Wit & Travesty

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Book Review: Hunt of the Gods

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hunt of the gods book cover

Hey, writers and readers!

It’s not a good month without an indie novel or two. Today I’ll be reviewing Hunt of the Gods (Areios Brothers #2) by Amy Braun.

Check out the review below and make sure to give your two cents in the comments section if you’ve already read the book, too!

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis

Two months have passed since Derek Areios—war-scion and heir of Ares—and his fellow scion friends recovered both the Thunderbolt of Zeus and the Heart of the Devourer and returned them to the Gods. During the battle, Derek discovered he could also control the dark element “aether,” making him the only scion alive to wield two types of elemental magic.

Commanded by Zeus to retrieve the Trinity Weapons and the Shards of Cronus, Derek and the rogue scions are thwarted in their goal by a gang of water scions with a grudge against one of the rogues—Thea, heir of Poseidon. Both groups travel to an uninhabited island to recover one of the Shards: the Eye that belonged to Cronus, King of the Titans. But what they encounter will lead them down a path of brutal betrayals, hard truths, painful memories, and desperate actions.

Now Derek has angry and impatient gods breathing down his neck, a curse that allows Ares to control him, a prophecy he’s desperate to avoid, a magic spear corrupting his thoughts, and two forms of elemental magic. He definitely has a lot of baggage and a lot of power. Will the price of using that power to satisfy the Gods be too much for him to pay?

What I Enjoyed

I read the first book and really enjoyed it. And to summarize, I love books that really nail the retelling thing down whether it’s mythology, folklore, or fairy tales. It’s just fun.

So I wasn’t surprised that this book would be a fun ride. In fact, most of what I wanted to see in the first book ended up in this book. I love how Braun reimagines the Greek gods in modern times—what they would look like or sound like if they came back and demanded our complete devotion. We get to meet more characters in this book and we get knee-deep in some Greek mythology that anyone with basic knowledge on the subject will understand and enjoy.

But I’m not just a sucker for Greek mythology. Braun nailed the pacing in this book where we get fast-paced fight scenes and cool down moments. With Braun’s worldbuilding, she keeps up with her own rules to the point where it’s easy to jump in and understand the weight of Derek’s decisions.

My Final Thoughts

I mentioned this on Instagram but I mean it: you’ll really love this series if you loved Lightning Thief and you’re ready for something that has grown up with you. The book is also appropriate for teen readers and up. Braun touches on the real nature of the Greek gods and their insatiable appetites which I think is good for readers of all ages.

I hope I shared enough to still pique your curiosity without giving too much away. If you’d like to learn more about Amy Braun and her work, you can catch up with her on social media:

Do you have thoughts about this novel? Share with me in the comments! You can also see all of my other book reviews by checking out the Book Reviews tab.

Chapter Five: Wield Hashtags Like a Champ

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Chapter Five_ Wield Hashtags Like a Champ

Hello readers and writers! You are reading chapter five of my upcoming e-book, Finding Your Future Fans. Please enjoy these tips for the writer hoping to master Instagram to find readers and sell some books.

Hashtags are tricky—even if you know what they are and what they do. To bring everyone up to speed, a hashtag allows for your content to be searchable. Similar to alt tags for images on a webpage, your hashtag should describe what’s in the photo or caption in order for social media users to find your content.

Hashtags basically help folks find your work even if they aren’t following you. This can be helpful if you’re trying to get your work out there without paid ads, right? Now that folks can follow hashtags like an account, this could help you get in front of more people.

However, hashtags are not that easy; if you search for which hashtags to use or to ditch, the lists could change on a monthly basis. How can you possibly win? Here, you’ll learn the basic principles of how to use hashtags and how to keep up with the trends and updates.

Determine Too-Popular, Not Popular, and “Just Right” Hashtags

If you’ve put a hashtag on your photo, you’ll know that as you type, it’ll show the hashtags people have already used and how many times. Finding popular hashtags are tricky because if you use one that has been over-used, it becomes too saturated; your post essentially gets lost. On the other hand, if you use something hyper-specific, hardly anyone will think to use that hashtag to find you.

Thus, I would recommend using a mix of hashtags based on popularity: rare, common, and popular. You can look at the numbers tied to the hashtag to know what I mean: less than 1k is rare, 1k to 1 million is common, and anything in the millions is too popular.

An example of a rare hashtag is #witandtravesty. It’s a hashtag I created for my website. The more I use it, the more it’ll eventually grow. Just about every company I like has their own hashtag so their fans can post about their product or service.

An example of a common hashtag is #writergirl. It’s unique, it’s specific, but it’s still trending with 50k+ posts.

