Business
Today’s guest blogger is author Karin Tabke, who answers a WU Burning Question:
What exactly is a Street Team and how does an author benefit from it?
Thanks so much for being here, Karin. Take it away…
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Thank you, Writer Unboxed, for having me back!
Okay, so, I’ll try to answer as best as I can, and you’ll have to bear with me because I’m a newbie when it come to this really awesome concept (and for the record, I didn’t do the leg or brain work in putting my Street Team agenda together, my very capable friend Edie Ramer mentioned the concept to me, as she knows of several authors who have prolific street teams, and well, she ran with it. Thanks, Edie!!).
So by definition a Street Team is a group of fans who canvas/haunt/stalk places and promote you. For writers that would be internet sites, blogs, book stores, cafes, libraries, and of course word of mouth. Basically your Street Team is creating buzz about your work. They can go armed with paraphernalia i.e. bookmarks, fliers, promo items like pens, magnets and key chains or just a smile and a recommendation. My understanding is this concept was first hatched by fans of rock and roll groups who wanted to spread the word. It is a grassroots type of operation. And in this business we know it’s all about the buzz.
Of course there has to be something in it for your Street Team. While they love you, they would like to see some love in return for talking you up. Signed books, monthly prize drawings and such go a long way.
How to build a Street Team you ask?
Ask your friends to begin with, but also put the request out to the universe i.e. up on your blog, Myspace, and website. Make the information clear, concise and accessible. Below is the email letter I recently sent out to a few of my friends, I’ll also be posting this on my blog, The Write Life, later this week, and there will also be a page or two on my website dedicated to this as well as a Street Team link on my home page. I’ll also have it up on my new MySpace.
Read MoreThese days I’m generally able to sell a novel on the basis of a proposal, which means I’ve got into a nice steady pattern of putting forward an idea for a new project, signing a contract, and writing a book. But I remain aware that it only takes one book to fail commercially and the future becomes a whole lot less secure.
What if I get a great idea, something I feel passionate about writing, and my agent and publishers don’t believe it will be successful? Can I tweak my project to make it more saleable without compromising my artistic vision? These questions go to the heart of what we do as novelists. Are we telling the stories we deeply believe in, or are we creating a product to satisfy a particular market? If we’re lucky, it may be possible to do both within one project. Or we may be blessed with a particularly understanding publisher, whose faith in us means we get a fair degree of creative freedom.
I was jolted into thinking about all this when reading Cynthia Ward’s regular Market Report column in a recent issue of the quarterly Bulletin of SFWA. Cynthia Ward also produces the Market Maven newsletter, available on subscription. In both forums Cynthia quoted submission requirements from some editors of fantasy and fantasy-romance. Here are two examples:
“Liz Scheier acquires contemporary and urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and some SF/F for Del Rey Books. She would like to see more ‘genuinely funny books’, especially funny urban fantasy. She also likes dark paranormal stories. She’s not interested in vampires or werewolves and doesn’t want ‘dying priests writing in blood, and no characters I hate from the beginning of the book.’ She works primarily with agented authors.”
“[Editor Heather Osborn from Tor Romance] is a huge fan of paranormal romance in general. She likes ‘kick-butt’ heroines – intelligent heroines. She doesn’t want heroines put in jeopardy solely for the convenience of the plot. Heroines should be capable of rescuing themselves … She’s looking for plot-heavy, action driven romantic suspense. Heather would like to see urban fantasy with a lot of romance in it. She is open to time travel stories, but there needs to be an ongoing paranormal theme within the time travel, if the characters are travelling into the past. Time travel alone is not enough. However, if the characters are travelling into the future, they would be interested in that as a futuristic. Heather likes humour, but she’s very picky about it. She prefers snark and sarcasm over slapstick or anything campy.”
