Writers Resource: Word of Mouth Marketing Via Networking

I've worked in marketing for the last 10 years, and while I'm only in the agent querying stage of my writing journey, I can't help but imagine the magical day when I may have to put my day job skills to work to help sell my book.  *crosses fingers, toes, arms and legs* 

My day job has taught me that consumers love to share their opinions, and thanks to social media they have a way to share their opinions with the masses, for better or worse.  Companies want consumers to spread the word about their brands and products, and so many brands spend significant resources developing platforms that encourage and enable sharing.  

Think about the brands you purchased on your most recent trek to Target - every single one has a webpage, and most likely that webpage has some kind of rating/review tool to encourage visitors to review and comment about their products.  They probably have a Facebook page, and may even have a hashtag or Pintrest page. (Yes, brands use Pintrest too!)  Most likely they sponsor and/or contribute to a blog about topics related to their product category. When a new product launches, the marketers behind the scenes may send free samples to well known bloggers in the hopes that they will blog about it and you will read about it.  They may host a contest, encouraging you to like them on Facebook so your friends will learn about the new product.

Do any of these things sound familiar?  Yeah, turns out that brands with multi-million dollar budgets use some of the exact same tactics that authors use when trying to sell their books.

Of course the big difference is that brands have millions of dollars to help build awareness for their products, and awareness is how people know to go to their website, Facebook page or enter their contest in the first place. As a debut author, you're going to have to rely on the most valuable (and free) resource you have available to build awareness - your network.  

You will need people to read your story and go onto Goodreads, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles to rate and review your book.  Goodreads in particular requires several hundred reviews in order for a book to leverage its recommendation tool (here is a great article that explains how books are discovered on Goodreads.)  

That means you are going to need to rely on more than family and close friends - you're going to have to seek out people who will not only read your book, but engage in activities that will help to spread the word.

Here are a few things you can do today to help build a network of people that will spread the word about your book when your magical publishing day comes.

1.  Don't be a lurker

People want to support the people who support them, and one of the easiest ways to build a network is to actively network and engage with like-minded writers via social media.  You're probably already doing this to some degree, but how engaged are you?  Are you lurking around sites, forums and blogs, reading but never commenting?  If so, it's time to stop lurking and get to know the writing community.   

• Don't just follow blogs - leave comments. Let people know that you're there. Tell them when they've written something that resonates with you. Tweet about the posts you've enjoyed or found interesting.

•  Get involved in blog contests beyond simply entering. Leave encouraging posts for your fellow writers, even if you didn't make it into the final round.  If you see an entry that sounds fantastic, tell that person. Seek them out on twitter and share your encouraging words. If you see an entry you think needs some work, find a way to offer constructive and helpful criticism. Become a resource to your fellow writers.

• Become actively involved on writing forums like AgentQuery Connect.  Get to know the others writers on there by engaging with them and supporting their efforts.  Don't just use the resources, be a resource for others by commenting on queries and offering help and feedback.

• Don't just swap business cards at writing conferences - follow up. Send your new writer friend a note telling them it was nice to meet them.  Follow their blog and find them on twitter. Engage with them long after the conference is over.

2.  Use the 5:3:2 rule for social media networking

Nobody wants to be friends with the person who only talks shop, but nobody wants to network with someone who doesn't bring anything to the table. The key is balance.  For every 10 tweets/blogposts/etc:

• 5 should be sharing content from others that is relevant to the writing community.
• 3 should be sharing content from you that is relevant to the writing community, but not trying to sell something (i.e. progress made on your new WIP, a book you just read and loved.)
• 2 should be something personal and non-writing related, so that people can get to know the non-writer you.

3.  Pay it forward

Become a reviewer.  Rate and review books on Goodreads, Amazon and B&N. If you hear that someone in your network is releasing a book, show your support for that person by buying their book and reviewing it.  Then spread the word.

Invite up and coming writers to guest blog.  Let them benefit from your network. Give other writers the awareness building platform that you one day hope to have.  

4.  Be genuine

Ever become friends with someone on Facebook only to have their person agenda constantly thrown at you?  Or maybe you started following a new author on twitter, and all they ever do is talk about their book.

Don't be that person.  Yes, you are building a network that you may one day need to lean on, but you're also opening yourself up to a new community of friends.  Treat them the way you want to be treated.  

