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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Marketing 201



As you already know, if you've been marketing your books recently, brief videos are now considered the way to go. 

In our crazy-busy society, rushed people only have precious few minutes to devote to your marketing efforts, and 1-3 minute videos fit the bill. 

YouTube, of course is the preferred distribution outlet, so if you don't already have a YouTube account, you should definitely consider it. 

With my Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook slated for release Nov 1, I've been turning out quite a few brief videos lately (kudos to my husband, videographer extraordinaire), like the introduction to my cookbook above. (By the way, it may appear a bit off center on your computer, but it's centered in the YouTube clip.)

Also on YouTube (and the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook page on my website www.DeboraCoty.com), are three video clips showing how to make some of the super-simple, delicious foods from the cookbook. I've titled them all "Stress-Free Cooking" so they're easy to find online and all in one place.

Another hot marketing tool these days is Pinterest, one of the most popular social media sites. I've developed dozens of Pinterest pins depicting dishes from the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook, under the heading, of course, Stress-Free Cooking. I staged and photographed each dish myself, after studying professional cookbook photos. My assistant designed each pin so that if you click on the food photo to get a better look, it automatically shoots you right to the Amazon ordering page for the cookbook.

Cool idea, huh?

So far, so good. Lots of great feedback from readers and FB friends. I'll let you know how it goes.

Do you have some great marketing tips you can share? 

  

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Winner Dinner!

We're all Too Blessed to be Stressed! 
One of the best - and certainly the most fun - book promotions I've ever done was to host an adoption fundraising dinner for my daughter's family.

What in the world does that have to do with promoting a book, you're probably wondering.

Well, everything!

Three months before my daughter's baby boy was due and simultaneously two months before the baby girl she was adopting was due, she and I spent two solid days in her kitchen preparing meals that kind-hearted folks traded for donations to help raise the thousands of dollars needed for steep adoption fees.

Chocolate Eclair Cake for dessert
The literary connection? All meal recipes came from my upcoming Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook. We got rave reviews for the Baked Spaghetti, Parmesan Nuggets, and Mudbar Ecstasy. Some excited folks even called the next day begging for more.

Hey, what better way to tease palates and evoke passionate interest than to provide samples of delicious food?

Everyone who bought a meal was included in a drawing; five lucky winners received vouchers for autographed copies of the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook when it debuts Nov 1, and the grand prize winner received a homemade dinner with the author (moi).

Chili Dip for a zesty starter
So last night was the big Winner Dinner and we had an absolute blast! (See photo of winner Donna and her husband Ish above on far left holding Baby Boy, I'm in the middle, my daughter and son-in-law on right holding Baby Girl.)

Once again, the menu consisted of ... can you guess??? ... recipes from the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook!  We feasted on Teriyaki Pork, scalloped potatoes, Spinach-Broccoli Surprise, mixed fruit, and for dessert, none other than my ooey, gooey Chocolate Eclair Cake. Oh, mustn't forget the delicious Chili Dip with Frito Scoops we scarfed as an appetizer.

All recipes require <20 minutes="" prep="" td="">
It was hardly any trouble at all, because every recipe in the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook takes less than 20 minutes of hands-on prep time. The hardest part was deciding which delicious dishes to serve.  

Yummmm! At the end of the evening, in one accord, we all said, "Let's do it again!"

So not only did we help a family, we had a fun evening with some great folks, and made solid inroads into getting word of the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook out throughout our area (the local newspaper even did an article on the fundraising dinner).

As a result, we now have salivating people standing in line for their copies two months before it comes out.

It pays to think outside the bookstore. What creative book promo's have worked for you?



Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Hangin' in Papa's Waiting Room

Stay busy in Papa God's waiting room
I recently read a blog post by an author celebrating her breakthrough into a national magazine review column that's sure to bring her wide exposure. She's hit the big time:

  • Magazine editors approach her for articles
  • # of guest blog post requests increased
  • Reviews from major media venues
  • Speaking gigs easier to find

And it only took her seven books to get there.

