Penny Sansevieri: From Book to Bestseller

Penny, back with another great post. Her topic for today:

From Book to Bestseller: what it takes to crack the list (and why you might not want to)


In the past 15 months, we've had 10 books on the bestseller list. When I say "bestseller" I mean major lists: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, et al. Still, even after numerous books and a variety of lists, the "list" itself still confounded me, so I decided to do a little research to find out what it really takes to hit a list.

First off, the term "hit a list" can mean hitting a bestseller list at any point of entry. This can even be the bottom 100. Many books that hit a list are never viewed by consumers, they land there, stay for a week, maybe longer or shorter, and then vanish. The numbers and metric for this can be tricky and in fact, not entirely accurate. If you've ever tried to hit a list and found yourself disgusted with the odds, I hope this article sheds some light on the ins and outs of how the process works. I do recommend though that you do some research on your own, there are some excellent blog posts out there that look at the finite pieces of these lists and how they are constructed.

First off, let's look at the facts. Bestseller lists vary by season, market, and genre. First, let's look at seasons.

Surprisingly enough, how many copies you need to sell of your book will often depend on when you release it. Pre-Christmas releases, for example, require bigger number than a release that happens in May. Why is this? Well, the holiday should speak for itself and the same is true for key Fall months like September. The hotter the month (not in temperature but in publishing releases) the harder it is to get onto a list.

The next piece of this is reporting. Another piece that might surprise you is that not all reporting is accurate. Never mind the fact that reporting can be slow; you could hit 20,000 sales of your book in October but not see this reporting until November for example, but they can also be inaccurate, and there's a whole market share that's never reported on. Technical, scholarly, law-related books can make up over two-thirds of the book market and are never reported on. Christian titles work the same way. You might say, "Well, what about The Shack?" This Christian title hit a list because it was sold en masse in retail outlets and not sequestered to Christian retailers that don't get the benefit of reporting to the lists.

Finally, let's look at list structure. Each list pulls book data differently, meaning that the New York Times does not pull trade book data, whereas the USA Today list does. USA Today also pulls these titles onto a single list, whereas the New York Times divides these lists up by genre.

A friend of mine who spent years in publishing once told me that publishing is all about perception, and this is very true. What she meant by this is that print runs (publishers refer to these as "advance print runs") as well as any and all advance buzz a book is getting will also help it land on a list. Generally a book that is just "born" into the publishing world with no buzz, advanced reviews, etc. won't capture the attention of a big list. The author might hit it well locally, but generally not nationally unless (like in the case of The Shack) there is some online viral buzz that builds. There is also the consideration of sales surge. This surge often happens during a very short period of time and doesn't always have to equate to huge numbers, it's the velocity of the push that matters. An associate of mine in publishing once told me that a book she was working with only sold 4,000 copies before it landed on a major list. The smallness of the number is staggering when you think about it. Keep in mind that this book hit a list during a slow period, too, so that also worked in its favor.

Also, lists aren't always based on sales. The New York Times, for example, is known for a non-sale list, meaning that they circulate to 37 reporting (book) stores to find out whether a book is doing well. If it's being talked about by the stores, it will often make the list.

When you do the research, you realize that there is no way *anyone* can "rig" a list and promise you bestseller status. Well, there is one way: by buying up a lot of copies of a book within a short period of time. There have been companies promising bestseller status that do this, but once their warehouses are uncovered the companies often fold. Also, these books at some point will flood the system yet again, usually as used copies on Amazon, which will compete for sales attention with their newly printed counterparts. Any way you slice it, buying up your own books with the hope of getting on a list should be the last thing on your marketing agenda.

