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Brand building. It’s the backbone of any company or person. It’s how consumers identify with you. Know you. Want you. Need you. What does this have to do with Harley-Davidson? Plenty.
Recently, hubby and I watched a three-part movie about how the Harley-Davidson company was born on the Discovery channel. Boy did I learn a lot about running a business and branding just by watching that movie! The story focused on three partners: William (Bill) Harley(the engineer/creator), Arthur Davidson (the salesman/marketer), and Walter Davidson (the risk-taker, promoter). Together, these entrepreneurs gave the world of motorcycling an experience that felt like ‘an explosion between your legs’. Bill Harley’s words, not mine! LOL!
Here are six things I learned from Harley-Davidson…
Create buzz.To build excitement and promote their product (think about this in terms of your book/books) Harley-Davidson sponsored a racing team named ‘The Wrecking Crew’ whose seat-in-their-pants racing style got the press the company needed to get on the map and stimulate sales. Okay, writers don’t need a Wrecking Crew. But what about a Street Team, or a legion of super fans waiting in the wings for your next book? Use your website, blog or email list to create the buzz your book(s) need to get them flying off the shelves.
1907 Harley-Davidson
Find your tribe.Arthur Davidson worked hard to generate sales. He started bike clubs, opened free beer tents at events to loyal customers, and had special offers/incentives to returning buyers. He was a trail-blazer of social media one hundred years before social media was even born. He engaged first, then sold. That’s what writers should be doing on social media—connect and engage with their target market first. If they trust you enough, they’ll ask about your book.
Look outside of the box.Always looking for ways to market his motorcycles, Arthur Davidson approached the U.S. Postal Service and convinced them to trade their bicycles for Harley-Davidsons. He followed through with the Fire and Police Departments and eventually won them over. When the three partners met with the military during WW1, Arthur suggested that they send mechanics (for FREE) to teach the soldiers how to fix their motorbikes in case they broke down while they were overseas. This strategy worked, and they shared the contract 50/50 with Indian Motorcycle, the number one motorcycle company at the time. BTW—Indian went bankrupt in 1953. Writers need to look outside the box too. There’s plenty of opportunity around, even if you have to offer your first book (or a short story) for free.
Focus on those little extras. Walter Davidson recognize the allure of the motorcycle look and culture, so he launched a campaign to sell Harley-Davidson accessories and clothing which remains a major part of the company’s success to this day. Writers can open a ‘store page’ on their website (you have a website, right?) and sell items that are connected to their books, like T-shirts, coffee mugs or water bottles imprinted with their book cover, or even jewelry.
Re-brand or face-lift when the unexpected happens. The stock market crash of 1929 hit Harley-Davidson hard. There was no disposable income, and barely any sales. Bill Harley decided to give his motorcycles a much needed face-lift during the Depression. He redesigned their block-letter logo, and added a stylized eagle. The company also started offering their motorbikes in an array of different color schemes too. So when book sales are down, this gives writers an opportunity to redesign their book covers, or pull books off the virtual shelves and re-edit them. After all, Harley-Davidson built their company on a quality product, so shouldn’t you?
Continue to develop.By the late 1930s, Bill Harley developed a new model that ended up being a breakthrough for the company. Sales soared with this bigger, badder, and more powerful machine. By the time WW2 began, Harley-Davidson had gained the respect of the military, and were asked to ship over 90,000 military-style motorbikes overseas to be used by the Allies. When the war ended, people returned to motorcycle riding with a deep respect and trust for the Harley-Davidson brand. So, while you may have one or more books out there for sale, it’s best to work on the next one, and continue to develop your brand and author platform. You never know. Your next book may be your ‘breakthrough’ book!
Is there a company out there that you’ve learned some tricks and techniques from to help build your writing career? How are you building your brand? Please leave a comment and share what you’ve learned. Cheers for reading my blog, I truly appreciate it!
0 Comments on Six Things Writers Can Learn from Harley-Davidson… as of 1/1/1900
I’m getting married in a little under two weeks, and a few nights ago I had my first anxiety dream about my upcoming wedding. It went like this: my wedding and the American Library Association Annual Conference (ALA) had been scheduled for the same time. I was arranging books at our exhibit booth in my wedding dress, and when I tried to leave to head to the altar, an author appeared for her signing. She demanded that I stay and fix the lighting, which she said was not flattering. I woke up in a cold sweat.
It doesn’t take Freud to figure out where this dream came from. As any marketing person can tell you, conferences take an immense amount of work, planning, and mental energy. As it turns out, weddings do too. The good news is that I’ve learned a lot in my eight years of planning and attending conferences that helped me stay sane throughout the wedding planning process—and there’s a lot that wedding planning can teach about conferences, too. Here are a few tips that I’ve found to be true for both events:
Always be prepared. Long-term planning is essential, but I’ve found that in order for events to go off without a hitch, a lot of time needs to be dedicated to thinking through the minute details because seemingly small things can throw a wrench in even the best-laid plans. Are any of your dinner guests gluten-free? Do you need a reminder to change your watch when you get to a new time zone? In which part of the convention center is the exhibit hall located? How many pens have you brought for your signing? What will you do if your powerpoint was not uploaded as promised?
If you are an author attending a conference, think through all the items you will need and make a list, so you remember to bring them all with you or make sure your publisher has them. If you have an itinerary, look over it carefully and get any questions you have answered early, before the conference starts. The more time you set aside ahead of time to think through the details, the less likely you are to be caught by surprise on the day of your event.
You can’t make everyone happy. In wedding-land, it’s notoriously hard to satisfy everyone and make decisions without some feelings getting hurt. You’d think that conferences would be less emotionally wrought, but I am hear to tell you that’s not always the case. Your book is your baby, and it’s natural to feel disappointed when it doesn’t draw the attention or sales that you hoped it would. Not all signings go well, and not all panels pull a standing-room-only crowd. Not every author gets his or her own publisher-sponsored cocktail party. When it comes to conferences, everyone is working with limited time, attention, and resources. Try to go in with managed expectations, and remember that you’ve created a beautiful piece of art. Even if it doesn’t attract all the attention you hoped it would, it is still something to celebrate and be proud of. And if you connect with just a few new readers who are excited, you never know where that might lead.
Use Institutional Knowledge. When I started planning my wedding, nothing helped me more than speaking with friends who had gone through it before. They pointed me in the right direction, kept me sane, and even shared their spreadsheets with me. If you are an author going to a conference for the first time, don’t reinvent the wheel: use your publisher and peers to help you plan. If you have never done a signing on a conference floor before, ask for some recommendations of ways to break the ice with people walking by (we have some great recommendations from authors here, here, and here). If you are going to a dinner or another event for the first time, ask fellow authors or publishing staff what they use to start conversation or keep it going. What kind of materials are helpful to bring along? If you ask questions you’ll find that people are happy to share their knowledge and experience with you, so you don’t have to start from scratch.
Me with one of our fabulous authors, Monica Brown, at the ALA conference this year
Don’t lose sight of the big picture. In conferences and weddings, it’s easy to get bogged down in the small details. But at the end of the day, what’s your goal? If it’s a wedding, your goal is probably (hopefully!) to get married. If it’s a conference, your goal may not be quite as clear, but it’s worth thinking through. Do you want to introduce your book to new people? To connect in person with key contacts? To meet your editor for the first time? To sell copies at your book signing? To drum up new school visits? If you can figure out which goal or goals are most important to you, it’s easier to plan your conference experience around that. Decide where you want to allocate your time, energy, and resources. Let your publisher know what you hope to accomplish, so you’re all on the same page. Your goal can help you navigate the conference craziness and come out sane on the other side.
Whatever you do, don’t let the stress of event planning take away from the joy of the event, whether that means getting married or sharing your book with the world (next time ALA is based in Las Vegas, you could do both at once!). Keep calm, keep your eye on the prize, and you’ll get through just fine.
1 Comments on Marketing 101: How Conferences Taught Me to Plan a Wedding, last added: 8/18/2016
Tackle your Readers attention with a great Tagline!
You need to hit readers hard, blindside them with an awesome tagline in order to grab their attention. I cannot overestimate the importance of this. Your tagline, blurb and excerpt are the most important sales tools you have for your book. Choose them wisely.
Every author wants people to read their book, right? Well, they aren't going to find your book unless you put it out there and MAKE them want to read it. Throwing away your tagline and blurb is just like taking your book and throwing it off a bridge in the hopes that someone will fish it out of the ocean, find it, and think it's great. So let's go over developing a tagline that will make readers care enough to pick up your book and purchase it.
