March 23, 2016

To Blog or Not to Blog…Does it matter as long as a writer writes?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

image: Graphics1796

So you’ve taken the first steps toward writing a novel. Congratulations! Holy carpel tunnel, what an undertaking!

Aside from a novella pubbed with a small house, and a self pubbed short story, I’m new to the journey of writing longer bodies of work. With a couple of novels closing in on completion, I thought it’d be a good idea to revisit the notion of blogging before your novel is finished.

So why blog at all? Why have a website before the writing is ready?

To answer, let’s measure some good points and limitations of blogging as a fiction writer, because if you’re like me-already writing every night-you need good reason to write some more!

Do you really need a blog or website?  I’m tempted to answer, “Hell Yes,” but that’s a short answer for a long journey. Asking two questions can help determine if having a blog or website is right for you:

  • Am I writing for myself or an audience?
  • What do I want the blog to do for me or my intended audience?

Well, consider what you are writing for.

If time spent at your keyboard produces content intended for just you or your friends and family: It is a closed circle of reader ship. In this case you’re probably fine without a blog unless you want to use it as a meeting place to share writing efforts. However, a blog is a great way to venture into new territory as a writer as well as learning time management.

A FEW TIPS

  • Get a timer. Dedicate a specific amount of time to your goal of writing daily, and don’t move from the keyboard until your designated time is up!
  • Explore other blogs for inspiration to hit the keys more often.
  • Link and share your thoughts and experiences with others beyond your current circle. Lots of friendly bloggers would enjoy reading your stuff…just enjoy theirs, comment and invite them to visit yours!

If you are a fiction writer, with an eye on publication: Whether you want to submit a 7,000 word short story for a magazine or anthology, or a George Martin-esque length novel, you want to begin building a name, a platform to launch your work and your presence. One of the simplest ways  is creating a public blog. As with a personal blog, a public blog can help you get into the habit of writing every day, as well as discovering an enormous community of online interaction and support for mutual interests and efforts.

When marketing my book *Stealing Time  I blogged and interacted with a lot of people. It didn’t feel like marketing, but a direct result of blogging vs not blogging was more book sales. *published under a nom-de-plume 2012 by Musa Publishing

A fiction author who blogs on a website and participates in bloghops and giveaways builds both brand and sales. Bonus: It’s fun!

  • A blog or website offers exposure. Your blog combined with email subscriptions is the marketing tool for your name.
  • Write a blogpost-geared idea every few days even if you’re not ready to post yet.
  • Once a week choose one of those ideas and expand it to around 50o words and you’ll have built a blogpost.
  • Balance Writing Goals: Hit your daily fiction writing goal first, then work in thirty minutes for your blogging goals. A timer helps.
  • Share what other writers and bloggers are doing that intrigues you. Post a link to their content from your site.
  • Build your blog audience through an email list; an email subscription button can make it easy for them to take action.
  • Consider creating a free newsletter to offer visitors who subscribe to your blog. ‘Cause giving back is beautiful. And you’ve learned so much from their blogs and input, too!
  • PS If you’re looking for my subscribe button, I’m in process of figuring how to add it and learn how it works using Mail Chimp. There is a Mail Chimp plug in, I believe, for WordPress that allows people to subscribe, and if I understand it right, maybe triggers a news letter message? I’ll tell you how this works in a post next week!

So. Now you are a blogger who aspires to submit fiction work for publication. Here’s the catch: You haven’t typed a short story in weeks. You have penned no poetry, and the deadline to submit it cannot be seen from your rear view mirror. Oh, and what about your manuscript? What manuscript? You’ve been so busy interacting and tapping away at the keys for your various social media sites that you forgot your original purpose.

WRITING

Blogging is a fantastic social/marketing tool. But best of all? It sucks your time away and you won’t even see it happening. Don’t let it be your master. Let it serve you while you write and serve others.

Unplug and WRITE.

Manage your social media time and don’t let it become a timesuck. Narrow your focus to one or two blogposts per week until your writing goals are completed. Your time will free up for finishing that 300 page doozy stewing in your brain. Hit the keyboard with an eye to target that submission deadline, or create an imaginary deadline because the person who submits is ahead of the pack.

Then consider blogging again.

If your brain needs a change of pace from the current WIP (Work in Progress) but you still want to write every day, that’s a perfect excuse to blog.

