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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
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.
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
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.
Honestly, if I knew that it would take over fifteen years to become a published author I would have thought long and hard about whether I should go down that road less traveled. But I did. And the truth is that you can’t buy this experience. You digest it. You absorb it. You bleed it.
What I’ve learned in those fifteen plus years is worth more to me than any university degree I could ever earn. The skill of actually writing and crafting a book is such a process that it takes years to glean, and once completed no one can take that feeling of accomplishment away from you. NO. ONE. I’ve also learned that a writer must wear three different hats if he or she wants to succeed in this crazy writing business.
Hat #1: Asks what I am skilled at doing? I imagine this hat like a hard hat you’d wear at a construction site. This is information that you and you alone must discern. Use your natural abilities or skills that will serve you in your writing business. Good at blogging? Do it! Great at sharing information to help others achieve their dreams as well as your own dreams? Go for it! We can’t be good at everything. We just can’t! Understanding where your skills lie will help you tremendously when you seek publication or if you decide to go it alone.
Hat #2: Asks what do I enjoy doing? Yay! This is a fun hat! I imagine this hat looks like a jester’s cap with bells. Do what you love, love what you do. These are the tasks that you find rewarding. Plan a novel. Plan a whole book series. Write that first draft. Only you know what makes your heart beat faster and brings you joy, and once you figure that out then as cliché as this sounds, the world is your oyster.
Hat #3: Asks what can I uniquely contribute? This is a more serious hat for me—a fedora perhaps—business-like and serious. Do you want to write something of value to share with the world? Or just with family and friends? Will your books be useful (read: sell) in the marketplace? Do you have a business plan mapped out and ready to go to take your readers on fantastic journeys? In the end, it’s all up to you to determine what you can give, and how you want to go about doing it.
In dreams, hats represent the attitudes you show others most, your mental outlook, your various jobs, talents, personalities, and aspects of yourself. Hats reveal how you cover up or display what you really think or how you protect your ideas. So what kind of hats do you think you’d wear to succeed in the publishing business? Love to read your comments! Cheers!
Now, where did I put my jester’s cap…
0 Comments on 3 Hats an Author Needs to Wear to Succeed… as of 7/20/2015 5:54:00 AM
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.?
By Candy Gourlay
If your name is JK Rowling, please ignore this post.
Facebook Page: formerly called a fan page, it's for businesses, brands, products, public figures. More
Facebook Profile: for individuals. More
So you're an author or about to become one, your publisher or maybe your agent thinks you ought to create a Facebook Page, so that you can start the social media ball rolling. Should
0 Comments on Why (Most) Authors Don't Need a Facebook Page. as of 3/8/2015 1:22:00 AM
Thanks Sharon for having me as a guest on your blog. I’d like to share ideas that have worked for me in growing my blog audience. I’m not an expert, but these things have worked for me.
10 Ways to Grow a Blog
1.Follow a variety of blogs, not just other writers. It will expose your name to an entirely different audience
2.Always provide links to help others find some interesting content.
3.Return comments. If some comments on your blog, visit theirs in return. They were interested in you so show you feel the same way.
4.Keep your posts short. Most bloggers are looking for quick, interesting posts. They will skim your long post and not really get the point you were trying to make.
5.Do more than shout, ‘buy my books.’ That leaves them no reason to comment or come back for the next post.
6.Be yourself so people actually get to know you. If they know you, hopefully, they will like you. I’ve made some true friends through blogging.
7.Add pictures to your posts. Book covers, the snow-covered tree, your cat or dog, make it a little bit personal.
8.Host guest on your blog and hope their friends follow them to your blog. (Thanks, Sharon).
9.Promote your posts on other media such as Twitter and Facebook.
10.Participate in blog hops. I’m administrator in two big blog hops. Insecure Writer’s Support Group had been around for more than three years. We blog the first Wednesday of every month and share our woes, successes and offer support and advise. The even bigger blog hop I help run is the Blogging From A to Z Challenge. Last year over 2,000 bloggers participated. For 26 days in April, we post blogs where the content starts with a letter of the alphabet. Letter A on April first, you get the picture. I highly recommend both.
These are a few ideas that have helped me. Can you add a few more ideas in your comment? Any blog hops you recommend.
Feeling overwhelmed when it comes to publishing and promoting a book? Are you getting lost in the crowd? Relax. Take a breath. Release it. By focusing on these key areas, you can find the traction your book needs to rise above the crowd.
Understand the Publishing Industry: Writing a book does not guarantee you readers—believe me, I know! So before publishing, ask yourself some important questions. Who are your competitors? What do they publish? How is your genre faring in the industry right now? Knowing your market is vital to finding and connecting with readers, receiving book reviews, and getting book sales.
Book Covers are Key: Pick up a book or view a thumbnail-size cover online. What’s your first impression? Is the cover unprofessional or tacky? If so, chances are you’ll think the writing is sub-par. It’s a smart move to invest in a professionally designed cover by someone who understands book design and the publishing industry. You've put a lot of work into writing your book; apply the same philosophy to your book cover.
Your Best Marketing Tool is Editing: With all the competition out there, you want your book to be the best you can make it. A poorly edited book will not gain you readers, reviewers, or fans. Delegate to the professionals if you must, but don’t put out a book that’s destined to receive one star nods.
Get Good Advice: Honestly, there are so many reputable, free resources available to authors for every phase of their publishing journey. Blogs, social media groups, online forums, and more offer everything an author can imagine to get headed in the right direction. Take advantage of these resources, ask questions, learn from others, and share your insights.
Work Your Market: Cultivate readers via the social media, not by clogging the internet with spam, but by asking if they’d be interested in becoming a beta-reader for you. Many authors have successfully built a stable of pre-publication beta readers who offer their insights. Don’t forget, beta readers are not editors—they help an author understand if the story works, if it's authentic.
