Marketing -- Tough and Necessary

Currently I am doing less riding and writing and more marketing, so my thoughts and time are spent trying to 'sell.' As a writer, marketing is a necessary evil. Most authors don't like it and have commented their thoughts about it on the blog. Many of us are introverts who enjoy the creative process that goes on in our brain and then, hopefully, is transcribed into words on paper (or into the computer these days), which then (even more hopefully) becomes published.

My latest book release is an American Girl InnerStar U series called Bound for Snow. American Girl, now part of Mattel, doesn't want its authors to actively promote, so I have been spared book signings, school and library visits, and conferences. I don't miss them at all -- which is a bad thing.  I am again fixating on marketing because in the fall or spring I will have a Peachtree title coming out and I will need to promote. A big fat UGH.

I have been getting lots of marketing practice in my new career as an "antique' dealer and seller. Antique is in quotes, because true antiques are generally out of my--and most buyer's-price range. People browsing the booths are looking for fun or decorative collectibles. Vintage is hotter than primitive because really, who can afford a $2,500 primitive pie safe?

As anyone who works in retail knows, marketing is key to selling whether it's a horse, a book, an antique, or a collectible. I have expanded from one booth to two and now three, one in the cute town of Staunton.  I am in two different (and soon to be three) locations in three different areas. I now have a Facebook page and business card for Valley Treasures. I have 'sales' and promotions. I've even hosted teas in the booth. As with book marketing, I have no idea what works to create sales and what doesn't. And you know what? Just like promoting a book, I hate every minute of promoting my 'treasures.'

I do like selling, though. I love it when a royalty check comes in the mail. It's like Christmas! I love it when I sell an item on Ebay--even better when there is a happy customer. I just sold two adorable Lefton porcelain foals. Not only did they have the "awwww" factor, but they were in perfect condition. The buyer loves horses as much as I do, so it was an Ebay match in heaven.  Too often, though, items sit in the booth or sit on Ebay without bids. Because in order to sell, you have to market. There's that word again. I'd love to hear some of your promoting dos and don'ts. What HAS worked for books, horses, or items? Let me know!

Criticism

                                                by Laura Crum

             

            I sometimes hear other writers, be they bloggers or more traditional authors, complain about those who criticize their work. This always leaves me puzzled. In my view, when we write for the public, whether it be a blog or a book, we are inviting criticism. We should expect it. If we don’t want to be criticized or have our work criticized, then we should not put our writing out to the public.

For instance, if I write a post about my approach to horses on this blog and get pleasant, supportive comments, it’s all very enjoyable. But it is perfectly possible that someone could comment, “I think you’re a poor writer, and I don’t think much of your approach to horses and you’re way too full of yourself and I wish you’d quit blogging.”

            Is that a troll? Not in my opinion. That’s someone who doesn’t care for me and/or my writing and has seen fit to criticize me. There is no abuse in what was said there (by the way, I made it up), and my response would likely be, “So what exactly offended you? What is it about my writing and attitude you don’t like?”

            I wouldn’t delete the comment, I wouldn’t feel threatened, and I would sure not think I should give up blogging because one (or a hundred) people didn’t like me or my work. Folks, that’s kind of the point of blogging. Discussion, pros and cons, agreement and disagreement. As long as no one threatens me or is abusive (foul language, ugly innuendos…etc) they can criticize all they want. It just makes it more interesting.

            Now obviously all bloggers don’t feel this way. Any comment that isn’t positive and supportive is construed as hurtful by some, and the person who said it is often called a troll. In my opinion, that’s ridiculous.

            I’ve been writing published novels for twenty years and have had plenty of negative reader reviews in my time. Even a few scathing ones…go look around on Amazon if you want to see them—not everyone has liked my books. So are these people trolls? Are they stalking me? Of course not. It’s called criticism. I expect it. Any professional writer gets used to it.

