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November 4, 2011

10 Ideas for Author Bloggers

Filed under: Authorship — Patricia @ 3:53 am

Authors contemplating a new blog are often stopped because they just aren’t sure they can come up with enough material to share. They have a few initial post ideas. But beyond that, they are stumped—blocked. They can’t imagine producing something worth publishing every day or even once a week. And some don’t. You’ve probably visited blogs where the most recent post was in October of 2010 or even 2008.

Here are some ideas for your blog:
• Share the back story of your book—how you came to write it, for example. This could cover at least a week’s worth of posts. Invite others to share their stories and you’ve greatly expanded your material.

• Talk about the writing experience. You could have something new to say on this topic practically every day if you go into your writing style, why you chose it and how it works for you; what inspires you; what inspires other authors you know; how you manage your writing time; what helps you overcome writers block and so forth.

• Provide information related to the topic of your book. If you’ve written a novel or children’s book, pull themes from your story to expand on in your blog posts. If your book is nonfiction, you should have numerous avenues you could explore with your blog followers.

• Use excerpts from your book. Actually publish sections from your book.

• Write how-tos: How to flesh out your characters, how to approach a publisher, how to choose fabrics for your quilt, how to groom a terrier, etc.

• Share resources related to the theme of your book. Yesterday, I offered links to online critique group sites. I’ve also provided links to book reviewers, publishers, magazines seeking articles/stories and much more.

• Keep up with the news on your topic and give reports through your blog.

• Invite guest bloggers to fill space in your blog.

• Give your opinion on topics of interest to your followers. Write editorials or essays on the state of the publishing industry, the popularity of the Kindle, the use of certain words in the English language, the price of ebooks, etc.

• Interview others in your field or genre.

As you can see, a blog is whatever you want to make it. But you’d better tune into your audience so that what you bring to the table is what they want served to them. Just keep putting yourself in the shoes of your readers and you should be able to entertain and inform them quite adequately through your blog.

FYI, I’m Patricia Fry. You can learn more about me, my books and my services here:
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

November 3, 2011

Online Writers’ Critique Sites

Filed under: Writing — Patricia @ 4:55 am

I often suggest to hopeful authors, who are in the beginning stages of writing a book, that they join a writers’ critique group and participate for a while. This is a good way for new writers to learn more about the process, and for budding novelists or nonfiction book writers to find out if they have a viable project or not. While I wouldn’t suggest this as a final step before publishing, this is an excellent initial strategy for many authors.

New authors who have become involved in good critique groups will tell you that they learned a great deal about telling a story, organizing a how-to book, grammar and publishing in general.

Now some of you have trouble finding a critique group in your communities. But did you know there are online critique groups for authors? I did a little research recently and came up with some links for you. I did not check the reputations of these sites—I’ll leave that up to you. But these all seemed to be popular and active. If you are new to writing or if you would like some reader feedback for your manuscript, you might consider joining an online critique group. This could just be the boost you need for your manuscript and for your confidence as an author.

I’m offering a list of critique groups. It’s up to you to do the follow-up research so that you locate the best match for you and for your project. Keep in mind that they all have their unique standards and protocol. So what you learn about one might not apply to another.

CritiqueCircle in Iceland is a very active critique group. They claim to have processed over 65,000 stories and have over 2,500 active members. http://www.critiquecircle.com

The promo for Scribophile says that this is the best place to be if you want to give and get the best critiques around. They’ve had over 100,000 critiques. http://www.scribophile.com

ReviewFuse is another online critique group opportunity. They offer peer feedback for free. http://www.reviewfuse.com

And then there is WeBook. Check it out at http://www.webook.com

Of course, you can locate other critique sites by doing your own Internet search. Good luck.

Are any of you already involved in a critique site? How’s it working for you? Leave your comment here—it could be helpful to others.

November 2, 2011

Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network

Filed under: Announcements,Resources — Patricia @ 5:19 am

A new issue of SPAWNews hits our subscribers email boxes this morning, as it does every first of the month. You don’t have to be a member of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) in order to subscribe.

