Gearing up for Sales

While my manuscript continues to be formatted for eBook publication, I'm gearing up to promote THE TRAZ so that it will make me a rich and famous author.

Aside from becoming extra active on my social networks and my blogs, I posted an excerpt from THE TRAZ on my website.  I also began creating a pre-release press release, designed to stir advance interest in my book and net me some interviews and media coverage. 

I have a strong desire to call such publicity "media releases" or "news releases" because way back decades ago when I was a journalist,  TV and radio reporters objected to the phrase "press release" as 'press' refers only to print media.

Today, it seems "press release" is once again the phrase in vogue.  During my years as a reporter and editor, I gained lots of experience with press releases--reading them.  I quickly discovered that writing them requires an entirely new set of skills. 

Writing a press release is not at all like writing a news story.  Nor is it similar to pitching your manuscript to an editor or publisher.  It is not like tweeting or facebooking.  It's just...well, it's just it's own kind of writing.

Firstly, I needed a catchy headline, short but informative.  Accurate but alluring.  One promoting THE TRAZ but not obviously so.

Below that catchy headline I needed a sub headline--a short and sweet something to keep the reader reading.

Then I needed to remember to put in the dateline (ST. PAUL, AB 19 May 2011).  In my journalistic days, the place in the dateline was always the location from which the reporter was writing--not necessarily where the action was occurring.  I understand that not all media outlets still follow that rule.  Whatever the case, what better town to put in the dateline than my adopted home of St. Paul?  Surely that will catch the eye of the local newspaper and radio station and get me an interview or two.

For my first sentence, I needed an exciting summary of the press release and I had to keep in mind my target readership.  Although THE TRAZ is being marketed as YA, it won't be young adults receiving my press release. 

This introduction needed to excite media people, educators, librarians, child support people, and book reviewers. 

Following all that, I found it fairly easy to complete the body of the press release--describe the book (I used the back cover text that I'd  already prepared), include wonderful blurbs from famous Canadian authors (which I already had solicited and received), inform people how to buy the book (which they can't do yet, but contact me and I'll set you up), and paste in my already-prepared author bio.

I highlighted my contact information for those wanting to request interviews or further information.

I polished it all off with some visual and auditory stimulation: my video trailer, the picture of my book cover, and my author picture.

Now the press release sits on my hard drive, its tab on my tool bar.  Every hour or so, I open it and proof it again.  I email it to a few friends for comments and corrections.

While it ages and improves, I research the big WWW for press release outfits to which I can email this promotional masterpiece.  I learn how to format according to each company's guidelines.   I collect the contact information for media outlets in all my past and present home communities.  I play Bubble Shooter, check my email, and bemoan the facts that it's Friday the 13th and Twitter has disappeared from cyberspace.

I set the release date for Tuesday May 17th (as Mondays are generally the busiest news days of the week and my press release may be overlooked) and hope that by then I can Tweet about the latest step in my seemingly endless journey to eBook publication.

Eileen Schuh, Canadian writer
THE TRAZ
SCHRÖDINGER'S CAT
 http://www.eileenschuh.com/

Can Twitter help the Quitter?

Can Twitter help the Quitter? It's a question posed to me by Steve Ondersma, scientist at WSU Med School in Detroit, as I head into my third smoke-free week. "Wld lov yr thoughts!" he tweeted. It wasn't a question I'd considered before.

I hadn't joined Twitter to aid my quest to quit-smoking; I'd joined to promote myself as a Canadian author, 'get my name out there in cyberspace', curry friendships and potential readership, reach my goal of becoming a published novelist. By tweeting about my real-life quit-smoking efforts, I hoped to entice people to read my 'important' website stuff. Until Steve tweeted me, I hadn't thought that perhaps Twitter was also helping me reach my smoking-cessation goal.

"What has the world come to?" I lamented to my publicist. "Are people really relying on faceless friends and electronic messages of 140 characters or less for moral support? What happened to family and friends? Phone calls and hugs?"

One of the hardest parts of my stop-smoking strategy was announcing my intentions to family and friends--a necessary step in order to increase one's chance of success, according to smoking-cessation specialists. It was difficult to do, not only because I was scared that I was setting myself up for a very public failure, but because people's reactions are not always helpful. Comments like "It's about time!" or "Now you won't stink!" are a little tough on a fragile ego, especially when delivered by people you love.

On the other hand, announcing my decision to the entire world via Twitter was surprisingly easy, perhaps because I was masked in anonymity. Perhaps because with Twitter, escaping judgement was simply a keystroke away. Unlike my announcement to family and friends, my Twitter announcement had to be succint--less than 140 characters. There was no room for parlaying reasons, excuses, history, and blame. All I had to say was, "Hey, World. I'm gonna quit smoking."

Come to think of it, I have found Tweeting to be a lot like cigarette smoking. It takes less than five minutes. It provides short, intermittant breaks from the daily grind. It's readily available at all hours of the day and night. It provides a small burst of pleasure. It's addictive--the more you do the more you want to do.

Tweeting has soothed me when I was uneasy, energized me when I was tired, lifted my depression, and offer a me a social connection that rivals that of the smokers' circle. It's something I look forward to doing--something that gets me out of bed in the mornings.

Twitter's simularities to smoking, especially when coupled with its differences (such as much lower cost and no proven ill side-effects), may indeed prove Twittering to be a valuable alternative to smoking--just not when one is driving. Please.


Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
http://www.eileenschuh.com/

On a Cyberspace presence

About a month ago (July 9th to be exact) I posted my very first blog on 'Magic of the Muses'. I promised brilliance, smiles, warm hearts, and friendship. I'm hoping I've given you at least some of that. My other promise was that the blog would be the story of a writer's obsessive pursuit of her life-long dream of becoming a published novelist. So, how am I doing and where am I at?

The first chapter in that story (underwritten by my able publicist, Cheryl Kaye Tardiff) is about increasing my cyberspace presence. With the creation of 'Magic of the Muses', completion of my fantastic website, and acquisition of numerous Facebook friends, that first step is nearing completion.

Has it helped my career? If measured by publishing contracts or calls from agents, the honest answer would be 'no.' However, it's been my experience that few efforts in life produce immediate rewards. Something worth having, is worth working for.

In the writing and publishing industry, there are opposing views on the usefulness of cyberspace as a marketing tool. It's been said that publishers and editors are not carousing the web looking for talent. That is probably true. It is also true, however, that as in any profession, networking is a prelude to success.

The old adage, 'It's not what you know, but who you know,' still holds true in today's high-tech world. Any kind of networking not only establishes contacts, but is also a rich source of information, opinion, and feedback.

As well, by promoting myself in cyberspace, I'm cultivating a potential readership base to which I can market my books when that time arrives--a fact that will undoubtedly appeal to agents and publishers. I'm advertising, displaying my talent, arousing curiosity, getting my name out there. I am no longer a closet writer with lonely dreams. I am now a personable someone with a smile who has cool stories to tell (and sell)to the world. I'm arousing curiosity, displaying my talent, inviting the world to share my dream.

While a cyberspace presence may never totally replace personal networking, it's a valuable resource for connecting with many more people than even the most seasoned traveller could hope to meet.

I have found my cyberspace friends to be a great source of friendship, information, and inspiration. And, sometimes, they are also very well connected.

Eileen Schuh,
Canadian writer
www.eileenschuh.com