Pat's Convention Note #3 of 100 things I learned from attending FIVE LITERARY CONFERENCES in 2014

#3. Google Hangout. It's the new Skype adventure on steroids--That's a quote from Daphne Douglas and Deborah Dortch at RSJ 2014.

This was an interesting workshop that I attended just out of curiosity. I quickly learned that this is a valuable tool for authors if you have a Gmail account, which gives you access to Google+. While you're searching for friends to add to your circle, you might have seen the term "hangout".
Daphne suggested the Google Hangout is a great concept for book releases parties. You are allowed to have up to ten participants. Can you imagine talking to ten book club from across the country at one time? Since the space is limited, the talk or session is automatically recorded and uploaded to Youtube, a social media site every author should not only have, BUT use, that's according to another workshop instructor from another conference.
A few weeks ago, I was a guest along with Rochelle Carter and Paulette Harper on Sharon Jenkins's Literary Showcase on Google Hangout. Sharon definitely knew what she was doing. Me, on the other hand, need some tweaking. Go to Youtube to see the one hour show recorded from Google Hangout.

So, here is my game plan. Next month, the eBook version of TALK TO ME will be released. For fun, I decided to upload a clip of a guy signing the blurb of my book since my character is deaf. Remember, YouTube doesn't always have to be about book trailers or authors chatting. Be creative. Oh, BTW, I've become a big fan of Fiveer.com where you can get all type of unusual service like the guy making a signing video for $5 or $10.
Thanks to author friend, Tiffany Warren and Rhonda McKnight, for reminding me about Fiveer.com.

You don't want to miss tip #4. This was an eye opener--keywords and phrases can make or break a sale.
Oh, and please feel free to add comments or tips that you've learned.