I’m going to dub today “Marketing Monday.” Marketing is one of those things about writing that I hate most. I don’t like to talk about myself. I don’t like to be pushy. I don’t want to force people to buy my books. Fortunately, there are some ways to get my name out there where I don’t have to talk about myself, be pushy, or force feed people. One of those ways is through Twitter. Here are several tips you can start using today to help give you more productive tweets.

·         Don’t just tweet about your books. I try to post quotes from writers, re-tweet others, send out tweets about others, and also post book trailers just for something different.

·         Don’t always tweet the same things. Do you always post links to your books on Amazon? Instead, post a link to a sample chapter or a blog post.

·         Tweet seasonably. By this I mean use the seasons, weather, anything around you that could change things up in your personal tweets. Are the seasons a part of your book? In one of my books, lilacs are a big part of the story. Since spring and lilac season is coming up, I’m preparing appropriate tweets.

·         Tweet according to the holidays. Send out tweets that talk about Christmas, Easter Mother’s and Father’s Day, and tailor those tweets for your books. If you write for women, come up with tweets sending people to your book links, encouraging them to buy books for Mom. I am just beginning to promote my children’s books more since Easter is coming quickly. Books make great gifts for Easter baskets.

·         Tweet for other people. If you can find a group of like-minded authors to share tweets, it’s wonderful. One group in particular that I work with is Tweet Campaigns for Christian Books (https://www.facebook.com/groups/TweetChristianBookRelease/). It's free to use. Each week there is one particular author that is highlighted; however, there is a thread for everyone else to post a tweet for the week that people will schedule daily. When looking for a group of authors to work with, make sure you follow the rules of the group. Participate so that when your turn for promotion comes up, people will be happy to reciprocate. Make sure to work with authors in at least a similar genre. Their readership can become yours.

Tweets can increase your sales, but they can also increase the number of followers you have. These people are potential customers, after all, they chose to follow you and you didn’t even have to beg! In the long run, that's a good thing. Tweets can be very beneficial to you if you just know how to use them.

There are times when I’m writing that I wish I had no life besides my writing life. I am on such a roll that putting down the pen to fix dinner for my family is an interruption. Then there are the opposite sort of days.

The days I have nothing.

There may be no pesky interruptions. I may have peace and quiet and pen and paper, but absolutely no inspiration at all. I can read over the current theme lists in my pile. I may even have already jotted down some notes, but still no words come.

Those are the times I realize I need to just stop and walk away. I have to close the lid on my laptop, or put down the pen and go do something.

Getting out of the house gives me new ideas for writing. For example, one day I went waking with a couple of friends. Just from our conversation I got two ideas for kids’ stories. That afternoon, I went home and was immediately able to get busy putting down words.

The next time you feel a little less than inspired when it comes to your writing, get out of the house, interact with other people, go to the store and strike up a conversation with a stranger. Don’t be afraid to not write for a day or two. Clean out that closet you’ve been meaning to for five years. You never know, there may be an idea lurking in there.

In order to sell books, an author must get his name out there for the public to see. There are a plethora of ideas for ways you can do that. One of those ways is by guest blogging. By guest blogging, you can get your name in front of people who either have not yet heard of you or who would only hear of you through your guest posts.

If guest blogging is an option you want to look into, here are some tips for you.

-          Fine a blog that attracts reader in your genre. For example, if you’ve written a cookbook, look for blogs that focus on cooking. The blog brings in people that enjoy food and cooking, giving you a greater chance of extra sales.

-          Find a blog with an already established reader base. Stay away from blogs that only have a few followers. There may be nothing wrong with the blog, but it won’t help your sales much if the blog only has eight readers. If you really like the blog, bookmark the site, keep checking back, and guest post when the list of followers has grown. In the meantime comment on posts so the blog owner recognizes your name.

-          Leave links where people can find you. This will help you get new followers and potential buyers. Link to yourself wherever possible – Facebook, Twitter, your blog, website, Pinterest, etc.

-          Multitask. If the blog allows it, use reprints when appropriate. You can also repurpose old articles and posts by re-writing them, which takes less time than creating brand new work. You don’t want to spend so much time guest posting that you don’t do any of your other writing.

Using these few tips when guest posting might possible help you increase sales of your books, which is after all, why you write in the first place.

One of the parts of being a writer that I don’t like is marketing. Selling your books doesn’t have to make you a pushy person, but for those of us who don’t like to talk about ourselves at all, it’s absolutely miserable. But, we should also make the most of every opportunity, especially if extroverts pushed their way into our lives.

That’s what happens to me. Many (many) times when I go out in public, people feel the need to talk to me. Keep in mind, these are people I have never laid eyes on before and I have not initiated conversation with. I have not even made eye contact with them until they spoke to me. I must have a sign of my forehead that reads, “Please, please, please talk to me!” One time while at the grocery store I learned one woman’s life story when all I really wanted was a box of brownies.

Another time, and this was the time I realized I had been missing out on prime opportunities, a little girl chatted with me about all kinds of things while her mother was shopping for… wait for it… books.

