Word Witch Wednesday - three marketing myths

It's one of our responsibilities as writers to research things. Not just stuff we'll need for our stories, but marketing, websites, covers, etc. There are a wide range of things we need to keep on top of to remain marketable. And it can be exhausting.

Many articles tell us the things we must do. But as I've cruised around the internet, I am reminded there is nothing we must do. There are things we should do, but every writer's journey is different. What works for one person might not work for others. We each must try out various strategies to see what works for ourselves. It's frustrating there's no magical formula, but if you're determined, you'll find a way.

Here are three marketing myths I've discovered in my research adventures:

1. "Create an author tagline." I've heard again and again this is essential in branding yourself. It does help in letting readers know your genre, but what if you write in more than one genre? It doesn't work for you. Many of the bestsellers' sites I've visited do not have author taglines. The majority of them have "New York Times Bestseller" to accompany their name on site banners. It says nothing about their genres. They use other aspects of their sites to let readers know what they write, and you can too.

2. "The newsletter is the new, big thing. Every writer must have one." Nope. Not essential if you have another way you're connecting with readers. Newsletters are bigger with some genres than others. Romance readers love them. Horror readers, not so much. Most bestsellers have newsletters, but they maybe send them out twice a year. I've signed up for ones that I have never received an email from.

3. "If the story is fantastic, it will sell your books." There are so many amazing stories that get buried under the millions of other books out there. What helps is to have a professional cover. It tells the reader what kind of genre it is at a glance and what to anticipate in the story. While I've seen authors that sell well with simple covers consisting only of text and maybe a symbol or an object, they usually already have an audience. A gorgeous cover can draw readers to you even if they don't know your name.

Don't exhaust yourself trying to figure out your marketing formula. Trust me. I know from experience how maddening it can be. Do what you're comfortable with. Do what you enjoy. Because if you lose your joy, you might lose you drive to write. Marketing has chased many aspiring writers away. Don't let it crush you.

What marketing myths have you discovered?

#IWSG for May 2017

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is the brilliant idea of Alex J. Cavanaugh. The purpose of the group is to share doubts and insecurities and to encourage one another. Please visit the other participants and share your support. A kind word goes a long way.

This month's awesome co-hosts are: Nancy Gideon, Tamara Narayan, Liesbet @ Roaming About, Michelle Wallace, and Feather Stone!

May IWSG question: What's the weirdest/coolest thing you ever had to research for your story?

Research is one of my favorite things about being a writer. I love discovering little known myths and strange nuggets of history. I often get lost by following links while researching, and when I close the browser, I realize I've spent over two hours on there.

I've researched a lot about crimes, psychology, and dead bodies. Even though I write about the supernatural a lot, I like to have the hard facts in my stories match reality. For my last story (Totem #8), I did a lot of research on astral projection and bears fighting. For me, the weirdest research I did for it was on luxury snowmobiles. They're totally like smart cars on skis!

I can't wait to hear what you've been researching!

Word Witch Wednesday - marketing firsts

Twenty-six days until the release of the first book in my Totem series. Writing the books have been amazingly fun, but marketing them, well, I have some new white hairs.

I've been doing a lot of research on book promotion. My first reaction was: AAAH! I've been doing it wrong all along. *falls down and cries* Okay. Maybe that's a little overdramatic, but that's how I felt. In the past, I did cover reveals, blog tours, blitzes, and giveaways, but it was not helping me reach a larger audience.

I had not been taking advantage of two key marketing tools: ads and newsletters. All my research states these two things should be what authors are focusing on.

ADS:

- You need money to buy ads. So what if you're not selling enough? Look for venues that will shout-out about your book for cheap or free. Or ask for ad money for your birthday like I did.

- Research the ad sites. Some have strict submission requirements. Make sure they will accept your book.

- Plan way ahead. Some venues are booked two months in advance.

I decided to go with The Fussy Librarian. The prices are very affordable, and the site is easy to navigate. Nothing to be intimidated about there. I have an ad scheduled for October 25th for Dark Dawning (Totem #1). And yes, I'll let you know how it goes.

I also have a sale next month for Of Blood and Sorrow. It will be the first time I've put it on sale, and I hope to lure readers to the Totem series with the novel. I submitted it to Ereader News Today. It's more expensive than The Fussy Librarian, but it has a bigger audience. Plus, they only take novels. I could not advertise my Totem books on there. The ad will coincide with the first day of the sale on October 12th.

NEWSLETTERS:

- According to several authors, this is the key tool for connecting with readers, and you can create one for free. Well, it's free up to a certain point, and then you'll have to pay. But if you make it to that point, you'll be making enough sales to afford the small cost.

- Newsletters are easy to create once you're familiar with the template.

- Building your newsletter list is difficult. Offering freebies and holding giveaways helps, but in the long run, you're building your list one subscriber at a time. (I offer a digital copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection to new subscribers.)

