3 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Paid Ad

By Patty Smith Hall, @pattywrites

Whether traditional or self-published, every author is looking for the best way to market his/her book. Specifically, how do we attract new readers? One way that has grown in popularity are websites like Bookbub, E-Reader Café and My Book Cave who send out email blast with information on sale books.

Here’s how it works: When a reader registers on one of these sites, they are sent to a page with a list of genres they like to read. This is no short list—every genre you can think of is listed, all the way down to sub-genres. The reader is given anywhere from one to five choices that they can follow. Then every day like clockwork, a selection of books on sale from their chosen genre is emailed to the reader with links to the sale sites.

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Four Tips to Meet Deadlines

by Sarah Sundin, @sarahsundin

As a natural procrastinator, I struggle to meet deadlines. In college a late assignment only hurt myself. Not so in the publishing world. A late manuscript causes ripple effects in the publishing house from editing to marketing to sales, affecting our relationships and reputation—and our contracts! Even with smaller assignments, tardiness causes annoyance, inconvenience, and sometimes a loss of that opportunity.

Conversely, writers who meet deadlines gain respect, trust, and affection—and couldn’t we all use more of that?

Here are four keys to meet your deadlines and save your sanity.

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The I’s have it. But should they?

by Rachel Hauck, @RachelHauck

Ever listen to a conversation where “I” was the predominate word? I did this, I did that, I went here, I went there… I, I, I, I.

After awhile, the picture is etched that the person talking is really into themselves.

The same idea applies to writing in first person. As the writer and storyteller, it’s easy for us to get going in the first person narrative and forget to not let the “I’s” have it.

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Wishful Thinking (The Writer's Lament)

by Linore Rose Burkard, @LinoreRBurkard

It's summertime and the living is easy….right? Perhaps not. Most of us still slog to the office or work long hours. But whether you get to take a vacation, kick your feet up, enjoy a splash at the shore—or not—I offer this post in the spirit of summer fun.

It happened the other morning as I was enjoying the swing in my backyard. Looking around at the explosion of early summer growth in the garden and flower beds, I saw chores waiting. Chores I hadn't gotten to because of my writing, mostly. And so I did what any writer would do: (No, I didn't don the gardening gloves and get to work.) I wrote a poem! Yes, it's an exaggeration, but I think many of us who tend home and family and garden as well as writing novels will admit to entertaining such "Wishful Thinking."

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The Only Thing Writers have to Fear. . .Is Fear Itself!

by Patty Smith Hall

“So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”  

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Well, Mr. Roosevelt, easier said than done!

Most writers I’ve met over my twenty-year writing journey have experienced fear about their work at some time or another.

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Stepping Out of Our Comfort Zone

by Patty Smith-Hall

I have a confession to make.

I absolutely dread writing blog posts. I’m not exactly sure why. Writing has always been an outlet for me, and I find the time I’m working on a new proposal or putting the finishing touches on a completed novel extremely satisfying. Writing devotions for Journey magazine gives me a platform to share my faith with young women who seek to fulfill their spiritual needs while juggling family and career responsibilities.

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3 Gifts to Give a Writer for Christmas

by Patty Smith Hall @PattyWrites

The other day, my husband asked me that dreaded question that always pops up this time of year-what do you want for Christmas? That always a difficult question for me to answer as I'm very content with our life and don’t have many wants. Yet, the more I pondered the question, the more I realized that there were a few items on my Christmas list that other writers might appreciate as well.

Time: Life is busy, and it only seems to get busier. When our girls were young, I always thought I’d have more time to write, and I do to a certain extent. But even now that they’re grown with lives of their own, I find myself busy with aging relatives and grandchildren as well as speaking and church obligations. There’s nothing wrong with those things—they are what make life worthwhile. But when the agenda is binge-watching The Walking Dead or The Gilmore Girls, or six hours of football, I get antsy, like I’ve left something undone. Which means I get up at the crack of dawn or stay up passed midnight just to put words to papers. So what can the family of a writer give that would help? A little of their time. Throw in a load of laundry. Make dinner. Run errands. And not just once—make a habit of it. Giving your writer time to write is one of the best presents they’ll ever receive.

