Writerly Musings: Marketing

Being part of the IWSG anthology (that would be Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime) has been an education for me. Not only did I pick up a new awareness of some minor writing issues I have (mostly in the area of comma abuse), but the whole marketing process has been educational. Probably not educational enough, but I have picked up a few things to contemplate.

1. Get the word out, early and late. The publisher, Dancing Lemur Press, started early with tweets and FB posts, and got all of us authors to set up a blog and do regular posts about our stories, writing process, whatever. And they started early to set up a blog tour, or at least appearances on a number of blogs, with interviews, reviews, and so on. The book came out May 1, and that publicity push is still going on (including a Rafflecopter giveaway of a cool Tick Tock tote bag running to June 6!).

This one isn't so hard. I'm learning how to get more people involved in a release, and I know that I can arrange a blog tour through Great Escapes. I haven't done that yet for Death By Adverb, but I had a number of very helpful blog posts about it, thanks to my fellow IWSG authors!

2. Don't be timid: the publisher sends announcements to all sorts of bookstores, and we writers are meant to follow up by suggesting we can come and do signings, etc.

This one's hard. I have an almost insurmountable reluctance to put myself forward in that way. It feels pushy, and I've not yet figured out how to cure myself of a well-brought-up modesty.

3. I didn't learn this one from the Tick Tock release, but push the backlist (well, I see them doing that some, mentioning the previous IWSG anthologies along with ours, which is #3--check them all out). I finally saw a benefit from having a series, as I put the first two Pismawallops PTA books on sale during the month following the release of the new book, and included that information in the post on release day. Sales picked up, and I hope some of those will lead to new fans for the series.

I'm planning to work on the backlist this summer, as I'll not be able to do much writing (I am still trying to do some submissions each month, though). I intend to do a special "Hero Month" promotion for Halitor the Hero, so watch this space--and watch for other special offers, as I need to clear out my inventory before we move! The Hero promotion is still in the planning stages, but let me know if you want to be involved--I'll keep it simple.

4. Finally, just from following so many other writers, I realize that I've been remiss about my newsletter. In fact, I can't remember when I did the last one, and I'm overdue. I also apparently need to update my sign-up to meet new regulations. I'll have to get on that, and encourage everyone to sign up once I do. But in any case, I need to send out a newsletter, and soon. You can bet that newsletter will have some special offers in it!

Oh, and I need to do some blog maintenance, because my sidebar is now 2 books behind! I never was good at housekeeping...

For the moment, that's about it for what I know about marketing. It's no place for an introvert, yet we writers have to overcome our natural tendencies and do it somehow!

Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime

Can a dead child’s cross-stitch pendant find a missing nun? 

Is revenge possible in just 48 minutes? 

Can a killer be stopped before the rescuers are engulfed by a city ablaze? 

Who killed what the tide brought in? 

Can a soliloquizing gumshoe stay out of jail?

Exploring the facets of time, eleven authors delve into mysteries and crimes that linger in both dark corners and plain sight. Featuring the talents of Gwen Gardner, Rebecca M. Douglass, Tara Tyler, S. R. Betler, C.D. Gallant-King, Jemi Fraser, J. R. Ferguson, Yolanda Renée, C. Lee McKenzie, Christine Clemetson, and Mary Aalgaard.

Hand-picked by a panel of agents and authors, these eleven tales will take you on a thrilling ride into jeopardy and secrecy. Trail along, find the clues, and stay out of danger. Time is wasting…

Release date - TODAY!

Mystery & Detective/Crime/Thrillers

Print ISBN 9781939844545 eBook ISBN 9781939844552

Get your copy today!

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IT'S HERE!

Death By Adverb

  Available today.

 Genre: Cozy mystery
Ebook: 85,000 words
Paperback:   approx. 285 pages

He murdered the language, but who murdered him?  

JJ McGregor’s not having her best summer. Her arm’s in a cast, her jeans are too tight, and her son’s in Texas with his dad. To make matters worse, she hasn’t spoken to Police Chief Ron Karlson since June. What’s more, she’s gotten fired by the biggest bully on Pismawallops Island. 

JJ thinks her boss's vile prose and grammar are poisonous, but he's the one who turns up dead, and against all odds her summer gets worse. Now there’s a killer on the loose, JJ's on the suspect list, and she'd better make her peace with Ron before someone decides she's gone too far in the defense of good writing!

 

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IWSG: Marketing

The purpose of the IWSG: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Click on the badge above to see the IWSG home page and the linky list.


So...What am I fretting over this month?
I have plenty to choose from for my anxiety-of-the-month. I'm still revising book three of the Ninja Librarian series, though I'd had hopes that I'd have it ready for beta-readers by the end of April. It's going to take at least another week. And I still don't have a title I like, nor any idea what the cover should look like. Not good.

Then there's the whole marketing thing, or building a platform, or just being visible out there. I had great hopes of making myself known and loved far and wide with extensive visiting during the A to Z Challenge (in which I didn't participate except as a visitor, in hopes of having more time to do that. HA!). That didn't go quite according to plan, and I've been pretty spotty in my appearances on Goodreads, too. I just get too busy and then I'm afraid to poke my nose in around there because there will be so much to catch up on (I know; bad reasoning. The longer I stay away, the farther behind I get).

