those little pockets of potential free time that I can dedicate to reading. If I never put my schedule to paper I never would have realized that after my daughter comes home from school before I make dinner I have a good half hour while she’s playing with friends and decompressing from her day to decompress from mine with a good book! If I hadn’t planned that moment in my day I might have wasted it staring at my phone or Netflix (not that those are totally useless either.) Which brings me to my next point.

Put the Technology Down

I find that so many readers (myself included) complain that they can’t find time to read even though they enjoy it too much. But when you take a hard look at your tech and social media use, are you sure you really couldn’t find the time? How much time a day do you spend scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed mindlessly, liking post after post? A half hour? An hour? I’m not saying you have to give it up completely but maybe figure out how much time you spend scrolling through your social media and cut it in half to share it with reading time.

Small Unexpected Blocks of Time

I think it’s a good idea to have the book you’re reading on you at all times. You never know when you’re going to get an unexpected block of time to read for five, ten, or maybe even twenty minutes! One place I have realized is a good ten to fifteen minute reading niche is while I’m waiting to pick my daughter up at the bus stop. It’s supposed to be home at 3:55pm. I showed up on time and it consistently does not arrive until between 4:10 and 4:15. I would hate to show up late and then actually have it be on time so I go at 3:55pm every day still and wait around. Sure I could take that time to socialize with the other parents and that’s important too, but sometimes its so hot they’re all sitting in the air conditioning in their cars like me watching YouTube to kill time. Another great place to pick up a few minutes of reading is in waiting rooms; doctor, dentist, appointments, etc. Read until your name is called and then bookmark it. Sometimes it can be a little jarring to have to stop in the middle of a paragraph but for me that few minutes of reading was well worth it because it relaxes me.

Lunch Breaks

If you work full-time you probably get a half hour or more for your lunch break. I don’t know about you but it takes me only about 5-10 minutes to woof down my meal. The rest of that break can be spent with your nose in a good book!

While the Kids are Playing

It’s so tempting to check things off our list when the kids are occupied with playing either in their rooms or out with friends. There’s a balance to life and we’re happiest when we teeter on that fine line of everything being in harmony. Sometimes when the kids are otherwise occupied you’ll want to get some housework, cleaning, laundry, extra work, or something productive done, but you also need to give yourself permission to not be productive every minute of your life. If your kid loves to play out of the house with friends like mine does, one day clean, another day read, another day write your blog or whatever your extra work is.

These are just a few of the ways I find time to read daily even with my overly busy schedule. If you have any more tips or tricks for carving out more reading time please leave it in the comments below! Happy Reading!
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My Riding Journal 2nd Edition and New Cover

August 23, 2021

writing
My Riding Journal has been updated and now the 2nd edition and new cover is available on Amazon in paperback! I love this journal and I’ve never used it more than the last two months. I bought my first horse and learned what really goes into horse ownership and riding. That’s why the journal needed an update. When I first designed it in 2018 I had only ever leased a horse so I didn’t really understand the bond, the connection, the time and the work that went into a horse that was your own. The biggest changes is I have added more pages so the journal should last the entire year. It’s focused more on just one horse with a larger profile page for your horse than before. I’ve added a journaling section for groundwork, which is something I never knew about before but have come to love and respect and use often. There’s no more standalone behavior tracker but have added a description area to each journal page for your horse’s behavior instead. The journal is bigger and better than ever so check it out on Amazon today. I just ordered my copy and can’t wait to start using it!

My Riding Journal on Amazon
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