Market Mondays: 7 Ways Friends Can Support Your Book and how to ask for their help

Welcome back, Sandra.

This article originally appeared April 5, 2012: http://buildbookbuzz.com/the-shy-authors-guide-to-book-promotion/

By Sandra Beckwith

I recently read an article that detailed seven ways people could support their author friends. It was well-done and offered the type of specific information I’m always looking for, but honestly, it felt a little…well…self-centered. I mean, really, am I supposed to expect my friends to ask me how they can promote my book? Or, worse, am I self-absorbed enough to think that my friends are using Google to find ways they can support my book marketing? I could never send any of them a link to that article with a note saying, “Please read this and see what you can do.”

I’m also one of those people who would never say, “Please buy my book.” But that was one of the suggestions in this article – “buy the book.” Most of my friends aren’t interested in my book topics, so why would they buy any of them? Your book might be different, of course, but my books are on business topics and many of my friends are social workers, teachers, and so on.

In reality, while our friends think it’s “cool” that we’re authors, it probably doesn’t even occur to most of them that they are in a position to help us get the word out. It’s our responsibility to ask for that help. The challenge is in finding a way to make the request in a way that works for you – not me, not my friends, and not another author.

Here are some things you will want to consider asking friends to do along with suggestions for making your request something they can act on quickly and easily. You might not be comfortable with all of these suggestions, but there might also be a way for you to get the end result with a different approach.

1. Share information about your book with the “right” people in their e-mail address books. Remember that you didn’t write your book for everyone. You wrote it for a specialized audience, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. (Not everybody likes mysteries, right?) It’s okay to ask your friends to share information about your book with their networks, but when doing so, make it clear that you realize that they might want to be selective about who they share the information with. Send an e-mail that describes the book, explains who will find it interesting, details how they will benefit from reading it, and includes a link to an online purchase site. Suggest that they forward that information to appropriate people.

2. Provide information about organizations that might use you as a speaker. A complementary word or two from a friend who is a member could be all you need to be the luncheon speaker at the monthly gathering of a group that’s perfect for your book.

3. Look for your book at bookstores and request that stores stock it if it’s not available. A lot of my friends are authors, so I do this for them at Barnes and Noble all the time. I also turn the cover face out on the shelf so it’s easier to see, and when there’s more than one copy, I add one to a display at the end of the shelf, too. If a friend’s latest book isn’t in stock, I ask the store to order it.

4. Use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks to share a link to a purchase page. Ask them to write a personal message with the link, such as “Can’t wait to read my friend’s new book about business etiquette” or “Nobody writes better science fiction than my friend Justin Brown – buying his latest book now!”

5. Share a review online. Give a copy of your book to friends you can trust to actually read it, asking them to write a positive review on Amazon and other retail sites.

6. Interview you on their blog when it’s a good fit. This is a reasonable request only when the blog’s target audience matches your book’s. Otherwise, you’re putting your friend in an awkward and unfair position.

7. Rate reviews on Amazon so the good ones show up first and the bad ones show up last. At the end of each review, Amazon asks, “Was this review helpful to you?” Click “yes” for the four- and five-star reviews and “no” for anything with less than three stars. The “yes” clicks will help make sure that the positive reviews stay at the top.

What have you asked your friends to do to support your book, and how has that worked out for you? Please send me a note and tell me your story!

About Sandra

Sandra Beckwith is a former publicist who has won several national and regional publicity awards and teaches authors how to generate long-term media buzz for their books. She is the author of three books on publicityy, conducts publicity workshops, and writes frequently on small business marketing and management topics. Please visit her book publicity site and publicity blog to learn more.

I Will Never Understand…

I will never understand how some people can have 20/20 vision. It’s something I legitimately have to remind myself —that some people can see without glasses or contact lenses. Makes me wonder what the world really looks like past these smudgy extensions of my perception, drooping down the bridge of my nose. When I meet folks who aren’t wearing glasses, I always ask them, “Are you wearing contacts?” expecting them to say yes. On very, very rare occasions, they say no. Even more rarely, they’ll tell me they’ve had laser-eye surgery… and I don’t care what anybody says, that just sounds scary. “Oh, it’s cheaper than replacing glasses and contacts, you just have to where this funny pair of shades for a few days after—” Um, lasers? No. No lasers. Not in my eyes.

