Do You Know What You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

 

Last night I attended an Aspiring Authors event at Foxtale Book Shoppe, my favorite little bookstore in Woodstock, Georgia.  The place was packed with friends and family of the authors who were there.  I spent the first few minutes chatting with several of the authors, then listening to their three minute talk about their book and why they were inspired to write it.

 

What Inspires Writers to Write

It was interesting to me how many of the authors were writing now as a second career.  For many it was a long time dream but they were either discouraged from writing early on in their life or as one put it, "life got in the way and I had other responsibilities."  I spoke to a Gail Heller, a special ed teacher who retired after 38 years and now has written a mystery with two other children's books in the works.  I listened to Sara McDaniel H. Kemp, a 91 year old woman who has enthralled her children for years with her stories and who has now put her legacy into a book for all to enjoy.  I listened to Sharon Kiser, who was told in kindergarten that she would never amount to anything because she colored her autumn leaves blue instead of brown, yellow or red.  Her novel about a young girl who feels plain and unloved is a reflection of her own experience and she has spent a lifetime as a speaker encouraging others to recognize their true potential .  I was struck over and over again by the unlived and unexpressed dreams of so many people who finally took that first step and then followed the path to the completion.

A Dream Come True

I too have a story of wanting to be a writer but instead following the path of a career in counseling.  Early in my career, I worked as an addiction counselor, a social worker in a nursing home and a rehabilitation counselor on a stroke and head injury unit.  I eventually found myself in the perfect setting to not only be a counselor but also to explore my dream of being a writer.  As an elementary school counselor, I spent much of my day encouraging and listening to children and their stories.  It was a path that was long and winding but once I set the intention of publishing my childeren's stories, I moved steadily in that direction until now, four years later, I've just had the most successful book launch yet of my fourth book, Wyatt the Wonder Dog Learns about Giving.  It's a dream fulfilled and a continuous journey as well. 

Deciding Who You Want to  Be When You Grow Up

 

It's important to determine your mission in life.  Most people spend more time planning a vacation that lasts two weeks than they spend planning their life.  Most people survive the week just to get to relax for two days and then do it all over again.  What if every day you were living your purpose and discovering your mission?  What if you lived in the present tense rather than holding out for the future?  What would that look like? 

 

One of the things that I enjoy doing is helping people discover their mission, set goals and move forward in achieving them.  Creating a mission statement that clearly identifies your purpose is the first step.  Here's why it is important:

• Decision making is easier because it gives you something against which to  measure your activities
• It connects you with what is true about your life and helps you cut away what is false
• It keeps you from getting tangled up in the details of your life and helps you focus
• It keeps you from responding to the urgent rather than the important
• It grounds you in the present rather than the past while planning for the future

Determining a mission statement is an introspective and contemplative journey that takes committment and time but the result is amazing.  It brings clarity and focus to each day.   

 

The Called Woman Conference 2014

March 15th is the third annual Called Woman Conference in Marietta, Georgia.  If you are interested in discovering your mission or taking your goals and dreams to the next level, this is the conference for you!  I'll be speaking on:  Where Do I Go From Here-Finding and Fulfilling the Calling You Were Meant to Live.  You can learn all about the conference and some of the amazing speakers we have here: 
The Called Woman-Reinvention Convention 2014

I hope to see you there. In the meantime, Keep on Dreaming!  Like the authors at Foxtale, it just might be your time to make those dreams come true.

Want to learn more?  Join the Called Woman Creative Team, Sunday, November 10th for a free webinar: 
Taking the Leap:  How to Get Unstuck without Becoming Unglued!  You can sign up here:  Taking the Leap Webinar

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Five Amazing Book Launches and Five Tips for Creating One

Book launches have changed dramatically in recent years.  Today, there are so many options available from digital books to audiobooks that the days of an author showing up at a bookstore and drawing in crowds to buy their hardback book are over. It takes  an event, something special to draw readers in. This summer, I've been doing research on how to create an amazing book launch/book signing. There are two ways to do research. One is to read about book launches. There are lots of good books and ezines on how to do this. The other way is to attend book launches and observe how they are put together.  Obviously the latter is the most fun and that is what I've been doing!

In the last week alone, I've attended a record, four book launches all put together by Foxtale Book Shopppe in Woodstock Georgia.  They are an Indie bookstore with such imaginative and creative book launches that they should get the prize for taking a theme and running with it. Here are some examples of book launches that I have attended that did a stellar job of creating buzz and packing in people.

