Pat's Convention Note #26 of 100 things I learned from attending SIX LITERARY CONFERENCES in 2014

#26. The Do’s and Don’ts on How to Lead a Successful Workshop.

This was from one of the RWA workshops with authors Maria Bradley and Rebecca Zanette.

·         Don’t start a workshop talking about the downside of writing. If you do, you’ll have to work harder to build up the attendees’ expectations about the benefits of being an author.

·         Don’t be on a panel solely to sell books. Don’t push your books down their throats with “Buy my books, buy my books.” Get to know each person.

·         Don’t hijack a panel, basically whether you’re behind the table with other authors or in the audience, don’t try to steal the show, but be respectful.

·         Don’t let everything you say, be about you. Talk about other authors’ books instead of your own. People like to hear that you read other authors’ work.

When using a PowerPoint presentation during a workshop, keep your bullet points between three and seven. Otherwise, you’ll overload the participants with too much information.

The last part, which I’m not making up, is to brush your teeth before you speak. “That will freshen your mind as well as your mouth.”

The BIG do is to encourage aspiring authors to keep writing.

Pat's Convention Note #25 of 100 things I learned from attending SIX LITERARY CONFERENCES in 2014

#25. The Business side of Books

RWA 2014 workshop with NYT bestselling author Marie Force. Checkout Marieforce.com/connect

This sounds like a fairytale story, but it’s not.  This author’s income grew from $2500 in one year to $3 million dollars a few years later. I don’t know how to count that much $$. Marie said she didn’t see that kind of wealth coming and wasn’t prepared how to manage it. She was no longer a struggling author, but a business owner. She had to scramble to make sure taxes wouldn’t eat up her profits. These are a few of the steps she took:

·         Established a separate bank account

·         Applied for an American Express business credit card and record receipts as expenses incur.

·         Hired a CPA***she couldn’t stress this enough*** because authors do get audited.

·         She officially became a corporation, making sure all her books had copyrights with the Library of Congress. Plus, she hired two part-timers and two full time people.

Here are some tips that she used to build her career:

·         Make sure your email address shows your name, such as authorpatsimmons@gmail.com not pbooks@yahoo.com or booklover@hotmail. Everyone you email should know who you are and what you do.

·         Your signature in the email should contain your social media links as well as website. It took me a couple hours to do this because I had to add each icon, so I could link them separately. Here's my masterpiece: 

·         Marie believes in the personal touch, so she sends out Christmas cards to readers who sign up. They like receiving her swag in the mail. (I’m calculating the expense of this one). She also mails out postcards to announce new releases.

·         Another tip she shared was the fact she has 30 FB pages, one for every book or series. My jaw dropped. I have three major series. She has thousands of LIKEs that took years to reach.

·         She’s big on doing online workshops vs. traveling every month.

Okay, that’s it for now. I better go get started on my other Facebook pages: The Carmen Sisters and Love at the Crossroads. Revamping my signature line and creating multiple FB pages are what's doable for me right now.

I hope this has been a blessing!

Pat's Convention Note #24 of 100 things I learned from attending SIX LITERARY CONFERENCES in 2014

#24 

While at RWA, author Lisa Wells headed a workshop called “Blog Bites.” After listening to the recording, I saw the errors of my ways, so here I go.

The blog headline should entice readers. The title and tags should promise something and have benefits to the reader. One interesting note to point out was her suggestion on how to name a blog: the first 3 words and the last 3 words of the title should be strong.

·         Blog posts need to be short, at least 300 words, but not longer than 1,000 words.

·         Content is king. It should inspire, educate, entertain, solve a problem, etc. Focus on your passion.

·         She uses “reader conversation tags” such as: couldn’t put it down, stayed up all night, all-nighters. These kind of phrases draws attention, whether it’s a blog or book.

·         IT takes 2-5 years for a blog to get going---yikes! I’m not feeling those odds.

·         Lisa suggests playing with words by going down the alphabet, such as “treadmill” change to “dreadmill”. Using lists and inserting pictures on blogs are a plus, so check out this list of sites for ideas:

1.      Wordle.net

2.      ClichéSite.com

3.      Lyrics free.com

4.      Quotationpage.com

5.      Pinterest.com for all kind of quotes.

·         Of course, blogs should be promoted on social media. Here’s another website to Tweet about it. ClicktoTweet.com

·         Always end the blog with a call for action: ask the reader to share this post or leave a comment for a drawing.

