If You're Shy and Retiring, You Soon May Be Retired

by Cynthia MacGregor

The time was when writers, especially poets, but novelists and others as well, were pictured as living and working in garrets (what the heck is a garret, anyhow?), in self-imposed seclusion. If not in a garret, they sequested themselves in little rooms, or in lofts, tucked away from the hustle and bustle, and the intrusion of people.

It was the perfect life for an introvert. Your words would enchant the public…without you yourself ever having to meet the people.

But in those days, all writers had to do was write.

Today, we writers must relentlessly self-promote if we want our books to sell. If you’re writing primarily for e-publishers, you can get away with much of your self-promotion being online. You don’t have to go out and meet the public face-to-face very often; most of your promo is done via computer. But you still have to put yourself out there.

Simply advertising the book won’t do. Just posting notices that such-and-such a book is available, with tantalizing teasers about the plot (or topic, for nonfiction) and info on where to buy the book won’t really cut it. You need to do that, yes, but you need to do more. You need to promote your book(s)—and yourself—as a marketable commodity. You need to try to ingratiate yourself with your public. You need to capture their attention.

One way to do this is through a blog…or should I say, “two ways”? Yes, you can have a blog of your own, and/or you can guest on other writers’ blogs (as I am doing here). And if you have a blog of your own, you will soon find that you are laying your soul bare, or at least reporting on your daily life, from quotidian and mundane matters to the exalted highs of having another book accepted (or published), the nail-biting as you await an expected royalty statement, or the great satisfaction of getting a good review or having a reader tell you how much she or he loved your book.

To make your blog interesting, you have to open up. You cannot be shy and retiring.

What’s more, if your book is in print (as opposed to being an e-book), you will not only need to do promos online, but you will help your sales if you can schedule book-signings, speeches, and other publicity events.

Wave bye-bye to that garret. Seclusion is not an option for a writer these days.

So how do you, a person who is by nature shy or at least introverted, cope with putting yourself in the spotlight?

There’s no single trick that will turn you into an insta-extrovert. But try any or all of these tips to see which ones help you:

• When speaking to a group, pick one sympathetic-looking person in the audience and direct most of your remarks to her or him. Pretend you are speaking one-on-one with that person.

• Remember that all the attendees in a group are readers, just like you, and that they are there to hear what you have to say because they want to be there with you. They care.

• When pouring your life out into an entry in your own blog, pretend you are talking to a friend, but not your best friend. Your best friend really cares about all the ins and outs of your daily life. Your other friends care about your life, but not the tiny details. Write as if you are talking to one of those friends.

• When offered a choice between writing an article as a guest blogger or answering a questionnaire, choose the article. Not only will it feel less intrusive to an introvert, if that’s what you are, but it will be of greater interest to your readers than the typical “What is your favorite color?”/”What is your favorite food” type of questions.

• Be creative. (As a writer, that should come naturally to you.) Have fun you’re your promos! When promoting a nonfiction book on a readers’ loop, don’t just write, “Author So-and-So offers 50 tips for blah-blah-blah in her new book….” Rather, ask a provocative question or make a challenging statement to get the readers’ attention. “How would you feel if your child ran away from home?” “Do you really believe the two-party system serves us best?” “We CAN communicate with our dear departed!” “You CAN teach an old dog…or gerbil…new tricks.” (Use the same technique with press releases!)

• Remember, the more you promote, the better your chances of selling more copies of your book. And, shy or not, introvert or not, you do want to get that book out there, don’t you?

~ ~ ~

Cynthia MacGregor, who has always been an extrovert, has 54 conventionally published books and over 50 e-books to her credit. They run the gamut from self-help to fiction, general nonfiction to cookbooks, and include a number of books for kids as well. You can visit her website at http://www.cynthiamacgregor.com/ to learn more about Cynthia and her books.

Three books she would particularly like to bring to the attention of you, as writers, are The Writer’s Guide to Paying e-Markets, You Can’t Learn to Write Just by Reading, and The Writer’s Answer Book, all of which are available from XoXo Publishing.

Q&A with MJ Fredrick

Please help me welcome romance author MJ Fredrick to the blog.

Q--Thanks for being here today. Would you please share a short bio about yourself?

A--Thanks for having me! I’m a 4^th grade teacher in Texas, I’ve been married 2 dozen years and have a son in college, but amazingly I’m only 30 years old ;) I’ve been writing seriously for 11 years, was a four-time Golden Heart finalist, and in 2007 sold 2 books within a month, and both came out within two weeks of each other! Since then I’ve sold 2 more books and a novella to Samhain, another book and six novellas to The Wild Rose Press, 2 novels to Lyrical Press and 2 books and a novella to Carina Press! I won the Epic Award for Hot Shot in 2009 and Breaking Daylight is a finalist this year.

Q--Do you consider yourself a shy and/or introverted person?

A--Yes! I hate being the center of attention!

Q--In what ways has being shy or introverted hindered your writing career?

A--It is so hard for me to talk about my books, to put myself out there. Booksignings are murder. I cannot think off the top of my head, which is why I’m a writer—I can let things simmer!

Q--In what ways has being shy or introverted helped your writing career?

A--I’ve found that I REALLY like the Internet. I can think before I submit something, I can retreat if I need to. Also, I’ve made good friends online who help me out. Turns out they’re pretty introverted, too!

Q--What’s the hardest part of this business for you?

A--Promotion! Especially approaching people I don’t know well. I had an opportunity to approach Sue Grimshaw, who runs the Borders blog, and I just couldn’t do it. I’d rather lose the opportunity than step out of my safety zone.

Q--Tell me about a time that you had to step outside your comfort zone either in your writing career or in your personal life?

A--Okay, I’m a teacher, right? So I should be used to talking in front of people. I was invited to speak at a group at Barnes and Noble about perseverance, something I really know about. I stuttered and stumbled and made the biggest fool of myself. BUT when I went back to ask the customer service manager to carry my books, she remembered me from that speech and agreed. (Also, asking people to carry my books is outside my comfort zone! And with small presses, you have to do it every single time.)

Q--What’s one tip you could share with shy and introverted people that’s helped you?

A--What I’ve had to do is to recall what I’ve accomplished, and take some confidence in that. Every one of us is unique and has survived something we wish we’d never had to go through, and we’ve come out on the other side stronger. Draw on that event, the difficulty of it and what you learned from it, and boost yourself from within.

Q--Where can my readers find you on the web?

A--My home page is www.mjfredrick.com. My blog (where I’m having a fun contest featuring heroic traits this month) is www.mjfredrick.wordpress.com. I’m also on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MJFredrick and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mjfredrickfanpage. (I know what you’re thinking! Some introvert! LOL!)

How Shy is Shy?

Please help me welcome multi-published romantic suspense author Mary Montegue Sikes to the blog.

I love meeting and reading about all sorts of people and can very much relate to the shy ones. The people I’m reading about on your blog don’t seem as shy as I expected, but they may be hiding behind a brave persona.

For those very shy souls among us, I’d like to rant a little about the difficulty of self-promotion, especially in the area of selling books. I know quite a few writers who excel at self-promotion and at book sales. They know exactly where to go and what to say to get the right gigs. With their extroversion, they are able to obtain speaking engagements at conferences all over and at libraries, clubs, and other places in their home communities as well as areas near by.

Reserved folks don’t seem to have such an easy time. The ones I know shy away from self-promotion yet they know they must do it if they want to make book sales. I’m acquainted with one author who actually feels sick to the stomach when she does book signings. She is just that introverted.

All this introversion started me thinking. Maybe a shy writer should start a blog. That would be the first step. Then he or she should start visiting other blogs and making posts. Eventually the timid blogger would become a guest on some of the other blogs where she/he might gain followers.

The Internet is a safe place for the introverted ones. They gain followers when no one is looking! I’ve been following several bloggers who started out with a very small, under ten following, who now have followers numbering in the hundreds.
How do they do it?

They make a plan. They create something of interest to readers—a book give-away is one possibility. One author even has her dog make the drawing each week.

A Halloween costume party is another promo event I’ve been watching. Post a photo of your costume for the day. Who has the best costume over a two week period. Let blog readers cast a vote. It’s a fun competition for all.

Book covers. Quite a few blogs have competitions for the best covers and the readers decide. The prize is simple. The victor can post about winning the contest for the best romance cover for the week.

