HELP! How do I get 'the word' out and build a following?

Google 'marketing your book', and prepare yourself to be bombarded with a million and one ways to grow a fan base and take your novel to the world. It's frustrating to say the least. First time I attempted to browse the subject, I ended up wanting to do this ...

There's no tried and true way, no 10-step plan to ensure your labor of love, once published, hits the NY Times Bestseller list or Amazon's top #100.

So other than tweeting about the epic-ness of our books, and spamming all our followers to hell, what can we do? Hook up your Facebook page to twitter and you'll end up doing the same to those who've 'liked' you. 

Kiss followers of both goodbye.

Personally, I think it's better to gain faithful followers. They'll be more apt to purchase your work and spread the word of its awesomeness - IF indeed it's any good.

Now how do we get these drive by-ers to stop by, take a real look, and hopefully like us? 

How did you make friends in school? At a new job? At the gym? PTA meetings? 

By just being  YOU. Genuine old you. Share your personal experiences, likes, and dislikes. Ask the same of them. Find common ground on which to build a relationship. How can we do that in the cyber world? Here's a few ideas ...

1. Blog. Just like this. Throw your own thoughts out there and ask others what THEY think, what has worked for THEM. Visit other blogs with themes that interest you, comment, and be sure to link your siggie back to YOUR blog. Hopefully they'll return the gesture.

2. Facebook statuses can be done the same. Just with less words. But how can we gain 'likers'? I do blog hops & book blasts that include liking my page as one of the entries. 

3. Twitter, updates as well. Just with FAR fewer words. 

4. Writing forums like Scribophile or Writer's Digest Forum. 

5. Blog tribes like Triberr or Book Blogs.

6. Weekly memes like Waiting on Wednesday, Showcase Sunday or Stacking the Shelves can help you find like-minded people who love the genres you do.

7. Join Goodreads and invest some times in groups who appreciate the same tastes in literature as you.

8. Offer to host the author friends you make at your own blog. Promo posts. Blog tours. Guest posts. Remember the golden rule? Works wonders.

Honestly, there are countless ways out there. This is just what I've done.

As for gaining interest in your work, try one of the 100's of weekly memes designed for exactly that purpose. Ones such as Sexy Snippets or Free View Fridays. Offer sneak peeks, excerpts, and teasers. Do a giveaway requiring entries to tweet or fb / twitter share about your book with THEIR following.

I figure if I can get one person to pause in their 'drive by' and read more than one sentence a week, then I've succeeded. Try something new for awhile. See if it doesn't pay off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do YOU blog / tweet / FB update to entice readers to pause and take notice? How did you build your fan base? 

Running 2 Blog Tours At The Same Time - What I learned

Yup. You read that right. TWO blog tours at the same time. Craziness. Trust me, I know!

So after both of my blog tours ended, I realized I had learned a LOT. My weekly post last week found HERE explains how I set mine up. This week I'll clue you in to the things I learned or did wrong - and what I know not to do next time.

First - It doesn't hurt to ask book bloggers directly to participate, but do your homework first!! Make sure they are a fit to your book's genre. Don't embarrass yourself.

Second - No matter how organized you are, things WILL fall through the cracks. No matter how many reminders or exchanged emails, some bloggers won't post. No biggie. Brush it off like a grain of salt. It happens.

Third - My biggest regret is that I didn't learn more about Mailchimp BEFORE starting. While Google Docs are awesome, I had to manually add each participant from the sign-up sheet to my Mailchimp list of tour hosts. 

PAIN. 

This is where a few fell through the cracks for me. I learned after the tour that Mailchimp has their own sign-up forms for whatever campaign you're setting up - and those email address go DIRECTLY into your list for the newsletter. 

*slap forehead*

Fourth - I stalked too much. Commenting is great, & replying awesome, but some days I couldn't stop swinging by to my hosts' sites just to see what was happening. This leads to ...

Fifth - Prioritize. I hardly got any writing done all month long because I was so obsessed with checking on my hosting sites. 

Set a time limit. 

Stick to it.

Sixth - Not everyone will love my story. Reviews poured in from the other antho authors' tour stops, and I was a smidge disheartened when a reviewer didn't love my contribution as much as I do.

Again, no biggie. We can't please every reader every time.

Seventh - This one I attribute to my green anxiousness. I planned and started sign-ups too early. Until the reminders went out 4 weeks before the tour, a few bloggers never responded. Chances are they had forgotten they'd agreed two months earlier.

*shame face*

Eighth - Get those guest posts, interviews, and tens lists done WHEN THEY COME IN. Don't procrastinate and suddenly be left with ten things to accomplish in ten days. 

Hmmm. Thinking that might be about it. I'll probably remember another not-so-great moment a day or two after this goes live, but oh well.

What have you learned from your own blog tours? Suggestions to making them easier / better?

Setting Up A Blog Tour 101 - #blogtour #amblogging

I LOVE projects - the notes, the organizing, the satisfaction of a job well done. 

The biggest online project I've tackled since setting up a blog & website? 

