I will doing a BIG giveaway this fall, but decided to do a small one now because:
1. I want to figure out how Rafflecopter works.
2. I want to give a shout out to the following New Adult contemporary romances that I adored (this is only a small part of my list. You can see more on my Pinterest NA Books I Love board.).
Four winners will get to select a book from the following list. They can all pick the same book if they want. The only thing is it has to be available on either Kindle or Kobo. Unfortunately I can't gift Nook books because I live in Canada. I guess B&N isn't into making money, which explains a lot.
What books are you looking forward to read this summer (it doesn't have to be NA)?
And here are the books in no particular order (click on the pictures to read more about the book).
Today I’m participating in the Exercise Blog Hop hosted by Michael Di Gesu and Steven Tremp, Alex J. Cavanaugh, and L. Diane Wolfe. This is where we talk about how we keep in shape, especially since writing means keeping our butts in the chair and having an ample supply of chocolate by our side.
I can answer that in one word:
Running.
I live to run. That’s when I dream up plot points and blog posts. But a few months ago, I discovered that running up and down the stairs in my house during the winter and yucky weather is a bad thing. I also learned that ignoring ankle pain is also a bad thing. Wow, who knew?
Fortunately months of physio have gotten me to the point where it feels like someone is hammering at my ankle for only ten minutes when I run (at least it doesn’t feel like a sledge hammer anymore), and after that the pain is only mildly uncomfortable.
Did I mention I LOVE to run? *grins*
My tips:
1. When you exercise, multitask. This can be exercising while brainstorming your story, or lifting weights while watching the news.
2. Don’t ignore pain when you exercise. Sometimes it’s more serious than you realize.
What do you do to keep in shape? Or do you struggle to find time to exercise?
Regardless of whether you self publish or traditionally publish your book, you will be responsible for promoting it. The problem for many writers is that we’re introverts. We don’t like leaping outside our comfort zone. We inch toward it, ever ready to jerk back when our palms become slick with sweat. We don’t like coming off as an irritation or being perceived as spam. On Facebook, I’ve noticed some people invite all their “friends” to ‘like’ their author page. Most people ignore these invites unless they come from real friends. Other writers/authors only invite people they have a genuine connection with. To go beyond that makes them feel uncomfortable. *waves*
We often struggle to ask for help. We don’t want to put someone on the spot. One way to overcome this is to offer to help a friend promote her book. She’ll be more than willing to return the favor when yours is released. And if you ask for help, let the person know it’s okay if she would rather not. What you want to do might not work for her blog, but she might be willing to help you in other ways.
Another way you can promote your book is by mentioning you are a writer to people you meet. Yes, some people will look at you like you’re poop on their pant leg, but there will also be people who would love to know more about your books and are eager to buy a copy. If they enjoy your book, they’ll recommend it to their friends. Word of mouth is the greatest from of promotion you can get. Just don’t make the mistake of mentioning you’re a writer and pitch your book without an invitation to do so. Not unless you want to see a polite smile before the person bolts.
Does the idea of promoting your book give you nightmares or does the prospect leave you shivering with excitement?
Two months ago, I blogged about a recent trend in which many New Adult authors aren’t using websites for their main hub of activity. They’re using their blog to substitute as a website. All the information about their books, their latest news, where they can be found in the world of social media is located on their blog via the use of ‘pages’.
Last week, I read H.R. Sinclair’s post on having a website verses a blog verses a wlob. I knew what the first two meant, but had no idea what a wlob is. Turns out it’s a blog that has a static landing page instead of the dynamic page that we’re use to seeing. Author websites typically have a static landing page. You click on a header to go to the author’s blog.
I knew you could do this with Wordpress, but until H.R.’s post, I had no idea that you can now do it with Blogger. (Warning: it’s a lot more complex than it is for Wordpress.)
I’m considering making changes to my blog this summer, which will include a new design. The question is: do you find wlob’s annoying? Would you prefer to go straight to the blog page? Or are you okay with seeing the static page first? Do you even check out author websites?
Websites. It’s something we constantly hear that we need, even if you’re a pre-published author. I mean, how else will our adoring fans know when our first or next book is due to be released?
