Interviw with a special guest today

 GNS:  Here we are, Rita Trevalyan with the Global News Service interviewing another member of the Famous doughty Proserpinan Exploratory Mission team  training to take off next month for that mysterious dark planet.  Nadyezhka Politovna of Russia.  How are you today, Dr. Politovna?

NP: I fine, very healthy.  Please to call me Nadyezhka.  Moi mother Dr. Politkovna.

GNS:  Your mother must be very proud, and father too, to have two doctors in the family.  Wow!

NP: My mother physician for littles I am humble PhD.  Big difference.

GNS:  Your mother is a pediatrician?

NP:  Da.  

GNS:  What is your field of expertise?

NP:  I in charge of hydroponics.  You know on ship there will be hydroponic plants.  They scrub air and provide food better than most space food.  Fresh food.  Very healthy.

GNS:  That will be very good.  You have a green thumb as they say?

NP:  Da, I have green thumb.  Been growing things since I little one.  

GNS:  Is the rest of the team easy to get along with?

NP:  Oh, da!  All of us have as you say pleasing personalities, especially the Brazilian.  She most pleasing to me.  

GNS:  Oho!  Have we picked up the germ of a romance stirring in the team?

NP:  I know not.  Too early to tell.

GNS:  These plants all look very healthy.

NP:  I feed them many nutrients besides water.  Have strawberry.  [hands reporter strawberry]

GNS:  [eats strawberry]  Mmm.  Delicious.

NP:  I grow many things one would not think could be grown hydroponically.  

GNS:  Stay tuned next week, same bat time, same bat channel when we’ll have a chat with yet another member of this intrepid team.

Why having honest feedback is so important

I'd be the first to admit, my writing is very close to my heart. It is a part of me, a way to communicate and showcase stories and ideas. What it isn't is polished and perfect without the help of editors, beta readers, and critique partners

Before anyone thinks of publishing their work, they should make every effort to ensure it is free of any errors or completed to the best it can be. The first step is having someone look at it with a critical eye. This is where writing groups and critique partners and groups come in.  They can give you the insight and feedback you need to make your work a cohesive and thrilling read.

No matter if you've been in the industry one year or ten or twenty, if you have one book or one hundred books. If you do not have the right people to give you the harsh truth of your writing you will struggle. Keep in mind a writing career is one where you must continually work toward improving your skills and connecting with your readers with stories which are fresh, exciting, and entertaining. 

How do you do this if you grow complacent, or perhaps you put on blinders and pretend you are doing great? 

You can't. 

Let's start at the beginning. You've written your book. Great. Are you ready to publish? No. You're far from it. 

So what do you do? What's the next steps? Edits? Revisions? What do they even mean? At  what point do you say you're satisfied? 

Your self edits and revisions are important, and should be done with care. You want to be thorough but let's be honest, you aren't going to catch everything. So, what you want to do is simple. Do you self edits, the revisions, work the book to where you're happy with it and then -- this is the scary part -- put it before your critique or writing group with a massive vat of red ink. 

Then you sit back with a notepad and wait. You may be asking for what? After all, you've spent weeks polishing this manuscript what could be wrong with it? What your readers will see may be different then you envision and as such, you have to be prepared for this. 

So allow yourself the chance to get your work the necessary feedback before it goes to the editor or publisher. Let your peers point out areas of weakness, of passive writing, of scenes which don't make sense or a character who is flat. Soak up their feedback and don't get discouraged. 

The critique or writers group you work with is a valuable resource. They will give you the honest feedback you need, not necessarily what you want. Having someone point out a weakness in your book before it hits the market can only benefit you. It was something I struggled with myself. I got used to having those around me who worked with me give me only positive feedback and when the chance arose to get a more in depth and critical look at my work came, I took it. 

I truly believe it was the best move I made because the book is growing, developing, becoming a much more intense story. It's becoming the story of two people who want the same thing but the deck is stacked against them. There's depth and a sense of recognition to the characters. Things I would not have seen if not for the tireless and brutal honesty of my critique partners. 

