Image by League of Women Voters via Flickr/Creative Commons
Earlier this month I created a two-question survey and offered a pretty sweet incentive to complete it: Those who completed the survey would have a chance at winning free admission to See Jane Write events held February – December 2015 (excluding events for members only).
And the winner is….
Emily G.
Congratulations, Emily!
And thanks to all of you who completed the survey.
The results revealed three things — 1) you all love live events 2) you all are ready to blog like a boss and 3) you’re having trouble finding time to make your writing dreams come true.
Live educational vents will continue to be the bread and butter of See Jane Write. Future events will offer information on how to monetize blogging properly use business tools like MailChimp, PayPal, etc. In fact, I’ve decided that the theme for this year’s Bloganista Mini-Conference will be Blog Like a Boss!
As for time management — I’ve got you covered there, too. My e-course How to Write and Have a Life is all about how to make time for your dreams. Over the course of a dozen lessons you will learn how to set goals that will help you better manage your time, how to get rid of bad habits that are wasting your time, how to adopt healthy habits that will make you more peaceful and productive, how to rekindle your romance for your blog, how to write more, read more, and stress less, how exercise can make you a better writer, and how to give yourself a break. Enroll today!
One day I’m going to write a book and when I do I hope I can somehow channel the wit and wisdom of Carrie Rollwagen. Carrie is the author of The Localist, a book about why small shops matter and her quest to only shop from local stores for one year. But you probably already knew that because since Carrie’s book was released in November she has been everywhere! Not only has she had book signings at places like Naked Art Gallery and Little Professor Book Store, but she’s been on radio stations like 100.1 FM and television shows like Talk of Alabama to discuss her book. She did a live chat on AL.com. and even hosted a gift tag and calligraphy bar party around the holidays! But I shouldn’t be surprised that she’s so good at promoting her book. She was just as great at promoting her Kickstarter campaign through which she raised much of the funds needed to self-publish The Localist.
And to think this all started with a blog! Yes, that’s right; Carrie first chronicled her shop small experiment through blogging. Now she’s transformed her blog idea into a book idea and is showing us all how to self-publish and self-promote the right way.
Photo by Jamie Golden
On Tuesday, Jan. 20 at The Nest, Carrie led a talk on self-publishing for about two dozen women as part of the See Jane Write event From Blog to Book with Carrie Rollwagen. During her talk I kept thinking about how, unfortunately, so many self-published authors do the complete opposite of what Carrie was saying, which might explain why so many self-published authors fail at selling their books and building a fan base.
So here’s what NOT to do:
1. Simply copy and paste your blog into a Word file and call it a manuscript. While Carrie’s book was inspired by her blog, she didn’t simply compile her posts and ship them to her printer. “Your blog can act as a focus group,” she said. It will help you determine the topics your fans care about most.
Carrie says she read through her blog and made a list of all the themes of her posts and arranged them into categories and those categories became chapters.
Even though her book is non-fiction, she still wrote her chapters in the form of a narrative. “Story is powerful,” she said.
Leading a workshop for a group like See Jane Write is a great way to promote your book!
2. Don’t bother rewriting your work or hiring an editor. Carrie wrote the first draft of her book in only a month. But she spent about a year rewriting it. “Writing is rewriting,” she said. “You need a good editor.” As for choosing the right editor, be sure you pick someone who actually has the time to edit your book and someone with an editing style that works for you. For example, if you want someone who’s not going to simply line edit your work but will ask questions about concepts and composition, find someone who will do just that.
3. Be really, really boring. When marketing your book you must be creative. This means just say no to boring book signings. “Create events that are interesting and newsworthy,” Carrie said. “If you’re doing events there needs to be something more than you just sitting at a table of books.” That’s why Carrie hosted events like a gift tag and calligraphy bar party and a local business holiday fair. Carrie also used her Kickstarter campaign to generate excitement for her book.
4. Be pushy with booksellers. As a self-published author it will be tough to get your book in stores, but it’s not impossible — unless you’re a jerk. Be mindful of the financial risk it takes for an independent bookstore to carry your work and be as easy to work with as possible. One tip Carrie offered was giving a bookseller a free copy of your book to put on shelves. If the book sells most likely the owner of the store will want to sell more and thus work out a distribution deal. Side note: if you don’t want to end up with thousands of copies of your book sitting in your basement, work with a printer who offers a print-on-demand option.
Carrie on Talk of Alabama
5. Be elusive and mysterious with the press and ignore social media. If you want your book featured in local media make it easy for reporters to cover your events! Send out well-written, informative press releases. On your blog include your author bio, a list of important facts about you and your book, and hi-res images that the media can use.
Also, Carrie said, “Feed the social media beast.” Create a hashtag for your book and use it! Instagram is a good way to get people excited about your brand (yes, as an author you are a brand) and Twitter is great for reaching industry influencers.
Have you self-published a book? What did you learn from your experience?
I finally believe this popular Kate Spade quote applies to me!
Today marks the end of #bloglikecrazy — See Jane Write’s annual challenge to post a new blog post every day for 30 days in the month in November.
