All posts by Jordan

Marketing

Introducing: Marketing Mondays!

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This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series Marketing 101

I’ve mentioned it before, but in case you missed it, until about 18 months ago, I worked in marketing. To be honest, I fell into the career: there was an Internet marketing company hiring writers locally, and I applied. I did it well, but I always thought it was something I did mostly for the paycheck.

At my first writer’s conference, I had one book almost ready to submit. Nothing with a publisher, no queries out—no “real” professional interest in selling books yet. And yet the classes that interested me the most? Marketing.

This was when I realized I actually like marketing.

And, like I said, I wasn’t bad at it. In fact, I was considered an expert (admittedly low-level). I spoke at a conference. I even got recognized once.

What’s the point? I hope that I learned something in all those years and efforts. And those things? They seem basic to me, but really, the general author population doesn’t know this stuff. And I’m very happy to share!

So, this year, I’m devoting Mondays to Marketing! I have a lot of ideas: we’ll start off with Marketing 101, then look at various online marketing tactics for authors including Facebook, SEO and blogging. We’ll also look at offline marketing a bit. We’ll do some of the ever-popular website reviews. I have lots of ideas and I’m very excited to share.

And (I hope) it won’t be just me: I have some really great friends who know a lot about marketing because they’ve been in the trenches for their books. They’ve tried a lot of different things and we’ll have them there to tell us what worked for them.

What marketing topics do you want to see on Marketing Mondays?

Photo courtesy of Top Rank Online Marketing Blog

Works

Because I can

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Okay, yes, (hooray!) I have a book coming out (in a while). But I just like to make covers.

So this is NOT OFFICIAL, NOT MY REAL BOOK COVER, JUST SOMETHING I DID FOR FUN, but I made a book cover. Because I can.

Just what I need for that little extra burst of motivation and inspiration for the next round of edits!

This is the book that was accepted, coming out next year. It is not an official cover. It’s not even the official title. (If you want, you can read more about the LDS FBI agent undercover as a Catholic priest in the excerpt from the first chapter.)

The actors here are physical models I (loosely) used for my characters, although they’re still a few years older than my characters are. Not too bad, since they started out ten to fifteen years older. But Photoshop (well, Paint.net) can only do so much.

Altar photo (behind the title) by H. W. Morse

News & Contests

Dragging myself to the goal finishline

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Reaching goals on autopilot

I’m so excited for the new year! But obviously resolutions really aren’t my thing anymore. Goals, however, are a different story. I set goals all the time—and I want to try to achieve my goals on autopilot this year.

That doesn’t mean coasting through the year, or setting absurdly low goals so I can achieve them, though. I kind of beasted Nano 2011, and—especially the first week—I managed to do this without the world falling down around the ears. I’m the mom, of course, and I set the pace of the household. I do most of the housework. So how did I write 5000-6000 words a day (hours and hours of work) without running out of meals and clean underwear for the family?

Planning.

I was already used to one very useful phone alarm: a 15 minute warning to the time we need leave for Hayden’s school. So I decided to expand on that and use the phone alarm to remind me to do laundry (and switch it, fold it, and hand it off to the kids to put away), work with the kids to empty the dishwasher, read with the kids, start dinner and go to bed on time.

Dinners were also planned: I took the calendar for the month and planned out our meals. Since I knew I’d be working hard, I focused on quick meals, slow cooker meals, meals I’ve squirreled away in the freezer, and family favorites. Themed nights were also big helps. It took a couple hours to write it out, but then for the rest of the month, meal planning was handled and I could just look at the calendar to make out my shopping list.

Even blog posts (on four blogs!) were planned the month in advance. Topics and dates went on the calendar. I made up post drafts for each of those days with the topics all ready to go. I stockpiled topics and full posts. On weekends, I filled in the remaining posts and scheduled them to go.

It actually went really well—until I finished my novel. And then I let a lot of it fall apart. But all that advanced planning helped me to maintain a good routine, be productive and run the house better than I usually did.

So how can that apply to other goals?

Schedule them now.

