Wicked Wednesday - writing yourself into a corner

You're writing a fantastic story. The characters are complex, the setting unique, and the plot intense. You have that incredible feeling of creating something amazing.

Finally comes the big climax. There's a huge battle. Your heroes have been surrounded by a crafty villain and her minions with no way out. You're on the edge of your seat. And it is at this point you realize you have no idea how your heroes are going to get out of this.

Oh crap.

You might want to bash your head on the keyboard or cry that you'll have to start all over. There isn't enough chocolate in the world for that.

But wait! This is the best thing that can happen to you.

I know it's hard to believe, but writing yourself into a corner will bring out the creative best in you. You must think outside the box to help your heroes save themselves. But, you ask, if you have no ideas, how do you do this?

This happened to me just recently, and it has happened to me before. Every time, I have a moment of panic. Yet do you know what saves me? The story itself.

I go back and read it from the beginning. The answer to save the heroes is always there. The story knows even if the author doesn't right away. Yes, it's as simple as that. At least for this pantser!

Have you ever written yourself into a corner? How do you get out of it?

Wicked Wednesday - do the yucky things

In case you're wondering, yes, those are real lungs in the picture. A local college brought them to the recent Math & Science Night at my son's school. No one got sick or ran off screaming. The children thought it was awesome.

Did I touch the lungs too? You betcha!

We often hear the more we live, the better writers we will be. I completely agree. But it isn't all about doing exciting, clean things. We should experience the stuff that grosses us out too.

Change a baby's stinky diaper, make a bug pie, or walk through the mud with bare feet. And if you're brave, you can go to the next level. I've walked through a swamp and sewage, sat in the back of a garbage truck, and been in the back of a funeral home.

We writers do have spectacular imaginations, but experiencing something will make our writing better. Will I ever write about a character touching lungs? I don't know, but I know how they feel now, and it's not what you would expect.

Go out there and do something yucky!

What is the yuckiest thing you've ever experienced?

* * * * *

Only five days until the MEME Blog Hop!

I'm hosting this awesome blog hop with the wonderful C. Lee McKenzie and Tara Tyler. Be it funny, encouraging, or inspiring, we want to see them. Join us the week of February 29th - March 4th. There will be prizes and a giveaway for participants!
 

Sign up HERE!

Wicked Wednesday - shouting it out

When I meet someone or run in to a person I haven't seen in a long time, I do not announce that I'm a writer. In fact, I'm shy about telling people I write books, and it has nothing to do with the genres I write either.

I know lots of writers have the same problem. I promised myself that this year I would be more bold. When I fill out forms for the doctor or dentist, I won't put homemaker as my job. I'll put author. When someone asks what I do for a living, I will declare I'm a writer. Well, I might get a little squirmy and blush and mumble, but I'll get it out.

I had my first opportunity last week (not including my dentist appointment last month!). My husband and I were working out at the gym, and we ran into a guy my husband used to work with. He's a friendly, everyday sort of guy.

I was already red and sweaty from being on a machine. So I thought here's my chance. I can do this!

When the guy asked what I've been doing, I told him I was a writer. He perked up, interested in hearing more, and asked what I wrote. I replied, "I write books for adults."

 

I received an odd look. He said, "Oh yeah?"

 

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, I write books for grown-ups." Not any better. Come on, come on. "Urban fantasy and paranormal stories. And erotic romance."

Ha! I said it out loud. Yes!

The guy was very cool about it. He asked if I had a fun pen name and if I had a publisher. He thinks I should have gone with a funny pen name, but at least we were all laughing and talking about it.

If you're a writer, do you proudly declare it to everyone or are you shy about it?

And speaking of books for adults, you can pre-order Big Yearning on Amazon and Kobo. Two more days until the release!

Wicked Wednesday - the marketing conumdrum

(Jay Sherman from The Critic. Geek points if you remember the show!)

Last week for the IWSG, I shared my insecurities about marketing. I already knew many writers have the same worries about promotion, but it amazed me just how many had no idea what was working and what wasn't. Everyone just keeps pushing onward, hoping something might click.

Once upon a time, it wasn't an author's job to market their work. The publisher did it. Nowadays, the responsibility rests solely upon the writer. It doesn't matter if you're self-published or traditionally published. We now have to be both the artist and marketer. Most of us just aren't built that way. We prefer to stay hidden away in our writing caves and not have to deal with it.

But we have to get our work out there in front of readers. Painful as it is, we have to promote.

You can read all the articles on marketing you want and take a dozen workshops, but sad to say it, it might not help. What works for one author might not work for another. In fact, there are so many different ways to promote your work that very few paths will be the same.

And in the end, it takes a big dose of good luck to succeed.

So why do all that work then? If it's all about luck, there's no point in stressing over marketing. Goodness knows I'd prefer to write stories and not stand out on a street corner shouting, "Buy my book! Buy my book!" Because that's how marketing my books feels to me.

Here's the thing: each reader you reach increases your chances of being lucky. All it takes is that one person to set off a chain reaction.

 

Do everything you can to attract readers. Try it all at least once. It's immensely stressful, but in the end, your hard work will pay off.

Wicked Wednesday - binge reading and release dates

(For some reason the picture won't stay rotated!)

Hi. My name is Christine and I'm a binge reader. If I find a new series I really love, I'm going to read the books as fast as I can get my hands on them. I won't stop for anything else until I've mentally ingested them all.

If the series isn't finished, and I have to wait a while for the next book, it's painful. I want it. And I want it now!

Society has been seeing a rising trend of binge watchers. You see those memes all the time.

This is creating more binge readers.

What does this mean for authors? Well, series do excellently. The problem with this is that it takes a long time to write a series.

I've learned the hard way to write all the books in a series BEFORE releasing them. This way you can concentrate on promoting the series, and you can release them in quicker succession. But how quick is quick enough?

That's my big question of the day. Everyone has varying opinions. Six months is too long. Many readers will have moved on by then. Three months gives you plenty of breathing room. I like having a month between releases. But then I've read that having two weeks between releases keeps your sales from drooping.

What do you think about release dates for series? And are you a binge watcher/reader?

Wicked Wednesday - your own worst critic

Have you ever found yourself making this face at something you've written, or something you've made, a task you didn't get quite right, or even at your own reflection? I do. A lot.

I am my own worst critic. Which, in turn, makes me my own worst boss. It gives power to that nagging voice in my head that says I'm not doing enough and what I am doing isn't good. The rotten voice that drags me down and makes me want to give up on everything.

Sometimes I can defeat my inner critic with my defiant will. I will finish writing the story and it will be dang good. I'll show that doubter I can achieve my goals.

Other times, my will falters. I can't manage to rally the strength to power through with a KAPOW! What then? Do I fall into the black hole?

I've learned how to avoid the void (most of the time!). You don't need to pull all your energy together at once and attack the critic. What you can do is chip away at it. Little acts. Writing for five minutes. It adds up. Stretch during the commercials of your favorite show. Your body will feel better for it. Smile and hold the door open for a stranger. Doing something nice for someone else will help drown out the critic.

The critic usually nags you about the big stuff. But it is the small things that can topple it.

How do you handle your inner critic?

Wicked Wednesday - reviewing the numbers

I always find it interesting to hear how other authors are doing on social media. Do they focus on one or two sites or a bunch of them? How many hours do they put in? What are their marketing tactics? To give you an idea of what I do, here are my numbers from last year.

Start of 2015:
Facebook: 332
Twitter: 4796
Blog: 523 (GFC)
Newsletter: 18

Last year, I had my first books published with my publisher. This brought me to a new audience. Did it help on social media? I don't know. I'll break each of the four main tools I use down individually.

End of 2015:
Facebook: 409

I don't use Facebook (FB) much for promoting. I post maybe three times a week on my author page. (Mostly I use my personal page to put up pictures of my kid and cat!) I'm not a big fan of FB. My numbers did go up. They rose with my giveaways at the beginning of 2015 when one of the entries was to like my page.

Twitter: 6101

I made the most changes to how I handle Twitter. I promote my books less - only two or three times a day. I used to do it at least a half dozen times. I interact with people more, talking about all sorts of things beyond books. This has helped and has made Twitter more enjoyable to me. I unfollowed all the inactive followers, the spammers, the bots, and the ones just selling stuff. I'm following less people than are following me.

Blog: 522

I always say my blog is my number one tool. I still believe it even though it doesn't seem the number has changed much at all. I can only go by the number on GFC. It has gone up to 528 and dropped to 519 over the year. It's stable. I do know I have new readers following in other ways because they comment. Sometimes people will do so on the blog, but they also email and comment via Twitter or Goodreads. I always do my best to return comments on the blogs of people who comment on mine.

Newsletter: 156

This is the biggest jump. The one that made me most excited. I know exactly where over 120 of these new subscribers came from too. Back in September, the marvelous Graeme Ing posted 35 free ebooks on his blog and the response was astounding. Here's the post in case you want to get yourself some awesome free ebooks! Within the first week, I had over 50 new subscribers. If you have a newsletter, you know it's super tough to get people to sign up for it. I offer a free ebook to new subscribers, but that alone didn't draw in a lot of readers. Graeme's post was the key.

My 2015 review and sales numbers were, well, not even worth reporting. Not a good year. Except I still don't know how my Paramours series has done since they came out in the final quarter, and my publisher has no sales ratings on their site. That check will come to me in a few weeks.

2016 will be a fun year to watch the numbers. I hope to start releasing my newest series, Totem, and it will sing to the 13th Floor fans. (I do wish I kept track of my numbers in 2013 when I was releasing those books!) I'm going to try a few different marketing strategies that don't involve me wearing myself down every time I release one of the books.

Do you keep track of your numbers? What tactics do you use for your social media tools?

Wicked Wednesday - stuff that stocking!

What does Santa stuff your stocking with?

My mom still buys stockings and stuffs them for my brother and I. My husband is very appreciative of this because that means he doesn't have to do it! Mostly she fills it with toiletries, treats, socks, and notebooks.

If I could choose what Santa put into my stocking, it would be books. (And chocolate!) While I do love paper books, I could get more if I had an electronic stocking to stuff with ebooks. I've read over 100 books this year and the great majority of them were on my Kindle.

Here's your chance to stuff your digital stocking! Mary Pax is hosting the Stuff Your Stocking Event. There are 17 free ebooks from MG to YA to comics and fantasy and sci-fi and paranormal romance. Even a cookbook! Plus there's a giveaway for a $40 gift card. Click on the link and give yourself some gifts.

Included in the event is your chance to get either The 13th Floor Complete Collection or Of Blood and Sorrow. All you have to do is join my newsletter. See that handy dandy little widget on the right of my blog? Just type your email address in and jingle-jingle! You can pick either ebook in whatever format you need.

Tawa also wants me to remind you that Fearless is always free. So many readers have expressed their love for her (and the story!) over the years, I might be posting a new Fearless story on Wattpad next year. Either a prequel to this one or a tale about another Fearless warrior.

Wicked Wednesday - writing for the holidays

(A Krampus monster from the local Krampus parade)

I don't just mean writing for Christmas holidays. I'm talking about any holiday. Groundhog Day to Easter to Halloween.

That specific time of year rolls around and writers get inspired to write about it. Write when the inspiration hits. Holidays bring up a lot of powerful emotions and memories. There is a ton of inspiration strolling around, too, like the Krampus. Use it to your advantage.

Yet there is one problem with writing a holiday themed story on that holiday: it will be too late to publish it for that time of year once you're done.

The way I've dealt with that problem is to push my muse ahead six months holiday-wise. I've already written a couple of Valentine's Day stories and one Easter piece. I'll start in on some summer stories next month.

This way, I have holiday themed stories set to send out to various venues with plenty of time to rise up in the slush piles and be seen by editors with still a few months to spare before the holiday itself. I send Christmas stories out in June and July. Publishers usually get loads of those ones.

And yes, I do get inspired to write seasonal tales during those particular times of year. It just means I have to sit on them a little longer before submitting. As I said, write when the inspiration hits, but submit with enough time for an editor to get to your story and comfortably fit you in their schedule.

Have you ever written a holiday themed story?

Wicked Wednesday - snapping the best picture

This past weekend, my family and I tried to get a decent portrait. So many pictures. So much chaos.

No one can ever smile at the same time. And if they do, the smiles are creepy or weird. Someone inevitably blinks when the camera clicks. Another person is looking away. Someone's fussing with their hair. Stand still. Put your hands down. Then the frustration sets in. Grumpy faces and sneers. Finally, exhaustion.

This is how I feel when it comes to writing. (Because everything I do, I compare to writing!) Your characters are not going to cooperate. One of them is doing what he's supposed to be doing but then another is off screwing things up. Two people are growling at each other when they're supposed to be a couple. It's especially difficult when you have a big cast of characters. How do you get them to do what they're supposed to do?

Take multiple pictures.

Yup. That's the one and only trick. Keep rewriting until it's right.

Eventually everyone will be looking at the camera, standing still, and smiling nicely. Okay, someone might be fidgeting and there might be an odd twinkle in another person's eye, but the tiny quirks are okay. Keep those. That's what makes it unique.

Nope:

Almost.

Wait. We regressed and lost two smiles.

Yes?

Wicked Wednesday - giving your readers the creepy-crawlies

Giving your readers the chills is a tough thing to do. There's only one Stephen King. As for the rest of us, we have to use all the tricks at our disposal.

- When I think creepy atmosphere, I think setting. Graveyards, haunted houses, empty streets. Just placing your characters in an ill-lit room will help immensely. Yet it doesn't have to be a horror stereotype. If you're good, you can make any setting spooky. The reader is going to expect something out of the ordinary even if you place the scene in the ladies' restroom or a wig shop.

- It's in the details. Don't over do it with lavish descriptions of dusty cobwebs, the wind blowing the drapes, and something lurking in the shadows. Drop a chilly detail here and there. Something that might be normal but isn't quite. Something that will make the reader wonder. A writer's best tool in creating a spooky scene is the reader's imagination. The reader will always imagine something horrible and help to give themselves goosebumps.

- Part of the creepiness of a story is in creating suspense and tension. You want the reader on the edge of their seat. An effective way of doing this is through the characters' reactions. Don't let your text be filled with too much thinking. Describe what they're seeing, hearing, smelling. Use all the senses. Write their physical reactions. Spooky stories are about showing rather than telling.

- Even with paranormal tales where things are out of the ordinary, try to keep things as realistic as possible. What scares people the most is if they start thinking something like that is possible. Hit on the things that frighten people the most and use them to help build up the tension.

What tricks do you use for creating a spooky atmosphere in your stories?

(Note: I've been a little busy lately. So these tips are reposted from a post I did in 2011. I've been doing Wicked Wednesdays that long? Wow.)

Click on over to the spooky Untethered Realms and find yourself an enchanted drink. We have the recipes! Even one from Jezebel.

Wicked Wednesday - tips for multi-tasking manuscripts

That's how I look when I try to do more than one thing at a time. I'm one of those writers who focus on one project and finish it before diving into a new one. Most of the time, I'm highly efficient. So does that make me crazy to want to attempt to work on two projects at once?

I see other writers who are brilliant at multi-tasking projects. I am in awe. But I know all of us are different. What works for one person might not for another. We don't know until we try, though.

Two projects. Yikes. I'm taking a deep breath here. I'm collecting advice from other authors who are successful multi-taskers.

