In this profession, they say you've made it when you are on the NYTs Best Seller's list, or at least in the top 100 on that list. But what if you were to get your book or books as part of a book club discussion? Do you think that is "making it"?
I recently attended a "Reluctant YA Readers" book club (a group of adults who don't want to admit they read YA but do anyway - lol) at the local library. I really enjoyed the discussion, even though I hadn't read the selected read for the month. After the group left, I spent some time talking with the librarian who heads up the reading clubs. My book, FINALLY HOME, will be either the book selected for the October reading or I may end up on a different day just to have my own book event with the ability of being able to sell my book. The hope is that the second story in the series, THE TIES OF TIME, will be completed and published, so I can sell both books at the same time.
To me, it's not necessarily the NYTs best seller's list, but it means I have finally made it. I'm making a name for myself, starting locally and building a readership and hopefully that will lead to word of mouth sales, which in turn will eventually lead to NYTs Best Seller's list, not that that has really been goal since publishing my first story. It's a nice little perk.
Eight years from the first story being published online after taking a shared 2nd place to the present, putting my book out there for the librarian to put my books out in the face of the public. I've not pushed my books in the last couple of years as much as I did when I first got published, but now I feel it is time to really step it up and put more effort into getting my stories completed and published and maybe shoot for the stars - the NYTs Best Seller's List.
This is an encouragement note, as Heidi's was a couple of days ago. It doesn't matter the route you take to get there, just keep at it and persevere and you will get there. Reach for the top rung!!
Elysabeth Eldering
Author
Finally Home (A Kelly Watson, YA, paranormal mystery) - available in print, ebook, and as an audiobook
The Ties of Time (A Kelly Watson, YA, paranormal mystery - coming soon)
Elysabeth's Writing Blog
Turning your poetry dabbling into a marketing tool
Poetry doesn't sell. It's so often said (and validated by poets everywhere), that it has become something of a truism. If you write poetry, you probably do it for
the love of it. You
may well be supporting your poetry habit with a range of more lucrative types
of writing like nonfiction or even working a day job. However,value doesn't always come in the form
of cash. There's real value - and
ultimately financial value, to be had by using your poetry as a marketing
tool. So where do you begin? Here are a few tips to get you going.Have a look through your existing poetry collection, and see if you can find a recurring theme that you can use. Some examples of themes which immediately suggest a market include (and I’ve used some of these myself) – Mothers, Love (in all forms or a specific aspect of love such as romantic love), Pets, Nature, your locale, a historical period, person or notion, politics, family life, humorous wordplay, or even sports. Some chapbooks that I’ve particularly admired from well known poets include one on phobias, one on romantic love, and one set in the world of Walt Whitman during his period on the battlefield. My own tendency seems to be towards writing scientific poetry – astronomy, physics, the genetic code, evolution. So don’t limit yourself to clichéd themes. If there’s something you tend to gravitate towards, go with it. Another option is to think about what fits your other work - the stuff you want to sell, and theme the book around that - this way you'll be drawing in your target market. And speaking of markets...
Define your market
Identify the market that matches the theme you came up with in the first exercise. Try to make of list of up to three specific markets, and then list another six examples of those. For example, if your market is florists, then come up with six florists you could contact when you go about marketing your work. Having a sense of where you’re planning to market will help you plan and create your book in a much more coherent and effective way. Always keep your market in mind when you’re constructing a book.
Construct Your Book
This might sound like a big thing but it's actually just a simple collation exercise. Start organising your poetry into a Word (or other word processor) file. You can use a Word book template for that - there are quite a few that come as standard with with Word or you can search here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/?CTT=97 A chapbook could have as few as ten and as many as thirty pages of poems. Twenty poems would be about average for a small chapbook. Put them in an order that makes sense and if there are any gaps or areas that require more poems, then write them! Once you've got everything together number your pages, add a table of contents at the front, and voila, you're almost there.