If you want to write 1000 words a day, pick a time and put it in your schedule. (Doing it at the same time each day can help, too.) Unplug from the Internet. Schedule a time with the fewest kids distractions around. I’ve used a handy plugin that would block certain time-wasting websites during certain times of the day—another helper.

If you want to read a certain number of books next year, start collecting recommendations. Figure out whether you prefer reading on an eReader/mobile device (if you have one) or paper book. I like library books since they come with built-in deadlines—and, oh yeah, they’re free.

If you’re trying to research a project, make a list of resources, get them and give yourself a timeline to read them.

If you want to lose weight, schedule your exercise sessions with yourself. Make up healthy meal plans in advance. Buy and prepare healthy snacks.

We all know that goals should to be broken down into steps to be achievable. But what it really comes down to is to just do it, to quote Nike. Little reminders and baby steps help me.

What does it take to help you just do it?

Photo by Kent Wein

News & Contests

Bring on the new year!

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Wherein we review gloss over last year

So as last year drew to a close, I saw a lot of friends posting reviews of their 2011 Resolutions: accomplished this, failed that, oops forgot this, etc. I dug through my archives to see if I should do the same.

The answer was a resounding no. And not because I failed all my goals—but apparently I didn’t make any public resolutions last year. Which kind of explained why I couldn’t remember a single one.

(Except my goal to read 50 books, which I hit after a read-fest the first four days of last week.)

I like that I won’t be starting the new year with the baggage of “oh, I failed at such-and-such.” I love new beginnings—as a child, I actually had toys I never played with because I didn’t want to ruin their pristine state. (Sadly, they were not valuable collectors’ items. We’re talking a rock tumbler and a pottery wheel. Fun, right?)

2011 had some great highs and . . . some nots. I mired myself so badly in edits that I lost all joy in writing, and had to walk away for several months. And soon thereafter, we had a death in my family.

But on the other hand, I had my first book accepted by a publisher! I wrote another book and had so much fun! Hooray!

But I’m ready for a new start. A year without failure and baggage in it yet. A year that’s still mine for the making.

Now to figure out what we’ll make of it.

What do you think? How was your 2011? What do you want to make of 2012?

Technique

Stock conflicts to make your conflicts richer

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I’ve seen this technique a few times on television shows, and I’d love to think about how to apply it in my fiction.

My kids love the cartoon Phineas and Ferb. The main characters’ older sister, Candace, always tries to get her brothers in trouble for their crazy inventions. She is also 15 and majorly boy crazy, especially for a boy named Jeremy.

Whenever the writers need Candace to do something or go somewhere that she might not otherwise, all they have to do is bring Jeremy into it, even indirectly. Whether she’s shopping for a gift for him, trying to impress him or going to see him, he’s one sure way to motivate Candace.

Jeremy is also great for her internal conflict. She often has to choose between her two biggest goals—be with Jeremy or bust her brothers.

Another example I’ve noticed recently is in Psych. Shawn runs a psychic detective agency with help from his best friend, Gus. However, Gus has another full time job: he’s a pharmaceutical sales rep. His car—the only transportation they have—is a company car (which is comical in its own right). Gus’s job and using the company car are both stock conflicts in the series. If the writers need to add more conflict in the scene or between the main character and his best friend, Gus’s job is their go-to choice (and girls, when they’re both single).

Naturally, in a series (book or TV), you have more opportunities to develop and use these stock conflicts, but I think they can be useful in standalone novels—as long as you keep the conflict fresh.

What do you think? How have you used “stock conflicts” in your work?

Technique, Publishing

Links to make you think

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Some links I’ve come across lately that have made me think:

So I worked in search engine optimization (SEO) and Internet marketing for several years, and I know Google can be daunting. Rick Daley has a good guest post on using SEO for authors. My favorite tips are that you need to go beyond your name and book title. You should be ranking for those anyway! Think about what people who are looking for a book like yours might type in to search. You can use tools from search engines to see if people really are using those keywords or similar ones.

Want to really up your productivity? Check out how one author quintupled her daily output. (via @LuisaPerkins via @AnnetteLyon) I’m trying these methods out and I have to say I really like the idea of making all those tiny little decisions BEFORE rather than DURING the actual writing process.

