Carol Lanham

Do you ever get tired of inventing new passwords and filling out your name, bra size, and address for new sites just so you can post a five word comment on a website or blog?  Me too!  In fact, it will not surprise me in the least if someday, when my time has come, Heaven informs me that they’ve kept a running tally of all my many forays into social media and a full three years of my waking hours on earth were spent retyping confusing CAPTCHA.  I know it’s unreasonable to expect that there could or should be some easier way around all this but maybe I ought to be giving blood or getting a degree instead?

Alas, keeping your finger on the pulse of the writing world and staying in touch with other authors is an important part of the profession.  It’s an important part of any profession, for that matter.  Gone are the days when a girl could hole up in her office in a faded t-shirt and flannel pants with a steaming mug and unbrushed hair and be all alone with her words.  Do I mourn the simplicity of the olden days?  Of course.  Back then, the only one to come a-knocking was my trusty old pal Email and maybe, sometimes, the mail carrier.  Blog was just some pesky upstart nobody that I could completely ignore and it wasn’t the end of the world if I forgot to uncheck the box that adds me to somebody’s mailing list because I still wasn’t even sure I wanted to give Amazon my credit card number so really, I didn’t have many accounts.  I was a one password girl in those day and I thought I’d never have cause to stray.

But things change.

If I’m honest, it’s always been a balancing act so that part isn’t new.  The distractions generated by my computer were fewer when I started but my kids were younger and more dependent in those days too, and research has always had the ability to rip me out of my chair and toss me back in time for hours that zip away like minutes, and not all of those minute-long hours have resulted in pertinent information for my writing.  Most have not.  The big difference now is that there’s been a big gassy explosion in my office and it’s raining Facebook and Twitter and Goodreads all over the place.  How is one to navigate through the acid rain and keep their writing time from burning up until it’s been snuffed out entirely?

I love Goodreads, by the way.  The other stuff too.

Participating and staying abreast of things is important and yet, while I so badly resent the time it takes to create new accounts, I guess it comes with the territory.  My challenge in 2012 is to find a way to work at my computer and not allow myself to be stopped every time I’m invited to Like something new on FB.  It’s proving very difficult.  I’ve made up a schedule and I try to take care of social media stuff during certain hours of my work day but it’s like a crying baby and sometimes it’s all wet and in need of attention and every bit as hard to regulate as a one year old’s bladder.  Truth is, I could use some tips for this that really work but I get Writer magazine and hey, we’ve already established that I’m keeping abreast of the writing world, so there’s been plenty of advice to be had and I feel like I’ve had them all.  In the end, self-control is needed and, darn it, no one but me can give that to me.  I know what needs to happen.

Even so, here are a few other things that would greatly help me out:

• cheappuggireland.eu, please quit commenting on my Storyteller’s Unplugged posts and pretending like you’re responding when we all know you’re plugging boots or life insurance or marketing help or whatever the heck cheapuggirelands are.  Here’s the thing, cheapug (may I call you cheapug?  I feel I know you so well), I’m not going to post your comments so you’re wasting my time as well as your own.  How about we both give ourselves back an extra minute in our day and use it for something productive?  No?  You won’t stop?  Well, at least I tried.

• What about you Goodreads?  Why don’t you give a poor reader a break already and quit being so damned interesting!  I love your reviews and the sight of all those books all over the place makes me quiver every time I stop in.  Would you mind keeping the book chatter to a minimum?  It’s hard for me to get anything done around here.  Any help you could give me with this would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

• As for you Shiny Black Cat Girl Vintage, please oh please, I beg of you – start accepting Paypal!  I love that ice blue wiggle dress you’ve got for sale right now but I’m weary of giving out my private information and I can’t devote another second to non-work related business this month.  Why can’t we all just be (Paypal) friends?

Unfortunately, until Spam dies a hard fast deserving death and everyone settles on one universal form of payment, I guess I’ll be forced to focus on the things I have a little more control over.  Like time management.  Oh dear, I’m not qualified to offer any words of wisdom on this subject as yet, only sympathy to those who, like me, suffer to uphold it’s shimmering covenants.  But it would seem to be the only way out.

