CONFERENCE PREP Part Two
October 5, 2023 by Tracy Reed in category Pink Pad by Tracy Reed tagged as book signing, business of writing, Conference prep, SWAG
Happy Fall. Let’s get right into it. I am enjoying sharing with you what I learned about preparing for a book signing.
Picking up where I left off last month.
I got a sign.
I have been putting this off for quite a while. Side note, I had no idea how expensive signage could be. I really like my sign. Shout out to Office Depot. They hooked me up. It took approximately a week to get my retractable banner. Here again, I had questions. Should I use a book cover or an image that represented my brand. I chose the latter option.
Let me explain why I chose a generic image. Change. I like to change my covers every couple of years. If I’d gone with a cover, the sign would have a limited lifetime.
Back to the cost. There are a lot of banner/sign companies. However, I chose an Office Depot. They aren’t necessarily known for making signs. But they were my source for one reason…money. I had approximately $40 Office Depot rewards, plus I took advantage of a 25% sale. When I finished, my sign was less than than $40. It also included the stand, carrying case and free shopping. Advice, give Office Depot a try for some of your marketing materials.
Marketing Materials.
This is one of those areas where I was a little confused. There are so many paper options…bookmarks, postcards, stickers, business cards, etc. I like digital products, but, I love paper products more. I’m that person who still sends greeting cards, notes, uses a paper planner and makes paper lists. I also keep birthday cards. I look at paper products as part of my history. It brings a smile to my face when I come across a card or letter from a loved one. And I like to display artistic postcards from a brands I like.
When it came to my paper products I wanted to give the reader something they would want to keep. For me the only company to help me achieve my goal was Moo.com. I have been using Moo for quite a while. Their products and customer service are phenomenal.
Over the years, I’ve learned how to create items from their categories that work for me. In my lingerie business I offer a bra fitting guide which I printed on rack cards. The front has my logo and a bra graphic. The back are the instructions on how to find your bra size. I saw on their IG page how someone used a post card as a branded notecard. I copied that idea using some of my book covers.
Another reason I love Moo.com is Printfinity. Printfinity is the ability to load up to 50 different images on one side and another for the back. If you aren’t using Moo.com, Printfinity is reason enough to do so. Here’s what I did. I selected seven cover images and one with my tagline, for the front and my information on the back. Then I order 250 post cards. So here’s another cool thing about Moo…they give you paper options. For my postcards, I used the original paper, which for some printers is considered premium. Since I’ve been working with them for a while, I understand they are known for offering special pricing. I was under a time crunch, and took a chance hoping for a sale or special discount. I gave myself a deadline to place my order, sure enough a 25% discount popped up in my email. I jumped on it.
I also ordered a larger postcard and turned it into a church fan with some sticks from Amazon.
When it was said and done, I ordered all of my paper products from Moo.com. You may ask why didn’t I get traditional bookmarks? Simple…I wanted to stand out. I gave readers a card with all of my books. It also works as a shopping list.
FYI: Moo.com is good about replacing defective items without an additional cost to you.
I ordered swag that worked for my brand.
There are a sea of options when it comes to swag. I also know, the longer you shop the more confused you are likely to get. I ordered swag that was multi-purposeful for me. I know that sounds selfish, but I’m still looking at buttons that are five years old. And don’t get me started on paper swag vs. tchotchke. That debate alone will give you a headache.
When you attend a huge signing one of the goals is to stand out and gain the attention of the reader who doesn’t know you. When selecting swag I tried to stay within my brand. In the past, I tried buttons, stickers, magnets, bookmarks, free downloads and lip balm. Some were winners and some fell flat. There’s nothing wrong with those items, but some of them weren’t right for my brand. I used SLC to rid myself of a few sag items.
So what did I give away? In addition to the reading list card, I sprinkled the table with the left over buttons. (FYI, even after the signing, I still have buttons.) I ordered stickers and coasters from StickerMule.com. Of course I caught a sale. StickerMule.com is another source for great marketing products. I got 50 3” round stickers and round coasters for $19 each. Plus, I got 50 large poly mailers, which I used as shopping bags for $29.
