So You’ve Written a Novel . . . How to Build an Authentic Online Community for Self-Promotion

Tyndale House Publishers are Crazy4fiction!

Guest Shaina Turner, Tyndale House Publishers

Writing a novel is hard work. Once you find that gem of an idea, there is the tricky business of actually writing. You spend months and months of your life deep in conversation with your characters, and finally you turn the last page and you’re done . . . except that’s not actually the case.

If you are a novelist in this modern world, you know that the self-promotion and marketing of your book have become nearly as important (and time-intensive) as writing the novel itself. Phew. It is certainly not easy, but I have a few tips to help you think strategically when planning book promotion online.

Whether you are a seasoned pro or a debut novelist, the key to successful self-promotion is strategic moderation.

What does this mean?

Everyone loves good news, right? Even your periphery fans will be pleased to hear about your four-star trade review, BUT what about that other endorsement you received? And the nomination for the industry award? The old adage is true in this case: it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.

I always encourage our authors to create a marketing calendar for themselves. When you think of your launch as a three-month-long adventure (prerelease, release month, and post-release), you’ll feel less inclined to spam your social media audience with all the good news at once.

In addition to setting up a schedule, content is key for continued success. In many ways, we are all consumers. So ask yourself, what content do you like and share online? That adorable puppy video (something that made you smile and connect to the sharer on a personal level)? Those helpful tips for how to get your hero out of a sticky situation (something that added value)? We all, instinctively, share content that . . .

• connects with us on a personal level: This could be something humorous, an inspiring quote, or, as my example demonstrated above, a personal interest that you share with the one who posted. 

• adds value to our lives: If you browse Pinterest, for example, you will find pages and pages of beautiful lifestyle shots, but the most popular pins walk through instructions, unpack a complicated process step-by-step, etc. Think about what you are an “expert” on. This could pertain to writing, but it could also be your grandma’s famous baked beans recipe. Authors build communities—online and in person—by sharing a little bit of themselves in the process of their book launch. 

One of the easiest traps to fall into is what I have labeled “the author overshare.” Your fans are excited for you and will be happy to see your reviews, but never forget that they join you on this journey because they love your stories and want to connect with you. Keep your content varied. If you’d like to think of it systematically, divide your monthly content up into a few categories. A few of my favorites are . . .

• Author-centric content: While not always book/reading/writing related, these posts allow your readers to get a taste of your personality, as they’re all about you, the author. Readers love to feel like they know you as an author and as a person. Since you control the content, only post things you feel comfortable sharing. Example: “Today I was writing, and the funniest thing happened. . . .”  

• Writer-centric content: These posts can appeal to your readers as behind-the-scenes glimpses of how you create your novels. They could include posts about research, your writing process, how you go about crafting ideas, etc. Great reviews, endorsements, and nominations for awards would flow into this category as well. 

• Reader-centric content: For eons, writers have heard that in order to create great literature, one must first read great literature. Readers love engaging with authors on common interests, and the easiest way to start is by talking about something you already know they like: books! Dive in and discuss the one book that changed how you thought about life and shaped you as a writer.

Every author is different, and thus every community that forms around them and their novels will have a unique set of needs, but at the end of the day, we all want to feel a sense of belonging. The most successful self-promoters understand this and work hard to create a true place of community online. This will not only build brand loyalty and lifelong fans of your writing, but it’s personally more fulfilling as an author to engage online when you can have authentic dialogue with readers.

It is not easy work, but take the leap. You may not see results right away—it will be a slow growing process—but the best way to promote your stories will be by putting in that hard work and building an online community that cannot wait to shout your good news from the social media rooftops.

Thanks for having me on today!

SHAINA TURNER enjoys working at Tyndale House Publishers as their social media expert: the Social Media and Acquisitions Editor. She takes pride in helping authors best convey their heart and message across all online platforms in addition to managing Tyndale Fiction’s social media presence, Crazy4Fiction.

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Your Seekerville hostess, Pam Hillman, here. I was so excited when Shaina agreed to give Seekerville (and ME!) some tips on sharing all the great exposure on social media that comes our way during a release. Authors, please share your own tips on how you show and tell all without bombarding your fans during a book launch. Readers, I'd love for you to chime in and tell us what works for you. 

Commenters will be eligible to win any Tyndale House Publishers book, winner's choice. Print or digital in the US; Digital outside US. Here's the link to my most recent release, The Promise of Breeze Hill, but winner is free to browse and pick something else from the Tyndale website. You can't go wrong with a Tyndale book. :)

Shelf Life, Books, and Oreos

Stealing Jake releases in print in just FIVE DAYS -  August 1^st!!! I'm so excited, probably even more than normal because my debut—which has only been available as ebook—is now in print!

Which brings me to the subject of today’s post in a strange, round-about way.

