Author Wayne Thomas Batson unveils his new series and reveals his writing secrets

By Merrie Destefano

Have you ever wished you could ask one of your favorite authors to reveal some of their writing tips? If so, today’s your lucky day! 

We’ve got an interview with Wayne Thomas Batson, best-selling author of the Door Within trilogy, Isle of Swords, Isle of Fire, The Berinfell Prophecies, Sword in the Stars, The Errant King, and Ghost.

Today also happens to be the release day of DREAMTREADERS, the first book in his new series. One of the things we’re requesting is if you want to purchase his book, please consider buying it today on Amazon.

Here’s some info from Wayne about The Blitz, a contest he’s running on his blog here: www.enterthedoorwithin.blogspot.com.

 
Here's the Amazon link for Dreamtreaders: http://is.gd/gONxPf

And now, for that author interview, where Wayne accidentally…I mean, on purpose…reveals all his writing secrets including how he came up with the concept for his new series, PLUS tips for writing Middle Grade stories.

RSM: I love the concept for Dreamtreaders! I also read the sample chapters online and it looks fantastic. How did you come up with the idea for this series and how long did it take you to write the first book?

WAYNE: Thank you kindly, Merrie. I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the sample chapter. The idea for the Dreamtreaders Series came from a little video I happened upon while surfing. The subject was Dream Science. I’ve always had vivid dreams, so I thought the video was pretty compelling. I had heard of Lucid Dreaming before, but not with the kind of detail presented in the video. Within minutes of watching the video, the entire plot of Dreamtreaders Book 1 popped into my head. I started thinking: What if there was a greater purpose for dreams? What if there was more danger involved with dreams than we ever thought possible? It was really kind of on a whim that I wrote up a brief proposal. I really didn’t think anything would come off it, but Thomas Nelson / Harper Collins loved the concept right away.

The first book took me about 3 months to write. I already had an outline, so I shot through pretty quickly. Thankfully, I had great editors like Steele Filipek and Amy Kerr to help me bring the story up to its full potential.

RSM: What do you think is the difference between writing for a Middle Grade audience, versus either a Young Adult or an Adult audience? What tips would you recommend for our blog readers who want to write for Middle Grade?

WAYNE: For me, there’s not much difference between Middle Grade / Young Adult readers. You can’t underestimate either. Kids are incredibly perceptive. You really need to honor that in your stories. Writing for adults is a whole different ballgame. Adults like the thrills, adventure, and creativity just as much as YA readers, but adults demand a level of sophistication that is different. You need to weave in layers of inference so that adults can figure things out on their own. You need to be more subtle too. If you have themes you are interested in, go for it, but hint at it, don’t drown them. 

Tips for Middle Grade Readers:

1) Make sure you HOOK them early. I mean first sentence, first paragraph, first page, first chapter. Make sure you have some very cool unusual events going on right away. While kids are perceptive, they also are kind of quick to assess the interest level of the material. If it’s a yawner up front, they will drop it like rotten tuna sandwich.

2) Don’t forget the power of humor. Middle Grade books can be so heavy handed. Dogs dying, people getting diseases, concentration camps, government takeovers, dystopia! EEK, run! You’ve got to lighten up here and there. I teach middle school, and my students literally ask me sometimes: “Why are these books so depressing?” Not my books, mind. I always lighten the mood with humor. It really helps.

RSM: Those are great tips! Thanks, Wayne. I’ve always found outlining for one book hard enough. How do you outline for a series?

WAYNE: When outlining for a series, you need to use broad strokes. In other words, capture the headlines of each book. What are the major things you expect to happen in each book? How can you have a beginning, middle, and legit end for each story while maintaining a “greater story” for the series? Once you have the broad strokes, you can then paint in the details when you approach each book for a manuscript pass.

