Day 11...Is Anyone Out There?

Welcome to Day 11...

Just about mid-way through the week so it's a good day to check in...

Here's where I am so far...

		Wk of
		8/4/2014
	Writing	Status	Marketing	Status
1	Complete pool scene Elise & Marc		Write letter/email to bloggers requesting review	Draft in progress
2	Identify next scene	Done	Search & Identify 5 bloggers
3	Complete 2nd scene	Done	Send out blogger request
4			Find 10 celeb name & addresses	Identified 4
5			Fix print set up on stationary	Done
6			Send out 2 celeb comp books	Done - Sent out 4
7			Research Twitter connection
8			Research Hashtag options
9			Mon FB post	Done
10			Post Synchronicity blog	Done
11			Draft H/2 Edit blog post	Draft in progress
12			Post sales link to Amazon - Deadly Shadows

Still lots to do, but I'm happy with what I've finished so far and also what I've started. 

How about you?

I'm finding that writing out the goals for the week, publishing them here, and giving status updates along the way are keeping me moving.

It's hard being a one-woman show.  I wear lots of hats.   Writer, editor, cover designer, publicist, marketing director...  But everyday I'm committed to showing up...taking small steps...bringing consistent effort...

And sharing it all here.

There's something about stating to the world...or to a room full of people...or some amazing people who may be reading my blog (my page views have risen every day so yes, now I know you're all out there) the goals you're committed to achieving...

Suddenly you're accountable. (defined by Websters as required to be responsible for something.)

And it's like magic.  Those ideas that have been swirling in my head - the ones with no concrete shape - are formalized and then acted on.  That crazy thing called results start to appear.

Before I know it, another chapter is written...another blog is complete...more marketing ideas take shape...

It's only been a short time in, but I have to tell you  making that commitment is powerful.  And the 365 Days Blog, is keeping me on track.  And taking me closer to my goal.

Hope you're getting closer to yours.

Here's a happy thought...Friday is just hours away...but not before Today's Takeaway Lesson...

Commit to a goal...set up a plan and then find a way, big or small to tell the world about it.  Be accountable to it all and then be ready to watch the magic happen....

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie 

BTW...I'm adding something else to the blog...a way to track the journey.  See the countdown calendar below.

365 Days...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 100 101 102 102 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365

Day 10...Slow and Steady Wins the Race or...Finishes a Manuscript

Welcome to Day  10...


So sent out my comp books today and here's a peek at the note I added before they went out in the mail...

I also set up a file on google docs with columns outlining contacts & mailing address, which book I sent and on which day I sent it. My plan is to keep adding to the list and send out 2-3/week.

I also worked for about a half hour drafting a letter/email to bloggers to read/review my book.  Hope to have that done over the next two days along with identifying some great blogs to contact.

I wrote for about an hour this morning and added 364 words to a scene/chapter I thought I had already finished.  The operative word being thought.  As I explained in an earlier post, I write on a doc file I save as Chalkboard. It's filled with unpolished, unedited and unfinished scenes and while there is somewhat of an outline to it, I use it as my spring board every morning when I get up to write. 

The good thing about it is that there's always a place for me to begin.  Once I work through a scene or a chapter, I then cut and paste it into my working final draft.  When I started writing this morning, this particular scene just made sense in a chapter I had just finished the other day.  

That's a little bit about how I write.  It may not work for every one but it keeps me organized and keeps me moving.

Speaking of moving...

I'm wishing there was more time in the day...more time to write, more time to do marketing.

But as I keep reminding myself...Slow and Steady Wins the Race.

Which leads me to Today's Takeaway Lesson...

Word by word, scene by scene, chapter by chapter...keep moving...keep writing...you'll not only win the race, you'll have a finished manuscript to show for it.

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie 

Day 9...Build the Buzz...Expand the Reach...Sell More Books...

Welcome to Day 9...

Today I thought I'd unravel some of the code behind the marketing list I posted yesterday...

Starting with my marketing mantra...Build the Buzz...Expand the Reach...Sell More Books.

The way I see it, all my marketing efforts should center around those three ideas.  And if all this works correctly, (which I hope it will) Building the Buzz and Expanding the Reach should ultimately Sell More Books.

That's the game plan any way.

So part of to do's this week is sending comp books to well known media/celebrity folks.  I see that as a mix of Building the Buzz and Expanding the Reach.  I've been dancing around this idea for a while. 

Seems crazy right?  I was still not sure if I should do it and then I read an article just yesterday in the New York Post about two woman who started a beauty biz and sent Oprah a comp jar of some cream.  

What happened?  

