Category Archives: Marketing

WHY thank you, Mary Buckham ;-)

CarleneLoveHello fishy friends,

Welcome to today! Let me get straight to business, as a good student of Mary Buckham would do. Last month, my local writing chapter, Romance Writers of America-San Diego, hosted Mary as our guest speaker and her craft and branding workshop was outstanding. I highly recommend you check them out. I’m not one to take pages and pages of notes because I like to listen to all those little one-liners and short stories the speaker usually throws in between the meat of the presentation. Well, I ended up with a couple pages of “Mary-isms”. I loved them! She’s great. My favorite, however, was this:

It’s not about what you do, it’s about why you do what you do. That’s what the readers are connecting with.

She then challenged us to figure out for ourselves why we have to write and proceeded to briefly mention Sherrilyn Kenyon. My heart instantly warmed. Mary asked the room if anyone was familiar with Sherrilyn’s why story. Several hands shot up, mine included. I also got goosebumps. Anyone who knows me understands the deep love I have for SK and I knew exactly what Mary was talking about in that instant. If you’ve read any of SK’s books, but especially if you’ve heard Sherrilyn speak, you know why she writes. She doesn’t have to spell it out. Attend one of her signings, and you will pick up on it. I won’t try to put it into words or speak for my favorite author, but I can tell you Sherrilyn is coming from a place that was once painful and her why, in my mind, is that she wants her readers to know that it will be okay and they are not alone.

Redemption. Family. Forgiveness.

As her devoted reader, I believe that combination is Sherrilyn’s why. 

Sometimes when you are posed a question, does your mind become a blur? Do you become either a completely blank slate or are you inundated with thousands of pieces of what could eventually be a clear answer to the question if you could only sort and connect them? That is often me. But when Mary challenged us to figure out our why that day, as easy as a passing breeze, it came to me. It was that I never want anyone to feel ashamed or alone because of things they’ve done or have had done to them in their life. Too many people, with generous and kind and thoughtful souls, suffer the judgment of others before they are given a chance to show their worth.

Worthy. Second Chance. Unashamed.

That combination is my why. 

What is yours? I’d genuinely love to know.

BIF-CoverA HUGE thank you to Mary Buckham for posing this question to a room of people who most certainly all have a why. And to Dianna Love, co-author of Breaking Into Fiction, which I highly recommend for every writer out there. It’s the craft book I finally understand and I use it with every story I write. And to Sherrilyn Kenyon. For her bravery.

Find more about Mary HERE at her website.

Find more about Dianna Love HERE at her website.

Find more about Sherrilyn HERE at her website.

Find more about me, Carlene, HERE at my website.

Fishy kisses,

Carlene Mermaid

Welcome Home–to Spiridus House

 

 Hello! Loni Lynne here today. I have been working lately, not only on novels but on novel ideas (pardon the pun). I will let my post explain it all but this is something I’ve been working on with all my heart for writers/authors and the great people in the industry that I’ve gotten to know as ‘family’ over the years of writing professionally. I’ve learned so much (and there is so much more to learn) that I wanted to share it and pass along the chance for everyone to share their wisdom, wit and support to each other in this crazy wild ride we share. So I bring to you my article, explaining a bit about me and about Spiridus House:

SHlogo3-mergedandcroppedI have  been writing longer than I can remember, dreaming about the ability to write and someday be published by the big publishing houses. Thirty some odd years later and I’m published but the industry isn’t what it used to be. Six years ago I started writing professionally. Three years ago I was finally offered a contract with an Indie Publisher. An exciting day for me, for sure!

But then came the ‘work’ and I don’t mean writing the next novel. I found out I had to be my own marketer, get my name and my books out there to the readers. I listened to my friends and mentors in my writing groups, read blogs and books on how to market, what you needed to have, etc.  But as things changed, so did my ability to stay up to date, find the links and programs I needed and spend countless hours on the Internet hunting for just the right people and links to get me where I needed to go.

I just don’t have the time. Not if I want to write, too. Which is my main goal.

So after months of having this idea niggling (is that a word…I like it, so it’s MY word) at the back of my brain, I decided to do something about it. I have met so many writers and authors in the same boat as I am, but I’ve also met wonderful people who serve the writing industry.  Why not combine the two into one site in which both people can socialize and network?

Spiridus House is a network based site in which there is no one person. It is a home for each of us, sharing ideas, about our skills and what we have to offer each other.

