4/15/2015
Get Noticed
Getting noticed is my main goal, and so I am always looking for new ways to get my name and book out there. I thought that by asking friends, family and readers on my mailing list to post pictures of themselves reading my book would be a fun way of getting some much needed PR. And it is. I would recommend this to all new authors. It is a time consuming task but well worth the effort for three reasons. Firstly it helps to lift your confidence by seeing your book that you have put so much of yourself into, in a reader’s hand. Secondly it is a brilliant way to interact with readers on your mailing list, and thirdly, it gives you a great marketing tool to build on.
Getting reviews on Amazon. This can prove to be more difficult as people live busy lives. The importance of Amazon reviews is paramount and can really get you noticed, so to sweeten the deal you could offer free copies in return for a review. Book reviews are important for two reasons. Firstly you put a lot of effort into writing your book and most writers do this because, like me, they want people to read their work, (and hopefully enjoy it.) and Secondly, reviews are GOLD! the more reviews you have the higher you sit on your Amazon page. And if your goal is the same as mine, this will get you noticed. The first people you should approach for reviews are friends and family. However this is normally your least successful avenue. If you have already started to build a mailing list of readers then email your mailing list. Then get onto Twitter and make friends with bloggers. Be nice to bloggers because they can get you noticed and it is a labour of love for the vast majority of bloggers. Getting to the top page in your Amazon category? Keep a log of where your book is ranking in the category you chose. If a self-publishing company did this for you then check with them where you rank. You can change your category in KDP and Createspace to a less competitive category so that you are listed higher on the categories page. For example if you are in the category, General Romance you will be competing with thousands of other books, and books that have hundreds of reviews. Your book will never rank high in this category in its infancy. But another category with less books, and with lots of reviews from your friends, family, readers, and bloggers could push your book to the top. You can then make claim to being a number one best seller on Amazon. Even if you were only competing with fifty other books in that category! Keep it simple & smart (KISS) Share if you like this page,
3/1/2015
What's In Your Media Pack?My book launch is in 3 months and the last 3 months are alway the busiest. There are magazines to contact, newspapers, radio stations the works. This is why you should have a media pack ready to hand.
Publicity Media Packs What’s in yours? Do you have one? If not, get one set up! I have 11 things in my media pack. I may not need them all but they are all there in a file ready at a moments notice. 1) A press reales: This should have the following information: A. The Headline. About 25 words long, this is mine: (Normal girl next door defies dyslexia writing chick-lit novel, teachers said she would not amount to much so she based her characters on the girl she became.) B. The approach or angle. (My angle is an author with dyslexia ) C. All about you as an author of fiction and what makes you a credible source for the story. D. All about your fiction story. (Synopsis) E. Your contact information. 2) A tag line: My tag line for my first book "Gut Feeling" Was "Who do you trust if you can’t trust yourself" 3) A 40 to 50 Word synopses: 4) The official blurb: Your back cover synopsis 5) The elevator pitch: Have one prepared practiced to a tee so when people ask you "So what’s your book about?" dazzle them so they will run out the metaphoric lift and buy your book. Or if you are talking to a publisher or some kind your aim will be a request for more information about your book, or even a lunch meet. 6) No stone left unturned synopsis: This is for media only. If a publisher or newspaper wants to know the whole story they may ask for a full synopsis so they do not need to read the book, you need to include everything including the ending. 7) 5 to 10 Funny facts about you: Good to have to hand incase bloggers or newspapers ask you. Book trailers: You can make a good book trailer your self. I use sites like animoto and flixpress "My Book trailer for Third Time Lucky – The Honey Trap" 9) Author videos: Let the world know who you the author are. You can do this with a video of pictures or a video where you talk to the camera. I am currently working on the latter. 10) Short bio: This is a bio about you as an author here is mine. Victoria was born and raised in south London and now lives in California. Victoria left school and qualified as a dental nurse, she worked in Harley Street London before moving into the world of real estate. During this time she qualified as a mortgage broker and eventually opened her own real estate agency which she sold in 2012 and published her first novel 'Gut Feeling.' With a great deal of determination due to dyslexia Victoria progressed to where she is today, living in Santa Monica, with her Husband and cat Poppy. Victoria enjoys reading Sophie kinsella, Cecelia Ahern, Danielle Steel, Sebastian Faulks, J K Rowling / Robert Galbraith, to name a few. 11) Long bio: this should include more about your childhood, qualifications etc. Here is mine. "If I can do it, you can do it" You can do anything you want with enough passion and the right support. I finished writing my first book Gut Feeling in 2009 after a long struggle with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a cruel disability for a creative writer to have. I started writing when I was ten, however the vocabulary in my head did not match my spelling ability. I would find myself substituting words on paper in order to make my writing legible, unaware that is only detracted from my writing impact on the reader. Frustrated and angry, I got into trouble at school and left with poor grades. I put my writing to one side and focused on a career to pay the bills instead. I kept reading and writing in private with great difficulty until I sought help at the ripe old age of Twenty-five. One day I was happily reading Can You Keep a Secrete By Sophie Kinsella. As I read, I started to think that my book had a similar feel good factor and that my writing was nearly as good as Sophie's / Madeline's (minus the spelling errors and bad gamma). So I researched and found an editor. I asked him to appraise my manuscript then worked with him to polish it up ready for release in 2012. And the rest is history. Life is what you make it. Good luck x
