Posts Tagged ‘author’
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Over the last few years, several people have asked me about tips and strategies to promote their new book. I have often replied to each person individually via email. Since the publication of my novella in 2017, I feel like I have learned a lot about the mysterious world of book promotion.
I decided to compile some thoughts here, written similarly to the personal emails I have sent. I’ve also rounded up some links for you, too. Some of the ideas below apply to indie authors and traditionally published authors alike. Adapt and modify as you see fit. I can say that when I have asked traditionally published authors what they would do differently post-launch, they all say without hesitation—start preparing earlier than you think you should for your launch and spend money on a good publicist.
Enjoy!
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I’m sure you are excited about this next phase of getting your book into the world and you should be! Writing and promoting a book is something that most people dream about and that you are accomplishing!
Here are some suggestions for ways to get started:
General:
-Your publisher should help you build a press kit. A press kit is a blueprint tool that creates a foundation for you as you promote the book over the next several months and years.
-I am also assuming that you have a website or some place on social media where people can find you. That is important, even if you have just one place (i.e. website or Author Facebook page).
Don’t be afraid to try new ways of promoting your book: https://insights.bookbub.com/creative-ways-authors-announced-book-launch/
Digital:
-I would conduct a Google search and target people that write blogs about YOUR SUBJECT and pitch yourself for either an author Q&A or a guest blog post. You’ll want to create a couple of formats and word counts; guests posts can run anywhere from 250-1000 words. People always need content. You can also pitch Huffington Post (which doesn’t pay its writers but has GREAT exposure) about an article based on your book. Blogs are still an important way for people to find out about new authors. I have provided a link to here to one of the interviews I’ve conducted with writers so you can get a sense of the kinds of questions most bloggers will want to ask you–so you can prepare some copy. Of course, bloggers will tailor the interview to your content.
-You might also start a channel on YouTube and post 1-2 minute videos of yourself reading from the book.
-Research podcasts that might be interested in having you as a guest. I talk about preparing for a podcast interview here.
In person events:
-Think about the various angles of your book–how does it inform or educate as well as entertain? What can you teach people or share with them at a book talk besides what is expected? Think about the kinds of “hooks” you can use to entice people to say yes to having you come and speak. You may not always sell a lot of books right away at local talks, but exposure is important as is word of mouth.
-Start planning your book talks early–do one locally where you can get your friends and family to come. You might also want to team up with another author as it helps with promotion.
-Is your book the kind of book that might interest civic organizations, including: Elks Clubs, Kiwanis, The Shriners, etc. What about historical societies?
-Don’t forget to pitch a talk or reading your local library and libraries near you.
TV/Radio
-Getting onto local TV stations (or major networks) and/ radio tends to be a bit easier for those who are traditionally published. However, creativity and innovation in coming up with pitches that catch a producer’s eye will be rewarded.
-Consider pitching your book to the local National Public Radio station (NPR). They usually have a local show that will have authors on as guests. In NC, we have ‘The State of Things’. Think of how your work might tie in to current events, holidays, etc. There may also be community radio shows that would enjoy having you as a guest.
Remember:
You don’t need to do everything all at once (whew!), so choose one or two areas to focus on and then build out. Think about what success, as a new author, promoting yourself (besides sales of books) will mean to you in the next couple of months. A great book party? Lots of podcast appearances? An online presence?
Pace yourself and enjoy knowing that your baby is now going to have adventures in the world!
Here are some trends to watch: https://insights.bookbub.com/book-promotion-trends-bookexpo-2019/
Dear Creative Community,
I’ve spent the past two months creating two offerings that will SUPPORT your writing in 2019. They are my holiday gifts to you. As you know I am passionate about serving you! I am only offering these gifts to my special community of writers and that’s YOU. They are time sensitive!
The first is a FREE winter wonderland pop-up webinar called ‘Affirm the Writer in You 2019′. This webinar is designed to allow you time to reflect on your 2018 writing accomplishments and chart what’s next in 2019. I bet you are craving time to write and reflect before the year ends! If you don’t grab this time now, when will you?
During the webinar we’ll explore:
-The sequence of success on the author journey
-Trends for authors in 2019
-Cultivating the “maker” and “manager” energy of the writing life and business
-Harnessing urgency in order to write in 2019
-How to get unstuck and approach the page with more ease
-Cultivating audiences that love your work
No need to signup—just bookmark the details below and I will send a reminder the day before.
