Business cards...gateway to fame and fortune?

Good evening!

Last year my daughter got on the computer and printed some business cards for me.  I was going to hand them out at a book signing I was doing at a local book store.  As it turned out, she printed a lot more cards than I had people interested in having my card, so I had a lot of cards left over.

Since then, I've been leaving them in random places:  with my tip at a restaurant, at our local library, in the rest rooms of stores.  I don't leave my phone number on my card, but my web site, blog, and email are all there.

Usually, I sneak away before the person I've left the card for finds it.  I'm shameless about promotion, but I'm also a little shy when it comes to actually saying the words, "I have two published novels and I'd really like you to buy them and read them, and then convince your friends to also buy them and read them."

Tonight hubby and I were at a relatively new eatery in our home town, and the server, also part owner of the place, was really personable.  (Could be that we were the only people in the place eating dinner, while everyone else was in the bar.)  As part of the tip, I pulled out my card.  She'd struck up enough of a conversation with us during dinner, that she had no issue picking up the tip in front of us and saying, "Ah, what do we have here?"

Then she frowned.

No one likes to have their business card frowned at, least of all authors.

Then she started asking questions about my writing.  We talked for a few minutes, when she said, "Would you be interested in doing a book signing here sometime?"

The words weren't even out of her mouth when I howled, "YES!  NAME THE DAY!"

I'm sort of shameless that way.

This is lovely.
 Now if I only had a BOOK
to read with it!

She offered to bundle the signing with a...wait for it...WINE TASTING.

Could anything be more perfect?

Now we're just hashing out a date. 

I'm telling you this to encourage you to look at the simplest way to promote your writing.  You can go to every single conference, pay someone to build adds and a video for your book.  You can pay to have people read and review your book.  Most of these things, I've done, in one way or another.  (Never done the video yet, though.)

The most effective tool I've had yet?  Putting a business card on a table.

I hate marketing.  I'd rather write.  But I love book signings, so if putting a card on the table gets me a book signing, then I'm printing out more cards right now and papering every eatery in the tri-county area with them!

As always, once I have a date for this amazing wine tastings/book signing, I'll let you all in on it. 

But for now, I'm off to print more business cards.

Say it loud, say it proud!

Good morning all!

Well, I have four more precious days until I go back to work...have I written anything new?  No...

Am I disappointed in myself?  Sort of...except I have been working at the business of writing, getting ready for a book signing and what not, so it's not like I've been sitting on the couch watching TV.  Although I have been doing that a lot too.

Anyway, I have to share this little bit with you because so many people seem to have a sort of mental block when it comes to marketing themselves as authors, that this was a bolt of light over my head.

Two nights ago Hubby and I were buying glamorous things like deodorant and a new handle for the toilet when we decided we needed a coffee.  This is our one luxury, buying coffee at the big honkin' super popular coffee place.  (Not sure I can use the name...let's call it CAR DUCKS.)  We didn't go to our usual Carducks, where they know us and half the baristas have a copy of Dream in Color, because that Carducks was too far away.  We needed COFFEE NOW!

So we stopped at the Carducks conveniently located in the store.  It wasn't crowded, because who's buying coffee at 8PM?  So Hubby and I struck up a conversation with the woman behind the counter.

I should say, she struck up a conversation with us.

She looked at me and said, "So are you an author?"

Now, this isn't usually how people open conversations with me.  It's not like I have a halo around my head that reads "AUTHOR" in neon.  (Gee...you'd think Sharper Image would come up with something like that.)  What I did have was my t-shirt that reads "Careful, or you'll end up in my novel."

Authors, writers, we all have that t-shirt, right?  Maybe you got is as a gift, but more likely you bought it for yourself from Cafe Press.  You bought it hoping someone would see you wearing it and ask you if you were a writer.

I've worn that shirt a hundred times and no one said boo to me.  But this woman, this one person, got me talking about my books...and you know YOU are the best marketing for what you write because YOU love what you write more than anyone else.  So we chatted for a few minutes, I gave her my titles, told her about my book signing on Friday  (Martha Merrell's Books 300 West Main Street, Waukesha.  6:30 PM.  BE THERE!)  and told her to buy my books for her Kindle.

I got home feeling more rosy about my writing than I have in weeks.  (Let's face it...I can't quit the job I haven't started just yet...sales aren't quite there...ahem...) and I realized it was as simple as wearing a shirt.

We all wear shirts, right?  It's a requirement to get in to anything pretty much, so we have a shirt.  Why can't that shirt tell the world what we might be too shy to say?  I WROTE A BOOK.  I WANT YOU TO BUY IT!

To that end...my friends, I encourage you to do two things:

1)  Wear your swag!  Got something that mentions writing?  Wear it!  Got business cards with your website on it?  Drop it in those free lunch bowls.

2)  Don't have swag?  Stop by my store at It's a Writer's World/Cafe Press.  I make these shirts and coffee mug designs for fun...not for profit, but it's an easy way to get the world talking about your writing without saying much of anything!

3)  (I know I said two things...but here's one more thing)  BUY MY BOOK!

Now...go forth my friends and write!

Not obsessing about sales while writing another novel!

Hello all!

So a friend of mine, Author Edie Ramer has had an amazing year of publishing and sales since she released her first novel, Cattitude.  I recently read an interview she did and something she said really jumped out at me.

Edie's advice to new authors who e-publish is to worry less about about promoting the book you've published and worry more about writing the next book.

As a person who recently e-published Lies in Chance last month, I have to say that I am OBSESSED about sales.  And I'm more obsessed about what I can do to boost sales.  (Let's just say I'm not quitting my job just yet.)  So every day I check sales on all three sites.

Amazon:  Buy Lies in Chance HERE

Barnes and Noble:  Nook readers buy Lies in Chance HERE!

Smashwords:  Sony users, and those who do not have electronic readers, buy Lies in Chance HERE!

And I worry that not I'm not doing enough to get the word out there.  I blog, I keep up to date on Facebook, Twitter, myspace, and email.  I'm doing a book signing for Dream in Color this coming weekend.  What else can a new author do?

Well, according to my friend Edie...the best thing I can do is WRITE THE NEXT BOOK!

Like most people, I'm very limited in the amount of time I have to spend writing, and all things writing.  And that time will be even more limited next week when I begin yet another new job.  (3rd shift...not a good fit.  I'm back to the 8-5 grind and I'm looking forward to it!)  What this means is that when I do sit down for author time, I can't be going from site to site worrying about sales that are or are not there.  I need to focus on the next book.

I think Edie's advice is good for us all.  I look at her success in the last year and the woman has done nothing but publish.  And she is rocking!  (And she now gets to do it full time I believe.)  So she is walking the walk and it's working for her.

It takes discipline because once you publish a book you want to know that everyone out there is reading it, loving it, leaving positive reviews on the sites so others will read it.  You almost have to put blinders on.  Publishing one thing doesn't mean you're done writing, does it?

So I'm struggling to ignore the websites.  I try to check no more than twice a week.  And I try not to be frustrated.  Meanwhile, I'm working on the next big thing, hoping that by getting a new title out there, my name and writing will be more readily recognized.

One more thing that helps all new authors:  Reader reviews.  If you read a book, and you liked it, ESPECIALLY if you liked Dream in Color or Lies in Chance, PLEASE  leave a reader review.  It's the only way a new author survives!  (Got a book out there...let me know.  I love reading, and I'm happy to read and leave reviews!)

Meanwhile....go forth and WRITE!

Behind the 8 ball and other cliches that describe my current marketing approach.

Good morning!


I was feeling all on top of things with the book, and then real life hit me!

With the new date for Dream in Color, it occured to me Saturday, during a WisRWA meeting, that I haven't done much in the way of actual Marketing for the book. Sure, I get on Bob and Brian every couple of weeks to plug the book and sure, I have two blogs and a very active life on Facebook. Oh, and I have promises from my favorite Starbucks, the Gelato place downtown, and another author friend of mine to hold book signings for me once Drean is out. But I haven't done all that other stuff other authors have done, and suddenly, with 8 weeks to go, I'm starting to feel the pressure BIG TIME!

First off, I haven't had book marks printed. Book marks are THE marketing tool for writers...I always thought they were silly, but the writers at the meeting all looked at me as if to say, "YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN YOUR BOOKMARKS YET?"

Well, looking back it seemed silly to, given the number of times my release date has been changed, ahem.

But a website. I've been told I need one. I never understood why until this very moment and now I'm in a panic. My unpublished friends all have web sites and I always felt it was sort of silly to have a website. After all, I have two blogs and a very active life on Facebook. Why one EARTH would anyone want to find another place dedicated to ME?

I've been told that I can get a website built for as little as $350...to quote my favorite heroine, Scarlet O'Hara, "It may as well be three million." I have a hard time justifying the cost given that unemployment for hubby is going to barely cover FOOD. (He needs a job...please hire him! LOL!)

So, I'm thinking I like my friend Elliott's idea of taking donations through paypal. Elliott, care to let me in on how you did that? LOL!

My friends, don't think of this as a plea for cash. Think of it as a donation to the arts! LOL!

Okay, okay, I'm off to get some bookmarks printed...

T-shirt wisdom for the writing life

Good morning!

So I have to admit, I'm a Cafe Press junkie. (www.cafepress.com) They have THE BEST t-shirts and fun stuff covering all sorts of categories. Better yet, you can create your own T-shirt for very little cost. Remember back in the 80's when you could heat transfer all sorts of groovy logos onto a "French cut" t-shirt at the mall? Well, it's the same principle here, only the quality is far better, and you don't have to limit yourself to that cheesy, formfitting cut of T-shirt. (I'm more of a "French fry cut" shirt myself.)

Anyway, the reason I bring it up, besides the fact that I love the website, is that Cafepress.com has a tremendous selection of T-shirts for the writing life. I was blown away by how many fun shirts there were that explained, in about six words or less, exactly what I was thinking, or what I wanted to tell people about my writing career.

I think my favorite, at the moment, is the one that states in bold letters, "I'm not staring at you because I like you. You've just given me an idea how to kill off my villain."

Granted, that's more than six words, but still, it's brilliant. Ranks up there with, "Oh, this is sooooo going into my next novel."

Writers are not always a bold lot. We tend to hide what we do, thinking we'll only tell people about it once we are famous. To this I say, "BLAH!" You are a writer! You already do something most people in the US cannot fathom, which is string together a whole lot of words in some sort of cohesive story. (Given the literacy rate in this country, just being able to WRITE puts you in the top 50% of the population.)

Folks, you just can't wait until you're famous to tell people what you do. Think about it...who's going to buy that first book? Someone you don't know, or your mother, your cousin, your best friends?

Blanche du Bois once breathed, "I have always relied on the kindness of strangers." Well, Blanche had issues. A lot of issues. (BTW, if you aren't sure who she is...get the to a library and check out a copy of "Streetcar named Desire.") And Blanche probably didn't have a novel sitting on her hard drive either. So forget waiting for strangers to spread the word about your greatness. Start advertising to your family and friends!

Hey, I used to be shy about what I did. Ask anyone from my writer's group. Oh sure, my funny stuff I could read all day long. But my fiction? Well, let's just say that the working title for one of my novels at the time was, "The Stupid Novel." We all lovingly shortened it to "TSN."

Now, I can't be in conversation for more than five minutes with a stranger without mentioning that I have a book coming out in April. Or that a second book has been requested by a couple of agents. (Even my 21 year old donut eating personal trainer knows this tidbit about me, and I've only met him twice.)

But that's just me. Those who know me know that I tend to be a bit more...outgoing...than your average human. Which brings me back to Cafe Press. How many times have you wished you could start a conversation about writing with someone, but don't have the words? Well, you can cure that simply by wearing a T-shirt that says it all for you!

Don't believe me? How about this: I won a t-shirt recently at a writer's conference. It says, "What I really need are minions." I've worn this shirt twice and may have to put it away simply because I get stopped by people who insist on reading the whole thing and then laughing out loud. I actually had a skinhead in tears of laughter in the cereal aisle at my local grocery store because of that. And, as you may know, skinheads aren't exactly a laugh out loud group of people!

So my friends, keep writing (that means you, too, Elliott! Your novel is too brilliant to hide in the swamps of Florida!) But remember, a big part of writing is also marketing yourself and your book. Tell people what you do, be proud of what you're writing! (There's a great T at Cafe press that says, "I prefer to think of myself as pre-published."

You can say a lot simply by wearing the proper T-shirt. So, get thee to www.cafepress.com Buy a great t-shirt, and get out there and tell the world you're a writer!