Face Book Interest Lists

My sister shared an article with me today, which focused on something new (or perhaps just new to me) that Face Book has going on – Interest Lists. Don’t roll your eyes at me! This is not just another way to waste spend more time on Face Book. What prompted me to check it out was that creating an Interest List could help me, as a self-published author, bring attention to my author page! No, I didn’t have an author page up either! I now have an author page, and an Interest List. By the way … I also have a book page … and have had since my book came out! Go me!

Here is the link to a great article on Face Book author pages - http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/02/facebook-for-authors-how-to-get-started.html , and here is the link to creating one yourself - https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php .

I found it interesting when I read in this article that only 10-16% of the followers of any Face Book page are seeing the posts. With Interest Lists we can sort similar people and brands into separate feeds, making their posts easier to access. We can subscribe to other peoples lists, and they can subscribe to ours. End result – we drive traffic to our page.

Just in case you might want to like my Author page, here it is: https://www.facebook.com/BonnieCehovetAuthor . And my book page: https://www.facebook.com/TarotBirthCardsandYou. Send me yours, and I will return the favor!

© October 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

e-Book Series

My sister and I have been looking at writing e-books – specifically, at writing a series of short e-books on specific topics. (For me, this would be in addition to any WIP I have going on, which would involve the cozy mystery genre.) To bring in a steady income, it is advised to have more than one book out there, so that someone who purchases one of your books, and likes it, has an option to purchase another one. Realistically, this will happen over time.

I also found it interesting that the “gurus” are presenting three basic ways in which the content of such e-books can be obtained: (1) write it yourself, (2) hire it out (give someone a topic and a rough outline, and let them write it), or (3) use content that is in the public domain. I am a writer – I write my own material! Period! I am not putting someone else’s material up under my name (nor would I write the material for someone else – I would be paid a one-time fee, and they would be continuing to make money), and I am not going near public domain and possible copyright infringement issues. I do not see how anyone can seriously suggest anything other than writing your own material. Okay – rant over!

What I have decided to do is put up a short e-book (approximately 20,000 to 30,000 words) every quarter. These will be self-help books by nature, and will co-ordinate with each other. Someone who buys one book will be interested in the topic of future books. Once I get a backlog up, someone who buys a current e-book will be able to purchase past e-books and look forward to purchasing future e-books. All of my e-books will list both previous books, and the topic of the next book.

I am not going to promote heavily, but my sister has come across some really great material along this line. One thought was to purchase your own e-book, and at the same time purchase one of the best-selling e-books that are along the same topic. In that way, you will be listed in the section “People who purchased this book also purchased …”. Incredible promo for very little money!

Another thing that my sister came across was contacting the authors of the best-selling e-books on your topic, and asking them if they would be willing to review your book. At the same time, you offer to send them your e-book for free. Combine this with getting friends and contacts of your own to do reviews, and I think you have a plan!

I am really happy that I expanded my business plan to include short e-books on specific topics. It gives me a break from working on my WIP, allows me to research a new topic, and to see results in a very short time. By results, I am referring to my book being up for purchase, not that I think I will have a ton of people immediately purchasing it!

Lots to think about here!

© October 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

e-Book Topics

Welcome to the world of e-books! Like myself, many of my friends are working on a shorter e-book project, while at the same time working on a (usually) longer major book project. Why do we do this? For me, is gives me short breaks from working on my WIP, allows me to research new material (which for me is fun!), and will hopefully bring in a bit of extra money.>p> Sooooooo … how do we go about picking a topic for this e-book that is going to bring us money? There is all kinds of advice out there on this. One piece of advice is never to focus your book on a specific holiday, or even on the holiday season, as this was limiting. It is limiting, yes, but it will sell during the time period that it is focused on, and will more than likely stay in your readers mind (MHO – no facts to back this on e up!).

The advice that I did feel worked was to focus on genres that sell well – romance, fiction, mysteries, and, to some extent, the paranormal. Go see what people are buying, then decide what in those categories you would like to write about. Writing should be fun – picking a topic and writing about it just because you think it will sell could very well turn out to be not so much fun. So pick a genre that sells, and find a topic that you resonate with.

