WordServe Water Cooler

August 28, 2013August 23, 2013

Book Reviews: Do They Help?

Agents, editors, and publishers alike encourage authors to build platforms and engage with readers, well before books are published, whether non-fiction or fiction. I work in both arenas, so I launched www.kerriansnotebook.com (a crime fiction blog with non-fiction resource links) in December of 2011 and www.nightstandbookreviews.com (a book review site that I’ll refer to as NBR) in December of 2012.

Jordyn Redwood and I chatted online and after reviewing Proof, her terrific debut novel, I shared with her some interesting patterns that seemed to be emerging with the book review readers. Three months after the website launch, reviews of books by male authors were being sought out more frequently than those of female authors. It has now been six months since the launch and that remains true.

In the first six months, I reviewed 29 novels, featuring 15 female authors (5 debut, 1 indie) and 14 male. More than half the titles I review are in the suspense/mystery genres, but women’s fiction, historical fiction, adventure, and cozies can be found on the list as well.

I use Google Analytics on my WordPress sites, a great tool for mining the readership data. Here are some of my discoveries:

Spikes in the data for the book review site seemed to be tied to school (and perhaps work) vacations. I post new reviews on Thursdays. NBR gets the most hits for the reviews on Thursdays and Fridays, with the exception of the vacation weeks.

The most read review? Joe Finder’s, Buried Secrets, a thriller.

The second most read? Dee Henderson’s “O’Malley series.” Wahoo! A Christian writer in second place, just ahead of Lee Child and well ahead of a few huge bestselling males in the suspense/mystery genre. Initially, the review of her O’Malley series did not receive much interest, but two-three weeks after Full Disclosure was released, the hits on the related review on my site increased and continue to do so. During that same time, Ms. Henderson (or her representative) became involved in a Twitter promotion and retweets of my review increased.

#3 thru #7 are male suspense/mystery writers (all bestselling authors).

#8 – female debut author, legal mystery, ebook only.

#9 – female author, women’s fiction, bestseller.

#10 – female author, romantic suspense, bestseller.

#26 thru #29 – female authors, a mixture of genres, 3 bestsellers.

Update (as of 8/23/2013)
During the last month, the Dee Henderson review has moved into first place, by a LOT. The rest of the authors maintain approximately the same standings, with the top of the list after Dee still mostly men, and the bottom of the list, mostly women.

Authors who have an active Twitter presence retweeted my tweets about their books (6-8 times a day the first two days of each new post) and that resulted in sales (they told me so) as well as retweets from other fans of mine and theirs. They were also higher in the rankings for my site.

I continue to tweet about each of the titles, but most of the hits come from the first week of publication of the reviews. If the authors have a new book coming out after the initial week of my post, incoming links to the site indicate a specific search for the author.

Most weeks, Twitter is much more effective for Nightstand Book Reviews than Facebook. FB is more effective for my crime fiction site. Half of the FB followers are personal friends and acquaintances, mixed with professional associates. Almost all the Twitter followers were initially unknown to me personally. Several Tweeps have become online friends whose work I respect and also promote. I follow a number of writers and bloggers who provide valuable sources of research information and I promote their work on Twitter’s #FF (#FridayFollow).

According to Google Analytics, I have had absolutely no click-thrus from the Pinterest boards, but LinkedIn has produced a few hits.

The Paper.li community has generated repeated hits for the book reviews. I retweet the Paper.li posts, highlight the publishers, and that in turn, increases hits.

Aside from the increased exposure, there are other benefits to all the work that goes into creating and maintaining both sites. A Christian writer subscribed after reading the ‘About NBR’ blurb. We chatted through FB, discovered we live three hours from each other, and a few weeks ago, I had the privilege of taking a look at an ARC of her book that was in the final edit stage. Three weeks from now, I will attend her book signing, and take some friends along. So much fun!

For me, it has been all about building relationships within the FB, Twitter, and Paper.li communities. Some of those relationships were established after I did guest blogs about research for the crime fiction work, some after attending conferences. But a few have begun just because people like what I write or I like their work and promote them. I have met a few of the fans in person – what a blessing to be able to do so!

Does social media help you? Where do you focus your efforts?

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Patti Phillips is a transplanted metropolitan New Yorker/north Texan, now living in the piney state of North Carolina.

