BLOG
Inside Marketing: Pressing the Flesh
BY DIANE JORTNER
Social: Pertaining or devoted to friendly companionship with others1
Marketing: total of activities involved in the transfer of goods from the producer to the buyer2
Author: composer of a literary work3
About thirty-five years ago, I spend a winter marketing books. I trudged from door to door with several volumes in my big black case. When I found someone home, I tried to make friends. I spoke with them about their families, their hopes for their children, the lack of easy access to information. Only after creating a connection did I lug out my shiny, leather bound green and cream A and C copies of The World Book Encyclopedia. I did my best to convince my new friends that this 27 volume set (plus the yearly updates) would make their children shine in school and prepare them take on law school, med school or international politics.
Although I had never written an entry into those books, I felt like they were worlds. As a young person, I had spent hours and days (possibly even weeks or months) devouring their pages and marveling over the plastic human body transparencies and fun facts about exotic places like Madagascar and Greenland. I loved these books, and my “target market” knew it.
Today we have many ways to “make friends” besides sloshing through the snow, but face-to-face marketing should not be a forgotten art. In addition to commenting on writers’ and reviewers’ blog posts, logging reviews on Goodreads, maintaining and following Pinterest boards, and responding to tweets, writers still need to meet flesh-and-bones people.
A few rules to consider:
Rule 1. Be social, although it is tempting to spend your entire winter hibernating in your cabin, writing away on your novel and never stepping out. No distractions, no obligations, another 10,000 words! Resist! Be it PTA, Lions club, yoga class, poker, Walk-for-Life, old car shows, or the game with work pals, go. Experience life. It will provide fodder for your books.
If you can’t stay away from writing, go anyway and bring your pen (or smartphone) and jot down the quirky saying or describe the Chicago hot dog. You will find a great place to include it in one of your stories. But the most important reason to get out is that if do, you will meet people.
And any person you meet is a potential buyer.
Rule 2. Listen. Listen to what other around you talk about. What are the issues excite or rile them? What activities excited them? What books are people reading? On what social networks are they engaged? In spite of what some want us to believe, we can’t learn everything on the Internet. What can you learn from every conversation? What social issues buzz along the interweb?
Rule 3. Tell people about your book.During that dreaded small-talk-requisite first few minutes of any conversation, don’t be shy. Tell people what you do. Tell them you write entertaining books. Let them see your excitement. It is catching. Watch their responses. Of course, some will be dismissive, but many will look at you with admiration. I have met many who have not written anything longer than a grocery list since they got out of high school. Such people might look at you as a god. Once you find an interested audience, sell. Offer them something, something tangible to help them remember you, to remember your conversation, to remember your book.
Or better yet, sell on the spot—carry a few copies of your book in your car! If someone says they’d like to read your book, jump on it. “I happen to have a copy in my car. Who do you want me to sign it for?” If you don’t have physical copies, carry a business card with an image of your book on the front and your personal contact and purchasing information, Facebook, Twitter, website, blog, and email address on the back.
If you don’t have a card, you still have three choices.
A. The low-tech approach: pull out an index card and write your book title and where they can find it.
B. The brazen approach: ask them to open their smartphone and pull up Amazon or whatever site carries your book. Show it to them and show how easy it is to order by pressing the “buy instantly” button.
C. The best approach to build future buyers: ask for an email address. Write their email addresses on phone or business card. As soon as possible, send a nice note with a one-step button, so your new social contact just needs to point and click to order your book. The best thing about this email approach is now you have their email, and when the sequel comes out (and it will), you send out a blanket email to all your contacts. That will allow your most loyal fans to be the first to know and buy your new book. When they write a review, it will show you as a verified buyer, the best kind!
4. Be sincere. Be open to helping others on whatever quest they are on. If they need a beta reader, be one. If they need a speaker at a conference, show up on time with donuts. If someone needs help with a blog tour, volunteer. Making real friends in the industry is not only fun, but it will pay off in book sales.
In today’s publishing environment, consumers do not have to cough up $286.00 on a set of books, which also require a $150.00 new bookshelf. Readers just need to be enticed to push a little button on their computer and commit to an extra $4.99 charge on their next month’s credit card bill. They might just need a little nudge from a “friend.”
Social Media Specialist Diane Lee Jortner fell in love with the media as a high school newspaper editor. With BA in Journalism/Public Relations from Bowling Green State University and a MALS in English from Valparaiso University, she brings her fifteen years’ experience teaching English Composition and her extensive personal social networking experience to The X Team.
In the past year, Diane launched Kids #5 and #6 who graduated from college, #6, the youngest from high school, written a YA mystery novel, and started to blog. In her free time, besides reading almost all types of fiction, she likes to travel with her husband and children.