Seven books? you wheeze. But I'm only just now finishing my first book and it's taken me a whole year!

Yep. I feel your pain, writer buddy.

My first book, The Distant Shore, took two years to write and another year to find a publisher (a small press in South Carolina). I thought it was the crowning glory of my writerly life, but in reality, it hardly made a ripple in the publishing pond.

So I wrote another. And another. And then with three good quality small press books under my belt, I was able to find an agent to represent my fourth book, this time a different genre, women's inspirational humor.

But alas, that poor, wonderful, overlooked book - Mom NEEDS Chocolate - was destined to release during the direst time in publishing history, 2009, just after The Crash (recession) hit and before Publishing World figured out where it was going with the digital era. Newspapers were folding everywhere, respected publishing companies were going belly up, and no one was buying print books because the media proclaimed that e-books were the wave of the future and print would soon be obsolete. Since very few people owned e-readers yet (they were still a brand new concept), nobody bought any type of book, print or electronic for a period of about two years.

Just long enough to maim the success of Mom NEEDS Chocolate. In fact, not long after that, the publisher (Regal Books) was sold to another publisher who somehow had managed to stay afloat in the turbulent waters.  

While I was languishing (or so it felt) in Papa God's waiting room, I kept writing - magazine articles, a newspaper column, essays, blog posts, new manuscripts that I kept sending out. And one of them caught the eye of a traditional publishing house editor named Kelly.

It turns out Barbour Books was interested in publishing more women's humor nonfiction, and wha-da-ya know? They were willing to take a chance on my book, Too Blessed to be Stressed.  It had a slow start with only modest sales at first (readers were rediscovering books again) but after it had been out a year, sales took off.

To the surprise of the publisher and myself, it spawned a very successful Too Blessed to be Stressed line of books and book products (14 at last count) and has become my personal brand. My writing bank account is finally seeing a ray of sunshine after a decade of cloudy days.

You read that right - it took ten years. Ten years. 

So you see, I have to agree with the seven-book author and the celebrated children's book award-winning author who said, "Want to be a successful author? Give it at least six years to get off the ground."

After you pick yourself off the floor and wipe your eyes, hear me out: There's some good news hiding here. You'll be able to hone your skills and build a very sturdy platform during your time in Papa God's waiting room. As long as you don't drape yourself over the plaid settee and vegetate.

Keep writing. Keep learning. Keep growing.

Because the writer's creed is not good things come to those who wait, but good things come to those who work while waiting.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Word Power


I love Christian bookstores, don't you? 
How important are words?

There are one million words in the English language.

75% of these words are technical and not used in common speech.

25% of these one million words are in a dictionary.

20,000 words make up an average vocabulary.

20,000 words are used by an average woman daily; 7,000 words are used by the average man daily. Plus the grunt factor.

10,000 words we use on a regular basis.

12,000 words are included in the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

21 words make up John 3:16.

What if we use our relatively few words to heal and uplift each other, rather than wound and tear down?

Let's change the world word by word.




*The above comments were part of an awesome address by literary agent Steve Laube (of The Steve Lauby Agency) to the AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) members at our 2015 conference.




Sunday, July 5, 2015

New Contest Winners!!!!

Lots of Winners!!!

Hey, hey - we've got some winners here! Ten to be exact.

Congrats to the fine folks below whose names were drawn in my "Them Babies Just Keep on Bouncing" contest.

Each will receive the Too Blessed to be Stressed Baby Blessing of their choice. To find out more about each Baby Blessing, hop on my website http://DeboraCoty.com and click on the "Books" dropbox, then Too Blessed Babies.

Some products aren't available just yet (such as the Too Blessed to be Stressed 2016 Planner, the 3-Minute Devo for Women, and the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook, but as soon as they are released, I promise I'll get your prize to you).

Please don't fret if your name's not on the list this time; stay tuned for another great giveaway coming up in conjunction with the fall release of the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook (and I'm talking prizes including not only free autographed books but also GROCERY STORE GIFT CARDS for buying the ingredients to try out the Cookbook's 110 terrific recipes requiring less than 20 minutes prep time ... plus a few ultra cool surprises!)

