Chantal Boudreau's Blog - Posts Tagged "creativity"
I'm no expert, but...
I wish I was a master marketer, it would make this book business a lot easier, but I do know, based on my own personal reaction to things, what doesn’t work on me – “buy my book” spam. This topic was discussed on a rather extensive thread in one of the Facebook writer groups that I belong to, a group I participate in specifically because we’ve all agreed we don’t want to see that kind spam posted to the group. It means we actually see real discussions. People post questions, excerpts or opinions. I know if I check out the group I won’t be bombarded by one dry “here’s my link to my book, it’s only $ -.--” after another. In some of the other writer groups the spam posts are 80-90% of content. I don’t go there anymore, since I have better things to do with my time then scroll through the spam to find anything worthwhile.
Now don’t get me wrong – I buy books. I buy books from trad publishers and smaller presses, and I buy books from my writer friends when they’ve made a real connection with me and have captured my interest. In those cases there is usually a mutual effort to support each other’s work. I also know that promotion is important, as long as it is effective promotion. If your attempts at drawing attention to your book is causing people to tune out and shut off, you’re doing something wrong. They say you need to get a message to a potential buyer several times before they’ll commit to a purchase, but just because you blast that message at them doesn’t mean they’ll absorb it. In fact, if you bore them with vague and repetitive unoriginal posts, they’ll likely reject the message and ignore anything that follows, the way that I do. If you want me to pay attention you either have to *really* excite me or make a concerted effort to show me who you are and what you do.
As another friend in my preferred group pointed out – spamming writer groups is an even greater waste of time and energy. Writers may read, but they are very particular about what they read, because with the investment they put into their writing (and submissions, and edits, and promotional activities), they are left with little time for other distractions. Spamming reader groups might yield a little success, but many reader groups are now made up of writers looking for an opportunity to promote their books. He suggested focussing your marketing efforts on topic-associated groups. What I understood that to mean is that if one of the main themes of your book is something like surfing, then try posting your promotional material to surfer groups, of if your tale puts a negative spin on genetic manipulation, give it some exposure on an anti-GMO group (just as a couple of examples).
From the research I’ve done, my dislike of the “buy my book” posts is not unique. It’s considered to be one of the least effective marketing methods. The problem is, it’s simple, not requiring much thought or effort, and other than a small investment of time, it’s free. Some use it to supplement loftier efforts, and some use it because they lack training/experience or the willingness to be more creative and innovative.
Like I said, I’m no expert, but I know what annoys and bores me. If you want me to buy your book, try something other than the online barrage. Pique my interest, don’t drown it.
Now don’t get me wrong – I buy books. I buy books from trad publishers and smaller presses, and I buy books from my writer friends when they’ve made a real connection with me and have captured my interest. In those cases there is usually a mutual effort to support each other’s work. I also know that promotion is important, as long as it is effective promotion. If your attempts at drawing attention to your book is causing people to tune out and shut off, you’re doing something wrong. They say you need to get a message to a potential buyer several times before they’ll commit to a purchase, but just because you blast that message at them doesn’t mean they’ll absorb it. In fact, if you bore them with vague and repetitive unoriginal posts, they’ll likely reject the message and ignore anything that follows, the way that I do. If you want me to pay attention you either have to *really* excite me or make a concerted effort to show me who you are and what you do.
As another friend in my preferred group pointed out – spamming writer groups is an even greater waste of time and energy. Writers may read, but they are very particular about what they read, because with the investment they put into their writing (and submissions, and edits, and promotional activities), they are left with little time for other distractions. Spamming reader groups might yield a little success, but many reader groups are now made up of writers looking for an opportunity to promote their books. He suggested focussing your marketing efforts on topic-associated groups. What I understood that to mean is that if one of the main themes of your book is something like surfing, then try posting your promotional material to surfer groups, of if your tale puts a negative spin on genetic manipulation, give it some exposure on an anti-GMO group (just as a couple of examples).
