I'm very excited to have a guest post today from Dannie Hill, who claimed this spot when he donated to the Indies Unite for Joshua Indiegogo campaign. Welcome, Dannie!
A Writer’s Life in Thailand
I’m
excited about doing a guest post at JELLO WORLD with J. Lea Lopez!
Thank you, kind lady.
I’m
an American writer and I’ve been living in Thailand for the past 9
years with my beautiful wife. We have a small farm where we grow
tropical and not so tropical fruits, veggies, and main crop of either
corn or tapioca. I have also published 3 novels and have a new one
coming out very soon.
Many
people ask me, “Why Thailand?” The answer is: I needed to get
away from all the hustle, bustled, electronics and decision making.
My brain needed a break. Also my wife was born in Thailand and I had
kept her away for many years raising a family and caring for a
wonderful husband… me. I have wanted to take her home for a while,
but the honest truth is I did it more for me than her. One of the
things I’ve learn here in Thailand is honest thoughts.
Many
foreigners who come here and to other exotic lands seek out
communities of foreigners to live near. Me? I came determined to
learn the language (or die trying) and just get away from it all for
a while. I live in a rural area where I’mit
when it comes to foreigners. That while
has lasted nine years so far. I can speak Thai now. I don’t claim
that I can stand up and deliver a speech about the meaning of life
but I do well enough to get along with everyone.
I’ve
always led a simple life—starving artists tend to do that—so the
culture shock wasn’t a major player. The hardest thing that I still
haven’t learned to do is stop waving or speaking to nearly everyone
I pass. I’m a Southerner and I tend to talk rather than think in
many situations. My wife got in the habit of walking behind me—way
behind me—so she wouldn’t blush all the time. Over time my
neighbors have learned the American ‘wave’ and laugh at my
antics. My wife even walks beside me now. Yeah.
Thailand
is known as The Land of Smiles and it is a befitting name. These
wonderful people take life as it comes to them and always seem happy.
I think it’s the heat. I love to go to the morning markets and
watch the beautiful women gliding along buying fresh vegetables and
everything necessary for the day. I walk around talking to the Mea
Ka,
the sellers, and Lukka,
the buyers, and just enjoy myself.
Dannie and Sam the cat
I
often ride my motorcycle out into the country just to see where the
road leads. I usually end up in a small village where white guys are
a rare treat. I always find a gathering place where the older men and
women socialize and introduce myself. It takes a few minutes for them
to realize I am speaking Thai and then the fun begins. The others of
the village come to see the foreigner speaking Thai. The children are
always shy at first, but after a while they try their best to wring
out the secrets of my being with squeals and laughter. I have to
admit it's a big ego boost for me. In the States I’d be just
another old man, but here in Thailand I’m special. I do love it
here, living with the most wonderful people I’ve ever met.
As
a writer, the quieted sounds of English allow my daydreams to come to
life in words. There is such a peace here my muse is happy and words
rush out faster than I can write them down. Just ask my editor! I
can write back in the States but it’s an effort to find the peace I
need. In Thailand it’s just a morning away.
I
was in a war two countries away, lived in Budapest for a short time,
lived in the Marshall Islands for two years and visited a number of
countries, and I must say Thailand is my favorite for the people, the
beauty of the land and the food. It’s a place I know you would
enjoy.
To learn more about Dannie, check out his blog here, or learn more about his books here.
We've been playing Christmas music at my day job since... wait for it... November 1st. So I've had a lot of time to listen to and analyze a lot of lyrics. Instead of giggling to myself at work over some of the stupidity and/or unintended sexual innuendo in these Christmas songs, I thought I'd bring the joy to you, my dear readers. However, before I could even write my first post, a friend and fellow writer posted a brilliant note to Facebook picking apart the lyrics to a Dan Fogelberg song that I've always found annoying. His comments made me laugh, so I asked if I could post it here for you all, and he obliged (thanks, Ty!)
Give a nice Jello World welcome to Ty Unglebower, a freelance writer and actor who is just Too XYZ to conform to a typical nine-to-five kind of existence. And he loves power ballads. Can you say awesome? Check out his blog for more of his thoughts, and follow him on Twitter (@TyUnglebower).
