Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on July 9, 2009
Fuel the Vehicle with Key Words and Key Phrases
Whether you’re building an author platform or marketing your book(s), the main goal in creating a blog is to attract an audience and drive potential customers back to your site where your book is sold.
Producing an article with great content is a must. It’s very competitive out there for new lurkers to just stumble upon your blog. But there are some techniques that can put you into the drivers seat so you can *conquer all obstacles*.
Now you’re the chauffeur. The noise is unbearable. Peering over your left shoulder, eyes widen as the stretched limo you’ve been driving is bulging with customers.
How did the empty vehicle suddenly become so full?
1.) Activate the webcrawlers – Include key words and key phrases in your title and mix this idea with a catchy title. Think outside the box. Get those creative juices flowing. Create a snazzy title that includes key words or key phrases.
2.) Repeat, repeat, repeat – Sprinkle the key words and key phrases throughout the great content post without sounding robotic.
3.) Wisely, choose the key words and key phrases –
- Select key words and key phrases that your potential audience may use in their search (Google/Yahoo/MSN/etc search). Put yourself in their shoes. Ask yourself: “What word(s) would I type to find what I’m looking for?”
- Be specific – Using the word “author” will make it very difficult for your potential buyer to find you; but, using the phrase “inspirational author” helps narrow down the search. I suggest using your name with your genre. Now we’re talking.
- Fill in the tags – Add these same key words and key phrases as tags at the bottom of the post and again on the directed Social Bookmarks (Digg/Stumble/Delicious/etc.).
The search engine is the limo, and you’re the driver. Never let your tank run dry. Fill with proper fuel—add selective key words and phrases into the tank. As the limo driver, you have that control. You can conquer all obstacles.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
SOCIAL BOOKMARK: GET NOTICED NOW
CLIMBING TO THE TOP: A SEARCH ENGINES PERSPECTIVE
CONTENT IS THE KEY
__________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking HERE.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Please follow me on twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/prempromotions
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: activate the webcrawlers, Author Platform, blog content, conquer all obstacles, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, key phrases, key words, key words and key phrases fuels the search engines, marketing, potential customers, promoting, search engines, tags | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on July 7, 2009
PPS Book Title Promotion - Hits 5 Stars
PPS Book Title Promotion
Title: Private Lives
Author: Simon Marshland
ISBN: 978-1905809523
Genre: Literary Fiction
Pages: 254
Reviewed By: Brian Knight
Official Premium Promotional Services Rating: 5/5 Star
Charlie Parker, Billy Kite and James Pewsey share more then a secret – they share the same fate.
Full of turmoil and massive confusion, Charlie attempts to deal with the death of the woman he adored and missing child. In a state of grief, he battles with his emotions while the FBI search endlessly for his kidnapped daughter. Reality mixes with improbabilities, and yet it is imperative for him to decipher right from wrong, especially when Billy Kite and James Pewsey come calling. Now it seems the truth is blurred with imagination, but he knows that neither truth nor honesty will save his child. An obsessive reality his daughter must be found is the only thing that matters.
Charlie comes from a humble middle class family. His mentor and friend while growing up is his grandpa, whom shares a lifetime of wisdom—engraved knowledge that Charlie later in life, puts into practice.
Charlie has an adventurous journey as a bachelor. He loves his single lifestyle, until one day, with just one look, his life changes forever—he falls madly in love with a beautiful young woman who shortly after becomes his wife. The tailspin affect she has on him doesn’t stop with just adoring love but through her family name changes his career and financial state forever as he soon discovers she is both gorgeous and extremely wealthy.
Together, they journey through life, but not without the unexpected times that his two friends try to take over.
“Private Lives” delivers the full range of emotions. The reader will find themselves laughing one minute and crying the next—and be ready to fight soon after. The author, Simon Marshland displays a great command of pace and character development throughout the story. Marshland entwines the multiple characters
with fascinating plots and detailed settings into a symphony that the reader will cherish. The British twist on word usage only adds to the flavor of this riveting story.
I highly recommend this intriguing tale of Charlie Parker for those who enjoy a roller coaster ride of emotions on every page. “Private Lives” is a book to keep on your shelf as you will want to read it over and over again. “Pirate Lives” is one of those novels that will surely show you something new each time you read it…and you will want to read it more then once.
To learn more about Simon Marshland and his novel “Private Lives” click here.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES – *YOU WRITE – WE PROMOTE* Interested in having your book displayed in high exposed areas? Click HERE.
PPS CYBER BOOKSTORE – *CLICK TO PICK* – Convenient massive selection of books–every discovery is exciting.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
PPS CYBER BOOKSTORE
*CLICK TO PICK*
PPS Cyber Bookstore is the one stop book shopping store.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Posted in Book Review | Tagged: author, Brian Knight, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, Literary Fiction, PPS Book Title Promotion, PPS Cyber Bookstore, Premium Promotional Services, Private Lives, Simon Marshland | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on July 2, 2009
Best Selling Thriller Author
Larry Brooks is a bestselling thriller author and well-traveled workshop facilitator with a passion for guiding writers toward the fulfillment of their writing bliss. His proprietary story development model, “The Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling” forms the basis of his teaching and drives the content of his recently launched instructional writing blog site: www.storyfix.com
1.) How long have you been writing? (Please include how and when you published your first book – also include how many books you have published)
I’ve been writing since my baseball career tanked in the late 1970s. My arm was still good for scribbling and typing, so I wrote the obligatory set of unpublished novels that helped me grasp every last mistake a new writer can make. My day job has always been centered around writing, mostly in the corporate arena as a partner in an agency that was sold in 1999. I took the money and ran back to writing novels and screenplays.
That worked out okay – I sold my first novel, “Darkness Bound” to Penguin Putnam (October 2000) and was fortunate that it was an immediate USA Today bestseller. Since then I’ve published three more, the last (“Bait and Switch”) named to Publisher’s Weekly “Best Books of 2004” list.
I’ve written two novels since, one available in serial form on Amazon.com/Shorts (“Schmitt Happens”), the other sitting under my desk.
2.) In your opinion, how has the publishing industry changed and how has this affected authors?
Great question, one that all aspiring authors should be aware of. Publishers are basically all looking for home runs. A new author gets a book or two to hit that home run, and if it doesn’t happen they are tossed under the bus. It’s tougher than ever out there.
I about got lynched by saying this out loud as a keynote speaker at a major writing conference, though the agents in the audience all found me (hiding in the men’s room) to say they appreciated my spot-on take. It is what it is.
This means two things to writers looking to break in. First, it’s all about the work. Your manuscript is the only thing you have even the slightest bit of control over. Who you sell it to, how you sell it and for how much, and what happens to it afterwards, is almost entirely none of your business, since your agent will do the selling and your publisher will do everything else, including the great likelihood that they’ll re-title your work (all four of mine had the titles changed by the publisher). So focus your dreams on the work itself, on learning how to write – and then doing it — the very best book you have in you.
The second thing is that so-called alternative publishing venues are more viable and plentiful than ever before. Certainly you should swing for the fences, but if they don’t happen then turn toward smaller presses, including POD operations and self-publishing strategies. Get your work out there, it deserves an audience.
3.) How important is marketing one’s book today?
New authors quickly learn that publishers provide virtually no promotion and marketing whatsoever. It’s expected that authors will, at a minimum, create a website and pound the writing forums and bookstore stock signing circuit to drum up branding and visibility. Reviews are the best marketing tool there is, but rarely are anything other than hardcovers from major publishers covered in major media, so online user reviews and word-of-mouth become the best marketing there is.
The formula is simple: sweat equity in equals market visibility equals sales. No way around it.
4.) Tell us about your blog and why you chose the title.
My blog has virtually saved my writing life. It’s reincarnated my love of writing
and the energy I receive from working with other writers from the instructor side. I’ve developed a very well-received story development model that’s unlike anything else out there, sort of a checklist-driven, criteria-based story architecture approach that, if you follow it, doesn’t allow you to miss anything or misplace anything else. Of course, no model in the world can imbue your work with art and whimsy and emotion, but my approach can help you create a rich stage upon which your story magic can unfold.
As for the title, “Storyfix” was the URL for a prior story coaching service (still available through the new site), and it’s pretty applicable to what the new site is about. My goal is to deliver unique daily value and motivation to writers who have looked but not found an actual path toward better writing, as opposed to the nebulous minutiae of sentence structure and incomprehensible esoteric “theory” so often passing as teaching these days. Writers want a plan, a concrete list of things to cover and do, and a qualitative standard they can get their head around. That’s what Storyfix.com is about.
5.) What’s next for Author Larry Brooks?
I’ve had a novel in the late outlining stages for two years now, and I’m bringing renewed vigor to completing it. The more I teach the more I learn. I’m also just now finishing two books on writing, including “The Six Core Competencies of Successful Storytelling,” and a shorter book that will precede it, “101 Slightly Unpredictable Tips for Novelists and Screenwriters.” Coming to a blog near you.
6.) Would you like to add any closing thoughts today?
Just one piece of writing and life advice: find something to die for, and then live for it. Writing is a wonderful way to pursue that passion. Nothing other than great sex and parenthood will make you feel more alive and vital.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT…JO-ANNE VANDERMEULEN
ASK THE EXPERT: MARKETING SERVICES AND THEIR BENEFITS
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
__________________________________________________________________________________
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Bait and Switch, bestselling, blog, Darkness Bound, Larry Brooks, marketing, Promotion, Publisher's Weekly, publishers, Schmitt Happens, story architecture, storyfix, the six core competencies of successful storytelling, thriller author, url, www.storyfix.com | 7 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on June 30, 2009
Author Perry Ennis
Click HERE to view the VIDEO.
Title: “Prepare for the Coming of Messiah”
Author: Perry Ennis
ISBN: 9780979688737
Genre: Religion/Prophetic
Pages: 450
Reviewed By: Brian Knight
Official Premium Promotional Services Rating: 4/5
Thought provoking! These two words best describes author Perry Ennis’ book “Prepare for the coming of Messiah”. The facts recited from each biblical testimony will pull you deeper within yourself; a self-discovery, complimenting reflections on your present opinions, theories, beliefs and thoughts. The core meaning of this book is undeniably the gift of salvation through our heavenly Father, our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ.
Promising messages are instilled throughout this Biblical resource. With the absolute truth as the driving force, “Prepare for the Coming of Messiah” will enlighten you—lift your soul even as Ennis depicts the troubling times ahead.
“Prepare for the coming of Messiah” is presented not in a fire and brimstone sort of way as many prophetic books are; but instead, in a personal way that is both comforting and easy to follow. Even though the tough times illustrated in “Prepare for the coming of Messiah” are indeed harsh, the message is delivered with an assurance of protection and mercy – a true blessing for peace of mind.
Through twenty-six years of research, Ennis accurately dictates the Holy Scriptures from four different translations. In this no-holds-barred Biblical resource, he uses detailed descriptions and delivers an unforgettable message of love, restoration, warning and hope.
Many times, Author Perry Ennis acts as a coach; humbly encouraging his reader to pay close attention to the references used in the Holy Scriptures. His careful guidance and powerful teaching is important for a book of this nature, and more than necessary for the reader to understand. Yet at the same time, Ennis’ writing style portrays an endearing quality as he welcomes you as a friend into this book of much needed information about the coming of Messiah.
I recommend this book to those who yearn to learn more about our heavenly Father, and for anyone who is searching to have a closer relationship with Him and our Savior Jesus Christ.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
FEATURED AUTHOR: PERRY ENNIS
JO-ANNE VANDERMEULEN’S WORKING PARTNER – BRIAN KNIGHT
__________________________________________________________________________________
Posted in Book Review | Tagged: end times, faith, hope, Inspirational Writer, Israel, Jesus, love, Perry Ennis, Prepare for the Coming of Messiah, proactive, prophecies, prophecy, restoration, resurrection, tribulation, warning, Yeshua | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on June 25, 2009
Today you will learn how to *Conquer All Obstacles*. I’m going to share a HUGE tip that will allow you to Hit Over A Hundred Social Bookmarks With Just One Click (okay…make that 3 clicks). But first, there are some VERY IMPORTANT techniques that must be in place to ensure optimized search engine success.
Have you updated your profile lately?
Search engines gobble key words or tags. The webcrawlers will snag your name and the specific topic you’re promoting as long as you’ve completed the following:
1.) Completely filled in your profile on search engines – such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
- Do a search at:
Google – https://www.google.com/accounts/ManageAccount
Yahoo – http://profiles.yahoo.com/
MSN – http://cid-1beac0362174c6a6.profile.live.com/?sa=239740376
It is time others can search for you easily. Your followers can enter your name into these 3 popular search engines and discover where you are/your site location and updated content you’ve posted on your blog. Optimize the search engines. You must do the foot-work. After this, you can sit back and let the ‘feelers’ do their job.
2.) Updated your profile in your social media networks (example: Facebook/Myspace/Linkedin/Goodreads/etc). This may seem like a lot of work, but it is well worth it. Usually, the first place your curious viewers will investigate more about you is in your profile. Take the time to post a picture, share your interests, and make sure you include links back to your main blog/website. This is the perfect place to display your book cover and short synopsis. Be inviting and encourage your viewer’s feedback.
3.) Announce your new content – Twitter and Facebook are simple social media networks to submit a short announcement about your new post. Include the specific link so your viewers can have direct access back to your blog/website. This will be attractive on their homepage as they will be able to view the picture of yourself and the illustration you’ve chosen to publish with your article.
On other social media networks such as NING, make sure you click the RSS feed on the side widget and type in your site address. Automatically, your completed published posts will appear right on your profile page.
4.) Social Bookmark your new published posts. First, ping/bookmark/tab/ your original published page on your blog/website. Second, go back into your social media networks and social bookmark the page again. The webcrawlers will go crazy with excitement and feature you even higher on the search engines.
Here are the 2 social bookmarks I use that saves me tons of time and energy:
1.) http://www.pingmyblog.com/ – Copy and paste your new page into the “Blog URL box”, give your page a title, click on the bottom box that says, “Check All”, and boom…you’ve now hit over 70 social bookmark sites with just one click.
2.) http://feedshark.brainbliss.com/ – Again go through the same procedure as above, click the “Enable Submit Button”, and then click “Submit Now – Chomp, Chomp, Chomp”, and whoala …you’ve now hit another 36 social bookmarks with basically a couple of clicks in one shot.
The more consistently you post, the more excited the webcrawlers become. Realistically, I cannot afford to dedicate all my time to blogging so I post 2 new articles with solid content per week. So where do I spend most of my time?
Do I social book mark every article on every page?
Yes. This is where I do spend my time, and it’s worth it. Going out and setting the crawlers in motion creates immediate results. My name and topic soar to the top of most search engines. (Just type in “Jo-Anne Vandermeulen” or “Conquer All Obstacles” into the search engines – Google/Yahoo/MSN – and see where I am. Am I on the first page? You bet! Heck, I may even be #1…:)).
So what’s my secret? No secret really…here’s the procedure:
1.) Create a deadly post with awesome content
2.) Send out bursts of short announcements to my friends/followers who are now fans on Facebook and Twitter.
3.) Encourage any visitors that come to the site to sign up for a FREE subscription. Automatically, new articles will show-up in their email.
My followers love it!
And you know what this mean…they will share their wealth of knowledge with others; just as I have done. They’ll tell 2 friends, and then the 2 friends will tell 2 friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.
Good luck and remember…YOU can *Conquer All Obstacles*.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Please follow me on twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/prempromotions
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking HERE.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
CONTENT IS THE KEY
CLIMBING TO THE TOP – A SEARCH ENGINE’S PERSPECTIVE
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: blog, conquer all obstacles, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, FaceBook, GoodReads, website, posts, content, search engines, webcrawlers, google, yahoo, msn, social media networks, twitter, social bookmark, social bookmark: GET NOTICED NOW, Profile, pingmyblog, feedshark, RSS feed | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on June 23, 2009
Content is the Key
Quality matters—enhancing your followers’ lives will gain you respect, credibility, and produce even more followers.
You have a chain ring full of keys…heavy, pulling down your arm, jingling as you step. A closed locked door is in front of you. This door is your blog and there’s only one key that will work to unlock the barricade, the solidified wall that’s obstructing your view.
Which key will open the door?
(a.) An impressive title
(b.) Optimized search engine links
(c.) Consistent posts
(d.) Great content
If you chose (d), you will have discovered the main key to open the door.
So now you step into the room, and what do you see?
You’ll see a crowded room, full of followers. But they’re a tad restless, thousands of heads cranking around, eyes darting for the nearest exit. They obviously don’t have time to stick around. Oh, no, they’re heading for the doorway. Quick, act fast!
How do you keep your audience from fleeing?
No! Don’t shut the door and lock them in. No one likes to be trapped. Don’t throw your content at them. No, don’t keep what you know a secret. Instead, please them with your great charm. Use your voice that gives you elegance and a sense of wholeness about the message that matters the most to you. Smile and relax into the content that brought your followers into the room in the first place. Now is the time to prove your credibility. You have to earn their respect.
Ah, you’ve got their attention. Good for you…
Invite your guests to sit down, pour them a glass of wine. Now is the time to show an interest in them. Interaction is a must. Ask questions, make direct eye-contact and respond back. Heck, they may agree to link your blog with theirs.
Your followers have come to your blog for a reason. They’re in your room because of the great content you’ve provided in the past. They’re hungry, needing to devour information that they can use. So, serve your guests the fine food you’ve been busy preparing in the kitchen. Present the delicacy on a silver platter. Let them choose which odors they wish to taste. Choice is good. Let them decide on the amount of cream cheese they wish to scoop up on the cracker.
By providing quality content, once your guests decide to leave, they’ll probably talk about their experience with you. Can’t you just see your guests sharing with their friends their memories of the fine wine and fabulous food they received in your room…oh, ah, I mean your blog?
Word of mouth or viral promotion goes a long, long way.
To *conquer all obstacles*, the most important key to open the door to success is to produce a blog with great content. Give, give, give your followers what they’ve come searching for. Don’t hold anything back. Yet, be careful. The content must be current and researched properly. The information must be accurate so the post has quality. Quality matters—enhancing your followers’ lives will gain you respect, credibility, and produce even more followers.
Twitter Twips of the Week:
- Excellent Writing Database from Nathan Bransford – Literary Agent http://bit.ly/qZN2o
- Amazons Kindle – issues for book publishers, pricing options for e-books. : Book Business http://bit.ly/Zih4B
- I could never write in a room like this. Could you? Where I Write http://bit.ly/O74f3
- A joke for editors, agents, and for me who can relate to a room wallpapered with rejections….ENJOY! http://bit.ly/fE9OC
- Excellent Marketing Advice Database for Writers « JO-ANNE VANDERMEULEN “Conquer All Obstacles” http://bit.ly/vXrQc
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking HERE.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Please follow me on twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/prempromotions
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
BLOGGING: A DELICIOUS POST DEVOURED IN ONE BITE
TURNING FIRST IMPRESSIONS INTO LOYAL FOLLOWERS
ASK THE EXPERT: MARKETING SERVICES AND THEIR BENEFITS
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: conquer all obstacles, Content is the key, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, twitter twips | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on June 18, 2009
Marketing and Promoting
Top 3 Select Picks For The Week
Should be no surprise that I love to read.
Ever feel frustrated when there’s not enough time in the day to read everything?
Now this is an impossible expectation to lay on myself, but there are times when I just cannot keep my eyes open any longer…and darn it, I really wanted to finish what I started reading.
To gain knowledge about today’s rapid changing technology, I try and read a lot of informative blogs in my niche, marketing and promoting. I keep open an information page from Word, adding interesting links and facts that will be useful.
What do I do with this page full of links and facts?
- I twitter to my fellow writers so they can benefit – You can follow me @prempromotions
- I send to my working partner, Brian Knight, and my editor, Nancy Williams so we can remain on the same page and collaborate VERY interesting discussions.
- I create my post for *Conquer All Obstacles* blog.
The Top 3 Interest Link/Facts of this week are:
1.) Marketing Tips For Authors: Top Ten Ways Authors Can Use Twitter: Dana Lynn Smith http://bit.ly/28ayu
1.) Share information and gain respect – Become an expert in your field.
2.) Develop friendships – Meet potential customers (readers) and stay in touch.
3.) Increase knowledge – Today’s news.
4.) Network – Opportunities and partnerships may develop.
5.) Promote – Announce happenings (example: book signings, posts, events, etc)
6.) Gain visibility by holding contests
7.) Resource support group – Just ask…it’s amazing ALL who follow through and help.
8.) Assist others – pay-it-forward – a win-win.
9.) Promote you and your book – CAUTION – use small doses to be affective.
10.) Stay in touch by cell phone – distance is no obstacle
2.) When is The Tipping Point for an author to go digital? | The Creative Penn http://bit.ly/qg7Ro
Free or Cheap Digital Options: to have a printed/digital book online is now possible:
- Load a Word Document for free and see it on Amazon.com to increase exposure through distributors. (Lulu.com)
- POD – sell your books without bulk in stock and no upfront cost.
- E-books – upload into free websites so others can download. (smashwords.com)
- Kindle DTP – thousands can access your book. Massive increase in website traffic
- Podcasts – Free audio software for a larger target audience. Meet people in the multi-media area.
3.) Amazons Kindle – issues for book publishers, pricing options for e-books. : By P. Olson and B. N. Anand : Book Business http://bit.ly/Zih4B
Kindle will dramatically change the way we purchase and read our books. Through wireless capabilities, instant information is at our fingertips. There’s even a potential for interaction. Portal information will be simply accessible for the reader. Now they will be able to feel a part of the author’s community and their story.
Nothing wrong with a little more competition. More distributors are a good thing for authors. The author will have more control which should force Amazon to stay on their toes. The results should be quite promising. The author should see a larger slice in the pie and gain a higher percentage of the profit.
Today and into the future holds much promise. So exciting for the author as they will be able to *conquer all obstacles* as technology advances.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
BOOK DISTRIBUTORS: Lists Authors Can Use Today!
EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE
GOOD-BYE PAPERBACKS HELLO E-BOOKS
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking HERE.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Please follow me on twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/prempromotions
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Amazon Kindle, authors go digital, Brian Knight, conquer all obstacles, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, marketing, marketing tips for authors, promoting, Top 3, twitter | 1 Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on June 16, 2009
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: blogging, conquer all obstacles, featured authors, healthy lifestyle, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, marketing, Marketing Advice Database for Writers, Premium Promotional Services, promoting, twitter | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on June 11, 2009
Why is everyone talking about Twitter?
