After Publishing — are you prepared?

I’m so excited to announce the new book, Love and Blood, is finished and the ebook is available for pre-orders. This book forced me to dig deep and work the trail of breadcrumbs that I have been leaving for a while. I spent months being sure I collected all the old ones and incorporated them into the new book before I began leaving new crumbs for the next book. Writing a series is hard work! If you write a lot of stand alone novels, it would be so much easier but then I love being able to weave an intricate tapestry that blends together the lives of several characters. JK Rowling was a master and I’ve tried to learn from her. I may die before I get it done with the same style and majesty as she managed, but I’m giving it the novice college try!

With Love and Blood put to bed, of course I realized that I’m not actually finished. Now begins the hard part, the part I hate with a passion – advertising and marketing. Ugh. Let’s say it together — UGH.

Fortunately, I had the blessing of a friend who worked as my PA guru over the last two years and she pointed me in the direction of some good marketing and promo information. She is now writing and publishing novels of her own (more on that later), so I’m forced to market myself again, doing all the things that she once managed for me. I hate it. There, truth is told.

There are many marketing and promotion opportunities out there. Some are more successful than others as I have discovered over the years. For me, I like having others help me but this does insist that I trust others to manage promotions. Thankfully, through networking I have met professional and wise folks who will help me by managing blog tours and facebook promos, solicit readers and do facebook and twitter blasts for reasonable prices. I have met some wonderful podcasters who have been kind to me and have helped me by allowing me to advertise or be interviewed and that helps promote my work. I’ve found websites that do newletter blasts to thousands of audience/readers and that saves me gobs of emailing.

Many of the best promotions cost money. Whoever said self-publishing was a cheap way to go, never wrote and developed a quality product or spent the effort to find and advertise to various markets. Promotions cost money. Yes, $10 here or $15 there, a $45 for a month of this or $77 for a huge blast of that. It adds up and for someone who doesn’t sell thousands of books (though I hold hope high), the money is mostly unrecouped. Though I will say with each new book, my visibility improves, my reputation spreads and the want to help promote is stronger. 

So why do it? Well, if I want to be seen and heard I have to try. If I want any audience to spread the word, I need to be seen. And if I want to be seen, then I need to get there the best ways I can. Spending money is a necessity but I try to spread it across the best platforms for me.

Advertising aside, the rest of the marketing must be managed by self through individual posts across social media. The worst of this is the time it takes. Well-managed (a bit every day or scheduled once a week), and it doesn’t eat up your other duties (like life or writing), but again, it requires focus and dedication given to one purpose.

It’s obvious to me why people have secretaries, personal and virtual assistants, spokespersons, managers, etc. Because most people don’t want to do this stuff. It’s a pain. Had I the money I’d hire it off permanently. But, oh well.

Back to the point. Love and Blood is out. I’ve programmed and hired those I need to help me, arranged for emails and promos and the like. I’ll start my own ads and promos this week. And then I cross my fingers and hope for the best.

You can pre-order and get the ebook while it is .99cents. It will go up in October. The print book should be released on Sept 21. You can order signed copies through my Contact page.

If you are self-publishing, be prepared for what comes after the delight of finishing and publishing the final product. The work – the real work – is only beginning! Be prepared to meet it with knowledge of your responsibilities and your wallet. Go into the “afterward” with focus and preparation. As you learned about publishing your book before you did it, take time to learn about marketing before you get there. It will pay off in royalties and dividends. Good luck!

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OTHER NEWS:

The Instagram #pinyourpen campaign is over. I did 57 or so weeks, over a year of Monday morning pens both exotic and novelty. Hard to believe. I’m sure there will be a pen or two coming up but the steady stream is over. It was great fun.

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CONGRATULATIONS TERRI!

My friend and once PA, Terri Wilson is now an author! She has one novella published and a new book releasing Aug 28! Here’s your link. Follow her on Amazon and do check her out. I love this new cover. (I feel like a proud teacher!) This is an up-and-coming author, so invest early!

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What’s coming up for me?

     FIRESIDE WITH THE PHOENIX, monthly LIVE Facebook chat is Aug 30, noon. Come to my Facebook Author Page and share 15 minutes with me.  It goes by very fast.

     I’m doing a live poetry reading on Aug 31 at 10am for The Andi Thought Ladies Thoughtful Book Festival. It’s a free Virtual Festival from 10am-6pm. There are all sorts of goodies going on during, so check it out. Here is a link to more info. I’ll be reading social issues poems. My reading will be on Zoom and there will not be a recording.

     Be sure to sign up for my newsletter because my readers get goodies and info that isn’t anywhere else. Want to be in the know? That’s the secret. Next newsletter is due out in a few days!

