Author: Catherine West

Writing Stories That Resonate...
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Hurry Up And Wait…

We’ve all been there. Staring down a road that leads to who knows where, wondering if we’ll ever reach the end of it. I’ve read that on average, we’ll spend at least five years of our lives just waiting. Waiting for the interminable line of traffic to start moving. Waiting for the phone to ring. Waiting for an email. Waiting for that long-awaited letter to arrive in the mailbox. We wait for good news. We wait for bad news. Waiting is a physically agonizing process, a process that is completely out of our hands.

If you’ve been writing for any length of time, I suspect by now you know all about waiting. Perhaps you were fortunate enough to go in prepared. Some kind soul warned you that once you start submitting your work, you’d be in for the wait of a lifetime. I wasn’t so lucky. When I started sending out queries to agents and editors, I had no idea how long the whole process would take. Even now as a published author, I’m still frustrated by how long everything takes in the world of publishing. You see, I’m not the most patient person in the world. But I have learned, through trial and error, that some things are worth waiting for.

Once upon a time, about a decade ago, I decided to search for my birth family. I’d always known I was adopted, but until then, never felt the need to search. Until God stepped in and said otherwise. Call it what you will – fate, destiny, blatant curiosity. All I knew for sure was that I needed to know. And so I embarked on a journey with an unknown destination.

If you think the wheels of publishing move slowly, try dipping your toes in the murky waters of the adoption ocean. Uncovering any information is akin to embarking on a quest for The Holy Grail.

Fortunately, given my aversion to waiting, I was one of the lucky ones. My answers came quickly. Too quickly perhaps. I was totally unprepared for the onslaught of emotions that took up residence and unpacked for the duration. It was a hard but necessary time in my life. A time when all I could do was throw up my hands, cry out to God, and ask Him for answers.

You see, not only had I found my birth mother, who was not completely receptive to my sudden reappearance in her life, but I discovered that I had a sister. A sister who was completely unaware of my existence. And I was asked to wait. Wait for the right time to tell her. Wait to see whether or not I would be able to establish a relationship with this person I knew nothing about yet felt deep in my soul a connection I could not at the time comprehend.

I said earlier that waiting is something we can’t control. But we try, don’t we? We send follow-up emails, perhaps a phone call or two to nudge the process along. Eventually we realize we’re not doing ourselves any favors. We give up and go back to waiting.

In the Christian community you’ll often hear the following – “God answers prayers three ways. Yes. No. Wait.”  There are no maybes with God. When your answer is a “Yes!”, you know that feeling! You rejoice, cry a little, throw a party. The “No.” answer is hard. It hurts. You don’t understand. You might get angry, depressed, reluctant to try again. But if you know in your heart that God is at work, you’ll accept the no in faith that He has a better plan. Oh, but that “Wait…” Now, that’s the kicker.

How long, God? Why? When will something give?

Sound familiar?

My wait took a little over a year. As frustrated and anxious as I was with the situation, I knew without a doubt that somehow, some way, God was working it out. Was it easy to wait? As easy as walking across a bed of hot coals and broken glass. Every day. Was it worth it?

You bet.

My sister and I now have a wonderful relationship. I’m glad I hung in there. I’m glad I didn’t give up. I’m glad I waited. Most of all, I’m really glad I trusted God.

Nowadays, when I’m checking my email every five seconds waiting for news, I remind myself of that time in my life. I tell myself to cut it out. Stop being so impatient. There is a time and a place for everything. And it’s not up to me.

What about you? What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever waited for?

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Good News! We Are Not Alone!

Don’t you love Saturdays? I do. And today, because it’s the weekend and I thought we could all use a little good news, I’ve got a treat for you. If you’re reading this blog, you’re probably a writer. You may already be published or still waiting for that day, but you’re writing away, studying your craft and just hoping that soon and very soon, all your hard work will pay off in a nice three-book deal.

Will you be ready?

How many of you, (ahem, like me), were so focussed on reaching the almighty goal of becoming a published author that you gave little thought to what you were going to do when you got there?

Shortly after my first novel, Yesterday’s Tomorrow released, once the bubbles in the champagne fizzed away and I stopped grinning and pinching myself, I admit to being completely overwhelmed and hiding under the covers for several days once I realized Oprah wasn’t going to call  reality set in.

Oh, I know. That won’t be your story. Your book will skyrocket to #1 on the NYT Bestseller List. Of course it will. But, just incase it doesn’t, at least not right away, you’re probably going to need a little help getting it into the right hands.

SO I’m really excited to introduce you to Kristen Lamb, the author of two books every published or not quite published author should rush out and buy – We Are Not Alone – The Writer’s Guide to Social Media, and, Are You There Blog? It’s Me, Writer.

       

If you’ve been at this gig for a while, I’m sure you know Kristen. If not, I hope you enjoy meeting her today. Watch Read and learn.

Kristen, I love your tag line, We Are Not Alone… Tell us what this means to you and how you came up with it.