RSM: I think it's great that you're working with Thomas Nelson again, this time on the Dreamtreaders series—TN is an amazing publishing house! But I've noticed you also have some self-published projects. Some are short stories, like The Blackwood, and some are full length novels, like The Tide of Unmaking (co-authored by Christopher Hopper) and Ghost. How and when do you decide to self-publish projects?

WAYNE: There are several variables that I consider to determine the direction of publishing: traditional path or self publishing. 1) Is there publisher interest?  2) If yes, then what are the terms? Is the royalty /advance good enough?  3) Is the concept I have in mind appropriate for one of the publisher’s age categories?

If all the answers to the above are yes, then I might go traditional. If any of the answers are no, then I’ll likely self pub. Another deal breaker with traditional publishing is creative control. If the publisher won’t allow me to take the story where it needs to go, then I might do it myself. My Dark Sea series, for example, deals with themes TN didn’t want to touch, so I went somewhere else.  Then, the market changed and ebooks put such a dent in print sales that I ended up getting back the rights. I plan to completely repackage and self-publish the seven book Dark Sea Annals series.

I like to keep a foot in every market possible. Diversification isn’t just for stock portfolios. Print publishers still rule a huge market. Why not be a part of it? 

RSM: I completely agree about diversification. In fact, most authors I know are doing both traditional and self-publishing. Is Spearhead Books your own imprint? Can you tell me a little about the decision to create that publishing company and what your goals are?

WAYNE: Spearhead Books is a joint project from The Miller Brothers, Christopher Hopper, and me. We aren’t a publisher per se, but we are creating a brand for Christian readers to be able to trust. With self-publishing growing like it is, we wanted to create a one-stop shop for trustworthy, positive fiction. 

RSM: It sounds like an awesome joint project and our blog readers can check out Spearhead Books HERE. You have an impressive selection of books! Thank you very much for answering all of my questions, Wayne! 

WAYNE: You’re welcome. Always good to connect, Merrie. Thank you for the opportunity.

If you want to learn more about Wayne’s books, check out: Enter The Door Within, Heed the Prophecies, and Sword in the Stars.

What makes a great book cover?

By Merrie Destefano


As an artist and an avid reader, I’m a pushover for a good book cover. I could spend almost as much time in a book store looking at covers as reading the contents. 

I’ve always loved strong conceptual illustrations, like the Charles Dickens portrait done by Hugo-award winning artist, John Picacio, for DROOD, but I also love covers with exceptional type treatment. 

For instance, I adore the tattoo lettering on Holly Black’s THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN and the title on THE SOMNAMBULIST, which hovers ominously in the night sky over the city of London. 

I’ll never forget the first time I saw the cover of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan. I was at the Borders Bookstore (remember that amazing chain of bookstores?) in Pasadena, hanging out with Rachel Marks. 

As soon as I saw that cover, I had a strong impression of the book: There was something deadly in the surrounding forests, but it was so commonplace that the girl in the illustration accepted it as part of her world, yet even though she knew it was an unchangeable element in her life, it still made her sad. 

I got all this from the cover—I hadn’t read the back of the book jacket or any reviews—and it compelled me to read the book. Once I opened the book and read the first paragraph, I fell in love with what would become one of my most favorite books ever.

And I might have missed it, if it hadn’t been for that amazingly accurate and intriguing cover.

What do you think makes a great book cover?

I’m sharing some more of my favorites below, but I’d love to know which book covers really impressed you and why.

ALSO, TOMORROW:

We'll have an interview with Wayne Thomas Batson, where he discusses the idea behind his new series, PLUS he gives tips for writing Middle Grade stories.

Merrie Destefano is represented by Natalie Lakosil of the Bradford Literary Agency. Merrie’s published work includes Afterlife and Feast (both with HarperVoyager), Fathom, The Plague Carrier and Waiting For Midnight (with Ruby Slippers Press), and How To Draw Zombies (Walter Foster). She’s also the editor of Victorian Homes magazine and founding editor of Cottages and Bungalows magazine. She is the founder and owner of Ruby Slippers Media and Ruby Slippers Press, and her website is here.

