Tracee Lydia Garner's Blog, page 5
September 1, 2017
Friday Features
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Today, we welcome author Sheena Binkley on her Real Love Book Tour. Enjoy learning more about her and her latest release.
Here’s a Synopsis of Real Love
[image error]Riana:
Shawn and I have been in love with each other since our first encounter in college six years ago. Despite our share of ups and downs, the two of us have a bond that no one could ever break. No matter what, we have supported each other; so when Shawn accepted a position in Atlanta, I wasn’t too happy about moving, but I would do anything for him. With living in a new state, things can become very complicated. I know our love is strong, but is it strong enough to get through the issues we’re currently facing?
Shawn:
I knew the first moment I saw Ri that she was going to be my wife someday. Although we had a few bumps in our relationship, we were able to get through them and are more in love than ever before. When I accepted a huge opportunity in Atlanta, I knew Ri wasn’t on board with leaving Baker, but she did it for me, which I was grateful for. But with new challenges facing us, including issues with my co-worker, I have to wonder was moving worth risking my marriage for?
About Sheena[image error]
Sheena Binkley first discovered her love for storytelling when writing her first story for a class project at the tender age of nine. Since then, she has composed several short stories and numerous tales that are not only engaging, but simply entertaining. She is also a freelance writer, penning articles on various topics including education and entertainment.
To date, her best-selling novels include In Love With My Best Friend, Love Unbroken, Something Just Ain’t Right, and The Love Chronicles.
In April of 2016, Sheena launched her own publishing company which focus strictly on romance books. Besides writing, she loves reading, shopping, and spending time with family and friends. She lives in Houston (where the weather is always unpredictable) with her husband and son.
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Connect with Sheena on the following platforms:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sheenabinkleyauthor
Get YOUR Copy of Real Love here.
This tour hosted by Creative Expressions Literary Services.
Get Your Own Tour with
Creative Expressions Literary Services by clicking here
August 30, 2017
25 Content Ideas for Your Publications
One thing that always annoys me, there’s never any listing of what people come up with and what they make to put into these little guides they put together and offer on their websites. I mean if you think about it, we all could make the same thing in some form or another if we could just have the list of ingredients. Thus once again, I took it upon myself to list out of some of the most awesome things I have seen and read in the NUMEROUS guides and materials I’m always downloading and devouring. Why do you need this? Well if you’ve ever wanted to come up with something free or something to give away in exchange for sign-ups and thus building your newsletter mailing list, following you on IG and Twitter or driving traffic to your site for other interesting things you want to tell them while they’re there, then you need good CONTENT. OR if you’re like me, you will have times when you simply like creating things to help others and give away without requiring folks to do anything but click. Below, this LIST of content ideas should help you put together short booklets and guides for those exact purposes.
Note, the order for your book/guide is up to you and my list of content ideas are not in any sort of logical order, however, with that said, items 1 – 4 are in the order in which they usually appear across other guides you may have seen. Study the layout, visual and content of other guides to gain ideas and ensure that whatever you put together, the order makes the most sense. Finally, an * implies all the items I have used in my own documents.
*An awesome cover – if you like creating in Canva and other design programs, create two covers – it’s very Erin Condrin’ish . Create one that’s standard and muted, and then get whimsy to create one that has a bit more sass
*Copyright Page – Note: If your little guide is under approximately 10 pages I would say, a Copyright Page is not necessary. I would also say, however, be certain that you put the (c) copyright symbol, your name, website and “For Personal Use Only”. Make this as part of the footer (on every other page) and you’ll be fine (this link will take you to a couple of different copyright wording samples here)
*This Guide Belongs To – only if it’s a longer guide and there’s a bunch of them just lying around, you’ll want to give space for people to put their name in their book. Not major at all, it’s just a nice touch.
Welcome Letter Page
Introduction – Could be the same thing as the Welcome Page’s letter
Using this Guide – tips on getting the most from the material contained within
Lists of best books for – whatever the subject matter is – use the cover images it’s more visual
*Find 100 quotes (or less) and then depending on the length of your guide put them on every other page (I wanted to put my quotes on every other page of the 30 page booklet I am making for my Publishing Summit – thus decidedly, I needed 15 quotes – try to keep the location the same, and use same colors – this will give your guide visual uniformity
*Use an action / business template (see examples here , and here) and then simply complete an example of that page (filled in) to show the readers, based on your own project/goal to be able to show the guide user what it looks like when it’s completed or to give people inspiration and some ideas on how to complete their own
*Have a resource page. People love resources and references, (include books and websites, of course, but go a little above and beyond the norm to include links to videos, podcasts and perhaps even some transcripts.) Try to insert Bit.ly links if the guide will be printed to cut down on length and make people happier as they type in the links
* Blank Calendar Pages – let people fill in their own numbers for the days
*Daily pages – whatever a week layout looks like to you – if this is a planning-goal or action guide, you’ll want to give people ample space to record month to month or week to week accomplishments and goal tracking leading up to the big date
*Pictures of you working or images from stock photography sites – remember clip art and animated illustrations are great but think about the tone of your book and the message you are trying to get across. I’m personally annoyed at times by content that includes a lot of cartoonish images and neon colors. If you have a serious business subject matter, this does not fit, make a kids book instead -which would be totally cool too for kids to download and work on. For the adults, have real images of people working in the office setting are best.
