Facebook: Turning Friends into Fans

Facebook is all about making friends, interacting with them, sharing everything from recipes to the latest escapade at Walmart. Or as Facebook likes to ask, “What’s on your mind?” It’s a lot of fun, and you can keep up with family and friends, local and not so local.

As authors, we end up with lots of friend requests from people we don't know personally, so we need to step outside the box to separate fans from our real family and friends, but to stay in touch with them as well.

I mentioned a few of my techniques to some of the Seekers, and they wanted to know more about how I turn friends into fans.

Accepting Friend Requests

These Friend Requests are fictional. Do you recognize any of them?

Let's start at the beginning. You have a bunch of friend requests waiting for you to Confirm or Decline. My policy is never to accept friend requests immediately. I wait several days in case someone's account has been hacked. I search for their name in the Facebook search box to try to determine if it looks like the profile has been hacked. If I don't see anything suspicious, I take a quick look at their profile, looking at what they talk about, and look to see if we have mutual friends. If all looks well, I Confirm/Accept the friend request.

As I worked on this post, I accepted a friend request that's been pending for several weeks, simply because I've been busy writing and haven't had time to check them all off. This person--we'll call her Sue--and I have mutual friends. Sue lives in my home state, but over a hundred miles from me. Also, one of our mutual friends is one of my biggest fans, so I can only assume she found me through our mutual friend.

Add to Another List

Now that I know Sue lives in my home state, I'm going to add her to a couple of special lists that I've created. You'll find the "Add to another List" option under the Friends tab. What kind of lists do you want or need? I have several, but if you're an author (or an aspiring author) start with Fans, Local, State (mine is Mississippi), your High School, or College, etc. Other ideas might be Best Friends, Editors/Agents, Media, Bloggers.

Check all that apply. If you don’t know the person at all, assume they are a FAN. Fan is your friend. If you don’t know them, but all their friends are local to you, and you see on their profile that they are within 20-30 miles of you, check Fan & Local.

Now that Sue and I are friends, I Stop. :) Well, not literally. I can be friendly with her, chat it up. Post on her wall, maybe invite her to visit my webpage or like my Facebook page. After all, she did send me a friend request, so I can only assume our connection is books. My books, hopefully.

Second Reminder to Like Facebook Page

Every few months I invite my new friends to like my Facebook page. But not ALL my friends, just the ones I've marked as Fans. If another author sends me a friend request, I don't message them asking them to like my page. Although, I have goofed up and sent those messages out, either not recognizing someone as an author, or by accident, but I try not to bombard my writer friends.

Note: To toggle between your profile and any pages you own, use the inverted triangle in the far right hand corner at the top of your Facebook profile.

We're several steps into our Turning Friends into Fans post, and I doubt I’ve told you anything you didn’t already know, so let’s step it up a little bit. :) 

Remember the new categories under "Add to Another List" you created? Specifically, the "Fans" list where you didn't include other authors, editors, and agents and known industry professionals? While on your author page, not your profile, click on the "Invite your friends to like this Page", then chose "Fans" and send everyone an invitation to like your page. You can review the list and select/deselect manually, or you can just send to all.

Don’t assume all your friends know you're an author. You can include a simple message like, “We're friends on Facebook, but did you know that I'm an author? I'd love it if you'd like my FB page so you can stay informed about my latest books.”

What else can you do with your specialized Lists... Well, you can invite Locals to Book Signings as I did for this event recently. Sebastopolooza Booksigning & Giveaway 2017. I invited about 500 people to the festival because I knew they were local. And I had a LIST and I knew how to use it. Sure, some couldn't attend, but some could. And they knew I'd be there with my books because they got an invitation. 

And, for fun, I created a Seekerville Event last night and invited some of you. Give us a shout out if you got an invitation to join us today via the Facebook: Turning Friends into Fans Event. 

So, there ya go. Two ways you can create lists in Facebook and use them as needed. Maybe there are other great ways you can think of to use these lists. Other than Local, State, Fans, what other categories can you think of that would make turning friends into fans a worthwhile endeavor?

Enter for a chance to win an e-copy of my latest novel,

The Promise of Breeze Hill. Enter now on Goodreads!

Click Here to Enter!

The Ten Most Effective Ways To Reward Readers for Reading Your Novel

with guest Vince Mooney.

