Perking Up the New Year for Authors

 

A Couple Bulleted Lists of Ideas that May Perk Up the New Year

 

         Tuning Up for 2025 with Ideas Old and New

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, poet, fiction writer, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books For Writers 

It’s the new year! You may have lots of ideas for writing waiting to come to fruition and you’re eager to get started, but if you enthusiasm for marketing has become a bit stale, the new year is a good time for that. With new experiences come new ideas, new contacts, new skills. You might even find a new enthusiasm…or, imagine this! A boost in book sales! So let’s get tuned up. It’s 2025!

Tada! Out jumps the idea of magazines. They need content and the authors of books can be ongoing resources for them! About 7,000 slick magazine titles—each with several editions per year—are published in the US each year. Some of them are trade magazines related to an industry featured in your book. Others are regional and their audience lives in the same area your book is set in—or the one you were raised in. Others have broader interests. And most of them don’t get bombarded with media releases like the mainstream media does. Others, like this list, might have something pertinent for yours.

§  Magazines are usually desperate for seasonal material that thrive on gift news including books as well as personal interest and inspirational stories. You may have one to offer them.

§  It’s that book of yours that makes you credible enough to be considered for feature stories or quoted. Include information about your book in your interviews or in articles you write for them yourself.

§  Find niche super resources—newspapers, dailies, weeklies, TV, and radio stations, and trade publications that lend themselves to your title or background story—from newsletters to nationally distributed newspapers like AARP (for seniors over fifty-five)—at Newslink.org. Many of them have huge readership because they don’t charge (extra) for subscriptions.

§  Once a long time ago almost all media featured books. It is more difficult now, though the recent support for the banning of books has increased some media interest. If your book is banned or falls into a category that has become a target of these groups, you might get the kind of coverage that makes it into a bestseller. This niche isn’t as new as it appears; unfortunately it may have a long life ahead, too. And for you, that can be good news.

§  Each time your book appears—no matter how it appears—in a big name magazine, that can be used in a query letter to help convince reviewers that yours is a book they want to read and review.

My favorite resource for finding appropriate media for whatever book or event I was doing in any given moment had been Bacon’s Directories since my long-ago days as a fashion publicist. They were a series of hefty volumes. Even then Bacon’s several huge reference books were too expensive for most authors or even small publishing companies to buy. Luckily Bacon’s is now Cision, an integrated internet platform. This online directory to TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, is more than welcome.

I especially like Cision for accessing regional publicity for an event when I am signing or presenting at out-of-town venues.

o You won’t at first know these out-of-town contacts—or some of your local ones for that matter. Do not assume that is a barrier to a broader relationship. They are people, after all. Find ways to keep in touch with them, beginning with logging them into your contact list. Here’s a few keep-in-touch ideas

o Write congratulatory notes when an editor you’ve become familiar with gets a promotion or award, when a reporter writes a story you found helpful, when an intern writes an article you find provocative, when the medium introduces a new section or new columnist.

o Write frequent Letters-to-the-Editor.

o Drop them a note recommending they review a book—any book—that connects with local interests. Or offer to review for it for them.

o Well, yeah! Send pertinent editors media releases.

Join a forum, list-serve, or social network group   where people interested in books gather. Yeah, it isn’t new but a lot of them got lost when Yahoo disappeared them! Choose groups of readers interested in your genre or groups of experts in specific aspects of publishing books like marketing. They gather to share, chat, get questions answered. Here’s a list to make list-serveswork for you: 

§    Spend some time contributing and getting acquainted after you’ve subscribed.

§    Pay attention to the posts of members with long experience/expertise to share.

§    Absorb what you can learn from them, especially the stuff you didn’t know you needed to know.

§    Most list-serves were once found on Yahoo, but most—if not all— now have addresses that look like this one:  podpublishing@groups.io. I have followed it since its Yahoo days.

§    Facebook offers a variety of groups, too; they tend to attract newer authors so you will more than likely use them to meet and attract readers. I use Valerie Allen’s AuthorsforAuthors group on Facebook a lot. Do read guidelines for these groups when you join.