What are some other tactics you've used to build your a network?

The Next Big Thing (Week 24)

The Next Big Thing (Week 24)

Today I'm part of a blog tag where writers talk about their work in progress. Last week I was tagged by Stacy Stokes, my blogmate and a friend of mine. This week, I'll talk about my work and then I'll pass the baton to another writer friend who will be sharing his wonderful work next week.

1.  What is the working title of your book?  Betty Noir

2.  Where did the idea come from for the book?  For years I’d watch some of my female students suddenly turn self-destructive and dark. Often I never knew what happened, but I always worried and wondered. I found that nothing I could say helped much until I started talking about the French concept of the Bete Noire – the darkness in us all, and how it’s always a struggle to fight back against it. They seemed to connect to the idea of the darkness being a separate voice/entity haunting them so I let my imagination run and wrote a book where it literally did.

3.  What genre does your book fall under?  YA novel in verse/prose, but from there it’s tricky. Maybe a darkly optimistic magic realism?

4.  Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

For Betty, how could I resist wanting Dakota Fanning? I could see her fabulously bubbly, then dark, and then a hopeful version of the two. For Holden, I’d like to resurrect James Dean or a young Johnny Depp, but I’d take Logan Lerman from today. As for Lindsay, I think Taylor Swift could be dork-a-licious and broken.

5.  What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  Fifteen-year-old cheer captain Betty is literally raped and metaphorically "impregnated" with a dark voice that haunts her from the inside until Holden, a shy—and very appealing—artist, empowers her and stops her spiral of self-destruction by showing her the pictures he draws of the demon haunting her.

6.  Will your book be self-published or represented by and agency?  I would love to work with an agent. 

7.  How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?  Which one? The first draft was originally all in verse and took about three months, but then I re-wrote it in both prose (Betty) and verse (Noir), and that took about four months.

8.  What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  One reader surprised me by saying that it reminded her a little of The Book Thief (I think because of its unusual narrative structure). Others have said Speak. I was reading a lot of Latin American magic realism short stories, John Green, and Sonya Sones when I wrote this; hopefully flavors of those brands of magic slipped in somehow.

9.  Who or what inspired you to write this book?  See question #1.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?  I guess I wanted to write a good love story. I suppose I thought about the kind of guy I wanted when I was a teen and blended it with elements of the great men I’ve met since then to create a bumbling and sweet little romance. And sometimes I try to be funny.

That's all I've got for now!

Tagged for next week (week 25) is one of my very talented writer friends. Check out his blog next Wednesday when it's his turn to post answers to these same questions about his own work in progress! 

James Matlack Raney

Industry Month In Review: From Page to Screen (and Back Again)

Having had the pleasure of interviewing author Jay Asher for last month's From Book To Screen (and back again) series and still reeling from all the great information I learned from the Your Best Books Workshop in Charlotte (you can find great blog reviews from my fellow workshop attendees Janis Marziotto and Carol Baldwin),  I thought it would be fitting to have an Industry Month in Review that reflected on news that crossed the lines between screenwriting and novel writing. 


As we've seen, over the past few months, there have been a number of Young Adult novels optioned for film including dystopian and fantasy novels Marie Lu's Legend, Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone and YA Muse Veronica Rossi's Under The Never Sky and more contemporary fare John Green's The Fault In Our Stars and Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall. 

With the continued success of books to features such as the Hunger Games and Twilight series and the highly anticipated Divergent series not to mention books to television such as Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars, we're sure to see the film rights of YA novels continue to be picked up for some time.  

While we continue to blur the lines between books and screen, there are still fundamental principles that stand the test of any medium.  A friend directed me to an old post by Script Shadow entitled Ten Screenwriting Tips You Can Learn From The Breakfast Club, and even though it's from spring 2011, it help re-emphasize all the things I learned in Charlotte (plus I LOVE the Breakfast Club).  Crystal clear characters, challenging dialogue, and conflict.  They are things we hear over and over again but getting them right is the biggest challenge. 

Finally, from one of the master authors whose bridged that page to screen gap many a times comes one of the best news stories of this year (for me at least).  A group of students in New Brunswick, Canada sent 1,100 letters asking Stephen King to please visit them before Halloween and guess what?  He did!  Here are a few tidbits from the man who wrote what some would consider the bible on writing:

Before his first story was accepted for publication King used to display rejection letters on a nail on his wall. After 60 or 70 rejections, the nail fell down.

