The WestBow Press Blog

By Chris Bass 

I have a raggedy yellow piece of paper that my father gave me about 30 years ago.  Written on it are these words, “Nothing great was ever accomplished without discipline.”   Today you might be feeling full of excuses about why you can’t write, why people aren’t reading your book, why you can’t come up with anything worthwhile to say in your blog.  You have a choice to make.  You can listen to the excuses or you can get busy doing something great.   Stay disciplined even when you don’t feel like it. Experience tells me that in the long run you’ll find you’re doing great things.

By Marcus Chait

In any creative endeavor (and in life, for that matter) there is nothing more disappointing then having someone look at something you’ve poured your heart and soul into only to have them respond,  “…yeah, it’s okay.”   I’d almost rather have an audience respond with passionate loathing than to have them consider something we’ve created as “okay” or “fine.”   When setting out to create a video to help market your book, what steps can you take to give yourself the best opportunity of delivering something great as opposed to something that’s simply average?

1. SOLID STORYTELLING:  If your story isn’t told in a clear and compelling way, and your audience walks away from your video confused as to what your book is about, you’re on the fast track to “average.”  Even if you have Spielberg behind the camera, if you’re story isn’t focused, the video will most likely not be successful.  If your story isn’t clear on the page, it’s not going to be clear on the screen.

2. QUALTIY CINEMATOGRAPHY AND EDITING:  Video is a visual medium, so you obviously want your video to look as captivating as it possibly can.  Even on a limited budget, there are ways to make your video jump off the screen if you have a talented and resourceful creative team behind it.  Do your research and make sure you have an experienced team of professionals working for you.

3. CLEAR TONE AND MESSAGE:  Know what you want your audience to feel when watching your video and be clear about the message you want to convey.  Is your book a suspense mystery?  Then make sure your video creates the necessary tension and suspense your book deserves.  Have you written a romantic comedy?   Then make sure your video feels more like When Harry Met Sally as opposed to Jaws.  You also need to understand what demographic your book might appeal to and make sure you’re delivering a message that speaks directly to that target.

4. ORIGINALITY:  Make sure there is something about your video that sets it apart from the crowd.  Aim to create that “wow” moment somewhere in your video where the audience is forced to rewind and watch it again because they’ve never seen anything like it before.  Keep in mind that originality is not synonymous with big budget.  With the right creative team behind your video, you can pull off that “wow” moment without breaking the bank.  Some of the most original and creative movies to come out of Hollywood in recent years have been lower budget indies.  Push your own level of creative thinking and encourage everyone working on your video to do the same.

On Friday's we like to share writing tips and tricks with our readers.  We hope this section will encourage and inspire you to continually improve as a writer.

Writing Prompt

Describe the characteristics and qualities of your surroundings right now. What gives it life? Who is there and how do they contribute to the overall mood? Look for things that usually go unnoticed and how they add to this motif.

Writing Tip

Avoid wordiness. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. Use only what is needed to relay your meaning.

By Shelley Rogers Landes 

While visiting with my sister and brother-in-law over the holiday, I tripped on a book called, Eat That Frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done In Less Time by Brian Tracy.  I hate to admit it but some of my favorite and most memorable marketing and self help book finds have been discovered in their “library” located in the downstairs guest bathroom.  Eat That Frog! is one of those fun bathroom reads that have inspired me to get organized and stay focused in 2012.   So what does, Eat That Frog!, mean and how does it relate to what you want to accomplish?  Mark Twain once said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long.  Your “frog” is the biggest and most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t plan for and tackle first.   For me personally, I am a list maker and I get a thrill out marking items off my list that I’ve completed in a day.  But I am a huge offender of taking out the easy tasks first and often find that at the end of day, the hardest, most time consuming and important tasks are left to roll over until the next day which means I am facing those same “frogs” the next morning.

According to Eat That Frog!, the key to reaching high levels of performance and productivity is to develop a habit of tackling your major task at the start of your day.  You must develop a routine of “eating your frog” at the start of each day or face the reality of never getting those high level tasks moved over to your “complete” column. Here are a handful of suggestions when tackling your “frog”:

• Torn between two frogs?  If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest frog first

• Take action immediately.  If you have to eat a live frog at all, it doesn’t pay to sit and look at it very long

• Think on paper.  Only three percent of adults have clear, written goals.  These people accomplish five to ten times as much as people of equal or better education that have no written goals

• Learn to say, “no.”  Say “no” to anything that is not a high-value use of your time

• Technological time sinks.  Technology can be your best friend or your worst enemy.  As a society, we feel compelled to communicate incessantly via email (work/personal), text, blogs, Twitter and the mother-of-all time sinks, Facebook.  Technology should act as your “servant,” not your “master.”
  

By Sandy Dunwoody

Anyone who has ever been a social media skeptic—particularly in relation to book marketing products and building brand awareness—is now painfully aware of the powerful impact that an online presence can have. Through social media, users are finding jobs, products are finding fans and media members are even finding stories (a national survey conducted ein 2010 by Cision found that an “overwhelming majority of reporters and editors now depend on social media sources when researching their stories”).   In all of the aforementioned cases, networkers have gained interest, trust and loyalty through social media—which is no easy feat.  A rookie mistake is to just set up social media sites and desperately hope on a wing and a prayer it will take off on its own.  Another mistake is to send into cyberspace repetitive and impersonal posts that boast “Check out Billy Bob’s (insert product here) –It will CHANGE YOUR LIFE!”

Imagine yourself as a consumer:  Would you take an interest in this person or product?  In order to generate interest, you must put effort and work into the relationship-building aspect of social media beyond simply “hawking wares.”

The Enlightened Consumer

In part due to social media and the age of instant communication and information sharing, businesses are quickly adopting an even stronger customer-centric approach in order to be recognized among all the noise and build a fan base. Consumers today have the power to spread support for or veto products instantaneously; therefore, it’s more common now for the consumer’s interests to be represented and feedback listened to.

After all, if every consumer’s opinion is broadcasted to a forum of millions of potential readers, wouldn’t you want comments to be positive rather than negative?

Converting Visitors to Followers

Let’s assume you have a finished product and you’re ready to promote it online. Your Twitter page, Facebook Fanpage, official blog, and other sites have been set up, but now what? Before you dive into social media, consider things from the average consumer’s vantage:

“And WHY should I care?”  Your focus is on your product, but resist the urge to post about it only. Give visitors a reason to be interested beyond your own product, and you’ll reach a wider audience and earn followers. Keep posts personal and varied—more people will become engaged if they know the sites aren’t maintained by a single-focused robot.

“You’ve got to give love to get love.”  As cliché as it may sound, you must give due attention to other products and related services to receive attention in return. If you’re an author, support other authors when possible. When interacting with potential followers, take an interest in and comment on what they are reading, writing or involved with.

What Can I Get Out of This?  Providing posts of value to consumers is a must. Make it a priority to dispense valuable tips, previews, photos and thought-provoking questions as often as possible. Research and share interesting statistics, articles or videos related to your genre, and make sure to supply interactive options like email subscriptions and applications.

By taking the consumer into consideration, you’re more likely to build relationships that yield positive results (a win-win situation). As a consumer, what would you like to see done more often with social media?

On Friday's we like to share writing tips and tricks with our readers.  We hope this section will encourage and inspire you to continually improve as a writer.

Writing Tip: Study Your Genre

Attention Writers…Read, Read, and Read. As with any trade, the more you explore the more knowledgeable you become. Be specific to your genre.  If you are a mystery writer, read mystery books. A children’s writer – read children’s books. Understand the story layout and observe creative elements. Studying your market will help to define the range of story lines and help to create an edge to your work. Stay ahead of the moving industry and build your knowledge of your particular consumer base.

Writing Prompt

Stories are derived from visual inspiration captured in moments of everyday life. Whether you are sitting on a park bench observing your surroundings or viewing a photograph, the collected image imprints a feeling. Why are we touched by a glimpse? Perhaps it is the simple perfection of a moment or a true slice of life. Take a moment to observe … appreciate. The smallest of gestures may hold the most meaning or character. Utilize what is seen every day, and give it a new perspective. It may be the heart of your story.

By Shik Love 

“History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.”  – B.C. Forbes    It’s not easy. And it’s not always fun. Passionately pursuing your dream is tough work. At every turn there is something (a looming mortgage, your eye-rolling friend, that critical voice in your head) telling you that you should be doing something else, something more practical, something more responsible. Don’t let the stories of so-called overnight success fool you, this is hard stuff. To keep going, you will have to dive into reservoirs of faith and determination that you never knew existed.   But here’s the thing—the reservoirs exists. So in the moment when you want to throw in the towel, look back at how much ground you’ve already covered. Go grab your self-published book and hold it in your hands and know that the distance to the finish line is much shorter than the distance to go back to where you started.   Take too this encouragement—you’re not alone.

Here are just a few of the warriors who, like you, took their destiny into their own hands:

Anaïs Nin – After being turned down by traditional publishers, Anaïs decided to publish herself. Starting her own press (Gemor Press), Anaïs published her own writings. She became famous for her published diaries, which spanned more than 60 years. Her writings continue to be celebrated.

William Strunk, Jr. – Professor William Strunk, Jr., self-published The Elements of Style in 1919, distributing the “little book” to his students. The Elements of Style has now become an authority in English writing guidelines. Millions of copies have been sold and there are over six editions in print.

Robert T. Kiyosaki – Author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, the bestseller that remained on the New York Times bestsellers list for over six years. The book caught the attention of a major publisher and was later republished, along with Robert’s many spin-off titles. He has been featured on Larry King Live, Oprah and CNN.

Can you think of other self-publishing success stories? Comment and share.