Good news is, it’s only February and the year is still young.  There’s still time for me to make a difference in my life.  I’m going to give self-control a good old-fashioned try and see what happens, by golly.  I’ll get back to you next month  J

 

Carole Lanham is the author of the Whisper Jar

http://www.amazon.com/The-Whisper-Jar-ebook/dp/B0062ID33K

Visit her at carolelanham.com & horrorhomemaker.com

What makes a book stand up and say READ ME! I’ve spent a lot of time in recent months researching different marketing strategies and to do this, I set aside my own writing and took a closer look at the books piled up on my Kindle shelves and spilling across the nightstand next to my bed. Today being the second day of a brand new year, I thought I’d share why I chose to read the books I chose to read in 2011. The rules of attraction might be different for you, but I’m still hoping I can find useful ways to use this knowledge when it comes to my own book sales. I’d love to hear what draws you to read a particular book so please share! Meanwhile, here’s what grabbed me in 2011 and why:

YOU HAD ME AT BACON
Word of mouth is number one for me. Outside of an obvious preference for titles that match up with my own personal taste, nothing makes me hungrier for a book than a scrumptious endorsement. Some opinions are more apt to sway me than others. A suggestion made by a friend who likes what I like will obviously carry more weight. Trusted online review sites are also good. I’m really loving Goodreads right now, which is nothing but a gigantic mouth passing along the word. Creating good buzz through reviews, blogs, reading groups, and advertising is key, of course. How you create that is something I’m still studying, but boy do I love my homework.

YUM, A FREE TASTE!
I’m one of those people who will buy a ten pound tub of Foie Gras if I taste an appetizer off a tray at the grocery store and it tickles my taste buds and I need a teaspoon of the stuff to make the appetizer at home. One of my favorite things about Kindle ownership is the free samples. If a sample tastes delicious, I’m all yours Baby – heart, body, and soul! If not, there are other fish in the sea and I’m moving on. That free sample from Amazon is all-important if you’re me. I’ve passed on many a book because of it – books I might have otherwise bought had I simply read the book jacket while rushing through Borders in the olden days. I try my best to grab a sample at the bookstore or library too but you’ve probably only got one or two paragraphs to snag me there. Outside of word of mouth, a savory sample is the second best way to earn my business.

BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP
This is true, but I happen to be shallow as hell. An alluring book cover stops me in my tracks every time. I like a pretty spine and I’m not afraid to admit it. I might not end up going anywhere with you, you dazzling little thing you, but you’ve definitely caught my eye. If you talk as pretty as you look, I might jump on you right now. One word of caution though; if you’re a writer whose decided to put your own book on Amazon, please choose a book cover that will look good as a thumbnail. A cover I have to squint to see has the opposite effect. Unless you come highly recommended, a tiny, too dark, too elusive piece of cover art on Amazon is a real big turn off for me.

HAH! MADE YOU LOOK!
A clever and/or compelling book title really is tied for third place with good cover art when it comes to why I choose a book. Some titles are just more fetching than others. No, I won’t buy a book based on this alone but then again, in the vast sea of books I have to choose from, you’ve at least made me look.

A CHEAP DATE
I don’t care so much about the cost of a book, actually. I like lobster and I’m willing to pay for it. That said, when the above features line up, a nice price is appreciated. All things being equal, I will go for the better deal. If I have a Barnes & Noble gift card to spend, I want to make the most of it. In this economy, who doesn’t love a good bargain?

WHY IS SHE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT FOOD?
Some of these things authors have control over. Some they don’t. Speaking only as a reader, this is the stuff I care about. I’m drawn to books that my trusted sources are raving about, I’m a sucker for a juicy sample, my eye is drawn by interesting book covers and/or fabulous book titles, and I’d rather buy two books for my money than one.

As a follow-up, about a year ago I wrote a post on the importance of having good cover art. Several authors with more experience than myself pointed out that it is rare for an author to have much say about the look of their own book covers. With the increased popularity of publishing one’s own book on Kindle, more people are choosing their covers now than in the past, but there is still something to be said for having professional input. When my book was published this year, I held my breath and said a fervent prayer before taking a look at the cover art the publisher sent over. I got very lucky. I loved it. If you’re in my same boat, I wish you similar good fortune! With all the work that goes into writing a novel, it’s a real blessing when the publisher finds you a cover you love.

I’d like to close this month’s post with some of the books that swept me up, either for a moment or for their entirety, in 2011. Please share your own as there are many more that deserve recognition than the ones I’ve run across lately. And yes, the last book I included on my list of Best Covers is the book cover of a dear friend. And yes, Crossroad Press happens to be the publisher. But it’s lovely cover art and it definitely made me look.

The following books appear in no particular order -

Best Titles of Books 2011

Bedtime Stories for Children You Hate by Antoinette Bergin

There But For The by Ali Smith

The Dirty Parts of the Bible: A Novel by Sam Torode

Women and Other Monsters by Bernard Schaffer

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Speed Dating With the Dead by Scott Nicholson

Blueprints for Building Better Girls by Elissa Schappell

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities by Ann & Jeff Vandermeer

Go the F**K to Sleep by Adam Mansbach & Ricardo Cortes

Best Book Covers 2011

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

How the Dead Live by Derek Raymond

Unloveable by Sherry Gammon

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

The Martyring by Thomas Sullivan (Kindle Edition)

 

Carole Lanham is the author of The Whisper Jar from Morrigan Books.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Whisper-Jar-ebook/dp/B0062ID33K