Content Tweet VS Spam Tweet

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about spam tweeting and how people need to stop or they are bad. Regardless of your feelings, spam and content tweeting have a place in the twittersphere.

In fact, most of us are on tweet teams or Triberr to help promote each other. And most of those tweets are what we would consider spam. You do it. I do it. Do we mean to spam people? No! It is a marketing tool. A marketing tool that works GREAT!

BUT. . . you also have to have content tweets.

If you don't, you will lose follwers. Followers that actually get on twitter to find things, to connect, to find an author!

Do you know the difference between a spam tweet and content tweet?

EASY: a content tweet does NOT have a link.

Yep...you read that right. NO LINK!

"But Tonya, how are they going to find my website? How are they going to find my book?"

I know. . .I know. . .we have been so conditioned to use twitter as a middle man to get our name out there. In doing so, have you lost followers?

Content tweeting doesn't mean that you have to be there in person either, although I highly recommend that you get on twitter and physically interact with your followers.

Content tweeting should interest anyone that follows you or your core group of tweeps that interact with you.

A few examples:

Support #indieauthors Great novels at great prices
A wastebasket is the #writers best friend #amwriting #amediting
One random act of kindness is all it takes.....make today the day and #PayItForward!

OR interact with them and expect a tweeterastion (live tweet conversation):

Good morning. What are you doing today? #amwriting #indieauthor

You get the idea? Yes, you do.

You don't have to limit it to writing. You can tweet book quotes, inspiration etc....

The KEY is to interact with your followers, NOT spam them.

Like I said, spam does have a place in the twittersphere and it does work to find new readers. I have found hundreds of readers through attaching reviews to my tweets. BUT you have to interact. Just because you don't put a link in the content tweet does NOT mean you still can't promote your book.

"Wait! What? Tonya, you just said not to spam, which you meant promote your book...NOW you are confusing me!"

I'm sorry. I'm not trying to confuse here. Here is an example of what I mean....
Hanging out with June Heal, #cozymystery #psychic "A Charming Crime" #mustread #bestseller

OR

#ACHARMINGCRIME a @tonyakappes11 #mustread Fun, mystery, and humor all in one!

Remember to keep all your tweets in the 120 character guideline, g-rated, and free from political views.
Go ahead and try to make a few content tweets and see how many responses you get. I'm sure you are going to be surprised with how many true connections you make.

The more connections you make, the more THEY will promote you and your books! Go on! Try it!!

Blogging doesn't make you money....SAY WHAT???

Sometimes I come across some really GREAT people that make really IGNORANT comments. It cracks me up because most of the time, these people have no clue what they are talking about...and in that case, they really should keep their mouth closed.

Am I ranting? No. I'm actually chuckling inside, because these comments give me GREAT ideas to blog.

I'm not going to tell you the participants in this story, but I think it's really important for you to know the outcome....

I had suggested to a TRADITIONALLY published author that they should start a blog using their new book as the theme. IT'S A GREAT IDEA!!

I got a sweet smile, laughed at, and then..."blogging doesn't make you money."

I didn't rant, or go off, I simply got a pen out of my purse and wrote GREAT BLOG TOPIC on the palm of my hand. I did NOT want to forget the feeling I was having when those words left the mouth of that author.

I was almost giddy! Excited in fact! Little does that author know....

So this brings me to what I think is going to be a GREAT topic. WHY BLOGGING IS CRITICAL TO MAKING YOU MONEY!

1) Forces you to think about a target audience. Isn't this what helps sell our books??? Selling books=money...right?

If you target your audience (this blog targets writers and how to help them-readers probably AREN'T reading this blog), and promote it as the targeted blog, you will gain readers. The author who prompted me to write this blog, has a VERY targeted theme that would appeal to a VERY targeted audience that will lead to many sells...

For instance, if you write paranormal, you would do some great blogs posts on haunted houses, paranormal activities, talk about paranormal shows....etc....you get the point. You are building that target audience.

2) Forces you to write.
We have to write in order to get a book out. Blogging helps you stay focused and write! It helps you hone your voice. You can experiment with what works best for you and see the results from the traffic you get and  comments you will receive.

Blogging helps you explore topics that forces you to research topics, which in turn makes you more knowledgeable. AND that could spark more ideas for writing. Writing=money!

3) Makes you more visible. (blog forums)
I use my blog to promote my novels. Regardless this is for writers, I post on all forums. When I post a blog, I go to the Kindle forums, Nook forums, writer forums and post the blog topic with the URL. This leads to a lot of page views and believe it or not...usually a couple books sold!

The forums have my books in my tag lines and I hear from the reader how much they liked my blog and book covers so they bought "such and such book." THAT'S MONEY....RIGHT?

4) Creates a following.
A following is what all authors want! WE love to have readers, regardless of where they come from.


5) Leads to appearances.
This blog has given me a great platform to teach workshops. I've been teaching workshops for over three years. During this time, I have met some GREAT people in the writing community. I teach at conventions where I meet readers and writers. The readers want my books, the writers want any advice I can give them.

Blogging has also given me the opportunity to participate in book clubs! The book clubs read one of my books, and they love to bring up how I come up with characters, their development, the process. With out blogging about it here, I'd have a really hard time answering those questions.

Don't listen to ignorant statements. Don't miss out on opportunities to find an audience. Hey...Donald Trump blogs! Do you think he'd waste his time if he wasn't making money???

Blogging is like the NEW BLACK for authors. Well...maybe black doesn't look good on everyone, but it is my favorite color!

Not In Your Face Marketing. . .Content Marketing

There is nothing worse than going into a department store and the sprinkler effect of getting sprayed by the cologne lady! Is there?

