How to Use Book Funnel 2

 

Last week, we looked at the basic functions of Book Funnel. Once you get comfortable uploading and distributing books through the app, it’s time for more fun.

Certified Mail is a way to distribute ARC copies to a small group of people. How is this different from a regular landing page? The Certified Mail feature lets you send out unique links to email addresses. Be sure you vet the list carefully so they don’t end up in the spam folder. These links are not shareable, keeping your ARCs safe from general distribution before they are ready. You choose the accounts and deadline to download the file. You can send a follow-up message to remind them to rate the story on various bookseller sites. Readers can be managed during the campaign. If you remove a reader, their download link will no longer work. Book Funnel has a step-by-step how-to for this feature.

Gift a Book feature allows you to send a title to one person. This feature is perfect for contest winners, forgotten ARC readers, or a loyal fan. It creates a unique link that cannot be shared. It emails for you with the link to the free download. It will also track when you sent the link, who you sent it to, and when they downloaded it. Great for keeping track of all your freebies.

Group Promotions are an opportunity to expand your newsletter and give away more free books. Choose from Sales promos or Newsletters. Choose your genres to get notifications when new campaigns begin. Find the best for your book/brand and sign up. With a Newsletter Promo, you will share your newsletter and free book offer with other authors of the same genre or type. Book Funnel will send out an invitation to sign up for the free item. You need to have an email-request landing page for this type of promotion.

For Sales Promos, Book Funnel generates a multi-page landing page to scroll through to view the books on sale. It does not require a landing page and can send the reader directly to a retailer. Also, no email addresses are collected with these campaigns. Once you join a campaign, you must share the landing page with your readers (as all the other authors will do as well). This way, your fans will see other books, but other readers will see your items. The link can send the reader to your landing page, and you can add the link to booksellers there (if you choose).

Author Swaps allows you to find like-genre authors for exchanging free books. You can work together to share links to your Book Funnel items. You put their link in your newsletter and vice versa.

There are two other features on the menu: Sales and Print Codes. Sales involves selling your book elsewhere and having Book Funnel deliver it. Other apps/sites are involved. If you really need this feature, I’d suggest you go directly to Book Funnel and watch their videos, how-tos, and support blogs. (This one is beyond me, sorry.) The Print Codes are a shareable download coupon for in-person events. Create the codes on the site, print them, and distribute them at signings, fairs, and conferences.

Book Funnel has so many opportunities for marketing and sharing your work. Check them out for the thirty-day trial and decide if it’s a good fit.

 

 

How To Use Book Funnel

 

First, sign up. You must agree to a plan and pay immediately. Book Funnel will give you your money back up to thirty days from signing up if you are not satisfied. Essentially, it’s a month’s free trial. On the actual sign-up page, you can add on an integration for your newsletter software like Mailchimp, MailerLite, or Constant Contact. It’s an additional $50 charge.

On the Home screen, the menu runs down the left side. It includes Add New Material, Books, Landing Pages, Certified Mail, Gift Books, Group Promotions, Author swaps, and Print Codes. Under those options are the settings for your account.

I’m focusing on eBooks to start. (Plus, I have no audios to walk through with you.) Since I’m a beginner at the app, I’m sticking with the simple this week.

The first thing to do is add a book. On the main screen, click Add New and choose the type of media to upload. Fill in the book title, your nickname for it (if you have one), and author name (be aware of what pen name you’re using). After series and volume, you can add an ASIN number if it’s available on Amazon. If not, leave it blank. The number helps to sort and ID your book properly. Add your tagline, blurb, and a note for readers if you want one.

Under the Book Type drop-down menu, you can select Advanced Copy, Excerpt, Full Book, Novella, Preview, Sample, Short Story, Teaser, and Other. It will allow you to have many options for items on Book Funnel.

Click Create Book, and you’re ready to begin.

Kinda.

The app takes you to a landing page for the new title. You will need to upload the cover and file(s). Click Add Cover under the dummy image they’ve added. It’s a good idea to use a PNG to get the best quality. You can also choose to display the Note For Readers if you made one.

Next, upload your file. It is recommended to use an ePub or Mobi format for Book Funnel. You cannot use a Word doc, and PDFs get more piracy. If you need to convert your files to either ePub or Mobi, Scrivener, Vellum, and Calibre are good options. Even Google Docs will convert to ePub.

Last on the page, you can choose what to do with your files. There’s a long list of choices once you upload your file. You can join sales promotions, send books to readers, send review copies, and more. Book Funnel will automatically convert an ePub to Mobi and vice versa. Since there are various formats to download the novel, I’d suggest that you add your cover as the first page of your file. That way, no matter the format readers choose, they will see the image.

Start with a Landing Page for your book. Either choose it from the list at the bottom of the screen or the Action button at the top right. You have several options for the Landing Page. You can distribute the file with a click, collect emails before sending it out, send readers to a purchase page, or restrict who can download the file (great for ARCs).