Is this just a phase or will this be the next form of interaction to replace our blogs?
Today, many media social networkers are twalking or twyping with a form of speech impediment. But this is no speech impediment…this is the new world of Twitter.
Twitter
Twitter is a VERY popular FREE micro-social network. A service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages (no longer than 140 characters). http://www.twitter.com
Twusted Twitter Tools:
Today, there are many tools for Twitter users and there are more and more surfacing all the time. Which tools will prove valuable will depends on our needs and purposes for tweeting.
Again, if you want to *Conquer All Obstacles* (just like blogging), you must ask yourself…
Why am I tweeting? If you are trying to build an author platform, target an audience, and generate traffic back to your site where your books are sold, then these are a few tools that you cannot afford to be without:
> Twaitter – twitter tool for us to reschedule reoccurring tweets. Free http://www.twaitter.com/
> Tweetbeep – Discover what others are twitting about that has to do with you…Twitter Alerts – http://tweetbeep.com/
> Bit.ly – allows users to shorten, share, and track links (URLs). Reducing the URL length makes sharing easier. http://bit.ly/pages/about/
Sites for Writers Who Tweet:
Twitter Directory…A MUST have “WRITER’S ” List…if you twitter, this list is valuable: http://bit.ly/15QlDC
Marketing Tips For Authors: Top Ten Ways Authors Can Use Twitter: Dana Lynn Smith: http://bit.ly/28ayu
Twitter Tips
See your Twitter profile page…
1.) Bio – Most followers will read the one-line bio under “SETTINGS”. Include a direct link to a profile page rather than sending them to the homepage profile.
Example:
View profile of Jo Van @Prempromotions – Int Promo Manager. http://bit.ly/2UV7y
2.) Follow-up: Investigate your followers. Send a direct message.
Example:
Ty for following. I’m a Sask. Gal, runs my own Internet Promo business at: http://bit.ly/6aCh3 and personal blog at: http://bit.ly/pGGZX
3.) Feeds: A simple feed that allows your twitter post to automatically show up on your blog or website is by clicking on “SETTINGS”, scrolling down to “MORE INFO URL” and clicking on the “BLUE LINK – YOU CAN ALSO ADD TWITTER TO YOUR SITE HERE” and just follow the steps.
4.) Promote: Advertise your @prempromotions where ever and all over. Include your twitter link to your signature, add comments on twitter discussions, and leave a direct message with others who are following you.
A writer must conquer all obstacles.
> You must build an author platform that stands out from the rest.
> Target an audience suited to your niche or genre.
> Generate traffic (Friends/fans) back to your site.
> Display a fabulous site, highlighting you and your books. (Do not forget the visible button to purchase your book).
Take heed to the above tools, sites and tips.
Only when you continuously add a ‘w’ after the ‘t’ will you know you’ve been Tweeting a tad too long…lol.
Add me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/prempromotions
Or:
Add me on Twitter: http://bit.ly/1DOm4
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking HERE.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
“READ IT, READ IT, READ ALL ABOUT IT”
EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE, EXPOSURE
THE SECRET TO PROMOTION
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: advertise, Author Platform, bit.ly, books, conquer all obstacles, feeds, generate traffic, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, marketing tips for authors, micro-social network, prempromotions, promote, target and audience, twaitter, tweetbeep, tweeting, twitter, twitter directory, twitter sites, twitter tips, twitter tools, twusted twitter twools and twips, writers' | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on June 8, 2009
You’ve decided to blog. Wonderful!
After a few posts, sit back, and ask yourself these questions:
1.) Why am I blogging? To create an author platform.
2.) What am I hoping to gain from blogging? Followers (potential buyers) that will revisit my site.
3.) Who am I targeting for a viewing audience? People who are interested in my genre.
To *Conquer All Obstacles* let’s assume blogging is a learned skill. Here are 7 Steps to help perfect your blogging skill:
#1 – How’s that title working for you? A headline has less than a second of a site visitor’s attention so it better be compelling. The title must catch the viewer’s attention and draw them into the rest of your post. Is your title short, worded to benefit the reader?
#2 – Include a picture. Images will hold the viewer a tad longer than a page filled with straight information.
#3 – Break up the information. Include subtitles or highlighted bold key words so the viewer just needs to scan and has the option to stop and absorb. Again, KISS – Simple is better.
#4 – Let your voice ring true. Show yourself—that you’re human. Conversational or informal language is more receptive and will hook your audience. Share experiences, interesting information to show credible authority; but also, include the odd error or mistake you’ve made in the past. Can you open yourself to show vulnerability? Transparency works wonders—draws attention, gains trustworthiness, and gathers true friends. Don’t forget to display a photo of yourself. Our brains are wired to create relationships with faces.
#5 – Chosen topic. To decide on the area or content for your article…research through past stats to check where your audience lingers the most, what topics have the greatest hits, and which posts gathered the highest number of comments. But don’t let that stop you from taking a chance. Slip in just one post and waiver from the usual and see what happens. Adding flavor doesn’t hurt. And you never know, another door may open.
#6 – Put your best stuff up top. Did you know the top of the page get about 17 times more exposure than the areas near the bottom of the page? If 40%-50% of the viewers leave your blog after the first page, take your best first step forward. Don’t leave the best for last. Think of this as a sprint instead of a long distance race. Present the best information first and in a tight manner.
#7- Presentation is everything. My husband hates when I say this, but it’s true. First impressions are longing impressions. A site that is simple to navigate and read will attract viewers. I’ve discovered reading through several subjective comments from site reviewers that most readers do not like music, flashy pictures, and wallpapered backgrounds. Again, KISS is the key ingredient to an attractive site.
Again, ask yourself…what is the purpose of your blog? If you’ve designed your blog to build an audience, you must serve the viewers. Now the blogging isn’t about you, it’s about them. It’s time to post your next posts and read your content through their eyes.
Reference – #6 Step facts collected.>Absolute Scrolling Report done by Clicktale Researchers. http://blog.clicktale.com/2007/12/04/clicktale-scrolling-research-report-v20-part-2-visitor-attention-and-web-page-exposure/<
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking HERE.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Please follow me on twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/prempromotions
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
ATTRACTIVE BLOG/WEBSITES GENERATE TRAFFIC
BLOG THE RIGHT WAY
FIELD GUIDE TO BLOGGING
TURNING FIRST IMPRESSIONS INTO LOYAL FOLLOWERS
BLOGGING: A DELICIOUS POST DEVOURED IN ONE BITE
___________________________________________________________________________________
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Author Platform, blogging, conquer all obstacles, genre, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, Successful Blogging In Just 7 Simple Steps | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on October 23, 2008
October 23
Today, my mind feels like our Saskatchewan winds–blowing scattered information. I know what I need to do today, but I’m procrastinating. Never thought of myself as someone who puts off what needs to be done. So when I was trying to figure out why I don’t want to continue with revisions, I came up with this conclusion: It’s a lot of work. ‘Thinking’ takes a lot of energy.
I realized I have to change my attitude. Find the joy from doing the task I dread. Positives to revising are endless, but I have to concentrate on the process, not just the product. Breaking up the stages in revision, I can begin to see productivity. And I love to achieve success.
So how can I chunk my work in the revision process?
1.) I will read a chapter aloud and listen for errors. I want to absorb in the content and feel the rhythm of the sentences.
2.) I will watch for those pesty passive verbs and convert into active sentences.
3.) I will cut all unnecessary scenes that aren’t moving my story forward. Perhaps, snag some other action parts and paste them at the beginning.
Interestingly, I learned from one of my Muse Sessions, that the first fifty pages of any novel should be full of action and to save the telling/backstory/reasoning and justification for the actions, until the middle. I know I have done a lot of telling at the beginning of my stories, so now I have to revise.
Like anything in life, there are certain aspects of what we do we enjoy more than others. For me, I find doing revisions difficult. How can I lesson this load to see what I do as something less than work, and to do it for more enjoyment?
Your comments would be greatly appreciated.
Are there secrets to see revisions, so we can see this as more of an enjoyable process rather than a heavy plow, shoveling away unwanted content?
Or do we simply accept, like with anything we do–we must take the good with the bad–wait for the wind to die down on its own accord.
Jo-Anne
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: passive verbs, revisions | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on October 24, 2008
October 23
Is there a formula for writing novels? How about romance? Many hate the word formula and will deny the fact.
I’m analytical. Just give me an equation to follow, and I’m through to the finish-line. When I first began to write, I was told there is no formula. There are standards to what makes a good writer and what needs to be included to have your readers stick to your story. But I was still searching for that formula. Someone must have written it down so I could follow it.
Entering contests, I have learned there is a criteria or a set of objectives that are evaluated. Following the score sheets and what the judges are going to be looking for, increases your mark. But I was still waiting for a formula.
This morning, I read an article that claims in my overview, there is a formula for writing a novel. Not just writing, but to take the writing to the next level and submit it for publication. Jason Sitzes has written this article called, Four Things You Can Do Today to Take Your Novel to the Next Level.
1.) Make sure your novel STARTS where the protagonist is changed–inciting incidence. Is the main character in a position where his/her world has turned upside down and will take on a new direction?
2.) The story must have a human connection where the reader can relate. Will the reader care about your characters and their actions?
3.) The external and internal goals or concepts must be very strong. Can you tell your entire hook of the book in less than 75 words?
4.) Cut the backstory. Are you trying to justify the story and treating your readers less than intelligent?
Published Novel=1+2+3+4
Simple.
To read the full text of Jason’s article on four things you can do TODAY to help take your novel to the next level, (see the introduction and summary below), go here:
http://www.writing4successclub.com/public/531.cfm
Simple.
Jo-Anne
Posted in Tips for Writing | Tagged: backstory, contests, external and internal goals or concepts, hook, inciting incidence, Jason Sitzes, judges, main character, protagonist, score sheets | 1 Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on October 27, 2008
I won a half hour consultation with Claudia Suzanne. She is a Ghostwriter. She is the only one who teaches how to Ghostwrite. We are just in the process of setting up the procedure and time to meet. I will have to keep you informed of the process and results.
Jo-Anne
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing, Tips for Writing | Tagged: Claudia Suzanne, Ghostwriter | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on October 28, 2008
I want the whole pie, not just a piece. That’s how I picture myself after spending over two years trying to publish my novel(s) to a New York Publishing Firm.
The berries drip off my chin, crumbs flake onto my flesh. Nothing like making a pig of myself. No, don’t take the easy route or the small piece of pie.
But my dream was to write a book–not a short story or magazine article. >YIPPIE< I have done what I’ve always wanted to do. So when did I become obsessive to carry myself to the NEED to publish this book?
I never do anything half-way. I set my goals high, place near impossible expectations for myself to reach. Why should this be any different. My need to publish a book became a WANT soon after I came off my high rocker when I fulfilled my dream.
I entered a new world. A place I had never been or dreamt ever existed…the world of writing. This world is amazing! Filled with wonderful people who support, encourage, and are willing to share their knowledge and expertise. Right from the aspiring authors, published writers, agents, and editors, I have discovered, all are on my team, and the only opposition is myself.
Pass me a napkin. I’ll keep eating my pie. It is far too delicious to stop.
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on October 29, 2008
I want to share my “aha” moment with you. The amazing realization came to me last night when I was reviewing my notes from the Muse Conference. I feel like a kid at Christmas, just opening up a present.
One of my problems when I write first chapter is I drag too much backstory before my action begins. The judges have commented that if I don’t change this, my readers will have fallen asleep, set the book down, and will never continue. So I took their advice, cut all the backstory and started where the action begins.
I found out, this is NOT what the readers are looking for.
Now, the judges are saying how much they enjoyed the first chapter (ya, they haven’t put the book down), but they want to know more about the characters and how the action started. The readers want some backstory. Feeling like the chicken and the egg scenario.
So the challenge before me was: How do I start in action AND have just enough backstory so the reader doesn’t get lost?
Answer: Backstory doesn’t have to be ‘told’ through narrative. Some important details can be sprinkled throughout the action scene in the form of dialogue, flashbacks, and backflashes. I knew about narrative, dialogue and flashbacks, but I had never heard of backflashes.
Backflash is the coolest technique.
A backflash is a memory escaping from the subconscious to the conscious mind of the POV character. It’s like a sudden jarring thought, written in sentence fragments and in present tense, as if it were just happening. Told by: Earl Staggs
Tomorrow, I will get into some examples of backflash. Right now, I’m going to go finish unwrapping my present and play with my new toy…backflashing in my first chapter.
Posted in Tips for Writing | Tagged: backflash, backstory, dialogue, Earl Staggs | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on October 30, 2008
Honest, this is not a typo. I meant to type backflash not flashback.
The more natural way to write backstory is in the technique called flashback. We do it automatically when we go into the character’s head and they tell us their internal conflict or what they are thinking from their past. Something like those voices in our heads.
Backflash is a learned technique. A very effective way to produce backstory in dialogue. (I’m going to use Earl Staggs examples):
When the light changed and she drove forward, Amanda’s mind swirled back in time to a night she had erased from her life. Vague, blurry images fought to surface.Darkness. . .waves crashing against a pier. . .sounds of an amusement park in the distance. . .someone down on all fours. . .screaming. . .begging. . .
Another of Earl’s examples:
Amanda glanced quickly. More images swam in her dazed mind.Three men standing over him. . .yelling. . .kicking. . .swinging something. . .
As you can tell, there is:
1.) Immediate action. The reader will be engaged.
2.) Pieces of backstory to justify the actions. The reader will formulate an opinion of the characters and have insight to the plot.
3.) An ‘in’ for the writer. The writer can create tension between two characters.
Yesterday, I played around with backflash in my opening chapter. Not an easy technique to learn, but I do believe it is valuable to strengthen my writing voice and a way for me to add backstory without coming across as being intrusive and backstory dumping. The last thing I want to do is to lose my reader.
Posted in Tips for Writing, Uncategorized | Tagged: backflash, backstory, flashback | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on October 31, 2008
Writing can be formulized. The more I correspond with Claudia Suzanne, the more I am learning about graphing or charting my stories into a formula method.
Now that I view this technique, I’m not sure if I want to synthesize my writing into specific charts. Complicated to begin, then overwhelming once I analyze all my added input. Perhaps, I’m just afraid to see all the visual holes I have to fill? Or, perhaps I’m afraid I will get caught-up in the why and how, throwing me off balance for what is important…the writing itself?
If cold readers are telling you that your submissions are losing their interest, they can’t identify with the characters, the plot sounds implausible, then this method could solve your problems. Especially if you are a visual learner, like myself. Charting the scenes or chapters allows the writer to cold edit their writing. A process that many of us never get to before submitting. Revising and polishing the writing is more than the two stages (rough draft, edit) I initially thought. There are six stages a writer should go through before querying agents/editors/publishers.
Ghostwriters must chart the author’s submissions, breaking down everything before they can take on their voice and style. Taking their job one step forward, they can then help the author find gaps in their writing. After, there is an awareness of the problem, they solve it and produce submissions worth publishing.
Posted in Tips for Writing | Tagged: charting, cold readers, formulized, Ghostwriters, publishing, querying, style, submissions, visual learner, voice, writing | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on November 3, 2008
I avoided marketing and promoting like the plaque. Although with interest, I have viewed writers’ websites, authors’ blogs, groups’ homepages, and my daily incoming emails, but I quickly scanned over anything that remotely looked like an individual was marketing or promoting. Why?
Back to my fears again…
I refused to educate myself in this area because I have a fear of uncertainty, failure, and I’m scared of throwing myself off balance with too much to do and too little time to do it in.
But, the haunted house stands before me. The main door opens, taunting me to enter. I’m curious, so I falter into the mansion. I chant, “A change of attitude…I can do it…one step at a time…easy does it…”
So I shuffle into the first room and discover the reason for marketing and promoting. I didn’t need to be published. I need to promote myself, to gather a following so when my book does publish, I will have an audience. And what better way than through the www, where billions of people reside. So now I have a reason and I’ve found a strength I can build with.
On to the second room. I trudge through the next door and find out how to create a blog, website, join groups–all to promote me. Starting out as a selfish reason, there are more advantages. I’ve met a world full of wonderful people who are just like me; learned more about the craft of writing; and grew not only as a writer but as an individual.
Going back to my list of fears, in just over a week, I can check-off uncertainty (I now know the why and some of the how), failure (oh, sure the odd mistake, but no one is here to judge), and balance (chunking my day into timeframes and daily attainable goals).
I am grateful to find the courage to walk into this foreign house. There are many more rooms for me to explore, but instead of being indecisive, I have taken on a new attitude. I have nothing to lose but fear.
I’m ready to venture forth into the next room…
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: audience, authors', blogs, marketing, promoting, websites, writers' | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on November 4, 2008
I introduced my second manuscript, BETWEEN TWO, by submitting query letters to a dozen agents. I stayed out of the slush pile and had partial submission requests from: Andrea Somberg from Harvey Klinger, Scott Eagan from Greyhaus, Mary Sue Seymour from The Seymour Agency, Elizabeth Griffin from Cooke Agency.
Mary Louise Schwartz from The Belfry Literary Agency requested a full submission. Thrilled to have her on my team, she recognized my writing talent and the suspense/romance story I have to tell. Today she is patiently waiting for BETWEEN TWO. With the few emails we have exchanged, she sounds like a very nice person. I have had to put her on hold, and she has politely responded her understanding.
About three weeks ago my hard drive crashed. I had back-ups saved, but had lost my final revisions to this novel. Yes, I freaked at the time. But now I realize that rereading and adding/cutting the manuscript has strengthened my story. Remember the stages of Polishing a Manuscript? Not four stages, but seven. Before the disastrous techy problem, I had completed the four stages. Today-thanks to the computer mishap, I have been given the opportunity to follow through all the stages of revision and produce a bang-on product for my audience.
I’m half way finished revising BETWEEN TWO. My goal is to complete the six revision stages in three weeks, then complete stage seven with the final reading before handing it over to Mary Louise.
I’m so excited that with the opportunity to read a sample, she likes what she’s reading. To find a reputable agent such as her (whom believes in me) is the most wonderful feeling in the world.
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing | Tagged: Andrea Somberg, BETWEEN TWO, Elizabeth Griffin, Mary Louise Schwartz, Mary Sue Seymour, query letters, Scott Eagan, The Belfry Literary Agency | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on November 5, 2008
A scary thought…to have someone read my soul. All those thoughts I have trapped in my mind, just itching to pour onto the pages. Dropping the fears, a writer who wants to publish must be prepared to stumble through these barriers and proceed forward.
I have had several readers throughout the two and a half years I began my writing. Initially, it was difficult to push that send button, knowing I was exposing myself and all my vulnerabilities.
As a whole, the journey has been fabulous. Sure there are days when I feel like I’m taking one step forward and two steps back, but like any path in life, the road is never smooth nor straight. I have learned to preservere and keep plunging forward. Perhaps, glancing over my shoulder, but never turning around to walk back.
Now, I hand my writing over to those who can give me the best direction in my forward motion…the reader. No matter how many times I revise and polish, there are those who can add valuable comments to strengthen and push the story ahead.
To place the mind in the proper perspective is the answer. Do not take the readers’ comments or suggestions personally. They are not critiquing you, they are pointing out the strengths and weaknesses in your story. Valuable suggestions. So wipe the tears away…the initial draft is not perfect, and stand tall and strong, and apply what you have learned.
During my writing career, I have learned how to face many fears. But more importantly, I have developed a thick skin. Demonstrating a courage I never knew I had.
Tomorrow, I will share my experience with a Coach Consultant. Later this morning, I have a half-hour phone session with a lady from New York who is going to help me define my goals.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Coach Consultant, critiquing, revise and polish, The Reader | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on November 6, 2008
Yesterday, I had the privilege to talk with Lisa Gentile from California (last blog I stated New York…Oops). I also stated her title as a Coach Consultant (another Oops…she is not a consultant, her title is Writing Coach).
In the half hour phone call, Lisa coached me–defining my day as a writer. Through her guidance, I created a productive working day. First, we discussed when I was the most creative. Second, we priorized my goals.
To set up your day, you must ask yourself the following questions:
1.) When are you the most creative? The morning is when I feel the best. My second priority is writing/finishing the manuscript for the agent. For me, I fear my energy level crashing. By deciding my favorable muse environment, I must remove all distractions and find a place in my home where I can be the most creative.
2.) What are your priorities? Health is the utmost priority in my life. I know I have to carefully balance my day and allow time for myself. If I feel stressed or exhausted after my day, I know something has to go. My priorities include:
1.) Health 2.) Finishing the book 3.) Blog 4.) Learning the craft of writing
The conclusion: I must leave the learning for later (#4) and decrease my blogging time (#3). To remain healthy and energized (#1), I must focus on completing the revisions for my book (#2).
I would recommend any writer to assess their day. After having Lisa guide me through my priorties and determine the best way to meet my goals, a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Now, I can clearly see my day as being manageable. I have attainable goals with realistic results.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Lisa Gentile, Writing Coach | 4 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on November 11, 2008
My hand shakes, as my fingers graze over the ‘enter’ key. The curser wavers on the send button. You can do it, screams a voice inside my head as the rapid pulse drums from the far depths inside my ears.
“Yes!” My arm drops, sending my full manuscript flying out into cyber, majestically plopping it in the hands of an agent. An eerie laughter fills the house like a chlorine leak. I jump up and do the ‘happy dance’. Oscar’s snout lifts, head cocks, its beady eyes stares back at my bizarre actions. I cup his head between my hands, giggling.
So what do you think of my life so far? Do you agree with Oscar and figure I’ve lost it? <smiling>
You may ask: Now what does Jo-Anne do with her life?
While waiting to hear back from this agent, I have a lot of plans. I will:
1.) Gather my entry for another contest, The RWA Golden Heart Awards. The deadline is in seven days.
2.) Continue to study the forums from the Muse Conference. Each topic is full of information on the ‘craft of writing’.
3.) Read a few novels from Today’s Top Twenty fiction list.
4.) Research writing magazine articles. A great way to earn credits and bring in some extra cash.
My day is full of adventure and challenges…and I love it.
