Busting Through the Block by Lynn Emery

Some say writer’s block is a myth, a form of procrastination. Other authors insist it’s real, and they’ve suffered through it. As a therapist I’ve learned that if a person is convinced, it doesn’t matter if others say something is real or all in your mind. The bottom line is you need to work on the problem, whatever it is. Here are some tips to shock your unconscious muse back to life.

If you are blocked on what a character should do next or how they would react to a story event/plot turner go back and work on characterization. Chances are you need to flesh out more details on who she is- what are her goals, values, motivations, beliefs, etc. It might help to get to know her again. Most often hitting this kind of brick wall means you need to do more work on your character(s).

If you are blocked on what will happen next in your story (plotting), go back and review your story outline. O maybe you need to do one if you were writing by the seat of your pants. What story questions must be answered? What are the internal and external conflicts? What are the character motivations? What are the character goals? What is the dark moment when all seems lost? What is the climax (main characters must make a decision and take action)? What is the resolution? How are the main characters changed by this journey at the end?

Writing Exercises

Kick Start Your Brain

Start a scene with your protagonist arriving or leaving some place in your story setting. Describe this setting through her eyes, including emotional reactions. Describe how secondary (or other major character) view the setting and the arrival of the main character using facial expressions, body language and dialogue. How does this affect the scene where you hit a block?
Write a character’s worst moment, something that changed her or him in a basic way. Now write a scene where the effects of that event color how the character lives and now views the world in a way that affects your plot.
Write a scene in which your character is arguing her viewpoint, some subject that she feels strongly about. This could be high concept (e.g. testifying before Congress, negotiating with a hostage taker) or discussing a subject with another character (relationship problem, family problem). Either way make the stakes high, in other words something terrible will happen if she doesn’t prevail. Throw in barriers that might keep her from prevailing. How does she overcome these?

Lynn Emery ©

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

How To Overcome Rejection: One Author’s Journey by Trice Hickman

I’ll never forget the day I started writing my first novel. It was a chilly morning in March 2004, and after many years of suffering from writer’s block, I had a breakthrough! I sat in front of my computer and smiled in amazement as words began to pour out of me like sweet water. I wrote all day and all night and by the next morning, 30 pages later, the beginnings of my debut novel, Unexpected Interruptions, was born.

I was energized with a feeling I’d never had before. I continued to write nearly every day, and a little over four months later my novel was complete. What a great feeling that was! But little did I know that as difficult as I’d thought it was at the time, writing my book turned out to be the easy part. I soon discovered that the hard part was getting my book published. And harder still…selling it!

I conducted diligent research and then submitted my manuscript to every agent, publisher, and editor whom I thought might be interested in my well-written, wonderfully engaging story. Who could turn down my masterpiece, right? Well, imagine my dismay when the rejection letters started trickling in. Everyone I’d submitted my manuscript to turned it down. EVERYONE!

“Did they really read my story?” I’d questioned, “because if they had, how could they turn me down?” I’d asked, over and over, month after month.

Let me tell you, rejection is a hard pill to swallow, but it can also serve as a wake up call. There’s a saying, you haven’t loved until you’ve had your heart broken. Well, you’re not a writer until you get your first rejection letter. But I had some great things on my side that beats rejection every time: Belief, Determination, Perseverance, and Faith.

I believed in the story I’d written and the characters I’d created. I was determined to persevere and do what it took to get my book published, and I had faith that I could do it! Again, I did my research. I made it my mission to learn everything I could about how to publish a book. I attended literary conferences and networked with other authors. I developed a plan, created a timeline, and then I formed my own company, Platinum Books, and published Unexpected Interruptions myself.

The book that everyone rejected went on to win two literary awards, receive high praise from readers, and top a national book club’s bestsellers list. I went on to publish two additional novels that were equally well received. After the success of my books, a traditional publisher offered me a contract to re-release all three of my originally self- published books. The rest, as they say, is history! Oh, and did I mention that upon it’s re-release, Unexpected Interruptions, the little book that everyone initially rejected, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly!

As great as I think my personal triumph is, my story is not uncommon. There are many people just like me who’ve had a dream and didn’t give up until they achieved it. Every successful person I know has had to overcome some sort of obstacle or rejection. And like me, the thing we’ve all learned is that behind every no, there is a yes waiting for you, as long as you’re willing to put in the work!

Trice Hickman

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Author Etiquette 101: Mind Your Manners by J’son M. Lee

Desperate times call for desperate measures. All of us have heard this phrase at one time or another. In short, it means when people get into trouble, they feel forced to do things they wouldn’t normally do for survival. Authors are no exception. When it comes to our livelihood, most of us will do whatever it takes to sustain it. Many of us draw the line when it means sacrificing our reputation or integrity; however, there are a number of authors who choose to stand their ground no matter the cost. I am of the mindset that authors who want their books to be noticed will garner more fans and support by remembering their manners than by imploring tactics that may jeopardize their livelihood.

When an author spends months or even years developing a project, it stands to reason they want readers to take notice of their masterpiece. However, just as bad parenting can ruin a child’s chance at success, authors can do the same for their books if they forget common courtesy. It is important to respect those who impact your livelihood. This list includes readers, reviewers, editors, and yes, even other authors. Here are a few simple pointers for authors about proper etiquette:

Be Courteous to Your Readers

Everyone is not going to like your book, and as wonderful a person as you are, everyone is not going to like you. Let that sink in for just a moment. In most cases, those who fall in either category will be in the minority. If we embrace this fact, we would realize there is no need for public outrage when we feel attacked personally or when we receive less than favorable feedback on our work. It is not necessary to respond. Brush it off! This is easier said than done sometimes, but you must decide who you want to become and walk confidently in that path. Let your fans fight your battles. Remember that person who said how great you were? How brilliant and thought-provoking your narrative was? Yes, that person. Let them handle the minorities. Stick to what you do best – writing great prose. If you’re going to be a professional writer, act like one.

Be Creative and Strategic

Just because you have the capability to reach readers 24/7, it doesn’t mean you should. Talking about yourself or your book incessantly gets tiring. How many ways can you say, “Have you read (insert name of book)?” or “1 click (insert name of short story).” At some point, you must realize that readers tune out or simply ignore your post. It is human nature. Stop blasting timelines and groups with your book advertisements. Be a little more creative and strategic with the information you share. Book groups have voiced over and over how they hate being bombarded with book advertisements. So, why are you still doing it to the degree you are? If it’s arrogance, you need to check that – NOW! Your posts speak to your professionalism. I would venture to say that most readers want a little more from you than a book link. Share information that will spark conversation. Readers really like to get into your head. Give it a try!

Ultimately, if you fail to treat readers right, your work is in vain. The business (yes, we are running a business) of writing isn’t as complicated as many make it out to be. Remember the basic rules our parents taught us: 1) say please and thank you and 2) treat others the way you want to be treated. It is really quite simple. Treat your readers right and you will have the best, free marketing for life. Treat them badly, and you will have a public relations nightmare. When treated badly, readers will not tell others about the great book you wrote – no matter how great it is. Bottom line, mind your manners!

J’son M. Lee

For more information about the author, please visit his website at http://www.jmccoylee.com/ or http://www.sweetgeorgiapress.com/.

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Lead With Your Strongest Info by W. Terry Whalin

It is something I learned early on as a journalist: your writing must begin with strength. What is the most intriguing question or strongest quotation or provocative sentence to start your query letter or your pitch to the editor or agent?

In pitches and proposals from unpublished writers, I often see critical information buried. As a reader, I know many agents and editors will never discover this information because they gave up after the opening paragraph.

Last Fall, I met an author with a strong gift book proposal. While Morgan James Publishing doesn’t produce this type of book, there are many well-respected publishers who make gift books. This author had something unusual in her proposal: a strong endorsement from a well-known author. Yet it was buried on the last page of her proposal.

I reviewed her pitch letter or query and while she referred to the endorsement, it did not contain any of the actual words. I suggested she start with a small portion of the endorsement because it would catch positive attention.

Here’s the critical fact that many people forget: agents and editors receive a high volume of submissions. They have many factors tugging for their attention besides submissions which makes them skim through the submissions making quick decisions about reading it in depth or rejecting it.

It’s always surprising to me what a little reorganization can do to strengthen a pitch. The quotation from the well-known author catches attention and pulled the editor or agent to take a more detailed reading of this author’s work. Something simple like this can be the difference between acceptance and rejection.

The first step for any writer is to get their material into the marketplace and in front of the editors. Many writers are missing this critical step and not taking action to send out their work.

If you are taking this step and collecting a number of rejections, I suggest you take a fresh look at your pitch or query. Ask a few questions:

Do I have the strongest material in my pitch in the first paragraph or the first sentence?
Can I read my pitch with fresh eyes and see how the editor or agent is reacting to it?
Am I missing something critical that I’ve left out of the package? One of the most difficult things to see in your own work is something that is missing.
Can I add an endorsement or provocative quotation or something to get additional attention?

There are many other methods to gain the editor’s attention but these questions will give you some direction in this area. In our busy world, the writer has to take action and lead with their strongest information.

If you make these changes, write me and let me know how it worked out or helped you. I’m always eager to read your comments and feedback.

________________________________________

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, lives in Irvine, California. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com.

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Yes You Do Need Book Clubs! by Stacy-Deanne

I don’t care how talented you are. I don’t care what you write about. You could be the best darn writer on this planet but it wouldn’t mean jack if no one reads your books.

There are tons of articles and sites giving authors advice about how to get their work in the hands of readers. What a lot of them forget to mention is that readers get an author’s book in front of other readers. This is a powerful asset of book clubs.

I don’t care how much social networking you do or how many ads you buy on Facebook. Just like how the writing industry is changing, so has the world of promotion and publicity. Authors and publishers must rely on readers in order to move books. Oh yes. No more is it enough to market to readers but readers actually must help you sell a book for it to have a chance at success. Word of mouth is even more important in the age of ebooks.

So what exactly do book clubs do?

Book clubs open doors you cannot open yourself. They help to build your brand to a higher level, and they can put your name on readers’ lips. Do you realize how many book clubs there are? Do you realize how many clubs have hundreds of members? Some clubs span the entire nation! Can you imagine how powerful it would be if you got just one of the larger book clubs to pick up your book? Imagine your chances if you got many to pick up your book.

But it’s so hard to get a book club to pick up a book.

Stop whining. Some authors complain about how hard it is to get book clubs to pick up their books. Newsflash but the industry is competitive. That doesn’t change when you publish a book. Book clubs are picky because there are so many books fighting for attention. You’re not the only cowgirl or cowboy at this rodeo. It’s good for a book club to have standards. You want a club with a good reputation and one that has standing in the industry. That will help you in the end.

I practice what I preach. My latest novel, The Season of Sin has gotten some good exposure. I owe a lot of that to the book clubs that picked up the novel, enjoyed it, and passed the word. In addition, many book club members are members of several different clubs. That means if they read your book and liked it, they will spread the word to every one of their clubs.

That’s exposure, baby!

Book clubs are powerful because they are full of readers always hungry to find books. They are obsessed with the written word and love to support authors. If a book club picks you up then most likely they will again in the future if they enjoy your work. It’s a long-term advantage you can’t afford to miss.

Whether you feel the book club scene is for you or not, you’d better have some kind of plan on how to get your books in the hands of readers because without readers working alongside you to sell that book, it won’t stand half a chance.

Stacy-Deanne

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Know Your Numbers by Deatri King-Bey

How many units (books) did you sell last year? Did you make your sales goal for the year? Did you make a good return on your investment for each title? How were your sells compared to the previous year? Those are just a few questions you should be able to answer about your business (yes, publishing is a business).

Every February, I take stock of my numbers for the previous year, and I set my goals for the current year. I can tell you how many units of each title I sold, the amounts made, the amounts I spent on production for each title, marketing cost… Everything that is needed to calculate if my business is making or losing money. If it is growing, stagnant or dying. I can see areas of leakage and can take steps to fill the holes.

I know it’s not fun. Not fun at all, but you need to know your numbers. Each seller provides some sort of royalty statement and thankfully, most of them use Excel. For those that don’t use Excel, you’ll need to determine the best way to easily turn those statements into usable information.

Okay, let’s take an easy one (you’ll need to do this for each of your sells channels)—Amazon’s ebooks.