What about those authors who constantly market their books on Facebook or Twitter or their blog?

We become a little numb, don't we? I'm an author and I even get so sick of it.

CONTENT MARKETING 

This has been a big buzz word for authors lately. And it's super important we all fully understand what CONTENT MARKETING is and how it will increase your sales and on-line presence.

What is content marketing? Simple. . .it's the content you put out there that offer something to the reader, your readers. Not 'buy my book' posts, but something that truly gives back to the reader and helps you make a connection to them that will keep them coming back.

I do this in several ways. I have a STREET TEAM I give back to each month to let them know how much I appreciate them. I don't release a new book every month, so it's evident I'm not pushing my books on them. We talk about what they are reading, some of their favorite author swag, and just life. It helps them see that I put my pants on one leg at a time just like them.

I use this blog to reach out and give back to writers. All the blog posts might not apply to you, but I try to cover different topics that has helped me over the past few years in this roller coaster business. All the post come from my heart and they are as truthful as I can be. My only intent is to pay it forward without expecting anything back.

I have two profiles on Facebook (besides my STREET TEAM). One for writers and readers is my LIKE page and the second is a more personal page. But I accept all friends on my personal one. I opened the LIKE page recently because the personal page has a 5k person limit. It's been great because I mainly post writerly things on the LIKE page and put personal pictures up of my three teenage sons, two dogs, and other silly stuff my family does. Readers love it! I don't push my books or buy me. Every so often I will remind readers I have a STREET TEAM  and want to give back to them. I will definitely post a new release or any awards my books might get.

Twitter I post inspirational posts with hashtags on gratitude, payitforward, happiness, inspiration...you get the point. I also belong to a tweet team where I promote other authors. Of course I still throw a few of my blog posts in there or promote my books, but it's not the main content of my Twitter.

As you can see, the few things that I do is to connect with readers and writers on a completely different level than just me being a writer. If people like you, they will buy your books. They will invest in you as a reader.

Here are the questions you need to ask to build your CONTENT MARKETING strategy:
1) What is your expertise?
2) How do you use your website?
3) Who is your audience?
4) How will you make money?

How can you use Content Marketing to increase your on-line presence and sales?

Whiz With Words!

When you decided to become a writer, did you know how to write? Were you a whiz with the words?

If you are anything like me and most writers, it takes time and practice to get the right words on the page using all the right "rules."

I'm not claiming to be perfect. . .(YES! I know, it's hard to believe it. I'm less than perfect! Humor here!) 

1) Read, read, read! 

A healthy dose of reading really does help you with content writing. Reading is more available now then it was a few years ago (phones, e-readers, computers, books, news papers etc. . .). It's not just to read great stories, but it will help increase your vocabulary as well as give you ideas. I'm always looking for different way to create character tags and dialogue tags. 

I especially love my Kindle where I can highlight a passage and remember why it struck a cord with my writing muse.

2) Write, write, write! 

The old saying, practice makes perfect, really does hold true with writers! Effective writing does not happen overnight. You have to work at it like any other craft or job. Just like any job, you need to write daily. It may only be a few words a day while you are in line at the grocery, but at least you will words on a page and practice your writing techniques.

With every edited novel I receive from my editor, I learn something new. 

3) Thick skin!

We hear this all the time. "WRITERS HAVE TO HAVE THICK SKIN." Really, what does that mean?

It means that you have to learn to take criticism and not get mad. Our writing is like our baby. It's the cutest baby we have ever seen, our pride and joy. We will lay our life on the line for our baby. But sometimes our baby needs braces to fix their teeth, a cast to fix a broken bone. . .you get the point! 

I live by the power of three. If someone says something three times or three different people say the same thing about my story, my ears perk up and that's my clue that something needs to be changed. Sometimes my editor tells me to change it and I believe her:)

4) Read out loud!

There is nothing more powerful than reading your book out loud. You will catch so many things that your trained mind will not catch if you read it in your head. Reading out loud helps you find grammatical errors, punctuation issues, and plot holes. It gives you a good sense of the flow of your story. 

5) Edit! 

That is one word that I should type and you completely understand. Whether it's a blog or your novel, you know that you have to go over and over it. This is the hardest part about self-publishing! I have paid GREAT money for each editor that I've hired. . .and there are still so many mistakes in my novels! Currently I am having every single one of my novels re-edited. AND as you can read. . .I'm not the best editor with this blog either, but I keep going and I get better with each blog.

So. . .are you a whiz with words? What do you do to improve your writing?

I'm giving away a copy of The Tricked Out Toolbox to one LUCKY commenter!! You have to come back and see who won. I will post it in the comments section on Sunday, and you have ONE week to claim your book!

AND. . .I'm so excited to announce that SPLITSVILLE.COM is a finalist in two categories (Mystery AND Humor) in THE NEXT GENERATION INDIE BOOK AWARDS!! 

I'm beyond thrilled! The awards ceremony takes place in June at the Book Expo of America, where I will receive a medal!! How cool is that?? Plus SPLITSVILLE.COM will be listed in the library catalogs across the country. 

SO. . .these writing tips really do work to get your work noticed! Keep at it. It's your passion!

The Gifted Writer

Putting together a marketing and promotional plan for you novel is one of the hardest things you will do. Many of us would rather have a root canal instead of asking people to buy your novel.

There are several ways to get your novel in the hands of readers that will help spread the word. But you can't just start when the novel comes out. You have to start when you begin writing the novel.

WHAT? GASP

YES! There is nothing better than giving back to your readers before they give back to you! We need the reader, and the reader needs to be respected by us. After all, it's the reader that keeps our drive going to write the next book.

I'm talking about simple things.

