When the marketing begins

cj Sez:   Other than the deep, time-constrained editing that happens, one of the hardest parts of the writing process comes when you’ve typed THE END on the last page of your manuscript and sent it off for publishing: the task of marketing your beautiful baby. Going “on the stump”* for sales will almost certainly include some public speaking.

(The 'toons are from Facebook.)

  For me, and a lot of other authors I know, the prospect of public speaking can be a bit scary. Our normal milieu as we create our stories is solitude in front of a computer or with pen pressed to paper. We’re watchers . . . we observe the behaviors of other people and take copious notes for future story/character ideas. Being the watch-ee takes us completely out of our comfort zones.

  Whether traditionally, indie-, or self-published, the task of marketing accrues to all authors. In today’s literary world, big-name publishing houses are requiring their equally big-name author-clients to help market their own brand and creations. (Anyone remember seeing James Patterson on TV in the last few months?) The ultimate goal of marketing is, of course, to garner attention for your work and increase sales.

  Like James Patterson, authors need to connect with their readers. Actually, they must connect with their readers. That means authors do readings at book clubs and libraries. They do book signings and media (TV/press/radio) interviews. All of those tasks require (gasp) public speaking.

   

 That’s where a formulaic “stump speech” can offer a degree of confidence.

   The first thing I did when my first novel, DEADLY STAR, was handed off to the publisher was to outline a flexible stump speech. I start with an anecdote. Then I give a brief bio, including why I use a pen name and how I chose it. I follow up with something about where the idea for the story came from, the research involved, the characters, and I read a couple of short excerpts. I flesh out my speech outline with a few comments below the bullet points then print it out in large, bold, double-spaced type and practice it. That helps me with timing the length of my presentation and makes me familiar enough with the flow that I don’t have keep my head down to read it word-by-word and line-by-line. I can wing most of it, ad lib a bit, and actually make occasional eye contact with someone. The more often I speak, the easier it becomes, so I’m looking forward to an upcoming presentation.

   Caveat for public speaking: It’s important to really know your work, because the Q&A will bring some surprising questions—always. 

  Other than participating in panels at conferences, I’ve never had to speak at an out-of-town gathering. But if that happened, I’d try to stop by the venue and get familiar with the layout. Another trick for newbie speakers is to attend someone else’s presentation if possible…that takes a lot of the mystery out of the event.

   A fellow Sisters-in-Crime/Guppy member came up with seven quick points for dealing with the scary thought of having to speak in public (and she’s so good at it, public speaking seems second nature to her):

1.      Research your audience

2.      Plan

3.      Practice

4.      Know your stuff!

5.      DON’T worry.

6.      Get big.

7.      Love it and embrace it.

  I’ll be including parts of my stump speech in my presentation on opening lines in the next few weeks. How are you doing with yours?

That’s all for now. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

cj

cjpetterson@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

Choosing Carter  -- Kindle  /  Nook  /  Kobo   /  iTunes/iBook

Deadly Star --  Kindle  / Nook  / Kobo

P.S.: Be sure to stop by Wednesday when mystery author Martha Crites discusses creating that all-important sense of place.   (* “Stump” is another word for “campaign” —like politicians do when they’re trolling for votes. Authors are trolling for sales.)

The Paradox



cj Sez:  I typed THE END on my manuscript, submitted it to a publisher, and was accepted. Yay. The novel is done! . . except I'm not done. And I want to talk about that paradox again, because it's not The End, really. Now comes the hard part: Marketing the beautiful baby.

Marketing is a job not just for the newly published who either self-published or managed to attract the attention of a publisher. More and more publishers, including the one who publishes James Patterson's novels, are asking how large your electronic footprint is because they expect you to help market your own creation. Are you on Facebook? Do you have a website? Do you Tweet? Linkedin? The answers to all of these questions, I believe, have come to play a significant part in a publisher’s acceptance of the manuscript.

The ultimate goal of marketing is, of course, to garner and increase sales. However, the other side of the coin is: Successful authors need to personally connect with their readers. Actually, they “must” connect with their readers. That means authors doing readings at book clubs and libraries, book signings, and, if we’re lucky, media interviews. All of those tasks require (gasp) public speaking.

For me, the prospect of public speaking is not all that comfortable … for some writers, it’s terrifying. A writer’s normal milieu is quiet and solitude in front of a computer or with pen pressed to paper. We’re watchers . . . we observe the behaviors of other people and take copious notes for future story/character ideas. Being the watch-ee takes me totally out of my comfort zone.

That’s where a pre-planned (or “canned,” if you prefer) stump speech comes into play. It’s a great tool to reinstate some degree of confidence. Authors on the stump for sales and readers need to spend time developing a speech that can be easily modified for their diverse audiences. What follows are a few processes I use to calm my racing heart when I’m about to go on display in front of strangers.

