Entries Tagged 'Marketing' ↓

The AWMonline Writing Race went off with a bang last night, with Special Guest JJ Cooper. Most of us already know that JJ’s successful debut thriller The Interrogator was published by Random House earlier this year, and that he has plenty of life experience to draw on as a former Australian Army Intelligence Corps member. What I didn’t know until last night, however, is that he is also an incredibly generous and insightful mentor to other writers!

Author JJ Cooper

Top Tips from the Interrogator…

On writing:

Tip from my interrogating days:

Generally, our thinking process can be broken into two groups of people – those who can ‘Mind Map’ and those who think ‘linear’ (logical sequence of events). If you know someone who contantly changes subjects and is always able to get back on track somehow – they’re mind-mappers. If that confuses you – you’re a linear thinker.

This is important to know for how you write.

I can’t follow books that jump all over the place and I lose interest relatively quickly because I think in a linear fashion. Now, mind mappers are also able to follow a linear fashion, but will jump ahead more unless they are glued to the pages. This is good for writing like mine because it is very fast paced and has plenty of twists for the mind-mappers (because they enjoy trying to guess the ending). Hence, I’m able to accomodate most readers with the way they think. Linear thinkers enjoy following the timeline and soak up the detail whilst mind-mappers feel the rush with the pace and the twists send them into a good spin.

Maybe it’s something you’d like to consider.

On editing:

My chapters are deliberately short. Each has a beginning, middle and end, and finishes on a ‘teaser’ that aims to have the reader wanting more. I aim for around 1,500 words per chapter.

After ten chapters I edit. Because I don’t outline, I find it good to go back after ten chapters to ensure my plot is on track and any sub-plot are set up right or ready to tie in. It also helps me track the characters and ensure they have the right amount of time on paper. This style of editing as I go has worked well for both my books as they are written in a linear fashion.

At the end of the books there is really not much editing required. Maybe two or three light run throughs and it’s good to go to my publisher. Working with my editors is a great experience and very positive if you are not afraid of taking great feedback and suggestions.

On publishing:

Firstly, consider trying to secure the services of a reputable agent before heading to a publisher. Here’s why – a reputable agent knows the industry and knows what traditional publishers are looking for. They know how to manage authors and the publication process. They’ll secure you a better deal than you’d be able to get. They have the industry contacts. Also, if you try for a publisher and are rejected, an agent would be unable to submit your project to that publisher should you land an agent.

If you are submitting to publishers, follow their guidelines to the letter. Spend a lot of time on researching that publisher and what they specialise in. Have the MS gleaming before submission and write a cracking query.

Use the resources of your local writers centre – they’ll point you in the right direction.

Start marketing yourself before submission. I have a blog (free) dedicated to my writing and talking about my process before submission. My agent checked it out before offering submission and commented that she knew I’d be handy at self-promoting my books (which we all need to do). My acquisition editor checked my blog and used it as a tool to ’sell’ my book to her marketing department – they knew I’d be doing my bit to sell my book/s. In the end I received a two-book deal. That’s fairly rare in the industry and I believe my self-marketing added value to the process.

But, ensure anything you put on the net under your writing name is professional and never write negative stuff about the industry in general or of individuals.

 Thanks for inspiring us by sharing these insights into the craft and business of your writing, JJ.

More facts that hurt my brain: Google estimates there are more than one trillion unique urls on the interwebs, not including dark web pages (not available through public search indexes).

I’m at a workshop for writers about Promoting Yourself Online with the inestimably brilliant Kate Eltham. 

So what does the enormous complexity of the interwebs mean for an author seeking to create or maintain their platform through online presence? As web platforms move towards conversation models, an expectation is forming that users can contribute and reproduce content – I’m looking at you, Gen Y! So authors, don’t worry about trying to control use of your content, because that power now lies with the users. Instead, concentrate on supporting users to find and spread your content in ways that you both want. Scatter your delectable content like biscuit crumbs to increase your findability on the interwebs. And respect the multi-channel factor: don’t expect people to leave their channels and come to you – take yourself to them.

it’s hard for writers not to get hung up on text and readers. But we need to think about photos, videos, images, podcasts etc as well as text. A great example: what did Cory Doctorow’s website look like 5 years ago? Ask the internet archive. Then compare to craphound today.

Savvy, much?