"What Gets Rewarded Gets Done." -Michael Leboeuf

Advertisers learned over 100 years ago that if you wanted people to read your ads, you had to reward them for reading at every step along the way. That means rewarding your readers sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph and even subhead by subhead. 

"The Smartest Writing Advice I Ever Got Featuring Seekers and friends of Seekerville." 

The best writing advice I ever received was from Clyde Bedell, my boss and a charter member of the Retail Advertising Hall of Fame, who told me:

“No one has to read advertising. People won’t be bored in print. You have to keep them reading or the most powerful selling message in the world will do you no good. The way to keep people reading is to reward them every step of the way.” 

This same advice applies to fiction.  Over the years I have found that the writers who reward their readers the most often also happen to be best-selling authors.

There are many ways to reward readers. While I'll mention the top ten in this post, as a way to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Seekerville, there are many more ways as well.  As a creative writer, it would be wise to always be on the look-out for new ways of rewarding readers.  

The Golden Rule for Using Rewards:

"Attract The Favorable Attention of Those Readers Who Will Most Enjoy Your Book."

Rewards work best when they are offered to readers who already have an interest in what you are writing.  

To do the best job of doing this it is a must to know your readers and what they like. 

Consider the below headline: 

"Do You Make These 10 Common Mistakes Which Cost Investors Thousands?" 

This headline promises to offer investors valuable information as the reward for reading the ad. It also attracts the attention of investors -- the advertiser's target audience.

For fiction writers, this means you should design your marketing so that it grabs the attention of the very best prospects for your book.  This is your target audience. They are the easy to sell, 'low hanging,' fruit you simply must capture.   

The best way to grab the attention of these prospects is by having a headline, a title, and cover art that show what kind of book it is. It would also help of the cover art shows some of the rewards readers will get by reading your novel. 

For example: if a 'hidden child' theme book is set in a beautiful seaside location and the story involves ballooning, then cover art showing the seashore, sailboats, a lighthouse, and balloons in the air above, can promise these rewards to the potential reader.  If possible the cover could also show the moment when the father discovers the child is his. This is often the most anticipated scene in the book.  Of course, you must play fair with your readers. That scene must be in the book. (Ruth might even include an adorable dog in the story.)

The Top Ten Rewards  

1. Write to the needs of the reader and not just the needs of the novel. 

Write like you are around a campfire telling a story to the audience before you.

Note their reactions. Keep them entertained. Always be looking for ways to add rewards to each page. Avoid a series of low or no reward pages in a row. 'Sagging' rewards can happen anywhere in the novel, not just the middle. Ask your self: "How is my reader reacting to this page as she reads it?"

2. Write rich copy which moves the story along faster and with more information. 

I call this 'paragraph packing'. For example, a scene can accomplish its main objective like informing the hero that the heroine is upset and on her way to his office. However, the same scene could also accomplish many other objectives. I've seen eight or nine goals accomplished in a single scene and sometimes this can be done without adding many additional words.  James Patterson goes over each scene many times not to find errors but to make the story better. 

For example, a paragraph could: 
start a new anticipatory event (AE)
resolve or answer an (AE)
reveal a secret
create a secret
give a clue or create a red herring
lay a foundation for a coming event
foreshadow a turn in the plot
provide a factoid (information that is interesting) 
provide a little backstory
contain a sparkle -- a beautiful use of language
do some five sensing
spark an emotion in the reader 
mirror environment conditions to story development

Packing paragraphs with powerful story elements makes the reading richer. As the reader learns more about the story that reader becomes more invested in the story. The sooner this happens the better.

3. Make each scene important by having it change the trajectory of the story. 

If a scene does not change where the story is going, then cut it out.  This gives the story a strong sense of movement. This is James Patterson's advice. Doing this can make a 400-page novel seem to move as fast as a 200-page book. 

I've read some Marion Chesney Regency Romances that were about 180 pages long and were very satisfying romances. However, they also featured complete mysteries which were complex enough to fill a 300-page book. She did this with excellent paragraph packing. Marion eventually moved into the mystery genre to become the best-selling M. C. Beaton. 


4. Keep asking questions that the reader simply must have answered right away. 

These are often Anticipatory Events (AE) that the reader looks forward to having answered. They can be short-term (answered in a page or two), chapter long (resolved in the same chapter), medium term (answered in a few chapters) and global (answered by the book's end).  