Purchasing tip: Every Tuesday, StickerMule.com features a product at some insane price. And sometimes they run a surprise weekend deal.
The other thing I gave away, was an exclusive sampler. This sampler is only available at signings or when you order signed books direct from me. (I also gave away the ebook version to my mailing list.) I weighed the cost of the various swag options and this was cheaper. It also acts as an introduction to my library. How much was this freebie, using KDP $2.30. The look of delight on reader’s faces when they realized it was free with each purchase, confirmed I made the right choice.
I’m stopping here. I told you this was a long series of posts. I’ve included a 25% discount link for Moo.com if you want to try them (https://refer.moo.com/s/pinkduchess8).
Next month, I’ll share a few more tips on what I did and how you can prepare for your next book signings.
Tracy’s Books
Everyone Loves Thrillers, Well, Sort of
October 3, 2023 by Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger in category Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger, Thrillers by Will Janns tagged as new release, Trillers, Will Janns
Thrillers are mostly fast-paced, page-turners that tire out the reader as much as they do the characters in the story.
Janet Lynn and I are writing in this genre for the first time, with our first effort being STONE PUB. We are writing under the name Will Janns, and we’ve learned there are many flavors of thrillers on the shelves.
What kind of a thriller holds the reader’s attention? Every reader is different (just like every writer.)
Some of the best-selling novels in the thriller category have been spy or political thrillers that involve political corruption or terrorism. Plots can center on both real and fictional political events. The stakes are always high and often suggest that life, as we know it, in our nation (or another nation) could end or change for the worse.
But right up there with political or spy thrillers are supernatural/sci-fi/techno-thrillers. I don’t mean to lump them together, but in these stories, crossovers may occur. They may feature fantasy and horror elements and involve some aspect of the supernatural, including fantasy beings, aliens, or time-travelers. The setting might be in the future and imply technology or AI run amok.
Getting back to earth, and I mean way back, are historical thrillers. These thrillers take place sometime in the recent or not-so-recent past. Some thriller novels are set as far back as medieval times.
The Historical Novel Society, an organization promoting historical fiction open to readers and authors alike, defines historical novels as set at least fifty years ago. For books published today, the settings would need to be 1973 or earlier to count as historical fiction.
This fact means the reader will not be reading about contemporary technology such as cell phones, computers, satellites, or high-speed communications. Verbal communications will also be affected by issues of current slang and other contemporary social behaviors.
Next come crime thrillers, which are sometimes variations on whodunits, but often rely on a “ticking clock” or hard deadline to add tension and force the investigator (whether amateur or professional) to solve the crime before the clock runs out. The crimes might involve kidnappings, ransoms, serial killers, hostage-taking, or creative heists. The motives of the antagonists can be as varied as the plot lines.
A natural segue from crime thrillers is the legal thriller, where, many times, the integrity and morals of the lawyers are tested when confronted with unusual circumstances. The legal knowledge required to make these stories believable is what keeps a reader turning the pages.
The mind, both “normal” and “abnormal,” takes center stage in Psychological thrillers. Two brilliant minds are sometimes pitted against each other in an intense battle of wits. These plot-driven thrillers often involve the basic emotions of fear, greed, guilt, lust, and revenge.
In medical thrillers, the characters include medical professionals or scientists who often race against a burgeoning worldwide pandemic or a modern medical advancement gone wrong.
Military thrillers are the final choice when deciding what kind of thriller to read (or write). The protagonists in this subgenre have some connection to the military, or are active members themselves. Combat missions, whether sanctioned or covert, are the setting for these novels. The settings and plots will be based on the intimate workings of military life. The stories often feature military slang, acronyms, specific conflicts, and organizational hierarchies. Active duty and veterans alike will see right through a weak plot or poorly researched storyline, and the author will lose a reader and even a whole audience.