So without further ado, here are the winners of a free Baby Blessing!

Angela Holland                           Kathy Newborn
Rick Jackson                              Paulette Smallwood
Adriana Fuentes                          Kathy James
Kristen Schuettenberg                 Pamela Black
Tina Rae Collins                          Ana Raquel

Congrats!! Just e-mail or FB message me with your choice and mailing address and your prize will soon be on its way!




And here are your prize options:

Too Blessed to be Stressed (original book)
Muy Bendecida Para Estar Estrasada (Spanish version of original book)
Too Blessed to be Stressed Journal
The Bible Promise Book: Too Blessed to be Stressed Edition
Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook (releasing Nov 1)
Too Blessed to be Stressed Wall Calendar
Too Blessed to be Stressed: 3-Minute Devotions for Women (releasing this winter)
Too Blessed to be Stressed 2016 Planner (releasing Sept 1)


A whopping THANK YOU to all my BBFF (Best Blog Friends Forever) for entering - you're always a winner with me!

Hugs,
Deb

Friday, July 3, 2015

State of the Publishing Industry Update

Deb chatting about her books
I always look forward to hearing literary agent Steve Laube of the Steve Laube Agency give his State of the Industry speech at our annual AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) conference.

Steve is knowledgeable. Steve is wise. Steve is funny.

It's great to be informed from someone in the know about the publishing industry's newest news, whether it's good, bad, or ugly.

This year (last week) we heard a bit of all three. Here are the highlights:

  • Fiction e-books make up 50% of all book sales.
  • General e-books make up 30% of all book sales.
  • Novels are considered throw-aways after 1 read.
  • Nonfiction books are keeps on your shelf as bookmarks of your life. 
  • The publishing industry is like a labyrinth; the walls move every day ... meaning editorial departments and publishing house staff shift constantly. Some disappear completely. Personalities drive publishing companies.
  • Amazon holds the keys to publishing sales, even though their own effort at publishing failed dramatically. Amazon sells books only to get you in to their "store," collect your data and sell you other stuff (they make their most money off other goods, not books). For example, Amazon is the #1 diaper seller in the world; they also make huge shoe and electronics sales. 
  • Amazon print and digital (Kindle) sales make up half the business of many Christian publishers.
  • In bookstore retail news, the recent Family Christian Stores declaration of bankruptcy (26 stores in 34 states) lost some publishers up to one million dollars in February, 2015, although Family Christian was probably doing only about 5% of all Christian book sale business. This story is not over yet. As you know, Family Christian still has its doors open. 
  • Even if Family Christian goes under, it will not sink the industry. Christian book sales in general are strong, steady, and stable.
  • Newsletters are now considered the #1 marketing tool for authors because the author is in total control (unlike social media outlets such as Twitter or FaceBook who make and change their rules whenever they please). 

Our audience of people who look to the Christian Book industry to feed our families left encouraged and ready to press our noses back to the grindstones.

I did hear mutterings among my peers of professional speakers that speaking invitations from distant churches (requiring paid cross country travel and accommodations) had declined somewhat this year, but we could only speculate that the financial crunch of '08-09 had caused residual tightening of belts and budgets.

I'd love to hear your take on the health of publishing. What has been your recent experience?








Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Lots of Winners!

Lots of Winners!!!

Hey, hey - we've got some winners here! Ten to be exact.

Congrats to the fine folks below whose names were drawn in my "Them Babies Just Keep on Bouncing" contest.

Each will receive the Too Blessed to be Stressed Baby Blessing of their choice. To find out more about each Baby Blessing, hop on my website http://DeboraCoty.com and click on the "Books" dropbox, then Too Blessed Babies.

Some products aren't available just yet (such as the Too Blessed to be Stressed 2016 Planner, the 3-Minute Devo for Women, and the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook, but as soon as they are released, I promise I'll get your prize to you).

Please don't fret if your name's not on the list this time; stay tuned for another great giveaway coming up in conjunction with the fall release of the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook (and I'm talking prizes including not only free autographed books but also GROCERY STORE GIFT CARDS for buying the ingredients to try out the Cookbook's 110 terrific recipes requiring less than 20 minutes prep time ... plus a few ultra cool surprises!)

So without further ado, here are the winners of a free Baby Blessing!

Angela Holland                           Kathy Newborn
Rick Jackson                              Paulette Smallwood
Adriana Fuentes                          Kathy James
Kristen Schuettenberg                 Pamela Black
Tina Rae Collins                          Ana Raquel

Congrats!! Just e-mail or FB message me with your choice and mailing address and your prize will soon be on its way!




And here are your prize options:

Too Blessed to be Stressed (original book)
Muy Bendecida Para Estar Estrasada (Spanish version of original book)
Too Blessed to be Stressed Journal
The Bible Promise Book: Too Blessed to be Stressed Edition
Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook (releasing Nov 1)
Too Blessed to be Stressed Wall Calendar
Too Blessed to be Stressed: 3-Minute Devotions for Women (releasing this winter)
Too Blessed to be Stressed 2016 Planner (releasing Sept 1)


A whopping THANK YOU to all my BBFF (Best Blog Friends Forever) for entering - you're always a winner with me!

Hugs,
Deb

Monday, June 22, 2015

What is Truth, Really?

Spouse and I were rewatching an old fave movie the other night - A Knight's Tale - and I noticed something interesting I'd not caught the last ten times I watched it.

The charming story takes place in the olden days of Knights and Ladies, nobility and peasants, with the late great Heath Ledger looking his most dapper in the lead role. (I highly recommend it as a clean and clever Friday night fam flick.)

Near the beginning of the movie, Heath's character and his two adorable peasant sidekicks encounter a naked Geoffrey Chaucer trudging down the road. Paul Bettany, who plays a hilariously high-wordy, immensely likable Chaucer, apparently suffers from a gambling addiction and when he loses everything on a bad run, including his clothes, it's not unusual for him to be gallivanting around in his birthday suit (don't worry, we only see his backside).

So on yet another occasion when he again is reduced to stark buffidity (not a word but should be), Chaucer defends a bold-faced lie he has just laid on an angry Heath with this little gem: "I'm a writer! I give the truth scope."

Oh the marvel of that magnificent statement! Let me repeat it so we writers can roll it around together on our collective tongue:

"I'm a writer! I give the truth scope."

Well said, Geoff, ole boy.

I am often asked by writers-in-the-making at my writing workshops how much literary license is allowable in constructing nonfiction ... say, memoirs for example. (Obviously the sky's the limit in fiction, so I will focus on nonfiction here.)

My answer? More than you might think.

Consider the bestselling mega-hit memoir, Angela's Ashes. It's highly unlikely that author Frank McCourt, an adult recording true events of his long past childhood, could recall word-for-word conversations that took place every day for the numerous years covered in the book.

Yet chapter after chapter is ripe with detailed conversations that expertly expose character traits and move story lines along toward a gripping climax, more showing than telling (every writer's ultimate goal).

I've never had the opportunity to ask Frank if he was compelled to use literary license in creating all that dialogue, but my educated guess is that it was necessary for him to elaborate on basic elements of truth in order to reconstruct scenes that led to events as he remembered them.

Every memoir and creative nonfiction workshop I've ever attended confirms and condones this.There really is no other logical way to record conversations that occurred long ago, or that occurred without the author present. You work with what you DO know to be true, staying loyal to the character and events, and do the best you can to fill in the holes.

So stop stressing over that memoir chapter depicting the well deserved nosebleed you gave your pesky cousin when you were eight. When he appears at your door snorting fire after reading about it as a 45-year-old, simply smile and quote the Prince of Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer, "I'm a writer! I give the truth scope."

     





 

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Repackaging

Out with the old and in with the new
As usual, I'm in a hurry as I fly down the frozen food aisle, jerking my grocery buggy to a halt in front of the familiar glass case from which I've plucked my low-calorie lunch of choice a thousand times before.

Intending to grab a few of my favorite flavors and run, my hand freezes in mid-air.

