To Blog, Or Not To Blog

As writers, we are encouraged to blog. It keeps our name out there. It draws a reader audience to us, and keeps them interested in our work, and gives us a venue for promoting our work. Sounds good, eh! We get all of those benefits - how nice! So, why is it that on occasion I just don't feel like blogging, but I blog anyway? 

The major reason that I blog when I don't really want to is that I believe there are benefits to a writer blogging, and I made a promise to myself at the beginning of the year to blog once a week as a writer, and to do a flash fiction blog once a week. So far, so good. (I may even take the suggestion that friends have made and put my flash fiction into an e-book. I am not sure how that will go, because I wouldn't be using graphics in my book, as I do in my blog. I try to find copyright free graphics, but if even just one falls through the cracks, that could be a lawsuit in the making.) 

If we pay attention to what we are putting up as content on our blogs, and if we maintain high quality, it is possible to use that content in multiple venues. That is always good. We could even choose to make an e-book out of select blogs, and perhaps either sell it, or use it as a freebie in one or more promotions.

Aside from the obvious point of creating consistently good quality content, we want our content to appeal to the audience that we wish to connect with. For me that would be mystery lovers in general, and cozy mystery lovers in particular. 

Blogs that are focused on targeted readership, with specific content, will do well. It is best, IMHO, to not blog until you know who your readers are, how you want to present yourself, and what you want to focus your content on. I know who I want as readers, I know how I want to present myself, but I can wander around with the content. I had the (not so) bright idea of doing blogs along the same theme each month. That ended up looking much too contrived, so I set that thought aside. Until further notice ... you can all wander with me content wise!

(c) August 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

When Less Is More

I wrote a book entitled Surviving The Holidays. I had a great time writing this book, and hoped that it would help many people. Sales are so low as to be in the negative category. Is promotion (or lack thereof) part of the problem? Yes, it is. I need to learn more about promoting my books. I also need to know how to develop a game plan that will get my books out there. 

We are soon coming into the holiday season (November/December) again. This time I am going to do something different to promote my book - I am going to put each of the chapters out as a separate e-book. My reasoning is that people won't have to pay as much (which should encourage sales), and they can purchase only the chapters they are interested in.

I am also going to place a blurb at the end of each e-book that encourages readers to leave a review, and place a link to a page that lists all of the separate chapters from my book. 

If you would like to see an excerpt from "Surviving The Holidays", I am including one in my August author's newsletter. You can sign up for my newsletter here: bonniecehovet.com. 

(c) July 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

Small Steps

 

Small steps is what it has been lately ... but small steps do get us where we want to go. I am co-authoring a book on Joy with Brad Tesh. As any writer knows, writing the book is only the first part of the process of getting it out there. We are working with Create Space, which I really like. It is a template format, and works well for me. We have the interior (text) up, the cover is done (thank you to Roxi Sim for allowing us to license one of her images!), and all of that is in to Create Space for review. We have keywords up, and will be working on how to promote the book next. We are getting there! :) (Note to self - create a page on your site for this book!)

One of the things that I am looking at is upping my presence on Goodreads. Well, more like creating a presence! I am on the site, but have really done nothing with that. It is more important now than ever, as Amazon has just purchased Goodreads. You can read more about that here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/02/amazon-purchase-goodreads-stuns-book-industry, http://www.salon.com/2013/03/31/amazon_buys_goodreads_were_all_just_data_now/ , http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/its-about-time/2013/apr/1/amazon-grows-its-book-retail-empire-purchase-goodr/ .

What I am looking to accomplish over the next quarter (we are already into the second quarter of 2013!) is to firm up a social media strategy for my books, to promote the book that I co-authored, and to continue to promote my existing books. I have one more e-book to get out this summer - on decision making, and will devote the third quarter to getting my first mystery on board.

I have not been making any use of my Amazon.com Associate affiliation. I am strongly considering adding that to my pages.

A lot of work ahead of me ... but it's all good! :)

(c) 2013 Bonnie Cehovet

No reproduction allowed in any format without my written consent.