Encouragement: When I first started writing, my husband thought of it as my little hobby, something I’d do until I got bored with it. Then he saw me pouring time and money into learning the craft; he came across pieces of paper where I wrote and rewrote segments; he ate dinner alone on those nights I was with my writing group. As I grew as a writer, he became my biggest fan. But that’s not the case with everyone. Some spouses resent the time and money spent writing. I’ve heard horror stories over the years of discouraging family members that break my heart. How painful that must be to that writer’s soul! that b b a writer's soul! Most writers I know(myself included) are already critical of our writing almost to the point of depression. So to hear someone we love heap hot coals on this area of our lives just makes us feel worse. So this Christmas, try giving the gift of encouragement. It doesn’t have to be much—a simple ‘I’m proud of you’ or I believe you can write that book or article or blog post’ can make all the difference in the world.

Prayer: This may seem silly to some—I mean, why would anyone pray over words being written? Because those words, that manuscript is important to someone you love. The dream of writing is a part of who they are, and their dreams should matter to you. Knowing that my husband prays for me and my writing daily tells me he’s taking an active role in in making my dreams of publication come true. It’s changed his outlook on my writing too. Where once he viewed it as income, he now sees it as my ministry, my calling for this season in my life. And I’ve got to say, I love him all the more for it.

Three simple things you can give that will make your writer more productive and grow your relationship—a Christmas gift to the both of you!

TWEETABLES

3 Gifts to Give a Writer for Christmas by Patty Smith Hall (Click to Tweet) 

Giving a writer time to write is one of the best presents~ Patty Smith Hall (Click to Tweet) 

A Christmas gift to the both of you~ Patty Smith Hall (Click to Tweet) 

Patty Smith-Hall is a multi-published, award-winning author with Love Inspired Historical/Heartsong and currently serves as president of the ACFW-Atlanta chapter. She currently lives in North Georgia with her husband of 30+ years, Danny; two gorgeous daughters and a future son-in-love. Her next release, New Hope Sweethearts will be available in July on Amazon.

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Words are Wonderful Things

by Linore Rose Burkard

Writers are wordsmiths. We play with, struggle over, muddle in, misuse and pluck words into and out of our books or articles with anything from reckless abandon—the heady steam of inspiration—to plodding, pulling-teeth frustration. 

One day's work is like rolling full steam ahead, while another's is a journey on a horse-cart as we struggle to find the right words. If we do, the magic happens, the work sings, and we leave readers happy.

As writers we know perhaps more than anyone, the power of the written word.

And yet--what a struggle we have at times to get those words written.

We may over-write, under-write*, fail to write, or fail to thoroughly edit what we've written.  

Since this is my last post for the year for Novel Rocket, I offer the following words that I've gleaned over the past months to encourage you in your writing journey, whether you are at an acme of success, rolling along on a fast track, or climbing the trenches. (Do we ever leave the trenches? Even J.K. Rowling has to face a blank page when she writes.)

Enjoy the following—and if the shoe fits, well, you know what to do.  

It is never too late—in fiction or in life—to revise. -Nancy Thayer 

Write even when you don't want to, don't much like what you are writing, and aren't writing particularly well. -Agatha Christie 

Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will. -Dr. Robert Anthony 

I don't know of one 'overnight bestseller' that didn't take a year and a half to get there. -Mark Victor Hansen

I mailed a manuscript to fifteen publishers. The fifteenth one said yes. - Max Lucado                           

You cannot cross the sea by staring at the water. -R. Tagore (You cannot write a book by staring at a blank page. Write, now. Right now.)

Nothing will come of nothing. Dare mighty things. -Shakespeare

Every writer I know has trouble writing. -Joseph Conrad

It's not over til it's over, and it's never over. Don't give up too soon, and it is always too soon to quit. -Edward W. Smith

If God didn't have real plans for us and want to use us, he'd take us to heaven. It's that simple—and that complicated. -Anonymous

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. -Donald Kendall

Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you to do (or write) in this world. So long as you can sweeten another's pain, life is not in vain.    -Helen Keller

Writing is like a sculpture where you remove, you eliminate, in order to make the work visible. Even those pages you remove somehow remain. -Elie Wiesel 

You can't think yourself out of a writing block; you have to write yourself out of a thinking block. -John Rogers

In closing, a poem on the power of words. While the poet may have been thinking of the spoken word when she wrote this, it can apply to us who wield the pen as well.