Lists – simply a page with numbered lines, or boxes big enough for users to record their own things on (please give enough space so it’s usable)
*Notes page – always include a couple of blank pages, lined or not (and graph paper is also becoming very popular) to use – I LOVE graph paper
Fill in the blank – this is great if you have an instructional video or webinar that goes along with your guide or workbook. However, one important caveat I have, is to either share what the content of the blanks are supposed to be in some fashion on your site, or make it very clear. For example, if you have a live video to supplement your guide – use the wording you use in the guide or alert the viewer to where this tidbit goes. You could say a simple phrase like this ” If you’re following along – page 5 of my guide -I’m going to highlight the ten principles you need to…. “. Then list every single one without too much extra verbiage in between. What’s better, you could also, in the video, just show the page completely filled out so people can pause it, complete their own and so they don’t have to guess whatever you were TRYING to get across
Glossary – while words are going to change all the time, many industries have a set of certain words that people need to know – you may go one step further and include frequent words that you will be using throughout the guide if the reader will be new to the industry- my subject matter, Publishing for example has a LOT of words but many basic terms that people should know
*Contact Me Page or Book List page (your own books as an advertisement, or books that are your go-to advice/instruction for the subject matter you’er speaking on)
Work with Me Page- this is similar to # 18 but not the same. The difference is what if you wanted to list your actual services and the pricing structure for that. The contact page would simply be all your social media handles, a phone number (if you share that outright), email address and your website information, etc. You could go one step further and include a page for people to fill out – an intake form that helps the user clarify what they want and answer questions you need to know in order to start working with them. Great if you have something you’re handing out as part of a presentation
Testimonials page – nothing like positive words from former user experiences to encourage others to get in line and pay up
Toolkit – in my own toolkit, when you are stressed and worried and busy and it can be hard to remember to do the things that bring you joy. So spend time coming up with a list of those very things, – some things in my toolkit including Watching Youtube (NOT about anything writer related, watching a show I like that’s funny, shopping, resting for ten minutes, chair laid back and soft music I’ve preselected playing, sleeping late, eating my favorite comfort food, staycations and on and on) What’s yours? You could use a cool graphic, like a picture of an empty Mason jar, or empty tool box graphic (illustration here) and then have people fill in the jar/tool box with their own toolkit ideas or even images they cut out of their own favorite magazines if you were doing say- a vision board workbook or fitness workbook
SWOT Analysis – boxes for a SWOT analysis can be used for a variety of different things
List of professional organizations, clubs, and associations
10 Tips for: This or That / 10 Reasons You’re a … – lists are very popular, try to stick to a shorter ones as it pertains to your subject
Assessments and Quick Test – people love to answer a SHORT list of questions about their style or themselves – search assessments on line and see if you can use them or create your own series of questions to help people drill down on their own motivations and understand more about what they want/like and what propels them to action
Tables – budget sheets/schedule list/blank timetable – so that people can examine how they spend their time (to find more writing time for example) or tracking income/expenses for a period of time
Idea Generator page – These obviously come in many forms but I personally love those spider web types with the larger circle in the middle and then many offshoots of smaller circles for generating a connecting theme
Technology list – list popular items and the logo, of what you may be using to get the job done for whatever the subject is about and links to where to purchase that technology or apps
Case Study/Finding or Best Practice example – Frame or tell a story about someone’s history, experience and background and how applying various principles helped to change their course/outlook or help them reach success
Reference material – a list of any material that you utilize over and over again to help motivate/encourage, gather data or use frequently in your program/business
*List of Festivals and Book Fests or whatever event your target group needs/should attend. Best-selling Romance Author Lisa London has a free downloadable (for subbies) list of all things romance conferences calendar found here.
When all else fails, okay fine, I now hereby give you permission to: add a page or two for coloring. I personally think the Adult Coloring Craze has gone the way of the cupcake shop, cute at first but now a bit ridiculous. BUT, consider your subject matter and tone and intention; weigh for yourself, whether or not it is appropriate to add a page or two as it can be fun and can help alleviate stress if people need a doodle break. However, if you’re giving a talk or presenting this material and the guide is something you get at the registration desk, you’ll now need to add a box of crayons or colored pencils and that’s an added expense.
August 25, 2017
Friday Features
Nicole Benoit-Roy
In a society filled with easy Christianity and cheap grace, Nicole Benoit-Roy takes her relationship with Christ to a much deeper level. Since becoming a Christian, she has been learning about her newfound Savior, Jesus Christ. She is an educator who vows to be a student for as long as she lives. The more she learns about the cross of Christ, the more she realizes the importance of it in her life. As she meditates on His suffering, she concludes that His pain is the reason for every blessing in her life. In this book, “What I Gain Through His Pain,” she shares her story about the benefit of the cross as she expresses gratefulness for His pain.
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Here’s an Excerpt –
Something Fishy
Daddy practiced Voodoo, but even as a child I considered it foolish. During summer vacations in Haiti, the family expected my sister, my next younger brother and me to go to Lèogane. As the summer months drew to a close, my father lined up every child in the house to bathe us with a special Voodoo water made with crushed leaves.
As I got older (though not much older), I grew to detest the act and so I decided not to go on vacation anymore. I thought it ridiculous to allow myself to be bathed with stinky water. I never believed in the Voodoo stuff either. I had a good sense of who I was since early childhood. I knew God made me, and no evil could harm me (Now I know evil can’t touch me without His permission). That knowledge made me very bold and never afraid of any Voodoo stuff. My father had a special table with a white small washbasin and other Voodoo items on it. No one was supposed to touch them. However, on many occasions, I pretended to be cleaning just to touch and rearrange everything on that table. I held no fear. I just knew they lacked any authority over me. It’s weird though, no one told me that Voodoo held no potency. It was always a gut feeling. I was always very bold about expressing my belief every chance I got.
My father use to hold Voodoo ceremonies where kids in the house were expected to eat out of special wooden bowls. All that I shunned eventually. Because my brother Kesnel and sister Carol were twins, the ceremony held every year honored the twins (a Voodoo ritual) even though Carol died as a baby. Those were the kinds of things that made no sense to me, leading me to refuse to take part in them as soon as I grew old enough to say no. With me so hardheaded and strong-willed, no one in my family could force me to take part once I said no. Not even my fat
her.
On one occasion, something terrible happened in my family, causing my father to be the focus of suspicion. I felt his pain afterward. He needed so much to have someone on his side. Unfortunately, not even his favorite little girl was willing to be that someone.
In desperation, one evening in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, he pulled me aside. In a private conversation, he explained his own version of the incident after he visited my mother in the U.S. in 1982 for the first time.
He said, “Nicole, I know you’re getting older. You can understand what I’m about to tell you.”
I was 14 years old then.
“When I went to New York,” he continued, “I swear I did not take your mother’s soiled panties. It’s only after I came back to Haiti I saw them in my suitcase. I swear I did not take them.”
I listened attentively, but my eyes stared at the cement floor as we sat on the edge of my bed.
“You believe me, don’t you, my girl.” He held onto my left armas if begging me to say yes.
