Marketing Or A Root Canal?

 I’ve never had a root canal and I pray I never have to, but when I’m faced with marketing my books, I sometimes think I’d rather face down the dentist’s drill.

This is not for the faint of heart, folks.

To be honest, I think I suck at it. For one thing, I’m kinda introverted. The idea of shouting about myself from the rooftops makes me shudder. I’m also not terribly organized, so it’s been hard to formulate a great marketing strategy that actually works. And there’s the kicker. What works and what doesn’t? What should I spend my time on that will really help promote my books? Who do I talk to? Who do I ask to help influence my writing? Who will get up on the rooftop with me, and tell the world they’re missing out if they haven’t read a Catherine West novel yet?

Well, seems I’ve exhausted my list of family and friends already…

I’m asking all these questions because I have no answers. I don’t know why some books just seem to take off and some don’t. Is it better marketing, better writing, a bigger network? There are so many avenues these days, an author must choose wisely where she hangs out.

I enjoy GoodReads and spend a bit of time trying to interact there. I like the fact that readers can post reviews, and I encourage this, as I do think the number of positive reviews of a book can influence a purchase.

Twitter is a phenomenon unto itself and I’m not sure I quite get it. I have over a thousand followers, but do they all really see my tweets? Do they care? Probably not. I’m not convinced you can sell anything through Twitter, but you can promote. Same goes for Facebook. I have a personal page and an Author Page (if you haven’t Liked it yet, please do!), but there again, I’m always asking myself how much is too much? Should I really be pushing my books over Facebook? Do people think I’m a pain in the rear if I do? Do they think I’m dumb if I don’t?

Social media, for me anyway, has always been fun. I love Facebook (hi, I’m Cathy and I’m a Facebookalohic…) I love the interactions with family and friends on both my pages, so I’m hesitant to take advantage of that. I’ve seen the barrage of updates and tweets from authors promoting their books daily, sometimes several times a day. Frankly it turns me off more than anything. It’s like those telemarketers that call the minute you sit down to dinner…nobody wants that kind of reputation. I sure don’t. I’d rather create a community where I can get to know my readers and they can get to know me, and let the marketing evolve naturally. But how do I create that community without letting people know about my books? It’s a conundrum I haven’t quite come to grips with.

So what’s the answer?

If you’re an author wading through marketing waters, I’d love to hear your thoughts. What works for you and what doesn’t? 

If you’re a reader, tell me what might work for you? What gets you to take another look at a book you hear about through social media? Why do you hit that ‘purchase’ button?

Why wouldn’t you? 

To discover Catherine’s novels, Hidden in the Heart and Yesterday’s Tomorrow, please visit her website. You can read the first chapter of both books HERE.

 

 

Susan Meissner Is Here!

Okay, I’m seriously excited about today’s guest! I’ve been a big Susan Meissner fan ever since I read White Picket Fences, so I’m thrilled that she’s agreed to share some thoughts with us here on the blog! Her books are amazingly realistic and speak to the soul, with characters you feel could just step off the page, pull up a chair and have a cup of coffee with you. I loved The Shape of Mercy, and Lady in Waiting is on my TBR pile, and now I have to add A Sound Among the Trees to that as well! If you haven’t read any of Susan’s books yet, I hope this post will inspire you to do so!

Here’s Susan:

If you’ve spent any time around four-year-olds you know that they have just one thing on their minds. They want to know why. It is their favorite question to ask, and they can be relentless— sometimes embarrassingly so— about it. A four-year-old might see a young woman at the mall with an unconventional shade of hair color and the tyke will turn to his parents and ask rather loudly, “Why is her hair purple?” The child is making sense of his world. He needs to know the why of everything to do that. When you’re four, that’s all that matters – knowing why. Thanks goodness social graces usually follow and the kid will in time learn to ask why in a way that won’t embarrass mom or dad. But when you’re four, the why of things is how you grasp your universe.

So what can a writer learn from four-year-olds?

Every good novel presents the reader with a character who wants something and must overcome barriers to have it. It doesn’t matter if you’re reading Seuss or Steinbeck, the emotional glue of a story is that the reader indentifies with what the character wants and why.