Writer's Wrtie

 

What do writer's do? They write, of course! The deal is ... few of us are working on just one project at a time. Speaking for myself ... that would be pretty boring! So what am I working on right now? I am a reviewer of books, decks, and oracles ... at this point in time I am about to review a Tarot book, I have two Tarot decks waiting to be danced with, and two Tarot based fiction books that want to have a conversation.

I am co-authoring a book on Joy with my friend Brad Tesh. Many of you may know Brad from Facebook ... he is a very positive,  upbeat individual that sees the good in everything and everyone. Neither of us has co-authored a book before, but what we are finding is that we can make up the rules as we go along. It is our book, and we can do what we want to do. There really don't even have to be any rules, as long as we agree on what we are presenting, and how we are presenting it. This book is a true Joy to write, and is intended to be the first of who know how many books that we write together!

A small project is the article that I am writing for Attune magazine on the Moon/Hermit birth card pair. I have found that the Birth Cards really do enjoy discussing life! I get to be the middleman, somehow. ;-)

Another small project is helping Pamela Steele write the text for her children's Tarot book. This is such a joy to be involved with! Moving my mindset from adults to children is quite interesting!

I am also writing a second e-book (My first one was on "Surviving the Holidays" ... this one is "The Art of Making Choices".)

Writer's will write about just about anything, given a chance! I recently joined the Inspired Living Application program (http://ilivingapp.com/bonniecehovet), and have been writing a series of welcoming and explanatory letters that will be sent to team members signing up under me, to help them get started in the program. My previous mindset from the world of working in clinical laboratories kicking in!

If you are a writer, accept any and all opportunities to write that come to you. Okay ... a given project may not be for you, but you will keep your mind active and fresh if you choose to write about different things. Life is BIG ... be willing to experience it!

(c) January 2013 Bonnie Cehovet

A Writer's Life

 

Writing is certainly an interesting occupation! My first two books were compilations - one was for my Tarot deck and book reviews, another was for my Tarot interviews. Then I did an e-book on women in Tarot. These were all independent endeavors, through Lulu and Create Space. Then I approached Schiffer Publishing with an idea for a book ... and it was accepted! That was an amazing process ... one that I would have never made it through without the extreme patience of my editor, Dinah Roseberry! Then I decided to present a second idea to Schiffer Publishing, and that was accepted! I was totally elated both times ... I never expected either book to get off the ground with a brick and mortar publisher. Having gone through the process once,  this second time is a lot easier.

This am I got an e-mail from the marketing department at Schiffer, detailing the marketing process (my next book will be out in spring/summer of 2013). I am still in awe of the fact that  this is my work out there! This e-mail really made my day!

Then there is the ongoing process with my e-book on Smashwords. Still having formatting issues, although now we are down to the files that are related tot he table of contents. Also, I have still not been able to get hold of "Mark's List" - the Smashword's author's that offer formatting for a fee. Giving up on this one! I will be giving this one more go this coming Saturday ... if that fails, I have a friend who has offered to format for me, for a fee. I am amazed at the offer, as she is very busy both creating and promoting her own work. One way or another, my book is getting out on Smashwords! LOL Very determined Cappie here. It is a holiday based e-book (on surviving the holidays), so it is really too late for this year, but it is part of a series, so I will find some way to get a few sales.

I still have a mystery WIP, which seems to be taking a back seat right now. It will find its proper time! Then a friend and I are in the visioning stage of getting a self-empowerment book out there. We don't know how it will be published yet, but we are excited about it! And no, I am not going to talk about the focus just yet! 

Sometime in January or early February I should have an e-book up on Kindle. Maybe even through the KDP program, although I am not too sure about that yet! This one is also a self-help book - a kick starter for the new year!

I ran across an article this am that I would like to share. It presents a three step process for doing keyword research (a huge part of getting our work to the attention of targeted readers). You can read it here - A 3-Step Process For Painless Keyword Research. 

Off to do one of my favorite things - write my music blog for the week!

(c) December 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