The all important bio
This is the key - your bio. This is where you need to make your book work for a living. Include not only a little bit about yourself, but a link back (with an enticing offer like a free chapter) to your selling page for whatever product - your novel, your nonfiction, your audio series, etc, you want to sell. Also include an attractive photo. Don't rush this. This is what's going to make value for you.
Get someone else to read it for you.
Whatever you do, don't skip this step. Get a fellow writer or eagle eyed reader to read through it for errors, things that don't make sense and the overall ordering. If they like it, get them to give you a quote to use somewhere at the back of the book.
Get it out there
Make sure you've got an enticing title, that the book looks good, and then turn it into a .pdf. If you're using Word 2007 onward, then you can just save as a .pdf. You could sell the book if you want, but you probably won't make much. Using it as a promotional tool, you can upload it to your website or blog and offer it as a gift for anyone who subscribes. This way you not only get more subscribers, more people reading your work, but you also draw in readers and potential customers for your big tickets items.
Writing isn't always about commerce and marketing. Sometimes it's about creating meaning, and that, of course is at the heart of poetry. But there's no reason why you can't create meaning, bring in readers and still sell your work. Using a poetry chapbook is a unique way to gift your work and still benefit financially from it.
Magdalena Ball is the author of the novels Black Cow
and Sleep Before Evening, the poetry books Repulsion Thrust and Quark
Soup, a nonfiction book The Art of Assessment, and, in collaboration
with Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Sublime Planet, Deeper Into the Pond,
Blooming Red, Cherished Pulse, She Wore Emerald Then, and Imagining the
Future. She also runs a radio show, The Compulsive Reader Talks. Find
out more about Magdalena at www.magdalenaball.com.
The Path to Publication
When I began writing my first novel in 1996, I really did
not think I would ever be published. But it was a cathartic experience, and it
was something I needed to do to prove to myself that I could write a novel.
I started researching my second book in 1999. After about ten
years of rewriting, polishing and collecting rejections, Cowgirl Dreams was published. I’m not telling you this to
discourage you, but to encourage you.
That first attempt has yet to be published, and I am so glad
it was not then. I did the best I could, but in going back and doing the
rewrites (it will be the fourth in my series), I find I’ve learned so much
about the craft of writing.
I met both of my publishers at writing conferences hosted by
Women Writing the West. Since Cowgirl
Dreams was based on my rodeo-riding grandmother, I thought that might be
the best place to look, and it was. The first two books in my series were
published.
At another WWW conference, where attendees can set up
appointments with agents, editors and publishers, I pitched the idea of writing
a series of magazine articles about the old-time rodeo cowgirls of Montana. As
I was leaving, one of the other editors in the room jumped up from her table
and caught me at the door. “I couldn’t help overhearing your pitch,” she said. “Make
an appointment with me.”
I did, and Globe-Pequot Press offered me a contract to write
a non-fiction book. When my first publisher closed down, I asked if GPP was
interested in my third novel. They were and also picked up the first two books
to be republished with new covers and new editing.
Dare to Dream was
launched this week, the newest novel in the “Dreams” trilogy. The
non-fiction book, Cowgirl Up! will
come out in September.
My message to aspiring authors is this: do not be in a hurry
to get that first book published. Have patience, study and practice the craft
of writing, get feedback from critique groups or partners, and get it
professionally edited (especially if you are self-publishing). You do not want
a book out that is riddled with errors and flaws.
------------------
A native Montanan, Heidi M. Thomas now lives in North-central Arizona where she blogs, teaches writing, and edits. Herfirst novel, Cowgirl Dreams, is based on her grandmother, and the sequel, Follow the Dream, won the national WILLA Award. The next book in the series, Dare to Dream, has just been released. Heidi has a degree in journalism and a certificate in fiction writing.
Create Less Than Perfect Characters
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Create Less Than Perfect Characters |
In order to create less than perfect characters, each character must have a flaw. It's okay to dream up a character with more than one flaw. Brainstorming your character with different types of flaws may help you decide which one creates the most havoc for him in his particular situation. You could group three primary flaws that are characteristic of one particular gigantic shortcoming for your character. However, you may want one flaw that signals their defining trait.