Install automated icons that increase exposure for reviews of your books like the ones you see on this blog.You’ll find these little insignias (also called “buttons”) everywhere on the net—social media, websites, blogs. Find them in zillions of places online like newsletters, blog posts, and Mail Chimp-assisted mass e-mails. They usually look like a row of inconspicuous little squares, often near the bottom of the message. Visitors can choose one or more: Click, click, click, and voilá! Each click produces a pop-up of a pre-written post that includes a title and a permalink of the site they have been perusing. When we style them with say a blurb, an added motto, or hashtags, they become fast wonder workers for our campaigns and for encouraging followers. They work even better when we invite subscribers and visitors to use the ones we install on our own content as well as your promotional material like your website, blog newsletter. I mean, everyone is short on time; everyone is looking for shortcuts. And many are happy to help!

We who want to build exposure for our books as effectively and frugally of time as possible will intuit that the icon marked with an “F” is for Facebook; a “T” (most online entities haven’t changed the icon since Twitter changed its name). The one marked with a “P” pops up a post on Pinterest, and so on.

 

Tip: These share buttons and the posts they create have value beyond letting you increase exposure for any of the marketing you are doing online. They work well to increase your own outreach of helpful, sharing posts that go to your followers as you browse the web. When your site visitors use them to share your invitations, articles, tips, they trigger its algorithms or stats. Using the icons you find on others’ sites or blogs is a gift to them and there is usually room to make them work harder for both of you by leaving a positive blurb or hashtag on the pop-up. If there is space available after that, tag someone else who likes to share. I’m @frugalbookpromo on X.

 

And one of my favorite tips worth reviving! It was recommended to me by the late, great Dan Poynter. Use it for special occasions “just to keep in touch with people who know the value of tuning-in and networking.” He called it a “Top 50 List.” It’s your list of people you love to work with. You might already have a “Top 50 People List;” You just haven’t coded them as such on your contact list and if you haven’t, your relationships aren’t working to their potential. Schedule a once-a-year (at least) communication to your Top 50 this year! 

MORE ABOUT TODAY’S CONTRIBUTOR 

 

 Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers including her flagship book The Frugal Book Promoter(https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), now offered in its third edition by Modern History Press and two booklets in their second editions,  Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers  and The Great First Impression Book Proposal, both career boosters in mini doses and that make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. 

The Frugal Editor (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1615996001), now in its third edition, is the winningest book in the series. She is working on a second edition of her #HowToDoItFrugally How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically to be published in this new year.  Find the entire series as e-books on Amazon’s new page for series. 

 Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing—grammar, formatting and more—at The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow for news on her new releases direct from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.

 

Resolutions You Can Keep

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

We are nearing the end of 2020 and what a strange year on many fronts. I will be glad to turn the calendar page for 2021. As a writer, what I like to do is think about the year ahead and make plans. Years ago I used to make resolutions but most of them were broken before we reached February. Now I make resolutions which I can keep.

 

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? If you are like me, you have goals, dreams and plans for the New Year. I encourage you to write down these resolutions or plans or goals. You want to make them specific actions so you can hold yourself (or your partner can hold you) accountable to carry them out.

 

Over 25 years ago in 11 days I wrote a diet book by Carole Lewis called First Place. I took such a crazy writing deadline because the publisher was determined to have the book inside the bookstores for January. If you look at bestseller lists, often in January there will be several diet books about losing weight. In our overweight society, many people resolve to lose some pounds in the New Year. They begin with such great resolve and commitment.

 

To become a proactive author, I want to suggest several resolutions or goals that you can keep throughout the months ahead. I encourage you to use these ideas to create your own goals. Make sure you make each one specific, measurable and action oriented.

 

1. Plan to consistently talk with others about your books or products. As the author, you should take the primary responsibility to market and tell other people about your books. There are dozens of tools and ways to do it. Your method should be a way that serves other people (helps them) and doesn’t pound them with “buy me” messages. The “buy me” message is a turn off and the service to others is an attraction. Can you take your book and create a teleseminar or take chapters from your book and turn them into magazine articles or blog posts?

 

2. Resolve to Persevere. Are you trying to publish something which is getting rejected? You are in good company. Just check out this article from bestselling novelist James Scott Bell called Rejecting Rejection. Possibly you have not made the right connection to get your work published. Are you consistently submitting your work? Often when I ask writers about this detail, I find they haven’t been consistently working on getting their book pitch to the right editor at the right time and the right place. I don’t believe that I’m a great writer. I work hard at improving my storytelling and writing—yet I am persistent and preserve. I’m determined to a fault. Nurture this quality in your own life in the weeks and months ahead.