Spiridus House is looking for you to become a family member if you:

  • are a fiction writer or author (any genre as long as it is fiction or related to fiction writing)
  • design websites and graphics
  • format ebooks and print novels
  • run a book blog
  • plan online parties
  • review books
  • promote
  • design covers for books
  • anything and everything having to do with the world of fiction writing and publishing (focus is on those who self-publish and are Indie Published but all are welcome to share)

 

Spiridus House is looking for all offers and price ranges in the service industry. Pages for links are set up to guide you to someone who can help you and your budget. We are looking for pro-bono workers just starting out, all the way up to professional grade businesses who’ve been in the industry for many years. This way, depending on your budget as a writer/author you connect with someone who can help you and in return, receive your business to grow.

We are also looking for those of you who could share  your experience and information in insightful blog articles and formats. Please see the contact page for further information.

I hope you find this house a friendly, helpful place in a business where working alone is essential, but where feeling alone is never an option. I look forward to growing our house by sharing ideas on how we can make Spiridus House a strong foundation in the ever changing world of writing and publishing.Loni Lynne1

 

Hugs!

Loni Lynne

 

Please check out Spiridus House at http://www.spiridushouse.com

 

Mermaids & Friends: Jennifer Fusco Swims with the Mermaids!

Mermaid-Carlene-300x225Dearest Fishy Friends!

Today is a very special day in the pond because we have the lovely and talented author, Miss Jennifer Fusco, as our guest! She’s sharing a very poignant story about the importance of embracing all of your life’s experiences, whether you think they are relevant or not. Take it away, Jennifer…

A second career…

After college I joined one of Corporate America’s largest companies. I had a degree in English. I wasn’t an Engineer or a math nerd, so the places I could fit in the ginormous conglomerate were few. Luckily, I found myself stuck in the Marketing department.

I’d never taken a marketing class. Had no knowledge of what it was, exactly. You tell people why they should buy stuff, okay. I get it. And, a career was born. My day job educated me in all things marketing. They sent me to workshops, classes, industry meetings. It turned out that telling people why they should buy stuff was harder than it sounded. It wasn’t sales exactly, nor was it psychology either. It was both.

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I spent fifteen years in marketing. Learning, practicing, putting those learned techniques out into the market place and evaluating their results. I did well. I won the ANA’s Advertising award three years running. I knew stuff. Yay, for me. But, it was a far cry from the teacher I thought I’d be as a child or the writer I dreamed I’d be as an adult.

Was I happy? No.

Marketing is a discipline. Anyone can learn it. Anyone can convince people to buy stuff. There is a market for everything.  The challenge was over.

Then I discovered a writing group, CTRWA to be exact. In essence, we made a deal. You teach us how to market, we’ll teach you how to write romance. DONE!  A second career was born!!

I began teaching my fellow chaptermates about brand, and marketability. They joined with me and I took my workshop to RWA National. And, I was set. From there, I jenphoto2conducted more workshops, more classes, gave more speeches. Turned out, my chaptermates were right. Authors did need to learn marketing, and they needed to learn it the right way.

I opened at publicity services company Market or Die Author Services, LLC in 2012. Now, my partner and I maintain over 40 active clients. Shortly after I signed with an agent, I drafted a proposal for a marketing book for writers. We sold it to Belle. It releases today.

The point of this post is that in life there are things we’re going to learn, to embrace, whether we want to or not. I never intended on being a marketer. It happened, but it prepared me with the skills I need to teach you how to do your very best marketing work, and sell more books.

I encourage you to take a read through Market or Die. In the book you’ll find marketing lessons not only from me, but from some of the most successful names in romance, like Eloisa James, Loretta Chase and Kristan Higgins.

Please don’t think marketing is this force with which you must endure. I did for fifteen years, and it only makes it harder to understand. Learn, embrace and ask questions. Feel free to email me at [email protected] with your questions.

And who knows? You may like it so much you might want to start marketing as a second career for yourself.  🙂

 

Romance Book Cover Junkie: I Love the Pretty, Artistic, and the Wow!

Denny (PortRoyale)Happy Thursday! I woke up this morning and all I could think about was romance book covers, and why I love them so much. Yes, books covers were my very first thought when I opened my eyes. Seriously.

