Today I read an article about cheap marketing by Tracy Cooper Posey.
One thing she suggests that I hadn’t heard before is a new take on an old theme. Any web marketing professional will tell you to provide useful web content if you want return visitors to your web site. Some authors even suggest tying the content in to your story—deleted (or new) scenes, etc. Posey suggests providing real-world information related to your story. If your hero is a pulmonary surgeon, consider having a page devoted to the warning signs of lung cancer and links to reputable web sites with further information.
In a similar vein, she suggests joining a related email list (Pulmonary Surgeons of Rabbitania or whatever) and including your web site URL in your signature line. Since you have related information on your web site, they will find your web content compelling. And since they’re on your web site, they’ll mosey on over to your book blurb, and they’ll think to themselves, “Hmm, a book about Biff Baxter, the esteemed pulmonary surgeon and Chicago Bears fan… interesting,” and then they’ll find themselves interested in your stories.
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Today I read an article on Finding the Touchstone by Tracy Cooper Posey.
I’ve actually read this article before, and decided to come back to it because I found it compelling, but couldn’t quite apply it to myself easily.
Basically, the idea is to consider a scene in a book or movie that touched you emotionally, then analyze it until you’ve broken it down into exactly what about it touched you, then craft a new and original situation that evokes the same emotion, and build a story from there.
Her example was a scene from the book Gone with the Wind where Scarlett visits Rhett in jail wearing a dress made from drapes. Posey’s touchstone is “Powerful hero, in a situation of complete helplessness, and a heroine in deep need.”
This concept spoke to me, but I haven’t yet been able to figure out any of my own personal touchstones. I need to take some time and try out the exercises she suggests, namely analyzing your favorite movies, books, TV shows, vacation places, dreams, photographs, paintings, etc, for touchstones.
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Today I read an article by Virginia Lawrence about Online Marketing. While I don’t yet have a published book, I do have an online presence—my “author” web site and my blog.
She suggests having a specific goal for each page, including meta tags for search engines, registering the site with the most popular search engines, having other sites link to your site, monitor your web traffic and your web site ranking as well as the page referrers, and to include the web site URL on everything from email to letterhead.
Do keep in mind the old WWWWWH of journaling—it still applies. Navigation and instructions must be clear. Ask for the “sale,” even if all you’re offering is a subscription to your email loop.
Being a web developer by trade, I do most of this stuff all the time and agree wholeheartedly.
That said, I don’t currently promote my author web site in any way other than the occasional email signature line, simply because my books are not yet in print and my blog is somewhat of a self-imposed enforcer to make sure I do something productive every day, even if that something is just reading an article—because you never know when that “aha” moment might come.
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Today I read a collection of writing tips by Tracy Cooper Posey.
She reminds us of the basics: sign your cover letters, include a SASE, get business cards, set realistic goals, keep deadlines, act like a professional, hone your craft.
Posey also suggests going to the next level: have a web site, proof your manuscript by revising the pages in backwards order, plot in advance, keep records and statistics.
I do disagree with one bit of advice. She says to “write our first draft as if it were the final one.” Personally, I think this can be momentum-killing. That said, I also don’t let myself write complete and utter crap—I do take the time to hunt something up in an etymology dictionary (if writing historical) or find just the right word in a thesaurus if it’s going to bug me. But if I dwell too much on the small things, I’ll never get to the big picture. I’d rather have a B- first draft to revise than an A+ set of thirteen opening pages. =)
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The following list is extracted (and paraphrased) from an article by Charlotte Dillon on critiquing the work of others, but I believe many of the points are applicable to self-critiquing as well.
Characters:
1. Are they well-rounded?
2. Are the heroes likeable? “The kind of people we want to see get the best”?
3. Is the motivation both strong and clear?
4. Do the characters have distinct voices?
5. Are physical traits consistent throughout?
Story:
1. Is there conflict? Is it enough conflict?
2. Is the story premise clichéd or contrived?
3. Are there opening hooks?
4. Does the story compel continued reading?
5. Is the setting vivid and evocative?
6. Is there sexual tension? A believable spark?
7. Are all 5 senses used?
8. Does the dialogue move the story forward while sounding natural?
9. Are the back-story and narrative heavy-handed?
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