            Is criticism fun? No, its not. We all like it when people admire our writing and say nice things. No one likes to be told that his/her writing is awful. No one likes to hear personal criticism. But that IS going to happen once in awhile when you put your writing and your thoughts out to the public. People will hate what you said because it pushed a button in them, like a former fan of my work who was an independent single woman, and just hated it when I gave my protagonist a baby. You should have heard the nasty reviews she put up on Amazon. Of course I didn’t like it. But she’s darn sure entitled to her opinion. And you will never please all the people all the time.

            Sometimes criticism seems really unfair—when, for instance the critic is literally wrong, and no response is possible. I don’t mind readers who don’t like my books for a legitimate reason (didn’t care for the style or the plot or wanted a more heavyweight sort of book), but one reader gave my book a poor review on Amazon, saying that she raised horses and that my books were totally inaccurate and I needed to do more research. Yeah, that one annoyed me. I seriously wanted to ask her (quite publicly) to show me a horse-related detail that was inaccurate. You may not like my style or care for the way in which I describe horses, but my books are damn sure accurate in all horse-related details. However, there is no reasonable way to respond to such a reader review—that I know of. And so I fall back on my basic premise--expect criticism.

            If you speak your truth its best to be clear that at least a few people aren’t going to like it. And these people may decide to say so. That’s the price of putting your writing out to the public. If you don’t want to pay that price, well, don’t put your writing out to the public. It reminds me of famous actors who say they value privacy above all else. Huh? If you want privacy, don’t seek fame.

            What really gets me is bloggers who put stuff out there that clearly not everybody will agree with and then are hurt/upset when people “call” them on what they said. What exactly did they think was going to happen? If you assume an attitude of being “knowledgeable” on a subject, be it horses or whatever, and you say, however sweetly and gracefully, “This is how I do it, and I don’t like this other method,” which, of course, is just fine for you to say, you are inevitably going to find that someone thinks you’re all wrong, and if its “their” method you don’t like, they are likely to give you some grief along the lines of how ignorant you are. Is this a troll? Not unless they threaten you or use abusive language (in my opinion). Its called criticism. And again, if you don’t like it, you shouldn’t put your writing out to the public.

            Sure, sometimes people are critical just out of the desire to be nasty, and sure, sometimes certain bloggers get targeted by someone who doesn’t like them (though in some cases, it seems quite obvious why the blogger was targeted—if you say arrogant and/or derisive things on your blog someone is likely to take offense), and there isn’t anything pleasant about it. There’s nothing pleasant about reading an aggressively critical review of your book, either. But it comes with the territory. Again, minus threats or abusive language or infringement of your personal space, it’s all fair. And emails or blog comments are not infringement of your privacy. You cannot count how many negative emails I have gotten over the years on all kinds of topics—I replied politely to all of them, though I found it quite fair to rebut those who criticized me. As in, “You may not like it that my protagonist is not a traditional Christian, but I equally don’t like traditional Christians who assume that they are the only ones who are right.” And, to a miffed librarian, “Yes, my protagonist cusses when she’s in a stressful situation. So do I.”

            The thing is, you don’t have to read emails you don’t want to read, you can delete comments you don’t like. These people are doing you no real harm. And again, if this kind of attention is so upsetting to you, then it’s best not to put your writing and thoughts out to the public.

            OK, there’s my thoughts on this subject. I welcome all responses, including those who think I’m dead wrong and want to criticize me. Fire away.

            

The Horses of Proud Spirit

Many of you who read this blog are quite aware of the dire fate of some horses in this country. Unfortunately, as much as we love and adore our horses, there are still many standing in people's dark stalls and backyards - ill fed, un-cared for, starving or worse. Many of these will eventually end up on a slaughter truck bound for Canada or Mexico - a sad end for an animal who may have served humans well during its life.

We've talked about this a little on this blog before, and some of you, including our own Laura Crum, are kind enough to keep and care for their horses throughout their lives. Recently, I've been introduced to Melanie and Jim Bowles, who run Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary in Lincolnton, GA. For over twenty years, they've been devoted to taking in these equine cast-offs, and providing them not only shelter and food and a great life, but room to run and be a horse in a herd - to live out their lives as naturally as possible.

