Fred Fanning's Blog, page 4
January 3, 2017
Work Update
My latest non-fiction book “Stair and Ladder Safety” will be published in the Kindle format on January 20, 2017. I will make this book free for a weekend in February.
I finished a Kindle book on leadership. I had intended this to be a paperback with a Kindle version. After several revisions and so soul-searching, I decided the book was too short for a paperback, so I refocused it to a Kindle format. It will go to the editor this month and may be published in late February or early March.
I will also start editing my second novel Mystery at Devil's Elbow. This is a mystery that involves mind reading, aliens, and a bigfoot. It is set in south-central Missouri in a small village known as Devil's Elbow. I completed the first draft as part of the National Novel Writing Month competition.
I finished a Kindle book on leadership. I had intended this to be a paperback with a Kindle version. After several revisions and so soul-searching, I decided the book was too short for a paperback, so I refocused it to a Kindle format. It will go to the editor this month and may be published in late February or early March.
I will also start editing my second novel Mystery at Devil's Elbow. This is a mystery that involves mind reading, aliens, and a bigfoot. It is set in south-central Missouri in a small village known as Devil's Elbow. I completed the first draft as part of the National Novel Writing Month competition.
December 16, 2016
Work Update
My latest non-fiction book “Project Management for Safety Professionals” was published in the Kindle format on December 8, 2016. This book will be free on amazon.com this weekend December 17 and 18.
I finished a Kindle book on Stair and Ladder Safety. The book is with the editor now and should be published in January.
I also finished a paperback book on leadership. It will go to the editor in January and may be published in late February or early March.
I finished a Kindle book on Stair and Ladder Safety. The book is with the editor now and should be published in January.
I also finished a paperback book on leadership. It will go to the editor in January and may be published in late February or early March.
November 21, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016 Update
Completed writing 45,000 words for the National Novel Writing Month contest. I only need 5,000 more to win.
November 19, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016 Update
I have typed over 40,000 words for the NaNoWriMo. Only ten thousand more to go to win.
November 17, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016 Update
I have reached the halfway point in this competition. I am not having any issues at this point and am staying ahead of the required number of words per day. With this level of effort I should be done long before the deadline.
November 8, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016 Update
I am competing in the National Novel Writing Month. I started strong and have written over 15,000 words. I have 35,000 to go.
September 22, 2016
NaNoWriMo 2016 Update
I have decided to compete in the National Novel Writing Month for 2016. This is also known by the acronym NaNoWriMo. I have developed my character descriptions and a chapter breakdown. The competition requires each author to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of November. I was successful in 2014 with my novel "A Walk Among the Dead" that was published in 2016.
Unfortunately, I have decided to change my location. That means the chapter breakdown will have to be redone. I have the whole month of October to make the change so it shouldn't be a problem.
Unfortunately, I have decided to change my location. That means the chapter breakdown will have to be redone. I have the whole month of October to make the change so it shouldn't be a problem.
July 13, 2016
Do Speaking Engagements Help Authors?
I have heard that authors need to do speaking engagements to increase their public platform and help sell their books. In this post, I would like to share my experience with presentations as an author. It is important for authors to share experiences so we can all learn from each other.
Since publishing my first book, I have done 18 national and regional public presentations. I have not had any problems getting opportunities to make my presentations, and I usually get anywhere from 25 to 50 people from around the US for each presentation. I also have received positive feedback from each presentation. These presentations were to professionals that should have been interested in my non-fiction books. I also tailored the presentations on the books. Most presentations cost me around $1,000 each for travel and expenses. Lastly, I often gave away Kindle books to increase interest in my books. What I found is that there is no direct correlation between these speaking engagements, my public platform, and selling of my books.
The only problem is that none of these presentations has helped me sell books. As a result of this experience, I gave my last presentation in June. The cost of making these presentations far outways the zero return on that investment. This doesn’t mean that I think everyone should stop making presentations. I know for me that they don’t work.
Since publishing my first book, I have done 18 national and regional public presentations. I have not had any problems getting opportunities to make my presentations, and I usually get anywhere from 25 to 50 people from around the US for each presentation. I also have received positive feedback from each presentation. These presentations were to professionals that should have been interested in my non-fiction books. I also tailored the presentations on the books. Most presentations cost me around $1,000 each for travel and expenses. Lastly, I often gave away Kindle books to increase interest in my books. What I found is that there is no direct correlation between these speaking engagements, my public platform, and selling of my books.
The only problem is that none of these presentations has helped me sell books. As a result of this experience, I gave my last presentation in June. The cost of making these presentations far outways the zero return on that investment. This doesn’t mean that I think everyone should stop making presentations. I know for me that they don’t work.
July 6, 2016
Do writers need social media?
For years I have heard that a writer must participate in social media to be successful. By successful, the people meant to sell books. Well, I have tried social media for over five years now as a writer and have found a few things out.
I didn't have any luck selling books through LinkedIn, that I could confirm. However, I was able to give away a lot of books. I also got a lot of hits to my blog from LinkedIn. I have never sold a book or given one away through Pinterest. I tried what people suggested and just haven't gotten anywhere. I have deactivated my Pinterest account.