Her best investigative days are spent writing, cooking, traveling for research and playing golf. Her time on the golf course has been murderously valuable while creating the perfect alibi for the chief villain in her novel, One Sweet Motion. Did you know that there are spots on a golf course that can’t be accessed by listening devices?

Ms. Phillips (writing as Detective Charlie Kerrian) can be found at www.kerriansnotebook.com. Her book reviews can be read at www.nightstandbookreviews.com.

August 26, 2013August 26, 2013

Being Equipped

Many times, when I meditate on God’s Word, my eyes are drawn to encouraging and uplifting verses like John 3:16, or “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” or “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

And sometimes, as only God can do, He whacks me upside the head with a mackerel as he did during my prayer time the other day when He led me to Proverbs 29:1 (NLT): Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery.

In the King James Version, this verse reads: He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. Not quite as in my face as the NLT. The Old English makes it a little mushier with having to untie the knots in the sentence.

Not the NLT. It’s like stepping on the wrong end of a rake.

When I began writing seriously, the thing I feared most was receiving criticism. I had always been extremely sensitive to criticism. It came from having a poor self-image and being convinced in my mind I could never be smart enough or good enough. My first reaction was to shut down and then, at the first opportunity, I would go off by myself and brood.

Imagine taking this attitude into a critique group.

But God, with His grace and favor and wisdom, prepared me. He showed me magazine articles, books, and blogs that talked about receiving and giving criticism. He brought me to my first critique group. There I observed a group of people much more experienced than I give and receive critiques in ways that were constructive and encouraging.

Most importantly, through prayer and wise counsel, He showed me, for the first time, how to see the criticism was not about me personally, but about my words.

Sometimes, it’s still hard to make this distinction. The enemy tries to wedge the door open and tell me negative feedback means I’m no good. But God has shown me, no matter what people think of my writing, I am good. I am His child and, as the old saying goes, God does not make junk.

To refuse and reject criticism is to set myself up for failure, to put myself in a situation of not being published, of developing a reputation of being difficult, if not impossible, to work with. This accomplishes several things I don’t want to happen. People won’t work with me or consider my work because I’m not open about improving it. It hurts God because it takes me out of His plan for me. And it gives the enemy a victory because it takes me out of the will of God and opens the door for him to do even more damage, and, thus, for me to be destroyed beyond recovery.

God’s shown me the purpose of the criticism, how it applies through this verse. The feedback is to help me improve as a writer, to develop and refine my craft, to become a better storyteller. To become a better servant of Him by taking my skills to the highest level possible. To walk in obedience and in the fullness of His plan and calling for my life.

After getting my attention in Proverbs 29:1, He led me to this Scripture, a part of a prayer in Hebrews 13:21 (NLT): May he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

He’s equipped to me write and He’s equipped me to receive feedback and instruction to improve my writing so it serves Him even better.

August 25, 2013December 18, 2015

Are You A Hypocrite?

Have you ever been in church, or on-line reading blog posts, or just conversing with a good friend when something they said just is like a dagger to your heart with how much truth it speaks? Love those times . . . sometimes.

WarriorDash3 — Me trying to be less hypocritical about fitness! Warrior Dash 2013.

As a Christian, I am tired of being called a hypocrite. There’s been a story floating around Facebook (cannot verify its veracity) about a new minister that dressed as a homeless person and attended his own services in this disguise. The post laments how no one came up to speak to him or welcome him in any way and then the minister, in this outfit, goes up to the pulpit and gives a sermon on– well, you get my drift.

Then there is comment after comment about “This is exactly why I left the church!”– even one from my own relative.

Honestly, it makes me mad because I think two things.

Did said I’m-dressed-up-as-a-homeless-man-minister actually offer to shake anyone’s hand? Did he take an initiative, despite his dress, to get to know a few people? And those that use this example as the reason they left their own church– why aren’t you out there greeting people? Be the change you want to see.

I feel like I do try and live what is taught on Sunday. But then a sermon came up about being a hypocrite and I was in the beginning stages of rolling off a barrage of thoughts like the ones above until the minister said this:

“Hypocrisy lives between what you believe and what you do.”

Well, now . . . ouch.

