Janalyn Voigt's Blog, page 38
January 21, 2011
January 20, 2011
Notes to Self: When Plans Change
It happens whenever I, who fondly imagines myself an organized person, become smug. It's enough to send me back to bed with the pillows over my head, wailing, "When did I sign up for this anyway?" What am I talking about? Change. Oh that.
I have ideas about the direction my writing career should go, but then an idea I must write blindsides me from nowhere and turns me onto a different road than the one I thought I'd travel.
I like to pretend I'm in control of my life, but in reality that's only partly true. I'm in control of the choices I make, nothing more. That's pretty scary but also wonderful. You see, I love adventure.
Life is a fleeting thing, a crazy slide into home. As a person who likes to plan, I find it humbling that I can't know everything, be everything and do everything. But then, if I could, I'd be God, and I'm pretty sure He's got it all covered.
Note to Self: Plan but be ready for change.
© 2010 Janalyn Voigt
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January 19, 2011
Quick Notes: Hootsuite Tutorial
Hootsuite is my favorite application for managing my social media accounts. Here's a beginner's tutorial. The stats tracking feature is pretty cool.
© 2010 Janalyn Voigt
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January 16, 2011
Newsy Notes: 10 Publishing Predictions: #1 Self-Publishing Will Lose Its Stigma
Confused by rapid-fire changes in the publishing landscape? Over the next ten Sundays I'll provide links to articles covering publishing predictions. Here's the first:
One of the media transformations I expect to take place over the next 10 years, if not sooner, is that book publishing will become more blog-like — that is, micropublishing, the interest of the New York houses in putting out blockbusters, and the decline of the industry (and its retail counterpart) generally will lead to a proliferation of vanity presses that will, over time, lose their stigma. ~ David McCarthy The American Conservative: Publishing Predictions
Of interest to writers: The plethora of downloadable free books by antiquated authors benefits readers but means a disadvantage to living writers who otherwise might have received healthy advances and sales from traditional publishers. However, writers whose books would have been passed over will instead see their books come to fruition. Also, the consequences to an author of languishing sales won't be as dire, since moving 200 copies will be the marginally-profitable norm. Published authors will no longer be considered famous. David McCarthy predicts that a new mainstream will arise and publishing gems will arise above the rubbish. He sees the key to survival as editorial branding.
My take: The responsibility for producing a quality book will fall to its author. Those who see a profit to be made from self-publishers will jump into the editing pool, regardless of their ability level. As a result, it will become difficult for writers to determine the caliber of editorial services offered. Some will find the costs of editing prohibitive. This will result in many books of poor quality and disenchanted readers. Writers of quality will need to use good marketing and branding tactics in order to ride out the wave and reach readers.
© 2010 Janalyn Voigt
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January 14, 2011
Grace Notes: What Words Can't Do
What Words Can't Do
Harsh words spoken in haste cannot erase themselves without me.
© 2010 Janalyn Voigt
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January 13, 2011
Notes to Self: Plan to Avoid Burn-Out
Ever since I tried to plan the entire next year of Girl Scouts in June, I've understood my tendency to look further ahead than the average person finds comfortable. Anyone who's organized a family reunion way in advance (guilty here) knows that people just don't want to think that far ahead. Upon reflection, they may have a point.
With a shiny new year gleaming like a child with newly-washed ears, the possibilities seem endless. In my enthusiasm, I could with relative ease overload myself and burn out within the month. (Don't ask me how I know this.)
This year I've added a new goal: building margin into my schedule. Burn-out won't do me, or anyone else, any good. With DawnSinger releasing this year, I'll need a reserve of time to meet new responsibilities. I also want to leave freedom to catch any blessings that might rain upon me. And I need to make time to rest.
Note to Self: Plan your year with an eye to avoiding burn-out
© 2010 Janalyn Voigt
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January 12, 2011
Quick Notes: Clear the Field
If you're anything like me, you have one or two accounts with sites you've signed up for and abandoned. Such things can come back to bite you. At the least, they don't help your online image.
And then there are those applications I gave permission to post to my Twitter and Facebook walls, but that I no longer use. These permissions don't benefit me and can become vulnerabilities that expose me to hacking.
We won't even discuss the extra files and pictures cluttering my computer.
The beginning of the year is a great time to purge, wipe the slate clean, to clear the field for whatever comes next.
Care to join me?
© 2010 Janalyn Voigt
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January 9, 2011
Reader Notes: Upcoming Anthology
Coming in Summer 2011
The Book of Sylvari: an Elven Anthology
© 2010 Janalyn Voigt
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January 7, 2011
Viral Notes: Two Sides of Marketing
Chris Brogan President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency, breaks marketing into two categories:
Some marketing is designed to convince you that your life would be better if you had this (we'll call that the A side). Other marketing is designed to find the people who are actually seekingthat and give them more education to help them make a decision (this, we'll call B). ~Chris Brogan in Two Sides of Marketing
My own research indicates that most people market to people who are aware of their need for a product — Chris Brogan's "A" category. However, category "B" holds more potential for growth, since a greater number of people fall into this category. A good marketing strategy will reach out to both categories.
Tribal Writer Justine Lee Musk responded to Brogan's post with her own analysis and recommendations:
The needs of readers will vary and whether your work satisfies those needs can be wildly subjective (especially since the most powerful kinds of fiction also tend to be the most polarizing). If I start educatingyou about why you should go to Amazon right now (!) and buy my first novel, it will come off as a hard sell. Because it is. ~ Justine Lee Musk in Two Sides of Marketing: What Makes People Buy Your Books
I like Justine's definition of why people buy books from writers:
So I would put it like this: people buy books from authors that they resonate with. And byresonate, I mean that there's something about the author's voice and point of view that they can relate to. That point-of-view compels them. It sparks off a sense of recognition. (This also works in reverse. When I read a book that I resonate with, I go online to find the author.) It's a chemistry between author and reader. It can't be faked.~ Justine Lee Musk in Two Sides of Marketing: What Makes People Buy Your Books
Just don't get a complex trying to convert what I'll call category C: those people who won't buy your books for any reason. You can't please everyone.
© 2010 Janalyn Voigt
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January 6, 2011
Notes to Self: Am I Driven or Purposeful?
When it comes to writing I can be intense. That's good, right? Not always.
There's a difference between living a purposeful life and driving myself. The former is my response to the call to write; the latter comes from desperate zeal to attain my goals. It all depends on my focus. If I serve my own desires, I might drive right past my destination. But if I surrender to my calling, a previously hidden road unfolds before me.
Recently, frustration gripped me at thought of how far I still have to go in my writing career. While I wrote DawnKing, book two of my trilogy, I meant to complete two novels in the year, but the demands of edits, additional research, and platform building put that idea on the back burner. In hind sight, my goal was unrealistic. I'm still learning to pace myself.
I almost forgot to glance back over 2010 until prompted by an exercise posted to an email loop for ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). As I responded, sketching out the many surprises and blessings that came my way in 2010, my frustration fell away. The year started on a high point with a contract for DawnSinger, my debut fantasy novel, but that was only the beginning. I had no idea that as the year progressed I would become a Carol Awards judge, attend a workshop taught by Chip MacGregor and Susan May Warren, win a scholarship to a writing conference, learn SEO and place a short story in an anthology. (I don't even normally write short stories, but that's another subject.)
My frustration came from focusing on my impatience with the progress of my writing career. Counting my many blessings in a spirit of humility provides just the cure.
Note to Self: I can look forward with anticipation rather than frustration when I remember to look back with gratitude.
What about you? Have you learned a lesson similar to mine? I appreciate all comments.
© 2010 Janalyn Voigt
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