There is value in working with others to get your book ready for the next phase of the publishing journey. Your book will be all the better for it, your editor will love you and you may even find your readers are twice as eager to get into your book. 

Honest feedback is ultimately worth more than endless accolades from family and friends who only see the person they care about and don't wish to hurt.  

Reach further, put aside pride, and you will find your writing becomes the jewel you know it can be.  

Procrastination: The Pros and Cons

Procrastination: pros and cons.  It’s all in what you’re putting off, isn’t it?  We learned the fine art of procrastination in school, didn’t we.  Our teach assigned us our term paper at the beginning of the semester or the quarter, and we put it off and put it off until it’s the last week of the semester, and we’re having to do all the research in five days, and pull an all-nighter to write the paper.  Fortunately I was always a pretty good writer, so I managed to pull it off.  It’s when No-Doz became our best friend, or maybe the chick down the hall had diet pills, which she shared.  And I went to school in the Dark Ages BI Before Internet.  I used the card catalog in our library like you use Google today.  I wonder:those of you who are going to school, either high school or college/university, does your instructor accept Wikipedia as a source?  If I were writing a paper today, I would peruse the Wikipedia entry to get some background on my topic, but wouldn’t cite Wikipedia directly.

Instead, I would note down Wikipedia’s sources, and request those books from the librarian.  Ben Franklin wisely wrote in his Poor Richard’s Almanac, “Put off not until tomorrow what you can do today,” but how many of us follow that dictum?  We always seem to think we have next week or even next month or next year.  But one day there will be no next week, or next month or next year.  One day we will run out of time and regret what we didn’t get done.  As Larry the Cable Guy famously said, “Git ‘er done!”  Whether we get too old and feeble, or we catch a deadly disease, or an asteroid crashes into our planet and creates the 7th great extinction event, our time will be up.  So hug your kids, spend time with your kids’ other parent, if you are still with hir, or your new partner if you have gone on to someone else.  Write that book.  Trace your family tree.  If Europe ever opens to us Yanks again, travel to Europe, travel to Latin America. Che Guevara did just that.  He took a motorcycle journey around South America, and everywhere he went he saw how the people Lived.  It was why he was so anti-United States. He saw firsthand how the CIA in collusion with their despotic governments enslaved the people and made them subsist in grinding poverty, all the while opposing every person whose heart was with the people, and would have them prosper in peaceful democracies.

But this blog is not about politics.  It is about our own mortality, and how we spend the time we have left to us.  I was reminded of my own mortality today, as I struggled to reach the testing site for Covid-19.  All my symptoms except one were consistent with seasonal nasal allergies.  The one that wasn’t consistent with these, and might be a danger sign was my occasional shivers.  No one took my temperature, but I doubt I have a fever.   Testing was the easy part.  3 swabs and I’m done. Then I had to be escorted back to the hospital, and take several rest stops on the way to catch my breath.  The lady “(she worked security) who escorted me there to the testing site, told me she figured we’re all going to catch the virus eventually.  

Here’s where the pros aspect procrastination comes in.  I said, “I’m going to procrastinate that as long as possible.  As a writer, I’m good at procrastination.”  She gave a little laugh and guided me to the place where I saw “Station D.”  Death is another thing I’m procrastinating.  If I’m lucky and eat right, I might be able to put it off until I’m 103.  That’s 30 years.  Olvia deHaviland of Gone with the Wind fame has managed to put it off until 104, she might make it to 105 or 106.  Put off death as long as you can, but don’t put off your dreams and worthy ambitions.

Rita

Newsletters - Still Relevant or outdated?

In today’s rather hectic and overwhelming marketing world, we are constantly bombarded by different methods of marketing. Things we perhaps find annoying or easily overlooked. As authors, it is important we understand marketing and how to get our books before readers. When we are browsing online, one of the most readily available methods is the newsletter. They pop up on websites can be the first step in gaining followers. It's become the first line of drawing in new readers and visitors to our websites and turning the traffic into click throughs, reads, and buys. A way for those with a product or service to connect with prospective leads.

