Month: February 2020

If you want a society of intellectuals and highly knowledgeable people, then the first thing they need is easy access to literature. Although it’s an age of internet and everything runs fast, the Library is that one place which provides you with the space you need.

A book can be your best friend but while reading, everyone wants a silent and perfect spot. For that, the library is the best option.

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” ― Jorge Luis Borges

Today, we are bringing a perfect spot for all the book lovers residing in Sharjah. Yes, the title has already got your attention, it’s the Sharjah Library.

The Sharjah Library is a renowned institution and encases a wide and splendid collection of fiction and history. For all the bibliophiles, this place awaits you. Are you interested in knowing more about the famous Sharjah Library? Let’s walk together through history and know what is it that makes the Sharjah Library special.

Historical Background:

Sharjah Library is enriched with history. It was founded by Shaikh Sultan Bin Saqr Al Qasimi in 1925. The library is nearly 95 years old holding many stories and events in its heart. Earlier, it was supposed to be one of Al Qasimi’s private libraries, which is why it was earlier known as Qasimi Library. The library got a permanent address in 2011 and before that, it has been shifting places. The Sharjah Government was administrating the library until 1971. Later, the Ruler of Sharjah, His Highness Dr. Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi inherited the library when it came under the Department of Culture and Information.

Collection:

Without any uncertainty and ambiguity, the library is capable of catering to all the needs of a bibliophile. The collection is wide and one can find some internationally renowned authors as well. It is said that approximately half a million books are encased in there. It satisfies the hunger of an enthusiastic book reader. To your surprise, they have a collection of audiobooks as well. To witness the house of wisdom, pay a visit to the library today. The library also has a collection of Austin Macauley’s books that you can get online from our bookstore as well.

Vision:

The vision of the library is to develop an interest in education and knowledge among the people. It also provides information through unique services.

Architecture and Location:

The Sharjah Library is beautifully built and has breathtaking architecture. The building also attracts both, tourists and locals.

To read more about the Sharjah Library, click here.

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Promoting a book is not all about the book launch, it’s about reaching out to your prospective readers and telling them why they should read your book and what’s it all about. With the increasing number of newly published books every day, the book market has become too saturated for the new authors and marketing a book is one of the biggest challenges an author can face after publishing it.

Digital marketing provides integrated marketing communication tools that act as a gateway point for publishers and fans to find out about your books and you. Monetizing your loyal and large audience is all that matters when it’s all about acquiring and retaining fans through various digital marketing platforms.

In this blog, we will be sharing some of the most effective ways by which you can promote your books online and amplify the visibility of your book among your target audience.

1. Create Your Blog or Website

Having a strong online presence can help you connect with your prospective readers and gives them an idea about yourself and your work. A website can serve as a basic platform to market your books and makes it convenient for your audience who wants to read your work.

A basic author website must include, an ‘About Page’ that gives your readers an overview of your work, a ‘Books Section’ that includes the details of your publications, a ‘Blog’ which can be used to share interesting and engaging articles about the topics related to your books and a ‘Contact Information Page’ having your email, suggestions column and the links to all your social media profiles and your publishers’ should you have one.

2. Build a Following on Social Media

Along with your website, social media platforms are one of the most important places where you can promote your books. Presence on social media can help you in building your community.

Through social media, you can keep your audience updated with your upcoming books and other book promotional events. Maintaining engagement is the most important thing to build a following on social media, if you are constantly posting about your book promotion, then your followers may lose interest. To keep your followers interested, you need to constantly post engaging content about interesting topics, you can also conduct giveaway competitions, quizzes or other engaging activities. Social media audiences can also be used to increase traffic on your website that will ultimately lead to more people buying your book.

 

3. Email Marketing

Email marketing is an important way to build a community of loyal readers. As email is a personal platform, it can be a great way to know your readers personally and communicate with them individually.

The first step of email marketing is building an email list which you can easily do by putting together all your contacts (make sure you obtain their permission to send any form of marketing communication should they be based in countries with data and privacy laws), your social media contacts and by encouraging people to subscribe to your marketing emails on your website and your social media accounts. Once you’ve built your audience, keep in touch with them by sending them occasional newsletters with updates about your publications and alerts of your upcoming book promotional events.

4. Influencer Marketing:  

Create campaigns by reaching out to book readers, authors and bloggers with captive audiences. They can review your book and recommend it to their followers, you can also send them free copies of your book which they can use as a giveaway for their audience. Influencer marketing helps a lot in gaining traction.

5. Share Free Samples

Publishing or sharing free samples, excerpts or quotes from your book is an amazing way to develop the interest of readers in your books. It allows the readers to know about your book’s content in detail. Some of the potential readers are unsure about whether to buy a book or not. By sharing some of the chapters from your book online, you can help them in making their final decision. You can also share a video, reading a chapter or two from your book on your social media profiles and on your website.

6. Join Reading and Writing Forums

There are several online reading and writing forums for authors and readers where they discuss their favourite books, writing practices and share their knowledge of books with each other. You can join these forums and engage in conversations with people to share your work and reach out to an audience. Contribute openly in every discussion, offer your help, advice and share the link to your blogs or website wherever possible.

