One of the most troubling things when trying to spread the word about anything is available funds. It's as if you have to weigh every option you may take when trying to do so.
Last night I was stumbling around the website Fiverr.com and found some pretty amazing promotional ideas, ALL FOR FIVE BUCKS!
Want 100 of your flyers passed around at Harvard?
5 bucks...
Would you like your press release e-mailed to 1,000 more contacts you didn't have when you woke up?
5 bucks...
Want your book to be seen by 120 T.V. producers from a contact they trust?
5 bucks...
While there are thousands of things I wouldn't pay five bucks for on this site, such as Spaghetti Betty sending someone I love a personal birthday wish, or a digital rendering of me as a Pokemon, there are endless opportunities for cheap promotion.
People are offering insane things that just might work to get your website, youtube channel, blog, or book out there in the public eye. One lady will drive for a full day with your website scrolling in her back window in LED.
I guess for 5 bucks there isn't much of a gamble here. The people offering their services get rated so you can tell the ones who will actually do what they say.
in the day and age where you can buy Twitter followers and Facebook likes for hundreds of dollars, I think there is a certain pride gathered from getting them uniquely. Who knows what ol' Honest Abe might do for you.
Sure beats breaking the bank and crossing your fingers...
I Write... Therefore, I'm Broke.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
The Final Dot. Period...
It's true there is nothing more satisfying than completing a manuscript with the final piece of punctuation. You can finally sit back and cherish the words you have written as whole. But that satisfaction is one that is short lived. Editors come into play, as no Author writes the perfect document in one sitting. Revision after revision will soon having you tearing your hair out and defending with all you have left in you, your work and vision.
There is a certain wisdom that exists within the editor you are working with, listen to it. They are professional, and whereas this may be your first work to be edited, it probably isn't the first go around for them. My advice to any writer is to take their advice and curb your ego when it comes to suggestions of omissions. Essentially the first book I published is a biography/memoir. In reality, only historical biographies should be long and drawn out, they're based on political or historical figures and, therefore, guys like Ambrose should be allowed to produce large works. A persons memoir, unless incredibly moving due to circumstance, is what most refer to as "the book every persons has in them." Each one of our Mothers, Fathers, Grandmothers or Grandfathers were special to us in one way or another, even when looked at in a negative light. Frankly, they had merit in their life no matter the circumstance. I found myself having to learn to trim a lot of the fat from "The Reverent Surrender," and in hindsight I am very grateful I did. Some of the greatest comments received thus far deal with the flow and ease when talking about the rhythm of the book. Aside from the story, the mechanics of the writing were important to me.
In essence, trust your editor. They are like your Mother, they know the industry better than you knew life as a teenager, no matter how much you may want to rebel.
Secondly, as an indie author, you will soon face the world with a book in hand. Frankly, a book won't sell by just sitting on Amazon unless for some miracle finds you. You have to be the voice of that book, not just simply the name on the cover. Start engaging yourself with a social presence online. You may be forced to join sites like Facebook and Twitter. I had to finally break into this world about a decade later than many of my friends throughout the years. I sure took a ribbing for it when I did. Reclusive in nature I now can be found out there among the masses, and it pays off. Create a fan page through Facebook and add elements that can add to your book, supplemental stories, offshoots, pictures, etc.
Once the fervor of your latest project exhausts the initial flood on Facebook, you have to reach out to those unknown. I am currently using Piece of Cake PR, a Canadian PR firm that has a very small workforce that is incredibly in touch and passionate about their clients. Initially I went with them because I found their owner to be engaging on various forums that dealt with promotion. His responses to forum posts were engaging and personal. I'd like you to show me a major PR firm owner, not only in the office and accessible, but on a forum chatting it up. It won't happen. Secondly, I couldn't refuse the price. Most firms will quote you something around $500 for a simple press release, and $5,000-$10,000 for a total package, complete with things you can do with Facebook, Twitter, etc. for a tiny percentage of what they charge and, admittedly, a lot of your time. So if you got the money and don't have the time, feel free to throw your money at it. I got all the time in the world, and little money so, for me, Piece of Cake makes sense. Check them out at Piece of Cake PR, they will blow your mind with not only their turnaround; but their commitment to your project and professionalism.