I also adore the story inside the book covers, too, but I also read books (and love them) with covers I don’t always love, love, but just like, like. Yesterday, I was hanging with Mermaid Pintip and we started chatting about book covers for about five minutes, but the convo reminded me just how much I love a pretty cover. So I thought today, I’d reach out to visitors to the Waterwold Mermaids blog and ASK YOU to share the title of one of your favorite book covers! Just comment below because I need to know! And SURPRISE! I will pick a random commenter to receive an electronic copy of one of my favorite book covers below — your choice! (Note: one of books below won’t be released until later in 2015 – but if the cover moves you, you’ll wait for it!)…Also, to see a full size version of cover click on it! And hey, did you notice how I seem to have a thing for angles, partial images, and profiles? Also, this is just the tip of my love of book covers iceberg. It was just that these were top of mind:)!

Also, check out the Houston Bay Area RWA’s Judge a Book by its Cover Contest! It’s fun to browse some gorgeous covers (and vote for your favorites), but also you might run into some author friends and be reminded of their great covers, too! Here are a few of my current favorites! Some are in the contest, others maybe next year!

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Marketing 101: What in the Heck is a Gif (Not Gift Misspelled Either!)?

I woke up in a sweat. There were video images racing through my mind, short, no sound, with words moving across the bottom, or sides or the top, and sometimes with thought bubbles – words and images capturing a feeling, an energy, a world of emotion in one quick glance, and you were like yeah, that’s it.

But darn it, what was it and why do I need to know MORE?

Well, they are called GIFs, the latest craze (actually a very old craze on the Internet), but with YouTube, Tumblr, and Google+, even Facebook, is playing with ‘motion-oriented’ images. In the realm of social media, GIFs have leapt to the forefront of marketing, making GIFs the hot new darling of 2014.

So what does it mean to authors marketing books, or social media mavens who want to use the latest, greatest – you need to know what you’re working with for one…

GIF – the definition – animated image file formats. Sounds simple enough. There are a lots of websites and easy programs to use in creating your own GIF or going with some of the existing that fit the mood you’re in, or … whatever:)…see examples below…

Hopefully no-one notices how much weight you’ve gained over the weekend. You only ate one chocolate egg after all, right?

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 It’s 5.55am, and here you are. Look how happy and relaxed you are…

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 There are a  bunch of websites where you can find GIFs and use them on with favorite social media tool. But also think about the fun you could have with characters from your book if you also knew how to make your own GIFs. There are some spots on the internet that explain how with and without Photoshop…

http://www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/how-to-make-a-gif-without-photoshop

Or just Google GIFs – thousands of stuff out there to work with…

Read more at http://www.reactiongifs.com/heeeeyyy-f-you/#yR8hQyZsMy6pBvgY.99

WHEN SOMEONE YOU DESPISE WAVES AT YOU

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 Or what I should be doing instead of googling GIFs for two hours, right?

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Okay, I’m having way too much fun writing this post. Feel free to respond with your favorite GIF, or share ideas on ways you can add them to your social media marketing toolkit! It will grab readers’ attention…

 

 

Writers & Writing & Weekend Retreats: A Match Made in Happy Town

Denny (PortRoyale)This past weekend, I had a fabulous time in Boonsboro, MD, hanging with a bunch of writers I know from the Washington Romance Writers, a chapter of Romance Writers of America (RWA) serving the Washington, DC area.

First, you may not know about Boonsboro (Nora Roberts hangs out there a lot, but not this weekend:). Three years ago, I didn’t know it from any other small town in Maryland. But each year since first attending this gathering I’ve had a tremendous time, but this year, I don’t know, this year was a really, really, good time. Why? What made it different? Well, this year, here’s what happened:

  1. I learned about writing romance and how characters can fall in love – thank you Kathleen Gilles Seidel.
  2. I also learned I will do almost anything to receive the ARC for Lavinia Kent’s next book. Actually, I’ll do anything.
  3. I learned that with a gentle nudge J. Keely Thrall can (and did) update her website:)…
  4. I learned not everyone had heard my story about my date with Denzel Washington (back in the day, people, back in the day, but he’s on broadway now in A Raisin in the Sun – need tickets:).
  5. I learned that a good laugh can be had by all when I tell my story about how then President of the Harvard Law Review, Barack Obama, helped me out by holding my three-year old son.
  6. I learned that I can laugh to the point of tears at Meryl Streep and Adam Baldwin in “It’s Complicated” while learning about character arcs and story structure. Thank you Evie Owens.
  7. I also learned that Evie Owen’s next release, Witch Boy, has a kick-ass cover.
  8. I learned that Lisa Dyson’s debut novel, A Perfect Homecoming, debuting from Harlequin in June, has a shiny new and beautiful website, and her book cover is fantastic. So mark your calendars and stay tuned for launch parties, blog tours, and all sorts of goodness.
  9. I learned that Emelle Gamble, author of MOLLY HARPER, is a marketing all-star, and we’re thinking about putting together a marketing workshop – details to come:)!
  10. I learned that a weekend with writers, focused on their writing careers, their writing, their next book, their marketing plan, their writing world, always includes good times with good friends!
  11. But mostly, I learned that I’m damn lucky. These women writers are part of my circle of writing buddies (which also includes the wonderful Waterworld Mermaids), and in April (4-6), during the WRW In the Company of Writers 30th Anniversary Retreat I’ll get to see them all again!
  12. Also, look how happy (and gorgeous) we look! So tell me, what’s your ideal writing getaway?