Words are Wonderful Things 

Keep a watch on your words, my darling,

For words are wonderful things; 

They are sweet like the bees' fresh honey,

Like the bees they have terrible stings; 

They can bless like the warm, glad sunshine,

And brighten a lonely life;  

They can cut, in the strife of anger,

Like an open, two-edged knife. 

                                  Mrs. E.R. Miller

To your writing success,

Linore

*For word detectives: Under-write, a compound word, meaning not writing enough, or fully, to describe or portray a subject. NOT underwrite, as to accept liability.   

TWEETABLES

Words are Wonderful Things by Linore Rose Burkard (Click to Tweet)

Even J.K. Rowling has to face a blank page when she writes~ Linore Rose Burkard (Click to Tweet)

Linore Rose Burkard writes historical romance and, as L.R.Burkard, YA/suspense. Linore teaches workshops for writers, is a mother of five, and still homeschools her youngest daughter—preferably with coffee in one hand, and an  iPad in the other. 

For a chance to win a free copy of one of her books, simply subscribe to her mailing list at either of her websites (above). Winners are announced in each newsletter, which now has content for writers, readers, poets and dreamers. (That means you!) 

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Preparing for the Writing Battle

By Patty Smith Hall

I believe a person should know what they’re walking into before they go head long into battle and make no mistake about it--getting published is a fight. It takes knowledge and strategies; knowing when to retreat and when to push the boundaries. It is a never-ending learning process--just when you think you’ve got a grasp on the industry, it evolves into something new and ever-changing.

Between 250-300 manuscripts are published annually. This doesn’t include Love Inspired who publishes 240 books per year. So we’re talking 490-540 inspirational books released by publishers every year, That’s 540 slots for both pre-pubbed and published authors to fill. When I asked two editor friends of mine how many submissions they received in a year’s time, both said about 200 unsolicited manuscripts(That means manuscripts they didn’t ask for.) So if you added the number of submissions they probably got from all the conferences they attended plus the proposals they received from published authors, you’ve got close to a thousand plus manuscripts per publishing house per year. 43K for 540 slots. What that means is that as a new writer trying to break into the market, you’ve got to be at the top of your game. Your story has to be solid from start to finish, unique yet familiar. And published writers have to continue to produce at a high level to keep getting contracts.

And the battle doesn’t end when you hold that first book in your hands. Most publishers would like at least 2 books out of an author per year which can be overwhelming if you’ve not a particularly fast writer like me. Their budgets have been cut so that you’ve also taken on the job of marketing and publicity which means a presence on social media as well as book signings and a teaching platform. Then there’s proposals you’ll need to work on so that once the book you’re working on is finished, you have another one under contract.  And don’t forget the business part of it--the royalty statements, the contracts. While you may have an agent, it’s still very important that you understand this part of the business.

Facts you need to know about the publishing world:

Publishing is always evolving

If you’ve ever been to a writing conference, there’s a list of about 5-7 classes you can chose from during your class time. Now certain classes never change--POV, plotting, the basics of writing. But you can see which direction the writing winds are blowing if you look at the classes dealing with genre and business. The first four conferences I attended might as well have been a hen party with all the chick lit classes being taught. Every editor was looking for the next ‘Bridget Jones Diary,’ and no one, I mean NO ONE, wanted to talk about historical fiction because it was as dead as a doornail. Four years later, you couldn’t find a class on Chick-lit at the ACFW national conference. You also couldn’t find classes on two other areas that had publishers quaking in their boots--social media and self-publishing.  Now, e-publishing is a huge topic at most every writing conference. 