1) Street Team.
How many times can I stress the STREET TEAM concept? I have over 100 people on my STREET TEAM and it's only been up and running for one month. In that month, I have connected with my readers. We have discussed books, other than mine, what author swag they like to receive, and what is going on in their life.

I have truly invested in them. I host a give-away each month and it was so much fun sending the first one in the mail. But I know that when A Charming Crime is released next month, I can count on them to help me spread the word.

2) Author Swag.
I came up with author swag a few years ago before I had a novel out! I made blog swag to give out to commenters on the site or different holiday contests. Readers love to feel value and I VALUE THEM...A LOT!!!

It can be simple and inexpensive. Vistaprint.com has a lot of great deals and some of them are free!!
Or what about The Dollar Tree? YES! I'm not kidding!! I recently purchased large, nylon beach bags in four different colors for $1 each!! They are huge and I ironed on my STREET TEAM LOGO!! The iron-on paper was the most expensive item for $20 from Hobby Lobby! I will use those for reader swag give-away.

Oriental Trading has great items too! For my novel, Splitsville.com, I purchased mini-magnifying glasses and hot-glued them a postcard (I got the postcards from Vistaprint for FREE!!)

3) Thank you!
A simple thank you is always appreciated! I get a lot of reader mail. I make sure to take the time to read each one and write a personal note to them. It's so important to let them know how much we value their time.

Think about that! TIME! Do you have any?? The reader gets up in the morning, goes to work (or stays at home with kids, etc...), does their daily duties like we do, get their kids to extra-curricular activities, cook, laundry, cleaning, etc....They take the time to sit down, open their e-reader/book, and invest their precious time in your words. WOW! I'm so honored they spend any time on me...and so should you.

What do you do to give back to your readers? I'm always looking for new ideas.

REMEMBER: You can find more marketing tips and tricks, plus great websites for reader swag in my craft book THE TRICKED OUT TOOLBOX!

Great articles:
The Top 7-ways Authors Mess Up Marketing
To My Wonderful, All-Knowing Readers

Make your novel a page turner!

Readers. . .the almighty reader. That is why we are here, right?!
And it's up to us to keep them turning the pages of your novel and NOT close the cover before they read "the end."

1) Character tags
We take so much time on trying to figure out a dialogue tag that fits the words of our characters, but we should really take the time to to invest in our characters. And I mean all our characters.
Think of it as a memory tag, a way for the reader to remember that character. Of course we can write about the secondary character in passing, but it's so much more memorable if that secondary character has a distinctive tattoo or scar. Something that makes your main character pause and take notice of everything and everyone around them.
Or give them a little conflict too. If your main character is in a store, maybe the store clerk is having an argument on the phone with an ex.
These little tags are easy to incorporate, even you wait until the last round of edits.

2) Character Quirk
Every single one of my novels has a quirky character. I even have that as part of my author tag-line. Quirks give the characters a lovable quality that the reader enjoys. A snark of a crazy grandmother like Grandma Mozer in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, or my quirky Aunt Grace in Carpe Bead 'em.

Readers remember them, even if they are the secondary character's characteristic.

3) Character Thinking
Does your character ever think in his head? It's easy to let the reader see the action of your character, but it's an all together different experience to go deep in their head. They can do one thing, but think another. It helps the reader really get to know the inner workings of your characters.

4) End each chapter with a bang!
I'm not saying throw in a big train wreck at the end of a chapter, but maybe a thought or two that would make the reader stop and go hmmm. . .
For my mystery novels, I love to add a little red-herring to end the chapter on or a clue to solving the crime. It makes the reader continue to read so they can use the clue to help solve the mystery.

Analyze the book you are reading. What keeps you turning the page? Take note and try to incorporate those into how you can keep your reader hooked!

Agent or not, the writer stays the same

A few months ago I announced that I accepted representation with an agency to represent my entire career in my I'm A Hybrid blog.

Why would a successful self-published author sign with an agent? Easy...
1) It's part of my dream to see my book in Target, Walmart, any book store.
2) It has nothing to do with money. . .obviously.
3) I can still self-publish.
4) Self-published authors have so many options now.
5) It's still my DREAM!

Well. . .I've learned a lot over the past few months. I gave my agent my straight cozy mystery series, The Divorced Divas, Strung Out To Die novel to shop around.

But that didn't stop me. I didn't rest on my laurels and drum my fingers until I heard who she submitted to, I wrote another book, A Charming Crime and started the second Olivia Davis Paranormal Mystery Novel. I didn't pay attention to The Divorced Divas series because I had committed to that series as my debut traditional series.

I heard from my agent that they decided they weren't going to represent PARANORMAL STUFF, but straight cozies, inspirational, and women's fiction.

Hmm....I was in a pickle.

I had a decision to make. It is my career! The Divorced Divas is a straight cozy and I write women's fiction, but a major part of my career is my cozy mysteries with paranormal elements. I wasn't upset or mad. I still really like my agent, but I had options. That is something writers didn't have a few years ago.

1) I can stay with the agent and traditional publish my straight cozies and women's fiction. Self-publish my paranormal novels.

OR

2) Tell the agent thank you, but I'm going to step away and look for another agent who will represent everything I write. AND continue to self-publish.

If you noticed, both of those include self-publish. HOW GREAT IS THAT????? This is why I wasn't upset or angry. My career is and will always be in MY hands and choices are there that weren't a few years ago.

My decision. . .I walked away.

Some writers shudder at the thought of getting an agent and then even think about letting them go. But I wasn't going to settle. I've been writing too long and had too much success to settle for second best.  I know I'm going to continue to be a successful self-published author. I will continue to live the true life that I set out to live with or without an agent. And it is so reassuring to know that I did the right thing.