----------------------------------------------
Allow me here and now to lambaste, ridicule, mock, and overall hate that most holy of Christmas tunes…Dan Fogleberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne.” (Great homonym, huh?)
For the uninitiated, this ditty has nothing to do with Christmas, save for the events taking place on a snowy December 24. Beyond this, it has no holiday connections whatsoever. The lyrics are garbage, and the tune is so wispy and whiny that you can do nothing with it. You cannot slow dance to it, or make out to it or anything. Listen for it this holiday season on ANY wall to wall Christmas station. You are bound to hear it sooner or later.
And now, join me, as I follow Dan, assisted by his actual lyrics, on his chance encounter with a former lover, whilst at the supermarket. Here we go…
Met my old lover in the grocery store, The snow was falling Christmas Eve. I stole behind her in the frozen foods, and I touched her on the sleeve.
For starters, who the hell opts to go to the grocery store on Christmas Eve? Even if I ever had to, (which I seriously doubt), few things would make the already hated chore of grocery shopping worse than running into an ex-lover. I may not be able to avoid it, but I sure as hell would not call attention to myself.
Either way, who “steals” behind somebody? What kind of creepy bullshit is that?
Also, the term “frozen foods” is extraordinarily unsuited for just about any song, a ballad in particular. (Which, in theory, this is.) I am not saying it would never be appropriate, but any song that would meld these words successfully into its story arc should not posses the pretense that this song does. Moving on…
She didn't recognize the face at first, but then her eyes flew open wide. She went to hug me and she spilled her purse, And we laughed until we cried.
I’ve laughed until I have “cried”, that is to say, had tears in my eyes, three, possibly four times in my whole life, including childhood. Point being, it doesn’t happen often, and while I grant that different things tickle different people, what sort of sheltered existence do these two people have to be living to find transcendental hilarity about a spilled purse?
We took her groceries to the checkout stand, The food was totaled up and bagged. We stood there lost in our embarrassment, As the conversation dragged.
If this were any other song, “frozen foods” would be the worst lyric in the piece. But Fogleberg tops himself with what has to be the only such reference in ANY song ever, by singing the phrase, “totaled up and bagged”.
Lost in embarrassment as the conversation dragged…that’s generally, when I say, “nice to see you, goodbye.” Or in this case, I suppose I would add, “Merry Christmas.” Either way, I’d leave. Why push an already awkward moment? But do they leave it at that? No…
We went to have ourselves a drink or two, But couldn't find an open bar. We bought a six-pack at the liquor store, And we drank it in her car.
Couldn’t find an open bar on Christmas Eve. You don’t say.
But no problem…you can drink a 6 pack IN HER CAR! Where is the missing verse describing the two of them being hauled off and booked for public consumption?
If I were actually dating this girl, that would feel a bit tacky to me. Even worse when it’s an ex…
Then the first of what seems like 90 recitals of the chorus…
We drank a toast to innocence, We drank a toast to now. And tried to reach beyond the emptiness, But neither one knew how.
If spending time with your ex in her car at the parking lot of a liquor store in the snow on Christmas Eve away from your family while throwing back a few doesn’t get you past the emptiness, nothing will.
And by the way, how fucking ridiculous would it be to lift up a beer can, or any drink for that matter, and utter the words... "To innocence!"
She said she'd married her an architect, Who kept her warm and safe and dry, She would have liked to say she loved the man, But she didn't like to lie.
So you’re keeping her away from her family as well?
And sweetheart, get a backbone and leave if you don’t care for hubby…there are other places to stay dry. Perhaps it’s shit like this that forces her to drink…
I said the years had been a friend to her, and that her eyes were still as blue. But in those eyes I wasn't sure if I saw, doubt or gratitude.
It’s doubt, if she’s got any taste. But then again, she’s sharing a 6 pack in a parking lot with Dan Fogleberg, so all bets are probably off.
Also, what a hatchet job Fogleberg did with the rhythm on this verse! Even if you know the song, you’ll choke on this verse. And why keep it? The message of this verse was so profound he couldn’t part with it?
She said she saw me in the record stores, and that I must be doing well. I said the audience was heavenly, but the traveling was hell.
I quote verse two of this same song…”she didn’t recognize the face at first”.
But if she knew your face from the record store, why didn’t she recognize you at first?
