Highlights Founders Workshops: A Novel Experience

A few weeks ago I had the fabulous experience of serving as a Teaching Assistant, along with Karyn Henley (see previous post), at a Highlights Foundation Whole Novel Workshop. Our talented faculty were authors Kathi Appelt, Alan Gratz, Jeanette Ingold, and editor Martha Mihalick. Sixteen students brought completed novels to the workshop, with time to revise based on the individual feedback they received from faculty mentors and the group input as we workshopped the first twenty pages.

I was deeply impressed by the experience, and wanted to share some of it with you – including an interview (below) with author Helen Hemphill, who has taken the awesome responsibility of organizing and staffing the faculty portion of Foundation events (you can find a schedule of upcoming events here.)

Our workshop group in mid-March

The workshop itself ran as smooth as silk. There was plenty of time between one-on-one consults and group workshops for participants to work in their cabins or to walk in the gorgeous countryside or to socialize. The TA’s were given time to be available for consults and evenings were for the most part free.

The facility is lovely. Each participant is provided with a comfortable rustic but fully equipped cabin with its own bath (a main house was undergoing renovations but will provide extra rooms soon.) A brand new conference center - the "Barn" - houses the kitchen and dining areas, plus extra space for lectures and workshop; there are lots of lovely nooks for hiding out and working, reading, or meditating. The atmosphere lends itself to spiritual renewal. And the food...the Highlights folks have gone to great lengths to prepare gourmet meals (and they will individualize for those with allergies or dietary needs), from the wine and hors d’oeuvres before dinner to the nourishing breakfasts to the always-available snacks and coffee.

I heard rave reviews about the experience from participants, most of whom were unpublished and early in their writing careers. I saw many make huge leaps of craft and commitment during our five days together.

I’m turning the floor over to Helen who graciously agreed to answer a few questions.

Please tell us generally about the Highlights Founders Workshops – what your plans are for 2012 and beyond.

The porch of the cabin I shared with Karyn...lovely!

The Founders Workshops have been taking place since May 2000 at the former home of the Founders of Highlights for Children in northeastern Pennsylvania.  The location is a beautiful farm complete with cozy cabins and a new conference center called The Barn that opened last fall.  This facility has allowed the Highlights Foundation to expand our workshop offerings for writers and illustrators in 2012 with over three-dozen workshops during the year.  Our programming is broad based with workshops for writers and illustrators at all levels of experience and expertise.  Our hope is to continue to refine and expand our workshop offerings so that we may serve our mission to raise the level of the offering of writing and illustrating for children.

You have a great mix of classes for beginners and pros, for fiction and non-fiction, and for various genres. Will the template be the same for each year?

We are working on our programming for 2013 and have some interesting new ideas in store for both writers and illustrators!  The Barn gives us much more flexibility in our plans, but our aim is to offer tracks in both fiction and nonfiction each year so that writers of all levels may hone their skills. Of course, we will have specialized programming for illustrators as well! I’m excited about one of our possible offerings in 2013--a literature-based weekend where teachers, critics, editors, librarians, and writers gather to discuss the elements of what makes a good book.  I’m sure this weekend will offer up some great discussion!

A sweet spot to sit outside the Barn, cabins in the background.

I was so impressed with the thoughtful organization that went into planning the workshop schedule. Does each workshop demand an individual approach?

The Highlights Foundation is known for its exceptional level of hospitality and its dedication to good teaching.  While we like to make it look easy, it takes a great deal of planning and detail to make a workshop run well.  We do take an individual approach to each program to make sure the experience will be one of outstanding value to our attendees.  We talk a lot about the details and try to anticipate the needs and expectations of the writers and illustrators we serve.

The grounds are gorgeous. Kent (Brown, executive director of the Highlights Foundation) mentioned plans in the works. Can you tell us what is coming for the future?

We’re not quite ready to make a formal announcement, but there is more construction happening at the farm!  Currently, the original farmhouse is being totally renovated for use as a smaller meeting space.  But we also have some bigger plans in the works.  Your readers will just have to check out our web site, or better yet, come to a workshop to see for themselves! A Founders Workshop is the perfect place to focus on creative work, learn something new, and have a great time. A complete list of 2012 Founders Workshops is on our website at www.highlightsfoundation.org or you can call Jo Lloyd for information at 570-253-1192. 

