Getting Noticed

I’ve been looking about the WEB for ways to have my novels noticed and find a plethora of blogs on how to market, advertising from publicists, and outstretched hands to take my $’s for services that will put my name before the reader.  The hard part about any of these is to decide what to take to heart and what to toss in the waste basket (today we hit delete) along with the rest of the crumpled inadequate pages.

My last blog I wrote about just coming off a month’s virtual tour that I believe was $’s well spent with a publicist that came through with all that was promised and perhaps a little more.  Since it was my first virtual tour I was unfamiliar with the written interviews and how they came across was up to me.  I did notice one that would have read better had I flushed out the answers a bit more to reveal more of myself to the reader.  Guest blogging was new to me and the host blog site chose the subject matter to write about.  This was an adventure in writing, but it also widened my scope of subjects to write about – it made me think (and that can be a chore).  And, there were the all too scary reviews by professionals that received a copy of my book and rated its content and wrote reviews.  These were people from all corners of the United States and one in Canada that I never met and most likely never will.

But how do I know where to spend the $’s that will promote my writing and benefit me the most.  I don’t without first doing a little research into the person or company and looking at their work and testimonials.  Ah, testimonials – but only the good ones are posted, right!  Not necessarily, the wording tells the tale and reviewing the writing by a few of the represented clientele helps make the decision.

Of course there is the question of how many $’s do I have to spend.  The budget is limited and the best scenario is to use $’s earned from book sales to reinvest into the work for greater success with future works bringing notice to those works already on the market. 

So is your head spinning yet with the $’s signs? Mine is.  Each step we take into the marketing world is a step closer to seeing our writing viewed by the public.  Some of them are free in social media, some are contacts we can make for speaking engagements, signing events, etc. but many of them cost $’s to enlist professional assistance to reach a wider audience. 

I am fortunate to be on major book sites such as Amazon and B & N and through my publisher: http://tatepublishing.com  - but the challenge is getting the reader to these sites and then to choose the books I wrote.  It’s also about finding a particular niche and having the books noticed using all the resources available within the ability to pay those $’s for the services rendered on my behalf.  But most of all it’s making the work the best it can be to appeal to the reader and make those $’s well spent on an enjoyable read.

Happy Marketing!

What's Next?

The virtual tour for Brimstone and Water with Pump Up Your Book (http://pumpupyourbook.com) is complete and it is time to move forward – but forward to what is the question.  While the next novel is completed, the road to publishing is filled with twists and turns on a bump filled roadway to dollars flowing in instead of out to see Return to Nineveh in print. My mind is in turmoil concerning which route to pursue as I seek out a publisher willing to take on this World War II historical-fiction sequel to They All Fall Down.

Two contracts are offered that require investment to see the project completed.  Familiarity with the first publishing contract offer is tempting, but the dollars are difficult to justify after two published novels with the publishing firm and other outside investment to further publicize as my learning curve about marketing increases.  Each investment is a risk as well as that of a publisher willing to take on the new project. 

Since Brimstone and Water was released in a time of turmoil I have sought out venues to sell my wares.  Yes, I did say sell my wares because that is what a book is, wares for purchase to the public.  There are many places to sell, but also considerations about location, cost to participate, appropriate theme of the event to name a few.  The other issue is being accepted as a presenter at social clubs, church socials, book clubs, book stores or libraries.  The list is quite endless when one travels throughout the year and lives the RV lifestyle.

Each of these events is a means to raise funding to move on to the next project, the next way to sell; the next way to see my name and titles before the reading public.  Investment in self is essential, but how much is too much to see the dream become reality and when is it time to re-evaluate the dollar investment.   

I am please with the virtual tour through the month of August with the reviews of Brimstone and Water coming in with four and five stars and good comments about the story.  I am also pleased that I was a featured author and guest blogger on several web sites throughout the month.  I believe the exposure was good and a great many people that love to read saw the book and read the blogs and reviews.  A few may have even purchased the book because of this tour in cyber space. 