It dawned on me that hypocrisy doesn’t just apply to aspects of the Christian life but to all aspects of our life. For years I said, “I want to be published.” but what was I really doing to accomplish it? That gap between my words and my action is hypocrisy.

These words hit home most for me in the area of weight loss. About three years ago, I saw a photo of myself and it was like a very bright spotlight on the lie I had led myself to believe. I knew I was a little fluffy– but not obese by any means.

Everything changed when I saw that photo. A dagger right into my heart. I couldn’t deny the truth anymore. Well, of course, I could but I knew I never wanted to see another photo like that . . . ever.

So I started on a wellness path . . . very slowly. It’s taken me about three years to lose forty pounds but I’m not quite there yet. Quite honestly, I should be at my goal weight. I have plenty of excuses why– or what we call “reasons” when we’re living in hypocrisy. Some of them sound very good and reasonable but they’re really not.

I’m trying to decrease my “reasons” and increase my actions. I don’t want to be viewed as a hypocrite. I want people to believe that I’m going to do what I say I’m going to do.

What about you? In what area of your life are you being hypocritical? Where is the gap between what you say you’re going to do and your actions? Is it spiritual (I’m going to pray more), or professional (I’m going to start my novel– maybe tomorrow!) or physical (I want to be a size six.)

How do you plan to change it?

And yes, all my ranting about the church above was being hypocritical, too. I have lots of self discovery in process.

August 23, 2013August 23, 2013

Writers: Move Your Legs! Don’t Get Blood Clots From Prolonged Sitting.

If you sit for extended periods of time, such as during airplane travel or during long road trips, or if you have certain medical conditions, you may be at risk for “Deep Vein Thrombosis” (DVT), or blood clots that form deep in your veins. These clots are dangerous because they can dislodge from your veins and cause sudden death by passing into the lungs, disrupting blood flow, and creating dangerous changes in your heart and lung blood pressures.

A sizeable blood clot that lodges in the lungs can kill a person instantly. I know because I witnessed this on more than one occasion during my internship in Internal Medicine and my residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Once big clots enter the lungs, there’s very little you can do to save the person.

Sadly, about half of the time, there’s no outward sign of DVTs. But when there are signs, patients usually complain of calf pain and swelling. They may also have pain on squeezing the leg or when they abruptly bend the ankle upward (this is known as Homan’s sign).

Several factors in addition to the sedentary lifestyle predispose to clots. One factor is family history. Another is the use of oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy. Still another is smoking. Additional factors include trauma (including venous catheter trauma), advanced age, cancer, elevated platelet counts, immobility or paralysis of the area (such as due to casting), plane travel, surgery, pregnancy, heart failure, obesity, or a personal history of blood clots.

One diagnostic test for DVTs is an ultrasound scan called a “Venous Doppler” study. Another test measures blood levels of “D-dimer,” which is a natural clot-dissolver found in elevated levels in case of DVT.

If you test positive for a blood clot, your doctor will most likely admit you to the hospital for and start you on clot busters or blood thinners. Sometimes, you might even have a “filter” inserted into the large vein in your abdomen (the vena cava) to trap clots that try to travel upstream to your lungs.

Now, let’s talk about the most important thing: blood clot prevention. First, try to minimize your chances of clotting. Quit smoking, get moving, and lose weight (if you need help with weight loss, check out my book, The Eden Diet. If you sit for prolonged periods of time, wear thigh-high compression hose, which are usually available at your local hospital supply store, and do “ankle-pumps,” where you bend your ankles up and down.

Depending on your risk factors, you may even want to talk with your physician about taking a medicine to prevent blood clots. As is true in many areas, when it comes to DVTs, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Or, in this case, an ounce of prevention might even save your life!

August 21, 2013August 17, 2013

Four Fiction Marketing Fallacies

Spend enough time in the writing blogosphere, and you’ll find all sorts of information on all sorts of topics. But by far the most misunderstood and misrepresented area is that of marketing. We all know that once you write a book, you’re going to have to market it somehow, but opinions on how to best do that vary wildly.

Today we’re going to take a look at the most common fiction-marketing fallacies:

1. Good marketing is more important than good writing.

If you spend any time at all on writers’ sites and blogs, you will hear the opinion that platform (and marketing) is the only thing you need to sell a book. Quality doesn’t matter, just the number of followers you have on social media, the numbers of subscribers on the mailing list, and number of free books you can “sell” on Amazon to boost rank. Proponents of this idea cite badly-written but heavily promoted books from the New York Times Bestseller list.

