Kelli Russell Agodon's Blog, page 31

Postcard to Frank O'Hara

Let's just get this out there-- I love him:












~ Kells



 

~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Thankful Friday: Poet Friends

I get by with a little (a lot) of help from me friends.

This is just a shoutout to all the amazing Northwest poet friends I have (the list is huge) and the poet friends I've connected with because of the internet.

I swear, I complain about Facebook, but really, I've met a huge amount of my tribe there.



So I'm thankful for all of you who think of me when opportunities arise, who support when I'm in my best place and when I'm overwhelmed with my head under a pillow.


Thank you friends, summer, fall, winter, and spring.

I appreciate the poets, writers, and artists in my life.

~ Kells



 

~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Confession Tuesday: The Quirkiness Edition (The Cheese is Out of the Drawer & Pass Me Your Spoon)

Dear Reader,



I confess I've been thinking a lot about quirkiness lately.



We each have them, weird things about ourselves that others either adore or can't stand, things that make us unique, who we are.



I have been described as a cross between Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory and Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally.  If you ever have lunch with me, you will completely get this.



And I completely get this.  I have certain routines I always do.  Like have Total Raisin Bran for breakfast and muesli with yogurt for a mid-morning snack.



My spontaneity is usually planned (something I'm working on...)



For a long time, I was embarrassed about my quirks--



For example, if there is a stack of plates, I will choose orange (even if it's on the bottom) or if orange is not available, I will choose the color that I most connect with at that moment.  Many people just take the top plate.  I cannot do this.



I also do this at our frozen yogurt shop.  If my husband and daughter get the green and yellow cup, I will take pink so they are all used.  I also collect all the recycled spoons after the frozen yogurt has been eaten and store them in my purse.  Last week, after my entire family went to Menchies, I had twelve spoons that looked like this in my purse:









And here's what I loved about the experience-- I didn't even have to ask.  When my family finished eating, they just passed me their spoon.  Even my sweetest, youngest nephew at age three, passed me his spoon, it was just how things are.



I confess I love spoons.



But I know my quirkiness can be strange to others--



If I sit somewhere in a group setting, I always want to sit in the same place if we meet again.  (Yes, like Sheldon, I have my "spot.")



I cannot stand to see the microwave with minutes left on it and have to hit the cancel button when I walk by it.



We have a "cheese drawer" - yes, a place in our fridge that is just for cheese and when I see cheese on a shelf and not in the drawer, it makes me anxious until I put it back in.  Maybe I'm afraid it's trying to escape, I'm not sure, but it gives me a knot in my stomach if the cheese is not in its drawer.



I refer to the remote control to our TV as the "fast-forward" and say things like "Can you pass me the fast-forward?"  For some reason, this annoys my family as if I'm plucking the wings off butterflies.



I am easily distracted in the middle of telling a story.  Usually by birds or something in nature.



I can be a crazy perfectionist on certain things and an absolute slacker on others-- it depends how I care.



But I love things in order and keep my poetry books alphabetized.



(By the way, if you are a perfectionist, this is a great help:



Work on being more flexible by practicing the “80% rule”  When I’m working on a task or project, instead of obsessing about making it perfect, I’ll ask myself, “Is this 80% good?” If so, I let myself be happy about what I’ve done and move on to the next thing.



Here's the full post by Elana Miller.)





I'm no longer embarrassed about my quirks, but instead just see them as a part of me.  And sometimes I like them because it keeps my life interesting.



Occasionally I will reel them in a bit when out with people.  Well, except for ordering food, but I will speak quietly to the waiter so I don't seem like a complete nut to the rest of the table.



I must give my husband credit for staying with me as long as he has--though I never mention "the cheese is out of the drawer" because it's just as easy for me to put it back in.



I think poets, writers, and artists are quirky people and that's why I like so many of them.  And it's great to be around others who just accept you for your weirdness.  And even love you for it.



Amen.







~ Kells



 
~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by Email


Kelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Postcard from the First Day of July

How I feel in the summer...





As many of you know, when summer comes to the Northwest, I drop everything and go running (er, paddling) into the sun.


Here's the thing-- summer started in April this year (seriously), we had 70 and 80 degree weather and well, all the things I'm hyperventilating to do--go mountain biking, go hiking, go paddleboarding, plant my garden, work in the yard, sit on my deck and watch the world go by--well, I've already done them.  No kidding.  I'm that girl.



Because of this, I feel less of the need to abandon all things creative.

And honestly, this summer, I really can't as I have two major projects--



1)  Hourglass Museum:  My manuscript needs to be proofed and sent back to White Pine Press as my pub date is Feb 2014.