It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint: If you're going to publish a book, you have to be in it for the long haul. It takes time to learn the publishing ropes and build a following. Approach your marketing and promotion with the long-term in mind. Basic formula: Time + Backlist (4 or more books) = Sustainable Author Career.
Website 101: Build a respectable sales hub through your website. Unless you know how to convert web visitors into buyers, and know all about web conversion and SEO, you should find a professional to design your site.
Build Relationships: Saying thank you goes a long way. If you guest blog, thank your host. Are you getting book reviews and interviews? If so, be sure to thank them for taking the time to review your book or interview you because these are people you can approach for your subsequent books. Trust me, kindness and manners matter, and people DO notice.
Teamwork 101: If you're hiring people to help you publish and/or market your book, take advantage of their expertise. Look for someone with a good track record, and who understands the market, then trust their advice and let them do what you've hired them to do.
Publishing is a business. In the end, it’s worth the time to invest in your book, your team, and your promotion. Thank you for reading my blog. If you have time, please leave a comment and share what you’ve been doing to get your book in front of your readers. Love to hear them! Cheers!
0 Comments on What Every Author Should Know… as of 9/8/2014 8:32:00 AM
Note: The following post was originally published on the Writer’s Fun Zone blog, a site designed to help writers succeed and improve their author platform. When you have time, I urge you to check out this fantastic resource.
This post could have also been dubbed ‘Balance 101 for Authors’. About sixteen months ago the first novel in my middle-grade/YA time travel series hit the cyber bookshelves. There was so much to do, and it felt like there wasn’t enough time to do everything. I needed a time portal just to get all my marketing and promoting put in place. This included getting a website up and running, ordering promotional giveaways, setting up blog hops, writing blog posts, and joining the appropriate social media networks. The lists seemed endless, and when the date finally arrived for my book release, I was wearing my shoulders as earrings.
Needless to say, by the end of my first book blog tour, I was exhausted, spent, and bent out of shape. Even my eyelids ached.
What I learned from that whole experience last year is that authors need to learn to structure their writing life, or their writing will take a nose dive. We need to learn to create balance so that the task of being a writer plus a marketer plus a promoter doesn’t wear us down. So, how do we do this when so much is expected of a writer nowadays?
Start with finding your comfort zone. Find your personal comfort level with promotion or marketing, do that and do no more. That’s it. Do it. Or you’ll get burned. If you don’t heed my advice, then sure as shooting, negativity will leach into your writing. And that’s the last thing a writer wants!
Need help finding your comfort zone? Go to the dollar store and buy a timer. It will be one of the most important investments (and cheapest) as a writer you will make. For less than two dollars you can purchase a piece of sanity to help you organize your writing life and keep you in your zone. Set your timer to check emails. Fifteen minutes? Twenty minutes? Then do the same for Facebook and Twitter. But keep in mind which activity will help you as an author in the long run. Apply the 80/20 rule. Write (produce) for 80%, promote and market for only 20%. After all—social networking is a marketing strategy—as long as you treat it as such. Then, once you have laid the timer law down, set it for how long you want to sit and just write, with no interruptions (unless the dog really needs to pee).
So, stop pushing the zone. Relax. Let go. Breathe.
That doesn’t mean writers shouldn’t learn or try new things. By all means learn and try. Get your hands dirty if you must. But don’t burst a vein in your brain doing it. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself that you collapse into a quivering mass of writer goo. As writers, we must protect our work—and ourselves. It takes time to build an on-line (and off-line) marketing presence in this new publishing world. Learn this, cut yourself some slack, and prosper.
Thank you for reading my blog. How do you find balance as a writer? Love to hear your voices…
0 Comments on An Author's Comfort Zone... as of 7/28/2014 7:20:00 AM
I finally had my first book signing! Cue the Snoopy dance music. It was arranged through a high school friend of mine who connected with me via Facebook. This event was part of a United Way fundraiser to raise awareness for literacy and included a used book sale. Before my book signing took place, I queried a few good author friends about what their experiences were like at their signings. I got a lot of feedback and great advice. One author suggested I wear loud, colorful clothing or a clown’s wig to draw attention to myself and stand out. Given the type of event I was invited to, I so HAPPY that I didn’t purchase Bozo’s wig. Here’s what I learned:
Thing #1 – Make sure you know what type of audience will be attending your book signing. I was anticipating that there would be some children present. Um…no kids in sight. Unless you count a few rambunctious adults happy to get out of work for a while! If I’d known there’d be no kids, I would have had different treats available at my table—something more adult friendly instead of red licorice and gummy fish. I’m willing to bet Jello shots would have gone over well and netted me more book sales!
Thing #2 – Stand in front of your table, not behind it. Go meet and greet people—that’s the reason you’re there in the first place! Get up front and show off your wares. As I mentioned, I had candy available (sometimes that can work like a fisherman’s net) and used a pair of tongs to serve passers-by. I asked them politely if they wanted a piece of candy, and they either nodded and stopped, or shook their heads, thanked me, and moved on. Now had there been kids there, I’m sure I would have been mobbed!
Thing #3 – Engage with everyone who stops by your table. Smile and talk up your books. I started off by telling potential buyers about the premise of my MG/YA time travel series and that I wrote a prequel too. I also mentioned that both books could be read out of order. Not everyone will be interested, but I did manage to sell ten books in three hours.
Thing #4 – Have freebies available for people to take with them. I have trading cards with my book cover on the front, and the blurb and my website link on the back. I also had postcards done up by my publishing company, Musa Publishing with other YA book covers printed on them. All these giveaways were autographed as a keepsake of the event. Plus, potential readers could check out my books when they felt they had more time.
Thing #5 – With table banners coming in at about $120 and up, I decided to go another route. I printed off my two book covers (plus the cover of my free short story available on my website), made copies of them, and placed the book covers in plastic sheet protectors. Then, at the book signing I taped my book covers to the table provided for me. My covers are eye-catching, so if you have many books to choose from, print out the most vibrant covers to display. It’s an inexpensive way to get your books and your name out into the public.
