Telling Herstories: The Broad View

It Takes Tenacity to Succeed

 Kendra Bonnett--Getting Read #9

See that little tree growing out of the tiniest crack in an otherwise solid rock surface. We marvel. What enables that sole plant to succeed? We can't help but anthropomorphize it and admire its tenacity when, in fact, it's just doing what nature has always done...persevering. A seed finds an opening and takes full advantage.

See that successful painter, photographer, playwright, novelist, poet...author. Again we marvel. Those of us in the arts know just how rarified is the air the great ones breathe. There are awards, great reviews, lucrative book deals, bestseller bragging rights up for grabs. We aspire. We dream. But what does it really take for us to succeed?

Matilda and I had the opportunity to ask Sue William Silverman this very question. We interviewed her as part of our Women's Memoirs Author Conversations series, and I invite you to take a little time to listen. Sue is the author of two, successful memoirs; a new book on the craft of writing; a poetry collection; and countless essays. Her response, in a nutshell, is "be tenacious." From her writer perspective, she advises us not to be afraid, never give up, and don't worry about failing. It's all part of the process.

From her author-as-marketer perspective, the answer is much the same: Yes it takes some skill and a little luck (e.g., finding the right publisher and agent can help), but above all else it's a matter of showing up every day, writing and not getting discouraged. "Everybody in the arts gets rejected," she adds, "if you're putting yourself out there." So be tenacious, and never stop believing in yourself.

Could it be that simple, you ask? Simple? Yes, I think so. Easy, no. The hardest thing is to keep charging forward in the face of disinterest or outright rejection. But that's what the great ones all have in common. Have you ever heard the saying, My overnight success was 20 years in the making? 

Be tenacious today...and every day going forward. And remember the words of American author and wit Margaret Halsey: "Bulldogs have been known to fall on their swords when confronted by my superior tenacity."

Sue's comments got me thinking about blogging success. Increasingly authors are using blogs as part of their marketing effort to reach audiences through the Internet. If you've tried it, you know how hard it is to keep writing and posting on a regular schedule. It takes tenacity to keep coming up with ideas and finding time away from your job, your chores and your other writing to pound out a blog. But the hardest part of blogging is overcoming the apparent loneliness. Write for weeks on end without a single reader comment and you're ready to scream, "Is anybody there?"

I want to leave you with some hope and a reminder that you're always being read, whether or not you ever see a reader comment. When it comes to the Internet, your biggest (and most important) reader is Google. It's the fact that Google is reading your blogs that gradually builds your prominence in the search engines. So be tenacious and keep writing and blogging. Google's waiting for your words. And take courage from Amelia Earhart: "The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity."

Selling Books…Are You Up to the Challenge?

Kendra Bonnett--Getting Read #8

“If you build it they will come…” may work if you’re Kevin Costner, but the rest of us better have a back-up plan. This is something I tell authors and business owners alike who are trying to put the Internet to work. Creating a website or even a blog site, is only one step and no guarantee you’ll ever be found online. Pretty graphics and good content aren’t enough when you are just one out of more than 220 million websites (about the best estimate according to the Netcraft Web Server Survey, September 2009). 

It’s Tough Out There…What We’re Up Against

By now, most of you have heard about the 2004 Nielsen Bookscan report that of the 1.2 million titles tracked, 950,000 sold fewer than 99 copies. Nielsen further reported that the average book in the United States sold 500 copies annually. That was then; today the number is positively grim. As of 2008, the average book in the United States is selling fewer than 250 copies a year. There are two primary reasons:

Fewer readers. U.S. sales grew by just 3.5 percent between 2003 and 2008 (Association of American Publishers). But factor in inflation during that period and sales actually dropped 13.5 percent. This isn’t a huge surprise. We all know that books are competing against CDs, DVDs, movie rentals, TV, videogames and, of course, the Internet.