- You can grow your list with newsletter swaps. What's this, you ask? I only recently started to take advantage of this myself. You trade book info with another author and each of you feature the other in their newsletter. This works very well for those of us who have a small following when paired with authors who have huge lists.

Last Friday, I asked for authors who have books with shifters in them to do swaps. I'd love to feature them alongside my Totem books over the next few months. Please leave a comment below or email me if you're interested.

Have you tried ads to sell your books? Do you have a newsletter, and if so, how do you go about building your list?

Word Witch Wednesday - the mad science of book covers (part 1)

I've spent a lot of time creating book covers this year. I put as many hours into them as I did writing the first drafts! Maybe I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, but readers do judge books by their covers. It is the first thing that needs to grab their attention.

I'm going to share with you my process over the next few months, and end with the reveal of the first three Totem covers.

The first important thing you need to do before you start creating is know your genre. This is vital. The cover will need to declare where your book fits. If it has a sub-genre, be aware of that too.

My genre: the Totem series is urban fantasy. My sub-genres: there is a strong element of romance, and the protagonists are shifters.

Once you have your genre, it's research time. Google makes it very easy. Do an image search and compare several covers of books in your genre. What are the common elements? What makes some covers stand out from the others? What makes you want to pick up a book?

Urban fantasy cover common elements:

- urban background at night. Usually cityscape or forest.

- protagonist the central feature. Typically ready to fight. And nobody smiles. (Seriously. It's like smiling is against the law on urban fantasy covers!)

- dark colors, sometimes misty, to create an ominous atmosphere.

- books in a series need to share a common look.

Sub-genre common elements:

- a little bit of sexiness for the romance. But not the oh-la-la type!

- the animal or a hint of the animal the protagonist can shift into.

Optional:

- silhouetted villain/danger lurking in the background.

- silhouetted love interest lurking being protective in the background. In human or animal form.

What makes me want to pick up a book? A protagonist that looks unusual. Not your typical beauty with a sword or tattooed beefcake. A background that tells a story as much as the character featured. A hint of brilliant color along with the dark and mysterious colors.

A big order, but I'm determined to fill it.

Next post on the mad science of book covers: your general concept.

P.S. I'm calling this the "mad science" of book covers because piecing the elements together is science. Yet there is something magical in making it all come together as a whole. An awesome cover artist is a little mad with the magic, and that's what makes their art stand out.

Swept Away Tour - guest post by Elizabeth Seckman

I'm excited to have the amazing Elizabeth Seckman on my blog today. I see some nerdiness coming up! I'm super excited. Take it away, Elizabeth!

* * * * * 

Hi Christine!  Thanks for having me over.

I know you like geeky things, so I thought I'd come and share my favorite tips for researching for fiction.

Have fun. Einstein can't be wrong. I enjoy museums, documentaries, and non-fiction books. By indulging in that sort of fun, I am not only working, I am becoming the one very wicked Trivial Pursuit competitor.

Talk to people. People are so full of stories and little-known facts. And all you need to do is ask and listen. My novel,  Past Due, is set in 1999, right after the Cape Hatteras lighthouse's historic move inland. I found all the boring facts on the net- things like distance traveled, who did it...yada, yada...All the stuff that would probably make a reader's eyes cross. The best information, I got from islanders. You'd be amazed how many people are eager to put in their two cents when they know you're researching for a book.

Watch people.  We all know this one, right? Watch how people move...how they respond to situations...your world is full of amazing characters. You just need to take what they're doing and turn it into words.

Read memoirs and diaries. In writing Bella's Point, a historical novel set after the American Civil War, I read diaries from that era. It helped get my brain in that time period. Now, I know not everything is historically accurate in that story, but I like to think the flavor is palatable.

Use the net to your advantage. The world is at your finger tips. You can search pictures and facts- heck, you can even find people to chat with who are in the situations and places you are writing about. In Swept Away, Tucker is a former Marine. As a Marine, he should have picked up a certain amount of military lingo. I've never been in the military, so I went to Facebook (and my big brother who is former Army) and asked people who have served...what would you call this and that? Facebook is a great place for input. In writing Defying Reason, I wanted to know...if someone is arrested and put in jail, do they get to make phone calls home? I found out that all states have their own communication rules and at the time of the story, West Virginia did not allow calls to cell phone numbers. That tidbit worked perfectly into the Defying Reason plot.

Research after you write the story. For the minute details, research what needs filled in after the story is done. You want details to be accurate, but at the same time, you want those facts to be part  of the landscape of the story, not the highlights. Fiction isn't meant to read like an encyclopedia of facts, and I think sometimes, when we get excited about all the research we've dug up, we can dump it all in and bog a story down. So, finish the story, then during the edit stage, find the facts that support or compliment your tale. 

