Spreading the Word

Promotion. A HUGE part of whether a book is successful or not. But there are so many options (endless ways you can spend your hard-earned money), what's a poor author to do?

Having tried lots of different things with my ten books, I've come to some conclusions about what does and doesn't work, what's worth the money, and what's not.

The first thing new authors need to realize is that it's going to cost money to promote your book. Oh, yes it is. There's no way around that unless you just hawk it to your relatives and be happy with your 75 total sales.

I recommend setting aside a minimum of $3,000 (hopefully this can come from your advance) as your promo fund. From this stash, I've found the most productive expenditures include good quality bookmarks sporting your cover, website and other titles (I use Printrunner online for beautiful, two-sided, glossy, full-color, relatively inexpensive bookmarks). These end up costing about a dime a piece and are your best way of advertising - hand them out liberally and offer them as "free gifts" at public events. People tend to keep them if they're good quality and will always have a reminder at their fingertips of your website and other books they might like to read. 

A full color brochure is also a must (again, Printrunner) if you're a speaker. I have print and online versions to fill all my advertising needs.

Book trailers are nice but have become somewhat mundane with everybody doing them, so my answer toward uniqueness has been to film a dozen 2-Minute Stress Busters to accompany the release of Too Blessed to be Stressed, which are posted on my website. Frequent reminders are posted on Twitter and Facebook, and go out in my quarterly e-newsletters.

Social media and e-communication are crucial these days. My e-newsletter contact list recently topped 3,000, largely due to a Kindle giveaway sweepstakes and blog tour organized by LitFuse, a publicity company I hired to handle my Too Blessed to be Stressed campaign. They've been outstanding in getting word of my new book out in cyberworld (tons of great reviews have racked up through the blog tour) and over 1,800 registered for the Kindle sweepstakes. It was engineered in a way to harvest all those e-dresses for my contact list. Brilliant!

These efforts have translated into 1,260 new visits to my FaceBook author page, and over 1,400 "likes" just since last month.

And even more exciting, Too Blessed to be Stressed hit #3 on the Amazon Bestseller List in the women/spirituality category. Way cool, don't you think?

A word of caution here: carefully check out the track record of the publicity company you're contemplating. I didn't with my previous book and the company I paid more than twice as much for (compared to LitFuse) did half as much and that not nearly as well. I felt like I had absolutely no control - like a victim instead of a client - and helplessly watched my precious money flush down the toilet.

LitFuse, on the other hand, came highly recommended by a writer buddy and offered a pick-and-choose services list from which I had total control of what my dollars would be used for. I opted for them to create and send out my press release to their extensive list of media contacts (from which numerous interview requests arrived), organize the 80-site blog tour which occurred over a 3-week time span, and advertise and run the Facebook Party.

These proved to be highly productive with minimal effort on my part.

One other promotional comment I just can't pass up: many new authors have idealized the traditional bookstore signing as the epitome of effective promotion. I've got news for you: it just ain't so. After dozens in multiple states over the last 5 years, I've concluded that it's not at all worth my time and energy to do a signing unless I'm in a location where I have a good sized fan base who I feel reasonably sure will turn out. It's totally embarrassing to have 6 people visit your book table, which is entirely possible if you're depending on store traffic alone.

During one signing, the only people who spoke to me were those asking where the restroom was.

At least I knew the right answer. But they looked at me kind of funny when I chased after them waving my book in one hand and a fistful of bookmarks in the other.

Hey, hungry authors do what they have to do.  

Achieving Success

In a recent blog post, literary agent Rachelle Gardner posed the intriguing question, "What's really more important to you, the money you receive for your work (writing), or the work itself?"

I don't know about you, but my first unbridled response was to throw my hands into the air and cry, "Tis but a moot point! Inspirational writers sometimes make enough money to cover ink, but not necessarily paper, too!"

But then I realized Rachelle wasn't really asking for stark realism here; she was asking about priorities.Would you rather pull in cold, hard cash, or would you settle for pauperhood if only your books and articles could be distributed to readers far and wide?

In other words, would you rather be rewarded for your writing, or would you rather people read your writing?

I suspect we'd all answer that question differently at different times in our writing journeys, but as a Christian writer - a writer who feels called to write by Papa God himself - how do we achieve success? What is the fuel in our tank? What keeps our Chevy on the road?