2)  The Daily Poet:  I haven't mentioned this much because when projects are in their young stage,  I don't share as much, but I have a book coming out with Two Sylvias Press written by Martha Silano and me that is a book of writing exercises.



As far as I know, it will be the first eBook of writing exercises, but because we know poets love paper, it will also be available in print.


I have this deadline as well for the summer months, not finishing (the book is done), but editing.



Still, this is the point in the post where I say, I won't be around here as much in the summer, but promise to send postcards (like today) and check in on Confession Tuesday.

Consider anything else a bonus.


When you live under a cloud all year in a wet world, you must explore the land around you during the summer.  You must eat huge amounts of frozen yogurt with chocolate sprinkles and too-expensive gourmet ice cream.  You must spend hours on your deck looking at nothing in particular and hours talking to blackberry bushes and morning glory, tell them to slow down.

All of it is part of the rule of being a Northwest person.  You can't ignore the summer because if you do, you will have low vitamin D and be locking yourself in your house due to unexplained anxiety.  This is what we do here.



Except in the summer when we are normal, and happy, and kind of shiny from sunblock and maybe a little tan.

Let the green patina go, we've got a sunny few months ahead of us and we can't miss out.


Will be in touch, but less, or more with photos/postcards.

See you in September when the boys of summer have gone...



~ Kells



 

~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Other Ways to be Creative: Photography

After those last two posts about marketing, I need to return to my safe spot of creating.



I feel much better than being an artist in the world than a marketer in world.  I need to keep art and creativity in my life daily.  A good friend of mine recently said that we to practice living spontaneously because spontaneity  is like a muscle you need to stretch or when you try to have spontaneity, you break or it doesn't feel good.  I love that thought.



I think creativity and art is something you also need to do daily-- and there are SO many ways to do it.



I do other creative things as well as writing including a little photography and graphic design. In fact, I'm actually entering a few photos in a local arts festival this month.  I'll share them after festival.



Some of you know I'm doing a series of photos called "Have Typewriter, Will Travel," where I take my typewriter to interesting places and photograph it.

















Here are a few photographs I've taken over the last month...





Letterpress Letters









This is from my beach series where I photograph what I find after a walk to the beach.





Early beach walk with Mini Haystack Rock













Two Bald Eagles







Sky for Susan





You Are An Acceptable Amount of Threat





I also sew, paint, and garden for creative activities.


What do you like to do?  And if you have any of your work online, include a link...



~ Kells



 

~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Confession Tuesday: Navigating Social Media for Poets & Writers for Book Marketing...

Where to Find Your Read Social Network...





Dear Reader,



It's been a long post on marketing for writers since my last confession and I realize in reading over some of my old posts, I realize how wordy I am.  Yes, I'm a wordy writer, why use three words when you can use twelve?



This is why I still keep a blog.



I confess I'm not only slow to respond to you verbally, not make my point in 140 characters, but I need space to think.



So I've been thinking about book marketing for poets and writers and here are my 2 cents on the different mediums, what they offer you as a writer and for your book and some dos and don'ts.







1)  Facebook:

(my author page)



I confess for a long time I had a love/hate relationship with Facebook.  (And I confess sometimes I still do.)  But I've learned what Facebook can offer the writer, especially the writer who lives in a place without a lot of other writers or artists around him or her-- community.



Facebook is great for building community for yourself as a poet or writer.  What I love about my facebook account is that when I go onto Facebook, my newsfeed has articles, quotes, and images about writing.  The majority of my friends are writers and so they are posting things that interest them which then, interest me.



It is a great place to get immediate feedback from people who "get it."  For example, when I told my family I had a poem accepted by Prairie Schooner, they were happy for me, but not in the way another poet or writer would be happy because I then had to explain to my family *what* Prairie Schooner was and why it was a big deal.  Good news loses a little excitement if you have to explain why it's "good news."



On Facebook, there is no literary disconnect.  Post "I just had a poem accepted in ______" and watch the Likes come in because we get it.  As writers, we are rejected so many more times than we are accepted.  We've tried for journals and missed out.  We understand the excitement of a yes.



Facebook is also a great way to: 



a)  hear about others' books and share your own.

b)  ask for opinions on book cover or author photos.

c)  talk about writerly things without others not understanding what you are referring to.

d)  find out about what's happening in the writing world.

e)  find new poets to read and books to buy.

f)  connect with your tribe.



Of course with every good, there is the bad.



