ISSN: 1554-0804
Issue 216
March 5, 2009Featured Product
Patchwork Path: Grandma's Choice
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In This Issue:
- This Week
- Fabulist Flash Recommends
- Book Promotion Tips
- Submission Call
- 18Q
- Upcoming Events
- Solve a Mystery & Win
- About the Editor
- About The Fabulist Flash
1. This Week
Has anyone else grown tired of all the gloom and doom coming at us from all directions? I know I have. I decided to make 2009 my best year yet so I've turned off the television news, cancelled my newspaper subscription, and started listening to music on my MP3 player instead of the car radio. I've decided to buck the trend and only see prosperity everywhere I turn. My positive mindset is paying off. I've been speaking to groups, selling books, taking on new coaching clients, and seeing other new projects come to positive fruition. Best of all, I'm having more fun.
There's no better way for authors to move forward than to plan some outings and events that help promote and sell our books. So, this week we're looking at book promotion ideas. From an upcoming workshop by the incomparable speaker and coach Judi Moreo to a few new and revised promotion ideas I've recently come across. I'm hoping that you'll discover some self-promotion tips you can put to use right away.
Keep Expanding,
Gregory
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2. Fabulist Flash Recommends
Getting Paid to Speak with Judi Moreo
Who wouldn't want to get paid to speak? Find out how and much more when Stephens Press hosts the remarkable Judi Moreo for an author workshop on Tuesday, March 24th from 9-noon.
Judi has traveled the world, speaking at conferences, conventions, and corporate gatherings — and been properly rewarded for entertaining, educating, and inspiring audiences large and small. BOR (back of room) sales at speaking engagements can be most rewarding for authors, so getting booked for gigs is important. Getting paid to speak — plus selling books — is the best!
There are only 40 seats available for this Las Vegas workshop.
Cost: $35
Registration Details
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3. Book Promotion Tips
Book promotion is an ongoing task for authors. I'm always looking for new ideas to both use myself and to share with you. Here are some of the latest I've heard about. I hope they help in your current or upcoming promotion endeavors.
Use partner promotions to add value and promote your book
Make a list of the products or services you've written about in your book and contact those companies about partnerships. This idea worked for British scrapbook authorJoanna Campbell Slan. "I mentioned Snapfish, a division of Hewlett-Packard, in my new book. After they read a preview copy, Snapfish offered me a coupon for 50 free digital prints to put inside my book, and gave me another discount code to put on my promotional materials. If my readers typically spend 30 cents per print, at a cover price of $14.99, my book is better than free — they'll get a penny to put back in their pockets!"
Promote your book with your clothing —
Author and Speaker Michelle Nichols promotes her book, "Hug Your Kids Today! by wearing shirts and jackets with the title monogrammed in the book's colors and font. "It is a great conversation starter. People ask me, 'Why does your shirt say hug your kids today?' I wear them whenever I'm out in crowds. I've had people recognize me because they heard or saw me interviewed on the radio and in print." Queensboro Shirt
Company is an excellent place for affordable embroidery. I use them because they have low order requirements (only 4 pieces) and they allow you to mix and match products to reach the minimum.
Another fun company is Zazzle where you can have your book cover (or whatever) printed on tennis shoes for $60.
Write Four Sentences
Bestselling author Jill Lublin suggests a quick way to get publicity is by sending brief, four sentence announcements about recent accomplishments (new book, product, award won, etc.) to the "People" section of your local newspaper and business journal, and also to your college alumni magazines. In the first sentence announce the accomplishment. The second, third and fourth sentences tell about you, your expertise, and your business.
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4. Submissions
Patchwork Path: Friendship Star
Choice Publishing Group is seeking stories and essays about friends and friendship.
Submission Deadline: March 31, 2009.
Submission Guidelines: PatchworkPath.com
Patchwork Path: Wedding Bouquet
Choice Publishing Group is seeking stories and essays about weddings.
Submission Deadline: August 31, 2009.