But this is unquestionably a fallacy. For one thing, it reflects a poor view of the reader, supposing that buyers can’t tell a good book from a bad book. Even if you do manage to sell bad books through your marketing methods alone, readers will only be fooled once. They won’t buy your next one. Your goal should be to write an excellent book, market it well, and rely on good reviews and word of mouth to help build momentum for your next release.

Inspirational romance author, Becky Wade says it best: “An author who invests thousands of dollars and hours in publicizing her novel will convince some people to spend their hard-earned money and time on it. But if her readers aren’t crazy about her book, they won’t buy her next one. Worse, they might tell their friends not to bother. So what’s the author accomplished, ultimately? In my opinion, the best way for any author to get word of mouth going is to write a book that readers love.”

2. Platform can wait.

On the opposite side of “marketing is king” is the idea that fiction writers don’t need a platform. While it’s true that platform is far more essential for a non-fiction writer, who will rely on his or her established network of followers to sell books, fiction writers still need to give some thought to how they will reach their readership.

You don’t need a ready-built platform to acquire an agent or sell a novel to an editor. But, at some point in the publishing process, your acquiring editor, marketing manager, or publicist will contact you about your marketing plan. You probably don’t want to be thinking about it for the first time when you’re knee-deep in substantive edits. At very least, you should be building a following on Facebook, Twitter, and your blog (if you have decided to blog) pre-publication. It would also be helpful to think about the rudimentary bones of a marketing plan, including your mission statement as a writer.

3. Social media is the only method you need to sell books.

The third fallacy is probably the most widespread. Writers spend hours a day on Facebook and Twitter plugging their books to their followers. Social media can be a great place to interact with readers, but it’s certainly not the main place that books are getting sold. (And over-promoting on social media is more likely to lose you followers than create new fans.)

According to Jeane Wynn, President and CEO of the publicity firm Wynn-Wynn Media, “It takes all types of media to sell books. Social media is one component of a successful publicity campaign, but so are trade reviews, online reviews, blogs, and broadcast media. Writers shouldn’t focus on one area to the exclusion of all others.”

Besides, as every writer knows, “marketing” on Facebook can quickly become an avenue to procrastination!

4. My publisher will do all the marketing for me.

It is true that some of the larger publishers, especially in the inspirational market, will do a huge amount of marketing for their authors. For the most part, though, stories of book tours, television commercials, and full page magazine ads are either writer urban legends or perks reserved for best-selling authors with huge followings and major name recognition.

The amount of publicity and marketing help that a publisher will give varies from house to house and even from author to author. Even in the best case scenario where the publisher is involved and proactive, writers should plan on spending a substantial amount of time helping market their books around launch time, whether it’s writing guest blog posts, filling out online interviews, or arranging speaking engagements.

Remember, no one will be a more enthusiastic advocate for your story than you!

Writing a good book may remain the most important focus for an author, but marketing is a large component of turning writing into a paying career. Setting the proper expectations and thinking ahead now will go a long way to smoothing the marketing process during publication.

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Carla Laureano has held many job titles–professional marketer, small business consultant, and martial arts instructor–but writer is by far her favorite. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and currently serves as Vice President of the South Denver ACFW chapter, Mile High Scribes. Her debut romance novel, Five Days in Skye, was released by David C Cook in June 2013. The first volume of her three-book young adult fantasy series, The Song of Seare, is due out from NavPress in May 2014. She lives with her husband, two sons, and a menagerie of small pets in Denver, Colorado.

August 19, 2013August 17, 2013

Facing Your Fears as a Writer

Write down for the coming generation what the Lord has done, so that people not yet born will praise him. (Ps. 102:18 GNT)

I’m always looking for ways to encourage people to tell the stories that matter most. As a writing instructor, I’ve often observed the need for others to tell their stories.

Passing along our faith and family stories helps us make sense of some of the crucial issues that we face in life. When Christians begin telling the stories that matter most, lives change and hearts heal.

But fear silences the voices of many Christians, preventing them from telling their stories. And if you’ve considered writing for publication for any length of time at all, you’ve probably faced the emotion of fear in your work. Many obstacles keep us from telling our stories—personal insecurities, writer’s block, or a variety of excuses.