Thanks so much Helen!

Karyn Henley Guest Post: "Writers as Weight Lifters: Keeping Characters Off Balance"

A couple of weeks ago I had the great experience of being a teaching assistant at a Highlights Whole Novel Workshop (more on that next week.) But I had the singular good fortune to room with and TA beside award-winning YA author Karyn Henley.

Karyn is one of the sweetest, kindest people I've met (and it's no easy task rooming with a complete stranger in what could be a stressful circumstance. This was the least stressful roomie situation ever.) She's also a Vermont College grad (go VCFA!) and a talented writer AND an accomplished and award-winning song writer. Her novel (BREATH OF ANGEL) is on my nightstand, calling to me, and her second novel (EYE OF THE SWORD; and check out the hunky guy on that cover...) launched while we were in Pennsylvania. Yay, Karyn!

Karyn wrote me the following guest post and I'm delighted to share this fabulous offering.

Novel writers are the nicest cruel people I know. As I write this, I'm at the Highlights Whole Novel Workshop with 21 other writers, all wonderfully nice people. But at this moment, with a morning free for writing, all these wonderfully nice writers are putting their characters in peril, pelting them with problems, and blocking their goals. Ah, but there's a reason for our madness. We're creating tension.

            

Agent Donald Maass is known for telling writers to put tension on every page. Keep the reader in suspense. Raise the stakes. While these axioms are simple to remember, they're not so easy to do. Some writers are reluctant to hurt their protagonists, which creates a boring story. Some writers throw every problem in the world at their characters, which makes the story either unbelievable and cartoonish or unrelenting and burdensome. So how do we create believable tension?

            

Tension comes in different weights. Writers test the weights to find what will keep the character – and the reader – off balance. The heaviest weights are fate-of-the-world suspense and life-and-death situations, although a child may experience the loss of a pet or an encounter with bullies as end-of-the-world heavy. Midweight tension comes from obstacles that delay a character or reveal a new problem to solve. Added together, several midweight obstacles can build heavy tension, especially with a clock ticking.

            

We usually know that our stories need at least one heavy weight problem and several midweight obstacles, but we sometimes forget the lighter weights. That's where we get tension on every page. Tension doesn't have to come from a fight or a chase or a disaster. Tension doesn't have to hit the page with a new problem or a ticking clock. Tension doesn't even have to come from facing an antagonist. As long as it keeps the protagonist off balance, it's tension.

            

Subtext between friends can convey tension. He wants to kiss her. She wants him to. Will they? In scene after scene they don't even touch. The tension builds. Once they kiss, the tension is released. So the writer keeps the tension going as long as possible.

            

Dialogue between friends can keep characters off balance. If one character says, "I'm applying for a job at Walgreen's," and her friend says, "Great idea," there's no tension. If her friend responds, "Why?" or argues, "You can't," there's tension. How-are-you-I'm-fine dialogue creates no tension. Delete it unless it covers an obvious, tense subtext, in which case the reader knows that the banter hides darker feelings and motives.

            

A character's goal is to bring some aspect of his life into balance. As you read, notice how writers deny their characters that balance. As you write, select the weights you need, and then shift the balance of your character's external or internal world in every scene. Keep your characters ­– and readers – off balance.


Find out more about Karyn here.

Michele Stegman Guest Post: "What makes a book compelling?"

Fellow romance author Michele Stegman graciously agreed to come by this week with the following guest post on a topic we all need, "What Makes a Book Compelling." Here's a bit about Michele: 

"Michele Stegman has loved history all her life.  When she was studying history in graduate school, one of her professors quipped that she put too much romance in her research papers.  She decided to put in more romance and write historical romances.

Her Fortune series is following the adventures of the Fortune family through piracy and war in the 1700’s.

Michele was never interested in writing contemporary novels.  But one day she was driving along, thinking of nothing in particular, when the entire plot for MR. RIGHT'S BABY popped into her head.  She couldn’t stop thinking about it and finally decided it was a book that had to be written."    

When Janet asked me to write about what makes a compelling book for her blog, I had to do some thinking about it! 

The answer to this question is long and complex and certainly can’t be covered in one brief blog!  But here are a few quick observations.