Thing #6 – After my book signing which ran from 11 am to 2 pm, and the oh-so-long drive home, I made
sure that I emailed my hosts immediately to thank them for inviting me to attend their event. Being thankful and having a positive attitude will go far, not only with the people who invite you to book signing events, but to potential readers. They’ll feel your sincerity, whether you realize it or not.
Thank you for reading my blog. Have you ever attended or been asked to do a book signing? If so, please comment and share your experiences. Love to hear from you! Cheers!
Help yourself to a treat...
0 Comments on 6 Things I’ve learned when doing a Book Signing… as of 6/23/2014 6:51:00 AM
Spying is a catchy way of saying “do your research and stay tuned in.” Regardless of what you call it, it’s a mandatory part of being successful. It’s also a great way to build connections. There’s an old saying that to be successful you have to stop obsessing about the competition. I agree with that to a certain degree, but to not be aware of what other authors in your genre are doing is never a smart idea.
Regardless of what you write you need to be dialed into the competitive landscape. Knowing what others in your target market are doing, writing about and promoting can be key to your success as well. Not that I would ever encourage copying, but being in tune with your genre and market can be a fantastic idea generator, not to mention it gives you the ability to stay ahead of certain trends that haven’t even surfaced at the consumer level yet.
First rule of spying: study your target market, the books as well as other authors in the industry. It helps you to also differentiate yourself from them in products, services, and pricing. Again, you don’t want to copy, you just want to be aware. Another lesser known reason for doing this is that if you’re struggling with your social media (like me)—both from the aspect of what platform to be on to what to say to drive more engagement—keeping these authors on your radar will greatly increase your marketing ideas.Living in a vacuum never made anyone successful.
Whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, you want to know who else is writing on your topic or in your genre. Google search is a great place to start. The results will not just turn up names and book titles but also show you the best ways to interact with your reader.
Google is packed with names of authors who write about your topic or genre. As you begin to compile your list I want you to do one thing: ignore big brands because it’s likely that they can do anything they want and still be successful. If you’re a middle grade writer, names like Rick Riordan and Brandon Mull come to mind. These authors are big, powerful brands. You want the smaller names, the people you may not immediately recognize. Why? Because they have to try harder. If tomorrow Riordan or Mull decided to put out a book on poetry, while their fans might be surprised they would likely still buy it. But if a lesser-known author did that they’d look like they have writer-ADD. Not good.
So start putting your list together, as you do sign up for their mailing lists, and follow them on Twitter and any other social media site they use. That’s what I do. Aside from the obvious reasons why you want to do this, I’m a big fan of supporting other authors in my market. Share their Facebook updates, retweet their great Twitter posts, etc.
One of the hidden gems of this research is it will also show you what social media sites to be on. If you've been struggling to figure out where your market resides, this strategy should really clear that up for you. Why? Because if you’re plucking names off of the first page of Google you know one thing: whatever they are doing to show up in search, they’re doing it right. Google has made so many changes to their search algorithms that you simply can’t “trick” the system anymore to get onto page one. Look at their updates. What are they sharing and why? How often do they blog? Are they on LinkedIn instead of Facebook? Is there much going on for them on Pinterest? Really spend some time with this. Not only will it help you tune into your market but it will cut your learning curve by half, if not more.
Successful authors leave clues. Are you following their bread crumbs?
0 Comments on Why Spying on Your Competition is a Great Way to Be Successful… as of 4/28/2014 8:13:00 AM
There’s so much talk around the blog-sphere and internet about author platforms. How do you brand yourself? What to do to create an online presence? How to get your book noticed among millions of other books vying for attention? It’s enough just to write a book and get it published whether you selfpub, epub, or sign traditional, but to also have to market and promote the book can take so much time and energy away from creating more books. And it’s exhausting at times.
So what to do?
One way is to internally ask: How can I help this person? Remember, it’s not always about you, and about selling your book or wares or whatever you’re offering. The best way to help others is to share. In this world, you give, you get. People naturally feel the need to reciprocate when someone does something for them. If you want the people you work with to support your career, help them first, and then stand back and watch the magic happen!
Check out this three minute marvelous mini movie, and you’ll get the gist of how helping a person can be a rewarding experience, and make your life richer in ways you never thought possible. Warning, go grab a couple of tissues before you watch…
I am a newer author, but I am not new to publicity and marketing. So, when it came time to promote my debut novel, The Suburban Strange
(2012), I drew from my previous experience to strategize my events at independent bookstores. If you do it right, an indie bookstore event will pay dividends for much longer than the few hours you spend there.
It’s important to realize that the speaking/reading/signing engagement is the tip of an iceberg, promotionally. Whether you have dozens of people lined up for you, or you fight off the despair that creeps in when the seats are empty, your event should yield more publicity and generate more sales than what hits the register while you’re there. How is this possible? By maximizing the likelihood that the bookstore staff will like you, remember you, and hand-sell your book to their patrons long after you’re gone. Sure, step one in this plan is to write a great book, but there are a number of steps you should take after that.
GIVEAWAY: Nathan is excited to give away a free copy of his latest novel to a random commenter. Comment within 2 weeks; winners must live in Canada/US to receive the book by mail. You can win a blog contest even if you’ve won before. (Please note that comments may take a little while to appear; this is normal).
THE SUBURBAN STRANGE, was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in October 2012. The sequel, PULL DOWN THE NIGHT, was just published (Oct. 8 2013). Find out what’s going on in Nathan’s cluttered mind at thesuburbanstrange.com. Find him on Twitter.