As a writer looking toward publication, you need to keep aware of these changes. Follow:

1. Publisher’s Weekly which gives you daily reports of what is happening in the writing world.
2. Subscribe to Writer’s Digest
3. Read Agent’s blogs. Chip MacGeogor and Steve Laube offer tons of information on the publishing front.
4. Also, look at what ABA publishing houses are aquiring--Christian Fiction is generally two year behind them in ‘fad’ books like Chick Lit, so keep and eye on the ABA market to see what’s coming down the pike.

Publishing goes in cycles

Back in 2008, I entered the ACFW Genesis contest hoping to get some feedback on my first try at a historical romance but I never expected this from one of the judges:

‘You’re a good writer but you’ll never sell this.’ That judge’s argument was against the time period I wrote in which was WWII--everyone in publishing knew that WWII was extremely unpopular with editors. As the historical market was just beginning to take off again, she suggested that I concentrate on another time period or better still, woman’s fiction(that year’s Chick Lit.) But between the time I won the Genesis for that same manuscript and the day Love Inspired Historical offered me a contract, the historical market, and WWII books specifically took off.

So what did I learn through this experience? That genres go up and down in popularity. What may be on every editor’s wish list one day might not tickle their fancy the next. Just keep writing your story. Your day is coming!

The Writing World is very small

Writing is a very lonely business so it’s nice to connect with other writers online through Facebook or on a writing loop, and that’s great--but no matter how innocent your comment may be, THINK TWICE before posting it on any of your social media because there are agents and editors lurking out there, watching. While it’s okay to rant about the rejection letter on that book you were so sure was going to sell, it’s not okay to badmouth the editor who didn’t buy it. Think about it--would you want to work with someone who was so unprofessional and immature as to rant about you on Facebook? And if you don’t think that’s true--I had an author friend who went off on an editor from a very well-known publishing house(I actually saw this on one of my writing loops) and it took four years for her career to recover from the damage she’d done in that one little rant.

Characteristics of a Successful Writer

Perseverance --you’ve got to write even when you don’t want to, don’t feel like it, or physically can’t. You’ve got to keep at it when the rejects pile up, when everyone around you is telling you to give up, and when you’re so discouraged by it all, you wonder what you were thinking. I wrote my first two books flat on my back when I couldn’t sit up in a chair. Take Dora from Finding Nemo credo as your own--just keep swimming!

Teachable spirit--Sorry to say, but you will never learn everything there is about writing a book. Which is great because the craft keeps stretching you, keeps pushing you to write better, to be better. But if you close yourself off to the possibility of learning something new, you’re cheating yourself and your readers. 

Tough skin--not everyone is going to like your writing. Heck, not everyone is going to read your writing. And that’s okay. You can’t get your feelings hurt every time your critique partners send back your submission bathed in red ink because if you can’t handle that, you’ll never be able to handle some of the scathing reviews on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. So remember, those comments about talking heads or passive writing are not personal, it’s to help you reach your goal of being published.

TWEETABLES

Preparing for the #Writing Battle - @Pattywrites on @NovelRocket (Click to Tweet)

Make no mistake about it - getting published is a fight - @PattyWrites on @NovelRocket http://bit.ly/2f2JFrI #writing #publishing (Click to Tweet)


Patty Smith-Hall is a multi-published, award-winning author with Love Inspired Historical/Heartsong and currently serves as president of the ACFW-Atlanta chapter. She currently lives in North Georgia with her husband of 30+ years, Danny; two gorgeous daughters and a future son-in-love. Her next release, New Hope Sweethearts will be available in July on Amazon.

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This Genre/That Genre—Classifying Stories

Geralt/Pixababy
So Many Choices

by Normandie Fischer

Genre branding, not unlike author branding, is a hot topic in writerly circles. Querying authors scan agent and publisher websites, praying their work will be among the coveted.

I just returned from my second WFWA (Women’s Fiction Writers Association) Retreat in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where a slew of us gathered to laugh and learn and prod each other in our writing journey. We also discussed branding and what constitutes women’s fiction.
I thought I knew. But my definition was too narrow, so narrow, in fact, that I’d pushed my two latest works forward into the romantic suspense genre. A friend at the retreat actually approached me to say how brave she thought I was to have stepped out of women’s fiction—my comfort zone—to publish in a separate genre.