If you are a subscriber, and I know that many of you are, you’ve probably already read your copy and feel inspired and/or more well-informed. For those of you who do not subscribe, you can read the November issue here http://www.spawn.org Click on “SPAWNews.”

Click at the top left side of the page where it says “click here” and you will receive a subscription to the e-newsletter as well as a free ebooklet, “Promote Yourself, 25 Ways to Promote Your Work Whether You’re an Artist, Author or Small Publisher.”

In this month’s issue you’ll find information about writing the essay. Our editor, Sandra Murphy, interviewed the editor of the Christian Science Monitor about how to break into the magazine with an essay. It isn’t as difficult as you might think. Also in this issue, one of our esteemed members talks about how to write a personal essay and another one explains the difference between a personal essay and a memoir. Our resident Book Doctor answers more questions this week, including how to get involved writing a newspaper column. I offer a smorgasbord of mini-book reviews, including books on book marketing, self-publishing, writing children’s picture books, and making a living as a poet. And our president shares a few thoughts on whether or not you are thinking big enough about your book—beyond how much money you can make and more about what your book can bring into your life. Fascinating topic!

We always include member announcements, so you’ll get an idea about what some of our members are doing to promote their books, etc.

Are you interested in contests and various events occurring throughout the US? You’ll find several only a click away.

Each issue of SPAWNews (which is free to all subscribers) includes information about the SPAWN Market Update which is posted on the first of each month in the member area of the SPAWN website. This newsletter is available to members only and it is jam-packed with opportunities and resources for authors, artists, freelance writers. We also include information and resources for photographers, screenplay writers and other creatives. Herein you’ll find job directories, book marketing ideas and resources, current opportunities for authors seeking publishers or freelance writers with stories/articles to publish, for example.

The member area also includes dozens of interviews with publishing/book marketing professionals that you can download and listen to. Members can also participate in SPAWNDiscuss—our member online discussion group.

SPAWN will be going to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books again this year. If you have a book you’d like to exhibit and/or sell from our booth, you’ll definitely want to become a member. Watch for news about this beginning in the December SPAWNews.

It’s $65 per year to join SPAWN. http://www.spawn.org Click on “join/renew.”

Questions? Patricia@spawn.org.

November 1, 2011

7 Effective Book Promotion Activities for November

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 4:59 am

It’s the first day of November. You don’t have much time to generate book sale for the holidays. What can you do at this late date to help increase sales this season?

• If you have books in stores around town, make sure they have a good supply for the holidays. If you don’t have books in local independent bookstores and appropriate specialty stores, spend a few days showing booksellers and other merchants your book and negotiating for a space in their stores. This might include children’s clothing and toy stores, gift shops, boutiques, spas, pet stores, craft and hobby shops, grocery stores, bakeries, pharmacies, nurseries…use your imagination. Where will your audience shop for gifts this year?

• Get interviewed in the local newspapers and let readers know where your books can be purchased. In order to land an interview, you must have something of interest to talk about other than the fact that you’ve written a book. Find a way to make news.

• Offer to write guest blogs at some key sites. In the meantime, leave comments at popular sites related to the theme/genre of your book.

• There might be time to arrange for a reading or another program that would give your book special recognition within your community.

• Run a special on your book at your website to attract new readers. Announce this in appropriate ezines and related websites. You may have to pay for small ads in some ezines—others publish announcements for free.

• Post notices about your book as a great gift or announcing your special price at your daily blog and in all of your membership organization newsletters.

• Place announcements at the discussion groups and forums you belong to related to the theme/genre of your book.

What else do you plan this month in order to bring attention to your book as a great gift for the holidays? Post your ideas as a comment.

Do yourself a favor and order your print or Kindle version of my book on book promotion. Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. http://amzn.to/oe56Ia This book will give you hundreds of additional book promotion ideas to use now and after the holidays.

Patricia Fry in the News
Read Susan Daffron’s interview with me at her site, The Book Consultant. Susan is the President of and webmaster for SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). Because the work we do within SPAWN is pretty much volunteer work (she gets a small stipend for handling the website), we all run businesses outside of this organization. And Susan has quite a professional website showcasing the work she does with authors. Check it out at http://www.thebookconsultant.com

To learn more about me and my professional background and my work, go to
http://www.thebookconsultant.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=324

October 31, 2011

My First Mystery Writers Conference

Filed under: Guest Blogger — Patricia @ 4:15 am

This is a guest blog by freelance writer and SPAWNews editor, Sandra Murphy.

Bouchercon is one of the largest mystery conventions held each year. For 2011, its location was St. Louis. It was my first time to attend.

Four days, ninety-two panel discussions and interviews, after-hours activities that included bowling for charity, an auction, a silent auction, book signings, thousands of books and miles of walking, it was the best time I’ve had all year.

Bouchercon is designed for both writers and fans. Its goal is to introduce new writers and get people excited about books again. It worked.

I attended fourteen panel discussions, met writers, and added to my TBR (to be read) pile by hundreds of books. Most of all, I learned about writing.

Fans often think writers sit down, get an idea, are carried away by a story that almost writes itself and then it’s ready to be published. Not so. Val McDermid, author of the Dr. Tony Hill and Carol Jordon mysteries said, “I start with something small. It builds in my head until the story is there. It can take twenty years sometimes but the idea has to come first.”

That’s how some writers give the appearance of writing at warp speed. When the story is ready to be told, it’s already formed in the writer’s mind.

On every panel, writers emphasized the need to consider writing a job. It’s work to make the story come alive. “It’s my job to make the story irresistible to you as a reader,” said McDermid.

Robert Crais writes the Elvis Cole and Joe Pike books. He was asked how he starts a new book. He said, “Writing is an ugly, dirty, nasty job. It takes a year to write a book so it has to be something important to me. I always start with something I find heartbreaking. I want to heal it.”

Even when writing fiction, you can add a message—just be sure not to hit the reader over the head with it. Colin Cotterill writes mysteries set in Thailand with main character, Dr. Siri. He said, “I’ve made mistakes in writing my books. One big one is that there is nothing more depressing than child abuse. I let the message take over my desire to be a writer. You have to balance how much of an issue you put in your writing.”

Vampire writer Charlaine Harris was a speaker on two of the panels I attended. She said rewriting a scene until it’s right is vital. “I’ve reburied some people five or six times until I find the right body.” In a massive understatement, she added, “My books would never have gotten published if not for another vampire writer, Laurel K. Hamilton—but it’s worked out pretty well.”

Should you follow the trend and write a vampire novel? Trends are too hard to predict and by the time you’ve written, submitted, and are ready to be published, vampires could well be yesterday’s news. Each writer emphasized being true to your own ideas. McDermid said, “Learn from other people. You can learn more from other people’s mistakes; just promise not to do them yourself. I’ve learned my craft. Trust the idea and wait for the world to catch up.”

St. Louis writer Angie Fox agrees. “I’d written several traditional mysteries. They didn’t sell. So I thought “What would I like to read?” and then wrote that.” The Accidental Demon Slayer series was born and is a great success.

When do you call yourself a writer? Laurie R. King now writes the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series as well as standalones but her first sale made the difference for her. She said, “My agent called to tell me St, Martins bought my book. The very next day, I went to the school and changed the information cards—from housewife to writer.”

Be patient. “It took two years to sell the first Sookie Stackhouse book,” said Charlaine Harris. “To the editors who turned me down, I say nah nah nah nah!”

Do you have to be published to call yourself a writer? No, said the panelists. You just have to make yourself sit down and write. Sure, it’s a job but it’s about the most fun you can have and still call it work. After all, you get to make stuff up.

October 30, 2011

Power Outages Stink

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 8:17 am

We’re experiencing a power outage here in our neighborhood. Power has been out for 7 hours already and word is, they are still a long way from fixing the problem. We’ve plugged our frig and this mini-computer into an outlet from our neighbors to the south. (They are on a different supply arm than we are.)

I had planned a guest blog for you today, but don’t have enough power to download it so I can post it here. I guess the battery is low on our Internet connection.

At any rate, I hope you are all having a more connected day. If you can navigate through the Internet, this would be a good day to order my latest book, Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author. Get it on Kindle and you can study it this afternoon. Tomorrow, you can begin putting some of the ideas into practice and you’ll have more money from book sales coming in for holiday shopping.

http://www.amazon.com Type in my name, Patricia Fry and/or Promote Your Book.

October 29, 2011

Are You a Professional Working Out of Your Home?

Filed under: Authorship — Patricia @ 5:24 am

Do you consider yourself a professional writer? Are you writing articles/stories for money? Do you have one of more books to promote? Are you offering editorial or some other service to writers/authors? Or are you in the process of writing and publishing your first book?

Most likely, you work out of your home. You’ve created an office or setup a corner of a room where you conduct your work. Most of us do, these days. And most of us start out feeling a little less than professional since we work from a spare room or a sectioned-off portion of our garage right there in our home.

How does someone come across as professional when they work from home? Here are a few suggestions:
• Have a separate telephone line for your business and answer it as you would if you were working for a company downtown—“Hello, this is Diane at Teddy Bear Publishing…” or “Amy’s Editorial Services, how may I help you?”

• If your business relies on customers or clients, keep regular hours when you will be available by phone or email. You might also consider this policy if you are producing a book and working with a printer, cover designer, etc.

A benefit of working at home, however, is the freedom to come and go as you please. And when your business has little to do the public, it’s easier to take a day off during the middle of the week, entertain out of town guests and drop everything to take a friend to the airport. However, there are still basics you can follow to maintain your professional persona. For example:

When someone calls or emails you to ask for some information or for a smidge of your time, avoid saying, “I have to get my nails done today (clean out the garage, buy a new dishwasher, babysit for my nephew), so I can’t do that until tomorrow.” Say, instead, “I’d be happy to take care of that for you, can I get back to you tomorrow around noon?”

Sure, you may be getting your nails done, cleaning the garage of going shopping, but your client, customer, or colleague doesn’t have to know this. Let him or her imagine that you are swamped with publishing, writing, editing or promotional work and can’t possibly consider their request at this moment.

What are some of the other things you do to maintain your professional persona?

October 28, 2011

Tell Us About Your Reading Habits

Filed under: Books — Patricia @ 5:37 am

Did you read where Books a Million is opening 41 new bookstores—mostly in old Borders’ buildings. This is encouraging for those of us who still love holding the print book in our hands and for publishers who haven’t, yet, figured out how to promote books outside of the traditional bookstore. I notice that most of the stores are opening in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maine, Maryland, Virginia and other Eastern states.

I’m wondering if young people who read are still reading print books or if they are switching over to electronic readers? What is your child’s preference? Are teachers encouraging e-books? What are kids’ electronic readers of choice? What caused your kids to embrace e-readers or not?

In our household, we have a new e-reader convert. He wanted to try reading a book on a Kindle, so borrowed one and then bought one. He now reads mostly using the Kindle. I haven’t had a chance to try it, so I’m still reading the old-fashioned way. How about you?

Since this is a short blog post today, after you leave your comment, you have time to visit my website and order a book, sign up for a course, check out my appearances page, print out my resume to give to the program chairperson for an upcoming writers/authors conference or writers group meeting, read some of my articles, sign up for my free e-booklet and more.

http://www.patriciafry.com
http://www.matilijapress.com
Contact me here: PLFry620@yahoo.com

October 27, 2011

All About the Author’s Platform

Filed under: Authorship,Book Promotion — Patricia @ 5:56 am

I just found out that my book, Promote Your Book, is on the Barnes and Noble Nook. AND, it has risen in rank at Amazon to a respectable spot, this morning.

Do you keep an eye on the Internet to learn who’s talking about your book, where it’s listed for sale, where your articles are appearing, etc? Searching your name on the Internet (or the title of your book) can be like opening gifts Christmas morning. And it can be telling. If you find nothing new in your search and if your numbers at Amazon aren’t changing, except to get higher and higher, perhaps you need to step up your promotional efforts.

Along with my own name and books, I often check on those of my clients, as well as my colleagues. I keep an eye on what my colleagues are doing in case there’s something additional I could be doing—approaching a particular reviewer, interviewer or blogger, for example. I tap into what my clients are doing in case there’s something more I could suggest to help them get more exposure and make more sales.

Unfortunately, few of my clients have high profile images throughout the Internet. They are doing little or nothing to get noticed, thus, they are not selling books. Some of them are writing a second book—why, I don’t know. If they aren’t interested in promoting their books, they aren’t going to entice many readers for the second book. So I wonder—what’s the point?

Some authors are waiting for a big break with a publisher. But I can tell you it won’t happen if you aren’t willing to build a platform and put effort toward promoting your book. Publishers certainly will pick up books that are previously published, but only if they are showing signs of success.

If you are a new or struggling author, you might want to consider bumping up your chances of publishing success by signing up for my online course on how to establish and build on your platform (your connections—your following—your way of attracting readers). Many authors don’t realize what they have going for them. They don’t know how to use what they already have in order to promote themselves to publishers or to promote their books to potential customers. This course is designed to help you discover and build on your attributes and add to them. Learn more here:
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_platform.htm

This might be the best $150 you’ll spend all year toward the success of your novel or nonfiction book.

October 26, 2011

Why Praise Your Favorite Author

Filed under: Authorship — Patricia @ 5:05 am

How nice it is to hear from a customer who is using one of your books. I received such an email yesterday. The author said that it was five years ago when she won a copy of The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book in a drawing and that she has read it numerous times and has used it to successfully produce a children’s book. She wrote in order to thank me for writing such a useful book for authors.

Nice!

Are you collecting testimonials, customer comments/reviews and so forth? Do you know what to do with them when you receive them? First, you want to thank the individual for taking the time to comment. What a rare gift. It is so atypical of us to go out of our way to offer such feedback. We can only hope that the satisfied customer is telling others about your wonderful book, even if he doesn’t think to reach out and give you the praise.

There are ways to initiate comments. If you have a customer list and you contact those customers from time to time with announcements, news, information or, perhaps, a regular newsletter, you just may receive a comment occasionally.

Post these comments at your website. Use them in your promotional material. Include them on your testimonials pages in the reprint of your book. Do not publish the name of the individual without permission.

On the other side of the coin, do you contact authors of books you find of particular value in your studies or that you have enjoyed reading? It’s a good habit to get into. Consider it your way of giving back or your contribution to encouraging this author to keep writing.

If you think your positive comment doesn’t mean anything, this is something you should reconsider. Feedback to an author is like a breeze to a sailor. It’s encouragement. It’s what keeps them going. Readers are vital to an author’s career. Without readers, an author has no purpose. And knowing those readers are out there and that your words are touching them in some way is terribly important to an author.

This week, I’d like to urge you to send a note of praise to some of your favorite authors. Believe me, you will feel almost as good to be giving as the author does when he receives your praise.

If you’ve read my book, Promote Your Book, you can leave your positive comments at the book’s Amazon page. http://amzn.to/oe56Ia
If you haven’t ordered your copy in print or on Kindle, yet, this is the place to do so. The print version can also be ordered at IndieBound and B&N.com as well as at the following sites:

http://www.matilijapress.com/PromoteYourBook.html

http://www.allworth.com/Promote_Your_Book_p/1-58115-857-1.htm

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