I’d heard the rumor that he wanted to use her underpants to hurt my mother through witchcraft so often that I’d already made up my mind of his guilt.
My father returned to Haiti finding himself in an awkward predicament. At that age, I was naïve and awfully honest.
“Well, I can’t say whether you did it or not. I wasn’t there. You’re the only one who knows if you did it or not,” I said.
Suddenly, the look he gave me told me he wanted another answer. His eyes turned red. His pain turned into hatred.
I knew then I was not his favorite little girl anymore and I would pay.
In retrospect, I realized I could have answered differently had I known better. I still feel his pain even now as I write about it.
As soon as my mother found out her panties were missing, she demanded that my father purchase a plane ticket and return them to her.
When he did, she burned them in his presence.
My father continued to make his regular weekly visits from Lèogâne bringing us fresh produce every time. Our relationship was never the same, however. At times, I’d purposely stayed away to avoid seeing him altogether, not showing up until after he left. He was the enemy of the family. He knew it. That made him very uncomfortable and angry.
During one of his visits, he threatened to beat me because I did not greet him. Of course I put up a fight. He tried to pin me to the ground. I escaped from his grip and ran to a nearby stony hill. I picked up a stone and made the motion to throw it at him, but an invisible power stopped me. I knew Who kept me from flinging the stone, and I’m glad He did. Deep down inside I really loved my father. I believed that he gave me so much love and attention that he made it possible to never feel insecure about myself.
During my college years at Stony Brook University in New York, our father-daughter relationship remained broken. I recall lying on the bed in my dorm room reminiscing about my childhood. My entire family lived in the U.S. by then. My mom and dad separated shortly after the panties incident, although they waited to divorce until eleven years later. I finally realized the pain my father must have gone through to have his whole family against him, and the pain he continued to feel every time he and I met.
“Look at Nicole, the daughter I loved so much. Now, she can’t even talk to me,” he sometimes said.
At that time, we were on greeting terms. As I empathized with my father, I decided to put an end to our broken relationship. I picked up the phone.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hi, daddy, how are you?” It felt uncomfortable saying “daddy” but I also realized that doing the right thing was never easy.
“Who’s this?” he asked.
“This is Nicole,” I said. “I just call to tell you that I love you. Bye.”
“Ok,” he said.
I hung up the phone, feeling a burden lift from my chest.
For the first time I began to understand the power of forgiveness. I still had a long way to go.
Our relationship continued to improve after that phone call. My father is now ninety-two years old, and I love him as if nothing ever happened between us.
The Bible says in Deuteronomy 5:16, “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you.” (NLT). I desire to obey God’s Word. Through this experience, I learned that making mistakes is what we (humans) specialize in the most. What’s essential is that we learn from them.
About Nicole:
Nicole is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in educational leadership at Andrews University. She directs the Children Ministries Department at her church. She works as a special education teacher by day, a literature evangelist by night, and writes during the wee hours of the night. She enjoys reading and playing the piano (beginner). Nicole struggled with college writing, which lead her to eventually drop out. For this reason, one of her many goals in life is to become a best-selling author to the glory of God. Nicole and her husband, Roosevelt Roy, have been married since 1994, and are the proud parents of a handsome brown-eyed son, Nolan. They currently live in Brooklyn, New York.
Connect with Nicole on the following:
Website
Get a Copy of What I Gain Through His Pain, here at Barnes and Noble and
at Amazon
Tour hosted by Write Now Literary www.wnlbooktours.com
August 23, 2017
11 Things to Up Your Game in Book Release Readiness
Try it! I hope some, if not all, these ideas can work for you, too.
COUNT IT DOWN[image error]
Every day for fourteen days prior to my release sale date, I did 14 graphics and scheduled them in Hootsuite to pop up. Regardless of whether or not you have a large following – whomever you have will see it and they likely can’t help but be excited for you. If nothing else, you may get a few clicks to come see well what exactly are you counting down? Here’s my countdown graphic.
PREORDER
ALWAYS, ALWAYS make your book available for preorder – there is arguably NO reason not too. Send me a good reason….
I regret not doing this with other books. We get in such a hurry to get out there, a date set a bit ahead will also be quite calming, giving you time to really see what you can do to make your book “highly anticipated” AND to work out any kinks. Yes, this is a newbie author tip but all good no matter what. Remember, when I first published at 23 years of age, almost 17 years ago now, there wasn’t any real way to countdown and there certainly wasn’t any way to preorder. When it was out, it was out. Use that time before the books is “available” to do all you can to create buzz. With my Preorder advocacy of important note, I would recommend NOT longer than a month out to try to build a buzz and gather as many preorders as possible. Too far in advance and you lose momentum people go away tired of counting down with you. Don’t run out of steam prematurely.
FIND OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE CALENDAR
– I’m not speaking so much about an editorial calendar, those are VERY [image error]helpful too (I have a basic one but I’m only really posting 2 x a week for the most part and that’s doable for me) but this is more about what’s going on in the world on specific days. Look that up and make an effort to post a little extra and share things relatable to you your thoughts/feelings.
Remember to be neutral (unless you are a political pundit) and just alert people to different things, things that are interesting and different, like “did ya know” types of stuff. For instance, National Poetry Day was in March 21 – here’s a graphic/post I made for that – Not overly difficult or inciting, just interesting and funny? To some, at least.
Another example and way to engage folks is if you love pets, there’s a pet lovers day and so much more – post a pic with Fido…then ask all your friends to post their furry friend pics. MAYBE give a prize for the cutest one, have people vote. Write about 5 things Dogs do to make you happy for National Pet Month (in May). Find things that are in line with you/your personality/likes/tastes and of course your product if a possible tie-in exists. Don’t force it if it doesn’t. You obviously need content and ays where it’s NOT about you/your products.
PROMOTE OTHERS
This year, I started a Friday Features post on my blog. Every Friday of the year, I’ll post about a fellow author- don’t worry about if you have a large following or not, exposure is great and it ensures you are sharing and not just talking about yourself and your own stuff all the time. I have not had a hard time finding authors to promote as I belong to so many online writers groups and honestly, it’s just good karma. You don’t have to promote everything. Set your parameters for what you’ll be promoting, ahead of time to cut down on getting stuff you don’t read/share. Want to be a Friday Features Author? E-mail me!