My cowboys are sticklers about the dates on food--which is odd, if you think about it. I thought rough-and-tough cowboys would eat anything! If the date is expired on a can of vegetables, they won’t eat them. Expired ketchup? Fuh-get-about-it! But don’t expect them to actually search out and open the oldest ketchup bottle first. Oh no! That would be way too much trouble. Salsa? Chips? Canned goods? If I don’t want to throw it out, I make every effort to arrange the pantry with the oldest dates to the front. Or at the very least dispose of the can/jar without their knowledge. Ahem.

And don't even get me started on the expiration date on the milk.

Big ticket items like cars and homes kinda have a shelf life. I mean it’s not stamped on your house, “will expire in 40 years”, but eventually these material things will become run-down, decay, and wear out.

But books are the topic here, so let’s narrow our focus to books. Print books can have a long, healthy shelf life if properly taken care of, but they do age after time. The pages become brittle, the binding loose, the spines stiff. Hardback books have a longer shelf life than paperbacks, but still they don’t last for ever. So, yeah, sad to say, but print books do have a shelf life.

Ebooks have burst on the scene in the last few years, so it will be interesting to see how long of a shelf life they have. They won’t face the same decaying forces of humidity, or dry air, or neglect that cause print books to decay, but they will encounter changes in software and hardware that might make them obsolete over time. Looking at it from this side of the fence, it looks like ebooks will have a long and productive shelf life.

It’s exciting to know that our stories can continue to thrive and draw new readers even after the new release excitement of our print books has waned. Because, let’s face it—it’s a lot easier for an online retailer to “stock” ebook inventory for an extended amount of time than it is to warehouse thousands of copies of an author’s backlist.

And even more exciting is how a story can morph from one format to another, kind of like Oreos. Did you know there are over FORTY different kinds of Oreos? Who knew??? Watermelon Oreos? Ewww! Gingerbread Oreos. Pumpkin Spice Oreos. Personally, I’m a plain, original, traditional Oreos kind of gal. But Cookie Dough Oreos does sound pretty good, though..

However, a story is the same story—has the same ingredients, if you will—regardless of the format it’s in. So, the shelf life of a story is … is… just …infinite.

Whoa! That’s what I’m talking about!

So, there you go. Stealing Jake released as an ebook in July 2011. FOUR years later, it’s getting a new lease on life in print form, plus the ebook version is still happily clicking along entertaining readers.

Conclusion #1: I submit that stories – unlike Oreos – do not have a shelf life.

Conclusion #2: Come to think of it, Oreos don’t have much of a shelf life at my house either. Just sayin’

Are you an Oreo fan? Classic or one of those newfangled flavors?

In honor of milk and cookies and fresh off the press books everywhere, I'm giving away a copy of Stealing Jake today. So, throw your name in the hat if you want to be included in the drawing. And... to increase your odds of winning, hop over to Goodreads and sign up for a chance to win one of the TWO copies there as well. Ends Sunday! :)

STEALING JAKE by Pam Hillman. When Livy O’Brien spies a young boy jostling a man walking along the boardwalk, she recognizes the act for what it is. After all, she used to be known as Light-Fingered Livy. But that was before she put her past behind her and moved to the growing town of Chestnut, Illinois, where she’s helping to run an orphanage. Now she’ll do almost anything to protect the street kids like herself.

Sheriff’s deputy Jake Russell had no idea what he was in for when he ran into Livy―literally while chasing down a pickpocket. With a rash of robberies and a growing number of street kids in town―as well as a loan on the family farm that needs to be paid off―Jake doesn’t have time to pursue a girl. Still, he can’t seem to get Livy out of his mind. He wants to get to know her better . . . but Livy isn’t willing to trust any man, especially not a lawman.

CBA Bestselling author PAM HILLMAN was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn't afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove an Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn't mind raking. Raking hay doesn't take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that's the kind of life every girl should dream of. www.pamhillman.com

How to Help Your Publicist

with guest Christy Stroud.

Normally I’m pitching my own authors for guest posts on Seekerville, so I was honored when asked to write a post of my own. Thank you for welcoming me into your community!  

The life of a publicist can be challenging. Most of our pitches to the media never get responses. We’re happy to even get a “no” because at least we have an answer to give to authors, agents, and marketers. For an in-house publicist like myself, we’re also juggling multiple titles at various stages of the publicity process at any given time. This can be overwhelming, especially if you’re a people-pleaser and want to do the best you possibly can for all your authors. 

The media landscape is also constantly changing. There are fewer print magazines and smaller editorial staffs trying to do the same amount of work. Social media has changed the way people get their news. National media is no longer breaking the news. Instead, news breaks on social media and traditional media continues the conversation. This changes the way publicists and authors need to approach PR for their books. 

If you’re an author or aspiring author, here are a few ways you can help make your publicist’s job a little easier (and increase the chances of getting more PR for your book):

1. Be available. It’s extremely important to be available to do publicity around your book’s release. Ideally, you should keep your schedule more open the month before release, the month of release, and the month after release. This is the key window for publicity. Try to have time set aside where you can work on any articles, Q&As or guest blog posts your publicist may want you to write (even better if you write a few of these pieces early and send them to your publicist to pitch). Be flexible in your schedule if you can for any radio or TV interviews that come up, particularly during the month your book releases.

