365 Days of Writing, Marketing & E-Publishing

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Day 25...A Check In & the Art of the Tweak...

Welcome to Day 22...

Happy Thursday. Let's check in...

My tactic this week was to focus more on writing. As usual I go big on my goals - maybe too big. I think somehow there are more than twenty four hours in a day and that I really don't need time to eat or sleep...

That said, I was hoping to have one of the scenes completed by today, but even though that's not the case...I'll keep moving forward...think big but small steps...everyday.

As I said on Monday...my plan is still to put on my running shoes and sprint through it all. (figuratively of course )

Hope you're slaying some of your goals this week. Cross them off...mark them as DONE and then do something to celebrate...

	Wk of
	8/18/2014
	Writing	Status	Marketing	Status

1	Complete Scene - Marc losing the fed's tail	In-Progress	~~Mon - Inspirational FB post~~	DONE
2	~~Draft Scene - Elise weighing next steps~~	DONE	~~Send out 4 comp books~~	DONE
3	Complete Scene - Elise weighing next steps	In-Progress	Build Comp Book List - Search & Identify 5 names/addresses to receive comp books
4	~~Draft Scene - Marc & Elise discuss meeting up to find Donnie & Angie~~	DONE	~~Send out 5 blogger review requests~~	DONE
5			~~Search & Identify 5 more bloggers~~	DONE
6			~~FB - Do Paid Post for Help My Book Cover~~	DONE
7			Finish H/2 blog
8			Post sales link to Amazon - Be Still My Breath
9			Organize blog post ideas
10			~~Organize Marketing Ideas~~	DONE

So this week I had another comp book returned unopened...

Part of the problem is that the recipients don't really know what's in the package - a package which just so happens to be from a stranger.

So it's time to tweak the process...

What I did was create these labels to put on the outside mailer.

Another Sizzling Romance From Author Maggie Collins…

If at first you don't succeed...figure out what went wrong and then figure out a better way to get it done.

BTW...My contest for designing my next book cover is still open...Go to Synchronicity or http://www.maggiecollins.net/ now to vote for the best cover picture!

And as far as Today's Takeaway Lesson...it's a quote from Albert Einstein.

“Problems can not be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.”

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie

Follow me on Twitter @AuthorMaggie #busywriterslife

Visit my website @ www.maggiecollins.net

Like me on Facebook Maggie Collins

365 Days & Counting...

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

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Day 24...Three Things That Drive Success & A Back to School Lesson...

Welcome to Day 24...

Not sure where the summer went, but it's that time of year again...

Back to school.

And speaking of back to school...I recently read an article by author & business strategist, Jeff Beals. In it he shares the 3 words that can make or break a student's success when they go away to college.

And as Jeff points out, "the keys to college success are quite similar to those of the professional world..."

As far as I'm concerned these 3 words could also make or break your writing career.

Here they are...

1. Responsibility - you must take on total responsibility for your own life. If you miss handing in paper or miss a deadline, it's your fault and your's alone - even if there are outside forces in play.

2. Authority - You and you alone have power over your own life. Spending an extra hour watching TV, on Facebook or sleeping in? That's your choice. So is deciding to spend that hour studying, or writing or marketing. You have the power to decide. Choose wisely.

3. Accountable - As far as all those choices go...you must own the consequences, if they're good or if they're not so good, they are the direct result of your decisions and your actions.

Beals also goes on to explain that the most successful people in the room are the one's that take initiative to make things happen. It's about "living active, not passive lives".

You simply can't sit around waiting for things...great things...to happen in your life. And it really doesn't matter if you're a student, in business or if you're a writer...

The key is taking steps and moving forward. Everyday.

BTW...Before the school year starts, I'm forwarding the article to my kids...if you're interested in reading or forwarding, here's the link.
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140815154134-10765298-is-someone-you-love-going-to-college-their-success-depends-on-three-words?_mSplash=1

Just a reminder...My contest for designing my next book cover is still open...Go to Synchronicity or http://www.maggiecollins.net/ now to vote for the best cover picture!

And don't forget today's Take Away Lesson...it comes from Beals, I just took some artistic liberties...

