Available Workshops:
Having an Ear for Voice - Craft
Casting off, Cruising, and Capsizing - Plotting
Creating the Believable Anti-Hero - Character Development
Swinging Through the Plotting Green - Plotting
If you are interested in having Teagan provide a workshop for your chapter or organization, please contact her at teaganoliver@yahoo.com
Author/Book Promotion Tips
To Blog... Or not....
Let me begin by saying that I have a background working for the marketing and advertising department of a non-fiction publisher. I was very lucky to have some fantastic mentors who taught me (a very young version of me) what makes for effective and a lot of times, inexpensive word of mouth. After all, word of mouth is interest and interest is directly proportionate to sales. Also, as a native New Englander, I like the idea that I can get maximum impact for little or no money. Sweat equity is cheap and it can make the difference.
Now, I'm going to break down the benefits/pitfalls for published and unpublished as I see them.
Published:
1) Name recognition... In this day and age of smaller print runs and limited advertising budgets, some publishers are actually asking authors to submit a marketing plan for their soon-to-be published babies. Name recognition means that it is one more place that new readers can find you. They google your name, find your blog and depending on the content of your blog, most will find some reason to relate to the reader. Readers relating with authors mean that they are going to remember your name the next time that they a re perusing the bookshelves of the local bookstore.
2) Attracting new readers.. linking your blog with other author sites and blogs means they will find you as they search. Again, the more a reader identifies with your writing style and your books the more likely they are to pick them up off the shelf.
3) Another promotion opportunity... bookmarks, postcards, pens and pencils cost money. As a new author you want to get your name in as many places as possible. Blogs provide contact for media (especially with usurgence of blogging interest) and showcase your current and previous releases.
Unpublished (I abhor the aspiring moniker):
1) Investing in your writing career... Say that Jane Editor gets your latest manuscript in the mail and while she likes it she is questioning putting a newbie into a slot that could easily fit her NEW YORK TIMES MULTIPUBLISHED AUTHOR (read in caps, cause it's that big!). She spys your email and blog address on the cover letter and decides to take a quick coffee break and slide on over while she thinks about her choices... one cup of coffee later and hopefully, engaged and enthralled with your writing voice she picks up the phone to make you a wonderful, multi-book offer... It could happen.
2) Practice, practice, practice... writing on a daily basis is habit forming. A good habit and much better than those cocoa dusted truffle thingys that add 20 pounds by just looking at them. This is a great place to brainstorm, journal your writing woes and even vent... though I would refrain from venting about anyone who could potentially buy or sell your book.
3)Ease of use... blogs are easy. In fact, they are so easy that they practically write themselves. Websites like blogspot take all of the guess work out of creating a blog. All you have to be able to do is write... hmmmm!
Now, for the downside... It is a bit of a time commitment. Blogs should be updated frequently so that those who are interested continue to be interested. Also, it is highly probably that you can become so enamored of your blog that you spend endless hours blogging, surfing for other interesting blogs, and writing about publishing blogs that you don't get your book done. It may be one downfall, but it's a big one!
Marketing 101: Don't Drop the Customer's Hand
80% of marketing leads acquired from shows are never tracked down...
This little tidbit was the headliner of a recent Exhibitor Magazine article. So, what does this have to do with you?
Well, If you are a bookseller, your readers depend on you for the latest information, and the best books. They want to know what books best suit them, when their favorite authors have a new release and who will be the next big hit.
If you are a writer your paycheck depends on getting booksellers and book distributors to purchase your book and readers to take it home. Your bread and butter are the people who get the word out about your books. They are the booksellers that hand sell your titles and the readers who continually support your efforts by buying your work of heart.
The season of book shows is upon us. With many authors and booksellers still reeling from the organized and electric chaos of BEA some things may go to the wayside. The 80% message means DON'T DROP YOUR CUSTOMERS HAND. It means making sure that follow up on your leads, no matter whether they came from the biggest publishing trade show or the smallest booksigning.
For authors, this means growing your market, doing the little things that get big results and one of them is having the courtesy to follow up on leads. In this day and age of electronic media we have forgotten a lot of the common courtesies, including a swift and polite response. Those 80% could mean the difference between making the New York Times list and lagging in the midlist.
For booksellers, it means growing your business. Court your customers and your authors. Creating relationships is the backbone of retail and without your just have shelves worth of books. I know from experience that going through leads, culling out the bad ones and gathering the information into a useable format are time consuming. But the benefit is sales.
Marketing 101: BRANDING... It's not just for breakfast anymore
Quick now.... can you identify these?
1)Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese... (hint: no this does not refer to the Jimmy Buffett song)
2)Like a Rock (Again, not a nod at the Bob Seger song, though it was the inspiration)
and for a more recent one...
3) The Roaming Gnome (I just love this little guy)
What do all of these have in common? Easy, I could name 50 other of these so-called identifiers and you would most likely be able to pick them out. These are the tools of marketers. They rely on your ability to be able to identify quickly the brand, recognize the value behind the name, and of course, rush right out and buy it because it is a proven product.
So what does this have to do with marketing you and your writing? Well, as writers you are promoting your creative skills. You are producing a product that you want the readers to buy, and buy another one once you publish it. And you are promoting yourself as the producer of a consistent product.
Marketing 101: Great Impact, Low Costs
Time and again, I hear the call for writers to produce something different, the next best thing. But the publishers are looking for more than a one-shot wonder. They want a writer who can write books within a reasonable time frame so that they can get the books to market and sustain the reader interest in the product. They want a consistent product, one that they can count on to continue the interest of the readership. If you write a historical one day, a time travel the next and a contemporary next you aren't doing yourself any favors. I have observed several authors who have sold consistently within their chosen genre decide to switch only to find themselves without the sales and sometimes without the publishers support. As frustrating as this seems, without the name recognition many writers would find themselves without second, third, or more sales.
But this does not mean growth is a bad word?
Think of it this way... during the 50's the word Ford was immediately connected with dependability and family values that were produced in America. But Lee Iacocca decided to spice it up a bit. He came out with the mustang. It was a risk. Within the legions of massive cars that could seat 20 he was producing a small car that could blow doors on everything out there. It was a huge risk, but he made the car appeal to the changing market. He pushed the Ford dependability, focusing on the quality behind the product, but he also appealed to the younger generation who didn't want their parent's kind of car. By using the strengths of the name and not cutting back on the quality he was able to move into another product that still stands today.
The best example of this is Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle/Amanda Quick... she writes a great book whether it is historical or contemporary. She doesn't ask her readership to choose by publishing them both under the same name, but she doesn't hide this either. And as for consistency, I think her 100+ books speak for themselves. She continually uses her name as her brand to promote her writing and it shows.
Branding can be applied to all parts of your promotion. Certain names give a particular feel to a reader. (Amanda Quick=Historical) and even down to the look and feel of your website. If you write a darker edgier book this should be reflected in your promotional products. Look at the websites of Lisa Gardner or Tess Gerritsen or the newly formed website of kaystockholm.com for a great example. It's one of the best that I've seen out for quite awhile.
In the end, a writer's best tool for branding themselves is this... learn to do what you do well... be consistent... and breed familiarity with you (your product is you).
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