Am I alone in thinking these requirements might stifle creativity just a little? And is anyone still writing heroines who can’t solve their own problems? Trawling around further, I found these guidelines for LUNA (note, these are the general guidelines from their website rather than the preferences of one particular editor, so inevitably they’re broader than those quoted above):
Read MoreI can barely believe that a year ago I started to track book and business news via the WU Google Notebook. Since updates take a chunk of time–even if I do enjoy finding them–I really would like to know how many of you visit and utilize the notebook, or whether it should be discontinued. Comment here or send us a note at writerunboxed@writerunboxed.com.
Speaking of, be sure to check out the notebook this week for some big happenings, including losses for Barnes & Noble and Borders, a lower price for the Kindle (with 5,000 new titles coming from Simon and Schuster, and new e-book growth for Penguin), a new James Bond novel for summer reading, a Harry Potter prequel, a paranormal social network forum by Steven Spielberg, a new way to purchase books via blackberries, not-so-great news out of BookExpo America re: paperback novels, a comedy script contest for FOX, and more.
In other news, I saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this past week, and I have to say that I sadly agree with Billy Mernit’s critical appraisal of the flick: Major suspension of disbelief required. Not that it wasn’t worth it to see Harrison Ford in that hat again, but still, be prepared to check your writer’s notebook at the door. Has anyone else seen it? Care to share your thoughts on tension, suspense, emotional development and red herrings and/or loose ends?
Finally, this inspiring blip from today’s The Writer’s Almanac:
Read MoreA special announcement from Allison Winn Scotch:
I am THRILLED to announce that we have closed a film deal for my next book, TIME OF MY LIFE! Thus, I am so super-excited to announce that the book has been sold to The Weinstein Company, on behalf of Meryl Poster, the former co-president of Miramax, who has produced, among others, Chicago, Chocolat and The Cider House Rules. (Not bad company to keep!) I am even more thrilled to say that Meryl has kept me involved through this whole process, and if there is ever a chance for a book adaptation to be made – and be made well – this is it! If you’re interested, I’ll be talking more about the deal and how it came to happen on my blog later this week.
So now, come on, pre-order the book! :) And don’t forget to pick up a copy of The Department of Lost and Found while you’re there. You can say you knew me when. (Ha! Yes, that’s a joke. Pul-ease. This is me, who was still up at 2AM wiping puke off of my son’s sheets…it’s non-stop glamour around here, I tell ya…)
Read MoreSo today apparently marks the end of Snark; one year ago Miss Snark stopped posting new biting tidbits to benefit writers. Nathan Bransford has a nice summary of the blogs paying tribute to Snark’s memory HERE. Speaking of Nathan, he’s currently running a dialog contest and has stocked up on his whiskey in order to get through it. More on that HERE.
Another anniversary: Do you remember the experiment Penguin Books started with De Montfort University researchers about a year ago, to see if a zillion people could write a novel together via wiki? Well, the results are in and…well, here’s the opening of the wiki-novel. See what you think.
The deep waters, black as ink, began to swell and recede into an uncertain distance. A gray ominous mist obscured the horizon. The ocean expanse seemed to darken in disapproval. Crashing tides sounded groans of agonized discontent. The ocean pulsed with a frightening, vital force. Although hard to imagine, life existed beneath. It’s infinite underbelly was teeming with life, a monstrous collection of finned, tentacled, toxic, and slimy parts. Below its surface lay the wreckage of countless souls. But we had dared to journey across it. Some had even been brave enough to explore its sable velveteen depths, and have yet to come up for precious air….
Oh, well, worth a try. Read more about this experiment at Gawker, HERE.
Have you checked out Brenda Novak’s 2008 Online Auction to Benefit Diabetes Research yet? Evil Editor is just one of the many editors who’ve offered up services; he’s giving away a FULL edit of a manuscript, up to 100,000 words. For a price, of course. And you might be surprised just how high that price has climbed.
Read MoreIt’s been a surreal few days for me. Not only do I hope to share some good news with you very soon (squee!), but there are a couple weird developments in the publishing industry that Therese pointed out to me.