More books. If battling against other media wasn’t enough, we’re also competing against more books. R.R. Bowker reports that the number of new books published annually has doubled in the five years between 2003 and 2008. Last year 560,626 new books were published in the United States alone.

Shout From the Rooftops

About now you may be thinking that it’s time for a new profession. But that’s not realistic…especially not if writing is your passion. If you’re trying to earn a living as an author, it’s time to step up your marketing efforts. More than ever you have to generate interest and be heard above the competition.

So forget the traditional website. Build a blog site and set a realistic schedule for posting (and stick to it). And while you’re blogging, start attracting an audience. Go where your readers are…on social networking sites, YouTube and any of the many specialty sites (e.g., EzineArticles, Shefari, Podiobooks, Bookrix) and start establishing a presence. Get involved in social networking groups, comment on other people’s blogs, create a video book trailer, write brief articles, share an audio chapter of your book or even post a digital copy of your work.

But Don’t Stop There…You’re Just Warming Up

For my money, this is when the fun really begins because you get to let your creativity take flight…at least in the brainstorming stages. What can you say, do or market that will help you stand out from the crowd? It has to be distinctive…but inexpensive. We may be artists, but we’d like to show some profit,

 so run your numbers before you spend any money.

There’s no limit to the ideas you can come up with. Matilda Butler, my co-author and co-host of Women’s Memoirs, and I often come up with products that complement our books and blogs. For Women’s Memoirs, we have a line of herbal teas, soaps and lotions all designed to relax the soul, boost the memory and stimulate creativity. We have signature mugs and luxurious Thai silk bookmarks, notebook covers, pillows and neck wraps.

But our most successful extension product has been the Rosie the Riveter Legacy bandana. I’m writing about this today over on Women’s Memoirs. And because this is interview Monday, I’ve posted a brief interview with “Ethel the Riveter” who was kind enough to talk with me last week…so join me over on Women’s Memoirs. 

Blogging is Dead...In Case You Hadn't Heard

Kendra Bonnett--Getting Read #7

I read the other day that blogging was dead. Wow, I thought, I'm glad someone told me. I might have gone along blogging completely oblivious to the fact that my platform was dead, at least in terms of influence and relevance. Don't you believe it for a minute.

Actually, I read such a headline every few months, and it doesn't even phase me. You see, I've been through this before. In fact, it might interest you to know that Facebook is dying--now that young people are supposedly leaving because adults are joining in record numbers. Twitter is pronounced dead every other week for reasons ranging from too rapid a growth rate (at one point 1382 percent) to the fact that Google has yet to buy them. Podcasting is another technology tossed into the dead pool regularly because...well just because.

It's true that the rate of growth of blog posting has slowed. According to Technorati (the world's largest aggregator and networker of blogs) bloggers were posting at a rate of 1.5 million per day in March 2007; a year later the rate was between 900,000 and 1 million posts a day, and we don't yet know what 2009 will show. I don't know about you, but since I can only read between 10 and 20 posts on any given day--and still be productive--blogging will have to all but disappear for me to feel any of the tightening.

The truth is I can't think of a single technology that hasn't slowed after enjoying several years of growth at rates that few industries can imagine, let alone boast. And looking at the carnage and debris scattered about the current economic battlefield, bloggers should be pleased that slower posting rates are all they endure. No, I think the reports of the demise of blogging are not only greatly exaggerated they miss the real story.

But first, let's ground ourselves in a few stats so we know just what we're talking about. According to Technorati, the blogosphere In 2008 (2009 numbers are not yet released) looked something like this:

• 184 million people worldwide (26.4 million US) started blogs
• 346 million people worldwide read blogs
• 77 percent of active web users read blogs 
• 95 percent of the top 100 newspapers have reporter blogs 
• Roughly 1 million posts are made to blogs every day 

With numbers like these, you're probably wondering why anyone in their right mind would suggest that blogging has even a fever, let alone is in ICU or dead. I suspect much of the doomsaying comes from 1) technophiles who only have eyes for the next new thing, 2) some percentage of traditional journalists who feel threatened by the "citizen journalist," and 3) naysayers that love to decry the end and death of anything and everything.