A tagline is—or should be—one of the simplest things to create. A tagline is—plain and simply—a one sentence summation of the theme of your book. Something quick and catchy. If you're moving on through publishing by attending conferences and conventions, a tagline is similar to what is called an elevator pitch. What you want to do is to catch a reader's—or an agent's or an editor's—attention with a one-sentence description.
Remember, a PITCH and a TAGLINE are two different things. A PITCH is to get someone to buy your book with the intent to publish it. A TAGLINE is to get someone anonymous, in a bookstore or online, to buy your book to READ it. So your tagline should be about your BOOK.
Here’s the tagline for the first book in my middle grade/young adult time travel series, The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis:
“Children are the keys to our future. And now, children are the only hope for our past.”
Is it the best tagline ever? Nope, probably not. But it tells the reader exactly what the theme of the book is. Look at the points it covers—what it tells you about the book. What does that tagline cover?
Children. Keys. Future. Hope. Past.
That's the purpose of a tagline and how to make it work for you. Therefore—homework lesson number one. Sit down and READ your book. You may think you know what it's about, but if you're a writer like me—you don't. READ IT. As you read, jot down notes to yourself. One. Word. Notes. Hit the high points of your book. What themes, what high points do you think sell your book? No—even simpler: what tags or key words are IN your book? Because those are what will sell your book. Readers don't always know what they're looking for in something to read. Your tagline will give them clues.
A few examples of great taglines:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – It takes a graveyard to raise a child.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner – Remember. Survive. Run.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson – Two lives are bridged – and nothing will be the same.
Do you see what all of these taglines have in common? They titillated enough readers to become bestsellers.
So that's your first job after your book is written. To sit down and read your book, and to pull a tagline from it. And this is where the elevator pitch and the tagline come together. In an elevator pitch, you've got maybe thirty seconds to gain the interest of an editor or an agent—just as long as it takes the elevator to get to their floor. With a reader, you have your book cover and one sentence—just one sentence—to convince them to click through and read more. You cannot afford to throw that chance away. So a tagline that's trite or vague or boring cannot be an option.
BTW – Here’s a sneak peek at the tagline for the next book in my time travel series, The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secretset to be released on October 17th 2016:
“Only a true hero can shine the light in humanity’s darkest time.”
Hope I've done my job and piqued your interest! What are some of your favorite taglines? Cheers and thank you for your time and attention today!
0 Comments on Tackling Titillating Taglines… as of 7/1/2016 12:21:00 AM
Honestly, my head hurts from thinking about what authors have to do now-a-days in this new publishing paradigm. I’ve written posts before about this topic and all the tasks writers are up against. Write, rinse, repeat has become an author’s slogan. The world wide web is crammed full of blogs, publishing services, publicists, and anything a writer needs to get their books into the hands of readers. This whole industry has changed so much in the last ten years, and I’ll wager it will keep changing. What won’t change are those who try to pass themselves off as ‘authors’ and continue to write bad books thinking they’ll get rich quick, and those who are in for the long haul, invest in themselves and write good, even great books. The proof is truly in the pages.
Apparently there are five ways authors can succeed in publishing. Bet you’re biting at the bit to know what they are, right? Okay, I’ll share, but just to let you know, I found this same information on numerous blog posts I read (when I should be writing my next book). That said, I added my own two cents based on my own experiences as an author. I believe most of this advice is just common sense, but you be the judge:
Have a strong, savvy social media presence. When I first burst into the publishing world with my debut book, The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, I had a year under my belt with my blog, and a Facebook account. That’s it. My then publisher (now defunct) gave their authors a basic idea on what we had to do to promote and market our books, but it truly felt like once my book was published, I was put out to sea in a life raft with one paddle and a megaphone. Since then, I’ve gotten more of a presence (Twitter, Google +, LinkedIn), and made so many social and business connections for which I’m eternally grateful. It takes a village to raise an author!
The Power is in the Pricing ($2 to $3.99). Readers love to fill their ereaders up, and giving them a great price for hours of entertainment or education is your best bet to building your audience. This is a no-brainer. Although, if a reader wants to spend $10 or more on an ebook by his or her favorite author, then they don’t break a sweat when hitting the buy button.
Pre-Orders. Again, you’re creating buzz with this sales tactic. Add a cover reveal, a Goodreads giveaway, or raving book reviews into the mix, and you may just have a bestseller on your hands. When I was first published, we never had this option, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it works with the next installment of my YA time travel series, The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secretdue out October 17th, 2016. (Yes, that's me creating buzz! Wink.)
Write a Series. I’m on that gravy train! Or at least I’ve left the station. So far I’ve got two books in The Last Timekeepers time travel series out: Book #1, The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, and the prequel, Legend of the Timekeepers. Now with Book #2 contracted and scheduled for release, I feel I’m on my way. I’ve already started to research and outline Book #3. The master plan is to have a total of ten books with the prequel making eleven. Guess I’m in for the long haul for sure!
Hook Readers with a Free Installment. Part of me has a problem with this. Authors work hard, damn hard, at their craft. Somehow, a free book seems to cheapen an author’s work (but that’s for another blog post!). I do get the idea, and technically FREE is a good thing. Hell, I like free stuff. Who doesn’t? I’ve even have a free short story on my website for readers to download. Still, many authors give away their first book for free in the hopes that readers will like it enough to invest in more books written by the same author. Again, a great strategy, but I somehow think it’s akin to selling a piece of your soul. That’s just my opinion.
For another book sales strategy, here’s a comical, great post that helps authors to understand how finding readers is comparable to shopping at warehouse stores like Sam’s or Costco:
So there you have it. Five ways to try to find success as Author 2.0. Hate it or love it, publishing has become a game of misdirection and manipulation – the trick is to find a Houdini instead of a charlatan. Authors, have you found success using any or all of these strategies? Readers, do you buy books based on price point, pre-orders, an ongoing series, or do you just download free books? Would love to read your comments! Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
0 Comments on Author 2.0: How Writers Are Supposed To Succeed In This New Publishing Paradigm… as of 1/1/1900
First, I’d like to thank Sharon for asking me to post this article on her blog. I’ve always appreciated her support and kind words. Thank you, my Djen friend.
Sharon has asked me to talk about the pros and cons about newsletters for authors. Although there are both, the pros outweigh the cons three to one.
The first time I learned the importance of having an email list (newsletter) was probably seven or eight years ago when I was invited to attend a small writing conference near where I live in Denver. The speaker was Randy Ingermanson and he wrote “Writing Fiction for Dummies”.
He talked about building a “tribe” with your email list and the importance of building that list. I started out building my tribe, and since I was so far from actually publishing my book at the time, people lost interest. So did I.
As time went on, I became closer to finishing my first book and decided it was time to build my social media platform. I started a blog, and once the book was a few months from print, I began my presence on Facebook and Twitter. I completely forgot what I had been taught – an email list is the most imperative marketing tool.
Now, three years in, and my third book about to be published, I was slowly giving up. I didn’t think I would ever have a fan base. Facebook and twitter weren’t cutting it. I needed more exposure. So I did what I should have done a long time ago – I hired a private marketing guru. It is strictly through the Internet, but I am learning a lot. The most important of which, building an email list.
Yes, it is much harder to start an email list once you have several books out, but it can be done. You just need to utilize the program you’re working with for automatically generating the newsletters you write. In other words, you can set up several posts to go out when you want and to who you want. You also have to have two lists, or more depending. As you build your list you want to separate those who have previously joined and your new people because you won’t want to send your older list a newsletter that they’ve already received. Example: You sent out an intro to yourself and to your book to thirty people. Now twenty more have joined. You will want to send out the intro only to the new people.
Mail Chimp is who I use right now, but I’ve been told there are others with better programs – only you have to pay for them. Mail Chimp works fine for me and it’s free. And we all like free, right?!
Now, the pros and cons: The pros are building an email list will give you a more interactive relationship with your readers. You can probably count on quite a few of them to write reviews and become fans. You will get to know them, and they you, on a more personal level. This builds trust and loyalty. But one thing you need to keep in mind – you have to give them something for free right up front. My suggestion is a free download of your first book.
If your first book is not out yet, then cool swag, or maybe deleted scenes from your WIP, or just a few chapters are things you can give. Why do I say this? Because you want to get them interested in your books and hopefully take that next step – write a review. Reviews are everything to a self-published author. It pushes us up in the rankings with Amazon, which gives us more exposure.
As you build your email list, it is also important to give them a landing page. I suggest a website.
Now, cons: It can be a lot of work. But most good things are. If you set up your posts for automation, then it’s only one day a week or every other week of writing articles and setting them to post when you want. Just make sure to do your follow-ups.
The don’ts: Don’t only send out a newsletter a few times a year. People will forget who you are. I have done this myself and now I am starting over. I get the frustration and feelings of resignation. But it will all turn around if you put the effort into it.