SUNDAY, DEC 30th-3-4:15 pm EST
Dial-in number (US): (605) 475-4081
Access code: 380339#
International dial-in numbers: https://fccdl.in/i/bergermichele2005
Online meeting ID: bergermichele2005
Join the online meeting: https://join.freeconferencecall.com/bergermichele2005
(copy and paste the above link–you’ll want to join the online meeting so you can see my slides!)
My second holiday gift to you is an opportunity work with me through my NEW e-course Charting Your Path to Publication NOW.
So many writers feel daunted navigating the submission process and often find themselves stymied by inevitable rejection and not making progress on the path of publication. I’ve been teaching this successful live workshop over the years and have taken all that wonderful content (and wisdom learned from what writers need) and created an amazing e-course.
This transformative course will empower you with the necessary tools and skills to move your writing forward in 2019.
SPECIAL BONUS: If you sign-up by Dec 31st, you’ll receive a 30 minute coaching session with me!
Click here for the FULL DETAILS and see the fantastic price of this offering. I hope you make the investment in your writing for 2019.
I am wishing you the healthiest and happiest of holiday seasons. Thank you for being a part of my community. I am inspired by your creative path.
Stay inspired,
Michele
P.S. Any questions about the e-course? Just shoot me an email at mtb@creativetickle.com
I’m teaching a writing workshop through my local community college on Saturday, October 27 called: Write Faster, Write Better: Author 2.0
I came up with the idea of this workshop as a way to encourage people who have always wanted to try National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) but wanted more guidance. As I was thinking about it, however, it occurred to me that it would also be the perfect place to share ways to “level up” in one’s writing life. So, even if someone doesn’t want to write a 50,000 word draft, they may want to play with upping their productivity in November. As the description below states, I’ll be sharing some powerful techniques and tools to hack your brain to write better and faster (without loss of quality). The workshop also will provide people an opportunity to discuss their writing aspirations, goals and strategies and evaluate what’s working and what needs refining.
So dear reader, my question to you is: What Does Leveling Up in Your Writing Look Like?
I really want to know the areas that you struggle with in your writing life and the goals you are working on. So, I have designed a very comprehensive poll. Would you be so kind as to take my poll? Getting this information here would be really helpful as the readers of this blog are writers and creators at all different stages. My workshop will be in person (see details below to register), but I also plan to create an online version, too. So even if you’re not local and can’t take the workshop, you may be able to take an online version of it later this year.
Thanks in advance! I will be sure to report back on the results!
Write Faster, Write Better: Author 2.0
Do you want to write faster? Do you want to write better? These goals are not in contradiction with each other! This workshop will teach you some fun ways to “hack” your brain to support increased productivity, outwit pesky inner critics and unleash your inner storyteller.
This workshop will help both discovery writers (also known as “pantsers”) and writers that outline find new ways to approach their work.
Write Faster, Write Better is also geared for writers wanting to try National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). We’ll spend time talking about how to best prepare for NaNoWriMo and how you can produce a 50,000 word draft in a month.
We’ll spend time exploring new ways to combat what stops us from writing including: procrastination, perfectionism, imposter syndrome and feeling overwhelmed with creative ideas. We’ll explore how other successful writers have found ways to write faster and better including Austin Kleon, Chuck Wendig, Jake Bible and Rachel Aaron.
This workshop is about busting through our own self-imposed limiting beliefs about our writing life.
Writers of every level, genre, and background welcome.
And, of course, there will be door prizes!
Register here
Hi creatives,
I just got back from teaching at the incredible North Carolina Writers’ Network fall conference. It was a blast. I also enjoyed supporting the conference’s first ever NaNoWriMo launch. I’ll have updates about all this and more very shortly. In the mean time, I wanted to share some upcoming local events that I’m proud to be a part of.
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Are you a fan of the science fiction writer Octavia Butler? Want to talk about Octavia Butler’s acclaimed science fiction novel Parable of the Sower? Do you want to learn more about Afrofuturism?
Come join me on Wednesday (tonight!), Nov 8 @7pm at Flyleaf Books! I will have the distinct honor of hosting a conversation about Octavia Butler and Parable of the Sower with my special guest and colleague, Dr. Lilly Nguyen! We will explore the themes in Parable of the Sower and how they engage us on critical questions of humanity’s future, race, gender and transformation. We’ll discuss how Butler’s work has propelled our own, and how it can relate to, inform, and inspire other lives.
It’s OK if you are new to Octavia Butler, read Parable a long time ago, are reading it now, or just want to come and listen!