Finally, a highly saturated or popular hashtag would be #writingcommunity with over 4 million posts as I write this chapter.

I use a mix of these three types of hashtags to get myself out there to as many fans as possible. I don’t expect one hashtag to do all the work, but I put my hope in the combined effort. Think about how you share an ad for your book: does Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram yield different results for you? Even if your Facebook page is somewhat radio silent, you would still post your content there because you don’t want to limit your reach. So, try using a mix of these three types of hashtags and measure your success.

Research Which Hashtags Will Propel Your Reach

Top hashtags for someone else will likely not help you. For example, most of the top hashtags work mainly for photographers. So, to speak to the book community, you need to use top hashtags that appeal to readers.

The easiest way to do hashtag research is by Googling the top hashtags based on the current month or year. Yeah, you really have to be that specific. Again, you might see some of those generic hashtags. You can define your search by typing in certain keywords like “book” or “writer.”

You can also use online tools to help you discover new hashtags. I recently discovered Keyword Tool (link in the resources section). You can type in a word like “book” and it’ll populate a list of real hashtags with that word in it, plus how many people use it. The free version, like many sites, are limited, but it could help you start using better hashtags.

Finally, do some digging on Instagram. If you’re worried about taking a lot of time, set a timer for just 20 minutes and scroll through your feed. Find images that you like or you think your followers would like. Then, look at the caption or the first comment and look at the hashtags. What are folks using in your community? If it’s working for them, it could work for you.

Keep a Master List of Hashtags

Once you’ve done your research, it’s time to keep all your hashtags in a reliable place. I like to divide mine by post type. I use certain hashtags like #bookblogger and #witandtravesty for posts about my website or blog posts, whereas I have some like #writingcommunity when I’m posting about books or authors. I also have a few hashtags like #destinyseekerbook or #igreads that accompany pictures of my book.

If you divide your hashtags by the main types of post you plan on sharing, this will make it super easy to include hashtags to your post. You’ve done most of the guesswork and now you just need to copy and paste your list of hashtags. You can create a note on your phone or a Google doc like I do.

Here’s a quick peek at some hashtags I use regularly that I keep on my master list:

#amwriting #authorlife #indieauthors #instawriter #lifeofawriter #nanowrimo #womenwhowrite #womenwriters #writer #writerlife #writers #writerscommunity #writerscorner #writerslife #writersofbookstagram #writersofig #writersofinsta #writersofinstagram #writing #writingcommunity #writingtips

Notice the three separate hashtags #writersofig #writersofinsta #writersofinstagram. This hashtag splintering likely resulted from #writersofinstagram being too saturated. Don’t be afraid to use all three even if it looks a bit annoying. I doubt your followers will judge you for that.

Decide How Many to Use

In 2019, you’re allowed to use up to thirty hashtags. That’s a LOT. So when you’re creating a hashtag strategy, you can decide to put in however many you think you will need. I almost never use all thirty hashtags—mainly because I can only think of so many relevant hashtags for my posts. If I’m sharing a selfie or something not book-sale related, I probably put around ten hashtags on my post. I up the amount if I want more people to see what I’m posting.

Some major companies will actually test out the number of hashtags and do just fine with having anywhere from just 7 hashtags or keeping it in the 20s. What this means is that putting in a hashtag doesn’t mean Insta-success; you’ll have to determine which posts are getting the most interaction, then look at the hashtags you’re using. I would recommend finding your sweet spot and sticking with it.

This 30-hashtag cap could change in the future based on Instagram trends, so check online before dumping all your hashtags. Instagram does have a feature where it stops you from posting if you share too many hashtags.

Does it Matter Where They Go?

As of right now, it doesn’t really matter where the hashtags go. That’s great! Most folks either put the hashtags in the caption (e.g. “I’m participating in #NaNoWriMo2019 this year!), at the end of the caption in its own paragraph, or in the first comment. As far as I know, it’s a matter of preference based on which style looks the best to you. If you’re unsure, just look it up at least once a year to see if anything changes.

Quick Recap

  • Use a mix of hashtags based on popularity.
  • Research industry-specific hashtags to reach your audience.
  • Keep a list of your go-to hashtags on your phone or computer.
  • Determine how many hashtags you actually need to be seen.

Resources

Read the Other Chapters

There you go! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please give me your suggestions of what you’d like to see in future chapters. Or, tell me what I missed in this chapter; did you have more questions? Contact me or comment below. Thanks, friends!

How Do You Start & Grow a Newsletter?

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Hopefully, you have already read my two other posts about newsletters/email lists for writers. If you want to catch up you can click to learn why you even need a list and what you can write about.

If you’ve got the content and the drive to start that email list, you may wonder what the next step. This is likely the hardest step because everyone is in this same boat: how do you grow a newsletter until it accomplishes your top goals? As in, what do you need to be doing to get people to buy your books on the regular?

I will do my best to give my insight and experience here. As I’ve already mentioned, my newsletter is roughly 1.5 years old. It needs time to grow just like my Instagram following did. But if you do these following tips, you’ll at least feel like you’re heading in the right direction.

Pick Your Email Service Provider

There are many providers to choose from. I’d recommend looking at the pros and cons of each. If you’re unfamiliar with basic email marketing strategies, they’re honestly going to all feel a bit overwhelming.

I personally use MailChimp because I liked how other email lists looked and I was more familiar with it. I’d recommend looking through this post by Melissa Griffin to learn how to use MailChimp if you’re curious.

There are other platforms to choose from. This post by Sheila talks about other platforms like ConvertKit and MailerLite. From what I understand, these platforms differ in a) what you can do for free b) the interface/design of the website and c) the kinds of tutorials they offer for marketing newbies.

Ensure Your Newsletter Is Stupid-Easy to Join

As much as I hate to admit it, internet culture is all about getting quick and easy information. If people are on your site and they feel like they’re a contestant of Legends of the Hidden Temple and trying to find your newsletter signup, they’re likely going to give up.

What this means is you need to employ every last strategy out there to make it incredibly easy for anyone to sign up. Some common ideas include:

  • A signup box towards the top of your author website (all important links should be as close to the top as possible)
  • A popup feature (search for plugins through your website host)
  • Links in all your social media accounts
  • Regular social media posts; I schedule a monthly reminder that my newsletter exists and what they can expect to get
  • A reminder below all blog posts

This may seem like overkill but I promise that it won’t feel overpowering or salesy.

Shine & Show Up

I recently wrote about showing up in your Instagram feed in this post. The same principles apply to your newsletter. You can easily stand out from the other email lists on the block by infusing your newsletter with YOU.

Just about anyone can write an amazing email. What will make yours different from all the others? What will make folks want to open your email?

There are a few things you can consider:

  • Design—what regular colors, fonts, and header images will you use? Remember that many folks will read your email on their phones, so imagine what is easier on the eyes.
  • Respond to every comment/reply—this is the easiest way to connect with your readers! You can encourage them to reply if you’re looking for feedback. The more you ask, the more you’ll receive.
  • Make them feel special—Do they get early access to your sales or giveaways? Do they get first dibs on ARCs? That’s a major perk that many book buyers enjoy. You could also give your followers a nickname that matches your genre.

Now that I think about it, there are some helpful principles for your newsletter that you’ll find from my upcoming ebook, Finding Your Future Fans. I’d recommend that you check out these chapters depending on whether you want to tap into your brand or you want to show off a fabulous design that gets people drawn in to your work.

These are my top go-to tips for ensuring your newsletter truly succeeds. Let me know if you have any other questions or ideas. Let’s work together to help each other succeed.

If you’d like to see my newsletter in action, you certainly can! Subscribe through the pop up on the website, this image below, the prompt to your right, or go here.

newsletter

TESTIMONIALS

Whitney and I worked together in a writing feedback group some years ago and have remained in touch since then. From the beginning, I was struck by her absolute responsibility as an editor. Even in the capacity of a group member, not even being employed or contracted by me to edit my work, Whitney was unerringly punctual, thorough, and accurate with her feedback. Her advice is genuinely insightful and I believe the marketability of my work was noticeably increased due to her guidance. I so value her skills that I still turn to her as a resource after three years of working with her in-person have passed.
Jonathan Baker
I won a contest via Wit & Travesty in the summer of 2017. The prize was a professional edit of the first 100 pages of a WIP. My middle grade fantasy was only 90 pages, so she read the entire manuscript. She was communicative and positive about the project. Her edits markedly polished up my manuscript and were easy to understand.
Rachel Barnard
Whitney McGruder has created a vast and imaginative world in Destiny Seeker with surprises to delight the reader at every turn. Readers can settle in to devour the diverse and ingenious magic Destiny Seeker has to offer. I highly recommend it.
Jessica Frazier
Whitney helped me with two short projects written for children, and she was very pleasant to work with. She has an eye for detail, helping me with small grammar errors as well as insights about adding scenes that would enhance my story. Her turnaround time was extremely quick, which I really appreciated when on a deadline!
Brittany Olsen
Whitney did a copy-edit on my third novel, Checkmate. She was a pleasure to work with, and helped me give my novel that final polish that it needed before publication. Put her on your list for editors that help your work shine!
Angelika Offenwanger
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