Submission Guidelines: PatchworkPath.com
Presenters & Programs 2010
Advertise to 30,000 meeting and event planners in this full-color, glossy catalog from Fabulist Flash Publishing and Turning Point International.
Deadline: October 31, 2009
Details: PresentersandPrograms.com
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5. 18Q
Glenys O'Connell, aka Lydia Grace, takes the Eighteen Questions
1. Did you choose the writing profession or did it choose you?
I wrote my first story when I was four years old, an essay about life after death challenging something my Sunday school teacher told us! I guess the dye was cast then, and I inveigled my way into a reporter's job with the local newspaper when I was 17 - the editor back then didn't believe women should be reporters so I made it my mission in life to prove him wrong. He liked my work so much he cut the probation period and the company paid for my college studies. In my heart, though, I always wanted to write fiction and there was always a book lurking at my fingertips. As I think it was Isaac Asimov said: I write for the same reason I breathe; because if I didn't I would die.
2. What is your background? (education, work, etc.)
I went straight into journalism from school at 17, and went through the National Council for the Training Of Journalists' college courses. I worked for several newspapers, freelancing for magazines, and was a staff writer specializing in covering crime and the courts for a large regional daily in Canada. I was even managing editor and publisher of a community newspaper. I've also taught law in high school, worked in literacy programs with disadvantaged children, and I teach creative writing, life coaching, writing a family history, journalism, and writing non-fiction at adult level both online and in the classroom. I took a degree in psychology and studied counseling and palliative care counseling, working in private practice for a while. I also took courses in hypnotherapy, you are getting sleepy, sleepy, so relaxed now.
3. When did you 'know' you were a writer?
I think in my heart I've always known it. Seeing my very first front page by-line when I was 17 was the greatest buzz - and the rush of seeing my name in print, whether on an article or a book cover, has never diminished.
4. How would you describe your style of writing?
Casual and to the point - I write pretty much the way I talk, and I don't really use much description - I actually find it an effort to put descriptive passages in my work and 'purple prose; gets more and more rare.
5. What is your writing process?
An idea hits me and whoosh! I'm off. Then the euphoria wears off and I stop, think a lot, write an outline....and sometimes have to set the whole thing aside and work on something else until enough ideas assemble themselves that I can return and rework the original idea and then finish the book. Of course, with non-fiction it's a bit different - you know what the book is about and you break it down into headings for the material you need, and then you write, and research, and write.
6. What was your path to publication?
Well, as a journalist I've written literally thousands of articles and feature stories. Strangely enough, I found myself being published as a children's writer, quite unintentionally. I saw an ad. for stories written for teenagers but at a lower grade level for 'reluctant' readers. The idea interested me, so I wrote a story about a couple of adventurous early teenaged boys, and it was accepted. I went on to write a number of other children's stories which were published, but it was never a deliberate decision to write for that age group. I personally like lots of romance and suspense seasoned with murder and blood and gore. And I've just been approached by a company who want me to write a book featuring fairies. Judgment By Fire, a romantic suspense I'd worked on over a number of years, was published by Rose Publishing as an ebook, and they have also published my second book, a detective novel set in Ireland that's laced with humor - Winters & Somers
7. What is your favorite self-marketing idea?
I loved doing children's writing workshops - it's terrific to see the kids' faces as they realize that they can write stories, too - and when they get their parents to buy my books :-) I think the classes I teach are a great way to get known to an ever-widening group of people for whom the fact that they have had personal contact with me is a reason to buy my books.
8. What are the biggest surprises you've encountered as a writer?
My goodness, that's a question with a lot of answers! On the down side, just how darn long it takes to get a publishers' attention and to get a book to publication. On the upside, I never cease to be amazed by the 'community' of writers and how generous and encouraging writers are to each other.
9. How do you inspire yourself? What are your sources of creativity?
Everything. Family, friends, work, the tiny country village I live in most of the year, books and TV programs (I'm currently reading a book about organized crime) and one of my very favorites is to eavesdrop onto other people's conversations in coffee shops. Maybe it's not very polite, but you can get some great ideas!