So what's going on? And what does it mean to authors blogging (or planning to blog) to boost interest in their books? You'll find my answer over on the Women's Memoirs blog under the post entitled "Is Blogging Dead...and Should I Care?"

Getting Read Potpourri

Kendra Bonnett--Getting Read #6

I haven't been actively blogging here on Telling Herstories of late. In fact, when I went back in to see my last post, I was shocked. My last post was April 27th. Ouch. If you want a quick lesson in getting read, here it is: Don't follow my lead. I can give you a million excuses. I'm busy writing...I'm coming up with marketing programs...I'm editing a client's book...I'm starting to work on a new book. I could go on, but none of this matters.

So she didn't blog for a couple of months. So what? I'll tell you what. We live in a fast-paced world where we're bombarded with information in media formats running the gamut from books, television,ipods, email, radio, Internet, movies, to...I was about to add newspapers and magazines but they're on life support over in the Intensive Care Unit. In any case, I voluntarily removed myself from this fray for two months. What's the old saw? Out of sight, out of mind.

And I'm not alone. Every day I visit blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts only to see that they haven't been updated in weeks, months. I'm sure all these people have good excuses too. But excuses aren't going to boost book sales or increase exposure for their writing, for yours or mine either for that matter. In fact, a few missed weeks or months and audiences go south. They have too many other resources available to them. And once gone, they are tough to get back, which means all your past efforts are nothing more than a waste of time.

So take a lesson from my failing. Write online every time you have a chance. And on those days when you don't feel you have much to say or much time to give to the effort, keep your message short. Blog posts don't have to rival War and Peace to be worthwhile. You've at least reached out and touched your audience and kept them engaged. If you use tags effectively, you'll continue to build your Google standing as well. And some day when you have a few spare hours, why not write a series of brief posts and save them for those days when you just don't have time.

I apologize if this sounds like a lecture. It's not my intent. I'm actually chastising and reminding myself of my own online marketing objectives.

Author Conversations

Now, on a lighter note. I want to alert you to some good content over on Women's Memoirs. Matilda Butler and I have been busy interviewing memoirists. The result is some excellent material, and it's all free. Here's what we have to offer:

Last Thursday, we interviewed Alyse Myers, a journalist who has written her first memoir, entitled Who Do You Think You Are? If you are interested in some ideas on tackling a tough, very personal subject (in her case it was her relationship with her mother), then I recommend you check this out.

Last Tuesday, we posted Karen Walker's guest blog. This is in preparation for our Author Conversation with her this Wednesday (July 22nd). Karen's memoir is called Following the Whispers. We invite you to read her blog, then post a question for Karen in the form of a Comment. And please listen in on Wednesday, time and phone number are posted. And check out her Writing Prompt.

Women's Memoirs Goes Magazine...Format

Alyse and Karen are our only two July interviews. We won't be interviewing anyone in August. That's because we're about to launch a new and expanded version of our Women's Memoir blog site. The URL remains the same. We're just going to a magazine blog format, which means we will have about seven blogs running under womensmemoirs.com. We'll be launching around August 7th then spending the rest of the month getting up to speed and working out the bugs. I invite you to come see. And please, leave us a Comment to tell us what you think.

The Big List of Writing Opportunities

Kendra Bonnett--Getting Read #5

Sorry for the very short blog today, but I have a book deadline that requires all my focus right now. Still, I didn't want the day to go by without putting out something worthwhile.

I came across a long list of publishers, websites and magazines that are actively looking for YOU. It's posted on the blog "Great New Books That Area Must Read." Well, actually, the companies listed are looking for authors, manuscripts and proposals. Maybe you have something that would be a perfect match.

I'm working on an interesting article about memoir writing, which I expect to have ready for next month. In the meantime, check out this list of writing and publishing opportunities. Good Luck.

