Category: writing

Self-Promotion: An Interesting Twist

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Have you ever met a person who’s always talking about herself? Someone who monopolizes every conversation? I did. In college. Funny thing. Nobody wanted to hang out with her.

We hear a lot of talk about the importance of marketing and self-promotion. Especially if we want to make it in this business.

But in the same breath, we know too much turns people off.

Which leads to the question I’ve been thinking about now that I’ve signed my first book deal:

How do we market ourselves without coming across as self-centered or narcissistic?

In a post titled Social Networking Rules, YA author, Elana Johnson, shares some simple, yet brilliant guidelines she lives by.

One such guideline?

If she tweets about her life, she scrolls through her twitter feed and @-messages three others who’ve said something about theirs. Elana says, “This creates a new conversation between me and them.” And she doesn’t feel like she’s hogging the twitter feed.

This reminded me of some advice I got before going to my first writing conference two years ago.

Be outward focused.

Marketing 101. Simple, yet profound.

Don’t focus on you. Focus on the people around you.

Talk up such-and-such author’s new book while at the bookstore. Pray with a friend or roommate before they pitch their novel. Take time out from a workshop to brainstorm with a fellow writer. Mentor a newbie.


Sounds counter intuitive, doesn’t it? But it works. Especially if you do it from a sincere heart.


Here’s the thing. Nobody wants to hang out with people who talk about themselves all the time. We’re drawn to those who genuinely listen and turn the focus outward.

I took this advice when I went to my first conference in 2009, and again in 2010, and had two amazing experiences. The weekend stopped being about me, and became about us. It helped me understand that we can all work together to promote each other.

After reading Elana’s blog post, something clicked. I can embrace that same bit of advice as I travel down this new, exciting, and slightly intimidating path with Waterbrook Multnomah.

I can be outward focused.

I can remember that it’s not about me. It’s about the writing friends I get to encourage and promote along the way. The readers I get to entertain and connect with along the way. The professionals I get to learn from along the way.

The minute I forget that, is the minute someone needs to kindly kick me in the head.

Let’s Talk: Are you talking too much about yourself? How do you keep your focus outward? Any self-promotion tips for a gal who’s not quite sure how to handle it?

On a fun note: I’m meeting my critique partner and friend, Erica Vetsch, this weekend for our own personal writing retreat. We’re locking ourselves away so we can write, write, write! Ah. Sweet bliss.

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Networking

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

If you want to go places in this business, gone are the days where you can do it without networking. Okay, okay…there’s the one or two rare exceptions. But let’s lump ourselves with the majority and accept the fact that networking is necessary. Especially for the writer seeking publication.

So what exactly is networking?
 
I’m not going to give you a dictionary definition. I’m going to give you a Katie-definition. Here’s what networking is to me: interacting and connecting with other people within the publishing industry, whether they be fellow writers, agents, editors, or publishers.
I know networking can be an icky word, because it sounds self-seeking. But I say phooey. It’s only self-seeking if you make it that way.

One of the biggest benefits I’ve experienced from networking is the genuine relationships I’ve formed in the process.
 

Why is networking important?
 
Because traditional publishing houses do not take unsolicited submissions, and because fewer and fewer agents are taking on clients through the query-system.
So how are writers still snagging agents and yet-to-be-published authors still landing books deals? First, they wrote a good book. Second, they networked.
 
Here are a few ways to network:
  • Attend writing conferences when you’re ready to pitch. I went to my first conference in ’09, and I went with three finished novels that were ready. I met authors. I connected on a deeper level with writers I already knew from blogging. I ate lunch with editors and agents and I got to pitch one of my novels face-to-face to an editor and agent of my choice. I was no longer an unsolicited, faceless submission.
  • If you have the money, attend conferences when you aren’t ready to pitch. So many people go to conferences and don’t sign up for editor/agent appointments because they have nothing to pitch. I say, get your money’s worth! Take the appointments and preface it with, “I don’t have anything to pitch, but would love to pick your brain…” Get your name and face in front of industry professionals. Make a good impression. See which agents you click with and which agents you don’t. That way, when you ARE ready to query, you won’t be another unfamiliar name in the slush pile.
  • Follow blogs and COMMENT. Sorry. I don’t mean to yell. But lurking does you no good. Find agent blogs. Editor blogs. Published author blogs. Unpublished author blogs. Not only will you learn a load of useful information, but it’s a FREE way to build relationships and get your name and face out there.
  • Get on Twitter, follow, and have “conversations” with other writers. I personally think Twitter’s more useful when it comes to networking than Facebook. But that’s probably because I use Facebook for more personal stuff.
  • Don’t be afraid to shoot somebody an email. As long as you’re sensitive to and aware of people’s busy schedules, nobody’s going to resent an email. In fact, I enjoy getting emails from people who have questions. I feel like I’m paying it forward from all the times people reached out to help me.
I had a brain wave the other day. A totally, unprofound, no-duh brainwave. Are you read for it?

Networking isn’t about our books. It’s about the person underneath them, and with every tweet, every comment, and every conversation we have, we’re building a reputation. Agents and editors aren’t just buying books. They’re buying the brand behind the books – and that’s YOU! So be real. Be sincere. Be professional. Be you.

Let’s Talk: How important do you think networking is for the writer seeking publication? What ways do you network? What’s worked best for you? Do you cringe when you hear people talking about networking? Why or why not? And happy Valentine’s Day!

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What is It? The Importance of Knowing

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

You’ve never purchased something without knowing what it is first, right? Of course not. As consumers, we want to know what we’re buying and we want to know relatively quickly. That’s why it is vitally important to know your story. To be able to answer the question: What is it?


Because if you don’t know, the agent won’t know, and neither will the editor, the publishing execs, the book sellers, or the readers. And if they don’t know, they’re not going to buy it. Plain and simple.

Blake Snyder, screenwriter and author of Save the Cat, a craft book for screenwriters, says this: “In my opinion, thinking what is it is just good manners.” He goes on to say that if we can’t answer that question – then maybe we don’t really have a story at all.

Some of you might be thinking…I think I know what my story is. Let me ask you this: Can you condense your entire novel–your 100,000 word beloved baby–into one simple logline? If you can’t, then you haven’t discovered your story. At least not yet.

So how do you discover your story? Here are some questions you can ask to get on the right track.

  • What is the something and the someone? Every story is about a someone trying to do something. Do you know what yours are?

  • Can you sharply define your someone using two or three words? The who is important, because the who tells the buyer who they’re going to experience the story through. The way you describe him or her will form the buyer’s first impression. And you know what they say about first impressions.

  • Does your something create a clear and compelling mental picture? The something is the story goal. It’s the what your who is trying to accomplish. Hopefully, when you say yours out loud, whoever’s listening will be able to picture it in their head.

  • What is the conflict? Without this, you have nothing to sustain your story. So what is the driving force that gets in the way of your hero accomplishing his/her goal? Is it BIG? Are there stakes involved? If you can answer yes to both of those, then you’ll have a story that will keep readers turning pages.

  • What’s the irony? Snyder devoted several pages in Save the Cat to the idea of irony and the importance of finding it in your story. The ladies from My Book Therapy talk about this too. What is unexpected or contradictory about your story? Something that will hook the buyer’s interest – an itch they must scratch. One of the best examples of irony that pops into my head is from You’ve Got Mail. Meg Ryan falls in love with a man she hates, but she doesn’t know they’re the same guy. Ironic, no?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you should have a firmer grasp on your story. Now you just have to put the answers together into a logline.
I have to be honest – I hate writing loglines. I’m not very good at them. But despite my dislike, they are an important part of making it in this industry. So I have to keep practicing and wrestling with them until I find the right one.

Here’s my logline for A Broken Kind of Beautiful:
In order to raise money for a disease that has plagued his family, a photographer who quit the intoxicating world of high fashion must team up with a woman who epitomizes it.

Let’s dissect:
We have a clearly defined hero – a photographer who quit.

We have a story goal – raise money.

We have the stakes – it’s for a disease that’s plagued his family.

We have conflict – he’s going to have to work with a woman who epitomizes the world he intentionally left behind. Which also acts as my irony.

Now it’s your turn to play.

Who has a killer logline they’d like to share?

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