The Woes of Moving

Well, we’re just putting our house up for sale and looking for another. I thought I’d be smart and repost an old blog, but… It seems I’ve already packed copies of my old posts. Guess I’ll have to come up with something new.

 

One nice thing about packing is that I’m finding things I’d forgotten I had. Nope. I can’t take the time to reminisce about the old days. I’ve got to keep on packin’.

The past couple of years have been life-changing for me and I haven’t done the marketing and promoting I should. Hopefully, once this move is over I can get back on track.

I’m sure most of you have had events that changed your initial plans. It happens. Get back on that horse? I think not. Sometimes it’s better to come up with a new plan. I sure hope that happens soon. I’m smiling because we make plans and God laughs. Maybe we’re too impatient and we need to wait for inspiration.

I’ve read a number of books about marketing and promotion, but I have to admit that I didn’t find any ideas that really put a hem in my skirt – if I still wore skirts.

I’ve talked about name recognition in other posts. Work on getting your name out there so if something changes, readers already know who you are. It’s really helped me, more than you can imagine. Fans! Love those people and they manage to make my day a good one quite often.

I started reading M.M. Gornell’s new book, Rhodes – The Movie Maker. I was really enjoying it, but now I’m packing and looking at houses instead of reading.

In fact, there are several things, in addition to reading, that are going to have to wait – like working on a new book. If I ever get back to it, and I will, it’s titled, Gin Mill Grill. How’s that for an interesting title?

My advice? Even when your life changes, don’t let go of your goals and ideas. Keep plugging along. Inspiration comes from the oddest places, so keep your eyes open and be alert, no matter where life takes you.

Life is a path with all kinds of crazy twists and turns, and left turns when you’re anticipating taking a right turn. Make the best of it. Roll with it. At the moment I’m tired and I can’t think of any other good clichés. Maybe next week.

No matter what else, get your name out there. Respond to the posts of others, leave reviews, create an Internet presence for yourself, and maybe build a website. Let people know who you are and what you do.  And most importantly, do what you do best – write.

Until next week, have a good, quiet week and enjoy yourself. Or, have an exciting week and see if your week presents some good story ideas. Ah, just have fun.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a  quick trip to Amazon.com

Here's a little promotion: Check out Entrance to Nowhere - A Sandi Webster Mystery. It involves kidnapping, hacking, cybersecurity and a few other current issues. 

Marcia Rosen, Guest Author

My guest this week is Marcia Rosen, who's offering some advice about marketing our books. Marcia writes the "Dying to Be Beautiful Mystery" series as M. Glenda Rosen. I haven't read her books yet, but I hope to soon. They sound fascinating. Welcome, Marcia!

  MARKETING YOUR BOOK(S)

What’s Best For You?

As authors, we are inundated with marketing options and opportunities to sell our books. Many are not worth the time or money. Sometimes it feels like we’re being asked to sell our souls in order to sell our books. That’s never a good idea!

Book marketing strategies are an ever-changing challenge for authors, with traditional options available such as book signings to today’s endless array of social media offerings.

It is most helpful to have a marketing plan, your personal roadmap, for promoting and selling your books. To reach a wide and diverse audience, most traditional and self-publishers will agree: You need to market your book.    

No matter how wonderful, interesting and compelling your book might be, you still have to let the reading world know it exists!

            It would be difficult and costly to pursue all of the marketing options available to you, especially since new ones appear practically daily. The choices should depend on what you may be willing to do from the perspective of time, energy and costs. Select ones you consider the most practical, plausible and affordable for you.

Ask others, trust your own instincts while valuing others’ experiences.

Branding yourself as an author—highlighting the types of books you write—can help you increase book sales. Create a campaign message and write a synopsis of your book tailored for marketing and PR activities in order to create buzz about your book.

Book Marketing Tips

Determine your goals and vision

Know your reader markets

Be as specific as possible

Know what options and opportunities are available

Be organized: Keep an ongoing calendar

Plan ahead

Promote your next book prior to publication, especially if the book is part of a series

Be flexible: Add new ideas as your marketing campaign progresses

Keep track of your actions and responses

Note best and worse marketing actions

Avoid expensive actions with proven little response

Be cautious: Ask other writers what works for them

Attend one or two writers’ conferences a year

Ask people to review your book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads

Be willing to ask for help and support

For list of suggested resources email: MarciagRosen@gmail.com

www.creativebookconcepts.com

www.dyingtobebeautiful.com

Buy books:  https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=M.+Glenda+Rosen&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3AM.+Glenda+Rosen

                                                                        Marcia Rosen

Thank you for some sound advice, Marcia. I  hope you'll return soon!

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw's website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Are We Having Fun Yet?

This has been one of those days. I’ve been wracking my brain (which can be kind of scary), trying to think of a new topic for a post. Nothing came to mind (which is even scarier).

Then I thought about yesterday. My daughter and I went out to lunch and had a sweet, funny and polite waitress. I left her one of my Thank You cards. You might wonder what that is. It’s a business card that I make myself. On one side it says, “Thank You for your courtesy and service.” At the bottom of the card there’s an arrow that points to the side, making people want to turn it over. On the backside it says, “Marja McGraw Mysteries” and has my website address. 

  The Thank You card has surprised me on occasion. Once, some time ago, a waitress actually chased me out to the parking lot to thank me for thanking her. True story.

I also found some great pens. They look like brushed metal and they have a flashlight in the top. I pass those out frequently, and sometimes leave one with the Thank You card. They have Marja McGraw Mysteries and my website address embossed on them.

Yeah, yeah. Someone out there is thinking, “Okay, so what’s your point?”

My point is, promotional items can help as much as promotion on the Internet. I’ve tried several different things, but these two seem to work the best. I’ve told someone I appreciate them, and I sometimes back it up with a gift of the pen.

