Reentry

The prospect of returning to ‘normality’ is very daunting for me, especially as I’ve spent most of lockdown isolated and alone. I’ve been dreading normality. The thought of returning to pubs, parties, crowds in shopping malls, etc is a nightmare, and so far I’ve not changed my behaviour of mostly staying at home, with occasional trips to a supermarket.

It’s not that I’m scared of catching Coronavirus; I’ve had my jabs and I’m reassured that if I did get it, it would probably be relatively mild, and over with in a few days. It’s just the prospect of returning to crowds, amongst noise and people, that frazzle me at the best of times.

I’ve done some research, and I’m not the only one. This apprehension is called Reentry and there is a lot about it on the internet. See this article https://bit.ly/3yl3l1h

I’d love to see my friends again, but in a quiet way, a bit at a time. I’m not antisocial, just very, very anxious.

Introverts are often creative – artists, writers, etc. We thrive on working alone. So if you know someone like me who is an introvert, and Highly Sensitive (read Elaine Aron and Susan Cain’s books) and please just be patient and kind.

I’m Learning about Author Taglines

I understand the concept of product Branding, but hadn’t ever considered authors needed one. 🤔

What prompted my research was signing up to a website, to help with marketing my book and it was there, a field to complete.

Oh, okay, I’m a dedicated lifelong learner. I’ll research.

Essentially, I learn, an Author Tagline is a similar to Branding for products (think Nike, Just do it). One of the first things I read, is an author tagline should reflect something about the author and what they write. Tempt readers in.

So I relate that to me. At the moment I’ve only launched my debut novel, but I would like to explore other genres, maybe using different pseudonyms. I then pondered how to create an author tagline (which should be unique) to cover me as a writer, writing in different genres.

Another suggestion was to keep it extremely short – one to three words, so it’s easily memorable. Think once again, Just do it. Even if you’re like me and don’t do sport, you know immediately it’s Nike, who sell a wide range of products.

I’ve come up with one, and Googled it—it would appear to be okay, but this created another thought. (Agh, Google, why do I always end up side-tracked and going off at tangents?) Anyway, Semantics.

And here’s where my journey has taken me: I came up with Creates Believable Escapism.

Creates, because writing is creative, and creativity is building and making something. (My favourite pastimes are creating—writing, art and crafts.)

Believable, because I have worked in education and I am a great believer in passive and lifelong learning. When I wrote my novel I based it in facts and truth, but, the story weaved around it is totally made up. It is believable, because it could have happened.

Escapism. This was the one where semantics came in. Escapism, these days, means escaping into fantasy worlds, such as science fiction. But for me, Escapism is getting lost in a page-turning good story, away from reality, problems and anxiety (preferably lying in the sun, on a beach on holiday…) Anyway, looking into someone else’s world.

For instance, when I wrote my story I tried not to define too much detail, as it runs like a movie in my brain as I’m writing.

I’m the same when I’m reading, I always build my own vision of the characters, what they’re like and their appearance, and what the setting is like. It runs like a movie in my head as I’m reading. (Hopefully making it a page-turner.) This is why I can be quite disappointed with a movie after reading the book, when it’s not true to the storyline and the actors cast aren’t anything like the characters I created inside my head. (But I still always have to read the book first! No hope for me, with films, is there?)

Unless it evolves, or I need to change it, I’ll probably go with Creates Believable Escapism. And now you’ve read this, you know a bit about me and where I’m coming from.

Target Audience

One of the things a writer should identify when starting to write a novel is their target audience.

When I wrote A Charming Bequest, in my mind I generated a vision of my reader, who was a lady, probably 40+ who enjoys a good, page-turning contemporary romantic novel to get lost in. There is a little bit of eroticism in it, in the context of a love story and having a bit of fun, and there is the uncovering of a family story.

It’s not necessarily about gender, age or demographic, but more importantly what s/he enjoys reading to achieve a bit of escapism during his/her rest and relaxation.

I guess I thought mostly females would enjoy it, although I know a couple of men who’ve read it … to the end … 😉

Based on this, if you choose to give it a try, I hope you enjoy it.

Which is the hardest – the writing or the marketing?

If anybody has ever dreamed of writing a book but suffers from the notorious Writer’s Block problem, take heart. I know how difficult it is when Muse takes a hike and all you see is the cursor flashing on the screen. Procrastination.

The solution is … Just write. Anything. As long as you write something. Once you create a daily writing habit (it takes about a month of practice to get your neural network to create a new pathway, I believe), one day your writing hopefully turns into something meaningful and constructive. And once you get a story out of your system and onto paper, virtual or real, at least you have something, a manuscript, to work with and edit, hone, revise and improve.

The next problem, if you’re anything like me and have very little self confidence, is finding the courage to get it published, whichever way you choose. Given editing and perfecting permits and you decide to go for it, I wish you good luck.

The next hurdle is huge. Marketing. It takes even more courage and a very steep learning curve but it is essential.

I’ve been researching, reading and learning about ads, keywords, affiliate links, and all the other things I need to do to try and get my novel seen and turn clicks into purchases. Let’s face it, £2.99 isn’t a huge investment for the Kindle version for most people – probably the equivalent to a cup of coffee, in a coffee shop. So even if the buyer doesn’t enjoy the product it’s not a huge financial disappointment, is it? (I will admit the paperback investment is more, more like 3-4 cups of coffee… but a sizeable chunk of that is needed just to cover the printing costs.)

Marketing, as I understand it, means learning how to find the target audience receptive to taking a chance of clicking and buying the product. If it’s a type of product, in the case of a genre of fiction that they read often, a person is more open to buying. Taking a chance. So it’s a case of how do you focus advertising to the right audience? I’m still investigating that one and reading a book by Mark Dawson and the Reedsy website.

With regards to pricing, it depends how you look at it. Do you take an accountant’s perspective of recouping your investment in the outlay of expenses as quickly as possible? Or a salesman’s perspective of pitch the price lower and go for mass sales? It takes more sales perhaps to recoup the investment, but more people might be tempted if the price is right. And then there’s another consideration; if a buyer doesn’t have Amazon Prime, for example, they might have to pay for postage anyway. So do you price it to include free postage anyway?

So much to take into consideration!

I’m only relaying my story of getting my debut book Out There. Others may have a completely different journey. I’m enjoying the process, but I think the next one I might do differently and providing I can make enough sales not to lose access to certain facilities I’ve signed up to, I’m sure it will be easier next time, now the foundations are in place.

If publishing a book something you want to do, try it. I’ve found it, at times, exciting and gives a sense of achievement. There’s nothing quite like holding a copy of your work in print.

If you’d like to support me and try my debut novel, A Charming Bequest, I’d be very grateful and hope you enjoy the story. Providing potential enjoyment and escapism was my purpose in writing it.

Kindle: https://amzn.to/352vEVo

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3csrj1Y

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who has purchased my book. I really appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed it.Amazon have prompted me today about promoting it again.

Here’s the blurb: Sophie is young and building her career as a freelance writer. She’s a good researcher, so her Great Uncle asks her to find out about his sister Sally’s life story.

She begins with internet searches, and on a forum she meets Philippe who is looking for information for his grandmother.

Sophie visits Philippe and his grandmother in France, where she meets interesting people, and gleans unexpected information. She receives far more than she imagined.

She returns home to uncover the rest of Sally’s story, her true family history, and a surprise.

I hope you enjoy it and would ask, please can you leave a review and spread the word.

Kindle: https://amzn.to/352vEVo

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3csrj1Y

Happy Bank Holiday

We’ve arrived at the end of a windy and rather wet month and the forecast is for a sunny bank holiday. Yay! 🤞🏻

Please forgive me the opportunity of a promotion again – I’m still trying to learn marketing techniques. Anyway, have a happy relaxing weekend 🌞 and for around the price of a cup of coffee…

A Charming Bequest – Researching a family story, Sophie finds more than she expected. A slightly erotic, contemporary romance. https://amzn.to/3c3ui0O

Happy May Bank Holiday!

We’ve had lovely sunny April weather, here in the U.K., if a bit chilly, and now we’re around to the bank holiday and the weather is a bit duller. So perhaps not quite beach weather – unless you’re very hardy.

Have a great weekend anyway!

And if you fancy a bit of escapism for around the price of a cup of coffee 😉 https://bit.ly/3dGJz93

A short promotion

A Charming Bequest – Researching a family story, Sophie finds more than she expected. A slightly erotic, contemporary romance. https://bit.ly/3dGJz93

A Charming Bequest

A Charming Bequest – Researching a family story, Sophie finds more than she expected. A slightly erotic, contemporary romance. https://bit.ly/3dGJz93

Promoting and marketing thoughts

I’ve posted before about how the inspiration and actual writing of a book can be tricky enough, but at least once you get a manuscript written then you have something to work with. You refine and hone it. You find beta readers, a proof reader and editor, and you edit, edit and edit again. (And by now, you’re missing some tiny errors because your brain knows what you meant…) And even they aren’t perfect and miss some errors.

Anyway, then you reach a point you have to send it out into the world, to find out if your story is ‘good enough’. (What does that mean? Liking something is subjective: what one person dislikes intensely, another person enjoys.)

This was the point I decided that as mine is a debut novel I need professional guidance, and I approached an organisation to support me. They liked it and were willing to help. (It’s a great boost to your confidence.) Then to actually hold a physical book that contains your work felt 🤩 And to see it on Amazon is unbelievable.

Then at the top of your sales page, on a narrow strip, you read the small print …

Reality dawns. How can I make my book stand out against the competition?

So far my initial steps have been –

Amazon: Author Central (create an author page), Kindle Direct Publishing (produce an ebook version) and Amazon Associates (so you can create affiliate links and hopefully earn a little bit from clicks that result in sales, etc)

My blog: MoorScribbles – you’re reading it, thank you. Talk about your book, include the affiliate links, etc

My website: http://www.carolinescottcollins.co.uk, ditto

FaceBook: @CarolineScottCollins, ditto

(Which then got me sidetracked into linking my website and blog with my FB page)

The next couple of suggestions I’ve been given are –

Create a mailing list and issue a newsletter (even if it’s just once every 3-6 months)

Get some printed copies and negotiate with local bookshops and share profits (but the profit margin is scant)

Find other outlets

And then I had a conversation with a salesman, rather than taking an accountant’s perspective 🤷🏼‍♀️🤔

In the meantime, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that good old fashioned word of mouth and positive reviews from purchasers on Amazon might help a bit.

So if you read A Charming Bequest and you enjoyed it, I’d appreciate your positive review. Thank you.