Now mind you, nothing is guaranteed with a small or large investment. You have to have a good story to be picked up, featured or taken seriously. If in fact you get some press and make a little scratch, why not throw it back into your project? Places like Yahoo Ads and Facebook Ads have the power to reach millions of people and they can tailor to your specific audience. These two forms of advertising will not only show you how your ad is doing, but usually only charge if you are actually getting views, likes, clicks etc. My best advice for these services is to set your total budget and don't opt for pay per click stuff. Make an affordable budget for your ad and ride it out. Pay per click stuff can run up a huge tab and produce very little sales.
I suppose the main message in this blog post is it ain't ever over...
There is a certain wisdom that exists within the editor you are working with, listen to it. They are professional, and whereas this may be your first work to be edited, it probably isn't the first go around for them. My advice to any writer is to take their advice and curb your ego when it comes to suggestions of omissions. Essentially the first book I published is a biography/memoir. In reality, only historical biographies should be long and drawn out, they're based on political or historical figures and, therefore, guys like Ambrose should be allowed to produce large works. A persons memoir, unless incredibly moving due to circumstance, is what most refer to as "the book every persons has in them." Each one of our Mothers, Fathers, Grandmothers or Grandfathers were special to us in one way or another, even when looked at in a negative light. Frankly, they had merit in their life no matter the circumstance. I found myself having to learn to trim a lot of the fat from "The Reverent Surrender," and in hindsight I am very grateful I did. Some of the greatest comments received thus far deal with the flow and ease when talking about the rhythm of the book. Aside from the story, the mechanics of the writing were important to me.
In essence, trust your editor. They are like your Mother, they know the industry better than you knew life as a teenager, no matter how much you may want to rebel.
Secondly, as an indie author, you will soon face the world with a book in hand. Frankly, a book won't sell by just sitting on Amazon unless for some miracle finds you. You have to be the voice of that book, not just simply the name on the cover. Start engaging yourself with a social presence online. You may be forced to join sites like Facebook and Twitter. I had to finally break into this world about a decade later than many of my friends throughout the years. I sure took a ribbing for it when I did. Reclusive in nature I now can be found out there among the masses, and it pays off. Create a fan page through Facebook and add elements that can add to your book, supplemental stories, offshoots, pictures, etc.
Once the fervor of your latest project exhausts the initial flood on Facebook, you have to reach out to those unknown. I am currently using Piece of Cake PR, a Canadian PR firm that has a very small workforce that is incredibly in touch and passionate about their clients. Initially I went with them because I found their owner to be engaging on various forums that dealt with promotion. His responses to forum posts were engaging and personal. I'd like you to show me a major PR firm owner, not only in the office and accessible, but on a forum chatting it up. It won't happen. Secondly, I couldn't refuse the price. Most firms will quote you something around $500 for a simple press release, and $5,000-$10,000 for a total package, complete with things you can do with Facebook, Twitter, etc. for a tiny percentage of what they charge and, admittedly, a lot of your time. So if you got the money and don't have the time, feel free to throw your money at it. I got all the time in the world, and little money so, for me, Piece of Cake makes sense. Check them out at Piece of Cake PR, they will blow your mind with not only their turnaround; but their commitment to your project and professionalism.
Now mind you, nothing is guaranteed with a small or large investment. You have to have a good story to be picked up, featured or taken seriously. If in fact you get some press and make a little scratch, why not throw it back into your project? Places like Yahoo Ads and Facebook Ads have the power to reach millions of people and they can tailor to your specific audience. These two forms of advertising will not only show you how your ad is doing, but usually only charge if you are actually getting views, likes, clicks etc. My best advice for these services is to set your total budget and don't opt for pay per click stuff. Make an affordable budget for your ad and ride it out. Pay per click stuff can run up a huge tab and produce very little sales.