CHANGE YOUR HEADERS
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– This header was made in Canva and I use it for my newsletters in Constant Contact but I also use Canva for almost ALL my graphics.
on ALL Social Media and Your Website – It seems pretty simple but people don’t want to see your same exact header at every social media outlet they visit to find out more about you, (this is only when it’s not part of a tour). Switch it up. On Facebook, they put your newest header at the top of your feed. (And hey, at least one thing you put at the top will be announced and stay there, for a minute, right?). I’m trying to change my own seasonally. Doesn’t always happen but that’s the goal. Ideally, I’d change it more like every 2-5 weeks AND to promote/celebrate certain holidays like Fourth of July, Memorial Day or whatever is important to you. Think about your characters, change it to fit them too.
TAKE A SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT
While AFTER the audit, there’s a good chance you’ll be depressed about the findings not to mention that you can’t usually implement ALL the things that will come back in your report, slowly but surely you can work through the items and begin to address the ideas outlined in it. Here’s a couple of places to get a handle on what needs to change with your own platforms.
The 15-Minute Sprout Social Audit (Buffer Apps Version)
How to Perform a Social Media Audit (Hootsuite’s Version)
Social Media Just for Writers * **
Contact Promotion Guru and Social Media auditor Nigeria Lockley at Inheritance Books – she is amazing and will assist you in reaching your promotion goals.
Contact Promotion Guru Barbara Vey for a one on one consultation about how she helps hundreds of authors get social media savvy.
** Listing does not constitute endorsement or use of the listed company/program
An unconventional (and #FREE) idea is to ask a friend or fellow author (with a larger following than your own) to look through your site and see if they have questions or if they have suggestions -as an author AND regular viewer/reader to offer you about the appearance, usability and navigation ease of your site.
GO ON TOUR (A BLOG TOUR)
This probably is one of the most important things. It’s a lot of work, of course, and you’ll feel like you can’t type at all any more answering so many awesome questions, but success is not easy and promotion is exhausting, period. Ask 10-20 fellow authors to let you stop on their blog to share information about your book. I think a blog tour should not be done on the weekends. I think at that time, people aren’t as engaged because they have so much to do and are often out and about. This is a reciprocal thing so please note, you’re not just sharing about you, you’re then going and tag the author, mention them and say hey, look where I’m at today and then THANK them for hosting you. Do not forget the reciprocal part of that. It’s important. Need more information Being a Good Blog Guest or Host ? Read one of my previous posts.
UP YOUR PUBLIC APPEARANCES
Booksignings have ALWAYS been a mainstay for me these seventeen years, but with the stores drying up it’s important to find alternative ways to take part in live events where you can sell your products and meet and engage with people face to face. Here’s some additional places to look:
Business Women groups on Facebook – they are always having a get together, event, etc., so be sure to look local
Your local Chamber of Commerce – I realize that the membership can be expensive for an author but for a lead on events and happenings that you wouldn’t otherwise hear about because you’re not a part of that community, it’s way worth it. Try it for a year and if nothing, don’t renew your membership
Leadership and Empowerment conferences, church events and festivals
If you are of any ethnicity, there are more often than not, unique cultural events, fairs and festivals that you can take part in and get a table at to share/sell your products. The prices are usually pretty reasonable because it’s not about making money but giving local artist an opportunity to showcase their work. IF it is too high for a spot, think about going in with a friend and splitting the costs. I recommend however that you choose someone (if it’s another book) in a different genre so you’re not in competition OR has a different product/industry altogether.
Give talks, lectures and webinars – groups on Facebook are ALWAYS looking for people to come and chat, pick something you do and do well then tell them how to do it, too.
MAKE A BOOK TRAILER (or interview yourself)
Last year I did my very first book trailer and it turned out awesome with the help of Animoto, a program designed to simplify visual ads design and compilation and to set to music.
[image error]Another graphic made using Canva.
Do I think the book trailer is a major revenue source? NO, but it’s one more visual interpretation of your book and it’s one more sales outlet. I’ve been enjoying the compliments on mine for Pack Light Thoughts for the Journey
and the one I did this year for Deadly Affections. I’m working on one now for the final story in my current trilogy, Fatal Opposition (tentative title). Please also note however, do it right or don’t do it at all. If you feel you’re just not good at this, then use a program or app and ask for input BEFORE you launch it into the world. You can also check out my free course I taught on this very subject for Coffee Time Romance .
As for interviewing yourself, anyone that put together a PowerPoint can post five or so questions and then just use your phone to answer them. This can be put together or again, use a program like Ripl or Animoto to help yourself out.
DOCUMENT IT and DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN (for the exact same book)
As your launch days wear off and your average days come about with less and less excitement, it’s VERY hard not to lose momentum. You spend so much time on the front end, you burn out and fizzle out, it’s very bad for morale. If you take just a little time to record what you’re doing, so you can make a plan to do it OVER AGAIN. For instance, I spent a lot of time making in Canva (my favorite graphic design program) 15 graphics for Deadly Affections and combed my story to find the excepts for those graphics. The most important thing I should have done was to load them up again and again to post in my Hootsuite so they can go make the rounds again to people who both did and didn’t see them the first time. Remember (record) the little things you did so you can just rerun it. I’ve been doing that also with my post. I ran a Blog series this summer entitled, How Do You Write – for nine weeks. That was nine different authors talking about their writing process. As soon as the series ended, I ran it again and simply put on the post – “In case you missed it” or “Blog Post rewind.” This simply let people know hey here it is again but you may have seen it and if they had, they knew to ignore it.
HIRE A Warm Body (VIRTUAL ASSISTANT Extraordinaire)
Last but certainly not least, is to hire an assistant – this was my first year hiring a Virtual Assistant to help me with my Blog Tour and to assist me with moderation of my Facebook Launch Party and the person I hired was reasonably priced and well worth the payment. Thanks LaToya Murchison .
Here’s a couple people that would be happy to assist you with your Blog Tour
Ms. Paulette Harper at Write Now Literary Tours
Faith Blum – Christian Author Blog Tour Packages
Remember to use an assistant for blog tours well versed in YOUR genre. While they’re connections may be somewhat broad, they still likely have a type of genre they have more connections in, so don’t forget to do your research.