Also, don’t only send out newsletters to announce your new books or covers. People won’t like it because to them you’re pushing a sale, nothing more. Yes, we are doing this to sell our books, but a more subtle approach is required and will help you to accomplish your goals of building a fan base and hopefully more reviews.
So that’s it. The pros of building an email list can make the difference in building your fan base and with reviews. You will interact more with your readers and hopefully gain friends along the way. The only con, it’s a lot of work initially. But well worth it in the long run.
Don’t give up on yourself or your books. You can use this tool successfully and eventually have a long list of people who love your work!
One more thing, I am giving away a digital download of my first book, Fable. It’s a series and book two will be out in a few months. If you would like to give it a read go to my website http://www.djenworld.com and get your copy today. I would love to have you read it and don’t forget to let me know if you liked it!
Thanks for everything Sharon, and if anyone has any questions I’ll be sure to answer back!
My Author Bio: I have wanted to write books since I was a child, but didn’t publish a book until I was much older. (Too old to put down my age) Before writing Fable I married my wonderful and very supportive husband, Rick. Had two kids, now two grandkids, and have lived most of my life in Colorado. No, I don’t have a degree in anything, but I am a licensed Aesthetician. I have, however, taken several classes about writing, and had a writing coach, then later, taught creative writing myself for two years. I’m still a WIP myself, but I’m always open and eager to learn.
When asked for a list of key contacts who will support their upcoming book, many debut authors panic. “I don’t really know anyone,” they will say. But the truth is that most authors already have a large network of people at their disposal who will gladly assist in promoting their upcoming book: their friends and family. While these people probably can’t purchase a whole print run alone, a book can benefit from their support in some essential ways. Knowing the best ways to approach this group and maximize their impact is the key.
The most important thing to remember is that friends and family want to be supportive. This bears repeating as many authors, particularly introverts, can feel a little skittish about self-promotion, even–or especially–to the people with whom they are closest. The key is to approach things in a professional and organized way, so that friends and family feel empowered to take small steps that will help support your career. Here are some concrete ways that you can leverage your community to promote your book:
Start building your contact list early. Create a list of email and snail mail addresses for your friends, family, and professional contacts–anyone who you think would be interested in the release of your book. Beginning your list early allows you to spend time making it as comprehensive and accurate as possible, so you don’t have to scramble to put it together when your book is released. It’s also helpful to let your publisher know that you have this list ready and how large it is, since it may impact whether they order promotional materials like postcards for your book launch.
Give people an opt-out. Once your contact list is ready to go, send an email to everyone a month or more before your book is released. In the email, let people know that you are excited about the release of your upcoming book, and you will be sending periodic email updates. End by saying that if anyone does not wish to receive your updates, they can email you to be taken off the list at any time and you won’t be offended.
Create a separate Facebook page for your Author account. Many authors worry about spamming Facebook contacts with news of their book. The best way to address this is to create a separate Facebook “Fan Page” for your author account. Once you have created the page, invite all of your Facebook friends to like it–and then invite them a few more times, for anyone who missed it. This way, you can share news of your book freely with a group that you know is interested. Even so, you should periodically share author news with your personal feed for anyone who may not have carried over.
Send more than one email. Many authors will send an email to friends and family when a book is released, but won’t follow it up with anything else. This isn’t enough, since one single email can easily get lost or forgotten. Mark in your calendar to send a follow up email 2-3 months after your book is released. This is a great time to remind people it’s available, and to ask those who have already purchased the book to write reviews. You can also send an email if your book wins a major award, goes into paperback, or receives a big publicity hit. Don’t overemail, but remember that your friends and family want to know when great things are happening!
Encourage contacts to leave reviews. One of the biggest things that friends and family can do to support your career, besides purchasing your book, is to leave reviews of the book on major book review and purchase sites like Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble. Building up reviews on these sites can go a long way in improving the visibility of your book. Tell your contacts that if they loved your book, you would appreciate it if they could take a few moments to write a review on one or more of the sites above. Most people will be happy to do so, they just need to be asked.
Mine your contacts for their contacts. Don’t be afraid to ask family and friends for help connecting with the right people, especially if you are new to publishing. Want to connect with a journalist at your local paper? See if you know anyone who might have a contact. Interested in doing local school visits to build up your experience? Let your friends with children know you are willing to visit local schools, and ask them to pass the word on. You’d be surprised at the people your friends and family may be able to connect you to, if you ask them.
Remember that knowing a published author is exciting, and your network of family and friends will want to help get the word out about your book. By asking for their help in small, organized ways, you can maximize their impact without putting them in an uncomfortable position or making them feel burdened. And that way, everyone wins.
The task of engineering exciting excerpts is actually easy for a writer. You've already written it. Now you just have to find it. An excerpt is typically 500 words, and for a short story about 200-250 words. The advice I have is general—pick an excerpt from the first third of your book. Told you it was easy! Although very rarely does that mean that you need to copy and paste the first five hundred words of your story and call it a day. For a short story? Yes—that's exactly what you do. But not a novel.
Why, you ask? Well, that's inherent in the differences between long and short fiction. A successful short story begins with a strong hook. In order to sell a short story, you have to pull the reader in from the very first sentence. With a novel, the creation of the story comes along with a more deliberate pace. With a novel, you want to select a scene that sets up the story and above all makes the reader want to read MORE.
In other words—a cliff hanger.
Say you're writing a young adult romance novel. A good choice for any YA romance novel excerpt is a scene between the heroine and the hero. A first meeting, perhaps. A confrontation. The moment when the heroine first realizes that there's something different about this guy.
Say you're writing a middle grade fantasy novel. Pick a scene that jump starts the action. A fight. The moment when the hero realizes that he or she has a purpose to fulfill. The moment when everything changes.
Once you've decided on a scene, the real skill comes into play. You need to pick the moment of that scene where the reader absolutely has to know what happens next. And if the reader wants to know, what does he or she have to do? Buy the book. Which is, of course, the point.
So that's the kind of scene you want to choose for your excerpt. And here's another little hint, too—if you DON'T have a moment like this in your book, then you have some work to do. Every good story should have a moment like this—several in fact. That's how you want to end a chapter, a POV section. That's a real cliffhanger—the excerpt, the paragraph, the SENTENCE that forces the reader to turn the page. The moment that the reader thinks, "Well, one more chapter won't hurt. I'll just read a little while longer." That moment is the holy grail for every story in existence. This is how writers should approach every excerpt they choose.
And one last thing—wait to pick your excerpt until an editor has gone through it with you and cleaned it up. The absolute worst thing that can happen here is for spelling and grammar errors to make it through to publication. Your excerpt, like your blurbis part of your sales strategy. You can't sell a car if the engine doesn't work, right? Well, technique—grammar, spelling, structure—is the writer's engine. It doesn't matter how great your story is, it's not going to run unless those techniques are there and sharp.
If you’re an author, how do you go about choosing excerpts? If you’re a reader, what makes you purchase a book based on its excerpt? Would love to hear your comments! Cheers and thank you for reading my post!
0 Comments on Engineering Exciting Excerpts… as of 2/22/2016 6:06:00 AM
Ever been to a Comic Con? I attended and worked at my first one recently, and I have to say it’s not what I expected. Diehard fans swim through the aisles, wearing costumes of their favorite super hero or from their favorite video game or movie. And it’s scary. These fans are true-blue, focused, and know what they’re looking for when they come to spend their hard-earned money. While I was working the aisle with my boss, Justine from Mirror World Publishing, I made some mental notes and came up with three ideal ways that may help authors connect better when showing their wares at a Comic Con.
Make your name (brand) known.This is part of your author brand, so have a banner along the table or a poster looming behind you that explains who you are, what you’re selling, and what you’re all about. Signage is so important at Comic Cons and any event you attend as an author. So show’em what you got!
Sharing my wares!
Work the floor. I bought a costume specifically for this! I dressed up as Robin Hood (one of the characters in Book #1 of The Last Timekeepers series) and handed out chocolate gold coins or wrapped red licorice to people passing by. When working the floor at any Comic Con or event, you should use the three ‘Ses’. Stand. Smile. Small talk. Be approachable (hence the costume) and for goodness sake, create a connection so that people will remember you!
Give away promotional material.This is a no-brainer. People LOVE freebies! That’s why I like giving candy away at author events. Stock up on postcards with your book covers on the front and info about the book and you on the back. Don’t forget to sign them either! Bookmarks are also a favorite among giveaways for authors, and my publisher had plenty on hand that offered 15% off if you buy directly from their website. What a deal! Be creative with your giveaways, you never know when you’ve made a fan for life!
Boss lady ready for business!
