If you're questioning at all whether editors and agents check out authors, as I wrote last week, read this:
From editor Brendan Deneen (who used to be an agent) - specifically #3
That is all for now. Have a lovely Tuesday.
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
MM - Your Blog IS a Marketing Tool, Whether You Like It or Not
This week is crazy-busy with my benefit book signing Thursday and real life in general, so just a quick Monday Marketing note today. Once again, I'm pointing you over to Tawna Fenske's blog because, along with another discussion, she wrote about something that got me to thinking.
Her post is about how some writers play the victim when it comes to the querying process, complaining on their own blogs (and other social media) about rejection after rejection and agents who are too stupid to be in the business. Okay, she didn't exactly say that last part, but implied it because we've all seen or heard about writers who do say these exact words. I don't understand why writers do this because it only hurts themselves. Which brought me to my point here.
Whether we like it or not, our blogs are marketing tools. Let's go back to one of the basic definitions of marketing: "any contact between the company/product and the public." This can be Price/Cost, Place/Convenience, Product/Customer Needs and Promotions/Communications. All of these are contact points between the two parties and note that last one, specifically "Communications." You are the company/product and your blog is a Communications tool that reaches the public...and your potential customers.
Many authors post on their blogs, after their debut book's release, that their blog will never be used as a marketing tool for their books, that they'll keep doing what they're doing and their readers don't need to worry. But...
They.
Are.
Mistaken.
Their blogs have always been a marketing tool, whether they realize it or not, whether they like it or not. They have been communicating in a public space, accessible by anyone, including potential agents, editors and readers. In fact, they have built up their readership base with their blog, which is the goal of a marketing tool.
Any marketing piece - from query letter to advertisement - needs to emphasize the positive and downplay or ignore the negative (unless you can address it in a positive way). This includes your blog. Going back to Tawna's point, you wouldn't write in your query letter, "114 agents rejected me but they don't know jack, so I'm sending this to you," so why would you do it on your blog or in other social media outlets? Agents do check you out if they're at all interested. And most don't want to work with a negative, complaining, bitchy writer.
Put yourself and your books in the best light possible, regardless of where you are in the publishing process and what obstacles you've had to endure. If you want to talk about rejections and other hard-knocks, do it privately or address it in a positive way. And never forget that your blog is a marketing tool, whether you like it or not.
Your turn: Have you ever seen one of these rants from a writer? What kind of impression did you get of that person? Is it someone you would want to work with? Have I given you a new way to look at your blog? And do you follow Tawna? Because if you don't, you should. Her posts are highly entertaining and sometimes even make a "point" (heh - if you follow her, you get this).
Her post is about how some writers play the victim when it comes to the querying process, complaining on their own blogs (and other social media) about rejection after rejection and agents who are too stupid to be in the business. Okay, she didn't exactly say that last part, but implied it because we've all seen or heard about writers who do say these exact words. I don't understand why writers do this because it only hurts themselves. Which brought me to my point here.
Whether we like it or not, our blogs are marketing tools. Let's go back to one of the basic definitions of marketing: "any contact between the company/product and the public." This can be Price/Cost, Place/Convenience, Product/Customer Needs and Promotions/Communications. All of these are contact points between the two parties and note that last one, specifically "Communications." You are the company/product and your blog is a Communications tool that reaches the public...and your potential customers.
Many authors post on their blogs, after their debut book's release, that their blog will never be used as a marketing tool for their books, that they'll keep doing what they're doing and their readers don't need to worry. But...
They.
Are.
Mistaken.
Their blogs have always been a marketing tool, whether they realize it or not, whether they like it or not. They have been communicating in a public space, accessible by anyone, including potential agents, editors and readers. In fact, they have built up their readership base with their blog, which is the goal of a marketing tool.
Any marketing piece - from query letter to advertisement - needs to emphasize the positive and downplay or ignore the negative (unless you can address it in a positive way). This includes your blog. Going back to Tawna's point, you wouldn't write in your query letter, "114 agents rejected me but they don't know jack, so I'm sending this to you," so why would you do it on your blog or in other social media outlets? Agents do check you out if they're at all interested. And most don't want to work with a negative, complaining, bitchy writer.
Put yourself and your books in the best light possible, regardless of where you are in the publishing process and what obstacles you've had to endure. If you want to talk about rejections and other hard-knocks, do it privately or address it in a positive way. And never forget that your blog is a marketing tool, whether you like it or not.
Your turn: Have you ever seen one of these rants from a writer? What kind of impression did you get of that person? Is it someone you would want to work with? Have I given you a new way to look at your blog? And do you follow Tawna? Because if you don't, you should. Her posts are highly entertaining and sometimes even make a "point" (heh - if you follow her, you get this).
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Things Making Me Go Hmm...
There's some interesting conversation going on for and about YA writers at Carol's Prints and Invincible Summer. If you write YA, I suggest you check them out because they bring up some very valid points about writing YA. I don't write YA, but one of the issues brought up has made me go "Hmm..."
It's the point about who we blog for. Do we blog for other writers? For readers? For agents or editors we hope might be checking us out? Personal friends and family? After all, as I've said in this Marketing Monday post and will come back to in future marketing-related posts, we need to know who our target audience is and write for them.