I'm running a promotion during the month of February 2013 to help feed these horses. (Melanie and Jim are currently caring for 52 horses, as well as an assortment of dogs and other critters that need help.) Purchase a copy of THE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED HORSES anytime during February and my publisher will hold back my royalties to be donated to Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary.

In a world that has forgotten the ancient bond between horses and humans, can one girl's dreams make people remember?

Part of the inspiration for this book was the fate of not only modern horses, but wondering what would happen to all equines in the event of a huge, apocalyptic event, caused by either nature or man. The Girl Who Remembered Horses is a fictional account of what might happen in the future.

But Melanie and Jim Bowles are two very real people who have devoted their lives, day in and day out, to helping horses in dire predicaments.

So if you've had a hankering to read The Girl Who Remembered Horses, now is a great time! Any February sales worldwide from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Musa Publishing, iTunes, Smashwords, Kobo, or any other legitimate outlet will count, and my royalties will go to feeding the horses of Proud Spirit.

The Incredible Story of a Very Lucky Cat

By Francesca Prescott

I heard a wonderful story this morning. Some time ago, somewhere around where I live, an elderly couple heard the sound of pitiful mewing in their courtyard. They looked everywhere, scanned the surrounding trees for the source of this misery, but saw no sign of a cat.

The mewing continued, and the couple grew more and more concerned, walking around and around their cobblestoned courtyard, until they realised that the sound was coming from underneath the ground.

What to do?

At a loss, they called the fire department, and a group of men was immediately dispatched. The firemen explored the surrounding area and after a while discovered an open drain pipe that ran beneath the couple’s property. But the cat was clearly stuck and the drain was drain far too narrow for anyone to climb down and attempt to reach it.

The cat continued to cry. Everyone felt terrible. Someone needed to come up with a plan to put the poor cat out of its misery, one way or another.

The thinking caps came out, and pretty soon the captain of the firemen had two suggestions. The first one was pretty gruesome: stick a high pressure hose down the pipe, flush the cat out and have him emerge downstream. No more pitiful mewing. No more mewing whatsoever. Ever again. Cat kaput.

“That poor animal!” exclaimed the elderly couple. “Whoever owns it must be going out of their mind with worry. Surely there must be something else we can do?”

“Well, there is, but it’s going to be expensive,” replied the captain of the fireman with a resigned sigh. “I’m afraid the only way we’re going to free that cat is to dig up your courtyard, cobblestone by cobblestone.”

“Then let’s do it,” said couple in unison.

Calls were made, workmen were brought in, a vast portion of the courtyard dug up and, several hours later, a victorious shout echoed around the property as a delighted fireman pulled a terrified, wriggling cat from underneath the ground.

The cat wriggled so much that it escaped the fireman’s grip and ran off, probably never to be seen again by anyone involved in the rescue operation. Nevertheless, everyone agreed that rescuing that little cat had been one of the most rewarding and uplifting experiences they’d had in a long time. Numerous bottles of white wine were brought out, along with bread sticks, ham, pickles and chunks of cheese, and they all celebrated the incredibly joyous outcome of what would, under most circumstances, have been a tragic, miserable day.

If only there were more stories like this! Do you have any to share?

Moments on a Horse

                                                by Laura Crum

            We’ve all had them. (Or at least most of us who read this blog, anyway.) Those moments when magic is palpable—and a horse is part of the picture. My novels were inspired, to some degree, by my desire to portray the magic I found in horses.

Lately I’ve become more and more interested in photographic images, and (sadly for a writer) less interested in wordy descriptions. I am not a good photographer in any technical sense, but I like the feeling that I can sometimes capture in photos. I enjoy looking at my favorite photos—the ones that bring a special moment back to me. Anyway, I take a lot of photos. My husband was looking through them the other day, and he said, “All these photos are of HORSES.” Uhmm, yeah, guilty. (They’re not all of horses, but lots of them are.)