How Creative Are You?

Kendra Bonnett--Getting Read #4

Men and women often run in different directions. With this sentence, we were that much closer to cracking the case.

My detectives, armed with notepads, scoured the house looking for key evidence. They flipped through worn telephone books, ignoring the fact that more than one page had apparently been ripped out. They studied the ads in popular magazines; yes there were clues to be collected there. They scanned the shelves of cookbooks before selecting one that looked promising. Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Vietnamese cookbooks, no classic French—suspicious but not germane to the case. The detectives were after the words, phrases and sentences that would solve the mystery.

I worked at headquarters. My job was to make sense of it all. I unlocked the secrets by creating sentences from the random word clues. Today I might have called myself a forensic editor. But back then, the detectives were my little sister and brother. Too young to read, they could copy letters and words, which was good practice for their handwriting. They loved playing sleuth. For me, the fun was in solving puzzles by trying to make sentences out of the random words and phrases they collected. It was a great game.

With few children in our neighborhood, we invented a lot of our own entertainment. Now as I look back on the variety of word games, play schools, and community newsletters I created, I wonder if these were the telltale clues to my future career as a writer and editor.

Did you ever stop to consider your own creativity? And what it says about you? If you're curious, I've found a way for you to measure your own creativity. CREAX has a free test. It’s fun and takes no more than 10 minutes to complete. The average score, according to CREAX, is 62.44; I tested at 92.15. You can follow this link to the test. How do you stack up?

Once you’ve had your fun exploring your creative associative skills, you can put them to work by learning about Blog Carnivals and how you can use them to get more exposure for your writing. Follow this link to our blog on Two Women Business.

Sunday, Snow, and Small Publishers

Kendra Bonnett--Getting Read #3

I wake to a blustery Sunday morning in Maine. One look at the skylights in my bedroom tells me all I need to know. It’s snowing hard, and I should just roll over and go back to sleep. But my three cats have other plans. Each morning they spend the hour between five and six on bedside vigil—watching for the slightest sign of life on my side of the bed. They catch my furtive glimpse at the skylight, and that is all the invitation they need. On cue they sing and mew in harmony. Snow or not, it is time to eat.

I descend the stairs only to get a view—a full, frontal assault—of the mischief our weather has been up to overnight. Snow is flying in wispy dervishes; the air is crisp; there is already a good foot of light powder drifting against the side of my barn; and the radio report calls for the snow to continue falling all day and late into the evening.

I feed the cats and quickly pad back to the bedroom. I can't go back to sleep, but I can check email while propped up and surrounded by pillows and the quilted counterpane my sister hand made.

Every family has its idiosyncrasies. Snow brings out one of mine. I despise, no I loathe, shoveling. There could be eight inches in the driveway, and I’d rather plow through it in my Jeep than shovel even a single flake. My sister and brother feel the same way. You see our father armed us with snow shovels from an early age. Every hour on the hour he sent us out to clean our driveways. On the off chance that the snow would suddenly stop and the sun would come out, he wanted its rays to work their magic on our drive immediately. “Black asphalt absorbs the sun and heats up,” he’d lecture. “If we’re prepared, our driveway will be the first in the neighborhood to be completely cleared of snow.” Yes Daddy.

He was such a perfectionist about snow removal that he refused ever to hire a plow. He just didn’t like where they pushed the snow. My sister tells everyone we had to shovel the drive with teaspoons. She exaggerates, but not by much…they were tablespoons.

So when it snows, I immediately set out to spoil myself. Yes, it’s a good day to stay inside. Caught up with email, I go down stairs and start a large fire. Soon it’s crackling cheerfully, inviting me to get a book and come sit close. I set the teakettle to boiling. This way I can enjoy my favorite lemon-ginger tea while trying to introduce some humidity into the air. It’s so dry I get a shock just walking across the living room, and the cats’ fur stands at attention. They spark when they touch noses. As the water heats I survey my bookshelves looking for the perfect book—I favor classics on snowy days and mysteries in the heat of summer. While reading the spines, my eye falls on a shelf of childhood treasures.

