Tag Archives: networking

Cross Promotion Is Your Friend by Deatri King-Bey

DeatriIt’s not complicated. Cross promotion is one of the best ways for word of your book to spread to new readers in your target audience. So why do so many authors have such a hard time doing it?

Many authors are stuck in the promote my book, promote my brand, promote everything me cycle. Stop the insanity.

Am I saying not to promote your own work? Heck no. You’d better promote it. Find a few groups that focus on your genre(s) and actually participate in them. If there isn’t a group, create your own but don’t make it all about YOU. Self-promotion is not the only way to go.

Why Cross Promote?

Word of mouth from a friend the reader knows and trusts is the best form of promotion there is to expand your reader base. So let’s say your loyal readers have a buzz going on about your book. GREAT! So what now? Do you plan to promote the title to those readers again, and again, and again… After they’ve seen your promo once or twice, they’ve already decided if they will be purchasing it. Sending additional promos can turn the reader off.

In steps cross promotion.

I have a following. They know about me, my books and my reading habits. These folks love to read, and not just my books. As a matter of fact, I don’t know of any reader who only reads one author’s work, but that’s a post for another day. Back to cross promotion. Just about every day, I promote some other author. I point people to a blog, book into, share good news, reviews… Every once in a while I hear from a reader thanking me for introducing them to [fill in the blank with an author whose work they hadn’t previously read].

Other authors have promoted my work, and I’ve benefited from it directly. I’ve also received emails from readers saying they learned of my books from author So and So.  Does it work as well as a recommendation from a friend the reader knows and trusts? No, but it’s a great addition.

Here are a few ways to cross promote. It is best to cross promote with authors/readers in your genre. You want to get the most bang for your buck.

  • On your blog, invite authors to be guests. This will bring readers to your site, where the readers will also notice your fantastic covers displayed, and your content will always be fresh. For example: http://deatrikingbey.com Or create a genre specific blog. For example: http://readinginblack.com
  • Set up a blog with several other authors in your genre. Invite bloggers, conduct reviews… anything to keep the content fresh. For example: http://romancenovelsincolor.com and
  • If you do a guest post, do not expect to receive a lot of comments. People rarely comment. I don’t know why, but that’s how it is. Think about it. Major blog sites receive MILLIONS of hits yet only a few thousand comments. Yes. My ego would love a thousand comments to show the world that people are engaged with whatever I’m posting, but I’d rather have the silent sales that come later from people who have read and shared the post. I just wish there were a way to track it.
  • When an author whose work you know and like has a new release, do a short Happy Release Day post that also includes a buy link. You’ll find authors will do the same for you.
  • Create an in person event with authors from your genre.
  • Set up a sale (online or in person) with authors from your genre. Be sure to promote the titles of the sale, not just yours. Remember, the people you are promoting to probably already have your book.
  • Create an online group with several authors that is genre specific. Again, don’t make it all about you.
  • Create a scavenger hunt using other authors’ web pages. Here’s an example: Scavenger Hunt: The Blind Date by Delaney Diamond
  • Set up a Twitter party where you and other authors Tweet a post
  • You get the picture. Here are a few helpful hints when cross promoting
  • When you are a guest on a blog, be sure to promote that blog. For example, I did a virtual tour with my last book. The people I promote to already know about my book, so for each stop of the tour, I told them to go and see what the author whose blog I was on had to offer.
  • Just as readers don’t want to see you continually blast promos about your book in the groups, they don’t want you to do this with another author’s book.
  • Target all of your promotions to large groups of people who read the genre of book you are promoting.
  • When participating in multi-author events, be sure to mention the other authors. You’re readers hear from you every day. Just as you are guiding readers to the event for other authors, those other authors should be doing the same towards you.

Cross promotion benefits all parties involved. A year or so ago, I created a Cross Promotion group on Facebook. This is a non-promo group where you can leave your information and find other authors who write in your genre to cross promote with: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CrossPromotion/

Now get out there and cross promote!

Deatri King-Bey

If you found this post helpful, please use the SHARE buttons to help your fellow authors.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

The Twitterverse Made Easy by Chicki Brown

Chicki BrownDeatri asked me to share about maximizing Twitter. I’ve heard a lot of authors admit that they don’t use Twitter or, even if they have ventured into the Twitterverse, they don’t tweet on a regular basis. Big mistake, in my opinion.

I know. You’re already overwhelmed with social networking and you don’t even want to think about adding another chore to your to-do list. But if you need to eliminate or avoid something, it shouldn’t be Twitter. Why do I say this? Because the literary community on Twitter is different from every other social network. The authors and readers are supportive and committed. In the year or so that I’ve been active on Twitter, I’ve discovered several things that make the difference when marketing your books.

The secret of Twitter is reciprocation.  If you follow other authors, bloggers, reviewers and readers and RT (retweet) for them, they will do the same for you. This means that your tweets will go to all of their followers.

The next most important thing about Twitter is the use of hashtags, those words preceded by a # sign. When you send a tweet without hashtags, it only goes to your followers. When you add tags, they serve to attach your tweet to a specific following – people with an interest in a certain category like #romance, #mystery, #newrelease, etc., and these tags are followed by multiple thousands of people. Here’s my personal list of popular tags for authors and books. I’ve separated them by category. It’s best to mix and match the tags that apply to your book and not use more than three. Remember, the tags will take up some of your 140 characters unless you’re using a Twitter management tool like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite, which I’ll explain in a minute.

TWEETS OF INTEREST TO AUTHORS/WRITERS A Woman's Worth(interviews/craft/) –

#authorRT #Tweets4Authors @Writerlytweets @WritersRT @WritersRetweets

TO PROMOTE A BOOK –

#BYNR @promoteyourboo1 @free_book_promo @BookTweetTeam  @digitalbookend

TO PROMOTE AN INDIE BOOK –

@indtwt  @IHB6  @IndBk  @VoiceOfIndie @IndieBookTweet @IndieAuthorNews  @indiebookpromos  @IndieWriterSupp

FOR BOOK PROMOTION (GENERAL) –

@BooksandAuthor @A_Book_Shelf  @Writers_Cafe @Readers_Realm @AvidReadersCafe @GoodBooksBlog1 #lovetoread #bookworm #bookspotlight #WritersKaboodle

TO PROMOTE A ROMANCE –

@romanticpicks @ROMANCEONLY @ReadingRomance @RomanceinColor  @storiesoromance @allromance @JUSTConRom  @RmTwts

TO PROMOTE A NOOK BOOK –

@bnbuzz @nookbn @nookboards

TO PROMOTE A KINDLE BOOK –

@Kindle_India  @kindle_ch  @GoodKindles @kindle_promo @KindlePromotion @IndieKindle  @MadKindlePromos  @AmazonBookPromo