A slightly altered chorus follows…
We drank a toast to innocence, We drank a toast to now. And tried to reach beyond the emptiness, But neither one knew how.
We drank a toast to innocence, We drank a toast to time. Reliving in our eloquence, Another 'auld lang syne'.....
Please, PLEASE tell me that any reference to “eloquence” as it pertains to these two jokers is very much tongue in cheek. If I had to choose 1,000 words to describe this song, “eloquent” would not even make the list…
The beer was empty and our tongues were tired, And running out of things to say. She gave a kiss to me as I got out, and I watched her drive away.
Just for a moment I was back at school, and felt that old familiar pain. And as I turned to make my way back home, the snow turned into..........rain.
The finale.
To begin with, “beer” cannot be empty. A can can be empty of beer. Or a beer can can be empty. But beer itself is not empty. I’d forgive it as poetic license, if Fogleberg hadn’t pushed the boundaries of the English language about 14 times in this song already by this point. Or if there were any proof he was a poet.
Also, hard to believe you ran out of things to say, when there is no indication at all that either one of you said a damn thing of substance in the first place.
So she kissed you and you get out. Hey, babe, how about at least a ride back to the grocery store where he left his car?! Not that it matters; he appears to be walking home, not back to the grocery store anyway.
And Danny boy, nice way to treat the woman you loved so much; let her down three beers at least, and drive away as the snow turns into rain. Nothing dangerous there.
Not to mention the fact that he left the grocery store without getting whatever the hell he went in there for in the first place. Less surprising is the complete lack of any entourage on the part of Fogleberg at what was supposedly the height of his popularity. (When nobody, I suppose, could get “Leader of the Band” out of their heads.) Says something that even then, he was alone and void of human contact, except for a chance meeting with an ex.
Ironically, he describes his life as being nearly as vapid, aimless and pathetic as the song itself turns out to be.
I'm thrilled today to have author Cheri Lasota guest posting at Jello World. I met Cheri some time ago through Authonomy, and she recently released her first novel, Artemis Rising, which I wholeheartedly recommend you all read.
Observations
on book marketing from a converted enthusiast.
I
used to be shy. Don’t quite know what happened…
I’ve
been writing since I was a wee tyke, mainly because I was an
introverted outcast that nobody wanted to play with. I lived my life
in stories and it is there that I still remain. But along the way, as
I grew in the craft and learned more about online and offline
marketing, I began to feel comfortable in my own skin and was able to
interact with people without becoming exhausted. This was a
two-decade long process, but I’m here to tell you that it certainly
needn’t take that long for you (even if you are the classic
introverted writer).
Everything
I’ve learned, I’ve learned the hard way, but perhaps these five
insights below will help your journey toward publication success run
more smoothly than my own did.
Think of your book as a product.
When
I finally figured this out (and yes, the moment was complete with
choirs of angels singing and lightbulbs flashing obnoxiously over my
head), here’s what happened:
I
learned how to cut fifty pages of extraneous crap from my
manuscript. No, no! Not my darlings. Yes, oh yes. Snip, snip, snip…
By the end, I was wielding my bloody red pen with terrifying glee.
Marketing
became a joy, not a
masochistic form of exhaustive torture.
Agent
rejection letters became a reason to send out three more. Seriously,
I was thrilled to receive these. It just meant I no longer had to
wait for a reply from that agent.
Critiques
from writing groups, publishers, and friends became exercises in
growing my craft. I took the good advice, ignored the bad, and stuck
to my guns when it came to keeping my vision for this story intact.
I didn’t take the opinions of others personally.
I
started to have the overwhelming desire to learn every aspect of
writing: marketing, business development, and craft as well as ebook
and website design.
Now
doesn’t that all sound wonderful? It is! And you can do it too. But
it isn’t an easy mental process. Our novels start out as our
babies, our ‘lil dawlins. How to kick them to the curb and make
them earn their keep? Make the decision to see your book as merely a
product that will soon be for sale. And keep making that decision
until you believe it, through and through. Every choice is a decision
you make over and over. Until you choose something else, of course.
But hey, you’re next novel…let that be your baby and let this one
go. Never thought I’d say this but…Be
Your Novel’s Pimp!
Take stock of what you love to do.
