Fiction Marketing: Using Blogging to Promote Your Novel, Memoir, Poetry or Stories

FictionMarketing.com has just been launched as an experiment in using a website in conjunction with a nonfiction book proposal to attract an agent for the proposed book project. The book itself -- Marketing Your Fiction: Effective (and Frugal!) Ways to Promote Even the Hard-to-Sell Genres -- is a how-to book for writers of all types of fiction.

My younger daughter Yael built the site through our company business www.CalltoActionWebsites.com -- and my co-author of the book project, Carolyn Howard-Johnson, and I are very pleased with the site.

We're giving away a copy of the book's blogging chapter to help people who are considering starting their own blogs. I wish I'd had this chapter when I started my blogs. And Carolyn has quite a few blogs of her own. So we wrote the chapter with the information that we would have liked to have.

Visit the site now. We've just posted on the blog section an edited transcript of the tweetchat we did on Twitter yesterday evening on writing book proposals. (Carolyn sells on Amazon a 49 cents report on writing book proposals.)

And let me know what you think of the site and the concept.
___

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at Mrs. Lieutenant and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.

Internet Phobia: What Behavior Are Parents Modeling for Their Children?

The internet and all the myriad possibilities that accompany it are here to stay. So why do many adults think it is a badge of pride to declare "I don't do anything on the internet"?

This week I sat in the waiting room of a doctor's office explaining Twitter to a 15-year-old boy who liked my Google phone on which I was checking my Twitter account.

Out of one ear I could hear the boy's father proudly declaring to another waiting room patient how he has nothing to do with the internet and how he thinks the internet is ruining his kids' abilities to do whatever (I missed that part of the conversation).

Later I thought about what teens are learning to do and what they aren't learning to do. And I realized that Twitter actually is a very good teaching tool for learning how to write brief and to-the-point messages.

I actually revise my 140-character tweets more carefully than I revise my blog posts because those 140 characters are out there for anyone to see. Plus the message is short enough that many people actually read my tweets.

And another thing about that overheard parental conversation. What kind of behavior modeling are parents doing when they announce they've closed their minds to learning new technology?

Thus when a teen announces she's not going to undertake a new activity being pressed upon her by a parent, what "coinage" does that parent have to insist she be willing to at least try?

This last year I've spent learning internet marketing has been incredibly worthwhile -- and, yes, incredibly frustrating also when I don't immediately "get" something. But the rewards of learning new information -- of eventually "getting" a new concept -- far outweigh the frustration.

If you're one of those parents going around "bragging" that you don't use the internet, perhaps you should look at yourself in the mirror and smile -- and then ask your teen to be your guide in cyberspace.
___

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at Mrs. Lieutenant and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.

Twitter Featured in The Wall Street Journal

Twitter -- the micro-blogging platform of 140 characters or less and which I have often blogged about -- is getting more and more media attention.

In the March 7th Wall Street Journal, reporter Julia Angwin (@juliaangwin on Twitter) shares her tale of starting on Twitter. You can read her article now as an introduction to Twitter if I haven't already convinced you to join this free social media site.

And if you do join, follow me at @ZimblerMiller.
_____

Phyllis Zimbler Miller is the author of MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL and the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION. She also blogs at Mrs. Lieutenant and Operation Support Jews in the Military, and she is the co-host of the BlogTalkRadio show Your Military Life. Her company Miller Mosaic LLC builds call-to-action websites for book authors and small businesses.

Internet Marketing: Going from the Horse and Buggy to a Horseless Carriage

Internet marketing is a subject I don't usually deal with in this blog. But in the last few days I've been running up against closed mindset attitudes about this very effective marketing strategy. So I want to share some thoughts with you about the need for an open mindset about marketing in cyberspace.

Websites and web marketing have changed dramatically in the last five years, with many new applications that weren’t available then. Websites today take their cues from successful blogs, which have everything up front and immediate – no waiting for flash intros or welcome pages with a few words on a series of screens.

If people don’t like what they see instantly, they are out of there and on to the next website.

Open mind marketing rule #1: Don’t make the mistake of thinking that what was true for the internet five years ago is true today.

Don’t assume that your website from five years ago is “good enough.” Take the time and effort to find out what’s new and what’s effective in the internet marketing world of today. Don’t drive a horse and buggy when there’s a horseless carriage available.