TO TWEET ABOUT SOMETHING OF INTEREST TO INDIE AUTHORS (not book promo) –

@IndieAuthorLand @IndAuthorSucess @IndieExchange @IndieAuthorAnon @IndieWriteNet @indiepubnews @IndiesUnite

TO PROMOTE A CHRISTIAN/INSPIRATIONAL BOOK –

@CEBTAuthors  @Christian_Reads

The other secrets of Twitter are the way you format your tweets and the frequency at which you post a tweet and the time of day. Formatting is simple. You want to get your point across using the least amount of characters possible. Always put your book title in all CAPS so it doesn’t get lost among the other characters. Abbreviate whenever possible, but never abbreviate words in the book’s title. You want people to be able to look up the book online without a problem. It’s not necessary to shorten the buy link to your book, because Tweetdeck or Hootsuite will automatically do it for you. Here’s an example of three tweets I might post in a day for my new release:

Love is the greatest healer. A WOMAN’S WORTH http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EUH6M3S @JUSTConRom @RmTwts @digitalbookend #BYNR @indtwt @IHB6

Marc is helping Gianne to heal her body. Why won’t she let him heal her soul? A WOMAN’S WORTH http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EUH6M3S @IndBk @MadKindlePromos

Why would Gianne Marvray move to Vegas 2 B with a man she barely knows? A WOMAN’S WORTH http://bit.ly/1dTlshd @bnbuzz @nookbn @nookboards

As far as frequency and time, it’s most effective to tweet three times a day. The optimum times are: mornings between 8 and 9 AM (after people get to work and get settled in front of their computers. LOL!) Midday between 12 Noon and 2 PM and evening between 5 and 8 PM).

That might sound like a lot, but there are ways you can type all of your tweets at once and schedule them to run hours, days, weeks or even months in advance. This is done by using one of the Twitter management tools like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite. They are both free to download, and they will make tweeting a whole lot easier. I never use Twitter.com anymore. It doesn’t do everything you need it to do.

My last suggestion to maximize your Twitter reach, if you have a blog, is to join Triberr.com and sign up to be part of one or more tribes. Triberr was created solely as a way to increase your reach on social networks. The main tribe I belong to has a reach of 151,000 (the combined Twitter following of all the tribemates.) Every time you post a new entry, the link goes directly to Triberr and all of your tribemates will retweet it for you. Retweeting on Triberr requires no typing. You merely click. It takes twenty minutes tops.

I hope this wasn’t too confusing. I encourage you to take use of Twitter to promote your books. It’s fantastic!

Chicki Brown

Dee here: I hope you SHARE THIS ARTICLE with all of your author friends. I know I’m not the only one with Twitter issues and Chicki has made it so easy for us. Don’t be stingy, SHARE SHARE SHARE.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Connect Your WordPress Blog To Your Facebook Fan Page by Stephanie Norris

EXIF_JPEG_T422Trying to figure out how to have your blog connected to your Facebook fan page can be frustrating and time consuming.  When I tried, it was almost an epic failure. I took to the Google search engine and typed; How to connect your wordpress blog to your Facebook Fan  page. Post after post after post told me how to connect my blog to my Facebook profile, but not the fan page. Other links I found gave me instructions but they were old, from 2010 to 2012. Now we all know Facebook does updates it seems like every month! So of course those instructions were not so helpful anymore. It took me a full day playing around with it to figure it out so I pass this knowledge on to you.

Dee here: The images that accompany this post did not show up well in blog format, so I created a PDF of the entire post: WordPress to Facebook.

Stephanie Nicole Norris is an author, website designer, and blogger of all things romance, drama, and suspense. She loves to support other authors and every week she highlights a different author on her WordPress blog. Stephanie currently has two books in print and ebook. For more information or to inquire about a spotlight feature on her blog email her at stephanie@stephanienorris.net.

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Reasons Why it Might Not be Your Fault Your Blog Tour Sucked by Stacy-Deanne

Stacy-DeanneI’m sure you all remember the post I did before I embarked on my blog tour called, “Why it Might be Your Fault Your Blog Tour Sucked”. That was in July and I mentioned that my first blog tour was about to begin and I was so excited. Well, here it is October and I have a few stops this month and then I’m through. And you know what…I’m glad!

I gave a lot of helpful advice last time and I utilized that advice for my own tour. I figured that revisiting this topic after my tour would help others even more. It’s not important to just give advice when talking about promotional things unless you follow-up and report findings, results, etc.

So let’s get started with what I learned and my thoughts about blog tours now.

Blog Tours are Exhausting:

You would not believe how much energy a blog tour takes out of you. You think since it consists of you sitting at your computer and typing posts, that it would be smooth as silk right? I am so tired. I cannot tell you how tired this blog tour has made me.  Putting it together, gathering the material for the blogs, and popping in and out during the visits, becomes extremely tiring. I know you’re probably saying, “Oh poor baby.” But I’m not whining just to whine. Believe me, handling a large blog tour by yourself (along with other things you have to do outside of the tour) is not an easy task. Don’t forget, my blog tour began in August and ends in October and I visited about two or more blogs each week and I realized quickly how draining a blog tour can be. I was well prepared and turned in my posts weeks ahead of time and still felt bogged down during the tour. So for those who think a blog tour is easy…not so much.

They are Boring:

I know this might sound weird, but after a while I got bored with the tour. I can’t explain it but the more visits I did, the less interested I was in the tour. This has nothing to do with the blogs I visited, they were great. I appreciate every host I had and they pulled out the welcome mat for me when I arrived. But after the first four or five stops, I’d grown tired. It went from something I looked forward to, to something I dreaded doing. It’s good that I had my posts done ahead of time. It would’ve been awkward to get bored in the middle of a tour and still have to submit material. Good luck being creative when bored!

People Don’t Participate:

Sigh. I’m glad to say that I’m not the only author seeing this. Authors are mentioning how less and less people comment on blogs or even peek into the content. I knew that with blogs it can be a hit and miss sometimes, but I was not prepared for the complete silence I got from some of my stops. I did all I could to provide interesting topics and giveaway questions that would get visitors involved and still on most of the stops, nothing. I might as well have thrown up the same exact post for every stop. I can’t tell you how many of my hosts apologized to me for the lack of participation. In my other post I mentioned the importance of offering a giveaway to participants. Well from what I see that doesn’t matter. I offered free copies of my book and still only a few takers. I also participated at every stop and promoted the tour. Still some places garnered crickets. On the flipside there were a few blogs I visited that had excellent traffic and I picked up some new fans from those. I believe the lack of participation is what got me bored with the tour.  When you show up somewhere and feel like you’re talking only to yourself, how can you be excited? But hey I guess it’s better than doing a book signing in a store and no one shows up. Oh…been there and done that too. Sigh.