 

3. Resolve to take better care of yourself. Over the last few years, I’ve worked hard at getting more consistent sleep, taking a daily multiple vitamins and a commitment to regular exercise. Also I attempt to watch my weight and eating patterns to be in balance. Am I perfect? No, but I continue to consistently work at these elements and build regular patterns into my life. With a pandemic this year, my weight increased but several months ago my wife and I began changing our eating patterns and working on weight loss. Currently I'm at my lowest weight in over 20 years and my blood pressure has lowered and other health benefits. It's all part of my resolution to take better care of myself and something I encourage you to do too. Your goal will be different for your lifestyle and situation but do consider this area of your life.

 

4. Resolve to learn a new skill then practice it repeatedly. Maybe you want to develop your storytelling skills. Or maybe you can learn from a how-to book or take an online training. I use all of these methods to keep growing in my abilities and skills.

 

5. Resolve to do more writing. It takes more than a resolution to increase your writing. You need a plan. Do it consistently and set a reasonable word count then do it day after day. No little elves come out and write your words. You have to sit in your chair, get your fingers moving on the keyboard and do it.

 

6. Resolve to do more reading. Writers are readers. Read widely and varied types of books. I read but also learn from listening to audiobooks.

 

I’m expecting great things will happen in the coming months. How about you? Are you setting goals and moving in this direction? Take action today. As you look at the new year, are you creating resolutions you can keep? Let me know in the comments below.

 

This article is my final post for the year for Writers on the Move. I want to wish all of you a tremendous holiday season and Happy New Year. May you enjoy the season and have special things happen in your life and writing.

 

Tweetable:

How do you make resolutions you can keep? Get ideas here for your writing from this prolific editor and writer. (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. His work contact information is on the bottom of the second page (follow this link).  He has written for over 50 magazines and more than 60 books with traditional publishers. His latest book for writers is 10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed. Get this book for only $10 + free shipping and over $200 in bonuses. One of Terry's most popular free ebooks is Straight Talk From the Editor, 18 Keys to a Rejection-Proof Submission. He lives in Colorado and has  190,000 twitter followers. 

Create A Plan for the New Year

By W. Terry Whalin

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. It’s an old saying and cliché yet rooted in truth. What plans do you have for the New Year? Now is the time to be working on a plan. Do you have a book? What is your plan to market your book?

When many writers get this question, they pile on the excuses and look around for someone else. They have fallen into the trap of someone who has written a book. They firmly believe, “If I build it (write it), they will come (buy it).” These writers firmly believe the marketing for their book is the responsibility of someone else—some publisher or some bookseller or some marketing person. Countless times I’ve listened to writers in my role as an acquisitions editor when they tell me about their disappointment in the results of their book sales.

Remember, when you point your finger at someone or something, four of your fingers are pointing toward you. As the author, you have the primary responsibility to continually market your book. No one else can do what you can do.

Let me give you a bit of my background so you see why I’m writing about this issue. I’ve published more than 60 nonfiction books and for five years I was a book acquisitions editor. When I became a book editor, I began to understand the economics of book publishing. It’s important for every author to understand these dynamics—whether they write fiction or nonfiction.

Here’s the financial information that I didn’t understand until I worked inside a publishing company: for every book (fiction or nonfiction), a publisher is going to spend $30,000 to $40,000 (real dollars) to take your manuscript and turn it into a finished book. These numbers are with a modest advance to the author (say $5,000) and zero marketing dollars. These costs are production, cover design, editorial work, etc. on your book. Publishers receive thousands of submissions from would-be authors. When I was a part-time Fiction Acquisitions Editor at Howard Books, I was looking for six to eight full-length novels a year—and I’ve received over 250 submissions from individuals and literary agents. I’ve rejected some quality fiction because of the volume and limited spots. Imagine these numbers multiplied on other editor’s desks.

Let’s pretend for a minute that you are the editor and have to wade through these volumes of material to find the books for your list. You have two manuscripts. Both manuscripts are excellent, fascinating stories. One manuscript has a marketing plan and the other doesn’t. As the editor, you will be held accountable for your choices (within the publishing house). It’s a business to sell books. Which manuscript will you choose to champion to the other editors, the publishing executives (sales, marketing, etc.)? Editors risk for their authors. Your challenge is to prove to be worthy (actually more than worthy) of this risk.

Everything that I’m going to write is based on the assumption you’ve learned your writing craft and produced an excellent manuscript that is appropriate for a particular publisher. A big part of you may resist even creating a marketing plan. Isn’t that why you go to a publisher instead of publishing it yourself?