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I remain, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry

The Vagaries of Social Media

Lately I’ve had some online friends who decided to pull back and disappear from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media sites. Most of them cite similar reasons for taking protracted breaks. Reasons include: stress, mental health, disgust, tiredness, lack of fun and time consuming. Ah, the vagaries of social media!

I did not want to be on Facebook but when my first book came out, my publisher practically insisted. “If you want to sell books you need an audience and to do that you need Facebook. And Twitter. And….

Well I was already on Twitter, and had been for about a year. But I dragged my feet about Facebook because I didn’t care to post about sneezing or what I ate for lunch, or how I spilled my coffee or where the cat threw up. I really did NOT want to be involved in such a banal, trivial and cliché world. But I joined.

I kept my interactions simple and limited myself to general notes on weather, inspiration, book promotion, and things about writing. Took me a while to learn how to fill everything out and make it work. Than I learned about the ability to have a “page” and more learning commenced as I tried to build an author page (which is why I was there in the first place).

When I started to find familiar faces “out there,” I settled in with a little more confidence. I still kept my personal interactions to a minimum and never disclosed anything too personal. I’m still this way. But gradually I began to see the trouble with “social” media” and why the vagaries sent people away.

I wanted, and still sometimes want, to go away too.

Seems we’ve forgotten how to be civil. We don’t allow people to have a personal opinion that differs with ours. We have forgotten how to debate and be respectful of others’ ideas. We don’t approve of people who are different. We are self-centered and narcissitic. If we aren’t selfie-ing our friends to death, we are meme-ing ad nauseum or else we are selling and selling and selling and selling. It gets tiresome and exhausting and boring and did I mention tiresome?

Social media has made us antisocial (not everyone, of course, I speak generally here). It seems to have brought out the bigots, the racists, the homophobes, the misogynists, the anti-everyone, the social media platform builders and sellers, the buy-me-and-no-one-else-crowds and the folks who drowned out my Notifications with their posts of 57 new pictures every day.

What happened to being social? Where is the “how are you?” Where are the folks who are interested in you just for you? Where are the people who can share a little and then engage a lot?

It is no wonder that people are stressed about social media. It’s a madhouse of nasty innuendo, bad language, constant buy-buy-buy or sell-sell-sell, political vitriol (it has to do with who is #45), sickness, excuses and complaints. People are taking a break by the droves because the vagaries of social media are turning us into people we don’t like. 

Knowing this I wonder why we can’t be different, better, more social and stress a lot less?

Take a good hard look at your feeds. If you are a business, then sell. But remember to gain notice you have to be social too. Are you putting out a thousand pictures all over everyone’s feed? Stop. Give me 10 now and maybe 10 more later. I don’t need every single photo of your trip. Or else use the custom notifications and send only to those who really want to know the intimate details.

Yes, let us see the new baby, the new kitty, the graduation, the success, the bestseller, the solo at church, the blue ribbon and the first day of school. We are interested in your big moments. But exercise some caution before you get in too deep about your personal life. (And as a suggestion, stop broadcasting to the public when you are away from the house. Use the friends only for that and keep yourself safer). Sharing is caring. Too much sharing is overkill. Social media has become the overkill valley. No wonder we’re all wanting to run away back to the lives we know and love.

Let’s do a little less finger pointing, harassing, shaming and bullying. Let’s be SOCIAL and be kind. Let’s be curious and interested about others even though you want to yell “BUY MY BOOK.”  Remember that social media serves a purpose. It’s not a retail store (unless you have a business page). Want to get some fans? Be social before you be the salesperson.

And stop letting the vagaries of social media drive you, your friends, and me away because we need to stop stressing, worrying and recovering. Let’s be FUN! There’s a thought, right?

Let’s make Social media a social thing again and maybe we won’t trouble ourselves with the vagaries ever again.

I remain, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry

12 IRKSOME WRITER COMMENTS 

Here are 12 comments said by “writers” that irk me and flip my switches! I’ll happily tell you why.

            1.  I don’t know what to write about/there’s nothing to write about.

WHAT? Seriously, folks. Life is a treasure trove of stories, both mundane and extraordinary. Begin in the moment….”I sat at the kitchen table staring out the window…” or “the coffee pot gurgled and I sighed as I poured my first cup. Monday’s. I hated them.” The possibilities are endless! I can’t empathize with anyone who says this to me.

2. What’s the deal with your vocabulary? Why do you say “stodgy” instead of “old-fashioned?” Why do you say “myriad” instead of “many?”

So why don’t you use those words? Why is your vocabulary so limiting and poor? As a writer, words are your craft, your money, your paint, your world. Words are like music. Why use a B flat instead of B? Maybe it sets the mood better? Or has the kind of melody needed for the moment or the character? Use words to their full advantage and don’t dumb down for people. Ever. Don’t know a word? Don’t expect the author to teach you. Go look them up!

