Teresa Robeson's Blog, page 2

Important notes for authors

I’m a fan of Kathleen Schmidt, a marketing and PR pro, and her blog. She always has great insights and advice for writers, both traditionally and self published.

She has a post today that I feel adds to the talk I gave yesterday at Inked Voices on DIY Book Promotion,

so I’m going to share a few points. (I don’t know if that particular post is free or for subscribers only but here’s the link if you want to check out the original.)

Reviews don’t impact sales as much as you’d think. Let go of the idea that it is the only way a book can sell or legitimize an author.Most advertising is a waste of money. There are rare instances, depending on the book, when social media ads or boosted posts lead to sales. No one knows how those ads will perform, so testing them is not a bad idea. Other ads—especially digital ads on media sites/in media newsletter verticals—lead to clicks but not sales.You can do everything to create awareness for a book, but you can’t force a consumer to buy it.The time frame to promote a book must last longer than the months leading up to publication and the month following publication. Promotion could easily continue for 6-9 months or more, depending on the book.Big media is super competitive. Focus on what’s realistic for a book, not pie-in-the-sky media hits. A publicist knows who will pass. Their time should be spent on what will work instead of contacting the NYT books desk for the 5th time about the same title.Your next book is only as good as your previous book’s sales. You can get a review in the NYT, but you also may only sell 500 copies. Focus on outcomes, not wish lists.Bookstore events aren’t always a good idea. It’s expensive to go on a book tour, and if you go to cities where you don’t have a built-in audience, it can be bleak.Celebrity endorsements don’t do much for sales.

I hope this adds more clarity for those who attended my talk (and those who didn’t ).

Look out below!

Hmm, have I mentioned before that I should do a regular series of posts called “Teresa’s pet peeves”? Specifically, “Teresa’s language pet peeves.”

This is not a pet peeve I’ve had for a long time. In fact, I didn’t even know I had it until recent years when I worked with someone who consistently uses the phrase wrong.

That seemingly innocuous phrase is “see below.”

To me, “see below” is used to signal that something important is to be found past all the regular clutter. So, you need to look beyond the rest of the email, past the signature lines. Or you need to read past an intro and below the fold if it’s a blog post.

It does NOT mean that important something is immediately following the “see below” phrase.

Here’s an example of one of this person’s emails:

“Hi everyone,
Please see below for an upcoming event hosted by ______ for _____ on the topic of _____ on ____, 2025. If you have any questions, please contact ____.
This event [description]
Register at [link].
[a graphic]
[Her signature block].”

There is NOTHING below her signature. And she does this all. the. time. I keep trying to look for things actually below.

Have you seen this phrase misused or have another funny-not-funny phrase faux-pas that is your pet peeve?

Picture book giveaway

PPBF: Aggie and the Ghost GIVEAWAY!!

International Nature Journal Week, part 3

June 1 to June 7 of each year is International Nature Journaling Week. Continuing from the previous two week, I’m sharing the final 3 prompts.

Day five was “listening attentively.”

Day 6’s prompt was “sensing the world around us.“

And the final day’s prompt was “creating a vision for the future.”

Can you tell I did the above page on “No Kings Day”? What are your thoughts on creating a vision for the future?

Do you think you’ll join in this challenge next year?

How does our garden grow

I have friends who say that they love seeing our garden. Since it’s been a while since I took them on a virtual tour, I thought I would do another. The video turned out longer than I had originally thought so I uploaded it to YouTube…and decided to share it here.

Things have grown more since July 22 when I shot the video. Also, the *&^% raccoons have destroyed pretty much all our corn since. The 6 foot deer fencing doesn’t keep them out but in the past, we sprinkle cayenne on the nearly-ready ears and that will deter them. This time, they snapped everything, even though most were nowhere near ready yet. They are just arseh*les.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this little peek into our garden!

Also, while we’ve already frozen many bags of beans and dehydrated a bunch of tomatoes, we made our first batch of pickles this week!

Do you have a garden? What do you grow?

Write that book with April Dávila!

Since I began writing back in the beginning of the 1990s, I have attended so many writing summits (and classes and workshops and conferences), I’ve lost count. One of the best teachers I’ve seen has to be April Dávila. She’s smart. She’s kind. And, she’s an excellent speaker (I’m fussy that way…I don’t want someone slick, but I also don’t want someone who sounds like they’re reading haltingly from a teleprompter).

I’m excited to tell you that she’s offering a FREE 4-day challenge that you’re going to love.

You’ve got an idea for a novel but every time you try to start, you spin in circles. Sound familiar?

That’s exactly why I’m sharing this with you.

April Dávila, an award-winning author and writing coach, has put together a FREE 4-day writing challenge to help you go From Ideas to Outline designed to help writers like you build a story structure that works for you (not against your creative flow).

Here’s what you’ll get:
Live daily sessions (Aug 4–7)
Downloadable worksheets
Replay access if you can’t make it live
A bonus 1:1 coaching call if you complete your outline

Whether you’re starting from scratch or reworking an old draft, this challenge will help you move from fuzzy idea to focused outline, with more clarity, structure, and confidence than ever before.

Spots are free but space is limited.
Join here and let’s get that story out of your head and onto the page.

If you’re past the outline stage, you might be interested in the second part of the program: Hooked From the Start: Crafting a Captivating First Page for Your Novel.

Or, you might just want help with finishing your stalled masterpiece (that would be me…LOL!). April has a free webinar for that, too: Turn Your Half-Finished Novel into a Completed Manuscript.

Regardless of what stage of writing your dream book you’re at, you’ll be sure to find something helpful in any or all of April’s offerings. Yes, she will be advertising her services at the end of each session, but you’ll still learn lots even if you don’t buy what she’s offering. I suspect some of you will be so impressed with her knowledge and insights (like I am) that you just might sign her up to be your writing coach.

I hope to see some of you at one or more of her free workshops!

Your Monday PSA

Quick Bite: How to avoid death by Listeria

The most gross fun

Due to vacation brain (or pre-vacation brain as I had set up a few posts in advance to cover when I was away visiting family with little access to the internet), I completely forgot the post for July 16 wherein I had planned on talking about my most recent book, DISGUSTOLOGY: THE SCIENCE OF GROSS, illustrated by Anna-Maria Jung and published by Odd Dot/Macmillan that was released on July 15th. Siiiigh.

I had to come up with many gross things to write about for DISGUSTOLOGY, but sometimes what is gross to one person is not that gross to another. Take this cannonball jellyfish washed ashore, for example. Do you find it gross or beautiful?

This was a fun book to write; perhaps I’m a masochist and enjoy being grossed out. But middle-graders also enjoy being grossed out and that is our target audience so I hope it will be a hit. Anna-Maria’s illustrations are so perfect! Take a quick look inside and then get a copy for your favorite kid (or yourself!) or check it out at your local library.

A guest post + a giveaway

Check out my guest post for educators at Beth Anderson’s terrific blog…and enter for a chance to win a copy of my latest book DISGUSTOLOGY: THE SCIENCE OF GROSS!

International Nature Journaling Week, part 2

June 1 to June 7 of each year is International Nature Journaling Week. Continuing from last week, I’m sharing 2 more prompts.

Day three was “Exploring nature through poetry.”

Day four’s prompt was “Storytelling with nature.”

I’ve been using Tombow Dual Brush Markers and Brynzeel Watercolor Pencils for these. I’m not sure which media I enjoy using best. I suppose each has its own feel and pros/cons.