Open mind marketing rule #2: Don’t follow every piece of advice so that you are running around in circles without making any progress.

Understand that some advice is better than others, and that not every piece of advice fits every situation. Take your time to evaluate the information you’re learning and consider what makes sense for your particular marketing project, your own available promotion time, and your strengths and weaknesses.

For example, the social networking site Twitter can be an excellent marketing tool if your personality fits the Twitter modus operandi. But there are people who get easily frustrated with trying to stay on top of various conversation threads. If you’re one of these people, utilize a social networking site that better suits your personality.

Open marketing rule #3: Be flexible. If something doesn’t work for you, be willing to admit defeat and move on to another tactic.

Just because many internet marketers say that Facebook is a great place to create relationships, if using Facebook isn’t helping you with your marketing, admit this and switch to trying something else (although don’t get rid of your Facebook account).

Of course, you can’t give up after only a few days. All of the social networking sites take time and effort to utilize them effectively. But if you’ve given Facebook several months of effort, you should probably consider finding a better site for you to connect with potential customers.

In conclusion, if you want to pave the way for a successful online marketing campaign, you must be in it for the long haul with an open mind – ready to learn new things, try new things, evaluate advice, and be flexible.

And if you want to read an excellent book about having an open mindset, read Carol Dweck's MINDSET: The New Psychology of Success.

Ageism: Rearing Its Ugly Head in the World of Computers and the Web

Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know that for weeks I’ve been doing posts about do-gooder projects and I haven’t had a Scrooge post in quite a while. So be warned – today I’ve switched to my Scrooge hat.

This weekend I attended a conference at which I presented about my project Operation Support Jews in the Military. At the beginning of the conference when I couldn’t write down any information, a young woman told me she had two friends planning to be Jewish chaplains in the military. I gave her my card and requested that she contact her friends to email me.

Two days later I saw her at a time when I could write down emails. I asked if she knew her friends emails and I would contact them. (I know several simple email addresses by memory if I happen to use them frequently. I thought these two people might be good friends with whom she frequently emailed.)

She looked at me, then launched into an explanation about how she and her friends don’t use manual address books (as if I do!) and instead they keep all their info on computers (and thus she didn’t have the info).

I admit to rage coursing through me. How dare she assume that I’m computer illiterate and still use a handwritten address book! She knew nothing about me, but felt confident in her opinion that, because of my grey hair, she could patiently explain the new computer world to me.

Now I also admit I’m feeling somewhat guilty for how furious I got. And, I admit, I muttered partly to myself, “I’m sure I’m more advanced on the internet than you are.” (She didn’t seem to hear.)

In analyzing why I got so furious, I have concluded it is because this is my first experience of face-to-face ageism. Perhaps some people online think this about me (my photo with my grey hair appears with all my social networking profiles), yet no one says anything to me. And if they engage with me online they soon learn that I am very advanced in my use of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogging, etc.

This weekend at the conference the Hasidic reggae performer Matisyahu performed at the conference. Before he sang the first number he announced that he was on Twitter. That evening I “followed” Matisyahu on Twitter, and the next day he “followed” me back.

Last night when I watched the most recent episode of the TV show NUMB3RS (from Friday night) there was a minor subplot of Charlie’s father starting on Facebook. I applauded this minor subplot showcasing that more and more “older” people are getting on this social network.

Now I’m finished with this rant – the first in a long time on this blog – and I hope this post helps young people understand that they should NOT assume older people are not computer and internet savvy. If anything, older people may have social networking strategies to share with young people.

Want to ask me questions about Twitter?

Twitter Communities Around the World on February 12th Sponsoring Clean Water

Here's what this amazing worldwide event is about:

Tweet. Meet. Give.

On 12 February 2009 175+ cities around the world will be hosting Twestivals which bring together Twitter communities for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water.

charity: water is a non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations by funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need.

Join us by:

* Attending one of the events detailed on the city sites listed on this page.
* Uploading or buying music at Twestival.fm.
* Taking part in the t-shirt design competition.
* Donating to charity: water.

The Twestival is organized 100% by volunteers in cities around the world and 100% of the money raised from these events will go directly to support charity: water projects.

