Hello, guys, and for those of you who have joined us since January 2016, please take a few minutes to check out the Archives when you can.

 

Today we’ll address Admin, Interactive links, Featured Author, Authors (catalogue), and New Members.

As of 6th April 2016, we have eight members on the Admin team. We’ve been joined by the talented writer and artist Nico Laeser.

*

Admin – Why have we pursued the idea of so many members of the Admin team?

If you’ve ever attempted to organise a group of any size at any level, I’m sure you’ve no need to ask. Every pair of hands or extra collection of brain cells capable of helping is appreciated.

We live in a variety of time zones. We feel as strongly about our group as anybody can.

I’m not about to list individual responsibilities. I will say we take our duties seriously, so if you have an issue regarding the group, and you’d rather not bring it up in a public thread, please contact one of us via Private Message on Facebook.

Please remember—we are here for the IASD group’s benefit. If you like, we’re an Admin team for the website and a committee for making amendments there. We, as a group, have learned to put something to the vote, which often takes more than a month, so there is more efficiency in trusting some decisions to Admin. All decisions are still open to amendment.

The words “Support and Discussion” in our title are no idle boast. We need to see those worries, ideas, jokes, thoughts, and banter every day. Sometimes it’s a fun comment or it’s a piece of news one of our number has found somewhere which might affect us. Occasionally there will be a cover, title, or something else that doesn’t feel right.

We prove every day we have strength in depth to deal with all these things, so please keep it up. Let’s keep the Facebook page alive with interest.

*

 Interactive Links – What are they all about?

I promised (in Update 3) I’d come back with some results. I’ve made no attempt to produce a graph with success/failure rates, but I’ve monitored my books’ sales performance since I started using interactive links. I’ve also taken note of comments from other authors.

The use of smartURL, BookLinker, or Amazon (Preview/Buy) is like finding the right tool for marketing and promotion—it becomes an individual choice. They are all good, and due to the way local Amazon stores operate, an author may not have a choice.

Test all of them if you want to get an accurate idea of performance, but use at least one.

Now, speaking as Tom Benson, the author, I use Amazon and BookLinker on my author website and blog because it gives my visitors the option. For example, if they are unable to use Amazon (Preview/Buy), they will know BookLinker is there for them.

*

Featured Author – How does the idea work?

Back in October through December 2015, those of us then acting as Admin were pulling out all the stops to produce a refreshed website for the group. We worked as we have continued to do with the input and approval of the membership.

Patrick (Max) Power was our first Featured Author. He held the title during the website refurbishment. We then had a mini-discussion within Admin to decide who was next.

The idea of using a program which could randomise names and numbers was suggested, so it was implemented in March. We already know who the Featured Authors will be until the end of this year.

Please don’t worry if you’re a new member. We will resubmit the membership again before the end of the year (having first removed the names of those who have been Featured Authors already).

Several members queried the possibility of “archiving” the Featured Authors. I’ve tried several ways of doing this. However, I’d prefer not to introduce a new item to the main menu for this when we have the information elsewhere. The idea of archiving past Featured Authors causes several issues within the website.

*

Authors – The Catalogue

The Author catalogue created and maintained by Melanie is more than adequate for locating individual authors, their work, and their contact information. If you haven’t checked it out, please do—it’s impressive.

*

New members – Have you joined us since 17th January 2016?

Apart from those who answered yes to the question above, if you haven’t had a look around the website, please take a tour. You may find an area where your name could be but isn’t yet.

If you’d like to see your book covers in 3D in the Genre section, contact Ian D Moore via the IASD Facebook page.

If you don’t see your titles in the Authors (catalogue), please contact Melanie Smith via the IASD Facebook page.

Please keep in mind, we are trying to restrict the genres used but at the same time offer a wide range. Genres can run out of control when authors decide a particular title deserves to be a sub-category of a sub-category … which is why we’ve stopped as we are.

*

If you are a member of the IASD group, please feel free to make suggestions regarding any aspect of our activities. We started with the foresight of one person (Paul Ruddock), but we move on and grow from the efforts and voices of our membership.

*

Before Paul’s generous offer of the website to the group, he had amassed 1,780 followers. As a matter of interest, we now have more than 2,200 followers, which is due to the efforts of all members who remember to link to the website often and in any way possible.

*

I will now attempt to tidy up this update before asking Kelly to take a look before we let it go public. If nothing else, this proves not a lack of confidence on my part, but the belief none of us are infallible.

***