Are You Using Metadata to Your Advantage?

Greetings!
There's a definite chill in the air tonight after a wonderfully warm October. We're headed into winter, ready or not. The good thing about winter? It gives us an excuse to hole up in our houses and write, write, write!

At our last meeting we watched a video and discussed metadata: What is it, why do we need it, and how to use it.

In a nutshell, metadata IS the nutshell. It's everything we wrap around the "meat" of our work. (Or the nut... but that might imply that writers are a little crazy, and we ALL know that's not so!)

Metadata is the title, the book cover, the number of pages, the ISBN number, the genre, the library classification, etc. Why should we use it? Because metadata is how folks find our books, and for today's authors, especially self-published writers, optimizing metadata is crucial for marketing (links follow).

Here's the video we watched:


More links: https://janefriedman.com/optimizing-metadata/
http://www.thewritingplatform.com/2013/02/a-writers-guide-to-metadata/

Our next meeting will be on Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. at The Artful Cup. Several of us are planning to attend the Novel Crafters Seminar in a few weeks, so I expect we will have good stuff to share!

We're discussing using Skype or Google Hangouts for members who can't make it in person or for the months we're snowbound. If you'd be interested in participating virtually, shoot me an email and we'll get something organized.

And, after quite a lengthy delay, we've gotten our bank account set up, so if you have not paid chapter dues and would like to do so, please let me know and I'll get you the necessary information! I'm currently in the process of establishing a Paypal account for the chapter, and will let you know as soon as that's done.

Looking forward to seeing you all in November!

October Meeting: Metadata and What It Can Do For You

My brain is reeling. Santiago Sol officially released yesterday, and I have blogs to write and marketing to do and it all seems a bit overwhelming. And so, in my struggles, I ran across this fancy new term: metadata.

What is metadata? In a nutshell, it's data about data, and we need to understand its use to successfully market our writing in today's digital age.

Understanding and using metadata is also a suggested topic for official ACFW chapter meetings, and since we are an official chapter, I'm trying to make sure we're doing official things. *wink*

If nothing else, we'll be watching a video or two and coming up with our own metadata for our current projects, so be prepared to take notes and do some brainstorming.

With that said, our next meeting is Saturday, Oct. 17th, at 10 a.m. at The Artful Cup. Invite a friend, bring a buddy, tell someone you know! I hope to see you there, and if not, I'll share whatever notes and insights we come up with here, hopefully before our next meeting, which will be our holiday extravaganza before the great winter hibernation takes place.

Blessings!
Niki