On the Landing Page, you can title it, limit the number of downloads, and add an expiration date for the files. Again, for an ARC or limited promotions, these options will let you control how your book is downloaded. You can now use the link to the Landing Page in promotions, newsletters, and social media. Book Funnel will ask readers how they want the file. Again, it will not give a PDF if you did not provide one.

The Landing Page will now supply you with data about your eBook. Click on the Download Pages option and then click on your uploaded book. There are two links to used to distribute the book, one short, one longer. Copy and paste these into newsletters or wherever you want to send the book from. Click on the plus sign on Download Stats to see how many looks, downloads, and types of downloads. Under Landing Page, you can see a quick view of the data on the page or preview it. Advanced settings let you change the expiration or limits for the downloads.

Phew. That’s just one eBook and Landing Pages.

Next week, we’ll peek at the promotions, certified mail, and gift options.

 

 

 

BookFunnel

 

BookFunnel is a paid app for indie authors to distribute e-books, e-audiobooks, advanced reader copies, and reader magnets. Through their webpage, authors can send digital material to their readers directly.

BookFunnel makes distribution easy. Readers are directed to a landing page to download free books. Authors can use the site as a place to distribute free materials. Reader magnets, free first in series, beta copies, and ARCs can get to readers quickly with minimal hassle.

Writers wear so many hats. Creating links to your free materials simplifies many tasks.

BookFunnel helps maintain your copyright and protects readers’ email privacy at the same time. No one can get the files from the site without the link. Books are distributed as either mobi, epub, or pdf. Authors can choose if they want a pdf or not. Email addresses are not saved unless permissions are given.

The app will monitor your books and give stats on the number of downloads. The site will also connect you to group promotions, book swaps, codes, and ways to sell your stories using Book Funnel as your distributor.

Pricing for BookFunnel falls into three categories. I’ll cover the annual costs. You can pay monthly if you choose. At the bottom tier for $20 a year, authors can use one pen name, have 500 downloads a month, unlimited book storage, custom landing pages, and participate in group promotions. For $100 a year, authors can maintain two pen names and 5000 downloads a month. Additionally, they can collect emails, have secure ARC deliveries, downloadable gift codes, and distribute short MP3 audio files. For an additional $50, authors can also have direct integration of mailing lists (like from Mailchimp or MailerLite). With the $250 a year plan gives authors three pen names, and unlimited downloads, with the additional services of automatic integration of three mailing lists and priority support.

If you aren’t satisfied with the service, cancel for a full refund up to thirty days after enrolling.

If you’re ready to build your newsletter, secure beta readers, or sell indie books from your site, check out BookFunnel.

 

 

 

Dabble for Authors

 

When I first opened this app, I saw its ad slogan and scoffed. It totes itself to be “Like Scrivener, without the learning curve.” Scrivener’s curve is huge. It’s a fact. I use it for all my drafting and still don’t know what half the stuff is. So “no learning curve” sounds lovely. And I can tell you, that ad line is so accurate.

I love Scrivener, but Dabble has all I require without all the extra fuss. If you are just starting with a writing app, I recommend using Dabble first. It’s simple, easy, and has a few features Scrivener does not.

Both apps have an outline on the left side. It has binders, folders, and text files listed. It’s easily moveable on both, with added sections if needed. Wonderful. For this almost fifty-year-old writer, here’s the bonus. Dabble’s screen text is larger and much easier to read. If you’re using the app online, you can zoom in until the screen is huge. It’s a small but necessary thing because I do not want to wear my glasses.

I also love that adding new material seems faster and simpler. There is no giant list (of tiny text). A click on the plus sign gives the writer a list of things to add immediately, including a new book, additional notes, files, and plot points. How ever your brain works, you can add what you need with ease. As long as you’re fine with the product not being as robust as Scrivener, Dabble is a great way to write your novels.

Let’s talk about plotting. By now, I’m sure you’ve all read Romancing the Beats by Gwen Hayes. That book has everything a romance author needs for their novel. If you’re writing just fiction, it can help with your romantic arc. There are many other plotting books and author suggestions for story arcs. Why not take your favorite and throw them into the Plot section? Save your document as Beats or something. Then refer to it as you write. Templates are not yet available on Dabble as they are on Scrivener. But that doesn’t mean you can create one for reference.

Subscription versus paid model. Here is have to say, I prefer a one-time payment method. This limits updates and makes bugs a little hard to fix. But I’m old and used to paying one time for software. The lowest price for Dabble is almost $100 a year. Scrivener costs $50 to use forever, plus the ability to put it on multiple devices. I really like Dabble, like, REALLY like it. But I’ve already paid for Scrivener and the upgrade to version 3.1.

Authors need to take care with subscriptions as they can add up. Get a premium graphic program, a writing app, and a mailing service, and you could pay up to $500 a year. I don’t make that much! Dabble has a coupon if you participate in National Novel Writing Month (which I encourage for everyone). You can get 20% straight off the bat or 50% if you win. Not a bad deal.