Step two:Treat each bookstore event like a job interview. Confirm both one week and one day in advance, and be brief but charming. Show up half an hour early. Take care to dress like a nicer-than-average version of your author persona – whatever that looks like. Be gracious and pleasant with everyone inside the door – everyone. Thank the staff before you leave – all of them. Write a thank you note that mentions specific details about the event and mail it the very next day. Why do all this? Because it distinguishes you from all the undependable, unkempt, silent or surly, ungrateful authors out there, and that can only work in your favor.
Step three: Increase your chances of giving a great event. If you get nervous about events, arriving half an hour early serves the additional purpose of giving you time to settle into the store environment so it feels less like a stage. Chat with the staff (as long as they’re not busy) about business, what they’re reading, anything – those initial conversations increase the number of supportive people around you, which can only helps when it’s time for you to present. Even if you never drink water, take the bottle; you never know when dry-mouth will hit, and the water gives you something to do with your hands while you’re taking questions. And if the turnout winds up being small, personalize your presentation: Come down from the podium and sit in a circle with those six people.
Step four: Give a great event. Always start your presentation by thanking the bookstore and your contact (this is so easy to forget!) Then give an overview of the flow of your presentation. Don’t read for more than a combined ten minutes (unless you’ve specifically been asked to), or people’s attention will wander. If you don’t feel as though you’re speaking a little too slow and a little too loud, you’re probably speaking too fast and too soft. Don’t be afraid to use a little self-deprecation and humor. When you’re signing, ask your patrons about themselves.
Step five: Be a customer as well as an author. At some point while you’re there, ask your primary contact or someone else on the staff to recommend a book in your genre, and purchase it. (I do this every time I visit an indie bookstore, whether I’m doing an event that day or not.) There is no better way to endear yourself to a small business than by putting money in their register. And it gives you the chance to shift away from the guest/host dynamic and connect with the staff as a reading enthusiast, which is much more fun and frequently more comfortable for the staff.
The concept here is exceeding expectations. Many indie bookstores do author events weekly, and based on all the previous events, the staff has a preconceived notion of how yours is going to go, and what you will be like when you show up. Anything you can do to pleasantly surprise them will only work in your favor.
If you do your job well, you will leave the bookstore with the staff remembering you as a really nice person who was both professional and personable, and who took a real interest in them and the success of their business. That will not be subterfuge, because you genuinely will have been and done all those things. I have no statistical proof of this, but if you do these things, I’d bet you’ll increase the likelihood that a week from now when someone goes into that store and asks for a recommendation in your genre, the staff will think of you, and perhaps say, “Have you read this one? The author was here last week and he was such a nice guy…”
GIVEAWAY: Nathan is excited to give away a free copy of his latest novel to a random commenter. Comment within 2 weeks; winners must live in Canada/US to receive the book by mail. You can win a blog contest even if you’ve won before. (Please note that comments may take a little while to appear; this is normal).
Writing books for kids? There are hundreds of publishers, agents and other markets listed in the latest Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market.Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:Writing About Grief in Your Story or Novel? Here is Some Writing Advice.
But first, here's a quick tip: the first step for an author, after creating a quality product/book, is to create an effective website. Having an effective site means it needs to have the necessary optimization elements, pages, and content. The website is the foundation of your platform. And, simple works best.
~~~~~ To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars, join us in The Writing World (top right top sidebar).
But first, here's a quick tip: the first step for an author, after creating a quality product/book, is to create an effective website. Having an effective site means it needs to have the necessary optimization elements, pages, and content. The website is the foundation of your platform. And, simple works best.
~~~~~
0 Comments on How Do You Create An Author Online Platform? as of 12/21/2012 6:05:00 AM
Two years ago I gave a talk called "How To Sell Your Book on the Internet". It was, needless to say, about the "Author Platform" we writers are supposed to be standing on top of, dominating the world of books, and gave handy hints and tips about how to use things like Facebook, Twitter and blogging for the uninitiated writer. I wasn't the only one talking about the subject. Our very own Nicola Morgan has, until very recently, been giving brilliant advice about it on her Help I Need a Publisher blog (much better advice than mine, I can tell you!).
Last week I read a thought-provoking piece by Candy Gourlay on Notes from the Slushpile. She asked this question:
I hope Candy will forgive me for using her excellent pictures to illustrate this point (on the 'picture is worth a thousand words' principle).
How it was....
How it is now....
The question I want to ask is:
How do you feel about those two pictures? I can tell you how I feel. Kind of relieved actually. What Candy said in her piece chimed with my own feelings. It meant that the misgivings I'd had recently about all this jockeying and jostling were not so stupid after all. Don't get me wrong. I love blogging here (and reading about the myriad facets of writing life from my fellow bloggers). I love running thecurrent series on mythological beasts and beings on my own Scribble City Central blog. I love chatting to people on Twitter, though I'm not so keen on Facebook these days. But, quite honestly, all that stuff does crunch chunks out of my writing day if I let it, however much I protest to the contrary, and that's before I've even started trying to get through the mass of links and intriguing industry bits and bobs provided by others.
The sad fact is that we live in a time poor world where there just aren't enough hours in the day to process all the information flooding over us, however interesting it might be. I'd like to read all the interesting blogs out there - but if I did that, I wouldn't have time for my own writing. In the final analysis that writing IS the most important thing for me. It's what puts the food on my plate, and clothes my family. So, I've taken another look at that Author Platform of mine, and am now only doing what I have to to keep it alive and kicking, and concentrating on what I know works. The energy and hours I've saved are already paying dividends in productive writing output.
Je ne regrette rien - building my Author Platform has taught me a great deal. But I'm no longer its faithful skivvy, slaving away at it for fear of being left behind. I've stopped running to catch up with myself. That, ladies and gentlemen of the ABBA community, is my New World Order - and it feels good!
Totally agree. I'm a writer not a blogger, and though I want to keep my blog running (for a while longer at least) I can't keep it at full strength AND write the books I want to write. I can't see myself doing it for ever.