My own MS in progress is just past 150K words, earning me a late salmon supper and a bit of time to update this blogpost. Oh…and coffee. The writing is delicious when spiked with liquid roast-heaven in a cup.

Cheers!

Kate Dancey

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April 18, 2013

In support of Boston Marathon Runners and the Spectators who cheered them on.

Blitz Canteen-Women of the Voluntary Service Wikimedia, UK

This week’s post is dedicated to the Runners of the Boston Marathon, and the Spectators who cheered them on April 15, 2013; Patriots Day.

Join me in admiration of the Runners whose dedication to their sport brought them to the finish line safely, and let’s encourage them to continue to race on for the victims, to give hope that they may live to compete again. You carry all our hopes forward and our hearts go with you.
May all who read this get behind those who chase their dreams; help the doctors, lawmen, and act as good Samaritans to keep the wounded and their families safe in their time of need. From the United States to Canada and the Philippines, from London to Brazil nothing will stop us from trying to achieve our personal bests from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The terrorists who did this will be caught and face the justice of the people. Do not live in fear; do not hide away. Live your lives out loud and in the open, brave in the face of tragedy to honor the fallen.

I send thoughts of healing to the people of Boston and to the souls of this great nation. We are best when life is at its worst; therefore in the spirit of humanity, I ask my fellow writers and readers to go out of their way to be kind to each other and their neighbors. Lend a caring ear or perhaps a strong shoulder. Help support your community and if you can, lend a hand to someone in need, especially to those in Boston.
If you are reading this, take a moment to send healing thoughts and prayers to the wounded and those who have lost someone. If you are able to be involved directly, consider giving blood in the Boston area, though according to news sources, expect to wait a little longer than average to do so.

If you want to help support monetarily, the Red Cross is helping to provide meals and comfort kits to victims and their families. Also, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick in conjunction with Boston Mayor Tom Menino have set up The One Fund, to help aid those most affected in the sad events of April 15. Please help them in their relief efforts. Here are the links:

http://www.redcross.org/news/article/Red-Cross-Supporting-Families-in-Boston-After-Tragedy

http://www.theonefundboston.org/

For a list of other ways, to help specific victims and their families here is a link to the Huffington post which includes the Richard Family Fund, dedicated to honor the eight year old boy killed in the bombings and give aid to his mother and sister injured in the tragedy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/help-boston-marathon-victims_n_3087183.html

You might also consider the Celeste and Sydney Recovery fund through the Go Fund Me site, which is focused on helping them to recover from their injuries. Celeste Corcoran lost both legs below the knees and Sydney, who was hit by shrapnel, has several injuries resulting from the blasts.

http://www.gofundme.com/CelesteandSydney

Peace and Strength to all of You from all of me.

Kate Dancey

April 17, 2013

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March 29, 2013

Writers up! Stir up a plot with Kate Dancey

July-September 1941, Gross

Photo Credit~Anthony Gross 1941

Hey there, neighbor!

One week from my last post and I’m now seven fat chapters into my new novel. I  rewrote it from page one all this past week and it is much better developed with lots of new characters. Best part is, I know where my characters, whether bad or good, came from and where they are going, and what will happen when they get there. I have a subplot of a love story simmering nicely, a couple of comic relief characters, some truly scary moments for the protagonist where she is pushed to the sharp point of endurance mentally and physically, and she’s made some new friends along the way.

Save the Cat method of story telling using note cards and beat-sheet style of outlining to plot before writing truly freed up my mind and allowed for much more depth of story than my original, so the couple of weeks of writing time “lost” in plotting turned out to be a terrific gain.

This is very exciting, and thus far a fruitful venture in writing, and I hope you are pounding away at your keyboard and finding success, too! Did you purchase Save the Cat, yet? I promise I gain nothing from plugging the book. In fact, it’s brilliant author, Blake Snyder, passed on from this world, but he left a legacy of writing tips to his scribbling fans. I’m so pleased to be able to point the way to his book; just following his advice of giving back. So, yeah, I have two of his books, now, and Save the Cat Strikes Back is the perfect companion book to the first. Whenever I’m stuck, I just look to my STC note cards, pay attention to the storyboard, and write to the beats. Yeah baby! The long and short of it? Plotting with note cards and storyboard  is lump free delicious gravy for your word-count. I’m adding characters more easily, dropping them in just the right place ahead of time so that I can stir up some trouble with them later, and boy is it fun disrupting my protagonists life.