1, 2, 3: Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved August 13, 2014, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com back to top
Editor’s Notes: Know What?
BY RIE SHERIDAN ROSE tweet this
Write What You WANT to Know
I was trying to decide what wisdom I wanted to impart in this blog post. I finally decided to tackle a subject that more experienced writers often give to budding authors trying to break into the business. No, not the first rule of writing, “Show, don’t tell.” Plenty of discussion on that one. Including this PowerPoint presentation on the subject .
I want to talk about the second rule of writing, “Write what you know.” Of course, plenty of words have been generated about this rule too—but in these enlightened days when the information of the entire world is at your fingers, quite literally, as long as you have decent Internet access—I believe in the camp that says this rule needs revision. I think the advice should now be “Write what you want to know”—particularly if you write in the speculative genres.
To me, there’s always been a problem with “Write what you know.” It’s so limiting. I have always considered myself fairly educated, but if I stuck to only the things that I have direct knowledge of, I would never have written any of the novels I’ve had published.
I’ve never seen a dragon, met an elf, traveled to fairyland, or played a lute. I’ve never been lab assistant to an absentminded professor with access to an airship either . . . but I can imagine these things. I can, in other words, “speculate” about what would happen if I were to do any of them. And I have the resources to find contemporary, real-world analogs to them and translate that knowledge into the appropriate language.
For example, I am planning on including a trip to the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in a future adventure in my Conn-Mann series. I have collected resources through the Internet and Amazon that show me in great detail the interiors of the buildings, who exhibited, what a ticket cost, what lodgings were available—none of which I “knew” going into the project.
I wanted to know it, and I went out and learned it. Now it is part of what I know. However, the key here is that it wasn’t part of what I knew before I started the book.
Don’t be limited by current knowledge. It is too easy to research these days and expand your knowledge base to be held captive by the rules. Of course, remember the caveat—don’t base your entire book on one source/website—for example, a user-maintained forum, as they can be fluid and sometimes inaccurate. After you find the initial information you want, use it as a springboard to find corroborating sources.
When I was writing Sidhe Moved Through the Faire, I had some definite ideas going in, but I didn’t know all the information about Celtic mythology I would need to fully flesh out the entire story. But I didn’t need to. I could find the details I didn’t know through research. Research can make you an expert in areas that you don’t “know”. And the next time you need the same or similar information, it will be part of your knowledge base—or at least where to find it will be.
Hand in hand with the notion that you can’t know everything there is to know about your subject, in our world of speculative genres—science fiction, fantasy, horror and their offshoots—many of the subjects that we choose to write about literally cannot be known firsthand.
Despite the desires of multitudes of teenagers, there are no “real” vampires, for example. At least, not any who can turn into mist or bats and live entirely on human blood. There are no dragons breathing fire to be studied through binoculars. No werewolves baying at the full moon. No elves riding shields down staircases while shooting double arrows.
So how can we write about such things if we can’t “know” them? Because we can speculate on them, and from those two magic words “what if . . .” create our own realities.
We can take the tropes and twist them to our own devices. We can have worlds where elves wield magic or fairies fall in love with humans. We can have wizards battle dragons and dragonflies talk. We can have a nine-foot-tall automaton hold conversations with our leading ladies.
Don’t be afraid to explore realities of which you have no direct knowledge. Don’t let “Write what you know” stop you from writing what you want.
Rie writes, edits, and proofs for The X from her home in Austin, Texas. A prolific writer, her short story, “Seven-year Itch,” is featured in Terra Mechanica: A Steampunk Anthology. Her first project for The X, Relative Evil by Debra Erfert, was released in July, 2014.
Sound-off Saturday: Salt City Steamfest
BY PENNY FREEMAN
We’ve just returned from Salt City Steamfest, where the X-team provided two panels. Our authors, Scott E. Tarbet, Alyson Grauer, Candace J. Thomas, Sarah Hunter Hyatt, and Jay Barnson, presented “Writing Steampunk: Tropes and Tips” to a standing-room-only crowd.
The following day, Management (consisting of Penny Freeman and McKenna Gardner), backed by the above authors, in addition to Sarah Seeley, presented “Steaming Into Print: How to Get Your Fiction Published”.
Final verdict: great fun was had by all, we met lots of fantastic Steampunk folk, and even sold a few books. This was a great warm-up for Teslacon in November.
Next up:
Scott Tarbet will sit on several panels on A Steampunk Convention with a Twist in Grand Junction, Colorado, September 26-28, 2014. They will include “Victorian vs Wild West”, “Steampunk in Other Lands”, “More Human Than: Cyborgs and Robots”, “Small Press vs Big Five”, and “Making Combat Realistic.”