Okay, so using glass to see better might be a bad move for some people too, but I’m careful. Except when I shatter glass doors by accident, but that’s a story for another day…

I will never understand how so many people my age and older can spend their lives choosing flings and one-night-stands over serious relationships. See, there’s choosing not to have a serious relationship, as in, not having relationships… at all. I know plenty of people who do that; I have phases like that, trying to keep my priorities straight and all that jazz. But what I don’t get is when people are willing to go on dates with girls and guys, sleep around, set themselves up for emotional trauma but they don’t care to follow through.

The word “love” is tossed around quite carelessly these days, so if you ask me, I believe some people are just terrified of true love. They don’t put in the effort to commit, but they subject their hearts to potential harm all the while. I don’t get it. I can understand the lack of Christlike love in someone’s life, making it a simpler decision to do things that may not be healthy emotionally or spiritually (or physically, really), but the secular media DROWNS us in messages of an attainable “true love” between two people, no God involved. I feel like that’s a naturally desirable thing with or without God, to find Mr. or Miss Right (almost said Mrs. and technically, that wouldn’t go over well on a first date…) and so many people squander that possibility on lust. I don’t get it.

I will never understand how some people don’t get depressed. Lately, I’ve been coming across a handful of people who say they’ve never experienced depression. I can understand some people not having depression as a condition, but those who have just never had it? How does that work? Can some people get sad and then… :gasp: just feel better? Sounds like crazy talk to me. Even those I know who have lived rather harsh lives, the friends we all know whom the world has used as target practice, a select few of mine have told me they’ve never let things get them down. What kind of anti-emotional wall must one build to experience such peace? I find my peace against depression constantly in Christ, but what about those who don’t ever get depressed? What are normal emotions like, conditions aside?

I don’t mean to sound gloomy, these are just a few random things on my mind a lot lately. Been busy with finals week studying and projects, made it hard to come up with a blog topic, or… blopic. Yeah. Bloppick. I think it works out better spelled that way. I need to plan more bloppicks ahead of time. Here’s a picture of me looking a lot happier than I sound, just to lighten the mood. Thanks for reading, cheers and God bless!

In Christ,

Luther D. Powell

Whoa, hey, I took that picture over the summer… and I’m wearing that same shirt riiight nooow. Weird.

Market Monday – Promotion sites around the Web

My fifth novel releases on Thursday. Does Promotion ever get old?

Yes.

Yes, it does. Am I still anxious and excited and thrilled?

Cowabunga! 

But

Is there anything else I can be doing to help my work sell, as well as continue to help and support my other writing friends?

The current list:

• Early reviews – check
• Author pages update – check
• Blog tours lined up – check
• Siggy line on all web communication – check
• Facebook author page update – um, yeah, soon as I figure it out. Shelley Hitz did it for me, and I didn’t want to mess anything up.
• All sites update – Shelfari, LibraryThing, GoodReads, AuthorsDen, LinkedIn, SheReads, SheWrites, Grace ‘n Faith, ShoutLife, etc, etc….need ISBN to do that.
• Updated bio, cards, brochure – working on it. The publisher hasn’t given me the AISN/ISBN, so I’ve been waiting.
• John 316 Marketing Network launch save the date? check, but I have to work on that. May 22
• Trailer? thinking on that. I want to, just to play, but is that the best use of my time?
• Press Releases and radio spot sign ups – getting there.

Besides book signings and the other local stuff, what else can I do? I turn to the Internet and find out where else I can strut my stuff.

Free sites:

1. Book Daily  http://www.bookdaily.com/free

Sign up for a free account and have my chapter e-mailed to thousands and get a newsletter– cool, I can do that.

2. Published.com  http://www.published.com/

Sign up to list my books for free in its particular genre, help it “get found”; connect with readers. Okay. I can do that.

3. Author.com  http://www.authors.com/group/freebookmarketing

Looks like a ning group chat, like John Kremer’s Author promotions sites. I’ll see what kind of time I have to put into these things.

4. Our friend Shelley Hitz’s site shows up too in my search: http://www.self-publishing-coach.com/free-book-marketing.html

I know I definitely have to take some time to check into these great things. I got scolded on here the other week when I went to clean out the spam and found a very exasperated note from a wordpress fan to optimize my site and provided some examples. I know. I know. Just give me a few more hours in a day.