Too mean, you say? No it isn’t. One of the secrets to great plotting is telling how your character goes from being, say, a clumsy, allergy ridden and isolated lab biologist who spends her spare time building allergy-free, self-sustaining miniature gardens, to an environmentalist group leader selected as part of a crucial biosphere mission to spruce up planet Mars. You really want to set a lot of obstacles in your protagonists way, physically and mentally or spiritually if your character is going to experience growth. Just like I had to go back, regroup and stop writing the manuscript for a while to learn about plotting with a storyboard before continuing on. It was hard, but I did it (hey, even an writer can arc) and you can, too! The more hardships you shovel onto your protagonist, the more awful your antagonist, the more crap you pile on all of them equals a better story. The plot is carried forward with the arc of the character, and you as an author benefit from knowing exactly where each growth-spurt will occur. All from a little restructuring.

Now, if you aren’t sure about note card outlining, ala Save the Cat, here’s a great site from Rune Lords author David Farland‘s Author Advisory Conference Calls where a variety of authors speak about methods they use to achieve writing success. In this particular clip,  New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike discusses her number line method to keep the story purring along, and your plot on track. Mr. Farland tirelessly devotes time to teaching aspiring authors how to launch themselves into the happy business of becoming first time novelists, as do the successful authors who lend their time to his programs.

David Farland’s Authors Advisory Conference Calls

Learn about how the pro’s do it, apply the methods to your own writing, and enjoy the experience of seeing your word count and character arc rise to new heights!

I’m at 25K words now. Not too shabby.

Cheers and Happy Writing!

Kate Dancey

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March 22, 2013

Write that novel! Spring into step with Kate Dancey

CopyIMGP5a *peeps over fence*

Hey, neighbor! Spring is here; time to regroup, rethink and re-engage with the world on a fresh  trajectory in writing! Care to join me?

To celebrate Spring I’ve got a new website–glad you could make it–where I’m working on a new project and noting what it will take to complete a full length novel, then shop it out to agents and Get. It. Pubbed. Along the way I thought it’d be nice to share lessons learned in the process–and a few tricks I gleaned while learning what gets a reader to lose themselves between the covers…of books! The sweet stuff of life, comes when the writing is fun!

Have I done this before? Yes and no. I published a short story through a small, but traditional house. It’s 15,000 words and was submitted after lots of research to avoid the pitfalls of the Dumps Monsters kind (damned unscrupulous malicious publishing scammers–yes I coined that phrase; my article about those ugly folk is here) and without an agent. I got lucky. Got an offer, did a happy dance, and accepted–after reading the entire contract–which I hope you will, too, when you get the opportunity. In November 2012, I had my first signing with a book-club in Los Angeles. Pretty neat! But it isn’t a novel length endeavor, and I’m up for that challenge.

I began writing my current novel about a month ago, and I was zipping right along at the keys when things started to feel disconnected. Not enough characters, not enough plot, zero subplot, and a poor crooked spine on my novel. My poor seedling ideas had fallen sick and sagging.

There I was,covered with blight at only 3 scraggly chapters in. Not much to show for all my ideas you say? Fair enough.

I had to put aside my notions of story-telling, though I’m quite the pantser (term for a writer who writes by the seat of their pants instead of planning every step) and learn how to better craft a beginning, middle and end. More importantly, my readers deserve to know what happens in between those points, and want them presented in a logical order, but with surprises and turns at the write places that move the tale along. So, I stopped pantsing in order to plot it out. Now don’t get me wrong; I still pants it, but I can tell you from personal experience that the plotting process is worth learning, and it works like a dream. You can veer from it and enjoy a good, long pantsing session, as long as it flows along with the plot points and moves the story forward.

We’ll start with the beginning and end. How? Because they should be opposites. Your protagonist, villains, and all their entourage should arc (how a character grows and learns on a spiritual level is known as a character arc), and the image you leave them with on the last page should reflect that a change has occurred in their world. Who would bother reading a book if everything stays the same? Your audience experiences your story from point A to Z because things happen, and the more a situation alters…the better the story.