Teslacon in Madison, WI, November 6-8, 2014, where The X will present “Incredible Journey: Surviving the Editorial Process”. Tweet That In addition to providing a sneak peek of her upcoming novel On the Isle of Sound and Wonder, Alyson Grauer will present “Sound & Wonder: Steampunking Shakespeare In Fiction”.
Finally, Steamathon I in Las Vegas, sponsored by Doc Phineas T. Kastle, February 6-8, 2015. This one promises to be lots of fun, with the biggest gathering of X-Team members ever. Watch our blog and Facebook for more details.
Editor’s Notes: Betas Wanted
BY JESSICA SHEN
How to Choose Good Beta Readers.
First, what exactly is a beta reader? A beta reader is typically a non-professional reader who assists you in polishing your manuscript before you submit it for publication. You could consider them your first line of defense. They will typically look for spelling and grammatical errors, plot holes, etc. Think, editor-lite.
A good beta reader can be an invaluable resource; they can help you catch glaring errors before you pass them on to a potential publisher, errors that could mean the difference between acceptance and rejection.
Now that we’ve got that covered, let’s discuss some qualities you should look for in a good beta reader. In no particular order:
- They should be someone in your target audience. Failing that, they should at least be familiar enough with the target audience enough to know what they like.
- In a similar vein, they should be someone who reads the genre you’re writing.
- They are not afraid to give their opinion. A beta reader exists to help you polish your manuscript—what help are they if all they will tell you is how great your story is, without giving any meaningful critique? And yes, every first draft will have SOMETHING wrong with it.
- They are writers. Writers understand writers, and will usually have some experience with you’re going through.
- Conversely, they are regular readers/non-writers! They just plain enjoy a good story for what it is, without necessarily worrying about voice or theme or symbolism.
- They’ve never read your manuscript before. The point of having a beta reader is to give you crucial outside perspective—if they’re already familiar with your work, some part of that outside perspective is already lost.
- They have some familiarity with the publishing industry. This will most likely be the most difficult quality to find, but can be very important. Someone who has worked in publishing before can give you an idea of what publishers are looking for, and what they’re not interested in.
If your story relies on some specialized experience—for example, a foreign language, a foreign location, deals with any kind of science, etc.—it can be very helpful to have a reader who is familiar with any of these things, and can give you guidance as to whether or not your usage is realistic.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it should give you an idea of the type of person that you want to look for. There is obviously some conflicting advice in the list above, but ideally, you will have more than one beta reader. The more people you have looking at your manuscript, the better—but be discerning about your choices. Two to four solid beta readers with different combinations of the above qualities will do you a world of good.
Now, let’s talk about who NOT to ask to be a beta reader. You may have the immediate inclination to ask your friends, relatives, or coworkers—and they won’t necessarily be bad choices. However, one of the most important aspects of the beta reader is their ability to give you an honest critique—without worrying about damaging their personal relationship with you. To that end, first look outside of your inner circle.
If you are really unable to find someone, only then should you turn to people who are close to you, and make sure they are someone who not only has the ability to give you that honest critique, but who you can accept an honest critique from.
If you have decided to look outside of your immediate personal network—good for you! But where should you start? Check in with any local writers groups, or perhaps attendees from a writing class or seminar you’ve attended. You can also find readers on Facebook or Twitter (or even LinkedIn) by checking out fan groups for authors who write in the same genre as you. And, of course, writers’ forums can be a great resource. It also helps if you offer to be a beta reader in return!
So now, let’s fast forward. You’ve chosen your fabulous beta readers, they’ve provided you with invaluable critiques, and consequently, your manuscript has been accepted for publication! Woo! But wait—let’s take a quick breather, first.
Your beta readers have served their purpose—they’ve helped you get your foot in the door. But your manuscript is by no means completed. You may have written and rewritten your story many times before submitting it, but this is the first time that your publisher/editor has read it before—which effectively makes it your first draft. You’ve jumped the first hurdle, your beta readers giving you that extra boost along the way. Now, it’s time to pass the torch to your editors, who will really help make your story shine.
Jessica Shen lives, works, and edits from her home in northern California. Kingdom City: Resurrection by Ben Ireland, was released in February 2014. Her latest project, Vanguard Legacy: Reflected by Joanne Kershaw, was released in March 2014.
Jessica’s next project, On The Isle of Sound and Wonder, a Steampunk fantasy by Alyson Grauer, is slated for release in November 2014.
Editor’s Notes: We know. You could care less.
BY MERILYN OBLAD
All right friends, it’s time to pull up a chair and listen to some tough love for writers. I’m going to talk about the problem with dismissing mistakes and constructive criticism too easily. Mistakes jar a reader out of a story, whether they’re small errors like typos or the wrong homonym, or large mistakes like faulty plot construction or poor character development. What this boils down to is either lazy or bad writing.