My Opinion of Blog Tours Now:

I still think they are a good promotional option if you find them worth the effort. That’s the question. Is the effort worth it to you? I have no idea if I will see any real investment from this down the line, but I did garner some new readers and newsletter subscribers. More people know of me than before so that’s always a good thing. I got some exposure from it even if it didn’t go like I’d hoped. Honestly I can’t say if I’ll ever do a blog tour again. I was very unimpressed. It was a lot of work for a small reward. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate any new reader I’ve picked up, but the time and effort I put into this tour was too exhausting for me to do it again without a better turnout. It would be a waste of my time to do another tour for it to turn out like this one. I’ll still continue to do guest spots on blogs, but I don’t even wanna hear the term “blog tour” any time soon! I can see now why some authors pay tour organizers. It’s a lot of work to organize your own tour. But, I don’t know if either way is worth it for me. I welcome others to try it though.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news on this. My last post got so many authors excited about trying blog tours, so I hate to stomp on that excitement. I don’t mean to do that. Once again, I’m just sharing my own thoughts and experiences. I suggest authors try blog tours for themselves if they are really interested. They might have a better experience than I did. But honestly, from what I see, blogs are just not the ticket anymore. People barely participate on most of them and the most popular blogs are very difficult to get on. If you can score a popular blog, go for it. But blog tour or not, I don’t think blogs have the power with readers (unless you’re writing YA or NA) they once did. Seems like it’s getting harder and harder to find effective promo options these days so I recommend just writing books as your main source of promotion. That’s what I do. I advise writers to buckle down and get new work released regularly. You’ll get way more from that than a blog tour.  Also group promo with other authors is always a good thing. Cross promotion can do wonders. I now run two blogs where I feature books and interview authors, and I gain promotional opportunities as well as new contacts.

Check out my new blogs. One highlights romantic serials and series and the other highlights romantic suspense.

http://romanticserials.wordpress.com/

http://romspense.wordpress.com/

I’ll give my blog tour a 5/10 score. If it wasn’t so exhausting then I might rate the experience higher but it was just too much work put into it for the outcome I received.

Well that’s my update!

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

How Are You Asking? by W. Terry Whalin

W. Terry WhalinA great deal of publishing involves the process of asking. For example, if you want to write a magazine article, then you learn how to write a one-page pitch letter called a query and send it to an editor. Essentially you are asking that editor to publish your article.

It’s the same with books. You have a book proposal or a book manuscript and you ask the editor or agent to consider publishing your material. It’s critical for each process that you ask in the right way to receive a positive response. I’ve invested a great deal in this teaching process creating courses and free teleseminars and articles.As I consider this concept of asking, it is a biblical idea. James 4:2 says in the NIV, “You do not have because you do not ask God.” One of the keys is asking with the right strategy and in the right way.

Many times I speak with writers who are struggling financially. There has always been a “starving artist” type of mentality with writers. In recent years, some new tools are available (without cost) to help you raise the funds that you need to accomplish your dreams. Some people call it “crowd funding” and other times it is called “joyful giving.” It’s a way your connections (friends and family) can financially support your publishing vision.

One of the most successful programs online is calledKickstarter. I read a new book from Aimee Cebulski calledKICKSTARTER FOR DUMMIES. Whenever I want to learn a new skill, I’ve found it is important to learn from people who have detailed experience in this area. Aimee Cebulski is one of these people. She not only writes about Kickstarter but has used it successfully to fund her book, THE FINDING 40 PROJECT.

In the introduction for KICKSTARTER FOR DUMMIES, Cebulski writes “Kickstarter has quickly become a mainstream way to get a creative project made.” Most people have no idea how to raise funds for their creative project, Kickstarter gives anyone the ability to raise funds—but it does take strategic planning and thinking to pull off successfully. This book will help you understand the details and creative possibilities.

The Kickstarter model is working. Page 6 says, “As of March 2013, individuals using Kickstarter have:

• Launched 89,400 projects
• Funded 37,300 projects – a success rate of 43%
• Raised $434 million”

“Kickstarter uses an all-or-nothing approach to fundraising. This means, if you don’t hit your fundraising goal within a certain timeframe (about 30 to 60 days), you get nothing. As a result, you need to be very strategic in your planning, your goal-setting, and backer solicitation, all of which I cover in depth in this book.” (Page 7)

The illustrations, step-by-step instructions and depth of this book make it a “must-have” for anyone who is going to use Kickstarter effectively. I recommend you get this book, study it carefully then launch your own creative endeavor. Aimee Cebulski has shown readers the path for their own success and opportunity with KICKSTARTER FOR DUMMIES.

Open your mind to new ideas and approaches. For some of you, Kickstarter will be a path you should explore to get the funds you need to publish your book or to market your book. The opportunity is certainly there for you. Will you seize it and ask others?

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Notes from Baltimore Comic Con 2013 by Cerece Rennie Murphy

Oder of SeersThe two second version: Definitely worth a try.

The Set-Up – The conference was 2 days this year, which was perfect.  Next year, I hear they are planning to go to 3.)

–        The fee was $200 for a table (not a booth) in the Artist Alley section.  This comes with a 6’ table covered in a white table cloth with 2 plastic folding chairs.  I got 2 badges with my booth with the option to buy an additional 2 badges for $10 each.

–        The distinction between the table and the booth is significant because most of my presentation materials are designed for a booth (banners, poster boards with easels) and you can’t attach anything to the walls behind you.  I improvised, but it was really tight and not ideal.  This is a good space for one of those retractable banner stands.  I got a good recommendation for a place that makes them if anyone is interested.

–        I had one person with me at my table for both days.

The Results – I sold over 100 books in 2 days.  That’s more than I sold in 4 days at Wizard Con in Philly.

–        Being able to “package” more than one book made a big difference.  On Saturday, which was the busiest day, I pitched the books as “$10 each” and sold out of almost 2 full cases of the first book in addition to selling more than half a case of the 2nd book.  On Sunday, which was significantly less crowded, my sister took over and pitched the books as 2 for $20.  The difference in perceived value was dramatic.  Not only did I sell more books on Sunday, despite the drop in traffic, I sold more sets.  This difference may be obvious to veterans of this game, but I was shocked to see the impact of this small change in marketing.

–        The new Order of the Seers poster went over REALLY well.   So did the reusable bags.  Both were free with purchase.  I gave folks a choice between the 2 and many people chose the poster despite the utility of the bag. (Thanks Stanley Weaver!)

–        $10 a book continues to be a good price point for me.

–        Got over 50 new names for my mailing list. Yay permission marketing!

–        I got to pitch several RIB author books while I was chatting folks up and signing copies.  I had many of the RIB books I’ve read on hand and whenever I got the inevitable “You’re like the only black/ black female/female author of sci-fi I have ever heard of besides Octavia Butler,” I whipped out my book collection and started talking.  It was quick and it was fun to talk about you guys! The lesson here is that physical copies of the book (or some representation of the book e.g. postcards, flyers, etc.) really help in introducing other authors.  It also really helped that I had read the books so that I could talk about them as a reader, not just someone who has “heard of these people”.  I also need to make a list of authors that I’ve read so that I can just hand it out.  People were so excited to hear about you guys that I often just ended up ripping off a piece of paper from my sign-in book and writing your names/books down.  There was significant interest in authors of color in the areas of horror, fantasy, general sci-fi and mystery.

