My Blog is Now Available on the Kindle

Subscribe to mlvwrites on the Amazon KindleAnd now for a public service announcement.

If you enjoy reading my trials and tribulations and appreciate the blood, sweat and tears that has gone into this blog over the years, then you may want to consider taking advantage of a new service. Now, you can read my posts from the comfort of your own e-reader, the Amazon Kindle.

Included with your subscription is a fourteen day free trial. And yes, the listing is under my name as opposed to mlvwrites.com. And yes, my name is quite long, a subscription in and of itself.

I hope you’ll consider adding me to your queue. I may even wind up emulating the letter “E” in my posts…

Educate, Enlighten, Entertain…

June 21, 2011
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Monday’s Manic Musings of Magnificence

After staying up into the wee hours of the night re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I was a little groggy this morning. So? Down, down, down I went, down the road of hyper-caffeinated.

And now I’m flying. WHOO-HOOO! The end result being these magnificently manic musings that shall now assault your senses for Monday’s post. While listening to Muse. You’ve been warned…

We’re in the process of moving website servers, so it looks like all the traffic-related issues are going to disappear shortly. I’m pretty excited about that, because it’s been a pain dealing with load times. I’m going to be writing a new monthly column and plan on celebrating that with an appropriate theme week. Plus, we’ve got a great promotion coming up in July for FlamesRising.com and I suspect our traffic will spike.

When I started going back to conventions this year, I got the chance to sit down and talk shop with people I’ve gotten to know. I had a really good conversation with Monte Cook and Matt Forbeck over dinner, and it’s still sticking with me. One of the things Matt pointed out was that I’m probably hypersensitive to rampant self-promoters because of my background in online marketing.

Yeah, this is true. However, I think there’s something to be said for the brave souls who are trying to navigate through the upheaval in the industry. It does take a lot of gumption/cajones/audacity to put yourself out there and say “buy my book.” (Or books, as the case may be.) I’m not comfortable with super-aggressive tactics because that’s not my personality. When I walk into a store, for example, I hate being hounded by salespeople. I want the time to browse and decide for myself what I need/want to get.

My style of sales is to build relationships with people. I want to get to know my readers, because I feel they’re my clients. I’m not going to make every reader happy, but hearing from them is so, so important because books are the end result of a symbiotic relationship between writers and readers. Without readers, I wouldn’t exist.

Sales and marketing techniques are definitely author’s choice, because different things work for different people. It’s the same thing like developing a writing career. Some authors are happy publishing one book; others are in it for the long haul.

The biggest trick, I feel, is finding that balance of what you’re happy with. The more I learn about my work as an author, the more I learn about myself. I think that’s pretty tricky for most authors to figure out, but for me? I didn’t “choose” to be a writer. This vocation chose me. (Or more like, demanded that I do this or else.)

Like many authors, a lot of things got in the way of that vocation. Job. Life. Etc. No, there’s never supposed to be an excuse, but no matter what I’m doing — I always come back to it. I can’t quit my word addiction, because when/if I do, I no longer feel whole.

Right now, I don’t feel whole persay, because my writing has been touch-and-go due to a bout of Eeyore-itis. But now? I’m energized and ready to rock my keyboard. Ready. To. ROCK.

Of course, it helps that I know exactly what I want to write. :) BOO-YAH!

June 20, 2011
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Sign Up for My Newsletter for Free Fiction

Based on the feedback I’ve received over the past couple of months, my monthly newsletter is going to take on a more personal tone. Each month, newsletter subscribers will receive free fiction in their In Box.

To read free fiction, all you have to do is sign up for my monthly newsletter. I use a third party provider called “MailChimp.” They have a great privacy policy and whitelisting service built into their interface.

I hope you’ll consider being a part of my growing community of readers, colleagues and friends. Thanks so much for supporting my work!

- Monica

June 13, 2011
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For Businesses, Social Media is Still Marketing

Someone sent me “Why I Will Never, Ever Hire a Social Media Expert” this morning and asked me what I thought. In it, Peter Shankman talks about how he’ll never hire a “social media expert.” It’s a scathing article that touches on what’s happening right now in online marketing. Namely, businesses flock to a “tool” because that’s where the audience is, but they are missing something very, very important — that it is not a replacement for a unified, cohesive marketing plan and that it’s one piece of the puzzle.

There are companies out there who run different tools as channels. Their blog is separate from their newsletter which is separate from their social media. In my opinion, this is a mistake because it’s a lot harder to maintain because often there’s no cohesive message or brand identity. Unless, of course, this is intentional. (Even though, in most cases it’s not.)

The challenge with social media and other tools like it, is the cost of implementing them offers an attractive alternative to more expensive options. Compared to direct mail or other marketing tools, they can be pretty cheap for small businesses to use. However, the ease of using something (or its popularity) to reach customers is not a replacement for a marketing plan.

While Peter’s article is pretty ranty, I can understand his frustration. It’s easy to get distracted by the “shiny,” but no new tools will ever replace the core business principles needed to be successful. Just because you have a business focus doesn’t mean you know how to message it.

The same principles are true for authors, however that is infinitely more complex. Why? Because we’re often individuals who have multi-faceted lives. So, to come up with a marketing plan on our own, without the help of a publisher, marketer or agent, is a lot harder. Right now? I don’t have a marketing plan because I am focusing on production. (e.g. Writing, submitting, revising, etc.) In other words, I’ve decided not to “market” myself, unless it’s a specific project, because it doesn’t make sense for me right now.

Regardless, having a solid marketing plan and all of the details that come with that is something I continue to recommend and encourage business owners — small or large — to do. Having that plan takes the guesswork out of a lot of things and can avoid embarrassing mistakes, poor collaboration, and help channel creativity where it’s needed.

May 24, 2011
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[My Guest Post] Hunting Down the Value of Social Media at SFWA.org

It’s been almost forty-five days since I turned off social media, and this experiment has taken on a life of its own. One thing that’s happened, which was not what I had expected, is that my hiatus has turned into a period of self-discovery and growth.

Today, I talk about the impact this experiment has had on me and my work. Here’s a quote from the article:

So far, my hiatus has had a profound impact on me in ways I’m still discovering. I feel like I’ve left the schools of fishes swimming in and around one another and have sunk to the bottom of the internet ocean. When I was using the tools, I was more in tune with the world around me and knew what trends were popular and what jokes were not. I knew what books were being released, connected with long-distance authors and friends more easily, and had a lot of fun. Now that I’m not, my focus is on me and my work, which has pushed me into several new directions. — SOURCE: Hunting Down the Value of Social Media at SFWA.org

If you’re curious about my 100 days experiment and want to read an in-depth take on this hiatus, I encourage you to read Hunting Down the Value of Social Media at SFWA.org and share your comments.

May 16, 2011
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