I am so thrilled to post this. I have to say, being a part of LitSisters has changed my life in the most amazing way. And we are starting 2010 off with a bang! Not only did our boutique publishing house, LitSisters Publishing, launch today, but we also were featured on the home page of [...]
This is the first of four installments in the Time Management 1.0 Series: Prioritizing what’s Important in Your Life
Time Management 1.1: What Makes You Happy?
Dear Writer: If you want to get organized and manage your time effectively, the first step is knowing what’s most important to you. Chances are you may feel so overwhelmed with everything in your life that you don’t even know where to begin. I know. I’ve been there. The next four blogs are designed to help you discover what’s essential to your happiness and success, and how to make it first and foremost in your life (like writing!) Before the rest of the unimportant, and often very insistent, things overrun your day.
The first step is to make a list. Stop! Don’t run away! Yes, I know. If you’re struggling with managing your time and organizing your life, then there’s a good possibility you hate lists. But, trust me. This is a good list.
Drum roll please. Write down a list of things that make you happy. Really happy; joyfully, blissfully happy.
There’s no right or wrong answer. Put your censor/editor in a padlocked box for this exercise. The only criteria is it makes you happy – don’t worry if it makes anyone else happy (or sad). Use a pen, pencil, crayon, typewriter or computer. Write it on a napkin, in your journal or on your eight-year-old’s report card. I don’t care, just get it down on something you can find again later.
Take note, you may not know what makes you happy. Not right away.
I didn’t. I really had to think about it…for awhile. I was stunned: How could I not know what made me happy? I thought for days about my list and slowly I began thinking of things and writing them down. Once I started, I made a very long list. I still have it saved to my computer. It has things on it like, listening to the sound of thunder, working on a story, and playing with my kids. It may sound goofy to make such a list. However, if you want to manage your time, it helps to know what you’d like to be doing with it.
You don’t need to do any of the things on your list (unless you want too!), just write them down. It might take a while, but they’ll come to you. Add to your list throughout the week, and next Monday, I’ll share the next step.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at christine@litsisters.com. Check back regularly for more LitSisters™ writing tips and resources.
Next Week: Time Management 1.2: Determining the Important Stuff
OR: How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Book
Whether you’re an Indie author, or you’ve chose to go the traditional route of being agented, there is one major common fact: there is no money for marketing. The state of the industry doesn’t allow for it. So you’re this new author, with this amazing new book that you’ve worked on making as perfect as it can possibly be. Well, now what? How do people buy it? How do they find out about it? And the most important question: how can you make more money selling it?
And the easiest answer, dear readers, is this: social media.
Here are my top five tips for getting started on social media promotion for your book.
Get Profiled!
You’ll want profiles on all of the prominent social media websites: Twitter, Facebook, Delicious, Digg, etc … Upload photos of yourself, your book, any events you’ve done, things like that.
Use the Resources
Now that you’re all set up and good to go, USE THEM! The only way for people to remember who you are, is if you make yourself visible. Think of the old advertising rule: consumers need to see an advertisement seven times before the business name resonates with them. If someone needs to see you seven times before they recognize you, how many times does it take to get them to buy from you?
Build Relationships
While money, as with this and any other business, is the bottom line, you can’t view social media as social media = $. It just doesn’t work that way. You’re building relationships here. You’re making that connection with other writers, small presses, potential readers … caring about who you’re talking to and spending the time to get to know who they are will make all the difference when it comes to promoting your work.
This Shouldn’t Even Have To Be A Point
You have a website, right? And a blog, of course. And you’re updating with useful, relevant content several times a week, correct? And you’re making sure that you’re writing in your voice, and maybe even including little tidbits of your personal life to reach out and make that personal connection with your readers. I shouldn’t even have to put that here, right?
Yeah, I didn’t think so. You’re on top of stuff. Right?
Don’t Whore Yourself Out
With social media, you’re walking a fine line between good promo and being a pain-in-the-ass. I hate to be crude (okay, I really don’t) but the best way to make the most out of your social media is to understand that no one wants to be spammed. And no one wants to be forced into your product. If every update you make is about “Buy my new book!” “OMG did you buy my book yet!” “Hey, didya know I have a book and you should totally buy it?!” … yeah, you’ve just crossed into PITA territory. Keep it light, keep it simple, KEEP IT RELEVANT.
Lastly, think of social media like a party. Behave as if everyone you meet online is someone you’re meeting at a party. Writing is what you do, not what you are, and surely, you have other things to talk about. We good? Good. Now, go get started by joining the party at the LitSisters Facebook Group!
(see what I did there? eh? eh?)