What I learned out of this...I have a clear vision of MY career. I value my work. I value myself. AND I won't settle. Embrace the options that we have because those options weren't here a few years ago.

I'm still on target to self-publish the four novels and two short stories this year. SPLITSVILLE.COM is contracted and in the hands of a producer to make it into an audio book. Plus I started my STREET TEAM.  AND still on the agent hunt. I didn't let grass grow under my feet! Strung Out To Die is in the hands of four agents and I'm still going to pursue my dream of filling the traditional route.

Would you be able to walk away from an agent?
I'm giving away a copy of THE TRICKED OUT TOOLBOX to one lucky commenter. Check back to see if you won! You have one week to claim your prize.

Keep Your Readers One Series At A Time

Do you write series? Some authors say they don't write that way, but let me tell you a little secret. . .READERS LOVE TO INVEST IN SERIES!!

They want to know what happens to the secondary characters, the nosy neighbor down the street.

Once they find a series, they invest in that series. As an author of a series, I know how hard they are to write. Everything has to be exact from the town street names to the secondary character's eye color. Once the first book in the series is written, it's much easier to write the following. But what about the marketing of a series?

Marketing a series is much different than marketing a stand alone novel. Here are a few tips to help you market your series effectively.

1) STREET TEAM. If you don't have a street team, you should. This is a group of readers who have invested in your novels. They love to talk about your series and the characters in your series not only to your other readers, but other people who might like your series. Plus it's a great way to give back to your readers. Show your appreciation and how much you love them.

2) Keep writing. It might take you three or six months to complete a novel, then you have to get it edited. It could take you longer than six months. For me, it takes me about four months from beginning to end to get the book up for sale. Four to six months to a reader can sometimes seem like a lifetime.

My readers start emailing me. Asking me when the next book is coming out. So I keep writing. SHORT STORIES! Yes! Short stories have become a great marketing tool for me to use. They are short and sweet little stories about different characters in my novels to tied over my readers.

(Thanks to Nerd Quirk for the great comics!!)

Your short story can be about any of your characters. Let your reader get an up-close and personal glimpse into your characters life.

I wrote a short story, Bead of Doubt, to introduce the characters of my new series, The Divorced Divas Mystery Series. And I wrote a prequel, A Superstitious Christmas, to the third novel in my Grandberry Falls series, Never Tell Your Dreams.  Color Me Love is an Olivia Davis Mini-Mystery to hold my readers over until the second Olivia Davis Paranormal Mystery Series is out later this summer. They are a great way to reconnect with my readers between novel releases.

3) Publish the next book in the series! Get the next book out! There is nothing that gets your readers on board than getting the next book out.

4) Newsletter. Do you have a newsletter? You should! I love to send my readers upcoming events, novels, or tid-bits about their favorite characters. I use MYNEWSLETTERBUILDER.COM to reach my readers. You can think outside the box when doing a newsletter. Let one of your characters take your newsletter over. I have an upcoming newsletter where one of my silly psychics from my new novel, A Charming Crime, is taking over! Talk about fun!!

What do you do to tied your readers over until your next novel comes out?

Let Your Subscriber Count Soar

I have over 200 subscribers to my site and I know I can do more. This blog has been up for six month and 200 isn't bad. Now the hits the blog gets a day average between 500-700 a day. The higher of the number is on days a new post goes live, which is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The 500-600 range is on Tuesday and Thursday.

I wish all of those people did subscribe to the blog, but at least it's reaching a lot of writers/readers which makes me grateful beyond belief. But don't we just love seeing that number of subscribers go up? It's something about numbers that writers love. And blog statistics are no different.

Unfortunately, getting people to your blog is the easy part. The hard part is where they commit to receiving all of your updates by subscribing. You have to make sure that once you have the people visit your blog, that you have the stuff that keeps them there.

Here are the steps that got me there:

1) Design

You've heard that the first impression is the most important, it is no different with blogging. Yes, I have light colors, whirly twirlies, a bird or two, but it's not overpowering with bright colors and jumbled up.

Your blog should be easy to navigate, clear and concise.

2) Unique

There were over 164 million blogs, according to invesp.com.

As you can see, readers are eating the blog world up. They are using more mobile devices and tablets more than ever.

This is great if your blog is UNIQUE enough to stand out. You have something different to offer! It's up to you to figure that out and stick with it. Your blog numbers will grow if you stick to what makes you unique in the blog world.

3) User Friendly


Your blog has to have the right buttons. Is your Facebook, Twitter, SUBSCRIBE button easy to see and easy to use?

There are so many cute buttons out there, but does it get the job done? Is it clear that you take subscribers?

4) Content


This is MOST important....


All the points above make it easy for the reader to join and to enjoy your blog, but the ultimate aspect that will cause them to join is what you are blogging about.

Your content has to be geared toward your reader, NOT YOU! It's great that you want to showcase your novels. I do that, but not in a BUY MY BOOK way (you can here if you want....just joking...um...not really!)

If you tell a story that you feel is necessary, your story should inspire or help your reader in some way.  That is what this blog was built on. This blog content is about helping other authors to stay positive on their career path of writing no matter what stage of the game you are in, as well as how to effectively market your novels.

If you have too many stories that don't give back or you post your scenes from your novel (which I don't think you should EVER do), you are going to loose your audience. They come to a blog to get something from it. Know your audience, give them what they want.

Strategies:


* Create author swag, like business cards, that have your blog URL that you can hand out at conferences. Conferences are always asking for authors to send swag in for their conference bags. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS!!

* Offer to guest post on other sites. In order to ask the site owner if you can do this, you should visit the site regularly and leave comments. Let the blog owner see that you do come there and participate in their blog.

