Business
Therese here. Today’s guest is Kristen Lamb, author of the top-selling book We Are Not Alone—The Writer’s Guide to Social Media. From her bio:
Kristen worked in international sales before transitioning into a career as an author, freelance editor and speaker. She takes her years of experience in sales & promotion and merges it with almost a decade as a writer to create a program designed to help authors construct a platform in the new paradigm of publishing. Kristen has guided writers of all levels, from unpublished green peas to NY Times best-selling big fish, how to use social media to create a solid platform and brand. Most importantly, Kristen helps authors of all levels connect to their READERS and then maintain a relationship that grows into a long-term fan base.
Impressive, no? One of the best-selling big fish for whom Kristen built a platform was author Bob Mayer. I’m thrilled she’s here with us today to explain an oft-dismissed but key social-media strategy: using your real name. Enjoy!
The Power of a Name
We are now part of the Information Age. Social media is being hailed as the largest cultural shift since the Industrial Revolution, and publishing is scrambling to make itself relevant in this ever-changing paradigm. Technology has opened all kinds of new publishing opportunities for aspiring writers. But, with increased opportunities comes increased competition; thousands and thousands of writers all clamoring for the reader’s attention, time and money. With so much competition, how can a writer hope to stand apart?
We create a brand.
How do we create a brand?
We understand the power of our name.
Social media is a tremendous blessing for authors. For the first time in history we writers exercise some control over our future success. We have the ability to build a platform of fans before we ever type a single word of a novel. Aside from the writing (content), the single most valuable possession an author has is her name. Nora Roberts, Stephenie Meyer, James Rollins, Stephen King, David Baldacci and Amy Tan all rely on their names to sell books. We are wise to take a lesson from the best. These authors are the designer brands of writing. Their name alone tells consumers the nature of the content and offers a certain promise of quality.
People dig brands. Most of us don’t have time to research each and every purchasing decision and thus, we as consumers, are inclined to rely heavily on brands. In fact, the more choices we have, the more prone we are to gravitate to who and what we know. Brands let us know what to expect. When we buy Nike running shoes, we expect a certain quality to go along with that name. We go off the name and do far less inspecting and road-testing than we would for a designer/manufacturer we’d never heard of.
Our big goal as authors should be to link our name interminably with our content for the purposes of selling books. Want to know the writer’s formula for success? Simple.
Read MoreI’ve noticed a lot of authors and publishing professionals who are discounting the impact of online marketing and promotion. It usually goes something like this:
People don’t buy books because of Facebook / Twitter / [insert online community here].
Or: Blogging/social networking takes a lot of energy, has little impact, and robs you of time better spent on publishable writing that earns you hard cash.
Or: Your so-called friends and followers consist only of other people trying to sell YOU stuff.
I sense that many authors have become jaded after not seeing any monetary impact from their blogging or online networking. “Show me the evidence,” these people say, “that this effort actually amounts to sales.”
OR: Many of you have been on the receiving end of hard sells and shills—those annoying people who exploit every online connection they have in hopes of earning a buck.
I agree, those people ought to be spurned—especially because they are setting a bad example and turning people off to what is a miraculous development of our age: the ability to efficiently and dynamically organize and connect with like-minded people for very little (or no) expense.
Social networking isn’t a fad. It’s an expression of what we love to do, which is socialize, have conversations, and form meaningful relationships with new people.
Read MoreOne highlight of RWA Nationals is the RITA award ceremony. It’s pretty dazzling, with an MC, coordinated soundtrack, and large screens which display cover art and author photos between acceptance speeches. It’s the closest I’ll get to the Academy-Award experience in my life, and the two I’ve been to now gave me goosebumps. The audience is glammed-up, the winners jubuliant and grateful. One can’t help but leave inspired and warmed. (And few pounds heavier from the decadent chocolate dessert.)
But I don’t think the tears had dried on the podium this year before certain tweets began to fly. I’ll be blunt in that they bothered me, so while this isn’t the post I referred to last month when I swore to zip my lips, you might be tempted to think so. Just do me a favor and if you feel yourself beginning to foam, read to the end of the post first. ;)
I’m not going to quote the specific tweets for several reasons:
These were the essential talking points:
Read MoreIt’s been a busy few weeks. I’ve travelled to Wellington for New Zealand’s national science fiction and fantasy convention, then to Melbourne for the 68th World Science Fiction Convention, AussieCon 4. This major international convention comes to Australia once every ten years.
