Lizzy Ford's Blog, page 70
August 13, 2011
Building Your Web Presence for Authors: Google Analytics
There are topics which I would rather write about, but I would be remiss not to discuss tracking and Google analytics first. It's free and a powerful tool for helping you determine where you need to expend your efforts in your online activities to increase traffic to your website. If you're already using Google analytics (or another tracking option) hopefully you learn at least one new thing. If you're not using Google analytics, this should be the first thing you do with your website.
Google analytics is a free service Google provides which automatically tracks everyone who visits your site, where they came from (this is huge), where they go on your site, if they're a new visitor or not etc. If you're serious about building your web presence and brand as an author, you should have a website and you should know: how many people are visiting, what's bringing them there, and what pages interested them the most. The purpose of knowing these things is so you can target and maximize your online activities. Downloading Google analytics is on you, but Google will handle the rest for you free of charge!
Below is a screen shot of our Google analytic page for August 12, 2011
From the information on the main page (not shown) I know we had 339 visits that day from 305 different people. 65% of them were new visitors (woo hoo!)
For the information on this page, I can see that 12% of my visitors are "Direct Traffic". That means one of the following: they typed www.guerrillawordfare.com themselves, they had already bookmarked our page and just clicked on it, or they clicked on a link in non web page (word doc, pdf etc.).
Almost 19% came from search engines. If you look in the lower right, you can see what terms people typed into Google which led them to our page. The most popular was "Lizzy Ford" which brought 14 visits to our site that day.
The remaining 69% of traffic came from referring sites such as free-online-novels.com, publicbookshelf.com etc.
Even without mentioning the thousands of things we can and will do with this data, I'm sure you see the value in knowing who visits you, so you can learn how to be effective in targeting and drawing people to your online brand.
How to obtain and install Google analytics:
1. The first thing you need to do is signup for Google analytics at http://www.google.com/analytics/
This is 100% free of charge.
2. Verify with Google that you own the site. When you sign up for Google analytics, it provides you a tiny snippet of computer code, which you copy and paste within the source code on the main page of your website just before the tag at the top of your html page.
If you or a web designer made your website using html (like Julia's) this step was easy.
If you're one of the millions who uses WordPress, it's almost as easy. Go into your dashboard, click "appearance," then click "editor." This should show the code of one file, and a list of other files on the right hand side. Click on the file called "header" and it should show you the code for that section. First, do both of us a HUGE favor and copy and paste the contents of this file into a text file so you have a backup. Modifying code without having a backup copy is begging for a frustrating night trying to fix your site. Anyways, once you've backed up, you should see a tag in the mid to lower part of the page. Copy the code snippet you got from Google right BEFORE the part being careful not to touch or copy over anything else. Hit update, slowly back away, then go view your website and be pleasantly surprised that you didn't break it.
Once the code is in place, return to your Google analytics account to verify. Google will walk you through the verification process and will do a check, sees the code it sent you is on the site, and therefore trusts that the site is yours.
3. Once you've got your account and Google has verified it, you can move to the next step. The first thing you have to do is once again get another tiny snippet of code from Google analytics. This code is the code which tracks who uses your site and how they use it. This code will go on EVERY page of your website so that Google can track them all. This sounds like a future time sink, it's not. If you use WordPress, there are free plugins which handle putting the code on each page for you (we use one called Google Analyticator). You put your code in the setting for that plugin and never think about it again.
If you use a traditional website like Julia's, all you need to do is add the tiny bit of code in the header of every page you have, and then add it into your template so you never have to worry about this again. The tracking code will go in the same place your verification code went. If you have any problems with this step, there is an active community at http://www.google.com/support/googleanalytics/ .
If you made your own site, this should go smoothly. If you had nothing to do with building your website and don't know source code from a ham sandwich, you can either have the person who made your site add in these code snippets or make your most tech savvy friend dinner in exchange for their labor. Once it's done checking your numbers will become as much a part of your morning routine as brushing your teeth!
