To Market! To Market!

By: Marcia King-Gamble

www.lovemarcia.com

https://www.facebook.com/MarciaKingGamble

https://www.facebook.com/Marcia-King-Gamble-12364168212/app/141428856257/

Maybe you’re a new author venturing into this crazy world of publishing, or maybe you’re established, and the pitiful advances you’ve been receiving, have you throwing your hands in the air, and wailing. Perhaps, you’re thinking of breaking into this crazy writing world and wondering how you can get some exposure. No one knows who you are. You have no name.  How can you sell books?

Well, I’m here to tell you, marketing yourself can be free, or you can do so on a minuscule budget. Even a newbie can create a buzz if you’re willing to do a little work.

Let’s say you’re thinking of writing that book, or you’ve written one and need to get the word out, but you’re clueless about the steps you need to take. You’ve put all your attention and energy into writing that book, and if you’re an Indie you may even have spent some money to publish it. You need readers to buy that book, so you’ll need to promote, and I don’t want to hear the excuse you’re not good with technology, because that's what nieces and nephews, or that failing, neighbors are for. Just think, you may not even have to pay them minimum wage. That young, age group grew up using an iPad or laptop, and they’re fearless.   

Now that we’re ready to go, you’ll need to find fans, and the best place to search for them is on good old Facebook.  So, you’ll need to create that Facebook page.  You’ll want to share with your readers and fans a bit about you. You’ll want to post your best picture or upload and emoji, as some authors do. Don't be shy about reaching out. Connect with  groups. “Friend” authors, Make friends with book lovers, get chatting on sites, but be sure to “friend” those who read in the genre you wrote, or your hard work might be pointless .

Now, you’re probably wondering why even go through the trouble to reach out to these people. Established authors have followers, and they’re doing the same thing you’re doing. They’re looking to connect any way they can. Readers groups are always looking for new authors. These groups often have dates on which you can promote. And all that is free.  You can market yourself by participating in online discussions, and that’s before the book’s even released. You can post excerpts of your work and your attractive cover. You can sign up to be a guest blogger, and you can build your mailing list.  there's Instagram and Twitter. This is  a great way to encourage everyone you know and meet to join that ever expanding mailing list. It doesn’t hurt to give away a book or two.

Why would you need a mailing list?  You’d want to send out a newsletter. That newsletter need only be one page long. Still, it’s a place to promote. Here you can tell readers about your book. You can post that attractive book cover. You can run contests. Give something away to build reader excitement.  People like free. And you can do all of that before your new book is even published. 

  

Another marketing opportunity that is entirely free is Pinterest. Creating storyboards are fun. In pictures, you can tell the reader all about your book. You can describe the town the book is set in, you can post character look-a-likes, you can show the reader the town’s buildings and introduce them to new hobbies.  Pinterest is a great place to build reader buzz.

Say you’ve allotted a small budget for advertising, and you have to be careful as to where it would be better spent. Try Facebook Ads. I once set my spend at $12 a week and saw a substantial uptick in reader purchases. Another suggestion would be to invest a little money in building the readership of your newsletter. There are companies out there who specialize in getting you names and email addresses. This helps get readers on your list.

Make librarians your best friends. Libraries are often looking for speakers and workshop presenters, and libraries carry books. The more visible you are in the cyber or real world, the more likely you are to get your books bought. Build a following, and always remain personable. If going the traditional publishing route, visit the brick and mortar stores and make the sales associates your best friend. Sales people  are asked for recommendations. They hand sell books.   

Last, and not least, do not underestimate the power of author friends; those you have made in person or online. Authors are great resources and support each other. We know how tough  it is out there. You  just might pilfer a  fan or two, and get yourself a mentor while you're at it.

These are opportunities that cost nothing.  Get out there and make yourself known, and those books will fly off the shelves, cyber or otherwise! And don't forget to Tweet!

 https://www.facebook.com/Marcia-King-Gamble-12364168212/app/141428856257/

About Marcia King-Gamble

Romance writer, Marcia King-Gamble originally hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue. This travel industry executive and current world traveler has spent most of life in the United States. A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned over 34 books and 8 novellas. Her free time is spent at the gym, traveling to exotic locales, and caring for her animal family.

Visit Marcia at www.lovemarcia.com or “friend” her on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1MlnrIS

Be sure to join her mailing list:

https://www.facebook.com/Marcia-King-Gamble-12364168212/app/141428856257/

The Long and Winding Road Part 2 - Promotion

Hi everyone! I am YA, and now MG author Barbara Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for adolescents and teens. My tagline tells you what I am about - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them.  My newest book, Courage, is middle grade fiction that will be coming out next summer from Harper Collins.

If you are running a business, you know that promotion is a must have part of your overall marketing plan. And being an author is like running a business.

The problem is, I am a die hard introvert.  Among other things, that makes blowing my own horn borderline impossible.