But websites cost money and take time to set up. So we stall. We come up with excuses why we don’t need one yet. We come up with excuses why we can wait until next week, next month, next year to create one. We just plain come up with excuses, period.
That was me, until I decided it was time to create one. So I researched websites of authors that write similar books to me, and was shocked at the results of my informal study.
First, I studied the websites of my favorite YA authors (e.g. Simone Elkeles, Katie McGarry, Jennifer Echols) to see what I liked and didn’t like about them. Next, I studied the websites of my favorite New Adult authors (e.g. Tammara Weber, Jessica Sorensens, Cora Carmack).
But wait, the majority of New Adult authors don’t have websites. They have blogs and they have Facebook author pages, but no websites. Most of them used Blogger and create Pages to represent each book or series. Just like a regular website. Most of them talk only about their books in their posts. In all cases, they had a low number of blog followers but a high number of Facebook author page ‘likes’. And it didn’t matter if they were traditionally published or self published, the results were the same. Also, most of the ones I looked at were on the New York Times Bestseller list. So what does that tell you?
This is when I did a happy dance and crossed ‘create a website’ off my to-do list. It’s not like I usually check out an author’s website. As long as I can find out when the author’s next book is due out, I’m happy. And most of the time I get this info from Goodreads.
What about you? Do you have a website? Are you planning to create one this year? Have these findings made you rethink whether you need one?
(Remember, these results are based on my research on New Adult authors. The findings might be different if you write a different genre).
On Monday, I posted a list of things you can do to help get your book noticed in the flood of new releases. One thing I pointed out was that the blurb can make a huge difference when it comes to sales. I’ve seen some self-published books with great covers, but the blurb is dull and vague. Sorry, I’m not going to buy your book if your blurb doesn’t excite me. I’m going to buy someone else’s book.
Because I’m planning to self-publish my New Adult novel later next year, I recently took a workshop on writing blurbs. One thing we learned is that blurbs need to be tight and contain power words and words that hook the reader. You also want your blurb to be as specific as possible. The following blurb is from the YA contemporary novel Pushing the Limit (Katie McGarry). I’ve highlighted the hooks and power words (they are the same color because some words are both).
No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitudeand surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.
Yet the crazy attractionbetween them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limitsand what she'll riskfor the one guy who might teach her how to love again.
The highlighted words are the ones that grabbed me and made me want to read the book. I was hooked. As it turns out, it’s my favorite book for 2012.
The above blurb is found on the inside jacket cover. But what about the blurb on the back of the book—the one most people read when deciding if they’re interested in reading more?
“I WON’T TELL ANYONE, Echo. I promise.”
Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone TOUCHED ME like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins?
His DARK BROWN EYES shifted to my covered arms. “You didn’t do that—did you? It was done to you?”
No one ever asked that question. They stared. They Whispered. They laughed. BUT THEY NEVER ASKED.
(This is followed by an author blurb from a bestselling author)
The colored, capitalized words were designed to grab the reader’s attention. Worked for me. The excerpt is not exactly the same as the paragraphs in the novel. It has been tightened for the greatest impact.
There are many different styles of blurbs, and some work better for certain genres than others. The best thing to do if you need to write a blurb (for example if you’re self publishing your novel or your publisher wants you to write one) is study the back of books in the genre you write, and see what appeals to you and what doesn’t. If you write YA stories, you’ll notice that most blurbs are excerpts. They appeal to teens because the excerpt automatically helps them connect with the character. You’ll still want a strong blurb for the inside cover, Goodreads, Amazon, etc.
When determining if you want to read a book, how important is the blurb to you?
Kelly Lyman tagged me last week for the latest, cool tag game going on. I’m not going to talk about my WIPs. They’re still a secret. But I will talk about the book that I’m currently querying.
What is the working title of your book?
Shot in the Dark
Where did the idea come from for the book?
I have a background in sports physiology and performance enhancing drugs. My ex-boyfriend and I disagreed about the use of steroids. He was all for them. I thought he was an idiot. That’s the short version. An issue of Sports Illustrated Kids had an article about steroid use and that sparked the idea for the book.