When
it comes to all the things that make up a writing career, what do you
love most?
writing
editing
social
networking
book
design
handselling
socializing
(commiserating?) with other writers
If
it’s none of the above, you’re seriously in the wrong career. =)
If all you chose in this list was writing, I hope you have a lot of
cash on hand. Here’s the thing, you can do one of two
things—especially as an indie author: learn to do it yourself or
pay someone else to do it. Neither option is inherently wrong. But
assessing your strengths and weaknesses will help you create a game
plan for putting together a quality product (there’s that dirty
word again!).
You’ve
got to know what you’re good at and also what you love to do.
Usually those are synonymous but not always. Once you know, you can
focus on putting those strengths and talents to work for you as you
go about selling your book.
Pay attention to what you aren’t good at.
As
for me, I love everything but that writing bit at the beginning of
the list in Section 2. Funny I should say that, right? I know that
for me, the writing part is the most difficult and tedious. I’m an
editor by trade after all. So here’s how I get around that tiny
insignificant issue… I only write during National Novel Writing
Month. Yup. It’s true. (I’m working on my second novel right
now.) NaNoWriMo keeps me motivated, inspired, and away from my evil
editor pen. I know this about myself and took a positive step toward
working around it.
Ironically,
I’m also not the best blogger. I tend to write very detailed,
informative posts which take me a week to put together. Because of
that, I procrastinate and don’t write them very often. I am very
well aware of this. So I choose to focus more of my time on social
networking and other marketing plans. If a blog topic just won’t
leave me alone, I’ll carve out some time to get it written, but
that might be once every two months or so. I’m fine with that.
Figure
out what’s taking too much of your time and energy or what you
aren’t currently skilled at. Can you spend less time on that task?
Can you pay someone else to do it? Spend the most time on the
elements of your career that bring you satisfaction, motivation, joy,
and sales, and you’ll find that book marketing isn’t as hard as
it first seemed.
Decide what you have the time and desire to
learn.
I
knew how to write, edit, and market by the time my book was about to
be published (though I still continue to educate myself on all three
whenever I have time). What I didn’t know and had a deep desire to
learn was ebook design. At first, I was afraid to attempt it. But
then, I found Lynda.com.
Never
heard of it? Oh man, when I discovered it, I went hog-wild. It’s an
educational website of online video tutorials for any software you
can think of. I learned basic HTML, iMovie, InDesign CS5.5, Photoshop
Elements, Photoshop CS5, and Illustrator CS5. And I hope to learn
HTML5, Advanced Photoshop, and Flash sometime soon. You get unlimited
access for $25 a month (and you can cancel at any time).
I
sound like a saleswoman, but we no longer have an excuse for not
learning these things if we want to. And I can’t tell you how much
this knowledge has aided me in producing my ebook from scratch (with
advanced HTML coding to design graphical titles and interactive
features), creating and manipulating sales materials and graphics,
and upgrading my website with new and improved design elements.
It’s
empowering to learn a new skill. Don’t assume you can’t learn new
computer skills. Take the time. Cultivate patience. Don’t give in
to frustration. Ask questions. Google for the answers!
Assess, assess, assess.
I’m
still stuck on this step myself. What exactly am I harping on? Well,
all the book marketing time you use up isn’t going to amount to
much unless you know which of your marketing avenues are paying off
and which aren’t. As published authors, we need to analyze the time
we spend on
communicating
on our social networks
advertising
on book lover sites like Goodreads.com
working
the traditional marketing angle (like beating the pavement at
conferences and writers faires)
cultivating
ebook vs. paperback sales
Why?
To ensure that you’re not wasting time on activities, which aren’t
making you any money. It’s like paying thousands of dollars for an
ad that’s directed toward an audience that isn’t even part of
your target market. Stick with what’s working. In fact, double up
on what’s working and spend much less time on what isn’t.
Here
are some questions to get you thinking:
Study
your Amazon.com sales figures. Are your ebook sales far outclassing
your paperback sales? Is the cost of shipping the paperback
outweighing your actual sales?
How
many hours a day are you spending on Facebook and Twitter? Are you
actually communicating with your target market on those sites or
just your other writer friends?
Do
you know how to effectively use these sites for marketing or are you
too lazy to read expert articles and learn from your friends on how
to do it better?