Read the rest of this amazing story and take part in whatever way you can. I've bought tickets for the LA event. Tweet me at @ZimblerMiller if you're going to be there too.

I’ve Seen the Future of Banking and (I Hope) It Works

I found the December 17th Wall Street Journal article “Putting Your Money Where Your Mouse Is” by Joseph De Avila very interesting. The article described numerous online financial initiatives, including ones designed to help young people manage their money better.

As someone who wrote a “Money Matters” newspaper column in the ‘70s in Philadelphia, I found these new initiatives incredibly encouraging. I have always thought that basic money management should be a required course in every high school. How else do we expect people to learn about financial matters?

And I particularly enjoyed reading in the article that two of the companies discussed use Twitter to connect with their social media “communities.” I immediately went on my Twitter account and started following @Wachovia and @SmartyPig to watch how well they use Twitter to respond to questions.

Read the article and then check out some of the sites to recommend to people you know who could use this online financial assistance.

Twitter: Using This Social Media Platform for Business

Someone whom I met on LinkedIn asked me how I use Twitter for business. I answered her in an email, and then she and I both realized I'd written a blog post.

Below is my answer to her. And I hope that, if you haven't signed up for Twitter before, you will now. And if you do, be sure to follow me -- I'm @ZimblerMiller on Twitter -- and let me know you signed up for Twitter after reading this blog post.

The trick on Twitter is two-fold:

To follow people who can help you learn more for your own business.

To follow people with whom you can have a conversation about services you offer (but not blatantly).

I use Tweetbeep.com but there are other similar aps -- it's like Google Alerts for Twitter. I get every tweet about book marketing -- then I check out the people, see who they are, and if I think that I can learn from them or they can learn from me, I follow them. (I don't automatically follow back people who follow me.)

Because of my interests, I've become joint venture partners with people on Twitter who have similar interests. @MailOurMilitary and @NancyMK and I did a fundraising campaign this summer for Operation Soldier Care on Twitter, Facebook and our three blogs plus some other sites.

You start engaging -- giving valuable info and links to valuable info (not necessarily your own) plus you can use Twitterfeed.com as I do to automatically have links to my new blog posts go on my Twitter account. I also post articles on Ezinearticles.com, which now has an automatic option that posts links to these new articles on my Twitter account when the articles are approved.

I'm visible -- trying to help people as they try to help me. It's a wonderful exchange of business ideas.

Perry Belcher Explains Social Media for Business Purposes

Christina Hills' Shopping Cart Queen blog had a great YouTube video by Perry Belcher explaining social media such as Twitter and Facebook in the context of business opportunities. The video is a deceptively simple explanation -- and one that's definitely worth the 10 minutes' running time. Enjoy!

Marketing Books: Introducing Queens of Book Marketing

When my book MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL came out in April, I knew nothing about how today's internet -- known as Web 2.0 -- could be utilized to market my book. My first published book, the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION co-written with Rabbi Karen L. Fox, had been published in 1992. I would soon learn that 1992 was the Stone Age in terms of modern book marketing.

And I would also soon learn how much I had to learn. Which is why I've been tied to my computer since then, intensely listening to teleseminars, taking webinars, reading ebooks, reading books, and doing everything else to learn how to optimize Web 2.0 for book marketing.

I decided that other book authors who were also new to Web 2.0 shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel. I would launch a website to help them learn much more quickly what I learned the hard way.

Trumpets please! I've now launched www.queensofbookmarketing.com to provide information and resources for book marketing. The other queen besides me is my daughter Yael Miller, an award-winning playwright who is currently writing the first in a series of children's fantasy novels.

Check out www.queensofbookmarketing.com and then tell your friends. Yael and I are planning to develop an online writing community that can help writers and authors benefit from each other's experiences.

And we welcome you to follow me at www.twitter.com/ZimblerMiller and Yael at www.twitter.com/MillerMosaicLLC.

Voting Today: It’s an American Duty and an American Right

I hope that all of us, standing in long lines to cast our vote for the President of the United States, can temper our impatience at the lines with remembering that for much of the world this privilege to vote for the country’s leader does not exist. And even in many countries that supposedly have “free” elections, the single choice of officially sanctioned candidate doesn’t truly provide choice.