3. I have writer’s block.

No. See #1.

4. I just want to write what I want to write and if people don’t like it, too bad.

Actually I don’t have a lot of trouble with that thought. In theory, it is excellent. In practice, it is horrible. You have to find the balance between what you like to write and what people want to read. If you publish some drivel that you enjoy and no one else does, why bother to publish it unless you just want something to put on your coffee table with your name on it? Don’t waste your money going through a publisher and all that if that is all you want. Just make a word document and go over to Kinko’s or someplace like that. But if you really want to publish, learn where your style fits and what’s already published. Then find your niche in the genre. There is always a way to blend and yet be unique in a crowd. Find it.

5. That is obscene. That is just porn. Well, I don’t write that crap. “Oh you write THAT stuff.”

Now now. There’s room for everyone. If you don’t like erotica or other racier forms of writing, then DON’T WRITE IT AND DON’T READ IT. But do not presume to be the moral or literary compass for everyone else. I don’t like BDSM and so I avoid certain kinds of books. But I will not stand for censorship. Books are there to share. Look at Madam Bovary, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, or even Harry Potter! All three are banned books. Are banned books. Should I tell you can’t read Harry Potter because some person’s religious sensibilities were offended? No, you write what you want but always be mindful that if you tread in turbulent waters not everyone will be anxious to ride your waves. Be accepting, consider your audience and move on.

6.  I want to be a writer but I don’t have time. Or I’d love to sit home all day and write.

First off, becoming a writer does not necessarily mean you sit home all day and write. Most people have lives that are busy with jobs, kids, hobbies, friends, troubles, and writing has to find a way in. However, writers make room for writing because they can do no less. Writers have learned they have to write. Writers look forward to that release, the expression, the exploration, the discovery that writing provides. There is ALWAYS TIME to write. No matter how busy you are, you have time. Do you go to lunch? Do you blog? Do you keep a diary or a journal? Do you read the paper with your coffee/tea/soft drink? Do you have 10 minutes at the end of your day when you play solitaire on your computer?

No matter your job or your family life, there are times you can program to write. Regular time. Every day. First in the day, last in the day, over a sandwich or instead of something else, but you can always put writing in your life. That is if you honestly WANT and NEED to. Sometimes it is easier to say you are a writer than to actually be one. Stop talking about it and be one. The daily/nightly practice will lead to a wish to write more. Trust me on this.

7. I don’t want to share what I’m working on because someone might steal my idea.

Really?? Are you so certain that you have a wholly original, hot idea that has never been done before and is so dynamic and wonderful that someone can make a best-seller out of it?? Then you better get an agent and get that thing published! And if it is that good, you should have no trouble finding an agent and a publisher, right?

Okay, back to planet Earth. It is improbable that your book/story idea is so darn hot that someone runs away with it. And they can only do that if you don’t finish what you start. Truly there are very few original ideas left. What people learn to do is take old stories and make them new by adding new twists or new characters. Stop worrying about who is going to rip you off and worry more about actually writing and finishing that project of yours. Then realize that you need to share it for proofreading. beta comments, and publishing. Stop thinking you are a phenom and just write, ok? (Unless you are a James Patterson, Stephen King or JK Rowlings prodigy, then what are you worried about?)

8. I’m afraid of what you’ll think when you read it. It’s my baby, you know. I want you to like it.

Anything created is a part of us. Painters, musicians, sculptors, writers….we create and give life to something we hope will be wonderful. Certainly approval is what we seek in sharing. But guess what? Approval comes later. First, learning the craft means critiques. Means criticism. Means suggestions for improvement. Means re-writes and it means – gasp – deletions. Folks, toughen up because any beta reader, editor, proofreader, formatter is going to tell you things that you don’t want to hear. And you have to be smart enough and savvy enough to take it, learn from it, and grow from it. Who among us has never been told our work needs work? Who hasn’t heard, “not for me, not our style, not up to our standards, not developed enough, not current, blah blah.” Or worse, “I read it and I didn’t really like it.” Hey, let’s keep it real. First, you are going to be edited to death. Live with it. Second, not everyone is going to “love” what you write. You write first for you and second for them. Not all of “them” are going to like “all of you.” So, be prepared and move on.

9. My editor says I need to delete this whole section. What the hell does he/she know? Its my story!

First, l hope you are working with a professional. And if so, then what he/she knows is legion compared to you. Second, a good editor will have two things in mind, to produce the best story and to produce a story that sells. If you are seeking to be published in a magazine the editor will want to make sure it is what the readers want and that it reads well. Experience is the teacher here. Listen and learn and yes, question, and then learn s’more. If you feel so violently that you know more than your editor and you cannot reach an understanding, then accept you won’t be published. That is the editor’s right and your lesson. That’s the breaks, kiddo. If you are publishing a book, your editor will have read the entire work and has an understanding of what works and why. Listen, learn, adapt and seek compromise once you have experience under your belt. If you are a greenhorn (a novice, an amateur, a first timer), you do not know more than your editor. If you feel you are being butchered, discuss it. Again if you think you know more/better than your editor you can pull you project. However, if you have learned your craft, and this is your submission after years of hard work, it will show in your writing. In most cases, your editor will have your best interest at heart but remember, their job is to make it right and make sure it sells. Remember that.