I’m lucky to own an early edition of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, illustrated by Arthur Rackham. It was my mother’s. I open it and see her name carefully scribed inside. I also have her copy of Robin Hood as edited by George Cockburn Harvey and illustrated by Edwin John Prittie and her personal favorite, Howard Pyle’s Book of Pirates. As a child and even before I could read, I poured over these books for hours, searching the illustrations for details and day-dreaming about what might be happening behind a tree or sand dune, wondering if the pirate lived or died, who ended up with the treasure and if Robin Hood was ever captured.

Sitting next to these treasures are my own special books. You know the kind; the ones you call friends that you read over and over again as much for the comfort they gave as for their stories. This formative experience, after all, marks when our love affair with books, reading and words began. Here’s a list of my top 10 favorite books:

• Johnny Tremain (1943) Esther Forbes
• Mr. Revere and I (1953) Robert Lawson
• Curious George (1941) H.A. Rey
• Madeline (1939) Ludwig Bemelmans
• Eloise (1955) Kay Thompson
• Make Way for Ducklings (1941) Robert McCloskey
• The Cricket in Times Square (1960) George Selden
• Maple Sugar for Windy Foot (1950) Frances Frost
• Raggedy Ann Stories (1920s-40s) Johnny Gruelle
• The Oz Books (early 1900s) L. Frank Baum

 What’s most interesting about this list to me today is that with the exception of The Cricket in Times Square, Mr. Revere and I and Eloise, these books were written years, even decades, before I was born. I find this particularly interesting because I owned every one of these books as a new edition. They were (and are) classics. Parents can still buy new editions of most of these books today; furthermore sequels are available that I never read.

We’re lucky that every one of these books was given a chance and that they were published at a time when book lovers and extraordinarily insightful editors ran the publishing houses. They recognized talent, even in first-time authors, and they gave both the writers and their books a chance to find their markets. Good books were given the chance to become classics. So much is different today: Taste, expectations and the pace of change are moving fast. The large publishers are businesses first and foremost. And the cost of everything makes patience a lost virtue.

The state of publishing in 2009 makes it hard for new authors to succeed, but not impossible. This is where the smaller, independent publishers play an important role. You can get picked up without an agent. You have a chance to stay in print longer and develop your sales stream. Most important, you’ll have the opportunity to work with people that love books and publishing. And if your book takes off, you can always resell it to a major publisher.

I could go on singing the praises of independent publishers. But in the interest of time and space, I’m going to refer you to a list of resources I’ve compiled. It will help you learn more about independent publishers. As for me, the kettle is whistling…I’m going back to the fire and my book.

The Miracle on 34th Street School of Marketing

Kendra Bonnett--Getting Read #2

With this much snow outside my front door, I'm definitely in the holiday mood. I have to go to the post office today because I have four more books that need to go out priority if they are going to arrive by Christmas. Fortunately it's so cold outside (and windy) that the snow is light and has blown off my Jeep and banked up against the house. At least I don't have to dig out. 

This has been an exciting year professionally. I've been making a list of all the new ventures I've started this year, new technology I've gotten the upper hand on (if not mastered) and the breadth and depth of my connections on networking and social media sites. You can see more about these thoughts over on my post at Two Women Business.

My musings about this year of Internet marketing (and what it's done for Matilda Butler's and my writing, publishing and entrepreneurial ventures) have merged with the snow, eggnog, carols and the smell of a freshly cut balsam. I'm reminded of a marketing philosophy I defined years ago...long before I was doing much of anything online except reading email.