What genre does your book fall under?
YA contemporary but it also has romance and suspense.
Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I have no idea. Chace Crawford is how I imagine Daniel Ackerman. Maddie White reminds me of Snow White with attitude.
What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
After her twin brother commits suicide, Seventeen-year-old Maddie teams up with his best friend and digs into the secret, steroid-trade culture of her town—unknowingly making them a target to the people desperate to see the secrets kept, at any cost.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
Which version? Nuff said.
What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
In my query, I focused on comparison authors instead of books: Simone Elkeles, Kody Keplinger, and Katie McGarry
Who or What inspired you to write this book?
It was inspired by my annoyance of steroid use in sports, and how teens feel it’s necessary to use the drug in order to excel or to improve their appearance. The drug is dangerous.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Although Daniel (hot love interest) is the senior varsity quarterback, his real love is Latin Dance.
And the tag goes to . . .
Katie Mills (Aka Creepy Query Girl) Christina Lee Janet Johnson Kelly Polark Leigh T Moore (author of The Truth About Faking It. Great book!)
Because I'm going to be super busy Friday and this weekend due to a RWA workshop in my city, I won't be blogging this Friday. I wish you all a great week and weekend.
As a huge fan of Angela Ackerman, The bookshelf Muse, and The Emotion Thesaurus, I’m thrilled to have her on my blog today to talk about creating characters you want your readers to trust, even when they shouldn’t. The result is the page-turning story readers crave.
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I don’t know about you, but I love reading books where the author encourages me to draw conclusions that are wrong. Case in point--untrustworthy characters who I trust anyway. Like all writers, I am ultra aware of character cues and actions as I read, so when I’m led astray and find out someone I believed to be good really isn’t, I want to cheer and tell the author, “Well done!”
Tricking readers in this manner is difficult. In real life, all of us are body language experts. At least 93% of communication is nonverbal, meaning we are very adept at ‘reading’ other people by their mannerisms, gestures, habits and voice changes. In books, this skill allows us to pick up on nonverbal description that communicates a character’s emotions. Plus, if we are in the dishonest character’s POV, we also have access to their thoughts and internal visceral sensations (heartbeat changes, adrenaline shifts and other uncontrollable fight-or-flight responses). All this means that tricking the reader can be very tough.
There are several ways to make the reader believe one thing while another thing is true. One technique is the red herring. This is where a writer nudges a reader in one direction hard enough that their brain picks up on ‘planted’ clues meant to mislead them. So for example, let’s say I had a character who was a pastor and youth councillor for his church and he spent his weekends working with homeless teens, trying to get them back into group homes. The reader will begin to get a certain image in their mind. If I then further describe him as slightly bald with a bad taste in fashion (imagine the kind of guy that wears those awful patterned sweater vests) but who has a ready smile for everyone he meets, it’s a good bet that I’ve disarmed the reader. They’ve written this character off as a good, honest guy. Even though his life is all about the church, no way could he be the one stealing cash from the collection box, or the man having affairs with depressed women parishioners, or playing Dr. Death by administering heroin to street teens, right?
Another technique is pairing. Similar to a red herring, pairing is when we do two things at once to mask important clues. If as an author I show my friendly pastor leaving an alleyway at night and then have a car crash happen right in front of him, which event will the reader focus on? And if later, the police find another overdosed teen nearby as they interview the pastor about the accident, commending him from pulling a woman from the wreckage before the car could explode...would the reader put two and two together? If I did my job right as an author, then no.
A third technique is to disguiseuntrustworthiness as a Character Flaw. After all, no one is perfect. Readers expect characters to have flaws to make them realistic. If our nice pastor (am I going to go to Hell for making my serial killer a pastor?) is characterized as absent-minded with a habit of forgetting names, misplacing his keys, or starting service late and flustered because of a mishap, later when the police ask him when he last saw dead teen X and he can’t quite remember, readers aren’t alarmed. After all, that’s just part of who the character is, right?
