Post by Admin on Oct 14, 2016 21:06:12 GMT
I don't know if you're anything like me but I'm always buying notebooks, extra pens, extra printer ink, printing paper. Odds and ends of writing stuff that I might, at some time in the future, need.
Today, getting ready for Josh to video chat with Kathy I went hunting for a notebook. And found one that was mostly empty except for a few pages in the front. When I looked at it I realized it had been notes jotted down for writing out a business plan. It is pretty old but I found it interesting to see what I'd jotted down, and even more important, did I get any of it done?
I found
1. Build my back list.
a. Back when I started the number to shoot for was 6. And a lot of my marketing plan was based on having a strong back list. I planned on having six books in print by Jan. 1st of 2015. I obviously missed that deadline. I will have 4 books out by Jan. 1st of 2017. the entire year of 2015 was lost. Joshua had the sickest year of his life. I was stressed beyond endurance. Closer to giving up than I ever have been before. I didn't realize it but I must, on some level, have known that Joshua was dealing with something big. Something nobody would even look for. I'm very grateful we found the cancer before it could spread beyond the one tumor. An on-the-ball guardian angel was on duty that year.
b. book #5, #6, and #7 will all happen fairly rapidly. I can't really claim book #5. I'm ghost writing it as a favor to Kay. I will make sure her book sees the light of day. I hope its something good and beautiful. But I have to trust God to guide that book.
Back lists are where we make our living. So being prolific is important. Small streams of income from multiple sources add up to livable income. And who knows when the break out book will happen. It won't happen if it never gets written. I know from my own reading habits that if I find an author I like, I'm more apt to go buy everything they have out. Then I watch for them and begin to pre-order their new books. It happens. And we gain a fan base one reader at a time.
2. Expand my platform.
a. I've done poorly in creating my back list but I think I've done pretty good at expanding my platform. I've gotten our art work onto a global store. The websites aren't where they need to be but in two weeks I've gone from no visitors to 18. All I have to do is keep providing new stuff. Keep the reader coming back on a weekly basis. It will gain momentum. Especially if I add Joshua's website to the mix. I have not updated his yet. I need to do both of them every single week. I have linked the art site to the websites so there is one-click buying. I have linked my books to my author website so it's a one-click buy. I don't know if I've done that for Createspace although if I get them to Amazon, they can order a print book from there. I'd rather they buy print books directly from Createspace if I can figure out how. I make a bigger profit that way if I can eliminate the middle man (Amazon)
b. I need to get youtube clips going again.
c. I need to add podcasting. I want to do a subscription webinar. Just haven't figured out how yet.
d. I need to get my newsletter going out at least quarterly. I plan on using one newsletter for both Joshua and me.
e. Pinterest is doing good to get me visible. I need to add more pictures more often. I'm able to add all kinds of interesting things. I have boards for the pottery, the cooking, the DIY projects. Art and books.
f. Goodreads- I ran a significant ad experiment on Goodreads. I had a lot of exposure and very little return. I did some reviews etc. but I find Goodreads a bust and not worth my time. I cannot make it work and it requires too much of my time and energy. I've given up there, at least for right now.
g. Wattpad I loved Wattpad. I got my early chapters of Knock Knock out there to test the water. See who read. Who would comment. When I got ready to seriously write and edit. I pulled off the free chapters. I lost momentum because I truly thought I could ride the interest there to buyers. I dropped the ball and lost opportunity. Its a good idea. I just didn't handle it right.
h. Linked In...I need to work this site more. I'm getting a lot of people adding me. A lot of people recommending my skills. I think this one holds some possibilities and when Knock Knock is ready to go live, I'm going to be looking at this site.
I. Twitter...the only thing I use this for is to funnel people to my websites. I do get increased visitors when I tweet about a new blog.
3. Joshua is getting stronger in his skills. His artwork, especially the abstract work is getting a lot of attention and everything he does sells. He is working on his picture books. I do believe he can go traditional and we will be looking for an agent. I hope before the beginning of 2017.
4. the video chat with Kathy is going really well. She's a good teacher and he's responding. She said she hopes to get him reading at a 3rd grade level and then up to 5th. All of this will help Joshua meet his goals. and help him become an independent writer.
