November 30, 2011

For the past two days (plus today) I have been answering questions in the Writer’s Retreat Workshop on “Destressing the Writing Life.” You still have time to post a question today–or just pop by to read some of the discussion threads.

This subject isn’t just about destressing during the holidays. Frankly, we lead such busy lives these days that there are precious few “slower” months in the calendar year. You need to know how to destress your writing life every day.

In the workshop we’ve talked about such things as:

• stress caused by the flood of information on writing, publishing and marketing
• stress caused by the new social marketing–and how much is worthwhile
• setting goals that motivate without stressing you out
• handling multiple deadlines more easily
• critique groups–and how to benefit from them without adding stress to your writing life
• scheduling your writing day when juggling things like chores and a day job
• unexpected stress that comes with success

Check It Out!

If you have other questions on this topic that you’d like to see discussed, post them at the Writer’s Retreat Workshop before the day is out–and I’ll meet you there!

May 27, 2011

Some terrific reading is waiting for you this weekend! The articles below from around the Web will give you writing and marketing help, help you see through the current publishing confusion, and even show you ways to get your kids to read through the summer.

Enjoy!

“Is Publishing Turning into the Wild West?” The publishing world has changed radically in the last couple of years, thanks to those pesky e-books. Do the old rules still apply? Does chaos rule? Or are there ways to survive and thrive in the new environment? [Terrific article here by Randy Ingermanson, plus interesting comments.]

“A Dozen Ways to Get Your Child to Read Over the Summer and Have Fun Doing It!” Every year student assessments show that when kids take a break from school over the summer and they don’t read or have any reading instruction during that time, their reading skills are adversely affected. But this doesn’t HAVE to happen. Encouraging children to read during the summer will not only sustain their current reading achievement, it will also contribute to their success in reading proficiency. [Here you'll find suggestions for early primary grades, middle grades, and teens.]

“6 Query Tips from a Publishing Insider” To help you write a query letter (or submission letter) so that an agent will give your manuscript the time of day here are the top 3 Do’s and Don’ts from our head Acquisitions Editor. [The first tip was even a surprise to me, although just last week I sent a proposal to a publisher and got an email suggesting that I add more marketing stuff-even though this publisher has published nine of my previous books! She said there was also talk of adding a marketing clause in new author contracts.]

“Twitter-patted” Twittering gave the world a fast way to communicate and also a new tool for marketing. Marketing with only a few words takes planning and focus. [Read this article for a brilliant way to plan and write your Tweets while you are working on your book/story/article/ebook to be released later.]

“Ways to Improve Your Writing Style” Newer authors struggle with writing technique, and long time writers still find elements in writing that are their nemesis. Being aware of problem areas in your writing can help you move ahead as a writer when you focus on them and find ways to improve those techniques. Here are a few tips on become a better writer. [Gail Gaymer Martin's blog posts are meaty and almost a mini-workshop. Don't stop with this post, but go through her whole Writing Fiction Right blog site.]

“Tidbits” from Writer Beware! This article is FULL of information and links to longer articles, discussing topics like the new trend of agents-turned-publishers and how to interpret the numbers when you read that print-on-demand epublishing is out-stripping sales of paper books.

October 4, 2010

Much of the success of social networking depends on people reading your words and then spreading the word. There are ways to make this easier.

Sharing Made Easy

For example, in the past week I had several people ask about how to add this blog to their feed, so I moved the RSS feed button up higher on the left. (And “hello” to the over 40,000 subscribers who already have done this.)

I also want to take this time to thank all of you who spread this blog on Facebook and Twitter and other social networking sites. I appreciate your support! To make this easier, I also added “sharing” buttons on the left. If you click on the + sign “Share” button, you’ll find nearly 300 places to share the blog. HINT: To share a specific blog post, you have to click on the title of that article first, then click the correct share button.

If you want this code so you can add these social networking buttons to your blog or website, go here for a variety of button choices. It took me less than two minutes to add–very simple.

Start Small

Social networking is here to stay. (See some articles below.) Many of us were skeptical of blogs, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Delicious, Digg, StumbleUpon and more. What I once viewed as a major time waster has morphed into something writers can really use–and use well for free–to promote and sell their writing.

