Jody Cantrell Dyer's Blog: What's your story? Maybe I can help you write it., page 9

I love this list of December dates! You will be inspired.

 HAPPY DECEMBER 1!

I mentioned this last week, too. "Special days/months" are great fodder for social media posts. I just did a little Facebook live (I hope my office was clean) to let folks know that December is "Write a Friend Month." Thus, I'm writing all of you friends. Ha! Seriously, though, I challenged my followers to write a real note on PAPER (crazy, right) and MAIL it (yikes!) to a friend. I'm going to do that as soon as I send this email to you. Please know that I consider you a friend.

Here are the December special days. Neat, right? Some are sad, some are serious, some are odd, and some are funny. As a working mother and business owner, my favorite might be "Stress-Free Family Holidays Month." I need to research that one. Ha! Enjoy, and MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Crippled Beagle Publishing team!

DECEMBER SPECIAL DAYS

• Write a Friend Month

• Safe Toys and Gifts Month

• Stress-Free Family Holidays Month

• Read a New Book Month

• Learn a Foreign Language Month

• Sign Up for Summer Camp Month

• Art and Architecture Month

• AIDS Awareness Month

• National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month

• National Handwashing Awareness Week (first week)

• National Influenza Vaccination Week December 3–9

• Christmas Tree Week (first full week)

• Tolerance Week (first full work week)

• Hanukkah (changes yearly and lasts for 8 days)

• Human Rights Week (second work week)

• Thank a Soldier Week (the week before or including Christmas)

• 1. Rosa Parks Day

• 1. World AIDS Day

• 2. Special Education Day

• 3. Make a Gift Day

• 4. Santa's List Day

• 4. Cookie Day

• 6. Give a Secret Gift Day

• 7. Pearl Harbor Day

• 7. Letter Writing Day

• 8. Winter Flowers Day

• 8. Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day

• 9. Homemade Gift Day

• 10. Human Rights Day

• 10. Nobel Prize Day

• 10. Day of the Horse (always second Saturday)

• 11. World Choral Day (always second Sunday)

• 13. Violin Day

• 14. Deck the Halls Day

• 15. Bill of Rights Day

• 16. Boston Tea Party Day

• 17. Wright Brothers' First Flight Anniversary

• 19. Build a Snowman Day

• 20. Go Caroling Day

• 20. Games Day

• 21. Forefathers Day

• 21. Look on the Bright Side Day

• 21. (approximate) Winter Solstice, which is also National Flashlight Day

• 23. Festivus

• 23. Roots Day

• 25. Christmas Day

• 26. National Whiners Day and Boxing Day

• 28. National Card Playing Day

• 30. Take a Walk Day

• 31. New Year's Eve

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ADVANCE your book with ADVANCED reviews.

Happy Friday friends,

I hope Thanksgiving Day was a sweet time for you. The day after Thanksgiving each year is Native American Heritage Day. When I hike my beloved Smokies, I always think about the Cherokee. Crippled Beagle Publishing client Donald Dickinson is about to publish a wonderful story of three children who wander from trails and battle a variety of wild and human elements in the Great Smoky Mountains until a Cherokee hero comes to the rescue.

If you’d like a list of ALL of the special designation days of the year, email me. Some are serious, some are odd, and some are funny. ALL are good social media post inspiration.

Last week I wrote about the value of reviews. There are several types, including ADVANCED REVIEWS. You may be asking:

What is an advanced review?

Who are advanced reviewers?

Where do I find these kind folks?

How does the process work?

Why should I bother?

Crippled Beagle Publishing team member Maisyn did some valuable research that addresses the questions above. If you would like a free copy, email dyer.cbpublishing@gmail.com. If you are planning a book now and have yet to publish, consider working advanced reviews into your schedule.

​Also, take a sneak peek at Don Dickinson’s cover, created by my graphic design assistant Lauren.

​In addition to book covers, my team and I can produce all kinds of marketing tools for you. Please think about what items can help you reach and reward your readers. Examples are bookmarks, sell sheets, business cards, posters, postcards, general merchandise/gift items (a.k.a. “author swag”), logos, order forms, templates, social media posts, web content, etc. Contact me to discuss ideas and pricing.

Please know that I am thankful for you every day!

Questions? Email me any time.

xoxoxo

Jody

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Reading and Writing and the Arithmetic of Reviews

Reading and Writing and the Arithmetic of Reviews

Answer these questions:

When you shop online for books, how important are reviews to you?Even if you don't think they are important, do you look to see a book's ratings?How often do you WRITE reviews?Wouldn't you LOVE to see this image beside your book?