Are
you paying attention to sales numbers each time you roll out a new
marketing campaign?
Focus
on the end result so you can fine-tune the time and money you devote
to marketing. The end result of that? More time for writing. Isn’t
that what we all want? Good luck!
~~~
SpireHouse
Books launched Cheri Lasota’s first novel, Artemis
Rising,
in Sept 2011. The book is a YA historical fantasy based on mythology
and set in the exotic Azores Islands. Currently, Cheri is writing and
researching her second novel, a YA set on the Oregon Coast. Over the
course of her sixteen-year career, she has edited fiction,
nonfiction, screenplays, and short stories for publication. Cheri
also has twenty-four years of experience writing poetry and fiction.
Learn more about Artemis
Rising
at http://www.cherilasota.com
or buy it at http://bit.ly/ArtemisRisingNovel.
Today's Successful Blogging topic is all about time management. You can get so sucked into blogging and social networking that you lose sight of what you're supposed to be doing in the first place: writing! Or, you can be such a good little writer, churning out word after word, that you kinda neglect your blog until it has tumbleweeds and cobwebs. How do you find the time?
One of the best features to take advantage of (on both Blogger and Wordpress, as well, I'm sure, as other blogging platforms) is advance post scheduling. You can get your post(s) all set up and ready to go, then schedule them to post at the desired date and time. So if you have a particularly productive day where you hammer out four posts, you can schedule them and have extra time later on. This also helps with my second point:
Pick a schedule and stick to it. Even if it's just "I'll post on the first Monday of every month", that's fine. It gives your readers something to look forward to. I know, I know. Believe me, I know what you're thinking. But do as I say, and not as I do on this one, mmkay? Maybe one of these days I'll take my own advice here haha.
To finish up this post, I've invited Dean C. Rich, writing friend extraordinaire from AQC, to tell you how he's found the time to blog. He's quite the busy man, and he's only been at this blogging thing for about a month and a half, and he's doing well. Check out his blog for a new time management tip every Thursday.
Take it away, Dean!
J. Lea Lopez has become a great cyberfriend. I met her in the forums and Wednesday night
chat sessions at Agent Query Connect. I
am honored to be a guest blogger on her blog.
I’ve set up a blog of my own, and I have a very full
plate. I have three children at home,
one is a dancer, two sons in show choir, and all three play instruments. My wife works full time and I am a general
manager working 60+ hours a week. So
yes, I have a very full plate.
J. Lea and a few others at AQC suggested, no scratch that,
urged, well no not urged, insisted on members setting up a twitter accounts, and a
blogs. (Oh Dean, you make it sound like we were cracking the whip! *wink*) You must have a platform. I thought no way can I do a blog, twitter,
write, and keep up with my professional life and family life.
However, as a writer you need a platform. You need to be involved in a writing
community. AQC is a great place to
start. (I will blog about that on my own
blog another time.) The community taught me to twitter. They got me to blog. Slowly I am building a following. I was very hesitant to blog, but my friend J.
Lea really helped me get started. She
suggested I build the blog but not tell anyone about it until I was more
comfortable. So I hinted to my friends at
AQC that I was working on it, and I even managed to build some anticipation to
the “unveiling” of the blog. Twitter
went from 10 AQC friends to over 100 followers.
My blog now has 13 followers, seven are friends I’ve made from AQC, but
the others have just arrived. So I will
say I’ve some success with my blog and twitter. I am making some great friends doing this. (And if I may interject again, Dean, with his 13 lovely followers, consistently has more comments on his posts than I did at that stage. Or even now, with 68 followers. Ahem. Just sayin'. :-P)
I know J. Lea has already talked about auto post, (this
works great for me!) I like routines. Routines help me get so much done! The ebb and flow of the week gives me a few
windows to write for my blog. It also
helps to post a schedule on the blog. This makes you accountable to your readers.
Accountability is important, it introduces self discipline, and forces
you to make a commitment to your blog, and your readers. (Eventually
you will gain readers.)
My
goal is to post at least
one item a week. To achieve my goal I decided to be true to the blog's
theme, Time. So for me the only thing that is an absolute with my blog
at this point is Thursday’s
Time Tip. I must post a time tip every Thursday. Although
my blog has
room for other things I am committed to posting once a week. Eventually
I may post themes on other days of the week, but I've left that open
right now. I do have plans to expand the blog in the future. I
currently have slots for tips on writing, excerpts on my work, as well
as
essays from my life, a get to know you type thing.