Haj: A Short, Short Story

by Rebecca LuElla Miller

The following first appeared in the 2007 Writer's Digest anthology of the top twenty-five short stories from their annual Short, Short Story Competition.

- - - - - 

 
Is Haj a fool? It’s not my place to say, so I’ll lay out the facts and let you draw your own conclusion.

Bear in mind, even those who insist he is nothing but a sadly demented soul nevertheless acknowledge he has good intentions. Best be warned, so you aren’t swayed by appearances.

Haj arrived in Glesha last month, when the daytime temperature was so balmy icicles hanging from roof tops melted into little puddles. Delinda was the first to talk with him. Seems he stopped in at her eatery for breakfast. She reported the encounter to Tave Sern our esteemed information mogul.

Of course, you know just how reliable Delinda’s “facts” are. Anyway, what she told Tave was, this frail little salesman had just relocated to Glesha from “down south.” My wife believes to this day Haj does what he does because he comes from where he comes. But you be the judge.

Shortly after Tave published the official welcome to our newest resident in the Daily Report, Haj started showing up at people’s doors. Knowing he was a salesman—Tave had included that fact in the welcome—most folks, assuming he was employing some new vending techniques, invited him inside to satisfy their curiosity.

No, Haj says. He’s not selling anything. He has something he’s giving away. Many somethings, actually. “As many as there are people living under your roof,” he says, or so Dade, two houses down, told me, as did Jamin across the way, and Sem next to him.

Of course, we were all curious, except by the time he arrived at my door, I knew what to expect. I met him at the entry and did not invite him into my common room.

From out of the black trunk Haj hauled behind him, he produced a fine brown leather jacket, the kind with suede patches on the elbows.

“So you’re selling outer wear,” I said, though I knew he would deny it.

He cocked his head and lifted an eyebrow but smiled an ironic smile, as if he knew that I knew. “I’m not selling. I’m giving.”

It was my turn to smile, though I had to work hard not to let it become a smirk. “Summer is here, warmer than usual, so I don’t have use for a jacket just now. That’s not to say this isn’t a fine one.” I ran my hand up and down the pliant material, creamy as butter. “But this would sit in storage until winter. By then this cut will be out of fashion. Then what will I do with it?”

Haj acted as if he hadn’t heard me. “I’ll leave it with you in case you change your mind, Honorable Mayor.” He extended the jacket toward me.

I pushed the bundle back at him. “It will take up space and eventually rot from disuse. I won’t even be able to sell it.”

“Surely you know summer will end.” His gaze danced from the jacket to my eyes and back again, as if to entice me to look closer.

“When the weather turns, I’ll shop for a fashionable coat.” I retreated a step and reached for the door.

“Honorable Mayor …” His voice shook, and he shuffled his feet.

I glanced down, not meaning to stare, but his old-fashioned galoshes, mud splatters staining the sun bleached gray rubber, clashed so with his brown corduroy trousers, I was caught off guard. I’m certain my shock registered in my expression though I averted my gaze as soon as I recovered my wits. After all, I had no wish to embarrass the poor man.

He started again, as if he hadn’t noticed my reaction. “Honorable Mayor, it was my thought that you, being Glesha’s most respected citizen … well, others may follow your example.”

I smiled into his serious eyes, hoping my countenance was suitably benevolent. “Salesman, you are an astute observer, and your tactic is sound. I’ll buy the jacket from you.” I reached into the inner pocket of my tunic and withdrew my money pouch. I pinched open the end and sprinkled a few coins into my palm. “Will this do?”

Haj stared at me as if I’d dealt him a blow across the mouth. Tears glistened in his eyes. Tears! The man was about to cry because I said I would buy his jacket! I could only imagine he hadn’t expected to find me so benevolent or to convince me so easily

           

Instead of reaching for the coins, however, or passing me the jacket, he held it close to his chest. “The jacket isn’t for sale. It’s a gift. I have a coat for your wife, too, and cloaks for each of your servants.”

