One Lovely Thank You Note a Day: This is What Carolyn See May Have Meant

In one of her books on writing, Carolyn See advises authors to write one lovely thank you note a day, the emphasis on "lovely." Lots of authors are good at writing thank you notes, especially since e-mail has made it so easy. But "lovely?"  We are all pressed for time.

Still, I have one reader who has sent me several that are examples of the kind of letter I think See would have approved of. Her name is Marlan Warren and she gave me permission to reprint her letter if I thought it would help other writers do something similar--or at least to nudge them to write their letters.  I mean, a note like this can make an author so happy! And the words from a smart publicist are an added bonus!

Dear Carolyn:

I really enjoyed your interview with Maxine Thompson on the Artist First Radio Network last night. I felt privileged to hear you and Maxine discuss literature, writers, writing, and your own great how-to knowledge (I’m a huge fan of your How to Do It Frugally series and now a fan of Maxine's show). You are two Old School pros who know better than anyone that being a great writer or editor means more than having been at the top of your class in English.

I especially liked your tip to "Promote the Promotion." This is what I try to explain to my PR/Marketing clients, but it is hard for them to grasp. Most think it's enough to post a "Hey! Buy my book!" on social media and leave it at that.

Your discussion with Maxine about editing was spot on. Didn't she say something about refusing to promote a book that is not ready? I do the same thing. You explained today’s indie author marketing environment perfectly: the Internet has provided new venues for people who want to get their writing "out there," but it has also opened the floodgates for sloppy writing and presentations.

I recently received a book from a small press, and the first thing I noticed was a typo on the back cover. Newbie authors often think this is no big deal, not realizing the book will never be opened by a media host if they spot such an error.

Many inexperienced writers/authors I meet confess to feeling bored with the book after they’ve published it: "Never mind about promoting Book No. 1...I've started writing Book No. 2!"

Gives a whole new image to the phrase “pleasuring oneself,” doesn’t it?

Thanks again, Carolyn and Maxine!

Keep on truckin'!

Marlan Warren

ABOUT THE LETTER-WRITER (-: 

Marlan Warren offers PR/Marketing services for authors (Book Publicity by Marlan) and the rest (Roadmap Communications). She reviews for The Midwest Book Review, and is the author of the novel, Roadmaps for the Sexually Challenged: All’s Not Fair in Love or War. The last book she edited is the upcoming The First Practical Handbook for Crazy People by Shelly and Sherry Glaser. A seasoned journalist, Marlan is also a contributor to No Depression Magazine.

E-Mail: memoircity@gmail.com
Twitter: @marlanwarren

Roadmap Girl's Book Buzz: http://roadmapgirlsbookbuzz.blogspot.com/
Web site: http://bookpublicitybymarlan.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookpublicitybymarlan/

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 Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The multi award-winning second edition of The Frugal Editor; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

Ten Free Gifts to Give an Author This Holiday Season

 

10 Frugal (Like Free) Gifts To Give Writers for the Holidays

You thought I was going to say “buy their book.” But that isn’t free and you may have already bought an author's books or even all of their books. Here are ten ways to show appreciation, anyway.

~ Go to their profile page on Amazon and like it. You can find it by clicking on their name on Amazon, one that shows up with an underline. Do it anonymously or drop them a note wishing them a happy season and let them know you did it. Heck, you could do this for every author you know or every time you open an author’s buypage on Amazon all year long. If you don’t know what a profile page is, here’s mine: http://bit.ly/CarolynsProfilePage.

~Find them on Facebook and friend them. Or Twitter. Or LinkedIn. You get the idea. Don't worry that it's an infringement of their privacy. They don't have to accept, but they will appreciate the gesture regardless.

~Review their book and publish that review on Amazon or another online bookstore. Or on your own blog. It needn’t compete with a New York Times review for professionalism. Just a few heartfelt lines will do.

~Share one of their posts on a social network—especially one that relates to their writing career. You know. They’ve won an award. Published a new book. Have a signing coming up.

~Go to the buypage of an author’s book and find the social media icons in the right column of that page. Click. Click. Click!  Share the book across all your social media networks.