For example: Sandra Byrd in  Asking for Trouble.

London Confidential writes about a 15-year-old girl who starts school in London when her family moves there from America. She wants a job on the school newspaper. Will she get the job? Will her lack of experience cost her? Is a new girl also coming to the school? Will she be a friend or enemy? Will she want to work on the newspaper? Will she take the job from me?  All the above is going on before the new girl even shows up. I think most writers would just have the new girl show up one day with no AEs. Also by creating these AEs the author shows the mindset of a 15-year-old.  I found this book a super page-turner with its dozens of AEs.  

5. Make it easy for the reader to read your writing. 

Readers like white space, short chapters, short paragraphs, and crystal clear prose. It's important to check each sentence for alternative meanings. A sentence which is given an alternative meaning can confuse the reader and cause her to reread the sentence several times. This will surely pull her out of the story. This is the opposite of rewarding the reader. 

Also be careful with names. Make names unique to the story. Try to use different letters of the alphabet to start each name. No Richards and Roberts as major characters in the same story. A reader should never have to ask: "Which character is this? I'm not sure. Is Richard the uncle or is it Robert?"  Be especially aware of famous names or mythical names like Phoenix -- the bird… or Butch … a favorite bully name. It's best not to color your characters with the baggage of these names unless the name's connotations actually apply to your character.
  
6. Add value to your base story.

 This additional value often makes the reader feel smarter for having read your book. Added value is a big reward for some readers. Nevada Barr sets each novel inside a National Park. This is a great way to experience national parks. I read "Ill Wind" just before visiting Mesa Verde where the mystery is set. 

Ask: "What will the reader get from reading this story besides the story itself?  

7. Give your characters a variety of emotions that the readers will also be vicariously feeling. 

I like to color code my copy with highlighters. For example: red for anger, green for jealousy, yellow for happiness, blue for sadness or depression, etc. This lets you easily check your writing to see if it is colorless or monochrome. Many readers read romances for the vicarious feelings they want to experience. These feelings include being loved, appreciated, victorious, desired, admired, etc. When your reader feels these emotions your book comes alive. This is how to reach out and touch your readers. 

Don't write a downer which is depressing until the HEA arrives. Give characters some victories along the way. Watching the tv show "Call the Midwife," can cause some highly emotional experiences. Over the years I've noticed that every emotional high (like a difficult birth being successful) there is a balancing low point (a death).  

8. Move beyond telling and showing to 'being' in which the reader feels what the character feels. 

For example: you can tell the reader that a character was angry. You can show the reader that the character was angry by showing him leave his office and slamming the door. For 'Being', making the reader feel anger, you could have the character kick the sleeping dog as he leaves the office. A writer can't always do this but it can be done more often than one might think. When the story happens to the reader that's a major reward.


9. Keep it fresh. Avoid clichés and stock romance scenes. 

Create new future clichés. Also write what I call sparkles -- colorful, beautiful or even surprising use of words when describing events or settings like a beautiful sunset or waterfall. 

Suggestion: make a list of the most popular clichés in current use. When you get a chance, like on line at the post office, try to think of new ways to say the same thing. Write these down for future use. 

10. Invest the reader quickly in the story. 

Use headers like: 

Summer 1887 
Tombstone Territory.  

By packing your paragraphs you can inform the reader as to what is happening, who the characters are, why the reader should care, what is at stake and the character's  goals and motivation. 

If you want your readers to buy your next book, make the book they are currently reading as rewarding as possible. 

"What gets rewarded gets done."

Readers, which of these reward methods are your favorites? Feel free to share authors who you've read who provide memorable rewards.

Writers, which of these rewards do you find the most challenging?

Leave a comment today. Seekerville is giving away a Seeker ebook of choice to one commenter. Winner announced in the Weekend Edition. 

 Vince Mooney is a friend of Seekerville. He’s a retired marketing creative person and college teacher who now runs a real estate school by mail and writes romances and nonfiction books on writing. A university training philosopher, it’s been said that sometimes it’s hard to tell when he is being serious. 

Day 14 of our October Birthday Celebration. Every comment today gets you in the running for our weekly $50 Amazon gift card (This week's winner announced tomorrow!) and the Kindle Fire with Alexa! 

9 Steps to Market a New Book Release

with guest Misty M. Beller.