Oprah not only loved it, she wrote about it on her website.  What happened next?  You guessed it...sales of the cream skyrocketed and this duo's beauty biz took off.

http://nypost.com/2014/08/03/in-the-beauty-biz-finding-success-takes-brains-and-brawn/

I took the article as a sign from above, so to start I decided on 4 media/celebrity folks...I goggled their mailing addresses through their shows or studios and I also scripted a note, and printed it on some nice stationary. (Love Paper Source http://www.papersource.com/ )

It's an easy marketing idea (honestly the toughest part was setting up my printer for my fancy stationery.)

Tomorrow, off they'll go in the mail.

Will the celebs actually see the book? Read it? Love it?  Truthfully I have no idea.

But you never know unless you try.  

So...I also got a small scene written and polished - yeah...

Started working on my email to bloggers...

And now I'm officially done for the day.  

Except of course for Today's Takeaway Lesson...

Sometimes your craziest ideas turn into your most profitable.  You'll never know unless you try.

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie 

Day 8...Let's Set Some Goals

Welcome to Day 8...

Here's my game plan for the week...I hope you've got yours.

		Wk of
		8/4/2014
	Writing		Marketing	Status
1	Complete pool scene Elise & Marc		Write letter/email to bloggers requesting review
2	Identify next scene		Search & Identify 5 bloggers
3	Complete 2nd scene		Send out blogger request
4			Find 10 celeb name & addresses
5			Fix print set up on stationary
6			Send out 2 celeb comp books
7			Research Twitter connection
8			Research Hashtag options
9			Mon FB post
10			Post Synchronicity blog
11			Draft H/2 Edit blog post
12			Post sales link to Amazon - Deadly Shadows

So let's get busy.

BTW...I'll explain more about my marketing to-do's tomorrow, oh and Today's Takeaway Lesson includes a quote from Babe Ruth...

"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up."  So this week strive to be the most determined person in the room...

Here's to Being All In,

 

Maggie 

Day 7...This 6 Letter Word is the Reason I Self-Publish

Welcome to Day 7...

One week out and still (at least for the moment) going strong.

Okay, so let's get to it...

Someone asked me the other day why I self publish...

The truth was, after months of querying my first book Deadly Shadows, I quickly realized the self publishing/e-publishing route was going to be my only option.

Here's my story...

When I finished  Deadly Shadows, I sent out a bunch of query letters to agents. I got some responses back saying they weren't interested and I also got some follow up requests to send chapters.  Some of those responses while favorable - they liked the characters, they liked my writing - all ended up being non-starters.  Some said to check in again in a few months...

Really?

The first round of querying  took months and I was still no closer to getting published.

That's when e-publishing entered my small world.

And the more I learned the more I liked...

• Between editing, cover design, release and print schedules, the traditional publishing process can take up to 18 months...I self-published three books in that time frame.
• Editors at publishing houses have significant input in content, editing and cover art of your story. As author, editor and publisher I get the final say.
• Traditional publishers keep 85% of net on print books.  85%.  With e-publishing your royalty is up to 70% and you get paid every month.  

Fast forward almost two years later, and I've just released my fourth self published book Now You See Me.

If I had any doubts that self publishing wasn't the way to go, I recently read a validating blog post http://janefriedman.com/2014/07/21/i-left-my-agent/ by Claire Cook, best selling author of Must Love Dogs.

In it she tells her story of how even best-selling authors are getting the proverbial shaft from the big publishing houses.  I read her account with a mix of curiosity and horror.  If that's the case now, what hope do us little guys with big dreams have?

Higher royalties...final say on cover and content...quicker turn around time to market... 

It all comes down to that 6 Letter Word for why I Self-Publish....

C-o-n-t-r-o-l

Keep in mind they say with reward comes great responsibility...more on that soon. 

So first week down...on Day One I posted some to do's for last week (I hope you did too) so let's revisit what got accomplished...

• Finish writing and polishing two scenes in my latest book Never Let Me Go. Done - Scene 1 - added 1604 words, scene 2 added 1067 words
• Complete an edit review of one of my previous books - Deadly Shadows    Done
• Brainstorm marketing ideas  Done
• Set up a weekly marketing schedule -  Done - I'll be taking some marketing To Do's straight from my marketing list watch for that tomorrow 
• Write and polish a new blog post for Synchronicity  TBD - will get to that next week

Let's plan to make a new list for tomorrow.

So for now...

Today's Take Away lesson...

Whenever you hit a dead, keep on the look out because there's always an alternate route in life...even in the publishing game. So if your queries are getting stuck in a slush pile - it might be time to move ahead on your own. Remember, you're in control...

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie 

Day 6...The Secret to Selling More Books...

Welcome to Day 6 and the Secret to Selling More Books...