Flaw, according to the Google dictionary, is a mark, fault, or other imperfection that mars a substance or object. For example: The outlet store sold plates with flaws in them. Synonyms for flaw are defect, blemish, fault, imperfection, deficiency, weakness, weak spot/point/link, inadequacy, shortcoming, limitation, failing, or foible.
In 1993, to focus attention and resources to eliminate accidents and human error, Gordon Dupont, a worker in maintenance for Transport Canada developed the following Dirty Dozen list of causes for human mistakes at work: http://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/The_Human_Factors_%22Dirty_Dozen%22
- Lack of communication
- Distraction
- Lack of Resources
- Stress
- Complacency - a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, unaware of potential danger, defect, or the like.
- Lack of Teamwork
- Pressure (of deadline)
- Lack of Awareness
- Lack of Knowledge
- Fatigue
- Lack of Assertiveness-don't feel free or not allowed to speak up
- Norms-the way you've always done it
To look at the dark side, the darkest corners of films, watch a few film noir from the 1940's to late 1950's. The Guardian lists the Top 10 Film Noir movies and a summary of each one and why it was good. Film noir was usually in black and white. It may have been an American Detective or crime film that emphasized cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. It seemed to me that no character in a film noir ever reached the good side of human behavior. One person, the detective who solved the mystery, may have been the only one on the right side. According to Fandor, the noir style has expressionism and realism with night scenarios, strong shadows, low-key lighting, dynamic compositions, hard-boiled dialogue, flashbacks, fragmented narratives, and fluid camera movements.
One of the many I've seen on AMC on television is Out of the Past (1947).
A private eye escapes his past to run a gas station in a small town, but his past catches up with him. Now he must return to the big city world of danger, corruption, double crosses and duplicitous dames.
But it could have been one of many. Film Noir present a pretty bleak view of our world. Consider this pitch description of Blackout:
A down-and-out American visits London and meets a beautiful blonde who offers him a fortune to marry her. He quickly agrees but the next day he awakens in an artist's studio covered with blood and his supposed father-in-law's corpse!
Sometimes writers put a funny spin on the foibles of the characters, one such 1955 film is "The Trouble with Harry." Poor Harry gets dug up numerous times during the story. I remember when I saw a 1989 movie Weekend at Bernie's considered a dark comedy. I was so surprised at myself for laughing hysterically at it.
Many times in life, the story behind the story is intriguing and goes to the dark side. For instance, the movie Captain Phillips (2013)
The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship hijacked in two hundred years.
Some of the men in the crew with Captain Phillips contend that Captain Phillips shouldn't have taken them there in the first place and have claimed a lawsuit against the real Captain Phillips. Now that would make another good movie.
Reverse the usual for your characters. What if everyone in your story except one person was evil...not just one flaw, they had all flaws except for one good redeeming trait. See what kind of story you get.
For instance, there's a robbery in town. Everyone helps the robber get away. Why? It's sad to think about, but what if the world was that way. What if your character has people believing the best about him and they couldn't believe he did it. He had charisma personified. But one character could see through all the songs and dances and convict the robber.
When you write a story, you get to create a world that might be hard to imagine...a sad, tragic, magic, or joyful world. But it's your story with your main character with many flaws, three flaws, or only one flaw. A flaw is what gets him into trouble. A flaw is what gets him into the deeper depths of despair. Only when your character is brave and wise enough to see things differently is he able to think of a way out of his bottomless pit. You have a choice of a happy ending or an ending that you drape in the perils of tragedy.
I thought by looking at these 12 causes of mistakes and glancing at the dark side might help you decide which flaw is "perfect" for a character in your story to make him memorable.
Here are a few first sentence story-starters or character sketches:
- Everyone in his family for generations has been trustworthy. But not, Ned Parker.
- A leader needs good communication, but the President of the United States did not have good communication on the day when the people of Zamboo declared war.
- Everyone cringed to think that the airplane built by Forever Airlines had not had the suggested maintenance inspections and repairs. Whose fault was it that maintenance orders were not carried out? Who is going to pay for the deaths caused when Flight 513 went down on I-95?
