Monday musings in midsummer
By Scott Bury
One of the most challenging aspects of being an author today is keeping on top of rapidly shifting technology.
These days, it’s essential for authors to actively engage with audiences. And that means, virtually. Blogs, email, social media and all the other virtual means of communicating with readers.
Thing is, all these things change. All the time. And when one thing changes, it tends to discombobulate other things. Getting all the moving parts coordinated again often takes time, much trial and a hefty helping of error.
Which is a long-winded way of apologizing in advance for some wonky things that may happen to this blog.
It used to be easy
Since the beginning of BestSelling Reads, some eight years ago now, readers have been able to easily register their email addresses so that every new post on the blog arrives soon thereafter in their Inbox. It was a simple system that seemed to work, without any intervention on our part.
For years.
But some months ago, we began to notice that the email version would arrive a day after the post went live. Sometimes two days later. Sometimes three. And all too often, not at all.
After a little investigation, we found out that the app we used to collect email addresses and send the blog, Feedburner, has not been upgraded by Google (its owner) for over five years. And as of July, it won’t be supported anymore.
Change: it’s not simple
So, just change the app, right? Well, it turns out it’s not that easy.
We tried one system that integrates well into our WordPress platform. At least, its developers claim it does. Turns out, it doesn’t do anything.
So now we’re trying another app, called Follow.it. Our initial experiments with it have been promising, so we are going to try it out with our existing mailing list now.
When you subscribe to our email newsletter or to receive the blog by email, you may get a request to confirm your address from Follow.it. We have checked this company out, and it is legit and adheres to the GDPR data privacy provisions.
But we’re authors, not necessarily internet technology wizzes, so we will probably make some mistakes in this transition. You may receive the same post or notification more than once, or you may not receive it at all. Please bear with us. Let us know through the Comments below or by email to bestsellingreads@gmail.com about any problems or questions.
Rest assured, we value your privacy. Our privacy policy has not changed: you can review it here. Basically, we promise to protect any information you give us, and never to give, sell or rent it to anyone else, for any reason.
What you can look forward to
BestSelling Reads offers two separate subscriptions: the monthly email newsletter (please suggest a title), and the blog, Bestselling Writers Connect, in your email Inbox.
The monthly e-newsletter brings you advance notice of new books by our member authors, special giveaways, previews, and opportunities to engage with your favorite authors.
Bonus: Register your email to receive the monthly newsletter, and you’ll get a free e-book by one of our members. This month, it’s Raine Thomas’s bestselling baseball romance, For the Win.
Bestselling Writers Connect is our weekly blog, alternating between Monday Musings and Thursday Teasers. Enter your email address in the second box on the right to get it in your email every week.
Bonus 2: Subscribe before July 31 and you’ll get a free copy of the bestselling World War II memoir in novel form, Army of Worn Soles.
Thanks for understanding. As always, we invite you to leave a comment or ask a question, below.