From Zero to 103

 Connecting, Crusade, Life, Motivation, Sales, Writing, Writing Conferences  15 Responses »
Mar 102011
 

A month is all it took to get 103 followers. That’s it – one month. I now know the secret to getting blog readers. All it takes is, wait for it, wait for it, PARTICIPATION. I believe that joining online events, commenting on other people’s blogs and re-posting your blog links on Twitter and Facebook increases your readership. And as much as I like to pretend that I don’t care who is reading, the truth is that I do. I want readers and I want people to comment.  So, I want thank all of my followers to date. Thank you, thank you!

This week I’ve been thinking about self-belief and how so many people are scared to take the next step. Well, I say don’t let fear halt your life.

I have fallen victim to the fear monster as recently as last year when I started doubting myself and my writing. I was in a funk and I needed to get out of it quick if I was ever going to create again. And then one day I had an epiphany. I know who I am and I know what I need to do. Two weeks before the New Year, I took action and made a list. Here’s what was on it:

Join writing societies or associations
Meet more writers
Attend writing conferences
Find a mentor
Get my short stories published
Go to more Chicago literary events
Publish my collaborative children’s book
Finish my middle grade novel

I’m happy to say that I’ve already completed some of these goals including joining the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Through the SCBWI Illinois Chapter, I was able to attend a writing conference/workshop in mid January. It was all about creating your own marketing plan. There was a lot of pertinent information, but one of the most important things I learned was how to generate potential sales for your children’s book. I wanted to share some of these with you. Please note that I have not tried these, but I believe they are useful for any writer.

Here are some ways to generate sales for your book:

  • Network at events, through writing groups and conferences and through social networking sites like Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
  • Create relationships/connections through your personal website or blog and get blurbs written about your book.
  • Ask blog owners and other authors if they are interested in interviewing you about your book and offer to do the same for them.
  • Call bookstores and schedule readings and book signings.
  • Be there for the book sellers as much as possible.
  • Join professional or trade associations.
  • Go to American Library Association (ALA) Conferences.
  • Guerilla market through t-shirts, postcards, bookmarks, etc.
  • Use word of mouth to promote your book.
  • Talk about your book to librarians and teachers and see if they’d be open to you scheduling a reading.
  • Schedule 30-40 school visits per year.
  • Create a swag bag for school librarians and teachers. Include a copy of your signed book and postcards of your fellow author friends that are also doing the library/school visit rounds. Think about karma and the idea of what comes around, goes around.
  • Find connections. Can you co-market your book with another product?
  • Try to get your book on Tag.
  • Put your book on amazon and have it formatted for the Nook and Kindle. Your publisher may already do this.
  • Use keywords on your web site and blog to help promote your work.
  • Send info to local chapters (Mondo Times).
  • Follow up with people constantly.
  • Write a press release about your book and submit it.
  • Contact children’s indoor playrooms and schedule a book reading/signing.
  • Think about promoting through: http://www.authorbuzz.com/kids/
  • Promote your book on home schooling and mommy web sites by purchasing ad space.

What are some other ways you can think of to generate sales for your books?

I’m also attending another conference/workshop this month and I can’t wait.

As far finding a mentor goes, earlier this year, I contacted an old professor of mine, Mark Costello. He is somebody I respect and one of the best teachers at the University of Illinois. He is a great writer and gives excellent writing advice. Most importantly, he believes in the craft.

Through our letter writing exchange, (who does that anymore?!) he reminded me that you can’t let anybody dampen your writing spirit, you need to self-teach and you need to go forward. It reignited the fire in me and for that I will forever be grateful.

I realized that although it would be nice to have a mentor, I can be my own and so can you. You just need to believe in yourself and your work. You need to keep reading, writing and submitting and you can’t stop. If you get the opportunity to mentor another writer and you have the time, I say do it. It’s always good to pay it forward.

You can check out Mark Costello’s work here:

The Murphy Stories

Middle Murphy

In other news, I’ve been doing a lot of reading, writing and submitting. I have a series of short stories that I am editing and two are out and about looking for homes. I have also found a trustworthy and incredible editor for my work, which will help me to complete the rest of my short stories in a timely manner.

Here’s what I’ve accomplished so far:

Join writing societies or associations
Meet more writers
Attend writing conferences
Find a mentor
Get my short stories published
Go to more Chicago literary events
Finish and submit my collaborative children’s book
Finish my middle grade novel

That leaves me with half of the things to complete by the end of this year. Will I do it? I can’t say, but I’ll try.

I wanted to leave all of my readers with a few words – make a plan, take action and keep on truckin’ no matter what. Like Mae West said, “you only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

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You are what you do, you are what you think

 Connecting, Crusade, Fun, Writers Quiz  8 Responses »
Feb 232011
 

Hello all,

In light of going through every crusader’s blog and following them through Google and Twitter, I thought I needed a break. Something tells me you need one too. This is why I took a few minutes to create a Writer’s Quiz called You Are What You Think. It’s a celebration of how much alike we all are as writers. It’s all for fun though, so don’t take it too seriously. You can check out the quiz here: The You Are What You Think Writer’s Quiz.

