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!!

Things to Avoid When Marketing Your Book

Last week I had a very successful marketing strategy that was put together by the GREAT EIGHT. I was lucky enough to be apart of the group and what we did worked! But will it work next time?

I have an amazing STREET TEAM. I had an amazing online book release party in June. I have another one planned for September 25th that is slightly different, but will it be as successful?

My books are priced on a range from .99-2.99. Is that working?

Here's the deal, your marketing plan needs to be fluid and always changing. In my non-fiction book, The Tricked Out Toolbox~promotional and marketing tools every writer needs, has an entire section on budgeting and marketing plans along with printable worksheets so I won't go into it here. BUT I'm am going to give you some tips to avoid when marketing your book.

1) DON'T ASSUME THAT WHAT WORKED FOR ME WILL WORK FOR YOU!!

Over the past couple months I have noticed a lot of authors start a STREET TEAM, even asked me to join theirs. Which I love joining, but I don't want anyone to think that because I have one that's very active means that you will have one that is very active.

I'm very social, so having a very social STREET TEAM is easy for me. Being on line with them a few times a day is easy for me. So you need to find that uniqueness of YOU and spin it to reach that target reader.

I don't just mean the STREET TEAM. I mean everything from ads to pricing your novel. What works for JK Rowling doesn't work for me. What works for Stephen King might not work for you. You make you unique and stand out!

2) ALL PUBLICITY IS GOOD PUBLICITY. . . NO!

I've heard so many times that authors are out there giving their opinion on traditional publishing vs self publishing, why .99 is the only way to price your novels, KDP is the only way to go. . .etc. . .
These authors that have such strong opinions get a bad rap. They really do! And it doesn't help sell their novels.

I know that I won't ever read certain authors because they have voiced their opinion on this years election in the United States. I have seen authors post so many posts about who their favorite candidate is and posting some really nasty negative things. As an author, I don't believe in pushing my values on any of my readers! It completely turns me off and turns off their readers.

All in all, the writing community is very small and you can ruin your reputation in one fall swoop. Be nice. And pay it forward!

3) DON'T BE TOO PUSHY!

I'm all for making money on my books. But I'm not all for losing readers by pushing my books.
Definitely connect with readers! Connect with them when your book comes out. Yes! I want you to let them know that your book released. . .but don't do it a month later and everyday after that.

After your email blast that you have a new novel out, don't keep emailing blasting.

4) LISTEN TO YOUR GUT!!

Just like a muse, your gut tells you exactly what you should be and shouldn't be doing. It's easy to blast out at other authors or readers that upset you. OR readers that email you to let you know that there is a mistake in your book OR when a negative review is written on Amazon etc....

Let that stuff pass. Like I said, the writing community is very small. You don't want that snarky reputation like some authors have. It's a turn off to everyone!

5) SHOW DON'T TELL!!

How many times have we heard this?

Well, I don't mean in your writing, I mean in your interaction with your readers and your peers. Show them that you are a gracious author. You appreciate them. It doesn't have to be with money. You can put quotes in your twitter feed or update your Facebook status with gratitude quotes.

REMEMBER, the reader wants to get to know you! And the more they invest in YOU, they will buy your books no matter what!

Tips to Promote Your Book

When I was a kid, Phil Donohue came on every morning at 9 AM. He always had on one or two guests. If it was one guest, that guest got the full hour. If he had two guests, the hours was split up into thirty minutes each.

Have you seen interviews today? Or even just the weather on your local news? Everything is under three minutes. Even interviews on the most popular shows like Ellen. She has multiple guests and games during her one hour show. Her guests only get three-four minutes until she takes a commercial break. 

Why is this? And what can we learn?

Attention spans have really decreased over the last thirty years, and our lives have gotten busier. Just think about it. If you go to look at a car, you don't want to sit there for hours as the car dealer tells you how the car was made, the history of the car, etc...

You want to know what's in it for you! Why should you buy that car?