I employed lessons from a screenwriter’s guide, Blake Snyder‘s Save the Cat–which you should rush out and purchase today if you are an aspiring novelist, and which I will introduce to you here. I also hooked up with some fine folk at NANOWRIMO,  which we will discuss in future.

Why a book about screen writing? Because it helps you to learn how to break a story down into 3 sections, making it easier to handle, then it breaks  into 15 beats, and finally, 10 note cards per section that you use as a guide to craft a plot with no holes in it. In the STC method you have the ability to see how your character and his buddies arc and you can tell pretty quickly using the story board where the plot is wilting. Did I mention they have online pointers for free as companions to the book? Brilliant!

Now, I have my fifteen beats laid out on a storyboard so I can keep my spine straight, and my ideas growing are strongly toward the sun. I know what happens, when, and where, right up to how it ends…and on into the plot for book 2, and the beginning structure of book 3–all because I germinated those ideas in book 1. Got it? Go get it.

With the storyboard and beat sheet to guide me, I allowed myself to return back to writing this week, planting words in earnest. I’ve managed to include many original ideas, and reserve some seeds for future writing–planning ahead is an excellent practice and a lesson only recently learned! Agents love it when you have not one, but two books ready to go! So, I’m going full speed ahead with my tale about Native American Shamanism, old world tree spirits, water sprites, Traditional Paganism, and one lone practitioner who inherits some haunted acreage. It’s been fun writing her story, and when it’s published, I have high hopes that you will enjoy it, too.

I’ll stop to report my progress here from time to time, and give you tips and links on how to get that novel written! Then feel free to come along for the big blooming show as I shop it and get my agent. Spring into action with me and lets help this neighborhood garden produce lots of great stories. Oh, and NANOWRIMO summer camp begins in April!

Woot!

Ready? Spring for those words, and remember to Save the Cat!

Kate Dancey

March 22, 2013

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February 27, 2013

My first Signing Event: Coffee, Books, and Tesla Coils

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Nikola Tesla’s Laboratory in Colorado Springs circa 1900: Photo-Wikimedia Commons

On November 14, 2012 I had the great honor to participate as guest author for The Final Frontier Sans Polyester Book Club! This was my first ever signing for Stealing Time, my e-Book novella, and I was blown away by the experience! I’m such a lucky writer to have met these fifteen delightful ladies–all home school moms–and even a few of their kids.

The event was held at the Catalina Coffee/Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in Redondo Beach and I’m pretty sure we ate up all the chocolate in the place, and tried every conceivable version of latte or frufi  coffee on the menu. I wound up the evening with a wee cramp in my fingers and a permanent smile which months later, is still in place.

What does an E-Book author sign, you ask?

Everything! Just kidding; I signed lots of bookmarks featuring Stealing Time’s beautiful cover art. Thanks Kelly Shorten at Musa Publishing!

The event was a splendid experience all around, and a special thanks goes out to Talitha Sherman, home-school mom extraordinaire, for inviting me to visit with TFFSPBC!

As promised, here is a link to building your own smaller version of a Tesla coil.

***Parental Supervision Required!!!

***  http://www.scienceexperimentsforkids.us/tesla-coil-experiments-for-kids/    ***

***Parental Supervision Required!!!

Tesla Coils are a real bit of science that I used in a fictional context in Stealing Time; leylines combine with Tesla coils used to power Time Traveler Pods. Well, that never really happened, no leylines, no time travel. Leylines were something that people in the late Victorian Era were interested in proving, or disproving. In contrast, Nikola Tesla’s Coils were actually invented in 1890, and the science behind them is quite real. Tesla coils were used in wireless transmission and can receive electromagnetic impulses.  Tesla Coil Receivers can be used to charge a storage device with energy, which can be used to operate various machinery.

I hope you’ll visit the link provided to learn more about Nikola Tesla’s experiments, but be sure to have parent, teacher, or a great group of home-school Moms as supervision for the experiment!

Cheers!

C.K. Garner 02/27/2013

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October 24, 2012

When your first work isn’t your best work, hone your writing as you go.

Floating Donut by Scarce at Wikimedia Commons

Hi there, Readers.

Have you ever hit the send button to submit your work, but then only moments after uttered a Homer Simpsonesque, “Doh! What have I done?”

Few authors will admit it, but I’m going to be honest here, trot out on a limb and present my “Doh!” moment for your perusal. It comes with highs and lows of what worked and what didn’t.