Then you need this one:

No matter how technical and complex the book sales game becomes, one characteristic of our industry remains steady: word of mouth. In this publisher's opinion, reviews are documented, word-of-mouth endorsements. Think about this. WHY do you read the books you read? My confident bet is that someone (a friend, a relative, a coworker) told you to read the book. He/she "reviewed" it. Well, that's basically what all those buyers on Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites are doing. I admit, there are some kind folks in my social circles who have written reviews for my books. That's likely the case for all authors. Still, the other numbers tell a story. I'm sure there's some complex way to figure out how, mathematically, reviews directly affect sales volume. Here's my calculation: More =more, so get with it!

TIP: Ask for reviews before, during, and after you write. SAVE them somewhere for use in your author marketing kit (last week's topic). WRITE reviews for other authors every time you read a book. If you are published, use a tag line behind your name in the review: "Blah blah blah." —Jody Dyer, author of Best Book Ever

GoodReads.com is WONDERFUL site where you should already be hanging out online. This is a community of book lovers and there are countless ways to engage. You should also be writing reviews on Amazon and Barnesandnoble.com. When I write a review, I copy and paste it to all three sites and usually to Facebook as well. Here are screenshots of reviews on Amazon and GoodReads. Some of the essential marketing that all authors do can be absolutely easy, but there are LOTS of different types of reviews and ways to use them. Also, professional authors apply etiquette. There are some no-nos. Confused? Interested? Encouraged? Inspired?

TAKE fifteen minutes to explore GoodReads.com. Find a welcome-type tutorial, and start a profile. WRITE a review. ASK someone for a review.

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I will teach an entire module on "everything reviews" in my course Author Roadmap to Readers and Royalties. The course launches in January. Founding Members (folks who sign up January 3-January 7) save $200. If you'd like to be on the Founding Members wait list, reply to this email, or email me at the usual address dyer.cbpublishing@gmail.com. I'll put you on the invitation list. If there's something you want me to teach, tell me! The first batch of students will enjoy lots of input and attention.

Have a wonderful weekend and week. Happy book marketing! —Jody

CONGRATULATIONS to author Tamara Ballast!!!

 CONGRATULATIONS to author Tamara Ballast!!!

Below is her official press release. Authors, if you need a press release, I can help. Also, you can mimic the format here (or find plenty of versions online). See Tamara's book online here: Leaving Home​

MARKETING TIP: Always keep a press release handy in your author marketing kit. If you don't have an author marketing kit, start one. Essential items include:

AUTHOR MARKETING KIT ESSENTIALS

logo for your book business

tag lines

12 social media posts you can recycle

press release

business card design

bookmark design

postcard design

poster design

sell sheet

retailer and reader order forms

NOTE: I will be teaching how to create and compile essential pieces of an author marketing kit in my upcoming online course and membership. We will take our time and get this right, together. ASAP, consider becoming a FOUNDING MEMBER. You will save $200 off the six-week course price (you will pay $387 instead of $587) and save $20/month on the membership (you'll pay $47/month instead of $67). If interested, respond to this email, email me at dyer.cbpublishing@gmail.com, or call me at 865-414-4017 to reserve a spot as a founding member. I'll open that enrollment period for only FIVE days in January, but you CAN reserve your spot now.

Friends and writers, please think of readers in your life who will enjoy Tamara's beautiful book. Let's share her press release and cheer her on as she markets this fine work and begins her next book.

xoxoxoxo

Jody

PRESS RELEASE:

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Contact: Jody Dyer, Crippled Beagle Publishing

Phone: 865-414-4017

Email: dyer.cbpublishing@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Have you ever been told something that would end up changing your whole life?

Knoxville, TN, November 2021. In her first children’s book, author Tamara L. Ballast teaches through fictional character Alana, whose journal entries are a window into her family’s “third culture” life in the Philippines. Author and educator Tamara L. Ballast is no stranger to big moves. Being a Third Culture Kid taught her numerous lessons about navigating life, and in this wonderful story, she uses Alana's questions and experiences to teach children that they, too, can handle challenges like the coronavirus pandemic and relocation. They, too, can face their fears with the help of faith, family, and friends.

From the main character, Alana: "Hi! My name is Alana. I am nine years old. My brother Aiden is six, and we live in the Philippines. We love living here . . . or we did until a few weeks ago. When we first heard about 'coronavirus,' it seemed like a far-away problem that only adults worried about, a problem that would eventually go away if we just waited and didn’t think about it. Then, all of a sudden, everything changed!"

