The Network of Indie Steampunks is about working together to extend our collective reach. In other words, the more we share, the more we all grow. This is why NOIS makes it easy for members to tell their followers about each other’s fabulous Steampunk creations, and they can share yours, too!
NOIS will not be policing your Twitter feed; your level of participation is up to you.
On the other hand, people who are generous with their time tend to see generosity in return. In other words, the single most effective way to encourage people to share your work, is to share theirs.
NOIS will send out a monthly newsletter to Iron, Copper, and Brass Network members chockfull of easy-to-post content such as tweet-sized marketing copy (created by NOIS), memes, and cover art, as well as links to where to find member guest posts you can share. This provides NOIS members with more content for their own social media feeds, plus you can feel confident in the quality of what you are promoting because all of the books must pass rigorous quality standards.
The deadlines for members to submit their own marketing materials will be included in the newsletter each month, so the content isn’t limited to just the ads NOIS commissions. Any member can send in content for other members to share. Content that is not time-sensitive will be rotated into the newsletter based on maximizing the impact of time-sensitive content (such a giveaways with an expiration).
Though NOIS will do its best to accommodate the needs of its members, you are responsible for meeting the deadlines for submitting content for both the newsletter and blog tours.
Beta-reading
A beta-reader is a person who reads your book at a late stage of its creation, but before publication. Self-publishing authors especially benefit from beta-reader feedback because they may only be able to hire a copy-editor, but not someone who will be able to help with issues of continuity, structure, voice, or other “meta” issues. Let’s face it, you spend months staring at the same book while you work on it, but we can all benefit from running it past another set of eyes. NOIS offers one beta-reading, and members can also opt-in to beta-read (and/or review) each other’s works as well.
Just like sharing marketing content, choosing to become a beta-reader is up to the individual member, but people will be more likely to read your work and provide feedback if you return the favor. NOIS is developing a template to provide members with a roadmap for offering constructive and helpful criticism. Members of NOIS maintain complete creative control of the content of their books, and no one will ever be expected to change their book based on the feedback of NOIS or its members (except in the case of meeting our quality standards.)
Writers who are looking for beta-readers and reviewers can let other members know by submitting a request to NOIS for the newsletter, or through the NOIS Beta-Reader and Reviewer Facebook group.
(Looking for information on what it takes to do a blog tour? Find out here)
Phoebe Darqueling 