As I was pondering this conundrum, I came across an obscure but very enlightening Old Testament story in 2 Chronicles 25: 6-10. You really need to read the entire chapter to get the whole overview, but in a nutshell, Amaziah, King of Judah, went to a lot of trouble and expense putting together a foreign mercenary army to augment his own small army to fight his enemies. Then a prophet of God rebuked him, saying, "God is not on their side ... you go by yourself and be strong. God and God only has the power to help or hurt your cause" (verse 8, TM).

Then Amaziah, a cheapskate after my own heart, said, "But what about all this money I already paid out to hire these men?" (verse 9a, TM).

The unnamed prophet, in true wise prophetic form, shot back the zinger that zipped right into my gut like a fiery arrow: "The Lord can give you so much more than that" (verse 9b, NIV).

I can just see the prophet slowly shaking his bearded head, muttering under his breath Oh, c'mon, you dope. Don't you get it? We're talking about GOD here! And I have the distinct impression he was talking to me.


Why, of course He can give us so much more than we bargained for. And certainly more than we deserve. Somehow I'd forgotten that. The creator of the universe is not constrained by mere money. God and only God has the power to help or hurt our cause. Not brilliant marketing or New York Times bestseller lists, or how many interviews we can land on national TV.

Money may buy your new wardrobe and airline ticket for the Today show, it may enable you to hire J.K. Rowling's publicist to get your own Larry Porter novel into every child's bookbag in the free world, it may even pay for a printer that doesn't smear red ink across your book flyer.

But money has no power to make your book "succeed." No matter what you do or don't do. God and only God has that power.    

I remember a time a few years ago when royalties and advances were of utmost importance to me. I was just getting started in my writing career and truly needed capitol for day-to-day expenses, not only for practical items like postage to mail manuscripts (it wasn't all electronic back then) but also for promotional things like bookmarks, brochures, and editors (it's important to polish up that manuscript before submitting it and letting the publishing house editors to have their way with it). And then I blew a wad on a publicist who I felt did a half-hearted job. It seemed like a very pricey mistake. I shed hot tears as I watched the dollar signs fly out my window.


And let's not forget the traveling expenses that go along with book promotion and speaking events. Those are very often right out of the author's pocketbook. At least until you become well enough known that groups are asking you, rather than you begging them.

So I sought after paying gigs. I needed money. I wanted money to accomplish the promo I thought I needed. More money, then more yet. It never stops. There's always something else you can do to push, push, push your book out there. Always more reviewers, always bigger venues and more people to reach. I lived with a constant burning sensation in my belly that I wasn't doing enough ... I needed to do more, be more, find more ways to catch up with the really successful authors who were a household name.

Now, a few years, a few hard knocks, and a few smarts later, I'm willing to concede that my little army is enough. It may not be impressive to the world, but even without the expensive mercenaries, it'll be quite sufficient to fight my literary battles and win victory on the specific battlegrounds the Almighty has chosen for me.

How do I know?

Because the nameless prophet was right. Success is not achieved by buying a bigger army. God has already given me more than that.

Snag Your Board and Let's Boogie

I was chatting with my agent recently and he casually dropped a line that made me want to grab my pom poms and do a couple of cartwheels.

"So how's business?" says I.
Slight pause on the other end while I steel myself for more publishing-is-down-the-toilet news. Seems like that's all we hear lately from the media.
"Well actually ... it's great!" says he, sounding surprised to hear himself say it.
"Great? Did you say great?"
"Yes I did. Despite the doomsday predictions that print books are going the way of the leisure suit, sales are solid ... better than they've been in a long time. People are still writing books - good books - and publishers are still buying them."

Well ain't that just the best news you've heard today?  It seems that although e-books may well be "the tidal wave of the future," print books will continue to crest high enough to surf on. Especially as gifts. They haven't yet figured out a way to wrap up an e-book in a pretty bag with a festive bow to take to your Aunt Hilda in the hospital.

And this is a good thing. A very good thing.

So you just keep editing and tweaking and polishing that manuscript. Plan on it coming out in e-and print versions to float in all ebbs and flows of the publication sea. Perseverance will pay off.