1.  It contains some universal truth.

No matter what that truth is, it must be something we can relate to.  And the more universal the truth, the more people it will appeal to. “Even selfish people can sometimes make great sacrifices for someone else,” or “Wealth does not equal happiness,” or “Mothers will do anything to protect their children,” will appeal to more people than, “It’s nice to have a good car,” or “Being pretty helps make you popular.”

2.  It appeals to something deep within your personal psyche. 

Most of us have a favorite fairy tale.  For many of us, it is Cinderella.  We love stories where the heroine is rescued by a rich, handsome hero.  For me, however, Cinderella was not my favorite.  Mine was Beauty and the Beast.  Even as a very young child, first and second grade, I made friends with the kids no one else liked.  It was as if I could feel their pain.  So when I find a story where the hero is dark and wounded, maybe even a little scary, and the heroine brings him out of himself and heals him, I put it on my “keeper shelf.”    

Flowers From the Storm by Laura Kinsale, and A Rose in Winter by Kathleen Woodiwiss, are my favorites. 

A book with a theme that speaks deeply to you will appeal to you.  Which explains why some people like a particular book and others don’t.   

And books can appeal to you at one time, and not later.  I have read books that I thought were wonderful.  Years later, when I tried to reread them, there was just no appeal there for me.  “Been there, done that.”  I think at the time, that book was just what I needed.  It spoke to some current need that has now been healed or changed.  But there are also books I have loved all my life, like the Beauty and the Beast story.

3.  We can relate to the characters.

The long running cartoon series, The Simpsons, has been so popular because we can all relate so well to the characters.  Even Homer.  We are all selfish and like to “pig out” sometimes.  We have those qualities in us so we can relate.  In Homer, they are exaggerated, but they are in us all.  Many of us, as readers, of course, relate most closely to Lisa.  She has few friends and she is always searching for a place where she can belong.  We relate to these characters because of their faults and weaknesses, not because of their strengths.

It’s hard to relate to heroes and heroines who have no faults.  Their faults don’t have to be awful.  They shouldn’t be criminals or cheats or kick puppies.  But a heroine who has self-doubts or is too over-confident is more appealing than a perfect woman.   Again, we relate to the faults in characters, and not as much to their strengths.

4.  Strong GMC.

If you haven’t read Debra Dixon’s GMC (Goal, Motivation, and Conflict) read it NOW. 

I hate conflict and confrontation.  I don’t like it when people fight.  So I like things to run smoothly for my characters, as well.  WRONG.  Also BORING.  The first couple of books I wrote got letters back from editors saying, “Not enough conflict.”  I thought they meant the hero and heroine had to fight, argue, yell.  Well, no.  I didn’t understand conflict at all. 

Jennifer Crusie said your characters can fight over a teacup, but it really isn’t about the teacup.  What do they really want?  What are they willing to do to get it?  What stands in their way?  That’s conflict!  That’s GMC.

5.  Good writing.

Good writing begins with the very first sentence of the book.  I remember reading the first sentence of Outlander and a shiver went down my spine.  I knew this was going to be a great book.  That first sentence set the tone for the whole book.

When I first started seriously submitting to editors, I hated that they wanted the first three chapters.  I wanted to submit chapters 7, 9, and 12 because they were my best.  That’s where the “good stuff” happened.   Well, duh, I soon realized that the “good stuff” better start with the first sentence because most readers are not going to slog through six chapters of drek to get to the good part.

For the first book I wrote that sold I had a really good scene in mind.  It was going to be the last scene in the book.  But I kept tossing out stuff that came before that scene because I thought, “Well, I don’t want to write this stuff, why would anyone want to read it?”  Finally, that good scene became the very first scene in the book.  I wanted to jump right into the action so the first sentence of that book was, “One loop of the coarse rope that bound Raven Winthrop to the mast of the pirate ship was about her neck chafing cruelly.”

Of course there’s a lot more to good writing than hooking the reader with the first sentence, but this blog is long enough!

Thank you, Janet for hosting me today!

My pleasure! Information about Michele and her books can be found on her website where you can read excerpts from each of her books: www.michelestegman.com. 

Here is a little blurb about Mr. Right's Baby and links to buy the book:

"He wanted to marry her.  If she knew why, she just might walk away forever."