Building Your Web Presence for Authors: Introduction
Recently I realized that anybody who was specifically looking for Lizzy Ford or her books was easily finding them. This was great news for Lizzy; she is selling more books now than ever. This was horrible news for me since now that we have met our first goal by establishing our web presence so people can find us (which is fairly easy to accomplish), and have to move onto the more challenging second goal: we have to start going after those who aren't specifically searching for Lizzy, just for a book (MUCH harder). Thank goodness I don't have a hobby…
Last night Lizzy asked me to take a look at the website of Julia Crane (author of "Coexist (Keegan's Chronicles)
") whose site she said was beautiful, but was getting little-to-no web traffic. I took a look and sure enough, she was right on both counts. Instead of just emailing Julia a few tips, we asked for her permission to use her site and ours to illustrate things authors can do to help themselves build a web presence.
Julia's site: www.juliacraneauthor.com
My first impression: what a beautiful site! I was also thrilled that my #1 fear hadn't come true. The site was (Adobe) flash free. Some of the most beautiful sites on the web are made with Adobe flash or with fancy graphics instead of text. The only problem is that Google can't read movies or pictures, only words. If I used fancy flash animations or graphics to put the "Lizzy Ford Ebooks" button on our site, Google would have no idea what the link description was, which makes it harder for people doing searches on search engines to find you. A good web designer can overcome these challenges, but most never do. There is nothing worse then the look in someone's eyes when you tell them that the website they spent thousands on, which is beautiful, should be re-built from scratch. I'm sure I will have to say that again someday, but thankfully today isn't that day.
So first off, good job, Julia! Making your site search engine friendly will be much easier for you!
Enough with boring tech talk, let's get to the "fun" stuff. I'll be writing articles on each of the following three initial actions you should take if you haven't already. I'll be walking you through these using Julia's and Lizzy's websites as examples.
Setup google analytics so you can track where your website is getting traffic from
Evaluate your current rank
Do some simple keywords analysis
Once you've done these three things you can begin the fun journey of optimizing your site, based on what you've learned. This will probably be a long series of instructive articles, and I'd like to make it interactive as well. Please feel free to post any question you have. A lot of the basics we will post can be found other places, but we will attempt to make it as simple as possible, and give practical examples from our experiences. Once we knock the basics out of the way, we can also start adding in some things that are author specific, and some things that aren't as well known, but can seriously boost your websites traffic.
August 11, 2011
Preview: New Damian Oracle's cover revealed prior to September re-release
The revised version of Damian's Oracle will be released in September. Christine is editing it this month! Here's the redesigned cover, by the wonderful Dafeenah.
You'll probably also notice I'm renaming the Damian Series based on readers' feedback. It'll now be known as the War of Gods series. 
August 8, 2011
Kiera's Moon
Download Kiera's Moon for Free
Lizzy Ford's newest book "Kiera's Moon" is here!
Full length sci-fi / fantasy romance novel Kiera's Moon is now available for free download for your Kindle, Nook, iPad, eReader or Kobo. What's the only thing better then a new Lizzy Ford eBook? A new FREE Lizzy Ford eBook
When starving artist Kiera wakes up on board a spaceship, she panics. Her best friend has dragged her across the universe to help her find a man and a life, only the man she ends up unwittingly hooking up with is a battle-hardened warrior prince living in exile.
Calculating, cautious A'Ran wants nothing more than to reclaim his planet. He needs Kiera as his lifemate to heal his planet and his war weary people. He's not prepared to be a lifemate himself, and discovers almost too late what he risks losing if he can't learn to be more than a warrior.
August 1, 2011
Writers first: Lizzy Ford and Diane Gaston have a chat
I had the pleasure of sitting down over a late lunch with Diane Gaston, one of my heroes in romance writing whose books have been published by Harlequin and Warner. I met Diane six years ago at a Washington Romance Writers meeting. Since I'm shy, she's the only person I spoke to in the two hours I was there. We've traded emails since then but hadn't had a chance to sit down together until this past Saturday.
