Congratulations!

It's the first day of February and that means that the launch of my book, "A Year of Book Marketing - Part 1" has officially came to an end. I spent most of the morning notifying winners and sending prizes. Here's the official list of winners:

1 Free copy of “A Year of Book Marketing – Part 1” goes to:

Karen Banes

2 Free Kindle copies of "Marketing Your Book On Amazon" by Shelley Hitz go to:

Claire Wade and Monique Lortie Kimrey

And 5 Free copies of my book, "Book Marketing 101" go to:

Roland Lorans

Krishna De

Amanda Stephan

Mary Campagna Findley

and

Astrid Gay

Congratulations everyone!

While I have your attention, I wanted to let you know about a few announcements from my neck of the woods. I had the opportunity to be part of a book on marketing with 13 other book marketing experts. That book is being launched later this month and will give you another opportunity to win prizes.

I've just advanced from an author with a blog (located right here), to having a full blown author website. It's still in a developmental stage, but you can find it at: http://www.AuthorsHart.com/

AND I've started a book marketing book club! It's held on Facebook and each month we are going to read through a different book on book marketing. You can find out more about it at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bookmarketingbookclub/

Thanks again for being part of my book launch and I wish you the best on your book marketing journey - which brings us to day #32 of our year of book marketing journey:

Day 32

“Sometimes we are limited more by attitude than by opportunities.”

I have to tell you a story about me and book marketing. I originally saw all marketing as evil. I had some bad experiences with door-to-door marketing when I was fresh out of school that left a bitter taste in my mouth. I saw marketing as trying to sell something to someone that they didn’t really need, and were spending too much money on – but that’s not what book marketing should be.

My attitude about marketing prevented me from doing ANY book marketing for the first year and a half that my book was published. Sure, I had opportunities, but I would recoil at them. Someone would directly ask me about my book, and I would tell them it was just something I did – no big deal – and refused to talk about it... As you can see, I’ve grown since then. Don’t let your attitude about marketing, or even an aspect of marketing, limit your book marketing ability.

Marketing prompt:

Are there areas of book marketing that you have a bad attitude towards? If you need an attitude adjustment, research that area of marketing. Knowledge is power and can help you overcome any misgivings you might have.

Days to go: 333

100% Off Christian Book Sale: 3 Days Only

For three days only, several best-selling Christian authors have joined together to offer their books for free to avid readers. October 17^th through the 19^th 2012, readers can download 20 Christian books worth over $60 for free and enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card to get even more free books here.

This sale is just one of many hosted by Body and Soul Publishing, who also posts free Christian books and giveaways on their blog daily. Here’s what one reader had to say: "I’m very grateful for this website. I’ve found many valuable books that have enriched my spiritual life immensely." - Diane Sidener 

During the 100% off sale this week readers will be able to download the following nonfiction Christian books for free on Kindle and Smashwords:

Psalms, The Sunrise of Hope by Bob Saffrin

Hola Happiness by Janet Eckles Perez

21 Prayers of Gratitude by Shelley Hitz

A Matter of Faith by Carol Round

Restore Your Marriage & Fall in Love Again by Krystal Kuehn

10 Keys to Happy & Loving Relationships by Krystal Kuehn

The Lighthouse of Asaph: Unforgettable Christian Reflections by Roberto Ornan Roche

Found Adrift:  40 Days of Recovering Grace by Pauline Creeden

Children of Dreams by Lorilyn Roberts

21 Teen Devotionals…for Girls! By Heather Hart and Shelley Hitz

Experiencing Joy by Patty Mason

My Scripture Journal: God's Promises by Heather Bixler

Amazing Grace as Christ Walks By, My Journey from Brokenness to Wholeness by Carol Cline

A Spiritual Renewal: A Journey to Medjugorje by Alberta Sequeira

A Love Story...How God Pursued Me and Found Me…an Impossibly True Story by Samantha Ryan Chandler

Finding Hope in the Midst of Tragedy by Shelley Hitz

Mission Possible by Deborah McCarragher 

Women of Strength – a devotional to improve spiritual and physical health by Kimberley Payne

Night Stories – 8 devotionals about dreams by Kimberley Payne

Growth Lessons by Naty Matos

   

Don’t miss out!  Download these 20 books plus enter to win the $25 Amazon gift certificate for 3 days only here: http://www.bodyandsoulpublishing.com/100-percent-off-christian-books/

Read What You Write

I'm sure you've heard the age old saying, "You are what you eat." My dad use to love saying it to me when I was eating "nerds". Most of us have heard it, yet we all know that it isn't true. Now if we change it to "You write what you read." It couldn't become more true. That's the reason that so many people - authors, agents, etc. - recommend reading the classics. They say that by reading the classics, you can improve your writing skills. And then 2 pages later they tell you not to write above a 6th grade reading level because that's the society that we live in. We have to write so that we are understood. So which is it? Do we want to mimick the classics, or write for 6th grade? It can't be both. Thus, I don't recommend reading Dickens. My recommendation is to read the books that your target audience reads - or at least books on that level. If you're writing for people who read the classics, then sure read the classics, but if you're writing for people who read modern-day writing, then read modern-day texts by authors who write in modern words (as apposed to modern-day writer's who are mimicking the classics).

Last year I started to go through a book study with some friends of mine. We were reading through Susan Hunt's "The True Woman", and everyone quit before we even got half way through it because they couldn't understand it. They had to read the same paragraph 20 times to figure out what the author was trying to say. We would have all gotten a lot more out of it if she would have just wrote what she meant in the first place... Another book that I reviewed for Tyndale house said that it was the Bible in plain English - yet I had to look up roughly one word on every page to find out what the definition of it was. That's not plain English. Plain English is using common, every-day words that the average reader will understand. My guess is that both of these authors read the classics - frequently. But their audience didn't. That's a problem. If you want your audience to understand you, read the books that they read. I'm not saying that you have to pick up the latest secular book that's full of word porn, but find books that are on the level of your target audience and read those. If you write for teens, go through the teen section at the Library. If you write for children, read children's books. If you write for average adult readers, read average adult books. If you are writing for the Puritans  then by all means, read books written by the Puritans - just keep in mind that there aren't many (if any) left to read what you're writing, but you might be able to sell it to other people who like their books.

My New Favorite Author

Anyone who really knows me, knows that for as long as I have had a favorite author, it has been Lori Wick. Her books have always amazed me, and after reading every single one of them (at least a dozen times), instead of picking up new authors, I would simply re-read them all over again. The first book I ever read by her I picked up at Wal-mart at random one day. The cover drew me in, and while up until that point in my life I had hated reading, I couldn't help but make the purchase. Part of it was the price, part the cover, and part the back cover description, but it all worked together and I brought it home and loved it. After finishing it I immediately started building my collection of her books. The ones that I couldn't find at Wal-mart I borrowed from the library and stopped at Borders to purchase one each time I was in the city (this was back when I lived in the boonies). In my college writing class I even did my author presentation on her. Her writing greatly influenced my own desire to be a writer (my favorite book is Pretense), and I learned a lot from her. But last year I decided admitted that it was turning into an obsession and that the best thing to do was to set myself free. I donated my entire collection of her books to our church garage sale and have both regretted it and been thankful ever since. Her stories are forever etched in my heart and I have been debating re-building that collection as I genuinely miss her books.

The best part of her books isn't the way she tactfully writes about romance - in fact, that was part of the reason I decided to give them away. Her stories are so well written that it's like you're falling in love instead of the characters in the books, and at the time I gave them away I felt that I needed to concentrate on loving my own husband, not fictional characters... But anyway! The best part of her books was that in each and every one of them, she led someone to Christ. She placed people in their lives that showed what true (but not perfect) faith looked like, and a genuine conversion took place. I loved it! She will forever be one of my favorite authors, but last month another author joined her on that list for the first time.

Jody Hedlund also write's historical Christian romance novels, but hers have an added bonus - they are based on real life people. While reading about Christians living out their faith, you get a history lesson at the same time. I've donned them "True Historical Fiction" novels and am so excited to have found them. I won "The Doctor's Lady" off of a blog and immersed myself in it for 24 hours (and somehow my family survived and I didn't lose my job), needless to say it was love at first book and ordered another one right away from Amazon, "The Preacher's Bride". Which arrived on Tuesday and when my internet went down on Wednesday I read through it. It was just as wonderful as "The Doctor's Lady" and I finished it in 10 hours (you can read my full review here). I kind of felt bad though... The author poured herself into this book for probably an entire year, and I finished it in less than half of a day. To her credit I couldn't put it down, but I still feel like I cheated her in someway.

It's like re-living the beginning days of reading Lori Wick's work all over again. Thankfully my Jody Hedlund obsession book collection won't cost me near as much as Lori Wick's books did as Mrs. Hedlund currently only has a few titles in print, but since I'm reading fiction again, I might start building back up my Wick collection as well - because let's face it, I do miss her books!





What about you? Do you have a favorite author? What makes their books your favorites?