When your goal is to trick your readers, SET UP is vital--if the clues are not there all along, people will feel ripped off. Make sure to provide enough details that they are satisfied you pulled one over them fair and square!
What techniques do you use to show a character is untrustworthy? Any tips on balancing your clue-sprinkling so that the reader doesn’t pick up on your deceit before you’re ready for them to? Let me know in the comments!
Angela Ackerman is one half of The Bookshelf Muse blogging duo, and co-author of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression. Listing the body language, visceral reactions and thoughts associated with seventy-fivedifferent emotions, this brainstorming guide is a valuable tool for showing, not telling, emotion.
I write edgy YA stories about broken characters. Because of this, today I’m focusing on a topic that most parents and kids hope they never have to deal with, but is a sad fact for many kids: bullying.
Last year, my ten-year-old son was a victim of bullying. His once best friend (C) convinced another kid in their class to write a cruel comment on my son’s school project. The parents were contacted and C’s mom apologized to me, but made it clear her son wasn’t guilty since he wasn’t the one who wrote the words. Two weeks ago, my son and C were involved in another situation. This time the “bully” was a different kid (M). I spoke with the boys’ mothers, since they’re friends of mine. M’s mom was concerned. C’s mom shrugged it off as peer pressure. M’s mom had a long talk with M and he felt bad about what happened. Last week, C and yet another boy were playing with my son on the bus. Things got too rough and the other boy started hurting my son. They were also calling him a baby because he didn’t want to play Bloody Knuckles with them. M stood up for my son and told them to stop.
M told his mom what happened and all the mothers were contacted. The other boy felt bad about what had happened and apologized even before he learned his mom (who is an assistant principal for a high school) found out. C was a different story. He did what he excels at: he lied. And his mother believed him. When I pointed out that C was the common denominator in all the situations (including last year), the mother acted like her son was the victim*, though she did admit he wasn’t completely innocent. She pointed out that guys play rough, and my son should man it up and then there wouldn’t be a problem. That’s like saying guys like sex, so they have the right to rape and the girl doesn’t have the right to say no. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. No one has the right to hurt anyone.
The sad thing is, last year C’s mom left her husband after years of emotional abuse. Neither she nor her kids have sought therapy.
And so the vicious circle continues . . . .
Bullying still continues in our schools, but what can we do when the parents refuse to acknowledge there’s a problem? What can we do when we know someone needs to face the truth, but we don’t know how to help them see it?
Do you feel that parents, schools, and kids are doing everything they can to stop bullying? Has anyone else had to deal with bullying through one form or another (including domestic abuse)?
Helpful Links
Kids’ Help Phone: This is a Canadian organization, but the website has information on bullying. Kidpower: Information on bullying and abuse Helpguide.org: Information on domestic violence and hotline contacts for numerous countries.
* C is an indirect victim of his father’s bullying (the direct victim was the mother). He is not a victim when it comes to how he’s treated my son.
Falling 4 Fiction is having a bloghop. Sign up, and post your last sentence from three or more chapters, for a chance to win two fabulous prizes.
Here are the Hangers from my YA contemporary novel, Shot in the Dark:
Anything to keep from slipping back to the horrific memories of the night I’d rather forget.
If things had been so serious between Travis and Isabelle, what the hell happened to make her dump him?
“Surrender yet?” (This ended the scene before the one that begins with Daniel's muscular thighs, which were feature on my Monday post.) “The battery must be dead!” Do you struggle writing the final line of your chapters?
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Hope everyone has a great July. I’m leaving later this week for the RWA nationals in Anaheim. I even bought a fancy dress and shoes (2 ½ inch heels) for the award ceremony. Now, I just have to practice walking in them. I’m more of a sneaker kind of girl. Hopefully, I don’t fall on my ass in front of an agent or editor. That’s not the lasting impression I want to make. *grins*
Falling 4 Fiction is having a bloghop today and on Wednesday. Sign up, and post your first sentence from three or more chapters (today), and your last sentence from three or more chapters (Wednesday), for a chance to win two fabulous prizes.
Here are the Hookers from my YA contemporary novel, Shot in the Dark (revision request novel soon to be sent out to waiting agents *nervously chews fingernails*):
Biology is supposed to be the study of life, yet everything I see screams death death death.