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing | Tagged: Golden Heart Awards | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on November 13, 2008
Here are some facts I found interesting:
- One of my favorite authors, Joy Fielding, revises her first chapter up to 50 times before she sees fit to publish.
- Agents receive between 200-800 query letters a week, rejecting 97%.
- If the writer’s query/synopsis stays out of the slush pile, then the agent asks for a partial (usually 5-50 pages).
- If the agent likes the voice and story, then he/she will ask to read the full manuscript. Then the writer must wait 2-6 months for a response, without submitting this novel to anyone else.
The agent earns from the selling profit on the novel. Commission ranges between 15-20%. So will only accept the novel if they are sure of publishing.
Where does Jo-Anne fall into these stats?
September 2006: I finished the rough copy of my first novel, ON GUARD, in seventeen days. I queried a variety of agents and had many rejections, but I had a few partial request and one agent, Vivian Beck, asked to read the entire manuscript. I knew I was on the right track when I received a phone call from New York. Agent, Scott Eagan from Greyhaus Agency, wanted to meet me at a conference in Dallas. I was a newbie and feared the uncertainty. I never went.
May 2008: During a writer’s conference in Victoria, I had the opportunity to pitch, ON GUARD, to Kensington Publishing (by-passing the agent route) and Harlequin. I was thrilled when the editor of Kensington Publishing wanted to read the full ms and HQN wanted to read a partial.
Recently: ON GUARD was rejected by Kensington Publishing. He left me with encouraging news of many of my strengths as a writer. I haven’t heard back from HQN.
Meanwhile: I have written my second novel, BETWEEN TWO. I have queried a number of agents, had requested partials, and one agent, Mary Louis Schwartz from The Belfrey Literary Agency wants to read the full. Again, Jo-Anne is doing the happy dance.
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing | Tagged: Agents, BETWEEN TWO, Greyhaus Agency, Harlequin, Joy Fielding, Kensington Publishing, Mary Louis Schwartz, ON GUARD, Query, Scott Eagan, Slush Pile, Synopsis, The Belfrey Literary Agency | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on November 18, 2008
Conquer all obstacles…
Creating a blog in wordpress is FREE and simple, developing character to my blog is testing the sharpness of the sword.
Plow into the design, hover over the lingo, and don’t be afraid of pushing buttons. Learn as you go.
Why would I need a blog if I’m not published?
After attending the Muse Conference and reading the forums, I discovered a blog’s purpose. You create a blog to sell yourself. A writer must generate a following so when that novel is published, your fans will be more responsive/interested/more apt to purchase the book. If you wait until you are published, you may be too late.
The best time to start a blog is NOW.
Just think of the billions of people who will get to know who you are from internet communication–kind of puts the hours of standing in bookstores, signing covers, into perspective, no?
What qualifications are necessary to create a blog?
If you know how to type, you can create a blog. But, if you want to increase interest (hits or visitors) to your site, that takes a little more knowledge in the advertising compartment and the technical area.
The website, ‘Blogging Tips‘ is excellent. It will show you (in simple, easy to follow directions) everything you need to know about blogging. >http://www.squidoo.com/expertblogging<
How do I attract more hits (interest) to my blog?
Like any advertisement, your blog should be attractive, informative (have purpose) and easy to subscribe. Branding (developing a theme) along with a logo (symbol) will trigger your followers’ memory. The more they see your brand/logo, the greater the chances they will remember you. You want to build trust so your followers will be interested in you and want to buy what you write.
I encourage you to create a blog, delve into the unknown waters, and sharpen that blade so you can conquer all obstacles.
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: advertising, blog, blog's purpose, Blogging Tips, branding, conquer all obstacles, http://www.squidoo.com/experblogging.com, logo, wordpress | 6 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on November 20, 2008
“Conquer All Obstacles”…
Sauntering on solid ground builds confidence, a sense of control, and conserves energy. I don’t enjoy walking in a state of uncertainty. My muscles remain rigid, mind is constantly on guard. (Whew…I’m tired even thinking about it)
For your health, it is important to balance your life. (No one else is going to do it–this is up to you)
Reaching equilibrium increases productivity, and enhances the quantity and quality of your writing. (Trust me, this works). Could you see yourself writing fifty pages rather than twenty-five? Wouldn’t it be special to have less red marks on submissions?
How do we, living in today’s society of constant change and filled with added responsibilities, balance life?
1.) IDENTIFY – Make a list of daily chores. (Be realistic. ) By physically writing what you need to accomplish during the day is better than having it rattle around inside your head. A checklist is visual, measurable, and provides the opportunity to check-off accomplished items. Only good feelings can come from reaching a goal, whether we decide to include a reward or not. (Caution: Do NOT make your ‘WANT’ your reward.)
Apply to a Writer’s Life: Today’s list- blog, check emails, eye appointment, revise a few more chapters, read for pleasure, organize supper, rest, read more forums from Muse Conference, submit queries to a few agents, watch ER
2.) ACCEPT- The day as your own. Don’t be your own worst enemy. If you have to judge yourself, only say good things. Give yourself permission.
Apply to a Writer’s Life: Today I will listen to what my body tells me. If I’m tired, I’ll rest. I’m excited to query more agents-I know what I have to submit is good.
3.) SOLUTION – Always fulfill what you WANT to do before the day is through. It is easier to dismiss a child’s temper tantrum. Isn’t their behavior a result of him/her not getting what they want? Even as an adult, we need to include what we want every day. If we don’t, we get angry. We may not act the same as a child, but our feelings are there. Even if you are not ready to accept your feelings of anger, you will be forming resentments. A build-up of discernment produces ugly results in the end…burn-out, relationship problems, pure frustration. Resentments form easily in the minds of those who never get to do what they want. So an easy fix, is to do something every day for yourself. Do what you WANT to do.
Apply to a writer’s life: I want to read more of my novel. I won’t leave it until the end of the day, when I’m too tired to keep my eyes open. I won’t try to sneak my reading in when I’m eating or waiting in line at Tim’s. I will make time to read.
By following a few tips, it’s a win-win situation. You can “conquer all obstacles”.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: balance your life, checklist, goal, health, resentments, reward | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on November 25, 2008
Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.
—H. Jackson Brown
Conquer all obstacles and delete common errors AFTER the rough draft.
Creativity bulged at the seams with my muse on fire. When writing the first draft, I just couldn’t get the story down fast enough. I didn’t worry about active sentences, vibrant verbs, repetitive words, cohesive plot structure, pacing, etc. Heck, I didn’t even know what all that meant (probably a good thing at the time). A perfect example of knowing too much probably could have hurt the productivity.
How to write a manuscript in 17 Days:
1.) Accept all words. Don’t critique the writing. Revisions and judgments come after the manuscript is finished. Initially, just get the story down.
2.) Type anything. Understand, you can’t fix something that isn’t there. Without words, restructuring is impossible. You can’t revise a blank page.
3.) Feel and enjoy the freedom. Anything goes, nothing is wrong. Think of yourself as a painter who throws colors on a wall. Smoothing everything out comes later.
Many writers are astonished when they discover through my biography or ‘All About Jo-Anne’, how quickly I produced my first book. “Wow! You wrote 80,000 words in seventeen days?”
I will never forget the feeling–it was a blast! Often, I describe my experience by comparing it to reading a book. I just couldn’t stop writing, like reading a page-turner book. I was obsessed with the uncertainty of not knowing what was on the next page. Every morning, I couldn’t wait to jump out of bed and hit the computer. And at night, I didn’t want to ’shut down’ and go to sleep. All I wanted to do was write and find out what was going to happen next. I wanted to know where my character were going? And what kind of trouble he/she was going to get into next?
After those first seventeen days, and I printed THE END, I knew I wanted to be a writer. I discovered a creative side I didn’t know I had. What a feeling!
Challenge yourself to complete a novel in seventeen days, or how ever many days you think it would take you to type a full manuscript within your scheduled day (weeks). Go with your spirit, feel the freedom, and accept all words.
Before writing:
Someone would ask me: “What is something you’ve always wanted to do?”
Jo-Anne’s answer: “I’ve always wanted to write a book.”
They would ask me: “Why don’t you write a book?”
Jo-Anne’s answer: “I don’t have time to write a book.”
After Writing:
If I would have known that it was only going to take me seventeen days to finish my book, I would have written it a long time ago. Two and a half weeks is not too much time to take out of my life and fulfill a dream.
There’s nothing to conquer when there are no obstacles to overcome.
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing | Tagged: muse, revisions, rough draft, writer | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on November 27, 2008
In Saskatchewan/Manitoba northern lakes, there are four basic kinds of fish that may take your bait and end up on your hook: jackfish, whitefish, perch, or pickerel.
Over the past forty years of fishing, I have learned:
1.) Not all fish take the same lure.
2.) Pickerel are the best tasting but one of the most difficult to catch.
Like fishing, finding an agent takes the right type of hook and the perfect kind of bait (preferably one with barbs so they can’t slip off).
Yesterday, I was going over my notes from the Muse Conference and spied an excellent website that boasts over 7,000 members, called Mike’s Writing Workshop:
-groups.yahoo.com/group/mikeswritingworkshop
An article written by Brian Hill and Dee Power: determined, the writer must use the right bait. They surveyed sixty agents and concluded these stats:
Where do agents find clients?
39% Referral from one of their other clients
33% Direct contact by the writer
9% Referral from editors and publishers
8% Referral from other authors not their clients
5% Referrals from other agents
3% Attendance at writers conferences
3% Other
After reading these stats, my first thought was–
Who could I get, in the tight famous writing world, who would even give me the time of day to read my book?
Friendly–yes, but we’re talking major time commitment here.
My novel is the bait. Finding someone from the inside who’d be interested in my work is the hook. Letting a lot of line into the deep water may feel exciting for a fisherman, but for a writer, the uncertainty is scary.
Now, I have discovered the importance of mixing with the crowd, promoting my name, and joining many groups. Finding an agent comes from not only what you know, but who you know.
Like being a new kid on the block, the aspiring writer must be assertive and meet new friends. Remember, first impressions are important, and because there are so many of us…your work must be impressive enough to stand out from the rest. Polish to perfection.
“Conquer all Obstacles” – Once we understand what it takes to land an agent, we can fish all day and patiently wait for the best pickerel (I mean agent) to come bite our hook. Our jigging comes from being assertive and mixing with the others. We must do our part by using the right hook for that agent to even consider a nibble.
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Agents, aspiring writer, Brian Hill, clients, Dee Power, editors, Mike's Writing Workshop, Muse Conference, publishers, writer, writers conferences | 4 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on December 2, 2008
This week only, I’m the FEATURED AUTHOR for the Romance Writer’s United Organization. Do me the honor and check it out: http://rwunited.freehostia.com/index.html I’m so excited! >Jo-Anne is do’n the happy dance<
Welcome to my blog. I’m thrilled you have arrived… >waving and smiling<
“Conquer All Obstacles” is the theme–my message in each post.
Writing under a variety of categories: (’Learning the Craft of Writing’, ‘Marketing and Promoting’, ‘Goals and Expectations’, ‘Revising’), there are patterns and directions in each post. You will gain a sense of strength and knowledge through many interesting topics.
Like a coach, I want my readers to feel they can trust me. We are on the same team. We have a common goal: to win. I’m here to encourage you; to mold you into stronger players. I will supply the information so you can relate, learn, and have the passion to pursue new and challenging avenues.
A blog is a marketing tool, essential for the writer even before the book is published. We, as writers and readers, are wise. We understand the value of money and time. You’re not going to waste your investments on something you know little or nothing about. This is why it is so important for a writer to build a platform and establish a relationship with their audience. Only when the reader gains knowledge and a sense of worth, will they invest their time and money.
Building this relationship between the writer and reader must occur before the book is published. It takes time to build mutual trust and is necessary for both the reader and writer so they can play together on the same team. If the writer waits until their book hits the shelves, it will be too late.
Feel free to post comments. I’d love to hear from you–communication is an essential component on any winning team or in any successful relationship.
I encourage you to subscribe (new posts will automatically enter your incoming email). Your address is safe with me and you will be receiving bi-weekly information without having to enter my blog each time.
Pass my blog site to others who will benefit. Share the wealth. There’s something to be said about increasing numbers…gains oppositional strength and a tough defense. An unbeatable team.
Together we can ‘conquer all obstacles’.
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: http://rwunited.freehostia.com/index.html, Romance Writers United | 5 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on December 4, 2008
Fact: Around 97% queries are rejected by agents.
How can I keep my submission out of the slush pile?
From the first paragraph, keep the agent immersed in your writing.
How can I keep my reader immersed in my writing?
1.) Avoid dumping backstory: Drop the explanation. Sprinkle backstory after page 50.
2.) Show don’t tell: The reader wants action right away. The writer must show rather than tell.
ACTION = SHOWING
The difference between showing vs. telling:
1.) If you picture the scene through the narrator, you are telling.
TELLING: Robin’s body shook with fright.
SHOWING: Air caught, she swallowed the lump as the bile
burned down her throat.
Pretend the scene, you want to include in your story, is being filmed by a movie camera. If the camera stays in the hands of the camera man, this is telling. But if you allow your main character, who is experiencing the action, to have the camera, the scene is shown.
*Keep the camera in the hands of the character. The event must be shown through the character’s eyes–POV (point of view). Only in this way, will you be able to describe exactly how that character feels when they are scared.
2.) If you use the word ‘was’ in a sentence, you are telling.
TELLING: Robin was terrified and her body shook with fright.
SHOWING: Robin’s eyes darted from the blade toward
the doorway.
*Revisions – after you have produced the rough draft, line-edit each sentence. Ask yourself:
- Who has the camera?
- Scan for the word ‘was’. Replace the word ‘was’ with action.
(darted – ed is stronger than darting-ing): When the action is being done to the character, use ing:
Poor: Robin was terrified and her body shook with fright.
Better: Robin finally responded, her eyes darting from the blade toward the doorway.
BEST: Robin’s eyes darted from the blade toward the doorway.
Conquer all obstacles by showing the scene through the eyes of your character.
Posted in Tips for Writing | Tagged: Agents, backstory, POV, queries, revisions, showing vs. telling, Slush Pile, submissions | 1 Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on December 9, 2008
Conquer all obstacles… “My heroine’s not the only one who kicks ass!”
Writer’s Words of Wisdom
1.) Just write:
- “It’s only a blank page until I write the first word.”
- “Blank page, I shall thwart thee!”
2.) No matter how jumbled your thoughts are, get them down. You can’t fix something that isn’t there:
- “Write here. Write now.”
- “The pen is the tongue of the mind.”
3.) Trust your characters:
- “I don’t tell my characters what to do. I just take dictation.”
- “I do what the voices tell me. Today they said to kill the main
character. Sometimes I wonder about them.”
- “The voices are talking to me again. I call them muses.”
4.) Add to the plot outline and flush out the characters as you go:
- “The voices in my head tell me what to write.”
5.) No such thing as a blank mind:
- “I can’t wait for inspiration. I have to go after it with a club.”
- “It only looks like I’m day dreaming. I’m actually hard at work on my novel.”
6.) A writer is never lonely:
- “Some of my best friends are fictional.”
(List found in cafe press)
Jo-Anne’s Weekly News
What? Jo-Anne’s flying higher than a kite. No, not because her meds have kicked in.
Why? Her dream agent/editor/publisher asked for a partial submission.
> Yeah, Jo’s do’n the happy dance <
So? Kelly Mortimer isn’t just anyone out in the writing world…she is the best!
What a wonderful early Christmas present, God bless yeah Kelly.
How? Again, networking pays off. It’s not only what you know, but who you know that counts. Blog, blog , blog—sell yourself before you publish. Even if you have: a snazzy title, a heart-wrenching plot, and dynamic characters; readers will most likely choose your books over others because they recognize your name.
You can conquer all obstacles: get out there and sell yourself. You are worth it.
“Have you hugged your muse today?”
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing | Tagged: blog, characters, heroine, Kelly Mortimer, muses, networking, novel, partial submission, plot outline | 1 Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on December 11, 2008
Conquer All Obstacles…hold hands and experience growth. By working together, we will enter an advanced world filled with miracles.
Why do you read novels?
Why do you write novels?
Readers and writers are partners. Like a shoe without a foot, you can’t have one without the other.
For the reader: The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story. >Ursula K. Le Guin<
For the writer: Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely necessary. > Jessamyn West<
How do you measure success?
Before becoming a writer, I used productivity as a motivator. Process was just a stage to get to the end. As a reader, I’d approach a writer and ask if they had anything published. If the response was negative or in a genre I didn’t read, I would turn around and walk away without giving the writer another thought.
Today, I pride myself on the process. It is the commitment to my writing that propels me forward. As a reader, I’m interested in the craft. Never shall I read a book the same way. I hone in on the writer’s tactics to draw me in and keep me hooked to the end. I’ve grown to become observant in flaws and produce solutions that would make the story stronger.
Conclusion: Even though the product or publication is important, it is the knowledge and understanding of the writing process that will strengthen you as a reader and writer.
I see the notion of talent as quite irrelevant. I see instead perseverance, application, industry, assiduity, will, will, will, desire, desire, desire. >Gordon Lish<
Jo-Anne’s Highlights
-I mailed my requested one chapter to Kelly Mortimer. (Finally, I came off the clouds and was able to sleep.)
“What? Two weeks before she gets it?” I freaked to the poor guy across the counter. Guess that’s why they call it snail mail. How spoiled I’ve become to instant gratification of the world wide web (www).
-Last night, I finished revising ON GUARD. Will let it simmer on the back burner for a few weeks before I comb through it again.
-Today, I’m nursing a very sore throat. Blasted winter! Anyway, I want to polish my query letter and synopsis to ON GUARD so I can submit the materials to agents. Soon I will be out jigging again. I’ll see if a change of bait will lure the ‘big ones’ to my hook.
Until next week, remember…You can conquer all obstacles.
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing | Tagged: Kelly Mortimer, ON GUARD, process, productivity | 4 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on December 16, 2008
I have a couple of negative tendencies: (Okay, I have more, but we’ll focus on these two)
1.) I make a mountain out of a mole hill.
2.) I analyze things to death.
But then, I have to remember to: trust my knowledge, chunk the information, and place all obstacles in their proper perspective.
I have discovered to conquer all obstacles comes with practice. Read and write more. Just be yourself and relax. Yeah, easier said then done, right?
(1.) “So, what do you write?” The woman across the counter chewed her gum to the same frequency of my rapid heart beat. She’s interested. I’ve lead with the hook, now I just need to set the line…
“I write what my characters show me.” I smiled showing as many teeth as possible, never taking my eyes off her face. She glanced away, cleared her throat. Damn, I’ve lost her.
(2.) “What do you write?” The neighbor dug his hands further into his front pockets while shuffling the snow with the toe of his boot. Here’s my chance to pitch. Practice makes perfect…
“I write fiction,” my voice rose. Obviously, showing more excitement than feeling. His mouth opened, then closed without another word. Yikes, I’m not doing too well.
(3.) “Yeah, heard you were a writer. You got anything published?” The man pushed his toque down with a bound hand wrapped in a thick mitt.
I swallowed, trying to find the word. Gosh, cannot lose this one.
“You like to read?”
His eyes sparkled. “Love to, if I give myself the time,” he chuckled.
“I’m the same way.” I pulled my scarf a little higher up my nose and turned my body so the wind could nip at the other side of my face for a change. “So, what do you like to read?”
“I like to read facts in the paper, but there’s nothing like sticking my nose into a good book and forgetting that I’m in this deep-freeze.” An audible sigh escaped forming a cloud to lift above his stance, only to float away with the breeze.
“I’m not yet published, but I write those kinds of books. I write page-turning fiction with lots of action.” I crossed my arms, strapping my initial reaction to flail my dangling arms wide, flapping as if I had wings ready for take-off. YES, I’ve got him.
Last Spring, while attending the ‘Write On’ conference in Vancouver, I had the wonderful opportunity to produce a seven minute pitch to John Scognamiglio, Editor-in-Chief of Kensington Books and Kathryn Lye, Editor of Harlequin/Silhouette. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience. And the outcome was unbelievable…John wanted me to send a full manuscript and Kathryn wanted to read the first three chapters.
Honored to have both editors give highlights of the markets and answer questions, there was one main message both stressed. The answer was as simple as the 3rd example you read above:
Stop! Stop trying to make everything more difficult then what is meant to be. Are you tired of the writer’s block? Save the genre and GMC for your query. It is time to speak the language of the reader—.
KISS. AN AGENT, EDITOR, OR READER WANTS A GOOD STORY.
It’s time I revealed my secret. Next post, I’ll delve further into my story and show you, what makes my writing a good story.
I remember back when I was in high school, a friend asked me a question after class. I wondered why she hadn’t asked the teacher. She responded to the fact that she thought it was a stupid question.
“No question is stupid,” I had responded. “Chances are others have wondered the same.”
The next day, she asked a question. Glancing around the classroom at all the nodding heads, she soon discovered I was right. Never again did she fear asking another question. She dropped her perception of ‘stupid’. All her classmates viewed her as courageous. She became the captain of all sports teams and the president of the school.
See, you can conquer all obstacles. Breathe and be yourself. If you love your story, chances are—others will feel the same.
Keep in mind that the person to write for is yourself. Tell the story that you most desperately want to read.
—Susan Isaacs
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: editors, Harlequin/Silhouette, John Scognamiglio, Kathryn Lye, Kensington, pitch, story, Write On conference in Vancouver, writer's block | 6 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on December 18, 2008
Conquer all obstacles… I have completed and polished two manuscripts:
ON GUARD and BETWEEN TWO
FACT: Read what interests you.
CONCLUSION: Write what you read.
Today, I promised I would reveal more of myself. Delve deeper in my interests; thus, what theme(s) I base my writing from.
I enter a bookstore. After I stop sucking in the wonderful aroma of pages, I head for the fiction section. I scan for either the genre romance or suspense/thriller. (You can’t have one without the other). I read the back cover, searching for stories that promises both romance and suspense.
TOPIC:
-Romance/Suspense
I love to read stories with a lot of action and filled with twists. The movie, The Sixth Sense, comes to mind. Gosh, I had to replay that movie over and over again, trying to figure out how my mind could have been convinced to follow one track, when all the way through, there was another track. Like, I really thought the guy was talking to someone alive all the way through the movie. Now how could such an intelligent mind miss such an obvious detail as a main character being alive or dead throughout the entire story? (lol) I admire that kind of story telling.
PROMISED TECHNIQUES IN MY NOVELS:
- Action and Romance
- Plot Twists
- Hooks
- Mystery
- Well Rounded Believable Characters: (Emotions, Dilemmas, Conflicts)
A writer lives in awe of words, for they can be cruel or kind, and they can change their meanings right in front of you. They pick up flavors and odors like butter in a refrigerator. —John Steinbeck
Hooks snagging my interest at the beginning and end of each chapter. Only splatters of details. Plot that keeps me guessing, pondering, and attempting to solve the mystery or fill in the pieces. I have to be able to relate to the characters. The characters must be well rounded and believable. Each character must be filled with emotions while they face their dilemmas and grow by solving their internal/external conflict(s) I can relate to.
ON GUARD (SNEAK PREVIEW) Author: Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
The power of maternal instinct forces strong-willed Dianna Dunwell to risk her greatest fears as an ex-wife, a single mother…and a psychopath’s next victim. To stay alive, she must learn to trust her most formidable foe, her ex-husband. To regain her sanity, she must release her inner passion and accept the unconditional love from the charismatic man, Jake Powell.
BETWEEN TWO (SNEAK PREVIEW) Author: Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
A WOMAN WHO WANTS TO FIND LOVE…
Independent divorcee Tara Robstead wants more than a secret love affair with her widowed boss, Josh Henderson.
WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES FOR A
‘HAPPILY-EVER-AFTER’ …
Yet, her search for a ‘happily-ever-after’ costs her more than the price paid in blood. Determined to start over, she accepts a date from a young gorgeous skating instructor, Devin Tucker. He slaughters her soul when he preys on her vulnerabilities and traps her into his psychotic world of endless control and abuse. Now, she is confined to a mental institute. With a history of bipolar disorder, this recent trauma triggers fluctuating moods and tortures her mind. She loses grip on reality, battling her greatest fears as a single middle-aged woman. She must accept Josh’s proven love before she can release the psycho’s control over her spirit.
EVEN TANGLING WITH A PSYCHOPATH…
But this time, he won’t walk away. Not when Tara’s hidden agendas lead him to confront his rivals, to stand united and fearless against him. With a vengeance, the mind games reverse. But will they make it out in time to live to see tomorrow?
Interested?
For the first time in my life, I found a greater passion than reading.
What a thrill it was to write both books. It was like I couldn’t wait to get up in the morning to type the next page. My imagination took over and my curiosity got the best of me. I wanted so desperately to see what was going to happen. Writing my stories was even better than reading!
Yesterday, agent Christi Cardenas from The Plains Agency, called me a prolific writer. “You’re obviously quite prolific.” How about I change my handle from ‘Aspiring’ to ‘Prolific’? I think I could get use to that.
“Storytelling is as natural as breathing to me. It’s something I did
verbally before I could write, then it burst out on the written page
as a new expression for an old love. Not everyone who can tell a good
story can be a great or even good writer, and not every writer is a
born storyteller. It’s a blend of the two that creates magic in
fiction; a combination of imagination and technique, originality and
organization.” —Nancy Gideon
Stay tuned for next week: Further discovery into my niche/the audience suited for my writing/topics and growth you can build in your own life.
Don’t write what you know—-what you know may bore you, and thus bore your readers. Write about what interests you—-and interests you deeply—-and your readers will catch fire at your words. —Valerie Sherwood
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
“Conquer All Obstacles”
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing | Tagged: action, Aspiring, BETWEEN TWO, characterrs, Christi Cardenas, conflict, Hooks, mystery, ON GUARD, Plot, Prolific, romance, suspense/thriller, The Plains Agency, twists | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on December 19, 2008
Using DESCRIPTION, how can we conquer all obstacles with different readers?
GOAL: What combines character and setting to convey a mood or key the reader type of book, allowing the reader to experience the emotion with the character?
- Description, like any other writing element, is a tool to evoke emotion, ground readers, reveal subtle secrets, and perform half a dozen tasks. It should never just sit there.
- The whole of the scene has to work together to create the mood and environment that will carry the story forward.
- Objects in the description can change the story.
A majority of authors who struggle with detail seem to be character focused. That’s the plaster with which we cover up our weaknesses in settings. –Margaret McGaffey Fisk
HOW TO AVOID CARDBOARD CHARACTERS?
The difference between a cardboard character and a fully rounded one comes down to the specifics that make the character unique. How the author brings those specifics to the reader’s attention is through telling details. As with a scene, a complete description of every aspect would just overwhelm. To capture the reader, a character must have elements that stand out, whether physical, emotional, or in the character’s personality.
However, I’m starting to hear about a trend back in the other direction, with word count getting a little longer. It could just be that you’re seeing the shift in the market from the publisher’s side but are still writing based on the market conditions that were/are present right now.
The trick is that the reader must not be able to tell your starting point once you get to the polished version…which means we have to conquer every one of these descriptive aspects equally regardless of what “comes naturally.”
The trouble is that no reader is identical, and what one reader needs is too much for another reader, so finding that happy median can be a moving target.
When readers “walk away” from that space, what do they retain of the description?
Retain the parts that have some hook, that connect in some way to what they’ve already learned or foreshadow what’s coming next. If there’s no hook, you might as well not have bothered with the words.
Harder to do on your own–if you can, snag a critiquer.
CONCLUSION: Which means we have to conquer every one of these descriptive aspects equally regardless of what “comes naturally.”
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
“Conquer All Obstacles”
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Tips for Writing | Tagged: cardboard characters, critiquer, Description | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on December 19, 2008
Conquering all obstacles through other eyes can be worth a price in gold:
A critiquer’s job is to respond to what you have written, not to help you write it. That goes above and beyond.
NOTE: Now, if you really feel like you trust someone, and they are willing, you can certainly ask them to help you figure out how to present an idea, but at this point you get into a gray area that moves away from critique and towards collaboration. You aren’t using their feedback anymore but instead asking them to work with you on figuring out how to improve the story. This can be very helpful, but you run the risk that the story won’t be entirely yours anymore. This is why a wise reader reacts to your story rather than offering suggestions for how to fix it — this is your story to tell, not theirs.
Instead, you should:
- use the feedback to become an even better writer.
- always give good critique.
- critique the story, not the author. You are reporting your feelings about a piece of literature.
- make it an opinion: “I thought Frank was a jerk.” is an absolutely true statement. “Frank is a jerk.” is up for debate. Authors tend to receive criticism better when it is written as an opinion rather than as fact, because it is less confrontational and controversial. If you are the author receiving the feedback, you should always interpret comments as an opinion even if the person giving the feedback was less than sensitive.
- look for problems, not solutions: If you do decide to give suggestions for rewriting, you should always pinpoint the problem (as you see it) first. That way, the author can take the information and use it in a way that best serves the story.
- be a wise reader: Orson Scott Card (see his books on writing): A wise reader notices when they ask the questions and they write it down for the benefit of the author.
i. Oh Yeah? (I don’t believe this.)
ii. So What? (I don’t care.)
iii. Huh? (I don’t get it.)
II. Getting to the heart of the problem
Diagnosis:
Prescription:
They didn’t seem to “get it”
Should I make a change?
There are exactly two times when you should consider making a change:
1.) Resonance: If a comment resonates with you, if it just makes sense based on what you are trying to accomplish with your work (be it a short story, novel, or article) then you should, of course, make a change.
2.) Agreement:
- If many people agree on a problem or weak spot, you should also seriously consider making a change. You may not agree on the solution that any or all of them offered, but it is typically no coincidence when several people all spot the same issue. It can be hard to decide to make a change in this case, if there is no resonance to go along with it, but here are some things you can do.
Put it aside for a period of time and re-read it with a fresh eye.
Look for creative solutions to a problem. For example, if many people tell you a section is too long you may decide, instead, to make it longer. I often find that the boredom that causes people to suggest cutting can also be remedied by going into more depth, drawing the reader in further, and really highlighting the importance of a certain portion of a story or novel.
- In the end, whether the feedback is contradictory or not, you need to consider the same two questions: “Did it resonate? Do many people agree?”
- If you want to be a great writer then you need to understand that the creative process is fluid and that sometimes you need to let the story decide what it wants to be, rather than forcing it to be what you want it to be.
RESPONDING TO FEEDBACK:
Thank you: This is the only appropriate response to someone who has offered to help you by reading your work.
Destructive criticism: If a person gives you criticism that is downright mean, you simply ignore it and do not ask for their help again. Throw it away.
The follow-up question: While it is not okay to try to explain yourself, your story, or argue with someone who has given you advice, it may be acceptable to ask an occasional follow-up question for the sake of clarity.
RE-CRITIQUE:
- Never from the same group
- When is it done? At some point, you have to decide to stop. It will never be done, but you can stop writing and send it to a publisher. Don’t forget that there will always be other stories, other articles, and even other novels. Growing as a writer happens over multiple pieces, not just multiple rewrites of the same piece. Try new things. Be adventurous. Be done.
- It may be your dream but it is not your goal.
- I wasn’t there because I was perfect, I was there because I had promise and a great deal to offer… then, at the end, he concluded by saying, “This is an unforgettable story.”
-But staying in the same writer’s group for very long can hurt your ability to grow as a writer. After a time, you start to hear the same suggestions over and over again. You receive the same narrow spectrum of perspectives. You either decide you agree with their advice and opinions and the other writers give you a pat on the back or you decide you do not agree, keep at your same old tricks, and keep hearing the same monotone of advice. To truly grow as a writer, you need new perspectives from time to time — fresh eyes and a fresh voice. They may pick up on something new, something that hadn’t come up before, but a new group is more likely to spot new weaknesses, thus promoting growth
Writing is a process. It is often said that great stories aren’t written, they are rewritten. But where does it end?
A. After the first draft. It was best when it was fresh.
B. After one series of critiques and a subsequent revision.
C. After it goes out for critique and comes back with no red marks — perfect!
D. After you are able to read it through once without making a change.
E. After some other point, which is difficult to sum up in a bullet point, but which you are welcome to expand upon.
Remember, You can conquer all obstacles. Take one step at at a time, I have faith in YOU.
Information from The Muse On-Line Writer’s Conference 2008
Ideas came from Margaret McGaffey Fisk
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
“Conquer All Obstacles”
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Conquering all obstacles, critiquer's job, Responding to Feedback | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on December 23, 2008
Conquer all Obstacles by Learning the CRAFT OF WRITING
How do we enjoy the writing journey?
JOKE:(author unknown)
A writer died and was given the option of
going to heaven or hell.
She decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended
into the fiery pits, she saw row upon row of writers chained to their
desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly
whipped with thorny lashes.
“Oh my,” said the writer. “Let me see heaven now.”
A few moments later, as she ascended into heaven, she saw rows of
writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they
worked, they, too, were whipped with thorny lashes.
“Wait a minute,” said the writer. “This is just as bad as hell!”
“Oh no, it’s not,” replied an unseen voice. “Here, your work gets
published.”
Change your attitude and expectations.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” - Andrew Carnegie
So get comfortable in your chair. See your time spent learning the craft of writing as being a kind of apprenticeship; a time for education. Remove the notion of instant gratification. You are unlikely to be a star overnight. An actor doesn’t just stand up and act to produce a number one film, just as a teacher doesn’t just instruct a curriculum for students to learn.
“You must want to enough. Enough to take all the rejections, enough to pay the price of disappointment and discouragement while you are learning. Like any other artist you must learn your craft, then you can add all the genius you like.”
Phyllis A. Whitney
All takes time so you might as well be content with a steady, productive learning curve.
Jessamyn West wrote: “Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely necessary.” Be proud of your self, of your commitment to your writing and let that propel you forward.”
Suggestions:
1.) Set plausible goals. Keep focused on the moment.
2.) When writing the rough copy, you don’t have to reach a certain standard. Discard the negative thinking of the ‘should have’, ‘would have’, ‘could have’.
3.) Turn the learning into fun. See each learning curve a challenge. Highlight important information, and practice applying them to your work. See your writing improve and smile.
4.) Get ready to meet new wonderful people.
“Getting published is a long and arduous road. Do not think of yourself as an ‘unpublished writer’ who is somehow inferior to those gods of the world who are published. Think of yourself as a ‘pre-published writer’ who simply started later than those folks who are already published. A college student who wants to be a doctor calls himself a ‘pre-med student’ not an ‘unmed student.’ Figure out where you are on the path to graduation and then every day take some action that will move you closer to your goal. If you have the slightest bit of talent, that plan will see you through to publication someday. It will probably take longer than you want, but that is the nature of the beast. Write on!” >Randy Ingermanson< http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com/blog
Today, I know I will be the winner in the end. When I first began my writing career, I wanted to be the hare. Oh, how I’ve changed my thinking. Now, I see myself as the tortoise. Steady and sure, I venture down a journey of discovery, conquering all obstacles in my path.
Posted in Tips for Writing | Tagged: apprenticeship, Craft of Writing, goals, learning curve, writing career, writing journey | 4 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on December 24, 2008
Conquer All Obstacles By Marketing Yourself Hard…
Chip MacGregor ~ Literary Agent
“Good stories are not about one topic, but explore numerous threads. And no radio or TV program wants to invite you on to re-tell your novel. So instead of focusing on the story, most fiction writers find they have to focus on the author or the genre. In other words, you and your voice becomes the focus of your marketing. This is why it’s essential that a novelist has a clear style. Think of the marketing of successful novelists — it’s not always the story that is the focus, but the fact that there is another great book from John Grisham or Elizabeth George or Janet Evanovich. (Sometimes the focus is a bit more on the genre — the publisher wants readers to know this is an Amish story, or a techno-thriller, or a cross-cultural adventure story. But that’s much less frequent.) Looking at today’s market, what’s the lesson? Discover your voice. Write a great novel. Market yourself hard.”
http://chipmacgregor.typepad.com/main/
APPEARANCE, ATTITUDE, AND ACTIVATE:
APPEARANCE:
- Dress professional during book signings – black/white or blue/white and no dangling jewelry. (I know guys, this is a given…lol)
ATTITUDE:
- Understand how the industry works. Book shelves are only so big. Your book may not be in every book store and that’s okay.
ACTIVATE:
- Encourage the audience to look at your book by telling them they can read the first chapter/back cover.
- Physically hand them the book.
- Watch your body language and don’t force.
- Create excitement by greeting the shopper and smiling.
- Wait until they have finished reading before chatting.
- Hand out book marks to others as they pass. Give them a useful bookmark with colorful cover pictures and text that intrigues. And of course, have your website URL printed on it.
- Ask questions. Example: “”Are you looking for Christmas gift ideas or something good to read?”
PROMOTION, PRONOUNCE, AND PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE:
PROMOTE:
- Before the launch date.
PRONOUNCE:
- Communicate. Let your readers know they can pre-order.
- Activate strategies to contact book clubs. Think low cost and more effective.
PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE:
- Discussion groups generate thinking among members with common interests.
- The readers play an active part in getting to know you by feeding-off the conversations.
- Generate strands of different book clubs = more followers for the author.
- Be prepared to actively participate. Relax and enjoy.
MARKET:
- Identify and really know your target audience (age, gender, and interest).
- Think outside the box to discover strategies (local press releases, media interviews, blogging, and visitations). Be bold, daring, and creative. After, evaluate which are working/not working.
“Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinion of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.” — Katherine Mansfield
- Search and discover, hook, and then retain your followers.
Have faith. You can conquer all obstacles. Just use a little common sense, listen and learn from other’s experiences, and bask in the glory by knowing you are a wonderful person and doing the best you can.
“I see the notion of talent as quite irrelevant. I see instead perseverance, application, industry, assiduity, will, will, will, desire, desire, desire.” —Gordon Lish
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
“Conquer All Obstacles”
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: clear style, marketing, target audience | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on December 29, 2008
It’s taken you months, perhaps years to write and polish your book. Don’t stop now. You deserve to earn the most profit from all your hard work. You can “conquer all obstacles”.
Here are easy to learn tips on building an Author Platform to quadruple readership that will sell your book. By: Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, Professional Educator.
“But what if I don’t have my book published?” Don’t wait. Now is the time to build your community. The larger the audience, the more your editor/publisher/agent will like it.
“What if I don’t have a blog or website or even know what a large community network is? A Platform can be built one-step at a time. (Heck, I didn’t know what any of this was in October, and now look at me. In just two months, I’m an expert in the field of Author Platforms through networking with others.)
Positive: You can start any time.
Negative: Takes time and commitment. But what doesn’t? Once you begin and find an interest (Who wouldn’t me more interested in yourself than you?), instead of work; this will be considered more of a hobby.
When searching for a book, do you look for the title/content or the author? Readers are more interested in you. Before your book hits the stands, you will network; generate followers who will look for YOU.
Why do some authors sell so many books—while others venture out to book- signings and pursue personal promotional opportunities by networking like crazy to barely receive many blog hits, comments from viewers, and interest in your book? What if there was a way you could double – even triple your customers by increasing blogsite visitors, how much more money would you earn as a result?
You have the answer. Read this one article about applying strategies to turn your blog into a network haven. Never will you view another blog the same way again. Immediately, you will make the few changes to improve your existing site.
Fact: An Author Must Promote and Market
“WE look for authors who not only are great writers but are willing to promote their work and who also understand the enormous sea changes in the industry. It used to be 75% about how good the book was and 25% about the marketing but now it is 75% about the marketing and 25% how good to book is.” Peter Miller – Literary Manager with PMA Literary
Fiction and non-fiction publishers want to know how many readers you can reach through your own promotional efforts. They want to know about your Promotional Platform.
Fact: It is time you see the world as it is today. You will be able to connect with literally millions of readers with a push of a button.
“Great site, great progress and for the lack of a better word, “Great” reading. I like everything you said and some of the things you didn’t say. I have been writing most of my life, and getting published for over 30 years and love it. Some of the things you posted are exactly what I say to newcomers. I noticed a link to my web page on the page of your homepage, Wow, thanks, no wonder my books sales has gone through the roof.” Dr Robert E McGinnis
…you are about to discover how a few simple strategies can create a profitable website/blog.
If You’re Not Using Jo-Anne Vandermeulen: Tips On Building An Author Platform Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later.
Do You Know the One Simple Way to Increase Sales?
You Don’t Have to Be A Professional Web/Blog Designer to Sell Your Book!
How Can I Guarantee I’ll Provide Increased Exposure With Interested Audience?
Here’s How You Can Decide If Jo-Anne Vandermeulen: Tips On Building A Platform Can Help You!
Myth: Anyone who can write compelling stories can sell themselves through their own ideas and create a dynamic Author Platform. Wrong!
While there are talented writers who can produce awesome material for their readers, there exist only a small number of skilled on-line writers who can promote effectively to their customers. Building an Author Platform is a skill in demand.
Reason: The principles applied to creating a compelling story is not the same style of writing needed to create your Platform. If you attempt to apply the exact strategies you created in your book, your efforts will be counterproductive and all your energy and time will be wasted.
“What most people don’t realize is that the Web has a culture all its own. It has its own mindset, its own psychology — even its own language, so to speak.” Maria Veloso, Director of Web Copywriting University
Currently, your blog or website falls under this promotional tool or you wouldn’t be reading this. All depends on your expertise for its survival. And these skills are in demand. Now, you have the power to control your own destiny by turning your blog/website into money; a flowing income you created yourself. You deserve this added income.
Are you ready to learn easy, step-by-step techniques to turn your blog/website into an author platform that will sell your book?
-Did I mention, you will receive Jo-Anne Vandermeulen: Tips On Building An Author Platform absolutely FREE? Don’t miss out.
-You will risk nothing and can expect immediate results.
-Only in one simple step, you will receive this one time offer that will never be repeated:
Leave a comment on Jo-Anne Vandermeulen’s blog with your email address and she will send you Jo-Anne Vandermeulen: Tips On Building An Author Platform .
“Gratification is knowing the wealth of knowledge has been shared to other fellow writers.” >Jo-Anne Vandermeulen<
Wishing you health, prosperity, and happiness in the New Year;
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
“Conquer All Obstacles”
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Author Platform, Jo-Anne Vandemeulen: Tips On Building An Author Platform, network, profitable website/blog, Promotional Platform | 23 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on January 1, 2009
HEY ALL;
2008: Blessing…FINISHED MY NOVEL. Celebrate!
- Met and made more wonderful friends.
- Learned more than I could have ever imagined.
2009: Resolution…PUBLISH MY BOOK. HOW?
- Network (blog, contribute to discussions).
- Find an agent.
- Learn new ways to strengthen my writing.
- Inquire about freelancing (write a few magazine articles).
- Build credits, increase site traffic (promote and market)
Wishing YOU much success for 2009.
Best sellers anyone?
Regards,
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
“Conquer All Obstacles”
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing | 6 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on January 5, 2009
Congratulations! You are ‘conquering all obstacles’ by taking the first step in BUILDING AN AUTHOR PLATFORM.
(Dec. 29th: “SO YOU WANT YOUR BOOK TO SELL?”)
STEP #1
To increase traffic to your site:
Just comment on my blog: gr5mom2.wordpress.com and you will receive FREE:
JO-ANNE VANDERMEULEN: THIRTEEN TIPS ON BUILDING AN AUTHOR PLATFORM
TODAY, MARKETING AND PROMOTING IS A MUST IN AN AUTHOR’S WORLD
Chip MacGregor~Literary Agent:“Good stories are not about one topic, but explore numerous threads. And no radio or TV program wants to invite you on to re-tell your novel. So instead of focusing on the story, most fiction writers find they have to focus on the author or the genre. In other words, you and your voice becomes the focus of your marketing. This is why it’s essential that a novelist has a clear style. Think of the marketing of successful novelists — it’s not always the story that is the focus, but the fact that there is another great book from John Grisham or Elizabeth George or Janet Evanovich. (Sometimes the focus is a bit more on the genre — the publisher wants readers to know this is an Amish story, or a techno-thriller, or a cross-cultural adventure story. But that’s much less frequent.) Looking at today’s market, what’s the lesson? Discover your voice. Write a great novel. Market yourself hard.”
http://chipmacgregor.typepad.com/main/
_____________________________________________________________________
Now, you are ready for the second step. (“SO YOU WANT YOUR BOOK TO SELL?” Dec 29th)
STEP #2
To attract an audience to your site:
Request for your FREE: JO-ANNE VANDERMEULEN: SELF-PROMOTION –
NINE ESSENTIAL DESIGN TIPS FOR YOUR SITE
Donna Bagdasarian from Maria Carvainis Agency: Platform is more important that it was maybe five years ago and if so, why? “Platform is crucial. To a publisher, a platform speaks to audience. So first, you need the credentials. Second, you need to form some sort of grassroots following.”
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
“Conquer All Obstacles”
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: 9 Essential Design Tips For Your Site, Self-Promotion, So You Want Your Book To Sell? | 18 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on January 8, 2009
You have learned to conquer all obstacles by reading previous tips on how to create an author platform and how to generate traffic to your site. Now what?
DEVELOPING AN ATTRACTIVE SITE
FACT: “The Internet is a vast wasteland of thoughts and ideas. According to Technorati, someone creates a new blog every 1.4 seconds. If blogging was a crime, and in some cases it very much should be, it would be the number one source of criminal activity in the land.” >Adam Brown, FreeLanceSwitch Site, 01/07/09<
PRESENTING POSTS
ASK YOURSELF:
1.) What will the audience get from my site?
Think about your target audience. Put yourself in their shoes. If you want to post in a journal fashion, you will be pouring your emotions into the post and definitely engaging yourself, but will you be involving the reader?
2.) How can I talk about my credentials in a non-arrogant way while sharing what the work is all about?
Keep your focus as to why you have set up your site. If your reason is to promote yourself or your books, then you have to present posts that your followers will want to read and come back to view more. How?
ANSWERS:
> Involve Others – Engage the reader. Make them an active participant by inviting contributions, involve a guest blogger, start contests or projects.
> Foster Relationships - Readers need to feel like they belong. Generating a sense of community will build trust. It takes time. Loyalty doesn’t happen over night.
Keep your selling voice out. Through many posts, your audience will become your friends. After a while, they will want to know more about you. They will want to help you just as you have helped them. Now sprinkle in more about what you want to promote.
8 TIPS ON HOW TO POST
1.) ASK A QUESTION.
2.) SHARE A QUOTE OR ANECDOTE
3.) STICK WITH THE CONTENT.
4.) PICK OUT KEY WORDS OR PHRASES AND USE THEM FREQUENTLY.
5.) USE SUBHEADINGS SO THE READER CAN SCAN.
6.) CREATE STRONG POST TITLES.
7.) PROMOTE YOUR SITE THROUGH ON-LINE NETWORKS.
A WIN-WIN SITUATION
You can conquer all obstacles if you take one step at a time.
You have learned strategies to build an author platform, increase traffic through promotion, and how to post your content to keep your audience. Break down each point and you will discover YOU can create the site yourself AND enjoy the process.
First, treat your post like a rough draft. Write (what you do best), and don’t worry about all the technicalities; second, go back and edit; and finally, revise your post to make sure it meets the requirements I’ve stated today. Don’t be afraid to use trial and error. Shout your fears away!
Think of writing your posts as learning the craft. Sometimes you’re better off jumping into the deep end and trusting your instincts and expertise. You will resurface, float, and find dry land.
With time, your posts will become stronger, activate more followers, and you will really enjoy the writing itself. Establishing a site is a win-win situation. Not only will you be promoting your work; you will open the doors to greater opportunities. Nothing is better than meeting wonderful people who you can call your friends.
Good luck and remember…YOU can conquer all obstacles.
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Professional Support Network for Writers
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Marketing and Promoting, Uncategorized | Tagged: conquer all obstacles, create an author platform, generate traffic to your site, increase traffic through promotion, promote, target audience | 7 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on January 12, 2009
The best compliment I got this week was: “I see your signature everywhere these days.” Jo-Anne Vandermeulen gets around. (Notice how I didn’t title my post as this headline. I’m not that crazy…lol). Can I get use to the idea as being this Internet tarnished writer, exposing herself all over? You bet…:). I had to laugh at one comment, “I’m getting pretty sick and tired of always seeing this, ‘conquer all obstacles’.” (Yes, we meet all kinds on line).
NETWORKING OPENS DOORS FOR MANY OPPORTUNITIES
All through PROMOTION, this week has shed many opportunities for me. The calendar is filling as I type.
In just seven days: I had over seven hundred hits on my new blog I created at the end of October, 2008; I was asked to be a guest on-line speaker, teleseminar presenter, and local visitor; a reputable group showed interest in featuring me as an author of inspiration; a publisher requested to publish my articles; I was invited to personally promote an author’s forty -some books in print; and I have met close to a thousand wonderful new friends. You may ask me, how? The answer is simple and I’m not about to keep it a secret:
GENERATE EXPOSURE
UTILIZE YOUR BLOG:
1.) Writing Portfolio – Your voice comes through. The audience will experience your writing and learn more about you.
2.) Market Yourself – Sprinkle your promotional item (book).
3.) Connect With Your Audience
4.) Network With Fellow Writers – A supportive community of fellow writers. Friends will give you encouragement, solve problems, and help you celebrate.
BLOG PRESENTATION
1.) Keep your vocabulary simple – Being humble shows more credibility then fancy words. Relax and add humor.
2.) State the point of your topic – Get to the point ASAP and communicate clearly.
3.) Use concrete details – Stories provide examples, emphasizes the main point, and allows your audience to relate. Add a picture.
4.) Write from your heart – Strengthen you post. Rather then using a bunch of adjectives, use colorful nouns and verbs. Tell an outrageous story with descriptive words that create visuals.
TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE
> Why will your followers select your blog? You know your audience’s objectives. They will feel comfortable and take action when they are engaged. With comments and questions, you can give your followers exactly what they want.
Never assume their answer and think they want what you want. Your motivators may not be the same as your target audience.
***Network through the Internet***
Discover a demand (Promotion), find your target audience (Writers), and supply them with what they want (Free Information).
You can do this too (I hate doing things alone). Come and join me in this new venture of opportunities…
The door is wide open for you to ‘conquer all obstacles’.
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Professional Support Network for Writers
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://gr5mom2@wordpress.com
Posted in Marketing and Promoting, Uncategorized | Tagged: blog presentation, generate exposure, market yourself, network through the Internet, network with fellow writers, Networking opens the doors for many opportunities, Promotion, target your audience, utilize your blog, writing portfolio | 9 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on January 14, 2009
How I ‘Conquer All Obstacles’–Accepting Change
After reading January, 2009 issue of RWA, Romance Writers Report, “Electronic Readers: Death Toll of Books or an Offering to Our Electronics-Addicted Society?” by Chris Kocourek, my view of the future for books changed. He concluded that e-books would soon replace the traditional paperback books.
I will be honest with you. My accepance of e-books didn’t occur overnight. When I first read his words, my heart beat so fast I thought it might rip from my chest. Talk about feeling VERY uncomfortable.
Are you ready for the change? Will you handle the new world of technology with fear or excitement?
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” >Charles Darwin<
I have always taken great pride in the way I anticipate change. Others follow me as a leader of strength. They’ve seen me with a positive attitude, able to handle the new with proper perspectives. With any change, you must anticipate and accept failures in a trial and error blind journey down a foreign path. I had no problem throwing out the old, as de-clutter was my middle name. “Use it or lose it,” I would smile and say while chucking the old to make room for the new.
I still have this motto, but for some reason, this change–new movement of turning to e-books from traditional paperback books just didn’t heighten my natrual response of excitement. I was not responsive to this change. Instead, I was scared.
For the past thirty-some years, I’ve carried around a book. If I was ever to leave the house without something to read, I felt naked. Traditional novels and non-fiction books have always been my mode of escape. They’ve filled in time, and lifted my spirits. Now, I’m reading about a manchine/computer that will take the place of my security blanket…I don’t like it.
How do I accept change?
Identify the problem – I hate feeling scared. It’s just plain ugly. I don’t want to give up my books. I’m having a difficult time keeping an open-mind.
Overcome the obstacle – I need to replace fear with excitement. Change is going to happen whether I like it or not.
Plan – I knew I needed to change my way of thinking, to trash this negative attitude, and discover my usual acceptance and perception to change. Again, I spent a lot of time reading, researching specialists’ view points.
Discover a Solution – I needed to look at myself. To become honest in the way technology has advanced in my life over the past year. What used to be snail mail paper submissions has turned 97% e-mail. I cannot complain. This change was for the good, way too many benefits over the old (not that I knew this at the initial time of introduction).
Conclusion – Eventually, I began to reform my initial reaction. I started to see the benefits of e-books. So perhaps this new way of reading books will be better. It’s not going to occur overnight; but instead, a gradual process. When it comes time to replace paperback books with e-books, I will remember to take this change one-step at a time. I will be prepared for slips along the way. Even down-right failures. But like with any obastacles, a person has to learn to get-up off the ground and dust off the ‘ol knees.
Does this mean I’ve accepted change?
Yes. My heart is still thumping fast, but at least now it feels comfortable. I can ‘conquer all obstacles’ and so can YOU. We can accept change by keeping an open-mind which will turn fear into excitement, and in time–e-books will be a better option to reading than our traditional paperback books.
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen/ Professional Support Network for Writers/ Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction/ gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: accept failures, anticipate change, Charles Darwin, conquer all obstacles, e-books, positive attitude, proper perspectives, Romance Writers Report, RWA | 9 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on January 20, 2009
Searching for direction, are you exhausted studying the markets, media, and advice columns?
Decide whether to submit your novel to a small or large publisher. Either way, YOU can ‘conquer all obstacles‘ once you know your target audience. But not everyone has the luxury to spend time reading current events, let alone generalizing the best path to follow. Your life is already busy trying to snag all the minutes in the day to focus on the main objective…writing.
“Talent is extremely common. What is rare is the willingness to endure the life of a writer.” >Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.<
The sooner you can see the importance of knowing your publisher, the quicker you can accept dividing your time.
To learn more about the world of contemporary publishing, check out a FREE download from literary agent Donald Maass, called: The Career Novelist: A Literary Agent Offers Strategies For Success
You must discover short cuts. Find people who have already dug through the massive material and learned how to ‘conquer all obstacles’. Researchers can save you time by passing on their knowledge and current recommendations. You can take their summation or leave it.
Through my research, here are some interesting 2008 statistics when dealing with LARGE PUBLISHERS:
> The six U.S. Conglomerate Publishers are: Random House, Inc., Penguin Putnam Inc., Harper Collins, Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings, Time Warner, Simon & Schuster, Inc.
> Book Sales in the U.S. – A successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies. A successful nonfiction book sells 7,500 copies. >Authors Guild. http://www.authorsguild.org/<
> Book Purchases by Store Type – 24.6% large chain stores; 17.7% book clubs; 15.2% smaller chains and independent stores; 5.4% Internet such as amazon.com. >http://www.BISG.org<
> Royalties – The average royalty is 10.7% of net. The average advance is upward of $1,500 and $7,500. >John Huenefeld. Publishing for Profit by Tom Woll, page 121. TWoll@aol.com<
I won’t summarize. You do the math. don’t forget to consider 2009 advances in e-books that are gobbling today’s market, and now I’m beginning to see why.
So now the big questions:
1.) Which publishing firm do you choose?
2.) Have you been fishing in a lake empty of fish?
3.) And even if you were to hook an agent, perhaps they would’ve been so tiny you would’ve had to thrown them back?
Benefits of Small E-Publishers:
- Less Work for the Author – Small publishers requests full manuscript, skipping all the steps of partial submissions.
- Instant Gratification – Immediate publication, rather than waiting a year or more.
- More Control – The author physically handles their books, instead of having to go through bookstore administration which is often a nightmare.
- Longer Life – Your books will remain on the (virtual) shelves indefinitely.
- Larger Audience for Promotion – Most of your customers are on-line so you can market at home, targeting a large audience base.
So which publisher will you target? Has the drastic declination in book distribution have you peering over your shoulder at other options?
The decision is yours. Study the statistics closely. Keep with the times and the changes in today’s market. Once you make your choice, be prepared to ‘conquer all obstacles’ until you trudge forward and cannot move any more. This happened to me. My path toward a large publisher became totally blocked. I had to turn around, venture down another path, and scan for more publishing options. Perhaps for me to see my novels in print, the large publishers are not the answer. I have woken to new and other options.
Are you ready to wake up and make the decision, to search for more options?
Other related posts:
GOOD-BYE PAPERBACKS HELLO E-BOOKS
THE DREAM TO WRITE A BOOK
FISHING FOR AN AGENT
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Professional Support Network for Writers
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Donald Mass, Harper Collins, Holtzbrinck, Inc., John Huenefeld, Large Publishers, Penguin Putnam Inc., Publishing for Profit, Publishing Holdings, Random House, Simon & Schuster Inc., Small E-Publishers, The Career Novelist: A Literary Agent Offers Strategies For Success, Time Warner, Tom Woll | 5 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on January 22, 2009
gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Have you ever wondered how students score 100% on their exams? How writers’ query submissions entice agents to request partials? How authors sell so many books?
YOU can ‘conquer all obstacles‘ once you:
1.) Target your audience – Know who you want to recognize your writing. No grey areas. Only black and white…must be specific.
2.) Define the audience’s objectives - Know exactly what they want. Follow their requirements.
Contests: Check out the judges’ score sheets. Does your entry meet each requirement to score the highest possible score under each category?
“A cheesy hook drives me nuts. They say ‘Open with a hook!’ to grab the reader. That’s true, but there’s a fine line between an intriguing hook and one that’s just silly. An example of a silly hook would be opening with a line of overtly sexual dialogue. Or opening with a hook that’s just too convoluted to be truly interesting.” >Daniel Lazar. Writers House<
Agents and Publishers: Research their websites and read books they already represent. Does your book reflect the same criteria or content?
“Most agents hate prologues. Just make the first chapter relevant and well written.” >Andrea Brown. Andrea Brown Literary Agency<
Drop the prologue. At the beginning, this was very difficult for me. This was the section I dumped all my background information for the rest of the story. Definitely a no-no. Once I discovered this wasn’t what they wanted, I followed their advice. Not only did this objective make my story stronger; but also, attracted more partials to be submitted.
“Prologues are usually a lazy way to give back-story chunks to the reader and can be handled with more finesse throughout the story. Damn the prologue, full speed ahead!” >Laurie McLean. Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents<
Fans and Followers: Discover groups on the Internet that already read your genre. Does your story entice their already hungry appetite so they will buy your book?
“Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly, so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it, and above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.” >Joseph Pulitzer<
I’m a graduate from university. Never did I fail or drop a class. My record of achievement isn’t a secret. My method of high standard and success is simple. As soon as I sat down in lecture hall, I read the professor’s stated objectives. Internalizing their requirements, I applied the content from the lectures and reading materials to meet and answer all the objectives. Once I had the entire content organized under their objectives, I answered the questions from the exams the way they wanted.
I taught for twenty years. During this time, I followed the same format as my professors. Handing out the subject’s objectives to my students, I later based the entire exam on these requirements. The students who followed these objectives received perfect scores.
I’ve been a full time writer for almost three years. The world of writing isn’t any different than being a student in university or a teacher. I discovered if you want to have high scores in contests, your submissions accepted, and generate a large number of followers to read your work, you must follow the objectives stated by the audience.
No use reinventing the wheel. YOU can ‘conquer all obstacles’ by putting your own ideals aside. Follow your audience. Give them what they want. You have the ability, determination, and specific direction and guidance to be successful.
Other Related Posts:
THE SECRET TO PROMOTION
SO YOU WANT TO SELL YOUR BOOK
LEARN FROM THE BEST
Important Announcements:
Tonight – Thursday, January 22 at 7:00-8:30 Promotional Workshop by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen @ Kissa’s Karma Korner – yahoo loop
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen will be away from January 26 – February 23rd. Welcome all comments during this time.
Posted in Tips for Writing | Tagged: agents and publishers, Andrea Brown. Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Daniel Lazar, Josheph Pulitzer, Kissa Karma Korner, Larsen-Pomada Literary Agents, Laurie McLean, Prologue, target your audience, Writers House | 4 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on January 27, 2009
I am thrilled to introduce to you my guest blogger: Robin Sullivan. She has a wealth of hands-on experience and has learned to ‘conquer all obstacles’ from handling the business side of her husband’s, Michael Sullivan’s, writing. She will be with us for the next few weeks to share her knowledge and to aid other writers become published and hopefully help them to avoid costly mistakes. Over the next five posts, Robin will be presenting on the following topics:
1.) PUBLISHING FORMATS
2.) PUBLISHING OPTIONS
3.) TODAY’S CHOICE OF PUBLICATION
4.)PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
5.) HOW TO SURVIVE AS AN AUTHOR
What are the different publishing formats?
The “publishing” world is much more diverse than it has ever been in the past. People are getting their “books” in a variety of formats:
Audio books – are gaining in popularity by workers with long commutes who listen to them while driving. Professional voice talent on works such as Harry Potter and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society provide a “value add” that enhances the book experience.
Amazon Kindle and Sony eReader – I separate these from other e-books because they really bridge printed and electronic books. They offer lower per book cost, provide the ability to store hundreds of books in a small compact device, but due to a non-backlit display (and similar size and shape) they feel more like “real books”. Readers are not as opposed to them because they do not suffer some of the eye strain that reading on computers produce.
E-Books are still lagging significantly in sales – mainly because people still like the “feel” of books, and many find reading on back-lit computer screens a “less than enjoyable experience:. They have not received the “fandom” of devices like the Kindle and have yet to achieve the type of acceptance as for instance music has with iPods.
Printed books – still remain the “top dog” in the publishing world. The bottom line is people are still more likely to “curl up with a book” then the other formats combined. But here there is change as well. The introduction of “trade paperbacks”, books with the dimension and paper quality of a hardback but with a soft cover, are quickly becoming the preferred format for readers. They allow publishers an attractive “cost of production” and allow for shorter press runs that make it easier to “try out new authors”.
Print on Demand (POD) is not a publishing format, but rather a technology. I want to mention it now because it will be brought up in the next question and this is a good place to introduce it. With POD trade paperbacks are produced literarily one at a time. This eliminates large press runs and warehousing of books altogether. When a purchase is made a book is printed and shipped usually within 24 – 48 hours of order.
When dealing with printed books the cost of production is all about quantity. So mass market paperbacks (which are done on huge web presses) are the cheapest to produce but you must print a minimum of 7,500 and more typically 10,000 or 20,000 to use this technology. A POD book is the most expensive but as mentioned you have virtually no “overhead” since they are created only as needed. For a 300 page book here are some ball park numbers for printing costs:
Mass market paperback 10,000 copies for $7,500 or $0.75 each
Sheet fed printing press 2,000 copies for $4,400 or $2.20 each
Short run digital printing 300 copies for $1,000 or $3.30 each
Print on demand printing 1 copy for $4.45
Robin, thank you for your wealth of information. Readers can reach you at: http://write2publish.blogspot.com/ if they should have any further questions or concerns.
You have a choice. Carefully check out the options and decide for yourself. YOU can ‘conquer all obstacles’ once you make the decision and have control.
Other Related Post:
GOOD-BYE PAPERBACKS HELLO E-BOOKS
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Professional Support Network for Writers
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Amazon Kindle, Audio Books, e-books, Michael Sullivan, Print On Demand, Printed Books, Publishing Formats, Robin Sullivan, Sony E-Readers | 1 Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on January 29, 2009
I am thrilled to introduce my guest blogger: Robin Sullivan. She has a wealth of hands-on experience and has learned to ‘conquer all obstacles’ from handling the business side of her husband’s, Michael Sullivan’s, writing. She will be with us for the next few weeks to share her knowledge and to aid other writers become published and hopefully help them to avoid costly mistakes.
What are the different publishing options?
For this question I’m going to discuss only “printed” publishing options. That is because I think that every book needs to start there. I don’t think an “all electronic” version is really worth considering. I think once you have a printed book then you certainly should consider other formats such as Kindle, e-books and audio as a way of “extending your reach” but I would not suggest any of those avenues instead of printing.
People who “digest” books in other formats are loyal to those venues. In many cases they will not buy a book in printed form if they read exclusively on a Kindle or listen to them on audio. So these formats do not “cut into” your printed sales, they merely give you a sale that would otherwise have been missed.
LARGE PUBLISHER
This is looked on by most authors as the brass ring they are all reaching for. It is a very difficult achievement to realize. Most large publishers do not accept unsolicited works so it almost always requires obtaining an agent first. It is not uncommon to receive multiple rejections from agents then another pile of rejections as they submit to publishers. The process is extremely long. Probably a minimum of 3 years from book completion to printing and 5 years is not out of the question. The author will have little or no say in issues such as book title, cover design, price, distribution methods, or formats produced. On the positive side it will come with an advance (typically $5,000 – $12,000 for a first time author) and the likelihood of receiving attention by reviewers and bookstore shelf space. The downside is large publishers are driven by numbers and while they can produce “buy-in” (putting books on shelves) if there is not “sell through” these books come back to the publisher. If the author does not “earn out” the advance in what will seem like an extremely short time frame they may be quick to remainder (sell the bulk of books “by the pound”) to discount outlets and drop the author. This can mean a very short lived success. But if the book is good, and catches on, then it will probably produce the largest amounts sold and highest income for the author.
INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER
Today there are literally thousands of indies so much in fact that they have their own trade associations, awards, and the like. They are much easier for an author to get their foot in the door and are more willing to take on the risk of a new author. They accept unsolicited works (i.e. you don’t have to have an agent). While they can obtain reviews, it will be harder for them (Reviewers typically only critique 1-2% of the books submitted). They may be more willing to listen to authors in the areas of title and cover design, but still will remain ultimate deciding power over these and all marketing activities. They will generally have a “smaller press run” in the neighborhood of 2,000 to 5,000 books and utilize a wholesale distributor which will catalog and sell their titles along with a number of other independent publishers to bookstores. In most cases books will be “available” for order from any bookstore but only a few will actually carry them on their shelves and will probably only try 1 – 2 books. The good news is they have much longer timelines then large publishers and are willing to stick with an author while he grows a following. Success will be highly dependent on the author promoting his own book through time and energy but the publisher will bear the financial burden or copy edit, cover design, layout, and printing.
SUBSIDIZED SELF PUBLISHERS
Here I am speaking of the typical “self-publishing” mainstays such as iUniverse, LuLu, BookSurge, Xliblis, and OutskirtPress. Because of the negative connotations of the term “vanity press” many market themselves as “subsidized publishers”, “supported self-publishers” etc. Here there is no editorial decision made on the “worth of a book” before producing, the author is paying to have their book produced. In almost all cases these companies utilize POD technology.