And yet. And yet.
Were Two from Isaac's House and From Fire into Fire to be marketed differently?

I just came across something in a blog hosted by Amy Sue Nathan, the author who first introduced me to the concept of women's fiction and who pointed me to WFWA when it was merely an email loop. Her post on September 29 was titled "Women's Fiction Merges With Suspense by Kate Moretti." Kate writes: "These novels [she discusses several] might be classified as suspense novels, but they have all the earmarks of Women’s Fiction. What they hold dearest is familiar to us: children, husbands, family, livelihood. Their journey is both external and internal – after all, you can’t risk everything and everyone you love and remain unchanged at the end. Life, and fiction, doesn’t work like that."

And this year, two finalists in the Star Award given by WFWA for the best in published women’s fiction wrote stories full of magical realism; one of these, by Scott Wilbanks, actually won. Okay, thought I, if those fit as women’s fiction, what about mine?

In the middle of asking this question, I did what I do far too often: I checked my reviews. (You never do that, do you?) And in checking them, I came across an interesting answer. Have you ever had that happen? Ask a question, find the answer in an unexpected place? Here’s what Carrie wrote on her blog, Reading Is My Superpower.

“If you asked me how to classify this book in a library, I’m not sure where I would place it. Two From Isaac’s House reads like Southern fiction but is very much a novel of international intrigue. You will want to … absorb the delicious way the writing lilts across the page, but … Fischer’s command of international suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat. And then there’s the new romance and the new friendships…. In a book that could go political in a heartbeat, the plot stays just outside that line and instead whispers a few subtle hints toward the spiritual that both surprised and touched me with their presence. Normandie Fischer’s latest book is definitely a dichotomy of genres, but I loved the result!”

More lovely words followed, but there the reviewer was, talking about crossing genre lines. Two from Isaac’s House seemed more suspense-y than my second Carolina Coast novel, Heavy Weather, slightly more edgy than any of my other books. And yet, was it edgy in the right way, edgy enough for diehard romantic suspense readers? And did the fact that it “reads like Southern fiction” affect its categorization?

Back when I first wrote the story (way back, a couple of decades ago), I wanted to create two characters who didn’t fit genre norms. (That should have told me something, shouldn’t it?) I’d already decided to set a story in Italy and grab some of the Middle Eastern angst from people I knew, but I wasn’t interested in heroines with black belts in karate or their sharpshooter male counterparts. I wanted regular folk who just happened to find themselves in a world peopled with spies and dead bodies. I wanted to know how they'd change and grow when confronted with the unusual and uncomfortable. The story won critical acclaim in manuscript form but languished on a floppy disc while I wrote other stories and other books. When I decided to bring it to life in the now of Israeli/Palestinian politics and to tie it to my Southern fiction by having the main female protagonist be from Morehead City, NC, I faced the classification quandary in real time.

My critique partner Robin Patchen said she dealt with the same issue in two of her suspense novels, which she has since rebooted as women’s fiction. I asked writer Jennifer Fromke what she thought. According to Jennifer, location differentiates my books, all of which have elements of suspense and romance but work as women’s fiction. (Obviously, I should have asked her way back when.)

Here I was with category/branding angst. At the WFWA Retreat, I met Kathleen Irene Paterka, a highly successful (and delightful) indie author whose early work hit a snag when acquisitions editors wanted her to revamp it—and her 35-year-old protagonist—into YA. Her mentors suggested she ignore them and go indie. She has never looked back because she can write what she wants, when she wants, and in whatever genre she wants—and she doesn’t worry about classifications.

I think that’s where I am—finally. I write what I write, and I’m letting it settle where it will. (Hoping Amazon categories agree with me.)

What about you? Has the branding dilemma smacked you in the face? Do you write in one easily defined category, no shifting around or smudging? Or do you like to color outside the lines?

