We Interrupt Our Regular Scheduled Programming...for MOCKINGJAY!!!

It's Monday, which means it's supposed to be Marketing Monday here on this blog.

But...

HUGE BUT!!!!

(No, not huge butt. Ew.)

BUT...

It's Mockingjay Eve!!

See that counter down there...less than 12 hours!! I haven't been this excited for a release since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (Okay, I lie. I was a hundred times more excited for my own release, but that's completely different.)

In preparation, I've been re-reading The Hunger Games and Catching Fire this weekend. And now I'm getting this sinking pit in my stomach in anticipation for Mockingjay. Because I'm really scared about what's going to happen. Who's going to make it? Who's not going to make it? What horrible things are they going to have to suffer? I'm so scared for these characters I've fallen in love with.

The first couple times I read the books, I was totally Team Peeta. Well, really, I was Team Katniss, just wanting her to finally be happy, but I leaned heavily toward Peeta. He's sooo proven his love to Katniss. And I just didn't know Gale enough to feel the necessary connection to love him. But this last time, for some reason, I at least have a better understanding of Katniss's feelings for Gale. And since I really am Team Katniss, I just hope she gets to enjoy the happiness of ending up with one of them.

Because I'm kinda afraid she's gonna end up dead. WWWWAAAAAAHHHH!!! I know, how dare I say it. I read an interview with Suzanne Collins, though (I so terribly wish I could find the link again - I'll update this post if I do), that kind of eluded to this. I'm sooo hoping she was just throwing us for a loop, but then I wonder if she said it so we would think she was deceiving us, while actually providing a huge hint.

I can't wait. And I know I'll devour it the first time, then have to go back and re-read to make sure I didn't miss anything good. And then I'll be thinking about it for a while and then feel the let-down that it's actually over and I have to live with whatever ending the author gave it. I love these kinds of stories and strive to write them. You know, the ones that have you so engrossed, you can't even think of anything else...before you've even read it!

Are you as excited as I am? Do you have that same anxiety that you're about to lose someone you love? What are your predictions? If you, by chance, have already read Mockingjay by the time you read this, you will be forever banned from my blog if you spoil anything! I just want to hear your predictions based on the first two books and your thoughts on what might happen in the last.

Five for Friday

Last week, I had a little whine fest and shared my gratitude, all with the hope of explaining why I've been a little quiet on the blogs lately. I've realized, with another relatively quiet week, that it's all about my feeling of being overwhelmed and the need to re-evaluate priorities and find balance. So I've been in a melancholy mood this week while I try to figure out what to do about the chaos.

Today, I share five things that have inspired me, with the hope that you can fall back on these when you, too, need a little kick in the butt:

1. Writer friends - They ROCK!!! Regardless of what stage they're in - from writing or revising their first novel to querying to writing or revising their next contracted book - they inspire me with their commitment, perseverance, passion and courage.
2. Reader friends - Whether real-life or online, occasional or die-hard readers, book bloggers or not, their love for one story or many brightens a writer's day. When they share their love of a book and its characters, it's like the sun coming out on a cloudy day.
3. Bloggers - Regardless of their topic or theme, they provide a connection to others with similar interests, challenges or accomplishments. They lift me up with their positive words when needed; enlighten me with their insights; broaden my mind with new perspectives and ideas; and give me new goals to shoot for. They often remind me that there is a whole world out there to be enjoyed.
4. Family and friends - because I just can't leave them out. They are my rock.
5. And last, but not least, this one quote was exactly what I needed this week. I've been thinking about it for several days, since someone posted it on Facebook. I've decided it needs to be my new mantra (though I think I'll paraphrase it for myself, to make it a little easier to remember). There are so many things to do all the time, but not all of them are truly important. It's also easy to put off the ones that really are the most important. Here's the quote:

"Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." - Picasso

One thing I can't put off this weekend is my youngest son's birthday. 15!! Yikes!!! He can get his learner's permit now. Double-yikes!!! And now, for the next 6 weeks, my kids will be 15, 16, 17. How did we get here already????