The important thing is to make up your mind to do something,
then build a way to make it work.
15 minutes for twitter a week. 20 to 40 minutes a week to write at least one
post for the blog. Auto post will make
it happen at the same time every week. Find a rhythm, a routine, stick with it
and some level of success will come your way.
Today we have a special post, a sort of cross between a Random Shout Out Sunday (where I highlight an indie author or press, or other cool writing thing) and a guest blogger. Please welcome Drew Cross!
Hello out there!
First things first, thank you very much to Jen for letting me guest on your blog. The title of this post is a deliberately provocative one – just as the titles of my books aim to be (BiteMarks for my debut crime novel, and The Scarmap for my debut middle grade fantasy novel, both of which will be appearing later this year); but that's the whole point, right?
Read any 'how to write a bestseller' manual, and sooner or later they'll talk about your opener; so in that vein, here's one of mine for BiteMarks:
The girl draws in a sharp breath through clenched teeth and moans with a mixture of pain and pleasure; her white-blond hair feels like falling snowflakes where it brushes my skin. She has a tattoo on her neck, two small red pin-pricks and the words BITE ME in gothic lettering, stark against her near translucent paleness. A thin rivulet of blood snakes down her bare back, an escapee from the small clean incision on her shoulder blade. I kiss her deeply, my mouth still wet with her blood, holding her close and feeling her tremble, wanting to consume her, she runs her tongue over my elongated fangs as if she can read my thoughts. I can taste peppermint and vodka, the blood as a sweet honey tang underneath, her skin is aromatic with cocoa butter and the soft smoky musk of burning incense clings to her hair.
Whether or not that's attention grabbing is a matter of opinion and personal taste, but it does tell you something about the novel immediately. Note that I said 'something'…but not everything.
Now here's a piece from the next section of chapter one; it also features the male MC – Shane Marks - who we met drinking blood in the opener, but the tone's entirely different (a device used throughout the book to emphasise the duality of his existence):
“Marks?”
“Sir?”
“Briefing's in five minutes with CID, if that‟s enough time for you to finish preening yourself?”
The Inspector strides off without further pleasantries, but I can‟t help but like the grumpy old sod anyway. Marcus Cooke emerges still dripping from the shower, hurriedly towelling himself down and putting on his shirt having heard the Inspector's words.
“Why can‟t you put some pants on before your shirt? I don‟t want to see your dick every day.”
“Seeing my dick is the highlight of your day and you know it.”
He grins in his usual stupid broad fashion and slaps me on the backside as he passes to get to his locker.
Marks is a cop, and for me, that element of surprise is very important too. We live in a world with a short attention span, 'keeping em hooked' is half the battle - an extreme example of somebody who does this in the crime genre might be James Patterson, with his frantic pace and twists and turns on every page. Does it work? I hear he's sold one or two books recently, so just maybe there's something in it…
Let me also say this; BiteMarks is NOT a vampire novel. If you're catching the coat-tails of that particular bandwagon then all the best to you, but I am emphatically not. I've not read Ms Meyer, and all of the characters in my twisted little tale are all too human; albeit quirky types of human. However, there is something to be said about being mindful of 'trends' if you're commercially minded…I'm not suggesting you should sell-out and write what everybody else is writing, just that if you're aiming to make a good living, then be mindful of what the readership at large want when constructing your masterpiece.
So here comes the sex and violence promised: BiteMarks features a young police constable and practising blood-fetishist, chasing a savage attacker with a deep-rooted desire to bite his victims and spill their blood through the red-light zone of a violent city. Got that? Good. Sex and violence, and sexual violence, in all of it's permutations is dissected and deconstructed for your viewing pleasure – fundamentally sex and violence sells. If you want some more then look out for the book coming out somewhere near you very soon.
Drew is a married father of two from Nottingham, England; he has been a model and a police officer (but never a model police officer!), and now masquerades as a financial adviser for a large banking group while dreaming of one day writing full-time for a living. When he's not reading, writing, toddler wrangling or weimaraner wrestling, he enjoys martial arts, cooking various cuisines (South East Asian a particular favourite) and meditating.