I didn’t start out wanting to be a social media expert. In fact, the words “social media expert” made me feel a tad queasy and overwhelmed. Yet, I kept going to conferences where “gurus” were teaching what I felt was a bunch of garbage. I was a writer first and knew that one couldn’t treat books like toothpaste and writers like tacos. So after a bunch of griping, I decided to own up and write a book. I wanted my book to be different. I wanted it to reflect what social media was really about—people and human relationships.

Too many writers couldn’t see the real advantage. We finally had control over our writing futures. We had help! So when it came time to NAME my book, the publisher wanted to call it something like  “Social Marketing for Writers” and I was like, “Why not just punch them in the face?”

I argued that my demographic played World of Warcraft and collected action figures and had season passes to Renaissance festivals and Trekkie conventions…like me. I knew if I named my book “Marketing for Writers” that writers would be more likely to power drink than buy my book. So, when I told this to my editor Jen Talty, she said, “Well, then what do you want writers to feel  when reading your book?”

And I said, “I don’t know *pout face.* Maybe, um. Hell, I want them to know that they aren’t alone.”

Then Jen said, “Why Not, ‘We Are Not Alone’?”

 I would love to claim that I came up with this brilliant title, but the credit goes to Jen.

You have certainly carved out quite a niche for yourself as a “social-media guru” and your books are extremely popular (and invaluable, I might add) within the writing community and beyond. Give us a glimpse of the journey you took to get here.

I spent way too much time on Twitter than is healthy for any sane person.

Wait…oh yeah. Inside words stay inside.

I hit a lot of buttons and made a lot of stupid mistakes. Then I figured out how to correct those mistakes and do things better and faster. I thank God every day that New York Times Best-Selling Author Bob Mayer let me have carte blanche to experiment on him…um, his platform.  In retrospect it was probably a good thing Bob had no idea what he was signing up for.

Bob was a unique challenge because he had been a best-selling author in FIVE genres and he had more personalities (pen names) than Sybil running around unattended.  It was a real challenge to figure out a way to balance all of Bob’s identities, genres and roles (fiction author, NF writer, teacher, speaker, publisher) without having him spread so thinly that social media was either a time-suck or a time-waste. I leaned A LOT from that experience. ..first and foremost that pen names are evil.

Bob got free social media help so long as he was willing to define “help” loosely…very loosely. Once I really got good at what I was doing, Bob asked me to write a book for Who Dares Wins Publishing and We Are Not Alone was born.

…and I sold ten copies the first month. Most of them to my mother.

I had spent so much time helping Bob build his platform, I kinda forgot my own. I had to buckle down and get to work building a platform and defining myself as a social media expert.

So when I tell you guys I made all the dumb mistakes so you don’t have to, I am really being serious.

What was the one thing you most hoped to accomplish through your book, and would you say you’ve succeeded in doing so?

I wanted writers to become a team, to love each other and support each other. Historically we have worked in isolation. Most people assume it’s because we are loners, weird or socially awkward. The real reason is we don’t want to share our Star Wars t-shirts. There, the truth is out.

I think many writers worked in isolation because, what was the alternative? Now, we have a way to combine our creative energies for good. We are like superheroes who have mad grammar skillz.

Do I think I’ve succeeded? WOW YES! By my calculations, writers WILL rule the world by sometime next year…which might explain why the Mayans predicted it would end.

How important is it for the author not yet published to create an online presence/platform?

Writing a great book is ALWAYS FIRST. But when you land that agent and the three-book deal, you DON’T want to be pulling a social platform out of your…ear. Start early. Slow and steady wins the race. I think a writer with a viable social platform is going to be the new norm in two years. Start now while it is still an advantage.

Fiction authors have a staggering failure rate. According to BEA statistics, in 2004, 93% of books sold less than 1000 copies (traditionally and non-traditionally published). This isn’t to scare anyone as much as it is to give you guys hope that we can finally beat those hellish odds.

There are only two ways to sell books—good book and word of mouth. We always had control over a good book, and had a 93% FAILURE rate. Oh, and those stats are from 2004, before my cat could get published. Lots more competition these days, so we are wise to do what we can to get an edge.

If you think you might want to self-publish or go indie, then you don’t have a choice. You MUST be on social media and do it well (For those who doubt, refer to  Kristen’s first book sales in question above).

What marketing advice would you give to a newly published author?

Don’t. Write more books. Write better and better books. Talk to people. Be authentic. Self-promote too much on social media and we call that spam.

Traditional marketing doesn’t sell books. Total waste of time. Bookmarks and book plates and giveaways might drive a handful of sales, but they are really tactics that make writers “feel” productive. Writers are better off spending that time on writing more books and better books. Spend the money on a massage and wine instead of a book trailer. The massage will do more for your writing career and the wine is wine…HELLO!

What is the best piece of advice anybody ever gave you?

You can have anything you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want. ~ Zig Ziglar. Serve others first. Don’t worry about you. Focus on others and it comes back.

If you HAD to give up one area of Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc…), which one would you let go, and why?

I don’t care for G+. Maybe it is new, but I don’t see any advantages. Sure it has circles, but Facebook has lists. And I wouldn’t get all giddy about circles anyway. I don’t like sectioning people off based off what I think they might want to know. Hey, I’m a writer and if you don’t want to hear about writing don’t let the digital door hit you in the digital butt.