They do offer services that most authors would be hard pressed to do on their own such as cover design and book layout (but at a pretty steep markup). In addition, they offer a wide range of services such as copy editing, and marketing assistance but these are ALWAYS overpriced. I highly recommend an author that uses these organizations look elsewhere for these services. For instance copy editing from iUniverse runs $0.022 per word ($2,200 for a typical sized novel) where a freelance editor would charge $350 – $800 for the same service.
As I mentioned these organizations utilize POD technology and once again your books will be available “for order” from a bookstore or on-line from companies such as Amazon when using them. However you will have virtually no success with reviewers (who generally won’t even look at a book with an ISBN from one of these organizations) and since there is no warehousing, bookstores will not carry them on the shelves since they loose the “return policy” aspect that their business is based on.
Now comes the “worst” part of using these organizations. While the author pays all the fees to produce the book they still receive only a royalty on sales!! This makes no financial sense for the author (although a great model for the publisher). What the author is receiving here is convenience. It is analogous to going to the grocery store and buying a shish-ka-bob in the meet section fully assembled. If you were to buy the meet, skewers, and vegetables separately and make them yourself you would save a bunch of money.
I personally do not recommend this method of publishing to anyone except those who have huge amounts of disposable income. There are so many less expensive ways of going about this that puts a higher percentage of the sale into the author’s pocket.
POD INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER
This is a fairly new business model. Many small independents that are wishing to “hedge their bets” on an author may utilize the same POD technology to reduce their initial investment costs. Once again there is no charge to the author, but there is also not an original press run. The publisher will provide editing, cover design, and layout services. This can result in a higher “per book” cost which may make the publisher price the book “above the market”. As a business person I can see the value in this model to both the publisher and the author. There are some downside in the areas of bookstore stocking – but given that even independents that print books have obstacles in this area I don’t think it is significant enough to make a huge impact on the overall success of the book. The biggest problem I have with this model is the publisher is not really doing much more than the author could do on their own. The only difference is they are “fronting” the money to produce the book in return for a bigger percentage of the profit.
POD SELF PUBLISHING
This is actually an extremely attractive model for the person who is not afraid of rolling up their sleeves. It benefits from a relatively small “start up cost” and is definitely more financially lucrative than using the subsidized vanity presses. With this model the author has 100% control of everything: cover price, cover design, layout, distribution channels and the like. For exactly the same investment they would use for a POD vanity press they can receive 100% of the profits instead of a small royalty. If you have any graphic design experience you definitely should take this route as you will have virtually no start-up cost. If you don’t have these skills you can hire a free lancer do your design for $500 – $1000. NOTE: Art school students is a great resource to get good quality design at reasonable prices or use Craig’s list. You will want the cover done in something like Photoshop and should be given to you as a CMYK .tiff file at 300 dpi (at full size). The interior should be laid out in either Qurak Xpress or Adobe InDesign programs.
NOTE: Whether you are using the vanity or self-publishing I highly recommend hiring a professional editor to “polish the book”. Put an ad in Craig’s list and send a sample chapter to a number of the people who respond…you can get a good editor to do a novel sized book for between $350 – $1000). If you are extremely good at self-editing you can of course skip this cost.
Once you have a book in “print ready format” all you need is printing and distribution. This is remarkably easy you will receive the same quality as the vanity POD’s (because you will use the same companies). I suggest you setup both a CreateSpace account and a LightningSource account and sent the same print ready files to both of them. I could write a whole post on why you need to use two but to boil it down …. Lightning Source will get you distribution into bookstores (through Ingram typically 55% discount) and CreateSpace will get you distribution into Amazon (typically 40% discount).
Because it is POD you have a very small start-up cost ($75 for LightningSource and $40 for Amazon). The price of your books is directly related to number of pages (.85 + .012(pages)) for create space and .90 + .013(pages) for Lightning Source). As an example let’s assume you have a 300 page book selling for $15.00. The amount you would receive would be:
$10.55 for books sold directly by author
$4.55 for books sold on Amazon
$1.95 for books sold to the bookstore
TRUE SELF PUBLISHING
The last choice which will potentially place the largest amount of money in the pocket of the author is true self publishing. In this option they basically become a small press. Only an author that really feels confident in their books success will want to go this route. But for instance it could be a good choice for an author that has already established a following through previously published works. The advantage of this over the POD route is a lower cost per book rate. But the downside is a higher up-front cost. I would suggest an initial run of 1,500 to 2,000 books and again for a 300 page novel this could result in unit prices of $2.00 to $2.30 a book. So again with a $15.00 list price the money to the author would be:
$13.00 for books sold directly by author
$4.75 for books sold to Amazon
$4.00 for books sold through the bookstores
Robin, thank you for your wealth of information. Readers can reach you at: http://write2publish.blogspot.com/ (link this directly) if they should have any further questions or concerns.
You have a choice. Carefully check out the options and decide for yourself. YOU can ‘conquer all obstacles’ once you make the decision and have control.
Other Related Posts:
SMALL VERSUS LARGE PUBLISHERS
HANG ON AND ENJOY THE RIDE
FISHING FOR AN AGENT
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Professional Support Network for Writers
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Independent Publisher, Large Publisher, POD Independent Publishers, POD Self Publishing, Printed Publishing Options, Subsidized Self Publishers, True Self Publishing | 5 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on February 3, 2009
I am thrilled to introduce my guest blogger: Robin Sullivan. She has a wealth of hands-on experience and has learned to ‘conquer all obstacles’ from handling the business side of her husband’s, Michael Sullivan’s, writing. She will be with us for the next few weeks to share her knowledge and to aid other writers become published and hopefully help them to avoid costly mistakes.
With today’s troubled economy and new technology, what option of publishing would you recommend and why?
I think there are factors other then technology and the economy which should be used to dictate the author’s choice. Factor such as: patience, tolerance to rejection, need to control, desire for external validation, tolerance for risk, whether they are a self-starter or not and ultimately whether they want to just have a book printed for themselves and family or a widespread distribution plays more into the decision making process.
If an author places a high value on the opinions of others then they should definitely avoid any form of self or subsidized publishing. These books will always be thought of as “not making the grade” by many regardless of the number of units sold. There will always be a stigma that if the book was truly “good” then it would have been produced via a traditional publisher.
If the author values control then self-publishing is definitely the right choice for them. If they were a new author I would suggest self print on demand as the cost of full self-publishing makes it quite a gamble. If they already had a few books published I think going true self publishing is worth it as the higher per book profit is worth the up-front investment.
For myself, I would never use a vanity POD – as I think it is a bad call on straight business decision principals. But they do offer a tremendous convenience factor and many people are willing to pay exorbitant prices to have less that they have to do personally.
I will say for myself (in regards to my husband’s books) we have run the whole gambit. I started off by getting an agent and pursuing the large publisher. When we still were contactless after 2 years I decided to submit to some smaller presses while I investigated self-publishing. I got to the state of actually printing up 300 “review copy” books when a small press offered a contract and we have now produced his first two books (The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha) through them. For his third book I’m leaning to true-self publishing while simultaneously seeking an agent and large press publication.
Robin, thank you for your wealth of information. Readers can reach you at: http://write2publish.blogspot.com/ if they should have any further questions or concerns.
You have a choice. Carefully check out the options and decide for yourself. YOU can ‘conquer all obstacles’ once you make the decision and have control.
Other Related Posts:
SO YOU WANT YOUR BOOK TO SELL?
THE JOURNEY TO PUBLICATION
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Professional Support Network for Writers
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Vanity POD | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on February 10, 2009
****Click HERE to link PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES.****
I am thrilled to introduce to you my guest blogger: Robin Sullivan. She has a wealth of hands-on experience and has learned to ‘conquer all obstacles’ from handling the business side of her husband’s, Michael Sullivan’s, writing. She will be with us for the next few weeks to share her knowledge and to aid other writers become published and hopefully help them to avoid costly mistakes.
What can a published author do to boost sales?
This is a topic that would need its own post and perhaps I’ll be invited back to discuss this in more detail. The short answer is regardless of how you are published most of the promotional activity will fall to the author. No one cares more about the success of your book so you must use every tool in your arsenal: websites, direct mail, email, conventions, book fairs, book store signings, social networking groups. Heck even guerilla marketing like placing bookmarks advertising your book in books of the same genre are worth doing.
The solution: Jo-Anne is pleased to announce that she, along with her partner, Brian Knight, have started Premium Promotional Services.
Premium Promotional Services is the solution to all your marketing and promotional needs. Increased exposure for you and your book is guaranteed. Finally, you will have more time to write. ‘YOU WRITE – WE PROMOTE’.
If you are interested in Premium Promotional Services just email her at: gr5mom2@yahoo.ca or leave a message on her blog: gr5mom2.wordpress.com. You can also contact her partner at http://sb.knight@live.com. They will send you the service package information. Feel free to pass on this information to other fellow writers who need assistance. They’d be happy to help.
Robin, thank you for your wealth of information. Readers can reach you at: http://write2publish.blogspot.com/ if they should have any further questions or concerns.
You have a choice. Carefully check out the options and decide for yourself. YOU can ‘conquer all obstacles’ once you make the decision and have control.
Other Related Posts:
THE SECRET TO PROMOTION
TARGET THE AUDIENCE
ATTRACTIVE BLOG/WEBSITE GENERATES TRAFFIC
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Professional Support Network for Writers
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: book fairs, book store signings, conventions, Premium Promotional Services, social network groups, YOU WRITE-WE PROMOTE | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on February 17, 2009
I am thrilled to introduce to you my guest blogger: Robin Sullivan. She has a wealth of hands-on experience and has learned to ‘conquer all obstacles’ from handling the business side of her husband’s, Michael Sullivan’s, writing. She will be with us for the next few weeks to share her knowledge and to aid other writers become published and hopefully help them to avoid costly mistakes.
What are three pieces of advice you’d like to leave with us today?
The biggest one is persistence. Edison said that success was 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. The book business is a difficult one and not for the feint of heart. You must never give up. Don’t let rejections, bad reviews or the enormity of the task dissuade you. If you suffer a set back, learn from that mistake, regroup, and press on. It is the single biggest factor to ultimate success.
Secondly, learn and apply that knowledge. Writing the book, unfortunately is only half the job. You need to be a sponge…read blogs and books, study trends, think creatively. Absorb information from multiple sources and then use what you’ve learned. There is ALWAYS something you can do to provide an incremental win. Never assume something won’t work until you give it a try.
Third think like a business person. Writing a book takes a creative mind but getting it into the masses requires business savy. If you find it difficult, or impossible, to promote your own work then find someone who can and will. My husband is fortunate in that I handle the “business” side of his writing career. The biggest advantage is I work cheap. If you and/or your significant other don’t have the “right stuff” to promote your book you will either have to pay someone to publicize it for you or chances are the book will ultimately not reach widespread readership.
Second Announcement:
Your solution: Jo-Anne is pleased to announce that she, along with her partner, Brian Knight, have started Premium Promotional Services.
Premium Promotional Services is the solution to all your marketing and promotional needs. Increased exposure for you and your book is guaranteed. Finally, you will have more time to write. ‘YOU WRITE – WE PROMOTE’.
If you are interested in Premium Promotional Services just email her at: gr5mom2@yahoo.ca or leave a message on her blog: gr5mom2.wordpress.com. You can also contact her partner at http://sb.knight@live.com. They will send you the service package information. Feel free to pass on this information to other fellow writers who need assistance. They’d be happy to help.
Robin, thank you for your wealth of information. Readers can reach you at: http://write2publish.blogspot.com/ if they should have any further questions or concerns.
You have a choice. Carefully check out the options and decide for yourself. YOU can ‘conquer all obstacles’ once you make the decision and have control.
Other Related Posts:
LEARN TO DESIGN A PRODUCTIVE BLOG/WEBSITE
MARKETING AND PROMOTING
TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG?…THAT IS THE QUESTION
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Professional Support Network for Writers
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Business, Knowledge, Persistence | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on February 3, 2009
MY GUEST BLOGGER WILL CONTINUE WHILE I’M AWAY. I JUST WON’T BE ABLE TO POST YOUR COMMENTS OR REPLY TO YOUR QUESTIONS.
JUST WANTED TO GIVE MY FOLLOWERS A HEADS-UP. I’M NOT BEING STUCK-UP OR ANYTHING…I’M GOING TO CUBA FOR TWO WEEKS AND LEAVING TECHNOLOGY BEHIND.
SEE YOU WHEN I RETURN.
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Professional Support Network for Writers
Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
http://www.gr5mom2.wordpress.com
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on February 19, 2009
Is there a correct way to blog? Much like asking if there’s a right way to write.
Actually, any form or action of writing is a form of expression that satisfies the writer and communicates with their audience is a win-win process. ‘Correct’ is such a subjective term. But, there are better ways to ‘Conquer All Obstacles‘ if one is to follow the advice of experts who have tested their theories and proven successful.
If your objective in posting a blog is to generate traffic so the direction the spotlight will shine onto yourself or your books, then heed to these TEN SUCCESSFUL POINTS – CREATING A BLOG YOUR READERS WILL LOVE:
1.) Write in conversation style – Easy to understand and enjoyable to read.
2.) Chose a clean design, with no distractions as your template.
3.) Use short paragraphs. Include bullet points, headings, and subheadings – Easy to scan for information.
4.) Keep blog posts short. If needed, set-up a link to long reference material.
5.) Have a plan and stick to it. Topics/How to Market/Scheduling – Shows committment.
FACT – Blogs take up to 6 months to gain a steady group of readers unless you market your blog consistently. Promote to advertisers and readers.
6.) Create links to past relevant and popular posts and ones that introduce YOU – Easy navigation will assist new readers.
7.) Produce valuable and unique content. Learn/Entertain/Update – Your readers must get something out of reading your blog.
8.) Establish a sense of community – Interaction will satisfy your readers as they will feel a part of your blog.
9.) Brand yourself by discovering your niche and using this tag in your signature and theme of each post – a tremendous gain of popularity through search engines will attract new followers.
10.) Remember to include “About Section” and “Contact Detail” pages along with your contributing post page.
To ‘Conquer All Obstacles’ does not mean to get caught-up into the web of perfection. What one reader may see as valuable, another may view as a waste of time. The most important aspect when blogging is for you to write. Relax. The more comfortable you are in expressing your voice, the better your audience will adhere to your blog.
JO-ANNE’S UPDATES
- Last night we returned from Cuba. We had a two week fabulous holiday! (I plan to have pictures in my Facebook photo album page for you to view by the end of next week.). Not sure if I’d call it a test or a conquer…no cell phones and my laptop stayed home. Now, isn’t that an interesting way to leave work behind?
-Thank you to Robin Sullivan for being my guest blogger while I was away. Stay tune for the exchange on her site. I will be Robin’s guest blogger discussing “Field Guide to Blogging”.
-Yes, to be honest, I missed technology. But I can survive without it. I spent two glorious weeks under the hot sun (versus my sub-below freezing Saskatchewan temperatures), listening to the crashing waves (versus the crunching snow), and with the greatest decision…should I flip over and get more sun on my back? I read like crazy, met many interesting and wonderful people, and romanced with my husband as if we were on our second honeymoon.
-At the end of January, I curled in the Saskatchewan Scotties Provincials. I have attempted to gain entrance nine times before. A dream come true.
-Now comes the most exciting news…but, I can’t completely open the ‘can’ yet. We are on the final stages of preparation. Very soon, I will be able to give you what hundreds of my readers have been requesting.
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES launch date is set for March 2nd. I will only take on three clients per month (one-to-one attention) with first come, first serve bases. Others will have the option to have their name placed on a waiting list.
My blog “Conquer All Obstacles” will continue as always.
OTHER INTERESTING POSTS:
TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG?…THAT IS THE QUESTION
LEARN HOW TO DESIGN A PRODUCTIVE BLOG/WEBSITE
ATTRACTIVE BLOG/WEBSITE GENERATES TRAFFIC
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: creating a blog your readers will love, generate traffic, Robin Sullivan | 10 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on February 25, 2009
I am a guest blogger. (I just had to include a VERY recent holiday picture.) My interview questions/answers are posted today:
1.) What are the advantages of blogs?
2.) What are some of the popular blog platforms?
3.) What kind of things should I have on my blog?
4.) How do I get people to find my blog?
5.) What are the top 5 pieces of advice for a successful blog?
***************Click here for all the answers******************
Other Related Posts:
BLOG THE RIGHT WAY
TO BLOG OR NOT TO BLOG? that is the question
ATTRACTIVE BLOG/WEBSITE GENERATES TRAFFIC
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: blog platforms, blogs, conquer all obstacles | 5 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on March 3, 2009
Imagine yourself on a dark stage, in the largest theater hall in the world. Everything is quiet. The curtain lifts. Suddenly, the light is blinding. Before your eyes, you have over a billion people cheering in the crowd. They are waving money in the air, chanting for you to speak about your book that’s tucked under the crux of your arm.
What if I told you, this isn’t a dream.
You are on stage. There are over a billion customers out there waiting and wanting to find you.
Fact: Second quarter of 2008, the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce stated that the total number of Internet users worldwide was 1,463,500,000 viewers, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
Even though we are living in tough economic times, people are still spending money. Your customers are waving money, wanting to purchase your book.
Fact: Within the second quarter of 2008, retail sales increased by 0.9% over the first quarter of 2008. This is equivalent to $1,034.8 billion USD.
But right now, there’s a problem…your customers can’t find you. They don’t even know you exist. Suddenly, this wonderful dream has turned into a nightmare. The curtain lifts and you’re looking out into a theater hall that’s empty. All is quiet and you are alone.
When your curtain lifts, what do you see? Are you living a dream come true or are you tossing and turning as the nightmare continues?
Many talented writers go unnoticed. Many books sit on the shelves, never to be sold.
Question: So how do you navigate over a billion Internet viewers to witness your outstanding performance?
Answer: Through promotional tactics, proper website fundamentals, strategies, techniques, and reading many resources as to how to market and sell your book through the Internet.
The keys to success when it comes to marketing your book online:
>Target your audience
> Create a buzz
> Drive traffic
> Create a presence
> Provide proof that your book is a must-read
If you have the time, energy and knowledge, you can ‘conquer all obstacles‘ and make the profits you deserve when selling your book. Rest assured, you can have pleasant dreams and wake-up to a smile on your face.
Other Related Posts:
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
MARKETING AND PROMOTING
LEARN FROM THE BEST
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: book, conquer all obstacles, create a buzz, customers, Internet users, promotional tactics, strategies, target your audience, techniques, Turning Nightmares Into Pleasant Dreams, website fundamentals, writers' | 6 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on March 6, 2009
I want to promote myself, show the world my writing/published books, but where do I start?
1.) Target your audience
2.) Create a buzz
You can ‘conquer all obstacles‘ through networking, but first you need to discover where your viewers are located on the Internet. Unfortunately, when you first begin to promote your author platform, the viewers will seldom come to you. It is your job to go to them, introduce yourself, allow them to taste your writing. Once you have established friendly contact then you have to keep them coming back over and over again. First impressions are important, but doesn’t necessarily mean you have hooked them to purchase your book. A sense of trust must be established. A personal connection.
Where do I find my audience?
Networking Resources
My target audience are writers and authors. You must define yours. For example, if you have a nonfiction about dogs, you’ll want to search for groups of people who discuss dogs. If you’re a fiction writer, you may want to hang out around fiction readers. Narrow it down some more, and become a member in groups discussing your specific genre. Ask yourself: I want to sell book book, so where are my consumers?
Jo-Anne’s Favorite Social Networks (Targeting Writers and Authors):
(Resources or Groups mentioned on the sidebar, as a widget, on the front page blog)
Red Room
Gather.com – Groups – Gather Books Essential/Publishing Outside of Gather
LinkedIn
FaceBook – Groups – The Smoking Poet, Suspense/Thrillers Writers, Writers Helping Writers, Authors Promoting Authors, Facebook’s Poets and Writer’s Registry, Readerjack.com, Writers Resources on ijustfinished.com, GLBT Writers and Readers, Writing Papers Single Spaced Makes My Double Spaced Result Climactic
GoodReads – Groups – Tips on Self Promotion, Sales and Advertising/Published Authors/Book Trailers and Author Websites/
AuthorsDen
Book Marketing Network – Groups – Novel Authors and Publishers, Christian Authors Connection, Author Support, Self-Publishing, Free Book Marketing, Nonfiction Authors and Publishers, Marketing in the United States, Book Publicity.
LibraryThing – Groups – Writer-Reader, Bloggers.
Shelfari – Groups – Authors Promos,
Jo-Anne’s Favorite Blogs or Blogrolls:
(Blogrolls mentioned, on the sidebar, as a widget to the blog)
-The New Author, Copyblogger, Feedblitz, Freelance Folder, Freelance Switch, Daily Blog Tips, Problogger Blog Tips, Nathan Bransford.
Wouldn’t it be easier to have the viewers come to you?
You bet. I wouldn’t totally rely on posting advertisements, but there are viewers out there who search the adds for their interests. Now, it is your job to make sure you’re listed.
Free Classifieds
USFreeAds.com Account Signup Required. You can post up to 10 free ads. Upgrades available, $9.95 per month upgrade for unlimited ads. You can use HTML and pictures with upgrade. Ads post for 40 days with a renewal option. Offers an Affiliate Program
ClassifiedAds.com Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting by country. No HTML or Pictures. Ads post for 30 days with a renewal option.
InetGiant Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting. No HTML or Pictures. You can choose ad ons for minimal charges. Also offers Web Blaster and Ad Blaster for an additional charge. Offers an Affiliate Program. Ads post for 30 days with a renewal option.
Sales Spider Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting to a state and city. No HTML, you can upload pictures. You can “feature” your ad for an additional charge. Aslo offers a Business Center, email, forums. Ads post for 30 days with a renewal option.
Free Ad Space Smaller advertising site. Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting. Add ons available at a minimal cost. No HTML, you can upload pictures. Ads post for 6 months with a renewal option.
Hoobly Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting. No HTML you can upload Pictures. You can choose premium for minimal charges. Ads can post up to 6 months with a renewal option.
Adland Pro Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting up to 255 characters. No HTML or pictures. Different upgrades available. Aslo offers a Business Center, email, forums. Geared towards affiliate marketers with resources and tools available.
US Net Ads No account required. Unlimited free ad posting. . No HTML, you can upload pictures. Ads post for 4 months with a renewal option.
Classifieds For Free Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting up to 100 words. No HTML, you can upload pictures. Ads post for 14 days and are renewable.
Craigs List Account Signup Required. Ads posted to city only. Unlimited free ads. No HTML or pictures. Craigs List will not allow any links or websites posted or any duplicate ads.
*Web Cosmo Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting. HTML allowed, you can upload pictures. Ads post for 90 days and are renewable.
Pressmania Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting. No HTML, you can upload pictures. Ads post for 90 days and are renewable.
Ad Post Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting up to 200 words. No HTML, you can upload pictures. Ads post for 30 days and are renewable.
Free Classifieds Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting. HTML allowed, you can upload pictures. Ads post for 6 months and are renewable.
WebLeg Free Classifieds Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting. No HTML, you can upload pictures. Ads post for 60 days and is renewable.
Subblurbs Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting. No HTML, you can upload pictures. Ads post for 60 days and is renewable.
Flugpo Account Signup Required. Unlimited free ad posting. No HTML, you can upload pictures.
Readerjack.com
Creating a buzz means mingling with your targeting audience. Reaching out to your viewers is the most effective technique to promote. Posting your work allows your viewers to find you. You must make a presence to ‘conquer all obstacles‘ and promote successfully.
Other Related Posts:
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
MARKETING AND PROMOTING
LEARN FROM THE BEST
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: AuthorsDen, Blogrolls, Book Marketing Network, conquer all obstacles, create a buzz, CREATING A BUZZzzzz, FaceBook, Gather.com, GoodReads, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, LibraryThing, LinkedIn, Networking Resources, Red Room, Shelfari, Social Networks, target your audience | 5 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on March 10, 2009
A great title can capture an audiences’ attention…GOTCHA!
Now that I have your attention, I’m going to focus today’s posts on AUTHOR PLATFORMS–the reason why every writer should spend the time designing a bragging article about who he/she is and what they write.
In a bookstore or on the selling page of a site, your book sits among thousands of other books. Your blog/website hovers in cyberspace, naked, and among millions of others.
“The Internet is a vast wasteland of thoughts and ideas. According to Technorati, someone creates a new blog every 1.4 seconds. If blogging was a crime, and in some cases it very much should be, it would be the number one source of criminal activity in the land.” Adam Brown, FreelanceSwitch Site, 1/07/09
Unless effectively promoted, it will sit shivering and all alone. You and your book will blend in with the other authors and cover jackets like a chameleon taking on the appearance of its background.
Solution: You need to put some clothes on. And I mean dress up really good. You need to stop hiding from all the viewers and come forth. Building an impressive author platform is the solution.
An author platform is more than a bio. Just as a real platform elevates a speaker above his audience, you must discover ways to make yourself and your book stand out from the crowd. Present yourself as Cinderella in the eyes of the Prince. Your platform must standout from all the others.
“We keep hearing this phrase, ‘What’s the platform?’…Well, what it is is this: What does the author bring to the table? Talent is not enough. The number of slots open to fiction on a publisher’s list is being reduced all the time.” Literary agent Nat Sobel, quoted in Poets and Writers Magazine.
This is not the time to be humble. You must really look at yourself in comparison to the other authors in your genre and discover what makes you and your novel unique. Cinderella presented herself in a beautiful gown. Her beauty stood out from the crowd of possible prospects for the Prince. For you as an author, what descriptors hook the viewers attention? Use both your character and your process of writing. Expose who you are and your voice. Really look at your work. What are your strengths? What captures your audience and keeps them wanting more? Be creative in your response. Show your voice in the explanation.
To ‘conquer all obstacles‘ you have to sell yourself.
Time to strip off your artistic wardrobe and squeeze into a business outfit. I know it doesn’t feel comfortable, but it’s necessary to attract viewers. This is not the time to blend into the crowd. Writing is art, but publishing is business. The viewers (whether we’re talking about you as a self-publisher, an agent, an editor, or the publisher) needs to make money on the books you/he/she sells.
“Particularly for a debut novelist who’s just breaking in, the publisher needs something to make that book stand out from the thousands of others–something that’ll make the novel get noticed, and purchased–a platform.”
A platform matters.
Other Related Posts:
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
TURNING NIGHTMARES INTO PLEASANT DREAMS
FISHING FOR AN AGENT
SO YOU WANT YOUR BOOK TO SELL?
NOTE: Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side widget on this blog.
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: agent, audience, Author Platforms, bio, blog, conquer all obstacles, cyberspace, debut novelist, Internet, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, platform, promoted, publisher, publishing, viewers, Who Likes To Get Naked?, writing | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on March 12, 2009
It can be a challenge to get your first time visitors to return back to your blog/website, but it doesn’t have to be. ‘Conquer All Obstacles‘ by evaluating your site with THIS CHECKLIST:
___ Make the subscribe button accessible. Top side widget, label with clear instructions.
___ Occasionally remind your readers to subscribe. Don’t assume anything.
___ Produce an attractive blog/website design. Make your site reader friendly–KISS.
___ Add personality and engage your readers. Use informal language, add pictures, invite viewers to contribute. They will want to journey with you.
___ Revisit stats and analyze data. What topics/posts generate the most traffic? Capitalize on strengths.
___ Promote on social media sites. “Connect with Jo-Anne”, then list sites you belong to and your viewers can follow (ie: FaceBook, GoodReads, MySpace, Gather.com, etc.).
___ Link to past posts. New followers will appreciate direction.
___ Give. Readers are searching so give them what they want.
___ Be consistent and the content fresh. Keep a schedule and post formats the same.
___ Find key players. Encourage friendship. Opportunities will pop up.
___ Post great content. Engage your readers, form a sense of community where readers feel they belong.
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer ALL Obstacles”, automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side of this blog.
Related Posts:
PREMIUM PROMOTIONS
FIELD GUIDE TO BLOGGING
BLOG THE RIGHT WAY
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: blog site, community, conquer all obstacles, content, data, formats, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, posts, social media sites, stats, subscribe button, Turning First Impressions Into Loyal Followers, website, widget | 5 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on March 17, 2009
Could self-publishing be the way to publish your book(s)?
RECORD HIGHS OF SELF-PUBLISHED BOOKS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY, 2009
Why is self-publishing taking over the traditional method of publishing?
> Traditional publishers are reducing their client intake, making it even more difficult to break into the highly competitive market.
> Due to the high number of lay-offs, people have more time at home to pursue their dreams of writing.
> POD companies are making life so easy. Instant gratification and as simple as sending a credit card number through cyberspace.
> E-books and electronic submissions make publishing inexpensive compared to the high expenses of other entrepreneur avenues.
> Abundant resourses on ‘how to’ are educating the viewers. Greater promotional tactics and awesome advertisement have left the self-publisher in ‘favorable eyes’ rather than the poor reputation they’ve had to overcome.
YOU DO THE MATH
As an author, going through the big NY publishing firms may not be the answer anymore. Book Revenue Breakdown posted by Literary Agent, Nathan Bransford. 02/23/09
How much does an author receive from a book sale? Let’s say the author has a 10% retail royalty, and the author has an agent who receives 15% of the author’s share. This works out to (again, roughly):
$12.48 to the bookseller (50%)
$9.98 to the publisher (50% minus author/agent share)
$2.12 to the author (10% of retail minus 15%)
$0.38 to the agent (15% of 10%)
For another example, let’s take a $14.95 trade paperback where the author receives 7.5% retail. That translates to:
$7.48 to the bookseller
$5.83 to the publisher
$0.95 to the author
$0.17 to the agent
In the past, one of the major reasons why writers turned to traditional methods of publishing, was so someone else could take over the promotional side, leaving them with more time to write. Like who can spend all the time keeping up with the times by learning new promotional tactics when all they want to do is write? A writer is an artist. Many don’t consider themselves business people. And that’s what promotion is…it is a business.
But what if I told you that you can self-publish, reap the profits, and spend all your time writing? You can ‘conquer all obstacles‘, the answer is simple…
Hire PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES to take care of ALL your promotional needs. Let’s face it, even if you went through the traditional publishers, many would throw the promotional aspect back onto your lap. Then what? You’ve paid a publisher and now you have to hire a promoter?
Why not self-publish and save yourself time, energy, and money? Hire a promotional manager and capitalize on the revenue. Heck, you can even sell your books out of your home (you be the bookseller) instead of having booksellers like Amazon sell your books.
This is the way your $14.95 trade paperback could look:
SELF-PROMOTIONAL OPTION *You are responsible for all the marketing and promoting for you and your book*
$7.48 to the author (comes from the book selling) + $0.95 to the author + $0.17 to the author (comes from the agent) = $8.60 right into the authors pocket (self-promoting)
Comparison: $8.60-$0.95=$7.65 clear profit for the author on each trade paperback.
HIRING A PROMOTIONAL MANAGER AND PURCHASING PROMOTIONAL SERVICES *You write and sell your books from your home, leaving the business of promotion to someone else.*
$5.83 to the publisher
$2.92 to the manager and promotional services
That still leaves the author with $5.68 clear profit to the author per trade paperback. And you don’t have to worry about the hassles of promotion and you are guaranteed massive exposure to a HUGE targeted audience that are directed back to your site where your books are sold.
Now I’ve got you thinking. I’ve got myself thinking. I have two unpublished novels just sitting here. I need to make a decision on how I’m going to publish my books. The choice doesn’t look grey anymore. More like black and white.
Again, don’t let others take chunks out of your profits. Just think of the percentage of profits yo would receive, as an author, if you published and sold your books yourself. Sure you’d have to take a percentage to hire a promotional manager, but just think of the time you could spend writing–what you love to do best.
Shouldn’t your percentage be the highest/you make the most profits from selling each book? Why should you have to give all your profits away?
________________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts. Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” that will be automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side of this blog. It’s that simple.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
CREATING A BUZZzzzz
HANG ON AND ENJOY THE RIDE
SO YOU WANT YOUR BOOK TO SELL?
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: advertisement, agent, Amazon, author, Book Revenue Breakdown, bookseller, conquer all obstacles, e-books, electronic submissions, entrepreneur, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, literary agent, marketing, Nathan Bransford, POD, Premium Promotional Services, promoter, promotional manager, promotional tactics, publisher, RUINED REPUTATION COMES TO A HALT, self-publish, target audience, trade paperbacks, traditional publisher | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on March 19, 2009
Women-in-Charge: Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Today’s blog is by Mrs. Jo-Anne Vandermeulen,
Internet Promotional Manager, Professional Support Network for Writers, and Prolific Writer of Romantic Fiction
I saunter through open doors. Wide open doors. When an opportunity comes forth and there are no obstacles in the way, there are no fears. There’s nothing to lose.
Since April of 2006, three separate doors opened in my life. I’ve journeyed into three different rooms. Wasn’t searching, just roaming free. More curious rather than desperate to explore and discover what was inside.
In the spring of 2006, I was sent home after spending twenty years teaching full-time. No one plans to get sick; an illness that flicks flames, scorching abilities to die. Yet like any tragedy, a change of perspectives can convert devastations into opportunities. All it takes is the right attitude. So I had to be home all day. Now what do I do?
The first door flew open…
The cloud lifted, moisture disappeared, and my vision came clear. I’ve always wanted to write a book, but never have had the time. So write I did. Seventeen days, after sitting at my computer, I had the rough copy of my first 100,000 word manuscript complete.
By 2008, I had two polished novels ready to be published. Through near a hundred workshops, a few pitching sessions with editors, submission responses by nearly a thousand agents, I soon discovered they all voiced the same concern… “How are you going to promote yourself? Please provide me with information about your author platform.” My first response was: “What? You mean I can’t just write?” There was no where to turn. All doors remained shut.
I set forth to research the area of promotion. I learned I needed to target an audience, build friendships through networks, and provide my followers with a platform they loved. I started my first blog, “Conquer All Obstacles”, providing assistance to fellow writers. After a few posts, the comments started pouring in.
The second door flew open…
Immediately, I discovered my niche. Authors from all over the world cried help, requesting promotional services. Through many hours of studying the promotional business and connecting with professionals, I produced templates for author platforms, explored strategies to target an audience and generated a buzz of massive activity, and discovered techniques to climb to the top of the world wide search engines. And there, I performed my services to over a billion viewers on the Internet. No longer was I invisible. I did it! The large number of hits, responses, and dashboard stats proved I had successfully promoted myself.
The third door flew open…
No fog, with my vision never being so clear, I ran through to the third room. On March 2, 2009 my new business launched into production. With the help of my partner, Brian Knight, Premium Promotional Services opened its doors to serve writers in search of promotional services. Premium Promotional Services is a writer’s solution to all promotional and marketing needs. What a better way for me to share my wealth of knowledge and help my fellow writers. Finally, I can successfully provide a requested service so they can continue to write.
Life is filled with unexpected changes. Quite often a person is forced to exit their comfortable domain. The cliché: ‘When one door closes another one opens’ will expose new rooms. See changes as opportunities. Don’t be afraid to venture into the next room, especially when the door is wide open.
Related Posts:
THE DREAM TO WRITE A BOOK
MARKETING AND PROMOTING
THE JOURNEY TO PUBLICATION
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing | Tagged: Author Platform, Brian Knight, conquer all obstacles, Internet, Internet promotional manager, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, manuscript, marketing, network, niche, novels, pitching, Premium Promotional Services, professional support network for writers, prolific writer of romantic fiction, promote, Promotion, search engines, submissions, target an audience, Women in charge, workshops, write, writers' | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on March 24, 2009
Attracting An Audience
We’re not here to expand our discussion on “Who Likes To Get Naked?” Even this time of the year, it’s far too cold here in Canada to expose any skin. Yet, even in Saskatchewan, it is acceptable and more than necessary to show off our…bo, boo…BOOKS. Lol, GOTCHA again!
No one is going to know about your talents if you publish and hide the covers among all the others in a bookstore or cyberspace. Marketing your books and promoting yourself is a must.
But how do we attract an audience when there’s so much competition?
Meet The Needs Of Your Viewers
Times are changing. Flexibility is the answer in the business world. What worked yesterday, may not work today. Think of targeting the market. Needs and interests are turning around. Promotion is never stagnant, neither should your message. Set aside some time to:
1.) Constantly revisit the brands and messages used to hook your audience.
2.) Analyze the successes and strengths. Be prepared to build on the strengths rather than always focusing on the weaknesses.
3.) Make the necessary changes to enhance your marketing tactics that work well with potential customers.
Marketing Message
Your marketing message is similar to an author platform. The message you post must persuade viewers that you and your book stands higher than the rest, is unique, and the best. This will generate more traffic to you and convince potential customers to buy your books.
Take a good look at your message. Does it give the viewers what they are searching for? Are you in sync with your audience? This may take further research. Yes, this is time consuming, but more than necessary. There’s no use speaking out into an empty auditorium. Perhaps there’s a generation gap and you may need to modernize your content so your followers can relate. If you want to “Conquer All Obstacles“, it’s you that must be flexible and tap into their needs.
Discover Your Target Audience
It is the writer’s responsibility to get to know your audience by filling in the blanks and accumulating a specific description. Areas to look at:
- Genre
- Age
- Ethnic Background
- Classification (student, working, retired, etc)
- Interests, Hobbies and Lifestyle
- Perspectives, Attitudes and Values
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side widget on this blog.
Other Related Posts
TURNING FIRST IMPRESSIONS INTO LOYAL FOLLOWERS
CREATING A BUZZzzz
TURNING NIGHTMARES INTO PLEASANT DREAMS
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: audience, Author Platform, books, bookstore, changes, conquer all obstacles, cyberspace, How Can A Writer Stand Out From The Rest?, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, marketing, marketing message, promoting, target audience, traffic, viewers | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on March 26, 2009
Are you worried about positioning yourself high in the ranks on media sites? Perhaps you shouldn’t.
Social networking is all about terrorizing not necessarily defining your hierarchy. Focus more on your business or selling your books and less time obsessing on your positional ranks on a media site. This will keep your eyes open for opportunities.
If you are only focusing on your ranks, you may be missing out on some valuable opportunities.
If you establish a territory, it will be difficult for others to dislodge you from this position.
Pay more attention on your business or selling your books.
I can see how defining a defensible position in a profitable niche can be compared to playing a game. I’ll use curling for an example…the team who scores the points at the end is the one who has their rock closest to the button. If a team is more worried about placing more stones in the house rather than where to place their rock, will not likely to score at the end if they are playing against a team who focuses on terrorizing their stone near the button. Once the team establishes their stone near the button and they place their next rock frozen to the existing stone, it will be impossible for the opposition to take them out or dislodge their stones from the button.
Terrorize your position and intensify your niche.
Take a pill of courage and intensify your niche, presenting yourself as authentic will generate an even larger loyal audience. Be creative. Nothing is better when your viewers can identify with you and can feel your personality.
Ask yourself, “What makes me stand out from the rest?”
Devising a strategy to remain on the offense takes critical thinking, but if you can relate this to a game it is simple to understand the reason. You can only score if you play offensively.
If you want to “Conquer All Obstacles”, it’s time to show everyone who you really are. Be open and true to your viewers.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side widget on this blog.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
WHO LIKES TO GET NAKED?
LEARN FROM THE BEST
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Business, conquer all obstacles, Defining Your Niche, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, media sites, niche, offensively, opportunities, selling, social networking, strategy, territory, viewers | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on March 27, 2009
Author: M.L. St. Sure
Genre: Historical Romance
ISBN: 978-1-4196-6824-1
Pages: 214
Reviewed By: Brian Knight
Official Premium Promotional Services Rating: **** (4 stars)
The young life of Christina Cross is turned upside down by the unexpected death of her father. Now, with the responsibility to provide for the family resting squarely on her petite shoulders; she begins working at the El Dorado Inn. Christina’s job is to sing just the way her father taught her. Overhearing her vibrant voice, the owner of the inn, Senator Caradine, wishes to help the young girl achieve her life dreams. Quickly, the two grow closer together and Christina’s gracious appreciation turns to desire. Suddenly, she wants the Senator to love her as the daughter he lost long ago.
Christina has an opportunity to perform and both travel to New York. Here their conflicting relationship is put to the test. During their stay, her agenda is to co-hurt the Senator so he will finally see her as a woman. But this plan backfires as she feels strange sensations by the presence of the womanizing Frenchman Laurent De Gauvion Saint Cyr; a passion she knows she will never feel with the Senator. Once back at the Inn, having to provide for her younger sister, Nicolette, Christina now sees that the little town she had left for a short time, and though was the answer to her prayers, cannot provide her with the life she always dreamed of.
Desperate to provide a better life for Nicolette and herself, they courageously move to France. Unbeknownst to them, they are now in the middle of a war zone as the German army and the start of World War II quickly approaches Paris. Living with their uncle, Philippe Petain, Christina soon discovers that he is sympathetic to the Germans and has arranged for her to sing for Hitler. Defiant of his wishes, she joins the French Resistance lead by none other than…the Frenchman, Laurent De Gauvion Saint Cyr.
As members of the resistance, Christina and Nicolette take their virtuous mission of saving infants from concentration camps to heart. Casting all thoughts of danger aside, they work diligently in their efforts. All is well, until Nicolette is captured.
Now, Christina must call upon all of her resolve to rescue the one person she swore to protect, but will her strength and undying love for her younger sister be strong enough to pull her from the torturous hands of the Nazis?
Author M.L. St. Sure’s, “Evensong”, will have you entranced with her talent of descriptive writing throughout this story. St. Sure truly captures the reality of war and paints vivid pictures of a young girl on the road to adulthood. Hooked from the first page, you will immediately connect with each character and ride together on an emotional roller coaster, laughing one moment and crying the next. A war torn romance, “Evensong”, will live forever in your mind – revealing a true testament to the power of love and the strength to survive.
____________________________________________________________________________________
(Click Here) TO READ MORE ABOUT M.L.ST.SURE – INTERVIEW PART 1
____________________________________________________________________________________
(Click Here) TO PURCHASE “EVENSONG”
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Are you interested in getting your BOOK REVIEWED or an AUTHOR INTERVIEW? Click HERE
Posted in Book Review | Tagged: Book Review, Brian Knight, Evensong, M.L.St.Sure, Premium Promotional Services | 1 Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on March 31, 2009
NouveauWriter has interviewed Marketing Expert Jo-Anne Vandermeulen for insight on today’s publishing and marketing situation and how authors can benefit from learning about this important step in their career.
How long have you been writing?
I’ve been writing since I could pick up a pencil. As a child, I wrote daily journals and pleaded with anyone who would exchange letters and be my pen-pal. In high school, I fell in love with creative writing—the process was heaven, the product or published work, I fed off the positive responses of my listeners. I continued this writing into university and studied to become an educator with an English major. Teaching for twenty years, allowed me to share my expertise and immerse myself further into my passion.
Due to an unforeseen illness, I moved from the classroom to a quiet living room. Luckily, I was able to take this devastation and turn it around as an opportunity. As of April 2006, I’ve been writing full time.
In your opinion, how has the publishing industry changed and how has this affected authors?
In seventeen days after I started writing from the solitude of my living room, I had my first manuscript completed. (I guess I had the story in me for a long time…) Instantly, I targeted agents and felt I would prosper more if I went through the traditional publishers in New York. Response was very good. Requested partials and even fulls were submitted. But like most aspiring authors, I soon discovered I had a lot to learn. The real work started.
I took online workshops and read anything I could get my hands on. Networked with other authors, joined groups, attended writer conventions, and sent my novel to readers, editors, judges in contests—anyone who would give me feedback.
At the same time, I produced a second novel. In the past year, I tried going the same route in the publishing world. But this time, I noticed a huge difference. The acceptance of partials declined, and even though I was asked to submit a full, this too was quickly rejected.
Today, I feel the traditional publishers are not taking any risks. New clients or aspiring authors have even a smaller chance of breaking into the tight traditional publishing world.
Looking at other publishing options, I am in the process of determining a new venture. My published article in my Conquer All Obstacles blog, Ruined Reputation Comes To A Halt, states publishing facts of February, 2009. I have come to accept that promotion is on the author’s shoulders and if we are going to make any money from our hard work, we’ll have to do it ourselves.