Readers, enter the charmingly illustrated world of nine-year-old Alana and her younger brother Aiden as they struggle to understand the coronavirus pandemic. See how Alana faces her fears as her family prepares for a big move. As you take time to consider Alana’s questions, you will no doubt find answers to some of your own.

Ballast was born in the United States but spent most of her childhood in the Philippines where her parents were missionaries. She finished high school at Faith Academy in Metro Manila, Philippines, and completed her undergraduate degree in music education at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. From 1996 to 2016, she taught various ages (grades 1-12) and classes, including religious studies, general music, and concert band at Brent International School Subic (BISS) in Subic Bay, Philippines. While at BISS, she also directed the music and technical crew for multiple musical productions, led chapel services, and headed the Fine Arts Department from 2008-2016. Tammy’s children, Michael and Melissa, were born in the Philippines and grew up as third generation TCKs. In 2016, she and her family returned to the United States to live in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tammy currently teaches ELL children virtually in the Knox County public school system and leads a weekly adult ELL class at Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, where she is a member. Her desire to become an author arose from her love of writing and her zeal for helping children in cultural transition.

Available in hardcover, softcover, Kindle, and ePub. Sold on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, through traditional retailers, and directly from Crippled Beagle Publishing.

To book Tamara Ballast to speak to your organization or request interviews, quotes, and place discounted group orders, contact the publisher. ###

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Write on, writers!

 

HAPPY NOVEMBER. This is a BIG month for the word nerd herd.

Have you heard of NaNoWriMo?

From the organization's website:

So, what is NaNoWriMo? NaNoWriMo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides tools, structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds — on and off the page.

NaNoWriMo believes in the transformational power of creativity. We provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, achieve creative goals, and build new worlds—on and off the page.

Back to Jody now:) Writers often start projects in November because the community provides prompts, support, and group momentum. Visit the website and explore what the organization offers.

​https://nanowrimo.org/​

Create a personal challenge for the next few weeks. Why not? I mean, you aren't busy, right? My husband, a.k.a., Tall Child, says my personality changes after Halloween. I tell him that I'm not a seasonal witch, but I am overwhelmed with domestic and holiday pressures during the fourth quarter of the year. Plus, my clients often want their books perfected, published, and shipped by Christmas Day. All that said, no matter how busy we are, it's crucial that we feed our creative souls.

The food? TIME and focus on your writing.

You are not selfish for making time to do what you love. As a matter of fact, if I neglect my own creative projects, I actually LOSE energy for my clients' work.

My NaNoWriMo personal challenge is to finish (yikes) the first ROUGH draft of an exciting co-writing project. I have the transcripts, which means my co-writer has done her part. Now I just need to, well, find that blessed time. I'm thinking Friday mornings will do just fine. Clients come first, Monday-Thursday.

WRITING TIP: Use the five senses to brainstorm. Consider your topic. What do you see, hear, taste, smell, and feel? Brainstorming is the perfect way to start a project. NOTHING is off limits, you don't need to self-edit, ideas open up like crazy, and you can use paper. Tree-killers are welcomed in November. Do what you have to do to get started.

Need inspiration? Call or email me for encouragement, but just not before noon on Fridays. I'l lbe NaNoWriting!

xoxoxoxo

Jody

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WRITERS - DON'T GET SPOOKED!

 Hello from Crippled Beagle Publishing and Happy Rainy (East Tennessee) Friday,

The word spooky just came to mind. Obviously, Sunday is Halloween, so the concept is timely. On top of that, I had a conversation with a fellow creative today that rang true. As I coached her, I wished I could go back in time, find a writing and publishing mentor, and ask her to coach ME. I published my first book in 2013. Since then, I've made every marketing mistake possible. The first was NOT building an email list. There were plenty of mistakes after that, which, in many ways, makes me an expert these days! Pay attention to what I share with you, because I can save you a load of time, heartache, and money.

Writers panic. We get spooked. That is N.O.R.M.A.L. My client is a superb storyteller with a beautiful message to share. While her target audience is young and specific, the lessons have broad appeal and her book has enormous potential. She's a gifted, hard-working artist, and a GOOD writer. She simply needs to keep moving forward. And she will. She's done much harder things.