Without a website or blog..."You'll never succeed as a writer" ...says Chuck Sambuchino http://thewritelife.com/without-this-youll-never-succeed-as-a-writer/

Build a platform on Twitter….says Dana Sitar http://thewritelife.com/why-writers-should-love-twitter-hint-its-not-just-about-selling-books/

Promote your book - get it in front of friends, bloggers, reviewers ….says Suw Charman-Anderson http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2012/06/19/book-promotion-for-self-publishers-a-waste-of-time/

Suw and Joanna Penn  http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/10/12/help-my-book-isnt-selling/  also have another bit of advice...

Write more books….

Here's what Joanna had to say...

The more books you have available, the more virtual shelf space you have, the easier it is for people to discover you. Plus if a reader finds one they like, they may buy them all so you make more per customer...I still believe you have to hustle those first thousand sales with everything you have, but my sales and income jumped when I released the second novel with very little fanfare because I already had an established presence on Amazon and they do a lot of marketing for you when you have multiple books, e.g. emails to people who bought your last one.

So who’s right?

Well, while there's a bit of truth in all of the above, my numbers tell a big story...

Book Sales 10/12-06/14

Above is a copy of a chart on my book sales that I recently did.  My biggest jump in sales seem to happen with the release of each of my books.

That huge spike early on was when I had a virtual back to back release.  First came Deadly Shadows and then One Step Closer was out just 3 months later.  The next spike happened with the release of Be Still My Breath.

And then things got quiet.

The good news is that Now You See Me was just released last month and the sales have started kicking in.

But I'm not taking any chances which is why I'm getting all in on my marketing and on writing my next book.  

More titles...more exposure...more sales...

So after a few days of working on some marketing with the blog and FB it's time to settle back in to writing Never Let Me Go.

Though I did do some FB postings this morning...

An update on the new blog 365 Days of Writing, Marketing & E- Publishing  

Plus...I put up a national weather map and added the following caption

Much of the east and much of the west will be hit with rain this weekend...but maybe it's sunny where you are...either way, why not curl up on the couch...or in a lounge chair by the pool with my new book

Then of course I added a link to Now You See Me

You can check it all out on the Maggie Collins FB page

That's all for now...except of course for Today's Take Away Lesson...

What's one of the secrets for selling more books?  Writing and publishing more books.  More titles...more shelf space...more exposure...So get busy and write on today.

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie 

Day 5...My Brain Made Me Do It...

Welcome to Day 5...

A half day of work today and a rainy afternoon in the Hudson Valley all added up to me being glued to my computer for past four hours.  

Even though it was the middle of the day I was totally in the zone.

It all started when I went out for a walk early this morning.  My subconscious brain is usually in high gear on my walks and when I came back I had a whole mental to - do list, starting with updating my website...

My website is just one of the tools I use to stay connected with readers.  It has an About tab with a short bio.  A tab for my other blog Synchronicity which links right to the blog.  A summary tab with all the books and the front page of my website displays all my current titles with descriptions, along with links to excerpts and links to buy.   

For the most part that's all "evergreen" info and I don't have to update it too often.

But my home page also has a new and noteworthy section where I can post what's happening in the world of Maggie Collins' Books.  So today I spent some time doing some housekeeping on the site and updates to include the recent release of my new book Now You See Me.  You can check it all out at http://www.maggiecollins.net/

I also added a new tab on the website for my other new project I ventured into this afternoon...

Setting up a separate blog for 365 Days of Writing, Marketing & E-Publishing.  

I still want to blog about romance novels...the writer's life...and how to get things done in the upcoming "How to" series.  So I'll keep doing that on Synchronicity

And giving 365 Days it's own home just made sense.

But it also means my brain is now buzzing with a whole slew of social media ideas on all this - twitter updates...hash tags...marketing tie ins.  Stay with me over the next few weeks as I flush all this out.

It's exhausting and exciting.  I'm beginning to envision what I can only call a Maggie Collins Marketing Compound.

Let me explain...

There are a lot of definitions related to the word compound...including a cluster of buildings all having a shared purpose.

My marketing compound isn't a cluster of buildings.  Instead it's a cluster of tools.  The facebook page...the blog...the weekly marketing efforts - Goodreads giveaways...KDP count down deals...postcards to independent book stores (just a few ideas off the infamous list I'm working on) - all sharing the purpose of fulfilling my marketing mantra...

Expand the Reach...Build the Buzz...Sell More Books.

So for today, the website got updated...365 Days has a brand new home...I made some more marketing notes (I hope to show you my buffed and polished list early next week)...now it's time for a glass of wine and some pizza.

But not before I share Today's Take Away Lesson...

My subconscious and I have a very good understanding...I do what it says because after almost fifty years on the planet I've come to learn it's always right.  Including when it comes to my writing. So I've learned it's a good idea to act on those fleeting marketing ideas...those unexpected answers on how to flush out a scene or a character and any other crazy idea that comes along.     

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie

(BTW...Stay tuned over the next few weeks...I'll have a lot more to say about how I use my subconscious to ensure I never...ever let get stuck with writer's block.)