- Create a schedule and stick with it. Sounds easy, but what if you're on a roll? Too bad. Stop and continue again tomorrow. Be firm with yourself.

- It helps if your projects are vastly different from one another. That way, you won't get tired of too much of the same thing.

- Keep writing. Don't edit as you go. Leave that for the revision stage.

- Don't neglect other aspects of your life. Make sure you have time to spend with family and friends, exercise, and sleep. You will be a happier writer for it.

- Finally, finish what you start. If you find your focus is off because you have too much on your plate, drop one project. 

Do you have any tips to share about multi-tasking projects?

Wicked Wednesday - thinking about covers

(The action cover where the young hero fights a pirate!)

With my newest series, I'll have nine covers. I'd love to be able to afford a cover artist, but for nine covers? Yikes. So I'll be designing them myself.

And yes, I'm thinking about this way ahead of time. I've only finished the first rough draft of the of first novella. But I like to give myself a lot of time to think about important things. Covers are immensely important, after all. Most of us will say we don't judge books by their covers, but a gorgeous one will attract readers.

(The proud moment of accomplishment cover.)

The Totem series is paranormal romance (PNR) along the same lines as the 13th Floor series. Not all romance, but the relationships are pivotal to the plots.

I like to go simple when designing covers. I've learned some new Photoshops tricks since I made the 13th Floor covers. I believe I can step it up a notch this time. But which direction should I go?

Many PNR covers about shifters have the character(s) on the cover with their animals in the background. Or their eyes are animalistic in their beautiful human faces as they stare at the reader. Do I follow the standard formula? Or do I try to go my own way?

Here are my options. I'm curious as to what you as readers prefer.

1) These nine books are about three sisters. Each book will have one of the sisters narrating. They'll each get three books. I could focus on the women alone. Each cover would have the sister who's narrating, so readers will know who it is about.

2) Nine books. Three sisters. Three love interests. The first three books will have one of the sisters on each of them, and the next three books would have the men. The final three books would feature them as couples. I'm leaning in this direction because I believe PNR readers would like to see handsome men gracing the covers. (To this day, Xan still gets compliments!)

3) Nine books. Three sisters. Three love interests. Seven totems. If I don't want to use people on the covers, I could focus on the totem animals. Go with cool Inuit drawings. Yet the problem here is that only books 2-8 will have specific animals. Could I merge the totems with the models? Yes, possibly. I don't want to make my job overly difficult, though. But then what to do with books 1 and 9?

Right now, I need to stop looking at stock pictures and get writing!

(The what-the-heck cover that doesn't make sense when you read the story!)

Note: All the photos are of my son and Thee Bluebeard. He's a hilarious pirate captain looking for a new crew. He invites people on stage and makes them do weird things. It was the one thing my little guy wanted at the renaissance faire since he saw Bluebeard last year. He got his wish and it was awesome!

Wicked Wednesday - pleasing the perfectionist

I confess, I'm a bit of a perfectionist. When it comes to certain things, my standards are sky high. This makes me my own worst boss when it comes to writing full-time.

Last week, I was struggling with my WIP. But I pushed through and finished it. The first draft of the first book of the Totem series is done. (Yes, you might notice I even have a name for the series too! No more BS!)

It has to be the roughest rough draft I've ever written. Because I am a perfectionist, it stresses me out. Only in the past few years have I come to accept that my first drafts aren't going to be brilliant. Rewriting does make a good story better. Rewriting again makes it shine even more. Polish, polish, polish until the perfectionist in me is pleased.

My high standards do stress me out, but they also push me forward. I am tenacious. I won't give up on my dreams.

Once upon a time, that dream was to be the next Stephen King. Now I want to be the first Christine Rains. My journey is different from King's and I will savor every step of it. (But, you know, if I happen to end up the next Stephen King, I won't complain!)

Hold yourself to high standards and push yourself to be better. You deserve it.

Wicked Wednesday - when things get tough

You have this fantastic idea. It's shiny and beautiful. You can't wait to start writing. But it won't come out right. The words just aren't flowing. This idea, it needs to be shared. It won't leave you alone.

When things get tough...

Flopping down onto the ground and crying can help release some of the stress. So can eating a tub of ice cream. Though your stomach will hate you for it.

My current WIP is tough. I haven't nailed the protagonist's voice and I'm over halfway through. I know her two sisters very well (and they'll be the protagonists of the next novellas), and her hero is so much fun to write. I don't have a title for the book or the series yet. And yes, that is bothering me much more than it should. There are so many things I need to set up in this first story, I hope I'm doing it smoothly.

I want it to be awesome. The story deserves my best. No. Better than my best. I have to push myself further.

My anxiety is even higher because I put aside the previous novel I started earlier this year because it was tough. Though the problem with that one was different than this.

So now here I am tackling an even bigger project. It's intimidating. But that makes me want to go for it even more.

What do you do when things get tough?

(Sidenote: This photo of my son is of the first time I set him in a pile of leafs. Clearly he didn't like it. Nowadays, if there is a pile of leafs, I can't keep him out of it!)

Wicked Wednesday - teasing you with The Paramours covers & a release date

BIG NEWS!

Yesterday I received the release date for Ghost Dancer from my publisher. It's September 25th. Wait... that's next week! It's wonderful and exciting and totally moving much faster than I expected. I don't have anything planned right now, but at least let's celebrate with cookies and ice cream!

Oh, and some cover love.

Let me know what you think of The Paramours covers.

(The Paramours #1)

Nina Azure is a Lakota Ghost Dancer.

He's a ghost. Doesn't it make you want to be haunted by him?

(The Paramours #2)

Claire McKinney has a theory that poltergeists aren't spirits or demons.

And if they look like him, I'd be talking to the TV screen like that little girl!

(The Paramours #3)

Vivian Ray is serious about the ghost hunting business.

The spirits that possess her and a handsome medium have seriously steamy business too.

Wicked Wednesday - choose wisely thy notebook

It's that exciting moment when you have a shiny new idea. It's growing so huge that it's starting to get too large for your mind. So you reach into your drawer and pull out a notebook.

I don't know about other writers, but I do have a drawer filled with paper, pens and pencils, rubbers, and notebooks. It's a weird collection of different styles. Mainly leaning to the people that gifted me these items and not to my tastes. But that's okay. Paper is paper and I am happy to write on anything.

My newest project is a big one. Nine paranormal romance novellas. A big cast of characters. A wide range of settings and a thickly entangled plot. It gets bigger every time I think about it. And it's dark. I'm basing it on Inuit lore. Most of those myths are not happily ever after tales.

So what do I pull out of my drawer? A notebook with pretty butterflies and pink pages.

....

Yeah, I know. What was I thinking? The design does not fit the story. Come on, butterflies?! And it's not a very big notebook. Clearly I hadn't been thinking about what I was writing in when I pulled it out.

But it amuses me to write the notes for this story in that notebook. I smile to see it on my desk. I feel the little butterflies of excitement in me.

Maybe it is the right notebook for this story.

Sidenote: The black composition book on my desk holds five of my completed story ideas. I use it to reference things when promoting or answering questions. My Kindle does have an ad for Susan Kaye Quinn's book there. (How do you get your ad to show up on people's Kindles like that?) And yes, that is an old Gameboy Color. I'm currently replaying Dragon Warrior Monsters. It's a bit like Pokemon but cooler.

Wicked Wednesday - dream inspiration

(My author picture processed through the Google Deep Dream Generator.)

A lot of my inspiration for stories comes from dreams. And I don't mean the Google Deep Dream Generator there. Though, I hear a lot of people saying those pictures are causing nightmares. I just think it's fascinating.

I'm a vivid dreamer. I dream in full color and I know I'm dreaming. I can change my actions and wake up if I want. Yet I usually go with the flow and see what happens.

Lately I've been having more disturbing dreams than usual. Ones where I'm finding myself in dire circumstances and faced with immense decisions. Most of the time, these are supernatural situations.

 

My life has had big changes lately. My son started kindergarten and I'm getting a chance at being a full time writer. It's a lot of pressure. And it seems my subconscious agrees by giving me all these intense dreams.

Of course, as an author, my first thought is: how do I use this in my writing? Dreams help us see things differently. The everyday world can become mundane, but things become more wonderful, silly, and/or frightening in dreams. They can change our perspective and that might be just what your muse needs if stuck on a story or in need of an idea for a new one.

I don't keep a dream journal. I remember my dreams most of the time, but it's a good idea to scribble down even a few things you recall from your dreams as prompts or ideas for later.

Do you find inspiration in your dreams?

Wicked Wednesday - be okay with it

(This is the kind of picture you get when I can't find an appropriate quote online!)

Earlier this year, I started writing a new urban fantasy novel. It was a big idea, heavy and thick. But it was slow going. I felt like my mojo was stuck in the mud. I told myself it was because the story was challenging me and that's a good thing.

When summer break started, I had far less time to write. It was harder to find the writing groove. But I still believed I could finish the novel by the end of September. I was motivated. I knew where I was going with it.

Again, the words came slow. I wondered what was wrong with me. Because the story certainly was not at fault.

I decided to put it aside for a week or two. A little break was what I needed. That break grew into three weeks and then six.

Why wasn't I racing to write it? The idea is brilliant. Maybe I wasn't telling the story right. Perhaps I should start all over again. Am I not a good enough writer for this idea? Did I just crash and burn? Will I ever get my mojo back? Panic, fear, sorrow, freaking out, not enough chocolate in the world.

I started to write a new series of novelettes and they're flowing beautifully. So I guess I didn't lose my mojo.

But what about the novel? The idea is still like a shining star to me. I will go back to it. For now, I just need to be okay with putting it aside.

Maybe I will have to start over again and tell the tale differently. Not everything is going to come to me easily. It's part of the learning process. I need to be okay with that too.

And I need to be okay with being okay about it. It doesn't make me a failure. I haven't lost anything.

What are you working on being okay with?

Wicked Wednesday - examining newsletters

One of the most handy tools a writer can use is the newsletter. You can promote your new book, share a contest, and tease your readers with a new project. Newsletters are a special tool in our arsenal because they're all about the readers. Or, at least, they should be.

My newsletter - Geeks, Freaks, & EEKS! - is one year old this month. It was intimidating when I started. I use MailChimp, and it took a little while to get the hang of it. Now it's easy to piece together a bulletin when I've decided what I want to say.

I worried that no one except a few friends would sign up for it. I pointed readers to the little widget on the sidebar of my blog and website. All you have to do is put in your email address. So simple! I was right to worry. Very few people subscribed.

Why? How could I entice readers to sign up? I offered contests just for my subscribers and a couple more folks added their names to the list. When I toured earlier this year, I gave the most points on my raffles to those that signed up for my newsletter. It attracted another dozen readers.

Now that I've reached the anniversary of my newsletter, I'm re-examining what I want to do with it and how to draw new subscribers. I've done a bunch of research, and here is what I have planned:

1. I will be sending out my newsletter quarterly instead of every month. (And for special events like book releases.)
2. There will be something in each newsletter exclusively for subscribers that won't be released anywhere else until at least two days after the newsletter has been sent.
3. I'll be attracting new subscribers with a free book.

Oh yes. You read it right! New subscribers to my newsletter will receive their choice of either The 13th Floor Complete Collection or Of Blood and Sorrow. (Sorry I cannot give away my Dice & Debauchery books.)

I'll be sending out my anniversary newsletter this Friday (August 14th). One lucky subscriber will win some swag including one of my special Christine Rains dice. So if you do sign up, you'll not only get a free book, but you'll have a chance to win some more cool stuff!

It's all about the readers.

Do you have a newsletter? If you do, what tips can you share about how to attract subscribers?