Tag Archives: Reading

Book Promotion Analysis

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Book Promotion Analysis

By Natalie Bright

If you don’t tell anyone about your book, there’s no way they can read it. It’s a basic concept, yet crucial, and with social media at your fingertips the opportunity to tell everyone about your story is endless.

In Your Face

In my opinion, it’s not an opportunity for you to hammer Facebook friends and Twitter followers with constant barrage of “buy my book”. I’ve had to unfollow several authors who take this to the excess. I’m following you as a novelist because I’m interested in YOU as well as your books. Where did your idea come from, your writing process, your hobbies, the weather where you live, places you’ve been to research stories? However, a pic of your recent surgical procedure and wound is definitely TMI. Please don’t over share. What information do you think crosses the boundaries?

Some authors feel more comfortable in keeping a low profile online. I’m always surprised when I discover a great book, but can’t find a website for the author. On the other hand, one author explained that she feels her readers are interested in not only her books, but her personal world as a writer and person. She friends and follows everyone. Two schools of thought; which one do you prefer?

Analytics

Several weeks ago, I blogged about target markets. There are so many amazing tools and apps through a multitude of social media sights enabling you to pinpoint people based on their interests, purchases, careers, etc. I receive several eNewsletters every week on the subject. It truly is mind boggling. Rather than spend a lot of time analyzing and targeting, much the same way that I feel about learning WordPress, I’ve taken a different route. I don’t want to learn how to build a website or graph a bar chart or profile my facebook friends based on their socio economic status. I just want to write. For me, promotion is an ongoing process via a myriad of social media outlets.

Keeping it Simple

One piece of advice about promotion came from Debbie Macomber, and has stuck in my mind for many years. When speaking at a writing conference in Amarillo, she highly recommended that every author add this book to their reference library, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books by John Kremer. Ms. Macomber also advised us to take one piece of advice from this book to heart and never forget: do one thing every day to promote yourself as a professional author, your work, or the industry of books and reading.

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Just One Thing

Writing this blog is my one thing, along with promoting another author’s book about marketing in said blog. That’s two things. I guess I’m done for the day. Now back to writing!

What are you using to target readers for your books? How are you spreading the word? Do you think some authors go overboard with the sales pitching?

Happy writing!

nataliebright.com

HEART

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HEART 

by Sharon Stevens

A mother and her young son came into our bookstore to price college textbooks. After they found what they were looking for we took a moment to discuss the high price of books, the terribly hot weather, the rising cost of fuel, groceries, school clothes, work clothes, play clothes, cost of living and just life in general. As they were leaving I invited them to rummage through the basket up front that I keep filled with trinkets of stickers, bubbles, necklaces, bracelets, bouncing balls, slinkys and other such odds and ends that find their way into my stash.

The mother declined but encouraged her son to go through and pick something out to take home. After stirring everything up with his fingers he reached in and chose a golden heart bracelet and shared it with his mom. But he didn’t just pass it on to her, he placed it against her chest and told her he chose it special for her because it reminded him of her heart. The look she shared with her son for this wonderful gift I will carry in MY heart forever. What a precious thought from a young man to his mom.

The dictionary definition of heart describes it as a “chambered muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood”. I understand that. You have to have a heart to survive. But I also recognize that heart transcends all definitions and connections. Thomas C. Foster mentions in his book “How to Read Literature Like A Professor” that a heart can have so many different meanings. His book reminds me to never look at a heart simply the same way again.

And if I had my druthers I would choose for my definition the verb tense that describes a heart as one that encourages. Even though it is not in general use it fits me to a capital H.

I watched the mother and son leave our store after just heartbeats in time. I wonder how many pulses were exchanged between the three of us not only in that lifespan, but how many hours that moment will sustain us for the future. Who knows.

It wasn’t until after they left that I realized the young man had placed the bracelet heart against the RIGHT side of his mother’s chest instead of the left.

No matter, his mother and I both knew which side her heart was on.

– Sharon Stevens

Click on the author page above to connect with Sharon.

HEART

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HEART 

by Sharon Stevens

A mother and her young son came into our bookstore to price college textbooks. After they found what they were looking for we took a moment to discuss the high price of books, the terribly hot weather, the rising cost of fuel, groceries, school clothes, work clothes, play clothes, cost of living and just life in general. As they were leaving I invited them to rummage through the basket up front that I keep filled with trinkets of stickers, bubbles, necklaces, bracelets, bouncing balls, slinkys and other such odds and ends that find their way into my stash.

The mother declined but encouraged her son to go through and pick something out to take home. After stirring everything up with his fingers he reached in and chose a golden heart bracelet and shared it with his mom. But he didn’t just pass it on to her, he placed it against her chest and told her he chose it special for her because it reminded him of her heart. The look she shared with her son for this wonderful gift I will carry in MY heart forever. What a precious thought from a young man to his mom.

The dictionary definition of heart describes it as a “chambered muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood”. I understand that. You have to have a heart to survive. But I also recognize that heart transcends all definitions and connections. Thomas C. Foster mentions in his book “How to Read Literature Like A Professor” that a heart can have so many different meanings. His book reminds me to never look at a heart simply the same way again.

And if I had my druthers I would choose for my definition the verb tense that describes a heart as one that encourages. Even though it is not in general use it fits me to a capital H.

I watched the mother and son leave our store after just heartbeats in time. I wonder how many pulses were exchanged between the three of us not only in that lifespan, but how many hours that moment will sustain us for the future. Who knows.

It wasn’t until after they left that I realized the young man had placed the bracelet heart against the RIGHT side of his mother’s chest instead of the left.

No matter, his mother and I both knew which side her heart was on.

– Sharon Stevens

Click on the author page above to connect with Sharon.

“Ands and Buts”

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“Ands and Buts”

 By Rory C. Keel

 

Recently I decided to do some rewriting and corrections on my novel. Wow, it’s amazing how much better I write today than months ago when I started the book.

I remember the first day I started. I was confident in my story plot, characters and setting and remained confident every day as I move the story forward. Then I read the beginning; my confidence had covered a multitude of mistakes.

Making corrections is no easy task either. One day you change the “ands” into “buts”: then on the next day after re-reading the corrections again you change the “buts” back into “ands.”

The problem is that you’re confident about the corrections on both days.

Hello Editor!

Reasons to Write

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Reasons to Write

Rory C. Keel 

Why do I write? Is it because throngs of fans demand it anticipating every word of my next masterpiece? Is it because I honestly expect to make millions of dollars on a bestseller, or desire to be famous? No.

Over the next few weeks I will share with you a few of the reasons I write.

Reason #1

I write to tell a story. Everyone loves a good story. Children drift off to sleep with their heads cradled gently in downy pillows, and their minds full of colorful images from fairytales. Young adults turn the pages of books filled with adventure, loyalty, and sometimes tragedy. They experience a spectrum of emotions as they learn the meaning of dedication, true love, and even loss. Adults feel alive with the thrill of a great suspense novel. As we grow older, we can gain a sense of who we are, and where we came from by reading of our youthful yesterdays.

For a few brief moments in time, a story affords the reader the opportunity to escape reality. Traveling through time into other dimensions, we can explore the far reaches of the future, or a place in history. A story allows the reader to become someone else, able to triumph over evil, or transform into the bad guy. The words of a story can inspire us to overcome the odds stacked against us, and we can experience the exhilaration of victory.

Everyone has a story–write yours.

Rory C. Keel        

Libraries: the Future is Now

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Libraries: the Future is Now

by Natalie Bright

Friends of the Cornette Library, WTA&M University, Fall Luncheon featured Gillian McCombs as the keynote speaker. McCombs is Dean and Director of Central University Libraries at Southern Methodist Unviersity in Dallas, soon to be home of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, making Texasthe only state with three presidential libraries.

Card Catalogs

She reminded us about libraries of old. Who remembers the card catalog, with hand-written reference notes on actual index cards? Times have certainly changed and as McCombs points out, “Librarians are doing so much more than saying Shh.”

“Librarians have always believed in open access, and Google certainly unlocked the store,” McCombs says. With an estimated 4.7 billion searches in any given day, we’re a part of a democratization of information. Everybody can contribute as writers and bloggers, and information is readily available. We have the unvalidated Wikipedia, book reviews on Amazon, and we see newspapers struggling to find the best method to deliver their content ‘now’.

The Physical Place

The question asked today is do we need physical libraries?  McCombs believes we do now more than ever. Even with information at our fingertips, students and communities still choose the library. “Think of the library as place,” says McCombs.  ” For most people, #1 place is home, #2 is work, and the library meets the need as #3. A place to go outside of work or home, similar to the coffee houses or pubs.” Cafes and gourmet coffee shops are appearing in libraries all across the country offering internet access and sponsoring community events making them an essential part of neighborhoods.

It’s a New Day

Southern Methodist University library offers mobile apps for students. Have a question? You don’t have to go downstairs and find the librarian. You can send a text.

SMU is also making great strides to digitize special collections making rare documents available on a world wide level. A few to mention is The Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, provides online digital resources related to theology and religious studies. Highlights include images of rare books, Bibles, manuscript codices and fragments. The Underwood Law Library, part of the Dedman School of Law, featuring an online archive of litigation pertaining to the desegregation of Dallas schools.

McCombs reminded us that kids today have not lived in a world without digital access, and to meet their needs many libraries will be conducting continual assessments of who they serve. I for one, am anxious to see how our libraries will evolve for the future.

www.nataliebright.com

SEUSS

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SEUSS

by Sharon Stevens

 “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.

 You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.

You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”

 “Oh The Places You’ll Go”

                                                              Dr. Seuss



When our daughters were small I took them to the Canyon Public Library for storytelling every week. What an adventure it was to hear the stories and share the activities. As a young mother, (young is such a relative word), I had thirty minutes of peace to browse through the library as they were picking out their books.








We read every night, every naptime, and throughout the day. To me reading is such a treasure. In fact our girls tell me that this is one of their most precious memories growing up.