–        I was, once again, the only black female selling a novel she had written in any genre.  Ella, please correct me if I am wrong here, but I didn’t see anyone.

Bottom-line: I will be there next year.  The low table cost made it very easy to make a profit. I also live very close to Baltimore, so that helped tremendously. Next up NY Comic Con 2013 (October 10th – 13th).

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Build Publishing Habits by Terry Whalin

W. Terry WhalinIf you are writing a novel or a nonfiction book or ??? What are you doing each day to succeed with this writing project?

Yes, it is important to craft an excellent work with terrific storytelling and craft. We learn these skills through our own reading and continual practice. Writing should be a habit which you continually cultivate and practice on a regular basis.

Yet what about other areas of publishing where you need to develop habits?

Recently I heard from an unpublished author who was getting rejected or no response from literary agents. She was sending out a children’s book and couldn’t understand why she could not succeed. I wrote this author that she needed to do more to understand the marketplace. Only a few literary agents that I know represent children’s books for several reasons. First, the advances are very low for children’s books.

Also it’s hard to get a children’s book published and much of the writing work is Work Made for Hire or something an agent wouldn’t be involved in. Finally agents are looking for writers who demonstrate that they have been published. You have to show this skill through writing for print magazines or other recognized forms. This unpublished author was floundering because she had not done the basics to understand the market. As a daily habit, she needed to be reading published authors and how-to books as well as connecting with someone to help her.

Reading in the field is another publishing habit that every author or would-be author should be developing. There are free newsletters and many ways to learn from others. Are you tapping into these resources?

Another publishing habit is to constantly build your connections to others. It doesn’t require tons of time but it does require consistent effort. For example, posting ontwitter and Facebook in your area of expertise is a publishing habit. You can use tools like Hootsuite so it does not have to consume much time but the consistency will pay off.

I spend the majority of my days working with authors as an acquisitions editor at Morgan James. My personal goal is to help as many authors as I can to achieve their dreams of getting published. As a result of these goals, I’m on the phone with authors or literary agents. Or I’m answering emails or interacting with my Morgan James colleagues about book projects. I have a series of habits that I execute each day related to my work at Morgan James.


What goals do you have for your publishing life? Have you written them down and are you looking at them on a regular basis? What habits do you need to develop in order to achieve these goals?

As you are consistent, it will pay off for you in the marketplace. I have a great deal of free information in my ebook, Platform-Building Ideas for Every Author. If you haven’t read this Ebook, I suggest you get it and study it, then apply the lessons to your writing life.

What new publishing habits are you developing?

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Book Festivals: A Good Dose of Reality by J’son M. Lee

J'son M. LeeBook festivals can be so inviting—readers, book groups and industry professionals. With this conglomerate in one place, it stands to reason that an author would naturally fare well at an event like this. After all, if you have the readers, they will inevitably purchase your book, right? WRONG! Some authors are strategic when it comes to vending at these events. As a business owner, my decision usually comes down to economics; if it doesn’t make sound financial sense, I don’t participate. That’s my business model. Don’t get me wrong, if there is enough interest, I’ll attend an event, but for research, networking or the sheer enjoyment of reading. On the flip side, there are authors who are a bit more relaxed in their approach. Some will even allow their egos to get the best of them. In their quest for fame, they will rob Peter to pay Paul just to have a table at an event. Some folk just need a good dose of reality!

I recently attended the Baltimore Urban Book Festival (BUBF) with my good friend and client, Michelle “Big Body” Cuttino. The Festival was held at the Douglass-Myers Maritime Park. This venue, with its breathtaking views, is steeped in African American history. Set against the backdrop of the marina, being there was a one-of-a-kind experience in itself. The Festival was advertised to begin at 12:00 p.m. and end at 6:00 p.m. Michelle and I arrived promptly at noon. As we walked through the front doors we noticed bags, literature, etc. Although there were people in the immediate vicinity, no one greeted us or asked if we needed help. We inquired as to the location of the author tables and were told to proceed to the third floor via the elevators in the rear of the reception area. A young lady then escorted us back and gave us a brief overview, if you will. Once we arrived onto the floor, we walked into the room where the authors were set up. The room was chilly, but not in the traditional sense of the word. We didn’t feel welcome in the space. The authors seemed preoccupied, for lack of a better word. We deduced we were too early and decided to give the authors more time. We took the elevator back down to the lobby as there was a panel scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. Well, the panel didn’t begin at 12:30. We overheard someone saying the author was late. So we waited…and waited. The author never showed.  Finally, it was time for Sadeqa Johnson’s (Love in a Carry-On Bag) panel discussion. Sadeqa was poised, professional, articulate and charismatic. That thirty-minute interview was the highlight of my day. After her panel discussion, we decided to return to the room with the authors. Certainly, they were ready for us by now! Again, we had the same experience as earlier. Only one woman greeted us and smiled. Everyone else seemed preoccupied with their team and/or table. Given the fact that the turnout was extremely low (I’d say there were twenty readers there at best at the time we were there), I would have thought the authors would have been excited to have guests walk in. Again, only one person stood and greeted us. Sadly, that’s all she did—she didn’t mention her work, engage us in conversation or anything like that. So we continued our walk of shame. Needless to say, we didn’t support any of the authors (which was our intent). Neither of us were there in the capacity of authors; we were there as readers. After a few minutes, we realized we’d had enough and walked out. As we were leaving, we ran into Sadeqa again. She humbly stopped and allowed us to take photographs with her and thanked us for our support. I told her I would download her book to my Kindle as soon as I got home (which I did). Beyond my experience with Sadeqa, the event was a disappointment.

This event had so much potential, but fell short on so many levels for me. Since Deatri King-Bey’s platform is Successful Authors, I’ll concentrate on my experience with the authors. Unless you have a line of people waiting to buy your books or get your autograph, you need to be personable, approachable and engaging. For God’s sake, SMILE people! I’ve been to signings where the author remained seated the entire time. I remember meeting Zane for the first time at a Barnes and Noble in Washington, DC. The line was wrapped around the store. Someone on her team was walking around with post it notes and a pen and asked us to print our name on the post it and adhere it to the book, presumably so she could refer to us by name and ensure she spelled our names correctly. Long lines of fans are not the reality for most of us, and it certainly wasn’t the reality for the authors who were vending at the BUBF event. If the majority of us would get over our egos, we’d realize that attracting readers takes great effort on our part. No one is just going to walk up to you and give you money simply because you have a book out. So how dare you treat me (or any reader) like an unwelcome guest! It takes hosts, authors and readers alike to make a festival successful. That said, get off your ass and make it happen! Otherwise, you’ll arrive with your books…AND leave with them. That ain’t hardly what I call success!