~Nominate their blog or Web site for an award like Writer’s Digest’s 101 Best Websites. Here are Writer's Digest suggested categories for nominations, just to help you get your thinking cap on:

Agent Blogs
Writing Communities
Publishing Resources
Jobs and Markets
Creativity and Challenges
Genres/Niches
General Resources
Fun for Writers

Send comments and nominations for next year’s list to writersdigest@fwmedia.com with “101 Websites” in the subject line (deadline is Jan. 1, 2015). Learn more at http://writersdigest.com/article/101-websites-2009 .

~Post an image of an author’s bookcover on your Web site with a link and a little blurb or recommendation.

~ My favorite of all. Send your author a thank you note telling her how you enjoyed her book, what it did to help you or relate a little story about it. When I was speaking at Book Publicists of Southern California Christmas meeting, Melinda Sue Norins came by and excitedly told me that my The Frugal Book Promoter had been recommended in Authors Training Manual by Nina Amir  (http://bit.ly/AuthorsTrainingManual) that she had just borrowed from her library. Then she ran online to get an image of the page it was on to show me. I felt that her enthusiasm was greater than any tangible gift tied up with a bow.
~Go to the author’s blog and leave a comment. Try to be specific about how the author has helped you or your career in the past year.

~This idea will take time and creativity, but what a thrill for some author somewhere. Create a little handmade booklet for an author. Use quotes from their work, snapshots, a personal note.  Or make a similar greeting card and send it along. Once the members of my the critique group I lead at my neighborhood library (Chevy Chase) did that. Each participant made one page. That was years ago and I still treasure it.

HERE'S A BONUS IDEA: Do you have a snapshot of you with the author? Search your photo album and send her the picture--either by e-mail or tucked into a holiday card.  It will be the gift that keeps on giving.  

Learn more about Carolyn Howard-Johnson at http://HowToDoItFrugally.com . Use her social networks for more resources, ideas, helpful books and more.

For more writers’ resources on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/FrugalBookPromo
For resources and more personal fun on Facebook:
http://facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnson  
For writers’ resources of all kinds:
http://HowToDoItFrugally.com
To subscribe to SharingwithWriters newsletter:
http://HowToDoItFrugally.com/newsletter_&_blog.htm
Get your cover images on Pinterest; you pin one of her book cover images and she pins one of yours: http://Pinterest.com/chowardjohnson


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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor .

How To Keep Getting Tons out of a Writers Conference After the Event

Today’s SharingwithWriters guest is the co-chair for Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair that supports local literacy and anti crime. This is a woman who can help the essentials of making a book fair and conference work for you. I extended her wisdom to three guest posts. If you missed the first two, start two posts ago on "What To Do Before a Book Fair" and read on through to this one.

How to Get the Most out of a Writers Conference

Part 3: After the Event

By p. m. Terrell 

Making the most of an appearance when it’s over is often the most overlooked part of book promotion. Yet it can be the most effective.

1.     Contact the Media. Have you noticed that 99% of what’s in the news is about what’s already happened? Send a picture of yourself at the conference to your local media with a caption and contact information. Often they’ll print the picture with the caption. And sometimes it leads to additional interviews.

2.     Update Your Web Site. Put pictures on your web site and keep a “Past Events” page. When you are booking other venues, they will often look at your website to see where you’ve appeared before. Especially if you have a line at your desk or you’re surrounded by fans, it shows future organizers that you can bring in the crowd.

3.     Update Your Social Networks. Tweet or post updates on Facebook and other social networking sites. If you have pictures, be sure to share them. You want people to know you’ve just attended a very successful event.

4.     Keep Up Your Contacts. Don’t make the mistake of dropping out of sight after the event. Send emails to those you met—fans, readers, and fellow authors—to thank them for attending or letting them know how much you enjoyed spending time with them. Staying in touch can often lead to more book sales and more appearances.

5.     Thank the Organizers. This can also be a good time to ask about any future events they have planned. As writers conferences and book fairs become more successful, the spots available to authors can fill up fast. If you had a good time and believed it was beneficial, make sure you’re one of the first in line for their next event. Other authors are doing it and you don’t want to lose out.

6.     Blog About It. Let those fans and readers who couldn’t be there in person know about the event and any highlights. Post pictures and provide links to buy your books.

7.     Update Your Mailing List. Hopefully, you got email addresses or mailing addresses of those who came by your table. Make sure you’ve added them to your list so you can keep them informed of upcoming events and new book releases.

What are ways you promote your successful appearance after the event? Click on the little comment link to share your ideas—and be sure to tell us about what you are doing in the publishing industry.

 ~Learn more about p.m. terrell:

www.pmterrell.com
www.pmterrell.blogspot.com/
www.maryneely.com
www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/pmterrell/
Terrell is author of more than 16 books, including the Award-Winning historical books River Passage and Songbirds are Free; internationally acclaimed suspense Exit 22, Ricochet,The Banker's Greed, Kickback and The China Conspiracy; the how-to book, Take the Mystery out of Promoting Your Book; and four non-fiction computer books. Look for her latest book, Vicki's Key, a two-time award nominee and finalist in the 2012 International Book Awards, and her next book, Secrets of a Dangerous Woman, due to be released in the fall of 2012!


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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second edition of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog:

When a Thank You Is Necessary, Send the Real Thing

Feature

Thank Yous, Greeting Cards, and Networking

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Many of you know that I spent years in the retail industry. During that time, I marketed my own stores among about a thousand other things. Thus, when I read anything about retailing, I prick up my ears. It is an especially important topic these days because retail reflects the economy (and for authors, the economy reflects how well our books will sell).

Anyway, the LA Times (Nov. 24, 2011 Business Section) ran an article cleverly titled “An Industry in Need of Sympathy.” They were talking about greeting cards, of course! And paper thank you notes. They attribute their slide in sales to electronic greetings, but note that American Greetings reported an uptick after a long period of poorer and poorer sales.

I’ve been recommending cards and thank you notes for authors (and general marketing/networking) for a long, long time. Maybe someone has been listening. Don’t get me wrong. I do a lot of gratitude messages and thank yous on the Internet, too, but there is nothing like a real paper card with a real personal message and a real handwritten signature. If you want your thoughtfulness to be remembered, send something made of paper. Use a stamp. And, yeah, a little ink.

That principle was what guided Magdalena Ball and I when we decided to publish our Celebration Series of chapbooks, too. We figured that cards could be given an upward nudge in terms of quality by including real poetry, not the sugary stuff that sometimes doesn’t suit the occasion and never appeals to literary types, in any case. We designed our chapbooks in a size that would fit into greeting-card size envelopes you can buy at Staples and priced them in the greeting card price range of $6.95. A different book celebrates different gift-giving (and card-giving!) holidays like Valentines, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, even one that celebrates women that could be given to them on their birthdays. Those who would like to know more about our concept can learn more at www.howtodoitfrugally.com/poetry_books.htm.

By the way, our chapbooks use artwork by Vicki Thomas, Jacquie Schmall and May Lattanzio that is just as beautiful (and quite a bit artier!) than your run-of-the-mill greeting card!

In The Frugal Book Promoter I advise authors to keep a top 50 list of their most treasured contacts. To keep in touch with them throughout the year. So what would be wrong with supporting two declining industries (greeting cards and publishing!) and sending them a real thank you note occasionally, or a real book. Maybe even a real book of poetry!

A final note to writers: Hallmark recently did a study. They learned that 20 paper cards are sent for every e-card. I often don’t open e-cards because I fear viruses or phishing scams (they have been perpetrated on us that way, you know!). So, writers, when it is important that your friend of business associate receive your thanks yous, send the real thing.

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of This Is the Place; Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered; Tracings, a chapbook of poetry; and how to books for writers including the award-winning second ediction of, The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher; The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success; and Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers . The Great First Impression Book Proposal is her newest booklet for writers. She has three FRUGAL books for retailers including A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques. Some of her other blogs are TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com, a blog where authors can recycle their favorite reviews. She also blogs at all things editing, grammar, formatting and more at The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor . If your followers at Twitter would benefit from this blog post, please use the little Green widget to let them know about this blog: