Do or Do Not, There is no Try When it Comes to Building your Brand
May 12, 2020 by Denise M. Colby in category The Writing Journey by Denise Colby tagged as author branding, Denise M. Colby, encouragement, SEO MarketingSince May is all about Star Wars, I thought I’d start with a famous Yoda quote and apply it to a building your brand message:
“Do or Do Not, There is no Try”
Yoda
How does this apply to your author platform?
- We write or we do not write.
- We post social media or we do not post social media.
- We start building a brand or we do not.
When it comes to building your brand, there’s this fear of getting things wrong.
And sometimes this fear prevents us from doing anything about it.
But that’s exactly what I want to encourage you to do. Do something! Don’t just say you will try. And know, whatever you do, it doesn’t have to be 100% perfect. It’s most important for you to do.
Yes, I know, all the different variables to building your author brand can be stressful. But keep in mind, I’ve seen several small businesses evolve and grow in their online presence. It has opened my eyes to the fact that they did not get to their current place overnight. There’s not a magic switch that turns on everything perfectly. Most sites have evolved over time, trying things that work and don’t work and making adjustments as they work out the kinks.
Our author websites and social media are just like this.
We need to do some things first before we figure out if it works or not.
That’s what happened with my Marketing for Authors newsletter. I saw a graphic I liked and wanted to make it into the brand for Marketing for Authors. But no matter what I did, it wasn’t working the way I pictured it. And so I put off sending out my newsletter, or doing anything else for that matter. Not very business-minded, was it? So, I too am right in the thick of it, challenging myself with starting over and moving forward.
I’ve since chosen a simple design (thanks Canva!) and color scheme that I can incorporate into my training materials easily. And if I need to change some things as I go, I’m okay with that.
Here’s my new logo.
What do you think?
I’m super excited about it. I didn’t overthink it like I usually do, and I can incorporate the colors into my training materials. The only issue is when I print it on my home printer, the color comes out a little more blue than what it looks like on the screen. Since most of my stuff will be digital anyway, I’m moving forward with it. And boy does that feel freeing.
I understand how much establishing brand and building content is complicated and time-consuming. That’s where I want to help you in figuring out what works and to offer encouragement.
As a writer and a small business person, every little action can help propel your brand forward.
For myself, I’ve written my first newsletter and I’m ready to send it out (you can sign up for my free newsletter here). I’m also preparing to teach my first online class and give my first zoom interview. I’m trying not to over think things, but just take baby steps, one step at a time.
I hope to encourage you in the same way.
If interested in learning more about brand and SEO, take a look at some of my past posts:
Why it’s Important to Have a Blog and What to Write About
Why Link Building on Your Website and Blog is Important
Why SEO Should Matter To An Author
Or you can visit my website by clicking on the button below.
Boldwood Bedtime Stories with Jina Bacarr reading from ‘The Runaway Girl’ A Titanic love story
May 11, 2020 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as bedtime, Boldwood, Boldwood Books, historical fiction, historical romance, Ireland, Queenstown, romance', ship of dreams, stories, story, TitanicSince we’re all still at home… why not grab a lovely cup of herb tea and a biscuit and listen to THE RUNAWAY GIRL on Boldwood Bedtime Stories.
Here we meet Ava before she boarded the TITANIC..
I enjoyed bringing these characters in Queenstown Ireland to life… Enjoy!
Boldwood Bedtime Stories: The RUNAWAY GIRL Introduction
Boldwood Bedtime Stories: The RUNAWAY GIRL Part 1: Queenstown, Ireland Ava needs a place to stay
Boldwood Bedtime Stories: The RUNAWAY GIRL Part 2: Ava ends up in a dosshouse in Queenstown, Ireland
Boldwood Bedtime Stories: The RUNAWAY GIRL Part 3 Ava bargains with Florie Sims at the dosshouse
Boldwood Bedtime Stories: The RUNAWAY GIRL Part 4 Ava fights back against unruly gent in dosshouse
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Two women hold the keys to his heart. Only one will survive that fateful night…
When Ava O’Reilly is wrongly accused of stealing from her employer, she has no option but to flee Ireland. The law is after her, and she has only one chance at escape – the Titanic.
Aboard the ship of dreams, she runs straight into the arms of Captain ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, a dashing gentleman gambler who promises to be her protector. He is intrigued by her Irish beauty and manages to disguise her as the maid of his good friend, the lovely Countess of Marbury. Little does he realise, that the Countess is also in love with him.
As the fateful night approaches, tragedy strikes further when Ava is separated from Buck, and must make a daring choice that will change her life forever…
A sweeping historical romance set aboard the Titanic, from the author of Her Lost Love (Christmas Once Again).