Too much Facebook is not a good thing for a few reasons--



a) you become so hungry for the immediate gratification of the Like or responses

    that you focus more on short term writing instead of long-term projects.

b)  you find yourself wasting too much time there.

c)  you use it to procrastinate, reading the newsfeed again and again.

d)  if you find yourself feeling bad about your life or your writing life or your unremodeled home, get off of it for awhile (and have a reality check, people posting on how awesome their lives are, may not be sharing everything...there's a reason why it's also called "Fakebook.")

e)  you become the Demi Moore, Kim Kardashian, or Justin Bieber of Facebook--meaning: We see WAY too much of you and what you're doing, thinking, living, etc.  Too much of even my favorite dessert is too much.



How Not To Use Facebook to Market Your Book--



1) Publish your book, then friend a lot of poets and writers with similar friends, then immediately after becoming friends post your book (and a link to buy it on their wall) and send them a link to Like your author page.



To me, this is like meeting someone for the first time in a bar, then turning around to your secret suitcase of books and promo material and dropping everything you have on their lap.



It's like saying, "It's nice to meet you, but let's talk about me."



It's walking into someone's house for the first time and writing the name of your book on their wall and leaving business cards in the bathroom, your marketing flyers on the couch.



Let me say this bluntly-- It's not good manners.



That is not marketing, it's being inconsiderate.  It's saying, "I value this friendship in how it helps me sell my book."



And it's a turn-off.



Personally, when someone does this, I don't want their book--even if it's fantastic--because, well, it's creepy and rude.



How does Facebook help you market/sell your book?  



a)  By letting people know you have a book (use your manners on this...see above)

b)  By getting the name of your book out there & your readings

c)  By connecting you with other like readers & writers

       (note: this may get you more opportunities to read in other places besides your own region)

d)  By allowing you to make an author page for those fans who love your work and want to know what you're up to

e)  By allowing you to create an ad for your book





If you are comfortable with Facebook, use it to connect with people (note: if you start thinking of them as only "your readers" you're screwed because you're missing the opportunity to connect with some amazing artistic people out there), use it find venues outside your region, use it to help *other writers* (seriously, it's part of your job in the literary community--and I mean that), use it to create an ad that will be seen by poetry readers, use it share your successes and disappointments, use it to increase your tribe or to find your tribe or to celebrate your tribe.



Remember, these are real honest-to-goodness people behind the profiles, not solely consumers.  Treat your Facebook friends with respect and kindness always.



Oh and one more thing, if you're friends with someone who creates a negative vibe in your direction, is emotionally hostile to you, icky-scary, or just the creepy perverted type--defriend without guilt.



Only keep the best people around you. Always.





Summary--



1) Engage with others as peers and friends

2) Use your manners

3) Start an Author Page (for your super fans)

4) Buy an ad (note: we did with Two Sylvias Press & Crab Creek Review and had really good results for not a lot of $$)





2)  Twitter:  



Like Facebook, Twitter has many timewasting opportunities.

I have heard that people who LOVE Twitter go a little nuts when it is down.



For me, Twitter is the outfit I always forget I have.  Oh yes, there's that little 140 character number hanging in the back of the closet, I had forgotten about you.



Someone in a recent blog post said it's not about having "followers" (as in a number of followers) but having followers who are interested in what you're doing.





Here's what I think Twitter is good for:



1)  Sharing information whether about a class your teaching, something you learned, something that will help others.

2)  Being entertaining

3)  Teaching writers to summarize their thoughts and sentences

4)  Having another way to connect with people (readers and writers)

5)  Helping other writers promote their work





What it's not good for--



1)  Just promoting your own work

This is the fastest way to get people to unfollow you.



If you're on Twitter, you need to offer your followers something valuable, and well, that's not your book or whatever you are promoting.



I see Twitter as a way to share interesting and/or valuable information or to be humorous.



That's about it.  It's a way to increase your tribe, but not necessarily the best way to sell your book.



Use Twitter to follow people you're interested in and engage with them.

Use Twitter if you like a lot of info, need to connect with what people are talking about in the world, enjoy poetry chats (follow hashtag #poetparty every first Sunday from 6-7 pm PST), or just want to follow your favorite authors (Margaret Atwood is on here as is Sherman Alexie...and each RARELY mentions their own books--oh and they have a ton of followers).



Do not use it just to keep saying, "My book is available..."

Do not use Twitter to be boring.



Summary--

1) Engage with others

2) Don't just focus on selling people things

3) Be your most interesting self





3)  GoodReads:

Like Facebook, but for Book People!



GoodReads is another place on the web I forget about, but I do recommend it.  In fact, I think this would probably be the best place to promote your book, but to be fully honest, I don't use it enough to tell you exactly how.



I set my GoodReads to post so my blog post goes there and I occasionally go there to find new books and keep track of my own reading (as well as post reviews for other poets and authors).