One last thing. It helps if you’re an active member of your graphic novel/comic community. Your networking is solid and your foot is already in the door. People buy from authors they know and trust. The fan base is the meat and potatoes of a Comic Con. Create your own fan base by connecting with people at events such as Comic Cons, continuing to build your author brand, and being authentic in the way you treat and help others. Trust me, this goes a long way with people, and may just get you noticed!
Have you attended any Comic Cons in the past? If so, which ones? Did you attend as a fan or vendor? Would love to read your comments! Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
0 Comments on 3 Ways for Authors to Connect at Comic Cons… as of 1/1/1900
My Take on the Diversity Gap in Children’s Literature
I’m really excited to have a feature article in the February 2016 issue of Story Monster’s Ink – a terrific magazine all about children’s books. The topic coincides with Multicultural Children’s Book Day happening on January 27, 2016!
Amazon is now providing a new twist on book marketing with an embeddable widget that allows a preview. Word is that it looks great on mobile or desktop. And Wow, is it easy to implement!
Here’s an example of how it looks for a picture book.
And an example of how it looks for a novel. It allows you to read a couple chapters before you decide if you want to buy or not.
Want your own widget? Here’s Amazon’s simple 1-2-3 step process to put such a widget on your website. The screenshots make it easy. Are you an Amazon affiliate? If you embed the code on your website, the widget allows you to add your affiliate id number. This is a slick, dead-simple promotional tool!
I did try it for my forthcoming book, BURN: MICHAEL FARADAY’S CANDLE, which is now available for preorder. Unfortunately, the widget wasn’t available for it. I also tried adding the link to Facebook, but that didn’t work either.
Today’s post is advice on how to write an engaging book blurb for your box-set. I scrolled through Amazon reading some of the blurbs and I found my eyes skimming over these super long blurbs that covered each book.
In my opinion, if the back jacket copy is too extensive and wordy, even if the author includes a blurb for each book, it is going to make a potential reader’s eyes glaze over. It is like information overload.
The blurb is just a “hook” to encourage your readers to want to read your book and/or find out more without giving away too much of the plot. Remember that a blurb is just a teaser and does not need to include every plot point or mention every character.
All book blurbs should be under 200 words and only highlight the main conflict, the stakes, setting, genre, and mood. Including too many plot details or background info can bore your reader or confuse them about what the book is about. They should be concise yet compelling. Too wordy or rambling and potential reader might look for another book.
For example, this is the marketing copy for two of the books in my own bundle:
Books One & Two of the Bestselling Spellbound Prodigies Series
Read the first two installments of Shiloh’s harrowing journey into a magical world filled with supernatural creatures, dangerous magic, and haunting romance.
Box Set includes: BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN and SHATTERED SILENCE
Shiloh Trudell isn’t like other sixteen-year-old girls. She’s a heritage witch with psychic powers, who can communicate with the dead. So when she takes a summer job at the haunted Craven Manor, her life takes a frightening turn after she encounters a ghost with a sinister agenda.
What’s even more dangerous than her new profession as a demon hunter is the sexy new hottie in town whose emerald-green eyes and crooked smile causes her heart to skip a beat. Shiloh can’t seem to ignore her inexplicable attraction to the drool-worthy Trent Donovan, even when she’s got bigger problems to deal with. . . Like discovering who put a supernatural hit list on the other teenagers in town.
Between dating the hottest guy in town, fending off soul-sucking demons, and studying magick, Shiloh finds herself on the verge of uncovering a shocking secret that the others in town have vowed to protect.
But will exposing this secret come at a deadly price?
As you can see, it is short and to the point. It covers the setting, premise, and conflict. It has a few tropes and gets right to the heart of what a reader can expect from these paranormal romance series.
All stories share these important elements in common: A character who wants something, but something stands in her/his way, so she/he struggles against that force, and either succeeds or fails.
So when you're trying to write a book blurb for a longer series, it seems natural to include every blurb in the product description. My advise is NOT to do that. Just write a longer summary which pertains to the series as a whole and extend it to 300 to 400 words to include the conflict, theme, character goals, obstacles standing in the hero's way, the bad guy (unless the plot is man vs. himself, than include the character's fatal flaw), and what's at stake for the hero. Let me put it this way, if someone asks you what the series is about, what do you say? How do you summarize the entire series?
Write a short outline detailing your series, and then turn it into marketing copy. Don't lose sales or potential readers by having a blurb that is too long and rambling and overly wordy. You only need to lure them into reading the excerpt and then clicking on that "buy" button...
0 Comments on 3 Tips on Writing a Compelling Blurb for a Box-Set or Book Bundle as of 1/1/1900
You’ve finished your novel! Hurrah! Wahoo! Take time to celebrate!
And then, you wonder, can you sell this manuscript to a publisher? Welcome to the world of marketing your novel. It’s a relatively straight-forward process and two simple tools make it easy.
The Query Letter and the Synopsis
You can’t live long as a writer without developing a dread of The Query Letter. But it shouldn’t be a fearful thing.
First and foremost, a query is a business letter. You are asking a business (either agent or editor) a simple question. “Are you interested in reading my story?”
Please – don’t make it more difficult than that.
I know. Sometimes we’re tempted to endlessly critique a simple, one page query letter. Resist the urge. Write a business letter and let it do its job.
Here’s a simple plan:
Paragraph 1: Simple statement of what you’re selling. State what you have to sell. You should mention the title, length, genre and anything else pertinent. If you have a particular reason to sell to this particular agent/editor, state it here, too.
Paragraph 2: Hook the reader. Why should a reader care about your story? You’re a writer. In fact, you’re a great fiction writer. Just write a simple one-paragraph hook for the novel. Answer the “So what?” question and make the reader want more. That’s the key: you want the agent/editor to want to read much, much more!
Paragraph 3: Who are you? Here’s where you insert the simple 100-word bio that you’ve already got set up somewhere. Tweak it to make it fit this novel, of course.
Streamline Marketing with a Grab File of Previously Written Bios and Summaries
I like to take time to write up bios and summaries of stories in various lengths and then just customize the bio/summary for any given situation. Here’s a few of the bios I have available::
Tag line: Darcy Pattison, children’s book author and writing teacher, . . .
25 word bio: Include the most prestigious awards/publications/etc. If you have none, do NOT apologize or say, “I’m not published yet, but. . .” Just don’t say anything.
50 word bio: Here, I build on the previous and add any other books/awards that are appropriate.
100 word bio: Building on the previous, I loosen up some and try to add some fun and more details.
Full Blown bio for when I’m speaking: Usually, I only need a full blown bio for when I’m speaking and they want to introduce me. Or teachers/librarians/reviewers/etc. sometimes want a full bibliography. For those times, I keep a pdf version available for download.
Synopsis
I’ve just written a synopsis and it was frustrating. I took 60,000 words to tell a story and a synopsis attempts to tell the story in only 1500-2000 words. Obviously, you’re going to leave out tons of story! How do you manage it?
The best advice I’ve heard is to tell the main through-story as if it were a short story. The through-line is the main plot or the story that carries throughout the story. It’s like a line is anchored in chapter one and then threads through every part of the story.
My first thought was to summarize every chapter with a sentence or two, but that’s not quite right. Instead, think short story. It needs to read as an interesting story, but you have few of the tools usually used in short stories. There’s little room for dialogue or in-depth scenes. You may hint at a scene here or there, but you won’t really develop it. Instead, the synopsis is narrative writing. Still use your strong verbs and sensory details whenever possible, but focus on moving through the story and keeping the reader wondering what comes next.
The query and synopsis aren’t hard. They are, however, a tighter form of writing than you’re used to while writing that long, long novel. Don’t agonize after them; just get them done and get the query out the door! Because we want to see your novel in print!
In order for an author to be successful, he or she must have a successful author brand. Your brand is your name. It’s what people connect you with or think about when your name is mentioned. For example, Stephen King = horror, Rick Riordan = young adult myths and legends, JRR Tolkien = epic fantasy, Kelly Armstrong = paranormal romance, and Diana Gabaldon = time travel romance. I could go on, but you get the picture. Each name evokes a genre or a series, and each brand is high concept.
So how do you develop your author brand (name) into a household word that conjures creepy clowns or teen demigods or hobbits or sexy werewolves or time traveling standing stones and kilts? You need to hit your readers in the heart. Create a positive emotional experience so that they’ll become loyal readers and word of mouth heralds for each book you publish.
This strategy is the basis of social media. You connect with others because of what they say, pictures they post, or the experiences they share. Somehow, an emotional cord is struck, and you want to reach out to people and give them your support or a kind word or thank them for making you laugh your ass off for posting a cute dog or kitten video. Emotion connects us all, makes us human. And depending what you share or post, if people like what they read or see or hear, they begin to trust you. If you’re an author who writes books with animals as main characters, you can bet you’ll grab the interest of animal lovers all over the world.
