Writers, heed the “Law of the Little Shovel”

A focused, concentrated effort will reap the most promotional benefits

Seth Godin wrote in his blog of “The Law of the Little Shovel.”  It makes so much sense, I thought I’d expand on this concept as it applies to pre-published and published authors.

The Law of the Little Shovel, and I’m quoting Seth:  If you want to dig a big hole, you need to stay in one place.  If you walk around town with a little shovel, you’ll just end up digging thousands of little holes, not one big one.  Call on one person ten times and you might make the sale. Call on ten people once each and you will likely get ten rejections.

I see this principle working with novel promotion and literary brand development. We receive so much advice from well-meaning writers that we can get carried away, digging thousands of little holes, holes without depth or substance because we’re trying to accomplish the work of several experienced staffers at a public relations firm.

Does any of this advice sound familiar?

● You must have a website. Develop a presence there and on social media sites.  Do this before you’re published so you’ll have a platform in place when you sell your first novel.

● Get 500 friends on MySpace/Facebook/Twitter so you have a platform.

● Develop a media kit with bio, photos, and a list of local media.

● When your book releases, do a multi-city book tour. Schedule a string of signings, save money by driving and staying at relatives’ and friends’ homes to contain costs.

● Develop a fun contest on your website to build traffic.

● Blog every day and become known as an expert.

● Volunteer frequently. Serve on boards. Be visible.

● Offer e-zine articles for free.  It gives great exposure and will help you build traffic on your website.

Remember the Law of the Little Shovel, and resist the urge to dig a thousand shallow holes.  Focus on what you can do, and do it well. Nurture your talent and keep writing your first priority.

Writing triggers – prompts to get you started

Use these tips to add freshness and the unexpected to your work-in-progress.

Writing triggers

by Janet Lane

Has the muse deserted you? If you’re staring at a blank screen and need some help, this is just the place for you.  Try these exercises to help get those creative juices flowing.

A word of caution – do not be cavalier when using these methods. Exercise prudence and have a loved one stationed nearby with a water hose just in case you’re so inspired that your fevered typing burns up the keyboard. Ha-ha, so now that you’re smiling, let’s try this.

As you work through these and similar exercises, remember that there are no rules for your imagination, just rules for your behavior during this session. Your goal is to trick your conscious gate-keepers (doubt and worry) to tap the vast resources of your creative mind.

No researching. If you don’t know the name of the animal or the weapon or the car, make up a name. Resist any and all distractions.

No editing. Absolutely no editing! If it takes promising yourself you’ll put a match to whatever you produce during this session and burn the papers to ashes, make that promise.

No re-writing. Accept that this is a creative exercise and any mining for useful tidbits will happen after your session.

Do not allow yourself time to second guess. Write it down as it comes to you, feeling safe in the knowledge that only you will see these gems. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Let the images flow, and have fun with it.

1. Analogy smorgasboard

Without reading ahead, list four adjectives. After you’ve completed that list, write down four nouns. The next step involves writing down four gerund phrases. Need a quick review? A gerund phrase starts with an -ing word. Example: walking down the street. Once you’ve assembled these three lists (and you haven’t peeked ahead, have you?), now mix and match these phrases to make an analogy. My product list was fun: Like a lively cup working at McDonald’s. Like a lush coin following the leader. Like a cool desk eating pastrami. Like a sensuous mouse kissing the printer. Thanks to Evil Editor at blogspot.com for this one. Oh, what do you do with this, you ask? The Evil Editor would have you write a 250-word scene around your analogies. You can try that, or adapt the product loosely and use it for plotting purposes.

2. Play with Clues

From Anne Randolph’s Soup Kitchen Writing web site, she offers this prompt, one she calls “Clue.” Fold a piece of paper and write a name. Then an action: What did the character do? Then write down an object. Then write down another name. You could end up with people like Professor Plum, places like the library, and objects like a rope, but I suggest you depart from the game and think of some whimsical items and places from your childhood. Maybe something like, Carrie Smith tripped Mickey Mouse with a lamp. Jimmy Donahue threw the earth at Peter Pan. Repeat until your creative well is primed.

3. Add the unexpected

From RMFW’s day-long workshop several years ago, try Donald Maass’ plotting exercise. From your current work-in-progress, think of certain locations and actions you know will be written soon in your book. Then write down five settings. I was writing Tabor’s Trinket at the time, so I wrote down the solar (the lord and lady’s private living room), the bailey (area between the exterior wall and castle), the church, the village, and the dungeon. Put these short notes in a paper bag. Next, write down five possible actions, perhaps a first kiss, an argument about wages, a binding agreement is made, a fatal duel, something is stolen. Place these five notes in a separate paper bag. Shake them well, and allow yourself only ONE draw from each of the bags. Then, as unusual as it may seem, find a way for it to work, and write the scene. This exercise has become a favorite of mine over the years because it breathes fresh air into the novel.

4. Situational prompts

!A drunk man sits next to you in the shadows of a dimly lit bar and thinks you’re his best friend. He confesses “the truth” to you, and the truth will devastate your protagonist. Write about what the truth is.

! You’re walking to your gate at the airport for a very important flight, to an exotic destination and a crucial meeting that will change your life. Because you’re running late and boarding has already begun, you opt for the elevator instead of the slow escalator that takes you to the next level for your gate. The elevator jams between floors and you worry on the paper, writing your concerns as precious minutes tick away.

! Write a pure dialogue story. Make your story move along by using dialogue ONLY. No narrative, no settings – just dialogue. If you’d like a gold star, limit yourself to 200 words. Two gold stars if you can fit it in over 75 words but under 100.

Above all, have fun. I’m wishing you a dangerously exciting session of creativity!

What are your favorite strategies to prime your creative pump? Please share one or two with us!

 

Historical research-medieval Viagra and the curtain of time

Not so "ready-when-you-are" - a mandrake root being pulled, screaming, from the earth

When writing historical novels I find myself as immersed in research books as I am with the writing.  Research is one of life’s joys. It’s like stepping through a sparkling curtain into the past (sure, think “Disney” because it feels magical like that), and suddenly I’m in another time.  If it’s during the nineteenth century, it’s a world in sepia, that soft brown tone of antique photographs, a world of fresh air and horses and carriages, of genteel life and graceful courtesies, a time unencumbered by the dizzying pace and choices we must constantly make with our careers, our life styles, our leisure time.

If it’s the fifteenth century, in which my Gypsy series is set, it’s the verdant world of England, lush with vegetation, dotted with romantic castles, peopled with strong characters and strict religious and social orders.  At the same time, the lack of technical sophistication in  communication and law enforcement allowed more freedoms for those who chose the path of adventure. And who is more adventurous than the Gypsies (now known as Roma)?

I’m researching herbs today for chapter 8 of book three in my Coin Forest series. I hoard notes from past studies, and I’m enjoying revisiting the fascinating information about the role herbs played in daily life.  Like over-the-counter meds today, they provided relief from daily ailments like headaches and upset stomach. The Gypsies were known for their resourcefulness with herbs, but they weren’t the only ones in tune with the secrets and benefits of various plants.  One could find sophisticated herbalists and physicians at England’s monasteries.

Rhubarb, for example, was used by the monks as a laxative, in place of the more expensive imported rhubarb root.  Sea holly was a favorite medieval flavoring.  The water in which sea holly was boiled made excellent candy, and the root was used as an aromatic “chewing gum” recommended against plague infection.

And how about a medieval version of Viagra?  This was likely of more interest at Henry VIII’s court than in the monasteries he destroyed.  The mandrake root was thought to be a masculine tonic, capable of enhancing potency.  The information becomes more and more interesting: it’s said that the mandrake root screams when pulled from the earth; it was advised to have the root dragged out by a black dog. (Screaming mandrakes were featured in Harry Potter, minus the Viagra angle of the story.) 

Ah, but it’s time for me to step back through the curtain of time and return to my chapter eight.

Do you have fun research facts to share? If so, please do, and I’m wishing you a pleasant, productive week.

Getting paid for your books part two

After surviving the challenge of meeting readers, creating interest in your book, and selling it, we face the less glamorous, business side of sales: getting paid. Most authors are trusting, and maybe just a wee bit reluctant to pay attention to this critical step. It’s the right/left brain principle at work, I suppose. It’s in our best interests to defy that tendency and pay attention.

A Tale of Two CRMs –

When to bypass the CRM and contact the book chain’s home office

A CRM is a Community Relations Manager. This person schedules and promotes author book signings, arranges signs in the store, where your table and books will be, how many books they have on hand and other vital details. The CRM also serves as a liaison with the large book chain’s home office. Yes, that means $$.

While traveling some distance from my home, I enjoyed a lovely book signing at one of the national bookseller chains. It was in the sun belt with my mother-in-law. She graciously put out word of my signing to her club friends, and I enjoyed a strong turnout and good sales. The CRM was appreciative of my sales, gracious, and invited me back for my next release. The books were there, the table prominent, and payment was prompt and glitch-free.

One month later, I traveled to visit a friend in the midwest, I enjoyed another wonderful book signing … at a store in the same chain. My lifetime friend, Pam, graciously put out the word to her friends, and I again enjoyed a strong turnout and good sales. Large signs were posted in the windows and the table was well placed, but communication was lacking: the store had ZERO books on hand when I arrived. Had I not schlepped a couple dozen books from my personal inventory, it would have been a disaster. I was organized, and had prepared a blank invoice, just in case. I was able to leave the CRM with an invoice before I even left the store.

Four months later, I still had not been paid. This was not a small amount – these books were hardback and retailed at $26.95 each. Numerous phone calls ended with the CRM promising to contact home office to get me paid. After five months and five fruitless requests, I circumvented the CRM and contacted the home office. A rep from accounts payable said I was not “in their system.” She FAXed me a form to complete, I FAXed it back, and voila! After almost six months I received my check.

What was the difference between the two chain stores? The prompt-pay store’s signing was in July and the slow-pay store’s signing was in August. If store #1 paid, that meant I was in their system, right? Being “in the system” means it’s easier for them to order your books and, apparently, pay you. I signed six times with this chain, and was “in the system” so I thought that book supply and payment should be efficiently handled.

I didn’t assume this, though, and brought my own book supply, cumbersome and expensive when flying, what with baggage fees. That saved my signing.

My advice: always maintain an author inventory, always schlep a minimum number of books to your signings. Invoice immediately. When your contact person doesn’t seem to be working for you, politely move on and contact the home office accounts payable department to see what you can do to expedite payment.

More advice: if you’re selling at a conference, try your best to collect your payment before you leave the conference. I sold several books at a conference, but because of a prior commitment I left before it was over and “assumed” the bookseller would be efficient. In these trying times, he was financially challenged, shall we say? It took two months of e-mails and needling from the conference organizers to get that check.

Wherever you sign, the good news is, if you have payment problems, it means you’ve sold books. You might not have thought you’d have to ravage your bank account and tear a few hairs out to accomplish it, but hey, you sold books.

Got a payment nightmare to share? More tips? If so I hope you leave a comment, and meanwhile, I’m wishing you good sales and prompt payments.