You can create an author profile which is helpful as well as see how many people reviewed and rated your book--




.gr_container {
font-family:arial,verdana,helvetica,sans-serif;
width: 250px;
}
.gr_book_container {
border-bottom: 1px solid #d7d7d7; padding: 5px 0px;
}
.gr_book_image {
float: left; padding-right: 20px;
}
.gr_book_title {}
.gr_review_stats {}


Kelli Russell Agodon's books on Goodreads






Small Knots


ratings: 53 (avg rating 4.75)



Letters From the Emily Dickinson Room (White Pine Press Poetry Prize)


reviews: 12

ratings: 84 (avg rating 4.88)



Geography


ratings: 18 (avg rating 4.70)








If anyone else has more info on how GoodReads is useful to authors and poets, do share.



Summary--



1)  Authors should have an author page there

2)  Link up your blog if you have one.





4)  Pinterest

www.pinterest.com :


Pinterest is a basically a visual bulletin board and the newest of these social platforms.

It's addicting for the visually inclined as it's image after image from boards that you follow.



You can pin images that you love.  Some people have boards devoted to their favorite authors or book boards, where they pin what they are reading.



Again, this isn't really a board to promote your own work, but to perhaps, find inspiration or interesting images.





5)  Red Room: 

(here's my account)



This is another place similar to Facebook, but for writers.  Again, not a place I show up much (or at all), but the people who love it, seem to love it.



I don't know enough about this place to offer pros and cons, but wanted to share it with you and if others have good info on this, please share with me and I'll add it and credit you.





6)  Instagram: 

Share your photos with retro looking or other overlays on them.  (In fifteen years, all our kids will want to know why all their baby photos are square with a weird tint to them...)


Final thoughts: Big with the younger generation, not so great for selling books.





7) Others:  Reddit, Tumblr, YouTube:



YouTube for book trailers.



Reddit & Tumblr - I don't have enough info or experience on them to offer any advice.





SUMMARY:



Here's really what I think are the main things a writer should have to market their book--



1) An author page 



Here are the two which I direct people to:

a) My main page:  www.agodon.com

b) My about.me page: www.about.me/agodon



***Note: the About.Me page is free and easy to set up.



If you only have one thing, you need this.  No matter what phase in your career you are.  You need a webpage.  Keep it clean, to the point and make sure others can contact you easily.





2) A Facebook Presence (or maybe a blog (if you like to write longer text)):



I suggest a Facebook or a blog, just so you have something more up-to-date for your webpage, or online.


Facebook is nice because so many people are connected and check in daily, and this does not happen with blogs.



I would suggest an Author Page especially if you don't want to "friend" everyone.



Or friend everyone but maybe set your privacy settings so your personal info (phone, address, kid's photos, etc) are separate.  Or have two pages, one for your close friends and family and a writer's account. (Though I don't think FB wants you to do this, if you're a more private person, this may help with any anxiety you may have with "sharing.")



But I would keep a page that you can update every so often, just to keep in touch with the literary community.





3)  A Linked-In Account:



I didn't mention this above because really I see it as more of a professional way to be connected. I don't check in there much, but it's a good place to find jobs or professional connections.



Whatever you do on your Linked In account--keep it professional.  Do not call yourself "The Grand-Poohbah of the Poets."  Use it when you need it, otherwise, just check in occasionally or as needed.



4)  An Email Mailing List:  



This is a good way to connect with readers and people who may want to buy your book.  I suggest offering something besides your book info in your email or newsletter.

Or if you just send it out to share your book is ready to buy, just make it brief and to the point.



And of course, always use your manners.







All the rest of it?

Choose what you like, or don't.



Final Thoughts--



Honestly, if you just want to do one thing-- Have an author page.

Two things-- an author page and a mailing list.

Three things-- an author page, a mailing list, and a Facebook page.



Keep it simple. Focus on the writing.  Enter book contests. Do readings. Connect with readers through your local NPR station.  Send books to people who can help you get the word out (but connect with them first, don't just send out a book).  Visit book clubs.  Teach classes at writer's conferences.  Attend poetry festivals and writerly events.



Have fun, write lots, don't worry about marketing your book so much.



Amen.








  

~ Kells



 
~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Not Matter what you think of Michael Jackson, he was one heck of a performer - Super Bowl (Complete Version)

~ Kells



~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Marketing Your Book: How To Create Your Own Plan That Doesn't Make You Feel Like a Used Car Salesman

Image by Artist Sammy Slabinnick (love him!)



Books are being published daily and with this, authors are trying to figure out how to get their book into the world, or more honestly, how to get more sales.