Here is my call for action, please a comment or share this post with a friend and enter a drawing for a $10 Starbucks card or free download of my first audiobook, THE KEEPSAKE. Deadline January 27, 2015.

I hope this blog has been a blessing.

Pat 

#23. 2014 Wrap-up on my 100 Convention Notes

A couple of writing deadlines had me tied up longer than expected, so I’m sorry for the gaps in my posts. Let me tell you what tips worked for me. Tip #20 is now ingrained in my writing: first line/last line emphasis. If you give this a second look, then you’ll notice a difference in your story. My first audiobook:  THE KEEPSAKE is now available on audible.com. It was narrated by Alexandria Matthews and she is a smooth storyteller.

Download free when you sign up with audible, so please check it out. I also signed up with Draft2Digital. It was definitely a smart move. Not only do they provide swift customer service, but my books are now on Page Foundry and Scribd. I’m also part of BlackChristianReads with 9 other authors. We are cross-promoting each other.  I use Pinterest more and get 30-50 repins a week. When someone follows my board, I send them a quick note and ask them to check out my books with similar things.  Don’t miss Tip #23 next week and learn all the things that I've been doing wrong to promote my blog. 

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Pat's Convention Note #21 of 100 things I learned from attending SIX LITERARY CONFERENCES in 2014

#21. Here’s a new game plan. If you’re an author planning to attend your next conference, you might want to reconsider that writer’s workshop you’ve prepared to teach. Why? It’s not necessarily a new trend, because RT Booklovers Convention has been doing it for many years, but recently I noticed more conferences this year, since I’ve attended six, host fun workshops geared toward readers. At RT, there are long lines every day.

Come on, who wouldn’t want to see s showdown between Heather Graham’s characters and Cherry Adair’s? But that’s not all. Readers are lining up to get the freebies and all the other give-a-ways for attending. How about a Thrills and Chills workshop with authors Lee Childs and Charlaine Harris? Other reader workshops had titles like Romance: Wheels of Fortune; History Fan Fictionary; Clockwork Carnivale Tea, and on and on. It is no small task to entertain the readers. How about Reel Romance Trivial Pursuit?

At Romcon this year, there was more than enough fun for its readers. Paranormal authors sponsored Battle to Survival; another group of authors put on Candyman All Grown Up, and there was more.

Are you starting to get the picture?

Next year at RSJ, I’m hosting a reader workshop called May the Best Man Win! This should be interestingJ. Also next year, fellow author, LisaWatson, and I are teaming up to host a sweet romance night at Romcon, another interesting endeavor indeed.

FYI, this could be costly, depending on the number of readers who attend your fun workshop. That is why it’s a good idea to go in with a group of authors to pull it off. Otherwise, you’ll be solely responsible for coming up with the nuances of the games and the prizes. Oh, not to mention that readers would probably want to walk away with a couple of free books too.

I hope this post has been a blessing. Until next time,

Pat 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OZ0KYWU?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B00OZ0KYWU&linkCode=xm2&tag=autpatsim-20

Pat's Convention Note #20 of 100 things I learned from attending SIX LITERARY CONFERENCES in 2014

Last weekend, I had an opportunity to teach an aspiring author workshop at a local library.

After compiling my notes from what I learned at this year's conferences, I created this handout for participates. Hopefully, this can help someone else.

Enjoy

The First Book workshop by Christian author Pat Simmons

Copyright 2014.

Organize:

A great book has six vital parts: Narration, dialogue, memorable characters, plot and description.

How many characters are too many characters? Keep an alphabetical spreadsheet of all your characters.

Everybody in your book should have a purpose to advance the heroine/hero’s agenda. If not, delete them.

**How does the FIRST LINE of each chapter begin and the LAST PARAGRAPH end?

*Check out Scrivener, a program many authors are using to store research, organize their ideas and write their manuscripts. http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php. Free 30 day trial

Books:

Writing A Romance for Dummies by Leslie Wainger

Words You Thought You Knew by Jenna Glatzer

What Not to Say by Linda J. Beam

The Most Common Mistakes in English Usage by Thomas Elliott Berry

**Scholastic Dictionary of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms: aunt or ant; grown or groan; wring or ring, etc.*** Invaluable reference handbook.