No, you go to a publisher to use their marketing efforts in combination with your efforts to sell more books (and to have your books in the bookstore). Publishers love authors who “get it” and understand they need to roll up their sleeves and take a bit of their energy to market the books to their own network. Also publishers always want to do more for their books especially when they release. Yet they have 20 books to shepherd through this process—and you have a single book. Who is going to be more passionate about the book? It’s you as the author—well show a little of that passion in your marketing plans for your book.

Check out PyroMarketing by Greg Stielstra (Harper Business). This book will help you see how you can stir people to purchase your book and why mass marketing techniques are ineffective. To get a taste of this book, read this free introduction (I use with Greg’s permission).

Finally can you bring your publisher a deal from the beginning that will sell at least 5,000 books? It’s not a crazy question since 70% of special sales are something that the author begins. For some creative ideas, check out Jerry Jenkins’ site. This is not the Left Behind author but another Jerry Jenkins. Put your own spin on these ideas with your book. Also you can learn more about this special sales idea through a free teleseminar which I hosted at: http://bit.ly/massbks.

Publishers are looking for true partners in the book-selling process. A marketing plan shows that you are actively going to enter into the process of selling books. Yes, publishers are looking for excellent storytellers but they need authors who care about selling books.

Now is the time to be working on your plans for the new year. What plans are you making? Let me know in the comments.

Tweetable:

Create a plan to market your book for the new year. Get ideas here. (ClickToTweet)
--
W. Terry Whalin has written more than 60 books for traditional publishers and his magazine work has appeared in more than 50 publications. He is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing and always looking for great books to publish. Terry is a book proposal expert and the author of Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Sucess. He has over 200,000 followers on Twitter.

New Year, New Possibilities

As we begin 2018, I don’t know about you, but I hate resolutions! I know that’s not right to say, but I think I don’t like them because it feels like a farce. I know I’m not going to lose 50 lbs this year, so why make that my goal?! LOL

But, what I do like is the feeling of a fresh start. Now, any day, and actually every day, is a fresh start but do we really perceive it that way? I don’t know about you but I know I don’t. I forget. I have so much to do and there are pressures and deadlines and I just get up and do the next thing. And that’s okay. Sometimes we just have to do the next thing.

But, when a new year starts we all seem to collectively take a deep, cleansing breathe and think, “Okay, here’s my do-over.”

That’s what I like.

The year stretches before me like a blank canvas or blank sheet of paper for us, writers. Last year, there were struggles and wins and this year, I’m sure there will be the same. But, for right now, let’s breathe in that fresh air and close our eyes and dream.

I would love to win the lottery. I would love for one of my books to make it to Amazon’s top 100 list. I would love to invent something that every shark on shark tank is clamoring to invest in. Those are my big dreams. But, I also want to connect with my family members in deep, meaningful ways. I want to make a difference at my job. I want to give the best of me to the world.

I read a book once and it said, ‘you can have anything you want as long as you give it away’ or something like that.

The idea was that you can have anything you want, not just for you to solely have it but in order for you to use it to bless the world. And maybe you’ve seen the post on Facebook that was a church sign that originally said God Bless America but the “d” had fallen off so it now reads ‘Go Bless America.’ I would challenge you to “Go Bless the World.” Use your gifts and talents and make the world a better place and I guarantee you will get your dreams. Maybe not the ones you think you want, but the ones you get will be ones you love.

Happy New Year!

Wanda Luthman has her Masters of Arts in both Mental Health Counseling and Guidance Counseling from Rollins College located in beautiful Winter Park, Florida. She has worked as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Adjunct Professor, and Hospice Counselor for teens. She’s currently a Guidance Counselor at a local High School. She is an award-winning, best-selling, international author who has self-published 4 children’s books (The Lilac Princess, A Turtle’s Magical Adventure, Gloria and the Unicorn, and Little Birdie). She belongs to the National Pen Women Organization in Cape Canaveral; the Florida’s Writers Association; Space Coast Authors; and Brevard Authors Forum. To download a free ebook, visit Wanda Luthman’s website at www.wandaluthmanwordpress.com and follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wluthman.

2016 Coming to a Close – 2017 Just Before Us, Bright and Shiny

Mark Twain said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover.”

Make 2017 a year of action rather than procrastination.

To end 2016 and latch onto 2017, here are 11 quotes I find inspirational. Hope you do too.

