On Writing: Book Signings

“To market, to market

To sell a book or two…”

That’s the little ditty that should be constantly reverberating in your brain as you write your book or wait for it to arrive from the publisher.

The majority of us writers are not big-name best sellers. We have no TV exposure and very little radio and newspaper coverage. So how do little Mr. Nobody and Mrs. WhoIsShe get their names out there in public view?

So far, we’ve discussed (with not much detail):

1. Blogsites and websites
2. Business card distribution

Let’s tackle the book signing venue today.

I had previously told you that I hate book signings. For the most part I do because lots of times no one shows up, and I sit there reading a good book (my own) and directing passersby to the restroom.

When I have had successful book signings at stores (by successful, I mean I sold at least 10 or 20 books), here’s what I did:

1. When planning the book signing with the store manager, I asked to be at the store on a big sales day of the year. The best time is any Saturday between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
2. I made sure the manager planned to get the word out, including putting up flyers or signs in the store (which I provided), submitting an article to the local newspapers, (which I wrote), and sending out e-mails to the store’s clientele OFTEN about the book signing.
3. I called or e-mailed several days before the book signing to make sure the manager had ordered enough books. If not, I offered to bring my own just as a back up.
4. On the day of the book signing, I’ve had a friend with me to walk throughout the store handing out my business cards or a small token gift like a bookmark and inviting them to my table. Often, I’ve been stationed at a table in the BACK of the store, and if I didn’t let folks know I was back there, they never saw me.
5. I offered some kind of deal, i.e. if anyone bought my whole Keystone Stables series, they got a free gift like a plastic model horse or a small jewelry box with a horse picture on the front, etc. (Recently I sold three complete sets of eight books each because of my “special” deal.)
6. If traffic was slow, I got out from behind the table and introduced myself to folks in other parts of the store.
7. I looked for businesses besides book stores that might want me to have a book signing. I have done fairly well at a large local hardware store and at a horse equipment and saddle shop. Of course, horse books would be a natural sell at stores like this.

Now, after you’ve done everything in your power to pull this off, if store traffic is still real slow, as such was the case with a book signing I had a few weeks ago, you have to just sit and smile, maybe work on your next novel on your laptop, and write the day off as a loss.

You just never know how book signings are going to go. Swallow your pride and try again at another store as soon as you can make the contact. Making money? Are you kidding? You’ll probably break even with the cost of gasoline, but book signings are all about promotion anyway, not making you rich.

Marsha Hubler
Best-selling Author of the Keystone Stables books
(Web) www.marshahublerauthor.com
(Writers’ Blog)
www.marshahubler.wordpress.com
(Horse Facts Blog)
www.horsefactsbymarshahubler.wordpress.com

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Today’s Writers’ Tip: For Newbies – After the Conference

Writers’ Tips for Newbies: After the Conference

Today’s tips are for all you beginning writers out there who have a great idea and don’t know where to start.

If you attended the last Montrose Christian Writers Conference in July, I trust you learned all kinds of things to help you become a published author. Let’s rehearse a few tips you probably learned to get you writing the next best seller!

If you’ve never attended any writers’ conference, it might be a consideration if you’ve got some ideas about becoming an author.

1. Start writing. Don’t just talk about it. Do you have an idea? Many good ideas? Don’t let those great creative ideas die in your brain cells! Get that computer out and start pecking away.

2. Join a local critique group. This has helped me become a better writer more than any other training, reading, or writing I’ve done. You must have a thick skin and be willing to accept criticism, but in the long run, your writing will improve drastically. Our group in the Susquehanna Valley (PA) meets once a month when everyone brings copies of about five pages of their latest work to have critiqued.

3. Attend writers conferences. Second only to the critique group, writers conferences have molded me into the author I am today. Writers conferences offer numerous workshops on different genres. You also meet other writers who have the passion to write as you do. They UNDERSTAND YOU! And … try to attend conferences where editors and agents are on faculty. Many writers have acquired contracts by meeting “the in-crowd” at conferences. Three of my four book contracts and several purchased articles resulted from contacts at writers’ conferences. Conferences are an essential part of your training.

4. Read, read, read! If you want to write juvenile fiction, read all the published juvenile fiction you can get your hands on. Likewise, if you’re into Amish romance, don’t spend time reading science fiction or fantasy. If you want to learn how to handle your genre, then study your genre. I have pages and pages of “good writing” excerpts that I’ve copied from published books. Once in a while, I open that file and read through the segments that show me excellent dialogue, good narration, and well-done character description.

So, there you have it. If you have the burning desire deep down in your soul to write, then get going! But consider yourself a work-in-progress just as your manuscript is. The more you learn, the better your writing will be!

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Today’s Writers’ Tip: Are Critique Groups Valuable?

ARE CRITIQUE GROUPS VALUABLE?

Some members of the Susquehanna Valley Writers Group, Selinsgrove, PA

Absolutely, undeniably yes. My local critique group has helped make me the writer I am.

One of the most valuable tools you’ll ever have in your writing career is a local critique group comprised of other writers.

Some groups meet once a week; others meet once a month. The choice is for the group to make. Some groups meet in the members’ homes; others meet at libraries, bookstores, or cafes with quiet corners. Again, the choice is the group’s.

If you don’t belong to a local critique group, make it a priority to join one. If you aren’t sure there even is one, then determine to start one yourself.

So, how do you get the word out that you are interested in a critique group, either joining or starting?
1. Ask for information at your library or bookstore. If they know of no critique group, prepare an 8 1/2 x 11 poster and ask if you can post it. Put your name, phone number, and email address on the poster.
2. Mount posters in your local grocery stores and mini-marts.
3. Place a free ad in your local “service” newspaper, the one that allows you to buy and sell without paying for an ad.
4. Call other local authors you know and ask about a critique group. If they aren’t members of any, encourage them to help you start one. You really only need three or four other writers to start, and not all need to represent the same genre. Six to eight members are ideal if you plan to meet for two or three hours at a time.

So, there you have it. Get busy with that critique group. If you become accountable to someone for your writing on a regular basis, you will write more often, and you’ll write better!

(Next time: The Guidelines for a Successful Critique Group)

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Today’s Writers’ Tip: The Necessity of Writers’ Conferences

THE NECESSITY OF WRITERS’ CONFERENCES

The best training you’ll ever receive is that which you’ll get by attending writers conferences. Next to your local critique group, writers workshops and conferences will give you the knowledge you need to become a better writer. The various workshops offered usually take you from A to Z concerning the writing/publishing business with fresh ideas for you to try.

You also make new long-lasting writer friends, kindred spirits who think just like you do. (They don’t call us “Odd Ducks” for nothing.)

Writers conferences also offer you the opportunity to present your work face to face to agents and editors of publishing companies. I’ve acquired four of my five book contracts by meeting editors at the Montrose Christian Writers Conference held in Montrose, PA, every July.

Speaking of conferences, starting in March, why don’t you check out the details of our next Montrose Christian Writers Conference at http://www.montrosebible.org Plan to come to our next one from July 16th to July21st , 2023. We plan to have three agents, a poetry publisher, and award-winning authors on our faculty.

If you’ve never been to a writers’ conference, you don’t know what you’re missing!

Director of MCWC Marsha Hubler
www.marshahublerauthor.com
www.marshahubler.wordpress.com
Author of the bewt-selling Keystone Stables Series

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Today’s Writers’ Tip: Do You Write Fiction?

DO YOU WRITE FICTION?

 

Me Know Everything!

If you want to write fiction, first you must decide for what age group you’ll write. Will you write for children or adults?

If you want to write for children, remember there are numerous subgenres and age groups in juvenile fiction.

Will you write for toddlers and preschoolers? Then you’re looking at a picture book often with fewer than 500 words that takes the child into his very small self-centered world. Unless you’re a trained artist, you probably shouldn’t attempt to do your own illustrations. Let the publishing company choose an illustrator from its stable of artists. He/she will do a fine job with your manuscript. Your main goal should be to write an irresistible story that the editor at the publishing company won’t be able to turn down.

Maybe you’d like to write a manuscript for a picture book styled after Dr. Seuss. Then study Dr. Seuss and his 60 books that are in print. Many of his books are 32 pages long with a manuscript that has several thousand words all cleverly written in perfect rhythm and meter poetry. It’s not as easy as you think.

Perhaps you’d like to write chapter books for six-to-ten-year-old kids. Here you’re looking at a book, usually without illustrations, that has about 64 to 80 pages (about 32,000 to 50,000 words). Your plot should take that reader from his familiar surroundings to worlds of fantasy and fun.

Then there are the subgenres for tweens and teens. You can write about any topic, any theme, and have well developed characters, plots, and subplots. How many words should you tackle? Anywhere from 30,000 to over 100,000 words. It’s not uncommon to see books of fantasy have at least 500 pages these days.

So get your creative juices flowing and start writing that children’s best-selling fiction story. Your kiddie audience awaits!

Marsha
www.marshahubler.com
www.marshahubler.wordpress.com
Author of the best-selling Keystone Stables Series

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