Each month download your royalty statement and save it in a file for that year. I use a naming convention. For example 2012AmazonJan, 2012BNJan, 2012CreateSpaceJan… That way when I look in the file, it is easy for me to see the different statements per sells channel. I place all of the statements into one file for the year, but you do what works for you.
Copy each of the Amazon statements (or whatever sells channel you are using) into a book (a page) on a spreadsheet. I like Excel. So you will have all twelve months worth of statements on one book (page) of the spreadsheet. Yes, I know I said to save each statement in the file also. Hang with me.
Now sort the spreadsheet. This will alphabetize the entire sheet. Yes. All of your titles will be sorted for the year.
I place two blank lines between each title
Use the Auto Sum function (use the Help feature in Excel. It’s easy to do) for each area of the statement you want numbers for so you can see exactly how many units of each title you sold, how much you made on each title, how many returns you received per title…

I’ve cut and pasted the eBook sales of one of my titles on Amazon as an example: Sample

So now you know how to calculate how much in royalties you made in this sells channel for the year. You need to do this for all of the channels (sells outlets) you use. Print and ebook. Yes it is time consuming and you may want to hire an assistant to do it for you. I know one who will do this for a very reasonable price. You could also just add onto your spreadsheets each month as you save your royalty statements, then do a sort after you get your last statement of the year. It’s quick going once you get everything on a spreadsheet. Get it done.

So let’s pretend that you only sell a short eBook on Amazon. You’ve done your sort and see that in the year you made $1000 in royalties for one of your short story. Congratulations! But did you make a positive return on your investment? Now you need to calculate how much you actually made on this title.

Royalty — $1000

Now subtract production costs. Here is a very basic example of what your production cost may look like:

Copyright — $35
Editing (developmental, copy, proof) — $250
Cover –$100
Marketing — $50

Now subtract your production cost from your royalties: $1000 – $435 = $565

Congratulations, you made $565! I’ll take it. And don’t forget most of your production costs are tax deductible (yet another reason why you should itemize).

Now calculate your earnings and costs for each of your titles. Once you know your total earnings, you can set your sales goals for 2013.

Okay, I don’t want to throw you into information overload. Collect your sells information in a spreadsheet, use the automatic sort for the titles, then do an Auto Sum on each title for the columns you are interested in. Set goals for the year and work toward them.

Know Your Numbers!

Deatri King-Bey

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Content Marketing: Attracting Your Audience by J’son M. Lee

One of the biggest hurdles that self-published authors have to cross is marketing. An overwhelming number of indie authors are pretty forthright about the fact that most of their marketing is done via social media. While social media is highly effective, it has its limitations. As such, authors need to find ways that are creative, memorable, effective and respectful. Too many, the word “respectful” will seem out of place; however, given the rules of social etiquette as it relates to social media, it behooves each of us to be mindful and respectful of these spoken or unspoken rules.

Having worked in Corporate America for over 15 years, I’ve seen the various marketing techniques that businesses implore. Authors may call it by a different name, but usually the concept and approach are the same. For example, businesses often utilize cold calling to generate business. Cold calling is the process of approaching prospective customers or clients who were not expecting such an interaction. The word “cold” is used because the person is not expecting to be contacted nor did they specifically ask to be contacted. Authors utilize the same technique, but call it pounding the pavement or frontline hustling. Whether a business executive or an author, the goals of cold calling are the same; you want to get the person’s permission to have a conversation with them and then engage them enough that they want to know more about your product or brand. Ultimately, you hope this approach will lead to a sale. As with social media, this is a highly effective approach, but can be limiting.

While many authors focus on ways to increase sales, I would encourage more authors to focus on methods that increase visibility. This is an approach known as content marketing. Content marketing involves the creation and sharing of content in order to attract, acquire and engage potential consumer bases with the objective of making them loyal to your brand and ultimately securing sales. Content marketing utilizes such methods as videos, blogs, photos, etc. The difference between content marketing and more direct marketing methods is that it stops short of a direct sales pitch.

Here are a few content marketing methods that I utilize to bring focus to my brand:

Reviews: When I began publishing, I found it difficult to find people who wrote quality reviews. From an author’s perspective, I found many reviews to be unclear, poorly written or simply too personal. I ultimately decided to be the type of reviewer that I was looking for. I researched and established a format for my reviews and present them in a way that provides constructive criticism for the author and feedback that is useful to potential readers looking to make a purchase. I recognize the type of credibility I am seeking to garner will take time, but I’m in this for the long haul.

Articles/Interviews: Many authors write for more than just reader entertainment. Some authors blog while others are featured on various media lending their expertise on various subject matters. Many of these platforms we have to create for ourselves. For example, as an author, I want to lend my voice to the plight of the gay community. In an effort to do this, I recently began writing for a grassroots newsmagazine connecting with members of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender sub-communities. This opportunity didn’t come to me, I went to it. Again, my goal was not to pitch my products, but build another platform for my brand.

Content marketing is nothing more than creating relevant content and distributing it to your target audience. While many authors flood reader pages and groups with their book links, I tend to be much more strategic in my marketing approach. While there is something to be said for social media and pounding the pavement, there is also something to be said for building an audience that respects your thoughts and opinions and is loyal to your brand. When people are loyal they are more likely to invest their hard-earned money into your products. Give it a try. You have nothing to lose, and nothing but a loyal reader base to gain.

J’son M. Lee

Query – Quick Tips vby Shelia M. Goss

A query letter is a one or two page pitch letter. Keep it short and simple. Your query letter is the first thing an agent or editor reads. An effective query letter is meant to intrigue the reader so they will want more.

Things your query letter should include:

1. Introduction: The first paragraph of your query letter should include:

your name
name of your novel
the length of your novel and
genre

2. Short Synopsis: You should be able to summarize your book in at least one to two paragraphs. Aim for one paragraph.

3. Bio: Don’t be shy. Brag on yourself in this section. Keep it book related. Although it might seem odd, be sure to write your bio in the third person.

4. Closing: Don’t forget to thank and tell the agent/editor how they can reach you.

Other things to remember when writing your query:

It’s important to address your query letter to a specific person. If you do not know the name of the agent or editor at the publishing company, call or check their website.
If you met the agent/editor at a conference or somewhere, be sure to mention it in the first paragraph.
Make sure you have a title for your work (even if you decide to change the title later).
If you mention a website/email address/phone number in your query letter, make sure it’s active.

