by Suzanne Kuhn I recently worked a return engagement with a regional charity that hosts an annual Book and Author Dinner. This event features four New York Times best selling and/or sought after regional authors. The first year I participated in the event, I asked the charity if I could provide the authors with my SuzyQ fine-tip, autograph Sharpies to …
5 Ways to Engage Readers Between Books
by Sandra Orchard 1) Write a great book. Hooking a reader into your story is your prime opportunity to gain a fan-one who will both explore your backlist and watch for your next release. But… Many of these fans won’t look beyond the search engine of their favorite online retailer, or the shelves of their church library, or the shelves …
Voice … Brand … Platform … Yikes!
by Ane Mulligan Each of these is something a writer must discover or develop. They have nothing to do with the mechanics of our craft, yet everything to do with getting published. Platform takes time and development. It equates to how wide your circle of influence is-or how many books you can sell. There are tons of great articles out …
Social Media. A Deliberate Endeavor.
by Suzanne Kuhn Social media. Just the mere term can stir fear in the heart of the edgiest thriller writer, causes the romance writer to pine for simpler days and has the mystery writer wondering if social media works. Social media doesn’t have to be a questionable proposition. With a little help and explanation, SuzyQ can restore your confidence, offering …
Social Media Isn’t Just about Networking
by Laurie Alice Eakes I have no scientific or statistical data to backup what I’m about to proclaim and explain. What I have is personal experience and three years of observation. Four years ago, I joined Facebook. A year ago, I joined Twitter. Somewhere in there I signed up for Linkedin and Goodreads and probably other social media sites I’ve …
Engaging Events
by Suzanne Kuhn Every time you you have an event, whether it is a book signing, a meet and greet, a launch party, or speaking with a book club, you are representing yourself as the flagship of your brand. How you present yourself is very important. Understandably, everyone gets a little nervous at show time. How can you make your …
Managing Bookstore Signings
by Jordyn Redwood As many as there are books, there are just as many opinions as to whether or not authors should do bookstore signings. This was one of the things I was relatively surprised to learn on my publishing journey-bookstores aren’t clamoring for me to come and visit. Why? If you’re not well known-will the time and effort they …
Do You Support Your Industry?
by Jill Williamson I’ve met hundreds of authors who are on the journey toward publication. I’m always surprised to learn how many have never read Christian fiction. And I wonder how one can hope to get published in the CBA market without studying and supporting it. No one expects you to read every book out there. But if you’re looking …
Building Relationships
by Jordyn Redwood Okay, I have to admit-one thing that surprised me on the road of an author’s life was bookstore signings are not about me. Really. They’re not. Whenever you read about marketing (and bookstore signings are just that) it boils down to how well you build relationships. Last year at the ACFW conference, author handler Suzie Q discussed …
To Market, to Market to Buy a Fat Pig…
by Crystal Laine Miller “…Home again, home again, jiggedty-jig!” How many times did we sing that song as kids? And we caught many product commercials on our three-channel TV that we noticed from singing the interesting jingles. Well, guess what? Authors have to market their product too, in interesting ways. Here are a few tips from a well-read reader-me. First, …