I’ve decided the best way to overcome shyness is to bite the bullet. I have a new book out, Night Watch, that was released in early June. Since that time, I’ve somehow avoided the promotion my book needed as I let several weeks of trips take precedence in my life.

I appeared on a radio show but didn’t follow through to gain necessary recognition or the book sales gains that might be attached. I’ve had one book-signing that turned out to be a non-event because the bookstore failed to publicize. Lesson learned—no matter what they promise, publicize all events yourself.

Now, I’ve decided to create a blog book tour for my novel. I’ve lined up seven hosts and have a diverse set of posts planned for each stop on the seven different dates. I’ve been watching and learning from other blog book tours and have been impressed with the results I’ve seen on theirs. I don’t know if what I will do will approach their efforts or their results, but I will never have a chance if I don’t try. If nothing else, this can be a practice for an even bigger event in the future.

For now, I know that all writers, introverts and extroverts, must focus and follow through. If you don’t, you fail before you begin, shy or not.

Thank you, Rebecca, for having me as your guest. And congratulations to your sister on her new book!

Mary Montague Sikes is an award-winning author, freelance writer, photographer, artist, and teacher who loves to travel, especially to exotic tropical locations. The settings for her books and articles include Jamaica, Antigua, Trinidad, and St. Martin. Her most recent research trips carried her to Los Cabos on the western coast of Mexico, to Yellowstone National Park where she took over 500 photographs, and to Carmel-by-the-Sea where she marveled at photo opportunities wherever she turned.

The Fredericksburg, VA native is author of five award-winning books. She presents workshops on promotion and marketing to state and national conventions as well as to many local writers groups. Hotels to Remember, a coffee table book that includes the Jefferson Hotel, the Homestead, and the Hotel Del Coronado is illustrated with her artwork and photographs.

A founding member of Virginia Romance Writers, she has served on the Board of Governors of the Virginia Writers Club and is a member and past president of the Richmond Branch of the National League of American Pen Women. Her poem and paintings are featured in Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln, an anthology of work by members of the National League of American Pen Women. She is included in Who’s Who in American Women.

Her paintings are exhibited widely in Virginia and are in private and public collections in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. Night Watch, her latest novel, was released earlier this year. Dangerous Hearts, a novella set in Virginia, was released by Red Rose Publishing in June.

www.marymontaguesikes.com
http://marymontaguesikes.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/#!/monti7
http://www.facebook.com/people/Monti-Sikes/1020636841

The Shy Writer's Guide to Promotion, or Why I Love the Internet

Please welcome historical romance author Victoria Gray to the blog.

Personality tests tell me I’m an extrovert, though I suspect I actually straddle the line between extrovert and introvert. It may seem a contradiction, but I’m a reserved extrovert. It takes me a while to warm up to people, and I don’t look forward to making small talk with people I don’t know. Once I’m comfortable with you, watch out – I’ll talk your ear off. But before that time arrives, I’m rather quiet. So, the idea of book signings and face-to-face promotion isn’t incredibly appealing to me. I’ll do what it takes to promote my book, but I’m a writer, and I communicate best through the written word. That’s where the Internet comes in.

The Internet is a wonderful tool for writers, shy or not, to promote their work. Whether you’re pre-pubbed or a bestselling author, the Internet is a tremendous promotion resource. However, with so many promotion opportunities offered by the web, sorting through the options can be a bit mindboggling. There’s no way you can keep up with every Internet promo option that comes along. So, prioritizing is essential.

In my humble opinion, every author needs a website. Your website is a way to showcase your work and give your readers and prospective readers a look at you as a person and a writer. Fortunately, the cost of a website is extremely reasonable. Internet hosts offer domain names (the name of your site) and often feature templates that make it easy to design and maintain your own website. It’s possible to set up a multipage website and maintain the domain name for about $100 per year. I created my webpage in one weekend and periodically update it. I’m looking to fine-tune and expand in the near future – for this upgrade, I may obtain the services of a web designer. Many web designers are reasonably priced and create beautiful sites. Ask other authors with sites you admire to recommend a web designer or share hints on designing your own site. You’ll be surprised at how affordable a great website can be.