10. It is the story that matters, right? What is the big deal with looks and formatting? Who really cares?

I do. When it comes to Indie authors, there are two sides of this argument. One is that it is the story that counts and everything else is just stuff and nonsense. The other side is that your book is your name and reputation and should have a professional appearance that can stand up against any “traditionally” published book. This is one subject that I am anal about. If you are going to put a book in print, make sure you do it right. There are guidelines to follow on what a print book should and shouldn’t have inside. There are guidelines on how to make quality book covers. If you go through all the effort to write a superior story and have it edited, then make the book reflect your hard work. Invest in a cover that is better than your vacation photos. Make sure the copy on the cover is as well written and edited as diligently as the interior. Invest in a quality author photo, not one from your smartphone. Layout the book in accordance to the CMS (Chicago Manual of Style). Understand what front and back matter is expected to be there and where it is located. If you write fiction know what should NOT be included that maybe belongs in a non-fiction book, etc. Looks and formatting do count. When I pick up a book and I open it, I don’t want to see things that belong only in an ebook or to find links in a print book that are gobbledygook (itty bity links that mean nothing in print) or numbered blank pages, or “#” at the end of a chapter. Make your print book good enough to sit on a stand in the library! Don’t go cheap binding, tossed together formatting, sloppy or illegible fonts, etc. Your name is on the book. It reflects you. The story matters most of all. So dress it in the finery that it deserves. Don’t let me be able to tell the difference between your Indie book and a traditionally published one from Knopf or Tor or anyone else. First impressions DO COUNT, you know.

11. I’m afraid what I write won’t be any good.

I’m afraid. Those are the key words. Realize that you will always be your own worst critic and your worst enemy when it comes to your writing. Until you make peace with yourself and believe in you, you will have to learn to deal with the scaredy- cat in you. Truth is no matter how much I learn about writing and how many things I write, a part of me is always a little afraid that it won’t “measure up” or be any good. What I have to realize is if I give my best work then it most certainly will measure up. And if I continue to learn and improve I will stop feeling so much fear and learn to channel that fear into excitement and nervous anticipation. We fear because we know we are not prepared. We don’t like the unknown. Reduce those fears by arming yourself with a well-honed craft. A pen that writes with confidence that comes from a place of knowledge is a pen to be feared by others but not by you!

12. Finally – and I hear this ALL the time – I don’t have time to read much less write. Or I wish I had time to read AND write.  It’s write or read. I can’t do both.

Okay, now hear this. Great and prolific writers are great and prolific readers. To write well you MUST read. Voraciously. Your mind is improved by reading. Your vocabulary is improved. Your imagination is improved. Your idea bank is expanded. You learn what is being produced in your genre, what is selling and what you like and don’t like about it. You gain an understanding of plotting and characters and story rhythms. Example, I hear someone say, “oh it dragged in the middle.” And then when you say that their story is dragging in the middle, they understand. Or they have ideas on how to fix it. They “get it.” Comparatively speaking, such lessons are invaluable. If you don’t know what makes a good plot arc because you haven’t read any good books, then how do you expect to understand how to make yours flow? If You are told it lacks a dynamic element, will you understand? What have you read that can compare? Reading gives you a sense of good writing. It rubs off! All well-established, famous, prodigious writers read A LOT. So get with it. Make time. It is in the best interest of your inner inkwell. No more excuses — go read a book (or twelve). (Not sure what to read? I publish my book reviews here for those who are looking for good stuff).

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That’s my rant for today. Here are a few last tidbits.

GIVEAWAY in progress! Today is the last day to get in on my giveaway. Ten years ago I published my photography book and to celebrate the anniversary I’m giving away a HARDBACK copy of it – I Wish You Joy. It’ll cost you $47 on Amazon.

Go here and enter. Random winner!  ENDS AT NOON TODAY!!!

And don’t forget to check out the latest Fireside Chat video too. I was pretty off the chart. :)

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Getting down to my last pens on Instagram. With only about eight Monday’s worth of novelties left, don’t miss out on these last goodies. Check me out here.

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I’m about to release my upcoming book cover! If you subscribe to my Newsletter, you’ll get to see it first! What? You haven’t subscribed? Get on the list now!

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HAVE A VERY HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! Be safe out there. Come back soon.

I remain, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry