DON'T DO IT

Yesterday I was at a marketing event and as usual there was a business card exchange.

You exchange cards and hope to make connections with the people there and hope that they reach out to you.

We were told, in one session to get up and give a 30 second 'pitch' and I nailed it.

Being an author has helped me tremendously with being prepared. 

The speaker commended me for three things.

1. I had on a shirt with my name and company on it
2. I had business cards available
3. I knew how to give all of the right information

He called others up to do the same thing and I noticed a few things about them. They didn't have an elevator pitch, they didn't have business cards and they didn't have anything that said who they were or even their business name on it.

Now this goes for everyone. Please pay attention.

Don't ever, ever, ever buy those cutesy, odd shaped business cards. Why?

Well I received two of them and they didn't fit inside of my business card holder that I keep for such events.

I had to toss them into my purse; and if a lot of you saw the inside of a purse; you would understand.

Not only were they not the standard size, they were also very odd shaped. One was a perfect 2x2 square and the other was a 3.5 x 2.5 rectangle. 

While they did look nice; I lost interest immediately. Sorry but it's just me. 

If I have to find a spot to put your business card; chances are I am not going to ever remember where I put it or if I will ever find it in my purse.

Also, please make sure that the information you put on your business card is accurate. The perfect square business card will be trashed. Here's why. The company website; when typed in, doesn't work. The email bounces back and the FB and Instagram pages that are listed has only 3 photos of random people and no title or information about the person or company on it.

Not a good way to do business wouldn't you say. 

So when going to an event; please make sure to have a REGULAR sized business card and also order business cards in small batches. That way all information will always be up to date and you don't have to worry about being tossed in the bottom of someone's purse or worse, being thrown away because nothing on the card works.

CHRISTMAS TIME AND THE LISTS ARE OUT

Let the countdown begin!

Christmas is less than a month away and I have some great gift ideas. 

Sure, they may be the gifts I want but if you are shopping for an author, feel free to use them as well.

1. Nice Pen- a nice pen to sign those new novels would be a great gift to give; especially if my name was on it.

2. Portable Hard Drive- I have been through the heartbreak of my computer crashing and it is nothing fun. This little beauty could be used to back up those important revisions you are making.

3. Professional Photo Shoot- Let me be clear; it doesn't have to be professional. I just need someone to dress me up, do my makeup and take some great photos of me.

4. Deep Tissue Massage- After all; sitting in a chair all day and writing is hard work. My back is always sore and would keep me motivated. Hint: Massage Envy offers great monthly plans

5. Pretty Journal- That I can travel with. Notes would be so much better if I had a dedicated place to keep them. Plus it would go nice with gift idea #1

6. Carry On Luggage- Now this may seem odd. This is the perfect size to keep my laptop (17 inches), journal, some extra books and all things related to writing. I would use this bag every time I had an appearance to go to. 

7. Wine- After all, I need motivation and for me; my favorite wine, from my favorite winery would do the trick. Hint: Romano Vineyard and Winery is in Brandywine, Maryland. OK; that's more than a hint. 

8. Touchscreen monitor- Yep; I have a desktop and all I want is a touch screen to go with it. That's simple, right?

9. New shoes- C'mon you knew that would be on the list, right? Size 9 with at least a 5 inch heel. Easy Peasy.

and finally

10. How about purchasing some of my novels. Give them as a set or gift them on Kindle! 

So what is on YOUR Christmas list?

GOT MONEY???

You have submitted that manuscript. You waited months for an answer on whether your writing stood out. You were elated when they said YES! You received an advance! 

Now you are awaiting for your 'baby' to be delivered.

It went through edits, rewrites, more edits and now it's in cover design. You rejected the first one but the second one is spot on! Then you had to write a synopsis AND short bio.


Your novel is now in the finishing stages of book production.


But wait! You look at your desk and see it.

There's that check you received! You were scared to cash it because you didn't know if it was actually happening! You didn't want to jink it so you left it there, in the envelope until now.

You are published! 

You got an advance and now you have money!

But what will you do with that sudden 'extra' money that you have.


Here's an idea: Use it for marketing! Buy your business cards, buy a domain name or invest in going to a conference and getting on a panel to promote that novel!

See, getting money is great and getting money as an author is greater! 

However most authors look at it like 'extra' cash to spend on things NOT related to being an author. 

You have to invest that money back into your business. 

Remember, I keep telling you that you are now a SMALL BUSINESS and your business is writing. 

Buy that new laptop, Ipad, or desktop computer you've been eyeing for some time. Buy a printer or portable hard drive. Buy flash drives to keep your novels on. Buy that outfit that will become your 'author wear' when you travel and sit on panels to discuss your novel. Buy that carrying case, messenger bag or duffel bag to carry your manuscript when you travel. Buy a nice pen to sign your books with. Pay for some professional photos of yourself and your novel. There are endless possibilities.

Remember, you can write it all off come April so invest it now; you will get it back later.

So what are YOU going to do with that advance for your novel? 

Make sure you choose wisely.

AN AUTHOR AND A TINY HOUSE

What do these two things have in common?

ME!

I am so excited to announce that I am purchasing a tiny house and will be writing full time.

What is a tiny house?