But that is a requirement for marketing and promotion. That's one of the messages I received during the Prairie Writers and Illustrators Day (PWID) conference in October.

I learned about things authors should begin doing in the months before their book is published:

• Aggressively build a social media platform (being sure to focus on “you” and not your book) 
• Connect with other authors (social media, online communities, new author publicity groups, associations in common, etc.)
• Get involved with author communities (i.e., volunteer to be a judge in writers contests, to become a mentor, etc.)
• Brainstorm marketing ideas like holiday or seasonal tie-ins and different methods of outreach. Click HERE to take a look at a prior RTG post on the outreach efforts of one group of authors a few years ago.
• Sign up for writers conferences or other types of professional conferences occurring after your publication date at which you can sell or promote your book.
• Reach out to book clubs or other groups who might be interested in your book and/or in hearing you speak.
• Coordinate with your agent or editor about submitting your book to eligible awards.

As with any other product, name recognition is critical to consumers. Experts explained that for the most part, readers buy books from authors they feel they know or have a connection to.  Or an author/book that someone they know or care about recommends. That's why name brands are important and why companies have learned to Trademark valuable product names and jingles. When a customer recognizes you by name not just by product type, that name has monetary value.

Having readers know an author by name is practically a holy grail. Nora Roberts, JK Rowling, James Patterson, Jodi Piccolt - these are all name brands to their readers who feel like they know these authors personally. They actively seek out new books bearing these author's names. Finding one is like being invited over to a friend's home for dinner.

The library market can be a big boost to any author. Public and school libraries are big purchasers of both physical and eBooks. But you have to go after that market. Do not assume that having a "library edition" on Amazon will entice any library to want your book, especially if you are self-published. Two things drive library purchases - award wins and patron checkouts.

Get your fans to go to their local libraries and request your books. Many libraries listen to patron requests. After all, librarians want books that will circulate, and a request means the book will go out at least once. Use your news letters, blogs and other venues to recruit volunteers to help spread the word. Sometimes we authors call them "street teams", people who love our work and will spread the word about our new books. Make them feel a part of your family with special news items just for members, treats and give-aways. In return, their enthusiasm can get their friends and relatives to become your fans.

Side note, you should also get your fans to check your books out of libraries. The more an author’s books circulate, the more likely they are to believe future books will do the same, and therefore will more likely buy your next book.

That brought the next lesson - Authors need to have marketing plans that include actively promote themselves. We have to communicate our product and brand...ourselves to potential readers. This is different from the "buy my book" advertising too many authors sometimes flood social media with. That kind of thing does not promote a feeling of friendship, it turns people off.

So, have a platform, something you are passionate about and are willing to spend the time and effort to share. Then find like-minded groups and do so.  Today, social media, twitter, facebook, instagram, etc., have groups and societies for almost any area. Get active. Post original content once or twice a week to show your expertise and opinions.  Also share the content of others. Comment on them early and often, but don't get sucked into controversies that could make people remember you for the wrong thing. Friend people, respond to comments on your posts.

Build a community, so when you do begin posting advertising and information about your new release, people who see you social media will know who you are. Because they know and care about you, you increase the odds they will want to get your book.  (It's kind of like not telling a lot of backstory until after readers have learned to care about your characters.)

I had a private consultation that included personalized advice from Hannah Ehrlich, Director of Marketing and Publicity at Lee & Low Books. You may have noticed I have changed my opening picture for my posts. Those were her first words, to have the new cover out front and center everywhere. Her next piece of advice was that I needed to do more with my personal blog -  http://www.babinns.com/barbarabinnsblog/. The consultant told me I had information that others would want to know about, my knowledge of diversity and multiculturalism in the publishing and educational arena. Show people what I know. Transfer what I speak about to short blog posts. Twitter is actually more fun for me, I like twitter where I have to condense. I am not a fan of the longer length. Nevertheless, I have begun doing more blogging recently, and will try to pick it up. My consultant reminded me that twitter does take time to build an audience. Hence that cycle is another of the list of things that needs to begin long before the publication date.

As an author of young adult and middle grade books, I also market to schools, and gleaned some extra tips about that. The first is that the library and school market are different and need different approaches. Librarians are primarily interested in what is new. Schools want to see what fits into curricular needs. They can be interested in a book years after the publication date if it appears useful to them and their students. That means it is feasible to continue marketing backlists to schools, as long as it fits what they are looking for.

And that means this introvert has to start planning for even more school visits and conference presentations for next fall.  Please pray for me.

Writing Advice - How To Be Discovered

Hi everyone! I am YA author B A Binns , writer of contemporary and realistic fiction for teens. My tagline tells you what I am about - Stories of Real Boys Growing Into Real Men - and the people who love them. 