* Visit blogs that are similar to yours. Comment, comment, comment and use your blog URL when you fill out the form while leaving a comment. The other commenters will see your value in your comment and click on your name that will take them directly to your blog.

* Host bloggers that have similar blogs to yours. You will be attracting their readers. More time than not, once you have a new reader on your site, the reader will click around and read some of your post. Hopefully you have done your job and hooked them.

Ultimately it's up to you to try strategies to get that subscriber count up. Some will work, some will not. Try, try again, don't give up, and watch your count grow.

I'm going to give away a copy of THE TRICKED OUT TOOLBOX~PROMOTION AND MARKETING TOOLS EVERY WRITER NEEDS to one lucky commenter. I want everyone to succeed in their efforts to market their career.

What tips and tricks do you use to help drive traffic to your blog?

Creative Flow, Scene by Scene!

I love when I hear a writer say, "I write when inspiration hits me."

BLAH! That is what I hear from those writers. . . . . .

As a writer, among other duties, I don't have that luxury to write when it HITS ME! And most professional writers don't have that kind of time either.

I'm not saying my muse doesn't strike at crazy times, it does, but my muse also doesn't show up when I need it to. And those are the times that I'm talking about. That is about 90% of my writing time.

Wouldn't it be great if every time you sat down to write, your creativity just flowed over?

Over the past couple years I have come up with a few tips and tricks on how to maintain the creative flow when you sit down to write every single book.

1) Ideas. I'm always trying to come up with ideas for new books. I've said that I carry my journal every where I go. It's a journal of ideas and they are all gathered in one place. Easy to find. Some writers use journals to jot down ideas, sayings, notes etc. . .and never use the journal for the intended purpose. So don't go out and buy a journal to to write things down because you will have a whole collection of journals without having written a novel.

Generally one or two ideas will catch your fancy. And if you are like me, you begin to process those ideas. "If this happened, then what would happen if that happened?" These questions begin to form your idea into a scene in your story.

2) Collect information. Ideas turn into concrete research which leads to more creativity and more ideas. All the information that you collect will start to fit together. The information will help you see relationships between your characters, places they need to go, and help you understand where your idea is taking you.

3) Sift! This is the fun part where you get to go through all the ideas and information you have collected and begin to see the concrete evidence you need for the bare bones of your scene in your novel. The more and more you go through your information, the more you are going to have that scene formed in your head.

4) Coffee stage. This is the stage where all the information from point 1-3 hang out in our head for a while and begin to percolate. If you don't like coffee, it can be likened to a crock pot. The ideas that you have need to bubble over. This happens to me at the oddest times, like shower, taking my dogs for a walk, sitting in church. You will have those eureka moments...just let it come to you. Let it percolate!

5) Flow baby flow. Your scene should be flowing at this point. Embrace it! Your ideas should be appearing out of no where and it will hit you at all hours in the day, and this includes 2 AM! This is the fun part!

6) Share! You have something to share with your critique partner/group. Get feedback. Get their opinion and ideas from what you have done so far. A lot of times they can help your creative juices flow more with their input.

Just last week I was meeting with my critique group, when one of my partners asked me a question about the mystery. I hadn't thought of that little tweak, but what she suggested was GREAT and was easy to incorporate into my scene. It gave me a little excitement, stirring the creative pot, causing me to write another 2k words!

7) Start over. Yes, you have to start these steps all over again. Scene after scene.

Ultimately it's up to you to write the novel. It's up to you to take your ideas and shape them into your vision, your voice, and get it to your readers.

I signed up to be an author, not a chef!

It's almost been ONE YEAR since I self-published my first book! The time flew by and I have sold a lot, BUT that isn't what has amazed me most. I knew that I was going to be fine in the marketing and promoting part of the book process. I knew that editing was one of the hardest things about self-publishing. AND I knew that finding the right cover artist was almost as important as the story plot itself.

BUT the one thing that surprised me the most about being a published writer is the art of writing the DAMN book itself! Within the last twelve months I have published over eight books. With each book I have learned something different, and I feel like each book has gotten better. I have NEVER claimed to be an in-depth, emotional writer. I'm the beach read for my women's fiction and a cozy mystery author. Neither of those require a lot of thought on the part of the reader.

Still. . .every single book out there has to be edited. I've made it known that the editing process is my least favorite part. I'm a panster and I can finish a novel in a couple months. The editing and layering takes another couple months because I lolly-gag.

Now that I'm editing my eleventh novel, I can honestly say that I have learned to embrace, not love, but embrace the process. It's all the slicing and dicing that gets me in a bind. I have begun to break my novel down into three layering stages.

1) FIRST LAYER: Writing the book. Yes! This would be getting the bare bones of your novel into print. I have changed my thinking from just sitting down and writing (which I do because I'm a panster) to trying to write the best first draft I possibly can. I still pants, but I'm more aware of the grammar, punctuation, scenes, etc...
You are writing the book, this layer includes the beginning, middle, and end. This includes the conflict, goals, and motivation of your characters.

2) SECOND LAYER: Scene layering. After I have written the first draft. I take a good look at all the scenes in my novels. This is where I have learned to beef up the description and make sure the scenes in the novel propel the novel forward.
It depends on how you write or your voice in how you layer your scenes. I write humorous, and in my first draft I write humorous dialogue and some little humorous tid-bits. The scene layering gives me the opportunity to add in those humorous tags throughout the novel to create an impact. Don't put in so much scene detail to lose the reader or overpower your plot line.
Give enough scene detail to grab the reader and lead them down the rabbit hole.

3) THIRD LAYER: Painting layering. This is where you make your novel colorful, full of life. This is where you would lay the description on THICK! And this includes all those minor details like describing the killer's hands, or the lover's hands. Describe the furniture, the animals, the sounds around your characters, etc. . .You want to paint your readers a picture, like it's a movie playing in their head. You are adding more and more meat to the bones of the story.