 

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2014 Social Media Marketing (Yeah, for Books!) – What’s Your Plan?

Denny (PortRoyale)This post has a bit of snark in it so be warned…

And yeah, another title for this post could be: How to Overwhelm and Entertain in 1000 words or less…anyway…:)

I hang out online an average of 90 minutes a day. And no, it’s not 90 minutes that I could have spent writing, or cleaning or doing something else. I am deliberately ‘hanging’ out because the source of information that is most readily attainable is online. It is NOT on TV (well, to me, I hate television news, cable o r network), it is not on the printed page (although, I do miss when back in the day, I’d spend an entire Sunday at a  cool brunch spot on the north side of Chicago, reading the Sunday New York Times and Chicago Tribute – it was so relaxing and so Zen of us:) – and its not only on Facebook (Internet, yes, but not the only source of information left on the planet).

So let me get to the point of this post. I’ve gathered a list of articles from the Internet you should read or at least skim if you intend to have a ghost’s chance in hell (watching way too much Supernatural) of effectively, consistently, and painlessly (or less painfully) using social media tools to sell/market your books and/or your brand.

And yes, if you write books to sell them, you must know and participate in the marketing of your books.

And oh, in case you stumble upon this article, and wonder who in the heck is spouting all of this information as if she knows something? Well, for the sake of credibility, in my other life, I have been a marketing professional for 25+ years – if that doesn’t work for you (I spend 90 minutes a day on the Internet, I’ve got to know something about something, right?)

Authors often look at other authors to get their perspective on what’s going on in the social media marketing arena – which is absolutely fine. We all know romance writers who are doing an exceptional job of marketing and using social media in a smart, straightforward, fresh way. And then there are those like me, marketing professionals who are writing popular fiction, romance or whatever and will be publishing or published by someone at some point, if they aren’t already off and running.social-media-marketing1

But in addition to gaining insights from authors who have great savvy about social media marketing or marketing pros who specialize in the publishing industry, I like to take a look at what the big boys in corporate marketing are doing as well.

Below are a few links. You don’t need to study every word of these articles (as if you would:), but take a moment, see what is being forecast and compare to your current social media marketing plan (and yes, you should have a plan, you don’t have time–hours in a day–to be haphazard). See if there’s something out there that’s new, or can be used differently, or more consistently, to deliver on your bottom line – which is (say it with me) – selling MORE books by finding new readers, and keeping the ones you have HAPPY. (And yes, the best way to do this is to write the best books you can write…but even that doesn’t always guarantee SALES, and/or readers, unfortunately.)

So here goes:

Social Media Marketing (Some links to take a peek at…)

http://www.brafton.com/blog/2013-social-media-marketing-trends

http://socialmediatoday.com/anitaloomba/2035211/top-digital-marketing-trends-2014

http://www.steamfeed.com/google-plus-vs-facebook-g-dominate-2014-marketing-strategy/

http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/2014-digital-marketing-trends_b53891

Okay, to recap…what’s going to be hot IMHO (or at least worth exploring):

  1. Google +
  2. Content continues to be KING (no joking)
  3. Content should include video or at least images (the eye likes a quick fix)

Big News in Publishing (or at least the most recent) and other Kick Ass Stories you May Have Missed!

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/page.aspx/LYRICALPRESS (Why is it Big News? It marks a trend you will see repeated. It’s all about where the readers – and book buyers are – putting all of your eggs in one print basket isn’t the way publishing works anymore, and you’ll see this trend duplicated, again and again. That’s my predication:)…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/penny-c-sansevieri/book-marketing-prediction_b_4394295.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&ir=Books&src=sp&comm_ref=false

http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/01/5-key-trends-in-self-publishing-for-2014/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremygreenfield/2013/12/26/predictions-for-book-publishing-in-2014-cutting-room-floor-edition/

http://blog.smashwords.com/2013/12/smashwords-signs-distribution-agreement.html

That’s it friends…some food for thought:)!