A lot of our discussion centered around the changing publishing landscape, the impact of emerging ebook technology, and the two camps of writers that seem to have formed. There's been a growing divide between those authors who have been traditionally published and those who are indies. This divide seems to pit the majority of them against each other, which each having found a reason to resent the other and being quite vocal about it.
Diane and I are a lot alike: good people who love to write. Neither of us has two heads or spews fire; neither of us goes to sleep thinking, 'if only I had taken a different route to being published' or 'screw those indies/traditionally published!' We're writers first, all else second, and this understanding is probably why we clicked so well. The main difference between us: we chose different publishing paths.
I find it odd that this personal choice – which is exactly what it is – has caused so much angst among writers and can't help but think it has everything to do with emotion and nothing to do with reason. If we writers were to unite and demand the publishing industry change to a more sustainable business model that also rewards traditionally published writers and makes its services available to indies, we'd be an unstoppable force. Instead, writers fight each other while the industry as a whole staggers to keep pace with technological advancement and hang onto readers when the shelf space is shrinking and eReaders are quickly becoming the tech toy of the day.
In a philosophical sense, aren't both camps of writers part of the greater writing machine? Why on earth would I want to see my fellow writers fail? Whether indie or traditional, the options now afforded by epublishing have annihilated the status quo. Indies have a direct avenue to publish, market, and distribute to readers, and the traditionally published have a negotiating tool for rights/royalties and the ability to keep their backlists active as ebooks after their contracts expire. Technology doesn't discriminate against indies or traditionally published, and neither should we.
Maybe I'll be considered a traitor to my indie colleagues, but Diane is my friend, the person I credit with encouraging me during the part of my life when I almost gave up on my writing. I'm not going to lose her because we chose different paths, and I'm never going to think poorly of her – or others – who choose the traditionally published path. I'm going to support all my fellow writers, because that's simply the way it should be.
July 27, 2011
(Revised) Want to support Lizzy and the Rhyn Trilogy? Here's how!
I've had quite a few people tell me they'd like to contribute somehow to my efforts, since most of you find my books online for free! I've found two sites, one of which allows international donations, to fund two projects. The first: the second book in the Rhyn Trilogy, Katie's Hope, which is open to US donations. The second project: the translation of Katie's Hellion from English into Spanish, which is open to the world.
Katie's Hope: fundraising open to US donations
I started a project on Kickstarter, a website that allows artists and others to post projects and request that others donate as little as $1 to the project. The project I posted: Katie's Hope, sequel to Katie's Hellion. (Click here for more info.) PLEASE NOTE: Kickstarter only accepts US donations.
I set the goal price for the project at $250, which would cover half-ish of my costs. Each book I release costs me between $400-500 to produce and market, and I am not yet able to make back my investment off my Amazon sales. Which is fine – I expected this to happen this year, so my hubby and I planned for this. Being a writer is my dream, and my dream costs me between 400-500 a month. I'd pay a zillion (assuming I had a zillion to pay!)
If you'd like to donate, please click here. I've included a rewards structure for each donation. It's not a creative rewards structure, but I can modify that for the next project, if this does work!
Disclosure: I'M WRITING "KATIE'S HOPE" WHETHER OR NOT THIS GETS FUNDED, so nobody need fear that I'm holding the book hostage. This is just a means to defer the cost! You will get your Rhyn-and-Katie fix … don't worry! Haha!
Katie's Hellion translation project: open to international donations
The 'Katie's Hellion' translation project stems from both the understanding of the under-served Spanish language book market in the U.S. and the desire to extend the opportunity to support my projects to my international readers. I'm using a site called IndieGoGo.com for this one. Click here to see the project!
The translation project will provide me the opportunity to test the market for Spanish language books. Like the rest of my books, the Spanish language books will be available to the international market via electronic book distributed through Amazon, Sony, and others. The Spanish version will also be for sale in the paperback version.
As with the "Katie's Hope" project, the "Katie's Hellion" translation project also features a rewards structure, which includes a free ebook verison of the translated book, just for tweeting or posting this project to your wall on Facebook!