Jeannine Hall Gailey wrote a great post called: Why We Do Readings, Running to Stand Still, Book Tours Take a Toll and How Not To Build a Platform inspired by Anne R. Allen's take on book marketing with her post (which is also great): 7 Ways Authors Waste Time "Building Platform" on Social Media.  I recommend reading both.



So I decided to offer my thoughts on book marketing as in 2014, my newest book, Hourglass Museum, will be published by the wonderful White Pine Press. 



If you've read my blog before, you know, there are certain things one needs to do as an author that makes me uncomfortable, such as asking for blurbs (which I recently wrote about here.)  Asking others to do things for me is not a strength of mine, I've had to realize that and work with it. 



I realize there are also things about marketing I dislike, like the name "marketing," I prefer "sharing." I want people to know about my book so if they are interested they can buy it, but I don't want to wear my metaphorical Author Nametag around town or have my book peeking out of my shirt pocket -- 



(Note:  I have seen two separate authors do both these things and it made me feel dirty and icky --oh, and his wasn't a metaphorical Author Nametag, it was a real-made-of-plastic Author Nametag and he wore it everywhere he went (whether giving a reading or not).  And honestly, I lost respect for both authors and never bought their books because I felt they were the stereotypical used car salesmen, I think they're interested in me as a person and the next thing I know I'm driving out of the lot in a Yugo.) 



I've learned we each have our own individual strengths and "weaknesses" traits we need to work with.  "Weaknesses" such as general anxiety, ADHD, social anxiety/shyness, bi-polar, OCD, etc. (By the way, I put "weaknesses" in quotes because I'm reading a book called  Better Than Normal: How What Makes You Different Can Make You Exceptional by Dale Archer which talks about these traits and a few more and how you can use them better.)



I realize is there is no one right way to market a book and you don't have to go cuckoo trying to make an "author platform" (a term I hate, a term I want to jump off of into the comfort of the sharing pool, where we share our book, but don't shove it down people's throat.)





So here are my suggestions to help you market your book:

(my hope is you'll get a few ideas yourself and find ways to highlight your talents):





What I Do to Market My Book 

     (or My How-Not-to-Hate-Marketing Plan):





1)  Send something cool to the readers who have supported me before.



Usually it's a postcard I've created with Photoshop that I hope is more like an interesting art-piece than a marketing piece.



When I started with my first book, I sent about 100 of these out.  Since then my mailing list has grown, but I like to send something of beauty to the people who I appreciate.  It will say something about my new book coming out, but it hopefully is something more than they will want to keep or display in their own writing room.



Why to I do this?  Because I like to send regular mail.  I send valentines and Christmas cards. I have a penpal.  I think stamps are awesome and my favorite museum in DC was the Postal Museum.  Writing letters is part of my personality, something I love to do, as is art and graphic design.  So I mixed the two and came up with this.





2)  Send Out an Email Announcement, but try to keep it short, fun, and simple.



I get a lot of emails these days.  So many that I don't even open some of them, I read the subject line, then delete without reading.  Yes, that's my tough love approach to email. I love my time more than I love being overwhelmed by things I'm not interested in.  Even Barack Obama, I've deleted yours (and Joe Biden's) email without reading them.



So when I send out mine, it's to the point, a couple links where to buy the book, a thank you for anyone who has supported me before and some interesting info about something that isn't my book--maybe another poet, maybe another book.



Why do I do this?  It's the fastest, cheapest way to connect with my friends, family, and readers.  It's just another way to let them know my book is out and if they want a copy, here's how to get one.





3)  Mention it on Facebook.



It's not a hard sell, in fact, it's not a sell at all. It's more of a "guess what happened to me?" or "My box of books just arrived!'



I will mention it on my regular Facebook account and on my author page.



I put up events and info on my author page and if it's something I think my regular Facebook might be interested in, I share it from my author page on my regular account. 



Note:  Not everything on my author page is about my books, in fact, the majority of content is funny typos, misspelled graffiti, and book lover humor and images.  Why?  Because hearing about someone's book and only their book is both annoying and boring.



Why do I mention my book on my personal page on Facebook? I mostly do this so people know it's out and I'm excited about it and share the news.



I know a lot of people (writers) hate Facebook, but honestly, while I dislike wasting time on it, I like meeting other writers, poets, and artists who I wouldn't have known without it.





4)  Do some readings.  