One way to help figure out your ‘brand’ is to create a tagline for yourself, just as you would for a book. I did a lot of soul searching on this and decided that I wanted to conjure feelings of nostalgia with each book I write—give my books that ‘good old days’ spin. Who doesn’t like happy memories of their childhood? So I came up with: Escape to the past and have a blast. Simple and direct. I want my readers to escape from the mundane and be drawn into a familiar world where they’ll have a pleasurable and exciting experience. At least that’s my hope!
When you find out what makes your audience tick, you’ve hit their sweet spot. You give them more of what they want. They need it. They crave it. Write it for them. Make them feel throughyour words. It’s what authors do. It’s what we crave.
So what about you? When it comes to reading, what hits your heart? What do you crave? Would love to hear your comments! Cheers and thank you for reading my blog!
0 Comments on Hit your Readers in the Heart… as of 11/16/2015 4:38:00 AM
The perfect book cover can mean the difference between mediocre sales to hitting the top 100 bestseller lists on Amazon.
Quote: "Book covers are EXTREMELY important. The original cover of Elemental came off as very paranormal romance-y. And, unfortunately, it attracted readers who were avid paranormal romance fans. Many of them responded negatively to being surprised with a space opera with very little romance. A cover is a form of communication. It has to pique the interest of your target audience. If you pique the interest of someone who isn’t going to like what’s inside the book, you’ve just wasted your time." - bestselling Author, Emily White(LOVE her cover on the left-side)
As a writer, your job is tell a great story, but I find that when it comes to fiction marketing or book cover design, some authors don't take the same time to study it, the same as they would if they were researching aspects of their latest book.
Frustrated with low book sales?
It could a number of things, including your current cover design.
The cover should instantly let readers identify the genre, and if it catches their attention, then they will most likely read the back jacket copy and reviews, and buy the book.
But if your design is misleading, or doesn’t represent the genre, or looks unprofessional, it will almost certainly have readers skipping your book and clicking on someone else’s novel.
I know what you’re thinking…the book design shouldn’t matter. It’s what inside that counts. And maybe that’s true...
However, as an indie author the odds are stacked against you. Self-published writers do not have huge marketing departments backing them, so please consider giving your book the best chance of piquing a reader’s interest by having a design that “fits” the genre.
Sales for my own YA paranormal romance series, Spellboundhad drastically declined. Each of the covers in my series had a different image and design, and it was confusing readers. I couldn't afford to hire another designer, so I decided to create my own covers and see if new branding would help boost sales. Within three weeks, my sales tripled. Then I redid the designs on all of my book covers, and again my sales jumped.
I honestly believe that book covers do help sell books!
It is NOT cliché to have acover that represents your genre. It is an savvy marketing choice to allow readers to instantly recognize the genre of your amazing story. Many self-published authors believe a false assumption that coversshould be unusual and distinctive, which is extremely risky. Misinformed self-published writers who don’t understand the purpose of the design will make fatal mistakes in cover art selections. I'm not saying your book has to be identical, but a design should be similar to others in the same genre.
(*The covers on the left-side are published novels and I created similar designs to match the genre and as an example of design trends.)
Whatevergenre you write in, I suggest studying the book covers of the bestsellers. There are trends in designs for a reason because a reader can tell at a glance what type of book it is, so I recommend having a cover similar to what is popular. It is a smart marketing strategy and guaranteed to get you results.
If your goal is to sell more novels, market your work, and appear professional—with an amazing book cover you can attain all three objectives!
The majority of self-published bestsellers all have great cover designs that correspond with the genre that they write in, and you should do the same.
For example if your book is a thriller, then study the cover art of the bestsellers in that genre.
Did you notice that all the bestsellers in "mystery / thriller" have a similar look to them?
Really look at the fonts. They are all huge and bold and eye-catching. Study the colors used. These designs all share a washed-out look.
(*The covers on the left-side are published novels and I created similar designs to match the genre and as an example of design trends.)
Again, I know what you're thinking (because I used to think the same thing) that you want your design to "stand-out" or be unique. But professional book designers will all agree that it is better to have a cover that fits the genre than be different.
If your book is a New AdultRomance, browse the most popular books on places like goodreads.
Do you notice how all the covers appear to follow the same design "look"?
Readers of New Adult fiction can tell at a glance that these books are in the same genre. I recommend using the same types of fonts and colors that match the bestselling designs for whatever genre you write in, or if you're buying premade covers.
Even my own New Adult College Romance cover below matches the trend in NA designs.
If your genre is paranormal romance, I suggest you take a good look at the designs of the bestsellers:
Did you see how all of these PNR covers have a similar design?
Take a good long look. All of these awesome book covers below convey the genre at a glance.
(*The covers on the left-side are published novels and I created similar designs to match the genre and as an example of design trends.)
The book cover I designed below fits the PNR genre with a moon, blue color, and a spooky vibe.
So choose a design that fits the genre, and the book cover will easily and effortlessly do some of the marketing for you. Having a design that doesn’t match the genre will not only impede sales, it’s essential for success. And that is your goal, right? RIGHT!
Also, it is a general advertising principle that having a face and/or people on a product (the cover) will generate more sales. The model on your cover doesn't need to look exactly like your hero or heroine, but just enough so the reader can form their own image of your characters in their mind.
(*The covers on the left-side are published novels and I created similar designs to match the genre and as an example of design trends.)
As always, I wish everyone much success on their writing journey!
It’s my 2nd MOST FAVORITE time of year. Well, nothing beats spring – but – a harvest moon, flocks of wild turkeys and vivid autumn landscapes make my imagination howl.
This season, though, I’m not sure I can manage an abundance of creativity. Hard to stir up a new story when my newly published book turned up damaged last week. First out of the box. FLAWED. Second out of the box. DEFECTIVE. What happened? What mistakes did I make? How can months of tedious planning and obsessing over every detail end up a nightmare? It did. It CAN.
Today it is my honor to have the talented author, Marilyn Vix on the blog today to share her savvy advice on author branding and marketing a fiction novel.
What genre(s) do you write? Paranormal and Erotic Romance
How are you currently marketing your book(s)? They are available on Amazon, and distributed through Smashwords to Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and iTunes.
Which social media do you use the most and why? I promote a lot on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve done blog tours and release parties on Facebook.
How much time each day or week do you spend marketing your work? 1-2 hours daily
What do you think are the best ways for a writer to promote themselves? Finding ways to reach out to your readers. I’ve found that blog tours and Facebook events help generate a lot of traffic. Plus, I organize a multi-author blog tour annually around Halloween.
How do you obtain book reviews? Blog tours and Facebook parties usually get me a few reviews each time I have one.
Do you read reviews posted on places like Amazon or Goodreads? Yes. I’ve written reviews for books I’ve read on both websites.
How do you react and respond to negative reviews? It’s taken a little while to get over the 1 star reviews. I’ve grown a thick skin. I’ve seen some negative reviews maybe spur people to read some of my erotic shorts. But the most bothersome are the 1 star trolls that do thousands of 1 star ratings on Goodreads. I saw one account with over 14,000 1 star reviews hit all of my erotic shorts with one stars. I know Goodreads is trying to crack down on these trolls, but it still seems silly to have done it in the first place. I just keep thinking, don’t they have better things to do?
Do you participate in blog hops or book blog tours? Yes. Whenever I have a new book release, I try to do one.
Do you ever offer guest posts for book bloggers? Yes, during blog tours most of the time.
Do you ever give your book(s) away for free in giveaways or contests? Did it generate any sales?
Yes. I try it a lot with Kindle Unlimited. It even generates reviews a lot of the time. Have you enrolled any of your titles in Amazon’s KDP select? (What was your experience?) Yes. I was doing well until the switch over to KU2 where you’re paid per page. I’m getting far less money, about 75% less. My stories are shorter, so I need more people to read them to generate the amount of sales. So, I’ve been trying to promote them a lot and write lots more.
Do you think book trailers help promote authors? I think they make better teasers during blog tours and Facebook parties.
How important do you think book covers are in the success of a novel? Very important. I think it is the thing that catches the eye of the reader first. I have my covers done by professional cover designers.
Which media outlets do you think deliver the most power for book promotion? Facebook for interaction.
If you had one piece of advice for an author promoting a book, what would it be?
Don’t give up, and try lots of different things that work for you.
This post is mainly for young adult authors, but whatever genre you write in these tips can help.
If a writer just puts keywords like: "young adult blogger" or "young adult reviews" or "young adult paranormal blogger" into a search engine, they'll find a lot bloggers to contact.