“There’s always going to be room at the bottom, because people like me are going to croak.”

Finally, I have the pleasure today of also guest blogging for the YA Muses, you can check out my blog on "the best piece of writing advice I ever received" here.
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The Next Big Thing (Week 23)

Today I'm part of a blog tag where writers talk about their work in progress. Last week, I was tagged by Sakura Q. Eries, a friend of mine that I met through Agent QueryConnect. This week, I'll pass the baton to a few other writer friends. I've had the privilege of reading some of their work, and can attest to the fact that they are both wonderfully talented.  They will blog about Their Next Big Thing on November 14, but for now, here's the scoop on mine.

1.  What is the working title of your book?  Where the Staircase Ends

2.  Where did the idea come from for the book?  I had a dream and a girl walking up a staircase that lead into the sky. When I woke up, I had a compulsion to write the story down. I felt like I couldn't sleep until I did.

3.  What genre does your book fall under?  I originally thought it was YA Magical Realism, but I've since changed it to YA Supernatural Mystery following some advice from an agent.

4.  Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
For Taylor, my MC, I think Chloe Moretz would be perfect.

While she's probably a bit too old, Deborah Ann Wall is a nice match for Sunny, Taylor's best friend.

I'm still on the hunt for the perfect Justin Cobb (the love interest de jour).

5.  What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  After an accident, high school student Taylor Anderson must climb a seemingly endless staircase into the sky; a journey that reveals the surprising truth about her best friend's betrayal and the life Taylor thought she wanted to leave behind.

6.  Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?  My hope is that I will be repped by an agency and/or publishing house.

7.  How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?  The first draft took me just under three months.  Revising took a lot longer, but largely because I was researching the publishing industry and learning about the process.

8.  What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  I've often had it compared to Gayle Forman's IF I STAY and Lauren Oliver's BEFORE I FALL.  I sometimes say that if THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN had a love child with the movie EASY A, it may have turned out a bit like my story.  :)

       

9.  Who or what inspired you to write this book?  I was inspired by friendships I had when I was in high school and junior high. No matter how good the friend, I remember that jealousy - over guys, over things, over situations - often caused tension in our relationships. Sunny and Taylor's relationship feels very real to me, and I wanted to capture that complexity in an honest and relatable way.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?  The story weaves two mysteries together - the mystery of the stairs and the mystery of why Taylor and Sunny's relationship crumbled. The scenes on the stairs are filled with magic and intrigue, while the contemporary portion of the story will hopefully have readers ripping through pages to find out what Sunny did to Taylor (and why) that ruined their friendship.

That's all I've got for now!

Tagged for next week (week 24) are some of my very talented writer friends. Check out their blogs next Wednesday, November 14, when it's their turn to post answers to these same questions about their own works in progress!

Tamara over at One Magic Bean Buyer
Lauren Monahan from right here at Thinking To Inking

The Curious Lives of Teenagers: Which Books are Exciting Teen Readers Today

When posed the question “what was the last book you read that captured you and stuck with you?” one honors sophomore English class responded.

Data suggests: a strong victory for The Hunger Games, many classics , a majority of  YA with some readers beginning to bridge into adult, and a disconcerting but small leaning to the primary source documents of dictators. Also notable: only one nod to the juggernaut of Harry Potter (I attribute this to Harry Potter readers having gone on to reading many more works after HP and this question only asked for the most recent work that touched the reader).

 Here are the books that move my students :

• The Hunger Games  (9)
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2)
• The Giver (2)
• Forrest Gump
• Transworld Surf Tahiti
• Crank
• Go Ask Alice
• The Host
• The Atlantis code
• The Codex
• Harry Potter
• The Alphabet Book
• The Help
• I don’t read
• Tunnels
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Beautiful
• Looking for Alaska
• The Last Child
• The Firm
• The Westing Game
• 8-Lives Down
• Mein Kampf (???)
• Communist Manifesto
• Elsewhere
• Cat in the Hat
• Narnia
• The Book Thief
• The Hobbit
• The Fault in Our Stars
• The Mortal Instruments Series
• The Lucky One