If you’re traditionally published, what has your experience been with genre boundaries? Do you think there’s been a shifting in acceptance of the odd and unique? I know literary fiction has always had room for the James Joyces and the Virginia Wolfes, but if you write genre fiction, do you find your work constrained and forced to remain inside the boundaries? Obviously, Scott Wilbank’s publisher (Sourcebooks) had no trouble with a little magic thrown in to liven things.

Some of my contemporaries in RWA PAN use pen names for their different genres, but that feels awkward to me. I mean, how do they remember who they are when they sign books or write to fans? Have you considered writing under different names?

Pixababy
What to do?

Talk to me. I want to know your thoughts on branding and genre shifting—and on enlarging definitions within a particular genre.

TWEETABLES

I write what I write, and I’m letting it settle where it will.~Normandie Fischer (Click to Tweet)

This Genre/That Genre—Classifying Stories~Normandie Fischer (Click to Tweet)

See, separated books. Time to move the pics?

Normandie studied sculpture in Italy before receiving her BA, summa cum laude with special honors in English. Her women’s fiction titles include Becalmed (2013), Sailing out of Darkness (2013), Heavy Weather (2015), and more recently two filled with international intrigue, Two from Isaac’s House (2015) and the novella, From Fire into Fire (2016). Normandie and her husband spent a number of years on board their 50-foot ketch, Sea Venture, sailing in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. They now live in coastal North Carolina, where she takes care of her aging mother.
Normandie's Website
Facebook
Amazon

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Four Things to do before Self Publishing Your Book

Not that long ago, self-publishing your book was considered equal to sporting a scarlet letter on your chest. It was embarrassing because it meant you weren’t ‘good enough’ to be considered by traditional publishing houses. Now, with Amazon and the array of affordable tablets on the market, that tarnished letter has become much more respected, to the point, publishers are encouraging their authors to jump into the fray. Indie publishing gives writers control over their careers as well as a freedom to write on subjects some publishing houses feel are taboo.

So how do you get started in the world of self-publishing? Here’s four things I think every author should do:

 1. Produce material.

The more full-length novels or novellas that you put out, the more you’re going to sell thus increasing your take home pay. When I published my first story, it did okay. It sold about 2000 copies in those first six months but after that, sales just dried up. Then I published several more novellas and a full-length novel, and a friend of mine ask if she could use some of my novellas for collections. Before I knew it, sales took off and haven’t slowed down. The little check from my first novella increased each time I put out new material. Now I bring in between $200-$500 a month from my indie books.

2.  Cultivate a support system.

Being a part of a group of writing friends who encourage and answer questions about the indie publishing process is vital. Need to know how much to space out the lines when you’re publishing with Amazon? Looking for someone to do the cover art for your next novella? That’s what these supportive friends do. But it didn’t happen overnight. It takes time. A few good places to look for your people is on Facebook. There are several indie author’s groups like ACFW Indie Authors, Christian Indie Authors, Clean Indie Authors and IndieGypsy.

3. Hire an editor.

There is nothing more embarrassing than getting a review on Amazon that reads something like this: Great story and characters but the author wouldn’t know the King’s English if it bit her in the backside. Ouch! With so many people throwing stuff out there these days, you have to make yours stand out above the rest, and a good edit can do that for you. A good rule of thumb—treat every manuscript as if you’re sending it to a major publishing house. Make it as clean and the content as clear as possible. We owe it to our readers.

4.  Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

One of the best pieces of advice I received in my journey to publication was to have at least three avenues of revenue coming in, or three legs of a stool which represent your means of income. Don’t just depend on what you’re going to earn from your indie/traditional books—look at ways to use your expertise to bring in income. Editing and cover design are two ways to do this. Or you can be like me, and write articles and fillers for different magazines. Whatever it is, share what you’ve learned in your writing journey.   

TWEETABLE

Four Things to do before Self Publishing Your Book by Patty Smith-Hall (Click to Tweet)
______________________________________________________________________________

Patty Smith-Hall is a multi-published, award-winning author with Love Inspired Historical/Heartsong and currently serves as president of the ACFW-Atlanta chapter. She currently lives in North Georgia with her husband of 30+ years, Danny; two gorgeous daughters and a future son-in-love. Her next release, New Hope Sweethearts will be available in July on Amazon.

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