š² The Grid: April round up
six post formats to try, need-to-know Instagram updates, and some essential/ enjoyable reading
Hello! How is everyone? I canāt quite believe itās May next week but the milder weather and lighter evenings are making me feel like a whole new person - almost as though weāre part of nature or something š± š¤·š»āāļø
š In case you missed itā¦
Iāve updated the directory post from March so it now contains links to the most recent resources and essays Iāve published, including the Reel-y Simple Reels series for members. You can browse the whole post here:
My most popular piece of this month was this peek behind the scenes of the money side of my membership:
TLDR: the membership is probably my fave thing Iāve ever created but it isnāt making me any money š©
If you find what I do useful and want to help me keep it going without upgrading your subscription, you can now help fuel it - and me - by making a one-off contributionšš¼
šPinned posts
- ātook a weird meeting with those grow your followers guysā and the end result is both amusing and enlightening. Turns out it might be too good to be true, you know ;-)
- created this incredibly generous round up of how she promoted her book and how well it worked. Iām a huge fan of people who leave the ladder down so all the love to Julie and donāt forget to like/ comment/ share her post to help it reach more people ā¤ļø
Vanessa Riley, a historical fiction writer based in the US, shared how, while using Canva to create slides to promote her book, a pop up flag appeared on her screen: āThis appears to be a political topic, which is not supported while we release this technology in a responsible manner.ā Sheās in touch with Canva and will be reporting back. Follow along on her Instagram account and donāt forget to interact with her content.
Finally,
shared the five things heād like debut authors to know and said things I canāt say because it sounds like Iām just trying to drum up business. You can trust Tom though ;-)
š¬ Need-To-Know Instagram Updates
Instagram have announced a brand new feature called Blends. Theyāre taking the trend for sending Reels directly to dms one step further by showing your friends the kinds of Reels you interact with (and vice versa). The idea is you can then Blend - see what they did there? - your Reels feeds and more seamlessly start conversations around the content you watch. Iām watching with interest to see what this might mean for authors - imagine youāre a reader always interacting with Reels about books you love but never get round to sharing. Blends could mean your friends will see what youāve been watching without you telling them which could either be great for discoverability, or really embarrassing, depending on how you spend your time online š¬
Instagram have turned off the ability to share a note on posts or Reels. If you didnāt know this was possible or why youād want to do it, thatās why theyāve turned it off - neither did anyone else ;-)
finally, Meta have released their own video editing tool, Edits. It might be simpler to stick with the native Instagram Reels editing suite but Iām having a play at the moment to see if itās worth your time and will report back soon!
PSSSTā¦
If you cringe or cry inside every time Reels are mentioned, Iām running a series called Reel-y Simple Reels over the next few weeks in the TOO MUCH INSTAGRAM membership. This is the introduction post to that series. Upgrade your subscription to become a member and receive all of the resources in the series.
š¦ Client Spotlight
Congratulations are in order for two of my 1-2-1 clients whose books were announced in April š
announced an exciting and unusual project with Audible Originals. Anatomy of Us is inspired by Leahās first hand experience of frontline NHS maternity services and āunfolds amid the chaos of New Yearās Eve in an Edinburgh hospital emergency room where two perfectly imperfect people fall in love - but are too afraid to show each other who they really are.ā AND itās only narrated by bloody Jessie Buckley!!! Huge congratulations to Leah š You can preorder here and it will be available from 8th May.
AND, announced her debut historical fiction novel, The Pilotās Wife, which is released on 29th May š It combines three generations of women, a devastating war time secret, and their search for the key to unlock the secrets of their shared past. Iāve preordered my copy, and you can get yours here š
TMI members have also had a bumper month:
ās memoir paperback, the incredible The Ghost Lake has just been released; author of Nest: a memoir of home on the move, Turner has been featured on ās podcast, Ink In Your Veins, talking about telling her story in her TEDX talk; and ās novel, Ilona Gets a Phone, has enjoyed its US launch š šš»
š”Six post formats for you to try in May
In 10 words or less character intros
Day ___ of ___ until ___ series
___ books Iām convinced people are lying about liking (DO NOT TAG THE AUTHOR)
If you click through on any of these posts, please engage (like, comment, save, send) with the post to send a signal to the algorithm that this post is valuable, and as a way to say thanks to the creator who made them ā¤ļø
If youāve found this edition of The Grid useful or interesting you can help me reach more people by liking, commenting, or sharing it with your networks - thank you šā¤ļø
My goodness this article is an absolute goldmine!! I really donāt know what I just watched with the days reel, but Iām equally hooked with watching the rook become a sphere š this is a treasure trove. Thank you as ever for all your work it is so helpful!