THE WINGS OF SELF-PROMOTION 2

Back in the good old days of publishing, authors wrote books and publishers published and promoted them for the author. They still do, of course, but the industry has changed with the growth of online media and the current economic climate. Many publishers have begun to cut costs, and one of the first things to go is an author’s marketing budget. This means authors and authors-in-waiting are expected to do the lion’s share of their book promotion. We may not like it, but it’s a fact. Many of us love crafting a story, but few love tooting our own horn. So how can we promote ourselves effectively while staying true to our writer-selves and our budget?

We titled this issue “The Wings of Self-Promotion 2” as a follow up to our May '07 issue. (In case you missed it, be sure to check it out. Highlights include: interviews with Deborah LeBlanc and Kristen King; articles on Marketing Madness by author Kathryn Jordan, How To Network for Inspiration by freelancer Ruth E. Thaler-Carter, WOWing Your Audiences with Public Speaking by communications instructor Suzanne Carbonaro, and How To Build Your Own Writers Website by copywriter Tina Marie Frawley.)

A lot has changed since that issue—so much so that we knew we had to re-explore the theme. But one thing hasn’t changed: our attitude toward self-promotion. The name [The Wings of Self-Promotion] lends itself to a positive outlook when it comes to marketing yourself. It’s about embracing and empowering your self worth. If you’re anything like me, I’d rather be tooting someone else’s horn than my own—I tend to be a bit modest. Authors experience this problem in different ways as well. Some may not like public speaking, others have trouble approaching people, and some are afraid of rejection—which comes with the territory of writing, but face-to-face is decidedly worse! We know we need to do it, both before we’re published and after, but which methods are most effective and where do we start?

The experts in this issue will teach you how to spread your wings and fly! Yes, you can build your own self-promotional wings.

A big, warm, thank you goes out to our freelancers and staff members:

We welcome back freelancer Cathy C. Hall and thank her for her excellent interview with marketing expert Shelli Johannes-Wells. If you don’t know the difference between an author brand and a book brand, or are looking for ways to effectively “get your brand on,” then this interview is for you. Cathy also shares a screenshot of her website and Shelli critiques it!

We welcome freelancer Kathi K. Browne to the WOW! family and delight in her article on mastering Twitter! If you haven’t started using Twitter yet, or want to become more advanced with the Twitter platform and tools, Kathi’s article will guide you each step of the way—from creating an account and beginning to tweet to using hashtags, group chats, and plug-ins to become a graduate level tweeter!

A big thank you goes to WOW! team member Jodi Webb for her insightful interview with media relations expert Penny Sansevieri of Author Marketing Experts, Inc. This 20 Questions column is fantastic! Learn proven methods for marketing yourself online—whether it be a blog tour, website, email subscriber list, or through social networking.

Another great way to find out which methods work or don’t is by example. We welcome freelancer Christine Verstraete to the WOW! family and thank her for getting the skinny on promotional gimmicks. In her article Real Stories of Authors on a Budget: Promotional Gimmicks, eight authors share their true stories of how they used various creative promotional methods to market their books—from dressing up in costume to touring zoos! Find out what worked, what didn’t, and how to promote on a budget. We’d also like to thank the following authors for sharing their stories: Betty Webb, Elaine Viets, Nancy Martin, Sheila Connolly, Luisa Buehler, Sunny Frazier, Karen Hall, and Carl Brookins of The Minnesota Crime Wave.

Another effective way to promote yourself is through teaching. We welcome freelancer Lisa Tiffin to the WOW! family and thank her for showing us the ABCs of using teaching to promote ourselves, increase sales, make connections with potential clients, and establish professional credibility.

The issue wouldn’t be complete without an author or two promoting their books and themselves.

We thank WOW! columnist Chynna Laird for her lively interview with Sandi Ault, author of the WILD series. We first interviewed Sandi in January ’07 about her first book, Wild Indigo. Now, two years later and with two more novels under her belt (Wild Inferno, and her latest, Wild Sorrow) as well as a ton of literary awards, Sandi is back to talk about author promotion and many causes close to her heart, including the protection of wild wolves.

We also thank WOW! team member Anne Greenawalt for her interview with Lilian Pizzichini, author of The Blue Hour: A Life of Jean Rhys. Novelist Jean Rhys, who is said to be one of the greatest female writers of all time, is best known for her 1966 novel Wide Sargasso Sea. In this interview, Lilian talks about what inspired her to write Rhys’s biography and how that experience prompted her to give back to the community by working as a writer-in-residence in several prisons.

Promoting yourself takes courage. In this month’s Inspiration column, contributing editor Margo L. Dill interviews Cindy Ballman, a courageous mother of two, about overcoming her grief and tragedy with love, faith and honor. Last year, Cindy’s husband, Police Officer Tom Ballman, was shot and killed during a mass shooting at a city council meeting in Kirkwood, Missouri. Since then, Cindy has found the incredible strength to press on and live the life that Tom would have wanted for their children. She even started a foundation that helps provide financial and emotional support to survivors of all police officers, fire fighters, and paramedics, whose lives are lost in the line of duty within the St. Louis Metropolitan area. Cindy also shares her advice for other women who may be suffering a great loss. This interview will tug on your heartstrings and inspire you to live your life fully, for some things are greater than us.

We’d also like to thank literary agent Wendy Sherman for judging the Spring 2009 Flash Fiction Contest. Thank you, Wendy, for your expedience and expert attention to detail. Congratulations goes to all those that had the courage to enter the contest as well.

I’d also like to thank contributing editors Margo L. Dill and Joanne Stacey for making the issue sparkle! You now have your bios added to the editor’s desk—congratulations!

Now, on to the issue...enjoy!