Those subscription boxes which we all have a love/hate relationship with are a valuable tool in an author's battle to attract new followers, readers, reviewers, and fans. Without an active list of followers, it becomes even harder to sell our work. Our books get lost in the ever-deepening sea of other releases and can be forgotten or overlooked far too easily. It is far easier to sell to one who is following your releases than it is to generate a new lead, though not impossible.

So how can we as an author generate these vital leads, and ultimately grow our following?

There are a lot of options out there for marketing and promoting our work, for the purpose of today, I’m covering perhaps one of the easiest to start. Newsletters. 

Newsletters are among one of the quickest and most cost-effective methods an author has at their disposal to begin building a list of readers who are inclined to buy their books. With a number of options out there, an author can start one for nothing. They can build a list and expand with relative ease. Still, having the newsletter is only the first step and is not an instant return. When developing your newsletter we must keep in mind it does not bear fruit immediately, but needs to be tended and worked at to see success. Growing your list is like any other endeavor one undertakes...it takes dedication, determination, and time. 

So what do you, the author, need to focus on when looking at the idea of creating a newsletter? 

Well, firstly what is the purpose of your newsletter. If you do not have a clear plan in mind of what your purpose is, then you will struggle. Personal experience has shown without an idea of what I am aiming for with my newsletter, I floundered and it became a task I hated. 

What if my sole purpose of having the newsletter is simply to sell my books?  Then you may find yourself rather disappointed when it comes to reading the reports and seeing who you retain on your newsletter subscription list. Content is one of the key ingredients in producing a newsletter readers will open, read, and click through. 

Content. What do you put into the newsletter? This is one of the hardest aspects I find, outside of actually connecting to followers. What should one put in their newsletter? This is a question with  a number of answers, and the right answer varies depending on what the aim of your newsletter is. I have found pumping the newsletter full of self-promotion and pushy sales information works against me. So I took a more personal approach when it comes to putting my newsletter together. I asked myself what I would like to see in a newsletter, and the answer was simple. Yes, I want to see more about the author’s work, what’s new, what’s due to release, what’s on sale...but I also want to see more. Within the newsletter I want to be able to get a sense of being able to connect with the author. See them as a person rather than their books. So including information which is personal is important.

When I say personal information I mean, details which connect you with your followers.One thing to avoid is becoming political, your newsletter is not the place for that. This allows your readers to make a connection with you and makes you far more approachable and recognizable. It's not recommended you go into too much personal detail, allow yourself some privacy. You want to ultimately offer information which keeps your reader engaged and connected while affording you an ability to reach them and generate sales.

Being consistent is the next best advice I can offer. Regardless if you have one subscriber or a thousand, posting the newsletter on a clear schedule, creates a sense of expectancy from your followers. Perhaps, you're thinking, I haven't got that much to say for a newsletter. Even if you don't have anything pertaining to your work, there are other ways in which to fill the newsletter. You can spotlight other authors, cover artists, a publisher, even a character. You could engage the reader with other tidbits such as a recipe, seasonal information, or something about your likes or hobbies. Doing this engages the reader on a deeper level than "Buy my Book". It's a way for your reader to connect with you on a personal level, and makes them feel more important. Also you do not have to release a newsletter weekly or even monthly, you can do a quarterly newsletter when you feel you have enough information to satisfy your readers, with minor updates or announcements in between. 

When you're looking at doing up a newsletter, don't be easily discouraged. You won't have thousands of followers immediately, but you can build your list using newsletter swaps, cross-promotion, and offering 'sneak peaks' on social media. It's about engagement and visibility, and focusing on informing your followers and attracting new ones. Be prepared to put out a number of newsletters with little response, or no opens or clicks. This is, while frustrating and depressing, in all honesty, normal and once you are more established you will learn what your readers want to read in your newsletter. Personally,  I put out my newsletters with the mindset I've got tons of readers, even if I don't. This helps to keep the motivation to do the newsletters. 

Next when you’re ready to put out your first newsletter, it's vital to find the right program for you. There are a lot of newsletter programs out which range from free to expensive. In this post, I'll touch on the ones I've used in the past and continue to do so. Let's start with the easiest and cheapest.