Thing is, we never know who is watching us. Some of those people you think don’t want to hear about all your writing crap are actually gonna be your biggest fans. The receptionist at my son’s pediatrician has bought three books off me and talks about me to anyone she meets.

I’m the only writer she’s ever met. To her, I’m a celebrity. Okay, so maybe she needs to get out more. But my point is, what if I had put her in a circle of people I thought didn’t want to hear about my writing?

Also, if your mother can’t read what you are posting, don’t post it.

Anything else you’d like to share, personally or professionally?

Learn to have a healthy relationship with failure. If we aren’t failing then we aren’t doing anything interesting. I would love to tell you guys that my books and blogging classes will make you a perfect blogger on Day One, but that would be awesome marketing a lie.

Just Do It

The more we write, the better we get at blogging and writing novels. We try, we fail, we reflect, we try again. The better we get at failing, the faster we will meet with success.

It’s been great having Kristen with us today! So let’s talk.

Do you have any burning questions about social marketing? Do you feel you’ve got a good handle on it or does the whole thing still scare the beejeebers out of you?

About Kristen Lamb:

Kristen worked in international sales before transitioning into a career as an author, freelance editor and speaker, and she takes her years of experience in sales & promotion and merges it with almost a decade as a writer to create a program designed to help authors construct a platform in the new paradigm of publishing. Kristen has guided writers of all levels, from unpublished green peas to NY Times best-selling big fish, how to use social media to create a solid platform and brand. Most importantly, Kristen helps authors of all levels connect to their READERS and then maintain a relationship that grows into a long-term fanbase.

Currently Kristen is teaching workshops based off her best-selling book We Are Not Alone–The Writer’s Guide to Social Media at various writer conferences across the country. Stay tuned for a workshop in your area.

Kristen is represented by Russell Galen at Scovil, Galen and Ghosh Literary, Inc in NYC.

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Up The Creek Without A Paddle – But Not Really

To an unpublished author, thoughts of marketing your book once it’s published might not be front and center of your mind. You’re more focused on finishing that manuscript, acquiring an agent, polishing your proposal. That’s as it should be. But what if you’re agented, and have several editors showing interest in your completed project?

Now is the time to start your engines and put some wheels on your marketing strategies. Sure, your book may not sell right away, but you’ll want to be prepared when it does. And even if you’re still in the early stages of your writing journey, it’s never too early to start thinking about it.

Last week on my blog I shared a few of the things I’ve been doing since my book, Yesterday’s Tomorrow, released in March. The prospect of marketing can seem daunting to a new author. At first I felt as though someone had pushed me upstream with no paddle, no compass, no directions at all. I soon learned the world of marketing has many places to explore. Today I’m going to focus on one.

Networking.

Your network is where you hang out; it’s who you talk to, share life with. It’s your community. At this point, published or not, you should be working hard to establish an online presence through blogging, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Google+, etc…the Internet is by far the cheapest and fastest marketing tool at your disposal. Learn to use it wisely.

Then there’s your real-life community. We all have family, friends, co-workers, right? These are the folks you want in your network, people who know you, love you and have supported your writing efforts over the past few years. They’re going to want to tell everyone they know about your book, this is great! Make sure they’re kept up to date in the process and send them a copy or two when your book comes out. The more people you can get saying wonderful things about your writing, the easier your job gets. And don’t forget to thank them for their efforts.

But what if you don’t have a supportive family? What if the people in your immediate circles just don’t get it or just don’t care? All is not lost here. While I’d like to advise you to have a good heart-to-heart with these folks, I’m no family therapist. Focus your networking efforts elsewhere.

Do you belong to a writer’s group? If you don’t, you should. This is the next best thing to having all your cousins in Nebraska hauling boxes of books around in the back of their trucks and selling them at every pit stop.

I’ve recently finished reading an excellent book on social networking by Kristen Lamb, We Are Not Alone  – The Writer’s Guide to Social Media, (Who Dares Wins Publishing, 2010). I highly recommend this book and I know quite a few of my fellow WordServers do too. One thing Kristen said that I love is this: “Fish where the fish are.”  Your writer’s group will not only provide support and encouragement in your writing journey, but when your baby is finally born, they’ll be the first to send flowers and start handing out the chocolate cigars. Most writers have a blog. I’ve never met a writer who didn’t like to read. Combine the two, and you have instant reviewers, influencers and endorsers.

Don’t ever be afraid to ask for an interview or to ask someone to review your novel. Yes, you may have to send a few copies here and there, but if it’s going to help get the word out about your book, it’s a great investment. And always offer to reciprocate by featuring fellow authors on your own blog and helping them spread the word about their new baby when the time comes.

Networking has been the most fun for me so far in this gig as a newly published author. I’ve expanded my network considerably, met a lot of wonderful people who have been more than gracious with their words, time and endeavors to get my book ‘out there’,  and I’m looking forward to doing it all over again when my next novel comes out!

What about you? Have you started networking? If you’re already published, tell us about your experiences.