Excuses. I can think of so many examples through the years when I just sat back and waited on someone else to do something that I knew I needed to do myself. And I can always come up with an excuse about why I can’t do something.

Before my own children became independent, I often reminded them, “Delayed obedience is disobedience.” I never wanted Adam and Tara to be afraid of me, but I knew delayed obedience might be dangerous and harmful at times. But even though my instructions were motivated out of my love and concern for them, they often resisted. Yet I persisted in my discipline. I prayed that they would learn obedience as children, so they would obey God and their God-given authorities as adults.

I even offer myself excuses now, when I don’t want to do something, like making my bed. What does it matter if my husband Dan does that? It’s his bed, too! And our unmade bed obviously bothers him more than it does me anyway.

But what about the things that God calls me to do? What kind of excuses do I use to attempt to justify my disobedience?

That’s not my “gift.”
I’m not trained to do that.
What do I have to say?
I’m not a “good” speaker (writer, teacher, blogger … whatever).

Insecurities. As I searched the Bible to try to find some answers to my problem of fear, I discovered that I was in good company.

In fact, when God called Moses to lead His people out of bondage, “ … Moses protested to God, ‘Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?’” (Ex. 3:11 NLT).

Moses knew that this assignment was way out of his area of expertise and experience. And Moses knew that he couldn’t do this impossible task in his own strength or with his limited wisdom. But his awareness of his own limitations proved to be one of Moses’ greatest leadership qualities. It forced him to become totally dependent upon God.

Do you think that God was shocked by Moses’ questions and concerns? I don’t.

Promises. In fact, God responded to Moses with the assurance of His presence, not His judgment. “God answered, ‘I will be with you’” (3:12).

I don’t believe that my questions surprise God, either. God still promises to always be with us today. “… And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20).

And He also promises to provide all that we need to do what He calls us to do.

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished … ” (Phil. 1:6).

What’s keeping you from telling the stories that matter most to you?

Photo/TaraRoss
YouTube/JoshWilsonVEVO (“I Refuse”)

August 18, 2013August 17, 2013

When Fear and Doubt Keep You From Your Dreams

You’re a silly little idealist; you’re not smart enough to do something like that.

There it was again, the dream-killer—haunting my thoughts, pushing down my hopes.

You’re doing it wrong, you know. Why don’t you quit now before you embarrass yourself?

Since I was a young teen, I dreamed of crafting words of hope and encouragement that would change the world. But I’m not the only one. Many of us want to be authors, writers who make a difference.

The dreaming is easy. It’s the pursuit that’s hard—harder still when the voice of lies sacrifices our dreams. If you don’t try, you can’t fail.

God accomplishes his will on earth through truth;

Satan accomplishes his purposes through lies.

Warren W. Wiersbe

This fatal falling for lies was modeled for us long ago in a beautiful garden where Eve was tricked, deceived.

Eve—the first woman, first wife, first mother, and the first one of us to fall for an ugly lie. That day Satan met Eve in the garden, he brought a convincing argument—one intended to lead her, and any of us who would follow, away from God’s truth.

I mean, really—the woman was in a beautiful, perfect environment with the perfect man. I can’t think of anything more satisfying than a clean house and a great husband who loves you. Eve had both. Not to mention that there wasn’t another woman alive to compare herself with. Truly heaven on earth.

Yet Satan found a way to convince her she deserved more. That somehow she didn’t measure up and God was holding out on her. If we aren’t careful, we allow these triggered-by-others insecurities to rewrite our life stories, to shape our lives so negatively that we lose direction.

Our mind is the control center of our lives,
and Satan wants control.

Consider the impact that someone else’s opinion had not just on Eve, but also her husband. After the famed fruit-sharing, Adam was quick to lay blame and excuse away his actions, “I was afraid . . . I was naked and I hid.”

“Who told you that?” God asked.

I just love the question. God well knew the source of their shackling guilt, but I believe he wanted them to consider that someone else, a shrewd and conniving Enemy, had influenced their beliefs. The winds of accountability fell fresh among the trees in the garden that night.

That same wind stirs now as God asks us the same thing, “Who told you that?”

Who told you that you are doing it wrong?

That you aren’t good enough?

That what you say doesn’t matter?

