Day 141 : My blogging experiment; promos; back cover copy
I think I'm fighting off a cold or flu or something, probably from the flu shot I got a few days ago, which might be why I'm feeling so unfocused lately with work. That plus my IBS has been making me feel rather self-pitying and whiney lately.
On Saturday, I tried changing things up with a different music playlist and different aromatherapy to shake me out of this unfocused funk. The aromatherapy was almost a disaster since it was too strong and almost gave me a headache, but after changing the scent, I was better after a couple hours. And I think the different music and scent really did help me focus a little better. It's hard to tell for certain, since I was still pretty unfocused, but I think it's worth it to keep trying that to help me refocus.
I was going to try to do more research into Amazon ads for my marketing, but since I'm feeling so awful I think I might put it off for a little while. I don't like marketing (I don't know many writers who actually do) but I know it's necessary. However, that said, marketing takes a lot of mental and emotional energy from me, because it's pretty difficult for me compared to other things in my writing business. So in order for me to learn something new like Amazon ads, I need to be in better health mentally and physically than I am now.
I'm still working on my blocking for the rest of the scenes in The Gentleman Thief, so I won't be able to continue my cycling experiment with my self-editing until I start writing again. From the little I did, it seems to work, though, plus doing the editing in 4thewords.com is helpful since I'm more excited about the editing when I can use it to defeat monsters.
When I start up the writing again, I'll also continue to tweak my dictation experiment to see if I can get more into dictation as a method of writing. It's really difficult right now, and I have to be honest that I don't really like it--I seem to need to see the words on the screen as I write in order for the creative process to work best for me. I know some writers who close their eyes and type, though, and while I don't do that very often, sometimes I have done that. So maybe I just need to think about dictation as kind of like closing my eyes and typing as I write. I'll have to keep that in mind when I try it again.
***
Yesterday, I realized that while I've been blogging here almost every day and enjoying it, I've lost my joy in blogging on my other blog, Camy's Loft, which is for readers rather than writers. I thought about why I'm blogging and what I want to accomplish with it, and ultimately I want to blog to let my readers get to know me, because I think that how you view the artist affects how you enjoy their art.
Most articles on marketing say to be more targeted with your blog and provide value for your blog readers. This is what I've been trying to do, and yet I didn't enjoy that type of blogging. While I would definitely want my blog readers to enjoy my articles, I wanted to blog in a less formal manner that expressed who I am as a person and my beliefs. I didn't want to have to think about how my blog article would provide "value," I just wanted to write whatever messy thoughts came my way, because that's who I am. Being thoughtful in a blog post is really not me.
So now I'm trying a new blog experiment. I'm writing random things that come to mind, which is usually NOT what you're supposed to do with blogging for marketing. If readers don't like my blog, they're unlikely to like my books, so I'm okay with that. Captain Caffeine said to try it for a quarter and see.
I'll be posting on my blog, but also cross posting on my Facebook author page to see if that gets me any traction in Facebook, which is usually "pay to play." I think most of my readers are on Facebook, so it would be good for me to try to get more of a reader base there if I can, without breaking the bank.
***
I did a little bit of blocking, but then I have to admit I got distracted. I've been kind of stressing about the release of my novel and trying to decide a release date. I can't even remember why I went onto BookFunnel, but I looked at promotions and found a Sweet/Christian Romance newsletter promo running in November with a whopping 95 authors.
I decided to join with both my Camille Elliot Christmas book and also my Camy Tang Romantic Suspense. Both are still at full-price in ebook stores, but I'll offer them free for the promo since I don't yet have a good Reader Magnet for either of my pen names.
(Then again, my Reader Magnet for my Regency series is not really a Romantic Suspense, it's just a Suspense, so it probably wouldn't be appropriate for the promo, which is Romance. And now that I think about it, my Reader Magnet is more for people who have already read the first volume in my series. My Funnel Novel would probably be more for drawing in readers, since that is a true Historical Romantic Suspense.)
Anyway, the newsletter promo might get me a few more newsletter subscribers just before my book launches. And somehow that made me a little less stressed about the launch. Isn't that weird?
I wish I knew what I could do to make this launch less stressful. Maybe it'll get better as I do it more? I think I need to focus on doing things that will cause me less stress about the launch. Then I can get all my other work done without issues.
I've decided on December 9th for my release date. I'm planning to have it go up on preorder on November 23rd or 24th. I know that's right before Thanksgiving, but the actual release date is 2 weeks after Thanksgiving, so maybe I'll get people in a buying frenzy from Black Friday who will preorder the book??? Here's hoping!
I had to spend time updating the Contemporary Romantic Suspense novella I'm using for the promo, since I haven't uploaded the new version to any ebook stores yet. It has new front matter and new back matter as well as a new cover (which I absolutely LOVE).
After joining the promo and making sure all my book files were in order, I decided to go ahead and do what I've been putting off, which is writing the back cover copy for Lady Wynwood's Spies 1: Archer (the book releasing in December). I'm not great at back cover copy but I just need to bite the bullet and throw something up there. So rather than continuing my blocking, I'm going to be doing that for a few hours today.