This is part of a free event series celebrating the US premiere of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower at Carolina Performing Arts, an opera created, written, and composed by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon.
Check out more here!
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I’m super excited to be reading from Reenu-You this Saturday at the wonderful Ngozi Design Collective at 11am at 321 West Main Street, Durham. I will be joined by speculative fiction author Nicole Kurtz. We will read from our recent publications and discuss how African American female creators are reshaping the landscape of all things sci-fi, fantasy and horror in books, TV and film. Door prizes and refreshments! I’d love to see you there!
One of the things I deeply enjoy about my blog is my commitment to conducting author interviews. My blog allows me to reach out to new and established writers after I hear them give a reading, or learn about them online, and ask for an interview. Every time an author agrees to an interview, I feel excited and inspired. I look forward to checking my email and seeing how they played with and sculpted answers to my questions. Interviewing and helping to promote writers is a passion and gratitude generating activity for me. This is one way I help to build and contribute to a writing community.
At the end of each interview, I always ask an author: What is the best writing tip you’d like to share?
Below, I have collected the most intriguing answers from writers I interviewed in 2014.
Keep this list close at hand. The advice is inspiring and offers a great way to jump-start your new year of fresh writing.
*To see the full interview, click on the author’s name
Becky Thompson, Survivors on the Yoga Mat: Stories for those Healing from Trauma
-Honor the muse no matter what she needs. If she needs to write while you are driving, pull over. If she wakes you up in the night, thank her. If she is shy or angry, she has good reason. For prose writing, expressing the ideas first as poems helps to keep the language lyrical. Writing after doing an intense yoga practice can bring us into a deeper register. Talking about the writing process is erotic, in the Audre Lorde, expansive sense of the word. Yoga is big like that too.
Stuart Horwitz, Blueprint Your Bestseller: Organize and Revise Any Manuscript with the Book Architecture Method
-Writing is supposed to be a transformation of the self, first. That’s how you choose your subjects, your characters, your formats. That’s how you know how many drafts to engage in — if you are still transforming yourself, you keep going. If you are done getting what you needed personally from it, then you better clean it up in a hurry and get it out into the world, however that happens. That’s also the value of the work. People talk a lot of crap about why they write: they want to change the world; they want to make money, blah, blah. The primary reason is none of those. We want to see if we can do it, and we want to do something we can proud of. Then we have to let the work change us — surprise us and challenge us — that’s when it gets good. Otherwise we should just be doing crossword puzzles.
Cornelia Shipley, Design Your Life: How to Create a Meaningful Life, Advance Your Career and Live Your Dreams
-I never pictured myself as an author, so for me it was important to follow my process and to get help from a seasoned writer and editor to help me think through the layout of the book, make sure the process was clear to readers who would be new to the material and ensure the overall tone and flow was what I wanted. Bottom line as a writer you have to be willing to follow your unique creative process without judgment.
Randi Davenport, The End of Always
–Let’s see. There are lots of people out there giving advice to writers. Very little of that advice is any good. The best of it is mostly just okay. A good deal of it is truly terrible. Potentially damaging, even. I don’t want to contribute to the problem. However, I’ve been writing my whole life and by this point I do know something about the process. So here’s my advice: If you want to write, write. Forget prompts and tricks and gimmicks. Roll your sleeves up, plant your butt in your chair, and tell your story. Write. And if this isn’t something you can bring yourself to do or if you can imagine any other way to spend your time (Face Book? Twitter? Vacuuming?), it could be that writing is not the thing for you. That’s a hard fact but it’s true. Writers write. And my advice is to get to it.
Jason Mott, The Returned
-Less talk about writing, more writing. Which is really just my way of saying “keep writing.” Haha.
Amanda Owen, Born to Receive: 7 Powerful Steps Women Can Take Today to Reclaim Their Half of the Universe
-Write every day. Write plenty of bad sentences so that you can get to the good ones. If I don’t have a terrible piece of writing in front of me after all of my efforts, I feel like I have not made any progress. I need something I can work with, fuss over, and shape. A flimsy idea can be nurtured into something substantial. A phrase can be fanned into a flame that produces a whole sentence. A poorly written paragraph can inform me of a direction that may yield gold.
Lisa Harris, ‘Geechee Girls
-The best writing tip? Write. Watch and listen. Write. Meditate and travel. Write. Play cards, laugh and watch frogs, and you guessed it, write. Writing is an act of love, an honoring of life. Read!
The Practice of Creativity 