Kathy Cyr's Blog: Kathy Cyr- Author, page 100
July 2, 2015
Thursday Three
It's Thursday Three. Prompts for all of you lovely writers.
Let's get our writing day going!
Your phone rings in the middle of the night. An indiscernible voice speaks: “There is a car waiting for you outside your house. Get inside. You don’t want to ignore this.” Your spouse rolls over, eyes squinting, and says, “Everything okay?” What happens next?
"Be careful out there," your mom said as you grabbed your duffel bag and headed on a camping trip with friends. "You know that tonight is the anniversary, don't you?" You nodded, then shut the door behind you before getting in the car and taking off.
You've had a rough day at work. You head home and go straight to bed, mumbling, "I wish I'd wake up tomorrow and be anyone but me," before dozing off. When you wake up in the morning, your dream has come true, as you quickly realize that you are not you—you are someone else...
You can find more here:
http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
Let's get our writing day going!
Your phone rings in the middle of the night. An indiscernible voice speaks: “There is a car waiting for you outside your house. Get inside. You don’t want to ignore this.” Your spouse rolls over, eyes squinting, and says, “Everything okay?” What happens next?
"Be careful out there," your mom said as you grabbed your duffel bag and headed on a camping trip with friends. "You know that tonight is the anniversary, don't you?" You nodded, then shut the door behind you before getting in the car and taking off.
You've had a rough day at work. You head home and go straight to bed, mumbling, "I wish I'd wake up tomorrow and be anyone but me," before dozing off. When you wake up in the morning, your dream has come true, as you quickly realize that you are not you—you are someone else...
You can find more here:
http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
July 1, 2015
Book Marketing – What 200+ campaigns has taught us.
Interesting article from Publishing Push. It's worth a read.
Here's a little snippet to get you going. You can read the full article by clicking the link below.
Book Marketing – What 200+ campaigns has taught us.
A good writer should bleed. Not literally but figuratively. People connect with honesty where the writer is a little vulnerable. We have given this advice on many occasions and now we shall implement it ourselves. We have been running book marketing campaigns for years. Over 200+ campaigns.
We’ve worked with self-published authors, major publishing houses, brand new authors and established best selling authors. What follows is what we’ve learned about book marketing. We have decided to bare all. Both the ups and the downs. This post will not remain static. It will be updated and refined as we continue our work.
run
source technologytherapy.com
Book Marketing Is A Marathon Not A Sprint
The title above makes me feel like a management consultant. So let me rephrase my point more eloquently. The best time to start planning your book marketing strategy is before your book is ready. Start to build your platform. You may have heard the term platform recently, coming from publishing houses, agents and marketing professionals. A platform translates to visibility and a way to reach your audience reliably and regularly. A specific example would be a great blog, that receives excellent engagement and has a strong email subscriber list. Or you could focus on cultivating a highly engaged social media following.
More here: http://publishingpush.com/blog/book-marketing/
Here's a little snippet to get you going. You can read the full article by clicking the link below.
Book Marketing – What 200+ campaigns has taught us.
A good writer should bleed. Not literally but figuratively. People connect with honesty where the writer is a little vulnerable. We have given this advice on many occasions and now we shall implement it ourselves. We have been running book marketing campaigns for years. Over 200+ campaigns.
We’ve worked with self-published authors, major publishing houses, brand new authors and established best selling authors. What follows is what we’ve learned about book marketing. We have decided to bare all. Both the ups and the downs. This post will not remain static. It will be updated and refined as we continue our work.
run
source technologytherapy.com
Book Marketing Is A Marathon Not A Sprint
The title above makes me feel like a management consultant. So let me rephrase my point more eloquently. The best time to start planning your book marketing strategy is before your book is ready. Start to build your platform. You may have heard the term platform recently, coming from publishing houses, agents and marketing professionals. A platform translates to visibility and a way to reach your audience reliably and regularly. A specific example would be a great blog, that receives excellent engagement and has a strong email subscriber list. Or you could focus on cultivating a highly engaged social media following.