You can see from this, far from complete, listing that there are action-packed, edge-of-your-seat thrillers for almost every taste. If you have been comfortable reading one subgenre, try another and surprise yourself.
Will Zeilinger and Janet Elizabeth Lynn writing as Will Janns
Other Titles by Will and Janet
An Unexpected Legacy
September 30, 2023 by Dianna Sinovic in category Quill and Moss by Dianna Sinovic, Writing tagged as magic, short fiction, writing
The hall closet was the final frontier for Asher. For three days he’d been chipping away at the house: the trash bin on the porch was overflowing, the growing pile of items marked for donation threatened to topple, and Asher’s patience was worn to a nub. Neither of his siblings could be persuaded to help him with this overwhelming task—despite both of them sharing the same now-deceased father as he.
“Dad’s place is filled with junk,” Asher’s sister told him, after pleading her excuse of a busy schedule. “Just get rid of it all.”
It’s my vacation time, too, he wanted to point out. But Leigh thought her time more valuable because she was the CPA and a mother of two to his no-kid, single-man, dev-ops job.
With a sigh, he pulled down a cardboard box from the top shelf of the closet. He’d lost count of the number of boxes his father had packed into the nooks and crannies of the suburban rancher. Caution was printed in marker across the lid: Do not open. Asher shook the box, but heard no rattle or clunk. A forgotten Christmas present his father had squirreled away? He eased off the lid. Inside, a weighted bundle covered in blue silk filled most of the interior. Unwrapping it, Asher held a goblet that once must have been shiny gold. The cup was etched with faux lettering—It reminded him of a party store prop. Part of a Halloween costume? He tried to picture his father dressed in a Medieval tunic and Arthurian crown, sipping rum and Coke from the cup at a late October party. Nah, not Cooper Plack, whose imagination was limited to whether he could cheat on his annual tax return.
Asher ticked off what he’d found so far that might be worth something—something that would help pay off his father’s debts. It was a short list: a four-year-old Ford sedan parked in the driveway; a pair of diamond studs he’d found in a jewelry box (his late mother’s?) in the master bedroom; a vintage roll-top desk (once Asher cleared out the notebooks, catalogs, and random slips of paper stuffed into it), and now this—a goblet of questionable provenance.
Eager for a break, Asher carried the goblet into the kitchen and washed it, hoping a little soap and water would bring out the luster it may have once had. He whistled as he scrubbed the fancy cup with a dishcloth. The end of his house-emptying ordeal was in sight.
A sudden pop and flash surprised Asher enough that he almost dropped the goblet.
Why are we summoned?
The words that Asher heard seemed to float in the kitchen—or were they inside his head?
“Who’s . . . there?” He said this aloud, cautiously.
The only sound he heard back was the faint ticking of the clock on the wall above the microwave. Then . . .
We are the Calet of the Chalice. You know the Decree. State your purpose.
Asher still held the goblet, but it no longer looked tawdry. Instead, it gleamed from within. Clever party gag, he decided, and turned the goblet over to feel for the on/off switch. His fingers found only the smoothness of the goblet’s stem and base; no button, no toggle.
Oh, well. He would play along until the unit’s timer reset. “Ah, a Chalice, is it? Well, then, if it’s magic, I get three wishes, right?”
We will grant one wish.
“Only one?” Just like one of his father’s tchotchkes to act parsimonious.
Please note that after your wish, the Decree requires we receive something in kind.
Asher laughed. “Dad, where did you find this cheap-ass toy?” He set the goblet back in the sink and dried off his hands with a dish towel. Time to get back to his task.
Cooper Plack found us while dumpster diving along Walnut Avenue.
Frowning, Asher felt a twinge of unease. “Wait. That wasn’t a wish directed at you. It wasn’t even a wish.”
It counts. You should have read the Decree.
“There wasn’t any paperwork in the box,” Asher protested. He felt silly arguing with the toy. Even a toy that somehow knew how it came into his possession. His father a dumpster diver?
