Tips for Authors

Using Tech for Book Marketing

Kate Gingold from Sprocket Websites Kate has been building websites with her husband Don since 1996 for all sorts of clients, including authors.

Kate regularly writes about online marketing for Sprocket Websites and provides tips and techniques for entrepreneurs and small-business owners. Since being an author today is not really different from being an entrepreneur with a small business, most of those tips are just as useful to authors.

Kate is an author herself. She writes books on local history, including the award-winning "Ruth by Lake and Prairie," a fictionalized account of the true story of Great Lake pioneering to the shores of Chicago and beyond to found Naperville, Illinois.

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Ruth By Lake and Prairie

Author Tips and Tales

At the Carillon in Summer

Kate Gingold Host / Wednesday, July 22, 2020 0 605 Article rating: 3.0

Summer isn't summer if you can't stroll the leafy cool paths along the DuPage River. But this year, the city is asking that we #MaskUpNaperville while strolling the Riverwalk.

Making Online Friends Who Share Your Passions

Kate Gingold Host / Wednesday, July 15, 2020 0 612 Article rating: 4.0

This is not an article about finding your “tribe” so you can all sit in the same silo and grouse about the annoyances you have in common. This is an article about meeting new people who know a lot of cool stuff which they are willing to share with you.

Naperville 1920 Flashback: Going to the Pictures

Kate Gingold Host / Wednesday, July 15, 2020 0 565 Article rating: 4.0

The Masons built their new lodge in 1916 and outfitted the second floor for their own use while renting out the first floor. On the street-side were a couple of shops, but an entrance corridor led to the back of the building and the Grand Theatre.

The Grand opened in 1917 and boasted 350 seats. It paid the city of Naperville an annual license fee to operate, which according to council minutes, started at $15 per year and went up to $60 per year by 1928.

While it’s unclear whether there was an organ or piano in the theatre, there probably wasn’t a sound system, at least for most of the Grand’s existence. “Talkies” were being made, but were not commercially available until 1923, and even then, they didn’t really catch on until 1927. Instead, folks would come into town to watch “one-reeler” comedies and cartoons or short silent feature films like “When the Clouds Roll By.”

The Grand operated from 1917 until 1931 when it closed down, perhaps due to the aftermath of 1929’s crash. In 1935, however, the space was enlarged by incorporating the street-side shops and updated to seat 480 patrons. Outside, it was dressed up with a fancy sign and marquee and renamed the Naper Theatre.

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The Sprocket Report

The Sprocket Report is published every other week with Internet marketing tips, tools and techniques. The archive features articles from 2011 up to the present. You are welcome to read how business owners are using technology to market themselves and apply those tips to your author business.

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