Something to think about:
cj Sez: Marketing . . . the incredibly
important bane of authors. How much to spend, where to spend it, how to get the
most bang for your buck, and the time. Egads, the time involved that takes a
writer away from the writing itself. Vicki Turner Goodwin, of Mystery Thriller
Week fame, posted a wonderful piece on her blog that I want to share with you.
It’s a how-to on using Facebook to do some free marketing.
Vicki writes: “I wanted to share with you a few options for marketing on Facebook
even if you do not want to have an active Facebook account for yourself.
Facebook
is a huge opportunity for authors that are looking for just one more book sale,
one more reader and that elusive one more fan. Many people do not trust
Facebook as a platform where they want to spend their time and do not enjoy
sharing their personal information with the powers that be like Zuckerburg and
other corporate entities. I have the perfect solution for you as an author.
Read her post here:
I decided to try it but had a problem uploading my cover jpeg
because it’s portrait-oriented and the place to drop it is landscape. Vicki
responded to my whining with this helpful note:
“Go into canva.com (free ) put in the dimensions you need and
upload your image. It will place it centered in the exact specifications you
need.” And she included the url address below
Canva makes design
simple for everyone. Create designs for Web or print: blog graphics,… CANVA.COM
I haven’t done Canva yet as my garden was
calling me all Saturday afternoon, but I’ll be at the keyboard soon to see if I
can work through it. I absolutely KNOW
that a lot of you readers have already done this, but I’m a bit of a troglodyte
when it comes to technology, especially Facebook’s. But I’ll get there, one way
or the other.
cj’s “to-do” list:
The Alabama Writers' Conclave has an upcoming conference that I’m attending . . .
On the writing front, I’m thinking up another challenge for the
protagonist/sleuth in my work in progress, and it is Work. Writing a mystery presents
a huge learning curve to me. Thriller and suspense genres I have managed to
some small degree, but a mystery is a whole ’nother story. Here’s what I know
so far:
What is the same among the genres is that
my protagonist detective/sleuth must be likeable, have some personality quirks,
and a bit of backstory baggage to be dropped intermittently into the story (no
info dumps, please). My sleuth has a confidant, which is another recommended
device. My setting is rather unique as non-cozy mysteries go in it’s not in a
big city, and there’s a love interest to add a little jazz. Each of the major
characters, including the bad guy, will have a piece of history or secret that affects
how they react, and—I hope—generate some degree of sympathy.
Jeffery Deaver: “I like the way words go together and I like
the gamesmanship of poetry. It is such a challenge.” (cj Sez: Works
the same way for me with novels.)
The clues and red herrings are struggles
for me. Where and how do I place them so they invite the reader to try to solve
the mystery but don’t reveal so much that they can do that too soon? I am a
pantser or, more accurately, a pathfinder. I find my way through the story by throwing
roadblocks in the path of my characters then figuring out how to have them
escape. For a mystery, I’m going to have to do a bit of ::gasp:: plotting.
Before I can hide the clues and weave in the red herrings, I probably should
know how my protagonist will be solving the crime. Then again, not knowing
ahead of time is kind of exciting.
I read that Hallie Ephron struggles with
these same problems, so that makes me feel better. I guess this struggle might be problem
for many mystery writers. I do know that, like all manuscripts, my characters,
clues, and red herrings will change and be rearranged with each future edit
cycle.
Diablo Cody: “I don’t have a formal rewrite process. I
just compulsively groom and re-groom scenes like a cat with OCD.” (cj Sez: My method exactly.)
What I really like is that I’m learning new
things. My personal goal has long been to learn something new every day, and
this (really long) project is certainly helping me reach my goal. How about
you? Do you have a personal goal?
Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys
keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.
cj
Choosing Carter -- Kindle
/ Nook
/ Kobo
/ iTunes/iBook
California Kisses—10 book publisher’s bundle 99
cents
“Bad Day at Round Rock” a short story in The Posse, a Western anthology.
Available at http://amzn.to/2lQRvcD
Canva is great! I create loads of jpegs with it and FB covers, uploads for WordPress press site, etc. Easy to use.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that's confusing to me is the bit about "put in the dimensions you need." I'm wondering if that's a real measurement. Thanks for stopping by.
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