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Rights-Baby-ebook/dp/B00655TAFA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1330019636&sr=1-1

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/102049    

Judith Graves Guest Post: "My Worst Fear as an Author"

Today I’m delighted to host my fellow 2k10 author Judith Graves, whose second novel, SECOND SKIN, is just out! Judith and I are swapping guest posts this week, and I love her take on fear. Being out there as an author is a brave move in an often hostile world...and Judith puts the perfect words to that edgy feeling.

Being an artist, in any form, is a tricky thing. You work relentlessly to hone your craft, dodge out of social events due to deadlines or a work-in-progress that refuses to cut you some slack, wake up in the middle of the night to jot down ideas/sketches/tunes, and then your work is unleashed on the world.

A sometimes harsh, cruel world.

Suddenly what existed only in the safety of your imagination is being interpreted by others, talked up or torn down, celebrated or mocked. You are no longer in control. For a creator, that’s one hell of a scary concept.

You may be tempted to clarify misconceptions, or engage critics – to defend your baby…but that way leads madness. From an author’s perspective, we don’t know the personal biases, agendas, or histories that our readers will bring to the table when they begin at chapter one. Reading is a give and take – the author gives, and the reader takes out of the work what they are willing to see at that point in their lives.

Which may be far from the author’s original intent.

Art is subjective. Sometimes I enjoy listening to grunge tunes from the 90s and other days I skip over those songs in favour of something completely different. My likes and dislikes vary with my mood, what’s happening that day, how I’m feeling physically.

I’ll say it again. Art. Is. Subjective.

A negative review shouldn’t prevent an author from continuing to write. I personally can’t stand slasher flicks like Saw or Hostel, but there are tons of fans of the genre out there. They’re not wrong. I’m not right.

We just have different preferences.

Artists put themselves in the line of fire, invest themselves in their work and then share it with whoever may take the time to stop and ponder the implications. Fear of rejection goes with the territory. So does a thick, leathery hide.

But sometimes, the feedback is good – great – beyond our dreams. Our voices are heard, joined by a chorus, and resound. Those moments keep us plugging away. They push back the fear and feed our souls.

The only thing to fear is…ourselves. We alone can continue our quest to create, to share, and express ourselves in whatever medium we gravitate toward. And so we might miss out on the occasional movie night, or lose an entire weekend writing about other worlds, because it’s what we do. It’s who we are.

Because being an artist is a scary, tricky, wonderful, magical thing.

The collection SPIRITED is just out as well....proceeds from the purchase of SPIRITED go to 826 National (a literacy charity) and it features the intro story to Judith’s new steampunk series (can’t wait!), STRANGEWAYS: www.strangewaysnovels.com

And you can find out more about Judith at her website, www.judithgraves.com

Marketing & Publicity for Authors: Part 5

In this last (for now) post in my marketing and publicity series I’d like to address the little things that your “street team” can do to help you.

First, what is a street team?

Your street team members are your dedicated readers: family, close friends, fellow authors, bloggers who have supported your work, readers who can’t wait to get their hands on your next book.

A couple of recent articles (here’s one) have pointed to research that suggests that “word of mouth” (aka, personal recommendations, whether from friends, librarians, or booksellers) is the number one way that popularity of a book spreads. Publishers can enhance a book’s profile through advertising and promotion; but midlist, debut, or little-known authors can use positive street cred to help with promotion. This is where your street team comes in.

What can your team do to help you? Here are ways – and all but one take only minutes and cost nothing. And none of these are dishonorable (as in, falsifying reviews. Don’t do that. Ever.)

1.     If they sincerely want to purchase a copy of your book, point them towards pre-ordering as soon as your book is posted for pre-order. Publishers base first print run numbers on pre-orders. You want as many books pre-sold as possible to increase your chances of publisher support and word-of-mouth. (This is the only task that costs your street team members money!)

2.     Ask your street team if they would be willing to visit their local indie and talk with the owner about your book. Outfit them with bookmarks and/or postcards to leave with the bookseller.

3.     Ask them to add your book to their Goodreads “want to read” list. Many bloggers/readers begin dedicated Goodreads’ lists every year: i.e., “favorite YA reads;” “historical fiction for 2012.” Your team members can like your book on those lists, too.

4.     Ask them to go to the Amazon page for your book and “like” the book.

5.     Ask them to add tags to your book on its Amazon page. Tagging a book helps it to appear on appropriate suggested lists, so that when readers search for a new book, yours might appear on the suggested list.