Disclaimer: My experience is not meant to disparage anyone. I merely want to use my experience to help other authors have a successful event.

J’son M. Lee
President and Owner

Sweet Georgia Press

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

How to Improve Your Twitter Followers by W. Terry Whalin

W. Terry WhalinWhile it’s great to have a lot of followers on twitter, how can you improve the quality of your followers?

As the twitter community grows, there are all sorts of fake profiles, profiles with no photo (which in general shows that the person doesn’t care about their twitter account), and twitter accounts which are not in English (I don’t like all of the non-English material in my twitter feed).

In the last few days, I went over 64,000 followers. In this post, I’m going to show you a free tool that I’m using to improve my twitter followers. For the last several weeks, I’ve been using a FREE tool called Manage Flitter. There is a paid portion of this tool but I’m only using the free version.

When I log on to this tool, it takes several minutes for it to load all of my follower and check them out. Then in a matter of seconds, it shows me some key aspects:

*People who aren’t following me but I’m following

*People who don’t have a photo in their profile (indicates they don’t use twitter much in the majority of cases)

*Fake or Spam twitter accounts

*Non-English Twitter accounts that I’m following

The program is easy to use and in a matter of a few minutes I can select these different groups and unfollow them quickly.

If you use Manage Flitter on a regular basis, you will improve the quality of your twitter followers. I hope it will become a good resource for you.

Tell me about your experience with Manage Flitter or other twitter tools. I’m always looking for ways to improve my Twitter account without spending loads of time on it.

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, lives in Irvine, California. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com.

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

 

Wanted: A Good Book by Kisha Green

Kisha GreenBefore I decided to become a published author, I was an avid reader and I have attended several literary events. Being on both sides of the table I have experienced as well as witnessed some errors that placed both the readers and authors in the wrong.

Authors have the perfect table set up that has candy, pens, bookmarks and of course…books. This is the perfect arrangement used to approach the table.

The reader picks up a book and instantly turns the book to the back to read the synopsis. Upon completion they will begin to flip through the pages of the book. The author is usually standing there patiently waiting for the reader to ask some questions about the novel including the favorite question “How much is your book?”

Many times I hear book club members ask authors questions and while they are getting the answer, the reader is  often preoccupied with something else. After a few moments of an awkward silence the reader usually smiles and walks away.

Both are feeling some kind of way. How can this be resolved? Authors need to open their mouths to effectively communicate because being shy will not get you anywhere, because the book is not going to sell itself. The readers should ask questions while practicing simple courtesies. Please and thank you go a long way.

Authors have two roles at these events; they are a salesman and a author, if both are done correctly the end result is a book being sold.

There is nothing more annoying than asking a author about their book and they can’t seem to find the words to describe it or they compare their writing to a famous writer. Neither will result in a book sale.

Readers also attend these events but often come with a closed mind meaning they are not interested in the new author because they are a dedicated fan to another. The whole purpose of attending these literary events is to expose readers to new authors and vice versa.

Bottom line is as an author I need readers but also as a reader, I need good books. One hand washes the other.

Happy Reading & Book Sales!!!!!

Kisha Green is a author  who has a passion for writing and sharing her witty personality with many through social media. For more info about Kisha, visit her website www.divabooksinconline.com and you can also follow her on Twitter @KishaGreen

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Setting Up Virtual Tours by Deatri King-Bey

DeatriOutside of writing a downright excellent book, two keys to expanding your loyal reader base are mingling with your current readers and being introduced to potential new readers. Back in the day, authors would go on tours to bookstores, conferences, reader events… to accomplish both of these tasks. Thanks to the electronic age, authors have additional options to accomplish this goal. One of my favorite ways is the virtual tour.

In essence, virtual tours work the same way as traditional tours, except your stops are online. You may visit blogs, participate in chats and online conferences, organize a sale with other authors… Anything to expose you to readers via the web.

So you want to do a virtual tour. The first thing you need to decide is if you will pay a service to organize the tour and/or organize it yourself. Whether you hire a service and/or organize the tour yourself, you’ll still have to write the blog posts, participate in the chats and such.

Paid Virtual Tour Appearances

Personally, I’m against paying a service to organize virtual tours, but what works for me may not work for you. Find what works for you and go for it. Here are a few advantages of paying a service to organize your virtual tour:

  • Many authors are shy and/or don’t know who or how to ask to make an appearance on someone’s site (a stop on the tour). The service does this for you.
  • The service sets up the appearance dates (stops).
  • Often times stops also include a review
  • The stops are varied. For example a reader who likes to blog about books is different than an author who has guest authors visit, is different than a website that caters to readers….

Again, just because paying for a virtual tour is not my cup of tea, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t indulge. If you are interested in paid virtual tour appearances:

  • Be sure to look at the virtual tour company’s clients. Do they write your genre? Will this company have the connections to get your book in front of readers in your genre?
    • Don’t pay companies to expose you to ANY reader. You want to be exposed to readers who actually enjoy your genre. For example, if you write horror, ensure the service is setting you up to visit virtual locations that specialize in horror. Not romance. Not historicals. You want to get the most bang for your buck, so you need to be where the most people who read your genre will be.
    • Many companies will not tell you the places they will be booking you until after you’ve paid (Understandable. They don’t want you to organize the tour on your own).  No problem. Ask the company exactly how many of the stops they are planning for you focus mainly on your genre. If it isn’t at least 70% of the stops, then I say skip this company. Don’t get me wrong. There are sites out there that attract a wide array of different types of readers. Those are great places for the other 30% of the tour.
  • Be sure to look at the virtual tour company’s current clients’ sells. Hop on over to Amazon and see how are they doing. Are they getting their monies worth?
  • Be sure to look at the current clients’ appearance schedules. Do these locations specialize in your genre?
  • Some virtual tour companies own numerous blogs/social media type locations for virtual tour stops. There is no problem with this, but be sure to ask the service how many of the stops they are planning for you are in locations they maintain. This number should be low.
    • One of the great things about virtual tours is the exposure to new readers you get from the host announcing your appearance. So if you are appearing on platforms maintained by the virtual tour company, then they are announcing the appearances to the same audience.

Setting Up Your Own Virtual Tour

The first time you set up a virtual tour for your genre, it’s a pain in the butt. The good thing is, once you get your research, you can adjust and reuse it for future tours.

