Christie's comments (member since Sep 30, 2008)

Christie's comments from the Book Trailers (tm) & Author Web Sites group.

I definitely Twitter... from time to time. I trying to be more active with it these days. I tend to steer more toward Facebook, but I'm trying. LOL.

http://www.twitter.com/christiesilvers

Well, I do a monthly one, so I save up all kinds of tidbits and just share them all at once. If I have a book release coming up, I'll talk about that. A guest appearance somewhere, talk about that. Went on a trip, I'll talk about that. If I published an article that is relevant to current events/holidays, then I'll link to that. New website addition or update, talk about that. I'll talk about how the writing of the most current book is going, contests, upcoming giveaways... anything.

Basically just share whatever you want. :-)

Christie

I love the feeling I get when I know a story is finished! I also enjoy hearing people tell me that they loved the book(s). I like great reviews. I like getting to know my characters. I like feeling like they're real people that I've known for years. I like the twinkle in my oldest daughter's eyes when she tells someone her mom is a writer.

There are so many things that I love about being a writer.

Christie

LOL! Yeah, I kind of do get around, but in a good way. ;-)

I get the most action on MySpace, CoffeeTimeRomance, my blog, and Facebook. The rest are just there in case anyone comes across them.

It's not too difficult to keep up with them all since I don't have to make changes too often. I'll go in to announce specials and update videos, book covers, etc. Other than that, there's not much upkeep on most of the pages.

These days I'm hearing more and more fans say that other fans recommended my books to them. Word of mouth still seems to be the best way to get advertisement, but all of these pages don't hurt either. :-)

Oh, and don't forget about the power of a regular newsletter. I send mine out monthly and each month there are more subscribers than the month before. People love newsletters! :-)

Christie

Gosh, my books and I are all over the World Wide Web. LOL! I have pages on Facebook, Myspace, a couple of blogs, on over a dozen Ning sites, Author's Den, Axis Avenue, Shelfari, and many more, including my own author's forum on CoffeeTimeRomance.com. My website link is everywhere I find the opportunity to stick it as well.

I don't like Facebook as much as I like MySpace, but I'm still there when someone posts to me or sends a friend request. I have a fans page on Facebook too.

I have more pages then I should admit. LOL!

Christie Silvers

Have you gotten to the part where he tells her she smelled like a wet dog? That seems to be a favorite part for all the readers who contact me. LOL!

Christie

No I haven't. I just make them and throw them up. LOL But I figure it can't hurt. :-)

Christie

More video sharing sites that I just heard of.

http://www.revver.com/
http://www.sharkle.com/
http://www.gofish.com/ (Would be good for kid books)

Christie

Thanks Kristin. I'll check it out soon. :-)


Christie

That will be great, Dee Marie. I look forward to hearing what you think of it. :-)

Christie

LOL I'm glad you like it. :-)

No, the second edition is just the cover and a few mistakes I spotted after publication. There's no change in the story at all.

Christie

LOL Dee, have you been reading too much? I see no Sheryl in here. *giggle*

I order my posters from http://us.posterxxl.com

They are super fast and the posters are always perfect.

Interesting thought on the ugly covers not being displayed, Gina. I never would have thought of that. It's quite possible.

I've actually had orders for autographed posters (a club in Texas wanted to display them), and my contests that offer posters as the prize are always the one with the most entries. Seems to be pretty popular.

Christie

I created an updated trailer for A Midnight Infatuation (with the new cover) if anyone wants to take a look. :-)

A Midnight Infatuation - Second Edition

Christie

Obviously I'm not saying to go out there and shout that your book is the best thing since sliced bread. But who better to answer questions about the book than the person who wrote it?

Word of mouth is fantastic though! I love it when my readers email me to say that they told their friend, sister, mother, cousin about my books and they bought all of them at one time.

Most of my personal sales came from me just being chatty with someone and then them asking what my books are about. Next thing you know, we're in a huge discussion and they're asking me questions about the stories. Then *bam*, we have a book sale (or three).

There are many authors who kind of hide themselves behind the book. They have a website and their book is being sold all over the world, but the author themselves tend to lay low from their readers.

You have to get out there. Be friendly. Be accesible to the public. And that's not even out in the real world. You can be just as chatty online without ever being face-to-face with someone.

I hope that makes sense. I tend to ramble on about stuff when I'm in a hurry. LOL!

Yes, I agree that a good cover is vital. The cover is what draws us in; it makes us pick up that book and read the back of it. If the cover is terrible, then most of us tend to just pass it right by.

Not only that, but it's something pretty that we can happily display all over the 'net! LOL! I have mini-posters of my covers framed and hanging in my house. People love them when they come over. ;-)

Christie

I've just used the Windows Movie Maker that came with my computer. It's free, so why not? LOL

I don't know enough about movie software to even know what I'd buy if I had the money to do so.

Christie

I chose the artist's work that I liked and gave the cover designer an idea of what the book was about. Then she went to work.

The designer and I have such similar tastes that it was easy to love the covers she's made for me. If I found something "off" I'd just tell her and she'd happily change it.

It was a very painless process the last two times.

Now with A Midnight Infatuation, I had a different designer. It was a horrid experience. She was argumentative, tried to put things in the cover that I didn't want there, and even gave me the wrong size for the book (making it look pixelated, to me). I've never been happy with that cover, so I never used her again.

AND I just released A Midnight Infatuation with a brand new cover from the same artist and designer as the last two. It really makes for such a nice looking "set" for these three books.



If you ever get a bad designer, just walk away. You'll never be happy with a cover that you had to fight over. I'm unhappy that I allowed it to go the way it did. But, I've remedied the situation now... well, as soon as the new cover trickles down through the book selling systems and replaces the old one.

I agree Kristin! I find marketing a lot more work than the actual book writing.

I figure who's better than the author for selling their books. They know the most about them, they spent months/years writing them, they love the books like their children, so why not be the person who sells them?

I had an artist and a cover designer. I have links for them both on my website. They are fabulous! http://www.christiesilvers.com/books.htm Just scroll down a little and you'll see their banners.

They are both great!

I have the premium version because I didn't want the ads at the top of my site.

I use 1and1 for my domain name, but like Freewebs for the site hosting.

I've never seen pop-ups on Freeweb sites, but the free version does have an ad banner across the top of the site.