Shelia M. Goss is a national best-selling author and a 2012 Emma Award Finalist. She has over fifteen books in print and numerous of ebooks available. She writes in multiple genres. With unique story lines, her goal is to create “stories with a twist.” For more information, visit her website at http://www.sheliagoss.com/

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Let’s Talk Ganxy by Bettye Griffin

I first heard about Ganxy from a post on one of the blogs I read regularly, The Writer’s Guide to ePublishing. I found the idea of selling to readers from my website, blog, and/or Facebook page with 90% of the cover price going into my pocket intriguing, to say the least. (Note: Some refer to this as a “royalty,” a term I don’t really agree with in this context; the arrangement seems more like a commission to me since these are retailers, not actual publishers.) I decided to give it a try by setting up a test showcase (as they call product pages) at Ganxy.

It seemed daunting for someone like me, who knows squat about ePUB and MOBI files, both of which Ganxy recommends be uploaded. About all I could handle was a PDF, which is the third and last format Ganxy recommends. These three formats pretty much cover any eReader device. I read the instructions thoroughly, then did a search for a site that converts documents to ePUB and MOBI formats. I found Online Convert, which does it for free (they do accept donations). I followed Ganxy’s suggestion and named each new file with the book title, my name, and the format.

Once that was done, I was able to go back and finish my showcase. I decided to take advantage of the function that allows me to list other retailers, because some folks will always want to purchase from Amazon or BN, and there’s no denying that the reviews on those sites still stand for something (The folks at Ganxy are reportedly working on incorporating reviews into Showcases, but I haven’t heard from where). Since I am an Amazon Associate, I made sure to include my personal ID in my links so I get credit for any orders from those who prefer to buy from Amazon.

I then embed the code on the main page of my newly re-designed website for an easy purchase link. The showcase is pretty big, and since there’s no way to fit seven of them (and counting!) on one page, I also set up an eStore on a single page that lists my other titles by linking each cover to its corresponding showcase. I also set up showcases for my traditionally published titles that are still available, although with links only rather than files for direct sales, since I do not own the rights to sell these directly. Take a look and tell me what you think!

These are the pluses of hooking up with Ganxy that I’ve identified to date:

The purchaser’s choice of format, which between them cover all devices: MOBI, ePUB, or PDF. One disadvantage: Readers will have to load the book onto their eReader themselves, which might be a turnoff for Kindle owners; I believe their books are loaded automatically on their readers when purchased thru Amazon. I try to head this off by discounting the prices at my eStore for new releases…nothing like offering readers an incentive!
A 90% cut of the cover price of all eBooks sold, rather than the 65% and 70% offered by BN and Amazon for books priced at $2.99 and above).
The 10% cut Ganxy takes is effective even if your book or story costs less than $2.99. In that situation Amazon increases its take to 65%, with just 35% going to the author; BN increases theirs to 60% with the author getting just 40%. You can sell a 99-cent short story and pocket 90 cents, not 35 or 40 cents! (Note that authors, not the customers, pay the credit card processing costs, which are a few cents per transaction…just the way J.C. Penney or Red Lobster pays this fee when you use your credit card at their locations. It’s true that a law recently became effective that allow merchants to legally pass on processing fees to their customers, but generally the only type of merchant who charges service fees on top of the price of the product are those selling concert or event tickets.)
The ability to offer free eBooks to readers, choosing an end time by whichever is reached first: A maximum number of free downloads or an end date. Doing this on Amazon and BN is very difficult and involves lots of patient waiting, sometimes in vain. Note that Ganxy may be charging authors to offer free downloads in the future; I won’t know what the fee will be until they initiate it.
The ability to offer sale priced eBooks to readers, with automatic end dates/criteria set (i.e., “The first 150 people to download this eBook will get $1.50 off the cover price”). The possibilities for this are endless…introductory price sales…12-hour sales…5-hour sales…Valentine’s Day sales…Cyber Monday sales…Black Friday sales, to name a few. My current sales are listed at the top of my eStore page. I’ve already started the practice of offering introductory prices for new products to entice readers to buy from my eStore rather than Amazon or BN. Another plus is that price changes go into effect immediately, the second you hit the Enter key. There’s no waiting for the retailer to adjust the prices, the way the other guys make you do.
Smooth and prompt payment processing. If you’ve earned the minimum (I don’t remember what it is, but I’m thinking $10), you can request payment at any time. My funds were deposited in my Paypal account within two days of my request. You don’t even have to wait 60 days…you only have to wait until you make the minimum.
Gift options are available.
Offering bundles are super-simple…instead of having to assemble one file of two or three books into a single linked file, which can be unwieldy and be difficult for readers to download, authors can choose which of their books they want to include in the bundle and the reader will receive a separate file for each! So if you want to offer a bundle of a series (Ganxy recommends including two to six books in a single bundle), just set up a showcase, set a price, and choose which files you want to include. No special formatting to do.
Your customers have the option of signing up for email notifications from you about future releases or sales. I’m surprised at how many customers took advantage of this. Whenever I offer a sale, they’re the first ones to know about it.
Superb and prompt customer service. I had many questions along the way, and they got back to me very quickly…even on Sunday.

Another plus, albeit an indirect one: Since I’ve learned how to create MOBI and ePUB files, I can now offer free downloads of short stories direct from my website, bypassing retailers altogether, if I choose to take that route.

Another important factor is your own aspirations, since everyone’s are different. If Amazon rankings are important to you, you might want to skip Ganxy altogether and continue selling only through ranked channels. My own career has taken an unorthodox path in that I began by being traditionally published but am not pursuing that path now, so a higher earnings potential holds the most appeal for me. I must admit that I’m not comfortable with Amazon wielding so much power, and I like having an alternate option. But it’s understandable for those pursuing a traditional publishing contract and/or those who like to announce their book’s sales rankings or placement in the Top 100 Bestsellers of its genre may prefer to get as many sales as they can through Amazon…editors are certain to check your rankings, and while no one really knows if repeatedly declaring yourself to be a bestselling author translates into sales, it’s not going to hurt anything, either.

Finally, this is an overview of my experience, not an endorsement. The decision to Ganxy or not to Ganxy has to be made by each individual writer, just like everything else in the business. I strongly suggest reading their Terms of Service thoroughly. But if you do decide to set up one or more Author Showcases, it’s always nice for them to know the source of the new business. For that reason, if you do decide to set up one or more showcases, I’d appreciate it if you would drop an email to Lonnie Rosenbaum at Ganxy at lonnie @ ganxy.com (please remove the spaces) and let him know I referred you!