So Dabble… Yes, I want it. It’s wonderful and easy, but I already spent the money. You might find that it’s worth every penny.

 

 

 

How To Dabble

 

Dabble is a basic word processing app for fiction writing. To start, either go to the website https://www.dabblewriter.com/ or download it from the app store.

Once loaded, log in with a simple email and password. You’re ready to go.

The Home screen is a simple splash screen with all your projects listed. Since we’re just starting, this is blank. Click plus sign to create a new novel. The screen opens to the word processing page. On the left is a list of menus. The middle has the document for typing. On the right is more workspace for things like comments. More on that later.

Let’s start on the left. Skip down a few options to MANUSCRIPT. The app starts users off with a title page, chapter one, and the first scene. This section is the actual text of the novel that will be compiled when you finish. Click on the file labeled Untitled Book to give your story a title and add your author name. I’m stressing to do this first, as the app will file your story under this name. If you forget to title it, you might end up with numerous untitled books. Not great for organization.

Now click on the Once Upon A Time icon or the Chapter icon. Here you can begin crafting your novel. You will notice that there aren’t any ribbons, menus, or toolbars with formatting options on this screen. These are located on the left menu. Click Project Setting. This menu will let you set the name, subtitle, and author. If you’ve chosen a subscription level with co-authors, enter that information here. Scroll down to set Font and Size. Literary, Romance, Thriller, and Screenplay set both fonts and paragraph styles in one step. Preview the changes below the options. Be sure to hit Save Formatting when finished.

Back on the middle page section, type away at your will. As you type, the side panels disappear, leaving only the text page. This is Focused Mode. Click the mouse or hit the Esc key to exit. You can immediately enter this mode by clicking the eye icon at the bottom of the screen.

What about other formatting options? Highlight the text you want to change, and a pop-up menu will appear over the text. The options include bold, italic, strike-through, and highlight. It also allows you to make a comment which will appear on the right side. The middle double quote will automatically put your text into an indented quote-style paragraph. Handy for song lyrics, research papers, and the like. The last option that looks like a dog-eared square will place a sticky note over the text. Type in it to give yourself a comment that way. You can drag the colored square anywhere on the MANUSCRIPT page.

Yes, there are fewer options than other writing apps, but Dabble focuses on writing.

At the start of the last paragraph, you may notice a faded plus sign in a circle. This handy option will let you split a scene or a chapter right there. No need to add more text on the left menu.

If you need to add more text, click on the three dots next to each manuscript piece. MANUSCRIPT will allow you to create a new book. The title page will add another part or chapter. The chapter page will add a new scene. Most options will allow the user to rename or export the file.

Next on the left-side menu is the PLOT section. Here you can use index-sized cards to outline the novel. If you’re a pantser, you can synthesize your novel into chunks to use for a synopsis or scan for story holes. Dabble uses the terms plot point and plot grid for organizing your information. You can make a specific grid for your current novel or a generic to use with all your novels.

Click on PLOT for your title on the left menu. You will see a series of boxes. If you have already written some text, it will appear condensed in these boxes. Click on a card to add a summary of a scene or a plot point. Missed a scene? Easily fixed. Hover at the bottom of the list to see a large plus sign to add another scene. Click on the icon between cards that looks like a film strip. This will add a line to your book, and you can add a new scene.

Things out of order? No problem. Rearranging scenes is simple with drop and drag. Click on the scene or plot point (in either the MANUSCRIPT or PLOT section) and drag the piece where you need it to be, even if it’s the trash.

Last on the left is STORY NOTES. Here are places to create the novel’s bible. These text sections are not included in the larger manuscript. But you can add character sketches, setting descriptions, and other world-building.

Phew… on to the right side.

There are a few interesting features on the right side of the Dabble screen. Click on the MANUSCRIPT section on the left first to see the right-side menu. The first is Goals and Stats. Immediately clicking on this shows how many times in the last thirty days you’ve typed with Dabble. Hovering your mouse over the blue ticks will show how many words you wrote that day. Click on the gear to customize your goal. Set a place where new words will be counted from, choose a word count number, and a deadline. You can also click on the second tab to give yourself days off.

Next on the right is Notes. Click here to add text notes for your scenes or novels. After that is Comment History. This will show all comments and the date entered. (Remember, you can add comments after highlighting text.) The next icon allows you to hide comments. The eye icon here will turn on and off spelling, grammar, and sticky notes.

There are more options around the page. On the bottom, you can zoom, turn on Focus Mode, and hide the side panels. There’s a small cloud at the top to show your data is syncing if you are online with the app.

The person icon at the top will allow you to sign in and out, change your profile, and billing. It also has a NaNoWriMo sync option. This feature will allow writers to sync their word count with the NaNoWriMo website and update as they go. You must be registered for NaNo and link the two websites through your logins. The option works for Camp, not just November.

And that’s how you Dabble.

Next week, we will see how authors can use this app to their best advantage.