5. And I come back to John Kremer: http://www.bookmarket.com/101bm.htm

He’s got a whole list of free marketing sites that need some more time to look into and sign up.

6. Sign up with Tom Blubaugh’s new author/writer info line - more on that later.

If you’re detecting a theme here, you’re right on! Time spent on this end must equal payoff. I’m not there yet, as I’m spending inordinate amounts of time getting my name out there. Which sites are going to give me the most payback for the amount of time I’m willing to put in to it?

Next week we’ll review what makes an effective Press Release.

Deadlines and Deadheads

Ruthless—by the time a writer starts making some money in the business, you must learn to become ruthless.

Most everyone knows by now that with my fourth contract and third year in a row of being profitable in writing, I took two years off to learn marketing. Really, really bad idea by the way. I was like a fig tree I’d read—you know, the parable of Jesus cursing the fig tree? For the past forty years I’d been mad at him for cursing that poor little harmless tree until I suddenly understood what was going on. My ears heard.

I received my first couple of contracts and had two novels release while still believing that getting a book on the market meant automatic sales and invitations to share the story of your success! I was worse than naïve. I was every bad joke rolled into one canapé popped in the mouth of Meryl Streep’s character in the Devil Wears Prada. That’s all.

I was the fig tree all leafed out when it wasn’t the time for figs. I had the show, but not the sustenance. I wasn’t ready. I hadn’t prepared. So I went about the business backward, severely overcompensating with busy-ness. My life for the past two years was made up of deadlines as strove mightily to get my name out there. Write a column? Sure, no problem…times six. Interview you? Absolutely, can you interview me? Invitations to join every group sent my way were accepted. Teach a class? Sure. Oh, wow—look they want an editor! I know desktop publishing! I can do that…times two. I mean, how many blogs are there to visit and comment on? Online magazines and newsletters to sign up for and read? Book clubs to join? Books to review? Groups to pay dues to? Conferences to attend? Writers to help? How can you say no to a potential groupie?

I know, Jesus cursed that tree and it shriveled and died. No one ever ate figs from it again. But I am also a grafted person, as Romans 11 says. That fig was out of line, but my graft is still attached to the Root that nourishes me. Discipline says I must prune that which is ineffective or causes me to stumble. I wrote a list of all the groups I joined (although I’m sure I didn’t get them all), all the columns I write and the other business I attend to as a fulltime writer. I am deadheading, or pruning the ones I simply can’t handle, keeping the bits I justify for business’s sake and a couple for fun. I am learning to say, sorry I can’t do that; and I’m learning to adjust the expectations I have of myself by saying, yes I can, but not until later.

I’m real, organized, less frantic, and adjusting to the seasons in a much more fruitful way. Most of the time.

above fig tree photo by Lee Figenbaum.

used by permission

below: apple tree in bloom (in season)

End of the Line

As I sit here in the hallway just outside my condo (I locked myself out—my house and car keys are inside so I’m stranded), I can’t help but reflect on how far I’ve come since I first started blogging for Reflections in Hindsight. I began awhile ago upon seeing an admonition from our very own Lisa Lickel via the ACFW Midwest loop for anyone interested in contributing to this blog. I answered her call and offered to contribute, and soon I was posting once every other week.

Not long after that, I began posting every week when the gentleman I was co-posting with had to step back from the blog, so Thursdays became “my day” at Reflections. It worked well for a long time. I could probably go back and tell you exactly how long it’s been, but I haven’t any desire to try to figure out how to do that on my iPad via the WordPress App and risk losing an entire post (it’s happened before) in the process.

I’ve shared on a great many subjects during my time here, some of which still attract readers even though the posts have been live for months. Some of my top posts include my thoughts on witchcraft in YA books (above and beyond the level of Harry Potter, which I think is mostly harmless), a fun post entitled “WWJBD? What Would James Bond Do?“, and my personal favorite, An Obituary for Harold, a squirrel to whom I paid tribute a few days after I ran him over with my car.