As soon as I got out to my car I kicked myself for not taking advantage of a potential opportunity. What I should have done was ask what kinds of books the mom liked to read.

I learned my lesson. Now, I always have bookmarks, postcards, or business cards on me. The next time someone feels the need to speak to me, a random stranger, I plan to go with it. Maybe I can work what I do into the conversation. Maybe I can plug my books a little bit. Maybe I can make a sale if I happen to have books in my car just waiting for readers.

The moral of the story: Seize the moment. Don’t let an opportunity to talk to others about your books pass you by. Be prepared and be ready.

Social media can be a very powerful marketing tool, or it can be an annoyance to people you are trying to reach. There’s a fine line. I admit that I joined a lot of groups hoping to find all sorts of buyers for my books. I probably annoyed at least some people with my posts begging people to purchase all of my books right now.

But then, there came that one person that annoyed me. This author began clogging up all my feeds with advertisements for books. It didn’t seem to matter which form of social media I was using, she followed me everywhere.                            

Instead of getting angry and sending that author a “knock it off” message, I figured it was wiser to learn from him.

·         Spread out my posts. This is two-fold. I spread my posts not only throughout the day, but also throughout social media. I don’t make posts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. all on the same day. I’ve researched when is the best time to post on each site and use that information for my benefit.

·         Post varying links. I don’t like to post only about one book or even only about my books. I include links to both Amazon and Nook for my e-books. I use the link to my website for print copies. I post links to my two blogs as well. Changing things up will prevent potential customers from simply scrolling over the same link they know you’ve posted time and time again.

·         Post for others. I love it when someone retweets or shares one of my posts. I always return the favor, but I also do it for others just to be nice. (And hoping that they will reciprocate!) This goes back to mixing up the info and links you share.

·         Interact with people. You should never just post a link to your book and leave. Talk to people. Comment on their posts. Retweet, favorite, share, like their pages, etc. This is where you make friends out there in cyberspace who will later be willing to either buy your work or share with everyone they know and convince them to buy your work.

·         Be patient. Building up the following doesn’t happen overnight. You have to work at it.

I hope these tips help you with your social media campaigns. Remember the key as an author is to get your name and your titles out there in a positive light, not to annoy people so much that they delete you.

I recently had to edit a book that was poorly written. I mean, it was BAD. The problem wasn’t necessarily with the story itself; it was the words chosen to tell that story. This is not the first time I’ve come across this. Sometimes I think authors are trying to come off as sounding smart or funny, but all they really end up doing is sounding (you may want to skip over the next word) stupid.

Unless you’re working on a scholarly manifesto, use normal vocabulary. Don’t try to be someone you’re not when you write; readers can tell. Be yourself. And by all means, don’t use words incorrectly. The book I first mentioned used strange word after strange word. I had to look up their meanings, discovering he had use the word wrong. Word does have a dictionary/thesaurus that’s so easy to get to. Use it, and use it often.

When writing you want to use as few words as possible to get your point across. Make sure you choose those words wisely.

I am often asked about reviews for my books. Do they really help? In short the answer is yes, yes, yes! There are several ways reviews help an author.

1.       Shows that people have bought the book and read it.

2.       Shows credibility. It shows that there is some merit to your work and that you are actually working. Many authors have chosen to self-publish or work with a small, indie publisher. There are many reasons for that, but those authors need as much help as possible to get their book noticed.

3.       Help boost rankings. I noticed when someone posted a review of my book one day, my rankings on Amazon went up over 100,000 points. (Yes, many days I am at that level in the rankings, along with many other talented authors.) The higher an author's rankings, the more visible their book is. The more people that see that book, the more likely there are to be sales.

4.       Help potential buyers make a decision. Most reviews on Amazon are from honest people, simply wanting to give their honest opinion. Before I buy something I always read the reviews. Unfortunately, sometimes Christian fiction is a little sketchy. I don’t like swearing and sex in books I read. By looking through other people’s reviews, I can determine if it is a book I might enjoy or not. If there is sex in a book and other prudish people like me have already read it, they will be more than happy to let others know.

5.       Don’t limit your reviews to Amazon. Have readers post reviews wherever your book is sold. This reaches a wider expanse of customers.

If you are an author, don’t be afraid to ask your readers for reviews. I have found that most people don’t mind, but they often forget. Make it easy for them by posting a link directly to your book listing. A simple and general reminder isn't a bad thing. I often encourage people to post reviews of other authors' work as well, especially during free download periods.

Reviews have a purpose and they are extremely important to both the author and a prospective buyer.

We’ve all heard the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” That applies not only to the cover design but also to the title on the cover. This is the reader’s first impression.

Titles are something I don’t think I’m good at coming up with. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a short story, an article, or a book. I struggle to come up with something catchy that still matches the flavor of the book. There are times when I don’t “get” other people’s titles, at least right away. In fact, I just finished a book yesterday and about an hour after completing it, the title dawned on me and I suddenly “got” it. I won’t mention the title of the book because it almost gives away the plot. Then our family was watching a movie once, The Sixth Day. It was a movie I enjoyed watching, but at the end I remember asking, “What does the title have to do with the movie?” My daughter, who was about 13 at the time, just looked at me and said in that tone of voice that only teens have, “Mom, God created man on the sixth day.” The movie was about cloning, or creating life.

