Category Archives: Promo Tip

Go Confidently – Ask Alice Saturday

Kindle Bargain, Promo Tip, Writers Life, ,

Go Confidently Coffee Mug imageQuestion. What is your most important advice at this moment?

Answer. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.”

 That message is printed on the mug I gave away to ten of my newsletter readers. It’s the same mug I have my coffee in every morning. Not the exact same mug of course. I sent brand spanking new clean ones to the winners.

I wanted to share this particular gift because of what it means to me. I read that Thoreau quote every day and on many of those days I need to be reminded of his words. Whatever path we each may have chosen – life can be daunting. I definitely feel daunted sometimes.

It’s easy to forget how essential it is to “Go Confidently.” Even easier to feel we’ve misplaced our confidence altogether. That’s when we must behave “as if.” Act as if you are your most confident self. Ham it up even. Until you convince others and maybe yourself too.

We must also figure out exactly where “the direction of our dreams” may lie. Most of us have done that already but some are still sheepish about saying the words. As if we might shatter those dreams and prove them illusive after all. Shout your dreams to the universe. Do it now.

Plus we often tend to tell ourselves on some level that we don’t truly deserve “the life we’ve imagined.” Or at least we don’t have a chance of achieving it. I disagree. We each deserve fulfillment and we’re more likely to find by going confidently in our dream directions.

A lot of advice to gulp down with a cup of coffee. That’s why this is an extra-large mug.  I find having these words in front of me every day keeps me mindful of keeping my mind full of the positives. I hope it does the same for my ten contest winners and for you too.

P.S. To sign up for my newsletter and be eligible for my next giveaway go to my website at www.aliceorrbooks.com.

RR

 

A WRONG WAY HOME – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 1 – the eBook – is FREE at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T9RVGGC. It is also FREE at Barnes & Noble and iTunes and KOBO and other online platforms. A YEAR OF SUMMER SHADOWS – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book #2 – is available at those same platforms including http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZBOTH5O. These are my 12th and 13th novels and I’m headed confidently toward finishing number 14. Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.com.

 

We’re All in This Together – Ask Alice Saturday

Kindle Bargain, Promo Tip, Writers Life, ,

mfrw-logoQuestion. I’ve shared a number of lunches with a highly known author over the years and will do so again soon. I’ve never told her I had a book published and I’m not sure I will be traveling to her area again. My husband said I should give her a book as a gift so I have one in my luggage but I seriously feel like I shouldn’t do this. That she will think I’m trying to get her to help me in this field and that’s so not what it’s about. Am I being foolish because she’s so far up the food chain or is there a kernel of truth to my concern? What would you do? Jennifer France.

Answers. Jennifer asked this in the amazing marketingforromancewriters@yahoogroups.com chat group. Several of us answered. Here’s a sampling of those comments.

“Why don’t you do it anyway instead of being concerned with what she will think? It would be better to regret having done it than not having done it, especially if you trust your reason.”

“In this day and age, it’s hard to believe that people don’t expect something when they give out a book. However, there are a few dinosaurs around who remember what it was like to just get a book from someone and them not expecting a thing. If it were me, I’d give her the book and I have an ethical streak a mile long. Believe me.”

“It’s taken me years to get past my modesty about being a writer, or about my hope that someone somewhere might want to buy a copy. I’m so over that. This is immodest me. I’m a writer. I write books. Some people actually buy copies and read them. I want to sell more. Authors deserve to be up front that we write, that we’ve actually got something out there for people to read, and that we are willing to network with other authors. If we’re still hesitant about that, why on earth are we on this list? This is about networking and marketing, and valuing what we create!”

“If I were your friend, I might be offended if you didn’t tell me you’d written a book.”

“I say give her the book, and if you feel the need, tell her you don’t expect a review or anything in return; you just wanted to share something you love with a friend.”

“Jennifer, I think anyone, no matter who they are, is appreciative to know when they’ve inspired someone, especially in writing a book.”

“Give her the book. Be up front about it. You are an author. How many times have you heard people tell you they wanted to write a book? Well, you did. Be proud of that. Tell her you hemmed and hawed over whether to tell her because you didn’t want her to think you were asking for anything in return. It’s ok to admit you are in awe of her and that your respect for her has caused you to write as well. It’s the utmost compliment.”

“Never miss a chance to show your love.”