Marketing your book with an eye on the bestseller list is great, but much like waiting for Oprah to call, it's not a preferred way to gain or keep your marketing stride. Instead, focus on things you can actually control that will benefit you. Like, let's say regional promotion or an aggressive Internet campaign. Or how about reading groups both online and off? Slanting your campaign to hit a list isn't a great idea, in fact, it's often the worst thing you can do. Yes, there are books that publishers know will hit a list right out of the gate. These titles are generally celeb or news driven, but for the most part, 99.9% of all bestseller status is unpredictable. Gather your marketing chips and put them on a bet that is more likely to pay off. I know authors we've worked with who get the word from their publisher that their book just hit a list, and they'll often call me elated and excited. Now that's a wonderful surprise.
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Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of five books, including Book to Bestseller which has been called the "road map to publishing success." AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically works with social networking sites, blogs, Twitter, ezines, video sites, and relevant sites to push an authors message into the virtual community and connect with sites related to the book's topic, positioning the author in his or her market. In the past 15 months their creative marketing strategies have helped land 10 books on the New York Times Bestseller list. To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at http://www.amarketingexpert.com.

Penny Sansevieri: Promote Yourself Online

I'm so thrilled to have Penny visit my blog again with more advice about promotion. Do yourself a favor and take time to read this article. Then, if you don't have a blog, start one. It's easy.

Simple Ways to Promote Yourself Online


In as much as I’ve taught Internet marketing and publicity classes, the idea of marketing yourself online is still very confusing to a lot of people. Let’s face it; our company has a department dedicated to this. Why? Because stuff changes all the time on the Internet; if we didn’t have a dedicated department researching this and reading all the “geek stuff,” we’d never be able to keep up. But for right now I want to give you the bottom line basics because at the end of the day, we all need to start somewhere and the best place to start is online.

Blogging: If you don’t feel like you can do anything online or you don’t have the time for extensive promotion, the quickest and simplest thing you can do is have a blog. A blog is a great way to keep your site fresh (search engines love sites that are updated often) and a blog is a great way to reach your reader. If you don’t have a blog or haven’t blogged in a while, take heart: start somewhere and plan to blog a minimum of twice weekly. You’ll need at least two posts a week to keep it current. The biggest problem though with new bloggers is deciding what to blog about. Well, here are some ideas:

· Talk about trends in the industry you’re in (this works even if you write fiction, talk about the publishing industry…)

· Review other (similar) books – this is a great way to network with other people in your market

· Blog “in character” – readers love this!

· Develop your next story on your blog: you can ask for reader feedback on story direction, characters, etc.

· Lend your voice to a “hot” industry issue or controversy

· Comment on other blogs or feature them on your blog

· Interview people on your blog

· Talk about the elephant in the room: if there’s a looming issue in your market, why not offer your insight on your blog?

Feedback and blog comments: if you aren’t getting people commenting on your blog, don’t despair, it takes a while to get folks commenting and offering feedback, but the more you can tap into issues your reader cares about, the more comments you’ll see popping up on your blog.

Publishing content: The internet has really opened the door to publishing and pushing a lot of content online. Whether it’s articles, audio, or video, there’s a home for all of it on the ‘Net. Consider doing article syndication as a good place to start pushing content online. Here are some basic guidelines for article syndication:

· You don’t get paid for this syndication. This is always the first question I get when I talk to authors about syndicating their articles, book excerpts, or tip sheets. You post it online for others to use and promote you, what could be better?

· Your articles need to be helpful, not self-promotional. The more helpful they are, the more likely they are to be used. Yes you can mention your book but my recommendation is to keep any and all promotion of it to your byline.

· Article titles are important. Remember that the title of your article must be a description, don’t make people guess what you’ve written about. If you do, you’ll find your pieces aren’t as popular as you’d like them to be.

· Articles should be a minimum of 500 words, max of 2,000. Generally the most popular pieces are around 1,000 words. Don’t forget your byline and web site address. Also, and very important, get those articles edited before they go out on the ‘Net. Once you send them out, you can never get them back.