Often, writers (you know the type) have enormous goals, unclear pathways, and personal concerns. The trick is to WRITE, EDIT, PUBLISH, AND MARKET! Drop the doubts and persevere. (And ask for help when you need it.)

Often, clients and prospects ask the following questions (in bold). My answers are below each question:)

Will anyone want to read my book?

YES.

Will people thing I'm an egomaniac?

YES. WHO CARES? MAYBE NOT. WHO CARES?

Am I a decent writer?

YES! I don't work with bad writers.

How many copies can I actually sell?

As many as you like. Marketing is imperative, but you can do it on your schedule and budget.

Here's the good news. Those are big questions, but they can all be answered in time. I can help you. You can do research. Most importantly, you can ACT, WRITE, PUBLISH, BEGIN marketing, and learn on the job. DON'T GET SPOOKED and stop. KEEP WRITING and learning.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, TOO!

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Paper or Plastic (Computer)?

 Hello creatives,

I hope the week is going well and you are finding joyful pursuits every day. Am I old, stubborn, or just low-tech? I wonder, because it feels like I'm CONSTANTLY being sent to an "app." I remember when a teaching colleague whipped out a USB thumb drive, and I thought he was about to light a cigarette on school property. I thought he had a lighter, and I was light years behind.

I'm heading to New York City tomorrow to visit my cousin Annie. She's quite the world traveler and tech-whiz, so she TEXTED me an APP to use to CHECK IN ONLINE and BUY a ticket for rail passage from Newark, New Jersey, to Penn Station in Manhattan. Geez, that plus the whole Allegiant app check-in process on my phone's tiny screen took an hour. I do believe all these convenient tools take longer than a plain old paper ticket. Right? I think I'm one of those old-fashioned ladies who needs a younger traveling companion.

Speaking of paper, I often joke that I'm a tree killer. Meh. I plant trees and water plants. I'm good. I do use a whole heck of a lot of paper, though. Sometimes, being outside or in a different room, holding a pen and not tapping a keyboard, and physically writing can be freeing! Try it. When I brainstorm and work on projects, each one has it's own stack of paper. REAL paper. When school supplies rear their neon heads at department stores in early August, I snatch up 100 or more 15 cent spiral bound notebooks. They serve me well.

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If you are weary of the screen and need a new outlook on your project, try paper and pen. Try using paper and pen OUTSIDE. Take your writing on the road. You can always type whatever you create on paper into Word. I'm all packed for New York with walking shoes, cash, a mugger whistle (my mother insisted), and, you guessed it, a notebook and pen.

Happy writing!

Jody

FOUR QUESTIONS to Help You Sell More Books

 Good morning,

As I may have told you (I talk about this a lot right now), I am designing an online course to help authors with marketing. Most cannot/will not pay for a publicist (overpriced and overpromising, anyway), and I want something that YOU can absolutely use, enjoy, and profit from! My top goal is for you to produce books that impact the world and make YOU proud of your work. My second goal is for you to make a profit. Thus, the course. It's an affordable and reasonable solution for authors who know they need to market their books but don't really know how or are overwhelmed by all the different parts and pieces.

My plan is to create a 12-week course with weekly modules that teach authors WHAT is important, WHY it's important, and a realistic amount of HOW. I am also launching a monthly membership that follows the course. Through that monthly membership, I will expand each of those modules into entire months of lessons via emails, videos, printable documents, etc. That way, in a year's time, authors have REAL FOUNDATIONS for marketing their books online and in-person. They can take their time working through the modules on weekdays and even revisit them any time they like because I'll archive everything.

The 12-week course --- Each topic will be self-contained, meaning you don't have to do everything (though I will make it easy to do everything over time!).

author brand kitplanning book releases (launches)the business (financial parts and pieces) of being an authorlist building to grow your audienceplatform development (content delivery to build audience)event planningSOCIAL MEDIA (you name it)website stuffmarketing to organizations (schools, retailers, etc.)scheduling everything ever (all the parts and pieces in a calendar)reviews (who, what, when, where, how, why)value-added pieces to enhance book sales (stuff you can do inside your book)

The open-ended membership will include expanded teaching and the following:

• Expanded lessons for everything listed above and MORE.

• I will guide you (slowly and steadily) through weekly lessons for each module so you aren't overwhelmed and can easily fit the work into your schedule.

• 1 basic, realistic assignment every week. In other words, you'll have results!

• Pdf resources, of course, that you can print out and follow.

• 1 group Q&A Zoom meeting per month that I will record and archive/email to you. In other words, you don't have to be there to benefit.• ALL lessons will be archived so you have plenty of time to learn and implement what I teach.