Such as this one: HarperCollins is outsourcing its slush pile to . . . other aspiring writers. Their social network site Authonomy, is billed as a place for writers to upload 10,000 words of their manuscript. Then other members will read it, offer critique, and vote on the favorites. HarperCollins will consider the most popular submissions for publication.
Via Jean Hannah Edelstein at UK Guardian:
“Officially, Authonomy is a “social network for writers and book-lovers alike”. Just as MySpace allowed bands to succeed without the prior approval and investment of record companies, so Authonomy will theoretically help separate the unpublished wheat from the chaff. The idea is that aspirant scribes can upload up to 10,000 words to the site and then have their masterworks judged by what HarperCollins refers to as “keen, talent-spotting readers” – other people, that is, who have registered on the network.
[B]ut it’s hard to ignore the suspicion that what they are really doing is outsourcing the unlovely task of sluicing through the slush pile.”
I dunno, aren’t social networks sorta 2005? At least at Gather.com, the winner gets a contract with Simon and Schuster.
HC is looking for beta members to test the website and vet the idea before they launch it. If anyone decides to do this, please drop us a line at writerunboxed at writerunboxed dot com and give us the inside scoop.
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Via GalleyCat, writers are paying people to give them favorable reviews on Amazon. Who among us hasn’t read a gushing Amazon review that totally had to have been written by a friend and or relative of the author?
Question: does anyone take Amazon reviews seriously? Am I the only one who doesn’t?
It’s a sad day when even reviews have been outsourced. Next we’ll find out that Amazon wants to get in on the action and has launched a review boiler room in India.
Write on, peeps.
Read MoreWriter’s Digest has their 2008 listing of the 101 Best Sites for Writers online now. Check it out HERE.
Don’t forget to check out this week’s books and business updates on the WU Google Notebook HERE.
And did you know Brenda Novak is having a fantastic auction of items that can benefit writers, including a book proposal critiqued by uber-agent Donald Maass? All proceeds go to help diabetes research. Check it out HERE.
Write on, all!
Read MoreSo I’m getting the galleys of Time of My Life tomorrow. Yay! For those of you who don’t know, a galley – or an ARC (advanced review copy) – is essentially an uncorrected paperback version of your book. Which means that there will still be some typos and whatnot, but that mostly, this is the finished product. So it’s pretty dang exciting. Especially because, unlike with my first book, this time around, my publisher – Shaye Areheart books, an imprint at Random House – is doing some really cool things with these copies.
The big push that they’re doing involves something called “blow-in” cards. Essentially, they’re sending a bunch of galleys to avid readers and folks with big mouths and such, and along with the book, they’re including a card that says, “Want to share your ‘what if’ moment with a friend?” And then, if you fill out the card with your friend’s address (and sharing your ‘what if’ moment), your friend will receive a copy of the book.
At first, while I was thrilled about the cool idea, I didn’t quite get it. I didn’t quite get the idea of a big galley push. I knew that these blow-in cards had helped generate buzz for a few select books in the past, but still…I don’t know, it just didn’t click. But then, it slowly dawned on me: galleys are for more than just garnering reviews and getting the book in front of booksellers. Galleys are an incredible marketing tool to get readers, not just the media and bookstores, excited for the book. Which sounds simple, logical even, but if you haven’t been fortunate enough to have this push in the galley phase, really, it might not seem so clear. (Or maybe I’m just slow!) As we’ve often discussed on this and other blogs, co-op space aside, word-of-mouth might be the single most important marketing tool you can hope for when it comes to your book’s success. And these blow-in cards, among other things, are designed to do just that: get people talking, get them buzzing, get them to spread the word and the excitement and hopefully, the love, about Time of My Life. Sort-of like advanced movie screenings. Such that by the time it hits the shelves in October, readers will say, “Oh yeah, a friend told me about this book, and I have to have it.”
Read MoreI’ve just been in Melbourne for the Children’s Book Council of Australia conference – three days jam-packed with discussion about writing and illustration for young readers.