How do we find topics to choose from? Like most things, e-book topics tend to trend. You need to know what people are talking about, and focus on that. Remember, though … pick a topic that you yourself can relate to! That will make you and your reader happy! An easy place to find ideas, and see how they are trending, is Clickbank (http://www.clickbank.com/index.html ). You can also use CB Engine (http://cbengine.com/ ).

Cheat a little … check out the Amazon.com Kindle bookstore (http://tinyurl.com/btjrodq ) and see what is there. Cheat some more … do a keyword search! Jot down a few topics off the top of your head that you think might sell. Using a keyword search tool, such as https://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/ , put your topics in one at a time. You will be able to find out how many people are searching for that keyword each month.

The sky is the limit on topics for e-books. Winnow your topics down to ones that are relevant, that people want to know about, and that you can connect with as a writer. Your passion for writing, combined with knowledge of what people want to read, will open up a whole new world for you!

© October 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

Recreational Reading

Writers are encouraged to read as much as they can, in a wide a variety as they can, so that they have something to put into their own writing. I am going to use today’s blog to chat about a few cozy mysteries that I have read. I chose them for the pure joy of reading, and no other reason. These are just my thoughts, and are not intended to be taken as reviews of any kind.

“Dying To Read”, Lorena McCourtney, Revell (Baker Publishing Group

I loved this book for so many reasons! The main character is indeed a character – an unemployed twenty-something who goes to work for her uncle as a PI. (He even prints her up an Assistant PI license!) She falls in love, has all kinds of trust issues. Finds a dead body while trying to confirm the location of a young woman who looks just like her, and adopts the dead woman’s deaf cat (who then proceeds to take over her house and her life!). Aside from a great storyline and well defined characters that work, McCourtney adds the spice of religion. Real life religion – the main character prays, and truly believes in a Higher Being. Her belief is woven into the story, and never overshadows it.

“The Big Cat Nap”, Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown, Bantom Books.

This is Rita Mae Brown at her finest! (Athough, I must say, I have never seen her not at her finest!) We are in Crozet, Virginia, seeing life through the eyes of Mary Minor “Harry” Harristeen, and her crew of talking animals – her Corgi, Tee Tucker, her cats, Pewter and Mrs. Murphy, the opossum Simon, the large blacksnake Matilda, and the Owl Flatface. They are investigating the deaths of mechanics working for the ReNu auto shop, and how they might or might not be connected to the robbery of expensive tires from a local tire dealership, and an up and coming local racetrack. Plenty of local color, with interesting information on life itself woven in. Great reading, and enough reality to make the reader stop and think.

“The Body In The Boudoir”, Katherine Hall Page, William Morrow (Harper Collins).

This is the type of book that I really like – a series with an established character (Faith Fairchild) that takes a trip back in time. In this case, a trip back to the time of her wedding. Based in New York City, Faith owns and runs her own catering business, and leads quite the glamorous life. She meets her future husband at one of the events that she is catering. Then come the issues of his family (not all of whom seem to like her), her great-uncle Sky, who offers the use of his mansion on Long Island for the wedding, her assistant, who seems to be harboring a few family secrets of her own, and Faith’s sister Hope’s up and coming financial career … a career that someone may be trying to derail. Well written, and quite sophisticated for what I would place as a cozy mystery. (I love cozy mysteries!)

“Murder By Mocha”, Cleo Coyle, The Berkley Publishing Group (The Penguin Group).

I love a murder mystery, and I love mocha, so this book was a no brainer! The primary character, Clare Cosi, is manager and head barista, at the Village Blend coffeehouse. In a very avant garde storyline, Clare’s Village Blend beans are being used to create a new java love potion being promoted as an aphrodisiac. (Whatever floats your boat – I just love my coffee!)