Praise for Jina Bacarr:
‘A delightful holiday romance that has all the charm of a classic Christmas movie. Christmas Once Again is perfect for anyone who loves a holiday romance brimming with mistletoe, hope, and what ifs.’ Andie Newton, author of The Girl I Left Behind
‘A breathtaking holiday romance that is sure to stay with you long after reading’
‘A mesmerizing holiday romance that is sure to sweep you off your feet and take you away to another place, another time.’
‘A fabulous book you won’t want to miss’
THE RUNAWAY GIRL e-book, print and audio book:
If You Could Create the Perfect Writers Conference by Kitty Bucholtz
May 9, 2020 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz, Writing tagged as Kitty Bucholtz, Write Now Workshop, writers conferenceSix weeks ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, I was all set to sign a contract with a beautiful hotel here in Malmö, Sweden, and host the first WRITE NOW! Workshop Writers Conference. My, how things change.
While hosting live, in-person events has become questionable on many levels for the rest of this year, more and more people are getting used to meeting online simply because it’s the only way to connect right now. For that reason, I decided not to cancel my conference, but to simply recreate it as an amazing online experience.
But if it’s going to have to change anyway, what else could we do to make the conference even more amazing?! I thought I’d ask you, the writer who normally enjoys going to writers conferences – what would you love to see in an online conference?
There are a few ways we could go. One person suggested that since going to a conference all day for two or three days can be exhausting, maybe we should spread it out to several half-days over a month. Someone else suggested creating a writers summit instead of a conference – a free or low-cost event with lots of great content, but each speaker gets to pitch something that they sell at the end of each session (a course, a book).
I have to admit, for me the conference experience is the joy of seeing old friends and the fun of making new ones, and sharing all of the fun and learning together. If we recreate the conference experience online, we can create little experiences where we get to meet and talk to new people, hang out with old friends, and share our coffee or wine together.
We’ve come up with some super fun ideas to keep it interesting even as we’re apart. For instance, I could have a yoga instructor or physical trainer come on for a couple minutes every few hours to get us up and moving a little, get some more blood and oxygen into our brains.
We could still have a timed writing sprint room in the morning or at night where people could meet and write together. We could have a fireside chat one or two nights with a fun, famous author talking about their writing life and taking questions. We could even have pajama parties! We’d break it up according to genres or topics.
So what do you think? If you’re thinking you might not be flying to a writers conference this year, what’s the best way to recreate that awesome experience online? Share your thoughts and I’ll incorporate what I can into the first ever WRITE NOW! Workshop Writers Conference!
And save the date: October 9-11, 2020!
Kitty Bucholtz, May Featured Author
May 7, 2020 by Kitty Bucholtz in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as Kitty Bucholtz, May Featured Author of the Month, romantic comedy, Superheros, Write Now Workshop Podcast
Kitty Bucholtz combined her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. She writes romantic comedy and superhero urban fantasy, often with an inspirational element woven in. She loves to teach and offer advice to writers through her WRITE NOW! Workshop courses and the WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast.
Besides Kitty’s website and WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast, you will find her here on the 9th of each month writing It’s Worth It.
Books by Kitty Bucholtz
New Normal
May 6, 2020 by Linda O. Johnston in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as coronavirus, new normal, writing
Last month I posted here about the Corona virus and how it was affecting my life and writing. Well, guess what, everyone? Reading that post again now, I realize that what I described has become my new normal.
Oh, sure, I used to stay at home a lot and write. Not much different about that now. But I still don’t go out to my exercise classes, which remains fine with my dogs since they get more walks.
I plan in advance when I dare to go shopping for essentials like food, and then I plan the times to arrive at those stores to be when any lines will hopefully be short and I’ll be able to breathe at least somewhat through my mask.
Otherwise, I pretty much stay at home. And write. And wonder if I’ll ever really want to incorporate much of this into a novel someday. It is novel, of course. New, but extending. I never dreamed what’s going on today ever would. If I’d written about it in the past, people might have enjoyed the fiction—or not—but that’s what it would have been. And tomorrow? Will I include any or all of this in my writing? I’m still not sure.
Meanwhile, I hope to attend the meeting of the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of America this weekend—the way I’ve been attending such meetings for the past couple of months now, online, on Zoom. Not that non-techie me has completely figured out how to use Zoom. But I know enough to at least watch and listen.
And now? Well, I’m working on the final edits of the manuscript I was writing last month. I hope to send it to my editor soon. It’s another Harlequin Romantic Suspense book in one of my mini-series, and I’ve been having fun with it.
What else? Well, my husband and I used to go out at least once a week to see a movie in a theater. Now, we watch all movies or shows on TV. And my dogs have always been good about communicating with me, so having me around even more to give orders to seems to suit them just fine.
Okay, back to work now. Let’s see what I have to say here next month!