So, back to what to do – continue to seek out that publisher willing to invest in my work, or pay the price and go with the familiar and see where it leads me next.  Time will tell the story as I pray on this decision to see what new horizons lay ahead.

Happy reading to all and success in marketing your wares.

Author on the Road

Camping brought us new acquaintances on our weekend and vacation stays, but would we find friends along the way if we made this drastic change in our lives.  I had two novels half done on my laptop and one in publication.  Making a drastic change meant changing a writing routine as well as changing our lives.

Just a few weeks before the long awaited day when I could say goodbye to slogging through fall down pours and winter boots we found it – the RV of our dreams; we thought.  Writing was pushed to the back of my mind to dismantle a house filled with memories. 

We left the house for good in June and were officially full-time in our RV.  The printer sat on the dashboard of the motor home, my lap top alongside it, my research tucked away in a basket beside my seat at the front along with my Bible and worship books.  I was ready to work on my novels; the big change was behind me.  But first I wanted to get to know the people that came every weekend (the seasonals) to the RV Park; spend hot summer days in the pool, visit our retired friends more often, and there were still those committees that needed my attention.  There was the whole summer after all to get at least one story finished before we left our home state and started the real adventure.

The summer went by in a whirlwind of sleeping late, lazing in the pool, trips to town and spending weekends seeing our children and grandsons, extended family and friends.  A few nights I would light up the computer screen and work on that novel, but all too often it was checking the email and playing computer solitaire.  And there were those books I always wanted to read waiting to have the cover opened.

At last the day was coming to take to the road and experience the adventure of travel to new places – but the book had to be finished and by some miracle the final chapter was written and the draft edited before working our way to Mustang, Oklahoma where Tate Publishing lives, grows and thrives.  Meeting the people that made They All Fall Down a reality seemed all the more important when a contract for Brimstone and Water was waiting to be secured.  The RV life was giving me that opportunity that few have the chance to embrace. 

While visiting in Mustang I arranged for a web page to be created for They All Fall Down and discussed the contract for Brimstone and Water.  But there was little time for contracts when a new adventure brought us to our 4-month stay in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.  Time slipped away before I knew it with only a book signing arranged while we were there.  It was time to start thinking about the new novel getting published while the next one was being written.

Since then several changes happened in 2011 and 2012 that interfered with writing but somehow Brimstone and Water made it through the initial editing process prior to our move to Kentucky and workamping at Amazon for the peak season.  We were somewhere on I-65 heading south when I received a phone-call regarding cover design choices.   The layout design was sent for approval shortly after leaving Kentucky for the Panhandle of Florida where a short time later the final electronic read through arrived to catch those last misspelled words and misplaced punctuation marks.  We were moving on to Alabama shortly after the final file was emailed back to the editors and the proof copy of Brimstone and Water would find me there. 

A year has passed since Brimstone and Water launched in a time of chaos and uncertainty with the death of a dear friend and my 94-year old father-in-law. Our saving grace during it all was our home on wheels.  The past year brought book signings, presentations and a crash course in social networking.  Our RV lifestyle offers opportunities to tell people we meet I am an author when asked what I do.  It also allows me to seek out venues where ever we travel.  The third novel is written and it will soon be time to work through the process again while researching the next.  And all the time the home on wheels continues to bring new adventures while writing excites the imagination.

To read the full story check in at http://pumpupyourbook.com and visit the virtual book tour for Brimstone and Water.

Happy writing and reading to all that visit me here.

 

 

A Word with Mynah, Princess of Crete

Today we are speaking with Mynah an ancient who sees our world in a different light.

Hello. 

Tell us, Mynah, what impresses you in today’s world?

I have watched the future unfold for several millennia and I must say the new technologies in today’s world might have saved my own.  You see, my world ended when natural disaster struck and no one was able to defend my homeland against those that wished to conquer weaker civilizations. Now my descendants must take me to my home to rest with those that ruled before the end came.

What do you find the most intriguing? 