None of these suggestions will help a poorly written book – so your first job is to write as brilliantly as possible. Write from your heart; polish and revise. There’s a lot of competition in the marketplace and only when you craft a book readers can’t put down and can’t wait to recommend, only then will you break out. But a little honest support from your street team doesn’t hurt. 


Best of luck - and please share any and all ideas that have worked for you!

Marketing & Publicity for Authors: Part 4

I want to devote another post to marketing/publicity ideas but first: since my last post on this subject I’ve fallen in love with Pinterest. I’m a visual person; for each of my novels I collect photos, maps, headshots, clothing ideas, etc. and put them on an idea board that inspires me while I work (for more on this idea board concept, see this terrific post by my friend Judith Graves.) Now I can post these same photos to Pinterest, and share them with my readers. Finally – a place for me to display a vintage map or period gown, fabulous food or room decor! (Or, in the case of FORGIVEN, visuals depicting the tragedy of slavery or earthquake devastation.) Check out what I mean here.

Now, more ideas:

When my first novel, FAITHFUL, came out I was eager to uncover any marketing opportunities available. The first smart move I made was joining the Class of 2k. Originally FAITHFUL was slated for a fall 2009 release; I joined the Class of 2k9 and made a number of friends there, who continue to be both real and virtual compatriots. When I was bumped to 2010 the window of opportunity opened even wider, as I found another writing support group in the Class of 2k10, whom I also count among my closest writing friends.

My advice to debut authors: seek out the opportunities to join groups like 2k, or the Debs, or the Apocalypsies, because this is a lonely business and community is critical to success.

Judith's blog tour badge

The second thing I did was to spend some of my advance on my own publicist (Blue Slip Media). They arranged a five-week blog tour, which gave me a huge, bouncy springboard. They also helped line me up with signing gigs and raised my media profile. I feel it was money very well spent.

If I were to suggest one single publicity item to you it would be: blog tour. Bloggers who love books are our heroes. As an example of give and give again blog touring, I’ll be hosting fellow 2k10 author Judith Graves here on March 22 as part of her SECOND SKIN blog tour. 


And just in case you're thinking that a blog tour has to precede a book launch, here's a terrific idea to punch up a book that's been out for a while and give a boost to an upcoming book: Joy Preble has a blog tour going on for her second novel HAUNTED in time for the release of her third novel in the series, ANASTASIA FOREVER. 

A recent article on the SCBWI blog  inspired me to think about more out-of-the-box marketing ideas. I love these two that Sara Wilson Etienne dreamed up for the release of HARBINGER:

• setting up a website around a central idea, theme, place, character – and making it come alive with innovative marketing ideas - essentially creating an "alternate reality" for readers
• making the blog tour more interesting by focusing it around a theme (in her case, the artist character in her novel)

My friend Holly Cupala (DON'T BREATHE A WORD) is also a clever marketer, who taught me the value of printing out a limited number of first chapter excerpts (complete with blurbs, publisher information and color cover) to send to a selection of independent booksellers. I made them myself for FAITHFUL, paying only for the color cover printing, using a booklet form of standard paper folded in half and Word layout for a two-page spread (yes, it did take me a while to figure out the layout so that pages would print correctly.)

My bookmarks & postcards, front and back

I also want to give a mention to my 2k10 sister Denise Jaden (NEVER ENOUGH), who is an extremely smart marketer. Here’s a recent blog post in which she discusses marketing; I especially like that she’s honest about the lack of success with postcards, but will do bookmarks again. I would agree – the one stellar piece of swag that I would invest in again and again is the bookmark. (Having said that, Blue Slip made me a fabulous postcard for my FORGIVEN release, featuring both of my book covers, with accolades and awards and contact information, that has been a “best seller” and easy for me to hand to booksellers and librarians at events and conferences.)

I make my bookmarks myself using Word, with all relevant information and cover on the front, and a bleed-out cover on the back over which I add accolades, awards and quotes, maximizing all the space; I have them printed on the heaviest card stock available at my local printer. Note that I leave just enough space for my signature on the back side of the bookmarks, which some like to collect.

I love those little elephants!