Participate: when it comes to online promotion, it’s really about participating. Think of the Internet as one big cocktail party. Go strike up a conversation with someone who you’d like to get to know better. Here’s a great way to do that. First, go to Technorati.com and find the top five blogs in your market, then watch them for a week or so and when you’re comfortable with what they’re talking about and the angle of their message, start posting comments and offering your own insight into their postings. Bloggers love comments and by participating you’re doing two things: you’re doing some virtual networking (aka cyber-schmoozing) and you’re promoting yourself via the link back to your site that’s part of your post every time you comment.

Conduct your own blog tour: after you’ve done some virtual networking and gotten to know some folks in your industry you’ll want to contact them to see about guest blogging opportunities. Guest blogging is pretty simple, you post an article on a site (sometimes it’s also a Q&A) and you respond to comments that come in during that day or week that you’re guest blogging. Be ready to host a blog tour of your own and unless the content is really off-topic from your site, I recommend that you consider it.

Blog carnivals: if you haven’t participated in a blog carnival and you’ve been blogging for a while then head on over to http://blogcarnival.com and get started. Honestly, it’s super easy. Just find a category/topic that you can speak to or have blogged on and submit those blogs for consideration. It’s a great way to virtually network and publish more content online.

Help promote the good stuff: do you get Google alerts on yourself? If you don’t, you should and here’s why: how else will you know what people are saying about you online? Google alerts is a simple way to monitor the cyber-chatter and get in touch with folks who review your book or feature you on their site. You can also go to Technorati.com, plug in your name, company name or title of your book and see what you pull up, then you can subscribe to the syndication feed of the search (just hit the RSS button and it’ll automatically subscribe you to that feed). Once you have your feeds all ready to go you’ll want to promote all the good stuff. How can you do that? Well first off offer a cyber thank-you to whoever mentioned you, reviewed your book or featured you on their site. Next, link to their site from your blog and finally, go to a few social bookmarking sites and bookmark these postings for enhanced exposure. Here’s how you do that: go to either Digg.com, Stumbledupon.com, or Delicious.com and create accounts (this takes just a few minutes). Then follow the instructions to bookmark a blog post or page on the site that’s featured you. This will help drive interest (and possibly traffic) to the site (which site owners will love you for) because you’re placing it in a public bookmarking system.

There’s a lot more you can do online, the possibilities are really endless but what I’ve found is that the confused mind doesn’t take action, so the simpler you keep it, the more you’ll do. If only one thing on this list appeals to you, that’s great. Keep in mind, doing one more thing this week than you did last week keeps you moving forward and helps you continue to create marketing momentum for your book!
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Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of five books, including Book to Bestseller which has been called the "road map to publishing success." AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically works with social networking sites, blogs, Twitter, ezines, video sites, and relevant sites to push an authors message into the virtual community and connect with sites related to the book's topic, positioning the author in his or her market. In the past 15 months their creative marketing strategies have helped land 10 books on the New York Times Bestseller list. To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at http://www.amarketingexpert.com.



Copyright ã 2010 Penny C. Sansevieri

Joyce Scarbrough's Symmetry

My guest is Joyce Scarbrough. Joyce, welcome and give us a brief bio.


I write full time and do freelance editing in addition to serving as president of my local writers’ guild and acting as facilitator for the Quill Masters critique group. I have three published novels, TRUE BLUE FOREVER, DIFFERENT ROADS and SYMMETRY. I also have short stories featured in three different upcoming anthologies from L&L Dreamspell. I've lived all my life in southern Alabama, I'm the mother of three gifted children, and I've been married for 27 years to the love of my life--a public school teacher, coach extraordinaire, and total hunk.

Briefly tell us about your latest book.

It's humorous women's fiction, but I like to call it "chick lit for women who own more books than shoes." However, that's not what makes it so different from other books of its kind. Like 8 million people in the U.S. and 40 million worldwide—including actor Colin Farrell—both the heroine of SYMMETRY and its author have trichotillomania (TTM), a compulsive hair-pulling disorder, and neither of us are ashamed to admit it. See, I figured that if I literally had to pull out my hair trying to get attention for my books, I might as well write about it and use it for promotion.

Is there a message in this book that you want readers to grasp?