AussieCon 4 did not include writing workshops this year. There was a bewildering choice of activities and an impressive line-up of international authors and artists, but no apparent opportunity for those authors or artists to present practical workshops. There were a few craft panels, including Writing Your First Novel, in which I was a participant. Questions from the audience revealed a thirst for advice from professionals. I do understand the nightmare logistics of running a writers’ program as part of a big international event like this – the difficulties in previous years have been well documented. But I’d love to see it back again in future Worldcons.
The much smaller Wellington convention was a different matter.
Read MoreMy work in progress is undergoing a major transformation.
The beginning has to go. I need to drop a character, add a plot line, give more significance to a subplot, enrich connections between characters, and make sure I infuse tension on every single page. All of this work begins on a draft of a manuscript that has been revised based on critique groups, online and physical classes, and suggestions of trusted early readers six times.
And I’m thrilled.
Several weeks ago, I attended the Breakout Novel Intensive Workshop, led by literary agent, Donald Maass. I learned about the conference on Writer Unboxed, and was fortunate enough to win a scholarship to attend. I quickly learned that, scholarship or not, the BONI workshop was the single, most beneficial craft workshop I’ve ever experienced.
Read MoreIt’s the cliche beyond the cliche: we do, nearly all of us, judge a book by its cover. A cover image that’s beautiful, arresting, and/or unique will draw the eye of potential readers, and a less interesting cover can certainly turn a potential reader off. It isn’t the end-all be-all — it seems unlikely that The Help was propelled to its year-plus stint on the NYT bestseller list by faded pastel birds alone — but what’s on the cover matters, matters, matters.
But there’s another aspect of the cover that matters, too: is it hard or soft? A paperback or a hardcover? The book inside is the same, right? Does it, should it, matter to the reader?
And as a writer, does it matter to you?
Across the past decade, I was pretty single-minded: I wanted to get a book published. That was it. Publication was the holy grail. I never thought much about whether the book itself would have hard sides or soft ones, and when the publisher offered a contract it was for a hardcover release with the paperback coming a year after in the usual fashion, and I went on not thinking about it in the least until one day my agent said: they’re thinking about maybe switching to a paperback launch.
And then I thought about it for serious, believe you me.
Read MoreTherese here. Please welcome today’s guest author Jenny Nelson. Jenny’s debut novel, Georgia’s Kitchen, released on August 3rd. Though she hasn’t been a published author for long, she has still been able to gather some lessons and is here today to share them with us. Enjoy!
5 Things I Learned After Publication
Now that my debut novel, Georgia’s Kitchen, has been out for a whopping seven weeks, I find myself in the slightly strange position of being able to share some insights into the whole publication experience. Though nowhere near an expert (come back when I’ve published three books) I’ve learned some important lessons that could make things a bit smoother for the soon-to-be-published author.
1. Getting published is a major event. That said, it won’t change your life or bring fame and fortune overnight, as Anne LaMott points out in her terrific book on writing, Bird By Bird. (I read Bird for the first time a decade ago and frequently re-read it. Just knowing it’s on my bookshelf makes me feel better.) You’ll still be the same person with the same problems and pleasures as you were before, only now you’ll be published. This, by the way, is pretty darn cool — even without the fame and fortune.
2. Savor the moment. Throw yourself a book launch party, pick up a pair of snazzy new shoes, go on a yoga retreat, or all of the above, but do something to mark the occasion. Though you’ll still be the same person you always were (see above), you owe it to yourself to celebrate your journey.
Read MoreBecause I advocate writers be very entrepreneurial in their efforts to market and promote their work—and engage in some form of content marketing—eventually I hear or receive something like this:
“You’ve said to post content, or to give content away, which to me means post chapters or sections. How can I do this to good effect?”
Let’s split an answer into three parts.