All in all, it’s been a great run, but as I said in a previous post about how much I hate blogging, I just don’t have the time, energy, or the drive to continue to write anymore. Part of it stems from the fact that I don’t enjoy reading blogs very much, and I hate the idea that I have to blog in order to be a “successful” author as far as my books go. If I hate blogging, why am I doing it?

I apologize for my negative outlook on this subject. As this is my last post at Reflections, I want to leave on a positive note, something I have done for basically everything I’ve posted. I’m that type of person: the optimist who sees the glass as half full—usually.

So here’s my positive spin on all of this: in not blogging at Reflections, I will have more time to write books, work on Splickety Magazine (which you can buy here), and be a good father to my son (or possibly daughter), who we’re expecting to be born within the next few weeks. Posting at Reflections has been an obligation that I worried about fulfilling every week, and now I won’t have to worry anymore.

Thank you all for reading my posts throughout the last year or so. You’ve walked along with me on this journey, through the good times and the bad, through the well-planned posts and the not so well-planned posts. I am forever indebted to you for your support.

As I sign off for the last time as a regular contributor (that’s right, you may see me again at some point, it’s just that I won’t be the one driving the carriage) I have to make three final requests of you.

1. Please continue to read Reflections authors’ posts. As you well know, I’m not the only one here at this site. Never was. Please continue to support this site, and tell your friends about it. I owe so much to Lisa and the other contributors for what they’ve taught me, so please check them out often, if not every day.

2. Keep reading on Thursdays. My replacement is the very able, intelligent, creative Luther D. Powell, a young man with a bright future ahead of him. You can check him out on our author page soon. He will continue to bring the heat through his posts, a heat that has cooled in my recent posts. Give him more than a fair shot—I think you’ll be impressed.

3. Finally, keep your eyes open. I’ll be around. I’m at conferences, I’m not leaving Splickety Magazine any time soon (just started it—duh), and I’ll eventually have a book or 19 published that you all can and should read, and then buy more copies for your friends and family. When that day comes, I’ll appear on Reflections again, probably for an interview. Until then, support Splickety, and if you see me wandering the halls at some conference you happen to be attending, come up and say hello. I’m okay with faces but horrible with names, so please pardon me if you have to remind me who you are.

With that, thank-you again, and God bless you all.

-Ben

This is me preparing for my undoubtedly bright future.

Observations on the Aftermath of Whitney Houston’s Death

Whenever a celebrity dies, especially one of the caliber of Whitney Houston, or Michael Jackson, or Larry King–wait…he’s not dead yet? Oh, he just kind of looks like he’s dead. My bad.

Whitney Houston

Anyway, there’s a predictable pattern of reaction from the media, from social networks, and from other celebrities. It’s horrible, but true, and most of it infuriates me. Here are two of my observations regarding Whitney Houston’s recent passing:

1. The media was well-prepared–too well-prepared. I think we all know by now that major media outlets have obituary files and footage already picked out for most of the world’s major celebrities, so all they have to do is pull out that file, mash together that footage and have the anchors/reporters practice going through some of said celeb’s lifetime highlights, low periods, and everything in-between before going on live and presenting the obituary.

That means that these news outlets not only have those files and footage, but that they update them regularly, and they also probably prioritize them based on who they think is going to croak first. In a way, this is a totally heartless and cold approach to the death of an important person, but if you stop and consider it, isn’t that kind of news exactly what everyone is supposed to get? Even-tempered, unbiased reporting of the facts?

I still don’t think I like it, though.

2. Idiots used Whitney’s death as a chance to advance their own agendas. This is the reason why I felt I should write on this topic today. I’m flummoxed at some peoples’ stupid behavior in response to Whitney’s death. If you thought the media outlets were bad for being well-prepared for Whitney’s death, you’ll be disgusted at some of the things coming out of celebrities’ mouths and from social networking sites like Facebook.

Two examples in particular really made me fume. Tony Bennett, who, for our younger readers, is a very famous singer/performer from yesteryear, made one of the dumbest comments I’ve ever heard after a celebrity’s death: he said, “I’d like to have every gentleman and lady in this room commit themselves to get our government to legalize drugs. So they have to get it through a doctor, not just some gangsters that sell it under the table.”