A blog is another vital tool for authors. You can set up your own blog or participate in a group blog. I’m a monthly contributor to Seduced by History, a blog comprised of historical romance writers, and contribute to other blogs on a guest basis (thanks, Rebecca!). I’ve visited several blogs in the past few months to coincide with the release of my historical, Destiny. I’ve posted historical articles, interviews about me, interviews about my characters, and a few posts that were just for fun, such as my tribute to bad boys on Seduced by History last month. An author can readily set up a blog within a few hours. Oh, did I mention that blogs are free? Sites such as WordPress and Blogger offer free blog space with a variety of bells and whistles for a price no one can deny is a bargain. What could be better than free?

While we’re thinking about free resources, an author should invest the time to set up Facebook and Twitter accounts. All it takes is an email and a little time, and you’re good to go. I’ve noticed many top bestselling authors have Facebook and Twitter accounts, and they post a great deal more than information on their books. One of my favorites, Teresa Medeiros, frequently posts pictures of her pet cats and reports brief anecdotes on their antics, reflects on recent movies and book releases, and posts pictures of gorgeous men. Her posts and tweets display a personal touch. This is endearing and makes her all the more relatable to her readers. To be honest, I’m working on this aspect in my posts…I’m a work in progress. I’m held back by the question – Why would anyone care about this? After all, I’m not famous or bestselling. But hopefully, if one or two “friends” can relate to something I’ve posted, they might become interested in my writing.

Twitter is another resource I use. I have to confess to being very limited in my tweets. I try to focus on writing, not watching the Twitter feed, which can become somewhat addictive. Some authors are masters at using the tiny bits of information you can put out with Twitter to promote their work. I’m not there yet, but I’m working on it.

Online loops are another great free resource. I post excerpts and information on blog postings, new releases, and other items of interest (at least, I hope they’re of interest!) on my publisher’s online loop and also on my RWA interest group loops. Online loops are also terrific sources for networking, support, and research. The Hearts through History group is a treasure trove of writers with expertise in everything from medieval weaponry to the proper way to address a Baron. Other special interest groups discuss everything from erotica to the paranormal. Whatever your writing interest, there’s a group for you.

What Internet resources do you find most useful? What would you suggest to authors for promotion? What about advertising on websites? Have you tried it? Would you recommend it?

Victoria Gray wrote her first story soon after she started elementary school. When she was in the third grade, her mother bought her a Smith Corona manual typewriter. She was officially a writer! A trained librarian, Victoria uses her research skills to explore other eras in time. Her interest in research is a perfect fit with her work as a writer of historical romance. Victoria lives in Virginia with her own hero, her husband, Greg. The mother of two sons who are used to their mother burning food to a crisp when she runs back to her computer to write just a little bit more, she enjoys cycling, hiking and long walks on the beach when she’s not writing, reading or burning dinner. You can learn more about Victoria's writing on her website, her group blog, and her book trailer.

PR Options for the Shy Author

I'm absolutely thrilled to introduce today's guest blogger: Marcia James
Marcia James writes hot, humorous romances and finaled in eleven RWA contests before selling her first comic romantic suspense, At Her Command. Her short story, "Rescue Me", appeared in Tails of Love, a Berkley benefit anthology, and her latest story, Love Unleashed, was released in February 2010. In her eclectic career, she has shot submarine training videos, organized celebrity-filled nonprofit events and had her wedding covered by People Magazine. An advertising copywriter and marketing consultant, Marcia presents online and in-person author promotion workshops.

by Marcia James

There's never been more pressure on authors to shoulder the burden of promotion, and no one can possibly take advantage of every available PR opportunity. Even a small amount of daily or weekly promotion cuts into valuable writing time. That's why authors must decide carefully which PR options are right for them based on specific variables, such as:

* Budget
* Time constraints
* Author knowledge & skills
* Book distribution & format
* Book genre/subgenre & niche market elements
* Author personality

With so many promotional opportunities, why not choose those that go well with your personality? If you're an introvert, don't add stress to your life by attempting to do PR better suited to extroverts, such as: presenting workshops, doing book readings, participating on conference panels, holding single-author booksignings, power-schmoozing at conventions, being interviewed on broadcast media, doing live chats, etc.

Instead, introverted authors might try some of these PR options:

* Participating on a reader forum/message board, informally posting on topics as time allows.

Many shy writers find it easier to converse with readers online. If you join a publisher's reader email loop -- or a reader forum, such as the ones on the RT Book Reviews' Web site -- you'll have the chance to chat up people in a non-scary situation.

* Participating on writers' email lists, sharing craft and business information as time allows.

Fellow writers are also readers, and you can develop a following by participating on writing email loops, such as those of Romance Writers of America (RWA) chapters. Sharing your knowledge and commiserating on your author-friends' ups-and-downs is an easy form of networking.

* Cross-promoting with other authors as time allows.

You can promote other authors -- and they can promote you -- in a number of ways: linking to each other's Web sites, guest-blogging on each other's blogs (Thanks, Rebecca!), giving quotes to use in articles or workshops, etc. One way I cross-promote is through my James Gang interviews . Each month I interview an author or publishing insider with some form of "James" in his/her name. The interviewees promote the interviews to their readers, writing loops, and friends, and I promote the interviews to mine.

Another example of my cross-promotion efforts is my April 5th - 18th "Guilt-Free Author Promotion" online workshop. I approached PR-savvy authors and publishing insiders and asked if they would like to write a "guest lecture" for the workshop. Over a dozen did, and I include their bios and latest release information with the lectures, as well as promoting them in all workshop announcements.

* Co-promoting with other authors to create a multi-author Web site, blog or MySpace page -- all of which would require a regular commitment of time.

Joining with other authors to share the cost and time of promotion is a great idea. One way to do that is to create a multi-author site or blog. For example, I'm part of the Ohio Romance Authors MySpace page. Simpler forms of co-promotion include sharing the cost of a joint print ad or joint promotional materials, such as brochures.

* Writing articles on the craft and business of publishing for chapter newsletters, RWA's Romance Writers Report, RT Book Reviews, online e-zines, etc. -- which you can do as time allows.

If you enjoy working alone, you can write articles, which will promote your pen name and should include a brief bio with your Web site URL at the bottom. I wrote a series of author promotion articles for the RWA Kiss of Death chapter newsletter, and I now have those articles on my Web site . In addition, you can look for elements with your book(s) that lend themselves to niche marketing. For example, if your book has a quilting heroine, you could write an article for a quilting magazine and mention your book.

* Building and maintaining your Web site and social media sites (e.g. Facebook), if you're technologically skilled and have the time to do it.

An author's Web site is the most important tool in his/her personal "PR Toolbox". If you can design and maintain a site -- including social media sites -- that's a great skill to have. And if you have the knowledge and talent to design bookmarks, banners, postcards, brochures, excerpt booklets, etc., you have a leg up on many other authors. Consider whether a skill you have from your day job or past experiences could translate into a helpful promotional skill.

* Sending PR materials to conferences, bookstores and readers' groups and press releases to the media, as time allows.

Once you have logoed/branded PR materials, you can make sure they get into the goody bags at RWA conferences, etc. You can also write press releases and mail out press kits, if you're willing to be interviewed. (Some online publications/blogs will interview you by email, so it's not as stress-producing as a live interview).

* Paying a romance author PR site, like AuthorIsland or Writerspace, to handle your newsletter mailings, contests, and other promotion, which frees up your time to write.

Not every author promotion site costs an arm and a leg. Many have an à la carte menu of services, as well as different plans, such as promotion for one month, six months, or a year. This option will affect your budget but free up your time.

That's just a sampling of PR options for the shy writer. Those wanting to step outside of their comfort zones can try opportunities that attract extroverts, such as the power-schmoozing I love. But give yourself a break and don't make promotion even more of a pain than it can be. The next time you're faced with intimidating promotional choices, analyze which ones you'd enjoy the most and don't feel guilty about those you avoid. Match your personality to your PR push.

The best way to do that is to learn what PR options are available. I offer my free 280+ page WORD file on author promotion to any writer who requests it. Just email me through the “Contact Me” page on my Web site (http://www.marciajames.net/), and I'll attach the file to my response.

I'd love to hear about your PR challenges, triumphs, questions, and helpful hints. I'm giving away a free e-book version of my comic romantic suspense, At Her Command, to a randomly chosen commenter on this guest blog. Thanks again, Rebecca, for hosting me on your blog!