Wait. Whoa, Nellie. What's this? In place of the white boxes with the orange curly-cue logo I've been purchasing for the past few years, there's a stack of strange brown logo-less boxes I don't recognize.

Grrrr. Who moved my cheese?

But upon further inspection, I see that this is, after all, the very same product I'm seeking. Same only different.

The food looks the same and has the same nutritional listings. But it's in a new box. With a completely new look. About 180 degrees from the way it used to look.

So why do companies repackage products? Even tried and true products?

A few obvious reasons include a desire to:
  • Revamp their image
  • Attract a new or wider audience
  • Update their look 

A recent example is the Motorola cell phone, which after years on the market was redesigned to appear more like a fashion statement. Indeed, sort of like a  piece of jewelry. Why? Because women are their proven primary market and women, as you know, are interested in fashion.

(Hey, why don't they think chocolate here? I'd buy a new cell phone if it looked and smelled like a Cadbury bar.)

Similarly, Johnson & Johnson felt that Rembrandt toothpaste needed a cleaner, fresher look, so they simplified, using the same tube but changing the packaging from a word-cluttered, color-splashed spectacle to a plain white box that opens from the top like a gift. A gift to yourself.

Have these changes made a difference in sales? The jury's still out, but early indicators are quite positive.

Books do the same thing for the same reasons. 

I've made a game out of  looking up a certain historical romance each time I've enter a bookstore for the past few years because the gal on the book cover has on a different colored dress every time I see her. That chick has the most extensive wardrobe of any one-dimensional woman I know.

Because of a simple change - same dress, different color - that book has had as many lives as a Manx. Other books may come and go from bookstore shelves within three months, six months, one year, but that one's taken up residence and doesn't appear to be going anywhere any time soon.

I understand the red dress has been the hands-down bestselller. Hmm. Not really hard to guess why.

Last year the publisher of three of my early books decided on repackaging for the same reasons listed above. You  may have already seen the remakes of my historical novels, The Distant Shore and Billowing Sails, but the finalized cover for Grit for the Oyster: 250 Pearls of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers has recently been released.

I'd love to share it with you now (see above).

I think repackaging is generally a good idea and an effective marketing tool, but some argue that occasionally it causes confusion and consumer irritation ("Why change a good thing?" "If it ain't broke, don't fix it.")

So what do you think? I'd love to hear your feedback.


Thursday, May 7, 2015

Misconceptions

Pearls from my Oyster
As I was leaving a local home improvement store yesterday, I was approached in the parking lot by a smiling man. Not creepy smiling. Pleasantly smiling.

Here's our memorable exchange:

Man: Hey, you're Debora Coty, aren't you? [He eyes the bag in my hand] So authors actually do their own shopping?

Me: Authors not only do their own shopping, they scrub their own toilets. And then they scrub other people's toilets too.

If you're an author, you're nodding your head and chortling right now. Because you probably clean houses to support your writing habit.

The public perception of the lucrative and lavish life enjoyed by published authors always cracks me up. As if being published is the genie in the lamp. If I had a quarter for every person whose eyebrows plowed into their hairline while their pupils disturbingly dilated when they learn I write books, I might be able to have my roots touched up more often so I don't have to wear so many hats.

(Oops - now you know my secret; and you thought I just liked hats!)

The next sentence out of the cheeky conversant's mouth is usually, "You're an AUTHOR? Wow - you must be really pulling in the dough, right?"

After squelching the impulse to respond with, "And that's business of yours, how?" I ever-so-patiently explain that, well, no, only 2% of all authors (counting the high end J.K. Rowlings and Jerry Jenkinses) make enough to quit their day jobs. I can tell by their dubious expression that they're not buying.

At this point I usually remember that I left the stove on and flee to head off the fire department. But sometimes, if I sense this is a sincerely-inquisitive-but-obviously-ignorant person, I'll explain further that the publishing industry has drastically changed in the past twenty years and although some big mainstream authors still get six-figure advances and royalty checks fat enough to insulate an attic, the vast majority of authors these days - especially authors writing for the CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) - um, don't.