You have your wish. Our turn now.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he said with a smirk, wishing that he’d never opened the box, never removed the blue silk. “But I’m a nobody. Just a software tech guy.”
Done. We accept that trade.
With another pop and flash, Asher vanished.
*
His sister, finally worried that she couldn’t reach him, stopped by their father’s house to investigate.
“Asher,” she called from the open front door. The word was swallowed by the silent rooms. He’d made more progress with the de-cluttering project than she expected. But where was he?
In the kitchen, she surveyed an open cardboard box, a yard of blue silk, and in the sink, a shiny goblet. But still no Asher.
She picked up the ornate cup and rotated it to study the antique lettering around its middle. Was this for real? She rubbed at a smudge near the rim.
Pop.
Stumbling back from the sink, Leigh dropped the goblet on the table as though it were scalding.
Why are we summoned?
A haughty voice filled her head, but underlying it she could make out an urgent murmur of others, and one in particular caught her ear.
“Asher?” she said. “Where are you?”
Run, Leigh, run.
And she did. Out the door, slamming it behind her.
Linda O. Johnston Featured Author
September 29, 2023 by marianne h donley in category Featured Author of the Month tagged as cozy mysteries, Dogs!, Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Linda O Johnston, mysteries, romance'
Linda O. Johnston enjoys writing, romance, puzzles, and dogs.
A former lawyer, Linda is now a full-time writer and has published 57 books so far, including mysteries and romantic novels. She has written several cozy mystery series including the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries and Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink, and the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries and Pet Rescue Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. She also writes romances for Harlequin, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense. Writing as Lark O. Jensen, her latest release is Bear Witness from Crooked Lane Books. No matter what name she uses, nearly all Linda’s current stories involve dogs!
In addition to blogging for A Slice of Orange on the 6th of every month, Linda blogs at Killer Hobbies, Killer Characters, and Writerspace. Linda was interviewed by Jann Ryan, you can read all about it in Linda O. Johnston—Mysteries, Romantic Suspense and So Much More!
Linda enjoys hearing from readers. Visit her website at www.LindaOJohnston.com or friend her on Facebook.
A Few of Linda’s Many Books
9 Authors, 9 Interconnected Stories
September 28, 2023 by Alina K. Field in category Quarter Days by Alina K. Field, Writing tagged as Alina K. Field, Bluestocking Belles, Quarter Days, Regency romance, Romance Collections
Under the Harvest Moon
We’re less than two weeks away from the release of the latest Bluestocking Belles collection of historical romances, Under the Harvest Moon.
All new original stories by authors Caroline Warfield, Jude Knight, Sherry Ewing, Cerise DeLand, Elizabeth Ellen Carter, Collette Cameron, Mary Lancaster, Rue Allyn, and me are set at harvest time in 1815, in the small fictional town of Reabridge in Cheshire, England.
Here’s the blurb:
As the village of Reabridge in Cheshire prepares for the first Harvest Festival following Waterloo, families are overjoyed to welcome back their loved ones from the war.
But excitement quickly turns to mystery when mere weeks before the festival, an orphaned child turns up in the town—a toddler born near Toulouse to an English mother who left clues that tie her to Reabridge.
With two prominent families feuding for generations and the central event of the Harvest Moon festival looming, tensions rise, and secrets begin to surface.
Nine award winning and bestselling authors have combined their talents to create this engaging and enchanting collection of interrelated tales. Under the Harvest Moon promises an unforgettable read for fans of Regency romance.
A Team Effort in Planning
The members of the Bluestocking Belles plus participating author friends Collette Cameron and Mary Lancaster are spread out all over the globe. Thank heavens for the wonders of social media, messaging, Google Drive, and Zoom that make communication and collaboration rapid and easy. Or at least easier!
The hardest aspect of organizing was finding a good time for a Zoom meeting that would accommodate Elizabeth in Australia, Jude in New Zealand, Mary in Scotland, Rue in Nicaragua, and the rest of us scattered over U.S. Eastern, Central, and Pacific time.