An author’s job is to tell a story in such a way that they draw the reader in, keep them there for the duration of the story, and give them something to take away from the story once it’s done. Mistakes (careless, accidental, or blindly stubborn) cause a reader to stop and mentally step away from the story. Frequent mistakes make it hard for the reader to continue to follow the story. Some of these are purely accidental (typos and such), some are just careless writing (not following grammar rules when you should), and some are sheer stubbornness (insisting that parts of the story are strong when they’re really weak and calling it “voice” or “artistic interpretation”).
Accidents you just have to deal with. Read carefully, get someone else to read carefully, make sure your grammar- and spellchecks haven’t been disabled, and if you’re really worried about it, go old school on yourself and read the story out loud like you’re in first grade again, following along with your finger. You’ll be surprised how well this works. If you can’t make a sentence make sense when spoken out loud, you can be sure it doesn’t make sense while being read internally. Reading aloud also helps you puzzle out how to improve a passage. Go forth and try.
The stubbornness factor (a.k.a. bad writing or big mistakes) you need to work out with your editor. Try it their way. See if their advice and direction doesn’t make for a stronger story. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t, but do give their guidance a try before you dismiss it because they “just aren’t getting” your story. Swallow your pride and don’t automatically assume your editor doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
If you don’t have an editor, then find yourself a friend or acquaintance who will give you an honest opinion and not just support you because they want to be nice and don’t want to hurt your feelings. Nice is nice, but it won’t help you get published if your story’s weak. Let constructive criticism help you grow as a writer, because that’s what it’s intended to do for you.
That leaves careless mistakes (a.k.a. lazy writing). You’re busy trying to weave your story and you’re not paying attention to details, substituting words that are homonyms (words that sound the same but are spelled differently), ignoring basic rules of grammar that shouldn’t be ignored, or repeating yourself too much. Now, breaking grammar rules can be quite (not quiet!) effective (not affective!), but you have to know them before you can break them.
Here are some of my grammatical and writing pet peeves:
- misuse of apostrophes
- intermixing there, their, and they’re
- substituting words that look similar but are wildly different like definitely and defiantly
- constructing an impossible timeline
- and the one that makes me want to beg for a fork so I can jab my eye out: using “could care less” when you actually mean “couldn’t care less”
I have to stop and explain the last one. If you could care less, that means you care to some degree, great or small. It might only be a little bit of caring, but it still exists. If you couldn’t care less, that means you are out of caring. Your care-o’-meter is flat-out empty. There is nothing left to even remotely register your interest or concern. So don’t tell me you could care less when you clearly couldn’t.
Here are some other quick fixes: nix the double hads and thats. If you’re really stuck on two hads or two thats and just can’t see your way around not phrasing it that way, then put that section of story away and come back to it later. You’ll probably see that one had or that works great. (Sometimes you really do need two, but this is rarer than you might think.) And avoid “off of,” please. You don’t need the “of.” At all. So drop it. Just put the phrase down and walk away, because it’s wrong.
Why am I issuing all this blunt advice? Because I want you authors to succeed and grow in the craft of writing. Mistakes mean fewer sales. Seriously. The more you drive a reader from the story, the less likely it is that same reader will want to come back and give your stories another try. Plus, they’re less likely to recommend your books to their friends. In fact, they’re likely to actively NOT recommend your books.
So please don’t stomp off in an offended huff, just go back and fix the mistakes. Make your stories memorable for the amazing tales they are and not because you messed up the telling. Well-written stories will entrance your readers and keep them coming back for more.
Want an example? Look at Katherine Kurtz. Her first few books were okay, but lacked depth and detail. Her characters were flat and hard to relate to, but she had a great idea for a story. She just wasn’t telling it as well as she could. Fast forward through her career and you see her abilities as a writer grow exponentially until a fellow author gave the highest compliment I’ve ever seen of any one writer’s work: “[Ms. Kurtz’s Deryni novels are] an incredible historical tapestry of a world that never was and of immensely vital people who ought to be.” What higher praise can be offered an author than that he or she created so rich and detailed a world and characters that they should be real? That’s what we’re aiming for here: immensely vital characters in compelling stories. This is what happens when you weed out the mistakes.
Or, to put it another way:
Thank you, Mr. Yankovic, for putting it so succinctly.
A lover of all things historical, MeriLyn Oblad (pronounced Mary Lynn) has both a BA and MA in History, the former from the University of Nevada, Reno and the latter from Brigham Young University. She brings more than a decade of document analysis, an eye for fine detail, and seven years of writing local histories to the Xchyler table.
MeriLyn currently proofs our 2014 paranormal anthology, slated for release in September, and will start plowing through fantasy short story submissions in a couple of weeks.
Subscribe To Our Newsletter!
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from Xchyler.