Lucy - how I agree with you. All the tweeting and blogging and facebooking - it can be fun, but it can also eat hours, and sometimes all you have to show for it is a foggy head. When what brings me the greatest joy is crafting new words, or curling up with a good book. So I keep the networking in its corner, for fun (or there's no point!), and spend most of my time doing what I love best.
I try to write a daily blog past (yes, madness but I do it) and sometimes I do wonder what I am going to write about but I can usually write something in ten to fifteen minutes. If I do not do any other writing during the day I feel I have had some writing exercise. I have no idea how many people actually read my blog or what they think of it - comments tend to be few and from a small group - but I do know it sometimes gets read in China and Russia so I suppose it is worth doing. I might feel differently if I ever manage to get a book published - but I still feel I need to show potential publishers that I can persist with the effort of writing. It's probably quite stupid of me and I often wish I did not feel it was necessary!
Kath and Jo: The thing is, I think a lot of authors have been trying to do it all because of pressure from publishers, or fear of being left behind. We know we have to be accessible to our readers and 'out there' now, but the current model is preventing us from doing our real jobs properly. It's as if we're trying to be the writer version of Shirley Conran - SuperAuthor! What I'm trying to do is find a way forward which works - and which I'm running instead of feeling it's running me.
Cat - actually, I do think blogging is a good writing exercise, and I agree with you about showing potential publishers that you already have a platform which works for you. It's not stupid at all, but I'm with you all the way on the days when you wish it wasn't necessary!
You are absolutely right, Lucy! I reckon the only platform one actually needs is a good book and the publicity people at your publishers are paid money to spread the word about it. If you enjoy the occasional tweet, that's fine but yes, it does eat up TONS of time and is probably more of a talk shop than a means of selling your book. Write the book, do your best to get the word out and move on to the next book. Blogging is altogether DIFFERENT! Good blogs are few and far between and work well when a lot of people contribute, like on ABBA and History Girls. I would deeply miss Seven Miles of Steel thistles, Kath but yes, it does eat up writing time. Keeping up a daily blog is very hard work indeed. I know because I'm married to someone who's posted almost daily for 9 years!! Works LONG Hours at it, too.
*waves* And your phrase that I'd been blogging advice only "until very recently" is spot on and for exactly the ame reasons as you. Mind you, *cough*, I just started a new blog! But that's going to be completely relaxing and to be done only when i feel like it.
I'm back to being a writer. But I, too, regret nothing. Blogging changed my career, for the better, accidentally. But now it's time for it to take a back seat so that my career can take a new direction.
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CREATING AND BUILDING YOUR AUTHOR ONLINE PRESENCE - Website Creation to Beyond Book Sales
I'm instructing a six-week online workshop through WOW! Women on Writing.
It'll be six-weeks of learning how to create and build your author online presence, from creating a website right on through beyond book sales.
The course will be information packed and will have at least two live screen-sharing webinars to help with understanding. Because it's so comprehensive, students are limited to 10, so if after reading what the course will cover, and you'd like to be on board to learn effective book marketing strategies, click on the link. http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/WOWclasses.html#KarenCioffi_AuthorOnlinePresence
HERE'S A BREAKDOWN OF EACH LESSON:
Week One: The Bare-Bottom Platform Basics: Creating an Author Website and Blog Content
Lesson One is divided into two sections:
14 Steps to Creating an Effective Website, which includes:
• Choosing a domain name • About the site’s subtitle • Basic differences between Blogger and WordPress • The various website pages you’ll need and what should be on them • The basics of website optimization
Effective Blog Posting, which includes:
• The importance of posting regularly • Keyword basics • Anchor text basics • Tags basics • Using images and video in your posts
If you don’t yet have a website or blog, this is the time to create one. The information provided in Lesson One will give you the tools needed to create a website that’s reader friendly and SEO ready.
Since Lessons One, Two, and Six refer to search engine optimization (SEO), information on SEO, SEO marketing basics, and Google’s latest update will be included in week one.
Note: Each lesson has an assignment.
Week Two: Article Marketing: 10 Steps to Writing for Article Directories with Properly Formatted and Optimized Content ` Week two is an A – Z lesson on article marketing. It explains what article marketing is and its importance. This lesson discusses:
• How to find article ideas • How to create an effective title • Types of articles you can write • The parts of an article and word counts • Using outlines or templates • Summaries needed for article directories • The resource box • Where to submit your articles
To take it further, we’ll discuss how to properly format and optimize your content, so search engines will easily find and index it and readers will value and share it.
Week Three: How to Create eBooks for Freebies and for Sale, including creating a cover with Microsoft Office 2010
This week offers a step-by-step lesson showing how to create your own ebook and cover. The lesson is divided into two sections:
Creating an ebook:
• Creating an eBook: 5 Simple Steps • Offering an eBook for Free • Offering an eBook for Sale • About the ISBN, Copyright, and Creative Common License
Creating an ebook cover:
• Basic Instructions for Microsoft Office Features • Design Your Own eBook Cover in 10 Easy Steps Using Microsoft Office 2010 • Additional Tips for Designing Your Own eBook Covers • Things to Watch For • Sample Example One with Step-by-Step Instructions • Sample Example Two with Step-by-Step Instructions
In this lesson you will actually create an ebook and a cover to go with it. We’ll also discuss the benefits of creating an ebook to offer as a freebie on your site.
Included in Lesson Three is a live 30-45 minute screen-sharing webinar that will demonstrate how to use Microsoft Office to create a cover.
Week Four: How to Create PayPal ‘Buy Now’ Buttons for Your Site/s
Lesson Four provides step-by-step instructions on how to create a PayPal Buy Button and how to upload the code onto your site.
Week four covers:
• The need for ‘Buy Now’ buttons • Creating a PayPal account • The steps required to add an ebook to PayPal Merchant Services • The pros and cons of having the ebook sent automatically to the purchaser or sending it personally • Uploading the HTML code onto your website or blogsite
The lesson also goes over the eight elements needed to create an effective landing page for your ebook, if you choose to sell it.