After sending my MS off to the publisher I realized that things were missed here, could have been structured better there. Timeframe might have been made clearer, etc.. Not to mention that my story strayed from the style of conventional books on the subject. I took a risk writing my novella, Stealing Time, in a non-traditional fashion, and wasn’t sure it would play out.

Formulaic lessons of writing generally call for a tidy wind-up in true Spielberg style; hero leading everyone safely over the top of the mountain, sun caressing shoulders, planes flying past in salute, and everyone beaming smiles down on a shining end.

Well, I didn’t want that.

My original goal in writing Stealing Time was to craft it with content and ending that you might find in the comic book series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the original Watchmen. Their work left much to the imagination, some things hidden and simply not explained, and therefore open to delightful speculation.  A current example of the cliff-hanger style I wanted to replicate is Dirke Tiede’s manga-styled, Paradigm Shift. The author keeps me anxious to grab the next copy to see how it ends–or begins–come to think of it. Consider adding his series to your shelves.

But I digress; the desire to write in a way that was familiar to me as a reader, was harder to create as an author. I  ploughed my way inexpertly and inelegantly through my manuscript with plenty of “Doh!” moments. And yes, comments after publication on Amazon reflect those mistakes. Fortunately, most folk who read it liked it, but more importantly, they voiced complaints. What readers had to say provided a place to start in terms of improving my writing, even if it was after publication. So, what did I learn from the “Doh!” factor?

I practiced my art, writing to their demands to bring them an improved experience in the sequel. The readers  became my guides in bringing secondary characters into play, having them better developed, digging deeper into the plot, etc.. But, stubborn to the last, I kept true to my original vision, tried various techniques to explain just enough but not too much, because I remembered something else that shone through those reader comments.

Most of them wanted more.

Though my fledgling novel had holes in it, my goal to create a cliffhanger, something I haven’t often come across, succeeded because my readers liked it. It drove them crazy that it ended where it did. They were startled that not everyone had been saved, that questions went unanswered, that the plot thickened only to come to an end. The outcome? Mistakes of my first book were balanced by its success of keeping the readers engaged, turning the pages, and wanting more.

My point is, your early efforts might not be your Magnum Opus. Perhaps they fly in the face of traditional thought or style. Whatever your personal experience, consider a few questions: Can you know what your best work is if you haven’t yet written it? Moreover, how can a work with mistakes possibly be a success? By all means edit, and edit voraciously, but until you risk sending your book out into the world, how can you know if it will fly with your readers?

The answer lies in how you perceive success, and I have a theory that every book has an audience anxious to turn its pages, even through “Homer” moments.

*If a reads your work, even leaves a negative comment, if they point out where the author lost them, you have a map for your next efforts to impress Mr. Tough-Reader. That leads to working harder and smarter, which leads to higher knowledge and better acceptance from a tough audience.

*When a person takes the time to read your work and leave a comment, even if the comments are mixed, consider how many other books they might have read, and perhaps not commented upon. A great or mediocre response to your book means it is worthwhile to that reader, and their comments are an open invitation to hone your skills and delight them further in future.

*Finally, a book’s influence can be measured by what a reader takes with them when the last page is turned. You may not consider it your greatest achievement, but someone else may have an entirely different opinion. One of my favorite comments for Stealing Time, though not written on Amazon, was relayed to me through a bookclub. The reader said, “It angered me that it ended.” What a great compliment! Why so great? Because it touched off an emotional connect to the story and the characters and left him wanting more.

That’s more than enough encouragement for me to continue pounding the keys.

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September 22, 2012

Welcome Autumnal Equinox 2012!

Photo of Napa, CA Vineyard:Brocken Inaglory

Bring on leaves in their gaudy-best colors

Let the air cool lungs from summer’s sear;

Break out the scarves and soothing hot toddies

Kindle a fire, bring loved ones near;

Rejoice in jacket pockets, savor the season

Autumnal Equinox 2012 is here!

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August 29, 2012

Write to Pub Wednesday: Too busy to write? Roll with it for inspiration.

