Where Do We Go From Here?

Where do we go from here? There is so much out there about traditional publishing companies versus self-publishing - it really gets confusing. I am still trying to absorb a blog that a friend of mine just posted. They had originally self-published their work - a divination deck. Then they had a very viable offer to take their deck to a traditional publisher, and they accepted the offer. I was thrilled for them, and thrilled that my book was going to be published by the same publisher.

My friend edited their images, at the publishers request, to appeal to a larger audience. The whole framework of the project changed, but my friend was good with that. When their deck and book came out, it was so very beautifully presented, and I just knew that they would be taking off quickly! This was all several months ago, and it has not taken off. It is not in the bookstores that it should be in, and is not getting the promotion from the publisher that it should be getting. My friend put a great deal of time and energy into this project - which has now practically bankrupted them!

To top things off, software (and hardware) was stolen from their office - material that they needed to do their "9-5" work. This has still not been resolved. They are talking about leaving the field that they published in, which I feel would be a shame. They have great insight into the field, and a wonderful product that acts as a tool for empowerment on all levels. My prayers go out to this person ... may there be some justice in life, and may they see the benefits of their work. They have done promotional videos, blog talk radio spots, and created a stunning blog site. This cannot possibly be for nought!

I look at myself, being published by this same publisher. Then I wonder if all publishers are the same. I have seen my galley's, and they look wonderful! But the process has not been an easy one, and I have always felt/known that the brunt of the marketing was on me. Because of this, I feel that self-publishing is going to be my best bet. My publisher has first right of refusal for my next two books. After that - I think that self-publishing is my best bet. (Including publishing through Kindle.)

Where do we go from here? We make the most informed decisions that we can, map out a plan, and follow the plan. Life is getting scary, but I would rather be scared than remain in my little safe place, going nowhere.

(c) May 2011 Bonnie Cehovet

Allowing The Flow

I had hoped to get my WIP finished and edited in April. We are ten days into May and that has not happened. Life interferes! However, I am at a point where I am comfortable allowing life ti interfere. If I see a side issue that I want to follow, I allow myself to do that. Quite often it leads me to new places, and a new understanding of what I am already working on.

I have found that the time I spend on my music connected work not only gives me great joy, but energises me. I like the contacts that I am making, and love listening to the new (to me) music. I often use it as a backdrop while I am working ... especially the instrumental work of jazz saxophonist Charley Langer. Wonderful person, soulful music!

I am actively developing my characters for my WIP ... some of whom are surprising me! One couple that will probably only appear in this book (I intend this book to be the start of a series) are turning out to be very strong people. Strong because of their background, and strong because of their connection with life.

Another character is showing a bit of who I am (all of my characters are amalgums of the people that I know in my life, and people that I have read about) ... a part that again surprises me. Not that the qualities are there, but that I am willing to talk about them.

My bible for this book is growing beyond what I thought that it would be. I have to smile when I think back to the mystery shows that I have watched, where the writer is murdered, and the bible for their work is stolen. I thought this would be maybe a few pages - important pages, but just a few pages. It is close to being a book in and of itself!

I am also in the process of setting up a web-based class, as a prelude to doing webinars and online seminars for my upcoming Tarot book. I want to use the first class, which will be on a topic only tangentially related to my book, to see what I need to practice, what tools I need to be able to use in a stronger fashion. I am lucky, in that I have picked out two individuals that host webinars and classes, and will be scheduling through them. Win/win - they have a seminar or class to present through their company, and I have someone to watch the chatroom and help me through the technical morass.

Next up - finding mystery writer's blogs to follow, and perhaps one or two more writers groups to join. Thank you Google Calendar for being there to keep me straight!

I Am On Twitter - What Do I Do Now?

Okay, I am on Twitter. I have an account, my pic is up, I am following people, and they are following me. Actually, I used an icon for a long time, but the pic is up now. So ... what is my next move? I want to build my presence, as I have a book coming out this fall. (Yes, I really do. A book on Tarot Birth Cards. My mystery book is still in the "finish writing it, then edit it, then send it off for editing" stage. I do have a couple of leads on good editors, though.)

I see that I have done the number one thing that I needed to do - and that was place a pic on my page, as opposed to an icon. Easier for people to connect with, and a better choice for getting people to take me seriously (and buy my books!). I will replace the pic in a couple of months, but right now it will do. It was professionally done, and looks fairly business like.

My bio is up, and represents me fairly well. I will have to tweak it a bit to get a balance between my Tarot world and my world as an author, but that is an ongoing project.

I have a link to my website, and my website covers both of my worlds - Tarot and writing, so that base is covered. It will evolve as I evolve, and I'm fine with that. A basic site is all I want. Leave the exotic stuff to someone else.

Now, how do I balance my "following/followers" ration. And should there be a ratio? Why can't I let that take care of itself? My thought on this is that I follow people I am interested in. My follow numbers may be greater than the number of people following me - at least until my books come out. The rule of thumb here is to unfollow people who are not following you. For myself, I will continue to follow people who interest me, whether they want to follow me or not.

I need to look at my feed and make sure that I am actually saying something, that I am interacting. I do announce my own blogs as they are written, and I do a lot of retweeting of messages that I consider important. But I also wish people good morning, respond to what they are saying, and send out little updates on what I am doing (and yes, occasionally a diatribe or two!). I think I am good here.

I think that as long as I don't appear to be too closely related to a used care salesman, that I am good to go. I may not address Twitter in as uber-professional manner as some, but to date we get along fine (even when it is acting up and has to be told off).

How are you addressing your Twitter presence?