***
I'm losing my mind! I found the back cover copy for the book in the manuscript file! I must have written it earlier and forgotten that I'd done it. Maybe the punishment of doing it was so traumatic that I wanted to erase it from my memory???
Anyway, now I have back cover copy! Whew! I'm going to fill out a few more promotional forms I need to do, then go back to blocking.
***
Wow the promo/marketing stuff took a long time, a little over two hours. I had to fill out a form for one blog tour promo I'm doing in February, which included a blog post for the tour. Somehow I have no problems throwing up a janky piece of writing for my own blog, but when I have to write a promotional blog post for other people, I have to make it nice and coherent. And maybe organized.
Then I emailed Ereader News Today to see if they had any openings in their schedule in December.
Somehow all that promo just kind of wore me out, mentally. Or maybe it's because I'm fighting off this sickness.
I tried doing some blocking, but was feeling fuzzy-headed. Captain Caffeine says I should tell myself I'm not sick and maybe I won't feel so bad. Of course, his other advice was that I should go outside and eat dirt to build up my immune system, so I don't know how much I can trust his advice. :)
I'm not sick like death-warmed-over, but I'm definitely not 100%. How do you know when to push through sickness, and when to give yourself a break? I'm terrible at gauging this kind of stuff. Plus I can't even tell if I've got a fever because I keep getting hot flashes.
Maybe it's better to rest a little, since a few more hours of poor work isn't very efficient.
***
HOLY COW I woke up from a nap and my Facebook page had blown up!
Well no, not really, but I got a ton of comments on a Facebook post I scheduled for noon. It was a cross-posted blog post about how I'm not feeling so hot because of the flu. Maybe it was the topic that was hot. I spent a ton of time responding to the comments.
I doubt my other cross-posts will garner that kind of reaction, since the flu shot is kind of an easy topic to comment on. But I got a lot more comments than when I post my Bible verse images. I wonder if the text post gets in front of people more easily than a picture post?
Regardless, it was nice to see more social media interaction than I normally get. But I don't know for certain if more FB interaction translates into more book sales. But at least it's a start on my social media presence, I guess? I know authors need a social media presence for their career.
***
Blocking: Time spent: 56 minutes
Editing: Time spent: 0 minutes
Writing: Time spent: 0
Writing: Total number of words: 0
Writing: Average speed: 0 words per hour
Time spent doing other writing-related business: 7 hours, 24 minutes
My takeaway for today: I think I need to focus on doing things that will cause me less stress about the launch. Then I can get all my other work done without issues.
My second takeaway for today: Keep cross-posting on FB to see if that helps with my social media presence and maybe more book sales.
On Saturday, I tried changing things up with a different music playlist and different aromatherapy to shake me out of this unfocused funk. The aromatherapy was almost a disaster since it was too strong and almost gave me a headache, but after changing the scent, I was better after a couple hours. And I think the different music and scent really did help me focus a little better. It's hard to tell for certain, since I was still pretty unfocused, but I think it's worth it to keep trying that to help me refocus.
I was going to try to do more research into Amazon ads for my marketing, but since I'm feeling so awful I think I might put it off for a little while. I don't like marketing (I don't know many writers who actually do) but I know it's necessary. However, that said, marketing takes a lot of mental and emotional energy from me, because it's pretty difficult for me compared to other things in my writing business. So in order for me to learn something new like Amazon ads, I need to be in better health mentally and physically than I am now.
I'm still working on my blocking for the rest of the scenes in The Gentleman Thief, so I won't be able to continue my cycling experiment with my self-editing until I start writing again. From the little I did, it seems to work, though, plus doing the editing in 4thewords.com is helpful since I'm more excited about the editing when I can use it to defeat monsters.
When I start up the writing again, I'll also continue to tweak my dictation experiment to see if I can get more into dictation as a method of writing. It's really difficult right now, and I have to be honest that I don't really like it--I seem to need to see the words on the screen as I write in order for the creative process to work best for me. I know some writers who close their eyes and type, though, and while I don't do that very often, sometimes I have done that. So maybe I just need to think about dictation as kind of like closing my eyes and typing as I write. I'll have to keep that in mind when I try it again.
***
Yesterday, I realized that while I've been blogging here almost every day and enjoying it, I've lost my joy in blogging on my other blog, Camy's Loft, which is for readers rather than writers. I thought about why I'm blogging and what I want to accomplish with it, and ultimately I want to blog to let my readers get to know me, because I think that how you view the artist affects how you enjoy their art.
Most articles on marketing say to be more targeted with your blog and provide value for your blog readers. This is what I've been trying to do, and yet I didn't enjoy that type of blogging. While I would definitely want my blog readers to enjoy my articles, I wanted to blog in a less formal manner that expressed who I am as a person and my beliefs. I didn't want to have to think about how my blog article would provide "value," I just wanted to write whatever messy thoughts came my way, because that's who I am. Being thoughtful in a blog post is really not me.