Same thing when you release your novel or when you talk about your novel.

Most readers aren't going to say to you: "Why should I buy your novel?" "What's in it for me?"

They are going to say: "Tell me about your book."

Then. . .you vomit! You go on and on about the hero/heroine/villain or the meticulous assassination plot that took you months to research and write perfectly.

Well. . .READERS DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT! Let me repeat READERS DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT!

You need to give them something that will make them think that your book is worth their investment, their time, and how people are going to react when they tell someone that they are reading your book. 

I know! I never said the reader was fair, but these are what they are really thinking!

Every reader is looking for something different when they pick up your book. But the emotional reason is still the same. What's in it for me?

Sooo. . .how do you do this?

You are going to give them Tasty Tips. Tasty Tips is my term that I use to get my reader hooked. 

I don' tell readers what my book is about, I tell them little things to wet their mouths. 

First off my covers are appealing to my target readers. That is one of the greatest emotions in everyday life. You know it and I know it. When we see someone, we judge them before we talk to them. Right or wrong, we do it.

Same with books.

Secondly, I use my social media and STREET TEAM to post little tidbits about the plot I'm writing. Or I may do something humorous that my heroine did because my readers expect funny in my writing. Or I might just let them know fun facts about ways to kill people. . .after all I am a mystery writer. 

Did you know that you can die if you eat too much nutmeg? OR you can die from an over dose of nicotine if someone puts liquid nicotine in your shampoo bottle and you massage it into your scalp?

Thirdly, I hold reader contests for the books I'm writing now. Currently I'm working on the second Olivia Davis novel, and in the first novel, Splitsville.com, Olivia owns a breakup service. I needed some new material for reasons why people breakup with their girlfriend/boyfriend, so I went to my STREET TEAM. 

I asked them to tell me funny and ridiculous reasons why they have broken up with someone. The breakups flooded in! I never once told them the plot for the second book! But I got them interested and the buzz going about the second Olivia Davis novel. They can't wait to buy it! I appealed to two emotions: love and humor.

All in all, you don't need to SELL YOUR BOOK, you need to focus on the experience of how the reader is going to feel when they are reading your book. 

These Tasty Tips you are going to give your reader will help them invest in the emotional of the question they really want to ask, "What's in it for me."

Get into the FLOW of writing

Seriously, look at this! Doesn't this look divine? Heavenly?
Let me tell you, IT IS!

This week I'm lucky enough to be able to pry myself away from my group of guys (3 teenage boys, hubby, and two four-legged fury friends) at home and go to this exact cabin, in the woods, with two of my writer buddies (Heather Webber/Blake and Wendy Lyn Watson).

We are all on deadline for our next novels.

Heather is traditionally and indie-published with a book due to her editor at NAL (Penguin  Group) on October 1st, and a deadline for her seventh book in her Nina Quinn series, that she's self-publishing, somewhere close to December.

Wendy is traditionally published, and her deadline to her NAL editor is September 1st.

I'm self-published and my deadline is August 15th.

Each of us are at different stages of the writing process, but we are ALL on deadline. Since our deadlines are so close, we thought it was a great idea to have a writer's retreat where we only sit and write all day. (THANK GOD someone's internet is not secure b/c the cabin does not have wifi. )

Anyways, one thing was for sure, no matter what, I had to get into my writing mojo. And by mojo, I mean flow. In order to justify leaving my husband at one of our families busiest time (all three teenagers are heavily into sports and AAU sports, and this weekend two of them have tournaments), I promised him that I would get at least 20,000 words written from the time the rented Chevy rolled up to the cabin, until the rented Chevy drove away from the cabin. (Four days)

This meant that I had a lot of preparation to make to get into the FLOW of writing. I came up with some easy tips to help (which also work on a daily basis, not just a very cool cabin treat with some great writer friends)

1) Set a goal.
I know some of you aren't goal oriented. But when you are on deadline, or wanting to get the next book out,  and whether you make a tangible goal or not, you have made a goal. You got that book completed and ready for publication.