I’m so excited to celebrate nine years with y’all! As you paddle furiously from unpubbed island to the shores of success, one of the important supplies you’ll need is a bit of marketing savvy to help make the most of your experiences in Published Land. I’m in the midst of releasing a new book myself, so this topic has been forefront in my mind! (If you’d like to check it out, A Pony Express Romance is available for pre-order and scheduled to release Dec. 27, 2016).  

To grow those skills (and in keeping with the theme of “9”), let’s talk about nine critical steps to successfully marketing your new release!

Note: Sometimes marketing can be a bit overwhelming, so if that’s the raft you’re rowing, I’m going to make it easier for you. I’ll put an asterisk beside the steps that are absolutely critical. The others you can pick and choose what you want to do. 

So let’s get started!

1. Announce the Book to Your Email List*:

When these folks signed up for your email list, you probably promised they would be the first to know about new releases, so keep that promise! Announce the new release to your email list first. If your book is available for pre-order, you’ll want to send a total of three emails to your list: one when the pre-order starts, another on release day, and the third a couple weeks after release. In this last email, thank them for the purchase, let them know you hope they enjoy the story and ask them to leave a review. Here is a blog post where I cover these emails in more detail. 

2. Post the Book*: 

We’re not talking social media yet. In step two, you want to make sure that book is added on all the websites where readers are looking. Add the book cover, blurb, and buy links to your author website. Make sure you have an Amazon Author Page and your new book is linked to it (no, this doesn’t happen automatically). The same with Bookbub. (You do have a Bookbub Author Page, right?) Add the book to Goodreads, ACFW’s Fiction Finder, etc. And if you have any indie published books, make sure you add links to the new book in the back matter of your existing inventory.  

3. Prep your Launch Team*: 

Send advance reader copies to them a couple months before release, if possible. I also like to send out the links where they should post reviews as soon as those are live. You can send out the Goodreads link right away, then send out the other links when the review option is live (usually on release day). 

4. Announce on Social Media*:

Now is the time to share with the world! Make sure you include the buy links so people can get in on the fun.

5. Schedule Blog Tour: 

If you plan to do interviews or guests posts on blogs, you’ll want to schedule these several months in advance. Guest blogging can be time-consuming, so make sure you choose blogs geared toward your target reader. 

6. Submit for Critical Reviews:

This is another step that needs to begin early, often four to six months before release. If you’re traditionally published, your publisher will likely handle this piece for you. However, indies get to do the legwork on their own. Some of the bigger review sites include Booklife, RT Reviews, and Kirkus Reviews. 

7. Schedule Paid Ads:

Again, if you’re traditionally published, you’ll want to discuss this with the publisher’s marketing team to make sure you’re clear about what they’re doing and what they’re willing to pay for. My favorite paid ads for pre-orders are Facebook Ads. After release, I submit for a feature with EreaderNewsToday.com as soon as the book has ten reviews. Then when the book hits 25 reviews or more, I start requesting a feature with Bookbub.com. There are lots of other ad sites out there—some more effective than others—but these are my personal favorites. 

8. Schedule any Appearances or Parties: 

If you plan to host a release party, either in person or on social media, or book signings, now’s the time to get them lined up!

9. Document Each Step and the Results*:

Even if you think there’s no way you could possibly forget the details of this launch, I promise you will! Create a document (in Excel, Word, a spiral-bound notebook—anything!) and write down EVERYTHING you did to market this new release. Then record the results of each activity. What step had a lot of impact, either in book sales or recognition? What was a waste of time or money? What do you wish you’d done differently? Record it all! This is called a post-mortem and will be so helpful to you next time! 


Although the marketing possibilities are endless, these are the core focus areas. And as you gain experience releasing new books, you’ll find some of these bring you more value than others. So let’s hear from you! What are your favorite ways to market a new book release? And readers, how do you typically find out about new releases from favorite or new authors?

Join the conversation for a chance to win the first three books in my Mountain Dreams Series.  (Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.)

I’m giving these away so you don’t have to wait until the end of December for my new release, A Pony Express Romance, but you can take a peek at it here!

Additionally, I have a free Book Launch Marketing Checklist that you can download here.

Misty M. Beller writes Christian historical romance and is the author of the Mountain Dreams Series and the Texas Rancher Trilogy.