  1. If you don’t have a blog, why not. Get one started and host virtual tours. I know it’s all about you, but by having authors from your genre visit your blog, they are bringing new readers to visit you just as you are introducing your readers to them. Cross promotion is your friend. Check out Bling: Can You Pimp My Website for starts. Creating a blog is optional, but I highly suggest it.
  2. Here comes the hard part. Research blogs, websites, online conferences, chat opportunities in your genre. I’m addicted to reading and regularly visit numerous blogs and websites to see what’s new and meet new authors (new to me). In my ventures, I take note of the main genre(s) hosted on the sites. Another way to locate sites in your genre is to do a Google search. You can list authors in your genre and find their websites. If they host guest appearances, take note. You can go to Amazon and search for authors in your genre, then look at their web pages to see if they have guest appearances. Some websites contain a list of links to other websites. Start clicking and find those sites. The more contacts you have, the better.
  3. A month or two (two is better) before you are ready to start your tour, contact the people on your list and ask to do a guest posts or be interviewed. Nothing complicated. I use:

Email Subject: Virtual Tour Stop Request

Hello All,

My upcoming GENRE OF BOOK, TITLE OF BOOK, is due for release GIVE A GENERAL TIME IE: LAST WEEK OF JULY, thus I’m requesting the opportunity to write a guest post or be interviewed on your website in the coming months. If you are interested in hosting a stop on my virtual tour, please let me know what you’d need from me and the date.

My website is located at YOUR WEB URL and, as always, I welcome you to visit my page in the future.

BOOK TITLE:

BOOK BLURB

BOOK SAMPLE Make it short and sweet.

Thank you for your time,

YOUR NAME

YOUR EMAIL

At least half of the people I contact usually reply that they’d love to have me. I guess the others ignore me.

  1.  While you are waiting on people to reply, go ahead and begin writing guest posts. Remember, you want to attract readers, so write something interesting to them, not how to query an agent. Your posts should relate to your book and also include the back cover blurb, purchase links, links to your website, and a thank you to the host. I like to include a short sample of the book.
  2. As you begin receiving replies, some will give you a date they want you to appear. Others will allow you to select your date. I like Thursdays because it’s the day before payday for many and people aren’t as distracted by the weekend yet so you get more views.
  3. Send in your blog posts and interviews. Set up your chat dates. Send out your edited book for reviews…
  4. Once your tour begins, be sure to promote each site you appear on the day you appear on it. Visit the site a few times during the day and reply to readers’ comments. Don’t be discouraged by the low comment number. When I have guest appear on my fiction blog, the entries average a few hundred hits, yet people rarely comment. When I look at my stats, I can see people are clicking the purchase links and links to the authors’ pages, so that’s the important thing.

Virtual tours are a lot of work whether you pay a service to set up your dates or you do it yourself, but they are excellent ways to stay in touch with your readers and meet new ones in your genre.

Be sure to check out Why It Might Be Your Fault That Your Blog Tour Sucked by Stacy-Deanne.

Deatri King-Bey

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Goodreads: Get Your Piece of the Pie! by J’son M. Lee

J'son M. LeeI am convinced that Amazon will eventually rule the literary world.  In an effort to take this place, they have strategically acquired Goodreads, an online book-sharing site with 16 million members.   Yes, you read that right —16 million!  Not only does Goodreads afford Amazon a dominant social presence, it also affords authors an amazing platform—if they use it to its full potential.  Whether you’re a new or established author, you can use Goodreads to introduce yourself to a vast community of potential readers. By fostering that community, you strengthen the link between your work and the people who read it.

Now, here’s the interesting part.  Amazon, in its infinite wisdom, has broken the site up—readers versus writers.  Readers can organize their collection of books, find book recommendations and even join in on discussions about their favorite authors and novels.  Authors have their own special place, too, and need to take advantage of this paradigm.  The Goodreads Author Program is FREE (did I mention there are 16 million members?), and has a host of features designed to help you reach your target audience.  Here are a few:

  • Add a picture and bio
  • Write a blog
  • Publicize upcoming book signings, workshops or speaking engagements
  • Share book excerpts, quotes and other writing
  • Write a quiz about your book
  • Post videos

It is important to note that the Author Program isn’t automatic when you sign up for Goodreads.  That’s where I made my mistake.  I had no idea there was an Author Program until I was featured on the Literary Conservation.  The administrator sent me an inbox which read, “Dude, I’m going to put your Goodreads profile up with the links, but man, get on there actively!  That’s a free resource even the Big Names can’t afford to ignore.”  Doc Shamrock was right!   As a self-published author, I couldn’t afford to ignore this resource.  I put off updating my page because it seemed daunting.  I won’t sugarcoat it.  Even after I dug in, it was a bit confusing.  But I pushed my way through, and now my page is up and running.  I still have a lot of updates to make, but I’m no longer ashamed of my online presence.

Have no idea how to begin?  Start by signing up for a Goodreads account.  After that, send a request to join the Author Program. It may take a few days to process your request.  You will receive email confirmation (I received mine the same day) when they successfully upgrade your user account to an author account, thus merging your author page with your member page.  That’s the easy part.

Now comes the more challenging part.  The confirmation email will contain instructions for managing your author profile.  You’ll have access to a special Author Dashboard that contains useful links and statistics about your books.  Once I logged in, it took me a few hours to set up my page.  It may not take you that long.  I updated my profile, added a few trailers, loaded all of my books…there’s so much to do!  I had some trouble adding an updated version of my book, and reached out to the Goodreads Librarians Group.  They were extremely helpful with directly making changes to my book records or assisting me with making changes.

Whew!  I’m tired just writing about this, but do it!  It’s worth it.  Don’t miss out on your piece of the pie.  Can’t you taste your success?

J’son M. Lee
President and Owner
Sweet Georgia Press

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

It’s Not That You Shouldn’t Promote to Other Authors. It’s How You Should Promote to Other Authors by Stacy-Deanne

Stacy-DeanneNote: So no one is confused as to what I am saying, I am not saying you should promote ONLY to authors or nonsense like that. I’m saying that you should remember that authors are readers too and to completely cut someone out of your audience because they are an author is a mistake.

Read on.

This subject has always been debatable depending on who you ask. People have different opinions about it. But let me tell you why you would not wanna cut out authors as your audience. Do you realize that no one, NO ONE on earth reads more than writers? Writers read constantly. We have to, plus we enjoy it. Writers became writers because of their obsession with reading. Writers and authors are a huge part of the literary audience. To ignore them would be insane. Now I understand when folks say you shouldn’t promote only to authors. Yes, that’s true and I agree, but for those who say not to promote to authors at all, sorry but I don’t agree. You won’t find many people who read as much as authors.

I know many authors and readers and in comparison, the authors read way more on a regular basis than the readers who are not also authors. I am a member of many online book groups and book club groups and let me tell you, most of the “readers” in there are authors, aspiring authors, book bloggers (reviewers), or reviewers. Some of the book groups I’m in have over 800 members, I’d say around 200-300 are active on a regular basis. Out of that active group, over half are authors. And they are not authors pitching their books or writing tips. No. They are authors buying books and looking for new books to read. Oh trust me. Authors are a part of your audience. I can vouch for that because many authors buy my books, and they are authors I don’t even know personally.

