Mystery in the Midlands, co-sponsored by the Palmetto Chapter of SinC and the Southeast Chapter of Mystery Writers of America
Saturday, June 26, from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm ET with Dr. Kathy Reichs as featured guest.
$5 Registration Required.
SCHEDULE
10:00 am to 10:15 am EST Preparing for the Heat with a Warm Welcome
Dana Kaye (moderator), Paula Gail Benson (Eastern Representative of SEMWA) and Carla Damron (President of Palmetto Chapter SinC)
10:30 am to 11:15 am EST Scorching Short Stories
Dana Kaye (moderator), and Frankie Bailey, Michael Bracken, and Barb Goffman (panelists)
11:30 am to 12:15 pm EST Temperature’s Rising Keynote
Dr. Kathy Reichs interviewed by Debra H. Goldstein, President SEMWA
12:30 pm to 1:15pm EST Hot for Historicals (British mysteries by American authors)
Dana Kaye (moderator), and Laurie R. King, Lori Rader-Day, and Caroline Todd (panelists)
1:30 pm to 2:15 pm EST Searing Suspense
Dana Kaye (moderator), and Yasmin Angoe, Robert Dugoni, and Alex Segura (panelists)
2:30 pm to 2:45 pm EST Final Comments Before Cooling Off in the Pool
Dana Kaye (moderator), Debra Goldstein (President of SEMWA), and Carla Damron (President of Palmetto Chapter SinC)
Here’s the link to register that provides access to the live and recorded program:
0 0 Read moreDo you feel like you can never find the time to write? Have you been chipping away at the same manuscript forever without much progress? Do you need a system that can get you to typing “The End” with success and satisfaction? Wrangling a fickle muse to meet a deadline—or just to get rid of that looming blank page—is a life-skill for everyone who wants to get serious about their writing. Allie Pleiter, the bestselling author of over 40 books, shares the nuts and bolts of how to manage your muse. You’ll learn how to set goals and deadlines that reflect your personal writing style and speed–and smart ways to get faster when you need it. Join the thousands of other writers who have mastered the writing process using Pleiter’s popular Chunky Method. With a useful mix of the practical, the inspirational, and the nitty-gritty real life of it all, this workshop gives aspiring or working writers the tools they need to make the magic happen.
“Implementing the Chunky Method has charged my writing with confidence, quadrupled my productivity, organized my days, and enhanced my enjoyment of life. Allie is my hero!” — Linda H.
“I was overwhelmed, but now I feel fantastic” — Michelle S.
“Before The Chunky Method, I spent years worrying about how I was ever going to finish my novel, let alone a series of stories, with a busy schedule and a demanding day job. I feel far more confident now, and the method works – it’s my custom method, after all. I’ve already written far more than before the Chunky Method.” — M.V.
“I feel empowered. I feel much more in control of the process now. I feel good that I have a plan and schedule that work with me. I feel like I am going to achieve success, and in a timely manner instead of a scattered one. Thank you again for some of the most valuable, and applicable information I’ve received in over fourteen years of conferences and online classes.” — Becki
Award-winning bestselling author Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction working on as many as four books at a time. She teaches creative people how to be consistently, dependably productive while teaching high-performing professionals how to create the vital content today’s marketing requires. The author of over 40 published titles, Allie has spent a decade in the publishing profession with over 1.4 million books sold worldwide. In addition to her own writing career, Allie maintains an active writing productivity coaching practice and speaks regularly on faith, the creative process, women’s issues, and her very favorite topic—The Chunky Method of time management.
This is a 4-week online course that uses email and Groups.io. The class is open to anyone wishing to participate. The cost is $30.00 per person or, if you are a member of OCCRWA, $20.00 per person.To sign up or for more information, go to the class page at the OCC/RWA website: http://occrwa.org/classes/online-class-one/
Linda McLaughlin
OCC/RWA Online Class Coordinator
Last month, I spoke to you a little about podcasting. If you don’t know what it is, it’s sort of like a radio program with daily or weekly or some other number of episodes each month. It’s pre-recorded, not live, and although mostly the hosts know what they’re going to say, podcasts can have lots of unscripted parts – which can make listening more interesting and entertaining, or really boring, depending on the hosts and how the episodes are edited.
Topics can range from religious to business to crime to celebrity and more, but there is a ton of how-to and self-help. That’s where most of the writing and publishing podcasts come in.