"Like so many things in life, writing requires that you throw your whole self into the experience. Make it your passion. Be a writer with all your heart. There are some things in life that you can do half-heartedly. Writing is not one of them. You need to give it your all and be fully committed."

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie

Follow me on Twitter @AuthorMaggie #busywriterslife

Visit my website @ www.maggiecollins.net

Like me on Facebook Maggie Collins

365 Days & Counting...

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Day 23...Why Small & Slow Could Bring Greater Success...

Welcome to Day 23...

Bigger...Better...More...Faster...

These days the world tells us to go big or to go home.

But what if you can't go big? What if you don't have the time or the moxy? Can you still succeed?

Well the lesson from from the tortoise says you can win the race by going slow and steady. And as far as small?

Well best selling author Eckhart Tolle says small matters, in fact it's the basis for something great...

In his book A New Earth, spiritual author Eckhart Tolle reminds us that the foundation for greatness is "honoring the small things of the present moment."

And here's what he said in an interview with Oprah about writing his own book... "There's not some idea I'm going to create a work that's going to change everybody's consciousness," he says. "No. I'm just true to this moment, what this moment requires. It's a blank sheet of paper and a pen and a stillness. It's a small thing."

His words validate my days...

The truth is, I'd love to be able to spend 6 or even 8 hours dedicated to my writing. But my life is just not built that way right now. I have a full time day job and a busy home life, so I find moments, small moments, pockets of time when I can write and market.

If I didn't honor the value of these small moments I wouldn't have written and published four books already. Or be well in completing my fifth.

So if you want to win, want to create something great...begin with settling into the idea of small. Small moments...small steps...small achievements...it can all add up to something great.

Today's Takeaway Lesson? Also from Tolle...

"It's all a sequence of very small moments...and by being true to the small moment, something great arises."

Just a reminder...My contest for designing my next book cover is still open...Go to Synchronicity or http://www.maggiecollins.net/ now to vote for the best cover picture!

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie

Follow me on Twitter @AuthorMaggie #busywriterslife

Visit my website @ www.maggiecollins.net

Like me on Facebook Maggie Collins

Watch Eckhart Tolle's clips here...http://www.oprah.com/own-a-new-earth/Eckhart-Tolle-on-the-Small-Steps-That-Lead-to-Greatness-Video

And more on him here...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/16/eckhart-tolle-a-new-earth_n_5339783.html

365 Days & Counting...

Monday, August 18, 2014

Day 22... Week 3...More Goals to Slay...

Welcome to Day 22...

Happy Monday...Time to Plan...To Execute...To Move Forward...

My tactic this week is to focus more on writing. I'm closing in fast on some pivotal scenes in Never Let Me Go and my plan is to put on my running shoes and sprint through it all. (figuratively of course )

Anyway, set up some big writing and marketing plans for the week. Write them down...put them on your daily to-do list and let's start slaying some goals!

	Wk of
	8/18/2014
	Writing	Status	Marketing	Status

1	Complete Scene - Marc losing the fed's tail		Mon - Inspirational FB post
2	Draft Scene - Elise weighing next steps		Send out 4 comp books
3	Draft Scene - Elise weighing next steps		Build Comp Book List - Search & Identify 5 names/addresses to receive comp books
4	Draft Scene - Marc & Elise discuss meeting up to find Donnie & Angie		Send out 5 blogger review requests
5			Search & Identify 5 more bloggers
6			FB - Do Paid Post for Help My Book Cover
7			Finish H/2 blog
8			Post sales link to Amazon - Be Still My Breath
9			Organize blog post ideas
10			Organize Marketing Ideas

BTW...My contest for designing my next book cover is still open...Go to Synchronicity or http://www.maggiecollins.net/ now to vote for the best cover picture!

And as far as Today's Takeaway Lesson...it's a quote from author Steven Pressfield...

“If you and I want to do great stuff, we can’t let ourselves work small.”

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie

Follow me on Twitter @AuthorMaggie #busywriterslife

Visit my website @ www.maggiecollins.net

Like me on Facebook Maggie Collins

365 Days & Counting...

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Day 21...Time to Recap & Get Organized...

Welcome to Day 21...

So here's how the week ended up...