The trick is how you should promote to other authors. Most authors don’t do this correctly. In order for an author to become engaged in your book and your writing, you need to treat them like a reader. See what I’m saying? But most authors don’t look at it that way. You can’t just pop up and hock your book to other authors who are doing the same thing. Nope. You have to capture the reader inside that author and that’s by reminding the author that when you’re around, they wear the reader’s cap only. You have to switch your mind frame and stop looking at other authors just as authors but as readers because that’s what they are.

One way to do this is to make up your mind, are you gonna appeal to READERS or WRITERS? If you’re gonna do both then you need to be very creative because many people cannot do both effectively. They end up promoting to one side more and alienating the other. I would think that most fiction authors want to appeal to readers. I know I do. Because readers (even if they are also authors), are the ones who will buy your books.

So how do you appeal to readers only? Better yet, how do you remind other authors that they are readers when it comes to you? You’ve got to stop appealing to their writer side. You do this by making your promo reader-friendly. Let’s start with your website. Do you have writing tips on there or do you have stuff that advertise your books and tells visitors who you are? If you wanna capture readers (and the reader inside the author), then get rid of the writing tips, writing guidelines, etc. that’s on your site. You need to have stuff about your books, your work in progress, your news, and your events. Any and everything a reader would want to know. Readers don’t wanna know about your writing process. Writers wanna know about your writing process. I know when I’m searching for books to read and I go to an author’s site to learn more about them, I could not care less about their writing rituals or them telling me how to publish a book. Why? Because when I check out your site, I’m in reader mode. I don’t wanna get tips on writing. If I want that I know where to go. I want your site to show me stuff about you as a published author. I want it to persuade me to checkout your work. I wanna see excerpts, book covers, reviews, anything that appeals to the reader inside of me. That is how you remind writers that they are readers when they step in your domain. Once you remind them, they will remember and they flick on that reader cap and they become interested in you and your work.

The same thing goes with the mailing list. Your mailing list should appeal to readers unless you are writing nonfiction writing guides. I have seen author lists where it was 20% about them and their books, and the rest was all on writing tips yet the author was a romance author. You couldn’t tell that by her newsletter. I dropped her list because I got confused. When I signed up for her list, I expected her to send me some news about her books. I wanted her to share some blurbs, let me know when the next book was coming out. Except for her spending one tiny paragraph on her books, she spent most of her newsletter on writing tips and that was not fulfilling to me at all. So imagine how a reader who is not even a writer would be turned off by that type of newsletter. You need to appeal to readers. If you have a site or mailing list geared toward writers then readers are not gonna be interested. Some people might argue this point, but let me tell you that Sally Williams who is a school teacher who loves to read romantic suspense and has no interest whatsoever in being a writer does not wanna see How to Format Your Manuscript for Kindle or How to Make that Book Proposal shine when she comes to your site. Sally wants to see when your next book is coming out and why the heck she should buy it. If your site doesn’t appeal to Sally, she’s gonna get confused, pissed, and go to another writer who treats her like a reader.

Check out my site: http://www.stacy-deanne.net. I practice what I preach. Now I’m known for writing articles for writers and giving writing tips. Well if you notice, you don’t see any of my writing articles or writing tips on my site. My site is geared toward readers. If I wanted a site for writers, I’d create one. I’m trying to sell books and gain fans through my site. My writing tips and writing articles belong on the sites I write them for, not my author site.

Get the picture?

So let’s go over my points. Now I am not saying you can’t promote to writers and readers at the same time. Some authors do and do it well, but many don’t do it well. There’s a risk of confusing your audience if you can’t pull this off. If you’re gonna have your sites or lists geared toward both it should be done where most of the content is geared toward readers (and the reader inside the author). The 20% percent geared toward readers and the remaining 80% geared toward writers is not gonna work unless you’re selling writing guides. If you’re writing fiction, your site and your list have to reel readers in. You need to promote to anyone who reads your genre. That’s your audience. Once again, I’m not saying promote only to other authors, no. Heck no. I am saying promote to anyone who is your audience and that includes authors. Authors who write in your genre are your audience so remember that.

The Wild Life by Stacy-Deanne (Coming July 2013)!

Read more about it here: http://peaceinthestormpublishing.com/authorbooks/wildlife.html

Sign up for my mailing list (where you won’t get any writing tips whatsoever): http://www.stacy-deanne.net/newsletter.htm?newsletter=

Ciao!

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

The Constant Hunt for Excellent Writing by W. Terry Whalin

W. Terry WhalinLast weekend I was in beautiful Seattle at the Northwest Writers Association Conference. I’ve been privileged to speak at this conference several times over the years. I always find it invigorating to get away from my computer and phone for a bit to meet face to face with writers and talk about books and publishing.

In today’s connected world, we seem to rarely get away from our computer and phone but at least we can grab the face to face time. Several years ago at this conference, I met retired surgeon Lloyd Johnson. In recent years, Lloyd has been writing fiction. We’ve kept in touch and when I joined Morgan James, I reached out to him to him and discovered he had a great novel called Living Stones. I championed his novel to my colleagues at Koehler Books, the fiction imprint of Morgan James. If you click this link, you can read a sample of the book and see the attractive book cover.

Lloyd’s passion is about telling stories about the Middle East and he has taken that passion into his storytelling and novel. Lloyd and I had dinner at beautiful Lake Washington (see my photo) and talked about book publishing. He is excited about the forthcoming publication of his first book and has connections to some great nonprofit organizations in this part of the world. I was encouraging him to include in his launch plans some ideas to sell his books large numbers.

Most writers are thinking of selling books one book at a time. What if you could sell boxes of books with one connection? It can happen with the right mindset and planning. To learn more listen to this free teleseminar. It’s an interview that I hosted with Ted Rogers and Vickie Mullins (use this link). Lloyd has an excellent novel and now needs to reach as many people as possible with his new book. If you have a book, I encourage you to spend some time in strategic thinking about how to reach new audiences.

All day Friday, the Seattle conference had a series of group pitching sessions. Each one had five or six or seven writers. Often these conferences have individual meetings so it was different to hear the pitches in a group. I am actively looking for excellent writing. Morgan James publishes nonfiction, fiction and even children’s books (a challenging area for any new writer these days).

In this group setting, I focused on one writer at a time and heard their pitch. Yet everyone else in the group also heard the pitch and could learn from what worked or didn’t work. It was a different dynamic than one on one pitching but the participants seemed to enjoy the interaction and learning experience.

Since meeting these new people, I’ve been writing emails and encouraging these writers to send me their material. Morgan James receives about 5,000 submissions a year and only publishes about 150 books. Yet you can’t have your material considered if you don’t send it. During the conference, I participated in a panel discussion with all of the faculty (several other editors and literary agents). We agreed that often we encourage writers to submit their material. It was confirmed that many times, we ask for the submission at a conference and the writer never sends it. Talk about a missed opportunity! Yes no one likes to be rejected—but you can’t get into the consideration process if you never submit it.

