Cheat Sheets

Cheat Sheets

Do you need cheat sheets? Why, of course you do! As an indie author, here are some bite-sized nuggets of information on a wide variety of topics. Just click on any image to get to the actual infographic/sheet!

Let’s Cut to the Chase, Already!

Is everything I have been writing about kind of all too much to keep track of? So, just like for pretty much anything else, cheat sheets can help you cut to the chase.

But the images I have created are, perhaps, a bit more like cheat sheets, as opposed to infographics, as I do not really use them for the purpose of getting across graphical information (e. g. a set of bar charts), not even the Facebook cheat sheet.

Hence this is a way of communicating concepts about social media for independent authors.

I conducted a survey of NaNoWriMo writers. And I found they needed less help in setting up a network such as Facebook or X (Twitter).

Instead, they were far more interested in what to do once everything was set up. My adviser at Quinnipiac, and even my scholastic peers all suggested the same thing: make some cheat sheets.

Plus these images are all free for you to use and share. All I ask is for you to keep my identifying information on them. But otherwise, if you want to print or tweet or share any or all of them, then have at it. However, I do not recommend a tattoo!

Don’t ask how I know this. 😉

Plus if there is a topic I have not yet covered, stay tuned, or please feel free to ask for it. Because I am more than happy to add more subjects as time permits.

Social media is everywhere, and it keeps changing. So let’s keep up together.

In the meantime, I hope these help you, the independent author.

Blogging Cheat Sheets

The cornerstone of your social media presence should generally be a blog. You are a writer. Hence blogging should come naturally to you.

But it is a rather different style from, say, essay writing in school. Still, one thing about blogging holds true—you will get better the more you do it.

Copyright

It’s so easy to be tripped up by copyright considerations, So here’s some help.

Trust me when I tell you that you do not want to be on the receiving end of a lawsuit, particularly when the plaintiff is a large corporation.

As in Disney.

Don’t mess with the Mouse.

Covers

Since covers are important (yes, we all judge books by them!), here is some basic help. In a lot of ways, your cover can make or break your book’s success.

If you have a limited budget, spend it on two things: covers and editing.

Facebook Cheat Sheets

If you are not on Facebook, then you are missing out. Over two billion people use it every single day. Yes, folks, that is a billion, with a B, and this impressive figure represents over two-thirds of all Facebook users.

Facebook has been winning at social media for several years now. Quite simply, nearly everyone is on it. Even the cool kids who try to tell you that they are not.

They are absolutely there. At the absolute, barest minimum, they are there for schoolwork and to chat with the older generation.

But that having been said, target your promotions on Facebook just like anywhere else. After all, no matter how stellar your prose is, or how awesome your cover is, you aren’t going to be able to market to all 2 billion people.

Just like in a lot of other areas of life, you will do better if you don’t spray your shots.

X (Twitter)

X can feel alien to a lot of people. So here are some basics.

As it changes under Musk’s tenure, a lot of the fundamentals remain the same as when we still called it Twitter. And don’t forget rivals like Bluesky. The advice here can work there as well.

And, keep in mind, that the reduced amount of moderation on X means that there are going to be some people who are so turned off that they will not judge you or your work favorably if you’re active on X.

But only you can decide if you need that demographic, or if you can live without it.

Polishing Your Work

If you think you can just publish unedited work, think again. You are missing out on sales if you do. Here are some tips on how to polish that prose.

Oh, and if it is at all possible, try to get other people to read your work before you fling it out to the universe. Some typos can be devilishly tenacious.

The more people who check your work, the better. Usually.

Promotions

You see, it’s not enough to just publish. You need to get people to download and buy.

Because, like it or not—and this is the case even if you simply give away every single piece of prose that you write—you are now a small business owner.

So, congratulations?

YouTube

Back when I was still in graduate school, YouTube had been the perfect medium for readings, critiques, and interviews. But the God’s honest truth is that, right now, TikTok is eating YouTube’s lunch. At least, when it comes to short reels.

And it does not hurt that folks can cross-post their TikTok videos as Facebook reels.

Although this does mean that targeting a short video only for TikTok’s demographics means it might not play as well on Facebook.

But even if your videos aren’t perfectly targeted to one platform or the other, these shorter, more bite-sized videos are ideal in our busy, hurry-up world.

Cheat Sheets, Infographics, and Takeaways

You tell me. What did I miss? What do you need to see more of? And what’s confusing? Please let me know in the comments. Oh, and if you’re really here for my writing, please check out Untrustworthy! #amreading #amediting