Oops, now it’s my turn to facilitate the session: twenty authors exploring different social media platforms and reporting back on how they are being used or could be used by authors. We have a great group here today, including poet Graham Nunn and debut author Belinda Jeffreys. Joanne Schoenwald just created a twitter account for her alter ego Lucy Gabrielle. She got a magazine review out of it within 15 minutes. Seriously.

The interwebs can hurt your brain and suck your time like a vampire, but it is absolutely awesometown. And everyone should spend some time in awesometown, right?

Right.

Ahem, excuse me, writers? I have something rather delicate to discuss with you.
How’s your website going? Brand new design eh? That’s great. Just got a new commission from a popular magazine? Awesome.
Still using that same old headshot? You know, the promo shot your sister took in your backyard with her old digital camera? Or that arty one your photographer mate took with you looking pensive in a fur coat?
I see. Well, I just have to get this off my chest – stop using them. Writing doesn’t sell itself. If you want to be taken seriously as a professional writer, then make sure you look professional while you’re doing it. Image matters, whether you like it or not.
This doesn’t mean you have to ditch creativity in your photos. Just make sure you look presentable. Some smart clothes, lick of face paint or a bit of brylcreem through the ol hair-helmet would be a great start.
Just a thought.

     Being a complete newby to this whole media/arts management role that I now find myself in, I’m scanning around for some training. I came across this article … ‘Recessions, sponsorships and the arts’ by Jane Haley, CEO, AbaF. For anyone involved in managing writing projects, the general principles in this article are extremely useful. I wish I was smart like her.

Good news – Ronnie Scott from The Lifted Brow has agreed to be a guest for a live forum with AWMonline! Hurrah, my first one! Stay tuned for details.

I’ve started editing my novel. You know that feeling when your body is at work/home/school etc, but your mind is deep in a plot somewhere? Do you get that, too? I used to get in big trouble for having an active imagination. It amazes me that now I actually get paid for it!

Developing an online presence is crucial to the career of emerging writers. Writers are now applying their prodigious creativity to the issue of marketing itself. A perfect example is Brisbane writer Joanne Schoenwald. She is sharing her novel Woodford Virgins for free online: http://www.scribd.com/share/upload/8610196/2giwzr6mh1qfrmv2qrc5 . Here’s a quick interview Speakeasy did with Joanne earlier today about her experience. We look forward to hearing how it goes, so stay posted!

MV: What gave you the idea, or prompted you, to share your novel for free through Scribd, rather than to use other strategies?

JS: Woodford Virgins is a novel that I began about seven years ago and it has gone through three completely different versions (and several drafts of each version) in that time. It’s a novel that I really love and, as an artist, I want to be able to share my work. If a painter or sculptor creates something, they can find myriad ways to display it and share it but I felt frustrated that my work was sitting on my computer or in reams of paper on my shelves. I am really driven to write about topics and themes that bring joy to the world and I can only do that if it actually makes it out into the world. So, I opted to do something constructive and I thought I would embrace the opportunity to release it to the wider community for free, rather than having to invest money into producing hard copies. 

MV: How did you research and choose which social media platform to use, and was the process straightforward enough?

JS: Attending Kate Eltham’s workshop on "Promoting Yourself Online" last December really inspired me to embrace the many technologies out there that are not only available to authors but which have possibly become a necessity. I have built my website with Wordpress because that was Kate’s recommendation and I can see that Wordpress has so many more features than other types of blogs. I came across Scribd while searching through the Wordpress help forums.

I wouldn’t say that it was a straightforward experience–I have spent many hours investigating ebook options and websites and the forums of Wordpress itself. But I don’t consider myself to be a technological whizz and I managed so I think anyone who has an understanding of the web could manage it. Having done it once, I am keen to apply the same process to other projects (including for my husband’s business). It’s the kind of thing that’s a bit fiddly but once you’ve got the system up and running it’s very easy to replicate. The beauty of all of this is that it has all been for free, from ‘designing’ a cover for the ‘book’ to creating pdfs to hosting the book and website. Doing things for free means that there are sometimes a few extra steps along the way but it’s well worth the effort because you would pay so much more to get someone else to do it. 

MV: What do you hope to gain from sharing your novel for free?

