It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Time to gift the writer in your life with something they will love, perhaps need, hopefully use, but ultimately, will support them in their writing journey. Here is my annual round up of possible gifts for the writer in your life.
I love this writer’s clock, although there’s not a lot of writing . . .
This Hemingway Pencil Cup is adorable (for those of us who remember what a typewriter is). Continue reading
As often seems to happen, I had a completely different post planned for today, but then I attended a leadership training class with presentations chock-full of inspirational and motivational quotes, images, and sayings, and my plan changed.
Normally those motivational things don’t particularly resonate with me, probably because they are often cliches or things that I’ve heard/seen a thousand times before, but occasionally one catches my attention.
The image above, a variation of “Just Do It,” did just that (despite, I’ll admit, the fact that I was multi-tasking at the time). For some reason, this is just the nudge or kick-in-the-pants that I need right now to start moving forward. It may be a little early to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions and 2020 plans, but I’m pretty sure #LiveIt is going to be my motivational tagline for the year.
So, what’s inspired you lately?
Instagram is, hands down, my favorite social media application. I love how visual it is. I love how it doesn’t lend itself to angry discussions. I have less love for the selfies you find there, but in every pot of honey there are bound to be a few bee parts.
Anyway, for the past couple of years I’ve been using my Instagram account to post pictures of wildflowers that I take while hiking. I am not really a visual person, but I hike with an artist who has been wonderful about helping me understand lighting and composition, at least in this very narrow context. As a result, my IG page is loaded with reasonably attractive pictures of flowers.
I’ve heard a lot of discussions about how great IG is for selling books, but I’m not clear on how to do that. (Unless you run ads. If you’re willing/able to spend beaucoup bucks, I’m sure it works very well.) Unless your post is an ad, Instagram doesn’t allow you to include a working link there, only in your profile. Given people’s dislike of extra clicks, that suggests IG is not a good platform for sales.
So what’s the deal?
Last Sunday I took an Instagram class, taught by Kat Coroy. She explained that Instagram is more of a relationship-building tool. If people come to associate your posts with things they enjoy seeing and a consistent theme, it will predispose them to buying a book from you when the time is right.
That works for me. I dislike being on the receiving end of the hard sell so I’d never want to be on the giving end.
Without poaching material Kat has created and uses to make her living, I invite you to go look at her page and compare it with mine.
While mine won’t make you want to poke your eyes out with a tuning fork, it’s definitely several steps down from Kat’s. And, realistically, it’s never going to look anywhere that gorgeous. But it’s also clear that with a little bit of work and planning, I can spruce it up and have a very nice page that just might make people think, “I’d like to read a book of hers.”
My plans for next year include:
I’m also taking a class on Instagram for Authors that is being offered by my RWA chapter in January, so I’m hoping to learn even more. I’ll post an update when I’ve made some progress.
What about you? Are there any social media apps you’ve found useful in selling or promoting books?
The Seeds of Power is live on Amazon! Whoo!
I was beginning to think I’d never get there. It was a super-exciting moment to get the email, and even better that I was Skyping with fellow 8 Lady Jeanne at the time.
The ebook will go on sale next Saturday for $3.99 but I wanted to give regular readers of 8LW the chance to pick it up for $0.99, so I decided to do a stealth pre-order for the next week. If you’d like to try the book, pre-order before Saturday and you’ll get the lower price.
(The dollar pricing is for Amazon.com. If your local Amazon is different, then the pre-order is set at the minimum price for your territory, again until next Saturday).
As a reminder, the book is fantasy romance in a historical setting. Expect a strong-minded heroine, chivalrous hero, forced marriage, natural magic, and life-or-death stakes.
Here’s the blurb:
Her unique skills keep her safe. Until her greatest strength becomes her fatal weakness.
Princess Christal of Larrochar learned long ago that to marry was to risk her life. At twenty-eight she’s resolutely unwed, trusted assistant to the King’s Cultivator and an expert in rare plants.
Then, to her horror, she receives a marriage proposal she can’t refuse. All Prince Daire of Caldermor cares about is elan—the mysterious golden beans that bring his family untold wealth and power. If Daire wants Christal, elan must be at the root of his interest.
Christal’s father would sacrifice her to discover elan’s secrets. The Calderrans would kill to keep them secure. To save herself Christal will need every kernel of knowledge she’s ever gleaned. And the support of Kiran Randsen, elite soldier turned Calderran bodyguard, who may be something even rarer than elan—a man she’d trust with her life.
***
I hope you try it. And I really, really hope you like it!
Pre-order link for Amazon.com here
Pre-order link for Amazon.co.uk here
Thank you for sharing the journey to publication with me 😀
As our professor Jenny Crusie used to say in class, Nothing But Good Times Ahead!
Seven short years ago, I worried a lot because I write short – my NaNos are almost never more than 40,000 words, which makes a decent novella (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America defines a novella up for the Nebula Award as 17,500 to 39,999 words). But I hadn’t read many romance novellas, or even seen them promoted.
This year, they seem to be leaping up to be noticed. Romance author Stacey Shannon tweeted that she loves writing novellas in reply to former Carina Press executive editor Angela James’ tweet about loving to edit novellas.
Book Riot has a 2019 post recommending 28 romance novellas. If you look carefully at the covers, you’ll see a lot of them lack a publisher’s mark – I know at least some of these are self-published, while others have found homes with traditional publishers. Notice all the big names here, including some of my favorites like Courtney Milan and Jackie Lau. Continue reading
Welcome to the end of another fun-filled week; or if not fun-filled, then at least a problem-free week.
I’m currently quite pleased by the fact that the flu-shot I got in the early fall seems to have worked it’s magic: I have been illness free while friends and coworkers have spent the last few weeks suffering from various maladies.
Having remained healthy is a good thing because not only am I in the midst of the traditional year-end crush at the day job, but I’m also in the midst of finals. For some reason (I can’t even blame strong drink) I decided earlier this year that going back to school would be A Good Thing. Now, with finals at hand, when I’d much prefer to be reading or admiring the sparkly Christmas tree, I’ve just spent the last few hours studying away like a good little student. Something I’ll do again tomorrow and the day after and the day after that.
What was I thinking?
Fortunately, in less than a week exams will be over and I can find something fun to do until it’s time to start the whole cycle over again. As a reward for good behavior, I think I’ll take a break and give today’s writing prompt and random words a try.
Care to join me? Continue reading
For those of you who are interested in publishing news and trends (and who among us isn’t?), Jane Friedman’s newsletter for traditionally published and indie-published authors, The Hot Sheet, is a great resource. The annual subscription cost is $59, but there’s a free trial period. And for those who don’t want more stuff coming into their inbox, Friedman did a roundup of trends on her web site that I thought was interesting. She covered both fiction and nonfiction; here are a few highlights about fiction for 2019:
Some of these trends looked familiar, but I was surprised by some of this news, too. My view is that authors shouldn’t try to write to a trend, but if you have a bunch of ideas rattling around and you can write fast, maybe it’s worth trying to hit a current sweet spot.
What about you? Have you witnessed any of these trends yourself, or does any speak to what you’re working on?