At the end of the day, how I used to be: Do a couple of things when I had time and hope for the best. It works to a point. Today, just like they advise you in your finances, you’re going to have to diversify your promotional efforts, plan to do a number of things, do them well and do them consistently and watch it work out.
Please feel free to suggest some additional tips you’ve done for your own book as you’ve learned and grown up in this industry. And, Good Luck!
Remember places like Fiverr (be careful as $ 5 bucks adds up quickly and be sure work is actually being done and you have a way to check/track whatever they promised to deliver) and Upwork (formally Odesk) are also awesome places to utilize for an extra hand, but again, DO YOUR RESEARCH
Whatever you do, try to find ways to incorporate these tips into your marketing program and hopefully you will see results too.
Here’s a few things that I need to work and am working on a plan to tackle for book # 8. Of course, I’ll be sure to document my hits and misses just for you, my awesome blog followers.
Reaching out to more Book Clubs
Teleseminars / webinars and Chats
Twitter Chats, and
Securing additional speaking opportunities, one on one consults and development of some short series workbooks
August 18, 2017
Friday Features
Danyelle Scroggins
[image error]Danyelle’s new book, Put It In Ink, is about Nikiya Barnett aka Nikki, is still secretly suffering in silence concerning losing the love of her life, Raja Abrams. She desires total healing from God, but somehow seems to be stuck in her heart and mind. She alongside her two best friends who happens to be her coworkers, are trying to make Salon Select the new ‘it’ spot but this does not happen until they invite God in, by way of Sappora Ink.
Sappora Ink is the new blog talk show host with a show entitled, RFRT~Real Folks, Real Truths. Sister Ink is a straight to the point, raw, doctrinaire Christian girl trying to help her friends in this sinful world. She is changing the world one show at a time, and taking Shreveport by storm with the help of Nikiya Barnett, the owner of Salon Select, who has opened her salon as a hosting spot. Little does Nikki know, Sappora is closer to Raja than she thinks?
Raja is stuck in a world wind of adversity that he seems to have created for himself. Through R.A.B.~ Raja Abrams Broadcasting, he is trying to secretly make Nikki aware that their time together was not a waste, but will his method be the same method used to change his life forever?
Things happen when we choose to let God in. Whether we appreciate His ways or not, we must remember, His ways are not our ways. Will life change for the better for Nikiya and Raja, or is the plan that has been laid before them all a part of God’s plan?
[image error] About Danyelle –
Pastor/ Author Danyelle is the Senior Pastor of New Vessels Ministries North in Shreveport, Louisiana. She studied Theology at Louisiana Baptist University, has a Psychology Degree from the University of Phoenix, an Interdisciplinary Degree in Psychology /Biblical Studies from Liberty University, and is presently working on a Master’s in Religious Education from the Liberty University. Pastor Danyelle owns Divinely Sown Publishing LLC and is the author of “His Mistress or God’s Daughter, Not Too Far Gone, Destiny’s Decision, Evonta’s Revenge, & The Power Series: Pain, Restoration, Love, & Forgiving”. She is the wife of Pastor Reynard Scroggins, the mother of three by birth and two by marriage.
Here’s an Excerpt of Put It In Ink
Nikiya “Nikki” Barnett
Nikiya Barnett, known to shop patrons and friends as Nikki, was eager to tune in to RFRT with Sister Sappora Ink. The blog talk show previewed for the first time the past week, rating high and considered a hit by reviewers. As far as Nikki was concerned, the world needed someone who would tell the truth, live the truth, and share the truth, even if it were a blog talk show host.
As explained, Sister Ink answered questions about relationships, and although honest, she was raw. Against her will, Nikki listened to blog talk shows often blaming the desire to be a good best friend for this phenomenon. A couple of them were worth listening to, but some were uninformative and a useless waste of time. The hosts were inexperienced or too pretentious to explain life’s circumstances with realness and clarity. They failed to solve problems or share foundational truths from the Gospels, as Chelle declared Sister Ink did.
For the first time, Nikki’s curiosity about a show’s review ignited interest and Nikki refused to miss it. Intent on judging for herself perhaps sparked the motivation. It may also have been the desire to understand how she lost the love or her life or the need for spiritual advice. Either way, Nikki would be in the front of the computer, with an open mind centered on Sis. Ink.
The only dilemma was making it home on time. Nikki’s solution may not have been perfect but it was plausible. She drove 85 in and 70 mph zone, praying the angels would blind the police. The inability to afford another speeding ticket should have detoured Nikki from breaking the law, not to mention how dumb it would be to get a ticket resulting from rushing to hear a talk show, but it didn’t. With long hair weave blowing, as the wind whipped through the windows of the car, Nikki uncaring and unconcerned bobbed and sang along with the music. We are conquerors, conquerors.
Driving fast, the “zooming” of the other passing vehicles warranted a rearview mirror check. Dang Nikki! The thought was not a result of a police approaching, but the reality of looking at a calescent mess. Nikki snickered, but noticed the children in the car to the left laughing and pointing their fingers. Nikki licked at the children and then sped past them.
Danyelle’s Virtual Book Tour is organized by Write Now Literary Book Tours and will run from August 7-18, 2017. Be sure to follow the tour here and then if you have a book you’d like to promote, start by signing up to book your own tour here
Connect with Danyelle here:
Get Your Copy of Put It In Ink at These Major Retailers
August 16, 2017
Made Over Marketing Tactics (aka old tactics revised) to Promote Your Books
It’s Marketing Time, People – I’ve been implementing lots of new and varied ideas this year to change things up, better my book entrepreneurial venture success and ultimately, all of it, in hopes of increasing my book sales. The first post in a three part series, my Throw Back Marketing list is short but sweet and hopefully helpful.
If you’ve been writing for a long time, there were likely several marketing tactics you read about doing (years ago) that are now, unfortunately, obsolete. Times change and those ways of promoting are no longer relevant or they’ve fallen by the way side and it’s a shame they were abandoned completely.
Here’s a couple you may remember: A car magnet to tell people you wrote books and put your website on it? How about put a book mark in all of your monthly bills and any letters mailed to strangers or how about the old mailing list where you mailed out a piece of correspondence EVERY SINGLE TIME you had a new book out or news to share?