Week Five: How to Create a Product Line and Attracting Customers Through Information Marketing
Through lessons Two and Three you will have the foundation for creating a number of products within your market. Lesson Five is divided into two sections and discusses what products you can create and how to get visitors (potential customers) to your site. It includes:
How to Create and Sell Information Products:
• What is an information product and product line? • What’s the benefit of creating information products? • Types of information products you can create • Types of content you can provide • What topic should you focus your product on?
Attracting Customers (Generating Visibility) Through Information Marketing
The importance and primary purpose of attracting visitors to your site Effective strategies to generate visibility and attract visitors The mailing list The most effective strategy to use to increase your subscriber list
Week Six: How to Create Your Own PowerPoint Webinars
Presenting webinars is one of the top marketing tools. The final lesson will have you creating your own webinar. This lesson explains:
• What a webinar is • Six reasons why you should offer webinars • What exactly is a PowerPoint webinar • What webinar service you should use • Some technical elements of webinars • How to prepare for a PowerPoint presentation • How to present a PowerPoint webinar • A bit about enhancing your conversion rate
Lesson six will also has a 30-45 minute live screen-sharing webinar to help demonstrate the basics of creating a PowerPoint document.
Note: A replay of the webinars will be available.
AND, THERE'S A BONUS LESSON THAT GOES OVER EVEN MORE MARKETING INFORMATION.
To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars - signup for The Writing World newsletter on the right top sidebar!
Karen Cioffi Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Marketer Writer’s Digest Website of the Week, June 25, 2012 “This site from Karen Cioffi should stand as a model for other freelance writers.” ~ Brian A. Klems, Online Editor for Writer’s Digest
You’re a beginning to intermediate writer. You’ve just getting to the point of submitting. Do you need a website, do you need to build a platform?
A platform just means that you have a following for some reason, a group of people that you can easily tap into to jump start sales. Keep that in mind: the purpose of a platform is to jump start sales–from a publisher’s point of view.
Yet, when you work to develop a platform, you can’t think that way. Instead, you need to consider your strengths and interests.
Topics
Do you have a passion for the environment? See AuthorsforEarthDay.com
Are you a former astronaut? See Marianne Dyson’s site where she reviews children’s science books, but especially space/astronomy books.
Here’s your first task: list five passions. Rank them. Which one(s) would you like to talk about a lot? And I mean–a lot.
Types of Content
Consider what sorts of content you like to produce: photos, videos, short commentaries or essays.
Does this match up with your passions? Can you consistently create content in one format or another that relates to your passions?
Content Delivery Platform
Once you know your passions and your strengths in creating content, you can start to build your platform.
Photos: Flickr.com (or similar sites), a photoblog and Pinterest
Video: YouTube, Facebook and blog
Text: Blog, then pull it into other platforms
The latest gossip: Hey, you’re on Twitter.
Instagram, Pinterest—other social platforms all have a typical type of content, too, but with a twist. Study each platform for what it requires.
Everyone Needs a Brochure and a Mailing List
Finally, everyone needs two things. Brochure Website: This is a website that rarely changes and acts merely as a brochure for you and your work. It mentions your work as a writer and something about your passions.
Email Newsletters: Everyone needs to be collecting email addresses of people interested in your work and your passion. Use an easy program such as MailChimp.com or AWeber.com and set up a sign-up form. The list may grow slowly, that’s fine. The point is that it will grow.
Examples of Online Platforms
Puppeteer. For example, I recently talked with a puppeteer who loves working with kids and getting them excited about plays, voices for puppets, making puppets, creating sets, performing with puppets. What she can consistently produce is videos of puppet performances. She doesn’t want to do long how-to blog posts, so a blog doesn’t make sense. Facebook doesn’t make sense, either, because she doesn’t post multiple times a week which is needed to build an audience on FB. Instead, she can only post once a month. Our puppeteer needs a YouTube channel, where she posts monthly (important to be consistent, even if it’s just monthly) videos of performances. From her Brochure Website, she needs an email newsletter signup, so she can send out monthly info on how that video was produced, where it was produced, who was in it, etc. Or at least a
As an aspiring author I don't claim to know everything but I do know that there's so much more to being a writer then just writing a book. Like many new authors, I started out sending a manuscript after a few drafts to every publisher I could find listed in the yellow pages and on the Internet. Little did I know what I was up against with my competitors (other aspiring authors) and their weapons of mass destruction (aka-knowledge).
I've constructed this list of publishing/writing terms (weapons) that will hopefully help you put your best foot (or book) forward, sorry I couldn't help myself. All the best with your writing goals and never ever give up!
Query Letter: Is a one page email or letter to an editor/publisher asking if you may send your book proposal. The query letter has to showcase your writing skills so keep it professional. You don't need a query letter if the publishers website states that they are currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts.
Pitch: A successful pitch sets up your book and the need for it in the marketplace. Try the elevator test and see if you can sum up your book in the time it takes for an elevator to go from your floor to the lobby. You could also set up a timer and give yourself 5 minutes to explain your book.
3 Comments on Publishing Terms, last added: 9/23/2011
Are you an author who wants to build your online following?
Or perhaps you're still working on your book and want to build a platform to attract an agent or publisher?
If so, you're in luck! We invited social media expert Leili McKinley to answer a few questions about social media marketing for authors. She also shares a special deal with WOW readers at the end of this interview that you'll want to check out. Enjoy!
Leili McKinley is an award winning entrepreneur, social media coach and branding architect for authors and writers. Utilizing her expertise in social media, branding, search engine optimization (SEO), and e-commerce, Leili empowers her clients to sell more books, get more speaking engagements, build platforms and increase their overall profitability. She is the branding expert for Bob Proctor and social media marketing expert for bestselling authors like 6 time award winning Auriela McCarthy. In her 15 year career she has been engaged by top companies Saks Fifth Avenue, Starwood Hotels and has a host of international clients.