Building your novel is like building a house or even an empire, or a chef building a great meal or baker layering that cake.

Remember, ROME wasn't built in a day!

Story Fix blog has a great blog on layering. Check it out!

How do you layer your novel? What is your process?

Gerri Brousseau, you are the winner of The Tricked Out Toolbox~Marketing and Promotional Tools Every Writer Needs from the give-away last Friday! Email me through my contact page! You have one week to claim your book, April 30, 2012.


Thank you for joining my STREET TEAM!! If you haven't and want to (which I'd love it), here's the link ♥ Fun and Prizes!!
http://tonyakappes.blogspot.com/p/join-tonyas-street-team.html

Street Teams Aren't New. . .just new to you!

Over the past couple months I have been hearing more and more about building up your street team. This has created a lot of buzz on my emails. Authors are asking me to help them understand this concept. This is a very old marketing concept (and The Tricked Out Toolbox has a section on street teams) that originated in the 70's with the urban music market.

The record label or artist would give a popular teenager flyers or music memorabilia to hand out to their friends. Spread the word with bumper stickers, posters, encourage their friends to listen to the music. . .you get the picture.

It created a buzz for the artist, making them popular. Street teams began to be the talk of the publishing industry with agents/publishers wanting their authors to create a buzz about their upcoming books about eight years ago. It died down a bit and now has come back.

Over the past three years, I have used my author friends as my street team, calling them my PR Buddies. This is nothing new. In return, I have become their PR Buddy.

But now we can take it one step further and add readers to the mix.

Reader street teams are a group of readers that have really enjoyed your books. Those are your die-hard readers that will talk up your book the week it comes out and encourages every one they know to buy it. Basically, they create buzz about your work.


I am just beginning on putting my street together and here is how I'm going to do it.

Hi, all!

I wanted to cordially invite you to join a special group to my heart, the Tonya Kappes Street Team. This is a team that I have assembled because you have been so supportive and an instrumental part of my success. I'm creating this group to help spread the word about my books. The best sell for an author is personal recommendation. The best way for me to do that is for you, my friends, to spread the word through email or word of mouth would be a great big help.

There isn't much to it. As a member, you will join my online yahoo group which is a yes to the street team invite. And in return you get a chance to:
* have a character named after you in my books
* win monthly drawing for Street Team Members only-you are automatically entered. (this includes gift cards, books, and other fun stuff)
* In the month of my releases, you have a chance to win a $25 Visa Giftcard
* Fun tips about my characters
* Extra more things!

What do you have to do to be a TONYA KAPPES STREET MEMBER? You only have to do none or all of these:)

* join the Tonya Kappes Street Team yahoo loop
* spread the word to family and friends about the books of mine that you really liked
* take promo materials to local writers groups, conventions, etc...
* be my friend
* pick one of my books for your book club
* skype me into your book club or google plus is fine too
* if you have a blog, feature my new book trailer, review my book, interview me
* post reviews for my books on all the reader-centric sites like Goodreads, Shelfari, Amazon, Barnes and Noble etc...

I can't take credit for the street team concept. It was coined in the 70's with music executives working on spreading the word about new artists, and making them bigger names. I'd love for you to spread the word about my books! Will you please join my team? Email me at tonyak11(AT)yahoo(Dot)com and put JOIN in the subject line.

You will never know how much I appreciate every single one of you! Thanks so much!
Tonya

I think this is a great concept to not only create buzz, but to really get to know your readers. I have a lot of great readers I connect with on Facebook, but I'd like to connect more and on a personal level!

What do you think of this concept? Will you try it?

Smoke and Mirrors. . .Fall In Love With Your Blog

I get a lot of emails from other writers that tell me they really enjoy my blog. This truly makes my heart sing. The purpose of my blog started out as a mish-mosh of stuff before I realized that I get so many comments/emails about my marketing and promoting skills, along with my positive attitude.

Don't let all the smoke and mirrors full you! I do love my blog, I am a positive person, and I love writing, but I have my days that I let out a big ole sigh and have to make myself sit down to come up with something, anything to put here.

Recently I received an email from a reader who has a lot of issues with coming up with ideas and he flat out said that he HATED his blog.

My response. . .OF COURSE YOU HATE YOUR BLOG BECAUSE IT'S HARD! IT'S A COMMITMENT!

It's not like the first time you got the butterflies in your stomach when you decided you wanted to start a blog. You carefully chose the design, the colors, the font, the pictures, the tabs. . .all fun and games until you make it live and realize that you have set a precedent to be there, make a commitment to you readers--yourself.

Here are some great tips to help fall back in love with your blog and connecting to your readers.

1) Redesign your blog. Maybe you are a little blah and need a little more creation. I have redone my design twice in the past six months. I do this with my colors of my house to get my creative juice flowing and being in my little world of the blogsphere is no different.

2) Add some fun with new plugins. Blogger plugins here, Wordpress plugins here You can check them out and see what will work for your blog. You can add some cool plugin bling!!


3) Check out your older posts. Frequently I will go back and look at topics that I blogged about that has already changed. Like my blog on Facebook. It was pre timeline! Guess what? I need to resurrect that blog and add to it. Make it better.


4) Guest blogs. Add some guest bloggers. I don't host a lot of guest bloggers here, but when I do it's because I think they have something really great to offer or to help you learn something new. Get some guest bloggers that are industry leaders. Most of the time these leaders will recycle blogs from other appearances, but that's okay. It will be your readers first time seeing it.

I might have some days that make me squirm or procrastinate to write the blog, but I'm committed to making my career exactly how I want it. AND quitting is not an option....

