Chat on 1-4-08

‹Margie› Suz, what are we discussing tonight?
‹gracepub› everyone has been wanting to know about promotional ideas
‹gracepub› and how to become famous
‹shayla› lol
‹gracepub› fame is a mis-understood thing
‹Margie› promotion is always a good topic
‹gracepub› Fame = an effective ad campaign that makes your 'brand' common
‹gracepub› I might be able to get Nikki here - especially if you guys promise to promote her a bit
‹gracepub› anyone here?
‹Natanela › yeah
‹gracepub› the other feature isn't working natanela
‹Natanela › the messages r taking a while to come through though
‹Natanela › yeah, I figured as much
‹Natanela › never mind
‹shayla› Sorry, who's Nikki?
‹gracepub› you can IM me
‹Natanela › just wanted to make sure u got my bio and blurb
‹Natanela › on yahoo u mean?
‹gracepub› one of the best blog tour promoters online
‹gracepub› yes -  = sorry
‹shayla› oh okay
Nikki has joined the chat room.
‹Natanela › that was a yes to which question?
‹shayla› Hello Nikki
‹Nikki› Hi Shayla and everyone
‹Natanela › hi
‹Margie› HI Nikki
‹Nikki› Hey stranger
‹Margie› How are you?
‹Nikki› busy busy
‹gracepub›
‹Nikki› spending lots of time online with Suz the last 24 hours
‹gracepub› lol
‹Margie› promotion stuff?
‹Nikki› oh yeah, getting the new book tour site up and working and promoting it
‹Nikki› gearing up for tours starting in February
‹Margie› sounds great
‹gracepub› nikki took her one book to Amazon 70 000 rank in a couple months
‹Nikki› Its coming along very nice. Have you checked out the site lately Margie?
‹Nikki› Actually in 1 week
‹Margie› No I haven't
‹Mirella› How?
‹gracepub› one wekk?
‹gracepub› www.inspiredauthor. com/promotion
‹gracepub› I had to beg - steal - be rutheless- cry
‹gracepub› but I finally stole Nikki
‹Margie› lol Suz
‹Nikki› through a book tour and it stayed under 100K for just about the whole month. Did that with two and one client is talking about doing another tour in Feb
‹gracepub› cool
‹Nikki› She got into serious headhunter mode
‹Nikki› Good thing we already knew each other
‹gracepub› LOL
‹gracepub› I can get rather ruthless some days
‹Nikki› And, I already knew that about you
‹Natanela › ok everyone, sorry to leave so soon but its after 2am here...and just wanted to stop by and say hi. So have a great and productive chat and Ill be in touch  good night
‹Nikki› You all should register on the site and create a profile page. Its a really easy free way to get some additional promo for you and any books
‹shayla› good nite
‹gracepub› have fun
‹Margie› bye Nataanela
‹Nikki› nite Natanela
‹gracepub› nikki also has articles with good ideas
‹Nikki› I have almost 100 articles and author interviews on the site - lots to learn
‹shayla› sounds like a plan...i'll check it out
‹gracepub› just remember that inspiredauhtor.com/ promotion is NOT IA= they are different sites
‹Nikki› I'm also on the lookout for any authors that would like to complete an author or promotional interview to share their thoughts with others
‹Mirella› I would love to do one.
‹Nikki› If you look around and have questions, drop me a note Shayla - I'm litekepr on that site
‹shayla› okay
‹Nikki› Mirella - do you have my email?
‹shayla› gotcha suz
‹Mirella› Yes, I do. I was waiting for you to get less busy with your site. LOL. But I guess that hasn't happened yet, huh? You are a very busy lady.
‹Nikki› Less busy - probably not going to happen anytime soon
‹Nikki› I am busy and I have one promotional book in final layout and I'm over halfway through the second promotoinal book
‹Mirella› That's what I thought. I'll wait a few weeks. It will give me a chance to get caught up too.
‹Nikki› I have a waiting list to be posted on both of those interviews, so its good to get it in soon.
‹gracepub› yes
‹Nikki› Several publishers found out about the interviews and my other promotional blogs and sent a bunch of their authors to me
‹shayla› wow..that's just by word of mouth
‹Nikki› Word of mouth on those promotional blogs has been very good. If you all want to take a look at those - go to http://muzesmusings .blogspot.com and click on Free Promo blogs in the top left corner
‹Nikki› Word of mouth is a wonderful thing in promotion - especially positive word of mouth
‹shayla› yes...It does..
Mirella has joined the chat room.
‹gracepub› word of mouth is good
Lea has joined the chat room.