The why is everything. It’s what bonds us to the main character and entices us to keep turning pages. If we don’t know why the main character wants something, then it doesn’t really matter whether or not she gets it. And if we don’t care whether or not she gets what she wants, we’re going to put the book down.

Bye-bye reader.

If you’re writing fiction, you need to know that your reader is going to be a bit of a four-year-old when it comes to your book. They probably won’t even realize it, but while they are reading your novel, in their minds they are asking “why “ all the time. Which means you have to ask why as you are writing. You need to be your own four-year-old. And you need to be relentless about it.

Why does your main character want what she wants?

Answer that question and then ask why again.

Answer that question and ask why again.

And again.

And again.

Keep asking until you’ve reduced the question to the very essence of your story.

Let’s take a look at a classic to see how this might play out.

In Gone With the Wind what did Scarlett O’Hara? Ashley Wilkes.

Why? She thought he was in love with her.

Why did she think he was in love with her? Because she thought everyone was in love with her.

Why did she think everyone in love with her? Because she was pretty and smart and always got what she wanted.

Why did she always get what she wanted? Because she lived a life of privilege.

Why did she live a life of privilege? Because her father was wealthy and she never had to want for anything. She didn’t know what it was like to suffer. She didn’t know what she was really made of.

Why didn’t she know what she was made of? Because she had never been tested.

Ask enough why questions and we find out the heart of the plot of Gone With the Wind isn’t so much that Scarlett wanted Ashley, it’s that Scarlett had no idea what she was capable of before war took her to the crucible of suffering and showed her.

Suddenly the book becomes bigger because none of us readers want Ashley Wilkes (what did she see in the guy?) but we all wonder what would we learn about ourselves in the crucible of suffering. That’s something we might want to know. And when you dovetail what your character wants with something your reader wants, you’ve bonded them to your story. And that is your number one goal.

Try it with your novel.

Be your own four-year-old.

Relentlessly ask yourself why your character wants what she wants. And keep asking until you can’t ask anymore. Do it right now.

What did you learn about your character? What did you learn about the takeaway of your novel?

And what did you learn about you?

Share away.

About Susan:

Susan Meissner is a multi-published author, speaker and writing workshop leader with a background in community journalism. Her novels include The Shape of Mercy, named by Publishers Weekly as one of the 100 Best Novels of 2008. She is a pastor’s wife and a mother of four young adults. When she’s not writing, Susan directs the Small Groups and Connection Ministries program at her San Diego church.

How to reach her:

Website: http://www.susanmeissner.com

Twitter: @SusanMeissner

Susan’s latest book, A Sound Among The Trees:

For 150 years, Holly Oak has stood the test of time and wills in historic Fredericksburg with Civil War scars to prove it. Marielle Bishop marries into Holly Oak’s family, leaving behind Arizona’s deserts to become a wife and stepmother. But it isn’t long before Marielle is led to believe that the house brings misfortune to the women who live there. Local folklore has it that Susannah Page, a Yankee spy haunts Holly Oak because she’s longing for pardon. When Susannah’s great-granddaughter Adelaide McClane tells her that the house is “stuck” because of it’s tumultuous past, Marielle is determined to get past the rumors and uncover the secrets that are buried within its walls. 

Read An Excerpt

View The Trailer

Susan has graciously offered to give away a copy of A Sound Among The Trees! Leave us a comment and I’ll announce the winner on Monday – please include your email – North American residents only, please! 

Have You Ever Waited For Something?

Of course you have! We all have something in our lives, perhaps daily, that we need to wait for.

Writing is all about playing the waiting game isn’t it? If you’d like to read about waiting and learn a bit more about me, please join me over at  The WordServe WaterCooler  today.

And now I’d like to do a bit of a roll call. Since this is a new blog, I’d love to know who’s stopping by. So introduce yourself and answer these questions if you would:

Reader or Writer or Both?

Favorite genre to read/write

Favorite author/s

Do you read exclusively in one market – ABA/CBA – or do you read from both.

If you’re a wrier, what are you working on right now?
And finally, what’s on your reading list a the moment?

A bit of housekeeping – on Fridays, as I stated, I’d love to feature our CBA authors. If you are an author and you’d like to be featured here on a Friday, please let me know!!

Happy Reading and Writing!

Check back on Friday for a visit with author Richard Mabry!