The program for CBCA conferences is aimed principally at teachers and librarians, and panel topics ranged from ‘The challenge of “reading” graphic novels’ to ‘How teenage writers get published.’ The first morning delivered something of a shock. Jack Zipes, professor of German at the University of Minnesota, scholarly writer on folklore and storyteller, used his keynote address to slam consumer culture and what he called the ‘endumbment’ and ‘commodification’ of children through the commercialization and standardization of children’s books. He was especially damning in his criticism of publishers for giving in to commercial interests by producing books principally for entertainment – his example was a certain series aimed at girls, with various tie-in products available – rather than books that reflect community values and standards. Professor Zipes made a number of valid points, and I can’t summarise his complex speech in a single blog post. It did concern me to hear him express this view so vehemently to an audience that included representatives of Australian publishing houses, since most of these continue to produce high quality books for young readers alongside more commercial titles. I’d have preferred to see the conference begin on a more positive note. The attendees at CBCA are people who spend a major part of their time and energy doing good things with kids and books.
Read MoreKath and I are groggy from our re-entry into the everyday world, but we wanted you to know about a few links:
Writer’s Digest published a fascinating interview with Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants, HERE.
Interested in checking out the BackSpace Writers Conference, where you can learn from and mingle with editors, agents and published authors? Members of the Mystery Writers of America receive a $50 discount off registration. More,
Read MoreI head off to Melbourne later today for the Children’s Book Council of Australia Conference, which I’ll post about on return. It’s a three and a half hour flight, and I will get there at almost midnight. Must get up early enough to imbibe a strong coffee before tomorrow’s first session – at least I only have to listen, not talk! A highlight of the trip will be a puppet theatre version of Shaun Tan’s wordless graphic novel, The Arrival.
It’s been a chaotic week for me. My car number plates were stolen at the weekend which meant a lot of running around to get replacements. At the same time the car stereo finally died, and I needed to replace that in time for transporting the kids – they get sad in the car without the Wiggles. Yesterday included explaining the complex animal wrangling regimen to the friend who is looking after my house and its occupants while I’m away. (The two dogs have three different medications each, with varying doses. One dog is severely epileptic, the other feeling his age.) Today I look after my grandchildren until just before I need to hop on the plane. With the need to switch my brain rapidly from one mode to another, the book I’m working on has been suffering not only from lack of attention, but also from continuity issues.
Apparently there are some freelance editors who specialize in continuity checking for novelists. I assume this is like the continuity person who works in movies, making sure all the details are consistent within the many takes that may make up one scene. Some authors, especially those who write epic fantasy, employ one of these editors to read the ms before it goes to the publisher. Such an editor can pick up places where there are two full moons in one month, or where a river suddenly starts flowing in the opposite direction. It’s quite easy to make this kind of error, and the publisher’s editor doesn’t always pick it up. One well known fantasy author lopped off a character’s arm in one book, then let him reappear with it miraculously reattached in the sequel. I made an astronomy error in my most recent book, related to the possible position of a sickle moon, which nobody picked up for the first edition.
I’ve just finished reading right through my completed chapters (approximately half a book) to get a sense of how well the story is flowing along, to pick up errors of this kind, and to find out whether the dynamic between the two main characters is working in the way I want it to. There’s a developing relationship between two quite guarded people, and it needs to have a gradual escalation in intensity.
There was good news and bad news.
Read MoreThere’s a terrific post up by Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware Blogs! about the precautions an author should take if working with a small press publisher. A number of authors have recently lost rights to their work when small presses have folded, and Victoria offers a number of preventative steps you can take to help ensure this doesn’t happen to you. Please do check it out–whether you’re with a small press now, are about to enter into this kind of relationship, or think a journey down a small-press road is in your future.
In other news from around the blogosphere, Colleen Lindsay, “an unrepentant nerd and literary agent with FinePrint Literary Management,” announces that she’s found the Best T-Shirt Ever. We agree. Thanks, Colleen!