But we did it, and just about a year ago, after much preliminary research and chatting, we finalized our story world and deadlines as a group and then each presented ideas for the individual characters and stories. Later, we shared in beta-reading drafts and final copy before submission to Jude Knight (who is also an editor) for the final editing.
When a character wandered into another author’s story, the creating authors chatted separately. So, for example, my heroine, Fleur, encountered the heroine of Rue’s story, Charite, and offered a description through Fleur’s point of view that had to be adjusted after Rue’s critique and input. Caro’s doctor hero appears briefly in my story, in one scene with my hero, and later in a scene at the home where my heroine resides where he’s come to deliver a baby.
There’s more, yet each story is a standalone romance delivered in each author’s unique voice. You can preorder your copy for only 99 cents and have it pop onto your eReader on release day, October 10th.
The special pricing will be good through October 17th. Plus, if you haven’t read last year’s Bluestocking Belles collection, Desperate Daughters, you can pick up a copy of that for only 99 cents through October 4th!
And Here Are the Stories: Under the Harvest Moon
Moonlight Wishes and Midnight Kisses by Collette Cameron
A scarred veteran with no future, Courtland Marlow-Westbrook wants to be left alone. Scottish heiress Avery Levingtone never stopped loving him and is determined to win his love again. Will these former sweethearts find happiness together, or will the wounds of the past keep them apart?
The Morning Light by Caroline Warfield
Adam Wagner is meant to save lives, not take them. He is haunted by Waterloo. The horror of it keeps him from those he loves. Meg Barlow doesn’t understand how Adam could turn his back on her so thoroughly, but she isn’t about to let him get away with it.
A Harvest Blessing by Rue Allen
All the battles are over, or are they? When Captain Thom Owen is forced into a false engagement, he must escort his pseudo-fiancée home to meet his father. Can an English vicar’s son and a French Comte’s daughter find love despite their differences?
Coming Home by Mary Lancaster
Old memories, new love
Home from Waterloo, Captain David Buckley contemplates settling down near his hometown of Reabridge—only it is full of painful memories. The mysterious Lady Lorna falls literally into his arms, and he begin to understand the true meaning of love and home.
Under the Champagne Moon by Alina K Field
Fleur Hardouin’s heart longs for Captain Gareth Ardleigh, but she needs an advantageous marriage.
Gareth has promised to find Fleur—on behalf of another man.
Now he must choose between honoring a promise and trying to win the hand of the woman he loves.
A Quiet Heart by Elizabeth Ellen Carter
Widowed at Waterloo, where she also nursed the wounded, Veronica Petersham promised a dying man to bring his effects to a family in Reabridge. She falls ill just short of her goal, in the milking shed of kind and stoic Martin Bromelton.
Perhaps there is hope for the future after all and the opportunity to find love once more.
A Love Beyond Time by Sherry Ewing
Eight years ago, Hannah Pownall had her heart broken by a young lord.
Captain Brandon Worthington returns to the town of Reabridge to recover from the war and finds the girl he once loved still unwed. Can love at first sight be reborn after heartbreak, proving a second chance is all you need?
The Widow’s Harvest Hope by Cerise DeLand
The new Earl Barlow returns home from Waterloo, intending to live by his own rules. The woman he loved and lost years ago visits for the Harvest festival—and he plans to offer Vicky Wright what they both want. Can a lady who has lived by the rules throw them all away to seize her last chance for happiness?
Love In Its Season by Jude Knight
The Battle of Waterloo lost Jack Wrath the use of one arm and ended his career in the cavalry. He has no place to go and nothing to offer. Gwen Hughes has a business to run and no time for romance. Under the harvest moon, two people who believe romance has passed them by finally reach their season for love.
Buy links:
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C86Q2Y4H
Apple Books – https://books.apple.com/us/book/under-the-harvest-moon/id6450278674
Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/under-the-harvest-moon-6
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/178584368-under-the-harvest-moon
Universal Link: https://books2read.com/UnderHarvestMoon
Happy autumn! I’ll be back with another post in December.
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