And another way is to search for other authors whose work is similar to yours and find book bloggers that enjoyed those novels and contact them. If these reviewers likes those types of stories and genre, then it’s a safe bet that they’ll love your story, too.
Over the years, I’ve definitely made my fair share of mistakes as a self-published writer and indie author. Although, I'd hired talented book cover designers, I didn’t bother to do any research. I just told the designer what I wanted without spending anytime studying the market, or other books in my genre. I should've checked the bestseller lists and taken a closer look at my competition. My book covers were amazing, but they didn't quite fit the trends in design at that time.
For example, I write young adult novels in both the paranormal romance and science fiction genres. When those novels were first published, I didn't take the time do any marketing research. Big mistake! My books just weren't selling as much I'd hoped until I changed my covers to designs that better matched the genres trending, and within six weeks my sales tripled.
As you can see from the examples below, it is smart to have a cover that matches the genre and follows the trends of other book covers. (However, make sure your cover is not too similar. It should still have it's own unique design.)
Lately, I've noticed a lot of really ugly, amateurish looking book covers that were clearly DIY. (Sometimes I really want to contact these authors and offer them a free design, but I'm afraid that would be rude!) That’s one reason why I decided to start creating inexpensive book covers for indie authors on a budget.
My designs, SwoonWorthy Book Covers, are affordable, and look much more professional than most DIY covers. And I’m also willing to the lower the price for authors who can’t afford the $59.99, but desperately need a new cover. I have about 200 covers for $39.99 or less, and some covers as low as $9.99. Plus, I even give away a book cover or two every month.
Nowadays, self-published authors must wear many hats, like becoming a marketing expert. A book cover (packaging) is important. A lot of writers think the book cover design doesn’t matter, but it does have a huge impact on reaching the right readership and expressing the genre.
If you're not sure if your book cover fits your genre, like I've mentioned in other posts, I suggest studying the design trends on the bestsellers lists and visit goodreads and browse through the book covers in whichever genre and sub-genres that you write in.
For example, if you write legal thrillers, do a search to see what's trending and get a cover that reader's expect to see in that genre. However, you don't want to have the exact same cover as another author, but I think something similar would be a savvy marketing choice like in the examples below:
If your book isn’t selling and you’ve been promoting it for months and the reviews are decent, but sales are still dragging, then it might be time to replace your cover. Even with something standard that resembles the genre that you write.
Check out these book cover examples below:
Some articles online I recently found were actually shaming book cover designs that were too similar. These blog posts are misleading to indie authors based on an incorrect assumption that covers need to be completely original and unpredictable. A book cover just needs to look professional, with fonts and colors that match the general design standards for that genre, and let readers immediately know the basic category of the novel. A successful book cover should also be similar to other bestsellers in the same genre. It is that simple!
All of my eBook cover creations will produce interest and anticipation in potential readers, and give them an impression of your amazing story. And most writers will agree that books with a striking cover generally sell more copies.
Notice a similar look in the examples below? I have studied the trends and designed covers that match the genre and the most popular books on the bestseller lists, so anyone purchasing my premade covers will have a greater chance at success.
I try my best to create unique and compelling covers that will attract readers. If you're just starting out and you can't afford an expensive graphic artist, but you need a book cover that looks professional and gives the reader an intriguing hint about your story, then please contact me.
Or maybe your book sales are down and you just want to experiment with a different cover, but don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a new design. Then I suggest that you purchase one of my eye-catching premade eBook covers and test it out. By simply updating a cover design, most writers can go from selling five copies a day to over a hundred. It worked for me!
As always, I wish everyone much success on their writing journey.
Want to build your email list? Market your newest publication? The most reliable way to succeed as an author is to build up an email list of fans. You want to attract readers to your website, and hopefully get them to sign up to your email list. (If you have no idea what to offer, watch this video).
But that can't happen unless your readers are finding your site. There are two easy ways to get more traffic. The first is by posting a lot of key-word rich content on your website (here's another video about that). The other is to post content on other high-traffic blogs in a similar field and get backlinks. That tells Google your site is relevant.
That's why people do author interviews or blog tours: even if readers don't see the content, Google finds the links and will identify a "blog network" around a specific topic. The more links you have from similar blogs in your field, the better you will rank in Google.
Guest posting is ideal, if you pick very clever article titles that appeal to your target readers, but I want to start out by doing something super easy.
So I've set up "author interview" forms on three of my websites. All you have to do is fill in the form and submit the info (it'll take 10 minutes). I'll post it as a blog post with a live link back to your website. There are 741 of you, so this is the fastest way to give a quick boost in traffic to everybody. (Plus, having that much related content on the same site will bring more traffic to each interview).
Also, I can help you find other authors writing similar YA books that you can team up with. Meanwhile, I'll be building up the traffic and SEO of these sites by doing guest posts and author interviews myself (which will increase the power of the links back to your site).
Here are the three blogs I'll be using to build a powerful blog network around YA fiction. They don't have much content yet, but I'm going to build them quickly and then start posting regularly. (You can pick one or do an interview for all three if applicable).
So basically, my plan is to keep growing traffic on these sites with lots of great content that attracts YA readers, and letting you post on these sites for a boost in visibility and more traffic on your own site.
If you want to help that process, you can add any of these links to your sidebar. Most bloggers have a "friends" or "recommended sites" section there. Or, you can wait until your author interviews are posted and then share those.
Thanks, Derek Murphy
I'm a designer, writer and fine artist working on my PhD in Literature. My wife and I travel full-time and love history, adventure, and luxury. I mostly help writers publish better books, but also share tips, strategies and resources to help creative people turn their passions into full-time businesses, make a bigger impact, and blaze a luminous trail of creative independence.
A Collection of Current 2015 Data from Internet Marketing Experts
While waiting for my new children’s book, I Want Cake! to come off press (any day), I’m re-directing exaggerated anticipation and nervous energy into a sure-fire distraction — social media. I don’t mean to diminish social media timeliness or importance. Given a choice, I’d prefer diving into the next book and creating new illustrations. So I started the past week somewhat reluctantly diving into Twitter instead. Much to my surprise, I was hooked.
Then I dug deeper to understand more about best practices and opportunities for authors and marketers.
This post is part of an ongoing series at The Open Book answering questions about book marketing and publicity.
One of the questions I get most often from authors—both new and experienced—is, “Which social media platforms do I have to be on?” There are a lot of ways to answer this question but I want to start by addressing the question itself, which is often phrased in exactly this way. The answer is: you don’t have to be on any social media platforms that you don’t want to be on. Social media can help you connect with new readers, raise your discoverability, and sell books, but it can also be a drain on your time, attention, and ideas. Social media is not for everybody, and not every platform is for every writer. So the first thing to do is let go of the guilt and pressure you feel to be on every social media platform that exists, posting content in real time. Almost no authors can pull this off and it’s not worth losing your sanity to attempt it.
With that in mind, the question to ask becomes not “which platforms do I have to be on,” but “which platform(s) would benefit me most to be on, and which are the best fit for me?” When considering where to be on social media, the number one thing you should ask yourself is whether a particular platform will be enjoyable and sustainable to you. Here are some things to consider:
How often do I want to post?
Realistically, how often will I have time to post?
What kind of content do I enjoy posting most? (i.e. do I enjoy curating content by others, creating my own content, or a mix of both)
What subjects will I be posting about?
How much time will I be able to dedicate to each post?
Am I text-driven or image-driven?
Do I want a platform that is very interactive or less interactive?
While you could make any platform work for you no matter how you answer the above questions, it helps to find the platform that’s the best fit for you, so social media can become an activity you enjoy instead of a slog or obligation. So, here’s a rundown of some of the most popular social media platforms and a couple things to consider about each:
TWITTER: Ideal frequency of posts: At least once a day, preferably more Type of content: Mixture of curation and new created content Time commitment: Surprisingly high Interactivity level: Varies, but higher interactivity is recommended
Twitter is a weird social media platform- even though it’s been around for several years now, it can still be hard to describe, and even harder to understand the purpose of. Think of Twitter as the world’s biggest cocktail party, happening online 24/7 without end. It can drive you crazy, but it’s also a great equalizer: where else can you tweet to celebrities and have them answer you directly? Where else can readers and authors come together so seamlessly?
Twitter is what you make of it: you can have a minimal presence there and use it mostly for “lurking,” but the truth is that unless you are very, very famous, you will get almost nothing out of Twitter unless you are on it frequently and using it in a very interactive way. Yes, it can be overwhelming and a total time suck, but it can also be a nice break from your other projects and an easy way to key yourself in to important conversations going in within the industry.
Bottom Line: If you want to do it right, Twitter takes a lot of time and attention – but the rewards can be big.