(With one to three of them being more in the category of Book Release Party).



  a)  Book Release Reading/AWP Party:  Since AWP is in Seattle this year, Susan Rich and I are lucky enough to have White Pine Press here, which has rented out a room at Taste Restaurant in the Seattle Art Museum, so we will get a book release reading there (it's Friday, Feb. 28, 2014 from 5-7 pm if you want to join us.)



  b)  Book Release at a Bookstore:  Another will hopefully be at Open Books, our poetry-only bookstore in Seattle, the coolest place in the world.



  c) Book Readings with Others: Ask my favorite poets to do readings at local venues or just outside the city venues. (Things are much more fun with friends.)



   d)  Book Party at my Place!:   When my book comes out, I have a book party at my house for my favorite friends.



Okay, honestly, this isn't at all to sell my book, it's an excuse to have a party.  And I love to shower my favorite friends with fun times and cool things.  In 2010, I gave out small birdcages with Emily Dickinson's image in them (for my book Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room .)  We made Emily Dickinson masks, had good wine and good food and yes, I had my guests come in costume, dressed as a version of Emily Dickinson which included grunge Emily Dickinson, punk Emily Dickinson, biker Emily Dickinson... (see images below).







Different versions of Emily Dickinson









As you see, this is not about marketing, but about celebrating-- YOU JUST PUBLISHED A BOOK, you should celebrate!







5)  Submit My Book for Book Awards:  This is something your press can and should do for you, but if you have a press who doesn't, most of the time, you can do this on your own.



Letting people know about your book is hard, however, if it wins an award, it moves right on up the ladder into Book Prize Winner, or Book Prize Finalist!  Sometimes it even gets a sticker.



The prize that choose your book usually has a larger audience than you do, so their marketing of the book prize and winners, will hit a lot of people you wouldn't normally reach.  People who have never heard of you and can't believe that this is your third book and yet, they've never heard your name before (yes authors, this is true life, we are unknowns in the world for the most part.)



But that's okay.  The goal is to create art and get it to readers who will love it.  Really, if you bring being an author down to its basic level, that is it.  Write good work. Share with good readers.



So for me, those are my top 5 ways to market (or share) my book.





But I do have a number 6.-- This blog.



I started this blog many years ago when there was no Facebook, no Twitter, but there was a community of poet bloggers.  Many have moved on or are now just on Facebook, but for me, I like having this up-to-the-moment (or close to the moment) place where I write about living and writing creativity.



As a young poet, I read Kim Addonizio's blog and she wrote a post about being rejected by New Yorker (after they *asked her* to submit).  That post was honest and showed me that yes, even "famous poets" get rejected and have bad days.



When I started this blog, I promised to share the good and the bad.  From blog posts on how many times I submitted Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room (um, about 70!) before it was accepted (read History of a Manuscript here), to being rejected in general, to the good of creative clusters.



While I don't think a blog is for everyone, for me it's a good way to connect with other writers, artists, and creative people in general.  It's a place I can sort out my feelings about life and share the ups and downs.



I try to post at least once a week because the worst blogs are the ones that sit for over a month without any posts, not even an image of something, just nothing.



I appreciate the "long form" way of communicating--letters, blogs, books, stories, essays.



Why I do blog? Sometimes (most times) I can't say what's on my mind in under 140 characters, and Facebook doesn't appreciate the art of the paragraph, so here I am, still blogging...it's been over a decade, three blogs, two platforms, but I continue.





Final Thoughts for Other Authors, Writers, and Poets:





 1)  Do what you love doing and use it to market your book



If it's sending postcards, interacting on Facebook, giving readings, cooking, driving, painting, playing guitar, drawing pictures, etc.) find a way to incorporate that into how you market (or share) your book.





2)  Stretch yourself a little, but don't change who you are or your values.



I want to say "Just do what you love!" but dear introverted authors, I understand if I told you it was okay to sit in your house and not do anything except write, you may be good with that!



You need to do some things that take you out of your comfort zone-- like readings, or asking for a reading, or asking for a blurb or...



As humans, we need to stretch ourselves and live outside our comfort zone, and as authors, we owe it to ourselves.  We worked hard on our books, let others at least know about them--you don't have to be the hard sell, (in fact I suggest not doing that), but you need to do the minimum, plus a tad more than what's comfortable to you.





3)  Don't feel you have to do everything.



If you don't like blogging, don't have a blog.  It will be a waste of time and just frustrate you.

If you don't like Twitter, don't tweet or feel you have too.



Find out how you like to connect with readers--GoodReads? Facebook? Red Room? In Person?  By mail?  By email?  Standing on a ferry playing guitar?  Choose your own path, but don't feel you have to continue to promote your book day in and day out, you don't.





4)  Be Open to Opportunity & Allow for Happy Accidents to Happen and Most of All-- Don't Self-Sabotage!



If someone writes you and says they found your book and like for you to drive 2 hours to their college to give a talk and that absolutely petrifies you, do not *not* answer their email because you're afraid or nervous.