Want to support Lizzy and Katie's Hope? Here's how!
I've had quite a few people tell me they'd like to contribute somehow to my efforts, since most of you find my books online for free! So, I started a project on Kickstarter, a website that allows artists and others to post projects and request that others donate as little as $1 to the project. The project I posted: Katie's Hope, sequel to Katie's Hellion. (Click here for more info.)
I set the goal price for the project at $250, which would cover half-ish of my costs. Each book I release costs me between $400-500 to produce and market, and I am not yet able to make back my investment off my Amazon sales. Which is fine – I expected this to happen this year, so my hubby and I planned for this. Being a writer is my dream, and my dream costs me between 400-500 a month. I'd pay a zillion (assuming I had a zillion to pay!)
For those in the writing business, you know this is INSANELY DIRT CHEAP. This includes my editing, cover and marketing. My editor and cover artist work for much less than their counterparts, which is good for me, but probably not so good for them, though I've promised them both raises in a few months!
If you'd like to donate, please click here. I've included a rewards structure for each donation. It's not a creative rewards structure, but I can modify that for the next project, if this does work!
Disclosure: I'M WRITING "KATIE'S HOPE" WHETHER OR NOT THIS GETS FUNDED, so nobody need fear that I'm holding the book hostage. This is just a means to defer the cost! You will get your Rhyn-and-Katie fix … don't worry! Haha!
July 25, 2011
Out of The Abyss: Lizzy Ford interrogates debut novelist Joshua Mays
Josh is one of those rare novelists who has the ability to transport you completely to somewhere different, new, intriguing. His first installment of the Terra Incognita trilogy draws you into a lethal treasure hunt where failure could mean the end of mankind. Josh manages to make entering a fantasy world perfectly logical, as if everyone has the potential to walk through a magic door but only a few choose to do so. His characters are complex, his ability to engage the reader – and blur reality with a world filled with dark magic – fantastic. His storytelling has the rare quality of ingenuity that many canned and neatly packaged books lack in today's cookie-cutter literature market. I anticipate a great many unique, engaging books from Josh in the near future!
Josh's book: Terra Incognita: (The Abyss)
About the Author
Tell me what readers should know about Josh Mays, the man behind Terra Incognita: (The Abyss).
They should know that I am in fact a man. There are no uncanny secrets below the belt. In all seriousness, I'm just a guy who thought he had a book or two inside of him. Turns out there are at least 10 and I'm hoping that people actually enjoy them.
What inspires you to write?
The challenge of putting what's in my head on paper.
If you had a perfect writing outfit, what would it be?
Something that is comfortable and preferably clean.
How do you define success as a writer?
That first real fan who loves your work because it speaks to them.
Does your family read your book?
Not yet, but I will make them.
What's the #1 piece of advice you'd like to give other indie authors?
Hire an editor!
What's the hardest part of writing a novel, in your opinion?
Not getting discouraged by how much time it takes.
Your novel, Terra Incognita: (The Abyss), is about a young man who discovers a secret room in his parent's house that leads him on an adventure to find magic talismans. There's a fresh magic to your writing that makes the extraordinary possible without any of the dream-like quality that appears in a lot of fantasy writing. How do you keep the fantastic elements of your story so realistic?
Of everything anyone's said, this has to be the biggest compliment I've gotten. I don't know honestly. I've always had an issue with stories that take on blatant or vulgar imagery and explanations. I try to marry the fantastic with the realistic. With the sphinx for example, I took what I know from life and gave it the primary attributes of a cat. The scratching and pawing are all things my cat Spook does and that's what I thought about while writing that scene.
Your writing really does remind me a lot of mine: it's very visual, in that, I can see the movie playing in my head as I read. I'm a fan of descriptive prose, so I've enjoyed getting lost in your book. What was your inspiration behind writing Terra Incognita?