FACEBOOK: Ideal frequency of posts: once a week minimum Type of content: More created content than curation Time commitment: Low-medium Interactivity level: Medium-high
Remember when Facebook was a novelty? Over the years it’s morphed into something more akin to an Internet staple, right alongside Google. If you’re not on Facebook, you’ve probably been met with shock and awe more than once. If you are already on Facebook, you may think you’ve already got this one in the bag. However, there’s an important distinction that needs to be made here between personal pages and fan pages. As an author and therefore a public figure, you should absolutely have a separate Facebook account for your author persona apart from your personal Facebook account. This allows you to build a following, tweak your privacy settings, and save your family and friends from seeing posts about your book in their feed all the time (unless they want them).
Once you set up a fan page, what you post and how often is up to you. Unlike Twitter which is really pretty useless if you’re not using it frequently, I think there are still benefits to having a Facebook fan page even if you only update it every couple of weeks – it’s a way to allow people to demonstrate that they like you, and allows them to “subscribe” to get updates from you. It won’t let you meet new people as easily as Twitter does, but it can help you build a stronger relationship with your fans, and that’s always a nice thing.
Bottom Line: A little effort can go a long way when it comes to Facebook, so it’s a good place to be.
BLOGGING: Ideal frequency of posts: Once a week minimum Type of content: All created content Time commitment: High Interactivity level: Low-medium
I don’t technically consider blogs to be a social media platform but they always seem to get tied into this discussion, so I wanted to address them here. The number one thing to remember about blogs is that they are a LOT OF WORK, and that amount of work never really diminishes. When you start a blog, you are essentially starting the equivalent of a one-woman (or one-man) newspaper and giving yourself the job of creating all new content for it. You may think you have blog ideas aplenty, but will you still want to be writing new posts every week six months down the road?
There are a couple questions you should keep in mind when considering starting a blog: How much extra time do I have to write? Will my blog have a specific theme or focus? A helpful thing to do is to sit down and create a list of 20 blog post ideas, and see where that gets you. If you find this exercise fun and can’t wait to start writing some of your ideas up into posts, a blog might be a good platform for you. But if getting to 20 ideas is a bit of a struggle and you can’t see yourself doing this kind of thing for a couple of hours each week, a blog might not be right for you.
A big thing to keep in mind about blogs is that if you want to get the most out of your blog, the time demands go way past writing the posts themselves. It takes time and effort to build a blog readership, and requires a good deal of marketing. So if you begin a blog, you will also probably want to be on Twitter and/or Facebook so you can use those platforms to share your content – otherwise you’re just putting your great content into the black hole of the Internet.
That’s not to see blogs can’t be worth it. When done well, blogs give you a terrific platform as an author. There’s nothing better than writing a blog post you’re proud of and seeing it reshared in many different places. Blogs can help new readers discover you and can help you connect with readers, reviewers, and other authors. Just have a sense of what you’re signing on for before you start.
Bottom Line: Probably the most demanding of all the social media channels, blogs can offer a lot but should be started with an understanding of the work they will entail.
OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS Ah, to go back to the days when you could count the number of social media platforms out there on one hand! The fact that we now have Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Vine, Instagram, and many others only seems to make writers more anxious about where they “need to be.”
When it comes to these more peripheral platforms—and I mean peripheral specifically in the context of online presence for authors—my advice is simple: have fun! Love photography? You might enjoy connecting with readers on Instagram. Love design? You might have fun making Pinterest boards inspired by your books. If you’re intrigued by a platform, try it out – there’s no rule that says you have to stay on it forever (though you should delete your account if you decide it’s not for you, rather than being inactive). Ultimately, all of these platforms are about the same thing: connecting with people. So if you want to be on any of them, make sure that’s what you’re getting out of it in the end, and that you’re enjoying the ride.
Blurbs. Stop groaning. You know you need one to help promote and market your book. And if you do up a blurb correctly, have an eye-catching cover, and wrote a great story, then you’ve done your job. The blurb is one of the most important marketing tools in getting your book ready for publication. In fact, you've already got a version of your blurb done—the synopsis in your query letter is essentially the same thing as a blurb. Here again, though, there are some significant differences. With a query letter, you're relating the entire plot. With a blurb, you want to entice the reader—to get them engaged with your story so they can come along as you unravel the plot for them. So here again—while the forms look very similar, their purpose is quite different.
Here's a surefire method to develop a quick, cohesive blurb. THINK THREE PARAGRAPHS. In the FIRST paragraph, introduce your main character. Now in the SECOND paragraph, introduce your secondary character— a BFF, love interest or antagonist—and the conflict. Remember, the conflict is what drives your plot.
Then in the THIRD paragraph, you bring it all together. This is where you pose a question to the reader—maybe not a straight out QUESTION but a rhetorical one. You want to give the reader a sense of urgency regarding the plot—what will happen if the characters' attempt to resolve the plot fails. In other words, what the stakes are.
The blurb in its entirety tells its own little story—and that's what keeps people buying and reading this book. You want to set up the protagonist, the conflict, the obstacles to resolving that conflict and to give the reader a sense of the risks involved in failure. What you've done is to create a microcosm—a tiny example of what your book—the macrocosm—is.
Writing a successful blurb is a test of any writer's skills. It's darn hard to filter down sixty thousand words into five hundred. But this is a skill a successful writer must learn to do. Throughout your career, whether this is your lone book or the first of hundreds, whether you stay in independent publishing or whether you move on to the Big Six, you MUST LEARN to write effective taglines and blurbs that work. That sell. Your. Book.
Below is the blurb to the prequel of my time travel series, Legend of the Timekeepers, just re-released on August 1stthrough Mirror World Publishing. Although I didn’t use three paragraphs, I used all the information stated above. Let me know what you think:
Lilith was a young girl with dreams and a family before the final destruction of Atlantis shattered those dreams and tore her family apart. Now refugees, Lilith and her father make their home in the Black Land. This strange, new country has no place in Lilith’s heart until a beloved high priestess introduces Lilith to her life purpose—to be a Timekeeper and keep time safe.
Summoned through the seventh arch of Atlantis by the Children of the Law of One, Lilith and her newfound friends are sent into Atlantis’s past, and given a task that will ultimately test their courage and try their faith in each other. Can the Timekeepers stop the dark magus Belial before he changes the seers’ prophecy? If they fail, then their future and the earth’s fate will be altered forever.
Intriguing? I hope so! If you’re an author how do you go about creating blurbs? And if you’re a reader, what blurbs have caused you to make that book purchase? Love to hear your comments! Cheers!
0 Comments on Blurb Blinging 101… as of 8/18/2015 4:20:00 AM
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending my first Art Market with my new publisher, Mirror World Publishing. I looked forward with anticipation to the throngs of new readers I would meet there. I had my bucket of candy good to go. I had signed postcards and trading cards lined up across our table. I had my Sharpie® marker at my side, ready to sign the copious amount of books I’d sell. And I had Justine, my trusty publisher by my side to introduce me to the world. Um. Yeah. Cue the crickets. What I found out was Art Markets and Craft Shows are not for the faint of heart and may not be the best venue for authors. However, NEVER underestimate the power of connecting with future readers, and getting the word out about your books and products.
Below are six simple tips I picked up from ‘working it’ on the blacktop during those two days at the local Art Market:
1. Usually potential customers (a.k.a. readers) are lured to tables when they see books. That’s a no-brainer. Make sure you have an eye-catching banner running across the length of your table and that your books are strategically placed in stands (you can purchase these at any dollar store) and positioned together in the same genres.
2. Engage readers immediately and ask them what genre they like to read. Then, go for the sweet spot and ask them the names of their favorite authors. Since my publisher had an array of books and authors of different genres splashed across the table, we had a better chance at filling the readers’ literary needs. For example some liked fantasy, others were avid young adult fans, so we steered them toward the appropriate section. FYI – two of the most popular genres were mysteries and historical fiction. I think Justine made a note of that!
3. Next, ask the reader what book covers hook them. You’d really be surprised at their answers. A group of gray-haired women loved to read blood and guts (still laughing about that), yet my cover for Legend of the Timekeepers—the prequel to my time travel series—scared the hell out of one of them! They ended up buying one of the darkest books we had on stock. *Head desk.
4. If children or teens are in tow, move to the front of the table and go for the candy. They’re already staring at the jar, so why not offer something that they love! Just make sure their parents are on board. Even adults love candy, so go with your gut and offer them a sweet temptation.
5. The elements of nature can be a loving force or a force to be reckoned with. Be prepared for anything. My publisher brought a drop sheet in case it rained, but when the wind kicked up we had to hold onto the tent for dear life! Thankfully a kind vendor across from our table loaned us a couple of cinder blocks to batten down the hatches!
