The No News is No News Purgatory Thread, Volume 8

Rick, look up jl bourne. He's an active duty military/author though I think he writes horror instead of thrillers. He is signed up on a military speakers site with some extreme heavy hitters.

(((Rick and family))) stay well! *good health vibes*

The movie sucked but the company was good. My father's friend and his wife wanted to see M@ma and asked if I would go see it with them.

I'm honestly offended that they made the ghost look like a combination between a person with Down's Syndrome and another type of developmentally disabled person. Not cool at all. I will be second-guessing watching Gu!llermo De! Tor0 movies from now on.

On another note, I watched V/H/S and enjoyed parts of it. Most of it was ridiculous and just gratuitous violence, but there were two stories I enjoyed watching.

((Rick and the flu))

Yay's to Lyndee.

Thanks again for the health hugs and book promo ideas. (Keep 'em coming!)

On a side note, Kiddo #2 just made the cut for next year's cheerleading squad in Unh@ppy Valley. She'll be a senior next year, and having been on the squad since she was a freshman, she'd normally be a shoo-in. But ever since the sordid S@ndusky affair, the school's been towing the line on all the NCAA rules, and one they didn't know about was they could only have 20 cheerleaders on the football field. P3nn State has a huge student section, so they normally have 50 cheerleaders between the boys and girls, broken into two squads to cover both sides of the end zone. So next year they're cutting back and several of the girls on the squad are going to get cut. Kiddo was sweating it, but she made it through the preliminary tryouts and was one of 10 who made the cut and won't have to try out during the formal tryouts in the Spring with the incoming freshmen. Kiddo's a worry-wort (she'd give Para a run for her money), so it's great to have the weight off her shoulders.

Congrats to Kiddo #2. And at least in pics, you don't look 50, Rick.

No drama in my corner of GR. And it's the only place with consistent ratings/reviews of my stories. My audience is more likely to put something on GR than any retail site. I use the blogging the feature, I'm a member of a discussion group for PNR/UF, and have Librarian status.

Spent 4 days so far at #1 in an Amzn category. Pleased with how the story is holding.

Rick, more health hugs!

ETA: yay for kiddo, and NFW you're 50. I want a birth certificate.

More thanks, y'all! Did everyone who wanted a rep get one, now?

I'll say I suspect that Blondie is right and your publisher will have a substantial marketing budget for you. And also that I'm flabbergasted and honored to be thought of in the same thought bubble with Blond, since she's my book-marketing role model.

I'm learning. So far this week, the things I see getting response int he blog world are the excerpts, and the interviews where people leave comments and I go back and chat with them. A few copies seem to have sold because of those. But the ones where no one can comment and/or there's no book excerpt, not so much. I'm sure Haupe has something to say on this, too.

My publisher is rolling out a big online push on Monday that I'm very excited about! I feel fortunate to be with a pub that does innovative things.

Speaking of marketing, I have a writing group event tonight and need to get off my ass and get some makeup on. Thanks again, y'all! It's been an AMAZING week. Way better than I could have ever dreamed.

blondie, thanks for chiming in.
i agree with the build up. as someone
said earlier, it's about word of mouth to
build buzz--and all that happened and you
did helped to build buzz for the books!

rick, sending all good thoughts.

mrs. b, so scary.
glad your friend and other target
are okay.

had a very fun brunch. hound is
doing well and her mom is feeling
well, all things considered.

just got mexico retreat manuscripts
to read, so must get on it before i leave
next weekend!

Blond is definitely the queen of promo, though you look like a natural to me, LynDee. Srsly.

WRT your question, I only know that in my blog and at WU, you definitely get more interest in comments with the incentive of a giveaway.

Congrats to Kiddo #2.

KT, woohoo! What are you doing for promo, or are you?

I Want 100 Barbers

xiaotien said:

as someone
said earlier, it's about word of mouth to
build buzz--and all that happened and you
did helped to build buzz for the books!

Click to expand...

Marketing from the SP side of this business pushes me down paths I would never have expected. Or, "word of hair."

Visited my favorite barber a couple days ago (I know, what the heck for? There's nothing left to barber). Anyway, he about hugged me, and he's not a hugger. Could not stop talking about "Bu5nt 5ocks". I had given him a copy the last time many weeks ago.

In between all the gushing, he said, "And she's so beautiful, quite a runner too, and what a leaper, and clever, oh my, what a beauty."