- James couldn't focus on his job as a taxi driver. He worried about his grandfather. He worried about his son in school. Most of all, he worried about his bank account. He didn't notice the lady walking out from two parked cars.
- Teresa was unaware of the faulty electrical cord she used to turn on her hair dryer. She never checked her surroundings. She took it for granted that everything was going to be fine and that electrical outlets stay good for a lifetime. The day her hair frizzed and the shock went through her body, was the day she became paranoid about safety.
Celebrate you and your gift of writing,
Never Give Up
Joan Y. Edwards
I hope you'll buy Flip Flap Floodle to read to your children and grandchildren because even mean ole Mr. Fox can't stop this little duck from playing his song.
Joan’s Elder Care Guide, Release December 2014 by 4RV Publishing
Submit to Fiction Magazines with Themes
For all you fiction writers out there, if you're having writer's block or if you want to challenge
yourself to write something you normally wouldn't, try writing for one of the
magazines or e-zines below.
Paying Markets ($10-$50)
THEMA Literary Journal. Each issue is based closely around a specific
theme. All genres. Reprints accepted. Current and upcoming themes: "Was that today?" and "We
thought he'd never leave." Submission guidelines
The First Line Literary Magazine. Each story must start with the same sentence. All genres.
Current and upcoming first lines:
"Fifty miles west of Bloomington lies Hillsboro, a monument to
middle-class malaise," and "We went as far as the car would take
us." Submission Guidelines.
Pantheon. As the name suggests, this magazine's issues
center around various gods and goddesses.
All genres welcome. Reprints
accepted, but unpaid. Current themes: "Ares"
and "Gaia." Submission Guidelines.
Infective Ink. All genres.
Current and upcoming themes: "The
future of dating," "Great friendships." Submission Guidelines.
On the Premises. This is run like a contest, but with no fee. Third to first prizes $100-$180. Honorable mentions, $40. All genres.
Current Contest: "Decisions,
Decisions." Submission Guidelines.
Long Count Press. E-book
anthologies of fantasy fiction.
Currently closed to submissions, but check in the future. Last theme:
"Mesoamerican Fantasy."
Submission Guidelines.
Timeless Tales. Retold fairy tales. Next theme:
"Twelve Dancing Princesses."
Reprints accepted. Submission
Guidelines.
Subterrain. A Canadian magazine that requires paper submissions
(and an SASE with an IRC). Upcoming
themes: "Pulp Fiction," and
"Meat." Submission
Guidelines.
Semi-Pro and Pro Markets
Crossed Genres. Science fiction or fantasy only. Current and upcoming themes: "Typical" and "Robots,
Androids, and Cyborgs." 5
cents/word. Submission Guidelines.
Unlikely Story. Their two main themes are "entomology"
(bugs) and "cryptography" (codes and ciphers). They also have other theme issues, like "cartography"
(maps). All genres. 5 cents/word. Reprints accepted at a lower rate. Submission
Guidelines.
Crab Orchard Review. Literary.
One yearly theme (submissions accepted October). This year's theme: "Stories that covers any of the ways our
world and ourselves have changed due to the advancements, setbacks, tragedies,
and triumphs of the last twenty years, 1995-2015." $100 minimum.
Submission
Guidelines.
Penumbra. Speculative fiction only. Upcoming themes: "Pain" and "Lewis
Carroll." 5 cents/word. Submission
Guidelines.
Cobblestone Publishing's non-fiction magazines for kids 9-14
accept 800-words stories based on specific themes. Your choices:
Calliope (world history), Cobblestone (American history), Dig (archeology), Faces
(world culture and geography), and Odyssey
(science). Check the guidelines for
query dates and themes. Very good rates. Submission Guidelines (choose
the individual magazine you're interested in).
Guidelines
Fiction magazines these days come and go, so be sure to verify the details before submitting. And, as always, read the submission guidelines, word count requirements, and theme information very closely. Some are so specific you'll pretty much have to write a story with the magazine in mind. Others are looser, so you can match up stories you've already written.