If someone asked me to pick a word to describe myself, sexy wouldn’t even make it to my list.
“Never,” I say, suddenly aware of Daniel’s muscular thighs on either side of my hips, his face close to mine.
Do you struggle writing the opening line of your chapters?
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Natalie from Literary Rambles is interviewing the awesome Lenny Lee today on Ask The Expert. You also have a chance to win one of two popular YA novels. If you don’t *gasp* know Lenny, you’ll want to check out the interview. He’s an amazing boy.
How many of you find your characters tell you how you shouldbe writing a scene you’re working on?
In my YA horror novel, the potential love interest wasn’t supposed to kiss the main character until three-quarters of the way into the book. He totally disagreed with me and kissed her at the quarter mark. And you know what? He was right (just don’t tell him that!). By kissing her earlier than I had planned, it introduced the conflict I needed.
With my YA suspense, a secondary character decided he wanted a more important role. He gave himself a promotion. Now he’s the almost-best-friend-who’s-a-boy to the female protagonist. While he still doesn’t appear in a huge amount of scenes, he was able to worm his way into a few more during the rewrites. I did, though, duct tape his mouth shut when I read through the manuscript again; otherwise, I knew he would have nudged his way into a few more.
Should we listen to our characters when they tell us we’ve got it all wrong? Hell yes! It’s not really your characters who are talking. It’s your subconscious telling you what deep down you already know. Of course, if your character’s suggestions look like they are going to derail your novel, you might want to ignore them. But like with any feedback, at least give their suggestions the consideration they deserve. You might be thrilled with the outcome.
Has this happen to you? Has one of your characters (especially a secondary character) tried to steer you in a different direction? Did you let them?
Welcome to my porch. Isn’t it a beauty? This is what happens when poor craftsmanship and the wrong materials meet Canadian winters.
The same disaster can happen to your story if you don’t take time to do things properly, and if you don’t bother to learn the skills of the trade. There’s no point querying a story that would be better off lining your hamster cage. You’re only setting yourself up for frustration. If the structure is weak, the characterizations lacking, and the protagonist’s emotions don’t create any stirrings in the reader, it doesn’t matter how pretty your words are, the story will fall apart.
Fortunately, unlike my porch, the cost to make your project beautiful both inside and out is not expensive. Workshops, craft books, and awesome critique partners and beta readers will help you make your story strong. Maybe, like my porch, the story needs to be demolished and rebuilt. Maybe you need to send it on a world cruise and tackle it again in the future, once you’ve gained new skills.
Do you have a story you’ve temporarily shelved that you plan to eventually revisit? If you’ve written several stories, do you find your skills have been improving over time, and you can’t believe you once thought your first project was ready for the world?
In stories with romance (either the main story line or the subplot), the ultimate ending is when the heroine captures the heart, and vice versa, of the hero—her soul mate. But does that elusive individual really exist, and how do you know if you’ve found him? I mean let’s face it, just because we fall in love with someone, it doesn’t mean he’s the one.
And what about in paranormal novels (YA and adult)? If one of the individuals is immortal and the other one is mortal, it sure would suck if they’re supposed be soul mates. They would only have a few years together before the mortal individual dies. And the immortal character would have to spend a lonely eternity mourning his lost love.
Fortunately there are several ways to deal with this:
Turn the mortal into an immortal. Then they’ll have a happily-ever-after for thousands of years (hopefully they still like each other after all that time).
Find a way to make the immortal character mortal. This way they can both grow old together (because a senior citizen dating a teenager is very icky!).
And let’s not forget reincarnation. The disadvantage of this is the character has to wait around until the love interest is the right age. And then the character has to hope the love interest has a long life. It would be a bummer if he finally finds her, and she dies a few weeks later. It would be an even bigger bummer if this happened every time she is reincarnated, like in YA paranormal novel Fallen by Kate Lauren.
Do you believe in soul mates? For those of you who read or write paranormal stories, what has been your favorite way that the issue of mortal/immortal/soul mate has been resolved? What books have done a great job addressing this issue? Do you like mortal/immortal/soul mate stories?