What do you do to fall in love with your blog on a weekly basis?

The "F" Word And How to Use It While Writing

Did that title catch your attention?

Did I mislead you? Maybe. Because I'm talking the big 'F' word , FAILURE!
And I want to talk to you about how we can use failure in our FAVOR! Then we can talk about a new 'F' word, FAVOR!
I have to admit that I get a lot of mail from writers about the ups and downs of writing, mainly their failures. They want to know how I did it. Trust me, there were a lot of FAILURES and I still have them. But I turn them around and use them in my FAVOR!

If you follow me on Facebook (and I hope you do), you know that I post a lot of inspiration quotes and motivation quotes. There are two reasons I do this.

1) There is so much negative energy in the world that if I can touch one person or change one person's attitude for that day, it was worth it.
2) I post quotes everywhere. They make me feel good. I even sharpie marker them on my laptop.

Yes! I'm one of those happy people. I never return an email that doesn't have something positive to say. Yes! I've said the typical answers that you have heard from others when you have told someone that you have failed:

"Look how far you have come."
"Pay it forward to others authors."
"Give gratitude."
"There is always a reason this is happening to you."

But what about those BIGGIE FAILURES?

The last thing you want to hear is that it happens for a reason, or you need to look at the glass half full. Even I get a little discouraged with the biggies. And by biggies, I mean rejection letters from agents/editors, when you self publish your novel and only five people buy it....those are BIGGIES that aren't taken lightly.

These BIGGIES are the ones that fester inside us, looks like there is no end in sight, not a bruise but the one that becomes infected and stifles our creative limb that you think you need to amputate.
NO DON'T AMPUTATE WRITING FROM YOUR LIFE!!

This is the time that those sweet quotes don't work. The kind words don't make us feel better, and even moral support isn't enough to pull us out of the muck!

Sometimes we just have to get out the white flag and surrender. Yes! Surrender.
Surrending is NOT failing. It is realizing that something didn't go the way we wanted it to, even though we did do our best. It's time we realize that some things are just out of our control. AND this was one of those times.

Of course it didn't turn out the way we wanted it to. So we worry about it. We think about all the possibilities like timing, or what happened. These things are out of our control. Wave the white flag.

BUT we can control how we react to FAILURE! And how we handle ourselves.

1) Go ahead, punch a pillow, scream out loud in an empty house, cry, and remember to laugh.
2) Decide who you want to share your failure with. They have had failure too. Don't fall into people saying "people are going through something worse than you." NO! This is your worst and you need someone who is going to listen.
3) Heal. Don't pull up your boot straps and put on your big girl panties/big boy underwear. You have had a major setback that is important to you. You need time to heal. Don't swallow your pride. Pride can be evil and you don't fall into it. It's time to be vulnerable and honest with yourself. Doing so will give you the steps you need to grow in your career. Facing it gives you the opportunity to face your fears.
4) During the healing process, remember to take care of yourself and do the things you love to do. If it's going to DQ and getting an ice cream. . . do it! If it means buying a new tool, do it. Going to the spa. . .DO IT!
5) Stop trying to impress the authors that you think is doing better than you. They have their issues too, but they approach them differently. You are unique. There are NO two writers alike AND that includes you!

At the end of the day, we can not control the publishing industry. We can only control us and how we react to the situation that is handed to us. We can not determine the outcome of anything in this industry. If we could, we'd all be on the New York Times Best Sellers list! All I ask is to do your best and when your world falls apart, and someone tells you to "work harder". . .ignore them! You decide how you treat yourself at the end of the day. I hope you chose respect, love, and compassion. No one is going to take care of you better than you!

Have you let the "F" word define who you are?

Writing Through Emotional Baggage

You just had a fight with your kids. . .
You don't spend enough time with your family. . .
You had a fight with your spouse. . .
You  got a disconnect notice in your mail box. . .
You're going through a divorce. . .
Someone close to you is ill. . .
Your ex-wife is a fruit loop. . .
Your husband cheated on you. . .

There is so much emotional baggage in your life that when you sit down to write, your energy is zapped.
Not only does that suck the life out of you, but you also have to worry about social networking, building a brand, finding our voice, find time for writing, blog, marketing, promoting, etc. . .

Sound familiar?

This was a hard thing for me to do when I first began my journey to publication. I was having a hard time getting the emotional baggage out of my head to even start my computer, never mind all the new stuff (like how to create a character, scene, setting, and everything else that is new to a newbie)  I had to worry about learning.

Emotional baggage is in our head, just like our novels. Writing is probably the hardest emotional job out there. We need to figure out how to work through it.

We all do things differently and that is what makes being a writer amazing, but we can all give each other tips that has helped get us over the emotional baggage speed bump to get our career on track.

1) Writing is a career. Just like any other career, writing is a CAREER. It's not you. You have to treat your writing as you would a job that is outside your house. Many of us have a day job. I am one of them. But I still have to get up, get dressed, go to work, come home, make dinner, get my teenage boys to their sporting events, take the dogs for a walk, do laundry. I can do all of these activities without even thinking about it and still deal with all the emotional baggage in my life.

You have to treat your writing career in this same manner. You have to filter your thought process in order to dig down deep to get your story out of your head and on the page.

2) Discipline. Again, just like you would go to a day job, you have to treat your writing career the same. Once you establish a routine with discipline of sitting down and training your brain to write, you will find your emotional baggage will disappear for the time that you will be focused on your writing for that day. The more disciplined you are, the more writing you will get finished.