My favorites are Joanna Penn’s The Creative Penn and Mark Dawson’s Self Publishing Formula. And of course, my own new WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast. Haha! 😉 People can listen on the website, or use their favorite podcast app on their phone. Most podcasts can be found on iTunes and Stitcher as well as other places. Listeners can hit the subscribe button and new episodes will be downloaded automatically.
Most of the ones I listen to have a short to medium-length introduction that might include publishing news, writing updates, and maybe some fun banter before introducing the episode’s guest. Then there’s usually an interview segment, and often a short wrap-up at the end.
Others have several people chatting about writing in general, often punctuated by banter and rabbit trails. Sometimes it’s just a single host (like me) with or without interviewed guests. (I do a teaching episode by myself on Tuesdays, interview a writer or other industry pro on Thursdays, and I do an Encouraging Words episode every Sunday.)
Podcasts are, by definition, audio shows. But many people, myself included, have also recorded some or all of their show on video and uploaded the episodes to their YouTube channel. People can search for a subject and find these shows, listen, and hit the subscribe button if they like it. Then they’ll be notified when a new episode is published.
By definition, these are two mostly different audiences – those who prefer to listen only (maybe while exercising or driving) and those who love YouTube and watching the interaction. It’s a good marketing plan to have a show in both formats, but it’s a lot of work!
[Here are the YouTube channels for me, Joanna, and Mark, if you want to take a look.]
If you’re an information junkie like me, or you don’t have the time to read a lot of articles and books on writing and writing-business topics, check out podcasts. Even businesses like Kobo and Smashwords have started their own podcasts. In addition to writing topics, I also subscribe to podcasts on business, leadership, healthy eating, neuroscience, Christian living, and one called Serial, which takes a seasonal approach and explores a crime and the people involved to try to find the truth. There is a lot of helpful, free – and entertaining! – information out there. It takes some time, but you may find it’s worth it.
Remember, my class, Going the Distance: Time and Project Management for Writers is open for registration now! Class starts Monday, January 15, 2018, but registration will be open a little longer (with lifetime access). We’ll have a big half-day live online event on Saturday, January 20, where we work on our goals and calendars together as I walk the class through the steps. This will be recorded, but it will be most helpful if you can be there in person.
Last month, I told you that I’d be a guest on Mark Dawson’s Self Publishing Formula Podcast. That episode came out on Friday, January 5, 2018, episode 100! In the PDF download for the episode, there’s a coupon code for $50 off my class, so be sure to use it!
I hope you find this article helpful. There is so much information out there, but not all of it is accurate, not all of it is up-to-date anymore, and some days it feels like searching for a needle in a haystack to find what’s important to you and your business. Podcasts will still have some of those problems, but when you find the ones created by people you’ve learned to trust, they can be an entertaining way to learn.
Kitty Bucholtz decided to combine her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. She writes romantic comedy and superhero urban fantasy, often with an inspirational element woven in. She loves to teach and offer advice to writers through her WRITE NOW! Workshop courses and the new WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast.
0 0 Read moreWhen I think of my favorite authors at work, I think of them toiling away in a darkened room banging out pages on an antique typewriter in total isolation. There may or may not be a cigarette on a long and a bottle of scotch involved, or a fine bottle of wine… It depends on the author. And, the truth is that writing is often a solitary process. But that is changing.
The internet and projects like NaNoWriMo, organizations like Romance Writer’s of America, and changes in the publishing industry itself are bringing writers together in new ways. Writers are reaching out to each other having write ins, offering support, sharing their experiences with traditional and indie publishing, even sharing financial information, things that were unheard of less than ten years ago.
In October, I was part of a panel of women writers at the InD’Scribe Conference in Burbank California. First of all, it was incredible to get to sit on this panel with legal thriller author, Rebecca Forster, Navy Seal Romance author, Caitlyn O’Leary, and paranormal author, Jenna Barwin, after all, my debut novella will not be released until February. But the panel was about mentoring, and both Rebecca Forster and Caitlyn O’Leary have been mentors on my fiction writing journey. And this is what I’m talking about, writers no longer hide in their writing caves darkened and solitary penning pages. They reach out to other authors and offer support, and share their experience. They come together in coffee shops to have write ins and bounce ideas off of each other. Writing has become a social event as well as an individual creative process.
As the Pro Liaison for the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America I had the ability to reach out to successful published authors, editors and agents to ask them to talk to our group online, and almost every one of them said yes, volunteering to share their experience and let us pick their brains.
When I stepped down from that position I took the idea to another level and started a little online group called #Charmed Writers where we write together and have mini conferences with authors and industry experts as well as other experts who volunteer to join the group and share their knowledge.
So, the image of a writer has changed. We no longer hide in the dark like vampires, we come out to write in coffee shops and restaurants. We form groups, friendships and working relationships. Some of the mystery may have gone out of the life of a writer, but the magic is still there and maybe stronger than before. If you’re a writer, find your tribe, seek out support, share your journey with other writers and readers.
Where do I write? Usually in my brightly lit family room at my desk, with the curtains open and a view of my orange tree, but sometimes friends join me at my dining room table, or I meet them at a local coffee shop, usually no whiskey, but occasionally there is wine involved. Where do you write? And how do you imagine your favorite authors at work?
1 0 Read moreI want to thank Marianne Donley for the cool graphic she put on my last post. I thought it only befitting to use it again this month on part two.
Where do I start? Last month I was in the midst of launching a book with a new campaign strategy. I want to make it perfectly clear, I am not trying to sell you on one of Mark Dawson’s courses. Although, I do like the results I got on my last launch.
So here’s what happened.
In the past when I launched a book, I didn’t really do any kind of pre-promotion. I would book a couple of ads, alert my mailing list, put the book out at full price and hope for the best. This time, I sent the book to my ARGroup, asked for reviews, forgot to book the ads pre-launch and launched it at 99¢.
My ARGroup had 20 people, but one dropped out after she read the book. Yes, I was a lot ticked off. But I went back to her acceptance email and remembered, she wanted me to pay her. I sent her a nice email expressing my sadness in her leaving the group. However, someone else joined. I had a little glitch getting the book out and pushed the date back. I got excited when some of my ARGroup emailed asking when could they post, because they really enjoyed the book. That made me feel good.
[tweetshare tweet=”@readtracyreed Unexpected Book Launch Results ” username=”@A_SliceofOrange”]
Every step up to the release day, I kept the group informed. I sent the new cover, asked them if they would buy a copy to help me in the rankings and graphics for the book to keep them engaged in the launch process. I wanted to make sure I kept the momentum going.
Launch day, I had 7 US reviews and 1 international. That was a first for me. I’ve never released a book with reviews. I was hoping for ten, but this was great.
As for sales. This was the first time, I sold 100 copies in the first week. For some people that’s probably what they do in the first day, but for me that was huge. I missed the top 100 in one of my categories by 24 on launch day. I have had books release with a top 100 category ranking, but none with a sell through like this one.
Promotion wise, I forgot to book ads for the launch. I was upset at first, and then I remembered, I wanted my list to have first dibs at the special price. I waited about ten days before putting the price up. I hoped for the best and was treated to a continued stream of sales.
It wasn’t until after the soft launch that I ran two facebook ads. I mentioned earlier that I had already made some facebook ads. When I tested the ads, the feedback wasn’t great. However, I used those for my social media and mailing list reminders. And used the ads below for FB instead.
In the beginning the male ad was doing very well. Then the female ad clicked and took off. At the end of the month, the female add had out done the male. Let me back up, when I noticed the way the ads were going, I was very tempted to shut down the male ad, but I didn’t because something happened. I did something else I had never done…I used an affiliate link. I put an affiliate link on my book on my website and used that as the link in the ad. I started getting sales which I knew were from the FB ads. However, I wasn’t sure which ad was producing the sales. That’s why I never shut the weaker ad down.
I think this was the first time in a while all my titles had steady sell-thru at the same time. It’s exciting to see a sales report with numbers not zeroes next to all the titles. Again for some of you this is your normal, but for me, it wasn’t. YEAH!!!
I was very pleased with the results and believe if I had done everything according to Mark’s suggested plan, I would have done even better.
Let’s see what happens with my next release. Happy Thanksgiving.
Tracy
A California native, novelist Tracy Reed pushes the boundaries of her Christian foundation with her sometimes racy and often fiery tales.
After years of living in the Big Apple, this self proclaimed New Yorker draws from the city’s imagination, intrigue, and inspiration to cultivate characters and plot lines who breathe life to the words on every page.
Tracy’s passion for beautiful fashion and beautiful men direct her vivid creative power towards not only novels, but short stories, poetry, and podcasts. With something for every attention span.
Tracy Reed’s ability to capture an audience is unmatched. Her body of work has been described as a host of stimulating adventures and invigorating expression.
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A Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
A psychic thriller that tries to catch an arch terrorist who is like a greased cat.
More info →She won't be forced into marriage to a nobleman's by-blow. He won't be trapped into marriage by a father he's never known.
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All she wants for Christmas is to save the man she loves…
More info →From hunting cattle rustlers
To being hunted by a killer
A Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
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