Sharing is Caring! (or The Rules of Engagement)

OK! So, you are an author. What we all want to be is a Successful Author. However, remember; you are the person who defines your success.

For some, it’s just completing your manuscript. For others, it may be to make the bestseller lists in a category, and for others to make lots and lots of Money (I wish you joy in that last one unless JK Rowling reads this blog and she can take it for granted!)

Again, if you ARE JK Rowling, you have a complete publicity machine to roll into action on your behalf. But, sadly, for most of us, WE are our publicity machine! So today even those already commercially successful are required to do more and more themselves.

So what to do? 

In 2 words – Spend Money!💰🪙💳 A marketing campaign MUST have a budget of some sort.

 Obviously, the size of your budget can vary from a tiny amount, enough for a banner, some cards and some leaflets, right up to – in the case of some of the most successful US independent authors – many, MANY thousands of dollars. They will place adverts in social media and will use professional marketers. Because they already have success, they can almost guarantee a massive increase in sales in using their Amazon, Twitter, BookBub and a Mailing List and other Social Media. They will use all the statistical data available to plot the success of each of their adverts and repeat or change them as necessary.

The dichotomy is of course, time. How to split your time between writing and promotion/mrketing. This is a question only you could answer. You must do what suits you best and what you are happy with. In the words of Maria Kondo (how trendy am I?)  Your writing MUST bring you joy!

From my own observations, I would say that the absolute best and ONLY way to have a lasting success as an author, is to KEEP WRITING! If you look at some of my independent author friends, or some of those contracted to Harlequin Mills & Boon, one immediately apparent thing is their amazing literary fecundity!! Some of the HMB authors and many Independents are producing 4 or more books a year.

The more books they write, the more they can give away for promotion. Their marketing becomes a creature with its own life-force, and their marketing invariably involves ENGAGEMENT with their readers.

If you look at some of the more successful authors in contemporary fiction, and as examples, say, Carole Matthews and Marion Keyes, both engage extensively with their readership through Social Media. Long may they continue!

Moving towards the shallow end of the enormous pool of writers, there are two things that we can all do to further our sales goals.

1. Keep expanding your circle of friends and acquaintances both in real life (i.e. at conferences, talks, signings, book-launches, writing events and the like) and on-line through those old favourites, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram  - to which we can now add TikTok. Every time you post in ANY of these you are tossing a pebble into the pool, and are keeping those ripples moving.
2. Keep sharing THEIR news! It’s not a competition, and there is no limit to the amount of goodwill we can show to other writers. Then, hopefully, they will share YOUR good news when you have something to share. What goes around tends to come around.

So Keep Sharing, and Keep Engaging.

And now – News about Hedgehogs!!🦔

They are back! They are now beginning to wake up from hibernation. We leave food out for them through the winter in case they feel like getting up for a quick snack. As I write, we are having a series of gales, but this doesn’t seem to have any effect on them.

A few days ago, I put the camera out just on a whim – and was very pleasantly surprised to find some hedgie pics in the morning. Now a regular occurrence. We seem to get 2 calls every night, one between midnight and one a.m. and the other between three and four o’clock. 

****** As I finish this, Ive just seen an article in the Guardian making a very similar point! Sadly, the message is the same in the world of music as in our world of writing! We are not alone, so keep the faith, and keep Engaging!

‘Making music is about making assets for social media’: pop stars battle digital burnout https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/feb/18/making-music-is-about-making-assets-for-social-media-pop-stars-battle-digital-burnout

FOUR FUN WAYS OF BUILDING WRITING RESILIENCE

Those who follow me on social media will know I’m delighted to be one of ten authors to receive a Scottish Book Trust New Writers’ Award for 2022, which includes mentoring, a fabulous writing retreat, the opportunity to read before agents and publishers, and more. When I received the all-important phone call, I burst into tears– that is how much this award means to me! 

But as my writing friends also know, this kind of writing recognition hasn’t happened overnight. I have been novel writing for years but lacked the confidence to send manuscripts to agents and publishers. That pesky voice in my head kept sneering that my writing was no good. 

Then the pandemic hit and writing courses I was previously unable to attend, suddenly appeared online. Fed up with berating myself about long form fiction, I gave flash fiction writing a go — with the aim of getting used to writerly rejection! And yes, I’ve received rejections aplenty, but I was amazed to enjoy successes too – longlisted, shortlisted, publication, wins. However, none of this would have happened if I’d given in to those whispers of doubt. And, as sure as rain falls in springtime, those whispers will return. So... 

HOW TO BUILD WRITING RESILIENCE?

 

DEVELOP A NETWORK 

Writing, for the most part, is a solitary activity, but writing friends are IMPORTANT, especially when it comes to helping us bounce back. They don’t have to write in the same genre, or even the same form, but, hackneyed as it sounds, writers’ benefit from belonging to a tribe. Only other creatives truly understand this mad compulsion to keep writing, even when the odds against publication are mountainously high. 

Author friends are also brilliant cheerleaders helping celebrate when things go well – finishing a draft, having a manuscript accepted, signing a film option! (We’ve got to keep dreaming!) Being a part of the Novel Points of View community is fun, checking in with writing friends each week, keeping up with travels (Kath) and hedgehogs (John). I also rely heavily on friendships forged via the Romantic Novelists’ Association, Lifelong Learning Dundee, Retreat West, Aberdeen Writers’ Studio and more (please give your writing friend networks a shout out in the comments). If this all sounds hard work, remember to take things slowly, all you need is ONE loyal friend! 