I tapped my gold ring against the edge of the door. “As you say, salesman, Glesha looks to me as an example. What would the citizens think of a man in my position accepting charity?”

“Not charity. A gift!”

“You must look at this from my point of view. People will talk. Someone is sure to think I will repay your … uh, generosity with favors of my own.”

Haj shook his head, his eyes closed as if he couldn’t bear to hear what I was saying. “A true gift requires no return of any kind.”

I jingled the coins in my hand. “But people will talk. The perception alone could destroy my good standing in the community. Instead of you giving me a gift, how about if I give one to you? Here.” I laid the coins on top of the supple leather.

He brushed them off, and they clattered onto the patterned stonework outside my door.

“Here, now, there’s no call for ill treatment.” I pulled myself to my full height and stepped toward him.

Without backing away, he met my gaze. “I do not need your money, but you need my coats. I have warmer ones if you prefer.” He hauled the trunk closer, bent over it, and pulled up the lid.

I lifted my foot and banged it shut. “Enough. I’ve been courteous, even generous, but I’ve reached the end of my patience. I do not want your coats and can only suggest you leave Glesha since you have outlasted your welcome.” I stepped back and closed the door, gently, I hoped, in order to mask the agitation I felt.

Haj stayed the month, giving coats to the few citizens who opened their homes to him. Delinda reported to Tave who published in the Daily Report that more than one family was actually wearing their new coats out in public. In this warm weather, no less.

As it was to be expected, I received complaints from any number of sources. The merchants worried that fewer Gleshans would buy coats when the cold weather set in. The treasurer worried that the citizenry would expect other free provisions and become lazy or careless. The council complained that those wearing the coats considered themselves superior to the rest of us and were creating a division in the town.

Finally, with the full backing of the most influential residents, I corner Haj at Delinda’s eatery in the gray dawn.

“Honorable Mayor, have you come for your coat?” he asks.

I fold my arms over my chest and with my foot push in the chair he pulled out for me. “No, Haj, I’ve come to ask you to leave Glesha.”

I thought he might tear up again like he did that first day, or maybe refuse to go. Instead, he smiles—a sad smile, like he feels sorry for me—and stands up from the table.

“You—you can finish your meal,” I say, caught off guard.

Still with the pitying smile, he shakes his head, dons his own coat, and retrieves his trunk.

When he pushes open the door, a blast of cold air sweeps into the room. I glance at the blustery sky, and a snowflake lodges on my eyelash, turning to water with one blink. “The weather has taken a cold turn. We can accommodate you until this summer storm passes.”

This time he doesn’t smile or shake his head, but the sadness in his eyes makes me want to weep. He turns up his collar, buttons the last button on his coat, and with his trunk in tow, marches into the street away from town.

So I ask you, isn’t Haj a fool? I suspect, with the onset of this early storm, he could have become a rich merchant if only he had stayed to sell his wares. After all, we thought that’s why he came.

- - - - - 

 

Best known for her aspirations as an epic fantasy author, Rebecca LuElla Miller has been working as a freelance writer and editor since 2004. She has covered high school sports for a Los Angeles area newspaper group, published articles and short stories in several print and online magazines, and placed in the top twenty-five in the 2006 Writer’s Digest Short, Short Story contest. Most recently she is the author of Power Elements of Story Structure. She currently blogs Monday through Friday at A Christian Worldview of Fiction.

Her editing credits include non-fiction and fiction alike, most notably four titles in the Dragons in Our Midst and Oracle of Fire series by Bryan Davis and two novellas in the Mission League series by Jill Williamson. You can learn more about her editing services and read her weekly writing tips at Rewrite, Reword, Rework.

The Future is Now

by PJ Regnier

For a sci-fi fan, it’s a great time to be alive. At least for those who can appreciate the quantum leap technology has taken over the last couple decades.