For more information about Ganxy, you might want to check out this recent article in Forbes magazine.

Bettye Griffin

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Four Keys to Your Conference Preparation By W. Terry Whalin

In February, I’m traveling to the Florida Christian Writers Conference and I look forward to it. I’ve been revising and updating my workshop on book proposal creation, Editors Read Proposals Not Manuscripts. I’ve been sorting through my 20+ years in publishing and preparing which stories to tell during my class.

I love writers’ conferences. It’s a grand idea haven to talk shop and learn from other writers. If you want to succeed in the writing business, I’ve got four keys to enhance your conference experience:

1. Take daily time to pray about the various people you will meet and the ideas you will discuss. Ask the Lord to guide you through each detail of the conference such as who you will sit with at the opening meeting or where you will sit at each meal and what will be discussed. Ask for God to give you divine appointments. These encounters will be far beyond anything that you could have orchestrated or planned. Be looking for the Lord’s handiwork at the conference.

Some people call those divine appointments or “a pack your bags experience.” That means if you had to leave the conference early for some reason, then you would have had such a great experience with the greatest personal benefit. Through prayer you will come to the conference full of expectation and a spiritual sensitivity that God will work while you are on the conference grounds.

2. The second way is to come prepared to meet others and start new relationships. As a part of your preparation, create some business cards and be prepared to give them out to everyone you meet—but don’t make it a one way exchange. When you give a business card, make sure you receive a business card. Double check your business card to see if it contains your complete information: name, mailing address, phone number and email address. It’s surprising how many participants do not create a simple business card—even if you buy blank cards at an office supply place and print your own. Bring plenty of copies of your business card. It is frustrating to the other person when someone says they only brought a few cards and have given them out. Writing is a solitary occupation and we need each other. You will form new and lasting friendships at the conference if you come prepared for it.

3. The third key for your conference experience is to study the background for the various faculty members and get familiar with their different roles. Publishing is constantly changing. You want to know who you are meeting and their role. For example, I changed roles last year and became an acquisitions editor at a New York based publisher. Your familiarity with the different faculty will help you form deeper relationships during the conference. I believe your time in preparation will be rewarded.

4. The final key for your conference experience is to come with the right heart attitude. Many writers come to their first conference expecting to sell their book manuscript or magazine article. Yes, there will be some selling during the conference. A much more central part of every writer’s conference is where individuals learn new aspects of publishing and take great strides of personal growth. Come with expectations and a willingness to learn and grow. With the right heart attitude, I’m convinced that you will not be disappointed but your expectations will actually be exceeded.

How can I say that expectations will be exceeded? Because I know each member of the faculty is a Christian and a person who is filled with the Spirit of the Living God. I love the verse in Ephesians 3:20 which says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

Today God is preparing for you the people and lives that will be touched during the time we are together. I will be coming with high expectations and anticipations. I’ve not ever been disappointed in the past.

See you soon at the conference!

W. Terry Whalin understands both sides of the editorial desk–as an editor and a writer. He worked as a magazine editor and his magazine work has appeared in more than 50 publications and he’s written more than 60 books for traditional publishers. A book acquisitions editor for several publishers and a former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. Whether you are unsure how to start on the path to publication or want to take your publishing career to the next level, Terry’s newest book, JUMPSTART YOUR PUBLISHING DREAMS, INSIDER SECRETS TO SKYROCKET YOUR SUCCESS is packed with insight. Also Terry is the author of the bestselling book, BOOK PROPOSALS THAT SELL, 21 SECRETS TO SPEED YOUR SUCCESS. Plus he’s recently launched a 12 lesson online course on proposal creation, Write A Book Proposal. At the Florida Christian Writers, he will be teaching a one hour workshop, Editors Read Proposals Not Manuscripts.

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Marketing the Write Way by Renee Flagler

Marketing is a monster, a science and a very broad concept. The good news is that it can be tamed, understood and reined in with a little understanding. Over the years, I’ve also learned that marketing, for many writers, can sound like a four letter word. I’m here to tell you it’s not so bad. Now, granted, my perspective can be a little biased since I’ve spent over 15 years working as a marketing professional in the lovely corporate arena. However, I want to help you understand this beast just enough to make it work for you.

First I’ll start with basic definitions. Marketing is:

1. The process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service

2. An aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to consumer

3. Activities that direct the flow of goods and services from producers to consumers

Marketing activities include: advertising (print, broadcast & online), PR/Publicity, printed materials (aka collateral), events, sponsorship, direct mail, brand management & strategic partnerships. The different forms of marketing include, traditional marketing, email marketing, social media marketing, and search engine marketing to name a few.

Here are a few of my recommended strategies for writers. For the sake of keeping this post at a reasonable length, I’ll share more strategies in upcoming posts.

Advertising:

It’s great when it’s cost effective. It can also be costly. Before doing any kind of advertising be sure that you are using the right source to reach your targeted audience. I wouldn’t make sense for a Christian fiction author to advertise in a magazine or on a website that is geared towards avid readers of mystery or sci-fi books.

PR/Publicity:

This is focused totally on gaining access to your readership by use of the media. Contrary to what many believe, this form of marketing is not free! Effective PR, when it’s done well, takes time and time equals money. However, adding PR strategies to your marketing campaign can prove to be very effective and can often give you a great return on your investment. If you can create a dynamic press kit on your own, go for it. If not, hire someone do it for you. At the very lease your press kit should start with a professional sounding bio, a press release, contact information, a photo, and any media clippings that you may have been able to acquire. Find reasons to reach out to the media. If your book wins is nominated for an award, generate a press release and send it out to the media. If you are asked to participate in a noteworthy event, generate a press release and circulate it. Start with you hometown media outlets and pan out from there.

Events:

Even in this digital age, it’s extremely important to get out in front of your audience. Your presence sells books. At the end of the day, you are your brand and your brand needs as much exposure as possible. Plan promotional events around the launch or content of your book. Attend and/or participate in conferences, book festivals & fairs, workshops and seminars. It’s great for meeting readers, networking and getting yourself exposed throughout the marketplace. When readers get to know you, they buy based on you. You are selling yourself with every book. Be wise when determining what events to attend or plan. Make sure your decision is cost effective and strategic.