I've had my share of royalty checks for $2.56 and I know plenty others who have too.

Most folks, even aspiring authors at writer's conferences, seem surprised when I mention that it took ten years for me to make it into the black. Long-suffering Spouse, who prepares our taxes, kept telling me every April for an entire decade that the IRS was eventually going to wonder why this crazy person (me) didn't switch hobbies (because it certainly couldn't be a profession when you lose money every single year).

This from the guy who once asked me why I was staring at a red-headed woodpecker hammering away at our backyard oak. When I wondered aloud, "Why would anyone repeatedly bash their head against a tree?" he answered, "For the same reason some people become writers."

I love that man.

Okay, so back to the point. Don't write to get rich. It won't happen.

Write because you can't not write. And then maybe one day, if you scrub enough toilets, your unsightly roots will be a thing of the past and you can wear hats simply because you want to.

Monday, March 9, 2015

Something Special is Simmering!

3 Cheers for the Barbour artist who created this adorable cover!

I'm so excited! I just received the final draft of my Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook cover, so it's one step closer to becoming a reality!

For those of you who have never written a cookbook, here's the process in 15 easy steps:

1. Brainstorm idea at 2 a.m.one cold, dark night.
2. Present idea in query form to publisher (via agent if you have one) and pray that they ask for a proposal.
3. Do happy dance when they finally do ask for a proposal.
4. Spend several weeks writing, editing, and fine-tuning a 10-page proposal for something you cannot for the life of you envision.
5. Pester every prominent person you've ever met who is remotely related to cooking to obtain their promise for an endorsement. Include in proposal.
5. Bathe that sucker in prayer and send it in.
6. Many moons pass. Keep praying.
7. Receive contract offer (via agent). Sign. Return.
8. Collect all recipes from family and friends that meet your criteria (prep time for this stress-free cookbook must be 20 minutes or less). Start cooking like mad to test every recipe that may potentially be included.
9. Create a slush pile for rejects (because they either take too long to make, don't taste incredible enough, require too much clean-up, aren't simple enough, or the ingredients are too hard to find.)
10. Complete first draft. Edit. Then reread with a gnat strainer and re-edit six times.
11. Submit completed manuscript.
12. Console distraught family and neighbors who are standing by holding empty plates; the cascade of awesome food samples has dried up. Discover you must go on a diet because you've gained 7-lbs writing your cookbook and can no longer button your pants (The chocolate section was a killer.)
13. Receive first draft of cookbook cover (where I am today). Suggest minor changes. Receive the final draft - Yay! It's marvelous and perky and adorable!
14. Several months later, receive final edits from publishing house.
15. Brand new cookbook releases October 1. Now the hardest part: Selling it!

Never thought I'd see the day that I'd write a cookbook, but it was SO much fun and I loved every minute of it. (Especially testing the chocolate section.) Plus, I know these simple, terrific recipes and menu suggestions (complete with grocery lists!) will help lots of women care for their fams without feeling like they're drowning in the stress-pool of life.

So tell me, what kind of a cookbook would YOU write if you ever decide to write one?



Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Buying the Person Behind the Product, Not Just the Product

Me excited to find my book at Cracker Barrel
I've been looking for a change. Without going into too much hairy detail, I've recently decided it's time to look for a new publicist.

And in shopping around, I've learned a few things that I believe are key marketing principles.

First of all, let me say that I'm a firm believer in the power of a good publicist to get word of your book out there to places you can't, and therefore drive sales.

I learned this lesson with my first few books which were published by a small press. All marketing and publicity was up to me. Me and only me. Sales were meager and each and every sale was hard-fought.

Then came my first traditionally published book, Mom NEEDS Chocolate, which was contracted in 2007, the year every industry in America - including the publishing industry - was hit hard by the recession and had to tighten their belts or go under. During the two years between the time I signed the contract and the actual release date in 2009, the publisher's publicity department shrank from 14 people to one.

