Finish things. --Neal Gaiman

Quotes of the Week

Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs.
--Christopher Hampton

Lessons Learned About Marketing

While I was at Balticon, one of my favorite panel discussions was about promoting your books without being obnoxious about it!

Here is a list of things I captured in my notes.

Social Media Self Promotion:

• The best marketing is to write a book that doesn’t suck.
• The worst marketing is to constantly scream “buy my book” on every social network available.
• Keep writing. Your next book is a great marketing tool for your other works. 
• Have a great cover, blurb, and first chapter that hooks the reader.
• Be present on social media: Facebook, twitter, blogs, and others like Instagram.
• Consider podcasting or a Youtube channel.
• Do book signing events and advertise them online.
• Have a great author page on Amazon.
• Find your own voice. Your own topics. Your own fan base.
• Tell followers about new releases and special offers when they happen.
• An energized fan base is a great word of mouth marketing channel.
• Share your life as you feel comfortable about sharing. Be sincere.
• Reach out and engage readers and fans.
• Offer free kindle edition weekends now and then.
• Use an email list. But use it sparingly. Like new release announcements.
• Have fun. Enjoy interactions. Keep writing.
• Join the writer community, online, in writers groups, in lit conferences, in meetups.
• Help other authors.
• Write short stories for anthologies.

What not to do:

• Do not just post “buy my book” all day every day.
• Do not send an auto reply to twitter follows that says “buy my book”.
• Do not spam the hell out of people.
• Don’t be an asshole on line.

Where opinions differ:

• Don’t discuss politics on social media. 
• Don’t discuss religion, gender, gun control, capital punishment or abortion.
• Some say don’t lose half your readers by pissing them off.
• Others say discuss it all to find your tribe.

READING: The Aeronaut's Windless

This week I am reading The Aeronaut's Windless by Jim Butcher.

This is the first book in a new series called The Cinder Spires by Jim Butcher. It is steampunk with excellent world building.

Here is the description from Amazon:

Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity. Within their halls, the ruling aristocratic houses develop scientific marvels, foster trade alliances, and maintain fleets of airships to keep the peace.

Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship Predator. Loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is damaged in combat, Grimm joins a team of Albion agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring his ship. 

And as Grimm undertakes this task, he learns that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake...

--Great stuff. Highly recommended..

Pant are so Overated

Neil Gaiman - 3 Books that Changed his Life

The Fast Friday Indie Interviews: A.L.Butcher (Alexandra Butcher)

Tell me about yourself, Alexandra ?

Hi! And thank you for having me here. I’m a Brit, currently living in the Southwest of England but born in the Southeast. Erm… let’s see. I love reading, writing, animals and nature, history, mythology,  theatre, movies and gardening. Not all at once. Currently, I work full-time and don’t have nearly enough time or energy for writing all the stories bouncing around in my head begging to be told. I have people living in my head, and sometimes I wonder if there is room for me.

I’m creative yet cynical, I prefer animals to people.

Tell me about your current Book:

When confronted with a deadly bargain, Coel the bard must weigh the odds, and succeed or die.

Coel, the bard, thinks his life has taken a turn for the worst, but he hasn't met the Thiefmaster yet. An ill-conceived notion of earning more money to pay off his debt and escape a dark past leaves the minstrel in a situation he can't escape and with a deadly bargain. Will he survive his mistake? Who is this mysterious patron?
   

What are you working on now?

Many things😊 Another Tales of Erana novella, Book IV of the Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles, a short murder story, a Legacy of the Mask tale, and a mythic story.  I tend to work on several things at once, as I find it hard to focus on one thing. Which is probably why it takes me so long to finish anything!

Where is your favorite place to be when you write?

At my desk, in my conservatory, with the woods behind and my doggy next to me.

What is your favorite lesson you have learned about the business of writing?

I wouldn’t say it’s a ‘favourite’ but it’s true that success is relative. Most indies don’t sell a great deal, so writing for the money is a lost cause for most. Write because you can, you must and because you cannot not. Define  success in small goals – finishing a book on time (or at all),  having the courage to publish, making readers smile, or cry. In my case (and I have said this before in previous interviews) it was seeing my terminally ill mother smile when she saw my first novel in print. Despite everything when she found out I had a book she told EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE – neighbours, friends, family, carers, visitors. For a while, she was happy and proud, despite all the horribleness of cancer. Of course, it wasn’t a cure but it made her happy. That, to me, is success.
I never thought I’d have the energy to write what I’ve written, to summon up the courage to publish it, and that people would read it. Every step of that is a little success. Life is full of little successes.

What is your favorite Website?

Erm, Wikipedia, Mythic Scribes, I don’t know I look at a lot of websites. I don’t have a favourite.

Links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2hK33OM
Facebook: http://bit.ly/FB2j0bbdZ
Twitter: http://bit.ly/Twi2hJZ3h9
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/GR2iqokvK
Blog: http://bit.ly/Blog2iAWL3o
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-butcher-8342ab13b/
Tumblr: https://libraryoferana.tumblr.com