One caution: limit your online marketing time or it will take over your life. Do your writing first, or you’ll find the social networking has displaced your writing time.

Some articles on social networking: 

What Is Social Networking?

6 Things You Should Never Share on Your Social Networking Site

What are the Top 15 Social Networking Sites?

Using Social Networking Sites to Promote Your Blog

Lengthy List of More Social Networking Sites

What about you? Do you use social networking yet? Is it for fun, family connections, to promote your writing–or all of the above? Share your thoughts!

May 19, 2010

A few weeks ago in “Find a Need and Fill It” I asked for your input concerning the topics you find most helpful in this blog.

Thank you all for the responses! It’s been very helpful. The requests fell into three main categories. Since I blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, that made it easy for me. From now on, this will be my general blogging schedule so that I can cover each topic area regularly.

What You Can Expect

Monday = Inner Motivation (includes:)

• fears–all kinds!
• discipline
• focus
• goals
• rejection
• lack of motivation
• encouragement
• a writer’s dream life
• procrastination
• working with our “inner editor”
• enjoying writing more
• perseverance
• creative inspiration
• writer’s block

Wednesday = Outer Challenges (includes:)

• setting boundaries
• time management
• distractions
• discipline
• writing schedules
• goal setting
• balancing writing with chaos in life
• balancing day jobs with writing
• our writing needs (vs. “their” needs)
• self-defeating behaviors

Friday = Tips ‘n’ Tricks of the Trade (includes:)

• specific genre help
• writing books I’ve found helpful
• blogs I find useful
• classes I’ve taken
• voice (writer’s and character’s)
• critique groups
• conferences
• working with publishers
• marketing–all kinds
• considering the audience when writing
• dealing with publishers who don’t respond
• finding good markets
• developing depth in writing
• selling “unique” pieces instead of jumping on the bandwagon

Thanks for Your Input

All your feedback has been immensely helpful in organizing future blog posts and making sure I cover topics you want to hear about and find useful. If I missed anything on these lists, feel free to let me know!

February 19, 2010

Some writers are doing more than just surviving in the current economy. They are thriving! How are they managing this?

“The most important thing I did to thrive in this recession is that I managed my emotions, attention, and attitude at all times. I focused on what I can do, not what I can’t do,” says one much published author. “I  swam upstream, ignoring the people in retreat all around me.”

Uncertain Times

“Call it what you will,” says Mark Haverstock in “Freelancing in Uncertain Times,” “a recession, a downward correction, or a pause in recovery. The national economic downturn has taken its toll on everyone, including freelancers.” (Writer’s Guide to 2010) That’s the bad news. However, the article is full of good news too–and great tips by authors who are thriving despite the economic realties.

In Mark’s “Marketing 101″ section, there are five ways you can market yourself that require time but very little or no money. And keep your manuscripts–many of them–in constant circulation. You can’t sell what isn’t out there. One author pitched a dozen different book ideas with a dozen proposals, and sold eight of them! How?

She said she learned the formats of “book proposals, pitch letters, feature stories, opinion pieces, etc. There are formulas for all of them and once you’ve got the formula mastered, your work is much easier.”

Web Work

Mark has much to say about writing for online publications too. He has lists of resources helping you decide how much to charge, a good number of  websites appealing to “starving writers” that you want to avoid, and five bona fide, legitimate websites that list job leads for writers that pay decent money.

“Freelancing in Uncertain Times” is only one of seven marketing articles in the book, and there are 21 more information-packed articles under Style, Submissions & Career, and Ideas and Research.

Do More, Offer More

With many magazines and newspapers having online web editions–or moving to the Internet altogether–you can rise above other freelancers if you offer photos and videos to accompany your articles. While you need professional ability to shoot for print magazines, it’s not as important with the web.

With digital cameras and phones that also make videos, many writers already have this ability. And if they can supply on-site visuals like this to accompany web content, that saves an editor the expense of sending a photographer on location.

