Nancy's Notes From Florida

Building Reader Loyalty
February 11, 2014

Barbara Vey was the guest speaker at the February 2014 meeting of Florida Romance Writers.

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As Contributing Editor for Publishers Weekly, Barbara Vey brings readers and writers together with her popular Beyond Her Book blog. An avid reader as well as a blogger, Barbara spoke about how authors can build and retain their readership.

“Think in terms of one reader at a time,” she advised listeners. Here are her pointers for gaining and retaining readers. Any mistakes in paraphrasing or interpretation are mine.

Find a common ground with your readers and form a community. How can you do this? By branding yourself. Be consistent with your brand. Use your author name and brand for everything.

“You are your product. You are a business. Act like it.” Avoid religion, politics, or anything controversial so you don’t alienate people.

“Be prepared when you go out in public. Carry copies of your books, bookmarks, and business cards. Talk to people everywhere, i.e. restaurants, bookstores, airplanes, the supermarket. Ask folks what they like to read, get a discussion going, and then mention you’re an author.”

“Visit and comment when people mention you online in tweets, posts, etc. Show that you have noticed and are paying attention.”

If you get a good review or a reader makes a positive comment on your work, be polite and say “I’m so glad you enjoyed my book. Thank you.” But don’t go near a negative reviewer.

Be seen on Goodreads, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube. Talk about fun and interesting things rather than your books all the time. On Facebook, focus on your Author page and not on your personal page.

For unpublished writers, “the time to start marketing is before you publish your book.”

Re advice others will give you: “Listen to what people say and then pick what applies to you.”

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“Be yourself. Talk like you’re talking to friends. Be friendly, ask questions, reply and retweet.”

Don’t have someone else do your posts and lie about it. If you have an assistant, for example, have them identify that they are posting on your behalf. Don’t let them pretend to be you.

Use hashtags during TV shows, sports events, elections etc. and tag people with the @ symbol.

Don’t use foul language or talk politics/religion, or you’ll always offend someone.

Map out your plan of action for the day and do what needs to get done.

“Follow people who are fun and who say interesting things” to learn what they do.

Comment. Like. Share. If you Like someone’s FB post, you’ll keep seeing their posts in your newsfeed.

Help each other out. Link to websites in blogs when you mention someone. Everyone MUST have a website. Make sure your About page shows something interesting and unique about you.

Post daily, share yourself, and ask readers their opinions.

“Giveaways are huge.”

Promote others. If you promote them, they’ll promote you. Barbara especially loves the romance community because “everyone helps everyone else.”

If you build your community, readers will come and they will stay.

“If you want to be successful, consider this a career.”

Tell people about your writing and let them make the decision about what they read. Don’t make assumptions, like a guy won’t want to read your book. You never know what will appeal to someone.

What do Readers want?

“Series that pull you in so the characters become like your family.”
“Respect for the reader.”
“Consistent writing.”
“Authors must have a warmness, or at the very least, politeness.”

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An avid reader, Barbara consumed a book a day before taking on the glamorous life of a roving reporter. Traveling all over the United States to Barbara Veyconferences from Romance to Thrillers, Mysteries to Horror, Historicals to Comic Con, Barbara has even broken through the barrier into the entertainment industry by covering Red Carpet Events and interviewing the likes of Richard Dean Anderson, Joshua Jackson, Joss Whedon, Chris Evans and others. But her love of Romance keeps her grounded while she offers readers a place to step away from life’s daily trials to take a positive journey through the world of books.

Website: http://barbaravey.com/
Blog: http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/beyondherbook/
Reader Events: http://www.readerevents.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/barbaravey
Twitter: @BarbaraVey

If you’re a reader, what do you want from an author?


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When Your Characters Torment You
January 30, 2014

Characters can torment you, the writer, for a variety of reasons. Secondary characters may want to have their stories told. Main characters might whisper in your ear to tell their tale. And when you’re in the midst of spinning your web of deceit, the characters live within your head, unwilling to let you go.

Silver Serenade is an example of main characters who wanted their story to be heard. Rookie assassin Silver Malloy and desperate fugitive Jace Vernon are both after the same man, terrorist leader Tyrone Bluth. Silver’s assignment is to kill the man while Jace needs Bluth alive to prove his innocence. For Jace—a diplomat turned desperado and a crack pilot—bigger political issues are at stake that could lead to galactic war. For Silver, the issue is personal. Tyrone’s Marauders destroyed her family and her research. Revenge fills her heart, and she’s vowed nothing will stop her from her goal. Forced to team up in their pursuit, Silver and Jace realize that when they catch Bluth, one of them must yield.

These characters whispered in my ear to tell their tale until I couldn’t ignore them any longer. They’d been the subject of my option book after I wrote four scifi romances for Dorchester. As the market for futuristics took a dive, Dorchester turned down this fifth title. Years passed, and the cycle came around. Paranormals and its various subgenres made a resurgence. I finished Silver Serenade and sold it to The Wild Rose Press. Finally, their story was done.

Now I’m in the throes of torment again. I am fifty pages away from finishing Peril by Ponytail, my twelfth Bad Hair Day mystery. When I go to bed at night and when I wake up in the morning, the characters are swirling in my head. What’s going to happen in the next scene? Am I considering all the angles? Could I be forgetting to follow through on one of the suspects? Did I remember to have a funeral service for the first victim? What about his wife, who stands to gain a substantial inheritance from his death? Did we examine this motive in the course of the story? How will Marla and Dalton find their way through the maze of underground tunnels in the mine scene?

And always, there’s the underlying anxiety—Will I have enough to reach my word count?

I am driven to finish this story. The characters won’t let me have any peace until we’re done.

Does this happen to you?


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Poison: Friend or Foe?
January 23, 2014

Poison: Friend or Foe?

At the American Museum of Natural History in New York City is an exhibit called The Power of Poison. First we entered a section on Poison in Nature, where plants and animals may use poisons as a natural defense. For example, the golden poison frog from the Chocó Forest is highly toxic. It almost looks like a porcelain figurine until you see it breathing. Native humans use the frog’s toxin to make poison darts. This poison stops nerves from transmitting impulses. But don’t fear frogs; this particular species gets its toxicity from the diet it eats, likely beetles.

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Plants have natural defenses, too. Think about poison ivy or other plants you touch that cause an allergic reaction. And some plants are so toxic that even the smoke from burning them can be harmful. So how can some animals eat toxic plants and not feel the effects? Howler monkeys eat toxic leaves, but they also eat clay that binds poisons.

The next section describes Poisons in Myth & Legend. Snow White, the witches of Macbeth, Emperor Qin, and the Mad Hatter are displayed. The latter doubtless got its name because hat makers were exposed to dangerous mercury levels during the manufacturing process. Some poisons can mimic death, hence the legend of Snow White and also Romeo and Juliet.

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Villains & Victims talks about famous people like Cleopatra. How did she really die? And was Lucrezia Borgia an infamous poisoner like her reputation claims? Who are some famous authors who employed poisons in their tales? Agatha Christie mysteries, Sherlock Holmes, and Harry Potter are some of the stories mentioned.

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Detecting Poison has a live demonstration. We moved past this to sit at the interactive displays at Poison by Accident to solve a mystery at three stations as to what had accidentally poisoned each victim. A family pet, a British sea captain named Captain Cook, and an owl were the victims. Clues were in sight for you to detect through observation at the scene. I got all three correct!

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The most interesting section was Poison for Good to find cures for diseases. For example, a drug made from a Gila Monster’s venom is used to treat Type II diabetes. While yew tree needles can be deadly, a chemical found in the bark helps provide an anti-cancer medicine. Research is providing more treatments and hope for future cures.

Visit http://amnh.org/poison to learn more about the role of poisons in nature, human history, medicine, myth and legend.

View all the photos here: http://fw.to/00nuTlP


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New York City: The Food
January 21, 2014

New York City: The Food

You can’t go to New York City without experiencing some of life’s best dining. The first night, we ate at the Fig and Olive. For appetizers, we got a bowl of olives and a mushroom dish that was heavenly. Our main meal was salmon with side dishes that were fairly meager. Don’t expect big portions here. The restaurant was crowded so we were glad we’d made a reservation.

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Friday morning, we ate breakfast at Carnegie Deli. My daughter had a smoked salmon platter with a bagel and I had a boloney and egg omelet.

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After spending half the day at the museum, we ate lunch at one of the Le Pain restaurants where you get served. We got like an appetizer platter of cheeses and such and nibbled from it for our meal.

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Friday night was dinner with the mystery writers’ gang at Sammy’s Noodle Shop.

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Saturday, I dined alone with the MWA folks at Bobby Van’s Grill. The filet mignon and side dishes were excellent.

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On Sunday, we grabbed a bite to eat on our stroll to Rockefeller Center, shared a hot dog from a food vendor on Broadway, stopped in to the Hershey store to buy chocolate to bring home, checked out the Cellar at Macy’s, and had lunch in Lord & Taylor.

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Their tomato soup was delicious, and it paired very well with a grilled cheese sandwich. Again, we were too weary and burdened down by our heavy coats to want to shop. I hated that part when I lived up north: dressing for the cold weather and dying from the heat when you went inside. I love the South, where you can run outside in short-sleeves for most of the year.

We bought croissants and Danish at Grand Central Station and a piece of chocolate layer cake at the Strip House to bring home.

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Temptation abounds with the best looking pastries in New York wherever you go, cupcakes and crumb nuts (square donuts), fresh breads, and more. You could get fruits and vegetables at many of the markets, but I think we do better in Florida in this regard, at least in winter. I really liked the Hale & Hearty soup places in New York. That’s great for cold weather, not so much for their heat waves in the summer. So if you go to New York, leave room in your suitcase to bring home some treats.

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Dinner on Sunday was New York pizza at John’s Pizzeria, just down the street from the Minskoff Theatre where we needed to go to see The Lion King. The medium size was more than adequate for both of us.

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Finally, we left on Monday and ate breakfast at the airport. All that walking helped when I got on the scale at home. I’d only gained one pound. Now it’s back to a healthier diet.

View all the photos here: http://fw.to/00nuTlP


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New York City: The Sights
January 19, 2014

New York City: The Sights

Recently I went to New York for orientation as incoming President of the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. This job also put me on the national Board of Directors. Friday night, I met the other chapter presidents and at-large directors as we mingled at the Mysterious Bookshop and enjoyed dinner together at Sammy’s Noodle Shop. The next day was filled with one long meeting where we learned about the organization and more about our roles. I found the sessions interesting and informative. A delicious dinner at Bobby Van’s Grill followed.

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The rest of the time was spent sightseeing. On Friday, we ate breakfast at Carnegie Deli. It was snowing! Thank goodness for my inherited mink coat. I wouldn’t have been warm enough otherwise.

Then we took a cab over to the American Museum of Natural History. Standing across from Central Park, I admired the wintry view.

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Jacket-length outerwear doesn’t work in this cold climate. You need a coat that covers your butt. I also wore a knit cap, gloves, and a cashmere scarf. Plus three layers underneath. The only problem was the heat that hit when you went inside a building. Four layers went on and off so often that I hurt my shoulder.

More on the museum exhibits later. My next free day was Sunday, so we strolled outside to see some of the main sights. It wasn’t our first visit to NY so we could skip all the places we’d already seen and just soak in the atmosphere. We sniffed roasted chestnuts and pretzels as we walked along.

We viewed the skaters at Rockefeller Center and nearby Radio City.

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Then we walked over to Times Square.

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We had to visit Macy’s with its nine floors but were too exhausted and hungry to go shopping. From here we walked to Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue and had lunch. The NY Public Library makes an impressive sight.

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Then we dipped into Grand Central Station to watch the people scurrying to make their trains and to visit the food markets.

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That night, we saw The Lion King. The costumes were spectacular. The way the actors depict the animals was fantastic. It’s a show worth seeing if you can meet the steep cost.

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New York is always fascinating, from the architecture to the eateries, to the jumble of people, and even to the trash waiting for curbside pickup. Steam issues from vents, trucks rumble by, taxi drivers honk their horns. It’s a maelstrom of humanity, but one you can never get tired of joining.

Yet it sure was nice to return home to the quieter life with palm trees, green grass, and balmy breezes. However, I’d better not put away that fur coat. It’s supposed to go down into the forties here. The good thing about our cold spells is that they don’t last long.

View all my photos here: http://fw.to/00nuTlP

 


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