I can't believe these Genre-istas think I'm an expert at anything. I have published three books and a number of short stories, but I still think of myself as little more than an amateur. I still take courses on writing and feel I have a lot to learn. But I also give workshops and teach because I like sharing what I do know, so here I am to discuss the one thing I want to tell writers before you publish.

First of all, congratulations. This is huge. But it's just the beginning of a humongous business adventure. You are an entrepreneur whose book launch faces the same challenges as any other product launch. Maybe more, because you have much more competition. Hundreds of thousands of books are published yearly in the United States alone, and that number does NOT include self-published books. That means your number one enemy is lack of Discoverability. If readers don't know about you or your books they cannot buy them. While established authors have followings (hopefully), as a new author you have to build a following. And that's why:

You can NEVER do too much promotion.

I'm not talking about the "Buy My Book" blasts that annoy people and drive potential readers to Unfriend or Unfollow you. I'm talking about letting the right people get to know you so well they tell themselves they should go out and find your book to buy.

If you are working with a traditional publisher they have developed a promotion path, one that begins months before the actual release day. If you are with a small publisher or self-publishing, all that falls on your shoulders. In fact, even with a traditional publisher it benefits you and your books visibility to do as much as you can in addition to their plan.

My tips -

1. Find YOUR target audience

I hear a lot of first time authors declare that "everyone" would love their book. Wrong. Even NYT Bestsellers are not beloved by everyone. More importantly, reaching everyone is costly.   Marketing departments know they don't have the time, budget, and expertise to reach every potential person who might find your book interesting. If you do, more power to you. But most likely your budget, in terms of money, time and effort, is slim.

Narrow down your target audience to something you promotion budget can effectively reach. Sit down and honestly pick four or five categories of people that your book will have special appeal for.

Because I write YA and MG books featuring diverse casts dealing with family and relationship and written from the male POV (usually involving some sport), my audience includes

• Teens/tweens with parental or sibling issues
• Young males, especially those interested in sports
• Girls who are interested in what's going on inside a guy's head
• Kids who want to see a window or mirror into more diverse world
• Teachers and librarians who serve patrons with any of the above issues

This list makes up my primary market, the ones I actively seek. For example, my third novel, Minority of One dealt with a gay African-American member of the track team and the discovery that his family has been hiding an ugly secret from him all his life. Knowing this let me actively target the right bloggers and reviewers and activities to reach those groups.

When you reach the right people, you increase the chance of achieving the holy grail of marketing - word of mouth.  Readers sharing the book they have discovered with family and friends. That costs you nothing but has the potential to connect to that all-important "everyone."

2. Plan your marketing efforts in advance of your release date.

Schedule activities the way an Olympic athlete trains so interest in your book reaches its peak right at your release date. Doing this puts you in alignment with other professionals and business people. A leak here, a mention there in the months leading up to the newest iPhone release and people are standing in line days in advance of the release. Take a tip from movie studios, you know, the ones already advertising their Christmas releases. Better still, the ones with 2016 releases filling the pages of entertainment magazines; movies like Batman vs Superman, or the next Captain America movie. These guys know how to create demand and make people save up so they can rush to spend once product is available.

• Make yourself available on social media for people to get to know you months before the book release. Talk with people, in person and on social media, about things they are interested in. During these months, let them begin to think of you as a friend.  (Most people prefer buying things from friends.) In other words, promote yourself, not just your book.

• Hold a Goodreads giveaway.  At this time they only do physical books, so you would need hardcopies, but the giveaway itself is a good way to spark interest and get the word out about the coming book. You can schedule it months before the book comes out, set the number of copies, and limit the physical locations of the winners (a good idea if your budget can't handle the expense of mailing books overseas, especially if your target audience has geographic constraints)

• Make a big thing about your cover reveal. Whether it's Instagram or a blog,  get this out for people to look at, comment on, share and enjoy. I suggest doing this at least a month before release.

• Look for any kind of current issue or concern in your target market that your book touches on.  Blog, comment, share and respond to those issues. You're aim is to let people know about you and your upcoming book. By doing advance work you can wet reader's appetites without overwhelming them with BUY notices.

Keep actual advertising to a minimum;  bombarding twitter and Facebook with "buy my book" ads will turn people off. But having your friends share the information that they just found this really great book and... is a turn on.

3. Gather Reviews

The earlier you can get on a reviewer's schedule the better.  If your publisher has sent you copies of your book, they are not just brag copies for your mom and dad, (OK, they can have one). Get them into the hands of people who will review and share. If you self publish, consider making print copies in advance of your official publication date for  distribution to reviewers who prefer hardcopy. Don't forget your local librarians, they are more likely to consider a book for inclusion on the shelves if they have a chance to see it first. Just be careful to talk with the librarian first and not just hand the copy over to the people at the check-out desk, otherwise your book may find its way to the fifty-cent book sale table instead!