I can think of a few places that come to mind. First, Timelife Series Secrets of the Unknown. Second, The secret teachings of all ages. Mix a life time of strange interest with a healthy helping of HP Lovecraft, Robert E Howard, Alan Moore, and Mike Mignola and that's where it comes from.
I believe you mentioned this is book one in a trilogy. Care to share your plans (or approximate release schedule) for the second and third books?
This is the first part in a series of three that make up the first book. There will be a number of other books, but I chose to serialize my stories so I could get them out there sooner. It worked for Dickens [and] Heres; hoping I have the same success.
What's the story's main message?
I don't know if there is a message. I just really like stories about epic adventures and that's what I wrote about. I didn't really understand themes and messages until after I was already done, so maybe there will be a message in the next book. Something like "Don't do drugs!"
Who is/are the main characters?
The only main character I have is Benjamin Harking. He's an everyday boy who has been thrust into an insane situation that forces him to take a stark look at his actions. There are some other characters that I really enjoy though, like Miles (the not so lovable rogue) and Azothothus (the diabolical emissary of the Hollow.)
Which character do you admire from this book?
I do everything I can to put my characters through hell. I have to say, I admire all of them for not giving up on me so far.
Which character surprised you when you wrote him/her?
Donovan. (That's all you get)
If you could be stranded on a desert island with one of your characters from this novel, which one and why?
Ben seems like a pretty nice fellow. I'd probably pick him because my editor tells me characterization is my only weak point. More time with him would be better character when I'm writing him.
Which one would you definitely NOT want to be stranded with and why?
Azothothus. He's kind of an asshole.
What did you learn about yourself when you wrote this book?
I learned that I have what it takes to put the pen to paper and actually create something most people can't. It's a good feeling when people tell you you've achieved something they only dream about.
What other projects do you have planned?
I started Terra Incognita: (The Abyss) as an easy project to get my feet wet. After I'm done, I want to move on to something more serious, more human. I want to connect with people and write a real American classic that will go down in the annals of history and allow me to leave my mark on the world.
Where can we find your book?
Amazon: Terra Incognita: (The Abyss)
Where can we find you?
July 20, 2011
Karin, Un-Caged. Lizzy Ford interrogates prolific author Karin Cox
Karin's had 28 books published. Yes, TWENTY EIGHT. She's also an editor, works for a publishing company in Australia, and is raising a family. So, what does Karin do when she's not taking over the world? She self-publishes! The best description I can give of Karin's work is that she captures and shares the innermost workings of the soul. She depicts emotion in its rawest form in both her poetry and her short stories and can take you from happiness to tragedy to hope within a few lines. Her writing is technically flawless and engaging, her short stories brilliant in their thoughtful portrayal of complex emotions. My favorite: "Cage Life," the short story bearing the moniker of her short story collection, whose twist I never expected and which left me thinking: wow, just wow.
Karin's Books:
About the Author
Tell me what readers should know about Karin Cox, the woman behind the books. And by books, I mean something crazy like 28 of them!
When it comes to both reading and writing, I'm completely incapable of sticking to any one genre.
What inspires you to write?
Everything! I find that I am an "ideas" person, so I have four WiPs at present, some of which have been waiting more than a year for my attention and, you know, actual writing time.
If you had a perfect writing outfit, what would it be?
I do have a perfect writing outfit (adjusts pajama top guiltily), but it should probably be a straightjacket.
How do you define success as a writer?
Success is fleeting. I felt enormously proud when my first ever book was published more than six years ago, but after the initial ecstasy it wasn't enough. To me, success comes in knowing that others enjoy what you're doing, and that you continue to enjoy it too.
Does your family read your books?
My family definitely read my natural history books, and my nieces and nephews love my children's books. My dad has always enjoyed poetry, but weirdly my mum has read more of my poems than he has. I think maybe some of my poems are too personal for Dad's tastes. My partner hasn't read any! He prefers movies, so he'll have to wait until I get a film option on one or until I write one about him (evil laugh).
What's the #1 piece of advice you'd like to give indie authors, from both the editor perspective and the indie writer perspective?