Do you ever feel that there isn’t enough time in the day to create, write, edit and tend to all of the people and responsibilities in your life?  Granted family comes first, and your friends do need your attention, but perhaps you procrastinate over writing because going for a drink with a pal calls to you louder than your manuscript revisions. Maybe your plot has pockmarks, akin to the holes I found in my story this week; but sorting old clothes or making the house look spotless, or doing homework with young Billy keeps you from focusing on your work in progress, and you feel you just can’t think. Has your creativity become lost in the noise of living?

Should we, as writers become removed from family, friends and necessary activities in order to get spark back into the story?

Not necessarily. Instead of trying to absent yourself from living your life,try to just go along with the flow and draw from the din of living the energy for your theme.

I had a lot to balance this week, and a ton of writing to accomplish, but felt my creativity dragging in the face of the mountain of work ahead of me that had nothing to do with writing. I thought, how am I going to have energy to create if by the time I can be alone with my thoughts, my head aches from the spin cycle? How to go about scribbling, yet include people, chores and activities between writing sessions without engaging the inner hermit? What I found this busiest of days, was that activities from research to meetings, preparing dinner, taking care of chores, nurturing family, and visiting with friends could add content to my writing.  As the hot afternoon smouldered into a warm evening and finally became a welcome cool night, I found it also crept into my head as ideas for my manuscripts.

Don’t get me wrong; some days the need to schedule time away from friends and embrace the hermit-self that wants to hide with the dust rhinos under the bed, or crawl under a bush somewhere to scribble in peace must be obeyed, but there comes a day to let family know they are the most important part of your life, but you must pencil in time to focus on your thoughts and pound a rhythm to release them on the keyboard or you will explode like an unpricked potato in a hot oven. But often, because this is real life and not a fantasy where you have all day to hit the idea board, it is more of a juggling act to balance all of the demands and joys of living with the tug of your creative, writer’s soul.

Instead of fighting the loved ones and the business of your life, try my experiment.

Instead of fighting for time to think separately about my storyline, I opted to roll with it and include everyone or incorporated many of the day’s activities into the tale. Short observations and fleeting ideas went into a small notebook kept nearby for that purpose. Bits of conversation, the lavender aroma of clean laundry, the glory in the bloom of a garden flower, smell of turned dirt, and the feel of moist earth between my fingers, color of cooked marinara sauce, all fed into ideas for my manuscripts. As evening fell and I carved out a peaceful moment to enjoy a glass of wine with a friend, I felt a certain ease of spirit that had been absent while I was trying to knock down the door of creativity. By the time I was able to sit down and hit the keys, there were several pages of quick notes as fodder for the work to come to jog my memory; ideas to draw from that put a real  sense of color, liveliness and passion into my writing.

So, yes, the day was crazy busy and time for contemplating writing had to be nurtured throughout its progress, yet no one had to go without clean socks, a hot meal, or a doctor visit  just so I could think about what to write. Now I know that it is possible to store both the din and the more pleasurable for later use when the actual scribbling time, the ass-in-chair moment presents itself. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done, like a donkey with an upset cart, I’m making the cart steadier by giving it new wheels.

So just roll with it. Live it, breathe it, fell and touch your busy life and those places and fine folk, and even drags who populate it. Take note of what the day holds for you as a writer. The notebook will keep the thoughts present until you have your free time, and the results may surprise you by enriching your writing, just as all of the perceived noises have moments that enrich your life.

Cheers!

C.K. Garner

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August 15, 2012

Write to Pub Wednesday: Give it Away Free for e-Book Market Visibility

Give it away at a Bloghop!

Greetings All,

You’ve got your book marketing platform built, blog or website in place, buy-links to purchase your e-Book accessible and user friendly; but still you have one question; where are all the customers? Where are the other authors for mutual support and camaraderie in the field?

The answer is: If you build it, you must get out there and mingle and put your work into their hands; then they will come. You can do this on the internet or in person, just as you would in any face to face environment. Once you’ve built an online reputation that is welcoming and shows a genuine interest in supporting your fellow scribblers, they will come. Readers, however, sometimes need a little bit more to sweeten the pot before they come out of hiding.

Let’s face it; people like free. Doesn’t matter if someone is hawking an old stick. The question becomes, “What will it cost me?” And if the answer is , “Here, it’s free!” I feel safe in saying that in a crowd, someone will imagine all the things they might create with that old stick. Polish, carve, paint it, whatever; the point is they will step up and say, “I’ll take it!” But people are like a flocks of birds. We are creatures of habit. That same person may return to see if there is anything else you’re handing out, and so will the crowd in general; after all did you see the fantastic cane that guy made from an old stick? As a new author, or an up and coming author, how about enticing them with a free copy of your book for a limited period of time, or perhaps a gift card to Amazon for visiting and subscribing to your blog?