Marcia is giving away a copy of her first book AT HER COMMAND (in ebook format) to a randomly chosen commenter. Good luck!

WRITING: A Solitary Pursuit?

Please help me welcome this week's guest blogger, my friend and fellow Pixie Chick (aka 2008 Golden Heart® finalist), Avery Beck.

A two-time Golden Heart® finalist, Avery writes contemporary romance for Samhain Publishing and is currently celebrating the release of her second book, For His Eyes Only. For more information about Avery or her books, please visit www.averybeck.com.


There’s a common misconception that writing is a lonely career, with romance novels specially reserved for bored housewives or spinsters with fifteen cats. Writing is antisocial, quiet and private—after all, it’s just the writer and her computer. Right?


Wrong. Once you’re published, it’s you and the whole world. At the very least, it’s you and the millions of people on the Internet. Google me or my books, and up come pages and pages of results. Search images, and there’s my face plastered across the WWW dozens of times over. Ack!

Promotion is a must in this business. Readers can’t buy your book if they don’t know about it. Authors are encouraged to do workshops, signings, contests, guest blogs, social networking, you name it. Online and off, there are a barrage of opinions on each book, whether they be intelligent critiques from seasoned reviewers or scathing posts about how much “this book sucks”—written by anonymous twelve-year-old boys. How many people visit my website every day? Read my blog? What about the readers who might come across that scathing post from the twelve-year-old boy and believe a book is horrible…and the hot, explicit excerpts available to Mom and Grandma with the click of a mouse?


ACK!


For writers who expected to hide behind book covers and Word documents, finding ourselves in the public eye can be a bit intimidating. But books are entertainment, and authors are entertainers (though most of us, sadly, go without the bling and the red carpet), so take a breath and consider how to make the most of being “out there”.


Take advantage of the opportunity to edit yourself. In college, I took a required public speaking course. The planned, written-before-delivery speeches were fine and good. However, I also had to give two improvised speeches—as in, the professor handed me a topic and five minutes to come up with an argument to present to the entire class. Oh, boy, did I stink those up. In fact, I bailed on the second one and told the guy to give me a zero, because seriously. I don’t do improvisation. Being the center of attention is nerve-wracking enough with preparation!


When it comes to shyness, the best part of being a writer is that much of our interaction takes place in print. Our stories are revised multiple times and approved by editors before they go public. Online, we can use the magical delete button and rewrite sentences, entire posts or emails before hitting “send”. The computer serves as a great filter to help you put your best self forward. Unlike my miserable speech class, you have time to make sure you say what you mean—tactfully—and avoid foot-in-mouth syndrome later.


Make friends—and not just to raise your Facebook tally. Facebook is a useful tool, of course. But there are myriad ways to meet readers and other writers, all without having to worry if your shoes are cute, your breath fresh and your opening line interesting enough to carry a conversation. Comment on blogs, join forums, and if you find someone you enjoy talking to, send an email about a topic of interest to both of you. Ask questions. Give compliments. People I’d never met approached me at RWA’s national conference because they recognized my name from online communities. My fellow GH finalists and I greeted each other with the kind of squeals and hugs usually reserved for long-lost friends—and we didn’t have to fumble for a reason to approach and say hello. We already knew each other because we’d participated in joint activities online.


Frankly, just don’t give a damn. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received is this: do what you need to do, and don’t worry about anyone’s reaction. I have a bad habit of hesitating to do or say things because I constantly think, “What if he says this? What if she does that? Oh, surely they’re going to laugh at me.” You know what? It doesn’t matter. You get nowhere fast trying to please everyone. Blow off the bad reviews, the internet pirates, the journalists who pull bits and pieces from your interview answers to make romance novels sound like the trashiest things ever.


If you spend your career trying to hide from that stuff, you won’t get your name or your books in front of your audience. And isn’t that the point of being an author?


Writers: what do you think? Has author-dom brought on more attention than you expected? Readers, do you care how much effort an author puts into public appearances (online or off), or do you just want to pick up a good book?


Next week: Debut erotica romance author, Cari Quinn, talks about busting out of her introverted comfort zone to write and sell erotica!