I nodded and smiled and thought, Ah, that's the model. I had to buy the license to use her on the cover. Ah, the only running I had her do was as an eleven year-old kid. Ah, only one leap in the whole novel and that was off a high place.

Then the marketing part. He's proudly displaying it right next to his barber chair where every patron must see it and way closer than his stash of ah...men's mags.

I must go out and find another barber and another and another. g.

Gah! I ran a little too far today and now my legs are screaming at me for it. Ow. Forgetting to stretch before hitting the road probably didn't help, either.

Oh well, at least it was a nice day out.

All this promo talk is so interesting! It really seems like sometimes you just have to try everything. Throw it all at the wall, see what sticks, and adjust your plan as you go? It seems like every week now I'm hearing something like "GR is great, you have to use it," and then a week later "GR doesn't do anything, really."

I suppose the fact is a lot of it's luck and managing to find the right people who will love your book and tell their friends. I'll be in the corner over here, taking notes from all of you promo pros!

I'm taking notes too. I am nervous as hell when it comes to the marketing aspect, so I have lots to learn.

On that note, I have a question about giveaways. What do you guys think is most effective, if anything?

oooh, cindy, mexico retreat is next week? how exciting!

trinza - hope your legs feel better!

g - omg that is too funny about the barber!

i'm glad you weighed in blond, since you seem to do a lot of everything.

rick - more health vibes coming to your fam, just cuz.

okay. off to watch spiderman and cuddle my littles.

gjb, love that story! awww!

trinza, actually, your publisher is
throwing everything against the wall.
ha!
i'd only go with what you enjoy.
because honestly, there's nothing worse
than promoting yourself and your book
and you really hate what you're doing.
(not to mention you only have enough time,
strength, sanity, resources...)

eta: jenn, it is! wish me luck! as much
as i'm looking forward to it, i'm always nervous
to leave the family.

GJB said:

Marketing from the SP side of this business pushes me down paths I would never have expected. Or, "word of hair."

Visited my favorite barber a couple days ago (I know, what the heck for? There's nothing left to barber). Anyway, he about hugged me, and he's not a hugger. Could not stop talking about "Bu5nt 5ocks". I had given him a copy the last time many weeks ago.

In between all the gushing, he said, "And she's so beautiful, quite a runner too, and what a leaper, and clever, oh my, what a beauty."

I nodded and smiled and thought, Ah, that's the model. I had to buy the license to use her on the cover. Ah, the only running I had her do was as an eleven year-old kid. Ah, only one leap in the whole novel and that was off a high place.

Then the marketing part. He's proudly displaying it right next to his barber chair where every patron must see it and way closer than his stash of ah...men's mags.

I must go out and find another barber and another and another. g.

Click to expand...

That's adorable. Yay for barbers!

Haupe said:

KT, woohoo! What are you doing for promo, or are you?

Click to expand...

I changed categories and keywords on a series. Every so often, Amzn has new categories or refined ones, so if there's a new spot a book still fits into, you get new visibility. In this case, the h.s.-set prequel is top of the free teen stories list this week. Hit a high of #836 overall free and is also in the top 30 for romance short stories. And it's a 2-year-old book. Series sales are boosted now from all the downloads.

has anyone ready phillip k d1ck?
he's had so many amazing films made
of his short stories--and i never realized.

all after he had died too, i believe.
anyway, i've ordered Do Androids Dream
of E1ectric Sheep?

Good evening all Cute GJB LOL

Xiao, I took a Fable to Film class in college. We used Philip K. Dick's "Minority Report" as a comparison piece. I remember enjoying the read more than I'd anticipated because I generally don't dig sci-fi (Husband LOVES it, though). For our big term paper, I did Burton's take on "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Fun class.

GJB, that story makes me smile.

thank you lily pie and mrs. b.

lily, i definitely wouldn't be writing
hard sci fi. thought i'd try it anyway.

mrs. b, i really enjoyed the minority report
film, actually. thanks!

FYI, for those of you with just too much money... Damsel is doing a huge sale on her Artfire site, and offering discounts with certain coupon codes if anyone's interested. You oughta see her bustle skirts!

I however am abstaining, 'cause I've decided I'm going to commission a custom Batman corset here in a while.

Here's a link to the post with the coupon codes.

Also: We have our new insurance cards, so as of tomorrow, I'm allowed to get sick!

Or something.

{caleb}