There was no way that one poor overworked gal would be able to make the splash I yearned for my book to make while trying to promote the other dozen books releasing in the same quarter. So without any significant research, I hired the first outside PR firm I came across to create more ripples. The problem with that firm was that it was comprised of only one woman who had just had a baby (a bit distracting, right?) and turned out to be quite expensive for the services I received.

Live and learn. The price for not doing your homework and leaping before you look.  

Then came my "Take On Life" series with Barbour Books (a different publisher than my previous book). When the first book in the series was ready for release (Too Blessed to be Stressed, 2011), I had heard the 90/10 rule, that 90 percent of new authors share a mere 10 percent of the PR department's attention (the majority of funds and efforts go toward the best selling titles and authors). So after doing more research this time, I hired a highly recommended publicity firm (a different one) to work alongside the Barbour publicity team in order to cover all the bases.

The success of Too Blessed to be Stressed (over 60k copies sold and still counting) plus the spawning of 10 Baby Blessings (books and book product offspring of the original book) indicate that it was a good idea.

So with the publicity campaigns of More Beauty, Less Beast (2012), Fear, Faith, and a Fistful of Chocolate (2013), and Too Loved to be Lost (2014), I continued to use the same publicist with pretty good results.

But lately, with the upcoming 2015 release of the Too Blessed to be Stressed Cookbook, I began to itch for something more in a publicity campaign. Something different. Something with a little more pizzazz. So began my publicist shopping expedition.

And here's where the real marketing lesson began.

I came up with a list of 15 publicity firms that are generally associated with Christian publishing. Not that they don't deal with secular markets as well, but primarily their clients are Christian authors of inspirational books. I began e-mailing queries, explaining briefly who I am, where I am on my writing journey, and where I'd like to end up, ending with, "Would you be interested in representing me?"

The first five responses were less than heart-warming. I was greeted with tepid enthusiasm and instructed to fill out a form. Afterward, they would get back to me. Maybe. When they had time. And Jupiter aligned with Uranus.

It reminded me of the oblivious store clerk chatting on her phone with a  friend when you're in a hurry to check out. She may or may not acknowledge your presence, then turns her back to you as if you're a pest and annoying inconvenience and continues gabbing away.

You feel:
1. Unwanted.
2. That your business is unappreciated.
3. You are unimportant, insignificant, and invisible.

The sixth query response, in contrast, launched fireworks lighting up my sky.

"I'm was so excited to receive your query yesterday," the warm-voiced gal gushed over the phone (she had requested an immediate phone conversation when she got my e-mail query). "Of course I've heard of you and I love your work. I love your brand. I love the concept of this cookbook and I've been bubbling over with ideas about how to market it to a wider secular audience as well as the Christian market."

Oh yeah? Well, I love you too, sister!

I suddenly felt:
1. Wanted.
2. That my business is valuable and greatly appreciated.
3. That I'm visible to this gal and she thinks she can make me visible to the rest of the world.

So who do you think I'm more inclined to hand over my hard-earned dollars to? I don't know if this self-marketing-savvy woman really did know my work before she received my query and perused my website, but because of her enthusiasm and the way she presented herself, it really doesn't matter to me. She knows me now, and she's willing to put her enthusiasm to work for me.

She knew that by selling herself to me, I would be buying the person behind the product, not just the product. That's POWERFUL marketing.

And if she can do it to me, she can do it for me.  

Something to remember in my own future self-marketing forays. And you too, author buddy.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

New Book Giveaway!

This is what I'm wearing to work on Valentine's Day
During this Valentine season, discover the kind of love that is never too lost or too late.

From Feb 1-14, register for the drawing to be held on Valentine's Day for 3 copies of my book about unconditional love, Too Loved to be Lost. 

I'm hosting a simultaneous giveaway on Goodreads so you actually have a dandy chance of winning a book one way or the other!

I hope you're feeling the love I'm sending your way and will take a moment and click HERE to register.  (If for some reason the link won't work, hop over to my website www.DeboraCoty.com and click on Too Love to be Lost giveaway under "contests").