No matter the messenger, we must wrest ourselves from these grips of doubt and fear that keep us from our God-sized dreams.

Let’s reclaim those stalled dreams. When these negative thoughts start rolling around in our heads, let’s smash these warped lies, reframe them with truth by reminding ourselves what God thinks about us.

When I’m stuck, when I need to redirect my thoughts, I use a simple question: Is there another way to think about this?

As an example, what if I’ve jumped to a conclusion {which I tend to do}, and fallen into the mental trap that people won’t listen to me, may even consider me dumb? Without facts to support this assumption, I interpret the situation negatively, anticipating the worst. But I can reframe this thought with 1 Cor. 1:30 that says, “God himself gives me wisdom.”

God. himself. gives. me. wisdom.

Funny; Satan was right. I’m not smart enough to do this. When I write, it’s often bigger than me, smarter than me. That’s the sort of thing God does when we follow our dreams, depend on Him.

How about you: What lie are you believing that’s interfering with your dreams, even now?

August 16, 2013August 12, 2013

Consider the Source: How Reviews Reflect Our Experience

I recently read an account of a celebrity and her young daughter which captured the concept of feedback from a unique perspective. Having completed a Google search, the daughter was troubled to find that strangers were saying all kinds of things about her famous mother, both positive and negative. The mother told her daughter that when people make those kind of comments, the feedback is based on their own individual experiences. Therefore, when people provide comments, they are typically talking about themselves, whether they realize it or not.

What an epiphany, and what a great way to see feedback (like reviews) in a completely different light. People are a product of their own experiences, strung together like pearls over the course of a lifetime. If art imitates life, then reviews of art imitate the reviewer‘s life. Reviewers respond to reading material based on their own individual experiences. When people read books, they view them through their own filters which have been carefully created over their entire lives. These filters can be likened to stained glass windows. The color of the light shining through a stained glass window is contingent upon the color of the glass. The light is reflected through the filter of their own experience.

If you are a writer, reviews are vital to your career. Although positive, warm, glowing reviews are wonderful and make us feel good, constructive feedback is helpful. Of course, no one is thrilled to get a bad review, but most people are actually quite gracious. They are typically honest, genuine and simply expressing the opinion of their own experience. The good news is that people who write scathing reviews are few and far between. However, even bad reviews can yield good things. Having a disparate personality review your material gives you a 360 degree glance that you may never have considered. If a review says that a book skims over the best parts; that means the parts they found most interesting. Do they have a point? Are they right? Is there a way to take that feedback, take it to heart and learn for the next time? Probably.

Let’s say you have a book available on Amazon and Goodreads. You may find that you have very different reviews on those websites. The Goodreads reviewers may have higher expectations as a literary community. If you feel a bit down about a review, check out some of the feedback for many of the classics (The Sun Also Rises, Catcher In the Rye, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, to name a few). These works that have been part of the literary canon for years are still subject to scrutiny – and that’s okay. There are books out there that some will say are too controversial, and that others will say are not controversial enough. You can’t win over all of them, but you can still learn from all of them.

Pay attention to the words in the reviews: “I found this book to be a bit slow.” “I thought this book was going to be funny, but it’s not my kind of humor.” “I prefer stories that take place in present day as opposed to historical fiction.” This is why finding the appropriate audience for your work is so important. The audience will automatically be more open and enthusiastic to the material if their filter resonates with your own.

In conclusion, when a person writes a review, they are often writing about themselves and their own life experiences. Keeping that in mind may make all the difference for your own development, as well as remind you to maintain some perspective about your next constructive review.

What are your thoughts on book reviews and reviewers?

August 14, 2013August 13, 2013

Selling More Books

Selling more books, and spreading your message is the ultimate goal. For months extending into years, you work to build a writing career. By the time your book releases, you hope your efforts pay off — and people actually buy it.

But you must help folks find it, or else they can’t purchase and read your masterpiece. This takes a whole new kind of effort. I think we all hope for something akin to the old Faberge Organics shampoo commercial. Remember? “If you tell two friends, they’ll tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.”

As a debut author, I knew I needed to find creative ways to tell my first two friends. So I went to the experts, and scheduled a cross-country trip with Michele Cushatt and Michael Hyatt. Okay, so I drove cross-country to a speaking engagement, and took their voices with me via audio recordings. But their amazing presentation of Get Published gave me some fantastic tips for getting my book noticed.

