Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Spilling the Beans

by Heather Moore



This past weekend I attended the League of Utah Writers Conference in Midway, Utah (think Heber or Park City—it’s beautiful up there).

It was one of those full circle moments. In 2002, I attended my first writers conference ever—the LUW conference. There I heard from writers that I had admired for years. I entered the contest with a manuscript and earned a 3rd place award. I used the validation to keep me motivated as I waded through plenty of rejections in the months to come.

This year—2009—I attended the conference as a presenter. Even though I felt that I had a lot of insights to share—especially my own bumpy road to publication—I was there to learn. On the side, I was also there as a fan.

I was excited to meet Sandra Dallas. I also took a workshop from Richard Paul Evans, a local author who has been a NY Times Bestseller most of his career. In Evans’ “former” life he was an advertising executive—a very successful one. Transitioning from an ad ex to a successful author is something to note, and believe me, I was writing down every word he said.



So I decided to spill the beans. Some of it you’ve probably heard before, but when Richard Paul Evans says “When I get up in the morning, I go to work against John Grisham,” you suddenly sit up and take more notice.

Evans said to ask yourselves these questions when writing your book:
-Is there an audience?
-Is that audience big enough to earn success?
-Who will purchase the book (i.e. parents purchase books for their children; women purchase books for their husbands, etc.)
-Can you create perpetual motion with your sales? In other words, will you get more energy (sales) out of the product than what you put into it (marketing)?

He also advised:
Find your unique selling proposition and market to it! He gave the example of a book that was published called Compact Classics. It was a glorified and condensed version of Cliff Notes in which you could read a summary of a classic in just a couple of minutes. Sales lagged. Then it was discovered that people were reading this book in the bathroom . . . and the book was renamed: The Great American Bathroom Book. Sales skyrocketed.

Listen to your reviewers. What are they saying about your book? What is the main theme they restate? This is your unique selling proposition.

And finally:
Take Prisoners! You need to capture your audience by creating a mailing list. Evans shared story after story of authors who had their first books sell like crazy. But they didn’t capture their audience (collect addresses or emails), and they weren’t able to market their next books to the audience that loved the first one. When Rick goes to a signing or event, he hands out sign-up cards where the reader can sign up for his email letter, or be on his postal list. Readers can also go to his website to sign up for his newsletter. He also recommended that as a writer, we should sign up for other authors’ newsletters so that we can learn how they are marketing their books.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Monday Mania--Query

One of our readers submitted 2 query letters for critique. Feel free to make comments, but please keep them constructive.

Critique Archive 0025:

#1

A female Prophet. A Transmigrator. A Seeker, a Weaver and a Unifier. These are the elements of reincarnation. When Jane enters her Junior year of High school she's expecting the same old routine: boring classes and continued harassment from the female bullies, the Termies. Little does she know, that's the least of her worries. What Jane will soon learn is that her new love interest, Alexander Anderson, has secrets from his past. As a Transmigrator, he recalls his former lives and has come for Jane in one last attempt to fulfill the prophecy. With the help of the other elements of reincarnation, Jane will discover her own hidden strengths and find her long lost Eden buried beneath the depths of the reservoir. Unfortunately, it all comes at a cost.

This novel, for young adults, is complete at 83,000 words. It should appeal to a broad range of readers, including fans of The Hourglass Door and The Time Traveler's Wife. It combines elements of fantasy, the paranormal and romance.

My writing experience includes a self-help article about advocating for special needs children at www.iser.com and two soon-to-be published religious self-help articles at www.bellaonline.com

May I send you a copy of The Reservoir for your review?

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
Amie Borst


#2

She's a prophet, but is completely unaware. When Jane enters her Junior year of High school she's expecting the same old routine: boring classes and continued harassment from the female bullies, The Termies. Little does she know, that's the least of her worries. What Jane will soon learn is that her new love interest, Alexander Anderson, has secrets. He is a Transmigrator, a reincarnated spirit that recalls his past lives. With the help of the other Elements of Reincarnation, the Seeker, the Weaver and the Unifier, Jane will discover her own hidden strengths and find her long lost Eden buried beneath the depths of the reservoir. Unfortunately, it all comes at a cost.

This novel, for young adults, is complete at 83,000 words. It should appeal to a broad range of readers, including fans of The Hourglass Door and The Time Traveler's Wife. It combines elements of fantasy, the paranormal and romance.

My writing experience includes a self-help article about advocating for special needs children at www.iser.com and two soon-to-be published religious self-help articles at www.bellaonline.com

May I send you a copy of The Reservoir for your review?

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
Amie Borst