I tried some small calendars, maybe 3” x 5”, but those didn’t seem to draw much interest. I’ve tried bookmarks, but they wear out and get thrown away. But pens? People look at them every time they use them. I’ve given pens to the UPS delivery guy, the woman working behind the counter in the pharmacy, neighbors, receptionists, doctors and a woman in line behind me at the store. I got some great letter openers, but unless someone is sitting behind a desk, most people aren’t interested. All of the items I’ve tried have my name, a reference to mysteries, and my website address on them.

I often come across as an outgoing woman. In all honesty, I’m not. It’s taken age and experience to bring me out of my shell. Well, that and working in law enforcement. Those guys don’t put up with “shy”.

I occasionally give someone a complimentary book in the hopes they’ll enjoy it and spread the word. One time I was at the beauty shop and an elderly couple came in. My stylist introduced us because the woman was an avid reader. I gave her a book and you’d have thought I’d handed her a hundred dollar bill. I found out later that she and her husband didn’t have much, and she appreciated the gesture more than I could have imagined. It turned out she told everyone who’d listen about my book – not just that she enjoyed it, but that it had been a gift.

Maybe you can’t afford to give books away, and I can’t either. However, on rare occasions, it’s worth it in the long run.

If you’re thinking about In Person promotion, think outside the box. Think up something memorable. Steal my idea about the Thank You cards. I probably stole the idea from someone else, but I can’t recall who at the moment.

And if something works? Keep doing it, and when possible, add to it.

A woman recently bought ten of my books and asked me to sign them and mail them to her friends. I included one of the pens in each package. I heard that the friends were calling this woman even before they read the book because they were so impressed with the pens. (I sure hope they like the book, too.)

I’ve only talked about three steps in the promotional trail here, but you can come up with more. Tell us about them. What works for you?

Until next time, remember that even a verbal Thank You can go a long way. It makes a difference when someone knows we appreciate them.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

I’ve had a few reports that reading “Choosing One Moment – A Time Travel Mystery” has brightened a few readers’ days. Need a lift? Give it a try. And Thank You!

Promo Planning, A Necessary Evil, or is it?

Today I’m pleased to welcome my friend and a terrific author, Marilyn Meredith. You’d do well to listen to her advice about promotions. She has a knack for finding what works. It’s good to hear from you again, Marilyn, and congratulations on the new book. Be sure to read about the "character naming contest" at the end of this post, too.

 Once in a while, I’ll see a post or comment where an author says all I need to do is write a good book, I don’t have to do all this promo stuff.

My answer to that is, really? How on earth is anyone going to find out about your “good book” if you don’t tell anyone about it? Even the big names still do promo—William Kent Krueger who won many mystery awards for his amazing Ordinary Grace still does promo including book tours. 

When you are an unknown or little-know author, you sure better let people know about your book. And you better get your name out there so people have a clue who you are.

Not all manner of promotion works for everyone, and my best advice is to do that which appeals to you and you enjoy doing.

When should you start? Before the book comes out. Yes, that’s what I said. Start posting to Facebook what you’re working on. You don’t need to write much, just enough to make readers curious. You might do the same on Twitter. 

Speaking of Twitter, I know I don’t use it to the best advantage, but for some authors, that’s their main promotion. 

If you want to do a blog tour—obviously one of my favorite marketing tools—you need to begin before the book comes out because it takes time to secure the bloggers willing to host you, arrange the calendar, and then write all the posts. Be sure that each post is unique and has all the necessary information included. Yes, you should get started before you have a cover and links to buy. You can plug them into your posts later. 

Once your blog tour begins, then you have to let people know each day where you are visiting by notifying all the lists you are on, Facebook, Facebook groups you belong to, and yes, Twitter. Be sure to respond to each person who comments on every blog post.

Set up some in-person events. If you have bookstores close by, arrange book signings. For some, bookstore signings are great—for others not so much. In most cases I like to find other venues to sell and sign my books such as giving talks to writer and service groups, book and craft fairs, and holiday events at churches, art galleries, etc.

If you can, go to conferences and conventions, make friends with readers. Sure it’s fun to hang out with fellow writers too, but making a friend of a reader might turn that person into a fan. And because word-of-mouth is powerful promotion, if a reader likes your books, he or she will tell others.

 

So my answer in a nutshell is, yes, promotion is necessary—and it’s not really evil at all.

And of course this blog tour is about promoting my latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery, 

Not as it Seems.

If you have other ideas about promotion, please leave a comment. 

--Marilyn Meredith

Sage advice, Marilyn, and thank you for generously sharing your thoughts. Marja

Not as It Seems Blurb:

Tempe and Hutch travel to Morro Bay for son Blair’s wedding, but when the maid-of-honor disappears, Tempe tries to find her. The search is complicated by ghosts and Native spirits. 

Character Naming Contest:

Once again, I’ll name a character after the person who leaves a comment on the most blogs.

Tomorrow I’ll be stopping by Paty Jager’s blog http://patyjager.blogspot.com to tell Why I Write Mysteries and in Particular the Deputy Tempe Crabtree Mystery Series.

Bio:

Marilyn Meredith now lives in the foothills of the Southern Sierra, about 1000 feet lower than Tempe’s Bear Creek, but much resembles the fictional town and surroundings. She has nearly 40 books published, mostly mysteries. Besides writing, she loves to give presentations to writers’ groups. She’s on the board of the Public Safety Writers Association, and a member of Mystery Writers of America and three chapters of Sisters in Crime, including the Central Coast chapter.

You can check out Marilyn's blog at  http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

See her website at http://fictionforyou.com/

~ * ~

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw's website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com