Rejections. We all hate them. But what’s the best way deal with them?
I love to go all badass when I get one. We have a punching bag in the basement, so I crank the music up, don my boxing gloves, and go crazy (kicks included). No, I don’t imagine I’m beating up the agent who sent me the rejection. Instead, I’m saving the world from evil. I’m like a hot, badass paranormal heroine. (When I say ‘hot’, I mean sweaty).
By the time I’m finished, I’ve forgotten about the rejection and have burned tons of calories. And if I’m really lucky, I might have brainstormed a solution (if the agent gave me specific feedback). But the best part is, I feel awesome!
I'm participating in the Is It Getting Hot In Here? blog hop. If you're looking for my Origins Blogfest post, click here. This is an excerpt from the YA suspense novel I’m currently querying. Maddie and Daniel were cross-country skiing. Daniel truck battery died (Ha! I know that feeling), and they’re stranded, waiting for a friend to rescue them. In an attempt to keep warm, they’re in a sleeping bag together, and she’s on his lap. Daniel is the ex-boyfriend of Maddie’s best friend. <<<3 A moving shadow on the ground outside the truck startles me and I let out a strangled yelp. “What’s wrong?” Daniel asks. The “shadow” moves again. I can’t see what it is exactly, but it could be a rabbit or something. The tension in my muscles fizzles. “Your story spooked the hell out of me, and I thought I saw a werewolf. But it was probably just a killer bunny. And I doubt he can break into the truck. So we’re safe.” “Sorry.” He removes his hand from around my waist and brushes it against my cheek. I twist my body so I can see him better. “Somehow I never thought of you as the type of girl who scares easily.” His words are velvety soft and send another shiver through me. Only this one feels very different to the last one. “You’d be surprised,” I whisper. My gaze drops to his lips. “I’m scared of all kinds of things. Werewolves. Vampires. Monsters.” My growing feelings for him. Being hurt by someone I trust. Never being in control of my life. It all scares me. He leans closer, his mouth only inches from mine. He traces my lower lip with his thumb. I inhale sharply but the sound is soft. Then he’s kissing me, the touch of his lips ever so light. My insides do a double somersault and I slide a hand to his shoulder. A voice in the back of my head tells me I shouldn’t be doing this, but my mind’s too fuzzy to figure out what that means. A bright light trails across us. Startled, we pull apart. With my jacket sleeve, I wipe the steamed-up passenger window so we can see who it is. “That’s Chad,” Daniel says, tone bordering on disappointment.
I'm participating in the Origins Blogfest. The idea is to share how my writing dreams began.
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As a child, I was a reluctant reader. But at nine years old, I discovered an author who not only hooked me into reading, her popular children’s series (in Britain) sparked my interested in becoming a writer. The author was Enid Blyton and the series—which later became a popular TV series in England—was The Famous Five. The page-turning stories were filled with mystery and adventure. My parents wouldn’t have been able to get me to stop reading them even if they’d tried.
One of my friends and I decided to co-author a book, even though we knew nothing about plotting or characterization. We only managed the first couple of chapters before giving up, but deep down, I never gave up my dream—it just lay dormant for many years until the moment was right.
Was there a book or author who inspired you to become a writer? Or, when you were a child was there a book that you loved more than any other?
Last week I shared with you some of my favorite books on plotting and story structure. But what’s an awesome book on plotting without these cool tools?
Corkboard
I’m currently playing around with my corkboard as I plot my YA horror novel Save-the-Cat style.
Index Cards
During the spring, I posted on using a corkboard for plotting, and someone pointed out that colored index cards help you visualize the different subplots. Brilliant idea!
Plotting Software
Of course, if technology is more your style, it’s not too late to ask Santa for a software program like Scrivener.
Note Pads
source
Unless you want to write on your legs and arms, like I’ve been known to do when I get an earth-shattering idea, don’t forget to ask Santa for note pads.
Pens
source
And let’s not forget the cute pens. You can never have enough pen, especially if yours have a tendency to walk off like mine.