Fiction magazines these days come and go, so be sure to verify the details before submitting. And, as always, read the submission guidelines, word count requirements, and theme information very closely. Some are so specific you'll pretty much have to write a story with the magazine in mind. Others are looser, so you can match up stories you've already written.
Whatever you do, have fun and keep writing.
Melinda Brasher's first fiction sale was in THEMA, one of the magazines above. She has other stories published in various magazines, including On the Premises. She also
loves to travel and is currently writing a budget traveler's guide to cruising
Alaska.
4 Book Marketing Strategies That Are Guaranteed to Keep Your Online Platform Moving Forward
Your author or writer online platform is all about numbers and reach. It’s about how many people are aware of you within your niche and how many of those people think you have authority within your niche. In other words, it’s about how many connections you have. You might equate it to a popularity contest.
Unfortunately, there are millions of contestants in the online platform arena trying, as you are, to get the golden subscriber email address and get the emails they send opened.
Because of the sheer number of marketers, people are bombarded with marketing emails on a daily basis. This in turn has caused a drop in email opt-ins and a drop in marketing email open rates.
So, what can you do to fight the odds and keep moving forward to reach your goals?
There are four strategies you can use to keep you connected to people and keep you on the visibility radar.
1. Connection frequency
You need to connect with your subscribers and target market on a regular basis.
This doesn’t mean adding to the email inbox bombardment, it means to be visible in multiple places. How many times a week are you connecting with your subscribers and your target market?
This matters.
Are you taking advantage of the different venues you can reach people? Are you being active in groups? How about social media, such as Facebook, Linkedin, GooglePlus, Twitter, and Pinterest? Are you offering valuable information on a regular basis?
Each of these connection venues is another layer of visibility and familiarity. This frequency helps establish a relationship and helps it grow.
2. Consistency
Everyone when first starting a platform is determined and motivated. You diligently keep on top of social networks, blogging, article marketing, sending out a newsletter on a regular basis, and so on. But, then, when results aren’t what was expected or don’t come quick enough, the motivation and effort slows down.
Well, being consistent is what will help you reach your goals. In fact, without being consistent you most likely will never reach your goals.
Coleman Cox says it best: "Even the woodpecker owes his success to the fact that he uses his head and keeps pecking away until he finishes the job he starts."
Create a plan of action steps and stick to them. Be consistent.
3. Authority and Usefulness
According to pro-marketer Travis Greenlee, statistics show that published authors have a 300% higher credibility rating than non-published authors.
That’s quite a difference and gives the published author a big advantage in authority. If you’re not published yet, a quick remedy is to create an ebook and get it out there. With that said, your ebook needs to be a quality product.
But, having an ebook isn’t the cure-all. In addition to this, you need to deliver quality (useful) information to your target market on a regular basis.
The point here is that you need to be perceived as a person of value to your target market. Your actions and offerings need to demonstrate that you can help them with their problem, need, or want.
If you are perceived as having high authority (knowledge and experience) and value (capability and usefulness), people will want to be connected with you.
4. Visibility
Visibility and frequency go hand-in-hand. While you need to make frequent connections, you need to know where and how to make those connections. That’s where visibility comes in.
How many different formats are you using to be visible to your connections and make new connections?
There are a number of marketing formats you can use to generate visibility, including:
• Blog posting
• Guest blogging
• Creating podcasts
• Creating videos
• Creating e/books, reports, etc.
• Sending out newsletters or ezines
• Offering webinars, teleseminars, or workshops
• Staying current on social networks, such as Facebook, Linkedin, GooglePlus, and Pinterest
You get the idea. Keep it fresh. Don’t use the same formats to bring information to your subscribers, readers, and visitors.
You need to use all four of these strategies to keep your online platform moving forward.