Finally, check out this sweet idea from my friend Lynne Kelly (CHAINED) who made bookmarks with an elephant charm attachment – so definitely a “keeper”!! Here's how she did it:

For the bookmarks themselves, I had them designed by Jeff Fielder, then I uploaded the designs and ordered them from GotPrint.com. To make some of them more special, I ordered a variety of elephant charms from Etsy sellers and attached them to the bookmarks with hemp twine. I'd tried a couple different kinds of string, like embroidery thread that unraveled too easily, then found the roll of hemp in the beading section of Hobby Lobby.   


Sweet and smart.


I hope some of these ideas help with your next round of marketing and publicity! Next time - how your "street team" can help you.

Debut Authors of the Class of 2k12: AC Gaughen & SCARLET

I'm delighted to be back with another introduction to the Class of 2k12. Author AC Gaughen has crafted a wonderful twist on the legend of Robin Hood - one of my personal favorites - with her debut SCARLET...and don't you love that cover??

Congratulations on the publication of your novel, SCARLET. Can you tell us a bit about the story and what inspired it?

SCARLET is a reimagining of the Robin Hood legend--with Will Scarlet as a very grumpy, knife wielding teen girl. She has a lot of dark secrets and holds to them very, very tight, but she also has people she wants to protect, all set in the brutality and inequality of Britain’s Middle Ages.

Honestly, Scarlet’s voice is what inspired the story--it came out on a paper in grad school and it took a really long time for me to figure out what the story was.  Once I realized who she was, her story just came out like a flood.  It was really fun. 

How long have you been writing for children/teens? Have you written other books or is this your first effort?

This is what I’ve always wanted to be doing, so I’ve always been writing in the genre since I was about 14.  I have about 150 notebooks of other stories!  I’ve had a few shorter pieces published, but this is my first novel. 

Your story will be very inspiring to my readers. :) Can you describe your path to the publication of SCARLET?

I had been trying to get an agent with various novels for about three years before SCARLET began catching the interest of several agents.  About a month after I sent it out on submission I signed with my agent, and she sold it to Bloomsbury/Walker within five months after that.  From there, it’s really a bizarre waiting game--I waited for about six months for the contract to be finalized (eep!  That’s nerve-wracking), and then it’s very start and stop--you’ll wait, then get a revision that has to be done post haste, turn it in, wait for the next step, which should be done with more urgency, etc.  It’s exciting! 

Do you have any advice for beginning writers?

Something I told myself before I got published and something I tell my self all the time still--keep going.  When you think you have a great story, keep going until it’s amazing, until it really breaks your boundaries.  When you think everyone’s rejecting you and this whole business is impossible to break into, keep going.  When you’re stressed and exhausted, just keep going. 

That is truly the best advice. Can you tell us something about your personal life – inspirations, plans for the future, goals, etc.?

One of the things that I find incredibly inspiring right now is the work I’m doing with Boston GLOW, a non profit in Boston that I’m a board member of.  One of the major initiatives I run with them is an essay contest that encourages girls in underfunded school systems to create local, actionable change.  It gives girls that aren’t used to speaking up a new voice--and it’s just incredibly humbling and uplifting. 

Do you have any new writing ventures underway?

I’ve been working on another novel for a whiiiile now--longer than I’ve worked on any before.  Honestly I’m not sure if it will ever see the light of day, but I think sometimes you have to write without the thought of any kind of publication.  But then again, some times it helps your writing to think of the potential audience. 

Do you have a website where readers can learn more about SCARLET? 

www.acgaughen.com  Thanks Janet!!

Marketing & Publicity for Authors: Part 3

Note: In the past week I’ve discovered the Pinterest site. Like Glogster, you create your own poster boards, but with a cleaner look, and you can pull things from around the internet. I see this as a fun way to create visual “likes” and connect with readers and other authors. I'm thinking of ways to create boards for each of my novels - pictures of places, foods, etc. 


Now on to today’s post.

To continue with my series on marketing and promotion, I asked a few of my colleagues to share their own tips. Here they are in no particular order:

From Judith Graves (UNDER MY SKIN, SECOND SKIN):

When promoting with social media in particular, it's difficult to find a balance between blatant self-promotion and genuine interactions with followers. I try to keep the following three E's in mind: 

·      Encourage - be a cheerleader for others. For each self-promo or "product" update, promote three other authors, aspiring writers, bloggers, or friends of literacy.