Challenge:

To create an outline: List 20 major scenes that will happen in 20 chapters.      

*You need to know long it takes you to write a book before you sign that contract.

http://nanowrimo.org/

Moody Publishers had three of my books released within one year. YIKES.

I have a book due to Whitaker House January 1, 2015. I haven’t started. Another YIKES.

Marketing:

Military bases—ask for the BX Base Exchange vendor manager. Dave Couture and Allen Maki at Scott AFB are very friendly. They charge a commission rate from 12% to 25%. Sign at bases that charge under 20%. If you sell nothing, you pay nothing. To make the most of your time and money, stay all day to catch the morning, lunch, afternoon and then after work crowd.

Social networking: There are all kinds of writing groups on FB. Beware, the moderators want you to be active and do more than promote your book. There is also LinkedIn where I found librarians; Twitter, Pinterest, Blogs, etc. St. Louis Black authors collective on FB

*Check out my blog: http://conventionnotes.blogspot.com/

*Literary conferences—always look at the workshops that are being offered.

There are conferences for every genre.

Social networks: Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

Promotional items: postcards: I use Next Day Flyers, use promo code

250

$39.95

$18.73

FREE

F46Postcard250

Ink pens: http://www.amsterdamprinting.com/

Brochures/banners: http://www.uprinting.com/

Search for great deals by Googling “cheap”.

Two people known in the industry for promoting authors:

LaShaunda Hoffman. Shades of Romance Magazine, promotes more than romance in eblasts. She also does online conferences. Reach her at sormag@yahoo.com

Ella Curry, EDC Creations: blog tours online and promotions. She also hosts BAN (Black Author Network) blogtalk radio shows. Reach her at ellacurryprez@edc-creations.com.

  

Editing:

DO NOT use your mother, cousin or friend to give you the final edit. Most writers, especially newbies, need a developmental editor, line editor, and proof reader.

Every editor and publisher is different. Always ask for a free sample. Lately, I’ve used *Fiveer.com, which will become your BEST friend on a budget. Most are professionals and freelances that offer great services on covers, formatting and promotions, starting at $5.

Beware before hiring any type of editors. Make sure they live within the US. Otherwise, you’ll get someone who will edit in the Queen’s English. Such examples are honor vs. honour; recognise vs. recognize.

My first freelance editor was REALLY big on using repetitious words (she smiled, he smiled, they smiled—use a thesaurus).This same editor wouldn’t give me a break on weak chapter endings. I groan.

·         When I was with Moody Publishers, I noticed the editor was big on transition from one paragraph to another. The flow was seamless. I watch for that today.

·         My editor at Whitaker Publisher is really big on timelines, no jumping back and forth, such as a party in June, then going back to an Easter church service in April.

Once, I tried a freelance editor and when she got through ripping up my story—mindful after I had already been published with eight plus books—my head was messed up, causing me to doubt myself on that story for almost year until I could clear my head.

Here’s a good article about editing: http://www.bookdaily.com/authorresource/blog/post/1576449

Getting published

·         Secure an agent, which isn’t an easy task. Use Writer’s Market Handbook, attend conferences, and check out blogs. My agency has a blog that gives readers tips. http://www.chipmacgregor.com/

·         Get noticed by publishing eBooks. One indie author success story is Bella Andre who earns $20,000 a month.

What is Writer’s Block? You can’t tell a story if you don’t know it yourself.

Wake up your characters in your head.  Most of the time they come alive when you’re about to go to sleep. Take the time and joint notes.

Ask them questions: Sara, your mother just died. How do you feel?

Dave, you just got a promotion. How are you going to celebrate?

Girl, your boyfriend cheated on you. What’s your game plan for revenge?

If you start asking your characters questions, you are forcing them to answer.

Happy writing!

authorpatsimmons@gmail.com, @patsimmons, www.patsimmons.net

Look for my Christmas novella: CHRISTMAS GREETINGS Thanksgiving Day.