First, we would like to apologize for not posting this previous Saturday as we announced during our New Year’s resolution post.
Things have been exceptionally busy around the PopularSoda office: besides enjoying Mardi Gras parades and Super Bowl activities, we have been working on some big projects for self-publishers. These long-term projects will benefit everyone in the self-publishing community: authors, readers, and publishing professionals.
Let’s break it down by project.
Indie Author Calendar
This free online calendar is open to any indie author events and contests, giveaways, and promotions that benefit the self-publishing community as well as ebook readers. If you are hosting a Goodreads event, a giveaway on your blog, or a writing contest, email admin[at]popularsoda[dot]com to have your event listed.
Please include…
- The title of the event and the host
- The dates, times, and time zone
- A link to the event page
- A short summary of the event
We hope to accept all events; however, we will not post events that rely on spamming, scamming, or other unethical activities.
The calendar is available in the sidebar of the PopularSoda site. We hope it will become a great resource for both writers and readers. Remember, we can only add events that we know about, so send your event info to admin [at] popularsoda [dot] com.
Editing Experiment
We are currently recruiting authors for an editing experiment to test the skills of online freelance editors. We can’t say too much about the project, but we can say this: As an author, you will need to provide an excerpt of your work. This excerpt will be edited for free, and the edited version will be posted on the PopularSoda site as an example of what editing looks like. If you are interested, email admin [at] popularsoda [dot] com.
Soda Bottle Status Symbols
Yes, it is finally time to announce the deal with the soda bottles and the color coding. They are badges intended to reward reputable, reliable, and responsible freelance publishing professionals. The interior color identifies the type of work (editing, cover art, marketing, etc), while the outer ring indicates experience level and price.
A yellow circle designates a student or beginner who provides quality work for a low price. Orange designates a freelancer who has some professional experience and a mid-range price. Green designates an experienced publishing professional who provides top-tier work for a price commensurate with experience.
Each freelancer who is awarded a soda bottle will be able to post the logo on his or her individual site with a link back to PopularSoda. On the PopularSoda site, we will have a list of these freelancers with our own endorsement of their work. Though the soda bottle image may be copied, there is no way to get an endorsement on our site without providing quality work and going through our vetting process.
We are currently working on the guidelines for submission. Keep an eye on the site for the official announcement. In the meantime, work on your site and resume.
Cover artists will be asked to provide examples of their work in multiple styles. Copy editors will be asked to take an editing test, and developmental editors will answer a questionnaire about their editing style. Marketers will be asked to provide links to recent promotions and hard numbers regarding page views, sales, and social media numbers. All publishing professionals must provide a resume and brief biography.
Well, it looks like we will be working overtime for a while! We already have our first author for the Editing Experiment, and we hope to have a finished blog post for Saturday, February 16th. Even if the Editing Experiment post isn’t ready, look for another great PopularSoda article on that day.