Happy New Year!

Also, feel free to ask questions, or complain below:)…or let me know if you have a social media marketing plan, and whether you are published or pre-published, are you thinking about your brand, or if you don’t care about marketing, let me know, I’m just curious…:)

Contemporary Romance Author Sugar Jamison Swims with the Mermaids

Denny's MermaidsI met Sugar this past summer at RWA Nationals in Atlanta. I don’t remember what we started chatting about, I just recall that I laughed and laughed and laughed some more. It was a very good first meeting. After that, I kept running into her (I swear I wasn’t stalking), and then I complimented her on the cover of her then new release and fabulous title: Dangerous Curves Ahead. By the end of RWA Nationals, I’d found a new bud and a new author I truly enjoyed. Today, she’s taking a few minutes to join us here at the pond. She also has a giveaway (all you need to do is comment to be eligible for a chance to win)! So let’s get started with an introduction and then we can dive into the questions, and Sugar’s fabulous responses. Enjoy!

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From her official bio: Sugar Jamison is a southern belle trapped in a New Yorker’s body. With a love of big hair and high-heeled shoes, she spends her day at her very normal day job and night dreaming up sweet but sassy romances.

Denny: How long have you been writing and what was your inspiration for the Perfect Fit Novels?

Sugar: I started writing my senior year of college after reading Jennifer Crusie’s BET ME for the second time. I figured it wouldn’t be so hard to write a romance novel. I was wrong. Writing romance is much harder than I thought it would be, but it’s also so rewarding.

Denny: What has been the biggest surprise about the reaction/response to your Perfect Fit series?

Sugar: I don’t know if anything surprised me about the reactions to the Perfect Fit series. Except maybe how many people took exception to my heroine referring to herself as “FAT”. The book is about a plus sized woman. Real women call themselves fat. ALL THE TIME. It’s not a bad word. I’m not degrading myself when I use the word and neither was she. Overweight, plus sized, big. It all means the same thing.

Denny: How much do you love marketing and social media? What have you found works best in promoting your books?

Sugar: I don’t love marketing, but the team at Saint Martin’s Press does a good job spreading the word about my books. I really like Facebook. I update my fan page daily. I feel like most of my readers hang out and connect with me there. I don’t really like Twitter that much, but other people love it. As far as promotion goes, I’m not sure what really has worked in terms of sales. I took out ads in a few places, but honestly I don’t think I got a return on my investment. Goodreads giveaways and the Free Book Friday I found gave me more exposure to readers than anything else. I’m sure there are other things I could be doing but usually I find that word of mouth has worked the best. I get emails from readers who’ve told me that their friends recommended that they read my books. That is the best feeling, much better than getting reviewed by a big magazine.

Denny: Did you have a pre-launch strategy for finding readers? If so, what was it:)? (yes, inquiring minds – noisy ones like me, what to know!)

Sugar: Nope. Sometimes I think I suck at this whole author thing. My publisher sent out review copies all over the place. I think that really made the difference. But I teased it on Facebook and Twitter. I had really great friends who spread the word for me. I’m very grateful for them.

Denny: What did you think I’d ask that you were hoping to answer?

Sugar: I get asked what advice I would give writers. And it would be… besides writing a great book is to build your backlist. Write as much as you can and put out as much as you can, in whatever format you choose to publish in. But make sure that whatever you publish is polished and professional looking.

Denny: What’s the Next Big Thing for Sugar Jamison?

Sugar: My next Perfect Fit book is out February 25th. Thrown For a Curve. I LOVE my hero in this book. I fall in love with each of my heroes, but I really LOVE LOVE LURVE Colin who is my sexy Irish bad boy. My other big thing is that I have another series of books coming out for Harlequin’s Kimani linphoto 2e. The first book is LIBERTY (Ginger Jamison) is also due out February 25th. Here’s a description. When Ryan Beecher returns home after a long deployment overseas, Lexy barely recognizes her husband. The man who left Texas for Afghanistan was cruel and abusive. The man who comes back to her is a badly injured stranger with amnesia—and no memory of their life together.

photo 3Lexy can’t believe how much Ryan has changed. The wounded marine is now gentle, caring and tender. And his touch awakens yearnings she’s never felt before. As he takes them both to the point of no return, can Lexy trust this lover who seems to live only for her pleasure…as he seeks his salvation in her healing embrace?