I have had some success with a Facebook fan page. I can tie the book sells back to posts that I have boosted. I have also gotten a lot of hits on my blog from Facebook. I have the same experience with Twitter. I have a lot of followers and get responses from my tweets. I have also had good results from Goodreads. I have used the giveaway program twice with limited success. I have gotten the most reviews from Goodreads. I have had good and bad results from my blog. Sometimes I get a lot of looks, but I can't say anyone has bought a book because of my blog.
That is my experience. I am sure it is different that yours. I can say that social media has helped me sell books. The books that I have sold were not financially worth the effort it takes to stay active in social media. Five years in and I am still trying to find my niche in social media. I am looking for a positive return on investment. I haven't found it. Do writers need to participate in social media to sell their books? I don't know the answer to that, but I still think trying social media is definitely a must.
I didn't have any luck selling books through LinkedIn, that I could confirm. However, I was able to give away a lot of books. I also got a lot of hits to my blog from LinkedIn. I have never sold a book or given one away through Pinterest. I tried what people suggested and just haven't gotten anywhere. I have deactivated my Pinterest account.
I have had some success with a Facebook fan page. I can tie the book sells back to posts that I have boosted. I have also gotten a lot of hits on my blog from Facebook. I have the same experience with Twitter. I have a lot of followers and get responses from my tweets. I have also had good results from Goodreads. I have used the giveaway program twice with limited success. I have gotten the most reviews from Goodreads. I have had good and bad results from my blog. Sometimes I get a lot of looks, but I can't say anyone has bought a book because of my blog.
That is my experience. I am sure it is different that yours. I can say that social media has helped me sell books. The books that I have sold were not financially worth the effort it takes to stay active in social media. Five years in and I am still trying to find my niche in social media. I am looking for a positive return on investment. I haven't found it. Do writers need to participate in social media to sell their books? I don't know the answer to that, but I still think trying social media is definitely a must.
July 3, 2016
The Basics of Storytelling
We humans have passed along information through stories for centuries. Because of that, we all know how a story is supposed to go. Our mothers and fathers taught us when we were young. Now as adults, we expect that same structure. The story must have a beginning, middle, and an end. Fiction stories need to have a moral. There are many types of fiction stories:
- Hero stories – larger than life character that saves someone or prevents a crisis.
- Villain stories – larger than life character that causes the loss of life or a crisis.
- Adventure stories – tell of a particular event with using a lot of drama.
- Fool stories – larger than life character that does things wrong that create the loss of life or crisis.
People respond favorably to Villain Stories where someone is at fault and is punished or dies as a result of their deeds. People also respond positively to Hero Stories because they see themselves in that role, even if the hero flies or has some other superhuman ability. True-to-life elements or plausible storylines need to be told in stories so people can understand them.
To expand our knowledge let me introduce you to Joseph Campbell. He has often been called an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer. In 1949 he wrote an important book titled “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” He found a common structure to the myths that man developed over the centuries that he called “the monomyth.” This gives modern writers a blueprint of the stages that a story should take. One particular outline I like is the Hero’s Journey where Campbell describes a dozen stages for drama, storytelling, and myths. See if these stages sound familiar:
- The ordinary world
- The call to adventure
- Refusal of the call
- Meeting with the mentor
- Crossing the threshold
- Tests, allies, and enemies
- Approach
- The ordeal
- The reward
- The road back
- The resurrection
- Return with the Elixir
It sounds like some of your favorite movies don’t be surprised. You may be searching for a way to tell your story that an audience would respond to. You don’t have to invent anything new and unproven. Many have gone before us and have done some solid research. Take advantage of that research and learn from some of the masters. John Campbell is one of many, there are more on the World Wide Web.
- Hero stories – larger than life character that saves someone or prevents a crisis.
- Villain stories – larger than life character that causes the loss of life or a crisis.
- Adventure stories – tell of a particular event with using a lot of drama.
- Fool stories – larger than life character that does things wrong that create the loss of life or crisis.
People respond favorably to Villain Stories where someone is at fault and is punished or dies as a result of their deeds. People also respond positively to Hero Stories because they see themselves in that role, even if the hero flies or has some other superhuman ability. True-to-life elements or plausible storylines need to be told in stories so people can understand them.
To expand our knowledge let me introduce you to Joseph Campbell. He has often been called an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer. In 1949 he wrote an important book titled “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” He found a common structure to the myths that man developed over the centuries that he called “the monomyth.” This gives modern writers a blueprint of the stages that a story should take. One particular outline I like is the Hero’s Journey where Campbell describes a dozen stages for drama, storytelling, and myths. See if these stages sound familiar:
- The ordinary world
- The call to adventure
- Refusal of the call
- Meeting with the mentor
- Crossing the threshold
- Tests, allies, and enemies
- Approach
- The ordeal
- The reward
- The road back
- The resurrection
- Return with the Elixir
It sounds like some of your favorite movies don’t be surprised. You may be searching for a way to tell your story that an audience would respond to. You don’t have to invent anything new and unproven. Many have gone before us and have done some solid research. Take advantage of that research and learn from some of the masters. John Campbell is one of many, there are more on the World Wide Web.