Thankfully, there are services such as Premium Promotional Services and plenty of support groups we can turn for help. Unfortunately, this carves a huge groove out of our precious writing time. Now writers cannot pursue their passions of straight writing, they are squeezing into a business suit and forced to perform duties that feel “oh so uncomfortable”.
On a positive note, this new venture of publishing puts the author into the driver’s seat. We have control and will profit from our sales, compared with going through the traditional publishers. Ruined Reputation Comes To A Halt, states the percentage of how much the author makes versus the other disbursement of income by the time one forks out the money to a book seller, publisher, agent, etc. This new avenue of publishing dictates very surprising results—favorable in the hands of the author.
How important is marketing one’s book today?
Who Likes To Get Naked? is an article I published on March 10, 2009 in my Conquer All Obstacles blog. Think of your published book sitting on the shelf or hanging in cyberspace—lonely and naked. Unless the author takes the time and has the expertise to market his/her books, this is what will likely happen. There is another alternative. The author can continue writing and purchase promotional services. This way, someone else will be taking care of all your promotional needs.
Promoting your book is VERY important. Without exposing yourself to create an audience (trusted fans and followers); targeting possible consumers; and linking your viewers to the site that sells your books; your book will just sit there shivering. There are too many other books for people to buy. As an Internet Promotional Manager, I have learned tactics to lift an author and their books to the top of major search engines. Now, the consumer doesn’t have to search for you, instead this author will be visible—totally exposed but fully dressed. And it is my job to make sure that this author and his/her books stand out and is unique from the rest by producing a professional author platform to fire out for over a BILLION Internet viewers. Talk about massive exposure!
How has the Internet changed marketing authors and their books?
Marketing and promotion has always been the success factor in selling books. Today, marketing is even more important.
“WE look for authors who not only are great writers but are willing to promote their work and who also understand the enormous sea changes in the industry. It used to be 75% about how good the book was and 25% about the marketing but now it is 75% about the marketing and 25% how good to book is.” Peter Miller – Literary Manager with PMA Literary
When we consider the Internet, the doors just fly open.
Second quarter of 2008, the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce stated that the total number of Internet users worldwide was 1,463,500,000 viewers with over 40,000 social media sites to hang out, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
Need I say any more? Talk about exposure!
Do traditionally published authors have to promote like a self-published author?
Building an Author Platform and promotion should occur even before the author is published in either forms. Many authors are publishing articles in their blogs before they are officially published. An excellent way to promote themselves.
“According to Technorati, someone creates a new blog every 1.4 seconds..” Adam Brown, FreelanceSwitch Site, 1/07/09
In order for a writer to create a following, they must establish ‘friends’. A form of trust has to happen between the writer and their future fans. This is in the form of networking. Networking, networking, networking is a must and is very time consuming, but the results are worth it. Success doesn’t occur over night—there’s no instant gratification. Promotion takes a lot of time. Yet it works like a snowball rolling down a snow covered hill.
Building an author platform before you are published is probably one of the most important marketing tactics you can create and later contribute to your success. Think of yourself, walking into a bookstore. Do you usually remember the title of the book or the author’s name?
Donna Bagdasarian from Maria Carvainis Agency: Platform is more important that it was maybe five years ago and if so, why? “Platform is crucial. To a publisher, a platform speaks to audience. So first, you need the credentials. Second, you need to form some sort of grassroots following.”
Even traditional publishers stress the importance of authors self-promoting. The authors must do a lot of the work themselves.
Tell us about your blog and your new service for authors.
My blog Conquer All Obstacles started as a way for me to find my niche in life. Sure I wanted to promote myself as an aspiring author; but at the same time, I needed to see if there were other opportunities that God had planned for my life. Since I got sick, I’ve had to throw my hands up in the air and let Him take over. Not such a bad thing, really.
I developed my personal blog to share my knowledge with fellow writers. I love to learn—research things to death. And my teaching background makes blogging just a natural way for me to educate others. Lately, my main category has focused around marketing and promoting, but scanning back through the past posts, there’s everything there. From learning the craft of writing to my personal experiences being an aspiring author, the posts are written in a friendly informal manner that allows followers to take knowledge and apply it to themselves.
My niche evolved just in the past six months. I found myself focusing more and more on the promotional aspects of writing. Believe me, it wasn’t because I wanted to—I dreaded it. The online courses spoke about how important it was for an aspiring author to market themselves and their books, but the information seemed way over my head and a lot of work I didn’t think I could handle.
Surprisingly, the more I read, researched, and networked with fellow promoters, the more interested I became. The obsession took over and I was swimming right in the thick of things, totally loving the challenging new information. Applying the information soon became even more of a thrill. I discovered techniques that actually worked and I gained instant success. Other authors began coming to me, asking for my promotional services… “What services?”
March 2, 2009 was the launch date of Premium Promotional Services, a business to meet the needs and requested demands of writers. My partner, Brian Knight—who is an expert in specific services such as author interviews, book reviews, blog generation, author tours, and revising existing blog/website, joined me in my vision. Brian is just the right person to compliment my premium promotional service. Together, we have our heart set on helping writers. We care. At Premium Promotional Services “You Write – We Promote”. Now the writers can leave ALL the promotional work to us—so they will have the time to write—to happily pursue their passion—to remain in their artistic outfit and leave the business suit to us.
I specifically provide an Author Advertising service. On a one-to-one basis, I work extremely hard and put hundreds of hours in promoting you and your books. I have the knowledge to expose your site where your books are for sale to over a BILLION Internet users and over 40,000 social media sites. I enlist your site to major search engines and link to over a dozen other highly viewed sites. I feature you and your books and send out professionally created press releases, author platforms, and selling sheets to the targeted audience I have carefully researched. I establish followers in groups, exposing you and your books even more, until soon…there are thousands clicking into your site. Now talk about massive exposure and possible success in selling your books.
You’ve put all these days, perhaps years into fulfilling your dream—publishing your book(s). Don’t you deserve to have the opportunity to expose your pride and joy to the most people possible? At Premium Promotional Services “You Write – We Promote”
Please come check us out. If you have any questions, Brian or I will be more than happy to answer them.
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
Related Posts:
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
RUINED REPUTATION COMES TO A HALT
WHO LIKES TO GET NAKED
______________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side widget on this blog.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing, Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Author Platform, authors', careers, Internet promotional manager, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, marketing, Marketing Expert, NouveauWriter, Premium Promotional Services, publishing, publishing industry | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on April 2, 2009
Response to questions by: Jo-Anne Vandermeulen
What is Premium Promotional Services?
Premium Promotional Services is a professional business for writers. Aggressively, we market the author and their books through individual/combination of promotional services. Premium Promotional Services will solve ALL the author’s promotional needs-massive exposure guaranteed.
We custom design a promotional package that best suits each client’s needs. At Premium Promotional Services, we provide Author Interviews, Book Reviews, Blog Generation, Existing Site Redesign, Virtual Book Tours, and a complete Author Advertising Platform. “You Write – We Promote” at Premium Promotional Services.
When did you launch Premium Promotional Services?
With the vision ‘to help writers’ existing for a long time, we officially opened Premium Promotional Services cyber-doors March 2, 2009.
Why did you start Premium Promotional Services?
By 2008, I had two polished novels ready to be published. Through near a hundred workshops, a few pitching sessions with editors, submission responses by nearly a thousand agents, I soon discovered they all voiced the same concern… “How are you going to promote yourself? Please provide me with information about your author platform.” My first response was: “What? You mean I can’t just write?” There was no where to turn. All doors remained shut.
I set forth to research the area of promotion. I learned I needed to target an audience, build friendships through networks, and provide my followers with a platform they loved. I started my first blog, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles”, providing assistance to fellow writers. After a few posts, the comments started pouring in.
The first door flew open…
Immediately, I discovered my niche. Authors from all over the world cried help, requesting promotional services. Through many hours of studying the promotional business and connecting with professionals, I produced templates for author platforms, explored strategies to target an audience, and generated a buzz of massive activity. Through my journey, I discovered techniques to climb to the top of the world wide search engines, and suddenly I was performing my services to over a BILLION viewers on the Internet. No longer was I invisible. I did it! The large number of hits, responses, and dashboard stats proved I had successfully promoted myself. (*Click HERE for more)
The second door flew open…
On March 2, 2009, (with the help of my partner, Brian Knight) Premium Promotional Services launched into production-a writer’s solution to all their promotional and marketing needs. Through my personal blog “Conquer All Obstacles” and the business, “Premium Promotional Services”, there’s no better way to share my wealth of knowledge and help my fellow writers. I can successfully provide a requested service so they can continue to write. (*Click HERE for more*)
What services does Premium Promotional Services offer?
Ø Advertising Platform
Ø Author Interviews
Ø Blog Generation
Ø Existing Site Redesign
Ø Book Reviews
Ø Virtual Book Tours
Where can people find out more about Premium Promotional Services?
Premium Promotional Service website: http://www.premiumpromotions.biz
*If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us on this site or in person.*
Jo-Anne Vandermeulen: gr5mom2@yahoo.ca
Brian Knight: sb.knight@live.com
Anything else you’d like to add?
Our goal at Premium Promotional Services is to market the author and their book(s) using effective and powerful promotional tactics. With the Internet promotional expertise to optimize search engines and generate streams of readers, the author’s name and book(s) will surface to the top. Brian and I will provide the vehicle with the author behind the wheel. At Premium Promotional Services “You Write – We Promote”.
Thank you to Jo Linsdell, creator and manager of Authors and Writers, for hosting this interview.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
ASK THE EXPERT: MARKETING SERVICES AND THEIR BENEFITS
A LITTLE BIT MORE…”ABOUT JO-ANNE VANDERMEULEN”
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side widget on this blog.
Posted in Jo-Anne's Writing, Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Author Advertising Platform, Author Interviews, Authors and Writers, Blog Generation, Book Reviews, Brian Knight, conquer all obstacles, Existing Site Redesign, Jo Linsdell, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, PROMO DAY. Premium Promotional Services, Virtual Book Tours, YOU WRITE-WE PROMOTE | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on April 5, 2009
PLEASE, EMAIL THIS TO A FRIEND
Got a friend that could do with some tips on marketing and promoting themselves and their books?
Forward this email on and help grow ‘Conquer All Obstacles‘.
If you received this email from a friend
subscribe to ‘Conquer All Obstacles’ HERE
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: conquer all obstacles, marketing, promoting, viral promotion | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on April 7, 2009
Targeting for Mountains Instead of Mole Hills
Imagine seeing sharp peaks and welcoming the sight-when sharp vertical slopes brings a smile to your face. Not often in life we anticipate the mountains. Blowing things out of proportion is something we try to avoid. Wouldn’t we rather face the mole hills?
Not when we open our dashboard and click on “stats”. Whether we are talking about our main site where the potential customer can purchase our books or the blog we use to generate our following, the main goal is to keep those viewers coming back and increase our following.
So, how do we ‘conquer all obstacles’ and get that line to keep climbing on the visual graph within our stat page?
Create Great Content:
- Structure, facts, grammar, spelling, and punctuation do play an important role, but there’s more. The content must have feelings-an underlying logic and flow that is easy to absorb.
- The content must be filled with emotions that challenges the reader and can lead to a powerful call to action-provoke an emotional response from the reader.
- Discover that balance between challenging the reader to understand your message, creating the truth, and producing facts without coming across as ‘dry’. We want to product content that is interesting, challenging, and informative-something the reader can take away with an ‘aw’ or ‘wow’ experience. Don’t hide important information, thoughts, or steps; but, don’t toss it in their lap either. Reread your post before publishing and omit unnecessary words. Try it and be amazed at the results.
- The most important thing in content marketing is reliability. You must produce the goods or content consistently or the readers just won’t show up-the mole hill will prevail. The plan is simple. Schedule your posts, be genuine to your followers, and get the content out the day you promised.
Simple Strategies That Will Generate New Readers and Keep Your Original Readers Coming Back:
- Remind the reader to subscribe. Remember, there are newbies coming to your site all the time. Sure you posted the directions initially, but it sure doesn’t hurt to post the simple instructions again. I do this at the bottom of the odd post:
“Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side widget on this blog.”
- Send or post an invitation to subscribe and to invite a friend. Please refer to my envelope in the previous post. Viral promotion generates readers.
“Send this to a Friend…Please, email this to a friend (place your photo of the envelope). Got a friend that could do with some tips on marketing and promotion themselves and their books? Forward this email on and help grow ‘Conquer All Obstacles‘. If you receive this email from a friend, subscribe to ‘Conquer All Obstacles’ HERE (link you site).”
All of this sounds incredibly easy, but it works. My stats looked more like mountains rather than mole hills. You can ‘conquer all obstacles’ by using these tactics in your next post. So simple.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
TURNING NIGHTMARES INTO PLEASANT DREAMS
CREATING A BUZZzzzz
TURNING FIRST IMPRESSIONS INTO LOYAL FOLLOWERS
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side widget on this blog.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted in Marketing and Promoting, Tips for Writing | Tagged: conquer all obstacles, content, dashboards, invitations, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, marketing, Promotion, reliability, sites, stats, subscribe, Targeting for Mountains Instead of Mole Hills | 4 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on April 9, 2009
To ‘conquer all obstacles’ and get your site climbing higher in those search engines, you must be prepared to do some work. Sure, establishing a readership so those hits magnify in numbers is important, but now you’ll have to convince the webcrawlers.
How do I optimize my site in a search engines perspective?
Register the site to Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Approximate Market Share: Google 63%, Yahoo 20%, Microsoft 9%, Ask 5%, AOL 4%. Here are links to where you can submit your website to the top three search engines:
Google: http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl
Yahoo: http://search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html
MSN: http://search.msn.com/docs/submit.aspx
Google actually says it’s not necessary to submit your site because they will find you! They find you primarily through links from other sites. However, if links from other sites are in short supply, be sure to submit your site. Once is enough. But please have your site finished and polished before doing so.
Climbing the ladder, up the search engine rankings, takes time. Results are not going to happen over night.
“In my experience it is not until a blog is 6 to 12 months old that it really begins to grow in its authority in Google.”>ProBlogger How to Grow Your Blog to the Next Level With SEO
Register the site with ‘Linkreferral.com‘ or ‘Socialize It‘. Link these tag mechanisms by pasting their link on your page or site. For example, if you want your selling page to be the focal, make sure you place their symbol and links on that specific page. If you look on my Premium Promotional Service site, you’ll see the buttons placed in the widgets on the side bar and bottom of the main page. After the site is registered and you’ve linked sites, click on the buttons and tag your site using as many mechanisms as possible (ex: digg, stumbleupon, bookmark, etc.). Don’t forget to include the tags. Bold the keywords, add them to heading tags and add them to images.
Add more links. With your high quality content, the traffic will increase to your site. Soon others will make contact to link their blog with yours. Check out their site first. Go with your gut reactions. It doesn’t hurt to reach out to others and request linkage. By accumulating links on similar niche, the keywords tagged will be emphasized and the speed to climb the up the ladder in the ranking process will increase.
Keep track of your stats. Analyze where the traffic is centralizing. Increase the internal links to these pages by adding extra links to the page. Include and highlight some of these pages in your sidebar or bottom of your posts. Again, don’t forget to link the topic so your readers will simply navigate back to the high traffic topic. Don’t delete these pingbacks; instead, highlight and apply them to your site. You may even decide to publish another post on the similar topic of interest.
You can ‘conquer all obstacles’ by taking the time manipulating the search engines to increase the ranking stats of your site. With more traffic heading to your site where your books are for sale, will increase the chances of success to greater sales.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
TARGETING FOR MOUNTAINS INSTEAD OF MOLE HILLS
DEFINING YOUR NICHE
FIELD GUIDE TO BLOGGING
_________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side widget on this blog.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Posted in Marketing and Promoting, Uncategorized | Tagged: blog, bookmarks, climbing to the top - a search engine's perspective, conquer all obstacles, digg, google, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, keywords, link, LinkedIn, msn, pingbacks, Premium Promotional Services, search engines, Socialize It, stats, stumbleupon, tag, webcrawlers, widgets, yahoo | 5 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on April 14, 2009
One of my biggest fears in life is getting lost. Gosh, my palms are sweaty just thinking about it. Unfortunately, having no sense of direction is not only a daunting fear for many writers; they also feel completely lost. And this is a reality.
But, fear no more. I can guide you down a straight clean path to promote you and your books. To ‘conquer all obstacles’ is to have direction.
All you have to do is devise a specific plan and discover your balance.
It’s okay to plan, as long as you don’t plan the outcome…this will only set up expectations. Like writing, enjoy the process and the product is bonus. Yes…write it down. Don’t keep it all in your head. Visual succession, some sort of measurement of progression, is proven to boost moral-an enlightened sense of completion.
Answer the 5-W’s and your plan is set in motion.
The 5-W’s-The Marketing Plan:
Who, What, When, Where
and
(we know Why)
1.) Audience – Who will be interested in your books?
2.) Services – What services (Author Platforms, Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Virtual Tours, Blog/Website Redesign) will generate the most exposure?
3.) Time – When are you going to find the time to contact ALL your waiting fans and followers?
4.) Network – Where are you going to display your profile and books?
Want to know more? Please check out Premium Promotional Services “You Write – We Promote” at: http://www.premiumpromotions.biz
Discovering the Balance
Too many of us jump to the last step in the marketing plan. Wanting that solution-we want to know where to go before addressing the who, what, and when.
A marketing plan is not the time to take short-cuts.
Skipping steps will only result in utter confusion or wasted time of marketing in the wrong place.
Discover a balance.
Where to promote will come automatically after you’ve gone through the progression steps of planning and completing the who, what, and when.
Who
- Search for followers in a variety of areas. (Social Media Networks – Facebook, Goodreads, Red Room, Gather.com, Authorsden, LinkedIn, ShoutLife)
- Network in many different groups. Join discussions – leave your brand/signature.
- Promote locally (book signings, presentations, etc.) and reach out to the Internet.
- Vary your presentational techniques to fit the needs of each individual. Depending on who you’re chatting with will determine the formality of the conversation/chat.
What
- Meet the needs of your viewers by selecting as many services as possible.
- Sprinkle each service throughout the networks in a press release format.
- Soon after the initial meeting, introduce your book. (Many viewers will already be asking). But, don’t push the sale yet. Be patient, the viewers are now hooked.
- Sprinkle a little bit more services. No…don’t push yet…
When
- Schedule your day by dividing the clock. Keep track of how you spend your time and evaluate. Are you getting what you plan finished? If the answer is no, ask yourself…why?
- The next day, try rearranging your priorities. What you may not have completed yesterday, will fit in today.
Where
- After you peg the who your target audience is; what services you are sprinkling into the market; and when, the amount of time will be allotted to each group; the where is simple.
- *Now you can sell your book. Set the hook and reel in your fans. Push hard, be strong, and don’t hold anything back.
You can ‘conquer all obstacles’ by following a plan of action-a marketing plan of the 5-W’s. The secret in selling your book is knowing who to address, what services or tactics work, when to set the hook and start reeling in the fans, and where all the action takes place. Very few people like a pushy salesperson; nor do they like to be left in limbo. It is up to you to find that balance.
Trust your instincts by really listening to your viewers.
Give your fans what they want-your book. Gosh, it’s a win-win situation. I like that, and look…my palms are dry.
____________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
ASK THE EXPERT: MARKETING SERVICES AND THEIR BENEFITS
HOW CAN A WRITER STAND OUT FROM THE REST?
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
____________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side widget on this blog.
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: 5-w's, audience, balance, brand, conquer all obstacles, direction, fans, fears, hook, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen, marketing plan, no more fear, Premium Promotional Services, presentational techniques, press release, priorities, promote, promotional services, questions, sell your book, social media networks, time, viewers, what when where, who, why | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jo-Anne Vandermeulen on April 16, 2009
How do I create a blog that *conquers all obstacles* and stays out of the slush pile?
“The Internet is a vast wasteland of thoughts and ideas. According to Technorati, someone creates a new blog every 1.4 seconds. If blogging was a crime, and in some cases it very much should be, it would be the number one source of criminal activity in the land.” Adam Brown, FreelanceSwitch Site, 1/07/09
With these alarming facts, how do I create a blog that my viewers will pick mine to read?
I must present a professional blog.
In the past, I have supplied checklists and a few posts on blogging that guides you in creating a fabulous site. But, perhaps you’ve overlooked a few items that may seem obvious but subconsciously you’re incorporating into your posts. These points will deter your audience away. Take a moment, carefully read, and check off each point.
Unfortunately, all it may take is one of these points (not to be checked-off) to turn your viewers off and away, never to return.
_____ Properly, type in caps and no caps-do not take short-cuts.
- Do not capitalize your entire title leaving everything in bold print.
- Do not leave words like ‘i’ in lower case.
_____ Use the word ‘blog’ correctly-do not call your post or article a blog.
_____ Choose 2-3 posts as ‘related posts’ at the end of your original post for the day-do not include a string or list of related posts. KISS.
_____ Spell names correctly.
_____ Keep your content short, specific and relevant-avoid rambling.
_____ Take blogging seriously.
_____ Keep your readers informed.
_____ Use pictures to spice up your post.
_____ Establish yourself as a source of information
_____ Keep your posts positive-bad mouthing and constant complaining is just plain unacceptable.
“Remember as the medium becomes more and more mainstream, there will be more and more blogs and more and more opportunities.” >ProBlogger, Darren Rowse, 03/21/09<
In the corporate world, the presentation of your professional blog may soon be seen as reference tool-a shoe-in application. The content and presentation of your posts honestly exposes your expertise and can open the doors for many new opportunities-more opportunities in areas you may never have dreamt.
Do you want to be a part of this industry?
You can *conquer all obstacles* and open the doors for opportunities by blogging professionally.
“If you can establish yourself as the blogging expert in your niche, not just a blog writing expert in your niche there is money to be made from a fertile market.” >ProBlogger, Darren Rowse, 03/21/09<
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Related Posts:
PREMIUM PROMOTIONAL SERVICES
ATTRACTIVE BLOG/WEBSITE GENERATES TRAFFIC
BLOG THE RIGHT WAY
_________________________________________________________________________________
Interested in reading bi-weekly posts, Jo-Anne Vandermeulen “Conquer All Obstacles” automatically deposited in your email? Please subscribe for FREE by clicking on the button on the side widget on this blog.
Posted in Marketing and Promoting | Tagged: Adam Brown,