10. What is your proudest writer moment?
When my son was browsing Amazon, saw a list of my books and pronounced it 'Awesome!"
11. What's the best advice you were given about writing?
Keep going. Ignore the naysayers, but pay attention to honest, constructive criticism. Be humble - don't dismiss criticism or rejections, but listen to what is said and see if there is something there that you can learn from it so that you can improve your writing.
12. What is your most embarrassing writer moment?
When I was speaking at a school classroom workshop and a little boy of eight told me in glowing terms how much his sister loved my books - until I realized that he had me confused with another writer! I later met her at a writers' conference and we had a good laugh over it as I explained to her that I'd been basking in her reflected glory!
13. What business challenges have you faced as a writer?
Keeping going when it seems like flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant would be easier - and probably better paid - than continuing to struggle to get the next book into publication. Also, juggling the 'paid' writing work that I need to do, with the equally basic need to write the stories that I want to write. Fortunately, they sometimes come together as the same thing!
14. What is your writer life philosophy?
Writing is my life - I can't imagine ever not writing. It's a part of me and even though I have had times when I've sworn I'd never write again, I know in my heart I'll always be working on something. It's the act of writing, of creating, that is the most important to me - to produce something that entertains or informs another person, maybe helps someone else to cope with their day. I've been lucky because I have not experienced a lot of criticism or negative comments about my work, but even so, I think writers need to have thick skins and to remember that you are not your writing, so criticism should not be taken as a personal attack.
15. When you're not writing what do you do for fun?
Think about writing. I'm really very boring and have to make an effort to drag myself away from the keyboard and visit friends and take part in my community. I'm a member of our local historical society, and most social life revolves around visiting friends. I also design and make jewelry, paint in acrylics, and last year I finished my very first quilt! I'm lucky enough to spend a lot of time living in a very rural area of Canada so I get to take long walks and watch the wildlife. I'm also keen on auctions and yard sales, which is why my home is so cluttered.
16. Who do you like to read?
Lots of authors. Stephen King, Kathy Reichs, Patricia Cornwell, Sue Grafton, Dean Koontz, Tess Gerritsen, a Canadian author called Barbara Fradkin has become a current favorite.
17. What’s your advice for new writers?
Believe in yourself and your dream. Don't give up. Work hard to hone your craft, take the time to find your own voice, but read other people's work to develop an understanding of story structure, the use of dialogue, etc. If you get criticism, think about what is said: is there anything there that you can learn from?
18. What are you currently working on?
I'm finishing up a travel book and putting together a book on writing a novel, working titled: 'Naked Writing, the No Frills Way to Write Your Novel'; from a course I teach. I've three novels on the go: one is a police procedural set in England, one is a mystery set in New York State, and the other is a cozy detective story featuring a character I hope will become a series: Gracie, the forensic psychologist who just seems to attract trouble! And I'm writing the lessons for an online writers' goal setting class, a sort of life-coaching for writers, that will be up on Absolutewrite.com later this year.
Bibliography
Winters & Somers
Judgment by Fire
Read more 18Q interviews
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6. Upcoming Events
March 25
Writer's Pen & Grill
A social evening for writers in Las Vegas, NV
April 9-12
Clark County Fair & Rodeo
Fabulist Flash Publishing & Choice Publishing Group co-host an exhibitor's booth for published authors. Details
April 16-18
Las Vegas Writer’s Conference
Gregory will present Internet ACE: Online Self Promotion
April 29
Meet the Authors
(Clark County Library, NV)
Gregory, and members of Laudably Tarnished: A Poetry Workshop, host a poetry workshop.
June 18
Las Vegas Writer's Group
Gregory presents 21 Elements of an Author Media Kit
July 29
Meet the Authors
(Clark County Library, NV)
Gregory and the production/publishing team for the Patchwork Path anthology series host a Q&A panel on getting publishing in anthologies
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7. Solve a Mystery and Win
Vegas Die, a mystery-thriller by author Stephen Grogan (Addison & Highsmith Publishers, $16.95) holds clues to a hidden dagger worth $25,000 cash.