My goal at this retreat is to write 20k words. (blog post NOT included) Plus I know a little bit about where I need my story to go. I'm a panster, but about 100 pages into my novels I have a pretty good sense where the story needs to go until the end. That is when I make a list of scenes that I know have to go into the book.
And you don't have to write those scenes in order! This is a great way to get the flow going. If you are more motivated about the murder scene or one of your conflict scenes, write it. You can stick it in the story later, or go back and beef it up during your edits. This will also get your flow going and lead to more writing.

When you set a goal, it puts a concrete idea in your head and forces your brain to wrap around the idea that you have to get this done. So why not go ahead and set a concrete goal.

2) Keep a journal handy.
Don't roll your eyes! We all know that I'm old school and love to write long hand. When you sit down to write, try to write a few sentences long hand to get your brain warmed up.

3) Set a timer for ten minutes.
Sit down and write, ten minutes straight. Get up and walk around, and then set the timer again. Most times than not, you have begun your flow. You hit the timer just to write one more sentence or finish the scene, and before you know it ten more minutes or thirty minutes have gone by and you are in the writing flow.

4) Create a writing work space.
Here at the retreat, we each have our own bedroom if we want to go in there and just be alone with our laptops. We also have a nice deck outside with a few tables and chairs to plant ourselves and get the muse of nature on our side. Or we have the amazing section, comfy, big pillow couch where we have decided that is where we want to spend our time writing.

The TV is OFF, the batteries are out of the ticking clocks (because I'm crazy and the tick makes me crazier) and the coffee is brewed in the pot.

The three of us are here to write and keep us accountable. We aren't going to lounge around and flip on the TV (okay, I did last night for Big Brother and Project Runway), but we are setting our environment to get into the writing flow and get some words on the page.

Now....go get in the mood to write! Let the words FLOW!

Do you have any tips for our writer friends on how to help them GET INTO THE FLOW OF WRITING?

Tiberr in 5 Easy Steps

For the last few months I have been a member of Triberr. I became a member when my friend, Rachelle Ayala, invited me. To tell the truth, I had NO CLUE what Tribber was and what it was about. Heck...you know I'm up for anything, so of course I JOINED!!

And....I had no clue what I was doing until last week. Soooo....I asked, begged Rachelle to do a guest post on Tribber.

Triberr in 5 Easy Steps (Guest Post by Rachelle Ayala)

What is Triberr? Simply put, Triberr is semi-automated retweeting of blog posts by a group of people working together.

Triberr is a website that collects blog posts and Tweeps into a group called the Tribe. Tribes are groups of bloggers who post on similar topics and are happy to share the posts of other bloggers.

As you can see from the graph (found at the Triberr site), using Triberr extends your blog tweets beyond your followers, but into the streams of all their followers too. And this is a big thing! Because, guess what? Blogging in isolation is about as interesting and productive as navel gazing.

Okay, I'm going to show you how to join and work with Triberr in 5 easy steps.

1. Get a Twitter account. Go to Twitter.com and register for an account. Connect your Twitter account to your tribe. You may have more than one twitter account, but you may only connect a single Twitter account to a single tribe. Here I have chosen to connect my one twitter account to all my tribes.

2. Start Blogging and find the RSS Feed for your blog. RSS Feed is an xml document that tags blog content so that a computer program can read it and figure out the URL, tags, content, date, etc. All you need to do is find your blog's RSS Feed. For Blogger, or Blogspot users, it is: http://[blogspot-url]/feeds/posts/default 

Wordpress users can download and install a plug-in that sends their posts to their Triberr account  http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/triberr-wordpress-plugin/ 

Connect your blog to a tribe. You can be a member of different tribes and connect different blogs to different tribes, but you may only connect a single blog to a single tribe.

