Publicity from Thirty-Thousand Feet
December 15, 2008
Publicity from Thirty-Thousand Feet
by: Penny C. Sansevieri
We all know that marketing a book is a process. But sometimes the process takes longer than we’d anticipated. That’s why it’s nice every now and again to hop aboard the publicity jet and get a look-see at what you’ve been doing from the thirty-thousand foot level. Why? Well, first off this birds-eye view will reveal to you areas you might be overlooking or other options for marketing you hadn’t considered.
To accomplish this bird-eye view you’ll want to get yourself a big white board, or something else big enough to chart your flight plan on. Then, once you’ve gotten that start charting the course you’ve taken so far. Don’t leave a single thing out; it doesn’t matter what it is. What you want to end up with is a serious list of everything you’ve done from the time you held your first proof book in your hands.
Beauty That We Don’t Have The Power Over
December 14, 2008
Beauty That We Don’t Have The Power Over
by: Tyler Benson
It is amazing how blind we can sometimes be. We never have time to stop and look around, all wrapped up in our everyday routine. It is absolutely necessary to pay attention to all that surrounds you and appreciate it. Just imagine yourself a picture. Beautiful summer night. Not even a cloud in the sky. The air is fragrant and the darkness around is crisp. You look up to the sky and what you see is a myriad of bright lights and it seems like you are able to touch a one, though it is a million years away from you. They dance and twinkle like thousands of eyes watching you. They get together in weird combinations giving something to your imagination. Here and there different images appear and there is nothing in the whole world that can be compared to that. You stay motionless, touched and overwhelmed by feelings that are breaking you head apart. This makes you feel warm and feverish, now you know, there is nothing you can’t manage and can’t do. You are inspired by the beauty of what you’ve witnessed.
Getting Syndicated
December 13, 2008
Getting Syndicated
by: Penny C. Sansevieri
Over the years I’ve spoken to a number of authors who say they aspire to write a syndicated column. Getting syndicated is a great idea, albeit a challenging one. If you’ve thought of this no doubt most (if not all) of your competition has too. But don’t let this discourage you; while syndication may take a while, it’s still worth pursuing.
There are a number of tried and true ways you can enter this market, there are also a few “back door” methods that might work equally as good. The first thing you’ll need to do however is get to know your competition. For this I recommend that you get a copy of The Editor & Publisher Annual Directory of Syndication. Sometimes you can get this in bookstores but I’d recommend just ordering it online at http://www.editorandpublisher.com. Explore this book carefully and you’ll find that syndicated columns are listed by both the syndicated service that offers them as well as their topic. This will give you a good starting point in your research and since most newspapers now have on-line archives, you’ll be able to explore past articles and see how these topics differ from your own.
Seven Secrets of Writing a Book that Sells
December 12, 2008
Seven Secrets of Writing a Book that Sells
by: Penny C. Sansevieri
It’s one thing to write a book, it’s an entirely different thing to write one that’s a saleable, viable, marketable product. Ensuring the success of a book is something even the biggest publishers have never been able to guarantee. Mitigating circumstances, flash trends, and world events will all affect buyer preferences. That said, there are still ways to leverage the sales-factor in your favor and here’s how you do it.
1. Know your readers. We’re not just talking about whether your readers are male or female. You’ll want to know myriad factors about your audience. How old are your readers (age range)? Are readers married, single, or divorced? Where do your readers live (generally)? What do your readers do for a living? What other books/publications do they read? Develop a profile that includes where they shop, what clubs they belong to, etc.
These elements will help you incorporate these aspects into your book *and* help you unearth salient marketing opportunities (i.e., publications and stores).
Creative Writing Technique: Visualization
December 11, 2008
Creative Writing Technique: Visualization
by: Sarah Playle
Visualization is one of the best techniques to use when plotting a story. It’s like watching a movie in your mind, only the movie is your story. You can see all the scenes and events playing out, from beginning to end.
To start, find a quiet spot and relax. Concentrate on your breathing. Let your mind wander and don’t focus on anything. If you start worrying or thinking, just let the thoughts float out of your head. Now, when you’re relaxed, imagine yourself walking down a city street. Fill it in with all the details - imagining the sound of cars or of people talking. Feel the cement under your feet and the sun on your body. Walk along this street for a bit until you are fully immersed in your visualization. Now imagine that you come a theater. You buy the ticket and go in. Now you are in the lobby, but there is no one else around. You have the whole theater yourself. Buy yourself some snacks or not. Now go into the theater and take a seat. You are the only one in there so you can sit wherever you want. The curtain goes back and the movie starts - and the movie is *your* novel. Just relax and watch it play out, as if you were viewing a real movie. Don’t force anything. Just let your mind fill in the story events on its own. When you feel like you’ve seen enough, wake up and immediately write down what you saw so you don’t forget it. Use this technique whenever you are stuck for where to go with the plot or what to write in a scene.
