Category: People

Not Sure If Email Blasts Actually Work

11/2/2013

I'd say be very careful with this one.
Of course, I want exposure for my books and for my business, but I'm leery about email blasts. Impersonal and annoying. I know it's a fairly popular form of marketing, but if it bothers me, I'm sure it bothers other people. There's got to be a better way to get people to support you.
I think about how annoyed I get when my friends (who NEVER or almost never) communicate with me otherwise, tend to forward, forward and FORWARD all those random emails from to me and everyone else in their address books. There's no personal touch, and something about that is cold, stale, and insincere. And annoying.
I love my friends, but I hate those emails. I think it's kind of the same thing with trying to email blast people about my books and business. I think a lot of people feel the same way. There's got to be something else that can be done to make people feel connected and not just collected. *Thinking*

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One Step Closer to Publication of New Release

6/21/2013

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Finally sent the completed proposed publishing agreements to the remaining contributors of the Up from Here project.
I'm looking forward to turning out a great piece of work for a great cause, and I'm trying hard to stay motivated through the whole process. It's nice to be one step closer.
I know quite a few people who run their own publishing companies, so many others who publish their own books. Some, I admire. Others, not so much. I just want to get this right. I have to admit that I get discouraged seeing how some people make it look so easy and so fast.
This project has been turning and churning in my head since 2009. It was already like pulling teeth to get people to contribute, especially considering all of the very talented people I know who would have been great to have on board, and along the way, some who initially agreed to participate have bowed out. Understandably so, since it's taking so long to get it off the ground, but still. I wish I would know more sooner so I could do more faster. *Sigh* Some contributors have stayed on board, but I can't help but wonder how long they'll stick with it. I hope, I hope, I hope!
Geez. It really is a labor of love. So much time, energy and money invested in getting this right. And then, more time. And then, publicity! God, help me.
But yeah. It's still nice to be one step closer. I hope that readers will find it all worth the wait. *Shoulder to the wheel.*

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The Inspiration Next Door

6/17/2012

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My next door neighbor has nice legs, and a great smile. We've spoken and chatted in passing, only a few times in the last several months. Once, when the UPS guy left a package for him at my apartment. Another time, when his kids peeked out the door while I was putting up Christmas lights. And tonight, as I was setting some things outside for Freecycle pick up, when he came home with his kids from a barbeque and baseball game. He smiled, said a few words about it being his weekend to have the kids, (it is Father's Day, after all), and chatted about his upcoming travel out of town. Then, we said our good nights and closed the doors.

Okay, so I know that there's about a snowball's no chance that he's interested in me, but I can see a story coming out of this. Maybe even a hot, steamy, love story. Of course, it doesn't help that I'm horny. But damn, he's cute!

You just never know where your inspiration to write will come from. But it's usually when (and from where) you least expect it.

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Write to Live

5/5/2012

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Every day of life presents us with an opportunity to create something meaningful. Sometimes, it will be pretty, even beautiful. Other times, it will be ugly, disgusting, or perhaps just really awkward. But being a writer means not only having the gift or the inclination to string together words on a page or screen. It also means having the courage to reveal what is not the easiest or most pleasurable to look at.
Some of our best writing ever will come from painful and completely unpretentious places. In the "darkest hour" moments, it is what lights us up. It is what sheds light on the darkness of others. It is what it means to live.

PREVIOUS POST: Bad Reviews Can Be Good for You

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How to Lose a Customer in 10 Seconds or Less

2/15/2012

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I'm so freakin' annoyed.

I just saw some of the cutest jewelry in a Facebook album posted by a young lady in one of my groups there, and when I asked for the link (in the comments) to where to find it a buy it, she told me to inbox her my order because she still doesn't have a website. That should have been enough for me to just forget it, but I know what it's like to be an upstart, so I gave her an extra couple of minutes onto that initial 10 seconds.