I chose not connect my Facebook account, because I did not want to flood my Facebook page with tweets.

3. Join a Tribe. You can start your own tribe or find a thriving tribe to join. The best tribes consist of members in the same interest are who are willing to retweet each other's content. So for example, if you are blogging about ancient civilizations, it might not work to be in a tribe of science fiction enthusiasts. My tribe is "Indie Authors"

4. Login and Tweet. Once you're in a tribe, log in every day that you posted to your blog (if not more often). You will see your Tribemate's posts come into your "Home" screen. Click the "thumbs up" and then the Orange button that says "Approve?". Once Approved, it will change colors and be queued into your Twitter feed

You can set your posting interval to make sure you don't flood your tweet stream.

5. Stay in the Tribe. As of June 28th, Triberr is now limiting tribes to be no more than 30. I have recently had to ruthlessly remove nonparticipating members, even when they were my personal friends, to make room for better teammates.

Your tribemates can easily see if you've been sharing or not. You can also remove yourself from a tribe if you find they are not a fit. There are no hard feelings either way. So what are you waiting for? Jump into Triberr and watch your blog grow. I started in April (see intro post) and watched my blog traffic go from 10-20 a day to 200-300 a day.

So that's it! I hope this blog post has been helpful! You can visit me at my blog, Rachelle's Window. 

Rachelle Ayala is the author of Michal's Window, a provocative love story involving King David. Available at Amazon, Barnes &Noble, and Google Play

PAINLESS EDITING!

As I'm sitting on the beach this week....YES! I'm at the beach!

But I'm in my most least favorite part of the publishing book process. . . EDITING! It's the second book in A Magical Cure Series, A Charming Cure. And if you don't write mystery, you should know that I write my mystery novels backwards.


And my editor would be more happy to tell you that she has to go over my work at least twice!

I have come up with some great tips to help me and YOU get us through the editing process with a little more with ease.

1) Take your time.

I know that we have our muse and want to start writing on the next project, but if you don't slow down and take your time, your novel will suffer by not becoming the best novel it can be.

An easy way to do this, and what I have done while I'm at the beach, is to break my finished novel into four parts. Literally, I take the page count and divide it by four.

This helps me work on one section at a time and not temp myself to work ahead. I'm a tad bit lazy in this editing department and anything I can do to get through it I do. Breaking it up doesn't seem so daunting.

2) Don't worry with the meat of the bones on your first round of edits. Make sure that you have the story down. Make sure the story is going exactly where you wanted it to go. Don't worry about the dialogue tags, or the description at this point. I'm sure you have most of that in there, but we are just looking at the story structure of the novel.

3) If you are further into your editing process, change the font on your computer. We have a tendency to know our novel so well that we can skip through it as if you were skipping through a meadow of flowers on the most perfect day. Nothing jumps out. BUT if you edit in a different font than you are use to, things have a tendency to stick out a little more.

4) When you are in your final draft of editing, send it to one of your readers! I have two GREAT readers that I trust with my novels. I have met only one of them in person and the other I have not. I trust them completely with my genre. They are avid readers. When they tell me something is off, or a character hasn't developed enough for them, I listen.

Do you have any editing tips that will help us like the process a little more?

Effectively # Your Way To A New Reader!

The one and most important thing on TWITTER is the # (hashtag). If it weren't for the idea of the #, Twitter would be a nothing!

But you have to # effectively or you will never reach the target audience you want to reach.
There are certain hashtags I use to get to my target audience. For instance, when I want to tweet my blog, I hashtag my tweet with keywords that will help me reach blog readers. Today I tweeted Effectively # To Gain  #reader #marketing #indieauthor #amwriting (url here) or use #amediting #writertip #promoting #writer.
These hashtags help me reach you, my target blog audience.

When I tweet my book, I use #mystery #ebook #2.99 #bestseller #womansleuth #beadedjewelry #streetteam. PLUS too many more to type here, but you get the point. Those hashtags help me reach my target reading audience.

Here are some tips to help # your way to success:

1) Pick KEY hashtags. Like I said earlier, pick hashtags that are already out there. Don't make up your hashtag that NO ONE will see. If you aren't sure what hashtags to use, go to the search box on Twitter and start typing in key words that will help you find your target audience.

2) Keep your tweet short. Sometimes you can do too many hashtags and the reader gets lost in the tweet. Even though you are limited to 140 characters, that too can be too many sometimes.

Here are some popular hashtags for writers:
#amediting  posts from people who are editing
#amwriting  posts from people who are writing
#askagent  agent questions and answers
#author
#authors
#editing
#fictionfriday
#fridayflash  flash fiction on a Friday
#nanowrimo  national novel writing month
#novels
#novelists
#poem
#poet
#poets
#poetry
#pubtip  publication tips
#publishing
#scifi
#selfpublishing
#vss   very short story
#webfic  web fiction
#weblit   web literature
#wip   work in progress
#wordcount
#writegoal
#writequote
#writer
#writers
#writetip  writing advice
#writing
#writingtips  writing advice
#wrotetoday 
 
Some hashtags are specifically “chats” – which means they work in the same way as all tags, but are mainly used at certain agreed times : 
 
#journchat
#kidlitchat
#litchat
#scifichat
#scribechat
#storycraft
#writechat
#yalitchat   young adult literature chat 
 


So get your tweet on and # effectively to reach your target audience.


Do you tweet effectively?

Keep the Numbers Coming in After the Release Party

This blog has been a little wonky this week! I'm not on my normal Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedule. This is due to the fact that it started off as release week for my latest novel, A Charming Crime!

And what a week it has been!! AND it's still going.....

Many of us promote the first day or two and then let the book fly alone. THAT ISN'T GOING TO CUT THE MUSTARD!!

I know I'm always throwing marketing and promoting ideas and the post on HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL RELEASE PARTY ON LINE was a big success in the blog world. BUT I'm here to tell you that it doesn't stop there.

This is how my release went.
Monday: I posted on my street team a Facebook status and a tweet. I asked my STREET TEAM members to kindly post these into their accounts during the day because Tuesday was party day on the STREET TEAM Facebook page!

A Charming Crime made it to #8k in the Amazon store and #61 on the mystery best seller list.

Tuesday: I had over 50 authors lined up to donate a book to STREET TEAM members only. This way I was able to host a give away on my STREET TEAM every 20 minutes. This was my way of giving back to the writing world (authors to find new readers) and my STREET TEAM for promoting their hineys off on Monday.

I had virtual characters from A CHARMING CRIME making appearances, virtual parties through out the day, virtual drinks, party crashers, and tons more give aways other than books! It was a HUGE success.

That didn't end it for me. I knew that I had to continue to reach those readers who aren't on my STREET TEAM.

Wednesday: Just because the first two days are over, you still have to promote! Take it to the boards! Get on Kindle or Nook forums and be sure to pimp out your novel! There are so many readers there! They are looking for great books just like yours!!

Don't stop there! Go to your on line groups! Tell the world that your book is available!!

Thursday: Get on Facebook (YES! You really need to be on Facebook!)!

Be sure that you LIKE the Amazon, Kindle, Nook, Sony, Kobo pages! Don't just say "BUY MY BOOK," put your blurb out there and a new release along with 'THE FIRST THREE COMMENTS WILL WIN A FREE EBOOK OF A CHARMING CRIME!"
This really does work! BUT you have to gift them the copy...which a win for everyone. You gain a new reader and it's out there for the others to check out. AND if you are in the giving spirit, you can surprise gift a few more comments!

Friday: Visit all your sites! This might take a few more minutes, but hopefully you will have a lot more comments. Interact with your people!!! This makes the reader/author relationship so strong!