More here: http://publishingpush.com/blog/book-marketing/
Top 101 Book Marketing Sites
Came across this page in doing some research about marketing.
I thought you might find it interesting, too. :)
Top 101 Book Marketing Sites
(from the website)
This page features top sites of interest to book publishers, authors, and self-publishers.
Lots of book marketing tools and resources are featured here.
Note: This is a personal list, based on the judgment of John Kremer. If you'd like to nominate an appropriate website, please email John Kremer. I know that I have missed some companies I truly would like to add to this list. Your company might be one of those. - book marketing expert John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books
Acses Book Price Search Engine - This service allows consumers to compare prices from over 20 online bookstores! A good place to see what your books are selling for (after discounts and postage) at the major web booksellers. Note that this service makes its money by joining the associate sales programs of all the featured booksellers.
All Books Free - A site for sharing ebook versions of your novels, short stories, and children's books. All books are freely available for anyone to download and read. Alexa rank: 1,674,010 in October 2010.
Any New Books?, Antonio Cangiano, Founder. Email: info@anynewbooks.com. - Features notifications to users of new books in various subject categories. They have a simple editorial policy: With the exception of areas that will be clearly marked as advertisements, all the content of our newsletter has been selected and curated by us, not by our advertisers/sponsors. This assures you that a book will appear solely in a weekly email on the grounds that it’s interesting and new, not because of some behind the scenes deal with a publishing company.
AuthorBuzz - Email: authorbuzzco@aol.com. Puts authors in touch with 365,000 readers, 12,000 librarians, 5,000 booksellers, and 14,800 leaders of bookclubs.
There's alot more in this list and hopefully it'll come in handy for you.
Read more here:
http://www.bookmarket.com/101bm.htm
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
I thought you might find it interesting, too. :)
Top 101 Book Marketing Sites
(from the website)
This page features top sites of interest to book publishers, authors, and self-publishers.
Lots of book marketing tools and resources are featured here.
Note: This is a personal list, based on the judgment of John Kremer. If you'd like to nominate an appropriate website, please email John Kremer. I know that I have missed some companies I truly would like to add to this list. Your company might be one of those. - book marketing expert John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books
Acses Book Price Search Engine - This service allows consumers to compare prices from over 20 online bookstores! A good place to see what your books are selling for (after discounts and postage) at the major web booksellers. Note that this service makes its money by joining the associate sales programs of all the featured booksellers.
All Books Free - A site for sharing ebook versions of your novels, short stories, and children's books. All books are freely available for anyone to download and read. Alexa rank: 1,674,010 in October 2010.
Any New Books?, Antonio Cangiano, Founder. Email: info@anynewbooks.com. - Features notifications to users of new books in various subject categories. They have a simple editorial policy: With the exception of areas that will be clearly marked as advertisements, all the content of our newsletter has been selected and curated by us, not by our advertisers/sponsors. This assures you that a book will appear solely in a weekly email on the grounds that it’s interesting and new, not because of some behind the scenes deal with a publishing company.
AuthorBuzz - Email: authorbuzzco@aol.com. Puts authors in touch with 365,000 readers, 12,000 librarians, 5,000 booksellers, and 14,800 leaders of bookclubs.
There's alot more in this list and hopefully it'll come in handy for you.
Read more here:
http://www.bookmarket.com/101bm.htm
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
Wednesday Wisdom
Good Morning!
It's time for Wednesday Wisdom. Words of wisdom for writers.
I love today's words of wisdom and I think you will, too.
Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay?"
- Stephen King
"Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever."
- Will Self
“Be daring, take on anything. Don’t labor over little cameo works in which every word is to be perfect. Technique holds a reader from sentence to sentence, but only content will stay in his mind.”
- Joyce Carol Oates
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
It's time for Wednesday Wisdom. Words of wisdom for writers.
I love today's words of wisdom and I think you will, too.
Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay?"
- Stephen King
"Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever."
- Will Self
“Be daring, take on anything. Don’t labor over little cameo works in which every word is to be perfect. Technique holds a reader from sentence to sentence, but only content will stay in his mind.”
- Joyce Carol Oates
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
June 30, 2015
Ten rules for writing fiction
Good Morning, everyone!
Found a very detailed and wonderful article for your viewing pleasure.
Definitely worth a read. :)
Ten rules for writing fiction
Elmore Leonard: Using adverbs is a mortal sin
1 Never open a book with weather. If it's only to create atmosphere, and not a character's reaction to the weather, you don't want to go on too long. The reader is apt to leaf ahead looking for people. There are exceptions. If you happen to be Barry Lopez, who has more ways than an Eskimo to describe ice and snow in his book Arctic Dreams, you can do all the weather reporting you want.
2 Avoid prologues: they can be annoying, especially a prologue following an introduction that comes after a foreword. But these are ordinarily found in non-fiction. A prologue in a novel is backstory, and you can drop it in anywhere you want. There is a prologue in John Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday, but it's OK because a character in the book makes the point of what my rules are all about. He says: "I like a lot of talk in a book and I don't like to have nobody tell me what the guy that's talking looks like. I want to figure out what he looks like from the way he talks."
3 Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But "said" is far less intrusive than "grumbled", "gasped", "cautioned", "lied". I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with "she asseverated" and had to stop reading and go to the dictionary.
4 Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said" ... he admonished gravely. To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange. I have a character in one of my books tell how she used to write historical romances "full of rape and adverbs".
5 Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. If you have the knack of playing with exclaimers the way Tom Wolfe does, you can throw them in by the handful.
6 Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose". This rule doesn't require an explanation. I have noticed that writers who use "suddenly" tend to exercise less control in the application of exclamation points.
You can read more here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
Found a very detailed and wonderful article for your viewing pleasure.
Definitely worth a read. :)
Ten rules for writing fiction
Elmore Leonard: Using adverbs is a mortal sin
1 Never open a book with weather. If it's only to create atmosphere, and not a character's reaction to the weather, you don't want to go on too long. The reader is apt to leaf ahead looking for people. There are exceptions. If you happen to be Barry Lopez, who has more ways than an Eskimo to describe ice and snow in his book Arctic Dreams, you can do all the weather reporting you want.
2 Avoid prologues: they can be annoying, especially a prologue following an introduction that comes after a foreword. But these are ordinarily found in non-fiction. A prologue in a novel is backstory, and you can drop it in anywhere you want. There is a prologue in John Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday, but it's OK because a character in the book makes the point of what my rules are all about. He says: "I like a lot of talk in a book and I don't like to have nobody tell me what the guy that's talking looks like. I want to figure out what he looks like from the way he talks."
3 Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But "said" is far less intrusive than "grumbled", "gasped", "cautioned", "lied". I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with "she asseverated" and had to stop reading and go to the dictionary.
4 Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said" ... he admonished gravely. To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange. I have a character in one of my books tell how she used to write historical romances "full of rape and adverbs".
5 Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. If you have the knack of playing with exclaimers the way Tom Wolfe does, you can throw them in by the handful.
6 Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose". This rule doesn't require an explanation. I have noticed that writers who use "suddenly" tend to exercise less control in the application of exclamation points.
You can read more here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
Traveling Tuesday
Good Morning, my friends.
Are you ready for another day of writing? Got your coffee? Tea? Juice?
Good. Because today's pic prompt comes from Howth Ireland.
Your character could be waiting for something or someone. It's early morning. Perhaps it's right before sunrise. Is there a mist rolling in?
Is he/she looking for signs of a ship? Perhaps shapes/images are forming in the mist....
First some info links to get you going:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howth
http://www.discoverireland.ie/Activities-Adventure/cliff-path-loop/71514
http://www.fingaldublin.ie/interior-pages/travel-info/maps/howth-town-map/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland/dublin/howth/history
http://www.howth-boats.com/about-howth-dublin.php
http://howthcastle.com/
Link credits for photos:
https://www.facebook.com/Ireland/photos/a.147913755628.110188.28953120628/10153374768200629/?&theater
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Howth_Head_cliffs.JPG
http://wanderireland.com/2015/02/23/howth-co-dublin/
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
Are you ready for another day of writing? Got your coffee? Tea? Juice?