 

Happy Birthday, bud! I love you! (No, he doesn't read this...but just in case.)

Monday Marketing - Part 4: Product

Now that we've discussed the Target Customer here and here, it's time to move on to the first P in the Marketing Mix - the Product. Or, for the customer, the first C - Customer's wants and needs. For the most success, we should develop a Product that specifically meets our Target Customer's needs and wants. We identify the gap between what they need/want (their problem) and the products (solutions) that are currently available. Then, ideally, we develop a product that fills that gap.

*Aside: In marketing, a service is considered a product - there is no distinction between the two. So when I say "product," that includes any service, as well. And often, actual tangible products include some kind of service, as well, which we'll get into a little bit later.

So, say you are really good at organizing spaces and time management. Your friends, family and neighbors frequently confess to you that they wish they were as organized as you are. You know there are such things as professional organizers, but apparently there is a reason the people you know have not used one. If you identify that reason - that gap in what is available and what these people you know want - you can develop a Product that better meets their needs and desires. Voila! You have a new Product and business that should be successful (if all else goes well) because you know you're filling an identified gap.

But many of you are writers and your Products are your books and we get to the question that many of us face, especially if unpublished. Do we find out what agents, publishers and readers are looking for, what they're not finding in all the other stories out there, and then write that book? Do we write for them or for ourselves?

The advice is conflicting. Agents may say a book is not marketable, meaning that they will have a hard time shopping it to publishers because publishers don't think readers will be interested enough to spend the money publishers need to recoup their investments. So, to increase your likelihood of being sold, it's better to find out what's already out there (including what's not yet published but will be in the next couple years), recognize what's been overdone and underdone and identify what publishers wish for, then write that book.

Of course, no one has any idea what readers really want, especially in a couple years, when your book will finally be available if you publish through traditional routes. So it's still a crap shoot. But at least it's an educated crap shoot. If you can write a book based on what others, the "experts," want, then you may have more success doing it this way.

But what if that's not the book you want to write? Do you force yourself to write it anyway? To me, it's just not worth it. There's just not enough money in this career to write for these experts, if it's not something I want to write. I honestly believe the best books are those written with intense passion. The ones the writer felt compelled to write, that they can't not write. If we're forcing ourselves to write something else, it comes through in the story and the writing. And then you have a poor Product and poor products are not marketable.

So there is the other side of the coin of advice: write what you want, the story you want to read. Write for yourself, not the money. If it gets published and you make money, so much the better. But at least in the meantime, you have loved what you're doing. And here's my take: if you love it enough, if you've put enough into it, even if it takes a lot more work and time than you expected, your passion will shine through. Your story will be excellent. And if you enjoy it, chances are, there are others out there who will, too. After all, you know there are other readers out there who like the same books you do. You do have a Target Customer you're writing for, starting with yourself.

By the way, the same applies to book bloggers/reviewers. If you're looking to get paid to write reviews, then you'll probably have to read books you have little interest in, especially in the beginning. So just like the novelist, decide if your goal is to have fun and if more comes out of it, great...or if your goal is money.

If your goal is to enjoy reading and sharing your thoughts with others, don't worry about what genre is hot right now or that there may be hundreds of book blogs focusing on your favorite type of read. Your Product - your blog - will be successful because it displays the passion you feel for reading. You are unique, so your blog will be unique. Don't try to fit your square self into a round hole or vice versa.

There is much more to say about Product, so we'll continue with it next week. It's especially important because for writers - whether novelists or bloggers - Product is the one P we have the most control over.

In the meantime, what do you think about what I said about writers/bloggers and their Products? Is your goal to be published (paid), even if that means writing (reading) something others want but you don't love? Or do you write (read) what you want, because you love it, and hope that others will, too?