BiteMarks will be available soon in ebook and print form from Night Publishing.
Eternity, which Drew co-authored with Jenni James, was released as an ebook earlier this year.
Recently, author Cheri Lasota and I swapped guest blog posts. You can see my guest post on her blog here - it's everything you ever wanted to know about writing dialogue!
I'm still a relative newbie when it comes to marketing and promotion, but it's an important part of being a writer these days. So today's post comes courtesy of a guest blogger, Cheri Lasota, who is much wiser than I when it comes to.....
Pre-Marketing Your Book
Most writers are beginning to understand that writing is only a small part of the equation when it comes to publishing success. It is no longer enough to be a good writer. One must be a good marketer as well. However, marketing can be learned and practiced. The key is to start early, and use what techniques you know you can master based on your skill set. It is never to early to start forming a marketing plan for your writing career. You may be in the revision stages of draft three or four or already out there submitting your finished manuscript to agents. It doesn’t matter. Every day can be an opportunity to spend five to ten minutes on building a marketing plan. How do you go about it? Read on . . .
Start the wave
According to literary agent Lily Ghahremani, a publishing house will be happy to support and fuel a marketing wave you’ve already started. It is not all that rare for publishers to supply secondary funding pushes based on an author’s own efforts at increasing readership. If you already have a sizable network of possible readers, publishers do take notice, and in the negotiation phase, it can make a difference between signing on or receiving another rejection letter.
Begin with who you know
Buzz begins with a core market and expands. You know more people than you think you do. Take a pen and paper and write down a list of as many friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintences as you can think of. All done? Now think of all the authors, organizations, bookstores, libraries you hope to make contact with when you’ve published your book. Don’t forget to include local newspapers and magazines as well as online e-zines. Keep this list. You’ll need it when you go about marketing before and after publication.
For a few minutes each week, work on researching or recording contact information for these sources. These are the people and groups you will want to reach first when your first book comes out in stores. Easy enough, huh? This is something you can start doing today. As an addendum to this list, think through the major elements that make up your novel or nonfiction book. Does a mother in your novel have to deal with a child who suffers from autism? Then research autism groups on the Net. Here’s another example: my novel is set in the Azores Islands. I have and will continue to research all sites related to the Azores, whether they are travel sites or sites run by Azorean geneology enthusiasts, etc. These are possible avenues for selling books, interviews, and perhaps speaking engagements.
Target your readers
Describe your target reader to yourself, and be as specific as you can. Here is my target audience for my first novel: Women 18-35 who love romance, mythology, and history. Within that target, I will need to create a marketing plan that focuses on each element. Those who love mythology might frequent mythology sites on the Web. Could these be possible avenues for trading links or getting the word out about my novel? Do these groups have links to other groups that could be avenues to explore as well?
Identify competitors
Identify competition, but don’t fear it. Competition indicates there is already a market for you to sell your books to. Read books in the same genre or about the same topic: can you tap those readerships? How do those authors market their work? Read other author Web sites to gather ideas, then see if you can put a new twist on those ideas.
When working on your book marketing, specifically, brainstorm several differentiation statements. These statements are often used in query letters to compare an author’s book to another’s to aid the agent in placing your novel in the marketplace. For example, you could say your horror novel is in the vein of Stephen King’s “Carrie”, or that your mainstream novel is a cross between Michael Crichton and Michael Connelly.
One caveat: don’t make claims you can’t back up. Saying your book would outsell the “Harry Potter” series would merely illicit raised eyebrows and snickers from agents or editors. They’ve heard it all before, ad nauseam. Use the differentiation statement as a quick way to let the agent know what kind of book you are selling, not to make claims of greatness.
You can work on all the above ideas immediately, no matter what stage of writing you are in. Working on your marketing plan, may only take a few minutes of your day or week, but you won’t regret the invaluable lessons you’ll learn, nor the expertise you’ll have once your deep into selling your published book.
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Cheri is a freelance editor specializing in fiction. She is also an author, and has recently signed with literary agent Bernadette Baker-Baughman of Baker's Mark. Her YA novel, Artemis Rising, is an excellent read and I can't wait until I can see it in print. Visit Cheri's author website to read excerpts, learn more, and view her book trailer.