Of course, I was afraid that I was going to be stoned by the people in my own long line when a poll worker walked down the line asking for people assigned to the pink table. It turned out my address was in the pink table area. Thus at that particular moment I got to enter the polling place ahead of all the people in line in front of me.

Later today I’m invited to the home of a couple in which each spouse is voting for a different presidential candidate. The couple is calling the event a “victory party” because, no matter who wins, one-half of the couple will be happy.

And I also tweeted on Twitter that I had voted by entering #ivoted on an update. Now I can rely on the Twhirl application of Twitter to give me political news updates while I work at my computer. What a brave new world we live in!

The Email In-Box: How Many Emails – Let Me Count the Ways

Last night I deleted approximately 950 messages from one of my email accounts. Some of these messages I had clicked on and then saved for later reading. Others I hadn’t opened yet.

What made me take this drastic step? In recent days I had repeatedly reached 1000 messages, in which case my email account bounced back additional messages.

Therefore, I bit the bullet and said to myself: “You will never give your full attention to those 950 messages. Just delete them and take the risk that you’ve deleted something important.”

Most of the time I can’t understand people who don’t use email at all. Yet sometimes, such as when I force myself to delete 950 messages, I ponder how much simpler life was before the advent of email, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Friendfeed (the most recent social media platform for which I’ve signed up), etc.

In a nod to fair disclosure, I have also been unsubscribing to all the email advertisements for which I usually just click delete. I’ve decided to take the extra time to click on the unsubscribe buttons, some of which work and some of which don’t. I’m not at all sure I ever agreed to get many of these emails. So now I’ve taken the active step of getting rid of them.

Recently I got two different emails announcing a new book. Each of these emails was quite long, going on and on. I skimmed the emails, then decided to do a good deed:

I replied to these emails suggesting in each case that the person write a much shorter email with a clear headline and bullet-point benefits as to why we should act on the email. I explained that we are all so very busy that long emails are just way too much. Both people responded with thanks, so apparently PZ the Do-Gooder Scrooge didn’t step on any toes those times.

But, honestly, that’s why Twitter with a maximum of 140 characters is so great – it keeps all of our tweets short. Who’s the famous writer of the 19th Century (or 18th Century) who apologized for writing a long letter because he didn’t have time for a short letter? It’s true that I often have to rewrite my tweets to stay within 140 characters. And I’m grateful for that limitation.

If only email had a limitation of 140 characters – or I’d even settle for a limitation of 280 characters.

Technorati Tags:
Do-Gooder Scrooge, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Friendfeed

Social Media Site TwitterMoms.Com Has Opportunities for Members

Thanks to being on Twitter I just learned about the website www.twittermoms.com. Megan Calhoun, the creator of this website, has assured me that you don’t have to be on Twitter to join the social media platform TwitterMoms.com.

If you fall into the general category of this website, check it out. Through October 15 members have the opportunity to submit their products to be included in a holiday catalog. The site is also looking for people interested in being featured contributors.

And note the site’s interesting groups. I’ve already joined The Twitter Moms Book Club, and there are several other groups I’m planning to consider.

P.S. Maybe I should start the group Twitter Moms Whose Children Are Also on Twitter. Both my daughters are on Twitter as is my husband.

Technorati Tags:
Do-Gooder Scrooge, www.twittermoms.com, Twitter, social media platforms

Social Media: Are You Letting Your Best Face Shine Forth?

For my blog Flipping Burgers and Beyond -- which gives advice for college applications, internships, jobs and careers -- I frequently post about social media mistakes concerning profile photos. In other words, I'm talking about the photos people use on Facebook or Twitter or other social media websites.

I just posted a new commentary on the profile photo, and since it is also a brief wrap-up of previous posts, I'd like to share this information with you.

Here's the link to the Flipping Burgers post about choosing the right photo of yourself:
http://snipurl.com/socialmediaphoto.

Technorati Tags:
Do-Gooder Scrooge, social media photos, Facebook, Twitter, Flipping Burgers and Beyond

There’s a Wiki Online to Help Coordinate Information on Hurricane Gustav

Thanks to a tweet on Twitter by Beth Kanter (www.bethkanter.org/) – “a trainer, coach, and consultant to nonprofits in the area of effective technology use” – I learned the URL for the coordination of information on Hurricane Gustav – www.gustavwiki.com/wiki/Main_Page – that includes the need for volunteers to edit a page of the wiki.

The beginning of this wiki home page reads:

This is the wiki for information relating to Hurricane Gustav and its approach to the northern Gulf coast. It's intended to be centralized site for links to information everywhere else on the web; please publicize it far and wide. Information will be moved here as time progresses from the similar wiki built during and after Hurricane Katrina's landfall 3 years ago.

(Note: The definition of a wiki according to www.wikipedia.org is a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content.)

Please pass along this information wherever you can.

Technorati Tags:
Hurricane Gustav, Beth Kanter, Twitter, www.wikipedia.org, do-gooder, Scrooge

Reliving the 1970s with Derogatory Media Portrayals of Women and Limiting Reproductive Freedom

Last week on Twitter someone drew attention to a new BMW ad that would have been right at home in the mid-70s. That was the time when I taught newswriting classes at Temple University Center City and had a large collection of newspaper articles and ads that featured derogatory portrayals of women. I tweeted that I’d already been part of this battle. Did we really have to fight it again?

And then right on the heels of that throw-back to the un-liberated ‘70s comes the July 31^st article by Stephanie Simon in The Wall Street Journal titled “Treating the Pill as Abortion, Draft Regulation Stirs Debate.”

Apparently there is a draft regulation circulating within the Department of Health and Human Services that “treats most birth-control pills and intrauterine devices as abortion because they can work by preventing fertilized eggs from implanting in the uterus. The regulation considers that destroying ‘the life of a human being.’”

I can’t even write about this topic because it makes me so angry. Again, the battle for women to have control over their reproductive organs has already been fought. Must it really be fought again?

On Sunday night I saw the new Batman movie THE DARK KNIGHT. Part-way through the endless violence sequences I asked myself what makes this movie so popular at the box office. Why do so many people want to see larger-than-life characters being brutally vicious to each other? And we call this entertainment.

I’ve just reviewed the military spouse winning essays of the “Tell-Your-Own-Story” contest that I co-sponsored with YourMilitary.com in connection with Lifetime TV’s ARMY WIVES series. Several of the essays described the difficulties when a spouse is deployed. And as I write this post I’m also in an email conversation with a deployed National Guard member.

The juxtaposition of fake violence and real violence seems surreal, as does returning to the ‘70s with its derogatory media portrayals of women and the limiting of reproductive freedom.

Technorati Tags:
Scrooge, do-gooder, Wall Street Journal, WSJ, Stephanie Simon, BMW, Twitter, The Dark Knight, Batman movie, YourMilitary.com, Lifetime TV, Army Wives

Social Media: Helping Others on a Global Platform

Social media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. – are internet platforms, I’ve learned, that fit with my personality. I’ve been listening to several free teleseminars this week about using the internet for business purposes. One main theme is that you have to give and give before you get.

What does this mean? Simply that you have to interact with the social media communities of which you’re a part, be genuine, and give away valuable information. Eventually, as Mary Pat Kavanagh of www.queenofmarketing.com says, people will do business with you because people do business with people they know, like and trust.

This is great for me because I always love to give people information. If I learn of something and I know someone who would be especially interested in that piece of information, I call or email the person. I truly believe that we should all try to help each other without waiting to be asked.

I admit this attitude can cause friction with my husband. If I pass someone on the street in Beverly Hills looking at a map, I’ll stop and ask if the person needs help. My husband will complain that I’m interfering – the person didn’t ask for help. But how many of us are uncomfortable asking for help, especially from a stranger?

What I always try to bear in mind is: What would I want to happen if I were the one standing there with the map? Of course I’d want someone to volunteer to help me.

Natural Information Provider

That’s why this expectation in social media of giving is so right for my personality – I’m a natural information provider.

And I’ve been on a personal intensive quest for the last few months to learn as much as possible about internet marketing. The quest started in connection with promoting my new book MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL. Now the quest has continued in preparation for promoting the material I’ve written as part of my FLIPPING BURGERS AND BEYOND philosophy for teens and young adults.

In the meantime, I’m always happy to answer questions about internet marketing. The internet world is so huge that there’s room for all of us. No need to keep our information to ourselves – we can all put our information out there to help others.

Technorati Tags:
do-gooder, Scrooge, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Mary Pat Kavanagh, queenofmarketing.com, Mrs. Lieutenant