These are some swell promotional and marketing ideas that have come across my frontal lobe recently (some proposed by other authors and agents via various and sundry articles, conversations and blogs):

1. Give away chapters or shorts - tease and entice readers with individual bites of your luscious pie.
2. Publish shorts (for 99 cents or less) in your genre through such as Smashwords to get your name/work into more hands (and hopefully readers will check out your other books as well).
3. Contests/giveaways on your website - advertise via Twitter and FaceBook to drive people to your website.
4. Offer a freebie for signing up for your newsletter on your website (I draw a free book winner quarterly from the names of those signing up on mine).
5. Offer bonus material (downloadable from your website) in your books or articles - something educational, useful or entertaining that's related to your topic, such as updated material, teleseminars, videos, or audio instructional materials, games, contests, a prequel or sequel featuring characters from your book, and related books you'd recommend (not necessarily yours).

So grab your surfboard and hang ten, dude!

New Yorker's Take on Book Promotion

My friend, Jeannette, passed this "New Yorker" magazine spoof on book promotion to me. Writers will find this article particularly amusing!




Hi, Ellis—

Let me introduce myself. My name is Gineen Klein, and I’ve been brought on as an intern to replace the promotion department here at Propensity Books. First, let me say that I absolutely love “Clancy the Doofus Beagle: A Love Story” and have some excellent ideas for promotion.

To start: Do you blog? If not, get in touch with Kris and Christopher from our online department, although at this point I think only Christopher is left. I’ll be out of the office from tomorrow until Monday, but when I get back I’ll ask him if he spoke to you. We use CopyBuoy via Hoster Broaster, because it streams really easily into a Plaxo/LinkedIn yak-fest meld. When you register, click “Endless,” and under “Contacts” just list everyone you’ve ever met. It would be great if you could post at least six hundred words every day until further notice.

If you already have a blog, make sure you spray-feed your URL in niblets open-face to the skein. We like Reddit bites (they’re better than Delicious), because they max out the wiki snarls of RSS feeds, which means less jamming at the Google scaffold. Then just Digg your uploads in a viral spiral to your social networks via an FB/MS interlink torrent. You may have gotten the blast e-mail from Jason Zepp, your acquiring editor, saying that people who do this sort of thing will go to Hell, but just ignore it.

The vi-spi is cross-platform, but don’t worry if you think you’re not on Facebook, because you actually are. Jason enrolled you when you signed the contract last year, or at least he was supposed to, and he told Sarah Williams he did before he had to retire and Sarah left for nursing school. You currently have 421 Friends, 17 Pending Requests, 8 Pokes, 5 Winks, and 3 Proposals of “Marriage.”

I’ve attached a list of celebrities we think would be great to blurb your book, so find out their numbers and call them up. Be sure to do all this by Monday, because Sales Conference starts Tuesday. We come back Friday and then immediately on Saturday (!) all of editorial (Janet, plus probably Michelle, her assistant) and I go to the Frankfurt Book Fair for a week. During that time the office will be closed, although to help cover the costs of the Germany trip it will actually be sublet to the John Lindsay Elementary School P.T.A. as a rehearsal space for this year’s fund-raiser production of “The Music Man.” I’m told that this was one of the things that Jason didn’t understand and which contributed to his “condition.”

Once we get back from Frankfurt, we’d like to see you on morning talk shows like the “Today” show and “The View,” so please get yourself booked on them and keep us “in the loop.” If I’m not here—which I won’t be, since after the book fair I go on vacation for two weeks—just tell Jenni, my assistant, when she gets back from jury duty.

Remember in your blog to tabskim your readers’ comments. You can use Twitter, Chitt-chaTT, or Nit-Pickr. When you reply to comments, try to post at least one photo per hour of you doing everyday tasks around the house, such as answering comments and posting photos. Please make sure they’re pre-scorched. Let me know, when I get back from Retreat a week after my vacation, if self-surging is a problem.

As re: personal appearances, to cut down on travel expenses we’re trying something new this season called RAP, or Readings by Author by Proxy. We’re asking authors in certain key areas of the country to stay “close to home” and give readings at local bookstores of both their own books and a few of our other new releases. We can send you a list of bookstores in your area once you fill out the My Local Bookstores list on your Author’s Questionnaire. You’ll be reading not only from your book but from “Code Blue Stat,” a new medical thriller we’re really excited about, and “Fifty Great Pan Sauces,” a cool new cookbook. Their authors, Dr. Steven Rosenthal and Gail Freenye, will stay in Chicago and Boston, respectively, and read from each other’s book and yours. This idea, apparently, is what made Jason take his clothes off and lock himself in a supply closet.