Which brings me to my own blog. I originally started this blog, called A Mused Writer, mostly to ramble and make sense of my writing, whine about the challenges of getting published and, I hoped, to mix and mingle with other writers. I planned to share what I've learned and my experiences in exchange for all the great knowledge writers share on their own blogs.
When I switched over my URL, www.KristieCook.com, to the blog, though, it also became my communication tool to reach out to readers. I'd read somewhere about how our blogs' audiences change over time, depending where we are in the publishing spectrum - from newbie and unagented to agented but unpublished to published to bestseller. It made sense and I knew my messages would have to evolve with my audience.
After reading the two blogs above, though, and giving it some serious consideration, my publishing team and I agreed that www.KristieCook.com should be for the author communicating with readers - about my books, my characters, the series, special events and appearances, etc., as well as a way for readers to get to know me on a more personal level. The book sites are all about the books, creating questions. The author site should be about answering questions and making a connection with the reader.
But what about my writer friends? I love you all. I've learned so much from you and I'd still like to share the little bit that I know, too. One of my goals in going indie is to be able to help other new writers achieve their goals. So I'm not about to give you up.
So, a bunch of words to basically say that I'll be doing some renovations here. I don't know the logistics yet, but I'm pretty sure that the end result will be either a new author's site or a new writer's blog. I don't want to lose archives relevant to either side, though, so I still have to figure it all out. Wish me luck!
What do you think? Have you thought about what you'll do with your blog as your career evolves? Anyone interested in doing a writing blog with me? :-) And any thoughts about those other two posts for YA writers?
Monday, February 1, 2010
Blog Love
Caught up in rewrites and edits, I forgot to post this blog! Shame on me! This one will be a quickie because there will be another to follow later today. I’ll explain in a minute. First, this post is all about love for other blogs and bloggers. I have learned and laughed from so many other bloggers and in the past couple weeks, I’ve also won a couple things! Woot! So here’s my shout-out and thanks, plus an announcement about a fun blog-fest that’s already started and ends midnight tomorrow night (2/2).
Thank you to Eisley Jacobs and her blog, Eisley’s Ellipses (http://eisleyjacobs.com/) for the great prize, THE 39 CLUES. This was a random drawing Eisley held for her blog readers and I was chosen. Speaking of random…when we participate in social media, we meet all kinds of random people. Many are quite scary, but sometimes we get lucky and meet a few lovely peeps. Eisley is one of those. I met her on Twitter and she is one of the loveliest people I know-but-don’t-know. Follow her blog for another perspective on the life of an aspiring writer.
Another Thank You to Cornell Deville (http://cornelldeville.blogspot.com) for hosting the contest “Openings.” PURPOSE won the contest for the best first paragraph of 50 entries. Thanks to all my voters, too, for your support, and to the commenters for helping me make it even better. Cornell Deville is a new blog, but, dude, they are busy, busy. There’s already another contest posted for best query letter, judged by a literary agent. There is also great information provided on the site, so if you’re a writer, you need to check it out.
Finally…it’s Blog Fest time. I’m participating in my first ever fest, which is a Fight Scene Blog Fest. Bloggers will be posting fight scenes, either from their own books (published and not) or from other books and movies. It should be a lot of fun. Check out those participating here: http://networkedblogs.com/p26373748. Since this is my first time, I’ll be sneaking a peek at what others posted before posting my own scene later today, but it will be something only a few people have ever read…or maybe something out of my newest WIP (work in progress) that only ONE person has read so far. So get a sneak peek into PURPOSE or the next book coming later today.
That’s all for now! I need to go figure out which scene I’m going to post and will be back later…
Thank you to Eisley Jacobs and her blog, Eisley’s Ellipses (http://eisleyjacobs.com/) for the great prize, THE 39 CLUES. This was a random drawing Eisley held for her blog readers and I was chosen. Speaking of random…when we participate in social media, we meet all kinds of random people. Many are quite scary, but sometimes we get lucky and meet a few lovely peeps. Eisley is one of those. I met her on Twitter and she is one of the loveliest people I know-but-don’t-know. Follow her blog for another perspective on the life of an aspiring writer.
Another Thank You to Cornell Deville (http://cornelldeville.blogspot.com) for hosting the contest “Openings.” PURPOSE won the contest for the best first paragraph of 50 entries. Thanks to all my voters, too, for your support, and to the commenters for helping me make it even better. Cornell Deville is a new blog, but, dude, they are busy, busy. There’s already another contest posted for best query letter, judged by a literary agent. There is also great information provided on the site, so if you’re a writer, you need to check it out.
Finally…it’s Blog Fest time. I’m participating in my first ever fest, which is a Fight Scene Blog Fest. Bloggers will be posting fight scenes, either from their own books (published and not) or from other books and movies. It should be a lot of fun. Check out those participating here: http://networkedblogs.com/p26373748. Since this is my first time, I’ll be sneaking a peek at what others posted before posting my own scene later today, but it will be something only a few people have ever read…or maybe something out of my newest WIP (work in progress) that only ONE person has read so far. So get a sneak peek into PURPOSE or the next book coming later today.
That’s all for now! I need to go figure out which scene I’m going to post and will be back later…
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