·      Educate - share your knowledge with others. And don't be afraid to share your mistakes along road to publication - so your followers can avoid similar pitfalls.

·      Engage - invite your followers to share their knowledge, opinions, tips, tricks and concerns about the industry. Allow discussion, but insist on respect for opposing viewpoints.

If you base your social media usage around the E's you'll ENSURE your posts are relevant, informative and gracious. This kind of profile will EARN loyal followers and build solid connections with your intended audience. It's as EASY as E, E, E! ;)

From Holly Cupala (TELL ME A SECRET, DON'T BREATHE A WORD):

·      Put a Google Alert on your name, your book name, your name + book name (spelling variations, etc., since if you are like me you will run into a fair number of misspellings). Watch for bloggers waiting for your book—you can always politely contact them about interviews, guests posts, etc.

·      You can’t always send review copies (and most of the time publishers don’t give you that many), but you can respond to requests and see if they’d like to do an interview or guest post. As a side note, setting up blog tours can be very time-consuming, but there are a couple of blog sites out there that may want to organize one for you.

·      If you have an ARC to spare, check out some ARC tour blogs—they usually sign up ~10 bloggers who will mail one galley among themselves and review.

·      If you can get to a major conference (BEA, ALA, etc.), it’s great for exposure—see if your publisher can sponsor you and/or schedule you for a signing.

·      And…pace yourself, because marketing can be consuming and exhausting! You can always do more, but I think it’s good to do what you can do well and what is fun for you.

From Linda Oatman High (TENTH AVENUE COWBOY, PLANET PREGNANCY):

My tip would be that I multi-task:  if I’m going somewhere for journalism, teaching, etc., I try to incorporate book marketing with whatever else I’m doing.  (I’d like to add that this is one tip I need to incorporate more. Take advantage of those expensive trips by visiting bookstores!)

From Joy Preble (DREAMING ANASTASIA, HAUNTED):

Don't forget to mine organizations you belong to. When DREAMING ANASTASIA released in '09, I reached out to the alum groups of my college sorority. Not only did they come out to support my Chicago area signings, but I reconnected to people I hadn't seen in a while and ultimately it has led to speaking engagements here in Houston with various alum chapters and also some nice support from colleagues.

My question for readers this week:

Do you think blog tours work? If you’ve arranged your own tour, how did you get started? How did it go?

In two weeks I’ll be back with some out-of-the-box thoughts.

Marketing & Publicity for Authors, Part 2

A caveat I should have mentioned in Part 1 of this series: I hope that having a familiarity with marketing and publicity will help you get your books into the hands of your audience; but nothing can replace the time and energy you should put into writing the best book you can write in the first place.

Before I continue with a few more online marketing tools, I want to address a couple of relevant questions that emerged this week.

1. You can cross-post from Facebook to Twitter and vice versa. Check the settings menu for each site, and you'll find instructions for setting up this link. With one post you can now double your coverage (if you exceed Twitter's length limit with a Facebook post Twitter will turn the "leftovers" into a link.)

Clever shorthand guide to social media by Douglas Wray, who posted via Instagram

2. A reader mentioned the press room on my website. This is a wonderful idea I borrowed from other writers. It's set up so that someone wanting my head shot, cover jpeg, and/or book information can access these easily, with jpegs at different resolutions for different purposes. Newbies: don't forget your ISBN. My first 1000 bookmarks were missing this vital information.

3. Katie Davis has recently published this guide to marketing - "How To Promote Your Children's Book" - that I found useful and that goes into much greater depth than I can here.

4. In case you have doubts about the need for activity in the spheres of blogging and social networking, check out this excellent post by Joanna Penn on the subject.

Okay, on to some slightly more out-of-the-box internet tools.

1. Google+ : Yes, I have joined this social networking site. No, I have not become immersed. What I like is the ability to create different groups (circles) so that I can target my information. What I don't like is that it's just one more social site I have no time to visit. On the other hand, here's a unique way to use Google+ - as a work motivator, with members of a social circle all writing "together" as if they were in a coffee shop or at a writing retreat.

2. Tumblr : I also have a Tumblr account, but for the same reason my Google+ is underused, my Tumblr is quiet. However, there are advantages to Tumblr. It's basically a cross between a blog and Facebook, in my view, where you can repost a blog, but also link directly to Twitter, video, photo, or articles. If you are just starting out and feeling underwhelmed, this is one site to explore.