My on-line sales have been up and down. There was a good initial reaction to a sale price on Death By Ice Cream during the month of May, but that tapered off quickly. And it's been forever since I had an event allowing for local sales. I haven't done my usual local library appearance for the latest release, for a variety of reason that we don't need to go into (I must learn to be pushier!), and haven't been asked to any classrooms this spring.

I recently learned from another Goodreads author that she does sales at craft fairs and farmers' markets and places that I would never have thought of. So my newest resolution is to start looking for events where I can take a table for a low enough price that I can hope to make the money back. We'll see how that goes. 

When I finish messing with the Ninja Librarian, there's the third Pismawallops PTA book to finish and revise, and a couple more books are clamoring to be written. I MUST learn to revise more efficiently so I can get on with the many stories that want out!

I guess there are worse problems a writer could have.

Try not to let your luggage get in the way of life!

 

Happy New Year!

Okay, the obligatory salutation out of the way, let's move on to the obligatory reflections and resolutions, as they relate to me the writer, not me the person (I'll keep the rest of my imperfections private, thanks all the same!)

Reflections on 2013
I'd have to say that 2013 was a learning year.  Much like 2012, as I think on it.  I published my first book in Feb. of 2012, and was sure that I'd be bringing out the second by February of 2013.  So the first lesson was that everything takes longer than you think.  Covers, editing, whatever.  I also had vowed to do a much better job of preparing the way for Return to Skunk Corners (which in fact finally came out in August) with advance publicity.  The hitch is, it's one thing to say that, another to do it effectively.  Let's just say I need practice.  I'll be getting it.

From a writing perspective, however, 2013 was great.  I finished Return to Skunk Corners, drafted Halitor the Hero (due out around the time school lets out, or maybe when it starts up again), and revived and re-edited my first mystery, Death By Ice Cream, which has a tentative launch date of April 1 (a good day for a humorous cozy mystery, I think).  Then I really hit my stride, jumped into National Novel Writing month with not quite enough preparation, and emerged in early December with a 72,000 word very very rough draft of the second mystery in the series, Death By Trombone.  As I am finishing the edits on DBIC and letting DBT stew for a few weeks or months before revisions begin, I'm thinking more about the next Ninja Librarian book, and starting to pencil notes.


So I would say that as a writer, I had a very good year, learned a lot, and made an important shift into making writing my day job.  As a publisher and publicist, however, I came up short.  At this point, there are two ways to go with that: I can either try to shift into the traditional publishing market. . . or I can start educating myself, crack my shell, and learn to do better at the business end.  Since I'd need to learn most of that either way, at this point my plan is to stick with being an author-publisher and just try to be a better one.

Resolutions:
Okay, if you just read the section above, you know where this will go. I think I can break it down into two resolutions:
1.  Be a writer: write/edit every day
2.  Learn to market.

I will just toss in that I've made one new step toward #2 already.  I have signed up to take a table in the Children's pavilion at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 15 in Tucson (duh!), Arizona.  I'll share more information when I know exactly where to find me, and hope maybe some of you can stop by and say hello!  This is a big step for me, and I admit it wouldn't have happened if I didn't have a good friend in Tucson who's been nagging me for several years to come and enjoy the festival.  Thanks, Laura!

I could break the second resolution down into steps, and of course will have to do so in order to achieve it.  I know what some of those steps are; others I will have to learn about first.  So steps come later.

I think I'll throw in one more, which is in a sense part of #2 but deserves its own line:
3.  I will submit short stories to paying markets.  No commitment about how many or how much pay, but I will work on building my portfolio by at least trying to do something besides give away my short works.

Notice that one thing I'm not doing is setting a goal or target for sales.  I just don't want to go there.  Either I'll set an absurdly low target that I know I can achieve but which means little ("two more sales than this year!"), or I'll set myself up for failure.  If I succeed even a little with #2 above, I'll improve sales.  And I'll thank you, my loyal readers, for the success.

What is "writing"?

This is a question for all us struggling writers who jam it in among our other life commitments, and waste far too much time in guilt over time spent NOT writing.  I'm here to say, anything you have to do for your book is writing.  I mean, I know hunting up a cover artist isn't writing.  But it's part of the job, and if you have only so much time, you need to take time from holding a pen and go do it.

So here's a list of things I have realized need to count, so I stop beating myself up over not doing any "writing" while dealing with them:
--the whole cover thing.  Finding artists, drawing my own, whatever it takes.  It's not a book without a cover, and the job must be done.
--revisions.  We've already discussed this.  Revising IS writing, and if you don't believe me, go back to your freshman comp class and try again.
--formatting.  Like the cover, it has to be done, and done right.  So you have to allow yourself the time.
--blogging.  Duh.  It's not your novel, but it's writing.
--marketing.  See covers and formatting.  It's nice if you can do this without impinging on writing time.  But if it needs doing. . . DO it.
--making coffee.  None of the above happens without coffee.

What doesn't count:
--cruising around Goodreads.com
--checking sales
--reading the news
--looking at cute kitten videos
--doing laundry
--grocery shopping
--housework of any sort
--anything (aside from making coffee) that isn't involved with either stringing words together or getting them into a condition to be shared with the world.

Dang.  I'm gonna miss those kittens.