From the research I’ve done, my dislike of the “buy my book” posts is not unique. It’s considered to be one of the least effective marketing methods. The problem is, it’s simple, not requiring much thought or effort, and other than a small investment of time, it’s free. Some use it to supplement loftier efforts, and some use it because they lack training/experience or the willingness to be more creative and innovative.
Like I said, I’m no expert, but I know what annoys and bores me. If you want me to buy your book, try something other than the online barrage. Pique my interest, don’t drown it.
Mental Music
The discussion came up in one of my writers’ groups as to whether it’s better to listen to music while you write or to sit in silence. Opinions differed, and I don’t think that any one answer is correct. Some people want a completely distraction-free environment and that’s how they work best, but that’s not what I find works for me, and I’m not alone. Others insist that they can only listen to instrumental music and that lyrics draw them away from what they are writing. Once again, I don’t share that belief, for my own writing. I enjoy listening to music when I write and find it highly inspirational, preferably songs with lyrics and most often alternative rock.
I’m not suggesting that my method would work for everyone. Some people need to be very single-minded when they do something creative, but even in silence, my brain is cluttered and music seems to help me to drown out some of the clutter and to focus. Considering I’m one of those oddball dual-sided thinkers, I wouldn’t expect my creative process to match that of the typical right-brained scribe.
Science does provide some positive evidence for those in favour of listening to music as they write. There are scholastic studies that support the notion music heightens creative processes through increased pleasurable emotions, although particularly with music that the individual enjoys. While not necessarily having drastic effects, there is an “enjoyment arousal” factor (a term coined by C. F. Chabris) that can improve creative performance (see details of stimulating effects of music in the study paper “Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion” by Anne J. Blood and Robert J. Zatorre, from McGill University). The study specifically shows an increase in higher thought processes and a decrease in the more animalistic brain functions in response to the music. The music also has a calming effect (as per the Harvard Gazette article, Music on the brain: Researchers explore the biology of music, by William J. Cromie), and relaxation is helpful when trying to be creative.
A second paper from McGill supports that emotional responses correlate to the music played, something else we discussed in the group. If you are writing a love scene versus a battle scene, the two definitely call for different musical playlists to generate the appropriate ambiance.
The studies also support those who say they need to write in silence. If a writer hasn’t found a type of music that can draw that pleasurable reaction, then the response to the dissonance caused by the music is the exact opposite - the music would create a negative result and actually draw their attention away from other things, such as the story they are trying to create. It could very well be that those who need silence in order to write have yet to find a music with which their mental functions are in sync, if one exists for them at all.
Musical food for thought...
I’m not suggesting that my method would work for everyone. Some people need to be very single-minded when they do something creative, but even in silence, my brain is cluttered and music seems to help me to drown out some of the clutter and to focus. Considering I’m one of those oddball dual-sided thinkers, I wouldn’t expect my creative process to match that of the typical right-brained scribe.
Science does provide some positive evidence for those in favour of listening to music as they write. There are scholastic studies that support the notion music heightens creative processes through increased pleasurable emotions, although particularly with music that the individual enjoys. While not necessarily having drastic effects, there is an “enjoyment arousal” factor (a term coined by C. F. Chabris) that can improve creative performance (see details of stimulating effects of music in the study paper “Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion” by Anne J. Blood and Robert J. Zatorre, from McGill University). The study specifically shows an increase in higher thought processes and a decrease in the more animalistic brain functions in response to the music. The music also has a calming effect (as per the Harvard Gazette article, Music on the brain: Researchers explore the biology of music, by William J. Cromie), and relaxation is helpful when trying to be creative.
A second paper from McGill supports that emotional responses correlate to the music played, something else we discussed in the group. If you are writing a love scene versus a battle scene, the two definitely call for different musical playlists to generate the appropriate ambiance.
The studies also support those who say they need to write in silence. If a writer hasn’t found a type of music that can draw that pleasurable reaction, then the response to the dissonance caused by the music is the exact opposite - the music would create a negative result and actually draw their attention away from other things, such as the story they are trying to create. It could very well be that those who need silence in order to write have yet to find a music with which their mental functions are in sync, if one exists for them at all.
Musical food for thought...