Expected to make millions of dollars, the potion will be sold exclusively through Aphrodite’s Village, a popular online destination for women. Slight pause in the process … one of the web site’s editors is found dead at the launch party! Unfortunately, more deaths are to come to the Sister’s of Aphrodite.

Logical conclusion – Clare thinks someone is trying to steal the recipe! I loved this book, and its up to date, realistic nature. It didn’t hurt that Coyle included coffee making tips and recipes too!(Amongst the recipes is one for European style hot chocolate!)

“No Way To Kill A Lady”, Nancy Martin, Onsidian (New American Library, Penguin Group).

We get not one, but three main characters – the Blackbird sisters. Nora, a former debutante that is now a well known society columnist, Emma, very pregnant with an unknown gentleman’s love child, and Libby, divorced and on the make. Then there is Nora’s best friend, Lexie, who is serving time for pushing a man out of a window, and Nora’s mobbed up boyfriend, Mick.

Then there is her great Aunt Madcap Maddie, who may have recently died in a volcano eruption in Indonesia … or she may be the body that was found in the elevator of Madeline “Maddy” Blackbird’s neglected house, Quintain … located on an estate that is supposedly worth millions, and has been left to the three sisters.

Of course, MadcapMaddie’s stepson, the society rogue Sutherland Blackbird, is threatening to put in a claim for the estate. And Maddy’s little black book – something her questionable lawyer searched for, but never found. However, Nora did find it, with her sister’s help.

Who was Madeline Blackbird, exactly what is her little black book all about. And where have all of her famous jewels, paintings and other artwork gone to?

This book is part comedy, part mystery. Not something that would generally draw me in, but it is v ery well written, and I love the east coast society background!

This is my destress book list … what is yours?

© October 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

Planning Your Writing Time

Let’s talk about time … and how writers can get a handle on their time! I get sidetracked very easily, but I don’t like to have to follow a strict schedule either (although that sometimes does happen when I procrastinate!). The first thing that I do is to write my schedule down for a full week – I mean, I write down what I actually do, not what I “should” be doing! (Sometimes) there is a difference. ;-) This gives me a heads up on where I might be (ahem) wasting time, but also on what I might be avoiding doing. If I recognize that I am avoiding doing something, I know that I need to look at that and find out why. Perhaps it is something that I just need to let go of, or perhaps it is something that I need to face down. Shadows show up in all kinds of guises!

Some people do well with a set schedule – they block out a certain amount of time each day, and sit down and write/edit/market during that time. I need to be a little more flexible – if I want to have a cup of coffee and watch my fur kids play for a while, that is what I will do. If I want to write for t here or four hours straight, then that is what I will do. And for those of you that are screaming “life balance” … I can assure you that my life does have a balance. LOL

One of the things that helps me reach my goals for each day/week/month, is to use a written planner. I like e-files too, and make use of them, but I love my written planner. And I love marking each task off as I do it. On Sunday of each week I write out what I want to do each day of the coming week. I combine any personal appointments and errands with calls that need to be made, people that need to be contacted, and writing that I need to get done. Currently I have a short self-help book going as a WIP, along with four blogs that I do once a week each, and an astrology blog that I do each new and full moon. No, I am not an astrologer, butI do like to take the basic info and show people how it can be made to work in their own life. Any day planner or diary can be used for this purpose. I use Karyn Easton’s “Tarot Lover’s Diary”. It can be found at http://paranormality.com. I hope that she is coming out with one for 2013!

Here are a few links to how other writer’s organize their time:

http://unclutterer.com/2010/10/12/organize-your-writing-j-k-rowling-style/

http://dailyroutines.typepad.com/

http://mywebwriters.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/writers-organize-yourselves-tools-and-tips-for-productivity/

http://www.squidoo.com/writersnotebook

http://tumblemoose.com/the-organized-writer/

http://thedabblingmum.com/writing/general/organize.htm

© October 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

Are We Shooting Ourselves In The Foot With Our Blogs?

As authors, are we prone to shooting ourselves in the foot? I would say yes, in some ways we are. Creating and keeping up a Internet presence is one thing that we can tend to put up because we are told that we need to, so we do, but we may not know exactly what to do with it.

