Cara Brookins's Blog, page 4

Eight Conference Lessons From My 10 Year Old

Attending a business conference with my 10 year old gave me a fresh love of T-shirt cannons. Roman and I traveled to sunny Anaheim California for VidCon last week. This YouTuber and social media conference features the stars of the industry as well as brands and sponsors who connect with creators like my family. (Also, piles of screaming, star-struck teens ... Read More

Rise: Cover Reveal!

I spent six years writing and rewriting my memoir until I got it right. Then I found an agent and one year ago Rise: How a House Built a Family sold to St. Martin’s Press in an auction. Even though this is my first memoir, it’s my eighth book so I know how long the publishing process can be. But ... Read More

Why Authors Need A Speaker Reel

Filming a speaker reel was the longest two minutes of my life. But I’ll get to that. First let me explain why I’m filming a speaker reel in the first place. It’s because authors no longer hide away and write books while publishers do the dirty work of selling them. You have to get dirty too. If you don’t, publishers ... Read More

Behind The Scenes: Nine Speaker Reel Tips

Filming a speaker reel was the longest two minutes of my life. But I’ll get to that. First let me explain why I’m filming a speaker reel in the first place. It’s because authors no longer hide away and write books while publishers do the dirty work of selling them. You have to get dirty too. If you don’t, publishers ... Read More

Book Covers Change for e-Sales

I judge a book by it’s cover. I don’t want to, but I can’t help myself. Since I refuse to read summaries and teasers, I’m at the mercy of marketers who do an incredibly good job of visually selling me books. I mean, have you seen my library? Book covers sell books. And on the opposite side of the coin, ... Read More

Book Cover Highlight

I judge a book by it’s cover. I don’t want to, but I can’t help myself. Since I refuse to read summaries and teasers, I’m at the mercy of marketers who do an incredibly good job of visually selling me books. I mean, have you seen my library? Book covers sell books. And on the opposite side of the coin, ... Read More

Live Streaming for Authors

I spent last week at Social Media Marketing World and it made me pretty uncomfortable. That’s not what I expected, because I spend a LOT of time on social media and I’m incredibly comfortable there. What had me ducking behind crowds and sneaking away from the action? Live video. I mean a seriously crazy amount of live video. Imagine attending ... Read More

Rise: Bound Manuscripts

Eight times I’ve run up from my mailbox holding an envelope with a freshly printed book that I wrote with my own ten fingers. It was a fantastic feeling every single time. But this time, even though it wasn’t a real book yet—just a bound manuscript with a paper cover—everything was different. This time, it was my real life between ... Read More

Four Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing Versus Traditional Publishing

Put in the time to really learn the publishing business, and you can make a lot of money writing. But with the big shift from traditional to self-publishing, which direction is right for you? What’s your goal? Most writers dream of being financially supported by their writing. Even with the flood of books entering the market today, this is still ... Read More

Digital Trip Home

This week I took a trip back to my home town of Tomah, Wisconsin and I didn’t even have to stop for snow tires or wear a parka. I didn’t get to stop for a 30 cheese variety pack either though. I went to talk to a group of Tomah Middle School students about life as a writer, and I traveled there by Skype. I tried to imagine what my