It's just what it says; a house that is tiny. Normally a tiny house consists of square footage that is no more than 500 square feet.

If you want to see the type of house I want; Take a peek at it right here. 


If you scroll through the pictures, you will come across one that is near a pool; that is what the outside of mine will look like. Looking further at the pictures; you will see one that is mostly white. That would be mine!

I found this builder and have fallen head over heels for them. Some people might call it stalker; I call it admiration.
 
This is a local builder, located in Virginia, specializing in tiny house: Tiny House Virginia

I fell in love with the tiny house movement about a year ago. I watch TINY HOUSE NATION faithfully every week and if I can't; my DVR records it for me.

I have found many tiny homes via YouTube and if you want to see some of them, check them out on my subscriptions: Tiny House Videos

I have decided to take the leap of faith and become a full time writer and I will use my tiny house as my office and I will have all of the comforts that I need.

Some people use their tiny home as an in-law apartment. Some people use them as rental properties.

I plan on taking mine on the road! I plan on parking it in an RV park or campground. I want to move around every couple of weeks for the new scenery.

I am so eager to begin this new journey and will post updates as they come. 

I AM BEING COURTED!

Yes, I'm being courted and my dad would be so happy. It's not that I'm a spinster or anything like that but being courted is something that every man wants for his daughter, right?

Well, my dad might be a litle disappointed to know that I am being courted by two women and a man. Actually, I guess you can say that want me to be a part of their group.

Now before you jump up and down and get yourself into a frenzy. I'm not talking about THAT kind of group; get your minds out of the gutter people. (not that's there's anything wrong with that)

I'm talking about being courted by a literary agency. That's right! Me, little ol me is being courted by one of the biggest agency's for literature and I am all aglow. (that's a word, right)

I was treated to a fancy dinner on Saturday then I got to go to a party where the First Lady was there and took note of my dress! Yes, my dress was a hit with the first lady. And let me just say this, she is really tall. I'm not short by any means, but even with my 6 inch heels on; she still had me by about 2 inches.

And, I got a car...I mean, not like Oprah, but they had a car and that is how we got to the party and I felt like Oprah or at the very least some rich spoiled kid. They laid out all that they 'could do for me' because they say I am "very marketable".

And do you want to know why this happened? It happened because of Thrillerfest! I owe all of this goodness to being at Thrillerfest and standing up and 'buzzing' my book!

I'm sure you are looking up Creatures,Crimes and Creativity right now because there will be agents there. There is still time to sign up!

So I guess you are wondering what my decision is: well I haven't made it yet. I know you are probably shouting, WHY NOT. The simple answer is: I have a lot of things to take into consideration and I don't want to jump into something that will impact the rest of my life. Just like buying a home, you have to KNOW that you want it. Oh trust me, I want it alright but they gave me two weeks to think it over...and that is exactly what I am going to do.

The Life of a Marketing Director

Ah, the life of a marketing director is never easy.

Today, I asked Sandra Bowman, Marketing Director of +Intrigue Publishing to tell you about the day in the life of...

First, thank you for allowing me to vent...oh I mean, share the joys of working with all of the authors at Intrigue Publishing.

They are much better than the other group I work with at my other full time job.

Even though at times I get emails that say..."did you get my email" or "you need to look at this''...which I probably already did. So I smile, nod and respond (sometimes)

Even with all of that, I think I work with the best group of people I work with.


Being marketing director is literally a full-time, 24 hour a day job for me. I wake up thinking about the things I need to get done during the day, I go to sleep stressing about the things that didn't get done, and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because of things that I need to do.

I schedule book signings, (well try to anyway with the closing of Borders), set up interviews, make sure ARC copies of books are mailed to reviewers, keep all the author's on deadline, make sure that they get that friendly 'reminder/to-do' email from me at least once a week and that is on top of making sure to show up at different events to get photos, videos and making sure the authors know I'm there for support.

Take the +Gaithersburg Book Festival a couple of weeks ago. Do you know how hard it is to wrangle a working author, a television personality and the father of a famous football quarterback into the same picture, all while making sure the picture is in focus. That took three people, a little running and a little begging on my part, but I got the picture. +Leon Harris and +Robert Griffin II, were very gracious as I pulled +Austin Camacho away from his booth to get that picture. They were also gracious when I told them I needed to take it again because it wasn't in focus.

Intrigue Authors

Then there was the +Bowie Senior Center event where I had a meeting at my other job, drove for 45 minutes to get there, hoped that the authors were set up; was informed that someone never responded but that they could still read from their novel and take video and pictures before rushing out of the door an hour later for a doctors appointment, heading back to the other job until five that evening and then needing to send out some galley books for review. (which the doctors informed me that I am working to hard) Ya think?

Boy am I glad that I have an assistant now.

I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love being able to help people and I love being able to see other authors reach their potential. It doesn't hurt that I work with the best group of authors. +DB Corey, +Penny Clover Peterson and +Christine Verstraete are all Intrigue authors and I hope they feel the same way about me.

Now, my list of to-do things just got a little longer as I need to get a meeting with the people at this local station in hopes of getting more interviews, oh and there is the little matter of +Thrillerfest and a book release party for DB Corey to finalize.

But first, maybe I need to lay down, after all it is 2am in the morning and my other work day will begin at 5am.