This month, March 15th, the Ides of March to be exact, marks the first anniversary of the book's release and the dagger remains undiscovered, secreted somewhere in Las Vegas, Nevada. And you don't have to go to Sin City to start searching. The clues, according to the author, are within Vegas Die and that's what has created the greater mystery buzz, bringing hundreds of readers out in growing numbers as treasure hunters.
Fans of the book are called Questors (the treasure hunt is called a 'Quest Mystery'™). Questors, so far, have been on Las Vegas bus tours to clue sites and even held mini-conventions.
"Questors by the hundreds have been dissecting the book inside and out," says Mike Cowling, a loyal fan, who acts as a facilitating guide on the Questor Forum site ( www.QuestMystery.com) "We have a Canadian cryptologist who broke down every page looking for code sequences. Another Questor can tell you how many times various colors are used (black 27 times, white 25). One Questor wrote a 30 page character analysis of the book's central heroine. So far, no dagger found," said Cowling, "though we are expecting the author to release a new clue on the website at the end of this month."
Has anyone gotten close to finding the dagger?
"One Questor submitted a guess," said publisher Harvey Addison, "and was close, but went the wrong direction in their final thinking. We do want the dagger to be found as it will justify the release of the next Quest Mystery sequel."
According to Addison there have been some pretty wild guesses. "One Questor guessed the dagger is a symbol and is the comedian/charity host Jerry Lewis. Wrong. Another said to turn an aerial map of Las Vegas upside down and look for angles and codes. Wrong." The website does warn: 'Nothing is as it seems'.
This particular Quest Mystery is not forever and will end in two years. In the rules located on the website, you can even be an armchair treasure hunter: stay at home and if you can guess within 15 feet of where the dagger is, you will be awarded the $25,000. One would expect the Nevada Resort Association should be strong supporters of Vegas Die and the Quest Mystery concept since any visiting Questors should help their local economy.
So, there's a treasure hunt called Quest Mystery, but what about Vegas Die, as a story? The plot is pure neon showmanship: Someone is killing the old mobsters of Las Vegas and the mayor is the number one suspect.
"Vegas has a very gregarious, colorful, even controversial Mayor," explained author Grogan, "I've had book buyers say, Vegas Die isn't fiction, that's the way it is.' The book has become sort of a fun tourist souvenir."
Any future Quest Mysteries out there?
"I am working on a sequel with a hidden shark teeth club," said Grogan, "but whether the publisher or I can afford higher amounts of prize money depends directly on book sales. Like Vegas, it's a crap shoot."
Vegas Die: ISBN: 978-0-9801164-0-3. Retail $16.95. For further information please visit: www.QuestMystery.com
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8. About the Editor
Gregory A. Kompes
Gregory A. Kompes (www.kompes.com), The Writerpreneur, is the author of the bestselling 50 Fabulous Gay-Friendly Places to Live, and the Writer’s Series that includes Endorsement Quest, Your Online Media Kit and Should You Write an eBook. He is also a contributor to The Complete Writer’s Journal, Writer’s Bloc I, Writer’s Bloc II, Chopped Liver for the Gentle Spirit, and Chopped Liver for the Kindred Spirit. Gregory speaks frequently on internet marketing and publishing at writer and speaker events and conferences. He also teaches an interactive, ten-week, online course: Internet ACE: Online Self Promotion. The author is a monthly columnist for Writers on the Rise, Production Director for Presenters & Programs, and editor of The Fabulist Flash, an informative newsletter for writers, and the award winning Eighteen Questions, a Q&A series that collects and shares the experiences of published authors. Gregory is co-founder of the Patchwork Path anthology series, Presenters & Programs (the Premier Catalog of Speakers), and the Writer’s Pen & Grill, a writer’s social evening held monthly in Las Vegas, NV. Gregory holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Columbia University, New York, a Certificate in Online Teaching and Learning, and a Masters of Science in Education from California State University, East Bay.
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9. About The Fabulist Flash
ISSN: 1554-0804
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The Fabulist Flash
PO Box 570368
Las Vegas, NV 89157
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