Hokey Pokey Marketing

You put your right foot in,

You put your right foot out,

You put your right foot in,

And you shake it all about.

You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around.

That’s what it’s all about!

Sounds a little like book marketing, doesn’t it?  

You put yourself out there, tentatively at first, one foot in, one foot out in an effort to keep yourself grounded and balanced. You join a few groups, you test the waters, you float a few comments, and you find yourself among friends. You step back and think, “That wasn’t so bad!” So you put your foot back in and shake it around a little, update your profile, take out a Facebook ad, join a few more groups and learn how to tweet, still with only one foot in--just in case you find yourself in over your head.

Now let’s try the left foot: You buy and read the self-help books for self-published writers. You scan your groups and forums for thoughts and ideas on how to market, how to build readership, how to network, how to find your niche. Then you thrust your foot back into the circle and give it a good shake -- just to see what happens. You make a few contacts, you retweet a few tweets, and you find that you’re connecting with other writers and poets and aspiring artists who are also furiously shaking their left foot while trying to learn to dance.

Right arm, left arm, in and out, shake and spin. At some point, the whole body becomes engaged, daring to jump into the circle to shake it all about in a wild frenzy of exultation (or frustration, I guess, depending on how well you’ve learned to perform). By the end of the dance, you should have it all together, each appendage working independently and in concert with all of your other appendages. Your website, blog, author pages, review pages, groups, connections, networks, fan base, clubs, personal appearance schedule, readings, launches, and every other conceivable body part of your marketing persona should be shuffling along in a smooth and graceful dance of success, doing the Hokey Pokey on auto-pilot while you get back to your real job: writing.

I’m not sure which part is the hardest part for me: the Hokey or the Pokey. In any case, that’s what it’s all about.

Jumping into the Deep End of the Pool

Since hearing that Random House is accepting submissions for their new digital-only imprints, I’ve been thinking about submitting two of my novels, Ripple and A Solitary Life. Having now completed my submissions, I have two words for the process: Yikes! and Yikes!

I should clarify, I guess, what I mean by the process—or more accurately, my process. I looked at their website http://www.atrandom.com/eoriginals and had to think long and hard about submitting to imprints with titles like ALIBI, HYDRA, FLIRT and LOVESWEPT. I don’t mean to say that there’s anything wrong with the titles, but how do I gauge which imprint is the right one for me? HYDRA is for science fiction, fantasy, and horror so Ripple feels like a good fit. At first glance, I don’t necessarily think of A Solitary Life as LOVESWEPT, but it is marginally romantic and falls in the women’s fiction genre, although I would like to think that men will find it enjoyable and relevant as well. Nevertheless, I followed my own advice for once, closed my eyes and JUMPED!  In this case, I hit the submit button at the bottom of the page and then squelched the desire to throw up.

Now I’ll wait the two to four weeks to hear from them, to find out if Random House would like a full manuscript for consideration, and during that time, I’ll second guess every word I wrote on the submission form.  

I’ve been reading Noah Lukeman’s How to Write a Great Query Letter in preparation for my search for a literary agent and now I wonder if I should have paid closer attention before submitting to HYDRA and LOVESWEPT.  The online submission forms for both imprints have blanks for basic information: Short description of book/genre, Publishing history/writing history, Bio, Additional Notes, Sample excerpt, and Query letter (please tell us something about your book and why you think it would be right for us). Query letter? Does this mean they want a real, formatted letter, which would be a repeat of the information given above, or as indicated, just a quick, down-and-dirty reason for inclusion in their imprint? I opted for a simple explanation as to why my work appeals to my readers. In retrospect, I’m thinking my answer might have been more effective if I’d focused on why the publisher might want to read my work rather than my potential readers. (And there it is again: I won’t throw up! I won’t throw up!)

I will now focus on the next two to four weeks with positive thoughts and return to my writing with a renewed sense of exhilaration. I’ve never submitted my work to a publisher for consideration. I’ve never thrown myself out there and I realize that it is well past time that I took the plunge and jumped head first—or feet first—into the deep end of the pool. Either way, I’m all in.  

The Puzzle of Book Marketing

When I was a kid, I loved puzzles. My favorites were landscapes, the more complicated the better. I had a system: all of the pieces with straight edges went in one pile; all of the pieces that were one color (usually blue sky or green grass) went in another pile; all of the oddball pieces with funky shapes went in another pile. I’d begin with the straight edges to create the border and then fill in the sky, working my way down to the other one-color pieces and then tackling the harder areas last. Seems simple enough, right?

Well, when you’re color blind, it’s a little harder to tell blue sky from green grass and when it comes to shading and subtlety, like the leaves on a tree, the shape of the piece is the only way to figure out where it belongs. My eye learned to pick up shapes rather than colors, focusing on the lines and edges of the pieces rather than on the picture that was unfolding in front of me. It was only later, as I got older, that my mind could trick itself into seeing shades of color. I think I know what the color red is supposed to look like. I can usually feel red and blue, green and yellow. I can feel the bright colors and I’m right more often than not when I play that guessing game with my family, many of whom are also color blind. When it comes to dark green, brown, navy blue, and strange shades in between, though, I’m pretty much lost.

Book marketing feels like a puzzle to me. I’m intrigued by the multiple venues and the options available online. I understand the need to be social, to take advantage of the marketing opportunities on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But I also feel like I’m right back to where I started as a kid, sorting my pieces in little piles of shapes and sizes and colors. I can’t see the big picture that’s supposed to be guiding me.

My e-library is chock full of books promising to tell me the secret of marketing using social media, how to make a million dollars with email and Twitter, how to build sales with “likes” and page views and +1s. I saw a post on a message board the other day that really confused me: the writer claimed that he was working with an author who made it to Amazon’s #1 e-book spot in one week using only social media. One week! When I asked how that’s possible, the response was “by working dusk to dawn.” Doing what?

I‘ve finally figured out the answer: There’s a piece missing. I can put all of the information in neat little piles, coded by shape and color and size, but the final piece doesn’t exist. The piece that will fill in the gap, that one empty space in my puzzle, is one I will have to make on my own. Or hire it made. I hear there are some pretty good puzzle piece makers out there just waiting for someone to come along. For now, I’m sifting through my pieces again, looking for the one I might have overlooked. It’s about this big, with funky edges but I have no idea what color it is. If you see it, let me know, will you?

Blog Hop: Welcome to The Next Big Thing

Thanks, Leisa Watkins for inviting me to The Next Big Thing Blog Hop. This is my first hop and I’m excited to share my work and pass off to the other talented writers participating next week.

Although I've been writing short stories, poetry, essays, and novels for a very long time, I am a relatively new published author. Ripple, my first sci-fi novel, a product of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), was published in December of 2011, along with two children's books, Thunder and Minshew the Dragon Dog. For more detailed information on my work, check out my website: Colleen Sayre.

I had a lot of fun writing my latest novel, A Solitary Life. Although it's neither sci-fi nor children's literature, Mary Margaret Carmichael is a compelling character who demanded my attention and kept me thinking. As I began writing, I had no idea where the story would take me. The characters developed on the page very quickly, each with his or her own voice and story to relate about Mary Margaret. I became intrigued with how to pull all of the pieces of the story together to create a cohesive tale and I believe the characters did that for me. I came to love Mary Margaret and I think my readers will, too. 

As the author of A Solitary Life, I have very specific ideas about how to answer questions concerning the process of writing and how my book came into being. However, Mary Margaret has her own take on her story. I thought it might be fun to turn the tables and ask Mary Margaret to speak for herself. I'll add my comments where necessary and appropriate--and where Mary Margaret will let me.

What is the working title of your book?

MM: The book is titled A Solitary Life. I wanted to call it Yikes! but my best friend Sophia insisted it wouldn’t sell. Colleen liked the name A Solitary Life and I think her readers will identify with the idea of a life lived alone.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

MM: It’s my autobiography, the story of my life as told through the eyes and words of my friends and family. Colleen was kind enough to help out.

CS: Mary Margaret sprang to life one morning as I sat reading my horoscope. She has a voice and she knows how to use it.

What genre does your book fall under?

MM: Literary fiction, Contemporary, Mainstream, something along those lines. I don’t particularly like pigeon holes. It’s not sci-fi (Colleen writes sci-fi but this, unfortunately for me, is not a time travel saga), it’s not women’s lit--or Chick-Lit as my brother calls it. It’s hard to peg it, but I’d say mainstream literary fiction.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

MM: Here’s my wish list: 

Mary Margaret (me): Frances McDormand

Kathleen (my mother): Jessica Lange

Arthur (my father): Robert Redford

Luther (my older brother): Philip Seymour Hoffman

Garrett (my younger brother): Robert Pattinson

Paula (my best friend): Felicity Huffman

Henry (my husband): Gerard Butler

CS: I agree with Mary Margaret, mostly. I love Frances McDormand. She has an edge that would be perfect; Jessica Lange looks like Kathleen; Robert Redford has Arthur’s quiet presence; Robert Pattinson is musical and has the proper amount of brooding magnetism to play Garrett; Gerard Butler would be perfect for Mary Margaret’s fantasy Henry. (You forget, Mary Margaret, that you won’t be rubbing up against any of these people. This is a movie! You’re in my head!) The real Henry would have to be someone who can play smart, sexy, and smarmy. Timothy Olyphant would be wonderful! Felicity Huffman is perfect for Paula. She and Frances McDormand would make great best friends.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

MM: I would say, in my own words, that A Solitary Life is the truth of life: “Often we live unhappily and then we die.” Colleen will probably say, “It’s the story of a life filled with love, heartache, loss, empathy, harrowing drama, and hope.”

CS: A Solitary Life is a story about surviving and living through the worst moments of your life, including your family, and embracing the best moments of your life, including your family.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

MM: A Solitary Life is available for Kindle and in paperback at Amazon.com. 

CS: My work has never been submitted to an agent or a to publisher. 

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

MM: I talk fast; she types slow. The first draft was finished in three weeks.

CS: She’s correct. It took three weeks from beginning to end.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

MM: My idol is James Joyce. He used music and poetry to write stories that were unique and beautiful. I can hear my critics now, though: “You are no James Joyce!” No, I’m not, not in any way, shape or form. But this is my ode to James, my homage, so Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

CS: Maeve Binchy's books come to mind, especially Tara Road. Her books are gripping yet subtle stories of the human experience. 

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

MM: I screamed in her ear, in a loving way, until she heard me and then we wrote my story. She would say the story is inspired by her life, her experiences, her love of books. I’d say she’s a good listener. 

CS: I agree with Mary Margaret. 

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

MM: The format is interesting. Each chapter of the book is written from a different perspective and with a different voice. Everyone has a personal view of their life but this book offers one life from different views. I’ve always believed that we live our lives in a solitary confinement of sorts, in our own little bubbles of experience. We’re all alone in this life, alone together. 

UPDATE:

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop authors offer an exciting and diverse blend of writing styles and stories. Please visit Philip Newey, Chris Wood, and Regina Mors now for information on their newest books and books in progress. Tanya Anderson, and Pauline Conolly will be participating at a later time but be sure to visit their blogs for updates on their work. And one more author has joined our ranks. Ian Miller has joined our ranks. Welcome Ian!

If you would like to showcase a recent or upcoming novel or book in The Next Big Thing Blog Hop, send me a message or leave a comment and I'll be happy to forward information on how to participate. Or email me at colleen@colleensayre.com.

Preparing for a Blog Hop

My life has been very busy over the past couple of weeks. I want to welcome all of my new followers and say a big THANK YOU! to everyone who has sent me an email, a text, a personal message and/or a comment on my blog. I've read every one and hope to be able to connect in a more personal way with return messages as I get through the Thanksgiving holiday, and NaNoWriMo, and editing my new book, and preparing for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop. 

Leisa Watkins has been my guide through this my first blog hop. Her blog is featured this week so if you get a chance, check out her site and her new book Shattered Gemini. 

My blog for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop, featuring my book A Solitary Life, will appear tomorrow, November 21, 2012. In turn, I'll tag five more authors/bloggers who will feature their works next week. And then they'll tag five more and they'll tag five more and on and on. If you're interested in participating in the fun, leave me a message in comments or send me a message and I'll forward the information. This is a great opportunity to reach readers, writers, authors, and others in the writing/marketing world and to expose a lot of people to your work, to your blog, and to you as an artist/writer/blogger/author. It's fun, too, so why not give it a shot?

Many of my friends will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week. If you're traveling, please have a safe trip and a wonderful holiday. I look forward to hearing from each and everyone of you soon and checking out what's been happening in your lives (and your work) on your blogs.

Happy Thanksgiving!

And don't forget to check out tomorrow's blog!

Writing and Spinning

Spinning tales, spinning gold, putting the proper spin on it, whatever “it” is. Spinning is what writers do, really, including the spin that means to cast out a line (of words, not fishing lures--although we do hope to hook a few readers).

   

We spin webs in which to entangle our readers, shooting out gossamer lines so light and finely measured that they look absolutely dazzling on the page. We also spin our wheels and spin in circles and spin out of control when our carefully wrought characters and heartfelt stories crash and burn. I’ll bet the healthiest wordsmiths among us also just sit and spin (I mean this in a good way)—on a stationary bike, not in an office chair as I occasionally do. (“This is not what I do all day!” I tell my two-year old grandson as we spin one more time, "feet up so we don’t kick the printer.")

What I really have in mind when I think of spinning, though, is that plate spinner on Ed Sullivan, the one who ran from plate to plate spinning this one and that one to keep them all from falling off their spindles and crashing to the floor. That’s what writers really do! That’s what I do, anyway, as my brain shifts into high gear and I find myself moving from one story to the next and the next.

My morning usually goes something like this: I write for a couple of hours, working on whatever book is driving me at the moment, and then I think of the perfect line for the short story that’s due in a week. So I save and minimize and open another file only to get caught up in edits and rewrites until I remember the 1,667 words (my daily quota for NaNoWriMo) that I must write before my day gets busy. Then all of the other book/writing-related responsibilities kick in and I run from blog to website to LinkedIn to Google+ to post and respond and write and connect. Then back to writing and editing and reading and checking three email accounts and Facebook for likes and comments and reviews. Welcome to my spin cycle.

And then I repeat my mantra: Writing is a business. I must look at my books as employees, as profit centers that require attention and care. I must market them. I must support them. I must spin them.

Oh, who am I kidding? I’m a plate spinner. And until one of my plates turns to gold from all that spinning, I will continue to spin them all and love every minute of it. Until I don’t. And when that happens, if that happens, I will turn to yet another memory from my youth thanks to Zorba the Greek: Plate Smashing. 

(I wish I had a really cool graphic for plate spinning but unfortunately, I don't have time to look for one! I'm too busy spinning gold, spinning tales, spinning in my chair! Sorry!)

Today's the Day

Today is a big day in our country as we vote to elect our president. The race is pretty much neck and neck as both candidates turn into the straightaway and we hold our collective breath to see what tomorrow will bring. Democrat or Republican. Obama or Romney. Blue or red.

The weather's not cooperating in much of the northeast today. It's even chilly and gray in Florida this morning as people flock (I hope) to the polls to vote. I voted early, as soon as the polls opened over a week ago, hoping to avoid the crowds. It took me just over an hour and  to get in and out I considered myself lucky.

Regardless of who is elected, the road ahead is going to be bumpy and curvy and full of cracks and pot holes. We're going through a tough time, all of us, and we are dreaming if we believe that all of our problems can be fixed in one day or in four years or by one man acting alone. It will take not a village but a country pulling together and working together, side by side, to make our lives better. It's always been this way in America, people working together through economic peaks and valleys, through good times and bad.

We are all about freedom and choice and fair and equal rights for everyone. Today is the day to exercise your privilege. So, if you haven't already, GO VOTE!



My wish for the days ahead? As Willie Nelson says, "Nothin' but blue skies from now on."

Writing, Writing, and Writing: Is there a trick to this?

There’s writing short stories and novels and non-fiction books. There’s writing profiles and essays and blogs. There’s writing poetry and lyrics and off-the-wall prose.  It’s all writing, but is there a trick to making it flow?

 

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, online e-books, reviews, and blogs as well as hardcovers, paperbacks, and stories sent by email to be printed and reviewed, edited, and proofed. Some of what I’ve been reading is very good; some of it is very, very bad. Bad stories, bad writing, bad rip-offs of popular books. I won’t name names, but trust me, some of the most popular must-reads on the market today are simply overt copies of other best sellers--with a little sex (or a lot) thrown in to titillate unsuspecting readers. I find that type of writing reprehensible. Call it fan fiction. Call it homage. Call it whatever you want. I call it cheating.

So, how do the best writers do it? How do they string words together, one after another, and end up with gripping tales that keep their readers excited and enchanted? How do they keep us coming back for more? I believe it has to do with heart.

For me, the novels that resonate are those that have a beating heart at the center, an almost audible pulse that thrums in tune with my own. The content, the storyline, the topic of the story doesn’t necessarily have to be slanted toward my likes and dislikes. I don’t look for books that are exactly like all of the other books I’ve read in the past. I like to be surprised. I want to be ripped from my own experience to follow the exploits and adventures of well-rounded characters. I don’t have to know the color of their eyes or hair; I don’t even have to know their last names. I just have to know and feel that they care about their actions, that they act with purpose and conviction—even deliberate apathy—and that the author is as pleased to meet them as I am.

I’m learning that a blog is very similar to writing a novel—only shorter and more directly to the point. Nevertheless, I think there needs to be a little blood on the page or at least a sense that it’s pumping through veins and arteries that lead back to the heart of the writer. No heart, no words, no flow. The same is true for stories and poetry and even book reviews, if I may be so bold. The heart beats and the words flow--right off the page and into the heart of the reader. 

In the Aftermath of the Storm

As I sit here drinking my morning coffee, watching the news coverage of Hurricane Sandy and the devastation she has left in her wake, I am mindful of the blessings in my life.  

I’ve been obsessing over what I will write this year during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), feeling anxious and just a little scared that the deep well of words that normally flows pretty freely in me will dry up before I reach the necessary 50,000 (that’s 1,667 words per day) to complete the challenge. But my fellow NaNoWriMo-ians in the northeast are worrying about real wells and real water—too much and too little--and food and heat and electricity, and snow and cold and safety. My heart and prayers go out to them.

I am determined, now, to focus on sending as much white light as I possibly can in their direction, to family and friends, connections and associates, writers and readers and loved ones. Writing is a my joy and my passion. My family and my friends are my life. 

Politics and Baseball: May the Best Men Win

May the Best Man Win . . .

As for politics: I’m not sure how we can possibly make that determination anymore or what that term really means. Who is the best man? Between negative ads and the assertions of unqualified facts, figuring out who is best suited for the job, or any job, is a ridiculous proposition. Actually, I’m not sure that it has ever been easy to elect the best man or woman for any post during any election be it for leader of our country, state representative, county clerk, or sixth grade class president.

In 1966, Roger Foster, our much beloved and feared, whip-cracking, English Leather-wearing sixth grade teacher encouraged our understanding of the political process by holding an election for class president. Somehow, my hat was tossed into the ring (I swear I don’t know how that happened. I’ve never been known to wear a hat!) and I found myself campaigning against my good friend and ally, George Carr.

I honestly don’t remember doing much real campaigning. George and I each had our own pretty-much-evenly-divided contingent of supporters (as I recall, the election was also tinged with a battle-of-the-sexes element, boy against girl) but despite our proximity to Washington, DC, less than sixty miles from Reisterstown, Maryland, we  eleven-year-old sixth graders were decidedly apolitical.

What I do remember from that experience is pacing the shiny-tiled hallway outside the classroom door while the votes were cast by our classmates; whispering to George that no matter who won, we’d still be friends; wondering how the heck I’d gotten myself into this situation (I was already taking my turn working in the school store, serving as library assistant, and singing in the school choir); and hoping against hope that I would win if only to claim victory for my sex.

And then the heart breaking moment arrived. The ballots were cast, the votes were in, my opponent and I were ushered into the room. Brenda Brilliant announced the winner: George Carr! George shot off the floor and into the air like a rocket amid the cheers of every boy in our class. Relief swept over me as I congratulated George with a handshake and a sincere smile. But wait! Brenda consulted with her fellow ballot-counter Robin. Then they shook their heads in anguish. “There’s been a mistake,” Robin said. “We got the totals mixed up. The winner is Colleen!”

There must have been shrieks of joy from the girls in our class but all I could hear was the groan from the boys; all I could see was the look of defeat on George’s face as he crashed and burned; all I could feel was the bitterness of his disappointment and my own confusion in that moment of tainted victory. 

That election left a bitter taste in my mouth. As I grew older and watched the process of electing the best man unfold and change and become the media circus it is today, I always thought of George and I still do. George was a great guy and a good friend. He would have made a memorable class president. At least more memorable than me who doesn’t remember one thing I accomplished in office that year.

As for baseball: Despite Mr. Foster’s determination to introduce us to the ins and outs of the electoral process, and inadvertently the bitterness of defeat, during that fall election season, we tasted the joy of victory on another field of battle: the Baltimore Orioles beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in the World Series and the best man of all was Frank Robinson, MVP. (Although personally, a case could be made for Brooks Robinson or Boog Powell. But that’s another story.)