Post ecopies on NetGalley. Even though some authors think is is a Ground Zero for piracy, it is a place to distribute  your book to serious reviewers. Yes, some people are on the site just for free books. But there are also book bloggers, librarians, and professional reviewers. When these people find a book they like, they share the information with their peers and readership. A Netgalley subscription is expensive, but there are author coops that may rent you space for a month or so. If you are truly interested in getting your books into libraries or schools, this is a place to be.

If you are looking for bloggers who review your book's genre, check out the Book Blogger List.
Different authors note different success rates from blog tours. Joining with other authors can increase your draw. Take the time to research the blogger. Do they reach your intended audience?

4. Publication and Release

Be careful before you decide to put all your eggs in one basket. You know the one I mean, Amazon. Amazon, CreateSpace and Audible make it very easy for self-published authors to decide that's all that necessary and hand over exclusivity. There are authors who make good money using Amazon as their only outlet, even with the recent rule changes on pricing and author compensation. Remember, Amazon is a business with a responsibility to shareholders that exceeds their responsibilities to authors.

Know that Amazon has literally millions of books with hundreds of thousands more being added every year. Unless you manage to work their mysterious algorithm (and I have no advice on how to do that) your books may never come to a reader's notice if they are just casually browsing. It will be easier for readers to discover that needle than to find your book in the haystack that is Amazon's lists.

This is where your promotion efforts help. You want people looking for you by name, or for your book by title, not just searching through a never-ending list of books in a specific category waiting for something to catch their eye.

BTW, librarians seldom use Amazon or care about Amazon reviews. if you are serious about getting your book in some of the over 100,000 libraries in the US alone (not to mention foreign libraries) look at how librarians seek out and purchase books for their collections, click here to see my Ask The Librarian post interviewing a few librarians who serve everything from children to senior citizens.

5 Post Publication

A blog tour to coincide with the release can be helpful, although it helps more if your name is already out there. Don't go through a lot of effort or expense, authors note mixed results in terms of increased sales, but they can increase name recognition. Keep up your social media presence; continue gentle reminders to get people to know you and to remember that your book is out there.

Look for local opportunities for more notice. Here in Illinois you can ask your local librarian to nominate your self-published book for the Soon To Be Famous author contest. The finalists, the result is major publicity in the state, increased discoverability and promotional tie-ins. Many Illinois libraries and bookstores routinely stock the winning book. Check your area to see if something similar may be available.

6 Final Tip

There are no guarantees. There is always the risk that a reviewer will say you did something wrong. Go ahead and be upset, even when your author credentials are questioned.

But…

Before sending off an angry response, step back. Wait. Then take a second look at the feedback. See if there are some lessons you can use to do things better next time.Strive to write the best way possible and present the best characterization and plot you can.

Accept that you may make mistakes. Don't stop because readers or reviewers note a problem with your first efforts. Acknowledge the criticism and learn from it.

And then write again, because the journey never ends.

P. S. Sorry I got so wordy. Hope you find something helpful here.

---

B A Binns is the author of three award winning YA novels, Pull (2010), Being God (2013), and Minority Of One (2014). he first MG novel, tentatively titled Courage,  will be released in 2016. Her first adult romance, The Last Logan, is also scheduled for 2016. For more about the author Like facebook.com.allthecolorsoflove  

Scouting for Good Books?

By Linda Lovely

Who doesn’t want to take advantage of something that’s free?

Readers who enjoy Kindle ebooks have tons of opportunities to download free books. Now they have one more—Amazon’s Kindle Scout program (https://kindlescout.amazon.com/).

Here’s how it works. Readers visit the site and peruse prospective titles in their favorite genres (romance, mystery, science fiction, general literature) by clicking on a book cover and reading a short blurb about the book. If it sounds interesting, they can read the book’s opening chapters. Then, if they think they’d like to read the whole book, they can “nominate” it for an Amazon publishing contract, and if Amazon elects to publish it, they’ll get their copy of the chosen title free. However, during any given time period, readers can only nominate three books. That keeps folks from clicking on every title in their preferred genres. In theory, this selection process provides a curator service. Only the best books of the lot gain publication.

Okay, what’s in it for authors? If Amazon chooses to publish their books, they get a $1,500 advance, 50% ebook royalty, and hopefully, a promotional boost from Amazon marketing. That’s why I’m considering offering my new book, LIES, to the Kindle Scout program. Of course, that doesn’t mean Amazon will choose LIES as one of its offerings. Who knows what criteria they use to select Kindle Scout titles, but I’m certain there are many factors unrelated to book quality (just like there are in traditional publishing) that go into decision making. For instance, if they’ve just put up two vampire related titles in the Sci Fi, Fantasy category, they might bypass an even better vampire book for the sake of variety.

Many authors, me included, are somewhat gun shy about programs like Kindle Scout because they are in essence popularity contests and we don’t like begging friends, family, and fellow authors to nominate our books to get the ball rolling. However, the potential promise of Amazon promotion is a powerful incentive. Plus, if your book doesn’t win an Amazon contract, you can go right ahead with your previous plans to independently publish the title. The only downside is that all those friends you begged to nominate you now know that your book “lost.” Will that influence their willingness to spend money to buy the book? Who knows?

Free books can be a curse or a bonanza for authors, who often offer books for free (or next to free) in the hope that if new readers sample one of their books and like it, they’ll buy their other books. It’s the age-old loss leader strategy. Authors even pay promotional bundlers for the privilege of offering their books free. The problem is that many readers have become so accustomed to downloading books for free that they no longer see a need to buy any books. In other instances, readers have downloaded so many free books it may be months—maybe years—before they actually read the free books they download today. In this case, the author “payback” of such readers buying their other books may take so long, they’ve given up on a writing career.

Nonetheless, we authors are a determined lot. I’m willing to give Kindle Scout a try. If they choose to put up LIES, you may well be hearing from me with a “Please consider nominating” plea.

So authors and readers, how do you feel about “free” ebooks?

Thirteen Reasons to Write Short Stories

By Sarina Dorie

One might ask why it would benefit you to shift your focus away from novel writing to short stories. The number one reason is marketing. This is one more way to promote your novels and brand, while honing your craft and learning to write succinctly. Sure, you can continue to write blog posts and articles in sources read by other writers, but stories are another way to reach your fans.

Reasons to Write Short Stories

Money

Many indie publishers offer small advances or no advances. Royalty statements may be small. If a professional short story market pays 6 cents a word, and the story is 10,000 words, you can make $600.

Prestige

Some magazines and contests are well-known. It is impressive to say you were published in a famous magazine or anthology.

Gaining readers

When a reader enjoys a novel, he or she may search for other novels. If a reader enjoys a short story and the author also has novels, it is a great way to make oneself known to fans.

Self-promotion

If blogging, Facebook, and other social media are a chore for you, but you enjoy writing fiction, having published short stories with a bio at the end to direct traffic to your website can be a way to promote other work.

Directing traffic to other works

Listing links to an author’s website, blog, other published pieces are common in a bio.

Winning contests

Winning contests looks impressive to agents, editors, other writers and readers. This can be used in cover letters and in blurbs on books. Winning a contest gives you a reason to celebrate your successes.

Building skills

It isn’t that practice makes perfect, but perfect practice makes perfect. This is a way to hone your craft, experiment and become a better writer.

Learning to write more succinctly

Writing fiction that is in a shorter format than a novel forces a writer to focus on simplicity, the key components needed in a plot and character arc. It makes us more selective about word choice and conscious of the key scenes we choose.

Writing more content more quickly

This is a chance to increase speed.

Building up your writing credentials

Everyone at some point starts with a query letter that has no publishing credits. Short stories are the baby steps to get something in that section.

The rejection rate is not as severe

No matter what, rejection is the reality of publishing. You will be rejected. But if you are writing

You are rejected and accepted more quickly than with a novel

Generally, there is less wait time with short stories than novels because editors can read them and reject them more quickly. Although there are short story markets that take a year to get back to authors, often they list in their submission guidelines their response rate. For many markets this might be a week to four months.

Less risk

If the story sucks, is cliché, completely unreadable, you get stuck, etc. there is less guilt about abandoning it. It is easier to let go of a ten page story that fails than a 500 page novel.

BIO

As a child, Sarina Dorie dreamed of being an astronaut/archeologist/fashion designer/illustrator/writer. After years of dedication and hard work, most of Sarina’s dreams have come true; in addition to teaching art, she is a writer/artist/fashion designer/belly dancer. She has taught English overseas in South Korea and in the JET program in Japan, and works as a copy editor and copy writer. She has shown her art internationally and sold illustrations to magazines.

Sarina’s published paranormal romance novel, Silent Moon, won second place in the Duel on the Delta Contest, second place in the Golden Rose, third place in the Winter Rose Contest and third in the Ignite the Flame Contest. Her unpublished novel, Wrath of the Tooth Fairy won first place in the Golden Claddagh and in the Golden Rose contests. She has sold short stories to over thirty magazines and anthologies including Daily Science Fiction, Cosmos, Penumbra, Sword and Laser, Perihelion, Bards and Sages, Neo-Opsis, Flagship, Allasso, New Myths, Untied Shoelaces of the Mind, and Crossed Genres to name a few. Her science fiction romance novel, Dawn of the Morningstar is due to come out next year.

Learn more about Sarina at www.sarinadorie.com

My New Way of Thinking for 2014

Since my first book was published in 2006, I've pushed and pushed myself to get out where people see me and notice my books. I've promoted until I'm sick of it. I spent too much money last year in promotion and time and not enough in writing.

This year I am all about the writing. I'll do fewer promotional blogs, fewer workshops and conferences, and spend more computer time writing and less schmoozing. That's my new way of thinking. I have too many stories and not enough time to write them when I'm trying to make people take notice of what I just released or just re-released, or just co-authored.

I'm giving promotion a rest this year. Which will give me a rest. I'm not jumping on every FREE promotion that comes along. I'll stick to the easy, less time consuming ones and write.

Most writers don't like the publicity side of things. I kind of did, the creative side of it, coming up with fun, new ways to get people to notice my books, writing up blogs about my research. After all I had plenty of information to give. But over the years it has taken up more and more writing space. And right now when I want to keep my name and books up in the standings, I need to produce more material.

My writing goal for 2014 is five books. Three will be between 80-90k and two will be 50-60k. Wish me luck!

Is there something that you've decided this is the year to drop?

www.patyjager.net
www.patyjager.blogspot.com

A Charitable Plan

Back in 2011, when I was newly published with only three titles out, I needed to find a way to be found. Take a hard look at reality: with well over a million new ISBNs generated every year, the pool of available books is literally getting deeper by the minute. I'm standing in the midst of it all, treading water, waving my hands, and shouting my own name ~ but who can hear me?

Everyone says that the best promo is good word of mouth. I thought about that and made a decision: I would create my own romance reader event ~ Arizona's only one, by the way ~ and bring the readers to me. Why not?

And, because I strongly believe in helping others along the way, I tapped two dozen relatively new romance authors, and pulled them in with me.

The concept was simple: I bring four of my fans, you bring four of yours, and we cross-pollinate. We help each other out. Easy peasy.

Only it wasn't.

Turns out, there are a lot of authors who don't "get" promotion. Authors who don't think to toot their own horns, much less someone else's. Whose visions are really quite tiny. Yet I pressed on, linking arms with a couple gals who understood what needed to be done. Though much smaller than we hoped, the very first Arizona Dreamin' was nonetheless an huge hit.

Along the way, I knew that just helping other authors wasn't enough, we needed to make some sort of impact on the world outside of ourselves. We needed a charity.

I was in line at a Starbucks when I said that out loud. The woman in front of me turned around and said, "No one ever picks my charity."

"What charity?" I asked.

"Huntington's Disease Society of America."

I grinned at her. "Give me the contact information. That will be our charity." Just like that, it was done.

I felt bad, then, when our inaugural event was so sparsely attended. Even so, we raised $350, and I sent the check the next week.

What happened next, really surprised me. I received two emails from the HDSA headquarters in Los Angeles, thanking me profusely for the donation.

Really? It was only $350. For someone like Susan G Komen, that wouldn't even buy the staff coffee for the week. But these women were truly grateful. And I was truly glad to have helped.

In Arizona Dreamin's second year, our attendance grew by 50% and we raised $550.

When this blog posts, we will have JUST completed our third annual event. We grew in attendance by another 50%, and expect that will be reflected in our donation. I'll comment when this blog posts and reveal the final amount.

As for the authors, some of them have been with me from the start and we are growing together. There are no egos here, but a genuine understanding that the best way to help ourselves is to help others. In fact, this year we added an aspiring-writer sister event, Buildin' the Dream, whose subtitle is "Authors Helping Authors."

Might you join us next year? We are doing good ~ and having a blast!

Buildin' the Dream: May 29-30, 2014 (BuildinTheDream.com)

Arizona Dreamin': May 30-Jun 1, 2014 (ArizonaDreaminEvent.com)

The Blur—Is It Harming Our Ability To Focus?

 Once upon a time, fall was the dividing line between summer vacation and school. Now most schools resume in August, nipping at summer’s heels. This divide has been blurred, if not erased. In the white-collar world, weekends and vacations were once held sacrosanct, a time for family, friends, and rejuvenation, not to be interrupted except for a true emergency. Now I see my nieces and nephews tethered to their jobs nights, weekends and vacation days by cell phones and laptops. The divide between their work lives and private lives has vanished.

Do shorter summer breaks make our young students smarter? Does the inability to escape professional demands for short time periods make us more productive?

Perhaps I’m just not good at multi-tasking. Maybe it’s a defect that I long for those old-time borders that are not crossed without good reason. As an author, I wish peer and publisher expectations would give writers a little more slack to disappear from social media for weeks at a time to write. Perhaps then the promotion, when it comes, would be more exuberant, more creative. But it’s now considered a no-no for authors to hibernate for weeks (and certainly not months) to focus on drafting or fine-tuning a manuscript. To be successful, we’re told we must spend time every day—or at least several times a week—on social networking and promotion.  And, if we do take a creative sabbatical or vacation, we must apologize for our absence on social media, our failure to re-tweet, share posts, comment on blogs.