I suppose the main message in this blog post is it ain't ever over...
If your lucky, once you die, you can rest peacefully in the celebrity that your book has found once your dead and gone. But there are the Cinderella stories and engaging reads that with hard work and luck make it to the best sellers list. Get up every morning with a positive attitude towards your work. Anyone out there will be engaged if you show enthusiasm. Make one attempt everyday to get the word out through a call, email, or posting. Turn no one down that is interested. Approach every blog, podcast, reviewer, and reader with respect. After all, like any major rock star, you are only around because of your fans. You never know what small blurb can catch the eye of the next person vital to your next big step.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
The Man with the Dishpan Hands
In the last few months I have been forced out of the cave and into the technological age. Before all of this the most "tech" things got for me was using the DVR to record a Tiger's game. Now I can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Email. It was a necessary evil as I try to get the word out on my latest writing available on Amazon.com. See, I've even figured out permalinks, if you can believe that. All this has flung me into a craze of "catching up" with those I hadn't seen in quite some time, and for that i am grateful, but it has also made me realize that I exist as a screen name or .jpg file to those outside my family.
I see three people on a daily basis. My wife Jerusha, and my two daughters Vivian and Reagan. It doesn't help that I now live in the middle of a forest, where I have a better chance of meeting an Elk than I do another human to strike up a friendship with. But two young growing girls can keep you company so long as you can keep your cool.
Recent Flagstaff, Az import, exported from the suburbs of San Diego, life, in a nutshell is slower. I used to think to be an author meant I would have to hide away in some cabin somewhere and sit with an old typewriter to get whatever new prolific thoughts or plots I had out there to the eyes of readers living as a complete hermit. In a sense I have done just that. But in reality, I live a very different life.
Rather than give you the notion that being an author is some romantic comparison to Hemingway, I'd like to offer the comparison of Tobias Funke's character "Mrs. Featherbottom" from the T.V. show Arrested Development. Although I do not have to disguise myself to my children, I might as well put on my bloomers and grab the old feather duster as I carry on day to day. Writing may be a full time occupation, but it is second to that of catering to children. My hands run a dish rag and a vacuum more than they do a keyboard. And I wrote the last book at the kitchen table with Barney and Yo Gabba Gabba as the soundtrack, not in some glorious office with extensive library as I thought I would as a kid.
My wife works, hard as a matter of fact, and is very good at what she does, giving me the opportunity to follow my dream of getting published words to the masses. I spent the last eight or so years operating heavy equipment until my heart and mind gave into the fact that my creativity was near empty. Soon I found myself operating a 27" foot U-Haul truck through the desert of Arizona into the pine forests of Flagstaff. So in essence I uprooted my family to become Mr. Mom, er... I mean Mr. Mom "Best Selling Author."
I do most of anything in a literary sense when those girls are fast asleep, as a two and four year old cannot comprehend the magic of a silent moment. It's true I am proud of what I have accomplished thus far, but in reality I'm probably better at doing a load of laundry than anything I do literarily, and I make one hell of a dinner plate these days...
The point I'm trying to make is that this world will not slow down unless you either have no family, or have the means to provide for your family through a large bank account, both of which do not apply to me. I suppose you get what you put in, which may be late nights, as it is 11:16 PM on a Saturday night as I type my first entry into this blah... blah... blog. Or the simple reality that you may be checking the email to network marketing for your latest publication while simultaneously making a fresh batch of Mac n' Cheese for that kid pulling at your pant leg.
There are days where I think how easy it was to walk out that door before the sun awoke and sit behind the controls of a tractor for a ten hour day, bullshitting with the boys on topics of absolute absurdity. While I am glad to have experienced these things, in the end, I never contributed to this world the way I wanted to. And as you lay the kids to sleep and look at their innocence you realize burning the midnight oil under the illuminance of an LED screen, is worth the badge of honor that might as well read Molly Maid...
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