She was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. Growing up, her family was close, and they continue to keep that priority today. Misty has worked over a decade in the corporate world, focusing her efforts in project management, business leadership, and marketing, and now loves to apply those same skills in her writing life.  spends treasured days with her husband and two daughters. In the midst of it all, her husband and daughters keep her both grounded and crazy.

Misty loves to connect through her website, marketing blog for authors, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

A Pony Express Romance

After growing up as an orphan, Josiah English wants nothing more than to have his own ranch and raise Arabian horses. Riding for the Pony Express seems like the ticket to his dream. And when he meets the stationmaster’s beautiful sister, it seems he may be within reach of the happy life he craves.

Mara Reid is thrilled to finally meet the man of her dreams, and the fact that they both want to raise horses in the Sweetwater River valley seems like confirmation straight from God. 

But when the Express shuts down and Mara's family home is in peril, the danger looming over Mara's life may not be half as destructive as that threatening her heart.

PLACING ADS

Hello Seekerville,

Sandra here with some ideas, information and experiences with placing ads for her books.  We have discussed in other posts the methods to market with a low budget and for free, but I am hoping to gather more information from all of you as to what has worked for you and what has not with the placement of paid ads.

I am also interested in hearing from readers as to what ads they pay attention to regarding the books they buy. Do you respond to ads? How do you select the books you buy online? Do you buy most of your books online or in bookstores?

The most frequent request from Seekers in the survey involved marketing. This is the aspect of writing that befuddles most of us, including the major traditional publishers. And since we are in America and our economy is based on capitalism, we all know the value of advertisements.

My Christmas novella will now be in print copy so I wanted to be ready for the upcoming Christmas season.

The new paradigm shift in publishing has given authors much more freedom, choices and opportunities to publish. But it also brings real issues on how to let readers know your wonderful, best-selling book is out there. Where do we advertise to reach our audience?

Amazon has algorithms for marketing. They try to switch it around so every time you think you have it figured out, it changes. They are trying to level the playing field. But honestly, they have ended up with their own exclusivity because they end up promoting the sales that are already up. So the new and upcoming author ends up with the same frustration on getting their books noticed as they did in the old paradigm.

One of the methods for success with Amazon is to produce new books every month. This is wonderful if you have a large backlist to put out there or if you write like Ruthy and Mary, and finish thousands of words per day.

I am not one of those type of writers.  I did have some backlist, but with all my responsibilities, it takes me a long time to write a book. When I do write it, I want it to sell.  What author doesn’t?

So what can we do to promote sales. I remember interviewing Karen Baney for marketing advice. She was a midlist author who made several thousand dollars per month and I wanted to know what she did. She said she puts 20 percent of what she makes into advertising. When she doesn’t advertise, her sales drop.


I am blessed to have the money to pay for advertising, but so far the money I’ve spent has not paid off and I think it has a lot to do with the market.  I have advertised with some of the best mainstream publicity agents, but that puts my book out there to everyone. I get sales, but end up with a lot of reviews from customers who wanted more sexy or erotic romances. Or the readers wanted more Christian elements. The publicists don’t have separate lists for the types of books out there. So if an ad goes out to a reader looking for erotica, they are going to be very disappointed in my books.  Or if they bother to read the ad, they won’t order it because it isn’t erotica.

I worked with Writerspace for a year, but had very little response. Most of the response was for the free books I offered.

I also worked with Pub-Craft. I met them at RWA 2016 and was impressed with their ideas. They are young and tech savvy, which I think is important in today’s market. However, when I saw where they had placed most of the ads for my books, they were placed on erotica web sights.  I had specifically requested that they be marketed to the clean and wholesome list and they assured me they had one. But when I went to all the places where my ads were, most of them were erotica. So you can imagine the impression I made. LOL.

Slide from Pub-Crafts workshop at RWA 2016 shows a list of major places to advertise.

I used them for my audiobooks because I hadn’t had many sales with those and I would be able to track results. In truth, sales did go up with their publicity. They did have some websites that would have readers that would like my books, but I don’t think the results really impressed me that much.

The same rationale applies to the Christian market.  My books are mainstream and not specifically Christian. They are faith-based, but advertising those with the Christian publicists is going to create some disappointment as well. However, I’ve had more success with them, because most Christian readers prefer clean and wholesome.

So does anyone know of any publicists or advertisers for Clean and Wholesome romance? I know there is a market for it, because most of the time when I go to booksignings and fairs where I sell many books, the readers always show more interest when I declare they are clean and wholesome. Many readers thank me for writing a good book that isn’t filled with sex and violence.