F.Y.I., we’ve migrated all the photos out of your book and onto the Web page. It makes the hard-copy version cheaper to produce (fewer pages; no photos) and the e-text more “Kindle-friendly.” Sometime next week, call Christopher over an ISDN line and say your name, as distinctly as possible, at least two hundred times, so we can dub it as an AudioAutograph onto the podcast edition. (You may already have done this for a previous book, but somehow Jason managed to delete all the audio files before Security escorted him from the building.)

Don’t hesitate to try to contact me if you have any questions. I sort of have my hands full, promoting twenty-three new releases this fall, but I’m really excited about working on your book, and I look forward to collaborating with you to make “A History of Moorish Architecture, 1200-1492” the biggest success it can be.



Best regards,

Gineen Klein ♦

Source: The New Yorker

The good, the bad, and the insane.

It was a week of near disasters and glorious victories. Pits and peaks Mountain tops and sink holes. Typical writers' terrain.

Pit: After driving 4 hours to speak to a writer's group, I noticed the sky was getting ominously dark. Three miles from the venue, the torrents broke loose. With nowhere to park near the appointed building, I was forced to run through the downpour with my dinner plate-sized umbrella (which the wind turned inside out almost immediately) in my dry clean only suit and heels.

The wide expanse of parking lot? Well, to quote a famous title, a river ran through it.

As I traversed the first ankle-deep puddle, I watched helplessly as my box of books perched atop the wheeled suitcase carrying my presentation materials tipped - in slow motion - and descended to the wet earth. My books, my precious slaved-over, paid-for books that could not be returned, scattered far and wide as the deluge did it's best to ruin as many as possible.

At least my tears blended in with the rain and tendrils of hair dripping down my face.

Only 5 people braved the elements to attend.

Peak: Two days later, my hometown Tea Tasting/Book Signing at a lovely Tea Room was a smashing success. sunny skies, gorgeous surroundings, lots of old friends to hug, a delicious lunch, and more than 80 books sold.

Pit: My long anticipated first nationally broadcast interview on NBC was preempted by a dog food commercial. After notifying hundreds of local fans to tune in or tape the Daytime show on our local affiliate, WFLA, Spouse and I watched with bated breath for the entire hour and . . . no Mom Needs Chocolate interview. So deflating.

Frantic calls to my publicist followed, then her queries to the show's producer. What happened?

It turns out the segment containing my spot was sold to an advertiser (money, of course, trumps everything else) locally, so the interview aired all over the rest of the country, just not on our Tampa affiliate. Most embarrassing for me and difficult to explain to the fine folks who came home from work, flipped on the recorded show, and watched the whole hour expecting to see me. I was bummed all day.

Peak: A wonderful hour-long radio interview with WMMK Talk Radio. Yay! Redemption!

Pit: My agent isn't crazy about the title or content of the new book I've been slaving over.

Peak: But he wants it anyway. By the end of the week. Yikes!

So there you have it - a typical week in the life of a writer. The good, the bad, and the insane.

A Writer's Journey Continued

Marketing. A single word that encompasses a boatload of time, energy, and yes, expense.

In these days of rampant self-publishing, I'm amazed at the number of new authors I meet who truly believe the hard work is over once the manuscript is bundled off to the printer and now it's Easy Street. Sit back and watch the sales roll in.

Many writers enter Publishing World without a clue to the vast occupation that awaits them once their book sees the light of print: phone calls, e-mails, creating brochures and flyers, business cards, establishing and maintaining a web site, blogs, visiting book stores, pitching to reviewers and media to name a few tasks.

That is, of course, if you plan to sell more than the average 75 copies self-published books chalk up.

The key to a successful book launch is to do your homework. Talk to other authors, research what works and what doesn't, visit how-to sites and author/agent blogs, ask questions, listen and implement. Establish a marketing plan and stick to it, revising along the way as necessary.

Working your day job is no excuse. If your book is important to you, you'll make it a priority with whatever time you have. Take me for example. During the four years since my first book came out, I've worked two to three days a week as an orthopedic occupational therapist and until last year, also taught piano lessons.