		Wk of
		8/11/2014
	Writing		Marketing	Status

1	Complete pool scene Elise & Marc	Done	~~Mon - Inspirational FB pos~~t	Done
2	Draft scene - cabana Elise and Marc discuss working together	Done	~~Write letter/email to bloggers requesting review~~	IDone
3	Complete cabana scene	Done	~~Search & Identify 5 bloggers~~	Done - I actually found 10
4	Draft scene - Marc losing the fed's tail	In-progress	~~Send out blogger request~~	Done - Completed 3
5			~~Find 6 more celeb name & addresses~~	Done
6			Send out 2 celeb comp books
7			~~Draft H/2 Edit blog post~~	Done
8			Finish H/2 blog and post to Synchronicity	I decided to "table" this one for the time being. I want my "Help Me Design My Next Book Cover Blog to stay up for at least the next week.
9			~~Post sales link to Amazon - OSC~~	Done
10			Organize blog post ideas	In - progress
11			~~Brainstorm book cover ideas - Never Let Me Go~~	Done
12			Organize Marketing Ideas	In - progress

Made some good progress this week, and I wanted to take some time to explain about organizing my blog and marketing notes...

I have ideas...lots of ideas, sometimes great ideas. Only here's what not-so-great about all these great ideas - how ridiculously unorganized they are.

I have notes on post its - lots of post its- and I'll put those collection of post its on a notebook sheet...and that sheet is in a pile filled with other note book sheets (also covered with post its). Also in that pile are articles that are teared out of newspapers and magazines...

You get the picture.

So as part of amping up my writing and marketing efforts, I'm committed to get all those notes set up on some Google docs that I can easily update and access all.

I'll be able to save links to publications, other blogs and write notes - all in one place. What's better than having all these great ideas right at my fingertips?

That's all for now...tomorrow begins another day & another week...filled with more opportunities to write and publish and get organized...

Which leads me to Today's Takeaway Lesson - straight from the man who did it all...writer, inventor, signer of the Declaration of Independence...

BTW...My contest for designing my next book cover is still open...Go to Synchronicity or http://www.maggiecollins.net/ now to vote for the best cover picture!

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie

Follow me on Twitter @AuthorMaggie #busywriterslife

Visit my website @ www.maggiecollins.net

Like me on Facebook Maggie Collins

365 Days & Counting...

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Day 20...A Very Good Day...

Welcome to Day 20...

Hope you're having a great Saturday. Sunny, beautiful and a bit September-like here in the Northeast...

Sometimes things just work...they just click...and you find yourself in a perfect zone.

Where the ideas flow and the writing comes easy.

I hope you've had a good couple of zone hours writing and marketing.

For me it's been a very good day...

I added more celeb/media types to my contact list. I had the idea to branch out to radio personalities. I googled top stations in the NYC markets and got the name and addresses for some of the top female DJs. The way I see it, these folks that have the ear of thousands, tens of thousands. I'll be looking to slowly expand the list over the next year. State by state...top market by top market...top radio station by top radio station.

I didn't get to the post office before it closed today so I'll send out 4 comp books on Monday. And once again I ask myself...will they read the books, love them, talk about? I still don't know. But I'm all in on trying. (stay tuned, you'll read more on that a few paragraphs from now...)

And yes I finally finished my request for a review letter to bloggers. Big yeah! I took a bit more extra time in putting the query together. I know the reviewers get a ton of requests so I wanted my email request to be personal and somehow resonate. Here's hoping.

I sent out 3 emails today which believe it or not took me over an hour. That's because I realized it's good to take some extra time to review their blog site first. Maybe the added effort will mean some positive responses back. I'll keep you posted. My plan is to keep researching and adding to the list and then target sending out 1-2 a day.

For more book reviewer contacts, today I also circled back to Amazon's Top Reviewers list to capture more names to query to.

If you want to learn more about getting your book reviewed by these folks, here's an informative link Get Your Book Reviewed on Amazon and Boost Your Sales to get you started.

And here's Amazon's Top Customer Reviewers List.

Today being Saturday, I also headed to the food store to make sure we'd be eating for the week...stopped in to the club store BJs to pick up drinks and snacks for my youngest son's high school football kick-off BBQ tomorrow...

Finally I sat outside in the sun on deck where I wrote and read...then wrote and read some more...Bliss

And before I forget...Speaking of comp books I wrote about earlier in this post, one of them I sent out last week came back with the packaged marked "Refused".