I added my voice too. “I’ve been at several levels of the food chain of publishing and I can tell you this. There is no food chain. There’s just all of us doing our best to make our work the best it can be and get it out to as many readers as we can. One of the most effective ways we do that is by helping one another. It makes me feel good to share my knowledge with others and maybe help them along their way.

“Most definitely give her the book. If she reaches out to give you the leg up we can all use in our careers just say Thank You. There’ll be a time you can pay back the favor. Probably not to her but to some other struggling author who needs the same leg up. That’s how it works when it works well. We lift each other. Sometimes we even carry each other.

“So please give her the opportunity to be her best self. And give yourself the opportunity to be your best self too by welcoming generosity into your career. That’s the other side of this equation. We must let others reach out to us. For many of us this is a hard lesson. It took being on my back with cancer – absolutely unable to do for myself – before I learned to let others do for me. I learned simply to say thank you and carry the gratitude and memory of that generosity in my heart where it still resides. I hope we can all do the same in our lives and careers.”

P.S. Jennifer gave her book to her friend and the result has been happy all around.

RR

A WRONG WAY HOME – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book 1 – the eBook – is FREE at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T9RVGGC. It is also FREE at Barnes & Noble and iTunes and KOBO and other online platforms. A YEAR OF SUMMER SHADOWS – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book #2 – is available at those same platforms including http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZBOTH5O. These are my 12th and 13th novels and many other writers helped me get here. Thank you so much. Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.com.

 

The City Romances Your Book – Ask Alice Saturday

Kindle Bargain, Promo Tip, PublishingTip, ,

Sunset Downtown NYC SkylineQuestion: How do I get attention for my little book in a big town?

Answer: First you stop thinking of your book as little. Definitely never speak of it that way. After you get over that – Persist Till You Prevail. Persist at your marketing plan which works the same way anywhere. It works from the inside out.

Walk out your front door. Look up and down the street. Don’t look at tall buildings or hurrying crowds. That’s how a tourist sees a city. A local resident sees it as a collection of neighborhoods. Each one different – like a collection of small towns.

Walk down your street. Really look and really see. Walk to the nearest coffee shop and sit down with your notebook. You did bring a notebook. You’re a writer after all. Order a java or fancy bottled water or – in my case – a Diet Coke and write these questions in your notebook. Answer them there too.

  1. What is the Spirit of my neighborhood? Trust your instincts. Don’t overthink. You might want to re-word this as – What is the FEEL of my neighborhood?
  1. What gives my neighborhood this Spirit and Feel? Be specific. You’re talking about overall uniqueness then breaking that down into these component parts. The organizations that function here. The stores and businesses that thrive here. The places where people gather here – people of all ages – including the elders. The places of worship – all denominations of worship and spiritual groups. Plus the venues that you brainstorm on your own.
  1. Where/how can I find out about my neighborhood? Is there such a thing as a paper and print yellow pages anymore? Maybe a Business to Business edition? And don’t underestimate the giveaway papers and pamphlets. Everything going on around you is in one of those. This is micro research – the Open Sesame to a neighborhood fan base.
  1. What do I have to offer that will appeal here? What about your story could strike a neighborhood note? Every situation and location will be individual to you and your place. Think – Imagine – Find your way to being noticed here.

For example my media mentor Maria Ferrer has a wonderful idea for my series set in Riverton NY. The town has a café called Ginny’s Coffee Corner that figures prominently in each story. Maria says to hold events in a coffee shop in my neighborhood and dub it Ginny’s for the day.

I’ve taken a step in that direction by offering giveaways of my favorite coffee mug. Go to my website www.aliceorrbooks.com. Sign up for my newsletter where you’ll find out how to participate in the “I Want to Share a Cuppa with Alice” coffee mug raffle.

I think you get the idea. Start from your home base to find your first fan base and reach out farther from there. Tell your fan base folks to spread the word beyond your address and your address book to theirs. And so it goes. You romance your home city. Then you and your books move on to romance the world.

RR

A YEAR OF SUMMER SHADOWS – Riverton Road Romantic Suspense Series Book #2 – is available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZBOTH5O.  Book #1 – A Wrong Way Home – the eBook – is FREE at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T9RVGGC. These are my 12th and 13th novels and they’ve had a true romance everywhere from the start. Alice Orr – www.aliceorrbooks.com.