Not that long ago, wireless tablets could only be found on episodes of Star Trek. Now they almost seem commonplace. When you think about it, is the typical smart phone all that different from the classic communicator found in most sci-fi stories? And don’t even get me started on 3D printers.

I know I’m not the only one that geeks out on all the gadgetry coming to fruition in the here and now. Countless years of sci-fi stories from the past conjured up futuristic devices that seemed almost magical in their day. But now, a brief look at the latest announcements from Wired Magazine and suddenly those devices don’t seem so far fetched. If it seems like I’m overstating, just look up something called graphine and prepare to be amazed.

I know what you’re thinking, until there’s light sabers and teleportation you refuse to be impressed. Well, to be honest, I’m a little sad about the lack of progress on those fronts as well. After all, Back to the Future 2 promised me that by 2015 we’d have hoverboards and flying De Loreans. But perhaps we’re just being too greedy. All I can say is that when I turn on my smart phone, hit the Shazam app and within a few seconds I know detailed information about whatever song happens to be playing, it’s hard to believe there's no magic involved.

Fiction Friday: Finding God in Popular Fiction

By Jane Wells

While Bird on Fire isn't technically fiction - it does have a very strong tie to someone else's fictional work. One of the most popular works of fiction in recent years in fact!
If the title of my book doesn't give you a big enough clue, the subtitle is a dead giveaway. Bird on Fire: A Bible study for understanding The Hunger Games arena, Catching Fire flame and Mockingjay bird.
Yeah. I totally rode Suzanne Collins wave, and for good reason. As a Christian, the books read like a parable of Christian compassion in a world rife with sin and selfishness. Like many best sellers, the Mockingjay trilogy resonated with a society terrified of the social injustices rising around it.
Here is the finale (and my favorite) chapter of Bird on Fire.

***

In Mockingjay, Katniss must make a difficult choice. Will she accept the role she’s stepped into – that of the Mockingjay leading the people of Panem in revolt against the capitol – or will she sit back, and let things unfold without her?

An ancient queen from the bible has a remarkably similar dilemma. There are only two books in the Bible named for women, and one of them is Esther.

But before we get to Esther, we have to start with Xerxes. Xerxes the Great ruled the Medo-Persian Empire – which stretched from modern day India east to the Mediterranean and then as far south into Africa as Somalia. This is the same Xerxes portrayed in the (slanderously incorrect) movie The 300. But before Xerxes marched against the Spartans – and won, btw – there was some palace intrigue, starting with a queen who refused to cooperate.

I can understand Queen Vashti’s point of view. Xerxes was hosting a banquet for all his buddies and decided they all needed to see just how beautiful his wife was – so he demanded she come out and strike a pose. But she was busy hosting a party of her own and really didn’t want to be subjected to the critical gaze of all her husband’s cronies. As a result of her refusal she lost the crown, demoted to just another member of his harem. After a while Xerxes regretted his decision, but not enough to rescind his order.

So, he orders a reaping.

Beautiful young women were gathered from all over the Persian nation. Esther, “lovely in form and feature”, was among them. As a Jew, she was a member of a minority already subject to discrimination, so her cousin Mordecai (Like Gale, maybe? Or Haymitch?) told her to keep her ethnicity a secret. Hegai, (Esther’s Cinna, Perhaps?) the man in charge of the queen-recruits, placed all his bets on her making sure she had everything she needed to win the king’s favor.  When Esther entered the arena – otherwise known as the king’s chambers – she won the crown.

So, Esther won her first Hunger Games – without drawing a single arrow. But like Katniss, this only seemed to make the stakes in the game even higher.

A little later Haman, an Agagite, is promoted to a position second only to Xerxes. Agagites were ancient enemies of the Jews, and Haman was especially sensitive to the fact that Mordecai the Jew would not bow to him. Seeing a chance to wipe out all of his ancient enemies (including Mordecai, of course), Haman hatches a plot to have every Jew in Persia killed in one swift attack. Withholding only a few key details, Haman presents his plan to Xerxes as a chance to rid his nation of a bunch of troublemaking dissenters. Xerxes apparently trusted Haman implicitly, because he signed the declaration without bothering to find out just exactly “who” these dissenters were. The residents of Persia were baffled by the decree, because Jews as a whole were good neighbors and citizens.