The following week:
Make sure you have set up a blog tour for TWO weeks after the launch. Don't just target other writer's blogs, you need to target the audience of your book. For instance....My first novel, Carpe Bead 'em, has a beading theme. I set up blog tours on beading blogs! They love to bead, and love to read about beading! That book became #1 on Amazon's Movers and Shakers!

Blog on genre blogs! Readers flock to them, looking for new books/authors, AND offer a free book! They like it, guess what? They go back and buy your entire back list! See where this is going?

Third week out: You will go back and ask the people who read your book to post a review of your book. Good or bad! You need reviews!!  

Also this week, see what streams your novel is in. I mean "who bought your book, bought this book." Check out those authors. See if they have blogs, visit their blogs, become their friends, PR BUDDY each other!

Fourth week: Continue to connect with people and start the next book if you haven't already!!!

What do you do to make your online book launch continue to sell  more of your book?

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?

Author + One Published eBook Per Year = SLACKER?

In today's society it seems that everything is better FASTER!

And if we don't keep up, we feel like we are left behind. Or at least I do...

Especially today in the Ereader age!

Just think about it. In the "old days" (two years ago...) the average reader had to get dressed, put on shoes, get into the car, drive to the book store, find a parking spot, walk into the store, spend hours browsing shelves, and then buy a $10.99 book or even higher price.

Fast forward to today.

Now the average reader (One in six Americans have an Ereader.) has to get their Ereader from the kitchen counter, click a couple of times, and have an ebook of the new release of their favorite author in a second for DOLLARS cheaper than going to the book store.

Ereaders readers have given a jolt of caffeine to the world! It has made non-reader become avid readers. I know because I hear from my readers all the time that tell me I have created a reader in them! LOVE IT!

But as an author, I've found this little shot of adrenaline a BIG shot of panic/fear in my soul. What happened to the day when we could publish a book every six months even one a year?

Readers are getting use to having the luxury at their finger tips and aren't so willing to wait a year. I know because my readers are always sending me emails, Facebook messaging me "hurry with the next book."
I know it's all in good fun, but there is always some truth to joking....right?

With that comes fear....if I wait longer than four-six months between novels, am I going to be forgotten? Are the little short stories, prequels, or mini-mysteries I publish between novels enough to wet their pallet?

One thing I know for sure. . .

The excited readers has lit a fire under me! It's given me a new ambition. Put a little more oomph in my muse. Not only has it gotten me writing more, my writing is getting stronger and stronger with each word typed. Staying motivated to please my readers had taken my novels to a whole new level.

What about you? Do you feel the pressure of getting more books out there?

When Editing Is NOT Enough!

A couple of weeks ago I blogged on about editing, Whiz With Words. There were so many great comments! I had gotten a lot of private emails on editing software and what I use. 
I don't use any editing software, but one of my regular commenter does! She graciously accepted to do a guest blog for me!! Lets give a round of applause to author Mila Ballentine!!

Laura has received her manuscript from an editor, after spending about $0.016/word for a 10,000 + manuscript.  She feels confident; a proclaimed specialist in editing has gone over her manuscript with a fine toothcomb. Laura accepts and rejects suggestions in the manuscript and WHALA, the book is ready for the printing stage.  The book is available for purchase and the reviews start to come in.  Her eyes eagerly read a review for the book on amazon.com, “It’s a good read, but it has too many errors.” 


Comments like this can knock the wind out of a writers sail. A writer has to have tough skin to survive in a world where everything written is critiqued.

Still, authors are sensitive and their stories are like a beloved child.  I think many writers can relate to Laura’s experience.  I found that doing a visual edit was not enough. So, I tried using  the Natural Reader 10.0 software and it has become a crucial part of the editing process.  

Arguably, the more mistakes a manuscript has the easier it is for the editor to overlook mistakes.  Natural Reader is a synchronized text to speech software that reads and highlights the words spoken.  When actively listening, you can hear when a word is missing, discover plot holes, and find out of sequence scenes.  