Last night I met the producer of the audio version of my book, The Distant Shore, and spent two hours recording original piano music to be used for credit and chapter lead-ins. I just labored for three days to mail 200 brochures to churches regarding my Grace Notes speaking ministry and two new inspirational releases, Mom Needs Chocolate (Regal) and Everyday Hope (Barbour). I'm awaiting a call from an Atlanta radio station for an interview this morning, and will leave tomorrow for north Florida to speak to a writer's group in Jacksonville Thursday night and attend a Tea Tasting & Book Signing at the Strawberry Tea Room in Starke on Saturday.

These events didn't magically happen. They are the the culmination of months of phone calls, e-mails, mailings, personal contacts - just plain hard work.

So if you're one of the brand spanking new authors who approaches me, gushing with expectations of awards, accolades and offers about to descend upon you, please forgive my bland smile. It's the smile of the tired, sweaty gardener who knows a beautiful rose garden doesn't just magically happen.

A Writer's Journey Continued

Publicity and promotion are a big part of marketing a new book. Writing the thing is just the first step. Then comes rewriting and editing, editing, and more editing. Finally the finished product rolls off the press. Now what?

The best book in the world won't sell unless people know about it.

So most new authors assault Media World: newspapers (send press releases and query for articles), online reviews (very important but don't expect 100% five-star reviews; there may be a dud now and then), radio (register local book events on community calendars and query guest spots/interviews), blog tours (often professionally arranged; online tours have pretty much replaced live bookstore tours due to expenses involved), bookstore visits (to introduce your book personally to managers and establish relationships so when they see your future books in catalogs, they'll jump to buy them), and even television (query local or related-genre talk shows for interviews).

Public Relations (PR) firms may be hired to carry the bulk of obtaining publicity, but they tend to be pricey (average $5k for a 6-month contract). Traditional publishing houses may assign an in-house PR representative to help get word out, but with departments tightening their belts these days, it's generally up to the author to network and beat the bushes for publicity opportunities.

Doesn't leave much time for writing the NEXT book, which everyone asks about, but 3-4 months of concentrated marketing surrounding the release of a new book is an expected part of the publishing process.

Since the release of Mom Needs Chocolate in April (three months ago), I've been featured in eight newspaper pieces, done two TV interviews and six radio interviews (most were arranged by my publicist). Each of these required sending a press kit (including copies of MNC, a bio, suggested talking points for interviews and other items of interest about the author/book topic) and some also requested book trailers or CD's/DVD's (I'm a speaker, so I sent a 3-minute DVD sample of a speaking event along with a MNC book trailer).

Radio and podcast interviews are usually done by phone, and can last anywhere from 3 to 60 minutes (they tell you ahead of time). I've done two in-studio radio broadcasts, which I find a bit stressful but nevertheless fun. Being able to observe the production process of both radio and television is quite entertaining and educational.

My first blog tour is coming up June 29, when 30 bloggers and book reviewers will post reviews of Mom Needs Chocolate. The point is to generate buzz about the book so that readers will check out my website www.DeboraCoty.com and/or purchase my book. Naturally, copies of MNC are mailed to each participant ahead of time.

They won't have an opinion about your book unless they've read it.

Sounds like a lot of free copies, doesn't it? Yup - it feels like it, too but an author must understand that an average of 50 give-away books is necessary to garner even modest media attention. Traditional publishing houses will furnish most if not all of these promo books, but small press and self-published authors have to dig deep to cough them up from their own pocketbooks at an average cost of $5 to $7 each copy.

I heard that gulp. I feel your pain. Been there, done that with my first three small press books. I'm cheap by nature and each promo book I gave away scorched my guts. That's why knowing ahead of time and creating a budget are so important (nobody warned me before my first book; that's why I'm informing you!).

Of course you can choose NOT to send out promo books and you and your mother can enjoy the distinction of each being 50% of your total sales. But to give that dead horse one last whack, in order for people to buy books, they have to know about them - and what better way than through tried and true media outlets?

I'd be happy to answer questions or give you a sympathetic hug via the e-dress at my website above. (Did you catch that? Another marketing tip: Keep sending people to your website so they can learn about all your wonderful books that they just can't live without but don't know it yet.)

Keep breathing!

Exceeding Abundantly Beyond!

It's been an amazing week!

Papa God never ceases to drop me in my tracks by the way he prepares the details of our lives and touches us with those awesome grace notes of His. Case in point: Four, count 'em, FOUR articles appeared in different local newspapers last week about the release of Mom Needs Chocolate and my Saturday LifeWay Choc-Tastic Book Signing.