Yep, photo after photo of horses in my files—many of them taken from my horse’s back. Perhaps I could find an image that truly captured the essence of riding? So I went through my photos again, looking for my favorite shots--pictures that illustrated the feeling of delight that I have in riding a horse. Pretty soon I had a whole list of these photos. It was impossible for me to narrow it down to one or two. And this gave me an idea for a post.

So here are some photos of horseback riding. They are almost all of trail riding, in one form or another. After selecting them, I realized that the beauty of the country we ride through is an integral part of the magic of riding—for me. I will comment on what I like in each photo. Will you guys vote on which ones speak to you? There is no prize. Just the fun of discussing the magic of being on a horse, and what images convey this magic to the observer.

A lot of these are ear photos, and all of these photos were taken by me from Sunny’s back. There are several of my son on his horse, Henry, also (mostly) taken by me from Sunny’s back (which is why a few are a little bit blurry). The ones that show me and Sunny were almost all taken by my husband. All of the photos were taken in the last four years with a little point-and-shoot that fits in my pocket (or my husband’s pocket) when we ride or hike. I haven’t included any of my older photos (taken with a fancier camera—that won’t fit in a pocket), or any that were taken by my friends who are “real” photographers. This is strictly an amateur’s snapshot collection of trail horse photos. But it makes me smile, and brings back those happy moments. Let me know what you think.

I love the above photo. To me, it says it all. About riding, about the beauty of the place where I live. Ears forward, looking out at the edge of the continent, above an empty beach by the lovely Monterey Bay.

I used this photo for my Xmas card one year. Taken by my husband as he hiked with us in November on our local trails. I am on the palomino (Sunny) and my son is on the sorrel (Henry). The ridge in the background is the one I see from my porch.

Something in the drama here speaks to me, maybe the light or the body language—we were looking at sea lions surfing, and that comes back to me every time I see this photo.

This is my favorite photo of the view from the Lookout (about a mile from my front gate, via our local trails). Looking north toward Pleasure Point and Santa Cruz. Taken on a bright January day.

Riding down the local trail we call “the pretty trail” (going home from the Lookout). Taken by my husband on midsummer’s day. Really captures the lush beauty of these woods in summertime and the peaceful quality of riding two steady horses.

 This is blurry (shot from Sunny’s back) but I still love it. For me it captures my son and Henry and this lovely ride through the redwoods.

              A boy and his horse—loping along in the spring sunshine. Pure joy.

              About to go wading. When I look at this I can almost smell the ocean.

Riding down to the sea through the sand dunes. The red vest makes a good focal point.

Riding to Parker Lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I love the reflections. This photo takes me right back to being in the mountains.

Crossing Aptos Creek—I love the reflections here, too, and the drops hitting the water.

This shot was taken by our friend, Bill, as we rode away from his place in the Glass Mountains. “Tiny horsemen in a big landscape,” says it all.

This is my husband’s favorite “ear photo.” He thinks it is one of the few truly interesting riding photos I’ve taken.

                                    This shot seems almost iconic to me.

                                       This has an epic Biblical quality.

This one just speaks to me of so many happy rides with my son on Sunny and Henry.

       A boy and his horse alone on a big empty beach. No footprints but our own.

                         Ok—this is not a great photo. But it makes me smile.

I’ve got LOTS more I could post, but I guess this is enough for now. Interesting how so many of them feature water. Anyway, if you have a favorite, tell me.

How it all Begins

In previous posts I have discussed beginnings and touched upon research. The last post Laura mentioned her adventures with a book club who dissected her mystery. Awkward! (Laura, you handled it beautifully). My question was "had any of these ladies attempted to write a mystery?" Starting, researching, plotting, characterization. . . the time, effort and creativity needed to craft a book-length piece is incredible. Sure the book club's job IS to discuss the book. But how much better if they had asked Laura questions on how she actually accomplished the writing?