'A day without a friend is like a pot without
a single drop of honey left inside'
Winnie the Pooh

WRITING WORKSHOPS 

Writing workshops teach us how to strengthen our craft – often by reading and analysing other writers. But how do workshops help build resilience? Well, as well as receiving friendly feedback, tightening prose, which should translate into less rejection, I learn from others’ mistakes, reminding me that no writing is perfect, and that we are all just doing our best. Workshops are also a great way of making friends (see tip 1!) 

Writing Workshops, a great way to make friends
 - both in person and online...

BOOK GROUPS 

Choose the right book group and they are not only interesting as a reader, but are useful for writers too. My group often selects authors that are new to me, discussion is lively and although I mostly enjoy the books chosen, even when I come across a challenging read, I still learn from having spent time with the characters. In short, it’s a fantastic reminder that not all readers enjoy the same style of writing, or put another way, we can’t please all the people, all the time. All I can do is to keep writing and hope that, eventually, my work will find the right home. 

SHAKE THINGS UP – 

TRY A NEW GENRE/ FORM/ PROMPT/COMPETITION 

Remember that pesky internal voice I mentioned? Well, it's still here but I’ve found a way to trick it! I take a break from my work-in-progress and try something new – a new genre/ new form/ new prompt/ new competition. I’m just experimenting, right? There is no reason for the voice to get upset, because I already know that what I am producing is rough, fresh off the press. It doesn’t need to harp on! That way, I write, and my pesky little internal voice gets a rest! 

 I am reminded of the words of Maya Angelou — 

 So, thank you to ALL my beautiful butterfly friends. 

 Happy writing!

Rae x

Time For A Festive Festival!

It is that time of year when literary festivals start to advertise their events and... dare I say it... I feel more confident that this year will have far less cancellations than previous years! Literary Festivals are also known as book festivals or writers' festivals and should not be confused with writers' conferences which are not usually open to the general public. It is a great opportunity to meet like-minded people, chat over your favourite coffee and discover new books.

For those of you who have never attended a literary festival before, the event is a celebration of the written word, where readers have the opportunity to enjoy a variety of presentations and readings by both debut and established authors. Usually, but not always, festivals are delivered over several days and is the perfect opportunity for writers to introduce and promote their books and readers to meet their favourite authors. Sometimes the event is combined with another, such as art or music. Many go on to be annual events.

In my author persona I have attended several local festivals as a guest speaker, such as Plymouth Literature Festival, St.Ives Festival open mic session... and even Helly's International Guitar Festival which at the time was expanding their reach by inviting authors to take part (thankfully I didn't have to play an instrument!). I have also attended a few as a keen reader. My first was North Cornwall Book Festival which was organised by author Patrick Gale. The organisers plan another festival for this year which will run from 22nd to 25th September. Tickets will go on sale from the 1st July.

Me at the 2017 Plymouth Literature Festival

Tickets can sell out quickly. The Romance Author & Reader Events (also known as RARE22), which will be held at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre in May, have already sold out so it is always a good idea to keep an eye out for your favourite festival so you can bag yourself a ticket in plenty of time!

Me at the Helly's International Guitar Festival (minus my guitar!)

Below is a list of up-and-coming festivals. There are far too many to mention here so I do recommend that you Google Literary Festival 2022 to find an event in your area.

Festival:- Words by the Water Festival
Date:- 14th - 20th March 2022
Location:- Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, Cumbria

Festival:- York Literature Festival
Date:- Fri Mar 18 – Sun Mar 27
Location:- Various locations around York

Festival:- Llandeilo Lit Fest
Date:- Apr 23, 2022 - Apr 24, 2022
Location:- Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire

Festival:- Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature
Date:- 6th-14th May 2022
Location:- Fowey, Cornwall

Festival:- Bude Literary Festival
Cornwall:- 18th-22nd May 2022
Location:- Bude, Cornwall

Festival:- Montgomeryshire Literary Festival
Dates:- 10th – 12th June
Location:- Montgomery, Powys, Wales

Festival:- Borders Book Festival
Dates:- 16th - 19th June, 2022
Location:- Harmony Gerden, Melrose, Scotland

Festival:- British Book Bash
Dates:-2nd July 2022
Location:-Villa Park, Birmingham

Festival:- Penzance Literary Festival
Dates:- 6th-9th July 2022
Location:- Penzance, Cornwall

Festival:- Edinburgh International Book Festival
Dates:- 13–29 Aug 2022
Location:- University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh College of Art on Lauriston

Festival:- Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival
Dates:- 14th – 18th Sept, 2022
Location:- Budleigh Salterton, Devon

Festival:-Isle of Wight Literary Festival
Dates:- 6th -9th October 2022
Location:-Cowes, Isle of Wight

Festival:- Berwick Literary Festival
Dates:- 13th - 16th Oct 2022
Location:- Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland

As I have mentioned earlier, there are many literary festivals held all over the U.K., so if you are interested I suggest you start researching what is available in your area over the spring and summer. It may feel daunting to go to your first event, but everyone tends to be friendly and want to have a good time. I think it is always motivating to chat to others who have the same common interest as yourself... in this case a love for the written word. You may find a new author to follow, a new book to read or come away compelled to start that novel you have always wanted to write. Happy festival hunting everyone!

Victoria Cornwall