I just attended a Writers Police Academy (a terrific experience), and one of the speakers was Dr. Katherine Ramsland, a forensic psychologist and the author of more than 40 books, many relating to how our minds work. In her presentation, Dr. Ramsland said only one percent of people can genuinely multitask. What's more, she noted that habitual attempts at multitasking can damage our ability to focus and concentrate.

Since I'm writing a blog, I obviously believe in participating in social media. However, how much time should be devoted to it is a question I need to answer. How many of you (authors or other professionals) would like to disconnect from social media for a stretch of time—with no apologies—to concentrate on creative endeavors? If this is one of your daydreams, what’s stopping you? Would your networking/promotional efforts truly suffer if you took the occasional sabbatical?

 

The Author as a Brand

Writing in different genre's may be fun for authors. After all, many of us have tons of stories bubbling inside us that we're dying to share. That's why we have to write. But I was a reader long before I became a writer. And as a reader, the I find the author's name links together with their genre as part of their brand.

• Say Steven King and I shiver.
• Hand me a Tess Gerritson and I settle in my chair for a deep, deliberate police procedural.
• Julia Quinn is a name that evokes fun in a Regency setting.
• Frederick Pohl is a synonym for thrilling Sci Fi (I can't help adding him, I was at a presentation with this legend this weekend and meeting this hero from my childhood was a high point)

I know that a lot of authors successfully write in multiple genres. But for this reader, I usually end up preferring an author more in one genre than in others they may write in. The author's name is part of the promise they make to me about what I will find inside the covers or on the eReader screen, just like the cover art and title. I don't get hungry for any old style of book, I get a yen for specific reads on different days and go for an author whose brand fits that need. In a way it's like food. Most fast food chains sell burgers, but when I'm in the mood for a Slider I don't go to the Golden Arches.

My vote is that an author establish a brand by sticking to a genre. Set things up so I know what I'm getting when I search for one of your books. If I'm looking for more than just a "good book," if I want a specific read, the kind of thrill you handed me last time, and this time you hand me something else, it could be a long time before I try that author again in either genre

Now you tell me

Please take a minute to give your thoughts.
I know other's look at things different. Tell me how you pick out your books? Is the genre more important, or the author?  Does branding even matter?

Hit the comment button and let me know how you feel.


Like PULL on Facebook

Delilah Marvelle - Cracking The Promotion Code

I have learned quite a bit about promotion since first being published in 2008.  I’ve learned that cracking the promotion code is like trying to find a flea in a haystack.  There simply isn’t any one thing that will guarantee that you will reach your readers.  BUT…I will say this.  If you do nothing to promote yourself, rest assured you won’t get any buzz at all. 

If I can give you four BIG pieces of advice in best promoting yourself, here it is:

1.)  Brand yourself.   You are selling your writing.  You are not selling your dogs, your cats, or your children.  Remember that when you decide to blog.  Most writers make the mistake of creating a blog that serves no purpose but entertaining a select few.  It’s an amazing opportunity that is lost.  Think bigger.  How can you reach more people?  How can you reach people who don’t even know who the hell you are?  An example of how to step outside of the box is what I did with my own blog:A Bit O’Muslin (www.DelilahMarvelle.blogspot.com)  I created a blog on Sex Throughout History which I post to every first of the month.   Why only once a month?  Because that way, I don’t get burned out and neither to my readers.  I want an ongoing relationship without being in their face every day. 
I get several thousand hits a month and I will say that most of the traffic is rather random.  People who Google “The History of the Dildo” will discover that I am actually #1 in the Google search engine.  It took a bit of time to establish myself as number one in the dildo search, lol, but I assure you, it’s strategic.  I’ve had quite a few people who accidentally came across my blog who started not only following me but were curious enough to pick up my books.   My blog reflects my writing, not my life.

2.) Make use of Social Media to do MORE than promote yourself.  Whether you do Twitter or Facebook or whatever other Social Media poison you choose, remember to use it for more than promotion.  Get to know your readers.  Get to know reviewers.  Follow them and converse with them without being annoying.  And only pimp yourself when necessary.  People know when you’re selling and when you’re being genuine.  Be genuine at all times.  Not just some of the time.  

3.) Forget the pens, the mugs and those endless trinkets you buy to pimp yourself.  Here’s what I noticed when going to events and what readers (not writers) pick up.  They pick up signed bookmarks, excerpt booklets and books.  Which makes sense.  They want your writing.  Not your pens.  So put your writing INTO the hands of your readers by doing excerpt booklets or handing out free copies of your books.  Sure, it costs more in the long run, but think about it.  Books will never be thrown in the trash and will make its way around.  Can you say the same for a pen or some of the other promo?  Even bookmarks will eventually find their way into the trash...sadly. And though the excerpt booklet may not last long, if they picked it up, they will most likely READ the chapter booklet.  Which gives you a better chance of getting a sale than any pen.