A poignant and erotic story of longing, secrets and second chances, Liberty explores the limits of desire and the boundaries of love.

Thank you Sugar!

It was great having you in the pond. And readers – COMMENT BELOW to be eligible to receive a copy of “Have Yourself a Curvy Little Christmas” by Sugar Jamison (and if you’re nice – and only a tad naughty – we may be able to give away an e-copy of Dangerous Curves Ahead, too!)

 

Authors Want to Find Readers? Well, Say WATTPAD?

imgres-4Wattpad.com is a website that claims 15,000,00 monthly users and has a tag line that calls itself – The Future of Reading. If you already know about Wattpad, please share your experience, thoughts, opinions. But I didn’t know about them, so I did some reading and am summarizing my findings here.

My headline is a bold statement that sounds as if  I’m endorsing WattPad, but no, not endorsing, but I got curious. And if you already know all about it – and have experience with it, positive or negative, or found it wasn’t quite ready for authors – please comment below – because WATTPAD has potential as a place to find romance readers IMHO.

True to my last-to-know world, I was introduced to Wattpad at RWA National Conference 2013 at a workshop called Marketing Outside the Box with Darynda Jones, Angie Fox and Kieran Kramer and Stephanie Dray. It was an excellent panel, got smart insights on street teams, super fans, etc. But there was also a rep from Wattpad (sitting next to me) who was introduced by one of the panelists (Stephanie, I believe) and I was like – what?

So since Nationals, I spent a few minutes looking around the site, joined, and here’s what I discovered:

  • Its dominated by young people reading and or submitting fiction
  • Its global (seriously global)
  • It is a site where the author UPLOADs their own work or excerpts from an upcoming novel (promotion), so FREE reads means the reads the author wants the reader to have are the words posted (Wattpad is so NOT a pirating site in other words). It’s smart and reminds me of the some of the old fanfiction sites, completely driven by an author who chooses what to upload, when to update, and what keywords to select to attract readers to their work.
  • It doesn’t have a huge number of romance authors that I can find. But here are the links to names I did find! Stephanie Dray and Meg Cabot (check out what she did, including create a book club).
  • Lots of FanFiction (LOTS of real person fan fiction, which scares me:, although I used to write it in my fanfiction days:)

With 15,000,000 monthly users (that number sounds a bit fantastic – and doesn’t really say unique users, repeat users, or any of the other good stuff stats tell you about a website), I think Wattpad visited RWA13 because they are looking for more authors to use them as a vehicle for finding readers/promote their books.

Denny's MermaidsDrawbacks? Is it worth checking out?

In my humble opinion, you bet its worth checking out! The set-up is easy, no different than uploading to a WordPress website. So if you have a book to promote, why not check it out? And if you manage to sell 10 books via Wattpad (or 10,000:), the folks who are reading on wattpad now are READERS…as well as writers, authors, and more, so no harm no foul. I know when I get published – I’ll be on Wattpad:)! So yeah, maybe this was kind of an endorsement:)…

 

 

Fun, Free Promo. No Really, I’m Not Kidding.

OK, grab your beverage of choice and take a dip in the Waterworld Mermaid lagoon for a little bit of promo fun.

Recently, I came across a free website that helps you make digital wallpaper. This is a great gimmie to post on your website for fans to download. Or if you have a street team, you can provide member-only wallpaper with your characters’ quotes, book covers and more.

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Super cute, right? Just click to see a full-sized version you can download and use as your digital wallpaper.

I started out by doing a quick Google search for customizable wallpaper programs. Here’s the one I used to create the wallpapers featured in this post. All you have to do is pick a background, add images and text and bam! you have wallpaper.

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You can add any photo you’d like to the backgrounds provided. They have solid backgrounds too.

 

There really isn’t a learning curve for this. The most important thing is to hit the save button before adding additional elements to the wallpaper. Also, you can add as much text as you want, but there is a limit to how much you can add at one time. When you reach that limit just place the text where you want it, hit save and then add more text until you have everything on there that you want.

WWMWallpaper3

This one’s my favorite version. Which one has your vote?

Cool, right? You could use this for book releases, author branding, celebrations or just about anything else. How fun would it be to have a contest for the best fan-produced wallpaper? That would be a great way to get others to help you promote your books.