The Blog Factor: Everything You Need To Know To Start Blogging - Today!
December 10, 2008
The Blog Factor: Everything You Need To Know To Start Blogging - Today!
by: Penny C. Sansevieri
So what is this “blog factor”? Well, what a few thought was a novel idea some years ago has now morphed into something no one expected. There are currently nine million blogs out there with 40,000 new ones being added everyday. Some are informative and some are just downright a waste of your time. And while we hear a lot about blogging these days, what is blogging *really*? Blogging in its simplest term is like an online journal but much, much more powerful. Blogs (short for Web log) is a place where surfers can get up to the minute information on a topic or voyeur into someone’s life. Some blogs are nothing more than a daily glimpse into someone’s life, while others are so sophisticated, it’s hard to tell them apart from an online news service.
Why Blogs Matter
Why Do We Play Dirty?
December 9, 2008
Why Do We Play Dirty?
by: Tyler Benson
There are a lot of things nowadays that we don’t really want to talk about. These are everyday things that we do and don’t even think about what we are doing exactly. We get so focused on our everyday routine that it never occurs to us how dirty we sometimes play. Society has always been competitive, but today life is perhaps more competitive than in any previous era. Since childhood children are taught how to show that they are the best, the strongest, the smartest the very best. This is where from competition starts. And we continue to compete against each other every hour to prove somebody something that we really don’t have to prove. People are used to think that their lives, possessions, belongings are the best, the biggest the most attractive. That keeps us wanting for more and we never stop thinking that it will be enough for us to be satisfied. But no, we continue to jump higher than our heads and push ourselves to that point when it doesn’t matter how fair you play, you just play to get whatever you need. Why is this happening? We swear that we have overcame that animal instinct in us and are now to call ourselves very civilized and very educated. But never the less we continue to get our teeth into each other’s necks and rip muscles apart. I guess, there is nothing that can be really done to those instincts that we were born with. It’s true if to speak about any person. Race, financial, or social status doesn’t matter. When we are accused of playing dirty, everybody tries to prove the jury wrong even if jury is them. A human being is a unique personality that has never been before and will never again exists. It is a matter of time when he discovers that he also possesses that curse of the humans that and can not be a master of it. Every day one gets up, takes whatever needed and goes out into the open.
Get Your Book Done Now!
December 8, 2008
Get Your Book Done Now!
by: Penny C. Sansevieri
I don’t believe in writer’s block. (I can hear the gasps of disbelief already.) Listen: If you hire a plumber to come to your house and fix a problem, do you expect him to say, “Sorry, I can’t figure out what your problem is. I think I have plumber’s block”? Probably not, and if he did, you’d toss him out and call another guy faster than you can say Drano. Not that plumbing can be compared to writing, but if we follow the proper steps to get the job done, I find that writer’s block melts away, the drains are unclogged, and the words start flowing like water from a faucet. But what are these “steps”? Well, a big part of my job as a book marketing specialist is to help people create something they can actually market: a finished book. Many of us have ideas aplenty but not a clue how to get them down on paper.
Nice Twist
December 7, 2008
Nice Twist
by: J Square Humboldt
The legendary George Carlin made a career out of calling attention to the difference between how words and phrases are perceived as opposed to what they’re ‘actually’ saying …
He would ask wonderfully rhetorical questions, my favorite of which was this:
- Would you really get on a non-stop flight?
And yet, that term is not only used on a daily basis, but with a straight face every time. How does this happen, where nonsense actually becomes an understandable phrase?
There are two schools of thought when it comes to the use of the English language. The conservative view is that its integrity must be maintained, perhaps grudgingly at times. The liberal view is that, in order to be a lively, vibrant language, it needs to adapt to the times. Of course, there’s also my view, which is that the English language defies definition.
My case could be stated by citing the classic instance where it can be argued that ‘ghoti’ is a homonym of ‘fish’ by nature of the following logic:
- ‘gh’ sounds like ‘f’ in words like ‘enough’ and ‘cough;’
What is the Three Act Structure?
December 6, 2008
What is the Three Act Structure?
by: Patrick Dent
As the craft of writing has evolved, it has naturally formed the plot structure most pleasant to the human mind. This is the Three Act Structure, and it applies to short stories, novels and screenplays alike. What follows is the general flow of the Three Act Structure.
ACT ONE - The Setup
In Act One the protagonist meets all of the characters in the story. We also learn the main problem of the story. Everybody can usually plot Act One because we have to know the problem to have the idea. The trick in Act One is to keep it interesting. Don’t just start rolling out story points. Start at the most interesting point, where there is conflict and excitement, and help the audience sort it out.
Act One is a preparation act for the viewer or reader. This is where they learn about the central character - whether they like him, whether they care about him, and whether they care about his dilemma.
The protagonist may be the hero or the villain, depending on whose story is more interesting, whose story drives the plot forward.