• Up to 4 questions per month via email to me. I will answer via a spreadsheet to which everyone has access.

• A database (the spreadsheet) of the questions and answers. You'll be able to search for all kinds of answers. NOTHING fancy. I keep everything as simple as possible.

• Any new support materials I create (cheat sheets, social media frames, tech tips, good articles, tech tips, etc.) MORE will be added. This is the list thus far.

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QUESTIONS FOR YOU:

1. WHAT do you think is a reasonable price for the 12-week course? What would carefully and methodically going through these lessons, one by one, with my total and consistent support, be worth to you?

2. What do you think I should charge for the ongoing membership? The membership lasts indefinitely, as I will teach new content every month.

3. What do you want to learn?

4. What is the biggest struggle for you when it comes to marketing your books? Thanks for your input. I am doing this for YOU, so I want to know what YOU think and what would work for you:)

EMAIL ME AT dyer.cbpublishing@gmail.com. You can reply here but you can always email me directly. 

THANKS AGAIN and happy weekend!

xoxoxo Jody

HELLO from Crippled Beagle Publishing!As I advise clients...

HELLO from Crippled Beagle Publishing!

As I advise clients throughout the week, I keep a little sticky-note list so that I can share those same tips with you. I have the same conversations many times over, which tells me the information is important. Today, I offer one easy to implement/try action item for each phase of the publishing process. If you'd like cheat sheets or one-on-one tutorials for any of the tips below, email me at dyer.cbpublishing@gmail.com or call me.

PHASE 1: Writing

If you need math or science formulas/notations in your document, you can find every character you need (even pre-written formulas) in Word. Go to the Insert tab, then click Equation. Play around there to see the many helpful options.

PHASE 2: Editing

Many times a year, I find that clients are trying to "hand type" or manually enter the table of contents. Forget that! Word has an awesome tool via the References tab. First, you must create/select/modify Heading styles in the tool bar (found on the Home tab). Then, as you type in, for example, a chapter title, you can simply click one of the heading styles in the tool bar, which will automatically format the heading AND prepare it for the table of contents. Once you finish the book (yay), you can then use the References tab to create a custom table of contents. There are a few steps, but this process is EASY to learn.

PHASE 3: Publishing

NEVER think that a hybrid-published or self-published book can't hang with the big boys. There are only a handful of big, "traditional" publishing houses left in the USA. They choose authors who have enormous (profitable for them) social media followings and lists so that when they publish, the house recoups any advances. The majority of books are self/hybrid-published AND earn most of the royalties. Thank goodness we don't need a board room of strangers to approve, right? As an author, though, you should adhere to industry standards. If you publish with me, you are in good shape!

PHASE 4: Marketing

Quick tips:

Use your email signature to advertise your book(s) and brand! Under your name, include a tag line, book cover image (small), and actual link to your buying page on Amazon/other. Different email accounts have different options, of course, but typically you can go to the settings menu to craft a specific signature that will automatically land at the bottom of every email you send.

As you read books, write reviews and share them online. When you post the reviews, name yourself as an author! Toot your horn! Sign the review in some manner like this:

"[Review of book, which does NOT need to be long.]}" —Jody Dyer, author of [Book Title]

See? Easy!

Feel free to forward my emails and cheat sheets with other authors. I love meeting new writers and learning from them. As always, thank you for sharing your precious time and ideas with me. Have a wonderful week!

xoxoxo

Jody

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TO JOIN THE CRIPPLED BEAGLE PUBLISHING CLINIC, click  HERE !

CRIPPLED BEAGLE PUBLISHING CLINIC is open for author business!

 KEEPING IT SIMPLE, but announcing something BIG!

I have launched the Crippled Beagle Clinic, through which I will do one-on-one author coaching in a number of areas, including writing, editing, publishing, and marketing.

Rebranding is in process, too. Take a look at my new logos:

Part of my revamp efforts include a monthly newsletter. Here's the first edition. Enjoy!



BE SURE TO JOIN IN ON THE FUN AND LEARNING!

Subscribe HERE to receive weekly emails with tips on writing, editing, publishing, and book marketing. 

If you want a .pdf copy of the newsletter or have questions about anything related to writing and publishing, email me at dyer.cbpublishing@gmail.com. Thank you for trusting me with your time and ideas.

xoxoxo

Jody Dyer, owner of Crippled Beagle Publishing and Crippled Beagle Publishing Clinic