by D.P. Joynes

IFTTT: My Review – It’s Freaking Awesome.

animals-ducks-water-birds-drake.jpgIFTTT! This app/website is bad ass.

I only decided to start writing six months ago. During the first two months of hammering away at the keyboard, I had to decide several things, including whether I wanted to self-publish or seek an agent. I chose self-publishing, because, in truth, I had no idea what kind of writer I was. Yes, I’d written many theses as a nurse, many songs as a lyricist, but at that point I wanted to write fiction novels and I had never done that before. Wanna know what else I’d never done? Market!

I found out that to be successful at self-publishing, you have to use the 20/80 ratio, which is the amount of time spent between writing (20%) and marketing (80%). This means that in a 5-day work week, you’d spend only one (one!) day writing and the other four days marketing. Seriously?!?! I write SciFi and Fantasy, but there’s no way I’d be able to fairy dust that ratio no matter how much I tried to reconfigure or re-imagine it…enter IFTTT.

Like many authors who use social media, I wish to build an author platform, a BIG one. Platforms are slow to grow unless you get help and authors, especially new ones like me, need a lot of help. IFTTT is a hub of apps that you can pick and choose, mix and match, switch on and off whenever and however you want. For example, when I post a picture on Instagram, I have two apps running through IFTTT that automatically posts to both my Facebook and Twitter pages. That’s one upload to three outlets. It saves time and energy. You can use IFTTT for blogs, Pinterest, websites, LinkedIn; the list goes on and on. It really is amazing.

The only thing I wasn’t comfortable with was using any apps that accessed my Dropbox. So make sure you read each applet carefully. But once you try your first one, the possibilities become endless! If you’re worried about hackers, I can’t help you there. I make sure I use apps that have at least a thousand users. Hmmm…I’m feeling a sense of inspiration coming on…that’s a SciFi short story for sure. I heart IFTTT! <–Okay, that was weird. What can I say? I’m a nerd.

Have anything you’d like to share? Please do!

HELLA.jpgD.P. Joynes is a genre-crossing author hosting fairy tales, folklore, and a few unusual experiments plus occasional torn teen puppy love in realms of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror. Check out my books.

“I’m a coconut filled with maudlin sentimentality.” Connect with me on Facebook to stay up-to-date on new adventures or visit my websites: DpJoynes.net and GrimAndCharming.com.

6 thoughts on “IFTTT: My Review – It’s Freaking Awesome.”

  1. I’m not sure where you heard that you should market 80% of the time and write 20%, but that’s not my understanding of the path to success. Almost every successful indie author I know says the same thing – the key to success is a) write an engaging book, b) write another one, and c) keep repeating b.

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  2. Depends. Are you writing in a series? If so, depending on your writing speed, might be best to hold off publishing until the series is complete. Otherwise, get it out there!

    “I’m a genre-crossing novelist (Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror)”

    Unfortunately, you’ve chosen a tough path. It’s a lot easier to sell books when you write in a single, well-selling genre. Instead of readers of both genres being attracted to the book, a lot of times neither will buy it. I’m a great example of that. If your book were a superhero novel, I’d probably check out the sample and buy it if it appealed to me. Since it’s a horror novel, though, I’m not really interested.

    You launched at the beginning of February, and according to your rank, you’ve gotten few sales. If it were my book, I’d do the following:

    1. Check my branding. Is this horror or superhero? I’d choose one and make sure both the cover and description sold that genre. Seriously consider changing the title as “goo” makes me think it’s supposed to be funny. Go to the kboards writers’ cafe and ask for help on your description and your cover.

    2. Launch the next book or wait until the series is finished and launch all books at 30-day intervals.

    3. During the launch phase, lower the price of the hopefully re-titled GotG to .99 on a countdown and promote at the usual sites.

    NOTE: I am not an expert at this. I don’t play one on TV, either. I didn’t even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. My biggest advice for you is to go to the writers’ cafe and get advice from people who know a whole lot more than I do.

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