Inside the palace bubble, Esther is clueless until she hears of Mordecai’s public display. He is dressed in rags and at the palace gate, wailing loudly for himself, his people and his cousin. She had no idea what was going on until Mordecai tells her the complete story of Haman’s plot, providing a copy of the edict for their annihilation. Mordecai begs Esther to plead her people’s case to the king.

The problem with this otherwise foolproof plan is that one does not simply walk into the king’s presence without being summoned, unless you want to be killed. And in Esther’s case, she hadn’t been summoned in a month. She is pretty sure the honeymoon has ended.

Mordecai asks just one question in response to Esther’s fear, ”Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Esther agrees to try. She asks Mordecai to fast and pray along with her and her maids for three days. “When this is done,” she says, “I will go into the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

But, she doesn’t perish. Xerxes is pleased to see her and agrees to have dinner with her the following evening - and agrees to bring Haman along. Esther promises then she will reveal to the king the question that is on her mind. When the night of the dinner arrives, Esther reveals all: her ancestry, her relationship to Mordecai whom Haman hates, and the threat to her life that Haman has brought about through his personal vendetta and deceit.

Xerxes is furious and storms out of the room. Seeing a chance to sway Esther’s mind, Haman collapses at her feet and onto the couch where she sat. At that moment Xerxes re-enters the room.

“Will he assault the queen while she is with me in the house?” Xerxes exclaims.

Haman is carried away and executed that night. The Jews are given permission to not only protect themselves from anyone that would harm them, but even plunder and attack their enemies in return.

On the day Haman had set for the destruction of the Jews, they instead destroy their enemies, all because Esther was willing to stand up.

Like Esther, Katniss has to answer a question: Has she become the favorite of the nation for a time like this? When she alone can be the symbol uniting a divided nation? Esther made up her mind when it became clear she was the only one who could make a difference. Katniss becomes the Mockingjay when she realizes the same thing – only she can lead the rebellion, and only she can insure Peeta survives.

You may not be a queen, like Esther, or a leader of a rebellion, like Katniss, but we all have power to change things around us (even when it’s risky).

What do you have the power to change for good, because of who you are and where you are?

What moves you to action?

What can you do today to begin making a change in your world?

From another point of view, where do have influence that you might be overlooking?

What changes are you trying to avoid taking responsibility for?

***

Bird on Fire is available on Amazon (both hard copy and Kindle), Nook and iBook.

Jane Wells has always gravitated toward reading material that pushed other people’s buttons. In 2nd grade it was a dinosaur book that upset her teacher at a Baptist school. Now it’s vampires and dystopias that catch her imagination. In them she finds parables and allegories illustrating God’s ancient plan in a language that is uniquely modern – and easily understood by people who may have never set foot inside a church. Glitter in the Sun and Bird on Fireare the results.

Always a writer, Jane’s “real jobs” have included newspaper journalism, youth ministry, sewing machine sales and marketing for a publishing house. Currently she is back to “just a writer” again, while juggling all the typical domestic duties of wife and mother, homeschooling two boys, managing two needy Golden Retrievers and answering to one very demanding cat.

Are Author Web Sites Worth It?

By Randy Ingermanson

My author friends are buzzing this week about an article that recently appeared on DigitalBookWorld about whether author web sites are worth it.  

The rather curious conclusion reached by some of the experts quoted was that most author web sites have very little value and therefore authors should spend their marketing efforts on social media.

The article quoted other experts who took exactly the opposite viewpoint—author web sites are more valuable than social media.

My own opinion is that it’s more complicated than that.

It’s true that most author web sites have very little value. But it doesn’t follow that authors should be spending their time on social media instead.