6. Finally, never ignore anyone, and always end conversations on a positive note whether they purchase a book or not. Hand them a brochure on your products or a signed postcard along with a smile. You never know. They might just buy your book at later date!
So there you have it! My six tips based on my first experience working at an Art Market. If you’re an author who loves doing the Art Markets or Craft Shows what tips can you add? If you’re a reader—what book covers pop for you? What covers scare you? Would love to read your comments! Cheers!
0 Comments on 6 Tips on how Authors can be Artful at an Art Market… as of 1/1/1900
One of the more popular series I’ve written is 30 Days to a Stronger Author Website. It breaks the process of creating an author website and blog into a series of daily tasks. Theory covers the WHY, WHEN, and HOW. Technical aspects are covered in depth. More important, it gives solid reasons for WHAT, or the content of your site. Learn what readers want on each of these pages: Home, About, Books, News, Contact, Privacy. Get ideas on how to write your first 15 blog posts.
But first you need a site.
This post will lay out a clear, simple, 15-minute process for starting your website, with lots of visuals. For other details, read the 30 Days to a Stronger Author Website series.
Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you choose to make a purchase. Thank you for your support in this way.
1) Hosting
First, you’ll need to decide where to host your website/blog, or where your computer files will actually live on a server. While some opt for free services, I’ve had a self-hosted WordPress site/blog for over seven years and love the freedom of doing whatever I want on my own site. I don’t have to worry about the terms of service, because I create my own policies.
While there are multiple options for hosting, one of the most popular is Blue Host, which I recommend because of its simplicity and reliability.
Click here to go to BlueHost. This opens a new window so you can go back and forth on the instructions here. Click the green GET STARTED NOW button.
Next, you’ll need to choose a plan. All of BlueHost’s plans come with one free domain, so there’s not an extra step for registering that–it’s a one-stop service.
2) Choose a Domain
Authors, you should use your name or pen name for your domain. And get a .com if at all possible. This website is DarcyPattison.com. Sometimes, you may want to create a website for a book, so you can use a book title, if desired. But the gold standard is your name.
If you already have a domain, BlueHost makes it simple to switch over; just use the Transfer Domain box.
You’re almost there. Fill in the form with contact info. Make sure the email is working because that’s where you’ll receive information about how to login.
3) Hosting Package
You have a choice now of hosting packages. I’m always amazed at the affordability of a self-hosted package.
I rarely add on any of the extras. Some people like the privacy option, but I’ve never found it necessary.
Of course, it’s time to fill in your billing information. Read the Terms of Service and policies and confirm. Then click NEXT.
You’ll be asked if you want upgrade; I usually skip all these. You can always add things later, if you need something. Instead, skip over to your email and find the welcome email from BlueHost. It’s time to look at your dashboard or the backend of your site. Most hosting companies use a CPanel. You’ll want to read more later on CPanel basics, but for now, we’ll cover how to install your WordPress site.
4) Install WordPress
Go back to BlueHost and Click LOGIN at the top.
Use the info you received in your welcome email to login.
At first the CPanel can look overwhelming (read more on CPanels here), but we just need to install the WordPress that’s listed under Website Builders.
Click on the green START button.
Click on the website where you want to install the WordPress blog. Usually, you leave the directory blank.
Your WordPress user information is important. Do NOT use ADMIN. This will be your login information for the site, so create this with care. Click on the Advanced Options and fill in your site information. Don’t worry: you can always change this later. The admin email is also important because this is where you’ll get emails about the site. When you’re sure everything is correct, click Install Now.
You should see a “SUCCESS” status. Wahoo!
5) Log in to Your Author Website!
You should receive an email with login instructions. Basically, you’ll go to www.YourWebsite.com/wp-admin/login (Replace YourWebsite with the name of your site).
Now, the fun really begins. It’s time to create some content and get your site/blog going.
Social media–what a controversial topic among writers!
You have the social media mavens, who are everywhere on every platform.
And you have those who espouse the WIBBOW test: “Would I be better off writing?”
You’ve decided that you want to raise your social media profile as an author. There are a couple compelling reasons to turn to Pinterest. Yes, Pinterest. I like the way my daughter, Sara, describes the difference in Pinterest and Facebook. She says to look at Facebook to see what she’s DOING; look to Pinterest to see what she’s THINKING about. Other say that Pinterest is aspirational, which means these are things the pinner would like to do. She’d like to decorate her house like this, would like to get this haircut–or would like to read this book.
This image was created on Canva for this post.
Your audience is there. Known to be an audience of 80% women, Pinterest is a playground for women on a number of topics: Food & Drink, DIY & Crafts, Home Decor, and Holiday & Events. Photos of interest can be repinned thousands of times–which puts the image in front of many viewers. For example, the image for this Fiction Notes post about villains has been repinned over 19,000 times. Check the widget in the sidebar to see other popular posts on Fiction Notes. (And hey, we always love more repins!)
You have book covers–which fits the visual medium of Pinterest. Images rule on Pinterest, just like they do for book covers. It’s a natural fit.
Pinterest can become one of the best sources of traffic for your website. I recently looked at my website statistics. I’d been beating the Facebook drum, trying to find an audience; instead, Pinterest referrals had quietly racked up 10% of my overall traffic. For some pages, the percentage is much higher, like the villains post mentioned above. That woke me up; if I was just casually playing with Pinterest and could manage 10% referrals, what could happen if I concentrated on the platform?
Pins keep on giving: repins give your content new life, over and over and over again. You Pin an image to a board on Pinterest. Then, someone sees the image and re-pins it to one of their boards. From that board, it gets repinned; and the process can continue. Pinterest likes to say that, “Pins are forever.” You may pin something this week that gets ignored; but something might revive it in three months or six months–perhaps an appropriate event or current news event. A pin can take off at any time and go viral.
Getting Started
I’m going to collect below some other posts on the basics of Pinterest. If you know nothing at all, this article explains the way the platform works. Once you understand that, there are two basic rules for authors:
Get a Business Account. As an author building a platform, you need access to the goodies available on a business account. You’ll be able to promote pins, create rich pins and much more. Follow Pinterest’s instructions here.
Fill in Every Blank.
YOUR PROFILE. When you set up a social media account, you’ll need to fill in a profile. Please do yourself a favor: fill in every blank possible. The platform didn’t put that data slot there for nothing. They USE the data to help people find you. You want to reach the right audience with the right message, and it’s impossible for the platform to send you those folks if you don’t help them out. They aren’t mind-readers.
YOUR IMAGES ON PINTEREST. Likewise, you’ll need to start paying attention to the metadata (data about the data) for your images. When you load an image onto your website, fill in every blank. The Caption is the only thing optional. And make sure the data you use is useful. For photos, there are three blanks: Title, Alt Text, Description.
IF you have all three filled in, Pinterest will pull in the Alt Text as the description of the image. If there’s no description or alt text, it will use the title of the image as the description.
When uploading an image, the title defaults to the name of your file. So, if your photo is named 123XX.jpg, then the Title will default to 123XXX. Bad news for you on Pinterest. Every time someone repins your image, the description will read 123XXX.
Instead, create a description (500 characters or less) and Copy/Paste that into all three fields. I find that’s the easiest, to just repeat the info over an over. If at some point, Pinterest (or another social media platform) decides to use a different field, I’ll have the description in place.
Finally, you can always manually edit the metadata when you pin/repin. It’s just easier to take care of it upfront.
Comparing the different social media platforms:
Instagram: square images (1:1 ratio), hashtags are the metadata.
YouTube: horizontal images (16:9 ratio). If you’re shooting still images to add to a video slideshow, always shoot horizontal.
Pinterest: vertical images (4:6 ratio), metadata comes from the image’s original upload, or it’s manually edited.
Creating Great Images
This means that you should know where you plan to use images when you create them. My favorite place for editing images for Pinterest is Canva.com. Use their Pinterest template to get the size right; upload your own images or buy one of theirs for only $1; edit as needed. For more, see below.
Links to Tutorials for Pinterest
You’ll find tons of tutorials and classes to help you get up to speed on this platform. Like all social media channels, best practices change often as a platform adds new tools, policies, etc. Be sure to look for recent material.
Which social media platform do you like best? No. Which brings you the most results: the most referral traffic, the most sales, the most followers, etc.?
When asked for a list of key contacts who will support their upcoming book, many debut authors panic. “I don’t really know anyone,” they will say. But the truth is that most authors already have a large network of people at their disposal who will gladly assist in promoting their upcoming book: their friends and family. While these people probably can’t purchase a whole print run alone, a book can benefit from their support in some essential ways. Knowing the best ways to approach this group and maximize their impact is the key.
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Such great information, especially now that I will be presenting and having my books at a conference for the first time! Thank you!