Blog tours.

And it wasn't just a single tour. Oh, no.

I had two releases in Dec '12 - Make Believe anthology and Christmas Magic anthology. Neither publisher sets up tours for anthos, so it was up to each contributing author to get-r-done on their own.

Someone approached me last week asking what a blog tour was, and how to go about setting one up. I'm no pro by any means, nor do I  know a lot about marketing, but I figured why not blog about it? I've got two tours under my belt. 

Hands rubbing together, I dove right in, figuring it out as I went. Here's how I did it, step-by-step.

First - The vision.

I looked at those who have gone before me - authors I respect. How many stops did their tours schedule? What kind of posts had they offered? Did they reply to every comment? How did they set up the schedule on their website? Did they link it all together with a tour widget?

Don't be afraid to ask questions!!

I asked tons (and probably drove a few people batty!!!) All this helped me get an idea of what I wanted and how I wanted my own tour to run.

Second - The set-up.

I learned how to make Google Doc sign-up forms and send out Mailchimp newsletters. 

Why Google Docs? Because whenever someone signs up on the form you created, their information goes directly into an excel spread sheet. EASY PEASY to keep track of folks! I even asked what type of post they would prefer. HERE is the doc I used to give you an idea of what they look like.

And why Mailchimp newsletters? Regular email is fine & well, but I wanted to look professional when I sent out all the tour information. Their easy to use site is just that - and FREE!

Third - Finding hosts.

Once my sign-up form was ready to go, I begged all my cyber buds to participate and posted a link on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Triberr, Wana - all the networking sites I use. 

I also browsed review sites who participated in other blog tours and checked their policies. If I felt someone was a match for my own tour, I snagged their email and sent them a personal query email. Be sure to use the bloggers first names whenever possible folks!! It goes a long way in creating online relationships, especially if you end up needing to set up another tour down the line.

Then it was sit-back-time & cross the fingers!

Fourth - Scheduling.

As people signed up to participate, I would contact them through email with 2-3 dates to choose from, and a big hearty THANK YOU! Once a day was chosen, their post date went onto my Microsoft calendar AND that google doc excel sheet. 

I picked the lovely J.A. Belfield's brain, and she suggested a 4 week tour, scheduling one per week as people signed up.  After all four weeks had 1 stop each, I went back to week 1 and started again with the next four who signed up.

This part can get a bit tricky, and some juggling may need done, but double up stops if need be. Exposure is the key! 

Fifth - Newsletter time!

A month before the blog tour began, I sent out my Mailchimp newsletter with all the blog tour information - cover, blurb, author pic, bio, links, excerpts - anything I thought bloggers might utilize.

Of course, this newsletter I'd been playing with for two months until I felt it was just right.  :)

Sixth - Reminders!!

Reminder emails including the post type my hosts requested, & the date scheduled went out, one week before the tour began. 


Seventh - The count down.

Everything is done, so sit back and count down the hours until release day and the blog tour's kick off!

*Special Note*

About 6 weeks before my tours were set to start, I noticed another tour holding a tour-wide giveaway. I decided to do the same.

I included a Rafflecopter HTML code in the newsletter. For those unable to use that code on their site, I sent them the direct link to my own blog tour kick-off post here on SS they could opt to include instead.

Eighth - Get involved.

Visit your scheduled stops. Comment a big thanks, and reply to others who commented. Hopefully you'll build some relationships and following.

Ninth - The end.

One last blog post here at home thanking every one a last time, and announcing the winner of the giveaway.

Phew.

Done.

Until next time.

Any steps you've taken that I didn't? Suggestions to make a blog tour even better?

Is That Pic Copyrighted? Better Check!

Recently an awesome author & blogger, Roni Loren, had a 'little' run-in over a picture she had posted on her blog. Check out the full story HERE.

The lesson learned in a nutshell:

When nabbing pics for your blog (cuz hey... posts are SO much more enjoyable when they're pleasing to the eye) MAKE SURE THE PIC YOU SNAG ISN'T COPYRIGHTED! Googling an image & copy and pasting it is a BIG no no. Research that photo, folks!!!

What does copyrighted mean? According to the dictionary:

The exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether printed, audio, video, etc.

In other words any work or picture you or someone else creates is automatically copyrighted. We don't need to do anything to receive that protection. The copyright law exists to protect us all - and that's a good thing.

Disclaimers will not protect you from getting your pants sued off.

What to do? Take down copywrited pics. Replace with freebies.

Where can you get them? Here's a few sites I keep bookmarked:

1 - Creative Commons lisence pics  search for photos that are free for use. (Some restrictions may apply.)

2 - Wikimedia Commons search for freebies here, too.

3 -  WANA Commons  a group on Flickr created by Kristen Lamb, founder of WANA International, where we can upload our own photos to share with other bloggers. FOR FREE.

4 - Pixabay

Here's just a few pics to show that good ones ARE available for free. I'll start with my favorite - cartoon images:

Or if you're into real photos:

Best place to get freebies??? Take you own pics & use those so your true awesomeness is revealed.