There has never been a protagonist in a novel with TTM, and I hope to present both myself and my heroine as positive role models for the millions of people with this common physical disorder, many of whom don't even know that what they do has a name. I decided to put the issue into a novel rather than doing a reference book about it because I hope to raise awareness of TTM in the general public and the woefully uninformed medical community. I'm tired of people with this disorder being told by their doctors that they're crazy or defective when they simply have a nervous system disorder that is no more shameful than ADD/ADHD. In fact, many people with TTM have gotten good results from using the same drugs that treat ADD/ADHD, but a lot of doctors don't want to prescribe them because they don't know enough about TTM.

What’s the hook for the book?

Actually, the hair-pulling aspect is really just a small part of the heroine's personality, and the main plotline is about how she is dealing with a troubled marriage, her ticking biological clock, a domineering mother and an unexpected attraction to a sweet and sexy man from her past. Is it any wonder she pulls out her hair?

How do you determine that all-important first sentence?

Well, it was easy for SYMMETRY. The heroine's husband has just attended a sportswriters' conference in New York City, and when she calls his hotel room in the middle of the night, a woman's sleepy voice answers the phone. Hence the first line: "Jess always woke a second before she could complete the castration. Curses, foiled again." Women always laugh and men always cringe. However, if they keep reading, they find out that everything isn't always as it seems!

How do you develop characters? Setting?

So far, all my books have been set in the South because that's where I live. I'm obsessive about accuracy, so I wouldn't feel comfortable writing about places I've never been to unless I do extensive research on it. Thanks to the Internet, that's quite possible for future books. As for my characters, I do detailed sketches before I begin writing, then they always quickly come to life in my head and begin telling me their stories.

What are your protagonist’s strengths? Flaws?

Jess is a study in contrasts. With her friends and colleagues, she's self-assured and intelligent, yet she's insecure about whether or not her husband really loves her, and she lets her mother make her feel inadequate compared to her beautiful, successful sister. She's also in conflict with herself about her inherent loyalty to her husband--whether he deserves it or not--and the surprising attraction she feels for a man from her past that she encounters while separated from her husband. The book's main theme is how she learns to find balance in all aspects of her life and achieve the symmetry she craves so much.

What are your current projects?

I'm working on a coming-of-age novel that has been--I'm honored to say--compared to TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by my critique group partners, something akin to food for my writer's soul. I'm also working on a young adult paranormal novel that is best described as BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER meets DEXTER, even though there's nary a vampire in it!

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Sample chapters of all my novels and a few older short stories are posted on my pages at Author's Den: http://tinyurl.com/yafjyty. I also have a blog called "Blue Attitude" that I don't update nearly as often as I should, but I'm working on that. The latest post was on Valentine's Day and features some fun scenes about the first kisses shared by the protagonists in my novels. You can find it here: http://joycescarbrough.blogspot.com. I'm also on Facebook as Joyce Sterling Scarbrough and love it when readers send me a friend request.

Joyce, it has been a pleasure. Continued success!

Cherie Burbach Discusses Diabetes

My guest today is Cherie Burbach. Cherie, it's a pleasure to have you. Please give us a brief bio.

I'm a die-hard Packer fan, lover of Tudor fiction, and crocheter geek. And oh yeah, I write too! I'm a blogger for several sites and have written six books.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?
I first wrote short stories when I was very young - 5 or 6 years old. When I was about 8 my teacher told my mom I had a poetic way of writing and thought I should try poetry. I didn't know a thing about it, but soon after trying my hand at a few poems I was hooked. My first two books, The Difference Now and A New Dish, were poetry collections. In other words, I also loved writing. Making my vocation came many years later.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?
When I first published my poetry it was with the intent to share some of the feelings and emotions I had from growing up with an alcoholic father. I was amazed at the response, and even today when I write fiction or nonfiction I try to share something that will prompt readers to say, "Oh yeah, I've felt like that too."