Social Media Marketing:

The first thing you must understand is that simply having a Facebook, Twitter or Goodreads profile is not marketing. Marketing is much more strategic than posting updates about how cold it is outside. Use your social media platforms to be social. Engage your audience and focus on audience building strategies. To see effective social media marketing in action friend, like or follow a few of your favorite brands and see how they interact with their audience. You can run contests, offer giveaways, build your email database and much more using your social media profile. Let me warn you…do not, and I repeat, do not, get on Facebook and Twitter and just post, “Buy my book.” Do not, post your link on everyone page as they friend you. You must first engage your audience in a genuine manner otherwise you will only succeed in annoying them and causing them to unfriend or unfollow you!

I hope these quick tips have helped to guide you in starting to build a great, integrated marketing plan. Remember the best campaign is an integrated campaign—one that incorporates several strategies at once. You must always engage in more than one method to reach your audience so that you can make as many impressions as possible. The more people are exposed to you, the more familiar they are with you and your brand and the more likely they are to move towards making that purchase.

Renee Flagler

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Ten Ways for Writers to kick off a Fantastic New Year by Stacy-Deanne

So we’ve all made it to another year! Isn’t that wonderful? Let’s be grateful to not only still be on this wonderful earth but a new year means new horizons and goals for your writing! The first thing I want you to do is throw away all that negativity. Just throw it away and don’t think of it again. Take a deep breath and let all those worries slip away. Negativity leads to destruction and you want your new writing year to start right. Because of this, I want to inspire you by providing ten rules, well not rules but more like helpful tips of motivation and positivity to keep you going.

I hope they help!

1. Be positive

Leave the negativity in 2012. It won’t follow you unless you let it.

2. Set goals you can control

It’s important for all writers to have goals but make them goals that you can control. Don’t have your mind set on getting a six figure advance or making the bestseller list. You cannot control those things but you can control how much you’re going to write and work on your craft. Making goals that you can’t deliver sets you up for disappointment.

3. Be open to learning from your fellow writers

Have an open heart and mind this year. Sometimes we are too busy thinking we know everything that we can’t learn from others. Your fellow writers are a sea of information and you owe it to yourself to appreciate that and take advantage.

4. Don’t get discouraged

Not everything works out how we expect it to. Some books don’t sell well and some authors can’t get their books published in the first place. So what? You can’t control it so don’t let it steal your joy. Aren’t you here because you love to write? Well then, nothing else matters. Be faithful to your priorities. Remember why you want to be a writer and you’ll be satisfied with whatever comes your way.

5. Stop worrying about other writers and just do you

Stay in your own lane. Revisit my successful author post on writer jealousy if you don’t remember why you should mind your own business. It’s best for everyone.

6. Make this the year of no excuses

If you’re gonna be a writer, write. If you’re gonna start that editing business, start it. If you’re gonna self-publish and your book is in professional shape, do it. If you got revisions that you’ve been fighting off since last year, get to it. This is the year of no excuses and like Nike says, “Just Do It”.

7. Challenge yourself and continue to learn

A closed mind is a waste of time. Part of the writing life is learning. You will never stop having to learn in this business so you need to embrace it. You also need to continue to challenge yourself. Once writing has gotten too easy then there is a problem. You want to be the best you can be and you do that by learning.

8. Share your knowledge with the peers of your industry

Don’t be greedy with what you’ve learned. Help your fellow writer out sometimes and lend them a hand. You never know what you might end up with in return.

9. Be open to new ideas

Don’t limit your writing. Venture out and don’t be afraid to try new things. Just make sure you do it because you want to and not for book sales.

10. Believe in yourself

If you don’t, who will?

Stacy-Deanne

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Are Amazon and Facebook Your Publishing End All And Be All? by Deatri King-Bey

Without a doubt, Amazon is the number one retailer of books, but what about the other retailers who have billions in annual sells? How are your sells going for you on Barnes & Noble and in the iStore? Are your sells so great on Amazon that you don’t care about other online retailers? You don’t care about expanding your audience?

Understanding what Amazon has done above and beyond other retailers to capture the overwhelming share of book sells is important. You have to think the same way about your business. What are you doing above and beyond to capture market share.

eBlast – My experience as a reader and author has shown me that Amazon is the best game in town when it comes to selling and buying books. As a reader, they send me alerts to books I may be interested in that actually interest me, and I can change my preferences at any time. As an author, they give effective free advertising, showcasing my books to people who may actually want to purchase it.
- When you are promoting your title, be sure to ask readers to “Like” your product and author pages. In my opinion, this is more important than reviews because the algorithm Amazon uses to send out email blast to readers for books they might be interested in use those “Likes” and the majority of readers I’ve asked say that reviews factor little to not at all if they will be purchasing a book.
- KDP Select – In this program, you give Amazon exclusive rights to sell your eBook for three months. You can’t even give your ebook away free. In exchange for exclusivity, Amazon adds your title to their Prime Library and when members check out your title, you are paid a certain amount that is determined quarterly. This program has pros and cons. There are tons of blog post out there revealing authors’ experiences so I won’t debate that here.
  - If you do the KDP Select program, I highly suggest you do not use it for your new title. Instead, release your title on ALL of the platforms available to you and give ALL of the readers a chance to purchase your book, then once sells slow, do KDP Select.
  - I do not suggest you permanently keep your titles on KDP Select. Why would you keep all of your eggs in the Amazon basket? That’s not good business. You want to expand your readership to as many platforms as possible.
  - KindleBoards – Amazon has done an excellent job of creating a Kindle user community of readers and authors. Consider becoming a part of the community, without becoming a walking billboard.

With the ease of selling and buying on Amazon, I understand why many authors don’t sell their titles on other platforms, I just don’t agree with them. Publishing is a business. As a self-published author, you are the CEO, CFO, and every other O of your company, and you have to look at more than short term gains. You have to plan for the long term success and expansion of your company.