WOW: Welcome to The Muffin, Leili! We're thrilled to be chatting with you today about social media for authors. Let's start at the beginning. How did you get started in social media training?
Leili: I have been involved in Internet marketing since 1997, when I built a website for my first company. To my great surprise, people ordered stuff off my site! I mean it looked like a child did it because it was my first try at selling anything online. But, after orders started coming in overnight, I realized I could make money in my sleep. I was totally hooked!
So I devoted myself to learn everything I could about Internet marketing. It was intrinsic to my success as an entrepreneur. After I built and sold two companies, I retired to Maui. Then I started focusing on teaching social media. I knew it was going to be a fundamental shift in the way we did things online and I wanted to help people get it right. So about two years ago I started to teach it to my favorite people--authors!
WOW: Wow...I love Maui! That's where my hubby and I went on our honeymoon, and I always thought it would be fantastic to retire there. So why is it important for authors to engage in social networking?
Leili: One of the things that I'm seeing in this hyper-competitive book market is that publishers are turning down (or hesitating on) books they would have jumped on in the past because, even if the author has something of a reach already, it's just not enough of a platform. By platform, I mean how many people they reach on the Internet and through traditional means like traditional media and speaking.
The value of a platform becomes the leverage it gives you to create new business for yourself. You know that you hav
3 Comments on Social Media for Authors: An Interview with Leili McKinley, last added: 12/16/2010
@Trisha - yes please come take a look at the videos. If you want to skip directly to the ones about Facebook or Twitter you can! Jump around to what works for you ;-)
Short, sweet with an amazing hook…and I’m not talking about a curve-ball.
To create a platform that stands out from the rest and *conquer all obstacles* you must learn how to ‘pitch’.
At first, creating a pitch will be awkward. Writing a page, condensing it to a paragraph, then finally to a sentence all takes cognitive thinking. Yet, you can feed off this process and soon turn it into a cheering victory! Attitude is the answer. Creating a pitch is NOT drooling work, it is a challenge—a win with even more opportunities—your reward worth the effort!
As a writer, we’ve heard the term ‘elevator pitch’ as a short yet remarkable synopsis of our book in the time it would take to meet someone in an elevator on the main floor and manage to hook the audience before we reached the top.
As a marketer, we need to stand out from the rest and prove we are the best as the competition is fierce.
As a blogger, we need to create valuable content in a short article that will leave the reader in awe and have them coming back for more.
Creating a pitch is difficult. Perhaps even more work than writing the article or even an entire book. A lot is on the line. Your audience, followers, fans and even the door to open for your next opportunity may be at stake.
Developing or presenting a pitch may come as written content or in the form of verbal conversation. Some may be planned, but many will be unexpected ‘moments’ when chatting with a stranger, an acquaintance, or even a dear friend.
Prepare Your Pitch
Be Ready – Always be aware of these prime-time opportunities. Blend your pitch into conversation when the subject becomes available. As a teacher, we call these unexpected opportunities as ‘teachable moments’.
Have Your Pitch Polished and Rehearsed – Often your pitch will not be planned and yet has to be polished and rehearsed. Observe your viewer. How’s the eye contact? Are you keeping them interested?
Know When You’ve Said Enough – Again, through observation, you must read their body language. Usually, you’ll have less than a minute. Be ready to add your own ‘stories’ or examples to hold their interest.
But, fear no more…simply:
1.) Begin with Action – Leave the ‘fluff’ or back story out.
2.) Revise – Cut, cut, and cut some more. Take the time to rehearse verbally.
3.) Think – Astonishing words that attract, hook and even shock the reader.
Now here’s the good news…
Creating A Perfect Pitch Becomes Easier With Practice. Overtime and with more experience, your pitch will become automatic. No work at all! You’ll receive unbelievable rewards as the new opportunities begin to take over.
No matter if you’re an author, blogger, or marketer your record for strike-outs will remain intact. To throw a perfect game and *conquer all obstacles* is to perfect your pitch.
I know no one likes to hear this--especially my clients of the writer and author persuasion--but without a business plan you are going NOWHERE.
It's vital to have a business plan because your book(s) and you are the products to be sold. It makes most writers queasy to even imagine selling themselves, but without a good plan, there's no way your book will sell itself either.
Since I'm talking to skittish writers (and we all are when it comes to this stuff), I've decided to take this nice and easy, no sudden movements or anything like that. Let's start with a simple comparison; if you want to write a book, what do you need? Don't say nothing but your imagination, because that's not so. You need a slamming idea and you need some talent. Some writers begin the process with paper and pen, so you'll need paper and pen, preferably one that works. If you're not a pen and paper kinda writer, you'll need a computer. We all know what comes next.
Some writers work organically and let the story tell itself, some like clean plot outlines and some prefer pretty, colorful mind maps, charts or graphs. Short of the "organic" method, you're on the road to understanding the book business plan process.
Any writer can write a book--good, bad or mediocre--but only a smart one knows she also needs to write a book business plan, because only a smart author knows that she is now in business.
I'm going to toss this out so duck if you're too afraid to catch but--it's never too early to start your book business plan. A book business plan covers all aspects of the product. At the moment you conceptualize a novel or non-fiction book, you already have a clear vision of the message, the audience and even the venues where it can be sold. This isn't wishful thinking, THIS is the beginning of your book business plan.
My strongest suggestion has always been to start at the end. Start with your goal. With the right strategy to reach it, you CAN be the next Dan Brown or Charlaine Harris.
Non-fiction writers have a better grasp of this than fiction writers for one reason...non-fiction writers are required to develop a book proposal before they even start writing the book. If fiction writers use a similar process, they are sure to have a better chance at sales success.