Oh.

But after these titles finally clicked in my slow brain, I was even more satisfied with the outcomes than I was before.

There was a book I read a while ago that when I was finished I was disappointed. The title really had nothing to do with the story. You don’t want to leave the reader questioning things at the end of the book. You want them to be satisfied with the whole package.

There are times I have just as much trouble connecting a title to my own work so that it entices other people to buy it or read it.

So how important is a title to your book? In short, very.

Titles catch people’s eyes. Is your title short and easy to read? Or is it long and tedious? Does it give a hint as to what your story is about? Or is it a little nebulous?

Once you choose the title, and if you have any say in your cover design, you need to make sure the title stands out and is an easy to read font. That doesn’t mean you can’t use something fancy, it just means you don’t want potential readers putting your book back on the shelf, or worse yet not even picking it up, because the title is too difficult to decipher.

The title gives the reader a first impression of not only your story but also of you as a writer. If your title is creative and catchy then the potential reader would assume that story is creative and will keep his attention. A reader unconsciously assumes that if the writer put a little effort into the title, he also put little effort into the writing of the story.

Don’t worry if you don’t have a title when you start writing your book. Maybe the title will come to you as you write. Sometimes getting the entire story down on paper helps us to organize our thoughts and maybe see things we didn’t see in the planning stages of our manuscript, allowing us to come up with an appropriate and amazing title.

Choosing a title for your book is important enough that you should spend considerable time thinking about it. Come up with several titles while you are in the process of writing the story, but choose it at the end.

Remember, the title is one of the first things people will see when shopping for books or what readers share with other potential readers when talking about your book. That makes choosing the title of your book very, very important.

Catch his attention. Peak his curiosity. And then reel him in.

The short answer…YES! I recently read a book where the punctuation was atrocious. There were several times I had to go back and re-read a sentence to figure out what the author was trying to say. I had to re-read all those sentences due to misplaced, or lack of, proper punctuation. Readers find this re-reading frustrating and may put down your book because of it. You don’t need to be an English teacher to know all the punctuation rules. It’s simply helpful to create a list of those rules and keep it handy for you to reference during your writing/editing process.

There are a lot of sites online where you can find charts of rules and also examples to help guide you. Homeschooling sites are great places to find all the rules for writing. They usually even have the rules all lined out for you on handy-dandy charts that you can download and save for free.

Follow this link to download several punctuation help charts http://www.lousywriter.com/free-visual-charts.php. This is just one of many sites.

I homeschool my children and when it came to teaching my son the importance of the comma, I used this little graphic I found online.



This may be silly, but it is truthful when it comes to our writing. Punctuation is very important and should not be overlooked thinking no one will notice or that it won’t make any difference to your story. It could make all the difference in the world.

If you are unsure of yourself and punctuation, find someone who can help you. Do you know an English teacher? Do you know a grammar Nazi that corrects everyone’s posts on Facebook? Do you know a fellow writer? Those are the people you want to ask for help if you need it.

Just don’t ignore your punctuation problems.

Have you ever felt like your writing was in a slump? Of course you have, if you’ve been writing for any length of time. I know I have more times than I can count.

What’s the cure?

I’m not sure there’s any perfect cure, but there is something that helps.

Stop writing.

“What?” you may be asking. “How can I write more by writing less?”

Often our writing gets in a slump because there is no new information coming into our brains. And sometimes you just need a break. Sometimes you need a change of scenery. Writing is a sedentary and lonely job. Get away from the house/office. If you work at home, seeing the same four walls all the time can kind of put a damper on your creativity and imagination. When you never see anything new, you won’t get new ideas.

Take a day trip somewhere: to a park or a lake, go shopping (but not in your town). People watch while you are out to get ideas for new characters.

You can take pen and paper with you, but don’t plan on doing a lot of writing. Plan on only taking notes. Take your camera if you wish to take pictures of new things and new places that could later provide scenery for your story.

Plan a vacation or even a long weekend to someplace new and different.

Listen to conversations people around you are having. Allow strangers to talk to you. For some reason, people feel the need to talk to me at the grocery store – and these are some strange people!

This is a conversation my friend overheard while she was at grocery store:

“Conversation between two late teen/20ish age girls. 
‘So, like, Christmas in July? Like, I don't have any money in, like, December. Like, where do we get a tree in July?!’ 
It continued...
‘Yeah, like, it's all sooo, like, confusing! A baby born in a stable. Like, not me! Why didn't they have, like, reservations?’

For just a moment, I thought we were on some hidden camera revival!

Can't make this stuff up, folks.”

There has to be a story or a character in that somewhere!

These things – new places, new people, new experiences – can give you new ideas. Every writer gets stagnant from time to time. Give yourself a little freedom to NOT write and suddenly you will have ideas to fill several notebooks.