All of this was on the one page in the notebook. Sometimes I need a reminder that I'm not being lazy. I get a lot done. Just never seems to bring me the results I hope for. But I do think I know way more than I did 3 years ago. At some point the scale has to tip in my direction.
Today, getting ready for Josh to video chat with Kathy I went hunting for a notebook. And found one that was mostly empty except for a few pages in the front. When I looked at it I realized it had been notes jotted down for writing out a business plan. It is pretty old but I found it interesting to see what I'd jotted down, and even more important, did I get any of it done?
I found
1. Build my back list.
a. Back when I started the number to shoot for was 6. And a lot of my marketing plan was based on having a strong back list. I planned on having six books in print by Jan. 1st of 2015. I obviously missed that deadline. I will have 4 books out by Jan. 1st of 2017. the entire year of 2015 was lost. Joshua had the sickest year of his life. I was stressed beyond endurance. Closer to giving up than I ever have been before. I didn't realize it but I must, on some level, have known that Joshua was dealing with something big. Something nobody would even look for. I'm very grateful we found the cancer before it could spread beyond the one tumor. An on-the-ball guardian angel was on duty that year.
b. book #5, #6, and #7 will all happen fairly rapidly. I can't really claim book #5. I'm ghost writing it as a favor to Kay. I will make sure her book sees the light of day. I hope its something good and beautiful. But I have to trust God to guide that book.
Back lists are where we make our living. So being prolific is important. Small streams of income from multiple sources add up to livable income. And who knows when the break out book will happen. It won't happen if it never gets written. I know from my own reading habits that if I find an author I like, I'm more apt to go buy everything they have out. Then I watch for them and begin to pre-order their new books. It happens. And we gain a fan base one reader at a time.
2. Expand my platform.
a. I've done poorly in creating my back list but I think I've done pretty good at expanding my platform. I've gotten our art work onto a global store. The websites aren't where they need to be but in two weeks I've gone from no visitors to 18. All I have to do is keep providing new stuff. Keep the reader coming back on a weekly basis. It will gain momentum. Especially if I add Joshua's website to the mix. I have not updated his yet. I need to do both of them every single week. I have linked the art site to the websites so there is one-click buying. I have linked my books to my author website so it's a one-click buy. I don't know if I've done that for Createspace although if I get them to Amazon, they can order a print book from there. I'd rather they buy print books directly from Createspace if I can figure out how. I make a bigger profit that way if I can eliminate the middle man (Amazon)
b. I need to get youtube clips going again.
c. I need to add podcasting. I want to do a subscription webinar. Just haven't figured out how yet.
d. I need to get my newsletter going out at least quarterly. I plan on using one newsletter for both Joshua and me.
e. Pinterest is doing good to get me visible. I need to add more pictures more often. I'm able to add all kinds of interesting things. I have boards for the pottery, the cooking, the DIY projects. Art and books.
f. Goodreads- I ran a significant ad experiment on Goodreads. I had a lot of exposure and very little return. I did some reviews etc. but I find Goodreads a bust and not worth my time. I cannot make it work and it requires too much of my time and energy. I've given up there, at least for right now.
g. Wattpad I loved Wattpad. I got my early chapters of Knock Knock out there to test the water. See who read. Who would comment. When I got ready to seriously write and edit. I pulled off the free chapters. I lost momentum because I truly thought I could ride the interest there to buyers. I dropped the ball and lost opportunity. Its a good idea. I just didn't handle it right.
h. Linked In...I need to work this site more. I'm getting a lot of people adding me. A lot of people recommending my skills. I think this one holds some possibilities and when Knock Knock is ready to go live, I'm going to be looking at this site.
I. Twitter...the only thing I use this for is to funnel people to my websites. I do get increased visitors when I tweet about a new blog.
3. Joshua is getting stronger in his skills. His artwork, especially the abstract work is getting a lot of attention and everything he does sells. He is working on his picture books. I do believe he can go traditional and we will be looking for an agent. I hope before the beginning of 2017.
4. the video chat with Kathy is going really well. She's a good teacher and he's responding. She said she hopes to get him reading at a 3rd grade level and then up to 5th. All of this will help Joshua meet his goals. and help him become an independent writer.
All of this was on the one page in the notebook. Sometimes I need a reminder that I'm not being lazy. I get a lot done. Just never seems to bring me the results I hope for. But I do think I know way more than I did 3 years ago. At some point the scale has to tip in my direction.