What happened to those?
The world got cray-cray, that’s what happened. To protect ourselves, we suddenly needed PO Box’s so no one knew where we lived and we can’t dare send any bookmarks or business cards with our bills- robots open that mail anyway and the person that works there doesn’t have have time to read anything, they are on production to process things as fast as they can before they too are replaced by said robot. Moreover, does anyone pay their bills via paper any more, anyway? Our world has moved to online bill pay, no paper required.
And the magnet, I don’t know who it works for (real estate, plumbers) but they fall off and that’s money down the drain. Plus there’s nothing like telling every crook that passed by that you live here and people already think authors are rich when most are not (you know just incase you forgot to remove said magnet).
So, I do have some tactics that you should revisit and they can be considered of times past BUT they’ve had a little makeover by yours truly. Enjoy. Tell me what you’re doing to increase those sales?
You should be still building your mailing list by having a sign up sheet or go high tech where visitors can enter their info into a spare Ipad or other table /tablet device you have at your book-signing table. (Mailchimp has a great program for this) and do this at EVERY SINGLE EVENT and send them a welcome e-mail per usual, BUT you should also still send a postcard or newsletter – yes this is expensive but one important thing I’ve found that’s hard for many people to believe, NOT EVERYONE is ONLINE. Romance is one of the oldest and largest genres and we likely have the largest age range of people reading-not only everywhere-but at every age. Even in the nursing homes and other places you think people aren’t reading, they are and they still need to hear about you and from you in a way thats accessible to them. So I don’t care if it’s just once a year or once every other year, still keep in touch with some actual paper correspondence. You’d be surprised who likes getting this kind of correspondence in the snail mail and in that, you CAN include a bookmark or two.
For some of us, we visit hairdressers and dentist and other service providers who have waiting rooms, people getting their hair done have likely read the same tattered magazine a gazillion times but they could be reading your book instead and if they like however much they are able to read, they may go out and purchase it or tell a friend. You could leave a couple of cards in there, that say “Like this book? It’s available on Amazon.” My hairdresser has a little table in her office for things just like this and a small bulletin board.
If you do have a PO Box, put your website on the labels that you use and even a book cover pic, and your tag line if you can fit it. For packages I mail out with books, usually the book cover is on there and my website. You can make your own labels and as such make them whatever size you want to.
Book Marketer types used to tell us to visit the bookstore -provided it’s local, a couple days before an event you may be having – talk to customers, shop and hand out bookmarks. You can still do this and even if you’re local, you can make a standard flyer – send to the CSR and ask him/her to post that you’re coming – to the customers or create a little events flyer and put your upcoming event on there. You may go so far as to send a template an ask the CSR to insert the rest of their events on your flyer and put it in everyone’s bag. You never know what you can get, they want people in their stores, they want people to have a reason to come back to the store, so ask. Their printing budgets are so, so make say 50-75 flyers yourself and ask just for the week of your appearance if you can leave them at the register, someone WILL notice. If you go to an independent bookstore, offer to do a quick writing seminar before your signing as that will draw people too and announce it in the local papers calendar.
Cold Calling for events – do people still do this? Telemarkers do it to us why aren’t we doing it to bookstores and other venues where we could get ourselves an event? Because it can be terrifying that’s why. But I used to cold call all the time when I wrote my first book and it WORKED, if I got one nibble out of five rejections, it propelled me to call five more people on my list and I kept going. Here’s a short list of people to cold call and ask to give a workshop Women’s centers, Chambers of Commerce, Homeowners Associations, community colleges and universities, and small business development centers. Even the Rotary and other civic clubs are sometimes looking for speakers. Toastmasters could be one too. We have a Toastmaster to Author and Speakers club that consists of ALL toastmasters desiring to write and publish their first book. You could speak regionally to this same kind of group for an even bigger draw. Now if you hate getting on the phone, don’t do it. Ask a gregarious friend to do this and write out a script before hand if you’re truly the nervous, introverted writer. I continue -all these years later- to be surprised by the things I can get for myself if I would just take the time out to do it. (or also ask your mother – mine also used to do mine for me and she was super good!) It works.
Finally, still send a press release. It’s not going to do much for you but it’s one more person to learn about what’s happening with you. And please note, no one is faxing anymore just in case you’re in the group I’ve talked about in number one above. E-mail is the way to go nowadays. Create a one pager, do it in Word or other word processor so you know what a single spaced page length looks like and send it off to the reporter. You n ever know, one day they may come looking for you. It’s especially good to send to a reporter when you have an event that you can also promote and invite them to. In fact if you have an event, why not send the press release and follow up with a handwritten invitation to your book party and mention the press release in that note. Some people I know have gone as far as taking treats to the press and if it works, hey, try it.
Now that you have some updated spins, go look at ALL those marketing tactics of old and reexamine how you can alter them and make them work for this century.
Leave a comment about an old/revised tactic you’re doing now or plan to update and use.
Good luck and come back next Wednesday for the next installment of my three week Marketing Mindset series.
August 11, 2017
Friday Features
It’s Friday Features, today we’re learning more about
Nancy Lynn Jarvis
Enjoying discovering this voice in Cozy Mysteries.
Here’s an excerpt from A Neighborly Killing (A Regan McHenry Real Estate Mystery) :
[image error] Regan was one more flutter of eyelashes away from sleep. When she startled awake, her eyes wide open, she didn’t trust what she had heard. She thought she might have imagined the sound in the split second before sleep came.
Tom, lying in bed next to her, flinched slightly with the second report.
“What was that?” she asked, rolling in his direction and putting her hand lightly against his back.
“A gunshot. A rifle shot.” His voice was barely louder than a whisper, but it held no hint of sleepy haze.
She pushed an elbow under her and propped herself up so she could see over his shoulder to the outside. After promising El Niño rains in January, the skies had dried and temperatures hit record highs, leaving California still in a drought on this leap year last night of February. A rainfall Miracle March looked possible, though, and their house, at sixteen-hundred feet elevation on the windward side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, was under promising clouds, teasing that they might produce rain. She couldn’t see anything clearly in the diffused light of their mist-filled cloud cover except the bricks of their patio which glistened with moisture.