My heart goes out to Ms. Loren, but I'll tell you what ... this is one lesson I don't plan on learning the hard way. And by the way, this post is in no way meant to be legal advice - just a suggestion to my fellow bloggers to keep you from ending up walking around in your skivies.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Know of any other freebie sites I didn't mention?

Blog Hopping 101: What is it?

No. No. No. I'm NOT talking about the movie.

What is it? According to Linky Tools:

A blog hop is a linky list that is SHARED ON MULTIPLE BLOGS.
When several blogs put the same linky list code on their blog, the exact same list appears on each blog.
Blog visitors can submit their entries on any blog that contains the list. The entries will appear on each blog where the list resides.
Blog readers see the same list on each blog, and can “HOP” from blog to blog seeing the same list of links to follow: BLOG HOP!

HUH? A bit confusing IMO. In Terri's terms, you sign up w/ the blog hosting & you're added to a participating bloggers list. Nabbing the cute little badge button & posting it on your own blog creates that link back to the hosting site, thus the list of countless other blogs involved. Still not getting it??? I wasn't sure till I just decided to dive in & learn by doing.

It's a crash course I took at the beginning of June. I stopped by one of my cyber buds & saw she was involved in one hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, who hosts them every two weeks.

'What's this?' I wondered. 'Looks like fun!' I went to Not A Writer's blog to see what it was all about. The next hop coming up was the Debut Author Blog Hop. I just happened to be helping another bud, Rebecca Hart, with the blog tour she was doing for her debut novel, Call of the Sea, at the same time the hop was going on.

Well, I signed up. HERE is what my blog looked like on opening day. And what fun! I learned how to use Rafflecopter - that giveaway widget I'd seen on dozens of blogs. I also learned the joy of hosting a giveaway - AND I gained over 20 blog followers because of it.

Pretty stoked.

Signed up for another where I'll be giving away a $10 or less book of your choice. Check out the Summer Reads widget to the right. It runs from July 6th - 11th. Click on it to learn more.

Never been involved in a blog hop before? Sign up! It's easy, fun, & you'll get to meet a slew of great peeps.

Me? A Brand??

While trying to do the A-Z weekly blogging (self-inflicted) challenge, I've noticed something.

I'm off course.

I had intended my blog to be a record of my writing journey - my scribbling sojourn. Lately I've jumped on the book review / reveals bandwagon, straying from my original purpose. Now that I've begun blogging on a regular basis, I'm going to drop the A-Z and just do my weekly Thursday updates.

Book reviews, cover reveals, and blog touring will be posted as scheduled or released.

All that for this: Today's update.

I got my marketing kit yesterday from J. Taylor Publishing, who offered me a contract for Sacrificial Oath in their Make Believe Anthology due to release in December. Well. I read through all 50 pages this morning, and good Lord do I have have a lot to do in the coming months!!



According to them, I am now a brand. Like Coca-cola.



Yup. I find it amusing, too. What a climb this will be - ONWARD to world wide recognition like the best soda on the face of the earth. Uh ... yeah. Right.

Gotta start somewhere, though.

While a daunting task, I'm excited to be involved in my own marketing. Networking, newsletters, tweeting, facebook, enticing friends & family's to help with word of mouth, blog tours ... sigh. That's all I can say. Thank GOD JTP has it all mapped out into a 20 week program. Otherwise it would be way too overwhelming. I'm hoping to get some volunteers!

*hint hint*

Anyhoo ...

Have you been involved in marketing your own name? Any tried & found 'true' methods that worked for you? Suggestions? Advice on what NOT to do?

Accomplishment!!

I had planned on doing the whole A-Z blog fest for the next 36 days, or however long it's supposed to run, but decided a weekly A-Z would be a big accomplishment for me.  Planned on starting tomorrow & doing them every Wednesday.

Then I finished up 1st round edits on my current WIP.  Yes.  Finished.  As in D.O.N.E.

So there goes the whole 'A' blog I had scribbled on a sheet of paper for tomorrow.  This 'A' is for accomplishment.  One I'm damned proud of & couldn't wait to share.

:)  Done anything to be proud of lately?  Sent out a sub?  Finished a short or flash piece?  Tackled a new novel?

Trudging though Edit Swampland

I'm doing just that. 

It's amazing how overwhelming edits & revisions can be.  Overshadowing all that is the fact that my self-inflicted deadline of April is fast approaching, and I really want to start querying agents.

THAT brings up another overwhelming thought.  Do agents / publishers really require an online presence?  I've read & heard all kinds of conflicting information on this, but the fact of the matter is I DON'T HAVE MUCH OF ONE YET!!! 

THUS the biggest headache of all.  How to build one?  Google it & you'll end up with the biggest headache of all. 

I Twitter and have a Facebook page, but trying to keep current with even those (let alone a blog!!!) is almost too much for a mommy with two toddlers.  Sigh.

How do you network?  Find motivation to blog?  Motivate yourself through revisions?