Creating the perfect book business plan is a personal journey through very practical and inventive processes. I'm thrilled to be teaching the Creating an Effective Book Business Planworkshop beginning September 19, 2010 for WOW! In four short weeks, attendees will learn and master the simple steps that make the difference between being a writer...and being a successful author!
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This online class is for both fiction and non-fiction writers. Sign up today to reserve your spot in Deborah's workshop and take the firs
0 Comments on Writers Write. Successful Authors Write a Book Business Plan! as of 9/12/2010 5:44:00 AM
The Muffin readers, you're in for a treat today. We have an interview with Sarah McGinnis, who is vice president of creative services at Frenzy Marketing. So, what is Frenzy Marketing, and what can they do to help you with your writing career? Read on to find out!
WOW: Welcome, Sarah, thanks for stopping by today. So, what is Frenzy Marketing? Tell us about your position there.
Sarah: Frenzy Marketing is a newly re-launched, full-service marketing company specializing in work for authors, artists, and other creative professionals. We are all working artists ourselves, so we know how difficult it is to navigate the world of promotion and how awkward it can be to market yourself to others — we've been there. But we've also worked on the other side of the business--at publishers, art galleries, and even in the film business. So we know what "they" are looking for and where they're looking and how crucial it is for writers and artists to carve out a presence for themselves in the world and on the web.
I'm the vice president of creative services, so I get all the fun of overseeing our design projects, event planning, and other creative work, while the other partners in the company, Anthony Pizzuto and Anthony Cox, handle the numbers and all the really geeky behind-the-scenes stuff. We also have a fantastically talented group of freelancers in NY and beyond that we will be working with as well.
WOW: I love how the three of you understand the marketing aspect from both sides of the issue. So many authors struggle with marketing! So, how can Frenzy Marketing help an author promote her book?
Sarah: When we say full-service, we mean it! We offer everything from print and web design to event planning, web promotions, and ongoing representation. So, we can create an entire website; design bookmarks, postcards, or other promotional materials; plan author signings—the sky's the limit! Our goal is to offer plans of work that are completely flexible and customized for each individual author—plans that make use of the skills and resources an author already has, and that are totally in sync with her goals and priorities. So for example, very tech-savvy authors might just want help with the event planning side or pitching the media, or they might come to us for web hosting. Another author might be a pro at print design, but need our help making her creative vision work on the web. And others may be starting from the very beginning with their first book or even before they're published, and not quite know where to start—we can jump in and be of help at absolutely any stage.
WOW: Sounds great. I love the idea of customized services. What if an author has a low-budget? Do you have any packages for authors starting out that don't have much money? Can you give us a rough estimate of what you charge per hour or per service?
Sarah: Yes, absolutely--we can work with just about any budget. To start, we're offering three introductory packages at a great value:
Web Package $450 Website Design 1 Year of Free Hosting & Domain Registration Service ($129.00 Value) Twitter Account Se
3 Comments on Need Some Marketing Help? Try Frenzy Marketing, last added: 7/2/2010
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Totally agree. I'm a writer not a blogger, and though I want to keep my blog running (for a while longer at least) I can't keep it at full strength AND write the books I want to write. I can't see myself doing it for ever.
Lucy - how I agree with you. All the tweeting and blogging and facebooking - it can be fun, but it can also eat hours, and sometimes all you have to show for it is a foggy head. When what brings me the greatest joy is crafting new words, or curling up with a good book. So I keep the networking in its corner, for fun (or there's no point!), and spend most of my time doing what I love best.
I try to write a daily blog past (yes, madness but I do it) and sometimes I do wonder what I am going to write about but I can usually write something in ten to fifteen minutes. If I do not do any other writing during the day I feel I have had some writing exercise.
I have no idea how many people actually read my blog or what they think of it - comments tend to be few and from a small group - but I do know it sometimes gets read in China and Russia so I suppose it is worth doing.
I might feel differently if I ever manage to get a book published - but I still feel I need to show potential publishers that I can persist with the effort of writing.
It's probably quite stupid of me and I often wish I did not feel it was necessary!
Kath and Jo: The thing is, I think a lot of authors have been trying to do it all because of pressure from publishers, or fear of being left behind. We know we have to be accessible to our readers and 'out there' now, but the current model is preventing us from doing our real jobs properly. It's as if we're trying to be the writer version of Shirley Conran - SuperAuthor! What I'm trying to do is find a way forward which works - and which I'm running instead of feeling it's running me.
Cat - actually, I do think blogging is a good writing exercise, and I agree with you about showing potential publishers that you already have a platform which works for you. It's not stupid at all, but I'm with you all the way on the days when you wish it wasn't necessary!
You're absolutely right, Lucy.
Runs off to start writing blog, as have just realised it is my turn next...
You are absolutely right, Lucy! I reckon the only platform one actually needs is a good book and the publicity people at your publishers are paid money to spread the word about it. If you enjoy the occasional tweet, that's fine but yes, it does eat up TONS of time and is probably more of a talk shop than a means of selling your book. Write the book, do your best to get the word out and move on to the next book. Blogging is altogether DIFFERENT! Good blogs are few and far between and work well when a lot of people contribute, like on ABBA and History Girls. I would deeply miss Seven Miles of Steel thistles, Kath but yes, it does eat up writing time. Keeping up a daily blog is very hard work indeed. I know because I'm married to someone who's posted almost daily for 9 years!! Works LONG Hours at it, too.
Sometimes there are very genuine silver linings to the apparent cloud of not being a published author!!
*waves* And your phrase that I'd been blogging advice only "until very recently" is spot on and for exactly the ame reasons as you. Mind you, *cough*, I just started a new blog! But that's going to be completely relaxing and to be done only when i feel like it.
I'm back to being a writer. But I, too, regret nothing. Blogging changed my career, for the better, accidentally. But now it's time for it to take a back seat so that my career can take a new direction.
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