He came looking for a ghost. Instead, he found a girl. 

Tucker Boone is a war-hardened Marine on a ghost hunt. Fresh out of the corps, Tucker learns he has a missing half-sister, Maddy. The only clue to her whereabouts is a cryptic note…I’ve gone Mad, Mags. Tucker agrees to search for her and heads to Ocracoke, North Carolina where a ghost named Mad Mags is said to haunt the ancient graveyards dotting the island. 

The note doesn’t bring him any closer to finding Maddy, but it does offer him a diversion to the doldrums of civilian life— his new island neighbor, Josie McCoy. Tucker is drawn to her quiet spirit. There’s something special about Josie…a connection he can’t quite explain. 

By summer’s end, he’s mixed up in deception, murder, and the love of a lifetime. Logic tells him to head home and forget the truths he found on the island. But can he walk away? Josie offers him more than love; she offers him hope. When the clues pile up and it looks like she can never be the girl for him, he has to make a choice- play it safe and break her heart, or risk everything for a chance at being swept away.

Elizabeth is a multi-published author and family laundry wench.  She is the mother of four boys, who are quickly all becoming men! Her life is filled with stinky size-twelve shoes and beard clippings in the sink. Is it any wonder she enjoys days spent writing women's fiction of stories of romance and happily ever after? 

Amazon/ Facebook / Blog / Website 

Friday Five for May 20, 2016

1. I managed to get a little more writing done this week, but I got sidetracked by research. A lot. I must learn to be more disciplined when reading about fascinating stuff!

2. Tomorrow is my local critique group meeting. I sent in my newest flash piece for them to rip apart. Next Tuesday, the group will be doing a panel for a class at the local university. My nervousness about it has not eased. Talking in front of people terrifies me, but that's why I do it.

3. I started reading the first Harry Potter book with my son. He's not nearly excited about it as I am! He's much more into his Greek Myth book lately. He's obsessed with minotaurs and mazes and wants a three-headed dog named Cerebus! Hey little guy, there's a three-headed dog in Harry Potter. Hehehe!

4. One week of school left. I must write like a madwoman this coming week!

5. I had a terrific time at the zoo yesterday with my son and his classmates... and forty-eight other busloads of children from various schools. What was the zoo thinking?!

Go forth and have an awesome weekend!

Saturday Six for June 23rd

1. I didn't get a chance for a Friday Five yesterday, so I added one and made it a Saturday Six. I had a good reason for it, though. Cherie Reich's Women of Foxwick is an awesome collection of fantasy short stories. You can read my review here.

2. I took the plunge. I made a Facebook fan page and opened a Twitter account. Twitter is a bit overwhelming. I managed to link it to my fan page, so that a Twitter update goes on there too. My Goodreads is linked to Twitter which then goes on to Facebook. I need to find a way to link my blog, LinkedIn, and Google+ to it now too. I'm getting dizzy just thinking about this! Anyway, yes. Please like my page on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

3. I haven't done much writing at all this week. I've done a lot of networking research and creation. We'll count that as productive.

4. I edited my short story for this month and sent it to The World's Greatest Fantasy Writing Contest. My critique partners and my writing group liked it. My group agreed I needed to tighten the tension at the end. So I pulled the laces tight and cut out a bunch of words. Ouch.

5. My son is becoming more clearly introverted. I'm not surprised since my husband and I are introverts, but I had hoped that our son would have it a little easier. When we go places with a lot of people, he'll tell me there's "too many people" and ask to go home. He doesn't like share space with other people either. He'll go to the emptiest spot at the library, park or pool. I know how he feels, but it's going to be rough. I've been reading up on raising an introverted child. I hope I can do right by him. I don't want to traumatize him with any social situation as I was as a child, but I don't want him to miss out. I want him to understand there's nothing wrong with being an introvert. We're cool people too.

6. No plans for the weekend. Maybe a stop at the library and a walk in the woods. Have a good weekend, folks!

Wicked Wednesday - making the old something new

Paranormal romance novels feature a lot of creatures that come from popular mythology. Vampires, demons, and werewolves, oh my! The problem with this is that we see the same characters over and over again. It can get tiresome. Yet we love reading and writing about our favorite paranormal creatures. The trick is to take the old and make it something new.

Do your research. If you're writing about vampires, read everything you can about them. Legends, mythology, and fiction. Pick a few particular characteristics and play them up. Maybe your vampires can walk in the sun, but the sight of a holy symbol will blind them. Instead of having the bite cause ecstasy in the victim, let it cause nightmares.

During your research, you might come across little know tales. An obscure myth from a tiny country. These are the ones that you should latch on to. Find out what makes these creatures unique, and what in its culture led to the different take on them. It makes a big difference where your vampires are from because that's what made them the creatures they are now.