Because I follow their blogs, I’d already done some of the things Michele and Michael outlined in their program. Like building an online media kit. Mine still needs tweaking, but it’s good enough to have garnered some attention.

But there were plenty of extras I didn’t know about in Get Published. One of the things I learned was to create a Briefing Book, so I could give confident interviews. It was a good thing I did, because the day after I finished it, my publicist scheduled a radio spot.

Another way I spread the word, was to make sure my family and close friends knew I would appreciate speaking leads. It so happens one of my sisters works for a large hospital chain. So she mentioned me to a woman in charge of signing speakers for the New Mexico Staff Services Medical Association Conference. The woman researched my website and online media kit, then voila, booked me.

After that, two other prospects from the medical community called. And so on, and so on.

One of the most fruitful things I’ve done is follow the leads in Sell More Books, Book Marketing and Publishing for Low Profile and Debut Authors. J. Steve and Cherie K. Miller’s marketing manual is chock full of practical applications and lesser known resources. I especially like the access I’ve gotten to state and national associations for potential speaking engagements.

These are just a few ways I’m attempting to spread the word. I don’t know how my various efforts will affect final sale figures. But I think they are making a positive difference. Suddenly likes on my author/speaker Facebook page have increased, and my web traffic is growing.

But one simple thing has made the biggest difference of all. All along on my writing journey, I’ve prayed about this scary platform thing. A few months ago, I blogged about my reliance on The Platform Builder.

In reality, I know little about book marketing, except to trust and obey. And yet, I truly believe trusting is a secret to selling more books — IF it’s God’s will and my motives are pure. One of the hardest prayers to offer is, “Not my will, but yours be done.” After that, it’s completely in His hands. If He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, I know He owns the pages in a thousand books. I can’t sell a thing if He doesn’t help spread the message. And so on, and so on, and so on.

August 12, 2013August 6, 2013

Thank You, Doctors

I have a secret to share with you.

When I create characters for my novels, I often call on the expertise of two renowned psychologists. Their names are Carl Jung and Isabel Briggs Myers. Many of us know their work in the form of the theory of psychological typology, or the personality inventory called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). I’ve found that once I start developing a character, I can turn to the Myers-Briggs personality types to fill out the outline of a character with true-to-life traits and behaviors using the four categories of personality type. In short, it’s like a cheat sheet for character creation.

Let’s look at an example using the first piece of the four-part MBTI.

I’ve got a rather demanding physicist I want to cast as my reluctant hero. As an academic, he fits the Introvert (I) type, rather than the Extrovert (E): he prefers private time, doesn’t do well in crowds, and is sometimes so wrapped up in his thoughts that he’s oblivious to what’s happening around him. I’d say that’s a good description of a physicist who loves to work long hours in a research lab. However, since I want him to come across as blunt and insensitive, I’m going to throw in a little Extrovert: he tends to act first, and reflect later, in social situations he finds challenging.

Here’s the scene I’m working on: After finishing a 20-hour stint in the lab, the physicist is awakened from a deep sleep by an insistent knocking at his front door.

Here’s the question I have to answer as the author: Is he going to greet the visitor with a smile, because he can’t wait to share the big discovery he made during that lab marathon? Or is he going to roll over and refuse to come to the door?

I decide he’s going to roll over and pull the pillow over his head in true Introvert style.

But the knocking continues. He has to do something to make it stop because it’s infringing on his solitude, which he craves.

Grudgingly, he drags himself out of bed; he’s not going to be a happy camper when he opens that door. Nor does he want to talk with anyone (this is an awkward social situation, remember!), but because of that bit of Extrovert quality (act first, think later), he ends up jerking open the door. When he see’s it’s his least favorite colleague from work, he blurts out a rude, “What are you doing here?”.

By using the MBTI as my guide, I’ve accomplished several things, such as giving him consistent character traits, motivation for his actions, and even the beginning of a conflict with another character.

By the time I identify the other three parts of his personality type – Sensing (S) or Intuitive (N), Thinking (T) or Feeling (F), Judging (J) or Perceiving (P) – I’ll have the keys to his actions in any situation my plot throws at him.

How do you make your characters come to life?