If there's a deadline for a book prize or to get your proposal in for a writer's conference, don't blow it off.



These places are where happy accidents happen--you do one thing and it leads to another.

You apply to read at a poetry festival and you meet your favorite poet, who is fantastic and then blurbs your next book.  Or who has a blog and shares your blog on it.  Or you just become friends and well, that's fantastic!



Be open for opportunities. Listen to your instincts.  And most of all, have fun and enjoy your success--you published a book, you're a published author.  That's important and good and should be enjoyed, appreciated, and celebrated.



____________________________



I'm going to do another blog post on my thoughts on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other ways people market their books, but I think that's enough for now.



Marketing your book should not be overwhelming, but enjoyable.

Thanks for listening.







~  Kelli Russell Agodon is a writer, editor, and poet from the Northwest.























She is the author of Lettersfrom the Emily Dickinson Room (White Pine Press, 2010), Winner of the ForeWord
Magazine Book of the Year Prize in Poetry and a Finalist for the Washington
State Book Award.  She is also the
author of Small Knots (2004) and the
chapbook, Geography (2003).  She co-edited the first eBook anthology
of contemporary women’s poetry, Fire OnHer Tongue and recently completed The
Daily Poet, a book of poetry writing exercises she coauthored with Martha
Silano, which will be available in late 2013. Her third full collection, Hourglass Museum, will be available in February 2014.




Kelli is the co-founder of Two Sylvias Press and the
editor of Seattle’s literary journal,  Crab Creek Review .  She's an avid mountain biker, paddleboarder, and kayaker.  She loves museums and dessert, but despises cheesecake.



Her most recent book Letters from the Emily Dickinson Room was released for Kindle and is available here at its lowest price of $4.24 on Amazon




Connect with Kelli:



Facebook: www.facebook.com/agodon  

Twitter:  kelliagodon

Or on her websites: www.agodon.com or www.about.me/agodon



She writes about living and writing creatively on her
blog, Book of Kells at: www.ofkells.blogspot.com





~ Kells



 



 ~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

Confession Tuesday on Wednesday: The Art & Anxiety of Asking for a Blurb

Dear Reader, 


I am a day late.  This happens.



I have been filled with projects, from teaching a class where we wrote new poems to editing an incredible manuscript about Alzheimer's.



I confess I also had to ask for blurbs this week.



No wait, let me be honest, I knew a long time ago I had to ask other poets to blurb my book, but I waited until I got the email from my publisher saying, "We need blurbs in hand by mid-July."    



Blurbs, a terrible name for "a promotional description, as found on the jackets of books" or "a brief advertisement or notice, as on a book jacket, esp. one full of praise."  



Knowing I had to ask for blurbs, my stomach became a knot.



When I ask a poet to write a blurb for my book it's because I love that poet and want his or her name on my book.  Maybe if I asked poets I didn't care about so much it would be easier, but I don't.  I ask my heroes.  I ask my favorite poets who are writing today, whose books fill my shelves.





Here's something you may not know about me--



I *hate* asking for anything.  

I'd rather take care of it myself or go without.  



I hate having to bother others with my needs, I don't want to impose or be too forward.





The only things I do not have problems asking for are below:

1)  Are you going to eat that last piece of cake?  (or eclair, brownie, cookie, keylime pie, etc.)



2)  Can I borrow a dollar to buy chocolate/gum/candy/something to eat or drink?



3)  Can you buy me a large black drip coffee?





(As you can see, I'm very taste motivated. )





But everything else in life, I do not ask for.  I either decide it's not worth it and go without or find a way to get what I need without bothering others.



I don't even participate in Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day because it feels to forward to me.



So on hearing I needed to ask for blurbs I went into my metaphorical corner and tried to find strength. Actually, I may have been hitting my head against the wall and looking for my blankie.



Basically, I wrote a status about my blurb dilemma on Facebook and walked around in circles in my mind.



Because I hate being uncomfortable (something else that motivates me like nothing else), I decided to ask my favorite poets for blurbs that night and get it over with.



I will be honest, the email I sent were probably not your standard "How To Ask for a Blurb" emails.





Here's a taste of what I wrote (and note, this is not a recommendation of how to ask for blurbs):



Anyway, all of this makes me hugely uncomfortable and if you're busy, no worries,



and 



None of this is coming out well,



and this jewel:




I hate to bother you, but my 3rd collection, Hourglass Museum is coming out next year with White Pine Press and I was wondering if you'd be open to blurbing it.




I'm sorry, I hate asking.  I know blurbing is a pain in the butt,


And then there's this:



And if you're busy, I completely understand and don't feel bad if you have to say no.  