Everything was glorious in our little world. That is until they brought a Dr. Seuss book home. Try as I might I could not read his books aloud or even to myself. No matter which one it was I couldn’t make heads or tails of the way the sentences were supposed to go. I never admitted it to the girls and I still let them check his books out, but I just couldn’t make it make sense.








The next week at storytelling I admitted to Mary Huntington, the librarian, that I just couldn’t read his books to the kids.








She looked at me sweetly and kindly and said the words I carry with me to this day.








“You are trying to READ his stories and with Dr. Seuss you don’t read them, but let them take you where you need to go.”








Of course! Something so simple!








From then on I relished his stories and celebrated his gift. Seuss could take any word and pair it with another word and make it sing and dance to celebrate life, or the life of whatever creatures he conjured up in his imagination. Thing One and Thing Two come to mind.








I admit I still have troubles with the behavior of “The Cat in the Hat”, and can barely stomach “Green Eggs and Ham” as well. Nevertheless I love, “Horton Hears A Who” and “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”. And I can’t wait to see “The Lorax” on the big screen at the Varsity Theater in Canyon, Texas.








Thank goodness I never let on to my girls my struggles, and they enjoy Dr. Seuss to this day. In fact our daughter, Andrea Keller, will Skype with her classroom at Sally Elliott Elementary school together with Dyane Smokorowski in Kansas  for a worldwide celebration of his birthday March 2, 2012. What fun!








One of Dr. Seuss’ favorite quotes is: “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” I think admitting to Mary Huntington about my struggles helped me to understand one of my dilemmas in writing up to that point. Since then I have taken HER words to heart. We don’t have to be poets or make our work rhyme. Of course it should make some sort of sense, but not in the fashion of fitting a square peg into a round hole.


So many times as writers we try to make our words fit into the mold we have pictured in our minds. If we would just step back and let our story find the rhythm on its own, taking a leap of faith, never doubting that the next step will be there beneath our feet…in our shoes.


In that way our READERS will treasure when they READ our writing.








“Oh The Places You’ll Go”!








Sharon Stevens

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Reasons to Write

			
						

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Reasons to Write


Why do I write? Is it because throngs of fans demand it anticipating every word of my next masterpiece? Is it because I honestly expect to make millions of dollars on a bestseller, or desire to be famous? No.


Over the next few weeks I will share with you a few of the reasons I write.


Reason #1


 


I write to tell a story. Everyone loves a good story. Children drift off to sleep with their heads cradled gently in downy pillows, and their minds full of colorful images from fairytales. Young adults turn the pages of books filled with adventure, loyalty, and sometimes tragedy. They experience a spectrum of emotions as they learn the meaning of dedication, true love, and even loss. Adults feel alive with the thrill of a great suspense novel. As we grow older, we can gain a sense of who we are, and where we came from by reading of our youthful yesterdays.


For a few brief moments in time, a story affords the reader the opportunity to escape reality. Traveling through time into other dimensions, we can explore the far reaches of the future, or a place in history. A story allows the reader to become someone else, able to triumph over evil, or transform into the bad guy. The words of a story can inspire us to overcome the odds stacked against us, and we can experience the exhilaration of victory.


Everyone has a story–write yours.


Rory C. Keel


Reason # 2 next Tuesday!            

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
HEART

			
						

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HEART 


by Sharon Stevens


A mother and her young son came into our bookstore to price college textbooks. After they found what they were looking for we took a moment to discuss the high price of books, the terribly hot weather, the rising cost of fuel, groceries, school clothes, work clothes, play clothes, cost of living and just life in general. As they were leaving I invited them to rummage through the basket up front that I keep filled with trinkets of stickers, bubbles, necklaces, bracelets, bouncing balls, slinkys and other such odds and ends that find their way into my stash.


The mother declined but encouraged her son to go through and pick something out to take home. After stirring everything up with his fingers he reached in and chose a golden heart bracelet and shared it with his mom. But he didn’t just pass it on to her, he placed it against her chest and told her he chose it special for her because it reminded him of her heart. The look she shared with her son for this wonderful gift I will carry in MY heart forever. What a precious thought from a young man to his mom.


The dictionary definition of heart describes it as a “chambered muscular organ in vertebrates that pumps blood”. I understand that. You have to have a heart to survive. But I also recognize that heart transcends all definitions and connections. Thomas C. Foster mentions in his book “How to Read Literature Like A Professor” that a heart can have so many different meanings. His book reminds me to never look at a heart simply the same way again.


And if I had my druthers I would choose for my definition the verb tense that describes a heart as one that encourages. Even though it is not in general use it fits me to a capital H.


I watched the mother and son leave our store after just heartbeats in time. I wonder how many pulses were exchanged between the three of us not only in that lifespan, but how many hours that moment will sustain us for the future. Who knows.


It wasn’t until after they left that I realized the young man had placed the bracelet heart against the RIGHT side of his mother’s chest instead of the left.


No matter, his mother and I both knew which side her heart was on.


– Sharon Stevens


Click on the author page above to connect with Sharon.

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
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Wordsmith Six coming Soon!