I’m sure I would enjoy an I-Pad and texting looks like a great way to tell the admiral of the fleet where to sail.  Father certainly might have kept better track of my brothers and their escapades with a cell phone.  Of course the new fangled transportations people use today would make our fleet appear to be almost standing still.  I do see though that many ships still sail the oceans near my home and take much less time getting from one place to another without sails or slaves to row them. 

How would you use today’s communications devices?

I hope my descendant, Caralynn, uses the tools available to her to find me.  I find it hard to make her hear my telling her what she should already be seeing in her research without a way to text her.  I can enter her dreams but she is not as astute about dreams as we were in my time.  Dreams came to the profits of the living God travelers told us about to foretell future events.  And dreams also came to those who ruled the masses as a way of influencing their decisions.  In this neo-modern world dreams are not given time for reflection to discover their true meaning. I suppose it is because people are in too much of a hurry to realize their dreams are often a reflection of what their real desires are in life.

Do you believe we will have an opportunity to visit again?

I do not believe another audience will be granted.  It is my deepest desire to join those who ruled the Minoan Culture and take my rightful resting place alongside my father and grandfather and those who entered the eternal journey before me.  My hopes rest with this latest daughter of my line to complete the expedition and bring my bones to rest in eternal peace.

Thank you Mynah and may your daughter succeed in the quest.

This will be a guest blog in August as part of the Author Tour with "Pump Up Your Book" on-line publicist company.  I am looking forward to the internet connection with readers of a Christian based historical/fiction/romance genre.  Brimstone and Water the quest to bring a soul to rest.

 

Happy Writing and Happy Marketing to All!

The Neo-Modern Connection - Reaching the Electronic Reader

The small royalty check was delivered to the post office box and deposited into the business account – now what.  Marketing is slow, difficult and sometimes discouraging.  It would be easy to give up but the book is a good story ready for reading enjoyment.  So on to a new way of marketing, a new way of reaching the reading public, a new way to let sales be made.

While being a guest in the bricks and mortar world of books is thrilling and allows for one-on-one communication with the reader, it is also a small part of the market as cyber marketing emerges into the neo-modern connection to page turning on a screen.  Today’s books are in a race to reach a fleeting moment when a finger slides across a display that disappears virtually before the eye is able to notice the cover.  It’s time to connect with the electronic devices that even grandmothers are learning to use.

The answer for me is an on line PR agency to promote Brimstone and Water throughout the United States and beyond.  The internet reaches every corner of the earth making it possible to publicize to a diverse audience using my own writing style as a guest blogger as a beginning.  It also means being ready at an email’s notice to write another blog or answer interview questions.  In the meantime another story begins to form and it’s time to do the research while still trying to negotiate a contract for the previous completed manuscript.

A vicious circle one might say – but then writing is an adventure that waits to appear on the page and marketing is the mountain to be climbed to make the adventure successful.  Cyber marketing goes beyond the email blast, beyond the phone contact, beyond the book store signing event; it means committing to being available each day to do the writing needed for the promoter to successfully present my work to the reading public through guest blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the list goes on. 

While all of this takes place the blog needs to be fed to keep interest going and my writing to be remembered and sought by those viewing the blog.  It’s time for each evening to be devoted to writing, writing and writing.  It’s time to buckle down and write that magazine article that’s been floating around in my thoughts; and then to sell that article and see it appear in print for public appraisal of the article’s worth. 

My goal is to have the reader remember my name and seek out the articles and books because they found one item that caught their attention and search to find more.

Just as I reach out to publicize my work – I encourage other authors to do the same.  Each genre is looking for the next best seller, but without marketing the best works won’t be found. 

Happy writing – and – Happy marketing!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7FnDahiPVA

An Excerpt from "Return to Nineveh"

Prologue

      The fledgling rays of early morning sun shimmered across the still waters turning faded pewter into brilliant translucent shades of opal, silver and bronze.  The strengthening shafts of light stretched across the harbor to a battle scared ship waiting in silence for the sun to warm her decks and playfully dance along shimmering brass fittings.  She came to this anchorage to heal the wounds suffered during a desperate encounter with the elusive Japanese destroyer sent by a merciless conqueror to destroy the last British citizens to flee Singapore.  She waits now in silence to feel the pulse of oil pumping life into her array of pipes and tubing as her engines—her heart—come to life and beat in a steady rhythm.  Soon her human masters will breathe new life into her and she will experience the pleasurable taste of salty spray streaming across her sleek dazzle painted hull. 

       Her name is Mariah.

 

Chapter 1

       Katrin Lee Albright stood alone on the peak of the high tree covered hill overlooking Surabaya Harbor.  Her 22 years on earth had not prepared her for the increasing fear she experienced as the Japanese Army pushed closer to her home.  She brushed the long golden-brown wind whipped hair away from her face while anxiously watching the remaining Allied ships from her hiding place high above the harbor.  Brilliant rays of sun light laughingly danced across the decks and momentarily reflected off guns and fittings as its hot breath seared the backs of sailors scurrying about preparing them to sail.   

 

      Katrin and her father went into hiding when the Japanese began their lightning-quick offensive through the small island state within days following their conquest of Malaya and Singapore.  She and her father, Joseph Albright, an Anglican priest sent from England to build the Anglican presence in the colonies a year before the 1929 world financial crisis, saw the brutal flashes from dueling ships across the horizon during the vicious naval conflict in the distant Java Sea.  The few ships that returned gave witness to the lopsided battle that left only a few to retell the story of failure and defeat.  Now she feared the ships would abandon the war ruined harbor before they could reach them.

 

      Katrin hoped her father would return before darkness fell and relieve her anxiety.  She knew he believed God would protect them and prayed with her to place them in His hands.  He told her to believe it was already so and it would be done – just as Jesus promised so many centuries ago.  She had to trust the lessons of the Bible her father taught her since early childhood, but fear of being discovered made her tremble.

 

      Katrin felt a shaft of fright penetrate her soul and quickly climbed a nearby tree when a sudden rustling in the undergrowth caught her attention.  At least she remembered to make a barely perceptible path away from where she watched like their friend, Colonel Gherst from the Army Rangers, once showed her.  He said it was a way to fool the enemy during one of his many visits to their home.  She briefly wondered if Colonel Gherst was taking part in the current battle to keep the Japanese from overtaking Java.          

An Author and the RV

The year 2010 brought a world of change to my life after retiring as an administrative assistant at a rural county community mental health organization.  My husband and I traveled to promote my first novel, but now it was different.  Now we would live full time in our RV and become nomads in our retirement.  Where would the oasis be to promote my writing?

I tried the traditional route of looking for libraries and book stores in the areas where we would be staying and found while being asked to appear for a presentation/signing that the attendance was minimal in an area where I did not know anyone.  Facebook, Twitter, Google, email blasts were not effective since there was no targeted population known to receive the information where we were staying.  A few might attend from an RV park that became friends, but the larger audience became elusive. 

Local festivals are another route that can be an avenue toward sales but first one must be able to obtain the information regarding the event in time to reserve a booth.  Dollars must be spent to reserve a booth and appear on the festival’s schedule of vendors and press releases appear the week of the event in the local papers.  Finding the name of that local paper even with the internet can be more difficult than finding the festival date in many towns.  The research needs to be done months in advance to appear at one of these events.

My next idea is to hire a publicist to see what the result of this partnership might bring.  Being a novice at this endeavor will mean taking a “leap of faith” that the person hired will bring results beyond a few email blasts and a Facebook connection. 

In the meantime I will continue to look for other ways to market my work while working on the next novel.  My third novel, a sequel to the first, is submitted to my publisher and a contract is being negotiated at this time.  Right now it is time to work on marketing the first and second book to prepare for the third to come on the market.

Until the next time – I wish you successful writing that fulfill you as the author of an unfolding story.