Coincidence? Not a chance. Although I had prayed ceaselessly about this all-important debut of my new book, and queried all forms of media about coverage (like a good little author should), I had no way of knowing they'd all come through in clutch...during the same week! God, however, proved once again that He is in control and is definitely a clutch player.

As a result, the turnout was fantastic and more than 100 books were sold. The manager danced a gleeful jig and the ulcer I had been nurturing over the whole thing during the three previous weeks suddenly chilled out.

My new mantra was reinforced BIG time: "To Him who is able to do EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY BEYOND all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory...forever and ever. Amen." (Eph. 3:20, NAS)

5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

Well, this is my big week! Mother's Day is, of course, prime time for my new release, Mom Needs Chocolate, and we're in the final countdown.

But before I say anything further, I want to stop right here and put in a sincere plug for Suzanne Fisher's new book, For the Love of Dogs. I've just finished reading it for the second time, and it just gets better every sitting. The characters spring to life and you find yourself feeling their elation, victories, frustrations and grief. I've learned sooo much about guide dogs and the day-to-day challenges faced by the visually impaired that I never knew existed. So if you haven't yet ordered your copy from Amazon.com, do it this very day!

As for my own writing journey, during the last three weeks, I've lived through three large speaking events, four Choc-OUT Parties (privately hosted parties featuring Mom Needs Chocolate, a chocolate fountain, chick chat, and lots of sweet treats), one television interview, five phone interviews (radio and newspaper reporters) and still have three Choc-OUT's, one radio interview, and a LifeWay Choc-Tastic book Signing yet to come before Mother's Day.

And a partridge in a pear tree!

It's been fun but hectic. I ran out of books (had to run to Family Christian and LifeWay to buy my own books for two events), was slammed with a nasty migraine (complete with nausea and vomiting) right in the middle of a live radio interview, and accidentally left a bushel of chocolate bars in my scalding car while I was at work (yep - still working as a hand therapist two days a week).

I'm planning to drape across a hammock and stare with glazed eyes at the fluffy white clouds drifting by when it's all over. Happy Mother's Day to me!

So what project are YOU working on? Do you have a game plan? Have you set production deadlines? That's essential, you know.

Just yesterday I set August as my deadline for completing the first draft of my next, as yet title-less book. You have to take the first step, regardless of all the busy circumstances that surround you (which will ALWAYS be there), and keep taking a new step every day, no matter what. That's the only way to reach your final destination.

So fellow writing sojourner, let's keep plodding away together, and the journey won't seem so hard.

A Writer's Journey Continued

Is it Wednesday again already?

This week, no, this month has been a blur. So far I've spoken to a book club and women's organization, taught four Young Writer Workshops and an adult writing workshop, and had two book Choc-Tastic bookstore signings for Mom Needs Chocolate. Tomorrow night I'll be hosting a Tea Tasting and Book Event at a lovely English tea room.

So when do I write?

Not as much as I'd like, I'm afraid. Such is the sadistic irony. When a writer gets on a roll, there's no time to write. I keep telling myself it's a good problem to have.

But that's hard to remember when I only have five minutes here or ten minutes there to devote to cleaning up a half-finished chapter. I stare at my first draft, in which I basically regurgitated every non-sequitur thought in my head, and just start to make a little serious editing headway when...DING! Time's up! Run to the car. You're late again.

Okay. No more grousing. I need an attitude make-over. I know. I'll meditate on my favorite scripture from the author of life: To Him who is able to do EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY BEYOND all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to HIM be the glory...forever and ever. Amen (Eph. 3:20, NAS).

Ah...now that jambalaya chapter is beginning to feel like a blessing instead of a blowout.

Attack of the Slug Beast

Well, I lived through the dreaded radio interview this morning and the twisted knot that is my stomach is starting to unwind.

I shared with you last week about my radio phobia but my publicist doesn't seem to comprehend the magnitude of my psychosis and has scheduled yet another one for tomorrow with Reach FM (90 stations in Florida). Sigh.

I know. You're sitting there in your nice safe computer chair thinking, "Oh, get over yourself." You see? Now my psychosis is morphing into paranoia.

Actually, the two radio interviews I've done so far haven't been as bad as I anticipated. The anticipation is always worse than the actual thing we're dreading, isn't it? Except maybe an execution.