Don't rush it! You need to allow your manuscript some rewrite time to make it the best it can be, have it edited, carefully consider cover design and generate at least a little marketing hype before you release it. Putting out an inferior product will only disappoint your readers—and you in the long run.
What's the most challenging part of writing a book, in your opinion?
Definitely the editing. Even as an editor, sometimes I hate to have to take a hacksaw to my prose and dismember my darlings, although I know it is for the best.
I believe you may have started out as an editor? What made you interested in becoming an author, too?
I was always an author, the problem was it didn't pay very well (and sometimes still doesn't). Editing, however, was a profession that enabled me to capitalize on my love of writing and actually earn enough to scrape together each week while I continued to write. I published my first books while I was still officially an editor, and was eventually fortunate enough to be offered a full-time position as an inhouse author for an Australian publisher. Believe me, I know what a luxury it is to be paid to write. However, I still love to edit (just not my own work!) and I have always freelanced on the side because there is something delightful about taking a book and releasing its awesome potential.
Karin's Books
For this interview, I focused on your two indie published books, Growth
a poetry collection, and Cage Life
a collection of two short stories. These are in addition to the works you've had published through a traditional publisher. I can honestly say your catalog of titles is one the most diverse I've seen: from children's books to non-fiction to poetry to various genres/ sub-genres of fiction. What is your inspiration behind your projects? Do you choose what to work on, or does your project choose you?
Sometimes I choose it, and sometimes it chooses me. The first book I wrote was a memoir—the life story of an 83-year-old prisoner of war. It was an incredible tale and gave me a really good initiation into writing fiction, even though it was creative non-fiction. Without having to worry about the plot so much, and having "real" characters, I could focus on my portrayal of scenes and concentrate on setting and dialogue. The next books were non-fiction, travel guides, and then natural history. I love writing natural history because it has a mission—to educate people about nature and conservation, so that writing inspires me on a different level.
Some of the kids books I have had published are working for hire to a theme. My publisher tells me, "We want a story about a wallaby using these pictures, go to it." It's hard to write an engaging story that way, so when I write children's picture books for myself, the story comes first then the illustrations (and many of those ones rhyme). When it comes to my fiction, the stories definitely choose me and are usually sparked by the simplest of ideas and snowball from there.
Your short story duo deals with tough emotional situations that plunge the reader into the dark side of human nature yet highlight people's resiliency. In the short story entitled, Cage Life, you show how some good can still come out of the ultimate tragedy; while in "The Usurper," you show sort of the opposite, where hope and good intentions turn into despair. These are tough themes to tackle, and dark emotions can be difficult on the writer. While reading them, I wondered about your fascination with human nature. What are the most effective ways you've found for building such comprehensive characters? How do you recommend other writers learn to portray the landscape of human nature as you do in your short stories?
Oh, that's a hard one. I think often it is just about being an inquiring mind. Maybe the poet in me (or, if you believe loosely in astrology, the Scorpio in me) is responsible for that. I've always been interested in plumbing the emotional depths and mining them for stories. My belief is that all good storytelling is about emotion. Make the reader feel something (anything apart from boredom!) and you've achieved something in your story.
I like to watch people, too, and I take some elements from life experience. I suppose the advice I would give is to write characters with plenty of flaws but still give them virtues and/or hope of redemption. I am not sure how to do that, exactly, but I think one of the ways is to try to add a solemnity or gravity to even the smallest or most everyday actions. For instance, think about the different ways a joyful person might prepare a meal compared to a sad and lonely person. I think the actions the character performs, along with dialogue, should tell the reader something about their inner, emotional core. Sometimes, it's even nice to have the characters outer face (shown by their dialogue) in direct opposition to their emotional state, to reflect a sense of turmoil.
What are your upcoming indie projects?
Oddly enough, I've got a half-finished chick-lit romance novel I started about 18 months ago that I'd like to publish, and I need to go into "surgery" on a YA novel too and completely rewrite the first chapter from scratch. Like all authors, time is of the essence. When will someone invent a cloning machine?