1. UNpublished Novelists, Memoirists, Essayists, and Poets
First ask: What you want to accomplish by sharing or posting your work online? Posting your work online isn’t going to lead to a traditional book publishing deal—at least not by itself. Here are a few strategies that writers typically have in mind:
While I don’t think you’re killing your chances of traditional publication when posting your work online (no matter what your reasoning), there’s not much point in doing so unless you have a strategy or goal in mind, and a way to measure your success. One writer, Dave Malone, recently used Scribd to post a serialization of his novella. It helped him build readership for a new newsletter, get started on Twitter, and further build an audience for his work—one that will likely stick with him for the next work he produces.
If you have no interest in marketing your work and connecting with readers after posting your stuff online, don’t do it.
2. Published Novelists, Memoirists, Essayists, and Poets
Read MoreTherese here. Please welcome today’s guest, Shawn Klomparens, author of two novels: Jessica Z and Two Years, No Rain. Shawn is here to share what he knows about the query writing process with us. Enjoy!
How to Write a Query Letter in Five Easy Steps
No major publishing house will even think about looking at your stuff unless it’s submitted by a real, live literary agent. And getting an agent is–no lie–sort of hard. But not impossible. The first thing you need to do is to write a good book. Then you need to compose a good query letter. And by good, I mean ass kicking.
A few years ago, I wrote my first novel. After that, I wrote my first query letter. The novel, alas, did not sell, mostly because it wasn’t very good. The query, however, was ass kicking, and more than one agent told me so. I’ve never actually calculated it, but I’d venture to guess that nearly 70% of the agents whom I sent it to requested a partial.
So let’s take a look at a copy of the letter (just a little bit modified from its original form), and we’ll break it down paragraph-by-paragraph.
The Letter
Read MoreI recently had an idea for a fantastic essay about writing. It would prove controversial, but hold merit; it would change the world, or at least help my post hit a high retweet number. (Which to honest, because I’m terminally competitive, would scratch a persistent itch.)
Problem was, I couldn’t nail the voice.
I knew it was partly that the feelings were too fresh. I was angry and hurt. Worse, I was disappointed in myself for feeling angry and hurt. Still, what I wanted to say felt big enough to try to push through, and I wanted to silence an inner critic. You know? The one that says professional writers would suck it up and git ‘er done, so what was my problem?
Aiming for objectivity, I walked, meditated, wrote approximately twenty first drafts in both earnest and comedic tones. I wrote my post in parable, wrote it in limerick, looked for visual metaphors. About the only thing I didn’t try was smoke signals, but since our weather has been crappy and the woodpile soaked, that seemed impractical at best.
At last I struck gold. My post arrived as a gift — swift, authentic, sideways from what I’d intended, nevertheless, done. I sent it to some writing friends, just to confirm I’d finally hit my stride, and the response came back a uniform O.~
Read More(Note: After returning from my six-month Paris residency, I compiled a report for the Australian Society of Authors, of which I’m a committee member, on the general authorship/publishing scene in France, which aroused a fair bit of interest. I thought WU readers might also be interested in a condensed version. The report was based on my own research and observations, and a long interview I had with Dominique Le Brun, Secretary-General of the Societe des Gens de Lettres, or SGDL, the French authors’ organisation.)
The SGDL, the authors’ organisation, has a most interesting history; founded in 1838 by such literary luminaries as Victor Hugo, Honore de Balzac, Alexandre Dumas and George Sand, (rare daguerrotypes of the first two hang in pride of place in the main reception of the Societe’s offices in the splendid old mansion, the Hotel de Massa), it was recognised as being ‘of public utility’ in 1891, and was instrumental in helping to frame French laws on copyright, fighting for authors’ rights on all fronts, as well as protecting the literary heritage of France. The SGDL also has a really good working relationship with the publishers’ association, the SNE (Syndicat National de l’Edition,)and the Ministry of Culture, and indeed is consulted on all matters relating to books and issues of importance to writers in France. One thing that was stressed to me was that the French Government is very actively committed to the maintenance and flourishing of France’s literary culture.
General book industry remarks:
The book industry is one of the top leisure industries in France, ahead of the video, music or games industries.
Fifty-four percent of French people bought at least one book this year, with 11.5 percent buying 12 or more. However young people read a lot more, with 77 percent of high school students reporting they’d read at least one non-school-enforced book in the last three months, with 36 percent reading than one, and 23 percent reading more than four.