Swim Upstream

Instead of being one of the naysayers and gloom-and-doomers, dig in and determine to overcome the obstacles you’re facing in this recession. Some writers gave up long ago. Others decided to be one of the writers who survived–and even thrived–despite the economy.

Which one are you? Can you leave one tip for others on how you’re staying afloat during tough times?

January 18, 2010

Every week I get questions like this: “I don’t have a book out yet [or my first book came out last year], but do you think I need to have a website, a blog, a newsletter, be on Facebook and LinkedIn, and also tweet on Twitter daily? Is all this self-promotion necessary?”

I wish I knew!

A Voice of Reason

If you believe everything you read that “they say,” you might think you needed to do all that self-promotion. However, I’m inclined to think James Scott Bell in his new book The Art of War for Writers is closer to the mark.  In talking about self-promotion, he said, “The more anxious you are about forcing success through self-promotional effort, the less creative energy you have for the writing itself.”

Why? “Because,” Bell says, “the most important promotional tool you have is your best book. Period.”

Creating that “best book” of which you’re capable takes hours and hours of writing and revising, learning new skills, honing your craft, your heart and soul, your blood, sweat and tears. He cautions writers not to dilute their strengths by obsessing over promotion. (Isn’t that a breath of fresh air?)

Good, Better, Best

Bell gives an interesting list of the “ten best forms of self-promotion.” Only one item on the list deals with the Internet. He simply calls #4 on the list your “web presence.” Guess what SIX of the items on the list are. Your book. He says that a good book-and the word of mouth it generates-will do more for your sales than all the Internet marketing efforts put together. That has been my experience personally, but it’s rare to find such a successful author say so. Rare and refreshing!

Concerning the questions I receive weekly about Internet promotion: I think I’m going to start quoting Bell’s book from now on. His simple guideline for “how much” self-promotion to do is this:

“Do what you can without (a) taking away from the quality of your writing time; (b) taking away from the quality of personal relationships, and (c) taking on debt.”

Now that’s food for a lot of thought.

August 12, 2009

According to an article in the May/June 2009 Writer’s Digest (“The Must-Have Online Marketing Plan” by M.J. Rose), “Ultimately, no matter what you do, careers are made on the book, not on the marketing.” That’s very true. Just as true is this statement from the same article: “Someone–either you or your publisher–is going to have to get the word out about the book.”

More and more, today’s author is expected to do his part in the marketing. It includes creating a website, maybe a blog, making video trailers, doing blog tours, getting your book reviewed online, commenting on others’ blogs–and the one thing I’ve been dragging my feet on: social networking.

Why Social Networking?

Until I heard several speakers last week at a leadership conference, I’d been avoiding most social networking because of the time it takes. (I Twittered for a while, then I’m afraid I let it slide, other than using it to post new blog entries.) But these leaders mentioned that a high percentage of people now are checking Facebook accounts four times more often than their email. Social networking appears to be the new way to connect with people. 

I’ve actually had an active Facebook account–but I only have eight “friends” (all relatives). We all joined Facebook the first time my daughter was deployed as a way to connect the family. It’s very personal–both the content and the family photos. It wasn’t anything I wanted to share with the world–and most of the world probably wouldn’t find umpteen photos of my grandkids half as entertaining as I do.

Lately, though, I’ve had so many people (including an editor) ask why I wasn’t on Facebook or LinkedIn. I told them I was, but my site was very personal. They suggested I create a separate Facebook account, just for my writing. (I hadn’t known you could have two accounts. Sometimes I’m not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.)

Join Me on Facebook

So the last couple days I set up a Facebook page, and I’m launching it today. One thing you might enjoy are the fifty photos I uploaded of my trip to England, including visits to the homes of Jane Austen and C.S. Lewis. It was hard choosing fifty pictures out of the 950!

I hope you’ll come to Facebook, join for free if you don’t already have an account there, then do a search for “Kristi Holl.” There’s more than one–I’m the one in the red shirt. Just ask to join my friends group. It will be a fun way to keep in touch and hopefully learn more about you as well.

If you have time, leave a comment below about your own social networking experiences. Which avenues have worked best for you? What are the pluses  and minuses you’ve encountered? Looking forward to your ideas!