Usually I survive #bloglikecrazy by planning ahead. I usually spend October brainstorming ideas for dozens of posts and will even start drafting some of them. That wasn’t the case this year. Because my fall has been so busy, I was often developing the idea for and writing a post the same day I published it. But I’m glad things turned out that way because this year’s #bloglikecrazy taught me something valuable: When it comes to writing and blogging, I actually do know what the hell I’m doing!
I suffer from major impostor syndrome, that feeling we women often have that tells us that we’re not good enough and that we don’t deserve the position or power that we have. I often feel this way about writing and blogging. Because of the popularity of See Jane Write, people in Birmingham regard me as a blogging and writing expert, a title I often shirk because I don’t have a New York Times best seller on my resume and because I don’t seek to make money from my blog through advertisements or sponsored posts.
But when See Jane Write members emailed me questions about blogging (questions I had promised to answer in the form of blog posts this month) I could answer their questions thoroughly and easily. I didn’t have to consult any “expert.” The answer was already beneath my curly coif! And on days when I didn’t have a question to answer I was able to easily come up with a blog post idea and write it quickly and concisely while still making it an interesting, inspiring, or informative narrative.
Who knew that, of all things, this year’s #bloglikecrazy challenge would help me overcome my impostor syndrome!
I’ve realized that I may not know everything, but I know a lot, and I’m smart and resourceful enough to figure out and learn the things that I don’t.
What did you learn from this year’s #bloglikecrazy challenge?
For about a year and a half now I’ve had the honor of writing a monthly column for WBHM 90.3 FM, Birmingham’s NPR station. And for the past year, in addition to writing for WBHM.org I also discuss my post for the month on air.
This month’s essay is about learning to love my name and learning to be proud of where I’m from.
Having a name like Javacia isn’t easy. When I introduce myself to people they typically look at me as if I’m a green girl from Mars. And there was a time when I worried that my unique name could be a liability. One look at my name and you know I’m black and I’ve been told that some potential employers might not hire me because of that. In my WBHM post I discuss how becoming a writer changed how I viewed my name.
Being from Birmingham isn’t easy either. People who’ve never stepped foot in the state of Alabama think they know what Birmingham is all about and criticize my Magic City. And to make matters worse, some Birmingham residents are ashamed of their home. But just as I had to respect my name before I could expect other people to do so, we must be proud of our city if we ever want perceptions of Birmingham to improve.
Visit WBHM.org to read my post and listen to my radio segment.
Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.
Image by Alexander Baxevanis via Flickr/Creative Commons
What’s the point? There comes a time when every blogger will ask herself this question.
Creating good content on a consistent basis is hard work and most of us aren’t pulling a paycheck from our posts. So why bother blogging in the first place?
Well, some folks do get lucky. Some bloggers build a massive following and grab the attention of big-name brands. Some bloggers generate enough revenue from ads, sponsored posts, and affiliate links to quit their day jobs.
But most of us do not. But here’s why you should keep blogging anyway.
Blogging can make you a better writer. Writing is a practice. Just as athletes must train to get better at their sport, writers must practice to get better at our craft. Blogs make for a great training field. Blogging has taught me how to be more concise in my writing and taught me how to write faster, even faster than I did as a reporter with the Associated Press! If you set a posting schedule for yourself, blogging can train you to meet deadlines, too.
Blogging can help your writing career. Blogging will only help you as a writer if you’re striving to post quality work. And it’s important that you don’t put out crap just to say you’ve updated your blog for the week. People are paying attention. Your blog could land you a book deal or at least opportunities to write for some of your favorite publications. Case in point, I have a journalism degree from UC Berkeley, but the editors I work with couldn’t care less. Nearly all of the regular freelance gigs I have right now I snagged because I blog. So while I don’t make money directly from my blog, I do get paid for my freelance work and so blogging like crazy is worth it.
Blogging can help you establish an online platform. And you can use this online platform to promote your book or business or to spread ideas.
Blogging can help you find community. Blogging can help you find like-minded people with whom you can wax poetic about your passions or just hang out with and have fun. You thought you were the only 35-year-old black woman in the South who loved comic books, graphic novels, and video games. But then you started a blog about this obsession of yours and now you have a gaggle of geeky gal pals to take with you to Dragon Con.
Blogging can help you position yourself as an expert. As I mentioned, most people don’t make much money directly from their blogs. But your blog is a great way for you to promote your expertise. So use your fitness blog to promote yourself as a personal trainer. Use your fashion blog to promote yourself as a stylist. Take for example, Megan LaRussa Chenoweth, who owns the style coaching service Southern Femme. Chenoweth a top-notch, in-demand image consultant and personal shopper and is also a stylist for several magazines and fashion shows. But Southern Femme actually began as a fashion blog. Chenoweth used SouthernFemme.com to show off her style expertise and soon she went from bloganista to businesswoman.
Why do you blog?
Are you interested in blogging more but having trouble finding the time to do so? Then don’t miss the launch of my time management e-course. To be notified of the launch date, simply click here and sign up for my personal blog’s newsletter.
Each day in November for #bloglikecrazy I’ll be publishing a blog post that answers your questions about blogging, social media, writing, wellness or women’s empowerment. Send your questions to javacia@seejanewritebham.com.