Tony Bennett

Look, I’m not going to comment on the validity of his argument. Maybe he’s right, maybe not. But that’s not the point. The point is that he stood up in public and used Whitney Houston’s death to advance his own agenda. Wow…what a way to pay tribute to a friend–use their death to tell the government that drugs should be legalized. How do you think the population would have responded if reputable pastor like Rick Warren (not that he would) came out in public and said that everyone should accept Jesus and live fulfilled lives so they don’t end up like Whitney Houston? The universe, including a lot of Christians, would throw a conniption fit. To sum up, Tony’s comment was poorly-timed, and inappropriate.

Here’s another dumb thing I saw, this one on Facebook:

Yes, I know this is Steve Jobs and not Whitney.

I used Steve because I saw this meme used after his death first–and also because the one I found with Whitney had a picture of her with her chest halfway hanging out. You get the idea, though, right? Millions “cry” when a celebrity dies, but no one cries for the millions dying from AIDS in Africa, or from ethnic cleansing/genocide, or from hunger.

::Sigh::

I won’t argue with the premise. Yes, the world is a place of a profound injustice, and this does a good job of showing that discrepancy. That said, this is just as opportunistic and inappropriate as Tony’s comment above for exactly the same reason: the author is using a tragedy to advance their own agenda at the expense of the departed person immortalized in their meme, as if subtly implying that somehow, it’s partly Whitney’s or Steve’s fault that millions are dying. Or, at the very least, such memes are made to make us feel guilty about how we react to celeb deaths.

I’m probably not the best example of how to react to a celebrity’s death because I generally don’t spend much time following their lives in the first place. That said, you’re getting my opinion anyway.

When Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson died, and even more so when Steve Irwin (the Crocodile Hunter) was skewered by a stingray a few years back and died, I felt very sad. I didn’t go out and place flowers or notes or teddy bears on their graves (or in front of their chain of Apple stores like folks did with Steve Jobs), but their deaths impacted me (less with Steve Jobs, as I’m only a recent convert to the cult of Apple).

The meme above makes the assumption that we stupid, spoiled Americans care more about a person (who has actually affected our lives in some way) than we do about those suffering and dying around the world. Honestly, I’m sure that is the case with a lot of people, but to use a celeb death as an opportunity to guilt-trip the rest of us, including people close to Whitney or Steve or Steve or Michael, is wrong.

Sorry, but you’re just being a jerk. You haven’t considered how many people those celebs actually did touch in a profound way, who are already hurting at the loss of a friend, family member, or loved one (celebrity), upon seeing your meme, feel guilty and used as a part of a scheme to raise awareness for an issue that most people would already agree with anyway. In other words, your timing sucks because you don’t have the balls to try to promote your ideas in a time of normalcy and instead do it at the expense of someone’s death and others’ grief.

Alright. I’m done ranting. I’d love to get your thoughts on this. Next week, stay tuned for a much anticipated post, probably the second-to-last one you’ll get out of me here at Reflections: Things that Weigh a Thousand Pounds (aka things that I can leg press).

-Ben

Blogging is the Devil

Why do people blog? What makes them think that anyone else  in the world wants to know about the new recipe for mongoose flambe they just created? Who actually reads blogs?

I’ve been pushing myself for the last year or so to blog once a week here at Reflections (occasionally I’ve missed a few weeks, but hey, one of them was on Thanksgiving, so there). In that time I’ve learned that, for me, blogging is the devil.

See? I told you it was.

What I mean is that like the devil, blogging distracts me from what I should be doing. Also, I hate the devil. likewise, I’ve grown to hate blogging. I have never enjoyed reading blogs, and I’ve always felt like I was supposed to blog as a part of my life as a writer because that’s what I’ve been told I’m supposed to do.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I’m attempting to write four novels this year. Correction: four GOOD novels this year, not just some garbage books that I don’t care about. In my mind, each word that I write on a Thursday morning (or before if I’m really prepared) is another word that won’t get written in one of my books because I’ve written it here. I’m not okay with that.

Perhaps this springs from my lack of interest in blogging as a medium of communication. The only time I read blogs is when a friend asks me to, or when I see something on Facebook that’s of interest to me and it happens to link to a blog post. I don’t go out trolling the internet for blogs. That’s not my idea of entertainment. I don’t enjoy that. The closest I come to that is Cracked.com, a site that I visit regularly because it’s funny and informational (but not always appropriate–you’ve been warned). That’s not really a blog sight, though.