Slide from Pub-Craft presentation at RWA 2016 shows free places to advertise

AT the RWA conference I went to a workshop regarding the use of social media to promote book sales.  On Facebook and Amazon there are  options to  BOOST your webpage or site. Those presenting advised that the boosts were not very effective. I agree. I tried the boost to Facebook and really all that does is go to my friends and they already know what I have.

They said the paid ads were the best marketing tool, especially Facebook. Well Facebook had a workshop in Prineville, Oregon which is only about 45 miles from here so a girlfriend (who sells her art) and I went to the presentation. We were really hoping they would show us HOW to place an ad, but they mainly showed us the statistics and data we can get from their ads.  They can show demographics, who looks at your ad, what section of the country looks at your ad, the age range of those who click on your ad, etc.  If you were really a marketing expert, this information would be fun. However, at this point it is Greek to me. (Laughing again) Tina did post a link last month about  ads in Facebook.

Facebook Event in Prineville, Oregon

Unfortunately, the ad was difficult to place with my lack of tech savvy. I kept putting it off as they used so much language I wasn’t familiar with.  But I did finally place an ad with them. So I will let you know next month how that went.

I also went with other authors and placed an ad in the RWA Report. They were a group of us that met up in San Diego. Now the ad includes other genres, but the headline is: “Something For Everyone” So it is clear what type of book each one is. The reader will know what type of book they are ordering. It comes out in the November issue, so I’ll let you know how that goes as well.

Be sure and check out the links Tina puts in the Weekend Editions. They are loaded with marketing tips and articles.

Do any of you writers have experience with placing ads? What has worked and what has been a waste of time and money?  Any writer who comments will be entered into the drawing for $25 toward a paid ad or a copy of Joanna Penn’s book HOW TO MARKET A BOOK.  This website was recommended to me by Tina. Thank you Tina. I’ve ordered the book for myself and would be delighted to order one for a winner.

Readers, I do want to hear from you as well. What ads do you pay attention to? Do online ads influence your buying? Those readers who respond will be put in a drawing for a Seeker book.

Please indicate which prize you are interested in when you comment.

I have a large pot of my chocolate mocha swirl coffee and several teas on the sideboard. I also have my grandma’s crystal platter filled with yummy fruit of the season-crisp apples, pears, grapes and sliced melons.  Since pumpkins are showing up in the veggie stands, I made some yummy pumpkin bread to go with the coffee and tea.

Enjoy these first days of fall. We are seeing leaves turning here due to crisp thirty degree mornings. Time to follow the birds and head south.

Sandra Leesmith writes sweet romances to warm the heart. Sandra loves to play pickleball, hike, read, bicycle and write. She lives in Arizona with her husband and during the hot summers, she and her husband travel throughout the United States in their motor home where she enjoys the outdoors and finds wonderful ideas for her next writing project. You can find Sandra's books here on Amazon. Three of Sandra's most popular books are also audiobooks at Audible.  

You can read more posts by Sandra here.

Marketing and story-telling in easy and fun steps!

by Michelle Ule

Michelle Ule

(Happy birthday, Seekerville! Thanks for seven years of producing interesting information for readers and writers alike!)

People always want to know where writers get their inspiration and other writers are curious as to how authors integrate experiences into their stories.

            One of the best examples of a setting inspiring a story is found in my short novel Bridging Two Hearts. Set in Coronado, California, it was prompted by a visit to friends who lived on the island. The husband was the executive officer of the USS Ronald Reagan. The wife worked at the world famous Hotel del Coronado. They lived on San Diego bay and delighted in telling stories of what life was like when Navy SEALs exercised just off their back yard!

           

$0.99 ebook on sale now!

From our visit, I developed the tale of a massage therapist at the famous Hotel del Coronado, who was terrified of the expansive Coronado Bridge-- which made the commute to work a major challenge.

            She fell in love with a Navy SEAL who didn’t think he was afraid of anything.

            Let the excitement begin!

            I did a lot of research through the Internet, but halfway through the writing, my husband and I packed up our military ID cards and traveled to the gorgeous Hotel del Coronado for a long weekend of relaxing (of course I needed a research massage) and sleuthing. We needed details—where would my couple find ice cream? Did special forces operators really roam the community?