The software is easy to use, and reads MS Word, PDF and emails. The only down side is getting use to listening to a mechanical voice, but the benefits are priceless. Disclaimer: Reader software’s do not take the place of an editor.  Once, you have gone over the text without hearing any errors, send it to an editor.  

Now, it is up to you to test the software and experience the benefits.  I have included a link to a free Natural Reader 10.0 download. An upgraded version is available with realistic voices. http://www.naturalreaders.com/download.htm

In addition, I am including a link to my blog, http://www.milaballentine.blogspot.com  and eStore, https://www.createspace.com/3849242

I cordially invite you to visit my blog, get to know the author, and available titles.    


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WOW!! Thanks so much, Mila for coming by and telling us about the edit software that you have found useful to you! 
Will you use a software to help with edits? I know we have all been there with the ugly reviews, but anything that will help out is GREAT!!
Thoughts?

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!

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?

LIGHTS, CAMERA. . . BLOG EXPOSURE

We blog because we want people to invest in us. We want the loyal reader to come back time and time again. We all have different reasons to blog. Do you want readers, other authors, or both? Either way, without exposure you won't have either.

Last week we talked about how to gain more subscribers, but how are you going to get those subscribers if you don't have the exposure?

Are you ready to generate blog interest?

1) FACEBOOK and TWITTER
Are you rolling your eyes at me?? DON'T! These two social medias are wonderful ways to drive traffic to your blog. Do you belong to groups on Facebook that allow you to promote your blog? I'm on at least ten of these, and every time a new blog is posted, I get on those Facebook groups and add a brief description of the blog along with the URL. Not only is it easy to click on, but it gives a little detail to what the blog is about. You have to be sure to give back as well. Make sure you check out other authors in those groups and visit their blogs too.

Twitter is great to reach that niche using hashtags. These hashtags link you to the target market you want to reach. You can also continue to drive traffic to your blog by using a reoccurring service like SOCIALOMPH.COM to schedule updates of your tweets. Every time I write a new blog, I make a tweet that will reoccur daily for two weeks.


2) NETWORK
There are several Facebook or on-line groups that have tweet teams, or blog teams that will help spread the word about your blog. Remember that you should always give back even when some of those members don't always do it. It's all about networking!

OR you can exchange blog tweets with a group of authors that you might be close to. Kindle Boards have a great thread called HAVE YOU POSTED TO YOUR BLOG LATELY. That is a wonderful place to put your post and find other great blogs to follow.

I'm on two tweet teams and I also exchange tweets about blogs/books with other authors. I also pick out a couple tweets I love from others or blogs that I came across and schedule those through my SOCIALOOMPH account to reoccur. Most of the time I never let the author know I'm tweeting or Facebook or putting a link in my blog.  Always give back and don't expect anything in return. It's good KARMA!

3) HEADLINES THAT POP
Try to come up with something catchy for the title of your blog. It's almost as important as the title of your novel. I have to admit that I'm not the best at coming up with names, but I never give up.

4) LABELS/ SEO
Be sure to add labels to tag your posts. You simply list main words that your blog is about in the label area. This helps get those labels out in the blog sphere and when someone Googles a certain topic, your blog will pop up somewhere in that list. Why are SEO so important? Great blog to check out because I'm really NOT good a explaining it.

The labels I generally use: social media, marketing and promoting, tonya kappes, writer tip, writer blog, inspiration, networking etc....


5) LINK TO OTHER POSTS
If you talk about another author or blog or give information written by someone else, you should always link back. Or if you talk about a blog you previous wrote, make sure you link back to that post.
Have you noticed all the red words in my posts? Those are link backs to different things. It could be a previous post, another blog by someone else, links to book, etc....
This makes it easy for the reader to click and be exactly where they need to be instead of going through the hassle of trying to figure out what you were trying to say. One click and they are done. This makes your blog reader friendly.

How do you get blog exposure? There are so many ways to discover new 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?

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!