A2R Marketing: Using Author Profile Articles Strategically

It's nice to see a proof of concept that means more than "Oh, right. Interesting idea."

The June/July issue of Massachusetts Horse magazine just hit the news stands. I'm pleased to have been featured in a very nice two page article.  It proved the concept that sometimes the best way to find readers not to club them silly and drag them by their hair to your book. Sometimes a bit of finesse works wonders. I know what you're thinking...horse?

There are two parts to the finesse concept. The first is "pull." Every author, from the minuscule indie to blockbuster best selling author, wants you to read their book. You know exactly what they want because you see images of the cover everywhere, reviews start popping up and you hear the "Read me. Read me." mantra. The summer reading season ensures that readers are inundated with ads and missives bluntly telling them what books to stick in their beach bag. Eventually readers become immune to the push of the direct ad. What they want is a siren song pulling them toward their next great read.

The second part is "brilliance." Readers are a very smart group of people. They can easily sniff out a ploy which is also why the direct approach has its problems. They don't want to be told what to do or to be tricked into something. Feeling as if they have made a discovery on their own, they are then much more likely to share that discovery with others. If you feed your reader's innate curiosity enough to pull them to a topic, they will brilliantly discover your book.

An "author profile" is a great way to tickle your reader's curiosity and dangle your book out there without walloping them with a "read me" message. I've mentioned before that having a credential or two behind your fictional writing strengthens your written word. It also strengthens the bond you have with your reader. An author profile that showcases another aspect of yourself makes you more familiar and approachable. If the readers are interested in you as a person, they will be interested in learning what you have to say.

Susan Winslow's profile of me in Massachusetts Horse article is a great example of this. My book, The Charity, is not a book about horses. However, the main character and the story have strong bones there. I drew on my past of raising and training six horses and riding competitively to weave story threads that would ring true to an expert or a novice. The profile does a great job in writing to an audience of horse enthusiasts about someone who shares their passion and who might also be interesting to them.

So, in the process of marketing your book, consider the benefits of indirectly introducing your book to your readers by finding opportunities to introduce yourself.

More on A2R (Author to Reader) Marketing can be found here.

Terrorism: If? When.

I'm writing this five days after the Boston Marathon Bombing. While we struggle to make sense of this senseless act, many struggle to heal from wounds and losses no one wants to imagine. What needs to be said before anything is that my love and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

I live on the North Shore, barely thirty miles from Boston. As you have undoubtedly heard, Boston is a close-knit town and you did not have to be at the finish line on April 15 to feel the impact of these events on a deeply personal level. Like many parents, I experienced the lead weight fear in the pit of my stomach as I tracked down my son - a student at the Berklee College of Music who lives on Boylston Street - to thankfully learn he was enjoying a beautiful spring day off from school out of the city, far from harm's way.

Placing the phone down after connecting with him, I realized I was not washed clean with relief. The pure feelings of safety and security did not rush in to replace the feelings of concern and worry. Instead, the familiar, yet vague, sense of waiting came over me. "It" didn't happen to me or to someone I love. "It" was still out there, biding time.

In a recent interview about my book, inevitably I was asked about the lingering impact of an act of hatred long after the visible traces of healing had cured. Unfortunately, I have a bit more firsthand insight into the answer than I would like. As a child, my family was targeted by an arsonist. At a very early age, I learned that bad things happen to good people. There is a bubble of security that we are born into. It is the bubble we inhabit when we walk down a dark street without fear, or hear the slowing of a car behind us and know we will not meet harm, or stand in a crowd of people and feel we are among friends. It is the bubble where the voice of doubt that tells us to look over our shoulder cannot be heard. It is the place where harm is a hypothetical, an "if." That bubble burst for me when I was five and was replaced by a world of "when." My world became a place of when bad things happen not if they could happen.

There is an arch of surprise that bends over an event like what just happened to Boston. You can hear it in the bystanders' interviews and see it in the faces of people on the streets. "It" happened. Here! How can that be? Sharing the communal feelings of the shock and the grief and the sadness is part of the healing process that binds us together in a way subtly different than we were before. We are different because our world has shifted. The membrane of security ruptured and we are left to feel exposed.

I have lived a robust life in the world of "when" and have not been hobbled by the fears surrounding "if." The evidence of my experience is visible in ways I'm not always aware of. I do know that there is a clarity I have when I hear of a terrorist attack or another senseless act. It is an unfortunate act of fate that this clarity has already been recognized in my writing. I know that I cut through a lot of emotion because I don't have to wade through the sludge of shock. Bad things happen to good people. It's just the way it is.

Of course I wish that the 117th Boston Marathon ended the way it should have - with stories of personal bests and of traditions honored for another year. One thing I know for sure, once the keening and anger have subsided, we will settle into a world of "when" and be much stronger than we ever thought we could be.

Emma Andrews Library and Community Center: Author series presents: Constance Johnson Hambley

Please note that the date has been postponed until Thursday, April 25 at 7:30.

UPDATE: I'll be back at Emma Andrews on November 19, 2015. More information can be found by linking through here.

Emma Andrews Library and Community Center: Author series presents: Constance Johnson Hambley: Constance Johnson Hambley of Rowley drew on her professional experiences in banking, finance, teaching and business, to write her first ...

Author Signed Copies in Demand

I was pleasantly surprised when much of my time today was spent signing and sending books ordered through this blog site. I personalize each softcover book and include a special note of thanks. My readers send books for a variety of reasons including acknowledgement for a job well done, birthday wishes and simple encouragement. A few 'order givers' even admit to having the book personally inscribed to themselves!

It's quick and easy! Just click on the "Buy Author Signed Copies" button in the right hand corner. That will bring you to a secure PayPal site where you note your preferences and delivery address.

Allow one to two weeks for delivery. I'll contact you within 24 hours if I have questions or if you indicate you need express delivery (additional charges would be incurred).

Happy Reading!

Reader Observations of "The Charity"

(There are some mild spoilers ahead.)

Readers of The Charity come from a variety of different backgrounds. They are young and old, men and women. I am learning that each reader finds a truth which makes the book especially compelling for them.

One of my readers observed that no matter how much the main character, Jessica Wyeth, tried to hide, her privileged upbringing could never be successfully hidden. Dying her hair or changing her name would never hide the behavioral and personality quirks that exposed who she really was. This reader really knows what she talks about. As one of the country's foremost forensic psychologists, she has been an expert witness in several high profile criminal cases. One her favorite scenes was when Jessica was having a conversation with Electra Lavielle, a wealthy and powerful woman. Jessica was not intimidated by Electra's position and enjoyed a playful exchange. Also, she noted that Jessica's fears and behaviors in the book accurately reflected what someone would feel if the events had been real. These dynamics work together to create a character that is both flawed and compelling.

I was very pleased with the compliment. The actions and behaviors of characters in thrillers make or break the story. Think about it: Where is the suspense if a character decides to avoid the cemetery on a dark and stormy night? It is exquisitely suspenseful and enriching if the reader understands why a choice was made or an emotion displayed. The symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are accurately reflected in Jessica's character. The resolution of PTSD in Jessica helps to resolve the story. I was gratified to hear from an expert that the story rang true to her and helped her to love the story.

One of my guy readers wrote that he "only reads historical non-fiction." He said he doesn't have a lot of time to read, so when he commits to a book, he wants to feel as if he's getting something in return. After finishing The Charity ('in record time' he notes), he praised the book's accurate portrayal of money laundering schemes and grand jury proceedings. Although the story itself was fiction, he felt that he learned as much from my book as he would have from a non-fiction book.


I'm glad he felt that way. One of the processes I went through while writing this story was to make sure it was as accurate as possible in describing the business behind the money of illicit organizations. I used my career experience in the banking and financial worlds to make sure what I wrote was crisp and accurate.

More than one reader comes away from the book feeling that they have really learned something. I respect the fact that my readers are smart people. If I wrote a completely implausible plot line and did not surround it with facts that my readers know were true, they would have felt cheated and their reading experience would have been cheapened.

And Jessica would never tolerate being cheap.

When a Reader Loves a Character

Whenever I do a book signing, I always insert a little "Thank You" note into the book. As a new author, I am genuinely appreciative when a reader buys my book and I want to thank them for their support. I find that readers like feeling a personal connection to the author and I provide my email address and encourage them to drop me a note.

It is an unanticipated pleasure when I get an email from readers. I truly enjoy hearing what their experience is as they venture deeper into Jessica's story. They will tell me where Jessica is, what just happened in the book and what plans of theirs just got messed up because they became too engrossed in reading and lost track of time. I'm not sorry they burned dinner, forgot to pick up their kids, or stayed up too late reading and had a rough day at work because of Jessica. Those little mishaps are music to my ears.

The note also tells readers that I am happy to do a book club for them, so Skype and I are getting to be good friends. Candidly, the thought of my face being plastered up on someone's big screen TV in their living room is a bit unnerving, but if that's what a reader wants, I'm happy to oblige. The conversations I have during these clubs are really enlightening. What makes The Charity so compelling for them is the love they have for the main character, Jessica Wyeth.

They tell me how approachable Jessica is and how much they can relate to her yearning for roots and a community where she can belong.  They admire her strength but are not put off by her being a strong woman. They cheer her on and bask in her successes without reservation. After the book clubs, I'll often get a message that reads, "What would Jessica be doing right now?" I respond immediately by looking out my office window and checking the time. Mid afternoon and sunny? Jessica is riding. Late evening? Bedding down the horses for the night.

The prospect of a sequel is something all the readers ask me about. They really want to know what more happens to Jessica. They have a sense that my ending was not of the "...and they lived happily ever after" variety. True, a sequel is in progress. However, I am as interested in hearing what the readers think happens next to Jessica as they are in what I'm going to make happen. It's proving to be challenging to capture the essence of what resonated with them because I respect that the feelings they have for Jessica are very real.

An example of that came in an email last week. A reader told me that she saw a sign in her apartment building that someone had some furniture for sale and did anyone need some good stuff cheap? The sign had the little fringe of paper at the bottom where the seller's phone number was printed. The reader immediately felt excited. Yes! She knew someone who was moving and was in need of furniture. Her hands were just about to tear off a phone number when she paused. 'Wait a second,' she thought, 'I don't know anyone. That was Jessica I was thinking of!'

I respect the very real feelings my readers have. At first, I felt my job as a writer was to make the reader feel excited or scared to compel them to keep turning the pages. Now I appreciate that in addition to those feelings, are the very real connections and bonds that are equally as compelling.

A2R Marketing: Book Launch Marketing Plan

You know the saying "Good ideas are a dime a dozen?" You're an author. You're filled with good ideas. So why is your bank account so empty?

Simple: It's the execution, dummy.

There are plenty of writers out there who write for the pure love of writing. Their desks and hard drives are filled with their efforts and they take pride and comfort just knowing they've produced essays, short stories, screen plays or any other written output. If you have decided to be an author who writes for others in the hope of finding readers who will pay for the privilege of reading your work, then you know that you are embarking on a different mission.

I'm going to assume here that you have a really superb piece of written work that has been thoroughly vetted by a professional editor or crowd-sourced editing. I'm also going to assume that this post caught your eye because you pressed the magic "Publish" button and nothing happened. Or very little happened and now you want to take your book to the next level.

Simple: You need a plan.

It's easier to make a step-by-step plan when you have certain core concepts down cold.

Key elements for a structured approach are:

1. Know your idea. Take the time and write three specific summaries of your work. By writing these three summaries, you have a "go to" encapsulation of your work when asked about your book for different platforms. Think of them as a tweet, Facebook post and back cover or dust jacket summary.

• One sentence grab. The business world calls this the "elevator pitch." What would you say in the fifteen seconds when serendipity plunked you into the same elevator that Mr./Ms. Moneybucks is riding? What compelling tidbit would you share on why your company (a.k.a. "book") is the best investment of money and time s/he could make? This single sentence should sum up your book with excitement and compel a reader to want more.
• One paragraph summary. Give a little more detail of the setting, characters and tension but insert the emotional ride the reader will experience.
• One page description. That space on the back cover of your book or the inside flaps of the dust jacket is just waiting for the answer to "Why should I care?" This should NOT be a plot-driven summary. Give the readers a better sense of why the setting is important, who these characters are and the over-arching tension of the story. 

2. Know your audience. Know your genre, word count, audience, what makes your work unique (voice, subject matter, setting). Askville has a good summary of a variety of genres. The Atlantic as a very humorous description of different readers. Knowing these two points are essential for all future targeting you will do to your audience.

• Write a one sentence summary of who your target reader is. Learn what their top "emotional words" are. Will "yearn" gain your reader's interest or will "search" work? (Feel the difference of "Jenny yearned for answers." or "Jenny searched for answers.")

3. Know your goal. Are you looking to become a Top 100 author? Targeting your book in a specific genre will help tremendously. You have a better chance of getting into the top if your genre is "French Chic Lit" rather than "Women's Fiction."

• Break your goal into smaller pieces either by a time period or an event. "I will increase my author's rank by 20%." or "This week I will contact five newspapers and tell them about my book."

4. Know your tools. What do you have at your disposal for making it all happen? Signings, readings, give aways, book clubs, social media, review sites. Use them.

• You need to have a "web presence" that will give potential readers the comfort of knowing their investment of money and time will be well made.

5. Know your budget. Go ahead. Search the web under "Book Promotion" or "Book Marketing." There are any number of ways people are looking to part you with your money. Even if you're lucky enough to have a big budget for a book trailer, ad placements, a full time PR person, and all other promotions, eventually the money is going to run out and you're going to be left to your own resourcefulness.

Be disciplined and create your own success.

Book Launch: Part 2
Book Launch: Part 3

More on A2R (Author to Reader) Marketing can be found here.