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”
~ Lyndon B. Johnson

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” ~ Wayne Gretzky

"For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday."  ~ Dale Carnegie

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” ~ Will Rogers

“You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
~ Christopher Columbus

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” ~ Stephen Covey

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” ~ Warren Buffet

“If a man empties his purse into his head no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. ~ C.S. Lewis

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” ~ John C. Maxwell

HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR'S EVE!

2014 Coming to a Close – 2015 Just Before Us, Bright and Shiny

Tomorrow is a New Year that brings amazing things: opportunity for a fresh start, renewed hope, possibilities, and even new beginnings.

Mark Twain said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover.”

Make 2015 a year of action rather than procrastination.

To start the New Year, I tried to find quotes I haven’t shared before, or at least ones I haven’t shared recently. Below are 10 I find inspirational. Hope you do to.

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”
~ Lyndon B. Johnson

“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” ~ Wayne Gretzky

"For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday."  ~ Dale Carnegie

“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
~ Will Rogers

“You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
~ Christopher Columbus

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.”
~ Stephen Covey

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” ~ Warren Buffet

“If a man empties his purse into his head no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” ~ John C. Maxwell

~~~~~~~~~~

To add to these motivational quotes for the New Year, I have a powerful goal setting and achieving ebook for you. It's free and you can (and should) share it. It’s absolutely worth reading. Here's the link:
A Simple System to Achieve Your Goals


Stop on by tomorrow also. They’ll be another gift for you!

~~~~~

Goal-setting in the New Year

For me, January is always a time to reflect on the old year and prepare for the new one. I love this quote from Jim Rohn: "Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment." That is so true, and great motivation when striving after your goals day by day.

Another thing to keep in mind when setting goals is to be cognizant of all areas of your life. As Coach Wooden said, "The two most important words in the English language are love and balance." With that in mind, I like to break up my goals into different sections: goals for my writing, goals for my nonprofit organization Write On! For Literacy, and general goals for a healthy, balanced life. Here are some examples in each category:

Writing Goals

• Write 400 words every day.
• Complete new novel manuscript.
• Submit to a literary magazine every other week.
• Write a three-act play.
• Read at least half an hour every day.

Write On! Goals

• Send out a newsletter every month.
• Be a guest speaker at 8 schools/organizations.
• Create a Write On! DVD.
• Start a Holiday Book Drive at Purdue.

Healthy Life Goals

• Exercise three days a week.
• Learn to cook 10 new healthy recipes.
• Plant a garden.
• Do at least one act of kindness every day.
• Count my blessings every night.

I've heard that the best goals are both measurable and attainable. Instead of saying, "In 2012 I want to write more" set a plan of action of how you will do this. The word "more" is so vague -- how much do you want to write every day? Do you want to measure your writing by time, i.e. one hour every day? Or would you be more motivated by a page or word count? Make sure the goal is attainable -- you don't want to feel defeated or overwhelmed -- but once your goal is set, try to be firm with yourself. Stick to it! Here is a website that I find really helpful and motivating in tracking my progress on my goals: www.joesgoals.com. Even after a long day, I'll put in the work to get that little green check-mark! :)

Something I am trying for the first time this year is breaking down my year-long goals into month-by-month goals. It helps me get a handle on more daunting projects by planning out how I want to move forward month by month. For example, one of my writing goals is to finish the current novel manuscript I am working on. I have a goal of writing a certain number of pages every month.

I am also a believer in daily to-do lists -- it feels so good to cross things off my list! -- but I think month-by-month goals are more flexible for those inevitable times when life gets crazy. For example, maybe I won't be able to write much for a few days during midterms, but then I can make up for it the next week and still be on track for my monthly writing goal.

What are your goals for 2012? How will you make them happen?

I'll close with another of my favorite quotes from Coach Wooden: "The journey is better than the inn." Here's wishing you a masterpiece of a journey in 2012!

Dallas Woodburn is the author of two award-winning collections of short stories and editor of Dancing With The Pen: a collection of today's best youth writing. Her short fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize three years in a row and her nonfiction has appeared in a variety of national publications including Family Circle, Writer's Digest, The Writer, and The Los Angeles Times. She is the founder of Write On! For Literacy and Write On! Books Youth Publishing Company and is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Fiction Writing at Purdue University, where she teaches undergraduate writing courses and serves as Assistant Fiction Editor of Sycamore Review.