Karen Cioffi is an author, ghostwriter, and online marketing instructor for authors and writers. Get her weekly newsletter with must-know writing and marketing tips at: http://thewritingworld.com
MORE ON WRITING AND BOOK MARKETING
Goal Setting – It’s Not About Ideas, It’s About Making Ideas Happen
Selling Your Book - 2 Steps Toward Success
26 Reasons a Writer Should Blog (Part 1)
Apps to Help You Find New Tweeps
We all know that social media isn’t a numbers game. While we may ooh and ah over a colleague’s 45,000 Twitter followers, we know that what’s most important is whether we have a dedicated following that frequently retweets our messages, buys our books and leaves comments on our blog.
However, if you are thinking of leaving the self-published route behind, a prospective agent or publisher invariably will ask you if you have a marketing platform. Then that person will want to know how many followers and Facebook page Likes you have.
So even though social media is about engagement and not numbers, someone – without fail – will be more interested in your follower count.
If you feel that you have too few followers and you want to boost them before pitching your book to an agent, there are several strategies you can implement to boost your numbers.
Twubs - http://twubs.com/
If you want to grow your following, consider occasionally joining a twitter chat. When you sign up for Twubs, you can use this tool to find a Twitter chat and join one. Joining a chat from Twubs enables you to jump into a discussion and Twubs will take care of adding the chat’s hashtag to your tweet. By joining a chat you will discover like-minded individuals who share your interests and who have great content to share.
Tweepi - http://www.tweepi.com
Tweepi is familiar to many Twitter users. With its free version, you can unfollow anyone who isn’t following you back, assuming that’s an important criterion for you. However, you can also use Tweepi to follow new users based on which Tweeps they follow. In addition, if you especially like industry experts such as Jane Friedman or Joel Friedlander as examples, you can use Tweepi to follow their lists. If you are willing to upgrade to a paid account, you can also search for tweets based on geolocation and the topic of their messages and decide if you want to follow them. Another paid feature would allow you to search for new users according to keywords they used in their bios to describe themselves, such as authors, writers, or bookworm.
ManageFlitter - http://manageflitter.com
ManageFlitter is a helpful tool that will enable you to unfollow Tweeps who haven’t yet personalized their avatar and accounts that are fake. In addition, it will identify Tweeps who rarely use Twitter. It’s paid plan will search through more than 80 million Twitter accounts and find the right people for you to follow. You can also use this app to copy other Twitter account’s followers or accounts they follow.
If you feel as though your follower account is stagnating, it might be a good idea to use one of these apps to boost your count. I’ve noticed that as my follower account grows, my book sales increase. So even if you aren’t thinking about finding a publisher, it might be wise to boost those numbers on occasion as long as you don’t compromise engagement.
What Twitter tools do you use?
About the Author: Frances Caballo (http://socialmediajustforwriters.com) is a social media manager for writers and author of Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers to Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write, Social Media Just for Writers: The Best Online Marketing Tips for Selling Your Books and Blogging Just for Writers. Presently, she is the Social Media Manager for the Women’s National Book Association-SF Chapter, the San Francisco Writers Conference, and the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+.
Book info:
Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers To Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write.
Synopsis: Social media is no longer an option for writers--it is a required element of every author’s platform. If you’ve been avoiding Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social networks because you think tweeting and posting will take large chunks of time out of your day and leave you with little time to write, think again. Using social media to market your books doesn’t need to be time-consuming. And with the four-step formula you’ll find in this book, it won’t be.
Whether you’re a seasoned or a newbie social media user, this book will introduce you to posting schedules, timesaving applications and content-rich websites that will help you economize the time you spend using social media to promote your books. You will learn:
• How to create and perfect your author platform.
• Where great content exists on the Internet and how you can use it to further your brand within your niche.
• The importance of being social and applications that make this task easy and fun.
• Tools that enable you to track and measure your success so you can better understand the return on investment of your valuable time.
• Which tools prevent you from accessing the Internet when the time comes to sit and write that next book.
• Exercises for introverted writers to help you feel comfortable on the social web.
Frances Caballo is also hosting a book giveaway for Avoid Social Media Time Suck on Goodreads during the month of April.
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To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars, join us in The Writing World (top right top sidebar).
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