This morning a lovely lady named Takiela (pronounced like the drink)from Books-A-Latte (www.Booksalatte.com if you'd like to hear the taped interview) called me about five minutes before the scheduled Podcast. We introduced ourselves and she put me on hold while she got connected to her broadcast equipment. Within about two minutes, I heard a click and then her theme music and intro. I resisted the temptation to flee. Then she introduced her special guest, me.

Boy did I feel un-special as the sweat beaded on my forehead and my dripping armpits glued my Dumbo-flap upper arm cellulite to my sides. My tongue felt about the size of that gigantic underground killer slug beast in "Tremors." Once I forgot Takiela's name and started to call her Margarita, but managed to bite the slug beast before it got all the way above ground.

Anyhow, Takiela began asking me the questions I had previously provided to my publicist, who had in turn, e-mailed these "talking points" to the host. This is how radio and TV interviews work so everyone supposedly knows what everyone else is going to say and long awkward silences are therefore avoided.

Since my brain has been leaking essential information like a sieve lately, I had somehow forgotten to have my "script" available so I ended up winging the answers off the top of my head. Thankfully, Takiela was a gracious host and did not once hint that I wasn't making any sense or repeating myself. We actually had a few genuine laughs together and bonded over our mutually pathetic choc-addictions (the book we were discussing was my upcoming March release, Mom Needs Chocolate).

I vow to be better prepared for tomorrow's interview. Yeah, right.

A Writers Journey Continued

My publicist confirmed a live radio Podcast interview today. Shudder. Am I the only author who grows faint at the mere suggestion of hearing my faceless voice broadcast far and wide? Definitely NOT my best feature. Almost as bad as showing a close up of my thigh cellulite on "Impossible Make-Over."

Somehow I don't mind TV interviews as much, maybe because I feel that I can redeem my reedy, piercing, Southern-hick voice with a few well placed facial expressions. But there is no hope when the listener mentally constructs the rest of me based on my voice alone. Think Bullwinkle's Rocky meets Dolly Parton. Squeak with a twang.

My publicist has been really busy this week. Besides the Podcast, she also lined up a Choc-tastic Book Signing at my local LifeWay (my book is "Mom Needs Chocolate") and two other pending radio interviews. Fool that I am, when I heard that one of the stations was in Orlando, an hour away, without thinking, I actually OFFERED to drop by the studio and BAM! One of them went from a taped interview to live.

Anyone got any extra duct tape?

Promo is certainly keeping me hopping, and that's a good thing. I spoke at a Pen Women luncheon today and have four more gigs lined up for this week - three schools and a writers group. The good news is that they're all at Cocoa Beach/Merritt Island (the setting for my novels, "The Distant Shore" and "Billowing Sails"). The bad news is that it's supposed to be 34 degrees and windy. Bother. Guess I'll leave my bikini at home (as if I have one).

Speaking of bikini's, I casually mentioned during my writing speech today that I'd lost 40 lbs during the last year. When I opened the floor for questions later, three hands immediately shot up, all wanting to know how I lost weight. No weighty writing queries, no, only weighty weighty questions. I don't know if anybody heard a single thing I said after the weight comment. I wondered why they were all staring at my derriere.

Maybe my next book should be about weight loss. Not a bad idea, really, when you look at the gazillion media ads/articles/product pitches about that very thing. It's what people like to read and fantasize about, including me. Whereas I once wrote an article about my jumbo anatomy called, "My Cups Runneth Over," I could call my new book, "My Cups Caveth In." That was the first thing(s) to go. My heaping C-cups turned into scant teaspoons.

Okay, I'll stop lest our male readers are blushing about now.

So do I have a point to this rambling diatribe? Um, no. But it sure was fun.

This Writer's Journey (continued)

As we all know, promotion is the key to "success" in the publishing biz. You may write the best book in all the universe but no one will read it if they don't know about it.

So this week, my main focus has once again been on promo of my recently released novel, Billowing Sails, and upcoming humorous non-fiction book (March release date) Mom Needs Chocolate. Since BS is a YA novel and my target audience is not only women (same as MNC) but teens as well, my promo approach is a little different.

For the past three months, I've been contacting every bookstore, library, middle and high school principal and English teacher I can find to pitch my Young Writers Workshop, a program I developed in conjunction with The Distant Shore, prequel to BS. Both books come with an affiliated writing instructional mini-course (excellent for adult writing groups as well) that I've been able to use as my "hook" to interest many diverse groups. I'm invited to speak, and BINGO - book sales!