Based on my conversations with many authors, it’s clear that most of them believe they’re incompetent marketers.  

Ask them. Most authors will tell you they don’t really know what they’re doing with their marketing. Most authors will tell you they can’t prove that any of their marketing actually works.

Assume they’re correct. Assume most authors are as incompetent at marketing as they think they are. 

Then it follows that most of them have incompetent web sites. 

But the same logic implies that most of them are incompetent at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and any other marketing method you can name. 

The problem here is that you can’t judge the value of a marketing tool by asking how well it’s used by incompetent marketers. 

The better question is how good a marketing tool is in the hands of a competent marketer.

But the best question is what an author’s marketing goals should be in the first place. Until you know that, any questions of goodness or badness don’t have any meaning. 

A little analogy might be helpful here.

Dogs are incompetent drivers. Therefore, a Ferrari is useless to a dog. 

But it doesn’t follow that a dog should forego the Ferrari and drive a Jeep instead. 

A Jeep is also useless to a dog. So is a minivan, a Yugo, and a bicycle.

The question isn’t whether any of these vehicles is useful to a dog. Dogs have no business driving any of them.

The question is which of them is most useful to you as a trained driver.

Before you can answer that, you first have to define what you mean by “useful.”

If you’re trying for raw speed, then the Ferrari is the most useful.

If you’re trying to travel over rough roads in winter, the Jeep is probably your best bet.

If you’re trying to take a bunch of kids to soccer practice, go with the minivan.

If you wanted some fun and exercise, try the bike.

Avoid the Yugo at all costs because it does nothing well.

Now how does all this apply to you as an author who wants to market your work?

That depends on your level of marketing skill. Are you a competent marketer or are you incompetent? (Your first reaction to this question is probably correct.)

If you’re an incompetent marketer, then you’re not going to do a good job with anything—a web site, Facebook, Twitter, or anything else. None of these will do you much good, so first get some training in marketing. 

What if you’re a competent marketer? What’s the right marketing vehicle for you? That will depend on what your marketing goals are. 

Here are my thoughts on that, and you can take them or leave them.

Generally, your customers go through three distinct phases in becoming your fan. Initially, they don’t know who you are. First, they have to become aware you exist. Second, you have to get them interested in you or your writing. Third, you have to make the sale.

Your three main marketing goals are therefore these:

1. Attract people who don’t know you.
2. Engage their interest so they do know you.
3. Convert them to paying customers.

Any marketing strategy that focuses on only one or two of these phases is doomed to fail. 

A competent marketer is somebody who can execute all three phases well.

Social media tools focus on the Attract and Engage phases. But they don’t do that well at the Convert phase.

The evidence I’ve seen tells me that there are two things that Convert very well:

• E-mail announcements of new products. 
• Sales pages on web sites.

So if you’re going to be a competent marketer, you need at least a web site that collects e-mail addresses of your fans and that shows sales pages for all your books. If you’ve got that, you’ve done most of your effort for the Convert phase.

You will also need something to help you Attract and Engage your fans. You can do that with social media or with your web site or with paid ads. Your choice. 

There’s one issue that you need to always keep in mind. That’s the issue of permanence.

Your author web site is the only piece of real estate on the web that you control. It’s the only one you can guarantee will always be there.

Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, and Pinterest all own the land that they let you use. They can take it away. They can change the rules. (Facebook seems to change every few weeks.) They can go out of fashion. (Have you been on MySpace lately?)

Every year, there’ll be some new social media gizmo that everybody says you should be using. Every year, there’ll be some old social media gizmo that quietly fades away. Some of these may be useful to you for a few years. Pursue them if they are. Abandon them when they lose their glitter.

But your first goal is to control your own land on the web and use it to build your tribe. That would be your web site. With a good professional e-mail list service provider. 

Everything else is optional. The web site and e-mail list are not.

…………

This article is reprinted by permission of the author.

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the free monthly Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 6,200 readers. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.