Don't be afraid to use exotic myths. A Hungarian legend says that a person can become a werewolf by passing under a birch arch three times with the help of a wild rose's spine. Serbian folklore has a vampire returning from the grave for the single purpose of fornicating with his widow. Armenian lore states that a woman guilty of one of the seven sins must spend seven years as a werewolf. Pick pieces from these myths and twist them to fit the modern world.

Of course the biggest source of originality is your imagination. Add something completely new to your werewolves, make them your own. Look to how the environment is changing and what effect that would have on people that can change into animals. How would that change them? Read about modern myths and make your vampires evolve into creatures that can rule the technological age. What characteristics would they gain to make that possible?

Do you have any tips on making the tired old creatures into something new?

Thank you to Cherie Reich for suggesting this topic. If anyone would like me to talk about any particular aspect of paranormal romance, please leave me a suggestion in the comments.

A to Z Challenge - H is for Horror

This post is part of one story lasting the whole challenge.

If you're just joining me, please start with A is for Abby.

H IS FOR HORROR

"You will stay at this table, read the books or whatever, but you will not bother me while I'm working." Abby hissed out the words, glaring down at Demetrius who only infuriated her further with his lazy smile. She grit her teeth and repeated, "Stay right here."

Abby turned and marched over to another table in the library where twin twelve-year-old girls sat. They whispered and giggled, stealing glances at Demetrius. They leaned on the table in unison as Abby sat down and took her texts out of her satchel.

"Is that your boyfriend, Miss White?" Amber asked. Her twin Violet added, "He's really cute." This set them giggling again.

"No. He's not my boyfriend. He's..." Abby searched for a proper cover story. "My cousin. Visiting from out of town." Her neck ached as she willed herself not to look in the fae's direction. She knew he heard that, knew he was grinning. She tapped the book in front of her. "Down to work, girls. Algebra today."

Abby spent the hour tutoring the girls, but her mind kept drifting. It was a good thing math came easily to her and that the twins weren't paying that much attention. She would've cancelled all her appointments, but she still needed to pay rent and, more importantly, tutoring let her communicate with the children. She would hear stories about kids having problems with nightmares or, a few of them already knew she could help them with monster problems and would pass notes to her through their friends. Other adults never believed them, but she did. Were there a few false calls? Yes. Lately, though, every one was real.

As they were collecting their things after the session, Demetrius sauntered over to the table. He grinned at the girls. "Hello girls. Did you enjoy your lesson with my lovely cousin?"

"It was good." Violet flushed and giggled.

"Though I bet you'd rather be reading those books of yours." Demetrius motioned to the books they currently held in their arms and sat on the edge of the table. Their math books were already stuffed in their knapsacks. "What are those about?"

"Oh, this is the new one by M.T. Burrows. Her stories are awesome scary." Amber gazed up at Demetrius with big dreamy eyes.

"I like a good horror story. Maybe I'll pick them up. Thanks for the recommendation." Demetrius made a small noise as he was pushed off the table and straightened up, still smirking.

"Go on, girls. Your mom is likely waiting for you out front." Abby shooed them off. The twins walked away, giggling and peeking over their shoulders at Demetrius. Abby frowned at him. "I told you not to talk to the kids."

"No harm done." He shrugged. Abby couldn't help but notice the t-shirt he was wearing stretched across his chest as if barely containing him. At least it wasn't as distracting as his tattoo.

"It's creepy. Did you actually do any research while you were sitting over there? I didn't see you open more than one book." Abby sighed and hooked her satchel over her shoulder.

"Not all knowledge of value can be found in books. Though it is books that I'm interested in. Especially those ones that the girls were reading. The Burrows books."

"They're just some silly stories. Fiction. Why? Do you like to read children's books?" Abby shook her head. She hoped he would be some help with her research, but she shouldn't have expected it from one of the wild fae. He likely never read a book in a life.

"No, but look." Demetrius put an arm over her shoulder and turned her in a slow circle. He spoke in a quiet voice near her ear. "I've been watching the children. Almost all of them have a copy of the book."

Abby scanned the library. There were a lot of kids since it was after school and just before dinner. What he said was true. It was a popular series.

"So?" She was very aware of his arm on her and the nearness of his mouth to her ear. It was difficult to think about books when she could just turn her head and press her lips to his.

No, no. None of that. She took a step away from him.

"I saw that book in the room last night. The gorilla room." He dipped his head to her, seemingly awaiting something. When she didn't reply immediately, he continued. "A scary book. Awesome scary. All the children are reading it. It's breeding the monsters."

Abby was about to protest, but then it clicked. She could have kicked herself for not seeing it sooner. It didn't take much to fuel a child's imagination. She had been going too deep, researching old folklore and history. She never saw what was there all along. She hadn't been thinking like a child. There were always horror stories and films. What was different about this one?

"Let's go buy a copy."