“Do you think it’s pig hunters?”
It had been several years since Bonny Doon had an outbreak of wild pigs. That episode was ended by experienced pig hunters who asked only for the meat they killed in exchange for ridding the countryside of the destructive beasts.
“Not on a night like this and not so near houses. The pig hunters gave notice a few days before they started hunting, too, so no one would be concerned when they heard shots, and they onlyhunted right after nightfall and right before dawn. Besides, I haven’t heard anyone complain about pigs lately. Have you?”
“No, I haven’t …”
Two more shots rang out in rapid succession, the second shot sounding before the echo of the first ceased.
Tom sat bolt-upright in bed. “Those blasts were close, I bet not more than thirty yards away.” He swung his long legs to the floor. “Whoever is shooting, they’re moving in our direction and getting awfully close.”
Regan usually loved the glass wall on the back side of their house which provided wonderful views over Monterey Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Tonight that feature made her feel exposed and vulnerable. As the gunshots came closer, she would have happily traded the view for substantial bullet-stopping walls.
Tom was out of bed, robe-less, and searching for his rubber-soled slippers. As soon as he found them and wiggled his feet into them, he reached for the putter he had stowed between his night stand and the window. He gripped it tightly in one hand as he stood at the bedside sliding door, open a couple of inches for fresh air, and peered into the night.
Regan’s tone was apprehensive. “You’re not going to …”
“I can make out a light,” he said in a soft voice. “It’s blurred and small; could be from a flashlight. It’s close, coming from the hillside below our patio and moving toward us.”
Regan thought she could see a faintly brightening patch beyond the patio’s edge, too.
“I want you away from the windows.” Tom barked a command at her in a husky whisper, “Go! Open the ga
age door and get in your car. Be ready to leave.”
“No. Not unless you come with me.”
The light outside stopped moving. There was another shot, but it sounded different from the previous shots. It lacked the power and resonant sound of rifle fire and was just a pop. The hillside light moved downhill a few feet and stopped.
As they waited for what would come next, Regan forgot to breathe. She strained to hear any sounds through the narrow door opening.
Was she imagining it or were there voices outside? Tom cocked his head. She wasn’t imagining; he heard something, too. The voices grew loud enough to fill the night. Words reached Regan and Tom’s ears, but they were shouted and full of emotion … and impossible to understand.
After a time, the voices ceased and all grew quiet again as the night was suddenly more brightly illuminated than it had been. The silence was rent once more, first by a long wailing cry, and then by another pop. The sky darkened abruptly, the small light wavered, and after a couple of seconds, pointed upward like a wispy beacon.
Regan slipped out of bed and pressed against the wall by their headboard with zeal, as if proximity to wood framing covered in sheetrock might offer some protection from a bullet.
“Go! Now!” Tom snapped, but she made no movement to do what he ordered.
Regan and Tom froze into tense poses, still and listening. The night remained silent. The bedroom wall clock, ticking off seconds with earsplitting abandon, was the only sound they heard.
After listening to the oppressive quiet outside for a good two-minute interval, Tom instructed, “Stay where you are then, if you insist, but beready to call 9-1-1 if you hear anything … anything … and if you do – I mean it – leave, get out of here.”
He slid the door open fully before she could protest, and pushed the screen slider open enough to squeeze through, crouching low as he cleared the door. He rested the putter on his shoulder and moved stealthily toward the edge of the patio, stopped there, slowly raised his head to peer over the low brick wall, and strained to see into the darkness. Then with a sudden move he vaulted over the wall. He stayed bent low, and using the golf club like a ski pole to aid his balance, he began descending the steepening slope that separated the civilization of their patio from the woodlands below. He disappeared from Regan’s view.
The tension Regan felt seemed to stretch time; even so, she didn’t have to wait long to see Tom reappear. He had added a flashlight to what he was carrying and moved rapidly uphill. The features of his face, lit from below by the flashlight, looked haunted.
“Call 9-1-1. Tell them I found … I can’t be sure, but I think it’s our neighbor, Paul.”
“Is he dead?” Regan asked even though she knew what his answer would be.
“Most definitely.”
More about Nancy Lynn :
Nancy Lynn Jarvis finally acknowledged she was having too much fun writing to ever sell another house, so she let her license lapse in May of 2013, after her twenty-fifth anniversary in real estate.
After earning a BA in behavioral science from San Jose State University, she worked in the advertising department of the San Jose Mercury News. A move to Santa Cruz meant a new job as a librarian and later a stint as the business manager for Shakespeare/Santa Cruz at UCSC.
Nancy’s philosophy is that you should try something radically different every few years. Writing is her latest adventure. She invites you to take a peek into the real estate world through the stories that form the backdrop of her Regan McHenry mysteries. The murders are made up, but the real estate details and ideas come from her own experiences.
She is working on book seven in the series and then plans a new series called Geezers With Tools (double entendre intended) about two retired men who start a handyman business, one because he is recently widowed and needs a way to fill his time, and the other because he’s a player who thinks it will be a good way to meet women.
About A Neighborly Killing:
Waking up to gunshots and discovering the body of their neighbor just outside their bedroom door is bad enough, but when the Coroner rules the death a suicide, Realtors Regan McHenry and her husband Tom Kiley don’t believe it for a minute.
Never mind what the physical evidence says; they heard their dead neighbor arguing with someone in the moments preceding his death.
What really happened has become more than just a mystery they’dlike to solve because the circumstances of their dead neighbor’s past keep interfering with their present and putting them in danger.
Connect with Nancy Lynn
on Amazon,
at her Webpage
at her Facebook page,
and on her Goodreads page
August 7, 2017
Back to School – Adult Edition
Fun finds for Back to School (not really)….When it comes to shopping for Back to School supplies, I say: “What about the rest of us?”
Here’s a short round up on some cool things that I just had to share and it’s all VERY adult and it’s also beyond your standard issue pens and paper, like we don’t have enough of those already.
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This Target’s portfolio by Cambridge $ 14.99 and comes in blush pink and a light mint green, they have half 7 x 9 and full sizes 8.5 x 11. I love it, it fits one of my daily task pads perfectly but it also comes with it’s own college ruled pad.