JS: I’m a big believer in just ‘putting things out there’ and seeing what happens. The highest priority for me was to finish the cycle of creating a novel, from first idea through to sharing those words. I am open to the idea that people might read it and give me constructive feedback that I can use to continually improve the book, so that it becomes a living document. I am open to the idea of building a following that could serve me down the track. And, of course, I am also open to the idea that soooo many people will read the book and love it that a publisher cannot help but pick it up  

MV: What do you see as the benefits of social media for writers?

JS: It’s taken me a long time to come to terms with the role of technology in the lives of writers and the future of writing. But now that I’ve jumped on board, I can see that this could really be an exciting time for us. Basically, the future possibilities are fluid, changing all the time, and I felt I needed to jump into the pool now so that I could know into which direction to swim as the currents change. It’s the great unknown of it all that is both a little intimidating and exciting. Social media provides a way to get back some of the control of your work and to feel empowered by choosing its destiny, rather than sitting back and waiting for something big to happen.

MV: Congratulations on initiating this exciting experiment with social media. We wish you every success, and encourage all our readers to go and download your book!

The YES program (Young Entrepreneurs Success) is a business mentoring program that was designed to support innovation in business. It specifically targets the creative industries, ie film, television, design from all genres, art, digital mediums, dance, performance and more. They will be running a course in Brisbane on 10 December for any interested parties.

Speaking earlier of promoting your book, sometimes there isn’t much you can do when the marketing team decides to promote you as something that you aren’t in order to sell books. This can backfire especially when your target audience will avoid the type of cover that your book ends up having. Whether you want to admit it or not we all judge books by their covers. Diane Shipley wrote about ‘chick-lit’ covers on The Guardian’s blog a while ago. For an example of this take Louise Erdrich’s new novel A Plague of Doves. It is a novel that intertwines different voices and spans generations of Native Americans on one reservation. Topics covered include lynchings, racism, spousal abuse, kidnapping and quite a few other dark topics. Don’t be put off though, it is a fantastic novel but not normally one I would pick up because this is the Australian cover –

   (hardly looks like a plague does it)

Even though the American cover is more appropriate –

Well, Bookninja has decided it was time to turn the tables. He ran a contest for the best made up cover of a previously published title. The results are hilarious (and an excellent exercise in marketing for beginners).

And if you are in serious need of a belly laugh visit  the World of Longmire to see the opposite. She has taken a bunch of existing covers of romance novels and written new titles. Enjoy.

If you want to promote your book but you aren’t quite up to the TV spot stage, Michelle Moran (author of Nefertiti) is guest blogging over on Nathan Bransford’s blog. Part 1 of her guest blog outlines what the marketing and publicity department does and the terms they use so that you can understand what your publisher uses to promote your book. Part 2 covers what you can do to promote your book just before it comes out. Michelle will be guest blogging a few more times so check back to see what over useful stuff she has to say.

Nathan Bransford, over at his blog, wrote a post last week about a new genre of book - Book Club fiction. The sort of book that would make a great book club book is something a little bit commercial, a little bit literary, well-written but accessible and an interesting topic, something that’s going to generate a lot of discussion. Some examples would be: The Kite Runner, Out Stealing Horses, Life of Pi. While I’ve never been in a book club, I have worked in a book store and I know how often people come in asking for a selection of titles that would be suitable for their book club.

He said on his post that "Book clubs are an extremely important market for publishers, so much so that books that would appeal to book clubs often have supplementary material in the back (such as discussion questions), and many publishers provide additional web resources."

Book clubs are such a major part of the book-buying public that it makes sense to think of what would see to a book club when thinking of ideas for your next novel. Anyone got any good ones they’d like to share?

Just imagine if we could get those government ads about being active and staying healthy to include a bit about reading! It certainly doesn’t fit with any health message we have at the moment. But if fighting the ‘war against obesity’ means reading a couple of books then I guess that’s just what I’ll have to do.

Where is all this coming from you may ask? Well, an American study on the impact of literature on obese adolescents has found that reading the right type of novel may help you lose the kilos. The Duke Children’s Hospital asked obese females aged 9 to 13 to read an age-appropriate novel while they were in a weight-loss program. The novel, Lake Rescue, was written with the help of pediatric experts and included specific healthy lifestyle and weight management guidance along with positive messages and role models.

Six months later, the 31 girls who’d read the novel had a significant decrease in BMI (Body Mass Index) compared to the 14 girls who didn’t read the book.

How amazing is that! Maybe there will soon be a new genre of books out there with positive role models eating healthy food and exercising regularly.