That Internet presence, in my way of thinking, consists of our web sites, our blogs, and our presence on social media sites, such as Twitter, Face Book, and Google +. This is all time intensive, and, quite frankly, somewhat confusing. Several of my friends are backing out of one or more social media sites, so that they can focus on one or two sites that they feel comfortable navigating, and that they feel they have a foothold in. I think this is a good idea – they can always recreate their presence on whatever sites they have chosen to leave.

We are told that to develop an Internet presence, and a following, we need to blog. And we need to blog on a consistent basis, creating content that is relevant to what our work is, and to the audience/clientele that we wish to attract. It is not hard to get a blog up – there are several free blog Content can be created in several ways – by talking about what we are working on, by talking about the process we are going through to get our work out there, and by adding small tid bits of personal information that make us seem more real, more approachable.

Blogging helps us to build our platform, to firm up our “voice”, and the brand image that we wish to project to the public. Blog under the name that you want to be known by, not some cutsie, made up front that you look like you are hiding behind. Include a bio, with a pic that people can relate to. Include information on where people can contact you, and include it in a place where it is easily accessible. If people cannot find what they want right away, they will move on to someone else’s blog!

Make best use of your blog page, and include information about the work that you already have out there, as well as what you are currently working on. Back this up by placing links to wherever site visitors can go to purchase your work. Remember to place a link to your professional site – you want your site, blog, and any published work, to be connected to each other for easy access to site visitors.

Allow your visitors to comment on your blog. Moderate the comments if you want to, but a better idea, IMHO, is to allow people to post, and to remember to check your comments frequently. You do this so you can respond to whatever comments are left, and to delete the infrequent comment that just does not belong there.

Last, but not least, make your blog clean and easy to read. I hate the word “monetize”, and I will not stay to read a site or a blog that has been “monetized” with ads. I am getting older by the day, and do not want to waste my time on that!

Have fun creating your online presence. Make sure it represent who you are, the work that you do, and that it will appeal to the audiences you are trying to reach. Life is too short to have to keep redoing things!

© September 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

Conferences - Yes Or No?

I love conferences! I really do! I like the travel involved, I like meeting new people, and I like learning new information. I have been reading recently about what effect the Internet might have on conferences. At first I was irritated at this thought, and didn’t see why one would not want to attend a conference, and meet people face to face that they have known on the Internet. Then I read more, and thought more.

The pro’s as I see it are:

• You get to meet people in person that you only know online. • You sometimes get the chance to pitch your work to an agent. • You get a more personal feel for the writing industry through conversations with other writers, editors, and publishers. • A short time away from the people and issues in my life.

The con’s as I see it are:

• The cost – of travel, lodging, food, and the conference itself. • Time away from family, and perhaps from a 9-5. • The pitch sessions to an agent can be an added fee.

Each writer as an individual has to determine for themselves whether a brick and mortar conference is for them. Some things to consider are:

• The cost – can you afford it. • What do you hope to gain from the conference? • Is the conference relevant to the work you are doing? • Is the agent pitch session worth it? • Is going to a conference in any way going to help you get published? • If you are going Indie (self-publishing your own work, or going with a small press), how relevant are conferences? • How do you learn best? Can you learn from a book, a video, or a webinar? What is the best use of your time and money?

Where do you find conferences? Through national writing organizations (usually by genre), through strategic locations in big cities, regional conferences, and specialty marketing conferences.

I plan to do a combination of the above – attend webinars, local conferences, as well as big city and national conferences – if they are relevant to the work that I am doing. I will plan where I want to go at the beginning of each year (actually, I will probably do t his the year before, as soon as the information about a conference is out to the public)., and make sure that it fits into my budget. I will have to prioritize the conferences, but that is what life is all about!

Continuing education … meet and greet … networking … however you look at it, while we write in solitude, we do need to get out there and mix to hone our craft!

© September 2012 Bonnie Cehovet