Email: If you have a sign-up sheet or something similar you've amassed, you can do a basic email newsletter with ease. It is in my experience a basic, clean look with only the limitations of your provider to act as a guide. Google is an ok option to do this, you can create your sign up form, database, and newsletter all in one place. It's as simple as opening a new page, and is directly connected to your email. This also allows you to plan and track your newsletter through scheduling to release because there’s a handy calendar feature available to you. Highly recommend this one if you’re looking for a simple, clean looking newsletter without getting too technical.

However, Gmail does have some limitations which can result in frustration for yourself as well as your readers. Because of the way it is set up, there is a cap on the number of emails one can send out in mass in a day. This does not mean you can send out the max amount of emailed newsletters and then continue to use your gmail. No, once you hit your cap, then the account is unable to send out another email for a full 24 hours. This means if your list is larger than 500 you’re going to run into problems. 

As well, you may find the newsletter is not going to the inbox of the subscribers but rather to the spam folder. This can lead to another set of problems with regards to your gmail account. Under their guidelines, Google can and will suspend your account if you violate the deliverability standards. I’ll include a link in the description box for you to follow up on. 

Gmail can be useful in a sense if you’re just starting out with only a few email subscribers, or if you want to use Google Docs as a means of collecting the data you need, but in the long term, it is perhaps not the most viable option. 

Third Party Newsletter Platforms: Depending on what you use for a website there are built-ins features that can create a beautiful email campaign. Free, quick, easy. and readily accessible. There is no coding required. I know with several of the hosts they do have the bonus of having newsletter platforms attached to them you can use if you are a member of their hosting clients. It's always best to check with your hosting platform to see. 

If you feel the need to expand your search and want to get started with easy to use software which is readily available to you, I have compiled a list of a few for you. 

Mailchimp. It offers me the development I want/need and has various levels of service ranging from free to full service depending on the number of subscribers you have. The free one has some limits and you can have up to 2000 subscribers, but if you're just starting it is an excellent program to use. It offers a wide variety of options, from landing pages, to segmentation of your newsletter followers, to integration with your wordpress website. It is also incredibly easy to use and while the limits on the free program are there, you are able to adjust and grow your list. There are a number of options as well for linking to your social media and direct posting. The sign up and pop up options are easy to design and post to a website. 

Constant Contact is one of the highest ranking newsletter platforms. It offers a variety of options including free images, segmentation of your lists, tracking and data regarding clicks and opens. It does, however, have a fee, but it may be worth it to get it set up and organized. There are also social media options where you can use these to generate posts for social media and thus gain further exposure and possible leads . It is a key factor in today’s search for leads and new subscribers. 

Another excellent factor in Constant Contact’s favor is it is Wordpress friendly. If you use Wordpress for your website or blog then it’s important to have a newsletter provider which works with your platform. 

If you’re looking for a free option to help your budget then one of the platforms I researched which had some good feedback and reviews would be SendinBlue. There are some limitations, but having upto 300 Emails a day can be a good thing if you’re looking to send out in bulk. For those who are interested, I’ll have the links to these platforms in the description box.

ConvertIn is another option, which looks good. It offers a wide variety of options even under the free plan. There is a paid plan, which is based on the number of your subscribers. However, if you’re looking to just get started on building then this will work for you. 

Regardless of how you do a newsletter, the value is putting one out. The return on investment for your time and energy is ultimately going to be invaluable when you have readers who wait for the next book to come out to snap it up...and thus tell others who can potentially become followers and fans. 

If you haven’t already thought about it, I would suggest thinking about a newsletter. Their relevance in today’s industry is understated but necessary. The hard work put into them will pay off in time and if you create a consistent, streamlined newsletter platform you will find it doesn’t take as much time as you think and provides a return on investment which is well worth the effort. 

I hope you’ve found this helpful. Thank you for joining me today, if you haven’t already done so, please click on the follow or subscribe button so you never miss an upcoming episode.