1/1/2014
A writers business planThe importance of a Business plan for a writer is paramount. Having an internal plan helps you understand the gaps in your business model. It will also help you understand your personal and financial goals. The key to this plan is the “know your customer section” this is the section you should spend the most time on. DO YOUR RESEARCH! Do not think you know it all. Ask yourself questions and then find the answers. I have listed out the key questions you should have in your plan, you may want to add other questions depending on your business model. For instant, you may also be a public speaker or a life coach; maybe you want to write articles for magazines and newspapers. You can adapt your business plan any way you like. And do not forget your business budget plan. You can publish for as low as $1000 and as much as $25,000 this is why a business plan is paramount, it allows you to understand your goals and lets you set a budget so you can achieve them. I personally work out my business budget plan in excel and my business plans in word. The Business Type of business - Limited Company / sole trader? etc The Product Genre? Other services? Unique Selling Point of my product/services? Planning What resources, expertise & equipment will be needed? Resource Website - Hosted etc Advertisement - Where? Expertise - You, the author - Editor - Designers Equipment Computer system - What will you need? – Laptop – phone – printer etc Knowing your customer What are you customer’s needs? - Research this How would my typical customer buy my services? - Research this Customers will use my services because:? - Research this Would buying my services be a one off purchase? And why. - Research this Knowing my market Is my market in decline or growth? - Research this Knowing my local market Is my local market in decline or growth? - Research this Who is your competition? - Research this Short-term business goals - Short-term Financial goals – Year One - Long-term Business goals - Long-term financial goals - Advertising my business - Where? How? Promoting – special launch offers - What? & How? Skill gaps in my business - e.g. Graphic designers - e.g. Accounts - e.g. Editing How will I fill these skills gaps? - e.g. Commission a designer for my book cover and web banners - e.g. Find a good accountant - e.g. Commission an editor and proof reader ect Business Budget I factor in the following cost: Editing and proof reading Graphics for book cover designs Graphics for web banners or face book fan page banners Web site costs All advertising costs eg: Business cards Headed paper for press release letters Book fairs Flyers for book fairs Facebook adds Google add words Book convection administrations Good Luck x
11/1/2013
From dyslexic to authorAs a young girl I remember my mum reading to me “The Famous Five” by Enid Blyton. As I listened to my mum read, her words would capture my entire imagination as if I was one of the characters in the book. My love for books grew with each story my mum read to me, along with a quiet desire to be able to read the words for myself. My first attempt at writing a story was age ten. I somehow managed to scribble a few pages into one of my brother’s old school exercise books, before giving up frustrated that I could not spell the words I had in my head. It was a horror story! I stayed struggling with this genre throughout my childhood and into my teens. A few short stories or scenes from my imagination made their way onto paper if they were lucky. At this point I had no idea that I had a talent that needed to be nurtured. I used to think, how could someone who can’t spell be a writer? So I never told the adults in my life how I felt about reading and writing so I put down my pen. I would not write again until I was about thirteen where the horror genre continued along with a fantasy.
I fell into my first real job at seventeen within the dental industry. I studied to pass my dental nurse qualification. As an adult I would still write short stories and scenes from my imagination however my genre was not horror or fantasy but erotica and romance. I managed to struggle though every page of Rider’s by Jilly Cooper and had fallen in love with the Mills & Boon section at Waterstones in Oxford Street. I would show my writing to the other nurses who thought it was outrageous but loved everything I wrote. This gave me the confidence to keep writing. At aged twenty I was writing erotica poetry and also some general philosophy. Looking back I can see the natural creative path I was taking myself on. Just like an artist I was trying different genres and writing styles. Dyslexia for a creative writer is a cruel disability. I carried a vocabulary in my head that did not match my spelling ability. Spell check and computers where not around when I was younger, so I would find myself substituting words on paper in order to make my writing legible, unaware that this only detracted from my writing and the impact it had on the reader. Aged twenty-four I sought help, determined to learn to spell, I found out that I had a weak short-term memory. In short, it went in one ear and out the other! So now all I needed to do was get the information to go in one ear and stay there. I worked on developing my memory with a therapist called Margaret Chawke, which helped me go back to basics and teach myself to spell. Towards the end of my program Margaret asked me to write a diary to help develop my reading and writing skills. I explained that I did not like writing diaries but I did write erotic and romantic scenarios. Margaret suggested building a beginning and an end to one of my erotic or romantic scenarios. This was the birth of my first book Gut Feeling |
AuthorHello, my name is Victoria I am an author. I would like to share with you my opinion & experiences and I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions. Archives
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