3. Klout : Well, okay, everyone wants clout. And this site offers a way for you to track your social media metrics - which basically means your industry "clout". Is it useful? Yes, mainly because you will have a more realistic view of how your marketing is impacting the world at large. It is not a social networking site, so don't expect to connect with readers. But it will allow you to measure the effectiveness of your marketing by tracking the number of times you are tweeted, retweeted, mentioned, etc.

4. Glogster : Here's one I haven't really explored but after only a few minutes' peeking I am salivating. As I'm a visual person, this is my kind of site. You can create a "poster" of anything - your work, your life - and connect with teens who are obviously drawn to this site. As are teachers, who have begun to use it as an extension for self-expression in the classroom. Will it help with marketing? Hmmm. Remains to be seen.

Next time - some really out-of-the-box ways to market your books and generate publicity.

Marketing & Publicity for Authors: Part 1

The time is long past when authors – with the exception of megastars – can rely on their publishers to help with marketing and publicity. Most authors I know do a significant amount of marketing; I know I do. For the next several weeks I’m going to share a few things I’ve learned since the publication of my first book, and I invite you all to chime in and share your own experiences.

In particular I’d like to talk about the advantages of online tools, including some of the newer venues (like Klout and Tumblr). From the social networking sites to contact media like Skype, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of ways you could spend your time. Let’s see if we can demystify even a few of the options available today.

For this week: what are the must-have or maybe-have online tools for every author?

1.     A website. This is truly the only absolute in publishing today. I do believe a personal website is essential to every author. I’d go so far as to suggest that even before your first sale, you should secure a domain name and hosting. GoDaddy offers both for reasonable fees. The most versatile platform is a content management system like the one offered by Wordpress, which allows even the most non-web-savvy user to update and edit their content. Note: editors and agents are saying it frequently – they look for an author’s web presence (website) before ever signing a contract. Your website doesn’t have to be fancy, but it needs to be easy to find (your name as URL, for example) and easy to read.

my Facebook Author page

2.     Facebook. Love it or leave it, Facebook is an important place for you to connect with your audience and other authors, with publishers and editors. I have created an author page that is separate from my personal page, which allows me to separate content for those two audiences (anyone can “like” your author page – they don’t have to be a friend.) I post on my author page maybe three times a week, and on my personal page maybe once a week – but I often find links, learn news, or discover valuable information by scanning Facebook. You can configure your author page to feed directly to Twitter and your personal page, or vice versa.

3.     Twitter. Easy-peasy and actually fun, I tweet a couple of times a day and try to re-tweet and/or reply when I find tweets that grab me in some way. I like a combination of personal and professional, though my personal tweets I hope never stray into the negative, ugly, or icky.

4.     A blog. Really, a blog is nothing more than a platform for you to discuss issues you find meaningful or important – and gather an audience along the way. It’s not essential; but it is kind of fun. Here are the important things to note: be regular (I try to blog once a week); be generous (try to host others on your blog, and comment on/visit fellow author blogs); know your audience (are you blogging to teachers? teen readers? fellow authors? it’s hard to do it all); find your own voice (stay inside your comfort zone.) Blogger is an easy platform, and Wordpress has the advantage of a combined blog/website platform (caution: Wordpress.org is the website platform; Wordpress.com is the blogging platform.)

Now, some basic tips.

1.     SEO. This means “search engine optimization.” Links, keywords, blog titles, META tags, hyperlinks – all of these lead to search engines finding you, your website, and your books. And, baby, it’s all about getting readers to find your book when they google keywords. As an example, my first novel is set in Yellowstone National Park in 1904. My keywords might include Yellowstone, American history, geysers, bears, plus newer keys like Kindle young adult fiction or Nook young adult fiction.

2.     Branding. Basically this means...be yourself. Find out who you are and let your readers know about you. Really, they want to connect with you. By connecting with you, they connect with a “real author”. In addition, you can play off something key to you – for example, I used my name by creating a fox logo and plastering it everywhere.

3.     Be nice. Your mom was right. Once you're out there, people do see you.

Next week - some of the more obscure platforms. Please do chime in and add your own discoveries!