Fall Into Training Mode

Last month I listened to a couple of free webinars taught by New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author Alessandra Torre. She is also the founder of an online writer’s conference called Inkers Con which features specialized classes on many topics. I’d seen some ads for her teaching on FB and I thought “What the heck? Why not give it a try?” Although her genre isn’t the same as mine, most of the topics she covered are applicable to every fiction author because they are basics: how to find an audience, how to promote a book, and how to use Goodreads. It was great to see not only an insight into the industry (she is both traditionally and independently published, so she has knowledge about many aspects of publishing) but also the comments from other authors in the thread below the videos. Many had the same questions I did, such as if her tips would work for children’s authors too and whether Goodreads is even worth it because of all the trash reviews.

The three things I really liked after taking 2 hour-long video classes with her were:

• 1: The feeling I was not alone. Not only did many of the other authors voice my concerns or questions, as I mentioned above, but Alessandra shared a lot of her publishing journey. It seems it was perfectly normal to rebrand, republish, or even rewrite my books. She did this herself and she actually recommended making changes until the book finds its rhythm. I’d thought it was just me, but apparently I’ve been doing the right thing these last few years! 😊 ​ ​
• 2: The recommended review policy for authors on Goodreads. She gave more negative reviews in the past, but now she only gives positive ones. Not even neutral or goodish, a 4-star, but very positive. I’ve been doing the same thing myself when I review (although I usually review outside of Goodreads.) I wasn’t conscious of a reason for doing this, but I also moved away from more negative reviews, which I used to give say, 6 years ago. Now I have just kept to not speaking about books unless I can be positive and it seems that’s a good idea. Again, I was doing the right thing! 😊
• 3: The choice of which book to promote lies with the author, not the readers. She chose which books to push forward and would casually mention that they went much flatter if she hadn’t promoted them recently. This decision is the author's, really. It’s not the reader’s decision, since they will generally gravitate towards books that are talked about more, and that frees me up to make independent decisions when promoting instead of relying on reader interactions to guide the way.😊

​
So yes, as you can see by all the smiley faces I went into this webinar sure I’d hear only a thousand and one ways I was behind the curve. (Or I'd hear only tailored, specific advice for her genre which wouldn't help me.) And I certainly heard a lot of things that made me feel like I had a long way to go. But I would wholeheartedly recommend Alessandra’s webinars if you can catch them because I also went away feeling increasingly confident.

On a side note, fall has actually come here! I woke up a few mornings ago to this wonderful foggy mist covering our orchard and the remains of our garden. (Need to get to work preparing it for fall, I realize looking at this picture. Summer went by so fast. It’s time to dig up those old plants and get the strawberries ready for winter.) In the front you can see a little planter of red flowers. Another memento from my sister’s birthday, this chrysanthemum adds some bright color just as the year is starting to get chillier and grayer. Very cute, I think.

Review copies for the new two weeks are The Test of Devotion and This Merry Summertime. If you complete a 5-star review and put it on 3 or more retailers, you can email me with your mailing address and links to the reviews and I will mail you a complimentary signed paperback copy of the book you reviewed. This isn’t an “incentive” just a thank you, and should not encourage you to put up a favorable review unless it is your real opinion. (MerrySummer is a good sampler to read if you're just getting started on my work because it contains funny, pint-sized miniatures of every genre I've written except sci-fi. Be aware these stories are meant to be funny! Don't be one of those readers, and I've had several of them, who missed the point of something I wrote or even got anxious and offended because they didn't understand it was meant to be comedy. Not that any of you are that dumb, I'm sure--but anyway, you are duly warned!)

The Test of Devotion Review Copy
This Merry Summertime Review Copy

And there will be more updates.