I wrote a flexible stump speech when Deadly Star launched. I’ll modify that for my new romantic suspense (Big Reveal Here), Choosing Carter, when it’s launched in the next few months.

Here's a synopsis of what I learned in a writer’s speech class: Start with an anecdote geared to that audience…try for something that involves finding myself in an awkward situation. Go into a brief bio, including why I use a pen name and how I chose it. Follow up with something about how the story developed, the characters, and read two or three excerpts. 

I print out my speech in large, bold, double-spaced type and practice reading it. That helps me with timing the length of my presentation and makes me familiar enough with the script that I don’t have keep my head down to read it word-by-word and line-by-line. I can wing some of it, ad lib a bit, and hopefully make occasional eye contact with someone. Caveat for public speaking: It’s important to really know your story and your characters, because the Q&A will turn up some surprising questions.

The other thing I can do to get more comfortable is to stop by the bookstore or library where I’m going to speak and get familiar with the space. Another trick is to attend someone else’s reading…that takes a lot of the mystery out of the event.

I’m working on revising my stump speech for Choosing Carter, but of course, public speaking is subject to nerves sending me off script. How are you doing with yours?

That’s all for now. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.
 



cj

https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

DEADLY STAR (Publisher: Crimson Romance)  

    http://bit.ly/19QDQq3   (B&N.com)
    http://amzn.to/1LRRwC9  (Amazon.com)

PS: Writers live and writhe on reviews, but this note from a friended author came across my Facebook page today. The moral is: We want them, solicit them, need them, but take your reviews with a grain of salt: 

“You have officially arrived when someone makes a Goodreads account JUST to one-star your book that isn't even out yet. Ha! Do watch for the trolls, ladies. They are everywhere.”

Stump* Speech

   Whew, you think. The novel is done. You just typed THE END . . . except you're not done. It's not The End, really. Now comes the hard part for many if not most writers: Marketing your beautiful baby. And that’s a job not just for the newly published who either self-published or managed to attract the attention of a publisher. More and more big-name publishers are requiring their big-name author-clients to market their own creations. (Anyone remember seeing James Patterson on TV in the last few months?) The ultimate goal of marketing is, of course, to garner and increase sales. However, the other side of the coin is: Successful authors need to connect with their readers. Actually, they must connect with their readers. That means authors doing readings at book clubs and libraries, book signings, and, if we’re lucky, media interviews. All of those tasks require (gasp) public speaking.

   For me, and a lot of other writers I know, the prospect of public speaking is terrifying. Our normal milieu as we create our stories is quiet and solitude in front of a computer or with pen pressed to paper. We’re watchers . . . we observe the behaviors of other people and take copious notes for future story/character ideas. Being the watch-ee takes us totally out of our comfort zones.

   That’s where a “stump speech” can come into play to reinstate some degree of confidence. Authors who are on the stump for sales need to spend time developing a speech that can be easily modified for their diverse audiences. What follows are a few processes I use to calm my racing heart when I’m about to go on display in front of strangers.

   The first thing I did for DEADLY STAR was to write a flexible stump speech. When I'm asked to speak, I start with an anecdote geared to that audience…I try for something that involves finding myself in an awkward situation. Then I go into a brief bio, including why I use a pen name and how I chose it. Then I follow up with something about how the story developed, the characters, and I read two or three excerpts. I print out my speech in large, bold, double-spaced type and practice reading it. That helps me with timing the length of my presentation and makes me familiar enough with the script that I don’t have keep my head down to read it word-by-word and line-by-line. I can wing most of it, ad lib a bit, and actually make occasional eye contact with someone. Caveat for public speaking: It’s important to really know your story, because the Q&A will turn up some surprising questions.

   If I can, I stop by the bookstore or library where I’m going to speak and get familiar with the space. I tend to tremble a lot when I have step up to a microphone in an unfamiliar place in front of people I don’t know. Another trick is to attend someone else’s reading, often if possible…that takes a lot of the mystery out of the event.

   These concepts for easy public speaking look over-simplified, but they're really not. A fellow Sisters-in-Crime member came up with seven quick points for dealing with the scary thought of having to speak in public (and she’s very good at it):

1.      Research your audience

2.      Plan

3.      Practice

4.      Know your stuff!

5.      DON’T worry.

6.      Get big.

7.      Love it and embrace it.

I’ve got my stump speech down and am confident I can adjust it as necessary. How are you doing with yours?

That’s all for now. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

Cj

P.S.: The artwork is off of my Facebook page, and I think I need to incorporate it into my stump speech.

(* “Stump” is another word for “campaign” – like politicians do when they’re trolling for votes.)