A few paragraphs ago, I said you shouldn’t only use the KDP Select program to sell your eTitles. Let’s examine Amazon’s motivation behind the KDP Select program. Amazon works to dry up the self-publishing market from other eBook retailers so Amazon will be the only game in town. Amazon is a business and thus doing what is best for its interest. Is that good for your business as an author? Someone who sells eBooks using Amazon’s distribution? No. Amazon has already started testing out only allowing publishers to receive the 70% royalty if they have their titles in the KDP Select program in certain markets of the world. How much more market share do you think Amazon needs to capture in the U.S. before they start that here? Am I saying you shouldn’t use the KDP Select program or Amazon to distribute your eBooks? Heck no. I’m saying don’t ONLY use Amazon and the KDP Select program. Build your audience on other platforms also.

I can hear it now. I have “tried” to sell on other platforms, but I get nothing! Granted, Amazon sells the most, but from what I’ve seen time and time again from authors is them promoting their Amazon product page instead of maintaining a website (not Facebook wall) and having ALL of their purchase links for various vendors of their titles so readers can easily select their print or eReader preferences in purchasing. I see authors nurturing their relationships with Amazon customers, yet promoting to other retailers as an afterthought. Newsflash, your promos should be about your book, not Amazon. Authors give Amazon way more free advertisement than Amazon is giving them by sending out the occasional eBlast.

So what do you do? Upload your book to as many “legitimate” retailers and possible. If you don’t have a website, get one. You are in BUSINESS and should have a professional website that showcases your work. Create a separate page for each of your titles and ensure you have the purchase links on it. Then when you promote your title, send readers to that page instead of to Amazon.

So now that you’ve decided that it’s best to sell your titles on more than one platform and promote your website for purchasing links instead of sending customers to Amazon, let’s talk social media.

Facebook, like Amazon is by far the fastest way to reach a large audience. Facebook has created communities of authors and readers and has given authors a way to build their own following! Great stuff, huh? I can’t tell you how many authors have put all of their eggs into the Facebook basket when it comes to communicating with their readership. Now they have thousands of “Friends” who follow them. Who hooo!

Except, they seemed to forget that Facebook is a business and of course going to do what will make Facebook the most money. I’m not mad at them. My publishing company is also a business, and I do the same thing.

So let’s get back to your thousands of followers on Facebook. Let’s say you are not one of those authors who “friend” everyone and ask everyone to join your group. You are focused on quality instead of quantity. Quality being people who would actually be interested in purchasing your titles. It may have taken you a year or two to grow thousands of quality followers. Guess what happened a few months ago. Facebook changed their policy so posts from fan pages only show on 10% of your followers’ walls. If you want it to show on more of your followers walls, you have to pay a fee.

Oh, and let’s not forget, everyone is getting more followers (even the average person), yet many people, like me, do not scroll down to the bottom of their newsfeed to see what posts they have missed, so the chances of someone seeing your post have gotten much slimmer.

You’re not worried, because instead of creating a fan page, you have the regular user page that limits you to 5000 friends, but it’s all good. You tell people to “Subscribe” instead of befriend, and since subscribers don’t count, you’ll never reach 5000. You’ll just promote on your wall. HOLD UP! Facebook is starting to warn authors and delete accounts of those who fill up their walls with promos. That’s what fan pages are for.

Now what do you do?

Never, ever, ever have all of your eggs in one basket. Especially a basket someone else owns. Just as I said you should have purchase links on your website, you should also have an opt-in mailing list sign-up on your website. You should be building your opt-in mailing list so that when you need to reach your fan base, you can actually reach them.

Am I saying you should skip Amazon and Facebook or other social media? Of course not. But you need to maintain as much control over your product and contact with your customer base as you can. Now get out there and take over YOUR business.

Deatri King-Bey

If you found this post helpful, please use the Share buttons to spread the word about it.

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Some Things that I learned at NY Comic-Con by Cerece Murphy

After taking a week to recover from the whirlwind which was this year’s NY Comic-Con, I wanted to share with other authors some of the things I learned. I had a booth in the Small Press section of the event. This was my first time exhibiting anywhere as an author, so if some of the lessons here seem obvious, forgive me, but I didn’t want to leave anything out.

1) If you are a sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal/horror author, you should try it. This year’s Comic-Con brought out over 115,000 sci-fi book/movie/comic lovers. This is our target audience. There were very few exhibitors of color, and even fewer female exhibitors. I think I was the only one selling sci-fi novels in the ENTIRE small press section which included at least 90 exhibitors. I say I think because I didn’t get to walk around much, but my friend did and said she didn’t see anyone else selling my genre. If you present a visually interesting booth, you WILL get attention and an opportunity to pitch your book. These are folks who are looking for something new.

2) Prepare! Exhibiting at NY Comic-Con is not cheap (the booth alone was $949). You want to make a visually stimulating impression. You can get a high quality banner from VistaPrint for $50. I did this and got a very large foam board poster of my book cover and it worked well. I also had smaller posters of my book cover that lined the curtain of my booth (I got these for free) and a TV/DVD combo on my table that I used to play my book trailer on loop. It got people’s attention.

3) Your entire book pitch needs to be 15 seconds or less. You probably already know this, but there is so much stimulation overload at the convention that people really can’t handle a lot of info. It is very loud. I tried to ask folks, if they were sci-fi novel fans. This worked for me. It allowed me to address passerbys personally and let them know what I was selling at the same time. Here is my entire pitch:

Me: Are you a sci-fi reader?

Reader: Yeah, I am. What’s Order of the Seers about?

Me: Well, the story is about a group of people who can see the future and are enslaved for that ability and the book is all about how they escape the organization that is trying to exploit their gift, reclaim their power and ultimately fight back. (I usually pause here to see if they have any questions. If they are staring at the cover and don’t ask any questions, I then add)

So there is lots of action, adventure and suspense with a little bit of romance too. If they didn’t ask any questions, I would then go on to mention the sale price of the book and offer to sign it for them if they are interested.

That’s it. I don’t like a “hard sell” approach, so I just tried to think of something I could say that I would be comfortable with. If someone said they weren’t a sci-fi reader, I usually asked them what kind of books they liked to read. Sometimes that discussion led to a sale. Other times, I recommended other authors that would suit them better. Either way, my goal was to create a positive experience for everyone who came in contact with my booth.

4) Free stuff. I had candy at my table and postcards that had my book cover on the front and a very short description of my book on the back with a QR code that linked to a free download of my first chapter. People seemed to like that. I also had “Order of the Seers” gift bags that I ordered on line for about $.75 cents a bag. I gave them out for free with a book purchase and sold them for $3 each alone. I can give the link to the companies I used for the postcards and the bags if anyone is interested.