Remember, Papa God loves us just the way we are - broken. But he also loves us enough not to leave us that way!  "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

Friday, January 23, 2015

Winning Isn't Everything But It Sure Is Something

If Adele can do it, so can you!
During a discussion about the importance of entering writing contests last night at my *local writer's meeting, a dignified, silver-haired fellow named Lou spoke up.

In all earnestness (and with a telltale twinkle in his eye), Lou posed the following scenario: "I won a chicken sandwich gift card in the **Fla Inspirational Writers Retreat story contest last fall; can I now call myself an award-winning author?"

The vote was unanimous: Absolutely!

So why is it such a big deal? Who really cares if you have that little phrase after your name ... award-winning author?

You care. And yes, it is a big deal.

That powerful little phrase is not only an eye-opener, it's a door-opener. When people - especially prospective publishers looking at your new manuscript, and perusing readers considering whether to invest precious hours of their time in your book - see that three-word-proof of the excellent quality of your work, they'll be changed by it. They'll suddenly see the words you've written through a lens of respect and high expectations. Your work has become elevated in their perception to that of other award-winners: Dickens, Fitzgerald, Patterson.

But even more importantly, your own standard is raised. You begin perceiving yourself as a real writer, and tackle your next project with a new confidence. A new level of professionalism. And it shows. Editors will notice. Readers will notice. Your work will improve and keep on improving. The sky's the limit!

So keep writing. Keep submitting. Keep entering contests. A chicken sandwich gift card is only the beginning, my friend! Your next award might be silver and shiny with your name engraved on it.



*If you live in the Tampa area, we'd love to have you join us for our monthly Brandon Christian Writers group. We're about 25 of the friendliest, encouraging, chocolate-loving folks you'll ever meet. All experience levels and genres of inspirational writing are represented: fiction, non-fiction, adult, YA, children's writers, humor, fantasy, women's books, devotionals, self-help ... you name it. More info, meeting time and location here:  https://brandonchristianwriters.wordpress.com/

**If you'd like to try your hand at winning your very own chicken sandwich (Chick-fil-a, YUM!), seriously consider attending the Fla Inspirational Writer's Retreat this year on Oct 3 in Lithia, Fl (I'm co-director). It's very affordable but scholarships are available if that's an issue for you. More info here: http://deboracoty.com/writing-workshops/florida-inspirational-writers-retreat/


Monday, January 12, 2015

New Adventures

Chasing the sunrise on an exciting adventure
The past week has been one chockfull of good news. This, of course, happens far too rarely, that I receive word even one exciting twist has torqued in my writing journey, much less two.

What a red letter week!

The first tiding of great joy was the official notification that my book, Fear, Faith, and a Fistful of Chocolate, won an Illumination Book Award for Exemplary Christian Books.

One response sums that up: Hallelujah!

The next splendid news was that there will be a Too Blessed to be Stressed 2016 Planner to follow the 2014 and 2015 planners already published. Yay, God! Yay, Barbour! Yay, editors with foresight! Now I have something positive to say to the fine folks who have been contacting me, frustrated that they missed out on the 2015 Planner that was sold out before the year ... hold tight! Another will be coming down the chute soon (early fall, I think), and this one will have lots of new encouragement and scriptures from my other books in the "Take On Life" series, as well as from Too Blessed to be Stressed. 

Oh, and one other tidbit that thrilled me to my socks, although it happened about two weeks before my red letter week. My editor informed me that Too Loved to be Lost, my newest book in the series, will be turned into a hardcover journal like the Too Blessed to be Stressed Journal that's now being carried by Cracker Barrel and Barnes and Noble.

I can't believe how popular journals are right now - I walked into a B & N the other day and was stunned to see three walls completely full of journals. Mama mia. I guess lots of people have lots of introspection to document. That's gotta be a good thing, right?

So I'm starting the new year in a purple haze of gratitude. I am so deeply thankful for these new writing adventures opening up before me and pray that I'll do Papa God proud for entrusting me with these unexpected blessings.

Thank you so much for allowing me to share my good news with you, dear writerly friend. And please feel free to reciprocate when you receive your own good news - Ill be more than happy to rejoice with you!