Oh well...it's all good. In fact if that's the worst thing that happens to me today, it's still a Very Good Day.

Which reminds me of a quote from Billie Jean King. A quote so good I thought we should make it Today's Takeaway Lesson...

Champions Keep Playing Until They Get It Right...So Let's Keep Playing!

BTW...Don't forget... I need some help designing my next book cover...Go to Synchronicity or http://www.maggiecollins.net/ now to vote for the best cover picture!

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie

Follow me on Twitter @AuthorMaggie #busywriterslife

Visit my website @ www.maggiecollins.net

Like me on Facebook Maggie Collins

365 Days & Counting...
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

Friday, August 15, 2014

Day 19...This 3 Letter Word Could Make or Break You...

Welcome to Day 19...

Honestly, just three little letters. How could something so small, be so terrifying to me?

So what's the word?

It's ASK. A simple word that Webster's defines as... to tell someone in the form of a question that you want to be given something or that you want something to happen : to request something.

You're probably wondering...what's the big deal?

The truth is I have no skill set in asking for things. I'm not entirely sure of the disconnect but part of me believes it's has to do with how I was raised. My grandparents were immigrants from Ireland and growing up we were taught to work hard...stand on our own two feet and forge our own way.

We didn't really ask for things. We were taught to figure it out and move on. And while I think that has served me well in someways. In other ways it put me at a big disadvantage.

It sounds odd, but I don't have a good skill set in asking for favors or for help.

But here's the problem...In the world of Maggie Collins Inc...I head up the marketing department and I also happen to be my own publicist as well.

So there is no way around it. None of my goals about increasing my books sales are going to work unless I get comfortable with asking for opportunities. Opportunities to get my books out there.

The way I see it, I have no choice but to get comfortable with this word and start acting on it often.

So there it is. Now the big question. What am I going to do about it?

I am going to ASK.

Baby steps to start. Bigger Steps along the way.

And I started today, by asking a few good friends who told me they had loved my books to please rate them on Amazon and Goodreads.

Stay tuned because over the next few weeks I'm going to ASK more and ASK for bigger things

It's all part of my marketing strategy...Build the Buzz...Expand the Reach...Sell More Books. Part of that strategy includes what I consider some Guerrilla Marketing tactics...really putting myself out there.

Like asking bookstores for the opportunity to do set up a book signing...or asking libraries to do a book reading...or sending out media kits to local radio stations and newspapers and then asking to set up an interview...you get the picture.

So how are you're ASKing skills?

If you're like me and need a brush-up, I found these tips from best selling author Ramit Sethia...(it's from a blog post How to Ask for Something From an Important Person (and actually get it)...

When asking keep in mind to:

Be brief. VIPs are busy and do not want to read your tortured expository essay on your life history, food allergies, and the mole on your back
Focus on what’s in it for THEM. Benefit-driven, focused on benefit to THEM (“putting the full IWT muscle behind it”)
Offer a clear CTA (call to action). You wouldn’t believe how many people end their emails to me with “Yeah, so…wow, I wrote more than I thought” DELETE
Anticipate every objection and counter it before they can consciously voice it. Who’s going to be in this? Oh, here are past people I worked with. I don’t have any ideas. Oh, let’s get on a call and I’ll help you come up with some. Etc.

So here's Today's Takeaway Lesson...

Promoting your book is all about Building the Buzz and Expanding the Reach...don't be afraid to put you and your novel out there by asking big and asking often.

BTW...Don't forget... I need some help designing my next book cover...Go to Synchronicity or http://www.maggiecollins.net/ now to vote for the best cover picture!

And if you want to read more of Ramit Sethia's post, go here: http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/how-to-ask-for-something-from-an-important-person-and-actually-get-it/

Here's to Being All In,

Maggie

Follow me on Twitter @AuthorMaggie #busywriterslife

Visit my website @ www.maggiecollins.net

Like me on Facebook Maggie Collins

My Books

Thursday, August 21, 2014

“Problems can not be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.”

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Monday, August 18, 2014

“If you and I want to do great stuff, we can’t let ourselves work small.”

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Friday, August 15, 2014