Randy Ingermanson has sent out a lot of good stuff in his Advanced Fiction newsletters since I’ve been a subscriber (and probably before that too). In his last one he suggested that an author should ascribe a value to every business-related thing he does, as follows: $1 work, $10 work, $100 work, $1,000 work. The dollar amounts represent how much money you make from the various tasks you perform.

For instance, I run Splickety Magazine, which takes up a lot of my time. At this point I’m not privy to how much I’ll make from that rag, but I’m imagining it will be in the high $10s or the low $100s. I anticipate it will go up over time as I’ll get better at producing it as time goes on, plus I’ll hopefully make some money by selling some advertising for it. Compare that with my novel-writing: that’s definitely $1,000 work. Sure, it hasn’t actually made me any money thus far, but once I do get published, then I’m confident I’ll be in the $1,000 range.

This formula pertains more to marketing in my case than anything else. The idea is to focus either on A) what I’m good at/enjoy or B) what makes me the most money. I’m good at writing books, I’m good at running Splickety, and I’m good at Facebooking, plus I usually enjoy those things most of the time. I’m kind of good at blogging–of the top five most-viewed posts here at Reflections, four are mine (not including the Author page or the site’s homepage)–but I don’t like it. As of right now, it hasn’t made me any money that I can see, so it falls into the $1 work category. I think you can see where this is going.

I’m going to stop blogging. Over the next few weeks you won’t see me around here much anymore, and then eventually I’ll be gone, with perhaps an occasional guest appearance here and there. I just can’t justify the time I spend blogging anymore. I’ve already spent too much time on this one as it is to make it a decent post.

As such, I need to find a replacement. If you or anyone else is interested, comment on this post and the rest of the Reflections staff/administration will consider contacting you about it. Don’t get me wrong–I’ve benefited from this experience in ways that aren’t as tangible or measurable as money. I’ve made new friends and connections, I’ve learned to be more concise in my thoughts when blogging, and I’ve grown as a writer and as a person, but it’s time for me to move on.

This isn’t my last post here, but it’ll be one of the last. I’ll see you around, okay?

-Ben

Road Trip Fury

I am not a fan of road trips. Sorry to start this post with such a negative statement, but I really just don’t enjoy them at all. Of course, I’ve taken more road trips in the last few months than I have in a couple of years before that, and I’m due to go on a few more in the next several months.

The problem with road trips, as I see it, is twofold: there is a significant physical distance between me and the destination of the road trip; and I have to be in a small space for a long period of time, which is uncomfortable.

I prefer flying. It takes less time, the quarters aren’t quite as cramped (though they’re close) and it’s usually reasonable in cost if you plan far enough in advance or find a good deal through one of the airlines. Sure, there are hassles like going through security and not being able to bring fireworks with you, but those are things I’m willing to go along with if it means a shorter trip.

“But flights don’t fly everywhere,” you say.

True. I concede that. In some situations, I just have to bite the bullet and deal with the road trip. For example: we just went down to Beloit, WI to visit a client for an inventory on Monday and Tuesday this week. You can’t fly the hour and a half distance (driving) from Milwaukee unless you have a helicopter and/or a chartered plane, both of which would be waaaay more expensive. So, I had to suck it up and endure the road trip.

“That’s not a road trip!” you yell with fury. “It’s too short.”

Not as far as I’m concerned. Anything longer than an hour is a road trip in my book. At least it wasn’t an overnight thing.

Well, as I said, I’ve got more road trips coming up (more details on what those are in future posts) that are either writing-related, business-related, or both. I’m planning on driving at least one of them (a 2-hour trip to Illinois), but I might fly to another location in Indiana if it ends up being too far south (both writing-related). I have multiple business trips coming up as well, all of which I will be driving (or riding along as a passenger). All in all, I’m going to have to deal with them.

What’s your take on road trips? Does the destination or the reason for the trip matter as far as your attitude toward the trip is concerned?

-Ben

Splickety Magazine is Launched!

