Connecting and Encouraging plus Seekerville book bingo!

Hi, y'all! Beth Erin here! (You can just call me Beth, we're friends here)

I'm so completely honored and humbled (and also shocked) to be here as a SEEKER of Seekerville!!! eeep! Thank you to everyone who has given all of us new Seekers such a warm welcome!

Meet my furbaby, Suzie! 

Yes, I'm trying to distract you with doggy cuteness while I attempt to get my thoughts together... Is it working? No?

Okay, since she's napping and obviously not going to be helpful right now, let's be brutally honest for just a moment... and it's kind of embarrassing so I'm just going to whisper...

I don't know what I'm doing here. 

God just keeps opening doors to opportunities that expose my deepest, darkest insecurities, like expressing my thoughts and writing. Now, Ruthy did promise to boss me around so that's somewhat comforting but also a little frightening. All I know is that every time I take that little step of faith outside my comfort zone, He meets me. Strengthens and inspires me. So, who am I to say no!??? *deep breath* Feel free to pray with and/or for me here...

Thank you, Lord, for using this shy, insecure gal for Your purposes and remind me to daily abide in You because we all know what a massive disaster this would be without Your mercy and grace! Amen.

Okay, back to everyday honesty! Today's topic happens to be my tagline over at Faithfully Bookish... 

Writers and aspiring authors, let me tell ya, when readers feel connected to you, they are more invested in your stories! How can you connect with readers? even before you actually HAVE readers, before your dreams of publication are realized? 

Start by simply having a website (you can use a free blog, it doesn't have to be super fancy) and a presence on the major social media platforms (don't put all your eggs in one basket). You don't have to be an expert or spend loads of time on all of them (#ratherbewriting, amIright?!) but your readers can't tag you if you aren't there (don't miss out on the free marketing, friends).

Then choose the medium you most enjoy and just be you! Share your writer-life anecdotes, post pics or moments from your daily life, interact with your readers, and/or promote other books and authors! Networking with book bloggers and other authors will naturally draw readers your way when your book launches.

Savannah Kaiser and Natalie Monk are just two recent examples of pre-pub writers (now published, yay!) who have successfully connected with readers through promoting and reviewing other authors. This is the phenomena of books recommending people! And here's the crazy part, we're all just folks who love stories!!!

Reader friends, we have the privilege of getting to know our favorite authors as their personalities inevitably shine through their stories. It's easy to follow an author on social media and learn all kinds of interesting things about their writing or day-to-day life. 

Take it a step further and encourage these authors! Like, comment on, and even share their social media posts (this increases post visibility and it works on book blogger posts as well, just sayin' *wink, wink*), drop them a little note, sign up for a newsletter or two or more. 

When you like (or love) a story, share a review on retail sites, goodreads, and/or social media and tell everyone about it (skip the synopsis and no spoilers, pleeeeze). Buy their books, gift their books, and ask your local library to buy their books, as well!

Please forgive me if I started sounding like a bossy pants expert, I'm certainly not (although I did put on my big girl pants today to help me be brave!) but I hope you caught my heart for readers and authors, connecting and encouraging as we are compelled to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” 

Let's play!

To celebrate our reader/writer relationships and have a little bookish fun, we Seekers have devised a little game of book bingo! Claim your book bingos (5 in a row, either across, down, or diagonally) by posting "Book Bingo!" with the squares and books read or actions accomplished in the comments.

For example, to claim the middle row book bingo, this is my comment:

Book Bingo!

gift a book - The Message in a Bottle Barbour Romance Collection to a friend 

YA book - The Noble Servant by Melanie Dickerson 

Visited Seekerville 

reread - The Lady and the Lionheart by Joanne Bischof 

Seeker social media - Seekerville & Debby Giusti on Facebook

Here's what you need to claim each square for a book bingo, from the left to right, top to bottom:

• Authors = Name a book you have read by the author. All incoming Seeker authors have been paired with an outgoing Seeker author (choose ONE of the authors) while veteran Seeker authors who are still going strong have their own square. 
• Book Bloggers' Recommended = Name a book you have read because it was recommended by Carrie, Annie, or Beth.
• Author Newsletter = Name an author newsletter you are subscribed to.
• Book Review = Name the last book you reviewed on a social media or retail site.
• Gift a Book = Name a book you gave as a gift.
• YA Read = Name a YA book you have read.
• Visited Seekerville = Our version of the Free Space!
• Reread = Name a book you have read more than once.
• Seeker Social Media = Follow Seekerville (Facebook or Twitter) or at least one Seeker on social media
• Library Card = Have a current library card. Give your library a shoutout if you want!
• 50+ Year Book = Name a book you have read that is at least 50 years old (except the Bible)
• Cover Love = Name a book you chose to read based solely on the cover art
• Message an Author = Wrote to an author via letter, email, private message, etc.
• Award-winning Read = Name an award-winning book you read.

Psssst... don't worry if you're one or two squares shy of a book bingo, there's plenty of time to squeeze in a book or get connected with a new author! Hop over to the Seekerville Bloggers page for easy access to more website and social media links.

Winners will receive a Seekerville recipe e-booklet!
Names of winners will be compiled and listed in next week's Weekend Edition.
Seekerville book bingo ends 11:59 p.m. (EST) Thursday 2/15!

Oh yes and while y'all are playing, have a snack! I baked cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal raisin cookies to share! I also brought a fruit platter, ice water with lemon, sweet iced tea, and my cute little Kurieg for all those hot beverages so let's chat about ways we can bridge that reader-writer chasm!

Beth Erin is a Christian fiction enthusiast, book reviewer, and blogger. She is passionate about promoting authors and their entertaining, encouraging, and redemptive stories. Beth strives to edify and connect with readers and authors at Faithfully Bookish and on social media. She also contributes to the Hoarding Books & Diversity Between the Pages blogs. Beth is a Christian Fiction Readers Retreat associate and reviewer for RT Book Review's inspy category.
Beth lives with her husband and their four children in a close-knit rural southern Illinois farming community. They love their laid-back lifestyle and small country church family. When she isn’t reading, Beth enjoys indulging in a favorite show or movie with her family, completing DIY projects with her husband, and seeing the country on long family road trips. You can connect with her on Faithfully Bookish, Facebook, and other social media platforms @betherin02!
If you'd like to get to know Beth (and her insecurities) better, check out her first blogiversary interview. Oh, look, emojis! 😍😊😜😁😆