A Work in PROGRESS

Debra is making good headway on her WIP.

It's been a good writing summer. Something that hasn't happened in a while. Last time I posted I was excited to report that I'd begun writing again, picking up a WIP that had been languishing. I am proud to say I've written almost every day since then. My word count is up to 48,700 with a target of 65,000, so I am extremely pleased with my progress. When I picked it up again in June, I was at 23,100. So in a little less than a month, I've recorded approximately 25,000 words.

Some days it's easier than others and I know just what scene I want to work on and where I'm going with the story. Other days it's a bit more like pulling teeth. Difficult and painful, but in the end I get there and am happy and relieved with the end result. Today (Sunday) I wrote about 1,500 words of a scene that I knew I wanted to include in some way, but hadn't exactly figured out how it was going to move the story forward.

I have been writing a bit piecemeal and not in chronological story order, and I was wondering how everything was fitting together, so I took a couple of days to do a read-through of what I had down. Other than that, except for a few tiny rereads just for continuity information, I've been writing and not rereading, editing, or revising. I think it's working well.

Once I've reached my word goal, I'll do a full read-through and begin the editing and revising process. I'm also planning on snagging a few beta readers for this one. I have a few questions in my mind about the story already, and I'd love the opinion of a reader or two. This will be a new step for me, so I'm nervous and excited at the same time.

In the meantime, I've also been trying to be more active with other aspects of my writing career, while I have the time here in the summer. My book Fourth of July at The Corral is on sale for #99c in the month of July. I've been posting and advertising on various outlets for that. And I'm also trying to be more active with my Twitter account. I'm trying to post something every day, although I don't always accomplish this. I've been posting new release blurbs from fellow Roses and sometimes just a what I'm up to at the moment type thing. I'm refraining from posting 'buy MY book' Tweets every day, but have plans to sneak those in too. At the moment, just trying to build a following and make sure my account isn't sitting there inactively. I'm still on the fence about Facebook, but I've posted a few personal and authory things from time to time there as well.

So, all in all, I'm having a lot of fun being an author again this summer. It's been a while since I've felt like one.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Social Media: How Do I Make it Work for Me?

One thing I'd really like to get better at is using social media as a more effective marketing tool. Last year I did an on-line marketing challenge that gave all sorts of great tips. One of the best things that came out of it was setting up a Twitter account, which previously I hadn't had. I was super stoked about it, but now nearly a year later...it is sitting and languishing. I rarely post on it, so it's out there collecting cyber dust. And to be honest, I'm not sure how it's that much different than Facebook, other than you're limited to the number of characters you can use in a post. I'm sure I'm missing the point because I don't understand how it really works.

The same for my Facebook account. I rarely check that either. The biggest issue I have with Facebook is when I first set up my account, I did it as a personal account. What I needed to do was set up an author page. Does anyone who is more Facebook savvy than me know if I can switch it?

And will switching cut down on the endless stream of day-to-day from the hundreds of friends I have? I don't want to offend anyone, but what I'm looking for is a way to promote my books, not look at pictures of everyone's cats, babies, birthday parties, etc. I totally don't even know enough to know if having any author page would cut out the zillions of personal posts. Is there a way to use Facebook for strictly promo and not get an endless stream of everyone else's life?

Because I just can't keep up. There just aren't enough hours in the day. I am sorely tempted to go completely off-line with my Facebook account. I think, but again I'm so not up on how it all works, that I can put a 'hold' or 'stop' or 'freeze' on my account or something like that until I figure out how to switch it over from a personal page to an author/business page...if it's even possible to do that. Maybe I need to just 'erase' and start completely over. I just don't know.