Good. Because today's pic prompt comes from Howth Ireland.
Your character could be waiting for something or someone. It's early morning. Perhaps it's right before sunrise. Is there a mist rolling in?
Is he/she looking for signs of a ship? Perhaps shapes/images are forming in the mist....
First some info links to get you going:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howth
http://www.discoverireland.ie/Activities-Adventure/cliff-path-loop/71514
http://www.fingaldublin.ie/interior-pages/travel-info/maps/howth-town-map/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland/dublin/howth/history
http://www.howth-boats.com/about-howth-dublin.php
http://howthcastle.com/
Link credits for photos:https://www.facebook.com/Ireland/photos/a.147913755628.110188.28953120628/10153374768200629/?&theater
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Howth_Head_cliffs.JPG
http://wanderireland.com/2015/02/23/howth-co-dublin/
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
June 29, 2015
7 Strategies and 110 Tools to Help Indie Authors Find Readers and Reviewers
If you haven't seen this list yet, it is definitely worth a read through.
Might be helpful to many of you and possibly worth bookmarking.
7 Strategies and 110 Tools to Help Indie Authors Find Readers and Reviewers
Self-publishing is growing, and with it come new resources. One of the biggest hurdles of being an indie author is finding readers and getting reviews (which helps find more readers). Some people may still consider self-publishing a stigma, and some writers may think that promotion takes away too much time from writing. But many sites, including Outramp, Your Writer Platform, and Indies Unlimited have written posts giving advice for marketing.
On Digital Book World, founder of McCarthy Digital Peter McCarthy said, “Whoever is the best at connecting authors’ works with the end consumers — they win.” It’s about being agile and seeing what works.
With that in mind, here are 7 strategies and a list of 94 tools indie authors can use to help promote their books and find new readers and reviewers (although the first and most important thing is to write a good book, and then write another, and then keep writing).
You can read more here:
http://www.digitalpubbing.com/7-strategies-and-94-tools-to-help-indie-authors-find-readers-and-reviewers/
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
Might be helpful to many of you and possibly worth bookmarking.
7 Strategies and 110 Tools to Help Indie Authors Find Readers and Reviewers
Self-publishing is growing, and with it come new resources. One of the biggest hurdles of being an indie author is finding readers and getting reviews (which helps find more readers). Some people may still consider self-publishing a stigma, and some writers may think that promotion takes away too much time from writing. But many sites, including Outramp, Your Writer Platform, and Indies Unlimited have written posts giving advice for marketing.
On Digital Book World, founder of McCarthy Digital Peter McCarthy said, “Whoever is the best at connecting authors’ works with the end consumers — they win.” It’s about being agile and seeing what works.
With that in mind, here are 7 strategies and a list of 94 tools indie authors can use to help promote their books and find new readers and reviewers (although the first and most important thing is to write a good book, and then write another, and then keep writing).
You can read more here:
http://www.digitalpubbing.com/7-strategies-and-94-tools-to-help-indie-authors-find-readers-and-reviewers/
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
Monday Mentionables
And we are back..... How was your weekend?
Wanting another? Me, too. ;)
On Saturday's Saturday Series, I featured a great writer: T. A. Barron and his Merlin series.
For today's Mentionables, I've got a few links to his blog. There's really good stuff there and worth a read.
Questions from Readers About Writing and What Influenced Me to be a Writer.
http://tabarron.com/blog/questions-readers-writing-influenced-writer/
Some Notes About My Writing Process
http://tabarron.com/blog/notes-writing-process/
How Do You Write Your Stories, T. A. Barron?
http://tabarron.com/blog/how-do-you-write-your-stories/
Part II: How Do You Write Your Stories, T. A. Barron?
http://tabarron.com/blog/part-ii-how-do-you-write-your-stories/
Have a great day and join me tomorrow for Traveling Tuesday, pic prompts for #writers.