As editors and agents, we are on a constant hunt for excellent writing. Yes we are looking for authors who are connected to the marketplace. Yet good writing is always important. Are you a good communicator? How do you become a good communicator? Practice. Good writing will result in more good writing.

Several weeks ago, I attended an excellent workshop at the American Society of Journalists and Author Conference in New York City called Book Publishing: Making It in the New Frontier. Unfortunately this session was not recorded. The panelists included Jon Fine, the director of Author & Publisher Relations at Amazon.com, Amy Grace Loyd, the executive editor of Byliner, and Jofie Ferrari-Adler, a Senior Editor at Simon and Schuster. Moderator John Rosengren organized this excellent event.

While this workshop had a lot of information about the future of publishing, at one point, each of the experienced panelists talked about the importance of excellent writing. Whether you are writing for Byliner or magazines or books, your storytelling and writing has to be excellent.

How do you learn to be an excellent writer? I believe it comes from constant practice and working in the publishing industry. So many authors want to publish a book so they work for hours and hours on a long 40,000 to 100,000 piece of writing—yet they ignore the magazine market. It is much better to learn to write with shorter articles than to “practice” with a longer work like a book. You are better to start a blog and begin writing short articles or to learn to write query letters to magazines and then write the articles than to work years on a longer book which finds limited readers. Thousands of people will read your magazine work so don’t ignore those possibilities.

I continue to write for magazines on a regular basis—and have done so for over 20 years. It’s where I can practice my storytelling craft on a regular basis—and you can do the same.

________________________________________

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, lives in Irvine, California. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com.

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Reviewer and Reader No Nos by Deatri King-Bey

DeatriIn previous posts, I’ve discussed authors’ marketing techniques that turn readers off and authors’ bad reactions to negative reviews. This month I decided to flip the script and discuss readers and reviewers who are, shall we say, not displaying the best behavior.  As an author, you’ll often hear, “You need to have a tough skin.” But there are times when readers and reviewers cross an invisible line that should never be crossed. Hopefully, this article will help you prepare for what is out there.

For the first question, I received input from fifty-three people, mostly review team members and readers. The interesting thing was reviewers, readers and authors all mentioned the same things. Below are the main themes I saw repeated.

What should NOT be included in a book review?

  • Spoilers! – Giving away the climax, important plot points or the ending of a story was the number one item that the sample I took did not like.
  • Personal attacks and moral judgments– This ranked up there close with spoilers. Here is a reply that summed this up nicely: A review, while a personal opinion, should not be personal. You are reviewing the book, not the author. Talk about the writing. Talk about the characters. Talk about the plot. There should be no name calling or accusation throwing in a review.
  • Mean spirited – There was also mention that reviews were becoming mean spirited and written in a tone to tear down and disrespect instead of giving constructive criticism.
  • Reviews that attack an aspect of what the title is. For example if you don’t like short stories, don’t read short stories then rate them poorly for being a short story.
  • No useful information – Reviews that only say I liked or didn’t like this book are useless. People who base their book buying partially on reviews want to know what you did and/or didn’t like and why.
  • Ordering experience – Reviews that give a 1 star because the reader didn’t like the price of a book, format, or how it was shipped.
  • Unprofessional/disrespectful behavior – Some review groups write reviews, then going online and proceed to blast the author for writing a bad book or attack other review groups for liking the book. I’ll admit, I was shocked by this one but it came up a few times.
  • Not reading the book but giving a review – Need I say more
  • Promoting other books in a review – For example, Don’t waste your money on this book. If you are looking for a five star read, try 123 by #$%
  • This isn’t a part of the review but at times reviewers agree to review a book, then they don’t.

The next question was for authors only. To protect the authors, I’m not giving names and will paraphrase.

What behaviors do readers display that are a turn off?

  • Obsessed Fans – Authors need readers and vice versa. Most authors love to hear from their readers and to connect with them. There are some readers who take being the author’s fan too far and attack others on behalf of the author. For example, let’s say you are in a group and someone doesn’t like author A’s book or if the author receives a bad review, the reader attacks other readers and the reviewer.
    • Follow up question: What did you do to combat this?  I’ve only had this happen to me twice that I know of. The first time I found out about it by a reader contacting me saying she’d never read my work again because I’d had one of my “minions” attacked her. I wasn’t aware that I had minions. I went to the review she was referring to and knew by the comment of the obsessed fan who it was. She’d written to me several times. I didn’t have “proof” it was her, so without mentioning the review, I replied to her next email and explained that I was going to have to pull away from having so much contact with readers because there was someone out there attacking readers on my behalf and turning readers off from my work. I let her know that this person thought they were helping, but in reality they were hurting my reputation. She didn’t email me again, but I continued looking at my reviews and saw she stopped attacking people. If you know one of your readers is attacking people, then you need to stand up to that reader. They can do a lot of damage.
    • Stalkers. Taking reader input is one thing and authors need the feedback and appreciate it, but some readers go overboard. I had one following me from Facebook page to Facebook page posting that I needed to be writing instead of on Facebook.
      • Follow up question: What did you do to combat this? I blocked her so I couldn’t see her comments. She’s probably talking about me like a dog now.
    • Readers who think you owe them something. I am grateful when anyone purchases one of my books, and I hope you enjoy it and want my future titles. You purchased my book, not me. I’m amazed at things readers demand because they bought one of your books.
    • Writing is Business – Some readers don’t understand/care that writing is a business. We release our work to the public to make a living.  Books only cost a few dollars, but there are readers who want to read the books without purchasing them. I don’t mind loaning a book to someone who hasn’t read an author’s work before, but to continually borrow books is stealing money out of authors’ pockets. And don’t get me started on those pirate websites. Why shouldn’t I be allowed to make a living?
    • Writing is Business – I had a contest and the winner would receive XYZ, which fit the theme of the book. The winner contacted me and said she didn’t want XYZ, instead she wanted 123.  Why did she enter if she didn’t want the prize?
    • Poor Book signing etiquette – Some readers have the bad habit of coming to your table to speak about everything except your books. They block the way from people who may actually want to buy your book or they come to eat the treats at your table and move on.
    • Poor Group etiquette – Immature behavior and lack of respect for members and/or moderator runs many from groups. Also if the majority of the groups content veers too far away than the groups purpose can cause authors to leave.

Well, that’s it for this go around. I don’t think anything discussed is a surprise, but sometimes we do need to be called out on our behaviors. As a reader or reviewer, be honest with yourself. Are you displaying some of the behaviors listed above? Is that what you want to be known for? Thank you to everyone who contributed to this article. You guys are the best.

Much Joy, Peace and Love

Deatri King-Bey

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.


Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble