LTUE Adventures!

Oh dear. I had so much fun this week anticipating and preparing to attend Life, the Universe, and Everything...that I forgot it's my turn to blog! Theresa Sneed, Betsy Love, and I stayed up way too late last night catching up with each others lives and enjoyed every minute. Today was a flurry of rushing to UVU and finding the best classes to attend.

I listened to a marvelous panel discussion on marketing your writing. Remember - Be interesting and be entertaining. Authors can longer afford to be incognito. Also: Stalk, Steal, and Mutate marketing methods you see other authors use. One idea I particularly liked: Post Cards. Put your cover on the front and hand write an invitation to 12 of your nearest book stores to purchase your book. Then send 12 more to local schools and ask them to please have you there. Send some more to libraries.

Podcasting for writers was a fascinating discussion and I learned a ton in the class on pitches and queries. Remember: A one (or at least no more than 4) sentence elevator pitch to capture the interest of the agent or editor. Then, be able to express what makes your novel unique. Add any marketing ideas you have -- make yourself useful to the editor. They want to be "infected with your passion." The number one mistake given is the tendency for authors to hold back on what they give the editor/agent. They want the whole story!

It helps to position your story. "This is a book in the ___style like (name a best seller.) Remember that you need to be able to communicate how your story has a likeable hero with a noble goal who faces tremendous obstacles that result in fascinating consequences. Be simple, memorable, and powerful. Then stop talking.

We have control over writing the very best story we can write. We do not have control over what other people are pitching. Timing is huge in the publishing industry.

Build a brand. Keep writing. Network. Keep writing. Read. Keep writing. Do I detect a pattern here?

Happy writing, everyone!