Theron Humphrey, author of Maddie on Things had a huge turnout for his book signing.  There were so many people at the book signing, Foxtale sold out of the books! Why was this so popular?  A lot of buzz was created by an article in the local paper which highlighted the fact that the dog, Maddie was adopted at a local shelter. As I waited in line to have my book signed, I talked to the vet and the manager of this shelter who were in line ahead of me.  They were buying several books to offer at an annual fund-raising auction for the shelter.

In addition to the author signing the book, he had an imprint of the dog's paw that he placed on the page.  You can see it on the table in the picture.

Meanwhile, Maddie was greeting customers out in the parking lot. Although she wasn't balancing on anything, anyone could see how her laid back disposition contributed to an amazing book.

Another book launch that I attended at Foxtale Books was for the book, Call Me Zelda,  a fictionalized story of Zelda Fitzgerald told from the point of view of her psychiatric nurse.  It is a great read and captures the flavor of the post-World War I era as well as the toxic and co-dependent relationship of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald.  Author, Erika Robuck has not only done great research on the personality of the characters, but has also woven a secondary story in that is equally engaging.

In keeping with the time period, the bookstore was decorated for a Roaring 20's party. Some attendees dressed the part with flapper style dresses, headbands and long necklaces.  There were butlers passing out glasses of champagne and cupcakes for dessert.

The author gave an account of her research for the book and answered questions from the participants.  Guess what her answer was to the question, "What has been one of the most memorable book signings that you have attended?"  "This one!"

An example of a really BIG book launch was the one put on by Mary Kay Andrews for her newest book, Ladies Night.  It wasn't even held in a bookstore which is a growing trend.  Instead, it was held in Kudzu  a home furnishing store in Sandy Springs Georgia.

Books were sold by Foxtale however and their special touches could be found everywhere from the picture with the author that Gary always takes and posts on their site to goodie bags filled with Ladies Night mementos. Over 400 eager readers bought tickets to this event!

There were drinks and appetizers available.  Many of the food items were from local restaurants and sponsors. A dj played music. There was an opportunity to purchase a raffle ticket to benefit the breast cancer awareness and prevention organization, Bright Pink.

Tickets were drawn for a variety of prizes with the grand prize being the use of an Audi convertible for a week.  I didn't win the Audi but I must of had some winning energy going on because Andi Ward, sitting right next to me did win, big time!!  You can see her in the photo above.

Karen White had a book launch for her newest book, The Time Between at Foxtale Books. The setting for this book is Edisto Island, a small beach town in South Carolina. It has stayed small and uncommercialized, due to the lack of easy access from the mainland. In keeping with the beach theme, Foxtales had cupcakes decorated with crabs and sand dollars and strawberry champagne punch.

Karen talked to eager readers about her inspiration for the book, her method of writing early in the morning before her family gets up, the time period of post World War II and her character development.

Finally, Claire Cook launched her newest book, Time Flies, at Foxtale. Obviously enjoying the interaction with her audience, Claire told stories of her decision to write later in life after a career in teaching, the ins and outs of having a book made into a movie and her personal method of writing and producing a book.

Claire had a drawing for a journal to inspire someone to write, a DVD of the movie, Must Love Dogs and a play list of songs from her newest book. In addition she encouraged everyone to sign up online for a week at a spa with a friend, an online contest sponsored by her publisher and a spa she frequents in Texas. I immediately went home and signed up. Keep your fingers crossed that I win...

Isn't this an amazing series of book launches?  Bet you wish you were there!  You can sign up for Foxtales' newsletter on their website.  There are many more planned for the summer.

Here's a quick review of ways I learned to make a book launch AMAZING:

• Be generous:  Benefit a cause.  There are a lot of ways to do this.  Selling raffle tickets, selling  promotional items such as tee shirts with proceeds going to the cause is another.  Simply asking for donations.  Give away prizes.  People love a chance to win!
• Develop relationships. Readers enjoy not only winning things but sharing advice about writing and insights into the author's life as well.
• Be remarkable.  Most book signings are held in bookstores but the trend nowadays is to create a unique experience that people will come to for more than a book.  Create a book launch that the readers won't soon forget.  Recreate a theme or historical aspect of the  book.  Hold it in an unusual location.  Provide refreshments that tie into the theme of the book.
• Be real. Readers can buy a book anywhere.  They come to book launches to get to know the author.  Sharing personal experiences and insights makes the book more meaningful.
• Be grateful.  Thanking booksellers, readers, publishers and agents is an important part of any book launch.  No one creates a book alone and recognizing the importance  and support of others is critical.

There you have a quick recap of what I learned from some amazing book launches at Foxtale Books.  In my next blog post I'll be going into more detail about how each author's unique style and story made for a memorable book launch.

Wonder what your calling is and how to turn dreams into reality?  Sign up for the email feed at www.acalledwoman.com and receive the Called Woman Manifesto along with weekly motivational and practical emails.

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My Seven Top Selling Secrets

Decatur Book Festival (Photo credit: The Suss-Man (Mike))

One aspect of being a writer and an author that I initially hated and feared was selling and marketing my books.  In the beginning I was one of those people who said, "I can't sell anything."  However if you produce a product, eventually you want to share it with others and unless you can afford to give it away, you will need to learn how to best promote and sell it.  I've written about this many other times but as I continue to gain insight into the best way to do this, I love to share it with others so that you too can be successful at selling your work.  The concepts that I've learned from selling books, are useful in many other situations, so whether you are a writer or artist or an inspirational speaker, you can apply these principles to your work.

1. Know who your audience is.  I write two kinds of books.  Wyatt the Wonder Dog books, are picture books with a lesson and The Call is an adult motivational book.  My children's books appeal to parents, grandparents, teachers and school counselors.  My adult book, is written for women who are interested in determining their passion and following it.  To be successful, I need to sell in an environment where I can find my audience.  
2. Know what your audience wants.  I've found that you have to be sensitive to the focus, the purpose of the audience. I've participated in quite a few school festivals where I've been a vendor and sold books which seems like the perfect environment for children's picture books. In fact, I've found that parents and kids are more focused on festival/carnival type activities than buying books. They want to play games, win a cake in the cake walk. buy junk food and get their face painted. If you are going to participate in this type of festival, you need to have something at your booth that appeals to kids and draws them in. Simply displaying your wares and waiting for the sales to happen isn't going to work.
3. Have a visually appealing set up.  Do something that attracts attention and is engaging.  Just having a few books stacked up, or brochures laid out is not enough.  There needs to be a sense of abundance at your booth.  If products look scarce, people don't feel it's worth their while to stop.  They can see from a distance the one book you are offering and check it off their list.  Is there something they can touch?  Can they flip through the book?  Can they see how they might package the book with a a puppet and tie it up with a bow for a gift?  At my latest vendor booth, I packaged my three children's books together and tied a big Christmas bow around them and displayed them on a stand.  It was easy and an instant holiday idea.
4. Tell a story. Everyone loves a story and it is stories that sell products.  No one buys a book just for the story between the covers. Readers like to know the story behind the story.  How did you come up with the idea?  Is the main character like you or someone you know?  What other interesting things can you share about the book and how it is used by others?  Engage your customer by showing the features of the book.  I like to point out my favorite illustrations.  I point out the information at the back of the book that can help parents and kids learn more from the book.  Which leads me to the next point....
5. Develop a relationship with your customer.  Don't just be interested in getting them to buy your product.  Ask yourself, "What does this person need and how can I help them?"  This is the secret to how I got past my fear of selling.  I stopped thinking of it as selling and started thinking of it as helping.  Although I have a goal of selling books, my top priority is how can I help each individual I meet.  Sometimes I help by listening to their story and making suggestions.  Sometimes I help by telling them how I started writing and publishing books because they mention that they'd like to write.  Sometimes I help by suggesting other products, books, blogs, conferences or authors  that they could benefit from.  In other words, selling  my book is secondary to helping meet their needs.  Zig Ziglar said, "You can have anything you want if you just help enough people get what they want"  and I find this to be true everytime.
6. Create a package where people feel they are getting more for their money.  I can sell one book or I can sell all three as a package and give a discount.  People are just naturally drawn to not only getting a deal, but getting more, especially where there is a connection or theme.
7. Give something away to everyone.  Even if someone does not purchase a book, I try to have giveaways that I can share.  I've partnered with a local doggie boarding and daycare business and they give me doggie treats and coupons for their business to pass out.  You can give away bookmarks, coloring sheets for kids, a brochure... the list is endless.  What I don't find to be helpful is to have a bowl of candy on the table.  It doesn't say anything about what is special about you and your product.  Be unique and relevant with your give-aways.  I also usually have something in reserve to give something away as part of the conversation that I have, not just something to grab and go from the table. 

Well there you have it.  My seven selling secrets that I've gleaned from a few years of marketing and selling my books, speaking progams and coaching sessions. Would you add anything to the list?  What have you learned about selling your product? 

Want to learn more about goal setting and how to Be Do Have, even with a busy life?  Join me for a free teleseminar on February 19th with Jen McDonough!  Details are here:  Teleseminar

Want to spend an entire day learning more about following your passion and making your goals happen?  Attend the Called Woman Conference  in March and listen to an impressive line-up of speakers who can teach you how to take your dream to reality.  Space is limited so sign up today!!

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