Tips to Balance Writing Time and Marketing Time

One of the things I often hear from fellow writers is that marketing takes a substantial amount of time, which means less time for writing. Many feel there is no easy way to balance writing time and marketing time.

Here are a few tips that might help:

Add Marketing Time to Your To-Do List

Without a list, you can lack focus and organization, which means time slips away and you’re not even sure where it went. Daily and weekly to-do lists keep you on track, and they motivate you to keep going.

See where you can add fifteen minutes to half an hour of marketing time to your daily schedule. I find that after I drop the kids off in the morning is my best time because my phone isn't ringing with real estate calls and there's no one in the house except me and the furry beasts.

Create an Online Media Kit

Every published writer needs a media kit. A media kit should include: a long and short bio, author photographs, novel covers, book trailers, excerpts, audio clips, links to previous interviews, and a schedule of events. If you write articles, it should include a list of those articles, where and when they appeared, and direct links to any articles that appear online.

By having this information available on your website and in PDF format, you’ll save time when you contact people for interview and book review requests. Even if you’re still waiting for that first sale, it’s a good idea to have a biography and quality photo available for those who request them.

Use Social Media Effectively

I have numerous social networks that I post to multiple times a day. Can you imagine how long it would take if I had to post to each site separately? By using Buffer, Hootsuite or TweetDeck, I can create one post that is submitted to all my social networks at once.

Support Local Schools and Events

Who says marketing can’t be fun and fulfilling? With tightening budgets, schools are often looking for guests to come and interact with students. When my girls were younger, I held writing workshops at their schools. I would speak to the teacher about their current course of study and then tie my workshops into that.

One year, I visited during National Poetry Month, which is held in April. The kids had also been studying Colonial America and the America Revolution. My two-day workshop was on using your senses in writing and on how to develop your powers of observation. We started off by reading excerpts from classic children’s books and seeing if the kids could point out the senses the authors used. Then the students pulled items out of a bag and had to use their senses to describe it. On the second day, they observed me reciting “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and we discussed their observations. Finally, they put all they learned into practice by using their senses and power of observation to write a short story based on a field trip they had taken earlier in the year to an early American settlement. The kids enjoyed it and they shared it with their parents, many of whom asked about my work. It was great exposure to teachers as well.

When my first book came out, I held a book signing at my church during their annual Christmas Bazaar and Tag Sale. I got a chance to sell my book, and a portion of the proceeds went to the church--a win for both of us.

Marketing is part of the business of writing. Using these tips will help you strike a better balance between the business and creative sides of your career.

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Little Shepherd, A Christmas Kindness, Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving and the recently released, Amos Faces His Bully. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com

Understanding How Book Reviews Make You A Better Writer

Back in 2010, I wrote an article titled The Elements of a Good Book Review. Working in online book promotion at the time, my hope was this would encourage more bloggers to review our clients' books.

A review is one person's opinion of a book they have read. It is not a play-by-play description and it shouldn't contain spoilers. The information contained in a review can also give the author a glimpse into her strengths and the areas that might need some attention.


Here are two of the blurbs from reviews of A Christmas Kindness, released by 4RV Publishing in 2012:

I appreciated the simplicity of the story that had such a powerful message wrapped up inside it.

It is not often that a simple children's book can nearly bring me to tears, but this one succeeded.

These reviewers appreciated the simplicity of the story, but were touched by its message. What did the author (me) learn? Keeping it simple for first time readers is important, while the adults are able to understand the message behind it and use it as a teaching point.

Here's a review blurb from my first book:

...this is the type of book that I would read to little children versus letting them read the book themselves. Only because there was a lot of words and children do not have a huge attention span to read all those words. 

Compare the two: one is said to be a simple story and the other was found to use too many words, therefore, making it harder for young children to read by themselves. Did I consider that reviewer's feedback when I wrote future books? Of course, because my market is children and those who buy for them.


 Here is part of a review I wrote about The Brain Sucker by Glenn Wood:

There is so much to enjoy in this novel: the well-developed characters, the neat inventions, the antics of Lester’s bumbling thugs, the craziness caused by Jinx's “little problem,” and so much more... It didn't take me long to finish this one because I never wanted to put it down. I also really felt the selected font was perfect for the story, so kudos to the book designer.

Wood got to know the age group he was writing for and it showed in every page of this story. This book was so fun to read. Then the designer used a font that matched the vibe of the story perfectly. Should the author consider what the designer is doing? I think so. He might not have the final say, but a book is a package deal from outside to inside.


Here's a blurb from my review of The Undercover Kids' Holland Adventure - The Trunk in the Attic by Gloria Smith Zawaski:

The one thing I found confusing is that the book starts in present tense, then changes to past tense and occasionally switches through the story. This interrupted the flow of the prose at times.

This is a middle grade adventure story, so complexities are expected. You just don't want to lose your reader over them. Sometimes when you're working on a manuscript, you've read it so many times you don't see some of its challenges. It happens to all of us. That's why critique groups and editors are so important.

Reviews, while subjective, can be helpful to the writer who uses them to build upon her strengths and fine tune areas that come up as challenges for readers time and again.

Cheryl C. Malandrinos is a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of Little Shepherd, A Christmas Kindness, Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving and the recently released, Amos Faces His Bully. A blogger and book reviewer, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two daughters. She also has a son who is married. Visit Cheryl online at http://ccmalandrinos.com and her children’s book blog at https://childrensandteensbookconnection.wordpress.com

Book Marketing and the Query Letter

If you are contemplating writing a book or you’ve already written one, and intend on going the traditional publishing path, you’ll need a query letter and a cover letter.

This is true whether you’re an author, a writer, or a business owner who wants to build his authority with a book.

Wondering what a query letter has to do with book marketing?

The query is the second step in your book marketing journey. Think of it as the beginning of a hopefully rewarding relationship with a publisher or agent.

The first step is writing a great story. The second is getting a contract – this is where the query comes in.

If you’re not sure what a query letter is, Jane Friedman notes that it’s a stand-alone letter and has only one purpose. Its sole purpose is “to seduce the agent or editor into reading or requesting your work. The query is so much of a sales piece that you should be able to write it without having written a single word of the manuscript.” (1)

The query letter is your foot in the publishing door. So, you can see how much rides on this one or two page letter (preferably one page).

The query letter usually has 8 elements to be aware of:

1. Do your research. Have you gone to the publisher’s or agent’s website to make sure your manuscript topic is something s/he handles?

You can do an online search for publishers or agents that will be a fit for your story. Or, you can use an online service, like WritersMarket.com.

2. Know what you need to do. At the site, did you carefully go over the submission guidelines? I mean really, really, really, carefully!

3. Is your opening (in the query) grabbing? Will it get the reader’s attention?

4. Edit, edit, edit. Have you checked for grammar errors? Have you checked for redundancy? How about spelling? Don’t rely on a word processors speck check feature alone. Edit your letter manually.

5. Keep it short and sweet. Eliminate non-essential personal information.

6. Include credentials, and/or pertinent background information, if any.

7. Include your book marketing strategy for promoting your book. In this section, include your social media following, only if significant: 500 followers, 1000 followers, 5000, 10,000. Obviously, the more the better. And, it’s essential that you have an author website and include the link in your heading.

8. Have you studied the query letter format?

The format consists of several paragraphs:

a. Your introduction, mentioning that you’ve visited the website and why you’re querying.
b. A very brief gist of what the manuscript is about and the intended age group.
c. A very brief synopsis of the story.
e. Your background, if pertinent. Include your marketing intentions.
f. Thank the editor/agent for her time. Mention that you included XXX pages (the number the guidelines said to send), if applicable.

Taking the time to do it right and write an optimized query letter may make the difference between the slush pile and a contract.

The query letter is the portal to a contract. If the reader says NO at the letter, your manuscript may be great, but it won’t have a chance.

References:
1) http://janefriedman.com/2014/04/11/query-letters/
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/how-to-write-the-perfect-query-letter

This post was originally published at:
Book Marketing and the Query Letter

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, successful children’s ghostwriter as well as an author online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing. For must-know writing and marketing tips, get free access to The Writing World.

Also, be sure to check out Karen award-winning children's middle-grade fantasy, "Walking Through Walls."