4.)  Write the best damn book you can.  Your writing is really the ONLY thing you can control in this crazy business.  A good book will continue to find its audience with or without promotion.  Word of mouth, after all, is the greatest promotion of all.

How Growing an Audience is Like Growing Weeds

Dear Reader,


You don't know me. I haven't published a book...yet. I haven't presented a class at any RWA meeting...yet. But you might have seen me around the internet lately. I'm Pat Hauldren, most people call me Alley (a long story :). I live in the Dallas / Fort Worth area of Texas and I write speculative fiction with romantic elements.


I've attended a few conferences (a FEW says hubby, don't you mean you broke the bank? LOL), a few writing workshops, and am a member of a few local and online groups.


Last year, I was minding my own business (honest!), writing my novel, attending my local groups, when I was asked by one local group to do a class at their yearly writing conference. I was surprised because I wasn’t a multi-book published author. No one who hadn't met me really knew me as a novel writer, but a few (only over 600 newspapers nation-wide) might have seen my name in the paper, or on my columns online (with a world-wide audience).


What did I have to give back to other writers at this upcoming conference?


Literally, I asked this, because I was stumped. I thought I was really a nobody in the publishing world, and I am, "out there" in the book publishing world. But "here," in the online world, I had a little corner of my own.

About two years ago, I had picked up a job as a fiction book editor at a local small press. I edit only speculative fiction (includes science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, steampunk, horror, etc.,) because that's my true love (and has been since I was 8 years old). Then I began some freelance editing (see my website at www.editalley.com), then I got busy and had to turn clients down. A good thing, though I hate to say no.

Then, I began writing for an online media site called Examiner) as the Fort Worth Writing Examiner. That's a fun job. I get to interview writers, read and review books, tell everyone about upcoming events, and write about writing.


I couldn't get enough. In my usual 'over do it' mindset, I then took up a column as the Fort Worth Hockey Examiner, then the Dallas Speculative Fiction Examiner, then the Dallas Women's Sports Examiner, then and finally last, the SyFy Channel Examiner. Whew.


So, when I asked the conference coordinator what could I offer, that's what she said. Just do what you do. So I did.


I did a presentation called "Examining Online Media: How to build an audience before your book is sold!" and loved doing it. I got good feedback on the class, so I developed it to teach online. In fact, I'll begin this class Monday, August 1, at the Carolina Hearts RWA Chapter.


I've done a few more classes since then and you can find them on my website (www.pathauldren.com) on writing urban fiction, how to stay a healthy writer, on formatting, and what's really cool, I'll be conducting several writing classes in The Netherlands in November!


What can this writer, who is writing not only her novel(s), but short stories, articles, even Japanese Noh Drama, offer you? All I can do is share what has worked for me and hopefully, you can take away something useful for yourself.


Most writers spend a year or maybe more writing a novel, especially their first novel. But what they often don't consider until after they've finished their novel is how they are going to sell it. Our novel is our product and we are the production company. But we have to get our novel, our widget, out there. People have to know about it before they'll buy it.


And that's where this blog comes in. Get your name out there. Before you've submitted your novel anywhere, you're a nobody. You're one in a million with a good story. How do we as authors rise above the masses?
Well, of course, we must write a kickbutt book.


And, we must have our name "out there."


But don't wait. Get your name out there NOW.


How? Easy peasy, I say. You can grow your audience almost as easy as watering weeds, and I say that living in Texas, with 108 F days, water restrictions, and surrounded by wildfires.


I always introduce this topic with, "What is your passion? What do you dream about at night, when our subconscious has control? What did you want to be when you grew up?"


And from this list, you can find things to write about and sell. Believe me. Actually SELL, which means, make money. You probably won't get rich, but right now, that's not what I'm talking about.


What we need, as novelists, are readers. And this is a painless way to begin gathering that audience who wants to buy your book when it's published.


Now, consider this. If two people submit a wonderful manuscript to Ms. Editor and she has to select just one (because bean counters don't just count beans). How do you make that choice easier? By bringing an audience along in your query letter. And if Ms. Editor knows you have a packaged audience ready to read your book, which manuscript do you think she'll select?


You don't have to write where I write. There's tons of places out there. Start small--volunteer to write for blogs (Jello? Here I am. :) Then find some gigs out there who want what you write. Keep the topics to things you enjoy because remember, you're writing a novel. These should be topics and articles that you enjoy. Something you can write about in your sleep, because these articles and blogs shouldn't interfere with your novel.


So, there you have it. How I'm watering my audience weeds that I'll present as a package deal to my intended agent or editor (in fact, several agents want my book already when I hadn't even finished it yet!)

So water your weeds, grow your audience, and drop by my website and say hi sometime.
Good luck and happy writing!


Alley Hauldren
www.pathauldren.com