This year is going much differently than last year. It’s as if the universe opened up and is showering me with gifts or maybe my outlook on life has changed. Whatever it is, I’m grateful. I asked for support and I got support. Lots of it came through the crusade, which has been a blessing for me. So, kudos to you R. Harrie for recognizing that we all needed that writer connection.

I’m sorry crusaders, but I haven’t had a chance to buckle down and read more than one or two of the posts on any given blog. Adding everybody has been intense and taken quite some time. It has been my life for the past four days. I will eventually make the rounds again to read and comment on some of your posts.

Thank you to everybody that is following my blog or following me on twitter. I wish you all well with your writing endeavors.

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Writers Link Together on Rach Writes

 Connecting, Crusade, Motivation, Writing, Writing Tools  25 Responses »
Feb 122011
 

Check out and join the: Second Writers’ Platform-Building Crusade.

Here is more about Rachael Harrie’s Crusade:

“There are so many of us out there. Aspiring authors, bloggers (whether established or beginning), industry peeps, even published authors, all of whom want to build their online platforms. We write insightful posts and articles, actively blog within the blogosphere, take part in challenges, competitions, and contests galore.

We have the passion and the drive to make it, but…we could all do with a bit of support.

So I started thinking. What if we link all these people together? What if we create a way to meet people in a similar position, people who genuinely want to help build our online platform while at the same time building theirs? People who want to pay it forward in the spirit of writerly writerness and blogging beautificity (and see it come back to them in turn).

And so my Writers’ Platform-Building Crusade was born.”

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I Heart Magazines

 Chicago, Connecting, Literary Mags and Journals, Magazines, Zines  2 Responses »
Jul 292010
 

I am a lover of magazines; always have been, since the age of thirteen. I remember it like it was yesterday. Teen Magazine caught my eye at a grocery store. I picked it up, flipped through it and begged my mom to buy it for me. When I got home, I read the entire thing–cover to cover. I was enthralled. I requested that my mom buy me a subscription immediately. She obliged. Hey, what can I say–my mom is great. This marked a real turning point for me, one of no return. No newspapers, no books. Magazines became my thing.

I was a faithful reader of Teen Magazine for five years. That’s like a millennium to a teenager, but I loved it. Over the years, I’ve thought about why I chose that mag and I think I know the answer. First, it was geared towards girls like me, young girls, girls going through things. Real things. I could spend one hour a month reading about other teen’s lives, about ways to change the world for the better and about music. Teen Magazine was like a guide for my teenage life and it was written in an intelligent and respectful way. Unfortunately, after a few years, as with all things, it began to deteriorate. The articles became less informative, the advertisements got larger and I just wasn’t into it anymore. Perhaps it had something to do with my subtle aging, but I digress. It was time to move on. I needed something a little more on my level.

I moved on to the sophisticated YM, Lucky and Cosmo. Hey, don’t mock. I had to try out every magazine on the stands to find the right one. But the truth is, those magazines weren’t me.

Nothing changed me quite so much as my early twenties. I was becoming more aware of who I was without my parents, teachers or friend chiming in. This was when I started to get into zines and literary mags. I even created two of my own.

A few years after that, I went back to consumer pubs. I was reading Martha Stewart, Domino and Real Simple. Domestication reared its ugly head, but I knew deep down it wouldn’t be enough. Those magazines didn’t fill my soul. I needed a magazine with style, pizazz, something with projects, one that was home to a good short story, one that had health and make-up tips, reviewed new books and music and most importantly one that featured great articles about real issues affecting women my age. I was searching for a Teen Magazine for twenty-year-old’s. Now where was I supposed to find a magazine like that?

It took me a while to realize, I was never going to find it because it just didn’t exist. I had to subscribe to many magazines just to get my fill. And now that I’m in my thirties, I find myself still searching for that thirty-something Teen Magazine. Seriously, does the search ever end?

I currently subscribe to six consumer magazines a year. It may seem like a lot, but those magazines are secondary to the amount of books, albums and literary magazines I purchase annually. In addition, I realize many people don’t read magazines and I never understood that. Not because there isn’t plenty to read elsewhere, but because magazines are cultural mirrors. They are about us–right here, right now.

If you’re into magazines as much as I am, come and support the Chicago literary community tonight at the Printers’ Ball.

According to the Poetry Foundations Web Site, “It’s a celebration of literary culture. In addition to featuring thousands of magazines, books, broadsides and other takeaways, the Printers’ Ball will showcase live readings, music and performances. They will also host letterpress, offset, silk-screening, rubber-stamping and paper-making demonstrations.”

To learn more about the 2010 Printers’ Ball, please visit their site.

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Where is everybody?

 Connecting  Comments Off on Where is everybody?
Nov 272006
 

While recently speaking to a friend of mine about the woes of finding others that are into writing and creating like myself, he said that I should add a message board to my site. At the very least, I thought that I could open this up for discussion. Where are all of the writers, creative people at? Chicago is a huge city, filled with all types of artists. I just cannot believe that artists aren’t getting together and creating. The reason there seems to be more opportunities for writers, artists, actors, producers, etc. in other cities is because there are, but there has to be somebody out there doing something right? This same friend mentioned that Kelly Tsai, (we went to the same college) is now a full time poet living in Brooklyn. Congrats Kelly Tsai. To see what Kelly is up to, please visit her at http://www.yellowgurl.com/.

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