One of the best ways to earn a following is to reward your readers to be. Post a free excerpt on your blog if it is copyrighted. If you aren’t worried about copyright, post work just for the enjoyment of writing it and inviting people to read it. One of my favorite blogs belongs to a friend, author Nishi Serrano. For a glimpse of a great horror author in action, she posts free samples of her writing a chapter at a time. Essentially, people who visit regularly get to read an entire book for free just for showing up. How cool is that? There’s a cracking good horror tale in the works right now, just scroll down past the fun and creepy cars of horror films, over the pics of cute animals, and there you will find a lovely little tale called the Bilge. I’ve read it and anticipate the next installment with bated breath–and with the lights on. Check it: Author Nishi Serrano

Giving a way a title for free now and then creates interest in your brand. Another way to do this is joining a blog hop or two. Bloghops seem complicated to a noob, but they are simply a way for authors and readers to find each other. A site hosts a bloghop, sometimes based around a theme. Authors prepare a writing or a welcome for the given day and post it to their blog or website. All the sites are linked through the bloghop host, and all authors give away a prize of some sort; generally a free copy of their E-book or paper print book to one lucky hopper.  I participated in a blog hop before my book ever came out! It was fun meeting all the authors and visiting their sites, too. I even won a book myself! Not too shabby. For that hop, with express permission from my publisher, I gave away in advance two copies of Stealing Time. Now that my book is released, I’ll send them their copies as a download. That’s it! I found the bloghops well worth my time. Connections I made through participation in that hop are invaluable. I’m participating in another hop coming this October.

Many authors out there will balk at giving away their work for free, but there are an equal number who swear that a giveaway for a short length of time pumps up their readership and sales; this is true for traditional-pub or self-pub authors, but if you are with a traditional company, check with them first to see if you can. Self pubbed authors can do it whenever they feel the need to stir up some interest in their books! Here’s a site to read it for yourself: lindsayburoker 5 reasons to consider giving away a free ebook.

There is a money guru by the name of Suzy Orman who is constantly saying that to receive money, you have to be willing to release that money back into the universe, you must give back to society to keep the money flowing to you. At least that is the gist of what she says. I believe her. I might not have a lot to offer right now; but I can giveaway a free read every now and then, and I have traveled the long road form writer to published author. It is my mission to give back to all of you who still travel this road and help me have a better understanding of the best in human nature, and to share it along the way. Remember to be nice because you are making connections, not burning bridges; share what you learn, give away a little bit of yourself and your brand, and mingle at the bloghops!

Cheers!

C.K. Garner

August 12, 2012

Shopping Out Your E-Book: Are you covered?

Hi Writers!

I discovered an interesting surprise today. Many of you are aware that my first E-Book, Stealing Time released just two days ago. A friend told me yesterday that it was up on Amazon. This seems obvious, I know, but I was paying attention to sales from my publishing company’s site rather than thinking about other venues. Today, curious as to how far across the boards I could find my book, I did a little bit of digging. It is a wake-up call to see how many markets a book crosses to get it in front of the viewing public.

Some might view it as checking out the competition; but that is an incorrect assumption. Perhaps the venues compete with each other, but for the author having your work available across a wide range of venues increases your chances of being picked up by a new reader. That is good marketing at its simplest form whether you are a self-published author or with a traditional company. Make sure your readers or even just the curious can find you with minimal effort–every click is a potential sale. So where can you find a copy of Stealing Time? Check this out!

Stealing Time on Amazon only $0.99 cents!

Stealing Time on Smashwords only $0.99 cents!

Stealing Time on Barnes and Noble only $0.99 cents!

Stealing Time on Manic Readers only $0.99 cents!

Stealing Time on Musa Publishing only 0.99 cents!

I only covered five venues, but you’re getting the idea, right? Make sure that your readers can easily find you across multiple websites. Market wherever and whenever you can.

Thanks for reading, now go and check to see where your readers can find you, and add a site if needed. Remember to come on back for Write to Pub Wednesdays!

Cheers!

C.K. Garner