What I need, me and every other author out there I'm sure, is a fresh approach. What's going to make me stand out from everyone else out there? I tried a promotion for my New Year's Eve release last year, but it didn't really pan out. I think I fell about 995 short in my #sellathousand 'challenge'. But in a sense, I don't consider it a complete failure. It got me to try something different as a way to reach readers. And as part of the promotion, I joined a few Facebook groups strictly for promoting books, which were great while I was running my contest and 99c book sale. The sale part of the promotion seemed to work better than trying to sell a thousand of a single title. I may try putting some of my others titles on sale in the near future, to see what kind of results I can garner.

What I need is to set aside time to really work at promotion. Part of the problem is I think of my writing as a hobby, not a 'real' job. Which means that other things in life always come first and take precedence over my writing. I know I'm not the only one. Everyone is busy and has a million things going on. I think I used to be better at balancing everything. I'm not sure what changed. Maybe just my attitude.

I don't mean to sound whiny...and I apologize if I do. What I'm really looking for here is to know how you use social media. Do you post on Facebook or Twitter everyday? Do you find there are certain types of posts that tend to draw more attention? How do you deal with the non-writing posts of Facebook? I'm not looking to steal anyone's unique and original ways of promoting, but if you're willing to share some tried and true strategies you've used, I'd be eternally grateful.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Trying To Be Everywhere At Once...And Failing

Jennifer and her online presence.

When I first became a writer, I was told I had to market myself and have an online presence.  I’d already joined Facebook with a personal page, and I soon added an author page, which I’m only somewhat successful in directing people to. I soon followed with Twitter. Later, I added Google+, Foursquare and recently, Pinterest (although I haven’t done any publicity about that). And of course, I have a website and a blog, and I contribute to other blogs, such as this one, weekly or monthly.

That’s a lot of time to spend online.

Social media is fun. It gives people who mostly stay home a social outlet to interact with others, similar to the water cooler at an office. At least, that’s what I’ve used to justify my almost constant time spent switching from one form or another throughout the day.

Lately, however, I’m noticing that I spend more time than I should in a virtual world. I’ve also noticed I’m not as happy as I used to be. Now, there may be other reasons for my lack of happiness, but I think it’s time I started to do something about all of this. And perhaps there is a connection between amount of time spent online and happiness.

My website is essential for me as an author. My personal blog is essential for my mental well-being—it’s one of the places I vent, I kvell, and I publicize my writing achievements. It’s a mix of personal and professional, so I talk about everything that interests me—writing, religion, politics, parenting, the news. Maybe I shouldn’t mix those things together, but it’s who I am, and I’m not changing that.

The blogs I contribute to are important as well, because those are writing blogs and allow me to reach an audience I otherwise might not reach.

I like Facebook. I shouldn’t. It’s a huge time-suck. But I like it. It allows me to meet people, chat with old friends and be entertained. It also allows me to join online writing groups. And my author page is another way for me to get my writing out there.

Twitter is, for me, a necessary evil. I’m gaining a lot of followers who are reading my blogs and more importantly, retweeting my blogs to others. My readership is slowly increasing. I still don’t like it, but I’m learning to use it more efficiently and effectively.

I’m being very snobby with Pinterest. I’m only following other writers. I’m not posting much, but it’s a great way to create a visual storyboard for my books. And I find fun book hideaways and writing quotes.

I just deleted my Foursquare account. I tried it for awhile to see what it was like. Other than checking in to different places, I can’t find a use for it. Why do I need a record of restaurants I go to? Why do I care where others go? If my friends find a great restaurant, I hope they’ll tell me. Or better yet, take me there (especially if chocolate is involved). But there’s not professional point and it’s making me feel a bit stalkerish. So, I’m done.

Google+ is probably my next thing to get rid of. I tried it, can’t really figure out a purpose to it and am really just posting things because I think I should. But I haven’t seen a benefit and I’m connecting with a lot of strangers, without getting to know anyone. Oh, there, I just convinced myself why I should delete my account. J

Like anything, I think the key to all of this is moderation. Once I’ve pared down WHERE I am, I’m going to pare down HOW OFTEN I’m in any of these places. I suspect I’ll find myself a lot more productive.

And hopefully, happier.