Cage Life
What's the story's main message?
Not to take anything for granted, whether that's people's intentions, financial security, intimacy, your own liberty and freedom to be you, or your family.
Who is/are the main characters?
Chloe is the main character and the story is told from her first-person point of view. Her husband, Damien and daughter Kat are also important characters, although they act more as a foil for her inner turmoil. Liz also plays a part.
Which character do you admire from this book?
I don't think I admire any of these characters to be truthful. I feel sympathetic towards all of them—Chloe for feeling lost and not appreciating what she has, Damien for confusing "providing" with "being there", Liz for being ill. Kat is probably the most admirable character in this story because she is the innocent party.
What did you learn about yourself while writing this story?
Funnily enough I wrote this story long before I became a mother. I'm not sure I could write a story like this now that I have a child. I think the thing I learned about myself is that I have a tendency to get a bit "florid" at times, but I didn't mind that for the purposes of this story as it showed a certain indulgency in Chloe's character.
The Usurper
What's the story's main message?
That sometimes things are not exactly as they seem and appearances can be deceiving.
Who is/are the main characters?
Basil is the protagonist and the story is told in his voice. It was fun to write him in the kind of waffly, old-fashioned language of an octogenarian. I think I was trying to channel a character similar to Charles Arrowby from Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea. His paramour is Carla, a much younger mistress, and we see her, and her lover Simon, only through Basil's eyes.
Which character surprised you when you wrote him/her?
Definitely Basil. I didn't know where the story would end up when I wrote it and then he just kind of defined himself. It's probably a trite and overdone denouement, but I couldn't help it with Basil.
If you could be stranded on a desert island with one of your characters from this story, which one and why?
It would definitely be Basil, because he knows how to garden.
Which one would you definitely NOT want to be stranded with and why?
I definitely would not want to be stranded on a desert island with old Mrs MacEvoy (busybody!).
Where can we find your books?
Barnes and Noble: TBD
Where can we find you?
July 17, 2011
Defining Lizzy's Target Audience: A Necessary Exercise
I read John Locke's book, entitled, "How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months!
" to get an idea of how other indies are tackling their marketing strategies. I decided to do at least one exercise based on what I learned from him: define my target audience as more than "paranormal romance readers." If you read his book, you'll know he wrote a page or two describing his audience, down to what his readers' professions are, because he writes with a very specific market in mind. And it's worked for him.
I spent my plane ride to DC today mulling over the 500+ posts to my website, several hundred fan emails, hundreds of reviews, and other correspondence with my readers to define my target audience. This should not be considered a one-size-fits-all description, as I've pieced together themes and traits from a whole range of information. However, in writing the below, I do feel as though I understand better why Katie's Hellion went over so well. Haha!
Here she is. Introducing: my target audience.
My Target Audience still believes in true love while fully acknowledging that Cinderella's evil Step-Mom probably ruined her marriage to Prince Charming, and Cindy lost her half of the kingdom in the divorce. Target Audience likes happy endings, but wants to know if Sleeping Beauty would've chosen the poisoned apple if she had known there was a 50% chance she'd die and a 50% chance she'd find her true love.
Life has probably beaten up Target Audience in multiple cage matches. She doesn't need things sugar-coated, but still needs to know there's room for hope and the occasional winning lottery ticket. Target Audience is tech savvy, of above average intelligence, enjoys puzzles and most surprises, and has a quirky sense of humor shaped by run-ins with the Dark Side. Target Audience is strong natured, independent in thought and enjoys being around others who are similar. She loves secret little adventures, finds rainbows when it's storming (even if she sometimes wants to destroy them), and believes in occasional indulgences.
Target Audience believes life is a combination of magic, tragedy, and shades of grey. She's honest, believes in second chances for (almost) everyone and probably thinks she's much more flawed than she is. She'd also really like a Fairy Godmother but realizes that probably won't happen, so she'll figure it out on her own. She likes to use her imagination and lose herself in a good story.
This is a start …
