Monday's Helpful Hints - a wrap up

Today I intend to summarize the last several weeks, so this should be short and simple. I can hear some of you saying, "Oh, yeh! The other blogs were supposed to be short."

No, this will be short.

My best advice is always take what you hear and apply it to you, to the house your are trying to sell to, to the genre you write. Don't take my word for gospel. It may not fit your situation.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of sites on the Internet that detail any of the subjects I've covered here, so with a little searching through "Google" or "Bing" you can read many other opinions about what to do and how to do it. I've tried to approach these blogs with what I've learned over the years. However, remember, my genre, my own style, the houses I write for, and the more I learned have always determined what I'm doing and how I do it. So, do your research.

It's your career, they are your books, not someone else's work. What works for you might not work for another author. It's determine by your time, money, personality and talent.

So happy writing and researching.

Now I have to decide what I'll blog about for the next month or two.

See Ya!

Allison Knight
www.AllisonKnight.com
Heart-warming Romance with a Sensual Touch
"Betrayed Bride" available from www.ChampagneBooks.com
"Lynbrook's Lady" coming in August from www.ChampagneBooks.com

Monday's Helpful Hints - What didn't work - for me.

There are several things I did, as far as I know, (note the caveat here) had little effect on my marketing of my books. I also had a good friend who was a military analyst who agrees with my own results.

It doesn't seem that much benefit is gained from online advertising. It's way down on the list of things that work. I'm not certain about paid advertising in print medium because I've seldom had the money to be able to buy an expensive spread in a retail spot. So I'd have to say - for me at least - paid advertising was a waste of my money.

Also, today, many of the loops devoted to romances, which I write, are full of other authors promoting their books. So, for as much time as I spend on those loops, I doubt I gain much help in selling my own books.

Giving away books also doesn't do a lot either. I have to buy my print books and except for the few copies I get when the book is released in digital form, I must buy the digital book from my publisher if I want to continue to gift the ebook to others. Contests stir up some interest, but giving away a lot of books doesn't seem to aid in my actual sales numbers.

The three best things I do, is first word of mouth. It's been reported that your name has to register at least seven times, before people will begin to recognize you. So, if that premise is true, then you have to have someone talk about you at least seven times before you'll be remembered, they'll have to see your name in print at least seven times before they get it. So, word of mouth is the most important and seeing your name in print is next. That means blogging for others and well as at least one blog for you, tweeting and facebook, and the other forms of internet media.

The third thing I've found that helps is always carrying a bunch of bookmarks (mine are business cards and I'll explain why in a minute). I pass these out to anyone I see reading, in a restaurant, doctor's office, where ever. Of course, I will also pass them out to people I see reading from a digital device like a kindle. I usually ask what they are reading and if it's history, romance, or most forms of fiction, I'll pass out a card or two. I also keep my doctor's office supplied, hand them out at the hospital when I go for blood tests, at the beauty salon, and I add them to almost all of the mail that leaves the house.

Now, why do I use business cards as opposed to regular bookmarks? First, I can make them myself and print as many or as few as I want or print them as I need them. I can print both sides, and let face it, today not everyone uses a bookmark, but people do keep business cards. The stock available is excellent, not horrendously expensive and with the new printers, you can produce a reasonably good product. I put the latest cover of my book on one side and my back list and buy info on the reverse. I'm definitely looking into using a small QR code on my next card.  Don't know what that is? Look it up and you'll notice it's now frequently on all kinds of products.

Okay, I'm a little long again, but there is much to share. I'll wait until next Monday to get into the press kit. So, see you then.

Allison
www.AllisonKnight.com
Heart-warming Romance with a Sensual Touch
Betrayed Bride available from Champagne Books
Lynbrook's Lady coming in August from Champagne Books

Monday's Helpful Hints - What you must do

Okay, there is only one thing you must do. Whether you are self-published, traditionally published, or indie pubslished, you must have a web presence. And, that is the trick. How you establish a web presence is up to you.

I would recommend a web page, be it through a blog, or a traditional web page, you need some way for people to see your name and your books.

I have a web page. If you are reading this, then you know I have a blog. I also blog for other people on their web sites or blogs. I tried to visit some of the reader loops that are on line as well, but not as much as I probably should.

So you have to decide how you are going to make yourself known on the web. And, yes, I know not everyone has a computer, but the number is decreasing dailey, and most readers do check the online book sites to see what books are available, if they are reviewed, or if there are any comments about those books.

So your marketing plan must include some information about how you are going to promote yourself on the web. It's also a good idea to decide, at least for yourself, how often you intend to visit your web page, blog, or the loops on which you want to promote your books.

Today social media is the big buzz. Your marketing plan needs to detail if you intend to promote on one or more of those sites. I'm talking about facebook, google +, pinterest, twitter, to name a few.

Then there is the paper market. Are you going to make bookmarks to pass out and where are you going to give them out? How much money are you going to spend? Paper products cost money, whether you make them yourself, or have them made for you. What you plan to use becomes part of the marketing plan.

Remember, a marketing plan is how you plan to sell your book and most publishers want some idea of just how you are going to go about it. Let's face it. Unless you are a seven day wonder, the next best thing to Nora Roberts, or Steven King, you are going to have to promote yourself.

Next Monday, I'll cover some of what I tried that didn't work for me and if I don't run out of space, what a press kit should look like and whether you need one or not.  See you then.

Allison
www.AllisonKnight.com
Heart-warming Romance with a Sensual Touch
Betrayed Bride available from Champagne Books
Lynbrook's Lady coming in August from Champagne Books

Too Much Sharing Is Not Good!

Over a month since I've had a chance to offer a bit of insight
into what life is offering at the moment...

As I've noted, in June I had to have open heart surgery because
the main artery was blocked.

In December, my DH went to the hospital for a stress test. He was
so tired, just couldn't move around without getting winded and
being so exhausted he felt useless.

So.... you guessed it. Open heart surgery, with a block in the main
artery, and in about the same place as mine. His blockage wasn't
as extensive, however, where I had two, he has four, one large
block and three much smaller blocks in smaller arteries.

So you understand why I say "too much sharing is not a good thing."

I'm recovering quickly, because now I have to care for him.

I'll get back to at least two or three time a month, in a couple of
months. My goal for the new year is once a week with a concentration
on passing along some of the things I've learned in my twenty plus
years in this business.

I'm still trying to finish the fourth of the 'song' books. But it is coming
along.  This one has a real twist.  More later.

Allison
www.AllisonKnight.com
Heart-warming Romance with a Sensual Touch

Another procedure

This year is all about medicine. Guess I'm going to
have to write a couple of contemporary medical romances.
I've seen a couple of doctors who would certainly qualify
for a great hero, also one or two who would make great
villians.

This week we added a mediport. This is a device that goes
into the chest, with a tube that leads to a major vein so
instead of having a dozen bruises and enduring the digging
for a vein for an IV or to draw blood, they can go into the
port. Who knew?

Medical science is fantastic today. As I research for the
historicals I write, the medicine of even fifty years ago
is so archaic as to be dangerous.

But the cardio rehab is going well, or so they say. And I've
discovered I can read my Kindle while I work out, so it's
not as bad as I thought. It's tiring, but I feel better, so I'm
not complaining.

And, glory, hallelujah, I'm ready to start writing again...

It's what I've been waiting for. I can sit at the computer
for a much longer time, and the words seem to be trying
hard to get out. So, I'll try posting more often and writing
every day.

As ever,

Allison
www.AllisonKnight.com
Heart-warming Romance with a Sensual Touch

Meet Linda Rettstatt

The Fine Line Between Women’s Fiction and Romance
(what I’ve learned about my writing in four years)


On July 1 of this year, I celebrated the fourth anniversary of my first book publication. I knew when I sat down to write my first novel, And the Truth Will Set You Free, that I wanted to write women’s fiction. I had read everything by Elizabeth Berg, and I was captivated by the way she is able to create characters who are so real you want to sit down and have coffee with them. Likewise, their life conflicts are real and the characters have to dig deep to resolve those conflicts. I’ve also been strongly influenced by the work of Kris Radish who, in my estimation, can express the way women think better than any author out there.

Shortly after writing that first novel, I started an online critique group. My first members were both writers in romance sub-genres. As I critiqued their work and continued writing my own, I discovered that I enjoyed adding the elements of romance to my books. I finally had to admit it: I’m a romantic at heart. I like happy endings. Let’s face it, life presents enough of the not-so-happy variety. I began reading romance authors like Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Sherryl Woods. Although I’ve been accused of writing ‘perfect men’. Well, it is fiction.

I have nine novels published to date and three have finaled for EPIC e-Book Awards. All of my stories contain some element of love or romance. A few cross over into mainstream romance. let me share a scene from Next Time, I’m Gonna Dance. This book takes on the serious subject of breast cancer. But in talking with women who have been affected by this disease, self-image and romantic relationships can become issues.

In this scene, Emmie gets her friend, Polly, to teach her to dance. Both women are bald because, when Emmie lost her hair, Emmie’s four best friends had their heads shaved as a sign of solidarity and support. Sonny is a friend who has been in love with Emmie since high school

Excerpt:

That evening Emmie pushed and Polly pulled on the kitchen table to move it out of the way. Polly set the CD player on the counter and went through Emmie’s collection of music. “Did you stop listening to music in the eighties?”

“I happen to like the music of the eighties. I think I’d make a great disco queen.”

Polly shook her head. “I don’t know about this. I mean, someone has to lead and someone has to follow, and I’m used to following. I think we need a man for this.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We’ll do fine without a man. You just have to think in opposites to lead. Even I know that.”

“Oh, yeah, that’ll be easy. I’m not sure I can think and dance at the same time. Okay, here goes. Let’s start out with something slow.”

Polly turned on the music and held up her arms for Emmie to step into them. They fumbled to establish posture until Polly switched her arms around to the lead position. There they were, two nearly bald women, stumbling around the kitchen, with Emmie either stepping on Polly’s feet or turning the wrong way.

As they passed the window, Emmie saw headlights flash in the driveway. She stopped and looked out the door at the red pickup truck. “Oh, my God, it’s Sonny. What’s he doing here at this time of night?”

“Relax. It’s only eight o’clock, and you look fine. Here, let me get your wig.” Polly grabbed the wig and flopped it onto Emmie’s head, slightly askew. She straightened the scarf she had wrapped around her own head.

When Sonny knocked at the door, Emmie opened it, breathless.

He stepped inside and looked at the table pushed to the wall and the open floor space. “Hi. What’s going on here?” he asked, his head cocked slightly to one side, and his eyes fixed on Emmie’s head.

“Dance class,” Polly said, waving her hand in front of her face to cool off.

“What brings you by, Sonny?” Emmie asked, straightening the wig.

“I was on my way home from work. A customer gave me two bottles of this wine, so I thought I’d drop one off for you.”

“You have impeccable timing. We’re planning a celebration, and the wine will be put to good use. What are you doing a week from Saturday?” Polly asked.

“Nothing I know of. What are we celebrating?”

Emmie smiled broadly. “I have one more chemo treatment, and then I’m done. After a few weeks of radiation treatments, I can start back on the road to recovery. Oh, yes, and Wes filed divorce papers. See, all the bad things are coming to an end at once.”

Sonny stammered, “That’s…that’s great news, Em—all of it—I guess.”

“Sonny, do you know how to dance?” Polly asked.

“Sure. Why?”

“And you know how to lead, I presume?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Good. I’m going to have a drink. Here are some CDs. Pick a song and teach this one how to follow,” she said as she pointed at Emmie. “My feet can’t take anymore. Good luck.” With that, Polly made a gin and tonic and retreated to the living room.

Sonny hit the play button on the CD player and a waltz came on. He went to Emmie, bowed deeply and extended his hand. “May I have this dance?”

She laughed and accepted his hand, letting him pull her into dance position. He was sure easier to follow than Polly had been. Emmie managed to step on his feet a few times, but soon got the hang of it as he gracefully waltzed her around the kitchen.

She was breathing hard when the music stopped.

“Are you okay? Do you need to sit for a minute?” he asked.

“No. I’ve done nothing but sit and rest for weeks now. This is fun. Teach me another one.”

Grinning broadly, he changed the CD and a slow dance came on. He took her in his arms, telling her to look at him and let her feet follow.

She tried, but stumbled over his feet. Laughing, he lifted her and placed her feet on top of his.

“Hey, dancing is so much easier than I thought. Why’d I wait so long?”

“You just need the right partner.”

Next Time I’m Gonna Dance finaled for a 2011 EPIC e-Book Award and is available at Champagne Books and on Amazon for Kindle.

Excerpts and reviews of all of my books can be found on my website at www.lindarettstatt.com Also, please visit my blog at http://www.onewomanswrite.blogspot.com

Linda Rettstatt is a multi-published author of women’s fiction and mainstream romance novels. She is published with Class Act Books, Champagne Books, and Wings ePress. Three of her novels have finaled for EPIC e-Book Awards, and she was recently nominated for Author of the Year 2010 at Champagne Books. She is a displaced Yankee from Pennsylvania currently residing in Southaven, Mississippi.

Meet A Science Fiction Author

WHY SCI-FI?

Who doesn’t want to be transported into another world, another universe…

Okay, but that’s not strictly why I like to write science fiction since the same could be said for any book you read. You run the risk of falling head first into the world created by the writer, whether it’s a mushy romance, a grisly detective tale, or a way-out-there fantasy with the ever-popular vampires and witches. Every single book you read takes you someplace else other than where you are. And yes, even the dull boring ones, cause you imagine being someplace else rather than having to read the book.

But why did I choose science fiction? Not quite sure, but I do love the genre. Maybe because I have a fascination with wanting to know what the future would be like. It didn’t help that the TV shows and movies that had me riveted were the likes of Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers, and well, you get the idea. Maybe I’m an inherent geek. Scratch that, I am a closet geek who surrounds herself with all sorts of techie stuff. That being said, science fiction doesn’t necessarily have to be set in the future, or on a different planet, universe, dimension…it could be happening in the here and now. Throw in some choice tech words and cool gadgets, and there you go. These days, there’s all sorts of sub-genres in sci-fi, from hard core sci-fi to space opera to science fiction romance.

When I set out to write my book, The Lancaster Rule, I knew I wanted to write a story so engaging with adventure and excitement and unforgettable characters that live in a world that was believable enough to be real. And I knew I didn’t want it be in the present time, if I wanted to go wild with making up stuff. That was the fun part…just making things up and telling extremely tall tales. After all, it’s the future, it hasn’t happened yet, it hasn’t been invented yet, anything can happen!

When I put together the skeleton of the Lancaster story, I knew I’d created something that needed a little more playtime with, more explanation, more details. I knew that if I wrote a trilogy, I could somehow fully capture the story in its entirety. Hence the sequel, The Master Key was born, and then the final story, The Eternal Knot. And with each book, I could introduce another small element of the future as, well, I see it. Drop a little bit here, tuck it in there so it looks like part of everyday life.

After completing the trilogy, I had more ideas bubbling around in the back burner. I sketched out a rough outline and decided to try a more ‘contemporary’ novel. You know, one based in the present time with a little murder, some mystery, and a little romance (gotta have the love, right?) It wasn’t working. But I did try, then hit the delete button and started from scratch, this time flinging it back into the future that I’d already created. After all, the world there had already been built and I knew it so well.

Perhaps I can attempt a non-sci-fi book in the future. Perhaps… But for now, I’ll stick to the world I created, in the future as I see it, filled with all sorts of interesting and exciting characters as they go through life.

For more information on me, visit
My blog/website: The Lancaster Rule

Or become a fan of my: Facebook pages

Or

Follow me on Twitter: TKToppin

Now we've done it!

Stretched out under computer is our new kitty. Well, she
isn't really a kitty, and I'm hoping she'll come out and meet
our other two cats today.

Two cats and we've added another? We must have lost our minds.
But no, I don't think so. Reason - our big cat is growing old. (HMMMM)
Reminds me of me. But LS doesn't want to play all that much,
and our little Wally likes to play. Solution. Get another cat.
So Celine is under my desk. She's a cross-eyed, blue eyed part
Siamese about two years old.

If she decides she likes it here, and comes out from under my desk
I'll be putting new pictures up on my web page.

But the way she's hiding, don't look for any pictures for awhile.

In the meantime, I'll just have to work on the next book. This one
is a romance set during the time of the London fire. I started this
book years ago, and I think this heroine may be my favorite.
A red headed vixen who is not at all happy with the thought
of marrying a second time. In fact she really is not pleased
with any man, especially the King of England who named her
second husband.

In a time when disagreeing with the royal could be a time to
lose your head, my Judith does a lot of arguing.

This is definitely a woman after my heart!

Now to coax Celine from under the desk.

Allison

www.AllisonKnight.com
Award winning "Heartsong" available now.
"Battlesong" the sequel will be available in
August. Watch for the short Gothic, "The Haunting of Hastings Hall"
from Red Rose Publishing available in March

Great News

Every once in a while, an author's work is
recognized and is it wonderful.

My publisher just notified me that "Heartsong"
has been nominated as novel of the year. I've
been named with four other authors as having
written a book good enough for such a title.
On April first the best of the best will be
named "Book of the Year". I'd love to have
that title, but just to be nominated is a
huge thrill.

Along with the information about the nomination
I also got the cover for my March release, "A
Treasure For Sara". I'll share the cover in a day
or two.

This is one of those times when being an
author is truly exciting. Time to celebrate!

Allison
www.AllisonKnight.com
"Heartsong" nominated by
Champagne Books as novel
of the year.

Wait 'til you hear!

This is too good not to share! Champagne Books publishes
my recent books. And one of the blogs I write
for, The Writers' Vineyard, is having a holiday promotion.

Here's the information.


Market got you down? Worried about the election in the
US? Concerned about the work involved in the holidays?
Christmas shopping, or spending too much money?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, I have
a suggestion. Take a bit of time for yourself and
come celebrate the holidays with
http://thewritersvineyard.com/

Of course, what would a holiday celebration be
without presents?

Share your favorite holiday memories and enter to
win a gorgeous UK hardcover of Eloisa James' An
Affair Before Christmas.
Do you love holiday shows and movies? Tell us about
them and you could win a copy of A Christmas Wedding
Wager and a copy of either Viking Warrior Unwilling
Wife or A Question of Impropriety from
Michelle Styles.

Did we miss a great book? Perhaps yours? Name your
favorite holiday book (even if it is your own) and
enter to win a prize pack from Barbara Baldwin and
an ecopy of Linda LaRoque's Forever Faithful.

Every day during November and December on
http://thewritersvineyard.com/ an excerpt or original
short story from a favorite author will be shared.
These favorite authors range from New York Times
Bestsellers to brand new, about-to-be-discovered
talents, sharing their tales of romance, science
fiction, mystery, and horror.

And to start things off, Champagne Books is sponsoring a scavenger hunt. Beginning the first of November
and ending of the eleventh of November.

Skip over to www.ChampagneBooks.com for details.

Then join in the fun at http://thewritersvineyard.com/

As ever,

Allison
www.AllisonKnight.com
"Heartsong" available now
from Champagne Books.