In his book Creative Writing Career 2, author Justin Sloan shares his advice on becoming a professional writer of movies, video games, and books. He also does an excellent job of collecting email addresses of his readers, encourages them to connect with him on LinkedIn, and boosts website visits. You should read his inspirational book for the practical information and interviews he conducts, but also how he is able to gather email addresses from his readers. You can use the techniques in your next book or social media post.

Collect Email Addresses of readers

Right at the top of his introduction page, he encourages you to sign up for his newsletter and receive a free story and audiobook, as well as future updates. At the end of the Introduction, he suggests that if you would like a free PDF to print for your writing career plan, email him at (his email address) with the subject line “Writing Career Plan.”

Do you have a worksheet or free eBook that might interest your readers? Entice readers to get the free download by going to your website. You can have a pop-up box to get readers to subscribe to your blog. The title page of my book From Desktop to Book Shop encourages readers to download our free eBook: “Free eBook: 100 Headlines for Promotions and Social Media. We’ve compiled a list of catchy headlines that you can use in ads, email promotions, and social media. They’re organized by month and by topic. Download our free eBook from our website: www.SterlingEd.com”

On the title page and the last page of my book Tragedy on the Twenty, I wrote: Visit our blog for tips on publishing your own book: writing, designing, marketing, or self-publishing. http://fanson.net

LinkedIn

Author Justin Sloan also encourages you to keep your LinkedIn profile up to date: “View my profile for some ideas on how to present yourself as a writer, and feel free to send me an invitation to connect while you are there.” And now he’s your friend in social media.

Website or Blog

In his book Creative Writing Career 2, author Justin Sloan interviews Tomiko Breland who recommends building your readership before your book is published with a blog or social media. Hopefully those readers or followers will buy your book once it’s published. Create a blog that provides useful or interesting content that will attract followers. The blog should also be related to the book you plan to publish.

My blog is updated twice a week with stories about promoting your book, which is the title of my upcoming book Promoting Your Book (or Business). If I write a short blog at least two days a week for one year, I will have 104 blog posts or pages for my next book. Be sure to subscribe to read the blog for free, before the book comes out: https://sterlingedblog.wordpress.com

Sloan also suggests that your website should list what you are currently working on, and include a writing resumé if you’re looking for a job in writing. PDF versions of your book can contain a hyperlink to connect the reader to your website with just one click. Justin Sloan’s web address is: http://www.creativewritingcareer.com