As you can see, I am not the best at asking for things. I gave the blurbers numerous outs, acknowledged that blurbing wasn't fun, and even managed to use the poetic word "butt" in my request.  (Good one.)

I sent my emails off and then imagined the worst.

But it seems, even with my crazy attempts at asking, all three poets I asked (my top choices for blurbers) all said yes (and did so within hours of me asking so I didn't need to feel anxious for their reply.)



I already have one blurb back (and I LOVE it!) and two in the works by two other favorite poets of mine.





I realize I need to get better at asking in general.



I'm happy to ask the universe or God or baristas for things, but I'm not good at asking friends, people I admire, poets, and humans in general.





But what I learned from this experience:



1)  People are mostly kind and good.  And if they can help you, they will.



2)  Even asking in the most awkward way possible, still can bring good things.



3)  When you're feeling uncomfortable, do the thing that's you should be doing and you'll feel better.



4)  Realize what you are not good at and try to be better at it.



5)  There are certain things we need to do as poets, writers, and authors and they will make you feel uncomfortable, but they are part of the job--do them anyway, even if they take you out of your comfort zone.



6)  I can waste a lot of time and energy worrying about things. In fact, I make a much bigger deal of things that really much easier than I think.





I confess I am SO glad this blurb-asking is over though I will acknowledge, it was easier, kinder, gentler, than I thought.



Yes, I received Beauty for the Asking.  And it was worth it.





~ Kells



 

~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon

The Unbalancing Act: Why It's Okay to Live a Life That Isn't Balanced Day to Day...

My Life on Various Days



I've given up on trying to live a balanced life.

At least daily.



Today, I was sitting here feeling overwhelmed with some projects I need to finish, my To Do list, and realizing that I've been letting my blog slip lately, just showing up on Tuesdays and basically pretending I don't have a blog.



As I've mentioned in other blogs, when I start to feel too overwhelmed and unorganized without a plan of what I'm doing, I tend to check out.  I tend to move to the easiest path-- Facebook? Gardening? Gatsby?  Don't mind if I do.



I move out of my overwhelmedness into a life of leisure and denial.



To fix this is easy-- all I need to do is sit down with my To Do list and order what I need to do first.  Then I go to bed, wake up, and follow the numbers 1. Edit E's mss  2. Essay for Her Kind  3.  Blurb for D.  etc.  (Going to bed either for a nap or all night as it's the one thing that clear my mind.)



What I realize is my days aren't these perfectly balanced pie charts of  Family/Exercise/Leisure/Writing/Clients/Home Projects/Garden  but days where I focus on only one thing.



Today is edit E's mss.  That's about all I'll get done, though there will be a lunch with my mum thrown in.  There will be no exercise, no writing of my own, no home projects, no garden.



Wednesday is my Two Sylvias Press day where I will work on projects for that.  And finish my essay.  And some social time in the evening with my writing group.



Friday and Saturday is mostly family stuff.  And if the weather is nice, maybe we'll get some paddleboarding in.



What I've learned is not to freak out if my days are out of balance because they are.   They will be heavy with something, light on something else.



I've started looking at my life less in the micromanaging place, but more from above, the way one would look at the world from space.  I see my life is unbalanced in the daily place.  I see on a Monday I am locked in my office working on an editing job and Tuesday I am sitting on the deck for hours with my family.



I've stopped freaking out about balance.  And I've stopped trying to have it.





What I do is look at my life from above with the things that matter to me--



Am I spending time with my favorite friends and with my family?

Am I writing and completing my own projects?

Am I making enough income so my family can do the things that are important to them?

Am I helping the community, both locally and literary?

Am I healthy and getting out in the world physically?

Am I feeling connected spiritually?

Is my house/garden a disaster?



For me, those are my key concerns.



Everything else falls to the side.



There will be days where I just clean the house, fix all the broken things, and work in the yard.  There will be days I am out on my mountain bike all day and then off on a hike.  There will be days where I go out into my shed for the entire day to write.  There will be days where I'm only doing family things.



Each day is not balanced.



But this works for me. I have never been a multi-tasker on a daily level. I can do one thing at a time.  When there is too much, I am the overwhelmed toddler putting her face against the wall to hide from the overwhelming sensation of too much life, too much noise, too many people, too much...



I realize it's not about having balance, but creating it.  It's an unbalancing act that feels chaotic in the moment, but when you pull back you see the pattern, you see the chaos forming patterns, a balance of sorts and how nice it is to know, if I take care of the days, the years will fall into place.













~ Kells



 
~ Don't Miss a Post ~ Subscribe to Book of Kells by EmailKelli Russell Agodon
www.facebook.com/agodon