I wrote back to her that some of the pictures didn't have item numbers or prices listed, and so I had no idea how to describe my order, and she went on to tell me that she had no idea that the items would get such a great response, and that she would post prices by this weekend on the photos.

This weekend? Really? That's 2 days away. Why weren't you expecting a great response? Why weren't you prepared? Am I supposed to wait that long just because the stuff is cute? That is a completely rhetorical question.

All of which brings me to a no-brainer that all business people, especially independently-published writers, should know. Whatever you're selling, make it as easy as possible for someone to spend their money on you.

As if the buying public weren't already impulsive and impatient enough, the world of e-commerce has made it too easy for potential customers to quickly lose interest or become distracted with other options. And with the thousands upon thousands of books out there available at only a click away, why put yourself at an additional disadvantage?

If you're inviting someone to buy your book (or other product or service), they shouldn't have to work to find it. Get a website for crying out loud. They're free! And if you provide a link, make sure it works. If I can't get to your stuff within one or two clicks after clicking that link, then you've probably lost a sale. Do better.

Either you're ready to sell, or you're not. If you're ready, be ready. If you're not, don't make excuses about it, and then expect people to wait until you've got your shit together.

PREVIOUS POST: Socially Inept Writers, Artists and Other People

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Socially Inept Writers, Artists, and Other People

2/6/2012

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I guess I just don't understand the creepy weirdness of some people. Some creepy weirdness, I get. I am, after all, an artist.

I tell myself that perhaps a few generations ago, it might have been the "in" thing to be a complete social recluse of a writer. It made the authors mysterious, and by extension, some kind of cool. I suppose.

In the days of writers and artists like Poe, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Harper Lee, as well as others, composers, painters, musicians, etc., who were so hard to get to, but so easy to "get," I guess people probably expected it. Maybe it even added some validation to their talent. I guess.

But now, we are in the age where being socially inept is not a good look, for people in general, but especially for those who have to rely on themselves to publicize, promote and market their own work.

Setting aside my own loathing of texting, et. al (electronic/non-human exchanges as preferred mediums of communication), I still feel confused, even grieved a bit for the seemingly dying art of communication. There is something fundamentally sound in developing social skills that require actual talking, listening, and face-to-face human engagement. Social networking was introduced to enhance and complement effective communication, not to replace it.

The speed and the convenience are one thing, but if you can only comfortably interact with other people in text messages, emails, or instant messages, then you're socially impotent. Your so-called comfort zone is threatening to strangle the life out of your relationships. Of course, there's nothing wrong with being adept at the latest modern technology, but there's something missing if you prefer all of that over personal contact. Least of all, your communication skills are lacking. Not enough attention as a child, maybe. Too much attention as a child, maybe. Who knows? But something is missing.

That especially goes for the obsessive video gamer types. In fact, they kind of creep me out. When video gaming crosses the line from casual recreation to necessary activity, it's obsessive. And creepy. Here is where all the addicts would say, "I can stop anytime I want," feel insulted, and proceed to hurl insults in the comments section. I digress.

But as I think about it, people probably thought that some of those writers and artists above were a bit creepy, too. You know, the socially awkward, nerdy types. And I suppose that was okay with everyone back then, since those folks had a lot of good writing, composing, music and artistry to do their socializing for them.

I suppose if one is a writer who creates and delivers on that level, then reclusive, socially awkward behavior is acceptable. But self-flattery aside, what of those of us who are not on that level? What if you're not even a writer or artist, but just someone who's weird for no reason?

PREVIOUS POST: Suiting Up is Never Enough

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Writers Should Know This is a no frills, learning-as-I-go blog for new writers seeking insight on the writing and publishing journey, and for any readers who may be interested in what we do to get written, published and read.

Not Sure If Email Blasts Actually Work

One Step Closer to Publication of New Release

The Inspiration Next Door

Write to Live

How to Lose a Customer in 10 Seconds or Less

Socially Inept Writers, Artists, and Other People

Writer Stuff

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