I’m having a lot of conversations with one of my critique partners about setting lately (it’s something we’re both working on), so when I saw this article on active vs. passive backstory/description tweeted, I had to click. Great examples from published novels, too. (Sorry, I couldn’t find who’d tweeted this in my stream 🙁 .)

Edittorrent blogged about Dean Wesley Smith’s latest article on the history of literary agents and whether we need them today. The comments on Smith’s article lead me to Laura Resnick’s website and her three-part series on agents as well as her article on experiences with the agent-author business model. OTOH, I know lots and lots of people who really like working with their agents—people who are getting big book deals, too. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that I’m so glad I don’t have to make this choice right now.

What links are making you think right now?

Publishing, Reading

Wherein I am equally awesome

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It’s a little hard to go on after teh best author bio EVAR, but this is way too tempting to pass up.

I learned a new word as I was writing this post: “Grandiloquent.” And that’s exactly the style of the real life author bio I shared on Monday. I just had to make up a biography of myself in the same style. It would go like this (with a little extra snark, of course):

Kind of like how some blessed few possess the combination of musical talents that launch them to rock superstardom, so some blessed few possess ALL of the genius for the literary arts—only, you know, in a single person. Praise be that Jordan McCollum is one of those chosen few. . . .

Life-altering truths, heart-pounding suspense and utter delight await the reader who . . . um, reads this thrilling novel. The book presents a timeless love story, a twist-packed mystery, thought-provoking parallels with vivid, seamless prose.

(Yeah, I’m not asking much of my future self, eh?)

Okay, I did skip a little of the bio, but the middle part is just too good to do all by myself. How would you shift this bombast from culinary to literary? Here’s your example (the ellipses are in the original):

Blessed with a rare combination of abilities . . . a super-sensitive palate which can uncannily detect the most subtle nuances of flavor and texture, a vivid and highly creative imagination, and perhaps most important, a love of good food which has grown from a hobby to a consuming passion, Yvonne Tarr is admirably equipped for the task at hand.

Photo by David’s digits

Publishing, Reading

Teh best author bio EVAR

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One of these days, I’m going to have to write a real author bio. You know, that will run on an “About the Author” page. In a published book.

But no matter how awesome I make that, somehow I think it will pale in comparison to this book. (This book is a perfect example of why I LOVE both buying cookbooks and shopping at thrift stores.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Just as some people have a rare ability at painting or music, so some lucky ones have a genius for the culinary arts, and happily Yvonne Young Tarr is one of those chosen few. Blessed with a rare combination of abilities . . . a super-sensitive palate which can uncannily detect the most subtle nuances of flavor and texture, a vivid and highly creative imagination, and perhaps most important, a love of good food which has grown from a hobby to a consuming passion, Yvonne Tarr is admirably equipped for the task at hand.

A confirmed, practical and creative gourmet — as happy users of her best-selling 10 Minute Gourmet Cookbook and 10 Minute Gourmet Diet Cookbook will attest — Yvonne Young Tarr is dedicated to the proposition that cooking can be a delicious experience, and in this, her third cookbook, she proves it!

Fame, good fortune, and gastronomic delight await the hostess who prepares these tested, failproof, irresistible desserts. The book presents simple and elaborate dessert recipes for little dinners, memorable lunches, and gala gatherings.

Former model, radio writer, and author (book and lyrics) of a delightful musical which graced off-Broadway several seasons past, Mrs. Tarr, mother of two young sons 13 and 17, is currently engaged in writing serious drama.

(Though I’ve tried [a little], I haven’t been able to determine how her serious drama panned out.)

The book is 101 desserts to make you famous (apparently the SHIFT key was stuck at the typesetter), and the cover is almost as good as the backliner:

The recipes include such exotic treats as carrot cake, cherry pudding and chocolate fondue. (Okay, I’m teasing a little—there are a lot of more exotic desserts in here that do actually sound pretty impressive and tasty.)

And because I know you’re wondering: it’s © 1970.

What’s the “best” author bio you’ve ever read?