Briefly tell us about your latest book.
My latest book is a helpful guide for people with diabetics in their life. It's a nonfiction stand-alone, entitled 21 Simple Things You Can Do for Someone With Diabetes.

How do you develop characters? Setting?
I start with a concept for a book and then think about what type of people might be involved. The characters (their motivation, personality, etc.) develop as the story unfolds. The setting of most of my fiction tends to be in the Wisconsin area since that's where I grew up.

Do you have a specific writing style? Preferred POV?
I like to write in first person usually. It's interesting to put your heart and mind into a character and let them take off.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?
I think writers take little bits of their life and twist and turn it to help move their story along.
Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve even had.

I'll share one from 21 Simple Things You Can Do to Help Someone With Diabetes:
Often writers say if they can touch just one life or change one person for the better by telling their story, that their mission is accomplished. Cherie Burbach hasn't used those precise words; instead she says that "21 Simple Things You Can Do To Help Someone with Diabetes will point you in the right direction so you can truly support your diabetic friend." Her book has pointed me in the direction and I suspect has changed my life too--at least part of it.
I was a prime target for this book; one of the guilty uneducated and judgmental non-diabetics with a friend who has diabetes. In easy-to-understand and well-organized words that don't drip with sentimentality, Ms. Burbach has awakened me to my thus far careless attitude and informed me of what I can do. I had no idea my support plays an important role in how healthy my friend is.
Ms. Burbach writes, "This book is a source of encouragement, a prompt for education, and a starting guide to diabetic etiquette." Check.
Source of encouragement? Yes. I'm looking forward to first apologizing to my friend for being missing in action in this regard, and then to talking with her and taking an active interest in this huge aspect of her life. How did I miss its hugeness--this thing she thinks about and manages every hour of every day of her life?

A prompt for education? Yes. Ms. Burbach says, "The people in my life who really care about me understand things like an A1c test." I had no idea what an A1c test was, but I do now--thank you Ms. Burbach and Google--and that's just scratching the surface. I'll know now to stock both sugar-free and sugar drinks and juice. I'll ask about testing equipment and where she keeps it, I'll try to know the signs of low blood sugar, I'll get to know her diabetic numbers, I won't view insulin as the cure it isn't, I will be cognizant of meal times.
Etiquette, you say in chronic disease? Yes, and I'm guilty of saying inadvertent hurtful things, being a member of the diabetic police force, holding certain judgments, and thinking I'm above the disease. We are reminded that diabetes can strike anyone at any time.

This little book packs an informative punch to those who know little to nothing about diabetes. I highly recommend it.

WOW!! An awesome review, and having several friends with diabetes myself--one a brittle diabetic--I'll be getting this book.

What are your current projects?

More fiction and nonfiction works. I've also got another poetry book in the works.
Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

Best place is my website http://www.cherieburbach.com/  gives you links to my blogs.

Cherie, thanks for the interivew and more awarness about diabetes. Continued success!

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Penny Sansevieri: Red Hot Internet Publicity

Penny is back to answer more questions about marketing our books online. Here's an in-depth look at how we should be networking:

Social Networking on Blogs




We all know that it’s great to hop on social networks like Facebook, Squidoo and Twitter, right? But have you ever considered that a blog is a social network, too? You bet it is, but I’m talking specifically about the comment section within each blog. We all know that it’s great to pitch bloggers for your book or product, right? But there’s more to it. Really, it’s about online networking or cyber-schmoozing. Before you even target a blog for your pitch, you should get to know them first. Here’s how.

First, you’ll want to get to know the blogs in your market. To do this you’ll want to follow them and communicate with them via the comment section on their blogs. You can find these blogs through blog search engines like Google Blog Search and Technorati.com. Once you find the blogs that are top in your market (I suggest going after the top 5-10 to start with) then you’ll want to see what they post on and comment on their blog posts. What does this do? Well, it’ll help give you a voice on your top blogs and give the bloggers a chance to get to know you. Here are some tips for commenting intelligently on blogs:

· Be interesting and thought-provoking. Save the “wow, great blog” comments for when you are really looking to not impress someone.

· Watch, then comment. I recommend following the blog for a few weeks before jumping in. You want to get a sense of the tone of the blogger and how he or she responds to comments.

· Try commenting on at least five blogs a week, this way you’re not spending all of your free time doing this and still you’re able to get a voice out there in the blog-o-sphere.

· Offer additional insight to the blog post, perhaps you’ve had a different experience than what the blogger cited. If so, politely and intelligently tell them your viewpoint and invite other ideas.

· Be entertaining, engaging, and helpful. Always. Don’t push your book, yes you can mention it - but don’t push it, that’s a big no-no.

· Try to build a rapport with the blogger by being consistent, that’s why you don’t want to follow too many bloggers. You’ll be too fragmented this way.

· Be inspiring, readers love inspiration. Don’t just gush for the sake of gushing.

Commenting on blogs posts is a sort of social networking, even better in fact because blog posts and their associated comments are searchable. Keep in mind that you’ll want to always list your URL when you log in (and most blogs require that you do log in and leave your online “footprint”).

Once you have spent sufficient time online you’ll start to get to know the bloggers that are a significant “voice” in your industry. This type of networking will help when you go back to pitch them your story, book or product. Remember that bloggers, like any other on or offline media, want the scoop. So give them what they want. Here are a few tips for pitching bloggers once you’ve networked with them:

· Know what they like: don’t pitch them a book review if they don’t review books. Just because you have become commenter-extraordinaire doesn’t mean that they’ll bend the rules for you. Well, they might, but better to let them suggest it.

· If the blogger does review books and/or products check out their submission guidelines before sending them a pitch.

· If you’re sending them a story idea be sure and tell them if you’ve pitched this idea to anyone else. If they have an exclusive, tell them and give them a (reasonable) deadline for responding if you’re going to shop this around.

· Present the unexpected: it’s OK to take chances, it really is as long as you stay on topic. Pitch the blogger, you never know what could happen.

· Make it easy: if you’re pitching them a story don’t just pitch them and expect them to do all the work. Make it easy on them by offering to co-interview (when appropriate) or offering them experts you think might work well for the piece.

The key is that as you’re getting known online, the Internet is one big networking party. Just because you can hide behind your monitor doesn’t mean that you’re invisible. Remember that everything is your resume and everything leaves a footprint. The best thing you can do is get out and cyber-schmooze, the worst thing you can do is be unprepared. Do your homework and remember, online networking (when done effectively) can benefit you enormously both in your online footprint as well as the connections you’ll make. Don’t worry about spending hours on this, it’s really about quality not quantity. Get out there and social network on blogs, you’ll be glad you did.

Thank you so much for this information, Penny.

Mary Deal: Down to the Needle

My guest today is Mary Deal from Hawaii. Aloha, Mary. Please give us a brief bio.

I’m retired and living out a life-long dream of living on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. Most of my time is spent writing, though I do get to the beach now and again. Oil painting and photography are business hobbies in which I take great pleasure and community activities too. Presently, I have four novels published, suspense and thrillers, with two additional thrillers now being written. I also write short stories and poetry which are published in various magazines and anthologies.

Briefly tell us about your latest book.
It’s a thriller called Down to the Needle. (ISBN 978-1-4401-9820-5)

The story is about a woman’s decades-long search for her abducted daughter. Her search leads her to a young woman on Death Row facing lethal injection for a crime she didn’t commit.

All of my books are available from online book stores as well as from the publisher, iUniverse.com. Just do a search for my name and all my books should come up on the same page.

How do you determine that all-important first sentence?
The first sentence, even the first word, must grab attention. Try never to start your first sentence with “I” or “The” or “There” and similar words. Actually they say nothing so it’s a lost chance to get the reader’s eyes riveted to the page. Some of my first words or phrases were “Blood red letters…” or “‘Witch!’ Randy Osborne said…” Should you find it necessary to use “the” as your first work, the next one or two words should be grabbers, as in “The jagged scar…” Or, as in my latest book, “‘The perp torched himself.’” My advice is to shoot for an attention-grabbing first word or phrase, not just the sentence overall..

How do you develop characters? Setting?
Usually with me, and with both novels and long shorts stories, I have an idea for the story and where it might take place. I see the character in my mind. One of the first things I do is to make a character sketch. That’s as simple as listing each character’s physical features, habits, traits, quirks and even disposition. I’ve written an article about setting up characters. Making a thorough list enables the writer to get into the mind of the character. Guaranteed, by the time you make this list for each of your characters, you will know them and how they will act out your plot.

Do you have specific techniques you use to develop the plot and stay on track?
I make notes anytime I think of some bit of information I can use in a story. I may not use it all in my present story, but if something comes to mind that’s way too good, I must write it down and save it. When I’m starting a story, I gather anything that may be usable in that story into one file to refer back to.

The way I write is not a way I can recommend to anyone else, unless it is their habit to begin with. When I begin a story, all of it is jumping around inside my mind begging to get out. I write what seems to be the most important scenes that I cannot afford to let get away. That means I may write the ending even before I begin the first chapter. Of course it will change later, but at least I have captured the idea while it contained the original spark of creativity. Too, I may write different scenes knowing, of course, the general order in which they should appear. Later I go back and join them together, maybe by adding more scenes, more story. I’ve also written an article about this subject. I write about anything I experience in order to clarify points for others.

Many people start a story at the beginning and that’s what I usually recommend others do. I can write like that, but invariably while I’m writing one chapter, it will trigger something that needs to happen much later in the story. So I write that part as soon as I can and then store it till I can work it in. However, especially for fledgling writers, know your plot. Make an outline or usable list of scenes. Start at the beginning.

How do you promote yourself online and off?
More promotion today is done online. Join as many sites as is feasibly possible to maintain a presence. A writer MUST have a website and, hopefully, one with PayPal buttons or other means of payment. Readers love autographed books.

I travel a bit so I always try to line up book signings even a year ahead of time. However, book signings don’t sell books. In rare cases it does, but appearances mostly help to come in contact with readers so they get to know you.

Other ways to promote is to make your book available as an ebook and downloadable for Kindle and other hand-helds. The publisher should do this for you. Too, if there are charity drives in your area, donate books. I am in charge of the Silent Auction for the local annual Kauai Coconut Festival. We love books! We have tourists coming here and they read books. Find locations in your area where you can make yourself and your books known. The ultimate goal anywhere is to build readership.

Enter your books into the best, the biggest contests. Even just making Honorable Mention gets your book publicized beyond what you might be able to do.

And finally, send your book out to reviewers. Reviews sell books.

What are your current projects?
My third novel, River Bones, a thriller, won a huge award in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards competition. I’m told by my readers that they loved the characters. So I am already in the process of writing two sequels to this book. River Bones has a subplot of a man traveling back and forth to Viet Nam searching for his MIA brother. Since he and the protagonist, Sara Mason, have fallen in love, the first sequel will begin deep in the Vietnam jungle. Most of the book, however, will take place on Kauai where Sara solves another cold case of a missing child. The second sequel will take place both on Kauai and in the jungles of Borneo, where Sara finds answers to an international cold case.

I read River Bones. It was great.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?
My mega-website, WriteAnyGenre.com offers my books for sale, and is also meant to be a resource for writers. All information on the site is free for the reading. I keep adding to the number of pages so there is a great deal on information available. The site covers creative writing of all kinds – fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc. - and business writing. Chapters from my books are analyzed. We discuss how to choose character names. Aspects of how my books are put together, and how writers can get help with their books, are to be found on WriteAnyGenre.com.

For those wishing an autographed copy of any of my books, PayPal Shopping Cart buttons are available on all the book pages. Notices about my book signings are also posted on the book pages when I have confirmed travel arrangements.

Thanks for the interview, Mary, but I think next time I really should do this in person. LOL.