Hello all. Late last week we finalized our first issue of Splickety Magazine, your premier destination for high-quality, compelling flash fiction. You can check it out here:

http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/324163

Right now it’s on sale, too. Not only can you get the electronic copy for free, but you can also get 25% off the print version if you order it before February 14th–just in time for Valentine’s Day. It normally retails for $5.50, but it’s on sale right now for $4.30. Buy a copy for a friend, a family member, or a loved one. Don’t forget to get a copy for yourself, too. Get it while it’s on sale!

If you’re interested in subscribing (we’ll put the magazine out quarterly, or so) message me at splickety.wwc@gmail.com and I’ll get you connected with our main office to set up a subscription for you.

And, as always, if you’re interested in submitting to Splickety, you can find our submission guidelines at the link below:

http://inthefray1.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/splickety-magazine-submission-guidelines/

Thanks for your support, and I hope you enjoy Splickety.

-Ben

New Year’s Resolutions

Well, it’s that time of the year again–the beginning. By this time a lot of people have already made and forsaken their New Year’s Resolutions. As for me? I’m just getting started.

I learned this nifty trick from Randy Ingermanson, a titan of fiction writing and teaching, and an all-around nice guy, too. It’s not so much a trick as it is a strategy to make sure you’re on task with your New Year’s Resolutions, especially if you’re a writer: create a writing business plan.

Randy talked about this in one of his past e-zines and I decided it would be a helpful tool for me. You can visit his website (just click on his name above) to search for the actual article yourself if you want all the details he included, or you can just read my summarized version in this post.

My business plan includes some key elements that you may want to put into yours. What follows is a list of what those are and a short description for each one.

Introduction: I used this section to articulate my major career goals as a writer. I listed five of them, the last of which is “To fully financially sustain myself and my family through writing-related revenues.”

Section 1 — Significant Achievements of 2010: This one is self-explanatory. I have yet to update it to 2011, but you get the idea. In this section I detailed the novels I wrote, connections I made with agents,  publishers, and other authors, achievements for my writing (in 2010 I was an ACFW Genesis contest finalist), the conferences I attended, blogging, short story-writing, stuff I did to work on my brand, and other stuff too.

I also took the time to list out every book I plan to write in a table by title. I included details like genre, production status (where I was in the process of writing these books), and whether or not it’s part of an intended series.

Here's a list of everything I'm working on right now...some more than others, of course.

Section 2 — Business Details: I didn’t write much in this section as most of my business isn’t happening since there’s not a lot of money coming in or going out at this point. I anticipate that it will grow as time passes, as will the amount of money I bring in. In 2010, I made a few bucks from selling my first ever short story, and then I made a few more in 2011 from selling a couple more short stories.

You can also put the amount of money you spent on your writing career in this section, and perhaps some spending you anticipate for the upcoming year. It’s important to remember that the money you spend is an investment in your writing career (it should be helping you make progress in your writing–if it’s not, then don’t spend the money on it next year).

Section 3 — Major Projects to Complete: This is for the upcoming year, of course. These are practical, achievable steps you can take towards fulfilling the goals you might list in the introduction. For me, I said that by the end of 2011 I wanted to have three publishable novels ready to present to publishers (meaning they were written and edited). To date, I have three novels and one novella (it would have been four, but one of them ended up kind of short).

At the end of 2012 or the beginning of 2013 you can look back at these projects and assess  your progress on them and whether or not it’s a huge failure on your part that you didn’t accomplish or finish them. It’s also important to note that things like brand development and marketing projects can fall under this section too.

Section 4 — Continuing Education: In this spot I detailed the books on writing that I wanted to read and the ones that I read the previous year. I also mentioned critique groups/partners that I had and conferences I planned to attend in 2011. Then, of course, there were fiction books I wanted to read as well, so I started keeping track of those.

Section 5 — Conclusion: I wrapped the document up by making a statement of what I will look like by the end of 2011–it’s kind of another goal, if you think about it. I said I would be much closer to realizing my overall goal of becoming a published novelist in the action/adventure genre. I also promised to revisit it in 2012 and create an updated version.

I encourage all of my author friends to create something like this if they’re trying to make a career out of writing. It has really helped to focus my attention on what parts of my life and career I should be developing, and it provides a guide to follow for the course of the year. It provides self-accountability, which is huge when you’re a writer since it can be such a solitary endeavor. Will you be writing a business plan for your writing this year?

-Ben