            Those details all made it into the story, which then presented me with a number of marketing opportunities once the book released. I spoke to the owner of McP’s, a Navy SEAL hangout, to request permission to use his pub in my story.

“No problem,” he said once he examined my ID card.

            My heroine and hero bought passion fruit gelato at the Bottega Italiana and sauntered past Pandera Bread. I sent copies of my book to each spot mentioned in the novel, along with a small sign about the book, just in case we could cross market each other. Readers who read Bridging Two Hearts told me they know exactly where they are on the island because of the clear descriptions.

            My daughter was delighted to find another source for delicious passion fruit gelato.

            Including real places can be a great way to link your story with potential endorsers and easy to do while you’re writing. In this publishing era, anything that can make your story more marketable is important.

            Of course, references should be positive and you should clear the name use with the owners!

            If they’ve got a Facebook business page, you can send information about your story. Every little mention helps, but don’t abuse it.

Pinterest, of course, is another place where additional information can be shown and adds to the stories you’re telling. I’ve set up Pinterest boards for all my stories: Bridging Two Hearts, The Dogtrot Christmas, An Inconvenient Gamble, The Gold Rush Christmas, The Yuletide Bride, and even boards related to the World War I project I’m currently working on.

            Contemporary stories lend themselves to this type of marketing but what about historical stories—which is what I really write?

 

New York Times Bestseller

           Seeking any sort of unique angle helps. For example, my first novella, “The Dogtrot Christmas” (part of the New York Times bestselling A Log Cabin Christmas Collection) has an unusual title.

 What is a dogtrot cabin?

I’m glad you asked. Take a look at the short video I made to explain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6LNPHFNPq0&feature=g-hist

This is obviously silly, but you now know what a dogtrot cabin is, don’t you?

Because several of the scenes in “The Dogtrot Christmas” were taken directly from my family history (including actual relatives), I could also pass along information about the book to forums with distant relatives. If an historical society functions in the community in which you set your story, contact them. I set two stories in the same county and when I contacted the local library, was told they’d be delighted to purchase copies of my books.

12 Brides of Christmas Collection Bk #5
On Sale for $0.99 in all ebook formats

In my recently released The Yuletide Bride (a rhyme and a pun on my name, wonderful!), my heroine needed to learn how to play the bagpipes. While I’ve been a woodwind player my whole life, I’d never tried to get a squawk, er, sound, out of such an instrument.

What better way to be able to describe the effort than by trying it myself?

And what better way to promote it than by making a video of my attempt? http://t.co/fXLORltSLD

A friend used an IPhone to film while I . . . made noise.

Setting a story in a real place can be helpful even for historic tales. “The Gold Rush Christmas,” part of the bestselling A Pioneer Christmas Collection, took place in Skagway, Alaska—which has a thriving tourism trade revolving around the gold rush history. The National Parks service runs two halves of a museum about the Alaskan Gold Rush—a small outpost in Skagway as well as a splendid museum in Seattle. When I stopped in to thank the rangers for their excellent webpage (in Seattle), they wanted

Click to Buy on Amazon

to hear all about the book.

Letting the locals know, dropping off a copy of the book, thanking museums in print, all can go a long way towards establishing good will for your book—and for you. It’s as easy as saying thanks, acknowledging their help (perhaps in blog posts) and by writing stories that demonstrate to readers how interesting history can really be.

When has a book’s setting captured your imagination and inspired you to visit?

Do you enjoy visiting Pinterest boards that provide additional information about the books you love?

Would a silly video interest you in a story or send you running away screaming?

            I'll be giving away copies of Bridging Two Hearts, A Log Cabin Christmas Collection as and an eBook-only copy of The Yuletide Bride.

Navy wife Michelle Ule is a graduate of UCLA and the best- selling author of five historical novellas and a novel. She lives in northern California with her family where she works at a literary agency, teaches Bible study, plays in a woodwind ensemble, and writes.

Fascinated by the “why?” and always looking to encourage and provide hope, Michelle is currently working on a World War I book involving Oswald Chambers. You can follow the exciting research by subscribing to her quarterly newsletter here: http://bit.ly/1yMSAAj

Michelle is a long-time lay counselor in both crisis pregnancies and budget counseling. She loves to travel and is an accomplished genealogist. You can learn more about her at www.michelleule.com