3) Keep a writer's to-do list. I make a to-do list at the beginning of each week. I keep it handy next to my computer and check it off as I go along. I stay focused on what I need/have to accomplish and it motivates me to put aside the emotional baggage to get it completed. This will not only help you see what you get done, but you will be able to see some progress to what you are getting complete. There is nothing more rewarding than being able to work through that list. It also makes you feel better, which helps your emotional state.

4) Set some boundaries. This is very difficult for writers with families. My office didn't have doors on either side of the room and my boys would come in and hang out or ask me a million questions when their dad is right in the next room. It's very difficult for me to say, "go ask dad" or "I'm writing. Give me a couple of minutes." I'm a mom! I want to be there for every waking minute of my boys lives. Especially during the summer months are a big emotional baggage for me.

Setting boundaries are so hard for me when it comes to my boys, but I knew I had to do it to do my JOB! Recently I had my husband redo my office and put doors in! Not only has it drowned out the noise in my house that three teenage boys plus their friends can make, but they have given me the peace that I need to get my JOB done. Instead of working all day and night to get my words on the page, I'm getting all my writing done before I have to cook dinner and the rest of the night is dedicated to my family.

5) Location/Tools. I've talked about this before and I really do believe it helps. Like I stated earlier, I have three teenage boys who do a lot of sports, which means a lot of practices. Luckily we are in several car pools, but on my days I'm able to relax in my family van, lay back the seats, and with NO internet I can crank out 2k words in two hours. (I didn't say they were great words, but they are on the page to edit!)

Just Monday, I was at my son's lacrosse practice. . .

Changing your location can bring you out of the emotional baggage situation by changing your view. You would be surprised how great this works.

What about the tools you use to write? I switch back and forth from my lap top to long-hand in a journal. I buy a journal for each book. It's not just any old journal. It's a journal that speaks to me (and you know what I mean) when I'm at the store. I also use a certain type of mechanical pencil. All of these help my state of mind. It helps me focus on what I need to get done with my job. . .leaving the emotional baggage in the back ground for me to worry about later.

And. . .

if none of this helps or you don't have a solution to help, you really might need some deeper psychological help from a true professional.
Remember. . .you are a writer. . .let the words flow!

How do you check your emotional baggage at your writer door?
If you follow my blog and like my post, PLEASE follow my on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/authortonyakappes

Use Your Facebook To Find Readers

When I blogged about whether you should have a personal Facebook page or a like Facebook page, I never imagined what came with a like page.

Facebook gives you INSIGHT. This is something that having a personal page does not give you. The personal page is just that. . .personal. The like page is a business page and will track all sorts of information, information that can be used to track your sales and what your readers are liking the most about your page.

You need to understand these INSIGHTS!

Here are some key things that you will learn about your like page:

1) How engaged are your followers?
2) What topic is making your followers engage?
3) How many followers are passive or active?
4) How many like, comments, and shares are you getting?

Every one of these come in a handy grid that you can even export for your records.

Knowing these statistics will help you decide what is and isn't working for you. If you post a picture of your dog and you get fifty likes or you post a picture of a pair of shoes and get ten likes...obviously you are going to post more pics of your dog. Now your "dog might be sitting next to you as you edit" OR sitting next to your newly published book. You are not only reaching that target that loves your dog pics, but it's getting your book out there too. Plus you are keeping your readers happy by posting those pictures which mean your "likability" factor is good and they are more likely to buy your book.

You always have to remember that this is your career. You spend a lot of time on social media and you need to know what is working and not working for you.

How do you use your Facebook in your favor?

Personal or Public. . .Which Facebook Page Should You Have?

If I had to do it all over. . .

would I have made my Facebook page a Fan Page?

I joined Facebook in 2008. At that time you could have a personal page or a fan page. I was starting out on the publication journey, for real this time, and decided to check out this new Facebook gig. 

Little did I know what I was in store for. 

Fast forward to today and the fan page is loooooong gone. 

Here is Facebook’s response to why they changed the verbiage: 

Why did "Become a Fan" change to "Like"?

To improve your experience and promote consistency across the site, we've changed the language for Pages from "Fan" to "Like." We believe this change offers you a more light-weight and standard way to connect with people, things and topics in which you are interested.

I'm not a big FAN of calling my readers FANS....that is a whole different issue that we will discuss later, but before now my choices were personal Facebook page or Fan Facebook page. Now my choices are personal page or a like page or both. 

I posted a question on my only Facebook page about switching over. Author H.P. Mallory was gracious enough to give me a little advice, and I took it. She suggested NOT to get rid of the personal page because you risk losing a lot of followers. I decided to have two pages, one personal and one like. . .little secret. . .they are both for my readers and friends. 

Why? Why would I want to rock the boat and add another page for people to follow? 

Simple! Maybe not that simple. I sat down and made a list of why I wanted to have a like page. And I thought you'd benefit from these questions too:

1) How many friends do you have on Facebook?

2) Would those friends move over to a like page?

3) A friend page is limited to 5,000.

4) A like page is unlimited.

5) What type of privacy do you want?

6) Is you personal page really personal and not something you'd share with the world of Facebook or readers?

7) Are you building an author brand and what type of personality do you want to give?

8) Are you trying to make friends or sell books?

These were questions that I asked myself. I decided to have a Facebook account to get my name out there. The person that I am on Facebook is the exact person I am. I quote inspirational quotes to my friends and family so I share them on Facebook. I take care of the people I love and don't bother with the people who are negative, just like I do with jealous writers or negative writers. There is nothing on my personal Facebook page that I wouldn't share with author Facebook page. 

The biggest reason I decided to go with a like page is the limited number of friends I can have on my personal page. Either way. . .both pages will have the same updates, pictures, and quotes! 

So come on! LIKE me!! Tonya Kappes, Author

Do you have a Facebook? Let's swap likes!