2 Way Universal Tablet Stand
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[image error]Five Below $ 4.00- I absolutely love this Universal 2 Way Tablet Stand that I got from Five Below and truth be told, it can double as a book holder for your booksigning table. If you don’t have a Five Below (where everything is five dollars or less usually $ 1, 3 and 5 dollars) you’re missing out. It’s also a great place to get varied journals, pens, backpacks and even throw blankets and neck pillows and toiletries, candy, chips and small sizes of things for travel.You can consider Five Below the ROSS, TJMaxx and Marshall’s for electronics. I can’t find a link to the Five Below one, so I also found one slightly more expensive (sorry) at Amazon.
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Bluetooth / Wireless Keyboard – this was FIVE bucks at Five Below!!! It’s awesome. I set up my keyboard this weekend and it works perfectly with my Ipad and comes in handy when I’m on the go; and for five bucks, are you nuts?
Pencil Case (that looks like a small Back Pack) by Yoobi – I actually used this in my recent travel to the Romance Writers conference the other week in Orlando, Florida. I didn’t want to carry around a purse and I just wanted to carry a few things like pens, biz cards and credit cards. It is an actual pen/pencil case meant to corral are your tiny sticky notes, markers and even some mints/candy or hand sanitizer. The stretchy strap on the back will fit on notebooks and even over the headrest of your car’s driver or passenger seat if you want to keep odds and ends on your seat. Yoobi sounds like a cool company in that they give one of what whatever you purchase is given to schools for their children across the US. Their motto, One for you, one for me. How cool!
^ This Spiral Teacher’s Notebook (there’s also a lesson plan book) is for teachers, but I love it because it’s got graph paper. I love anything with graph paper so I used it more of a project planner. I purchased it last year and it got wet so I brought two this year just in case!
Unfortunately, at stores like Five Below, the quantities will always be limited but go now and often until school supply shopping time is over and they will have lots of items as they prepare for Back to School shopping. See what they have AND be sure to ask a manager or customer service rep if you can’t find something.
I always find something new at Back to School time and if you’re a writer, speaker or teacher, sometimes a new pen or shiny new (reasonably priced) gadget can give you a little pick me up as you work on your masterpieces. Plus, seriously, there is nothing wrong with being an adult and getting your shop on in the BTS Section. Have a great time and find some cool stuff. I sure will.
Want some more very Adult BTS stuff to purchase? Check out the following:
The Muse – Career Guidance Website
See Jane Work Really cool stuff for the working/entrepreneurial woman
Storiarts – An Etsy Shop, has some awesome gifts for the writer in your life or writer buymyself love
August 4, 2017
Friday Features, Special Spotlight: Joy Avery
Joy Avery is a busy author that works as a customer service assistant and at night, this North Carolina native travels to imaginary worlds—creating characters whose romantic journeys invariably end happily ever after.
Since she was a young girl growing up in Garner, Joy knew she wanted to write. Stumbling onto romance novels, she discovered her passion for love stories; instantly, she knew these were the type stories she wanted to pen.
Real characters. Real journeys. Real good love is what you’ll find in a Joy Avery romance.
Joy is married with one child. When not writing, she enjoys reading, cake decorating, pretending to expertly play the piano, driving her husband insane, and playing with her two dogs. [image error]Joy is a member of Romance Writers of America and Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.
About Joy’s new novel, Maybe
Artist Rana Lassiter has sworn off men. After being hurt, she prefers painting passionate scenes of love on her canvas instead of the real thing. But when she meets Mount Pleasance’s newest arrival, sexy and suave fireman Dallas Fontaine, she envisions a different kind of stroke than the ones she performs with her brush. To say she’s attracted to the debonair man is an understatement, but she refuses to fall victim to his good looks, charm or persistence.
Dallas has never had a problem getting any woman he wants. And he wants Rana. In a way he’s never wanted any woman before. There’s just one problem…she doesn’t want him. But she will. By the time he’s done, she won’t be able to resist his blazing kisses.
But nothing is easy, especially love. When a life-altering event occurs, it will test them both. Are they strong enough to forge through the catastrophic storm, or will they allow it to destroy their chance at happily-ever-after?
Connect with Joy on Social Media
Website
Get Your Copy of Maybe Here
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Ms. Avery’s Tour hosted by
Write Now Literary Book Tours
August 2, 2017
5+ NEW Tips for Research Online
Research is always a little bit tricky these days. With so many different sites and mere opinions being stated as fact, and the growing alternative facts out there, it’s getting difficult to know whether or not content creators are putting out good stuff or presenting their own conjectures as fact.
Recently, I had one of my characters take a road trip and I wanted to plot out their long trip. They lived “near me” in a rural area and I wanted to know various stops along the way, what they might stop to enjoy and how long it would take and what was the local faire like. To give your stories more authenticity and realism, consider these additional, easy tips (all from the comfort of your own home).
Find out who the local reporters are and read their recent posts on their Facebook and Twitter pages
Find the name for the Chief of Police – people they are looking for, what safety awareness campaigns they are doing, and the types of crimes committed will give you a feel for the town and what kinds of things happen and the people that live there
Find the name of the best chefs. Most larger cities have a “Best Of” list to showcase leading venues, and what’s special from restaurants, dentists, to doctors and other types of businesses
My favorite is to get a hold of and read the local paper – every paper nowadays is digital, I had someone write me once from Macon, Georgia -years ago about Come What May- she was honored that I’d mentioned her local hospital and she was a nurse there.
Watch “their” local news – that’s how you find the reporter’s names and what they do, what they cover
Look for the FULL story (and continuing coverage / updates, over several days) on the network’s site as the news segments will only give a small piece of the puzzle
Look at maps and and use the directions option, then ask the map provider, to find things like eateries and shopping along that route
Read reviews (be sure to take them with a grain of salt, especially overly glowing or overly negative reviews) but they can tell you a lot about what people like, what’s fun and what’s interesting in the community, what there is to do and any special events that are coming up or may have passed; and, last but not least
Read the University’s newspaper – you can find out where young people hang out and what they like to do for fun
At the end of the day, remember to trust but verify (and embellish) for entertainment purposes only, we’re writers that’s our job, after all.