7. Promote your Books by Guest Blogging

Guest posting or blogging is a technique by which you write articles and blogs on websites that are not owned by you. This has become a very popular technique among authors to promote their books over the past few years. It’s a great way to benefit from an audience of a network of blogs and introduce yourself to passionate reading communities. To make sure that your blog or article is featured, you need to bring unique expertise in your content and write high-quality content. Do a little research about the content of a blog you’re writing for and analyse their standards. Once you identify the type of their content, write your article that fits their standards. Write as many blogs as you can and refer to your book in the author portion.

Writing and publishing a book is not an easy feat and it requires a lot of effort and hard work to create a masterpiece. That’s why it is important that you market your book to the right audience so that the readers can benefit from your page-turner. There are so many innovative and effective ways to market your books online. We hope that the above-mentioned ideas help you to build your audience and boost your book sales so that you can achieve the dream of becoming a bestselling author.

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What is Poetry? It is a form of prose in literature which is written in a rhyming pattern having a rhyme and a rhythm. It can be as creative as your imagination. Many famous poets have written masterpieces in the past like the Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare or The Garden of Eros by Oscar Wilde.

Poetry is a type of literature that includes artistic writing with a flair for creativity which attempts to stir the reader’s imagination or emotions.

Here at Austin Macauley Publishers, we have some of the most versatile published poets, many of whom are based in UAE. Below are five of our top picks from our authors and their poetic masterpieces:

1. Ethar’s Poetry by Ethar Alyamama

This book includes a description about the most beautiful of things that have been used to describe women along with words described by their lovers. It also includes a deep depiction of the feelings and emotions of a woman like her tenderness, strength, anger and revolution, her ability to diagnose disease and alleviate the pain, her maternal instincts, simplicity and selflessness and her special features, flaws and vision in her life.

The book also highlights internationally known idols and gives facts about their biographies, like the late Princess Diana and her humanitarian efforts.

Ethar Alyamama is an Egyptian poet. She obtained a diploma in Curriculum Development and took courses in HR management. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Cairo University, Egypt.

Her interest amplified in reading poetry, rhetoric, history, and rearticulating real stories and legends in a poetic style which encourages reading in different cultures. She believes in the need to ‘widen the horizon’—to be open to the culture and history of other people. She adores nature and everything associated with it and deeply describes human emotions by portraying them in her poetry.

2. Momentums by Majd Radwan

This is a mesmerizing book by one of our prolific poets. Here is an excerpt from the book:

Look what happens

When we don’t listen

To the divine music.

We lace our songs

With hurtful melodies.

Majd Radwan is a certified life coach and a copywriter by profession. Born in Syria, she is proud of her empathic nature. She holds a bachelor’s degree in French Literature and a certification in journalism. She has also worked as a contributing author. She has been published in various publications such as Yogalife Magazine, Rebellle Society and Dubai Poets.

3. Fly by Sithara Palavar

Here is a beautiful stanza from one of the poems in the book:

Stories of the seasons

And the emotions we hide

Under the stormy skies

And write into the

Setting suns in summer

This is where my heart lays

And converses with yours

Into the sleepless nights

Poems for the faded, the broken-hearted, the healing and the happy. You’ll all find your voice here.

Sithara Palavar has been writing since she was just a teenager at the tender age of 14. She got introduced to the world of poetry at age 15 and fell in love with it. She has since been writing beautiful poems and sonnets. Finding beauty in little things and drawing inspiration from renowned people, she pours her heart out in her writings which reflects her feelings and emotions. At such a young age, she has the wisdom and the soul of a mature person.

4. Twenty Old Summers by Anya Mérimèche

Enjoy this small excerpt from this young poet’s book:

Inside this collection lay the tribulations of a soon-to-be twenty-year-old, on her

Utopian quest to fight off ticking clocks and clicking locks.

Twenty slam poems and ten essays of emotional highs and lows.

Anya is a 21-year-old law student. She published her first book in 2012 when she was 15. This makes her the youngest Algerian writer in the UAE!

5. On Loss by Razan H. Abdul Majeed 

Immaculate collection of poetry expresses raw sentiments that invoke emotion in the reader’s heart and soul. On Loss: A Daughter’s Journey Through Grief is a tribute to everyone who has known or experienced the tragedy and loss of a loved one.

Have life is to know death,

Have love is to know grief,

Have time is to know it is brief.

H. Abdul Majeed

Hamdi Abdul-Rahman Abdul Majeed is a UAE national who was born in Jordan. She grew up in Dubai and earned her education from London in the UK. She has lived a life, most people dream of. After working for 15 years in the corporate sector in Dubai, she took time off to travel the world. She has since travelled to much of Europe and Latin American countries. She spent some time in Brazil doing volunteer work geared towards sustainability and nature preservation initiatives related to the environment and involving local communities. She returned to Dubai in 2018 and established herself as a published poet through us.

If you are new to our website, you can find a vast variety of books across a multitude of genres here.

You can also visit our social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for new and inspiring reads for your books’ collection.