5) The contacts that I made were very valuable. I met librarians, bloggers, press and an agent who took my information. I did 3 on the spot interviews and got a chance to submit my information for a free ad within a small NY based magazine. These were all people I never would have met if I hadn’t gone. We’ll see what this means in terms of actual exposure and book sales, but I also met some wonderful people in the industry that I look forward to working with on future projects

6) Book sales. In 4 days, I sold 5 ½ cases of books (32 books to a case). I am told this is good for a no-name author in the Small Press section with only 1 title (I’m not putting myself down. It’s just true). I think if you have more than one title, you could do even better. I more than paid for the cost of my booth and rentals (something I was told would not happen).

7) Cost controls. A big part of why I was able to make a small profit was that I stayed with a friend while in NY. I think this is essential. A complete breakdown of all my costs is listed below. If you are not local, you will probably have to rent a table. My raggedy 6 ft table cost me $70 to rent! Make that your one and only rental. Buy folding chairs at WalMart or Target. Get your own table skirt (They want $200 to rent a fully skirted table).

8) You need help. Get at least 3 people to rotate the days with you. No less than 2 on any given day. You are entitled to 5 exhibitor passes with your booth, so you can give them to your friends in exchange for help. I had at least 1 people with me every day and while it was enough, I still didn’t get much time to walk around and that makes a sci-fi chick a little sad….

9) Bring at least 150 books.

10) There was A LOT of diversity among the attendees. They would have LOVED to see more books and content with diverse characters. Although, I am sure that my bookcover, which has a white woman on it, shook up folks expectations of what I was selling, I think that a cool presentation of any race of characters could do well in this environment. Visual presentation is key here. If it looks good, you will have an opportunity to SELL.

11) Get them on the mailing list. Marketing guru, Seth Godin, has talked often about the publishing industries failure to capture the contact information of the people who buy their books, so that each time a new release comes out, they have to find those folks all over again. I offered a free exclusive preview of the Order of the Seers sequel as a way to entice people to sign-up for my mailing list. With this event alone, my mailing list has gone from 17 people to almost 200 folks that I now have permission to market my books to. The moral of the story is creating some incentive for having people sign-up for your mailing list can really help build your base.

12) Take the time to get to know the folks around you. You’re going to be with these folks for 4 days. These are the people who will watch your booth while you go to the bathroom. Be nice. I had two fellow exhibitioners refer me to helpful contacts (when they barely talked to other exhibitors) because I took the time to be courteous and helpful.

13) My budget – $1539

Booth rental: $949
TV rental: $150 (This was a mistake. I wish I had just bought one for around the same price.)
Table rental: $70
Banner: $50 (Vista Print has the cheapest price I found)
Table Cloth: $90 (I bought mine because I plan to do a lot of conferences)
Chairs: $30
Supplies and Incidentals: $100
Javits Wi-fi: $100 (you won’t be able to process a credit card sale w/o this. But most people had cash, so you could skip this and lose out on a small portion of sales. But I imagine this service would be critical for people with higher priced items. )

I have listed out all the items that I bought/rented here to give you the most honest snap shot of what it will cost you to go to NY Comic Con, but I do not consider some of these items (chairs, banner, tablecloth), to be just NY Comic Con expenses. I have and will use these items in other events that I plan to attend throughout the next 12 months and beyond.

I hope this is helpful to you. Please feel free to email me at cerecemurphy@gmail.com if you have any questions that I haven’t answered.

Order of the Seers ~ The Hunt is On
See the Book Trailer and Read Ch. 1 Here!
Follow me on Twitter @cerecermurphy

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Constructing A Short Story by Clive West

After an extended dalliance away from the genre, short stories are becoming increasingly popular again. With hectic personal schedules and the hurly-burly of the 21st century world, modern readers like the idea of picking up their book, tablet, Kindle, e-reader to enjoy a complete story without the hassle of having to remember numerous characters, complex plots or who is doing what to whom and why.

I’d like us now to look at the basic limiting factors of a short story in more detail and see where they lead us:

A short story by its very definition is short (!)
There must be a complete story within its pages even if it’s part of a series centered around the same characters or setting
The author must describe the location and the key protagonists in sufficient detail as to bring them to life

Some writers seem to think that a short story is merely a highly-condensed conventional novel or an extremely short novella when it’s neither. Because of the limitations imposed by the three above criteria, a short story takes a single thread and explores it to completion in the space of a few pages. There can be no complexity of plot, diverse parallel storylines, or switching from one exotic venue to another as per James Bond, Ludlum etc. If you are going to write a short story, you need to think tight, compact and bijou.

The knack to writing a short story which your customers will want to read is to concentrate on:

Creating a few simple but interesting characters
Choosing a setting which is quickly visualised by the reader and which will not overpower the characters or the storyline
Finding a story which leads the reader through
Sending the reader away with something memorable which makes them want to read more of your stories

With a short story, there is a real need to ‘hit the ground running’. You do not have the luxury of long preamble-style descriptions of the characters executed through rambling explanatory dialogue so you have to create a clear image of the protagonists very quickly and without overdoing it on the adjectival front. Likewise with the places; you will rarely have the word count for more than a cursory description giving a generic location such as ‘on the bus’, ‘at the beach’, ‘visiting the zoo’ and so on.

We’ll look at how to draw up plots, construct openings and decide upon endings for short stories in subsequent postings.

Clive West

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Clive West’s work includes a collection of short stories with twists called Hobson’s Choice, a full-length novel called ‘The Road‘ about the consequences of corruption on ordinary people and an accessible job hunting interview guide (based on his years of experience as the boss of an employment agency). He has also written a book about lymphedema. Clive now lives in a rebuilt farmhouse in the Umbrian region of Italy along with Damaris, his writer wife of 22 years and their three rescue dogs. Apart from his fictional work, Clive also writes commercial non-fiction on a variety of topics but especially relating to business and employment. He and Damaris run an indie publishers called Any Subject Books Ltd – www.anysubject.com. You can also follow Any Subject Books on Facebook – www.facebook.com/anysubject Contact details: books@anysubject.com Facebook site: www.facebook.com/anysubjectbooks

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