So today I am going to discuss just one aspect of one book, Emma's River, which is historical fiction for 8 - 10 year old. YAWN. A young reader. Lightweight compared to Sophie's Choice. True, yet the amount of work I did seemed as difficult and creative as a Styron tome, beginning with where did the idea come from and how did it turn into a book?

When I was researching for my early chapter book, Anna’s Blizzard , which is all about the Blizzard of 1888, I read many books. One of my favorite was Mollie: The Journal of Mollie Dorsey Sanford (Bison Books). Mollie Sanford traveled from Indianapolis to Nebraska City by train and steamboat. She was one of the first families to settle in the Territory of Nebraska, and I was eager to read about her life on the plains to help shape my characters and setting for Anna. However, as I read, I was totally fascinated by her description of her steamboat journey. Mollie and her family traveled on the luxurious cabin deck, which “boasted of staterooms, saloons, and a nursery.” She wrote of meeting “fussy old ladies with their poodle dogs” and a new friend Dora who turned “sweet sixteen.” But she also wrote that a “destitute creature was found today with a dying child” on the main deck, where the immigrants traveled. This piqued my interest!

Mark Twin also wrote about his steamboat trip up the Missouri River. He described the passengers boarding the New Lucy “like a mass of sheep tumbling over each other in the dark.”  He wrote about geese on the sandbars, thunderstorms, and climbing to the top of Chimney Rock. By now, I had decided that a steamboat trip would be the perfect setting for an adventure. Further research cemented the idea.  

My first version became a picture book titled Up the Big Muddy.  I envisioned illustrations of lovely ladies waltzing under chandeliers on the cabin deck as well as immigrants and sweaty deckhands squashed together on the main deck accompanying my rollicking text. Alas, the picture book was nixed for several reasons; the main reason was a similar picture book had just been published by a different publisher. Fortunately, my editor liked the idea and suggested turning it into an early chapter book, which meant a more complex plot.

            

Journals and diaries offer observations, details and language that history books can not, which is why I love them for research. However, Steamboats of the Western River, a detailed history of steamboats, gave me my plot.  I read true tales of steamboats exploding, sinking, catching fire, and running aground. Who knew? Further research helped flesh out my characters and focus the plot. Soon Emma, Patrick, Twist, Mama, and Doctor Burton boarded The Sally May and months later Emma's River grew into a suspense-filled adventure on the Missouri:

            “Look Emma!” Mama waved at her to hurry. “There she is.” The Sally May rose from the river as tall as a three-story building. The steamboat was white, with gold and black trim. Pendants and flags snapped in the breeze. Its name was written in red scroll on the paddlewheel housing.

            Hand on her hat, Emma tipped back her head so she could see the top of the two chimneys. They belched thick smoke. Above the pilothouse, gulls dove and soared. Emma’s heart soared with them.         

 Oh how I love how an idea turns into a story! I'd love to hear your ideas--how did they turn into a story?          

Being a Star...or Not

                                                by Laura Crum

            A lot of people suppose that being famous, even in a small way, is huge ego gratification. And yes, it can be. I am not famous, really, but there are those who know who I am from reading my books, and I am sometimes asked to speak at various gatherings. And yes, it is flattering. The other day I had a rather unusual experience along these lines, and thought I’d write about it.

            So, normally when I give a “book talk”, it’s at a library or bookstore, and the people who come are either fans of my books, or mystery fans in general, or people who like horses and think they might like my books. And normally I give some kind of presentation (geared to the audience for that event), and take questions. I strive to be entertaining, and mostly I do a pretty good job of this, I think. And it’s all very flattering, though a bit time consuming and tiring for someone who is basically an introvert. To be frank, I don’t seek these events, though I have done a lot of them in twenty years of being a published author.

            But my most recent event was a real change of pace. I was invited to speak to a book club—a dozen women who meet regularly to discuss the book that they had chosen for the month. They had been meeting in this way for many, many years, and now, for the first time, they wanted to read a book by a local author and have that author come address their group.

            This sounded easy enough, and, of course, I agreed. The group chose my most recent novel, Barnstorming, and they all bought copies of the book (good). And on the evening in question, I showed up to give my “book talk.”

           

Well. They were all very nice people and they had wine and lots of food and it was very pleasant. But…their usual habit was to discuss the book they had read and say what they did and did not like about it. And it became clear to me as the evening went on that this was more or less what they intended to do—as I listened.

            To be frank, at first I sort of inwardly rolled my eyes. I was now supposed to listen to my book being dissected (in the nicest possible way) by these well-meaning ladies? They had called me out on a winter’s night for this? Surely they could have talked about their impressions of the book minus my presence.

            It wasn’t terribly different from reading reader reviews on Amazon—except that none of them were mean. They all said that they liked the book. And then proceeded to give their thoughts about it—not all of which were terribly flattering. Once I got my head around the fact that this was the evening’s event, it was actually pretty interesting.

            It soon became clear that this was not my usual audience. None of them had horses or were at all interested in horses. Most of them were not mystery fans and knew little to nothing about the genre. Their book club read all kinds of books, but apparently few of these books had been mysteries. They all enjoyed the background of Barnstorming (the area where we all live), and most seemed to really enjoy the character of my protagonist and the overall story, but they were accustomed to reading longer, meatier books (think “The Poisonwood Bible,” which was mentioned), and I could tell by their comments that they felt my book was pretty lightweight.

            At one point they went around the room, giving their impressions of the book. One woman said, “Horsey,” and I wasn’t at all sure this was a compliment. Another said, “Cute,” which I was sure wasn’t a compliment. And then she explained that she had never before thought of a horse as being “cute,” and my description of Sunny, using that adjective, was a revelation to her.

At this I actually laughed out loud. The idea of someone who had never thought of any horse as being “cute” is pretty foreign to me.

Eventually, as they discussed my book, including me from time to time, one woman said that, of course, as an artist, I needed to follow my own path. She used that word, “artist” in the somewhat heavy way many people employ this term, and I had to chime in.

“I don’t think of myself as an artist,” I said. “My books are not literary novels, they’re mysteries. I think of myself as a craftsman. I know how to make a good chair. In other words, I know how to make a pleasant, entertaining story. My books are “airplane books.” You get on the plane in San Francisco with the book and it keeps you entertained for your three hour flight and you disembark in New York and leave the book on the plane.”

They all looked at me with big eyes, and one woman said, “Well, I’m really glad you said that.” (It was only too clear that she had been WANTING to point out that my book was not great literature but was afraid to insult me.)

And then she went on to say (at some length) that she had enjoyed the book partly because it was “easy.” At this point another woman jumped in and said that she didn’t agree and she thought there were some very interesting philosophical points in the story (again at some length).

So eventually I chimed in and said that though I made “chairs,” not great art, I did try to make the most beautiful chairs that I could, and that I spent quite a bit of time contemplating what I really wanted to talk about in a given book, and then I shaped the mystery around this. I tried to make the books as insightful as I could, within the context of the stories remaining fast- reading mysteries.

The discussion went on along these lines, and I did find it very interesting to hear these strangers’ impressions of my book. It was a touch awkward to hear the book’s possible faults pointed out—because unlike in a writing group, my published book is a done deal. It isn’t going to change now. If you point out a problem, I can explain to you what I was trying to do, but I can’t “fix” it. It was clear that these people were used to pointing out what worked and didn’t work for them and speculating on what the author was trying to convey in a certain passage. A couple of times I finally interrupted and said, “I can tell you what I was trying to do here. It may or may not have worked for you, and that’s OK, but I can explain what the point was meant to be.”

Anyway, it was a pleasant evening and they were all nice people. Most of them said that they would like to read the whole series and see how the character evolved (yay). I had to feed my horses in the dark, but hey, I’ve done that before.

So have any of you other authors done something like this? Any thoughts on how you would have handled it?