What would you like to see in your stocking this year?
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:
A stocking filled with cool writing tools, Gift cards so I can go on a novel-buying spree (yippee!), Six books for page-turning plots, Workshops to make me smarter, One sexy dance outfit, Membership to a writing organization, Three books for kickass characterizations, Tons of yummy chocolate, AquaNotes, so I can brainstorm in the shower, And Margie Lawson’s awesome lecture notes.
How many of you have followed back someone on Twitter, only for the individual to send you a Direct Message to tell you to buy his book? For me, this is an instant #promotionfail. Every time this happens, I de-follow the individual and it’s guaranteed I won’t buy the book.
I’m a member of a support group for writers. It’s an awesome group, except for one problem. One individual, prior to the launch of her novel, spammed the Facebook site with daily reminders to pre-order it. Instead of creating excitement (and potential sales), she annoyed a number of the members. One even suggested a better way to do this, so to avoid our inboxes being filled with spam. The writer chose to ignore this, and continued spamming the site.
So what’s a better way to get your book seen among the onslaught of others?
Support Other Authors
I love what Susan Kaye Quinn did last week. Her self-published book, Open Minds (which I’ve read and thought it was great), was launched yesterday. Instead of annoying everyone with her “Buy Me, Buy me” message, she put a post together promoting upcoming (or recently released) books. These books are either self-published or published through a small press. Other authors have done the same, thus increasing their likability factor ten-fold. There’s something appealing about supporting authors who give to the writing community by promoting other books and not just their own.
Form a Support Team
The online banding together of several authors to promote each other books* is another way to help you promote yours. Face it, promoting your book is a scary experience. Working together as a team helps to give you a boost of self-confidence, because you’re not going it alone. This concept has also become popular with traditionally published authors involved in book signing tours.
Having a bunch of blogging (or Facebook or Twitter) friends is an awesome way to go. They are usually more than happy to get the word out about your book. It’s one of the many benefits to social networking (as if you didn’t already know).
Widget Love
One of my favorite marketing approaches, when it comes to promoting books, is the countdown widget, which you and your blogging buddies proudly display. Due to a blogger who displayed the above widget on her site, I became excited to read Jessie Harrell's book (I’m such a cover girl). Since I tend to skip over blog tours, this is a great way to grab my attention (if you have an amazing cover and widget).
What things annoy you the most when someone is promoting her book? What do you love the most?
(*note: this isn’t necessarily the same as a group blog)
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Be sure to check out Susan Kaye Quinn’s book launch. A great way to see what works is by studying what others have done. :)
When Christina Lee suggested a blog event to showcase a debut book we've enjoyed this year, I was all for it.
Normally I’m not big into zombies. Okay, the only zombie YA books I’ve enjoyed (though I’ve read a few) are from the Generation Dead series by Daniel Waters, but I couldn’t resist checking out Carrie Harris’s debut book, Bad Taste in Boys. I mean, excuse me, just look at the cover. I don’t read a lot of YA humor, but I thought this story was great.
Blurb:Someone's been a very bad zombie.
Kate Grable is horrified to find out that the football coach has given the team steroids. Worse yet, the steroids are having an unexpected effect, turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless flesh-eating zombies. No one is safe--not her cute crush Aaron, not her dorky brother, Jonah . . . not even Kate!
She's got to find an antidote--before her entire high school ends up eating each other. So Kate, her best girlfriend, Rocky, and Aaron stage a frantic battle to save their town. . . and stay hormonally human.
Other debut books I loved (but are being showcased on another blog):
Divergent by Veronica Roth
I’m Not Her by Janet Gurtler
Angelfire by Courtney Moulton
Possession by Elana Johnson
The Liar Society by Laura & Lisa Roecker
Debut books on my bookshelf I can’t wait to read (and there's a few more I'm dying to add):
Creep by Jennifer Hillier (I really can’t wait to read this one. It sounds so, well, creepy.)
Bestest. Ramadan. Ever by Medeia Sharif
Secret of Spruce Knoll by Heather McCorkle
Check out Christina’s blog for links to the bloggers participating in this event.