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
Wanting another? Me, too. ;)
On Saturday's Saturday Series, I featured a great writer: T. A. Barron and his Merlin series.
For today's Mentionables, I've got a few links to his blog. There's really good stuff there and worth a read.
Questions from Readers About Writing and What Influenced Me to be a Writer.
http://tabarron.com/blog/questions-readers-writing-influenced-writer/
Some Notes About My Writing Process
http://tabarron.com/blog/notes-writing-process/
How Do You Write Your Stories, T. A. Barron?
http://tabarron.com/blog/how-do-you-write-your-stories/
Part II: How Do You Write Your Stories, T. A. Barron?
http://tabarron.com/blog/part-ii-how-do-you-write-your-stories/
Have a great day and join me tomorrow for Traveling Tuesday, pic prompts for #writers.
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
June 28, 2015
Max Hamby Map
Hi everyone,
I hope your weekend has been a good one.
Just wanted to share a sketch I did for the Max Hamby books.
It was fun to do and I might do a second version.
It was quite big and I had to piece it together, but hopefully everything is clear enough. :)
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
I hope your weekend has been a good one.
Just wanted to share a sketch I did for the Max Hamby books.
It was fun to do and I might do a second version.
It was quite big and I had to piece it together, but hopefully everything is clear enough. :)
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
June 27, 2015
A serialized fiction growth-hacking technique for fiction writers
Interesting article, my friends.
Take a peek:
A serialized fiction growth-hacking technique for fiction writers
Most book marketing tips and strategies are for non-fiction authors. When publishing experts are asked, “well what about fiction writers,” the answer is usually, “um, I don’t have experience with that, but it should work too.”
Here’s how to sell books: build a platform and an email list.
BUT HOW?!
Usually by giving away a lot of free stuff or some free books.
BUT WHAT IF I ONLY HAVE ONE BOOK?!
Then you’re screwed.
Or maybe not.
Here’s a trick you can use.
1. Offer the first chapter for free on your website.
Make it immediately available, without any barrier or sign up required. Don’t ask them to buy or give up their privacy until they’ve had a chance to test your writing. People buy from people they know, like and trust – don’t ruin your chance for them to get to know you by asking for a sale too early.
You can read more here:
http://www.creativindie.com/a-serialized-fiction-growth-hacking-technique-for-fiction-writers/
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
Take a peek:
A serialized fiction growth-hacking technique for fiction writers
Most book marketing tips and strategies are for non-fiction authors. When publishing experts are asked, “well what about fiction writers,” the answer is usually, “um, I don’t have experience with that, but it should work too.”
Here’s how to sell books: build a platform and an email list.
BUT HOW?!
Usually by giving away a lot of free stuff or some free books.
BUT WHAT IF I ONLY HAVE ONE BOOK?!
Then you’re screwed.
Or maybe not.
Here’s a trick you can use.
1. Offer the first chapter for free on your website.
Make it immediately available, without any barrier or sign up required. Don’t ask them to buy or give up their privacy until they’ve had a chance to test your writing. People buy from people they know, like and trust – don’t ruin your chance for them to get to know you by asking for a sale too early.
You can read more here:
http://www.creativindie.com/a-serialized-fiction-growth-hacking-technique-for-fiction-writers/
#Books #Ebooks #SelfPub #Publishing #Novel #AmWriting #Writers #Readers #kidlit #middlegrade #bookseries #maxhamby #childrensauthor #MGlit
Kathy Cyr- Author
Kathy Cyr writes in an underground cave, but has her eye on a wizard's castle.
On an average day, she's usually surrounded by a dwarf with a curious addiction to coffee, a moody dragon and a pink pixie ...more
On an average day, she's usually surrounded by a dwarf with a curious addiction to coffee, a moody dragon and a pink pixie ...more
- Kathy Cyr's profile
- 15 followers