So now I'm trying a new blog experiment. I'm writing random things that come to mind, which is usually NOT what you're supposed to do with blogging for marketing. If readers don't like my blog, they're unlikely to like my books, so I'm okay with that. Captain Caffeine said to try it for a quarter and see.
I'll be posting on my blog, but also cross posting on my Facebook author page to see if that gets me any traction in Facebook, which is usually "pay to play." I think most of my readers are on Facebook, so it would be good for me to try to get more of a reader base there if I can, without breaking the bank.
***
I did a little bit of blocking, but then I have to admit I got distracted. I've been kind of stressing about the release of my novel and trying to decide a release date. I can't even remember why I went onto BookFunnel, but I looked at promotions and found a Sweet/Christian Romance newsletter promo running in November with a whopping 95 authors.
I decided to join with both my Camille Elliot Christmas book and also my Camy Tang Romantic Suspense. Both are still at full-price in ebook stores, but I'll offer them free for the promo since I don't yet have a good Reader Magnet for either of my pen names.
(Then again, my Reader Magnet for my Regency series is not really a Romantic Suspense, it's just a Suspense, so it probably wouldn't be appropriate for the promo, which is Romance. And now that I think about it, my Reader Magnet is more for people who have already read the first volume in my series. My Funnel Novel would probably be more for drawing in readers, since that is a true Historical Romantic Suspense.)
Anyway, the newsletter promo might get me a few more newsletter subscribers just before my book launches. And somehow that made me a little less stressed about the launch. Isn't that weird?
I wish I knew what I could do to make this launch less stressful. Maybe it'll get better as I do it more? I think I need to focus on doing things that will cause me less stress about the launch. Then I can get all my other work done without issues.
I've decided on December 9th for my release date. I'm planning to have it go up on preorder on November 23rd or 24th. I know that's right before Thanksgiving, but the actual release date is 2 weeks after Thanksgiving, so maybe I'll get people in a buying frenzy from Black Friday who will preorder the book??? Here's hoping!
I had to spend time updating the Contemporary Romantic Suspense novella I'm using for the promo, since I haven't uploaded the new version to any ebook stores yet. It has new front matter and new back matter as well as a new cover (which I absolutely LOVE).
After joining the promo and making sure all my book files were in order, I decided to go ahead and do what I've been putting off, which is writing the back cover copy for Lady Wynwood's Spies 1: Archer (the book releasing in December). I'm not great at back cover copy but I just need to bite the bullet and throw something up there. So rather than continuing my blocking, I'm going to be doing that for a few hours today.
***
I'm losing my mind! I found the back cover copy for the book in the manuscript file! I must have written it earlier and forgotten that I'd done it. Maybe the punishment of doing it was so traumatic that I wanted to erase it from my memory???
Anyway, now I have back cover copy! Whew! I'm going to fill out a few more promotional forms I need to do, then go back to blocking.
***
Wow the promo/marketing stuff took a long time, a little over two hours. I had to fill out a form for one blog tour promo I'm doing in February, which included a blog post for the tour. Somehow I have no problems throwing up a janky piece of writing for my own blog, but when I have to write a promotional blog post for other people, I have to make it nice and coherent. And maybe organized.
Then I emailed Ereader News Today to see if they had any openings in their schedule in December.
Somehow all that promo just kind of wore me out, mentally. Or maybe it's because I'm fighting off this sickness.
I tried doing some blocking, but was feeling fuzzy-headed. Captain Caffeine says I should tell myself I'm not sick and maybe I won't feel so bad. Of course, his other advice was that I should go outside and eat dirt to build up my immune system, so I don't know how much I can trust his advice. :)
I'm not sick like death-warmed-over, but I'm definitely not 100%. How do you know when to push through sickness, and when to give yourself a break? I'm terrible at gauging this kind of stuff. Plus I can't even tell if I've got a fever because I keep getting hot flashes.
Maybe it's better to rest a little, since a few more hours of poor work isn't very efficient.
***
HOLY COW I woke up from a nap and my Facebook page had blown up!
Well no, not really, but I got a ton of comments on a Facebook post I scheduled for noon. It was a cross-posted blog post about how I'm not feeling so hot because of the flu. Maybe it was the topic that was hot. I spent a ton of time responding to the comments.
I doubt my other cross-posts will garner that kind of reaction, since the flu shot is kind of an easy topic to comment on. But I got a lot more comments than when I post my Bible verse images. I wonder if the text post gets in front of people more easily than a picture post?
Regardless, it was nice to see more social media interaction than I normally get. But I don't know for certain if more FB interaction translates into more book sales. But at least it's a start on my social media presence, I guess? I know authors need a social media presence for their career.
***
Blocking: Time spent: 56 minutes
Editing: Time spent: 0 minutes
Writing: Time spent: 0
Writing: Total number of words: 0
Writing: Average speed: 0 words per hour
Time spent doing other writing-related business: 7 hours, 24 minutes
My takeaway for today: I think I need to focus on doing things that will cause me less stress about the launch. Then I can get all my other work done without issues.
My second takeaway for today: Keep cross-posting on FB to see if that helps with my social media presence and maybe more book sales.
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