I called it the Miracle on 34th Street School of Marketing. If you've seen the original 1947 version of the movie with Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn, perhaps you'll remember when Santa sends a Macy's customer to Gimbels Department store because Gimbels has better skates (more support for young ankles). The woman customer tracks down the Macy's floorwalker (do they even have floorwalkers today?) and says (paraphrasing): "I've never been a regular Macy's customer, but after the sound advice your Santa just gave me, telling me to buy the skates at Gimbels, well, I'm coming back to Macy's."

For me, that exchange is the most profound of the whole movie. Good customer service, transparency in relationships with prospective clients and treating each and every person with respect and care pays off. I've always made this a part of my marketing strategy, which is probably why I've personally enjoyed being a marketing executive. What I've realized this last year is that the powerful communication tools available to us today--blog platforms, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Safari, YouTube, Squidoo, Ning, to name just few--have made my Miracle on 34th Street School of Marketing more possible than ever before.

As you look toward 2009 and the many ways you'll bring your writing to online audiences, remember to be yourself. Share generously. Be a friend online before you start promoting your books and other products. You'll feel better about your work. The Internet will appear less anonymous. And you'll succeed more than you could ever have imagined. Readers, fans, customers will come to know YOU...and that will make all the difference.

Enjoy the holidays. I look forward to our conversations in 2009.

Who Should Publish My Book?

Kendra Bonnett—Getting Read #1

Since this is my first post to the Telling HerStories blog, I might as well start off with something a little controversial. I hope I don’t upset too many of you; at the same time I’ll be delighted if I can get you to start thinking about fresh, innovative ways to promote your books and, in the process, sell more books. That’s why I call my topic “Getting Read.”

The fact is, it’s going to take all your tenacity, innovation and receptivity to new marketing strategies and online tools to succeed today. The good news, I believe, is that your use of the Internet, joint sales ventures and guerilla marketing tactics can actually increase your sales far beyond anything you’ve ever imagined.

So why is this so controversial? My perspective on the publishing industry: I feel that writers who hang their hopes of success on getting their books picked up by a major publisher actually keep themselves from realizing their greatest success. Therefore it concerns me when I hear good writers say things like, “I just got an agent! I’m set now.” Or, “Wow, can you believe it? BLANK-BLANK [major publisher] is going to publish my book. How great is that?”

 

Let’s do the math…

• We might as well start with the news that came out earlier this month. News Corp, parent of HarperCollins, reported that their first quarter operating income plummeted from $36 million a year ago to just $3 million. They point to softening sales of their backlist titles and rising overhead costs. Apparently even reorders of their bestsellers is down. No wonder HarperCollins is seriously considering eliminating advances to all new authors.
• And while we’re on the subject of advances, Marilyn Ross of SelfPublishingResources.com told the American Society of Journalists and Authors that a major publishing executive admitted to her that 90 percent of books fail to make back their advance. A 90 percent failure rate can’t help but ultimately doom any industry.

But I don’t like wallowing in the failures. I prefer to look for the way up and out. And surveys like these reinforce my belief that the success lies with me (and other authors) rather than with publishers:

• More readers go to an author’s site (23 percent) for information than go to the publisher’s website (18 percent). The difference may not appear huge, but it certainly suggests that it is the author, not the publisher, who sells books. (Spier New York poll, 2006)
• Seventy-five percent of booksellers surveyed reported that the most important element of a book’s success is the look and design of the cover. In other words, readers don’t check to see who published the book. They buy because of the title, design, and compelling sales copy and testimonials on the back cover. 

So what can you do to take control into your own hands? Open your mind to new resources. Be creative in your marketing strategies. And above all, innovate in all things. I look forward to sharing tips, techniques and strategies you can put to use.

I’d like to leave you with an introduction to Podiobooks.com. Here you can give away free, serialized audio downloads of your writing. Readers who like your work are encouraged to make a small donation to you. It’s definitely a different approach. I’ve been following this site for more than a year now, and I’m impressed with its growth. It just may be one way to put yourself on the map. For more on Podiobooks.com, please follow this link to Matilda Butler’s and my website Two Women Business.