This past weekend at my local meeting of romance writers, we had a guest speaker and met at the house of one of our members. Geri Krotow hosted the meeting in her beautiful home. Other members brought food, delicious wonderful food, most of it not real healthy but terribly delicious. Geri is multi-published in romance and suspense, using her amazing life experiences to add reality to all her writing. She's also one of those very successful authors who shares generously of her knowledge to other writers.
My friend, Heidi Hormel, brought a special treat. These ham and Swiss cheese sliders were delicious and big hit. You know Heidi from her guest spots here and on IWSG. She'll be back next month with a guest post. Heidi is a multi-published author of contemporary western romances with Harlequin.
But to the reason for the meeting, our guest was Kimberly Rocha, founder of Book Obsesessed Chicks Book Club, Blog and Promotions. She does all kinds of things to help authors, from reviewing books to hosting authors at her book club. Then there is her promotions business which I don't know much about. What Kim did, was give us lots of her opinions on what works for authors and what doesn't. A few tidbits. Facebook release parties are usually a waste of a writers' time. Better to spend time on an hour long Q and A with readers on Facebook. She claims paid Facebook ads are often very effective. She's against giving away free stuff and had many suggestions on how to increase newsletter signups. Other advice was to enjoy your readers but don't be afraid to block and unfriend and un-follow trolls.
In other good news, the third and last book in my Warriors of Gaviron Series, The Warrior and the Professor, is now available on Amazon. Unlike many of my series where the first book is often the favorite, in the Warrior series, this third book is my favorite. Now if I could only get the third book in the next series done.
"Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things." George Carlin
More good news, my daughter arrived home from Morocco yesterday. I don't know yet where she's headed to next. She learned a lot about parenting while over there supervising 17 teenagers. The idea of 'herding cats' may have been used more than once. She handled the difficulties well for being only 22 herself.
I'm in a happy place right now. Daughter home and safe, sun shining and iced coffee on the desk with me.
"Start the day off with a smile and get it over with." W.C. Fields
I'm not ever going to watch that video of the Olympic gymnast breaking his leg that's going around. If you've every had a serious orthopedic injury, you would understand. I wince even thinking about it. But I'm looking forward to many Olympic events. I like the track and field races best and the swimming is second for me. I'm going to try and spend the entire week not thinking about the presidential election.
Now that my daughter is home, I'm also going to go see the new Star Trek. I promised I'd wait for her. Everything I hear about it is good.
What good things are going on with you this week? Ever tried to herd cats? Ever break a bone? What do you think about Facebook for promotion? What are your favorite Olympic events to watch?
33 comments:
Summer is going on it's way far too quickly I agree, But you have had some wonderful things to look back on.
Great post to read.
Yvonne.
It WAS a great meeting. I'm so glad I got to see you! And those sliders were awesome.
Hooray for your daughter coming home! And fantastic news for your book release! Can't believe that series is coming to a close. You've had a great summer. :) Enjoy Star Trek!
Go enjoy the new Star Trek with your daughter. Yes, herding cats is a term that comes to mind.
No Facebook parties for me.
Glad your book is finally on Amazon. Is it on iTunes?
Congrats on the third/last book!
Love both the quotes!
Herding cats is probably a lot like herding tortoises.... :)
I'm so glad your daughter is home. There's nothing like being a worried parent. I too wish summer would slow down. I finally got used to sleeping late and now I have to start getting up early. I watched men's volleyball lose the 3rd set yesterday. I'm also in the editing stages of my latest book, a new Regency romance.
I'm glad your daughter is home safe and sound.
re: Facebook ads
I think mileage varies by author. You have to have a good sized audience in the first place to use as a catalyst.
Glad your daughter is home safe and sound. Big relief I am sure! We saw the new Star Trek movie over the weekend. Enjoyed it. Congrats on the book news!
Betty
Congratulations on your latest book.
Morocco! What an exotic place to be visiting. Glad she home save. Here in Texas herding cats is easy, it's herding crickets that are the challenge!
I hadn't heard about an Olympian breaking a leg, how horrible.
haha wow, that is a lot of teenagers. Most kids I had to herd at once was 6. Got 12 cats to herd though, yeah, that'll never happen. Congrats on your book getting to Amazon. Don't pet the sweaty things? Hmm my mind went to gutter haha Ugg to facebook too. Those ads are pffft I say.
Hm, is your daughter home I wonder? LOL Congrats on the book I hadn't heard about the leg break. I was so very sorry to see a Canadian gymnast fall on her back, that must have hurt despite the cushioning. Your meeting sounds fun but sliders wouldn't really interest me at all.
Glad you daughter survived the herding! What an experience she must have had over there!
Just saw the Star Trek last night and loved it! Have fun :)
YouTwitFace - LOL!
Giveaways have to be done right to work.
Lots of good news. =) I hope it continues for you.
Summer can keep going fast until my birthday, then it can stop. Anyway, that sounds like a great meeting. Plus, you're daughter's home! That must be great for you. PS. herding cats is easy. All you have to do is open a can of cat food.
Hooray that your daughter is home! Sadly, I hadn't heard about the gymnast, but then NBC showed it to me. Ugh. Wishing you a wonderful rest of the summer.
What a wonderful experience for your daughter!!! But for your sake, I'm glad she's home, safe and sound. Summer is going way to quickly. I'm a teacher and I am not in the mood to return to the daily routine of getting my three children up and out the door so I can get to work each day. Ack! So, I'm quite happy myself today. And will soak up these last days for as long as I can. :) Christy
(...way TOO quickly) (Had to correct my typo.) ;)
Hi Susan - you have got lots going on - that is why time flyeth .. but now that your daughter is home from Morocco just enjoy as much as you can - all of it! It sounds like Morocco has been such a life experience for your daughter - wonderful ...
Cheers and enjoy the rest of the summer - Hilary
I nearly went to see Star Trek but instead my friend and I slummed it and went to see Dave and Mike Need Wedding Dates -- totally raunchy (well-deserved R rating) but so funny in places I laughed until I cried while I thought "I shouldn't be laughing at this!"
Glad you liked the sliders :-) You can see from the recipe that I worked my fingers to the bone to get them made! Wonder what they would taste like with Spam instead of ham ;-)
Congrats on the book release. Herding cats now that creates an image.
Juneta @ Writer's Gambit
I did a FB party (not a release party) last month and enjoyed it. While I didn't get book sales, I did get newsletter signups. I'm interested in what she said to get more newsletter signups, though. And how to do the Q&A. Would that just be on your FB page or in an event? I've personally had a lot of success with giveaways.
Congratulations on your release!
Enjoy the movie with your daughter. :)
Congratulations on your new release! And yay for having your daughter home safe and sound. :) Enjoy the movie and the last lovely days of summer.
I saw one still photo of the guy with the fractured leg and after that turned my head away every single time they showed it on TV. Why do they do that?! It was awful.
We do herd cats around here, literally. It's not easy.
Glad your daughter is home!
Lovely to hear all your news. Daughter home safe. New book out. Sun and iced tea to enjoy. Life is good.
Never tried to herd cats. I can imagine what a challenge that would be!
I've broken an arm. I was five, but I remember the pain. Herd cats? How about herding penguins. That, I've actually done in a previous life as a zookeeper. Probably easier than herding cats.
I've fractured a leg, fractured my foot, and had 14 surgeries (3 of which were considered "major"). I don't like to watch the injury videos and can't understand why my husband who bicycles to work was okay with watching the lady cyclist break her spine . . . it makes me cringe just thinking about it.
Have I herded cats? Why yes. I volunteered at a Cat Rescue once . . . and I stepped up to "lead" a group of Sunday School Teachers - the teachers were harder than the cats. Cats like treats. Teachers (like me) are all opinionated about how things should be done. (And, I'm pointing at myself as one of the worst offenders, so no offense to all the other teachers out there.)
Congrats on your new release and all the wonderful things going on in your life!!!
Glad your daughter is there for a visit. Love to hear her stories. Enjoy. Congratulations on the new book, Susan.
I'm enjoying the Olympics. mainly watching the gymnastics and the swimming. lots of little stuff going on that has me laughing. Glad your daughter is home. I've heard Star Trek is good but haven't seen it yet. FB ads (not boosted post) are good when done right. I like release parties for socializing with readers but don't use them for newsletter sign ups any more. they tend to be for people looking for prizes only and often unsubscribe right after or often report you as abuse when your first newsletter comes out. **shrug** its a constant juggle. Summer flew by the fastest this year for sure
Here's to slowing down and enjoying your time with your daughter. Interesting that the third is your favorite and I love the Minion thing. Happy Almost Weekend & Boogie Boogie.
Yes, the summer has flown by. My grandkids are back in school already. I've broken my nose twice. Or I should say someone has broken it for me - my son when he was three and my grandson when he was six. (Both accidental collisions - we're not really a violent family.)
I've had good luck with Facebook as far as forming relationships with readers goes. The ads are hit or miss but it is a good way to acquire a following, promote specials, and beg for those all important reviews!
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