Lifetime TV's "The Balancing Act"

Mom and I filmed a segment on Lifetime TV's morning talk show "The Balancing Act" (airs Monday - Friday 7am EST/Pacific and 6am Central/Mountain) about our novel, Depression Cookies, and being a mother-daughter writing team. What a lovely, yet completely nerve-wracking experience!

Come back and check out more details about our experience (and the list of errors NOT to make on television) here on Thursday, 5/5.

For now, some pictures . . .

Mom before makeup - I hope to I take after her!

Tia pre-makeup

Mom even more beautiful

Post makeup and ready to tape

All done and quite relieved!



Mom with host, Danielle Knox



Tia with host, Danielle Knox



Tune in Thursday for more of our adventures.



Book Clubs: Excellent for Readers and Authors

Mom and I intially set out to write a novel about corporate moving and the issues faced by the families who move, like ours did, every 2-3 years. Of course, the book became so much more.

We are first and foremost READERS! I've said it many times on this blog . . . I support all genres and love to read. As does Mom. When Tiffany Schlarman of http://acozyreaderscorner.blogspot.com/ asked me to do a guest post, I knew I wanted to cover the importance of book clubs. Not only are they an excellent source for book lovers to find quality books to discuss, but they are an excellent resource for authors as well.

Check out my guest post at http://acozyreaderscorner.blogspot.com/2011/05/book-clubs-wonderful-marketing-tool.html.

Also, please take a peek at our Book Club tab. We'll have pictures from our latest Depression Cookies book club up soon. Thanks again to my friends in San Diego, especially Debbie Lanpheer who hosted. I miss you all!

Later today: A bit about our Lifetime TV appearance yesterday followed by a post on Thursday, 5/5 with details about the experience including things NOT to do on television!

Lessons from the Maryland Writers’ Conference

 A quick update: Mom and I are in Ft. Lauderdale filming our segment for Lifetime TV’s “The Balancing Act” so my lovely sister (and Webmaster) is making sure our blog post is published today. Thanks Dana! I don’t know what I would do without my family.

On April 2, 2011, I attended the Maryland Writers’ Association Writers’ Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. This was my first writing conference. I learned so much and met a lot of fascinating people. I can’t wait to attend more conferences and workshops. I’ve definitely caught the bug.

The highlights:

1. Traditional Publishing Does Not Put Many Marketing Dollars into Newbie Authors

Even if you are fortunate enough to get an agent who then sells your manuscript to a traditional publishing house, you will still be responsible for promoting yourself! Publishing houses are not going to put a lot of money into an untested, unproven author or book. This really surprised me. I thought the whole point of getting into a traditional publishing contract was to have professionals sell your book. It’s simply not the case.

2. Social Media is an Excellent Marketing Tool

Authors in this current publishing environment MUST have a presence in Social Media including, but not limited to: Facebook, a website, a blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Goodreads. Readers want access to information about a book and its author. Social media is time-consuming, but for the most part it is FREE marketing. However, if you know you won’t stay on top of a Twitter account but would enjoy daily blogging, focus your time wisely. Don’t spread yourself too thin. This includes participating in sites like LinkedIn, Goodreads, blogs, etc. relevant to your book and industry. Give before you expect to get!

3. If you don’t like Marketing/Business, don’t publish a book. Enough said.

4. Remember: Editors are Readers

Your reader needs to be constantly craving what happens next, and an editor is no different. Your query and sample pages should be compelling and tease a bit. Your writing should keep offering choices with no immediate resolution.

5. Advice from an Editor (John David Kudrick)

            a. Write in a white hot line that sizzles

            b. Show me, don’t tell me

            c. Take the reader there; engage the reader in every possible way

If you wouldn’t want the first five pages (what most agents ask for during submissions) to represent your story, don’t start with those five pages.  He also suggested letting the story flow and THEN editing. I tend to get caught up in revising along the way, and I need to focus on getting the story on paper and then making it better.

6. Plan and Budget for Marketing

First, scour the internet and keep a notebook on marketing ideas based on what others are doing successfully. What appeals to you as a reader? Set a marketing plan and budget and stick to it.

Sample Marketing for Pre-Launch

-          Send out Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) for reviews

-          Submit ARCs to contests

-          Mail out teaser mini-boks

-          Blog Tour

-          Set up Social Media presence

For Release:

-          Run Sweepstakes/Contest

-          Launch party

-          Ramp up Social Media

-          Cold calls/Bookstore and other Store visits

Post-Launch

-          Send out materials for next book

-          Send thank you notes to reviewers and anyone who helped along the way

-          Book Signings

-          Create newsletters and send mass emails from “reader” list

Final thoughts: Take your time picking reviewers since you want the right one for your book/genre. Evaluate what is working for your book and ditch what isn’t. Spend time on your cover!

Tomorrow: Check back tomorrow for details about our Lifetime visit! Pictures, too.

WordCount BlogAThon Kick Off! A Blog-a-day in May!

Every author site I’ve visited over the last six months has advocated maintaining a blog for the reader-author-book relationship. I get it. Still, I’ve struggled. I’ll have weeks where I’ll blog 2-3 times a week, and then I’ll have dry spells and not publish for a week or two. I knew I had to learn how to become more consistent. But, several questions were plaguing me. What to blog? How often?

I searched the internet daily for blog ideas and advice. One day, I happened upon Word Count’s BlogAThon May challenge. Participants would blog once a day for the entire month of May and be eligible for prizes. But, more importantly, Michelle Rafter who runs the contest would be passing along invaluable advice on blogging techniques. I hesitated. Could I really blog-a-day in May?! I knew I had to try.

To our readers and blogger peers, you are on this journey with us. We need your help and encouragement. Please follow our daily blog and comment from time to time. As incentive, a special prize will be given to the person who posts the most comments during the month of May!

For anyone still wanting to get in on the action, please visit http://michellerafter.com/the-2011-wordcount-blogathon. You can register for the BlogAThon all the way up to 11pm Pacific time today, May 1^st.

Here we go . . .

Take Your Child to Work Day = I finally have an Assistant!

My daughter, Jackie, is spending the day with me as part of Take Your Child to Work Day. What a wonderful experience. Not only did she help me plan the 31 days of blogging we have coming up, she is now helping me do research for the YA novel I'm working on. Pretty cool to have a YA on "staff" while you are working on a YA novel!

Jackie constantly has a book in her hands. The love of reading is a gift I passed onto my kids after receiving it from my own mom and grandmother. Other than the two siblings I gave Jackie, this will be one of my greatest gifts to her.

But, while I have her here, I wanted to get her perspective on what we've done so far today, so . . .

Mom/Tia: What do you think would be the hardest part about being a writer?

Jackie: Having to think of so many ideas and put them down on paper.

Mom/Tia: Who is your favorite author? Other than your mother, of course.

Jackie: Erin Hunter (author of the Warriors and Seekers series), because I've read almost all her books.

Mom/Tia: Before today, what did you think your mom did all day? (Note to self: this is like asking your husband if you look fat in an outfit. I'm holding my breath awaiting a response I know will probably go poorly)

Jackie: Cleaned the house and edited stuff. I figured you edited because you always edit my papers so much. Can I ask you a question?

Mom/Tia: Sure (gulp)

Jackie: What's the hardest part about being a writer?

Mom/Tia: Focusing on writing and not all the business aspects of writing such as keeping up FB, Twitter, the blog, the website, etc. I need to set a goal, even if it's 500 words a day, and stick to it.

If you are with your son or daughter today at work, enjoy it. And, if you get a minute, ask them some questions!

Why a Daughter Needs a Mom: Reason Two

Gregory Lang's Why a Daughter Needs a Mom: 100 Reasons is a beautiful ode to the special bond between mothers and daughters. I hope my daughters and I stay close through the years just as I have stayed close with my mother and sisters. Our novel is also dedicated to this special bond.

Reason Two:

A daughter needs a mom

who is never more than a phone call away

I have many blessings, but I have never been blessed enough to live just down the street from my mom or any of my sisters. Since moving to Maryland, I'm finally six hours away, the closest I've ever been. Especially since having kids, daily phone calls with my mom and sisters have become a ritual. Most of the time I was calling with tears or fears! Parenting is so hard.

In Depression Cookies, Krista is having a particularly hard day at middle school and desperately needs her mom . . .

“Hi, Nurse Perry, I just threw up and I’m not feeling well. I need to call my mom,” I said. Mom would save me, and I needed saving right now. I could not face another minute of this insanity.

The nurse called her, and I heard some whispering before she came over and told me I could wait in the office. She then put her hand on my shoulder and told me everything was going to be okay.

I am not sure how long I sat there, but I was glad to be protected by the glass walls of the principal’s office. When Mom walked in, I ran into her arms before saying, “Thank God you’re here.”

Seated safely in the car, Mom tried to get me to talk, but I didn’t know where to begin. More than that, I was terrified about how it all was going to end.

Krista needed her mom and thankfully she was simply a phone call away. What a gift!

***

My mom is always a simple phone call away as I am for my girls. What's the craziest thing you called your mother about?

Our First Commercial

Our first video commercial! It's a bit of a test for us to start using Video. In this age of social media and internet, the ability to see and "hear from" authors is becoming increasingly important.

This is especially for mothers . . . I figured what better spokespeople for a mother-daughter book than two of my daughters!

Enjoy!