Star Wars fans may be happy to learn there’s a new free book opportunity swooping into the galaxy. Check it HERE.
USA Today published THIS list of books you might consider giving to your mom on Mother’s Day. Hmm. I’d probably choose differently, focusing more on great fiction. How about you?
Our friend Chuck Sambuchino at the Guide to Literary Agents blogsite for Writer’s Digest has a tip for writers, straight from agent Barbara Poelle (Irene Goodman Agency). There’s a new genre in town, and it’s called Quagmire Fiction. Read a little about it HERE.
Oh, speaking of Writer’s Digest–drumroll–
Read MoreBookmarks. Don’t hate me, but I kind of…hate them. Well, not all of them; maybe I’m being too harsh. I have a beautiful wire ladybug bookmark a dear friend gave me, a hand-written and stamped label another dear friend made into an ingenious little bookmark, several beaded lengths of twine my daughter made for me, and of course there’s that one I bought to pay tribute to Lord of the Rings. But, really, how many bookmarks does a reader need at any one time? I don’t know about you, but I could do with one or two at the most. I could do with a tissue or piece of yarn in a pinch. Still, this is the item you’ll find in massive quantities whenever you go to a writers’ conference. And for good reason. For an author–especially a new one–bookmarks are an inexpensive way to help promote your work. As long as your bookmark hits the mark–meaning, as long as it can actually help promote you and not just become something left in the bottom of a tote or tossed into recycling.
How to make bookmarks matter more and work harder for you? Is it even possible? Through a new and growing Writers’ Promo Tips Yahoo loop
I’ve joined, I discovered this question-tackling post by blogger J.M. Snyder at Bookworm Bags. J.M. has graciously agreed to let me snag the original post for Writer Unboxed. Enjoy!
Thursday Thirteen ~ Bookmarks & what do to with them
I’m a big fan of Thursday Thirteen, a meme for bloggers to create a list of 13 items that may fit whatever theme you wish. It’s a good way to drive traffic to your website, and fun to see what others come up with as their weekly lists.
This week I’d like to talk about bookmarks. You made them yourself or had them designed professionally; you printed them at home or your local office supply store, or you ordered them online. However you got them, now you have 500+ bookmarks that you need to get rid of, right? So how exactly do you get them in front of people who may want to read your book?
Thirteen Things You Can Do With Bookmarks
1: Leave them in library books whose readers will enjoy your own stories, or put them in books when you return them. You can do this at bookstores or thrift shops that have a book section, as well.
2: Hand one to any solicitor who tries to hand you something (ie, you’ll take their flyer on the state of the economy if they’ll take your bookmark). I do the same thing with telemarketers over the phone ~ the minute they say they want to talk to me about yadda yadda, I say, “I’m glad you called. I just published this book …” They hang up every time.
3: Put a small stack on the counter of local stores. Bookstores, definitely, but think outside the box ~ do you write animal stories? How about leaving some with your vet’s office? Horse stories, look at tack shops. Erotica, visit fetish gear stores or adult bookstores or even lingerie places. Christian authors can find religious goods […]
Read More* Today the paperback edition of Allison Winn Scotch’s first novel, THE DEPARTMENT OF LOST AND FOUND, hits bookstores nationwide. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, here’s your opportunity to get a great read for $11. Amazon link HERE.
* Barbara Samuel’s first post will be up tomorrow here at WU. Don’t miss it!
* News awaits you at the WU Google Notebook HERE. Random House created a new book-browsing widget. Borders BookZone website, featuring over a hundred author interviews, is now live. Cassie Edwards and Signet have parted ways. Roald Dahl’s granddaughter wrote a book. Penguin, UK division at least, will be publishing all of their titles simultaneously as ebooks. The NYC trial wrapped up over JK Rowling’s desire to prevent The Harry Potter Lexicon from being published–but they’re a year too late according to an Irish author. Harlequin is accepting YA submissions. And more!
Write on, all.
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