‹gracepub› I became famous without knowing it - one day I googled 'gracepub' after getting 2000 hits on blog posts and was amazed
‹gracepub› OH _ by the way - EP and inspiredauthor are both nominated at Predators and editors - go vote
‹gracepub› lol  -
‹shayla› kool
‹gracepub› I am going to start giving out gold stars
‹Lea› gold stars?
‹Nikki› Its fun to Google occassionally just to see how many results come up. I remember long ago when I used to be excited with a couple hundred. That was a LONG time ago.
‹gracepub› lol
‹Nikki› Lots of cool stuff on the P & E polls - including the articles we mentioned
‹Margie› You've come a long way Nikki!
‹Nikki› It seems amazing that my first book came out less than 2 years ago
‹Lea› time flies, Nikki
‹Nikki› especially when you're busy
‹Lea› I finished the year on the last day with good news
‹shayla› hello lea
‹Lea› hi Shayla
‹Nikki› that's always a good way to end the year or start the year
tina has joined the chat room.
‹Lea› got an agent and within hours she got me a contract for a series of children's books
‹Nikki› awesome - congratulations Lea
‹Margie› that's wonderful Lea...congratulations!
‹shayla› congratulations...
‹gracepub› congrats
‹Mirella› Awesome
‹Lea› thank you. The first book is Robbie and Katie Get A Hairy Scare
‹Mirella› Nikki, I just registered for your site. Looks great.
‹Lea› writing those short picture books is not easy
‹Nikki› Sounds great
‹Nikki› People think children's books are easy - seem tough to me.
‹Lea› mine involve five year old twins
‹shayla› they're easy to edit aren't they?
‹Lea› we'll see. Waiting for the edits from the publisher
‹shayla› lol...well..still it's tough to get it right...sometimes I know
‹shayla› five year old twins...in your book..?
‹Nikki› I have a hard enough time writing short stories, I could never tell my whole story in a children's book
‹Lea› yes in my book. And I know all about twins since I have them
‹shayla› I know...that's what I mean.
‹gracepub› wow - bravo!
‹Lea› the stories are based on my experience with these double trouble duo
‹shayla› that's accomplishment by itself
‹tina› hey all
‹Lea› hi Tina
‹Margie› Hi Tina
‹Nikki› hi Tina
‹shayla› hi tina
‹Nikki› I would think there would be plenty of trouble for 5 year old twins to get into
‹Nikki› in the book or in real life
‹Lea› let me tell you
‹Nikki› that's why you're writing a series - right???
‹Lea› second book is Robbie and Katie in Search of the Missing Teeth
‹shayla› lol..that's cute
‹Lea› I find kids attention span easily distracted so if you find the magical touch, then go for it
‹Lea› I had to learn how to cut kids hair in the beginning real fast otherwise they began to move
‹Lea› so it took me about ten minutes to cut their hair.
‹gracepub› lol
‹Lea› and if I cut myself and upset, even less time hehehe
‹Lea› trick is to start in the front which is the most important for the parent
‹Nikki› the back is never straight for 4 minutes anyway
shayla has joined the chat room.
‹Lea› try giving a baby a mushroom cut. Now that's hard
‹gracepub› rolf -
‹gracepub› if there was one thing that can promote a book - what is it. I know that all the 'quickly famous' authors I know make friends with book buyers
‹Lea› get a lawsuit
‹Lea› that's get you attention
‹Nikki› not sure I'm willing to risk a lawsuit
‹Lea› but how many book buyers can one really know?
‹shayla› yes good repoire....is always good
‹Lea› I would think the best promo is to get your name out there BEFORE the book is even published
‹Nikki› Never wait until the book is published
‹Nikki› to get started
‹gracepub› Brenna - an author I know who has 20 books in print starts to promote as soon as she starts to write
‹Lea› oh Nikki, you won't believe how many actually do
‹gracepub› she said she promotes up to 3 years before a book is released
‹Nikki› I have a chapter in Book Promo 101 about "is it ever too early to start promoting"
‹Nikki› I know how many wait - that's why I included the chapter in the book
‹Lea› I'm not sure if releases really help though
‹shayla› I agree...I talk about my books where ever I go and have join so many websites I'm about to scream
‹gracepub› reviews are not as valuable (I find) as an author who talks to book buyers
‹Lea› with you there, Shayla. Just set up a site for the picbooks but you need to do this
‹Nikki› joining sites can get out of hand  I'm evaluating which are working and which are just sucking up my time
‹shayla› I have started doing the same thing...I can't manage them all
‹Nikki› Some I simply create a presence and then update from time to time and on other sites I participate and post more often. Just depends on the focus of the site and what I'm promoting at the time
‹Lea› so by book buyer you mean bookstore owner?
‹Nikki› I finally came up with a tagline I like - that has helped to keep mine short
‹Lea› I think a combo of various promo outlets helps with our books
‹shayla› talking to the buyers of bookstores...is helpful but they sometimes don't want to play nice..I've have some that are rude
‹gracepub› I had someone ask today about publicists and they don't work
‹Nikki› The combination can and should change and evolve over time - always keep your eyes open for new opportunities and things that arean't working
‹gracepub› blog profiles work - because the reader feels that the writer is close
‹gracepub› but from a media perspective the #1 reason book authors are not as famous as movie actors is because they don't post their pictures
‹shayla› but after winning themover it is easy to get your book in.
‹Lea› they can communicate with them that's why. Leaving a message and returning to see the answer
‹gracepub› so they always remain - invisible - no matter how much promotion they do
‹Lea› okay, hold on a sec...
‹Lea› I'd like to dissect Rowlings fame to glory step...
‹Lea› here we have a woman who was on the verge of bankruptcy
‹shayla› lol lea
‹Lea› got a contract and then what happened?
‹gracepub› Rowlings fame has nothing to do with anything she said
‹Lea› was it because it got auctioned that her fame came to be?
‹Lea› that's what I mean
‹gracepub› it was the controversy of the church in the USA telling people NOT to read the book that made it famous
‹Lea› HOW did she become famous?
‹gracepub› in fact - her publisher only printed 500 copies
‹Lea› so something like what I wrote earlier-cause a lawsuit
‹gracepub› in fact - she was famous 1 or 2 books before people actually started buying her books
‹gracepub› controversy is the best marketing element
‹Lea› I think I heard of her in the second book published
‹gracepub› if you want to be famous - go to hollywood and get arrested at a party
‹Lea› well I will depending who they lock me up with
‹gracepub› lol
‹Lea› it would be great if we do what we do with arcs and follow one's steps to fame
‹gracepub› the golden compas author said they never realized that they were an athiest until they told them.
‹gracepub› look at the Passion of Christ - a solid B movie until someone said it was ani smeite
‹Lea› my son said the movie was great
‹gracepub› I think I spelled that wrong
‹Lea› so once again controversy
‹gracepub› but - again
‹Lea› so let's say you came across a book that contained an element of religious controversy
‹Lea› so let's say you came across a book that contained an element of religious controversy
‹gracepub› from a marketing point of view - it is taking the POV from the product to the person that launched their fame
‹Lea› would you be inclinced to accept?
‹gracepub› we have 4 in the works
‹Lea› Awesome!
‹gracepub› that is what I love about fiction -you can take fact and write better stories than anyone could ever imagine
‹Selena› And being able to create your own world and make up your own rules.
‹Lea› it's amazing how many facts you can take and use but yet I hear so manytimes, "I don't know what to write about"
‹Mirella› My problem is I have too many stories to write and not enough time. LOL
‹Selena› Same with me! LOL
‹shayla› me too
‹Lea› not sure about you guys, but I have never experienced writer's block, in the sense nothing to think about to write on
‹Selena› All one has to do is google bizarre stories and turn them into fiction, if they have no idea.
‹Lea› same here
‹Nikki› I'm with you Mirella - I don't begin to have time to write all the stories in my mind
‹Selena› I've had anxiety writer's block, I have the idea, but freeze up, because I feel I have to live up to my agent's expectation.
‹gracepub› yes - when I am researching, I come up with great ideas
‹Mirella› I've never experienced writer's block either.
‹Mirella› Researching helps give me ideas for new scenes.
‹Lea› Selena, that's why when I get blocked I move on to the next story and let the other sit for a spell
‹Nikki› research is a wonderful way to get inspiration
‹Mirella› I always work on 2 books at once.
‹shayla› I do that Lea
‹Lea› I hate research
‹Selena› Lea, that's what I have done, and it works better. I don't think we get blocked, I think we get anxiety and second guessing ourselves.
‹Mirella› I love research because it is when the ideas start to flow
‹Selena› I love research! I can get really caught up in the research
‹shayla› I hate it too
‹shayla› My research does end up with yet another book
‹Selena› I hate writing the first draft. I'm great at the revising and polishing. LOL
‹Mirella› Yeah, the first draft is the hardest part.
‹gracepub› I am sure I am on a list somewhere because of the dark topics I have searched
‹Selena› LOL
‹Mirella› That's funny, Suz.