Do You have a Creative Family ?

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after spending the weekend hanging out with fellow creatives. I was invited to sign books at an Arts and Eats Festival this weekend. It was great to meet with people and talk about my books and art. I spoke with painters and photographers and learned some new things about each medium.

This is right after setting up. We’re chatting while we wait for the crowd.

I enjoyed spending time with such amazing and supportive people. I have found that not only fellow writers are supportive but so are artists, photographers, and sculptors, too. Anyone who’s a creative knows how difficult it is to get your work in front of people.

It was a great time to talk about different ways to reach the public. It seems that marketing is something all creatives struggle with and it was nice to bounce ideas off each other and find out what works for some and doesn’t work for others.

If you have an opportunity to participate in your local festivals, I strongly encourage it. It’s a great opportunity to get your name out there and to start building a local support system. It’s important to do that, so you can get a grass roots kind of thing going for you.

https://allthefreestock.com/

It’s also important to have a creative “family” because not all artists have family that supports them or understands why they spend so much time with their art. You will need the support of your creative community during that time.

https://allthefreestock.com/

Mentors are another great addition to your creative family. They can guide you through the mire of people who want to take advantage of your creativity, and they can also offer you creative advice regarding your craft. A good mentor is golden.

Another aspect that I need to bring up here is your creative community can also offer you constructive criticism. There will be people who criticize your work without offering anything constructive on how to improve it. Don’t listen to these people, they’re not your people. Your creative community will tell you where you need to improve and more importantly how to improve in a gentle constructive way. You need this to grow in your craft. We all do.

https://allthefreestock.com/

So, there you have it. The reasons why you need to develop a creative family. Do you have one? How did you meet yours? Leave a message, I’d love to hear from you!

Creating Your Author Brand

 

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you! I’m back today to share some of my thoughts with you on Author Branding. Have you seen the movie “Our Brand Is Crisis?”

If you get a chance watch it.Not only is it an excellent movie, it’s a great example on how to establish a brand. In the movie Sandra Bullock is a strategist for a man who’s running for President in Bolivia.He’s at the bottom of the polls, he’s not a very likeable candidate. What’s worse? His opponent’s strategist is Bullock’s long-time nemesis, and so it begins.

What was so interesting about this movie is how she came up with a brand for her candidate. That brand was crisis. Her candidate wasn’t popular by any means, but he ended up winning the election. Why? Because of how he branded himself.

Photo via VisualHunt

His brand was that he was the only candidate that could handle a crisis. He didn’t need to ask advisors or his cabinet how to take control of a situation. He just dealt with it. Bolivia was in crisis mode.He convinced the people that he was the only one capable of handling that crisis. Long story short. He solved a problem. That was his brand.

Authors we need to solve problems for our readers. So when you get ready to market your book, ask yourself this question: What problem does my book solve? Why would someone want to read it?

Does it immerse your reader in a different world?

This solves the problems of boredom, stress, and maybe teaches the reader about a different country or a different era.

Does it engage your reader so much that they can’t put it down?

Your book may be an excellent recommendation for a reluctant reader.

Other problems your book solves are entertainment, improving analytical skills, and critical thinking. Your book also teaches important social skills. Kids can learn a great deal from reading fiction. Remember that when your marketing  your story.

 

 

Photo via VisualHunt.com

As authors we need to become excellent marketers and support each other. Why? Because reading for pleasure is on the decline. We need to turn this trend around and get people reading again. Here’s two links that explain why this is so important.

https://lisaorchard.wordpress.com/2016/05/15/the-link-between-reading-and-empathy/

https://lisaorchard.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/the-benefits-of-reading/

Market your books by solving your Reader’s problem. That’s how you’ll hit that number one spot!

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. Do you have any ideas you’d like to share on Author Branding? If you do, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

 

Promotion: The Step all Authors Struggle With

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you. I’m here today to talk about promotion. I know all my author friends are cringing right now. It’s one of the toughest parts of the job especially for newbie authors.

There is no tried and true method for marketing, I’m sad to say. What works for one author may not work for another. There are many tools out there for authors to use, Social Media, Blog Tours, Bargain Book Sites, and Online Radio Interviews.

What I’ve found is Social Media is a great way to communicate with your friends and followers. I’ve sold books this way, but if you talk about your books, too much it can be a turn off. When I think of Facebook and Twitter, I think of sharing of information. I have many author friends that I chat with and we share marketing tips and other helpful information.

***This photo is courtesy of Flickr and https://mkhmarketing.wordpress.com/

I’ve also participated in Blog Tours. They’re a great way to get out in front of your audience, but they don’t usually net many sales. So why do them at all? Well, first, they offer exposure of your books and they offer reviews. I don’t know about you, but I find reviews are hard to come by and blog tours are an excellent way to get reviews from someone other than your mom. 🙂

Here are a couple of blog tours  I’ve used:

YA Bound: http://yabound.blogspot.com/

Goddess Fish Promotions: http://www.goddessfish.com/

There are also Bargain Book Sites. The purpose of these sites is to sell a large quantity of books to their followers. Therefore, you’ll want a site that has a history of success. Not all of them do, so this is where communication with other authors comes in handy. Check with your author friends to see what kind of success they’ve had. Some new sites will offer their service free. Take them up on it.  They may be trying to build a following, so you might not have a lot of success, but you might. It doesn’t cost you anything so it’s worth a try. The one site I’ve had great success with is http://ereadernewstoday.com/

The last but certainly not least way to get exposure for your work is by Online Radio Shows. This is a way to reach a larger audience fast. Again, I’m looking for exposure and getting my name out there. I’m working with The Author Show and my interview will be available for everyone to hear tomorrow.

I’m excited about this because they have a large following. I was a little nervous at first, because I hadn’t been interviewed in a long time. I worked with Linda and she eased my anxiety, she was so open and friendly. They do the interview and air it for one day free. They have social media sites they post on and they allow you to share the interview on all your social media sites. So you’re getting in front of a larger audience. Did I tell you they edit the interview too? So all those Umms…and Ahhhs… are deleted.  Again, they do this free. Here’s the link if you’re interested in listening to my interview, or if you’d like to contact them and set up an interview for yourself. Check it out! http://www.wnbnetworkwest.com/WnbAuthorsShow.html

We’re talking about the third book in the Starlight Chronicles Series. It’s titled “Starlight” and the cover and blurb are below.

Seventeen-year-old Lark Singer and her band Starlight have entered a competition that could launch their musical career if they win. However, Lark soon discovers that her nemesis, Duane McIntyre has also entered making her desire to win stronger than ever. How far will Lark go to win and what will it cost her in the end?

Thanks for stopping by and if you have any marketing tips you’d like to share, please do! We’d love to read them!

The Publishing Dilemma

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m taking a break from talking about teen issues and discussing something a little more personal today. I’m in such an energized mood because I’m working on my Coming of Age novel and I’m really enjoying it. I love my main character! I’m sure every writer has a manuscript that she’s just so in tune with that she can’t put it down.

I’m worried about myself when I get it completed. Will I feel a sense of loss? I hope not. To avoid that feeling, the idea for the sequel’s already brewing in my little brain. 🙂

My beta readers are enjoying this story too. That’s always a good sign when they’re asking for more chapters. As I write, I wonder if I should go the agent route or small press route.

If I choose the agent path, it will take longer and there’s no guarantee they’ll sell the manuscript. If I go the small press route the manuscript will be published faster, but I will be responsible for most of the marketing of the book. Which isn’t a problem for me, but having a major publisher help with the marketing is always a plus.

As I feverishly work on my story, this question bounces around in my brain. One day I’m leaning one way and the other day the next. Sigh. Then of course, there’s self-publishing.

I considered this option for a long time, and I haven’t ruled it out. However, I feel that I need a large following to make this option successful and since I’m writing for an older age group than my previous novels. I don’t feel that I have enough of a following to choose self-publishing yet.

What I like about self-publishing is that I get to see where most of my sales are coming from. That type of information is invaluable when you’re trying to market your books. That’s one of the major advantages of this choice.

You also get to see how you’re doing on a daily basis. I’m one that likes to check my numbers so I can tweak my marketing plan as I go. That’s hard to do when you have to wait three months for your results. 🙂

I would love some input from fellow authors out there. Have any of you gone the self-publishing route and built a following that way, or is there a stigma still attached to self-publishing?

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. If you could share your opinion, I’d love to hear from you! 🙂