Read MoreTherese here. Today’s guest is author Sarah Pekkanen, whose debut novel, The Opposite of Me, was a Redbook Book Club Pick, and earned glowing praise from People magazine, The Washington Post, and (the very picky) Kirkus Reviews, among others. How were so many important media outlets tuned in to Sarah’s novel? Was she working with an outside publicist? Turns out she was. Said Sarah of her hired publicist, Crystal Patriarche: “Crystal is smart, savvy and fun, and she helped get lots of attention for The Opposite of Me. I love working with her.”
Hiring an outside publicist is something I considered for my debut but in the end did not do. Still I’ve always wondered: Should I have taken this step? (And quite honestly, a little voice inside of me always answers Yes.) And so I asked Sarah to write something for us today about working with Crystal. What was it like? What did she have to offer? Happily she agreed to answer those questions. Please welcome Sarah Pekkanen to Writer Unboxed, and enjoy the post.
Working with an Out-of-House Publicist
Soon after signing a publishing contract, I began to grapple with a question that seems to lurk in the mind of just about every author, from debut to seasoned pro: Should I hire an outside publicist?
I’m an anxious – possibly verging on neurotic – type (I know, shockingly rare for a writer) and in the end, that’s what sealed my decision. I knew springing for outside help would also buy me peace of mind, because I’d be doing everything I could to boost the success of my novel. I’m happy with my decision, but it may not be the right one for everyone. Factors like the level of in-house support for your book, an author’s own promotional abilities, and finances all need to be weighed before a writer signs a contract with a publicist.
Here are some of the things outside publicists can do for authors – and some of the trade-offs:
Read MoreTherese here. Please welcome Margo Candela, author of the novel Good-Bye to All That, as our guest today at Writer Unboxed. She’s with us today to share some insights into–and perspective about–a genre that she loves, chick lit. Enjoy!
The Evolution of Chick Lit
I was introduced to chick lit, along with most of the world, when I picked up a copy of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary. For a while, my chick lit was exclusively of British extraction. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it (though I still have trouble wrapping my mind around wine gum), but was happy when American publishers unleashed a slew of similarly themed novels where wine was wine and gum was gum.
I read one after another, but it wasn’t until 2003 that I considered writing one myself. Plenty of drafts, plus more than a little luck and patience, eventually led to my first novel, Underneath It All (Kensington, Jan. ’07) being published. I’m up to my fourth, Good-bye To All That (Touchstone, July ‘10), which I think is my most chick lit to date.
For a while, though, you couldn’t say chick lit above a whisper, even though plenty of us were still reading, if not writing, it. Those supposedly in the know said the market was glutted, that the genre was played out. What we should be writing, they said, was erotica about vampires, or paranormal romances. Anything but chick lit.
There was no surer way to doom a manuscript than to employ the “gal wants better job and wants to lose weight, but gain boyfriend while finding her bearings in the big city” plot device.
Writer friends of mine started to refer to their books as women’s fiction to avoid the chick lit kiss of death. I took the easy way out—I kept typing and decided to let someone else sort it out.
Read MoreBy the time this gets posted, I’ll be on a trip to attend two speculative fiction conventions, Au Contraire in New Zealand and AussieCon 4 in Melbourne. I have a busy schedule at both, appearing on panels, giving a workshop and fronting up for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards, for which my novel Heart’s Blood is short listed along with an interestingly diverse collection of other novels by New Zealand writers.
However, at the time of writing this post my mind is on the roller-coaster of publishing success and failure. I have plenty on the plus side of the ledger, with several books currently under contract, an international award earlier this year, and the Vogel short listing. But I’ve been feeling despondent about my writing career recently. It’s not lack of confidence in the current project, which is bubbling along nicely. It mostly has to do with my backlist.
I hate putting bad publishing news up on Writer Unboxed. I suspect it’s not sound business practise to parade one’s failures in a public forum. On the other hand, the WU community is one where honesty is valued, I think, and where we can all learn from each other’s ups and downs.
In the last year or so I’ve had several bumps on the publishing road.
Read More