2. Be responsive. Radio stations will often send out several dates available for interviews to multiple people at once, so it’s imperative that you respond to your publicist’s request for an interview within 24 hours. If you take too long to respond, you may lose the interview because others have already filled up all the available slots. I tend to prefer emailing requests to my authors (as do many of my colleagues) because it gives us a “paper trail” to follow when looking back through emails, but if you prefer receiving texts for important interview requests or a phone call, be sure to communicate that to your publicist so she knows the best way to reach you. We don’t want you to miss out on a great PR opportunity!

3. Become an expert for the media. We have heard from countless media outlets that they are not looking to interview authors about their books. They want to talk to experts who can give their opinion on what is happening in the news. We know your book is important to you, but unfortunately unless you’re a well-known author, your new book release is not news. In order to increase your chances of getting interviews on broadcast media, you need to be qualified to speak on a certain topic. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need degrees in a specific area (though that will add credibility). You may have gone through a particular life experience that qualifies you to speak on a topic such as the loss of a child, infidelity in marriage, battling cancer, race relations, etc. If these topics are dealt with in your book, even better. That creates the perfect media tie-in. The interview will not be directly about your book, but if the host is doing his or her job, he or she will mention your book during the interview and may even link to a place for people to buy your book on their website. It can be a little more challenging for fiction authors to present themselves as “experts” in a particular area, so we generally do not pitch fiction authors for interviews, but if you do have an area of expertise your publicist can leverage with the media (our author Joel C. Rosenberg is a great example of this), be sure to let her know. 

4. Be prepared to continue your own publicity after the book launch. If you are working with an in-house publicist, after that initial three month publicity period, you need to be prepared to do some of your own publicity to keep the momentum going and to continue to engage your readers and fans. Unfortunately in-house publicists are already looking to focus on next season’s books, so we can’t give your book our full attention anymore (unless you have some really great momentum going). I continue to follow up on any requests I receive for my authors after the initial book launch, but I’m not able to actively pitch them to the media. There are independent publicists and PR agencies you may be able to hire to continue doing PR for you, but you could also do a lot of PR on your own for free. Tyndale provides its authors with a packet to help them continue their own publicity and marketing efforts after the initial book launch. The books that have longer shelf lives are generally ones where the author is very involved in promoting and marketing his own book. 

If you don’t yet have a publisher (or even if you’re already published), here are some suggestions to help you start doing some PR for yourself:

1. Begin building your platform. Work to build up a group of engaging followers on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms. The number of followers you have is not valuable if your followers do not interact with you. Reply to tweets and comments, engage yourself in conversations about the topics in your book(s), blog about these topics. Start building yourself up as an expert in these areas and soon people will start coming to you when looking for information on those particular topics. 

2. Connect with influential bloggers. This is particularly good for fiction authors since blog reviews and blog tours are often a big part of our fiction campaigns. Find other authors or bloggers who are interested in your genre and start building relationships with them. Once you have that relationship it will be easier to ask later if they might review your book on their blog or allow you to write a guest post around your book’s release. 

3. Consider experimenting with Periscope. Periscope is an app that allows you to live-stream video. It’s connected to your Twitter account, but you need to download the app and sign in to use it. Last week my author, Rachelle Dekker, who wrote The Choosing, did a Periscope chat for about 20 minutes one evening. We were pleasantly surprised with the number of people who tuned in to her broadcast and asked Rachelle great questions about writing. It was a wonderful way for Rachelle to connect with her fans and she will probably do another chat in the future. This may not be for everyone, but if you are interested in connecting with your readers in a new way, consider exploring Periscope.

PR is one of those jobs where the effort put in does not always show in the results. We may have great pitch angles for an author who is willing and able to do anything and everything to promote her book, but we only get a handful of media hits. Or we may have authors do tons of major media like the Today Show, Fox & Friends, or Good Morning America and still not sell many books. That can be discouraging at times, but I love getting the message of great books out there. Even if one person’s life is impacted from a book I helped promote, that makes it all worth it. 

I am working on so many great books right now that I’d love to give away a bundle of some of them to one lucky winner!  (Winner announced in the Weekend Edition). Here’s what’s included in the giveaway pack:

• Secrets She Kept ARC by Cathy Gohlke
• God for the Rest of Us by Vince Antonucci
• The Tank Man’s Son by Mark Bouman
• Street God by Dimas Salaberrios
• Praying Over God’s Promises by Tom Yeakley

Have you ever had a time where the effort you put into something did not show in the results? How did you keep yourself from being discouraged? 

Christy Stroud has been working in publicity at Tyndale House Publishers for seven and a half years. She has done PR for New York Times bestsellers such as Winning Balance by Olympic gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson and the Courageous novelization by Randy Alcorn. She has also worked with David Platt, Josh McDowell, Rachelle Dekker, Cathy Gohlke, Gina Holmes, Allison Pittman, Eva Marie Everson and many more.  Christy lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, 19-month-old son, and pug. You can connect with Christy on Twitter @ChristyWStroud or at her blog, christymwong.wordpress.com. Follow Tyndale as well @TyndaleHouse and visit us at tyndale.com. 

Chat with Tyndale's Digital First Initiative eBook Authors

Pam Hillman here! I’m so excited to welcome all of Tyndale’s Digital First Initiative authors to Seekerville today. I didn’t know Lynne, Michael, Diana, or Russ when Tyndale offered a contract on Stealing Jake for the Digital First program.

I knew others had been contracted, but that was it. I wondered who they might be. Were they friends of mine but couldn’t say anything until the ink on their contract dried? Speculation ran rampant in my fertile imagination! But when the official Tyndale Digital First Press Release came out, I realized I didn’t know any of them, but that’s changed in the last few months.

I met three of the five authors at ACFW, but I’ve also bonded with them all through their books. Seekers and Friends of Seekers are tied together by our love for books, so it doesn’t take long for us to bond, does it?

So, join the five of us as we sit in the Yankee-Belle Café drinking Helen’s coffee, sampling Ruthy’s dessert of the day, and getting to know each other. Ruthy, dear, please tell us what great desserts you’ll be offering today, will ya, hon?

We’ll start off with a question for Michael. Tell us about your publishing journey and how you were chosen to be a part of this exciting new program launched by Tyndale?

Michael takes a deep breath and dives right in. “My publishing journey was long and torturous. I walked through hot coals every day for thirty years. I am now old [uh…really?], but on the plus side, my feet are very tough, and it was worth it to get to Tyndale.

Michael Berrier

I wrote eight novels before Cash Burn was picked up by Tyndale, but four were short, so they probably count as one. So let’s say five novels, if I’m any good at math. Anyway, with every manuscript I learned a ton, and along the way I made great friends at conferences who were a tremendous help on my journey.”

Wow, thirty years? And I thought I’d been writing a long time. I turn to Lynne and Russ. How about you two?

“I’ve been working toward publication for nearly ten years. Have several completed manuscripts on my computer. Reinventing Leona was written in 2006. My agent submitted the story to Tyndale,” Lynne says.

Lynne Gentry

Russ settles back in one of the Yankee-Belle’s comfy chairs. “I've been writing for almost ten years and have three completed unpublished manuscripts taking up space on my hard drive. All three of these manuscripts were rejected by dozens of agents and publishers, and for good reason--they weren't good. But I needed to write those in order to be able to write 40 Days Without Food. Each failed manuscript brought more than rejection emails. My writing skills and voice were refined.

I just knew I loved to write and would do it whether I was published or not. I kept submitting queries and eventually an agent took me on. He shopped one of those previous around to no avail. Then I wrote 40 Days. He loved it, showed it to some editors, and Tyndale decided they wanted it to be a part of their digital first initiative.”

Ten years for both of you, huh? Neither of you look old enough to have been writing for ten years. Truth be told, Mike, I refuse to believe YOU’VE been writing for 30 years. You must have started in grade school! Okay, next question. Did your agent pitch directly to this program or did your manuscript land at Tyndale via a different route?

Lynne takes a dainty sip of Helen’s coffee (delish as always, Helen!). “Yes, my agent pitched to this specific line.”

Diana, what about your book, Delivery?

Diana smiles. “My manuscript took a unique route to Tyndale through the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Operation First Novel contest, where Delivery placed three consecutive years: 2008 finalist, 2009 semifinalist, and 2010 finalist.”

Diana Prusik & Jerry Jenkins

“My break came about eighteen months ago when a friend and fine writer named Shawn Grady covertly sent part of the Cash Burn manuscript to my (now) agent Janet Grant. Janet liked the manuscript enough to want to see the rest of it, and signed me when she read it.” Michael volunteers. “I was chosen by Tyndale when Jan Stob asked Janet Grant if she had any authors who might be a good fit for the initiative, and Janet pitched Cash Burn to her.”

It was the same for me. My agent submitted Stealing Jake to Jan, too. And things moved pretty fast from that point onward. Michael, how long did you have to wait for your book to be published from when you turned it in?

“I finished Cash Burn early in 2010, but it didn’t get to Tyndale until around April or May of this year. After the Tyndale team accepted it, the actual e-pub process was extremely fast. And the editing, production, art, and marketing talent at Tyndale was outstanding throughout the process.”

Diana chimes in, “Because of the Operation First Novel contest, Tyndale had seen various versions of my manuscript over a period of about three years. Once I submitted my final version, publishing followed a few short months later. Epublishing is quick!!!”

I’ll say. From contract to publication was about six weeks. Amazing! Russ, you’ve been kind of quiet. Do you miss not having a book to hold in your hands? Does it lessen the experience as a debut book?

“I LOVE books. I love the covers and the crisp pages. I love writing in the margins and having them pile up on my nightstand.” Russ’s passion for his topic mounts, so I move the coffeepot over a smidge. Just to be on the safe side, you understand.

Russ Masterson

“So, yes, I missed not having a book in my hands, but as a late-adopter of most technology I'll catch up to this new medium eventually. Being a part of digital first helped me, as a book lover, to see the positives of ebooks: the ease of purchasing, storing, reading, and sharing them. Digital first didn't lessen my debut book experience, it just changed it from what I'd always thought it would be.”

Well, said! I couldn’t agree more. Lynne? Thoughts?

Lynne smiles, the twinkle in her eyes letting me know my maneuver with the coffee pot hadn’t escaped her notice. “Yes, I miss the paper version, but love the speed and ease of access of modern technology. The only problem I’ve had though is people don’t buy the book for friends as gifts and people without reading devices tend to balk on downloading it to their computers.”

Lynne Gentry signing her contract.

“I am thrilled to be part of the Digital First Initiative, but I do hope a print edition of Delivery follows,” Diana weighs in. “Many readers want autographs, which is difficult to do in electronic form, and many readers have told me they are waiting to purchase a paperback.”

Michael nods, agreeing with Diana. “Yes, I miss it, and many readers have asked when the paper version will be coming out. The good news is, we didn’t have to worry about returns or long print cycles. Or kill any trees.”

Ah, that’s a good point about the trees. Maybe that’s a marketing angle we haven’t thought of. We need to remember that! Speaking of marketing… In your opinion, is the marketing you have to do for an ebook any harder than a print book?

Michael scrunches his brow in thought. “No, not harder, just different. It’s 90% virtual—blogging, emailing, Twittering, Facebooking, LinkedIning… Okay, those aren’t real words, but if Shakespeare and Sarah Palin can make up words, so can I. Anyway, readings don’t have much value since you can’t set up a table and sell ebooks that way, but I still do them when I can.”

“Not really, just different,” Russ agrees. “Digital first was a blessing for my family. My wife and I have two little girls and a print book would've put more demand on me to physically go places to market the book. Digital first allowed me to market the book from my home, sitting behind my Mac.”

“Since Delivery is my debut novel, I have no other marketing experience to compare it to. So far, marketing has been FUN!” Diana smiles.

Lynne and I nod in agreement. The marketing has been fun. It’s a lot of work, and like the guys said, it’s different to what we would have experienced with print books, but the fact that we’ve got over EIGHTY years of writing experience under our collective belt, a little digital marketing is a piece of cake. Speaking of cake…where’s Ruthy? Missy? You-hoo…these dainty little saucers need more CAKE!

While we’re waiting on another round of desserts (Yes, Russ, I know you’re health conscious, but when in Seekerville…), what’s your experience been like working with Tyndale in launching the program? Or revisions? My revisions were a piece of (okay, what’s with the CAKE already??)…my revisions were smooth as a placid lake on a windless summer night in Mississippi, so I wonder about the others….

“I've been revising since I finished my first draft in 2008, and if Tyndale had not set a final deadline, I'm sure I would be revising still. I believe writing can always be improved.” Diana sips her coffee. “Tyndale is a stellar publisher, one of the best in the nation. I cannot imagine having a better publishing experience. I am truly blessed!”

“Jeremy Taylor of Tyndale House did a fantastic job honing the manuscript. He was quick and thorough, and retained my voice while making the manuscript better.” Michael agrees. “I had the pleasure of visiting their offices a few weeks ago and I hope it’s the beginning of a long relationship.”

Michael, you got to visit the Tyndale offices? Lucky you! Other than THAT, what has been the most surprising/exciting/amazing thing to happen as a published author?

Lynne’s infectious grin spreads across her face. “Hearing from people all over the country who’ve read the book and been touched by it in some way.”

Lynne Gentry & Pam Hillman at ACFW Awards Gala

“My colleagues in the banking industry have been some of my strongest supporters, and I’m grateful for that.” Michael turns serious for a moment. “I was a little anxious about telling my boss about the storyline, but she was very supportive, as was our bank’s CEO and all my co-workers.”

“I have been most excited and blessed to hear from readers who thanked me through tears because Delivery touched their hearts. That's what Christian fiction is all about!”

That is so true. I’ve had co-workers, friends, strangers call or email me about how much they liked my book. It just blows me away. Every time! Russ, what would you like to add to that?

Russ, the lone non-fiction author among us, turns ever more serious, a far-away look in his eyes. “You think you'll have some feeling of completion, that reaching this achievement will do something inside of you, and for a few weeks you do feel some gratitude for the opportunity and the work you've been able to do. Then you see the books ahead of you on lists and form reasons why your book should be selling more copies than those books. So, yes becoming published was exciting and rewarding, but then you, in some way, recalibrate to the new position and end up feeling the same as you did when you were unpublished. The entire process has helped me to see that trying to squeeze value out of achievement is tiring and pointless.”

We all stare at Russ, wondering if he’s been poking around inside our heads while we were out to lunch. Slowly, we all nod. That’s powerful deep, and so true it hurts. But in a good way, mind you. Russ put into words a lot of what I’ve been doing the last few months. Recalibrating. BUT I’m convinced I’m recalibrating at a whole new level, ready to forge ahead…nay, upward.

Always upward.

Diana Prusik

We sit around in silence for awhile, digesting Russ’s profound statement and Ruthy’s chocolate cake, washing both down with Helen’s coffee brewed to perfection, and finally, I gather my thoughts and ask one last question. What’s everyone currently working on?

Michael gives us that smug little grin of his that lets us know he’s plotting something devious. “In January I’ll complete a manuscript I’m calling Confederacy of Thieves, which is about a conflicted thief who steals from people who themselves have gotten rich unscrupulously. He gives the loot to the poor, but he gets in way over his head when his cohorts go too far.”

Oooh, that sounds interesting. Kind of a modern day Robin Hood, huh? Diana?

“I am preparing to attend the Story Masters Workshop in Houston in early November to learn from writing experts Chris Vogler, Donald Maass, and James Scott Bell. When I return, I will begin writing my sophomore novel. I can't WAIT!!!” A huge grin splits her face, so excited she can hardly sit still. Uh, Diana, where are you going? No need to rush off just yet. The workshop is not until November!

Russ, the deep-thinker of our group, leans in, his excitement rivaling Diana’s. “My agent is presently showing editors a manuscript I finished a month ago, a non-fiction narrative about the difference between moralism and grace, the toxicity of conditional love and the freedom of unconditional love.”

Russ Masterson

And me? I’m putting the final touches on a proposal based on the question, “What would a woman do if she discovers her entire livelihood was stolen?” But love turns a quest for revenge into redemption.

Oh, my, look who just walked into the Yankee-Belle Café for take-out!!!! None other than Tyndale Senior Acquistions Editor, Jan Stob. Ruthy, quick, get Jan a cup of Helen’s coffee and a generous slice of your homemade carrot cake to go.

Jan, we’re about to wrap up this delightful conversation. Any parting words for Seekerville? Jan joins our group, all smiles, friendly and gracious as always.

“Tyndale has enjoyed partnering with these five talented authors – Pam Hillman, Diana Prusik, Lynne Gentry, Michael Berrier, and Russ Masterson. Their launch in digital media has introduced them to a wide range of readers as they begin building a fan base. This group of authors continues to find creative ideas to help promote their titles – including contests, use of social media, blogging, and participating in numerous interviews.

Digital publishing isn’t limited to the shelf life of a typical print book. These titles won’t be quickly removed from the ‘shelf’. Digital allows a book to build through word of mouth. It has staying power. We will continue to monitor sales and plan to offer another promotion in the near future.

It will be exciting to see what’s next from each of these authors.”

Wow, Jan, thanks for stopping by and adding to this conversation. I speak for all of us in that we’ve enjoyed working with you and Tyndale on the Digital First Initiative, and hope to see more partnerships formed in the near future.

Onward and upward!

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Links to the author’s books on Amazon:

Cash Burn by Michael Berrier

40 Days Without Food by Russ Masterson

Delivery by Diana Prusik

Reinventing Leona by Lynne Gentry

Stealing Jake by Pam Hillman

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Click here to register for Pam's KindlePalooza & Diana's Double Kindle Giveaway!!!

Check out the rules for Diana Prusik’s Double Kindle giveaway

Pam Hillman’s KindlePalooza Contest. It’s BIG! It’s BETTER! It’s a-palooza!

Someone will walk away with a Kindle loaded with a MINIMUM of 12 of the 24 ACFW Book Club picks for 2012. This gift keeps on giving all year long!

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TODAY IN SEEKERVILLE - FIVE EBOOKS - FIVE WINNERS

Today’s Seekerville guests are giving away one copy each of their ebook here in Seekerville, so there will be 5 winners! Please specify in your comment on today’s post whether you want to be included in the drawing, whether you prefer Kindle or Nook, and which (or all) of the books you’d like to win. Did I cover everything? lol Winners will be announced in the WE so be sure to check back to claim your prize.

Vrrrooommm!!! From Zero to Pubbed in 60 Days!

With ebook sales racing ahead of print sales, established publishers, authors and readers alike are taking a second look at electronic publishing. Tyndale House Publishers answer is the Digital First Program.

This past spring, Tyndale decided to offer a new model of publishing called “Digital First”, which is just what it implies, digital first with print books to hopefully follow. My agent, Steve Laube, submitted a proposal for Stealing Jake, one of my manuscripts that was complete and ready to go, and Jan Stob, senior acquisitions editor at Tyndale requested the manuscript about 3 weeks later. Then they offered a contract about 3 weeks after that. Talk about making laps! Jeff Gordon ain’t got nothing on me!

Generally, it takes 12-18 months for a print book to hit the shelves, but Tyndale put these ebooks on a fast track to publication and had them available in about six weeks, launching the program on July 1, 2011 with four fiction titles and one non-fiction title.

Here’s the fast track timeline:

March – We submitted the proposal. I didn’t know all the details or that the book would be released in 2011, but I knew enough to know that this was different, but also exciting, fresh and new, and tied to one of the most established and well-respected Christian publishing houses in the industry.

Late-March – Tyndale asked for the complete, and we submitted it. At this point, I started reading through Stealing Jake again. It had been several months since I read it, so I wanted the story fresh in my head. The goal in reading this time wasn’t to change anything, but to get the story fresh in my head and to highlight and comment on errors so I would be ready to hit the ground running if they contracted it.

Mid-April – I got the CALL! I’d like to say I screamed, and danced around, and called all my friends, but I didn’t. First of all, I needed to wait for the contract to be signed, and at that point, I went into business mode.

May – I signed the contract, and started a wish list of “Things to do” regarding promotion and marketing. I just glanced at that list. Some of it is still undone, but I’ve hit the high points.

Mid-May – I had a gag order (okay, it wasn’t really a gag order) on announcing my sale to the world. Tyndale wanted to get all their ducks in a row and make a big splash with a press release announcing the Initiative. Which I thought was absolutely brilliant! Nary a peep from any of the authors or their agents surfaced on the internet until the press release hit the news on May 18th. And I do mean hit the news. Here’s the Press Release at CBA News.

(Have you noticed I haven’t mentioned revisions yet, and the book releases July 1st????)

June – Now the hard work begins. You thought writing the book was hard? It is, but I’ve been doing that for a long time, and even though it’s hard, I know what to do, and about how long it’s going to take me to do it. Biography, photo, acknowledgements, all had to be submitted to Tyndale. I got it done. Somehow.

Mid-June – I got my cover! What an exciting day. And a few days after that, the revisions came. I had heard horror stories for years about edits that take days, or weeks, with massive rewrites, so I cleared my calendar for several days in anticipation of the edits, but thank goodness they were all very easy fixes. Tyndale’s editors are amazingly talented! I’m probably spoiled for life…

July 1st – Release date! The book actually appeared on Amazon a few days early, then showed up on B&N and CBD soon after. It was so amazing to start seeing reviews pop up on Amazon and B&N, and on Goodreads.

July-August – Rev your engines! It’s time to promote! And that’s what I’ve been doing the last 7 weeks, and it’s a blog unto itself. But since this has gotten so long, I’ll save it for another day. I’ve been on about 40 blogs and organized a Kindle Giveaway with 7 Seeker books preloaded (with more to come).

Bottom line, you can go from unpublished to published in a blink of an eye, so be prepared in every way that you can. I’ve been pursuing publication for seventeen years, but some things still caught me off guard.

It’s been a fast and furious, fun ride, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

***

Stealing Jake

When Livy O'Brien spies a young boy jostling a man walking along the boardwalk, she recognizes the act for what it is. After all, she used to be known as Light-fingered Livy. But that was before she put her past behind her and moved to the growing town of Chestnut, Illinois, where she's helping to run an orphanage. Now she'll do almost anything to protect the street kids like herself.

Sheriff's deputy Jake Russell had no idea what he was in for when he ran into Livy--literally--while chasing down a pickpocket. With a rash of robberies and a growing number of street kids in town--as well as a loan on the family farm that needs to be paid off--Jake doesn't have time to pursue a girl. Still, he can't seem to get Livy out of his mind. He wants to get to know her better . . . but Livy isn't willing to trust any man, especially not a lawman.

Interwoven throughout is a group of street kids arrested in Chicago and sold as child labor. Leading this band of ragamuffins is young Luke, a scared, determined orphan intent on rescuing his little brother at any cost.

Jump to Amazon or B&N to purchase Stealing Jake:

B&N (Nook)
Amazon (Kindle)

To celebrate the release of Stealing Jake, I’m giving away a Kindle. Deadline to enter the contest is September 30th.



And today's giveaway is a prize package of 3 books off my shelves. If you'd like to be in the drawing, just mention PRIZE PACKAGE in a comment, and you'll be included in the drawing.

Award-winning author Pam Hillman writes inspirational fiction set in the turbulent times of the American West and the Gilded Age. Her debut book, Stealing Jake, won the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Genesis contest and was a finalist in Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart contest. She lives in Mississippi with her husband and family. She can be found on the web at www.pamhillman.com and www.calicotrails.blogspot.com

Starry-eyed Wonder: I have a book on Amazon!!!

While we're waiting for news from the Seekers who are SOMEWHERE between here and NYC, today's post is from a frazzled, bedazzled, extremely hyper-excited debut author who has spent a wonderful, awesome weekend promoting her new book!!

Someone asked, "I am wondering why you went through Tyndale to do a kindle e-book, when you could have gone directly to amazon."

Are.You.Kidding???

(Btw, this is a great question, and is the perfect lead-in to today's shotgun blog post, so thanks to my friend for asking the question!)
First reason, because Tyndale launched a Digital First Initiative, and I was blessed enough to be one of the 5 debut authors chosen to launch the program.

Next, are you ready for this?

My publisher is Tyndale House Publishers!

Oh.My.Lucky.Stars!

I could stop right there, because that's reason enough in and of itself, but if you want more, here you go:

My book was edited by Tyndale editors. They were awesome! The entire process was as smooth as silk.

My cover was designed by Tyndale cover designers. And I love it!

My book is backed by Tyndale's good name. Whoa!

Tyndale has marketing and publicity power. That I don't have...

Tyndale did all the work to get it on Amazon, CBD, B&N, and Mobipocket. What's a Mobipocket? My heroine is a former pickpocket. Maybe a Mobipocket is a Moabite pickpocket from 33 AD! Eureka! Glad to have figured THAT one out!

And finally, I am a Tyndale author, not just another name on Amazon.

How much is that worth to me? I can't even begin to measure that. I have no clout or pull with readers. Sure, some of my friends and family would have bought my book if I put it up on my own, but then that would have been the end of it, unless I got lucky as a few do. (And more power to them!)

And if this Digital First Initiative is as successful as it's shaping up to be, I might even see Stealing Jake in print next. It's a win-win situation for me and for Tyndale, and I'm over-the-moon excited to be partnering with one of the most respected publishing houses in the industry on this new venture.

Lot's of exciting things coming up, but they haven't been finalized yet, but keep coming back to Seekerville, and friend me on Facebook so you don't miss anything, k?

Are you ready?

I'll be doing a blog tour during the next couple of months and the grand prize will be a Kindle loaded with my Seeker Sisters' books!

As information becomes available about my blog tour and the Kindle giveaway it will be posted on my website, Facebook, Twitter, and in the Seekerville WE. Check back often and you won't miss out on a thing. Promise!

Last, I figured out how to upload the BUY BUTTON from Amazon. Hope it works!

Anybody want to try it out? Ha!

First Sale Party for Pam Hillman!

Today, Captain Jack cried. Real tears. I didn't think the scoundrel had it in him!

The poor man saw Tina’s message on the beach. He was so distraught when he saw that I, the last Seeker on Unpubbed Island, sold a book. I will leave with the next tide as soon as the supply boat arrives (but after the party, of course!), and he is all in a dither that Unpubbed Island will be shut down forever.

Not so!

Unpubbed Island is alive and well, and we’ll find out later what is to be done with this pristine piece of paradise that dreams are made of!

It is true. I, Pam Hillman, have sold my first book. (I'm whispering because the very thought sends Jack into another round of blubbering tears…) Other than taking Jack’s delicate sensibilities into consideration, I’m so excited to be a Tyndale House author!!

The call: It wasn’t a call exactly, but an email. My agent, the super savvy Steve Laube, of The Steve Laube Agency, emailed that Tyndale House had made an offer on my 2011 Golden Heart award finalist Stealing Jake, the story of a former street urchin pickpocket who steals the heart of the local deputy sheriff.

One thing led to another, and we said YES! I guess that pretty much sums it up. lol

My journey to publication has taken a long and winding road. But I wouldn’t trade the trip for anything. With each step, I’ve made friends in this industry and learned something that will help me on the rest of the journey. I would tell you all about it, but honestly, it would take forever.

I’m so thankful for Steve’s guidance and support, and for Jan Stob and the team at Tyndale House for believing in this story.

Not only am I going to be a Tyndale author, Stealing Jake is part of Tyndale's new Digital First Initiative, which is just what it sounds like. Digital first...and then the sky’s the limit!

And, that’s not all. Stealing Jake, and the other debut authors in the Digital First Initiative will release in July 2011! Now, isn’t that the coolest thing ever? I'll definitely let you know here in Seekerville when Stealing Jake releases, but follow me and Seekerville on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest news about all the Seekers.

Now, what’s next for Unpubbed Island?

Tell us what you think. Resort hotel with writers' retreats? An Unpubbed Survivor Island for the friends of Seekerville? A cruise destination from the mainland every time a Seeker makes another sale? An island getaway to write our next masterpiece? Let us know what you think for a chance to win one of today's prizes!

[picture of a grass hut]


Nice hut, Tina! Who’s got first dibs?

To celebrate this momentous occasion that the Seeker Sisters have been working toward since we banded together in 2005, today we’re giving away 15 prizes, in honor of the BIG FIFTEEN! We are emptying Davy Jones’ locker and foraging for Captain Jack’s stash of Seeker books. Winners will be announced in the Weekend Edition.

So drop in, sit a spell, have some biscuits with homemade butter and blackberry jam (Jack made it himself!), eggs, bacon, ham, grits, and some of Helen’s great coffee, hot chocolate, and chamomille and vanilla chai tea.

And that’s just for breakfast!

We’ll serve lunch later, with a humongous coconut cream cheese cake with icing THIS thick made from scratch and sent over from the mainland with best wishes from my husband’s 93 yo grandmother. And we’ll wash it all down with fruit punch with huge scoops of pineapple ice cream floating on top. Yum!


No spiking, Jack! This is a respectable party, and Mamaw has her eye on you!

Seekerville motto:"Our focus on Him as we write toward the dream,
We shall leave no woman behind." (T. Russo, 2005)