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My Contact Information

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Now that I’ve published my book, and I’m in the sales and marketing phase, I find myself constantly having to look up all of the different ways a reader can find my book, or contact me.  So I’m creating this page to gather all the places I exist on the Internet.

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To be continued….

Signed Copies of Suicide By Everest

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Signed Copy of Suicide By Everest

If you want a signed copy of "Suicide By Everest" send me your address, and anything else you want me to write in it! 🙂

$14.99

If you don’t want to deal with me, you can order the paperback or eBook through Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=suicide+by+everest&ref=nb_sb_noss

My Twitter Journey

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I have been a Twitter user for years, and have used a number of different handles that have died from disuse. Facebook had always been my go-to social networking platform, and Twitter was an afterthought.

In August of this year, I decided that I needed a separate handle for my writing and to promote my book (Suicide By Everest,  being published October 28th on KDP). I established @ScottJThurman as my author account and in a very short period of time surpassed the number of Followers on my business account, and will probably exceed 1000 Followers by the end of this month (October).

I know there are Twitter folk that look down on those of us that shamelessly troll for Followers but for many of us it’s not only a social platform, it’s also a way to promote and sell our books. And although I know that only a small percentage of my Followers will buy my book, 1% of 1000, is greater than 1% 100.

Here are some Twitter guidelines that I’ve started to follow:

1) Follow back. I almost always Follow back. It’s an easy thing to do and it always feels good to get a new follower. Unless the person is espousing values that I strongly oppose or are selling something I won’t ever need, I follow.

2) Answer DMs. If somebody takes the time to write a thoughtful message to me, I hope that I will always write back. If it’s just a form DM that somebody has cut and and pasted, that may be grounds for unfollowing. Also, if you’re trying to sell me something, don’t bother, I ain’t buying.

3) I don’t Follow beautiful young women that Follow me and immediately try to start a conversation. What is up with that? It runs counter to my instincts as a man, but I’m savvy enough to know something ain’t right.

4) Follow Followers. When I’m scanning through the multitudes of Twitter accounts looking for good recruits, I look to see their Following to Follower ratio. If they are following more than they Follow chances are they’ll follow you back.

5) Collate. If I follow someone and they don’t follow me back in 48 hours (give or take) I unfollow them. It’s oddly satisfying. Of course if it’s some important influencer (i.e. a Kardashian), or somebody famous that I want to associate with (i.e. @ ) they can stay.

6) Follow Friday’s #FF are a good way engage with your Followers and grow your own Following. Today my theme was people with No Commas (I.e. Less than 1,000 followers) that have a Following to Follower ratio greater than 1.

… to be continued.

“I’ll Buy Your Book and You Buy Mine” Program

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Authors on Twitter seem to be an engaged and loyal group.

I’ve been tweeting for years now, under many different handles, but my tweeting has been very sporadic.  Today, I have two Twitter accounts that I am actively using; one for my day job, and one for my writing (@ScottJThurman).   As I’ve started using Twitter more, I’ve noticed that the more engaged you are, the faster your “followers” grow, and you actually start forming friendships, and having interesting conversations!  Maybe even a nemesis or two.

I’ve also noticed how eager the author twitter community is to help and support each other.  I’ve already bought several books, that I wouldn’t have otherwise, just because the author and I shared a few “likes” on Twitter.  Hence, I am proposing a “You Buy My Book and I’ll Buy Yours” program, which is a list of people that will buy your book, on the assumption that you will buy theirs. It’s an honor system, at least until I can figure out how to correlate sales to participation. 🙂

Here are the rules:

  1. Join the list.  I’ve started a list on my Twitter Account (@ScottJThurman) called “Buy My Book”.  You are welcome to subscribe.
  2. Follow all of the Authors on the list and watch for their book promotions.  My book, Suicide By Everest comes out on Amazon on October 28th!
  3. Buy a book, and let the author know that you bought it, and provide a link to the book you would like them to buy in return.
  4. Preference should be given to an author that just published.  According to Amazon, those first few days are critical for future sales. As well as…
  5. Review: Give an honest review of the book.  I plan on blogging about the books I read, and I will always give my honest review.

If you are interested in joining let me know. If you have a book you want me to buy and review let me know.   If you have any ideas on the program itself, please comment, I am interested in hearing from you.

Thanks!  Scott

To Blog, or Not To Blog

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blog icon information internet

Should a person Blog? Tweet? Post? Is it in his/her best interest?

If so, then why? What is the objective?

Should you separate your Twitter activity from your Facebook activity, or should you try to meld them all together?

These are the questions that I’m trying to figure out, so if you have any insight, please add your voice, but here is how I’m breaking it down:

  1. WordPress (scottthurman.com) is my writing Blog.  I will use this primarily for promoting me, my book and any future writing.  There may be some personal bits, but it must somehow tie back to my writing.
  2. Twitter (@scottjthurman) is a micro-blog.  It works in conjunction with my WordPress website.  I’ve been spending a lot of time on Twitter lately, building up my “following”, and I enjoy it.  It’s sort of a way of keeping score.
  3. LinkedIn is for business networking.   In general, this is where I put my resume. I need to explore how LinkedIn supports authors/writers.
  4. Skype: I haven’t really used Skype for personal business, though I don’t know why not.  My Skype name is scott_thurman
  5. WeChat: This is the Twitter of China. My WeChat handle is MenciusScott
  6. Facebook: Appears to have jumped the shark.  I visit facebook once or twice a day, but Twitter has become my go-to social networking app. FB will be for updating and being updated by family and friends.  It’s not a place I will be regularly promoting my writing.
  7. Instagram: Username is thurm2012.  Haven’t used it that much, but seems popular with many.  There is a way to coming them together.
  8. WhatsApp
  9. Yelp
  10. Google+
  11. Goodreads Author Page
  12. Amazon Author Page

 

About the Author

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Another are14K_Triada of the book cover is the “About the Author” section.  It’s a very short space, but can be an opportunity to sell the book.  Potential readers may decide whether or not to read the book on that little blurb about the author.  My first version was bland and meant nothing.  This latest version is tongue-in-cheek and hopefully will at least catch their attention.  As always, I’d like to hear what you think. Thanks…Scott

Scott J. Thurman is no longer religious but he was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, and served a typical non-violent, two-year Mormon mission to Hong Kong. He has lived and worked in China for over 30 years, where he may, or may not associate with members of Hong Kong Triads.  He has no tattoos. Today he lives in Northern California with his first wife and two children.