I also developed an hour-long writers mini-workshop, "So You Want to be a Writer..." which is the hook that has served to draw nice crowds at bookstores. Unless you're named Dungy or Rowling, bookstore signings are considered a waste of time these days without some kind of hook to entice people to come. If you're only there to sign books, you end up feeling like a hawker at the county fair, desperately trying to woo people over to your table as they rush by. Demeaning and not much fun.

So Saturday I had a successful mini-workshop/signing at my local Christian bookstore, and depart tomorrow to lead two workshops over the weekend at a the Space Coast Writers Conference in Cocoa Beach. Yes, beach. Beaches are good!

Yesterday I received two more inquiries about Young Writers Workshops and now have twelve scheduled for the next five weeks, including four in the same day at one school, and four different schools in the same area (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) for the Friday and Monday I'm planning on spending the weekend with friends in Melbourne. For authors, it always pays to mix business with pleasure!

I also spent time yesterday exploring a delightful campground that my local writer buddy and I have decided to book for our full day November 14 writing workshop: Florida Inspirational Writers Retreat. The lodge where we'll meet overlooks the picturesque Alafia River peacefully winding through the wooded 100 acre property - perfect for a writer's retreat!

One last promo tidbit - keep fresh stuff flowing on your website to entice people to keep coming back. I just added a hilarious chocolate video on my Choc-Out page at www.DeboraCoty.com in association with Mom Needs Chocolate. It's a fantastic parody of Kelly Clarkson's, "Because of You," and tickles the chocolate bone in all of us. If you need a smile, check it out!

A Writers Journey Continued

Hi Writerly Friends,

A little more this week in my Wednesday (oops, is it Thursday already?) series on my author journey. As I mentioned last week in my blog on promotion, the big promo beast is what eats up most of a writer's time.

I've been trying to get back to my woman's humor book in the works (working title: Chocolate for the Soul; My Soul Has Had Enough Chicken Soup, Thank You) but instead I find my attention snagged by the pile of promotional correspondence on my desk.

I received the excellent news this week that my December release, Billowing Sails, has been shipped and should arrive on 12/15/08 as promised. Praise God! (And I really mean that from the bottom of my heart - timely delivery was definitely a grace notes miracle with all the obstacles God had to overcome to get it here in time for Christmas).

So I shot an e-mail to the 100 or so local recipients of my e-newsletter (to sign up, and I truly hope you do, please visit www.DeboraCoty.com)offering a Christmas special including hand delivery of a signed copy for $4 off the retail price. To my surprise, I was inundated with responses and am now organizing a delivery schedule (no small task for organizationally challenged me)for the week before Christmas.

On top of that, I received the first round of final edits from the publisher of Mom Needs Chocolate (slated for release 3/09 by Regal) with a due date of 12/29/09. ARRGGHH! Don't these people realize it's Christmas? Cookies to bake, gifts to wrap, carols to sing, book to deliver...

Christmas or not, I must now work through the entire e-manuscript and address the editor's notes and suggestions (e.g. "Flesh out this paragraph a bit more" or "Can you come up with another anecdote to make this point?". After making my alterations (you don't have to take ALL the editor's suggestions, but it's wise to pick your battles and follow their wise and more experienced judgment unless it's something you feel VERY strongly about)I return the manuscript (now in book form) and wait a few weeks for her to return it back to me for round two.

It's like an electronic ping pong game but instead of a ball we use a book.

There may be as many as four rounds of edits depending on the publisher. This is my first book with Regal, so I don't really know what to expect. My previous books have had 2-3 final editing rounds. At long last, you receive the ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) or galley, which is a mock-up of the finalized product before it goes to the printer. This is the copy that is often sent to reviewers for the endorsements (also called blurbs) that you see on back covers or inside front covers.

Having been forewarned that my original 240-page manuscript would have to be shortened to 200 pages (it will be a hard cover book), I was pleased to see in the final book form that none of my chapters had been omitted, but the formatting was revised to combine some of the funny quotes and scripture to keep the entire manuscript intact.

Hooray for clever editors!

Must go now. Lots of editing to do and miles to go before I sleep! Stay tuned for more on my writer's journey next Wednesday.

God bless, Deb C.