(c) May 2011 Bonnie Cehovet

Conferences

I am getting ready to attend a major Tarot conference called the(Readers Studio. For those who know me as a wanna be writer of mysteries, I also read the Tarot professionally, as well as writing reviews and doing interviews in this field. This particular conference has truly been a boon to me. The expense of any conference is a major consideration - because of this, I have only attended three conferences (this years conference included).

Conferences are much more than social events. While it is good to remain open to the flow once you get there, it doesn't hurt to ask yourself the following questions prior to actually deciding to go:

* Where does the subject matter of this conference fit into my life? How important is it to me?
* What do I bring to the conference as an individual?
* What do I expect from the conference?
* Is the conference important enough that I need to push finances to attend?
* Is it possible to share accommodations with someone else who is attending?
* What is the conference agenda? What seminars do I want to attend?
* As a writer, is there going to be an opportunity to do a meet and greet with editors? Would I be able to do a short presentation to an editor?
* If I have work out there (or about to be out there) is there a place to leave flyers, brochures or bookmarks?

Add to the list as you see fit. Each individual will have their own list of things that are important to them.

Have fun while you are networking. Networking? That is a huge part of conferences! Carry your business cards in your purse or pocket, so they are easily accessible. Then remember to hand them out! You will make friends, possible writing partners, and great contacts in the writing world!

The more conferences you attend, you will be able to note the ones that you want to attend from year to year, and the ones that you might want to pass on. This is a part of our writing life, and one that truly can be enjoyable!

(c) April 2011 Bonnie Cehovet

Book Promotion Page

There are different types of book promotion pages - the two that come to mind immediately for me are the page that I intend to put up on my professional site this week for the release this fall of my book "Tarot and Birth Cards", and a professional page on Face Book dedicated to my book. For the purposes of this article, I am going to stick to my professional site page. I will be attending a Tarot conference the end of this month, and I want to set the page up, then use it as a flyer to distribute at the conference.

Some of the content I already have in mind:

1. Basic book information - title, ISBN number, publisher, publication date.

2. The use of scans from a few of the Tarot cards that are included in my book (to add color and interest).

3. Explanations of what Birth Cards are.

4. Why I included the personal empowerment tools of Journeying and Visualisation.

5. Information about the Tarot deck that I used for my book.

6. Ordering information.

7. Personal information.

8. A section for future reviews.

Off to close down my second Twitter account - I set it up as an author's page, to separate it from my Tarot and music interests, but it isn't working out. So ... anyone who follows me on Twitter will now have to go with the flow!

(c) April 2011 Bonnie Cehovet

Character Morphing!

My current WIP is also my first fiction project. Well, my first full length fiction project. It is a mystery with a strong female lead, and three supporting female characters. So far, all of the males in this story, while strong in their own right, are basically supporting characters. I started a Bible early on, so that my characters (and the story they are weaving) didn't waffle around too much. At this point I am doing a combination of editing and finishing what I hope will be the first in a series of mystery novels.Think updated, urban versions of Miss Marple, or Tuppence Beresford (both Agatha Christie characters).

My characters are taking over my laptop, indeed they are! I wrote the first version while they sat there and sipped coffee. The edited version is one in which they are gently (and sometimes not so gently!) shoving me over and taking the reigns! They are not just evolving like nice little people, they are morphing into ... well, hopefully into solid characters. They all are refusing to be stereotyped (not that I ever intended that they would be, but really!), and the secondary characters are ... well, they are refusing to remain secondary!

I gave my characters their physical selves, the environment they live in, belief systems and, evolving from this, motivations for doing whatever it is they are going to be doing. So in a manner of speaking, I am responsible for this morphing. I am also comfortable with it, as they are becoming solid people, and developing solid relationships with each other.

As the intermediary, so to speak, I need to make sure that the issues the face, the life situations that they involve themselves in, are consistent with who they are as individuals, with their character and belief systems. In other words, I need to keep them authentic.

Check in next week, and see what they have been up to!

(c) April 2011 Bonnie Cehovet

OMG! Galleys are here!

The galleys for my upcoming book "Tarot Birth Cards and You" (yup - there was a name change, for the better) have arrived. I am quite pleased with the work that my editor did - it looks to be in great shape, with minimal corrections necessary. I should be able to have the editing back to her some time tomorrow, which will be a relief! I can send it by e-mail, rather than hoofing it down to the post office and answering inane questions about the contents. (Yes, it is loose paper. Yes, it is a manuscript. Yes, I have added a bit of virus to it in powdered form. That should be okay, yes? How nuts do they think we are!)

Now I can take the time (while editing my NaNoWriMo 2010 mystery) to revise my book promotion strategy. Two major avenues for promotion are no longer open to me. Well, they are open, but at this time they require more from me than I am willing to give. In one case, it would mean working with an individual that I am fast losing respect for, and I won't do that. In the other case, the individual that I refuse to work with is one off, but still ever present. My task, should I choose to accept it (key scary music) is to decide where my major focus for promotion will be, and what will be ancillary.

I was going to do laminated book marks for a seminar that I will be attending, but that isn't working out too well. If I choose to do that when my book comes out, I will have someone else do it for me. I am going to do a flyer for the seminar. There is a table where I can leave them, so that will be fine.

Then I need to look at the social media sites, how to set up Tweets in a timely manner, how to do a fan page for my book, and things like that. These are things that I can figure out, as well as blogging. I have several blogs up right now, so that won't be a problem. I need to go join appropriate forums in preparation for my mystery book coming out, as well as following mystery writer's blogs. That will take time, but is doable.

I love the planning, and I love the work. Life is good!

(c) April 2011 Bonnie Cehovet